P.S this story starts a few years before the start of our favorite DXD verse!
AND I DON'T OWN ANY DXD MATERIAL, ALL CREDIT TO THE ORIGINAL WRITERS!
"Talking out aloud"
'Thinking with ones mind'
"Spirits inside the sacred gears talking"
Without further delay, lets start the chapter!
Occult research club
"I'm going to become a Harem-King!" Issie shouted as he left the school grounds to deliver the contract Leaflets. In his excitement, Issie didn't realize that everyone in the clubroom was able to hear his declaration.
"I think he'll be a fine addition to my peerage, perversions and all" Rias replied while giggling at her newest pawns declaration.
"I think he will be" Marid smirked.
"We all should head out to complete our Devil duties" Rias recommended.
"Before we end this little gathering of ours, I would like to make an announcement" Marid said suddenly, grabbing everyone's attention.
"What would be this announcement, Marid?" Rias asked curiously.
"This!" Marid replied with a smirk as he threw two school bags towards Yumi and Kenta, who looked at him confused. "Go on, open them" Marid nudged them to open the bags.
Following their master's command, the duo in question opened the bags with confused expression. An expression that changed from confusion to pure shock once they realized what's in the bag.
"These are…" Yumi began but her sentence was completed by her new teammate.
"School schedules" Kenta completed her sentence as he looked Marid with a confused expression. "Why are we given a school bag with school schedules and uniforms."
"Because as of today you both are students of Kuoh academy" Marid announced much to Yumi and Kenta's shock.
"What?!!?" the duo couldn't help but exclaim together.
"Hey, don't look at me like that. Yumi, you always wanted to attend human school despite the knowledge you have gained while you worked with me. Now you can go to school alongside your own adoptive little brother" Marids reply earned him a rather deep blush from both Kiba and Yumi.
"Idiot" Yumi muttered with a deep blush.
"And as far as you are considered Kenta, I did promise you that not only I will help you master your powers but also help you live your life properly. Well there is your second chance you always wanted" Marid replied with a excited smile while looking at his Rook.
"Going to school wasn't something I had in mind when you talked about me having a second go at life with you" Kenta replied with an unimpressed look.
"Hey, don't assume that the school will be boring. You will learn a lot of stuff and also make new friends" Marid tried to convince his Rook.
"I will be fine on my own an…"
Before Kenta could complete his sentence, he was interrupted by Marid "Whatever helps you sleep at night Kenta, by the way can me and Kenta get another cup of tea Akeno? Your tea is delicious, and I have a long night ahead of me" Marid replied with a knowing smirk.
"Sure" Akeno replied with a mischievous smirk of her own as she realized what Marid was getting at.
Soon the duo was served another cup of tea. "Refreshing as always, Akeno thank you" Marid replied with a satisfied smile.
"Yes thank you!" Kenta replied uncomfortably. After all he wasn't used to this much social exposure. To his dismay both Marid and Akeno were having too much fun teasing him over it. Even Yumi didn't help him when he made silent pleads to her.
"Kenta would you like a snack with the tea? Biscuits perhaps, or maybe me?" Akeno innocently asked. Kenta wasn't able to answer the question since he was too busy trying to recover from the massive blush on his face.
Akeno and Marid couldn't help but giggle at Kenta's reaction.
"Akeno please show some restraint" Rias groaned at her queen's actions.
"All fun and games aside, I will head out too. I have to head to the underworld right now as I have meeting with the Satan's and those old bastards first thing tomorrow morning" Marid sighed as he stood up from his seat and made his way towards the exit.
"You have a meeting with the Satan's and the Elders tomorrow? I would have thought that any meetings regarding the Olympus dispute would be handled by the Satan's since they are the ones negotiating" Rias asked surprised.
"Normally you would be right, but this time it is different. Since I would need the help of the Sitri and Bael houses and their resources, this meeting will also be attended by Lord Sitri and Lord Bael. Furthermore, you know where Lord Bael is concerned, you might as well include Zekram Bael in the mix as well since he is the one who is the unofficial leader of the Elders and the Great Satan Faction" Marid sighed as he explained the politics behind the meeting.
"Who are the Elders?" Kenta asked as he had never heard of such a group of Devils before.
"Elders are a group of Devils that have been around since the time of the original Lucifer. They believe in the pure blood ideology and look down on any and every one that doesn't support their beliefs. Those old Devils are power hungry monsters who would do anything to gain more political power. The current Satan's and the Elders have a shaky alliance that has been in place since the start of the Civil war. The pure raw strength of the current Satan's is the only thing that keeps the Elders in check" Marid explained to his Rook.
"That doesn't explain why they have political power on par with the current Satan's?" Kenta asked curiously.
"Well the reason for that is pretty simple, it is because of Zekram Bael. He is the first Devil created by the original Lucifer and Lilith and is also the progenitor to the House of Bael. Along with this, he was named and was a rather successful general during the time of the Great War. Due to these reasons his clan holds the rank of the Great King which he uses to manipulate and bully rulers of other pillar families. Most of the Devil populace believe we don't really need the Elders anymore, but due to his sheer control of many pillar families, Zekram Bael holds his rank. Any attempt to dethrone him will start another Civil war which is something we can't really afford at the moment" Marid sighed as he explained the current politics in the underworld.
"That is just stupid!" Kenta exclaimed.
"Trust me I know but this is something we can't really tend to right now. Hopefully in the next few decades, when all the members of the 'Big Eight' are matured, we can do something about it but for now we have to make do with what we have" Marid sighed as he stood up from his seat and walked towards the exit.
"But don't worry about this, your classes start tomorrow so sleep early and don't disrespect my name here. Officially you both will be working under Rias and Sona, since they are the named Governors of Kuoh, but you will be given all the luxury to move around and do your own stuff" Marid sighed as he regarded his Rook and Bishop.
"So we are supposed to follow Lady Rias and Lady Sona?" Yumi confirmed.
"Yes, anything goes south in the city, and you will be contacting those two immediately and then me. But as far as them having control over you both goes, only Rias will have any sort of ability to move you around and stuff since she is the Heiress to the House of Gremory and we are all instructed to follow the leaders of our Houses but other than that you all will be free to do as you wish" Marid explained to his Bishop.
"Do you want me to come with you the meeting?" Yumi asked as she changed the topic.
"Nah, I will be fine. You guys have fun and if anything goes wrong let me know. Peace out Devils" Marid waved one last time before teleporting himself out of the Clubroom.
"I guess let me be the first person to welcome you both to the Kuoh Academy" Rias welcomed the two new students to her academy.
"Thanks?" Kenta muttered, still confused by the fact why he still had to go to school.
Next morning
"Ugghhh" Issie yawned as he struggled to keep himself awake before the first lesson of the day.
"Yo Issie what is going on with you? You look tired" Matsuda enquired after noticing the state Issie was in.
"I just had a long night" Issie replied sheepishly, not sure how to tell his two best friends that he just became a Devil and was out till midnight last night delivering Devil summoning contracts.
"That's what they all say" Motohama replied with sly grin. Hence coming to the wrong conclusion that his friend was up all night watching erotic videos rather than delivering Devil contracts. A conclusion that Issie didn't bother him correcting.
"Something like that" Issie replied sheepishly.
Before their conversation could continue, the homeroom teacher for the class walked in and made an announcement much to everyone's surprise, "Everyone we have two transfer students coming to our class today. I hope you will treat them well and warmly welcome them in our class" with that the two students walked into the room. One student being a girl having blonde hair which went down to her lower back. The other student being a man with slicked back black hair and having a broad frame to his impressive height of 6'6".
"Thank You Sensei. My name is Yumi and I lived most of my childhood here in Japan. Due to personal reasons I moved to Europe for a few years. Now I am back to my birth country. I hope you will take care of me" Yumi introduced herself while giving a bow.
"Oh, perfect body figure with cute C cup breast! She has the perfect body figure" Motohama whispered to his friends in delight.
"My name is Kenta Maki, I am a friend of Yumi and share a similar history to her. I was born here, and I left for Europe a few years ago. I hope we can all get along" Kenta introduced himself dryly.
"Its you!" Issie blurted out accusingly as he realized who the two people in front of him truly were. His outburst earned him a surprise gasp from most people in the classrooms.
"Hyoudou knows the new transfer students"
"How can a pervert know that dashing young man and that cute girl" students complained.
"You know them Hyoudou?" Katase asked rudely. Issie felt like he was a deer in the head lights since he couldn't come up with a excuse for his knowledge for the two new students.
Luckily for him someone else came to his rescue, "We know each other since we all are part of the Occult research club. We met Issie-san during our meeting Rias-senpai yesterday" Yumi replied much to the shock of many.
"Wait you all are in the Occult research club?" someone asked in shock.
"As of yesterday, yes" Yumi replied with a serene smile.
That announcement took the room by storm. Not only the two new students were suddenly part of the most prestigious club in the school, but also Issie, one of the biggest perverts in school, was also invited to the club.
"Issie is a traitor" "Issie betrayed our pact!!" both Matsuda and Motohama cried their eyes not only by the fact that Issie had betrayed them but also by sheer envy they had for him right now.
"Enough everyone!" The teacher shouted to gain control of her classroom. "You all can discuss these… developments at a later time but for now we need to get back to our studies. Kenta-san, Yumi-san if you could grab a seat" At the homeroom teacher's instruction the class calmed down and Kenta and Yumi found the spaces for themselves.
Meanwhile
"Well Well Well, I didn't expect to see you both here; Sona and Sairaorg. But then again it shouldn't be that surprising" Marid commented as he entered the meeting room in Lucifers Mansion. His arrival earned him a respectful nod from most of the people present in the room.
Infront of him, Marid could see three out of the four Satan's sitting around a roundtable alongside, Sairaorg, Sona, Lord Sitri, Lord Bael, Zekram Bael himself.
"Marid it is nice to see you" Marid turned his head towards the person who had welcomed him. The person in question almost had an uncanny resemblance towards both of his daughters. His lean frame alongside jet black hair, purple eyes and of course a goatee reminded Marid of the rank of the said person since the person in question was none other than the Prince Lord Amon Sitri.
"Lord Sitri it has been a while" Marid gave the respected Lord a small bow.
"It truly has been, but as I remember last time we talked, I told you to call me Amon" Lord Sitri replied with a smile. His reply gained him a small blush from both Sona and Marid while Serafall looked like she had sucked off a lemon. While Sairaorg sported a teasing grin on his face, Sirzech and the current Satan's kept a stoic face even though they found the situation equally amusing.
"There is no shame in that Marid, I don't understand why you are blushing so much" Sairaorg teased.
"Shouldn't you be worried about the problem you will find yourself in soon? As I understand Seekvaira is on a path of righteous fury ever since she found out you had volunteered yourself to take care of the growing Stray Devils in Europe. I wonder what kind of situation you might find yourself in" Marid bit back and hence wiping the smug grin of Sairaorg face.
"Touché" Sairaorg muttered as he held his head in his hand. There was only one woman in this world he feared, and that woman who was also his soon to be fiancé was on a path of fury against him.
"How did you find out about that mission? That mission is known to the higher ups only! If something happens to my son, I will sue you to shreds Gremory" Lord Bael threatened Marid much to everyone's surprise.
However, before either Sairaorg or Sirzech could have replied to the threat, Marid looked at the current Lord Bael indecorously, "With all due respect Lord Bael, you guys aren't really that subtle with your dealings with the Heaven and Church" Marid gave Lod Bael a pointed look at the end.
"Why you?!!" Before Lord Bael could complete his sentence, he was interrupted by his father and the leader of the Elders.
"Enough son! We are here to discuss the potential answer to our problems with the Gods of Olympus. These petty arguments could wait" Zekram Bael gave his son a pointed look which drained the color out of Lord Bael's face.
"Quite so. Perhaps this might be the best time to start the meeting" Ajuka followed, his words marking the beginning of the official meeting.
Later in Kuoh
School had just ended, and students were coming out of their final classes. Some went back home to relax for the evening while some were heading to their clubs to perform their duties. Among those students were the two new transfer students.
"I knew going to school would be annoying" Kenta whined to his fellow Devil. As one of the new students at the school, both Kenta and Yumi were bombarded with questions about their past lives. Due to obvious reasons both Yumi and Kenta couldn't have told their new classmates about their past lives, but that didn't stop the students from making their own theories about the past lives of the students. From being pestered on about their past to the reasons behind their surprising enrollment into the school's most exclusive and prestigious club, it truly had been a long and trying day for both of them.
"Oh come on Kenta-san, the school wasn't that bad. I had tons of fun today! Meeting new people, learning more about the Japanese culture and spending more time with Kiba-kun" Yumi replied with a bright smile on her face.
"It was good for you cause Kiba was able to save you from the crowd due to your close relationship with him. I on the other hand had to fend of myself against those" Kenta huffed. Unknown to him, his reply got a deep blush from Yumi. It was indeed true that Kiba's intervention during the breaktime helped Yumi loads. While it did stop a lot of people asking her difficult questions regarding her past, some students on the other hand were more interested in the relationship dynamics between Kiba and Yumi. Much to relief of much of the female populace of the school, both Kiba and Yumi were able to convince them that they were in fact half siblings, which was not entirely false.
"How is your training with Marid-sama going?" Yumi asked as she recovered from her blush.
"They are going well. We were supposed to spar today again but we had to delay our little battle due to Marid having to attend that meeting. I hope I can at least get a spar in today. After all of what we went through, I can use a release" Kenta sighed as he continued walking towards the occult research clubroom alongside Yumi, not realizing what he had just said that caused Yumi to blush.
"I am sure you will get your sparing session soon" Yumi replied with an innocent smile.
Soon enough the duo entered the occult research clubroom together, hoping to see what was on the agenda. When they entered the room, they realized they were not the last ones in since the club was still waiting for their most perverted member to show up. At the moment, Rias was completing some paperwork while Akeno was preparing tea for everyone. Kiba was reading his book whilst leaning against one of the windows in the room while Koneko on the other hand was eating her snack on the couch. Her body stiffened when she saw Yumi and Kenta enter the room but she didn't say anything.
"Good evening you both, I hope the day was uneventful?" Rias asked with sly smile. She of course knew what happened during their first day since Yumi and Kiba were the talk of the school. Furthermore, both Yumi and Kenta's sudden inclusion in their club alongside Issie had given the schools rumor mill more ammo which she found quite amusing.
"It could be worse" Kenta shrugged before taking a seat alongside Koneko, while Yumi decided to continue conversation with her childhood friend.
"It could be. Where is Issie isn't he in the same class with you?" Rias asked curiously as she observed her newest pawn not being there.
"I believe his friends; Matsuda-san and Motohama-san have taken him somewhere. They were looking excited by the looks of it" Yumi replied innocently.
"I see" Rias sighed as she realized where the trio had went to.
Her suspicions were soon confirmed when a heavily bruised Issie came into the clubroom alongside the ever-stoic vice president of the student council.
"Issie what happened to you?" Rias asked worriedly as she took in her pawns beaten down body.
"Issie-san and his friends were caught peeking on the Kendo club… again" Tsubaki replied to Rias.
"Again? Why would you do something like that Ise? If you truly wanted to look at a naked woman you could have just asked me" Rias asked with a teasing grin hoping to get a reaction out of her newest. She got her reaction as Issie suddenly got a nosebleed before collapsing to the floor in shock.
"Rias-sama… this is a serious and punishable offense of this school. Please control your pawn before someone from school calls police on him for invasion of privacy" Tsubaki replied stoically to what Rias had just done.
"I know Tsubaki. I will make sure Issie is well educated on the matter so he isn't part of this accident like this ever again" Rias sighed as she looked at her perverted pawn who still was lying on the floor in shock.
"Very well Lady Rias. But I would have to remind you, since my King isn't here, I would have to report this incident to her when she returns" Tsubaki stoically replied to the governor of Kuoh.
"Sona isn't here…She isn't the type to miss school. Where is she?" Rias asked genuinely curious of her friend's whereabouts.
"Sona-kaicho was called back to the underworld to attend a meeting alongside Lord Sitri and other Satan's in regards to the Olympus dispute" Tsubaki replied ever so stoically.
"Marid is there as well. They were going to discuss potential solutions to the problem alongside hearing Marids demands for his concoction. Lord Sitri must have called her to get some relevant experience in being part of a high class meeting" Rias mused to herself.
"Thanks for the updates Tsubaki and bringing my pawn over here. I will make sure he doesn't repeat this sort of mistake ever. Also, please let me know if we have a stray Devil citing in the city. Since Sona isn't here, the occult research club will be taking over the entire responsibility for stray Devil hunts for now" Rias spoke seriously as she regarded her fellow Governors queen. Tsubaki gave Rias a courteous bow before taking her leave. She had a lot of work that needed to be done and Sona's absence meant that her responsibilities would fall on her shoulders as well, at least for today.
"Issie you cause me so much trouble. Please remember that since I am you King, your actions will also represent me as well. Please beware of what you do in the future" Rias lightly scolded Issie even though she found his actions to be quite amusing since he was rather straight forward and innocent in his intentions towards the female form, at least compared to another Devil she could name right now.
"I am sorry Rias-Buchou" Issie replied quietly before squealing in pain as Akeno began healing him on the behest of their master. Issie's squeals earned him a rather gleeful smile from Akeno. Unlike Rias and Kenta, Issie wasn't able to understand the deeper meaning of the gleeful and almost orgasmic look Akeno gave her.
"Akeno that is enough, perhaps I will heal Issie myself" Rias stopped her queen almost irritably when she realized her queen was teasing Issie more and more only to quench her own thirst of dashing out punishment to satisfy her sadistic character.
"Ara I was beginning to have fun" Akeno replied with a smile as she subconsciously rubbed her legs together.
"What you were doing with Issie was having more than fun" Kenta replied off handedly.
"Perhaps I should have some fun with you sometime Kenta-kun. Perhaps a few sprays of cold water will do the trick" Akeno giggled to herself at the thought of a feline like Kenta squirming and annoyed with cold water.
"You do that and I will give you a faith that would make you unable to walk on your for the whole week" Kenta replied coldly. Not realizing what he had just said.
"*Gasp*" Yumi gasped alongside others in the room who got the unintentional meaning behind Kenta's word.
It took Kenta a few seconds to realize what he had just said, and once he did he was fully embarrassed about it, "Wait I didn't mean that" Kenta did his best to deny the unintentional meaning of his sentence but the cause was hopeless since everyone was now giggling.
"Ara Ara you are very daring to say that to a girl. Perhaps I will take you up on that offer soon" Akeno giggled as she subconsciously rubbed her thighs together. The thought of her and Kenta engaged in rounds of naked punishment together felt very appetizing to her.
Kenta who was too embarrassed by the events that had just transpired, decided to not say anything that would embarrass him any further.
"Alright then lets begin our club meeting" Rias replied bringing back order to the room.
"We have a paper due on the supposed haunted house located in the southern outskirts of Kuoh. Akeno, have you found something of importance about the area? Is there a supernatural entity that reside there or is it just a hoax spread by humans?" Rias asked her queen who previously had been tasked to survey the area.
"There seems to be some form of spirit that currently resides there. Apparently the spirit was tortured and killed over there by the members of the Yakuza family a few years ago" Akeno replied seriously.
"I see. Then it would be best that we go over there this weekend and clear out the spirit. We will conclude that the house in question never had any supernatural phenomena associated with it and it was a hoax spread by the members of the criminal underworld as the house in question was served as a secret base for the criminal during the second world war" Rias replied seriously.
Rias then looked to all three new members of their club, "Since all of you are now part of the occult research club, we will take you guys for this official trip" Rias replied with a smile.
"Is this something you always do?" Kenta asked curiously.
"Not always. We go and explore haunted houses and or places rumored to have supernatural happenings around them. It is rarely we find a place that genuinely hosts a supernatural entity" Rias replied quickly.
"I see" Kenta nodded at that.
"Our trip to the haunted house isn't until this weekend which means we don't have any official occult research club duties for today. Everyone over here is free to take the rest of the night off once they have completed their contracts" Rias announced to her club members.
"Hmm Rias-Buchou what are contracts?" Issie asked nervously.
"Issie do you remember you distributing summoning circles yesterday?" Rias asked her newest pawn.
"Yes" Issie replied a little confused, not sure where the conversation was heading.
"You see Issie, we deliver Devil summoning circle to those people who are willing or more willing than others to summon a Devil. When a human summons us Devils, they can ask us to do anything in exchange for a fee. They can ask us to do their house chores or help them complete their homework with anything in between with the exception of murdering and torturing someone as that is considered a illegal practice and someone caught doing that will be prosecuted by the Satan's themselves to the highest degree" Rias explained to her pawn with a smile.
Issie couldn't help but widen his eyes surprise, "People who summons us can ask us to anything in return right? So can these humans make a sexual ask?" Issie asked nervously. His question also earned the attention of Kenta and Yumi who themselves weren't familiar with the Devil contract system since they didn't complete contracts. Marid had them do other things which he considered more important than completing contracts.
"They can but those contracts are forwarded to Devils who specialize in those contracts" Rias blinked owlishly as she didn't realize Issie would ask something like that. To her surprise, Issie breathed a sigh of relief, "You sure look happy for someone who has the dream of being a harem King one day" Rias teased Issie.
To his credit, Issie didn't fall for the bait but tried his best to recover from the blush which adored his face right now. Once he recovered enough, he shyly responded to his Kings teasing comment, "While you are right that I am pervert who dreams to be harem King but there is no way in hell I would bed someone for the sake of having sex or satisfying my lust. I want girls in my harem who love me, and I love them rather than just having them to have sex and all"
Issie reply shocked most people in the room since simply they hadn't expected such a heartfelt answer from their resident pervert.
"Good for you Issie! I am proud of your forward thinking" Rias replied with a smile as she felt some form of pride for her newest pawn.
"And I also want them have the biggest OPPAI!" Issie suddenly exclaimed out of nowhere.
"Way to ruin the mood Issie" Kenta face palmed at that as Akeno and Rias just laughed.
"Pervert" Koneko said in a monotone voice while Kiba and Yumi looked at Issie in shock.
"Coming back to the point Ise, most Kings, like myself, ask their servants to form contracts as this is one of the ways you can get a promotion in the underworld. Fortunately, we have come up with such a situation where Koneko has been doubled book tonight and won't be able to fulfill her obligations to both of her clients. This fortunately provides us with an opportunity for you to make your debut in the world of contract and deal making" Rias clapped her hand happily in the end.
"Yea happy to help" Issie replied nervously.
"Perfect then here is the address where you will be forming the contract with the person" Rias said happily as she handed Issie a sheet with the address.
"Alright I will leave on my bike right now. I can then hopefully make it over there in 20 minutes" Issie said tiredly as it had truly been a long day for him.
"No Issie you won't go to our clients address on a bike, but you will be traveling to their apartment in a magic circle" Rias smiled as Akeno created a magic circle in the middle of the room.
"Wow I have never used one of those" Issie replied excitedly as he looked at the magic circle on the floor.
"There is a first time for everything" Rias smiled at Issie's gleeful face.
"Come on now lets do it then!!" Issie said excitedly as he punched the air in excitement. While Issie seemed excited by using the teleportation circle for the first time, Kenta observed Issie curiously.
"Hey Issie" Kenta called out to Issie. Issie turned around only to find Kenta smiling at him with a fist hanging in the air, "Goodluck on your first contract"
"Thanks Kenta" Issie replied happily as he met Kenta's bro fist,
"Goodluck Issie-san" "Goodluck" "Ara Ara I also hope you do well as well" people in the room wished him good luck as Issie walked in the magic circle.
Suddenly the magic circle around Issie began to glow brightly, "This means the client is now summoning you now. Goodluck Ise and make me proud" Rias encouraged her newest pawn happily.
"I will get the best contract for you Rias Buchou" Issie cheered as he was then enveloped in the crimson Gremory magic circle only to be teleported to the clients house.
"Well looks like he's off to a good start as a devil, at least for now" Kenta commented with a smile.
"Yes all thanks to your little booster shot you gave him during your bro fist" Rias said in an I-know-what-you-did tone
Kenta smirked at Rias, "noticed that did you"
"Yes, it was very kind of you, he would have been embarrassed if he had failed to teleport to his first client" Rias smiled.
"Just looking out for the kid, we can't let him fall on his ass now can we" Kenta shrugged as he stood up from his couch.
"If I didn't know better I'd think you were really starting to like him" Rias suggested with a grin.
"Well let's just see how he does on his first contract, let's hope all goes well" Kenta replied with a sigh as he made his way towards the exit.
"Lady Rias please let us know if there is a stray Devil hunt. Marid-sama has asked us to accompany you and your peerage during such outings due to Zill still being in the city" Yumi spoke seriously.
"I understand. I will let you know if something pops up. But in the meantime keep your guard up and let me know if you see anything suspicious" Rias replied with just as much seriousness. Yumi nodded at that before taking her leave alongside Kenta.
Soon the entire occult research club was empty as the all the Devils left the room to complete their own contracts.
Back at the meeting
"What do you guys think?" Marid asked confidently.
At the moment, everyone was tasting the wine Marid had premade. While the wine was infinitely better than the wine made by the Devils in the Underworld or the wine that was imported through the human world, it still wasn't as good as product which could be considered as an offering to the Olympian Gods. Regardless, it still didn't stop other Lords present to complementing Marids wine making skills.
"I must say Marid, I am suitably impressed by the concoction you have made. While I don't think it could still be considered as an offering to those Gods, this wine nevertheless extremely good and pleasing to the tongue" Lord Sitri complemented.
"You are too kind Lord Sitri but as you said, this product isn't good enough to be considered an offering to Olympian Gods. Which is why all of you are here today to grant me resources that could help me infuse more exotic flavors into the concoction" Marid replied with a smile.
"What resources are you looking for Mar-kun" a giddied up Serafall asked. Her innocent question earned a small blush from Marid and a groan from Sona. No matter how much Sona wanted to chastise her older sister for her attitude in the meeting, she didn't say anything considering she was sitting in the midst of the upper echelons of their society.
"Well apart from a very lucrative deal, I need quite a few resources from both of the houses over here. From the House of Sitri, I was looking to acquire some of their herbs and special plants. The Sitri domain is well known for having fertile land and producing rich herbs. The list of the ingredients I require for this concoction is right here" with that Marid passed out the list to Lord Sitri.
"hmmm… the herbs and plants you ask for are quite unique and exotic indeed. You will have your ingredients by the end of today" Lord Sitri replied seriously while running hands over his goatee.
"Since these herbs and plants are going towards a good cause you won't have to pay us anything as well" Lord Sitri continued with a smile.
"You are too kind Lord Sitri. Perhaps I will have to send you the first few crates of the finished product" Marid replied with a smile.
"While the gift would be appreciated, in certainly not a part of the trade for the ingredients we will be offering" Amon Sitri nodded with a smile.
"Coming back to the matter at hand… What kind of resources will you be asking Lord Bael for?" Zekram Bael curiously.
"I have suspicion you know the resources I will be asking for Great King"
"Indeed I do. Bapples indeed are wonderous creation of ours" Zekram Bael replied with a smug smile.
Bapples were a special species of apples created by the former heir to House of Bael and half brother to Sairaorg Bael, Magdaran Bael. While Bapples looked like regular apples from the outside, the faint glow of the apple along with the rich taste made them very popular in the underworld. The taste of Bael house special fruit eventually became so large that it was eventually sometimes exported to other factions and mythologies as a part of the very few exports the Devils had.
"They are indeed! You both should be proud of Magdaran Bael" Marid replied with a smile causing the current Lord Bael to groan.
While to an innocent bystander, Marids comments towards the youngest son of House of Bael, Magdaran Bael, were nothing short of admiration towards the young Devil, it was in fact a dig towards the current Lord Bael. It was well known among the Pillar families that the Lord Bael was immensely jealous of House of Gremory for their ability to produce Devils with exceptional skill in wielding power of Destruction, better than most of the members of the House of Bael itself, who were the progenitor of that power. Sirzech Gremory was granted the rank of Lucifer due to his immense power and unnatural control over the power of destruction. Rias Gremory, while not as good as her brother, was also quite proficient in using the said power as she had defeated the former heir to the house of Bael, Magdaran Bael, in a mock battle a few years ago. While Millicas is too young to showcase any genuine skill in the power of destruction, has inherited a lot of demonic magical reserves from his parents just like his brother, making him one of the strongest of the next generation. Their ability to control the power of destruction to an unnatural degree was one of the reasons that the House of Bael created the magical contract between Rias Gremory and Riser Phoenix, to make sure the Gremory's despite their immense skill to control the most destructive demonic element didn't become too big of a threat for them and the Great Satan faction in the near future.
"We indeed are proud of him, but coming back to the matter hand, the House of Bael has never granted a licensing agreement for Bapples to anyone. The question is what you will be giving in exchange for a licensing deal" Lord Bael swiftly moved onto business part of this meeting.
"I will be offering absolutely nothing in exchange for the Bapples" Marid replied bluntly with a blank expression.
"Excuse me! What did you just say?" Lord Bael asked heatedly.
"That I won't be offering you absolutely nothing for the resources. I don't need anyone's help to create the perfect concoction for those Gods. I can just grow everything I need. All I need is a small sample of the organic compound and I can recreate the entire thing to almost perfection and you won't be able to do anything about it" Marid replied with a dead serious expression.
Many listening to the discussion couldn't believe what Marid was saying since it was extremely hard to genetically duplicate an organic compound. Even with the help of magic, there were only a handful of people in the entirety of the underworld that could even replicate such a feat. However, the confidence and calmness of Marid's voice made everyone believe that Marid can indeed do this. Sona of course knew that Marid was capable of such a feat considering she had seen his back yard. But even she couldn't belief the bold approach Marid was taking to secure a deal with the Great Satan Faction.
"You do that and we will sue you for everything you have" Lord Bael with a feral look in his eyes as if to say 'go ahead try to replicate our fruits'.
Marid, however, was calm in the face of opposition, "You won't be able to do anything Lord Bael! I need to infuse the flavors of Bapples into the wine and not add them to the wine. Since I won't be adding any Bapples to the concoction, the composition of the wine won't change hence you will never be able to sue me not just in the underworld but also in every single realm that currently exist. Furthermore, as far as me illegally growing Bapples grow, House of Bael licensing patents for the fruit clearly state that Bapples can't be regrown without Lord Baels express permission. Nowhere does it say that no one can genetically modify and then grow the fruit" Marid replied with a smug grin on his face.
"However, if you still try and actually sue me then I can counter sue you for defamation for everything you have" Marid replied with an edge to his tone.
At that Lord Bael grew furious as his aura flared and surrounded his body. The only thing that kept him from attacking the young Devil in front of him was Sirzech Lucifer himself. Otherwise he would have eradicated the brat for even trying to blackmail him….. or so he thought.
"So the questions comes forward what you will be offering me to help you out in this problem that you have brought on all of us" Marid asked the Great Satan Faction leaders rhetorically.
"What do you mean by bringing problem on all of us? The Great Satan Faction never did anything to harm the saf.." Before Lord Bael could complete his sentence, he was stopped by his father.
"He is pointing out the fact that the group of young Devils who foolishly attacked and reincarnated those heroes were in some form attached to Great Satan Faction. Especially the leader of the said group who is the sole son and heir to Lord Barbatos. A well respected Lord of the remained 72 pillars and a member of the Great Satan Faction" Zekram Bael calmly interrupted his son. While his son was more thoughtful on the matter now, Zekram Bael found himself more amused rather than angered by the political game being played by the younger Devil in front of him.
"That I am! So, my question still stand what are you willing to offer inn exchange of me potentially pulling everyone out of the said problem" Marid reinstated.
"I imagine that you have something in mind that you want?" Zekram Bael asked curiously.
"Actually I do have something in mind. I want the Seere Valley" Marid replied bluntly, much to the shock of people present.
"What?!?!" Lord Bael exclaimed aloud.
"I want the Seere valley in return for sorting out the situation with the Olympians" Marid repeated as if he was asking for pocket change.
Everyone in the room were shocked by Marid ask. Seere Valley is one of the luxurious and well protected properties in the underworld. That is nothing to say of the sheer size of the valley itself. Seere Valley was a former territory of the now extinct Seere Clan, one of the 39 extinct pillars. At the end of the Devil Civil war, where it was announced that the Seere Clan was now considered an extinct family, many noble families jumped on the opportunity to acquire the estate. Apart from the fact that the estate had a luxurious lake house overlooking the serene lake, the property itself was surrounded by highly fertile and rich land. This is not even including the fact 3 sides of the said estate were surrounded by the Dragon mountains; the mountains where the dragons dwelled in under the leadership of the reincarnated Devil and former Dragon King Tanin, which naturally provided immense protection the estate.
Hence, when it was announced that the Seere family was now extinct, many families jumped at the opportunity to acquire one of the prime underworld properties. Due to the potential of bloodshed over the property, the newly instated Mao's at the time decided to allocate the property to the nearest alive family member of the Seere family. As it turned out, Lord Zeoticus Gremory's mother was a member of the Clan Seere and thus, he inherited the property.
"Why would you ask us for the Seere valley? Isn't the Seere valley part of the Gremory territory?" Zekram Bael asked.
"That it is, and I want you to get it for me as a price of me helping you lot out" Marid replied with a smug grin.
"Why would you think that Lord Gremory would listen to us? After all we belong to different households and Lord Gremory currently isn't part of the Great Satan faction. If you want the property, then I am sure that Lord Gremory would happily transfer the property to you in the spirit of family inheritance" Lord Bael replied with a smug grin as he knew that Lord Gremory would never give his grandson that and/or any other property.
As if undeterred by the bit back from Lord Bael, Marid calmly continued, "Perhaps but I feel like both of you do a better job in convincing him to give me the Seere valley after all both of you somehow managed to convinced him to sell his daughter to the house of Phoenix! I am sure you will be able to convince him to grant me the ownership of the Seere Valley" Marid grin become predatory at the end.
Most people in the room were surprised Marid's bluntness, but perhaps it was the only way to deal with the Great Satan faction. While most were surprised, Sirzech Lucifer himself was pissed off at the reminder of the fact his sister essentially was indeed sold off to Phoenix household in exchange for some money and political power by their own father! Sirzech was sure that his father didn't recognized or even worse didn't care for neither the Rias choice in the matter or the political repercussions of having Rias marry the third son of the Phoenix family.
Zekram Bael for the matter glanced around the room to observe the reaction most people. As expected, he and his son received looks of disgust from most people in the room. The Satan's for the matter held a stoic face which barely held back the looks of anger directed towards them. In that moment, Zekram Bael realized that he and his son had lost the political advantage they had in the room. Marid had played his cards right and had successfully converted the entire room against them. They had no other choice then to accept Marids demand since denying his demands could earn the Great Satan faction the wrath of the current Satan's. While he held more political control over the nobles than the current Satan's, the political influence converted less in battle when their enemies have powers that rival the strongest of the Gods in the supernatural world. After all, he knew that him and his family would not survive an hour in a direct confrontation with current Satan's and with the current populace on the side of the Satan's the Great Satan faction would be ousted before the hour was done!
"Very well, we will talk with Lord Gremory about your supposed reward for your service to the Devil world" Zekram Bael nodded agreeing to Marids demand much to Lord Bael shock.
"Your help is appreciated in the matter Great King" Marid nodded back with a satisfied smile. Happy the negotiations were going as planned.
"I believe this is the best time to move to the next topic on the agenda, what we will be offering the Olympian Gods alongside Marids offering and the returning heroes" Sirzech said seriously moving on from the sensitive topic.
"We shall" Marid replied with a smile before the Devils in the room continued discussing other potential avenues to achieving peace, or potentially even a alliance with the Gods of Olympus.
Chapter Ends!
It has been 10 chapters since I started writing this story. This story has been a long project of mine for which I have dedicated a considerable amount of time. After writing 10 chapters for this story, I am very proud of the success and positive reviews this story has received. I almost have 100 followers and just as many favorites. Furthermore, I have received incredible feedback for the story in the comments. I am not going to lie to you, I had thought of abandoning this story should it not receive a positive response. However, since the story has been positively received by fellow DXD fans, I plan to continue writing this story until its completion, which as of right now is the end of the Evil Dragon war. I will probably start another story to continue writing the life of Marid after the events of the Evil dragon war.
For now, I can only hope for your continued support!
This is a thanks from the bottom of my heart!
Regards
Dragon God Zalama
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