I was relieved to see that Anna was alright, but her Youkai form still hadn't receded. Is she going to stay like this forever? I don't think so... she seemed to be having a nightmare, her body was shaking a little bit and clutching onto me.
This girl is so sweet... I know she won't be having an easy life from now on, or perhaps she will not have, but I'm here... I'll help her every way I can.
I put my hands on her head and started rubbing... I noticed her hair which was now silver had turned a lot silkier straight and smooth. For a few seconds more she shivered until she released a brief exaltation and smiled. A few seconds later her eyes fluttered open, her eyes that were now sky blue and pink returned to their original yellowish and she regained her human form.
"Ray-chan?".
"An-chan, we're safe".
I kissed her forehead and she sobbed, that horrible massacre won't pop in her head so long as I'm holding her.
"It was scary".
"I know. How are you feeling?"
"I feel... full, my stomach is very full. I don't want to eat anything for a while, it feels like I'm going to vomit if I do".
'Yeah sure, I don't even understand the logic of her powers, she ate more than twenty kappas... each one of them already has more mass than her body ratio. So... let the magic do its thing. She even ate that spider woman and I'm sure she didn't eat the gigantic skeleton because that was just not possible'.
"Are you sure? not even a little snack?"
"Not even a little snack... I want to sleep".
If she doesn't want snacks then this shit is serious.
"Then sleep... I'll be with you".
"B-But you can't leave me halfway through, Ray-chan".
"I won't girl, I promise okay? when have I disappointed you?"
"When we were in second grade, I asked you to get me some moshi that time but you didn't..." She pouted and I sighed.
'Women...'
At least if she's making jokes like this then that means she's not that bad.
"Sorry about that. I won't disappoint you again, alright?"
I went to kiss her forehead again, but she surprised me by kissing my cheek, her eyes were shining like pearls, and this girl was just too cute. Without saying anything else, she went back to sleep but was clinging onto me like a koala, yeah... she's not letting go any time soon.
And I wouldn't complain.
*KNOCK*
*KNOCK*
Someone knocked on the door before entering, it was my mom... or better said, Anubis? I don't even know anymore, right now she's not in that overpowered pharaoh-like form that she had before, she looks like Reina Lux, my mom.
"Ray".
Her tone is not that of my mom's... it sounds more like... Elysir.
"Are you Anubis... or my mother Reina?"
"Anubis, come... we have important guests".
She tried to pull me out, but Anna wouldn't let go.
"Tell them to come to the room, Anna won't let me go and I don't want to wake her up".
"... very well, don't get too clingy with the girl".
"Uh?"
I don't know if she's my mom or not but she gets just as jealous. She went outside to call someone and three people entered the room. One was the grey-haired maid I recognised from before, the one that I thought had kidnapped Anna but as it turns out, she had actually saved her.
Next to her were two little pretty girls about my and Anna's age clinging to her dress. One of them had a white dress and long red hair with blue eyes, she was clearly a foreigner. The other one was more of a Japanese beauty like Anna.
"Nice to meet you, Young Master... my name is Grayfia Lucifuge and these are my little ladies, Rias Gremory and Himejima Akeno. We're devils".
I nodded, 'Devils? as if the bad devils that skewer people in hell?'.
I tilted my head back and forth, they didn't look like devils. I mean... Grayfia certainly has the body of a succubus from what I can see, but I don't think a succubus would be wearing such a refined attire. I mean more something like a see-through lingerie.
Then there are the two girls, they also don't look like devils.
As if feeling my thoughts the three of them did some sort of motion and bat-like wings appeared behind them, shocking me.
'Holy shit, they're devils...'
[You're a demigod, what are you getting shocked about?] Horus was not one to share my impression.
'Shuddup, if gods exist and devils exist, doesn't that mean that aliens also exist?!'
[...]
I can smell his deadpan.
...
"The pleasure is mine, Grayfia-san, Rias-chan, Akeno-chan. I'm Ray Lux... you don't need to call me Young Master, it is awkward. What can I help you with? Thanks for taking Anna away, by the way".
The girls blushed when they called them like that, I guess because in Japanese traditions you're not supposed to call someone who you just met with anything other than -san, but I don't give a fart.
"Then w-we will call you Ray-kun if that's okay".
"You can even call me just Ray if you want~ I don't have an issue".
"T-Then you can just call me Akeno!" The raven-haired girl smiled, I never thought there could exist someone in Japan who was as pretty as Ana.
"Me too, Rias is okay" Then there was this red-haired girl, there was something haughty about her and she looked like she wanted to tell me something but didn't dare to.
'This is why Japanese people are a pain in the arse. All this just to decide how we're going to call each other' I thought but didn't dare voice it all out loud.
"It was nothing, Ray-sama. We came merely for a formal greeting, I heard from Anubis that you're the boss around here~".
"She exaggerates" I frowned at my mom who shrugged her shoulders, at the end of the day she's my avatar so it is not like she's wrong.
"Ano, Grayfia told me that you saved plenty of people during the incident... I wanted to thank you".
The crimson-haired girl stepped forward.
"Eh? It was nothing but why would you thank me?" She's a devil, shouldn't she be sad that more people didn't die or something?
"I wanted to do something but I couldn't... and yet you who are around my age there fighting with everything you had, I think that's very praise-worthy, Ray".
'This little princess is very well-spoken and cute'.
"It is nothing, Rias... I'd do it again".
'If Anna is in danger'.
"I wanted to ask you something... would you like to join my peerage?~"
Her question left me a bit stumbled upon. What is a peerage? something like a cult? fuck here come the devils doing their devil stuff, she wants me to sell my soul, right?
"Peerage, what is that?"
"Well... it would be like becoming a part of my family" she fidgeted and I didn't see the problem in that statement initially. It was my mother whose gaze darkened and her slitted golden eyes began to shine ominously.
"Part of your family...? this better not be a marriage proposal Grayfia, I don't accept it".
!!!
The first one to shake her head erratically was Rias before Grayfia could even explain.
"N-No no no! It is not like that Anubis-sama! Actually... he would be something akin to my servant... but I would never treat him like that!-".
*RUMBLE!!*
Girl, you just made things a lot worse!
"Anubis-sama please calm down, it is not like that" Grayfia got in between her and the girls, understandably so.
I grasped her shirt's sleeves and shook my head, telling her to settle down her mom complex in the meantime.
"I'm sorry, Rias. But I can't accept that arrangement...I'm not the type to be under anyone, I hope you understand".
The girl sighed as if she was expecting me to answer that, why did you ask then?! you're just looking for death.
"That's sad... are you sure? if you come with me you can get a lot of money, luxury, friends, everything you can wish for!"
"I can get all those on my own~ but thanks for your insistence" I smiled and refused politely once again, I can achieve all that with less than ten massages, but thank you.
"Ray..."
Rias pouted and left the chat, I mean, the room.
"Rias, wait!".
Akeno chased after her while Grayfia merely sighed and turned to me, bowing down courtly and still smiling as if she didn't mind my earlier refusal.
"I'm sorry, Rias-sama can be a bit spoiled sometimes, but she's not a bad girl and definitely has no ill intentions behind trying to make you her servant, it is our noble custom to reach out to humans with potential and take them into our peerages in the devil community, she saw you as a reliable kid that she'd like to get acquainted with~"