The end of the class arrived. Normally, Rias would go with her Peerage to the club, but this time, Zaydas briefly told her and Akeno to go to his house.
She did not refuse. Thinking back, she seemed to have misinterpreted his intentions, but that did not matter. When they arrived at his house and discovered the real reason, everything else was not worth mentioning at that moment.
Zaydas walked alongside the girls on the sidewalk, and when a white limousine stopped in front of them, a woman wearing a suit stepped out. She had a cold expression, but it did not make them uncomfortable.
Then, the woman, with her hair tied up in a high bun and dark eyes, opened the door for them, signaling for them to enter.
In an instant, Zaydas and the others got into the limousine under the astonished gazes of many.
Normally, they did not try to flaunt wealth, and it was rare for a limousine to come to pick them up, but this time, their group was large, and it could be said that it was a special event where they preferred to go together rather than use teleportation like they had done before.
───────────
Akeno was still unaware of what awaited her until they arrived in the living room, where Shuri turned and smiled slightly—but her smile broke when she saw Akeno.
"H-How can this be..."
The shock in Akeno's eyes could not be hidden; she reflexively covered her mouth as tears welled up in her violet-purple eyes. Her tears began to fall as a sob escaped.
Shuri, seeing Akeno's reaction, felt an indescribable fear. However, the subsequent reaction made her break into tears.
"Mom!!" Akeno did not seem to care whether it was a dream or a trick being played on her—she simply could not stand still and ran to Shuri, embracing her.
"Daughter... My sweet and beloved Akeno!" Shuri hugged Akeno back.
"Huh?" Rias looked at Zaydas, confused. Then, she turned to the touching scene of mother and daughter embracing.
"I'll explain later," Zaydas said. "For now, let's leave them alone, okay?"
Nodding, Rias followed him to the second floor.
Before she could react, he pulled her into his room, pressed her against the wall, and wrapped her in his embrace.
"Zay-kun..." she murmured.
Obviously, she was curious about Shuri, but now, she could only think about Zaydas' lips, which were just a few centimeters away from hers.
"Shh!" Zaydas made a silencing sound, saying, "Just let me hold you for a little... I've always wanted to be with you like this."
Resting her head on his chest, she could feel his heart beating rapidly. She felt foolishly happy knowing that she was not the only one nervous in this situation—after all, her own heart was racing at that moment.
...
Meanwhile, in the living room.
Reluctantly, Akeno placed her hands on Shuri's shoulders and pulled away, asking, "Mom, is it really you?"
"Yes, it's me," Shuri replied, tears streaming from her light brown eyes. "To put it briefly, your boyfriend somehow managed to bring me back to life."
When Akeno saw the pair of Devil wings on Shuri's back, it was still not enough for her to understand how he had accomplished such a feat.
"As I expected, this is related to Zaydas-sama~" she sang with a tearful voice, hugging her mother again.
Stroking Akeno's silky hair, Shuri said, "Yes, he explained something about using a unique ability of his. Thanks to that, he was able to bring my soul back to my body and then revive me as a member of his Peerage."
"Hehehe~ Isn't he amazing?" Akeno said with a hint of pride in her voice as if she were talking about herself.
"Yes, my little girl has good taste in men, but..." she whispered, "I saw that there are several girls around him. Will you be okay?"
"Ufufu. Isn't it more interesting that way?" Akeno said. "The feeling of being his lover and stealing his affection from other women excites me~"
"Fufufu. I see." Shuri hugged her against her large breasts. She thought, 'So, she inherited this from me too, huh?'
It was undeniable that she had some thoughts about her own daughter's boyfriend and got quite excited about it...
───────────
Later, everyone gathered in the living room.
"Zay-kun, can you explain how you did this now?" Rias was the one who asked.
It was clear that she was curious about Shuri, just like the rest.
"There isn't a very elaborate explanation," Zaydas replied. "I acquired an ability that allows me to bring a soul back to its body, and I have other abilities that let me revitalize the body. But in Shuri-san's case, there was a failure. However, I thought quickly and managed to revive her as a Devil."
He added, "I'm not proud of it, but since I needed to dig up Shuri-san's body, I didn't say anything until I was sure of success. But I'm happy that it worked, and Akeno was able to reunite with her mother."
...
Akeno's gaze was filled with love when she looked at Zaydas. As for the fact that he had unearthed her mother without her consent, she did not mind. She was not ignorant and understood that he did it for her. And the fact that her mother had come back to life made her eternally grateful. Now, as a Devil, her mother could live for a very long time...
Smiling beautifully, she said, "Zay-kun, thank you. I don't even know how to repay you. The only way I can think of is by giving myself to you, body and soul~"
At first, everyone was all smiles, but when she finished speaking, several harsh gazes were directed at Akeno. However, this did not intimidate her—in fact, it excited her.
"Ara ara. So scary~" she pretended, hiding behind her mother.
Shuri chuckled slightly at her daughter's reaction, her eyes closing in a smile.
...
After everyone had familiarized themselves with the situation, Zaydas asked, "So, what do you plan to do now?"
"For now, I want to sleep here tonight. Is that okay?" Akeno replied.
"Yes, make yourself at home." Zaydas looked at Rias.
"I'll stay too."
"Then take a bath first," Zaydas said. "Dinner will be ready soon."
When they heard that, some swallowed hard. Mealtime was one of the most anticipated moments of their day. After all, whether it was him, Shuna, or Grayfia, each of them was an exceptional cook. Even Shuna, who was still learning, could already make mouthwatering dishes. This was mainly due to her unique ability.
───────────
While dinner was being prepared by Grayfia and Shuna, the girls waited in the living room, watching a movie.
Up until now, Akeno seemed like a koala clinging to her mother on the couch while watching the film. Well, it was understandable—even Shuri did not want to be away from her daughter at that moment.
Incidentally, they had not touched on the topic of Baraqiel at any point. It was as if there was an unspoken agreement between the two to avoid ruining the mood by mentioning him.
Beside them, Zaydas thought, 'As expected, without Issei, mistakes wouldn't just be ignored out of convenience.'
It was not wrong to say that Akeno only truly opened up to Issei because of a development that Zaydas personally found rather foolish. No matter what, it did not change the fact that Baraqiel had left his daughter alone, being hunted and nearly killed until Rias found her.
And the so-called "reflection" Akeno had because of that ridiculous breast-related ability was simply laughable. Of course, some might think otherwise, but that would not change his opinion. Even mother and daughter seemed to think the same way. This only proved that without Issei conveniently guiding Akeno in a certain direction, she would never have truly accepted him with all her heart.
"Go wash your hands, the food is almost ready~!" Shuna's voice echoed from the kitchen.
Soon, they stopped what they were doing and went to wash their hands.
───────────
Read up to chapter 122 on Patreon. At least two chapters will be updated daily, with one free chapter every day.
P-atreon.com/Zaydas
Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.