The office door closed behind me with a click that sounded more menacing than it should have.
The perfume was identical to her: elegant, expensive, with an icy edge.
Erina Nakiri, sitting at her desk, didn't look up immediately.
She flipped through a page of documents in front of her—probably the Donburi Club register—as if I were merely a shadow disturbing her air.
Hisako bowed with her usual impeccable stiffness.
"Erina-sama, I've brought Takamine Rin as requested."
"Good. You may leave us."
Hisako left.
A second click.
Now we were alone.
Erina closed the file with a slow, calculated gesture, finally raising her amber eyes to me.
It was… impressive.
A beauty that almost hurt, like a painting too perfect.
"Takamine Rin," she said in her crystalline voice. "Come closer."
I took a step.
…maybe two.
It was like dealing with a feline that might scratch you if you breathed too hard.
"I watched today's culinary battle."
She laced her fingers together, elbows on the desk.
"Yukihira Soma is problematic enough. You are… worse."
"Am I honored?" I tried.
"You're not," she replied curtly.
Touché.
"I have a very simple question."
Erina's eyes narrowed.
"Why would someone like you befriended Yukihira?"
A smile escaped me.
"Because I like him and I didn't come here to prove anything."
"Oh?" Erina leaned forward slightly.
"So what did you come here for, then?"
"To have fun."
Silence.
A silence that weighed like a millstone.
Erina wasn't a girl who knew how to handle the unexpected well.
My smile—or perhaps my calmness—visibly irritated her.
"Cooking isn't a game, Takamine."
"No," I replied. "But neither is life. Yet we both have fun when we can."
Erina pursed her lips, unaccustomed to being… teased.
Then he did something I wasn't expecting.
She sighed softly.
"...You really are strange."
She brushed a strand of hair behind his ear.
"And that's precisely why I want you away from Yukihira Soma."
"Ah. And why?"
"Because you two are unpredictable elements in the same pot… I don't like it."
Her words hung in the air.
"I can't promise anything," I said. "But I can tell you this: I'm not your enemy."
Erina remained silent, surprised by such a direct answer.
Then…
"…You're free to go."
Hisako opened the door as if she'd heard everything.
Maybe so.
I was about to leave when Erina added:
"Takamine."
I turned around.
"Don't get me wrong. I'm not… paying attention… because I care."
She shook her head, almost annoyed with herself.
"You're just causing me trouble."
I smiled.
"I'll do my best to continue."
The pen slipped from her fingers for half a second.
I closed the door softly, leaving the Tongue of God to recover.
'Now, how the fuck should I corrupt her if I can't even stay near her without Hisako... shit, this mission is more complex than I thought'
After leaving the room I headed to Soma, as Erina had clearly asked me not to do.
I found it in the hallway, so I walked over.
"Hey, Rin," Soma said, "so... what did Erina say to you?"
I looked away. "Nothing big."
"Nothing big? She sent Hisako after you like you were running away with a secret bomb."
Soma looked at me with a smirk. "Come on, you can tell me."
I shook my head. "It was a... too formal conversation. That's it."
Soma was silent for a second, then shrugged. "Okay, whatever."
I was about to reply when a female voice, calm and surprisingly sweet, sounded behind us.
"Sorry to interrupt... You're Rin, right?"
I turned.
Himejima Akeno.
'It hasn't even been a day and they're already looking for me?'
Soma stared at her for a second. "Woah... and who are you?"
She gave him a polite smile, then looked back at me, as if Soma weren't important.
"My name is Himejima Akeno."
She stopped a step away from me. "The president of the Occult Research Club would like to speak to you."
"Rias?" I asked.
Akeno nodded, her hands clasped in front of her with almost aristocratic elegance. "Ara Ara~ I didn't think you were close enough to call her so intimately. She said it's urgent."
Soma turned to me. "Oh, wow, the club is already after you. And I wanted to challenge you..."
I sighed. "I guess I can't refuse."
Akeno gave a faint smile—a seductive one.
"Let's go."