Chapter 7: Chapter 6: The Rainbow Trout

Kuoh Town, Japan.

The afternoon sun shone high in the sky, casting light upon a well-maintained verdurous field that surrounded a small white house with a slanted rooftop. Although old, this building was polished and spotless, giving off a fanciful and lavish impression.

Within a few meters from the brick perimeter that bordered this house, a black-haired young man was seated on a light brown garden bench. Ostensibly, he was eating his lunch while enjoying the picturesque scenery of the garth. A refreshing breeze swept past his face, carrying the sweet and sharp scent of a freshly cut lawn.

Chekhov pinched a piece of sushi with his chopsticks and then popped it into his mouth. On the surface, it seemed like he was taking his time and enjoying his meal. However, he was here for something else.

‘There’s no sign of any members from Rias’ peerage.’

The building behind Chekhov was an old schoolhouse. It was abandoned decades ago at the time when Kuoh Academy was being renovated. But it was recently employed as the headquarters of Rias’ peerage and disguised under the name of the Occult Research Club.

During the past few hours, Chekhov had ventured around the entire Kuoh Academy enclosure, but couldn’t find any members of Rias’ peerage. Thus, he had been loitering around the old schoolhouse in case there were any Devils inside.

‘Although this spot seems a little far, any high-class Devil such as Rias should be able to pick up on my aura even when she’s sitting idle.’

Chekhov’s goal was to quickly build up a reputation with Rias’ peerage so that he could manipulate the upcoming events into his favor. Particularly, in under a week, Rias would conduct a raid on the abandoned church. He considered this an excellent opportunity to devour several Fallen Angels and Devils alike.

‘With my current strength, I don’t have much freedom. I can’t take any open actions, or I’ll easily be oppressed. It’s essential for me to enter the mid-class realm as soon as possible.’

While thinking about the forthcoming events, Chekhov held out his phone and glanced at the time.

‘I’ve already been sitting here for 30 minutes. It’ll be too suspicious if I loiter around for too long.’

As Chekhov finished his last sushi roll, he sealed his lunchbox and placed it into his backpack. He stood up and casually looked at his surroundings, glancing at the old schoolhouse one last time.

‘It doesn’t seem like anyone will greet me. All I can do is hope that my aura has been noticed.’

Slow rustling could be heard as he leisurely mounted his backpack and walked away.

. . . . .

From the second floor of the old schoolhouse, a pair of blue-green eyes were observantly watching Chekhov’s back through a tinted glass window.

As he walked out of sight, the figure at the window turned around in a graceful rotation. The beaming afternoon sun shone on her long crimson hair that went down to her thighs. She had loose bangs covering her forehead and side bangs resting on her shoulders. A very thin lock of hair was sticking out from the top of her head, like an exaggerated cowlick.

She was garbed in a golden-black shoulder cape with a white button-down shirt and a smooth black corset. The lower half of her Junoesque figure revealed a short magenta skirt, mid-calf white socks, and polished black dress shoes.

The beautiful girl’s classy footwear made a rhythmic click, which echoed through the room as she crossed the varnished dark wooden floor. Her crimson red hair fluttered as she came to a stop in front of a tall, double arched wooden cabinet.

Without hesitation, she took out a metallic black storage container. Gently placing it on her desk, she systematically browsed through neatly arranged rows of light brown folders.

It wasn’t long before she pulled out a folder marked with a light pink tab on top. The front was labeled with a white sticker that read, “New Students”.

On the first page was a profile containing a photo and basic information of the most recent Kuoh Academy applicant.

‘Chekhov Serebya. Seventeen years old, dark black hair, caramel brown eyes.’

‘What an exuberant aura. I can tell that you have quite an interesting Sacred Gear.’

The crimson-haired girl turned to her right, motioning to another young lady with long, dark purple-black hair who respectfully stood across the room. As the dark-haired girl stepped forward, the sun’s golden rays unveiled her resplendent and buxom figure.

Her purple-black hair was tied into a ponytail that roped down to her legs. She wore the standard Kuoh Academy girls’ uniform with black calf-length socks.

As the dark-haired young lady approached the large wooden desk, she politely bowed. With a mellow voice she asked, “Ms. Rias, do you need anything?”

Rias smiled and poshly responded.

“Akeno. I’ve found a good candidate for my peerage. We should try to subtly rope him in before the Student Council gets to him.”

Hearing this statement, the dark-haired young lady was surprised. Her eyebrows momentarily arched upward, and her upper eyelids were vaguely raised such that the white sclera above her iris could be seen.

“Oh? There’s actually someone who caught your attention?”

Rias settled down on her black, plush leather chair. With a horizontal swipe across her desk, she slid Akeno the folder containing Chekhov’s profile.

Rias then placed her elbows on her desk and then intertwined her fingers together. As her chin was resting on the backs of her fingers, she aristocratically replied.

“I can sense that he possesses a very intriguing Sacred Gear. As a matter of course, I am in need of a loyal bishop as well.”

Akeno’s pink, supple lips divulged a seductive smile.

“If you really think he’s special, I’ll certainly provide him with my best support.”

“You won’t need to do much for now. The rest of my peerage will be returning from the scouting mission tomorrow.”

Rias untwined her fingers and moved her right hand forward, picking up a bishop from her chessboard. She held it up to the sunlight as her right elbow stood firm on the desk. The bishop’s polished white surface sparkled in the refulgent golden rays.

She kept a light smile as she skillfully twirled the white bishop through her fingers.

“I’ll need you to convey a message to Kiba as soon as he returns. Meanwhile, we’ll make our preparations.”

. . . . .

Kuisui Town, Japan.

A black-haired girl with enchanting violet eyes sat alone at a rounded white table. She seemed to be busy, typing on a metallic silver laptop while occasionally sipping her espresso from a small brown cup.

For the past few hours, Raynare had been surveilling an intersection along the edge of Kuisui Plaza. She was secretly inspecting the auras of everyone who passed by her, searching for a Sacred Gear wielder among one of them.

‘Takata Teatime should be closing soon.’

She turned her head around and observed the outdoor enclosure she was sitting in. The previously noisy eatery had gradually become empty.

‘I can’t stay here much longer without raising suspicion.’

‘Maybe it’s time to pick up my tuna delivery.’

Raynare gently shut her laptop’s lid and then zipped it into her backpack. After mounting her backpack, she took her half-empty espresso cup and made her way back inside the coffee shop, walking toward the waste bin.

As she tossed the cup into the waste bin, she inconspicuously glanced around Takata Teatime. The blue-haired man that had previously taken her order was sitting at an empty table, listening to music with black wired earbuds.

Raynare wore a guise of ignorance and strolled across the coffee shop, making sure to stride right by the blue-haired man. As she was leaving the store, she released a steady stream of dark energy toward the man’s location. She could distinctly sense his motion over 20 meters behind her.

Currently, her internal injuries had almost fully healed so there was no repercussion in moderate usage of dark energy. She estimated that by midnight she wouldn’t need to maintain the seal on her hemorrhages and fractures.

Raynare leisurely ambled along the sidewalk to ensure that the blue-haired man could keep up with her pace. Fortunately, the sidewalks had become less populated by the late evening, making her slender figure easier to track.

She had previously determined that the best spot to lure the blue-haired man was within a curved alleyway located in front of Koryo Wireless, a defunct cell phone store.

As Raynare was continuing along the sidewalk, she took the opportunity to inspect the auras of everyone who came into proximity with her. Unsurprisingly, she did not encounter any Sacred Gear wielders.

After 15 minutes of walking, a small store with an orange billboard on top came into sight. It radiated an eerie atmosphere; the shutters were tightly fastened, and the walls were grimy.

As she approached Koryo Wireless, Raynare came to a stop. Standing beside the graffiti-littered walls, she took out her phone from her backpack. She raised it to her right ear, feigning to dial into an important call as she was covertly setting up a sound barrier.

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Her plan was to encompass the alleyway with her sound barrier and then immobilize the blue-haired man with her light spears as he walks into range.

She could sense that the blue-haired man had already entered the alleyway. If he developed a trace of doubt and attempted to leave now, she would chase him down with her feathered wings. The only way for him to escape was to sprint away at full speed while perfectly evading every light spear.

Back when she was recuperating in Kuoh Town, she had rummaged through the previous Raynare’s memories and grasped her basic combat techniques. Materializing and throwing light spears were trivial measures for her.

As her sound barrier was forming, Raynare released a semi-concentrated stream of dark energy along the entire alleyway. Given that she was a split soul, these types of precise scans were generally onerous to operate. Nevertheless, the narrow alleyway helped in directing her energy, making it well within her capabilities.

When the stream of dark energy arrived at the alleyway’s entrance, she noticed an unfamiliar figure.

‘There’s a third person in this alleyway, but from that distance he shouldn’t be following me. He could be tailing that blue-haired man.’

Based on the readings, Raynare could tell that the figure was human, presumably male, and radiating a Sacred Gear aura.

‘I didn’t expect such a fortuitous encounter. A rainbow trout is swimming toward my boat all on its own.’

At this time, the sound barrier’s formation had been secretly completed. Raynare put down her phone and zipped it in her backpack.

‘His Sacred Gear is the only uncertainty in this situation. I don’t know which Sacred Gear he possesses, and I can’t confirm whether he has awakened it or not.’

‘It would be troublesome if he somehow manages to slip away.’

Once the blue-haired man had noticed that Raynare had ended her call, he decided that it was a good opportunity to reveal himself.

It wasn’t long before Raynare could hear heavy footsteps by her side.

She calmly turned to her left, unperturbed by the blue-haired man. His eyes were bloodshot with a sadistic grin on his face. He laughed and spoke with a grating voice.

“Bitch, I’ve been waiting hours for this.”

Raynare didn’t bother responding or pretending to be afraid, as the blue-haired man had no chance of escape. She was contemplating on the best way to catch both her targets at once.

‘I could immobilize him first and then rush the Sacred Gear wielder.’

‘However, lashing out too early may be a mistake. Ideally, I want the Sacred Gear wielder to be as close to me as possible before I rush him.’

The blue-haired man didn’t notice that Raynare was unfazed. He shrugged it off, thinking that the young lady had frozen in fear.

“We can either do this the easy way or the hard way, the choice is yours.”

His grin morphed into a lascivious smile as he ogled her body.

“Take off your clothes.”

At this point, the Sacred Gear wielder had stepped into the open, standing still in shock. Behind the blue-haired man, Raynare could see another young man with an egg-shaped face. He had short brown hair, teal-green eyes, and a long-sleeved green sweatshirt.

‘This rainbow trout doesn’t seem to be swimming any closer.’

Raynare was about to materialize a light spear and pierce it through the blue-haired man’s right knee. However, she noticed an abrupt movement from behind him. The Sacred Gear wielder had suddenly broken into a forward sprint with his eyebrows furrowed and a furious expression on his face.

As he was bolting toward the blue-haired man, he angrily exclaimed in a resentful voice, “Konishi! You damn bastard! I knew something was up when I saw you following her!”

Raynare decided to patiently wait. Ideally, she wanted to strike the Sacred Gear wielder when he wasn’t looking. She would welcome any opportunity where she could take him by full surprise.

Konishi whipped around in surprise. He saw a young man with a rounded face lunging at him with his fist raised. He instinctively tried raising his arms to protect himself, but it was too late. The fist landed at the center of his face, cracking his nasal bone and upper cartilage.

“Scum like you are why women can’t walk around safely in the town!”

He stumbled backward as the round-faced man performed an open hand palm strike to the side of his face. Rough fingers locked onto the back of Konishi’s head, pulling him downward and kneeing him in the face.

He reeled backward and plummeted to the ground, laying on his side as blood flowed out from his mouth and disoriented nose.

When the round-faced man was about to leap on top of Konishi and repeatedly punch him, he suddenly experienced a burning sensation in his knee.

He screamed before slumping to the ground. A jagged, bright pink spear with a pointed cusp had pierced through his leg. It had shattered his kneecap and ripped through his meniscus, pinning him to the ground. Dark red blood leaked out of his knee, dribbling along the uneven jagged surface of the spear.

Rolling his head to the side, he was in shock as he saw a seemingly defenseless young lady staring at him with calm violet eyes. It seemed as if she was staring at an inanimate object instead of a human being.

Raynare held her right arm out, her forearm facing upward. She closed her fingers inward as a bright pink spear materialized in her hand. Retracting the spear backward, she took a moment to aim before hurling it at the round-faced man.

It was impossible for him to evade since he had already been pinned to the ground.

The incoming spear violently perforated the man’s left shoulder, forcing him to let out a deafening scream in pain. His bursa was forcefully ripped apart, splitting the shoulder bones and disabling his left arm.

Raynare calmly held her forearm out as a bright pink spear materialized again.

Over a span of the next few seconds, she had precisely flung two more spears and disabled the man’s remaining limbs. This brutal treatment went unnoticed, as the man’s agonizing wails were completely drowned out by the sound barrier.

Konishi lay on the ground, his eyes agape with horror as the man beside him was mercilessly incapacitated. His previous arrogance had been thoroughly chastened by this ordeal.

A faint whisper escaped his lips as he rambled to himself in disbelief.

“This can’t be happening to me. What the hell is going on?”

Raynare ignored him and walked past Konishi toward the round-faced man. Carefully approaching his body, she crouched down and assessed his condition.

‘He’s now unconscious from the pain. Even if he wakes up, he should never be able to move his limbs.’

She stood up and turned around, her beguiling violet eyes narrowing down on the blue-haired man that had been lying on the ground in fear.

Konishi’s eyes were wide open, and his pupils were dilated. His voice was taut with panic. “S-stay away from me!”

With an indifferent expression, she held out her forearm. Konishi’s face was filled with dismay as the minacious bright pink spear materialized again.

Raynare’s primary goal for coming to Kuisui Town was to secure rations for her main soul without attracting attention. There was no beneficial reason for leaving even one fish on the plate behind.

‘Of course, I won’t forget about picking up my tartare delivery.’

Konishi could discern that Raynare was about to direct the light spear at him. His face was drenched in sweat as he desperately pleaded, “Please! Let me go, I’m sorry!”

She completely ignored him as she reeled the light spear back, aiming at his leg. It wasn’t logical for her to waste time conversing with him, as a fisherman never converses with a fish before harpooning it.

He continued begging in a tight voice, “I won’t ever hurt a single girl in my life!”

Raynare couldn’t care less whether Konishi would hurt women or not.

She had no obsessions for human lives. In her eyes everything was the same, whether it was a hero, villain, wealthy man, poor man, animal, plant, or rock. The only facet that sincerely mattered to her was to follow her life’s meaning.

Her violet eyes glimmered in the sunset rays as she flung the bright pink spear.

‘Today was a flourishing harvest.’

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