Chapter 39: Naoetsu Town (Interlude)

Chapter 39: Naoetsu Town (Interlude)

"So this is where my fated meeting will take place," Avalon spoke in a comically deep tone of voice upon arriving at the Gremoy Clan's train station, inhaling sharply before adjusting his outfit to make sure there wasn't so much as a speck of dust lingering on its fabric. All the work I've put into this life has been worth it! A single tear trailed from his eye, soaking part of his blindfold.

Adaloth facepalmed, "I still can't believe you're actually wearing that. You do understand that this is going to be your first impression of Heaven, Grigori, and the Greek Pantheon? Right?"

"If they can't comprehend the value of the pristine clothing I'm wearing, then they aren't worth impressing in the first place." He gestured to his pink, limited edition, signed Levi-tan hoodie, which had been among merely 10 copies that were being distributed as part of a special lottery promotion Magical Girl Levi-tan was hosting to celebrate its 500th episode.

Whether he had obtained the hoodie through fair means or not could be left up to one's interpretation.

"You look stupid," Esdeath added, causing Adaloth to shoot an appreciative nod her way.

"To think my own Pawn can't comprehend the level of strength Levi-tan's divine marking has granted me—I pity you, child, this is why you'll never be stronger than my equally blind sister." He clutched his forehead, part of him tempted to clasp his hands in prayer if it weren't for his biology prohibiting it. Fret not, Levi-tan herself shall be here soon to cure you all of your ignorance.

That was a low blow! Esdeath grimaced, unable to refute the latter half of his statement. I'll be stronger than her soon enough, I just need some more time.

"Are we sure we don't need to put him in a mental hospital or something?" Lars asked.

"His mental illness goes beyond what even Ajuka's medical technology can cure," Adaloth patted him on the shoulder. Let's just hope his infatuation doesn't evolve into something more problematic.

"SILENCE HEATHENS!" Avalon jolted up right, his eyes darting to the train station's entrance upon feeling a tingle run down his spine. "I can sense her presence! She's near!" They strengthened their posture, albeit not for the same fanatic reason as Avalon—rather because they wished to show some semblance of professionalism to the Satan Leviathan in lieu of the walking mass of second-hand embarrassment that was their King.

That's right! This divine aura can only belong to one person! His body somehow knew what was coming in spite of him never having met Serafall before.

The sound of light footsteps from a figure of presumably smaller stature neared them, the clacking of their heels hitting the station's marble flooring made immediately audible to Avalon's enhanced hearing.

"Ya-hallo! Blindfold-kun!" A cheery voice, that sounded like an angelic chime to Avalon, called out—belonging to a woman who looked to be in her late teens, save for her chest area, with black hair tied into twintails with pink ribbons.

She wore turquoise noble attire as befitting someone of her standing and reputation, which complimented her egyptian blue eyes that seemed reminiscent of Avalon's older brother—and appeared to carry a boundless well of ice-cold energy within them. Easily surpassing any Devil with Ultimate-Class strength.

She was the Satan Leviathan, one of four Devils standing at the apex of the Underworld's hierarchy.

She talked to me! She talked to me! She talked to me! She talked to me! She talked to me! She talked to me! She talked to me!

Avalon put one hand on his chest and the other behind his back, catching his peerage off guard by performing a flawless wellborn bow in front of the Satan—one that he had been forced to rehearse in front of his wife countless times before receiving her stamp of approval. "It's both a pleasure and an honor to meet you, Lady Leviathan. I look forward to receiving your esteemed guidance."

Taken aback by their intellectually challenged King's sudden display of peerless formality, his peerage, Adaloth included, all mimicked his behaviour and bowed in a similar fashion while spouting out their greetings.

"There's no need to be so formal, silly!" She replied cheerily, proceeding to tap her chin. "Uh, let's see here—your name's Avalon, isn't it? I'll call you Ava-tan then! Let's get along!" She walked up to him, patting him on the shoulder with a relaxed demeanor.

She touched me! She touched me! She touched me! She touched me! And she even knows my name! Levi-tan knows who I am! Avalon bit down on the inner walls of his mouth, vehemently forcing himself to retain his composure. She even gave me a nickname! Levi-tan's benevolence truly knows no bounds!

Serafall hummed, noticing Avalon's outfit. "Oh? I didn't know you were a fan!"

"Of course I'm a fan! Levi-tan is the be—" He cleared his thought, realizing that he had still allowed his poise to slip a little in spite of his best efforts. "I mean, I am quite fond of your show."

I don't understand. Why would someone with such good taste in television marry someone as grumpy as Zekram Bael?

Serafall narrowed her eyes, discreetly scrutinizing the newly minted Great King to satiate her own curiosity. Is it a facade? No, this meeting was just organized—procuring a limited edition jacket like that couldn't have been done in advance.

Even though he was Sirzechs' little brother, Serafall didn't get the same impression she did from her colleague. Nor did she get that of what she felt around Zekram either, proving that attempting to fit him into an archetype just from their first meeting alone wasn't going to suffice. Oh well, as long as I observe him closely during the meeting, I should be able to gauge him sufficiently.

People's actions always tell you more about them than their words.

She leaned to his side, getting a good look at his peerage, her gaze landing first on Adaloth. "You must be Adaloth! I'll call you Ada-chan!" Serafall beamed, leaving Adaloth unsure as to how she should respond to the Satan's eccentric behaviour. Unlike him, she definitely has a more Zekram-like presence. I should keep a closer eye on her, even though her hair was similar to Sirzechs', there wasn't an ounce of the Crimson Satan's personality to be found in her.

"If that's what you wish, Lady Leviathan." She replied in a flat tone of voice.

"There's no need to be so formal! Just call me Levi-tan!" Instead of looking at Esdeath and Lars, who were standing next to each other, her eyes landed upon a black-haired beauty in the distance, leaning against a wall seemingly without a hint of interest in what was going on around her.

Who's that? Of course, she was looking at none other than Eurus. Avalon's masking ability was strong enough to keep Eurus's identity as a Fallen Angel hidden for the time-being, but that was only as long as she didn't use her powers in front of Serafall—otherwise the Satan was bound to find out. Even if she left behind just a smidgen of residual Light Magic. A new addition to his peerage, maybe?

"There's no need to look so doom and gloom, young miss!" Serafall sprinted over to her, startling Eurus and causing her to recoil in place. "What's your name?" She asked innocently, tilting her head in a fashion that was adorable enough to make Avalon's heart melt into a puddle even from afar.

Originally, Eurus planned on ignoring Satan, but the bone-chilling stare that Avalon was somehow shooting at her despite his blindfold still being on convinced her otherwise. Answer her question, or I'll snap your neck, was the rough translation of his body language.

"Eurus."

"Nice to meet you, Eu-chan!" Serafall clasped Eurus's hand with both of hers, vigorously shaking it up and down with a thousand-watt smile plastered on her face.

She's not succumbing to my strength as much as I thought she would. How have I not heard of a Devil of this caliber before? It must be Zekram's doing.

"Uh. Yeah, likewise."

"And of course—" Serafall dashed over to Esdeath and Lars just as quickly, "—How could I forget you two adorable little munchkins!" She put her arms around their shoulders, squeezing them tightly to the point where they started tapping her like a fighter giving in to a submission hold. What a strange team composition, but strange isn't always a bad thing.

No fair! I also want to be hugged like that! Avalon pouted, his sister noticing the jealousy that was radiating off him.

This really could be troublesome, she grumbled internally. Complications just love to appear left and right, don't they? There is so much needless hassle; it's exhausting.

"I hope I haven't kept either of you waiting too long, Lady Leviathan, Lord Bael." At long last, the train door had finally opened. An elderly looking gentleman with a kind expression stepped out to greet them, sporting a dandy white beard and wearing a conductor's outfit. "My name is Reynaldo, the conductor of Archduke Gremory's train. I do hope my services will be to your satisfaction."

"You're needlessly stiff as always, Rey-chan!" As the head of foreign affairs, trips outside of the Underworld were commonplace for Satan, meaning she was familiar with pretty much every conductor, including the Gremory Clans'. "I told you to try loosening up a little last time we met, didn't I? Too much formality is bad for your health!" She wagged her finger at him.

"Haha, I'll try my best," he gestured for them to enter the coach. "Please, come inside, I've kept you all waiting long enough."

Upon entering, they were greeted with a sight that resembled a high-end lounge rather than what you'd expect to see from a train's interior. Snacks, television, games, you name it—it was there. "Ava-tan! Come try the cookies!" Serafall appeared to be solely focused on the food, much of which had been prepared in advance according to her taste.

Levi-tan wants me to be around her! He didn't hesitate to approach her side, taking one of the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies for himself. "They're quite good."

"Here!" Serafall held a cookie up to his mouth, needing to stretch upwards to compensate for the stark difference in height. "Say ah!"

Levi-tan is offering to feed me! I can't believe this! I'm not dreaming, right? No, even if it's a dream, it's fine! Holding back a tear of joy, Avalon happily opened his mouth. I take it all back. Dying was the best thing that could've ever happened to me.

"Hey, Ava-tan. Do you mind if I ask you a bit of a personal question?" Serafall asked out of the blue, causing him to tilt his head with a cookie still in his mouth.

However, it didn't take long for his confusion to be replaced with delight as a result of the notion that Serafall wanted to know more about him. "No, not at all."

"What is it you like about Zekram? I don't mean to say she's unlikable, I'm just curious what it was about her that led you to end up getting married." Serafall was obviously aware of the fact that marrying Zekram was a condition Avalon had to agree to in order to become Great King since Sirzechs told her—but she decided that playing the fool would be a better method to get him talking.

Avalon fell silent for a moment, causing Serafall to grow a little nervous.

And then he chuckled, "There's no need to lie. I'm well aware of what the general opinion regarding my wife is, Lady Leviathan."

She flinched, embarrassment plaguing her upon being called out.

Even though there wasn't any malicious intent behind wanting to get a better understanding of Avalon's character, she still didn't want the fact that she was probing him to be out in the open. As a Satan, she had her pride.

"I imagine my brother has informed you already, but I'll say it again just in case he didn't. Zekram and I got married for political reasons, that's all there is to it. Whether we like or hate each other never mattered, it's just a form of insurance for her to make sure that I being appointed as Great King is beneficial to her in the long run."

The fact that he answered her in spite of knowing what she was truly to do only made him more of an enigma in Satan's eyes. But if he was willing to humor her, then she had no reason to restrain herself. "Then which one do you lean more towards? Liking or hating her?"

Their conversation was loud enough for Adaloth, who definitely wasn't paying extra attention to them, to hear—and the question Serafall just posed was naturally of great interest to her.

"Liking," he answered calmly, and without hesitation.

Adaloth clicked her tongue from afar, which was picked up by Avalon's hearing. I refuse to believe that's true.

"May I ask why?"

"It's a strange feeling to describe," he hummed. "When I'm with her, it's like I'm encased in some sort of private bubble that only the two of us are able to notice. I don't know whether it's because of our desires, clashing ideologies, personality traits, or some other factor I haven't taken into account. But it's a unique feeling, and one I've only ever experienced with her." His mood appeared to lighten, a sense of warmth emanating off him. "She's also beautiful, so there's that."

And most importantly, older women were the best.

Serafall wasn't sure what to make of the core of his description, but she definitely couldn't refute his closing statement. Is he trying to say that he feels some kind of connection with her? With Zekram Bael of all people? I don't want to accuse him of lying outright, but it's certainly a difficult thing to imagine.

"Do you know how she feels about you?"

He shook his head, "Zekram doesn't like or hate anyone. In her eyes, everyone is judged based solely on their value to her." If he didn't have his blindfold on, he'd be side-eyeing Adaloth right about now. "The more value she sees in them, the more amiable she'll be, and vice versa."

"That's a rather cold perspective to have, isn't it?" Serafall hadn't realized it yet, but she had completely dropped the more flippant attitude she usually adopted throughout their conversation—unconsciously adoring a more firm one.

"Most definitely."

"And you're alright with it?"

"Of course, that's what makes Zekram who she is. I've known what type of person she is from the start, and I have no intention of trying to force her to change." If such a thing were even possible.

"I don't know whether to call you exceptionally understanding or just plain strange," she started to share in the light-hearted atmosphere his demeanor had created. "You're nothing like your predecessor, that much I can say for certain. Speaking of which, what happened to him?"

He sighed, "Honestly, I have no idea. She told me that she sent him into early retirement somewhere, but I can't actually confirm whether that's true or not."

"Do you think she—?"

"It's entirely possible."

When a tool loses its value, it's normally discarded.

She sucked her teeth, "You married one scary woman."

He chuckled nervously, "I won't try to disagree with you there."

---

About an hour had passed since the Gremory Clan's private train had departed from its station in the Underworld.

"Avalon," Adaloth called out to him, nudging his shoulder while he sat down on one of the couches with his head leaning back.

"Mmmmm," he let out a dazed groan, signalling that he clearly wasn't in the most alert headspace at the moment.

"Avalon!" She called out again, raising her voice and nudging him harder.

"Mmmmm!" He groaned once more, but this time in an annoyed manner as if she were being a bother.

"Wake up already!" She pulled out her signature move of pinching his waist, causing him to jolt awake and nearly kick her in the shins as an involuntary reflex.

"What do you want?" He asked her, somehow having the audacity to pretend like he hadn't been asleep for more than half the train ride. A result of the lingering exhaustion that was still plaguing him, even after getting a decent night's rest the day prior.

Adaloth felt a vein bulge out of her forehead, and part of her was tempted to give him a solid whack to the temple. "We're here, sleepyhead. " His condition still wasn't at its peak. Why would Zekram still send him out in spite of that? There's no way she didn't notice it before he left.

He scratched his head, "We are? It feels like it's only been a minute."

"That's how sleeping works, genius, now get up—you have work to do." She grabbed him by the wrist, helping him haul himself to his feet as he slid his fingers under his blindfold to rub his face.

"Are you feeling alright?" Eurus asked casually, accompanied by Esdeath and Lars, who were also staring at their seemingly fatigued King.

"He's fine, just focus on doing your job." Adaloth snapped, getting confrontational for seemingly no reason.

Eurus grumbled inwardly. Great, now she's moody again. Also, what even is my job here? I don't think it was a good idea to bring me along in the first place. If Grigori's attending as well, they're probably going to recognize me. Not that it's as much of a problem for me as it will be for Avalon, but still.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Naoetsu Town," Reynaldo announced now that his sleeping passenger had awoken.

Right now, they were in a hidden underground section of the town that had been hastily curated for the train's arrival, but it only took them a few minutes to arrive at the surface. The streets of the town were filled with everything you'd expect from modern Japan, now on full display for all of them to marvel at, with the exception of Adaloth, who had already experienced Japan from her past life.

It was currently night since Japan's timezone didn't align with the Underworld, meaning that there was very little traffic out on the streets—and few people who'd be intrigued by the group's eye-catching appearances.

Avalon didn't have much of a spectacle to witness either since he was still wearing his blindfold, and was in no condition whatsoever to be removing it without good reason. I think I smell something weird, it's faint—but it's there.

"Have you been here before?" He whispered to Adaloth. She had told him that she was Japanese from their brief encounter while they were still in their original bodies before reincarnating.

"No, I spent most of my time in Tokyo. However, it shouldn't take me long to get my bearings down here." How long they'd be staying in the human world was entirely dependent on how the meeting proceeded, so there was no guarantee they'd actually have a proper chance to get an adequate amount of exploration in before they returned.

"I see."

Avalon walked over to Serafall, "Where's Oshino?"

"Oshino's not the one who'll be greeting us, the Greek Pantheon found a separate party to help Oshino by acting as an enforcer—"

"She's talking about me," a deep, gravelly voice interjected. Avalon was now realizing why something had smelt amiss to him. "Welcome to Japan, Satan-san and Great King-kun."

A tall, slim, middle-aged man approached them. He had long, disheveled brown hair similar to Avalon's and had two distinct large vertical scars near his jawline. He wore glasses, a simple white dress shirt, grey pants, and blue slippers.

"Uh, I'll do my introduction in a bit. Just give me a second here," he reached into his pocket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and popping one into his mouth—somehow lighting it merely by swiping his finger near its tip instead of using a lighter. "Ahhh, that's much better. Wait, Sapphire isn't with you, is she? She hates when I smoke."

"Shouldn't you finish introducing yourself before asking us questions?" Adaloth snapped.

"Jeez, you could at least wait for the meeting to actually start before you get all uppity." He scratched his cheek, Adaloth's intimidation factor seemingly having little effect on the ordinary-looking man. "My name's Jin Toujou, I'm just here to make sure everyone doesn't start killing each other while you're in the same room."

"The War God?" Avalon spoke.

"Yeah, people tend to call me that every now and then. I think it's a bit flashy, but they give me free stuff occasionally, and a good pension, so I'm fine with it." The man who had fought Wilbert during the Great War, a living legend and probably the strongest member among the Hero Clan, was standing before them.

He matched Wilbert? Avalon scoffed. This guy's leagues above Wilbert. But the Great War was a long time ago, so he probably had yet to reach his full potential at that point. His nose twitched once more. His scent reminded me of Tiamat to a small degree. Is he part-Dragon or something? That would certainly explain how he's still alive.

If Wilbert had the presence of a boulder, then Jin Toujou's was that of an entire mountain. Just from seeing him alone, Avalon didn't have a single doubt in his mind that Jin would completely obliterate Wilbert in a one-on-one fight. Is this what they mean by human potential?

"You know her?"

"Know her?" Jin let out a chortle, "She's my wife, of course I know her."

Avalon proceeded to just stare at him in catatonic stupor, his brain doing a quadruple take to make sure he had both heard him correctly, and ascertained that he wasn't joking. "You're married to a Devil?" He almost hesitated to ask, the rest of his peerage sharing his surprise.

Serafall, on the other hand, appeared to already know about the situation.

"Yeah, is there a problem with that?"

"I should be asking you, aren't Heroes and Devils supposed to be you know—not friends with one another?"

"Those are just the rules the old geezers wrote up; they don't have the power to enforce anything upon me. Not that I ever listened to them in the first place," he flared his brow, reminiscing on when he was younger for a brief moment. "Anyhow, you didn't come all this way to listen to an old man ramble about his political opinion. The meeting has been delayed until tomorrow since Heaven is having some kind of an issue with organizing their church representative or whatever, so we arranged a place for all of you to stay and relax before it actually occurs tomorrow morning."

The news was like music to Avalon's ears, rest was something he was in dire need of at the moment. I wonder, how did this Oshino guy get such a big figure like the War God to help him out? By the looks of things, he doesn't have any personal interest in the matter.

"Oh, have you guys had a chance to get a proper meal before you arrived?"

The sound of Avalon and Adaloth's bottomless stomachs rumbling answered that question for him.

"I know a good hot pot place nearby, Sapphire tells me you don't have that in the Underworld, but I'm sure you'll love it."

And just like that, the War God himself had ushered Avalon and his peerage into their first trip in the human world.

---

Human world time! And a big member of the testament cast, Jin Toujou himself has appeared!

I don't really know what to put here since this is just some character interaction stuff before all the actions starts. And trust me, there's going to be some action.

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