"Um… is Seekvaira here?" Azuma asked blandly, silently ready to fight as nearly a dozen spears were aimed at his head.
"What is a human doing here?" One of the guards, who was wearing old-timey medieval knight armor, asked roughly. His face was covered by a visor, and he wore a metal chest plate, leg guards, and had the symbol of the Agares Pillar imprinted on this front - which looked like an 'A' with a 'v' in place of the usual horizontal line, devil wings extending from the back, a heart on top of the 'A,' and a tiara on top of all that.
"I just told you, I'm looking for Seekvaira," Azuma said bluntly, "Seekvaira Agares? This is the Agares Estate, right? I'm in the right place?"
Considering that the building was extending hundreds of feet into the air and was equally as thick, it was a structure that could only be made by a noble devil family. The various Agares symbols and flags plastered around the building confirmed that it was made by one family in particular.
"Don't speak the Mistress's name with your dirty mouth, human!" A different guard stepped forward threateningly, "We should rip out his tongue!"
"That's a good idea! He must be punished for approaching the Agares Estate carelessly," Another guard nodded in agreement.
These guys suck. But, hey, at least they're trying to stop me.
After witnessing the clown show that was the stray exorcists guarding the abandoned church in Kuoh, these guards actually looked pretty competent.
"I was invited here," Azuma deadpanned, idly stepping to the side as one of the guards tried to grab his shoulder, "I suggest you let me in to meet Seekvaira, or you all might end up dead."
"Ha, a mere human is threatening us?!" The first guard stepped forward, stabbing his spear at Azuma's head, "Then this is self-defense!"
Azuma casually tilted his head to the side, letting the slow spear miss him and hit nothing but air, "I'm not threatening you. It's genuine advice."
"You're an idiot," The guard chuckled as he swiped with his spear again, but missed once again, "What could a human possibly do against us?!"
For weak-ass grunts, these guys sure have a big ego.
"Nothin'," Azuma just shrugged as he easily dodged two more slow-moving spears, "Not because I can't, but because I don't need to. I think she's the one you should be worried about."
Azuma casually pointed behind the guards, and one of them spun around.
"What are you-"
"What are you morons doing?!" Said guard was then sent flying past Azuma, his body slamming into the ground and then rolling multiple times over from the impact.
"M-Mistress!" One of the guards shouted, taking a step back panickedly as Seekvaira walked out of the large tunnel behind them.
Damn, lookin' hot as always.
Seekvaira was wearing much sexier clothing than the last time Azuma had seen her. She was dressed in a blue dress that cut off rather high, as it barely made it past her crotch and only partially covered her juicy thighs. It was also on the lower-side up top, as the majority of her large breasts were out for the world to see.
"Lookin' hot as always," Azuma bluntly said his thoughts, causing one of the nearby guards to turn to him in a rage.
"W-What the hell did you just say about the Mistress, you damn hum-" As the guard raised his spear, he found himself being angrily thrown past Azuma by Seekvaira.
"Stop attacking my guest!" Seekvaira huffed, her eyes icy as she glared at the guards around her.
"M-Mistress's guest?! You invited this human?!" One of the guards asked in surprise, and Seekvaira's eyes narrowed at him.
"This is not just any human," She spat out as the guard crumbled under her gaze, "This is Azuma Kaito! He is both a talented mage and my friend!"
Damn, I'm at friend level already?
After meeting Seekvaira for the first time at the chess tournament, Azuma kept in contact with her, as they had exchanged phone numbers. Seekvaira was extremely interested in Azuma, which was mainly because she thought Azuma shared her infatuation with mecha.
Which, of course, he didn't. But she didn't need to know that, so Azuma simply sat in front of his computer looking up facts and synopses of Mecha anime whenever Seekvaira called, which was pretty often. The woman would call for an actual official reason, like talking to Azuma about hosting her parents at the resort, and then would quickly get derailed and hold Azuma hostage as she ranted about mecha for hours on end.
Though Azuma had spoken to her often on the phone and seen her a couple of times at the resort, it was his first time going to the Agares Estate. She had called him here for a reason she didn't disclose, but Azuma was sure it would be something stupid and quick, and she would then drag him into watching mecha for the rest of the day.
"M-My apologies, Mistress, we had no idea-" One of the guards started, but Seekvaira quickly cut him off.
"I didn't tell you to speak, peasant," Seekvaira said bluntly, her tone cold and dismissive. "You'll all take a year-long retraining course for your actions!"
"Y-Year long?!" One of the guards asked incredulously, but quickly stiffened his back as Seekvaira spun around to glare at him, "O-Of course, Mistress! Thank you for your generosity!"
"Continue your duties. I'll have the head guard contact you about the course tonight," Seekvaira huffed, turning to Azuma as her face brightened more, "Please come inside, Azuma."
"That was cold," Azuma chuckled as he walked past the depressed group of guards and into the long hallway at the entrance of the Agares Estate.
"It was fair," Seekvaira countered, "I apologize for their actions. They brought shame upon the Agares name, and I promise they will be punished properly for it."
From an outside perspective, this was who Seekvaira Agares was. A cold, professional, steely bombshell of a woman who wouldn't take shit from anyone. If Azuma didn't know her personally, he would've had a bad opinion of the woman, as she was a stereotypical noble devil. She cared far too much about her family's image, she was greedy and desperate to continue growing her and her family's power, and she treated those of a lower class like dirt.
But that was just Seekvaira Agares on the outside. In reality, that image came from her Father, Lord Agares, having huge expectations of her to take over as head of the Agares Clan. While there were certainly heiresses around for noble families, such as Rias for the Gremory Clan and Sona for the Sitri Clan, devil society as a whole was still rather sexist. Heiresses were expected to sire children quickly after taking over their respective families, only ruling the clan for a few decades at most, compared to the centuries or millennia that many male heads ruled before their sons took over. And, during those short few decades, they were still expected to let the elders of their family handle most matters.
Hell, some families even skipped right over the heiresses. They would keep the current head in place until the son of the heiress reached a suitable age, and then would overstep her and give the position to their son.
Seekvaira was an outlier, as she intended to take over as the head of the Agares Clan, and she had no intention of quickly siring children or giving up her position to a son. As a result, she needed to maintain her 'Ice Queen' image to be able to stand on an even playing field as the other clan heads in the future. She wouldn't allow herself to be looked down upon by her male counterparts.
However, that was just in the public eye. Azuma had quickly realized that under the cold exterior, Seekvaira was a kind, cheerful, and rather nerdy girl. As a result, he had actually come to like the woman, and for more than just her sexy body that could rival even Rias and Akeno's.
Well, maybe not rival, but she's fuckin' hot as hell.
Her hourglass figure, rather large breasts, and sizeable rear just added to her cold allure.
"You do you," Azuma just shrugged at her words, following her down the long hallway, "Nice place you got."
The Agares Estate was very nice, and it had a different allure from the Phenex and Gremory Estates. Where the Phenex Estate showcased the family's huge ego and narcissistic attitude, with banners of their clan's symbol being plastered everywhere while their riches were displayed with expensive paintings, the Agares Estate was more similar to the Gremory Estate.
Which was to say - it was extravagant, but still down to earth. There was the occasional Agares symbol on a banner or statue, but it didn't smack you in the face like the Phenex Estate did. The walls of the hallway were lined with tapestries and paintings that were intricate and detailed, but they looked more personal than the Phenex Clan's 'buy anything that looks expensive' strategy. The floor was polished marble with a green carpet running down the middle, and the walls looked pretty modern.
The air was also cool and clean, which was something that Azuma hadn't expected. The other two estates Azuma had been to felt rather stuffy, which was only partially because of how stuffed with riches they were. The lighting was soft, coming from chandeliers that looked to be made entirely of crystals as they hung overhead.
Azuma glanced around the hallway, which was massive as it was at least fifteen feet wide and far longer. The ceiling was also stretching high into the air, being well over twenty feet tall.
"So, why'd you call me here?" Azuma asked with a raised eyebrow as he followed behind the woman.
"Ah, it's nothing serious," Seekvaira shook her head lightly, "You remember my parents, right?"
Azuma had met the Lord and Lady Agares only once, as they had come to visit the resort at Seekvaira's suggestion, and they had been surprisingly normal. Compared to Lord and Lady Phenex, who were stereotypical quintillionaire ancient devils, Lord Agares had been surprisingly down to earth.
"Yeah," Azuma just nodded in response, "What about them?"
"Well… I thought we should finally tell my parents about us," Seekvaira said, her voice wavering slightly as she blushed.
"Oh, fair enough," Azuma nodded casually, continuing to walk next to her for a minute.
…
"Wait, what?" His brain finally caught up, and he nearly tripped as he was walking, "Like, that we're friends? I think they already know."
She worded that strangely, so I almost thought I was missing-
"No," Seekvaira cut off his thoughts as her face flushed again, "T-That we're… lovers."
Azuma stopped in place, not taking another step as he stared blankly at the back of Seekvaira's head.
"Okay, tell me if I'm being dumb here, but I think I missed that part," Azuma deadpanned.
"Oh, if you didn't hear me, I said that I wanted to inform my parents about us being lov-"
"No, no, I heard you," Azuma said dryly, "I mean, I missed the whole part where we became lov-"
"Azuma Kaito," A stern voice interrupted him, and the form of Lord Agares came into view. The man was standing stiffly infront of a doorway in the side of the long hallway, his eyes boring into Azuma's head.
The man was a much less intimidating sight than most heads of noble devil families, as he was on the shorter side, with a tuft of greenish-blonde hair, a thin and non-muscular physique, and an overall soft-looking face. Considering he was much less physically imposing than most lords, it was easy to deduce why the man acted so cold and harsh in the public eye to stand on an even playing field with them.
He's got Little Man syndrome.
Also known as a 'Napoleon Complex' - Lord Agares had to act aggressively in public to make up for his small stature. But, in the one time Azuma had met him in private, the man had actually been pretty normal. He was kind, understanding, and overall just seemed like a normal human father instead of a noble devil.
"Lord Agares," Azuma called back in greeting, grinning lightly at the man, "Nice to see you again."
Azuma's grin faltered slightly as the man just continued to give him a hard stare as they approached, his eyes boring into Azuma's. Finally, after a far too long awkward stretch of silence, Lord Agares responded.
"Azuma Kaito," He said stiffly again, narrowing his eyes as he glared at Azuma, "I will never accept you."
Well, okay, fuck me then, huh?
"What are you pissed about?" Azuma asked bluntly, raising an eyebrow at the man as his more professional demeanor dropped.
I can play nice, but why's he just randomly pissed at me?! I haven't even seen him in months!
"Don't talk to me so casually, human," Lord Agares' glare sharpened even more, and Seekvaira interrupted before he could continue.
"Father!" Seekvaira said sharply, her own eyes narrowing at her dad, "You know how good of a man Azuma is! There's no reason for you to act this way!"
"He's a human!" Lord Agares raised his voice, nearly shouting at his daughter, "You've worked so hard! I've worked so hard! Don't throw away everything for a human boy!"
"Don't speak about him like that, Father!" Seekvaira hissed out venomously, and Azuma just stood there blankly.
"I'm confused as hell," Azuma said bluntly, glancing between the angry man and the now equally as angry daughter.
"Oh, is that Azuma I hear?" A fourth voice entered the fray as the form of Lady Agares stepped out into the hallway from behind Lord Agares. She had a tray in her hands, which had a collection of cups sitting on it.
From looking at Lady Agares, it was easy to see where Seekvaira got her looks from. The woman was practically an older version of Seekvaira, as she had long greenish-blonde hair, a beautiful yet distinguished face, along with a rather sexy body. Her breasts were larger and hung down a bit more than Seekvaira's, while her waist was a bit less thin, and her hips were wider.
Overall, she was an older and all-around thicker version of Seekvaira.
"I'll say whatever I want about this human, Seek! You're making a foolish decision!" Lord Agares shouted back, not even acknowledging his wife's arrival.
"Yo," Azuma just waved at her casually, as if Seekvaira and her Father weren't still giving each other death glares, "Nice to see you again, Lady Agares."
"I can make whatever decisions I want to, Father! You should trust my judgement!" Seekvaira hissed back.
"You as well, Azuma," Lady Agares nodded kindly at Azuma, reaching up and grabbing one of the cups on the tray, and then holding it between Seekvaira and Lord Agares as she offered it to him, "Would you like some tea?"
"Your judgment is being clouded by your feelings! You'll regret this, I promise you!" Lord Agares continued the shouting match as Azuma reached up and grabbed the teacup.
"Thanks," Azuma started to raise it to his mouth, but Seekvaira distractedly reached over, snatching it out of his hand.
"Don't drink that, it's poisoned," She said far too casually as she turned to shout back at her Father again, "You don't get to decide that for me!"
"Oh, thanks- wait, poisoned?" Azuma blinked, staring at Lady Agares blandly, "What the fuck?"
"Oh, relax, it wasn't going to kill you or anything," Lady Agares just smiled in spite of her murder attempt. "We'd be in hot water if we did that. It was just to paralyze you until you agreed to stop going after our daughter."
"Oh, understandable," Azuma nodded sagely, then paused.
Wait, not understandable.
"Actually, not fuckin' cool," Azuma corrected, staring dryly at Lady Agares. She just continued to smile pleasantly despite his words.
"You're to be the next head of our clan, Seekvaira! We've worked so hard to ensure you won't be seen as just a weak woman, and you want to throw it all away?!" Lord Agares argued back angrily, "Even if Azuma is a good man, he's a human! A human who is already dating another devil, and not even a heiress at that! For the future head of our family to be a part of a mere human's harem… the shame will destroy everything we've worked for!"
"A part of my harem?" Azuma asked blankly, but was once again ignored.
"We're in love, Father! We're soulmates!" Seekvaira shot back just as furiously, "True love doesn't care about race, or status! True love doesn't-"
"Ok, stop ignoring me," Azuma finally put his foot down, speaking loudly as he interrupted Seekvaira, "What the fuck is going on?"
"Father won't accept our love," Seekvaira finally explained to him as if it were obvious, still narrowing her eyes at her dad.
"Of course I won't!"
"Um, yeah, I'm with him on this," Azuma said dryly, and Seekvaira spun around to look at him in surprise and confusion. "I feel like I missed a chapter. When did we fall in love?"
"W-What do you mean, Azuma?" Seekvaira asked stiffly, her face blushing lightly, "A-All those hours we spent talking… the late nights we spent together… our shared interests, and… t-the way you look at my body! How you always stare at my breasts, and my rear as you walk behind me… t-those are all signs of love amongst humans, are they not?!"
Azuma just looked at her blankly.
Right, socially awkward heiress who spends all her time in a political battlefield against ancient devils or watching mecha anime with barely any friends.
The 'hours spent talking' and 'shared interests' were all just Azuma letting Seekvaira rant about her love for mecha, which was primarily because being closer to the Agares family would bring both political power and more points when Seekvaira came to visit him at the resort. As for the other two…
"Sorry, but I'm just an asshole," Azuma said unapologetically with a shrug, "I was staring at you because your hot, and your ass is fat."
Seekvaira was most certainly beautiful, and Azuma had even come to like her from their long phone calls - as she was charming in a nerdy sort of way - but he hadn't been trying to court her in the slightest.
I'm publicly dating Ravel, and I'm engaged to Rias now.
As fun as collecting daughters of noble devil clans like infinity stones was, doing such a thing would put a huge target on his head - not just from devil society, but from supernatural beings as a whole.
Azazel sent Raynare to kill Issei because there was a chance he had a sacred gear. He didn't even know he had the Boosted Gear - he had him killed just because there was a chance his sacred gear was strong.
The Grigori Governor General hadn't even been apologetic about it either. The big shots in the supernatural world were obsessed with power, and they hated anyone who became a threat to that power. They'd have no qualms about killing someone who had even the slightest chance of becoming too powerful for them to handle.
If it became obvious that Azuma was gathering a lot of power and influence, but didn't have the pure fighting power to protect himself yet, then he'd end up in a tough spot.
Ajuka and Serafall like me, but…
Considering how often in the series Sirzechs left his beloved sister out to dry because of his Maou duties, Azuma doubted either of the Maou liked him enough to potentially start a war to defend him. Azuma had a lot of units, along with Artoria and Better Riser, and he was no push over himself, but he still wasn't in the 'fuck you I'll do whatever I want with no consequences' tier of power.
As a result, he wasn't trying to get in Seekvaira's pants - yet, at least.
"B-But…" Seekvaira stuttered out, "A-All those times we spent all night talking about mecha!"
"I just like talking about mecha," Azuma lied with a shrug.
"Y-You said I was the Asuka to your Shinji! The Kallen to your Lelouch!" Seekvaira stuttered again, looking slightly desperate.
I didn't even know what that meant.
In reality, Seekvaira had guided Azuma into agreeing to those assumptions, and he had just carelessly said what she wanted to hear.
"Um… I meant that in a friend way," Azuma explained poorly, as he barely even knew the names of those characters.
"T-That time you said my butt was like an 'oasis to a man who'd spent a century crawling through a desert without water!'" Seekvaria tried again, "You said it was comparable to a national treasure!"
I said that? Fuck, that is something I would say.
"I'm just a pervert and a man-whore," Azuma said bluntly, and Seekvaira deflated.
"T-Then… you seriously… have no romantic interest in me?" She asked shakily one last time, and Azuma just shook his head.
"Nah, my bad," Was his eloquent response.
Azuma felt a bit bad as Seekvaira literally fell to her knees, looking as if her world had been shattered, but…
This is so not my fault. I thought we were barely friends, much less 'soulmates!'
"Um, I think I'll just get goin-" Azuma started as the situation became awkward as Azuma stood in front of Lord and Lady Agares while Seekvaira looked on the verge of tears. However, he was cut off as a notification suddenly appeared.
[Alert!]
[You have encountered a 1% LUK event!]
Immediately after, another one took its place.
Reputation Update!
Your Affection with [Sendrel Agares] has advanced four stages!
[Slightly Liked] -> [Strongly Liked] -> [Slightly Fond] -> [Strongly Fond]
Reputation Update!
Your Affection with [Selene Agares] has advanced two stages!
[Slightly Liked] -> [Strongly Liked]
The fuck?
Suddenly, Lord Agares, officially named Sendrel Agares, started to clap. It was a slow and quiet, like a golf clap, and the man smiled brightly at Azuma.
What's going on? Why does this feel like a corny Disney movie?
"You've passed all my expectations, Azuma." The man nodded sagely, and Azuma just looked at him blankly, "You truly are the perfect man for my daughter."
Azuma continued to stare at him blankly.
Did… did we just see the same thing? He saw what I just said to her, right?
"F-Father?" Seekvaira asked shakily, looking up at Lord Agares curiously.
"Despite the clear love you feel for my daughter, you were willing to throw away your happiness to protect her," Lord Agares said wisely, looking at Azuma approvingly, "Even if it meant ruining your relationship with her, you knew that her duty as the heiress to our family came first. And, if you can be convincing enough to trick even my daughter, then you can certainly trick the rest of the world."
Azuma just stared at him blankly some more, then slowly nodded, "...right…"
"W-Wait! I understand!" Seekvaira shot up to her feet, her sad demeanor fading away as excitement replaced it, "E-Even if I can't publicly be with Azuma, if he can keep up the act that we're just friends…"
"Exactly. You are even more intelligent than I expected, Azuma," Lord Agares nodded with a grin, "You've shown me that you not only value my daughter, but that you can successfully keep up an act. Continue to trick the rest of devil society into thinking you're just friends, and you have my blessing, Azuma Katio."
Azuma continued to stare at him blankly.
…I wasn't trying to trick anyone.
"Oh! This is so brilliant, Azuma!" Seekvaira cheered, spinning around and lunging at Azuma. She wrapped him in a tight hug, her face flushed as she pressed her large breasts into his chest, "Ah, I feel like such a fool for falling for that! Of course, you were lying for my sake! You would never say all those things about my body and not be in love with me!"
Reputation Update!
Your Affection with [Seekvaira Agares] has advanced three stages!
[Slightly Attracted] -> [Strongly Attracted] -> [Slightly Loved]
Any reputation Azuma had lost from shattering Seekvaira's world disappeared in an instant.
"...Yeah, of course, I would never do that," Azuma answered monotony, nodding robotically, "Ha. Of course. We're totally in love, and I'm not a huge pervert, asshole, douchebag, scum of the Earth-"
Luckily, Azuma's description of himself was cut off by Seekvaira.
"And now we can be together!" Seekvaira smiled up at him brightly, pulling away as she grabbed his arm, "Oh, let's go watch some anime to celebrate! There's a new one that just came out this season!"
"Have fun, you two lovebirds," Lady Agares giggled as Seekvaira dragged Azuma away, "This worked out well, didn't it, dear?"
"It did," Lord Agares nodded as well, watching the two leave with a proud look on his face.
I have no idea what the fuck just happened.
Azuma didn't think about it too hard either, as he spent the rest of the day cuddled up with a bombshell devil while watching a shitty seasonal mecha anime.
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AN: Sorry that this chapter took a while, I'll try to have the next one out quicker. It should be posted in a few days!
You can also read the next 4 chapters right now on Patreon.com/Koyon !