I stared at the old school building we (Kiba, Amano and I) are walking towards behind the school. I have to admit it, the place is well-maintained and rather fitting for the hideout for supernatural beings. It has an air of mystery around it that would make unfamiliar people wary from entering the building.

Kiba finally broke the silence that had somehow fallen upon us "Buchou is here."

I didn't need to ask who her Buchou is, since the answer is pretty obvious. As we made our inside the building and up some stairs 2 the second floor, I can't help but feel a very dark energy. If I remember correctly, Gasper Vladi is currently sealed in a room because Gremory can't control his power and the elders are afraid that this might lead to an accident that'll kill the red head...

How stupid of the elder Devils, for not allowing the Trap to properly train his [Sacred Gear] and use its powers without the backlash of it suddenly going out of control, accidentally freezing his allies in the process. I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts and focused on the present.

We kept on walking before stopping before a specific room with a sign over the door: Occult Research Club

"Buchou, I have brought them." Kiba said to whomever was on the other side of the door.

There were a few seconds of waiting before a voice replied "Yes. Come in."

I followed the blonde-haired princess into the room. The entire room was covered in various signs, symbols and magic circles around the place, with a very large one right in the middle of the room. There were a couple of couches and desks scattered around the room.

Sitting on 1 of said couches sat is no other then the cute little white-haired girl named Koneko Tōjō, the mascot of the school, my former stalker and Gremory's current [Rook]. She has a sleepy expression as she continued eating her youkan. She turned to Kiba, Raynare and I as we entered the room, acknowledging our arrival.

Kiba walked forward and gestured slightly to me and the ravenete beside me "This is Raiga Kōjiro-kun and Yūma Amano-san."

Tōjō nodded to me, ignoring Raynare beside me "...Nice to meet you."

I nodded back, acknowledging her greeting in a rather lazy manner. The albino haired girl then return to her youkan.

"Why do I feel that I'm being ignored..." Raynare commented to herself, yet everyone else in the room no doubt heard her... I'm more surprised that she's not sensing the malice from the Devils in the room, especially from a certain someone. The resident Yamato Nadeshiko of the club, former Nephilim (Fallen/Angel-Human hybrid) and the other Great Lady, Akeno Himejima.

"It's nice that you came here, Raiga Kōjiro-kun." The boss of this little group said behind the biggest desk in the room, looking at Raynare and I (mostly towards the former) with a frown on her face with her arms resting on the desk "But I don't remember asking Yūma Amano-san to appear as well."

"She's sticking with me since I'm the only person that has the key to my house, so making her go back home would be useless." I replied casually before looking at the red head with narrowed eyes, having a rough guest on the reason why she called for me "So, what do you want from me?"

"A bet." Gremory said with a smile, causing me to raise an eyebrow at her in curiosity. I didn't expect that she would challenge me, but I can see what she want from winning the game "The loser has to fulfill the winner's wishes, no matter what it is. Simple as that."

"I know that part, but what is the challenge?" I asked while crossing my arms. A game of chess? I hope not since I'm not a good player and I tend to go with my instincts instead of my head. I'm a bit confident in my fighting prowess, even without using any of the [Class Cards] "If its something boring like chess then I won't play, since I have better things to do in my free time instead of participating in a stereo typical board game that wouldn't help me in the future."

"Chess is an important to Devils, since the game is the inspiration for the [Evils Pieces] and the [Rating Games]." Gremory replied with a glare... And here I thought that Sitri-san was the only chess lover in this school. She then closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself down, before looking back at me with a confident smirk "The challenge is to defeat 2 members of my peerage, Yumi and Koneko. If you fail, then you have to submit to my command and become my [Pawn]."

...This is certainly a different way of recruiting someone into her peerage, because it's always been the MC dying by the hand of the girl beside me and then the red head comes by and saves the MC like some kind of hero. Too bad that her's no hero, just a Devil that wants someone with a power to free her from the marriage between her and Raiser Phenex.

"2 Devils against a single human, huh?" I replied with a calm and slightly bored expression on my face, getting surprised expressions from everyone in the room right now "I kinda expected this kind of think from someone desperate from you, a greedy Devil, but I'll play your little game." This got even more surprised expressions from them, while I saw the glint within Gremory's eyes. They are the kind that thought they've won... Too bad, because I have no intentions of losing my freedom to you.

"Kōjiro..." Raynare muttered in disbelief.

"The reward that I want is that you stop your little plans on integrating me into your little ragtag group, because I want nothing to do with the problems that your race has been involved with the other Pantheons or your own problems." I replied coldly.

"Deal." Gremory agreed with a confident grin... She's confident on the skills of her servants, but she never seen me fight before.

This is going to be good.

_________________________________________

The group and I stood an open field behind the old school building, with Kiba and Tōjō standing a few feet away from where I stood. The observers are at the sides, and only Raynare wasn't smiling right now for obvious reasons.

"Are you all ready?" Gremory asked, acting as the referee of this little match. I have to beat the Devils before they take me seriously, since they'll no doubt underestimate me since I'm just a simple human (maybe an amateur magician) in there eyes.

[Hai.] Kiba and Tōjō replied, while I just nodded in agreement.

"Then begin!"

The moment those words came out from the red head's mouth, I instantly appeared in front of Kiba by using [Mana Burst] as a booster. I saw her eyes widen when she saw me up close, but I didn't allows her to even react before striking the blonde [Knight] in the solar plexus with a reinforced punch, adding in a slightly weak [Mana Burst] to blow her towards a tree.

The tree broke off just near the roots and fell down from colliding with Kiba's body. I didn't need to check if she's unconscious since she's the glass cannon of her team, easy to take down with a powerful strike. After all, she's the most fragile of them right now, unless Gremory can get her hands on Asia or release Vladi from his room imprisonment "1 down..." I said out loud, snapping Tōjō out of her shock "1 more to go."

I saw my Kōhai run towards her in a speed that fits her size and weight... I don't know if my D+ STR would be enough to harm her because of the physical enhancements of the [Rook Piece], but I have to try and see how would it fair against her.

I dodged a left hook before I retaliate with a reinforced jab to the face, causing Tōjō to stagger slightly but she immediately went back to attacking me... Sometimes I hate the fact that I can't see my opponent's HP while in or out of combat. It would make things easier for me since I know when my opponent is about to die or not.

I evaded a kick, and I used the opening to grab her leg before throwing her at a tree. While the [Rook Piece] does make her stronger, it doesn't affect her overall weight because it's just a magical enhancement from an [Evil Piece].

Amusingly, similar to an actual cat, she landed on tree trunk in all four without any problem and then jumped towards me in order to continue our fight. I skipped back a few steps when I realised that she was actually aiming at the ground and not me, which broke like glass from the cat's powerful punch before she took a large piece from the ground and fling it at my direction... What a predictable and slow attack, I can already guess what she's going to do next.

I jumped over the large rock easily, and just I have predicted, I was greeted to the sight of Tōjō heading towards me in the air with her right fist reared back... It's too bad that she can't reach me with her short arms, but I can with my legs. Enhancing my left leg with [Reinforcement], I kicked Tōjō fast enough that she couldn't block it and I added in [Mana Burst] to increase the damage that she would take the moment my kick connected with her chin.

Both Tōjō and I did a few flips before landing on the ground, with the former fell down face first. I walked towards the little cat to check if she's out cold or is she faking it. When it's the former, I turned back to see the shell shocked expressions of the audience, especially from Gremory, who never thought that her servants would lose to a human like me... If I was an ordinary human (or even an amateur magus), I would have lost in less then a minute against Kiba alone if she was serious.

"I won." I stated, walking towards the none combatants, who were still looking at me in disbelief. I looked at Gremory with a stoic expression on my face "In the terms of our bet, you'll cease all attempts in adding me into your peerage... Even if I'm at the verge of death. Are we clear on that?"

"W-What are you saying!?" Gremory demanded with an shocked expression on her face, staring at me like I've grown a second head "You would rather be dead then become a Devil? Do you hate my people so much that you prefer the afterlife!?"

"You misunderstood, I don't hate Devils or have any history with your kind. It's just that I would rather be buried 6 feet under then to kneel before someone I don't respect at all." I replied, looking at the female Devil with cold eyes before walking away from her, with Raynare not too far behind me.

"Wait!" Gremory called out to me but I didn't stop to look back at her. I have no reason to follow her commands "Where are you going?"

"Home." I replied without turning back at the red head "I have no reason to stay here since our business has been dealt with. So have a good evening, Rias of the Gremory."

_________________________________________

"...You're insane, you know." Raynare said to me after we left the school grounds. We're currently walking through an old shopping district, taking a short cut back to my house.

"What makes you say that?" I asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Challenging 2 experienced Devils at once, especially that you're a human, isn't something that any normal being would do by his/herself." Raynare explained "Despite having my pride on myself, even I would be worry to face both of them on my own."

"True, but I had the advantage since they have no idea what I'm capable of doing and they obviously underestimated me." I replied, holding up two fingers "They were very confident and that they wouldn't lose against a human in a 2 vs 1 match, since even Kiba herself would be enough to beat me if she was serious. My best chance to win was to crush them quickly and not giving the pair any chance to take me seriously while they're relaxed."

"So you use their lack of knowledge and slight arrogance to your advantage and kicked their asses in a short time. That's a good strategy." Raynare said with a slight impressed expression on her face, but I don't really understand why she's reacting like this. What I did was a simple battle tactic, nothing special that's worth the praise for at all-

-?

My attention was drawn towards 1 of the shops nearby. It looks like a simple antique, but I feel like there's something more then meets the eyes at it... Now that I thought about it, I've never seen that shop before when I was passing through this street for the past week or even this morning. This is rather suspicious, at how it wasn't there before and why I'm drawn to it.

"What's wrong?" Raynare called out to me, bringing my attention back to her to see that she's slightly a head of me "You forgot something?"

I looked at her for a few seconds before shaking my head "It's nothing." I replied casually before continuing our way back home while thinking on why that place drew my attention towards it... I'll have to check that place out when I get the chance without anyone following me.

- the next day -

"*Yawn*...So sleepy." I muttered

I had to wait until midnight to make sure that Raynare was asleep so I can do my nightly grinding with 1 of the [Class Cards], with the [Assassin Class Card] last night.

I don't trust her enough to let her know of the [Class Cards] for obvious reason. I only got 3 hours of sleep before waking up for school... I really wished that I didn't have to go, but I had a deal with Sitri-san that Raynare and I would be members of the Student Council in exchange of letting my 'charge' be enrolled into the school.

"Were you busy flapping at porn mags for the entire night?" Raynare asked curiously... Why the hell is she asking me about that thing in broad daylight, with some people nearby that would have heard her?

"No." I replied with deadpanned eyes, wondering when did having lack of sleep got associated with mastrubation from her... Well, I should have expected this from her considering what her race is "Do all Fallen Angels always think about sex? I guess that's the reason why you fell from grace and don't have any common sense."

"What do you mean that I don't have any common sense?" Raynare asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You said yesterday that you and I sleep under the same roof, which made the rest of our class think that you and I are a couple that lives together." I said to her in a similar manner of a parent explaining something to their child "Only idiots, people who don't have any street smarts or a mixture of both would say that in front of a class as an introduction."

"Hey, I'm not an idiot!" Raynare shouted, but I couldn't care less what she says right now because my attention went towards that shop again from yesterday... Should I go in the shop and check it out? It would be kinda suspicious if I ask Raynare to go ahead, since she's supposed to watch me by Azazel's commands.

"Whatever." I replied without looking at her "Let's get going before the gate closes."

Raynare didn't say anything in response, but I'm sure that she agreed none the less. The other students start whispering with each other when they saw us, but neither Raynare and I cared for such useless things and just went on without saying a word to each other.

It didn't take us too long to arrive, but what gained my attention was a certain someone standing outside. Yumi Kiba, the girl that I've one shooter without letting her fight back yesterday... I'm a bit surprised that she's alright now, considering the attack that she took from me yesterday was something she should still feel even today.

When the blonde saw me, she walked towards Raynare and I before stopping right in front of me with a small frown on her face "I challenge you in a Kendo match, Raiga Kōjiro-kun."

I raised an eyebrow at the blonde, wondering what was she on about now. I didn't expected her to ask me for a fight so early in the morning, and this is slightly out of character considering how calm and collective the male Kiba is, unless you speak of [Holy Swords] in front of him.

"Is this another plan of that red head has to force me in that group of yours if I lose?" I asked, frowning at the Devil in front of me "Didn't we had a deal that she won't make any further attempts and just leave me alone... But I wouldn't be surprised if she lied and just continue on annoying me until I join her."

"This doesn't have anything to do with Buchou." Kiba replied with narrowed eyes, which made me realised why she's challenging me... Looks we have a sore loser here, but I can understand why she's like this right now. She didn't got the chance to show off because I knocked her out with a cheap shot attack "I want us to have a proper match, not like when you attacked me before I couldn't do anything to defend myself."

I playfully raised an eyebrow at her, an amused smirk forming on my lips "I'm not a cliché shounen anime protagonist... Did you seriously thought I would shout out loud when I going attack so that you have time to defend yourself and beat me?" I couldn't help the altered quote that came out of my mouth, since it would be irrational for me to do what most shounen heroes would always do when charging at their opponent. I shook my head before looking at her with a stoic expression "Anyways, I'll accept your challenge... So, when and where are we going to fight?"

"Meet me at the Kendo Club after classes." Kiba said before entering our classroom, which my companion and I did as well.

Things sure became more interesting.

- later in the afternoon -

I stood inside the Dojo of Kuoh Academy's Kendo club with a bokken in my right hand. Facing me is Yumi Kiba, the [Knight] of Gremory that challenged me in a kendo match. For some reason, the kendo girls screamed like fangirls seeing their idol came by to have fun with them... Well, some girls have hidden yuri delusions so I shouldn't be too surprised by it.

The other members of the ORC (who made the girls in the Kendo Club squeal) are standing at the side with the kendo girls. While I don't exactly care that they're here to watch me duel against Kiba, they're not needed here because all they'll do is just cheer on my opponent along side their fangirls.

"Are you ready, Kōjiro-kun?" Kiba asked

I gave a smirk to Kiba's question, gripping the bokken with both hands and spread my legs apart a bit "Show me what you got, Kiba." I replied in a challenging manner. I actually wanted to test something out... I wanted to know if my body remembers how I move when I had Installed the [Saber Class Card]. I may not mentally remember how I fought while Installed with any of the [Class Cards], my body might remember the movements that happened and this is my chance to test out that theory.

The blonde nodded with a smile as she took her own sword stance.

"Start!" One of the Kendo girls called.

I waited as Kiba made the first move, who charged forward and swings her sword down. I did a sidestep before moving into my opponent's guard as I jabbed the bokken forward, aiming to strike the blonde's chest.

Kiba stepped to her left to dodge the attack before swinging at me again. I simply ducked under the horizontal attack and striking her in the gut with the hilt in a similar to drawing a sword out from it's sheathe.

"*Oof!*" Kiba grunted, but I ignored her slight discomfort and went with an upward slash, *Tack!* but it was blocked by the more experienced swordsman.

*Tack!*

*Tack!*

"Fight on, Kiba-sama!"

*Tack!*

"...beat him, Kiba-senpai."

"Show him that your better, Yumi!"

*Tack!*

"Go! Yumi-chan!"

"Best of luck, Kiba-sama!"

*Tack!*

We continued this little 'dance' of ours. Dodging, blocking and parrying, we repeated this movements with smiles, or a smirk in my case, on our faces as the other members of the ORC and the Kendo girls cheered Kiba on from the side lines. I'm perfectly fine that not I'm of getting any cheers from anyone, but I wished that they would lower it down to make it less annoying.

*Tack!* I blocked another diagonal attack from Kiba. From what I can tell so far from her strikes, she has formal training with a few battle experience... And despite holding herself back to a level acceptable to humans, her strikes are very light that they're easy to push back, but it's understandable since she's a [Knight]. They're more of a hit and run fighters considering that they're Fragile Speedster within the group, while [Rooks] are Mighty Glaciers and [Bishops] are Squishy Wizards. I can't really say that the [Queens] are Lighting Bruisers, since some prefer to focus on a part of their power. As for the [Pawns], I would consider them as Jack of All Trades since they can become any kind of piece minus the [King].

Eventually, I can see and feel that my movement was getting better the longer we clash. I was able hit Kiba a few times while blocking her attacks without a problem... It feels like how I fight while I'm using the [Saber Class Card], but not exactly the same because I'm not moving too fast that it seems unnatural to the others. They might believe that I'm getting used to how Kiba is fighting, which isn't wrong as well.

But I can see that Kiba is getting a bit more serious now, as her attacks are slightly faster then before-

*Snap!*

I blinked in slight surprise when the bokken that I was using suddenly snapped after Kiba blocked my attack... It was doing fine until that moment. Well, it's a goood thing that this isn't a challenge of getting me into Gremory's little group or else I would have thought that the bokken was set to break from the start.

"Looks like I win this battle, Kōjiro-kun." Kiba declared, smiling victoriously after she tapped the wooden sword against my chest, where the heart is specifically located.

I just shrugged in response, letting the blonde have her glory of victory for this time. While I'm sure that she's much better when in a serious fight, I'm confident that I can last long enough against her to weaken Kiba and then beat her. And if I really wanted to, I can complete crush her by using any of the [Class Cards], especially the [Saber Class Card].

I started walking towards Murayama and returned the broken bokken with an apologetic smile "Sorry for breaking it... I didn't expect that to happen."

"It's fine. Some of them are old anyways." The brunette said with a shake of her head before looking at me with curiosity in her eyes "If you don't mind me asking, where did you learn to use a sword like that?"

"Believe it or not, the way I fought was just out of instinct." I replied before bowing slightly towards her and then left the dojo afterwards, ignoring the looks that I get from the girls. I have important stuff to do today and staying in the little dojo would be kinda weird for me since I'm the only guy in the place.