[300 PS = 1 Chapter Bonus]
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After I left the Sisyphus chamber, I managed to progress through four or five more chambers before being crushed by the clubs of a group of Wretched Thugs.
It wasn't a surprise that I didn't make it to the end of Tartarus on my first attempt.
I only had three blessings to use, while the original Zagreus would have had at least half a dozen, some of them already upgraded to Level 2.
Fortunately, death posed no real problem for me in the Underworld.
Emerging from the pool of blood through which souls entered the Underworld, I shook my head to shake out as much blood as possible from my hair, which was practically red at that point.
"Oh, master! You're back!" Skelly exclaimed when he saw me and approached quickly.
"Looks like you weren't so lucky, same as always with me."
"Actually, I think I was lucky. I met someone else back in Tartarus."
"Was it Hypnos? Or maybe Dusa? Don't tell me it was Tisiphone, please. She gives me the creeps."
I laughed, shaking my head. "It was Sisyphus."
Skelly put a hand to his chin and took a moment to remember who Sisyphus was.
"Oh, yes! That crazy guy who calls a rock a friend..." he said with a deep sigh of disappointment.
"He'll be able to help us if luck is on his side."
"ARE YOU CRAZY? I mean... Master, you should reconsider what you're saying. Watching that man suffer is something that fills your father with pride. Wouldn't he like to—"
"Hades isn't here, Skelly," I said, seriously. "Sisyphus's wisdom and cunning will be very useful if we want to find my father and the others. Besides, who else do we have?"
Skelly hesitated, but eventually fell silent. He knew I was right. We were alone.
"Skelly, trust me." I patted his bony shoulder. "If anyone can make this work, it's me. Besides, it's not like we have any other choice, right?"
"Ah, master... I trust you, of course I do! But... it always ends badly in his myths, doesn't it?"
I laughed briefly. "The myths never included someone like me. Besides..." My lips curved into a confident smile. "I have a feeling that if I keep moving forward in Tartarus, I'll find Megaera."
Skelly shuddered, cringing a little. "Meg? Ah, master..."
"Anyway, that's for tomorrow. I need to recharge before my next attempt."
"All right, all right."
I nodded dismissively as I walked away, already thinking about what awaited me the next day.
Little did I know, however, that the next day I would be too busy to go to the Underworld as I had promised Skelly.
The next day, I returned to Kuoh Academy. The school routine was a strangely welcome break from the madness that my life had become.
Here, I was just Akihiro Nishihara.
When I reached my seat in my classroom, I slumped in my chair as though I were completely drained — and I was.
The previous day had been a rollercoaster from start to finish, and by the time I got back to my apartment, it was almost three in the morning.
I didn't get much sleep, but dark circles didn't appear under my eyes because of the divine blood flowing through my veins.
"Ah, Nishihara-san, I'm so glad you're here," a female voice came from the doorway.
I'd recognize that tone anywhere: Shinra Tsubaki, the vice-president of the Student Council.
I looked at her with a casual smile. "Shinra-san. To what do I owe the honor this early in the morning?"
She adjusted her glasses. "President Sitri would like a word with you during the break."
"Again?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, and sighed. "All right, all right. I'll be there."
Tsubaki nodded and went to her seat.
At that moment, whispers began to fill the classroom, which was not yet completely full. The students there had clearly heard what Tsubaki had said, and were now whispering theories about what it meant.
"The transfer student and Tsubaki-san were talking so casually just now. Could it be...?"
"Did you just pay attention to that? She said that the President of the Student Council wants to talk to him."
"It's probably just about academic matters."
"If it was about academic matters, they'd talk about it here in class."
"Maybe Japanese tutoring?"
"You heard him talking that day about Napoleon. His Japanese is practically perfect."
"So... they're extra-curricular activities!" A couple of classmates almost said out loud when they came to the excited conclusion.
Their overreaction and that of other classmates reminded me that my entry as a provisional member of the Student Council should have been treated as a secret. After all, my only function would be to handle extermination contracts.
However, I soon understood why Tsubaki had said that so openly.
A few desks away from me, near the middle of the room, a girl with black hair tied up in a long ponytail was looking at me out of the corner of her eye while everyone was whispering. I knew her, of course: Akeno Himejima, Vice President of the Occult Research Club at Kuoh Academy. She was also the Queen of the Gremory Clan heiress, Rias Gremory.
The moment our eyes met, she looked straight ahead again.
I put a hand on my chin and smiled slightly. 'So, as well as Tsubaki, Akeno was also keeping an eye on me.'
The morning passed quietly, with teachers immersed in explanations that I could barely hear.
At break time, I went to get something to eat in the canteen, after which I headed to the Student Council room. Tsubaki greeted me at the door, gesturing for me to come in.
Inside, Sona Sitri was sitting behind her desk.
"Nishihara-san. Thank you for coming."
"Of course. What do you need today?"
"How do you know I have something for you to do?"
"Why else would you call me here?"
She smiled, accepting my answer. "Next week I have some very important official engagements in the Underworld and I'm working ahead on some of my obligations. There's a pile of contracts that I have to complete by the weekend, but I'm really overwhelmed. For this reason, I have shared some of these contracts with the staff of the Occult Research Club. Today, you'll be working with them to hunt down a Stray Devil."
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