HighSchool DxD Volume 23 (Life.1)

Continues on from Life.0
Continues on to Life.2 Dragon Attracts Dragon

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Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4.
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Life.1 A [King] From Now On


Part 1

It was now the end of Spring—.

While the games of the tournament continued in full swing, our work as Devils also began, and our new school life as third year students was also progressing steadily. Standing upon the podium was the homeroom teacher of the third year’s B class — Rossweisse-san.

“In summary, the ball tournament is imminent. We cannot lose this inter-class competition!”

In an energetic manner, Rossweisse-san had become our class’ homeroom teacher. In the same class as me, Matsuda and Motohama also grinned as they watched Rossweisse-san.

“Rossweisse-chan, you’re so fired up.”

“Well, it’s her first time taking on the role of a homeroom teacher, so of course she doesn’t want to lose.”

Matsuda and Motohama were having a discussion beside me. I was also in the third year’s B class now. Upon advancing to the third year, my classmates changed again as well. But even so, there weren’t any major changes. In addition to Matsuda and Motohama who have always been my classmates, familiar people such as Asia, Xenovia, Irina, and Kiryuu were also present. Aside from our new homeroom teacher, Rossweisse-san, Kiba had also become my classmate. This arrangement was made in consideration of Devil-related events or [DxD]-related events, so that we would be able to assemble together immediately. All of the third-year students related to the Gremory household had been gathered in one class. Similarly, the C class included Saji, as well as all of the third-year students of the Sitri household. In any case, I really hope that we’ll be able to have peace and quiet until we graduate! I turned around to speak to Kiba who was sitting behind me.

“Regardless of whether it’s the inter-class competition or club activities, we can’t lose either, especially as the new Occult Research Club.”

“Indeed. If we lose this year, we won’t be able to live up to the expectations of the graduates.”

Kiba replied enthusiastically. His style of speech was very becoming of a vice-president, but in response to his words, I burst out in laughter.

“W-What is it?”

Seeing me laugh, Kiba looked puzzled.

“Hehe, I was just thinking about the ball game tournament last year.”

Due to the Holy Sword Incident, Kiba had become quite distraught. Back then, his mind was completely preoccupied during the ball tournament. When Kiba remembered how he acted at that time, his face suddenly became red.

“…Don’t mention it, Ise-kun.”

At a nearby table, Xenovia apologetically said

“I’m sorry. I’ll have to participate as a member of the Student Council team.”

Although Xenovia was a member of the Occult Research Club, she was also the current Student Council President. Since that was the case, it was understandable. It would not be justifiable if she did not participate in the ball game tournament as a member of the Student Council. Irina did a thumbs-up in front of Xenovia while she said

“No problem at all! I’ll just defeat Xenovia and the others!”

After a brief pause of silence, Xenovia responded to Irina’s challenge.

“Well, then Irina is the only one that we have to defeat thoroughly.”

“What did you say!?”

Ah, sparks flew out as the two of them bashed their heads against each other. It was also a year ago when I had met them. I never would have imagined that they would become my classmates after a year, let alone one of them becoming the Student Council President. When we first met, we had been enemies with each other…. Life is truly unpredictable huh.

“Well, if we’re going up against each other, then let’s decide the winner fair and square.”

I said as I watched Xenovia and Irina.

“…That’s right, we won’t lose.”

Asia quietly chimed in. Somehow, it felt as though she was a forceful person. Like someone who would charge into a dead end, as both her voice and expression became rather stiff…. Kiryuu rubbed Asia’s cheek, and asked with worry

“Asia, you’re acting a little strange right now, is everything okay?”

“L-Leth’s go! W-We won’t be deheated [1]!

Wait…. Isn’t that rather strange? Speaking of which, she seems to have a rather pensive expression both at home and at school lately. She’s always the last person to leave our clubroom after activities as well….

“…That’s right, because I’m Buchou.”

—Just like that, Asia seemed to whisper to herself.

““……””

Xenovia and Irina who were originally locked in an argument now also looked at Asia with worry.

“Listen up. We can do this, B class! Let’s aim for victory!”

[Yeah~~]

The lone sound of Rossweisse-san’s enthralled voice was accompanied by the voices of a group of unmotivated students as they echoed throughout the classroom—.

(Part 1 of 4) (20/6)


Part 2

Whilst living the life of a third-year high school student, there was also another new type of ‘work’ that was very important to me. Our [Hyoudou Issei peerage] had finally begun its own business. Business — this obviously meant our jobs as Devils. It was the same as when we used to work under Rias’ command where we listened to the wishes of our clients, and after fulfilment we would receive equivalent remuneration; it was the Devils’ job that had continued on since ancient times. Since I had now become a high-class Devil and was a [King], I had to lead Asia and the others in my peerage to perform their jobs well as the [Hyoudou Issei peerage]. From a corporate perspective, I was currently the president of [Hyoudou Issei Co., Ltd.]. And to be more specific, I was a ‘manager of a branch store in the Gremory Large Enterprise’. …Speaking of which, there has never been such a precedent of rising to the rank of a high-class Devil in only a year, moreover, I have only been in the service of my master for one year, which is an exceptionally short period of time. That has led to the current situation in which I am unprepared. If I had worked hard under my master for decades, or hundreds of years, and then was told “you might rise to become a high-class Devil in a few years”, then I would have been prepared to become independent. I now have to direct this business after just a year, something that I would not have been able to comprehend a year ago when I was still obsessed with the dream of “I want to become a harem king!”. However, the usually gentle Rias was incredibly strict at times like this.

“Just try it. Having become a high-class Devil after just one year, this is nothing compared to the battle against Qlippoth.”

—She gave me a Spartan [2] education!

At the end of all that, one third of the territory of work that belonged to the Rias Gremory peerage was handed over to me. …After all, for someone who had just become a Devil one year ago, ‘Promotion to a high-class Devil!’ -> ‘Preparation for independence’ + ‘Territory confirmation’ -> ‘Beginning of work!’ was too much to process for me in that brief amount of time! When I became a ‘branch manager of the Gremory Large Enterprise’, it was needless to say that the branch — the workplace was also provided to me. My workplace was one of the labs that Azazel-sensei had set up in Kuoh Town. After setting out from the Hyoudou residence on foot for about ten minutes, it would be possible to see a certain private cram school, and our workplace was below it. The cram school had been bought by the Grigori, and a basement had been built below it. It was then transferred to me. The cram school’s elevators had special recognition systems so that only relevant personnel could proceed to the basement. Once our club activities ended each day, my peerage and I would go to that cram school until evening. We would then take the elevator to the basement together.

“I’m still not used to taking the elevator to work.”

I also agreed with Xenovia’s opinion. After descending in the elevator, a rather long corridor greeted us. There was one door directly in front of us, three doors to our right, and two on our left, a total of six doors. The rooms on the right side starting from the one closest to the elevator was the shower room, followed by the male and female toilets. On the left side starting from the elevator was the storage room, followed by the lounge which was equipped with a kitchenette. The most important of them all was the room directly in front, which was the office. The sign on the door also said [Hyoudou Issei Household Office]. The room was quite spacious and its size was around thirty tatami mats [3] large. There were several desks inside, on top of which were documents and computers, while file cabinets stood on the side along with a fax machine and a sofa for guests. All of the bare necessities had been arranged. Of course, a space had also been prepared for a magic circle which would be needed when performing Devil jobs. Anyway, although it had just been established and was slightly lacking, it did have the appearance of an office. I walked into the office and went towards the largest, innermost executive desk — the president’s desk. …It could be considered to be a desk fit for a [King]. I did say that an ordinary office desk was fine, but it was Ravel who rebutted me saying

“That cannot do!”

So she procured this desk and chair for me that was able to display the impression of a [King]. …Asia also had much difficulty in getting used to the buchou’s desk of the Occult Research Club, and now I could relate. Isn’t this a bit disproportionate to myself? —I often think so! After Asia, Xenovia, Ravel, and Rossweisse-san put down their respective belongings at their own desks, we began to work. Ravel was my manager, and also the vice-president. After arriving at the office, the first thing we did was confirm the number of requests we had through a magic circle. Asia sat at her own desk and awaited Ravel’s instructions. Xenovia was relaxing in her own seat, while Rossweisse-san made the leaflets that would summon us. I also sat at the president’s desk, quietly waiting for Ravel’s report. …Our work had just begun after all, so documents, files, and the like had not yet piled up into a mountain…. It felt somewhat disappointing at the moment. After the end of Ravel’s confirmation, we allocated the requests of our clients among ourselves. The requests for healing were given to Asia, those for physical activity were given to Xenovia, and the requests requiring magic were given to Rossweisse-san to deal with. Of course, erotic requests do not exist! These are my precious peerage members, so how could I possibly allow such things!? They do not exist! After seeing Ravel return to sit down at her own desk, I said

“Well, let’s work hard today as well!”

My words were the signal for the start of today’s business

“““Yes!”””

“Yeah!”

Asia, Ravel, and Rossweisse-san responded with ‘Yes’, while Xenovia responded with ‘Yeah’ as business officially began. Ravel immediately reported on the allocation of work to us.

“—This is the schedule for this evening. So, I leave it up to all of you then.”

After Ravel’s report ended, my peerage members travelled via magic circle to the clients who had made a request to us through the leaflets. My job was to see them off, and after waiting for them to return, I would listen to their report and record it into a document. Rias also performed the same work as a [King]. Ravel was basically our bookkeeper, but she would occasionally respond to requests and travel to the clients’ side. I would also go out for a job at times. Relying on Asia and the others was sufficient most of the time, but I was still responsible for my old regular customers whom I looked after when I worked under Rias, such as Morisawa-san and Mil-tan. Even now, I still received instructions such as ‘ride a bicycle over’. Even after becoming a [King], I still had to ride a bicycle over to my customers. After all, since I had only been a Devil for a year, one could insist that I was still an apprentice. It had nothing to do with my own position, it was simply important not to forget my roots. Indeed, although this was supposedly a branch of a larger business, we were still working within Rias’ territory, so we had to maintain contact in order to prevent a job clash. This was the same for the branch and the main store. Of course, there were also jobs that we received from Rias. This was roughly the feel that my ‘Devils’ job’ had. …It was necessary to be careful when working so as not to make any mistakes. After all, I wasn’t currently considered to be completely independent from Rias. She had simply entrusted one third of the territory that she controlled to me. …In the near future, I would also receive my own territory. I would then continue my business there. By then, it probably wouldn’t be Kuoh Town. It might be somewhere very close to here. However, there was also the possibility that it would be very far from here. In order to obtain my own territory in the human world, it was first necessary to gain the approval of the Underworld’s government and the Gremory family, as well as approval from my master Rias. After various judgements from above, a piece of territory would be prepared and assigned to me…the process was supposed to be something like that. I do wonder how much longer it will take before I obtain my own territory. …I really hope that I won’t be told that my territory is ready while I’m still unprepared. In terms of when, I hope to still live in Kuoh Town until I graduate from university. But, if the order comes from the higher-ups, it wouldn’t be good for me to complain…. From time to time, I feel uneasy about the changes that the future may bring. Just as I was immersed in such thoughts, someone called out to me.

“O [King], please have some coffee.”

“Ah, thank you Bova.”

The one who brought me coffee was — Bova Tannin. Bova (mini-dragon form) was also assisting here. He was tentatively considered as one of my retainers, so he was assisting me and my peerage from the sidelines. During our Devil jobs, he always puts me and my peerage first, and also pays attention to the small details all the time. If there is a shortage of materials, he’ll immediately replenish the supply, and he also brings refreshments back for us. …Known as ‘Bova the Destroyer’ in the Underworld, he was now simply a dragon working diligently. Ravel had told me that while he was in the Underworld, Bova constantly sought powerful opponents to fight against. He particularly despised being compared to his own father or elder brothers. …Since Bova had not mentioned any of that to me up until now, I didn’t ask about it. I could also more or less understand based on the information. The eldest son of Tannin-ossan was well-versed in civil and military affairs, and gained the support of the people. This was while the second son became well-known as a researcher in the Underworld. He normally worked in human form at a specialised agency in the Maou’s territory. Ravel said that Bova felt a sense of inferiority towards his own father and elder brothers…. I don’t have any siblings, and my own father is an ordinary human, so I naturally didn’t feel inferior to any family members…. I guess I should say that I’m lucky. However, what I care about is — Bova looked up to me and was determined to become one of my retainers. I still haven’t asked him about it even now. Regardless of the identity of my retainer, not asking felt as though it was unfitting of the behaviour of a [King]….

“What is it about me that you respect so deeply?”

I could ask like that, but I wasn’t the kind of person who would arrogantly say that. If I really did ask like that, Bova would answer me…. For now I was letting things be, and waiting for the next opportunity to ask. I was currently still in the process of training and searching for new peerage members and participants for the Tournament, so that opportunity shouldn’t be too far off…. As I thought about my first retainer, I continued to work. A few hours later—. The first person to return via the magic circle was Xenovia. She also held her remuneration in hand.

“I’m back. The client gave me an antique clock that had been a decoration. Ise, Ravel, I’m giving it to you for appraisal.”

Ravel received it and began to check on its value.

“Thanks for your work. It looks like…it is quite old. To be sure, I’ll give this to the professional appraisers.”

Although there were special machines which were able to measure the value of a payment, it was only to a certain extent, so it was necessary to contact professional appraisers for an accurate measurement. At least, that was what the Gremory family did. After a while, Rossweisse-san also returned.

“I’m also back. From the looks of it, mine appears to be a relatively rare piece of game software…”

Ravel began to check the payment that Rossweisse-san had received.

“Thanks for your work, Rossweisse-sama. Hmm, we’ll also give this to the professional appraisers. Yes, Ise-sama, would you like to take a look?”

Since she knew that I was interested in the game software, Ravel asked me. I was actually quite interested in it, so I immediately went to look at the payment that Rossweisse-san received. …It was actually a slightly famous game from my childhood.

“Ah, this game. It certainly is quite rare. But let’s hand it over to the appraisers first.”

I thus decided. This was the type of payment that could be directly given to my peerage, but the payments received by the Gremory peerage all went directly to the Gremory family’s warehouse. I also followed this, and sent all remuneration back to the main Gremory warehouse. Afterwards, the confirmed monetary value would be transferred into the [Hyoudou Issei Peerage] bank account. I wasn’t sure if other Devil families operated their businesses in the same manner, but our side — the Gremory peerage also followed this system. Indeed, the operating costs of this office came out of the accumulated funds of my previous Devil jobs and also the royalties received as the ‘Oppai Dragon’. Since the amount was so vast, Grayfia-san managed them on my behalf. And now it had finally been released, so even all furniture was purchased with my own money. …It was a strange feeling. Incidentally, after looking at the bank account that I had not seen for a long time, the balance appeared to be an astronomical figure…. Well, if any of my peerage members are caught up in an emergency, I’ll have an excess available to be able to protect them. Just as I was thinking that, radiant light erupted from the magic circle for the third time, and Asia returned.

“…I’m back now.”

The French doll that she was hugging was probably her remuneration…. But Asia was clearly thinking about something with a blank expression.

“Thank you for your work, Asia-sama.”

Ravel wanted to receive the payment from her…but Asia didn’t seem to notice and she walked straight ahead.

“Asia-sama, Asia-sama! Please give me the client’s payment!”

Ravel called out to Asia.

“Ah! S-Sorry! I forgot about it! P-Please take it!”

Asia finally came back to her senses, and quickly gave the doll to Ravel.

“Asia is as careless as always.”

When I said that…Xenovia looked at Asia with concern for a friend. Everyone had returned so they each went off to rest for a while. Ravel came over to my side and quietly said to me

(Umm, Ise-sama.)

“Hmm? What is it?”

(There’s something I want to talk to you about regarding Asia-sama…)

…It seemed like something which was inconvenient to speak about here. I took Ravel away from the office, and arrived at the storeroom where we began our private discussion. The first thing that Ravel said was

“Umm, I don’t know where I should start…there is a questionnaire from a customer regarding Asia-sama…”

Ravel showed me the questionnaire. After a request, the questionnaires that clients filled out was extremely valuable information. I directed my attention towards the questionnaire. …The questionnaire outlined Asia’s job at the time. I looked at the questionnaire as I said

“Hmm, I see. They thought that Asia seemed to act strangely.”

Indeed, the questionnaire stated that Asia seemed to contemplate something rather deeply after taking on the request, that she did not seem her usual self, and that her desire to accept impossible requests had led to failure. This was clearly different from the questionnaires that Asia usually received. Ravel also worriedly said

“It’s not dissatisfaction that’s coming from the customers, but worry…so I think that this matter should not be spoken about with Asia-sama directly…”

Indeed, talking to Asia about this would only make her even more concerned, making the situation worse, and it was possible that she would even become depressed. While her original request itself was complete, the result wasn’t too bad, but…. For the time being, the client was rather worried about Asia, so they were somewhat wary of calling her again…. But the fact that even Asia’s clients were worried about her made me feel relieved.

“She might be overexerting herself. It’s always like that during our club activities as well.”

Indeed, regardless of whether she was at home, or at the Occult Research Club, she would always enter a strange state on her own. When the Ball Game Tournament was mentioned, it was as if she had been possessed by a ghost.

“We won’t lose!”

“We’ll definitely win!”

That kind of aura didn’t suit Asia’s usual self. …Lately, as the buchou of the Occult Research Club, she’d been going too far in trying to act brave and overexert herself. Ravel placed her hand over her cheek in thought as she said with a troubled expression

“Could she be confused about the new environment…perhaps I should adjust our schedule…but if I say to Asia-sama that there’s no need to work hard or do her best, then she may actually feel hurt by that…”

Asia was Ravel’s senior at school, so there were some things that Ravel probably found difficult to talk about.

“Perhaps Asia is pondering about what she should be doing as the buchou, and what our club activities should be like.”

I quietly said. I believed that to be the most likely reason. Regarding this point, it was necessary for Asia to overcome that on her own…having said that, my adorable Asia-chan was currently troubled, so I couldn’t ignore that! I didn’t mean to say that I wouldn’t help Asia, but as the current Occult Research Club vice-president Kiba, as well as Xenovia, Irina and former president Rias have said, we want Asia to grow on her own. The most important thing was for Asia to grow on her own. It was also through this process that I awakened my own power, after being asked to behave as a ‘Sekiryuutei’ would. I had faced failure and bitterness. However, I had already become a ‘Sekiryuutei’ of my own making now. Asia was still being asked to be the ‘buchou’ right now, and was in the process of trying to change herself. However, even if being like Rias was her goal, it was not possible for her to be called Rias. Asia was Asia. I hoped that she would be able to become a ‘buchou’ of her own making. It had to be like that. Just as Asia had always supported me until now, it was now my turn to support her. —So, I had to find an opportunity to have a good talk with Asia. Xenovia and Irina should have noticed, so I’ll let them talk to her first. …I turned my head sideways again.  Hmm, ever since I became [King], there have been many more things that I have to worry about. I reminisced about how I was a year ago when I acted based on my ero ambitions

“My aim is to become a harem king! To be surrounded by oppai and dreams!”

No, I still want that even now! My aim is still to become a harem king! But as my own position changes, the things that I have to consider naturally increase. …This is the so-called promotion to a high-class Devil. Ravel smiled as she looked at my troubled expression.

“Worrying about your peerage members is also part of a high-class Devil’s job. If the [King] does not worry, then other problems will arise.”

I naturally wouldn’t become that kind of [King]. No matter if it’s Asia or Ravel, all of you are finally by my side, so I’ll definitely do my best for you.

“For Asia’s sake, let’s all work together to help her. So, we’ll tell everyone about this soon.”

“I understand.”

After gaining Ravel’s approval, our private discussion was over. Ah, it’s so helpful that Ravel is such a capable manager. But, I’ll never be able to lift my head to her for as long as I live if that’s the case…. The two of us came out from the storeroom and into the corridor, where Xenovia was delightfully feasting on some snacks.

“Are you done with your shameless acts in the storeroom? So you actually thought of using that place, Ravel.”

She actually let such words out of her mouth! Both Ravel and I couldn’t help blushing!

“I-Idiot! How could Ravel and I do that…!”

With a bright red face, Rossweisse-san said

“Ecchi things while at work!? Does this workplace permit such frivolous attitudes!?”

Asia also chimed in on this topic and became rather emotional!

“Ise-san! Couldn’t you do it at home!? I-If you do this, then I won’t know where I’ll……with Ise-san [4]

Of course, I think these things are better done at home! Speaking of which, please stop surprising me with that doorknob! I would feel much happier if you could inform me in advance!

“I see, so it’s also possible to use the storeroom. This was an oversight of mine.”

Ravel-chan!? Y-You aren’t thinking of using the storeroom for anything strange, right!? For some reason, Bova began to cry.

“Even during work, my [King] doesn’t forget about skinship with his servants! I am deeply moved!”

Both my peerage members and retainer are the same! Because I’m always such a pervert, they’ve become so tolerant of it!? But, the storeroom huh…. It’s certainly possible! N-No! There is a lounge room after all, so if possible, I could start with Asia-chan, Xenovia, Ravel, and Rossweisse-san—.

[Ise-san…please grant me the mercy of a [King]…]

[Come on, let me give birth to the child of the [King]!]

[…As your manager, please allow me to manage you even further.]

[…T-This is a neglection of duty! B-But, occasional workplace romance is also good…]

…Fufu! When I think about it like that, isn’t this the best workplace!? Yes, this is the castle that belongs only to me! Being manager and president, it’s truly amazing! Azazel-sensei! This is the laboratory that sensei left behind! I will broaden its role, making it even more erotic to make good use of it! Just as I was immersed in such erotic delusions

“T-Tea is ready.”

Someone brought tea out on a tray from the kitchenette. —It was Elmenhilde. She was also wearing Kuoh Academy’s girls’ uniform today. It was because a matching uniform was more convenient when she was with us. With a doll-like appearance and a slender figure, when she wore this familiar uniform, there was a special sense of freshness. Elemenhilde was currently helping us with our work as well. As for the reason, it was because she didn’t want to stay at the Hyoudou residence without helping with anything at all. Indeed, she decided to live at the Hyoudou residence as well. Well, a girl from the supernatural side living with us was no longer a strange thing. She insisted that she had to help with something since she was staying at the Hyoudou residence, so she came here to help us in organising information and to bring us refreshments and so on. She wasn’t a Daywalker who could stand being out under the sun like Gasper and Valerie, so she normally wore a cloak in order to minimise her skin’s degree of exposure. But it was evening now after all, so wearing the school uniform wasn’t a problem. …Vampires with mixed blood could stand under the sun, but those with pure blood could not, which seemed somewhat complicated…perhaps it was because they were closer to the True Ancestor? Needless to say, the room that she stayed in was also underground. She basically wouldn’t come up during the daytime on weekends. Although it wasn’t as if she’d perish as soon as she faced sunlight, her strength would be greatly reduced…. If I asked the Grigori, it would be possible to find a solution — they would probably help me develop it. Perhaps I should discuss it with them next time. Elemenhilde held the tray up while she poured tea for everyone.

“Ah, thank you, Elmenhilde — ah, be careful!”

I couldn’t help calling out when I saw Elmenhilde’s movements. Elmenhilde wasn’t good at this kind of thing, and the tray was shaking despite the fact that she was trying to walk carefully this time. It was like this every time. Leaving aside her tea brewing skills, Elmenhilde was born as an ojou-sama with no experience in serving tea, so this was a considerably difficult task for her.

Despite this, she still tried to maintain her pride and offer us her sincerity.

“S-Something like this is no big deal…! Waaaaaah!”

—Immediately after saying that, she tripped, and we all anticipated that the tea would come crashing down to the floor! But in that instant — out of empty space, Xenovia drew the holy sword Excalibur.

“Kuh!”

I thanked the holy sword that she held — as the teacups and tray that had been tossed into the air had halted in mid-air. Xenovia slowly moved the sword. In response, the tray and cups turned upright again, and finally landed on the table safely. Xenovia returned the holy sword to its alternate dimension and then exhaled.

“Phew, it’s great that it didn’t end up falling.”

“I-I’m sorry…”

Elmenhilde apologised sincerely.

“Xenovia, could that have been the power of Ruler just now?”

Upon seeing the ability that Xenovia just displayed, I asked that question. Xenovia nodded.

“Yeah, if it’s something of this degree then it’s more or less possible. It was successful, but”

Xenovia had been studying the power of the holy swords that had been fused into one — how to use the seven abilities with ease. For reasons of compatibility, it was difficult to master the abilities that she was weak with. The ability of ‘Ruler’ was clearly the most difficult to master…but she was already able to use it so well…. Xenovia turned her gaze towards Ravel, and she couldn’t help but smile wryly.

“Our [Bishop]-sama gave me a very strict training menu.”

Ravel then replied

“If all the conditions are met, you might be successful, and even if you can only use a small part of it, it will still become a weapon for us. That’s why I gave Xenovia-sama an important training menu.”

Ravel’s special menu huh. In fact, she also gave me one. Speaking of which, Ravel has given almost all of our team members a ‘new hand’ to try. Ravel is able to think of some truly extraordinary things. I never imagined that she could also have thought about that kind of method, and she came to discuss it with me. If we can make it a reality, it’ll certainly shock everyone. After Elmenhilde safely poured tea for everyone, I sat down and let out a deep breath. After Xenovia had a sip of the tea, she said

“You’re not good at pouring tea? Though, someone like me who only knows how to fight and eat has no right to say that huh.”

Elmenhilde humbly replied

“…A-At home, it is done by servants, so…”

I knew it was like that. Devils were the same, the upper class basically delegated all of their menial tasks to their servants. Ravel sipped her tea as she nodded in agreement.

“They are aristocracy after all, so it’s understandable.”

“But, don’t you also make desserts Ravel?”

I said. Even if Ravel was raised as a noble, she was very good at baking. Occasionally, she also took the time to bake cakes for us. It’d be a worthy contest against Kiba’s cheesecake, and Kiba’s cheesecakes are quite incredible. Ravel continued

“There are many noble girls in the Underworld who are interested in cooking, you know?”

“That’s certainly true I suppose. Rias and Sona-senpai also cook.”

Rias always cooks for me at home, and former president Sona…could also be regarded as someone who cooks. I never expected that the Devil onee-samas around me were able to take care of their daily lives even without servants around them. Elmenhilde then said

“……I will learn!”

Perhaps because her pride had been shattered, she answered rather enthusiastically. Xenovia continued

“Compared to that, it feels as though Elmenhilde has tripped in places where there are no obstacles. This goes beyond Asia as well.”

Ah, indeed. Putting it that way, Elmenhilde always trips over anything. Perhaps her degree of carelessness is above that of Asia.

“…That is!”

Elmenhilde originally wanted to protest, but her voice dissipated halfway through.

“…Please watch my performance from now on.”

…It seems she understands what she wants to do. Her attitude when we first met was haughty and aggressive, typical of a pure-blooded vampire…I never expected to see such a surprising side to her. …It seems there are things that I wouldn’t have seen if we weren’t living together. Whilst we continued chatting in this manner, we continued our work. As the end of business approached, Ravel looked at the time as she said to me

“Ise-sama, it’s almost time. After this—”

“Yeah, I know.”

Indeed, we also had a meeting scheduled for today. The people we were going to meet were — Dulio’s [Brave Saints] team that we would face in our match at a later date. We were going to meet the [Trump Card of Heaven][5].

(Part 2 of 4) (15/8)


Part 3

The place where we would meet the [Joker of Heaven] was — the Hyoudou residence. In fact, choosing to meet at a church-related facility was not a bad idea either, but we were mutually understanding of each other, so we were unable to decide on the meeting place until it was quite late. So we simply chose one of the meeting places of [DxD], which also happened to be the Hyoudou residence. To speak of a reason to meet…it was an opportunity for us to meet and greet the main force of the [Brave Saints] whom we had not been introduced to yet before the match. The Gremory peerage and Rias’ team members were originally going to join us, but Rias coincidentally also had a match, so they were training until late at night. Rias had her own circumstances to take care of, so they would have to wait until next time to meet the main force of the [Brave Saints]. To sum up, only the Hyoudou Issei peerage, the [Sekiryuutei of Blazing Truth] team, and Dulio’s team were meeting. They arrived here through the underground magic circle and were then welcomed upstairs to the Hyoudou residence’s VIP room. The two groups split up and sat across from each other at the long table. I sat on one side, facing the other [King] — Dulio sat opposite me. The person sitting beside me was not my [Queen], it was Ravel. My team did have a [Queen], but I did not yet have a [Queen] in my own peerage. By the way, my [Queen] Bina-shi was present this time. Under usual circumstances, she wouldn’t appear unless the entire team was training. …After all, as someone who knew of her true identity, I also knew that it was not easy for her to be here. Bina sat upright so as not to draw attention to herself…but she still wore a mask, so she became the centre of attention even more. The members of the two teams then began to give self-introductions. However, not all members of the other team were present. It appeared as though the only people who had come were the Aces of the Four Great Seraphim who acted as representatives. In addition, the supervisor of the [Joker of Heaven] team would also be here…. They were different from us as they hired someone to fulfil the role of supervisor. There was nothing wrong with this according to the rules. Professional Rating Games also allowed supervisors to be hired. However, in the majority of professional Rating Games, the [King] personally commanded rather than the supervisor. The role of the supervisor was something that I only found out about afterwards, and the teams who hired a supervisor were a small minority. Moreover, in professional Rating Games, most of them were arrogant nobles who would say things such as

“I don’t need any kind of supervisor! I’m more than enough to command!”

The concept of appointing a supervisor was not prevalent because the total number of players was not particularly large. This was one of the reasons that Rias told me. The other major reason was because Devils naturally had long lifespans, so the age of their bodies wouldn’t put an end their careers, and thus they remained active players for their entire lives. After all, since they could be active for their entire lives, it was understandable that there weren’t any players who would retire to become a supervisor. …Perhaps this was also a problem of the Rating Games. With that in mind, the organisers of the World Tournament had yet to formulate rules on the supervisory position. In actuality, many participating teams aside from the Devils had appointed their own supervisor. The [Joker of Heaven] was the same, and they had recruited a certain famous Rating Game player into their team. Perhaps because of this, our teams were alike in that we were on a winning streak. …Although we had not yet faced a team with god-class beings, they had been victorious against teams composed of so-called monsters from various mythologies. Their supervisor was also a very famous person that we knew of, and we were quite surprised the first time that we heard about it. Ravel was highly vigilant of them. Their supervisor…it seemed like they would be late. So we began our self-introductions first. Ravel made a suggestion to us before the meeting.

“Ise-sama, everyone, this meeting may become an opportunity to reconsider our strategy. Underneath the peaceful surface of the meeting, you could say that we’ve already begun to spy on each other’s intelligence. After all, our opponent’s supervisor is that person.”

Though Irina retorted

“Really, this is simply a greeting with some Angels. It won’t become something that drastic.”

Although that was what she said…. It was impossible to ignore Ravel’s advice, so we tentatively kept our guard up. But just as Irina had said, they were comrades who had fought against Qlippoth with us; it seemed quite impossible given that it was Dulio, Sister Griselda, and the members of the [Brave Saints]. We introduced ourselves first.

“Uh, I’m the [King] of the [Sekiryuutei of Blazing Truth] team, Hyoudou Issei—”

In roughly the same manner, the self-introductions of our side started with me and then concluded. It was now time for the [Brave Saints] to introduce themselves. I more or less recognised them because we commonly received reports from the Aces and other important members during the battle against Qlippoth. Irina stood up. She was a member of the [Brave Saints] herself, and was Michael-sama’s Ace. But this meeting was in accordance to the teams in the World Tournament, so she was sitting on our side. Irina extended her hand to introduce us to the members of the [Joker of Heaven].

“Ise-kun, these are the main members of the [Brave Saints]—”

“We are the [Joker of Heaven] team, Ise-kun.”

After that, Irina then mentioned the opposing side’s captain — also a [King], it was Dulio who sat opposite me. The reincarnated Angels then began to introduce themselves. The next person who stood up was a tall, black-haired man whose beard seemed to complement the deep features of his face. He wore a priest’s clothes, though his solid physique was also evident…I remembered that he was German. Based on our information, he was roughly thirty years old. He turned the back of his hand towards us, allowing us to see the letter ‘A’ emerge on top of it.

“It’s nice to meet you all. I am Diethelm Waldseemüller. I am Raphael-sama’s [Ace]. Let us be acquainted from now on.”

His demeanour and manner of speech was reminiscent of a gentleman’s. Asia seemed rather concerned about Diethelm. The reason for that was his ability — due to his Sacred Gear. Diethelm didn’t notice Asia’s gaze, and smiled gently.

“Sister Asia. I have heard that you possess a similar ability to my own, I wanted to meet you at least once.”

“Y-Yes! The same goes for me!”

—Asia nervously replied. Indeed, according to our intelligence, Diethelm’s Sacred Gear had the ability of recovery. However, it differed from Asia’s as it could not be used on simply anyone, rather, it could only be used on believers — in other words, it was limited to people from Heaven. Precisely because its recovery had limitations, it didn’t cause harm to the Sacred Gear System, and thus wouldn’t result in exile like Asia’s did…. But I still hoped that changes could be made to the Sacred Gear System. The next reincarnated Angel — who stood up rather energetically, was a priest who appeared to be similar in age to us. His most distinctive trait was his spiky golden hair.

“I am Nero! Nero Raimondi! I am Uriel-sama’s [Ace]! My hobby is helping those in need! I’m good at exterminating Devils and vampires!”

—There was no uncertainty in his hearty and loud declaration! It didn’t feel sarcastic or hateful, perhaps he was simply a very direct person. Beside him, Diethelm frowned as he said

“…Nero, what exactly are you saying in front of others?”

Despite being criticised by his elder, he didn’t seem concerned as he simply placed his hands on his waist and boldly laughed

“Hahahahahaha! Don’t worry about the small things, mister Diethelm! There’s no reason to be too concerned with everyone! To put it simply, I’m skilled at exterminating evil things, so please keep that in mind!”

The young priest — Nero turned his face towards Xenovia and extended his hand.

“Yo, Xenovia! Long time no see!”

“…Yeah, you look as energetic as always.”

Xenovia’s acquaintance? It wouldn’t be surprising if they had met when she was a warrior of the Church. Based on his name, he was probably an Italian. Upon being greeted, Xenovia sighed.

“Do you know each other?”

I asked.

“Well, I suppose. If you reported directly to the Vatican, then you would recognise Dulio Gesualdo and this guy even if you didn’t want to.”

As talented warriors, they probably would have heard about each other within the organisation, and it was also possible for them to have met each other. Nero, who was in particularly high spirits took something out from his pocket. —It was a heroic mask.

“This is [Captain Angel]! He won’t back down no matter what difficulties he faces, he is the righteous friend of children! This is my other identity! I would very much like to have a contest against the [Chichiryuutei Oppai Dragon]…no, I wish to perform with you on the same stage!”

Captain Angel…I had seen him several times in the tournament so far. Heaven was also trying its hand at hero-themed shows. Irina said

“I may have said this before, but after Heaven heard about Ise-kun’s [Oppai Dragon], they thought that the production of a hero for their believers was also a good idea. So at that time, Nero put his hand up for the role.”

Dulio also added

“I don’t mean to flatter, but he is very popular with the children on our side.”

“Dulio! You should exaggerate more at times like this! The goal is the [Oppai Dragon]! And to surpass the [Oppai Dragon]! So please tell that to the [Oppai Dragon]!”

Nero declared to me. Being overwhelmed by his presence, I could only squeeze out

“Ah, alright.”

H-He’s really quite a boisterous person. Xenovia also sighed because she couldn’t stand how gaudy he was. Xenovia was also a straightforward person…but someone like Nero who acted like this from beginning to end was a little annoying. The one after the enthusiastic young priest was — a beautiful young woman who wore a sister’s black uniform! The woman that I had taken great notice of since a moment ago! Like Nero, she was similar in age to us. I also knew the sister’s name, I remembered that it should be Mirana! She was Russian! She had grey eyes with a hint of blue, they were quite mesmerising. Because it was her turn now, her face became slightly red, and she introduced herself in a somewhat shy manner.

“…I am Mirana Shatarova…Gabriel-sama’s [Ace]. …I am a sestra of the Russian Orthodox Church. Nice to meet you…”

…Aaaaaaahhhh, even her voice is super adorable…! She’s the [Ace] of Gabriel-san who represents absolute justice! This kind of cute girl is the best! Russian fairies truly do exist! To digress, the word ‘sestra’ means sister in the Russian Orthodox Church. However, hehehe…I heard rumours that all of the members of Gabriel-san’s [Brave Saints] are female! Regardless of whether it’s her Queen Griselda-san, or the Ace Mirana-san in front of me, all of them are beautiful women and girls! How wonderful! By all means I’d like to get acquainted with them! While I became excited on the inside, Dulio’s words pushed me even further.

“On that topic, Mirana has a very impressive bust, and she’s also quite famous among the female reincarnated Angels.”

—What! Upon hearing such outrageous news, my eyes instantly homed into Mirana-san’s breasts! The sister’s uniform was able to hide her body so I was unable to see it clearly…damn it! It’s such a shame that I couldn’t learn Motohama’s technique. Because of all the villains who have been attacking us, coupled with all the changes around me, I was never able to master Motohama’s technique!

“Ahh.”

Mirana-san let out an adorable sound to complain, and she covered her chest with both hands at the same time. Based on that reaction, it didn’t seem like she was angry, rather, she was just incredibly shy! That reaction is certainly new to me! This kind of shy reaction where she’s not sure what to do is something I haven’t seen in far too long! All of the girls in my house are very open, so that was naturally good. But as a man, this pure reaction was also rather delightful…!

“Dulio, this is sexual harassment you know?”

Griselda-san interrupted from the side. …At that time, I felt someone’s eyes on me. Turning to follow look—.

“……”

It was an adorable pouting Asia-chan! It was possible to read ‘I’m also a sister’ from her expression! Alright, I get it, I get it! Asia, I understand! But most of the sisters with special abilities that I meet are beautiful women! Xenovia suddenly interrupted

“Hmm! Could it be that this is the Joker team’s strategy!? To tell Ise that Sister Mirana has enormous breasts, so that Ise won’t be able to concentrate during the match!?”

After hearing that, Dulio began to laugh loudly.

“Ahahaha! I see! This was certainly a blind spot! Well then, I’ll have to incorporate Mirana’s breasts into my strategy.”

Mirana-san’s face became an even brighter shade of red! However, she shyly said

“…I-If m-my breasts can contribute to our team’s victory…then I am willing to offer…”

It takes such courage to say those words! W-Will you really offer them!? Will you really incorporate those breasts into your strategy!? That’s very bad! Seriously bad! I’ll definitely fall for it! I’ll definitely take the bait! If I was still a [Pawn], would I be able to say ‘definitely’!? I was showing an ero expression on my face, but I was currently a [King]! I was everyone’s [King]! I couldn’t let them see such a shameful side to myself! But, the opponent’s strategy was amazing! Mirana-san’s oppai will definitely be a powerful enemy! As I was immersed in the joy and pain of self-restraint, I said with a bitter expression

“…Ravel, what should I do?”

After listening, Ravel calmly answered

“—If you defeat this opponent, then you can touch my breasts as much as you like, so please overcome your desires during the match.”

—What! My manager said something like that without blushing or getting embarrassed! …Thank you so much! I am deeply grateful! What more could I ask from such a capable manager!? Bearing this powerful awareness in my mind, I solemnly responded to Dulio

“If you use Mirana-san’s oppai, I will definitely endure because I have my Ravel’s!”

Under such circumstances where I wasn’t sure exactly what else to say, Griselda-san turned to Bina-shi to say

“You must have it tough.”

Bina-shi calmly replied with

“It’s very normal.”

While on the opposite end, Dulio spoke while laughing to the point that he tried to hold back the tears in his eyes

“Oh, Ise-kun really is quite interesting.”

—A single cough caused the conversation to flow back on topic.

“Ahem. Well then.”

Saying that, the next member of the [Brave Saints] stood up. —It was a Japanese man whose lean face seemed to indicate that he was roughly thirty years old. His black hair was tied behind his head — it was a so-called samurai’s hairstyle. The light illuminating the back of his hand was a J.

“I am the Seraph Metatron-sama’s [Jack], my name is Shinra Kiyotora. Let us be acquainted from now on.”

Ah, it’s Metatron-san’s Jack! I had met Metatron-san before. He was quite fascinated with Japanese culture and practiced real ninjutsu [6]…. However, the man’s name reminded me of someone.

“Could it be that you’re a relative of Shinra Tsubaki-senpai?”

Indeed, the name Shinra was from Japan’s special ability user group — one of the Five Principal Clans. To be able to become a reincarnated Angel, he was probably from this family. Based on that, I thought that this Shinra-san and Shinra Tsubaki-senpai should have some sort of connection. Moreover, he resembled the appearance of Shinra-senpai to some degree. The man — Shinra Kiyotora also seemed to know Shinra Tsubaki-senpai.

“Tsubaki? She is the daughter of one of my relatives.”

Shinra Kiyotora immediately answered me. So he was from the same family. Dulio also commented again

“Seiko bears the blood of the Shinra clan, and he is also the uncle of the current head, the [Shinra White Tiger]. However, he believed in Christianity, and came to the Vatican on his own to become a warrior of the Church, and he is also well-known in Heaven.”

Oh, he’s from the Shinra clan but he became a follower of Christianity. And he eventually became a reincarnated Angel. He went through that kind of process huh. However, Shinra-san seemed to have something to say about one of the things that Dulio mentioned.

“…Dulio-dono, as I have said before, please do not call me Seiko…”

Dulio laughed loudly in return.

“But I heard that Kiyotora can be read as Seiko, plus I think Seiko is cuter anyway.”

That frivolous attitude was undeniably fitting of Dulio! It was certainly possible to read it as Seiko, but a Japanese man probably wouldn’t like being called that name. Shrina-san coughed again.

“…Ahem, in any case, I am from the Shinra clan and I am also a reincarnated Angel. Although I am someone from the Five Principal Clans, both my mind and body are dedicated to Heaven and Metatron-sama.”

After Shinra-san’s self-introduction ended, the last member of the [Brave Saints] for today was — Griselda-san. She stood up to introduce herself to us.

“I think most of you already know, I am Gabriel-sama’s [Queen], Griselda Quarta. As always, thank you for the trouble of taking good care of our dear Xenovia…”

[No, not at all.]

Aside from Xenovia, Ravel, Asia, Irina, Rossweisse-san and I all replied like so. Xenovia wore a complex expression on her face. In this manner, the self-introductions of the reincarnated Angels came to an end for today. The Joker Dulio, the Aces of the Four Great Seraphim, Metatron-san’s Jack, and Gabriel-san’s Queen. As reincarnated Angels, they held the characteristics of their respective cards, and would be able to utilise their tremendous strength so long as they were in sets, which they were actually able to do in their present team combination. …Among the Four Great Seraphim, only Michael-san, Raphael-san, and Uriel-san brought their [Brave Saints], aside from their Aces into the Isolation Barrier Field. The remaining Angels were Gabriel-san, Metatron-san, and other members of the Seraphim. The remaining reincarnated Angels had been selected as participants in the tournament. But for now, even without mentioning the Aces, Queens, Jacks, and members of Ten and below, I was quite worried. Also, the female Queen (the Seraph Sandalphon-san’s Queen) was also another one of them. I would have liked to meet them as well.

“The other members…won’t be coming?”

When I said that, Dulio smiled bitterly.

“If I brought them over, then I’d be giving Ise-kun too much trouble. So most of my players are on standby. I originally wanted to bring over a [Ten] and another [Queen], but…”

Having mentioned the Ten and the other Queen, their reason for declining the meeting was that

“They presumably felt that their own ability was still insufficient.”

“Aren’t they also strong?”

Irina followed up for her comrades who couldn’t be here. After all, being given such important jobs, they presumably were rather incredible people. However, regarding the Aces of the Seraphim Metatron-san and Sandalphon-san, they had originally been invited to partake in the tournament…but because of their special tasks, their official entry would have to wait until the end of the qualifying rounds, so we wouldn’t encounter them in this match. There were also rumours of ‘another trump card’ — the existence of an Extra Joker that made Ravel quite concerned. But it didn’t seem like they were in Dulio’s team…. Xenovia let out a sigh after seeing the members in front of her.

“No matter how you look at it, they’re all incredible. When I was a warrior of the Church, the few people who had earned a reputation for themselves have now been gathered here. If this was the previous era, they would be a fighting force capable of taking on ultimate-class Devils and their peerages.”

Just as Xenovia had said, all of the members who had gathered at my house were known to be powerful when they were Church warriors. Of course, that also included Xenovia and Irina. …If they’re members who can easily defeat high-class Devils, and if we were still in that era, then they’d be strong enough to launch an assault on the Underworld. After the Angels completed their self-introductions, Dulio clapped his hands.

“—Anyway, that’s pretty much how it is. Before our supervisor arrives, why don’t we have a chat?”

Even if we were going to be opponents later on, Dulio was still so cheerful as a captain, and the atmosphere in the room remained vibrant. After we had been chatting for about ten minutes, there was a knock on the door.

“Ise, a late guest has arrived.”

Kaa-san said to me through the door. It should be the supervisor who was mentioned earlier. In the instant that the door opened and we saw that person — the atmosphere immediately changed and became filled with tension.

“My apologies. It’s because I’m not very familiar with the geography of Japan.”

That person — was an ultimate-class Devil. His silver hair was paired with a suit, a twenty-something year old man who appeared to be of European descent. His deep green eyes gave off an endless sort of feeling. The man revealed a thin smile as he introduced himself.

“It’s nice to meet you, everyone of the [Sekiryuutei of Blazing Truth] team. I am the supervisor of the [Joker of Heaven] team — Rudiger Rosenkreutz. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

—Rudiger Rosenkreutz! …As a reincarnated Devil who was originally human, he had established many legends in the Rating Game of the Underworld! As an ultimate-class Devil, he was one of the strongest in the Game — he was ranked seventh. Even so…this man was the supervisor for Dulio’s team! It was quite a shock when we heard about the news. It wasn’t just me, even the Underworld’s media was in an uproar. This man had once served as a referee for my match against Sairaorg-san. …Moreover, the most crucial point was that he one of the reincarnated Devils that I saw as my goal. I stood up to greet him solemnly.

“It’s nice to meet you, I am the [King] of the [Sekiryuutei of Blazing Truth] team, Hyoudou Issei. Thank you for serving as a referee of my match in the past.”

Rudiger-san waved his hand and replied with

“You allowed me to see a wonderful match back then, I was very satisfied.”

Diethelm-san, who originally sat beside Dulio, stood up and offered his seat. He probably took into account that Rudiger-san…the supervisor should be the one to sit next to the captain, Dulio. After Rudiger-san thanked Diethelm-san, he sat down slightly opposite me. —I could strongly feel his stateliness. His manner of walking and sitting were both like an art, and his entire body exuded a sense of dignity. Compared to the former human reincarnated Devils that I had met before, the atmosphere that he gave off was as far from them as heaven and earth—. At this time, Ravel said

“I never imagined that you would become the supervisor of this team, Rudiger-sama…”

Ravel’s words mirrored the opinion of the Underworld’s media. As a Devil of the Underworld, Rudiger Rosenkreutz had not registered to participate on his own, but instead chose to join the tournament as a supervisor!? —This staggering situation had caused a great deal of unease. In response to that, Rudiger-san smiled

“Fufufu, well, I should say that it was by chance, or an unexpected encounter. Since their aim and mine were the same, we decided to join hands in this tournament. In any case, it’s nice to meet you.  —Hyoudou Issei-kun.”

The person that I saw as a target was trying to shake my hand! For the sake of etiquette, I immediately reached out and shook his hand over the table.

“Y-Yes. The same goes for us, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Rudiger-san smiled cheerfully.

“You don’t have to be so stiff, your opponent isn’t me, it’s Dulio and the others.”

Dulio also laughed

“That’s right, I’ll feel lonely if you only look at supervisor Rudiger, Ise-kun.”

Ah, to be able to meet a legend among reincarnated Devils, I couldn’t help letting my attention drift towards him! He was also the supervisor of the opposing team, so I’d still be worried even if not for the Underworld’s media. In order to turn the atmosphere back to how it was before their supervisor Rudiger arrived, Ravel stood up.

“Since we’ve all introduced ourselves now, I think it’s time for some fresh tea. I’ve already prepared a cake for everyone, so we’ll also refill everyone’s tea.”

After hearing that, Irina also stood up.

“I’ll go downstairs to bring the tea and cake up!”

After saying that, she left the room and went downstairs. Rudiger-san looked at each of us who were members of the [Sekiryuutei of Blazing Truth] team. Suddenly — his eyes paused on Bina-shi. Rudiger-san asked

“…Is the masked woman over there the one called Bina Lessthan?”

“Yes, it’s nice to meet you.”

“…The same goes for me. Your match was very interesting. Perhaps you have some experience with the Rating Games? …Though, it is somewhat discernible that you are familiar with the rules.”

“Well, I wonder about that.”

…In that brief exchange, it felt as though he had discerned something. To be more exact, just by watching Bina-shi’s battle, he seems to have gained some kind of clue…? Ravel’s expression didn’t appear to change, but she was becoming nervous on the inside. Sitting beside her, I could clearly feel that. …If they were able to gain any information, they would be able to use that information in their strategy, was what Ravel was probably thinking. When Rudiger-san noticed Asia, he asked

“Oh, Asia Argento-san, your face seems a bit pale.”

“…Ah, please excuse me. I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately.”

In order to follow up for Asia, I interjected

“Ah, about that, Asia—”

However, my explanation was interrupted, and Rudiger-san continued

“It is after all the most difficult period for a club president. Asia Argento-san, the best thing to do at this time is to speak with your predecessor or your other seniors. It’s no good to keep everything to yourself.”

“Y-Yes.”

Asia replied…. …Rudiger-san’s investigation was thoroughly detailed…! Ravel said

“…You seem quite familiar with Asia-sama’s situation.”

Rudiger-san’s cheerful smile remained unchanged.

“She will be an opponent in the upcoming game after all.”

“……I see.”

All Ravel could do was smile…she was actually so nervous that she had completely tensed up. We continued chatting lightly for a while to relax, but Rudiger-san maintained his gentlemanly conversation manner. At that time, Irina appeared behind a small dining car with cake and tea.

“Here is cake and fresh black tea.”

While serving cake to the guests, Irina said

“The person who helped me to cut the cake was Elme—”

“Irina-sama! I-I will also help you!”

Interrupting Irina, Ravel also helped to serve the black tea. After that, the meeting ended without any incidents…. After the conclusion, Ravel spoke to me alone.

“…My behaviour just then was somewhat contrived, I’m sorry. However, I think it’s better if Rudiger-sama doesn’t know that Elmenhilde-sama is currently living with us.”

She meant when Irina was serving cake huh. Irina was originally going to mention Elmenhilde’s name, but Ravel judged that that would be bad. Ravel continued

“Since Rudiger-sama has even investigated Asia-sama’s situation to such detail, it’s safe to say that he’s thoroughly investigated every member of our team already.”

“Ravel, do you want to hide Elmenhilde?”

Ravel nodded. …It seemed like she was planning to add Elmenhilde into the team. That was why she wanted to hide information about her. With a sharp look, Ravel said

“The battle has already begun, Ise-sama. The purpose of that man’s visit was for final confirmation. —He personally came to confirm our faces, attitudes, lives, environment, and atmosphere.”

So Rudiger-san personally came to get a feel for us at home….

“…That’s pretty scary.”

“After all, that man rose to the top and is ranked seventh. In addition, Rudiger Rosenkreutz-sama will take advantage of his opponent’s mental state to manipulate the game’s situation. The number of high-class Devils from the original seventy-two pillars who have been crushed both physically and mentally by that man are countless.”

The other player that Bina-shi and I had spoken about the other day — it was Rudiger-san. …We were going to fight against the [Joker of Heaven] team commanded by Dulio, while their supervisor was the ultimate-class Devil ranked seventh in the professional Rating Games — Rudiger Rosenkreutz.

(Part 3 of 4) (25/8)


Part 4

That evening—.
Rias, Akeno-san, and the Gremory peerage members who were participating in the tournament were going to return rather late due to certain things that they had to do, so I wouldn’t be able to sleep with Rias tonight. Speaking of which, ever since the tournament began, Rias would often take Akeno-san to a particular place. She didn’t tell me about the details of the situation, but it appeared to be related to the tournament, which is why she probably didn’t tell me. According to the tournament’s system, a game could be set up quite quickly after applying. Rias had an upcoming game, so she obviously wanted to prepare. …As for myself, my next match with Dulio was just as important, of course, but the tournament didn’t only consist of this match. So long as one registered, the next match, the one after it, and the one after that one…all of those matches could be arranged in this fashion. In reality, I was quite worried about what would happen after Dulio’s match — having said that, this was one of the most crucial matches for us. Even if our teams were divided, we were still part of the same Gremory peerage, and our relationship was no different than it was before. But we were rivals in this tournament. So we had to act separately. In any case, the person sleeping with me tonight was Asia. …Speaking of Asia, she didn’t seem to be in a very good mood after the meeting ended. Perhaps it was because she was angry about the way I looked at Mirana-san, who was also a sister. Ah, I’d already told her before going to bed that the number one sister in my mind was Asia! No no, perhaps it would be better if I told Asia that she was someone precious to me again!? …B-But, Mirana-san is also pretty cute, and she’s also got an enormous rack…. …No, I can’t! I shook my head, and changed the ‘beautiful sister’ in my mind from Mirana-san to Asia-chan! In any case, Asia was important to me, and I had to tell that to her! —When I had finally sorted out my feelings, I changed into my pyjamas while Asia had gone to take a bath…it was at that time when I heard a knock at the door. A voice came from the other side of the door.

[Ise-sama, do you mind if I interrupt?]

It was Ravel’s voice. She wanted to talk about something before going to bed. Perhaps it was related to Rudiger-sama.

“Come in.”

After I answered like that, Ravel opened the door and entered. I originally thought that she had come to discuss the situation, but I was stunned as soon as I saw Ravel’s appearance! —Ravel was wearing a transparent white negligee! Needless to say, Ravel’s abundant oppai were faintly visible, and I could also see their tips through the negligee! Perhaps because Ravel was embarrassed, her face was so red that it couldn’t possibly get any redder, and she stood on the spot while fidgeting shyly. She had let her hair down, and there was also a touch of red lipstick on her lips. Ravel said with a determined expression

“…R-Rias-sama and Akeno-sama aren’t here tonight, so Ise-sama will sleep together with Asia-sama tonight, right?”

“Y-Yeah, that should be the case…”

“T-The three of you normally sleep together…”

I gulped! The manager who normally supported me in such a calm manner was now showing such a demure expression, and on top of that, she was wearing this erotic and transparent negligee…I couldn’t calm down! While enduring the embarrassment, she said in a loud voice

“…I’ll be the third person tonight! Ise-sama’s night should be managed by m-me, so that’s why I’ve come!”

M-Management of my night—. …What did I just hear? I actually heard such surprising words from Ravel’s mouth…! I-I simply couldn’t imagine what kind of management this would entail! Ravel seemed to prepare herself mentally before moving closer to me, step by step. …Her transparent negligee was right in front of me! Her bountiful oppai were flaunting their existence in front of me! M-My manager, my [Bishop] truly has such enticing oppai!  Ravel’s trembling hands grabbed onto my right hand — and then she pressed it onto her right breast! My right hand enjoyed the full sensation of her ample oppai, and my hand almost sank into it! Such perfection! Such softness! All five of my fingers were screaming ‘thank you…’ as they enjoyed utmost happiness! It was in this instant that I realised that I had such pleasant oppai right by my side! Ravel looked up and said with a slightly drowsy expression

“…Xenovia-sama and the others asked me if I did anything unspeakable in the office’s storeroom…and I got carried away by responding with [Yeah, in regards to that, I could satisfy any and all of Ise-sama’s impulsive requests there.].”

“Impulsive requests…?”

“M-My mind and body already belong to my [King], in other words, you, Ise-sama. Regardless of whether it’s work…o-or other things, I will respond to you…. I-If you want to touch w-women’s b-breasts, then I can immediately satisfy your request…I think that’s part of my job…”

……Naturally, blood gushed out from my nose. …What on earth is t-this girl saying! I-If you say that, then every time after work

“Phew — when we take a break, I want to squeeze some oppai. Ravel, may I?”

“Yes, it’s my pleasure!”

—What are you making me imagine!? N-No, this should be okay from my position as a [King]! Even if I do hold the highest position, playing with oppai while in the middle of work is difficult……. ……C-Could such a thing be allowed…? …As a Harem King, can I allow such things!? Damn it! At times like this, if Azazel-sensei were here, he’d be able to give me the best advice! Sensei, hurry up and defeat Trihexa and come back! So that you can answer my questions! Rias and Akeno-san, those two onee-samas aren’t here—. On nights like these, the Hyoudou residence — difficult situations like this happen in my room! It’s normally Rias and Asia who sleep with me. But if Rias isn’t here and the balance between the girls who live with me is upset, unexpected visitors start showing up in front of me. Normally speaking, Akeno-san would creep into bed without anyone noticing, but that Akeno-san wasn’t present at the moment…which is why an unexpected situation like this occurred! While enjoying the sensation of Ravel’s oppai, I imagined our workplace situation from now on! I-It was at this time when someone stepped into the room! Looking in that direction — it was Asia who had returned from her bath!

“…Ise-san? …And Ravel-san?”

Wearing her usual pyjamas, Asia looked at me and Ravel — I was touching Ravel’s oppai while she was dressed in a transparent negligee — she looked back and forth between us!

“A-Asia!? T-This is because…!”

I immediately tried to make an excuse — but not only did Ravel not move away, she liberated her usually restrained attitude, and instead she clung onto me tightly!

“Asia-sama, excuse me. I’ve already reserved Ise-sama. Tonight I’ll be in charge of Ise-sama’s night management…”

After saying that, Ravel’s soft body pressed against me even more tightly…! The bath towel in Asia’s hand fell to the floor, and she seemed to be at a loss on what to do.

“…Reserved? N-Night management…? Ise-san, did you have such an arrangement with Ravel-san…? I-I haven’t heard about it…”

Well that’s only natural, because I didn’t know about it either! This is something that was only mentioned just now! I didn’t even know what to say anymore! —All of a sudden, the lights in the room switched off! In an instant, I sensed two people run into the room at an incredible pace! The two people approached the bed that Ravel, Asia, and I were on at a speed that mirrored lightning! In the darkness, those two people — I was finally able to see them clearly. —It was Xenovia and Irina! R-Really! These two people actually switched off the lights and then came running in like ninjas! Even in the dark, Devils were able to see clearly. Ravel, Asia and I were in the centre of the bed, while Xenovia and Irina had respectively occupied the left and right side, leaving me completely surrounded. Xenovia turned her face towards me as she asked

“Ise, your eyes were completely glued to that sister’s chest during today’s meeting.”

Irina leaned against my back, and rested her head on top of my shoulder as she looked at my face and said

“That’s right! I also noticed where darling was staring!”

They were talking about Mirana-san, as it seemed that like Asia, they had also noticed….

“T-That is…I couldn’t help it! Dulio told me as well, so I couldn’t stop myself from staring at them.”

Although I didn’t actually see them, I couldn’t help thinking about that shy reaction of hers as well as the outrageously large oppai underneath her sister’s uniform. So I couldn’t help staring at them! Xenovia grabbed my hand and placed it on top of her own oppai while a sense of regret seemed to appear on her face!

“Kuh…. Although I’m fairly confident about the size of my own breasts…I definitely lose against Mirana Shatarova’s…!”

Even though you have a regretful expression on your face, doing something like this…! Thank you! The healthy bounciness and superb sensation of Xenovia’s breasts caused my brain to boil! While I enjoyed the sensory pleasure of Xenovia’s breasts, she said

“Rather than this, don’t you have something to say to Asia?”

Feeling Asia’s gaze upon me, I looked at Asia who was beside me.

“…”

The aforementioned Asia had puffed out her cheeks and was clearly in a poor mood.

“A-About that, Asia, I actually…”

“…I-I’m also a sister.”

“Mmm, I know.”

“…Ise-san, you like big oppai like Rias-oneesama’s, right?”

I wouldn’t be myself if I denied that, so that much should be certain—. With a determined expression, Asia immediately took off her pyjamas, and showed off her completely nude birthday suit to me! Even though her face was completely red, Asia still mustered the courage to take both of my hands — and place them onto her own breasts! An incredible sensation assaulted my hands! —It was at this point that I noticed! …I confirmed the feeling that I was unable to fit into my hands…! I occasionally touched Asia’s chest, so that’s why I was able to realise. —Asia’s oppai had definitely grown bigger again! …Of course, they weren’t as large as Rias or Akeno-san’s, but they were quickly catching up to Xenovia’s and Irina’s…! Their touch, elasticity and their firmness, it was completely different from a year ago…! —Compared to when we first met, the size of Asia’s oppai had already grown immensely! While blushing a deep shade of red, Asia spoke to me in a strong tone of voice

“I-I’m also growing! T-They’ll definitely become like Xenovia-san’s and Irina’s…they’ll be roughly the same size as Ravel-san’s, no, they’ll definitely become larger than Ravel-san’s! I’ll definitely become a sister with oppai that exceed Mirana-san’s, Ise-san!”

—What. ……Asia, she actually declared that strongly without retreating at all. …Compared to her usual self, she’d normally be overwhelmed by Rias and Akeno-san’s presence and be left with teary eyes…. Although she did have help from Xenovia and Irina, I never expected that Asia would be able to make such a declaration! Seeing Asia like this, Xenovia and Irina began to cry.

“…Yes, that’s right, Asia.”

“Uuh, we’ve tried all of the different methods to increase our bust size! Darling, I’ve also gotten slightly larger by the way!”

Irina’s additional information leaked out…. With a poignant expression on her face, Ravel nodded.

“Devils and humans are different, even if we mature, it’s still possible for our bodies to continue growing. This is not only because of our demonic energy, there are also other reasons…perhaps Asia-sama’s thoughts have caused her reincarnated body to grow.”

Speaking of which, I had heard that after Devils mature into adults, their oppai could still continue to grow. Perhaps Asia was an example of this rumour, though this may also have been Asia’s original growth. Or perhaps both of these aspects had combined, producing the ultimate result—. While thinking about such matters, I continued to enjoy Asia’s twin peaks…. Oh, I really want to bury my face into them and then go to sleep like this. Seeing me obsessed with Asia’s soft twin peaks, Xenovia suddenly realised something as she said

“Hold on! Ise, you only want Asia’s oppai!? I originally planned to spend until morning with you!”

“That’s right! Darling, if you don’t believe me, then we can go to that room tonight and you can fall asleep on my chest!”

Ravel then joined in as well!

“Impossible! Tonight’s management has already been assigned to me! Please return to your own rooms, Xenovia-sama and Irina-sama!”

The three people then continued to declare ‘it’s me’, ‘it’s me’, while Asia displayed a tender expression

“…Ah, Ise-san, i-if you keep on going like that…”

Asia’s body began to quiver, and I was no longer in a state where I could simply stop! Both of us were already approaching a point of no return! What should I do next, should I just sleep here, or should I go to Irina’s ero room to sleep; just as I wavered between those two options, another person entered the room again.

“…Seriously, what are you all doing…”

It was Rias who had just come home. She looked at the scene in front of her, and sighed deeply.

(Part 4 of 4) (25/8)

[1] Asia seems to stutter and mispronounce a few words.
[2] This is the term used originally, so I’ve kept it. Spartan in this sense means something along the lines of a strict, military-style education.
[3] Approximately fifty square metres. That’s five hundred and thirty eight feet for the Americans.
[4] Her voice is inaudible during the ellipses, though you can guess what she was saying.
[5] Alternate reading is: Joker of Heaven.
[6] Reference to the short story entitled “Nekomata☆Ninja-Scroll” in DX.2 Life.5.

Continues on to Life.2 Dragon Attracts Dragon

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124 Responses to HighSchool DxD Volume 23 (Life.1)

  1. Anonymous says:

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    Does the author read these posts

  2. Anonymous says:

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    Can issei  use senjutsu just wondering

  3. adris says:

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    Thanks again for this.

    The angels are too inteligents… This is the reason of Issei vs Angels rating game result..

    Ravel surprised me. hahaha. Ishi remembering the fans that Asia is growing(in a crazy way).. Although in the DXD 3 beach image, seems that Issei bishops are body measurements are similar, like Ishi mentions here.

    Impulsive requests.. He is finally having a good time with the girls.. That females devils powers.. Even the devil lolis can grow good with luck..

    I remember the spoilers of the Life 2.. FINALLY ACTION.

  4. Mousam says:

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    I don’t know it would be a sopiler or not…

    But I think bina is the top lady of rating game….

     

    I think some of you or most of you would remember her… I forgot the name… But I think she is in rank 2 or 3… And as a lady she is first.. And she also used king piece… That’s why I’m not confirmed that it’s her….. But after this life.1 …i think it could be that woman

  5. Mark Calaway says:

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    Thkz mix letter’s man (zzxxzzzxx) thkx for translation
    by the way why u stop story of rogue hero translating man
    I really wanted to read itx vol 2to 6 man
    if possible please translate them too
    humble request thkx

  6. Anonymous says:

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    I think Ise is haunted by a phantom named “cockblockula’

    • Versace says:

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      That’s just cause the author’s editor denied any 18+ scenes in the DxD novels since it was to be released in shounen magazines. The auther has expressed in the Afterwords that he did originally plan to add mature scenes but the editor denied him.

  7. Anonymous says:

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    It would be good that mirana joins issei’s harem she would make a  good  rival for  Asia she didn’t have one  before risa had akeno Xenovia Irina and koneko ravel she  didn’t have to  better herself  with

  8. Anwesh says:

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    Hey zxzxzx, I just wanted to ask if you have any idea when life 2 of volume 23 can be started.

    Thanks for the good work by the way. 🙂

  9. Tobiichi says:

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    Thanks for the chapter

    Why Roseweiss didn’t join the fray in Ise room? Its almost no development for Ise x Roseweiss relationship.

  10. Anonymous says:

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    Is issei going to get all of vali’s dragon abilities he is more of  a dragon  then vali

    • Anonymous says:

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      Well I see it’s more probable of issue becoming a dragon God emperor than values at this point, he’ll ophis   even said issei will reach eventually as long as he lives long enough to ascend and after ascension he will probably be strong than the original full power ophis

      • Versace says:

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        The major difference between Vali and Issei is that Vali is a Pure Blooded Devil and has magical capacities far greater than the average devil. Issei being a reincarnated devil does not have that and severly falls behind Vali in that regard hence why Vali was able to acquire Dragon Defication Mode for his Gear and remained unscathed.
        But probably because of this, Issei will reach greater heights than Vali because of his body being made by DxD(The Emperor Dragon which Issei merged with) and combined with the powers of the Infinity Dragon. Hmmmm… Issei the Infinite Dream Dragon God Emporer. Wow, that sounded op.

        • Anonymous says:

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          Vali mother is a human, Vali father is the devil..

          He is only half demon.. But one descendant of the Devil King Lucifer with Albion sacred gear..

  11. Grayfia_Fanboy says:

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    Damn, Issei has it rough!

    Rudiger-san is a problem. It seems like he is targeting Asia. Now, does the “Supervisor” participate in the game? Does he use an EP or somehow the place of one?
    Oh, and Mirana definitely goes in the Harem.

  12. dragonosman2 says:

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    Thanks for the update, man!

     

    I like how Rias came into the room right at that moment, but I also feel bad for the other girls.  Especially Ravel.  But I liked getting to know about Asia’s body’s growth and also the explanation Ravel gave.

     

    That said, though, I wonder if telling Ise about Mirana’s breasts is part of Dulio’s strategy like Xenovia said.  I know Dulio acted like he only thought of it after Xenovia mentioned it, but I’m not sure if I should believe that.  But Mirana seems to be exactly Ise’s type, so I think she should join the harem.

    • victor says:

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      I doubt it… I see the adult versions of both similar in many things.. We have enough blondes(Asia, Ravel, Kuno, Le Fay) for add another similar to Asia….. For one angel, for the moment Irina is here..

      I see Asia as the only sister in Issei harem, I don´t see the two here after listen this:

      I’ll definitely become a sister with oppai that exceed Mirana-san’s, Ise-san!”

       

      Lint has more possibilities… The old Ishi idea of make Freed one ally used in a Girl..

      She is in Rias temporal team, with one old sacred gear in the story, similar to Freed in appearance scaring Issei team initially for then make her friend of Church Trio? and Issei know her past and her objective.. All this in a little more than 1 volume..

  13. Kemm says:

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    Thanks for the chapter.

    I am a cectpa of the Russian Orthodox Church.<-you have mixed up cyrillic alphabet with roman alphabet; the word "sister" in russian looks indeed like "cectpa", but it's сестра (es-ye-es-te-er-a, not cee-e-cee-tee-pee-eɪ), read as "sestra" (with the "e" in "bed" and the "a" in "apple"). In these cases, the usual thing is to (correctly) transliterate it, so it should be "sestra".

  14. Anonymous says:

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    Thanks a lot, you seriously surprised me with this updates and I was very delighted by them

    Come on, Ise-san, if he continues to be dragged around by the girls he’ll only make them disappointed

  15. Bennia Lover says:

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    You sure Mirana’s surname is not Shatalova instead? Because the surname Shatarov does not exist and Shatalov is masculine.

    • Bennia Lover says:

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      ^Sorry I meant Shatarova does not exist but Shatarov also does not seem to exist

      • zxzxzx says:

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        The katakana for her first name is “ミラナ”, which could be interpreted as Mirana or Milana, while her last name is “シャタロヴア”. Given that Japanese doesn’t really differentiate between ‘r’ and ‘l’, it’s possible for it to be interpreted as Shatalova or Shatarova. Both appear to be names, though Shatalova happens to belong to a more well-known person.

  16. Anonymous says:

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    When will the next life come?? Thanks for the awesome translation zxzxzx

  17. GM_Rusaku says:

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    。           ∧∧

    . ∵ .    ヽ(×ω×)/

    _, ,_゚ ∴ \(.\ ノ

    (ノ゚Д゚)ノ

    /  /   Thanks

     ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄  Nepu!!!!!!!

  18. J9162 says:

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    Wow! Thanks for the excellent update zxzxzx! It appears that Issei is continuing to grow closer to everyone. This volume is definitely focusing on the church trio and also Ravel so it’s nice to see how those relationships are developing. Hopefully the Chinese translations pick up again soon. It should be very interesting to see how the rest of this volume plays out.

  19. Anonymous says:

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    I’m had a  idea about issei’s dividing power as a defense form like his wyverns he combines his red dragon and white dragon abilities into a new scale mail form where he can use boost and divide to save himself from attack where he can’t use his wyverns and  my other idea i had was to use  the evil pieces as a army in his  wyverns like  kiba’s drag troopers he is  a pawn with different values and my first idea can be like medaka’s fusion god form I am new here if you  like it or not  just say it  I couldn’t find any where else to put it

     

    • Anonymous says:

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      i also want issei to merge with ascalon like the buddhist vajra technique of merging with weapons and practically removing his weaknesses to holy and dragon slaying weapons while making his basic form way stronger and not feel like it is made of jelly cause we know issei has payed literary no attention to his swordsman ship and ascalon is feeling misused and we need more stuff from the eastern mythology cause issei is Japanese  a the final arc

      • dragonosman2 says:

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        Ise apparently does improve his swordsmanship.  During training with Kiba.  Ise told Xenovia about it when the second-years were on the train going to Kyoto for the school trip.  He had told Xenovia she can borrow Ascalon, in response to her sayin that Durandal has been sent to Heaven for an upgrade and that she’s currently unarmed.  Xenovia says he should waste his gifts and that he should train his swordsmanship.  Ise replied with, “I have.  When you have Kiba as your training partner, your swordsmanship definitely improves”.  Ise’s sword skill is definitely improving, it’s just that he isn’t the type of fighter to actually use it in combat.

      • Tobiichi says:

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        I didn’t want his weakness to be removed. A story with an OP MC without weaknesses is plainly boring. How he struggles to overcome his weaknesses makes it interesting.

        Here’s my crazy idea. The reason for Ascalon was given to him is because Issei was the weakest Sekuryuutei, right. And I think it’s the same reason why he can steals Hakkuryuukou power. Because he was weak, there’s alot of space for other power.

        But now he is getting stronger. The more his Sekuryuutei power improve, the stronger his rejection toward those two, which is the opposite of his own power. Ascalon and Hakkuryuukou power will be pushed to the corner of boosted gear and merged. Yes, they will combine and become the Dividing Ascalon, a holy dragon slayer that can halves the opponent power.

        Just think about it, Issei’s properties: demon, dragon, boost (double). Dividing Ascalon’s properties: holy, dragon slayer, divide (halve). It will become the anti-Issei weapon.

        At the end, boosted gear will split it out cause it would poison Ise body if it was kept inside the boosted gear. Now imagine this, the weapon that can hurts you is something that come out from your own body. It sounds like Ise is somekind of legendary creature, right?

        Dividing Ascalon itself would choose Xenovia as it wielder. Why Xenovia? Cause she is the one who is the most familiar with it (Xenovia often borrow it from Ise). And if Ise do something ‘bad’, she can ‘punish’ him.

        Now Xenovia has three holy swords, but she is a dual wielder right? Should she goes santoryu like Zoro from one piece? Off course not!! The key is Exalibur ability. Use Mimic ability to change Excalibur form to mimicking Destruction Dragnar and become Excalibur armor. Most of Excalibur ability (except Destruction) are support ability, especially Blessing and Rapidly, so I think it’s the most efficient way to use Excalibur as an armor. Even Destruction can become support, like increase the destruction power of Durandal. And there we have Xenovia wearing Excalibur armor and dual wield Durandal and Dividing Ascalon.

  20. Anonymous says:

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    when it will be the next update ???

     

  21. Siperioz says:

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    After Highschool DxD ends. Will there be a continue? im really a big fan of Highschool DxD and i dont want it to end. But the afterword in volume 22 says that there maybe something planned in the future though. but what is it?
    and also thank you zxzxzx for your translation hope you will always continue the translation ^^

     

    • zxzxzx says:

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      It’s unknown at this point. There’s been no mention of anything specific, and that’s all there is.

    • Grayfia_Fanboy says:

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      I’m looking forward to College DxD. Hopefully, a live action version with more Oppai and less cock-blocking!

  22. Ray Mahardika says:

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    Terima kasih atas kerja keras nya selama ini zxzxzx, mohon dilanjutkan terus untuk menerjemah kan setiap bab highschool dxd terutama,.

  23. Anonymous says:

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    wow he`s back ^_^
    Hail the king of translate (^_^)/
     

  24. MK says:

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    Another Asia centric LN, another story showing her as “Damsel in distress”. Seriously she’s the most boring one dimensional character in entire DxD cast, hopefully this is the last LN where she is the main girl.

    • Overly edgy teen says:

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      Actually this probably will be the last volume about her and church trio from what I heard of people who already read DX3. I think it was stated on afterword if I remember correctly.

    • Nyaa! says:

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      Normally would ignore such things but

      “Our Asia chan is NOT boring” Her has continued to grow n evolve as you have seen in this chapter.

      We know how precious Asia buchou is to Issei and others. In fact her role is now more officially important because her status of Buchou. And her reponse tonight shows her determination to make Issei continue to see her as a women as well.

      Nya!

    • Anonymous says:

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      Despite I am not Asia biggest fan, I can see her interesting sometimes(I don´t talk only of ecchi), Fortunatelly she is not Haruna. The worst character of to love ru..

  25. Manaal says:

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    When does the next part start?? Btw, this series is awesome!!!!!!

  26. D.L. says:

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    This by far my favorite series, which makes you my favorite translator.  Thank you very much.

    I honestly think the Akeno proposal messed with Asia’s head.  She saw it take 10 volumes for the last buchou to land Ise, now that she’s buchou she probably thinks shes going to have to wait 10 volumes also.  She probably thought she would be next after Rias, shes easily worried when her normal is messed with.

    She’s the first one to want Ise, and now two woman publicly have him and she doesn’t.  Bad red dragon!

    • Ralph Anthony Espos says:

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      Oh, that could explain why Asia’s out of herself!

    • MK says:

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      Yes Asia is paranoid about her “buchou” title cause there is literally no meaning to her life without Ise-san. Throughout the 23 volumes, she is either talking with Ise or within Church trio about Ise.

       

      She was indeed first one to fall in love with him, but Ise didn’t fall in love with her first. Remember he thought of her as his little sister at least till vol 6 (where Juggernaut happened). Instead Ise had a crush on Rias since the series began and even liked Akeno “romantically” before Asia. So there is nothing bad about him proposing the first two girls he fell in love with.

      • D.L. says:

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        I get we all have our fav’s and not-fav’s.

        I like Asia, she’s totally Ise-centric.  And yeah she probably shouldn’t sweat it.  But to me it appears she is, so I’ll be glad when he seals the deal.

        Plus my wife, who could care less about anime, loves Asias OVA.

        • MK says:

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          Lol I dislike Asia precisely why u like her, that is for her stale & uninteresting character (totally Ise-centric). Also if u are looking forward to Ise sealing the deal with her, then u don’t have to wait much longer (*read vol 23 spoilers for more). After all, she is already sending him “the signs” in Life 1 itself.

          Happy to hear your wife likes Asia, she will also love vol 23 then 😉

  27. Ralph Anthony Espos says:

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    Thank you for your hard work!  Hopefully, you’ll have less stuff to work on so that the rest of the chapter may be translated.  But, of course, do not overwork yourself, zxzxzxさん.

  28. luislock says:

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    What part of the volume does the illustration with Akeno happen? I hope it’s not near the end lol

  29. Anonymous says:

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    Thank you very much for the translation. I hope you will translate the others chapters sooner.

  30. dragonosman2 says:

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    Thanks for the update, Triple-Zerox!

    Man, Elmenhilde is so cute.

    I’m worried about Asia, though.  Hopefully it’ll be sorted out soon.  The girls all thinking Ise and Ravel were getting busy doing erotic stuff in the store room was funny, though.  I want to see Ise’s delusion become a reality, but I guess it won’t be happening within this series.

    Ise’s work as a King seems good (the Devil’s job and all).  About what it said concerning the territory he’ll be getting as King later, I hope he gets one close to Rias’s.  That’d be good, I think.

    • MK says:

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      There is nothing to worry about Asia. As soon as Ise proposes her, she will be better than she was never to begin with lol.

       

      I think Rias will make sure Ise’s territory remains nearby as he will also have to get her approval for his independent territory. But seeing that 1 year of highschool took 22 volumes, I think the series will be over in another 1 year max (as Ishibumi said less than 30 LNs total). So this whole Ise going completely independent thing also won’t happen in this series, unless they do some time-skip.

      • dragonosman2 says:

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        I don’t think we can determine that by number of remaining Volumes, though.  Ishibumi could still have as much time as he wants in the series before it ends.

        • Nyaa! says:

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          Isn’t there info on a 2nd or spinoff series. That should be n interesting.

          Something like further adventures after Issei n Rias are married?

          mata nya.

  31. J9162 says:

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    Nice update! Thanks zxzxzx! It’s great how things are moving forward and how Issei is doing as a King. Also, his ero imaginings were rather funny, but I could definitely see that in his future someday haha.

  32. Bakhtiar says:

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    Thanks

  33. Bakhtiar says:

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    When u will upload part 2

  34. Grafia _Fanboy says:

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    Hi Triple ZX,

    I’ve been following DxD through your translations since your first and am always excited for the next installment and I know you’re going to be posting soon anyway, but how about you throw us a bone? Maybe a couple paragraphs? I’m getting a DxD deficiency like Sarafall in the dimensional pocket was missing Sona! <— Damn, that is one nerdy reference!

     

    • zxzxzx says:

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      Hey, thanks for the support mate! most of what I had was in a fairly draft state since I usually go through and reword a lot of things right before I post to make sure it flows. Though I suppose a few bits and pieces couldn’t hurt next time 🙂

      • Grayfia_Fanboy says:

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        I’ve noticed that the “flow” has been improving since your first Volume. I did not really know how to state it or why it would be so until now. Perhaps you have become more “comfortable” (not sure that’s the right word either) with the characters and storyline and so your translations are less “forced”. Again, not sure of the right words here. I think that is because I am commenting on an English translation of a Japanese thought process.

        Curious: Have any of the characters become easier to translate as you have become more familiar with them or is it the same regardless of the character? In fact, would the translation for the exact same phrase be different (aside from gender) depending on which character says it?

        Also: Mucho thanks for the update.

        • zxzxzx says:

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          I think the whole novel in general has become easier to translate as I’ve become more accustomed to it, not just particular characters. In most cases, the same phrase would have the same translation, though Ishibumi gives many of the characters in DxD their own distinctive style e.g. Xenovia leans more towards a male style of speech than the other girls, and Bova tends to use archaic/samurai language. So characters can use entirely different phrases or words, but it’ll have the same meaning.

  35. Ahmad Haroon says:

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    It’s August already

    so,whats your plan sir

    i M really excited about it

    anyone listened about the news about anime festival with voice actors of dxd they would be presenting themselves on 21 october man.

    and latest newa of anime would be told there!!!

  36. Envious says:

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    Thanks MK 🙂 Ur help is appreciated

  37. Anonymous says:

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    Great work,

    allways luv the way you keep in character w everyone.

    Next chapter

    “L-Leth’s go! W-We won’t be deheated

  38. Libertad says:

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    Thank you for the hard work.

    Please continue to translate all of this and the upcoming volumes to the best of your ability.

    Thanks again.

  39. Akash Biyala says:

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    when will the next part be translated ???

  40. gokugoku0011 says:

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    i thank u for all ur hardwork “zxzxzx”. 

    I really hope u continue this!!!!!!

  41. tiger chan says:

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    Zxzxzx when will u start working on hagure yuusha no aesthetica if possible please start

  42. Envious says:

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    Will there be more volume after volume 23 or volume 23 is the end, I would personally like this light novel to continue and give more volumes out

    • M K says:

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      At least 4-5 volumes more to come. The author has said that he wants to finish somewhere just before 30 volumes (could be 28,29).

      • Envious says:

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        So these last volume, will show issei getting married and finishing of the azazel cup ? anything else will be there ?

        • Anonymous says:

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          they will probably fully link with the story line of the spinoff exe as welll and alot of thing aree unknown like issei in exe is overpowered as fuck like even all of the arrogant gods would literally shit their pants if they know he is coming to kill them

          • Mousam says:

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            Well Issei is strong but not the strongest…. So many will not shut in their pants

          • Nyaa! says:

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            They may soil themselves,

            but i doubt they would want to underestimate him w/o a really really good reason.

            Especially after more experience in the tournament.

            I’m a few a looking forward to a good fight.

          • Nyaa! says:

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            oops ‘gomen’.

            can’t find edit aftet post.

            That should No NOT everyone will ‘shit there pants’

            Some will b looking forward to a good fight.

            With all this peace n tranquility floating around eternity can suddenly seem a bit longer.

          • Grafia _Fanboy says:

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            V22 L2 Shiva:

            ““The existence which sounds like a joke since he has the power of two Dragons that surpasses my strength is seeking for peace more than anything else and is aiming to become a Harem King, huh. …….Fufufu, you’ve taken my interest.””

            Now Shiva does not say Ise is stronger, but I think it is implied that he has the potential.

        • M K says:

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          Azazel cup will definitely be finished as it is the main event of this arc. Don’t know about his marriage. I don’t think all of his marriages will be shown, at best u can expect the first one with Rias. It is also possible that the author will time-skip (skipping all marriages) and show that they are living happily with their kids (to link with EX).

          Also I “personally” think that Azazel cup could also get interrupted by Sakra or returning Trihexa or something, so perhaps that also won’t complete lol.

  43. lycxix says:

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    can anyone send me links to summary of vol 23..

  44. Tiggz1914 says:

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    Thx for the chapter

  45. ABS says:

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    thxt for the traslasion

  46. Seven Arcs says:

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    I really want to read the raw version of dxd but because of kono suba and roku de nashi my budget are quite tight this month. Can you give me the link for DxD raw please

    • zxzxzx says:

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      I’m using Kindle for PC to refer to the JP raws. AFAIK it’s DRM protected and I haven’t seen any publicly available versions.

  47. Audac1ous says:

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    any idea on when part 2 will be out around?

  48. Grafia_Fanboy says:

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    “L-Leth’s go! W-We won’t be deheated [1]!”

    Is she mispronouncing the words due to Kiryuu rubbing her cheeks?

    • zxzxzx says:

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      Possibly. It’s either that or she’s nervous, though it isn’t entirely clear.

      • Nyaa! says:

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        I think maybe both possibly.

        Asia is as stated now “Buchou” for ORC.

        Her only role till now has been Rias ‘now’ zennbuchou after graduating.

        Though also stated i think, Rias n Akino-san will help out ‘eventually’ if she actually needs it.  Recall b4 Issei’s formal proposal Rias felt seperated because business is business. So once Asia feels more comfort w her position as Buchou n Issei’s peerage she’ll warm up again.

        • Nyaa! says:

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          More Evil typo’s i blame ‘chaos’ faction for this.

          That should be Asia’s ROLE MODEL til now has really mostly been Rias. Asia saw how she felt seperated even when she was allways No. 1.

           

  49. Matthew says:

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    Thanks for the translation looking forward to the rest. Also I can’t wait to see Tiamat and Issei meet and I’m assuming it’s going to be in the next life.

  50. Anonymous says:

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    OMG the great zxzxzx actually commented on my comment, my life is complete ( this is not sarcasm)

  51. Anonymous says:

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    thanks for the translations Zxzxzx thanks

  52. Anadi says:

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    I turned my around to speak to Kiba who was sitting behind me.

    I don’t know, maybe something’s wrong there? 🙂

    Thanks for the update like always!

  53. Audac1ous says:

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    thanks for the translations just keep them coming ur awesome

  54. Pk says:

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    Thank you zxzxzx for your awesome work ! 🙂

  55. M K says:

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    Thanks for translation.
    Asia seems to think that her title of Buchou is why Ise hasn’t proposed her yet. How silly!!

    Well her rank 2 position was taken by Akeno in last volume, though I don’t have problem with that 😀

    • dragonosman2 says:

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      Yeah, if that’s really what she thinks, she really is being silly.  But she could also just be thinking, in this scene (when she said “It’s because I’m Buchou”) that she has to make their team win as the Buchou.  Though now that I think about it, what you said does seem more likely.

    • Mousam says:

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      I think she is getting nervous because she is new president….. It’s not about 2nd or anything

    • J9162 says:

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      Ah I think it’s more that she’s now Buchou and she’s still not used to it quite yet. This is her turn to really lead the group in that role and she’s also reflecting on how Rias was and probably still doesn’t feel worthy of that title.

      As for ranks, there really isn’t any in general. Issei places no numbers or positions on the women in his life (what they make up on their own is another story hahaha), but she is basically with the Church Trio now, so if something happens, I’d say it’ll happen for all of them haha.

      • M K says:

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        If u read the spoilers of volume 23, u would know why I said Asia is thinking about Ise’s proposal. Besides, anyone who has read all the volumes till now should know that Asia is the last person to care about winning in a school competition. Her character is shown to only care for Issei’s affection. In fact, I think if u read her all her dialogues from volume 1 on-wards, at least half will have “Issei” in them.

        About ranks, Issei doesn’t place them at any position is true. But the girls themselves are competing (which also Issei doesn’t want) and mostly know about their positions. Like in volume 22, after Ise proposed to Akeno, Ravel started telling Kunnou about the girls’ rank. It’s only because of this rank system that Rias became less aggressive (after vol. 10 when she became Leagal-wife, Rank 1) and the other girls (Akeno, Xenovia etc.) became more aggresive to rise in their ranks.

    • Nyaa! says:

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      I can’t see her position being changed. Akeno even says she is happy w her rank 3. The proposal was convenient timing for everone.

      It had to feel special and graduating would fit that.

      Really your boyfriend ‘fiance’ proposes on your graduation day? Could it get better thsn that?

      I think Asia buchou is maybe now feeling the similar responsibility that Rias zenbuchou  did. and will help her truly grow into a more independent person instead of ‘I follow because he saved my life’.

       

      • dragonosman2 says:

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        Yeah.  The position didn’t change.  Asia is still number 2 and Akeno number 3 (though Ise doesn’t care about the ranking aside from Rias being number 1).  I guess as far as Ise is concerned, they’re all number 1.  It’s the girls themselves that compete for the ranking.

  56. Anonymous says:

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    Arigato Gomasu ??

    • zxzxzx says:

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      I think what you’re looking for is “ありがとうございます”, “arigatou gozaimasu” if romanised, though the ‘u’ at the end is usually silent.

  57. Mousam says:

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    Thanks for translation…. I love high School dxd

  58. Bakhtiar says:

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    Thanks for the translation

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