Winds of Change (DxD)

Hephaestus' Soliloquy

— ○ ● ○ —

The world has changed a lot. Many in the realm speculate a variety of different reasons, but it all stemmed from one person—that young man that graced our realm a few months ago. Since then, he has come over to visit a few times over, and has made many friends and acquaintances over here.

"Hep! A new order!" a friend of mine shouted.

Glancing up from my work, I said, "Just put it there, and thank you. Why are you here, Hestia? I thought you had work today."

My friend, and fellow Goddess, Hestia skipped over to me while humming a tune. "I have the next two days off. Elsha and someone else were taking over and Aaron has hired enough normal humans now that we don't need to help as often, but! I'm still one of his best cooks!"

She refused to learn how to cook for so many years, and only when he gave her some criticisms that she finally did learn how to. Who would have thought that she was a natural at it? Although she fell in love with cooking and may also…

"Anyway, that's besides the point. You're heading home tonight, right? Can you pass along a message to Aaron for me? …Well, it's from Zeus," she said and paused. "Eros wants to meet Aaron. Looks like it's finally happening. Apparently Eros heard from Physis and Astraea that they saw his statue during a date of his, so he really wants to meet him."

Eros…the Greek Primordial God of Love and Sex. Aaron is known as the Oppai Dragon, so it makes sense that he would reach out to him. I also heard from Penemue that they came across a statue or something of him in Barcelona.

A change of worry and disgust appeared on Hestia's face. "Can you even imagine the weird and pervy things they'll discuss?"

I laughed at her. "Aaron doesn't really talk about lewd stuff much, but he is quite casual with certain touches."

"Like he'll grab a Greek goddess titty if he felt like it?" Hestia asked with a grin and I blushed.

I put my hammer down and sat on a chair. "I haven't done anything past kissing him, although I am busy here, and he's busy with other things…maybe I should be more direct with him."

"Huh? You haven't!? Well, damn sis, you have to get going then. Demeter's going on the attack when he comes back here. Also, you know how Freyja is!" shouted Hestia.

"Demeter? I know she teases him from time-to-time, but I didn't think she was that serious. Kurousagi and Vera occasionally come here too, but they have to go to the Egyptian realm and also balance their time with managing their team for the Rating Game tournament," I mumbled.

"Right? So many…"

"And you?" I asked.

"H-huh? Wh-what about me?" Hestia asked, her face turning red.

Perhaps she was not ready to admit those feelings, so I left it at that. We moved back upstairs and into my kitchen. Hestia had already prepared some food and proudly puffed put her chest. Even though she had grown by a substantial amount since we entered Aaron's [Pocket Dimension] several times since he came back after his 10,000 years of solitude, she still does that.

Although it does look strange since she's taller. As we got comfortable in the dining room, we began to chat about this, that and the other—so nothing in particular. Then, we felt someone enter my home. It was a familiar aura and when they entered the kitchen, we weren't surprised, well that was until we saw her face.

"Demeter? Is something wrong? I thought you were getting ready for something," Hestia asked, worried for our friend as her expression showed that she was troubled about something.

"It's Apollon. Zeus and Vidar encouraged him, and Hera tried to stop them, but they're going ahead with the plan. It also seems Eros may get involved…they have been speaking to Odin and Vidar about such things lately," she said—not really explaining anything, so both of us were confused.

Hestia tilted her head and said, "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"It seems like Apollon plans on setting up a marriage interview with that valkyrie called Rossweisse, while Vidar wants to do the same thing with Brynhildr—a few other higher-ups are going to do the same with valkyries called Grimgerde, Helmwige, Ortlinde, Schwertleite and…Rossweisse's grandmother, Göndul," explained Demeter.

After we heard that, we were speechless. W-where did this come from? Only one of them was in a relationship with Aaron. The rest, from what I understood were interested in him, although I have no idea what Göndul's thoughts were. But just because they were interested, doesn't mean they are his…so nothing's wrong with this, if you're looking at it objectively.

"Eros is getting involved…huh, I wonder what that entails?" Hestia pondered out loud. "He's the god of sex and love, so…maybe he'll play hooky?"

I sighed and said, "The Rating Game between [Team Leisure of the Kings] and [Team Golden Rakshasa] is coming soon. Jin is also playing as the sole substitute [Pawn] for Aurelia's team, so with all that said, they're definitely planning something…"

Hestia nodded along. "Well, if you put it like that…it makes it even more fishy, but why?"

Demeter, who looked grim looked relieved, but before she could speak, another voice replied to Hestia instead.

"Why it's quite simple, no? It's to help move forward those stale relationships those valkyries have with Jin, isn't it obvious?" said Freyja's voice.

When we looked to the doorway again, we found Freyja and Lady Amalthea. Vybath wasn't with Freyja, but we were still surprised to see them there. However, when they stepped in, Artemis and Athena were also with them…this had suddenly turned into an impromptu get-together.

"Artemis, do you know anything about this?" Hestia asked.

Artemis was the only [Bishop] of [Team Leisure of the Kings], and would be on the roster to fight [Team Golden Rakshasa] soon. So if anyone in this room knew for sure on why this was happening, it would be her.

With an irritated expression on her face, she sighed and nodded. "It's idiotic. Why would they even do it? …But I can't say what it is, I'm sorry," she said and accepted a drink from Hestia. "However…" she looked at Freyja and added, "what Freyja said isn't too far from what they have planned…"

With a smirk on her face, Freyja flicked her hair back. "Since we're part of Team [DxD], I have visited Jin a few times over the months, and I have seen their lackluster 'relationship'. Perhaps those valkyries have told their masters of their frustrations, so as an excuse to rile-up Jin, they came up with this. He may take the upcoming Rating Game seriously, and 'take back his valkyries', fufu."

It's idiotic, as she said, but at the same time—with how Apollon has acted with Vidar in the last few months because of the alliance, I can't put it past them. They're also quite mischievous at times, even Apollon even if he was the more mature brother out of Zeus' children.

"Now with that said, Hephaestus, since you live with him, can you inform Jin of this? It's not exactly an 'official' matter, so it won't need the Middleman's attention, but he may find out sooner or later," said Amalthea.

"M-me? Why do I—?" As I went to ask that, Freyja stood up and put a finger on my lip.

"You are the closest to him. He trusts you, and frankly, you also need this. Fufu, why not have some children with him, hmm? We may need new gods or demigods in the future," explained Freyja and I felt my face heat up.

K-k-kids? I…I mean, that's in my plans for the future, right? …But Freyja's right—recently Kanami Minagawa moved her relationship with Aaron, so I should try to, right? Penemue and Raynare too…I also sense that Latia may do something soon, and also our recent discussion on the valkyries and even Demeter.

Clenching my hands, I said, "I'll do it. But what specifics should I tell him? Surely those valkyries know about this, right? So…he may already know to some extent."

"We will leave it to you, Hephaestus. You can inform him of Freyja's theory, or just the facts. It's up to you to decide," said Amalthea.

…Aaron said he usually doesn't look into the future for things like this. This is so he can still enjoy life, so he may not know about it—or he does and he may just play along. I, or we won't know until I inform him…

Ugh…

— ○ ● ○ —

After speaking to one another for the last two hours, everyone eventually left my home in our realm. I had asked Grayfia earlier about Aaron's plans and it seems like he's staying in China for the day, so I decided to stay here for the night too.

I changed from my clothes from earlier since I basically sat down and spoke to everyone in my work clothes. I must have stunk, but they didn't say anything…how embarrassing.

'Might as well go for a leisurely stroll. I wanted to speak to some people before the day ends, and it's still around six in the evening, and…some of the people I want to speak to are in Little Olympia. Those two also already left for the day after working even when I spoke to the others, they're a bit too diligent at times. I should give them a day off or force it since they usually refuse.'

Leaving my home, I teleported to Little Olympia before going to a local food vendor that many frequent. At this time of day, there wasn't much of a life to it, so I quickly got to order my food and wait.

"You're normally not out this late, Lady Hephaestus. Is there a special occasion?" the owner of the vendor asked.

"Hmm? Oh, no, I just felt like going for a walk before I go back home," I replied.

He accepted my answer and even gave me an extra free skewer for the food I ordered. I thanked him and made my way to the two people that I wanted to talk to. They're nearly always together. Since she came back and started living here, she mostly relied on her to get adjusted again to modern society.

As I ate my BBQ skewers, I turned onto a street and walked down it. As usual, there were many who were going home after a day's work, or heading to the Red-Light District to enjoy themselves. There were a few customers and acquaintances I recognized going there. The first time Aaron was here, he said he wanted to go there out of curiosity. However, he had no interest in going there and asking for a prostitute. Did he tell us the truth or did he lie for the sake of the women he was with?

With such thoughts in my mind, I reached my destination, a quaint area with a small fountain. Near it were two women—two goddesses. The one by the fountain and was playing near it had green hair—it was Physis. The other that was sitting on a nearby bench and watched her play with a smile on her face was Astraea.

I arrived beside Astraea and sat beside her. She was surprised to see me, but welcomed me warmly.

"It's rare for you to be out this late, Hephaestus. How can I help you?" she asked.

Glancing back at Physis, she looked back at us with interest, but returned to frolicking around the fountain. I told Astraea about my recent conversation with the other goddesses and how I should go about telling Aaron the news—if he hadn't already found out about it. I also sought advice on how we can smoothly move up in our relationship status.

A smile adorned her face as she quietly giggled at herself. "Hephaestus, you're overthinking this. To answer your first question, I think you should just be honest. Jin is usually perceptive of these things, right? Or people tend to tell him things, so he may already know about it—as for Freyja's theory…why not? He may draw his own conclusions from it, or he may have his own already."

She put a finger on her cheek and hummed for a few seconds. "For your second point…don't these things happen naturally? …Although I may not be the best at answering this question to since I have never been in a romantic relationship. But…let's see, if he's that busy…why not take the initiative like that Kanami woman? Though, it did sound like she was very direct about it."

Take the initiative, huh? If it were that simple, I would have already done it…but she's right, I just need to do it. I can't let Aaron do everything. A few of the women around him have already discussed it—hence why Kanami was so straightforward about how she felt and what she wanted, even if it embarrassed her.

"Hmm? What are you two talking about?" Physis suddenly asked. We looked up and saw that she had joined us and was standing in front of us. Astraea looked at me asking for permission and I gave an approving nod, so she told her.

"Mmm-mmm. Just do what that Kanami girl did, and just scream out, Fuc—" As she went to shout that out, Astraea threw a paper fan at her, stopping her.

Rubbing her forehead in frustration, Astraea told her, "Don't be so brazen while out in public. Even if it's nearing the end of the day, near this location there are more people out because of the night-life."

Physis huffed and said, "See this, Phae? This is what happens to goddesses who stay virgins all their life!"

Astraea looked like she was about to punch Physis in the face but held back—her face had turned beat red. Did she forget that I'm a virgin too? I'll just assume she forgot and not say anything…the two argued for a few seconds about how to do things, but neither could come up with a solution that they agreed to.

I sighed and got up. "Thank you for your opinions. I'll go ask other people to see their take on it." As I walked away, I heard Physis ask Astraea if they should visit Aaron's home in the future since she hadn't been to Kuoh yet.

It seems more and more people want to go and visit Aaron's home. Most were referring to the one in the Dimensional Gap, but some referred to Kuoh. I have still yet to ask him about which home he'll permanently move into as the years pass by. Many of us believe that it may be the third one—the place called [Sanctuary].

— ○ ● ○ —

Arriving at the rabbit village, I saw many rabbit people there and walked to a certain home. I was greeted extensively as many of them were still outside, including the children as they ran around and played. It was like night and day compared to the atmosphere in Little Olympia.

Upon reaching the home, I knocked on the door and the person who lived there quickly opened it.

"E-eh? Hephaestus-sama? I-I mean come in!" said Vera. I nodded and apologized for the sudden visit. Once in there, I also saw Kurousagi who was equally surprised to see me.

"Phae? I didn't think you would be here. Normally you'd go home at this time, right?" Kuro asked.

We've become quite close since we live with Aaron, so we call each other by nicknames. It didn't look like Vera knew and looked horrified by what her friend called me. It's only been a few months since she became a goddess, so she may not be used to calling me by just my name like many others. I explained to her why it was fine and she calmed down.

"I'm actually here for both your opinions, so I'll get straight to it," I said and told them everything that happened. Both of them were surprised by it, but fell silent.

Kuro's face turned bright red as she said, "W-well, I haven't done anything with him yet either, but…I think Aaron may already know about it." She pulled out her phone and all was in our group chat, and it was Aaron simply saying 'Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!' with multiple emoji's after it.

…He wasn't happy at all. Hopefully he won't do anything unnecessary…no, he may even go to those marriage interviews. If he does, then isn't he playing into their hands? Or will he also say something to provoke them? …Everyone that watches the tournament may become even more excited about it.

"We should just do things at our own pace, Phae! But I am planning on attacking soon too!" Kuro said excitedly—her rabbit ears twitched as she did so. As she was about to continue, her phone rang and she looked at it, and her face paled slightly.

"Is something wrong, Kuro?" Vera asked. She kept staring at the phone and then showed it to us. On it was a picture…Shigune was the one who sent it with just 'Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa' above it.

The picture showed the five valkyries, minus Göndul, and Brynhildr picking up furniture, threatening to break everything—that's how angry they were. Rossweisse is particular, looked furious in the picture. I guess…I won't need to tell him anymore…

"Maybe…we should put our plans off for now until everything settles…" I told Kuro.

"Y-yeah, I agree…what about you, Vera?" Kuro asked her friend.

"E-eh!? W-what about me!?" she replied in a panic. Vera's face turned redder and redder and it looked like steam was coming out of her head.

'I see, another one, huh? Even when you don't actively try, you pull them in, is this part of your new power or something, Aaron…!?' I thought and sighed as Kuro kept teasing Vera.

At least…I got my answer, right?

— ○ ● ○ —

Aaron Toole's Soliloquy

— ○ ● ○ —

"There…there…" I patted Rose on the head as she was fuming—she wasn't the only one as the other four valkyrie—Grimgerde, Helmwige, Ortlinde and Schwertleite were furious after finding out the news from Brynhildr and me.

Göndul also looked troubled as she went to speak with the older women in our group. A night and day that was meant to be calm and relaxing had turned a bit stressful for many in our group. Some even tried to break furniture earlier and the owner looked horrified.

As for me? The situation left me unsure of my feelings. The truth of the matter is that I was only in a relationship with Rossweisse, and I would definitely fight for her, even if it's Apollon, so I plan on going to her marriage interview to prevent it from happening. However, I have been deliberating in doing it for the others too, especially Göndul since she's Rose's grandmother.

The others had left my room, including Natsume, the ones left were Fusae, Lavinia, Rossweisse and I. I was still obviously comforting the upset valkyrie since she kept changing from a scowl and muttering that she'd beat up Apollon, Vidar, Zeus and Odin, to crying to me and saying she'd marry me right now to prevent this interview from happening.

Lavinia and Fusae tried to comfort their friend. However, Lavinia also persuaded Rossweisse not to rush and just marry me for the sake of marrying me, and that we'd find a way to stop this 'farce'. Although in truth she didn't want Rose to become the 'official' and 'legal' wife because of stupid pranks by gods.

She didn't need to vocalize it. The over friendly and dead look in Lavinia's eyes said it all. Even Fusae chose her words carefully not to accidentally trip on a 'Lavinia Landmine', lest she wants to provoke her even more. But Rose didn't see it as she was too upset.

I just need to go to that stupid interview and tell Apollon to…not do that (fuck off), and she's with me. My phone suddenly buzzed and I pulled it out, I received a text from Hephaestus and it was quite detailed, a small selfie was attached that showed she was with Kurousagi and Vera.

In this text, Phae outlined a few things that I knew. However, she focused on whom the other marriage candidates for the other valkyries were. She also focused on where they would meet them and Freyja's own opinion and theory about the whole thing. In the novel, it was Rossweisse and Vidar—in my damn universe, it escalated times ten!

If they are just doing this for the 'LOLs', then I'll definitely beat the shit out of them during our match in a few days…

"A-Aaron that hurts…" Rose mumbled. When I looked down, I was squeezing her head a bit tight.

I relaxed my hold and apologized. "Sorry, I just received a text from Hephaestus, explaining the situation a bit more." Handing my phone to Rose, the other two got closer to her and read it with her.

"…Handin' mah granny to a random riff raff because theh feel like it?! Unforgivable! I'll go beat up Odin-sama now! (…Handing my granny to a random riff raff because they feel like it?! Unforgivable! I'll go beat up Odin-sama now!)" declared the angry valkyrie. As she tried to get up, I held her down and she half-assedly tried to struggle.

Of course, she didn't actually mean what she said, she was just frustrated. However, a part of me believed her words, and was tempted in letting her loose.

I always said that I wouldn't actively try to get involved with the politics and other things from other pantheons or factions unless they request me, but I may need to defy two pantheons in the upcoming days since they concern one of my lovers, my lover's grandmother and my friends who clearly don't want to get married to them.

Even Brynhildr didn't want to, but in the end, she gave the excuse of: 'If it comes from one of my gods, I cannot refuse such a request, even if I…' and she stopped there. But I knew what she wanted to say.

I sighed and pulled Rose up with me. The other two followed. Then looking at her seriously, I declared, "I'll prevent this for all of you. One, you're one of my lovers, so I can't just sit back and not do anything. Two, I'll do the same thing for Göndul since she's your grandmother, and three, I've prevented an arranged marriage from happening before, albeit not directly."

"Ara? Ara, ara?"

We turned our attention to the door after I made that declaration, and the rest of our group had showed up. The one who went 'ara, ara'd' were Mom and Göndul. I felt a little embarrassed, but I did reiterate that I meant what I said and I would prevent it since none of them were comfortable with it.

[Fufu, do you see the excuses? He just wants them for himself,] said Ddraig teasingly.

{Kukuku, yes, yes, you're correct~} Albion agreed with him.

'Rudra…'

'…I'm staying out of this,' replied the former emperor.

Göndul walked over to us, winked and poked my nose. "I'll leave it to you then, Aaron-kun. I'd rather not get married to someone I don't know, even if they're a god or higher-up or executive of that faction or pantheon."

Smiling back at her, I squeezed my hand and said, "Yeah, don't worry about it. I'll go to war with a pantheon and faction if I have to help you guys."

"…U-um…Aaron…" mumbled Rose. I looked down at her and I was squeezing one of her breasts.

Hmm…no wonder it felt a bit squishy when I squeezed my hand.

"Ara? Please don't become frisky when we're still here, Aaron-kun~" Göndul said and laughed. Rose went red and she left the room with the other mothers while most of them gave me approving thumbs ups.

I removed my hand from her chest and laughed. "My bad, it was an accident."

Rose cutely nodded before hugging me. The other valkyrie stayed behind and came back into the room—well, they were set to sleep with me for tonight.

"Have you guys calmed down?" I asked.

"Ha-ha-ha~ I may have overreacted earlier, but if Boss Skyward has our backs like that, we won't need to worry too much~!" Helmwige said while scratching the back of her head.

"I…would rather get married to someone I'm interested in rather than some random executive or God. While most would see it as an honor…for us who regularly speak to them, it really isn't anymore…" mumbled Schwertleite.

Ortlinde nodded in agreement. "We also don't know who those people are. Are they young? Old? What about personality? I've come across many people during my life so far, even more so while in Team [DxD], and I would like to say I know what kind of person I'd like to date."

Grimgerde pondered her options as she stood there. However, she suddenly nodded and trotted towards me, and with the most innocent face, asked, "Wouldn't this be annulled if I slept with someone?"

"I am not a male prostitute," I replied and they just smirked at me.

[Hah—Aaaahhh!!]

"Aaron, you're going to the Greek pantheon, right? Did they specify on whom you could bring?" Lavinia asked.

I shook my head and texted back to Hephaestus about that. It didn't take long for her to answer with 'I'll go ask.' So, we were left there waiting until she got the answer for us. In the meantime, the valkyries gathered up on the bed while mumbling about backup plans and what they'd do to get out of their own predicaments. Further showing none of them liked the idea.

They haven't had an official engagement yet though. At most, from what I read from Phae's text, that it's just a marriage interview, so whatever happens during it will decide their fates. So if they do mess up badly enough, the men may back out, or Zeus and Odin ordered them to keep pursuing the 'marriage' just to rile me up.

"I'm meeting with Eros after the marriage interview, and Apollon beforehand along with Rossweisse for the marriage interview, so I'll kindly tell him she's mine and not to bother with it, if he persists then…" I looked at Rose and I'll selfishly bet her hand in marriage during the upcoming match.

To my surprise, Rose nodded. I'm not entirely sure if she knew what I was trying to allude to, but whatever, it worked in my favor.

"I don't know what that nod meant, but do the same thing for me!" Helmwige said and raised her hand. The other valkyries agreed with her and then the door to our room opened again. This time the two other valkyries joined us.

"I heard it all, Jin. I would like to participate in this," said Brynhildr.

Did she perhaps speak with Göndul about the situation? Or did they… Looking into it, they definitely contacted Odin just now. From the looks of it, it's a 'prank' from their sons, so while they thought it was funny, they shouldn't be too invested in it…those were the thoughts of the leader of Asgard.

So Zeus shares the same sentiment, huh? What troublesome gods…I just 'prank' them myself in the future.

"May we know the details of your plan if they persist?" Suzaku, who had just joined us too, asked.

All eyes were on me, so I said, "I'd tell them that I was marrying all of you, and if they persist, I'd wager all of that during the upcoming Rating Game."

Brynhildr—who had a water bottle with her, dropped it out of shock. Well, she wasn't the only one just staring at me like I had gone insane. But my logic was…fight fire with fire. It will make it more intense for the ones watching at home since those two would undoubtedly announce it to everyone sooner or later.

"A-are you serious?" asked Helmwige.

I nodded and summoned five extra rings, I hadn't given them any since…well, we weren't 'anything' yet, Göndul also already had a necklace that I gave her, so she was fine, but also looked slightly upset. So, I produced another box.

"These are like the Rose's ring. This one is a new necklace for Göndul, so—yeah." I wanted to say 'It would be more convincing this way, right?' But I felt like I'd sound like an asshole, so I didn't. After another short period of silence, I gave them the boxes.

They opened it and slid the rings onto their ring fingers and looked quite happy with it. Göndul replaced the necklace she had with the new one. She looked unsure with what to do with the other one, so I went over to here and changed it into a bracelet.

"Anyway, let's just relax for the rest of the night. We can deal with this whole dumb mess of theirs starting tomorrow," I told them and we did just that.

The ones that slept with me that night were quite happy so they were quite affectionate towards me which I didn't mind.

— ○ ● ○ —

In the middle of the night, I woke up from my slumber because my body felt heavy. When I looked at the culprit, it was Venelana of all people. As I was about to speak, she put a finger on my lips and went back to resting her head on my chest.

I checked the rest of the girls and they were all still asleep. Since I made the bed much larger than what was given to us, we all had space on it—the same with the room since it needed to be expanded otherwise the entire room would be cramped.

'What are you doing here?' I asked telepathically. Instead of answering me, she planted a kiss on my lips…and continued to do so for the next thirty seconds.

As she did this, I remembered the incident that happened when we went to my home in the Dimensional Gap for the first time—everyone was there, [DxD], the Gremory family, everyone in my household and others…

— ○ ● ○ —

"Jin, can we speak?" Zeoticus asked.

We had taken a short break after exploring my new home—well, we were split into groups and the one I was with wanted to take a short break and we did so. The others who wanted to keep on exploring kept on doing so.

Going over to Zeoticus, I asked, "How can I help you, Zeoticus?" He gestured for me to follow him and we went into one of the empty rooms.

Throughout the day, he had been giving me strange looks, and both the Gremory siblings, Asteri, plus Venelana did the same thing. The only one who didn't do this was Millicas since he didn't pick up on it.

"A fine home you made here, and you said you didn't want a large castle for a home. Did time make you change your mind?" he asked and laughed.

I laughed along with him. "Yeah. People keep changing after all, and I did too. There are a lot of things I said or thought that have changed in just one year," I replied.

With a slightly sad expression on his face he said, "Yeah…things do change."

Seeing this, I asked, "Is something wrong?"

He stared at me for a few seconds before turning his gaze around the room he had brought us to. It was a spare room, almost like a living room with a multitude of bookshelves with empty shelves. A large fireplace, sofas, couches, and a few wooden tables. There was also a mini-bar in one of the corners with stools and more tables and chairs.

"I'll be blunt Jin, you're aware of the concubine I have, yes?" he asked.

"I am. I've heard from Rias and Akeno before," I replied. Instead of having a harem, Zeoticus Gremory had a concubine. As for the reasons, I wasn't aware of them, nor did I plan on doing anything about them.

He awkwardly scratched his cheek and blushed. "It never occurred to me that a thing like this would happen, yet it did…no, not just me, but for the both of us."

…Both? He wasn't referring to me—so, to whom? Venelana? Or maybe even Chysis? She is quite doting on him after all.

"…I've been seeing a woman in that concubine a bit more seriously lately. You know what I mean, right?" he asked.

I nodded in agreement and he continued.

"Lilion Vapula—a devil from the Vapula clan, the same one as Sairaorg's mother, Misla Bael, or formerly known as Misla Vapula. Quite ironic that she was the one to introduce us. After she was helped by you, Misla began contacting various people in the Underworld, that included her own family—the Vapula Household of Devils," he said while walking over to the mini-bar and I followed suit.

"After that day, we met up from time-to-time when my schedule allowed it. We chatted about various topics and we grew closer. I suggested that she join my concubine when I thought things were going well, and she agreed." He pulled a bottle out from one of the fridges and began drinking it.

"I didn't think I'd fall in love with someone apart from Venelana, but here I am, hundreds of years later wrong about it," he said and looked at the ground.

"What's the problem with that?" I asked, confused by this weird love story he was telling me.

"I told Venelana about my feelings for her—and that she somehow became pregnant. As you are aware, devils have a low birthrate, so the fact that she managed to get pregnant was a miracle in of itself. We don't plan on aborting the baby. It's another pure-blooded devil, you know? This time…a mix of Gremory and Vapula. However, we don't plan on letting the Underworld know, like many other private births," he explained.

Stunned. That was probably the feeling I felt right now. Kid? Him? Again? So…Rias and Sirzechs will have a half sibling, right? The Vapula clan are known for their lion taming…does Misla know about this? Sairaorg? The clan itself?

"Can't you love both?" I asked a bit abruptly.

A bitter smile spread across his face. "We tried, since it started, we have tried. Venelana and Lilion did their best at sharing the 'head' of the concubine, but they usually had differences of opinion." He sighed and drank a bit more. "This led to arguments, and Venelana and I slept in separate rooms."

He glanced at me and smirked then drank more. "We don't plan on having an official divorce as it would look bad on us and it may cause problems for Sirzechs, Rias and Millicas. However, all but on paper…our marriage has already ended. We live in the same home, but we act more like roommates, and we keep up appearances while out in public as a happy married couple."

Truthfully, I was a bit mad at him. But at the same time, if I said anything I'd be a hypocrite since I have a harem. But…she chose this Lilion person over Venelana after being together and married for hundreds of years? They've barely known each other for a year…

Although my relationships with Lavinia and Akeno were kind of the same, we fell for each other hard within a few weeks of meeting each other, so I couldn't say much about that either… No, I couldn't—or I'm not allowed to be angry towards this man since in a way, I was in his position—minus having a wife beforehand.

"I…see…uh, so why are you telling me this? Also, does Rias know? Sirzechs? Millicas? Asteri?" I asked.

"Sirzechs is a smart man. He suspected it near the start. Asteri took a bit longer, but she eventually noticed. We don't plan on telling Millicas, but Rias has yet to find out. We know she's changed quite a lot, but we don't know how she would react to finding out. Furthermore, we want to sit her down and tell her on what's happening."

He laughed. "Jin, you've had a strange relationship with my wife for quite some time, haven't you? You're not that blind to it, right?" he asked.

If he put it like that, then I can't deny it. Venelana and my interactions have been…strange to say the least. She's been a bit too touchy-feely with me after a certain time. She spoils me more than she normally should for a future son-in-law. There have been many instances of this that I can't name them all. The bath incident with the Gremory ladies was probably the most dangerous situation I was in with all of them.

"I won't deny that, but what are you trying to say?" I asked again.

He chuckled and stood beside me and tapped my shoulder with the bottle. "…Take care of her. She's a good-hearted woman. Perhaps I—or we should have tried harder to make it work, but at some point, it was a lost cause."

He walked away with the bottle and mumbled something about ordering some of it for his own collection. I turned around and as soon as he arrived in front of the door, he ran back to me at a full-sprint, much to my surprise.

"Also! Please take care of my mother! I love that she is so fond of me, but it can be a bit overwhelming at times! She's been doing this for too many years since my father died! I also leave the First-Generation Gremory to you, Harem King-sama!" he shouted and patted my shoulder violently before running out of the room.

Sighing after he left, he confirmed a few things for me. Rias' grandfather was dead. Why or how? I don't know, Rias never mentioned it, so she either doesn't know, or does know and just hasn't told me yet.

"…But leaving three different generations of Gremory to me, as well as the current head wife…what the hell man," I mumbled to myself. Glancing back at the mini-bar, I was tempted to grab a bottle and drink from it, but decided against it.

"I can't even get drunk, what's the point?" I said and laughed before leaving the room—but as I arrived at the door, it opened and Venelana stepped into the room before pushing me back in and onto the ground.

The door behind her slammed shut and she smiled at me. "You know?" she asked.

"The thing with Lilion Vapula and Zeoticus and your marriage?" I asked. She didn't say anything else and kissed me. She also grabbed my right hand and forced me to grope her. I wasn't that shocked by this sudden development, but I gently pried her off and sat up.

"A-a-r-o-n-k-u-n~" she happily whispered and hugged me.

Did that coming out finally push her over the edge? What happened to the '10,000 years of waiting'? Since I'm dogshit at rejecting people, I just hugged her back, but didn't let her kiss me again.

"We—"

"How about we tell Rias about this soon?" she said, interrupting me. "By we, I mean Zeoticus and I. I will still act like the loving wife to him while in public, but until the Underworld changes more, we can't have a divorce nor can I leave him."

She pulled away from me and touched my nose with her finger. "Okay? I know how you feel about this since Rias and Akeno tell me things from time-to-time, the same with Grayfia too."

"…Yeah, let's take this slowly…" I replied, unsure how to feel about this sudden development. This kind of came out of left field, but…Zeoticus going on more 'business trips' over the year wasn't suspicious at all since he did that a lot before he wanted to be with Lilion.

— ○ ● ○ —

Rias wasn't here with us, so she could do this. I wonder if the others know about it? Misla surely knows, right? I mean, I doubt Lilion could keep her mouth shut if it did happen. Would she become an unofficial 'Gremory' then?

Venelana had stopped kissing me and was lying on my chest and had seemingly fallen asleep. Looking to my side, I saw Rossweisse had woken up and was staring at us in shock. Many of the girls hadn't found out this information yet, so her reaction was understandable. I quickly sent her the info and she stared at me even more shocked. However, she gave me an understanding nod, before we both closed our eyes and went back to sleep.

— ○ ● ○ —

Morning came and Venelana was already gone when I woke up again. However, she and a few others were already awake and out and about. Since this place didn't have breakfast, they must have gone out for that.

"Rise and shine…" I mumbled and clapped my hands. Due to this, Helmwige fell out of the bed, while bringing Schwertleite with her.

"…I hate you…" muttered Schwertleite as she got up and rubbed her side. Everyone else began to wake up one-by-one. Lavinia spread her arms apart, asking me to pick her up, almost like a baby.

I did so and she asked, "What are your plans today…?"

"Well…" Checking my phone, Phae texted me during the night about the time and place for the meeting between the gods, executives, and valkyries for the marriage interviews, and it was soon—in a few hours. I showed Lavinia this and she wasn't too happy.

"Can I come…?" she asked cutely.

Fusae grabbed my arm and pointed at herself too, unsure if she wanted to go to the Greek realm because she was interested or because she wanted to go there because of me, but I didn't question it.

Phae also said that bringing anyone was fine, but the limit was four other people, which didn't include Rossweisse. So with me, Rose, we could add four more, well, two, if we include Lavinia and Fusae.

"Sure, why not?" I replied. "Fusae, make sure you don't have any missions for today."

She nodded, got dressed and walked out of the room with an eager first step. Everyone else began to get dressed and we left the room. Since we were only staying the night, I changed it back to its previous state. The owner would be confused if I left it like that.

Once outside, we waited for the others who hadn't gone out yet, and after a few minutes they joined us with Fusae telling me that she could join. However, they apparently were embarking on a mission, so Natsume, who also wanted to come, was denied by Kanami and the sisters argued the whole entire of the morning.

— ○ ● ○ —

After we had breakfast, everyone was ready to go home. To the ones who were going to different places, I'd have my shadow soldiers inform me of their conversation as it happened, and my group would head to the Greek's Pantheon.

"Stay safe, okay? And bring me to those pantheons in the future!" said Mom.

The two others who were coming with me were Velgrynd and Azathoth. Suzaku wanted to, but she's needed back in her clan. She's had increased responsibilities since the passing of Suou and the other elders, so she's quite preoccupied over there. Akeno, when she has free time goes over there to help, the same with Danu and a few others. I also go there to help from time-to-time.

"I will, just make sure you do too, alright? I'll send everyone else back too," I told them and after saying our goodbyes a few more times I sent everyone else back first.

"So you're leaving today?" asked Silphia. Turning around I found her. The four members of her group were there along with Ganyu, Keqing and Quan Xinyue.

"Yeah. Something came up in the Norse and Greek realms that required my attention, so we'll be leaving, but we may come back in the future," I told them.

Silphia nodded and put her hand out for a handshake and I shook it. "We'll look forward to that visit then. Thank you for…sparing us."

I chuckled. "It was Ningguang who had this planned out, not me. In a way, she kind of just asked for my presence here to make it go smoother. If anything, you should reach out to thank her in the future."

She smiled and nodded. "I'll make sure to do that then, but thank you again. Have a safe trip."

"Yeah." After our final goodbyes, we left for the Greek realm.

— ○ ● ○ —

We arrived in Little Olympia. The ones who hadn't been there once looked around curiously, but I began walking towards the tower in the distance. As we did, a familiar face rushed towards us.

"Yo! Jin-kun. I've come to get you and Miss Valkyrie here," said Hermes. "Ah, there are others waiting too, so let's not keep them waiting!"

"Yeah."

"Uwa…you don't look that happy about this. Fufu, in a way, they're stealing 'Your Valkyries', right~?" he asked with a smirk.

This little bastard was enjoying this too much. "…Just get on with it already," I replied a bit irritated. He put his hands up while muttering 'Scary, scary, let's go!'.

As we walked towards the tower, we came across a few people as they greeted us, mostly Hermes and I, although the girls didn't mind, but a few did look at Rossweisse and whispered to one another. Did it already get leaked? Or did Apollon and Vidar just tell everyone in their respective realms?

"Apollon-kun already spread the marriage interview with the help of Zeus. Although Hera was quite angry with them, fufu. You may already have an idea on what they're trying to do," said Hermes.

'Hera, by all means beat up your husband and son for me…' I sighed and sped up a bit. "Well, I'll make my own little declaration today since you confirmed it for me…this is taking way too long. Are they in that meeting room?" I asked.

"Hmm? They are, why—"

Without waiting for more of his input, I teleported us just outside the door and Hermes smacked into it as he was still walking normally.

He looked a bit irritated and rubbed his nose. "A bit of a warning would have been good, Jin-kun."

"My bad," I replied and pushed the doors open. We stepped inside, and only a few people were there. Apollon, obviously, Zeus, Hera and what seemed to be higher ups, around four of them. I hadn't met them before…

The room was different though. Instead of those imposing floating platforms, there was a single but large table in the middle with chairs. It was rectangular with Apollon at the top, with the others on his left and right.

We walked over and sat at the opposite end. Rose seemed nervous now and fidgeted, so I held her hand underneath the table as we waited for it to start.

"Hoho! Welcome, Jin! I hope we didn't pull you away from anything interesting," said Zeus enthusiastically.

"No, not really. We just finished some things in China and decided to come here after. So? What's this about? You're aware that—" I grabbed Rose's shoulder and pulled her closer to me. "We're dating, right?"

An awkward silence followed after I said that, but one of the higher-ups stood up, clearly angry about something. She then pointed at me and angrily said, "These orders came from a god! Their words and will are and will always be uncontested. How dare you question it!? You're just a popular human, nothing more."

The other three looked horrified, but also seemed to agree with her. However, no one else said a thing and the room became silent again.

Apollon coughed into his fist and stood up. "Truthfully this was Vidar's and Odin-dono's idea. However, since I see Vidar as a brother of sorts, I decided to go along with it, so I have to apologize for that, Jin-kun. I didn't think his little joke would go this far."

I faced palmed after hearing that. The higher-ups that were there seemed confused by this, so Apollon elaborated.

"You promised to have a duel with Vidar some time back, right?" he asked and I nodded. "He's been patiently waiting and when you didn't—well, he challenged you that way after that match of ours. Honestly, he wasn't sure if you would accept, nor would the other organizers would allow it, but it worked out in the end."

"I'll admit that it was my fault, and I didn't find time to fight him, although various things happened that prevented me from fulfilling that promise. But I don't mind fighting him during the game, but he really didn't need to do this. By the way, what about the others?" I asked.

Confusion riddled his face and he asked, "…Others? What others?"

I also became confused and added, "Hephaestus said that Vidar set up Grimgerde, Helmwige, Ortlinde, Schwertleite, Brynhildr, and Göndul for marriage interviews with other Gods and executives."

Apollon blinked at me a few times, before he looked at Zeus who awkwardly looked away. Apollon's lips twitched and he created a magic circle and began talking into it. From it, we heard Vidar's laughter and he said he was having a fun time with Brynhildr there.

Sighing, Apollon looked apologetically at me. "I'm sorry, I had no idea about this. However, it seemed like my father knew," he said and we turned to look at Zeus.

One would expect me to lose my shit, but…Hera looked she was ready to explode at the man. She got up from her chair, grabbed Zeus' ear and pulled him out of the room. Apollon and the other higher-ups looked terrified.

'…It seems the wives of this world have some kind of innate power that makes their husbands and children terrified of them. Aaron, will this power be bestowed upon your wives in the future?' asked Rudra.

'…No,' I replied. Although if I look back at it, there have been many cases of it during my short time in this universe. Sirzechs, Zeoticus, Cyril Sitri, Lowell Abe, and various other husbands that were 'scared' of their wives.

But I believe it's more of a 'joke' between them as a married couple. Sirzechs is clearly more powerful than Asteri, so if anything, he should have the final say in many of their things, but most of the time that I see them, Asteri is the one calling the shots (while at home). So I can assume that this was the case for the others.

"Hey, Jin! How about a bet? You already found out about my little 'prank', right?"

"A bet?"

"Yeah. So, if I win, we'll continue with this marriage thing. I never really took the time to speak to Brynhildr about normal things, but she seems interesting enough. My old man and the others have been telling me to settle down after all," he said.

"And if I win?" I asked.

"That's up to you—what do you want?"

"Well…they're already my valkyries, so I might as well marry them instead of you," I said and laughed.

As we had this conversation, I connected them to the other locations where the other valkyries were having their marriage interview.

"Kahahaha! Really? Seriously? Alright, I'm fine with that! Our team, or the Golden Rakshasa's?! Who will win?! I'm looking forward to it, Oppai Dragon! We'll definitely be fighting too! Tell them that! Don't let them interrupt us!" shouted Vidar excitedly and the magic circle disappeared.

Apollon sighed and sat back down. "This escalated more than I thought it would…but it's still a game, so I'll inform the rest of mine. Will you use the summoning technique like the Dragon King Genshirou used in their match?"

"If Typhon is there, then Ddraig has said he'd like to fight him, so why not?" I replied. Apollon nodded and created another magic circle which connected to Typhon.

Once he was done speaking to the very excited King of Monsters, Apollon said, "Well, that takes care of business. Oh, I'd like to add that it was Vidar's idea to spread this around…so if the supernatural knows about it in the coming days, then he'll most likely tell them about your bet too."

"I more or less expected that, so don't worry about it," I told him.

We spoke for a little bit more. The higher-ups from earlier, especially the one who shouted at me was avoiding eye contact with me like her life depended on it. It's not like I was bothered by it, it's happened to me so many times that it's like background noise now…

"We'll get going then, we'll see you guys at the game."

"Yes. Goodbye for now, Jin-kun. Ah, Eros wishes to see you too, he's near—"

"Yes, I'm aware. I've felt him trying to stare at me since we arrived here," I replied and Apollon wryly smiled.

— ○ ● ○ —

Zeus and Hera weren't outside the room, but the one to greet me there was Freyja and Vybath.

"Freyja."

"Jin~ how have you been? I heard that you listened to my opinion about this amusing event~?" she asked. "How will you repay me?" she asked.

"With 'that'." I stared straight into her eyes as I told her that and she seemed surprised, but she broke out into a smile.

"Oh? Are you doing it out of the kindness of your heart, or are you expecting a reward from it?" she asked while making the motions of sucking something.

"Let's go with: I'm doing it as a request—as the Middleman, how does that sound?" I replied. She didn't seem that happy with my answer and turned around.

"Ah, is that so? I'll appreciate it then. When you plan on doing that…please come meet me here," she said and vanished with Vybath.

Velgrynd tugged on my sleeve and asked, "What does she mean by 'that'? I also don't like that woman…she just feels gross."

"By 'that', we meant her reason for staying here. Freyja was originally from the Norse realm, but she moved here for one reason or another. She never disclosed her reason to me, but using a bit of common sense and my powers, any normal person would come to that conclusion."

Velgrynd stared at me and said, "Óðr? Isn't that her husband? Does it have something to do with that?"

"Yeah. But what I know and 'will find out' for her—I doubt she'll like my answer, or their ending. But she has more friends and comrades now—from both here and Asgard, so she'll be fine," I said and began walking away.

The love story between Óðr and Freyja. It feels like it came out of a fairy tale. However, it's this and their reality, so I—we'll just have to be supportive towards her or them depending on their choices in the future. Although there is a chance that it can be changed, I can only hope he chooses the other route.

— ○ ● ○ —

Arriving back in Little Olympia, Hermes ran away saying he had other jobs to do. However, he said he'd spread the news to everyone since it was inevitably going to happen. I didn't stop him and he laughed as he left.

"Next is…"

"To the Primordial God of Love and Sex, Eros," said a familiar voice and I felt two large melons squish against my back.

Glancing back, I saw Demeter who smiled at me. "Hello, Jin~ I'm glad you're back in our realm~"

"Hello, Demeter. I see that you're with a few others, huh?" Behind her were Phae, Artemis, Athena, Hestia and a male god I hadn't seen before.

The male god had long wavy white hair, blue eyes and wore a white toga and sandals. He had a smile on his face and when I turned to face him, he put his hand out for a handshake.

"So you're the middleman? I'm Aeolus, God of Wind and Air. Nice to meet you."

"Aeolus? Aren't there various depictions of you in the human realm? I've always wondered which one was the real deal…" I muttered and shook his hand.

The first story about him was of him being the son of Hellen and the eponymous founder of the Aeolian race. The second was of him being the son of Poseidon, who led a colony to islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, and finally, him being the son of Hippotes who is mentioned in the Odyssey and the Aeneid as the ruler of the winds.

He laughed while shaking my hand. "All of them have some truth to them. I'll let you speculate on that information," he said with a wink. "I will guide you to Eros' home. He made a sub-realm in our realm, otherwise, he usually lives in the human realm enjoying 'worldly desires'," he said and began walking away and we followed him.

Hestia asked, "Aren't you curious about why Eros wants to meet you?"

"No, not really," I replied. "I mean…it's quite obvious, right? Oppai Dragon, harem, other things…I'm more surprised not many other Gods of Sex and Love haven't contacted me yet."

"Unbelievable, so you want them to contact you more?" Hestia asked while shaking her head.

"I'm just curious about the conversations we may have," I told her and we eventually arrived at a shop and entered it.

It was a normal shop with a wooden exterior. It didn't seem as popular as the other ones near the main street of Little Olympia as there were only a few patrons here, but Aeolus greeted the owner and we went to the back. In this area, we found a medium-sized Greek-style magic circle.

"Eros was the one who created this place. He was drunk and decided to create it one night. Anyway, these and two other places are the only ways to enter his realm. It's quite strange, but Eros himself is strange too," explained Aeolus.

He then stepped onto it and vanished in a puff of pink clouds and hearts. It was a little strange, but Zeus' teleportation circles made you disappear in a flash of lightning, so this isn't too strange…by this place's standards. We stepped on it in groups, until Azathoth and I were the last ones.

"Your thoughts so far?" I asked.

She glanced at me, then back at the door then at the magic circle before closing her eyes. "I have no opinion of the place." She then stepped on the magic circle while grabbing my wrist and pulling me into it.

— ○ ● ○ —

Upon arriving, we were in a strange, cloudy place full of long white pillars that soared into the sky. There were various creatures that flew around that were shaped in hearts or wings. Underneath us was a road of pink and white clouds. This was more like a giant open space than some kind of building. However, I did feel one other presence in here that I was familiar with.

When Azathoth and I arrived, she let go of my wrist and put some distance between us. It feels like she's a dandere or kuudere and I'm too sure in which one I should label her as. As if understanding what I was thinking, she glanced at me asking me to stop and I did.

"Clouds…and love! The Roman equivalent of Eros is 'Cupid', right?" Lavinia asked. As one of the Italian-born in my household, she's quite proud of her heritage, even if her immediate family shunned her.

"That he is, although they're quite different from each other. Aphrodite came to visit earlier. Come, they're waiting," said Aeolus. We continued down the very bright and soft path, the strange creatures occasionally coming down to us.

Quite a few of them went to 'Fated Ones', especially to Lavinia. Velgrynd was annoyed by them so she didn't interact with them, and Azathoth didn't react to them. Fusae seemed intrigued and studied one that she 'caught' and the little thing was terrified and finally Rose was hugging one near to her chest. The goddesses that were with us seemed to be used to them and didn't interact with them much.

We eventually arrived at a large and wide area. There were mini fountains, waterfalls and very extravagant furniture around the place. Many were made of a mix of gold and pink, or pink-white or gold and white.

Two people sat around a square gold-white table. On the left was Aphrodite and on the right was a man with short pink and white hair. He had heterochromic eyes. The left eye was gold while the right was pink. He, for all intents and purposes looked handsome. He wore an open jacket that showed off his chest and six-pack, white pants and was barefoot.

He had a flower on the back of his ear, and one in his hair along with a crown of flowers. Once he saw us, he immediately got up, appeared in front of me and hugged me…seconds later I pushed him off me.

"You…must be Eros, then?" I asked.

He laughed at me and twirled around which caused a pink mist, flower and clouds to appear. "Indeed, I am, Oppai Love Dragon! I am the Primordial Greek God of Love and Sex, Eros! I have wanted to meet you for quite some time!"

He did some strange poses and then threw some flowers into the air which floated around us. Is…is this what they call 'flamboyant'? Because this guy was over-the-top, but it wasn't…bad? I mean, I've met weirder people over the year. Also, what the hell's 'Oppai Love Dragon'?

"So…what did you want to talk about?" I asked.

He looked at me, at everyone—the women in the room and he stopped at Velgrynd, Lavinia and Azathoth, nodded and looked at the rest of them. A wide smile spread across his face and he asked, "Out of the women here, who would you say you love the most?"

As I started to speak, he put his finger forward, stopping me. "If you say 'All of them', then you're lying. You know in the back of your head that you spend a little more time with one of them more than the rest. You care just a little more about one of them than the rest. Of course, this doesn't mean you love the rest any less, but for now, be honest with me and yourself."

Everyone stared at me, waiting for my answer. In a way, I wasn't obligated to answer this, and I wasn't intending to. However, the expectations of everyone right now were enough to make it a bit awkward. As I thought of an answer, my eyes naturally drifted towards Lavinia. This made the woman in question blush and put her hands on her cheeks.

"Fufu, even if you didn't verbally give me an answer, your body language says it all. Your eyes also drifted to someone just now, no?" he said and smiled at me.

"Yes, you're probably right. Although I didn't really do it on purpose, it was more like—"

"It naturally happened. It coincidentally happened. It happened instinctively. It just did…something like that, right?" he asked and I agreed. "Fufu, well, I won't say anything else about it, but keep in mind—if you have such a large harem, will you be able to keep them all happy? Did the thought of them cheating occur? Well, these are just hypothetical questions, so don't think too much about them," he said and went back to the table.

Once he was there, he started tapping on it and Aphrodite waved at us. "Come, come, let us have some food. Even if the time for lunch is still far," he said and clapped his hands. The creatures around the place began bringing food over, and a few just appeared out of nowhere.

"It's been a while Aphrodite. Why were you here?" I asked the goddess.

"I am friends with Eros, so it's only natural I come here to visit him and chat," she replied and began eating her food. Everyone began eating and chatting about different topics. Somewhere during that, Demeter had scooted closer to me.

Originally, Lavinia was to my right and Demeter was to my left, but we had some space between us all. Although Lavinia had moved herself closer to me, happy with the answer from earlier. Rose looked jealous, and the rest wore complicated expressions on their faces.

"How can I help you?" I asked Demeter.

"Hmm~?" she acted dumb and tilted her head. However, she was pushing her breasts towards my arm, and wasn't being subtle about it.

With her breasts on my arm, it made it slightly awkward to eat without accidentally bumping into them, so I decided to make a part of my arm just pass by them. She seemed shocked by this and Aphrodite smirked at her, causing the goddess beside me to glare back at her. Sparks flew between them as they glared at each other.

Looking towards Phae, she shook her head, unsure why they were acting like this.

Towards the end of our meal, Eros looked at me and asked, "So, Jin…tits or ass?"

This sudden question obviously made the entire room fall silent. Aphrodite looked like she wanted to hit him, but didn't, however her face was quite red. Whether that was from anger or embarrassment, I wasn't quite sure. The others were strangely eager to find out my answer.

I've already been asked this by my classmates back in the high school division of Kuoh, so I'll just repeat my answer back then. Looking seriously at Eros, I said, "The soul."

Eros burst into laughter for a few seconds, but looked back at me with seriousness. "No, seriously, which is it?"

…Would looking at him seriously and shouting 'Everything! Everything about my lovers I love. I'm just a plain pervert at this point because of a few of them are giving me weird fetishes!' or something like that.

…Let's hold back for now and not do that. "I am called the Oppai, Ketsu and Thigh Dragon after all. I think that speaks for itself," I replied.

He nodded sagely in response. "Hmm-hmm. So, what you're saying is…you're just a pervert!"

I chuckled. "I won't deny that. Over the course of the year, I've awakened many strange fetishes thanks to the girls." Glancing at Lavinia, her face turned completely red, the same with Rossweisse.

"Hmm, you blonde woman that Jin keeps looking at, what does he mean?" Eros asked her. Startled by this, Lavinia panicked and looked at me for help.

'It's up to you if you want to answer him or not,' I told her. She stared at me for a few seconds—her face increasingly turning redder by the second.

"…W-we d-don't do anything strange…i-it's just normal…l-love making…" she said bashfully while twirling the ends of her hair. She couldn't take it anymore and put her face on my arm.

What she said was true. Lavinia likes it slow and what she calls 'lovey-dovey' sex. So out of all the girls, she's the most vanilla which I don't mind, because most of them can get really…weird. I blame Kuroka and Akeno for putting strange things into their minds—I guess Suzaku also fits into that category? Although she has a fetish for—

"My, how cute! Who would have thought the wielder of [Absolute Demise] would be this cute, fufu," said Eros. He turned his attention to Rose and asked the same question. "And how about you, the valkyrie of the Norse gods? You are in a relationship with Jin here, but Apollon has asked for a marriage interview today. What are your thoughts on both matters?"

"I-I'm not obligated to tell you that, E-Eros-sama!" replied Rose firmly.

"Fufu, that's true. But…" his eyes glowed as he stared at her. "At least it's fulfilling, yes? I can see it. You only recently entered into a physical relationship with him, so you're still quite new to this." He turned to me and Lavinia. "Fufu, how cute, lovey-dovey sex, huh?"

Lavinia further buried her face into my shoulder. Not liking where this was going, I prevented him from seeing anymore and he laughed and apologized. "My apologies, you didn't need to prevent me from using my abilities. It doesn't show me anything detailed, just the types of fetishes and positions people like. And my, the Middleman is quite perverted, fufu~"

I brought my hand up and said, "Shall I make you forget?"

His lips twitched and he put his hands up. "N-now, now, that was just a bit of teasing, no need to do anything rash…I-I won't do anything with this information."

"Just know what may happen if you do," I replied and smiled back at him, making the Primordial god awkwardly smile back at me. "...Give me a second."

Everyone was confused by my sudden change in mood and I created a portal behind me and jumped through it. I arrived in a strange room where Göndul was, and some higher executive had gotten up and raised his arm to hit her. She was in the Greek pantheon of all places, and my shadow soldier informed me of this.

Grabbing the man's arm, I prevented him from striking her. Through the portal Rossweisse stare at us in shock and came in, looking furious after she got over her initial shock.

"You shouldn't strike people without a good reason," I told him.

"And who are you—!? M-m-m-middleman?! W-what are you—"

"That's the grandmother of one of my lovers, so she's family to me. Hit her and you'll face some consequences." I gripped his arm tighter making him squeal in pain. Rossweisse wanted to end him there, but she just walked over to her grandmother with concern and a scowl on her face.

Clicking my fingers on my free hand, I contacted Apollon, and seconds later, a teleportation circle appeared near me and he stepped through with a face that didn't look amused in the slightest.

"Sir Theodore, did we not have a discussion about this beforehand?" inquired Apollon.

The man called Theodore was too scared to reply to the angry god, so he fell on his ass and backed away slowly. A small wet patch had appeared between his legs indicating he had peed himself out of fright.

"Lady Göndul, are you okay?" asked Apollon. Göndul gave her usual smile and nodded at the young god. "I see, that's a relief. Sir Theodore, come with me." He went over and grabbed the man's shoulder before leaving while apologizing to us.

Turning my attention to the older valkyrie, I said, "It looks like you're fine. I was informed seconds after it started, so nothing should have happened. Maybe I should have sent one of the [Electa]."

"Fufu, it's fine, Aaron. Now that's done, may I join you~?" she asked like her usual self.

She must be used to this kind of thing for her to brush it off so quickly and easily. I agreed since it would be easier to have her near us too. Rose and I went back to Eros' realm and he immediately brought more food out. We were expecting to leave soon, but staying behind a little longer with Göndul with us now wasn't a bad idea.

"Hohoho, so the little valkyrie's grandmother is joining us? Welcome, welcome, it seems someone from our pantheon mistreated you. I'd like to extend our deepest apologies. Normally, nothing like that would happen," said Eros.

"Fufu, it's fine. I wasn't in danger since I could defend myself, but my little Jin came to the rescue before I could do such a thing," said Göndul and hugged me from behind.

[Pfft—she called you 'My little Jin', kukuku.]

Ignoring the [Welsh Dragon]'s teasing, I said, "Well, whether or not you could have done something yourself was irrelevant. I'm sort of responsible for all of you for this, so I had to do that much."

The other five valkyries who were with their marriage candidates were doing alright. Vidar was doing this for a prank, but also said he got along with Brynhildr. However, he already did that, and I trust he wouldn't do anything. But the maids over there should stop anything dumb he would do…hopefully.

The others were in the same boat. They had shadow soldiers with them and I would know if anything happens to them and react on time.

"See? He's being so serious right now—what a reliable young man! I can't wait for him and Rose to marry~" said Göndul.

After that, we stayed an extra four hours with various topics being discussed and Apollon teasing me, along with the others doing the same thing. But I did tease them back—especially Aphrodite, who became insanely furious with me…

— ○ ● ○ —

"Do come back again, Jin-kun. I'd like to discuss something else with you—on a much more serious note," said Eros.

Everyone else had used the teleporter already and was waiting for me on the other side. "Serious note? You didn't want to discuss it with me today? Was it because of everyone else present?" I asked.

"Indeed. However, another reason is that I don't have it. So I'd like to meet with you again in the future."

"Eros Engine?" I asked.

With a blank look on his face he said, "Huh? Eros…Engine? What's that?"

Shaking my head I said, "Never mind, it's nothing. Is there a specific day you want to speak again? If not, just contact me using magic."

"O-k-a-y! I'll contact you in the future then!"

It didn't sound like he had any plans for the Eros Engine. But it makes sense since I haven't revealed anything about my own [Apocalypse AnswerArms] to Ajuka or anyone outside of [DxD] and a few others when we travelled to my Dimensional Gap home.

— ○ ● ○ —

Arriving back in Little Olympia, Demeter immediately grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the small shop and into the streets. Once we were there, it seemed like something was happening. I checked the entire town and saw that there were multiple fights occurring around the place.

"Should we stop—?"

As Hestia began to say something, I took a step forward and from my shadow silvery-white blunt blades manifested all over the town in the areas where the fights took place. The people that fought were hit from the ground up—knocking them out. Each blade was around the size of the tower in Little Olympia.

Hestia looked dumbstruck and then shook her head. "Never mind. It seems Mr. Middleman has stopped it already."

With a smile on my face, I said, "Well, there are some people here who haven't been here before, so I'll spend a few more hours here with them and then we'll go home. If you guys want to accompany me, then that's fine, but if not—you're free to go."

"I have nothing to do, so I'll join you guys," said Hestia.

The other goddesses with us agreed, so as a group we walked around Little Olympia, experiencing various things. To my surprise, even Azathoth that day showed a small smile on her face. I didn't think I'd see that so soon.

— ○ ● ○ —

A few days have passed since then and it was currently nighttime, a day before the Rating Game between [Team Leisure of the Kings] and [Team Golden Rakshasa]. I was in my room waiting for the girls that were supposedly joining me tonight.

Earlier, Grayfia informed me of a change in it. She said they wanted to keep it a secret, so I didn't pry into the changes. I had already finished my work for the day and was eager to go to sleep—I mean, I had a game tomorrow since I was substituting for the game as Aurelia's sole [Pawn] piece.

The official [Poll] for the substitute ended at 1,906,927 [Yes] and 2 [No] which came from me and mom. God bless that woman for taking my side…while not everyone in the supernatural world did the poll, a lot of them did and it showed many wanted to see this game.

Perhaps it was to gauge what kind of strength I'd use for the final, or they simply wanted to see me fight as just the Red Dragon Emperor since that's what I promised Vidar. Although we already had that exhibition match, but…whatever, as long as they enjoy the match.

The door to my room finally opened and the first one to come in was…Brynhildr. She was wearing quite a risqué nightgown—it was transparent. As soon as our eyes met, she blushed, but didn't say anything and quickly made her way to my bed. She crawled from the end and up towards me. Not expecting her to act like this, I silently watched her and waited for her to do or say something.

Eventually she arrived in front of me and she put her hands and arms on my chest. She looked up at me and said, "…G-good evening. I'd like to…say something."

Nodding silently, I waited for her to continue.

"I…I lov—"

"Ah! Brynhildr-senpai, that's not fair!!"

The door to my room suddenly slammed open and in came Helmwige. She was the one responsible for the scream, behind her was…the rest of the Valkyrie Squad with Rossweisse…and—

"G-Göndul?" I stuttered out. I didn't expect her grandmother to be here. However, she didn't answer me, and just joined everyone else on the bed, although they kept on arguing with each other.

"…You girls, behave yourselves," Brynhildr said threateningly while producing a powerful aura around her body.

They immediately stopped and sat in a seiza posture on my bed. Göndul and Rose watched them while giggling with each other.

"…You were saying?" I asked, and her face immediately went back to being red.

"It's not that hard to understand, right, Aaron?" asked Göndul. "Although I believe Brynhildr wants to tell you something else tonight…right?"

After looking at Göndul for a few seconds, Brynhildr nodded. She looked at me seriously this time and said, "Please win. But we won't make it easy for your team. Even if you have powerful members, we will fight using everything we have…but we don't want Vidar-sama or Apollon-sama to win."

She started to stutter. "W-w-what I meant to say is—!"

Schwertleite had made her way behind me and said beside my head, "What Brynhildr-senpai is trying to tell you is…steal us back." she then winked. "We don't mind if you're a bit forceful…"

"That's right," Göndul said while nodding understandingly. "Steal us back~"

[GILF! Grandmother I'd Like—]

{GILF—!!}

'...Did you kill them?' Rudra asked in an uneasy tone.

'What do you mean?' I replied.

'…They're not moving, Aaron. Don't you need Ddraig for tomorrow…?' he asked.

'It'll be fine. I'll heal them back up,' I said cheerfully. He didn't answer me back, but I could hear poking sounds in my head.

"Are you listening, Aaron?" Rose asked while staring at me.

I smiled and said, "Of course. You're all my valkyries, aren't you? I'll definitely win this match. Vidar took his prank a bit too far."

For an extra hour, we messed around and spoke about nothing important—just enjoying each other's company before we before temporary enemies for tomorrow's match.

— ○ ● ○ —

The day of the match, I joined Aurelia's team in their waiting room. Today, the match was being held in Asgard—more specifically, Valhalla. I hadn't been here before, so it was a treat walking down the halls. The Rating Game was going to be held in the [Thor Stadium] within it. A statue of the God holding his [Mjolnir] stood outside the stadium.

"Let's go, we'll be meeting in the ring first," I said and we left the room. On our way there, we saw some of the group that came with us.

The Mother's Association came today too…all of them wore headbands and were cheering for us. The other groups who came also dressed up since they apparently gave them some. Part of this was Cao Cao and his team, along with the Slash Dog Team. Today Sairaorg had a game, so he couldn't come.

"Do your best, Aaron!" Mom cheered and held up glowing sticks and shook them.

"I'll cheer for both teams since I am a valkyrie after all," said Göndul.

"We had time to go here today, so do your best, Dear," said Yasaka. She along with Sharon and Kunou came here today too.

A few more of them gave us encouraging words, but the commentary started, and the crowd started to cheer.

"It's time to go, thank you for your support," said Aurelia. She flipped her hair and cape as she walked in front of us. We all agreed and followed after her.

As we walked through the halls, a strange atmosphere encapsulated us. None of them were nervous since they're used to this now, but today's participants were…interesting.

If Vidar's team stays the same, then they'll essentially have ten players while we'll have eight, but it should be fine. Everyone here has experience in fighting in the tournament. As we left the tunnel and arrived in the center of the stadium, loud cheers erupted.

[Now that [Team Golden Rakshasa] is entering the stage! They are really popular with men and women of all ages, and his fans have gathered here in this [Thor Stadium] in Valhalla to see the [Oppai Dragon] play this game!!] said the commentator.

"Kyaaaaaaaa!! Jin-sama!!"

"Oppai Dragoooon!! Wiiin!"

"Please have a great match with Vidar-sama!!"

Various fans of mine screamed on the right side of the stadium, but on the other side…

"Rossweisse-san!! I'm cheering for you today!!"

"Rossweisse-senpai!! Fight!!"

They're…oh, it's the new batch of valkyries that Rose and I help train just around a year ago. Using [Observe] on them, many of them have reached their potential. But…I saw some of them were missing, checking it myself…I see, they lost their lives to Lapis and were reincarnated…

I was happy that Rose got attention, but noticing some of those valkyries gone gave me a bitter feeling. But I also hope that they were living fulfilling lives in those new universes of theirs.

When we arrived in the middle, the commentator began to announce the other team's arrival.

[Now! People of Asgard, thank you for waiting! Finally, it's our mythology—the team that Vidar-sama is in, are now going to make their appearance! Entering the stadium is [Team Leisure of the Kings]!]

After he said that, from above us came a booming sound and a powerful gust of wind followed after it. Above us came a monster and on that monster were the various members of [Team Leisure of the Kings]. That monster was the [King] of the team—the King of Monsters, Typhon. Every one of them jumped off Typhon's back and the crowd went wild.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!! Vidar-sama!!!"

"Brynhildr-samaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"

"Glory to Vidar-sama!!!"

Their team was also mixed, so they had even more fans. From the Norse, to Greek and even monsters they all cheered for them.

[Gahahahahaha!! I get to fight a Heavenly Dragon today!! I can't wait!!] Typhon screamed.

The rest of their team looked at us—no, they focused on me. In one way or another, they were all connected back to me.

With what Typhon just screamed, he wanted to fight a Heavenly Dragon. I spoke with Apollon not too long ago. I don't need to elaborate on the valkyries, my connection to Artemis through Athena and finally Vidar. I had promised him more than a year ago to a sparring match, but couldn't fulfill it, but today…it will happen.

[Now we'll spin the roulette for this match!]

A roulette appeared and began to spin, it eventually stopped at a new type of game…at [Yggdrasil Climb]. How ironic, but maybe fate had a bit of influence on it.

[In addition, the ruleset this time is the new Tournament-original standard that has even become a hot topic in every mythology, [Yggdrasil Climb]! It's really unexpected for this to be chosen on the stage of Norse mythology!]

[The rules are simple. Run up the artificial Yggdrasil, and the one who reaches the goal on top is the winner! Of course, like the other rules so far, you can also win if you defeat the opponent's [King]!]

It's as he said, it was a simple game.

Both teams will need to run up the artificial Yggdrasil, and the one who reaches the goal on top of the Yggdrasil is the winner. Like the other rules so far, you can also win if you defeat the opposing team's [King]. [Pawn] Promotion is possible after reaching the halfway point, as [Pawns] can promote into any piece they choose after reaching the halfway-point.

[Now, the game will start after both team's teleport to the artificial Yggdrasil game field! [Team Golden Rakshasa] vs [Team Leisure of the Kings], It's the fight of the century! It will be starting soon!]

Once he finished saying that, both teams were being consumed by the teleportation light.

— ○ ● ○ —

Team Golden Rakshasa:

King – Aurelia Le Guin

Queen – Rossweisse

Bishop – Ravel Phenex

Bishop – Roygun Belphegor

Rook (2) – Scathach

Knight – Aoife Murphy

Knight – Inaie

Pawn (8) – Jin Skyward

— ○ ● ○ —

Team Leisure of the Kings:

King – Typhon

Queen – Apollon

Bishop (2) – Artemis

Rook (2) – Vidar

Knight – Brynhildr

Knight – Midgardsormr

Pawn (2) – Helmwige

Pawn (2) – Ortlinde

Pawn (2) – Grimgerde

Pawn (2) – Schwertleite

— ○ ● ○ —