I played off waking up normally that morning, but it wasn't easy to hide how tired I was. Bags has started to form under my eyes by the second day from hardly sleeping at all. I took naps during my lunch breaks, but it wasn't enough to make up for all the hours I missed.
But, despite all the time I sacrificed to climb those five floors, going through all those enemies by myself was much more time consuming than I thought.
Before I knew it, the two days Rias warned me about had already gone by, and I was only just on the fifth floor. I hadn't found the boss room yet, and to make matters even worse, the summit was tonight.
School had already ended, and night came quicker than I wanted it to. As I sat on my bed massaging my hands, I heard Irina walk up the stairs before knocking on my door.
"Issei, can I come in?"
"Yeah, doors open..." The knob twisted, and Irina popped her head into the room before landing her eyes on me. She saw me sitting on my bed, not moving despite the important meeting we're just about to go to. She was wearing her white cloak and church battle attire like she had when I first saw her again.
"Issei? It's almost ten p.m. We should get going..."
"...We should, shouldn't we?" With a sigh, I stood up before walking to the door. Irina and I stepped outside my room, but I knocked on Asia's door just before we left. She peered out as Irina stopped in her tracks.
"Issei? Are you going to the meeting now?" I stared at her in silence for a moment before gently placing my hand on her shoulder and turning my head towards Irina.
"Irina...take Asia in my stead to the meeting. Something important came up, and I won't be able to make it on time to the summit."
"What?!" A little too loudly, Irina exclaimed her surprise at my request. I could feel Asia jump back slightly as well from being put on the spot like this.
"Issei, it's too late to suddenly bow out for this! Everyone's expecting you to be there, and I have to show up for Lord Michael. I don't know if I could even bring Asia along, considering..." Irina cut herself off, most likely thinking about how Asia is still considered a "witch" and a "heretic" in the church, thanks to her ability to heal devils.
"Don't worry, I've got a plan for that." Facing Asia again, I take my left hand and do the knighting motion by tapping her right shoulder, and then her left.
"I hereby declare you the representative of the representative of humanity." Her face was flushed as she looked at me, worry evident in her face.
"Issei, I don't even know what to say at the meeting... I was unconscious during the fight, and-"
"Asia. You don't need to worry." Cutting her off, I gently placed both my hands on her shoulders and leaned in closer to her.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be putting this pressure on you, but you won't need to say anything major. Just go with Irina and say you're speaking for me. I'm sure they'll listen to you."
"W-What am I even supposed to say?"
"Just let them know something important came up for me, and I'll be slightly late.
"So you're still gonna make it to the meeting?" Irina walked up and held onto my arm, concerned for my sudden change in demeanor.
"I promise. It shouldn't take me too long to catch back up with you all." I gave them the most reassuring smile I possibly could, but that hadn't completely expelled their doubt about me not being there.
"...Make sure you hurry there, alright? I won't forgive you if you show up late!" Pushing her doubts down, Irina lightly punches my shoulder as I chuckle.
YOU ARE READING
My life as the Protagonist of Highschool DxD (Hiatus)
Fanfiction"From here on out, this is my story. And I'll lead this life however I want to." (Y/N) had read tales about people waking up and finding themselves in an entirely different universe, but he didn't expect it to happen to himself. Let alone that he'd...
