"Um... if it's okay with you, Issei-san..."
"Asia... are you really sure?"
"Yes... if it's with Issei-san... my first..."
"Or something like that!? Heh-heh-heh..."
While drinking tea and looking at Asia's body, Issei began entertaining indecent fantasies. Even today, he was still a gentleman—meaning a pervert.
"Issei-san?"
"Ah, n-nothing. More importantly, this Church is pretty old. Are you sure it's okay?"
"Yes, it is rather old, but as long as I can pray to the Lord, I'm satisfied."
"You're very devout..."
He had tried to make a move, but every conversation kept drifting back to the Lord, so there was nothing he could do. And so—
"Well then, I'm busy today, so I should be going."
"Yes, please come again! I'm sure the Lord will hear the prayers of someone like Issei-san!"
"Ah... yeah... then..."
In truth, he had no interest in religion at all. If anything, he had a prejudice that religious people were like cultists. But because the other party was a cute girl like Asia, he had ended up coming all the way to the Church. And after leaving, thinking he had struck out completely, Issei muttered to himself—
"It's fine, there's always tomorrow! I'm definitely going to do lewd things with Asia-chan!!"
...At this point, you could probably call it an illness. Or rather, it was getting to the point where one had to worry he might actually commit a crime soon.
- Kuoh Academy, old school building -
The Occult Research Club, led by Rias Gremory and monopolizing the old school building, was in truth a false front. By day, they were students; by night, they operated as devils from this hideout. And right now, Rias Gremory was drinking tea in the clubroom with Akeno, her vice president.
"Akeno, what were the results of your surveillance?"
"Nothing much on my end. How about yours, President?"
Hyoudou Issei, the second-year who had recently caught Rias's eye—he had already been someone she had marked as a candidate for a Sacred Gear user, and the recent Fallen Angel attack had only strengthened her conviction. Then, after he suddenly vanished from the clubroom, she became certain he was no ordinary human. She was sure he had activated some kind of Sacred Gear of a fairly high rank. Compared to the other high-ranking devils, Rias was short on servants, so she wanted to increase her numbers. And she wanted Hyoudou Issei, the one who had awakened a Sacred Gear, as part of her own peerage.
"Nothing on my side either. To slip past our surveillance this easily, he really isn't an ordinary human."
It was only natural. The way he used the Flying Thunder God Technique like breathing made tracking him impossible unless someone had a locator on him. Akeno seemed to understand this too, and every morning she had been waiting at the spot where Issei had marked the old school building. But after he disappeared from the clubroom recently, he had never shown himself there again, and in the end Rias had chosen another method.
"Ufufu, so you really do like that boy that much, Rias?"
"...Yes, his Sacred..."
At Akeno's question, as if she were asking why Rias seemed so fixated on Issei, Rias paused with her teacup raised, then took another sip and answered. And the method she had chosen was—
"Kyaaa! Rias-senpai!"
"Rias-senpai?! For real!?"
"Is this Class 2-C?"
"Yes! Rias-senpai!"
"Kyaa~ Rias onee-sama~!"
The moment Rias appeared in the second-year classroom, it was instantly thrown into chaos. And Issei, who had been sprawled over his desk enjoying a blissful nap during break, opened his eyes at the sudden commotion and saw—
"Hello. Long time no see."
"R-Rias-senpai!?"
There she was: Rias, scattering her long, beautiful crimson hair before him. His eyes widened, and at the same time, from Issei's seated angle, the sight of Rias's ample chest standing before him entered his field of vision.
"Senpai's chest is dangerous!"
There was something he should have been thinking about now that she had come all the way to his classroom, but he forgot everything and started snorting through his nose.
"Do you have a minute? I'd like to talk."
"Talk...? Heh-heh-heh..."
"I'd like to speak somewhere quiet, just the two of us."
"Y-Yes! Understood!"
"Then come with me."
At Rias's suggestion, he sprang to his feet, saluted like a soldier, and obediently followed the soft, gentle scent drifting from her. And where they arrived was—
"..."
The Occult Research Club's clubroom.
Only then did Issei regain his senses.
"Eek! I followed her again without thinking! Is she going to invite me to become a devil again? Ah, but if I can keep seeing Senpai's chest... No! What am I thinking? Becoming a devil is—"
He had the [Rinnegan] and the Ten-Tails, and being human was exactly what made things good right now. There was no way he would give up being human so easily. And when Rias noticed that Issei's gaze was fixed on her chest, she smiled faintly and said,
"You really do like girls' breasts, don't you?"
"! N-No, not really..."
"You were touching the chest of the Fallen Angel who tried to kill you, so there's no need to make excuses. It's not strange for boys your age to like girls' breasts."
"Yes! I love breasts the most!—No! I'm sorry!"
At what sounded like encouragement, he blurted out his true feelings without thinking, then hurriedly tried to cover for himself.
"That aside, I called you here because I wanted to ask you something."
Rias seized the opening while he was still confused and asked her question. And then—
"Y-Yes! Ask me anything!"
As expected, Issei was utterly weak in front of breasts... though the real reason was probably that his imagination had already started running wild with thoughts of getting to do lewd things.
"You... no, it's awkward to keep calling you that. Would it be all right if I called you Issei?"
"Yes! Of course! In fact, I'd be honored if you did!"
"Ufufu, I see, Issei. Then let me ask you this: first, could you show me your Sacred Gear?"
"My Sacred Gear...? I'm sorry, but I don't think I can bring it out yet... More importantly, I'm not even sure whether it's really inside my body or not..."
As he spoke, Issei realized something was wrong. That's right—he had been so captivated by Rias's chest that he had answered honestly without thinking through the situation at all. Or rather, when Rias stepped right up in front of him—
"Ufufu, you're an interesting boy, Issei. Then what was that power that disappeared in front of us?"
"U-Um... well...? It's... some kind of science technique, maybe..."
With her chest right in front of him, he couldn't think of a single excuse. He was completely helpless; his thoughts had frozen in front of those breasts, and all he could see was Rias's huge chest. In the end—
"I-I guess it'd be fine to tell her!? Whatever, I don't care... no, wait! Just [Shadow Clone Technique]..."
He decided to run, and just as he was about to form the hand sign—
"Eh...? Senpai? Uuummph!"
"Ufufu, you're not going anywhere until you answer."
She wrapped him up in both arms and held him in place. And when his face was buried in the forbidden territory, in that great, soft domain, Issei's mind stopped dead—even though he hadn't been caught in a [Sharingan] genjutsu.
"Senpai's chest! My face is in it!! The chest is amazing! The chest!! Rias-senpai's chest is incredible!"
The more he struggled to break free, the tighter Rias's embrace became. Naturally, Issei knew that and thrashed as hard as he could on purpose.
"Pffft!"
In the end, he blasted a huge spray of blood from his nose and then collapsed—no, ascended, perhaps—that's what they say happened...
"This is..."
"Are you awake?"
"Senpai... th-this is!"
When he opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling and turned toward the voice, there were two enormous peaks right there. Beyond them was Rias, smiling brightly at him.
"A lap pillow?!"
"Sorry. I was holding you too tightly."
With a view so breathtaking it was rare to ever see once in a lifetime, and with that soft sensation, Issei wondered if this was heaven. Well, the real reason he had fainted was something else, but let's keep it a secret that he decided to count it as this instead without hesitation.
"I guess I was too hasty. I'm really sorry, Issei. I won't force you anymore."
"Um... Senpai, why are you so interested in me?"
"Like I said before, to strengthen my forces. I need your power for my goal. But I hurt you because of my selfishness, so... I won't pressure you anymore."
"Senpai..."
Issei could only stare at Rias as she apologized so politely over something that wasn't even a big deal. If she really were the kind of devil he had imagined, then while he was unconscious, she would have done something to him. But Rias had taken care of him. She was clearly more like a kind person than a devil. Maybe devils were just like humans—each one different. Just as sometimes humans could be more devilish than devils, there might also be devils who were more human than humans. The devils in this place seemed very different from the devils he had imagined. Looking at Rias before him, he found himself thinking that.
"Senpai... I didn't refuse because I hate your invitation. It's just... becoming something other than human..."
"So that's how it was..."
In the end, Issei also laid bare his honest feelings, and Rias had no choice but to accept them. She had no intention of forcing a child who didn't want to become a devil into becoming one.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"N-No, it's my fault for not explaining properly, so I think I caused a misunderstanding. I should be the one apologizing!"
"Issei... Ufufu, even if you complain, I'd have no excuse, but... you really are kind."
Rias Gremory was kind. Even though he had said he would not become her servant, and they might no longer have any connection—or might even become enemies—she still apologized for no real reason and considered his feelings. Of course, this was still based on the fact that Rias Gremory remained interested in Hyoudou Issei.
"Even if I can't become your servant, can I still come by sometimes?"
"Didn't you dislike devils?"
"No... at first I was scared because of the bad rumors about devils floating around, but after seeing Senpai, my prejudice against devils disappeared. I just didn't want to become something other than human. And thanks to Senpai, I think I'll be able to get along with the other devils too."
"Ufufu, if that's the case, you're welcome anytime, Issei."
At Issei's confession, Rias answered with a smile.
"By the way, there's one thing I'm curious about."
"Yes?"
"If it wasn't your Sacred Gear activating, then what was that moving power?"
"..."
It had already been exposed that the Sacred Gear hadn't activated after all. And since he no longer wanted to lie, Issei said,
"The truth is..."