Along the way, the woman on Raize's back chatted with him, asking his name, his age, and where he studied—just casual small talk. Raize answered each unimportant question patiently, without showing any annoyance.
After getting a basic sense of the young man, the woman's wariness toward a stranger eased considerably, and Raize also learned her name.
A foreign name—Valerie Lane.
"We're here." Raize looked at the house ahead, walked to the door, and carefully set Valerie down.
Valerie took out her keys and opened the door. After accepting the grocery bag Raize handed her, she smiled gently and thanked him.
"Thank you so much, Yotsuki-kun."
"You're welcome…"
Raize replied with a polite smile. It was about time for him to head home and start cooking.
After exchanging a few courteous words, Raize turned to leave under Valerie's gentle smile, while she limped back into her house to close the door.
Raize took out his phone to check the time. Just as he was about to accelerate home, he suddenly heard a cry of pain coming from Valerie's house behind him.
Don't tell me she fell again?
With a slight twitch at the corner of his eye, Raize sighed and immediately ran back to her door. Sure enough, the door wasn't even fully closed before she had fallen to the ground again.
The pain from limping caused her to lose balance and sit down hard, the second fall leaving her face pale.
"I told you to go to the hospital and you wouldn't listen"
Looking helpless, Raize once again gathered the fallen groceries, carefully helped her up, turned on the hallway light, closed the door behind them, and supported her into the living room.
Sitting on the sofa, Valerie looked at Raize apologetically.
"I'm really sorry to trouble you, Yotsuki-kun. My son, who rarely comes home, is returning today. I wanted to cook a meal for him. If I miss it, I'm afraid he'll be disappointed."
"You even said your son is about my age. If he finds out you got hurt just to make him a welcoming meal, I don't believe he'd be able to eat it in peace!"
Raize poured her a cup of hot water and placed it on the table, replying with irritation as he glanced around the living room and kitchen.
If the son was even a little considerate, there was no way he'd calmly eat a meal knowing his mother got injured for it.
Of course, if he was the kind who didn't care about family at all, then forget it.
"You really are like my son—cold on the outside but warm inside," Valerie said with a smile. "My son is always so bad at being honest when it comes to my concern."
Hearing Raize speak up for her, Valerie felt much better. Though his tone was rough, it was clear he was worried about her—just like her son.
Thinking of her son, the stubborn Valerie tried to stand up and head to the kitchen again, but Raize immediately stopped her.
She had only twisted her ankle at first, and after falling again she still wanted to cook?
"Enough. Just sit properly. Do you have a first-aid kit at home?"
At the mention of a first-aid kit, Valerie looked a little embarrassed.
Seeing her expression, Raize sighed helplessly.
"Don't tell me the medicinal wine you mentioned earlier was just a polite excuse. You're really reckless for your son."
Her behavior made Raize strangely envious of her son. When his own mother was still alive, whenever his father punished him by not letting him eat, she would secretly make food for him, or even take him out to eat alone.
"I'll cook for you. What were you planning to make for your son?"
Raize set his things aside, picked up the grocery bag, and asked her.
Having a good impression of Valerie, Raize decided he'd quietly heal her injury before leaving.
"That's really too much trouble for you, Yotsuki-kun. I can—"
Before she could finish, Raize's expressionless gaze stopped her. After glancing at her ankle, she hesitated, then said softly,
"Then… I'll trouble you, Yotsuki-kun. Can you make pasta?"
"That's easy. Just rest here and don't move around."
Raize nodded confidently, reminded her to stay put, and turned toward the kitchen.
Pasta, also known as Italian noodles, was the Western dish closest to the eating habits of his hometown. There were many types of pasta, each with its own name.
Compared to the noodles in his memory, pasta was nothing special. Since he liked Valerie, Raize used some fantasy ingredients from his inventory.
After a while, a rich and intoxicating aroma drifted into the living room. Smelling it, Valerie finally relaxed—his cooking skills were clearly no joke.
Three plates of Raize's modified pasta were set on the table. He went to the living room, supported Valerie, and helped her sit at the dining table.
"Give it a try. See if it suits your taste."
Handing her the Western cutlery, Raize gestured for her to taste it.
Valerie thanked him and took a bite. The moment she did, she covered her mouth and narrowed her eyes.
It wasn't because it tasted bad—but because it was unbelievably delicious. The texture of the noodles was astonishingly chewy, springy in a way she had never experienced before.
Each strand, soaked in the special sauce, carried an aroma that was utterly intoxicating.
"It's incredibly delicious—hundreds of times better than what I make. Yotsuki-kun, your cooking is amazing."
Completely satisfied, Valerie praised him sincerely. It was hard to imagine someone so young having such extraordinary culinary skill.
Her son would definitely love this dish. Thinking of him, Valerie smiled happily, deeply grateful for the help of this kind stranger.
Ding-dong!
Raize was about to say something when the doorbell rang.
Seeing Valerie try to stand again, Raize gently pressed her back into her seat, signaling her not to move with her injured leg.
"I'll get it. Please wait here."
He walked toward the door.
The doorbell kept ringing, and Raize was a little curious what kind of person her son was to inspire such devotion.
Click.
Before Raize could open it, the person outside seemed impatient and unlocked the door with a key.
"Mom, are you home? How—who are you!?"
Standing before Raize was a strikingly handsome man with silver-gray short hair and piercing blue eyes.
Seeing an unfamiliar man in his mother's house, the silver-haired man's gaze sharpened as demonic power erupted from his body—the unmistakable aura of a devil.
This man was a devil.
"A devil!?"
Raize's expression changed instantly. Sensing the hostile demonic aura, the holy energy within him surged violently. He instinctively entered acceleration mode—an Eight-Point Light Wheel in his left hand, a holy light sword in his right, both aimed at the man's vital points in a combat stance.
The moment the silver-haired devil saw the holy light in Raize's hands, every cell in his body screamed danger, urging him to stay away.
His body tensed as he gathered immense demonic power in his hands, ready to attack.
Just as the two were about to clash in a deadly fight, a voice stopped them both.
"Vali, is that you? Yotsuki-kun is my guest and helped me. He's not a bad person—no fighting!"
Hearing her son's voice, Valerie had already grown excited. When she heard his startled reaction and feared he might mistake Raize for an intruder, she immediately spoke up.
She tried to stand and greet her son, but the sharp pain in her ankle stopped her.
At the doorway, Raize and Vali stared at each other, frozen—one holding a humming light wheel and sword, the other forming a devastating demonic blast.
Hearing Valerie's words, Raize realized there must be a misunderstanding. The name Vali made his thoughts race as everything clicked into place.
What kind of twisted fate was this? Not long ago, the system inside him had devoured the Red Dragon Emperor's soul—and now he had run straight into the White Dragon Emperor?
Vali, relieved that his mother was unharmed, also didn't want to fight here and risk involving her.
They continued to stare at each other before Raize finally spoke cautiously.
"You're… Ms. Valerie's son?"
Vali, still uneasy about the terrifying holy light, nodded after hearing both his mother and Raize. He now understood that this was likely a misunderstanding.
"Human aura… and devil… a human-devil hybrid."
After carefully sensing him, Raize indeed detected a trace of humanity beneath the obvious demonic presence.
So he really was the current White Dragon Emperor—Vali Lucifer.
[Vali, the human in front of you is no ordinary human. Despite being human, that terrifying light… no, it can't even be called holy power anymore. Even the highest-ranked angels' light doesn't compare. Be extremely careful.]
Hearing Albion's warning within him, Vali grew even more uneasy at the sight of the condensed light sword and wheel in Raize's hands.
He had faced angelic light, fallen angel light, and even Cao Cao's sacred power from the Longinus. The Twilight Holy Spear was troublesome, but with the White Dragon Emperor's wings, he could still contend with it.
That power made him tense—but Raize's light made him genuinely afraid. And Albion had said even the highest angels couldn't compare.
Damn it. He just came home to see his mother—what kind of monster did he run into?
A human could possess holy power surpassing even a Seraph and the True Longinus—could it be that the other party was a wielder of a High-tier Sacred Gear!?
And not just any Sacred Gear, but an unknown one, like Cao Cao's True Longinus—something born specifically to target devils!?
The more Vali thought about it, the more certain he became. He had run into a wild, unregistered Sacred Gear wielder.
If this were a different situation, the battle-hungry Vali would probably have already fought him. But his mother was here—just an ordinary human. From what she had said, she had run into trouble earlier and had been helped by the man in front of him.
Worried about his mother, Vali did not want any conflict to break out here. To show that he had no hostile intent, he was the first to withdraw his attack stance and rein in his surging demonic power.
Raize was not an unreasonable person either. Seeing the relief in Vali's eyes, he also put away the holy light sword and light wheel that made Vali so uncomfortable.
"Your mother sprained her ankle while coming back from grocery shopping. I carried her home..."
Raize briefly explained why he was here, then stepped aside to let Vali enter.
After hearing the explanation, Vali nodded expressionlessly and immediately passed Raize, hurrying into the house. Hearing that his mother had injured her foot, his steps unconsciously quickened.
Since his own belongings were still in the living room, Raize followed him inside.
Inside the house, Valerie looked excitedly at her son she had not seen in a long time. She once again subconsciously forgot about her injury and immediately tried to stand up to hug Vali.
"Mother, don't move!"
Vali noticed her injured ankle at once. Seeing her trying to stand despite the injury, he rushed over and supported her.
Valerie hugged Vali tightly, joy and warmth in her voice as she whispered into his ear.
"Welcome home, Vali~"
Vali's usually cold expression cracked. Being embraced by his closest family made warmth well up in his heart—but the moment he remembered there was still an outsider present, his face instantly turned bright red.
Yet facing his mother, he had no idea how to react. If he pushed her away, would it hurt her feelings?
Caught in a dilemma, Vali stood there, face flushed, unable to move.