While Bokue Keikain was busy spawn-camping Mimori at her respawn point, the perspective shifted back to Keystone Gate.
Inside the old schoolhouse, Rias—who had just woken up and finished breakfast—sat alone at the office desk at the far end of the living room.
She cradled a book in her hands, a freshly brewed cup of coffee steaming beside her as she read in peaceful silence.
This was one of Rias's favorite ways to spend a day off.
Just then, the sound of the front door being pulled open echoed from the corridor leading to the entrance hall. A moment later, a black twin-tailed figure came bouncing energetically into the room.
"Yaha-llo~! Rias-chan, have you eaten breakfast yet?"
"...Hm?"
Still immersed in her reading, Rias didn't process what was happening right away. She instinctively lowered her book and looked up—
—only to find Serafall's familiar, adorable face beaming at her.
"Lady Serafall? What brings you here so suddenly?"
Rias blinked in surprise, quickly rising to greet her guest.
"Well, the thing is..."
Serafall pursed her lips, looking like she wanted to say something, but then her expression shifted into an exaggerated pout.
"What's wrong—am I not allowed to visit?"
"Wha—no, that's not what I meant at all! I was just curious..."
Rias immediately scrambled to explain, her hands waving in a flustered panic.
And just like that, Serafall's expression flipped back to a cute smile.
"Hehe~ Just messing with you! But yeah, there is something I wanted to talk to you about, Rias-chan. It's about the International Ranking Tournament."
"International Ranking Tournament?"
"Mm-hmm~!"
Serafall nodded her head enthusiastically.
"See, a while back, it wasn't just the alliance between the Underworld, Heaven, and the Fallen Angels—we also had peace talks with the Norse Mythology faction and signed an agreement with them. So theoretically, we're all on the same team now, right? And something as fun as the Ranking Game should definitely be something everyone gets to play together!"
"So based on the discussions so far, we're planning to hold an international tournament. It won't just be devils from the Underworld anymore—Angels, Fallen Angels, the Norse faction—everyone will be able to participate. A free-for-all to crown the ultimate champion!"
Ah... so that's what this is about.
Rias nodded, indicating she understood.
"So..."
"So I'm here to ask if you guys want to participate!"
Serafall finished the sentence for her.
"I see. Though for something like this, I'd probably need to—uh..."
The crimson-haired girl's words trailed off mid-sentence.
She had been about to say she needed to discuss it with Bokue first before making any decisions. But before the words left her mouth, she remembered what he'd told her during their last heart-to-heart talk.
'Don't worry about dragging me into things or causing trouble for me. Whatever happens, I'll always have your back.'
Recalling those words, Rias's hesitation melted away in an instant. Her voice turned resolute.
"Of course. We'll participate."
"Great~! That's what I wanted to hear!"
Watching the girl's transformation unfold in mere seconds, a hint of warmth colored Serafall's tone.
"They really do say love changes a person, huh? Looks like Bokue-kun has had quite the influence on you, Rias-chan! Too bad my little Sona-chan is still as dense as a brick wall. Who knows—maybe if she ended up with Bokue-kun someday, she'd finally loosen up a bit too?"
"L-Lady Serafall..."
Rias's mouth twitched, a bead of cold sweat rolling down her temple.
Seriously—what kind of person openly schemes to have their little sister steal someone else's boyfriend? Right in front of the girlfriend, no less!
"Ah, okay, okay—back to business."
Realizing she'd veered wildly off-topic, Serafall cleared her throat and steered the conversation back on track.
"So since you've decided to participate, do you have a finalized roster yet?"
"Huh? You need it this soon?"
Rias blinked in surprise.
Not that there was any particular reason—it was just that she'd only just decided to participate. She hadn't even had time to discuss it with anyone yet, so how was she supposed to hand over a roster?
"Well, the workload for this event is going to be massive, so the earlier we get things done, the better~"
Serafall spread her hands with a rare hint of exasperation.
"But it doesn't have to be the full list right now. Just whoever you can confirm at this point."
Whoever we can confirm, huh...
Rias thought it over seriously. "Well, first of all, the [King] position is definitely Bokue. And for [Queen]... it's Mom, uh..."
The crimson-haired girl paused for a beat, then continued with a somewhat probing tone.
"You probably already know about this, Lady Serafall? Since there were too many people competing for the [Queen] slot, Mom decided to hold the position herself for now—just to prevent any conflicts or infighting among us..."
She seemed almost worried Serafall might misunderstand, so she made sure to explain the situation clearly.
"Yep, yep, yep—I know all about that!"
Serafall nodded rapidly, producing a pen and notepad from seemingly nowhere and beginning to jot things down.
"So that's the King and Queen slots confirmed! Anyone else?"
"As for the rest... I really can't say right now."
Rias shook her head hesitantly.
Hearing this, Serafall let out a small "oh" and tucked away her notepad and pen.
"Alright then—let's lock in these two for now. If you confirm anyone else later, just let me know whenever!"
"Got it."
Seeing that Serafall seemed ready to leave, Rias moved to follow and see her off.
"Oh, by the way—since we're on the topic, I might as well head over to Mom's place too. She probably doesn't know about the tournament yet, so I should fill her in..."
"Ah, you don't need to bother with that~"
Serafall stopped in her tracks and turned around, scratching her cheek.
"Your mom actually went back to the Underworld yesterday. Said she had something urgent to take care of. She left in quite a hurry, so she's not on Itogami Island right now."
"I-is that so?"
Rias couldn't help but feel puzzled.
After all, if her mother really had something urgent to deal with, she would've mentioned it first. What kind of situation would make her leave without even saying a word?
"Still, I should probably head over to her place anyway."
The crimson-haired girl thought it over.
"Since Mom left in such a hurry, she probably didn't have time to tidy up her room. I should go clean things up for her—otherwise it won't be livable next time she visits. But first... I'll go find Bokue and tell him about the tournament."
"Mm-hmm!"
Serafall flashed a bright smile and nodded energetically.
"When you go clean up your mom's room later, make sure to bring Bokue-kun along~! It'll make things way easier with him there!"
"Oh, that's alright—I can handle something like this on my own..."
Rias replied almost reflexively.
But Serafall only smiled knowingly and said nothing more.
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