Chapter 31 The Reason
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Himejima Akeno’s intuition was sharp; she could tell things weren’t nearly as simple as they seemed.
”Is that really all there is to it?” she asked.
Aki was firm. “That’s it.”
As for the sacred gear¹, the original protagonist, and all that… The timeline wasn’t set in stone. Since he’d ended up in this world, Aki had no intention of just rolling over and accepting his fate.
Regardless of what the future held, keeping the girls away from Hyoudou Issei for now offered nothing but upside. First, it would minimize changes to the plot, allowing his “prophetic” meta-knowledge to remain useful for a while longer. Second, it made it easier to plot for the Boosted Gear².
The prophet bit was secondary; it was the second point that Aki truly valued. He’d considered approaching Hyoudou Issei himself, but his motives would have been too transparent, and he lacked a good excuse.
If anyone bothered to look into him, it wouldn’t be hard to see he had an ulterior motive. Who would have thought Hakuda Tetsuya would provide such a perfect opening?
In a show of gratitude, Aki decided that as long as Hakuda cooperated, he’d lay off the torture. Under the cover of magic, Hakuda was smoothly moved into the Occult Research Club’s activity room.
”Damn. I heard this club was on its last legs, but this doesn’t look like a dying club at all,” Aki said.
This was his first time in the ORC’s headquarters. Not only was the place larger than a standard classroom, it was fully carpeted in deep red, with magnificent chandeliers glowing overhead.
Plush leather sofas, solid wood coffee tables… Even the furniture looked like the kind of luxury an average person could never afford. In short, it looked nothing like a club about to be disbanded. It was several leagues more impressive than even the Student Council room.
Himejima Akeno simply smiled without a word. The entire academy belonged to the Gremory family, so naturally, the clubroom for the future head of the house would be top-tier.
Shinra Tsubaki offered a brief explanation. “The Occult Research Club wasn’t originally here. It’s less that Rias and Akeno took over a dying club, and more that they took the name and rebuilt the club from scratch themselves.”
Thinking about the club’s roster, Aki found himself agreeing. The President was Rias herself, and every member was one of her servants. Setting up a place like this was purely for the convenience of holding meetings and handling requests.
”Uesugi-kun, do you plan on interrogating him yourself, or will you wait for the President?” Akeno asked. She flashed a kind smile. “Of course, I wouldn’t mind handling the interrogation for you.”
”Akeno-senpai, you’ve got a really dangerous look on your face…”
Aki pulled back his curiosity and stopped gawking at the room. Akeno looked genuinely surprised. “Oh my, this is just my normal face.”
Aki remained silent.
”I’ll do it myself. I’d hate to trouble you, Akeno-senpai,” he said.
If he handed Hakuda over to this sadistic woman, there was an eighty percent chance she’d beat a false confession out of him just for fun. Akeno tilted her head, maintaining a facade of total innocence.
Ignoring her, Aki squatted down and poked Hakuda. “Hey. Can you talk yet?”
Hakuda only glared.
”Oh. Guess not,” Aki replied. He scratched his head. Did he really have to send the guy to the infirmary first?
”Look at you. Why’d you have to go and push yourself into this state?”
The bulk of Hakuda’s injuries were the result of his own backlash, followed by the road rash from Aki dragging him all the way here, and finally, the damage from their brawl.
Since neither of them knew a lick of martial arts, the fist-to-flesh slugfest looked terrifying, but most of the hits had landed on muscle and fat. At most, it was just some nasty swelling and bruising.
There was a saying: if you want to learn to hit, you have to learn to take a hit first. Aki agreed with that—mostly because with his Mirror Reflection³, he’d never be the one coming out on the losing end.
Hakuda hadn’t understood that. He didn’t want to get hit, so he’d pushed himself into a state of critical injury just to try and win. Facing Aki’s sympathy, Hakuda wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn’t come.
He hadn’t wanted it to end like this, but his blood had been up in the heat of the moment. If he’d known Akeno and Tsubaki were watching the whole time, he would’ve stuck to the straight-up brawl and skipped the second phase transformation entirely.
Whether he transformed or not, the result would have been the same. Just as Aki was getting a headache, Akeno spoke up with a smile.
”I know a bit of healing magic.”
”And? Then use it!” Aki said.
”I wonder who it was that just said they didn’t want to trouble me?”
Aki said nothing. This hara-guro⁴ woman didn’t just love teasing people; her heart was about as big as a needle’s eye. He knew he had no choice but to swallow his pride.
”Akeno-senpai, I was wrong,” he apologized.
Akeno’s smile turned even more delighted as she waved a hand, showering the area in a soft green light. “I’m not particularly specialized in healing magic, but I can get him back to a state where he can talk.”
”That’s plenty.”
Aki squatted back down in front of Hakuda. “Hey, quit playing dead. You heard her. Start talking.”
Hakuda remained silent.
”Still nothing? You want another beating?”
”Then ask something!” Hakuda replied in frustrated indignation. “You haven’t even asked me anything! What am I supposed to confess?!”
Aki smirked. “Tsk. I guess it really wasn’t you.”
He wasn’t just messing around; he was trying to bait Hakuda. If Hakuda had been the one targeting him, his reaction would have been completely different. Aki had already figured the guy was a bit of a moron; there was almost no way he could have pulled off a sophisticated shadow operation like this. Still, he had to follow the procedure.
”Name.”
”Hakuda Tetsuya.”
”Age.”
”Sixteen.”
”Gender.”
Hakuda stared back. Aki glared at him and repeated, “Gender.”
”Big brother—man, I’ll call you whatever you want—just stop screwing with me! Can you just ask what you actually want to know?!”
Hakuda was on the verge of a mental breakdown. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out how he’d pissed Aki off this much.
”You know exactly what you did!” Aki said, bluffing with a wide-eyed stare. “The victim found us and asked us to get revenge.”
Hakuda’s eyes went wide. “Is it about reselling those photos?”
Aki’s eyes lit up, but he kept his voice neutral. “No.”
”Then… is it the drug thing?”
”Wrong again.”
”It can’t be because I stole that underwear, can it?”
Aki let out a low laugh. After laughing until Hakuda began to seriously question his life choices, Aki looked up at Shinra Tsubaki.
”Tsubaki-senpai, I told you none of these guys have a clean slate. Grabbing them for an interrogation is never a mistake.”
Tsubaki shook her head helplessly. “Not everyone is as stupid as he is.”
”Fair point,” Aki said, nodding in deep agreement.
It was then that Hakuda finally realized what was happening. “What?! You mean you were playing me?!”
Aki gave him a look of pure pity. “As for the stuff you just mentioned, we’ll talk about that in detail at the Student Council office later. For now, I’m asking you…”
Aki gave him a brief rundown of the situation. As expected, the answer was that Hakuda had nothing to do with it.
”Then why did you even suspect me?!” Hakuda asked, fuming at being dragged into this mess for no reason.
”The rumors started on the campus forums, but the original post was deleted and couldn’t be traced,” Tsubaki said, pushing up her glasses. “Our investigation showed that the account you use wasn’t just spreading it—you also have an ability that prevents others from tracing your activity.”
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Summary:
Aki moves the defeated Hakuda to the Occult Research Club headquarters for interrogation under the supervision of Akeno and Tsubaki. He reflects on his meta-knowledge and his desire to secure the Boosted Gear while keeping the original protagonist away from the heroines. The luxurious state of the clubroom surprises him, revealing the influence of the Gremory family. Akeno uses healing magic to enable Hakuda to speak, leading to a comedic interrogation where Hakuda accidentally reveals several other petty crimes. Aki eventually determines that Hakuda is too foolish to be the mastermind behind the current rumors. The chapter ends with Tsubaki explaining the technical evidence that led them to suspect Hakuda in the first place.
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Trivia:
- Aki’s ‘Mirror Reflection’ ability suggests his power set is geared toward counter-attacks or reflection, making him a difficult opponent to surprise.
- The description of the ORC clubroom as better than the Student Council room highlights the internal power dynamics of the school.
- Akeno’s ‘kind smile’ being perceived as dangerous by Aki reinforces her archetype and warns the reader of her hidden depths
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Character Insight:
Aki demonstrates a tactical and slightly manipulative side, willing to use Akeno’s intimidating presence to pressure Hakuda. Akeno enjoys the ‘black-hearted’ teasing of Aki, showing a playful but dominant dynamic. Tsubaki acts as the grounded, logical anchor between them.
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Lore And Worldbuilding Context:
The Occult Research Club was rebuilt by Rias and Akeno using the existing name rather than being a legacy club. Gremory family wealth is so vast they effectively own the academy and provide high-end luxury to their members.
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TL Notes:
The term ‘hara-guro’ (literally black-bellied) was used to describe Akeno’s hidden sadistic nature, which is a common character trope in light novels.
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Glossary:
Notes:
• 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.
• Akeno – Akeno Himejima, a senior of the Occult Research Club and Rias Gremory’s trusted retainer, sports long black hair, a graceful aura and a voluptuous figure often adorned in school uniform. An A‑rank devil with lightning magic, she mentors Aki, teasing him while observing his growth, and hides a sadistic streak behind a kind smile.
• Aki – Sixteen-year-old first-year Kuoh Academy student, 170cm, with delicate features, messy black hair, and black-rimmed glasses, adopted by the Takamine sisters; a handsome “pretty boy” with high combat instincts, Perfect Muscle Control, and semi-automatic Mana absorption triggered when relaxed. Reincarnated with a Cuckold Template, he struggles with magic mastery despite exceptional Mana perception, trains under Koneko to build strength and evade feminization, and wields Mirror Reflection to copy abilities. Possesses succubus/incubus blood enabling dual-cultivation via fluid exchange to boost partners’ magic, recently gained muscle from Hidden Academy training. Peak D-rank, recently defeated Tetsuya Hakada, now a candidate for Rias’s peerage—pragmatic, cynical, and secretly plotting to seize the Boosted Gear while gatekeeping the original protagonist.
• Hyoudou 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Rias – Rias Gremory, 17‑year‑old pure‑blood demon and heir to the Gremory house, is President of Kuoh Academy’s Occult Research Club and territory lord of Kuoh Town. She sports long crimson hair, blue eyes, a curvy elegant figure and large bust, often in the school uniform. Mature and affectionate, she mentors Aki as a big‑sister figure, oversees his training, and investigates threats against him.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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