Chapter 57 : rather petty.

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I've gone through many difficult choices to keep myself from getting this level of investigations from Rias to continue.

I had to make sure that nothing could have given necessity for those to persist even after the situation with Asia was settled, knowing full well that there were plenty of issues that should have kept the redhead away from harassing me to this degree.

But the subdued manner which saw me now subjected to this close attempt was also proof that it wasn't something instigated by Sona possibly telling her partner about my real predicament.

It wouldn't have been so subtle, it wouldn't have been so informal. Despite the lingering arrogance of having a perfect childhood, Rias was by no mean shy to employ formal customs to interact with possible threats like me.

But there was no invitation, in fact I was pretty sure that it wasn't anything about my secret identity that had sparked such a renewed intered.

I was still annoyed to find out with the direct presence of Akeno for this Art Contest that this was possibly still connected about the 'Asia Debacle', as I had almost forgotten to take into account the fact that Rias was still… rather petty.

Before the Phenex Arc, the heiress to the Gremory Clan was pretty much an entitled brat with a sweetening coat of kindness and good manners that kept people from perceiving this major flaw of hers.

The redhead was genuinely concerned about those around her, but the way she tried to approach people that sparked some interest to her and her lack of concrete social skills at dealing with the simple student she knew nothing about were good enough reasons to create an unhealthy process to deal with everyone around her that wasn't part of her peerage or her family.

And while I was humanizing this aspect of her mind, I wasn't certainly going to let some spoiled girl get a freebie by stepping on me so suddenly and so blatantly.

I was logically compelled to avoid direct confrontations, but I wasn't going to shy away from the opportunity to offer some retaliation at the girl.

"What is your best quality, the one thing that you are best for this kind of tasks?" I decided that to avoid getting stuck with this young woman for too long, I needed to put my head on what I had to do and avoid the rest.

"I'm fine with coloring. I hope this is not a problem for you, Hoitsu-kun-"

"Hoitsu-san, I don't remember extending any familiarity with you, Akeno-san."

Her smile twitched with some visible hesitation, but I had most of my attention of the white paper as I started to draw the first lines of the subject I had in mind for this contest with a soft pencil.

For a few moments there was some pleasant silence that allowed me to properly design the basis of the drawing I had planned to accomplish, while also giving me some time to elaborate a couple of defensive deflections or anything I could use in any odd conversations with the Yamato Nadeshiko sitting beside me.

The Fallen Angel-Devil hybrid took this time to actually glance both at me as I focused on the drawing, and the drawing itself since the first few hints about my subject started to appear.

"You are drawing Sensei?" The Queen of Rias' peerage inquired with a surprised but interested tone.

"I remember hearing from some members of the council that she was supposed to retire during this year," I replied carefully, employing the silly reasoning I had elaborated first thing first, my eyes still glued to the paper "Seeing her unusually happy expression when she entered the classroom, I think she got some good news about it."

"You mean that she could be retiring any time now?" The dark-haired girl asked again, this time sadness dripping from her words. "I didn't know about this and… you want this to be a goodbye gift to her?"

I nodded, a soft humming coming from the young woman as she continued.

"That is kind of you."

Blinking I glanced up with a frown. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Only that I think this is the first unique act you have ever shown in Kuoh Academy."

As she finished with that statement, I found myself snorting amused and let my attention slip back to the lines I was defining to glance at her.

"That is quite the erroneous idea you have of me, Akeno-san." I remarked dryly, genuinely annoyed by the fact they hadn't kept tab over my recent actions here at school. "I think the fact I've been quite renowned for 'unique acts' ever since the beginning of this year."

She blinked at that comment. "Truly?"

"I've been helping Issei to detach himself from his former group of idiots," I started with a nod. "Then I helped Kunou-chan around the school, and I also gave Asia the opportunity to be part of the Club she best fit for."

She flinched at the last example, just as I had expected, but she managed to quickly form a frown to hide the butthurt over that bit.

"Rias only wanted to befriend Asia-chan-"

"-But she ended up getting her pushed away," I pointed out swiftly and mercilessly

A minor scowl appeared on Akeno's face. "Buchou has a good heart-"

"-But poor social capabilities when dealing with fellow students and peers her age," I interrupted once more, this time deciding to explain a little more. "It's fairly clear that, while not done consciously from her part, her attitude towards 'fascinating people' is somewhat childish. She has this idea that getting them on your club would suddenly be translated as instant friendship, without needing to expand further on that."

The female hybrid looked ready to protest at my analysis, but I wasn't finished.

"I understand that she had lived a sheltered life and that you were already there before you both started studying at Kuoh, but I think it's right to say this 'unpleasant' truth."

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