After his impromptu meeting with Sona, the party had begun in full force. It wasn't fun and it certainly wasn't entertaining. All it really consisted of was going around and greeting fake people with a fake smile.
That wasn't to say they were all bad, there were actually quite a few decent people in attendance. However, the cruel well outweighed the kind in events like this. Luckily, his time with each person or family was extremely limited.
It also helped that he had a certain degree of experience in keeping up a fake smile from his various customer service jobs. They were shockingly helpful even in another world full of the supernatural.
"It seems you're all doing well." A kind voice came from the side. Turning his head he saw Rias' father and the current Gremory clan head Zeoticus Gremory surrounded by his wife and daughter, only one person missing from making it a complete family picture.
"It's impossible to struggle with such a well planned party." Alastor praised sincerely. Although a significant portion of its success was due to the efforts of Grayfia it is undoubtable that the two heads of the Gremory clan deserve praise.
While Damian wasn't a frequent invitee by any means he had been invited to quite a few pillar parties over the years and the Gremory clan had surpassed all of them by leaps and bounds. It was almost impressive how bad the others seemed in comparison.
Naturally, the other parties weren't bad but it was undeniable that there was a deference between the two. In Damian's opinion, making the Gremory clan take care of the party was a great idea.
"Haha, I'm happy to hear that." Zeoticus said with a soft chuckle. The Gremory clan was known for quite a few things however the main two were the care for their family and their wonderful servants.
If a servant was fired from the Gremory clan for any reason the other nobility would scramble to add them to their ranks, they were just that good. Of course, most of that was because they had unlimited access to the tutoring of the Maid of Maids.
'She looks oddly regal.' Damian noted, his golden eyes examining Rias' dignified figure, at least it was dignified when compared to other children. It was a strange sight considering her playful and relaxed figure from just over an hour ago.
"It's the first time you've met my son, Damian, correct?" Alastor began, patting Damian on the back as a signal of sorts. It was slightly foolish considering that both knew plenty about each other but Damian didn't care enough to raise an issue.
"That's right. I've heard a lot about you from Rias but I've never met you in person. I'm Rias' father Zeoticus Gremory, please continue to get along with my daughter." Zeoticus said softly, gently patting Rias on the back and ignoring her crimson blush.
"Of course Lord Gremory. Rias is a good friend of mine and I have no plans on changing that." Damian agreed without hesitation, a sincere look in his eyes. However, he did take note of the Gremory head's strange eyes.
His blue eyes were subtly analyzing his every movement and filled with expectation, hope, and a dash of acceptance. They were eyes that Damian couldn't glean the meaning of and that was incredibly worrying.
'What did Dad and him talk about?' Damian thought to himself without a chance in expression on the outside yet filled with worry internally. He trusted his father to have only the best intentions for him but he was naturally worried about what the two had discussed to get such a strange reaction out of one of the most powerful devils in their society.
"That's good. I've always wanted Rias to have more friends but with the way she is it was only a pipe dream." Venelana Gremory said with a quiet giggle that was filled with both childish amusement and elegance. A strange mix possible only with decades of experience and a childish heart.
"Mother!" Rias shouted quietly, clearly afraid of creating a scene. The only possible thing that could scare Rias into such a situation was Grayfia and her ever watchful eyes. While Rias was embarrassed, she couldn't be too loud in vocalizing it.
Of course, while Venelana phrased it in a way that would make Rias react as she had it wasn't actually Rias' fault, not completely anyway. Rias herself was actually quite the charming girl even if her body was to be ignored.
She was kind and her energy was both infinitely attractive and exhausting. As a person, she was much more interesting than even the most popular of their generation who just so happened to be Riser Phenex, a man who Damian was set to meet shortly.
Riser was a man who was could only be described as unrepentant trash, a commodity among the devils. As an individual he was extremely revolting however his personality allowed many weaker devils to cozy up to him to receive his protection.
In comparison, Rias Gremory was an extremely attractive person who went relatively ignored due to the difficulty required to truly receive her protection. It wasn't hard by any means as she was extremely willing to make friends however it required genuine intentions, something most devils lacked.
'Nobility is a strange battlefield.' Damian thought to himself blandly. The weak had to cozy up to those who they didn't like just for protection while the strong could throw their weight around as they pleased. It was a strange world but there was no real way to fix it.
It was a society born out of both desire and necessity, there was no easy solution. If there was, the four Satans would have done so long ago. The common devils always envied the nobility's power and the nobility occasionally envied the common devil's freedom.
'What a messed up world.' Damian declared to himself. It was something he had known from the very moment he had been reborn here but it took some time for him to realize that it also applied to society as a whole.
The world had greedy devils, scheming gods, trashy humans, and more desire than it knew what to do with. And yet the world was also packed to the brim with danger in the near future. It was a world of war disgused under a mask of peace.
Yet, it was his world. It was bad, it was broken, and it was far from ideal however it was his. The moment he died he was no longer part of his previous world, this world was his home. It took him a while to accept it, but ultimately this world was his.
It didn't matter if it was shitty, it didn't matter if it was broken beyond compare, and it didn't matter if he had his complaints, it was his world. Besides, if you ignored the constant danger of the future, it was a beautiful place. In fact, the danger enhanced the beauty in a strange way.
His world sucked but he was happy to live in it.