After Katerea finished her speech and vanished, Rhode noticed that the number of eyes fixed on him had increased exponentially.
Azazel was one, Michael and Gabriel's gazes were somewhat fervent, and Sirzechs looked equally curious. However, the most surprising was Grayfia, who continued to watch him with a slightly hostile look.
"?"
Look, I really didn't do anything to you, did I? Rhode thought. Or is it just that my casual attitude rubs her 'Iron Lady' sensibilities the wrong way? Wait. High Magistrate?
Rhode suddenly recalled an inconspicuous keyword in what Katerea had just said. When did Grayfia become a "High Magistrate" of the Underworld? Wasn't she just Sirzechs's wife and Queen?
"Forget it. Lavinia, let's head back," Rhode said, shaking his head. He was curious, but these were matters best investigated in private.
"Okay. But... can I ask Little Vali a few things first?"
"I guess we can wait a bit longer," Rhode nodded. He was always lenient with Lavinia. Especially since he knew he wasn't being cheated on, but was instead dealing with this bizarre "mommy" complex, he found the whole thing quite funny. Getting a "son" for free wasn't the worst outcome.
"But Little Vali hasn't woken up yet. Can I take him back with me to ask?" Lavinia asked with a smile.
"That's probably not possible. The White Dragon Emperor was one of the masterminds of this attack. Even if he didn't cause much damage... he can't just be taken away like that," Azazel cut in. His tone, however, was clearly protective of Vali.
Hearing Azazel take that stance, Michael and Sirzechs didn't push the issue. Vali had committed the high crime of attacking the leaders of the Three Factions, but it was currently a critical moment for the peace talks. Moreover, the White Dragon Emperor hadn't actually struck them; he had declared his affiliation with the Khaos Brigade, flown outside to watch, and then got treated like a spinning top by Rhode.
In a way, his guilt could be argued as either heavy or light. Still, they had to go through the motions.
"Eh? Not allowed?" Lavinia looked distressed.
Sirzechs and Gabriel knew that Rhode and Lavinia were very close and wanted to do them a favor. They considered suggesting that Vali be temporarily detained in Kuoh Academy for interrogation tomorrow.
But Lavinia's next words made everyone lose their composure.
"It's so late... I'm getting kind of sleepy."
Everyone: So you weren't upset because you couldn't take him away, but because you're tired?!
"Lavinia, Vali actually woke up a while ago," Rhode said suddenly. "He's just faking it right now."While the hand sanitizer didn't have the power to mend one's spirit, it could instantly repair all internal and external physical injuries. Its efficacy was easily on par with the Underworld's legendary Phoenix Tears.
"Eh? Really?"
Upon hearing this, Lavinia immediately crouched down to scrutinize Vali's face, searching for any sign of consciousness. Despite her close inspection, she couldn't find a single flaw in his act.
However, she trusted Rhode's words implicitly. After a few seconds, her eyes lit up as a brilliant idea struck her.
"I've got it!"
With a graceful flick of her finger in the air, a slightly aged diary manifested out of thin air.
"Little Vali, I really don't want to do this, but if you won't listen to me, I'm going to have to start reading from the Book of Heart."
"The Book of Heart? What's that?" Rhode asked, his curiosity piqued. This was a piece of lore he actually didn't know.
"It's one of the three notebooks Little Vali wrote back in the day," Lavinia explained with a sweet smile. "There's the Book of Heart, the Book of Technique, and the Book of Spells. When we parted ways, he took the Book of Technique back, but I've been safely keeping the original copies of the Book of Heart and the Book of Spells!"
"The Book of Spells contains many of Little Vali's unique theories on magic and mana—it's a very important secret manual," she added.
Rhode understood immediately. It was the equivalent of a rare martial arts manual with personal annotations. If someone else got their hands on it, they could potentially stage a classic "underdog's revenge" story thirty years down the line.
"The Book of Technique contains Little Vali's original finishing moves. There are so many in there! Oh, right, Rhode—that kick you used earlier actually looked similar to one of the entries, but Little Vali never used it because he thought it didn't 'suit' him."
"As for the Book of Heart... it's also a unique manual. It's filled with a collection of cool lines Little Vali came up with!"
"Lines like: 'Is that all? To think you could make me surrender... how naive!'"
"And: 'Take this! My ultimate—'"
As Lavinia flipped through the notebook and began reciting the lines with mock-seriousness, Rhode noticed that Vali's poker face was beginning to crumble. Finally, by the fifth line, Vali couldn't take it anymore.
His face exploded into a brilliant shade of crimson as he snapped his eyes open. Under Lavinia's delighted gaze, he stood up.
Gone was Vali's usual cold, detached demeanor. His face was flushed beet-red, and he looked at Lavinia with a mixture of absolute horror and confusion.
"La... Lavinia... I'm begging you. Stop. And... give those two books back to me!"
Azazel was watching this with a look of pure shock. Usually, Vali would be acting cold, aloof, and utterly unreachable. Why was he acting like a petulant child the moment he faced Lavinia?
Could it be... that he really does see her as his mother?
Realizing the truth, Azazel suddenly felt incredibly depressed. He had adopted Vali years ago and raised him with care, but seeing the massive disparity between how Vali treated him versus Lavinia, he felt as though all those years of parenting had been a waste.
Lavinia gave Vali a radiant smile, looking for all the world like a big sister whose runaway little brother had finally come home.
"Little Vali, you're finally willing to talk to me. Then, let's go have some tea while we—"
"No. I have no intention of doing that. I want those two notebooks back. I want to dispose of them immediately. I am not the person I was back then, Lavinia. I've grown up."
Vali shifted his tone, trying to look serious and imposing. However, Lavinia simply tilted her head with a troubled expression.
"Sigh, I guess there's no helping it. Since Little Vali says so, I'll give them back."
Vali let out a massive sigh of relief. If Lavinia had kept reading, he might have suffered actual "social death" right there in front of the world leaders. He already felt like he didn't have the face to remain standing in this room.
But just as Lavinia was about to hand them over, she pulled them back slightly. "However! As a condition, Little Vali, you have to properly apologize to the Three Factions and to Rhode! What you did earlier was wrong!"
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High School DxD: Reincarnated into the Multiverse, but it's High School DxD (320 Chapters – Ongoing)
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