This chapter is broken up into several parts to fit Webnovel's format better. I hope this isn't an issue.
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"What?" Issei asked the blonde nun, who began standing back up from the ground.
Assistance Mode: Translating Italian into Japanese.
"O-oh, sorry. I asked if you could please return my veil to me. It got blown off," The nun laughed awkwardly. As if suddenly remembering something, her demeanor changed inwardly, looking at him with unease. "You don't understand me, do you?"
"No, I do!" He said all too quickly, scurrying closer and holding the habit out.
"E-eh?" Her innocent green eyes widened with surprise. "You can speak Italian? Oh, that's wonderful!" She smiled up at him, graciously taking the veil and returning it to the top of her head. Counting herself lucky that she had run into a person who could speak her language, her face flushed, poking her fingers together nervously. "If... if you don't mind, could you please assist me? I'm a bit lost..."
"Of cour-"
"Senpai," A voice behind him spoke up. Issei turned around to Koneko staring at them. She was as stoic as ever, but... it was off. Like she was wary of something. She walked closer to him and tugged on the sleeve of his blazer, bowing her head towards the nun. "Pardon us." Dragging him far enough away so that the nun couldn't hear, Koneko huddled closer to Issei, giving him a subtle glare. "...What are you doing?"
"Whaaat? I'm just being nice," He said, though he couldn't help his true intentions leaking out. "It's not because she's a hottie-hottie blondie or anything."
"Idiot."
"Come on, Koneko. She said she needed help. Don't tell me you're too jealo-" The grip on his blazer shifted towards his forearm, squeezing with inhuman force. Barely keeping his squeal of pain from reaching extreme volumes, Issei looked back at the nun in hopes she hadn't overheard him. She stood at the edge of the sidewalk awkwardly, saddened by their retreat. Noticing his gaze, the blonde perked back up and waved. He smiled wryly and waved back, his eyes returning towards Koneko. "Dude, what's your problem?"
"Use your head, moron."
"Just tell me already. And could you please let go before you tear my arm off?" Though her grip had loosened from its initial squeeze, his arm was still firmly in her grasp.
Eventually, Koneko gave a vexing sigh. "I'm a devil, remember? And she's a nun, meaning she's allied with the church."
"...Is that bad?"
"Big time. Devils and angels are enemies. Getting in contact with anyone from the holy side is bad news." Despite those in higher positions trying to ease tensions between one another, nothing was official. One wrong move on either side could be the beginning of another war. Her hazel eyes narrowed, peeking over towards the nun. "If she's here... then she must be with those fallen dick wipes."
"Fallen angels? Seriously?"
"Yeah. Why else would a nun from Italy come all the way into devil territory while there's a crow infestation going on?"
"Good point... shit." Issei took a more cautious peek at the nun, who was oblivious to their conversation. She wore that same hopeful smile, patiently waiting them to return. He couldn't help feeling a sense of doubt.
Could someone like her really be allied with those evil, wicked fallen angels? She looked so... peaceful. Calm and kind. An innocent beauty who anyone could approach and be greeted with a compassionate smile.
Then again... Issei had been fooled by someone like Raynare once. She had also approached him with a loving smile that had him fooled completely. When she asked him out... he'd felt so happy. Thanks to his Gamer powers exposing her true nature and Koneko having his back, her foul intentions never got the chance to make themselves known.
He didn't want to think about what could have happened that day...
Seeking out the truth, Issei used Observe on the woman of the church.
Name: Asia Argento
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Level: 12
Sacred Gear: [Epic] Twilight Healing
Relationship: Acquaintance
That alone had told Issei everything he needed to know.
She wasn't hostile. His Game didn't ping him. In fact, the girl had somehow considered him an acquaintance. Issei wasn't sure whether his Game ability was infallible or not, but it hadn't steered him wrong yet. The fact she held a Sacred Gear was concerning, but she didn't seem like she was going to use it against them. Twilight Healing also didn't sound very ominous. Putting his faith in his system powers, he decided to trust her.
"I don't think she's evil, Koneko. I mean, just look at her."
"You were tricked by them before. This is the same."
"I-" He began, stopping himself. Although he believed that this Argento girl was innocent, it was true that she was still an ally of the church and potentially an ally of the fallen.
Does that mean that she is getting manipulated by them too? An innocent girl like her who had enough trust in a stranger like him would be easy to fool, especially for those bastards. Had it not been for his power, they would've had him in the palm of their hands easily. Embarrassingly enough, he would've believed every word Raynare said.
"I mean, come on. We can't just leave her when she's lost. W-"
"Yes we can."
"Koneko!" Issei whispered sharply, beseeching her. His secretive power prevent him from directly tell her why he believed the nun was innocent, but he still had to convince his junior somehow. "I don't think she's trying to trick us. I think if anything, they would be tricking her into following them."
"...What makes you think that?" She narrowed her eyes.
"...I don't know!" He pitifully excused, unable to think of anything on the fly. Regardless, he continued to pursue adamantly. "Trust me, the last thing I wanna do is run into those fake fuckers again. But if she's an innocent girl who got caught up with them, I can't just let her go. It doesn't sit right with me."
His declaration surprised Koneko, causing her eyebrows to raise slightly. When Issei had run into the fallen the first time, he had cowered away. Now he had the chance to strike at them indirectly. He may have gotten a big head now that he had some backup, but the look on his face told the nekoshou otherwise.
For the sake of this random girl, he was willing to risk danger. From her perspective, the chance the nun is innocent like he believed was incredibly low, yet he didn't seem to care.
It was... admirable, in a way. Although the white haired loli was reluctant to even think that to herself.
"Let's just check things out and see what exactly she needs. If things start getting dicey, we run away." A simple plan, one that could easily backfire if they were outnumbered. "I don't want you getting hurt for my sake, so we'll run as fast as we can."
Another flicker of surprise shot through Koneko and she bit her lip. Ironic, considering the pervert would be ducking behind her ass the second any action happens. Still, the point he raised wasn't entirely illogical and she could understand his plight...
...But Rias wouldn't accept it. No matter what. Their safety would go above everything else. Whether this girl was innocent or not, they couldn't help her. Devils interacting with anyone of their kind was a bad omen. Too dangerous. If the circumstances were completely different, the choice would still be the exact same.
They ignore anyone affiliated with the church.
"No, Senpai. We can't help her," Koneko denied, refusing to budge.
"But-
"Senpai." Her voice turned to steel, hazel eyes sharper than glass. Then, as if guilt had overwhelmed her small frame, Koneko's eyes softened up like fresh dough. The grip she had on his forearm loosened and she grasped his hand tenderly. "Please... understand... You have to understand..."
Hearing her plea, Issei was rendered speechless. He wanted to help the nun. His instincts told him to... but if Koneko was begging him to stand down in such a way, he couldn't ignore her. Devil stuff was serious and he was probably trying to bite off more than he could chew.
Uncertainty was fatal to the both of them. As much as his soul screamed at him to give the blonde a hand... he just couldn't put that on Koneko. She was obligated to protect him and that's exactly what she was doing. He couldn't complain. He was the one who'd wanted their protection in the first place.
"...Okay." Issei relented, unconsciously squeezing her hand back. Strangely, it had been hard to say that. "We won't help her... but we should still be nice enough to tell her we can't..."
Looking up at him, Koneko mulled it over before nodding. Randomly bailing without a word would be weird under any context. Hand in hand, the two walked back over to the awkward nun. Noticing their return, her slumped shoulders straightened and she smiled at them anxiously.
"Sorry 'bout that." Issei scratched at his head with his free hand. "The two of us are... going through relationship problems?" He threw out, immediately regretting it. His eyes darted to his junior beside him nervously. Her face had remained stoic as ever, but the death-lock grip she had on his hand told him exactly how she felt about such a claim.
"G-Goodness!" The blonde stifled a gasp, immediately bowing her head apologetically. "Forgive me! I had no idea! I hope everything works out between you two!" She did her best to apologize, in case she had offended them for intruding upon their lover's quarrel.
Sweet girl, really. But it was best to end this conversation as soon as possible before Koneko's grip mangled the boy's hand forever.
"N-No worries," Issei said through a pained smile. "Though we may be busy, if you just tell us where you need to go, we'll be happy to point you in the right dire-CTION!" His voice cracked after her grip tightened yet again. Guess she didn't even want to give the nun directions. Too late now.
"O-Okay!" The nun nodded gratefully, still concerned about unintentionally intruding on their spat. "I-If you would be so kind as to point me to where the church is, I would be forever grateful!"
Another tight squeeze on his hand and Issei could barely fight back the tears. Nevertheless, he shakily pointed in the direction. "T-that way... at the edge of town... up the hill," He croaked in-between painful groans.
The nun thanked him vigorously before grabbing her luggage and speeding off. The devil and contractor watched her leave down the road until she was out of sight. As soon as she was, the cat girl finally let the older teen go. Issei instantly cradled his red, thumping hand, jumping up and down and biting back swears cathartically.
"Bad move." Her voice was monotone, but it was clear Koneko wasn't happy. "You shouldn't have told her where the church was. Now she's going to meet up with them."
"S-sorry! But what else was I supposed to do in that situation?!"
"You could've said you didn't know where the church was."
"...Damn," Issei sighed flicking his hand a bit more, the pain beginning to fade. "But that doesn't necessarily mean she'll meet up with them. We don't know where they are, right? They could be somewhere else."
The girl deadpanned at him, obviously not buying that explanation at all. That church had been relatively abandoned for awhile now. If they weren't there, where else could they be? Randomly stowed away in the forest?
"Okay, you're right. I messed up. I should've just blew her off." He agreed after her intense gaze cracked him. That's what he said and meant, but Issei still would have felt bad to leave a girl like that all alone. Still, now she was headed straight into the wolves' den.
"...No, I should have been the one to do the talking. It's my responsibility to look after you as your guardian," Koneko confessed to her own mistake. Like she stated, she was contracted to protect him. Protection comes in many different forms and stepping in to speak with the nun should have been her duty. At least, that's how the first-year saw it. "With enough time, she would have found the church anyway. I'll make a report to Buchou. Let's go." She began walking in the direction of his house, remembering where it is.
"Good call. Report to Grem-err, Rias and tell her everything," Issei agreed, following after her. Having that extra bit of security would make him feel a little better about the situation. There was still a gaping hole inside that kept telling him that he should do or should've done something else. He couldn't make a proper decision on what his next move should be.
After allying himself with the devils at school, Issei wanted to put the whole fallen angel thing behind him. He was hoping they would do most, if not all the heavy-lifting that concerned those manipulative freaks. Now that other, likely innocent people were getting involved, he couldn't help feeling the need to do more. Had he been alone, the boy would have guided the nun to the church himself at the very least. But Koneko, a devil, had stopped him.
It was like a battle of light and darkness. Yin and Yang. Koneko and the other devils wouldn't step in to help a girl like Argento, regardless if she was being manipulated or abused because she was still affiliated with the opposite side. Had she been like him; an innocent bystander who wasn't allied to anyone, they may have extended a helping hand to her as well, offering her a contract or something similar.
That wasn't going to happen now. She was all alone and no one was coming to rescue her. If things ever get bad, which they certainly would, she wouldn't have anyone to turn to.
'What do I do?' Issei thought, his inner-turmoil vexing him greatly.
Quest Alert!
Quest: The Nun's Savior
Save Asia Argento from the stray exorcist and the fallen angels
Rewards:
5,000 Experience Points
Cupid's Arrow
1x Rare Gacha Token
Time Limit: 7 Days