After leaving Heaven, Rhode teleported back to the Vatican. He then made his way back to Rome without being detected and checked into a hotel.
Now that the mission was complete, he wanted to see what would happen to Asia—whether she would still be exiled like in the original story. But that wasn't something he needed to worry about just yet.
After a long, refreshing sleep, Rhode yawned as he sat up in his king-sized bed. Honestly, according to his pre-transmigration fantasies, as a protagonist, he should have had dozens of maids—or at least a couple of beautiful girls by his side when he woke up. But ever since he met Griselda, he'd been so busy that he hadn't had time to pick up girls.
Still, today was a gap between missions. Rhode planned to spend some time wandering around Rome. It was a chance to relax and perhaps scout for some "hidden quests." It was just like those games where the developers loved to hide treasure chests in corners players could barely reach, making them curse while they searched. He hadn't found many in this world yet, but he knew they existed.
After getting up and grabbing a quick breakfast at a morning market, he began strolling through the streets of Rome. Rome was a great place. It always reminded him of the famous emperors of history—like a certain "Umu!" saber-wielding emperor.
Furthermore, there were plenty of beautiful women here. Unlike the reserved nature of the East, the women living here dressed quite "liberally." While they weren't exactly walking around naked, low-cut tops were a common sight.
"Tch." After walking the streets with a discerning eye for a while, Rhode lost interest. Looking but not touching wasn't his idea of fun.
The day passed quietly. By late night, Rhode was sitting in an ordinary restaurant in downtown Rome. He'd spent the whole day exploring without any luck and was about to head back for some sleep when he stumbled upon an "unexpected surprise."
Rhode stared at a woman in the restaurant. She was stunning with a fiery figure—the kind of blonde bombshell that usually appeared in B-list movies. It wasn't that he was desperate; it was simply that the System had tagged her identity: Vampire.
Currently, she was sitting across from a man in his fifties. He looked British, wore a sharp suit, and the Submariner peeking out from under his cuff suggested he was very well-off.Most men's eyes were glued to the mounds of silicone, while the women's gazes drifted, intentionally or not, toward the men's necks.
One had to admit, Rome was truly a place of "outstanding people and spiritual land." Aside from Devils, even Vampires had the audacity to show up and join the fun.
A short while later, the blonde bombshell intimately linked her arm with the middle-aged man's and dragged him out of the restaurant. Rhode followed. He watched as the woman skillfully led the man through a maze of winding alleys before finally entering a bar tucked away in a godforsaken corner.
Rhode followed them inside. Two burly men stood guard behind the iron door. According to the System's prompts, these two were also Vampires.
So, there's a whole nest of Vampires here?
Was this a case of "the lantern's base is the darkest"? Were they operating on the logic that the most dangerous place was the safest? Rhode wasn't worried; he had dealt with plenty of Vampires before.
The two Vampires sized Rhode up. Since he wasn't on an official mission, he wasn't wearing his Church-issued exorcist protective suit. He was just in ordinary casual clothes, and with his Eastern features, it was easy to mistake him for a tourist.
"Don't cause trouble here," one of the thugs grunted, giving the standard warning typical of movie henchmen before letting him pass.
Rhode pushed open the soundproof door.
A wave of raw, violent death metal music hit him square in the face, accompanied by the heavy, cloying scent of booze. Rhode dug a finger into his ear; the atmosphere of this bar was truly nothing to write home about.
The fact that a bar could even operate here meant the place was filthy. Under the jarring music and dim neon lights, figures were huddled everywhere in clouds of smoke. Some men and women, clearly high out of their minds, were entangled in various indescribable acts.
None of this bothered Rhode much. However, he hit his limit when he saw someone actually taking a dump in the corner.
Though he had seen a lot and killed plenty of Stray Devils and monsters, this was the first time in his long tenure as a transmigrator that he'd seen someone party like that.
Fortunately, he wasn't the only one disgusted. Two burly Black Vampires quickly walked over and dragged the man away while he was still "in the zone." One could only imagine what fate awaited him.
[Griselda has issued a new mission.] [Mission: Interview with the Vampire.] [Objective: Cleanse the Stray Vampires in the bar. Random rewards will be granted upon completion.]
Rhode had originally planned to try his luck and see if he could fish for a hidden quest. Now that he'd triggered one manually, things were even easier.
He looked up and scanned the room. He noted that the ratio of Vampires to humans was roughly three to one. The men and women who had been lured here were dancing frantically on the floor, clearly oblivious to the fact that they were in a death trap.
Just as Rhode was about to make his move, he noticed a unique presence among the System-marked targets.
"Jeanne?"
That was strange. He took another look. Rhode pulled up the System map and found that the marker representing "Jeanne" was a different color. Considering this was a world primarily based on DxD, that girl was almost certainly a member of the Hero Faction within the Khaos Brigade.
He just didn't know why she was here.
Because Rhode was standing alone at the entrance, and because of his striking looks, he was a massive draw for the Vampires. Soon, a brunette with wavy hair and a killer figure sashayed over.
"Hey, handsome. Are you all alone?"
The woman leaned in, her voice seductive as she blew a breath smelling of a mix of alcohol and perfume toward him. "How about big sister takes you to experience a whole new world?"
Just as Rhode was about to answer, a blonde figure suddenly squeezed through the crowd.
"Cousin! What are you doing here?"
It was Jeanne.
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My : https://[email protected]/AuAuMon
High School DxD : Reincarnated into the Multiverse, but it's High School DxD (53 Chapters – Ongoing)
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