Half an hour later.
Grayfia had already begun to grow accustomed to Akuto's intimacy. Perhaps even she herself hadn't noticed that, while they were kissing, at some point she had started using her hands to support the back of Akuto's head from the opposite side, so their kiss could be even deeper and smoother.
In the end, it was Akuto who let go of the overly-immersed Grayfia.
"…"
Akuto didn't speak, simply smiled as he watched Grayfia, who was still savoring the aftertaste.
"…"
Grayfia also didn't speak. As she lingered in that aftertaste, she felt Akuto's playful gaze on her and quietly shifted her eyes away from his.
Seeing this kind of reaction, so clearly at odds with her words, Akuto chuckled softly and prepared to deliver the finishing blow.
"Grayfia, do you know why I forcibly stole your first kiss?"
"Because you're a lecherous scumbag who wants to keep every single thing that catches your interest in the palm of your hand." Grayfia answered calmly.
"You're right. I really am a scumbag. But that doesn't make what I did completely unreasonable."
Akuto smiled, then once more leaned down in front of Grayfia.
Grayfia instinctively closed her eyes and tilted her chin up, preparing to accept Akuto's forceful plunder.
But a few seconds passed, and Akuto still didn't move in.
Puzzled, Grayfia opened her eyes again.
Seeing the amusement in Akuto's gaze, Grayfia bit down lightly on her red lips, anger blooming in her expression.
"Are you playing with me?"
Just thinking about how she had subconsciously closed her eyes earlier, preparing to accept Akuto's kiss, made Grayfia feel an almost overwhelming urge to slam her head into a wall.
Mm, since tilting her chin up like that was just a bit too proactive, her brain had helpfully auto-filtered out the memory of her actively raising her chin and parting her lips.
"Playing with you? Do I look like someone with such petty tastes?" Akuto smiled as he looked straight into Grayfia's silver-gray eyes.
Grayfia silently turned her gaze away from his. In that situation just now, she really had no room to argue.
Of course Akuto was someone with petty tastes, but at this moment Grayfia simply didn't have the energy to quibble with him.
Smiling again, Akuto finally lowered the head he'd been holding poised.
Leaning in to her ear, he whispered softly:
"The reason I did that is just because I find this side of you, Grayfia, this heart-and-mouth-don't-match side, very cute."
"Grayfia, don't you think you ought to let a bit more of your 'mature-woman charm' show?"
"Don't you think you've been living far too repressed a life?"
"Grayfia, don't you feel that the you who shows all kinds of emotions in front of me… is the real you?"
Just as Akuto said, Grayfia had always been suppressing herself, suppressing the girl inside her, suppressing her true temperament.
Strictly speaking, a Grayfia who had never been with a man, never had a child, shouldn't be capable of the same mature-wife charm as in the original storyline.
Yet before Akuto discovered Grayfia's true self, he hadn't noticed any difference between her and the Grayfia from the original plot.
So Akuto easily drew the conclusion that "Grayfia has been suppressing herself, suppressing herself far too hard."
And this suppression was not only psychological, but physical as well. A kind of sexual repression.
If there had been some outlet, it might have been fine. But whether in terms of heart or body, Alice had never given Grayfia any way to vent.
If it was only a mental problem, Alice's condition was in fact even worse than Grayfia's.
Grayfia was suppressing herself with sheer willpower. But wasn't Alice doing exactly the same?
…
In short, through his physical contact with her while she was doing his preparations, Akuto had sensed the fact that Grayfia had always been holding herself back.
That was why he had roughly stolen Grayfia's first kiss.
Faced with a Grayfia who had been suppressed for so long, only a forceful method could break her out of her current state.
Judging from the way Grayfia was now, Akuto's strategy had been extremely successful.
"…"
At this moment, Grayfia could more or less hear the meaning behind Akuto's words.
So the frown that was already on her face deepened further.
She had originally wanted to say "Whether I'm repressed or not, whether I show my true self or not, has nothing to do with you," but she realized that, after once experiencing the feeling of being violently seized by Akuto, she could no longer get that line past her lips.
A completely new feeling rose up from deep within her.
Even though he had forcibly taken her first kiss, Grayfia now found herself having the strange thought: "This isn't so bad."
Watching the way Grayfia's silver-gray eyes trembled, Akuto quietly delivered the final blow.
"Grayfia, you do have some feelings for me, don't you?"
"Otherwise, why were your panties already wet before I even kissed you?"
The instant she heard that, Grayfia's pupils dilated sharply.
Akuto had noticed!?
Now Grayfia really wanted nothing more than to die right in front of him.
"I…I'm going to change."
Her red lips trembling, Grayfia hastily opened up a magic circle and fled in utter disorder.
If even that had been noticed by him, she really didn't have the courage to stay in front of Akuto any longer!
Yet in the very next second, Grayfia was shocked to find that even though she had opened the teleportation circle, it stuck halfway through activation, showing no sign of completing the transfer.
Taking advantage of her brief daze, Akuto once again moved in and kissed her.
Maintaining the state of a fierce "battle of tongues," Akuto spoke as he kissed:
[If you felt that today wasn't so bad, and if you truly do need an outlet, you're welcome to come find me anytime.]
[As long as you come to me, I will absolutely make time.]
[As long as you come to me, I'll give you an experience no less than today's, let that pent-up desire of yours be released, and let your longing to be close to someone be comforted.]
Grayfia had no spare attention for words. Her only response was through her actions, constantly answering Akuto's kiss, looking as if she meant to reverse things and suck Akuto's very soul out of him.
Faced with a Grayfia like this, Akuto suddenly pushed her away.
[Sorry, but for today… time's up.]
"Eh?"
Pushed away, Grayfia, still holding her ground, showed a look of surprise.
Was this some kind of joke? Akuto had actually pushed her away?
But before she could voice her dissatisfaction, the teleportation circle under her feet, which Akuto had frozen in place, suddenly started turning again and whisked Grayfia out of Akuto's home.
…
Seeing the faintly unfulfilled frustration in Grayfia's expression as he pushed her away, Akuto let out a satisfied smile.
In truth, all along, Grayfia had been within his guidance and control.
At root, if not for Akuto fully unleashing his succubus bloodline, Grayfia's panties would never have gotten wet.
Now, however, he had flipped the narrative into saying that it was Grayfia herself who'd been repressing things.
Granted, Grayfia really was repressed, but she hadn't been so repressed that just coming into contact with Akuto would trigger that kind of reaction.
"What happened today definitely isn't enough to 'take down' Grayfia, but today's events will undoubtedly leave an indelible impression in her mind."
"Considering that Maou Alice also wants Grayfia and me to have more contact, if I can keep this going for a while, I should be able to win Grayfia over fairly soon."
"After all, judging by her expression just now, if I hadn't teleported her out, she'd definitely have pounced back on me for another kiss."
…
All in all, Akuto was very satisfied with the progress on Grayfia's side.
So, in a very good mood, dressed in the limited Maou outfit that only the First Generation Maou had the right to wear, Akuto headed for Kuoh Academy at the appointed time.
As he stepped onto campus, he saw Rias, also dressed in a formal, high-class outfit.
As the nominal lords of Kuoh Town, both Rias and Sona had to present reports before the leaders of the three factions, so the two of them were especially dressed up.
Taking Rias's hand, Akuto walked into Kuoh Academy together with her.
Not long after entering the school, Akuto saw Sona up ahead, wearing a light-blue formal dress.
From a distance, Sona gave Akuto a polite bow, then turned and headed toward the Student Council room.
Normally speaking, after seeing him, she should have come over to exchange a few words. But her expression today obviously left her in no mood for small talk.
Through his own eyes, Akuto knew exactly why.
[Oh? So she's actually gathered all four Dragon King Sacred Gears? As expected of Sona.]
[Judging from the lingering Fallen Angel aura on one of the Dragon King Sacred Gears, this last Sacred Gear must have been acquired via a trade.]
[So that means Sona only just completed the transaction, and is now trying to suppress and fuse the dragon soul inside her?]
[Indeed, the dragon soul of Evil Dragon Vritra has to be subdued as quickly as possible. If something really did happen in the middle of the conference, it would be a diplomatic incident.]
Of course, Akuto knew it would only be a "diplomatic incident" in theory. In reality, there was no way it would cause a real problem.
This last Dragon King Sacred Gear had been given to Sona by the Fallen Angel side, so the Fallen Angels wouldn't complain.
As for the other two races, the devils obviously had no grounds to say anything, and Heaven was fully under Akuto's control. So Sona's concern about causing a "diplomatic incident" was purely theoretical; there was simply no way for it to actually happen.
…
Even though Sona didn't come over to greet him, someone else came in her stead.
At Sona's side, noticing that Akuto had arrived, a twin-tailed girl dressed in a pink magical-girl outfit came over with a bright smile.
"Akuto-chan! You look super cool today~"
Maou girl Serafall gave Akuto's Maou attire a glowing review.
Who said a Maou outfit couldn't also be a cosplay costume?
Serafall had already filmed many shows with Akuto, including quite a few where Akuto played the role of a "Dragon-type Maou." After all, Akuto was still currently stuck with the repetitive title of "quasi-Maou."
However, whether it was Serafall, Akuto, or the other attendees, everyone knew that after today, Akuto's status would rise to a whole new level.
"Serafall, you look very beautiful today as well."
Even though Serafall was wearing the same pink magical-girl costume as usual, Akuto genuinely felt she was more beautiful today.
Her complexion looked very healthy, a rosy glow beneath the white, making one want to take a fierce bite.
Akuto knew exactly why Serafall looked so good.
Because Sona had obtained a complete Sacred Gear, and she was happy that her little sister had taken another big step toward her dream.
(End of Chapter)
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