"Hey~ Long time no see."
"H-Hyoudou Issei!?"
"What!?"
At the voice that sent a chill down her spine, Raynare hurriedly put some distance between them and took up a defensive stance—meaning she knew running was no longer an option. Her companions did the same, backing away into a retreat posture, though they still hadn't gotten a taste of the [Rinnegan]. And when the Fallen Angels lingered near the Church, Issei, who had been feeling a little irritated about that, smiled brightly at them.
"Th-th-this, Hyoudou Issei, th-this is..."
When Raynare met Issei's eyes, she flinched and began stammering out excuses. Issei didn't miss a thing.
'Yeah, for some reason she's scared? Ahh~ so she still hasn't forgotten the shock from last time~'
He saw right through her and gave her a sly grin. Raynare flinched again, goosebumps rising all over her body.
"W-we were just talking... right, we were just out for a picnic."
"Huh? A bunch of Fallen Angels gathered together for a picnic? Who do you think would believe that lie!?"
"I-it's true! Believe us! We didn't do anything!"
Raynare was desperately trying to explain herself as if her life depended on it, and Issei, who had gotten oddly absorbed in how amusing her reaction was, looked every bit the delinquent.
"R-Raynare-sama, we have nothing to do with this, so can we just leave...?"
"You two stay still too. Move even one finger and I'll cut it off."
""Hiiiii!""
They had only spoken up because they wanted out, but now they were frozen in place as if time itself had stopped. Even Raynare, who hadn't been the one to ask, stood there without moving.
"All right then, time to settle what happened last time, hmm~?"
"I-I'm sorry! I, I didn't even recognize you back then and was terribly rude! Please forgive me!"
"Huh!? If all it takes is 'please forgive me,' then why do we need laws and police!?"
As Issei's smile grew ever more wicked, Raynare finally threw away her pride and bowed her head, begging for forgiveness. But the moment she saw Issei's eyes turn into the [Rinnegan]—
"Hiiik!! S-sorry!"
""Hiiik!!""
This time he poured chakra into the awakening, and the dangerous aura radiating from him made the other Fallen Angels start trembling too. And as the fear from that day came flooding back into Raynare, she cried out—
"I-I'll do anything, so please!"
"Anything?"
"Yes! Anything, so please!"
At the word "anything," Issei's gaze locked onto her chest. Raynare felt that stare and—
"!! A-anything but that!"
"You said anything, didn't you?"
"Uuugh..."
She trembled like a little girl, almost as if she had turned back into Amano Yuuma. The more she reacted like that, the more fun Issei seemed to be having.
"You said anything, didn't you!?"
He sharpened his eyes, and a murderous pressure rolled over the area that the four of them couldn't withstand. All at once they collapsed to the ground and ended up leaking from below. In other words, they wet themselves. In truth, just looking at the [Rinnegan] alone wouldn't have made them react this badly. He was amplifying the fear with the unique genjutsu of the [Rinnegan], layering intimidation on top of it. And then—
"...B-but..."
Boom
""Hiiik!!""
When Issei lifted a foot and brought it down once, the ground was completely shattered, and the Fallen Angels were on the verge of rolling their eyes and fainting.
"R-Raynare-sama, please, just do what he says for now!"
"Yeah, yeah! Let's just do what he says, big sis!"
Even the busty, sexy older-sister type Fallen Angel and the gothic-lolita loli-type Fallen Angel started desperately trying to persuade Raynare, and in the end they too caught Issei's attention.
"You two as well!"
""Hiiik!!""
At Issei's demand, both of them nearly jumped out of their skin. The only male Fallen Angel among them let out a relieved sigh, thankful he had been born a man, but—
"You, over there. One thousand push-ups, one thousand sit-ups. Then repeat that ten times. If I catch you cheating, your wrist is gone."
"Kuh! Dammit!!"
He was sent off to do punishment drills in the corner.
In the end, the remaining three—
"Why aren't you moving yet?"
"A-alright."
—finally stripped off their tops at Issei's command, exposing two generous chests and one meager one.
'Incredible!!! Amazing! The [Rinnegan] is amazing!! Thank you, world, for giving me the [Rinnegan]!! I'm so glad I'm alive!!'
"Don't move until I tell you to move."
"..."
"Answer me!?"
""Y-yes, sir!""
At Issei's demand, they froze completely, squeezing their eyes shut. Issei began approaching the three of them with a string of drool hanging from his mouth and obscene hand gestures, then grabbed them.
Squish
'Ah... this nostalgic feeling... this is true heaven...'
"I-Issei-san...?"
"Hm!?"
Just as he reached Raynare and seized her ample breasts with both hands, a familiar voice came from behind him.
"Issei-san, what are you doing here?"
"A-Asia?"
"!!"
For reference, this place wasn't far from the Church. Asia, who had been inside the Church, had come to check on the source of the explosion caused by Issei's stomp, and that had brought her here. Because she was still far away and couldn't see clearly at first, she kept approaching—only to find Issei frozen in place with his hands on Raynare's chest, Raynare practically half-naked.
"I-I'm sorry for interrupting you in the middle of something important!!!"
Covering her eyes with both hands, Asia ran back to the Church, and Issei could only stare after her with dark shadows under his eyes.
"I'm telling you, it was a misunderstanding, Asia!"
In the end, Issei had followed the fleeing Asia all the way back to the Church, and because he didn't want to cast genjutsu on her, he was desperately trying to explain himself.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Issei-san. I didn't know you and Raynare-san had that kind of relationship..."
"Relationship...? Hm? How do you even know Raynare?"
When Asia mentioned Raynare, Issei turned his gaze toward the woman he had forcibly brought along in order to clear up the misunderstanding—no, to explain himself.
"U-um... well... so..."
Under Issei's stare, Raynare began to speak. In truth, Asia was also a user of a Sacred Gear. That was why she had been caught by Issei's detection. First of all, Asia was not a nun of the Church. Until recently, she had been so outstanding that she was called a saint at the Church because of her Sacred Gear's healing ability. But after she ended up healing even devils with that Sacred Gear, she was branded a witch and expelled. In the end, Raynare and the others had approached Asia under the pretense of protecting her, while actually gathering to prepare a ritual to secretly steal Asia's Sacred Gear without Hyoudou Issei noticing.
"Asia had... that kind of situation..."
After hearing Asia's circumstances directly from Raynare, Issei cried his eyes out while comforting her.
"You guys... we'll talk later..."
He glared at them with a crosshair mark practically drawn on his forehead, but because Asia was there, he didn't make it obvious.
And since Raynare and the others had been exposed before they could even prepare their plan, their sense of despair was beyond words. More than being frustrated that they had failed, all they could think about was how they were supposed to survive Issei now.
"Asia, you must have had a really hard time all this while. From now on, I'll make sure you only walk on a path lined with flowers..."
"Issei-san... just hearing that makes me happy."
"Yeah. From now on, you can lean on me as much as you want, because I'll take it all on!"
"R-really!?"
Thinking about how Asia had been betrayed over and over and had nowhere to rely on, something deep in his chest hurt, and tears even welled up for real. He made a vow then and there: he would protect Asia no matter what. To do that, there was something he needed to set up in advance.
After the tears finally subsided, Asia fell asleep, and Issei even left a clone to watch over her while the original—
"One to get focused, two to get it together, begin. One!"
""Focused!""
"Two!"
""Get it together!!""
"From now until morning, you'll be doing drills under Raynare's command."
""Hiiik!!""
He planted a [Truth-Seeking Orb] into Raynare and the others, using it as a conduit for chakra, then seeded them with the spreading genjutsu of the [Rinnegan] and drove them through exhausting punishment until their strength was completely drained. The so-called mini Infinite Tsukuyomi: first, implant a [Truth-Seeking Orb] into the body to suppress movement, then cast a [Rinnegan] genjutsu that controls part of their perception, and gradually alter their consciousness. It was an original technique Issei had developed based on the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Unlike the real thing, it couldn't create White Zetsu, but it could still break a person's will. As punishment, he ordered Raynare and the others to remain at the Church indefinitely and serve there, and once the mini Infinite Tsukuyomi fully bloomed, they might one day become his loyal subordinates.
The problem was that the speed at which the genjutsu spread depended on each individual's capacity, but there weren't many beings who could withstand the power of the [Rinnegan], so it was only a matter of time. Of course, there were risks. If they had other thoughts before the genjutsu fully rewrote their perception, or if an outside party interfered, everything could be ruined. That was why he kept them too exhausted to think and locked them inside the Church. Naturally, he also left clones behind for surveillance. And just as night deepened and he was about to head home—
"Issei!"
"Rias-senpai?"
Rias emerged from the darkness.
"Senpai, why are you here?"
"I came because I was worried, but looking at things, it seems like you handled it smoothly?"
"Yes! Thank you for worrying about me! And, for the record!"
He was glad she had come despite the risk, even though interfering could have turned this into a faction-level issue, and he eagerly rattled off the details of his achievements to Rias. After hearing the rough outline of Asia's situation, Rias said—
"I see... so that's what happened. I never imagined the Fallen Angels were plotting something like that. If it hadn't been for you, Issei, this could have become a serious disaster."
"Ahaha, thank you for the praise."
For Rias, too, this was a good outcome. If a Fallen Angel lingering near her territory had gotten hold of a Sacred Gear, it could have escalated beyond what she could handle. At Rias's praise, Issei scratched his head happily, and after thinking for a moment, Rias said—
"I have one proposal. Issei, would you like to make a contract with me?"
"A contract...? You mean a devil's contract?"
A devil's contract. Just by the sound of it, it seemed like a dangerous arrangement. But in reality, it was a contract in which a devil would fulfill a human's request in exchange for a little energy to grow stronger. It had absolutely nothing to do with selling one's soul or falling into damnation.
"That's right."
"I see... what are the terms?"
"A mutual friendship contract between you and me."
"Huh?"
A mutual friendship contract—just a promise to maintain a good relationship with each other. He understood the meaning, but not the intent, so Issei wore a blank expression.
"I know you're strong, Issei. After all, you took down those Fallen Angels by yourself. But there's no guarantee things will always go this smoothly, right? So if you're ever in danger, I'll help you. And if I ever need help, I'd like you to help me. What do you think?"
It sounded less like mutual friendship and more like mutual protection, but the word "friendship" was chosen because she wanted them to get along. Either way, it didn't matter to Issei. He was so thrilled just to have a connection with Rias that he was practically bouncing in place.
"Then can I come visit the clubroom!?"
"Of course. You're always welcome, Issei. Now then, give me your hand."
"Yes!"
Without a trace of suspicion, Issei held out his hand. Rias looked at him for a moment, then smiled faintly.
"You really are a child... trusting without a shred of doubt..."
"That's because I trust you, Senpai!"
"Setting me aside, from now on you should be careful when making contracts with other devils. Especially once they learn about your ninjutsu—I have no idea what kind of scam they might try to pull."
"Sorry, but that won't happen! The only devil I'll ever make contracts with from now on is you, Senpai!"
"R-really? I see, then..."
At Issei's sudden, almost confessional words, Rias's cheeks tinted red, and she quickly took his hand and kissed the back of it. At that moment, a crest-like mark appeared on the backs of both Issei's and Rias's hands, glowing with light. Issei was on the verge of losing his mind from the soft sensation that had suddenly touched his hand.
"That's all. In case you're ever in danger, if the other side wants it, I can also tell where you are, so keep that in mind. Now then, I'm heading back. Please refrain from doing anything too reckless! Goodbye!"
"Yes..."
The elegant Rias of usual was nowhere to be seen. In her place was only Rias Gremory, her face flushed red and turned into that of a girl. She fled the Church as if escaping. Left behind, Issei wore a dazed expression and then—
"Yessss!!! Rias-senpai forever!! Boobs forever!!"
He was still a gentleman. A gentleman pervert, that is.