Chapter 182: Candidate for a Servant
Haruto couldn't vouch for others, but as for everyone in the Occult Research Club, absolutely no one would dislike such a kind and lovely little nun.
Pushing open the clubroom door, even though it was spring break, all members of the Occult Research Club were in the clubroom due to the matter concerning Azazel.
Rias was sitting on the sofa, holding a cup of black tea, lost in thought. She didn't even notice Haruto opening the door and entering.
"President."
"It's Haruto... How was the investigation?"
Hearing the voice, Rias looked up, her gaze lingering for a moment on Asia, who was dressed in a nun's habit. Sensing the little nun's nervousness, she proactively averted her eyes.
At this moment, the others also noticed the little blonde nun. Except for Yuuto and Yuuma, who were training in the practice field, they all curiously observed Asia, who was clutching the hem of Haruto's clothes and only half-showing herself.
Probably because of Azazel's appearance, Yuuma had been stimulated and had, after a long time, started training frantically again.
Coincidentally, Yuuto, who also had things weighing on his mind, was a training fanatic. The two hit it off perfectly and trained in a sparring format whenever they had free time.
After having Kalawarna go notify them, Haruto introduced the anxious little blonde nun to everyone.
He gave Asia an encouraging look, took her small white hand, and led her to the center of the clubroom.
"Asia, say hello to everyone."
"H-Hello everyone, I am Asia Argento. I'm sixteen years old, and currently, I am a nun..."
Although Akeno and the others had guessed somewhat from Asia's attire, upon hearing the word "nun," they instinctively tensed up.
Compared to the Fallen Angels, the relationship between the Church and devils was even worse. Especially the exorcist organization within it; they were complete mortal enemies with devils in the human world.
After Asia introduced herself, Haruto introduced Rias and the others to her. Just as he finished, Kalawarna, Yuuma, and Yuuto returned.
After adding their introductions, he said to Rias, "President, I'd like Asia to join us."
"Haruto, we can't be sure about the peace treaty Azazel mentioned yet. The Church and we are..."
Rias set down her teacup, leaving her sentence unfinished, but the implication was already clear.
Haruto naturally knew all this. Unlike Issei Hyoudou, who was single-minded to the point of foolishness—risking his life to save the little nun despite his own inadequacies, regardless of how difficult it made things for Rias—Haruto was more pragmatic.
If not for Rias's soft-heartedness, or perhaps her reluctance to lose a servant who occupied all her chess pieces, forcing her to assist in rescuing Asia, Issei Hyoudou would have stood no chance against Yuuma, no matter how underestimated he was.
"President, Asia has already been excommunicated by the Church. This time, she came seeking refuge with the fallen angels," he explained. "Moreover, she has no knowledge of magic, is an orphan herself, and most importantly, she hosts a Sacred Gear—a healing type with remarkably powerful effects."
Haruto didn't mention the name of the Sacred Gear or Asia's magical aptitude; those were things he shouldn't know and required Rias's personal assessment. His goal was simply to stir Rias's appreciation for talent, especially under pressure from her family and the shortage of servants. In such circumstances, it was impossible for Rias not to be intrigued by the golden-haired little nun.
Sure enough, when she heard about the healing-type Sacred Gear, Rias's beautiful eyes lit up, and she gently brushed the ends of her crimson hair.
Just as Haruto entered, she had been contemplating where to find potential servants with decent character. The pressure from her family was mounting, and having too few servants would be a significant disadvantage in the Rating Game.
Rias turned to Haruto, about to say something, when she noticed his gaze repeatedly flickering toward the little nun and Koneko. In that moment of eye contact, she intuitively grasped his unspoken message. The words on her lips shifted to, "Koneko, take Asia to get something to eat. It's almost lunchtime, and Asia hasn't eaten yet, right?"
"N-No, it's fine. I'm not hungry…" The golden-haired little nun hurriedly waved her hands in refusal. Though she hadn't eaten in over ten hours, she felt too embarrassed to accept.
But when it came to food, the white-haired loli's efficiency was unmatched. Ignoring Asia's protests, she dragged her out without hesitation.
Watching Koneko's slender, petite frame—even more delicate than her own—Asia tried to resist but found her efforts utterly futile. Her strength was negligible in Koneko's eyes.
"Ehh—" The golden-haired nun let out a feeble whimper as the white-haired loli pulled her away.
"Haruto, why did you send Asia away?" Rias asked as the two lolis disappeared into the distance.
"President, this is the result of my investigation," Haruto replied, recounting his encounter with Asia and emphasizing Freed's words.
Unfortunately, while he succeeded in further souring Rias and the others' impression of Azazel, Rias keenly picked up on another detail.
"No wonder that child relies on you so much…" Rias teased. "You're getting increasingly skilled at winning girls over. If I saw someone risking their life for me, I'd probably develop feelings for them too."
Haruto smiled awkwardly. "Asia is naive but not foolish. She's likely already figured it out."
"Hmm, I quite like that child as well."
Rias nodded, "If it's really as you say, then she could become my servant."
"Mm, but Asia has been a nun since childhood. Hearing about being reborn as a devil might be hard for her to accept at first."
Haruto said, "I haven't mentioned reincarnation to her yet. I want her to spend some time with everyone first, get used to her new life, and after she develops bonds with everyone, then we can bring it up."
Rias thought for a moment and found Haruto's reasoning quite sound. "Asia is an orphan, so I can directly arrange an identity for her. After school starts, she can enter the academy as a transfer student along with Yuuma and the others. As for accommodation..."
Rias looked at Haruto. Originally, she had considered having Asia live with Haruto, but remembering the nightly revelries at the Takamine residence, she decided it would be better to keep the young nun close by.
"Akeno, arrange a villa for us, somewhere near the academy."
Rias turned to Yuuma and the other two, "Yuuma, you three don't have permanent accommodation either, right? Move in with us."
Since Yuuma and the other two were A-rank, Rias hadn't paid much attention to their daily living arrangements. Most of the time, they were at Kuoh Academy anyway.
With the growing number of servants, the Occult Research Club was becoming somewhat cramped. Both she and Akeno were planning to move to the villa as well.
"Yuuto, you should come too."
Rias decided to gather all her servants together. Except for Haruto, none of them had family in the human world.
Actually, Haruto didn't either—his biological parents were missing, and he had no blood relatives.
Yuuto hesitated for a moment, glancing at Haruto twice for some reason, and asked, "Is Haruto moving in too?"
"Little Haru won't be joining us. I don't want to hear those lewd sounds every night - I need proper rest."
Rias swept her beautiful eyes over Haruto, her tone carrying a hint of reproach.
When Haruto heard Rias invite Yuuto, he had initially wanted to argue for joining them. Now he could only rub his nose and look up at the ceiling, adopting an expression that said "you guys talk, this has nothing to do with me."
Yuuto seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and laughed cheerfully, "In that case, I'll move in too."
Several black lines appeared on Haruto's forehead. He could understand if a woman said something like that, but what was this guy thinking?
Suddenly, looking at Yuuto's blond hair, another possibility occurred to him...
No way. Whether from past memories or their recent interactions, Yuuto had never given Haruto the impression of being that type of guy.
But better safe than sorry. With a handsome blond guy moving into a villa full of beautiful girls, combined with his own Cuckold Protagonist Template, Haruto couldn't help but overthink.
He stared intently at Yuuto, and an emotion called killing intent began brewing in his heart.
"Kiba, do you have some problem with me? Or perhaps... some inappropriate thoughts?"