The moment Rias's words fell, everyone in the room froze.
For a brief instant, silence reigned—then all eyes began darting back and forth between the blushing Rias and the utterly stunned Ren Kuroda.
It wasn't just the others who were shocked.
Even Ren himself was no less shaken than anyone else present.
But when he caught sight of Riser glaring at him with undisguised fury—and noticed the faint, pleading look in Rias's eyes—
He understood.
…Yeah. This mess checks out.
The supernatural world was as chaotic as ever. Wasn't it supposed to have "modernized" and aligned itself with human society? What era were they living in, still arranging marriages like this?
Ren suddenly felt a twinge of regret.
If a kid skipped class once or twice, so what?
Why did he have to go out of his way to act like a responsible teacher and come all the way here to remind her?
Truth be told, Ren had no real desire to get involved.
Not because he disliked Rias—but because he had experience with this kind of situation.
Generally speaking, pretending to be someone's boyfriend or fiancé rarely ended well.
All he had to do was recall a certain someone from his past to know how that usually turned out.
But at the same time…
He still had something he needed from Rias.
He had heard from Azazel before—Rias's older brother, one of the current Maou, was among the strongest of them all.
Ren wanted to request guidance from him… specifically, training related to the power known as "the Evil of This World."
And given that, refusing Rias outright here—of all places—would be hard to justify.
Especially since she had made that declaration in front of everyone.
If he denied it now, it would humiliate her completely—reduce her to a laughingstock.
So, caught between conflicting choices, Ren made a decisive move.
He said nothing.
Neither confirming, nor denying.
Leaving himself just enough room to maneuver later.
If her parents turn out anything like… certain people I've dealt with before, I can always claim I never agreed to anything.
Surely there aren't that many parents desperate enough to marry off their daughter at all costs… right?
"…Understood."
Grayfia gave Ren a long, appraising look.
"I will report today's events truthfully to the Lady and the Head of the House."
With that, she opened a passage back to the Underworld and departed.
Riser, still seething with rage, clearly wanted to leave behind a few threats—but was promptly dragged away by his younger sister, Ravel.
Once the two of them were gone, Rias let out a long breath, her shoulders finally relaxing.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she quickly turned toward Ren and bowed deeply.
"I'm really sorry, Ren-sensei. There just wasn't any other way at the time, so in the heat of the moment, I—"
"No need to explain," Ren cut in with a small sigh. "I get it. I've had a friend who was in a similar situation once… and she did pretty much the same thing."
He paused, then added with a slightly more serious tone,
"But Rias… there's one thing you should keep in mind. This kind of solution might work in the moment, but it often leads to consequences you can't undo later."
"...?"
Rias blinked, clearly confused.
"Ah, never mind," Ren waved it off. "I stayed silent just now, so it probably won't turn into anything major."
He shifted the topic smoothly.
"Anyway, the real reason I came here was to let you know—the date for the Three Factions meeting has been decided. It's set for tomorrow, over the weekend."
"I was planning to announce it during class… but you decided to skip, didn't you?"
He let out a quiet sigh.
"…I really shouldn't have taken on that troublesome favor from Yasaka."
Originally, it had been Yasaka's job to inform both Rias and Sona.
But since Yasaka had gone to the student council, delivering the message to Rias had fallen to Ren.
And thanks to that—
He had ended up walking straight into this ridiculous situation.
"Ren-sensei, please wait."
Ren had just finished what he came to say and was about to leave—hoping to avoid getting dragged into any further chaos—when he was suddenly stopped again.
This time, three people stepped forward.
Yuuto Kiba.Issei Hyoudou.And Xenovia.
"Ren-sensei," Kiba began earnestly, "would you be willing to guide us in swordsmanship training?"
Xenovia nodded in agreement.
"After witnessing your combat ability during the Holy Sword incident, I've come to fully realize my own shortcomings. As Knights of our President, it would be laughable if we couldn't properly wield a blade."
Both of them had personally seen Ren's mastery with a sword.
To them, it was the pinnacle of skill.
And while swords and blades might differ in form, the essence of their art was the same. Someone of Ren's caliber could easily guide them.
"Ren-sensei, I have a request too!"
Compared to the other two, Issei's attitude was even more sincere.
He dropped straight to the floor in a full prostration.
"I want to protect President Rias—and Asia and the others. To do that, I need to become stronger. Please… give me that chance!"
Riser's overwhelming strength had dealt Issei a harsh blow.
Up until now, being recognized as the Red Dragon Emperor had made him a little… full of himself.
But Riser had shattered that illusion.
What the various factions valued wasn't him—
It was the Sacred Gear he possessed: the Boosted Gear.
Even with a divine artifact capable of slaying gods, it meant nothing if he couldn't wield its power properly.
So now, Issei faced a choice.
Remain a useless nobody clinging to the title of Red Dragon Emperor—
Or unlock the true potential of his Sacred Gear, rise to become a high-ranking devil, and build a future filled with power… and, admittedly, a certain number of cute girls.
He had made his decision.
His life had already veered far from that of an ordinary human.
And among everyone he knew—
Ren Kuroda was, without a doubt, the strongest.
"That said…" Ren scratched his cheek lightly.
"You two are fine. If I've got the time, I don't mind giving you some pointers in swordsmanship."
He glanced at Issei.
"But to be blunt—you don't really have any talent for swordplay. And when it comes to Sacred Gears, I don't know that much more than you do."
He paused, then continued,
"Still… if you're serious about this, I can teach you some hand-to-hand combat techniques. Basic physical training too."
"The Boosted Gear works by amplification, right? Then building up your base stats should help you make better use of it."
To Ren, it wasn't a bad way to pass the time.
Better than staying at home, constantly fending off the… various temptations lurking there.
Teaching a few rookies, taking it easy—it didn't sound half bad.
So in the end, he agreed.
—
That same evening, however—
When Ren saw Rias arriving at his residence—
With a large group of people in tow—
His expression darkened instantly.
"…If I remember correctly," he said slowly, "I only agreed to train Kiba, Xenovia, and Issei."
He looked at the crowd filling his doorway.
"Then what exactly is going on here?"
"…Why is everyone here?"