I will take care of here.”
“B-But!”
I try to convince her but Akeno-san shows a serious face to me for the first time. My heart races. I can feel the extreme pressure from her. “Ise-kun. You have your own role, correct? Go then. This matter here is my job.”
That’s right. I might just be a burden to Akeno-san. I need to focus on what I need to accomplish. Akeno-san smiles at me who am biting down my teeth hard. “It’s okay. I will avenge Koneko-chan. I will defeat this [Queen] with everything I have!”
—! A golden aura covers Akeno-san’s body! I can tell how powerful she is just by looking at it. Akeno-san’s demonic-power that is. The strongest person in our group, our [Queen]! “Akeno-san! I will leave this place to you!”
After I say that, I turn around and head towards the sports court where Kiba is waiting for me. Right after that, a violent roar of lightning and explosions echoes from behind me. The battle changes from the opening to the mid-game—. It happens during my way to the sports court where Kiba is waiting for me. [Raiser Phoenix-sama’s three [Pawns] retires.] It’s the announcement! Three of Raiser’s [Pawns] were defeated!? Who did it? I’m still on my way to the destination, Akeno-san is battling the [Queen], and Buchou and Asia are on their way here……so it must be Kiba! With this, seven of their pieces have been defeated. With this, they have nine members left including Raiser. We only have five members left with Koneko-chan gone. It’s a situation where we still can’t let our guard down! —! Someone grabs my arm while I’m on my way to the court! An enemy!? I make my stance, but the one who is holding my arm is Kiba. He’s putting on a refreshing smile like always. “Oh, it’s you.”
“Yup.”
Kiba is observing the sports court from behind the storage room which is a blind spot from the court. “Sorry, Kiba. Koneko-chan is……”
“I know it since I heard the announcement as well. She must be feeling regrets. I never knew what she was always thinking about, but she was really pumped for this match. She was working hard when we were setting the traps in the forest.”
“......Let’s win.”
“Of course, Ise-kun.”
We hit our knuckles together. Kiba pisses me off during our normal school life, but he is the most dependable ally in terms of battle. Occult Research Club’s male pair! If we don’t show guts right here, then we will look totally uncool in front of the girls. “Also, was it you who defeated the enemy [Pawns]?”
Kiba nods at my question. “Yeah. The clubroom located at the sports court is an important location. So it’s natural that there are lots of enemies. I somehow managed to lure the [Pawns] that were keeping their eyes over there and took them down. But the person in charge of this location is quite calm and hasn’t responded to my provocation. Well, it seems like she used the [Pawns] to watch my attacks. Seems like Raiser Phoenix likes to battle by sacrificing his servants. It’s something only he is able to pull off because of his immortality and the number of servants he has.”
Kiba is smiling, but his eyes aren’t. “The enemies who are in charge of here are one [Knight], one [Rook], and one [Bishop]. Three pieces in total.”
“……That’s a severe defence.”
“Well, that’s how much they are keeping up their guard for this place. Against our intrusion here, that is. Since we eliminated the gym, they will put more strength here.”
The two routes that were seen as a path to the bases. The route from the gym and the route from the sports court that is behind the new school building. Buchou chose to destroy one path, so the only place they need to guard is this sports court. So it will be natural for them to increase the strength here. Well, because of our plan earlier, it ended by making their [Queen] come to the front lines……
Looks like the battle at this place will be more intense than the one at the gym. Ugh, I’m getting a bit nervous! “Are you nervous?”
Kiba asks me with a smile. It makes my face red. “O-Of course! I basically have no battle experience! And now I’m here in an actual battle. I would be a grunt compared to you who is full of battle experience.”
I have the powerful Boosted Gear. That will be enough for me to be a threat. But the wielder, which is me, is still a newbie in terms of battle. It’s like a waste of treasure. But still, I want to fight for Buchou. I want to do something for Buchou. Even if I’m a weakling on this battlefield, I won’t go down without a fight. If I’m going to get defeated, I will at least take many opponents down along with me. “Look.”
While I try to make my determination strong, Kiba shows me his hand. —! Kiba’s hands are shaking. “Ise-kun, you said I have a lot of battle experience. That’s certainly true. But it’s my first time participating in the Rating Game. A serious battle between Devils. Even if this match is a special case, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s a serious fight. We get involved in Devils fights, whether we like it or not. And this is our first game. We can’t show them even a slight opening in our guard. This is a match where we have to give it all we got as Buchou’s servant Devils. It’s something that will be important even in the future. I feel delighted and also scared. I don’t want to forget the feeling of my hands' shaking. This feeling of being nervous, this intense atmosphere, I want to feel everything and turn it into my experience. Let’s become stronger together, Ise-kun.”
Kiba……has been thinking that much about this match…… Like I thought, in terms of battle he’s—. “Then let’s do a combination that would make the girls get aroused.”
“Hahaha! Does it mean that I’m the one who goes from “behind”?”
“Dumbass! If it’s sticking in, then it’s my job! I mean, no! Die, handsome!”
I totally got dragged into his pace! Ugh, what am I doing? Then I hear a loud voice of a brave woman. “I’m the [Knight] of Raiser Phoenix-sama, Carlamaine! I've become bored of trying to sniff through each other’s strategy! Rias Gremory’s [Knight]! I challenge you to a duel!”
At the baseball court. There is a woman cladded in armour who is standing at the centre of it daringly. What a bold female [Knight]! She can’t complain if someone shoots her from the back! Fu. Kiba who is standing next to me laughs. “Since she introduced herself, I can’t hide myself both as a [Knight] and as a swordsman.”
After he mutters that out, he leaves from behind the storage room. He then walks straight to the baseball court. “That idiot.”
Even though I’m complaining, I also follow after Kiba by heading there from the front. —He looks cool. That’s what I thought after observing Kiba from his back. “I’m the [Knight] of Rias Gremory, Kiba Yuuto.”
“I’m the [Pawn], Hyoudou Issei!”
Kiba and I named ourselves to Raiser’s [Knight], Carlamaine. The female knight then makes a happy face. “I’m happy that there are warriors like you two in Rias Gremory’s group. Coming out here directly from the front.