Chapter 4. Pinky Promise.
"So... basically you're grounded for life now," Rias asked, about a week after the events caused by her brother.
As far as she knew, the five elven girls were, in fact, in a very complicated mental state. Natsume, in particular, suffered from violent nightmares at night, which forced Naruto to move her to his own room to take care of her. This had generated a quite intense emotional dependence in just a few days, and Naruto didn't know how to handle the situation. She wasn't much better, as she faced the same problem with Koneko, Kiba, and actually all four members of her peerage had significant emotional problems, so she also didn't know how to help her brother's new servant.
"No," Naruto said clearly.
He was going to have to clean the stables without using magic for the rest of the year. Considering it was only February, that would be a real drag.
But beyond that punishment, what really worried him was that his title as the official heir of the Gremory House was on hold. It was what would be considered a "performance improvement plan" in the corporate world. He would have to prove that he wouldn't act on impulse again, no matter how just or noble the cause.
Basically, right now he was just a son of the main branch, barely a little better positioned than a replacement child, like Riser was for the Phenex clan or his cousin Sairaorg for the Bael. If he didn't prove his worth, his position would go to Rias, which—no offense to his sister—would be quite problematic due to several factors, including that her future husband would take control of the businesses and the clan members.
"Honestly, you deserve it, you know? From what you told me, you had the Devil on your side, it was pure luck you came back in one piece," Rias said, fully aware of the irony of her words.
But, to be frank, her brother had practically gambled his life trying to avoid a war. His success was only partial, as the Underworld was now in a small civil war: they were actively hunting down slave buyers, rescuing the elves who could be saved, and euthanizing the poor souls who were too damaged to be cured. The worst of all was that Alfheim had found out what was happening. If what Sona had told her was true, Serafall was working overtime to fix the mess, even negotiating the surrender of the masterminds of the slave trafficking ring. In short, for noble causes, Naruto had started one of the biggest diplomatic disasters since the nekoshou massacre.
"They can't punish me for life. Legally, they are only responsible for me until I reach adulthood. After that, my obedience is only due to orders as a clan member... and they could disinherit me, but that wouldn't be a life sentence, but something worse," Naruto said with surprising calm for someone who had just mentioned the possible loss of his family name and the risk of being left as a "nameless."
"You look too relaxed," Rias commented, more worried than ever, fearing her brother had gone insane due to lack of sleep since Natsume and the others arrived at the Gremory mansion.
"I prefer not to think about it, you know?... Father is really scary when he gets angry," Naruto said, shuddering as he remembered how his parents reprimanded him for his recklessness.
Naruto had never seen his father angry; he was usually a jovial and calm man. However, as soon as he heard about Naruto's little excursion to save the slaves, he became so enraged that he raised his voice. The shouts were so intense that even Sirzechs flinched, and Naruto had to endure them. His mother, on the other hand, didn't yell at him, but the disappointment in her eyes... Lucifer! That look was so incredibly painful that Naruto was about to confess to crimes he hadn't committed, just so she would stop looking at him that way.
"From what I've heard, Grandma is trying to revoke your parole," Rias said, without the slightest tone of consolation. As far as she knew, her grandmother argued that, although what her brother had done was completely stupid and he was alive by a miracle, his actions, however reckless, helped mitigate the damage. This was because, if nothing had been done, the problem would have been discovered under much worse circumstances, or it would have taken several months or years to discover it.
Naruto, shrugging, shifted uncomfortably on the couch in his sister's room. He had come there because, as part of his punishment, he had been forbidden to be in the library for more than an hour a day. Anyway, chatting with his sister wasn't the worst way to spend time... Besides, apparently, it was the only place where his new shadows left him alone; the elves valued "quality time" between siblings. However, the look the blonde girl gave him suggested she was thinking of another kind of fraternal relationship.
After that, Rias simply moved closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. At that moment, they couldn't invite their friends to hang out, so they were practically alone until the state of emergency was lifted. They had little or nothing to do but chat and watch some series.
However, they didn't want to continue the series they were watching without Sona, their black-haired friend, since they had started it with her. Nor did they want to start a new one, although for different reasons: Naruto wasn't interested, and Rias was one of those who doesn't start a new series without having finished the first one.
"So... what exactly do you plan to do with them?" Rias asked after a long silence, considering that, as far as she knew, the elves were completely loyal to her brother, so it made sense for all five to be his pieces in his Evil Piece set.
"I have to evaluate their abilities, but... from what I see, Alpha is the one with the greatest chance of being a good Queen," Naruto replied, shrugging. To tell the truth, at that moment he was more focused on balancing his intense studies with his punishment, so he really didn't have the head to deal with his new servants.
"Alpha?" Rias asked, raising a delicate eyebrow in confusion. It was definitely an unusual name.
"It's a long story... and it's not something I really want to tell," Naruto replied calmly. Although Rias was his sister, the story behind the name wasn't bad in itself, but he had no idea how to explain to her that he had named her "Alpha" because she was, in essence, a "nameless."
Silence returned to the room, and soon Rias let out a deep sigh.
"You're jealous, but you don't know how to say it, do you?" Naruto asked. He had recognized that sigh in his sister, the same one she had given when Sona received a puppy for her last birthday and she was only given a couple of books.
"You can't blame me... Akeno and Koneko are great, yes, but... an elf would be very useful to deal with that problem," Rias said with a deep sigh. It wasn't that she thought Naruto didn't deserve the five; damn, considering what he did to earn their loyalty, it would be stupid to say he didn't deserve them. However, she couldn't help but feel that the strength of an elf would be wonderful for facing Riser when the time came.
Naruto winced at that memory... He had forgotten that his sister was engaged to the third son of the Phenex House, or as he called him, the spare son of the Phenex clan. Although he understood that the union was very beneficial for both clans, there was a big "but": Riser was already eighteen years old and they were barely turning nine. Furthermore, Riser was, as a rule, a complete depraved jerk.
After considering it for a couple of minutes and analyzing all the pros and cons of the situation, he finally decided: the idea of marrying into Riser's family was much worse than the possibility of losing his title as heir to the Gremory clan. He was completely sure that his sister would be unhappy in that marriage, and besides, being Riser's brother-in-law was a horrible thing he wouldn't wish on anyone.
"Well... if you want... if you still can't get rid of him, I could, you know, lend you a hand when the time comes."
Of course, he hadn't explicitly said he would fight for her if necessary, but in his opinion, it was more than obvious that he had that intention.
Rias simply offered him a small smile and held out her right pinky finger, a gesture he immediately accepted. Of course, neither of them knew that this promise would be fulfilled in a few years.
End of chapter.