Chapter 39 Decision ①
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The next day.
Aki arrived at the Occult Research Club as part of his usual routine. He looked around but didn’t see Koneko. Only then did it click: the practical training was officially over.
Himejima Akeno was the one holding down the fort today. Rias had taken the white-haired loli¹ with her to handle a request.
”Aki-kun, did you come by today because you’re having some trouble with your magic?” Akeno asked.
Aki shook his head. “No…”
Give me a break. I haven’t even learned the basics yet. How could I have ‘problems’ with it?
Akeno smiled. “That’s impressive. Tell me, how many spells have you mastered so far?”
Aki stared at her with a deadpan expression. He held up his right hand, making a circle with his thumb and index finger.
”Ten?”
Aki remained silent.
”Ara ara²,” Akeno said, her expression shifting to surprise. “Twenty in a single night?”
Aki buried his face in his hands. He finally decided to just tell her the truth.
After hearing the facts, Akeno rested one hand against her chest and propped her chin with the other. “Your perception of Mana is so sharp. Why is learning magic so difficult for you?”
The “difficulty” she mentioned was relative to people with their level of talent. Aki’s magic level was actually just enough to scrape by a passing grade.
Aki looked at her innocently. “I don’t know.”
There was no point in asking; his answer would always be the same. He had never claimed to be a magic genius anyway. That was just something they had assumed on their own. Besides, his lack of progress wasn’t something he could hide forever.
Akeno reached out and placed her hand on Aki’s forehead to sense the Mana inside him.
”The speed of your Mana growth really is fast. You’ll be ready to try intermediate Magic Power Extraction soon,” Akeno said.
She seemed a bit dazed by the situation. “Your Mana growth is genius-level. I don’t understand why your mastery of the spells is so difficult…”
In reality, the way Aki extracted Mana was different from everyone else. Others had to spend time sitting in meditation. For him, whether he was sleeping or just spacing out, he naturally absorbed Mana from the world as long as he was mentally relaxed.
It was essentially a semi-automatic skill. The amount of Mana he extracted in a single day was equivalent to three days of work for anyone else. That was excluding the type of obsessed lunatics who spent every waking hour in seclusion.
Aki wasn’t necessarily faster at absorbing it; his unique nature simply meant he was effectively putting in three times the cultivation time of a normal person.
Akeno fretted over it for a moment before letting the thought go. It was a big world, and there was a first time for everything. Perhaps Aki’s physique was perfectly suited for absorbing Mana, but he was just average at controlling it.
”Aki-kun, have you considered reincarnating as a devil?”
Akeno’s eyes narrowed as she brought up the old subject again. With Rias away, now was the perfect opportunity. If Aki reacted poorly, she could always claim she was acting on her own initiative.
”Your control over magic would increase significantly after reincarnating. Devils are naturally better suited for magic than humans are,” Akeno said.
Aki felt a spark of interest, but another thought quickly came to mind. “Akeno-senpai, how come I’ve never seen Koneko use magic?”
Akeno’s gaze drifted guiltily. “Ara ara… well… that is to say, not every devil is talented at magic.”
She wasn’t technically lying. Reincarnating as a devil would certainly improve his physical traits and strengthen his Mana control. However, personal aptitude was still the most important factor.
Koneko was a classic example. She was completely unsuitable for magic. The few spells she had mastered were only for buffing her physical stats. At the end of the day, she was a brawler.
Aki didn’t bother calling Akeno out. She was his senior, after all, and he felt like he should let her save some face. Still, a devil bloodline was a valuable asset. The sooner he could get his hands on it, the better.
”Akeno-senpai, you said before that low-class devils can eventually upgrade to high-class. Then they can have their own servants.”
Aki looked at her. “Aside from becoming someone’s servant and moving up through the Rating Games, are there other ways for an ordinary devil to get promoted?”
”Yes, but it’s much more difficult than the Rating Games. It’s also life-threatening,” Akeno replied.
Her expression turned serious as she looked at him. “I’d advise you not to even think about it.”
Aki shrugged. Good medicine was bitter, and honest advice was hard to hear. He decided to listen to Akeno and give up on any unrealistic ideas.
”Senpai, one last question.”
Aki had been thinking about the servant situation for the past few days. Rias had done a lot for him, and he wasn’t heartless. It was time for him to pay her back.
”As for servants… how much control does a King actually have over them?”
Akeno stood up straight, appearing more serious than ever before. “What do you mean by that?”
”Nothing in particular. I just want an honest answer,” Aki said.
He met Akeno’s cold gaze with an equally serious expression. Her brow furrowed. Between this and his earlier questions, she felt like she finally understood what Rias had been talking about.
Aki’s heart was too big. One might even call it ambition. She watched him in silence for a moment before sighing.
”Since you put it that way, I’ll be honest with you. I just hope you don’t let me down later.”
Akeno leaned in and whispered into Aki’s ear, explaining the relationship between a King and their servants.
The Evil Pieces didn’t have any hard-coded compulsory functions, but there was a subtle, natural influence. A King and their servants would naturally develop a mutual fondness for one another. Under normal circumstances, a servant would never refuse their King’s requests. This was a major reason why so many Kings and servants ended up as couples.
If a conflict did arise, the only way a King could punish a servant was by forbidding them from participating in Rating Games. In other words, they could cut off the servant’s path to promotion.
Sometimes, if a servant had incredible aptitude and their strength grew too rapidly, they would develop other ideas. There had even been cases of servants murdering their own King. For such servants, the Underworld would put a bounty on them. Once caught, the only outcome was the death penalty. A servant had to remain loyal to their King at all times.
Of course, that was a law imposed by the Underworld, not a side effect of the pieces themselves. Without such a rule, people would have to be even more cautious about who they took in as servants.
Aki didn’t doubt her. Everything she said lined up with his memories. Specifically, the mention of killing a King reminded him of the one thing Koneko refused to talk about.
Koneko’s older sister, the nekomata Kuroka, had murdered her master and fled after becoming a servant. That incident was the source of the prejudice other devils held against Koneko. They assumed she would eventually betray her master as well.
They had intended to execute Koneko, but Rias stepped in to stop them and took the girl as her own servant.
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Summary:
Aki visits the Occult Research Club and reveals his struggle to learn magic despite his high Mana levels to Akeno. Akeno explains that his Mana growth is exceptional but his control is lacking, prompting her to suggest he reincarnate as a devil. Aki questions the nature of the bond between a King and their servants, leading to a serious discussion about loyalty and the dark history of Koneko’s sister. The conversation reveals Aki’s growing ambition and his desire to understand the risks and rewards of the devil hierarchy.
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Trivia:
- Aki’s semi-automatic Mana absorption suggests he has a unique constitution that differs from standard mages or devils.
- Akeno’s shift in tone when discussing ‘servant murder’ hints at the high stakes of the Evil Piece system.
- Aki’s interest in promotion channels outside the Rating Games foreshadows his desire for independence rather than total subservience
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Character Insight:
Akeno moves from a playful, teasing senior to a serious mentor, recognizing Aki’s ‘ambition’ as something that mirrors Rias’s previous observations. Aki shows a mix of pragmatism and loyalty, wanting to repay Rias but also seeking to understand the limits of her control over him.
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Lore And Worldbuilding Context:
Mana absorption is normally an active process, but Aki’s is passive/semi-automatic.
Evil Pieces (Devil Pieces) create a natural affinity between King and Servant but have no hard-coded compulsion.
Killing one’s King is the ultimate crime in the Underworld, punishable by death.
The promotion of devils can happen through merit or survival outside the official Rating Games, though it is far more dangerous.
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TL Notes:
The term ‘loli’ is used in the narrative as a direct translation of the source’s descriptive choice for Koneko. Akeno’s ‘Ara ara’ is preserved as it is a core character trait synonymous with the character across all media.
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Glossary:
Notes:
• Koneko – White‑haired, cat‑eared loli with a petite, flat‑chested frame, stoic and vigilant. A Nekomata devil and Rook of Rias’s peerage, first‑year in the Occult Research Club. Kuudere‑like, she trains Aki in brutal combat, serving as his instructor and bodyguard, wielding immense strength. Often seen eating a pink popsicle, she’s quiet, observant, secretly curious, and blushes when noticed.
• Aki – TIMEOUT: No response (20.0s) – Unknown error
• 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 – Himejima Akeno, Rias Gremory’s Queen and vice-president of the Occult Research Club, is a stunning A-rank devil with long silky raven hair tied in a hip-length ponytail, purple eyes, and a voluptuous figure often clad in her school uniform—red pleated skirt, sheer black stockings, and elegant “purple armor” attire. Though dominant and teasingly maternal toward Aki, she hides a bashful, maidenly side, still possessing her first kiss and easily overwhelmed by lust or embarrassment. A member of the prestigious Himejima clan, she wields lightning magic, mentors Aki with a kind smile concealing a sadistic streak, and balances regal poise with vulnerable, endearing moments of innocence.
• Rias – Rias Gremory, the 17-year-old pure-blood High-Class Devil and President of Kuoh Academy’s Occult Research Club, is the authoritative Crimson Ruin Princess of Kuoh Town—long crimson hair, crystal-like crimson eyes, and an explosive, elegant figure always clad in her school uniform. Determined and observant, she fiercely protects her peerage, mentors Aki as a big-sister figure, oversees his training, and is currently frustrated by her inability to reincarnate him, driving her to meticulously facilitate the ritual as both leader and guardian.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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