Altair at this moment was rubbing his temples with one hand. The reason? The fact that having devils chasing him was the cause of his recent stress, and as if that wasn't enough, Jeanne now always teased him for having him screw up in her 'absence'.
''What a drag! Altair thought.
''Altair-kun, I would like to correct you, our servants are like part of our family, so please don't call them slaves, it's an insult to them.'' Sirzechs said calmly as he noticed that his wife, Grayfia, had an expression that showed a bit of annoyance over the term Altair used to refer to reincarnated devils.
Besides, nobody liked to be called a slave.
And she as the Maou's wife was no exception.
''Sirzechs... Get to the point. What do you want?'' Inquired Altair, while ignoring what Sirzechs said about not calling reincarnated devils slaves.
Altair no longer had the patience to keep talking to them, all he would like at this point was a little rest.
''We want you to become our ally.'' Sirzechs said with a smile on his face, as if this was the most normal thing in the world.
But Altair who heard this raised one of his eyebrows, ''What a fox!'' He knew the reason why he had received this proposal from Sirzechs, but he would still like to confirm it. ''So, what do I need to do to become an ally?'' In a suspicious way Altair asked.
Altair knew exactly the direction this conversation would take, but he still had to ask, even if he had no interest in what Sirzechs would say.
''Form a peerage, that is, become one of us.''
A quiet smile appeared on Sirzechs' face as he spoke those words as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
Sirzechs knew that having Altair as an ally would be a huge gain for the devils, especially after he saw these two companions of Altair's who had a power equivalent to his. In addition, he was imagining a devil who can use multiple holy weapons. This would cause enormous damage to his enemies.
What the red-head unfortunately doesn't know, is that Altair's power, is much more than just holy weapons.
Much more.
"I refuse. Altair did not have to think long to refuse the proposal Sirzechs offered him. In his opinion becoming a devil at this time would be more disadvantageous than advantageous, besides he had other plans for his future, and in those plans becoming a devil was not possible.
Altair's answer made Sirzechs close his eyes, since in the red-head's mind this was the kind of proposal that no one would refuse, especially when the proposal came from the Maou himself.
''Why?'' Sirzechs couldn't help but ask this question, for at this moment he was curious, but at the same time afraid, about the answer he might receive. Moreover, he still has a card up his sleeve, however, he totally depends on the answer he will receive.
''If I accept, the devil elders probably forced me to marry other women right?'' Altair used a tone of affirmation when asking that question, as if he already knew the answer to that question. And from the way Maou's eyes widened at his question, he was sure he got his question right.
No one knew the devil elders better than Maou.
''Looks like I got it right.'' Altair said crossing his arms and closing his eyes.
"And yet you don't want to? Many people would kill themselves to be in your place right now!'' Maou's wife said angrily as she stared at Altair. In her view Altair was just a teenager, so it would be easy to bring him to their side. But this situation was unimaginable even for her.
''I have no interest in becoming a devil.'' Altair said calmly, but internally, he was quite irritated by this situation. Who do they think they are? They want him to give up his humanity just for something futile like having a peerage?
He didn't need something like that, his Servants are stronger than most characters in this world. And his Servants can get even stronger thanks to the system.
Not to mention that he might end up gaining more Servants over time, so for him to become a devil just for something like a peerage wasn't worth it.
''Do you refuse because you feel you can't take it?'' Grayfia asked in a sarcastic manner earning a look of disapproval from Sirzechs, which she just ignored as she continued to stare at Altair.
Altair who heard this question, just shook his head in deprecation.
''Did you really think I would fall for this provocation?''
But since she had said something like that, Altair felt he should ask a question on the same level.
''Answer me one thing Grayfia-san.'' As he said that, everyone's attention was now on him.
''Does your husband, Sirzechs, happen to have a harem?'' That was the question he would like to ask, after all they wanted to force him into several marriages, so he would like to know if Sirzechs also has other wives.
Grayfia's reaction was very amusing in Altair's view, as she widened her eyes when she remembered this small detail.
She had always been very jealous, so for Sirzechs to form a harem was practically impossible, at least he would not be able to do such a thing while he was with her.
Sirzechs didn't seem bothered by Altair's question, because in his opinion he didn't need a harem, not least because the red-haired man loved Grayfia with all his heart and had no interest in parting with her.
Altair didn't need to hear Grayfia's answer to his question, because he already knew the answer, but he was also a little puzzled, since the devils were desperate to reincarnate more people by his side to try to increase their numbers which had dropped drastically after the war.
''Anyway, if that's all, you guys can leave.'' Altair said, while waving his hands in a sign that they should withdraw from his home.
''Altair-kun... is that your final decision?'' Sirzechs asked fearfully. He didn't want to have any more enemies, especially when that enemy has two people on the same power level as him.
''Don't worry Sirzechs, I don't intend to be your enemy, but I won't join your faction either.'' Altair said in a way to reassure the Maou, and this seemed to really work as it was possible to see Sirzechs sighing in relief at his answer.
Sirzechs was sad that Altair refused his proposal, but the fact that Altair was not interested in going against the devils at least relieved him. Besides, Altair might not pose much of a threat to him now, but his Sacred Gear, could at least eliminate most of the devils. And he as Maou could not let that happen. After all, it is a leader's duty to protect his people.
''Sirzechs, taking advantage of the fact that you are here, could you do me a small favor?'' Altair asked in an embarrassed manner, for he had just refused Sirzechs' proposal, but here he was asking for a favor.
''If it is within my power.'' Sirzechs nodded, a little curious about the favor Altair wanted him to do.
''I need you to get these two into the academy.'' Altair said pointing at the girls standing next to him. Causing the two of them to widen their eyes at this.
You've got to be kidding, right master? Jeanne said confused upon hearing Altair's strange request.
''No, I'm serious.'' He said smiling as he saw the annoyed face Jeanne had on her face. Altair felt that he would never get tired of irritating Jeanne.
Sirzechs wanted to ask the reason why, Altair wanted the two girls to go to school, but Altair who realized this did not let him speak and continued saying.
''My school life is very boring, so to make it more fun, I want the two of them to join the school.''
Altair had an innocent smile on his face as he said this. But who knew how innocent his intentions were in asking his servants to enter the school along with him.
Everyone in the room blinked a few times, after all this motive was a bit strange. No, to tell you the truth, Altair himself is strange. Even his servants can't understand him.
''Okay, I'll do it.'' Sirzechs said, chilling the women on the spot.
''Thank you.'' For the first time, Altair was polite in this conversation, and he didn't think it was wrong, since Sirzechs would be doing him a favor, so the least he could be is polite in thanking him for his help.
''Then, with your leave, I will leave now, Let's go Grayfia.'' The redhead said with a slight bow as he prepared to leave with Grayfia at his side.
''Yes Sirzechs, nice talking to you, see you next time.'' Altair said with a smile as he waved goodbye, making Maou smile with that gesture.
He had landed himself an interesting ally. He might not even be a devil, but he had gotten his attention, so he will protect him as much as possible. Sirzechs wants to see how strong Altair can become, and he only hopes that Altair can become stronger as soon as possible, because he doesn't know how long he can delay the devils from going after these three.
Besides, Sirzechs was sure of one thing, those girls... they are dangerous.
And he as Maou, needs to find out soon who they are. And with these thoughts, Sirzechs together with Grayfia disappeared into a scarlet magic circle.
Leaving Altair and his servants alone again.
"Master..." Artoria called out to Altair, while she still looked at the place where Sirzechs disappeared.
But Altair seemed to ignore Artoria's call, as she got up from her armchair and headed towards the balcony.
Looking up at the starry sky Altair couldn't help but sigh, he knew that this world as simple as it may seem, is in fact extremely complex and dangerous, besides he knew that the devils were the least of his problems, because there was someone behind the curtains much more powerful than they were.
And even with his servants who could fight Sirzechs on equal terms, he still didn't feel comfortable, as if an invisible enemy was watching him at all times.
After breathing some fresh air, Altair returned to the living room, and began to devour the cake he had made in the morning.
''I really went all out to make this cake.'' He commented, as he continued eating, ignoring everything that had happened a few moments ago.
Artoria knew that her master had no desire to explain anything to her, but she was still curious and decided to ask.
''Master, can you start explaining things now?'' Artoria put on a serious face as she asked this question.
''That's the Artoria I know.'' Altair thought with a smile on his face.
''Alright... but first, you'd better sit down, the story is going to be a bit long.'' Altair said calmly, as he settled down in his chair, ready to tell everything about this world.
So... what do you want to know? He asked with a smile on his face, looking at them, who had a serious look on their faces.
Altair was not too worried about telling them about this world, because in his opinion the more they knew about this world the better, besides, he had some places to go, so it would be good if they knew a little about this world.
''First, what are Sacred Gear?'' Jeanne inquired curiously.
''Sacred Gear also known as God's Artifacts, are items with powerful abilities granted to humans by the original God of the Bible.'' Altair explained causing Jeanne to widen her eyes in disbelief.
''So... God really exists!'' Jeanne thought surprised but thrilled at the same time.
She had always wondered if God really existed or if it was just a fairy tale.
But if what Altair said was true...
