Highschool DxD: Dryadic Dragon

Chapter 19: Riser Phenex

It didn't take long for all heads in the room to turn towards me and the rooster, whom I was staring down with a mix of enmity and reluctance.

There's no questioning the deep-rooted disdain I bear for him. However, I also promised myself that I wouldn't waste any more effort on furthering the petty grudge that exists between us. 

Especially not when I've committed myself to focusing on matters that'll require my absolute undivided attention. I rarely find myself on the same wavelength as Martha, but I do agree that our shared bitterness has long overstayed its welcome.

"What's with that look on your face? Was merely one glass of champagne enough to sweep you off your balance? Hah! Who would've thought you were such a lightweight?" He snickered.

I breathed an exasperated sigh, listening to the sound of light footsteps of an individual I had seen him paired with far too often inching closer.

"Lord Riser? Is something the matter?" A feminine voice questioned him.

She was a voluptuous, mature, buxom woman with long violet-colored hair covering her right eye and cascading down to her beguiling hips. Her scantily clad royal tunic revealed much of her bountiful cleavage, creating a bawdy sight that most in the room couldn't help but leer at.

"No, not at all. I just happened to run into a familiar face that we haven't seen in over a year now. It's always nice to reconnect, don't you think? Yubelluna."

Especially the rooster himself, who couldn't help but give in to urges that he should've long since outgrown—leading him to start molesting her breasts out in the open in the presence of a considerable gathering of high-ranking nobles.

Idiot, have you forgotten that the Sitri Clan outranks your family by quite a margin? Making a scene amid their Heiresses' birthday isn't an offense you're just going to walk out of.

"Yes! Mmmph! ♡ Lord Riser!" She let out an erotic whine. Her face flustered as the rooster continued to behave like the degenerate he was. The woman who was supposed to be Riser's Queen, Yubelluna, made it apparent that she was naught more than an outlet for his lust when all was said and done.

Her reputation as the "Bomb Queen" be damned.

Good grief, to think I wasted time squabbling with a man of such low character. For shame, Alduin, for shame.

At least he used to be able to match me to a certain degree with his usage of Immortality, Hell Fire, and Wind Manipulation. However, I can tell clearly as day that he's stagnated in the past year. I'm not sure whether that's a product of lackluster effort or some plateau—and honestly, I can't bring myself to care.

"Brother! That's enough! You're causing a ruckus!" A much higher-pitched voice brimming with second-hand embarrassment cut its way through the crowd, belonging to the only tolerable presence among Riser's entourage.

She was a beautiful young girl with a petite stature, blonde hair a similar shade to the rooster, and deep-blue, oceanic eyes that were flush with keen intellect. Her attire consisted of a frilly, light purple dress that one would expect to see on a doll.

"Hello, Ravel. Have you been well?" I greeted her with a calm, soft smile. 

She was Ravel Phenex, the youngest of the Phenex siblings and the only daughter in the household. Someone whom I had once borne a prejudice again merely for being related to the rooster. But in due time, I understood that I had been foolish to do so.

It only took one proper interaction with her for me to understand that she didn't share her brother's insufferable attitude in the slightest. Instead, she proved to be a sharp mind with a promising future in the Underworld awaiting her.

Which is why I couldn't understand for the life of me why her family allowed her to become the rooster's Bishop. It's a colossal waste of talent deserving of jail time if you ask me. They could be pouring their resources into cultivating another Ruval—but instead chose to focus on a hormone-driven degenerate.

My only assumption is that the decision was tied to some traditionalist gender bias. I honestly can't help but feel sorry for the poor girl.

"Lord Alduin, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance once more." She scurried to perform the usual formalities despite my repeated insistence that they were unnecessary around me. "I deeply apologize for my brother's behavior on his behalf to both you and Lady Sitri."

"Your apologies aren't required." Sona stepped forward, glaring at Riser with her arms crossed. "I don't plan on holding his conduct against your family, only against him, as is proper."

It's reassuring to know that she's the reasonable type.

"Conduct? Consider me bewildered. I was only calling things as I saw them. Or do you plan on denying that the lizard's advances were working on you? From my perspective, you seem quite enamored by his little show of affection." 

"And?" She scoffed. "Only a lust-brained fool such as yourself would interpret that as courtship. Unlike you, Alduin managed to conjure up a gift with a respectable amount of thought put into its creation. Even that musclehead Sairaorg managed to procure something worth keeping, an endeavor you failed at worse than the procurement of your peerage."

She winked at Ravel.

"Ironically enough, the only component member you have was selected for you by your parents. But I suppose it's only natural that a birdbrain like you would need your Mother and Father to handhold you for each and every micro-decision."

"She's got you there." I couldn't help but chuckle, pleasantly surprised by Sona's ability to verbally berate him. It seems the rumors about her intelligence weren't just empty claims after all.

It's a genuine pity that there are so many people in my generation with whom I feel I would have gotten along well if it weren't for Martha and Sebastian's enforced solitary mandate.

"Hmph… I don't see what you're acting so smug about. You should be ashamed of yourself, sitting back while your woman does all of the talking for you." He seemed content with immersing himself in his delusion. Not that I'd expect anything less.

"Excuse me?" Her eyes narrowed with fierce ire. Demonic power started to swirl around her figure, causing the majority of onlookers to step back in apprehension. "Riser… I demand that you retract that statement. No offense Alduin…" She coughed nervously.

"None taken." I smiled, partially interested to see how she'd fare in a bout against the rooster.

"Lord Riser, I believe that's enough." 

The sound of Thora clapping her hands together caught my immediate attention. As Martha claimed, Thora was going to uphold her duty in handling any predicaments regarding the rooster. 

"I doubt any of us wish to ruin the momentous occasion that is Lady Sitri's name day, so I think it best for you to cease all hostilities immediately."

"Would you look at that? The lizard's personal whore finally decided to show herself—"

Thud! 

Before he could finish his sentence, she poked his forehead with two fingers—causing him to faint within a matter of seconds. 

Woah, what did she do there? I know it's possible to do that with Senjutsu, but I didn't detect so much as a trace of Ki just then. Besides, I'm certain Thora isn't a Sage Arts practitioner. I might not have Martha's mastery, but I'm definitely at a level where she wouldn't be able to hide that from me.

Suspicious! But well deserved! So I'm not going to question it!

"I did warn him." She sighed before redirecting her attention to the bystanders, all of them flinching upon being exposed to Thora's authoritative gaze. "As you can see, the situation has been defused. You may all return to your festivities."

They didn't hesitate to scurry away, uninterested in being her next victim.

"Your maid is… quite remarkable," Sona remarked in admiration, adjusting her spectacles.

"Of course, Thora is the pride and joy of House Buné." I proclaimed triumphantly.

"For your clarification, I'm House Buné's Head Maid." She added with a playful smirk, stepping over the rooster's collapsed body. "Furthermore, you should save such boastings for yourself—Young Lord." She tried to mask it, but I could tell that my praise had a positive effect on her.

An easy feat to accomplish since I meant every word of acclaim I gave her, and planned to shower her in a lot more of it from now on.

"Y-y-you bitch!" Yubelluna's face turned red with impassioned wrath. "How dare you defile Lord Riser's figure! I'll have you incinerated for this—!" 

"Yubelluna," I spoke, my voice dropping to a low, Sebastian-esque growl. "You forget your place. You don't possess the rooster's fortuitous Immortality. We both know for a fact that snuffing you out would be as easy as breathing for me."

"You…" She hesitated, her eyes darting back and forth as she mulled over my words of caution. "Tsk!" Wisely, she chose to relent and picked up the unconscious rooster, dragging him elsewhere.

"Well, that was fun."

Thora shook her head disapprovingly. "Young Lord, handing her a death threat was a tad bit excessive if you ask me." 

"No, I think Lord Alduin made the correct decision." Ravel chimed in, clearly satisfied with the consequences the rooster had faced. "Common sense wouldn't get through Yubelluna's thick skull. Violence is the only way to make her feeble mind understand anything. Besides, you looked extra cool when you one-tapped my brother onto the floor!" 

"Damn right she did!" I nodded my agreement, exchanging a thumbs-up with the youngest Phenex. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I apparently have a meeting with the Lord of the house."

"Father summoned you?" Sona inquired.

"Yeah, not that I was given a reason, mind you. But seeing as I'm on your family's soil, I figured it'd be pretty rude of me to turn him down." I shrugged helplessly, taking my leave and preparing to head up to the third floor of the manor. 

"Young Lord," Thora called out to me, causing me to come to an immediate halt. "You showed ample restraint today in front of Lord Riser. I want you to know that I'm proud of the effort you put into maintaining your composure."

I felt a warm blush overwhelm me, her compliment striking a soft spot in my chest.

Fuck, I can't believe I'm saying this, but—I'm grateful that the rooster decided to test me today.

"Like I told Sona, I aim to please." I performed a playful closing bow while exiting the ballroom. 

===

"That was quite the spectacle." Upon Alduin's walkout, a figure who had been curiously observing the debacle from afar decided to approach the circle that had just been involved in Riser's usual show of arrogance and a lack of intuition. 

She was a woman around Sona's age, blessed with a stunning, curvaceous figure that could easily leave even the noblest of men breathless. Her lengthy hair that had been tied into a ponytail a deep, bleeding crimson, and her eyes a fair bluish hue. 

She wore a finely tailored dress that was shaded to complement the color of her hair perfectly, and it was coupled with a bright-gold, lavish necklace that quietly rested upon her collarbone. 

"Indeed, it was," Sona affirmed, breathing a bemused exhale. "A pleasant sight for you, I imagine. I'd even go as far as to say you managed to score a little birthday gift of your own today."

"I won't argue with you there. Part of me even regrets not recording the whole extravaganza." She was none other than the woman dubbed the Underworld's Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess, and Sona's closest friend—Rias Gremory. The younger sister of the current Satan Lucifer and the Gremory Clan's future Matriarch.

And more relevantly, someone who had been bestowed with the cruel fate of being labeled Riser Phenex's fiancée. An arrangement that had been decided by her Father, Zeoticus Gremory, without her prior knowledge. One that neither she nor her older brother was all too pleased about.

It didn't take a genius to figure out why that was. 

"I feel like I recognize that boy's face, but I can't seem to put a name to it." Rias stroked her chin, trying to jolt her memory. She could've sworn that she had seen the ash-haired figure at some point in time, but the neurons weren't connecting. 

"That was Alduin Buné, House Buné's new Heir after Ladora became a part of Sairaorg's peerage." Sona clarified, causing Rias' eyes to widen in disbelief. 

"Alduin? I thought that was just a fairytale?" 

"So did I," Sona admitted while taking a sip from her champagne. "Yet lo and behold, he's here in the flesh. He also gave me quite the creative present, not a bad first impression if you ask me."

"I'm grateful that you found the Young Lord's gift satisfactory." Thora offered her an appreciative bow.

"I'm grateful that he gave it to me in the first place." 

"Where's he now?" Rias inquired further. "I was planning on giving him my heartfelt appreciation, but it seems I was a moment too late." 

"For some reason, Father called him upstairs for a discussion."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Rias pointed to the elevated center stage, positioned at the forefront of the ballroom. "Your Father's right there..."

Lo and behold, Lord Sitri was, in fact, in the process of overthinking the commemorative speech he was going to give to celebrate his daughter's occasion. Visible to everyone in the room who was enjoying the services before the formalities of the event came into play.

"Eh?" Sona blinked repeatedly in a mix of disbelief and doubt.

If Lord Sitri was down here, then who exactly had called Alduin upstairs? 

———

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