(Image: Seekvaira)
In today's Underworld, anyone can recognize the man in crimson armor at a glance.
That's right. This photo is a shot of Seekvaira and Sai Akuto together.
The night before last, Seekvaira had sprinted back at full speed and delivered something into Sai Akuto's hands. After that, she made a request of him.
Seekvaira's request was simple: she wanted Sai Akuto to put on his crimson armor again and take a commemorative photo with her.
When he heard her request, Sai Akuto froze for a moment as memories related to Seekvaira surfaced. He remembered that Seekvaira was a hardcore fan of robot and mecha series.
Obviously, Seekvaira treated getting photos with him as a kind of collection, a way of preserving special "trophies."
Since Seekvaira herself had made the request, there was no way Sai Akuto would refuse. He even went as far as letting Seekvaira sit snugly against his chest while they took the shot.
Taking advantage of that chance, Sai Akuto and Seekvaira had their first physical contact: his hand brushed against her arm.
Seekvaira stiffened for a second, then deliberately pretended nothing had happened and went back to quietly studying the photo.
Even so, judging from how flushed her face had been afterward, it was obvious that her mood was far less calm than she was trying to appear.
By now, Sai Akuto's power had grown to the point where people said he could punch straight through a galaxy with a single blow. For a woman like Seekvaira, who had been raised from childhood to believe that "only overwhelming strength deserves respect," that kind of power had an enormous pull.
If you added the power of his Golden-rank Demon Charm Bloodline on top of that, Seekvaira would have an even harder time keeping her composure.
[Demon Charm Bloodline (Gold): An evolved form of the Demon Charm Bloodline. It has a pronounced effect on beings at main-god level and below, and can still exert some influence over those above.
Even if a target only likes certain aspects of the host rather than the host as a person, as long as they possess sufficient strength, that initial attraction will, under the urging of biological instinct, gradually evolve into appreciation and affection for the host.]
Seekvaira was the perfect example of someone who "only likes certain traits of Sai Akuto but hasn't fallen in love with him completely." She was sitting right inside the Golden-rank Demon Charm Bloodline's ideal attraction band.
Since their last parting, Seekvaira still hadn't seen Sai Akuto again. If she were really to meet him one more time and come into contact with him again, she would probably be far more worked up than the last time.
After taking that commemorative photo with Sai Akuto, Seekvaira had been so excited she barely slept all night. In the end, she decided to place the picture on her desk in her office.
Who could have expected that, after only two days on display, her mother would find it?
"Mmm…"
Staring at the photo in her mother's hand, Seekvaira gave a small start and let out a cute little "tik" of surprise.
Duchess Agares, watching her daughter react so much like a maiden in love, couldn't help but smile in delight.
"If I'm not mistaken, this should be…?"
"You actually went out of your way to take a photo with him the very first time you crossed paths… My daughter, don't tell me you've taken an interest in him?"
"Eh? N-no… it's not like that… Mother-sama, you know how I am. I… I just really like that cool, unique, and handsome knight armor he's wearing, that's all…" Seekvaira hastily waved her hands, trying to explain.
"Is that so? You 'only' like the armor, hm…"
Duchess Agares smiled meaningfully, shook her head, then turned on her heel, crossed the room to the desk, and picked up another photo.
In that photo, Sai Akuto was fully encased in Seekvaira's knight armor.
"This is a photo of 'White Dragon Star' we dug up not long ago. Just like Red Dragon Star, White Dragon Star also wears knight armor."
"Seekvaira, can you show me that same adorable expression you just made while looking at White Dragon Star's photo?"
"…"
Seekvaira bit her red lips lightly and lowered her head.
Obviously, she too knew that the feverish excitement you feel toward something you love and the flutter in your chest when you meet someone you like can overlap in very similar ways.
But because she had never had any experience in this area, once her own mother laid it bare for her, Seekvaira's face showed visible shock and a sense of humiliation.
Since childhood, it wasn't that no one had ever proposed to her. However, all those marriage prospects had been scared off by her reclusive nature and her overly niche hobbies; every time, the engagement had fallen apart before it even reached the formal betrothal stage.
By now, Seekvaira had given up on the idea that direct-line heirs from other devil houses would covet House Agares. She was mentally prepared to accept only side-branch pure-blood devils as potential spouses.
After all, direct-line heirs tended to have harsh demands. Having already gone through two failed quasi-engagements, Seekvaira really didn't want to suffer a third blow.
…
Duchess Agares was very satisfied with her daughter's reaction. She put away the photo in her hand, slowly walked to Seekvaira's side, leaned in close to her ear, and whispered.
"Seekvaira, if you truly like Sai Akuto, I can allow you to temporarily postpone inheriting the position of family head."
At a glance, she could tell that Sai Akuto's future status would be immeasurable, perhaps even transcending the very peak of the three great factions.
So, for the sake of House Agares' future, and for the sake of her daughter's happiness, Duchess Agares didn't mind serving as head of the family for a few more decades… or even a few more centuries.
Right now, Sai Akuto already had the qualifications for even a high Duke house like Agares to treat him with reverence.
Never mind duke houses; even powers like the so-called Holy Dragon Saint's Guard were nothing more than local rulers compared to the forces Sai Akuto was aligned with.
Of course, the biggest reason was that Duchess Agares had just received some confidential intel today.
Some time ago, many pure-blood devil families had approached Sai Akuto with the intention of having their daughters bear him children, on the condition that the first child take their family name, while the second child would inherit Sai Akuto's surname.
But today, after getting precise information, those pure-blood devil houses had changed their stance. Now, they were saying that even if the children did not carry their family name, they still wanted to send their daughters to his side.
Faced with this kind of situation, Duchess Agares felt that if she didn't act now for her daughter's sake, there would be no opportunity left later.
…
"But Mother-sama, doesn't Sai Akuto already have two fiancées?"
Seekvaira still had one last reservation. With her pride, she certainly had no intention of becoming anyone's lesser wife.
At that, Duchess Agares shook her head.
"That's right, he does already have two fiancées."
"That's exactly why, Seekvaira, you have to become his third fiancée before any formal wedding ceremonies take place. That way, there won't be any obvious disparity in status. With House Agares backing you, your position would be second only to Princess Luna Sirius herself."
"Th-that…"
Seekvaira hesitated. She admitted her mother was right, but still… but still…
"Seekvaira, you know that in twenty days, during the human world's summer vacation, the Underworld will be hosting a gathering for young devils, yes?"
"Mm, I know. What about it?" Seekvaira asked back.
"At present, even though Sai Akuto serves as the commander-in-chief of the DxD Organization, he's still technically part of the youngest generation. So he's obliged to attend this gathering of young devils as well."
"So…" Seekvaira frowned. "Mother-sama, are you telling me I should use that opportunity to make the first move and approach Sai Akuto?"
"No."
"My point is that there's a rumor going around: quite a few devil houses in the Underworld are treating this event as a mass 'marriage meeting.'"
"From Baron all the way up to Maou-class, Sai Akuto will be the only man present. On the other hand, the female nobles attending will consist of practically every unmarried, adult pure-blood devil woman of the younger generation."
"Many devil families have already stated that as long as Sai Akuto is willing, they're prepared to marry their daughters to him."
Things often happen this way. As long as no one takes the first step, everyone keeps their distance. But once both Sai Akuto himself and his fiancées publicly accept the idea that he can take multiple wives…
That's the so-called broken-window effect.
"Eh?!"
When Seekvaira heard that the young devils' gathering had essentially turned into a matchmaking event with Sai Akuto as the lone male "prize," she immediately lost her composure.
"How can they… how can they be so shameless about breaking all the rules?!"
"My daughter, you of all people should understand this: being drawn to power and submitting to it has been a devil's rule since ancient times. Compared to that, all other 'rules'…"
"So then, Seekvaira, what is your choice?" Duchess Agares asked again with a renewed smile.
"I'm going!"
"Even if it's only to keep those other devil women in check so they don't cause Sai Akuto too much trouble, I still have to go!"
In Seekvaira's mind, rather than let Sai Akuto recruit wives left and right without any regard for quality, it would be better for her to properly vet them first, then hand him a carefully compiled dossier to help him make the right choices.
All that could be said was: as Sai Akuto's level rose higher and higher…
Originally, Seekvaira had absolutely no intention of being "the later one" in a marriage. But once she learned just how many devil women in the Underworld had set their eyes on Sai Akuto, that resolve of hers loosened significantly.
That herd mentality… it has existed since ancient times.
…
Elsewhere.
The Crimson Emperor World.
At this moment, Sai Akuto was still inside Cattleya. Cattleya's long legs were still loosely crossed behind his waist.
That didn't mean Sai Akuto had literally remained inside Cattleya the entire time.
In practice, half a day had passed in the DxD world, but five full days had gone by in the Crimson Emperor World.
Within those five days, beyond subduing Cattleya herself, Sai Akuto had also brought the entire Leviathan clan under his control.
Resting in the grasp of his dragon claws now, aside from Cattleya, were also the corpses of the eight lords of the Leviathan clan, along with the rest of the Leviathans.
So, strictly speaking, counting the first day of "activity," this was already the second day Sai Akuto had spent sleeping while still joined with Cattleya.
During those five days, Sai Akuto spent his days going on dates with the church's saintesses. At night, after sharing the bed with them, he would bestow blessings upon those members of the Leviathan clan whose loyalty and abilities on the battlefield and in bed both met his standards.
And once he had finished putting the entire Leviathan clan in order, Sai Akuto focused his mind and called out to the system prompt.
(End of Chapter)
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