Enjoy reading, rejoice and
See you all on next time
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(...Continuing)
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With silence taking over the kitchen, Rias remained sitting with her hands together under the table, given everything she had said so far, she was calm.
The conversation was quite tense at first, Miyako's smile that wasn't a smile was really intimidating to her, but after that things became quite calm.
She had lost that smile but she talked to her very calmly, asking concise questions to the point that Rias felt like she was talking to a teacher.
And besides Miyako, Francisco also asked her questions, although there were much fewer of them.
With her explaining everything, things that she knew Micael had already talked about with them, she found herself going into other more specific topics such as her personal strength, the peerage system and Garyfia's strength, talking about her magical capabilities.
Miyako was understandably interested in knowing about the woman responsible for their protection, she had also talked about Sirzecs and the situation of the underworld as a society in addition to touching on the topic of Micael's powers.
It was the topic of the "new contract" that she had made with Micael because she knew the real nature of his power, there was also the old contract that they now had to renew.
'Wait, now that we're dating, do we still need that contract?'
As Rias suddenly thought, Miyako, who until then had been reflecting, broke the silence.
"It's really something else, this world of yours is...complicated." Miyako said calmly as she looked at her, her arms crossed.
"Yes, it's a very complicated world, but you don't have to worry, I guarantee that your and your family's safety will be my priority." Rias said giving a soft smile and speaking in a calm tone in an attempt to reassure. 'After all, I can't let my boyfriend's family die.'
"I know that, but it's not me I'm worried about." Miyako replied to her as her gaze turned to her side.
Rias followed her gaze and looked at Micael sitting next to her, during the conversation he mainly participated in answering questions asked by his father, stepmother and sister.
He sat leaning against the table, his fist supporting his face as he remained silent.
Upon hearing Miyako's words and the look in their eyes, he glanced at her before looking back at Miyako, saying nothing for a moment, nothing he said would put her completely at ease however.
He could confirm one thing.
"I'm not going to die."
Words said with a certainty that demonstrated all his confidence, and perhaps arrogance in saying such a thing, at least that was how it seemed externally.
'At least, I will try my best not to die, after all, backup plans exist for that reason.' It was Micael's much more realistic thought.
As much as he wanted to arrogantly claim that he wouldn't die as if he were an anime character like Escanor, he had to be realistic, he wasn't that strong to claim such a thing.
"That's the least you should do." Francisco spoke at that moment, with his arms also crossed.
MIcael changed his gaze from Miyako to Francisco upon hearing the man's words, he met his stoic gaze that didn't show what he was thinking.
But in response to the man's words, Micael gave a simple nod of agreement.
And the man in question just kept his gaze silent, without saying anything else.
"Well, I guess that ends our discussion then." Miyako said, breaking the silence once again.
Rias nodded before raising her hand, in her palm appeared a rolled up scroll. "Well, I think it's time we renewed our contract."
Micael next to her reached out and took the rolled up parchment, unfolded it and read in silence.
Miyako, Francisco and Mari looked at that piece of paper, the three of them wanting to read what was written there.
Micael finished reading and saw that what was written there had changed a little, especially in the part related to the protection that Grayfia would provide.
He reached out to hand the contract to his father to read, but ended up stopping halfway, turning to Rias and asked. "Wait, do we still need a contract with our situation?"
"I wanted to ask you this, I have no problem canceling the contract, but what about you?" Rias replied looking at him, she already understood that he was quite cautious, despite trusting him whether she wanted to or not, she still had a backup plan in the form of her brother.
Even though she believed Micael that he would not harm her and was completely willing to let her guard down against him, it was a different matter for him since he did not have the support of a superpower in the form of an older brother.
He couldn't depend on anyone but himself in this situation, so she would understand if he wanted to keep the contract, although she admitted that she would be very happy if he canceled it, it would be a sign that he would be willing to truly trust her.
Micael, hearing her words, looked at the paper again and began to think, should he cancel the contract?
The most normal thing would be for him to cancel the contract, but neither he nor Rias were a normal couple like two ordinary humans.
Canceling it would be a vote of confidence on his part, but even though he liked her and trusted her, would he be able to let his guard down completely?
After all, like any other relationship, there was no guarantee that they would stay together forever, so even if they broke up in the future, it didn't mean they would be enemies or anything like that.
And even if that happened, he was confident that he could protect himself by now, not to mention that if he canceled the contract now and they separated, they could make a contract again.
'Hmm...'
Thinking about it, he thought about it, the point here was that he would have to let his guard down if he wanted to trust someone, after all, how could he know if she was a trustworthy girl if he didn't even give her a chance.
'I told myself, I have to be cautious, paranoid, but not like Batman, or I will distrust even my shadow and I will never be able to have a healthy relationship.'
Looking into the girl's eyes, he saw those eyes looking at him, blinking calmly waiting for his answer.
Staring into those crystal blue, almost glowing eyes, he thought. 'The eyes are the window to the soul, right?'
Looking at the paper in his soled hand, he calmly offered it back to her. 'I'll trust you, Rias, I sincerely hope I'm doing the right thing.'
Blinking for a moment, Rias looked at the paper before looking back at Micael, a happy smile appearing on her face as she spoke. "Don't worry, Micael, you won't regret it."
Micael just smiled slightly in response to her.
With the agreement paper in hand, Rias opened it and placed her hand on it, causing a magic circle to appear on the paper with her placing her hand on it.
The red magic circle glowed faintly as it slowly rotated until it stopped, she then removed her hand and returned the paper to Micael.
Still smiling, she offered him the paper with the magic circle glowing. "The agreement has to be undone by both parties."
Knowing what he had to do, Micael accepted the paper and placed his hand over the magic circle, and as he did so, he heard Miyako's voice.
"What is this? What are you guys talking about?"
Hearing Miyako's question, Rias looked at her without losing her smile and keeping calm, she already imagined that this kind of question would arise if they spoke openly like this about their relationship without being specific about it.
But already being prepared, she had already thought of an excuse, so without losing her calm, she responded. "We were talking about-"
"Our dating."
But being interrupted mid-sentence, those words spoken by Micael made her freeze completely as her brain short-circuited.
A silence much more deafening and tense than the previous ones took over the kitchen.
With a bead of sweat appearing on her temple, Rias met Miyako's eyes as she began to feel nervous.
The woman just looked at her silently, without showing any reaction.
Rias clenched her fists as a blush began to appear on her face, she didn't know what to say in that situation. "Uh..."
As this was happening, the magic circle on Micael's palm stopped spinning, seeing the magic circle dissolving, he raised his head and was faced with that strange atmosphere.
He looked at Miyako, with the woman looking away from Rias and meeting his calmly, he then looked at Francisco, the man staring at him silently with both eyebrows raised.
Looking at Mari, he noticed that her face was presumably neutral as she also looked at him, a reaction he had already expected.
Then, turning his eyes to Rias beside him, he saw her face flushed red as she looked somewhat nervous and awkward, the girl ended up giving him an almost pleading look at that moment as a result.
Looking back at his father and stepmother, he pretended not to notice Rias' gaze as he pointed at her with his thumb. "Right, I forgot to mention, she's my girlfriend now."
Micael spoke with the utmost nonchalance, as if he were talking about the weather or something and acting the same way. "Anyway, here Rias, the contract has been terminated."
He said as he offered her the contract.
The girl just stared at him, incredulous at his behavior, then, taking the contract from his hand immediately, she gave him a look of indignation while discreetly squeezing his thigh.
"We weren't planning on talking about this, were we?" She said in a whispering tone between pursed lips.
"Ouch." Exclaiming as he looked at the hand that was squeezing his thigh, he lightly patted her hand as he replied. "It's okay, like I said no need to worry, look, they're fine with it."
His words made Rias remember where she was, causing her to let go of him as she slowly looked at Miyako and Francisco.
Seeing Miyako's unchanged expression and the slightly smiling Francisco, Rias calmly adjusted herself in her chair, brushing her hair over her ear, she gave a strained smile to the two as the blush on her face deepened.
Looking away from the nervous girl, Miyako looked at Micael as she asked. "How long?"
Micael met her gaze as he answered. "Since Friday."
Miyako nodded slightly as she looked at Rias, leaning back in her chair and exhaling weakly. "Honestly, this dinner can already be considered a daughter-in-law meeting her in-laws dinner, and from what I've seen of you so far, you seem like a good girl, Rias."
Faced with Miyako's gaze and words, Rias felt a little shy and smiled embarrassedly.
"Then you both have my blessing. Micael can be a little stubborn at times, but I ask that you be understanding." Saying that, Miyako bowed slightly as she continued. "That said, I hope you'll take care of him from now on, Rias, and make him happy."
Blinking at Miyako's words, Rias took a brief moment before adopting a calmer expression as she also bowed. "Don't worry ma'am, I won't let you down."
Miyako smiled as she nodded at the girl, satisfied with her words.
And Rias ended up smiling as well in reaction.
"So, you guys are dating, huh..." At that moment, Francisco ended up speaking while looking at Rias.
"Ah, yes, sir." Rias replied after a brief pause, honestly, to her, Francisco was much less intimidating than Miyako.
"Hmm." Humming, Francisco looked away from her to Micael, then back at her before returning to Micael again.
Then, a smile soon began to appear on the man's face, a smile that soon began to appear on Micael's face as well.
Waving to each other, they both got up from the table at the same time, shouting and giving a dap.
"Yeeeaaaah!"
"Yeeeaaaah!"
Pah—
After that, the two hugged each other lightly as Francisco spoke with a big smile and laughed. "That's my boy! Hahaha."
Micael just laughed along with him. "Hahaha."
On the other hand, beside them, Miyako had a blank look as she watched the two's behavior, Rias had a red face again and felt kind of embarrassed and Mari rolled her eyes at them as she weakly muttered 'men'.
Ending the hug, Francisco moved to the side as he patted Micael on the shoulder.
"Well, my son, it seems that the Alvez family's irresistible charm also runs through your veins." The man's smile couldn't have been more satisfied at that moment.
Raising an eyebrow as he smiled slightly, Micael responded to his confident tone. "Irresistible charm is an exaggeration, beauty is not the strong point on this side of the family."
Francisco lost his smile as he gave Micael a dry look. "You have to spoil the mood, don't you?"
Without losing his smile, Micael just shrugged.
Lowering his hand, Francisco shook his head as he spoke. "Anyway, who was talking about beauty here, kid? I'm talking about our natural attractiveness, or have you forgotten how beautiful your mother was or how beautiful your stepmother is right here next to me?"
Faced with Francisco's argument, Micael found himself without an answer.
'Now that he says it, I can't deny his logic.' Micael thought as he silently looked at Miyako, as the image of his hand appeared in his mind and he realized that he really couldn't deny it.
"You have a point."
"Of course I'm right, either way, you two have my blessing." Francisco glanced at his son before looking at Rias and smiling. "Micael can be a bit of a problem sometimes..."
"Oi, before it was Miyako and now it's you too?"
Ignoring his son's exclamation, Francisco continued talking to Rias. "But he's a good boy, trust me, in time, despite all the stress he'll cause you..."
"Oi, you're overreacting."
"But you'll see it's worth it, just be patient." Ignoring Micael, he continued to smile as he spoke to the girl.
The girl in question was smiling as well, looking clearly amused despite the blush that still covered her face, glancing sideways at Michael, Rias nodded as she replied. "I understand sir, don't worry, I will be as understanding and patient as possible with Micael."
Micael looked at her raising an eyebrow, his gaze speaking for itself.
And Rias just smiled brightly at him in response as she returned his gaze.
Francisco nodded, seeming satisfied with the answer, then raised his hand and gave Micael a hard slap on the shoulder. "As for you, boy, take good care of her, Rias seems like a decent girl, so don't make her sad or I'll give you a scolding."
Saying that, he gave it one last pat before sitting back down, pretending not to have seen the blank look Micael gave him after his words.
"Hahaha~"
With that laughter coming from beside him, Micael found Rias laughing lightly with her fingers covering her mouth.
Smiling to the point where her eyes took on a crescent shape, she said clearly amused. "You heard your father."
Micael looked at her silently, narrowing his eyes as he stared at her, but in the end he just nodded without saying anything as he sat back down.
After sitting down, with Francisco smiling as he looked at his son and daughter-in-law, he felt a gaze coming from the side making him look in that direction.
He ended up being met with Miyako's expressionless gaze, and not only that, he could also see in the corner of the table the same expression on Mari's face as she also looked at him.
"What?" But the man just shrugged, pretending not to know what he had done wrong.
Knowing full well that Francisco would continue to act as if nothing had happened, Miyako turned her gaze to her son and now daughter-in-law.
Seeing how the two seemed to be whispering to each other, with both of them smiling, Miyako found the two to be very cute together and admitted that they looked like a suitable couple.
But a worry in the back of his mind still remained, even though Rias seemed like a good person and a decent girl, the fact that she was literally a devil still remained.
She just hoped that things would work out between the two of them, but if the worst case scenario happened, that they would part on good terms.
At the very least she knew that in this possible scenario Michael would be fine, the unknown was Rias, she knew many women, especially teenagers, can get emotional in a relationship breakup situation.
She deeply hoped that things wouldn't actually end in that scenario.
"So, I guess we've discussed everything, right?"
Her speech caught both of their attention, making them look in her direction with Micael taking the initiative to answer her.
"Yes, but one thing is still missing." Saying that, Micael took the contract he had placed on the table and offered it to Rias again. "Here."
This time the girl took the piece of paper and folded it until it was small, she held it between her fingers and smiling as she showed it to him, she made a dark red energy cover the paper which in an instant fell apart.
Micael just looked silently at the contract paper that fell apart without a trace between her fingers, he already imagined what that dark red energy was.
'That's the power of destruction, huh, not scary at all, is it?'
Watching the folded piece of paper disappear into nothingness and finding it both impressive and frightening, Miyako calmly asked RIas. "Do you plan to stay longer?"
"Actually, I'm going now, it's already late." Rias replied with a slight shake of her head, still with the slight smile on her face.
"In that case, let us bid you farewell." Miyako said as she stood up from the table, and the others followed her as they stood up as well.
With everyone standing, at that moment, Mari, who had remained silent throughout the conversation, spoke. "Wait, before you go, can I talk to you?"
She addressed Rias, and the girl blinked in surprise at the unexpected question, glancing sideways at Micael before returning her gaze to Mari, Rias responded with a polite smile. "Of course."
Looking at Mari suspiciously, Micael asked her. "What do you want to talk to her about?"
"It's no big deal, it won't take long." She replied calmly and left the kitchen, talking to Rias as she did so. "Come with me."
Taking one last look at Micael, Rias gave a reassuring smile before following the girl.
As the two reached the stairs, Mari turned around and spoke to Micael, who had followed them right behind Rias. "You can't come, I want to talk to her alone."
But Micael didn't say anything to her, he just stood behind Rias looking at her silently.
The two stayed like that, just staring at each other in silence, then recognizing that Micael didn't intend to leave her alone with Rias, she spoke more seriously.
"Micael, I just want to have a serious woman-to-woman talk with her, don't you trust me?" Mari made a point of looking him directly in the eyes to convey her seriousness.
Micael once again said nothing, he just kept his gaze on her until, after a few seconds, he took a few steps back, leaving the stairs.
"Thanks." She thanked him with a slight smile before turning around and continuing to walk.
Standing at the top of the stairs, she gestured for Rias to head towards the bedroom door before turning to Micael at the base of the stairs and saying. "Don't spy using your powers."
After saying that, she didn't wait for a response before walking to her room's door and opening it, nodding for Rias to enter first.
With the girl passing through the door, Mari entered and closed it behind her.
Meanwhile, downstairs, Micael heard the sound of the door closing and felt a headache forming.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Mari, but he knew that anything she said could be problematic.
'Sigh, it's certainly going to be troublesome, at least I can count on her not trying to end my relationship directly.'
With the corner of his mouth trembling from the "compensation" of that situation, Micael put one hand in his pocket while the other rubbed his forehead, he hadn't done anything yet, but he was already feeling the problems of wanting a harem.
"What do you think they're going to talk about?"
With that question asked by his father, he looked back and found him and his stepmother there, with the man looking at the stairs before looking back at him.
"I don't know, but I feel like I'm going to have a headache because of this." Responding to Francisco, Micael walked away from the stairs towards the entrance, leaning against the wall nearby and leaving both hands in his pockets.
"I don't think your sister will do anything bad, I think she just wants to confirm on her own terms whether Rias is a good girl for you." Miyako said next to Francisco and with her arms crossed looking at him.
Looking at Miyako silently, he wondered if the woman was serious or joking, considering she must have at least had an inkling about his relationship with Mari.
But perhaps the fact that he was apparently dating Rias made her completely abandon that suspicion, either way, he just gave her a hopeful answer.
"I hope it's something like that." Looking up at the upper floor one last time, he looked forward and waited silently, hoping that Mari would make good on her words.
And meanwhile, returning a few minutes after Mari closed the door, inside her room, Rias looked around curiously.
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(Continue...)