Chapter 11 : Kiba

A day quickly passed, and Kalawanar and Asia were walking home after buying groceries from a convenience store.

"Asia-chan, you really like Richard-sama, don't you?" Kalawanar asked teasingly, clearly enjoying messing with such a pure and innocent girl like Asia.

"Y-Yes… I really like Richard-san," Asia said, blushing intensely. She truly liked Richard — her life had changed ever since she met him. She had never felt this happy before.

"Then you'd better hurry up~," Kalawanar said.

"What do you mean, Kalawanar-san?" Asia asked.

"Richard-sama is strong and has a very generous personality. A man like that is always the top choice for women," Kalawanar explained.

"You're right, Richard-san is very kind, so I'm sure many people like him," Asia said, cheeks still red.

"My life used to be so tiring, but everything changed after I met Richard-sama. I really love the life I have now."

"And if you don't act quickly, I'll kidnap Richard-sama for myself," Kalawanar added playfully.

The two continued chatting until they were suddenly blocked by a somewhat familiar-looking boy — the same one who had come to the café earlier that day. A boy with average looks and brown hair: none other than Issei Hyoudou. Issei looked at Kalawanar and Asia with eyes filled with resolve.

"Huh? What's going on?" Kalawanar asked.

"Ah, customer-san. Is something wrong?" Asia said.

Issei took a deep breath to calm his nerves and then pointed at Asia.

"You bastard, let her go!" he shouted.

"Huh?" Kalawanar tilted her head, clearly confused by the situation.

"You're a fallen angel, right? You're after her because of her Sacred Gear, aren't you?" Issei said, having clearly overheard Rias and the others talking. But he'd misunderstood and assumed Kalawanar was trying to take advantage of Asia the same way Yuuma-chan had tricked him.

The memory made Issei furious. He had talked to Rias about it, but she only shook her head and told him nothing like that would happen. Still, Issei didn't believe her. His experience with fallen angels had left a bad taste in his mouth. In his eyes, Asia was a sweet, innocent girl, and Kalawanar was just trying to use her.

Mustering all his courage, Issei stood before the fallen angel to rescue Asia.

"U-Um, customer-san…" Asia looked puzzled, unsure why Issei was angry with them.

"Forget him, Asia-chan. He probably has some issues in his head," Kalawanar said, shaking her head in pity.

"I know you won't believe me right now, but I'll explain later. Just know I came here to help you," Issei said to Asia and summoned his Sacred Gear — a red gauntlet with a green gem at the center.

"I know what you're plotting — you're going to trick that girl and kill her when the time is right, aren't you? Let her go, or I'll be forced to use violence!" Issei warned, activating his Sacred Gear to double his power. He believed that, as a newly-reborn devil, he now stood a chance against a fallen angel.

However, Kalawanar didn't look impressed in the slightest. She just shrugged lazily.

"Do whatever you want, Gremory's servant."

"Then don't blame me!" Issei gritted his teeth and charged at her, but Kalawanar easily dodged and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying into a nearby wall.

Issei fell, groaning in pain. That one kick had left his whole body nearly paralyzed.

"Heh, Gremory's servant is so weak. Not surprising from a freshly-reborn devil," Kalawanar said with a bored tone. Then she suddenly smirked, walking up to whisper something in Issei's ear.

Issei's eyes widened as he stared at her, gritting his teeth in frustration at his own weakness.

'If only I had more power…'

"If you keep being like this, you're just going to shame your master. Looks like Gremory made a poor choice," Kalawanar said coldly.

"Shut the hell up!" Issei roared, and suddenly his gauntlet transformed.

Issei had awakened his Sacred Gear — one of the Longinus, capable of slaying gods — the Boosted Gear.

'…Just as Richard-sama predicted.' Kalawanar raised her eyebrows, clearly impressed by Issei's sudden awakening.

Far away, Rias was watching, surprised as well. She had secretly followed Issei to make sure he didn't do anything reckless. Since Kalawanar didn't seem to have ill intentions, she hadn't intervened. She also wanted Issei to experience firsthand how cruel and violent the supernatural world could be.

"I really hit the jackpot."

——

Meanwhile, Richard was at home, using the summoning paper Rias had given him. He dripped blood on it, and a summoning circle appeared. But he just sighed when the person who showed up again was Kiba.

"Hello again, Richard-san," Kiba said.

"Oh great, it's you again," Richard replied lazily.

"Seems like you weren't hoping to see me," Kiba scratched his head. He figured Richard wasn't thrilled to keep summoning a guy — it happened pretty often.

"I was hoping to summon that black-haired girl with the massive boobs, or at least the white-haired loli… But your presence isn't too bad," Richard said lazily while rummaging through his cabinet.

"You mean Akeno-senpai and Koneko-san," Kiba replied.

"Exactly. But I suppose you're not that bad either."

Richard finally found a notebook and pen, set them on the table, and went to get a drink for Kiba.

"So, what do you want to ask about today?" Kiba asked, sipping the tea.

"Well, I want to ask about your past~," Richard said cheerfully, ignoring Kiba's annoyed frown. But eventually, Kiba sighed and gave in. He figured Richard was just genuinely curious about devil stories. After a bit of thinking, he decided to open up.

Kiba started sharing his story. He had originally been an orphan named Isaiah. Taken in by the Church, he was chosen for the "Holy Sword Project" under the oversight of Valper Galilei. But when the project failed to show results, they decided to eliminate all the participants — including his friends.

Kiba developed an intense hatred for Holy Swords, especially Excalibur. After escaping with help from his friends, he succumbed to poison he had inhaled and died — until Rias found him and reincarnated him as her servant.

Kiba now looked deeply sad as he turned to see how Richard would react — only to find him clutching his stomach, laughing uncontrollably.

"Your master's a good person. You're really lucky… but Fffhahaha, destroy the Holy Sword, Hahahaha!" Richard laughed, waving his hand. "Sorry, sorry."

Kiba's eyes narrowed. Furious, he grabbed Richard by the collar and raised a fist to punch the guy who had laughed at his painful past.

"You bastard…" he growled.

But suddenly, he froze. He could feel a dangerous pressure coming from Richard's calm smile. Then he noticed the pen in Richard's hand — it was already pressed against his neck, drawing a bit of blood.

"Relax, my friend. I wasn't laughing at your misfortune~," Richard said, still smiling.

——

Later, Kiba returned to Rias's mansion, looking exhausted and with a troubled expression, as if he had just gone through something heavy.

Rias noticed his strange mood and spoke up.

"Is something wrong, Kiba-kun?"

Kiba paused at her voice, then tried to act normal as he turned to her.

"No, nothing's wrong, Rias-sama."

And that was the first time Kiba ever lied to his master — because of a strange little deal he made with Richard:

"Do you want to become my secret friend?"