As it turned out, no matter the setting, it was always awkward when someone met their ex together with their new partner. Right now, Yusuke was experiencing exactly that, with Grayfia and Sirzechs both present in the same conference room.
Aside from Sirzechs, there was also Azazel, who looked like he was thoroughly enjoying the situation, as if he were expecting some kind of drama to happen. Standing behind him was a tall, muscular middle-aged man with a black beard and mustache. Judging by his position, he appeared to be Azazel's bodyguard.
His eyes were fixed on Yusuke, staring at him from the moment he stepped into the room. He appeared hesitant, as though he wanted to say something but ultimately held himself back.
The other person was a man who looked to be in his late twenties. He wore traditional Japanese clothing and carried a sword at his waist. Yusuke recognized him immediately. He was Sirzechs's Knight.
Finally, there was Serafall. She was the only person without a bodyguard and was now clinging to Yusuke.
"Yu-tan, I missed you~" With her arms wrapped around his, Serafall rubbed her face against his shoulder while speaking in a sweet, cheerful voice. "Did you miss me too?"
"...You have been with Yusuke this entire morning. Stop being dramatic, Serafall," Grayfia stood behind Yusuke, gently scratching his head. She rolled her eyes at the dramatic Serafall and spoke in a quiet tone.
"Hmph! Of course, I'll miss Yu-tan even if I were separated from him for a single minute!" Serafall pouted at Grayfia before kissing Yusuke's cheek. "Did you have dinner before coming?"
"No." Yusuke shook his head.
"Me too. I couldn't eat without you. I didn't have a single bite." She broke into a wide smile before asking with sparkling eyes, "You felt the same way, right?"
"Hmm, you can say that." Yusuke stared into her eyes for a long moment and couldn't bring himself to shatter her fantasy. He forced a smile and nodded.
He hadn't eaten because he never got the chance to, but why would he ruin a woman's mood by saying that? It was better to tell her what she wanted to hear.
"Yu-tan, you really can't do without me!" Serafall shrieked happily and started showering his face with kisses. "I love you! Yu-tan! You are so cute! I love you! I love you!"
Watching the interaction between them, Azazel stroked his goatee in awe. Every time he witnessed Yusuke's rizz, it made him want to kneel in reverence! This guy was flirting with Serafall while Grayfia massaged his scalp. He had somehow gotten two of the strongest women to fall for him and willingly share him. The most outrageous part was that he seemed to be doing it all without any effort!
"How envious," Azazel thought, a hint of envy in his expression as he watched them. The three of them looked so happy together, which made him feel somewhat lonely. At one point in his life, he, too, had women flocking around him. He even had a massive harem back then.
Still, even with that envy, he did not truly want to be like Yusuke. Azazel never wanted to settle down. He was the type who preferred staying single, or perhaps he simply had not found someone he genuinely loved.
"Yu-tan, I have a shooting next week. Do you want to come with me?"
"Is it another magical girl show?"
"Hmm! It's the live-action film adaptation of Magical Girl Milky!"
"You can act as the villainous tentacle alien monster and assault Magical Girl Ria! Hehehe~!"
"He won't. Yusuke isn't a perverted villain."
"I only want him to play the role."
"Hmph! Don't think I don't know what you are thinking!"
"Both of you, stop."
"Okay, Yu-tan! How about it? Will you come with me?"
"Nah, I'll pass. But we can do any play you want when we are alone."
"Really?! Yu-tan, I love you so, so much! You are the best! Yaay!"
Even Baraqiel, who had been itching to talk to Yusuke about his relationship with Akeno, forgot about everything for a moment. He simply watched as Grayfia, the supposed wife of the strongest Maou, acted like another man's wife, while the only female Maou clung to a young man as if she were a teenager experiencing her first love.
"Sirzechs-sama," Souji Okita cautiously glanced at his master. To his surprise, he saw that Sirzechs was sitting completely expressionless, with no emotion visible on his features.
The Knight sighed once again.
Even at this moment, he still could not understand what had happened between Sirzechs, Grayfia, and Yusuke. Things had changed so incredibly fast that the entire peerage still did not quite understand how it had all come to this. And that was without even mentioning the Gremory House and Venelana.
The door of the room suddenly opened, and four people walked in. The first was Ajuka. Walking by his side was a tall, bald man with a goatee. He was the fourth Maou, Falbium Asmodeus.
Following behind the two was Odin, walking with his cane, and behind him was Rosseweiss, dressed in a light blue vest and matching pants. Her head hung slightly low, perhaps because Odin had once again poked at her scars, making fun of her for being single.
"You guys finally came. With this, only Michael is missing," Azazel said as he stood up alongside Sirzechs. The former spoke with a grin.
"Sorry, I am late, everyone." Just as he finished speaking, Michael walked through the door with Griselda.
Sirzechs invited everyone to take their seats with a smile, despite his attempt to ignore Grayfia and Yusuke.
As everyone began to take their seats, Rosseweiss, who followed behind Odin, looked up to observe the big shots attending this meeting. And as if struck by lightning, the moment her eyes landed on the black haired, robust looking young man sitting on the sofa with two women by his side, everything inside her froze.
Her eyes locked onto Yusuke. In an instant, they widened dramatically. Her pupils dilated, and her heart suddenly stopped!
Ba dum! Ba dum! Ba dum!
As if her heart had been revived after it died once, it started beating frantically, like when you're in the shower and suddenly remember you left the stove on with milk boiling.
All the sounds of the people speaking in the room suddenly faded away. Rossweisse stared at him with intense, unblinking focus. It felt like time had come to a halt, and the noise disappeared. The world went completely quiet!
For a moment, it felt like her soul had left her body.
No… she really was feeling as if her soul was leaving her body.
'Haah! Haah! Haah!'
Staring deeply into his eyes, Rossweisse felt something overwhelming stir violently inside her chest!
Something important... Something life-changing. It was as if she had finally discovered the true meaning of her entire existence in this single moment.
And the longer she stared at him, the deeper that obsessive thought burned itself into her heart, branding her soul with his name.
In that instant, something inside Rossweisse cracked open. A burning, all-consuming, obsessive thought flooded her veins like molten lava.
She did not know who this person was, but his presence in this room meant he was someone important and powerful. Still, that did not matter to her at all, because she had finally understood.
She finally understood why she had never been in a relationship before.
It was not because she was a lonely workaholic, exploited by her blackhearted, perverted boss.
It was because she had not met her destined one. The man she was fated to be with. The one she would live with and love forever and ever.
A massive flood of thoughts and intense chaotic emotions crashed into her soul and heart with overwhelming force. Countless fantasies erupted wildly inside her mind like fireworks. Blood rushed violently through her veins with every thunderous beat of her heart. The sheer amount of emotion, something she never thought a person could experience in a single instant, flooded her completely.
And then suddenly blood began trailing from her nose. Her eyes rolled upward, and faint wisps of steam seemed to puff from her head.
Thud!
Without any warning, the Valkyrie bodyguard collapsed to the ground and passed out completely!
"Rosseweiss!"
"What is wrong with her?!"
...
Rip!
The space was torn open, forming what looked like a swirling portal. Four people walked out of it.
"For a trickster and the God of Mischief, Loki sure is easy to trick," Bikou said with his hands crossed behind his back and a wide grin. "He looks like a stupid guy to me."
"He is not stupid. However, he was tricked by us this time because of his arrogance," Arthur replied calmly as he placed his sword back at his waist. "Gods still have their foolish pride and their sense of superiority, which makes them look down on us."
The sword he held was the strongest Holy Sword, Caliburn. It surpassed both Excalibur and Durandal, possessing the ability to tear through space itself. Arthur had used that power to teleport the four of them close to the capital city, bypassing every magical barrier that surrounded the area as if they were nothing more than thin glass.
The other two were Kuroka and Vali. The four of them stood atop a mountain, gazing toward the tall building where the gathering was currently being held.
"Yusuke… sniff, sniff… I can sense him. He is here too!"
Kuroka crouched low to the ground, sniffing the air. Her golden eyes glowed with intense delight as she spoke in a burst of excitement. She looked like an addict going through withdrawal who had just gotten a small dose of what she craved. Her mood spiked so sharply that she began trembling, overwhelmed by joy and happiness.
She closed her eyes and took another deep breath, inhaling the air around her, "Huuufff! Yusuke's scent… subarashi!"
"What the hell? Why are you acting like a dog?" Bikou stared at her with a confused look.
"Shut up, stupid monkey. You will never understand!" Kuroka snapped, turning toward him with an expression full of utter disgust.
"What am I supposed to understand? A stupid cat acting like a dog!"
Vali glanced at the two of them, then exchanged a look with Arthur. It seemed that even if Kuroka had become obsessed with the man called Yusuke Aoki, some things never changed. She and Bikou still could not stop arguing.
On the other side, at the Vali team's base.
"Ophis, are you going somewhere?"
Only Le Fay and Ophis remained in the base. The blond witch noticed Ophis suddenly floating and tearing open space, and she asked her curiously.
"Somewhere," Ophis stated simply.
...
PS: I just started a new fanfic; you can check it out: Dead Girls Chat Group
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