Raynare reports to Azazel!

Raynare, currently in her Yuma persona, walked into town the next day after class, and entered a run down cafe. She grumbled as she sat in a booth. "Of all the places to agree to meet me..." she muttered.

Sure enough, Azazel, also incognito, soon also entered the cafe, and sat across from her. "So, you said you had some progress to report? Let's make this fast. I have a lot of things to do, after all. Busy man and all that," he told her.

She snorted. "Don't you mean "people to do," and want to "get busy?" Seriously, which of your girls are you going to take out next? Noriko?"

"You're going to have to be more specific with your guess, or it doesn't count," Azazel snorted in good humor. The guy had a thousand harems, so there were in fact several Norikos he was seeing.

"Right, well, I have some info, though it's not as much as I would like," she started, before giving him the same hint that Issei had given her. "...so, yeah, I don't have the first clue WHAT the sexual relationship between those two has to do with that object you wanted me to look into, but I now know it does have something to do with it," she concluded.

"Hmm," Azazel mused, leaning back in the booth and sipping the latte he had ordered. "...that certainly is a good question. Was there anything else odd you may have noticed? Anything else that seems a little off, even if you wouldn't connect it to the matter? Might give more clues if there is a connection you wouldn't have drawn normally."

Raynare was about to ask what the point was regarding that question, before realizing that, given she hadn't known that Issei and Rias being involved sexually had anything to do with the subject they were trying to learn about, there might be other odd things that she wouldn't have connected to it. Shot in the dark, maybe picking up every odd thread would in fact help put together the whole tapestry. "...hmm, well, there was a Rating Game Issei took part in... And he was very **** to win it. He even created a particular spell that would let me participate without making me a Devil."

Azazel paused, before lowering the latte. "Go on..."

Raynare explained just what said spell did, how it had essentially made her a temporary honorary Pawn. "... there's also something else about it I don't get," Raynare noted.

"And what might that be?" Azazel pressed.

Raynare crossed her arms and adjusted herself in her seat. "...well, there's the fact that the whole prize for the Rating Game was the ability to decide on some kind of engagement between her and one of their stuck up Nobles, Riser Phoenix. One of those Pure Blooded Devil types. She wanted out of the engagement, and that was what the Rating Game was about. But... That just doesn't make much sense, now that I think about it. It should have been as simple as bringing up the fact that she was sleeping with Issei. Those Pureblooded Devils are notoriously old fashioned, and would have been offended at the idea of marrying a non virgin. So... WHY would Riser still be so hellbent on marrying her? There has to be more than the usual political bullshit beyond it, now that I think about it. Hell, he even tried pulling in some favors to get our victory invalidated, regardless of how blatant the favoritism would have been. At the time I thought he was just a sore loser, but..."

"...I see... You think Ms. Gremory is somehow connected to the thing we're investigating?" Azazel questioned.

Raynare considered for a moment, before nodding. "90 percent sure of it at this point, yeah."

"Hmnh..." Azazel steepled his fingers. "...you know, Freed has gone off on his own against orders again, but... Did he mention anything of interest about the run in he had with Rias's Peerage before you got your ass handed to you by Issei?"

Raynare grimaced at the reminder of just how close to dying she had come. "Not... Particularly... Wait... He did mention that they had brought Asia with them through their spell circle when they retreated... Which, while I'm not expert on Devil magic, should have been impossible, right?"

"Yes, it should have been," Azazel nodded. "At least, not for Devils of their caliber. Any idea how they did it?"

"No," Raynare shook her head. "Freed didn't really see how... Only that Issei frantically told Rias he wanted to be able to do it, and she snapped her fingers, then they were gone," Raynare threw her hands up. "Nothing conclusive."

"Any specifics on what Issei said?" Azazel questioned, not expecting much, but checking for any potential info anyway.

"Nope, Freed just summarized... I'd have to ask him when he shows up again. Seems like a tenuous link anyway..." Raynare mused.

"See that you do. Even small details can be an important part of the big picture. Still, we now know a little more than I expected to by now. Good work so far, keep looking into it," Azazel remarked, getting up. Raynare also rose, smiling a bit at the praise. Even if it was something of a punishment assignment, getting a direct line with Azazel and some praise from him was something she had wanted... Still, it didn't feel quite as fulfilling as she was expecting. It didn't take her long to realize why. She had gone through a lot of hoops to get that much from Azazel, yet, with Issei, he thanked her for some simple things she was obligated to do anyway. He still made sure to use her as a gopher, as she was still being punished, but he showed appreciation for having her around.

Damn it, she really was starting to get attached to the dumbass perv. She needed to figure out what he was hiding and get out of this assignment fast, before she started actually wanting to be in his harem!