Chapter 50: Problems Upon Problems
"You're certain?" Serafall asked me with narrowed eyes through her hologram, seeking confirmation for the umpteenth time that the Governor had done what was asked of him.
Oh, and I totally wasn't miffed by the fact that she neglected to tell me that I'd be in the presence of the Fallen Angel Head-Honcho in advance. Mhm. Yep. Not mad at all.
"Yes, I'm certain." I made little effort to hide the exasperated irritation in my voice, tilting my badge so she could see the sprawled out corpses of Raynare and her three followers on the church's floorboards. "And before you ask, they aren't fakes, unless the Governor's a legendary Sage in disguise capable of altering someone's lifeforce."
Besides, it's not like they were even remotely valuable enough for him to go to such drastic lengths to protect.
"I see," she pursed her lips and hummed inquisitively, seemingly approving of my explanation. "I'm assuming Azazel and you talked with one another before he left? Knowing him, he probably took some interest in getting to know my agent."
"We did," I confirmed plainly, expressing little emotion in my tone.
"And?" She raised one brow, clearly expecting some elaboration.
"He made some casual comments on my house, discussed his intent to maintain the peace between our factions, and left after asking me to inform you that he upheld his end of the deal between you."
Once more, the convenient power of half-truths proves itself to be my faithful ally.
"Really? That's all?" I flinched inwardly as Serafall's icy gaze fixed onto me with an abrupt, unexpected level of intensity. "He didn't even attempt to make some kind of deal or trade with you?" I could sense that she was scanning my face with hawk-like precision, looking for the slightest twitch or wince that'd suggest I was lying. "He showed no interest in trying to salvage his losses? None at all? I have to say, Alduin, that doesn't strike me as the shrewd, all-or-nothing science-obsessed Governor-General I'm familiar with." The conjecture in her voice reached its absolute apex, making my efforts to maintain my visible composure feel like I was playing an immensely arduous game of tug-of-war in my mind. "You're not lying to me, are you?"
If she were questioning me like this in person, I have no doubt that my mask of composure would've broken almost instantly.
Good grief, all this trouble better be worth it, Governor. Lying to a Satan's face seriously takes a mental toll on me.
"No," I forced denial out of my throat. "While I obviously don't know the Governor like you do, when we talked, obsessed is the last word I'd use to describe him. If anything, he was… mournful."
"Mournful?" She furrowed her brow.
From the disbelief in her voice alone, I could tell that our perspectives on the Governor were vastly different from one another.
The only question was, which of our interpretations was correct?
Perhaps neither of them were.
Or perhaps there was truth in both versions, who's to say? The world's rarely ever black and white after all.
Only time would tell.
"Yes," I continued, using yet another truth to bury the one she wished to dig out of me. "He mourned the deaths of his subordinates, despite acknowledging their foolishness. And to my surprise," I let out an amused chuckle before continuing. "He thanked us."
"…Did he now?" She asked while blinking in confusion. "Go on."
I smirked inwardly, noticing that her piqued intrigue had started to suppress her growing suspicion of my involvement with the Governor.
"He said our intervention gave him a chance to do some long overdue self-reflection on how he was running Grigori, with him being too lax in his administrative duties and whatnot." Though I highly doubted Serafall would believe me immediately, at the very least, I could tell she was giving my words some consideration. For now, that'd be more than enough. "I'm not saying this because I want you to forgive the Governor or anything, I know full well that's none of my business. However, for what it's worth, I truly do believe he wants to keep the peace between us. He's clearly got his flaws, but I don't think warmongering's one of them."
"Mm," she pursed her lips together. "And you were able to come to this conclusion based on a single conversation?" She asked, scepticism laced into her words. "Forgive me for saying this, but I'm not sure how much weight I should give your opinion. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to insult your intelligence or anything. However, I've been doing this job for 500 years, I'm fairly confident with my existing assessment of the Governor."
What does it matter if you've known someone for that long, if you jumped to a conclusion about them the first time you met? And stubbornly refused to change your mindset about them?
But now doesn't seem like the right time to give her that opinion, especially since I'm trying to do the opposite of getting on her bad side. Besides, I'm pretty sure the main reason she's mad at him is that this happened in her little sister's town, had it been anywhere else, she probably wouldn't have been even half as angry.
I shrugged, choosing to take no offense. "Like I said, I'm not trying to directly shape your opinion. That's just the impression he gave me. I'm just here to tell you he did as he asked, and the Fallen Angel threat in Kuoh has been neutralized."
Allegedly.
She nodded her approval. "Grievances aside. You've done good work, Alduin. Me and Sirzechs won't fail to take that into consideration," she said somewhat suggestively.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I furrowed my brow.
"You'll find out in due time," she smirked, clearly enjoying the air of mystery at my expense. "As long as you keep your current rate of efficiency, that is."
She promptly ended the transmission, leaving me hanging with my mouth open before I had a chance to question her any further.
Oh well, her tone made it sound like a good thing, so I'll remain optimistic.
Now then, I think it's time for me to inform my crimson-haired student of what's transpired. Leaving her completely in the dark would only diminish her safety. Oh, and I suppose I should do the same for Sona since this affects her as well. We haven't talked since I arrived in Kuoh, have we? I might want to rectify that before Serafall's beliefs of favouritism have a chance to grow.
===
I wore a smug, mischievous grin as my hands gripped the ledge of the clubroom's window in preparation to jumpscare my student with yet another one of my surprise entrances.
However, right as I was about to vault myself up and over, I paused, noticing something awry with Rias's aura.
The smell of fear was lingering around her, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. Obviously, she wasn't aware of my presence, not yet at least, and neither myself nor Sylvie detected anyone else in the room, let alone residue from a possible unfamiliar presence that had been inside earlier.
Slowly, I lifted myself upwards, ensuring that I didn't make any sound so as not to startle her, and crouched down, balancing myself on the ledge with a pensive look on my face.
"Rias?" I softly called out to her, finding the woman hunched over her desk with a drab, grim expression. Like all of her usual pride and composure had been sucked right out of her very being.
"…"
Her lack of response only caused my concern to heighten. I stepped through the window and walked right up to her, waving my hand in front of her face in an attempt to get her attention.
"Moshi Mosh? Underworld to Rias?"
"…"
Still no response.
"I—"
Right as I was about to resort to giving her a light chop on the head to snap her out of whatever trance she was in, she spoke, her voice quiet as a whisper, but still audible to me thanks to my enhanced hearing.
"—I made a mistake."
"A mistake?" I repeated, a little perturbed by her ominous wording.
Wordlessly, she reached into the stack of paperwork on her desk and pulled out a document I had noticed last time I was here, but had neglected to address since I was still deliberating what to do about it.
The inquiry into House Sallos.
"I'm sorry," she rasped, her gaze still fixated on her desk as she clenched her fists on her lap. "I didn't mean to… I… I couldn't contain my curiosity…"
Instantly, I was met with confusion.
If all she had expressed was guilt, her state of mind would be clear as day to me. However, out of all the emotions I could feel radiating off her, guilt was by far the weakest.
Fear. Overwhelming fear. That's what I felt from her, more than anything.
My eyes narrowed with suspicion before I put my hand on her shoulder reassuringly.
"Rias, did something happen while I was gone?" I didn't want to say it aloud, but in the back of my mind, I already had an inkling of what possibly could've transpired, and it was a possibility that made the looming threat of a Cadre and resurgence of the Great War seem like mild inconveniences at worst.
Martha.
But surely she wouldn't, should she? Doing anything, and I mean anything at all, to the Lucifer's little sister was no different from doing the exact same thing to him, personally.
Oh, who am I kidding? This is Martha I'm talking about, the very incarnation of apathy itself, who has disregarded everything in the known universe that doesn't revolve around her.
And as fate would have it, that extends to a Satan capable of extinguishing even her with naught but the snap of his fingers.
The problems just never seem to end for me… do they? I must've been some kind of otherworldly villain in my past-past life to deserve this. Then again, I also have my own lack of foresight and inaction to blame.
I should've done something the moment I noticed she had gone looking where Martha clearly didn't want her to. Although I have to say I'm fairly surprised that she was the one to make the first move. This whole time, I was expecting Sebastian to be the first to prove himself a royal pain in my ass.
"Someone…" Rias choked up, clearly struggling to get the words out of her mouth. "…Someone came here. S-She warned me to… stop looking…" Her grip on her skirt tightened, fuelling me with a sharp sense of acrimony as my worst suspicions seemed to prove themselves true. "Otherwise she would…"
She couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence, and she didn't need to.
How dare she, I cursed inwardly, my face contorting in furor. Me and that woman obviously have our 'differences', putting it lightly, but I didn't think she'd have it in her to be this petty. Would I expect this from Sebastian? Yes, absolutely. But from her? No.
And for what? All because she made a simple request about her house's background, the kind of inquiry any noble could ask for, literally speaking, what she tried to do was no different from stepping into a library and looking for a book on the house.
Not to mention the glaring, irrefutable fact that she didn't even get anything!
Rias wasn't punished for anything concrete, not that I'd let that happen either, but the point stands, this was all just because a girl expressed a little morbid curiosity.
"You needn't say anymore, I understand." My voice turned somber as I slowly rubbed circles on her back in an attempt to calm her. First and foremost, it's clear to me that there's an intruder in Kuoh, and one's lifespan has been just cut short, as it would seem. "Can you tell me what she looked like?"
I'm about 99% sure it wasn't Martha herself, that woman's far too proud to make a personal appearance. Which would mean she's sent some kind of operative here on her behalf to her bidding.
Whom I failed to notice.
Hah, some Guardian I am.
She shook her head despondently. "No… she made sure I wasn't able to look at her face the whole time and… she talked about you… as well as your mother."
"She did?"
"Yes… she called you her 'Young Lord'… and your mother her 'Lady'." Rias shivered, making it clear to me that she wasn't in any state to be questioned further. "Her presence… it was so… cold… and hateful… like I had been frozen in ice… with the tip of a knife pressed up right against the back of my throat…"
I hope you're happy, Martha. You traumatized an innocent girl over a situation that easily couldn't have been handled with naught more than a light verbal warning.
How could I forget?
How could I let my guard down like this?
Just because she expressed a little goodwill to me before I left the Underworld, goodwill which I knew was a temporary mood-swing at best, and a calculated move to make me drop my vigilance at worst.
I'm supposed to know that woman better than anyone, yet I still let something like this happen.
Shame on me.
"You've had a long day, and words can't possibly express how sorry I am for not preventing this, my dear student." I had to use every last ounce of strength to hide the temper in my voice. "However, I won't let this happen again, you have my word." I put two fingers against her forehead and released a carefully targeted sliver of Ki into her hypothalamus to put her to sleep. "Get some rest, this will all be over soon."
Obviously, I can't just leave her here when there's the risk of Martha's unidentified mutt approaching her again.
I slapped my palms together and created a Wood Clone of myself. I'm not all that talented with this technique, not to mention that I haven't done much practice with it in recent years, so I don't really make use of it during combat. And unlike Halibel, I have to siphon off a part of my own strength when I create a clone. Which doesn't really suit my aggressive fighting style.
But who knows? Maybe I'll figure something out with it later to make it a genuine part of my arsenal.
"Take her to the villa," I instructed my wooden self. "Tell Thora that she'll remain under our direct protection from now on, and brief her on everything that's happened except for Martha's involvement. I'm still figuring out how I'm going to— wait, why am I even explaining this to you? You already know what I'm thinking," I facepalmed. "Just do as I said, alright? Oh, and let Toshio and his family know they can go home."
It nodded in response and scooped Rias up in a bridal carry before bolting out the window without skipping a beat.
Now then, I guess it's about time I pay a visit to the other princess I'm protecting.
===
"Is this alright, Kaichou?" Tsubaki Shinra, the Student Council's Vice-President, asked while massaging her President/King's shoulders.
"Yeah, that's perfect," Sona heaved a deep groan of relief. Ever since her older sister had come to visit, informing her about the arrival of Kuoh Town's new "Guardian", her torso had been met with a very explicable, immense degree of soreness. A natural result when you were met with the full force of an onslaught of the Leviathan's unrestrained, obsessive hugs and cuddles for nearly an entire hour. "You're a lifesaver, Tsubaki."
Days had gone by since her sister's visit, yet the soreness still showed no signs of subsiding.
I swear, she doubles the force of her hugs each time she visits me! I'll start having back problems before I'm 20 at this rate!
"You flatter me, Kaichou," Tsubaki replied while restraining a proud smile.
"Nonsense, I'm only giving praise where it's due." Had it not been for her Queen's massaging expertise, her Leviathan-induced back problems would've begun a long time ago.
A few minutes passed as the two enjoyed one another's company, only for the looming silence to be disturbed by the sound of someone knocking on the door of the Student Council's chambers.
Someone's here? I didn't sense anyone approaching though… Sona shared a mildly perturbed glance with her Queen. Even as the figure stood right outside their door, their presence remained completely untraceable. To a supernatural being, that was no different than being visited by a ghost.
"Kaichou…" Tsubaki whispered, visibly unsure how to proceed.
"I know," she whispered back before standing upright and straightening her posture, clearly upping her guard. "Come in," she urged cautiously, her fist tightened in preparation for a possible confrontation.
Granted, if someone were genuinely trying to harm her, chances are they wouldn't bother announcing their entrance.
"It's been a while, Sona."
Followed by an even-tempered, somewhat familiar voice, the door opened and in stepped an ash-haired man donning a white kimono.
Though Tsubaki's caution remained, Sona's quickly dissipated as her eyes widened in recognition, her memory returning to the day of her eighteenth birthday.
"Alduin? Is that… you?" She questioned, noticing the change in his bulk and stature since they last met. And of course, the four draconic horns resting atop his head like a crown. "You've… changed." She said while readjusting her spectacles, the gesture proved to be quite helpful in maintaining her poise.
"So I have," his gaze slowly drifted over towards Tsubaki. She flinched a little under his reptilian inspection, but Sona was quick to reassure her by placing a calming hand on her shoulder. "I presume she's one of your peerage members?" He asked with palpable curiosity, unlike with Rias, Serafall hadn't provided him with files on Sona and her subordinates since it was deemed unnecessary for him to have access to their information. At least for now.
"Yes, she's my Queen, Tsubaki Shinra." Sona looked at her somewhat shaky right hand. "Tsubaki, this is Alduin Buné. He attended my birthday party, but I didn't get a chance to introduce the two of you since he had a… meetings of sorts to attend to."
"…Buné?" Tsubaki blanked, evidently processing something for a few moments before her face whitened, coming alight with panic. "M-My Lord! I apologize for not recognizing you!" She performed a hurried bow, recalling what Sona told her about him in their own private time.
"Haha! Most of the Underworld wasn't even sure I existed until recently. Why would I hold that against you?" He let out a hearty chuckle, waving off her concerns. "Besides, my last name is of little importance up here. I am but a humble foreign affairs representative, at your service." He returned a bow of his own.
"You know, my sister tried to downplay your position quite a bit when she informed me about your presence." Sona narrowed her eyes. "At first, I thought it was just a product of her usual antics, but after speaking with Rias and listening to her… colorful… recount of her experience with you, I learned that couldn't be further from the truth."
"Oh? How do you mean?" He tilted his head innocently.
"According to what you told her, you're here on both my sister and Lord Lucifer's orders to act as our 'Guardian', and prepare Rias for an apparent upcoming Rating Game she's going to have against Riser Phenex to annul her marriage arrangement with him."
"Mhm. That's all true," he confirmed, detecting a note of disappointment in Sona's voice. "Let me guess, you think Serafall doesn't trust you to protect yourself—"
"Since when were you on a first-name basis with my older sister?" Sona crossed her arms as she and Tsubaki shot glares chalk full of suspicion at him.
Whoops, Alduin blinked nervously, quickly realizing that he had slipped up.
"I'm not sure what you're talking about. Why would I be on a first-name basis with Lady Leviathan?" He made the immediate decision to call upon the power of shameless denial.
"But you just said—"
"No, I didn't."
"I literally just heard you call her—"
"No, you didn't. You're being delusional, Sona. Maybe you need to get your ears checked?" He reached for his badge. "Don't worry, one call and we'll have the Underworld's best doctors on the case."
They both slumped. It was clear that trying to get anything out of him on the subject would be like trying to draw blood from a stone.
"Fine," she rolled her eyes. "I'll let this go, for now at least. And for the record, yes, it does feel like she doesn't trust in my abilities to keep myself safe within my own territory. Especially when neither of us was consulted about this beforehand. Assuming this arrangement between you and them occurred during my birthday," she made it clear that she hadn't forgotten his discussion with 'Lord Sitri.' "I presume this was decided a month ago?"
"That's also true," he nodded, understanding her sentiment. "However, I think you've got your perspective all wrong."
"Have I now?"
"Lady Leviathan and Lord Lucifer didn't order this because they lack faith in your abilities or anything of the sort, they did it out of mere concern for your safety." He breathed a light exhale. "Yes, they are the Four Great Satans, and you are both Heiresses to your respective families. But more importantly, you're family. That's certainly the way they see it," he smiled, sensing that Sona was following along. "I mean, think about it, can you honestly say you wouldn't at least consider doing the same if you were in their shoes?"
"Well…" Sona fell into contemplation, exchanging a look with Tsubaki that made it clear her Queen agreed with Alduin's suggestion. "I suppose you have a point, still, it would've been nice not to have been kept in the dark until the last minute."
He could only shrug. "Knowing your sister, do you think it would've made any difference?"
She sighed in resignation. "No, she's far too stubborn to let anything go once she's decided on it, especially when it concerns me." Her dejected expression gradually shifted into one of further confusion. "However, there's still one thing I don't understand." Her gaze fixed on Alduin. "Why you? With the authority my sister wields not only as a Satan, but the Head of Foreign Affairs. I imagine the list of people she had to choose from was considerable, and that's probably putting it lightly. Yet, she and Lord Lucifer trusted you. Why?"
And here I thought Rias was the inquisitive one. Alduin chuckled inwardly, he could practically see the gears turning in her head as she tried to piece everything together. One could only imagine how thick the veil of mystery around him had become from her point of view.
"You think I have some kind of hidden history with them, don't you?" The mild glimmer of shock on her face sufficed as confirmation. "While I understand why you'd think that, I can assure you that was the first time I ever had the privilege of meeting them."
Sona knitted her brow. "Even if I were to assume you're being truthful, that only makes this all the more confusing. You can't honestly expect me to believe they'd trust someone they've known only for a month with a responsibility like this?" She knew more than anyone just how overbearing of an old sister Serafall could be. For her to trust someone other than herself with the safety of her little sister spoke volumes about her faith in that person.
"Trust isn't as black and white as you seem to believe." He closed his eyes. "The trust you're referring to is one that's cultivated over knowing someone for an extended period of time. Obviously, no such trust exists between me and Lady Leviathan, nor Lord Lucifer. The kind of trust we have stems from the fact that we know what both parties want from one another. It gives us something to count on to ensure neither of us will go back on our word. In this instance, I could count on Lady Leviathan and Lord Lucifer's desire to protect their younger siblings. The fact that I know that desire of theirs is genuine extinguishes any and all concerns I might have about them going back on their word."
With her arms still crossed, Sona started to drum her fingers against her bicep. She understood the crux of what he was trying to say, but found his lack of elaboration rather unsatisfactory.
"And what about them? What is it about you that my sister and Lord Lucifer are counting on?"
"Ah, that?" He chuckled. "That's none of your business, Sona Sitri." Without warning, both his gaze and tone had become sharp as a razor, his smile dropping right off his face in the span of a blink. The eerie light of his verdant irises had intensified to a frightening degree, causing the King and Queen to break out into a nervous sweat, their instincts screaming at them to be wary of the abrupt change in Alduin's demeanour. "And for your sake, I strongly suggest you don't attempt to make it yours. After all, my job is to keep you away from danger, not push you further towards it."
Though they couldn't bring themselves to offer a verbal response, he could tell that they understood not to pry any further, causing him to drop his pressure and cast away his intimidating posture in favour of his more flippant one.
I won't make the same mistake twice, he promised, recalling the incident with Rias that had occurred only moments ago. The Crimson-Haired Princess had hardly even dipped her toes into the clusterfuck that was his family, and look what happened? There's no way he could just sit by and allow Sona to experience the same fate.
"Haha, sorry about that, I got a little too serious there, didn't I? My bad!" He scratched the back of his neck with an apologetic smile. "Anywho, the whole reason I came here in the first place is because I need you and your peerage's help with something. If you're willing, of course."
"Our… help?" She stammered, still needing a moment before she completely regathered her poise.
"Yup."
Slowly, Alduin started to explain the situation. Well, at least the parts he was willing to divulge. Starting with Rias' discovery of Light Magic around Kuoh's local, long since abandoned church. Followed by his discovery of Raynare and Freed colluding with one another, the attempted assassination of a human contracted to Akeno, which he stopped, and the eventual execution of Raynare and her stooges.
"Fallen Angels… hiding in my town like rats waiting to spread their plague…" Sona clenched her fist, teeming with fury. Where did a lowly murder of crows find the audacity to encroach on her territory? Regardless of whether they succeeded or failed in doing whatever it is they had in mind, the fact that such a pathetically weak group attempted to do what they did at all was an insult in and of itself. "How despicable."
"Indeed," Tsubaki concurred, wearing a darker look than usual beneath her spectacles.
"I understand your frustration, but I'd save it for another time if I were you. Your sister already unleashed more than enough of it on Grigori's doorstep to last at least a millennium." Serafall's indignation was still fresh in his mind. "Thanks to her, the situation was dealt with quicker than we even realized there was a situation in the first place."
"If that's true, what do you need our help for?"
"Fret not, it's nothing major," he reached into his kimono and pulled out a dossier, handing it to Sona. "There's just a tiny bit of aftermath I was hoping you could help me out with."
She eyed him carefully, skimming through the contents of the dossier before replying.
"Asia Argento?"
"Yes, Raynare seemed to have something nefarious planned for her, and from what I understand, she's on her way here as we speak and supposed to arrive in no less than a week's time. I'm hoping you could use your familiars to keep an eye out for her when she does, and inform me once you've confirmed her presence."
"Well, I suppose that wouldn't be much trouble." She raised an eyebrow. "But why the interest?"
"Keep reading and you'll know why." He made his departure without another word.
Now then, it's time for me to return home and start figuring out how I'm going to deal with… all of this.
===
It's just one thing after the other, isn't it? Poor guy.
———
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