Intellectually, I'd known the Bael Estate would be large. The Bael family was the most influential in the Underworld, it would make sense that their wealth and lands would be equal to those of some weather factions. I was not ready for what that meant in practice.

The invitation Magdaran sent me had instructions for how I would arrive. The letter itself would serve as my transportation, pulling me to the House Bael at the scheduled time. What greeted me as I teleported was a massive castle the likes of which I'd never seen. The castle alone was the size of a large town, to say nothing of the lands beyond it. There were two women in formal maids apparel waiting for me. They greeted me and led me into the castle, through towering doors and into an entrance hall with marble floors and ceilings that were as high as skyscrapers were tall. We passed a number of guards and other staff who acknowledged me respectfully as they went about their work.

The maids led me through a maze of halls and corridors until we came to a small room on the third level with an attached balcony. The doorway to the balcony was lined with white flowers woven together. The room itself held a number of potted plants of various kinds – more flowers, saplings, even a cactus – there didn't seem to be much of a theme to the collection.

I was relieved when I saw where we would be eating. There were only two chairs set at the table. We wouldn't be in a grand dining hall with a large audience. I didn't expect to be left alone with Magdaran due to security concerns, but I was glad this would be a somewhat private affair. It also showed me that Magdaran was the one calling the shots here. He might have been pressured to call this meeting by his parents, but he was the one I would be dealing with. That made things a lot easier for me.

"Please sit, sir." One of the maids said, motioning to a chair as the second poured steaming tea from a pot into a cup. "I will inform Lord Magdaran that you have arrived. Please wait here." She left while the second maid offered me hors d'oeuvres while I waited. I politely refused. After telling me to ask if I needed anything, the maid stepped away into the corner of the room. It would seem she, and likely the other maid, would be here for the meeting. Neither of them looked all that intimidating, but I imagined they were both incredibly powerful. Earning a place on the Bael family's staff would secure a low-class devil's future. It was probably highly competitive, meaning the maids were all highly capable and likely able to defend their charges, at least long enough for the guards to swarm any potential threats. I wasn't planning on making trouble, so I hopefully wouldn't have an opportunity to test that theory.

"Balthazar?"

I stood up and bowed as the maid returned with a young man walking in front of her. Magdaran appeared to be in his mid-teens. It was like looking at a younger, unmuscled Sairaorg, complete with the same black hair and purple eyes.

"Heir Bael, thank you for the invitation."

"Please, none of that. You can just call me Magdaran. Feel free to sit. Our salad course should be here soon." Magdaran said. He was soft spoken, polite.

I waited for Magdaran to sit across from me, then took my own seat. I took note of one of the maids standing just behind Magdaran while the other was behind me where I couldn't see her. Perfect positioning to protect their heir and strike me from behind if the situation called for it. Or maybe I was making something out of nothing. I was a little stressed. I wanted this meeting to go well.

"Congratulations for your promotion to High Class, Balthazar. I watched the recording of your fight. It was impressive. It was the most entertaining from the test despite how brief it was."

"Thank you. I was glad to receive my Evil Pieces." Was he scouting for peerage members watching the High Class tournament? If so, I could have avoided all of this by testing at a different time. But it was what it was, no use whining now.

A man in a tuxedo entered the room with a tray. He set a small bowl of salad in front of Magdaran and I then left as swiftly as he entered.

"Lets dig in. Our chefs are some of the best around. I'm sure you'll be impressed." Magdaran said, picking up his fork.

I followed his lead, slowly eating my salad. It was good, but I wasn't really here for the food.

"I imagine you're wondering why I invited you here." Magdaran said in between bites.

"I have a few ideas."

"Then I'll just cut to the chase. What would it take for you to agree to be my Queen?"

I was a little taken aback by the offer. I'd been expecting him to offer me a bishop. Still, that wouldn't change my decision.

Choosing to be direct, I said, "I'm sorry, Magdaran, but I do not wish to join your peerage."

He pursed his lips, setting his fork aside, salad unfinished. "I have a lot I can offer you. Will you let me try to change your mind?"

"You are welcome to try, but I am firm in my position." I didn't want to be rude, but leading him on and being insincere would just piss him off. It was better I was clear about my intentions here. If he wanted to try to convince me, he was more than welcome to, but nothing would come of it.

"Can I ask why?"

"There are a few reasons. The most important of which is that I plan to open a business venture. I will need to dedicate my time fully to that. I won't be able to fulfill my duties in a peerage or regularly attend Rating Games."

"A business venture?" He seemed intrigued.

"Yes, without saying too much, I plan to use Hole to facilitate rapid shipping and selling of select items."

He frowned, pondering. "Hole is well suited to such, but if you're planning to compete with other shipping companies, I don't see how you could oust them. Simple teleportation is easy enough to use and everyone has access to it."

"The main advantage is that I'll be operating alone for at least the start. Without Hole, I would have to teleport every item individually. It wouldn't be hard or cost me anything, but I wouldn't be able to send nearly as many items in one day because it would be so time consuming. I'd inevitably have to start paying other people to help me. Since I can use Hole to open multiple, instant portals around the world simultaneously, I won't have to worry about paying others to distribute my products when I can do it myself. From what I have been able to see, that is one of the largest obstacles to getting established. I can negate those initial costs completely, but I'll need to work almost 24/7. I won't have time for anything else."

Further, after experimenting with Hole, I'd found I could open stable portals so long as I continued to sustain them with Demonic Power. Factories weren't as common today as they were in the past, but there were still some that were operational. How much time and productivity would they save by being able to just push half-complete builds through a portal to the next part of an assembly line rather than teleporting each part individually. I intended to sell my services once I was established.

"What if I helped with your business?" Magdaran said. "I have independent wealth from some herbs and cures I've made. You wouldn't need to handle all transport yourself. Provided I was interested in your product, of course. What did you say you planned to sell?"

I smiled. "I didn't. I've been keeping that to myself for the time being."

Magdaran seemed amused. "Well now I'm really curious. I don't suppose you could give me a hint?"

"My Queen is a very capable woman. She will be my main supplier. That is all I am at liberty to say to anyone who is not a partner."

Magdaran frowned, taken aback. "Your Queen? But you just passed the High Class test."

"I've been working on recruiting my Queen for a long time. The final piece needed was, funny enough, the actual Evil Piece to reincarnate her."

Our conversation halted as the man in the tuxedo returned, taking our salads away and leaving a piece of baked fish behind. It looked like cod, but there was something off about it. It could just be really high end cod. I bought the cheap stuff.

"If your Queen is your only source of supply right now, you'll run out of things to sell quickly. That's the downside to your higher distribution speed." Magdaran commented, taking a bite of his fish.

"That's true. It is also why I plan to try to sell my services." I said. I was already aware of this. It was one of the main reasons I wanted to work as a middle man. It would be a lot easier for me to buy other people's products then sell them rapidly to someone else than to make things myself. The simple fact of the matter was, I could transport far more than I could actually make use of. Another reason I wanted to sell my services, but I needed to show using my way was viable before people would even consider switching away from simple teleportation.

"While that would fix the problem, I doubt anyone would be willing to take you up on your offer. I'm not the most experienced, but what little business I've done has shown me that your colleagues will be very controlling of their stock and their profits. Your methods might be superior to thie own, but not so much so as to convince them to give you control over their distribution. It would give you far too much power over them."

That…admittedly could prove to be an issue. Not as large an issue as it could have been before since Medea could produce magical items for me, but my original plan was to sell myself as a supernatural courier service. If I had no takers, it would be hard to work that way.

"With that said," Magdaran continued. "I'd be interested in hiring you."

That caused me to focus on him, a bite of fish forgotten. "In what capacity?"

Magdaran looked to the side, holding out a hand. One of the white flowers woven into the arch of the door to the balcony unwound itself, drifting through the air into his waiting hand. There was a small, happy smile on his face as he slowly twirled the flower between his fingers. "I'm a botanist. Not to sound arrogant, but I'm a very good botanist. I've already made several breakthroughs in medicine, minor though they may be, and I'm close to making advances in other areas. The problem with medicine is that it's more valuable in the sunlit world than the supernatural. We have magical healers. Humans don't. Of course, finding people willing to transport small quantities of products to the mortal world is difficult because it isn't profitable enough."

Magdaran locked eyes with me. "I'm confident the projects I am working on currently will be profitable in the supernatural world, but I still need some time to work through some things. In the meantime, I suggest we help one-another. You would transport my goods. I would help you establish your business and supply you with a larger quantity of products to sell."

That sounded pretty good actually. When I came here, I was planning on bartering percentage ownership of my business. This, a simple collaboration between two distinctly separate entities, was far preferable. "We'd need to go over the details, but I'm definitely interested in such an arrangement."

Magdaran smiled, warm and pleased. "I'm glad. While I admit that I would be disappointed to leave this lunch without a new Queen, I would be happy to say I had a new friend at its conclusion. Returning to that topic, I recall you said there were multiple reasons you intended to refuse my offer. Your business and your own burgeoning peerage are clearly two of those reasons. Were there others?"

I took a bite of fish, slowly chewing to buy myself a moment to think. The fish was good, but the taste was far from my thoughts at present.

From this brief discussion with Magdaran, I was beginning to think I'd judged him wrong. In fairness to myself, all I had to go on were some cryptic words from Sairaorg and the letter he sent me, but he didn't appear to be a manipulative, spiteful man willing to steal away his brother's birthright for power. He seemed like a regular guy.

"Another fairly large reason is my relationship with your brother." I said, carefully watching Magdaran's face to gauge his reaction.

Magdaran froze, pinching the flower in his hands unconsciously. He quickly recovered, setting the white bloom down on the table next to his plate. "You and Sai are friends, then?"

I noted the use of his brother's nickname, filing it away for later. "I don't think we've spent enough time together to be called friends, but we're on good terms. My sister is his Queen. If for no other reason than that, it serves us both to treat each other well."

Magdaran was staring down at the flower on the table. "There are many reasons I wanted to make you my Queen, Balthazar. I saw your fight and wondered what else you were capable of if you could defeat a devil with a Sacred Gear so easily. You also have an older sibling around the same age as Sai, so I thought we might be able to get along better. You seemed interesting. But if I'm honest, your sister being Sai's Queen was a pretty big reason." He looked up at me, an almost apologetic look on his face. "I thought if our Queens were siblings, Sai and I would be forced to interact more frequently."

"I'm…not sure I understand." I said, not entirely following what he was saying. Was he trying to say he wanted an excuse to be closer to his brother? Hadn't he taken the heirship from Sairaorg though? I would've thought he'd be at odds with Sai.

Magdaran sighed. "My relationship with my brother is…complicated. That is almost entirely my fault. I made several mistakes in the past pursuing… Well, it's unimportant now. Suffice to say I have many regrets about our current situation and wanted to try to…if not fix things, at least make them better."

Well this was certainly unexpected. I'd come to this meeting expecting to meet a little brat who hated his older brother and wanted everything to go his way. I hadn't expected to meet a young man who looked more tired and regretful than happy. There was potential here.

"I won't pretend to know the full details of your relationship with Sairaorg, but if you wish to…improve things between you, I'd be willing to help. If you and I will be working together going forward, then we'll have a chance to get to know each other better. I was planning on giving my sister's peerage preferential rates, so there's opportunity there as well." While a single conversation wasn't enough to get to know someone, Magdaran looked like he didn't exactly enjoy the current state of his life. Kuisha wanted Sai to get his heirship back and was willing to work underhanded to accomplish that goal, but there might be another way.

Magdaran had a soft smile on his face. "I think… I think I'd like that."

Conversation stalled once more as the tuxedo guy returned, he had to be a butler, taking away our fish plates and leaving a small cake of some sort behind. This was probably the fanciest lunch I'd been to, complete with three courses and servants doting on your every need. Lunch to me was typically a sandwich or leftovers, but this seemed very informal by Bael standards. If this was casual, what did Magdaran consider formal? Differences in status came with vast differences in lifestyle.

"So tell me about your Queen, Balthazar. If you were ready to reincarnate her before receiving your Evil Pieces, you must know her from before, right?"

"Something like that." I said with an amused grin. "She likes her privacy, so I hesitate to say too much, but we get along well and she enjoys using magic. She is one of the better mages that I've met."

Magdaran made a considering sound. "High praise, but then she'd have to be impressive to earn your Queen piece much in the same way your sister caught my brother's eye and you mine." He fixed me with a sly grin. "I don't suppose the cake has made you change your mind about accepting my offer? If you agree to let me reincarnate you, you have my word that it will be served at every meal."

I chuckled, genuinely amused. "As delicious as it is, it regretfully has not changed my mind."

"Shame. Well, even if I leave here without a Queen, I think this meeting was rather successful. I'm interested in working with you, but I need to consult some people first. Would you be amenable to meeting with me at a later date to go over details?"

Feeling our lunch drawing to a close, I said, "Of course. I will be very busy in the near future as I work to set everything up, but I will make time for you."

Magdaran shook his head. "Don't worry too much about it. My schedule is open. I can modify it to accommodate yours." He stood, an action I copied, and walked around the table to extend his hand. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Balthazar Abaddon. Thank you for coming. I will send you another letter when I am prepared to move forward on my end."

"Thank you for having me. I look forward to your correspondence." I said as I shook his hand.

"Until then." He gave me a parting nod and left, one of the maids going with him.

The second maid stepped forward and requested I follow her. She escorted me back through the halls of the Bael estate until we exited out the front door. A teleportation circle spread out from under us, whisking us away to the center of a busy street. Were we in Lucifaad?

"Thank you for your attendance today, sir. I wish you a pleasant day." With that, the maid teleported away, leaving me alone in the city.

I pursed my lips, considering how that had gone. From my perspective, it looked as if things couldn't have gone much better, but I needed a second opinion. I held up my hand to open a Hole home, pausing as I saw a shop a short distance down the street.

I smiled, letting my hand fall as I walked towards the shop. I was in town anyway, so I might as well, right?

X

Balthazar had been gone for a while now. Medea didn't like staying behind while he went to talk to the heir of the most manipulative pillar in the Underworld, but she knew that showing up unannounced would not reflect well on her master. Besides, he would be fine. She'd extensively researched the Bael pillar while he was sleeping and she felt she had a pretty clear picture of things. They wouldn't want to push Balthazar too hard, at least during opening talks, and he was dealing with the heir instead of the lord, so that was an added layer of protection.

Rather than pace the halls waiting for him to return, Medea had decided to be productive. The most pressing issue, and the first she dealt with, was the wards around the manor. Now they were more than just passable. Using the Demonic Power her reincarnation had granted her, and wasn't a new way to use magic just amazing, she'd created a territory that she would be confident repelling all but the strongest threats in. No one would be able to challenge them here.

With that done, she got to work setting up a workspace in Balthazar's lab where she could craft magical items. She didn't need a very impressive workspace to create the items she would be selling, but she would need such a space for when Balthazar found his new peerage members. She expected she would be tasked with providing them with equipment, a task she was happy to shoulder. As she'd come to learn, the Queen's role in the peerage was the King's right hand. She would be looked to to lead the peerage when Balthazar was indisposed and similarly have to shoulder certain political responsibilities. She would be ready.

Once her workspace was done, Medea didn't really know what to do. She could get started making some minor magical items, but she didn't have many materials. She could break some things down, but it was probably better to wait to go purchase raw materials. That left Medea with nothing to do until Balthazar got back. At least until she got an idea.

Balthazar had explained to her the method through which he summoned her. Using the properties of his bloodline magic combined with a ritual of his own design and a store of demonic power he'd cultivated over the years, he'd reached across worlds to find her. He'd spent his whole life saving up power and had used most of it to find her as she lay dying in the mud. If he hadn't reached out, she would be dead.

Medea forced the dark thoughts away, focusing back on the ritual itself. It was impressive. Medea had already corrected several imperfections and flaws Balthazar had made when designing it, but for one so inexperienced, it was a masterpiece. Still, it was a costly ritual. Balthazar was older and more powerful than when he initially stored up the power he used to save her, so it would take less time for him to store up more, even less time if Medea contributed some of her own power as she was willing to do, but the ritual still carried risk. There was a possibility they would not be able to find Balthazar's target as they searched through the infinite, using up their store of power and forcing them to wait until they'd stored up enough to try again.

They needed more allies, Balthazar needed to recruit more peerage members, but it was possible the ritual might fail, forcing them to wait. Balthazar had said he had ideas about recruiting new members 'locally', but he had, rightly, been focused on his meeting with Magdaran and failed to share them with Medea. She was confident he would, but for now, she was left exploring the only potential path available to her.

Medea left the manor, flying a fair distance away from the structure in case anything went horribly wrong. She was confident in her abilities, but she didn't want the house to break by accident. That would be awkward to explain to Balthazar. Once she was far enough away to be confident the house wouldn't be at risk while still being within the safety net provided by the wards she had painstakingly constructed, Medea called forth an item.

A thick hide of golden wool like a fluffy, shiny cloud appeared, draped over her hands.

Medea pursed her lips. She wasn't certain this was going to work. She wasn't able to make use of this item before due to her lack of knowledge surrounding the summoning of Phantasmal Beasts. She could manage her familiars just fine, even now the forests surrounding the Abaddon manor were thick with her spies, but greater monstrosities such as this were beyond her. Still, there was a chance she could actually make use of the hide now, albeit not a way she'd have ever thought.

Medea gently laid the hide down on the grass, spread wide in front of her as she knelt in front of it. She couldn't summon the dead guardian when she was a Heroic Spirit, but she was a devil in a new world now. Things had changed.

Medea channeled magic into the hide, trying to find some purchase for her new magic, exploiting her devil magic's reliance on her imagination to the fullest. She willed something to happen.

The hide remained in front of her, unchanged. Medea remained alone in the field, no great dragon appearing before her. But something had happened.

The hide disappeared into motes of energy as Medea flew back towards the manor, practically sprinting into the basement. She pulled some potions and ingredients off the shelves, making a mental note to tell Balthazar she'd used his supplies later. She found an open space on the ground and began etching a scrying circle into the ground. Once it was prepared, she activated it, projecting her awareness beyond the bounds of the Underworld into the mortal realm.

There were many peculiarities that had fascinated Medea about this new world she found herself in. Those first few hours she'd spent pouring through the Devil Net, she'd learned a lot, seen a lot. People from ages past were known to reincarnate in this world. The Age of Gods never ended. Gods walked among mortals with the mortals none the wiser. There was a startling lack of skilled mystical craftsman for a world where gods still roamed. When Medea had tried to find details about magical items, the most common results she found detailed one particular kind.

Sacred Gears. Powerful items created by the God – Ow! She was still getting used to that. Why could she say gods to refer to other pantheons but she couldn't say God – Ow! Whatever.

Sacred Gears were powerful items created by that guy that bound to the souls of their human users. When their host died, the Sacred Gear would drift for a time before binding itself to another wielder. Sacred Gears varied in power. Some allowed mortals to challenge gods. Some Sacred Gears couldn't protect a human from other humans. There was a large disparity in power.

The stronger Sacred Gears all had something unique about them. Some were important historical artifacts imbued with that guy's power. Some were able to spawn entire armies. Some housed the captured souls of powerful creatures, lending the user the trapped creature's power.

How interesting. Medea had seen from her research that the history of this world and that of her own were not identical. For one, the gods abandoned her world long ago. She had just discovered another, more minor difference that was far more personal to her.

It would appear that a certain dragon she'd met in life had found itself trapped in a Sacred Gear. How amusing.

Any further investigation would have to wait for later. Medea felt Balthazar return through the wards and rushed upstairs to greet him.

"Master!" Medea called, exploding out the front door. "The meeting, did it…" She trailed off, tilting her head in confusion. Why was he carrying so many bags?

"Hey, Medea!" He was happy. That was a good sign, right? "It went just about as well as it could have. I need to meet with my sister soon to go over some stuff with her, but that can wait a bit. I'll fill you in first."

"Master, what is all that?"

"This?" He hefted the bags up. "The Bael maids dropped me off in Lucifaad, so I figured I'd do some shopping. I got groceries and some basic materials so you can start making things if you want. Also…" He rummaged around one of the bags. "This is for you. I wasn't sure what your favorite was, so I got one of the ones that has a bit of everything."

Medea slowly reached out and took the dark box wrapped in red ribbon. She unwound the ribbon and opened the box. Chocolate. She tried one. It was good.

"Thank you, master." Medea said, turning around to hide the red dusting her cheeks, and the two other chocolates she popped into her mouth. They were really good.

"Come on," Balthazar said, "I'll let you know how the meeting went."

"Of course, master. I have something to share with you too." Medea wasn't sure how they'd be able to use the information she'd found, but they would be able to use it.

"Oh?" He seemed interested. "Well I'm all ears. Once we're done filling each other in, let's take the night off. I bought some movies while I was in Lucifaad. Have you seen Dragonheart?"

Medea was taken aback. A movie? She knew what they were of course, but she'd yet to watch one. "No."

"Then you're watching it tonight. I'll fill you in on the meeting while I make popcorn, then we can take the rest of the night off."

Medea followed him into the kitchen. They discussed the various happenings and discoveries that had occurred during the day, then settled down on the couch in front of a TV, a bowl of shared popcorn in Balthazar's lap.

Medea had never seen a movie before, and she loved it. The story, the characters, the humor, the surprisingly emotional conclusion – it was far more entertaining than she had expected when Balthazar told her they'd be watching a movie.

As the film progressed, Medea slowly inched closer to Balthazar on the couch until the two were sitting side by side. Near the end of the movie, Balthazar wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Medea leaned into him, thankful that her hood was blocking his view of her face.

It was a good night.

A.N.

This story is already up on my AO3 under the same name and my QQ under the name 'HeWhoMakesTheSunRise'. There are more chapters there because I decided to crosspost after starting it there. It is up-to-date on other sites, and FF's version will lack certain scenes to comply with FF's policies. If you want the unedited up-to-date version, seek out those sites.