Sirzechs showed up again, and this time, Grayfia was right behind him.
"Cassien, why the sudden summons? Something big is going on?" he asked.
I closed my eyes for a second: "I'm heading to the human world. Thinking of adding a couple of people to my peerage. Just letting you know so my disappearing act doesn't cause a diplomatic shitstorm."
Sirzechs raised an eyebrow: "Why all of a sudden? You running from the marriage proposals again? You still haven't answered any of those Rating Game challenges either."
"Honestly, if I could marry Grayfia, I might actually consider it, but that ice princess would probably rather chop my dick off than walk down the aisle," I said, nodding toward the woman standing behind him.
Grayfia's face twitched just a little: "Thank you for the… offer, but unfortunately, I must decline."
"See? You broke my heart. How about five years of prison sentence for emotional damages?"
Grayfia was clearly fighting to keep a straight face now.
Sirzechs looked like he was already getting a migraine, probably picturing the mountain of paperwork that was about to land on his desk.
"Alright, fine. What are you actually planning? Tell me so I can decide how much backup—or headache—I'm signing up for."
I raised a finger: "I'm going to Romania. Tepes Castle. Gonna stir up some trouble there. You know exactly what I mean—human farming's still going on, and someone needs to hold a proper trial."
Sirzechs slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet: "YOU'RE CRAZIER THAN YOUR FATHER!!! YOU'RE REALLY GONNA PUT THE VAMPIRE KING HIMSELF ON TRIAL?! WHAT'S NEXT—CHARGING THE GREEK GODS WITH RAPE?!"
"…Solid idea, actually."
He grabbed the nearest desk lamp and hurled it at my face.
I caught it mid-air and calmly set it back down.
Sirzechs dropped back into his chair with a groan: "Is there another reason, or are you just feeling suicidal today?"
"There's a Longinus user there. Sephiroth Graal holder. The Maou faction's already planning to snatch her. You get what I'm saying?"
Even Grayfia's eyes widened a fraction: "How did you find out about that?"
"The Maou faction isn't gonna let a Longinus like that slip through their fingers. And gathering intel is kind of easy when you're me," I shrugged.
Sirzechs finally calmed down a bit: "Okay… wanting that girl makes sense. Go do what you have to do over there. Anything else?"
I thought for a second: "Not really. Though if possible, I'd still take Grayfia. Or Venelana. Either works—HEY, PUT THAT SPHERE DOWN!!"
He'd already formed a ball of Power of Destruction and looked ready to launch it.
The orb vanished just as quickly.
"I don't know what my mother would think, but she actually likes you. If she heard you talking like this, she'd drag you by the ear. And Grayfia isn't under my control. She can come and go as she pleases."
I crossed my arms: "I genuinely don't get why she keeps turning me down. Am I ugly or something? I always thought I was pretty charismatic."
"You're a good person, and yes, you're handsome. I'm simply… not ready for a relationship right now."
I glanced at Sirzechs: "Whatever. I'm only going for a while. I'll grab the girl, add her to my peerage, and then the rest is on you."
He stood up: "Fine. As you said—I'll handle the fallout with the vampires."
"Cool. Tell your mom I said hi. I'll drop by later."
Sirzechs frowned, gave a short nod, and vanished.
Planning this is actually gonna be kinda fun.
Now that I think about it, if I had enough power back then, putting the Greek gods on trial would've been hilarious as hell.
Hades is way, way stronger than me right now.
Trying to judge a literal god is still just a fantasy.
King of Tepes is mid-Ultimate-class at best, so I'll go in prepared.
At the very least, if I snatch Valerie before she gets too involved in the story, it'll make it a lot harder for Rizevim to link up with EXE.
That's about all I've got in my head for now.