Chapter 67: New Members of Aeternum (DxD)
A few weeks had passed since the meeting of the three factions and the peace treaty was signed. And, currently, the Gremory group and Harry were in the Underworld.
The meeting between Rias's parents and Harry was... awkward at best.
Actually, they weren't that against their daughter having a relationship with a human. In fact, Venelena was quite friendly with Harry. Zeoticus seemed normal and neutral at worst.
But, as everyone was dining at a large table, Venelena asked the question that, to Harry, was the strangest.
"You're not interested in a harem, are you, Henry?"
Rias blinked.
Harry blinked.
Damn, Issei blinked at the sudden and strange question!
"No..." Harry answered after a few seconds. "I understand that the Devil race usually has one, but I'm not interested in that."
Venelana nodded, but glanced at her daughter with a bit of relief. Honestly, she wasn't against it; her husband actually had a harem. But that wasn't easy for the main woman, the wife. If a woman said that love would remain as usual with a harem, she was just deluded. Sooner or later, she would realize that she wasn't as special as she thought, favoritism would begin, and soon the relationship with her husband wouldn't be the best.
Venelana simply remained the favorite simply because of her personality. If she wasn't a little harsh on her husband or even forced him to manage the harem, then the relationship would be nothing but contentious.
One, two, three, or even four wives might be fine. But that wasn't a harem; it was simply polygamy, where one had more than one wife. A harem was different; it was harsher, and there was much more aggressive competition. Concubines, domestic workers, even more distant relatives could be included in a harem, and they could even number over a hundred.
Because of all this, she was a little worried about her daughter's future. So she decided to ask directly about the matter.
Rias looked at Harry with an apologetic look, but he just smiled.
And while the Gremory family was having dinner, elsewhere in the Underworld, a large group of people gathered to discuss something important.
"Shall we do it, shall we not?" a man asked more than a hundred people, young and old, men and women.
"At least we have to try!" a man exclaimed decisively.
"Rias-sama has already fought a god," said a blonde woman, standing next to the person who spoke first and asked. "She already has the power to back up many people. It's not a losing proposition."
"Kuisha-san is right..." another man commented. "Also, a rumor has spread that Rias-sama is creating her own organization. If we can get in, perhaps we can not only train to become stronger without being suppressed, but also gain a great deal of support behind us."
"Then..." the man smiled forcefully as he looked at everyone. "It seems I'll have to speak with my cousin."
The man was Sairaorg Bael; within the Underworld, he was one of the most popular young men among the reincarnated devils, both from the lower class and those who had risen to the upper class through sheer effort and obtained their Pieces of Evil.
Sairaorg was born without his bloodline, the power of destruction, so he was often mocked. He knew what others had gone through; he suffered the same thing, so he wasn't an arrogant young man who underestimated others of a lower level or class. He never underestimated anyone.
So when many Devils approached him to form a group and contact Rias to help them become stronger and stop bullying them, Sairaorg gladly agreed. He was still very curious about what his cousin, Rias, was planning.
The moment Rias received a letter from Sairaorg summoning her to a specific location, she smiled slightly.
"Harry... I'll step out for a moment," Rias said.
"Be careful..." Harry dismissed her with a smile before continuing to read the book in his hands. They were in Rias's room; when dinner was over and everyone had gone to sleep, they shared a room, but they weren't tired enough to sleep, or lively enough for sex.
Rias climbed out the window as she spread her wings and flew off.
Sairaorg smiled as he watched his cousin, Rias, descend near Limbo, one of the places in the Underworld. Rias, however, wore a serious expression. She felt they couldn't stay in this place for too long. Limbo was the edge of the Underworld; it was the place where speculation about the afterlife of those who died in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned and also the place of fire was debated.
It was also connected to one of the gates to Heaven.
She wasn't afraid of what she might find, but rather sensed danger from the darkness beyond the edge. If she took one more step from her spot, she felt something inexplicable and terrifying would happen.
"Sairaorg..." Even with the feeling that flooded her body, she smiled as she looked at her cousin.
"Rias, you know I'm not one to beat around the bush!" Sairaorg approached with his peerage behind him and a large group of devils.
"So I'll get straight to the point: I want you to support us with your current influence and power. Currently, if I lose a single battle, the 'backers' I possess will immediately leave me. And, at the same time, the people behind me would be left alone."
Rias simply raised her hand and created a teleportation circle.
"You may enter... that place will be your new home if you wish."
Sairaorg looked at the circle for a moment before nodding and walking toward it; his peerage followed him without saying anything. As did the rest of the reincarnated devils.
When the circle shone, everyone was now on an island with a huge palace. Many gasped as they looked to the sides; they realized this island was small compared to the one below. Trees of all kinds could be seen, and the island was divided into four places, which represented the seasons of a year.
In the north of the island below them, there was snow alongside some small mountains. The trees rose high above the ground, and some even seemed made of ice. To the south, there was a warm region that looked like a vast wasteland of green grass and a few rivers. To the east, there was a prairie-like terrain with hills filled with grass and beautiful, vibrant, bright flowers next to a huge lake. And finally, to the west, there was a huge forest with trees that had their brown and orange leaves swaying as a light breeze made them dance before they fell to the ground.
And, above the center of the island, which seemed to be divided by four different huge trees, floated a smaller island with a beautiful white palace, the place where everyone was currently standing.
"Woooah!"
"Amazing...!"
"How beautiful..."
Many shouts and comments were immediately heard.
"Oh~... Princess Gremory, I see you've brought guests," a calm voice emanating a tender aura resounded before everyone as the person showed himself. He had the appearance of a young boy and wore clothes that reminded people of lotus flowers.
"Everyone; this is Nezha, a Buddha who, under Indra's orders, will teach the people who live here and want to become stronger."
"Hello everyone, I am Prince Nezha," the Buddha introduced himself respectfully. Indra had chosen him because he knew Nezha was respectful and enjoyed battles. In addition to having lived for so long and having knowledge of many things, all of this made him perfect to teach any other race without prejudice.
"You made a Buddha agree to train us?!" Sairaorg asked in shock.
"Of course," Rias replied. "I want this place to be a meeting place for different races. I want them to be able to live together, train, study, and protect each other."
"Nezha-dono was kind enough to agree to teach," Rias said, smiling at the Buddha.
"The goal is difficult, but I feel it's wonderful and something worth fighting for and waiting for," Nezha smiled.
"Ah..." Rias remembered something important. "Also, be careful on the south side, Fafnir lives there."
"That dragon?!" Kuisha exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes... he's a protector of Aeternum."
"I'll leave you now. If you want to go back, you can go to the transportation room inside the palace. There are several magic circles to different places in the world and the Underworld."
"Hahahaha! Okay, now I'm excited!" Sairaorg exclaimed.
"Come on, guys, let's find a place to make a home for ourselves!" Sairaorg shouted, and everyone followed him in high spirits. No one was short of money, so creating their own houses or buildings wasn't a problem.
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