"Huh?"
Upon waking, Rito felt a familiar scent, along with the pleasant sensation of something soft, smooth, and warm against his body.
Opening his eyes, he noticed that while he was sleeping, Lala had invaded his bed again, even though she had gone to sleep with Mikan.
"Lala, wake up." He called out to her.
"What? Is it morning already?" She sat up. Her beautiful bubblegum-pink hair fell over her bare chest.
After yawning, she opened her eyes and said sweetly: "Good morning, Rito~"
Her voice was pleasant even when sleepy. It was so nice that he wanted to make a CD of her singing and listen to it whenever he had time.
"Yes, good morning." He smiled and added: "Go get ready. I'll see if Mikan needs help in the kitchen."
"Yes~!"
...
Wearing only blue and white striped boxer briefs and a gray tank top, Rito arrived in the kitchen.
As expected, Mikan was already preparing breakfast.
"Let me help you." He said.
"Oh, Rito." She turned: "Good morning. And, I'm almost done."
In Rito's hand was a jar with red orb powder: "So, let's add a bit of this."
"Better not." Mikan firmly refused, adding: "It's fine for dinner, but let's avoid it for any other meal."
Seeing the tips of her ears turn red, he understood why she said that.
Though he felt a bit disappointed, he understood: "Okay. Let me at least help set the table."
"Please do." She agreed.
==
==
[Kuoh Academy – Class 2-B]
As soon as the bell rang, Koneko stood in front of him.
"Rito Yuki." She said: "Can I take a bit of your time? The leader of my club wants to have a talk with you."
"Rias Gremory?" He was a bit surprised.
After all, it hadn't been long since Lala was called, and from what he heard from her, it was to invite her to join her Peerage, but Lala refused. Was it his turn now?
If that was the case, he intended to refuse, but it wouldn't be polite to simply refuse to talk to her.
"Okay, lead the way." He asked: "It's fine if Lala comes with me, right?"
Koneko didn't even blink as she nodded: "Yes."
"Lala, do you want to come?" He asked.
"Yes!" She agreed.
...
[Occult Research Club]
With her legs crossed, sitting across from him and Lala, Rias said with a cup and saucer in her hands: "So you're the famous Rito Yuki I've heard so much about."
After taking a sip, she placed the cup back on the saucer and returned it to the table.
"Am I that famous?" He said jokingly: "That makes me embarrassed."
"Ara? You didn't know?" Akeno joined the conversation, laughing a little with her hand in front of her mouth: "Almost everyone, if not everyone, in the school has heard one or two things about you. Whether it's the change in your appearance or the fact that you have a beautiful and lovely fiancée living under the same roof."
"You're right!" Rito crossed his arms while lowering his head with his eyes closed, murmuring: "If I think about it, I get envious and resentful looks almost every day. And, no matter where I go, there's always someone looking in my direction... But, if this 'problem' is what I get for being engaged to Lala, then it's worth it."
"Rito...!" Lala, beside him, looked at him with her eyes sparkling.
Rito took her hands: "Lala~"
"Rito~!"
"Lala~!"
"Cough, sorry to interrupt, but..." Rias said: "If you keep feeding us so much of something so sweet, I fear that even as a Devil, I might end up with diabetes."
"Haha, sorry, Rias." Lala was the first to apologize.
"Sorry, I just..." He couldn't find an excuse.
"Ara ara, how adorable you two are~ I can see you truly love each other, don't you?" Akeno said with a warm smile.
"Yes! I love, love, love Rito so much!" Lala admitted without hesitation, speaking passionately.
"I love you too, Lala." Rito touched her face.
"Rito..." Lala blushed a little, closing her eyes as she leaned her face into his hand.
"..."
Rias seemed helpless.
"Ara ara. Ufufufu~!" Akeno, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying the whole situation.
"Cough, can we talk now?" Rias asked.
"Oh yes, you called me here because you wanted to talk to me, right?" Rito looked at her.
Rias sighed, looking tired for some reason...
"Are you okay, Rias?" Lala asked, concerned.
Once again, Rias was left speechless. She seemed to be trying her hardest not to roll her eyes.
This drew some stifled laughter even from Koneko.
"Pfft, I must say... I think this is the first time I've seen Leader Rias act like this..." Akeno said.
"Akeno!" Rias puffed out her cheeks.
"Yes, yes, the one who spoke is no longer here~" She closed her eyes with a faint smile on her lips, standing perfectly straight in a flawless Yamato Nadeshiko pose.
"What were we talking about again?" Rias looked at Rito.
"Nothing yet." Rito replied.
"Oh yes, we haven't talked about anything yet..." Rias briefly closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she leaned forward with her hands resting on her chin: "I'll be direct. Rito Yuki. I assume you already know about me and that I'm a Devil, correct? So, you also know that I'm a High-Class Devil and can reincarnate someone into a Devil as part of my Peerage?"
"Yes, I know that." He nodded again.
"Rito Yuki, would you like to join my Peerage? I promise not to treat you badly. Not only that, there are many advantages to accepting, for example, you'll cease to be an ordinary human and gain near-eternal youth as an immortal. I assume you know that your fiancée, Princess Lala, is not ordinary. She will live much longer than a normal Earthling. If you wish to stay with her, my offer isn't bad, is it?"
Seeing her confident look as she finished speaking, picking up the saucer and teacup from the table and starting to drink while letting him think, it was easy to assume she believed she had delivered a "check" and only needed a slight push to make it a "checkmate."
"It's indeed a very attractive offer, but I'm sorry, I'll have to decline." Rito replied.
"Rito?" Even Lala seemed to think it was a good offer.
"May I know why?" Rias didn't seem satisfied. She even showed disbelief.
"Simple, even as a human, I will become stronger, and as for lifespan... Well, I can only say that's something I don't need to worry about." He answered ambiguously.
"Really? Well, no matter. Sorry for taking your time." Rias pretended not to be shaken, but the slight tremble in her hand revealed a bit of her true feelings.
"It's all right." Rito smiled in response and was about to add something but stopped midway: "Actually... Never mind, it's not the right time to talk about this..."
In the end, he seemed to be talking to himself.
"Are we done?" Lala, who was drinking a cup of tea, asked.
"I think so?" He looked at Rias.
"Yes, that was all I had to say." Rias replied with a tired sigh.
==
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