[Sign-in plot: Rias's Peerage Member!]
[Accept Rias Gremory's request to become her servant.]
[Sign-in time limit: 1 hour.]
This was why Takeyo had fallen silent.
Accept Rias's request... but the system didn't say I actually have to complete the reincarnation, he thought, a slight smile tugging at his lips.
Still, wasn't it a bit dishonest to agree under those circumstances?
"Takeyo-kun? What do you think about becoming my servant?" Rias pressed, her blue-green eyes studying him intently.
"Do you have any wishes you want to fulfill? If you become my servant, the Gremory family will help you achieve them. Even if you want to accomplish your goals yourself, you'll have a lifespan of ten thousand years after becoming a Devil, far longer than a human's century at best. You'll have more than enough time to fulfill any dream you can imagine."
Rias was, truthfully, becoming somewhat desperate.
Under normal circumstances, she would never adopt such a pleading tone. She was the heir of the Gremory family, how could she speak so imploringly to a human who hadn't yet demonstrated overwhelming power?
But right now, she genuinely needed strong peerage members. It was a critical requirement if she wanted any hope of escaping her engagement.
More importantly, they were in the school building, right under Sona's nose. If she didn't act quickly and decisively, Sona would undoubtedly intervene and claim Takeyo for herself.
Given the close relationship between Sona and Takeyo, plus the fact that Takeyo already worked for the Student Council, Rias didn't believe she could win in a direct competition with her childhood friend.
"Hmm... alright. No problem."
After a moment's consideration, Takeyo agreed to the request.
[Ding!]
[Gold-rank plot sign-in successful!]
[Sign-in plot: Rias's Peerage Member!]
[Accept Rias Gremory's request to become her servant.]
[Congratulations to the host for receiving reward, God's Favor Pieces!]
[God's Favor Pieces: A super-enhanced version of Evil Pieces that can transform any race into servants. After becoming a servant, the original race remains unchanged, potential is greatly enhanced, and loyalty to the master is maintained at a minimum of 80 points...]
There was considerably more information in the description, but before Takeyo could read through all of it, he heard the sound of a door being thrown open.
BANG!
The door to the Occult Research Club slammed against the wall with such force that it seemed ready to break off its hinges entirely.
Before anyone could see who had entered, a voice, trembling with barely restrained emotion, echoed through the room.
"Rias! I'm here for someone!"
Sona stood in the doorway, adjusting her glasses with shaking fingers. She'd rushed over the moment she'd learned that Koneko had fetched Takeyo to the old school building.
As expected, Rias, that sneaky cat trying to steal her Takeyo, was making her move! This absolutely could not be allowed!
"Sona?"
Rias stood up in surprise, genuine shock crossing her features. You came here so quickly?
Have you been watching over your precious boy all day?! I only asked him to come over a few minutes ago, and you can't wait to come rushing in to protect him?!
"I remember this is the old school building, the territory of the Occult Research Club," Rias said, her tone sharp despite her surprise. "Sona, barging in without even knocking... isn't that a violation of basic courtesy?"
Though caught off guard, she definitely couldn't show weakness now.
Facing her friend's aggressive stance, Sona displayed extraordinary determination.
"If I hadn't come, wouldn't you have stolen him away right under my nose?!"
Sona's words carried an edge like ice, her anger barely contained behind her composed facade.
Everyone except Sona and Rias watched the confrontation with varying degrees of interest and concern.
Koneko continued eating her snacks quietly, Yuuto showed a wry smile, Akeno observed the drama with obvious amusement, and Tsubaki, who'd followed Sona, could only sigh at the situation.
As for Takeyo... he simply grabbed a bag of potato chips from Koneko and started munching contentedly.
His sign-in was already complete, after all. There was nothing stopping him from leaving whenever he wanted.
Of course, he didn't like breaking his promises. He'd agreed to become Rias's servant, so she could certainly try to transform him. If she succeeded in converting him into a Devil, he'd honor that commitment.
But if she couldn't manage it and wasted all her Evil Pieces in the process?
Well, that would be her own problem. Though, he mused internally, if she'd used all Mutation Pieces, the success rate might have been slightly higher.
Slightly higher... but still ultimately futile. It would probably just give me a minor boost in power at best.
Meanwhile, Rias continued staring directly at Sona, refusing to back down.
"What do you mean by 'your person'?" Rias demanded. "I remember Takeyo-kun is just a member of the Student Council, not one of your servants. Right, Sona?"
Faced with Rias's fierce counterattack, Sona's expression hardened.
Takeyo-kun?
Are you actually familiar with him? You've barely exchanged more than passing greetings! Sona thought bitterly. This is just because you want to recruit him, isn't it?
Sona felt a pang in her chest. She hadn't even called him by his first name that often herself...
What Sona didn't realize was that perhaps because Takeyo was someone her best friend genuinely cared about, Rias had actually developed real feelings for him, however nascent they might be.
"Rias, don't you know that every member of the Student Council except Takeyo is already part of my peerage?" Sona countered sharply. "Takeyo is my reserve servant. Don't you think trying to steal someone else's reserve servant is beneath the dignity of the Gremory family?"
"No, I don't think so."
Rias's expression suddenly softened, and a confident smile spread across her face.
"As long as someone hasn't officially become your servant, I don't see any problem with what I'm doing."
Sona's expression shifted as she sensed something ominous in Rias's tone.
Her unease proved justified when Rias spoke again, slowly and deliberately.
"Besides, Takeyo-kun has already agreed to my request just now. He's agreed to become my servant."
Rias delivered the words with the tone of someone announcing their victory.
Cough... let's just ignore that earlier desperate, dog-like pleading, Rias thought to herself.
"What?!"
The moment she heard those words, Sona's gaze snapped to Takeyo, who was still casually eating snacks with Koneko.
Takeyo? You... you agreed?!
Tears threatened to form in Sona's violet eyes as she felt her demonic power fluctuate wildly, nearly spiraling out of control. Even her glasses showed hairline cracks from the surge of emotion.
A feeling of absolute heartbreak, devastation beyond anything she'd experienced, welled up from the depths of her being.
"Wait, Sona, let me explain," Takeyo said quickly, finally setting down his snacks.
It was time for him to intervene.
"What is there to explain? Haven't you already agreed to become Rias's servant?" Sona's voice cracked slightly, her composure crumbling.
She looked more helpless than anyone had ever seen her, as if a treasured toy she'd saved for years as a child had been snatched away by her best friend.
No... it felt ten times worse than that.
She knew Rias wouldn't joke about something like this. That meant Takeyo really had agreed to join Rias's peerage.
"Well, I did agree to President Rias's request," Takeyo admitted calmly.
"So what else is there to say?!"
A single tear rolled down Sona's cheek. Of course... of course my feelings were destined to be disappointed...
"I simply thought that President Rias must have something urgent, something where she desperately needed my help. That's why she sought me out in such a rush," Takeyo explained, his tone remaining steady and reassuring.
"Besides, before I could become President Rias's servant, I'd already become the Student Council President's servant."
Takeyo's words caused everyone in the room to freeze in complete confusion.
"Huh?" Rias's eyebrows shot up.
"Oh?" A gleam of interest sparked in Akeno's violet eyes.
"Meow?" The mousse cake in Koneko's hand nearly slipped from her fingers.
Yuuto's wry smile transformed into genuine surprise, while Tsubaki's eyes widened behind her heterochromatic gaze.
"Takeyo? What do you mean?" Sona asked, utterly bewildered.
Are you teasing me?
If he'd said he'd temporarily changed his mind, she might have believed it. But what did he mean by claiming he'd already become her servant?
"I mean it literally," Takeyo said, extending his hand. "I already have the President's Evil Pieces inside my body. However, it may be because the number of pieces wasn't sufficient for a complete reincarnation, which is why you haven't detected any demonic aura from me."
Eight chess pieces materialized above his palm, glowing faintly with crimson light.
He'd deliberately chosen to keep these eight Evil Pieces in his body without rejecting or devouring them, it was a small gesture of gratitude for Sona's care over the past year.
The reincarnation didn't succeed, true, Takeyo thought. But having the pieces inside me technically makes me a theoretical servant, doesn't it?
"Six Pawn pieces, one Rook piece, and one Knight piece?!" Sona's hands trembled as she immediately checked her connection to her remaining Evil Pieces. "When?! When did these get inside you?!"
Her mind raced. She could definitely sense her unique signature emanating from those Devil chess pieces.
"They're really gone... but how? When did this happen?"
"President, didn't you make your sister leave yesterday?" Takeyo explained casually. "Serafall came to my place for the night. Then, in the middle of the night, she apparently tried stuffing several chess pieces into my body."
"But because the reincarnation didn't succeed, I think your sister felt she'd caused trouble. That's why she ran away from my place so early this morning."
A heavy silence descended over the Occult Research Club.
Sona stood frozen, her mind struggling to process the revelation. Serafall had... tried to forcibly reincarnate Takeyo? Without permission? Using her Evil Pieces?
"Onee-sama..." Sona whispered, her voice carrying a mix of disbelief, embarrassment, and dawning fury. "What have you done?"
Rias, meanwhile, felt her confident smile falter as she realized the situation had become far more complicated than she'd anticipated.
The boy she'd just recruited as a "servant" already technically belonged to her rival, even if the transformation had failed. And judging by the number of pieces required...
How powerful is he, really? Rias wondered, her eyes narrowing as she studied Takeyo with renewed intensity.
Takeyo simply smiled innocently, enjoying his potato chips while chaos erupted around him.