The Agreement 

[Early Morning — Kuoh Main Street]

{Issei Hyoudou}

I feel like a zombie.

Unable to think, unable to eat, unable to sleep.

Every night I go to bed and pray to God to let me sleep without nightmares.

But no.

Every night, I see those eyes.

I hear that voice.

And every night, I get yelled at and cursed by a demonic dragon about my life.

About what I could have been and what I ended up as.

A few times, I argued, gathering the courage to fight back and defend my life story.

At times, I was forced to want to change the way I was living.

Change my views, stop thinking about girls, focus on my body, mind, and future.

But the voice says it's too late.

`By the time you reach the starting line, your prime age will have passed,` it said.

It mocked me, reminding me that I was a failure. The scum of the earth, worthless and unneeded.

I was losing motivation and my will.

I was forcing myself to change, only to feel that it was all for nothing.

I couldn't eat, fearing I would get fat.

I couldn't sleep, hearing insults and fearing I was losing time to improve.

I couldn't think, my mind replaying scenarios of me wasting my life.

What am I doing?

Why am I even going to class?

I wasn't learning anything, gaining anything.

I just went to look at the girls, making a mockery of myself, getting insulted, and called a pervert.

Is this the life I want?

Maybe the draconic eyes are right. I shouldn't have been born. Someone better should have been the child of my parents.

At least then they could have been proud.

But now?

Now they can only be embarrassed in front of their friends and neighbors.

"Issei?"

Once again, I heard a voice I didn't wish to hear.

"You are early today."

Reo Takeda.

I hated this guy.

Not because he was bad or did something necessarily bad for me.

No, instead he was a good guy. At times he called the student council on me, but it was because he was following the rules and needed to do that for the girls.

But no, that's not why I hate him.

I hate him for another reason.

"What's wrong with your eyes, dude?" He ran towards me. "How long haven't you gotten a good night's sleep? Those dark circles are concerning."

I hate him because he is perfect.

I hate him because I wish I were like him.

"I just haven't been able to sleep well. I believe it's called insomnia."

He wasn't like Kiba, the guy who stood out even among a crowd of handsome men.

No.

He was a guy who would get ignored if he stood alongside even just five people.

But I desired that.

Being good at communication, being respected, being good at sports, being good at studies, being liked by everyone.

He had the perfect life.

He was Kiba, but better.

Because attention can get tiresome, and when it came to Reo—everyone lacked attention, yet he possessed everything that Kiba did.

The perfect life.

"Dude, I am hella cornered." He said, and I don't think he was acting.

He was a genuine guy.

And I hated that.

"Have you seen a doctor?"

"No," I said. "Not yet."

I had been ignoring him after the Fallen Angels incident.

The incident had awoken something in me. It made me realize that no one was truly interested in me. People only saw me as filth.

And this suspicion was confirmed by the dragon that haunted my dreams.

And Reo…

He was strong.

He was like those superheroes.

Hidden in plain sight, yet helping everybody.

I just hated him the more I thought about how good he was.

"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked. "If you're not willing to go to a doctor, then at least we can go to the school nurse."

I just didn't want to go with him.

I just wanted to live my life.

I just…

I don't know what I want.

"It's fine," I said. "I'll go to the convenience store first. I feel like drinking something before going to class."

He looked at me, skeptical.

"As long as you're alright, man," he sighed. "Just take care. And tell me if you need anything—"

Yet saying this, he paused for a second, looked at me, and then around us.

"Are you okay, dude?" This time I was the one to ask.

"Y-Yeah, I just felt like someone called me," he scratched his head. "I must be imagining it."

I guess everyone is going crazy.

As I stared at him, he shook his head and took a deep breath.

"Anyhow, I'll get going. But do call me if you need any help," he said. "And don't worry about the Fallen thing; it's sorted now. You won't be hunted by anyone."

"Thanks, Reo." I gave a fake smile. "I won't ask who they were or what the situation was, but as long as everything is fine, I trust you."

I don't.

I can't.

"Alright, man. Take care."

Saying this, he tried running off to the Academy.

And I stood staring at his back, wondering.

You helped me not get hunted by the Fallen, but what about me being haunted by a dragon?

Are you responsible for that too?

…

…

[Sometime Later — Occult Research Club, Kuoh Academy]

"Y-You mean it?" I heard Rias' voice. It sounded excited, cheerful, and shocked.

She had just heard something that gave her hope.

And it was something I was hoping for too.

But I sat opposite her, confused and still wondering.

What?

And why?

{Quest: Tame The Dragon}

{Warning: Prerequisites not met.

Reo must complete the prerequisites to attempt this quest.}

{Prerequisites: Sixth Sense (Requirement Fulfilled), Magical Physique (Requirement Fulfilled), ??? (Requirement Unfulfilled), ??? (Requirement Unfulfilled), ??? (Requirement Unfulfilled)}

{Rewards: Magic of Beast Taming, Blood Magic, ???}

It was by far my biggest quest, with the highest rewards.

But it also had prerequisites that I didn't even know about.

It's all question marks, and I have no idea what those requirements could be.

And one of the rewards is not even stated.

Just how difficult is this quest?

And what dragon?

Where will I find it?

However, looking at all those rewards—three for one quest, and it didn't even have an additional condition—it was providing all three for just one.

Magic of Beast Taming was straightforward.

But Blood Magic wasn't.

How do I use it?

Do I spill blood and control it? Manipulate it and the properties of blood? Or is it something like a blood sacrifice ritual?

I was confused, so very confused.

And I would figure it out soon.

But for now, I needed to focus on this discussion.

The quest wasn't going anywhere. And looking at all the conditions, I could say it would stay for a long time.

"Riser agreed to face you even if you have Reo Takeda fighting on your behalf," Grayfia said. I truly wondered what magic she used, but it worked. The jerk who didn't even want to be in my presence now wanted to face me. "Yet he will not allow anyone who is a devil or already in another peerage to be swapped or loaned to you for this fight."

Grayfia Lucifuge, the wife of the Satan himself, explained the situation.

"He will only allow Reo to fight with you, or you will have to find other humans with gear to fight for you." She handed over a letter. "That has all the details and even has the approval of Lord Gremory and Lord Phenex."

Rias quickly took the paper from Grayfia and hastily read it.

"T-This is real," she whispered. "I cannot believe it."

"It is real," Grayfia assured. "But you have to hurry. You need to find more people if you can, and you need to train as well. Neither you nor your peerage has formally trained for a rating game. And I dare say that if you don't start practicing now, you will not win even with more people on board."

That was true.

No matter how many people you have, sheer numbers cannot always win against strategy.

And if the opposition has both strategy and numbers—which I believe Riser does—you can forget about winning against them.

Rias still had a chance, but she needed to train.

I needed to train.

And I guess Rias understood that well.

"We will train," she looked at me. "Me, Akeno, Kiba, Koneko, Reo, and Asia will train for this match."

Asia?

I wasn't sure about it, but knowing her, she would jump at the chance to help Rias.

"When do we start?" I asked, curious about how she plans to train us.

"We train… NOW!"

Well…

That's quick.

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