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Considering it was Rias's first time, Hanakain Reiji refrained from going overboard.
From 3:30 p.m. until almost 5:00 p.m., lasting over an hour, when the commotion in the room settled down, the light filtering through the window curtains faintly indicated that the sky outside was gradually darkening. Laughter from students leaving after club activities could be vaguely heard from the street below.
The perspective returns to the room. As the silhouettes behind the bed curtains stopped moving dramatically, the sounds of heavy breathing within the room gradually subsided.
Inside the curtains, Rias, wrapped only in a sheet, leaned quietly against the young man's shoulder in his embrace. Her dark red hair was damp with sweat from the strenuous activity, giving it a slight sheen. Her chest gently rose and fell with the rhythm of her breathing. Her eyes were closed, one finger resting lightly on Hanakain Reiji's heart, her soft mouth slightly ajar, exhaling a delicate breath.
"Rias."
"Mhm..." Hanakain Reiji gently called the girl's name, but she only responded with a soft murmur.
The claim of not "going overboard" was only true for Hanakain Reiji himself. For Rias, experiencing this for the first time, she truly didn't even have the energy to speak. Not to mention other things, the sheer expanse of "crime scene" evidence within the four square meters alone was enough to confirm the intensity of her aerobic exercise over the past two hours.
"Wake up now, it's getting late." Hanakain Reiji's tone was like that of a father coaxing a child. "It's almost five o'clock. If we don't head back soon, Akeno and the others will start worrying~"
"...Be quiet." This time, Rias's tone surprisingly carried a hint of complaint. After speaking, she shifted slightly, settling into a more comfortable position in the young man's arms. "I already told Akeno that I was going for a walk and that they should eat dinner without me. Besides, after you worked me over for so long, Reiji... I'm so tired. Why don't we just stay here tonight..." She was truly exhausted. Her voice grew softer toward the end, eventually becoming fragmented.
While Hanakain Reiji didn't have many objections about staying here tonight, there was one matter to resolve first. So, Hanakain Reiji lightly patted the girl's shoulder, which was exposed above the sheet, and leaned in close to her ear. "Rias, we've already been at this for over an hour. If you fall asleep again, I'm afraid Miss Grayfia outside will get a sore back and legs from standing and will have to stay here with us tonight."
"Gulp...!" The statement hit the girl like a full-strength adrenaline shot. Rias, whose consciousness had been hovering at the edge of dream and reality a second ago, kicked the chess board away and violently opened her eyes. That's right, Grayfia-nee! I'm ruined, ruined, ruined...!!!
In an instant, all sleepiness vanished. Logic forcefully reclaimed the high ground, and Rias struggled to sit up. She had been so dazed; she had forgotten her current predicament and had just thought about sleeping after they finished. Ugh... But she couldn't entirely blame herself, could she? Reiji had been so relentless the first time, keeping her going for over an hour without even letting her rest. She could barely maintain her sanity at first, and afterward, her entire head felt light and floaty, and... Hiss~
It ached.
A muscle soreness radiated from her abdomen. The red-haired girl, having failed to struggle free, lay back down in the firm embrace. Of course, while Rias subjectively felt she had struggled a lot, in Hanakain Reiji's external view, she had only twitched slightly before immediately lying back down. She was like a stubborn salted fish.
"Don't move around if you don't have the strength." Hanakain Reiji's gaze, falling upon her, held a fatherly affection.
But the next second, he was fiercely glared at by the red-haired girl in his arms, her eyes filled equally with shyness and indignation. "That's only because of you..." Rias glared again before she could finish the sentence. This time, her meaning was clear—Grayfia-nee is waiting outside right now! What are you going to do about it?!
What could he do? Of course, he would just deal with it. Hanakain Reiji shrugged. Disregarding the young girl's gasp, he applied force with his arms, changing his posture to let her sit up steadily, then scooted to the edge of the bed and reached out to pull back the bed curtain.
The scene outside the bed curtain came into view again. Grayfia still stood in place, elegant and poised, her hands clasped in front of her lower abdomen. There was little expression visible on her beautiful, mature face.
"This should be sufficient, shouldn't it?"
Pulling the rope to raise the bed curtains at a forty-five-degree angle to the sides, Hanakain Reiji sat cross-legged in the center, with the blushing Rias, who dared not even raise her head, sitting on his lap. He repeated himself. "With this, the engagement should be considered void."
"..."
After a brief silence, Grayfia, who had maintained a poker face since their meeting, finally let out a helpless sigh. "While it is true that the Gremory family's engagement to the Phoenix family can no longer proceed normally, the matter is not so simple. The cancellation of the engagement cannot be unilaterally decided just because Lady Rias had relations with you."
"Hanakain Reiji, the relationship between you and Lady Rias is now final. I will report this matter to Sirzechs-sama and the Phoenix family when I return. The specific resolution will depend on the Phoenix family's attitude."
"No problem. I'll be waiting." Hanakain Reiji's expression remained unchanged, completely fearless. He raised his index finger. "I have only one demand: if they want to negotiate, they should come with the proper attitude for negotiation. Of course, if they want to resort to force, I don't mind."
"But if they try any underhanded or deceptive tricks, don't blame me for taking a trip to the Underworld myself and reducing the Seventy-Two Pillars by one."
"..."
Despite speaking such overwhelmingly arrogant words, no aggressive aura emanated from the young man. It was as if he were simply stating a predetermined fact. Grayfia hesitated for a brief moment, then bowed gracefully. "Understood. I will convey this information to the Phoenix family as well."
Then, she looked back at the red-haired girl huddled in Hanakain Reiji's arms, her head buried, completely adopting the ostrich position. "Farewell, Lady Rias. I will take my leave now."
With that, Grayfia did not use a magic circle to leave as she had last time. She turned and walked toward the room door, pushed the door handle, pulled the door open, and stepped out of the room without any unnecessary delay.
Outside the door, Akeno Himejima was leaning against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest, her head bowed, her bangs obscuring her expression.
The two passed each other, neither speaking a word.
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