Issei snapped awake on the couch and jumped out of the window.
His body coiled as he twisted midair and realized his devil wings from his back.
The glass shards landed all around him as he landed on a crouch with the grace and will of an apex predator on the hunt.
He had something he needed to do.
He was the hunter.
He knew his prey.
He took a deep sniff of the air while remaining in the crouch, ignoring the maid who had been walking outside and who had almost gotten a heart attack upon seeing Issei jump out of the window from the third floor of Phenix estate and land on one of the inner courtyards of the maze-like estate. While wearing only a badly-tied bathrobe.
A whiff of his prey entered Issei's nostrils and his head snapped to the side like lightning, further causing the maid to twitch and making her try to crawl away on her back.
A dark, determined look cast its shadow over Issei's face as he bound off in hunt, jumping high into the air… And through the second-floor window, which luckily had been open so this time he didn't have quite as explosive ingress as his exit just earlier.
"Eh?!" His target snapped awake as Issei burst through the window, landed on the floor, and-
"BUUCHOOUUU'S OOOPPAAAIIII" Issei let out a war-cry and charge-tackled Rias back into the bed as Rias had woken up just now and sat up in surprise while covering herself with the blanket!
He remembered mid-charge that Rias liked to sleep naked, which meant that charging in like that would most certainly cause Issei to get slapped and would make Rias mad! However, Issei was already committed… And his 'buchou's breasts' meter was deep in the red! He needed to recharge or he'd die!
"Ise-kun!" Rias let out a shocked yelp as she flopped back to her back with Issei's face buried in her breasts! "Ah! Be careful… No! Discard that! Ise! You can be as rough as you want!"
'B-buchou's breast! Naked breasts! In my face! I'm so glad to experience this! Even if I'm going to die as a result!' Issei felt like a squawk-toy as Rias hugged him back and nearly forced the stuffings out of him with how hard she hugged him!
"I missed these oppai…" Issei cried to Rias's chest. "A-and I missed you, Rias…B-buchou, that is!"
"Idiot… How could you do something that reckless…" Rias was stroking Issei's head like that of an unruly dog who had disappeared for too long but had come back anyway while smelling weird! "Sniff… Hmng! You have the scent of some sleazy woman lingering on you… Bath, now!"
"Uh, yeah, Riser's Rook showed up all of a sudden and she peed all over the place so-" Issei tried to explain but Rias's expression darkened and his words trailed off. "I tried to not get any on me but I was so tired at that point that I didn't really notice if… er…
Rias took several breaths in succession while she had an extremely unhappy expression on her face… And then her expression softened.
Her eyes watered and she hugged Issei harder against her chest so that Issei didn't see the expression on her face. "...haa… I… I get it. I'm sorry, I'm trying to not let it bother me, that my Ise was forced to do that with that damn idiot and go along with whatever whims she had… but… You came back to me, instead of staying with her, you, you back, just as you said…"
"Buchou?" Issei tilted his head.
"Hng…" Rias seemed to struggle with herself. "No. I've decided. I'm going to erase that rooster's scent with my own!"
Issei blinked as Rias pulled him up to eye level, as his face had been buried in Rias's chest until that point.
Issei's eyes widened as Rias closed in and…
"Chu…"
Rias kissed Issei!
Her soft, warm lips were against his!
Issei didn't know what to do! Or rather, he knew precisely what to do, theoretically, but he wasn't sure if he had the guts to go along with it!
'Really? Really?! Now?! Just… get on with it, kiss back, shove your 'thing' in her, do the whole song and dance already! I can't watch this anymore!' Ddraig seemed to grow annoyed while peeping through Issei's eyes. 'Since you didn't get attacked during the night and I stayed awake to keep an eye on you, I'm just going to take a nap now. Wake me up when you embarrass yourself again and have to use [Boosted Gear] to get out of trouble.'
'Ddraig?' Issei turned his eyes 'inwards' for a split second to 'see' that Ddraig had gone ahead and curled into a ball in her blankets, and lifted a middle-finger at Issei from the pile before starting to snore loudly.
Issei stared at Rias as she pulled back.
"Y-you know, you said that my virginity would be yours after you've done what you were forced to do, and I agreed…" Rias looked a bit embarrassed but she had a determined expression. "Ise-kun…"
"Buchou…" Issei felt as if a mental ball of paper hit him in the back of the head inside his mind. He rolled the mental paper-ball open and stared at the message before sending 'sleeping' Ddraig a bewildered and a bit thankful glance. "Rias…"
'That feels really embarrassing to say now! Calling Buchou by her name with no honorifics! But since Buch- Rias is saying all sorts of things and isn't objecting… I'll…' Issei gulped as Rias had gained a strange look and a fond smile as Issei called her by her name with no honorifics or titles attached to it.
It looked as if it was somehow really important to her but Issei had no idea why!
Rias closed in for a kiss again, and Issei… flinched.
'Tch! D-dammit!' Issei tried to push aside the memory of black feathers and a smiling, loving face turning into a cruel mask, but he flinched at the last second.
He hoped Rias hadn't noticed, but…
"Ise? Is everything alright? You… Avoided me just now?" Rias looked confused and more than a bit hurt.
"It's… ah, well…" Issei tried to find words to explain.
"Am… Am I not interesting to you anymore?" Rias's eyes had small tears in her eyes as she seemed to draw some strange conclusions.
"No! Never! I'd never grow tired or disinterested of Rias! Never in a million years!" Issei objected immediately and loudly, causing Rias to flinch a bit and let out a small, weak chuckle.
"Ha.. I expected as much, if I'm honest… I just had a thought that, eh… nevermind." Rias shook the strange mood out of her head with visible effort. "But, Issei-kun, I thought that you'd, well, be eager to take this opportunity? I've had a feeling that something was wrong for a while now, well, a lot of things were going all sorts of wrong, but you keep acting strange…"
'This is bad! Rias-chan is speaking formally! So she's either angry or sad! Most likely angry! Dammit! That damn crow caused me to upset Buchou!' Issei raged to the heavens at their injustice, though he tried to not let it show on his face-
"Crow?" Rias blinked.
"Eh- That's…" Issei mumbled weakly as he had accidentally ended up shouting his thoughts aloud.
"'Crow'… w-what do you mean, Issei-kun? Who do you mean? Is someone forcing you to do things?" Rias had a very strange expression on her face. Issei didn't know what to make of it.
"Ah, that is, it's about… well…" Issei didn't know what to say. He wanted to tell Rias all about the strange feeling of terror he felt, which he had learned in the [Juggernaut Drive] to be originating from his fear or… something. Of being abandoned? Betrayed? Issei didn't know what exactly he was so afraid of, and why it manifested in the intimate company of girls specifically.
"...Is it about Akeno? Has she… said something unnecessary?" Rias's expression darkened. "I won't tolerate infighting in my Peerage, you know? So if Akeno-chan is bullying Ise-kun then I need to know."
'Why would I think of 'Akeno' when I think about 'crows'?! How does that make sense?! Is it because she has black hair?' Issei was not sure about the situation at hand, but he was sure he needed to set things straight before Rias would draw wrong conclusions and the misunderstanding would end up hurting them all in the process!
"It's about Yuuma-chan… About… well… Raynare." Issei finally squeezed out of his throat, though for some reason talking about it caused him a lot of pain.
"She… what?" Rias was taken aback.
"It's just… whenever I think about, no whenever I get close to someone, I just keep flashing back to… that day." Issei spoke, feeling as if some sort of floodgate had burst. He knew that right now wasn't a good time to talk about such things, and he wasn't sure if Rias would understand him, or would condemn him, but when the dam had broken there was no 'un-breaking' it and making the flow go back to where it had been bottled up. "I keep thinking, 'maybe I did something wrong', 'maybe it was all my fault', no even more than that, 'was she right?', 'since she betrayed me, others can do so too', e-even if I… Even if I felt like… I fell a bit in love with her, back during that date, I- it's stupid, I know, but she was my first girlfriend, you know?!"
Rias's expression softened a bit and she began to play with his hair.
"...And then, she did all those horrible things while saying why and how it was my fault that it turned out like that, and at the end, w-when she was downed, s-she begged me to save her… and even though I was furious about what she had done to Asia, a small part of me still… still wanted to save her, I guess…" Issei realized what he was saying, and quickly clarified himself. "I wouldn't have saved Raynare, s-she deserved what she got, b-but I'm dumb! I can't think that rationally! When there's a girl I thought I liked in front of me and crying for me to save her, that part of me still wants to save her even if it makes no sense!"
Rias had stopped staring at Issei midway through and had hugged him close to her and was stroking his hair gently.
"I hate her." Rias said in response to Issei's babbling word avalanche.
"R-Rias-chan?"
"I hate that woman. WIth all my heart. Even more than what I had in store for Riser. Once we get back to Kuoh, I'll make sure to destroy even the tiniest bit of her ashes that I had buried unto that roadside ditch." Rias had a strangely hostile voice. "That, even after dying, she'd dare to haunt my dear, beloved Ise-kun like that… I'll have no mercy."
"That's…" Issei tried to speak but Rias put her finger against his lips.
"Shush. Ise-kun is afraid that I'll end up doing what that whore had done to you? Seduce you and then toss you aside when she feels bored? Betray you, hound you, kill people who you hold dear, and then come crawling back once she needs help?!" Rias had an angry look in her eyes. "That sort of thing?!"
"B-buchou! I never intended to-" Issei knew that Rias had misunderstood his words! It was over! She had thought he had accused her of being like Raynare, and how she was going to-
Abandon him?
The voice whispered in his head again. It sounded suspiciously like the whispers he had heard when he had been submerged in that place.
You don't have to follow her. You don't need her.
Regret welled inside Issei's heart. He saw as his world had started to crumble around him as he took a leap of faith and hoped Rias would catch him. But she hadn't understood or cared, and instead she had-
Squelch?
"Ow…" Rias let out a muted whimper. "T-that hurts a bit, actually… ow…"
"W-what?" Issei felt shocked as something strange was happening.
"Ngh…" Rias looked at Issei with small tears in the corners of her eyes. "Issei-kun…"
Issei realized where the 'squelch' feeling had come from, and almost passed out.
"I won't abandon you. Never. Ever. I'll never betray you, just as you and I know you'll never betray me… Fooling aside with other girls notwithstanding. I'll reserve the right to get angry at Ise-kun for not thinking about my feelings, alright?" Rias had a muted voice as she spoke.
Issei felt paralyzed.
Rias tied her hands around Issei's shoulders and pulled him towards her, causing Issei to rest on top of her while she was laying on her back amidst the soft blankets and pillows of the bed like a red-headed goddess.
"...I'm your 'Rias', just as you're my 'Ise'... I don't care what others say, if they approve, disprove, even if it means going against the rest of the Underworld, or becoming a wanted criminal, I'll stay with my Ise… And, please, stay with me as well, Ise-kun?" Rias stroked Issei's cheek while he was slowly coming to the realization that Rias had forsaken any sense of subtlety and had just rammed herself against 'Issei jr', who had been acting up due to Issei's earlier snuggle-session with Rias's boobs.
In other words, Issei was having sex with Rias.
Squelch.
"Nh… Ise… it's fine if you want to move now, I've gotten used to the feeling…" Rias whispered to Issei's ear.
He didn't know what to do.
He had severely underestimated Rias!
Issei felt like he had been broken just now. Just as his virginity had been. He felt like a doll with its strings cut.
For some reason he had expected there to be trumpets, or some sort of magical feeling. Instead, there was the cold feeling that he had felt when he had talked about his trauma, and the warmth of Rias's body that warred with the anger Rias had in her voice, which had turned to murmur.
"Ise…" Rias sounded a bit sad as Issei didn't react, at least on the surface. "Do you not… trust me enough? I, I want to be your King, your guide, your 'Rias', someone you can trust and l-love…"
Issei felt as if his body had been run through with lightning, breaking him out of his paralysis!
"I…" Issei touched Rias's cheek, feeling as if something was breaking off his soul in chunks and falling to the 'sea' of memories below, like flaked rust breaking off to show metal underneath. "I trust Rias. I trust you."
Rias smiled fondly at Issei.
Issei moved his lower body slowly, almost as if he himself was terrified of what would happen.
Rias shuddered and her eyes became half-lidded. "...Hn… Ise-kun… My Ise-kun…"
"D-does it hurt?" Issei's throat felt dry and parched as he asked the question.
"No… It feels good… Y-you can move more, if- if you can…" Rias bit her lip while she had a slightly hazy, if fond expression. "Ise… You know I wouldn't let anyone else touch me like this, so you can… be a bit more active, you know? In exchange, can you tell me, even if you're uncertain… Do you love me?"
"There's nothing else I'd love more! Okay, maybe boobs, but that's an entirely different thing! It's like comparing a luxury limited edition figurine and a run-of-the mill porn book! One you love and cherish with all your heart, and the other you cherish as your-" Issei felt like his brain overcooked from hearing Rias's words, delivered with erotic voice, and he started to say something unnecessary that his overheated brains brought up like hot trash straight from a dumping yard.
Rias looked speechless for a moment as she just stared at Issei, who was currently inside her to half-mast and going deeper, and was currently spouting something completely unnecessary.
"...Yes, I love Rias." Issei finally muttered after he managed to wrestle his brain under control, though it was not exactly an easy fight by any estimation. The fact Ddraig had accidentally turned over in her sleep and slapped Issei's 'mental oppai-brain' with her tail had helped even the odds.
"Ufu… ahahaha!" Rias's chest bounced in concert with her uncontrollable burst of laughter. "I-Ise-kun, don't ever change… ahahah…"
"U-um, that's a bit embarrassing, s-sorry, I…" Issei scratched the back of his head.
"Shush, and kiss me, you big oaf… my big perverted oaf~" Rias tied her arms around Issei's back and pulled him closer-
"Ufufufu, it turns out that the voices were indeed real~ I didn't realize we had visitors~" A sing-song voice with a strangely laconic undertone caused Rias and Issei to freeze up mid-act.
"A-Akeno!" Rias let out a cute squeak as she hugged Issei closer out of reflex, which caused the 'half mast' to go 'all in'.
Rias's expression became extremely erotic while her eyes rolled up a bit and her breath came out a heated sigh.
Issei had to hold himself back or he'd groan right into Rias's ear as she became incredibly tight as she accidentally forcefully hugged Issei deeper into her. He failed.
"Nh… mh… haa~" It looked as if Issei letting his voice out was causing an effect on Rias as she began to pant in a very erotic manner!
"Ufufu, and you two are at it again, even though I'm watching? Indeed, my M-side is currently feeling all sorts of things~ I certainly hope this won't become a bad habit~" The sing-song voice interrupted them again.
"Ak- Egh!" Rias let out a strange voice. "I-Ise-kun… C-can you hold f-for a moment? A-Akeno is watching! S-she's right there!"
Issei had tried to pull out so that he wouldn't make a scene! But it had caused a scene anyway as he only managed to draw 'it' out halfway since Rias had a steel-hard grip around his waist!
Issei felt his embarrassment spike so he did as Rias asked and shoved 'it' right in!
"G-haaahhnnn~" Rias let out a throaty moan against Issei's chest. "That- that feels… Hn… I'll not… forgive that bird-brain for taking your f-first, Ise-kun, b-but I'm going to help myself to s-seconds-"
"Ufufu, and they're back at it again~ I feel like a third wheel~ Oh, hello, Asia-chan~ Koneko-chan, could you cover Asia-chan's eyes~?"
"I heard Issei-san's voice! Is he a- eeeeekkkk?!"
"...Hentai is hentai even during honeymoon. First morning and he's already cheating. As expected of him. He truly is the 'enemy of all women'. However Rias-sama looks to be happy so I'll not punish him… too harshly."
Issei turned around and saw as Asia had walked through the door, saw Issei and Rias, and the blonde girl almost self-combusted before Koneko had managed to slap her hands over Asia's eyes.
Issei felt a bit worried about Koneko's dark mutterings, but she had a strange tone in her voice that told Issei that he wasn't in mortal danger… probably?
"Ufufu, this has become a spectator sport, I'll go prepare the popcorn and the fizzy drinks." Akeno placed three seats down and faced them towards the bed.
"N-no, that- that w-won't be necessary, ah…" Rias twitched under Issei. "I-Issei- I want to continue, b-but if we do that right now, the harmony of the Peerage will surely alter! T-this sort of scene is not what I wanted to happen for my 'first time'!"
"Ah… S-sorry…"
"Ise is silent! This is not his fault. Rather, a certain nosy Queen is at fault here!" Rias sent a glare at Akeno who lifted her hand up so that she could cover her own mouth with her sleeve. The black-haired girl had a smile on her face that didn't quite reach her eyes.
Issei felt as if there were mental lighting bolts clashing between the two!
…That is, until Issei shivered, which caused a 'motion' inside Rias, as he was still 'fully in', breaking her concentration! The mental clash caused Rias to lose and she looked away sheepishly!
"H-nh! N-no! Ise-kun, s-stop distracting me! I-Ise-kun is too good at this… O-or maybe I'm just inexperienced and my love for Ise-kun is making me feel way too good about this…" Rias murmured to Issei's ear between gasps. "B-but we seriously have to stop now! T-this has become a spectacle! Asia-chan looks like she's hyperventilating! Our relationship as a 'Peerage' is changing rapidly!"
Issei glanced to the side and saw that Asia was indeed hyperventilating to a brown bag while Koneko was rubbing circles on her back! Koneko sent Issei a harsh glare while her cheeks were a bit red!
"Ufufu, Ise-kun has stopped~ I wonder if he's ran out of energy after his 'vigorous exercise' last night~ In that case it's only fair that I, as Rias-chan's Queen, provide assistance~" A playful muttering was Issei's only warning before he had to look to the other side and see that Akeno had climbed into the bed! She had placed her hands on Issei's hips from behind!
"Akeno! W-what are you doing?!" Rias twitched as Akeno pulled Issei's hips back!
Akeno then shoved Issei's hips forwards with all her might while laying herself flat against Issei's back!
"Aghhhhh!" Rias let out a groan against Issei's chest while her legs lifted themselves up around Issei's waist and locked him 'in'. "T-that's…!"
"Ufufu, it feels as if I'm fucking Rias-chan raw using Issei as a proxy~" Akeno spoke with lewd tone of voice! She was hugging Issei from behind and her amazing oppai were rubbing against his back! There was only a thin sleeping kimono between his back and her breasts!
"A-hn! T-this is- T-this is too much! I'm… I'm going to…" Rias whimpered cutely as the leg-lock forced Akeno's 'assists' to become a quick, pulsing motion that didn't pull much of 'Issei jr' out, and rather caused it to just pulse back and forth. It seemed to hit several of Rias's spots as she tightened further and she was holding onto Issei with so much force it hurt!
"Ufufu, then cum, Rias-chan~ Cum for your Queen~"
"No! I refuse! Ise! I order you, as your King, and as your beloved, make me cum before Akeno does! S-somehow!" Rias gave Issei an outrageous order while her face was beet red and she was steaming! Wisps of steam rose off her body!
"As expected of my King, to be able to speak so provocative words aloud~ Ara, it looks like Ise-kun has lost all sense and reasoning, his eyes are glowing red again~"
"Rias! Yes!" Issei's voice was determined! He had lost his virginity just now! Rias said she'd loved him! And he trusted her!
He would not disappoint Rias! Not in combat, not as her Pawn, and not in her bed!
Akeno was bucked off Issei's back like an inexperienced rider falling off a wild horse, and when she turned to look back, she had to put her fingers in front of her hand to cover her shock upon seeing the exceedingly lewd look on her King's face, as Issei was unleashed upon her and he moved seriously for the first time! He channelled all his ero-knowledge (which, granted, wasn't exactly the most reliable source) to make sure Rias was feeling good! It seemed to work somehow, though!
"Don't look, Asia-chan. You'll be scarred for life." Koneko continued to safeguard Asia.
"K-Koneko-chan! N-no! I have to… I'll lose! My place at Issei-san's side is under attack! Rias-sama will take him and I'll be left behind!"
"...Doesn't look like that. It looks like Hentai has no limits. We should evacuate or we'll be caught and get done next. I'm too young to be a mom. Hentai has evolved from 'forever-virgin oppai freak' to 'full spectrum assault hentai'. I feel bad for the kendo club."
"E-even still! K-Koneko-chan! S-stop standing in front of me! I-if that happens, then if Issei-san reaches for us, he's going to grab you instead of me!"
"If that happens I'll break Hentai's fingers."
"P-please don't break Issei-san's fingers!"
"Fine, I'll break hentai's 'sausage'. Nya."
"T-that's even worse! And lewd! A-and why are you blushing Koneko-chan?! H-how exactly were you planning on breaking Issei-sama's… um! A-and your cat-ears are out?! Are you preparing for a fight?!"
"..."
"GH! Ah! F-faster! Y-yes! Yes! Ise! My Ise! I- In! L-let it all in!"
"Rias! I'm about to… I'm about to…!"
"Ise!"
"Ufufu, I have been completely ignored~ Ise-kun sure is a harsh 'S', I'm going to turn into a 'bottom M' at this rate~"
"Iyaaahhh! I- I can feel your warmth, Issei… chu…"
"Ara, ara, so lovey-dovey~... Maybe I'll be next?"
"A-Akeno! W-what are you saying?! No! I forbid it! Ise-kun is mine!"
In the end, only Rias ended up getting the 'big prize', as roughly ten seconds after that Yuuto knocked on the door and alerted them that apparently something had the Phenix estate's wardens in a dizzy, and they were apparently searching for a 'rogue dragon' prowling the estate.
Rias, after gathering her wits, collected her Peerage and teleported them all out and back to their well-prepared stronghold in ORC clubroom in Kuoh, while leaving a note to explain their departure to the nightstand of their borrowed quarters in Phenix estate.
.
.
.
Riser woke up to an ominous feeling.
She reached up and stroked Yubelluna's cheek. The violet-haired woman gave a small moan but didn't react otherwise, except maybe to curl up slightly snugglier against Riser's flank.
The rest of Riser's Peerage had come to investigate the desperate crying that had come from the room Isabela had been in, and after some convincing to stop the girls from foolishly charging into the Red Dragon Emperor's quarters in a futile attempt to try to recover what was left of Xuelan, the group had fallen into exhausted sleep in the Peerage quarters.
Normally Riser would have been tempted to fool around a bit in such a situation… but between her lacking 'him'-parts, and the horror show he had found himself in, there was no room left for desire for any tomfoolery.
Xuelan's grisly fate had remained a weight in Riser's consciousness, but she was certain that if she got a good night's rest she could probably get her bearings straight and perhaps even start to try to undo the 'gender-swap' that she had been forced to undergo. She'd also need to get some sort of obituary done for Xuelan as well.
She tried not to think about Xuelan. It wasn't as if Riser's heart was made of stone, but as long as the Red Dragon Monster was within stalking range of her, she couldn't afford to mourn.
Riser groaned and lifted her body up, and rubbed her eyes… And felt like he was in danger!
Riser froze completely still as she felt the presence of a demon.
No, rather, the demon was kneeling beside Riser's bed, with elbows resting against the bed and with head resting on the monster's arms as it looked straight at him!
"KYAAAHH!" Riser let out a shrill scream and jumped back into the pile of girls!
An aura of certain death surrounded the demon that was smiling at Riser!
"G-good morning, m-mother…" Riser stammered from the pile of girls that made her Peerage, the latter of whom had startled awake from Riser's scream and were blinking owlishly.
"Ohoho~ You could imagine my shock when I go to check up on my daughter and new son-in-law and find that he was sleeping on the couch, and Riser-chan's Rook had somehow managed to bypass the wards that I placed around the newlywed's quarters to stop them from being interrupted (to stop them from escaping)." Lady Phenix had a pleasant smile that completely failed to hide the demonic aura that surrounded her like a glowing visage of certain death! Her eyes were narrowed to thin slits, and Riser felt like she was going to get hung by her balls! Or she would have, had she still had them. "Ohoho, certainly the evidence points to the possibility of a 'switching trick' of a certain sort, wouldn't you know about such a thing, Riser-chan?"
"U- um…" Riser sweated while his would-be arrogant attitude turned to awkward stammering in front of her mother's professionally controlled rage.
And then the events of the last night properly returned to her mind, and she felt terrified by the dragon again! "P-please, I had to get away, or I would have died!"
"Ohoho, don't worry about that. Issei-kun has a 'big one' but it certainly won't kill Riser-chan, unless you two get really frisky." Lady Phenix's words were casually merciless and her expression didn't change one bit! "But since Riser-chan is still a 'phenix' and has regeneration it doesn't matter much. Didn't I catch you annoying your sister just earlier this week, and consequently she was bashing your head in with a baseball bat so hard it split your head like a chicken egg?"
"T-that's… Wait, mom, how do you know about that damn dragon's-?!" Riser's eyes widened in shock.
"Ufufu, Riser-chan. Could it be that I detect hints of jealousy in your voice?" The blonde woman spoke with the voice that was clearly 'Lady Phenix' instead of 'mom'. "Do you plan to embarrass us further, Riser-chan?"
"E-embarass- You sold me to that dragon! I won the Rating Game! I won! I should have married Rias!" Riser felt her anger overtake her fear as her mother's provocation pushed her past her tolerance. The rest of Riser's Peerage seemed worried as they heard the exchange.
"Ohoho~ My cute daughter wants to lecture me about the affairs of the heads of our clan, hm?" Lady Phenix had a dangerous glint in her eyes while they were still drawn to slits. "I wonder if Riser-chan read through the marriage contract between himself and Rias-chan and knew that the purpose of the union was not entirely some political waffle or whatnot chest-beating between the two families. The real reason was to produce pure-blooded devils… In other words, grandchildren! Moreover, Ruval-kun is being prude and wants to take his sweet time with his darling, and as the heir to Clan Phenix, he has that option! But I can't wait any longer! I want grandchildren to pamper and spoil rotten!"
Riser paled as she finally realized what Lady Phenix was saying. 'In other words, 'it's fine as long as I get grandchildren', is that it?!'
She didn't speak that aloud, however. Her mother was not in a good mood.
"Ah, that is, um…" Riser tried to gather her courage after receiving the news right after waking up. She wasn't quite thinking straight and blurted out something unnecessary. "W-what about Ravel-chan, or-"
"Oh, that's the option B." Lady Phenix's dangerous smile didn't waver. "She's betrothed to Sekiryuutei-san as well, unless she wants to stop the whole thing. I let her have that clause since I had full faith that my dutiful Riser-chan would do her part, but now I feel as if I have to skip to option C since it doesn't look like Ravel-chan doesn't find the courage to 'hop to it' and I've ran out of patience to wait~"
Riser opened her mouth to ask what she meant by the option C, blinked, and paled as she figured it out.
Lady Phenix's eyes had a mischievous glint in them.
"Uh." Riser let out a gargled sound as she had to make sure what she was hearing was correct. "Mom, a- are you perhaps planning on jumping that dragon by yourself?!"
"Maybe, if Riser-chan doesn't do her duty~" Lady Phenix looked like she was seriously considering it. "If I can't get grandchildren in this decade, I suppose I could settle for a third daughter or fourth son~"
'Oh you can't be serious?! How horny are you, mom?! I know your cardinal sin is 'lust' but seriously?!' Riser's head swam. 'This has to be a joke, right?! My mom is seriously not going to get seduced by that damn monster?! After what happened to Ravel?! Are you sane, mom?! Did the dragon knock your brains loose?! No, actually, that might be the case! I don't know what happened when I was crying under my bed and shaking from terror! Only that dad left somewhere, which means that mom would have been wide open and might have come in direct contact with that damn dragon! Which means she might have been 'wide open' in a different sense of the word! Shit!'
"Of course, I suppose that hubby probably wouldn't find something like that endearing. But I suppose the Sekiryuutei-sama would take care of me, in all sorts of ways, if hubby and I ended up breaking up and I took half of the house…"
"N-no!" Riser felt like hyperventilating and did so into a brown paper bag that Yubelluna handed her from behind her back, while the rest of Riser's Peerage sans Xuelan were cowering behind her back and were wearing various expressions from terror to harsh glares aimed at Riser, for some reason. "T- that can't happen!"
"Well, it would be option C. In other words, only used if Riser-chan fails to do her part, but it looks like she's failed already. Oh well, I should be getting going, I need to start writing divorce papers and getting my risque underwear sorted out-" Lady Phenix let out a small sigh and pat her lips with her fingers while having a small blush on her cheeks and a dreamy expression! Riser was certain that the Red Dragon Emperor had messed with her mother's head! "I might have caught a glance last night, Red Dragon Emperor-sama seems quite eager and bestial and quite the lustful figure, while also having the good sense to know where the boundaries lie and not cross them~ I might truly fall for him, even if it would break our family apart~ And break my body with his delicious-looking 'thing'~"
"No! That cannot be allowed to happen! I'll make sure to teach that damn dragon his place underneath my bootheel!" Riser swore up and down while feeling her flame reignite out of anger at the Dragon for daring to seduce her mother! Somehow!
"...Riser-sama, um…" Yubelluna had a flat expression as she alternated staring at Lady Phenix and Riser.
"What is it, Yubelluna?! Do you have an idea how to destroy that dragon before he does my mother in?!" Riser leaned closer and whispered to Yubelluna, letting her mother out of sight.
Riser thusly didn't notice that Lady Phenix sent Yubelluna and the rest of Riser's Peerage a mischievous wink, and made a harsh hush-hush motion around her throat while radiating just a bit of devil energy as a warning.
"N-no, it's nothing, um…" Yubelluna paled and gulped loudly as the blonde woman's message could not be any clearer. "L-Lady Phenix just seems very… honest, that's all. S-she certainly is intending on going through with all that she's saying right now. There's no way she's provoking you on purpose, s-such a thing would be beneath her!"
Riser tilted her head at the Queen but shook her strange behaviour out of her head. She had more important things to think about, such as how he was going to handle the issue of the Red Dragon!
"Of course, if Riser-chan were to get pregnant and produce grandchildren then I wouldn't have to go through with plan C…" Lady Phenix made a sigh while having her forearm pressed against her temple. Her posture seemed to radiate a statement 'woe is me'. "However, in that case I wouldn't get a chance to experience the feeling of Sekiryuutei-sama's magnificent-"
"I'll do it! Dammit! I'll take care of this mess! Just get off my back, seriously!" Riser shouted, annoyed. "I'll go and protect you and Ravel from the Red Dragon Idiot! You don't have to worry! And you definitely don't need to have those unnecessary thoughts! Damn him!"
"Riser-chan is already starting to sound like Ravel-chan! Ahaha, you're a tsun-tsun like her, after all~ You're so cute! Glomp!" The blonde woman engulfed Riser in a hug that accidentally caught a few of Riser's Peerage-mates, causing the caught girls and Riser to whine from the combination of embarrassment and dangerously tight hug that made them feel as if their stuffings were about to come out.
"S-sheesh, I'm a man, mom! Even if I'm in a girl's body! It's just a phase, mom!" Riser protested vehemently.
"Yes~ Ohoho~ I certainly have not heard that sort of sentence before~" The bird-brained blonde woman merely chirped happily before letting Riser go and smiling happily at her.
"Tch!" Riser let out a sound of annoyance, trying to mask the terror that started to return to her heart as she thought about her next step. "...Haa… I need to go and… go see Xuelan. Or what's left of her… And after that… I need to… s-sheesh, I can't give up now… I need to go and… f-face that thing again…"
"Oho? Yes, I found her in what would have been your and your husband's quarters." The bird-brained blonde noted. "I put her to sleep again since she was babbling too much and was screaming something about teleporting dragons that were inside the walls and whatnot. Anyway, there's a small problem."
"W-what?!" Riser felt shock run through her body as she realized that Xuelan was alive, even if her mind had been shattered! 'She's alive?! How?! Even Ravel almost died, and she has a will of iron and she can regenerate?!'
"Yes." Lady Phenix folded her hands on her lap and completely ignored Riser's shock. "We indeed have a small problem. You see, as soon as Sekiryuutei-san was awake, he decided to join the company of his Peerage… Or, his King's Peerage, I suppose… and they departed the Underworld. They were quoting something about 'being late' to 'school' or such. They were gone by the time I realized that Xuelan-chan was present in the quarters instead of Riser-chan, or I would have just fetched you and both of your Rooks from here and locked you four together in the room again, collateral virginities be damned."
"W- T-that monster is no longer in the Underworld?" Riser felt as if a stone had been lifted off her chest. She ignored her mother's plan which involved sacrificing Riser's Rooks to the Red Dragon Monster to keep her from [Castling] again. 'I'm safe! That thing is gone! I can sleep easy now that-'
"Naturally, I've gone ahead and investigated the situation while you slept." Lady Phenix nodded seriously.
Riser got a creeping feeling that her mother had gotten an 'idea'.
'Oh. Oh no.'
"...And after contacting the owner of the school, the daughter of Sitri, and calling a small favor, I've gone ahead and enlisted both you and your Peerage as students in said school." Lady Phenix continued her speech while producing slips of paper and handing them over to Riser, who took them while on autopilot. "Oh, and it seems that Sekiryuutei-san's King has decided to use Clan Gremory's pull to forcibly purchase and renovate a house in Kuoh, which had previously been owned by 'Hyoudou's, which I take are Issei-san's family, so I've gone ahead and purchased the house next to it, which will be your and Ravel's abode in the Human World. I'll let Ravel know as well, once I've managed to convinced her to come down from the tree that she hid herself in, but accidentally set it on fire by radiating enough heat to ignite it, ohoho~"
"W-wait, Y-you mean, that I'm supposed to 'stay' in the human world?! A-attend some human school?!" Riser let out a squeak as she finally realized what her mother had done, without asking her, again!
"And get closer to your husband. Whatever that school is, it would be very important if they chose to depart right at the crack of dawn instead of staying for a few weeks so that you and Issei-kun could have your honeymoon." Lady Phenix was nodding while in good spirits. "Now then, I'll leave to take care of some paperwork, so please prepare your clothes etcetera. It'll take a day or two to get everything in order, so use that to familiarize yourselves with the customs of the area."
Riser looked at the slip of paper in her hand which seemed to contain some sort of time table, feeling as if her life had ended just now for the second time but her body hadn't caught up to it just yet.
"Oh, and please do your best at the 'childmaking' part, I really do look forward to meeting my grandchildren~" Lady Phenix waved at her from the door before leaving.
.
.
.
A day passed in a flash for Rias and her Peerage, and before long, everything re-settled to a comfortable, familiar rhythm after the hectic past week.
"...Hm." Sona Sitri placed a Rook down on the chessboard after she had lifted it up to move it.
Rias looked at the chessboard in front of her, and moved a Bishop 'forward', taking Sona's Knight.
Sona moved her Queen. "Check."
Rias moved her King to the side.
Sona moved the Rook again.
Rias moved her Pawn, taking the Rook that would have threatened the King in a turn.
Sona moved her Queen forwards. "Checkmate."
"But with king-" Rias blinked as Sona called the game, half-reaching for the King to take down the Queen that had been moved in front of the King piece.
"Notice the bishop?" Sona pointed at another piece, which disallowed such a move from Rias, and which had been moved in place several turns ahead.
"Ah… Hm. Your chess skills are brutal as always." Rias sighed and conceded her defeat. It had been particularly bad one, as her thoughts had been somewhere else entirely during the entire game. Or rather, someone else entirely.
Someone else, who had collapsed after getting back to the Human World from exhaustion that he had kept in until that point.
It had looked as if getting back to familiar territory had triggered the collapse. Rias had wanted to skip school entirely and stay by his side, but someone had to get back to the school and report things to Sona… And even though Rias didn't want to leave Issei's side, she recognized that the situation in her Peerage was a bit fragile at the moment so she had to concede taking care of Issei to Asia or she'd risk having the balance inside the Peerage tilting too much. Naturally, this meant that only Rias, Yuuto and Koneko had ended up going to the school, while Asia had stayed behind… As well as Akeno, who had departed to school with them, but had instead excused herself halfway through and snuck back into Hyoudou's home, which was under magical re-construction.
Rias had felt like she needed to let Akeno have her way for now, as she recognized that Akeno had been acting and feeling strange and combative ever since the training for the Rating Game… But, Rias trusted Issei, and knew he wouldn't hurt Akeno, and she knew Akeno was feeling conflicted about Issei so as her King, Rias felt as if she should allow her Queen to find answers to her feelings… Though if it involved Issei, Rias would not back down from her claim!
"And you seem in remarkably high spirits for someone who has been married off to a man you hated, and who, apparently, allowed you to return to school the day after the wedding, while wearing no ring." Sona spoke while she adjusted her glasses. She then reset the chess table in the student council room of Kuoh Academy. "Moreover, you seem to have a 'glow' about you… I wonder, have you perhaps done something poorly thought-out?"
"Ah… Yes, I wasn't actually wed to Riser even though I lost." Rias sighed and explained her situation while pointedly ignoring Sona's words about Rias's glow-up. "It was-"
"Issei, who was married off to Riser." Sona filled in before Rias could, causing Rias to roll her eyes. "Quite the shocking turn."
"You're as well connected as always. Did your parents tell you? I'm fairly sure that the Young Devils were not invited to the wedding, except for myself due to being Issei's King. From what I gather the wedding was supposed to be a fairly high-brow affair and the ceremony and the celebration would last for days." Rias leaned back on the comfortable chair. "Not that it ended up doing so, thanks to the, uh… interruption."
"How exactly did that happen? My source wasn't exactly… coherent." Sona looked to be searching for a polite word and settled for something that was somewhere in the middle. "Something about a 'giant hostile dragon girl' who 'crushed Maou Lucifer with the power of her breasts'?"
"Honestly, I couldn't tell. You'd have to ask Issei for specifics." Rias spoke honestly.
"I'll pass. Your version, please?" Sona frowned a bit.
"Issei turned Riser into a girl, and Lord Gremory and Lord Phenix, with counsel from their wives, chose to go ahead with 'a' marriage due to the lost game, though they decided that instead of marrying two girls for a childless marriage, they'd rather 'join the might of the dragon with the phoenix' which would strengthen both families and produce powerful children. Ceremony came, Riser's Pawns challenged the wedding, Issei turned into a girlboss-kaiju and crushed them, as well as their sanity." Rias gave the fast and simple explanation. "As for the specifics and techniques, well. I'm certain you wouldn't like to know."
"I'll defer to your superior experience on the matter." Sona nodded seriously while she was clearly trying her best to ignore the latter part of Rias's explanation. "I saw the Rating Game from television. I asked my entire Peerage to attend, though I had Tsubaki-san cover Saiji-san's eyes at the end."
"Saiji?" Rias tilted her head.
"My newest Pawn. I contacted him when you were training. You two haven't been introduced." Sona explained and adjusted her glasses. "Continuing our talk concerning marriage between Issei-san and Riser-san, I would wish that union of that sort would curb down on Issei-san's perverted tendencies, but it appears that they have only grown. I've had two reports on my desk already from the Kendo club, one of them being a complaint about Hyoudou peeping on them during practise and the other a request to ban Issei-san from going within hundred feet of the girl's changing rooms."
"...But, Issei has been sleeping off his exhaustion at home? I thought I told you already that Issei is not in a shape where he can come to school right now. He collapsed when he returned to the Human World, and I have Akeno and Asia looking after him." Rias had a weak voice as she pointed out the logical contradiction.
"You'd think so, but either his ghost is haunting the kendo club, or he has managed to sneak into the school." Sona turned around and pointed a TV-remote to a screen to play back surveillance camera footage of Issei looking at the kendo club lecherously from behind a wall with a hole in it, with the girls of Kendo club on the other side and mid-training.
The footage ended with the group discovering Issei and chasing him off while hitting him in the head with their training swords. However, Rias noticed that none of the swords actually broke when they hit… Rather it looked as if…
"...Um." Rias blinked at the footage and pulled out her flip-phone and called Asia. "One moment… Asia-chan? You took the day off to look after Issei, right? Has he left the bed?"
"N-no, Rias-san! He's been out the entire day, I've been wiping his head every couple of minutes and he woke up briefly to eat… sort of? Um, he fell on all fours and at the porridge before curling up on the bed?" Asia sounded a bit bewildered as she spoke.
"...Right. Keep an eye on him for me, alright? I'll be there right after school ends. And if any of the construction crew bother you just tell me about it and I'll have them fired in a moment, and then fired into the oven." Rias closed the phone while Asia was protesting weakly and protesting something about how she shouldn't turn the construction workers into ash if they harassed her cute servants while renovating the building.
Sona lifted an eyebrow at Rias.
"Issei-kun is haunting the kendo club for peeping purposes." Rias stated simply.
Sona's other eyebrow rose.