DxD: The Truth of the World

CHAPTER 3

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Currently, in Ren's own room at home, books with post-it notes were stacked haphazardly all over the table, some open to red circles and ticks on the pages while others lay in a haphazard mess.

Empty coffee cups and energy drink cans were scattered across his desk. Red pens with their ink long dried out filled the trash can beside him.

The person in question was yawning as he sluggishly ran a hand through his messy hair, trying to push the strand of hair that was covering his sight.

His eyes, exhausted, blinked slowly as he attempted to refocus his attention on the booklet he was grading under his lamp, but the words simply blurred together, refusing to make sense.

A jolt through the head passed as he groaned, palming his face.

"You know I can't; I'm so close to finishing the third-year batch. Once I'm done, then only will I go to bed…"

He replied to no one in particular. His fingers rubbed at his temples, trying to ward off the dull throb pulsing through his skull before he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

"Relax, just one more serving, and I should be able to finish this in time before I crash out."

Exhaling, his eyes opened, glowing a hue of gold before blue embers sparked in front of him, flickering into motes of blue.

Energy surged within him, momentarily washing away the exhaustion that clung to his head as the effects of the Concentrate took hold, sharpening his mind and soul, with the dull throb in his skull fading into nothing, replaced by a clear, focused clarity.

Rolling his neck with a quiet sigh, Ren cracked his knuckles before picking up the red pen once more as he restarted his marking efforts for his students.

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Every year since they've met in high school almost a decade ago, it's been a tradition of theirs to travel around the globe for a few days, starting with their school trip during their first year to Kyoto, and ever since, the plans never really stopped.

In total, they'd gone on nine trips, each averaging four to seven days.

Three trips dedicated to visiting all over Japan during their schooling days.

A single trip to Washington, United States.

Another in Moscow, Russia.

One in Athens, Greece, and Rome, Italy, each.

France.

And the latest dating back to last year, in Beijing, China.

They would usually alternate vacation plans, with him personally planning their trips in Moscow, Rome, and Beijing, so he was rather excited to enjoy the sights of India, specifically the Taj Mahal, without any of the stress that came along with the planning and preparation.

While Ren was packing his luggage, Issei passed his door only to stop mid-step and double back, his head peeking into the room as his eyes glanced over to the neatly stacked pile of books on his desk.

"Nii-san, you've finished grading already? It's only been a few days since summer break."

His eye twitched as he recalled the grading session from last night.

"I thought the dark circles under my eyes and the amount of coffee cups on the table would’ve made that obvious."

Issei stepped into the room, eyeing the stack like it might bite him.

"You really don’t waste time, huh. I’d still be halfway through page one if I had to mark that much."

"That’s because you’d get distracted by your porn collection... or get roped into whatever stuff that you all do at Matsuda’s place."

Issei's expression shifted as he gave out a perverse laugh, his hands in a groping gesture.

"Actually, lately we've been—"

A raised hand stopped Issei as Ren glanced at his younger brother with a deadpanned look.

"No. Keep it to yourself unless it's important."

"But it is! My brother is 24 years old and still a virgin!"

A visible vein popped out of his temple as he opened his mouth, ready to deliver a comeback, only for silence to escape instead as the truth struck him like a truck.

Issei was right.

He was at his peak.

He's well educated, relatively handsome from all the praise he gets, and has a decent career too with diversified investments that most would kill for.

And yet... still a virgin.

Hell, now that he thought about it, he was pretty sure he hadn’t even kissed anyone mouth-to-mouth style in the past 24 years since he was a baby. Not once. Not even the dumb spin-the-bottle or Ōsama games back in high school.

"... Guh."

The sound came out involuntarily as he slumped slightly, his soul leaving his body for just a moment at the depressing thought.

Issei, of course, had no tact.

"Yup. Nii-san’s still got that untouched energy. No wonder you glow sometimes; your purity level’s over 9000! Research even shows that a majority of girls would kill to be the one to break that innocence. You know, like a once-in-a-lifetime achievement unlocked."

Ren didn't respond immediately. He just stared blankly through his window with a thousand-yard stare when Issei suddenly remembered something.

"Wait a second, speaking about relationships, what's going on with you and Nee-san?"

Ren's head tilts in confusion as he looks at Issei.

"What about her? We're just friends."

Issei blinked once. Then gave him a look so flat it could've ironed a shirt.

"Nii-san, please don’t tell me you’re that blind. Even an idiot like me can see it."

Ren's other eye twitched in response, his cheeks turning slightly pink.

"Okaa-san already teased me about this whole shebang last night; I don't need you to jump on the bandwagon too."

Ren groaned, dragging a hand down his face as embarrassment filled his expression before locking eyes with his younger brother, forcing his voice to sound more serious.

"Ise, no matter what Okaa-san and Otou-san say, I and Sera—I mean, Seiri—are just really good friends. I still have no idea why they keep on teasing me about it, and even Seiri is in on the joke to see me embarrassed, alright? We're not actually doing... whatever stuff that you're thinking about."

Issei raised an eyebrow.

"You're for real? You think that this whole thing is just a long-running joke?"

Ren gave a determined nod.

"For real, real."

The two brothers stared at each other for a long second before Issei face-palmed and shook his head, muttering something under his breath that was inaudible to Ren.

"Did you say something?"

Issei shrugged, nonchalantly avoiding eye contact.

"Nothing important. Anyway, I’m going out with Matsuda and Motohama; see ya tonight for dinner."

Ren squinted at him, still unconvinced but letting it slide now since, at least, Issei seemed to understand that it was all just a front by his close ones as material to tease him.

"Alright, call me if anything important goes down! Don’t forget your necklace too!"

Issei gave a half-hearted wave, already halfway out the door.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Don’t worry so much, Nii-san!"