Emiya residence.
Breakfast was quite ordinary. For the residents of this particular place, of course. Sona and Serafall, whom I'd invited to the table myself, had joined him, since I couldn't stand the buzz in the living room. Because of this, the "argument" between the demon lord and the archangel subsided as quickly as it had appeared.
Apparently, even despite her identity, no matter how fake it was, Serafall adhered to the rules of dining etiquette. She still let out her usual comments, but without any threats, use of force, or anything of the sort. All in all, it could be said that Serafall was behaving quite normally, and Sona was fine, which wasn't the case with someone else.
Throughout breakfast, Artoria and Morgan gave each other furtive, threatening glances, which changed to displeased glances every time Grandfather glanced up to interrupt them. The Servants who came to the table, though they noticed it, did not make much sense since everyone was aware of their relationship. One couple could be mentioned, however.
Archer blessed the gods that the apron had turned to dust, but his joy was quickly replaced by annoyance as I created another one just like it. And Merlin shifted his gaze between the two sisters and giggled, not really trying to hide his amusement.
Gil, however, enjoyed the "show" so much that he invited everyone to go shopping at his own expense. His offer was ignored at first, and Enkidu laughed out loud at this, but then Runeas took over and began to pull the others along.
She baited Artoria with free food, who of course wanted to eat her discontent, and Archer, Mo-chan, Fou and Lancelot were already under the influence of the latter. Even Irina, who had excused herself from Griselda. Medusa thought for a bit and joined them, taking Heracles and, surprisingly to me, Le Fay, her brother and their maid.
As it turned out, Rider was quite well socialized with the little Pendragon witch. Le Fay was interested in Medusa's life, her hobbies and all that sort of thing, judging by her mood during breakfast and the latter's lack of surprise. Of course, sometimes topics not entirely pleasant to Rider were touched upon, but still, she didn't push the little witch away, though she didn't let her near certain boundaries.
Now Medusa had taken the initiative herself, though, which was... nice to see, I'd say. Maybe this attempt will let her know it's time to open up. At least for now, while I'm her Master and her surroundings care about her. Even Morgan, though for slightly different reasons.
In the end, it was just me, Gabriel, Griselda, Rea-chan, Sona and Serafall, Tia, and Morgan around the coffee table. Merlin preferred to run away, as his giggling had obviously been noticed by the Pendragon sisters, and would have definitely gotten him in the face. The Assassins are still here, or so it seems to me, since it's pretty hard to spot them unless you look for them intentionally.
- So," I began, stroking Tia's head in my lap, "What's the case? I doubt that something mundane would bring the Demon Lord himself to my humble abode. And you don't mind if we hear her out first, do you, Ms. Archangel?
- No, it's fine. Let Sera-chan go first," Gabriel nodded calmly, and then looked at her, "We're friends, aren't we?
- We're not friends!" Serafall immediately began to emerge, "We're enemies! We're the real deal!
- If you don't stop, sister, I'll just leave and not talk to you for a month. - Sona said in a measured tone, taking a sip of her tea.
- N... N-no..." Serafall stuttered and looked at her sister, where she was met with a firm and menacing look, "O-okay... But only if you said so, So-tan....
Seeing that, I rolled my eyes, Morgan grinned, Gabriel smiled softly, Rea-chan wrinkled her nose, and Sona's eyebrow twitched. But the latter still managed to bring back the thread of conversation.
- Ahem," she cleared her throat and patted Serafall's clothes to tidy herself up, though it looked ridiculous for her outfit, and then made a serious face. And this really surprised me, as if she were in a business suit, I would have perceived her as a lawyer or something similar, and this expression on her face could be called rare. Such a drastic change surprised not only me but also the others. Especially Sona. - You won So-tan in chess, right, Ro-tan?
- Sister? - Sona interjected.
Heh. Well, not really me, but you could say that. Sitri is part Goetia, and he's part me. I still don't understand why she's so serious, though.
- Let's say," I replied, to which Serafall nodded briefly, "Anticipating your next question, no, I'm not going to marry her. Neither I nor she agrees with that. So you shouldn't worry about it.
- I don't think it's as simple as you think, husband," Morgan remarked, "Look at her. There's obviously more to it than that.
- She's right. - Serafall said, and Sona drank her tea in silence.
- Explain. - I raised an eyebrow.
- I see," Rea-chan answered me instead of Serafall, to which I looked at her questioningly, "In all fictional and non-fictional stories about demons, there's one detail that matches reality. Demons value the contract and always adhere to its terms. It is sacred to our race, and sometimes its power surpasses even the Council or the Demon Lords.
- Oh? How insidious. - Morgan grinned, apparently realizing something, but not me.
- And?
- I suppose Sitri came here to discuss the terms of its fulfillment," Rea-chan explained, then turned to Serafall, "That letter of yours to my king... You already knew about the situation then, didn't you?
- Yes. So-tan made a magical contract, and the fact that one of its conditions is fulfilled is known to the whole clan," she then looked at me, "I realize you're not interested in the Underworld and its traditions, but the contract MUST be fulfilled. This is the law of demons, because every magical contract is made almost at the state level.
I thought for a moment, and then decided to voice what I thought.
- I still don't understand why you are so adamant. If you think back to a relatively recent case, we could just have a Ranking Game with the stipulation that if I win, the contract becomes null and void. But given your presence, I don't think it's that simple.
And I'm not even talking about just destroying the contract. My dry magic power or the same Rule Breaker will settle the matter without any difficulty.
- You're right, Romani-sensei. If the contract were to be broken, there would be consequences that I would like to avoid," Sona took the floor, receiving a concerned look from Serafall, "If it were that simple, I would simply ask you to settle the matter by force, at most I would use my prize for the unofficial Ranking Game. But there are a couple of points.
- Such as?
- My reputation and the reputation of my clan," she began, to which I raised an eyebrow, "I am a Sitri heir, which means there are a number of subtleties inherent in our society. If the contract is broken, there will be a perception that I, like the rest of the clan.... unworthy, to put it as accurately as possible. Romani Archaman, the reincarnation of Solomon himself, has refused the hand of the heiress. The reasons could be various, and even if you yourself officially declare our lack of guilt, it will not prevent speculation.
- Although the Council will be only in favor, the other demons will not mind to make a big show out of it, and for good reason. Breaking a contract is taboo in itself, but if force was used to do so, especially if it was you, then.... The Clan would fall in the eyes of the entire Underworld, and territories with Clan resources could be redistributed or taken away by force in favor of others who are more... worthy of you.
- Not when I'm still the Demon Lord! - Serafall added, to which Sona nodded.
- That's right. Even the dumbest demons realize that fighting you is the height of idiocy, which means you need to be placated. Everyone also knows that you are completely neutral to the demon race as such. Lady Leviathan is... a traitor, if you will, and therefore she cannot be counted on as a guarantee. The public simply won't forgive my clan for passing up such an opportunity.
- It was easier with Ria-tan, as the matter involved two demon clans, and the consequences, though tangible, were not too harmful to both of them. With you, on the other hand, Ro-tan... well, So-tan had explained everything.
I frowned, while Griselda and Gabriel silently listened to the conversation while pretending they weren't there, which makes sense enough.
If I say that Sona lost to her ancestor, there won't be any change. Then again, he is a part of me, and from another world at that. I doubt such details will change the demons' minds.
Maybe I should let Goetia in on them after all. No, he'll do something like that just to get on my nerves. Memory wiping doesn't make sense, because if I don't use 3rd magic, which I prefer to avoid, there will be traces of it, and everything will flare up again. Pressing with power? Pointless, because localized conflicts will not go anywhere.
- As I understand it, to make things harmless, Serafall will take your place and I'll take her as my wife, right, Sona?
- Yes," she nodded calmly, and Serafall blushed like a schoolgirl, "But if you still like me better, you don't have to change a thing. Like I said before, if the case benefits my race, then it's fine.
- No!" shouted Serafall and enclosed Sona in a bear hug - Let sis take over! You don't need to sacrifice yourself!
- S-stop it!", Sona stammered, trying to tear her sister away from me while I was going over the options in my head.
I understand that at that point my identity as Solomon's reincarnation was still unknown, and so Sona wasn't really thinking about losing. I think she was looking for options to solve the issue, but never came up with anything and left it to chance. And when she delivered the Serafall letter to me, Sona guessed what was in it, but didn't know for sure, so I couldn't pick up on the lies in her words.
After a while, a loud cluck came out of my mouth.
What a nuisance. When did it become fashionable that my long-standing actions have far from little impact just now? That these two, that Rizevim... And then there's the matter of Yasaka and the evening date....
What a pain...
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