The situation could only be described as dangerously heart-pounding. Ryuya could clearly feel every subtle detail of Akeno's body.
She was holding onto his neck without the slightest restraint, her body pressed tightly against his back. That breathtaking, unmistakable sensation was far too obvious.
Seeing her close friend acting like this, Rias's expression darkened again and again.
"That's enough. Let go of him already. What do you think you're doing?"
"Hehe… I'm just deepening our bond with a child who fights alongside us. Getting a little closer—what's wrong with that?"
Akeno replied with a gentle smile.
Ryuya fell silent.
When these two sisters started bickering, it was honestly quite a headache…
Noticing the growing displeasure on Rias's face, Akeno smiled faintly and asked softly,
"Rias… you don't happen to really like Ryuya, do you?"
That blunt question instantly stunned Rias, along with Koneko Toujou and Asia Argento.
Ryuya raised an eyebrow and remained silent.
He finally understood why Akeno was teasing him—she was testing Rias's reaction.
After a brief silence, Rias replied calmly,
"And what if I do?"
"..."
Akeno fell silent, letting out a quiet sigh in her heart.
As expected… she really does like him.
It had already been obvious from that tiny bit of jealousy she showed earlier, when Asia was resting in Ryuya's arms.
But her family…
"Is that really okay?" Akeno asked suddenly, almost without context.
Koneko and Asia didn't quite understand, but Rias and Ryuya both knew exactly what Akeno meant.
Without a doubt, Akeno was aware of Rias's engagement.
"My affairs are something I can decide for myself," Rias snorted.
If only it were really that simple.
Both Ryuya and Akeno knew that all too well.
At that moment, Akeno finally understood why Ryuya had been training so relentlessly.
He must have already known about this matter—that was why he had been pushing himself so hard.
The pressure really was immense…
Ryuya gently patted the hand Akeno had wrapped around him.
"Let go, Akeno."
She didn't continue teasing him. After releasing her arms, she casually brushed the damp strands of hair from her face.
"Um… what just happened?"
Asia and Koneko still looked completely confused.
"It's nothing. Just a small problem. We'll deal with it," Ryuya said softly, his tone calm and steady.
A trace of bitterness flashed through both Rias's and Akeno's eyes.
Behind the other side stood an entire pure-blood high-class devil family—how could that possibly be just a "small problem"?
Even with Rias's background, she couldn't afford to be willful about this matter.
And moreover… there probably wasn't much time left.
After a moment of silence, Rias spoke coldly,
"That's enough. We won't talk about this anymore."
She stopped Akeno from saying anything further, as if she had made up her mind.
"Akeno, accompany me back to the Underworld tomorrow. We may need to stay there for a few days—make preparations."
The Underworld?
Ryuya's eyes narrowed slightly. Across from him, Koneko and Asia opened their mouths as if they wanted to say something, but Ryuya stopped them with a glance, gently shaking his head.
Akeno pressed her lips together.
She knew Rias too well.
This time, she had truly made up her mind—to confront her family head-on.
Would things really go smoothly?
Of course not…
Even so, what had to be done still had to be done. Rias surely understood that as well—no matter whether the outcome could be changed or not, she still had no choice but to make this trip…
"I'll go make preparations," Akeno said softly, nodding.
"Ryuya, I'm sorry, but you can't come with me to the Underworld yet," Rias said seriously. "You're my final trump card."
Hearing that, Ryuya smiled faintly.
"Alright."
He knew very well that Rias's journey to the Underworld would definitely not go smoothly.
The days ahead were going to be busy.
Ryuya stepped forward and, without caring that Akeno and the others were still nearby, smiled lightly as he embraced Rias. The two of them held each other honestly in the hot spring pool.
"Don't worry, Rias. I've never let you down before, have I?"
He spoke in an easy, calm tone. As he held Rias's alluring body, his back facing everyone else, golden light shimmered brilliantly in his eyes, carrying an indescribable pressure.
So what if they were pure-blood devils?
If it really came to blows, paying a certain price, they weren't impossible to kill…
It was just that doing so would truly tear the heavens apart.
But if Rias truly had no other way out, then he wouldn't bother restraining himself anymore.
Sure enough, the next day, Rias and Akeno left.
The two of them departed together for the Underworld.
Ryuya, Koneko, and Asia continued their activities as usual, completing summoner commissions just like always.
Several days passed in the blink of an eye. During that time, Ryuya went to the Nakano household every day to tutor the quintuplet sisters. After going back and forth like that, everyone became quite familiar with one another.
As for Mai Sakurajima, Ryuya visited her daily as well. With teleportation available, his mobility was practically maxed out.
The power of the faith contract was now fully on display—just the emotional rewards provided by Mai alone were comparable to what all five Nakano sisters combined could offer…
And the content of the commission could basically be summed up as accompanying his girlfriend, Mai Sakurajima.
Even without a commission, Ryuya would still make time to visit her. All he could say was that Mai was truly considerate…
On the quintuplets' side, their academic performance was as disastrous as ever. Every day in class, Ryuya had to re-explain everything the teachers taught. If not for the help of magic, the time he'd have to spend would probably multiply several times over…
At present, Ryuya's commissions only came from these places. His familiar was still handing out flyers, but no new summoners had appeared. There wasn't much he could do about that.
And just like that, five days passed.
Rias and Akeno still hadn't returned.
Fortunately, everyone had been mentally prepared, so they were able to stay calm.
On the morning of the sixth day, Ryuya had just returned from training. Sweating all over, he finished showering, wrapped a towel around his waist, and stepped out of the bathroom—when he suddenly sensed a fluctuation of demonic power.
A teleportation circle.
He turned his head and saw a purplish-red magic teleportation array light up in the bedroom. Immediately after, Rias's familiar figure appeared within it.
"Welcome back," Ryuya said with a smile, greeting her softly.
Rias quickly stepped forward, a trace of urgency in her expression as she grabbed Ryuya's hand.
"Ryuya, take my body."
"…You're using this move again?" Ryuya was speechless. "Didn't we already say this won't solve the problem?"
"There's no better way left," Rias said. "We can only cook the rice first—once it's done, the people in my family will have no choice but to shut up."
As she spoke, she swiftly removed her equipment.
Ryuya had just finished bathing and was wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. She reached out, tugged it off, casually tossed it aside, then pushed him down onto the bed and sat astride him.
"..."
----
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