Emiya Residence.
Upon returning home, Heracles, Archer, and Grandpa went about their business outside, while I immediately collapsed onto my favorite sofa and prepared my favorite coffee, whose aroma instantly took over every neuron in my brain.
So now all I had to do was wait for news on how events would unfold on Olympus. My work was done, Hestia, and not only her, had understood the message I wanted to convey, and now everything depended on her. Zeus would surely try to prove himself to me in some way, aggressively, of course, and only she, as a goddess equal to the Big Three, could turn everything around in the right and relatively safe direction.
Moreover, even without my antics, sooner or later Olympus would have faced roughly the same circumstances, given the changes in the world and the canon. Against the backdrop of other mythologies, which built friendly relations with each other and grew in strength, the Greeks were quite passive. And the process of their suppression by others would have been longer, more nerve-wracking, and, most importantly, final.
However, what will be, will be. It's not like I don't care or anything like that, right? And the information from Rizevim wasn't really necessary. Heh.
Bringing the aromatic black coffee to my lips and inhaling its wonderful aroma once more, I was about to enjoy its taste, but...
I was interrupted.
- "What are you doing here, Kuroka?" I raised an eyebrow, looking at her face, and then remembered what I had promised her earlier. "Oh, so you're here for that?"
- "Mm-hmm."
I nodded briefly and thought for a moment.
- "To be honest, I completely forgot about your request," I began, to which Kuroka showed a sad face. "But it's okay. It won't hurt me. It would have been better if I had seen them, but there's another way. You said there are four of them?"
- "Uh-huh, nyan!" she replied happily.
- "All right," I said, creating a plastic jar with four small yellow pills and handing it to her. "One for each of them. They should bring the body to a perfect state, by human standards. The body and soul will be completely restored, but they'll need to sleep for a while."
Kuroka slowly and carefully took the jar in her hands as if it were the greatest treasure in the world. Her every movement was accompanied by an excited tremor and tension, and only when she carefully placed them between her breasts did Kuroka let out a sigh of relief and then hug me.
- "Thank you..." she whispered, to which I nodded briefly and, at the same time, felt moisture on my clothes. "I'll repay you... I promise..."
- "Whatever you want," I shrugged and gently pulled her away from me. "Go. And give my regards to Ama-chan and the others."
Kuroka gave in to my efforts, but at one point she suddenly reached for my lips, though I stopped her attempt by putting my hand between us.
- "No way," I grinned, looking at her hurt and pouty expression. "You haven't raised my affection level high enough for something like that yet."
- "Yet?" Kuroka smiled, her cat ears perking up and pointing in my direction. "Then I'll try harder!"
- "Yeah, right," I dismissed her, and she, her eyes still red from crying, waved enthusiastically and then disappeared through the back door. When Kuroka was gone, I reached for my now cold coffee, reheated it, and took a sip.
Well, that's that taken care of, now I can make a list of what's left, which isn't that much.
First, my wedding. It's pretty strange that I haven't heard anything from Morgana, Tia, and Yasaka yet, even though I can definitely feel their presence in Kyoto.
I don't know how many and what exactly they will decide, but apparently I have no choice but to simply accept their decision. After all, I don't really understand any of this.
Second, the plot. At this stage, Issei and the others are still in the Underworld, but what will happen next? It's completely different. The reason is that there were two versions of the DxD novel, and the anime plot didn't quite follow the original story. That is, considering the changes made by my presence, anything could happen.
Although, in theory, the next arc should be devoted to Ophis and her acquaintance with the others, and that's where the whole catch was, because at the end of it, Issei is supposed to kick the bucket. Temporarily, of course, but still. And most importantly, I would call his death the key point of the plot.
But because of me, Ophis, Cao Cao, and Aida, who are key figures in all of this... I have no idea how things will turn out. Heh.
The next moment, the doorbell rang, and since I had to get up and Rea-chan had gone somewhere, I just used magic and let the guests in, because their signatures were very familiar to me. A couple of seconds later, when they appeared in the doorway, I took another sip and put the cup on the table.
- "So, you're here," I began, summoning Fou to my hands and stroking him like a playful cat. "We've known each other for many years, and I don't even remember you ever inviting me to your birthday party or to spy on your sister..."
Hearing me, the corner of Sirzechs's smile twitched in irritation, Grayfia limited herself to her right eye, and Rea-chan bowed and stood behind my shoulder.
- "You come here and show me your fetishes... But you don't even know if I have any..."
- "Can we talk, Romani-san?" Sirzechs asked politely, taking the sofa opposite me.
- "You came to me for help, but you came without respect... Sirzechs Lucifer," I continued, ignoring him and rubbing the head of an irritated Fou, who was trying to bite my fingers.
- "Are you quoting someone?" he didn't understand. "I have always treated you with respect, and my presence here is not because I need your help."
- "Tsk," I clicked my tongue and threw Fou out the window, whereupon he let out a loud yelp, using the entire spectrum of swear words and curses, but disappeared into the portal he had opened. "You uneducated fetishist..."
- "Is that for me?" Sirzechs asked defiantly, and Grayfia rolled her eyes.
- "And a fool at that... What a failure," I sighed wearily and tapped my temple in exasperation. "All right, why are you here, tomato senior?"
- "You see, tomorrow there will be a Rating Game between Rias and Sairaorg," he said, causing me to raise an eyebrow.
Hm? The end of the Heirs Arc? Good to know.
- "All right."
- "And I would like to invite you to the Underworld as a spectator. This game is very important to Rias and the others," Sirzechs continued, then smiled slyly.
- "And considering what you did to my aunt, it's important for Sairaorg as well. They wanted to thank you personally, but unfortunately, circumstances arose one after another."
- "Interesting, interesting," I nodded. "Are you trying to use them to lure me into the Underworld? And why would you do that?"
- "Come now, Romani-san," Sirzechs shook his head. "This time my words are sincere, and my intentions are pure."
- "Heh. Pure as Gabrielle herself, I suppose?" I grinned. "Well, I can do that."
- "Thank you."
- "But with one small condition."
- "A condition?"
- "You won't mind if I, as a truly great and wise man of this world, meet with your son and have a little chat with him, will you?"
As soon as I said that, Grayfia and Sirzechs's eyes widened, and Rea-chan nodded approvingly. After a couple of short seconds of exchanging glances, with Grayfia's eyes expressing cold refusal and Sirzechs's expressing submissive pleading, the couple turned their gaze to me.
- "Well, I don't..." Sirzechs began, but Grayfia immediately interrupted him.
- "No. Lord Millicas is still too young to meet you."
- "My king is offering to share his wisdom with your son, Lucifer, and you refuse?" Rea-chan said. "Your words are meaningless."
- "I am not refusing, merely suggesting a more appropriate time, Lady Leviathan," Grayfia said coldly. "Lord Lucifer and I know better than you what is best for the Gremory clan."
- "Now, now, calm down," I raised my hands and stopped the two of them, then looked at Sirzechs. "All right, then let's do this... Hmm... No, nothing comes to mind. Let's agree on one request with the option of refusal on your part, shall we?"
- "That... sounds too simple," Sirzechs replied after thinking for a moment. "What's the catch?"
Aha. So he did want something from me besides the reasons he gave, huh? Well, that's to be expected. But I still need a safety net just in case.
- "None," I shrugged. "So, are we agreed?"
- "Yes," Sirzechs nodded and got up from the couch. "That's all I have. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow at noon."
- "Yeah," I said, and he and Grayfia disappeared into the light of the magic circle. However, a few seconds after they left, I realized I had missed one detail.
Wait. How did he know I was back? And I forgot to ask what Goetia was doing there. Yeah, right.
-0-
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