The day after I responded to Ravel, we had a visitor at our house.
Now, I was sitting in the living room with my entire family, facing said guest.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Ravel Phenex. Thank you very much for accepting me into your home on such short notice. I am truly grateful."
Yep, it's Ravel.
As expected of a noblewoman, her every move was refined and graceful.
Until now, Ravel had been renting a unit in an apartment building owned by the Gremory family, the same place Xenovia stayed during her early days. But now, she officially asked to move into my house… and since I was the one who told her "I want you by my side," I couldn't exactly turn her down the very next day. Honestly, just imagining her teary-eyed if I refused was more than enough to make me accept.
When I told Rias about the move, she gave me this knowing, heartwarming look and immediately handled all the arrangements. I thought she might go into full-on jealous mode, but maybe she only does that around Issei or Akeno. Before leaving, she did throw in a cheerful, "Take care of Koneko too, okay? That girl gets lonely, so don't let her out of your sight!"
"My, if Ikki and the Toujou sisters already gave their approval, then as your parents, we have no objections," Mom said. "Besides, the Hyoudou family next door has hosted many foreign girls, so maybe this is just the way of the times."
…Pretty sure it's just our house and the Hyoudou household that live in this "era."
After greetings wrapped up, our plan for the day was to shop for daily necessities for Ravel's new room. Her old place only came with the bare essentials, and since she hadn't intended to stay in Kuoh for long, she hadn't brought much. Then again, her idea of "minimal" is probably still fancier than the average working adult's first apartment.
Even while she was assigned to Odin as an escort, her first time living alone without maids or butlers had her clearly struggling. She looked pretty exhausted by the next morning.
"Alright! Let's get going."
"Yes, Ikki-sama!"
"I'm handling the sweets today, nya~"
"...Sure."
Looks like Kuroka was fully planning to buy whatever her sweet tooth desired.
Koneko-chan, on the other hand, seemed a bit down… Is she bothered by Ravel moving in?
She quietly walked off toward the front door alone.
"...Ikki-sama, am I troubling you by being here?"
Ravel looked up at me, worry clouding her expression.
"Of course not, Ravel. If you're feeling uneasy even after I accepted everyone, then that's on me. Maybe this is a test to see how much I can grow."
Honestly, I don't know the "right" answer, but if I don't take this seriously, I'd just be a jerk.
"Ufufu~ Ikki's finally talking like a real man, nya. Until now, you've only had me, who's basically family, and Kunou, who's still in Kyoto and not exactly rushing into anything romantic. But now, for the first time, you've got a rival. Shirone's nervous, nya~ This is your chance to show how dependable you are!"
...Dependable, huh? It sounds heavy when you put it that way.
"A-Anyway! Let's just focus on shopping for now!"
I coughed awkwardly to cut off the conversation and hurried to the front door.
"He ran away, nya."
"He definitely ran away."
"Well, we'll let him off the hook for today."
I heard them behind me, but I wasn't running away! I was just figuring out my next move, okay!?
Most of Ravel's purchases ended up being clothes, which made sense. Though she already had a ton of outfits, they were mostly from the Underworld. She wanted to buy things that better fit human world trends. Her wardrobe back home probably consists mostly of dresses, anyway.
As expected, I got stuck carrying all the bags.
At the moment, Koneko-chan and I were walking in front, while Kuroka and Ravel followed behind.
"Listen closely, Ravel. Ikki prefers suggestive sexy to outright sexy. You don't want a naked apron, that's too obvious. What you want is something like an oversized dress shirt that makes him wonder if there's anything underneath. That's the kind of tension we're aiming for. He's a secret perv, nya."
"I see! So rather than a sheer negligee, a barely see-through fabric that only hints at the shape underneath would be more appreciated?"
Ravel was hanging onto every word Kuroka said, even taking notes and adding her own commentary. Why is this turning into an open-air kink lecture?! And I can't even turn around and stop them because I'm buried under a mountain of shopping bags! If I protest here, the passersby will figure out exactly who they're talking about! (Too late.)
Also, Kuroka, you were the one who said Koneko-chan was feeling anxious. Now you're throwing the whole mess at me!? Could you not raise the difficulty level!?
"Ow ow ow ow! Koneko-chan, don't just silently pinch my side!"
I couldn't move because of the bags, and instinct told me not to dull the pain with magic. That would be cheating as a man.
Dependability? Not happening. Not when I'm under physical siege.
After shopping, we dropped off the bags at home and spent the rest of the day showing Ravel around Kuoh Town.
Since she planned to attend Kuoh Academy, we also took a quick tour of the school, which was mostly empty since it was a Saturday and only club members were around.
(Yes, I did get permission from President Sona in advance, Ravel's technically not a student yet.)
Her goal in Kuoh was originally to experience the work of background support staff, so her schedule for the next week would be packed tight.
Tomorrow, she'll begin the official admission process for Kuoh Academy. While transferring in might be quick, closing things with her school in the Underworld would take more time.
"I never imagined I'd be able to attend this school," Ravel said, gazing around with wonder.
"Really? Is the screening that strict?"
"Oh yes. This town is under the care of Rias-sama, sister of Sirzechs Lucifer, and this academy is attended by Sona-sama, sister of Serafall Leviathan. Many devils want to get close to them. But of course, not everyone is accepted."
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