Chapter 303: Mrs. Hyodou
Haruto knocked on the genkan door of the Hyodo residence. Soon, a slightly puzzled middle-aged woman's voice came from inside.
"Coming, right away!"
After a moment, the genkan door opened, revealing a beautiful middle-aged woman peeking out with half her body.
"Who are you looking for?"
"Good morning, ma'am." Haruto said cheerfully. "We're looking for Issei. We're his friends."
The squinty-eyed Mrs. Hyodo looked surprised. "Issei's friends? My, when did that boy make such handsome friends? He didn't even mention it to me."
"Please come in. Issei hasn't gotten up yet. I'll go call him."
"Thank you for having us."
Haruto and Yuuto Kiba changed into slippers at the genkan and entered the Hyodo family's living room.
Mrs. Hyodo served tea and snacks, exchanged a few polite words, then went upstairs to wake the still-sleeping Issei Hyodo.
Haruto maintained the attitude of a normal friend throughout. Although Yuuto was in low spirits, he could still maintain his warm, friendly image.
The squinty-eyed Mrs. Hyodo with her dangerous hairstyle didn't suspect anything at all. Although she looked like she could be a secret mastermind, Haruto knew she was truly just an ordinary mother, albeit perhaps a bit more easygoing than most.
This wasn't just from the memories in his mind, but also from their recent interaction.
From the moment he met Issei Hyodo's mother, he hadn't stopped observing and sensing her. From every angle, she appeared to be just an ordinary person.
Which made sense - while High School DxD was an ecchi series, it was also a battle shonen.
Aside from the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet, Issei hadn't been given any other cheats.
His bloodline was completely changed only later in the story, after he died and was resurrected with a body reconstructed using dragon power, transforming from a human-devil-dragon hybrid into a dragon-devil hybrid.
The series didn't resort to any "hidden noble bloodline" tropes, turning a straightforward battle shonen into a bloodline supremacy narrative.
This was completely different from the big three shonen series.
After taking a few sips of tea, Haruto relaxed and began observing his surroundings.
The Hyodo family was quite well-off. This detached house was considerably larger than the Takamine residence, didn't appear very old, and had a good location - hardly inferior to luxury apartments.
In Japan, only wealthy people could live in so-called residential complexes, though they were called apartments here. Ordinary families typically lived in detached houses.
Well, being able to afford Kuoh Academy tuition, this economic situation was to be expected.
While Haruto was surveying the environment, Yuuto Kiba had been continuously thinking about the Holy Sword.
He could indeed sense the Holy Sword's presence here, though it was very faint. If they had come just one day later, they might not have been able to detect even this trace of its aura.
Tap, tap, tap...
Issei Hyodo shuffled down in slippers, complaining as he came: "Mom, it's still summer vacation! Why are you waking me up so early?"
"Early? It's almost 10 o'clock!"
Mrs. Hyodo wasn't particularly gentle or polite with her son who constantly thought about nothing but breasts. She scolded: "Your friends are here to see you. Look at them, then look at yourself!"
Haruto glanced at the time—it was just past 9:30, yet Mrs. Hyoudou had already called it "ten o'clock"...
It seemed that no matter which world, mothers shared the same perception of time when it came to their children.
Issei Hyoudou trudged into the living room, yawning and grumbling under his breath, "Friends? I was up until past two last night gaming with Matsuda and Motohama. They're definitely still in bed right now..."
Though Issei's muttering was quiet, both Haruto and Yuuto Kiba heard every word clearly.
"Issei, besides Matsuda and Motohama, do you really not have any other friends?"
Haruto took a sip of tea, teasing him with a smile.
Still groggy and yawning, Issei didn't get a clear look at the speaker at first, only finding the voice vaguely familiar.
As he moved closer and realized it was Haruto and Yuuto Kiba, he froze in surprise.
Rubbing his eyes to confirm he wasn't mistaken—that it was indeed the two most popular boys from Kuoh Academy—his expression instantly soured.
"Oh, it's just Haruto and Kiba." Issei plopped down carelessly across from them, slumping listlessly. "What are you two doing here so early? I'm not as popular as you guys."
Haruto and Issei got along fairly well. Though Haruto had instinctively kept some distance after obtaining the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet, they could still be considered friends.
The flirting tips and experiences Haruto had shared with him were genuinely helpful. If not for his reputation as one of the "pervert trio" and his two troublemaking friends' antics, he might have already gotten a girlfriend and even completed his transformation.
As for Yuuto Kiba, his friendly nature and the small favors he'd done for Issei meant their relationship was better than that of ordinary classmates, though not quite to the point of using first names.
Mrs. Hyoudou, observing discreetly from a distance, smiled faintly at her son's behavior and quietly slipped out of the living room.
As an adult, she worried her presence might make Haruto and Yuuto feel restrained.
It wasn't that she was overly suspicious—it was just that Haruto and Yuuto Kiba seemed too outstanding. She couldn't quite wrap her head around the idea that such handsome, excellent boys would be friends with her foolish son.
If it had been Matsuda and Motohama—equally hormone-driven, silly high school boys—she wouldn't have doubted it for a second.
But seeing Issei's typical lack of decorum, she figured that even if they weren't the closest of friends, the three must be on good terms.
"Is that the attitude you give after not seeing us for so long?"
Haruto chuckled mischievously and deliberately said, "Seems like you don't need my newly thought-up flirting techniques..."
Before he could finish speaking, the previously listless Issei Hyoudou immediately dropped into a deep bow.
"Lord Haruto! Whatever you need, just give the order and I'll do it right away!"
Haruto raised an eyebrow. This guy—as expected, just mention anything related to sex and his attitude does a complete 180.
Instead of directly asking about Irina Shido and Xenovia, he said, "Didn't I hear that two busty foreign beauties moved into your house? Why do you still look so desperate?"
"Uh..."
Issei's energy completely deflated as he half-collapsed onto the floor. After a long pause, he finally said, "They didn't actually stay at my house. It's just that a foreign girl I used to play with as a child happened to return, and she visited my place with her friend."
"Oh? But what I heard..."
Issei scratched his head sheepishly. "Those are all rumors. I just wanted to show off to Matsuda and Motohama at first, saying one of them was my childhood friend who'd be staying in Kuoh Town for a while."
Haruto nodded understandingly. High school boys, especially ones obsessed with sex like him, would immediately let their imaginations run wild at the slightest hint.
If they saw a male and female classmate exchanging a few extra words, rumors of them dating might spread by the next day.
With everyone adding their own embellishments, it wouldn't be strange if the story became completely distorted by the time it reached Yuuto.
It might even be Issei's own vanity that led him to exaggerate while boasting.
But none of that mattered. What Haruto really wanted to know was where Irina Shido and Xenovia were now.
"Issei, do you have contact information for those two? Or do you know where they went?"
Issei felt something was off, but his simple mind couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.
"I'm not sure. I always thought that person was a boy, so our first meeting was pretty awkward."
As he spoke, he got up and rummaged through his backpack, pulling out an old photograph.
"Here, this is what they looked like back then. They were even wilder than me when we played. They moved away not long after, so how was I supposed to know they were actually girls?"
Haruto glanced at the photo. It showed two cute young boys—one was clearly Issei Hyoudou, while the other bore no resemblance whatsoever to a busty beauty.
He really couldn't blame Issei for mistaking their gender; the fault lay with his parents for not telling him Irina Shido's true sex.
Yuuto, who had been silent until now, suddenly began breathing rapidly. "Haruto-kun, there's no doubt about it. Those two must be connected to the Holy Sword. The pattern on the wall in this photo is the prototype of the Holy Sword..."
Though Yuuto spoke in a low voice, the three were close enough for Issei to overhear.
"Holy Sword? What Holy Sword?"
"Nothing, just saying the sword in the photo looks like the Holy Sword from light novels."
"By the way, Issei, was this friend of yours closely associated with the church when you were kids?" Haruto asked.
Haruto brushed it off casually, and Issei didn't think much of it, replying, "Seems like it. My family was invited to their church a few times."
"By the way, my mother should have their contact information. Wait here for a moment."