A Tasteless Encounter (2/3)

Not once, not ever had I felt such a horrific sensation from anyone's presence.

I was no expert; in fact, I could barely manage my own magic, but I knew one thing for sure—this person's magic was astronomical.

"I believe Lord Lucifer informed you not to recklessly cross into the human world, Lord Riser."

She was controlling her magic, even hiding it. But even so, I could feel the chilling power radiating from her.

{Name: Grayfia Lucifuge}

{Class: Ultimate-Class Devil}

{Threat Level: Impossible}

{Type: Pure Blood Devil}

She wasn't just strong; she was terrifyingly strong.

Even Vali paled in comparison to her power, and everyone lost their shit when Vali appeared.

"Grayfia!"

Rias' gasp brought me back to reality, allowing me to focus on the larger scene—alongside the beautiful devil woman.

Yes, beautiful.

In her early to mid-twenties—red eyes, pale skin, silver hair, and a ridiculously voluptuous figure. On top of it all, she wore a maid outfit. But something told me she wasn't merely a maid.

No maid would be that strong.

"L-Lady Grayfia?"

Lady Grayfia.

I knew it.

For even Riser, an unbearable twerp, to refer to her with such respect—she was no ordinary devil.

"Both Lord Gremory and Lord Phenex express great displeasure at you breaking your promise, Lord Phenex."

I did not know why. This beautiful devil in the maid outfit, despite showing respect to Riser, seemed to harbor dislike for him.

Not that I could blame her.

Riser was just that unlikable.

And that's coming from someone who had known him for only about ten minutes.

"Riser simply came here to check on his fiancée, Lady Grayfia," Riser tried to sound as polite as possible. "Riser wanted to make sure that she is doing well and is comfortable, despite being in this filthy land surrounded by filthy humans."

Call me foolish for making an enemy out of a devil, but this guy…

This guy was simply unbearable.

"Whatever the reason might be, Lord Riser," she was adamant, "you should leave now before your father calls for you."

Playing the father card, huh?

She then looked at Rias. "And Lady Rias, since Lord Riser is already here, I believe he has informed you about the situation."

However, this seemed to surprise Rias.

"Situation?" She squinted her eyes slightly. "What do you mean?"

I became so invested in the discussion that I forgot I was just an outsider.

"I believe it is best discussed among family members, or at least those you can trust, Lady Rias."

Finally, she acknowledged my presence—though in a much less desirable way.

"Reo?" She looked at me. "He is a friend," she assured. "You can trust him."

This made the lady look at me, almost analyzing me.

"I assure you, ma'am," I finally decided to speak. "I am here only as a friend. And if you prefer, I do not mind leaving the room."

"It is better to keep such matters among those involved in this topic," I expected her to tell me to leave.

And honestly, I would have.

{Threat Level: Impossible}

That threat level was making it difficult for me to think of anything else.

"However, if it is what Lady Rias desires," she sighed, showing a hint of emotion.

She is capable of showing emotions; I guess it's just her style to keep her face impassive.

But looking at Riser's smirking face, who sat quietly after this maid lady arrived, I could guess that this news wasn't too good.

At least not for Rias.

"So, what is it?" The redheaded princess inquired, staring directly at the woman.

"Lord Phenex and your father, Lord Gremory, have recently decided to hasten your marriage plans."

This news hit everyone in the room like a bombshell.

"What?"

Rias was baffled, even scared.

Akeno also appeared distressed. Thankfully, she had sent Asia to another room; otherwise, the poor girl would have stood there, confused and staring at everyone.

"T-That—" Rias was at a loss for words. "He promised that I had time until my studies here at Kuoh ended?"

Politics.

And political marriages.

I had never seen a marriage like that of anyone I knew before now.

But I knew enough about how powerless the children often were in these circumstances and how miserable their lives could become because of such arrangements.

"Does it really matter, Rias?" The devil with the unpleasant hairdo said. "These human studies are a waste of time. You gain nothing from them, and you won't need any of it after you marry Riser. You can stay home and laze around all day. No one will judge you."

What he meant was—You will end up a wallflower, so what's the point of studying?

"I—" Rias was distraught. "Mother and brother allowed this?"

She looked at the woman with an almost broken heart, and I genuinely believed the woman would say yes, given how the situation was progressing.

But maybe, luck was still on Rias' side.

Even if only a little.

"Lord Lucifer did ask for the marriage to proceed as planned, but Lord Gremory asked him not to meddle," Grayfia's voice lowered considerably. "He says he is powerless in this situation."

It didn't take a genius to figure out who Rias' brother was.

Even if she had never told me, it was almost impossible not to know that her brother is a big shot in the devil world.

And Lucifer.

I had heard the stories. She did tell me about how, after the death of the original devil kings, the devil heroes of the war were given the titles and positions of the dead devil kings.

And Lucifer's position just so happened to be handed to Rias' brother.

Now, I didn't know how powerful her brother was. But judging from the fact that this lady is so incredibly strong, he would be someone I might faint just from being in his presence.

There was no way a devil would be given a human area to govern that easily, right?

It made sense that her brother was that powerful.

And that meant Sona also had someone in her family with such power and position.

"As a Devil King, he does not have much say in family matters."

"He is still my brother," Rias countered the lady's words almost instantly. "He has a say in my life."

Could devil kings not have a say in matters of their own family?

No, wait.

It makes sense.

As a man with such a high position, essentially responsible for all of devilkind, he had the responsibility of prioritizing work over family.

Yet he couldn't even have a say in family matters.

Just how complicated is this situation?

"Rias, it's only a matter of time before you marry Riser. It doesn't matter if you marry Riser today or tomorrow," Riser grinned. "But it's better not to delay these things."

I could see it in Rias' face.

Her world had been turned upside down before her eyes.

Her heart was broken, and her eyes were teary.

She clenched her fists, trying not to show her weakness, but everyone could see it.

We all knew how she felt.

And maybe, just maybe, even the maid lady felt a bit of sympathy for her.

That seemed to prompt her to reveal an interesting piece of information.

"However,"

Everyone's attention focused on the woman.

"Your mother did ask Lord Phenex and Lord Gremory a question," she said, staring directly at Rias. "She asked if you still had the final say regarding this marriage if you were to win a rating game against Lord Riser."

I could hear Riser sneering from the corner, but no one paid him any attention.

"And their response was…" She smiled, just a fleeting smile. "They said it is still possible to annul the marriage if you win a rating game."

"There's no way she would agree to such a thing," Riser laughed. "Our marriage is nearly set in stone, and there's no way she can win when her peerage isn't even com—"

"I accept." Rias didn't hesitate for a second. "I agree to the rating game."

"What?" Riser was astonished. "You can't be serious—"

"I agree to play a rating game against Riser," Rias stood her ground. "As long as you give me a month's time, or even just a few days… I'm willing to take this chance."

This…

"This is absurd!"

Riser complained, while I watched Rias with amusement.

"Please relay this message to my brother," Rias said, without even looking at him. "Please ask him to organize the rating game at his convenience."

Things…

"I'm willing to play against Riser if I have the chance to avoid marrying him."

Things have just gotten a lot more interesting, haven't they?

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P.S. Grayfia is like High Ultimate class but MC cannot differentiate between the same class with his current level of Sixth Sense (He needs it to be above advanced level)

Also the threat level says impossible because his Sixth Sense is now at Advanced level, otherwise with the in-built base system sense, it would have said error like the time with Vali.]]