Asia has just finished telling Rias' group her story while everyone sips tea. Basically, Asia was born with the Sacred Gear Twilight Healing, which lets her heal others. The Church praised her as a Holy Maiden and had her go around healing humans and occasionally Angels. One day, she healed a man who turned out to be a Devil in disguise. Since Holy magic normally harms Devils, she was declared to have gotten her power from a source other than God and excommunicated from the Church.
Issei is outraged to hear this. He points out Raynare told him that all Sacred Gears come from God. Rias sadly says the Church is very prejudiced against Devils and will do anything to maintain its authority. Asia continues that she was taken in by Raynare, who told her to use Twilight Healing for her and her alone. Rias deduces that Raynare's group is acting independently from Grigori, the Fallen Angels' governing body, which means once she gets full confirmation from the Underworld, it will be okay to kill them without starting a war. Issei is still uncomfortable about killing. Now Rias wants to discuss what to do about that intruder. Issei points out she saved his life, but Rias points out she stopped them from escaping the first time, though Rias is grateful they were able to get Asia out of Raynare's hands. Fallen Angels' ability to heal is limited, so them having Twilight Healing would make them much more dangerous. Koneko sniffs the air and tells them Akeno and Kiba are returning with the stranger. Issei and Asia are really happy to hear this and Issei says he owes her.
Kiba, Akeno, and Artoria come to Kuoh Academy. Artoria notes to herself that the layout is completely different from Homurahara Academy, which Shirou and Rin attended, and that Shirou and Rin never used the school as a base. Artoria is glad the streets and the school are empty, as even without her armor, her dress stands out in the modern world. Akeno explains that their peerage uses the school's Occult Research Club as a cover for its activities. Their master is the club president and prefers to be called President, and she is the vice president. Upon hearing "peerage", Artoria, who could tell that the group except for Asia wasn't human, begins to speculate they might be Dead Apostles (Vampires). Artoria does her best to steel herself and not look confused as they enter the Occult Research Club.
Inside, the curtains are drawn and the only source of light are candles. There is an unfinished chess game on a table. Akeno stands next to Rias and Artoria notes that they have the biggest chests she had ever seen. Koneko sits casually but Artoria can tell she is nervous. Issei and Asia attempt to rush to Artoria, but Kiba stops them and says not to crowd her. Artoria can tell that Kiba has a lot of anger inside but is hiding it. Rias wants to know what happened to the Fallen Angels, so Artoria explains that she chopped off their wings to make them leave, which shocks everyone. Artoria notes to herself that weapons on par with Excalibur must be rare in this world.
Artoria turns to Issei and Asia and says she is happy they are okay. Issei asks if she is hurt anywhere and says if she is, Asia can heal her. His attitude really reminds her of Shirou, who also often worried about his protector. Asia thanks her for saving her and introduces herself as Asia Argento. Issei introduces himself as Issei Hyoudou. Rias tells everyone to introduce themselves. They give their names as Rias Gremory, Akeno Himejima, Koneko Toujou, and Yuuto Kiba. Rias comments on Akeno and Kiba trusting her enough to bring her here, so Kiba points out she gave her word on honor as a knight. Everyone gets confused and Asia asks if she is a dragon knight. Artoria says she has the blood of the dragon, but assures that she is human. Issei and Asia are both starstruck. Rias asks her to identify herself. Artoria thinks to herself that given the Fallen Angels knew about Excalibur, King Arthur's legend exists here, so it may be risky to claim that name. She says her name is unimportant, but she is Saber, the Servant of the Sword, who will protect and serve her Master, Issei Hyoudou, until their contract is complete.
Upon Artoria calling him her Master, Issei's mind goes through the gutter and he starts drooling, disgusting her. While the others are confused, Rias demands to know what contract she is talking about. Artoria says Issei asked for someone to save Asia, so she will protect her. Rias asks for how long. Artoria thinks about it. She isn't sure if she has a Servant body, which doesn't age, or a mortal body that can age. Oh well, no matter what, Avalon will be her final resting place where Shirou will eventually find her. She says she will stay until she is satisfied that Asia will be safe. Issei says he will pay her back however she- Rias cuts him off and says it is foolish to make open promises to unknown beings.
Artoria says Rias is right, but says it wasn't a contract he signed. She used his plea for help and the magic circle to summon herself. Akeno asks where she came from and Artoria says she will not speak of it. Rias says she cannot trust her if she won't give her name and origin. Artoria says she does not need her trust, angering Rias and the others. Rias says Issei is her servant so he will not do anything to pay for her services without her approval. Artoria says she does not ask for anything in return, then comments to herself that she is acting like Shirou, who had an obsession with helping people for no reward. Issei says he's having trouble following the conversation, but to clarify, she will be his servant for free? Artoria corrects him and emphasizes the capital letters on Master and Servant. According to their contract, she will serve and protect him and Asia, but she is not his subordinate and he cannot make her do anything (especially since he does not have any Command Spells). Issei seems to accept this and tells Rias they cannot let her down, especially since contracts are very important to Devils. Rias says this is a different kind of contract from what Devils use. Upon learning that they are Devils, Artoria immediately summons her armor, grabs Asia, draws her invisible sword, and unleashes a mini hurricane with Invisible Air, sending everyone else flying.
Freed brings Raynare and the other Fallen Angels to their base, which is full of other exorcists who were recruited for their murderous nature. As Freed leaves to find someone to murder, Raynare sees that her three comrades have lost consciousness and curses their weakness. Not even bothering to remember the other exorcists' names, she asks if the device for the ritual of transference is ready. One of them says it will be ready in a day, which pleases her. She tells them to operate on her to reattach her wings, ignoring their protests that she should rest first. She declares that she will survive, get Asia back, and once she is done with her, no one will be able to harm her again and she will have her revenge on the dragon.
After Artoria beat everyone up and completely trashed the room, including blowing a hole through the wall and making a trench in the lawn, Asia managed to calm her down and convince her that the Devils are not evil. Everyone gathers on the lawn and Artoria says it was a misunderstanding, though she doesn't apologize. Akeno says it was her fault because after Artoria earlier showed ignorance of the Gremory name, she should have known that she has no knowledge of current events. They quickly fill her in that many years ago, there was a civil war in Hell and the old regime was taken down. The Devil families are now peaceful and pragmatic in their dealings with humans.
Issei can't believe Artoria momentarily thought he was evil. Artoria bluntly says that was what she was taught about Devils. Asia thanks her for believing her, and Rias gets jealous that Asia shows Artoria much more respect than her. Rias says their current situation was that Asia needed shelter, and Saber wants to protect her, so the obvious solution is to let them leave together. Issei and Asia both become upset, and Rias points out her associating with Devils will paint a huge target on her back. Issei and Asia don't want to be separated, which Artoria picks up on and says Asia should choose where she wants to go. Asia says she wants to stay with Issei. Rias says fine, and she's thought of another option. The group goes into another room while Akeno arranges for the damage to be repaired.
Rias says if Asia is going to stay with them, she will have to join their family. She pulls a small case out of her pocket with chess pieces inside. Rias explains that after the many wars, the Devil population was depleted, and with Devil fertility rates being very low, this was a crisis. One of the new Satans devised the Evil Pieces system. A high ranking Devil, designated a King, can designate up to 15 servants as their peerage. They are granted abilities modeled after a certain chess piece. Artoria realizes the pieces can be used to recruit humans, and says she hopes they aren't being used as breeding stock. Everybody gets taken aback by this, then Rias says the Evil Pieces convert members of other races into Devils, and it is entirely voluntary. Reincarnated Devils have the same rights as true Devils and can rise high in Devil society if they work hard, some even gaining peerages of their own. Asia confirms this, which calms Artoria down.
Issei adds that when Raynare murdered him, Rias converted him to a Devil to save his life. Rias is the King, Kiba is a Knight, Koneko is a Rook, Akeno is the Queen, and Issei is a Pawn. Akeno enters the room and says the repairs will be done within the hour. Rias says Asia's healing powers are very valuable because the Devil healing arts are very slow and require prolonged physical contact. Issei gets embarrassed, remembering the time Rias had to heal him and he woke up to find them both naked in bed. Rias holds up a bishop piece and says Asia will welcome in her peerage as a Bishop. Rias then holds up a knight piece and says Saber will be welcome as a Knight. Issei says this is awesome; if they both join the peerage, they can be together, if they don't mind becoming Devils. Rias fights the urge to throw the pieces at his head for talking too much and likely blowing this chance.
Artoria tells Asia this choice is hers alone, and she will protect her even if she becomes a Devil. As for her, she refuses. Rias points out only members of her peerage can use their teleportation circles, so if she doesn't join, her ability to follow Asia will be limited. Artoria says all the same, Issei is her Master and she will have no others. Rias smiles and says House Gremory is one of the most powerful of the Devil families, and her brother Sirzechs Lucifer is considered the most powerful Devil. If Asia joins her peerage, she will be safe from all dangers, so Saber will be free from her oath to protect her and can leave. Rias thinks to herself that if she can't get Saber to join her, she can at least get rid of her because she is a loose cannon and too powerful to control.
Asia hesitates. Issei assures her that turning into a Devil won't change her personality. Asia says if she became a Devil, she won't be able to pray anymore. At Artoria's confusion, the others explain that prayer and other holy acts hurt Devils. Kiba points out that Asia was excommunicated, so God won't listen to her prayers anyway. Asia is about to accept, but Artoria suddenly tells her it doesn't matter if God won't listen to her prayers. What matters is if she still believes in him. If she does, she shouldn't let anything stop her. Asia ultimately decides not to become a Devil.
Rias points out this puts them back to square one. Artoria says a simpler solution is that she and Asia will stay in Issei's house. Issei is all for this, but a frustrated Rias asks if he wasn't paying attention. If Asia is not a member of her peerage, people from all the factions will be free to attack her, and Issei's parents, who are human and have no knowledge of the supernatural, could get caught in the crossfire. Saber is strong, but she can't protect all of them at the same time. Artoria says she noticed the school building is protected by a Bounded Field. The peerage is unfamiliar with this term, so she clarifies a magical barrier that detects and keeps out intruders, which they understand. She proposes Issei's house be given the same protection. Rias asks if she is willing to sign a contract to pay for that service. Artoria points out Rias is responsible for Issei's safety. Rias says her name is what protects Issei, but Artoria retorts, "Then why would this place need any more protection than just your name?" Rias realizes she's trapped as she would have to admit she doesn't care as much about her subordinates.
Issei and Asia tell Rias if she gives the house the protection they will pay her back. Akeno proposes a contract. In exchange for Asia using Twilight Healing on Rias' peerage whenever they need it, they will put the barrier of protection on Issei's house. Everyone agrees and it is finalized. Rias tells Artoria she is trusting her with Issei and the others, and if any of them are harmed because of her, she will regret it. She tries to intimidate Artoria by flaring up her Battle Aura, which makes it difficult for Issei and Asia to breathe, but Artoria is unfazed and counters with her own. After they stop, Kiba and Akeno tells them to come up with a cover story so they can hypnotize Issei's parents into accepting two strangers moving in. Artoria asks Asia what she wants to do now, and Asia says she wants to live as a normal girl for now. Issei invites them to join the school. They accept, and Akeno says since they both speak Japanese, it should be no problem even though they look like foreigners. After being asked about their language skills, Asia says she speaks Japanese, English, and Italian, while Artoria says she knows every language, amazing them. Rias says she can draw up the papers to transfer them into the school quickly, then notices how much Asia and Artoria resemble each other and thinks up the cover story.
The next day, Issei sits in class exhausted. After everything he experienced last night, he then had to carry a bunch of new clothes and furniture into the girls' rooms. The teacher tells the class they have two new students from Italy. Asia and Artoria walk in, wearing the school uniform. Artoria has perfect poise, while Asia is nervous but looks incredibly cute. The classroom erupts as everyone gushes about how hot they are. The teacher tells them to calm down and introduces them as Asia and Saber Argento. Issei is both happy and nervous that he gets to live with them. The fact they are pretending to be sisters only fuels his fantasies.
