Adjusting more to his Gamer abilities, Issei didn't jump in fright like he usually did when a Quest pop up spontaneously appeared. The second the menu screen materialized with the typical jingle effect, his eyes honed in on it. It didn't take long for him to understand why Rias became glum so quickly, and why the air hanging around her bothered him.
She was depressed - something he failed to recognize within Koneko.
Unlike the white-haired loli, he was able to directly see the reason for that depression from the Quest itself.
Rias was in an arranged marriage, and the time limit was thirty days. He didn't know who, and didn't know what for, but if there were ever a combination of words that could piss him off, they were, 'Rias' and 'arranged marriage.'
Someone was fixing to get their ass blasted.
Luck was on their side right now - given the fact he couldn't access the Boosted Gear or The Flaming Sword - but it wouldn't be for long. He still had other tricks at his disposal, and was more than willing to acquire whatever power he needed to win.
'Game on, shit stain.' Anger leaked onto his furrowed eyebrows as Issei cursed the punkass who wanted to marry Rias.
"Issei? Are you alright?" Akeno asked in an unexpected nurturing way, leaning over the armrest to gaze upon him more closely. The wide flop of her breasts in such proximity had his attention back in a snap, and he quickly came to realize her concern lied with him accidentally squeezing his teacup handle hard enough to crack it.
"W-whoops! Sorry, I guess I don't know my own strength anymore," he replied, chuckling wryly at his blunder and hiding his thoughts.
Her lips curved in whimsy. "Ufufu~ You silly boy." Gesturing with her hands out, she took the broken cup from him and moved to retrieve another, filling it and placing it delicately in front of him. "Let me know whatever you need and I'll be right there for you."
A million unspoken thoughts ran through Issei's head. He simply smiled weakly and answered, "I-I'm fine. Thank you."
"And let me know which tea you prefer. I'll gladly have it prepared for you next time," she winked.
"C-cool." Issei put the teacup to his lips, hiding the awkward grin that was beginning to fester. He didn't really know Akeno as well as he wanted to just yet, but he knew that had to change. If this was how she was always like, then he sure as shit was missing out.
At the very least, he could say he'd gotten to know her on a much more 'personal level' a little bit earlier. A level that he could now revisit by loading the save he made whenever he wanted...
"Ooh~ I think I know that face," Akeno whispered teasingly as she saw the subtle changes taking over his expression. Standing behind the boy, she leaned over his shoulder and whispered hotly, "Don't tell me you're thinking about... me~?"
Issei tried to hide himself away in the small teacup, which clearly couldn't mask the excitement returning like a nasty hurricane looping back around. This girl was almost too much to handle.
Almost.
As she went to tease him again, Akeno turned over towards Rias to see the redhead remain unresponsive. Her hands were still propping up her head covering her face, practically blocking them and their antics out completely.
Her sails were swiftly lowered, ponytail bobbing in disappointment as a somber frown reappeared. There really wasn't anything she could do for her friend right now. It was unbearable to see her like this; her inability to help her King at her lowest slowly dragging her lower as well.
With Akeno failing to lift the room up and losing her own spirit, Issei decided it was his turn. No more messing around and getting distracted by his pervy side. His lips thinned into a line and he set his cup down atop the matching saucer on the table. Clearing his throat, he put on a brave front and turned to look at Rias. "Do... you think you can tell me what's going on?"
His question was as simple as he could make it, both so that he could remain considerate to her feelings, and be told upfront about everything she were worried about. He couldn't just ask and talk about the arranged marriage when he shouldn't know about it. She needed to be the one to bring it up.
Akeno moved closer to her King, fearing she may not respond to the boy, or even snap on him. The black-haired girl's worries were misplaced, as Rias slowly moved her arms away from her face and turned up to look at him. A weak smile was painted on her lips, one maintained due to her politeness rather than genuine feeling. "What is going on... Yes, please forgive me, Issei. I know you must be very confused with all of this..."
He nodded, playing along. "If it's okay, I would really like you to tell me..." His words were gentle and kind, verbally reaching out to the older girl.
She nods in return, quietly sighing to herself as she resigns herself to confess. "Yes... as I'm sure you may be aware, Akeno and I brought you here with the intention to recruit you into my peerage."
"Right..."
"I'm sure you were incredibly confused why we used magic upon your classmates, and why we lured you over here in the way we did."
"We wanted to make it a game," Akeno chipped in from her side, shining more perspective on their plot.
Rias gave her a testy look before continuing. "It was... problematic, I suppose, to get you here all on your own. You may not have realized, Issei, but we keep a good eye on you while you're at school."
Hearing that didn't surprise Issei very much. Back when he was a lower level, his Gamer ability would consistently ping at him that high-level entities were nearby when he walked throughout the school. There were a handful of devils in each of hers and Sona's peerages who were all stronger at the time. Because of those warnings, he'd caught onto the devils snooping around to check on him.
He no longer got those warnings now that he was on equal footing, but he was still aware of their presence thanks to Assistance Mode highlighting their figures from behind walls whenever they were nearby.
Seeing him become aware of that, Rias went on, "I said we keep a good eye, but rather, it is Sona's peerage that follow you around all day."
"You could call it stalking," Akeno giggled, earning another glare.
"She and her peerage made it... increasingly difficult to contact you privately without them knowing. This was intentional on their part without question," Rias stated the last part with a scowl.
"Okay..." Issei wasn't sure where she was going with this, but insinuated for her to continue.
"Because of these constraints, I had to be cautious if I were to get you alone without alerting them," she explained. "Yesterday, I had Akeno cast a spell on your classroom. At a certain time of day, the students inside would become hypnotized so they could neither interfere, nor acknowledge your departure from your class."
He was slowly getting the gist of it. "It's the middle of school time and everyone is in class. Morning gym periods are over and won't pick up until after lunch," he said, understanding the details to her plan. "You're the other devil King in this school, so you can do whatever you want. You skipped class so that Kaichou and her peerage members couldn't figure out what you were doing."
"Precisely. The method was rather roundabout, but I suppose it got the job done." Genuine amusement twitched across Rias's lips, though it didn't last long.
"And you lured me here with... guhuhuhu..." The pervert quietly snickered, recalling the articles of clothing strewn around campus for him to track back, leading to their spicy scene inside the club's shower. That must have also been why she got rid of Asia at the nurse's office. If she had followed him here, there was no way she would have sat by and let everything play out.
Rias knew his interests well, and could easily take advantage of them; it wasn't hard to figure out with him practically screaming about them every other day around school.
Neither she or Akeno needed to go all the way with him. Sweet whispered promises of more naked time together with the mere possibility of more had been enough to conquer his allegiance.
His eyes widened, brain trembling as he fully began to comprehend the weight his save point held. It wasn't just reloading and taking another shower with them whenever he wanted, but if he played needy and pushed the issue, maybe they could've gone further?
Maybe they could really do the do? The big bang? The ship taking off and landing back home?
Issei giggled quietly like an insane person planning the world's demise, unnerving his two older senpai who glanced at each other in confusion and back. Right as he'd mentally pulled up his Game menu and was fixing to repeat the scene with even greater fervor, an image of an innocent blonde and her entreating eyes made him pause.
He still didn't have all the answers he wanted. He couldn't leave yet, and especially not without saving again.
With his clarity back, Issei put that spanking idea on hold and stared back at Rias. "It's confusing, but I understand your motives and why you did all the mumbo jumbo." His brown eyes became more serious as they stared into her captivating cyan. The subtle change wasn't threatening, but to get the importance of his feelings across. "Asia really didn't like what you guys did. Seeing our classmates in that empty haze scared her. So, could you please not do that again?"
Rias's chin lowered demurely, a flicker of guilt stricken across her complexion. "I'm aware what Akeno and I did was foolish and deceitful. Believe me when I tell you sincerely that it will not happen again. Using magic on bystanders was not the only thing uncalled for, but also manipulating you into the club room and plotting to persuade you to join us with such a raunchy ploy. We took advantage of your trust, as well as Asia's. I'm dearly sorry."
Her red hair swung almost enchantingly as she bowed her head to him apologetically. She was humiliated by what she had done and also failed to do. Being nude and in the shower with the boy hadn't bothered her, at least until they made severe contact with each other.
Facing those failures so openly was what embarrassed her. A devil's pride was never small, and she knew her own could be considerably high. Though she meant every word, apologizing in such a shameful way stung.
It felt like she were a little girl again getting scolded by her mother. Their interaction was far from her being berated - Issei having taken great joy in their secret little tryst - but she still felt disgraced and much smaller than she usually carried herself. The fact her only option to fight against the inevitable slipped away from her fingers only exacerbated it.
"Sorry for wasting your time, Issei. Please do not blame Akeno, for she was only acting on my behalf," Rias said somberly, her depressive state returning. Akeno quickly gave her a caring, supportive look that was missed by her lowered eyes. "I promise to make it up to you and Asia."
"It's not a big deal," Issei waved his hands. He smiled bashfully, his perversion leaking out. "Really, I didn't mind at all. I'll clear up the confusion with Asia and we can just forget everything." His words didn't match his hidden agenda to reload and have some more fun.
"I insist. It's the least I can do," Rias replied. She still needed to apologize to the former nun directly as well, reminding herself to do it later.
Whether she realized it or not, she was now in the exact predicament with the boy as Sona.