(Your POV)
Today was the day of training, so that means I'm going all out today. I had a list of training regimes supplied by my classmate, Mukuro Ikusaba. She has experience in combat too, so I asked her for advice yesterday, and she gave me an over the top list. I showed it to Issei, and he almost fainted. Another list I had was a list of 'tools' I'm going to need to take on Riser. I already know he has a healing factor and pyromancy, so brute force like my usual methods aren't going to cut it. I'll admit, my methods are...tenacious to put it lightly, but in my defense, it's what was the most effective for me in the past.

Either way, that leads to me with Genbu on my back and several chains around my chest pulling a truck that had multiple boulders in the bed of it, and on top of all those rocks sat Rias, kind of like a cherry on top. Well, her hair is red, so maybe that's not entirely inaccurate. I was walking alongside Issei and Kiba, who had a small backpack and a medium backpack respectively. Koneko was on the other side of me, on her back was a very large backpack. I was sweating not because of all the weight I was pulling, but also because of the sun.

"Lady Rias, forgive me for being rude, but I suggest training yourself as well." I suggested as I marched up the steep hill, wait, did I turn on the parking brake? "Perhaps on your precision or martial arts skills?"

"I'll start training when we reach the house, since you asked so nicely, but you're going to have to help me~." Rias winked for some reason, and I quickly turned my head to hide the redness, I was never really good at 'feelings'.

A couple more minutes passed before we reached the top of the hill, allowing me to take off the chain and crack my bones. I wasn't tired in the slightest, but boy was that uncomfortable. I walked to the back of the truck to see Rias was already standing beside it, I held my hand out and she handed me the keys since this was my truck, but not after kissing my cheek for some reason. Due to this being me, I used my hand to cover my mouth and nose whilst diverting my eyes to the sky.

"I-I'm going to t-train by the lake I saw on the way here." I stuttered from the embarrassment whilst walking, but I almost tripped over something, it was Issei. "Issei, do you need help?"

"Yes..." Issei didn't let his pride control him, which is a useful skill to have in hell.

I picked Issei up by his backpack and pulled it off him to allow my friend to stand on his own two feet. With that out of the way, I started walking towards the lake to begin my training. The lake itself was isolated, no roads or houses as far as the eye could see. The only house that was somewhat close by was the Gremory house we were staying at. Either way, this spot was perfect, the only thing I could hear were the sounds of birds chirping and the waterfall that granted this lake water. I slammed the bottom of my shield onto the ground, propping it up whilst I removed the jersey and gym shorts I was wearing over my wetsuit. I still had my parka on me, since I was going to be experimenting with it. I put my feet in the water and wore my parka properly, but as I put the hood up, I hesitated for a moment.

'What if someone sees me?' The thoughts rushed through my head, I didn't want to be cast aside again.

I slapped myself in the face to snap myself out of it, and I took off the parka before setting it with the rest of my clothes beside Genbu. I also had that book my familiar gave me, but I already knew the spells I wanted to work on right now, elemancy. I was trying to work on my memorization of these spells because they required so many details to be remembered in order to utilize properly, it's kind of overwhelming. The only reason I managed to utilize that spell back in ORC was because I read about it moments before. Luckily, elemancy was a simple form of magic which I utilized by using a conduit. I decided to make myself the conduit, so I submerged myself into the lake.

I say on the muddy ground of the lake floor to begin to get a feel of the water around me. I just needed to find a way to mix my soul into it, taking it into my very being to properly utilize it. One thing I fail to understand about most people is that they think fire is the most powerful element, which is far from the truth. Sure it burns people, but that's it, it just eats to satisfy its hunger. Wind can easily snuff it out, fire can't burn rocks, and fire has nothing on the strongest element, water. Water itself can be used to heal, create valleys, and so much more.

"(Y/N), (Y/N)!" My concentration was interrupted, causing me to suck in some water and started coughing. "Where are you?"

I poked my head out of the lake to notice that Lady Rias was wearing a dark red robe and not much else, she was looking around for me supposedly. I swam towards my master silently before coming out of the water fully. I wiped my hair out of my face since it was annoying. To keep my wet hair out of my eyes, I pulled it back gently before responding to a Rias' call.

"You summoned me?" I asked whilst bowing slightly, getting the girl's attention. "I was trying to train, so is something bothering you?"

"I already told you, you're going to be training me~" Rias seemed much more flirtatious than usual today, almost as if she was in a hurry, but why me?

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea." I decided to be honest. "My two greatest advantages in a fight are my endurance and high defense, yours on the other hand is your magic and intellect. In all honesty, it would be better for you to focus more on speed and magic so you can keep your distance from your opponent while I distract them."

"Well I wanted to train with you, since you seem to know what you're doing~"

"I honestly don't, I've been using brute force and underhanded tactics this entire time."

Rias seemed mad about something, like I was slow. True, I was slow in most subjects, but I was far from stupid. I knew Rias, and possibly the other girls, like me, but they can do so much better. Still, I decided to play dense so they will move onto someone who actually deserves to be with them. Back on the subject at hand, Rias, for whatever reason, dropped the robe to reveal an incredibly revealing swimsuit, which I'm sure would get her arrested if she wore it to a public beach. Due to this being autumn, I rushed towards Genbu and pulled out my parka. I didn't want Lady Rias to catch a cold, so I wrapped my parka around her like a blanket before zipping it up.

"Eh?" Rias seemed caught off guard by the fact I wrapped my parka around her, but I merely huffed and crossed my arms. "Didn't you want to...you know...do things with me?"

"Of course I did, but I prioritize everyone else's needs before my wants or needs." I'm terrible at lying, so I just gave up on lying a long time ago, but I did cause Rias' face to turn red. "Besides, it's rather cold today, so I don't wish for you to get a cold. Is there any particular reason you're trying to seduce me of all people?"

"That's not important." Rias dodged the question bluntly as she tried adjusting the parka to fit her, but our height difference made it like watching a child try on their parent's clothes. "Besides, I was serious when I said I wanted to train with you."

"So where does the swimsuit come in?" I questioned my master, still trying to process the scene from earlier, it was pretty random. "Isn't seduction supposed to be slow and sweet?"

"The swimsuit was just...because I heard that swimming is a good work out." Rias made up that on the spot, but swimming was one of the more challenging sports. "You have the most stamina out of everyone, possibly more than all of us combined, so I was hoping you can help me in that category."

"Of course, but I recommend putting on a much more durable swimsuit, since I'm fairly certain yours will fall off if you breathe wrong." I recommended putting something else on, but Rias informed me that what she was wearing was the only swimsuit she had. "Very well then, you'll just have to wear my parka."

"Aren't you worried about me ruining it?" Rias seemed concerned about my parka, which was understandable, it was more valuable than my life to me, well, it kind of was my life.

"No need, it's much more durable than you'd think." I informed my master as I walked towards the water. "Plus it will drag you down more, so I'll help you with basic drills, but I have to train myself too. I refuse to hand you over to some rooster who doesn't deserve the crown he wears."

"Aw, is someone jealous~?" Rias must have been taking notes from Akeno now, but I turned around in hopes that she won't see my expression, but she poked my cheek.

"I realize what I said was out of line for someone of my position." I dived into the lake before popping my head out of the water. "We will start with 50 laps back and forth from the lakeside."

"But the lake is at least a kilometer in diameter..." Rias seemed hesitant, but 50 laps is child's play right? "I'm not sure if I can make it..."

"This exercise is to build up your stamina, but this should be easy, I swam fifty laps around the gulf I live around back when I was seven." I stated, was I perhaps going too hard on her?

"Are you even human?!"

"No, I'm a devil, you turned me into the rook piece, remember?"

(Timeskip, brought to you by a seal swimming past the camera innocently)

It was the final day of the training vacation, and I decided to recheck my equipment I was going to be using tomorrow. Caltrops, razor wire, a new combat knife, a crucifix, a water gun full of holy water, and a bunch of other stuff sat with Genbu in the corner of the room. Aside from helping Lady Rias with her stamina, I did improve my elemancy magic, but only if I used one of my combat knives as a conductor. Plus I can only use water, ice, steam and mist at the moment, but it's progress! As for Issei, he developed a skill called 'Dress Break', which destroys a person's clothes.

In case you're wondering, I forced him to run 100 laps around the lake as a punishment for wasting his time on such a useless skill.

Back on the subject of my items, I know it's underhanded, but I only fight like this because I'm scared. All I have is defense, and I could summon my familiar, but doing so will cause Ragnarok prematurely, so that's a big no no. I could rely more on spells, but it'll be best for me to use hit and run tactics when it comes to that because I can't remember all the little details involved with spells too long. However, it's likely that the opposing devils surpass me in that category. I could use what little martial arts I learned from my classmate Kenshiro, I wasn't as good at it as he was, but I can hold my own against a slightly above average opponent.

I was currently wearing my pajamas, which consisted of gym shorts and a (f/c) t-shirt that had the name of some surfer's company on it. I examined both of my combat knives, checking their sharpness and how clean they are. I didn't want to infect any of Riser's pieces, nor did I aim to kill any of them unless they force me to. The way I see it, they are innocent bystanders who accidently got caught up in all of this.

After inspecting everything I walked to my bed and crashed onto it. Due to this being a rich person's place, the bed was incredibly comfortable and I sunk right into it. I realized that I forgot to turn off the lights, so I walked towards the lightswitch and flipped the lights off. With the lights off,  the only source of light was the moonlight coming from my open window. I lied back down on my bed and tried going to sleep, but it still felt strange going to sleep without the salty sea air. As I began drifting off, I noticed the sound of the door opening and closing quickly. I was tired of these interruptions getting in my way of sleep, so I reluctantly turned my head to face the door, but I was met with someone's hand. I could feel someone's legs on either side of my hips while a slim figure straddles me. I was pinned down, so I turned my attention above me, where I was met with determined yet piercing blue eyes.

"Good evening Lady Rias." I pretended nothing was wrong, but considering Lady Rias was wearing blood red lingerie as she pinned me down onto my bed, I was confused.

"(Y/N), I want you to take my virginity."

What?

"I'm sorry, I must have heard you incorrectly." I was sweating, but my face remained stoic as usual. "Could you repeat what you just said."

"I've been trying to seduce you so you would take my virginity." Rias was 100% series, this was no prank, was Lady Rias even the type to participate in pranks? "Please, you're the only person I can ask to do this."

"Lady Rias, we're still in high school." I reminded my master, but she seemed determined about this.

"I know, but please, I need this..." Rias began snaking her hands towards my shorts, but I caught her hand to stop her before flipping our positions, putting me on top. "Eep!"

"Forgive me, but I can not let you do something you might regret." I was stern as I used my spare hand to prop myself up. "You're a beautiful woman, one that deserves the whole world, and one who should only do such acts with the woman she loves. We've only known each other for a couple weeks, so I ask you, why are you in such a rush."

"Damn it (Y/N)..." Rias's voice was now soft and hopeless while she used her uncaptured hand to cover her eyes, but I was able to tell she was crying. "Am I not good enough for you?"

"Quite the opposite, I'm the one who doesn't deserve you." I let go of Rias' hand to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Yet you still gave me a chance, so I care about you and the others. So trust me, I want to know what's hurting you inside so I can help you."

"I-It's the marriage arrangement, i-If I'm not a virgin, then the marriage arrangement will be invalid." Rias was only doing this to get out of the marriage, and she only did it out of desperation, now I follow her logic. "I'm sorry for attempting to force you to have your way with me, feel free to hate me..."

"I can never hate you, you're an ambitious woman who tries to lead the best she could." I tried to help my master feel better. "You still make mistakes, but you're the type to make them up."

"Are you sure, I'm a devil afterall..." Rias seemed uncertain as she finally revealed her eyes to me, so I hugged her because I'm bad with words and prefer to let my actions speak for me.

"I told you I'd never hate you, so raise your head." I made sure to flip the position to our side, just so I won't crush Rias, wait, how much can she lift? "You're my master afterall, and I await your commands."

"Very well then." Rias wiped the tears from her eyes, now appearing slightly confident once more, which caused me to feel something in my heart. "My next order is to be my big spoon."

"As you command." I rolled along with it, and got into the position she wanted me too after she took off the lingerie.

Some time passed in silence as the two of us tried going to sleep, and it wasn't long before I heard Lady Rias' breathing. I wrapped my arms around her stomach protectively, it felt instinctual, so I went along with it. I would be lying if I didn't find her attractive or if I didn't find this situation to be tempting. However, Lady Rias needs someone to trust with all her heart, and I intend to be that person. I joined her peerage to be her shield, and that's what I'm going to be. Not just her, of course, but everyone else too. For Akeno, Koneko, Kiba, Issei, and Asia. I will protect them all, even if it kills me.

No, Lady Rias needs me, therefore I won't die, at least not yet.

(A/N: I know I focused a lot on Rias this chapter, but this arc mainly focuses on her, so cut me some slack. Besides, my favorite girl in this series is Rossweisse. Plus I decided to give this MC his own arc, and before you guys start leaving this book, it'll only be four or five chapters and after the Excalibur arc.