DxD : A New Hero : Chapter 22

Sona looked down and her face, that was slowly begin to return to its normal colour, flushed red again when she noticed that she was still in the hip thrust position and quickly straightens herself out.

...

I gave a few more seconds to collect herself before I asked "So, what happened? It must have been something big for you to act so excited this early in the morning, and what does it have to with Gremory?"

By this time Sona had that strict librarian persona back firmly in place, only the slight dusting of her checks gave away any signs of emotion. But let's be honest, after seeing her behave like that I'm never going to fall for her strict act again.

She gave a single cough into her fist before speaking, "Yes actually, I just received some rather startling news." 

She made her way towards the table that held coffee and tea supplies. "And it would be more accurate to say 'someone' happened rather than something."

"Oh," feeling my interest peak despite myself, "and who is this someone?"

"Hyoudou Issei."

Just like that my mood plummeted. Ever since I had left that meeting with the Gremory, I've been trying to keep my thoughts off that name as I best I could. It was no use, no matter how much I threw myself into my work or tried distract myself with Asia's antics, that name kept coming back to haunt me. 

It reached the point where I just gave up trying to sleep and decided to get some extra work done instead. That was actually the reason why I was up so early.

In my head I went over all the different things I could have done, all the possible consequences and scenarios that would result in my actions. And each time I ran the numbers I found that I could have done nothing.

Even if you ignore all outside matters like my mission and Serafall, there was still no good option. Had I ran out of the club room and tried to track Issei down I wouldn't have been able to find him. 

I wasn't stupid and I knew that the Gremory wasn't either. I do not know for sure if she meant to set up the meeting at that time or if she just got lucky, but I had no doubt that she took advantage of the fact.

Issei was supposed to be having his date with the Fallen at this very day. Considering how early the sun sets at this time of year and the Japanese student curfew laws, it probably meant that they went out on the date right after school. 

That I couldn't sense a single familiar the entire time I was there just confirmed my suspicions. They were probably sent to scout the two and summon their masters once it was time.

This city may not have been the biggest one around but it still had well over half a million people living in it, not to mention I still was unfamiliar with the area. 

The odds of me finding him in time were slim to none. Since the date was taking place outside of Devil territory I couldn't even use the Bounded Fields to help me find them, not that I would have even been able to do so as I wasn't registered to use them.

Even if I got to Issei in time, then what?

Tell him that his girlfriend is trying to kill him? What are the odds of him believing me? Fallen Angels are known as the most charming and manipulative of the three races for a reason. 

All she had to do was shed a few crocodile tears and Issei would think of me as someone that was harassing his girlfriend.

The best I could do it wait for her to try to kill him then save him. Which in the worst case scenarios could have led to a fight between me and the Fallen, plus whatever comrades she may have with her right in the middle of a populated area. Best case scenario I rescues Issei without a serious fight but what should I do with him afterwards?

Rias had already said that she wouldn't take Issei into her Peerage without a better hold over him and his loyalty. That however wasn't entirely true; it would be more accurate to say that she couldn't recruit him without more proof of his obedience. 

After the Valantime incident Reincarnated Devils who were Longinus users and their masters were banned from entering the underworld unless special permission was given from all the major governing bodies.

While they couldn't prevent a Devil from reincarnating a Longinus user, all Devils have the right to reincarnate whoever they wished, they could keep them out. 

After what happened when the first and only Longinus user was reincarnated, they had no trouble enacting the law as they had the full support of the entire Underworld. 

Which is why she went to them for permission for this plan instead of acting it out on her own.

If I had saved Issei there was a distinct possibility that Rias may not want him in her Peerage anymore. She said it herself; until she reincarnated him he was just any ordinary human to her, there was no guarantee that she would be willing to stick her neck out for him.

I couldn't reincarnate him either. He was already claimed by Rias and that claim was recognized by both the Elder Council and Sirzechs. 

I had no idea what would happened if I did try to add him to my peerage but it wouldn't have been pretty. I would have been charged with theft from a Clan Heir and imprisoned at a minimum.

If I couldn't make him a part of my Peerage then there was no way I can protect Issei, not for long anyway. The Fallen Angels have already marked him for dead, they would be forced to leave him be if he was a Devil but as a human he was more or less free game. 

Not to mention how many other groups will be after him once they realized he was the wielder of the Boosted Gear. By the end of a month he would be just as dead if I had simply left him to the Fallen.

That's not even taking into account Vali finding out about him and hunting him down.

And that was ignoring the political consequences of it. I was the Maou's Queen; if I had attempted to save Issei from Rias it would have appeared that the Leviathan was attempting to steal a Longinus user from the Lucifer's sister. I did not even want to think the mess that would make. Political turmoil would have been putting it lightly.

That's not mentioning the purpose of my mission here. The enemies of the three factions, or at the least enemies of the current ceasefire between them, are beginning to move. 

The odds of war coming is rising with each passing day and me acting would only make Devil Faction more unstable than it already is, weakening it even more for the upcoming war. 

There was also the fact that I couldn't protect Sona and Gremory from him if I couldn't work with them. Intervening with Issei would throw any hope of that happening away.

Then there was Ilya.

I'm not sure what would happen to her if I was drawn in to this whole mess. As long as I remind in good standing in the Devil community no one would dare touch her. However if I made myself an enemy of the Gremorys and the Elder Council, then I had no idea what would happen to her. 

I knew Serafall would do her best to protect her no matter what but there was even a limit even to what she can do. That she needed my help to protect her own sister was proof of that.

I saw Ilya die.

I saw the moment her final breath left her body. I felt her once warm face go cold beneath my hands. I heard her heartbeat slow beat by painful beat until it went silent in her chest. I listened as she said her final goodbye, whisper her final I love you. Then she died.

Even when I had lost Saber, it didn't hurt this much. Not even when Kiritsugu died, I didn't cry so much.

But now she was alive, truly alive. Not like how she used to be. Back then, though I did not realize it, the smiles she used to give me were never carefree ones. 

It was a smile of someone who knew her time was limited and didn't want to waste a single moment of it. 

So while the joy they held was no lie, it felt as if she was desperately collecting each and every smile as if they were treasures to be horded. Because if she missed even a single one, she would never find another chance to replace the one she lost.

It wasn't until I saw her give me her first genuine smile did I noticed how different they were.

Her smiles now were carefree ones, a smile of someone who has a lifetime to live and knows it. When she found out that she was going to live, that she no longer had to have the fear of death constants hanging over her, she broken down for the first time since I met her. Somehow sobbing and laughing at the same time.

I saw Ilya die once; I will not let that happen again. Not now, not after she went through so much and only had finally begun to live her life. To protect her life and her happiness I will do almost anything.

To save that smile, I had to sit back and watch a boy die.

Sometimes I really hated myself.

"It's really bothering you, isn't it?" a voice jolted me out of my thoughts.

I looked up to find Sona seated in a chair that she had pulled up next to me. She was watching me with worried eyes over the frames of her glasses.

I gave her wane smile, "Is it that obvious?"

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