With Misla's awakening, Bokue and the others quickly departed from Sitri territory.
Although Misla was also Rias's aunt—and Venelana's sister-in-law—she was technically family.
But compared to "outsiders" like themselves, what mattered most right now was the reunion between mother and son after more than a decade apart.
As for catching up with the rest of them, that could easily wait for another time.
And so, when the scene shifted again, Bokue's group had finally returned to Gremory territory.
They'd spent the entire morning on various matters. First, they'd encountered the First Generation Gremory wandering about after waking from her slumber. Then they'd traveled together to Lilith, fought a match, met with the leaders of several mythological factions, and then headed to Sitri territory to cure Sairaorg's mother of her decade-long Sleeping Sickness. Now, at last, everything was handled and they were back.
It had been... quite a busy morning.
"Haah~ Finally back!"
Arriving at the front gate of Gremory Castle, Serafall led the way, stretching lazily as if the morning's events had absolutely exhausted her.
But since this was pretty much how she always acted, everyone was used to it by now.
However, just as the group was about to follow her inside, Chysis gently tugged at Venelana's sleeve from the back.
"Venelana."
"Hm...? What is it, Mother?"
Venelana paused, looking curiously at the crimson-haired woman beside her—who, despite being her mother-in-law by status, appeared even younger and more youthful than herself.
"Hmm, how should I put this~"
Chysis didn't answer directly. She simply smiled gently while subtly gesturing toward Runeas standing nearby, who seemed to be radiating a somewhat lonely aura.
Ah...
Venelana was sharp enough to immediately understand her mother-in-law's meaning.
Clearly, the First Generation Gremory wasn't as arrogant as she'd claimed—all that talk about "when I awaken, the current Gremory main family must please me" and so on. In truth, her personality was quite easygoing.
At the very least, being dragged around all morning without a single complaint was proof enough of that.
But there was definitely some emotional residue building up.
After all, they'd promised to please her, yet everyone had been busy with their own affairs. And since it was all legitimate important business, she didn't even have an excuse to interrupt. She could only watch her descendants from the sidelines, completely unable to participate.
How to describe it... a sort of "did I wake up at a bad time?" self-doubt.
The mental fortitude she'd accumulated over thousands of years of slumber to maintain her youthful mindset might just crumble to dust after this.
"Don't worry—leave this to me."
Just as the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were exchanging glances, the young man's voice suddenly came from nearby.
Turning toward the sound, they saw that Bokue—who should have been walking at the front—had somehow moved to the back. After overhearing their conversation, he flashed an OK sign.
Hm?
Chysis tilted her head with a curious smile, wondering what her grandson-in-law intended to do.
The next second, Bokue turned toward Rias and the others who had already reached the castle gates, raising his voice slightly.
"By the way, Sona—how many days of leave did you arrange for Rias and the others at school?"
"Huh?"
The short-haired, bespectacled girl instinctively turned at the sound of her name. After thinking briefly, she shook her head.
"None, actually. Since we came back over the weekend, and it was only supposed to be half a day... uh..."
Sona's voice suddenly trailed off.
Because she'd also noticed Runeas standing not far from Chysis, emanating the atmosphere of a lonely empty-nester.
This was... how to put it.
While Runeas certainly had no connection to the Sitri family according to any family tree, given her sisterly relationship with Rias, from a certain angle, Rias's ancestor would count as her elder too.
And one couldn't simply neglect an elder.
This was getting awkward...
"Ahem! Th-that's no problem!"
Sona quickly cleared her throat and recovered.
"Rias, you and the others can stay in the Underworld a few more days. I'll handle the absence forms for school—don't worry about that..."
"Ah, no—that won't be necessary."
Much to the bespectacled girl's surprise, Bokue waved his hand and declined her offer outright.
?
Now Sona was confused.
What was this about? Hadn't he asked all that just so she could help with the absence forms?
If not to stay longer in the Underworld to appease their elder first, then why bring this up now?
Was he really just asking casually and then planning to continue neglecting the elder?
That... didn't seem right.
Just as question marks filled Sona's head and she couldn't figure out what the young man was planning, she saw Bokue turn toward Chysis beside him and Runeas not far away.
"Long story short—since Rias and the others have school tomorrow, we need to head back tonight. So why don't Grandmother and Senior Runeas come with us to Itogami Island for a few days instead?"
"Huh?"
"Itogami Island? What's that place?"
Chysis hadn't even processed it yet when the crimson twin-tailed girl—who moments ago had been pretending not to care, looking this way and that—instantly darted over with wide, curious eyes.
Bokue: "..."
This ancestor looked really excited. She was surprisingly easy to please—just like a little kid...
Thinking this, the young man continued to explain.
"Itogami Island is... well, an island. But it's not in the Underworld—it's in the Human World. There are movie theaters, arcades, food streets, shopping centers, and all sorts of things. Plus, since it's my territory, once we're there I can play tour guide and show you around..."
"Yes yes!"
Runeas nodded rapidly, practically sparkling with excitement.
"That sounds really fun! Then it's settled! Oh, and also... you don't have to call me 'Senior Runeas.' Just Runeas is fine. Adding 'Senior' makes me sound so old."
But you're not exactly young to begin with...
Bokue thought to himself.
After all, she was from the same era as the First Generation Bael. By now she had to be at least ten thousand years old.
"So would this count as a date?"
Venelana suddenly cracked a small joke.
"After all, Lady Runeas did call herself Bokue's fiancée earlier. And now you've made plans to go out together. Hmm?"
"W-well, that's..."
But to everyone's surprise, upon hearing the word "fiancée," Runeas's voice suddenly grew smaller. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks.
???
Question marks appeared above everyone's heads.
What was going on? It was just a joke. And wasn't that just a cover story to hide her identity?
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