[4]

Swallowing that thing without a second thought was probably one of the dumbest ideas I've had since waking up in this body.

Sure, now I have a tool that can help me grow stronger—this Twice Critical Sacred Gear—but it's also incredibly suspicious. Azazel handing it over without warning, without a price? That's not how these things work.

Could it be some kind of tracking device? A way to monitor me in real time?

—Sigh— "Well, whatever. It's useful, at least."

I glanced around and realized I was standing in the middle of my backyard. With a shrug, I summoned my wings and flew up to the window of my room, slipping inside like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Collapsing onto the bed, I stared at the ceiling with a complicated expression.

What the hell am I supposed to do when Kokabiel shows up?

He's not just strong—he's on a completely different level. A monster I currently have no way of matching.

Unless I start breaking the rules of the game entirely using my knowledge.

Now that I have this Twice Critical, I might be able to enhance it—if I managed to get my hands on Raynare's corpse, for instance. Could I modify one of my Sacred Gears to function as a battery that stores holy energy? If that worked, I could potentially bypass most of the trouble with Raiser. Just fry the bastard with light-based attacks until there's nothing left but ashes.

But against Kokabiel? I'd need either the Boosted Gear or to push the Twice Critical into a full Balance Breaker.

Too much to do in too little time.

What a messed-up life I've found myself in.

It's been two full months since I woke up in this body.

Everything's been strangely calm. I've crossed the park where Issei supposedly met Asia dozens of times by now, and I haven't seen a trace of her.

Maybe it'll still happen. Maybe fate's just being fashionably late.

In the meantime, I've been training like a madman. With what little I have and some minimal help from Azazel, I've developed a brutal routine—pushing my body to its limits every day, resting just enough to avoid collapse, then doing it all over again.

The results are… acceptable.

I can say with some confidence that I'm getting close to Raynare's level—or at least I will be, as long as she doesn't have Twilight Healing backing her up.

At least I'm getting there, I thought, jogging through my usual route.

I've stuck to a simple system: exercise until I drop, recover, repeat. My time at home has been minimal because of it.

Still, it's paying off. I'm far stronger than when I started—maybe even comparable to a mid-class devil now. Although... that's mostly speculation.

Lately, I've been seeing more and more street-level devils who were supposed to be weak class-lowers suddenly flexing power they shouldn't have.

It's unsettling.

Anyway, Rias stopped making me hand out those dumb flyers weeks ago. I've even got a few regular contracts under my belt now.

I just wish that damn magical girl would leave me alone already.

"—And that's how I discovered my love for boobs."

It was getting late. The sun had dipped low in the sky, throwing long shadows through the clubhouse windows.

To kill time, I'd been chatting with Kiba. We were swapping stories, hobbies—general small talk to pass the the wait.

Rias had instructed us to stay behind after club hours today. Someone important was supposed to show up.

Would've been nice if she just told us to show up an hour before instead of having us wait here for six.

—Sigh— I could go for a coffee.

"Something on your mind, Issei?"

Kiba's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I shook my head, offering a half-smile.

"Not really. Just wondering who this important person is that Buchou's waiting for."

He nodded and glanced toward Rias, who was flipping through some documents with an air of seriousness.

And damn… those reading glasses really suit her.

"I get what you mean," Kiba said. "It's rare to see Buchou looking this intense."

We both sighed in quiet solidarity. I turned my eyes to Koneko, who—as always—was going to town on a mountain of sweets.

"How are you not sick yet? You've been eating nonstop for hours."

She raised an eyebrow, glancing at me with the expression of someone silently asking, 'And who the hell are you to talk?'

"I could ask you the same thing. Don't you ever get tired of sexually harassing—"

"Ever since becoming a devil, I stopped doing that. Don't accuse me without evidence," I cut in sharply, a flicker of irritation in my voice.

"I get that I used to be an idiot, but now I'm trying to be better—or at least presentable. Can't go embarrassing my master in front of other devils, can I?"

She stared at me in silence for a moment.

Thankfully, Kiba stepped in before the atmosphere could sour.

"Alright, you two, calm down. We all know Ise-kun's trying to change."

Koneko sighed and resumed munching on her sweets, gaze distant.

Hmph. What a mess.

Wait... did Kiba just speak like we were more than two people? That was weird.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, a magic circle flared to life in the center of the room.

Judging by the symbols, it belonged to Lucifer.

…

Oh joy. The sis-con has arrived to mess with my sanity.

Just what I needed.

What a bastard.

"I heard my little sister had acquired a new piece, so I couldn't resist coming to meet him."

The man who stepped forward radiated authority. Long crimson hair, features so perfect they made me uncomfortable.

Beautiful—too beautiful, honestly.

He looked entirely European, which was strange considering his sister, Rias, had clear Asian influences in her appearance.

Do demon genetics work differently?

Interesting.

I sighed quietly, keeping my expression neutral as I looked the literal Satan in the eyes.

"Lord Lucifer, it's an honor to meet you in person," I said respectfully, bowing slightly.

"I am Hyoudou Issei, the humble Pawn of Rias Gremory."

There was a beat of silence. He was clearly surprised by my behavior—probably because he'd done some digging before coming here.

That means he knows the original me.

Which begs the question: what's his real reason for coming?

I doubt it's just to meet one new servant. I'm not important enough for that.

Hell, I haven't even met Asia yet.

"You're quite polite. Very different from what I've heard about you," he said, voice calm but probing.

So he does admit to researching me. How kind.

"Well, let's just say I can adapt to the situation, Lord Lucifer," I replied, still wearing my composed mask.

Sirzechs turned to his sister. "Do you mind if I borrow him for a few minutes?"

Rias nodded, seemingly unbothered.

God, that sounded way too suggestive.

"You had an encounter with Azazel. Explain."

His tone shifted completely. Gone was the polite older brother. Now, I was face to face with the Demon King.

I gave a short laugh, trying not to look intimidated.

"He kidnapped me. Isn't it obvious? The guy got curious, I guess."

I met his gaze, keeping my cool.

The more nervous I looked, the more this guy would dig.

There's no way I'm telling him about the soul transfer. Not yet. Not until I've secured my nun.

"That still doesn't explain why you didn't report it to your master," came a sharp voice—Grayfia.

"I didn't think it was necessary. He didn't do anything to me," I said, keeping my voice as even as possible.

In hindsight, yeah, it looked bad. The factions weren't exactly friendly right now. And me walking into the fallen angels' base like I owned the place didn't help optics.

Sirzechs looked thoughtful. I decided to push back a little.

"Lord Lucifer, maybe this is an opportunity to improve relations with the fallen faction. Even if it's not, I could try to gather intel while staying in contact."

I launched my argument, already running through possible counterpoints in my head.

There was no response at first. Just a cold stare.

Then…

"You're quite interesting, Issei."

An overwhelming pressure slammed into me, nearly driving me to my knees. Instinctively, the Twice Critical activated, pushing energy through my body to help me stay standing.

I looked up at him, and somehow my face was defiant.

"It's rare to see someone your age think so analytically. I expected far less from you. Apparently, I'll need to keep an eye on your potential."

Blah, blah, blah.

He can say what he wants. The idiot doesn't realize I can teleport to Azazel the second things go south.

"I—I'm just… being r-rational," I managed to say, my knees trembling slightly.

"Pawn, I hope you're not planning anything foolish."

And just like that, the pressure vanished. Sirzechs and Grayfia walked out without another word.

…

What a bastard.