Chapter 74: The Gremory Household

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"You're confident he didn't kidnap her?" Sirzechs asked within the confines of his office, a bit of unease welling in gut as he listened to Serafall's recounting of events. 

"If he did then we'd definitely have noticed by now don't you think? I did tell him not to do anything rash, but he did in fact bring Valerie to our side. If her Sacred Gear does turn out to be a Longinus then the Tepes Faction would've more likely than not used her as a piece to further their warmongering ambitions." 

"You have a point, but do you really believe Pandora brought Valerie over because he was thinking of the alliance?" 

"I doubt it, but the facts are the facts. You'd have to ask him yourself if you want to pry the truth out of him." She shrugged, understandably not interested in interrogating Takauji on her own. 

"I see, I'll probably leave that for another date since I'd rather not come off as pushy. Speaking of him, shouldn't he have come with you?" 

"He said he had some business with a spatial distortion or something along those lines near the Vampire's territory. I already gave him the message to come here as soon as possible but he didn't really give me a timeframe for reference." 

"Very well, and what about Valerie?" 

"He wanted me to send her back to the West Youkai Faction to meet with Azazel-chan's successor." 

"Well, if I were to trust anyone with handling a Sacred Gear possessor it would be Grigori." He nodded. "But why his successor and not Azazel himself? They should still be in a contract if I remember correctly." 

"Again, you'll have to ask him–" 

"Ask me what?" A voice intervened, entering the office through a portal constructed from some form of iridescent energy. "Also why did you summon me to the Underworld? I planned on going back to Kyoto once I was done." 

"You're here," Serafall acknowledged. "And it looks like you've brought company?" 

Both Satans were interested in the woman standing next to him. 

"This is Alucard, she works for me now, that's all you need to know." He turned towards Sirzechs. "Serafall said you had business with me?" 

"That is correct, but first I'd like to thank you for your help with making King Tepes agree to the ceasefire, you've saved both the Underworld and Heaven a lot of resources." 

"Don't thank me with words, thank me with what I was promised." 

Sirzechs pondered for a moment before realizing what he was referring to. 

"Ah, of course." He motioned towards Serafall, the Leviathan handing Takauji the Dragon Apples they had agreed to pay him with. All of which he devoured in a matter of seconds. 

"Now then, what did you want to talk to me about?" He asked after letting out a hearty burp. 

"It's regarding a favor I'd like to ask you." 

"You've done nothing to warrant a favor from me," he said plainly. 

"Fair enough, how about I increase the amount of Dragon Apples you're receiving?" 

"In that case you have my attention." 

"Lovely," the Crimson Satan smiled. "I hear you are a rather talented trainer, Hyoudou Issei and Akeno Himejima's growth were your handiwork if my information is correct?"

"If that's your definition of training, sure." He shrugged. 

"I also heard that you took a Fallen Angel by the name of Raynare under your wing, she's an Ultimate-Class Fallen Angel now isn't she?" 

"She is." 

"Then with that said, I was wondering if you could put that talent of yours to use for my son?" 

Takauji exhaled. 

"I trust you are aware of my relationship with your sister?" 

"I am." The Satan didn't show it on his face, but Takauji was able to feel him waver for a split second.

"And knowing that, you'd have me train your son regardless? I'm not sure whether to call you courageous or foolish." 

"You can call me what you like, my point still stands. My wife is occupied with leading my peerage at the moment so she can't afford to take care of his mentoring for the time-being, therefore I was hoping you could fill in during her absence?" 

"Don't you have other tutors you can call?" 

"I can, but I'd rather have you do it." 

"And why is that?" 

"You're good at it," he smiled. "What other reason do I need?" 

So he wants to improve my relationship with his family, what a pointless endeavor that is. But I'll admit, these Dragon Apples are doing wonders for smoothing out my growth phase. I'm not opposed to completing it faster than I intended after all. 

"And how long will your wife be gone for?" 

"A while," he refused to elaborate. "Let's just say you'll have more than enough time to get accustomed to the Underworld during your stay. It's your first time being here isn't it? I'll ensure you have free reign to explore as you please." 

"Indeed it is." He pondered for a moment. "How many Dragon Apples will you offer me on top of what I'm already receiving?" 

"Two." 

"Make it four." 

"Three." 

"Mm, four sounds better." 

"I really cannot offer you more than three." 

"That's what Serafall told me when she made me the offer back at Kyoto. You're holding out on me aren't you?"

"I genuinely do not have the power to offer you more than three, Pandora." They stared at each other for a while, Takauji already having known that Sirzechs wasn't lying in the first place.

He just enjoyed messing with Devils, Satans in particular.

"Three it is then," they both shook hands. "Don't worry, your son will be in good hands." He said with a faint smirk. 

"That much I am sure of, although, there was something else I was hoping you'd discuss with me." 

"Oh?" 

"It's regarding your possession of Samael, I'm sure you can understand why I'd have my reservations about it?" 

Takauji's smile widened a little. 

"If you're planning on asking me to hand it over, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. Samael is already soulbound to me." 

In other words, he'd have to fight him for it.

"I know, I wasn't going to ask you to do that." He assured him. "I just need to confirm that you are fully in control of it, I doubt I need to tell you how disastrous it'd be if Samael's power were to go berserk?" Even though his poison mainly affected Dragons, it still was more than lethal to any other race unfortunate enough to come into contact with it. 

"Samael is under control, you needn't worry about that." He said calmly, the plain indifference on his face not conveying an ounce of emotion. "Is there anything else you want to ask me about?" 

"No, but there is an update I thought you'd be interested in. You are aware of Akeno Himejima being considered for Ultimate-Class, correct?" 

"I am." 

"Well, there's another Devil by the name of Ruval Phenex who's also being considered for the promotion, however with Khaos Brigade on the rise we can't afford to promote both of them simultaneously. Therefore it was decided that a Rating Game between them will take place sometime after my sister's match with Sairaorg Bael to determine who receives it first." 

"Sairaorg Bael?" He scratched his chin, Sirzechs surprised to see him practically ignore the update about Akeno. "Ah, the future Heaven Breaker, I know of him." 

"Heaven Breaker?" Sirzechs had never heard the young Lion be referred to with such a title. 

"Don't pay it any heed, it's nothing you need to worry about, not anytime soon at least. If you happen to meet Akeno somewhere down the line, tell her I wish her luck." 

"Will do. Speaking of the Rating Game, we were also looking for someone to act as a special referee for it. Would you happen to be interested in the role?" 

"Sure, if I'm available at the time, that is."

"Great, I'll arrange for a few servants to take you to the Gremory territory, if there are any further accommodations you find yourself wanting throughout your stay don't hesitate to ask alright?" 

He nodded, looking towards Alucard and making some sort of non-verbal signal towards her. 

All of a sudden, the Vampire's body started to turn into a dark mass, blending into Takauji's shadow and disappearing. 

"So, what do you think?" Serafall asked once he had left. 

"You're right, he's changed. I could barely even recognise him if not for the similarities in his appearance, and I also managed to make the confirmation I was hoping to make."

"Confirmation?" 

"Pandora has a goal, like Azazel I don't have the faintest clue as to what it is, but from the look in his eyes I can tell he's working towards something. Serafall, there's definitely a reason beyond the Dragon Apples that he accepted the offer to work with us." 

Serafall fell silent for a bit, noticing the distinct firmness in Sirzechs's voice. 

"Is there cause for concern?" 

"I won't be able to figure that out until I know what his goal is I'm afraid, but it's definitely something grand. Why else would he obtain Samael? Not to mention how deeply he's rooted himself into the Heavenly Dragons." 

"I see, so that's why you're intent on keeping him around. You think he'll drop a few clues here and there?" 

"That's what I'm hoping for, not once has Great Red ever involved itself in the affairs of other living beings. But now it has a counterpart, and a very active one to say the least." He drummed his fingers across his desk. "When was the last sighting of Albion reported?" 

She shook her head. 

"Nothing ever since the conference I'm afraid." 

"He's awfully reserved for a battle-maniac wouldn't you agree?" 

"Indeed, he is. Do you think he's working towards something behind the scenes?" 

"Definitely, there's no feasible way someone with his temperament simply decided to sit back and let everything unfold without his involvement. What about his team? Any sightings of them around?" 

"There was a sighting of the Stray Devil and Sun Wukong's descendant during the gathering, they attempted to kidnap your sister's Rook, but were quickly defeated by Issei-kun." 

"Issei's grown strong hasn't he? It's a shame he's still not intent on accepting a promotion. I'm worried people will start thinking we're holding him back on purpose or something." 

"Yeah, I watched him fight Pandora right before we left Kyoto." 

"And?" 

"Well, I'd be lying if I said the fight wasn't pretty one-sided. Especially from an emotional standpoint, I understood where Issei's headspace was coming from during the fight, but Pandora's was very odd." 

"How so?" 

"How do I put this?" She hummed. "It seemed like he was looking at Issei-kun—as a parent? If that makes any sense." 

"A parent?" He raised a brow. "That is rather confusing." 

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The carriage that had been arranged for Takauji came to a stop, an attendant holding the door open for him as he stepped out. Observing the Gremory household for the first time. 

"Talk about lavish," Alucard's distorted voice spoke from his shadow, spooking the attendant a fair bit. 

"Right?" In front of him stood a multi-story mansion, a large fountain in the middle of their front lawn. Teeming with gardeners tending to the wide array of plants they had received from the Sitri family, who were famed for their expansive nature reserves. 

"Would you happen to be Pandora-sama?" A female attendant came up and greeted him. 

"Mhm."

"We were informed of your arrival, right this way." She gestured for him to follow her, leading him to the front door of the household and knocking on it a few times then standing to the side. 

A young woman ended up opening the door, looking to be in her 20's with crimson hair tied into a ponytail, a large bosom visible through her thin dress. Her expression was soft, coupled with her droopy eyes that gave her a rather tame demeanor. Similar to that of Michael's. 

"Ara, might you be the Dragon my grandson informed me about?" She asked upon making eye contact with him. 

"I am, I don't believe we've met before?" 

"My name's Chysis, I'm Sirzechs's grandmother. It's a pleasure to meet you Pandora."

"Likewise." He adopted a serene expression, entering his "Ashikaga Takauji" mode one could say.

She invited him into the living room, offering him a seat on one of the couches and signaling for one of the butlers to prepare a few refreshments for them. 

"I hear you'll be tutoring my great-grandson from now on?" Seeing as Devils had a base lifespan of 10,000 years, it wasn't surprising for great-grandmothers and grandfathers to still be alive, even with their low birthrate. 

"That is indeed what was asked of me," he replied plainly. Taking a sip of the tea they had offered him which he found rather refreshing. 

"Millicas is a bright boy, I'm sure he'll have a blast being trained by a Dragon. He's still working on his studies at the moment, so I hope you won't mind having me for company until he's finished?" 

"Of course not, I seldom interact with Devils so I look forward to getting to know you all better." 

Chysis clearly wanted to say something in response, but ultimately decided to let it go. 

"I hear you took a trip to the land of the Vampires recently, how was it? I rarely get out and about nowadays so I rather enjoy hearing about people's adventures." 

"Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, my visit was nothing but pure politics. I doubt that's something you're very interested in listening to." 

"Oh, I'm afraid I must disagree." Her lips curled upwards. "After all, you seem to have acquired one for yourself haven't you?" She glanced at his shadow. 

"How very perceptive of you." She wasn't sure why, but his words made her heart skip a nervous beat. 

A swarm of crimson eyes opened up from his shadow, startling Chysis a little as Alucard returned to her original form. Placing a hand on her chest and back and bowing like a noble would in her direction. 

"Greetings, my name is Alucard. I'm Pandora-sama's servant." She smiled darkly, taking a bit of pleasure in the shock her sudden appearance had caused Chysis. 

"It's nice to meet you Alucard," she hurriedly regained her composure. "Might I ask how you ended up serving Pandora? Consider it an old woman's morbid curiosity." 

"Fret not Lady Chysis, compared to me you are as youthful as a child's first steps." She chuckled. "Pandora-sama awoke me from my slumber during his visit, after which we engaged in a battle that resulted in his victory. Then he offered to take me in as his servant, and as you can see I accepted the offer." 

"Oh my, are you saying he courted you through the thrill of battle? How very romantic." Chysis held her hand up to her mouth. Unsurprisingly, romance developed through fighting was the norm for a society centered around his strength. 

"Court me you say?" Alucard put a finger to her lower lip, leaning towards Takauji with a sultry smile. "Indeed, I suppose he did court me." She tried to make a further advance, but was met with a bone-chilling glare from him in response. 

"Alucard, need I remind you that we're in our guest's company at the moment?" 

"Of course, forgive me Pandora-sama." She watched him mouth the word later before turning back to Chysis. 

"Mom! Why didn't you tell me our guest had already arrived?" A figure walked into the living room with a pout. Revealing a mature woman with flaxen hair, violet eyes, and a chest just as bountiful as the woman sitting across Takauji. She wore a white dress that left much of her cleavage visible.

"Fufu, you know I can't help my curiosity dear," she faced Takauji. "This is my daughter-in-law, Venelana."