Chapter 2 – The Cursed One’s Great Little Prologue (II)

[Romani Oyama]

I was going through a difficult problem just now.

The cause of my distress was the stunning redhead sitting casually on my bed, watching me with a smile on her immaculately shaped lips.

"..."

Isn't she a little too relaxed? Shouldn't girls be more modest, especially when totally naked in a stranger's room? Particularly considering that the stranger was a man.

If not for her long legs, elegantly intertwined, I might have caught a glimpse of her most intimate area. In fact, I could already make out a little of her red carpet, at least neatly groomed and contrasting beautifully against the pale skin of her inner thighs.

Reluctantly, mustering all my willpower, I tore my gaze from the masterpiece that was her full, flawlessly rounded breasts, meeting her crystal blue eyes that regarded me with a disarming gentleness.

Thanks to my ⟨Indolent Constitution⟩, my body naturally operated at a very low capacity. If not for her stimulating presence, I'd be in an even more lethargic state... so thank you for wearing practically nothing on your body.

As I faced this woman whose body seemed to have been meticulously crafted by Mother Nature herself, a few scattered memory fragments began to slowly surface in my mind, like bubbles rising to the surface of a misty lake.

Apparently, the original owner of this body was a reserved, introverted student with few friends at Kuoh Academy, the same prestigious school that the woman now sitting in her birthday suit in my bed attended as one of its most popular students.

The backstory of this body didn't seem particularly deep or interesting, did it?

Which inevitably leads me to vehemently question: how on earth was one of the most beautiful and desired girls in our school in my bed?

Either way, I quickly managed to process those disconnected memory fragments without going through the genuinely torturous ordeal of the headaches that had tormented me a few minutes earlier.

Feeling minimally centered and capable of forming coherent thoughts, I took a deep breath, discreetly inhaling the intoxicating fragrance emanating from the redhead's perfumed body before me, then parted my lips with evident hesitation.

"Hello... Rias-senpai..." I raised my hand, scratching my cheek awkwardly, noticing I was intuitively using honorifics with her, as though my body reacted automatically to the memories embedded in my head.

From the fragmented memories of this body, I knew full well the extraordinary girl before me was Rias Gremory, one of the four beauties of Kuoh Academy. And apparently those fragmented memories were affecting me more than I'd imagined, influencing even some of my mannerisms and way of speaking.

"Oh!" She blinked her expressive blue eyes in my direction while raising her hand and pointing to herself. "You know who I am?" Her voice carried a note of genuine curiosity.

Seriously? You're literally one of the four beauties of Kuoh Academy, known to practically every male student. Even someone as reserved, introverted, and socially reclusive as the previous owner of this body knew who you were, so please, spare me the false modesty.

Even with that thought crossing my mind, I simply nodded mechanically, desperately trying not to look downward. As strange as it was, my constant lethargy made it hard to maintain self-control.

Woman, could you at least have the basic decency to put on a bra... for a hormone-riddled teenager like me, that celestial pair of voluptuous breasts dangerously derails my ability to concentrate.

"That's excellent!" Adorably, she touched her own rosy cheek with a delicate index finger, in an incredibly cute gesture that contrasted absurdly with her nudity.

How can a woman be simultaneously so erotic and devastatingly cute?

That should be classified as a crime against humanity, or at the very least, a violation of the Geneva Conventions.

"Hmm... Rias-senpai, why exactly are you in my bed?" I desperately wanted to punch myself every time that honorific involuntarily escaped my lips, but at that moment, clearing up my ever-growing doubts was the priority.

"Well, there's no need to be alarmed or panic." She raised her hand gracefully, distractedly toying with a silky strand of her red hair. "You were gravely injured, practically at death's door, so I needed to spend considerable time healing you completely, Romani-kun." Rias offered me a warm and reassuring smile, her deep blue eyes conveying a strange familiarity.

"Injured?" I stared at the redhead, genuinely surprised, almost entirely overlooking the fact that she knew my name without my having mentioned it.

Growing more confused by the second, I raised my arm to examine it carefully, finding not a single wound, scratch, or visible mark. My eyes then fell naturally on my exposed stomach... and I couldn't help noticing a peculiar scar. From its irregular shape, it looked as though something pointed had brutally pierced my abdomen.

"You don't remember anything that happened?" She tilted her head delicately to the side, making her long red hair cascade gracefully over one pale shoulder.

I shook my head, touching the already miraculously healed wound on my stomach with my fingers.

"That's a little strange and worrying... but it must be some kind of posttraumatic stress disorder." Rias raised her hand pensively, touching her delicate chin while her eyes showed concern in my direction. "Romani-kun, you were brutally attacked by fallen angels who apparently chose you as their target."

"..."

With my hand still pressed to my abdomen, I blinked my eyes, incredulous and mentally incapable of processing the utterly absurd information that had just come so casually from her lips.

Fallen angels!?

Honestly, I was already mentally prepared and expecting to reincarnate into some supernatural world with magic or strange powers, but biblical fallen angels are a bit much, isn't it? What, are you going to tell me there are also devils in this world, or dragons?

"Why?" That was the only coherent question that finally managed to escape my lips.

Let's take as our questionable premise that fallen angels actually exist in this insane world.

Even accepting that bizarre reality, I couldn't remotely fathom a logical, rational, or justifiable reason to be the specific target of these apparently homicidal winged pigeons.

"Hmm... honestly, I have not the faintest idea why." A melancholic smile laden with guilt formed slowly on her rosy lips. "I only noticed through my familiars that some of them were pursuing you, but unfortunately, it was too late by the time I arrived." Her voice carried genuine regret. "When I finally found you in the plaza at night, you were agonizing in a growing pool of your own blood... forgive me for not arriving in time."

Rias definitely didn't seem to be pretending. She truly seemed to feel guilty and responsible for what had happened.

"It's alright, this is entirely not your fault, Rias-senpai." I waved my hand dismissively, as though my near-death was somewhat irrelevant.

The constant mental sluggishness was beginning to muffle any extremely strong emotional reaction I should have been having.

"But how exactly did Rias-senpai manage to heal me?"

Could this woman be some kind of legendary mage?

Rias placed her hand delicately over her lips, releasing a soft, melodious, enchanting laugh.

"As a pureblooded devil of the noble House Gremory, one of the oldest and most powerful families in the underworld... well, I have my specialized methods of healing." She puffed her chest proudly, making her impressive attributes sway hypnotically with the sudden motion.

I think my hearing must be catastrophically failing, because for some bizarre reason, a few strange words had just come so casually out of my upperclassman's mouth.

You can't just say you're a devil as though it's no big deal.

The most unbelievable part was that I couldn't entirely doubt her words. For some reason, I had a disturbing sense that the being before me really was a devil, as utterly strange as that was.

But even accepting that insane possibility, it was unbelievable that she simply admitted to being a devil as though it were the most natural and irrelevant thing in the world.

She's a little too naive, isn't she!?

While I was trying to process this mind-shattering information, Rias simply opened her mouth again and dropped another bombshell.

"I am also officially your King now. A pleasure to have you officially, Romani Oyama." She slid her arms over her crossed knees, lazily resting the back of her delicate hand against her rosy cheek.

Ok...

I definitely need some explanations right now.

What do you mean you're my king!? You can't just throw that kind of important information in my face and expect zero questions.

"Rias-senpai, you're just dumping a pile of confusing information on me. It's getting a little hard to follow... please, what exactly do you mean by being my king and being a devil?"

Thanks to the memories, I knew that nobody at Kuoh Academy had any information about her background. Apparently, she was simply a mysterious girl from Europe who had come to study at the prestigious Kuoh Academy for some undisclosed reason. The devil part was a shocking revelation, but considering she bore the Gremory surname, I suppose that made a little sense. Now that I think about it, if she really is a devil, she should at least have changed her surname, so as not to seem so obvious.

Because if I'm not mistaken, Gremory was a Duke of Hell belonging to the 72 pillars of the Ars Goetia.

"Sorry, I think I got a little ahead of myself." She raised her hand, scratching her cheek with embarrassment. "Basically, let me explain: you were dead from your wounds. After your death, when your soul was in the process of transitioning into the Japanese underworld, I decided to use one of my Evil Pieces to save you and reincarnate you as a devil."

Hmm... wait...

I had been killed again after only a few hours in this world!? That must be some kind of world record, mustn't it!?

Either way, there were some technical terms I simply couldn't understand. "Evil Piece!?"

"Well, as a high-class pureblooded devil, I naturally possess the special ability to reincarnate beings of other races as members of my nobility, using Evil Pieces, which are instruments represented by chess pieces... I sincerely apologize for having used this without your permission." She gave me an apologetic smile, tucking a few stray strands of hair that fell across her angelic face.

"So now I'm technically a devil, correct!?" I raised my hand, pointing incredulously at myself.

"Exactly, precisely that!" She confirmed cheerfully.

Great! Just fantastic! On my first day reincarnated in this world, I had already completely lost my humanity. Again, that must be some kind of new record.

Sighing deeply and exasperatedly, I raised my hand to massage my throbbing temple. By her words, I was essentially a kind of servant now, wasn't I?

Strangely, this revelation didn't disturb me as much as it should have. Even though this definitely didn't seem like the best possible situation in the world, however genuinely kind, gentle, and incredibly attractive she appeared to be. Now that I think about it retrospectively, that's probably the specific reason my senses like smell and hearing are so drastically sharpened.

While I ruminated on that thought, trying to absorb and process every word this redhead had casually dropped into the head of a former human, Rias parted her rosy lips again.

"Are you feeling alright physically and mentally!?" She tilted her head worriedly to the side, staring at me with concern shining in her deep blue eyes.

"I think so, considering the thoroughly insane circumstances, but I have some urgent questions... actually, many, many extremely important questions."

She seemed visibly surprised that I'd apparently accepted everything so easily without showing anger or panic. If she knew about my constitution, perhaps she'd understand that my passive acceptance wasn't necessarily a virtue, merely the consequence of a body and mind that naturally resisted any form of intense exertion, including indignation.

Wasn't that making me a little too passive for certain things!? Better be careful with these constitutions.

"I don't mind answering every single one of them, but are you truly feeling well? There was literally a bleeding hole in your stomach until not long ago." She tilted her head with concern. "I did absolutely everything within my power to heal you completely, but let me know immediately if you feel any discomfort, pain, or side effects. Especially because the wound was caused directly by concentrated sacred energy, which is essentially lethal poison to us devils."

Rias stepped gracefully out of the bed, leaving the spot still perceptibly warm from her body heat.

Standing in the full glory of her natural state, she crouched elegantly, arching her back in a flawlessly perfect curve as she methodically gathered the clothes scattered carelessly across the floor.

...I solemnly swear I valorously attempted not to look at the beautiful girl crouching vulnerably, but it was physically and biologically impossible to ignore the celestial sight of her soft, perfectly toned thighs pressed delicately together, revealing only an utterly tantalizing glimpse of what lay hidden between them, while the soft golden light of the room lovingly caressed her impeccable body, dramatically accentuating the absolutely perfect curve of her round and firmly sculpted behind.

Thanks to my extremely questionable and practically nonexistent self-control (already naturally compromised by my constitution, which undermined any motivation to resist basic impulses), I simply admired her shamelessly and without remorse. Fortunately for my sanity, she didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

I can confirm with absolute scientific certainty that the curtains match the carpet flawlessly.

Trying to distract my increasingly perverted mind, I answered her question.

"I'm fine, surprisingly... but is that specifically why you were... completely naked in my bed?"

Rias released a melodious laugh at my question, elegantly sliding her toned leg through black lace underwear, carefully adjusting the delicate fabric against her silky, soft skin. The elastic snapped against the soft skin of her hips, leaving a faint impression against her soft skin.

"It seems nothing escapes your attentive eyes." The underwear's elastic snapped softly against her perfect curves, producing one of the most melodious sounds in the universe. "I embraced you completely naked to directly share and transfer my demonic power and significantly accelerate your healing. It's a traditional method among us devils. It's relatively slow, and the effectiveness decreases proportionally with less direct skin contact."

What a convenient method this is!?

Not that I'm complaining in the slightest, but this doesn't make the least bit of logical sense.

Is this some kind of pornographic logic!?

What if I urgently needed healing and the only nearby devil was a hairy, muscular man!?

I couldn't help being bewildered by this convenient healing method. Please, if that ever happens, just let me die. But that definitely didn't change the fact that it was a wonderfully convenient method for me in this particular moment.

While questioning the dubious logic of this world, Rias turned gracefully, displaying her bare back and her pert behind. "Could you help me with my bra?"

Faced with the question, I swallowed hard, obviously accepting this divine blessing fallen from the heavens without delay.

Getting out of bed wearing only a pair of boxer shorts that barely contained my reaction, I carefully walked toward the redhead, who cooperatively swept aside her long silky hair, fully exposing her bare, pale, impeccably smooth back and the black lace bra with its clasp undone.

This sight is dangerously stimulating for my out-of-control adolescent hormones. To make the situation exponentially worse, I was practically naked and visibly aroused. It was utterly impossible that she hadn't noticed my physical reaction.

Controlling my nerves and trying to regulate my quickened breathing, I delicately held the ends of the bra. My fingers grazed her warm skin, soft as pure velvet. Biting my lower lip to physically suppress inappropriate thoughts, I quickly fastened the clasp.

"Oh! Thank you so much, Romani-kun!" While I adjusted myself in my boxer shorts, Rias finally dressed herself in the feminine uniform of Kuoh Academy.

The uniform consisted essentially of an impeccable white button-up shirt with discrete, elegant vertical stripes, strategically complemented by a small dramatic black shoulder cape and a tight black corset that perfectly accentuated her attributes. Finally, a provocatively short magenta skirt with a white ruffled underskirt that was definitively, objectively, and scandalously too short by any normal, decent, or socially acceptable standard. I sincerely wouldn't be the least bit surprised if a moderate breeze alone were enough to completely reveal her underwear to any observer.

That uniform was certainly deliberately designed by some visionary pervert.

Not that I'm complaining...

Actually, I'd genuinely like to meet and personally thank that individual.

"Romani-kun, are you hungry?" She turned gracefully toward me, and for a few fleeting seconds, I could have sworn her cheeks visibly flushed when she noticed my impossible-to-hide erection, but like a mirage, the very next moment her deep blue eyes met mine naturally, as though nothing had happened.

Not caring in the slightest about the awkwardness, I opened my mouth before my stomach could growl embarrassingly.

"Of course... I think it'll be easier to mentally process all of this on a full stomach."

"Perfect then!" She gestured animatedly, her eyes gleaming with enthusiasm. "I'll wait for you in the kitchen. Take your time getting dressed." Rias stepped delicately out of the room, her footsteps echoing softly down the stairs.

With the gradually fading sound of her steps growing progressively more distant, I let out a deep and utterly exhausted sigh, staring fixedly at the white ceiling where a fan turned lazily.

My whole world had been turned upside down in a matter of hours, hadn't it?

I had permanently lost my humanity and become a literal devil, and now found myself violently headfirst in a supernatural world I could barely begin to comprehend.

Releasing a drowsy yawn, I moved my hand mechanically, reaching for the distinctive masculine uniform of Kuoh Academy carefully hung in the wardrobe.

Pulling on the trousers slowly and automatically, I couldn't help but vividly recall the mysterious abilities I had acquired along with this body.

Strangely, all the detailed information on each of my abilities was neatly stored in my head. And although I couldn't use most of them right now, specifically because they would draw too much attention, there was one in particular that was considerably less conspicuous.

Somewhat more curious than usual, I raised my right hand dramatically, parted my lips slightly, and pronounced:

"⟨Endless Codex⟩…"

Author's Note: Romani dies and reincarnates as a devil, in the service of a voluptuous red-haired demoness. And, by the way, unlike what happens in many fanfics, our protagonist won't fall into the classic trope of hating certain characters for no reason at all. And no, he won't be Rias's lapdog either. So you can all relax.

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