Millicas had a plan. He was simply going to go eat breakfast, call Lord Phenex, and go buy an outfit for his date. For the most part, his planned outing was a success. He did indeed have a decent breakfast at a diner in the Underworld. Lord Phenex was informed of when Millicas planned to arrive at the Phenex Clan castle. Millicas even managed to pick out a nice set of dark slacks and a collared long sleeve shirt to wear to his dinner date.

All in all, Millicas's morning plan only took him a few hours to get done. Millicas didn't quite account for just how much free time he set himself up for by skipping his classes. Millicas's date with Ravel was still hours away. With plenty of free time left, he returned to his apartment.

He'd usually spend his free hours reading light novels or catching up on whatever various anime were airing that season. He hated to admit it, but Rias had thoroughly corrupted him with some of her hobbies. Instead, Millicas found himself staring up at his ceiling while lying on his bed. He was stuck contemplating things.

He didn't necessarily regret his decision to betroth himself to Ravel. Rather, he found himself anxious more than anything else. He had zero dating experience. The prospect of winging the entire date was a heavy burden on his shoulders.

A part of him feared rejection. What if he messed up his first date with Ravel? He didn't know what he would do if he ended up echoing Rias's situation. Would Ravel end up challenging him to a Rating Game if their betrothal contract contained the same way out as Rias's contract had?

There was no one he was willing to share his worries with. None of his devil peers had dating experience as far as he knew. He also wasn't close enough to any of his human classmates to reach out to any of them for advice either. Humans were just so… difficult.

He did consider calling his mother for advice, but it would feel like admitting defeat. He was the one who demanded an immediate date with Ravel. He was the one who would have to set aside his fears and plunge headfirst into the world of romance. Maybe he should try reading some of those trashy looking romance light novels Rias recommended?

Well, there was not much else he could do now. He'd just have to adapt on the fly. There was bound to be plenty of topics he could bring up to try to keep Ravel's attention during dinner. He had plenty of stories to share from his time at Kuoh. At least one of those stories should make for a safe topic of conversation.

With some of Millicas's doubts somewhat alleviated, he managed to pull himself out of bed. He decided to use the rest of his time before the date to start writing out personalized thank-you letters for his presents.

Millicas put his pen down. He hadn't quite finished all of the letters, but he had run out of time. The time for his date was rapidly approaching. If he departed now, he'd arrive a little earlier than he initially planned. It would be worth it though as he didn't want to give a bad impression. The fact Rias and the rest of the Occult Research Club would be heading home soon cemented his decision.

Millicas spent a few final moments in front of his mirror to ensure he didn't look as messy as a vagabond. With only the barest amount of hesitation, he pulled himself away from the mirror. Should he have prepared a gift? Flowers, chocolates, or anything else? He wasn't sure.

He would have to try to probe some answers out of his date to figure out what type of gifts she would appreciate during their courting. He was going to marry her, the last thing he wanted to do was to nurture early discontent between her and himself.

A teleportation circle appeared under his feet as he readied himself. Lord Phenex had shared the coordinates for where he wished Millicas to appear in his territory during their phone call. He'd honor his father in law's request. Ravel's family would soon be his, just as his family would be hers.

His Demonic Power briefly pulsed as he teleported from his apartment into the unknown. He was almost immediately caught off guard by his arrival point. He was in the middle of a large circular courtyard that looked more akin to a park he would see in the world of humans.

A grand fountain made of marble was the central feature of the courtyard. Within the middle of the fountain was a large carving of a marble phoenix with its wings spread wide, as if it was about to take to the skies. Water flowed from its mouth into the basin of the fountain, making a soothing sound to his ears.

He looked around the courtyard to see that almost the entirety of the courtyard was encircled by half-walls composed of brick. He would have been able to see over the half-walls if not for the tall hedges encircling the courtyard just beyond the half-walls. His initial assumption of the courtyard possibly being modeled after something in the world of humans grew increasingly likely as his eyes drifted to two park benches. One along the eastern wall of the courtyard, the other on the western side.

Past the fountain itself, he was able to catch a glimpse of what he could only assume was the Phenex manor. Millicas paused as his eyes tried to process the sight. Phenex Manor, not castle. The sight was honestly baffling to him.

Other devil clans considered the Gremory Clan as progressives. Yet, the Gremory Clan still had their traditional castle standing tall. Going by the size of the manor looming beyond the fountain, it wasn't just a mere side estate. The Phenex Clan apparently tore their castle down at some point in favor of building a European style manor where their old home must have once stood.

He would have spent more time gawking at the sight of the manor if a teleportation circle didn't suddenly appear just past the fountain by the endcaps of the brick half-walls. Millicas expected a servant to appear. His expectations were shattered once more.

Riser Phenex appeared in a small burst of flames, embers drifting in the air near his burgundy blazer. He casually leaned against the eastern endcap of the half-brick wall, his arms crossed. Millicas needed to go north past the fountain to follow the path towards the estate. He wouldn't be able to do so without walking by Riser.

"Yo!" Riser Phenex called out with a smug grin.

Millicas didn't like the look in his eyes. The casual greeting he had given did not match the glare he was staring at him with. If Riser wished for a confrontation, he would give him one. Nothing would stop him from fulfilling his promise of taking Ravel out on a date.

Millicas moved past the fountain, aiming to move down the northern path towards the manor. As he grew close to the exit to the courtyard, Riser stopped leaning against the half-wall. He stuffed a hand in the pocket of his blazer before moving to stand right in the center of the path.

"Going to say hello?" Riser challenged.

Millicas paused his movement. He could at least greet him, it cost him nothing to do so. Millicas knew his view of Riser was at least partially tainted by Rias's despair at her previous position. He could at least try to get over the prejudice he held against Riser if the man wasn't as petty as he was expecting him to be.

"Good evening."

"Nope, it's a pretty awful one. One of the worst in a long time. Old bastard told me we were having a guest coming over before he fucked off from the manor a few hours ago. Turns out that same guest is the one who he spoke to me about yesterday. You know? That same guest that broke my engagement? Yeah, that one," despite his harsh tone Riser still wore his grin.

"If you're expecting me to apologize, you are greatly mistaken. Please step aside, Ravel is expecting me," Millicas patience quickly waned when he realized Riser was as petty as he expected.

Riser shifted sideways, holding his arm outwards towards the estate, "Be my guest. After you. Wouldn't want you to get lost now."

Millicas didn't trust him, he would be foolish to take his invitation without a shred of suspicion. He kept his guard up as he moved to pass Riser. As he expected, as soon as Millicas moved to walk by Riser, Riser reached out and put a hand on Millicas's shoulder. He felt Riser squeeze down hard, causing him to pause his movement.

Millicas felt a spark of rage beginning to ignite within him, "Remove your hand. I don't require your guidance or further presence."

Riser scoffed, "For the love of Lilith, shut your fucking mouth you damned brat and listen. I have some advice for you, but if you want to be that way…"

Advice? He wasn't sure what exactly Riser meant by that. It piqued his curiosity just enough to get Millicas to hold his tongue to prevent further antagonizing him.

Riser stared at him for a few moments before his grin grew wider, "I'll be damned, you're actually going to listen? I'd clap if I didn't think you'd take off if I removed my hand."

Removing his hand was sounding rather tempting to Millicas's ears.

The heat in Riser's eyes seemed to diminish somewhat as the older male spoke, "I hate you, you know? You cost me a busty redhead. Fuck, I guess I lost out on more than just her when I consider her Peerage as well. That girl with black hair would have checked off one of the types I've been hunting for."

The urge to hurt him was growing even faster, "Where are you going with this?"

"Give me a minute brat. I'm mourning the loss of a few extra types because of your dumb ass ruining things. Yep, still mad."

Riser sighed, "I really want to kick your ass, but Ravel probably wouldn't forgive me. My mom has been super excited since last night. She's looking livelier than I've seen her in years. She hasn't been like that since my brother's wedding. Ravel pretty much spent her entire day in her room getting ready with my mom's help."

"So as much as I want to kick your ass, I don't want to ruin Ravel's night. You better not fuck the date up. If you make Ravel cry, I'll risk the wrath of Satan to hurt you just as much as you hurt her. As for the advice, bring pink roses next time."

Millicas was extremely confused. Was Riser offering him genuine advice? Was… was Riser a tsundere?

Millicas robotically spoke as his mind tried to process that theory, "Thank you for your advice."

"Don't get me wrong. The advice isn't for your sake. I'm not telling you this to give you a hand. It's for Ravel, got it?"

It was at that exact moment Millicas realized he hated Rias. Her damned insidious hobbies infected him so thoroughly that he could no longer take the man before him seriously. He was half expecting Riser to call him a "baka" at this point.

Millicas was genuine with his words this time, "I understand. I'm still thankful for your advice. I'll find a way to get her flowers during the date to make up for my mistake. I should have been more thoughtful."

Riser pulled his hand off Millicas's shoulder, "Good, she'll like that. I know my girls love lovey dovey shit like that. At least a few. I'll kick your ass another day when it doesn't put me at risk of pissing off my mom and sister. Go make this a good night for Ravel or I'll make yours a nightmare."

Millicas took a few dazed steps forward towards the manor. He still wasn't entirely sure how to feel about the encounter he just had. Was Riser an ally or an enemy?

Millicas heard Riser mutter behind him, "Shit..."

Riser called out, "I can't let you just take off by yourself. You're still a guest, so I need to stick around until I can pawn you off to someone else. Once you get inside, I'll have one of my girls get you something to drink. They can take you somewhere to sit around until Ravel's ready to go."

"That's… acceptable," Millicas hesitantly agreed.

He continued to walk towards the manor with Riser following close behind.