Chapter 33: Rias Makes Her Move (Patreon)

In the afternoon, inside the old school building, the early summer sun slanted through the windows, illuminating the living room.

It was the last few minutes before the end of the final period. Rias, having skipped classes all day, was currently sitting on the living room sofa. Her legs were crossed, one hand loosely clenched into a fist supporting her cheek, as she stared silently at the floor before her.

Anyone could tell she was zoning out.

"President… President? Rias?"

A gentle call came from nearby, but the red-haired girl remained unresponsive, as if she'd muted the entire world, still lost in her stare at the floor beneath her feet.

Akeno Himejima had no choice but to slightly raise her voice.

"Rias!"

"Ah… Hmm!?"

Startled by the loud voice so close by, Rias snapped back to reality abruptly. Her eyes blinked as she instinctively looked up towards the sound.

Her friend's slightly worried gaze met hers.

"What's wrong, Akeno? Why are you looking at me like that?"

The red-haired girl subconsciously tried to curve her lips into her usual smile, but it ended up as barely a twitch.

Akeno reached out, touching Rias's forehead with the back of her hand.

"Rias, are you alright? I've already called in sick for you at school today, but are you really okay? If you're truly feeling unwell somewhere, you need to tell us..."

"Mm~ Akeno, don't worry, I'm fine."

Dodging her friend's touch with a shake of her head, Rias managed, with some effort, to finally squeeze out a somewhat reassuring smile.

"I-I'm just… a little bit, never mind, don't worry… I'm fine…"

Her logic was muddled, unable even to form a complete sentence. Even if she kept saying not to worry, how could anyone truly not be concerned?

Akeno straightened up, frowning slightly as she looked at her friend on the sofa, whose expression was gradually drifting back into contemplation. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found the words difficult to voice.

This wasn't the first day, after all.

It had been like this since last Friday, or more accurately, since Saturday morning.

For two consecutive days, she had just sat alone on the living room sofa all day long. When asked what happened, she refused to say anything, as if her lips were sealed shut.

That was the most frustrating part.

Helpless, Akeno could only take a temporary step back.

She took out her phone and waved it towards the red-haired girl on the sofa, who looked moments away from sinking back into her own world.

"Rias, should I message Fubuki and tell him you're not feeling well today, and since there's nothing else going on, he doesn't need to come over?"

This statement felt less like a question and more like a prodding tactic.

Sure enough, as the words fell, Rias, who had been slow to react just a second ago, quickly looked up. Her lips parted slightly, moving soundlessly a few times.

Finally, she slowly uttered a sentence.

"Oh, then you can tell him that."

???

Something's wrong. Something is definitely wrong!

Akeno knew this clearly in her heart, but since Rias herself had said it, she could only comply.

...

Meanwhile, in a classroom on the second-year floor of Kuoh Academy, Hanakain Fubuki, having just finished the last class, was still packing his bag.

The voice of the young nun, also packing her desk nearby, reached him.

"School's finally over, hehe~ Time to head over to President Rias's place, right?"

"Yeah, we'll head straight over once we're packed..."

Hanakain Fubuki was about to nod in agreement when his phone vibrated lightly in his pocket before he could finish speaking.

Hm?

He took out his phone and saw it was a message from Akeno.

[President is unwell today, so club activities are temporarily cancelled.]

What's this about club activities being temporarily cancelled? Making it sound like the Occult Research Club is just some ordinary hobby club...

The moment he saw the message, Hanakain Fubuki couldn't help but grumble inwardly.

But considering they had just dealt with the troublemaking Fallen Angel a couple of days ago, taking a couple of quiet days seemed somewhat normal.

However, about this 'feeling unwell' part…

Hanakain Fubuki turned his head towards Asia, who had already finished packing her bag beside him.

"Asia, did Rias mention feeling unwell these past two days?"

"Eh? President Rias?"

The blonde girl blinked, then quickly shook her head.

"I haven't heard anything about that, no. But she did seem really preoccupied these last couple of days. We asked her what was wrong, but she wouldn't say..."

Preoccupied?

Hanakain Fubuki scratched his forehead, thinking to himself that this was a bit tricky.

Frankly, everyone has things weighing on their mind, just like everyone gets sick sometimes.

It's just that some worries are like catching a cold or a fever – common and not embarrassing, so you can easily confide in friends and ask for advice.

But other worries are like certain specific illnesses – rather difficult to talk about.

In those situations, no matter how proactively someone asks, they're bound to get no answer.

It requires the right time, the right place, and the right person all aligning before the confider will voluntarily share what's on their mind.

In other words, they could only let nature take its course.

After a moment's thought, the boy's thumb flew across his phone screen.

[Is she okay? Need me to bring any medicine over?]

Send.

Barely five or six seconds passed before Akeno's reply came back.

[No, no, Rias says she'll be fine after resting for a couple of days. It's nothing serious.]

Just as expected, a generic reply.

Since that was the case, Hanakain Fubuki didn't press further. He sent a simple "Okay" back, put away his phone, then looked up and shrugged at Asia, who was tilting her head beside him with a puzzled expression.

"Akeno just messaged. Said Rias isn't feeling well today, club activities are cancelled. So I won't be going over. I'll head home early today. See you tomorrow morning."

"Ah… is that so."

Hearing that the boy was leaving now, Asia, whose eyes had been filled with anticipation just a second ago, couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

However, she quickly pulled herself together, flashing her usual healing smile and nodding firmly.

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Fubuki."

"See you tomorrow, Asia."

...

Meanwhile, back in the old school building.

"Rias, I told Fubuki, okay? I told him he doesn't need to come today. He should be heading straight home now."

Akeno put down her phone and addressed her friend on the sofa.

She had expected this might provoke a reaction from Rias, but unexpectedly, after hearing her words, Rias merely gave a small nod, then got up from the sofa and stretched lazily.

"Thank you, Akeno. I'm going to take a short walk outside. You, Koneko, and Asia can go ahead and eat dinner first. I'll eat by myself later when I'm feeling a bit better."

"...I understand."

"Thanks."

Thanking her again, Rias gave a slight smile, left the living room, and exited the old school building.

Then... after confirming no one was around, she quickened her pace and headed straight for the main school gate.