25 - My Visit to the Principal

The wounds caused by those silver bullets dipped in holy water had not yet completely healed, even after Akeno removed the lodged bullets, Asia healed my body with Twilight Healing, and Rias spent an entire night with me. This made me realize just how dangerous those bullets were.

'If I had access to Scale Mail, things could have turned out very differently that day,' I thought, with one hand on my chin during the first class that morning.

But in the end, I couldn't complain. I didn't regret being wounded by a worm like Freed Sellzen if it served to save Asia, even though it was a blow to my pride as a transmigrated person.

This all meant that the first arc was over, right? Raynare was trapped, Freed Sellzen was dead, along with most of the other Fallen Angels.

The only Fallen Angel that Rias and the others spared that night was Kalawarner. She figured that since Raynare didn't want to tell them what their plans were in Kuoh, someone else could.

Of course, I already knew what they were doing in Kuoh and why they intended to gather the Sacred Gears, but unlike the location of their hideouts, I didn't yet have a logical way to explain how I knew that a lieutenant of the Fallen Angels named Kokabiel was behind it all.

"Tonello-kun? Earth to Tonello-kun?"

Lost in thought, I didn't even notice the teacher calling my name.

"Leonard-kun, what are you thinking about?" A voice whispered beside me, finally snapping me out of my trance.

I looked to my left and saw Akeno, hiding behind her hands. Oh, yes, that was new too. My seat was finally decided when the teacher rearranged everyone, and whether by coincidence or not, I was now sitting next to Akeno at the back of the classroom.

"Hey, I think you'd better answer the teacher," she said before continuing to laugh softly.
When I looked up, I saw the math teacher, his face completely red with anger.

"I'm sorry, Suzuki-sensei, the answer to the question is…" I said, and looked at the blackboard behind him, but there was no exercise to be answered.

Everyone saw my confused expression and started to laugh, which made the teacher take a deep breath, fold the sheet of paper in his hands, and point to the classroom door.

"The Student Council President, Miss Sona Sitri, has come here personally to take you to the principal. He wants to see you." The teacher finally explained, which directed my gaze to the door, and I saw Sona Sitri.

I gulped and nodded before looking out of the corner of my eye at Akeno and seeing her blink with just one eye. That made me feel a little more relieved. If Akeno was calm, I probably wasn't in trouble.

Thuc

The classroom door closed behind me, and I was alone with Sona Sitri for the first time. 

She looked me up and down and adjusted her glasses on her face. "So you're the famous new exchange student, Leonard Tonello."

"And you are the strict Student Council President, Sona Sitri."

We stared at each other without letting any sign of hesitation show. I knew how strict Sona Sitri could be, not only with her fellow council members, so I couldn't show any sign of weakness.

"Um... Please follow me, Tonello-san. We don't want to keep Zeoticus-san waiting too long," Sona said, and started walking down the hallway.

"Zeoticus? What would he like to discuss with me?" I wondered.

Zeoticus Gremory was the head of the Gremory Clan. He was also the father of Rias Gremory and Sirzechs Lucifer, one of the current Maous. As a member of a clan that had peaceful relations with humans, he was also someone who found humans fascinating for their cultures, differences, and especially their ability to cook. Not surprisingly, Zeoticus was considered a master chef.

In addition to all of this, Zeoticus also "worked" as a director at Kuoh Academy.

'Is it too late to welcome me?' I thought to myself, smiling awkwardly.

I followed Sona Sitri through the empty corridors of Kuoh Academy. At that time, everyone was in class, so it was very quiet, and Sona didn't bother to strike up a conversation to change that.

Sona only stopped walking when we reached a large double wooden door on the fifth floor. On the surface of this door were some carved floral details, which made me think that this door alone would probably be enough to buy all the apartments in the building where I lived.

"The Gremorys really like this Victorian style of decoration," I commented to Sona, but she didn't even smile.

"Wait here a second. I'll let them know we're here."

"Okay..."

Without knocking, Sona turned the doorknob and opened it. She put only her back inside the room, and I heard her muffled voice say:

"Mr. Director, Tonello-san is here."

"Oh! How nice, very nice! Come in, both of you, right now!" Zeoticus sounded excited and, as I imagined, loud.

Sona stepped back and opened one of the doors wide so I could enter the room before her. When I entered, I saw a huge office with décor that was extremely similar to that of the Occult Research Club — shelves crammed with old books, velvet and leather-upholstered wooden sofas, and a large wooden desk.

Behind the desk sat a man in a swivel chair. He had his back to me, the light from the window illuminating his face. For some reason, I felt my muscles suddenly tense. Was this what it felt like to stand before a powerful devil?

Sona Sitri closed the door behind us and tugged lightly on the sleeve of my school blazer to urge me to keep walking. We stopped about two meters away from the desk.

"Can you leave us alone, Sona-chan?" Zeoticus asked in a serious tone.

"As you wish, sir." Sona bowed her head and backed away.

When the office door finally closed, Zeoticus turned his chair to face me. His red hair was so long that it fell easily below his shoulders, and his serious gaze, with that blue hue, seemed cold when he looked at me.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you again after so many generations, Welsh Dragon."