DxD: The Truth of the World

CHAPTER 1

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Hyodo Ren was, in the eyes of the public, an adult.

Yet here he was, standing outside of the family’s door with a face of embarrassment as his cheeks were being pulled by his mother.

"Mom—this is a bit too much; I’m already an adult."

His words were coming out as garble, though, not that it mattered, as Hyodo Miki merely huffed.

"I didn’t carry you in my womb for over nine months just for you to revoke my 'mother’s rights.' Besides, I don’t care how tall you get—you’ll always be my child."

Ren groaned, his hands flailing in an attempt to pry her off, but she was surprisingly strong for her age. He turned to his father, who was silently chuckling at the situation, for help, but all he got was a loud snicker instead.

Hyodo Goro is a betrayer.

Still, as he rubbed his sore cheeks, he couldn’t help but notice that the last resident of the house was missing. He had promised he’d be here for the send-off… So where was he?

Actually, that—that was a foolish question.

Hyodo Issei was never a morning person, especially on a weekend.

Ren sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I'm guessing Ise is still asleep?"

His mother scoffed, her arms crossed.

"That boy could sleep through an earthquake if given the chance."

His father sighed, nodding in agreement.

"I knocked on his door earlier. No response. I figured it wasn’t worth the effort."

Ren rolled his eyes. Typical. His younger brother probably jerked off till the early hours of the morning, then collapsed into bed like a log. Looks like Ise won't be sending him off for his first day on the job... Then again, the whole day was going to be administration work instead of his actual job scope.

"Now that we're on the topic of attendance, is she coming to send you off as well?"

His mother asked with raised eyebrows, to which Ren paused, his fingers momentarily still as he adjusted his tie.

"She?"

He repeated, looking anywhere except for the cheeky grins on his parents.

Miki smirked as she placed both hands on her hips.

"Don’t play dumb, Ren. You know exactly who I’m talking about."

"You did mention it to Seri-chan, didn’t you?"

Goro asked, to which Ren quickly coughed in his fist to control the blush that threatened to show on his face.

"Of course I told her, but why bring this up in the first place? It's not like we're in a relationship!"

Waving the floating cloud of ideas above his parents' heads away, Ren huffed and tightened his tie. His mother hummed, clearly unconvinced.

"Mhmm. Sure you aren't."

His father patted his shoulder with a proud look on his face, for all the wrong reasons.

"Son, keep 'em guessing."

"ANYWAYS! I should get going."

Ren quickly grabbed his suitcase, causing the couple to chuckle.

"Alright, alright. No need to run away.”

"But seriously, son. If you keep playing dumb, some other guy might—"

"I am going now."

Ren interrupted, already racing through the front gate.

As his figure disappeared down the street, they both gently held each other's hands, his mother staring at the back of the young man that she had raised with fondness in her eyes.

"He really is hopeless. Anyone could see the way she looks at him."

Goro chuckled, shaking his head.

"Takes after his old man."

"That’s not exactly something to be proud of."

"…Twenty-three years later, and he’s all grown up now, isn’t he?"

Miki blinked rapidly as she asked her husband, tears welling in her eyes. Goro reached out and gently brushed them away with his thumb before he replied, equal parts pride and nostalgia.

"... Yeah."

They stood there for a moment, hands intertwined, watching the empty street where their son had vanished moments ago.

Just then, a loud thud echoed from upstairs, followed by a groggy voice.

"Wait… Nii-san's left already?!"

They both turned toward the staircase just as a 14-year-old Issei came barreling down, his shirt half-buttoned and hair a complete disaster. They looked at each other with a knowing look before bursting out laughing to the younger boy's confusion.

Seems like they still have a few more years left before their nest is truly empty.

=

=

=

Typing away on his personal computer in his designated section of the staff office, he was completely absorbed in the stack of preparations that seemed to multiply as the day went on.

He was lost in thought, meticulously analyzing the syllabus for the third-year students, trying to find ways to streamline the content and lighten their workload, when a voice interrupted his concentration.

"Hyodo-kun, we’re heading to the usual izakaya for dinner. Want to join us?"

Ren looked up from his screen, meeting the expectant gaze of a fellow female staff member. Almost a month after his introduction to the school's faculty members, he grew somewhat close to most of them as their reliable kouhai who was always willing to help or pitch in when needed.

He noted that the majority of staff members were female, with the ratio skewed to 8:2, but he personally knew that it was due to the fact that the school was originally an all-girls private school until a decade ago and that there were statistically more women than men in Kuoh Town.

He paused for a moment, considering the offer, before looking back at the excel sheet on his computer screen with a grim expression.

"Sorry, but I’ll have to pass tonight. I need the majority of this done before classes resume tomorrow; the syllabus for the third years still needs more refining."

His colleague nodded with an understanding look.

"Yeah, I get it. Working on three years’ worth of syllabi for the start of the school year is always tough for a beginner. You’re doing great, though! Just don’t burn yourself out."

"Thanks. I’ll make sure to take a break soon... once I finish this."

He waved his arm over the computer screen as his colleague chuckled before saying her goodbyes for the day.

Saying his own goodbyes to the staff members who were leaving for the day, he breathed out before restarting his efforts in completing his work, this time with a secret trick up his sleeve since the office was now empty without any prying eyes.

He sat in silence for a moment, muttering to himself, as embers of blue flickered in front of his forehead for a split second before vanishing into nothingness.

A slow breath left his lips, his posture straightening as he restarted his work with a renewed gusto, blitzing through the work with inhuman speeds, his focus unwavering for hours on end.

When the hour hand of the clock struck nine, Ren’s fingers hovered over the keyboard for a moment before he pressed the final full stop, completing the third year's syllabus. He let out a deep sigh of relief; his back and neck were sore from hours of uninterrupted work.

Saving his work and powering off his personal computer, he got up to stretch, rolling his shoulders and tilting his head to the side to pop the kinks before packing up for the day with a growling stomach, debating whether to grab something quick to eat or just endure the hunger until he got home.

Unbeknownst to him, perched atop a telephone pillar in the distance, a miniaturized griffin the size of a housecat observed him with keen, golden eyes. Its wings twitched slightly, but it remained deathly still, locked onto its target as it blended into the night sky.