It's open day, where else would I be?" Azazel scoffed with a wry smirk "Just because I don't interfere in your rosy high school life doesn't mean I'm not your legal guardian y'know?"
"So he really is under your care." Sirzechs mused, the Lucifer clearly not sharing his younger sibling's concern at the revelation, if anything he looked intrigued, possibly even relieved "You always did have a penchant for taking in interesting individuals."
"The Grigori have always welcomed those who were cast aside by the other factions." Azazel confirmed with a shrug "Hell, I was the one who arranged for Asia Argento to be transferred here after the Vatican kicked her out." He smiled apologetically at the Bishop "Sorry about that, by the way, if I'd know what Raynare was up to, I'd have come to collect you myself."
"I-It's alright, Azazel-san!" Asia stammered, bowing her head hurriedly "While it's true I faced some hardship, in the end I was able to meet Issei-san…" she blushed before beaming gratefully at the stunned Fallen "So, thank you, Azazel-san, if it weren't for you, I never would have found my new family."
"Asia-chan-!" Issei wept, his and Saji's eyes literally waterfalls as they gaped at the former Holy Maiden, even the normally reserved Sona smiling at the girl while Rias hugged her Bishop from behind.
"Honestly…" Azazel scoffed, the normally unflappable Fallen shaking his head to hide his obvious embarrassment "What the hell was Michael thinking allowing them to excommunicate you…?"
"Don't be so hard on him." Sirzechs, of all people, countered with a knowing smile "After all, as someone who likewise had large shoes to fill, I can somewhat understand the weight of his responsibilities, even if I don't condone them." He nodded towards Serafall "After all, unlike Michael, I had people who could share the burden."
'Why do I have the strangest feeling Kirei would be loving this?' Shirou deadpanned, shuddering at the idea of Rin's mentor stumbling across a world where God was literally Dead and Lucifer was playing Advocate for the Archangel Michael?
"In any case, I actually had other reasons for stopping by today." Azazel admitted, smirking at Sirzechs and Serafall coyly "For one thing, I wanted to scope out the location for the meeting, since having both representatives of the Devil Faction here might give Heaven the wrong idea."
"Wouldn't you being here technically make the situation worse then?" Issei wondered, looking concerned at the prospect of the peace treaty breaking down, only for Sona to shake her head.
"I could understand why you would think so, Hyoudo-kun, however you should know that, recent events aside, the Fallen Angels have always done their best to adhere to the cease-fire." She nodded towards Rias "If you'll recall, when you were confronted by Fallen Angel Dohnaseek, he immediately withdrew after learning you were part of Rias' peerage instead of a mere stray."
"The elimination of Strays has always been a grey area." Sirzechs admitted with a weary sigh "That being said, Azazel was the first to propose the cease-fire despite his faction possessing the upper hand during the war. In a sense, you could say that if it weren't for him, we probably wouldn't have been able to overthrow the Old Satan Faction." He regarded Sona and Rias solemnly "I'm sure I don't need to spell out what that would mean for both of our societies as a whole."
Rias grimaced, and even Sona looked humbled by the revelation.
While things hadn't changed overtly much since the fall of the Old Satans, the new government had brought with it several changes that made life much easier for many members of Devil Society. For one thing, under the rule of the Old Satans, Rias would not only have been unable to attend Kuoh Academy, she would have had no means of challenging her engagement to Riser Phenex.
It was only because of Sirzechs and Serafall pulling strings behind the scenes that she and Sona were allowed to act as Joint Overseers of the city following the untimely death of their predecessor, citing that nobody with a functioning Brain Cell would target the Satans' younger siblings, thus allowing Rias to postpone her marriage until she'd graduated High-School or assembled a strong enough peerage, whichever came first.
Normally the Gremory Heiress would have milked the opportunity for all it was worth and purposely repeated a few years. After all, what kind of respectable Devil wouldn't abuse such a loophole in a contract? However, even if Sona weren't the kind to frown on such behaviour, one of the stipulations for their remaining as Overseers was that they both took their education seriously and did their best to graduate.
After all, and she swore she could feel the mocking sneers of their detractors as she read the fine print, how could they be expected to oversee a town when they couldn't even graduate from a mundane High-School?
And so, in the end, Rias' only means of opposing Riser would have been to challenge and defeat him in a Rating Game, something that had only been implemented after Ajuka Beelzebub, formerly of house Ashtaroth, created the Evil Piece System to replenish the Devils' waning numbers.
Without Azazel proposing a cease-fire, the New Satan Faction would never have been able to amass the forces necessary to overthrow the Old Satan Regime. Without Sirzechs assuming the position of Lucifer, Rias would never have been able to visit earth, let alone attend school there. Without Ajuka assuming the position of Beelzebub, she would have had no means of assembling a peerage, reducing her to little more than a brood-mare to ensure the line of Pureblood Devils remained unbroken.
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