— — — — — — — 

"Tea, coffee, or soda?"

Sona and Rias stared in silence at the can of soda in front of them. There wasn't even a cup of tea or coffee in sight.

Was this even a real choice?

"Sorry, looks like soda is the only thing I have."

Sona: "..."

Rias: "..."

Lynn leaned back slightly on the sofa, completely ignoring their speechless expressions.

Sona Sitri and Rias Gremory.

Having watched two seasons of High School DxD in his past life, Lynn was quite familiar with them.

But that was about it.

Since arriving in this world, he had never crossed paths with these two before.

Now, they suddenly showed up at his place, leaving him utterly confused.

"So, what brings you both here?" Lynn finally asked.

"I'm Rias Gremory. Just call me Rias," she introduced herself briefly before glancing at Sona, signaling her to go first. Meanwhile, Rias kept staring at the soda can, hesitating whether to open it.

"Sona Sitri."

After stating her name, Sona placed a parchment on the table.

Lynn's eyes narrowed slightly.

The parchment was covered in dense writing—but not in any human language.

"Demonic script..."

Seeing those characters made Lynn feel a bit dazed.

Ever since he started living in the human world, it had been a long time since he last saw the writing of devils.

And yet...

Lynn's gaze shifted downward.

"The House of Valifer's crest..."

Valifer—a once-noble Devil household in the Underworld.

And his full name? Lynn Valifer.

This was his second life.

Just a few days ago, he had fully awakened his past memories.

In this life, he wasn't a pure human—he was a Half-Devil. But because of that very identity, he had been exiled from the Valifer family at the age of seven and forced to live among humans.

And now, trouble had found him because of that last name.

That parchment? It was a marriage contract.

A contract between the House of Valifer and... the House of Sitri.

Lynn's expression turned strange.

Now he understood why they had come.

Normally, as a half-devil, he wouldn't even be considered for a marriage pact with the Sitri family.

But years ago, the Valifer family was wiped out overnight.

Since he was the last surviving bloodline, he had automatically inherited this marriage contract.

However...Lynn glanced at Sona Sitri, who sat there with a blank expression.

It was obvious—she wasn't here to uphold the contract.

"So... she came to call off the engagement?"

"A transmigrator... getting hit with a broken engagement event?"

"Isn't this the beginning of a Xianxia story? A DxD Xianxia version?"

After some thinking, Lynn got straight to the point. "You want to annul the engagement?"

Sona and Rias both froze. They exchanged glances before Sona spoke. "Apologies, but I will compensate you."

There was a flicker of guilt in her eyes.

After all, Lynn was the last surviving member of his family, and here she was, personally coming to break off their engagement. It felt a little heartless.

But she simply couldn't accept a marriage with someone she had never even met before—especially without any emotional connection.

"Fine, I agree."

Lynn accepted without hesitation.

Not because of any so-called "compensation"—he just didn't want to deal with unnecessary trouble.

If he remembered correctly, Sona Sitri had an overprotective older sister who was a freaking Maou (devil King)?

He had no interest in following the Battle Through the Heavens script where, after breaking off the engagement, this older sister would come knocking next. 

Sona opened her mouth slightly, stunned by his quick agreement.

She hadn't expected the annulment to go this smoothly.

After all, this was an engagement with the Sitri family!

Anyone from the Underworld would kill for such a marriage contract.

Especially Lynn—the last heir of Valifer.

With the Sitri family's help, he could have rebuilt his family's legacy.

Yet, he agreed to let it go just like that?

This wasn't how things were supposed to go.

She had originally planned to solve this through a Rating Game, expecting resistance.

But now, she was at a complete loss.

"...I didn't prepare an annulment contract," she muttered absentmindedly.

Lynn sighed. "You're really bad at breaking off engagements, huh? There's a printing shop downstairs—go print one and bring it up."

"...Oh, okay."

Sona instinctively stood up.

"Wait, no!"

She shook her head and sat back down.

Lynn raised an eyebrow. "What now?"

Sona took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. It's... complicated. A simple contract won't work."

She explained, "This is my personal decision. My family does not support breaking off the engagement. Even if you agree, it won't be recognized by the four current Maou."

She sighed inwardly.

She knew exactly why her family refused to let go.

During the Underworld's civil war, the Valifer family sacrificed a lot to help her sister become a Maou.

This engagement was part of that agreement.

But then, Valifer was wiped out overnight—which was a huge embarrassment to both the Sitri family and the new Maou faction.

If the Sitri family canceled the marriage now, it would completely shatter their credibility.

This was something only she could resolve.

"So what's your plan?" Lynn asked.

Sona's expression turned serious. "I challenge you to a Rating Game!"

"Rating Games are above all rules in the Underworld. If I win—"

"Stop."

Lynn interrupted her, his gaze turning cold.

"You do realize why the Valifer family was wiped out, don't you?"

Sona's body tensed. "...A revenge attack from the Old Maou Faction."

Lynn continued, "Then do you understand what will happen if my last name gets exposed?"

Sona's heart skipped a beat.

The answer was simple.

He'd die.

Lynn crossed his legs, his voice now completely cold. "You're really only thinking about yourself, huh??"

"I... I'm sorry..." Sona looked shaken.

"You're really only thinking about yourself, huh?..."

She repeated those words in her head.

The air in the room grew heavy.

Clink!

A crisp sound broke the tension, drawing Lynn's attention.

Sona's body relaxed slightly as Rias popped open the soda can.

Rias smiled at Lynn. "I've never tried carbonated drinks before. Thought I'd give it a shot."

Taking a small sip, she immediately stuck out her tongue. "Ah, I really can't get used to this."

Placing the can down, she turned to Sona. "Now that you're done, it's my turn to talk."

Hearing that, Sona felt a huge wave of relief and bolted upright.

"Sorry for disturbing you!" she blurted before rushing out, keeping her head down the entire time, not daring to look at Lynn.

Rias chuckled.

She had never seen Sona act like this before.

Once the door closed, Rias turned back. "Apologies. Sona really didn't think this through."

Lynn simply nodded. "So, what do you want, Rias?"

Smiling, Rias waved her hand, summoning a glowing purple magic circle.

A set of chess pieces materialized on the table.

"These are your Evil Pieces," she said.

"Use them wisely and rebuild the Valifer family."

With that Rias and Sona left quickly.

— — —

Just as Lynn was contemplating how to recruit his first follower, his phone suddenly buzzed.

Incoming Call: Aoyama Nanami.

"..."

Lynn's eyes widened.

"Shit! I forgot about the half-price bento sale!"

.

.

.