Chapter 27 The First Target
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
[Copy Failed]
[Obtained Talent: Intermediate Demon Bloodline: Incomplete]
[Description: Increases Mana affinity and enhances physical attributes.]
A surge of heat erupted from deep within his core at the sound of the chime, but it flickered and died almost as quickly as it had arrived. Aki shook off the daydream and gave the air an experimental punch. He couldn’t feel a damn thing in terms of Mana affinity, and as for his physical stats… it wasn’t even close to the boost he’d gotten from Sasaki Yukina’s ‘Physical Activation.’
Still, he thought, an upgrade is an upgrade, however marginal.
With his power ticking upward once again, he felt a fresh surge of confidence for tomorrow’s plan. He looked back at the Talent description; technically, the system wasn’t lying. Even a tiny step up was still a step up.
”Tetsuya Hakuda…”
Aki rolled the name of his first target over his tongue, plotting the best way to bait the guy. Instinct told him the ‘Bleached-Blonde Delinquent’ was the most likely candidate for a supernatural monster in disguise, but for the sake of playing it safe, he decided to start his ‘investigation’ with his fellow freshman, Hakuda. After all, Aki’s actual combat experience was mostly limited to kicking the crap out of low-level thugs.
Flanked by Shinra Tsubaki and Himejima Akeno, Aki marched toward Hakuda’s classroom, soaking in the envious, soul-crushing glares of every guy in the hallway.
”Tetsuya Hakuda.”
Aki stepped onto the teacher’s podium, immediately spotting the face from his files. He’s decent-looking, I guess. But he’s still got nothing on me. With a face like that, he actually had the balls to confess to Tsubaki-senpai?
Aki decided it was time to start spinning lies from thin air. Beside him, Tsubaki’s expression grew darker by the second.
”Listen up,” he announced to the room. “Tsubaki-senpai is already mine. You better stay the hell away from her. If I catch you near her one more time, I’ll strip you bare and hang you from the school gates myself.”
Himejima Akeno was busy stifling a giggle behind her hand, but she didn’t realize Aki’s next move was to drag her into the mud with him.
”And you,” he sneered, pointing at the bewildered Hakuda. “You shameless prick. After Tsubaki-senpai shot you down, you actually had the gall to crawl to Akeno-senpai? Telling her you’d be her ‘simp¹‘ if that’s what it took to stay near her?”
Aki let out a cold, theatrical snort. “Give it up. Without my say-so, Akeno-senpai wouldn’t give you the time of day, let alone a second look.”
Rumors about Aki had been spiraling out of control lately. Seeing him constantly attached to the hips of the school’s two biggest beauties, people had already been whispering about their relationship. Aki’s outburst was basically a public confirmation. The boys in the room looked at Tsubaki and Akeno, the sound of their collective hearts shattering practically echoing off the walls. Are these two gorgeous goddesses blind? How could they fall for a pretty-boy leach like this guy?
Akeno, realizing she’d been caught up in the crossfire of Aki’s “performance,” reached out and gave the soft flesh of his lower back a vicious twist. Aki gritted his teeth, maintaining his frantic mockery while desperately trying to signal her with his eyes: It’s for the plot!
If he could have had it his way, he’d have just jumped the guy with a lead pipe in an alley-quick, clean, and no damage to his reputation. But Hakuda was always either hitting on girls or being swarmed by them. The guy didn’t even have the courtesy to look like a delinquent; otherwise, Aki would have pegged him as a monster immediately.
Provoking a guy like this was easy, though. Since Hakuda tried to play the “aloof, cold prince” role, Aki just had to brand him as a desperate simp. It baited the target and clued in the poor girls he was deceiving at the same time.
Sure enough, as soon as he processed the insults, Hakuda slammed his hands on his desk and bolted upright. He’d certainly had thoughts about Tsubaki and Akeno, but he wasn’t an idiot. A guy of his caliber might be able to trick ordinary girls, but trying to lay a finger on high-ranking devil servants? He’d be better off picking out a nice plot of land for his grave.
”You’re full of it! I don’t even know those two!”
”Don’t know them?” Aki laughed. “Is there actually a guy at Kuoh Academy who doesn’t know Tsubaki-senpai and Akeno-senpai?”
”I-“
”I don’t care what you have to say. If you’ve got a problem with me, meet me at the School Grove after class. We’ll settle it there.”
Tsubaki and Akeno remained silent throughout the entire ordeal, which, to the gathered crowd of onlookers, was as good as a confession. The students began to drift away from Hakuda-especially the girls who had been fawning over him just moments before. They all wore expressions that clearly said, ‘I don’t know this loser.’
Aki stood on the podium, looking every bit the arrogant prick. He was secretly hoping Hakuda would lose it right then and there and take a swing. It would save them the trip to the Grove.
Hakuda desperately wanted to put his fist through Aki’s smug, handsome face. But then he caught a glimpse of Tsubaki’s thunderous expression and Akeno’s predatory, razor-thin smile. He decided to swallow his pride. He had no intention of showing up at the Grove later. For all he knew, this whole “jealous boyfriend” routine was orchestrated by the women themselves.
As a half-breed², Hakuda knew he could easily take a “normal” guy like Aki. But as long as the status of those two women remained unclear, he had to play it safe. He could only curse Aki in his head: That damn pretty-boy, hiding behind their skirts. If he didn’t have those two long, white legs to cling to, I’d grind his face into the pavement.
Aki watched Hakuda’s dark, simmering retreat with a twinge of disappointment. He’d brought the girls along to make the lie more convincing-and maybe sneak in a few perks of his own-but it seemed to have backfired by intimidating the target too much. Since Hakuda wasn’t biting, Aki had no choice but to retreat. He wanted to keep the insults flying, but his kidneys couldn’t take much more. Even with his ‘Basic Body Mastery’ active, he was no match for Akeno’s pincer-like grip.
The strength gap was just too damn wide. Aki shook his head, a silent sigh of defeat escaping him.
* * *
Student Council Room
”Looks like we’re back to the lead pipe plan,” Aki muttered, wincing as he rubbed his sore lower back. “That Hakuda guy has a thicker skin than I thought.”
”You should have just hit him earlier if that was the case.”
”I can’t just jump a guy in front of the whole class unless I’m prepared to knock everyone else out, too,” he said, rolling his eyes at Tsubaki. “But after today’s show, Hakuda’s fan club is going to be a ghost town for a while.”
Meanwhile, across the school, Hakuda found himself cornered by three very specific guys.
”Don’t be sad, Hakuda. You’ve still got us.”
”Yeah, if we’d known you were a pervert like us, we would’ve invited you sooner!” Matsuda laughed. “The ‘Pervert Trio’ actually being a quartet? Heh, has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”
Hakuda stared back. …Nice my ass.
”Personally though,” Issei added, his nostrils practically flaring, “I’m more of a Rias-senpai guy than an Akeno-senpai guy.”
”+1.”
”+1.”
Watching Issei, Matsuda, and Motohama pant like dogs, the veins in Hakuda’s forehead looked ready to burst. If he got lumped in with these three, his social life was truly over. In Kuoh Academy, the Pervert Trio was legendary for being the ultimate girl-repellent.
Hakuda suppressed his rage, grinding out a single word through his teeth.
”…Screw… off!”
—
Summary:
Aki obtains a new talent, the Intermediate Demon Bloodline, but finds the initial physical boost underwhelming compared to his previous acquisitions. Seeking to flush out supernatural threats, he chooses Tetsuya Hakuda as his first target for investigation. Aki stages a public confrontation in Hakuda’s classroom, using Tsubaki and Akeno to manufacture a scandal and label Hakuda a ‘simp.’ While the provocation successfully ruins Hakuda’s social standing with his female fans, Hakuda manages to restrain his anger due to the presence of the two powerful devil beauties. The plan ends with Aki suffering the physical consequences of Akeno’s sadistic pinching in private. Finally, Hakuda finds himself ironically welcomed into the social circle of the school’s notorious ‘Pervert Trio.’
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Trivia:
- The ‘Incomplete’ status of the Demon Bloodline suggests Aki will need to find the missing components to fully manifest its power.
- Akeno’s reflexive pinching highlights her sadistic personality trait, which is a core element of her character in the original series.
- Hakuda’s self-identification as a ‘half-breed’ (human-demon hybrid) confirms that Aki’s instincts regarding the presence of supernatural beings are correct
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Character Insight:
The dynamic between Aki, Tsubaki, and Akeno shifts toward a more public ‘harem’ status, though in reality, Aki is using them as props for his investigation, while Akeno uses the opportunity to exert physical dominance over him through humor and pain.
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Lore And Worldbuilding Context:
Introduction of the ‘School Grove’ as a location for settling disputes. Confirmation that hybrids/mixed-bloods exist within the academy’s student population.
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TL Notes:
The term ‘Licking dog’ (舔狗) was localized to ‘Simp’ to maintain the punchy, modern derogatory tone suitable for a high school setting in US English.
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Glossary:
Notes:
• Sasaki Yukina – A bold, seductive freshman at Kuoh Academy with long peach-pink hair, purple eyes, and a statuesque athletic build—noted for her large chest, long fair legs, and white ankle socks—she’s the strongest of Reina’s trio and Aki’s long-term partner, having initiated their intimate encounter that granted him a power boost. Possessing the ‘Physical Activation’ talent, she extracts mana for enhanced strength, endurance, and rapid recovery, and is observant of magical anomalies, notably the Succubus’s unusual power-sharing. A competitive, virginal ability-user from Hidden Academy, she physically knocked Aki unconscious, provides intel on Shinomura Yuki, and is a key member of Hamazaki’s group.
• Aki – 16‑year‑old Kuoh Private Academy student, messy black hair, slender, delicate features, black‑rimmed glasses, adopted by Takamine family. Holds succubus/incubus blood, dual‑cultivation that copies talents via fluids and boosts partners’ magic, recently gained muscle. Trained by three girls at Hidden Academy. Newcomer to Inner World, Kuoh Academy pupil who just defeated Tetsuya Hakada, peak D‑rank, candidate for Rias’s peerage, pragmatic, cynical, plotting to seize the Boosted Gear while gatekeeping the original protagonist.
• Tetsuya – A third-year student with a monstrous ‘Stage Two’ transformation ability. He is physically imposing but lacks tactical depth.
• Hakuda – A student who attempted a ‘second-stage’ transformation during a fight with Aki. He is described as somewhat of a moron and is currently being interrogated for spreading rumors. A student with high-level networking and hacking skills. He is described as having a ‘pained’ or ‘bitter’ expression and admits to using supernatural powers for illicit activities.
• Himejima Akeno – Akeno Himejima is a senior member of the Occult Research Club in High School DxD. She has long black hair, a graceful aura, and often wears school attire. Known for her elegant, mature beauty, she can generate golden lightning from her palms, possesses an icy temperament when provoked, and hides a sadistic streak behind a kind smile. She is Rias Gremory’s trusted retainer and confidante.
• Shinra Tsubaki – Dark blue hair, refined and calm, constantly beside Sona in student council uniform; from ‘High School DxD’. Vice president, Sona’s ‘Queen’-type retainer, calm and collected, has the ‘Mirror Reflection’ and later ‘Demon Bloodline’ talent.
• Tsubaki – A girl associated with the student council or supernatural groups, appearing after the barrier is lifted. A member of the Student Council who wears glasses. She is composed and assists in investigations using her analytical abilities. The Vice President of the Student Council. She wears a school uniform and maintains a professional, authoritative demeanor while investigating school incidents.
• Akeno – Akeno Himejima is a senior member of the Occult Research Club in High School DxD. She has long black hair, a graceful aura, and often wears school attire. Known for her elegant, mature beauty, she can generate golden lightning from her palms, possesses an icy temperament when provoked, and hides a sadistic streak behind a kind smile. She is Rias Gremory’s trusted retainer and confidante.
• Matsuda – Short spiky hair, glasses, goofy and nerdy appearance; from ‘High School DxD’. Part of Issei’s pervert trio, comic relief.
• Issei – Issei Hyoudou, a brown‑haired, average‑built high‑school student with a mischievous face, is the shocked normal student caught in the crossfire and the potential host of the Boosted Gear. Known as one of the “Three Perverts” for his lecherous antics, he is a comedic pervert from High School DxD.
• Rias – Gremory Rias is a pure-blood high-class demon, seventeenth-year-old president of the Occult Research Club at Kuoh Academy and next head of the Gremory family, descendant of the Seventy-Two Pillars. With striking crimson hair, blue eyes, a curvy elegant figure, and a large bust, she wears the Kuoh Academy uniform and wields top-level demonic power. Mature and affectionate, she acts as a mentor and potential master to Aki, overseeing her peerage with a “mature big sister” persona and high sensitivity to physical touch.
• Motohama – Buzzcut or bald, wears glasses, nerdy type, part of the comic trio; from ‘High School DxD’. Another of Issei’s friends, associated with the pervert group.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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