Scene change. Itogami Island.
Mid-morning. The second-floor bedroom of the beach villa atop Keystone Gate. The air carried the gentle fragrance of flower tea.
Venelana, Chysis, and Runeas sat around the small table by the window, each cradling a teacup, gazing out at the distant horizon where sea met sky and gulls traced lazy circles through the autumn light.
A beautiful day. Unfortunately, a weekday.
Rias and the other girls had left for school as usual, leaving the three women alone in the villa with nothing but time on their hands.
The real problem, of course, was that a certain young man had also left.
If Bokue were here, boredom wouldn't be an issue.
"Is Bokue still not back yet?"
Runeas drained her teacup in one gulp, set it down, and began swiveling her head around the room like a restless child looking for entertainment.
"Honestly. He insisted on going to the Realm of the Dead all by himself yesterday, and now we're just stuck here waiting. We don't even know how things went over there."
"Well, it can't be helped."
Venelana set her own cup down and covered a quiet laugh.
"That Olympian God of the Dead crossed a serious line. Bokue's furious, and understandably so. If all of us tagged along, he'd have to worry about holding back to keep us safe."
"Holding back?"
Runeas pouted, the complaint building.
"It's the Realm of the Dead. That's dangerous territory. Hades has an army of death gods down there, and for a human, that's a worst-case scenario. Those reapers can shave years off a person's lifespan with a single swing. If someone with a naturally short human lifespan like Bokue takes even one hit..."
She trailed off, but the worry was written across her face.
"I wouldn't lose sleep over that."
Venelana raised her teacup to her lips, a serene smile in place.
"Setting aside whether those death gods could actually touch Bokue in the first place, don't forget he also has the Phoenix Clan's blessing."
"Oh, right. That girl from House Phenex..."
Runeas murmured.
Phoenix tears could heal any wound. Phoenix blood could grant a mortal an immortal constitution.
Given that Ravel had been showing up at the old schoolhouse every single night since their relationship became official, never missing a session, it was safe to assume she'd already shared her blood with Bokue long ago.
Immortality meant infinite lifespan. And no matter how much you subtracted from infinity, the answer was still infinity.
In other words, Hades could line up every death god in his employ, have them swing their scythes until their arms fell off, and they still wouldn't shorten Bokue's life by a single second.
Like that scene in Sword Art Online where Kirito stood in the garden surrounded by red-named players hacking away at his health bar, watching it refill faster than they could drain it.
"Still bored, though~ I wish Bokue would hurry back."
Runeas stretched both arms overhead, yawned wide, then collapsed forward onto the table, chin on her folded arms, looking for all the world like a cat that had given up on the afternoon.
Then—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Hm?
At the rhythmic tapping from the door, Runeas snapped upright like a spring-loaded trap, whipping her head toward the entrance.
"Wait, is that Bokue?!"
"Probably not..."
Venelana hoped so too, but logic said otherwise. If Bokue were back, he'd simply appear in front of them. He wouldn't knock.
"Come in."
She raised her voice toward the door.
Creeeeak.
The handle turned. The door swung inward.
The person standing in the hallway was not Bokue.
It was a small, delicate figure. A girl who looked barely old enough for middle school, with the unmistakable aura of something far older lurking beneath the surface.
A Nightmare. And, despite appearances, very much a married woman.
Lady Sheila.
"Oh my, in-law? What brings you here at this hour?"
Venelana's eyebrow rose in pleasant surprise.
Between everything that had happened recently, the days had blurred together, and seeing Sheila again triggered an unexpected pang of nostalgia. For beings with functionally eternal lifespans, that shouldn't happen. Had it really been that long since they'd last spoken?
Doing the math... actually, yes. It had been a while.
"You're one to talk, in-law..."
Sheila sighed softly and stepped inside.
"At least before, I could count on Bokue stopping by our place after he finished up at the old schoolhouse each night. But lately, every time I come over to your room in the evening, you're just... not here."
She trailed off, but before the sentence fully landed, her gaze caught on the two unfamiliar women seated at the window table.
Combined with what she'd just said out loud.
"Ah... you have company. Maybe I should come back lat—"
"No, no, stay. These two are my mother-in-law, and the First Generation head of House Gremory, Runeas-sama."
Venelana caught Sheila before she could bolt, then added with a meaningful look:
"And they're both... well, with Bokue. You know what I mean."
??!
Sheila's eyes went wide.
Mother-in-law meant Rias's grandmother.
And the First Generation Gremory was... the founding ancestor.
Sheila had assumed that Venelana and Rias sharing Bokue was already pushing the boundaries of what one young man could handle. But the grandmother? The clan founder? This wasn't a harem anymore, this was a hostile takeover of the entire family tree!
"..."
Thirty seconds later, Sheila had been seated at the table with a cup of tea.
Runeas gazed out the window with a faint blush dusting her cheeks, pretending to be fascinated by the scenery.
Chysis sipped her tea with perfect composure, wearing the serene smile of a woman who had absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about.
"So, what were you about to ask when you came in?"
Venelana circled back to the original topic.
Sheila took a sip of tea, licked her lips, and set the cup down.
"I was just wondering why you haven't been in your room at night lately. I've been coming by every evening and you're never here..."
Another quiet sigh.
But before it even faded, she heard Venelana's voice.
"Oh, that. Well, the past few nights I've been sneaking over to the old schoolhouse whenever Bokue's there..."
"Huh?"
Sheila blinked. Then the implication hit her and her voice shot up an octave.
"You told your DAUGHTER?!"
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