"Rias, I know all of you are confused by my coming here, but I didn't come to cause trouble."
Ravel wasn't surprised by their reaction.
"To be honest, I should be thanking you for defeating my brother, Riser."
"His loss dealt him quite a blow, but that's also because he relied too much on his talent and thought too highly of himself. This defeat was a very good lesson for him."
"My father and my older brothers think the same way."
Only after hearing that did the expressions on Rias and the others soften.
After all, some of the Phenex family's upper ranks really were present, and Riser's father was here too. From the looks of it, he was in quite a good mood.
"You're one of your brother's servants too. Why didn't you appear earlier?"
"That? Well, although I'm technically one of his servants, it was really just so I could learn how to become a proper high-class devil. But my brother's performance was just too disappointing, so I had Mother trade me away in advance using one of the unused pieces. Mother even said that if there was someone I wanted to become the servant of, she'd be more than happy to arrange another trade."
After saying that, Ravel suddenly looked at Rod.
"You should be Rias's master, right? You look rather ordinary, yet you're actually a human."
"It seems Rias and the others were only able to achieve what they have now because of you. What a pity, though... you aren't a devil."
At that, Ravel gave a soft sigh.
But when she looked up, she realized Rod was staring at her without blinking. Two faint blushes immediately appeared on her delicate little face.
"C-Could I know your name?"
"Rod."
"R-Rod... then... then, if you don't mind, I'll call you Lord Rod!"
There was a trace of excitement in Ravel's voice.
"???"
That genuinely left Rod at a loss.
Wasn't this girl supposed to be a tsundere?
Calling him that so intimately right from the start, were they even that close?
And when she saw that Rod didn't object, a delighted expression appeared on Ravel's face.
She was just about to say something else when someone approached. "Lady Ravel, the master is looking for you."
"I understand."
Ravel turned her head and nodded calmly. Then, when she looked back at Rod, her face lit up with a bright smile.
"Lord Rod, when we meet again next time, would you like to have tea together? I-If you don't mind, I could also prepare a cake m-made by me personally."
After finishing that halting invitation, Ravel lifted the hem of her dress in a graceful curtsy before slowly walking away.
Only then did Rod notice that the other girls at the table were all looking at him rather strangely.
"Did you know her a long time ago?"
Rias asked.
Rod was speechless. Did having seen her on TV before transmigrating count?
Still, it was only a small interlude. The group soon resumed chatting.
"This hotel is built so ridiculously large. Aren't they worried people will get lost?"
Kuroka looked up at the gemstone-and-gold-studded dome above and asked.
"The scale of this hotel only counts as medium-sized, really. Compared to Rias's family castle, it's still much too small."
Akeno had recovered her mood and said with a smile.
"I heard she got lost there several times when she was little."
"That castle must be pretty rough to live in if it's that big."
Kuroka couldn't help commenting.
Akeno added, "Not the castle. Her bedroom."
Rod: "???"
Another few dozen minutes passed before the celebration banquet finally came to an end. Sirzechs summoned Rias and the others for a talk, and after that, the whole group returned to Kuoh Town the same way they had come.
...
Several more days passed after that.
While Rod was playing games with Ophis at the Khaos Brigade headquarters, he suddenly felt something in his pocket heat up.
He pulled out Katerea's skin flake token. Not this one.
Instead, it was the other obsidian badge.
Rossweisse's voice came through it.
"Lord Odin will be touring Kuoh Town for a day. Where are you?"
Rod didn't reply. He wasn't a full-time bodyguard, and it wouldn't be too late to go back once something actually happened.
With Odin's strength, even if he were attacked, he should at least be able to hold out for a while.
If he got ambushed and just died on the spot, then what kind of god-king would he even be?
Besides, if the attacker was so strong that even Odin couldn't hold them off, then even if Rod went, he probably wouldn't be able to save the situation.
"Are you leaving again?"
Ophis tilted her head up from his lap and looked at him.
"It's fine. Ignore him for now. We can clear these few maps first and still head back afterward."
Rod said.
Hearing that, Ophis lowered her eyes again and focused on the game once more.
Several hours later, only after they had cleared the last few stages did Rod finally teleport away from the Khaos Brigade.
Ophis, with her endless stamina, casually pulled a disc from the pile of Rod's private collection and started playing it.
But as she watched, she began to feel that something about the plot wasn't quite right.
There were too few actors. Just one man and one woman.
Hm?
Why were they suddenly taking off their clothes and fighting?
Ophis didn't think too much of it. Since Rod had said it was part of his personal collection, that meant it ought to be interesting.
So she patiently kept watching.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side, by the time Rod teleported back to Kuoh Town, night had already fallen. Lavinia and the others were all asleep, so he didn't disturb them.
But just as Rod was about to get into bed himself, the token in his pocket heated up again.
Rossweisse's voice came through once more.
"I can sense your presence. If you're not busy, please come over."
Rod hadn't expected these things to be able to sense one another when nearby.
With no other choice, he went to the place Rossweisse had specified.
It wasn't far at all, just near Kuoh Academy.
"Lord Odin, please do not go to places like that again! Do you want the whole world laughing at our Norse faction?!"
Occult Research Club.
Before even entering, Rod heard Rossweisse's stern, lecturing tone.
Yet Odin was only playing dumb. "Ah, I'm old now. My ears aren't so good, so I can't hear you, Rossweisse. Tomorrow I'd like to visit Kyoto. I heard the geisha there are much better than the ones in this little place. Their figures are more explosive too."
"Lord Odin! Your meeting with the Japanese gods is coming soon. Please collect yourself and stop fooling around! Especially in places like that! If this continues, the other lords back home will definitely be displeased when we return!"
Rossweisse had spent the whole day running around everywhere with Odin. She had even had to take the initiative in finding places that would make men happy.
And by nightfall, seeing Odin still behaving like this, she had nearly reached the limit of her patience. Veins stood out on her forehead as she snapped. If Rias and the others hadn't been present as the hosts, she would probably have already taken out her fan and smacked Odin with it several times.
"I can't stand it. You really are a woman with no sense of fun at all. What's wrong with loosening up a little? The reason you can't find a man is precisely because you're always this serious."
"T-That has nothing to do with whether or not I have a boyfriend! It's not like I chose to stay single!"
Rossweisse's voice started trembling, edged with aggrieved frustration.
Just then, Rod pushed open the door and walked in.
"I didn't expect the old guy to be this good at enjoying himself."
As soon as he entered, Rod swept his gaze across the room.
Hm?
There was an unfamiliar person here too?
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Read 55+ Advanced Chapters
p(a)treon.com/Shalltearr
Drop some POWERSTONES to push the story forward!