The panoramic elevator descended smoothly, revealing the floating city of Agreas in all its grandeur. Elegant towers rose like crystal needles, suspended gardens floated between the buildings, and the streets below had a certain bustle. Seekvaira remained silent beside Alear, her hands clasped in front of her body, her posture impeccable. From time to time, she cast a quick glance at him, as if trying to measure the man she had just been "promised" to.
When the doors opened on the ground floor, she took the lead.
"I know a quiet café in the center," she said, her voice clear and polite. "It's quite popular among the nobility, but it has tables with a view of the main square. If you don't mind…"
Alear nodded.
"You can lead the way."
The path was short but pleasant.
He had to admit: the city was truly impressive. At first glance, the architecture strongly resembled the human world—organized buildings, busy streets, eye-catching shop windows, and even the commerce followed a familiar pattern. There were manga stores and clothing shops, various establishments, and even something similar to LAN houses, many of them filled with people focused on screens, creating a scene almost identical to that of any large ordinary urban center.
Now, someone might think that devils used the human world's internet, but in reality, they had their own internet called Devilnet, which was a craze that crossed racial boundaries. It was not limited to devils; other species also used the network, turning it into a global point of connection within the supernatural.
He himself considered buying a cellphone later, mainly to gain access to Devilnet. Updating himself on demonic society was not just convenient—it was necessary. Since his rebirth, he had spent days isolated, focused on becoming stronger and understanding more about his situation. He only knew about Devilnet from the memories of his predecessor and his first life.
Come to think of it, if he hadn't been reborn carrying his experience in the "Nasuverse," the adaptation would have been much more difficult. After all, he would probably have wanted to go after a cellphone with internet on the second day of his new life...
Well, anyway, another thing he couldn't help but notice was the behavior around them.
The devils circulating in the area inevitably turned their gazes toward him as soon as he passed. It was almost instinctive, as if the attention of the environment was being pulled in his direction. Some just cast quick, discreet glances. Others lingered longer, analyzing him without shame… curious, suspicious, even envious.
But the reason was all too obvious.
The heiress of the Agares family was walking by his side.
Seekvaira didn't seem to care about the attention she attracted. Her high boots marked a firm rhythm against the stone pavement. The miniskirt of her sophisticated outfit swayed with every step, revealing more than it should—or perhaps exactly enough to provoke longer stares. Her long, well-toned legs drew attention effortlessly, while the fitted fabric of the dress hugged her curves in an almost provocative way. Her generous bust moved subtly with her breathing, pressing against the thin fabric in a way that was difficult to ignore, even for those trying to maintain composure. The thin-framed glasses contrasted with all of this, giving her a coldness, creating the impression that she was an extremely strict person...
It was thanks to this that the two were not approached by anyone.
They arrived at the café shortly afterward. It was a refined establishment, with white marble tables set outdoors under a transparent awning that filtered the light of the Underworld. Seekvaira chose a table by the window overlooking the central square.
A waiter appeared almost immediately. They ordered a simple coffee for Alear, with a touch of warm milk for her.
When the cups arrived, Alear took a slow sip, looking out the window.
"The city is incredible…" he commented, his voice low and sincere. "It's no wonder it's one of the Underworld's tourist spots. It lives up to its reputation…"
Seekvaira smiled faintly.
"I'm glad you liked it, Lord Häagenti-Gäap. Agreas is the pride of our family…"
"Just call me Alear. There's no need for formality between us…"
"…Alright. Feel free to call me by my name as well… Lord… Alear…"
The silence that followed was not uncomfortable, but it was charged. Alear spun the cup between his fingers for a moment, then raised his gaze to her.
"May I be direct, Seekvaira?" he asked calmly.
Seekvaira nodded, her pink eyes fixed on him from behind her glasses.
"Please."
Alear leaned slightly forward, his voice low but clear:
"What is your honest opinion about this marriage?"
Seekvaira remained silent for a few seconds. Her fingers tightened slightly around the cup before she answered, her voice calm, almost cold, but without hesitation:
"I see no problem with it. I am ready to fulfill my duties as a wife at any time."
Alear furrowed his brow slightly.
He observed her more closely, noticing that she seemed similar to Artoria Alter, possessing a kind of coldness, a severity that did not match the youth of her face. It wasn't exactly hostility. It was more as if she had been trained to suppress any emotion that could be interpreted as weakness. Even so, when she spoke to him, there was a subtle softness in her voice, almost as if she were trying to be gentle but didn't quite know "how."
"I see…" he said at last, leaning back in his chair. "Why?"
Seekvaira lowered her gaze for a moment, then looked at him again. She adjusted her glasses with the tip of her finger—a nearly automatic gesture—and explained:
"My father explained the situation with the Bael. I know what it means to be used as a political piece. If marrying you allows me to escape that… and still help my family… then I am willing."
She paused, her pink eyes gaining a more sincere glow.
"Besides… you don't seem like the kind of man who treats his wife as an object. That alone is more than I expected."
Alear let out a low sigh and said:
"You're very direct."
"Many people say I have a sharp tongue because I'm too direct…" Seekvaira replied, with a faint smile.
The two remained silent for a few more seconds, drinking their coffee while observing the square outside. Alear noticed that, despite the initial coldness, Seekvaira seemed to relax little by little, as if the initial ice of the conversation had begun to melt. Finally, he broke the silence again.
"So… tell me a little about yourself. Besides your duties as heiress. What do you like to do when you're not being the next Archduchess?"
Seekvaira blinked, clearly surprised by the personal question. After a moment, she answered, her voice softer:
"I… like mecha anime." She spoke with considerable enthusiasm, breaking the cold and severe image she projected. "Old series, mostly. When I have time, I watch them alone in my room. It's… I know. It's a very different hobby from what's expected of someone in my position."
Alear raised an eyebrow, a genuine smile appearing on his lips for the first time.
"Mecha, huh? Interesting."
Seekvaira blushed slightly but didn't look away.
"And you?" she asked, returning the question. "What do you do to relax?"
Alear took another sip of his coffee, his gaze returning to the window.
"Train. Read. And… try not to die of boredom while the Underworld decides whether it wants to use me or destroy me…"
Seekvaira smiled melancholically and said:
"So… we have something in common. I guess when you're born a noble, you don't have the freedom that ordinary people have, right?"
Alear looked at her; his eyes held no particular emotion.
"It seems so…"
He replied, somewhat impressed by her view, since most devils were arrogant and would never have even considered that possibility.
The two remained silent for a while before being approached by the waiter again. They ordered some simple desserts to go with the coffee. Alear chose a classic tiramisu, creamy with a slight coffee bitterness, while Seekvaira opted for a strawberry cheesecake, light and topped with fresh fruit. The dishes arrived quickly, and the two continued talking as they ate.
The conversation flowed more naturally than Alear had expected. They talked about the city, about the customs of the Underworld, and about books they had both read. At one point, the subject inevitably turned to his engagement with Serafall.
Alear took a sip of his coffee before touching on the subject.
"As you already know, I am engaged to Serafall Leviathan…"
Seekvaira nodded, cutting a small piece of the cheesecake with her fork.
"Yes, I know. I have no problem with that…" She raised her pink eyes from behind her glasses, her gaze steady. "I understand how the world of nobles works. There are many High-Class Devils who have numerous wives, and the opposite is also true… There are some noblewomen who also have more than one man…"
Alear observed her for a long moment, his eyes fixed on her as his expression became serious, almost cold.
"Just to be clear…" he began, his voice firm, leaving no room for hesitation. "I am selfish. Quite a lot."
"There is no scenario where I would accept sharing the woman who is with me with another man. To me, that is ridiculous… the behavior of a loser who has no pride at all. So, if you accept marrying me, there is something you need to understand from the start." His tone did not soften, but it carried direct honesty: "I will have more than one woman… Remember when I said I was quite selfish? That's exactly where my selfishness comes in. But you will have only me as your husband. Of course… I won't force you to accept this. If you cannot agree with this condition, then there is no point in continuing down this path."
"I will talk to your father, and we can reach some other kind of agreement. I am not the kind of man who ignores women's opinions…"
Seekvaira stopped the fork in mid-air, the piece of cheesecake suspended for a moment. Her pink eyes narrowed slightly behind the thin glasses, and the intellectual, cold air she carried seemed to gain a sharp edge. Then she let out a low, short, dry chuckle, almost disdainful.
"Are you making excuses not to marry me?" she said, her voice clear and cutting, without raising her tone, but loaded with sharp irony that sliced through the air. "Do you really think I'm that naïve, Alear?"
She lowered the fork with a soft clink against the plate, crossing her arms under her generous bust. The movement made the fabric of the dress stretch slightly, but her gaze remained fixed on him, direct and unwavering.
"I already considered that possibility from the moment my father explained the proposal. I knew you wouldn't be an 'exclusive' husband. I knew there would be other women. And even so, I accepted." She tilted her head slightly, her glasses reflecting the golden light coming through the window. "Or do you think I'm the kind of girl who dreams of a fairy-tale romance where the prince only has eyes for her? I am the heiress of House Agares. I grew up knowing that my marriage would be a political tool. What I expected was respect and a minimum of honesty. And you just gave me that… in a very selfish way, I must admit."
Seekvaira uncrossed her arms and picked up the fork again, cutting another piece of the cheesecake with precision.
"And honestly, I have no interest in other men. I am the kind of woman who devotes herself to a single partner and doesn't mind sharing him with other women. I had already accepted this condition of yours long before our marriage agreement; it's simply who I am. I've had Evangelion as my favorite anime for ten years, you know? So you can trust me…" She brought the piece to her mouth, chewed slowly, and swallowed before continuing, her tone now softer, almost provocative: "Or is the great Lord Häagenti-Gäap afraid he won't be able to handle two women at the same time? And so he invented this condition hoping I would back down? Because if that's the case… I can give you some time to think it over."
Alear held her gaze for a few seconds. The corner of his mouth curved into a minimal, almost amused smile. He hadn't expected such a sharp response from someone with such a cold and intellectual appearance. Seekvaira might seem distant, but her tongue was sharp, just as she had mentioned earlier. But Evangelion? Should he be worried? Although he had never watched that anime in his first life, he knew it wasn't exactly a very well-regarded one...
Anyway, he liked his future fiancée a little more now...
"Touché…" he murmured in response to her provocation, taking another sip of his coffee. "I'm starting to appreciate how direct you are…"
Seekvaira shrugged, the movement making her breasts move slightly under the dress.
"I prefer to be clear from the start. It avoids misunderstandings later." She tilted her head, her pink eyes shining with genuine curiosity behind the coldness. "So… shall we continue with our marriage?"
Alear placed the cup on the table with a soft clink.
"I won't back down, but as you said, don't expect this to be a fairy-tale romance…"
Seekvaira nodded slowly, a small, satisfied smile appearing on her lips.
"Good. I don't like them very much anyway…" She cut another piece of the cheesecake and offered the fork to him, a simple, almost playful gesture: "Want to try? It's really good…"
Alear looked at the extended fork, then at her face. He accepted the piece, tasted it, and nodded.
"Really good."
The two continued eating in a now more comfortable silence, the square outside continuing its tranquil movement under the Underworld morning.
Suddenly, a sharp whistle cut through the air.
A magical fire projectile, reddish-orange and charged with destructive power, came straight toward their table from outside. It was fast, precise, and lethal—the kind of attack that left no time for normal reactions.
Alear reacted instantly. Without thinking twice, he activated the trait of the Häagenti family. His demonic power flowed into the ground that would be in front of the attack in a second. The transmutation was instantaneous: the ground rose like a thick, solid wall right in front of them, curving slightly to form an improvised shield.
The projectile collided violently.
The explosion was deafening.
The entire café was destroyed in an instant. Tables flew, chairs disintegrated, and the fire spread like a voracious wave. Screams of pain and panic echoed everywhere.
"What was that?!"
"An attack! Someone is attacking the square!"
"My God, the customers… look at the blood!"
"Run! Get out of here!"
"My leg… someone help me, please!"
Customers who were nearby were hit directly; some died instantly, others fell wounded, moaning on the ground as the flames licked their bodies. A woman in a red dress screamed as she tried to put out the fire burning her sleeve. A young noble dragged the body of a fallen companion, his face pale with terror.
Alear kept the barrier firm, his arm extended, his face serious. Seekvaira instinctively crouched behind him, her eyes wide, but still not panicking.
In the blink of an eye, a huge translucent bubble formed around the affected area, created through his [Zenith Tempest]. Immediately afterward, he manipulated the air inside the sphere, quickly sucking out all the oxygen. Deprived of fuel, the fire went out almost instantly, emitting a muffled sound, as if it had been suffocated along with the smoke. The bubble then burst with a soft pop, revealing the partially destroyed stone wall—cracked, blackened… but still standing.
Alear quickly turned to Seekvaira, his hand touching her shoulder.
"Are you okay?"
She nodded, breathing deeply, her face pale but her voice firm.
"Yes… thank you. You protected me."
Alear squeezed her shoulder lightly before releasing it.
"It's my duty as a man to protect my woman. Don't worry…"
He narrowed his eyes and looked up at the sky.
In the air, floating with bat wings spread open, a group of five devils wearing black robes with deep hoods hovered above the square. Their faces were hidden, but the murderous aura emanating from them was unmistakable...
Alear kept his voice low, without taking his eyes off them.
"So, do you know them?"
Seekvaira raised her gaze in the direction he was looking...
"No… I've never seen them before."
"Well, I was just being ironic about that, since they seem pretty determined to hide their identities with those hoods, and it's quite obvious that their target is me. I can feel their killing intent directed at me. They must also be confident that they can kill me before anyone from your family notices the commotion and comes here…" Alear let out a short sigh, almost a humorless laugh. "Great. I was wanting to show that I'm not just a mere moving target. Stay here…"
He took a step forward, spreading his own bat wings and taking flight, positioning himself between Seekvaira and the attackers, his [Demonic Power] beginning to circulate around him like an invisible current.
The first official day of "tourism" in Agreas had just turned into a battlefield.
___________________
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