Highschool DxD: I have a Dimensional Travel System

Chapter 16 - It Should Be Fate!

"Ding, congratulations to the host, the test of strength has been completed, the rewards are being distributed, please check."

The moment Mahiro killed the one-horned devil, a familiar sound from the system echoed in his mind.

"Get the primary magic source."

"Get the Basic Magic Training Card."

"Get one hundred points."

"Get a chance to draw a lottery once."

A series of prompts sounded again, and Mahiro's face lit up with a smile. The hard work of the night had finally paid off.

"Do you want to use the reward to activate the source of magic?"

"Not for now."

Mahiro shook his head. With others present, it was obviously not the right time to use the reward. Activating the magic power source would change his aura, something he would deal with when he got home.

After being rejected, the system fell silent and stopped asking questions.

Taking a deep breath, Mahiro glanced at the corpse on the ground, then turned his gaze to Rias and her party.

Rias looked at Mahiro with a complicated expression. Compared to their rooftop encounter, she was much more cautious this time.

The young man who had broken her expectations twice now had her full attention.

Himejima Akeno stood quietly beside Rias, her smile as calm and elegant as ever.

Kiba Yuuto nodded at Mahiro with a friendly smile.

Toujou Koneko's golden eyes stared at Mahiro intensely, her emotions clear despite her usual stoic expression.

Unhappy.

Disdainful.

Even Mahiro could feel the emotions Koneko was expressing.

It seemed she didn't like him.

Mahiro shook his head helplessly.

Seeing Rias, Himejima Akeno, and Toujou Koneko, the joy of completing his quest and receiving rewards faded. Instead, Mahiro felt a headache coming on.

Trouble.

Mahiro wasn't stupid. From Koneko's markedly different attitude compared to the previous day, he could tell something was off.

This was a slip-up.

Although Mahiro didn't think that confessing to the three of them could be hidden forever, he hoped it would come out later rather than sooner. He had hoped that Rias, Akeno, and Koneko wouldn't talk about it among themselves, or at least not right away.

But being exposed on the spot was still embarrassing.

Before, Mahiro had held on to a bit of hope.

Based on his knowledge of the original story and the characters of Rias, Akeno, and Koneko, Mahiro naively believed that even if his confessions were known, they wouldn't be a major topic of conversation among them.

Even if they knew, it should have remained an ambiguous situation for a while.

Then, even if it was revealed, it wouldn't be as embarrassing as it was now.

After all, Mahiro was still an adolescent male high school student.

Liking cute classmates and yearning for gentle seniors was normal.

Right?

But now...

Mahiro sighed, feeling a bit helpless. He had chosen to hunt the stray devil to temporarily avoid contact with Rias and the others.

Yet, here they were.

Should it be called fate?

He could turn around and walk away to avoid embarrassment.

But, the monk can't always run away from their temple, right?

As long as Mahiro intended to stay at Kuoh Academy, he would inevitably deal with Rias and the others in the future.

Wait!

Why was he nervous?

Mahiro laughed. It wasn't a big deal.

Besides, at this moment, whoever was cowardly would be embarrassed.

After figuring it out, Mahiro threw away his embarrassment. He sheathed his sword, closed his Mystic Eye of Death Perception, and walked toward Rias and the others calmly.

"Good evening, Rias-senpai, Koneko, Akeno-senpai, and this must be Yuuto-senpai."

Mahiro greeted them calmly.

"..."

Rias was stunned for a moment. She expected Mahiro to say something else but didn't expect him to just say "good evening."

Was this the time for greetings?

"Hello, my name is Kiba Yuuto."

Kiba Yuuto responded with a kind smile. As a well-known figure at Kuoh Academy, he wasn't surprised to be addressed by name.

"Mahiro."

Mahiro introduced himself.

"Humph!"

Toujou Koneko snorted in dissatisfaction, responding to Mahiro.

Seeing this, Mahiro shrugged helplessly, not caring too much.

"I'm not doing well tonight."

Himejima Akeno pretended to be aggrieved. "Just now, we were trying to help you, but you misunderstood us. Mahiro-kun, they're very sad now."

Himejima Akeno's aggrieved look made Mahiro feel speechless. Anyone who didn't know might think he had wronged her somehow.

"...Sorry, I get focused during fights and don't like interference. Also, thank you."

Mahiro said.

In fact, if Rias and her party had been unreasonable and ignored his feelings to steal the kill, Mahiro would have been annoyed. But they had chosen to respect his warning and watched from the sidelines, intending to help if needed. Mahiro wasn't someone who didn't recognize good intentions and felt they deserved his gratitude.

"The attitude isn't particularly sincere, but I forgive you."

Probably agreeing with Kiba Yuuto's judgment, Himejima Akeno quickly accepted it and then said with a charming yet reproachful smile:

"But, Mahiro-kun, your memory isn't very good! Didn't we agree to call each other by our names? You're calling me senpai again. Just call me Akeno. Don't forget this time, or I'll be sad as your girlfriend."

"..."

Mahiro smiled. He hadn't taken Himejima Akeno's earlier confession seriously, but he had to admit she was indeed charming.

Wait, why did it feel like Koneko's gaze had become even sharper?

Mahiro looked at Toujou Koneko, but she turned her head away, not intending to pay attention to him.

"Good evening, Mahiro."

Rias said with burning eyes, "I didn't expect to meet again under such circumstances. There is such a powerful swordsman among the freshmen. Mahiro, you are hiding deep enough."

"I didn't expect you, senpai, to come out of what looks like a magic circle. Compared to me, Rias-senpai, you are the real mystery."

Mahiro responded calmly.

"That's teleportation magic"

Rias explained.

Rias was a little surprised by Mahiro's calm attitude.

Thinking about it, the other party could have decent strength and even came to hunt the stray devil at night.

Maybe he had already come into contact with part of the supernatural world and wasn't unfamiliar with it.