Chapter 416: The Honest Conversation
This was intentionally done by Venelana. If she hadn't, aside from Grayfia, no one else would have been able to hear unless they deliberately eavesdropped.
She did this to make Sirzechs and Zeoticus believe it more firmly, while also resolving the potential issue of the afternoon's "disappearance" in one go.
"Let's keep Haruto's breakthrough a secret for now."
Sirzechs turned to remind Grayfia, though his words were actually directed at the other maids and butlers present.
"Mother, we need to hurry with the matter of Haruto and Rias's marriage."
"I know, but at most, we can only have them engaged for now. To officially bring Haruto into the family, we must at least wait until Rias graduates from university and formally inherits the Gremory family."
Venelana tilted her beautiful eyes slightly and said calmly, "Just like when your father married me—if he hadn't already inherited the Gremory family, it would have been impossible."
Among nobles, especially those at the pinnacle of the current Underworld, marriages are fraught with complexities, and pure love is almost nonexistent.
As the legitimate daughter of the Bael family and with such exceptional talent, Venelana would never have ended up with Zeoticus if not for the political alliance between the Bael and Gremory families.
The situation was similar for Sirzechs and Grayfia. If not for the need to quickly resolve the internal conflicts in the Underworld, it's unlikely they would have come together either.
Haruto is just an ordinary devil reincarnated from a human, but he is also the current Red Dragon Emperor.
Even if we conceal the fact that he has reached God-class, with just this identity alone, he can only marry into the Gremory family as Rias, the family head, rather than as Rias, the legitimate daughter.
In truth, if we're talking about Haruto's bloodline now, it is more noble than anyone else's across the Three Realms.
Through continuous fusion and purification, whether it's his original human bloodline or the other bloodlines he later integrated, only the most noble and essential essences have been retained.
Even his incomplete root bloodline has no equal in the Three Realms, where all innate beings have long perished.
On the other hand, given Haruto's current strength, if he didn't want to marry into the family, no one could say anything about it.
However, he doesn't mind this point himself. After all, he has almost no memory of, let alone feelings for, his parents in this life.
Rather than keeping the surname Uesugi, he'd prefer to change it to Haruto Gremory.
If it's confirmed that his parents have passed away, he's even considering changing it to Haruto Gremory Su.
This would also serve as a tribute to the parents from his previous life, who raised him for over twenty years but never got to see him fulfill his filial duties.
Zeoticus paused his movement, setting down the wine glass he had just raised to his lips.
"In that case, let's arrange an engagement first."
It wasn't that he was reluctant to relinquish authority—after all, family affairs were already entirely managed by Venelana. Rather, Rias currently lacked both the strength and experience to qualify as the family head.
"Agreed. Once we've selected an auspicious date, Grayfia will inform Haruto and Rias."
"Yes."
With the discussion concluded, everyone began focusing on their meal.
When they had nearly finished eating, Venelana and Grayfia exchanged a glance and tacitly initiated the final step of their plan.
"You may all leave now. There's no need to clear the table yet," Grayfia instructed, turning to the butler and maids.
The servants hesitated briefly but quickly complied with affirmations.
After everyone had left the dining room, Grayfia walked to the entrance, closed the main door, and simultaneously deployed a magical barrier.
What they were about to discuss was crucial—so important that aside from the four present, there could be no risk of leakage.
"Grayfia?"
Zeoticus looked puzzled, about to voice his question when he noticed Venelana nodding at him.
Sirzechs was initially confused too, but after glancing at the silver-haired beauty guarding the door and then at his mother, he seemed to understand something. He adopted a thoughtful expression and waited quietly.
Venelana didn't keep them waiting long. As soon as the barrier stabilized, she immediately spoke up: "Because we observed Haruto's breakthrough up close, Grayfia and I gained considerable insights. Our strength has improved significantly, and moreover..."
As she spoke, Venelana and Grayfia fully unleashed their auras. The overwhelming pressure, surpassing even Super Devil Class, stunned the Gremory father and son.
Even Sirzechs, who had vaguely suspected something, now felt complex emotions.
The claim of "gaining insights from observing a breakthrough" was dubious—they might be dedicated to cultivation, but that didn't make them fools.
If they were fools, no matter how powerful they were, they couldn't have led the Gremory family through the Great War of the Three Factions, let alone ascended to the position of Satan.
Just as complex emotions arose in the two men, with the shame of being cuckolded beginning to surface, Venelana's next words completely dissipated their anger.
"And if we continue like this, we can break through the God-class bottleneck within ten years at most."
Zeoticus' eyes widened suddenly. "Are you certain?" he retorted.
"Certain," Venelana affirmed.
The handsome, uncle-style man crossed his arms and lowered his head in deep thought.
Compared to Zeoticus' focus, Sirzechs was sharper, instantly grasping the key point.
"Mo... cough... Mother."
Due to a certain unspoken truth they all understood, the red-haired Satan stumbled slightly. But with his strong self-control, he quickly adjusted his mindset.
"Mother, is Haruto's ability... capable of helping others break through to god-class?"
Zeoticus, who had been deep in thought, suddenly looked up. If this were true, then he wouldn't need to hesitate any longer.
Seeing the reactions of the father and son, Grayfia and Venelana felt reassured but couldn't help feeling a trace of disappointment and sorrow.
Compared to the family's revival and their ambitions, the bonds they had built over so many years of living together seemed to carry almost no weight.
But perhaps this was for the best...
Soon, that hint of disappointment and sorrow transformed into a sense of resignation.
"It's not yet confirmed—the sample size is too small."
This time it was Grayfia who spoke, "But based on my judgment, this effect should have limitations. It's impossible to mass-produce god-class experts indiscriminately. At the very least, the individual's innate potential and talent must be sufficiently high."
"In other words," Venelana added, "as long as the potential and talent are strong enough, breaking through to god-class is merely a matter of time with Haruto's assistance."
God-class talent and potential aren't actually rare—all pure-blooded devils possess them.
The scarcity of god-class experts is mainly due to bottleneck issues.
The most typical examples are Grayfia and Venelana themselves.
The atmosphere in the barrier-shrouded dining room grew exceptionally quiet, so quiet it felt almost frozen.
Yet the hearts of the four present were turbulent with emotion. After a moment, Zeoticus and Sirzechs exchanged glances and simultaneously nodded.
"Understood. This secret must be kept well too."
"Yes... You two focus on your cultivation, strive to break through before the Eternal War arrives."
Grayfia and Venelana maintained calm expressions. If they had any worries before, they weren't the least bit surprised by this outcome now.
This move could be called a truth-revealing gambit, something they had been debating whether to use.
But after seeing the attitudes Sirzechs and Zeoticus displayed upon hearing about Haruto's god-class breakthrough, they had decided to take the risk.
"Very well, we'll do our best.Venelana signaled to Grayfia, and the silver-haired beauty nodded in understanding, slowly dissolving the barrier.
"Regarding Haruto and Rias's matter, we'll proceed as discussed earlier. I've selected the date and will contact you again.As the barrier dissipated, Venelana finished speaking the final words, drawing a definitive conclusion to the matter.
Zeoticus and Sirzechs didn't speak, merely nodding before retreating into seclusion once more, carrying indescribably complex emotions.
Meanwhile, after helping the young maid Nina lose her virginity—completing a dual cultivation session that incidentally helped her break through from B-class to A-class, achieving her first life transformation—Haruto didn't continue further.
Seeing that nearly a full day had passed since arriving in the Underworld, he quickly washed up, asked Nina to inform Grayfia upon her return, and teleported back to the human world.
As for the changes in the young maid's duties and subsequent arrangements, Grayfia would naturally handle everything.
Nina's cover wasn't meant to deceive Zeoticus and Sirzechs anyway, but rather to prevent external gossip.
Because once Grayfia and Venelana's power increased, it would be impossible to conceal.
In the supernatural world, there are too many methods to investigate relationships between men and women—no firsthand observation necessary.
Once suspicion arose, facing their husbands' careful scrutiny, unless they firmly refused examination, it would be impossible to deceive them completely.
Moreover, with the additional effects of Haruto's dual cultivation ability, the two married women could no longer develop feelings for any other men.
This was one of the reasons why Grayfia and Venelana took the risk and chose to have a candid confrontation.
Haruto was unaware of Grayfia and Venelana's actions. Even if he knew, he wouldn't have stayed in the Underworld, as there were many beautiful, cute, and sexy girls waiting for him at home.
...
By the time Haruto returned home, the moon was already high in the sky.
Rias and Akeno were waiting for him in the room. Without asking whether Haruto had succeeded with Grayfia, the two girls clung to him affectionately.
Holding these two enchanting beauties, Haruto couldn't help but give himself a mental pat on the back.
Spending his days either cultivating or on the way to cultivate—with such diligence, who else could be as strong as him?
After the first round of dual cultivation, Rias and Akeno felt the vastly different, exceptionally vibrant, and dense life essence within their bodies, their beautiful eyes shimmering with amazement.
This sensation only occurred when Haruto was significantly stronger than them.
The benefits from dual cultivation had also greatly increased. As they digested and absorbed the life energy, the two girls' strength surged forward by a large margin, bringing them closer to the Satan-Class.
Without needing to ask, Rias and Akeno deduced that Haruto had successfully broken through to the god-level.
However, they couldn't determine whether Grayfia had agreed or refused. They would need to see Grayfia in person and test her to find out.
Some things were understood by everyone but couldn't be spoken aloud directly, unless one had no regard for others' opinions—in other words, shameless.
As one of the four pure-blooded devil nobles, Rias naturally couldn't act this way.
This was the same logic behind the candid confrontation involving Grayfia, Venelana, Zeoticus, and Sirzechs.