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….
"That is a lot of pain for a young boy to deal with," Rias said gently. "Don't you think?"
My [Gamer's Mind] flared, immediately neutralizing the sudden spike of morbid sympathy I felt. My emotions chilled over, leaving me completely unfazed. I looked at Rias, my expression turning to stone.
"Listen," I said, my voice dangerously calm. "I don't get what you're trying to prove by bringing up my dead parents. What is the endgame here, Gremory? Are you trying to tell me you could have saved them?"
I scoffed, a bitter, cynical sound that made Akeno shift uncomfortably.
"Please," I continued, my eyes locking onto Rias's. "I know exactly how you Devils operate. My parents were ordinary, grieving humans. They had no magical potential, and they certainly didn't have Sacred Gears. They held absolutely zero value to a High-Class Devil looking to build her peerage for a Rating Game."
I leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms. "You wouldn't have saved them even if I had begged you. So what is your point in bringing them up?"
Rias physically recoiled, her eyes widening in genuine shock at the raw, unfiltered anger and cynicism in my response. Even Akeno's permanent, teasing smile completely vanished.
"No..." Rias stammered, shifting uncomfortably on the couch, her aristocratic composure finally slipping. "That... that isn't what I meant at all. I wasn't trying to use them against you. I was just... curious about who you are."
"Curious." The word felt like ash in my mouth.
I didn't possess the memories of the boy who had originally inhabited this body, but I knew the universal truth of grief. No one deserved to die like that, and no child deserved to be left behind to shoulder that burden alone.
"Rias..."
I didn't even realize I was drawing on my mana until the air in the living room grew thick with the sharp, metallic tang of ozone. Tiny arcs of blue electricity began to spark off my shoulders and fingertips, crackling audibly in the quiet house.
"You come into my home," I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous, vibrating low. "You have the audacity to bring up my dead parents, just to see my reaction like I'm some kind of lab rat?"
I stood up. The movement was sudden enough that Akeno instantly dropped her polite facade.
She stepped smoothly in front of Rias, placing herself between me and her King. Without a word of warning, Akeno raised her hand. A blinding streak of yellow, demonic lightning erupted from her palm, shooting straight at my chest.
I didn't dodge. I didn't even raise my arms to block.
The lightning struck me dead center—and immediately dispersed. The yellow energy grounded out, greedily absorbed by the dense, swirling blue aura of my own Destruction magic.
Akeno froze, her eyes widening in absolute shock. Elemental magic was her specialty, her absolute pride as the Priestess of Thunder, and I had just eaten a point-blank strike like it was static electricity.
"You attack me in my own home, too?" I glared at the vice-president, lifting my right hand. The blue lightning coalesced into a dense, humming sphere of energy, ready to be unleashed. "I don't know what your plan was coming here, but you just made a massive mist—"
Ding.
[Passive Skill: Gamer's Mind activated.]
A sudden, freezing wave of clinical logic washed over my brain. The blinding red rage that was clouding my vision vanished instantly, forcing my heart rate to drop.
Calm down, my inner voice reasoned, clear and detached. You don't want to destroy your own living room. Hurting them won't prove anything. De-escalate.
I blinked. I let out a long, slow exhale. The sphere of lightning in my hand fizzled out, and the ambient static in the room slowly dissipated.
Akeno remained in a defensive stance, still eyeing me warily, while Rias looked up at me with a mixture of awe and genuine regret.
"What do you want, Rias?" I asked, my voice completely flat.
"I..." Rias swallowed hard. "I wanted to apologize."
That completely broke whatever lingering hostility I had left. I stared at her, genuinely surprised. "All you wanted to do was say sorry?"
She nodded slowly. "For how I acted toward you since entering your home. And for how I approached you from the beginning."
I took a deep breath, rubbing the bridge of my nose, and sat back down in the armchair. The adrenaline crash was making me tired.
"You know," I said quietly, looking at her, "if you had just walked up to me on the first day of school, told me you were a Devil, and asked me to join your peerage... I probably would have accepted on the spot."
Rias's eyes widened, a flicker of hope crossing her face.
"But you didn't," I continued, cutting that hope short. "Instead, you watched Isabella. You knew she was being targeted. You believed the best course of action was to let her die, just so you could swoop in and resurrect her as your loyal servant. That was not a good choice, Rias."
Rias looked away, her expression falling. She looked suddenly very small sitting on my couch.
"Let's get one thing straight," I said, leaning forward. "I don't hate you because you're a Devil, or anything stupidly prejudiced like that. Not even one bit. What I hate is how you manipulate people. You treat human lives like pieces on a chessboard."
I let that hang in the air for a moment.
"But," I added softly, "you did save her. She's alive, and I am thankful for that. Truly. But I don't trust you. So if you plan on trying to convince me to join your peerage 'for my own safety' against the Fallen Angels... don't waste your breath. It won't work. Understood?"
Rias kept her eyes on the floor for a long moment before finally giving a slow, defeated nod.
"Good. Now, is there anything else you want to talk about?" I asked, pushing myself out of the chair. "Because my timer is about to go off, and I need to finish cooking."
Rias looked up at me, completely bewildered by the sudden shift in tone. "Are you... are you really forgiving me that easily? After everything I just said?"
"No. Not even close," I said bluntly as I walked into the kitchen. "But I'm hungry, and I don't have the energy to hold a grudge on an empty stomach."
I pulled on a pair of oven mitts and opened the oven door. The rich, savory aroma of roasted chicken and herbs instantly flooded the house.
I pulled the roasting pan out, setting the perfectly browned bird aside to rest, and then grabbed the tray of roasted root vegetables.
I started plating the food on the kitchen island, moving with the practiced efficiency my [Basic Cooking] skill provided.
Akeno peeked around the corner from the living room, her defensive posture entirely gone. She sniffed the air, her eyes lighting up. "I didn't know you could cook, Shiro."
"I literally mentioned it during my class introduction on the first day of school," I said, grabbing a knife to carve the chicken. "Or were you guys not paying attention back then?"
Akeno let out a small, embarrassed giggle.
I set a plate down for myself at the dining table and grabbed my utensils. "There's plenty. You're welcome to grab a plate if you want. But once we're done, I'd like both of you to leave. I want to go to sleep."
"Are you sure?" Akeno asked, though she was already gliding toward the kitchen counter. "It smells divine."
"Help yourself," I muttered, already taking a bite of the chicken. The stats on the food were excellent, immediately replenishing a chunk of my drained stamina.
Akeno happily fixed herself a plate, but Rias didn't follow her. Instead, she walked over and took the seat right next to me at the table. She didn't grab any food; she just rested her chin in her hand, watching me eat.
"You know it's rude to stare," I said without looking up from my meal.
"Sorry," Rias murmured. She stayed quiet for another minute, watching the comfortable, domestic scene play out.
But the anxiety from earlier hadn't completely left her eyes.
"Shiro... do you really think you can look after yourself? There are so many Fallen Angels and stray exorcists operating in the city right now."
I stopped chewing. I set my fork down and finally turned to look at her.
"Tell me, Rias," I said, my voice completely calm. "Has it ever occurred to you to ask exactly what happened to the Fallen Angel who attacked me in the park?"
….
Hey guys if u like the fanfic and want to read ahead by 10+ Chapters or just want to support take a visit on my patreon.
(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
http://patreon.com/Marin_kitawaga