Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Banjo-guy turns out to be your side-girl
"Alright, we're gathered once again. What did you find out?" Sirzechs re-opened the meeting between him, Grayfia, Odin and Beelzebub as the Maou and his wife returned from Phenix-Gremory-Phenix-Sitri engagement ceremony to Gremory territory, namely to a small candle-lit room that had scribblings on the walls and papers plastered all over them, which this time looked like wards and runic seals.
"I hope that whatever you found is important enough that it warrants us leaving Rias's engagement ceremony after-party prematurely…" Grayfia's tone was neutral but Sirzechs could tell that she was a bit annoyed with Odin who was busy casting runes to small coin-sized stones and then flicking them off, presumably sending messages or casting protective wards.
"It is, the situation is worse than any of us could imagine… I didn't tell Beelzebub the story, because I'm not sure how many times I can tell this… Or if I can tell it even once without causing it to realize our knowledge... " Odin scratched a few runes onto a big slate of limestone and broke it, causing a blue circle to surround the devils. "It's a rudimentary shield, but I hope it'll keep us hidden, if we keep our voices down and our thoughts serene."
"They are involved." Sirzechs nodded as the Norse God's almost paranoid acts wouldn't make sense otherwise.
"Aye. Very." Odin sighed. "The boy your sister resurrected to fight for her did indeed die. And he is still dead."
Everyone in the room, that being Sirzechs, Odin, Grayfia and Beelzebub, froze from the words.
"Oh? I had a theory about the Great Red…" Beelzebub started but Odin moved his hand in horizontal motion that caused the Maou to fall silent.
"Be careful when speaking names right now." Odin warned. "Names have power, and this one shan't be named…"
Beelzebub seemed to make the connection and nodded seriously.
"I saw it. It rose from the crowd in a whirlwind of fester, decay and madness that engulfed the entire party and devoured the guests and broke my soul- that was the reality it showed me. I tried to urge it to show a future in which it revealed itself, and itallowed me to see what I sought, but whether or not that was a curse or a boon, I know not…" Odin was troubled and his beard wobbled a bit as he stroked it. "I managed to see what resulted from my interference before that future became reality, and latched onto a future where I could keep its mask intact- for now. But it was too close. A single wrong move, and it'd be all over for the Underworld."
"...I see." Sirzechs calmed his mind and stopped himself from instantly bolting out of the room, teleporting to Phenix territory, grabbing Rias, and teleporting her to Gremory territory.
After all, it'd be a useless gesture, since if what Odin was implying was true, and 'Momon' was revealed, there would be no safe haven for anyone in the Underworld.
"There are indeed two of them, the ones who plague your world- the one you call your enemy, who still sleeps but is waking and acts through his dark agents, and one you call your saviour, who wakes to It's own play. His half-brother has come here to build it's kingdom of lies to dwell in while he wakes to oppose it, like some sort of sibling-rivalry that, if brought to reality, will tear our worlds apart like sand." Odin continued his cryptic speech, then finally took a piece of paper and wrote something on it. "The creature from the deep who opposed the corpse of your sister's Pawn made it clear that he is waking up from his eons-long sleep. And It, the half-brother of the Sleeper, has come to see this world's setting sun. It has already spread its mark, and formed its cult of men and women who follow its guidance… It's clear for us that the cult has decided to form in light and view of all, and it gives me hope that it has possibly not come to us as the maleficent one, yet at the same time the opposite is infinitely worse, for we know who we must oppose if it is to stand 'with' us..."
Odin placed the paper on the center of the table with the writing facing down the table's surface. "The sign is different from the one I know. I do not know whether it is a good omen,or an omen of something vile."
The paper on the table had three words as Odin turned the note over:
'King in Yellow.'
Odin quickly burned the paper after the three devils had read it.
"Are you sure? Absolutely sure?" Grayfia asked.
"...This does not bode well." Beelzebub added.
"...What should we do, if this is correct?" Sirzechs noted.
"I do not know if it is fully within the corpse of your sister's Pawn, or if the body merely contains the tiniest shred of it, but either way we need to be prepared." Odin noted seriously. "From what I gathered from the conversation between me and it, I hazard a guess and say it's presence is not quite complete in your sister's Pawn, but rather is growing, waking up. It's waking up to it's strength, its knowledge, like its half-brother is said to when the time of ending comes…"
'King in Yellow… Hastur. Half-brother of Cthulu. The Unspeakable One- He who must Not be named… The Peacock King… Lord of Interstellar Spaces… God of Shepherds... and husband to my sister.' Sirzechs caught himself before he could think too much about the subject, lest he invite disaster upon all. '...This is not good.'
"There is not much we can do. We can only dance along and keep up the facade. It has several forms it can take- a shriveled creature of tentacles and razor-sharp talons that devours all, a bloated corpse of a loved one who approaches them in the dark, a sickly disease-ridden man in yellow rags… And those are the few I know. This one is a new one- a terrible one. An unknown warrior of fester, a faceless, unknown tyrant in yellow. But it fits it's role- It is the 'god' of shepherds, ones who balance between protecting their flock from wild beasts and leading their flock to slaughter, those who know not why or where they are lead but that they are, why they are protected yet in their greatest danger." Odin seemed to age thousands of years in seconds. "We were dancers and visitors to his grand play all along, shepherded to a future only it knows, and too late we realized we wore masks that it had placed on our faces."
Odin seemed to pause to collect his thoughts. "Ones of hope, of lovers, of those trying to crack open a puzzle, and ones seeking saviour… We thought those were our own thoughts, our own initiatives. But we played our part in the play all along, following the lead without knowing why or where. And in doing so, we may have set our doom in motion."
"...Could it be that the possible, yet impending war between the factions is but an act set in motion by Mo- it as well?" Sirzechs noted.
"Possibly, but I doubt that. It is not inherently malevolent, from what little I understand, but neither is it truly benevolent. It merely is, and what happens around it determines who and what it is. What is going on, I fear, was set in motion by it's half-brother… Or maybe it was indeed the opposite. But whether we are its flock, or shepherds of our own flocks, and if we protect ours or in doing so lead them to slaughter, I know not." Odin shrugged. "No matter what happens, however, we need to keep those masks we've been assigned on our faces, and try to alter the play to our benefit, never breaking from the masks we wear lest we realize that one among us wears no mask, but rather has come disguised as himself. And that is when the masquerade comes to an end, the party is over, the flock of sheep realize that they have been led to the axe, and we all die, alongside this world of yours itself- and perhaps mine as well. All lost to legend and myth, and so it must be. Or worse. You've seen what happens when he shows himself."
"The Game." Beelzebub noted. "The dimension is lost. Broken beyond repair."
"And it must never be restored. And if it is, it must never be used again: The place which it inhabited was forever lost, and so it must stay, lest we invite something dwelling within to stalk our homes- like the lost Carco- Ahem." Odin told them, catching himself mid-speech before he could utter the full name of the Yellow King's dwelling. "The one who fought it is lost to us as well. The disease will claim her, if not her body then her mind and soul. As are those lost who it has taken as his brides- what it intends to do with them is unknown to me. And I'd rather not guess, for more reasons than one. The Lord, who I hear it has brought back, is also unlikely to be himself, but likely a man of darkness who it has brought back to a corpse- or perhaps it has put part of itself to the Lord, a corpse who visits its loved ones in the night to spread ruin and festering madness."
"...And I hear this 'Lord's wife was struck down by illness and was unconscious for days after visiting the Lord, possibly due to illness but when I asked of her condition, neither said nothing substential... We need to form a plan." Sirzechs calmed his slightly shaking hands. After all, the Maou's power in comparison to the Outer Gods would be like fighting a black hole with a wax candle. In other words, utterly useless and not even applicable the slightest- Serafall had shown as much.
It had merely played with her, only for the play to reach a crescendo and it revealed itself, causing the whole dimension to break and Serafall to fall to her illness which would disregard her power and would claim her mind and soul, if Odin was to be believed.
Sirzechs felt thoroughly apprehensive, borderline afraid of the future as Odin's rambling continued. "However, there is a factor that makes me doubt this theory."
"What is that?" Odin asked.
"Momo- It has [Boosted Gear]." Sirzechs latched onto the detail like if it was a lifeline. "And my sister says it is starting to behave more and more like her old Pawn."
"Hm…" Odin fell silent. "...Interesting. As far as I know the [Boosted Gear] holds Ddraig, who may be duty-bound to perform the same tasks that the Great Red does in the void… that is, protect us from those who lie beyond by sealing the cracks through which they could slip into our worlds, through the Interdimensional Gap. The behaviourisms it shows are of no concern, however, as they fit it's modus operandi- it is known to appear to people puppeting the corpse of their loved ones. If I were in the same place as you, I'd advise your sister to be careful with her old Pawn, covertly of course, lest she discover the true state of 'him' and the truth crushes her."
Beelzebub pat Sirzechs's back.
"This revelation is both good and bad news, which is as expected when dealing with them." Odin swooped his hand so it pointed at the wall criss-crossed with seals, and Sirzechs paled a bit as he noticed that at least half of the seals had decayed already. "However, if the dragon within [Boosted Gear] is in the same body as it… we may have hope yet. Ddraig might be doing what its larger cousin is doing in the void- that is, protecting us by sealing them before they can truly see into us, and in doing so reach our world. It is the Lord of Interstellar Spaces, so it might have struck a deal with the Great Red for safe passage, but was sealed by Ddraig who lied in [Boosted Gear]- Perhaps the Great Red was forced to strike a deal with it, but fooled it by allowing it to pass into our world and inhabit a body he'd know would resist it. But this is pure guesswork, for I do not know how that piece fits the puzzle."
Odin sighed. "I hope that is the case. If that were so, then perhaps your sister is not yet lost, perhaps it is held back by the one in the [Boosted Gear]... Perhaps we still have time. But I need to have eyes on it to be certain."
"...It seems you're not alone- other pantheons must have seen it's coming. I saw a sentinel of the Shinto Gods guiding it mere days ago- or rather, observing it." Sirzechs noted, eyeing the wards warily.
"Aye. I'll need to have a mole of my own in his ranks. Runes can hold considerable power, and I should be able to ward my retainer against it's power, at least temporarily… or at least bug her so that if the protection breaks, I can still spy though her body. Approaching it right now would be tantamount to suicide of worst kind." Odin nodded severely.
"It may have its talons on her already." Sirzechs warned Odin. "She teleported on top of it and kissed it… Moreover, I'd like to ask you to share what you find with us. Serafall, who I sent to spy on it, seemed to have failed and not only was she defeated but after the recent events I feel that whatever reports we got from her would be so heavily biased they would be next to useless."
"Oh? It managed to get its talons on your idol-chan? And in more ways than just causing her the illness? Worrying… but in some other ways promising." Odin paused and then stroked his beard. "...And considering the number of brides it has gathered then somehow it makes sense that it'd manage to break through my little prude valkyrie's stingy personality as well… That might work. It seems that it's gathering brides for some reason, so I can probably bug my retainer, Rossweisse, to hel and back and send her to it as some sort of person-turned-fruit basket apology for intruding on it's engagement ceremony…"
Grayfia bristled a bit at Odin's description of the Valkyrie's role.
"...And I can then observe the bugs from time to time to monitor if and how the rot spreads while I return to Asgard and prepare my people for war, at least as far as we can fight something like that anyhow." Odin continued. "We can only hope that Ddraig can hold it back, if not eternally then for long enough that we can interrupt it's arrival by prolonging the play and letting the actors dance. And at the same time I can use Rossweisse as a form of early-warning alarm for Asgard as well. I'm sorry, but I can't trust the Underworld's own agents for a task this crucial."
"You'd go as far as to sacrifice your retainer?" Grayfia made her opinion known.
"She knew what she was signing in for when she became a Valkyrie. Persons they may be, but they are also weapons of Valhalla, meant to be used and discarded if need be- and they know as much. And if it manages to corrupt her, the wards I'll place on her and the bugs I'll have her tagged with should be able to still provide accurate information regardless of the validity of her own reports." Odin sighed as he observed the wards in the room. "We should not talk about those things anymore today. I fear we may have steered too close for comfort already."
"Haah… Very well. I need to find some way to talk to Ddraig. He holds the answers right now." Sirzechs sighed as the shadows seemed to have lengthened around them. "I'll send a message to Momon, and tell him that you'd like to apologize to him by sending Rossweisse to him as… a maid?"
"Something like that, I guess." Odin shrugged. "I don't really care what position she takes in its entourage as long as she stays close enough that the bugs let me observe its growth, and the direction the growth takes."
The old Norse God stood up and dusted his knees. "I'll go inform her- please don't be alarmed if you hear a lot of screaming and raging. She might not be happy with the decision I've made."
"Maybe." Sirzechs nodded, remembering the last time he had seen Rossweisse interact with Momon. "I'll need to go check up on Serafall. The stunt she pulled to join her sister during her engagement ceremony might have adversely affected her health. I'll be careful, though. Just in case."
"I'll go with you. I might be able to look a bit deeper into whatever's poisoning her." Beelzebub told Sirzechs, adding a remark as Sirzechs lifted his eyebrow at the fellow Maou. "I'll try to be as un-invasive as possible."
"Please be safe." Odin's parting voice was like that of a soldier in a splitting convoy, knowing the both of them were going to die...
.
.
"So, umu, we're here?" Momon tried to break the ice as he sat on a chair in his bedroom after the engagement ceremony ended, or rather the newly-engaged retired for the night.
The group had retired to Momon's new bedroom as Lord Phenix had taken the liberty of swapping the lord's quarters with Momon, because 'the old quarters simply wouldn't do', or so the lord had explained the situation to Rias before leaving to see about the closing of the ceremony and escorting the rest of the guests out.
'Sheesh… Something doesn't add up here. Lord Phenix is acting pretty odd too, normally a lord of his rank wouldn't go as far as to trade quarters with someone who is basically a third son, and adopted one at that… Then again, technically this would be Ravel's new quarters as well, which would make sense… Not to mention that our old bedroom is kinda small, all things considered…' Rias sighed mentally as she sat on a chair and dragged Sona to a chair next to her while Ravel slipped to a chair beside Momon. "I think we'll need to have a talk."
"Yeah… How are you feeling, Sona-san?" Momon asked. "...Should I have someone bring us something to drink- oh? Hold that thought…"
He noticed a row of bottles nearby on a wall and brought one over with a few glasses, putting them on the table and pouring some of the red liquid within. "Hm, red wine, I believe?"
"Yep. And good vintage… I'm not sure we should be drinking from Lord Phenix's stocks but... Since he transferred these quarters to us, I guess it should be alright?" Rias read the label, then downed the glass in one go and put it back down for Momon to refill, which he did. "Ah, that's better…"
"I think we should talk before we are too inebriated to do so, assuming we want to go that far with our drinking." Momon scolded her gently while swirling the wine in his glass. "So, Sona… are you alright? You look pale and, well, honestly I'm worried about you. I heard this could help you with nerves"
He slid the glass over to Sona who looked at it, almost as if she was expecting the glass to contain a poison of some sort, and then gulped audibly while she was pale as snow. "I'm… ready to… perform my duties…"
She downed the glass in one go, then steeled herself as if expecting whatever poison she assumed to be in to start affecting her. Momon put more wine into her glass and she drank it mechanically.
"Ah, drink at your own pace... No need to force yourself." Momon hovered his hand over the glass to stall the girl as he filled it the third time and Sona tried to drink it again.
'Haah… I'm guessing Lady Sitri leveled all sorts of threats against Sona since Serafall is out of commision right now and can't come to her aid… I know the situation in her family, that Lady Sitri is constantly trying to get Sona to marry and produce sons and daughters for the family so their lineage would be secured, as Lady Sitri's attempts to continue the family line with Lord Sitri have been unsuccessful outside Serafall and Sona…' Rias sighed internally while looking at Sona's face which regained a bit of color as the alcohol hit her- or rather, the alcohol started to show its effects since Sona had been drinking quite a bit in the party itself. 'After all, Serafall has relinquished her right to inherit the family's name by becoming a Maou and taking the name of Leviathan, so if Sona dies then the Sitri family is in deep trouble as they would be left without heir… And since Sleep Sickness can claim any old devil at almost any time, there is a chance that with just Lord and Lady Sitri left the family would die out, quite literally, like how so many other powerful families have died…'
Rias reached to pat Sona's shoulder. "Listen, it's alright. I know what you're going through. Momon isn't a bad person, so you don't have to worry."
"Ah…" Sona's shaking just intensified, then she gulped and a small, almost defiant fire lit in her violet eyes. "In… In that case, can I ask you to not touch me tonight, Momon-sama?"
Rias resisted the urge to groan as Ravel chuckled darkly from Momon's side while putting her black velvet-gloved fingers on her lips, clearly waiting for something to happen.
"...Alright, if that's what you wish for. I'm not going to force myself on you, so you don't have to worry about that. We can take as long as we need, or if you feel so, not do that at all." Momon agreed easily, causing Rias to let out a breath she didn't realize she had kept in and Sona to slump down on the chair, seemingly incredibly relieved over the answer.
'Eh, I didn't think he'd force himself on Sona if she really didn't want that… Ravel was a bit of a special case because she said one thing but did the other, so I don't think he forced himself on her…' Rias felt reassured that her gut instinct with Momon was correct. 'Heh, I'm pretty sure Issei, the old one at least, would have wanted to at least grope her and Sona would probably feel forced to oblige… He's grown… I love you so much, Issei… Or maybe I should really stop using that name...'
"Ah, and also… I grabbed these as I left the 'arena'. Since Saji was your Pawn I thought you should have these." Momon seemed to remember something and put his hand under the table and then brought it up, offering four inactive Pawn Pieces to Sona. "They're yours after all. I recall Beelzebub saying that the inactive Pieces would return to their King eventually, but I'm not sure if they could do so when I had looted them to my inv- I mean had them in my possession."
Sona stifled the scream that was clearly about to leave her throat by slapping her hands over her mouth. Then she gulped the scream down, wobbled a bit, sniffed and hiccupped, and finally took the offered Pieces with shaky hands. "I- I'm sorry, I understand what you're telling me… I didn't mean to defy you, or… d-deny you... P-please take me tonight and all nights afterwards… A-and make me pregnant with your child... P-please..."
"Alr-wuh?" Momon blinked in confusion as Sona did a one-eighty turn in her attitude in more than one way.
"Sona-chan… what's wrong?" Rias asked while moving her chair right next to Sona's so she could engulf the girl in a warm hug. "Talk to me, everything will be alright if you just let it all out, we're all here to help… you're acting really weird…"
"Kukuku… perhaps she just knows her place?" Ravel chuckled darkly and Rias sent the girl a sharp glance that told 'shut-up-now-or-else'. "Hehe… Would you like to sample my body while you wait for Sona-chan to find her resolve?"
"We should talk to Sona-san before we do anything hasty." Momon sighed and pat Ravel's head, causing the girl to let out a chuckle and Rias could practically seeRavel's thighs starting to rub against each other in anticipation, despite the table blocking Rias's line of sight to the offending limbs.
"Of course, my lord…" Ravel purred while hugging Momon's side in a lewd way. Possibly because she rubbed a spot below Momon's belt buckle with her free hand. Momon snatched the offending appendage and put it on the table. "O-oh, my apologies, my dark lord, I overstepped…"
"It's alright. Let's just go about one thing at a time." Momon sighed and resumed patting Ravel. "Umu, can I ask you to limit your chuunibyou for the time being?"
"A-um- eh… a-alright…" Ravel seemed confused so Momon sighed again.
"Can you act like you did before we met each other?" Momon clarified and her expression brightened.
"Yes, my dark lord... I mean, of course I can, i-idiot!" Ravel turned to pout at Momon, and then glanced just minutely at him while she had a blush on her face and her lip trembled in a nervous way.
"That's… better I guess?" Momon reached to rub Ravel's head and she let out a 'ehe' sound while seemingly taking way too much pleasure from the touch. "Anyway, Sona…"
"I-is my behaviour inappropriate? Is that what you're telling me? H-how should I mold mine?" Sona hiccupped and Rias rubbed her back. "W-what part do you need me to play?"
"It's fine, you're just fine as you are… well, as you were. You're starting to seriously worry me, Sona-chan…" Rias whispered to Sona's ear.
"I- I- I am ready… to perform my duties… hic… pwease…" It seemed that Sona's determination turned to tears as Rias hugged her and she tried to talk to Momon. Not to mention that Rias had noticed that Sona's drinking had started to catch up with her. "Pwease donht hursht my Pweewage…. ow hursh Sewafall… Ow hurhs mee... hic… Imsowwyy..."
"There, there… I won't let Momon hurt your Peerage or Serafall… And if Lady Sitri tries to do any of that, we'll stop her. You know strong Momon-kun is, and once Serafall recovers she isn't going to take things lying down either… You're surrounded by friends and allies, Sona-chan..." Rias rubbed Sona's back. 'Ugh… So Lady Sitri fed a bunch of hogwash to Sona about what kind of person Momon is, and then basically did the same Lady Phenix did to me- that is, offer an ultimatum of 'do or your Peerage dies'. Except in that case it was my Peerage getting shattered and almost declared Stray out of spite for Riser's death… So I'm guessing Lady Sitri took a page from that book and threatened that she'll somehow break Sona's kingship or have assassins take down Sona's Peerage… Although I don't think she'd try to assassinate Serafall- oh, hurt her. In other words, Lady Sitri is threatening to make Serafall's life difficult by making Sona's life difficult… ugh, that woman is a crone…'
"U-uwaahh…" Sona hugged Rias desperately and she hugged back. "Pwease…"
Rias glanced at Momon, who seemed to take the cue.
"It's alright. Don't worry about it." Momon reached for Sona, and she flinched violently before freezing utterly still. He then proceeded to rub Sona's head. "Hm… oh, since it seemed to work to relax Gasper… [Weaken]."
Sona slumped against Rias.
"What did you do?" Rias's ire instantly homed in on Momon.
"Just a weakening spell. It relaxes people." Momon explained. "It worked on Gasper and Serafall, although this one was a low-power one so…"
"Uh… huuuh…" Sona wheezed softly. "Mhm…"
"...Right." Rias sighed as she hugged Sona in a supportive way so she wouldn't keel over from the seat since she had turned into what was basically a wet noodle. "Sona? Talk to me."
"Itsh… so comfy…" Sona buried her face in Rias's breasts and the whiplash of seeing the normally-strict and all-professional girl turn into a hysteric mess and now into a snuggly bunny was almost enough to cause Rias's vision to darken.
Fortunately for everyone involved Rias was already well-seasoned in Momon-warfare, so the change didn't faze her too much. "Well, I suppose it worked to relax her at least..."
"I figured she needed to take it easy. Although, it seems that she won't be talking to us about her worries today because of the relaxation. But that may be for the best." Momon sighed. "Right, Sona-san, I think it'd be best if we got you into bed and we rested for the night, I suppose. I think we all need to relax, kick back, and sleep right now."
"M-muuh… I too want to go to sleep, and It's not like I'd want you to ravage me in the bed…" Ravel blushed to her eyebrows while feigning anger. The fact the girl was sneaking glances at Momon while blushing and fidgeting in her seat betrayed her true colours though. Not to mention that she had quite the interesting expression on her face which was a combination of a carefully placed facade and a bit of dread, as if the girl was feeling like someone had caught her doing something bad.
"Warm and comfy…" Sona giggled in a drunk and wobbly way as she rubbed her face between Rias's breasts, and the red-headed girl sighed.
"I suppose we can go and lie down." Rias sighed. "Listen, I'm going to go get my makeup off and wriggle out of the dress so can you watch over Sona?"
"Noo… I don't wanna… I'm going to suffer and die, and everything I care about will be destroyed if Rias-tan leaaaveess…" Sona had latched onto Rias like an octopus and refused to let go. "I'm sowwy, Momon-samaa… Pwease downt..."
"Haa… Alright, we can take a bath together. Actually, let's just all go together." Rias growled. "Except you, Momon. If you're intending on keeping what you promised Sona then please respect her privacy."
"Of course." Momon nodded in a good-natured way. "I believe these quarters had their own bathroom, sauna and a pool somewhere? I'll see if I can find a second bed from somewhere since I'm guessing Sona-san wants to sleep alone?"
"..." Sona looked like she wanted to say yes, but was too afraid to actually say so and Rias did it for her.
Ravel sent Momon one last glance, almost as if she was looking for orders, before the trio of girls wobbled to the bathroom, spotted an already-prepared bath and hopped into a jacuzzi-like group-bath after stripping themselves bare.
"Well, I suppose this kind of bonding is nice too…" Rias sighed as she let herself submerge up to her collarbone into the warm, scented and soaped water of the rounded multi-person bathtub. She reached to draw Sona close to her so the weakened girl wouldn't accidentally drown, and Sona instantly tied her hands around Rias's back.
"I'm scared… Rias… help…" The mumble was causing bubbles to form on the water and Rias lifted Sona a bit higher so her head rested on Rias's breasts.
"There, there… there's nothing to be afraid of." Rias stroked Sona's head while the two hugged in the bathtub and Ravel slipped into the water as well. "Momon-kun isn't a bad person... Lord Phenix and Lord Sitri arranged your engagement to Momon-kun, he didn't have any say in the matter, much like you… and he won't touch you unless you want him to, I know he won't…"
Sona seemed to finally relax as Rias's soft murmur continued and the stroking did as well.
"And you…" Rias turned her gaze at Ravel as Sona seemed to doze off in the warm bath and Rias let her take a comfy nap while she kept the petite girl's head above the water.
"I am but a dancer on his strings…"
"Cut that off, would you?" Rias growled. "Sona's going through a lot of difficult things, and your… that bit you're doing isn't helping things."
Ravel tilted her head at Rias. "Hm… Oh, that must be what he meant when he told me to act 'normal'… ufufufu, how devious… Of course, Rias-san. I was just… actingmy part."
"Haa…" Rias rubbed soap on Sona's body. 'Sheesh… then again, it's been just… two days since Ravel got released from that monster? Haa… Things are happening so fast… I suppose I shouldn't be so harsh with Ravel, she's still coming to terms with what happened to her, and while I think Momon's presence is helping her, she's not quite there yet... '
"Just… don't overdo it, please." Rias amended, causing Ravel to blink at her. "It's alright. We're all getting used to the situation. We'll get through this together. I know what you're going through right now, even if I can't imagine the pain and worry you've experienced… But don't worry. I know Momon."
"Aha… But do you know who Momon-sama is truly?" Ravel bowed her head slightly, and then the now-usual near insane smile returned on her face.
"I do." Rias felt a bit worried about Ravel's expression. 'Wait, did she meet Issei in secret?' "Um, do you?"
"Ahahaa… I thought… I thought I needed to convince you… but he had you dangling by the thread in front of me all along, making me think I could find allies…" Ravel held her face with her hands, and then swiped her now-loose blonde hair back. "And then he confesses to me, offering me the sweetest honey and the most horrid poison... How vicious… How cruel… I love it..."
"Ugh… And now I regret saying anything…" Rias resisted the urge to groan once more. "Wait, he confessed to you?"
"In a way." Ravel seemed to re-compose herself, adopting her previously-normal 'cold' persona. "T-that i-idiot told me he had seen through me, and told me who he really was, and then confessed to me in front of Serafall who took pictures, and then I wasn't happy at all and my head hurt, and then I lied down while having a nap."
'Haa… So that's why Momon wasn't against Lord Phenix engaging Ravel to him... And… If what she's saying is right… Momon knows he's Issei, but probably feels ashamed and wants to make amends from his previous perverted and immature self… by taking his good parts from before, and combining it with the new-found maturity… Best of both worlds, sans the name…' Rias felt euphoric, but then a bubble of annoyance came to the surface of her mind. 'He hasn't told me that he loved me… Or confessed to me properly… But he did to Ravel... Yeah, he calls me 'dear' and we had sex but that's pretty much the minimum effort he can put to the relationship… Does he actually like me at all?'
Rias's brooding continued until she shook her head. 'I'll just approach this head-on and ask him.'
Sona seemed to wake up and hugged Rias again, which made washing the weakened and drunk girl a bit more difficult than it should have been.
'Haa… Well, at least the day is coming to an end so I don't think anything crazy is going to happen anymore… Oh, how I long for the halcyon days...' Rias sighed.
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