— — — — — —
"So… what exactly is our situation right now?"
Inside a residence within Yasaka Shrine, Rias sat before a lavish kaiseki meal delivered by yokai servants. But despite the exquisite food, her mood was terrible.
"Free lodging, high-end meals on demand, and if we want to go out, we can roam all over Kyoto as long as we don't mind the two bodyguards. We just can't leave the city. But if we really insist, we can even meet that new Fallen Angel Governor who barely pays attention to us within thirty minutes."
She turned to her companion.
"Akeno, what do you think that man actually wants?"
"If I knew, I wouldn't be sitting here drinking miso soup." Akeno Himejima replied helplessly, cradling her bowl.
"Besides… isn't this situation pretty nice?"
"Akeno... it just feels wrong. We're prisoners, aren't we?"
Rias's expression was complicated, equal parts anxious and uneasy.
"…Don't tell me you actually want to go through the usual prisoner experience?" Akeno blinked, momentarily stunned.
She had always thought she was the more open-minded one between them, but now she wasn't so sure. Seriously, wasn't being treated well a good thing? Was Rias a masochist or something?
Rias looked embarrassed for a few seconds before mumbling, "I'm just worried there's some kind of scheme behind all this."
"You know… my brother's a Great Satan."
"My father's a Fallen Angel executive," Akeno shot back with a roll of her eyes.
She wasn't trying to compare status. She was just pointing out that whatever Ryo might plan, Baraqiel would obviously take the hit for them. That conclusion wasn't hard to reach.
"No… I just feel like that Yagami guy is a little… off."
Rias shivered as she recalled standing beside Ryo earlier in the study.
"What's off about him?" Akeno asked, puzzled.
He hadn't done anything to them. He hadn't even spoken much. How did he scare Rias this badly?
Rias rubbed her arms and shuddered again. "I can't really explain it. But whenever he keeps a straight face, I get this overwhelming urge to kneel down and apologize."
Akeno was speechless. "You're not even that exaggerated in front of Satan Lucifer."
Rias rolled her eyes. Kneel? That was her older brother. She used to kick him as a kid and nothing happened. Why would she be afraid?
Seeing her reaction, Akeno could only offer gentle reassurance. "I don't think you need to worry. Maybe before long, His Majesty Sirzechs will send someone to pick us up."
Rias's face instantly turned bitter. "Then I'm probably doomed. The next head of the Gremory family getting captured by the new Fallen Angel Governor? Those old fossils in the Devil Council won't miss the chance to pile on."
Why had she come to the human world and taken charge of Kuoh Town as practice for inheriting the family? Wasn't it because she feared that studying in the Underworld would give those old men chances to sabotage Sirzechs behind the scenes?
And now look at this.
She had successfully avoided the Devil Council's claws, only to deliver herself straight into the hands of the Fallen Angels.
If this became public, she would normally lose her position as the next Gremory heir.
But then who would become the Gremory heir?
Rias was currently the only child in the Gremory main family line. Sirzechs had already been adopted into the Lucifer lineage. Otherwise, he wouldn't have become Satan Lucifer.
The problem was that her brother still had no children. The Gremory family originally had a two-pronged plan: find Sirzechs a wife to produce heirs for the Lucifer line, and meanwhile Rias did the same. If Sirzechs remained childless, one of Rias's children could be adopted to inherit the Satan position.
But if Rias lost her right of succession because of this incident, that plan would collapse. The Devil Council would be overjoyed.
It would basically hand them an excuse to interfere in Gremory affairs. Push it far enough, and they might even try to drag Sirzechs down with it.
Of course, the council wasn't stupid enough to truly provoke Sirzechs. But using Rias to disgust him? They would absolutely do that.
Sirzechs could bulldoze the Devil Council, sure. But they also had Lilth backing them. In the end, both sides had leverage. No one really feared the other.
"Politics really are troublesome," Akeno sighed.
She herself felt unusually unburdened. Her father had sent the Himejima elders on a lifetime "trip," and even knelt to apologize to her yesterday. No matter how deep the grudge, it was hard to hold onto it after that. They were still father and daughter. Now that things were resolved, she didn't want to make things difficult for him.
Unless something unexpected happened, she would likely remain Rias's peerage member while gradually returning to the Fallen Angels in a semi-retired capacity, preparing to inherit her father's position.
In that sense, the devil-side troubles didn't really concern her. The problem was her friend.
Thinking this over, Akeno asked, "Should I go ask the Governor if your presence here can be treated as simply visiting?"
The moment she finished, Rias gave her a look of disdain.
"Can you decide that?"
"…No." Akeno's mouth twitched.
She wasn't the Governor. How could she decide for Ryo?
At the end of the day, Ryo had only tacitly allowed Baraqiel's intention for his daughter's succession. He hadn't made any decision regarding Rias at all.
Who knew what that man, who had become Fallen Angel Governor just two days after appearing, was thinking?
Judging by attitude, he treated Rias fairly well and didn't use her as a bargaining chip.
Judging by actions, he still refused to let her leave Kyoto.
Maybe he wanted to bait Sirzechs. Or maybe… he actually wanted to produce a bunch of Destruction-power hybrids.
"Akeno, you're going to get me killed…" Rias said resentfully.
Akeno's lips twitched, then she replied with absolute certainty. "You won't die. Ryo said so."
'…And you believed him?' Rias's face twisted.
"Meow~"
A cat's cry sounded.
In walked Kuroka in her black cat form, looking lazy as ever.
"Sirzechs has arrived. You two should get ready."
Rias immediately lit up with joy.
She was saved.
.
.
.