Yoru irritably rubbed the tip of his nose, but when he looked around the hall, everyone else seemed utterly unfazed—as if this old man had always been such a brazen jerk.
"Long time no see, Lord Odin, Chief God of the Norse."
While Yoru was still unsure how to respond to the old man, Sirzechs stepped forward with a smile and greeted him.
"Sirzechs, is it? I came to watch the match at your invitation. But you really do have it tough… A descendant of the original Lucifer who happens to be the White Dragon Emperor, and has even become a terrorist. The future of the Devils looks bleak indeed."
Though Odin's words were mocking, Sirzechs still maintained his smile. The old man's gaze then shifted to Serafall beside him.
"Serafall, what on earth is that outfit you're wearing?"
"Oh my, Lord Odin! You don't know? This is a magical girl costume~"
Perhaps knowing the old god's interests, the Maou girl showed no restraint at all, batting her eyes and answering cutely.
"Hmm. So this is what the young people are into these days…" Odin said, rubbing his chin while his gaze drifted up Serafall's thighs beneath her extremely short skirt.
However, before he could enjoy the sight, Yoru stepped forward just enough to block his view completely.
"Shameless old man."
Yoru raised an eyebrow and spat out those four words. Odin, caught red-handed, showed not a hint of embarrassment—instead, he argued back self-righteously.
"What shamelessness? I haven't done anything!"
"Lord Odin, you mustn't do indecent things! You'll disgrace the name of Valhalla!" said the valkyrie at his side with a troubled expression.
"Honestly, you're far too uptight. That's why you can't even get a single hero for yourself."
That one remark from Odin made the valkyrie burst into tears. Everyone present exchanged confused looks, not understanding what had just happened.
"A-a-anyway, I'm a valkyrie whose time without a boyfriend equals her age! I do want to get a boyfriend, you know! Ugh~~!"
As the odd atmosphere filled the room, Odin sighed.
"Sorry, she's my current bodyguard. She's capable, but far too stiff—she can't even get herself a man."
A bodyguard… and what does finding a boyfriend have to do with that?
"I've heard about it. Sirzechs, Serafall—your relatives are going to fight each other, right? Honestly… your precious little sisters are close friends, yet you'd still have them battle. How cruel of you—truly worthy of being Devils."
"If they can't overcome even this, the Devils' future is hopeless," Sirzechs declared firmly.
"Of course my precious Sona-chan will win☆!"
Completely oblivious to the earlier "wardrobe malfunction" crisis, Serafall continued speaking in her usual cutesy manner.
After taking a seat in an empty chair, Odin said,
"All right, enough about the Khaos Brigade. I'm only here because I was invited to watch the Rating Game. Which day is it scheduled for?"
"Wait a moment—we're not done yet. How can we just move on like that?" Shemhazai suddenly interjected.
"Well… we already know the details. Is there anything else that needs special explanation, my Vice Governor?" Azazel frowned—this guy just couldn't stop talking, could he?
"The members of the Khaos Brigade were repelled, but there's still no decision about the captured Kuroka, is there?" Shemhazai said, looking toward Yoru.
"Kuroka is an SS-class Stray Devil and a most wanted criminal. How can we not take action? I propose that the Maou publicly execute this traitor here in the Underworld. Doing so would not only damage the morale of the Khaos Brigade but also show the Three Factions that they're nothing to fear."
As soon as Shemhazai finished speaking, he suddenly sensed a change in the atmosphere of the entire conference room.
An eerie silence spread.
"That's enough, Shemhazai. The Khaos Brigade matter ends here," Azazel said coldly, his brows furrowed.
"But—"
"Shut up!"
Shemhazai still tried to argue, but was brusquely cut off by Azazel.
"Azazel… your Vice Governor is really lacking in tact," Yoru said with a smile. But for some reason, with those words, a chill spread through the conference room.
The first to feel it was Odin, who was sitting fairly close to Yoru. The lecherous old god shivered slightly, then narrowed his eyes, studying the young man with curiosity.
Odin might have a sharp tongue and a wandering eye, but as a Chief God, he naturally possessed some exceptional abilities.
For example, right now he could tell that Yoru was no ordinary character—this young, almost unnaturally confident Devil boy clearly possessed Maou-class strength.
"All right, the prisoner was captured by young Yoru here. She's the Devils' prisoner—how she's handled is none of our Fallen Angel business."
Azazel's earlier anger suddenly melted into a lazy tone. This time, Shemhazai obediently kept his mouth shut.
As Vice Governor of the Fallen Angels, Shemhazai wasn't a fool—he'd already realized something was off.
The Gremory soldier before him was clearly no mere soldier. Even the two Maou present—Lucifer and Leviathan—seemed to subtly follow his lead.
Even his own Governor, Azazel, appeared to hold this young man in considerable regard. But why?
"Well, well. As for the Khaos Brigade nonsense, this old man couldn't care less. That's young people's business. For me, I'll live each day as it comes. What I'm really here for is the upcoming match. It's rare to see the Devils' younger generation in action—I want to see just how far your strength has fallen."
"Lord Odin, that's far too rude!"
The valkyrie, who had somehow stopped crying, tried once more to scold the shameless old man, who simply snorted in displeasure.
"Annoying. No wonder nobody wants you."
"Ugh… ughhh…"
Once again crushed by Odin's words, the girl ran back to a corner and started crying all over again.
The meeting went on for quite some time, but in the end, the matter of the Khaos Brigade was set aside. As for Odin and the valkyrie, they would temporarily stay within the Maou's territory.
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