Underworld, Gremory Territory, Gremory Estate.
The day after the [Rating Game], James, Sona, and Tsubaki traveled to the Underworld to attend the engagement cancellation ceremony. Contrary to what everyone thought, Riser did not make a ruckus at the ceremony. Instead, he sat in his seat the entire time with a lifeless look in his eyes. Just remembering that last attack that defeated him, Riser was completely terrified of Rias.
As it turns out, Rias final attack, [Final Destruction], which she copied from Vegeta, a character from the popular Dragon Ball manga, had split the fog due to its momentum alone. With the fog parted, Riser was able to see the beam of crimson energy in its full glory. Then, he would remember the feeling of having his body destroyed slowly as his regeneration tried, and failed, to fight back.
Seeing Riser's current state, Rias was indifferent. Riser had always been disrespectful to her ever since the engagement was confirmed. Sona looked at Riser with pity. Contrary to what anyone thought, Riser was one of the more talented young devils. Unfortunately, he had let that talent go to his head. James did not even acknowledge Riser's existence. Even though he was not still holding a grudge over repeatedly being referred to as a "filthy half-breed," he would not console or pretend to be friendly with someone who treated him like that. If Riser took the initiative to apologize, though, he might consider it.
After the cancellation of the engagement was announced, Riser left the venue immediately with his [Queen], Yubelluna via teleportation. The rest of the guests could only shake their heads at his lack of strength of mind. Lord Phenex left shortly after his son. Feeling that Riser had humiliated the Phenex Clan to an irreparable state. These two leaving early was expected. What James, Rias, Sona, Akeno, and Tsubaki did not expect, however, was to be approached by Lady Phenex shortly after her husband left.
"Good evening, Rias, Sona. Allow me to congratulate you on your victory." Lady Phenex said with the elegance expected of a woman in her position.
Hearing that, they were all shocked. To think Lady Phenex would congratulate Rias for breaking her engagement with her son was strange. However, before that thought could settle in, they all realized that she had not greeted James, which made them all feel a bit unhappy. However, that did not have much time to fester either.
"And you must be James Alaverus." Lady Phenex said with a smile after turning toward James. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Lady Phenex, Riser's mother. While watching the [Rating Game] between Rias and Riser, I heard a lot about you from Lady Gremory."
Hearing that and seeing the genuine smile on Lady Phenex's face, the group was once again surprised. James was able to recover quickly, though. Bowing politely, as would be expected of a High-Class devil, James returned the greeting.
"Lady Phenex, good evening to you as well." James said with a friendly smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I can see where Riser and Ravel received their good looks from."
As James finished, a gasp could be heard from nearby. On the other hand, Lady Phenex smiled brightly before quickly covering her mouth with a hand.
"My, oh my." Lady Phenex said happily. "You're quite the sweet talker, aren't you?"
"My mother always taught me paying compliments, as long as they are true, costs nothing." James said with a smile.
"She sounds like quite the interesting woman." Lady Phenex said with genuine interest in her tone. "If the opportunity presents itself, I'd love to meet her."
"I'm sure she would be willing to meet you as well." James said while smiling. "She loves meeting new people. Though, she isn't much for noble etiquette. According to her, that's the reason she never tried to raise her rank in devil society after being reincarnated by my father."
"I'll keep that in mind." Lady Phenex said, maintaining her interested smile. "Anyway, with the pleasantries out of the way, I actually came to speak to you regarding my daughter."
"Your daughter, you mean Lady Ravel?" James asked with confusion in his tone. "I have yet to meet her, what could you possibly have to talk with me about her?"
"Like I said, I've heard a lot about you from Lady Gremory." Lady Phenex said. Then, with a mischievous smile, she glanced at Rias before continuing. "She even told me about the time you were slapped by Rias."
To that, Rias lowered her head and blushed furiously. Seeing that, Lady Phenex giggled. At the same time, James smiled wryly and patted Rias' head. Sona, Akeno, and Tsubaki were trying their best to not laugh aloud. Noticing that, Rias shot a glare in their direction, but they paid it no mind.
"Aside from that, Lady Gremory also mentioned the good influence you've been on not only Rias, but Sona's growth as well. And I thought you could also help my daughter; Ravel reach her full potential as well."
Once again, James' group of five were surprised. And once again, a gasp could be heard from nearby.
"I'm flattered to know that you have such a high opinion of me." James said after recovering from his shock. "However, I'm not sure if I'm as great as everyone believes me to be."
Hearing that, Rias, Sona, Akeno, and Tsubaki rolled their eyes. They could not believe what they were hearing out of James' mouth. His level of confidence borders on conceit, normally. So, why is he playing humble now?
"On top of that," James continued. "I don't know if it would be appropriate for Riser's [Bishop] to spend so much time with me. I mean enough time that I could influence her growth."
"Oh, Dear, you don't have to worry about that." Lady Phenex said with her eyes lighting up at the fact that James had not outright rejected her. "I will be trading one of my unused [Bishop Pieces] to Riser in the near future. Riser's current state is quite detrimental to Ravel's growth."
"I see." James said while hiding the shock Lady Phenex brought him with her last statement. "The last thing that could be an issue is whether Lady Ravel is willing to train with us or not."
James made that last statement after realizing that Lady Phenex was set on having Ravel accompany him for a while. At least until they could tell if she had improved or not.
"I guess it would be more effective if we asked her directly, though." James said as he turned his head in the direction of the two previous gasps. Then, with a smile he continued. "What do you think, Lady Ravel?"
With that, a short blonde girl with drill-shaped twin tails approached them with a slight blush on her face.
"Good evening, Lord James." Ravel said with a polite bow. "Rias, Sona, it's nice to see you two again, as well."
In response, Rias and Sona simply nodded. Their eyes shot open in surprise, however, when they saw James next action. Reaching for Ravel's hand, James lifted it and gently kissed the back.
"I assure you; the pleasure is mine." James said with a friendly smile.
Ravel's face immediately turned as red as Rias' hair. Meanwhile, the jealousy present in Rias, Sona, and Akeno's eyes was burning brightly. Especially Rias, who had just lost her virginity the night before and was feeling exceptionally clingy. However, their expressions froze when they heard James' next statement.
"I was very impressed when I saw you trying to stop Riser's actions that would only humiliate Ri Ri during the [Rating Game].' James said with gratitude in his smile. "Even if nothing came of it, I'm grateful that you tried to protect Ri Ri's reputation."
With that, Ravel blushed even harder. At the same time, Rias dropped her jealous expression and rushed to hug James. Sona and Akeno also lost their jealous expressions and smiled happily. At the same time, Tsubaki smiled at James with admiration.
'Well, he is Setanta's best friend.' Tsubaki thought to herself. 'Of course, he'd be pretty awesome, too.'
'He really is special, just like Lady Gremory said.' Lady Phenex thought to herself while she watched the children in front of her. 'He cares so much for those around him. If Ravel could enter his circle, I'm sure he would be just as caring for her well-being, as well.'
"Ahem." Lady Phenex coughed lightly to gain everyone's attention again. "So, Ravel, what do you think about joining James, Rias, and Sona in training?"
Ravel looked between her mother and James with a blush still present on her face. After seeing how strong Rias and Sona had become, she was interested in training with them. However, the kiss on the hand and James' smile was making her shy. Seeing her daughter's state, Lady Phenex thought to make a final push.
"On top of that, if you go to the Human World, you might be able to meet the author of that manga you like." Lady Phenex said with a smile. "What was it called again...? That's right, School Rumble."
Hearing that, Ravel's eyes lit up. Just thinking about getting her copies signed made her excited. At the same time, Rias, Sona, Akeno, and Tsubaki looked at James incredulously while James just smiled awkwardly. Lady Phenex, of course, did not miss any of these expressions.
"What's wrong?" Lady Phenex asked in confusion. "Why do you all look like that after hearing about School Rumble?"
With that, James and the girls exchanged glances, then, Akeno answered the question.
"Well, Lady Phenex, the thing is..." Akeno said awkwardly. "James is the author of that series."
Hearing that, Lady Phenex's eyes widened to a comical degree. At the same time, Ravel's expression was not much different. The only difference was that Ravel was also inhaling deeply. Noticing that, James spoke quickly.
"Lady Ravel, please... please... please don't scream." James said with an imploring gaze. "Please don't suddenly pull out a stack of manga from nowhere, either. If you can do those two things, I promise I'll sign all your copies."
Hering that, Ravel slowly calmed herself while Rias, Sona, Akeno, and Tsubaki tried to stifle their laughter. Meanwhile, Lady Phenex looked on in confusion. She could not understand how James was so easily able to predict Ravel's actions. Her questions were answered quickly by the girls, though.
"Aww, James, I thought you would be three for three." Rias said with a giggle.
"Yeah, she would have reacted just like Lady Yasaka and Asia if you hadn't stopped her." Sona said.
"Usually I wouldn't mind." James said exasperatedly. "But in a hall full of all these nobles, who's to say that someone might not want a piece of the pie?"
Akeno and Tsubaki only giggled quietly, though all those involved in the conversation understood where James was coming from. At the same time, Ravel was embarrassed at how easily she was about to lose her composure. However, she had made up her mind regarding going to the Human World to spend time with James and the girls.
Seeing and hearing the kids in front of her, Lady Phenex understood why James reacted like that. And her opinion of him only rose because of it.
After talking for a little while longer, Lady Phenex excused herself, allowing the young ones to talk to each other freely. And a few hours later, the banquet ended. Ravel had decided to join James, Rias, and Sona, along with their peerages in training. She would move to the Human World after the trade of [Pieces] between Lady Phenex and Riser was completed.
After the banquet was over and the venue was cleaned up, Grayfia returned to the servant quarters to call it a night. As she entered her bedroom and flipped on the lights, Grayfia glanced around the room as she always does. Then, she found a large envelope on her nightstand. One that had not been there when she left the room in the morning.
Quickly, she closed the door behind her. Then, she made her way over to the nightstand and picked up the envelope. Inside was a thick stack of documents. Quickly skimming through the contents, Grayfia found the names of devils who had been killed in action, records of their missions to the same fallen angel base James and his peerage had raided to rescue the missing yuki-onna, and evidence that the devils on the Council had sent them there to be killed.
"Now, we can finally bring the Devil Council down a peg." Grayfia thought to herself as she stored the envelope and all its contents into her personal storage magic.