As Grayfia led us into the main hall, we could hear two women conversing in the living area.
"Mother!" Rias exclaimed.
"Mother?" I exclaimed.
My mother had arrived and was chatting with Rias' mother, Venelana.
"Yes, I teleported here earlier while you were enjoying the train ride," Mother said. "We were just talking about you two."
"Oh yes, we had a very pleasant conversation," Venelana commented.
"Is there a specific reason you went ahead of us?" I asked Mother.
"We wanted to discuss the training you and the rest of the group will undergo during the next couple of weeks."
"Wait, so we will be training as well?" Rias commented.
"Yes, dear." Lady Venelana replied. "If you wish to help defeat the Goddess of Death as well, you will also need to get stronger. And besides, didn't I overhear something about eventually challenging Sairaorg?"
Rias gave a slight grin and nodded, "Yes, I believe I did."
"We'll discuss this further in the morning," Mother said. "Let's get some dinner. I'm famished!"
We were escorted to the dining room.
As before, the dinner was absolutely massive and extravagant.
The expansive windows even gave a perfect view of the night sky.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Zeoticus remarked as I stared slack-jawed out the window. "It is actually an artificial moon. Time normally moves differently here in the Underworld, but with so many reincarnated devils and others who normally live there, we used magic to better synchronize it with Earth time to keep travelers from experiencing temporal whiplash."
I nodded in amazement. "Good to know. Thanks, Lord Zeoticus."
"Oh please. The niceties aren't necessary. You can just call me Papa."
Well, that's a sudden relationship swerve. So much for concern about whiplash…
Venelana seemed to agree with me.
"Honey, let's not get carried away. His relationship with our daughter is not like that…"
"Oh… Right, dear," he said, nervously chuckling along with me.
You can tell where their grandson got his manners from.
"I must say, Makoto, you seem to have a fair grasp on your table etiquette." Venelana commented.
"Oh! Thanks…"
I have received some pointers from my mother, but, I've been paying the most attention to Millicas and attempting to imitate his example. For a kid his age, he is insanely mature!
Speaking of observation, Rias and Ravel are obviously other good examples of good table etiquette, albeit the former seems a bit flustered at the moment with her father's enthusiasm. Akeno, Yuuto, and Rossweisse also seem to have a firm grasp as well.
Koneko, meanwhile, doesn't seem to be eating much. Could it have something to do with the incident on the train?
"Still, I expect that you may play a larger role in our society in the near future," Venelana said. "If you don't mind, may I incorporate some private tutoring to your training regimen?"
"…Sure!"
"Excellent!"
I had to clear my eyes for a second. I was going to be privately tutored by Rias' beautiful mother.
Rias cleared her throat and then smiled. "I think this will be a good learning experience for you. Mother is very knowledgeable about high society."
I abruptly nodded.
As Dinner was winding down, Grayfia had appeared.
"Everyone, the hot springs have been prepared."
"Oh. Perfect timing!" Zeoticus exclaimed as everyone except Koneko had ate their fill. "Feel free to enjoy yourselves, kids!"
As we were being escorted out by Grayfia, I took a look at Koneko's mostly untouched plate.
"Excuse me," I remarked as I grabbed a piece of her uneaten grilled chicken and ate it as I followed the rest of the group out.
I could hear Rias' mother give a slightly amused sigh.
"Hey, he doesn't put food to waste. I like that about him. He's going to an excellent son-in-law."
"He's not in a relationship with her, remember?"
"…Oh…"
With the enthusiasm that both her parents are showing for helping me fit in with the family, I can't help but feel a little guilty.
We arrived at our obligatory bath, and, to my surprise, it wasn't a co-ed hot spring.
I guess that means there's less of a chance for me to make good on the promise that Aika was about to make for me, as there was a wall separating me and big titties.
That also means the only person in the bath with me was Yuuto.
As we changed into towels and went in, our side of the hot springs was quiet for several loaded moments, while I could hear faint chatter from the girls' side.
"Nice weather we're having…" I commented, to break the silence.
"Yes, it's quite nice."
…
"Y'know, I just had a brain wave," I, once again, broke the silence. "What if we had another guy in the club with us in another continuity… but he was, for one reason or another, retconned out by Halja in this one?"
"That is a weird brain wave…" Yuuto replied.
"But seriously," I pointed out into the sky, "Maybe he's in the great multiverse out there… He could be… a powerful vampire that can stop time."
"You were just describing DIO, Makoto!" I heard Aika comment from over the wall.
"I wasn't talking to you!"
"Y'know, if it's getting a bit boring back here for you, I'm sure nobody would mind if we joined the others…" Yuuto commented.
"Nope! I'm perfectly fine!" I hastily blurted out in response.
"My, my. We wouldn't mind having you two here at all~"
"Yes! You'd be more than welcome to join us, Makoto!" Asia gleefully seconded Akeno.
"Hang on!" Rossweisse protested. "That isn't proper for boys their age!"
"This is the Underworld, Ms. Rossweisse." Yuma responded.
"Good grief," I exclaimed as the girls kept on chattering amongst themselves on whether I should indulge in mixed bathing with them.
"That's fine if you don't want to," Yuuto said, "Can I wash your back, then?"
"… Sure. What the hell?"
As Yuuto was scrubbing my back with a nearby sponge, I began to hear giggling that wasn't Akeno's…
"Uhuhu… This will be good material…"
"Aika, it is rude to peep." I heard Rias comment.
Hang on! I thought we were supposed to peeping on the opposite sex in the hot springs!
Then again, "we" would be referring to Matsuda and Motohama. And she's basically their female counterpart.
Though, speaking of perverts…
"If it's material you're looking for, I can get you some right here~"
"Hey- Akeno! Not there! Cut it out!"
"You were right, Aika. Rias' do have superior shape to mine~"
"Ehehehe. This is definitely good material."
"Who taught you this!?"
"I think it was her mother…" Yuma responded
I hastily wiped my nose.
"I think I'm ready to get out."
"Same. This is getting weird."
"All of you, behave yourselves!" Rossweisse protested as we put on bathrobes and headed out. "The boys can hear you- Aika!"
I exhaled as I returned to my room. This truly was an eventful day and I will probably need all the rest I can muster for when my training begins.
The room was absolutely massive – quite excessive for just one person. But, hey, I'm not complaining about our accommodations…
However, as I approached my bed, I quickly realized I was not the only person in the bedroom. There was already someone in my bed, and she was too small to be Akeno!
Koneko slowly sat up on the bed that absolutely dwarved her small stature. There were a couple things different about her, though…
Correction – three things! She had two little cat ears and a tail!
So, Rias was right, she is a nekomata like her sister…
"Uh, Koneko, this is…" I double-checked and found some of my luggage in the corner. "Yes, this is my room. What's going on?"
"It's just… I went to train instead of going to the hot springs… I didn't know if the President would understand, so I wanted to talk to you…"
"Is that how you ended up… y'know?"
She faintly nodded.
She must have run out of steam and accidentally unsealed her nekomata form.
"I just want to become stronger… but, no matter how hard I try, Hagane will still be a stronger Rook than me. Aika and Yuuto are getting stronger and I'm quickly becoming the weakest member of the team."
"You're not weak, Koneko. Trust me, I've seen it."
"But I can't use my powers… I… I don't wanna become like my big sister…"
Tears were uncharacteristically flooding from her eyes.
I quickly grabbed a tissue box.
"It's okay, Koneko. You will not become like her." I said, handing her the entire box. "You aren't Kuroka, you are my junior. You're tough and determined. No cat ears or silly superpowers will change that."
I sat on the bed and put up my right arm.
"I had to give up this arm to the dragon spirit inside me, and you don't think I'm any less of a stupid delinquent, right?"
She gave a slight smile, "No, you're still stupid."
We hugged each other.
"Me and Rias care about you. Even if you do change somewhat, we will never think any less of you."
"Thank you, Makoto. You really are… a kind… senior…"
She had drifted to sleep in my arms.
"My, my. That was an exquisite performance…"
Akeno and Rias had entered the room as she fell asleep.
"I was going to take care of this myself, but you seemed to have managed it on your own," Rias commented. "I knew that you had it in you."
"And I was going to get into bed with you to help you fall asleep before the big day tomorrow, but Koneko seems to have beaten me to it…"
Rias glared at her.
"You two get some rest," she said to me. "Your mother will want to speak with us in the morning."
The next morning, me and Koneko walked together to the courtyard to join the rest of our peerages.
"Feeling better this morning, Koneko?" Yuuto asked.
She nodded.
"Of course she is," Aika said. "I managed to catch this late last night."
She pulled out her phone and Koneko immediately snatched it.
She had shot a picture of Koneko and I cuddled up together in bed.
"Cute, right?"
"Share that and I'll smash your phone…" Koneko replied.
She tossed the phone back to a blank-faced Aika.
"There's the Koneko we know…" I remarked.
"So did you… y'know?" Aika asked.
"I'm pretty that sure that is not physically possible for the two of us-"
Koneko violently jabbed me in the rib.
"Ow."
"We are not speaking of that again," Koneko said.
"Anyway," Mother announced to move the subject away from scandalous topics, "We've all come here today because we all want to get better, correct?"
We all nodded. Irina replied "Correct!"
"Makoto – these next couple weeks will be primarily for you. You need to be able to achieve Balance Breaker by your own power."
"So. No stealing power from Gods or Demon Lords. Got it."
"It will be a pretty grueling regimen, but you will have a couple of other devils training alongside you. By the end you should have hardened enough to pull off a Balance Breaker by yourself."
I nodded.
"I have confirmed – your companions are not beautiful women," Akeno commented.
"Why would I be interested in that?"
"There should be a surprise at the end of this training course I have set for you." Mother commented.
"That sounds interesting."
Mother turned to Aika. "I have a similar endurance challenge set for you to help you master your Balance Breaker. Bribing Fafnir with panties will only get you so far…"
"Roger!" she replied, giving a salute.
"Rias – you're fairly advanced in technique already," Mother moved on. "Begin really digging deep into fundamentals."
"Anything else?" she asked.
"I was thinking something about the Dragon energy you have been collecting from Makoto, but that was just a brain wave."
"There had been a lot of those going around," I commented.
"Same thing for you, Rossweisse," Mother moved. "You're also at an advanced level. Focus on fundamentals to help you further improve."
Rossweisse nodded, "Understood."
I was feeling proud of myself to have such a proficient Rook.
Mother moved on, "Asia – your Twilight Healing currently only works within close range of your target, correct?"
Asia nodded.
"Work on increasing your range. See if you can even heal multiple targets at once."
"But wouldn't that run the risk of unfriendly fire?" I asked.
"That may be an issue…" Mother replied. "I'll have to get back with you all on that."
She moved on, "Yuuto – you are training with your old tutor, correct?"
"Yes."
"Work on your Balance Breaker. With more of our enemies obtaining access to that blade as well, you need to maintain your field advantage."
"Xenovia, Irina – work alongside him and work on your respective holy swords. Xenovia in particular needs to finish mastering Durandal."
"Affirmative," Xenovia said.
"Hagane - focus on strength training. The stronger you are outside of the suit, the stronger you will be inside of it and the less chance you will be left defenseless if it breaks."
Hagane nodded.
"Now, I spoke with you earlier about this, Akeno," she continued. "You'll be working with me on using light magic with thunder. Now that you've made amends, you're okay with this right?"
"I am fine with this. But wouldn't Father be a more sufficient tutor for this?"
"As an angel, I have a better grasp of holy magic. And besides, you should spend some quality time with your future mother-in-law!"
"There she goes again with the matchmaker act…" I muttered.
"Koneko," Mother continued. "This may be trickier since I am aware you are not comfortable with using your nekomata powers…"
"Makoto-senpai convinced me to give it a try."
"Oh, really?"
"There's just one problem," Rias commented. "The only nekomata that could possibly help tutor her is currently imprisoned."
"Big sister Kuroka?" Koneko asked.
"I heard about that," Mother responded. "I got in contact with Shemhazai and Baraqiel about that. They will be in touch, but it will take time."
"Kuroka should be ruled out as a tutor anyway." I chimed in. "She's willing to try using her nekomata powers, but she still won't see eye-to-eye with her sister. Right?"
Koneko nodded.
"I know my big brother has a couple of nekomatas in his peerage," Ravel commented. "But I'm pretty sure they're even weaker than Koneko is."
"I'll show you who's weak, Fried Chicken…" Koneko retorted.
"Hey!"
"Calm down, you two…" Mother interceded. "For now, Koneko, see what you can do about enhancing your current strength by releasing the seal on your nekomata form. We'll worry about senjutsu later."
"And that leaves Ravel," she concluded.
"What do you want me to do, Lady Gabriel?"
"You will be assisting Makoto and his companions," Mother replied. "The climate will be ideal for improving your fire magic."
"I don't like where this is going…" I commented.
"Relax, Makoto," Ravel said, putting her hand to her chest. "I'll make sure you stay nice and warm."
Koneko suddenly clinged to me and stared daggers at Ravel.
"Now, now, Koneko. Ravel won't be stealing your dear senior away from you any time soon," Akeno said. "I will make sure of that…"
Now I don't know who's being the most possessive of me in this group.
Before I would leave to freeze to death on whatever training regimen my mother had in store with me, I had my first session with Rias' mom.
We began with… dancing?
"Good, that's it. Just a little sharper on the movement…"
I was getting the hang of it pretty quickly. However, the biggest issue I was having was that she had to adjust my arm position, particularly early on.
"Don't be timid. Right there."
After several minutes and working a couple of different forms, she paused. "Shall we take a break?"
"Yeah, let's."
I had to catch my breath, not primarily because of the vigor of the movement, but because of sheer nerves of the undertaking.
She sat down, "You know, I do appreciate your modesty, but you could stand to be a bit bolder."
"Sorry. You just remind me too much of your daughter for my own good."
She lightly chuckled. "I appreciate the compliment."
I sighed.
"I have to apologize. I know there were those who were expecting me to be dating your daughter and not Akeno."
"You don't need to apologize. That was your decision to make. It would be a novel idea, but now's not the time for such worries."
"I mean, your family has been so generous to us, I didn't want to disappoint anyone…"
"You are not disappointing us. I can tell you are shaping out to be a fine young man… And besides, you don't have to necessarily limit yourself to one woman in your life. In fact, I manage a harem for my husband."
"Angels don't have harems."
She chuckled again, "You are definitely modest."
She stood up. "Care to go again?"
"Might as well…"