Chapter 45: A 'Switch' Was Also Planted in Rias 😉 (Patreon)

After confirming the time and location for the match, Sirzechs departed. After all, aside from being busy with his official duties as a Satan, maintaining impartiality as an administrator of the Underworld was paramount. While Sirzechs could provide underlying support for his sister regarding her marriage situation, he couldn't participate in the preliminary tactical discussions, planning, or the battle itself.

And so, the scene shifted again, leaving only Rias, Hanakain Fubuki, and the others in the old school building. The furniture in the lounge was returned to its usual arrangement.

On the right sofa, the red-haired girl sitting beside Hanakain Fubuki wore a rather serious expression. "Now that the outcome of the negotiation is set, our next step is to devise a strategy."

"Um, excuse me..." Asia, seated on the young man's other side, timidly raised her hand. "Does this mean we are preparing to go to war with them now?"

"That's correct. Although this wasn't the outcome we desired, judging by their attitude, conflict was unavoidable from the start," Rias confirmed with a nod.

Ultimately, the two sides had completely different objectives from the beginning. Her side aimed for a peaceful resolution if possible – if both parties compromised slightly, the Phenex family yielded a little, and the Gremory family offered appropriate compensation, the matter could have been considered closed. However, the Phenex family's stance was clearly hardline; they showed no intention of actually negotiating. The so-called mediation felt more like an opportunity for them to exert pressure on the Gremory family.

Thus, the only remaining option was war. Hanakain Fubuki's seemingly conflict-escalating words had merely helped bypass the pointless back-and-forth haggling in the middle.

"Doesn't matter. What's there to agonize over?" Compared to Rias, who seemed genuinely worried, Hanakain Fubuki appeared remarkably casual. He slouched lazily into the sofa, hands stuffed in his pockets. "It's just meeting up and having a fight, right? Whoever has the bigger fist wins, simple as that~"

"Of course, it's not that simple..." Rias felt black lines of exasperation appear on her forehead. Seeing this guy's attitude – completely unfazed by life or death, ready to fight at the drop of a hat – was both infuriating and slightly amusing. "The Phenex family is still one of the 72 Pillar Nobles of the Underworld, an old, pure-blooded devil family. Their strength shouldn't be underestimated."

The red-haired girl ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "The crucial problem lies with that Rating Game..."

"Oh, almost forgot to ask. Is there anything special about that game?" Fubuki suddenly remembered. Before the video call ended, that roasted bird Riser had indeed mentioned something about a Rating Game this and that. But Fubuki had mentally defaulted to assuming everything the guy said was trash talk and automatically filtered it all out.

"The Rating Game..." Rias paused slightly, organizing her thoughts. "Essentially, a Rating Game is still a battle. It was designed by my brother's friend, Ajuka Beelzebub, who is also one of the current Satans of the Underworld. It's designed to be used in conjunction with the Peerage System I mentioned before."

"In a Rating Game, the 'King' leads their 'Queen,' 'Bishops,' 'Knights,' 'Rooks,' and other pieces – a total of fourteen peerage members – into battle against the opposing faction. Currently, my available combatants are only Koneko, Akeno, and myself. In contrast, Riser Phenex has already assembled his full set of fourteen peerage members..."

"Enemy-to-ally ratio, three to one. Excellent, the advantage is mine," Hanakain Fubuki declared, looking like his hands were itching for a fight.

"Could you be a little more serious..." Rias raised a hand, pressing a fingertip against the young man's side. She initially intended to pinch him but reconsidered and settled for a light poke instead. "The problem is the peerage members! The peerage! Fubuki, you're not my peerage member. You're not even a devil."

"So? Do you absolutely have to be a devil to participate?" Hanakain Fubuki didn't understand.

"That... I'm not entirely sure," Rias admitted with a slight cough. "But as far as I know, this type of game currently only exists in the Underworld. There's no precedent for allowing external support, let alone a human, to participate."

"That doesn't matter either," Hanakain Fubuki replied, even more unconcerned. "If it turns out I can't join, I'll just flatten the Phenex territory with one kick first. After that, even if the rules don't allow it, there won't be much he can do."

"Honestly, you..." Rias facepalmed completely this time. But she had to admit, there was a certain logic to what he said. It was like two people playing chess intently on a stone stool in a park. If you just stood nearby offering unsolicited advice, maybe they'd tolerate you out of politeness or because they were focused on the game. But if you suddenly ran up, sent the chessboard flying with a mighty kick, and followed up by backhanding one player and spitting on them, then the chess game was definitely over for the day. A round of real-life combat would have to come first.

"Anyway, don't worry so much. Just leave it to me when the time comes," Hanakain Fubuki said, reaching his hand behind the girl and pulling her slightly closer by the waist. "I can take them all down single-handedly."

Noticing his action, Rias couldn't help but blush faintly. Honestly, saying 'just leave it to me'... I'm actually trying to think seriously about countermeasures here! Now that we're officially together, shouldn't we face things like this together... Ngh!

It was as if some switch had been inadvertently flipped. One moment she was only slightly blushing, the next, the red-haired girl suddenly trembled slightly and sat bolt upright. Wh-what's happening? This is strange!

Perhaps an outsider wouldn't notice, but Rias knew her own body best. This feeling, like a faint electric current coursing through her… it was distinctly… it felt like…

"What's wrong, Rias?" Sensing the increased fidgeting from her waist through his touch, Hanakain Fubuki asked curiously.

"N-nothing…" Rias shook her head, face flushed, trying desperately to maintain her composure as she whispered an excuse. "Fubuki, your arm… it's digging into my waist a bit uncomfortably. Besides, Akeno is still watching."

Oh, so that was it. Hanakain Fubuki immediately complied gracefully, withdrawing his arm from behind her back. Without the physical contact from before, Rias felt the peculiar, blush-inducing sensation instantly lessen significantly. She managed a small sigh of relief, then continued.

"Alright, next is planning our itinerary for returning to the Underworld. When the time comes… hmm…" Her voice trailed off hesitantly. Having lived in the Human World for so many years, Rias's way of thinking had become more aligned with human customs. Her first instinct was to suggest finding a hotel in the Underworld. But then she reconsidered – setting aside whether hotels even existed there, any such establishment would likely be within the territory governed by some noble family.

Especially for her, the Gremory heiress, simply showing her face would almost certainly attract attention. And for the successor of the Gremory Clan to return to the Underworld but not stay at her own family home, instead sneaking off to find lodging in someone else's domain… that would be far too strange.

In other words, planning an itinerary was pointless. Upon returning to the Underworld, their only place to stay was the Gremory estate.

Right, putting it bluntly, this means we're fast-forwarding straight to meeting the parents.

In that case, regarding Mother…

After a moment's thought, Rias looked up. "Fubuki, Akeno, before we return to the Underworld, we need to prepare some gifts to bring. I'm leaving this task to you two."