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The scene shifted back to the Gremory territory.
Originally, Ravel intended to treat Bokue and the others to lunch at her own home after sorting out her brother's issue. However, the unforeseen involvement of two of the Four Great Satans—Sirzechs and Serafall—due to the unexpected chaos surrounding the White Dragon Emperor had thrown off all her plans.
The Phoenix household certainly hadn't prepared to host a feast at a level suitable for the Satans.
Ultimately, after a brief discussion, they settled on returning directly to the Gremory estate for lunch. Regardless of his Satan status, Sirzechs was still the eldest son of the Gremory family, after all. When dining at his own home, formalities weren't a concern—everyone just ate whatever Mom decided to prepare.
As for Serafall, she never particularly cared for formalities either. If anything, her approachable nature made her seem more like the Devil world's official mascot than an actual Satan—not to mention, their two families had long been close allies.
Remarkably, even Azazel and Vali came along to freeload a meal.
"Ahh~ Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I'd be freeloading lunch at the home of a top-ranking Devil family," Azazel remarked cheerfully from the left side of the dining table, stirring a spoonful of freshly served mushroom soup.
Indeed, the whole scene felt rather surreal.
For millennia, angels, fallen angels, and devils had waged countless brutal battles.
Blood feuds ran deep—too many lives lost on all sides, and too much hatred accumulated over generations. Such animosity typically meant instant bloodshed upon any encounter.
Yet now, here they sat, sharing a casual meal as if nothing had ever happened. Quite fantastical, indeed.
"Well, perhaps this means our ceasefire agreement is finally fulfilling its intended purpose," Venelana elegantly dabbed at her lips with a napkin, smiling gracefully from her position at the head of the table.
"War has never benefited any side. Maintaining peace like this is undoubtedly the best choice for us all."
For thousands of years, the tenuous truce had held through sheer determination, a fragile balance precariously maintained atop mountains of bones.
Yet, precisely because of this longstanding peace, each faction had deeply experienced its preciousness. After tasting the sweetness of tranquility following the bitterness of war, no one wished to return to the grinding bloodshed of the past.
With such sentiments in mind, Azazel had taken initiative—using Kokabiel's rogue actions as a pretext—to propose peace talks, finally allowing both factions to sit down calmly and have a civilized conversation.
"Now, all that's left is to see what Heaven's stance will be," Sirzechs said with a faint smile.
"Heaven, huh…" Azazel repeated thoughtfully, a conflicted expression briefly crossing his usually carefree face.
"Well, guess I'll wait a bit. Vali needs some time to heal anyway. Going to Heaven might mean a tough fight ahead… though maybe not."
As he spoke, Azazel glanced to his side. Despite Bokue's healing techniques, Vali still sat stiffly beside him, covered head-to-toe in bandages, barely able to move properly. Sighing deeply, the Fallen Angel Governor shook his head in exasperation.
What else could he do with such a battle-crazy brat by his side? If there were fights to be had, he'd jump right in; if there weren't any fights, he'd create conflict just to find an opponent.
Vali dropped his spoon and shot Azazel a sidelong glare.
"…Why're you staring at me?"
"Well," Azazel shrugged helplessly, "We've managed to negotiate successfully with the Underworld. But if Heaven remains stubborn, you'll probably—"
"If they're unwilling, we just storm Heaven together and capture their God, right?" Bokue interjected casually from the right side, clearly amused.
Vali smirked arrogantly, "What, are you scared?"
"Not at all," Bokue replied with an easy shrug. "I just figured you'd be pretty disappointed if it ever came to that."
"…What do you mean?"
"No spoilers. You'll find out soon enough."
"Tch…"
As the two casually discussed a theoretical siege on Heaven, Riser, seated inconspicuously at the table's far right end in his pajamas, quietly shoveled another forkful of pasta into his mouth.
I'm just here, minding my own business...
"Oh, right. Azazel," Sirzechs suddenly spoke up, "Since you'll be returning to the human world soon, there's some intel I'd like to share as a gesture of goodwill between our newly formed alliance. I'd appreciate it if your side could keep an eye out."
Hearing this, everyone else remained quiet, while Serafall blinked in slight surprise.
"Eh? Sirzechs-chan, you don't mean…?"
Sirzechs raised a hand gently to halt her from speaking further, smiling reassuringly, "It's fine. Since we've officially become allies, we should act accordingly."
"Makes sense," Azazel stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Go ahead. As long as it's something within my power, I won't refuse."
"It concerns the Northern Territory of the Underworld…"
Sirzechs quickly outlined the recent situation involving the Northern faction. Throughout his explanation, Azazel listened quietly, nodding occasionally without any apparent concern.
On the surface, this request might seem somewhat excessive, given they'd just formed an alliance. However, in reality, Azazel found himself relieved.
Their alliance originated primarily because of Kokabiel's reckless actions—meaning the Fallen Angels already owed the Underworld a favor.
By requesting their aid now, Sirzechs effectively cleared the debt, restoring their equal status as genuine allies. Besides, merely keeping an eye out in the human world wasn't a particularly difficult task for Azazel's forces, given their established presence there.
"Understood," Azazel finally said, turning his gaze across the table towards the red-haired girl opposite him—Rias Gremory.
With someone possessing Bael family's inherited Power of Destruction, bearing the distinctive Gremory red hair, and roughly around Rias' age, such an individual shouldn't be that hard to find.
"Speaking of the human world," Kuroka suddenly interjected, lightly nudging Bokue's leg beneath the table with her barefoot, "Bokue, weren't you going to the Demon District today?"
Bokue paused briefly, thinking.
"Yeah, probably. After lunch I'll head over quickly. If nothing's going on, I'll just come back early. What's up?"
"I have a small favor to ask~" Upon hearing his confirmation, Kuroka's lips curled into a mischievous grin as she discreetly glanced over at her white-haired younger sister sitting several seats away.
"There's not much to do here in the Underworld at night. How about you bring the console and TV from home today? Tonight, we can play games together with Koneko—"
Bokue: "..."
He paused, carefully studying Kuroka's suggestive expression.
He couldn't help but wonder—was the "gaming" she mentioned really the innocent pastime he was imagining?
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