"It's good to see you again, Beelzebub," I said casually as I landed on the grassy plain below, the ground denting under my feet from the impact.
"You as well, Beast King," Ajuka responded in kind, his same fake-pleasant smile plastered on his face.
"And, of course, it's a pleasure to meet you for the first time," My lips curved up into a slightly hungry grin, my eyes boring into the red-haired man's in front of me, "Lucifer."
Sirzechs took the new mantle of 'highest level person I've seen,' surpassing Tiamat by a large margin and Ajuka by a smaller one.
[Maou] [Sirzechs Lucifer] - Level 2250
Sirzechs having a 250 level gap over Ajuka was surprising, but when compared to their overall level being in the multiple of thousands, I guess there wasn't actually a huge gap between the two Maou.
"Beast King Valon," Sirzechs gave me an obviously fake smile, the man living up to his Maou position as he stayed professional, "I'm glad we were able to come to a compromise."
"As am I," I nodded lightly, still matching his gaze with a slightly challenging one, "I'm not in a rush to take over the Underworld, so we don't need to be at war. I'll let your race stay around for now."
Unfortunately, Sirzechs didn't take the bait, simply nodding a bit stiffly at my words.
"I look forward to working with you."
It would've been a bad look for the Maou if he'd lost his cool upon meeting me for the first time. I already had a plan of how I was going to beat Ajuka - a rather daunting task - in his 'battle of intellect,' but getting every advantage I could would still be helpful.
I glanced past the two Maou, taking in the rest of the devils who had come to mediate the release of the hostages. The closest two figures were very familiar, as one was nearly a spitting image of Sirzechs.
[Duke of Gremory] [High-Class Devil] [Zeoticus Gremory] - Level 270
[Brown-Haired Ruin Princess] [High-Class Devil] [Venelana Gremory] - Level 95
Rias's mother and father were actually pretty impressive, as Zeoticus, also known as 'Lord Gremory,' was nearly as strong as Benemue.
Though I suspected he was probably one of the stronger pillar heads, because if he wasn't, then the devils should've had no problem during the Great War. If every pillar head was as powerful as a Cadre-ranked fallen angel, of which there were only a handful, then the Grigori would've been destroyed long ago.
The man was the spitting image of Sirzechs, as he had long redhair, a pale face with a goatee, and a lengthy yet slightly muscular body.
As for the other Gremory there, Venelana Gremory, or 'Lady Gremory,' it was easy to see where Rias got her insane looks from. The woman looked almost like an older, brunette version of Rias.
Her face was just as beautiful, her skin was pale and smooth, and she shared Rias's thick and heavy breasts - though Venelana's seemed to be a bit bigger, and to hang down a bit more. Besides that, she also seemed to share Rias's thick hips and thin waist, which was visible through her tight white dress that let a lot of her cleavage show.
I almost hoped that Zeoticus would do something stupid when I denied Rias's marriage contract, because I wouldn't mind taking his beautiful wife for myself.
The woman was also pretty impressive as far as power goes, as she was nearly where Ragnar had been level-wise. Combine that with her overpowered Power of Destruction, and she was actually a force to be reckoned with.
To the side of them was another husband and wife duo, though they looked less familiar. Despite that, it was easy to tell which family they came from.
[Marquis of Phenex] [High-Class Devil] [Rugen Phenex] - Level 145
[High-Class Devil] [Layla Phenex] - Level 57
Rugen Phenex, or 'Lord Phenex,' looked like an older version of Riser Phenex, and a bit stockier. He had a handsome face, short blonde hair, and a muscular physique that looked bodybuilder-esque.
Layla Phenex, the 'Lady Phenex,' also looked like a spitting image of their child, though she looked like a different one. It was as if someone had taken Ravel, made her hair a bit longer, her breasts a bit bigger, and her proportions overall a bit more exaggerated.
They were closer to the level I expected heads of noble families to be - strong, but nothing to write home about. I'd long since passed the point that I could handle Rugen with my eyes closed - and with no weapon.
To their side was the final noble family that had come, consisting of another wife and husband duo here to see their children home safely. Compared to the other two families, they were here to see 'children' - as in, plural.
[Prince of Sitri] [High-Class Devil] [Shenren Sitri] - Level 152
[High-Class Devil] [Souna Sitri] - Level 65
I blinked as I stared at the word 'Souna,' which was the first name of Lady Sitri. It was also the 'alias' that Sona had brilliantly used as her human name, since it was so incredibly different from her actual name - note the sarcasm.
It also seemed that she had just borrowed her mother's name, which made a bit more sense than the genius woman just added a 'u' to her name and thinking no one would make the connection.
Souna's name wasn't the only thing that resembled her daughter, as Lady Sitri looked like a mix of both Serafall and Sona. Her face was far too cute for a mature Lady of a household, but her body was much more petite than Serafall's, with her smooth curves and smaller breasts resembling Sona's more.
Finally, Shenren, or 'Lord Sitri,' was also a stock difference from the other two heads. Despite his title being 'Prince of Sitri,' he was certainly the head, as 'Prince' was just their family's rank. He didn't look to have much muscle on him at all, was on the shorter side, and had a much kinder and more intelligent vibe than Zeoticus or Rugen.
Behind me, the rest of the devils and Tiamat landed much more elegantly, and a tension filled the air. Lord Gremory smiled at Rias, then looked at Sirzechs for guidance as a small stand-off started.
The Maou and family heads stood stiffly, watching me to make the first move. The devils behind me also stared at my back, waiting for me to break the tension.
"Mother!"
The tension was broken quickly by Ravel, who easily ran past me and wrapped her mother in a hug. Layla hesitantly returned it, all eyes still on me
"You can greet each other," I said dryly, watching as the heads looked hesitant about approaching their own children because I was there.
Did they think I was going to eat them or something?
…
Actually, that wasn't a bad assumption by them.
But we had an alliance now, so I wouldn't do anything of the sort. Not yet, at least.
"Come on, So-tan! They probably missed you!" Serafall started shoving a blushing Sona toward her parents, breaking the silence again.
"You have my thanks for returning my daughter unharmed, Beast King," Zeoticus gained the balls to speak first out of the heads, stepping forward as he nodded at me, then smiled kindly at Rias, "I'm glad you're safe, Rias."
"Yes, you have my thanks as well, Beast King," Rugen spoke next, nodding thankfully as he glanced down at Ravel, placing a hand on her head, "We were terribly worried."
"Yes! I'm glad you're alright, dear!" Layla nodded in agreement, finally hugging her daughter tightly, "I was so scared when I heard that big, scary beast captured you! I thought he'd do terrible things to you!"
She blinked abruptly, looking over Ravel's head at me, "Oh! No offense, of course, big scary Beast King!"
I just looked at her dryly, getting the feeling that the woman was a bit of an airhead.
"S-Stop, Mother! Don't embarrass me in front of him!" Ravel blushed, glaring up half-heartedly at Layla as she puffed out her cheeks, "He didn't do anything! The worst part was being around the Gremory so much…"
"I agree," Rias giggled at Ravel's words.
"Now, don't be so rude to your future sister-in-law, dear," Layla scolded Ravel lightly, "They'll be getting married next month, so you'll be seeing a lot of her soon!"
Next month? It seemed my actions were changing the timeline in other ways already.
Not that it mattered.
"Seriously?" Rias asked dryly, pulling away from her hug with Venelana as she narrowed her eyes at her father.
"W-Well, after this incident, we decided it would be best to unite our families as soon as possible," Zeoticus stiffened at her gaze, looking clearly uncomfortable at the change in conversation. "But this is not the time to discuss this, Rias. We will speak more in private…"
"Whatever. It's annoying that you continue to ignore what I want, but we don't have to discuss anything anyway," Rias just shrugged dismissively, not feeling the need to explode with anger at her Father going against their 'save the marriage for after she left the human world' agreement, "I won't be marrying Riser."
"You will be," Zeoticus just said stiffly, then nodded apologetically at me. "I apologize for speaking about this in front of you, Beast King. I hope you don't take any disrespect."
"I feel very disrespected, actually," I shook my head as I grinned. In an instant, the thick tension filled the area again, and everyone, aside from Ajuka and Tiamat, tensed.
"I-I apologize, I'll ensure we don't speak of such matters around you," Zeoticus said placatingly, smiling a bit nervously as he tried ot diffuse the situation.
"It has nothing to do with that," I just shook my head, confusing the man slightly. "It's how all of you are talking. 'Returning' your daughter? Speaking of marrying her off? I think there's a misunderstanding."
[King's Aura] activated again, and a bead of sweat dripped down Zeoticus' brow as I stared harshly into his eyes, "Though, it's not your fault. It's Beelzebub's fault for not ensuring you understood. I'll rectify that."
"W-What are you talking about?" Zeoticus asked shakily, the tension in the air becoming so thick it'd take a machete to cut through it.
"I'm not returning anyone," I said bluntly, "I'm a King. I thought that was pretty obvious by my title, but perhaps I overestimated you devil's intelligence. I'm a King, and they are now my subjects."
"But the alliance-" Shenren started, but I cut him off as my imposing gaze turned to him.
"The alliance's condition was that I would allow them to leave my kingdom," I explained easily, "When a subject leaves a kingdom, do they stop being a subject?"
"They don't," I answered the rhetorical question before he could respond, and my gaze turned back to Zeoticus, "Rias is mine, and I've decided that she won't be marrying the Phenex boy. What you want means nothing."
"Y-You can't just-" Rugen started slightly angrily, but controlled himself as he glanced at Sirzechs for help.
"This is a matter between devil families, Beast King," Sirzechs intervened, looking at me with hard eyes, "While we're in an alliance, I'll ask that you don't interfere in our matters, and we won't interfere in yours."
"I couldn't agree more," I nodded, my smile twitching up into an almost predatory grin, "So, as Rias is mine, you'll stay out of my matters and forget about whatever little contract you made for her, alright?"
In an almost impossible feat, the tension in the air grew even thicker.
"That's not happening," Sirzechs said stiffly, his eyes narrowing at me.
"Then it seems I need to lay down a line," I hummed, still grinning widely at him, "If you try to do anything to my Rias, I'll kill you all."
I ignored the way Rias's face flushed dark red at my words.
That was obviously crossing the line of Sirzechs' patience, as a dark red aura suddenly flared up around him as he took a threatening step toward me.
"This is unnecessary," Ajuka said, his smile still pleasant as he took a step between me and Sirzechs, "I'm sure we can discuss this civilly."
"I'm not very civil," I just smirked as Sirzechs stared me down, his face twisted as he couldn't keep completely calm.
"B-Brother, please stop!" Rias finally spoke up, taking a step forward and placing a hand on Sirzechs' shoulder, "You guys can't make me marry Riser, and… you won't want to anyway."
"What are you saying, Rias?" Venelana asked, her eyes narrowing slightly at Rias' ominous words.
"I'm not a virgin anymore," Rias said bluntly, and both her family and the Phenex's eyes went wide.
"R-Rias! You didn't…" Zeoticus started, his eyes becoming a bit enraged as he narrowed them at Rias, "You detest this marriage so much that you'd humiliate both yourself and our family like this?! What lowly bastard did you even-"
"Me," I interrupted him easily, enjoying the way Zeoticus' mouth snapped shut before he could finish his insult.
"You… you dare…" Sirzechs was surrounded by a dangerous red aura again as his eyes narrowed at me, but Rias stopped him before a fight could break out.
"I-I wanted him to!" Rias clarified before Sirzechs could act on his wrong idea, "V-Valon is the one who I'll be marrying! I'm even living here from now on!"
I blinked, glancing over at her words.
She will?
"You will?" Venelana shared my question.
"We will?" Even Akeno was confused.
"...We will?" Koneko's cute voice asked.
"I will!" Rias nodded, a cutely determined look on her face as everyone looked at her blankly.
"Then… why did I have the teleportation circle area set up?" I asked dryly.
If she just wasn't going to leave, then why did Tiamat take the time to set up a Gremory-crest hole in the barrier?
"Huh? So I can go to the human world," Rias said as if it were obvious.
Oh, so the 'I can visit every day' wasn't about visiting me, but leaving my kingdom to visit the human world?
"I-I see…" Zeoticus genuinely looked at a loss for words, and an awkward silence fell as no one seemed to know what to do. Finally, it was surprisingly Sona who broke it.
"W-We should head back to the Estate," She said, grabbing Tsubaki as she summoned a circle under them. Her parents nodded, and they quickly disappeared as I heard Sona mutter about how 'happy I am to finally have my own bed again.'
"W-We will take our leave as well," The Phenex's were next, with Rugen looking at Zeoticus with a helpless glance, "We can meet again to discuss this matter, Lord Gremory."
"I-I will remember your gift, Your Highness," Yubelluna nodded at me as she joined the Phenex's.
"I-I'll come back soon, Y-Your Highness!" Ravel shouted as they were vanishing into a teleportation circle of their own, "J-Just to bring you a reward for treating us well, of course!"
"Of course," Zeoticus nodded, probably to Lord Phenex's statement instead of Ravels, glancing over at Rias doubtfully, "Rias, you're really… staying here?"
"I am, Father," Rias nodded determinedly, stepping back and standing by my side, "Oh! I'll come visit for dinner tonight, though! It's been a while since I've seen you both!"
"R-Right, I hope we can speak again soon as well, Beast King," Zeoticus nodded, still looking a bit uncertain, but formed a circle under himself as he and Venelana vanished into it.
Now, I was left with just the two Maou, with one looking much happier than the other. Ajuka was actually grinning lightly, ditching his usual fake smile as he seemed impressed by the turn of events.
It seemed he didn't expect me to turn Rias to my side so quickly, which was obviously an obstacle for him. The devil's strongest soldier was Rias' own brother, and her brother who would've been going crazy hugging her if he wasn't trying to keep up his image in front of me. Having her on my side put Sirzechs in an awkward spot.
"...I'll see you at dinner then, Rias," Sirzechs nodded stiffly, looking at me with a mixture of anger and suspicion as he just raised his hand. A circle appeared under him, and then it was just Ajuka.
I had the feeling he didn't like me.
"Impressive," The supergenius said once Sirzechs was gone, his grin twitching up a bit more.
"I'm not sure what you mean," I just hummed, though I knew he was obviously referring to what Rias had done.
"Of course," Ajuka just nodded, still grinning, "I'll look forward to our next meeting."
A magic circle appeared under him as well, and the whole envoy was gone. Now, it was just me, Rias and her peerage, Latia, and Tiamat left in the grassy plains around my kingdom - as Kuroka had wisely kept away from the Maou considering she was still a criminal.
"Well, I didn't think you guys would still be here," I said bluntly, and Rias frowned at me.
"Do you not want me here?" She pouted, and I just grinned.
"Of course I do," I nodded, casually wrapping my arm around her waist as I started walking back to the wall behind us.
"So forward, fufu," Akeno giggled behind us, but I ignored her as I turned to Tiamat while we walked.
"I need you to set up a meeting for me," I said bluntly, and Tiamat raised an eyebrow at my words.
"Me? Why would I do that?" She answered just as bluntly, "I'm a dragon, not an assistant!"
"That's exactly why you need to do it," I explained, grinning lightly again, "It'll be with a tricky old man, and I know you won't die or get tricked in the process. I can't send anyone else."
I'd usually ask Raya to do something like this, but I wasn't going to risk sending her to speak with the man I had in mind.
"A tricky old man?" Rias just looked up at me curiously, but I ignored her as Tiamat nodded with a sigh.
"Who do I need to contact?" She asked dryly, and my lips just twitched up into a large smirk.
"I want a meeting with…"
"Zekram Bael."
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AN: Thank you for reading! The next chapter will be out tomorrow!
You can also read the next 7 chapters right now on Patreon.com/Koyon !