Reincarnated into a Multiverse of Anime, but High School DxD: You Need the Strength to Keep Outsiders Out

Hearing those words, everyone's expressions turned a little awkward.

Did that mean Ren was looking for the Five Great Houses?

Was he an enemy?

Or a spy sent by some other faction?

The girl hesitated, but quickly made up her mind. "...Although we're grateful that you saved us, if possible, you should leave Tokyo and head to another city as soon as you can."

"And what happens if I don't leave?"

Ren had no intention of following her lead and asked curiously.

At that, the girl did not know what to say. Just as she was about to persuade him further, a figure emerged from nearby.

It was a beautiful young woman with long black hair.

Her lustrous black hair gleamed as though it had been soaked in water.

The fitted, suit-like outfit she wore suited her perfectly. Her entire body radiated an imposing air, giving off an impression of orderliness without a trace of excess.

However, the most eye-catching thing was not the woman's commanding presence, but her graceful figure. Even tightly wrapped in clothing, it still exuded unmistakable feminine charm.

At the very least, Ren found it difficult to stop himself from glancing several times at those Mount Fujis.

There was no other reason.

They were simply too big.

Although this world was High School DxD, Ren could not help but marvel inwardly upon seeing proportions that ordinary women could never hope to attain in a lifetime.

What exactly did these women eat growing up?

The rookie exorcists' expressions changed drastically the instant they saw her. They hurriedly lowered their heads and said respectfully, "Lady Vermilion Bird."

"Suzaku Himejima?"

Ren struggled to pull his gaze away and look at her face.

No wonder she had seemed so familiar at first glance. She was Akeno Himejima's cousin.

This character did not seem to have appeared in the anime. She had only been mentioned as a side-story character.

Still, she looked seventy to eighty percent like Akeno Himejima, only with a little more composure and calmness.

"I am Suzaku Himejima, successor and next head of the Himejima Family."

The beautiful woman spoke slowly, then offered Ren a faint smile.

"As for your earlier question, I can give you an answer. If you remain in Tokyo, you may attract surveillance and hostility. Asking you to leave is not because you have done anything wrong, but because those are the rules here."

"Oh? And if I insist on staying?"

Ren asked with a light laugh.

Hearing that, Suzaku Himejima paused for half a second before calmly saying, "...Those who refuse advice may become enemies of the Five Great Houses."

The moment she finished speaking, the atmosphere froze.

The rookie exorcist wanted to say something, but with Suzaku Himejima, her superior, standing right there, she did not dare open her mouth.

"..."

A few seconds later.

Ren grinned.

Even after waiting this long, he still had not triggered a quest.

It seemed he could not start the Five Great Houses storyline for the time being.

At that moment, Suzaku Himejima spoke again in a gentle voice. "However... you saved members of the Himejima Family just now, so we will not make things difficult for you. If you are willing to stay in Tokyo, I can make the decision for you to remain here for as long as you wish."

"Of course, please do not do anything excessive."

You Need the Strength to Keep Outsiders Out

Chapter 21

The tense atmosphere quietly melted away like April snow.

A faint smile appeared on Suzaku Himejima's face.

"Even if such rules exist, you are still their lifesaver. If I continued treating you with that sort of attitude, would that not make the Himejima Family seem far too cold-blooded?"

That might have been true, but hearing it from a member of the Himejima Family was rather laughable.

After all, there had been at least hundreds, if not thousands, of Himejima Family members persecuted so far.

The most typical example was Akeno Himejima's mother, Shuri Himejima.

After the fallen angel executive left on business, she had been driven to death by the Himejima Family. Akeno Himejima, still young at the time, had been hunted all the way to Kuoh Town. It only stopped after Rias intervened and saved her.

Of course, Ren would not say such things to her face right now.

Forcing family members to commit suicide or handling them internally were dark secrets that the Five Great Houses could not allow to spread, even if everyone knew full well what had happened.

Still, Suzaku Himejima was one of the few decent ones.

At the very least, the fact that Akeno Himejima was willing to call her cousin made that clear.

"Do you have any other questions?"

Seeing Ren staring at her, Suzaku Himejima asked in confusion.

"No. I was just looking."

Ren concealed his thoughts.

Come to think of it, there were not many storylines involving the Five Great Houses. Given the closed-mindedness of these families, even if Ren proactively offered to help them exorcise demons and monsters in exchange for quests, their answer would surely be refusal.

The only reason they allowed an outsider like him to remain was because he had saved those rookies.

Had he merely been a passerby, some creepy peeper would probably have come looking for him that very day.

"Then I have much official business to attend to, so I will not disturb your leisure any longer."

Suzaku Himejima gave Ren a slight bow.

"I hope you leave behind wonderful memories here."

With that, Suzaku Himejima departed with her clanswomen.

Ren soon returned to the hotel.

Remembering Ren's instruction not to give Asia to anyone other than Ren himself—not even the hotel staff—Asia had finally welcomed him back amid anxious unease.

Although Asia had known Ren for less than seventy-two hours, having never traveled far from home, she had already come to see him as her pillar of support.

If he suddenly disappeared, Asia truly would not know what to do.

Ren noticed the change in the girl's expression. He merely patted her head, then went to wash up.

Late at night.

Listening to the girl's peaceful breathing as she slept, Ren soon drifted off as well.

The next day.

Early in the morning, Ren received a call from Griselda.

After answering, he heard Griselda's familiar voice.

"Where are you right now?"

"Calling someone so early in the morning—Griselda, don't you know that sleep deprivation is serious torture for people?"

Hearing the lazy voice from the receiver, Griselda found it a little hard to keep herself composed.

Still, judging from his looks alone, he did indeed surpass the average male angel in Heaven.

But she had not called just because Ren was a handsome young man and she wanted to check on him.

"I heard some rumors. The Grigori who left Grigori, along with some devils, seem to be making moves in that island nation in the Far East. This started after you took Asia away, so I suspect it may be related to Asia."

Griselda knew how special Asia's Sacred Gear was. Aside from humans and angels, it could heal members of any other race.

It was an exceptionally rare restorative Sacred Gear.

If word got out, there would surely be no shortage of people who wanted Asia's Sacred Gear.

Among all the factions, only those fallen angels within the Grigori possessed an almost pathological obsession with the Sacred Gears created by God.

Ren raised his brows, naturally knowing which storyline this involved.

However, the quest had already been triggered automatically. All he needed to do now was head to Kuoh Town.

Thinking of that, Ren suddenly said, "Don't you think this is too much of a coincidence? Asia leaves, and fallen angels immediately begin acting strangely."

Griselda fell silent for a few seconds. "You mean there is a traitor in the Church?"

"That's impossible."

"If there isn't, then I was probably the one who secretly leaked the information."

"..."

Griselda understood the sarcasm in Ren's words, but without any concrete evidence, she could only maintain the current situation.

"I will investigate this matter in secret. Also, you still have not told me where you and Asia are."

"Tokyo."

"?"

Griselda's mind filled with question marks.

She had just said that fallen angels and devils were causing trouble in that island nation, and now he was telling her he was already there?

"Why did you go there? It is a nice tourist destination, but the situation there is too complicated. More importantly... you are in territory controlled by the Five Great Houses."

Clearly, Griselda knew something about the Five Great Houses as well.

"I was passing through, so I came here. I plan to have some fun here for a while."

A long sigh came from the other end of the line.

"Then don't blame me for not warning you. The Five Great Houses are extremely hostile toward outsiders. They absolutely will not tolerate people from other factions causing trouble in regions under their control. They do not even spare their own family members."

However, Griselda seemed to understand what Ren was thinking.

"Of course, you are a freelance mercenary, so as long as you do not cause any trouble, they will not deliberately do anything to you."

"But I need to remind you that the situation there is unstable for now. The Five Great Houses have been attacked recently. Fallen angels and witches are involved, and I heard that... there may even be a Longinus wielder there. So you should be careful and do not get dragged into any trouble."

Ren was somewhat surprised to hear that.

There was actually a storyline within the Five Great Houses that he did not know about?

In the original work, did they not only have some connection to Akeno Himejima?

How had fallen angels, witches, and all sorts of others suddenly appeared this time?

"Didn't you just say that the Five Great Houses are extremely hostile toward outsiders?"

"They are, but they need the strength to keep outsiders out. Forget the hidden ones—even the devils have built several large hotels over there. Search for Devil Hotel online. The highest-rated one is theirs."

"What about Heaven?"

"They have one too. It is directly across from the Devil Hotel, and its rating is the same."

Ren was stunned after hearing that.

Were the two major factions having a direct face-off at the front door?

And what happened to the Five Great Houses being so hostile toward outsiders?

So they put on a show of excluding outsiders, but did not actually have the strength to do it?

After hanging up on Griselda, Ren marveled at the strange way the world operated.

At the same time, he thought over the internal situation of the Five Great Houses.

But no matter how he thought about it, aside from Akeno Himejima, the only thing that came to mind was that storyline from before the main plot began.

But if that was the case, then had the timeline not become a complete mess?