Chapter 20: Realize the stove was left on

"Good, good. Now that we've gathered…" Lady Phenix opened the conversation after Momonga and his 'partners' had wobbled and hobbled down to the first floor's dining room after showering, changing clothes, and swapping the thoroughly stained bedclothes.

Koneko was eyeing Momonga with a wary and incredibly suspicious look, only pausing to say 'I was wrong, Hentai is still hentai' before stalking behind Yuuto while holding her nose.

'...I thought acute smelling was a dog's trait? Or is she just implying that… oh.'Momonga resisted the urge to sniff his fleshy body for signs of body odor, his or someone else's.

Asia was looking like she had seen a ghost, completely pale and lifeless, and it looked like she hadn't had a wink of sleep last night, while Yuuto was eyeing Momonga with a suspicious, steadfast and slightly envious look.

Rias was blushing again, Akeno was nibbling her breakfast that the servants who accompanied Lady Phenix had made for the group, while Xuelan and Yubelluna were sitting beside Momonga and listening to Lady Phenix, food untouched in front of them as they were waiting for the woman to finish her speech before beginning to eat.

The two women's self-control was laudable on the account that the breakfast brought in by Lady Phenix's servants both looked and smelled quite appetizing.

The blonde girl who Momonga had accompanied to the shopping trip, Ravel Phenix, was also present for some reason and was sitting beside her mother.

"...May I have your attention, Issei?" Lady Phenix snapped her fingers in front of Momonga's face as he realized his attention had drifted off. "You can focus on your Peerage afterwards."

"Ah, I'm terribly sorry. I lost focus." Momonga apologized to the woman who relented and continued her speech. He leaned to listen while taking a small sip from the tea one of Lady Phenix's servants had put in front of him.

"Right, as I was saying, there has been another undead attack in the Underworld." Lady Phenix dropped the bomb without sugarcoating it, causing Momonga to spit-take his tea.

'Wait, what? I… I told the Elder Lich to… hold on, I meant for him to ask Lord Phenix to kill some of the undead the Lich could summon with his magic and that'd solve if undead summons could give experience if Lord Phenix gained any, and then have two undead fight each other and if the winner gained experience it'd conclude the experiment… The Elder Lich must have some other plan for doing this… has he gone rogue? Or did he misinterpret my orders?' Momonga thought furiously. "W-what happened, exactly?"

"We don't exactly have a full picture due to the undead's thoroughness, which was quite disturbing by itself, but it's theorized that a group of undead ambushed a group of young devils who were having a vacation near Phenix family's main grounds. The group managed to call our security before perishing and gave the descriptions of the assailants, but as you could tell from my past tense, by the time the security got there they found nothing but signs of a quick and brutal battle." Lady Phenix explained. "This is quite alarming both because the attack happened near our family's grounds, meaning that this 'Supreme Being' is likely still targeting myself and my children, and because this shows that the 'Being' is gathering people, or rather, their corpses. Sirzechs guesses that the Undead are likely to attack with full force soon, and are likely targeting the Phenix family."

"Ah." Momonga could only nod dumbly.

"So by extension, it's likely that the 'Supreme Being' is also going to be sending attacks towards you, Issei. And possibly towards your body's biological parents, and your Peerage." Lady Phenix continued. "We don't have a definite proof that he could attack you in the Human World, but it's very likely, since Sirzechs has theorized that the Infinite Ouroboros Dragon, Ophis, is likely in cahoots with this 'Supreme Being'. He based this assumption off the fact she was likely responsible for opening the portal which allowed you to be attacked in the bathroom when you were in Underworld. Either way, I doubt you won't be attacked or at least harassed by the undead when you're here."

Momonga nodded numbly as he listened to the matriarch of the Phenix family rattling off words. 'Oh.'

"So, with that in mind, I'm proposing this: First, we'll fortify the emergency escape circle in your shed, and make it two-way so it can work as a pathway between us and you. Should anything happen to me then Ruval can escape here, and should this place fall, you can escape to our home in the Underworld." Lady Phenix lifted a finger up to denote one point, then lifted another. "Secondly, I'll send Ravel to live here. She's a true-blooded member of the Phenix family, whereas you're adopted, so if I and Ruval are wiped out then at least the bloodline won't be snuffed out entirely."

"Ah." Momonga paused. 'Oh, good. In that case if I get discovered I'll also have a hostage against the Phenix family. Very good.' "I understand, and of course, she's welcome to stay in here."

"Thirdly, should the undead attack in force, I'd like to ask you to come and reinforce our home in the Underworld using the teleportation circle. From what Beelzebub has theorized, you have been imbued with power from the Great Red, specifically designed to take down the Undead and the servants of this 'Supreme Being', so having you take the field would give us an edge we might need." Lady Phenix finished, lifting a third finger. "Does that sound like a plan to you?"

"Umu… yes, it sounds quite sensible." Momonga nodded numbly. "I agree, yes, in case the undead attack, and if that happens I'll fight the 'Supreme Being', very good."

"Ah, Sirzechs has warned that if his suspicions are correct, this 'Supreme Being' is at least on par with him, and likely even stronger, so if it takes the field then you are to fall back instantly while alerting Sirzechs. He's already made some requests and if the 'Being' appears then Sirzechs, Beelzebub, Serafall Leviathan and Fabium Asmodeus will take the field to counter him. All of them have already discussed strategies and are ready to act. In addition, Serafall is currently in the Human World, in case the 'Being' appears here, but she's ready to relocate to the Underworld at a moment's notice." The woman nodded, ignoring Momonga's numb answers.

"Four Maous? Isn't that… a bit of an overkill?" Rias asked from the side.

"If this 'Supreme Being' has allied with Ophis, and is strong enough that the Great Red takes preemptive measures, then Sirzechs has judged that he is not to be trifled with." Lady Phenix noted. "Plus, we know next to nothing of his abilities, other than that he can conjure undead seemingly out of nowhere and without prior warning. That suggests he may also have ties to Hell, and he may be also allied with Hades, as Hell is where most 'undead' reside. It's been theorized that this may even be a preamble to a larger war between Underworld and Hell."

'So… if someone figures out who I am actually, I'll get tossed in front of not one or two but four simultaneous raid bosses or their equivalents.' Momonga sighed in his head while drinking his tea to calm his frayed stress triggers that were only barely working thanks to emotion suppression. 'I am really starting to hope that Elder Liches research bears fruit… I'll have to delay contacting him for a while, if he had attacked just now then everyone's on high alert, and there's no doubt someone's keeping an eye on me at all times. My automatic counter-divination spells haven't been tripped, but that doesn't mean I am not watched, just that whoever is watching either doesn't use magic to do it or is really skilled at espionage. A small slip-up could lead to my cover being blown. I'll have to also see if I can work on the loyalty of my Peerage so if something gets out they won't instantly connect the dots or whistleblow.'

"It also seems that the consolidation of power hasn't gone unnoticed by outsiders as our eyes on the sky report that the Heaven is also moving pieces on their chessboard, likely taking our preparations as a preamble for an attack as historically the relations between devils and angels have been… not optimal, to say mildly." Lady Phenix concluded. "With that, I'll be returning to the Underworld. Ravel?"

The blonde girl who had been quiet until now stepped forward. "Mother?"

"Are you ready to move over?"

"My things have been packaged, and I'm ready to move here for the duration of this crisis." The blonde girl stood up and knewtow elegantly, surprising Momonga as the girl had been a small bundle of rage when he had accompanied her to do shopping. "I'll be in your care, Issei-niisama."

"Ah, just call me… you know what." Momonga paused for a while as he noticed an opportunity to lead the Peerage's loyalties further away from 'devils' and towards 'himself'. He wasn't doing himself any favors by going with the name he had chosen. "I'm not sure if I should go by 'Issei' anymore."

"What?" Rias asked, gobsmacked, while quite few of the people around the table had the same expression, mostly Asia, Akeno and Yuuto.

Some others however had the same expression that had fallen over Lady Phenix, which was semi-smug encouragement, those others being Yubelluna and Xuelan.

Koneko just frowned, as did Ravel.

"As I'm sure you have realized, I don't think there's much of the 'original' Issei left in me, and neither is there much 'Riser' in me either. I am of course talking about memories that I can remember, not pieces of Soul. I've now realized what Lady Phenix meant when she asked me by what name I intended to go with…" Momonga started his speech and was cut short by the woman in question.

"...Which is to say you got jealous when your lovers called out 'another' man's name while you were bedding them." Lady Phenix's face had a smug expression and she covered the lower half of her face with her hand-fan while the occupants of the room sported blushes. "After all, if you can't remember much from my Riser's life or Issei's life then you can't identify yourself with either of them and thus… you became jealous, realized that you are you, and neither of them. Oh my, perhaps you'll become a decent man after all. Being too possessive is not attractive, and neither is being too detached."

She fanned herself a bit. "Of course, I could have told you that this would be the case when you first refused to change your name, but… well, this was much more entertaining."

"Well, that, basically." Momonga latched onto the explanation. 'Well, I suppose it works better than trying to go around intending that 'I wanted to be known with a different name so I that if my secret got out then at the time my Peerage wouldn't be thinking of me as 'Issei' but rather as a different person, a person who wasn't pretending to be 'Issei' but rather a person of their own… which is one step away from 'Momonga', meaning I could potentially bullshit my way through with some fantastic explanation, which wouldn't be possible if they found out I was already pretending to be someone else who was pretending to be someone else...'

"I-Issei... " Rias seemed to deflate. "Are you really… saying that… you're really a different person?"

"I can't remember anything, really, from 'Issei', Rias. I'm sorry, but… I'd feel as if I was cheating you, everyone, even myself, if I went around calling myself with the name of a person that likely no longer exists." Momonga lowered his voice to a murmur that could be clearly heard by everyone on the table. "I understand if you're angry, and I'll accept your anger, but I can't keep lying to myself. Nor to those who are dear to me." 'Okay, that's putting it a bit thick...'

"Oh my." Lady Phenix fanned herself. "Perhaps I should have brought a pen and some paper. If I stuck around and wrote down your speeches, mr. Nameless, I could compile them and sell them for high sum as a romance novel. Think of all the bored and disappointed noble girls who'd lap it up and come looking for you, seeking to grab a piece of the pie. And then the husbands of said disappointed girls, looking for revenge. Ohohoho!"

Momonga's cosmetic body blushed. "I… try my best, for the sake of people who I hold close, Lady Phenix." '...Which, I guess is technically true… Ainz Ooal Gown… my friends…'

"That I can see." Lady Phenix closed her hand-fan. "That being said, before you seduce your wife and girlfriends again, I'd like to know what name you'll choose for yourself."

"I'd like to be called…" Momonga paused, then shrugged mentally. 'I'll just have to put down some ground rules for Ddraig about what he can say and what he can't if he comes into contact with my Peerage, since I'll have to use this name... I think it'll make the next phase of revealing the truth much more palatable.' "...Momon."

"Hm?" Lady Phenix tilted her head and opened her fan once again so it covered the lower half of her face. "Alright then, Momon Phenix. My, quite delicious name you've chosen for yourself."

'Momon' blushed as he knew that his shortened name was quite close to 'Peaches' if one dropped a letter from the end and changed the symbol a bit.

"Well, at least it's appropriate." Xuelan mumbled under her breath with a tone that carried it across the table, and caused most of the people around it to blush and look at the woman with various degrees of embarrassment, shock or outrage. "What? If you're curious then you can go have a taste yourself."

Momonga resisted the urge to bang his head against the table as the eyes in the room turned towards him with varying degrees of interest, embarrassment, rage, or amusement.

.

.

"Haah…" Momonga sighed as he made his way through the streets of Kuoh with roughly half of his Peerage in tow. Namely, Rias, Yuuto, Akeno and Asia. The others, namely Koneko, Yubelluna and Xuelan had stayed behind to help Ravel get acquainted with the house and get ready for school.

Of course, Yubelluna and Xuelan would be too old for high school, but Lady Phenix had apparently enrolled them in the college that was integrated in Kuoh academy, much to the three women's shared amusement. It didn't seem the two were great fans of studying, thusly the women's unexplained mirth of the news had caused him quite a bit of apprehension, but he soldiered on.

Since the 'undead situation' was being 'handled' in the Underworld, for now anyway, and there wasn't an immediate need to bunker down in the estate in Human World, the group decided that the Peerage would try to resume their normal lives while maintaining a state of alert. However, due to the 'potential attacks' Lady Phenix had strongly suggested that no-one should move alone, and instead move in groups of at least two or preferrably four while letting others know where the other groups were at all times.

So, after the meeting was dismissed, and 'Momon' had ignored Koneko's half-hiss claiming that if she found that 'hentai was blackmailing' then she'd 'bring justice upon the pervert', he had gone upstairs and had put on the clothes that were apparently Kuoh's male uniform, while the girls went to prepare themselves as well.

They would be late for school, since it was well past morning, but considering the circumstances Momonga figured that it'd be excusable. Of course, he'd have to come up with a 'decent' excuse for being late, as well as for his 'amnesia'. He figured that he could pull one from the pack that Suzuki Satorou had made in case he had been delayed on the way to work in his original world.

...Although he might have to censor his pack of excuses a bit, since 'being delayed due to being forced to avoid a clean-up crew that had dealt with a group of starving, homeless or already dead orphans in the streets' probably wouldn't fly in Kuoh the same way it would in Suzuki Satorou's original world.

Momonga had intended to go by Issei's old house to have a chat with the parents of the body he was occupying before heading to school, and also to pick up his school books and other essentials that would be located in the house. It seemed that Rias was capable of teleporting groups of people and she offered to take them close to the house, an offer which Momonga took.

"Well then, this might be interesting." Momonga sighed as he saw the building Rias told was Issei's old abode. It was just as any other two-story building on the same street, clean micro-garden, well maintained exterior, pure white walls. Thoroughly ordinary for the inhabitants of the new world, but quite luxurious as far as Suzuki Satorou was concerned.

"Rias? I feel like I may need backup when explaining my… condition, so can I trust you having my back here?" Momonga turned to address the red-head who nodded resolutely. "Asia?"

"S-sure." The girl was wearing her school clothes and was blushing hard for some reason when she looked at Momonga. She let a 'eep' as Momonga put his hand on her temple.

"Are you alright? You've been behaving…"

"T-the voices that came out of your bedroom…" Asia choked out, causing Rias's face to turn tomato red and Momonga's fleshy body to blush as well. "Um… well… it's... "

"Ah, I understand. Don't worry, it's normal to be embarrassed. However the blame for embarrassing you falls on me, I should have checked if the room was sound-proof. I'll take care of it. Sorry if I kept you awake." Momonga nodded resolutely, causing Asia to nod slowly. He placed his hand on top of her head and gave her a small tussle, causing the girl to let out a small giggle.

"It's… alright, I guess." Asia seemed disappointed when Momonga pulled his hand away. "Just, um, yeah, some sound-proofing would be nice if that's going to be, um, a reoccurring thing…"

"I agree." Yuuto voiced his opinion, the boy's cheek tinted slightly red from embarrassment. "No offense intended, of course. Yubelluna-san is… um, quite loud."

"That she is…" Momonga sighed, causing Rias to grab Momon's shoulders and shake him a bit while Akeno looked her focus was on trying not to burst out in giggles. "Ah, right, thanks, Rias. We're getting sidetracked. Anyway, before we start, I think we should go ahead and tell Issei's parents… well, everything. I trust that won't cause an issue from the devil-law side of things?"

"Normally it would, if they were just regular humans stumbling upon the supernatural, but in this case no, since you're a devil and the King of a Peerage. This means that while they're not technically members of any supernatural faction, they are also part of the supernatural world- even if they don't know about it." Rias seemed to think for a while before answering. "Why do you want to tell them everything?"

"Simply put, they should know. Also it would help them stay on their toes should any of our enemies seek an opening against us by attacking or kidnapping Issei's parents." Momonga nodded. 'And also if they are proactive about their own safety I don't have to spend time breaking them out of captivity or something, since I have a feeling my Peerage wouldn't approve if I just let this body's progenitors rot after getting captured for no fault of their own…' "So, let's face the music? Oh, and I believe I told you this once before, but I dislike prolonging the pain unnecessarily, and I plan on approaching the… issue at hand fairly bluntly."

"Y-yeah…" Rias coughed and went towards the house's door, knocking on it. "Just… I think they are good people so please don't hurt them if possible…"

Moment passed until shuffling could be heard behind the door and it opened. "Hello, hello… ah!"

A woman roughly in her early forties answered the door, and froze as soon as she saw 'Issei'.

Her eyes filled with tears a second later, and she embraced 'Issei' with almost desperate grip.

"I-Issei! You're back! We were so, so worried… you just, disappeared and didn't answer any calls, and didn't come home for days. I thought, I thought, I… thought that you had hurt yourself, or someone had hurt you…" The woman cried. "Please, promise you won't scare us like that again, Issei!"

Momonga glanced at Rias who was shaking her head desperately, while Yuuto was looking at him with calculating eyes, and Asia was holding onto her school uniform's skirt with an almost desperate look in her eyes. 'Right, I guess I won't just apply the truth like mace to the head… I'll have to be more subtle.'

"I'm sorry, but I can't promise that." Momonga answered quietly while patting the woman's back. "I think there are some things we should talk about, inside. Is your husband home?"

"My husband? E-eh? Are you, wait, did you fight with dad and that's why you disappeared?" the woman seemed confused so Momonga took the lead by grabbing the woman's hand and leading her into the building, hoping he would find the equivalent of a living room. He did, and led the woman to sit on a kitchen chair in the combined living room-kitchen.

"W-what's going on, you're acting… oddly." The woman asked, clearly confused as Momonga took a chair opposite to the woman and the Peerage members who had followed them sat down as well. "And, um, who are your friends?"

"Alright, let's start with introductions. This is Yuuto Kiba. My… friend. Asia Argento, my friend, and Rias Phenix, my wife. And Akeno, my wife's girlfriend." Momonga introduced, the woman nodding gently to each person introduced, until her brain seemed to compute what was said, and she turned her stare at the second-last person introduced, then at the last person introduced.

"Gek?" The woman seemed to forget how to formulate spoken words as she looked at Rias as if she couldn't' understand the concept of the red-head's existence. "W-w-w-wait a moment, Issei, don't tell me that…"

"Ah, and also I don't go by 'Issei Hyoudou' anymore. I'm 'Momon Phenix' nowadays." Momon bowed his head slightly at the woman.

"Euh?" The woman managed to let a sound that might have been the equivalent of a question if one pretended really hard.

"In addition I am romantically involved with three other women beside my wife. Moveover, it should also be noted that I've been formally adopted by a noble family of Phenix. I am sorry that this information had to reach you this way, however the transition has already been made." Momonga pressed onwards.

"Buh?" The woman's eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"In addition, I have changed my current residence to a manor I own, which is located in another part of the city. I live with my girlfriends, wife, and some of my friends." Momonga felt that the woman was starting to get close to a point where he could start to drop heavy revelations.

"Bububuh?"

"In addition, I have been turned into a member of a race known as 'devils', and magic is real. I've spent the last few days recovering in an alternate dimension known as Underworld from a death match against a group of devils, after which we were attacked by a group of undead and were almost wiped out. Rias, would you produce that ball of energy, please?"

Rias nodded numbly and brought forth a ball made from black swirling energy, floating a few inches above her open palm.

"Moreover I've lost all my memories due to being killed during the deathmatch I mentioned just now, and from what I've been told, my soul was shattered alongside the soul of my killer, and parts of both were imbued in my body to essentially create a new person in the body of Issei Hyoudou." Momonga finished and the woman slumped against the table, completely unconscious. "Good, that should cover everything."

Rias looked at Momonga in complete shock, as did Asia and Yuuto. Akeno was busy looking at the unconcious woman with eyes that looked way too smug. "Ara, ara. Momon-sama didn't spare her one bit. How...ruthless."

"What?" Momonga asked Akeno as he moved to lift the unconscious woman and carry her to a couch.

"This is much more effective than faffing about. We'll have to go to school afterwards too." He added as no-one seemed to elaborate to his question.

"Well… you did say you were going to tear the bandaid off in one go…" Rias conceded. "Uh, I still think that you were way too blunt."

"Ends don't justify the means." Yuuto sighed. "Iss- Momon, please promise to take the mental well-being of others into account in the future?"

"Ah, of course." Momonga nodded. 'True, normal humans don't have emotion suppression… good point, Yuuto.' "Asia?"

"Eep!" Asia jumped from being addressed. "N-nothing to report!"

"It's alright. Do you think [Twilight Healing] could be used to bring her back to consciousness?" Momonga motioned towards the unconscious woman.

"A-alright, I'll try…" The blonde girl scurried over and placed her hands on the woman's stomach, and Issei's mother woke up soon afterwards.

"Honey, I saw the weirdest dream…" The woman mumbled as she woke up. "Issei was married and had girlfriends and a house and had turned to someone else…"

"I fear that it was no dream, ma'am." Momonga told her with an apologetic tone.

The woman shot up, looked around and spotted 'Issei' and the rest of the entourage. And fainted again.

"Well, I think we'll need to let her think about it for a while." Momonga coughed to the back of his hand while walking to the kitchen counter to write a note for the woman once she'd wake up. "I've delivered my message, I believe we should leave."

"...Before we go, do you think you should check your… erm, Issei's old room?" Rias asked, almost managing to hide her hope from her voice. "You'll probably need your, erm, his school books at least…"

'...She's thinking that if I see Issei's belongings, I'll 'snap' back to being Issei.'Momonga sighed and nodded, noting that Asia and Yuuto had almost the same expressions that they had back when Momonga had 'recruited' Yubelluna and Akeno. 'I guess my wake-up call for Issei's mother was a bit too harsh. But, it's better that they become familiar with my methods in small, innocent steps, rather than be plunged head-long into them… after all, the shock of 'Riser' turning undead shocked Yubelluna and Xuelan away from his side, so there's a very real chance that me 'turning' undead would also shock my entire Peerage away from my side. And I really need a good raiding party or I'll just wipe when facing one of the stronger enemies…'

Momonga was halfway in his thoughts as he walked behind Rias and, after guesstimating a bit, the pair arrived in front of a door with a plaque 'Issei' on it and opened the door.

Momonga stepped inside, and almost fell over. 'W-what?'

The walls of the room were blasted with pictures of girls in very compromising poses, or in the middle of quite physical acts. The bookshelves contained research material of the same kind. There was a faint musky scent in the air that caused Momonga's nose to itch and while he could guess, he really didn't want to know where the scent had come from. He noted that the windows looked fairly sparkly, which led him to a conclusion. '...I'm guessing Issei's mother has cleaned this room somewhat recently.'

"S-sorry for intru- whoa!" Asia's quick speech ended with an exclamation as she almost stumbled the same way Momonga had after seeing the room and it's contents.

"Ara?" Akeno didn't seem to mind the room's contents as she looked at the posters, then to Momonga's shock she reached to size up her own breasts almost as if she was comparing her own to the ones in pictures.

"I can start to see why you'd want to distance yourself from your past, Issei- ah, Momon." Yuuto noted dryly as he looked around the room from behind Asia, a slight blush on the boy's features.

"...I don't remember any of this." Momonga tried to defend himself, pushing Issei under truck-kun. "Besides, I have a wife and three girlfriends…" 'Touch Me-plushie, that is an unneeded remark, I'm not forcing myself on them… am I?' "...why'd I need all this porn?" 'Peroroncino-plushie, no I don't need these, stop rationalizing…'

Yuuto sighed as Momonga struggled to get words out amidst an argument that had started and had been quickly squashed inside his head.

"W-well… um, let's just go to school, then…" Rias seemed to deflate from Momonga's lack of reaction or recognition to the pictures, so Momonga sighed while turning to grab the girl's shoulders and turning her towards him.

"Do you want me to become a pervert? Is that what you wish of me? I can become one for you, if you truly so desire... " 'No, I won't, but I'm guessing that's not a promise I'll need to fulfill… I hope.' "...So please, what makes the 'old Issei' so much better than me?" Momonga asked as the girl's loyalties seemed to still be with the 'old Issei' and not with him.

"Um, should we be here for this conversation?" Asia asked quietly before Yuuto grabbed her and led her and Akeno back to, presumably, the living room. Although the latter girl needed a small nod from Rias before she got moving. "Ara, ara... well then, make sure you clean up after yourselves, ufufufu..."

Rias blushed as the group left them, closing the door behind them and she then turned her attention back to 'Momon' who was holding her shoulders.

"Well… It's just that… He was so upbeat, passionate… yes, his obsession with breasts could be a bit annoying, and the fact he didn't seem to concern himself much with whom the breasts were attached to…" Rias sighed. "But, well… it's just… He seemed like an honest person who saw me as myself, in addition to having honest and straightforward goals and likes, like liking me, er, at least part of me. I know it sounds cliche but…"

"...He was your first real crush and seeing me act differently makes you confused, right?" Momonga pushed out words Touch Me-plushie was whispering to his ear. 'Good thing I was there to mediate when Touch Me grumbled about his relationship…' "Even though you have a thing going with Akeno…"

"I don't…"

"...You haven't moved on from your crush, and it makes you confused when I'm acting 'differently' from the Issei you've become used to, so you seek to right what's wrong, am I getting warmer?" Momonga finished the speech.

"I… guess."

"A new person wearing the old one's face. A tale as old as time, or so I've heard." Momonga sighed. 'Quite literally in this case…' "...So, I guess only time will let you become comfortable with the 'new me', so to speak. But, and I've said this to Xuelan and Yubelluna who lost the rest of their fellow Peerages and King, you can't lose yourself to the memories of the lost loved ones. Don't forget, but remember them and move, else you'll lose yourself to the memories and you'll only see ghosts where there are people waiting for you, and loving you."

"...Issei is really dead, isn't he." Rias let out a small sob before hugging Momonga. "Th-there's nothing remaining of him, in you, is there?"

"...I'm afraid no, not really." Momonga pat the girl's head as she cried. "But I'll be here for you, as long as you need me to be."

The girl's sobs subsided after a long while, during which Momonga pat her head calmly.

"...Thanks. I-I'd like that. Can we be like this for a moment?" Rias finally mumbled to his chest while Momonga tied his hands around her shoulders.

'Operation: switch Rias's loyalties from 'Issei' to 'Momon'- successful.' The mental image of 'Momonga' clapped his bony hands together joyously inside his head, and then flinched as something heavy crashed against his elongated skull from above.

The mental image of 'Momonga' held to his head inside his mind and looked, shocked, at the wool-armored fist of Touch Me-plushie, who had whacked him over the head with its gauntlet, looking as disappointed as a stuffed toy knight could.

'Huh?'

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