Inside the Time-Space Realm, Takumi only got fiercer the longer it went on—and the number of women joining in just kept climbing.
Even the Amazon women he'd previously brought in from the war nation were bloodthirsty spectators by nature. Watching a scene this wild, they ended up joining too, one after another.
If he hadn't controlled the flow of time, that whole battle probably would've gone on for over a month.
By the time Takumi returned alone to the alley in Orario, his body was covered in marks.
"Ah!! I smell him, nya! He's right here, nya!"
Anya's voice rang out, making Takumi look up.
Sure enough, behind her was a whole crowd, packed shoulder to shoulder at the mouth of the alley.
For a moment, everyone just stared at each other.
The atmosphere was painfully awkward.
"Hestia, why are you here?"
Seeing Hestia in the middle of the group, Takumi glared at his goddess in annoyance.
The second she realized Syr and the rest of those foxes weren't here, Hestia immediately shrank back guiltily.
"Huh? Where's Syr, nya?"
Anya looked around in confusion. She'd definitely tracked both Takumi's and Syr's scent here.
But now the smell had changed—Takumi was carrying way too many scents on him.
"I sent her away. And you people seriously have way too much free time, chasing after me all day long."
Takumi brushed the topic aside lightly, then stepped forward and rubbed Anya's head, smoothly shifting attention away from Syr.
That left everyone speechless.
The alliance they'd built up so carefully shattered on the spot.
"Since you're not with Syr anymore, Takumi-san… how about spending the rest of the festival with us instead?"
Kaguya stepped forward with elegant composure and extended the invitation.
At once, Alise and the others all looked at him expectantly.
"Hey! How can you do that?! You're trying to steal my child right in front of me!"
"Ahhh! I knew I shouldn't have trusted you foxes!!"
Hestia exploded on the spot, suddenly realizing she'd played herself.
Takumi didn't bother indulging that. He pinched her cheek once and flattened her temper right back down.
"You're so stuffed you can barely move, and you're still yapping."
"Enough. We're all going together. Nobody gets to complain~"
He dropped the final word on the matter and gave nobody room to argue.
And surprisingly enough, the girls all accepted that fair proposal.
Just like that, a spectacular little procession appeared in Orario.
Because of the cognition barrier, it didn't attract too much public attention.
Still, Takumi collected all the Interworld Gate progress he was supposed to get from it.
He'd already caused enough of a stir earlier.
And after just one more day, his progress climbed past 9,000% again.
"Perfect. Things on this side can rest for a bit now."
After feeding Hestia properly one more time, Takumi returned to the main world through the Time-Space Realm.
His plan was simple: come back here every so often and harvest another batch of progress.
Meanwhile, Hestia Familia had entered a stable growth phase. He didn't need to micromanage much.
As for Freya and the remnants of Evilus, he'd more or less already dealt with the big problems.
The little leftovers could wait.
Back in the main world, Takumi stretched lazily in the sky.
After partying that hard for so long, he honestly felt like he needed a break.
Freya, Hestia, and the others were still goddesses in the end. Once they went all out, the drain was real.
But when he got home, an unexpected person was already there.
Looking at the red-haired girl with the lush, tempting body sitting in his house, Takumi's eyes widened.
"Rias, why are you sitting in my house?"
"Hmph~ Takumi-kun, our relationship has already gotten that deep. What's wrong with me stopping by?"
"And you did publicly break off my engagement to Riser in front of all the demons in the Underworld."
"Right now, practically every devil already assumes I'm yours~"
Rias shot him a deeply aggrieved look, making him feel like some scumbag who'd done her dirty.
The problem was, he couldn't even refute it.
Because every word she said was true.
"So what exactly happened here!?"
Sitting on the couch, Mio couldn't hold back anymore.
Listening to the two of them, she suddenly felt like Takumi was about to be stolen from her.
"My blood-related little sister, of course~ I'm here to join this family."
"From now on, I'm one of Takumi's women too~~"
Rias wrapped herself around Takumi's arm without the slightest hesitation and openly declared her position.
"Eh!?"
Mio and Yuki Suou were both stunned.
They'd never expected Rias to come right out and plant her flag like that.
And when Rias said those words, Yuki had the strange feeling she'd heard something very similar before.
Watching Rias start picking out a room for herself like she already lived there, Mio's face went black.
"There aren't that many rooms in this house, okay?!"
"And why do you have to move in? Don't you have your own place?!"
Seeing how possessive Mio was acting, Rias's lips curled into a playful smile.
"Of course. I'm not planning to live here full-time. I'll only stay over occasionally."
"But since you're this resistant, Mio… maybe I should just stay in your room?"
"Besides, it's probably time for you to get involved in the affairs of the Gremory clan."
Hearing that, Mio instinctively looked toward Maria and Takumi.
Maria just shook her head, completely lost. She had no idea what was going on anymore.
As a succubus, the only thing she was certain of was that her camera storage probably needed to be doubled.
Rias joining the household was absolutely going to trigger a bloodbath.
Meanwhile, stretched out on the sofa, Takumi was enjoying Asia's massage.
"Takumi-san, does this feel good?"
Asia asked shyly, her cheeks bright red.
She didn't really care why the others were fighting. From start to finish, what mattered to her was Takumi's comfort.
Faced with such a loyal, sweet, adorable little nun, there was no way Takumi was ever going to say no.
"It's already great, Asia. Just a little more pressure."
After answering casually, he finally looked toward Mio, who was waiting for his opinion.
"Go ahead, Mio. You've already got the ability to step into devil noble affairs now."
"I'll back you up, so don't worry."
Now that he'd displayed his strength, the balance of power in the Underworld had shifted in subtle ways.
Originally, Mio's existence as an extra heir to the Gremory line would've split the clan in two.
But things were different now.
Rias was his woman.
And Mio was too.
Even if Mio had no desire to fight Rias over anything, the scattered branch members of the Gremory family still represented a sizable force.
Using Mio's identity as an heir to absorb that part of the clan would be beneficial for both Takumi and Rias.
Hearing that Takumi would support her, Mio's hesitation vanished.
She nodded seriously and headed upstairs with Rias.
Inwardly, Mio made up her mind.
If she could be useful, then she would use everything she had.
She didn't want to be just another decorative vase in the house.
As Takumi's stepsister slave, she wanted to do far more for him.