Just as the banquet was reaching its midpoint, a burst of disorderly noise suddenly came from the hallway outside.
The unexpected commotion made Rias frown.
Although this was her family's hotel, that did not mean there was absolutely no chance some blind, brainless brat might come over drunk and start causing trouble.
Normally, this was the kind of plot that only showed up in urban wish-fulfillment slop novels, and in real life it usually would not happen.
But that did not mean it could never happen.
Today was the day she was entertaining honored guests.
If anyone ruined the mood tonight, she would make them pay the proper price.
"Tsubaki, go out and take a look."
"Akeno, go with her. If necessary, you may use force."
Rias was not kind-tempered toward everyone.
At least, in the eyes of the ordinary students at Kuoh Academy, she had always been an untouchable flower on a lofty peak.
No matter how many boys admired her, they would never dare take a single step forward because of the pressure she naturally gave off.
In certain school-life stories, the school beauty's shoe locker being stuffed with love letters was the kind of thing that would never happen to her.
"Understood."
Akeno was also rather exasperated.
She had already decided that after going out, she would give that blind fool outside a good shocking.
The two girls then opened the door and walked out.
However, several minutes passed, and there was still no movement.
Ordinarily, even if someone really had come to cause trouble, the familiars would have thrown them out already, and Akeno and Tsubaki would not even have needed to step in.
At that moment, Lavinia, who had been quietly eating with her head lowered, seemed to notice something and secretly tugged at Rod's sleeve beneath the table.
"The aura outside... it's strong, but also very faint. If I hadn't paid close attention, I might not have noticed it at all."
As an outstanding magician, Lavinia's sensitivity to and mastery over magical power surpassed that of many devils.
Rod felt something similar as well.
He opened the system map.
On the box-garden-style three-dimensional map, there were many green dots. Those green dots represented Lavinia and the others.
Downstairs, there were also two green dots representing Tsubaki and Akeno.
And near them were two more green markers as well.
Allies?
Then it was fine.
At that moment, Rod also noticed those four green dots beginning to move toward the second floor, quickly arriving at the doorway.
Once the door opened, Tsubaki and Akeno entered one after the other.
But Rod noticed that both of their faces were drawn tight, their bodies trembling slightly, their expressions grave to the extreme.
Sona, however, looked somewhat displeased.
As the student council president, she had always held her peerage to strict standards.
Because tonight was meant to entertain honored guests, she had only brought along the reliable and experienced Tsubaki. As for the rest of her peerage, since they were not mature enough yet, she had let them do as they pleased.
But she had not expected that handling such a trivial matter would take so long.
"Tsubaki, what's the matter? Haven't I always told you that when solving problems, you must be concise and efficient?"
Sona spoke in her usual measured tone. But the moment she saw the face peeking out from behind the stern-faced Tsubaki, her own expression instantly turned as foul as if she had swallowed a fly.
And that face, as though it had just discovered a whole new world, excitedly squeezed out from between Tsubaki and Akeno.
"Sona-chan! I finally found you~"
A blur swept past everyone's eyes, and in the next instant, it had already flung itself at Sona and wrapped her in a tight embrace while she was still seated.
Only after everyone recovered did they notice that the figure hugging Sona was wearing something absurdly flashy.
But Asia recognized it at once.
"Huh? Isn't that a character from Magical Girl Milky Spiral?"
After becoming used to modern electronics, Asia had developed a hobby of watching television.
Rod's eyes, hidden behind his sunglasses, also landed on the figure.
The beautiful girl hugging Sona was wearing a pink-and-white half-dress, the hem layered with ruffled lace and decorated with glittering star sequins that reflected the light. On her upper body was a pink off-shoulder outfit.
Her chest was especially well-developed, forming a sharp contrast with Sona's.
Her long black hair was tied into twin tails with pink ribbons, and on her head sat a pink cap resembling a nurse's hat. Her arms were wrapped in black silk sleeves, and her fair, tender legs were clad in red-and-black striped stockings. In her right hand, she held a magic wand with a star ornament at its center.
Although Asia said it looked like magical-girl anime cosplay, Rod could tell that the wand in her hand was the real thing.
He glanced at the system panel.
[Serafall Leviathan]
At the side, the moment Rias got a clear look at who had arrived, her eyes widened immediately.
"Huh? Lady Leviathan, why are you here?"
She had never imagined that her friend's older sister would come.
"Yo-ho, good evening, Rias-chan. Actually, it's not just me. Your brother came too~"
Hearing this, Serafall waved cheerfully to Rias in greeting, then revealed a fact that made Rias instantly lose composure.
At those words, Rias stiffly turned her head, only to see a handsome man with long crimson hair standing by the door, smiling warmly at her.
"Good evening, Rias. Your big brother came to see you uninvited."
"It really has been a long time. How have you been lately? Judging by your face, you've gotten a little thinner compared to before."
The man, whose name on Rod's system panel was displayed as "Sirzechs Lucifer," wore a black suit. He stood tall and straight, handsome enough to outshine even the world's biggest stars, though compared to Rod, he still fell a little short.
"Brother, no... why are you here today?! I didn't receive any notice at all!"
Rias looked shocked, and even her voice trembled from surprise.
"This time, think of it as an incognito inspection. And besides, this is the territory of my adorable little sister. As her elder brother, of course I had to come and take a look."
Sirzechs said with a genial smile.
At the same time, seeing the arrival of these two great figures, every member of Rias's peerage forgot all about eating and stiffly rose to their feet.
Although their master was Rias, that did not mean they got to see a Maou every day.
"Your Majesty Lucifer!"
"Your Majesty Leviathan!"
But seeing their reaction, Sirzechs merely smiled and waved his hand.
"Don't be so formal. I came here this time as Rias's older brother paying her a visit, so right now my name is Sirzechs Gremory, not Lucifer."
As he said this, the smile on Sirzechs's face grew even brighter. It was obvious that he was very happy to still be able to use his own original name.
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