Chapter 269 A Night Before the Truth

[Shirone POV]

Once everyone had gathered, Azazel-sensei wasted no time getting to the point. “We’ve confirmed it. Riser Phenex is alive.” The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere in the clubroom changed instantly. Relief swept through the room like a wave.

Everyone burst into excited chatter at once, and beside me, Ravel suddenly swayed unsteadily as if all the strength had left her body. Ikki-senpai quickly caught her before she could fall. “Ah, I’m sorry, Ikki-sama. The moment I realized my brother was safe, I just.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” he said gently. “You really cared about Riser, didn’t you? You’ve probably been more worried than anyone.”

“Yes.” He wrapped an arm around her from behind and softly patted her head. “Thank goodness, Ravel.”

“Yes~” For the first time in days, Ravel smiled brightly. That smile seemed to release the tension in everyone else as well, and soon voices began overlapping around her. “That’s great news.” “Really glad he’s okay.” “What a relief.”

After everyone had finally calmed down, Sona-senpai turned toward Azazel-sensei. “So where is Riser-san now?”

“Riser Phenex is currently under the protection of Ajuka Beelzebub.” At those words, the mood sharpened immediately. One of the Four Great Satans personally sheltering Riser meant this situation was far from a simple accident. Everyone could sense it. Something far more dangerous lurked behind the scenes.

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The next day, Azazel-sensei informed us that we would be meeting privately with Ajuka Beelzebub-sama himself. A secret meeting with one of the Four Great Satans. I had met Lord Sirzechs and Lady Serafall relatively often over the past year, especially since Lord Sirzechs had once saved me from being unjustly punished over the incident involving the Naberius House and Sister Kuroka. But the remaining two Satans were different. I barely had any connection to them at all. And honestly, it was intimidating.

Even after encountering gods and legendary beings over the past several months, the title of Devil still held special meaning for me as a reincarnated devil. Before becoming a devil, I had lived as a stray nekomata with Sister Kuroka. Yet because we spent most of our lives within devil society, I was honestly more familiar with devil culture than yokai society at this point.

Tonight, however, we were putting those worries aside. The girls had already planned a gathering, so we all ended up bathing together at Issei-senpai’s house. Of course, barging into Ikki-senpai’s bath with Sister Kuroka had its own appeal, but there was also something comforting about spending time with girls only. Besides, whenever I bathed with Ikki-senpai, things somehow became overwhelmingly exhausting afterward. Very exhausting.

For the past few days everyone had restrained themselves out of consideration for Ravel’s worries, but tonight was different. Now that Riser was safe, the tension in the house had finally eased. Which meant Sister Kuroka was definitely going to get carried away later tonight. I should conserve my energy while I can. Sister Kuroka always claimed, “A nekomata who isn’t seductive isn’t a proper nekomata!” As a devil now, I couldn’t entirely disagree. Devils were creatures who lived honestly according to their desires, after all.

As everyone changed in the dressing room, I was once again reminded that nearly every woman living in Ikki-senpai and Issei-senpai’s houses had absurdly good figures. Even Asia-senpai had clearly matured physically since becoming part of Rias-senpai’s peerage, probably because she was no longer surviving on the Church’s modest meals. Though Xenovia-senpai and Irina-senpai had already been blessed with incredible figures from the start, so perhaps it was simply a matter of age.

Just then, Rias-senpai, who had been unclasping her bra, suddenly looked over at me. “Oh? Shirone, have you gotten taller?”

“Yes. I’m almost 140 centimeters now.” That was true. I’d measured myself recently and discovered I’d grown nearly two centimeters. Since my first year of high school was almost over, I’d probably continue growing little by little from here. Ravel was still the next shortest at 153 centimeters, so catching up to her would likely take years. Still, I wanted to at least reach Asia-senpai’s height someday. I should probably drink more milk too.

“Ufufufu~” Sister Kuroka suddenly hugged me from behind. “Are we sure this growth spurt is only because of puberty? Maybe Shirone’s feelings for Ikki are making her grow into a mature woman faster~?”

“There’s no way emotions can affect height.” Although considering my recent early onset mating instincts, I couldn’t deny it completely, which was frustrating. “Sister Kuroka, stop clinging to me while naked. I can’t take off my underwear.” Without even turning around, I gave her a flat stare.

“Nyaaa, Shirone’s gotten resistant to teasing now~” She finally let go. Half a year ago, I probably would have reacted much more strongly.

Afterward, everyone washed up before entering the bath together. Compared to the others, Xenovia-senpai and I had relatively short hair, so we finished first while everyone else gradually joined us in the massive bath that felt closer to a small pool. Technically, purification magic could remove dirt instantly, but magical cleaning could never replace the comfort of soaking in hot water.

Nearby, Rias-senpai and Sister Kuroka floated lazily in the bath while chatting. I found myself wondering if my adult form would someday look like theirs. Maybe I should secretly check sometime.

“Fuu, more importantly, I’m really glad Riser-san is safe,” Asia-senpai said warmly, smiling toward Ravel. Among everyone outside the Phenex family, Asia-senpai had probably worried the most. Her kindness toward others truly suited the title of saint. Even if her attempts at expressing affection toward Issei-senpai had become increasingly strange thanks to influences from Rias-senpai, Akeno-san, and Kiryuu-senpai, honestly, nobody doubted how things would end up eventually.

Tonight’s gathering had originally been meant to cheer Ravel up, but now she could finally enjoy herself wholeheartedly. “Th-Thank you,” Ravel smiled softly before frowning in thought. “Still, there are so many unanswered questions. We only know that Ajuka-sama secured my brother’s safety. Nothing else has been explained.”

Rias-senpai crossed her arms beneath her chest thoughtfully. Boing. If Issei-senpai had been here, he probably would’ve exploded from excitement at the sight. “You’re right,” Rias-senpai admitted. “Where was Riser found? What condition was he in? What happened to Diehauser Belial? There are still too many mysteries.”

“No point worrying about it now,” Xenovia-senpai said bluntly. “We’ll hear the explanation tomorrow anyway. There’s no need to overthink things beforehand.” Xenovia-senpai really did have a habit of cutting away anything she deemed unnecessary.

“Mou! Xenovia, you always stop thinking the moment you decide something isn’t important!” Irina-senpai scolded. “One day your brain’s going to stop working when you actually need it!” For once, Irina-senpai had a valid point. Azazel-sensei had clearly suspected something from the very beginning.

Just then, pop pop pop, bubbles suddenly rose from a section of the bath a short distance away. A moment later, a black-haired girl burst from beneath the water. “Puhah. I lasted one hour.”

“Ophis?” The Infinity Dragon God stared at us expressionlessly. One hour underwater without even using supernatural power? What kind of lung capacity was that!? She was technically still in human form!

After our bath, we gathered in Rias-senpai’s room with snacks and drinks before starting a gaming tournament. A massive free-for-all battle game. Naturally, I dominated everyone. Even Asia-senpai’s healing dragon support character, Rias-senpai’s overpowered plumber mascot, and Rossweisse-sensei’s absurd gorilla fighter, all of them were crushed beneath my silver-haired swordsman. The strongest “Rook” might belong to someone else, but the strongest gamer here was definitely me.

And after spending the evening laughing together, we finally returned to Ikki-senpai’s house. I hoped there would be more nights like this in the future. Peaceful nights where everyone could simply smile without worry.