Harry yawned widely after opening his eyes. He moved up in bed, stretching and looking around. The curtains were haphazardly open about halfway, bisecting the bed as far as what was lit and what wasn't.
In the bright spots, Fleur and Akeno were spooning, both of them nude. In fact, no one on the bed, including Harry, was wearing anything. Meanwhile, on the dark side of the bed, two different Riases lay on their backs with Koneko stretched across them, snoring into their breasts.
Harry rolled his eyes. Tonks's shapeshifting had been SUCH a hit with these kinky devils that there had been an orgy every night since he brought his new Pawn back with him. Smiling to himself, Harry got out of bed and pulled the blankets to better cover up his women, preventing them from getting chills.
Harry padded downstairs, moving through the quite empty halls of his new home in Kuoh Town. The "buying" process took a single day, since the Gremory Clan already owned the building (along with a healthy chunk of ALL the homes in Kuoh Town)
Technically, only Harry, Fleur, and Tonks lived here. However, the women of Rias's peerage spent more nights here than in their own beds, so Harry had a suspicion they were going to move in formally soon.
That was fine. There were enough beds to go around… Especially since everyone wanted to share his most nights.
Harry waved his hand and remotely turned on a portable radio in the corner of the kitchen, which started to play a quick tempo jazz song.
Not only was his magic more powerful than what other wizards and witches boasted, Harry's spells didn't destroy technology. It hadn't always been this way. The new synergy was just one more way that the Hallows had changed him.
Tilting his head side to side with the music, Harry cracked eggs and fed the yolks into a hot pan, after spreading butter along the bottom. While the eggs were frying, a glow appeared behind him.
Harry turned his upper body, never letting go of the pan's handle.
He was wearing loose shorts without a shirt, his wand stowed in one of the short pockets. Harry drew it and leveled it at the source of the glow in under a second. After another second passed, he'd put his wand away again and turned back to the eggs, once he recognized who had arrived.
Grayfia Lucifuge, as she always seemed to be, was dressed up like a maid. She had gotten no less beautiful in the time since Harry had seen her. Having said that, there was also no warmth in her expression. She was being polite toward him at best, not more.
"Good morning. Am I interrupting your cooking?" Grayfia asked.
"I can multitask. What did you need?" Harry asked.
"I come with news. House Gremory will be holding an event to honor the anniversary of the clan's formal founding. The majority of influential devils, particularly those of the younger generations, will be in attendance," Grayfia said.
"Let me guess," Harry said. "You're telling me to attend as well." Grayfia stiffly pulled out a chair, sitting in it in a position that gave her a good vantage toward Harry. "That is indeed the purpose of my visit. This is Rias's first public appearance after the engagement you annulled. Conservative elements of our society will no doubt use it to take her measure and search for ways to weaken her standing."
"Mmm." Harry said. "Well, I'll be there."
"I advise you to take this seriously," Grayfia said. "You seem to be underestimating the malice devils are capable of."
"Believe me, no human is going to be surprised by devils showing malice. That's the main thing we associate with you in all our myths," Harry promised. He lifted the pan off the burner and started scraping eggs onto plates.
Grayfia frowned, displeased with his response. Most of the things Harry did seemed to displease her at least a little bit.
"If they cannot hurt her openly, they'll look to assault her reputation. Unless you've forgotten, our wager includes keeping Rias's name free of slander," Grayfia said. "I advise you to devote the next week to learning about the history of devildom, the most important clans, and any and all polite customs. Your manners can and will be judged by those wishing for an excuse. You must be flawless."
Harry started to toast bread, opening the loaf's bag and slipping slices into the toaster. "Memorize your customs. Got it."
Grayfia squinted at him. "This is a serious task."
"I'm taking it seriously!" Harry insisted. "I promise, by the time the event is over, no one is going to be talking shit about Rias."
He didn't specify the reason for that, nor the methods that he planned to use. He only planned to take part of Grayfia's advice. Harry would be studying up to learn all about the other important members of the 72 Pillars and any other major players. He would not, however, be drilling himself on how many fingers to lift when he drank from his glass or what fork to use at exactly what time.
He already had decent manners from attending ministry galas as the boy who lived. Sure, the details probably differed between pureblood customs and devil customs… But Harry wasn't going to give these people time to worry about little things like that, once the event was truly underway.
For now, he simply smiled at Grayfia. "I guess I'll be busy until then."
Grayfia nodded, beginning to get up. "Correct. As you've most likely inferred, the event is seven days from now. If you have any interest in triumphing in our bet, I advise you to study with all your might."
Harry simply smiled, not replying verbally. The toaster popped, spitting out two golden slices, which he removed before feeding in two new slices.
"Will you be staying for breakfast?" Harry asked politely.
"I'm simply here to deliver that message. Please relay my words to Rias," Grayfia said.
Moments later, she teleported away, leaving with as much abruptness as she had arrived.
"Is she gone?"
Harry looked over soon after Grayfia left, discovering Rias standing on the stairs wearing a sheet around her otherwise nude body. He smiled.
"She's gone. Were you trying to avoid her?" Harry asked.
Rias descended the last stairs and walked to the kitchen table. She gave up on the sheet, letting it drop and sitting nude. Her huge breasts were covered in marks that Harry had left there. Some were older and some were newer, attesting to multiple nights of lovemaking.
"Looking like this?" Rias asked. She shivered even though the house was kept warm and toasty, to the point she wouldn't be cold even while nude. "Grayfia nags me whenever I do ANYTHING she doesn't consider "fitting for my station." If she saw me coming to breakfast naked, she might tear my ear off." Rias smirked. "And that's not saying anything about the other marks on me…"
She shimmied her chest, shaking her breasts enticingly. While they bounced and jiggled, displaying their natural perk.
"We did go at it rather hard," Harry said mildly.
He brought toast and eggs to Rias, who accepted them with a bright smile.
"I imagine Grayfia got a pretty good idea of that anyway," Rias said mischievously. "Have you looked in a mirror recently?"
Harry hadn't, so he conjured one next to him. He turned his body around, noticing immediately that his pecs, abs, and especially his back had bite marks similar to what were on Rias's breasts. He'd been sharing his bed with a whole host of women, and they hadn't waited their turn patiently the whole time; it was common for them to nibble him from behind while watching him ravish whatever lucky girl was receiving his dick.
"Oops," Harry said, unapologetically.
Rias laughed. "It's not an actual problem. As long as Grayfia isn't nagging me directly, I WANT everyone to know what we're getting up to every night…"
She said it huskily. Harry turned around, bending down to meet her lips. They kissed, even slipping a little bit of tongue, before he returned to his cooking. Reluctantly, the nude Rias started to eat. Growing up rich and with a sister in law like Grayfia, it was no surprise that she displayed immaculate table manners, cutting precisely and keeping her elbows off the table.
"How much of our conversation did you overhear?" Harry asked.
"Only the last portion. When you invited her to stay for breakfast, and she fortunately turned it down," Rias said. "Why was Grayfia here?"
"To tell me to study. Apparently, we've got a birthday party to attend," Harry said.
Rias got wide eyed. "Right! That's next week! By Lucifer, we've got so much to teach you still! There's ballroom customs, and table manners, and clans you'll have to recognize—"
"Let's focus on that one," Harry said. "I can already dance, and my manners are passable when I do my best."
Rias frowned.
"What's wrong?" Harry chuckled. "You don't believe me? I promise, I can clean up quite well."
"I'm sure you can," Rias said carefully. "If it were like Koneko, Akeno, or Kiba's social debut, I wouldn't be worried. But after what you did to Riser, all eyes are going to be on you. The standards are impossibly high."
Harry stopped fiddling with the food. He'd plated portions for the other girls, whenever they finally dragged themselves downstairs. Moving across the room, Harry sat down in front of Rias.
"Teach me about the politics involved." His voice was completely serious. "I'll handle the rest of making an impression."
Rias quickly nodded, giving in, but she did it so fast that Harry scowled. He realized the link between them was forcing her subservience. By focusing, he managed to cancel the order, giving Rias a chance to respond normally.
To his pleasure, she just said: "Okay. We'll do it that way."
Rias smiled warmly at him, showing that she trusted him. The last time Harry asked for a bit of belief, he destroyed the arranged marriage that she'd been forced into. He'd navigated every situation since then, too. Rias was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, which he appreciated.
Harry touched her hand, rubbing her knuckle to show that appreciation. Rias openly moaned as she was reminded of the places those fingers had been, and the things they'd done to her the last few nights…
"I have a teacher in mind!" Rias forced herself to focus. "She's right here in Kuoh, so it should work out well. Although she isn't affiliated with House Gremory, I trust her as much as any outsider. Her name is Sona."
"Can't you or one of your peerage just teach me about the various clans?" Harry asked.
Rias winced. "Akeno only listens to dirty gossip. Koneko thinks all politics are evil and stays as far away from other devils as she can. Kiba isn't high ranking enough to hear the truly important things. I could teach you, if I had to… But Sona knows even more than I do! She won't just be able to tell you the basics, she'll probably predict who will act out during the event. She might even figure out the strategies that they'll use!"
"That's a strong recommendation," Harry remarked.
"Sona is the best at what she does," Rias said. "We've known each other since we were kids. The two of us even run Kuoh together. It's good for you to meet her, anyway, if you're going to be living here. I was actually thinking about setting up a meeting before this!"
"I look forward to meeting her," Harry said.
Rias grinned. "Oh, you'll love her!"
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