Chapter 28: You Know What I'm Going to Do, Right? (Patreon)

Become a peerage member... of the Gremory family?

The question came so suddenly that the nun was utterly unprepared. She sat there on the sofa, eyes blinking blankly, looking exceptionally innocent and clueless.

Eh? How did the topic suddenly switch to me?

A large question mark slowly materialized above Asia's head.

"Peer... age member? What does that mean?"

"It means becoming a member of the family," Akeno Himejima explained, scooting closer to the young man beside her until their hips were practically touching, shoulders pressed together.

"Oh right, there's one more thing we forgot to confess to Asia. Actually, our Gremory family... we're all demons, you know~"

Fwoosh—!

As her words fell, as if to prove her claim, Akeno Himejima smiled and gently snapped her fingers. In the next second, a pair of large, bat-like demon wings unfurled dramatically on either side of her back.

One wing, unobstructed, was clearly displayed before the nun. The other wing curved around Akeno's back and gently draped over Hanakain Fubuki's shoulder, while she herself leaned in closer, nestling against him.

Simultaneously, Rias's dissatisfied voice came from the other side of the sofa.

"Akeno, your wing is poking me over here!"

"Apologies, apologies. I just wanted to show Asia, and I accidentally~"

Akeno Himejima maintained her smile, unfazed, but her hands weren't idle, wrapping around Hanakain Fubuki's arm as she spoke softly.

"Come, let's move over a bit more. A demon's wings aren't their primary weapon, but it can still hurt quite a bit if you accidentally get brushed by one."

Saying this, she used her ample peaks to trap the young man's arm within the deep valley between them, pulling him slightly further away from Rias.

This action caused two more veins to throb visibly on the red-haired girl's forehead.

What the heck is going on today? Does she absolutely have to provoke me like this?!

"Wait..."

Only then did Asia, on the opposite sofa, finally process everything. Her eyes flew wide open, and her already fair face instantly turned deathly pale.

"Then that means... Rias-senpai and Akeno-senpai, and Koneko-chan too... are all demons?!!"

"That's correct," Akeno Himejima, leaning most of her weight onto Hanakain Fubuki, affirmed with a nod.

"Then what about Mr. Fubuki?!"

"I'm human."

"I-Is that so... Well, that's good..."

Hearing that the young man was still human, Asia let out a small sigh of relief.

However, she immediately realized how dangerous that thought was. What did she mean, "that's good"? It wasn't good at all!

She remembered her time as a Saint in the Church, where the prevailing atmosphere was one of absolute hatred towards demons. Any discussion about them required gritted teeth and a desire to devour their flesh; even a slightly peaceful attitude would be questioned as weakness.

Let alone having normal conversations with demons.

Even someone like her, unwavering in faith but whose healing power worked on demons, was branded a heretic and expelled from the Church.

And Hanakain Fubuki, an Onmyoji, even a representative of a major Onmyoji family, was interacting amicably with members of a pure-blooded demon family. This... was Japan's exorcism scene far too open-minded, or had Japan actually been conquered by demon forces already?

The nun's head started to spin.

"Well~ If you must know, I suppose I am considered something of a 'heretic' among Onmyoji," Hanakain Fubuki said with a shrug.

"Although the mainstream ideology in the Onmyoji profession still insists on absolute opposition between humans and demons, monsters, and ghosts – including some old stubborn folks in my own family – due to certain experiences I had growing up, I choose my friends based on their hearts, regardless of race or faction."

"Besides," he continued, "the one stationed at Kyoto's Yasaka Shrine right now is the Eastern General of Japan's Youkai World. Her true form is a Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox, you know? She's responsible for regulating Kyoto's weather and even collaborates with the official meteorological agency. Yet, you don't see those Onmyoji groups going on crusades against her. Is it because a Nine-Tailed Fox doesn't count as a Youkai? Surely it can't be because they can't win, so they only bully the weak and fear the strong, right?"

The young man spread his hands and concluded.

"Ultimately, you have to discern and define your own circle of friends. Deciding based solely on factions isn't reliable at all."

"Exactly."

Rias, whose mood had finally improved after listening to that long explanation, chimed in.

"If we're talking specifics, Akeno used to be a Shrine Maiden, but now she's my Queen."

"Q-Queen?"

Asia's small mouth opened even wider.

Akeno-senpai is Rias-senpai's Queen? They... got married?

"Not the common meaning of Queen that you're thinking of, Asia! It's just a position based on chess pieces!"

Seeing the blonde girl's expression, Rias knew she had misunderstood and quickly waved her hands to explain.

"We demons typically use chess pieces to assign roles in our peerages. Like, I'm the King, Akeno is the Queen, and Koneko is a Rook. While most demon families with a male demon as 'King' will find a female demon to be the 'Queen' and marry her, not all families are like that. Neither my brother nor I follow that."

"Rias-senpai's... brother?" Asia tilted her head slightly.

Akeno explained, "Lord Sirzechs. He's the President's older brother and also one of the current Four Great Satans of the Underworld."

One of the Four Great Satans!?

The nun nodded in awe. "Wow, Rias-senpai's brother is such an incredible person..."

"Anyway, to use an analogy, the 'King' is like the student council president, the 'Queen' is the vice president, and below them are various department heads like the sports club manager, publicity head, etc., corresponding to Rook, Knight, Bishop, and so on," Rias explained patiently.

"Of course, if you, Asia, were willing to join, you would likely hold the 'Bishop' position. This way, not only could you see Fubuki every day, but you could also provide support in future battles, such as healing, and so on. And we would absolutely never abandon you like your former church did."

Although, they had never actually seen Fubuki injured before.

"Never gonna give you up~"

The young man, who had been quiet, suddenly hummed the tune of a certain classic hit song from the last century.

The next second, Akeno Himejima beside him burst out laughing, quickly placing her index finger on his cheek to stop him from singing further.

Still, it inevitably caused a slight crack in the carefully cultivated atmosphere.

Rias shot him a helpless, exasperated look. On the opposite sofa, the white-haired girl averted her gaze, using the motion of eating snacks to hide the twitching at the corners of her mouth.

Only Asia, having had little exposure to the internet growing up, didn't get the reference. She nodded hesitantly but earnestly.

"So long as this lets me fight alongside Mr. Fubuki... Hmm~ I understand. However, I need some time to think about this."

"Mm, of course, that's no problem," Rias replied generously.

Just as the conversation seemed to be winding down, Hanakain Fubuki suddenly felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

He took it out and saw a text message from Saeko Busujima. The content was quite brief:

[Can we meet somewhere after club activities? There's something to discuss.]

Below it was a selfie of her waiting at the school gate.

Hmm, looks like the Jujutsu Association has finally reached a decision.