"Uooooooo!!!~"
Witnessing the rare sight of a three-person wedding, waves of excitement crashed through the venue.
From the seats of the Four Maou, Sirzechs and Ajuka exchanged a look and applauded in unison.
In the VIP stands, the Reform Devils and the Old Devils—who had been so sharply divided—also rose together to clap.
Even in the hospital ward, Ruval laughed heartily as he patted his younger brother's back.
Of course, where some rejoice, others sulk.
—Human World, Kuoh Town.
At the Fallen Angels' hideout.
Amano Yuuma stared at the livestream, doubting life itself.
Tch!
Akuto got married? She'd just gone on a cheerful date with him yesterday—and today he was married?
"Well, great. No need to investigate what's so special about Akuto-kun anymore."
"The Boosted Gear… the legendary Longinus. So that's why the Fallen upper brass had their eyes on him…"
Lounging on the sofa in an utterly lazy sprawl, Raynare gazed at the ceiling, lost in thought.
Beside her, the stern class-rep type with short hair—Kalawarner—pushed up her glasses.
"Raynare, it's just the guy you like getting married. Do you really have to be that devastated?"
"Hah?"
Raynare shot upright. "Who said I like him?"
"You don't? Then who came to me last night asking, 'If I hypothetically got pregnant, would the baby like my twin sister?' Wasn't that Amano Yuuma—your human disguise?" Kalawarner deadpanned.
Yuuma's face flushed, then she stiffened her neck.
"Right! Exactly! It was Amano Yuuma asking—not me!"
Kalawarner: Please go bother Lu Xun with those semantics, not me.
"Anyway… we can't stay in Kuoh any longer."
Saying so, Raynare staggered up to pack. You go back to Gao Laozhuang, I'll return to Liusha River—each to their own den.
"Why? I thought you were into your 'Akuto-kun'?" The blonde twin-tails loli Mittelt asked around a lollipop.
"First, with the power he's shown, it's way too dangerous to linger around him.
Second, he's marrying someone else! I may have a tiny crush, but I'm not shameless enough to cling to a married man."
"…He's married, so what? With his pure Leviathan status, it'd be strange if he wasn't." Mittelt blinked.
Raynare fell silent.
Damn. That actually makes sense.
With Akuto being a pure Leviathan, the Underworld was always going to arrange engagements. How did she forget that?
Had she really sunk too deep into their little "dating game"?
Sensing her wavering, Mittelt flashed a sly smile.
"Ne, Raynare—if you told Akuto-kun your true identity, would he accept you?"
"Tell him… my true self?"
What for? Was she supposed to hope he'd forgive and take her in?
Sorry—she didn't need that kind of mercy.
"You two aren't planning to betray the Fallen and the Khaos Brigade, are you?" Raynare eyed her companions. Their stance felt… off.
"Raynare, that's not accurate," Kalawarner corrected mildly. "We already joined Khaos Brigade to use their resources for our own ends. We've, uh, kind of already betrayed the Fallen."
"No! We haven't betrayed the Fallen! We're just using Khaos Brigade to achieve our goals!" Raynare insisted, prideful as ever in her image of rebellious nobility against the gods.
"Then you're missing the point." Mittelt crunched the candy clean in two.
"To the Fallen, we were just gathering intel in Kuoh, and sure—pulling out is fine.
But to Khaos Brigade, they contacted us specifically to use us as bait—to lure Akuto-kun to a quiet place and avoid the current Maou's traps."
"If we cut ties with Akuto now, we lose our only real value to them. And when that happens…"
Mittelt drew a pale finger across her throat. The meaning was obvious.
"Beep-beep-beep-beep!!"
As if on cue, the communicator trilled.
One look at the caller, and Raynare's eyes went cold.
Annoyed as she was, what of it? She was a mere wage slave in a bigger game.
Ten seconds later, she set the device down, expression taut.
"A mission. Khaos Brigade demands we lure Akuto to the next city within one month."
Which proved Mittelt's point perfectly—
To them, the trio's sole value was as bait.
"A mission, huh~" Mittelt licked her lips. "I'm guessing the Old Maou Faction watched Akuto's fight today and got spooked. At this rate, give it a little time and even if you do lure him over, they won't have the power to kill or capture him."
"Raynare—your choice?"
Raynare's lips parted; her eyes clouded with a confusion she'd never felt before.
Time to wake from the dream.
—Meanwhile, with Akuto.
Because his Underworld castle was still under construction, after the betrothal ceremony he temporarily went to the Gremory estate as their honored guest.
At dinner, a beautiful lady with long flaxen hair—her features strongly resembling Rias—lifted her glass with a smile.
"So you're Akuto-kun? From now on, please take good care of Rias."
"Yes, Venelana-sama. I'll make sure Rias is happy." Akuto respectfully returned the toast.
"'Make her happy,' hmm…"
Hearing that, Rias recalled the recent nights; her cheeks slowly flushed.
Akuto was a lecher—but, truth be told, Rias's own appetite was hardly lesser. Even after battles, she wouldn't let him slip away so easily; she insisted he… ahem.
Venelana caught her daughter's reaction and smiled playfully.
"By the way, Akuto-kun, as Rias's mother, I want you to promise me one thing."
"What is it? I'll do my utmost."
"I want you and Rias to produce an heir as soon as possible."
"Haah?! Mother, what are you saying!"
Rias's face turned the color of steam itself.
"I'm talking about your life's priority, dear. If you don't give birth, am I supposed to remain head of the house forever?"
Her gaze chilled as she turned to Rias.
"Rias, I agreed to remain head for your sake. But if you don't have a child within a hundred years, what then—shall I serve another hundred years?"
At that admonishment, Rias's aura deflated.
No matter how you cut it, "losing virginity before engagement" was on her, so she had zero footing against Venelana right now.
"Alright, Mother—please don't scold Rias anymore." Sirzechs stepped in gently. He was fond of his sister; despite everything, he hadn't blamed her.
"Akuto-kun, do you know why Mother wants Rias to produce an heir quickly?"
"Why?" Akuto was genuinely curious.
"Because… me," Sirzechs answered softly.
"Because… you?"
"Ah—you mean because you've inherited the Maou seat, so you can't inherit Gremory headship?"
"No." Sirzechs shook his head.
"Mother pins hope on Rias because, after my bloodline mutation, I lost the ability to bear children."
Sirzechs didn't reveal the deeper personal truth; the explanation of "I can't conceive" sufficed.
Akuto fell silent for a long moment, unsure how to respond.
Sirzechs smiled wryly and continued:
"Thousands of years ago, the Mother of Devils—Lilith—intertwined with the world, spawning myriad rules and giving birth to Devilkind. Thus every pure-blood line has its own bloodline trait."
"The Gremory are… unique. Our ancestor inherited a portion of Lilith's self-conception ability."
"Mother Lilith's self-conception…" Akuto glanced at Rias.
In recent days—while intimately "studying" her—he had indeed sensed subtle differences compared to other beauties.
He'd thought all pure-blood Devils were like that—but clearly it was a Gremory lineage trait.
Under Akuto's gaze, Sirzechs went on.
"What the Gremory inherited is incomplete, with several unavoidable drawbacks:
"First, we cannot reproduce by normal means; we can only produce offspring via self-conception.
"Second, a Gremory can only self-conceive once in a lifetime. That's why Mother insisted Rias's first child inherit the headship.
"Third, we bear only female offspring. In my special case, I was born, yes—but I lost the ability to reproduce."
"The engagement between Rias and Riser was the family's attempt after observing both my condition and Rias's—
If twins could be conceived, perhaps our bloodline had iterated enough to allow reproduction with other pure-blood houses."
"To test that, the ever-insular Gremory chose to ally—and a Phoenix match was the most feasible."
"So that's how it is…" Akuto exhaled, equal parts impressed and rueful.
At last, he understood why Grayfia had reacted so strangely when she'd watched him and Rias do it that day.
So, it turned out… Grayfia is still a… maiden?
(End of Chapter)
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