The train moved steadily along the tracks.
The scenery outside made Asia, who was seeing it all for the first time, exclaim nonstop, while beside her, Koneko patiently introduced a few of the more famous places.
Before long, the announcement came over the speakers that they were passing through Gremory territory.
Akeno asked curiously, "Rias, aren't we stopping by home first?"
"No. I'm not planning to go back just yet. I'll return after the Rating Game is over."
One look at the way Rias stood there with her arms folded, and Akeno knew she was still sulking.
But with her family pressing her so hard about the marriage, it was only natural for her to feel resentful.
Not long after that, the train arrived at the Maou City of Lucifaad with another announcement, and came to a stop at the platform.
Then a bus that had already been waiting nearby picked them up and took them to a castle in the center of the city.
Rias had originally intended to pay her brother a visit, only to run into the one person she least wanted to see.
A blond man wearing nothing on his upper body except a red suit jacket.
"Akeno, let's go."
Rias had just turned to leave when the man across from her called out loudly.
"Rias, it's been so long. Why are you trying to leave the moment you see me? We're engaged, after all."
Hearing that, Rias came to a stop, her expression darkening. "Shut up, Riser. That engagement was arranged entirely by our families. I have absolutely no feelings for you."
"Don't say that. Feelings are something that can be develop."
Riser narrowed his eyes and smiled lazily.
"Since you're already here, we can go look at the wedding venue today. The date was fixed a long time ago, so it's about time the remaining details were settled too."
"What do you mean?"
Rias frowned coldly.
"I mean the wedding between you and me, of course. I already booked the venue. The invitations just haven't been sent out yet."
Riser looked puzzled, as if what he had said were perfectly obvious.
"Do you not know that I'm going to have a Rating Game with you? If I win, our engagement will be completely void!"
Rias had assumed Riser didn't know, so she stressed the point even more sharply.
"Of course I know. But if you lose, you'll marry me immediately. Otherwise, why do you think I agreed to your condition in the first place?"
Riser explained without the slightest concern for her hostility.
"As for the Rating Game, don't worry. I'll do my best not to hurt you. As for your peerage, though, I can't make any promises."
As he said that, Riser's cold gaze swept over the others standing beside Rias.
He had long since investigated all of Rias's information.
She had over a dozen Evil Pieces, yet hadn't even used up a third of them.
Among her mere four peerage members, one was outright dead weight. Only her Queen, Akeno, had any real strength, but his own Queen was fully confident she could deal with her one-on-one.
As for the other two, there was no need for any special tactics at all. Sheer numbers would be enough to steamroll them.
And on top of that, his family was the Underworld's sole wholesale supplier of Phoenix Tears. If he got injured, he could just down a bottle. If that wasn't enough, he could down another.
Even opponents whose overall strength had surpassed his in the past had still ended up beneath his feet.
Nothing special. He just had a lot of medicine.
With all of those factors combined, Riser simply could not think of any reason he would lose.
But when his gaze landed on Rod's group, the expression on his face faltered slightly.
Ah.
When had Rias's peerage grown so large?
Still, he quickly noticed that three of them carried nothing but human auras.
And they seemed to be led by the male standing in the middle.
Riser narrowed his eyes, trying to read something from the man.
A pure human appearing in the Underworld was already rare enough, and now he was following Rias around. Could it be... this was one of her new servants, just not converted into a devil yet?
That was the only explanation Riser could come up with.
With that thought, he curled his lips into a disdainful smile and fixed Rod with a smug.
Whoever he was, Riser's Flames of the Phoenix were no joke.
But Rod glared right back at him.
"What're you looking at?"
Riser: "?"
Riser fell silent for a few seconds, clearly not expecting that reaction, but irritation quickly appeared on his face.
"And who are you? Didn't Rias teach you that when Upper-Class Devils are speaking, everyone else is supposed to keep their mouths shut?"
Then, without even sparing Rod another glance, he turned back to Rias.
"Rias, it seems you haven't even educated your own servants properly."
"Riser, don't go too far. He is-"
Rias didn't get to finish, because at some point Rod had already appeared right in front of Riser, one hand resting on his shoulder, cutting straight across the tension she'd been building.
"Kid, whether you're human... or a devil... you shouldn't get too cocky, got it?"
Rod's expression was anything but pleasant.
Truthfully, he hadn't intended to interfere in what was going on between Rias and Riser. He had fully planned to stand there and enjoy the show from the sidelines.
After all, this was basically the pre-match trash talk segment, and it absolutely deserved to be savored.
But it had to be said: devils these days were just too civilized. Their threats had no style at all, nowhere near the level of some of the pre-match exchanges Rod had seen before he transmigrated.
But if the two of them were going to start dragging him into their little exchange, then what was that supposed to mean?
Did they think he had a good temper or something?
Riser's mood was already terrible because Rias refused to give him any respect, and now, in his eyes, some mere servant had the nerve to be this disrespectful to him in person. The anger in his chest shot up instantly, and he turned an icy stare on Rod.
Whoosh
Flames ignited around his body, and blazing sparks drifted wildly through the air.
The Underworld might have reformed and now had a fairly complete legal system, so even servants were protected by law. But if a lower-class servant openly offended an upper-class devil, then the upper-class devil would naturally have the right to teach them a lesson.
And the flames of the Phoenix could melt even steel. A mere human-
"Hm?"
Why wasn't he burning?
Well, maybe it was because there were too many people around, and Riser had subconsciously held back.
With a cold snort, he reached out to grab Rod's arm, intending to snap it and teach this human a lesson.
Then he actually tried to use force.
And, to his horror, it didn't move at all.
"What the hell?"
A trace of surprise flashed through Riser's eyes.
The Phenex Family might not be known for physical strength, but as a pure-blooded Upper-Class Devil, his body still far surpassed that of any human.
Yet he couldn't even bend a human's arm?
Still, Riser didn't think too much of it. Physical strength wasn't what he excelled at anyway. His real strength was his Phoenix flames.
"No wonder you're this confident, Rias. So you found yourself a rather decent servant. But do you think that means you've already secured victory? I am a Phoenix."
The words had barely left his mouth when Rod punched him across the face.
What the hell are you rambling about? Go explain it to my fist.
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