"That won't be necessary. This is already fine as it is."
As long as the space inside was bigger, Rod had no complaints about the rest.
And besides, there was no way Rias would have it renovated into a complete mess.
That said, Rod had still underestimated just how luxurious the renovation would be. The old rooms were left untouched, while the new ones had been done up like the top suites in a five-star hotel, with everything pushed as far as possible toward comfort and extravagance.
Since Rias had been this thoughtful, Rod figured it was only fair to give her training another push.
So, over the next few days,
Rod began drilling Rias and Gasper hard.
There wasn't much he could directly teach the former, but his method worked surprisingly well. In just two weeks, Rias's magic power density had already risen by several degrees compared to when Kokabiel first appeared.
And, in order to live up to his title as a gold-medal instructor,
Rod also began teaching Rias what it meant to be a qualified mage.
Although Rias knew Rod was not a mage himself, he spoke with such confidence that she still took out a little notebook and listened carefully.
Rod, meanwhile, said seriously, "Becoming a proper mage is simple. Put all your stat points into Strength. As for skills, your Power of Destruction is already enough, though it'd be best if you also picked up a Light spell. Other than that, max out Single-Handed Sword, Two-Handed Sword, Berserk, Whirlwind Slash, and the like."
Rias: "???"
Are you sure that's a mage?
Rod was completely certain.
"I once saw a mage named Gandalf. The only spell he knew was Light, and everything else he learned was close combat. He beat his enemies until they were howling."
"?"
That only made Rias more confused.
Could there really be mages in this world who fought like that?
Her worldview, built over more than ten years, was under assault. She felt a mage really shouldn't work that way.
"This is called a melee mage. Think about it. Your name, Rias Gremory, is already famous. The moment you give your name, everyone will know you're Lucifer's younger sister and the inheritor of the Power of Destruction, so naturally they'll be on guard and keep trying to close the distance to fight you in melee. But once they get close and think victory is already in the bag, you suddenly pull out a sword. Wouldn't that scare the hell out of them?"
"Well... when you put it that way..."
Rias looked troubled. She instinctively didn't want to believe him, but at the same time, Rod was making a lot of sense.
Who said a mage couldn't fight in melee?
"It'd be even better if you could enchant the weapon with the Power of Destruction. If you hit someone with that, it'd practically be a critical hit every swing."
Rod was about to say more, but Lavinia suddenly squeezed him aside.
"Rias, if you have any questions about magic, I can answer them. As for what Rod says... just listen to it. Please don't take it to heart."
"O-Okay."
With Lavinia stepping in, Rias quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Still, Rod's words had planted a seed in her heart.
She felt that once she had some free time later, maybe she really could give it a try.
After that, Lavinia officially began teaching Rias the theory behind magic.
Although having a human mage teach a devil magic really did turn the world upside down, there was no denying that in terms of understanding and mastery of magic, not even many Ultimate-Class Devils could compare to her.
Rias wasn't going to learn magic outside the Gremory clan's system, but just from hearing Lavinia's explanations, spells that had once seemed incomprehensible now became clear the moment they were pointed out.
Even for Rod, with the system progress bar helping him, learning the magic from the spellbooks Lavinia had collected still took him quite a while. Yet Rias could grasp the essence of it almost instantly.
She didn't even need to copy the complex procedures written in the books. As long as she understood the core principle, the magic would naturally manifest in her hands.
Even Lavinia couldn't help but wonder at that talent.
Among most devils, Rias was already one of the most gifted.
Is that you, Hatake Rias Gremory?
Seeing Rias start to go off in a completely different direction, Rod lost interest in watching her and instead focused on driving a jeep around to give Gasper specialized training.
Although Akeno and Koneko thought this style of training was completely absurd, the truth was that Gasper really had grown much bolder than before.
It was just that every now and then, this kind of training felt a little too... brutal.
Across Gasper's training field rang Rod's delighted laughter and the shut-in's constant screams.
Not long after that, the date for Rias's Rating Game against Riser was officially set.
It would still be on the weekend, but the location would no longer be Kuoh Academy. Instead, it would take place at the dedicated Rating Game grounds in the Underworld capital, Lilith.
And, by coincidence, that same day would also be the third day after Katerea's official founding ceremony.
Katerea had also received an invitation to attend a meeting in Lilith.
It was said that even the Norse chief god Odin would be there in person.
That wasn't any sort of secret.
News of the Three Factions signing a peace treaty had already spread, though many factions were still taking a wait-and-see approach for the moment.
As for Norse mythology, they were one of the larger mythological factions that had actively taken the initiative to contact the Three Factions.
And as for why Rias's Rating Game had been scheduled for that very day, it was likely because they had seen the confidence of the little sister and deliberately chosen that date.
After all, if Rias won, then her strength would speak for itself and silence all criticism.
It was a very clever decision.
Because in the original work, while the classic trope of the protagonist storming the wedding to crash it was certainly dramatic, it was also a bit childish.
Although snatching the bride in public did break off Rias's engagement, it also gave people plenty to gossip about.
Compared to that, it would have been far better to stand firmly on Rias's side from the beginning and simply reject the marriage proposal from the Phenex Family outright.
But now, with the story having diverged so far, this Rating Game had become a natural and proper solution.
If she won, not only would no one have grounds to criticize her, it would also raise Rias's reputation and gradually let her step out from under the label of merely being "Lucifer's younger sister."
...
A few days later,
Katerea sent word through the token that the founding ceremony had been successfully held.
Although the Old Maou faction had been exiled for many years, they had also spent all those years secretly stockpiling resources for a counteroffensive. And on top of that, Katerea had inherited Creuserey's and Shalba's territories and resources as well, so the founding ceremony had actually turned out to be fairly grand and respectable.
Representatives from the current devil government, as well as from the fallen angels and Heaven, all attended in turn.
The only thing that left the devils who came with complicated feelings was the title Katerea declared for herself in the end.
Katerea referred to herself as the "True Leviathan Queen."
There were more than enough things to complain about, but they had no grounds to demand that she change it.
After all, her name really was Leviathan.
And she really was the legitimate one.
In short, Katerea's wish had come true smoothly, and Rod also received the system notification that his quest had been completed.
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