DxD: The Sorcery System Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Student Council (2/2)

[Few Hours Later — Student Council Room]

“I don't think I've tasted this flavor of tea before,” I mused, staring at the tea's color.

“It’s peach and pea flower tea,” Tsubaki explained. “Peach aids digestion, and pea flower offers even more benefits, including improving skin quality.”

I didn’t know tea could provide so many benefits at once.

“You don’t want a cup, Sona?” I asked the girl slumped in the chair, her head hanging down, eyes closed.

No, she wasn’t dead.

She was mentally exhausted.

“Twenty days of suspension and a month of helping the school workers,” she sighed. “I was against the suspension at first, but now I feel even that punishment is too lenient.”

Needless to say, the principal was disgusted, but he still didn’t expel them. The school was still transitioning from an all-girls institution to co-ed and needed another year or two to compete with the top schools in the country.

He couldn’t risk the bad publicity that might come with expelling students, so the two were suspended for twenty days and assigned some fieldwork.

But perhaps the most significant consequence was that their parents were summoned and thoroughly humiliated.

Now, I hate when parents are insulted for their children’s mistakes. However, I couldn’t stop the principal from doing so.

The hope was that this experience would prompt some sort of change.

A child might turn their world upside down to make their parents smile. After seeing their parents insulted because of their actions, Motohama and Matsuda must have been hurt.

Hurt enough, hopefully, to change for the better.

“Better than nothing,” I said, finishing my tea and asking for a refill. “I don’t think they’ve ever been punished before, so this will teach them that there won’t be a next time.”

Sona rubbed her forehead, exhausted from dealing with the mess left by Matsuda and Motohama’s actions.

As the student council president, it was her job to handle the fallout.

And needless to say, it was going to be a chore for her.

“President!” Just as we were talking, I saw Saji stride in. “Motohama and Matsuda’s parents have submitted written apologies and are pleading for this issue to stay private.”

Sona raised an eyebrow. “We were going to keep it quiet, but they should know that their sons did something that can’t be hidden.”

“Sona,” I gave her a comforting smile. “Let it be. The parents are innocent.”

Parents aren’t always innocent—often, their neglect or lack of discipline leads to such outcomes. 

But it’s also possible that Motohama and Matsuda wore a mask at home, acting like perfect angels in front of their parents.

Because of that possibility, I didn’t want to blame the parents.

“Trust me,” I said. “I handled it this time, and I’ll handle it better next time. No, I’ll make sure ‘a next time’ doesn’t even arise.”

It was a promise I knew I could keep.

Sona took a deep breath and threw the pages on the table before us, sighing.

“Please don’t let this happen again,” she requested, and I nodded.

“Would you like some tea now, President?” Tsubaki asked with a rare smile, and this time, Sona agreed.

“Alright.”

I guess a queen always knows her king best.

“Anyway, let’s forget about this issue for a while,” Sona said, finally settling comfortably in the chair. “Have you decided on an event yet?”

“Event?”

“The Inter-School Talent Display,” Sona said with a raised eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten.”

Damn.

I had forgotten.

“You did, didn’t you?” she asked, amused, already knowing the answer from my expression.

“Yeah…” I nodded, “I did forget.”

“Well, you’d better decide,” Saji said, coming forward and picking up a cup of tea for himself. “I’m going for shooting.”

“There’s shooting?” I asked, amused, and Sona answered on Saji’s behalf.

“There’s every sport you can think of,” she said. “You just have to pick one you’d like to participate in.”

“There’s still time until next week,” Tsubaki added. “You can take this time to think about what you’d like to compete in. When we go to Kyoto next week, you can choose your event then.”

That… was good. 

At least I didn’t have to give an answer right now.

“You don’t have to win,” Sona said. “But do your best. Our academy’s ranking depends on it, after all.”

This didn’t sound like a ‘no-stress’ event to me.

What happened to just joining an event for fun?

“I’ll try,” I said, aware that I’d need to limit my powers and Magical Physique to a certain level.

Sona showed a faint smile. “Well, good luck, then.”

And all I could do was smile back.

It wasn’t like I could say no.

This event was mandatory, after all.

…

…

[Unknown Time — Unknown Location]

Hidden deep within mountains that could not be traversed, there was a man.

No, something greater than a man—one who had climbed the unclimbable mountain, hoping to catch a single glimpse of the being that lived at its peak.

‘This cold,’ he bit his lip, ‘it’s unbearable, even for a god.’

This being was not human, nor Devil, Angel, or even Fallen.

He was a god, a particularly powerful one.

And this god had been forced to journey through the harsh, unforgiving snow of a holy mountain.

‘The prophecy.’

There was a prophecy, and he kept repeating it in his mind.

‘To protect everyone, to ensure our pantheon’s survival, I must fulfill that prophecy and my duty.’

He was there to visit a certain being, hoping to obtain something vital for the prophecy.

‘Sister will not be disappointed,’ he promised himself. ‘I will acquire the bow.’

The Bow.

The one that must be obtained to protect their pantheon.

The prophecy they were following came from someone whose predictions never failed. And these prophecies spared no one, not even gods as strong as him.

‘The Bow.’

The god kept repeating the words, knowing he couldn’t return without it.

After all, prophecies were sacred.

And even gods like him—gods like Susanoo-no-Mikoto—dared not ignore them.

…

…

[Unknown Time — Unknown Cathedral]

“You two shall retrieve those swords.”

The voice of an aged man echoed through the empty cathedral.

“Yes, Father,” came a young, feminine reply.

“Remember, she said it would be a task simple enough for you two children to handle, but I believe you must remain vigilant and careful.”

“They are lowly, wicked devils, Father,” one of the feminine voices responded. “We need not worry about them.”

But the old man’s calm voice held a different view.

“No one is lowly, child,” he said. “Not even those farthest from God, not even Devils. Everyone is equal, just lost and naive.”

The girl, however, refused to see herself as equal to devils. 

To her, Devils were disgusting, foul, and undeserving of respect or forgiveness.

They had long since abandoned God, and thus needed to be punished for it.

As servants of God, it was their duty to deliver justice and purge the world of these foul beings.

“The path will not be smooth,” the old man continued. “It will be difficult without a strong weapon.”

He turned and walked down the aisle, the candlelight revealing his burly figure despite the thick layers of clothing.

He was not an average old man. His physique was larger and more imposing than most, a body that seemed impossible for a man of his age.

“You should take my sword,” the man, who towered over the girls, smiled. “It will help keep you safe.”

“D-Durandal?” The girl could hardly believe she was being entrusted with a holy sword.

“You have proven yourself capable of wielding it,” he said. “So you may take it. Given the path ahead, you’ll need it more than I do.”

The girl found her voice caught in her throat, unable to speak. Instead, she offered the man the most respectful nod she could muster.

The man then turned to the other girl. “And you, child. You have yet to grow accustomed to such a sword and aren’t ready to wield one without harming yourself. But this is not a fault—it is merely where you are now. So, I want you to take the finest light sword in my armory. For your hard work, you deserve nothing less.”

The second girl, like the first, could only nod respectfully.

“Now go,” said the old man. “Go and fulfill what Heaven has asked of you.”

“Yes, Father!”

The girls nodded enthusiastically, thrilled to be blessed with new swords and eager to carry out Heaven’s orders.

But unbeknownst to them, Heaven had long since abandoned them.

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[A/N: We will be starting the ‘Shinto Pantheon’ arc from next chapter ]