After Rhode left, a preoccupied Griselda contacted her superior: the Seraph Gabriel.
Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't contact a Seraph on her own initiative. The Seraphs usually remained in the Seventh Heaven to maintain the stability of "The System." The System was what allowed Heaven and the Church to function properly, and since God's disappearance, it had become increasingly unstable. Maintaining it required every ounce of the Seraphs' strength.
Gabriel answered Griselda's call. Accompanied by a golden holy light, she appeared before her. The female six-winged angel in white robes looked at her and spoke gently.
"Griselda, what is the matter?"
"Lady Gabriel, it's about the Holy Swords. I don't understand. Since we've confirmed the culprit is Kokabiel, why was my suggestion to send reinforcements rejected? Xenovia and Irina have a near-zero chance of defeating him. They... they might die there."
Gabriel sighed softly. "I am sorry. But Michael and I know Kokabiel well. Do you know why he went to such great lengths to move the swords to Japan?"
"I'm not sure..." Griselda shook her head.
"It is said that the younger sister of Maou Lucifer has a territory in Japan. Kokabiel wants to use the Holy Swords and the Maou's sister as leverage to deliberately lure out a powerhouse from our two factions who can rival him."
"If Michael, myself, or any other Seraph goes, we fall into his trap. The same goes for the Underworld. If Maou Lucifer appears from the Underworld to confront him, it will lead to irreversible consequences."
"...A Three-Way War?" Griselda quickly caught Gabriel's meaning.
The ancient Great War had never truly ended; the three factions had simply declared an indefinite ceasefire. If Kokabiel successfully lured out a Seraph and a Maou, he could very well reignite the flames of war. Neither Heaven nor the Underworld had any interest in war right now. If Kokabiel succeeded, the results would be catastrophic. Once a war begins, it does not stop just because one person wants it to.
"But just the two of them... it's a suicide mission..." Griselda was still worried.
"Indeed. They are certainly no match for Kokabiel. But if they can at least destroy the Holy Swords, that would be for the best. Should they fall in battle, I will personally welcome their souls into Heaven."
At this point, Gabriel let out a light chuckle. "But besides them, isn't there another outside helper? If he can find the Holy Swords ahead of time, there may still be room to turn things around."
"..."
After leaving the Celestial Realm, Rhode teleported back to Kuoh Town. He happened to run into Akeno and Koneko, who had come by after school.
Since time was tight, they didn't go to the outskirts but instead trained right in the mansion's courtyard. In a few short days, Akeno had learned to channel her internal light energy into a Holy Lightning Spear, though she still had a long way to go compared to Raynare's effortless mastery. Koneko had also mastered the flow of Qi and was learning basic Senjutsu under Kuroka's tutelage.
Seeing Rhode abruptly appear in the courtyard, the girls paused and looked at him in surprise.
"Don't mind me. Just keep going." Rhode walked over to a lounge chair and lay down.
He opened the system map. The red dots marking the mission targets were slowly closing in on Kuoh Town. Since Japan isn't that big, the trip wouldn't even take half a day. Seeing this, Rhode dismissed the idea of heading out immediately. Their destination was Kuoh Town anyway; they'd show up sooner or later. He just needed to beat Xenovia and the others to the punch and snatch all the Holy Swords first.
Having decided on his next move, Rhode rested comfortably in the chair. Lavinia sat nearby, watching him quietly and occasionally observing Akeno and Koneko's training.
Time passed. As night fell, the training session ended. Before dinner, Akeno walked over to Rhode, who was wearing an eye mask and enjoying a nice nap.
"I went to school today and told Rias about your suggestions."
"Why did you wait until now? Don't you know time is money?"
Akeno looked helpless. Was it her fault? It was because the things he had said were so explosive!
Rias was sensitive, and because of her family issues, her emotions were unstable. If Akeno had just repeated Rhode's biting commentary word-for-word, Rias might have broken down then and there. To protect her friend's feelings, Akeno had spent days carefully rephrasing everything into something more moderate.
Yet, even after Rias realized the truth of the situation, she was still psychologically devastated. As the young mistress of the Gremory family, she hated it when people treated her like a "rich young lady," so she tried to do everything herself to change that perception."So this is just pretending to work hard."
Rhode's face showed great amusement after hearing about Rias's emotional breakdown.
"Refusing to do what's necessary, and even after the problem is pointed out, she still talks tough. Is Rias's mouth made of Vibranium?"
"Well... Rias really is hardworking. She's the most dedicated among us, full of virtues."
Although she didn't know what Vibranium was, Akeno Himejima could guess it wasn't a flattering comparison. She tried to defend her best friend.
"For instance, she has great motor skills. At the recent sports festival, she only spent a few days reading and training before leading us to victory over Sona Sitri's peerage. She's also an all-rounder in housework—cooking, laundry, cleaning, she's adept at everything. She's even skilled in Chinese, Japanese, and Western cuisine!"
"?"
Rhode's mind was full of question marks.
While these were indeed virtues, and especially rare for a noble devil like Rias, wasn't she missing the point? This made her exactly like a certain "Water Goddess" who transmigrated to another world—great at a bunch of party tricks and minor talents, but useless at everything that actually mattered.
If Rias had spent half the effort she used on housework and sports meets on focused cultivation of her Power of Destruction to get stronger, would her family still be forcing her into marriage?
"In that case, I suggest she come be a professional housewife at my place. If she agrees, even if she stays a slacker and never gets stronger, I'll protect her from Riser."
Raynare: Sudden Alert.jpg.
Akeno offered a strained smile. It would be a cold day in hell before Rias deigned to be his servant.
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High School DxD : Reincarnated into the Multiverse, but it's High School DxD (154 Chapters – Ongoing)
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