I made my way to the tent temporarily set up in the schoolyard.
Those of us who had sustained relatively minor injuries were still utterly exhausted. Asia, having finished treating the injured, was taking a breather. Meanwhile, Gaspy, worn out from continuously summoning his dark beasts, had dozed off in a folding chair.
I decided to plop down in another chair to catch my breath.
“…It’s almost winter break,” I murmured with a sigh. “What a whirlwind second term has been. Honestly, it feels like it’s been one incident after another ever since summer break…”
I had come dangerously close to dying more times than I cared to count over the past four months… Oh, and I actually did die once, at least physically. Was I supposed to kick the bucket every term or something?! At this rate, I was scared about what lay ahead in third term! This was no joke!
“Let’s all get together over winter break,” Rias declared.
“For a special training camp, you mean? With everyone else in Team DxD?”
“As much as I’d like for us all to be able to take a break, we’ve received a request for assistance before the start of the holidays.”
“A request? From where?”
“The Church. Or Heaven, strictly speaking.”
Heaven…! Was it safe for demons to go there? Ah, right, Xenovia journeyed there safely to repair the Durendal, so it was probably fine.
I had never been to Heaven, so I was looking forward to seeing it… What was it like up there? It felt strange thinking I might be able to visit, despite the fact that I was still alive, and a demon no less.
“It seems we’ll be spending the end of December among angels,” Rias said with a smile. “I’m currently finalizing the details with Irina and Sister Griselda.”
Now that sounded exciting.
Before I could respond, Xenovia returned from the basement.
“Ah. There you are, Prez.”
“What’s wrong?”
Xenovia nodded a few times while looking over the rest of the Familia. “I just thought it was a good time to talk, now that Issei’s here.”
Huh? What was going on?
I couldn’t fail to notice Irina puff her chest out and exclaim, “Ahem!”
“I heard there’s going to be an election for the student council at the beginning of third term,” Xenovia said.
Ah, right. It was scheduled right when we all went back to classes.
“Yes, Chairwoman Sona and Vice-Chairwoman Shinra will both be graduating in March, so the council will need new members… Hold on, you’re not suggesting…?”
I suddenly realized what she was hinting at, standing there, arms crossed, positively oozing confidence!
Xenovia raised a hand to the heavens, and declared, “I’m putting my name forward in the election, Issei! I want to be the student council’s next chairwoman!”
—!
“Whaaaaat?!” Kiba, Koneko, Ravel, and I fell back in surprise! Gaspy remained fast asleep, but the others—Rias, Akeno, Asia, and Rossweisse—seemed to have seen this coming.
No way! I had never even considered she might run for student council chairwoman! So that was why she had taken such a keen interest in school events!
“We were just as astonished when we first heard,” Rias said. “Who would have thought Xenovia would put up her hand for it…? That’s why she’s taken such an interest in the school lately.”
Xenovia herself nodded along to all this. “I’ll kick off my campaign at the start of third term… I might have to leave the Occult Research Club, but I hope you can understand. There’s ambition burning inside me.”
…Wh-whoa…
Th-this was going to be something else… To think that Xenovia was stepping up to fill Chairwoman Sona’s shoes!
“I-is that okay?” I asked Rias. “Xenovia leaving the Occult Research Club, I mean?”
She was still part of the Gremory Familia, which formed the heart of the Occult Research Club.
Rias nodded. “Yes, I think so. It wouldn’t stop her from being part of the Familia. And it might be interesting if she was in charge of the school, don’t you think?”
H-how could she say that so lightly?!
“We still have a few more days until the break, so let’s finalize our plans,” Rias said to us all.
Asia reached out to wrap her arms around Xenovia in a hug. “I’m here to help!”
“Me too!” Irina added, jumping over to join them. “I’m pretty good at missionary work! Leave it to me to preach your message!”
“Yeah, I know a thing or two about proselytizing as well,” Xenovia answered. “Let’s do this!”
“”“Yes!”””
The three of them couldn’t be more fired up!
Well, this was an unexpected direction for our Church Trio. It was good to see them offering to assist with Xenovia’s campaign. I was here to help as well! Still, talk about a shock.
I glanced across at Rias, who wore a slightly forlorn look.
“Graduation will be just around the corner after school resumes. The Occult Research Club will need a new president as well,” she said with a sigh.
“Have you decided on a successor?” I asked.
She raised a finger to her lips. “That’s a secret,” she said with a wink. “Akeno and I have made a joint decision.”
Ah. Who could it be?
In any event, there was a generational change over the horizon, both for the student council and the Occult Research Club…
Rias clapped her hands to get our attention. “All right. we’ve still got work to do before winter break. First things first, we need to finish up here.”
“““Right!””” we answered as one as we went about our tasks.
Just then, Irina, tugged at my sleeve.
“By the way, Issei,” she said with a cheerful smile. “It’s time you made good on that promise.”
“Eh?”
I could muster only a goofy wheeze at the sight of her bright smile, but that didn’t stop her from continuing on without a care.
“The promise we made when we were little… I’m sure you’ll remember when Christmas comes around!”