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Silence, the entire room was deathly silent. Whether it was Tenraku, Akeno or Sona, they were all taken by surprise after hearing Rias's words. None of them had expected Rias to suddenly say something like that, leaving them stunned for a moment.
"R-Rias, what are you talking about? Why would we hide anything from you?" Tenraku tried to play it off with a nervous laugh but beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.
Realizing his own feeble attempt to evade the topic, he realized Rias's intentions. It was not surprising that she had invited them to a tea party, it was to let them have their guard down with casual conversation, only to spring this on them.
"Is that so..." Rias, seeing their reactions, confirmed her suspicions.
"I've actually been having my doubts lately. Every time I wanted to go home, Akeno and Sona always found reasons to hold me back. And I've noticed that Tenraku never talks to me about anything related to the Gremory family," Rias confessed, her voice slightly hoarse and her eyes reddening.
Akeno was her queen, Tenraku her husband, and Sona her childhood friend. They were the people she trusted the most in the world, but to find out that they were hiding something from her was both disturbing and unbelievable.
"Rias, we... we..." Akeno and Sona couldn't meet Rias' gaze, their faces filled with guilt.
Normally, they could have brushed off Rias' questions, but they hadn't expected her to use the tea party as a means to catch them off guard.
As family and comrades, they shouldn't have kept secrets from Rias, but the weight of the truth was too heavy and they lacked the courage to tell her. Akeno and Sona both looked to Tenraku for guidance.
With a sigh, Tenraku knew that this time, he could not escape from this. He stepped forward and took Rias in his arms.
"Rias, don't blame Akeno and Sona. It was my decision to keep them from telling you so that you wouldn't return to the Gremory family alone," Tenraku explained, his voice soft but firm.
"Why? What's going on? Why won't you let me go back to the Gremory family?" Rias demanded, her voice full of emotion.
Rias' agitation was palpable, and Tenraku knew that revealing the truth now would only cause her more pain.
If she found out now, she would confront Sirzechs and that could lead to her breaking down. It wasn't the right time to tell her the truth, not until 666 (Trihexa) and Sirzechs were both in the isolation barrier.
"Rias, give me a little more time, I will definitely tell you everything you want to know, but give me a little more time. ..." Tenraku kept saying softly while holding Rias tightly.
Feeling the warmth and tenderness in Tenraku's tone, Rias gradually calmed down.
After a moment, Rias raised her head.
"Since Tenraku said so, I'll give you some more time. But when the time comes, Tenraku, you must tell me everything clearly!" Rias said seriously and looked directly into Tenraku's eyes.
She wasn't being unreasonable.
Although she felt deeply hurt when she confirmed that Tenraku, Akeno and Sona were hiding something from her, she trusted them completely and knew that they must have their reasons to keep her in the dark. Therefore, she was willing to give Tenraku more time.
"Ah, I promise," Tenraku said with a hint of a smile before leaning down to silence the girl with a kiss.
...
Hall of Saints and Demons -
The air was tinged with the scent of the fallen, and the room bore the marks of madness. Venelana and Grayfia lay exhausted in Tenraku's embrace.
"Little Tenraku, one day we will all die because of you."
"Tenraku, are you really planning to enter the Isolation Domain Barrier?" Venelana pondered.
"Ah, I've already made an agreement with that guy," Tenraku replied, referring to the God of the Holy Bible.
"Do you really have the confidence to defeat him now?" Venelana asked worriedly.
"I had some confidence before, but I didn't expect him to control 666 (Trihexa) as well. Now to say I have confidence is not confidence but arrogance," Tenraku admitted with a wry smile.
Venelana's concern was obvious, and Tenraku could not help but feel the weight of the situation.
With the immense power of 666 (Trihexa) and the unfathomable power of the God of the Holy Bible, even Tenraku felt the pressure. Combined with what had happened to Rias earlier, it was one of the reasons why he wanted to relax here.
"Tenraku, you don't have to go in. With your growth rate, you'll surpass him and even Sovereign Beast 666 - Trihexa one day," Venelana hesitated to say.
"I know I'll surpass them someday, but they won't give me that much time," Tenraku replied confidently.
"Don't worry. There's still hope. With the emergence of the Saints and Demons religion, as long as we recruit a large number of believers, I can gain a considerable amount of faith power. Combined with my original power, there's still a chance to compete with them," Tenraku reassured her as he gently stroked her silky hair.
"Tenraku, let me help you as well," Venelana offered.
"How? Do you want to become my follower?" Tenraku teased, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"I would never become a follower of a little troublemaker like you," Venelana retorted. "Your followers are mostly ordinary human girls, right? Although I won't become your believer, I can help you train them. The stronger your followers are, the more power they can give you, right?"
"That is true. Besides the faith, the stronger the believers themselves are, the more power they can give me. And the armed forces of the entire religion of saints and demons are still somewhat weak. If you can help me train them, that would be great," Tenraku agreed.
"But we can talk about these things later. For now..." A wicked smile appeared on Tenraku's face as he stroked Venelana's cheek before pressing her head down firmly.
Soon, a look of satisfaction appeared on Tenraku's face, and then he turned his gaze to the other side, where Grayfia was.
She understood the rascal's intentions, maintaining her composure despite her exhaustion, and eventually mustered the strength to support her tired body.
To be continued...