The tension melted away like April snow. A faint smile graced Suzaku's face.
"Even with such regulations, you are their savior. If I were to treat you with that same attitude, it would only prove that my Himejima family is cold-blooded."
While she said that, hearing those words from a member of the Himejima clan was somewhat ironic. To this day, the number of Himejima clan members who had been persecuted by their own family likely numbered in the hundreds.
The most classic example was Himejima Shuri, Akeno's mother. After the Fallen Angel cadre she was involved with left on business, she was hounded to death by the clan. Akeno, who was quite young at the time, was hunted all the way to Kuoh Town until Rias Gremory stepped in to save her.
Of course, Rhode wasn't about to say that to her face. The dark side of forcing clan members to commit ritual suicide or "handling matters internally" was a state secret the Five Principal Clans never let out, even if everyone was well aware of it.
Suzaku, however, was one of the few decent ones—at least, judging by the fact that Akeno was still willing to call her "cousin."
"Do you have any more questions?" Suzaku asked, noticing Rhode was still staring at her.
"None. I was just looking," Rhode said, masking his thoughts.
To be honest, the plotlines involving the Five Principal Clans weren't particularly numerous. Furthermore, given their isolationist mindset, even if Rhode offered to help them hunt down demons and do missions, the answer would surely be "no." Allowing an outsider like him to stay was only because he had saved those rookies. If he were just a random passerby, he'd have had "stalker scouts" all over him by sundown.
"Then, I have official business to attend to. I shall not intrude upon your leisure any further." Suzaku bowed slightly toward Rhode. "I hope you leave with beautiful memories of this place."
With that, Suzaku led her clansmen away.
Rhode soon returned to the hotel. Asia, who had strictly remembered not to open the door for anyone—not even hotel staff—finally welcomed back her "anchor" after a period of anxious waiting.
Though Asia had only known Rhode for less than seventy-two hours, she had already come to view him as her pillar of support, never having traveled far from home before. If he were to suddenly go missing, she truly wouldn't know what to do.
Rhode saw the shift in the girl's eyes, gave her head a gentle pat, and went to wash up.
In the dead of night, listening to the sound of the girl's peaceful breathing, Rhode drifted into sleep.
The next morning, Rhode was woken up early by a call from Griselda. Upon answering, her familiar voice came through the receiver.
"Where are you right now?"
"Calling someone this early in the morning... Griselda, don't you know that sleep deprivation is a serious form of torture?"
Hearing the lazy voice on the other end, Griselda found it hard to stay serious. Purely based on looks, Rhode did indeed exceed the average level of the male angels in Heaven, but she wasn't calling him out of concern for his "eye candy" status.
"I have some intelligence. The Fallen Angels who left the Grigori, along with some Devils, seem to be making moves in the Far East. This started happening right after you took Asia away, so I suspect it is related to her."
Griselda knew how unique Asia's Sacred Gear was. Aside from humans and Angels, it could heal any other race. It was a rare, ultra-high-tier recovery Sacred Gear. Once exposed, the number of people wanting to seize it would only increase. Among all the factions, only those Fallen Angels within the Grigori had a pathological obsession with the Sacred Gears created by God.
Rhode's eyebrows shot up. He knew exactly what plot this concerned. Since the mission had already been automatically triggered, he was just waiting for the right moment to head to Kuoh.
With that in mind, Rhode suddenly remarked, "Don't you think it's too much of a coincidence? Asia leaves, and suddenly the Fallen Angels start acting up."
Griselda was silent for a few seconds. "Are you implying there's a traitor in the Church?"
"That's impossible."
"If there isn't one, then I suppose I must be the one who secretly snitched."
"..."
Griselda understood the sarcasm in Rhode's tone, but without any solid evidence, she could only maintain the status quo. "I will investigate this matter secretly. Besides, you still haven't told me—where are you and Asia?"
"Tokyo."
"?" Griselda was full of question marks. "I just told you Fallen Angels and Devils are causing trouble in Japan, and you're telling me you're already there?"
"Why did you go there? While it's a decent tourist spot, the situation there is too complex. Moreover... you are in the territory controlled by the Five Principal Clans." Clearly, Griselda was aware of the Clans as well.
"It was on the way, so we came. I plan to stay and have some fun for a while."
A long sigh came from the other end of the phone. "Then don't say I didn't warn you. The Five Principal Clans are extremely exclusionary. They do not allow people from other factions to cause trouble in their territory, and they don't even spare their own kin."
However, Griselda seemed to know what Rhode was thinking. "Of course, you're a freelance mercenary, so as long as you don't cause any chaos, they won't go out of their way to target you. But I must remind you that the situation there is currently unstable. The Five Clans have been under attack recently; there are shadows of Fallen Angels and Witches involved. I've even heard there's a Longinus user there. So you'd better be careful and don't go getting yourself dragged into some troublesome mess."
Rhode was surprised. There was plot within the Five Principal Clans that he didn't know about? In the original story, weren't they only relevant through Akeno? Why were Fallen Angels and Witches popping up now?
"Didn't you just say they were exclusionary?"
"They are, but you need the strength to back up your exclusion. Forget the ones hiding in the shadows—even the Devils have built several Grand Hotels there. Search online for the 'Devil Grand Hotel'; the one with the highest rating is it."
"And Heaven?"
"We have one too, right across from the Devil Grand Hotel. Our rating is the same as theirs."
Rhode was genuinely stunned. This was a literal mid-gate duel between the two factions? And what happened to the "exclusionary" Five Principal Clans?
It felt like they were "exclusionary" on the surface but simply lacked the power to actually exclude anyone.
After hanging up with Griselda, Rhode marveled at the mysterious ways the world worked. At the same time, he pondered the internal situation of the Five Clans. No matter how much he thought about it, aside from Akeno, there was only the prequel plot.
But if that were the case, wouldn't the timeline be a mess?
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My : https://[email protected]/AuAuMon
High School DxD : Reincarnated into the Multiverse, but it's High School DxD (63 Chapters – Ongoing)
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