After three seconds of silence, Riser seemed to realize what was happening, and his expression became playful. Just as he was about to mock Luo Guang, the young man turned and, without hesitation, pulled Rias from the sofa, pressing his lips against her bewildered but slightly warm ones.
"?"
"???"
"?????"
For a moment, everyone's minds went blank. Rias was completely stunned. Who is she? Where is she? What is he doing?
Rias instinctively struggled, but Luo Guang's strength was surprisingly great, leaving her, a High-Class Devil, unable to resist. Instead, her small struggles looked like a hint of flirtation to others. Akeno was stunned. Koneko was also stunned. Riser and his familiars were frozen in place, unable to say a word.
As the saying goes, there are four unforgivable grudges in this world: the killing of a father, the stealing of a wife, becoming a slave of a conquered nation, and the extermination of one's family. If Riser could endure this, Luo Guang would have to give him the nickname "Ninja Turtle."
The next moment, a crimson flame swirled around Riser, and magic burst from his body like a raging tide. The hostility of a pure-blooded High-Class Devil fully spread out. Everyone present, except for Luo Guang, felt a chill run down their spine, and the hair on their bodies bristled. Akeno and Koneko endured the aura of the High-Class Devil and instinctively went into a combat-ready stance. The air in the room was filled with the smell of fire, and a heat more intense than a heatwave assaulted everyone.
Luo Guang then quietly released his hold on Rias. Rias came to her senses, her face flushed and angry. "Riser, this is my territory! What are you trying to do?!"
"Rias! You are still my fiancé in name! And yet you have no shame, showing affection to an outsider right in front of me!" Riser's flames formed the shape of a phoenix above him, a true display of his fiery rage.
"I told you! I am not your fiancé! I have the freedom to choose my own husband! No one can control me, least of all you!" Rias was, after all, the successor of the Gremory family, while Riser was only the third son of the Phenex family. Their status was not equal. Rias had been tolerant up until now, but after being forcibly kissed by Luo Guang and relentlessly pressured by Riser, she finally snapped.
"You... Rias..." Riser's face turned red with anger.
But at this moment of tension, a magic circle glowed again between the two parties. Luo Guang watched calmly. A mediator who had been watching in the shadows was finally arriving. However, the figure who emerged from the magic circle made Luo Guang's expression change subtly. It wasn't the cold, silver-haired noblewoman he expected, but an unknown female devil.
"Lady Rias, Lord Riser, please restrain yourselves. Lord Lucifer has been informed of the situation in the human world. As the Gremory successor, Lady Rias does indeed have the freedom to choose her husband, but the engagement previously set with Lord Riser is also valid."
"Therefore, to resolve the conflict between you two, Lord Lucifer's decree is to hold a Husband-Hunting Contest in the traditional Underworld way, combined with the rules of the human world."
"???"
This strange yet familiar term stunned everyone.
"The contestants will be Lord Riser and his familiars against Lady Rias's boyfriend from the human world. If both parties agree, the contest will begin in three days."
"At that time, whoever wins will become the new candidate for Lady Rias's husband."
"Wait, did Lord Lucifer... really say that?" Rias was dumbfounded.
"He did. Lord Lucifer has already discussed this with your family, Lady Rias. The head of the Phenex family has also expressed no objection. This is the greatest compromise both sides can offer." the female devil said.
"Since my father has agreed, I have no objections either," Riser said with a cold sneer. "Just you wait, boy."
It's a ten-to-one fight. The advantage is mine!
With that, Riser and his familiars teleported away. Rias sat on the sofa, feeling helpless. "What... what in the world is going on?"
Even Luo Guang hadn't anticipated this. The process was exactly as he had guessed, but the result was completely different. Still, winning meant getting a fiancée for free, so he wasn't at a loss.
"If you don't agree, we can think of another way," Luo Guang said.
"...No, that's not it. This plan must have been my brother's whim, and our father and mother must have agreed to it. The head of the Phenex family will also concede out of respect for the name of Lucifer. But... this is unfair to both me and to you, Luo Guang." Rias stood up. "I'll go talk to my brother."
"Don't go, Rias. Do you really think your family will let you be so willful? Although it seems careless, this is the only chance Lord Lucifer could get for you," Akeno added. "Even if you go, the outcome will be the same."
"But... I can't just watch Luo Guang fight so many people from Riser's side alone..."
"It doesn't matter. I will defeat Riser, and I won't force you afterward," Luo Guang said, his tone unchanged.
Since he had already stolen the Red Dragon Emperor and Asia, if he didn't intervene now, Rias would truly be forced into marriage. "I came here to ask you to help with Asia's enrollment."
Asia's enrollment was quickly taken care of, and then Luo Guang left alone. Rias sat on the sofa, her face full of worry. Akeno looked at her and tried to console her. "...If Luo Guang wins, Riser won't ever bother you again, will he? And Luo Guang is tall, handsome, and strong. He doesn't have any organization behind him, and his attitude toward you is neither servile nor overbearing. Where else would you find a man better than him?"
"At that time, if you feel guilty toward Luo Guang, I can reluctantly become his fiancée in your place." Akeno's words were sincere, and Rias could see at least 70% of her sincerity in her eyes.