DxD: Path of the Gremory Prince

"Have you been to the toilet yet? It was too quick."

"Oh... I forgot." I put a hand to the back of my head and answered. "What did you want to talk about, we..."

"You thought I was in a hurry, didn't you? I'm not. Please take it easy. I'm not going anywhere," Rias said with a closed smile.

Not wanting to argue with her, I nodded in agreement and turned down the corridor. I walked to the bathroom and locked the door behind me.

The first thing I did was face the mirror. My reflection still felt unfamiliar. My eyes, once as black as frosted glass, were crimson, and the features of my face were thinner and more striking.

I put a hand to my chin, judging by my appearance. "I didn't use to think of myself as ugly, but shesh~... things really are different when you have noble blood."

My scarlet-red hair was always slightly messy, but that suited me. My new physical structure was also impressive, even for someone my age. I wasn't particularly tall or muscular, but I had a build above average for boys my age.

Turning away from the mirror, I smiled with satisfaction.

'I really am Milicas Gremory. There's no doubt about it. This time, I will not live as an extra and...! Ahem! Anyway, I'd better hurry back and talk to Rias-neesan to see what she's here for.'

With a clearer head, I left the bathroom.

When I returned to the living room, instead of immediately sitting down on the sofa in front of Rias and Akeno, I walked into the kitchen next door. The apartment followed an open-concept style in the central area, so I could see Rias and Akeno following me with their eyes.

"Are you making tea?" Rias asked.

"From what I studied before I came, serving tea is a tradition in this country during conversations, isn't it? Besides, it's the least I can do as a host." 

"The change of environment is already making you more proactive."

I opened one of the kitchen cupboards, took out a teapot, and filled it with water, placing it on the stove. Then I took some cups and a tray from the cupboard and selected a green tea. As soon as the tea was ready, I put the three cups on the tray and walked over to the coffee table, placing the tray in front of Rias and Akeno.

I took my cup and sat down on the empty sofa, blowing on it lightly. At that moment, a voice echoed in my mind. 

[Main Scene Started!]

[10 Patrons are now watching this scene.]

[Your actions can make you earn prizes from the Patrons.]

I almost let my surprise show, but I held back and took a sip of my tea.

'I still don't quite understand how it works with the Patrons, so I'll try to stay focused on what's in front of me.'

Then I put the cup down, left it on the table, and looked at my visitors.

"So, have you just come to welcome me to Kuoh City? Or do you have another goal in mind?"

Rias left her cup on the table too. "You know me well, Milicas. Yes, I have a reason for being here."

She then looked at Akeno, who came out from behind the sofa and approached the coffee table. Gently, Akeno placed a wooden box next to the tray of cups.

I frowned, not hiding that I was not understanding what this meant. And from Rias' satisfied look, she liked me not knowing what it was.

"You really don't know what that is?" she asked.

I stared at the box for a second, but nothing came to mind. "I have no idea."

With a smile, Rias opened the box. Inside were chess pieces. I stared at them for a few moments. I knew exactly what they were.

"Onii-san believes that now that you've left the underworld, it's time for you to receive your Evil Pieces and start a peerage. He's entrusted me with the responsibility of delivering them to you."

'So the time has finally come...'

For any noble devil, receiving the Evil Piece was a milestone. A sign that he was ready to build his own peerage, gather admirers, and pave his own way into the world of devils.

Rias took a sip of tea before continuing. "Surely, you understand the importance of this."

"Yes, the Evil Pieces define my position in devil society. If I have a powerful group and win Rating Games, I'll earn titles and be respected. Otherwise, there's no point in carrying the Gremory surname."

"It's good that you're smart, so I don't have to teach you everything from scratch." 

Each Evil Piece had a value, and that value depended on the power level of both the devil who owned the Evil Pieces and the beings who would receive them.

Pawns were the most abundant pieces, but they had a unique trick: they could be promoted to other pieces when they reached the opposing King's territory, meaning that, in a Rating Games, they could become as strong as a Bishop, a Rook, or even a Queen.

Those awarded the piece of a Bishop received an increase in magical abilities.

Rooks had immense stamina and strength.

Knights were focused on agility, so they received a drastic increase in this attribute.

Queens, on the other hand, combined the attributes of Bishops and Rooks and were the most powerful pieces after the King itself.

And, of course, there was the King's piece, which was the devil himself who possessed the pieces. Here, there was an important detail…

I took one of the Pawn pieces from the wooden box and held it between my fingers.

Rias practically read my thoughts when she saw me do this.

"You must be curious about the value of your pieces," Rias said, and that made me look into her blue eyes.

I knew that the power level of the bearer of the Evil Pieces directly affected how much each piece could carry. If a King was weak, even a talented human with average Sacred Gear could be an Evil Queen. But if the King was strong, someone who would normally be a Queen could end up being just a Pawn.

When occupying the Queen piece, multiple pieces, of either different types or the same type, might need to be used to recruit powerful members. 

"How many pieces would it take to turn someone like Akeno into my Queen?"

"Um..." Rias put a finger to her chin and thought. "If we're talking about Akeno, and you don't have the Queen's piece anymore, you'd probably need a Knight and a Bishop together or all your Pawns."

Akeno smiled with a smirk. "Well, well~ I'm honored that you consider me a parameter, Milicas-kun."

I looked at Akeno and smiled. Inside, I was wondering what my chances were with only 15 pieces in total.

"And did my father mention anything about expectations? If I remember correctly, he wasn't too happy about my decision to leave home and study at the Kuoh Academy."

Rias leaned an elbow on the armrest of the sofa and rested her face on her right hand. "He wants to see what you're going to do with these pieces. No pressure, I guess. You can go down to the underworld and recruit fifteen devils straight away. I bet legions would queue up to accept you as master. Or you could do like me and wait until you find the right members. But..."

"He'll be judging me," I added.

"Exactly."

With one more look at the pieces in the box, I took a sip of tea and said:

"Understood. I'm going to have to think about this a lot."

"I can't wait to see what you do, Milicas. For now, Akeno and I have an urgent matter to handle. I'll see you tomorrow at the Kuoh Academy."

As soon as Rias and Akeno left my apartment with a magical teleportation circle, I stood with those pieces in front of me, and the same voice appeared in my mind.

[Main Scene Over!]

[There are no more Patrons watching.]

[You have received no Credits. Try a little harder to entertain them next time.]

I took a deep breath and flopped down on the sofa. "The feeling of knowing you're being watched is strange, but I only have myself to gain from it."

That was true. I only had things to gain, as long as I could entertain the Patrons enough for them to give me credit.

"Anyway, it's a relief to know that I won't be watched all the time. I just need to figure out what makes up a scene."

At that moment, I remembered something else. So I stretched my right hand forward and spoke:

"Inventory."

Nothing happened. Part of me felt frustrated.

"I thought these reincarnations always came with an inventory, so I didn't even bother buying a skill like that. Well, no use crying over spilt milk. Now, how do I get that OMG ticket and summon the character I want?"

Suddenly, as if a light bulb went off in my head, I put my hands in my pants pockets. It was then that I felt my fingers touch something in my back pocket. When I picked it up, I saw it was a large golden piece of paper that looked like a Golden Ticket from the Fantastic Chocolate Factory. However, instead of it saying "Wonka", it said "OMG".

"It's time to use it to summon the woman who will be my Queen."