A/N:(With Snake's voice) Kept you waiting, huh?

Chapter 9-The Trickster vs The Dragon

''Let me show you then,'' I said as something came beside me.

''What… is that?'' Vali asked.

''Kukukuku.'' I started to laugh, I fooled her it seems. Then I heard Ise behind me.

''W-wait isn't that-!''

DxD(Vali's POV)

I saw a smirk on Ren's face, just what is that thing?

''Star Platinum: The World!'' He shouted. (A/N: If you don't know how Star Platinum: The World looks, just search it)

I blinked, then I blinked again.

He… vanished?

''I bet you didn't saw that coming.'' -! He is behind me!

I quickly looked behind to see his scythe coming towards me!

''Wha-!?'' Before I could move away, his scythe cut the armor on my right arm! I quickly leaped backward.

''What's the matter, Vali? I thought you wanted to fight.'' He is trying to make me angry, so I can lose control and lose, that clever bastard!

'Albion, can you repair the armor?' I asked my partner, Vanishing Dragon Albion. He grunted.

[I'm trying, however, his scythe is really nasty. I can't just repair that part it seems. You will need to disable this one to make another one... So, he wants to make you exhausted.]

Albion quickly made the armor manifest itself, it took more power then repairing it, but if I were to ignore it, Ren can just cut off my right arm.

'Were you able to see him move when he shouted that?'

[No, I don't think he moved. I want to say teleportation spell but… it's not an easy task to teleport instantly like that without a magic circle. There is something we are missing, and he is counting on that.]

I could feel the sweat on my forehead slowly dripping down.

''Ready or not, here I come!'' He is coming-!

I shot magical bullets towards him.

He put up an ice barrier.

''Agh-!?'' One of them penetrated his barrier and hit him!

It hit his right arm, there was smoke coming out.

He glared towards me.

''Star Platinum: The World!''

-! He vanished again! I immediately turned back.

''…!'' He is not behind me!

Doooooooooooon!

''Agh-!'' He hit me from below with Power of Destruction!

My right leg armor was destroyed!

[I'm on it Vali!]

Albion started to repair the armor since he didn't hit me with his scythe, Albion could repair the broken places without just destroying it completely to manifest it.

I looked down to see Ren with a shit-eating grin.

''What's the matter? Did Ise beat you too much, so you can't fight anymore?'' I clenched my teeth. He is just trying to provoke me!

But… I think I figured something about his ability.

It obviously has some kind of limited range, and I think he can't teleport behind me when I'm flying.

But… there is a possibility that he is just making it look weak, so he can take full advantage of his ability when I underestimate it.

This is troublesome.

Shiiiiiiiin

In an instant, he manifested dozens of magic circles.

Then he snapped his fingers

Snap!

SWISH! ZAPZAPZAPZAP!

In an instant, ice spears and lightning bolts started shot from the magic circles!

''-!'' I immediately started to run away from them.

This continued for a few seconds, then Ren stopped them.

He was sweaty and was looking tired.

Is he really using that much power to use that ability?

Grumble Grumble

''''Eh…?'''' Did… did that come from Ren?

I looked towards him to find him kneeling.

''Ugh… this is all your fault Rias!'' Eh…? ''If only you let me bring my sandwich, damn it! I'm hungryyyy!''

''''Eh…?''''

Everyone looked towards Rias Gremory, who sighed heavily.

''It was time to head to the meeting.''

''You said there would be cakes!'' Ren cried out while holding his stomach.

''I-I said there SHOULD be cakes, I never said there would be!''

''Uuuuuu, damn ittttt.''

Just… what is even going on?

Then I saw a teleportation circle formed a bit away from me.

"Vali, I've come for you."

It was Bikou who was wearing armor that would be worn by a military commander of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

"So it's Bikou. What have you come for?" I asked him.

"Isn't that cruel? I made a long journey and came all the way to this island country because my partner is in a pinch, you know? The other guys were making a fuss at headquarters, you know? Because we're joining together to fight the northern country Gods, you were supposed to flee and return right away if the mission failed, right? Katerea failed to assassinate Michael, Azazel, and Lucifer, right? In that case, your observation role is also over. Come back with me."

"...I see, so it's already time." Hah~ What a pity, I wanted to see how Ren was able to do that trick but, oh well.

"Who are you?" Hmm…? My rival?

"He's the descendant of the Victorious Fighting Buddha,'' Azazel answered him.

"Let me say it with a name that you can grasp. He's Sun Wukong. The famous damn monkey in the Journey to the West."

"S-S-Sun Wukoooooooong!?" Is it that shocking?

"To say it correctly, he is a monkey Youkai that has inherited Sun Wukong's power. However, it really is the end of the world if even you have joined the Khaos Brigade. No, you're the Sun Wukong to the Vanishing Dragon. You're also well-matched."

Bikou laughed at Azazel's words with a cackle.

"I'm different from the First Generation that became a Buddha. I just live doing as I like. My name is Bikou. Nice to meet you, Red Dragon Emperor."

Then Bikou spun around his Ruyi Jingu Bang around and pierced it into the ground. Instantly, black darkness spread over the ground. It enveloped me and Bikou and made us completely sink into it.

"Wait! As if I'll let you escape!" My rival shouted as he tried to run towards us.

Kah!

His Sacred Gear was released. His armor vanished.

"Azazel! Don't you have more of those rings!? I can't let her escape!"

"It takes a tremendous amount of time to purify those things. I can't mass-produce them. And even if I could, the possibility of attaining complete Balance Breaker fades if used too much. To the end, it's an emergency-use measure."

"Right now is for emergency-use! I was made a fool of by her! As if I'll let her get away!"

"If you explosively emit that much power in an instant, your stamina will become empty. As you are now, what you are able to store is limited and long battles are impossible."

"I, as the White Dragon Empress, was occupied by the blood relative of the old Maou. The enemy isn't just Angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils. Eventually, we'll fight again, but at that time, it will be even more intense. We'll each get stronger—."

I stopped at mid-sentence just there, as we vanished into the darkness.

DxD(Ren's POV)

''Ugh,'' I grunted as I tried to walk.

''Ren-kun, do you need some help?'' Kiba asked I shook my head.

''Nah, don't worry about me. Just tell big-shots that I left to eat some food.''

Grumble Grumble

''Fufu'' Ugh, I became laughing stock for these guys.

''I'm going, see ya,'' I said as I slowly made my way towards the exist.

Hah~

Who could have thought I would be able to almost beat her with some illusion and teleportation spells though.

It was a good thing I put that magic circles around when I had free time these past few days, they were challenging to make but, they did the work.

I wonder if she figured out it was just a few magic circles and illusion spells.

The thing is, I could only teleport to others that were 10 meters or lower away from me. So I had to get close to fool her completely, and I couldn't place any at the sky since if I were to they would be visible unlike the ones at the ground.

Well… it was a success I guess…

Who am I kidding… I didn't want to put those things on the ground since… I thought she might betray the Khaos Brigade now and live with us… I was naive, heh.

''Kukukukuku…'' I laughed to myself… ah, is that a tear that is trying to fall from my eye?

It… has been a while since the last time I cried…

DxD

"And so, from today on, I'll be the advisor of this Occult Research Club. Please call me Azazel-sensei. Or Governor is fine too."

Wearing a worn-out suit, Azazel was in the clubroom of the occult research club.

''Hmm… Nah.''

"...Why are you here?"

Touching her forehead with her hand, Rias was in a perplexed state.

"Hah! I was requested to take this position by Serafall's little sister! Well, it's because I'm a super-cool guy. I score even with schoolgirls!"

"That's forbidden! Or rather, why would Sona do such a thing?"

"You're so stubborn, Rias Gremory. I was told by Serafall's sister that this was requested by Sirzechs. That's why she requested me."

We should crucify Sona.

"Wait, what about that arm? Didn't you lose one of them?"

"Ah, this. It's a genuine artificial arm that I produced while researching Sacred Gears. It's an all-purpose arm that can be loaded with light power-style laser beams and tiny missiles. I wanted to be equipped with such a thing once. I equipped it in commemoration of my lost arm."

Bushu!

Azazel's hand flew out. It also did several rotations as it spun on its side.

"The condition for me staying at this school is that I make the immature Sacred Gears possessed by the Devils of the Gremory family grow. Well, my knowledge as a Sacred Gear enthusiast is useful after all. You guys have also heard about it, but there is a weird organization called the Khaos Brigade. As a future deterrent against them, the Welsh Dragon and your family have become famous. Rather than that, I'm an expert on the opposing Vanishing Dragon. From the information I got on her, I know that Vali has her own team. We're temporarily calling it the 'White Dragon Empress Team'. Several people are gathering around the ones who've been identified at present, Vali and Sun Wukong."

"Are Vali and the others going to attack here again?"

The Governor shook his head at Ise's question.

"They won't attack here again. It was a rare chance for the assassination on the leaders of the Three Great Powers at the conference, but that also failed. Their current opponents are Heaven and the Underworld. In the Underworld, all the Fallen Angels under my orders have joined together with the Devils. The Underworld won't fall so easily. The Seraph guys in Heaven also wouldn't remain silent. Also, there are the free-loading strong sacred beasts in Heaven, and demonic beasts as well."

"...So it's a war?"

"No, it's still at the skirmish level. You could say both they and we are in a preparatory period. Don't worry, something like war won't occur until you people graduate from university, let alone this school's high school division. Enjoy your school life fully. However, it is the long-awaited preparatory period. So you'll be doing various preparations, right?"

Yeah… we saw how that worked out, right?

''Red Dragon Emperor, don't think about it too hard. Either way, since you lack brains, you'll make no progress if you worry too much. Your enemy is the White Dragon Empress Vali to the bitter end. Just don't forget that single fact."

"You were only able to repel Vali because you combined the Dragon Slaying sword you got from Michael with Boosted Gear's power. Also, Vali didn't go all out. If it weren't for that, you would have lost. Rather, you could only fight thanks to the compatibility this time. If it was another opponent that wasn't a Dragon and possessed the power of Vali's level, you would have been killed."

"Also, can you use the Vanishing Dragon's power because of that?"

"No, it doesn't function at all."

"As I thought. You can't handle something that strong so easily. It's beneficial to take in another Dragon's power. However, it's an entirely different matter whether you can freely control it or not. If used unskilfully, it may be an ability that is more difficult than attaining Balance Breaker. However, the power you took it once should have been recorded into Ddraig's soul. The rest depends on training. In addition, you'll first have to complete hellish training in the long term. If you're weak but in absurdly high spirits, you'll die."

"Your Red Dragon Emperor power is also too unstable. Its explosive power is tremendous, but that's also only temporarily. A lower rank opponent would instantly be brought down with that, but it would be suppressed by a higher rank opponent. If you're also going to participate in the Rating Games as a Devil from now on, you must stabilize the Red Dragon Emperor's mighty power. For all that, you first need to attain Balance Breaker. Having said that, Rating Games aren't straightforward either. Something like a Pawn that consumed only one piece taking down the King also happens. Everything depends on how you fight. I'll have to teach you all about that as well."

"You seem well-informed about Rating Games."

"Devils aren't the only fans of the game, you know? Thanks to the peace pact, there are also a lot of Angels and Fallen Angels going out to watch the games unreservedly."

"Therefore, for the time being, we'll build up your body so that it can fight for long periods of time."

"...Yes."

"Can I become strong?" Ise asked Azazel.

"I'll make you strong. Since I'm a Fallen Angel with free time."

Azazel showed a complacent and mischievous smile. Then, Ise pointed at Gasper.

"If, for example, we're attacked another time, can't we do something with Gasper's time-stopping power?"

"S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-Senpai! W-W-W-W-W-W-W-What are you sayiiiiiiing!? Hiiiiii!"

Gasper cried and shouted at Ise's suggestion.

"It's not worth considering if he's alone. We don't know what kind of people are in the Khaos Brigade."

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I'm so useless! I'm not useful at all! I'm garbage! I'm pig food! I'm seriously reflecting deeper than the sea, and I possess a target higher than Evereeeeeeeeeest! So please don't abandon meeeeeeeee!"

Gasper took refuge in his cardboard box while crying.

"That's right. Holy Demonic Sword kid, how long can you fight in Balance Breaker?"

Kiba answered Azazel's question.

"Currently, one hour is my limit."

"That's not good. At the very least, you need to make sure that you're able to continue using it for three days."

Ooh, how strict. Kiba's expression also became fired up from the words just now.

"I-I can only do it for ten seconds under restricted conditions..." Ise said timidly.

"You'll have to retrain from scratch. The White Dragon Empress can stay in Balance Breaker for one month. That's the difference between you."

Jesus, what the hell!

"You still hate us, don't you, Baraqiel?"

"I have no intention of forgiving him. It's that person's fault that my mother died." Akeno answered with a stern expression.

… at least they didn't abandon you, did they?

"Akeno, when you fell down to being a Devil, he said nothing."

"Naturally. That person isn't in a position where he can say something to me."

"That's not what I meant. No, well, it might be thoughtless of me to enter into the space of you, parent and child."

"I don't consider that person as my father!" Akeno-san declared that clearly.

"I see. However, I don't think it's bad that you joined the Gremory family. If things were otherwise, what would Baraqiel think, I wonder?"

"..."

Akeno did not respond to Azazel's words. She just silently showed a complicated expression. Then, Azazel's eyes turned to Ise this time.

"Hey, Red Dragon Emperor… is Ise fine? Ise, your dream is to make a harem, right?"

"Yeah, that's right..."

"Shall I teach you about harems? Even though I look like this, I'm a man who has formed hundreds of harems in the past, you know? You won't lose anything by hearing about it."

… that's true.

"S-S-S-S-S-S-S-Seriously!?"

"Yeah, seriously. Are you a virgin?"

"Y-Yes!"

Then I just blankly stared towards the window…

Somehow my heart feeling empty…

DxD

The day before we entered the summer vacation. That is after the closing ceremony had ended.

"Hello."

"Hi. I'll be imposing on you from today on."

Akeno and Xenovia came to my house carrying some big luggage

"Ise-kun!" Akeno embraced Ise.

"I, Akeno, have arrived here at your side just now. Ise-kun..."

"...A-Akeno and Xenovia will also be living together with us in this house... I-It was Onii-sama's suggestion. Koneko also plans to come later."

So said Rias.

"Ise-kun , I'll sleep together with you tonight. Ufufu, I want to do things with Ise-kun in bed all night just once."

… lucky little shit.

"Seriously!? Uooooo! N-Nosebleed!"

"Asia, is it fine if I share the same room as you?"

Xenovia tried to confirm this, but that Asia was looking at Ise and Akeno with watery eyes.

Rias sighed while pinching Ise's cheek.

"However, this house has rather become small, hasn't it? I've decided. I'll reconstruct it during summer vacation. I'll get in touch with my brother."

''Don't try to relocate my room or something Rias…'' She pouted at me. I guess she wanted my room to be moved away for something… probably so that only Asia, Rias and Ise's room would be on that floor.

With this and that, the first school semester came to a close. Next is summer vacation, however, I will need to go to Asgard, and I will have to get peerage members asap. So, it won't be a vacation for me… fuck.

DxD

''Hmm… ah, is it morning already?''

''Yes, it is.''

''Good mor… What the fuck happened to my room?''

''It was renovated in a night, devils sure have some interesting powers fufu~.''

''I see… she relocated my room… didn't she?''

''Yes she did.'' I sighed heavily.

''Living here will be awkward as fuck… wait I have a bathroom here, that's nice… they put that so I wouldn't use the other ones when they try to fuck Ise, right?''

''Most likely.''

''Ugh… this is annoying! I should go kick Sirzechs' ass… or I can just ignore him for a while, so he can reflect his actions… yeah, let's go with that.''

''You can ask him to build a house for you as well.''

''So I can die from starvation?''

''… that's true. You absolutely suck at cooking. Toddlers might be better than you'' I grunted.

''You don't have to shove it down my throat like that.'' She giggled.

''Fufu~ you're not denying it, are you?''

''No… I can't even heat up the water to make instant noodles… I am so useless.''

''I still don't get how you mess that up, I mean how did you manage to melt the noodles like that?''

''Don't remind me…''

DxD

"No, it was renovated. I was also shocked when I got up this morning. The house was renovated while we were sleeping."

Breakfast set. At the table that had become five times wider than before, my dad said that while wearing a smile all over his face.

My mother brought in the breakfast miso soup from the kitchen which had also become five times wider.

"Apparently Rias's father does work related to construction as well and he said that he'd renovate this place free of charge as part of a model house."

I'm surprised he didn't make a caste or something, not gonna lie.

"Now that you mention it, it seems that Suzuki-san and Tamura-san next door have moved away. I hear that they suddenly obtained some favorable plots of land and then moved there."

So said, my father.

Devil magic sure is scary.

"It's all right. It was a peaceful settlement. So that everyone could be happy."

My mother held out the house blueprints. It looked to be the room assignment chart.

"On the first floor are the guest rooms, living room, kitchen, and Japanese-style rooms. On the second floor are the rooms of Ise, Rias-san, and Asia-chan. The arrangement has the other two adjacent to Ise's room. It seems to be structured so that you can go between the rooms next to each other from inside."

… I said don't relocate my room, but noooo. You just had to do that to get in Issei's pants

I glared at Rias, she gulped and said 'calm down, please.'

"On the third floor are your father's and my room, the study, and the storeroom. On the fourth floor are Akeno-san's and Xenovia's rooms. There's also the room for Koneko-chan, who will be coming later."

''On the fifth floor, there is Ren's room.'' Meaning, they made me stay far away from their fantasies with Ise. ''And the sixth floor is entirely made of just vacant rooms. For the time being, we intend to use them as guest rooms. Since Rias-san said she didn't mind letting anyone have the rooms except for the second floor when we asked her."

I'm totally going to ask my grandpa to make a castle or something for me, this ain't adding up.

"Yes. This is the house of Ise's mother and father. In the end, I and the others are just home-staying here."

"There is also an open-air garden on the roof. I will be able to plant vegetables~" My dad said that as his eyes lit up! Aah, he has no doubts about it at all! There's no mistake that his mind was numbed by the renovation of his dreams!

"Because we built it so sturdily, it won't collapse even in the case of a war."

"Hahahaha, you're quite skilled at joking, Rias-san."

"There're also underground floors apparently." Xenovia said that while she was having a hard time with her chopsticks.

"Underground floors!?"

"Yeah, there are up to three underground floors."

"The first underground floor is a huge spacious room. Not only can it be used as a training room, but it can also be used as a movie theatre. It's also equipped with a large indoor bath. The second underground floor is used entirely for an indoor pool. It can also use warm water. In the third underground floor are a library and a storehouse."

"Since there's also an elevator, you can smoothly get on and off from the sixth ground floor to the third underground floor."

DxD

''Eh, Nii-san. You're coming with us to the Underworld?'' Ise asked me, I nodded.

''I will come with you guys for a few days, after that, I will go to Asgard for a week. Then I will go around the world to find potential peerage members.''

''W-wait, you're going to Asgard?'' Rias asked I nodded.

''Yeah, Trickster God Loki invited me. I think it will be fun, and it will be a bridge between Devils and Asgard, so it is a Win-Win situation.'' I explained to them. Rias nodded.

''Yes, it certainly would allow us and North to make peace. Though, why did Loki invited you?'' I scratched back of my head.

''Well, I guess you can say we're friends.''

''I-I see. Since all the things you do are pretty bizarre, I can't say much.'' That's true.

"I'm also going to the Underworld."

''''!?''''

Before we became aware of it, a good-looking black-haired man was sitting on a seat in the corner. It was Azazel.

As the Governor of the Fallen Angel organization that opposed the Devils, he had been present at the peace conference the other day between Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels. For some reason, only this person stayed at Kuoh Academy and started as a teacher there. What's more, he's now the advisor of our occult research club(which I'm not part of)

"W-Where did you come in from?" Rias asked Azazel while blinking in surprise.

"Hmm? Isn't it normally from the front door?" Azazel answered calmly.

"…I didn't even feel your presence." Kiba voiced his feelings honestly.

''… I did feel your presence but, I thought it was a human or something.'' I said myself, that wasn't a lie. I knew he would come here but, I didn't know when he would.

"That's just due to your lack of training. I just came in normally. More importantly, you're returning to the underworld, right? Then, I'll go too. I'm your 'teacher', after all."

''You're Rias and her peerage's teacher, not mine,'' I smirked.

''Heh, I guess you will train at Asgard?'' I nodded.

''Loki did say I should come sometime to visit Asgard. Though I will be there for only a week.'' He nodded.

''It's a rare opportunity to train with Northern Gods.''

Then Azazel took out a notepad from his pocket and read it out loud.

"The schedule for the Underworld is…first, a visit to Rias's parents, and the introduction of the servant Devils to the current head of the family. After that, there's the annual meeting of the new young Devils. And then there's your training over there. I'm mainly going along with you for your training. While you're all at the Gremory house, I'll be meeting with Sirzechs. Geez, so troublesome." Azazel sighed. He seriously finds it bothersome to do.

Though his subordinates do love him, they would come time-to-time to meet him and say stuff like 'Please decide on a secretary!', 'Look after your personal appearance while in the human world!', or 'You absolutely need to have personal bodyguards!' when they visited. They all seemed tremendously worried about Azazel being in this town. I heard there were some top officials among the Fallen Angels who visited as well.

He would always send all those members back with the words, 'It's fine, so go back. That's an order.' or something.

"Then, Azazel-Sensei, you'll be accompanying us, right? Shall we make travel reservations for you?" Rias asked. Azazel nodded at her question.

"Yes, please do. It's my first time entering the Underworld through the Devils' route. I'm looking forward to it. Since I usually use the route of the Fallen Angels' side."

Hah~ we will have to use a train or whatever to get to the Underworld, that sucks.

DxD

The day we set off. The first place we headed to was the nearest station. Everyone was wearing Kuoh Academy's summer uniform. Rias said that, if we were entering the Underworld, this was our best uniform.

Then Rias and Akeno entered the elevator that could hold 5 people at most.

"Then, please come in first, Ise, Asia, and Xenovia. We'll be going down from here." Rias said.

"G-Going down?" Ise was puzzled by Rias's words.

"Come on, stop blinking in surprise like that and come in."

Rias beckoned them while smiling wryly.

"Yuuto and the rest of you who are used to it, please come together with Azazel afterward."

"Yes, Buchou."

Kiba answered to Rias, and then the elevator doors closed.

There they go…

After a few minutes later we used the elevator to go down.

"Now that all of us are here, we'll walk to platform three."

With Rias and Akeno in the lead, we began to walk.

I felt that this place was several times the size of the station we usually used. The ceiling above was also distant. It seemed like your voice would echo if you yelled out.

There was no one else here besides us. The wall lamps that illuminated this place gave off a magic-like mysterious glow.

When I looked towards Ise, I saw that he and Akeno were hand-holding.

Ew, how lewd.

''…''

''…sob.''

Rias and Asia's gazes were sharp, Asia even had teary eyes.

After taking passages left and right, we came out into open space again.

Then a train welcomed us, There were many devil-representing patterns carved into it at acute angles.

"It's a train owned by the Gremory family."

Rias answered without hesitation.

Bushu

Then the doors were opened.

With Rias in the lead, we entered the train.

DxD

Riiiiiiiiiing

The departure whistle sounded, and the train began to move.

I and Rias were at the first train car, ahead of Ise and others who were at the central train car.

''Ren-sama, here is your card to access the train.'' A gentle-looking old man with a white beard and hat said to me. I took the card from him, then he and Rias left.

Hah~ what a pain.

DxD

[We will soon be arriving at the Gremory main residence. We will soon be arriving at the Gremory main residence. Everyone, thank you for riding this train.]

An announcement came out.

Then I got up from the couch I was sitting and get up.

Then I and others came down to the station's home.

''''Welcome home, Rias-ojou-sama! Ren-sama!'''' Ow, my ears.

Panpanpanpan!

Fireworks were set off, soldiers aimed their guns at the sky and fired, and people that looked as if they were from an orchestra band began to play simultaneously! A soldier who rode on top of a mysterious creature flew in the sky above and waved a flag.

"Hiiiiii…So many people…" Gasper was terrified by the large number of people here and hid behind Ise's back.

"Welcome back, ojou-sama. You arrived early. Above all, it's good that you were safe while traveling. Now then, all family members, please board the carriage. We'll be going to the main residence with this." My mother said this.

"I will go with the servants. Since Ise and Asia seem anxious, as this is their first time."

''I will go with them as well. I don't wanna be all alone.'' I chuckled.

"Understood. I've prepared a few vehicles, so please board whichever pleases you."

Ise, Rias, Asia, Akeno, Xenovia, and my mother boarded the first carriage, while I and others boarded the other one.

Looking at the scenery, there were paved roads and beautifully pruned trees. The path stretched straight ahead a huge structure suddenly burst into my view.

Then the carriage door opened. A butler-like man made a slight bow.

I disembarked first, and then the rest.

The maids and butlers stood in line on both sides of us and made a path. A red carpet stretched out towards the huge castle, and the huge castle gate made a 'Gigigi' noise as it opened.

"Come on, let's go." I heard Rias as we started to walk on the carpet.

A small silhouette broke out from the line of maids and ran towards Rias.

"Rias-nee-sama! Welcome back!"

A cute-looking young boy with red hair embraced Rias.

"Millicas! I'm back. You've gotten big, haven't you?'

Rias also lovingly hugged the boy back. Then he turned towards me.

''Onii-sama! Welcome home!'' He jumped to me, I caught him.

''Hehe~.'' I give a small chuckle as we hugged.

"Come on, let's go into the residence," Rias said as I placed Millicas down and headed towards the gate.

We passed through the huge gate and went inside. The inner castle gates also opened one by one.

We then arrived at what seemed to be the entry hall. There were stairs which led to the second floor in front of us. There was a huge chandelier on the ceiling.

"Ojou-sama, I'd like to show everyone to their rooms at once." My mother raised her hand as some maids gathered with us.

"You're right, I have to go greet mother and father after coming home as well." Rias gave a 'Hmm' as she seemed to think about something.

"The master is out at present. He's expected to return by this evening. He said that he would meet together with you while dining with everyone together at supper."

"I see, I understand, Grayfia. Then, I suppose we'll let everyone rest in their respective rooms for now. Has the baggage been carried in already?"

"Yes. There should be no problem with using your room right now."

"Ara, Rias. So you've returned."

"Mother. I've returned home."

My grandmother came down from the stairs. She looked at me.

''Welcome home, Ren.'' I smiled.

''Hello grandmother.'' I said, then I heard Issei saying 'Ow ow ow.'

"…You know nothing will come out of it even if you make hot eyes at my mother, right?"

Ku~ same old Ise.

DxD

Several hours after that meeting in the entrance hall, we were in the dining room.

I guess this is dinnertime, I hope at least.

The sky was also dark. When I looked up at the sky, there was a false moon floating up there.

The flow of time here seemed to match the human world. It seemed that the underworld had its own flow of time here, but it seemed that, for the sake of reincarnated devils and those that lived in the human world, the Maous had adjusted it to match using a special method. So that it wouldn't be a 'Urashima Taro situation' for them. The reverse of that as well. The Fallen Angel region of this world also seems to be the same.

"Please enjoy yourselves without holding back." My grandfather said as the dinner began.

Though… how am I suppose to eat it? I normally devour it all in few minutes… but if I were to do that it would be a bit embarrassing.

Fuck.

'Do you want me to help you, Ren?'

Ah! My savior!

'Fufufu~ Okay okay first you-'

After Death-chan explained how I should eat, I was able to eat some food.

Then I heard my grandfather clearing his throat.

''Members of Rias' group, please think of this place as your home. Having just come to the Underworld, you're in an environment you don't understand. If there's something you want, please say so to the housemaids without reserve. They'll prepare it right away." He said cheerfully.

"By the way, Hyoudou Issei-kun." He turned to Ise.

"Y-Yes!"

"Have your parents been well?"

"Y-Yes! The two of them are fine! W-When I told them that I was going to Buchou's…Rias-sama's hometown; they just expected a souvenir from me! F-For them to say such a thing after their house was so wonderfully rebuilt, they really are selfish parents…Ahaha."

"Hmm. A souvenir, huh. I see."

He rang a handbell beside him. A butler-like person then immediately approached.

"What is your order, master?"

"Yes. Prepare a castle for Hyoudou Issei-kun's parents."

I almost choked myself.

"Yes. Shall it be Western-style? Or Japanese-style?"

The butler also responded normally!

"What a worrisome choice."

"P-Please wait a moment! G-Going that far for a souvenir is a little too much!"

"Dear, since the land in Japan is too small, it's impossible for a commoner to have a castle." My grandmother came to his rescue.

"What? Certainly, Japan is small. Hmm, if a castle is no good, I wonder what else would be a good present…"

"Father, worrying about it that much will just trouble them. Ise's parents don't possess strong worldly desires anyway."

My grandfather also said 'I see' and nodded deeply.

"Hyoudou Issei-kun." My grandfather called out to Ise.

"Y-Yes!"

"You may call me 'father-in-law' from today on."

"C-Call you 'father' …? T-That's too great an honor for me!"

"Dear, you're being too fast. There's such a thing as order first." My grandmother scolded my grandfather.

"Y-Yeah. However, it's even crimson and red. Doesn't it make you happy?"

"Dear, I said that it's still too early to celebrate."

"That's true. It seems I just tend to be too hasty." My grandfather let out a deep breath.

"Hyoudou Issei-san. Is it fine if I can call you Issei-san?" My grandmother asked Ise.

"Y-Yes! Of course!"

"Will you be staying here for a while?"

"Yes. While Buchou…Rias-sama is here, I'll be here too…But, what about it?"

"I see. That's perfect. Since I have to have you acquire gentlemanly behavior as well. You'll study manners a little while here."

Bang!

"Father! Mother! I've been listening quietly until now, but what kind of thing are you trying to advance while leaving me out of it!?" Rias shouted. I took a sip from my water as I watched.

"Be silent, Rias. You already canceled your engagement with Riser, remember? The fact that we just permitted it should be thought of as a special treatment. How much effort do you think your father and Sirzechs had to put in in order to take care of things with the other high-class devils? Do you know that he told one noble that 'my selfish daughter canceled her engagement using the legendary dragon'? You may be the younger sister of the Maou, but there is still a limit." She narrowed her eyes.

"Onii-sama has nothing to-" Rias's face became clouded by anger and she tried to speak out, but-

"You mean Sirzechs is unrelated to what you do? Officially, that is true. However, everyone sees you as the Maou's younger sister. Right now, when the three great powers have formed an alliance, your position is known even by the lower classes of the other powers. You can't behave selfishly as you have in the past. And, above all else, everyone will pay attention to you from now on. Rias, you have been placed into that kind of position, you know? There will be no second instance of that kind of selfishness. Do not carry any spoiled thoughts. Understood?"

Rias seems to be mortified by those words and couldn't retort back. Still looking unconvinced, she forcefully sat down in her seat.

After letting out a single breath, my grandmother turned to us with a smile.

"I've shown something ugly to Rias' group members, haven't I? Getting back to the topic, you will go through special training during your stay here, Issei-san. Since you have to experience the upper society and nobility even if only a little." I think I will go out of this, haha~.

"U-Umm, why me?"

"You are the last bit of selfishness of my daughter, the next family head. As parents, we bear the responsibility right until the end." Then she turned towards me.

''Ren, you will also go through with it.'' I sighed deeply.

''What if I refuse?'' The second I finished my sentence, I felt an intense amount of killer-intent towards me. I looked back…

Then I looked towards my grandmother.

''N-nevermind, I-I will go through with it.'' Then I heard a satisfied hum behind me.

W-why? Just why is my mother behind me!?

DxD

Short Stories-Square tf up, THOTS.

''Nom nom nom.'' Our favorite protagonist Ren Hyoudou was laying against the tree and was eating his bento. He was looking nothing particular, then he heard someone talking about him.

''Hey did you saw the manga that manga club made?'' He saw a pink haired girl saying to a brown-haired girl. He hummed and listened to them while drinking water.

''Yes I saw it, who could have thought Hyoudou Ren-kun and Yuuto Kiba-kun would be a good match!'' When Ren heard that he spit his water out and ran towards them.

''Katase-san, Murayama-san, what was that about me and Kiba being a good match?'' He said to them with a creepy smile. Girls shivered. ''If you don't speak, I will dropkick you two and steal your panties.'' They started to sweat.

''U-um… t-the manga club ma-made a doujinshi about you and Kiba being…gay.'' Then something snapped. Girls looked at Ren's eye then they slowly get away from him.

He started to walk towards the clubroom of the manga club.

His eye was covered with his bangs and he was looking to the floor. The students who saw him walked towards another way so they didn't taste the wrath of the Ren.

After a few minutes later, he was standing in front of the manga clubroom door. He knocked it.

Then a girl came and opened it.

''Welcome~ How can we help yo-'' She couldn't finish her sentence because she saw that it was Ren who knocked the door. She tried to shut the door but Ren was pushing it so she couldn't close it.

''P-please Hyoudou Ren-kun, y-you shouldn't come!'' She screamed but it was no use. Then the door was fully opened. There stood Ren, his bangs were out of his eye and he was glaring at the club members there.

''Kyaaaa!'', ''Noooo! Get out!'' they said to him but he didn't leave the scene.

''I heard that you guys did a yaoi doujinshi about me and Kiba… is it true? And don't you even think about lying. If I found it out, I will come and make sure you guys eat all of that crap!'' He said with a threatening voice. They shivered.

''B-but, it is our duty to make a manga that student body wants! Y-you can't threaten us.'' One of the girls said as she stepped forward. Ren looked towards her and glared daggers at her.

''Hoh? So you are saying that making something like that without my permission is okay? Well then, beating the living shit out of you girls is okay as well!'' He said as he took a stance. ''Square tf up, THOTS.'' They shivered and took a step back.

''Y-you are jocking r-right? You wouldn't hit a girl?'' One of them said with fear in her voice.

''Come find out.'' He said as he took a step forward. Then they screamed.

''''KYAAAAAAAA!'''' The whole school heard that and in a few minutes Souna Shitori, the student council president came to the room.

''What's going on here!'' She asked. Ren scoffed.

''They were making a gay doujinshi about me and Kiba.'' He said with a stoic expression, Sona became red.

''W-what?!'' She stuttered. ''D-did they have your permission?'' He shook his head. She nodded.

''Girls,'' She looked to the manga club members, they gulped. ''you will take the doujinshis you sold and burn them all, and you will apologize to Hyoudou Ren-san.'' She told them, they nodded and hung their head low.

''''Y-yes ma'am.'''' Then they turned towards Ren. ''''We're sorry, please forgive us.'''' They bowed towards Ren. He scoffed.

''Just burn all the doujinshis you sold, that's all I want.'' He told them and left.

The next day they burned all the doujinshi they sold… or did they burned all of them?

''Ara~ Ara~, ufufufu.''

That was the last words that the last owner of the said doujinshi said as she closed it.

DxD

A/N: Aaaaaand that's it!

You guys might be wondering 'Why is this chapter small?' the thing is, I've been trying to write another story(like I mentioned it in a few chapters) that is why I decided to cut the chapters, so my mind won't melt down.

And well… I guess 'Gamer' thing is not for me lol, so all that thinking is at the trash now.

Anyways, I might be able to post the first chapter of that next week, but no promises.

If you like JoJo, that might be for you, lol. (Since S.I will have a stand(s))

Anyways time for the reviews:

Leo Saruca: Eh… close enough, I guess? Since it was just an illusion(I mean giving him a stand would make him OP as fuck.).

SPG: UwU

Blaze2121: Nah, I have some ideas for another Balance Breaker and stuff, and I know I'm an evil hahaha!

MasterOfDragonsGod: Thanks~

MrSpice: Here you go~

Weebshitt: And you are breathtaking!

Gaim no Kaze: I do state when I do it though, It something like 'DxD(Ise's POV) or something. I do some mistakes, I do a lot when writing 10k or so words especially. It just melts my brain, that's why I cut it :3

I won't say who will be in harem or peerage yet since I can change my mind quite easily. Telling who will be with who made me tired of my first story(there were some other reasons as well though.).

Dontmsgmeambord: I mean, duh. I am professional in making people mad(seriously though, my classmates pretty much had enough of my shit xd). I had thought about that when I decided on the romance between Ren and Vali, but then I decided against it. I thought 'Why not make Ren suffer a bit more, lol' so here he is, being lonely as fuck while his bro is getting the girls(I wanna say, sucks to be him but… he is me so… fuck.)

Anyways, that is it for the reviews.

When I was playing some games, I had a devilish idea about volume 11-12, hehehe~ I feel like Devil himself by thinking that though… fuck.

Anyways, there is still a lot of time until we reach there, so don't worry about it too much.

It is not like I'm going to kill off the MC right? He already overcome death by reincarnating, surely he can't come back from something like that?

Right!?

We won't see that until we reach there hehehe~

Next chapter our boi will be introduced to other young-devils, I wonder what they will think about him?

Find about it next week( I hope, lol)

Goodbye~