196 You don't need to worry; I will take care of them

While it wasn't their first meeting, there was no doubt their first meeting was far from good, especially when this man tried to stop him previously, so it was impossible for Riser to have a good impression of Ajuka. 

Nevertheless, Riser wasn't surprised by how Ajuka had approached him since he knew the friendship between Ajuka and Sirzech was above average value. 

However, depending on how Ajuka was going to treat him, Riser would need to prepare how he was going to treat Ajuka from now on. 

Even if others might be hesitant, Riser didn't mind erasing one of the Maous once again. 

"I—" 

Ajuka suddenly stopped the words that were about to come out of his mouth. 

Why did he come to Riser?

When he thought all of this, Ajuka felt bitter as he knew that he had a prejudice toward Riser. Due to his close relationship with Sirzech, it was impossible for him to have a good impression of Riser. His eyes were biased toward Riser, so even though he knew that Riser had nothing to do with the death of Sirzerh, he couldn't help but think that Riser must be related to a certain extent, or... Riser might be the one who controlled everything behind the dark. 

Yet, the truth?

Ajuka only wanted to put the blame on Riser as his dear friend had passed away. 

Unlike the other Maous, due to their close relationship, Sirzech shared all of his plans with Ajuka as he also needed input on how to create peace between the three factions. 

Ajuka knew everything. 

Their plan was perfect, yet they missed a certain element of their plan as they forgot that reality was different. 

Moreover, Riser was innocent, especially when he stayed in the Underworld during the meeting. While he didn't accept the alliance, he didn't reject it, so he didn't come to the meeting due to his hostile relationship with Sirzech, showing his acceptance toward this peace. 

Lastly, Ajuka knew how soft Riser was toward Serafall. Even if Riser wished to kill Sirzech that day, he decided to endure it due to Serafall. 

What if his doubt toward Riser was something that they wished for?

Ajuka realized how unreasonable his thought was. 

Yet how could a mere Vali Lucifer defeat Sirzech Lucifer?

This was a fact that Ajuka couldn't accept. 

Nevertheless, when Ajuka decided to confront Riser, the one that excited the most was the politicians and those who were affiliated with Sirzech Lucifer previously. They hoped a conflict would happen between them so that Riser wouldn't focus himself on them. 

Their thoughts were contradictory. 

Even though they wished for the devil to be together so they could face this fierce tsunami together, they still wished for a conflict to happen among them so their position wouldn't be affected.

Yet, the moment Sirzech died, they lost their position, and it was impossible for the Gremory House to keep all of Sirzech Lucifer's heritage.

Why?

It was because they were too weak. 

To be honest, Ajuka wasn't the first person who thought that Riser might have any involvement in this matter, especially due to their previous confrontation when Sirzech was still alive. Yet, they knew it was all due to their prejudice. It was all due to all the bias they had toward Riser that made them come to such a conclusion. In reality, Riser was the one who was the most unlikely to do this, especially when he had an alibi. 

Moreover, the killer of Sirzech was clear, and it was Vali Lucifer. 

Yet, how could they accept Vali Lucifer, who was beaten by Riser like a bereaved dog, was the one who killed Vali?

Nevertheless, the reality was like this. 

Under a sneak attack by Vali, Sirzech died. 

That's the end of the story.

Moreover, the one who thought so was only those who were close to Sirzech and loved him so much that they were still unable to believe that Sirzech had really died. 

As for the others?

They had to move on, and they also needed to strengthen themselves, especially when the world was facing a crisis known as the "Khaos Brigade."

Moreover, there was also the Old Maou Faction and Vali Lucifer. 

There were so many problems that all of them needed to face. 

Like how when God had passed away, even if Sirzech had passed away, the world would go on. 

The problems, opportunities, and their lives would never stop just because of Sirzech's death. 

"Sorry for stopping you, and thank you for coming." 

Ajuka quickly changed his attitude and greeted Riser politely, showing how grateful he was for Riser's willingness to come to this funeral.

Sirzech had died, and due to this, the Gremory House would be weakened dramatically. 

Ajuka didn't want to cause a meaningless conflict between Riser and the Gremory House due to his harsh attitude. 

Nevertheless, when Ajuka was conflicted about how to treat him, Riser observed the expression of his surroundings and remembered all of their faces while, at the same time, also determining how he was going to treat Ajuka and the others from now on. 

"This is something natural to do. There is no need to thank me. Sirzech-sama is one of the heroes who bring peace to the Underworld, after all. Even if our relationship is far from pleasant, his death also saddens me." 

Hearing those words, Ajuka wished to open his mouth and was about to say a sarcastic remark from Riser's polite words, considering the hostile relationship between Riser and Sirzech was still vivid, but he stopped when Lord Gremory came.

"Riser-kun, thank you for coming." 

"No, you don't need to thank me, Gremory-dono." 

Ajuka looked at how close they appeared to be, and in the end, he decided to step back since he knew even if Riser didn't have an involvement with the death of Sirzech Lucifer, he just couldn't help but have a prejudice toward Riser. 

Ajuka knew that this thought was dangerous since it was probably something that the enemy wished for.

"Excuse me. I need to take a fresh air to calm myself." 

No one stopped Ajuka, but at the same time, many also sighed in relief as Ajuka didn't make the situation worse. 

Gremory House no longer wished to have a hostile relationship with Riser. 

To be honest, if possible, Lord Gremory wished to marry Rias to Riser directly. After all, the aftermath of Sirzech's death was hard to handle. While Sirzech had made many allies, Sirzech also had many enemies. 

With the death of Sirzech, it gave those enemies a chance to open their fangs. 

Nevertheless, Lord Gremory still knew the time and occasion. Moreover, this was his son's funeral, and it was impossible for him to say something so vulgar. 

"Thank you for saving Rias and Grayfia at that time, Riser-kun." 

Venelana Gremory, the wife of Lord Gremory, also thanked Riser during the attack. 

"No, you don't need to thank me since this is what I should do, but I have to say sorry since if I came earlier... then this wouldn't happen." 

"No, don't blame yourself. This wasn't your fault." Venelana bit her lower lip as she endured tears.

It was impossible for all the members of the Gremory not to feel sad, especially Sirzech's parents and all of his close families. 

Nevertheless, no one among them blamed Riser as they thought that it was Sirzech's fault, especially when Sirzech had saved an ungrateful bitch. 

If Sirzech had let Riser kill Vali back then, would this have happened?

They couldn't help but imagine such a conclusion, but everything was too late. 

Sirzech had died, and that was the reality before them. 

Still, one thing they were grateful for was that Riser, who was previously the enemy of Sirzech, didn't hold them to account and didn't seem to show hostility, which made them sigh in relief. 

Nevertheless, there was no doubt everyone present knew that from now on, Riser Phenex was going to stand even higher, and those who didn't follow him when he was young could only sigh in regret, but it wasn't too late, right?

However, Riser ignored all of them since it was time for the funeral to start. 

Yet, as the funeral started, Riser's eyes couldn't help but wander to the front area where the main family of the Gremory House was present and managed the funeral carefully. Even if they tried their best to hide their sadness, it was impossible for them to do so as their bodies appeared so weak that they could crumble anytime as they were unable to believe the reality before them. 

Yet, even with this gloomy atmosphere, the women in the Gremory House were so beautiful. 

Watching them filled with sadness as they forced themselves to stand straight, Riser stared at them for a moment before he looked away.