(For the next three weeks, I'll be on vacation from my job, so I plan to use this time to fully focus on writing my stories and bringing more chapters to Patreon.
Most likely, if I'm not posting here on Webnovel during this period, you already know the reason...)
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Alear helped Valerie leave the Tepes Clan castle without encountering any resistance. With the clan's former leader defeated and the remaining members completely disorganized after the battle, no one dared to block their exit. The two headed to a small nearby town, where they decided to wait for Nobunaga's return. Fortunately, the wait did not last long. While walking toward the town, Alear contacted his servant through the existing connection between them and informed her that he would fulfill his promise to take her to see Japan.
The news immediately sparked the interest of the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, who, excited by the prospect of the trip, decided to end her exploration earlier than planned and return to the meeting point. Until then, she had been visiting the territory where the vampires of the Camilla Faction lived, driven by curiosity to better understand the other side of vampire society, composed of women. However, she chose to leave the exploration for another opportunity as soon as she learned that she would finally get to know Japan.
While they waited, Alear took the opportunity to get to know Valerie better. The conversation was slow and full of pauses, exactly as he had expected. She only answered what was necessary, in short sentences and with little emotion. Even so, as the minutes passed, Alear guided the dialogue with patience, without pressuring her or asking invasive questions. Little by little, Valerie began to respond with slightly more than the bare minimum, even asking small questions about the outside world, demons, and life in the Underworld.
When Nobunaga finally returned and met the so-called "Vampire Princess," she was genuinely curious about the girl's reserved personality but soon welcomed her with her usual indifference, showing no prejudice toward her origins. Afterward, the three used teleportation magic to travel directly to Japan.
The rest of the day was surprisingly peaceful. Nobunaga disappeared almost as soon as they arrived, completely excited to explore her country on her own. Meanwhile, Alear stayed by Valerie's side throughout the entire outing. For someone who had spent so many years confined, every detail of that new world seemed extraordinary. She silently observed the bustling streets, the modern buildings, the illuminated shop windows, the trains, and the number of people living their normal lives. Although she remained extremely reserved, small changes began to appear in her expressions. At times, her eyes showed subtle curiosity; at others, she asked simple questions about objects or customs she had never seen before. Alear answered everything calmly, respecting her pace and never forcing her to talk. This approach gradually reduced the distance between the two. By the end of the afternoon, Valerie was already walking beside him in a much more relaxed manner, without the constant tension she had carried since they first met. For the first time in many years, she felt she could lower her guard in the presence of another person.
When night fell, the three returned to the Underworld. As soon as they arrived at the Häagenti family residence, Alear introduced Valerie to the other members of his Peerage: Mio, Maria, and also to his future wife, Ravel. The reception was much warmer than Valerie had imagined. Ravel greeted her politely and proved to be quite welcoming, while Mio and Maria immediately became interested in getting to know her better after Alear briefly explained her story. The two, who had also been forced to abandon their old lives and knew well the feeling of fleeing a fate imposed by others, quickly sympathized with Valerie's situation, as she had never had the same luck they did. Without pressuring her, they began conversing in a relaxed way, naturally including her in the group and respecting her pace. To Valerie's own surprise, she managed to relax little by little in their company. Before the night was over, the three were already talking in a very friendly manner, taking the first steps toward building a friendship that promised to grow stronger with time. Of course, Ravel was not left out and was included as well.
The next day, Alear took Valerie to observe the daily training of Mio, Maria, and Ravel. During the sessions, he gave her special attention, mainly helping her improve her magic and control over her Longinus. At first, Valerie showed great resistance to using that power, since throughout her life it had only been the tool through which she had been exploited and kept captive. However, after much hesitation and constant encouragement from Alear and the other girls, she finally agreed to use it again, this time of her own free will… diving into the hellish training given by their "King."
Over the two weeks they spent training inside the dimension created by [Innovate Clear], Valerie grew closer and closer to everyone. Daily coexistence made her gradually begin to show emotions much more frequently, smiling discreetly at times and participating in conversations with greater ease. Among everyone, however, it was Alear who ultimately became the most trusted figure for her.
After observing Valerie using her Longinus on several occasions, Alear became deeply interested in the capabilities of that Sacred Gear. Unlike the common [Sephiroth Graal], Valerie's Longinus was an extremely rare subspecies that granted her not one, but three Holy Grails. Thanks to this peculiarity, she was able to survive the removal of two of them, although she would fall into a coma after losing the second. In addition to its extraordinary healing power, the Longinus could also resurrect the dead and even eliminate inherent weaknesses of an individual.
At Alear's request, Valerie used this ability on him, removing part of the natural vulnerabilities of a Devil to Holy Weapons, holy water, and crosses.
It was precisely while carefully analyzing the functioning of that ability that Alear found a way to take it even further. Although Valerie was not yet powerful enough to completely eliminate these weaknesses, the effect produced by her Longinus served as a valuable reference. Using [Idle Transfiguration], he began to remodel his own soul based on the changes promoted by the Longinus. Observing this process was essential for him, as manipulating the soul required an extremely precise understanding of its structure, and each new experience further expanded his mastery in this area.
As a result, he managed to perfect the changes initiated by Valerie's ability, raising his resistance to the typical weaknesses of Devils to the point of completely breaking the natural limitations of his race. From that moment on, Holy Weapons, holy water, and crosses no longer represented any inherent threat to him, effectively making him immune to the vulnerabilities that all other Devils still possessed.
He repeated the same process with all members of his Peerage and with Ravel as well. Naturally, they were all extremely happy to see that they had permanently lost one of the greatest inherent weaknesses of Devils. As for the shock at yet another of Alear's feats… it practically did not exist. At that point, they were so accustomed to his absurd abilities and seemingly impossible knowledge that few things could still surprise them.
Honestly, none of them would have been truly astonished if, the next day, Alear defeated the current Lucifer with a single slap. Valerie, however, was the only one who genuinely showed surprise, although for a different reason: she had never imagined that Alear would be capable of understanding the functioning of her Longinus at such a deep level that he could reproduce its effects through his own [Idle Transfiguration], perfecting an ability that, until then, she believed was exclusive to her power.
Aside from this small noteworthy event, the rest of the two weeks passed relatively peacefully, with the focus almost entirely on training. Mio, Maria, and Ravel continued to evolve steadily and became slightly stronger, although their progress was smaller compared to Valerie's. This was perfectly natural. The three already possessed a fairly high level of power, and the stronger someone became, the harder it was to make significant progress in a short period of time.
Valerie, on the other hand, showed impressive growth. Previously, she depended on her older brother, Marius Tepes, to fully control her Longinus. Now, however, she was able to use it completely on her own, demonstrating much more refined mastery over her own power. In addition, she quickly adapted to [Demonic Power], learning to manipulate it with great efficiency, while her talent for magic flourished with each new training session. Alear also made sure to develop her physical abilities, making the most of the natural characteristics of a dhampir. With this, Valerie stopped depending exclusively on her Longinus and began combining magic, hand-to-hand combat, and her racial abilities into a much more complete and versatile fighting style.
After they left the [Innovate Clear] dimension, only about two hours had passed in the real world thanks to the difference in time flow. Each returned to their routine. While Alear went to his office to catch up on work, the girls took Valerie with them to bathe and change clothes.
Later in the afternoon, Alear ended up spending a good while drinking sake with Nobunaga. The Demon King of the Sixth Heaven cast increasingly complicated glances in his direction, and the two even ended up playing video games together for several hours, exactly as they did in the "old days"—memories that, curiously, still remained unknown to Nobunaga herself.
At night, everyone gathered for dinner, chatting casually before each went about their own affairs. The next day, the routine proceeded in practically the same way. While Alear divided his time between work and training, the girls spent most of the day together, and Valerie continued adapting to her new reality with surprising speed. Surrounded by people who treated her with respect and affection, she was finally beginning to experience a truly normal life—something she had never imagined possible during the long years she had been imprisoned.
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The soft light of the Underworld filtered through the tall windows of the office, bathing the room in the characteristic reddish tones of that dimension. Seated in the main chair behind the large wooden desk, Alear held a steaming cup of coffee.
He took a slow sip, savoring the flavor of the drink while his magenta-pink eyes scanned the carefully organized documents in front of him. His expression remained calm. Since he had already prepared advantageous proposals and managed to hire about eighty percent of the workers from the mines belonging to the Gäap family's territory, he no longer had major concerns regarding the administration of that region. In fact, on that very day, the Agares family would officially assume control of the former Gremory family territory. With the definitive rupture of the contract signed between the two families, the Gremorys were forced to vacate the region—yes, they even had to abandon the castle where they lived because it was part of their territory.
He wondered how long the Gremory family would be able to sustain that situation. According to Ravel, her father had been pressuring the Gremory family more and more for the marriage between Rias and Riser to finally take place. With the Gremorys' political position increasingly weakened and them going bankrupt more and more, Sirzechs could no longer delay the decision as before. Most likely, the ceremony would be moved up compared to what happened in the original story.
This meant that, in a short time, Rias would be forced to marry Riser. And, with Issei out of the picture, she practically had no one capable of preventing this outcome. The only hope would be the famous characteristic of the Gremory family: "Luck," known for favoring its members in unexpected ways. It was thanks to this, for example, that Rias had gathered a Peerage composed of members with enormous potential and survived situations in which she would certainly have died in the original story.
Even so, he did not place much value on this characteristic. After all, if this luck were truly so extraordinary, he would hardly have managed to bring the Gremory family to the brink of bankruptcy and practically eliminate all of their political influence in such a short time. From all indications, it was merely a tendency that increased the chances of favorable events, not an absolute power capable of inevitably altering the fate of its members.
As for circumstantial luck, however, he could not help but recognize the irony of the situation. If there was anyone who could be called the "King of Luck," it would probably be him. Since his reincarnation, an almost absurd succession of favorable events seemed to keep him always a few steps ahead of everyone else, as if circumstances insisted on conspiring in his favor. He only regretted that this same luck seemed to disappear completely when the subject was the [Fate Gacha]. If he had the same fortune there that he demonstrated in the rest of his life, he would have already obtained a much greater number of Servants and high-level abilities.
At that moment, the office door opened softly, and Ravel entered carrying an additional folder with the elegance and efficiency that were characteristic of her. Her blonde hair was impeccably arranged, and she wore a formal yet graceful outfit, perfectly suited to the role she had assumed as one of the main administrators of the Häagenti family's affairs.
"Good morning, Alear-sama…" She greeted him with a gentle smile, approaching the desk. "I brought the list of everything that was found in the secret vault of the former Häagenti family mansion…"
"Huh? So fast…" Alear commented, surprised. He then smiled slightly. "Sorry… I didn't even greet you properly, Ravel. Good morning."
"N-no need to worry about that, Alear-sama…" She replied, approaching the desk with her cheeks slightly flushed. The mere fact that he cared about such a small detail was enough to make her genuinely happy. Placing the list of the Häagenti family treasures in front of him, she continued, with a spark of enthusiasm appearing in her eyes as she spoke about the subject: "It was thanks to the proposal we made to the Belial family. They agreed to sell back the entire former territory of the Häagenti family. They also made a point of returning any objects they found inside the old palace. Moreover, as expected, they would never have been able to open the secret vault…"
Years ago, Alear's grandfather had been forced to take desperate measures. Without resources to maintain the vast properties inherited over countless generations, he ended up selling practically all of the family's territory—a gigantic region whose extent surpassed that of South Korea. All that remained was a small fief, precisely the one where Alear was now. Although it was only a fraction of their former possessions, it still had approximately the size of Tokyo and became the new base of the family.
After accumulating a gigantic fortune thanks to the [Golden Rule] ability, one of his first decisions was to repurchase the entire former lands of the Häagenti family, including the "Palace of the Great President of Hell," as the old residence of his lineage was known—something that had not been easy to achieve.
As he knew from the inherited memories—after all, his father had once mentioned its existence—a secret vault remained hidden in the depths of the property. For this reason, Alear had tasked Ravel with sending absolutely trusted people to locate the compartment and catalog its entire contents. To open the mechanism, only a few drops of his blood were needed, as the recognition barrier continued to accept only direct descendants of the Häagenti family. The vault, in turn, was practically indestructible, combining multiple layers of authentication, sealing, and self-repair magic. Even a member of the Bael family using the "Power of Destruction" at full capacity would hardly be able to breach its defenses without destroying the entire palace first… and even then, it was quite likely that the vault itself would remain intact.
Alear received the folder from Ravel's hands with a slight smile.
"Thank you for the work, Ravel."
"I-I'm glad I could help, Alear-sama…" She replied, smiling softly. The tips of her golden hair swayed discreetly as she gave a small bow, clearly satisfied at being useful. For Ravel, receiving a simple thank you from him was already enough to make all the effort worthwhile.
Alear nodded one last time before turning his full attention to the catalog.
As he flipped through the carefully organized pages, a look of genuine surprise appeared on his face.
"…This is much more than I expected."
It was natural to imagine that one of the original Seventy-Two Pillars, and one of the few families that had achieved the prestigious title of Archduke, would have accumulated an extraordinary fortune over thousands of years of history. Even so, after the decline of the Häagenti family, his grandfather had been forced to sell practically everything they owned. Therefore, Alear believed that the old secret vault would contain only historical documents, genealogical records, and, at most, some artifacts of great sentimental value that his grandfather had never had the courage to sell.
The reality, however, completely surpassed his expectations.
Even after so many losses, the vault still housed an impressive collection of treasures.
Then, his eyes stopped on a specific name.
"…This…?"
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(A/N: Want to get ahead?
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