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The breakfast hour quickly passed.
As Bokue finished the last piece of the expertly prepared fried egg made by Grayfia, he set down his utensils and got up from the table, hands clasped together, beginning his usual rapid-fire incantation.
"Thanks for the meal, I'm full. If there's nothing else, I'll be going—"
"Wait a moment, Bokue."
Before he could finish his chant, Venelana gently interrupted from her seat at the head of the table, tilting her head slightly as she watched him.
"Are you in a hurry to head out?"
"Ah... well, not particularly," Bokue replied, blinking, and slowly sat back down.
He had become accustomed lately to the pattern of his days—morning visits to Mio Naruse, afternoons checking in on Nagisa and Asagi on Itogami Island—almost like clockwork. Honestly, there wasn't much urgency.
Most of his days involved the same kind of... intense 'exercise.'
Especially Nagisa...
Bokue still clearly remembered that first impression—a pure, bright, innocent girl who somehow got hopelessly addicted after just a single 'Training' session, becoming progressively more enthusiastic with each subsequent encounter.
Thankfully, her True Ancestor constitution was absurdly resilient. Otherwise, a normal human girl her age would have already collapsed long ago.
"If you're not in a rush, that's good," Venelana said with a soft smile, clearly pleased by his answer.
"Actually, we received word yesterday from the Bael family. It seems their heir, Sairaorg—you met him previously, remember?—plans to visit today. He says he'd like to chat with you. He'll probably be here soon."
"Sairaorg... Ah."
At the mention of the name, an image of a muscular young man with short hair—matching Venelana's color—rose clearly in Bokue's mind.
Indeed, they'd met before, around two months ago at the Phoenix family's banquet. By lineage, he was Sirzechs' cousin and Rias' older cousin.
"Sairaorg? What does he want to discuss with Bokue?" Rias asked curiously.
"Well~ I'm not entirely certain myself," Venelana shrugged gracefully, resting her chin upon her intertwined fingers, eyes smiling enigmatically.
At that very moment, a maid from the Gremory household stepped quietly into the dining hall and bowed respectfully.
"Apologies for interrupting. The heir of the Great King Bael family, Lord Sairaorg, has arrived."
Hmm?
Bokue raised a curious eyebrow. Speak of the devil indeed—just moments ago, they'd been discussing Sairaorg's intended visit, and now the man himself was here.
A strong and broad-shouldered young man soon entered the room, passing swiftly by the maid with confident strides. His hearty, cheerful voice echoed through the hall.
"It's been a while, Aunt Venelana, Head of Keikain... Rias, and everyone else... Feels like there are more new faces here than last time."
Sairaorg paused slightly, clearly taken aback at seeing several unfamiliar individuals present in the room.
Sitting beside Venelana at the front-right side of the table, Bokue gave him a sidelong glance.
"I'm not the head—just acting temporarily," Bokue corrected plainly.
"Ah yes, that's right! Temporary head—my mistake, haha!" Sairaorg laughed brightly, scratching his head.
Unlike Sirzechs, who wore elaborate and imposing attire befitting the Lucifer, Sairaorg, despite his status as the heir of Bael—the number-one ranked of the Seventy-Two Pillars—wore simple casual clothing: A T-shirt and trousers.
His powerful muscles flexed beneath the sleeves, giving the impression he'd just emerged from a vigorous gym session rather than arriving for a formal visit.
"Good morning, Sairaorg-kun. You're here quite early today, aren't you?" Venelana greeted warmly, tilting her head with an indulgent smile toward her nephew.
"Ah, well," Sairaorg cleared his throat lightly, smiling awkwardly. "I heard recently that Clan Head Bokue has been rather busy, so I decided to come over earlier to get the matter discussed quickly."
"In that case, Sairaorg, please take my seat here," Rias graciously offered, standing up and stepping smoothly behind Bokue. She gently rested her hands on the back of his chair, carrying herself naturally like the lady of the household.
"Thanks, Rias." Not bothering to stand on ceremony, Sairaorg accepted, sitting down heavily in Rias' vacated chair, grinning broadly.
"The reason I came today is mainly because I heard Clan Head Bokue went to the Northern Region yesterday—and ended up clashing with the devils there, right?"
A moment ago, he clearly said 'Acting Head,' but it somehow reverted to 'Head' again immediately afterward.
Well, given Sairaorg's typically carefree and straightforward nature, perhaps this kind of slip-up was inevitable. Bokue could only sigh inwardly.
"It wasn't exactly a clash—more like resolving a small matter," Bokue answered mildly.
"Ah, yes, yes—I understand!" Sairaorg waved his hand hurriedly. "It's about the daughter of the former Northern Demon Lord, Wilbert, isn't it?"
"I've already heard the basic details from Lord Sirzechs, so I roughly understand the situation. But still... did you head up North all alone, Clan Head Bokue?"
Eh?
Bokue tilted his head slightly, perplexed at this sudden and peculiar line of questioning. What exactly did his solitary expedition to the Northern Region have to do with anything?
Why did this question suddenly sound like a childish dare?
Was going alone meant to prove some kind of masculinity or something?
"Well, not entirely alone, but more or less, yes. Is there something wrong with that?" Bokue asked curiously in return.
"Oh, no, it's nothing! Nothing wrong at all," Sairaorg quickly shook his head again, smiling hastily.
"I was just wondering if you brought Rias and the others along with you as well."
Brought Rias and the others along? Was that really necessary?
Bokue turned his head slightly, exchanging a puzzled glance with Rias standing behind him. Rias sighed softly, finally deciding to speak clearly.
"Sairaorg, if you have something you'd like to say, please just say it openly. There's really no need to beat around the bush."
Everyone could plainly see that Sairaorg was hinting at something. Given his typically straightforward and sincere nature, trying to use roundabout speech just seemed awkward and out-of-character, almost comedic.
"Well~ it's not exactly beating around the bush," Sairaorg chuckled self-consciously, clearly caught off-guard by being called out so openly.
"It's just that—I think Clan Head Bokue might want to consider giving Rias and the others more opportunities to engage in battles themselves. If every issue is solved directly by you alone, it might unintentionally deprive Rias and her peerage of chances to grow and mature. Like, for example… taking part in Rating Games or something."
Bokue: "..."
Rias: "..."
Ah, so that's how it was.
In other words, he was indirectly trying to coax them into participating in a Rating Game—so he'd have a chance to personally face off against Bokue himself...
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