After welcoming Rixia as his Servant, Renya parted ways with her temporarily in order to escort La Folia back to the Aldigia Kingdom.
"This is a job I've already taken on. I want to see it through properly, so I don't embarrass myself as your Servant. Besides, I'm worried about La Folia-san too."
Such were Rixia's words.
La Folia, for her part, thought it would be fine since her dear friend had finally found love, but she was also happy for the concern shown by her friend, so she decided to accept the kindness.
Besides, even though she had been the one to suggest it, she would miss Rixia after all.
And so, Rixia completed her guard duty for La Folia and rejoined them a few days ago.
"Hmm, I see. Well, I've read the reports, but as expected, leaving it to Ren-chan was the right call. Without any bias, the results exceed my expectations."
Mephisto Pheles, projected in the air in Renya's study at the Kurosaki residence, said with a laugh.
At this late hour, Renya was reporting to Mephisto the full account of events from the rescue of Rixia and La Folia up to the present.
He had already sent a report via transmission magic, but Mephisto had contacted him, saying he had some free time for the first time in a while, leading to this conversation.
"I already sent you the report, didn't I?"
"That was that, and this is this. You always leave it at just the report, after all. That's helpful, and I think it's excellent, but... I can't hear your personal impressions—your thoughts—unless it's direct. I just wanted to hear it from Ren-chan's own mouth. Think of it as a bit of father-son bonding."
That was precisely why Renya had made that remark, but from Mephisto's perspective, he was still his son, and he replied with a wry smile.
He understood that Renya's ability to separate public and private was admirable and excellent, even for a son.
But that aside, he also wanted to create time for father and son.
"For now, think of this as private time between father and son… So, how's the new Servant girl doing?"
"No problems so far. She seems to have gotten along with Lavinia and the others just as expected."
Since that was the case, Renya also switched his attitude to that of a father-son relationship.
From the moment they introduced Rixia, Lavinia and the others had welcomed her warmly.
How they interacted from there on was left to each of them.
Sylpha, being a fellow swordswoman, seemed to be communicating with Rixia through their swords.
Perhaps because swordsmen were simply that kind of creature, they seemed to have communicated more eloquently than words could, and by now had become quite close.
Shizuna also seemed to welcome her as a fellow 'Knight' colleague, taking the lead in explaining the role of a 'Knight.'
Lavinia, though Renya didn't know the details, had been interacting with her through stories about Renya.
Before he knew it, Mio and Elfaria had also joined in, which also helped the Servants who weren't good at socializing.
Orihime seemed to be connecting through cooking, learning dishes from Rixia's homeland in exchange for teaching her Renya's favorite dishes and seasonings.
Perhaps because of Orihime's personality, the two seemed to have completely opened up to each other.
When Renya summarized this, Mephisto nodded happily.
"Uh-huh, they're all future daughter-in-law candidates after all. I'm glad everyone's getting along well. Well, they're girls Ren-chan chose, and starting with Lavinia-chan, your Servants are all good kids. I suppose I needn't worry."
Renya thought it was a bit premature, but in Mephisto's mind, all of Renya's Servants and lovers were like daughters-in-law.
Rixia, who was gradually getting used to her new life, had opened up considerably from the beginning. Even after coming to the Kurosaki residence, the interactions continued, and it seemed she had come to trust him.
However, lately she seemed somewhat distant, or rather, she would blush and hurriedly look away upon seeing Renya.
If Renya's intuition wasn't wrong, it seemed to be for a positive reason rather than a negative one.
"I don't know for sure yet, but if anything comes up, I'll handle it. A Servant is a lifelong relationship for both parties. Either way, it's all about the future."
"Uh-huh, you're so earnest, Ren-chan. I think you're a good 'King.' Most High-class Devils don't take responsibility for their Servants like that. Usually, if there's a problem, they just trade them away. I even reincarnated the former Dragon King Tannin-kun with a 'Queen' piece just because I thought it would be interesting."
At Renya's words, Mephisto casually replied with such a remark.
Tannin was a Dragon who had been counted among the Six Great Dragon Kings. His breath was said to rival a meteor, and in terms of offensive power, he was a High-class Devil on par with Maou-class. For a free-spirited, willful Dragon, he was surprisingly reasonable—a Dragon with common sense, if such a thing existed. He had reincarnated as a Devil because the fruit 'Dragon Apple,' beloved by his fellow Dragons, could only be grown in the Netherworld's soil, and he needed territory for it.
Incidentally, with Tannin's departure, the Six Great Dragon Kings had become the Five Great Dragon Kings. Vritra and Fafnir had been slain, Midgardsormr had entered a long hibernation akin to retirement, and now only the lone female Dragon King, Tiamat, who dwelled in the 'Familiar Forest' and occasionally emerged to rampage, and the Jade Dragon, also known as the Mischievous Dragon, remained.
Renya, for his part, thought it would be interesting to ally with Tiamat someday.
"So you really did make Grandpa Tannin your Servant for that reason?"
Hearing the surprising motivation behind the reincarnation of the great Dragon King he affectionately called 'Grandpa,' Renya sighed in exasperation.
Incidentally, Tannin had also looked after Renya since he was young in place of the busy Mephisto, so he thought of him as a real grandson. Of course, the other party was a High-class Devil, so Renya maintained proper decorum in official matters.
"Hahaha. But it's also true that our interests aligned."
"Well, I guess it's fine. So, how's Grandpa Tannin been lately?"
"Same as always. Participating in Rating Games, working on agriculture in his territory. Ah, recently he mentioned having drinks with your guest, Cú Chulainn, and talking about you."
At Mephisto's words, Renya felt a sense of embarrassment.
Certainly, since he had trained under both of them, they might have things to talk about, but hearing his past immature self being discussed was hard to bear.
While grateful for their training, Renya decided to end that topic there.
"At any rate, I'm glad to hear nothing's changed. Tell him I'll send some Japanese sake sometime."
"Ah, got it. Well, I think that's about it for now. Anything else new?"
"Yeah. I took in a dark elf."
"I saw the report. The issue is where she belongs. If she's from a tribe still hiding in some hidden corner of the human world, that's fine, but if she's affiliated with Norse mythology, that's a different matter."
The dark elf girl, who had been placed under a powerful contract and still hadn't woken up, posed a difficult question regarding her future.
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