I have decided on two of the girls (not part of Highschool DxD. That's still being decided) who will be part of the harem.
They are:
Albedo (Overlord)
And
Esdeath (Kill la Kill)
Ophis closed her book and walked over to Hespera. "Done?"
Hespera turned her head lazily, glancing at Ophis with a smirk. "Hmm? Oh, are you getting bored, Mom?"
Ophis stared at her, expression blank as ever, but there was sothing in her posture—sothing subtly impatient. "Done?" she repeated.
Hespera chuckled, stretching her arms above her head. "Yeah, yeah. I think we've stirred the pot enough for now."
The Gremory family, still reeling from everything that had just been revealed, barely had ti to process this shift in conversation. Sirzechs, despite his usual composure, looked as if he wanted to say sothing—perhaps a question, perhaps a demand—but for once, he held his tongue.
Rias, on the other hand, had no such restraint. "You're just leaving?" she asked, incredulous.
Hespera turned, giving her an almost pitying look. "Oh, Rias, sweetie~ Did you think I'd sit here and chat all day? I'm not here to be interrogated. I had my fun, got my reactions, and now, well…" She shrugged. "I have other things to do."
Rias clenched her fists. "But what about the Rating Ga? My engagent? You offered to help ."
Hespera blinked. Then, she laughed—a rich, amused sound that made Rias’ eye twitch. "Oh, I will help you, Princess," she assured, stepping closer, her voice dropping to sothing lower, more teasing. "But I like keeping things interesting. Don't worry, you'll see again soon~"
She winked, and Rias, to her growing frustration, felt her entire body heat up.
Sirzechs cleared his throat, drawing her attention. "If you're planning to intervene in Riser Phenex's match, I would ask that you clarify your exact intentions."
Hespera rolled her eyes. "I already told you, I'm related to the Phenex clan in a way. I personally don't give a damn about your noble little politics, but I do like breaking expectations." Her smirk widened. "And ruining them."
Venelana, ever perceptive, narrowed her eyes slightly. "You have sothing planned."
Hespera placed a hand over her chest in mock offense. "Oh, dear Venelana, how little you think of ."
"You do have sothing planned," Sirzechs repeated, sharper this ti.
Hespera only grinned, not confirming nor denying, before glancing back at Ophis. "Alright, Mom, we’re done here. You wanna take the scenic route back or just portal out?"
Ophis tilted her head in consideration. Then: "Portal."
Hespera sighed dramatically. "Tsk, you’re no fun."
With a flick of her fingers, a swirling rift of chaos and nihility split the air behind her, pulsing with unstable energy. She took a step toward it, then paused, turning her head just slightly over her shoulder.
"See you soon, little devils~"
And with that, she stepped through the portal, Ophis following without another word.
The mont they were gone, the tension in the room snapped, like a string stretched too tight.
Sirzechs finally sat back, exhaling slowly.
Venelana reached for the wine bottle.
Grayfia closed her eyes for a fraction of a second, regaining her composure.
And Rias?
Rias stared at the spot where Hespera had stood, biting the inside of her cheek.
This…was going to be very complicated.
Sirzechs exhaled, rubbing his temples. "Honestly, Rias, I think we're all still trying to process what just happened."
Grayfia, regaining her usual poise, folded her hands in front of her. "From what I gathered, Lady Hespera has every intention of interfering, but the how remains unclear."
Venelana, after pouring herself a fresh glass of wine, humd thoughtfully. "She enjoys playing gas. Chaos is in her nature. If she plans to aid you, Rias, it won’t be conventional."
Zeoticus, who had remained largely silent, finally spoke. "We should be asking ourselves—do we even want her help?"
Rias snapped her gaze toward him, scowling. "Of course we do! If it ans defeating Riser—"
"You misunderstand," Zeoticus interrupted, voice calm but firm. "If she helps you, it will not be because she cares about your engagent. It will be for her own amusent, for her own reasons." He steepled his fingers. "Are you willing to let an unknown variable dictate the battlefield? Because that’s what she is."
A heavy silence settled over the room.
Sirzechs, watching his sister closely, finally asked, "Do you trust her, Rias? I know we asked you this before, but that was before her revelations."
Rias hesitated. Trust? That wasn’t the right word. Hespera was… unpredictable. Infuriating. Unapologetically herself. But she had also been honest, in her own way.
After a long pause, she clenched her fists and t her brother’s gaze.
"I trust that she’ll do whatever the hell she wants."
Sirzechs chuckled, shaking his head. "That… is the most accurate answer you could have given."
Grayfia sighed. "Then we wait. Because one way or another, she will decide how this plays out."
And in the back of her mind, Rias couldn’t shake the feeling that Hespera had already decided.
"She's such a headach."
Just then Rias’s peerage walked into the grand dining hall.
Kiba, Akeno, Koneko, and Gasper entered the grand dining hall, each pausing montarily at the heavy atmosphere lingering in the air.
Akeno, ever the perceptive one, tilted her head, amusent flickering in her violet eyes as she took in Rias’s expression—frustration, exasperation… and sothing else, sothing new.
“My, my~” Akeno purred, gracefully stepping closer. “I take it the eting was… eventful?”
Rias let out a deep sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Understatent of the century."
Kiba exchanged a glance with Grayfia, who, despite her usually unreadable expression, looked ever so slightly tense. That alone told him whatever had transpired was not just eventful—it was monuntal.
Koneko, ever blunt, hopped onto a seat and reached for a snack on the table. “Was it about the Rating Ga?”
Rias nodded, rubbing her temples. “Yes. And also about Hespera. And also about… a million other things I wasn’t prepared to deal with today.”
The mont she said the na, Koneko visibly perked up, her feline ears twitching ever so slightly. “The scary but fun one?”
Rias groaned, placing her forehead against the table. “Yes, Koneko. The scary but fun one.”
Gasper, who had been lingering near the doorway nervously, tugged on Kiba’s sleeve. “U-um… who is Hespera again? I-I an, I know she’s the new girl, but…”
Kiba smiled reassuringly. “Do you rember the silver haired girl that made you so uncomfortable, to the point you begged Rias to give back your favorite box? That was Hespera.”
Gasper practically paled at the mory of back them. "The...the scary lady?!"
Rias lifted her head, glaring at him. “She’s a nace. A complete wild card. A walking chaos storm.”
Akeno giggled behind her hand. “Oh? But isn’t that what makes her so interesting, Rias?”
Rias shot her a look, but Akeno simply smiled, eyes twinkling with mischief.
Koneko, having successfully stolen a pastry, mumbled between bites, “Is she still helping with the Rating Ga?”
Rias leaned back in her chair, arms crossing. “…Yes. Probably. I think.”
Kiba blinked. “You think?”
Rias groaned. “Look, with her, who knows? She could show up riding a dragon, challenge Riser to a fight to the death, or just set the whole battlefield on fire and call it a day.”
Kiba chuckled. “And would that be so bad?”
Rias scowled, but a small part of her, deep down, couldn’t help but wonder… Just what would Hespera do?
Sirzechs, Zeoticus, and Venelana chuckled at Rias’s growing frustration, though each for their own reasons.
Zeoticus leaned back in his chair, a knowing smirk playing on his lips. “Rias, my dear, you always did have a penchant for attracting the interesting ones.”
Venelana, ever the composed matriarch, took a sip from her wine glass—this ti ensuring it wouldn’t crack under her grip. Her crimson eyes glead with amusent. “I must admit, I rather like her.”
Rias turned to her mother, scandalized. “Mother! She insulted Father the mont she t him!”
Zeoticus simply chuckled, stroking his beard. “Ah, but in such an entertaining way.”
Rias groaned, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “Why is everyone so amused by her?! Do you not see the chaos she brings?!”
Sirzechs let out a deep, hearty laugh, shaking his head. “Oh, Rias, my dear sister. You must see it by now.”
Rias narrowed her eyes. “…See what, exactly?”
Sirzechs leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand, his blue eyes twinkling with sothing far too knowing for Rias’s comfort.
“She has you completely wrapped around her finger.”
Rias choked. “WHAT?!”
Akeno’s giggle was downright wicked as she leaned in. “Oh my~ That explains quite a bit.”
Koneko, ever blunt, nodded sagely. “You have been talking about her a lot.”
Kiba smirked. “And you do get flustered whenever she teases you.”
Gasper, nervously looking between them all, whispered, “U-um… d-do you like her?”
Rias slamd her hands on the table, face burning. “Absolutely not!”
The collective skepticism in the room was palpable.
Sirzechs, still grinning like a devil (which, of course, he was), simply patted her shoulder as he stood. “Whatever you say, dear sister. Whatever you say.”
Rias glared daggers at him, but the heat in her cheeks betrayed her.
~☆~
anwhile, in the Hespera’s mantion…
Hespera sneezed.
Ophis, flipping through a book, barely glanced up. “Soone speaking of you.”
Hespera sniffed, rubbing her nose. “Tch. Must be my adoring fans.”
Ophis humd, turning the page. “…Or future mate.”
Hespera nearly choked from laughter. “Mom?! Haha, absolutely not. Yeah, she's hot, but..nah. Maybe if she worked on eting her potential and actually trained, instead of asking soone else to save. But not as she is now."
Ophis just humd and continued to read. Her daughter was really picky when it cos to mates.
~☆~
anwhile…
Back in the Underworld, Rias was still pacing in absolute denial while the rest of her peerage watched with pure amusent.
“I do not have a thing for her,” Rias muttered, mostly to herself. “She’s insufferable! Arrogant! Infuriating! And—and—”
Kiba raised a brow. “Attractive?”
Akeno covered her mouth, giggling. “Powerful?”
Koneko blinked. “Charismatic?”
Gasper timidly added, “G-good at making you blush…?”
Rias whirled on them, face red as a Phenex’s flas. “That is not the point!”
Sirzechs, watching from his seat, sighed in faux disappointnt. “Oh, little sister. You could just admit you like her and save yourself the trouble.”
Rias crossed her arms, scowling. “Even if I did—which I don’t!—she’s completely impossible. She’s chaos incarnate! She’s unpredictable, stubborn, reckless—”
Venelana humd. “So, your type.”
Rias froze.
Zeoticus coughed into his hand, but his shoulders shook with suppressed laughter.
Rias, on the verge of combusting, turned on her heel, marching out of the room. “I’m going to train! Alone! Do not follow !”
Akeno, ever the sadist, waved after her. “Enjoy your brooding, Rias~”
The second the doors slamd shut, Sirzechs sighed dramatically. “Ah, young love.”
Grayfia cleared her throat. “Should we focus on the actual problem now?”
Sirzechs chuckled. “Yes, yes, of course. We still have a Rating Ga to prepare for.”
Zeoticus stroked his beard, now back in serious mode. “And a certain unpredictable guest to account for.”
Venelana smirked, taking another sip of her wine. “Oh, I don’t know… I think she’ll follow through with her promise in helping us.”
Sirzechs exchanged a glance with his mother before chuckling. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
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