12 Chapter 11

"Then I will withdraw, Rias-sama, Sona-sama," Akeno bows slightly with a mischievous smile, before closing the door to the occult research club.

The redhead wanted to call for help, but it looked like her queen had abandoned her.

Sona enjoys the nice tea on the chair opposite the redhead, while the latter seems to be going through an intense battle.

Rias looks at the chessboard in front of her with a lot of tension and concentration. The sweat on her palms is unmistakable sign of her emotional state.

"I'm impressed. Your queen's tea is as good as Tsubaki's," Sona said with her eyes closed, before bringing the cup closer to her face to smell the petal-like aroma.

"Sona, you said you'd go easy on me. It's not fair," Rias said in a slightly tearful voice, feeling like she was being bullied.

Because it was just her and Sona, Rias felt more at ease, without the need for all the formalities of an heiress of the devil.

"What are you talking about? I gave you a pawn and a knight early on as an advantage, I don't see how it could be any easier." Sona smiled with her eyes closed before saying again, "And don't even think about doing this."

"Ugh. You," Rias stops midway through her crime.

"You were already changing my pieces while I had my eyes closed. Even if you did it, do you really think I wouldn't have noticed the wrong positions?"

Rias shuddered.

Sona wanted to laugh, as Rias was always the very predictable type. The redhead tried, but she wasn't very good at manipulation because she didn't understand the nuances of the art of deception.

As devils, they were predisposed to sin, each having a greater weakness for a specific one.

Rias probably had a weakness for Sloth and maybe that explained her tendencies of not training and being an otaku in her spare time.

"You're still mad at me - that's why you're punishing me. So cruel," Rias said with her elbows on the table, her hand on her cheek and a slight pout.

"Of course. You were the one who asked for the trip to Tokyo and made me stay for 2 weeks just sorting out the paperwork. Nothing fairer than that."

"Ummmmm--- Sorry, I was wrong. You really are a good friend for pointing out my mistakes and I hope to get better with it." Rias bows her head slightly, before saying in a political tone. "I know of your great kindness and I'm sure we can put our differences in the past. Maybe you ---"

"No use praising, our treaty remains the same," said sona with a smile as she read once more her friend's intentions. "Whoever gives checkmate wins the bet."

"But your kindnes--"

"I'm not kind, Rias. I'm a devil."

The two stand silently looking at each other, before bursting into laughter together.

"Did you hear about the murder last night?" Sona asked in a serious tone as she moved a piece on the chess board.

"The girl at the arcade?" Rias asked with a sad look.

"Yes. I've talked to my sister about it, but the council elders don't want to send resources for investigation. In fact, quite the contrary, we're strictly prohibited from getting involved in it."

"What if this is a stray devil? We can't allow people to die like that in our territory," Rias asked in an obviously frustrated voice.

"Sigh. That's not a stray devil. The killer, whoever he is," Sona pauses for a moment, places a hand over her forehead as if she has a headache, and says, "He's not involved with the supernatural."

"And?" Rias looks confused at that. "So what if he's not involved with the supernatural? If he's making a mess of our territory, isn't it our duty to teach him a lesson?"

"I don't understand the council's reasons either. The only thing we can do is obey and wait," Sona shook her head to the side.

"It's decided then," Rias rises from her chair with renewed spirits and a twinkle in her eye.

"Huh?" Sona.

"We're going to investigate this and whoever discovers the killer's identity first wins our bet," Rias said with an excited smile.

"Nice try, but too late," Sona moves a piece on the board and says, "Checkmate."

"Ugh," The redhead loses her balance.

Sona couldn't help but smile when she saw Rias' reaction, to the point where she even internally wondered ---- Do I have sadistic tendencies?

"It's not fair, Sona. You've never lost a game of chess in your life. Let's make our bet fair game."

"Didn't you hear what I said earlier? We're forbidden to --" before Sona finished the sentence.

"Oh?" Rias takes her right hand to cover the smile on her face and, "You wouldn't be afraid to disobey the rules of old men with a wrinkled ass, would you? I'm sure they're already senile."

"Umm," Sona frowns.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. This is the perfect job for the very sexy senior investigator, Rias Gremory," - She points her finger and puffs out her chest.

The redhead finishes the statement proudly and her breasts sway slightly with a 'Boing' sound.

"You can't be serious about this," Sona looks on, hoping this was just a joke.

"Are you scared, Sona? Does the unknown scare you? Or will what you fear is your inevitable defeat?" Rias smiles and her boobs bounce once more to the sound of 'Boing'.

"Stop doing that to the boobs," Sona said irritably.

"Do what?" Rias tilts her head to the side questioningly and her breasts once again make a 'boing' sound.

She was doing it on purpose, that Sona was sure of.

"Very well," Sona stands up abruptly from her chair, unfortunately, it didn't have the desired effect and her breasts didn't make the same defiant sound. "I will discover the identity of this killer before you do and win this bet."

"Good luck with that, Sona. You can settle for the second position. Investigating is like second nature to me. It's my second best skill," Rias puffs out her chest, giving way again to the sound that irritated Sona so much.

The Sitri heiress slightly bites her lip in frustration but then smiles as she remembers something.

Although Rias spoke of himself so grandly, Sona knew her secret that few people knew...

The redhead only invested time in her otaku skills, how could she, Sona Sitri, student council president, who was so hardworking and studious, be afraid of this?

Otakus? The victory was already guaranteed, Sona smiles confidently.

(Sona's Sin: Pride. She is proud of her chess skills, academic performance, and intellect.)

...

Sato family home.

After waking up quite tired from having been up all night, I decided to skip my second day of school and stay home and rest. I just pretended to have some illness and everything was on schedule.

It would be a lie to say that I wasn't excited about my future prospects.

But there was still one problem I had to solve. The fireball spell was too flashy and any being with supernatural senses and high enough intellect might be suspicious of not feeling any sort of mana fluctuation.

I needed something strong and understated, I thought as I recalled the countless books I'd read.

The most logical thing to do is to find spells that strengthen my body and act passively.

At least for the time being I had given up on the normal magician casting method.

Every slot filled by my permanent spells means one less slot to be able to use the conventional method, which usually needed all 7 empty slots.

Because I have a second spell now registered, the difficulty of using magic that uses mana has increased to 9 times.

This means that if I had six full slots and only one free, the casting difficulty level of a conventional magician would be 729 times harder for me.

With each less empty slot, the difficulty level increases by three times.

Leaving this problem aside for now, I was about to erase the fireball spell from my slot and replace it with another one... Until an idea suddenly came to my mind.

I crack a smile and reflexively bring my hand to the juncture of my glasses.

...

It was night now.

The moon proudly shining in the sky with no obstructions in front of it.

I'd spent the last few hours soaking in formulas again and had surprises in store for my enemies. Hmph, I could only feel sorry for them in the face of my sheer power.

Inside jokes aside.

My wish was to be in the comfort of home now, but here I was --- walking alone in the streets of Kuoh due to my crazy magic teacher's request.

Ugh. Who said anime life isn't hard?

There were still a few people walking the streets, however the closer I got to my destination, the less the movement of people.

I walked until I arrived in front of the abandoned mansion I was used to seeing, however, I must confirm that seeing it at night is even scarier.

I've already tried to talk to Hikimage so he can give the facade a makeover, but he vehemently refused.

According to him, the dark facade was to keep away the workers of the internet, energy, and water companies, and who knows what else he had in his head.

I reach for the door and, "Huh?"

The crack in the door was open, meaning that Hikimage had forgotten to close it.

As I pushed lightly, the dry creak of the old door sounded, giving way to a vision of a half-lit hallway.

The hallway had small candle-like lamps on both sides, the paint on the walls was a moss green color, and the architecture unlike the outside was tasteful.

The impression was that I was in a 19th-century house with European features.

"Heyyy. Hikimage-san? Anyone there?" I said as I walked and observed the details around me.

Halfway there, I stop in front of a wall and notice something.

This house had many paintings, many of them renaissance designs, but if I could describe something about...

I felt a certain sense of melancholy in each of them.

See as an example the picture I have in front of me... It was a man who holds an ax and had a mustache. His face is stern and unsmiling. The choices of background and scenery colors indicated a desolate land and an air of sadness.

Deciding to put that aside, I continue to walk until my feet land on something that makes mine freeze.

"That," I say with my eyes wide.

It was blood marks on the hallway floor, which creep towards the door of a room with the door open, leaving a crimson trail.

My heart is racing, but I grit my teeth to hold back the fear and decide to investigate further. Anything I had the means to get out of there safely.

Walking slowly I approach the door with my spells ready for use.

Upon entering the room I find a large hall, with no sign of Hikimage or any sign of life.

The blood trails stopped in the middle of the hall. The surrounding environment had what looked like furniture covered with a white cloth, which I supposed was meant to keep the dust from reaching them.

The background of the hall had a large fireplace that was unlit and a huge painting, by far the biggest I had seen in this house.

Moving in a little closer for a better look, I see that the painting depicted a boy who looked to be about 12 years old and a girl in her mid-16s. The two were blond and very similar to each other, with formal clothes that looked like they came from the last century.

The boy also vaguely resembles the shape of the man's face in the ax and mustache painting.

Were they related? I wondered.

"Having fun on your little excursion, my dear student?" sounded a voice as deep and serene as the chill of the night.

"Huuhhh?" I turn around, startled to see Hikimage standing a few meters to my right.

An uncomfortable silence descended.

"Sorry? The door was open and no one was--er-- answering. I ended up finding this place by accident."

Hikimage remains silent.

Following his gaze, I go back to looking at the two teenagers in the painting.

After a while of silence, I venture to ask, "Who are they? If you want to tell me of course."

"They're dead and that's all that matters," he replied without much detail.

I wanted to ask for an explanation about the blood in the hallway but thought it wise not to dare.

"Let's not waste time here," He tells me handing me a paper with some runes I didn't recognize.

I use appraise magic just to make sure it was safe and my fears felt unfounded.

It was a teleportation item where both targets are switched with each other in a certain situation.

"Where are we going today?" I assumed our goal wouldn't be to stay here.

"You're always so stuck with your books, my student. Maybe what you need to improve is a little action," He raises his palm and some magical symbols form on the floor.

The giant gets on top of the symbols and turns to me, "Let's go??...."

We have a hunt to do.