5 Getting Over It

[𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡, 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, 𝐓𝐞𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫]

Reclining in a beach chair Noel lazily sipped at his drink which was aptly placed in a coconut shaped glass. The Leviathan Beach—one of the Four Great Tourist Destinations—was something Morgan had always wanted to visit and with his newest deal with Sirzechs, he had managed to get them a spot.

As the only ocean in the Underworld, the beach was one of if not the most desired location in the Underworld. Just finding a spot at the beach was difficult enough let alone getting a private corner of the beach like they had. It was only because all of the Four Satans were acting that it had even happened.

'Knowing people in high places is nice.'

Chuckling to himself with a conceited smirk Noel didn't pay attention to the shadow that suddenly enveloped his body. It was obvious who it was since Morgan was out living with the fish while he was sitting right here.

"Noel, don't let your skin burn too much. And make sure you stay hydrated."

Firmly planting the parasol in the ground Amaris left a warning up in the air before laying out a beach towel and taking a seat. As would be expected of the beach, Amaris was wearing a swimsuit—a very conservative one but a swimsuit nonetheless.

Her long, wavy purple hair which she once resented was now neatly styled, and yet the cowlick atop her head remained undefeated. Her swimsuit consisted of a single one piece swimsuit with a baggy jacket overtop that hid her petite chest. Compared to the monster that was Morgan, her already large chest still seemed small.

Her delicate fingers lazily caressed her exploded thighs while her violet eyes awkwardly shifted all around. To her, this level of luxury was foreign and odd. She was adapting rapidly but it would take time.

"Devils don't burn easily."

"But we still burn so be more careful."

Smiling at her word choice Noel decided to listen just this once, the parasol tilting slightly to cover him better. Amaris had moved into their sphere with increased haste after joining his peerage and now he'd be happy to announce that she truly accepted them.

Amaris was still the reserved and stoic girl he knew her as but she was much more caring—almost to an irritating degree—when around them. Noel was fine as he made a limited number of mistakes each day but the same could hardly be said for Morgan who made as many mistakes as steps if not more.

"Amaris, how has your training been going?"

Although they all trained under Ajuka together, by now he and Morgan knew what to do and could be left mostly to their own devices. The same wasn't true for Amaris who required personal guidance from Ajuka. Of course, the main reason was simply that he wanted to examine her Longinus from as close as possible.

"It's been going well. I can access the Mirror Dimension almost freely now."

The mirror dimension was the basis of all the Yata no Kagami's newfound abilities as well as its greatest strength. It was a realm of stagnation where anything inside could be viewed, stored, or released at will. This made for quite a powerful ability with nigh infinite possibility. 

"Is that so? Good job."

Running his hand through her long locks of purple hair she blushed slightly but nevertheless pressed her hand further into his palm. If Morgan was a rambunctious dog—which was odd since she was an orca princess—then Amaris was a shy cat. And he liked both cats and dogs.

"You've heard Morgan's trip to the Leviathan territory is coming up right?"

"As if I couldn't. She hasn't stopped talking about it since we heard."

Rolling her eyes Amaris rested her head on the armrest of his chair to allow him unadulterated access to her scalp. Ignoring the basics such as political gains, monetary extravagance, and so on Noel's deal with the Four Satans had three main benefits.

The first was one they were currently enjoying, unrestricted access to the Leviathan Beach. It was a decision mostly made in favor of Morgan and since the orca was so excited Serafall threw in a free tour led by herself as well.

The second was focused on Noel although it was undebatable. Noel would learn under Sirzechs Lucifer when the man wasn't busy and Ajuka Beelzebub almost every other day. It was a luxurious position that had already garnered the envy of all youths.

Third and certainly not final was made with Amaris in mind. Amaris required two things, a role model and a teacher. Ajuka worked fine for the latter but the two went almost hand in hand so Noel requested she have yet another teacher.

"Miss Grayfia is strict but I think it's going well. I definitely feel stronger."

To that end, Noel had requested that Grayfia herself teach Amaris. So far the benefits had been plentiful—her well controlled aura more than revealed that—but the latter half of his reasoning was where Grayfia truly shined.

Whether it be experience from teaching so many maids or just her strict yet kind attitude, Amaris truly loved Grayfia already. Their time together had been short but Grayfia worked her way into Amaris' shy heart even more than he had.

"Good. We'll be taken advantage of numerous times in the future so you'll have to be strong enough to deal with that."

Being taken advantage of and using others was natural in all realities—the supernatural world even more so—a strange facet of life that had been accepted long ago. It wasn't always a bad thing but in most cases, it was less than ideal. Noel was sure that for each occasion he avoided two more would find him.

"Of course."

Nodding calmly Amaris was hardly perturbed, her attention much more focused on the nails gently running along her scalp. Chuckling to himself Noel absentmindedly continued while enjoying the scenery.

With Morgan, the trio spent their days in a fervor of excitement and activities. That was nice and led to many great memories but sometimes these softer, less memorable moments were nice as well. Noel was lucky in that regard.

"Noel… would you go to Wales with me? I want to face the past."

Speaking softly Amaris' serene expression remained the same however her slight tremble proved otherwise. Despite her calm attitude, motherly attitude, and almost everything about her, Amaris was actually just a wounded and scared child. 

"Of course. Whenever you're ready."

Continuing to caress her scalp as though nothing had happened at all Noel's voice was softer than one would expect from him. This vacation had first been intended to please Morgan but it seems that Noel was deriving more joy from it after all.

"Can we go now?"

Despite wearing a mask of confidence, Amaris wore her doubts on her sleeve. The reason she wanted to leave this Eden of a beach was because she didn't want to run away. She had always been running from her parents, from her neighbors, from her fears, from… from her friends.

Friends. Now that was a foreign word to her. For as long as she lived was always surrounded by the same six or seven families. None of them were her allies, none of them liked her, and she had no friends. She was completely alone. It was like she was trapped in a box filled with phantoms that wanted her dead.

But Noel had opened that box. He was forceful and somewhat rude but looking back on it, he always intended to help her. She wasn't sure if that was because he was taking advantage of her or because he was selfless but she didn't care. He helped her and that was more than enough for her. Nothing else mattered.

"Morgan will wait for us at the hotel later. We're ready to leave whenever."

Noel declared, his words breaking her out of her turbulent thoughts. The beach was as safe as safe could get—especially since they were using the personal beach of Serafall Leviathan—so there were no worries for Morgan's safety.

Morgan could happily enjoy the numerous attractions and fish the beach brought while Amaris sorted out her personal business. If she could do it herself she would but, as brave as she was, she couldn't face her parents alone.

"Okay… phew. Let's go."

Taking a deep breath Amaris briefly closed her eyes, the familiar sensation of warping through space and familiar sweet air alerting her of their arrival. Opening her eyes she couldn't help but shutter, terrible memories she wanted to die washing over her in droves.

But the warm and comforting hand tightly intertwined with her own instantly calmed her, the familiar pale white energy surrounding her like a coat. In an instant, her mind felt relaxed as everything seemed slightly… different. It was impossible to name exactly but something intrinsic had changed. She wasn't sure of the specifics but it was obviously an illusion.

Illusions were easy to use but difficult to use well and though she was far from experienced, this was the most realistic she had ever seen yet purposefully faux. She hadn't seen him use it before but it definitely made her already high respect for Noel swell.

"It's alright… I'm ready."

It was a lie, one nobody would believe at that. Despite that, Noel nodded his head in acceptance yet left their hands to remain connected. Logically there was no chance of danger. Even the most basic of magic she knew would protect her let alone her monster of a companion.

But logic wasn't enough to defeat her fear. In this home, she lived through years of torture both physical and mental. She couldn't get over that fear just by growing stronger. She could destroy this house, kill her parents, and remove all traces of it but she'd never get over it.

That's why she was here. Noel had shown her the way to develop and now… she just had to walk that path. Taking yet another deep breath she took one step forward, and then another. It was agonizing to remember everything, to ignore her fear, but she persevered as she always had. But this time, she wasn't alone.

Closing her eyes tightly for just a moment she flung the door open and stepped through, the horrible stench she hated washing over her. The soft almost sunny scent felt fake, a mere mirage to mask the horrible deeds commuted in this home.

"Hello, can we— Amaris!" 

The familiar voice of her mother hissed angrily, the delicate digits of her mother's hand wrapping around her wrist as she was pulled forward. With her newfound devil constitution, she should have been able to pull away but she couldn't. No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't.

"Let go before you lose your wrist."

Even through the tears forming in her eyes, she could see the anger on Noel's face. The scars had long been lost when she was reincarnated so she didn't know how much Noel knew of her situation. To him, this must have been a sudden and horrible revelation.

"Excuse you? I'm this 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭'𝘴 mother! I can do whatever I want to her!"

Spitting out her words with all the elegance of a wild beast Amaris' mother was incapable of resisting when Amaris pulled away. Tumbling to the ground the woman fell to the ground, rocks and foliage scraping her pale flesh.

"Amaris!"

Screeching like a banshee the woman got up and stomped up to her daughter, blissfully unaware of how Amaris had saved her. Breathing heavily Amaris felt a rush run through her that made her feel like she could do it.

But when her mother raised her hand she froze in place, fear dissipating that feeling in an instant. Snapping her eyes shut she awaited the stinging pain that always came next. But it didn't. Nothing came this time.

"If you touch her again, it's not going to be your hand that falls off. I'm not against murder you know."

Opening her eyes at the familiar yet wrath filled voice of Noel she was greeted by her mother's sweaty form with a blade of white wind mere inches away from her neck—blood was falling from her neck so even that was doubtful.

For a moment… she wished the blade would move just a bit farther. She wished to see her mother's head topple to the ground, for her blood to soak the dirt, for her flesh to mare the steps of this accursed home.

Physically shaking off that thought Amaris took a shaky step forward, the blade vanishing from view but the horrid woman was far from safe. At any moment her life could be stolen from her and no matter how stupid she was, she instinctively knew that much.

Stepping up to her mother who had fallen to the ground in fear—the woman's hand desperately clutching her wound—Amaris would have loved to say her fear washed away. But it didn't. Her mother's appearance was pitiful and even Amaris felt some level of pity for her but....

"I won't ever forgive you."

No matter how pitiful her visage, how small her body, and how minuscule her danger was Amaris would always have some lingering fear. In the back of her mind, she would always feel like the weak child she once was. 

"You were horrible parents. You failed at being a human being."

However, fear wasn't enough to stop someone like her. It could block her path, drag her down like a swamp, and even consume her mind but she wouldn't let it control her. She was the bishop of Noel Purson and the owner of a Longinus. No matter how weak she felt at times, she would never let it persist. Never.

"You cared so much about appearances. So much that you abandoned your own daughter."

"Honey! What's taking so long!"

Shouting from inside the home the new voice was tinged with intoxication and accompanied by the sound of what appeared to be a sports match. Ignoring it entirely, even the shiver that went up her spine couldn't stop Amaris' finger from becoming encased in black flames.

"S-Stop! Stay away from me! WHY CAN'T I MOVE!?"

Fighting against invisible chains—surely the work of Noel—the woman put up a greater fight than even Diodora did. Yet, just as it had for the heir of Astaroth, it meant nothing against those eyes of his.

"I'm not going to kill you. But… maybe you'll wish I did."

Placing her finger gently on her mother's forehead the woman passed out in an instant, her mind attacked by so much stress it was forcefully shut down like a cheap computer. It was a simple curse, one that would forever plague her mother.

All the curse would do was disfigure her mother's precious face. No matter how hard she tried, she would be a disaster. No matter how much she cleaned herself she would always smell. For somebody as narcissistic as her mother, it was a fate worse than death. But just to make sure, Amaris included a little bit of pain every so often. Just enough to wish for death.

"What about your dad?"

Breaking her free from her thoughts, Noel's voice reminded her of the father she had nearly thought about. While her mother was manipulative in a way—always shouting at her and then coaxing her into being a 'good girl'—her father was much more physical. Whether it be a small nuisance or not his form of parenting was always violence.

"... Leave him alone. He'll die on his own anyway."

Stepping outside of her prison Amaris felt strange. Logically she should feel freed now that the chains that had been constraining her were destroyed but instead, she felt… empty. It wasn't the feeling of weightlessness that she expected but instead a complete void of anything. She couldn't even muster up the emotion to feel proud of herself let alone happy.

"You did well."

It was only upon hearing Noel's words and feeling his warm palm running through her hair that she realized she was crying. Sobbing uncontrollably she forced herself into his embrace, her eyes level with his chest as tears wet his attire. For a moment, her grief was overwhelmed by the thought that she wouldn't even be able to repay him for his clothes let alone everything else.

At that thought, relief mixed with her grief. Oddly enough, it wasn't relief of her newfound freedom but instead about Noel. She wasn't why exactly she was relieved but that wasn't important to her. All that she needed to know was that Noel was here and he wasn't leaving.

Gently rubbing circles on his bishop's taut back Noel didn't even have to look in his direction before blood soaked the floor. Amaris was kind and by no means was she wrong in sparing her father—she was right that he would die quickly—but Noel didn't believe in that.

Perhaps it was petty revenge for the suffering that man had inflicted upon his bishop or maybe it was just his paranoia speaking but he didn't want to let the man live. He could spare the mother—Amaris had punished her enough—but letting that man go scott free didn't sit right with Noel. 

"...Let's go home. I don't want to be here anymore."

Unlike his time with Morgan, Amaris was quick to stop her tears. Accepting her decision a magic circle appeared beneath the two before they found themselves in their hotel room once again. If there was something Amaris needed, it was rest.

"Where's Morgan?"

Whether it be out of a desire to distract herself or just her overly worrying nature the first question that left Amaris' lips wasn't about herself. It was a kind hearted gesture but Noel didn't care for her kindness right now.

"It's fine. Just relax for now."

As if proving his point, Amaris fell slack into his arms. If it weren't for Noel, she would have long since fallen to the ground. As tired as she was, that wasn't natural. As a devil, exhaustion of this level could only do so much even if her mind was fundamentally human.

Normal Noel would be worried—more so than he'd readily admit—but there was no trace of that in his expression. After all, her current state was his doing. She needed rest but with how tense she was that would never happen. Hence, Noel took matters into his own hands.

The Evil Eyes of Illusion had been getting plenty of usage today whether it be hiding Amaris until she was ready, forcing any unnecessary eyes off them, and even this. The first two were the simplest of applications but the latter was hardly the same.

These specific eyes had two main abilities—one of which had already been described—but the one he had just used was the more advanced application. The eyes were the windows to the soul and illusionary abilities were merely reflecting the soul's desires outwardly.

It was a complicated magic—one made easier by his eyes but no less difficult—but ultimately it had boundless potential. When bringing desire into reality it was reasonable to expect some level of failure.

The scents may not match exactly, the landscape may have some oddities, maybe a person's body is misshapen, and the sixth sense in particular is difficult to trick. But that doesn't quite apply to the land of dreams where his eyes reach.

With eye contact alone Noel could bring those desires of his not into reality but into the mind of somebody else. It wasn't that simple of course—doubts were more common than stars in the sky when used—but subtle usages or in situations like these it was quite helpful.

Laying the sleeping form of Amaris into the unnecessarily large bed Noel found himself incapable of escaping. With his physical strength, it was far from impossible but even he couldn't muster the strength to pull away when faced with the tear stained face of his bishop.

Laying beside her Noel took a moment to analyze her expression. It was a mix of tension and relaxation, the latter slowly but surely emerging victorious. Noel wasn't aware of what she was dreaming of but if it was clearing away her lingering tension he didn't really care either.

"Sleep well, Amaris."

[𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫]

"You're my brother's student?"

Met with the doubtful and warry blue eyes Noel couldn't help but smirk. When he accepted the request of the Lucifer duo Noel expected plenty of reactions from the spoiled princess. Worry, reasonable doubts, and a hint of wariness we're not them. Looks like the tumors were exaggerated. That or she had matured greatly in a short period.

"And you're the damsel I'm supposed to save. Glad we could get that sorted out. I'm Noel Purson, your personal taxi to widowhood. The pleasure is mine."

With the same arrogant and conceited smirk on his face, Noel extended his hand, his words far from elegant but no less reassuring. It was an odd magic those with unwavering confidence had—himself included—but maybe after being so close to her older brother for so long Rias wasn't overly impressed.

"Widowhood? Are you planning on killing him?"

Despite the absurdity of their conversation—the murder of a Phenex almost as absurd as the slaying of a pillar heir—, Rais was confident Noel meant what he had said. After all, it took a certain level of insanity to cut off the future of the Astaroth clan's main branch.

"If I can. Winning won't be hard but murder might be a little challenging. You probably knew that though." 

Unfortunately for Rias, she knew precisely what he was talking about. In terms of pure firepower, Rias was above Riser but because of the sheer absurdity of his clan trait, she would find it impossible to win let alone murder the scumbag.

"You seem confident but I'll be blunt. I don't think you'll succeed."

Deciding to match his lack of tact Rias was more blunt than she had ever been taught to be—Grayfia would be far from impressed at the very least—but she doubted it was necessary with Noel. He was, to put it nicely, uncaring about social norms.

"Looks like Grayfia raised you well then."

Replying to her blunt remark with as much disregard as possible Noel wore an amused smirk on his face. A devil was, in Noel's mind, someone who had to be doubtful. You had to doubt, learn, and grow to stay alive. Then again, that applied to every species didn't it?

"I don't want your trust. I'd actually prefer it if you doubt me. But at least put some trust in Sirzechs and Grayfia. They're the ones risking their reputation on this."

Noel was very quickly publicly announced as Sirzechs' student and Grayfia didn't even try to hide her connection with Amaris. Even if Riser didn't make a fuss when he received the letter everyone knew what was happening already. If Noel lost, they'd be the first to lose.

"I don't need you to tell me that."

Practically spitting out those words the mask of calm and elegance that Rias wore cracked, her hands clenched until her knuckles were white. If she was just a little bit angrier then blood would be spilled on the luxurious carpet beneath her.

"Hm… I'll be honest with you. I didn't care about this at all. You just seemed like the average damsel in distress and that was far from interesting. But I take it back. You're pretty amusing."

Looking up and down his distressed companion's face he was met with eyes filled with a small trace of disgust and plentiful annoyance. Noel's words would be quite pleasing if he left out the first half but… she couldn't deny it either.

Even from her perspective, she wasn't doing enough. She relentlessly trained her power of destruction but what was there for her to do? If she did it alone losing a single limb would be a miracle and those that could help her were extremely busy.

Devil magic was strong but it was far from enough to defeat a clan trait like the Phenex—eons of delicately controlled development assured that much. Maybe she could ask Ajuka for some help but that was difficult for someone in her position. Politics were, as they always were, a massive pain in the butt.

"Looks like you two are getting along… well?"

Suddenly unsure of himself at the end the blue eyes of the one and only—current—Lucifer scanned the room as he stepped inside. With his tense and melancholic sister or the smug and amused Noel, it didn't exactly scream friendly.

"Ria-tan? Was he bullying you?"

Suddenly the air shivered slightly as Sirzechs hugged his sister close, his narrowed eyes promising pain in Noel's direction. In the exceedingly few times Noel had met the Four Satans it was safe to say none of them were normal even compared to devils.

Sirzechs with his sis con life, Ajuka with his overwhelming desire for knowledge, Serafall and her magical girl adoration, and—the most normal of them all—Falbium and his boundless desire for slumber. Truly, they heard that no devil was normal and decided to personify it.

"No, I was just mad at myself."

Responding with more despondency than Noel would expect from a girl like her Rias had no hesitation in making her worries known. Whether that was a good thing or not was up for debate but as it stood Noel cared more about the state his pet dust particle was in. 

"Ria-tan you—!"

"Coddle her later, please. I don't mean to be rude but we're short on time. You were the one to say we had a month weren't you?"

As soon as Noel's apprenticeship was decided they had a strict time limit imposed upon them. It would only take so long for the Phenex clan to act whether they sent the letter or not, they didn't have the luxury to dawdle.

Of course, since Noel would win either way the entire idea of rushing was foolish. What they had limited time for was his getting close to Rias. Unfortunately for them, the best—and only reasonable—way to start the confrontation was to make it a battle over the engagement.

If it was anything else then the Phenex clan could easily decline even if the Gremory clan put their all into it. After all, what reason would they have to accept what was obviously a bad deal even if they were sure they'd come out on top?

But if it was a duel brought forth over Rias Gremory's engagement they couldn't possibly refuse unless they wanted to tarnish their reputation. They could refuse anything else but if they refused this they'd seem like spineless cowards. And, as hard as it was to believe, devils cared quite a bit about their reputation.

"Yes. You're correct. As we've agreed, this engagement will be called off within the year but for now please get along well. To that end, Mother has prepared you quite a few… activities to enjoy. Please at least give them a shot."

Placing a paper face down on the table and awkwardly shifting his eyes away from the two youths, Sirzechs had the expression of a man who tried his best but still failed. If Noel was interested in the activities of the Flaxen Haired Madame of Extinction before now he was positively engaged.

"Mother…"

Holding her head and sighing as if afflicted with a migraine it was clear that Rias had some level of expectation. Considering that Noel's own mother was quite the oddball he was willing to bet that it was a consistent trait of the devils. The males were arrogant idiots and the females were strange oddities. It seemed to check out—even Grayfia fit—so he'd live with that in mind.

"Ahem. I'll be going. Good luck."

Bidding them farewell—which was odd considering Rias was still here—Sirzechs hurriedly left the room. Ignoring his future fiancée and her distressed expression Noel examined the box where a simple set of rules was. It was much like a human game he had seen, just a few conversation starters albeit with an unhealthy dose of magic tossed in.

"I'm pulling out the first card."

"Wait don't—!"

Unfortunately for Rias, her cries were unheard as Noel pulled out the first card. Shooting out of the card an ebony chain—the physical manifestation of a contract—hurriedly wrapped around their wrists. Noel had plenty of time to dodge but with his Evil Eyes of Identification, he could see that it was harmless at best.

The effects were simple, you had to answer the question given to you and if you didn't you'd have to take the punishment on the card. It was an absolute rule but from the looks of things the punishments ranged from mildly embarrassing to cringe worthy but nothing too major.

"Too late."

Snickering at her look of abject horror Noel threw the card on the table, the contents of it shooting into the sky for both to see clearly. In simple terms, it was something that would be asked during a middle school truth or dare session. All it asked was if there was anybody they liked romantically.

"Haa. No, I don't."

Despondent to the extreme, Rias revealed the most expected answer there has ever been. With Riser as her closest male—besides family of course—it was natural for her to have no interest in most men. Worse still, Riser was fiercely protective when it came to keeping 'pests' away.

"I love two people."

Compared to Rias' response, Noel's was on the complete other side of the ballpark. Harems were far from rare among devils—even some youths had one—but more often than naught it wasn't love that made up those relationships. To so boldly announce his love even if he was only in the presence of one person well… Rias was a little impressed.

"Go on then. Pull the next card."

Regretfully, his very next words made that admiration drop significantly. It was him that started this game despite the signs, it was him that forced her into this embarrassing mess of her mother's creation, and now he was forcing her to participate! Since she had to do it regardless she didn't feel overly indignant but some remained despite her reasoning.

"Are you serious mother?!"

Slamming her hands on the table and shouting with cheeks as crimson as her hair Rias was clearly flustered and rightfully so. With the card on the table from her outburst, the contents were revealed to Noel—not that he needed it—and the question was as absurd as he expected. 

Written clearly in the air was the question, a question so barbaric that Rias was confident no devil had asked such a thing in a public setting in at least a thousand years. It was asking how many times they masturbated per week.

"Don't tell me you're going to give up because it's a little vulgar."

At first, that was exactly what she was going to do. The question was stupid and there was no way she was going to answer it for a person she had met no sooner than an hour prior. And yet, a quick glance at his amused smirk and the punishment made her rethink her choices.

The question was vulgar but the punishment was like debaturery's older brother. There was plentiful flowery language and beating around the bush but the question boiled down to stripping naked and playing the rest of the game like that.

"I'll match your choice so go ahead. The floor is yours."

Even if his words sounded kind it was far from it and the indignation in her eyes was more than enough proof of that. In actuality, he was just putting more pressure on her. Did she strip and see him strip or did she say it and hear his answer? Both answers were terrible!

 "I'll—!"

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hey there, Express_007 here. Hope you liked the chapter.

We've finally been introduced to Rias! I think I portrayed the image of a very stressed out young teen well but tell me what you think. Also, if it wasn't obvious, next chapter is going to have a bit of smut. Not much but it will be there. I don't know how much of the chapter it'll be but it'll be marked like all the other time skips so you should be able to find it.

As always, if you're interested in supporting the creation of this novel I made a patre*on. Just look up Express_007 and you should find it easily enough. You don't have to support but it'd be much appreciated.