"Hello, I'm Qin Xiao."
Qin Xiao smiled as he greeted Momono Hanakai.
Seeing the faint blush on her face made him feel a bit helpless.
There was a time when he himself had cautiously approached the girl of his dreams at school just like this.
But the result back then had not been pleasant.
There was no enthusiastic flirting.
Nor was there any obsessive girl chasing him like in novels.
They simply got to know each other briefly.
From that moment on, they became nothing more than ordinary acquaintances who nodded when they met.
The break between classes lasted 15 minutes, and when the bell rang again, Momono returned to her seat.
Just like that, the entire day passed.
After many years, Qin Xiao found himself sitting in a classroom again.
It felt rather strange.
But because his perspective had changed—and because he was no longer a child—the day felt surprisingly relaxed compared to the stressful school life he once experienced.
Ring—Ring—
The dismissal bell rang.
Students in the class began packing their bags.
However, most of them weren't going home.
They were heading to their club activities.
It was only around 3 PM.
Students participating in clubs usually stayed until 6 PM before leaving school.
Qin Xiao organized his textbooks and prepared to leave.
He had no interest in clubs.
After all, he didn't come here to study seriously or prepare for university.
For him, this school was just a temporary stage.
"Qin Xiao… um… do you have some time later?"
Just as Qin Xiao finished packing and was about to leave, Momono Hanakai walked over.
She looked hesitant, as if she had something important to say.
"Is something wrong, Hanakai-san?"
"Our Student Council President wants to meet you."
"The President? You mean the Student Council President?"
"Hm? Do you already know our president?"
"We met briefly this morning."
"That's great then."
"Do you have time?"
"I don't have anything else planned. I can go."
"Thank you so much!"
Momono Hanakai looked genuinely happy.
After all, suddenly inviting someone you barely know is something most people would refuse.
In Japan, people tend to maintain strong emotional distance from strangers.
It's part of the culture.
You could describe it as:
"If it doesn't concern me, I'll stay out of it."
That's why Japanese people often speak with polite language and behave cautiously.
Everyone wears a social mask.
The emotional distance between people is often extremely large.
Everyone may have their own thoughts, but they must still follow the social flow.
Otherwise, they might struggle to fit into society.
Under Momono's guidance, Qin Xiao arrived at the Student Council room.
There weren't many people there, but everyone appeared very serious.
"President, I've brought Qin Xiao."
Inside the Student Council office, Sona Sitri sat at her desk writing something.
Beside her, Tsubaki Shinra held a stack of documents.
"Thank you for your work," Sona said.
Hearing Momono's voice, Sona stopped writing and raised her head.
Her eyes met Qin Xiao's directly.
Tsubaki adjusted her glasses instinctively and looked at Qin Xiao with a careful, evaluating gaze.
Earlier that morning, they had witnessed Rias approaching Qin Xiao.
Since Tsubaki had grown up alongside Rias, she understood her very well.
If Rias had approached someone personally, it was definitely not without reason.
"We meet again, Qin Xiao," Sona said with a small smile.
Her eyes carefully observed the green-haired youth before her.
Even in the colorful anime-like world where people had many unusual hair colors—
green hair was still rare.
"President Sona, may I ask why you invited me here?"
"It's nothing serious," she replied calmly.
"I was simply curious how your first day at Kuoh Academy went."
"Everything has been great. Thank you for your concern."
"That's good."
"After all, my family specifically asked me to pay attention to you. I must treat you properly."
"Thank you."
At the side, Momono Hanakai looked surprised.
Sona's family—
that meant the Sitri Clan, one of the noble devil families.
Did that mean this handsome transfer student was also part of the supernatural world?
And that he had connections with the Sitri family?
Meanwhile, Qin Xiao already had a rough idea of what was happening.
Since Rias had approached him earlier, this princess of the Sitri family had probably begun to suspect something as well.
Qin Xiao couldn't help sighing internally.
This was only his first day at Kuoh Academy, yet so many things had already happened.
Most importantly—
his strength was only at the Low-Class Devil level.
Facing the princess of the Sitri clan and the princess of the Gremory clan, he naturally felt cautious.
A High-Class Devil's strength far surpassed his current level.
Although Qin Xiao was confident that given enough time, he would eventually surpass both Rias and Sona—
for now, he still needed to act carefully.
"Oh right, there's something I'm curious about," Sona continued.
"Earlier today, Rias mentioned that you saved the first-year student Koneko Toujou."
"Is that true?"
"Yes, that did happen."
"I see."
"No wonder my family asked me to pay attention to you. Your strength seems quite impressive."
"I can only barely protect myself."
Sona smiled faintly.
She knew Koneko well.
As Rias's servant, Koneko was among the stronger Low-Class Devils, especially with her incredible physical strength.
Most Stray Devils couldn't even harm her.
Yet Qin Xiao had managed to save her from one.
That meant his strength was definitely not weak.
Even though Sona was a High-Class Devil, she didn't look down on Low-Class Devils.
In fact, among her own servants—
only Tsubaki Shinra had reached Middle-Class Devil.
All the others were Low-Class Devils, and some were even weaker.
That was because they were still growing.
But Qin Xiao already possessed such strength at the same age.
Naturally, that made him extremely valuable.
"Since my family contacted me about you, I assume you already know who Rias and I really are, correct?"
"Yes."
"I know a little about President Sona and Senior Rias's identities."
"That makes things easier."
Sona looked directly into Qin Xiao's eyes.
Then she said calmly:
"Would you like to become my servant?"
Sona Sitri had just invited Qin Xiao to join her peerage.