11 An Offer

"*Sigh*"

Kento found it extremely difficult to explain that he just wanted to enjoy his life.

Why was it difficult? Because they were not ready to believe it.

"You really didn't think this through, huh?" Rias said, a bit disappointed from her voice.

"Look." Kento frowned. "I do not know the type of answer you are looking for, but I am not some terrorist or someone that wants to harm anyone."

He knew that they were being defensive about their turf. 

"But why do you even care what I am?" He asked, honestly wanting to know their goal.

"We told you that we are the ones in charge of Kuoh."

Rias' answer did nothing other than pissing Kento off.

"And who made you in charge?" He fought back. "Lucifer? Last I checked he was banished to the underworld not to meddle with the mortal world. So, why are `devils` in charge of a human town?"

He asked while making the word devil sound as condescending as possible. 

He knew it was stupid to act high and mighty when the devils could just smite him, but he knew that he wasn't wrong.

And in all honesty, he was just tired because of all the fallen and devil drama.

"Calm down, Kento." Akeno said. "We are just here to make sure that the fallens or the other beings don't pull any funny stunt, which they are trying to do."

"Exactly," Kento said. "That is what you are supposed to do. Not rule Kuoh." 

He knew that they were just a bunch of young devils with a superiority complex. He was even more certain when Rias said that she was just a year older than him.

'Is this what it is about?' Kento wondered. 'Trying to prove that they are adults and better than others? That they can keep everything under their control?'

Rias wasn't too happy about it and Issei felt a little uneasy at the whole thing.

"Hey man." He said. "I-I know it is too much to handle, but why don't we all calm down?"

Kento barely looked at him, wanting to say a lot but stopping when realizing that the guy was just an idiot who must have gotten swayed by the Rias' tits.

"That is–"

"That's enough, Rias."

The moment Rias was about to say something, Kento heard a voice –stopping her amidst her sentence. 

"He is not wrong."

As Kento looked at the source of the voice, he saw a rather petite girl in spectacles with black hair that reached her shoulder.

However, she was petite by Kento's standard yet according to the standard of the place, she was taller than average.

He thought of her to be an underclassman, but with the two people behind her, he had a guess that she was someone with higher authority.

Behind her stood a boy with blonde hair and a build that was similar to Issei. Alongside a girl with long black hair and spectacles, with a height that was a little taller than the girl in front.

"Sona…"

The girl nodded before looking at Kento. "Pardon me for not introducing myself when you admitted." She said. "I am Sona Sitri, the heiress of the Sitri house from the seventy two pillars as well as the president of the student council."

Kento was taken aback at the student council president being a devil.

'Then again… Anything is possible at this point.' Kento sighed.

"However I go by the name of Souna Shitori in school."

'Really? She got Souna Shitori from Sona Sitri?' Kento wanted to say it out loud, but he knew that this would worsen the situation.

"And as one of the people looking after Kuoh, I apologize for the troubles you had to face recently."

She apologized, which made Kento calm down a little.

"But Sona–"

"That's enough Rias." Sona said. "He is not related to any fallen or supernatural. We already checked his background."

"Excuse me?" Kento was horrified at the reveal. "You spied on me and checked my background?"

"I apologize for that." Sona said. "But recently the fallen angels had been trying to make contact with the humans and harming them in the process. So, we wanted to make sure that you are your family was not harmed in all this."

Kento could not say much when she put it like that. 

'She is better at talking than Rias.' Kento sighed, realizing how well the girl was handling the situation.

"We are not here to rule this place." She said. "We are just here to make sure that the fallens don't harm the humans as… if the humans came to know about the existence of the supernatural, it would cause a lot of trouble for the devil race as well. So, we hope you understand." She looked at Rias. "As for Rias, she has been going through a lot, the fallen issue being just of them. So, I hope you don't take her words to heart."

Kento took a deep breath. "So, you still want to interrogate me?"

Sona shook her head. "No. We understand that you are far more confused and worried about your new powers than any of us are. So, we understand and don't want to trouble you more." She gave a small smile, which Kento wondered if it was even real. "And you are free to ask any question if you want."

Kento had a few questions, which he wanted answered but even before he could ask –Issei chimed in.

"W-What am I supposed to do from now on?"

Sona smiled and took a seat as the duo stood behind her. "That is for Rias to explain to you."

The girl in question was seemingly not happy at how Sona handled the situation, but she knew that she had to answer a lot of questions as well.

"For now." She smiled at Issei. "Nothing much. Since you are now one of my peerage members, you just have to figure out how your powers work. Of course, we will help you as well. But other than that, you don't have to worry about anything else."

"Oh." Issei nodded. "Okay."

Kento wondered if the boy was even aware of the situation that he was in. But he had other stuff to worry about.

But first, there was something he had to check.

<<Name: Rias Gremory 

Skills: Greater Demonic Power (A+), Power of Destruction (A+), Castling (B+), Healing (B+), Memory Alteration (B-), Summoning (C+), Defense (C), Transformation (D), Enhanced Durability (C), Keen Intellect (B+), Expert Tactician (A-), Master Dancer (B+), Flight (B+), Stealth (B+)>> 

<<Name: Akeno Himejima 

Skills: Greater Demonic Power (C), Elemental Demonic Power (A-), Defensive Magic (A), Teleportation (B), Hypnosis (B), Cloth Manipulation (B), Enhanced Magic Power (B+), Holy Lightning (A+), Senjutsu (D), Flight (B), Greater Stealth (B), Extrasensory Perception (B), Fallen Status {Locked}>> 

<<Name: Koneko Toujou 

Skills: Demonic Power (C), Senjutsu (A-), Touki (B), Healing (B), Bouchujutsu (B+), Kasha (C), Sealing (C), Youjutsu (B-), Superhuman Physique (A), Demonic Strength (B+), Transformation (B+), Enhanced Senses (A), Flight (B), Hand-to-hand Combat (A)>>

<<Name: Kiba Yuuto 

Skills: Demonic Power (C), Demon Sword Wielder (A-), Holy Sword Wielder (A-), Enhanced Physique (C), Master Swordsman (A-), Flight (B), Masterchef (B+), Sacred Gear: Sword Birth (A-)>>

<<Name: Issei Hyoudou 

Skills: Demonic Power (E), Flight (B-), Enhanced Physique (C), Sacred Gear (sealed)>>

<<Name: Sona Sitri 

Skills: Greater Demonic Power (B+), Greater Water Magic (A+), Castling (B+), Memory Alteration (B-), Summoning (C+), Defense (C), Transformation (D), Enhanced Durability (C), Genius Intellect (A+), Expert Tactician (A+), Flight (B+), Stealth (B+)>> 

<<Name: Saji Genshirou 

Skills: Demonic Power (C-), Enhanced Physique, Flight (B), Sacred Gear: Absorption Line (A+)>>

<<Name: Tsubaki Shinra 

Skills: Demonic Power (C+), Enhanced Physique (C+), Defensive Magic (B+), Teleportation Magic (C+), Naginata Master (C), Sacred Gear: Mirror Alice (A-)>>

Kento gulped thickly as he checked their statuses. But immediately brought himself back to his senses as this was not what he was interested in at that point.

"This peerage thing." He asked, taking a deep breath. "How does it work?"

Sona smiled a little to see that Kento was a curious guy. She was one of the girls that preferred people around her to be smart and aware of their actions.

And Kento was just like that.

"Rias must have explained about reincarnated devils." She said, looking at Rias who nodded in Response.

"She did."

At Kento's affirmation, she continued. "So, Satan Beelzebub developed a system that lets us devils to save and take others as peerage members." She looked at Kento. "Don't worry, we never make our members do anything that they don't want to do."

Kento did not buy into that but decided to listen to what she had to say.

"The system follows the chess system. Where the king is the one with the highest authority." She said. "But don't get me wrong. Even if you are a pawn, it doesn't mean you will be treated any different from let's say the queen."

'She is really trying to sell this system as a just one…' Kento sighed.

"Beings based on the power that they possess are given the pieces. Generally pieces like knight are given to those who are specialized in physical abilities, bishop to those that are adept in magic, rook for brute strength and queen for high magic or bloodline skills." She explained as simply as she could. 

"What about pawns? Rias said that I was transformed using eight pawns–"

"Issei!" Rias shouted, seemingly not happy at him revealing the truth.

Sona's eyes widened at the reveal. "Eight pawns…"

Whereas the boy with blonde hair's face fell at the truth.

"Is that a big deal?" Kento asked.

"Quite." Sona took a deep breath. "The potential and strength of a being during the process is estimated according to the number of pieces they require. Let's say a person is reincarnated using two pawn pieces and another is reincarnated using one piece… Which do you think has more potential?"

"The two piece guy…" Kento muttered. "But what about ones that require other pieces, like rook, bishop or knight? There are only two of them to begin with. And even the queen, as there is only one."

"Good question. The answer is pretty simple though." Sona smiled. "But let me ask you this, have you played chess before?"

Kento nodded. "I have."

"Then you must know that different pieces have different points allocated to them." She said. "Does that answer your question?"

Kento paused for a bit before shaking his head at the answer. "I should have guessed."

"Uh? What do you mean." Issei said. "I don't get it."

This time, Kento answered instead of Sona. "What she means is that pieces like knights, bishops or the queen have a far greater ability to handle potential. So, one of those pieces can handle more potential than let's say two or even more pawn pieces."

This for some reason made Issei a bit disappointed. 

"Does that mean I am not worth much?"

Kento, Sona and Rias immediately shook their heads.

'Pawns are the game changers.' Kento smiled. 'Their potential… Is limitless."

"No Issei." Rias said. "That's not true."

"Do you know what the speciality of a pawn is, Issei?" Akeno asked.

"Uh… No?" Issei shook his head. "I don't play chess."

"Pawns have the ability to transform into any other piece if they reach the enemy side."  Sona revealed. 

"Oh?" Issei's eyes went wide for a moment, seemingly figuring out what she meant.

"That means you can have the same abilities as the queen as well." Kento said. "Which I am guessing will require quite some effort."

"Correct." Sona said. "For a promotion, the pawn has to first gain enough strength for it and the king has to allow the pawn for the promotion."

"So… I have more potential?"

Kento almost laughed at his question. 'He is quite slow.'

"Yes, Issei." Rias said with a caring smile. "Although a pawn is not the strongest at the start, but with time they can reach unimaginable heights."

"Pawns are the biggest variables as they are not limited to just physical or magical abilities. They can use both and more under the right conditions." Sona's statement made Kento wonder.

"Issei said that it took eight pieces to transform him." He asked. "How rare is that?"

"Extremely." Sona answered honestly. "Someone that requires eight pawn pieces to transform has either reached a level of power that is hard to fathom or has potential of that level. This usually correlates to how powerful the king is, as the more powerful a king, the stronger the pieces. And Rias is strong." She said. "So, eight pawn pieces is quite astounding."

'This pervert took eight pieces?' Kento couldn't believe it.

"It required four pawn pieces to reincarnate Saji." Sona said, pointing at the blonde. "And he possesses one of Vritra's pieces as his sacred gear."

Now, Kento did not know what Vritra was but he had heard about Sacred Gears a lot.

"I don't think I follow." Kento said. "I have never heard of Vritra and I still do not know what a Sacred Gear is."

Sona's eyes widened at the statement. 

"You didn't explain to him what Sacred Gears are?" Sona asked.

"We were engrossed in other topics…" Rias said, realizing that she left one of the key points.

Sona sighed and shook her head. "Sorry about that."

"It's alright." Kento said, liking the attitude of the spectacled heiress. 

"A Sacred Gear is a relic, a weapon or an equipment that the…" Sona paused. "Creator of humanity made."

"You mean God?" Issei asked before being hit by a headache. "*Ugh* H-He is real?"

"You are standing among devils, are a devil and were killed by a fallen angel." Koneko raised an eyebrow. "And you thought he didn't exist?"

Kento realized from Sona skipping the name and Issei's reaction that devils could not take the name of God.

"We are not allowed to take that name, Issei." Rias said. "Please avoid using it."

"O-Oh okay."

"Back to Sacred Gears." Sona said. "During the Great War where every race fought, humans were the weakest ones as they did not have any special power. Angels had holy magic, fallens had light abilities, devils had their demonic magic and dragons had draconic abilities… but humans had nothing."

Kento nodded. 

He could not see humans winning especially when they did not even have any proper weapons.

"So HE made weapons or items for humans called Sacred Gears that humans could manifest to fight and protect themselves with." She explained. "Each Sacred Gear has  a different power, and can also be classified differently on the basis of it."

"And humans possess these gears even after the war?"

"Yes." Sona answered. "And that's why humans are so precious to other races. We devils take them as our peerage, fallens try to kill and extract them and angels have a similar system to us devils that lets them take humans with Gears to serve them."

"And you all have been wondering if I have a Sacred Gear?"

Sona nodded. "Yes. And your abilities do not relate to any of the known gears, so we were thinking of it to be some new or previously lost Sacred Gear."

"It is difficult to survive as a human with a Sacred Gear as most of the people are trying to hunt you for it." Rias said.

"That's why devils and angels often take humans to protect them." Akeno smiled.

"So, we were wondering –if you would like to join our Peerage." Sona finally stated. "I promise to help you in any way you desire and give you whatever you want."

Kento's mind went blank for a moment, before staring right into Sona's eyes.

"Yeah, no thanks."

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[[[A/N: Read ahead on Pat reon: Pat reon.com/Greedyfrog

Won't post tomorrow as I will have the jj stent removed from my ureter (post kidney stone surgery thingy).

As for why Rias's demonic power is A+ and Akeno's lower is because Rias's power is from her bloodline/power of destruction and without that it would be lower. As for Akeno, her power is calculated without her queen piece.

Don't worry, MC will soon be able to take them on –if not by stats then definitely by skills and items.]]