Story 2: Chapter 11: The Birthday (Part - 2) (Patreon)

Story 2: Bune Farmer 

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 11: The Birthday (Part - 2)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

- Mathias -

I shook hands with another one of the Nobles who had arrived a ‘little late’ due to some urgent work.

My talks with Lord Phenex had just finished and I returned to the party.

And that's when things got exhausting.

Suddenly everyone became too enthusiastic to meet me.

Even when several of the Heads of Houses were not present, there were a few hundred people visiting us.

I couldn’t even use my regular Armin shield to avoid them.

Thankfully, I had Latia by my side, telling me about a few of them. Not that I didn’t know, Leila had made sure I remembered the names of all the main house members of all the Pillar families and what business they did, but I didn’t know the details as clear as Latia who had invested a great deal of time to investigate all of this.

“Matty, the one coming now are the heads of the Shax and Amy houses. They are the ones controlling most of the food based industries in the Underworld right now. They are going to be our main competition. Be careful.” She warned lightly.

I looked ahead and two men walked towards me with oddly confident gaits.

I scanned them and sure enough, they were Albus Amy and Markus Shax, the Lords of the Amy and Shax Houses respectively.

“Lord Zagan, congratulations on reviving your house." Albus Amy congratulated me.

"It's good to have you among us." Markus Shax followed.

"Thank you. I hope you are enjoying the party."

"Your party is wonderful. Especially the food which was served. I have to say that I have never tasted anything like this before. Am I right to assume that you will be expanding in the food industry."

I smiled as I used the full power of my Senjutsu to monitor the guy, keeping an eye on all his emotions which was not easy considering he was someone hundreds of years old and as an adept businessman, he had several methods to protect his mind and emotional state being monitored.

"Yes. I intend on doing something like that." I smiled.

"In that case, we would like to offer you an exclusive contract for the processing and distribution of your products if you want. As you might know Lord Amy and myself are the leading names in the food business in the Underworld. You would have a much easier time selling your products through us because of our distribution chains."

Exclusive contract… I didn't need to look at Latia or even use Senjutsu to know that she was resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"Hahahaha why so serious on such a day Lord Shax. Today is a very special day for both me and my House. Too many people have taken time out of their busy schedules and come to congratulate me on this day. If I leave them unattended, I would be a very bad host. So, for today, please enjoy the party. We can talk about business at a later date." I diverted the topic.

"Lord Zagan…" He tried to say something but at this time, Mephisto Pheles and his Queen, Tannin, came in, escorted by Euclid, making them stop. He took one look at them and controlled himself from saying anything anymore. "In that case let's meet at a different date."

"Sure, I will contact you."

The two left and Euclid waited till they were gone.

"Enjoying yourself, Matty?" He smirked, making me sigh.

"This is annoying."

"Hahahaha exhausted already? You still have to do this for a thousand years or so." The guy with Euclid laughed.

"Matty, this is Mephisto Pheles, the Head of the Pheles House as well as the Gauzaburer Magician Organisation and a very good friend of mine. He is the one who coordinates the cases of Pact Magicians with up and coming Devils."

"Welcome to my humble place Lord Pheles." I greeted with a light bow.

"Oh lay off with the formalities. I am a sole demon. So calling me the head of a House is already a bit too much. Just call me Mephisto when we are alone. Euclid has told me a lot about you. To think the new Satans pulled such a fast one on everyone. I would have given half my wealth to see all their faces when they found out, both devils and others."

"I am very thankful to them for doing so because I can't imagine being able to bear this for the last few years."

“Understandable. I can’t stand those old devils on the council either. One of the reasons I stay in the human world most of the time. You are welcome to visit me sometimes if you want. Euclid has told me that you are something of a prodigy at magic. The Magicians at Gauzaburer will benefit a lot from seeing you and you can get Pacts from great Magicians. A win-win for both of us. In fact, you would likely get an insane amount of pacts for yourself. The offer goes for you too, Miss Astaroth.” He said the last part looking at Latia.

She bowed lightly in return.

“I would love to. In fact, I was searching for a way to teach other kinds of magic to some of my peerage members. They are very interested in magic and I would like to provide them with ideal learning support.”

I was thinking about letting Valerie and Lavinia learn Magic. The same for Natsume. They were good with it and while I could get them books and guidance from some of the greatest magicians, getting the help of an official Magician Organisation would be helpful.

“Why not. Bring them over when you have time. Also, I will need a list of your peerage members and their skills, only the ones you want revealed so that the magicians can select whom they want to form Pacts with. This can also be done if you participate in different Rating Games and people can see for themselves what kind of skills they possess. But I guess you will be participating in a Rating Game soon enough.” He said, pointing to the challenge of Riser.

“I guess I will.”

“We will be looking forward to seeing you perform. Seriously, it’s been centuries since there has been something interesting like this in the underworld.”

"Lord Bunè, do come to my territory sometimes. The kids would love to have you around." Tannin also offered.

"I would love to. I have heard a lot about your territory and Dragon Apple farms from Tia. If possible then I would like to visit them someday."

"Hahahaha and the talks of your farm have been heard throughout the Underworld too. By the way Tia is?"

"Tiamat. She is a good friend and teacher to me."

That caused him to have a reaction.

"Tiamat! She took someone as a student?! Now if that isn't the most surprising thing I have heard in a century. Generally she…."

"Burns those who annoy her to ashes. Yes I know."

"Hahahaha yes. So she hasn't changed much since then. I haven't seen her in years. How is she doing?"

"She lives nearby and teaches the hatchlings on my ranch. They are a rowdy bunch and she seems to enjoy throwing them through a wringer."

"That does sound fun. I would love to visit your ranch someday. To see the dragon race flourish is always a heartening thing."

"You are welcome to visit my farm. Maybe we can have the younger dragons from both sides play around. My dragons haven't had the opportunity to go outside my farm and would definitely benefit a lot from the contact."

"Sounds great. I will get in touch with you soon." Tannin assured.

As we were talking, someone else approached us followed by a few others.

“Lord Bael, what a surprise to see you here.” Euclid greeted, informing me of his identity in a roundabout way.

“Lord Lucifuge, Lord Pheles.” he nodded towards them and then turned towards me. “Congratulations on your Lordships, Lord Zagan.”

… Why does everyone call me only Lord Zagan all of a sudden. It’s like my Buné title got overwritten due to the announcement.

“Thank you. I hope you are enjoying the party.”

“Yes, the party is quite good. I couldn’t come earlier due to some important work but I sent my son, Sairaorg ahead. I hope he informed you.”

….

This fucking liar.

He hadn’t talked to Sai in years and now he has the audacity to use him.

Since he was being such a dick, then…

As I was thinking of giving him an appropriate reply, I felt a pinch to my side.

Latia minutely shook her head asking me not to cause any scenes here. Not that I was going to do anything. Sai was still underaged and thus under the control of the Bael House. Even if they couldn’t do anything to me, they could make his and his sick mother’s life a lot more difficult.

"Yes. He did." I smiled.

"Good. You will be joining us in the council soon as the Head of two houses. I would like to invite you to the Great King alliance."

Again.

This was the fifth time already.

"Hahahaha thank you for the invitation, Lord Bael but today is a special day. Let's take this opportunity to relax. As for politics and alliances, we have thousands of years to worry about that. Let's talk about it at a later date."

"We are the biggest alliance in the Underworld with the most well developed network. You would have a great backing if you join us." One of his lackeys said, while the man himself didn't bother speaking.

"I am not really familiar with the factions in the Underworld beyond the surface level. This is a very important decision for both me and my Houses, and so, I would like to take my time to get to know everything before I make such an important decision."

 I replied.

“In that case we hope you will choose wisely. As you have said, this involves the future of your house. I apologise but I will have to leave early today due to some urgent work.” Lord Bael replied in words which could be considered as both considerate as well as a thinly veiled threat.

I merely smiled in reply. “I will. Thank you for coming to the party.”

They left together, his lackeys with frowns on their faces.

“Quite gutsy of you to reject their offer like that. They are normally known to get their way through one means or another.” Mephisto said.

I shrugged. “They are looking for a politician and I am but a simple farmer. It will take me some time to get used to all of this. They should know, after all they hadn’t stopped reminding me of this fact for the last six years.”

“And you don’t care about politics?”

“To be honest, as long as they don’t bother me, I couldn’t care if they choke on their morning tea and pass away. But then again, there is hardly anything they could do to me.”

“They could stop your products from selling in the territories of their alliance members.” Mephisto argued.

I gave him a smile. “Then I will comply and never sell any products in their territories. You forget something very simple Mephisto… I have lived without the luxuries, farming in these lands and reaching here from nothing. I don't care if I earn a little less money or if they call me names. If they don't allow my products to be sold in their territories, I will simply not sell any to them. My farm has enough animals to use it all."

"Hahahaha, that is something which they would never expect, someone with no ambitions to make it big in the Underworlds politics."

I shrugged. “Well, at least until they sign a contract to pay me 20 times the price for the next hundred years for my produce.”

….

Euclid had a look of horror on his face. “Don’t be hasty, Matty.”

I couldn’t hold it any longer and burst out laughing. “I am just joking. No need to get so serious…” He relaxed and I added, “I would just ask for five times at best.”

He sighed. “Your jokes can give me heart attacks. I will be honest, while we don’t want you to side with them for the balance of the Underworld’s political scenario, you shouldn’t fight with them either. As for any trouble they cause, leave them to us.”

Mephisto looked at the exchange between me and Euclid with interest. “So you both really think he could force them to buy his products even at twenty times the price?”

“It’s just a conservative estimate.” Euclid shrugged. “They wouldn’t have any choice.”

“Hoh? Now I am interested in these products too.”

“Please feel free to give the food a taste. I am quite confident in my products.”

“Than I will and I will also look forward to your future, young man.”

- Venelana Gremory -

“He handled it quite well. Standing his ground while not denying them outright. Those people can be quite pushy.”

“Standing his ground was never a problem for Mathias. What we were worried about was that he would say something like, ‘No thank you, you suck.’ Mathias doesn’t have a good impression of Lord Bael and the Bael house in general due to their treatment of Sairaorg whom he considers a little brother.” Leila explained and she sighed.

“Yes, I have heard of it. They overdid it there with the kid. But still, would he really say something like that to his face?” Chysis asked, doubtful.

She laughed. “Let alone Lord Bael, Mathias is someone who could say those words if Zekram was in front of him.”

Leila scoffed. “Zekram? I have no doubt he would say those words even if the Dragon of Dreams was in front of him.”

“At least he’s learning. He didn’t decline when Lord Bael lied using Sai’s name.” She pointed out.

“Probably to keep Sairaorg out of the line of fire.” Leila concluded.

“Buné was also like that. Stubborn to the core. Zagan on the other hand was more of a shut in scientist. The boy seems to have gotten both of their characteristics. Although he is more likeable than either of them.” The first Gremory stated.

“Was the first Zagan anything like Mathias… I mean in terms of power?” She asked something which had been in her mind since the start.

“I will have to see his creations for myself but if the words said by Chysis and Zeo were anything to go by, then I doubt it because then… one Archangel wouldn’t have been enough. There is a high chance that the boy is similar to Sirzechs.”

“Then it really was like that. We were never able to say anything for sure because none of us knew about the actual skills of the first Zagan.”

“Zagan was not exactly a frontline fighter. One of his fatal weaknesses and the reason he was close to Buné apart from his straight forward nature was that he used to fight in the front lines and allow Zagan to work as he wanted, all the while defending him from enemies. They were a good team. Apart from Barbatos, Buné was the strongest physical fighter. A child between the two houses would have been born would have covered the weaknesses of either side.”

“Well, that seems to be the case.”

The party was almost over and Mathias had bid farewell to most of the guests so they went ahead to meet him.

The only ones left were Lord Vapula, Lord Agares and his family, Euclid, Mephisto Peheles and his Queen, the Dragon King Tannin. and the families and peerages of the Satans except Astaroth. Lord Phenex had left after his talk with Zeo and Mathias.

Mathias was planning to attract Archduke Agares to his side as a political backer with a tour of his farm.

The man had already been given a rough idea by his younger brother and Latia’s father about what to expect there.

He was talking to Lord Vapula with Sairaorg acting as a link between them.

Poor man had asked to take in the boy several times since Misla fell sick but was denied. It was even more hopeless because Misla herself couldn’t even say anything due to being in a coma.

He had since then distanced himself from the Bael and there had been talks of him meeting Archduke Agares.

“Are you sure you want that? One of the main reasons our House was given the area was to defend against it?”

“I am sure.  But let’s talk about it at a later date.”

“In that case, please allow me to be your host next time.”

“That sounds wonderful.”

“You should come with him too, Sai. It’s been a long time since you have been to the Vapula estate.”

“Yes uncle.”

They reached there just as Lord Vapula was leaving.

Armin on the other hand looked strangely at Mathias. “You really are crazy, Matty.”

“Hey! This is just a future investment.” He retaliated.

“What is a future investment?” Leila asked as they reached there.

The two boys turned towards them and Mathias answered with a smile.

“I just made a deal to buy off the Vapula territory around Pit number 12. Lord Vapula thought I was doing him a favour since he had to expend a lot of resources to maintain an army to keep the Demonic Beasts at bay so he offered me an official alliance between the two houses as well as compensation in return. The exchange will take place a few years from now so that I have time to work on my territory.”

“You bought a Pit from Vapula?” Runeas exclaimed. “Are you drunk?”

“I am not of age to drink alcohol yet, so totally sober.”

She shook her head with a smile. “You’re really planning to do that, aren’t you?”

“Yup. In fact, the other Houses which defend the Pits would probably not sell me those lands in a few years after they see what I do with them so I plan to buy all those lands at once and work on them. Most people don’t realise the treasure trove they are leaving unexploited.”

“It’s not that they don’t realise it. Most people don’t have the means to harness any of those resources. You should also only take so much work at once.”

“I will.”

“Aright alright, enough of the boring things. Show me the camels. We have a bet to decide and I am not about to let you back out.”

“Hahahaha sure, why not. Would you be joining us too?” He asked the rest and everyone agreed.

“Sure. It’s been two years since I’ve seen your farm. I want to see how much things have changed.”

They were led inside and the same Dryads who had greeted them back then were called.

“Is that you, Rose? You look even more beautiful than before.” She greeted the Dryad who had escorted them the last time.

Rose bowed in front of them. “Welcome to our farm.”

“She seems a lot more intelligent than the last time I had seen her.” She asked Mathias.

“Yes. Shizuka has been teaching them etiquette and Lavinia has been teaching them along with Valerie and Gasper. They are like kids in a way so they take the lessons very well.” He explained. “The insane amount of food from our hunts helped them grow too.”

“... you really fed those demonic beasts…” She asked exasperatedly.

Latia sighed beside him. “I had tougher negotiations about that with him than I had with Lord Falbium about the price of the Demonic Beast corpses.”

“This is an investment, just a different type than economic ones.” Mathias shrugged, making her roll her eyes.

But she did sense a sense of teamwork and harmony developing between the two.

They were realising their roles in the relationship and working with each other to use their talents and cover for the other side’s weakness.

It seems she will have to teach Rias something to contribute to this relationship too.

They were led through the same route as the last time but the area had expanded and changed a lot in the last two years.

“You made another one of those Trees?” Euclid asked, looking at another one of those magnificent Water Trees.

She still felt awe when standing in front of these wonders of the world.

“I was making an aquatic area for some animals. We needed more water. This one gives out salt water to support marine lifeforms unlike the last one which gave out fresh water.” He explained.

“We are planning to plant a few dozen of these and make a sea in the Underworld. The first one of its kind.”

“A sea?”

“Yes. The Underworld doesn’t have any large water bodies, let alone seas and oceans. Most of the Devils haven’t seen one because they cannot go to the Human World so easily, so… we are going to make one for them in the Underworld.” He explained.

“It will also attract a large number of people and provide a source of income for the people who move into our territory.” Latia added.

“Yes yes, imagine having to go to the human world just to see a beach? How is that fair to the kids of the Underworld?”

That’s… actually a mind blowing idea.

Even above the top of her head, she could think of over a dozen industries which can be opened to use this.

“As crazy as it sounds, I can see it working.” Leila mused.

She could see the minds of the Lords working at this…

They were led to the Ranch directly this time around.

“The wards around these places are wonderful.” Lord Agares praised.

“They are. The only places rivalling these wards in the whole Underworld are the offices of the Satans.” Euclid answered.

“Were these made by Lord Beelzebub to protect the resources?”

“This was all done by Mathias himself.”

“Really! These wards? You can make such wards at such a young age?” Mephisto asked, surprised.

“I actually made those around a few years ago and only strengthened them two years ago. My Ranch has a lot of my creations as well as my dragons. They can be a bit rowdy when they play so this many wards were needed and since I didn’t have enough funds to hire someone, I learned it myself.”

“Learned it himself since he didn’t have funds, he says. I have seen people spending their entire lives in ward making and still not get here. I would have not doubt him to be the child of a Dantalion with an affinity to Space if I didn’t know better and even they didn’t reach this kind of level.” Mephisto laughed. “You will probably break the highest number of requests for a pact.”

“The highest number of what?”

“It’s a record of which Devil has been the most requested by Magicians to form a pact with. The current record holder is Ajuka followed by Euclid and McGregor. The top three has never changed since the start. Rudiger and Diehauser did come close but never exactly surpassed McGregor, let alone the other two.” Mephisto explained.

“Eh… sounds troublesome. Too many people bothering me was never my idea of fun.”

“A good pact magician is very important, Mathias. Their contributions also count as your contribution to the Devil race and helps increase your rank as well as the name of your house. I have even chosen half of my peerage members from among such magicians.” Euclid explained.

“... I will keep that in mind.”

Soon enough they reached the lake where the animals of the ranch drank.

The Peaceful Flowers make the whole scene look serene.

“This is… amazing. I wonder if the Gardens of Eden look similar to this?”

“Are those?” Tannin asked, pointing towards a group of dragons.

“Yes. Those are my dragons. These ones must have come here to drink water. The dragon ranch is further away.”

“I don’t think I have seen some of those species. What kind of dragons are those?”

“Those are Amber Dragons, Deep Sea Dragons and Nature Dragons. They are all new varieties of dragons.”

“New… you mean you made them?” Tannin asked, looking completely shocked.

“Kinda yes. They were made from a different method so in a way they are the same as natural dragons. I only shaped them or rather wished their forms to go in a certain direction. Even I don’t have a control on what and how they develop. I can make a copy of their eggs though but even that’s hard.”

“That should be impossible. No one has been able to figure out how exactly Dragons are made. The only thing we know is that the ones born from Nature are masses of magical power. Even I was born of a Fire Dragon and an Earth Dragon.”

“And I am telling you that I don’t create them per say. I just shape the energy in a certain direction and let it do its work.” He replied.

“Can I… if I am not being invasive, can I see them?” Tannin asked.

“Sure. Why not? Poppy, please show him around the Dragon farm.”

A Dryad appeared beside him.

It was the nineteenth Ultimate Class Dryad she had seen.

The Dryad accompanied Tannin as he approached the dragons.

None of them even reacted at his arrival.

“Those dragons are quite well trained. Normally dragons get very defensive when someone, especially another dragon approaches them.” Mehisto said.

“Or maybe they are just more tame.” Lord Sitri suggested.

“The Nature Dragon is quite peaceful. The other two on the other hand…” Armin shook his head. “The Deep Sea dragon often causes floods in the surrounding areas while the Amber Dragon is quite easy to anger. They are among the troublesome kids. The reason they are so quiet are the flowers growing in the area. The Peaceful Flowers release a scent which pacifies anyone in the area. It’s the reason why all the animals are so peaceful here.” He explained.

“Hey hey, where are the ones you told me about?” Runeas interrupted. She had been excited about seeing other camels.

“Just a bit away.”

The crowd was led towards another dimension connected to the place.

“Is it… a desert? You made another dimension to create a desert?” Euclid asked, looking around.

“I did. It was the best way to get animals of different biomes so close. By the way, everyone please be careful and walk on the sides of the desert. This place has an unusual gravity. It increases the more someone goes towards the centre. So it would be better if we walked on the sides.”

“Gravity?”

“I made this place to train for me and my dragons. The gravity helps a lot.”

“How much higher does it go?” Falbium asked.

It was Ajuka who answered. “Two hundred times normal gravity at the centre of the desert.”

“Two hundred?! Even Ultimate Class Devils would get crushed at such gravity let alone High Class ones.”

“The bodies of dragons are different from Devils. They can take a lot of punishment. We all train near the border areas of the desert around 10 times gravity. Anyways, we are there. Look ahead.”

They did and saw the strangest kind of creatures in front of them.

“Is that?”

“They are called Custard Camels. They produce Custard from their humps.” Mathias turned towards the flabbergasted Runeas Gremory. “So, have you seen this kind of Camel before?”

The other Lords were still confused about her identity. Only the Satans had knowledge of her.

The only other person who knew her laughed. “You and your Camel fetish.” Mephisto shook his head but the one in question wasn’t even paying attention to it.

“Can we eat the custard?” Runeas turned towards Mathias and asked.

In fact she wanted to know the answer too.

- Mathias -

“Yup. This custard is an absolute delicacy. In fact, they are extremely nutritious and have no side effects on the body either. I even served it as a dish today.” Seeing her stunned, I continued. “There is also a Camel called the Water Camel which can store around two thousand litres of water in its hump and a variant of it… the Wine Camel which can produce high quality wine in its hump on par with the best fruit wines.”

“It can produce wines?” Septus asked, suddenly interested.

He was planning on opening a winery using my fruits.

“Yes. The quality and taste of the wine depends on the breed and gender of the camels so they have some variations too. They can be milked out the same way we milk a cow.” I explained.

“Of course, why go through the process of making a winery when you can make animals which make wine directly.” He rolled his eyes.

“To be honest, there are other wines on the farm too with the best ones being on the back of an Ultimate Class dragon made up of emeralds.” I laughed.

Leaving the dumbfounded crowd aside, Runeas jumped in front of me.

“Alright, you win. But I want to buy two of the calves of these camels for my hoard.”

This caused the attention of several people to shift towards her.

“Lord Gremory, this is?” Lord Agares asked.

“I’m Runeas Gremory, the founder of the Gremory House. Now stay quiet for a moment. We have a once in a millenia deal going on here.”

Poor Lord Agares was about to say something but then his mind registered the introduction and he forced himself to stop at the right time, staring wide-eyed at her and then at Zeoticus.

The man answered his doubts with a nod.

All the Lords bowed and greeted her while she remained focused on my answer.

“Actually, I was going to gift them to Zeoticus for his birthday in three months but sure, I can get a few calves for you if it’s just these few animals.”

“Hahahaha that’s good. I like you kid.” She laughed and went dancing towards the Camels completely ignoring the surroundings.

….

She was a total brat.

They all left to have a tour of the farm with my dryads while my fiances, my peerage members and I went back to discuss other matters.

_________________________________x____________________________________

“You must beat him up in the Rating Game, Matty. That idiot…” Rias said angrily.

With us being on our own, she didn’t have to keep her princess facade up and could behave as she wanted to.

"Alright, calm down. The guy is just throwing a tantrum because he was heartbroken. Let it be. He didn't harm anyone."

"But it was your debut and he made a mess of things. It was all going perfectly and he had to mess everything up." Rias pointed.

She was extremely angry at Riser due to the little tantrum he threw.

His brother, Ruval came and apologised for him personally and then there was that talk with Lord Phenex, so I wasn't exactly mad about it but it was the breaking point for Rias who has been annoyed at him for a while.

"He didn't exactly mess anything up. If anything, what he did will only make Mathias look good. Mathias not only defended your honour but also took on his challenge. Everything depends on how the matter is published. And as for the publicity, I have already taken care of it." Latia said, looking unusually calm… which was not a good thing if I knew her at all.

"What did you do?" I asked, slightly suspiciously.

She rolled her eyes at my question. "Don't worry. The Phenex House is a great client as well as a major competitor for us. I won't do anything which would cause unnecessary friction between us, especially due to the actions of one person. I just made sure you get proper coverage and a positive kind of publicity. In return, we will have to appear for an interview with the Gamigins on Naud Gamigin's show before we appear anywhere else for a public interview."

"What public interview?" I asked, completely distracted at the mention of something extremely troublesome.

"The Underworld will want to know the new Lord of House Bunè. Not to mention for you who wants to start a business as well as attract people to his territory, you will need to appear publicly and spread the information about your territory. Many different things are involved in making a territory. Your farm is the business of the Buné and Zagan Houses but your people will also need businesses which will attract them here. You will also need subordinates to run the basic government in your territory. I think mother has already told you about it.”

With each word she said, I felt a metaphorical arrow hit me.

“And all of this requires you to appear frequently in front of the public, have a good public image and enough funds.”

I sat down after the continuous attacks of my future to-do-list. It’s not like Leila hadn’t coached me on it already.

But even thinking about it was annoying.

“You don’t have to worry about it now. Just concentrate on the Rating Game. Make sure you win in a flashy way. It will help us in the future.”

“That… I can do.”

“Yes yes. Blow his face off. Don’t worry. He can regenerate.”

The last part cracked us up. I pulled both the girls into a hug while laughing.

We had some free time after everyone had left today.

The tutorial period of my life was done. It was time to enter the game completely.

- Tannin -

“What do you think of the new Lord, Tannin?” Mephisto asked him.

The question reminded him of what he had seen on the farm.

Over two hundred dragons of varieties he had never seen before and several hundred dragons of the known variety.

The young ones were taken care of by Dryads and protected by the old ones.

It was like a closed paradise for Dragons and he didn’t even know it existed.

“There were over a thousand dragons, old and young, in the farm. They all lived and grew up together. There was even an arena for them to fight and entire ecosystems to hunt from. The young ones were raised by Dryads and while the old ones fought among themselves, they never once exhibited any hostility towards any hatchlings. All of them were well trained. He was able to maintain all of that, by himself, which shows he is extremely talented. And the less we say about his abilities with the Zagan Trait, the better. No wonder Tiamat had taken a personal interest in the boy.”

“Well that was obvious or else the Satans wouldn’t have risked so much to pull a fast one like that over the whole underworld. Euclid seemed quite close to the boy too. What is your opinion about him? Should we come out as his supporters?”

He sighed. “After seeing his ability to create dragons, it was a moot point. I was going to support him either way. But the boy himself was quite humble unlike most of the other kids his age. It makes it easier for me to make the decision.”

“I guess it’s decided then. Between those stuck up pricks in the council and the current Satans, it was always an easy choice. And now they have added such a game changer on their side too. I guess I will have fun in the coming days.”

“By the way, how was your meeting with Azazel?” Tannin asked.

Mephisto let out a sigh. “Azazel is still putting out the fires spread by the rebel cadre Satanael.”

“The matter escalated that much due to the foolishness of the Principal Clans and the Shinto Gods in the first place. A good thing will be that they won’t have the power to pay any attention to the reveal of Mathias.”

“I… wouldn't be so sure of that. You might not have recognised her but Mathias’ rook… she was the former host of the Vermillion Bird. Not only that but the Queen of the Gremory girl was the daughter of Baraqiel.”

“She was? I thought the girl was a dragon and I don’t know why but she reminded me of someone. I just can’t remember who.”

“Dragon? Strange. Anyways, what are your plans now?” Mephisto asked him.

“Me? I will take some of the young ones to his farm. He grows some fruits specifically for Dragons so maybe make a deal with him for it. But all of that will happen after the Rating Game.”

“Ah yes. The Rating Game. The Phenex child might not be lucky this time.”

“He won’t. Call it my instinct but Mathias Buné Zagan… was hiding far more than we had seen.”

“Oh! In that case, let’s book a ticket for the Game, shall we? The sudden reveal of his Zagan heritage has suddenly made the tickets a hotseller. Maybe we can even bet around this time.”

“Maybe, I will.”

- Zeoticus Gremory -

He sat finally with his family to take a moment of rest.

The news about the reveal of Mathias and Rias being engaged to him was just as big as he was expecting.

Then he had to make the official proceedings to remove Rias from the position of the Heiress and pass on the heirship to Milicas.

He will have to make an announcement soon enough.

Maybe the only reprieve was the fact that they still had no idea about just how big of a deal he was… well, apart from the ones who had a tour of the farm.

That will change soon through.

But at least they will be prepared for such an event.

“Tired?” His wife asked him as he sat down, bringing out a wine bottle and pouring a glass for him.

“Yes. That boy keeps dropping one shocking thing after another on everyone. A sea of all things in the Underworld! Not even the Leviathan can claim to be able to do so.”

“Hehehehe it’s good, isn’t it? At least he keeps things entertaining.”

“That he does. Lord Sitri is going to make a contract with him for collaborating with the Sitri Hospitals. His products could completely revolutionise the entire Medical System of the Underworld. And little Latia would probably squeeze him for every bit of profit she can.”

“It’s good that she is there to keep an eye on Mathias. What about the other side?”

He let out a sigh. “They haven’t made any moves. Maybe they are waiting to see how he responds to their invitation.”

“He is not exactly going to accept their invitation from what I know about him. Because even if he does, he will leave in a year. They are just not compatible.”

“I know. Sirzechs does too. Right now, it would be for the best if he were to remain an independent power because he alone can shift the balance of power in any direction if given a few years. Lord Agares agrees with this too and so he is going to support him with his entire faction to keep him independent.” He answered as he took a sip of the wine. “Hmm, this is new.”

“It’s from the Wine Camels. Ancestor was extremely happy with her gift. She took them to her Camel hoard to introduce the new members to the rest of them.”

He shook his head with a smile. “Yes. She is very fond of her Camels. I remember the last time she was awake was when I was a child. She used to take me to play with them.”

“She is preparing some kind of return gift for him.”

“Hmm. On the matter of ancestors, yours will be visiting us soon.”

“We knew it was going to happen the moment we found out about Mathias.”

“That we did.”

As they were discussing things, there was a knock on the door.

It was Rias.

“Come in.”

“You called, Mother?”

“Come sit, Rias.”

She did and he looked at his wife confused.

“From today onwards, you are officially engaged to Mathias to be the future Lady Buné.”

She nodded.

“So let’s talk about what you want to do in the future?”

“What?” Rias asked, confused.

“Hmm, let’s see it like this. Have you seen the relationship between Latia and Mathias?”

“Yes. They get along very well. We all get along very well with each other.”

“And we are very happy with that but I am talking about the future. Latia and Mathias have a very partner-like relationship. They work as a team. Mathias brings forth crazy plans and creations while Latia works to change them into business ideas. She makes sure that he can get the best profit margin from his products. She even went toe to toe with Falbium Asmodeus and your father to get every bit of profit for him and make sure that no one can take advantage of him. You have seen this right?”

Rias nodded.

“And in return, Mathias trusts her decisions explicitly. He can easily deny any of her decisions if he doesn’t want to do it but he still considers them and most of the time acts according to them because of the trust between them. Both of them have developed a great understanding in this way and this understanding and trust is what makes their relationship so great.”

By now Rias was listening quietly.

“Now, the question is… what do you bring into this relationship? Because if you don’t have anything to contribute to it then… later on, you will feel left out even when you are treated the same.”

“I…” She became quiet, not able to answer anything.

He wanted to say that she was quite young and still had time but the House she was going to get married into was going to be the centre of many changes. She needed to prepare for it much earlier.

In this regard, Venelana was doing the right thing,

“So… what should I do?”

“You need to pick up something which the two of them lack.”

“What?”

“Politics.”

Seeing her confused look, Venelana explained it further.

“Politics is an inseparable part of the Pillar Houses. It is the fate we are born with. Especially for someone like Mathias who is the Lord of two houses and is bound to command a huge amount of sway in the policies of the Underworld in the future. Unfortunately, Mathias is almost revolted by the politics and Latia has neither the time nor the interest to focus on politics. This leaves a very big hole in their whole system and this is where you come in. From now on, I will train you in politics. You have a good background for it and with some work, you can cover up the only place where Mathias and Latia lack, becoming a part of the Team.”

Rias looked to be in thought.

“What do you say, Rias?”

“I agree. I… don’t want to be left out. Everyone is working hard. Even Gasper who is just a kid, so I don’t want to slack off either.”

“Good. Then we will begin your lessons tomorrow. And this time, I will not be holding back. Be prepared.”

Rias nodded resolutely.

- Sirzechs -

“Another one of the Lords asking for a meeting?” Serafall asked as he entered the room.

“Yes. Fifteen of them have contacted me already. Some to verify about the Lordships of Mathias and if the Zagan House was actually back. Everyone is going crazy.”

“And Zekram?” Falbium asked.

He shook his head. “There’s nothing from him. Apart from Lord Bael appearing at the party with the invitation, there was nothing else.”

“Euclid says Mathias didn’t accept their invitation and they left quietly.”

“Probably want to see more of him before deciding how to proceed. The Rating Game is going to be even more anticipated than Armin’s. It’s kinda lucky he was challenged by Riser who was a genuine new Rating Game player or I am pretty sure he would have encountered a top ten player in his debut Rating Game to beat him down.”

“Would it change anything? If anything, it would have made him even more famous once his strength came out.”

“By the way, how was the talk between your father and Latia? I heard she was the one who was making the deal about the Medical Supplies.”

Serafall blanched lightly.

“She didn’t back down, did she?” Falbium laughed.

“Not one bit. That girl convinced Father to sign a contract for a hundred years for a part of the profits of the Sitri Hospital. Her reason was that they could easily open a hospital with the resources they have and it would cut into the profits of both houses as while they could heal injuries, there were very few things they could do about diseases. The Sitri Houses specialised in this aspect. So both the houses would profit more if they combined their best parts. In return, for the next hundred years, they will not be opening any hospitals for people outside his territories and provide us with the equipment. We will also be given the first priority when buying medical supplies to a certain amount every year. It’s hard to believe that she is only two years older than Sona.”

“I want to ask him to make a dimension with gravity similar to his desert for our soldiers but I dread having to sit in a five hour long meeting, arguing about the price with her. So troublesome.” Falbium shook his head.

“Apparently, they are making an alliance with Tannin as well.” He added.

“That guy has dedicated his entire life to the Dragon race. It isn’t a surprise if he does so.” Falbium commented.

“We have done everything we can for him. Now all we can do is wait and hope for the best.” He said.

“I wonder if we can bet on the Rating Game again?” Serafall smiled.

He chuckled too.

“I don’t think they would bet on that.”

“We never know.” She laughed.

“Has the date of the Rating Game been decided?”

“Yes… it’s the day after tomorrow. Mathias will be appearing for his first public interview right after that and there is a council meeting to welcome the new Head of the House a week later.”

“Sigh sounds so troublesome.” Falbium yawned before deciding to take a nap.

And thus was the end of the meeting.

_________________________________x_____________________________________________________________________x____________________________________

Support Me on: https://www.patreon.com/crossedge

Join me on my Discord server https://discord.gg/RNNZyyert4

Beta Reader: @LuluViBritania (FF.N, SB, WN and QQ)/-LuluViB|99th Britannian Emperor(Discord)

Author’s Note:

I know many were looking forward to the Rating Game but I wanted to get it done right.

Next chapter will be the Rating Game for sure.

Mathias has finally been revealed and some of them have seen his talents, joining the Buné express.

Latia gets to be the businesswoman everyone is scared of.

Rias will be learning politics from her mother.

Runeas is a happy gal with her camels.

The Underworld is finally going to have a beach of its own.[Beta Note: The Beach Episode is inevitable :D]

Next episode, the whole world will witness Lord Mathias Buné Zagan for the first time and I will show the reactions of the other factions about him.

Enjoy the new chapter.

Good day, Peace Out.