f it had been the old Rias, she would have proudly believed that her current strength as an upper-class devil was already more than enough.
But after everything that happened during the school trial, she was forced to confront a hard truth:
If you're not a Transcendent, you're basically cannon fodder.
Just as her older brother once said—
"Everything below a Transcendent is disposable."
That sentence echoed in her mind over and over.
Which was precisely why Rias now stood before Izumi with burning determination. She wanted to become stronger—desperately so. And among all the people she knew, Izumi was the one who could truly push her beyond her limits.
Her family could help her.
But Izumi… Izumi never held back. Izumi insulted you, beat you down, and trained you until you questioned your own existence.
That, Rias remembered clearly.
Back when she trained under him for a week before the Rating Game with Raiser, her strength had skyrocketed.
Especially in close combat—her improvement hadn't been "significant," it had been absurd.
That was why she had brought her peerage and come knocking.
Izumi leaned back on his hands and looked at her with a puzzled expression.
"Why should I help you again? I already paid back what I owed. So what—now you want free labor from me?"
He snorted.
"Look, you're not my girlfriend, not my wife, and definitely not my mistress—"
"...…"
Why did every option start with 'girlfriend or wife'?
And mistress?
What kind of harem-protagonist logic was this?!
The group behind Rias twitched at the corners of their mouths.
This guy…
He really had no shame.
Rias took a breath and stared straight at him.
"…Izumi-kun. Then how about I become your girlfriend?"
Dead silence.
Izumi froze.
"…Hah?"
"Since you refuse to join my peerage, then I'll join yours instead. When you helped me with my problem… that's when I realized I didn't mind being yours."
Izumi choked on his own saliva.
"Oy, oy—are you serious?!"
What kind of logic was that?!
'Can't beat him, join him?'
That's not a strategy, that's a life hack!
Izumi felt like he was getting scammed.
Blood-loss scammed.
Emotionally scammed.
Everything scammed.
Rias stepped closer with a playful smile.
"What's wrong, Izumi-kun? Are you saying you aren't interested in me?"
Having her face suddenly close to his, Izumi instinctively swallowed.
No—of course he was interested. Anyone with a pulse would be.
But!
But a man does not choose one tree when he can have an entire forest!
He straightened himself and declared in a solemn tone:
"I refuse."
Rias blinked.
"I don't like relationships based on advantage. And besides—your family definitely won't allow you to be one of many. They'd never let you be my 'number two'."
Rias's mind went blank.
…Number two?
He continued with a shrug.
"Don't misunderstand. You're amazing. But I'm not giving up the whole forest for one tree."
He began counting with his fingers.
"After all, there's Koneko, Akeno, Asia, Megumi, Eriri, Gabriel, and so on… You see? Why would I stop at you?"
Koneko's face turned bright red.
Akeno giggled with a teasing smile.
"Ara~ my, my. Izumi-kun is surprisingly greedy."
But Rias stared at him wide-eyed.
"Wait. You named all those girls… but you didn't name me at all."
"Because it's not that you're not excellent," Izumi said calmly. "It's because I don't like your type."
Rias flinched.
"You probably haven't noticed it yourself, but your standards are too high. If I were just a normal guy, you wouldn't spare me a glance. If I had no power, would you still say what you just said?"
He looked her straight in the eyes.
"You don't love me. You're fascinated by my strength."
He sighed.
"When—if—you genuinely fall for me, then we'll talk."
Rias fell silent.
Because deep down, she knew he was right.
If Izumi had been weak…
If he had been ordinary…
If he hadn't shown terrifying potential…
――Would she even have cared?
The answer made her chest tighten.
She had grown used to being the princess of a noble house.
She had grown used to looking down from above.
When had she become that kind of person?
As Rias stood in quiet turmoil, Izumi watched her without sympathy.
She's a spoiled princess.
Beautiful, sure. Tempting, extremely.
But that attitude?
Needs a good, solid reality check.
And Izumi was absolutely the kind of man who would deliver it.