After spending the lunch break with Orihime and Elfaria, Kurosaki Renya returned to the classroom alongside them and finished the afternoon lessons.
Until the appointed time, their classmates Rikka and Suzuka showed them around the school grounds.
Once classes were over and Rikka and Suzuka had guided them through the campus—particularly Orihime, who had quickly befriended the two during their short time together—she asked them a question.
"Come to think of it, Rikka-chan, Suzuka-chan. How long have you two known each other?"
"Hmm... ever since elementary school, so about eleven years now?"
"Back when I was even more timid, I was being bullied, and Rikka-chan came to my rescue. Such nostalgic memories."
Listening to the cheerful high school girl chatter among Orihime, Rikka, and Suzuka, Kurosaki Renya nodded along while voicing something that had been on his mind.
"By the way, is joining a club mandatory at this school?"
"Eh? No, not at all. Since this used to be a school for refined young ladies, lots of students have family-related lessons and social obligations. Suzuka here has been juggling quite a few since she was a kid, right?"
"Yeah. Nothing too impressive though... Still, I'm in the go-home club just like Rikka-chan, but Kurosaki-kun, is there any club you're interested in? Our school has a full lineup of both cultural and sports clubs, so if anything catches your eye, let me know. You can even go and observe them."
"I don't have a lot of free time... but well, just observing would be fine."
Accepting Rikka and Suzuka's explanation, Kurosaki Renya thought that creating a club might be a good idea so that he and his servants could gather naturally at school without raising any suspicion, and he asked further.
"By the way, is it possible to start a club?"
"Eh? What's this? Kurosaki-kun, you want to start a club?"
"You just transferred here, and you're already so proactive."
"No, I'm just asking if it's possible."
"I see... Well, if you gather at least three people, you can form a club under the name of an association. With five members, it can officially be elevated to a full-fledged club. Either way, you'd need permission from the student council."
"I see..."
Having learned from Rikka about the club and association system, Renya turned the thought over in his mind.
'Not having mandatory club membership is a relief,' he mused.
'Still, making a club so we can gather freely without arousing suspicion at school isn't a bad idea either. Discussing matters of the underworld would be tricky in an existing club. Fortunately, I have the minimum number needed to form an association with me, Orihime, and Elfaria.'
That line of thinking made him curious once more whether one of the purposes he had come for could be fulfilled.
'I unexpectedly gained Elfaria, a reliable and precious servant... but what about this place?'
Renya glanced around, checking the students he occasionally passed by and those still lingering in the classrooms.
'...Even after looking around like this, there are no Sacred Gear users in our class or among the students I've seen. Maybe they just haven't awakened yet... Still, there seem to be plenty of students excelling in both academics and martial arts.'
After observing his new classmates and those he encountered throughout the day, Kurosaki Renya reached that conclusion.
At Kuoh Academy, a considerable number of students possessed supernatural abilities or knew about the affairs of the devil world.
One of Kurosaki's objectives in coming to Japan was to search for capable servants, but so far, there were no notable candidates.
'A Sacred Gear isn't absolute, and someone can be strong without one... but it's a fact that possessing one makes nurturing growth easier. Well, I'll take my time. The pool is limited to those who excel in both appearance and ability, whom I personally find appealing, and who won't clash with Lavinia and the others who are already my servants.'
The conditions he sought were stringent, but if he chose solely based on superficial looks, he'd end up with a messy harem of servants typical of so many high-class devils. That was unacceptable.
If that were the goal, simply surrounding himself with women using money and power to create a harem would suffice.
To make someone his servant, physical appearance was merely the minimum requirement; high ability and a compatible personality were absolute necessities.
In that regard, Rikka and Suzuka far exceeded the passing mark in looks and character, and their general conduct in class showed no issues either.
'If only they had supernatural abilities...'
Without a thorough investigation, it was impossible to know for sure, but if they possessed supernatural powers or hidden talent for them, he would consider recruiting them as servants.
After the tour concluded and Rikka and Suzuka had gone home together on friendly terms, Renya, along with Orihime and Elfaria, headed toward the rear of the school building.
Surrounded by dense, overgrown trees stood a place called the old school building—a wooden structure no longer in official use.
The fact that no part of it showed damage was likely because there were still those who made use of it.
"Thinking that a single club has occupied this whole place—under normal circumstances, it'd be absurd," Renya remarked.
"Normally, it would've been demolished by now. Could it be the influence of a barrier?" Orihime wondered.
"Probably. No one comes near, no other students join, and even without an advisor, it's still recognized as an official club. Despite all these oddities, nobody questions it."
"I see... Hey, Renya. Aren't we getting any welcome?"
"I'm a high-class devil, but a 'Special-class Devil,' so I doubt I'll receive that kind of treatment. I don't hold a peerage title, after all. Better not to expect much in the way of courtesy."
As Kurosaki, Orihime, and Elfaria exchanged these words while observing the exterior of the old school building and the barrier invisible to ordinary humans, they soon decided to get their business over with and stepped into the aging, but not terribly decrepit, two-story wooden building.
They climbed the stairs, walked down a hallway so clean there wasn't a speck of dust, and advanced all the way to the far end of the second floor.
Whether due to diligent cleaning, there were none of the cobwebs or thick layers of dust common to old buildings.
With Orihime following a few steps behind as was proper in a formal setting, and Elfaria nestling close at his side, Renya halted in front of a certain classroom—their intended destination.
The three of them looked at the door, where a plate read, "Occult Research Club."
'What do devils intend to do researching the occult?' Kurosaki Renya thought in exasperation.
"No way... Are they seriously researching genuine occult phenomena and presenting their findings?" Elfaria asked.
"I'd like to believe they're not that shallow," Renya replied with a shrug, saying something he himself didn't quite believe.
If it were just superstitious nonsense, that would be one thing, but considering the strangely high pride of Rias Gremory, he couldn't entirely dismiss the possibility that they might use authentic supernatural phenomena as research topics and present them to the student body.
In fact, unbeknownst to Kurosaki Renya's group at that moment, Rias and the Occult Research Club had used real ghosts and youkai in their haunted house attraction during the previous year's school festival.
Far from merely pursuing realism, they had used the real thing, showing a complete lack of restraint; perhaps they lived in the human world with underworld sensibilities.
Trying not to dwell too deeply on a presence that could become a headache, Renya knocked on the door of the Occult Research Club.
"Leonhard Pheles of the House of Pheles," he announced, using his formal name.
From inside, a voice that seemed to belong to Rias Gremory replied…
"Yes, please come in."
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