“I don’t know how frequently the games will be carried out from now on, but trying to maintain the status quo on the surface whilst planning a war at the same time would be a plain waste of time to Śakra. On the contrary, he’ll actually be able to achieve his goal of a duel with Shiva earlier by participating in the games, so Śakra shouldn’t be behind anything sinister because of this. Moreover, being able to fight against gods other than Shiva in an environment where their battles will be officially recognised is something that Śakra enjoys from the bottom of his heart.”
“In fact, perhaps it would be better to say that you’ve received orders to eliminate anyone who plans to hinder the Tournament.”
Cao Cao directed a smile towards Ikuse-san. “Yeah, we have received such instructions. So I’ll be investigating those dangerous folks. And the target would be those Grim Reapers.”
After Cao Cao gulped the glass of hot milk down in one go, he placed his money down on the bar counter and then stood up to leave. “My side will also investigate the connection between the mysterious Devils and the Grim Reapers, and I’ll let you guys know if we find anything.”
After Cao Cao said that, he walked towards the door, but he suddenly paused and asked me
“By the way, I have something to ask you. Hyoudou Issei, which side do you think will win between Rias Gremory and Vali?”
—Hmm! …This guy actually asked me right in front of Rias about my opinion on the game that was just about to happen. But, my view was already decided upon long ago, and so I answered without any hesitation. “I don’t know who will win or who will lose, but I’ll definitely be cheering for Rias. But, it is also true that I can’t imagine how Vali will lose either.”
These were my honest feelings. It was needless to say that I would be cheering for Rias. But it was also a fact that Vali and the others were strong. I couldn’t imagine the sight of Vali losing because I felt such a strong sense of competition with that fateful rival of mine. In response to my answer, Cao Cao nodded as he said
“I see.”
Beside me, Lavinia-san quietly said
“I’m…only cheering for Va-kun just this once. I’m sorry.”
Lavinia-san seemed to act rather stiff, but both Rias and I said ‘it’s okay, it’s okay’ to stop her from feeling too guilty about it. Vali, that guy, he clearly has such a considerate onee-san, so why doesn’t he want to see her? …Could it be that that guy’s actually quite shy? After seeing Cao Cao off, we continued to exchange the information that we had before disbanding. Ah, I originally wanted to find out about why Koneko-chan had been targeted, but I didn’t expect yet another layer to be added to the complexity of the incident…. Well, we originally belonged to an anti-terrorist team, but there had been nothing to worry about until now. We had been so immersed in the Tournament thus far, but I began to feel nervous about my role in [DxD] after such a long absence from it. Part 2
Although the day of the match between Rias and Vali continued to get closer, Rias, Akeno-san, Ravel, Sona-senpai, Shinra-senpai and I gathered in the VIP room of the Hyoudou residence so that we could share our information on why the Grim Reapers were targeting Koneko-chan. After we told Sona-senpai and the others about the information that we had acquired from Ikuse-san and Cao Cao, Sona-senpai began to speak about Koneko-chan’s situation. “A shortcut through all of this may be to explore Koneko-san’s past.”
“It may be clearer than asking Kuroka-san — what does everyone think?”
Sona-senpai agreed with Ravel’s proposal. Although we had heard about Koneko-chan’s past from Kuroka before, Sona-senpai’s intention was to investigate it in more detail. “Do you have a way to explore the past?”
Rias asked Sona-senpai, who seemed to have an idea about it. “Directly…though I can’t say for certain, there is a type of Youkai that can show the past of someone via someone else who is related to them.”
Sona-senpai replied. So there exists a Youkai that can see the past! It was the first time that I had heard of this. However, Rias also seemed to know about it, and she mentioned the name of that Youkai. “—Could it be the Magic Mirror? The mirror Youkai.”
Shinra-senpai answered Rias’ question. “Yes, there is a clan of Magic Mirror Youkai who are able to show the past of someone via someone related to them. They’re also known asUngaikyo.Although there are supposedly many restrictive conditions, as long as they’re satisfied, one should be able to see both the living and the dead, and you can also speak to that person as well. If we use this ability, Kuroka-san and even Koneko-san’s past…the close relatives of the past who knew the Nekomata sisters can be called out.”
S-So there’s actually a type of mirror Youkai with this kind of ability huh. It’s quite amazing to be able to speak with the dead. Well, given how vast the supernatural world is, it shouldn’t be surprising that there are Youkai with all sorts of abilities, and the Sitri peerage seem to have some understanding of these Youkai. A member of one of the families that are in charge of Japan’s supernatural is a member of the Sitri peerage, and so that’s why they excel when it comes to Youkai. Sona-senpai then explained to us
“However, the current one was killed due to attack of [Khaos Brigade], so it will still take some time for the successor to inherit that role.”
No way! The attack of [Khaos Brigade] also spread to that place…. Those bastards, they’ve really caused all sorts of damage to the various factions. Shinra-senpai said
“The Sitri peerage was previously able to establish a unique connection and relationship with the possessor…but due to their death, things have been affected. Because it is a unique ability, it has rather strict constraints. Especially after the current Magic Mirror passed away, all of the people who had sought help from them have lost their memories of that time. Even third parties who were informed of those things have had their memories disappear.”
What is this? All of the people who have sought its help in the past have had their memories of it disappear. In other words, all of the people who have spoken to the mirror or those related to the mirror in any way have had all of their memories from that time disappear because of the mirror Youkai’s death. Even the people who heard about it from someone else have had their memories of it disappear. Anyway, since the Ungaikyo has passed away, why don’t we just resort to exploring Koneko-chan’s past in the traditional way? Sona-senpai then continued
“But, as long as we can find the next Ungaikyo and allow it to formally inherit the position, the memories of everyone who saw it before will return.”
Oh, so that’s possible! There is still a solution then! Well, it’s best if we act sooner. But in regards to that, there isn’t much information on the Ungaikyo, and our own game is also coming up….