In the Occult Research Club room, four people had gathered.
Yuuto Kiba, Akeno Himejima, Rias Gremory, and Issei Hyoudou.
Rias was sitting at her desk, tapping her index finger against it impatiently.
Beside her, Akeno smiled in amusement, as she did most of the time, but this time she seemed especially entertained by the current situation.
Kiba was simply leaning against a wall with an absolutely serious expression. He seemed completely detached from the atmosphere in the rest of the room, and was probably mentally reviewing sword techniques.
As for Issei, he was caught somewhere between excitement and terror. On one hand, his first girlfriend had just turned into a fallen angel and killed him with a spear of light. But on the other, he had awakened completely naked while embracing the greatest beauty in the school. Who had also told him that there was a secret side of the world he had never known about, and that he was now part of it.
Didn't that basically mean he was now the protagonist of a story where he would awaken his incredible hidden powers and conquer a bunch of powerful girls to build a harem?
Those were the kinds of thoughts filling Issei's mind.
As he waited there, sitting obediently on the sofa like a well behaved child, he could not help fantasizing about his future, while every now and then breaking away from those fantasies to enjoy the real view, the two greatest beauties in the school standing before him.
From Akeno's visible thighs beneath her short skirt to Rias's breasts resting just above the desk whenever she sat there, everything was a first class visual feast for him.
Akeno noticed Issei's gaze and could not help smiling mischievously before deciding to tease him a little, lifting her skirt slightly until a bit of black fabric became visible before letting it fall again, much to Issei's disappointment.
"Akeno, why are they taking so long?" Rias asked, already losing her patience and abandoning her usual composure.
"So long? It's only been an hour. Do you really think that's long, Rias?" Akeno joked.
"Akeno, I'm serious!"
"Alright, Rias, you don't have to worry so much. There must be a reason why they're taking so long. Let's just wait here until they come out."
"Should I go check on them?"
"That would be invading their privacy, you know? Quite improper for a good president who trusts her subordinates.
Besides, we're literally only a few meters away. If something had happened, we would have heard it" Akeno said, finally convincing Rias.
Of course, neither of them had any way of knowing that Koneko had used Yoki to prevent any sound from leaving the room, at a level neither of them could detect with their current strength.
"Um... Rias-senpai, who exactly are we waiting for?" Issei asked curiously.
"We're waiting for Kaito. He went through a situation similar to yours and Koneko is helping heal him, so we're waiting for both of them so we can explain everything at once" Rias replied kindly with a smile.
"Kaito? That Kaito? And Koneko is healing him? Then if it's the same as when Rias-senpai healed me..."
"It isn't" Akeno interrupted. "Koneko isn't as good as Rias, so her healing has to be a little more... intense."
"Intense?" Issei's breathing quickened as he imagined what was happening inside the room.
'No, what am I thinking? Akeno-senpai must mean something else'
"S-senpai, when you say intense, you mean..."
"Well, what else could I mean?" Akeno avoided answering while smiling mischievously. "All I know is that you were in there with Rias for a few minutes, while Kaito and Koneko have already been in there for an hour."
"An hour? Together?! NAKED?!"
"That's enough, Akeno. Don't say strange things that could create misunderstandings later" Rias said. She normally tolerated Akeno's teasing and even actively participated in it, but this time she stopped her. If Issei got the wrong idea about what happened in this club, he might end up disappointed when he discovered it was not like that.
As she was thinking this, the club room door finally opened and Kaito and Koneko came out. Rias was about to speak when she noticed that both of them looked impeccable.
At a speed even Issei could never match, a thousand thoughts flashed through her mind.
"You two... why did you take a bath?!"
"Ara, could it be that you were sweating a lot?"
"Koneko told me this meeting was very important, so I decided to take a bath first and look presentable" Kaito explained naturally as he sat down on the sofa, completely ignoring Akeno's provocation.
"A-and Koneko?"
"If he bathes and I don't, I'd feel dirty" Koneko replied as she sat on Kaito's lap on the sofa. Then, as if remembering something, she added, "Ah, we bathed separately."
"Eh? We weren't even asking that" Akeno laughed.
"A-alright then, I suppose you both want an explanation about what happened to you, right? I'll explain"
While Kaito listened to the explanation he already knew, he was surprised by how easily they accepted the situation.
But of course, on one hand, no matter how suspicious the situation looked, after knowing Koneko for years, believing she had slept with someone she had only just met was impossible. On the other hand, in the tiny chance she actually had, she was already an adult and could do whatever she wanted, not to mention Kaito was not just some random stranger.
As for why Koneko was an adult, after she helped awaken him, Kaito had asked the System about it.
Apparently, once the summoned character replaced the original version from that world, they could freely switch between any version of themselves, changing everything from their appearance to their strength.
Of course, they could not become an overpowered baby or an overpowered old woman. The available range went from the character's original age in that world at the beginning of the simulation to the age they had when summoned, in other words, the age at which they died.
After thinking about it for a while, Kaito found it perfectly logical. If he could summon Koneko but she still had the strength of the Koneko from this point in the story, then what would be the point? Why would they create such a useless function?
As for whether this cost anything, the answer was the two thousand Synchronization Points missing from his status. Kaito comforted himself with the thought that at least it was only a one time cost.
Besides, because it involved Synchronization Points, just like Kaito once experienced in the Detective Conan world, the change was absolute throughout the world, not merely a change in appearance.
Because of this, not only was Koneko's appearance older now, but her actual age was as well, and everyone knew it.
Of course, even though technically she should be older than Rias and Akeno, nineteen Nekushou years were nothing compared to eighteen demon years.
To use an example based on lifespan, one human year was simply that, one year. One Yokai year would be around one hundred human years, while one demon or fallen angel year would be around one thousand human years.
Of course, this was only an example for comparison. Kaito did not know the exact numbers.
This age difference, together with Koneko's appearance and personality, meant that even though she was technically older than them, they still treated her like a junior.
"...and that's everything."
Meanwhile, Rias had finally finished explaining the supernatural world.
"So I have one of those magical artifacts inside me? Awesome. How do I activate it?" Issei asked excitedly after hearing the explanation.
"Sacred Gear, and yes, you have one. To activate it, you have to try to feel it inside yourself and truly desire to activate it with all your strength.
You can try imagining the strongest thing you know to make it respond," Rias nodded.
"Alright then... AHHHHHHHH!" Issei stepped forward and shouted dramatically while trying to awaken his Sacred Gear, failing miserably as he kept getting distracted.
"It's alright, awakening a Sacred Gear isn't that easy" Rias comforted him. "We'll try other methods later."
"As for Kaito" Rias looked at Kaito. "What do you think about becoming part of my peerage? Although Adam's Lineage isn't that powerful, it's still several times stronger than an ordinary human, and becoming a demon will make you stronger as well."
"I don't think that's a good idea" Kaito refused immediately.
"You don't think... it's a good idea?" Rias repeated his words, unsure whether he was serious or simply rejecting her politely.
"It's not just a polite way of rejecting you, Rias-senpai. I mean it.
From what I understood, Adam's Lineage rejects any other lineage or modification, right? Then obviously it would reject demonic lineage as well.
And even though Evil Pieces can, and definitely can, force it, that would probably weaken the already weak effects of Adam's Lineage even further. At that point I'd probably only be about twice as strong as an ordinary human at best. It would be a complete waste.
Although of course, there's also the fact that I simply don't want to" Kaito explained.
"My, Rias, that's the most elaborate rejection I've ever seen. He even rejected you again at the end just in case you didn't understand" Akeno laughed.
"...Alright" Rias sighed in disappointment at being rejected, more because of the act of being rejected itself than because of the combat strength she had lost.
"Then Kaito, I have an idea" Akeno said from the side. "How about becoming our chef?"
"Aren't I already?" Kaito raised an eyebrow.
"You are, but many times we had to discuss supernatural matters and you couldn't come, so we missed out on good meals. Besides, we can provide you with supernatural ingredients so you can create incredible dishes. What do you think?" Anticipation shone in Akeno's eyes as she asked. "Come on, you'll be able to spend all day with Koneko, and we'll even pay you."
Kaito pretended to think about it for a second before nodding.
"Alright, but on one condition."
"A condition?" Akeno asked curiously.
"Yes, I want to leave the Highschool"
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+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
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(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)