Chapter 9: CH 9
The next day, Jin woke up to the familiar sounds of his family downstairs. As he descended the stairs, he found his parents having breakfast with Issei. Everything seemed normal—as he had suspected, his parents had gone on a date the night before to give Issei some alone time with his girlfriend.
Sitting beside his brother, Jin asked casually, "How are you today, Issei?"
It was a routine question he asked every morning, but today, there was a hint of concern in his tone. After all, Issei had spent the night with someone who might not be as harmless as she appeared.
Fortunately, Issei seemed as energetic as ever.
"Oh! I'm great, Nii-san! I feel supercharged after hanging out with Yuuma-chan yesterday!" His voice was full of enthusiasm, his smile practically radiating joy.
"That's good. Today's Wednesday, so you've got PE, right?" Jin asked, taking a bite of the breakfast his mother had prepared.
At this, their father, Gorou, chuckled as he set down the newspaper he had been reading.
"Hahaha! Jin, you should keep an eye on your brother so he doesn't sneak a peek into the girls' changing room again." Gorou gave his eldest son a teasing grin.
"Consider it done, Father," Jin replied with a slight smile.
At that moment, Issei's face turned red with embarrassment.
"Hey! I won't do that anymore, you hear me?! I'm done with peeking! I have Yuuma-chan now—I'm a changed man! I'll even burn my collection later!"
Issei pounded his chest with pride, as if declaring his transformation to the world.
Both Gorou and Miki froze in shock, their mouths slightly agape as they turned to Jin, silently asking if they had heard correctly.
Jin chuckled at their expressions—it was understandable. After all, the idea of Issei abandoning his perverted ways was almost too good to be true.
"Let's trust him for now," Jin said with a grin. "I'll make sure to be there when he burns his collection—to make sure nothing gets 'accidentally' left behind."
"Yeah! Make sure I burn every last one, Nii-san!" Issei declared, his voice brimming with determination.
At that moment, Miki and Gorou's eyes began to water. Overcome with emotion, they exchanged glances as if they couldn't believe what they had just heard. Their son—the infamous pervert—had finally seen the light.
"Issei…" Miki whispered, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.
"My boy… I'm so proud of you," Gorou added, his voice thick with emotion.
"I'll make something special for dinner tonight! We need to celebrate this moment!" Miki announced, her smile radiant with joy.
Kuoh Academy - Student Council Room
Inside the student council room, Shitori Sona—better known as Sona Sitri—sat at her desk, her expression unusually blank.
The room was filled with the low murmurs of the other council members—all of whom were watching their president with curious eyes.
Unlike typical school councils, this one was composed entirely of young women—and each of them belonged to Sona's peerage. As a high-class devil and the heiress of the Sitri family, Sona had carefully selected each member using her Evil Pieces, a system that allowed devils to reincarnate other beings as their servants.
Even so, it was rare to see Sona looking this troubled. Normally, she maintained a composed and dignified demeanor, never allowing her worries to show. The only times she ever seemed flustered were when someone mentioned her older sister—Serafall Leviathan.
Finally, Tsubasa Yura—one of the council members with short blue hair—broke the silence.
"Fuku-Kaichou, do you know what's wrong with Kaichou?" she asked, glancing toward Shinra Tsubaki, the vice president.
Tsubaki, standing near the window, gave a small nod.
"I have some idea… but I can't share the details," she replied calmly.
"Eeh? Why not?"
The one who whined was Meguri Tomoe—a girl with brown hair tied in pigtails.
"Come on! You can't just say that and leave us hanging! Not fair!"
Tsubaki, however, remained firm.
"No can do. If you want to know, you'll have to wait until Kaichou decides to tell you herself. It's a… delicate matter."
"I agree with Fuku-Kaichou," added Kusaka Reya, a soft-spoken girl with light brown hair braided into two short plaits.
"As members of Kaichou's peerage, we should support her—not pry into her personal matters."
"Exactly." Tsubaki nodded approvingly.
At that moment, Sona let out a long sigh, finally breaking her silence.
"Tsubaki," she called softly. "Could you make me some tea? And as for the rest of you—you may leave for the day."
"Of course, Kaichou." Tsubaki bowed slightly before turning to the others. "Well, you heard her. I need to prepare tea for Kaichou."
"Yes, we'll get going," said Hanakai Momo, the only white-haired girl in the room.
"See you tomorrow, Tsubaki!" Tomoe waved cheerfully as she headed for the door.
"Alright," Tsubaki replied with a small smile as she watched the others leave.
Once the room was quiet again, Tsubaki moved to the corner where the tea set was kept, her movements smooth and practiced from years of experience. Within a minute, she had prepared a steaming cup of tea and placed it gently on Sona's desk.
"Thank you, Tsubaki," Sona said with a faint smile.
"It's nothing, Kaichou. But… are you still troubled by what happened yesterday?" Tsubaki asked gently.
"To be honest… yes." Sona sighed, cupping the warm teacup in her hands. "I'm worried about how to tell my family that I lost a chess match. And considering the promise I made to my parents…"
"Kaichou…" Tsubaki's voice softened. "Your promise was that you would only marry someone who was smarter than you, right?"
"Yes, that's right." Sona gazed down at her reflection in the tea. "That's why this situation is so troublesome. Hyoudou Jin meets the requirement—he defeated me in chess, a game I've always been confident in."
"But that doesn't necessarily mean he's smarter than you in every aspect," Tsubaki pointed out. "Why not wait until tomorrow and see what happens? After all, you're going on a date with him, aren't you?"
Sona's eyes widened slightly as realization dawned on her.
"Of course! If I can prove that he's not actually smarter than me outside of chess, then I won't have to marry him!" she exclaimed, her voice tinged with hope.
"Exactly. I think you've been focusing too much on chess, Kaichou," Tsubaki teased lightly.
Sona's cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
"Maybe… I've just been a bit stressed lately," she admitted. "With everything that's been happening in town, it's hard to focus…"
Tsubaki's smile faded as her expression turned serious.
"…The Fallen Angels, right?"
"Yes." Sona's gaze darkened. "I need to talk to Rias about them soon."
"Their presence is definitely a concern," Tsubaki agreed, glancing out the window as the sun began to set. "Let's hope nothing happens before we can address the situation."
"Let's hope so…" Sona murmured, her eyes reflecting both determination and worry.