If it’s Ise-kun who is my childhood friend, you will understand that I’m a real Angel, right?”
She drags me into their quarrel! ……Oh man. When these two start an argument, they start with a horrible insult to each other and even I find them childish. But, she’s right. So Irina and I are childhood friends huh. “Oh, if I think back, it certainly makes me and Irina childhood friends. I start to forget at times.”
Soon as I say that, Xenovia starts to chuckle. “I see, so Irina is a self-proclaiming childhood friend. I see, I see.”
Ah, Xenovia attained a new word which she can use to tease Irina! Looks like I made a mistake! Irina makes a weirder face while having teary eyes. “I am an Angel! I am his childhood friend! You are horrible!”
“Yay, a self-proclaiming childhood friend~.”
“Look who’s talking, self-proclaiming swordswoman! Even your brain is made up of muscles!”
……Ah, it makes me think that they are stupid and cute. Everyone, can you believe it? Did you know that these two were swordswoman sent from the Church, and they had a dangerous vibe to them? Particularly Xenovia, who was a calm and collected holy-sword wielder, and she gave an impression that she will cut you down just by touching her. Irina is bright, but she was a messenger from Heaven who doesn’t give in towards her teachings and job. And now they are simply a power-idiot and a self-proclaiming Angel. Seriously, you can’t tell how your impression of a person changes. Actually, this is the attitude of those who are the same age as them. Showing this side of them proves that they have opened their hearts to us. Anyway the warrior-types which consist of me, Kiba, Xenovia, and Irina, often gather at one point of this field and practice together. A bit away from us, the wizard-types which consist of Rias, Akeno-san, and Asia, are doing their own kind of training. “I think the actual battles are the best after all. I’m hoping there is another mission to capture a “Stray Devil”.”
Xenovia complains. Yes, since the matter with the Hero-faction ended, there are many incidents where Sacred Gear possessors who were made into a servant of a High-class Devil with unfair trades awakened their powers and “strayed”. It’s because Cao Cao and his group leaked out the information of using Balance Breaker. Thanks to that, we are given hunt orders from the House of Archduke Agares quite often. Those who ran away after going through painful experiences get arrested by us after we talk to them, but those who go berserk after being too proud of their own power……even though it may be harsh, there are times we take them down. But there are cases where they are using Balance Breaker, and our missions can become quite severe at times. If it’s a special type of ability within a technique-type, we might fall for their trap and receive a fatal blow if we aren’t careful. It’s made so that we, the Gremory, have to handle those who escape into Japan. I hear that Sairaorg-san is also dispatched for a hunt in the Underworld. ……Attaining true peace is harder than I expected. They say that the reconstruction of towns and villages destroyed by the gigantic monsters have begun, but I don’t think their hearts will come to peace that easily……
……We can only train ourselves to make sure that doesn’t happen. “Now then, how about we stop here and go over there?”
When I ask everyone, they nod. Anyway that’s how it is, and we head towards the area Rias and others are training. While heading towards the area where Rias and others are at, I’m thinking about a certain thing. I have studied many things since I became a Middle-class Devil. For example the High-class Devils from the 72-pillars—about the situation of their household, the trait of each household, and their speciality. I have started studying about them in more detail than before. The reason for doing this is because my dream to become a High-class Devil isn’t something far out of my reach. No, obviously the road for becoming a High-class Devil is long and hard. But it became a goal which isn’t reckless or impossible. Rating Game is among one of the things I’m studying. There are many things I’m unaware of despite participating many times. For example the information about things regarding the match. “I thought that we will be told the rules of the game on the day we have the match.”
I say that while walking. Kiba answers. “Actually that is quite rare. Usually they tell the rules of the game before hand to both teams. Without it, you can’t build tactics for it at all. Well, maybe they were seeing what kind of tactics the young Devils can come up with by having them clash against each other without knowing it. As a result, I think the young Devils that were able to show sufficient potential were the Sitri.”
“We are the “Brain-muscle Team” after all. Rather than thinking, acting on the spot and finishing the battle suits us better.”
Xenovia says this while eating onigiri and walking…… You know the one who is setting that example is none other than you? Though I’m not in a situation where I can tell people off……
“But I was wondering, Kiba. How come we aren’t told anything before hand and have to wait until the actual match?”
“It seems like the higher-ups were the ones who decided that, Ise-kun. The youth, especially the matches we participate in somehow had rules told to us at the actual match. The matches like Bael vs Glasya-Labolas and Sitri vs Agares had the rules told to them a few days before the match.”
I didn’t know that! So Sairaorg-san and Saji had matches where they knew the details beforehand! “Why were we the only ones given those kinds of situations which made us become nervous!? This is unreasonable, and it isn’t fair!”
“For our first match against Sitri, we were told about the rules beforehand, but for the matches after that, there are rumours that the higher-ups decided to purposely tell us when the match takes place.”
“What the hell, are we being played with?”
“I hear that the higher-ups put us in an irregular situation on purpose. I hear that they were trying to have both sides which include us and the group of the player we are put against go through a different type of growth. –And that actually did happen.”
–! ……It’s just like Kiba says. We did attain a certain something through the game. It happens either during the game or after the game. Those things can be like when I awakened my new power, and it can also connect to the growth of those in our group. I even think it can also have Saji and Sairaorg-san go through a change or evolution. No, maybe each member of the Gremory, Sitri, and Bael group, has attained some kind of special growth? “……So you are saying that the sudden situation of having a game where we don’t know the rules is having us go through growth……?”
Kiba puts on a frowned expression to my question. “You can say “Yes”, and you can also say that it was a coincidence.