Chapter 35: Big Sis Grayfia is Still Watching! (Patreon)

Although it was on the student street, considering that kids nowadays were long past the era where just holding hands would make someone blush for half a day, coupled with Japan's worsening aging population and declining birthrate, opening a love hotel near a school wasn't particularly strange.

In fact, precisely because it was on the student street, the room prices were considerably cheaper than places like tourist spots, yet the rooms were fully equipped with all necessary amenities.

A wide, soft, and springy mattress; warm, soft, suggestive lighting that sparked the imagination; and, placed conspicuously in a bright, lit closet near the entrance, as if afraid you wouldn't see them, the little umbrellas.

Yes, it seemed safe to say something was about to happen.

Although Rias hadn't yet proactively explained her reasons, given Hanakain Fubuki's intellect and her unusual behavior leading up to this, he could guess the truth with about 80-90% accuracy even without her saying a word.

Thus, the scene shifts to inside the hotel, where the two have rented a room with a king-sized bed.

Under the bedside lamp, the red-haired girl sat on the edge of the bed, her face slightly flushed. Her legs, from the knees down to her toes, dangled in mid-air, swinging back and forth gently, occasionally brushing against the floor with a soft sound.

"Um… Fubuki, do you want to take a shower first… or something?"

Perhaps influenced by the room's lighting and atmosphere, Rias hunched her shoulders, lowered her head, burying it low, her voice barely audible, like the buzzing of a mosquito.

It was hard to imagine this was the same person who had boldly pulled Hanakain Fubuki away from the school gate crowd earlier.

"No need. I didn't sweat much today."

The boy's voice came from the other side of the bed, near the coffee table by the window.

As he spoke, Hanakain Fubuki had just placed the electric kettle, filled with water from the bathroom, onto its base and switched it on. This type of kettle automatically shuts off after boiling, requiring no one to watch over it. Based on past experience, if you put the water on before starting, it would usually be ready to drink by the time you finished.

Confirming the kettle was heating up, Hanakain Fubuki walked around the foot of the bed to the other side and sat down next to Rias.

"So, the favor you wanted my help with, Rias, is…"

"Mhm."

An extremely soft sound of affirmation cut off the boy's final words. Rias's cheeks flushed deeper as she lifted a hand, tucking a strand of hair hanging by her forehead behind her ear with her little finger.

Beneath her skirt, her legs shifted slightly, rubbing against each other. She turned slightly sideways, bumping the boy beside her with her shoulder, her tone somewhat reproachful.

"Don't just say it out loud like that… I-I'm really embarrassed too, you know. Idiot."

But immediately after, Rias took a deep breath, as if having made some kind of resolution.

"But since it's come to this, let's just get started."

With that, she rose from the edge of the bed, turned 180 degrees to face Hanakain Fubuki, placed her hands on his shoulders, leaned forward slightly, and bent her right leg, pressing her knee onto the bed surface.

However, her movement suddenly stopped.

Hanakain Fubuki had extended his hands; one wrapped around the girl's waist, while the other hooked under the bend of her left knee.

The sudden physical contact made Rias tremble lightly.

"W-Wait… Fubuki, what are you doing…"

"Hm?"

Hanakain Fubuki paused his actions, looking up in confusion.

"Helping you up onto my lap, of course, Rias. How else would you sit here? Is there a problem? Ooh~ Could it be that this is your first time, Rias…?"

"Of course it is!"

The red-haired girl's face turned completely crimson.

Although she was a pure-blooded devil with a virtually infinite lifespan, having spent so many years in the human world, her outlook on life had gradually started leaning towards human norms. An eighteen-year-old girl about to graduate high school next spring still being a virgin… not even having been in a relationship… in modern Japanese society, that was mortifyingly embarrassing!

"Ah, no, what I meant was your first time understanding these things."

Hanakain Fubuki deliberately rephrased it more tactfully.

But it still provoked a strong reaction from the red-haired girl.

"I-Idiot! Of course I haven't done that either!"

Although the general principles of baby-making, including what goes where, were covered in school biology class, the detailed procedures, various techniques, and guidance were definitely not part of the school curriculum.

And as for learning on her own…

That was even more impossible!

As the successor head of the Gremory family, if word got out that she was looking at that kind of stuff every day, her life as a devil noble would be instantly over.

Now that this rare gap in her knowledge had suddenly been exposed, Rias could only clear her throat lightly to forcibly mask her inner embarrassment.

"A-Anyway, let's take it slow. There should still be plenty of time, right?"

Plenty of time?

Hanakain Fubuki glanced up at the wall clock in the hotel room and couldn't help but shake his head inwardly.

It was already 3 PM when they left school. Having been at the hotel for a while, it was now nearing 3:30 PM. If they needed to finish within an hour and a half, then time was anything but plentiful.

In that case, we'd better get started as soon as possible…

Thinking this, Hanakain Fubuki kept one arm around the girl's waist, guiding Rias, whose cheeks were now scorching hot, to slowly settle into his lap.

"Here we go then."

"Mmm…"

Hearing the boy's voice, Rias shyly bit her lip and gave a slight nod.

However, just as their lips were about to touch, a red light suddenly flashed in an empty space within the room. It rapidly constructed itself, as if alive, into a familiar teleportation magic circle, bearing the Gremory family crest at its center.

"Hm?"

Hanakain Fubuki was the first to pause his actions.

Simultaneously, Rias also sensed the magical energy fluctuations behind her. Turning her head to look, she couldn't help but freeze, an unavoidable flicker of unease flashing through her turquoise eyes.

And so, under their gaze, a familiar figure slowly emerged from the magic circle.

When the light of the teleportation circle faded and the silver-haired maid opened her eyes, the sight that greeted her was precisely the image of the two on the bed, locked in an embrace.

"Grayfia-nee-san, why are you…" Rias murmured softly.

"You could call it coincidence, or you could call it intentional," Grayfia stated coolly. "When I came last Friday, I already noticed your emotional state was very off when the topic of the 'engagement' was mentioned, Lady Rias. Although I didn't leave any familiars for surveillance at the time, I did take extra note. I specifically chose to come by this evening to check."

Came to check, and indeed found something amiss.

The silver-haired maid sighed with a hint of resignation.

"Besides, Lady Rias, I already told you. If you truly do not wish to accept the engagement from the Phenex family, you can request Lord Lucifer's intervention. No matter how much he has become the Devil King, he is still your older brother. There's no need to resort to… this method."

Engagement? Unwilling to accept?

So it really is this kind of cliché plot.

Hanakain Fubuki raised an eyebrow knowingly. He had vaguely guessed this much when Rias pulled him into the hotel, but he hadn't expected to be so accurate, without a single detail wrong.

"That's not it, Grayfia-nee-san!"

Hearing the words "this method," the girl, who had been flustered at being caught, somehow suddenly mustered the courage to refute loudly.

But then her voice immediately dropped again.

"I just… I just…"

"Just genuinely love him?" Grayfia's gaze passed over the girl's shoulder, landing on Hanakain Fubuki. "Hanakain Fubuki… correct?"

"!"

As if triggered by a keyword, Rias abruptly lifted her head.

"Grayfia-nee-san, you…!"

She knew very well that Grayfia and Hanakain Fubuki didn't know each other; this was, in fact, their very first meeting. Yet, the former could accurately state the boy's name.

There was only one possible answer.

"My deepest apologies. I looked through your diary, Lady Rias."

Even though her words conveyed apology, her tone held not a hint of remorse. Instead, she sounded incredibly frank, like a strict older sister calmly telling her younger sister who failed an exam, "I found your report card in your school bag."

Then, the silver-haired maid turned back to the boy on the bed and gave a polite bow.

"Hanakain Fubuki, please release Lady Rias immediately. This is no longer a matter humans can interfere in. If you do not wish to bring utter ruin upon yourself and your family."

"Oh?" Hanakain Fubuki's tone lifted slightly.

However, he didn't argue with Grayfia. Instead, he looked directly at the red-haired girl in his arms, who had lowered her head and was lightly biting her bottom lip.

"So, to put it simply, you want me to crash your wedding, Rias, right?"

"...Mhm."

Rias nodded, her arms instinctively tightening slightly around the boy's neck. Her smile held a touch of sorrow.

"But it seems like it might be a little too late now…"

"Who says?"

Hanakain Fubuki's single sentence instantly shattered the parting atmosphere that had just been established.

Then, before the red-haired girl in his arms could react, right in front of the silver-haired maid, he swiftly picked Rias up, dropped the bed curtain, and flipped onto the bed with her.

"W-Wait! Fubuki, what do you think you're— Grayfia-nee-san is still— Mmph!"