[Phenex Estates]

[Riser Phenex]

Planning a tournament was a lot easier when you had the entirety of the Phenex family behind you.

The assistance of the Four-Way Alliance also made it simpler, however, the touch of the other three families was rather light in comparison; they merely allowed me to spread fliers of the tournament throughout their lands and handled the oversight of the elimination rounds within their territories. Not that I actually expect much more than that given a young devil's debut was the responsibility of the devil in question and their family.

There was a reason why the vast majority of debuts consisted of simple if lavish dinner parties- most devil children, while well educated, were just not capable of doing much more than organizing an evening's meal and some entertainment.

With the Four-Way Training Grounds planning completed, I had a fair bit more time on my hands, but I still had to cut down my training to my sessions with Sagiyama-sensei and my weekly trip into the Dungeon; almost everything else barring my quick two-hour physical conditioning session was cut to make room for the Riser Phenex Debut Comittee. I held the position as President, with my Mother holding the title as Chief Comittee Officer, my brother Ruval as the Chief Pillar Communications Officer, and my Father acted as the committee's Master of the Purse (since I was doing all of this on his dime, he should rightfully have control on how much is spent where).

Regen, given his many talents in organizing bombastic bashes and elegant soirees, was positioned as my Chief Party Officer.

The title tickled him to no end, and Regen ended up even getting an armband made that had little party hats and streamers sewn onto it in garish rainbow colors. Naturally, it said 'Chief Party Officer' on it in big, bold letters, and he damn near wore the thing around everywhere he went whether he was on official Committee business or not.

The prick.

Still, when it came to organizing catering and decorations the man was the best person I knew to delegate setting up the logistics trains necessary to throw a debut that the Underworld will never forget.

It will be emulated and copied, but never rivaled, and my peers who had their pretty little dinner parties will hang their heads in shame forever more.

Honestly, it was rather refreshing to have a more clearly defined goal now. I'd never really given myself any sort of objective outside of 'get strong as possible', and that impassioned little tirade I went on in front of Lord Agares all those months ago had done far more to give me a sense of purpose than I would have liked to admit. The admittance that the stagnation of devil society had perturbed me to no end must have awoken something within my demonic blood because I now felt driven and utterly determined to show the weaklings and layabouts of my generation what exceptionalism looked like. Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised- I never bothered even looking at the long, cushioned couch in the family common room where we gathered to watch the Ratings Games; if it wasn't one of the few yearly games of my brother I had better things to do with my time.

Like memorizing the pages-long list of customs and courtesies when interacting with devils of superior stature depending on the occasion... all so that Lady Frostwhite wouldn't click her tongue at me and tell me to write it all out one hundred times over so that I wouldn't forget them.

Still, watching the annual Young Devils Gathering and the accompanying introductory Ratings Games was one of the few times that you'd catch me seated on those velvet cushions; my face nestled firmly in a pillow as I distinctly tried not to think about all of the sex that had likely been performed on it.

Almost every time I found myself utterly disappointed with those who were my elder peers.

The numbers fluctuated from less than a dozen participants to multiple dozens, which wasn't surprising given that only 32 of the 72 Demon Pillars still remained; the majority of the numbers were made up of members of the branch families of the larger Pillar families, but every so often there would be an Heir/Heiress or two among them. That was still abysmally small, and from what I was hearing from my father there was legislation being pushed through the Pillar Council that would remove the rule that strictly enforced only one attendance per devil. The new amendment to the law would keep the maximum age of attending young devils to 25 years of age but would allow for all noble devils to attend the gathering every year until that point; this would allow for repeat attendance and a chance to wash away the stains of poor performance at a previous gathering.

Afterall, while a young devil's 'Debut' was their introduction to their fellow peers within the Nobility, the Young Devils Gathering was meant to introduce the Low-Class and Mid-Class devils to their future Lords and Ladies. The viewership over the past few decades had been dropping steadily, and the primary culprit was that there just weren't enough devils for the lower classes to look at, and the lack of repeat appearances also led to a lack of familiarity; recognizeability was important to a devil's reputation.

Still, the words those young devils spewed out in front of the Pillar Council and our Maous were hardly fit for a bland, generic high school graduation ceremony, let alone for an occasion as important as the Young Devil's Gathering. Almost everything they said boiled down to 'I will strive to be a decent and contributing member of society no matter what the particulars, and while that was acceptable for the Low-Class devils who had none of our resources, education, and training... for the devils who would be one day called upon to lead our peoples it was virtually a slap in the face.

I wasn't one for 'devil supremacy' or any of that rot, but I was well aware of our abilities as a magical species- we were powerful, extraordinarily long-lived, and were capable of so much more than being merely good stewards of what our forefathers fought, bled, and died for.

However, I can't really say I blame them all that much. For the entirety of their short lives, they've grown up in an era of unmatched peace, with progress and prosperity to match. The handful of large cities that dot the Underworld could give New York City and Tokyo a run for their money in terms of architecture and scale, and even their homes have been modernized to such a startling degree despite the old and classical facades they bore; if you listened to the way the young devils of today's society tell it the humans were the ones to try and copy our splendor and not the other way around.

Not only that, but they have spent their entire lives growing up viewing their Heads of House as incredibly powerful, implacable, and outside of the rarest of circumstances... immobile figures who had run their families for centuries or even millennia. Though they might be named 'Heir' or 'Heiress' there was always a mother or father who would step in to become the next family Head should the unthinkable happen and their grandfather or grandmother perish or step away while handing over the reins. The simple thought that they might one day be burdened by the task of leading their family toward a new future is borderline unthinkable; if grandfather had been alive for over fifteen hundred years then how likely was it that they would ever get close enough to even sit in the chair?

This lack of mobility inherent within the system, compounded by the centuries of prosperous peace following the Devil Civil War, has created a malaise within the young devils of society that stifles not just their growth but their ambitions as well.

I aimed to shake all of that up by showing up to devil society and coming out swinging.

It was honestly one of the few times that I've been excited about anything outside of the future completion of my studies and progression in my training.

Outside of my precious little sister and her sweet little friends, of course.

Ravel-chan was almost three years old, but she showed herself to be a perfect little lady despite her youth. She was more than happy to sit patiently in my lap while I was sitting with the dozen members of the Riser Phenex Debut Committee instead of being an irritable little wiggle worm as most children were wont to do. I stroked the top of her head, drawing a pleased hum from her lips as I used my free hand to flip over to the next page in my reports, "Ruval, dear brother, you're up."

The Phenex's Nest was something of an interesting room within the manor. Part drawing room, part conference room, it was where my father liked to have the gatherings for the Four-Way Alliance when it was our turn to host the monthly get-together; crystal decanters of various alcohols lined the shelves while the sweet scent of cigar and pipe tobacco hung in the air from yesterday's meeting. The decor was decidedly lavish with some more rustic adornments here at there; a Dire Bear skinned rug that my grandfather slew during one of his hunting expeditions was the centerpiece of the room while a taxidermied head of a massive Hellhound hung from the wall- its eyes still flaming as though it promised death even after its head had been cleaved from its shoulders.

Ruval uncrossed his legs so that he could stand up, the plush leather chair he had been sitting on creaking slightly as he took to his feet. With a flick of his wrist, his report appeared in his hand from his magic pocket without a spell circle, and he cleared his throat, "As of now we have received letters of correspondence from all primary branches of the 32 Demon Pillars, though six of them have unfortunately declined to attend your debut on account of your invitation of the Extra Demons. They are House Amon, Paimon, Naberious, Forneus, Shax, and Balam; House Valac does not have any children of appropriate age to attend this gathering so they too have declined."

I blinked as I held the paperwork in my hands up to my lips, "I thought that Lord Valac had a great-nephew from the branch family? He shouldn't be older than sixteen; far from being too old to attend."

My brother's eyes tightened and he gave me a sad smile, "Unfortunately, it was revealed that young Cassius Valac had been faking his blood trait- the sight to find hidden treasures- with the use of his observational skills and clever deductive reasoning. He passed away just three days ago in a tragic accident while hunting Getty Beasts with his father. Arrangements for his funeral are being made as we speak."

I grimaced.

Cassius Valac was the younger brother of Sagiyama-sensei's King, Hector Valac if I remember correctly.

"Lirianne," I spoke out, and my ninja maido bowed lowly to my right, "If you would contact Hector Valac and ask him if he would like his Rook by his side. While we wait for his reply, plan to make arrangements for Sagiyama Kotaro and his family to take a leave of absence from the Estates and return to their King; no doubt Hector Valac would appreciate having his entire peerage present when they bury his brother. I doubt he has been informed of this considering the freshness of the news so upon the conclusion of this meeting I will inform him myself."

Off in the corner of the room, my father nodded with a pleased expression on his face as he puffed away at an elaborately carved ivory pipe filled with woodsy tobacco.

Returning my attention back to Ruval I gave him a thankful smile, "With the final tallies done now we can move on to sending out the formal cards; when they're finished please have them placed on my desk and I shall have all of them signed before the night is through. Now is there anything else on the noble front?"

He ran a hand over his golden bangs and smiled prettily at me, "No, nothing else of note, President Riser."

My eyebrow twitched, which amused him greatly, but he took his seat and crossed his legs once more- the gentlemanly Phenex looking every bit the part of a distinguished nobleman. That he did it all so effortlessly was something that I both admired and envied in equal measure.

Man, if I only grow up to be half as cool as Ruval I'll be set.

I sighed and turned to Regen, "CPO Regen?"

The blue jean bedecked devil popped up to his feet and waggled his finger at me while gesturing with his armband, "No, no, no. 'Chief Party Officer', President Riser. You have to say the whole thing or else it goes against protocol. Heh, you were the one who wished to have this whole affair conducted formally so that none of the others could accuse you of not handling your debut yourself."

I gave him a flat look before I turned toward the table in the corner where the typist was keeping the minutes and writing the transcript, "Strike that from the record if you would please, Lirian- ah."

That's right, I sent Lirianne out to do my bidding, and in her place sat Clarissa who was dutifully typing.

"Strike that and the previous line from the record, if you would please, Clarissa," I turned back to Regen, who was grinning as though I'd just caught myself on fire and streaked across the manor naked, "'Chief Party Officer' Regenald Phenex... if you would please provide the committee with your report?"

"Young Master Phenex," Clarissa interrupted me and I turned to her while arching an eyebrow; she seemed completely impassive, the very picture of a maid carrying out her duties to the committee, but there was no way to disguise the mirth dancing in her eyes, "Would like for me to add the appropriate emphasis on your words so that the readers of this transcript can properly feel your ire?"

My mother tittered behind her hand, and little Ravel began giggling as well, the little morsel bouncing up and down as she copied my mother.

"No... Clarissa. Only the barebones are necessary."

"As you say, Young Master," She demurred though the small tilt of her lips was barely visible behind the paper poking up from the typewriter.

I sighed and proceeded to gently toy with Ravel's cheeks, trying to resupply my stockpile of rav-tanium so that I could then recharge my mom-onium batteries once this meeting was over, "Regenald, if you would please."

He smirked as he clapped his hands, and in front of us sprung ten illusory windows depicting an aerial view of ten small cities and towns within the Phenex territory that were in the opening stages of setting up what looked to be a series of carnival tents just outside the limits of each district, "Everything is running smoothly and according to schedule, President Riser."

I selected six towns that were right on the borders of the Gremory, Sitri, and Agares lands that had good roads and towns of appreciable size to accommodate a few thousand travelers from the fellow Four-Way Alliance domains. The other four towns were chosen due to their geographic locations within the Phenex lands; too far from the border towns to travel and too far from the capital city of Phenex Roost these towns would host 'watch parties' for everyone in the middle to partake in the festivities that was my debut and the True Brackets of the tournament.

He turned his attention to the images he was displaying, "The tents will be set up on the 'morrow, and already various vendors within Phenex Roost and other major cities are sending out mobile kitchens and cooks to man the stands in preparation for the event."

One of the ways I saved a lot of costs was by soliciting the snack makers, fast food establishments, and middle-of-the-road restaurants and enticing them to think about the profits that could be made with an auspicious occasion such as this. Armed with tourism numbers based on previous big to-dos, Regen went around and showed the businesses the projected flows of customers and planted within their minds the possibility of large amounts of money to be made; not that this was a foreign concept to most businesses, as especially food-based shops already did catering in some shape or form, but the fact that I was going to make this a big deal as part of my debut was something they had trouble wrapping their heads around until Regen spelled it out for them.

Debuts were historically closed-door affairs that the Low-Class and Mid-Class devils only heard about through various, always outlandish, whispers from 'someone who knew someone whose sister's cousin was a maid at 'X' Lord's estate'. So with it being known that I was going to make this one of the first 'public' debuts, with everything being broadcasted across the lands of the Four-Way Alliance (and other magicom providers for a small pay-per-view fee) there was a tidal wave of interest from the people.

I wasn't making this debut just about me, I was making it a celebration of the Four-Way Alliance as a whole, with a rousing tournament to captivate people's attention, an inside glimpse into the world of the rich, powerful, and famous, carnival food, and fun for the whole family.

I don't think anyone has ever done anything like this before- an event to blend the two strata of the High-Class and their juniors- but if I was going to do this shit then I was going to go big.

Of course, the events were going to be segregated, as my peers would never even show up if I had Nobles brushing elbows with commoners, but that was fine. Even if my own parents looked at me strangely for even suggesting such a thing, however, they gave me their support nonetheless despite their warnings that if I didn't pull this off properly I could very well be the laughingstock of the Underworld... and drag the Four-Way Alliance into the mud along with me.

"We still have two weeks until the proper event takes place, and considering travel time, set-up, ingredient stockpiling and the like it makes sense that they would be leaving now," I hummed and let Ravel play with my nose as I looked over the screens, "Speaking of ingredient stockpiling..."

Regen smirked as he snapped his fingers and the images changed once more, though this time it was to various views of what appeared to be small structures made out of ice- the largest of which looked like a small log cabin, and the smallest was roughly the size of a refrigerator, "House Sitri has offered to allow us to contract out three dozen of their vaunted cryomancers to build these structures; they have assured me that these creations will last for at least a week past the festivities."

I tilted my head, "Their... fee?"

Regen belted out the figure and I had to keep my mouth closed lest I bite off my own tongue. It wasn't that bad but... it would certainly eat into all of the money I'd saved from not hiring caterers directly; our House kitchen staff was more than up to the task of providing the proper meals for the guests but in order for this to be a proper festival there needed to be plenty of food for the commoners enjoyed the event as well. Something I had handled by entreating with the business owners, though their stores would be limited to what ingredients they could keep and once they sold out they'd have to shutter their stalls.

I looked over at my father, "Master of Coin?"

He shrugged his broad shoulders diffidently, but there was a small smirk on his lips as he addressed me, "We are already well under budget, President Riser. Allocating the funds required would be more than easy enough."

Father, please. I get enough lip from Regen, so I don't need you of all people piling on!

"Very well then, see to it that the funds are allocated and hire them," I nodded to my Lord Father and turned my attention to Regen, "Regenald, if you would, get into contact with the suppliers of the various events and have them compile a wish list of how much cold storage they would like for their stalls so that we can have something to hand to the cryomancers so they can begin their work once coin has changed hands. Ruval, I understand that your duties are nominally complete, so if you would, assist Regenal in accomplishing this task."

Ruval's blue eyes sparkled with mischief as he placed a hand over his heart and bowed in his seat, "Of course, President Riser. As a member of this esteemed committee, I am duty-bound to assist wherever I am needed."

Ravel, at that moment, chose to become a squirmy-wormy, and the second I let her go she dashed across the room- her little shoes stimp-stomping across the bear rug- and she launched herself into our father's arms. He chuckled gently as she nestled herself into his lap and I had to wonder if there was something wrong with my lap.

It took six months for the training ground to be completed.

Six long months.

I know, it might sound ridiculous to the average person, but one needs to understand that with devil magic entire city blocks could be rebuilt in the span of half a day in the mortal realm; such things were necessary when combat occurred there between devils and the supernatural members of the various factions. The devils under the leadership of the Four Great Satans were firmly in the camp that thought the masquerade was something that should be upheld at almost any cost; keeping the mortal and supernatural realms separate was something most factions adhered to, though very few believed in it strongly enough to repair the damage caused when two powerful beings clashed.

Devils were devils, but the fact that they went much further than their peers- rebuilding what had been destroyed so that the mortals would be none the wiser- was something that warmed my heart; that they didn't simply let the devastation remain while force-feeding the populace of some highly improbable natural disaster spoke well of my Maou's efforts to handle their business properly.

So with all of that being said, even with the prodigious building speed that devils could accomplish, six months was a very long time to build even such a large complex as the Four-Way Alliance's Training Ground. Though to be fair to us all the majority of the time was simply excavating and expanding the primary cave that served as the 'Load' cave.

When it comes to things such as time-based magic there is a system in place that adheres to a sort of karmic balance. The whole of Earth, and this includes the demi-plane and planet that is the Underworld attached to it, moves forward at a set time. Time is indeed a malleable thing, but even the most powerful chronomancers cannot play with it willy-nilly; if time is to be altered in any way, then the opposite effect must be present elsewhere. If a chronomancer speeds up their personal time separate from the world itself to improve their speed and reaction times, then something else must be proportionally slowed down to balance out.

In the instance of the training grounds, after settling in and learning the details from Lord Agares there were some small limitations that needed to be met. It was entirely possible to do something crazy, such as with Drag so Ball's newly revealed 'Very Literal Temporal Encloser' where a single day outside of its walls was a full year on the inside, the power requirements for such a thing were... considerable.

So considerable in fact that someone as powerful as my brother, Ruval, would have to sit inside of a magic circle and donate his entire tank of magical energy to run. However, the good thing was that smaller effects were very much within the realm of possibility, as the power requirements grew exponentially with the strength of the desired effect.

Also, yes, I was already starting little Rias on her path to being a total, utter weeabo. Weeb Rias is just too cute! Seeing the little three-year-old bring her hands together and make a baby-sized Kamewamewa out of her fledgling Power of Destruction was something that made me bounce with joy on the inside; I could tell that Sirzechs was also pleased with the results given the way he stopped trying to subtlely erase me from existence every time we met.

I made sure to take some magical videos of it so that I could tease her endlessly about it when she grew up enough to have some self-awareness.

Regardless, after a great deal of planning, we were able to come to the conclusion that a localized effect with a 30:1 ratio was well within the capacity of the ambient mana in the area to support without needing any top-offs; it was certainly flexible, however, as the effect could be increased by ten days with additional support. Seeing that being driven to magical exhaustion was a surefire way to drive a devil's growth, it was decided that during the rotations of the House Guards that would be training within them, they would be placed on that duty.

Before I came to Lord Agares my initial designs were planned to be something that would essentially be for my personal use, and I was fully intent on paying for the construction of it all out of my own pocket and using my own Passion Tears as the payment for the enchantments needed to make the temporal effect I desired a reality. However, the moment my Father saw what I was planning he immediately recognized the utility of such a thing and he began shifting this in the direction of improving the Four-Way Alliance; not only would this be a joint project of a considerable undertaking, deepening the relationship of our four Pillar Houses through hardship, but the possibilities of creating such a thing were near endless.

I won't lie and say it didn't touch a nerve that my personal project was going to be converted into a group project, but I cannot say that I didn't come around to my Father's way of thinking after sulking for a few days.

Yes.

I sulked.

I sulked very hard.

Of course, I didn't need Father to point out to me the benefits of this arrangement- not only would I not need to nearly suck away all of the liquidity from my businesses to finance its construction, I also wouldn't need to deprive myself of three of my Passion Tears; Father only had one left, one that he was saving, but Ruval and Regen both ponied up one of their few Passion Tears when they learned what I had been planning. Regen, I had an inkling of his desires, and that was to have a place where he could take a mini-vacation whenever he wanted, meanwhile, Ruval also understood the sheer power of having more time on hand to train.

Then of course there was the added benefit of me not having to worry about the problems that might crop up from having such a training ground all to myself; by including the other Houses I no longer would have to worry about handling the maintenance and logistics of the place. Also, while its existence would remain a closely guarded secret, it would eventually come out, and since it was an Alliance facility it would be equally shielded by that aegis.

It also meant that the girls that I wanted to help grow stronger, far stronger than their canon counterparts could have ever dreamed of, would be able to come and go as they pleased. Not that they wouldn't have been able to if the facility was solely mine but I suppose that one of my biggest desires for this training ground was for it to be something that was mine and mine alone; my own little getaway. My own little slice of heaven. It was going to be large and yet comfy. Intimate.

Now?

What had initially been a rather large cave was a cavernous space that made Super Bowl stadiums look paltry in comparison.

It was a flat plane on the bottom with a large curving dome that went up almost two hundred meters- quite necessary given that there was to be aerial training done here for the House Guards. It was this excavation that took the longest, and my Father, my two brothers, and I spent a large amount of time going through and melting the rough-hewn stone into its dome shape and using our wind magics to scour the surface until it was perfectly smooth. Illusory enchantments created a skybox with clouds, and the closer you got to the dome the more those enchantments would fade away until the dome was readily visible; we didn't need any accidental collisions because some devil couldn't tell where the boundaries were.

The interior of the useable space was subdivided into four quarters with each House having its own quadrant to build as they pleased. The Phenex Quarter was built to maximize the amount of space we had, with the buildings conforming to the curvature of the dome as it went up and wrapped around the sloping edge right up to the property line. There was a small mansion with enough rooms to house the main family and all of their peerage members, and attached to the mansion was the servant's quarters. The buildings following the perimeter of the circle were all solely dedicated to logistics, managing the in-flow and out-flow of supplies that were distributed to the other Quarters. Next to the wall around our small mansion was the Phalanx Quarters where one hundred and two devils serving the Phenex Guard were housed during their training rotation within the Alliance Temporal Training Complex; in order to prevent any leaks every soldier was given a complex Geas scroll that had a list of conditions and rules that needed to be followed at all times.

Lest they die.

Not that anyone here believed that our very trusted House Guards would ever be party to treachery or spying, but devils didn't live to be old without being paranoid.

The last landmark of note, besides the eight segmented training fields and their magic barriers, was the natural hot spring that served as the primary gathering area for post-training revelry; of course, there was a small pub run by each House within their own Quarters, but I had a distinct feeling that I knew where the primary gathering spot for all devils was going to be. It was fifty meters long, twenty meters wide, barely waste deep, and all sorts of small boulders had been placed inside of it for devils to relax against or lay on. Next to it was a smaller hot spring exclusive for the use of the Pillar families and their Peerages with a tall bamboo wall surrounding it, though I had a feeling that I was probably going to be one of the few actually using it.

Devils were beautiful, enchantingly so, and they were proud to display that beauty at every available opportunity. The Pillar Lords and Ladies were no exception to this, and I had a feeling that my parents, along with the other Lords and Ladies, were likely going to be bathing in the other area if only to show themselves off.

Gah! The thought of my mother's naked body being on display for all of those roving eyes-!

A pinch to my ear brought me back to my senses, and I looked up to see my mother's pouty lips pulled up into a knowing smirk.

"I know that you wanted this to be your personal little project, little feather, but there is no need to scowl so furiously," She released my ear and tapped my nose.

Ah, good. She misinterpreted my-

"Or to worry about your dear mother, huhuhu~" Her smirk morphed into a salacious grin as a shiver spread through her, "I look forward to it! All of those young, hungry devils with their greedy eyes... your father is going to be so possessive~!"

Damnit, Mother!

"-and we are pleased to announce that this joint venture has finally come to completion."

I turned my attention away from my giggling mother and out to the training field we were all gathered on. While the Lords and Ladies, and their Peerages, were up on a raised stage, arrayed out in front of us were four hundred members of our House Guards standing in neat formations. They were decked out in ceremonial armor that was painted in the colors of their liege lords: Purple and red for House Gremory. Grey, black, and white for House Agares. Blue and green for House Sitri. Orange, red, and yellow for House Phenex. Their armors had different styles as well, with ours having swept shoulder pauldrons and winged helms that matched the Phenex motif.

The four Lords stood behind a large red ribbon, each man having a hand on a large pair of solid gold scissors, and in unison, they snipped it.

"We officially declare that the Alliance Temporal Training Center, or the ATTC, is now open!"

Spears from the House Guards rose up high into the air, and they came down to strike the ground beneath them, the sound carrying deep throughout the complex.

Having finished my homework I flicked the lap desk and backpack into my magic pocket.

In front of me stood the four little ladies of our Alliance; Rias and Sona standing next to each other on my left, and Seekvaria and Ravel on my right. They all had their cute little faces scrunched up in determination as they watched my hands.

The two gold coins that I had perched on the tops of my thumbs were flicked high up into the air, "Sona, Seekvaria. Make your calls."

"Heads!" Seekvaria called out immediately from the top of her lungs, while Sona's eyes studied the quickly falling coins before she spoke, "Tails."

I snatched the coins out of the air and slapped my palms on my thighs, my eyes slowly shifting between the two.

This was something that I'd come up with in order to settle the little baby disputes that they had. The ones where they all wanted some of my attention but since there was only one of me and four of them there had to be some give somewhere. The weekly picnics lasted three hours, from eleven to one, and I usually got my homework finished in the first hour, so that left two hours for me to entertain the babies now that they were growing up; I sectioned off a half hour for each of them to do something they wanted, but the order was something of a point of contention.

I could have set up a schedule, but for the young three-year-old girls having to wait a whole three weeks before they could do what they wanted with Big Brother Riser first was just something that was too long for them to comprehend.

Thus, the game.

I paired them up and flipped coins, with one from each pair calling the flip, and next week they rotated. The two winners from the first coin tosses would then make their bet against each other, and the two losers would make another toss. This determined the order from first to last. It was quick, and efficient, and it also had the added benefit of introducing the girls early to the concept of losing simply because luck was not on your side.

In a gentle manner.

I looked at Seekvaria and showed her coin, "Tails. That's a loss, little Seeker."

The blonde girl pouted at her fellow blonde, but she had the faux propriety to simply cross her arms and sniff.

I revealed Sona's coin, "Tails. Looks like little Sona is moving on to the next round."

It really shouldn't be possible for a three-year-old to look so smug, especially without the glasses I'd seen her wearing later on.

Maybe... I should get her some?

I shivered.

No, I should probably drop hints to Serafall to get Sona her first pair. Not doing so, especially if she became as enamored with them, would lead to me seeing a premature, frozen grave.

"Alright, Sona, Ravel. You're up!" I flicked the coins once more.

"Heads!" "Heads!" They cried out cutely.

In the end, Sona ended up winning the day, with Ravel being second, Seekvaria taking third, and Rias pouting as she was relegated to last.

"Don't be like that, Rias, your luck is extraordinary," I patted the crown of her little redhead, "But sometimes even your luck can run out. An important lesson to learn."

I turned to Sona and smiled before dropping to an exaggerated knee in front of her, "Alright, Sona. You're the Princess for the next half-hour. What would you have us do?"

The little dumpling fidgeted before she ran over to her mother and came back as fast as she could with a rather thick book, "I-I want you to read this book to me! Out loud! A-and I want to sit in your lap while you do so."

I took a seat as she wished, but the moment she plopped herself down I blanched at the book, "S-Sona... this book is the Oxford English Dictionary; the 'A' volume."

She nodded, "I know! Mama says that it's from the original print!"

Rias whined piteously as she sat down in the little pow-wow circle, meanwhile, Seekvaria and Ravel consigned themselves to boredom by picking out blades of grass and weaving them into various things like crowns and bracelets.

"Lady Sitri?" I looked over to the picnic just over a dozen paces away to see my mother on her back with the lovely Lady Sitri trying to pluck a candied cherry from between my mother's breasts with her tongue. She seemed to fail at getting it more than a few times, her tongue dancing over the pliable, springy flesh of my mother's bosom.

The woman didn't even have the decency to stop and look at me, instead, she waved her hand at me lazily, "Better you than me, dear."

"Ew!" My mother squealed as a giggle left her lips, "Oh Hariella, even after all these centuries you're still so terrible at this game!"

"Mhmmm, yes, I'm terrible," Lady Sitri hummed as she sucked, "It'd be easier if you didn't keep squirming."

"I can't help it, I'm just so sensitive~."

Damnit, Mother.

I sighed as I cracked open the book, "Alright, the first word in the Oxford English Dictionary... is... the letter 'A'?"

I could have sworn it was 'Aardvark'?

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeheeeeheeeheeeeeeeeeeee~!"

I flew through the air slowly while holding onto Ravel's middle firmly, her little devil wings flapping weakly but that didn't stop her from squealing to high heaven as I took us through some gentle loops.

Devil children, even High-Class children such as my sweet little Ravel, were still too young to fly properly even with their high comparative strength. Most parents waited until they were at least five years old before they started teaching flying, but it wasn't too unheard of to get them started younger. I for one had my mother fly with me, just as I was flying with Ravel.

Her little wings couldn't contribute but at least this way they got some exercise and she could experience some of the sensations of flying in a controlled environment.

My mental timer dinged and I slowly turned us around before heading back to where the other girls were waiting impatiently with their wings already out.

The moment we touched down I gave my sister a kiss on her chubby cheek and patted her bottom before extending my hands to Seekvaria, "Alright, little Seeker. It's time to fly!"

The four girls were only three years old, and yet despite that youthfulness, they had somehow come arranged on a sliding scale. Rias was the least restrained and most exuberant of the group, the little devil wearing her heart on her sleeve for all to see. Ravel was almost as exuberant but a touch more restrained. Seekvaria was twenty-five percent exuberant and seventy-five percent reserved, and Sona was Rias's polar opposite at one hundred percent reserved.

However, that wasn't to say that she couldn't get excited.

She did, a lot, but her excitement was much more subdued but no less cute.

Seekvaria stepped toward me calmly, but there was an unmistakable bounce in her step, and she turned around for me to grab onto her waist.

Within moments I was carrying her up into the air, with gentle peels of laughter trailing behind us.

Big, fat tears spilled down chubby cheeks as I held up Seekvaria's leg to inspect the ouchies more closely.

Little Seeker was an explorer at heart it seemed, and for her thirty minutes as the Princess she wanted to trounce out into the copse of trees near our picnic spot. While exploring the dark depths of the fierce and unknown Gremory forest she chanced upon one of the benign if painful dangers of the woods.

Stinging nettles were no fun, especially for little girls without the ability to heal themselves with Phenex flames.

"Ouch! Owowowowowow!" Ravel cried out until her regeneration incinerated the little barbs of keratin and erased the neurotoxin from her finger, and then she reached out and ran her hand along the broad-leafed plant again, "Owieowieowie!"

I looked at her from over my shoulder and arched an eyebrow, something that made her pause, like she had just gotten caught with a hand in the cookie jar. She looked back over at the plant, then at me, and then reached out and touched the plant again like a maroon, "Ew! Ewewewew! Owowowowow! Ahhh..."

Was this... something akin to our fascination with spicy foods?

A long sniff brought my attention back to Seekvaria, and I gave her a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, Princess. Your Big Brother can handle something as small as this."

I didn't exactly know any healing spells, but considering the amount of time I spent around accident-prone babies I always had a nice medical kit fully stocked. With a flick of my wrist, my medical bag appeared in my hand, without a magic circle, something that I was rather smug about after having watched Ruval and Regen subtly hold that above my head until I got it on my own, and began rifling through it.

A magnifying glass floated in front of my eye as I took great care to remove the dozens of nettles from Seekvaria's leg with a pair of tweezers, and once they were gone I placed a simple alchemical salve over the affected area. Following the salve came a big 'MiracleLevi-tan' bandaid, featuring Serafall herself winking, and to top it all off I looked at the other girls, "What did Magical Girl Levi-tan say the magic words were?"

Three lips formed into 'O's as Rias, Sona, and Ravel trotted up to surround Seekvaria. In unison, they pointed their fingers out and chanted, "Pain, pain, go away!"

I hid my smirk as I lowered my head, "And now for the healing kiss~. Smooch."

The bandaid felt frosty against my lips as I planted a big smooch on Serafall's cheek, and as if by magic, the waterworks pouring down little Seeker's jaw stopped. She sniffled a little bit as she wiped her tears on the sleeves of her dress.

"Feeling better?" I asked with a soft smile, and she nodded, "Good. We still have ten minutes of exploring to do, and we'll make the most of it, neh, Seeker?"

I flashed her my best smile as I held out my hand, and she smiled prettily back.

"KA-!"

"Don't you see, Son Rias!? Struggling against me is pointless! Futile!"

"ME-!"

My opponent was fierce. No matter how much I threw at her, she just wouldn't stay down, "No matter how hard you try, you just won't ever be able to match up to a True Sayian Warrior!"

"WA-!"

"Why do you continue to fight- Son Rias!? What makes this puny little Underworld so special, huh!?"

"ME-!"

"What could possibly be here that would make you bash your head up against the brick wall that is me- Prince Vegato!?"

"WWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!"

A powerful energy wave came crashing toward me, red and black, a Kamewamewa wave built purely of the Power of Destruction.

"Foolish!" I roared out, a pulsating beam of Phenex fire intercepting the beam and meeting it head-on. The pair of destructive beams clashed, pushing against each other, "Don't you know that I am the most powerful Saiyan alive!? Impudent little- what!?"

My pillar of fire was being eaten away at, and inch by inch the Kamewamewa pushed closer to me.

I grabbed my wrist and redoubled my efforts, pouring more energy into the attack, an angered shout leaving my lips even as it still crept toward me, "I-IMPOSSIBLE!"

From behind the Kamewamewa of Destruction, I could see Rias standing there with Seekvaria, Sona, and Ravel; the girls all had a look of determination on their faces as Rias roared to the heavens, "Nothing is impossible, Prince Vegato! Especially not with a little help from my FFFFRRRIIIEENNNDDDSSSSSS!"

Her beam suddenly doubled in size as I felt the three girls lend their magical power to Rias, and what had started as a losing game of inches suddenly became an overwhelming rush that I just couldn't keep up with. My feet left the ground as I took to the air, and when I couldn't prevent the beam from reaching me... I exploded.

I detonated a concussive spell while shrouding myself with my Phenex fire from harm, and the POD washed over me while licking at my protective barrier. Within the smoke, I spun up an illusion to give myself some battle damage, and I slowly dropped out of the sky and onto the ground.

"Impossible. There is no way! No way that I could lose!" My form smoked as I kneeled, and I petulantly smashed the ground, my eyes glaring balefully at the approaching babies, "Especially not to the likes of you, Coconuto, and your merry band of friends."

Rias smirked as she crossed her arms over her chest and pulled her head back, "Maybe you should get some friends of your own, Prince Vegato, but for now? Get off my Underworld!"

"I'll get you next time, Son Rias. Mark my words," I scowled deeply but slowly rose up into the air, "This is not the last you've heard of Vegato, Prince of all Saiyansssssssssss~!"

I dragged the 'S' out until I disappeared into the low-hanging clouds in the sky, and after loitering around I shifted my illusory outfit back to my suit and flew back down where the girls were cheering.

The moment my shoes touched the ground I was immediately swarmed by the girls, with Rias bouncing up and down as she wrapped her arms around my neck, "That was cool! You were all 'Arrgh!' and I was like 'I fight for my friends!' and then you blew up! Oh, I can't wait for the next episode!"

I gave them all their own individual hugs before pointing at our mothers with my chin, "Unfortunately that will have to wait until next week, Ri-chan."

"Aaawwww~" She pouted while scuffing the dirt with her shoe, "I wanted to play more."

"Now, now, Rias," Venelana walked over with the picnic blanket folded over her arm; the smile on her face was beatific and the exposed flesh of her neck, shoulders, and bosom sported a considerable number of hickies, "You'll be patient, won't you? After all, your Sirzechs-onii-chan is coming home soon to spend the evening with us."

"Wah!? Sirzechs-onii-sama!" She bounced over to her mother and grabbed the proferred hand, "I can't wait to tell him all about how much fun I had today with Riser-nii-chan!"

Ah.

Wait. Rias. Don't.

Special thanks to Lmc9389, Artillery, AuraofCalm, Mioismoe, Southmonk, Darkarma, Acrimonius, T. Balewood, Randall Randall, Dominyx Black, CyberCrisis, Blue, Russ Stilter, Legion_13, Mike Fatal_Bullet, P. Nguyen, J. Ricardo Passos, K. Weierbach, R. Alderman, A P, Arrorn, Empty Shelf, PbookR, Mortaegus, Nevets309, Jake95044, Jackson R., G. Johnson, T. Dewitt, M. McGuire, DragonShark-Eater, Big-Tofu, Alexei A., Brandon B., David B., Grant L., Anti-Akuma, Cailk, Robert H., Jigawats, Joseph M. Teti, Konb, Stelliferous, A. McGregor, Jasticus, C. Wiggins, M. Compean, Dynrakmos, Lictor Magnus, Coolman59223, John the Gamer, J.Goncalves, and Shurukkah for being Patrons!

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A/N: So, the deal is that there are two caves next to one another. They are almost similar in size. When the enchantments on the Primary cave (the slow cave) are active, an equal field is projected over the other cave (with a fast field effect). The fast field is virtually pointless because one day in there is 30 days outside. Though they will find out a use for this particular boon soon enough. Alchemy where potions have to rest, booze, wine, cheese, etc. Anything that can be aged with little oversight or management. Its just that the workers working that cave have to be really quick and efficient with their tasks lest they spend twelve hours there and miss two weeks outside. lol

The field can be boosted up to 40:1 using Low-Class and Mid-Class Devils getting their demonic power succc'd and it is pretty useful for creating mana exhaustion that forces them to grow relatively safely... while still being useful for the training of everyone else as a whole.