"That was dangerous, you know? You should be careful next time, okay?" Shin said to the girl.
Now that Shin have the chance to look at her more, this little girl really is such a cutie. Her unblemished white skin, her cute little face that still have some baby fats, her features that looks like she's a European descent, her blue colored irises that looks like they're glittering because of her tears, her waist-length crimson hair with an ahoge on top of it, and her loose bangs that is covering her forehead slightly with some side bangs that is framing her delicate looking face.
No doubt, this little girl will grow up one day to become one of those so-called, 'Country Destroying Beauty'. Right now, this said little girl is once again squinting her eyes slightly while rubbing her head on his hands.
Shin is not quite sure how to react on the situation he is currently in. Technically, it is his fault for suddenly hugging this little girl so abruptly out of reflex. But, this little girl didn't even scream or slap him. To be honest, Shin thought for a moment that her slapping him is quite possible.
However, he didn't expect for this little girl to not only stay quiet, but also rub her head on his hand in a very familiar manner. This is totally out of his expectations.
『Did you forget about your new skill? That [Friendship] thing?』 Yuki suddenly said.
『Ah! Right! How could I forget that!』 Shin said.
Shin wanted to talk with Yuki more about how to diffuse this situation but the little girl in his arms suddenly started to talk.
"You... why does your pats feel so... umm... good? It's better than my Onii-sama's pats!" the little girl said energetically.
There is no semblance of fear in her demeanor. It seems like she totally didn't mind this current situation. In fact, it seems like she's quite happy.
Shin was quite intrigued by this so he couldn't help but ask,
"Umm, I don't know what your talking about. I'm just patting you like how I usually pat my friends and sisters. Also, why are you not panicking? Shouldn't you be mad at me because I hugged you?"
While saying this, Shin removed his arms that was supporting her waist and took a step back to not invade her personal space.
"Mm? That's because it makes me feel safe and fluffy! I'm mad earlier but it vanished like *poof* when you patted me on the head!" the little girl replied with a smile on her face.
She's used to receiving pats from her relatives and she likes to be spoiled so she didn't really mind Shin patting her. In fact, she's quite greatful that he made her feel better from his pats. Paired with Shin's natural talent in patting someone, which was honed from many years of experience, Shin was able to make a good impression on her.
"O-Okay. Then, why are you mad earlier? Is there something wrong?" Shin asked.
"Ah! That's because my Onee-sama don't want me to buy a manga! Muuu, it makes me mad again," the little girl said.
When she said her latter words, she suddenly began pouting so Shin figured that it would be better if he calm her down. It's much better to talk to a calm person than a angry one, after all.
"Yosh, yosh. No need to be mad. Wait, did you just say, 'manga'?" Shin suddenly asked.
"Huh? Yes? Umm... yes, I said manga," the little girl replied.
Upon hearing her reply, Shin couldn't help but smile widely, showing his dimples. This smile seems to have dazzled the little girl a bit as she looked at Shin in an absent minded manner for a few seconds before regaining her sense.
"If it's a manga then I can let you have the manga that I drew! It's about a princess and her adventures so I think you'll like it!"
Saying this, Shin took the bag he has been carrying with him and opened it. He began to rummage through his bag, seemingly looking for something. After a few seconds of looking, he finally took out a book with a anime-like drawing of a girl(?) as its cover.
The person on the cover has androgynous features, having a hairstyle that resembles that of a pony tail. He is holding a sword with a curved blade and he's wearing what seems to be a leather armor.
"Alright, I'll give this to you. This is 'Mulan'. The story of a princess who became a splendid leader and king," Shin said before handing over the book to the girl he just met.
Maybe it was just a huge coincidence or whatever but Shin bumped into a girl who could really relate to this story that he got from his memories and modified a little. In this story, Mulan was a spoiled child because of her upbringing. Gradually, she started to change and become independent, eventually growing up to become a splendid leader and king of their nation.
Little did Shin know how much this book would influence the spoiled little princess of the Gremory Clan. Children are easy to influence by what they see around their environment. Majority of the time, children would often imitate the things that they see around them, especially on television or story books. Sometimes, if it left quite an impact to the child, they would try to emulate a certain character that they liked and strive to 'be like them'.
Some parents also said that, you cannot always follow a child's whim. If they did something wrong and you scolded them, you should show that you are really angry and don't immediately try to coax them. That would just make the child believe that, once they did something wrong and they got scolded, they should just cry and everything will be okay. If they did something wrong, be firm and scold them. If they did something good that's worthy of praise, praise them and give them a reward.
Looking at the book that Shin is handing over to her, the little redhead girl was fascinated. This is the first time she saw such a well drawn manga. It looks so good!
"C-Can I really have it?" the little girl asked as she slightly hesitated to take the manga.
"Mm, you can have it. It will be my gift to you for our first meeting," Shin said while smiling.
Suddenly, Shin paused since he remembered something.
"Right! Although the order is wrong, please let me introduce myself. My name is Shin Flammia Tenma! You can call me Shin for short. Nice to meet you~!" Shin said.
"Hehehe. You're right, the order was wrong! My name is Rias Gremory! You can call me Rias!" the little redhead girl, now named Rias, said.
"Mm, right. Do you still have time, Rias-chan? I feel like we can get along well," Shin said while smiling.
"Mm! I also feel like that! Let's go over there!" Rias said while dragging Shin by the hand.
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In the corner of the rows of bookshelves, there's a woman who has brown colored hair, purple colored irises with a slight tint of blue, and a very buxom figure who is hiding behind these countless rows of bookshelves. She's looking at Shin and Rias who is talking quite happily while reading some books on the shelves.
This woman was the same woman who was talking with Rias earlier.
"It looks like Rias-chan is having fun, talking with that very cute little boy. Mm, she also enjoyed his head pats. I'm sure, husband will get very depressed if he heard about this. Fufufu, I can't wait to see his expression!" the woman, who Rias referred to as Bellia, said.
"Hmm, I'm sure that our daughter, Madaleine-chan and Rias-chan's sister, Mio-chan, would also be happy to meet this boy. He seems quite gentle. I should tell husband about this. Now, Rias-chan gained her very first boy friend," Bellia added.
While Bellia was quietly murmuring by herself, a magic circle which has the crest of the Gremory Clan appeared beside her. Not long later, a girl with a stoic look on her face came out of the magic circle.
This girl has short silver hair with bangs that cover her forehead. Similar to Bellia, she also has purple colored irises. She also is a girl with a very short frame, having a height that is similar to a teenage girl of around 12-13 years old. But, what stood out the most was the outfit of this girl. She's wearing what seems to be a frilly maid outfit, which made her look like a teenager who likes to cosplay.
Bellia didn't mind the sudden teleportation of the girl as she, in fact, even smiled at the girl.
"Is it already time to go home, Lucia?" Bellia asked.
"Yes, Bellia-sama. Sirzechs-sama is getting quite worried about his sister's well-being-"
Before the little girl, now named Lucia, could finish what she wanted to say, her words came into an abrupt halt when she saw Rias and Shin playing.
"Bellia-sama, who is that peculiar... human? I can feel that he's special but..." Lucia inquired.
"Ara? Are you talking about the little boy? That's Rias-chan's first boy friend!" Bellia replied enthusiastically.
"Is that... so?" Lucia said.
"That's right. Anyway, how is Mio-chan, Maria-chan and my daughter Madaleine-chan back at home?" Bellia asked.
"They're doing fine, Bellia-sama. Venelana-sama is taking care of them at the Gremory mansion," Lucia replied.
While they were talking to each other, they saw that Shin finally separated from Rias and ran off to the exit of the bookstore.
"That's good. How about we take Rias-chan now? She seems to be quite sad right now," Bellia said.
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In the middle of some bookshelves where a lot of books like mangas, light novels, and novels are placed, two little children are conversing with each other happily.
The first one is a boy around 7-8 years old with an extremely cute appearance. His irises are golden in color while his hair is white in color with some pink strips and a pink ombre to it. His bangs has a very prominent tuft of pink hair that makes him stand out wherever he goes.
The second one is a little girl around 8-9 years old. She have an appearance that would make others mistake her for being a European descent. Although she generally have this cute and energetic vibe that almost every kid her age have, she also emits this highly dignified aura. Her eyes are a beautiful shade of blue that feels like it's some kind of precious stone, while her crimson colored hair that reached until her waist looks very smooth and silky.
These two little children are Shin Flammia Tenma and Rias Gremory. They have been talking here for a while now, mainly about animes, mangas, and novels. He and her have similar tastes so they quickly became comfortable with each other. Now, they're talking like they have been friends for years.
"...And then, there will be giant 10 meter robots that will be called as Silhouette Knights!" Shin said.
"Oohhh! That sounds awesome! I'm sure Seek-chan will like this!" Rias said.
"Hmm? Seek-chan?-" Shin wanted to ask her about this but he noticed that it was already dark outside.
"Oh, right! I forgot to buy what I was gonna buy! Kuu... maybe I should just go back at a later date," Shin said before looking at Rias.
"Sorry Rias-chan, I have to head out now. I was supposed to meet up with my Big Sister's subordinate but it seems that he's still not here. I'm gonna head out now to find him," Shin said before bowing apologetically.
Rias just waved her hands about while saying,
"Y-You don't need to worry about it, Shin-kun! W-We can always meet each other once again! Going to your destination is much more important!" Rias said but her expression is saying something else.
She's showing an extremely unwilling face while she's looking at Shin. Shin wanted to stay here and chat with her more but he might get scolded by his Big Sis Griselda if he does that.
'A pity. I was enjoying my conversation with her. Mm, it's the first time I met an otaku comrade around my age. And, it's also a girl, too!' Shin thought inwardly.
『Mm. If she will grow up to be independent and not become the dependent woman on which she turned out to be in the story, I might also get along with her,』 Yuki remarked.
She's been reading some of the mangas that the past Shin has and she's really enjoying it. She also saw the manga about some characters of this world so she knows quite a bit about the little redheaded girl.
『I don't know if that can be done. Habits are really hard to break, you know? Unless she gains some kind of external stimulus or something that might influence her for the better, I bet she will turn out to be how she is in that story,』 Yuki said.
What Yuki is saying was based on her experience. Right now, she's having troubles changing her habit of often sleeping. Aside from that, her talent of speaking without her expression changing is also a habit of hers.
『Yeah. I don't know if she will change so we will see about that in the future, right?』 Shin asked.
『Right,』 Yuki replied.
This conversation only took a second so Rias didn't notice anything amiss. Knowing that it is bad to focus on something else when you're conversing with someone, Shin then redirected his attention towards Rias who is in front of him.
He stepped forward and patted her on the head for a few times before saying,
"Don't worry! We will probably meet again in the future. After all, you still have to give me your review about the manga I gave you."
Upon hearing his words, Rias' face brightened up.
"Right! I still have to return this to you after I read it! Right right!" Rias said, looking like she's trying to convince herself.
"Thank you for understanding. Then, til we meet again?" Shin asked, holding out his hands.
Rias took his hands after hesitating for a few seconds and said,
"Un! Til we meet again, Shin-kun!"
Seeing the cheerful smile on her face, Shin barely resisted the huge urge to give her a hug. Yuki's words certainly are true. Habits, it's not easy to change them.
"Bye bye, Rias!" Shin said before storming out of the bookstore.
It's getting dark and he will have nowhere to go if he didn't meet his contact today.
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After Shin left the bookstore, Rias stood at her previous spot, not moving at all. There's a part of her that wanted to stop Shin but there's also a part of her that doesn't want to stop him from leaving. Her eyes are on the verge of shedding tears when she suddenly heard a very familiar voice behind her.
"It looks like you found your first friend of the opposite sex, huh, Rias-chan?" Bellia asked.
"Uuu...Nn," Rias just replied with a nod.
"That's a good thing, right? Why are you crying?" Bellia asked.
"I-It's because we won't see each other again for a long time," Rias replied.
"Didn't he say you will meet again? Come on, let's hurry home. You still have a book to read, right?" Bellia said.
"Ah! Yes! I still have the book that Shin gave me!" Rias said.
She almost forgot about the manga that Shin gave her because of her sadness.
"Alright. Since you are ready to return, shall we leave now, Lucia?" Bellia said as she addressed Lucia who kept quiet while following behind her.
"Understood, Bellia-sama," Lucia replied.
She then closed her eyes for a second and conjured a teleportation magic circle that enveloped the three of them.
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After that day, in the near future, many would notice the heiress of the Gremory House gradually change. In the past, she would adamantly refuse the training that her sister-in-law is giving her. She would, more often than not, throw a tantrum or outright ignore the lessons.
However, after the day she met Shin, Bellia noticed that Rias would sometimes be in a corner of her room, reading the manga that Shin gave her. Then, slowly, her demeanor started to change.
She no longer asked her mother, father, and big brother to buy her whatever she wanted. Instead, she would ask for them as a part of her reward when she's trying to reach a goal. Whether it is about her training, lessons, and etc, she strived to do them. If anything, it's like the things that she asks from her family is like some kind of reward to motivate herself.
Bellia took on the job of being firm to her little sister-in-law, along with Venelana. Now that they can see that she is trying her best to change, they also did their best to actually support her.
This change of hers also influenced her sibling at her father's side, her sibling's attendant, and also her niece. Together, they trained and studied diligently.
Of course, this change in her and the other children's demeanor made their other family members astonished and confused. Only Bellia knows something about this gradual change in them, while Venelana just did what a parent should.
When Rias and the other children inside the Gremory House was out on their courtyard to train, Bellia checked out what was written on the book that Shin gave Rias. There, she finally understood why Rias gradually changed over the course of a few years.
Looking at the book, Bellia couldn't help but smile. As she continuously flipped the book, her smile continued to widen even more, until the beautiful woman was finally smiling from ear to ear.
"Fufu. Is this a mere coincidence, I wonder? Because of this book, Rias-chan changed from a spoiled and lazy little girl to a studious and diligent girl," Bellia murmured.
Multiple coincidences that piled up together resulted in the heiress of the Gremory house changing. Her coincidental meeting with Shin, her being an otaku, her being still a child, and her cherishing the first gift that Shin gave her resulted in Rias changing.
If any one of them wasn't there, the result would probably not be as pronounced as this. Is it really just a mere coincidence? No one really knows.
But, one thing is for sure, Shin's meeting with the young heiress and him giving that book to her was what triggered this change. A coincidence or not, this changed the young heiress for the better.
"Fufu. I guess, we owe that boy a lot," Bellia said while looking fondly at Rias and the children who is training diligently.
She was really fond of these in-laws of her that she would never allow any harm to befall them. Ever since she was married off to her husband, she kept a tight leash to him, taking a firm stance of not allowing him to further spoil the kids in their house.
She even taught her husband about it, telling him to be firm or his sisters and daughter would grow up as rotten eggs. Along with the other wives of her father-in-law, Venelana and the others, they rallied and strived to protect them for any danger.
Of course, when the Satan Lucifer would often sneak up and try to spoil his little sisters and daughter rotten, he would earn the wrath of the Brown-haired Queen of Destruction. In tandem with her friend and very first servant, her mother-in-law, and the Satan Leviathan, they were dubbed as the strongest females in the Underworld.
How strong are they? Anyone who had witnessed them unleash their strength would shiver at the thought of it. A huge evidence of that was when a whole new lake was formed at the Gremory territory. A good chunk of the Gremory territory is now just a lake that is dubbed as one of the deepest devil-made lake in the entire history of the Underworld.
This lake was formed after Venelana Gremory, also known as the Flaxen-haired Madame of Extinction, and Bellia Gremory, also known as the Brown-haired Queen of Destruction, heard about Zeoticus Gremory planning to marry off one of the little girls. They were even more infuriated when Sirzechs Lucifer, their son and husband respectively, didn't do anything to stop it.
Fortunately for Zeoticus, it was all just a plan at that time. If not, the entire underworld would have witnessed the destruction of the Gremory's territory. The words that they said stuck inside the two men's head as they would sometimes remember it from time to time.
"Don't you think that you two are being hypocritical? We two have been married off to this clan and we know your clan's teachings. Gremory Clansmen value their families and does not treat their servants unfairly, right?" Venelana said.
"Then, why is it that you, father-in-law, the Lord of Gremory Clan, is not staying true to these teachings? Why is it us who is upholding these teachings? We, who are not even born in the Gremory Clan. I never thought that even you, husband, is that hypocritical. Over these years that we've been together, I have already come to love you. However, I never expected that your belief towards your clan's teachings are this shallow. Is your brain already contaminated by being the Satan Lucifer for years?" Bellia said in contempt.
"We have come to love you because of your kind hearts that is different from other devils but it seems that we have misjudged you. I-"
Looking at her husband and her son, Venelana sighed deeply and said,
"I'm utterly disappointed. You, Zeoticus, is not the man that I came to love over these years that we've been together. Where was that Zeoticus now? Did you succumb in the power of being a respected and 'noble' lord of the Gremory Clan? How about you, son? I don't ever remember raising you like that. Someone who would keep a blind eye at the fact that his sister is actually being planned to be married off because of political reasons, that's not the son who I remember raising."
It hit the two men like a truck. Were they really what their wife said they were? That was also the day that everyone got the knowledge that the women from the Gremory Clan were actually so strong.
The Bael Clan even regretted marrying them off to the Gremory Clan. Unfortunately, there's no medicine for regret. "The two women hid their strength well", that's the thought that they ingrained in their heads to convince themselves to at least alleviate the regret they are feeling.
It was the day that they were given their monikers.
Venelana Gremory, the "Flaxen-haired Madame of Extinction". The wife of Zeoticus Gremory, everyone calls her Madame.
Bellia Gremory, the "Brown-haired Queen of Destruction". The wife of the current Satan Lucifer, Sirzechs Lucifer, everyone calls her as Queen.
And Lucia Succubaei, the "Silver-haired Queen of Obliteration". The member of an Extra Demon family who survived the Great War and didn't perish. Despite her usually small stature, many believed that she is just hiding her real strength.
Everyone worried that the Gremory Clan might take advantage of this surprisingly high amount of powerful individuals in their Clan and start suppressing other clans. However, that didn't happen.
One brave person tried to provoke them but he was met with a very tragic ending. After that one brave individual who sacrificed himself for the greater good of a lot of cocky clans, everyone just steered clear from the Gremory Clan, minding their own business. No one wanted to disappear without a trace, after all.
However, this is a story for later.
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A/N:
• Mm, some future events in the devil world will also change. Ah, the joy of not caring about the cannon! In the end, fanfictions are all Wish Fulfillment. There's the word 'fiction' in it for a reason. I would like to see someone try to prove me wrong.
• Lesson learned. If you want something to be done properly, do it yourself! Relying on others is fine but 'overly' relying on them will get you nowhere. I'm writing my own DxD Fanfic(kind of) and am now writing the things I wanted to be done in the story myself.
• Now, I know some Rias haters or whatever the hell they are called would come up and say, "Why are you going out of your way to change that 'useless b****'?". I don't care what other kinds of profanities you can say because I'm not interested in knowing. Before you say something along those lines, please stop for a moment and think, "ARE YOU THE AUTHOR OR AM I?". Because if you are, then please do write something that will please you. I know for a fact that I can't please everybody so that's it. If you like what I'm writing, stay. If not, go find something that you will like.
• The thing is, I hated the author of Highschool DxD because he made this character who has so many potential into some kind of side character. It's too much of a waste! Heck, I even surmise that - along with their high amounts of demonic power - the Gremory Clan's inherent ability is also their ability to control demonic power at a very high level(It is what you can see on Sirzechs and Milicas). It's just such a waste of talent that he made her turn that way during her childhood. Now, that's not gonna be the case.
• My hands were itching while I was writing this and couldn't help but add some other characters into the mix. Oh, and, if you're wondering how Vignette and Satania would fit in this whole novel, just wait and see. Funnily enough, there was a Extra Demon House who is one of the Six Great Houses of Lucifer named 'Satanachia'. Satanichia... Satanachia... does it ring any bell?