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Delusion Magazine ☆ Night Material Collection – Xenovia

Part 1

My name is Hyoudou Issei. Today, I’m in the process of carrying out a bold plan to go on a date with all members of the Occult Research Club in one day.

My initial shopping trip with Asia came to a peaceful conclusion, though I was soon dragged away by Xenovia who appeared on the street.

“Alright, Ise. Let’s hit the streets.”

Xenovia looked rather happy. She also wore jeans that suited her active style. However, I…was really concerned about something that she had mentioned before, and beads of cold sweat began to trickle down my face.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

Xenovia asked, noticing the paling colour of my face.

“…Hey, Xenovia. …How much does everyone know about today?”

Indeed, I had just discovered that based on what Xenovia mentioned. It seemed as though all members of the Occult Research Club were already aware of today’s plan. I had listened to the advice of Azazel-sensei and designed this one-day dating plan for everyone, so surely…. Xenovia calmly answered,

“Today? Ah, you mean how you’re going to go on dates with all of us today, right? Everyone already knows about it. Even Kiba and Gasper.”

No way…even Kiba and Gasper found out about my plan for today!?

“…When did you see through my plan?”

When I asked that with a somewhat panicked expression, Xenovia replied

“We were called together by Rias-buchou. She said that you were acting a bit weird, so she called over everyone living in the Hyoudou Residence to have a discussion about it. That’s how we found out about your plan. After that, we called Kiba and Gasper over and spoke to them about it as well.”

I worked so hard to come up with countermeasures so that my plan wouldn’t be discovered by everyone, and yet, not only did everyone find out, they even gathered together to discuss it!?

Uwaaahhh…. I felt so hurt! I literally wanted to find a hole and crawl into it! I-It was so embarrassing! Everyone was so much smarter than me! Well of course, why did I think that I’d be able to deceive the Two Great Onee-samas!? So Buchou and Akeno-san agreed to go out with me even though they completely understood the details behind all of my honeyed words!? T-Then, everyone who knew about it from the beginning had been keeping an eye on me…!? Aaaaahhhh…. I felt even more embarrassed, and I began to feel deeply remorseful for my actions. Indeed, it was impossible for someone like me to show off my good side in front of everyone…. Moreover, I even made everyone worry unnecessarily….

“…So, it is indeed impossible to go on a date with everyone in one day.”

Xenovia gave me a thumbs up despite my depressed look.

“Well, everyone unanimously decided that this could be a test of your patience. And everyone has been looking forward to this day as well. Of course, that includes me.”

So in the end, everyone decided to forgive me and come out to join me, and they even looked forward to it…. Uwah, everyone, they’re too kind…! They forgave an idiot like me for listening to Azazel-sensei’s advice to try and act cool in front of everyone…! In that case, I couldn’t afford to hesitate either! For the sake of everyone who forgave me, I decided to make it their happiest day! Such thoughts energised me, and after deciding to apologise to everyone afterwards, I picked myself back up. Alright, since I’m motivated again, it’s time to go shopping with Xenovia! I asked Xenovia once more,

“So, where do you want to go with me, Xenovia? After all, the only thing you’ve said is that you want to go out and have some fun with me.”

Indeed, all Xenovia had mentioned since the beginning was, “Let’s browse the streets together”. Xenovia tilted her head.

“Hmm, well the place that I initially wanted to visit feels a bit inappropriate now.”

“Why?”

“Ise, you already had lunch, right? I’ve always wanted to try a proper ‘rotation sushi’. In the past, I received a recommendation from an acquaintance that I had to try it if I ever visited Japan.”

Rotation sushi? Ah, conveyer belt sushi. Yeah, it was a little past one o’clock, so it was still lunch time. I smiled at Xenovia as I said,

“Then, let’s go together.”

“Really? Didn’t you already have hamburgers with Asia?”

Just as Xenovia said, I did just have takeaway hamburgers with Asia in that park. However, it was only a hamburger that didn’t include the usual set meal. Since I had planned to go on a date with everyone today, I was already prepared to visit cafes and family restaurants repeatedly. That was why I had reached the conclusion that I couldn’t eat too much for lunch, since it would impede my ability to move about. If I overate, it would be strenuous to walk, and my thoughts would also be dulled during conversation.

“You think a single hamburger is enough to satisfy the appetite of an active high school male? Something like conveyer belt sushi is nothing to me.”

I winked at Xenovia. Just as I finished those words, Xenovia began to laugh.

“Let’s go then! After all, there’s a saying that goes ‘you can’t fight on an empty stomach’!”

I took Xenovia’s hand and led her into the store of a conveyer belt sushi chain—.

 

Xenovia and I sat down in the conveyer belt sushi restaurant. Upon further thought, it was actually the first time that I had come to a conveyer belt sushi restaurant in a party of two. In the past, I had practically been with my parents every time. I had also gone to one with my parents and Asia. I had never even been to a sushi restaurant with my good buddies Matsuda and Motohama. Speaking of which, it was impossible for me to forget Asia’s joy when she saw conveyer belt sushi for the first time. Even though conveyer belt sushi restaurants existed in foreign countries, it was still a rare sight for someone from the Church.

“Look, look at that, Ise! The sushi are rotating! T-They’re moving faster than I imagined.”

Xenovia displayed a similar reaction to Asia. She gleefully observed the sushi that moved around and around on the conveyer belt. Seeing Xenovia like that, I smiled as I reached out to grab a plate from the conveyer belt and placed it down on our table.

“See, you just take what you want to eat from it like this. The colour and pattern on the plates are different to indicate that their price is different. Well, that’s just up to the size of your wallet though.”

Xenovia exclaimed in awe as she watched my actions and listened to my explanation.

“I see, I’ll start eating too then.”

Xenovia then nervously picked up a plate from the conveyer belt. She had tried several times but failed, and it was rather cute to see Xenovia watch as the plates moved away from her grasp. When Xenovia finally got a plate, she ate the piece of sushi in one mouthful. It was a piece with tuna. When she initially became a Devil, she had found it difficult to eat fish sashimi-style.

“How is it?”

I asked. Xenovia eyes glowed as she replied,

“Mmm, it’s delicious. Although I wasn’t accustomed to it at first, it’s fine now that I’ve gotten used to it. As the saying goes, do as the Romans do.”

As she took another big mouthful, it genuinely appeared as though she found it delicious.

“Oh, you’ve also picked up a lot of Japanese pretty well.”

“I guess. Asia and I have been helping each other and studying together every day. I’ll be living in Japan from now on after all.”

Well, since our master Rias-buchou was mainly active in Japan, it was indeed possible to live here even as Devils. Like Asia, Xenovia had also been improving herself in order to get used to this place. Both Asia and Xenovia had gradually become accustomed to Japanese food. They were even able to eat natto calmly now.

While we conversed on various inconsequential topics, we continued to take plates from the conveyer belt. Although I was mindful of over-eating, I still had eight plates. …And even though each plate of conveyer belt sushi was bite-sized, eight of them was still considered a lot. I was probably quite full. Beside me, Xenovia had — more than twenty plates! Xenovia also had quite a large appetite. As a warrior, she could eat much more than the average male. During lunchtimes at school as well, Xenovia normally ate a fair amount of her own bread, and then she also had a lunchbox made especially for her by Asia. Having satisfied her hunger, Xenovia sipped on a cup of tea as she said,

“Alright, since I’m full, it’s time for the real activity.”

“Real activity?”

I asked in surprise. Xenovia then revealed a fearless smile.

“Yeah, there’s a place that I want you to accompany me to, Ise. —We’re going to enjoy a battle.”

…E-Enjoy a battle…? I couldn’t help but feel uneasy…. Could it be that she really meant it when she said that she ‘can’t fight on an empty stomach’? Becoming somewhat more serious, I followed Xenovia to the next place.

Part 2

The place that Xenovia had brought me to was a vacant lot by the river in the town. It was a rather large area, so some people had come here to play baseball and the like since it was a holiday.

“…So Xenovia, what did you have in mind to bring me to a place like this? You mentioned a battle, but what kind of battle?”

Enjoy a battle…in an open space by the river? What kind of battle!? A duel? No, more importantly, who was the opponent supposed to be? Someone who knew that we were Devils and decided to challenge us? But in that case, weren’t there only a few people who would pick a fight knowing that we belonged to the Gremory household? Xenovia gripped the wooden training sword that she had bought from a shop along the way and readied her stance….

“The person to explain will arrive in front of us.”

Appearing in front of us — was a four-person group shrouded in black cloaks. Because their heads were completely obscured by the cloaks, it was impossible to see their faces. The cloaked group bellowed out with fearless laughter.

“Fufufu, it seems you didn’t run away. —My awaited enemy, Devil swordswoman Xenovia!”

“Your determination is the only thing I’ll acknowledge.”

“However, now that we’re serious, there will be no miracles the second time round, you know?”

“Fuhahahaha! Crumble to dust and return to the Underworld!”

Judging by their voices, one of them seemed to be a composed youth, a serious-sounding girl, a spunky boy, and a forthright man. Though, they called Xenovia a ‘Devil swordswoman’. So they were indeed aware of our true identities.

“…W-Who are these people…. They seem to know our true identities…”

I asked Xenovia.

“They appear to be [Kuoh Academy’s Four Heavenly Kings].”

…W-What is that…? Wait, [Kuoh Academy]!? These people were from our school!? Basically, our true identities — our situation as Devils was kept a secret from ordinary students. However, there were a few people at our school who were aware of our true identities. —Those were the students who had some kind of connection to the supernatural. The school accepted enrolments from students who had supernatural abilities. If they knew about our situation and named themselves as students of Kuoh Academy, then it meant that they must have gone through that process. For example, a few days ago we had a tennis match with a third-year girl — Beast Tamer Abe Kiyome. She was one of the people who knew of our true identities.

“[Kuoh Academy’s Four Heavenly Kings]? It’s the first time that I’ve heard of such people…”

Like I said, it was indeed the first time that I had heard of such people in our school.

“It feels like the situation has gotten a bit strange. Xenovia, can you explain?”

“Sure, in fact—”

Xenovia gave me a light explanation. Xenovia started living in this town from this summer, and she also began to attend Kuoh Academy at the same time. For the past few days, it seemed that she spread her Devil wings and flew around in the dead of the night in order to enjoy the scenery. Like that, on one particular day, a group of people contacted Xenovia. They were — [Kuoh Academy’s Four Heavenly Kings].

“There are some people with supernatural abilities who attend Kuoh Academy, right? Well, he’s a student who possesses those abilities. He’s someone who can control spirits.”

Xenovia explained one thing at a time. ‘He’? Not ‘them’, but ‘he’? Finding it strange, I asked,

“…Aren’t they all students of Kuoh Academy?”

However, Xenovia shook her head.

“No, as far as I know, only one of them is. The other three are also capable of controlling spirits, but they’re students of other schools. For some reason, they were given the name of [Kuoh Academy’s Four Heavenly Kings].”

Only one of them attends our school!? Moreover, they were named [Kuoh Academy’s Four Heavenly Kings] ‘for some reason’!? Hey, isn’t there a high possibility that some uncouth people are mixed in there as well!? No, wait, the fact that they look like that and are called [Kuoh Academy’s Four Heavenly Kings] is already strange enough! One of the cloaked people among the group overheard our conversation and pointed their finger at us.

“Don’t worry about the details! It’s only natural that we, [Kuoh Academy’s Four Heavenly Kings], give a greeting to the new Devils attending the school!”

…That never happened when Asia and I became Devils, and these people never contacted us at all…only Xenovia got dragged into this strange situation. Despite how I tilted my head in confusion, the cloaked people continued to make one-sided proclamations.

“We, [Kuoh Academy’s Four Heavenly Kings], will not allow a second failure…!”

“We trained hard after that! We won’t lose to you again!”

Their voices sounded slightly regretful, but they were also filled with fighting spirit.

…A second failure? Won’t lose again?

Noticing that I was surprised to hear such words, Xenovia added,

“Yeah, they suddenly said that they wanted to fight so we got into it.”

—So, that’s how you defeated them…and then accepted a challenge for a rematch huh. Well, there aren’t many people around who could defeat Xenovia…. After all, she originally grew up in the Church. People of this level couldn’t possibly land even a single hit on her. Xenovia raised the wooden sword in her hand and happily said,

“Like that, I accepted their challenge for a rematch. And I wanted you to be a witness to this duel, Ise.”

Ah, I see…so I was here to watch Xenovia fight. So it wouldn’t count as a match if there was no one to observe the outcome huh…but wasn’t this just a normal street fight…? Because I was on a date with a girl, I worried about whether or not I should join her, but it seemed that this outing turned into one that certainly flowed with Xenovia’s style.

“…Although I don’t know what happened, I’m okay with it if I’m just here to watch. Just don’t go overboard, okay? After all, we’re all students of Kuoh Academy for the time being.”

I said so after heaving a sigh. Xenovia then grinned.

“I know. It’s not a problem as long as they’re still alive, right?”

After giving me a somewhat dismissive reply, Xenovia gripped the wooden sword as she charged ahead.

“Well, who’s first?”

Xenovia said. From the cloaked group, the small boy jumped out.

“Leave it to me!”

After casting his cloak aside, he revealed himself to be an elementary school-aged boy! He stood there in a baseball uniform.

“I am a member of [Kuoh Academy’s Four Heavenly Kings]! [Invasion Flame], Enno Kyuuji ^[1]! Let’s see you take on my ball of fire, onee-san!”

As the boy yelled out, he also got into a pitching stance.

“Bring it!”

Xenovia held the wooden sword in front of her, while the baseball that the boy held in his hand — was encased in flames! Oh, so he was a spirit user who had a fire spirit!

“Volcano Fork!”

He threw a baseball that was covered in flames—

“Hmph!”

Xenovia sent it flying with a single hit! The baseball traced out a large arc in the air, and then made a splash as it fell into the river. Even though it was a forkball that suddenly dropped, to a former Church warrior and current Gremory [Knight] Xenovia, such a thing was still no match for her.

“H-How could…my magic ball…”

The boy was visibly disappointed upon witnessing the outcome. With that, one person was defeated. The remainder of the cloaked group laughed fearlessly despite that.

“Fufufu, that Kyuuji. He was defeated.”

“But, he is the weakest among us Four Heavenly Kings. The real show is just about to begin.”

After saying nonsense like that, the second challenger also removed their cloak.

“I’m second! One of [Kuoh Academy’s Four Heavenly Kings]! [Dancing Princess of the Gale] Kazamatsuri Mai ^[2]. Face the force of my wind!”

It was a junior high school girl! She was a somewhat cute girl whose most prominent feature was her round-shaped eyes. Her uniform seemed to belong to a school in the neighbouring town. —All of a sudden, the wind howled and swirled. So she could control the wind huh. So, what was she going to do next? Use the power of the wind to attack Xenovia? Although it looked like she was keeping an eye on her opponent’s movements — it didn’t seem like she had any intention of making a move herself. Xenovia then said,

“Hmm, you’ve gotten better at controlling the wind than before.”

Hearing that, the girl also revealed a satisfied smile.

“Fufufu! I could only create a small whirlwind before, but I can now control the wind in a certain area! However, anything more than that is impossible!”

The girl declared in a self-confident manner. Huh? Just this? That’s it!? Despite that, she seemed incredibly satisfied with herself! Xenovia advanced forward and tapped on her head with the wooden sword. The girl cried “It hurts! I surrender!” as she gave up, and so the second person was defeated. Hmm, the level of this supernatural ability showdown was much lower than I imagined!

The largest of the four removed his cloak, and there stood a young man with a sturdy-looking build.

“I am third! One of [Kuoh Academy’s Four Heavenly Kings], [Earth Dragon Champion] Tsuchida Ryuuji ^[3]! Here I come!”

As he shouted that, the robust man — violently assaulted the ground with both of his fists! In the blink of an eye, he dug out a large hole and then dived into it!

“Gahahahahaha! As a master of the earth attribute, I’ll unleash an attack at you from the ground!”

He could dig underground to attack!? Perhaps this guy was stronger than I imagined! However, several minutes passed after the man drilled into the ground, yet it didn’t seem like he was moving underground, nor did he seem to have any intention of coming out.

“When Tsuchida drills into the ground, he can’t get back out unless someone rescues him!”

“Then don’t drill down! There’s nothing masterful about that! If you can’t do anything after going underground, then don’t call yourself an Earth Dragon whatever!”

Unable to restrain myself any longer, I finally yelled out! If he couldn’t move underground in the first place, what was the point of drilling!? If he suffocated underground, he’d just die! Wasn’t that just asking for his own death!? You idiot! Hurry up and apologise to the earth spirit and earth dragon!

Ignoring my complaints, the last of the Four Heavenly Kings also removed his cloak. It was a boy who wore the same Kuoh Academy uniform as us. Although he didn’t look too familiar to me, judging by his face and figure, he appeared to be a third-year student. I didn’t care about other boys, so I never paid any attention to them. It wasn’t surprising that such people existed in our school though.

“I am the strongest spirit user of [Kuoh Academy’s Four Heavenly Kings]! [Water Spirit Commander], Mizuhashi Masato ^[4]! Witness the power of my water!”

Saying that, a pillar of water arose from the river behind him and twisted into a snake-like form in the air. Ooh, this guy actually has some potential!

“With my secret technique [Water Snake], you’ll…huu—haa—huu—haa—…take…it…”

He looked pretty good when he manipulated the water, but he was already out of breath when he had only just begun!?

“Just as usual, it seems you lack stamina.”

Xenovia sighed. Ah, so erecting that column of water in the air was his limit. The youth called Mizuhashi didn’t relent with his tough attitude even as his entire face became pale.

“S-Shut up! R-Right now, I’ll…huu—haa—…”

“Well, you’ve grown a bit since the last time so I’m relieved.”

Xenovia made a faint smile as she rushed up to the youth and lightly tapped his shoulder. After receiving that light blow, the youth collapsed to the ground. His technique was unravelled at the same time, and the vast volume of water which had lost its support abruptly slopped onto the open space by the river. Fortunately, I predicted such an outcome and was able to escape before the water drenched me. Like that, Xenovia’s battle — the fight ended with an overwhelming victory for her.

Part 3

“We won’t lose next time!”

After leaving such words behind, [Kuoh Academy’s Four Heavenly Kings] made their escape. Of course, they also pulled the [Earth Dragon Champion] back out of his hole. Speaking of which, compared to the battle, it was actually more tiresome for them to dig the [Earth Dragon Champion] back out….

The battle was finally over, but I had spent nearly two hours with Xenovia. It was already past three o’clock in the afternoon. …My next date partner was scheduled for half past three. —Thus, as I thought about returning in the direction of the shops, I noticed Xenovia praying with her hands together. For some reason, she looked a bit surprised.

“…After a victory, it’s my habit to pray…but I’m not getting a headache.”

 Ah — that. It was just like what Asia did.

“Didn’t Michael-san make some adjustments? Earlier, Asia was able to pray normally as well.”

Hearing that, Xenovia gave a merry laugh.

“Is that so? That makes me happy. In truth, I…lost hope and became a Devil, and I had to endure the pain when I prayed to Heaven. Life like that was quite difficult. So, now that I can pray like this, I feel truly fortunate.”

Her expression conveyed her heartfelt happiness. Asia also looked joyful whenever she prayed. As a follower of God, praying to Heaven was an important part of their lives. In the midst of that, Xenovia suddenly — embraced me! And then, she whispered into my ear,

“Thank you, Ise. I will never forget how you spoke to Michael-sama for our sake.”

“Ah, yeah, something like that isn’t a big deal.”

She suddenly said such things as she embraced me, and more importantly, I was able to clearly feel the sensation of her b-b-breasts pushing up against me! I was barely able to resist my urges!

“I was really happy today. Let’s go have rotation sushi together again. It’d be nice if Asia and…Irina came as well.”

Xenovia said as she let go of me.

“Yeah, that would be the best.”

I earnestly thought so.

—It felt like someone approached me from behind. I turned around and noticed that Koneko-chan was there!

“…What a coincidence for us to meet along the way.”

It looked like Koneko-chan was on her way to meet me with an ice cream cone in one hand. Xenovia said,

“It’s Koneko’s turn next huh. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

Yes, just as Xenovia said, Koneko-chan was my next date partner! Since Koneko-chan saw Xenovia embrace me earlier, I began to feel more embarrassed as she said,

“…You were thinking of something perverted before, weren’t you?”

As usual, she made a scathing comment about me! Before Xenovia left, she said,

“Alright, I’ve got a battle with [Kuoh Academy’s Five Great Warriors] after this. It’ll be a bit lonely without a witness, but I should be able to work up a good sweat.”

You’re still going to fight!? How many people have you provoked!? Also, more people connected with [Kuoh Academy] again!? I’ve had enough surprises for today already! Although I also began to take an interest in the mysterious groups bearing ‘Kuoh Academy’ in their name, I didn’t have the time to explore that interest for the time being. And so, I began my date with Koneko-chan!

(All 3 of 3 parts) (1/5)

Each of the Four Heavenly Kings have puns in their names:

[1] Enno = round field. Kyuuji = baseball-playing boy.
[2] Kazamatsuri = wind festival. Mai = dance.
[3] Tsuchida = earth field. Ryuu(ji) = dragon.
[4] Mizuhashi = water bridge. Masato = commander/leader/general.