Chapter 8: Overtime, First Mission, and the Cost of Mercy
For the past week, my life wasn't a supernatural fantasy; it was an HR nightmare. While Issei was busy playing "Protector of the Saint" and walking Asia home through cherry blossom paths, I was a 9-to-5 ghost.
I had distributed enough posters to cover the moon, fulfilled errands that felt like fetch-quests from a glitchy RPG, and handled "contracts" so minor they barely deserved the name. But in the quiet hours of 2:00 AM, I wasn't sleeping. I was in the woods, my Black Dragon Familiar circling above as I pushed my mana until my veins felt like they were filled with liquid lead.
"You're going to give yourself an ulcer before you give yourself a Balance Breaker," Crom Cruach noted drily.
'Better an ulcer than being a weak link, Dragon,' I thought, wiped the sweat from my brow, and headed back to the dorm.
The Special Reward?
The next morning, Rias summoned us. She was lounging in her desk chair, her legs crossed in a way that made the slit of her skirt dangerously high. Beside her, Akeno was leaning against the desk, her silken ponytail resting against her ample chest.
"You've been very diligent, Motohama," Rias said, her eyes tracking the way my new physique looked even in a standard blazer. "While someone has been enjoying a romantic stroll with Asia."
Issei laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Ah, come on, President! I was just making sure she adjusted well!"
"And someone has been working overtime," Rias added, her gaze softening as it landed on me.
I pouted slightly, leaning against the doorframe. "I didn't even get my special reward yet. I'm starting to think this club has no employee benefits."
Rias's cheeks flushed a faint pink, but she didn't look away. "Rewards are not forgotten, Motohama. They are simply... postponed until the performance justifies them."
Issei looked back and forth, confused. "Reward? What reward? Do we get a bonus?!"
"In a way," I muttered.
"Anyway," Rias straightened up, her expression turning professional. "I've assigned a joint job for you two. Issei needs field experience, and Motohama, you need to prove you can lead a team. You leave now."
I fist-bumped Issei. "Welcome back to the world of employment, buddy."
"Sorry, man," Issei whispered as we walked out. "You really did do a lot of my work. I owe you one."
"You owe me ten," I corrected. "It would have been nice if I spent that extra time with Akeno-san instead of handing out flyers."
"You said what now?" Rias's voice echoed from the room behind us, suddenly cold.
I didn't turn around. "I meant... it would have been nice to be more caring toward my mistress's affairs! See ya!"
The Client and the Chaos
The job was supposed to be simple: help a local woman with "romantic troubles."
Within ten minutes, Issei had ruined it. He heard "romantic troubles" and immediately assumed the client wanted him to... well, be a "protagonist." He was acting unprofessional, leaning in too close, and almost let slip that we were Devils when he tried to offer a "magical solution" to her cheating boyfriend.
WHACK!
I hit Issei on the back of the head so hard his face hit the coffee table. "Pink-stripe, you idiot! Keep your mouth shut and let the professional talk."
I spent the next twenty minutes normalizing the situation, using a mix of common sense and subtle devil persuasion to calm the client. But as we stepped outside, the air turned frigid.
"A Fallen Angel," I whispered.
He wasn't a grunt. He was an operative, mid-tier, with wings that looked like oily velvet.
'Plot acceleration,' I thought. 'Asia being here early moved the timeline up.'
The Fallen Angel didn't even look at us. He aimed a spear of light at the client's house. "Collateral damage makes the best message," he sneered.
"NO!" I lunged, intercepting the spear with a reinforced arm. The light burned through my blazer, scorching my skin. I forced Issei into a defensive stance. "Issei! Boost! Now!"
The Price of Mercy
The fight was a mess. Issei was inexperienced; he overused the Boosted Gear, screaming "BOOST!" every three seconds until he was gasping for air. I took two heavy hits meant for his chest, my Dragon Core thrumming in protest.
We were holding the line, but we were losing. My vision was blurring from the old backlash of Crom's power.
"D-Die!" Issei roared, throwing a desperate punch that the Angel easily parried.
Just as the Angel raised a spear to finish us, the sky turned crimson.
A bolt of Power of Destruction obliterated the Angel's spear. Rias Gremory descended like a vengeful goddess, her aura so thick it felt like the gravity had tripled. With one flick of her wrist, she neutralized the operative and erased the client's memory of the event.
She turned to us, her face a mask of cold fury.
I was sitting in the corner of the alley, blood dripping from my shoulder, calmly trying to fix my hair in a window's reflection.
"Both of you," Rias hissed. "Are. Idiots."
She scolded Issei for his recklessness and his unprofessionalism. Then she turned to me. She walked over, her shadow falling over me.
"Devils prioritize secrecy," she said, her voice shaking with a mix of anger and fear. "Pawns are expendable, Motohama. If you throw your life away for a reckless whim, you are useless to me."
She reached down, her hand trembling as she touched my bloodied shoulder. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Don't ever do that again. Mercy without control is just a slow suicide."
The Infirmary Walk
Asia arrived minutes later, crying as she comforted a dejected Issei. While Rias continued to lecture Issei about the "responsibility of power," I just leaned against the brick wall, feeling the blood soak through my shirt.
"So..." I croaked. "Can someone actually help the guy who's currently bleeding out?"
Rias was by my side in an instant, helping me stand. She draped my good arm over her shoulder, her warmth a sharp contrast to the cold loss of blood.
"Kiba," she called. "Take him to the medical office. Immediately."
Kiba appeared, a knowing smirk on his face. "Oh ho ho... it seems the President is quite concerned about you, Motohama-kun."
"Not you too, Kiba," I groaned as he took some of my weight.
"Nah," Kiba laughed, his eyes glinting. "I'm just happy to see Issei isn't the only one getting all the attention."
As we walked off, I looked back. Issei was still getting the scolding of a lifetime, while Rias was watching me go, her eyes filled with a look that wasn't just "mistress and pawn."
"She's hooked," Crom Cruach laughed. "Just try not to die before the next date, salaryman."