(Your POV)
Two weeks later, it was finally September and school has just started back up. I was wearing my summer uniform, and the best part was, no more heavy parka! Okay I told a white lie, I actually learned some magic from Akeno that allowed me to turn it into other pieces of clothing, so right now, it's a ring with a seal design on it. I was wandering around the school heading to ORC, I decided to take the scenic route to remind myself of the school grounds. To be honest, over the past two weeks, I've only learned one talent, but it's incredibly complex and undoubtedly one of my most useful abilities. It's the talent known as Ultimate Robot, and it's rather simple, it allows me to create robotic objects so long as I have an understanding of everything about what I'm making, and I need enough magic to make it. So far, I can create artificial wings, small cannons, and some small gadgets like EMP's and flashbangs. Plus I can also see in thermal, x-ray, and electromagnetic vision when I focus magic into my eyes.

All things considered, a very useful skill.

I was walking around until I noticed Issei was distressed on a hill, so like a good friend, I must go help him. I walked over to the tree he was resting under, and he was so distressed he didn't seem to notice me. As I got closer though, I heard the sound of Issei muttering something. Curious as to what it was, I walked closer and listened. Issei noticed me right away before starting a conversation, albeit a random one. "(Y/N), have you by any chance lost your virginity over the summer?"

"Um...I don't think so?" I answered, and I think I would recall losing my virginity, but I'm not a smart man. "Why do you ask?"

"Everyone's changing, and I feel like I'm the only person here who stayed the same." Issei stated, and this was actually a deep subject, so I sat down next to him. "I mean, out of everyone, you've changed the most. Back when I first met you were lonely and didn't really talk much, now you're a VIP in hell with your own unique peerage on the way."

"I suppose that's because change is inevitable, and it comes for us all in time." I looked at the school in front of us. "In fact, I would say you would change too, but it's more like you're rejecting change."

"I suppose that's because I'm scared." Issei looked at the school as well. "I liked how things were. Just staring at breasts and us hanging out. Now I'm apparently the chosen one and you're going to be part of an elite force that preserves the balance of the supernatural world. I was okay with just a simple life, I don't want things to change."

"Change is inevitable, you just gotta go with the flow." I summoned a sphere of water in my hand to watch it flow in circles. "The way I see it, life is similar to the currents of the ocean. If you go with the flow and use the flow, you could get what you want. If you don't, then you'll most likely drown. Besides, you've grown as well."

"What do you mean?" Issei didn't know about his change, and I didn't notice my own change until recently.

"Think back on actions in the past, if you cringe, then you've changed."  I made the water ball disappear. "By the way, the sports festival is coming up, and given how you're still around human level, don't hold back."

"What about you?" Issei asked, and I kind of had to remind him that us talented course students aren't allowed to participate in sports festivals in the first place. "Eh? Why not?"

"Our abilities are way too diverse and absurd, like Unohanna can barely lift a chair while I was able to carry steel beams with ease before becoming a devil." I explained. "Besides, those of us with physical talents or physical training for said talents could absolutely destroy everyone else."

"To be fair, you still scare me." Issei lay on the grass, having his head face the sky. "By the way, there's a transfer student coming in today."

"A transfer student?" I asked, usually we were the reason a transfer student appears, like the case with Asia and Xenovia. "This late? The school year is halfway done."

"Yeah, apparently it's a girl, maybe she'll join my harem instead of yours." Issei was still hopeful about it dream, and I honestly felt bad for him, he genuinely wanted a harem, while I was the one obtaining it.

"I'm not the person to deny a possibility." I had my doubts that the girl would join Issei's harem. "I have to get going, I'm helping with the sports festival preparations by fixing some old equipment that was broken. I'll see you later."

With that said, I got up from the grass and began making my way into the school. To list off things I needed to fix, it was the net, some poles, and tents since most of them were damaged last year. I entered the school and began making my way towards the main storage room where the supplies were, but as I did so, I accidentally bumped into someone. Why does this keep happening? I caught the person by their hand to prevent them from falling, but the thing that got my attention the most was a familiar hairstyle and rosary around their neck. Due to my immunity to holy magic and items I obtained thanks to my adaptive immunity, it didn't hurt me.

"Irina?" I was shocked, but happy to see Irina was back in Kuoh, we may not have been close friends, but I thought she was nice.

"(Y/N)?" Irina asked, and I confirmed this, in response Irina beamed with a smile and hugged me. "It's so good to see you!" Irina quickly realized that I'm a devil and she might hurt me with her cross, so she broke the hug. "Sorry about that, I forgot about you being a devil and all. Wait, you're immortal aren't you? So did it hurt too bad?"

"Not anymore, I had my immortality removed." I crossed my arms with a smile, and Irina looked shocked. "Though the ability to hurt me with holy items alone is impossible nowadays."

"Why would you do something like that?" Irina questioned me in disbelief, not that I blame her. "You could have been the most powerful person ever!"

"It's a faulty magic that would have kept me alive forever, and Huitzilopochtli even admitted that the magic would have made me miserable." I answered. "Huitzilopochtli is currently working on a better blessing. As for why I gave it up...I suppose I just wanted to live alongside those I care about."

"I never would have expected a devil to think like that." Irina states, and I was worried she was still her anti-devil self. "Relax, I'm kidding. I heard about your fight with the White Dragon, and you didn't even use any of your devil powers."

"You've also sent a request to join my Peerage, correct?" I asked, and Irina nodded. "Well I don't have a peerage yet."

"I heard of that just after I sent my message, also, I have a message from Michael for you." Irina got serious. "Your cards won't change anything if you recruit someone. For example, if you recruit Akeno, nothing will change other than your authority over her. She would still be a devil, she'll still be a part of Rias' peerage, and she won't receive any bonuses from your cards. Weirdly enough, we're not sure what will happen to you if you absorb the Fool Arcana, which is pretty much the king piece. Some think you'll turn into an angel/devil hybrid, some think you'll stay the same, nothing is certain."

(A/N: I ain't doing one of those angel/devil hybrid MC's, they're cool and all, but that'd take away from the purpose of this book.)

"I understand, I assume there will be fallback plans should something go horribly wrong?" I questioned the brown haired girl, who nodded. "Great, come on now, let's go greet everyone else."

"You've changed quite a bit, you know that?" Irina pointed out, and I was curious as to what she meant. "You used to remind me of a dog who blindly followed orders, now you're like a king who rules with a smile."

"Why does everyone call me a dog?"

"You give off that kind of vibe."

(Time skip, brought to you by (Y/N) walking down the street with groceries, with several dogs following close behind, and Akeno just watched in pure confusion)

Irina and I arrived at the ORC club room, and Irina was met with a rather warm welcome. Irina was hugged by Xenovia surprisingly, but Xenovia quickly broke the hug because unlike me, holy things can still hurt her. I sat on the couch, and Koneko instantly sat on my lap, like that was her official spot. Luckily, she let me use my laptop on her lap, just to do research into the talents I have yet to master, most of which seem rather simple to weave into magic, like the Ultimate Magician talent. Irina explained that she was here as an official messenger on the behalf of Michael. While Irina began greeting everyone, Xenovia whispered to me, careful not to raise any attention.

"Do you think Irina knows about the death of the father?" Xenovia asked, and given how she wasn't saying his name, I'm gonna guess she's talking about god.

"I'm not sure, but I don't think it will be a good idea to mention it in case she doesn't know." I thought for a moment, Irina was unconscious during the fight with Kokabiel, so she probably didn't hear.

"So Irina, do you know about the death of god?" Azazel appears to not care about subtlety or understanding people's feelings.

"Yes, I do." Irina was doing a good job at hiding it, but I could tell she was about to cry. "I wouldn't have been given this job if I didn't know."

"You are quite tough. I never thought Irina, who has such a strong belief in the teachings, would come here without being shocked at all." Xenovia was staring at Irina, who finally had tears coming out of her eyes. "Are you okay?

"Of course I wasn't okay with hearing it!" Irina's little facade came crashing down, well that was quick. "Everything I've ever done was pointless since the lore was dead! I spent seven days and seven nights crying when I found out the lord was dead! I didn't know what to do with myself."

"Tissue?" I offered Irina a small pack of tissues, and she accepted them gratefully.

"I know that feeling too, Irina." Asia grabbed onto Irina's hand and helped wipe the tears off her face. "After hearing the death of god, I was distraught too, but I wasn't alone." Asia gestured to the people around her. "When you learn your whole life has been a lie, it's awful, but when you're around those who care about you, it's not as bad."

"I'm sorry for calling you a witch when we first met." Irina got out between her tears, and the whole scene looked like a mother comforting their child, or a child comforting their mother due the height difference. "I'm sorry for saying all those awful things to Xenovia when she became a devil."

"It's okay, we all make mistakes." Asia consoled the crying girl. "To be honest, I'm still hoping we could be friends since we still worship the same god."

"You are not the only person to blame." Xenovia appeared to be admitting her own shortcomings as well. "When I learned that god is dead, I became desperate for a purpose, so I became a devil."

With that said, all three of them began praying together, I suppose this was some sort of thing they do since they have it in common. I was never all that religious since my mother left, being more of a practicality kind of guy to make sure I didn't die. Sure I read history books, but that's about it. Another thing worth noting is that the Angels apparently developed this thing called brave saints, and it works like evil pieces for us devils, but with playing cards. So now Irina was Michael's ace and an angel. Literally, not figuratively like Asia and Koneko. I was curious as to what Irina was doing here though, so I turned my attention to Azazel.

"Hey Azazel, does Michael actually need a messenger or did he put Irina here for no reason?" I had no idea what kind of person Michael was, so I was curious.

"If I had to guess, yeah, he's going to need to establish more of a presence around here." Azazel put his hands in his pockets. "To be honest, the people running the show around here have been devils, with some fallen angels like Raynare running around here and there."

"What about humans?" I asked, and Azazel looked confused about what I suggested. "They're capable of learning magic if given enough time like Yozakura and Rengoku, they're the only known race who can be born with sacred gears, and they're the most bountiful out of all three factions."

"They could be, but their lifespans are too short, if they weren't, then we'd be in some deep shit." Azazel brushed a hand through his hair. "Thanks to their life spans, they're often overlooked as the guys we need to protect."

"I have my doubts..." I created a hard drive out of my finger my finger into robots parts and plugging the hard drive into my laptop, using the hard drive to absorb all the data on the talents. "Even with their short lifespans, humans came quite far without your guy's help, so don't sell them short."

"Oh god you're becoming one of those 'kill everything supernatural' guys aren't you?" Azazel looked scared, so I decided to put those superstitions at ease.

"Why would I do that?" I wondered, making a lot of enemies is a bad idea, I have my limits when it comes to fights. "My priority is going to be protecting humanity sure, but I'm not going to fight all of the factions. Besides, I don't even have my own peerage yet."

"Fair enough, you had me worried there for a second." Azazel and I watched as everyone celebrated the return of Irina. "I was scared you would go rogue on us and tried killing us."

"Why do you think that?" I almost cried at the thought of hurting at least one person here. "I don't want to hurt anyone here."

"(Y/N) would never do that." Koneko went back to her usual cold self and cracked her knuckles while looking at Azazel. "(Y/N)'s too kind."

"Hey, I can't be too cautious can I?" Azazel shrugged innocently, and I could notice Akeno was glaring daggers at him. "Don't glare at me like that."

"Sorry, we just don't like it when someone even suggests that (Y/N) would try to hurt us." Akeno hugged me from behind the couch. "His main goal is just to protect all of us, so him suddenly making an enemy out of all of us would go against what (Y/N) stands for."

With that said, Irina and Xenovia decided to challenge each other to a friendly competition, and I opted to practice some new experimental magic once I finish downloading the information. Azazel also left on account of some things involving Raynare's transfer to Kuoh he needs to take care of. Koneko also left to prepare for the next rating game. Issei, Asia, and Kiba all had to help with the sports festival preparations. Akeno, Rias, and I stayed in the club room to handle paperwork, Rias got more political paperwork while I started getting military based paperwork. Sirzechs wants me to get the hang of being a military commander for the devils, and so he's started giving me some paperwork he thinks I can handle. I need to ask Rias for help with it to understand what the paperwork was for, but overall, it was easy once I got the hang of it. It was mainly just instructions for arcane machinery like magic firearms, but there were a few papers that tested my ability to come up with ideas for every scenario. Like what should three low rank devils do when they're faced against someone like Vali in a jungle. Due to me not being an official yet, I wasn't given many papers that required a signature. The only ones that do require a signature were Issei's papers. Issei was a King, aka, a high class devil, so he had paperwork. Just one problem though, he needs to focus on getting stronger, so I do it instead. "Hey (Y/N), so you require tea or anything?" Akeno offered, and I politely declined the offer. "Okay, let me know if you need anything, I'll be helping Rias."

"Alright, thank you." I thanked the girl, but out of nowhere, Rias looked mad about something. "Is everything okay, La-. Rias?" I was trying to fix my habit of calling Rias, Lady Rias, since Rias gets annoyed by it.

"I just got a letter about who our next opponent for the rating games is." Rias handed me a paper, and I looked at the name. "Our opponent in the next match is Diodora Astaroth."

"Maybe I can use this as an opportunity to tell Diodora that Asia doesn't want to marry him." I thought outloud, but then I remembered that I know nothing of Diodora. "Will I be participating in this rating game?"

"You will be, you just didn't participate last round because Sona was short a piece and you didn't want to fight your friends, so you were allowed to not participate." Rias answered while she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Before that, we're going to be doing a television interview."

"An interview?" Well that was random, I've never been on TV before. "Whatever for?"

"Well I'm the next head of the Gremory family, Issei is the current red dragon emperor, and you're one of the most skilled men hell has ever seen, so the supernatural world has clearly taken an interest in us." Rias answered. "So for appearance's sake, we have to go."

"I hope I don't mess this up." I was nervous at the concept of being on TV, I like hiding in the background and taking care of things.

"You won't, I have faith in you." Akeno grabbed onto my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Besides, it won't be until later, so you have time to relax before the interview."

"If you think I won't mess it up, I'll do my best."

(A/N:I honestly don't know why you never see any other author using mythological beings, folklore characters, fairy tale characters, or historical figures for their peerages when writing fanfics. Like, anything goes in the DxD universe, Norse, Abrahamic, Hindu, Shinto, Greek, ANYTHING GOES! Yet other people always use characters from other anime and have no real explanation as to how they're there in the first place. If you're worried DxD might already have that figure, then just google it. Like I'm trying to include at least one character or figure from each region to show you guys there's no limit and also hopefully spark an interest for some of you. Like Sangkuriang, Black Beard, Quetzalcoatl, and Lu mother fuckin Bu. By the way, if you guys start giving me ideas, can they be deities/folk characters that were human, are human, are something close enough to a human, or just have a strong (preferably positive) connection to humanity?