Staying by Izumi's side was, without question, the safest option.
Not only because Izumi himself was overwhelmingly powerful—but also because Ophis was there.
That alone made it the most reliable protection Kanon could possibly have.
Although Izumi had only been gone for a single month, everyone present could clearly sense the change in him.
His aura had become calm.
Stable.
So restrained that he appeared almost like an ordinary human.
But none of them were foolish enough to believe that.
If anything, it was precisely because they knew how terrifying he was that this unsettled them.
There was only one reasonable explanation.
Izumi had broken through again.
From a Transcender, he had stepped into the same realm as Ophis.
Michael, Gabriel, Sirzechs, Serafall, and Azazel had already gathered privately to discuss him.
They all remembered what Sirzechs had once said.
That he had felt threatened by Izumi.
And Sirzechs Lucifer was no ordinary being.
He was a Transcender.
For someone like him to feel danger meant only one thing—
Izumi had already reached that level.
Now, with Izumi's aura completely transformed, they were certain of it.
This young man had truly crossed that boundary.
Which meant—
Leaving Kanon in Izumi's care was unquestionably the safest choice.
Two SSS-class existences.
Even if Great Red himself descended upon the world, no one would be able to lay a finger on her.
Sirzechs even found himself seriously considering something dangerous.
Maybe it's time to tell Rias to try a little harder…
It wasn't just him.
Azazel was thinking along similar lines.
He didn't have a daughter, but his subordinates did.
And one of them happened to know Izumi quite well.
Even if Akeno didn't acknowledge Baraqiel as her father—
Becoming Izumi's woman would hardly be a bad outcome.
Yeah… this has potential.
Two shameless old men quietly began scheming.
Even Michael, after a moment, found himself deep in thought.
How exactly should Heaven strengthen its ties with Izumi?
…Offering Gabriel?
That didn't sound entirely unreasonable.
Once the thought surfaced, it refused to go away.
Maybe we could research methods for angels to marry humans without falling…
Hmm.
That actually sounded feasible.
After all, God was gone.
And in Heaven, Michael now held absolute authority.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Kanon herself didn't feel any resistance toward staying at Izumi's house.
So after Gabriel expressed her approval, Kanon hesitated shyly—then nodded.
And just like that, the matter was settled.
Michael and Gabriel soon took their leave.
Izumi had thoroughly dragged Kanon into chaos, and now Heaven had a mountain of work ahead.
They had to deal with the Church.
They had to deal with the aftermath of losing a saintess.
And more importantly—
They had to give an explanation to Kanon's family.
After all, her brother was still a reigning king.
Even if she was an illegitimate child, Kanon was still a princess.
An explanation was unavoidable.
Once the guests departed, the villa immediately became lively again.
Le fay rushed forward and hugged Izumi without hesitation, her eyes sparkling.
"Izumi-sama! Can you tell us about the other world?"
"It must've been amazing, right?!"
She had been holding it in the whole time.
If Gabriel and the others hadn't been present earlier, the middle-school girl would've already jumped on him.
She wasn't the only one.
Everyone was curious.
A world that could instantly make someone stronger?
Of course they wanted to hear about it.
Izumi sighed helplessly and gave them a simplified version of what had happened.
When he finished—
And casually mentioned how he had also destroyed that world's Japan—
Everyone fell silent.
Katō Megumi was the first to react.
"…I feel like you're harboring some kind of grudge against Japan."
"You're not going to blow up this Japan one day too, are you?"
He had already destroyed Japan once in that pitch-black loli world.
Then again in another world.
Just how deep was his resentment toward Japan?
Especially when the place they lived in was also called Japan.
That was terrifying.
Izumi spread his hands.
"Impossible."
"This is the Japan Prefecture, not the State of Japan."
"Why would I blow this up?"
He wasn't that unreasonable.
Sure, the name was the same—but this Japan was part of the Dragon Kingdom.
Completely different from those other worlds.
In this world, Japan had been unified thousands of years ago.
From beginning to end, it had always been Dragon Kingdom territory.
Even so, no one really believed him.
They all had the same feeling.
It's only a matter of time.
Facing the complete lack of trust from his own girls, Izumi didn't even know how to complain anymore.
The title "Explosion Maniac" clearly wasn't coming off anytime soon.
At that moment, Ophis casually climbed into Izumi's lap and sat down.
Looking up at him, she asked flatly:
"When are we going to kill the red one?"
...
Izumi blinked.
So her mind was still only focused on Great Red, huh?
As expected of Ophis.
He sighed and ruthlessly rubbed her head.
"Not yet."
"And honestly—do you really want to go back right now?"
"Once you return, there won't be anyone to play with you."
"No more sweets either."
That did it.
Ophis immediately hesitated.
On one side was her lair.
On the other—
Desserts.
She was visibly conflicted.
Izumi smiled.
"Well, take your time thinking about it."
"There's no rush."
"Our current strength is more than enough."
"If we want to go beat him up, we can do it anytime."
"You don't need to worry."
Ophis nodded slowly.
That made sense.
The moment Izumi returned, she had already noticed it.
He had broken through.
That was why she had asked about fighting Great Red in the first place.
But now…
There was no need to rush.
Maybe she could calmly weigh the pros and cons?
Life beside Izumi was… enjoyable.
Every day was lively.
Every day had good food and sweets.
She had become strangely attached to this place.
So Ophis didn't press the topic further.
That evening, Izumi and the others held a banquet.
It was to celebrate Kanon officially joining them.
From that day forward, she became part of Izumi's group.
Someone Izumi would personally look after.
After eating and drinking their fill—
Izumi decided to compensate Katō Megumi.
He dragged her—along with Sakura, Le fay, and Asia—into his room.
They played games that were, by all definitions, extremely enjoyable.
Only when exhaustion finally overtook them did everyone fall asleep.
Late into the night.
On a hill not far from the villa—
A black shadow flashed past.
It slipped into the villa with ease.
Seized a white cat.
And vanished instantly.
The moment the cat and the shadow left the villa—
Izumi opened his eyes.
At the same time, Ophis, sleeping in the adjacent room, also stirred awake.
But after sensing what it was—
She calmly hugged Avrora beside her and drifted back into deep sleep.
As if nothing had happened.