23 On to the Next One

===High-Class Promotion Exam Day===

Underworld, Satan Territory, Capital City Lilith.

Having just finished showering, brushing his teeth, and getting dressed, James opened the door and stepped out of the room he shared with Cu Chulainn. Who happened to still be sleep. In the hotel suite's living room, Mizore and Moka were seated on the sofa watching TV in their pajamas. Mizore's being white with navy blue accents and Moka's were teal green with white accents. James was a bit surprised to see the girls up so early, but then remembered a theory he came up with a few years ago.

'Women must come standard with two engines. One for daily life. But when shopping, the power supply switches to the second one.'

Thinking his hypothesis was flawless, James nodded his head in satisfaction. Once he was done patting himself on the back, he greeted the girls.

"Good morning, Mizore, Moka, did you sleep well?" James asked with a smile.

Finally pulling their attention from the TV at the sound of James' voice, the girls smiled back and said, "Good morning, James."

Patting the space between them, Mizore invited James to sit and watch TV with her and Moka. An action Moka did not seem to mind. Accepting the invitation, James took a seat between the girls which led to Mizore resting her head on his right shoulder. Although not as bold or clingy as Mizore, even Moka moved a bit closer. Close enough for her shoulder to be in contact with James' upper arm.

Although it has yet to be stated outright, Mizore has been working with Sona to weaken the defenses around James' heart. Although she was originally against the thought of sharing James, after realizing that many High-Class devils have harems, even if they only have one official wife. Another reason she agreed to Sona's proposal was that she had seen most of the hoops James was made to jump through after becoming Middle-Class, just so he would be qualified to take the High-Class promotion exam. With her future status as a Low-Class, reincarnated devil, she imagined the hurdles would be even higher.

Moka on the other hand, having spent her early childhood in the Tepes Faction, grew up thinking it natural for a strong male to have multiple women by his side. What made the thought of being part of James' harem even easier is that James had no interest in forcing the issue. In fact, James had made it clear on multiple occasions that he was not ready for a romantic relationship. At least until he had achieved his goal. Which would happen in three days if everything went as planned.

Everything going as planned simply means James passing the promotion exam in a few hours. Once the exam is over, the results will be made public two days later. And then, a day after that those that passed will be promoted in front of the Devil World's upper echelon in a grand ceremony.

After watching the TV with the girls for a while. Cassiel and Leona came out of their bedroom. Looking over James and the girls, Leona smiled brightly. Cassiel on the other hand, was staring at his son with a bit of jealousy.

'Why is my son so much more comfortable around women than I am.' Cassiel thought to himself as he lamented his ineptitude.

Feeling his father's bitter glare, James tilted his head in confusion. He then greeted his parents with a smile.

"Mom, Pop, good morning. I hope you slept well."

With a smile Leona replied. "I did, how about you?" While Cassiel nodded his head in agreement.

"I slept great." James replied with a smile as well.

"Where's Lancer?" Cassiel asked with a smirk.

With an eerily similar smirk to his father, James answered. "He's still asleep."

The Alaverus men, then chuckled. While Leona and the girls shook their heads at the pair's antics.

Leona, after checking the time, asked.

Have you kids eaten breakfast yet?"

"Nope." Said Mizore with a shake of her head.

"Me neither." Moka chimed in.

"Same here." Said James.

"*Sigh* You kids should take better care of yourselves." Leona said and then paused. Continuing shortly afterward. "Especially you James, if you plan on eating before the exam then you have to do it now."

Checking the time for himself, James shot up from the couch and shouted. "It's already this late? I don't wanna almost be late like last time." He then rushed out of the suite and entered the elevator so he could have breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

Seeing James rushing to get breakfast, Mizore and Moka looked at each other, briefly making eye contact, before they rushed into their shared bedroom. After a few minutes, they re-emerged, fully dressed. They then rushed out of the suite, just like James did a few minutes beforehand.

"Oh, to be young." Leona said with a smile.

Cassiel shook his head in amusement.

"They really didn't have to rush out like that though." Cassiel remarked.

Leona just smiled in response. She then linked arms with her husband and led him out of the room and to the hotel restaurant.

After eating their fill, Leona, Mizore, and Moka returned to their room with some food for whenever Cu Chulainn woke up. They would need their pack mule... protector well fed so he could do his job properly.

On the other hand, Cassiel and James made their way to the convention center. With plenty of time to spare, James was able to find his assigned exam room relaxedly. After another fifteen minutes, the exam began. Although the questions were a little more abstract, the topics were a little more varied, and the duel opponent was a little stronger than those in the Middle-Class Promotion Exam, James still managed to breeze through it.

A few hours later, Cassiel and James were seated in a restaurant waiting for the rest of their group to arrive.

"Once you pass the test and are promoted to a High-Class devil, what's your next goal?" Cassiel asked while stirring cream and sugar into his coffee.

Taking a sip of his grapefruit juice, James replied while smiling wryly.

"What you really wanna ask is, 'What are you gonna use to avoid those girl's feelings next?' Right?"

Adopting a similar wry smile, Cassiel decided to drop the subject. James, however, decided to give him an answer to his original question.

"Well, the first thing I want to do is make up with Riri." Said James as he gazed out of the window.

Surprised by James' answer, Cassiel raised an eyebrow expecting James to continue. And James met his expectations splendidly.

"*Sigh* it's time I started confronting all the girls who I know have feelings for me. Even if I don't know exactly how I feel about all of them."

'Damn it! Why is my son so much better than me at this."

Feeling his father's glare, James tilted his head in confusion. Unable to figure out what the problem was, James shrugged and pushed it to the back of his mind.

After another ten minutes, Leona, Mizore, Moka, and Cu Chulainn arrived, then sat down around the table. Mizore and Moka taking the seats to James left and right respectively.

"Have any problems protecting the ladies?" James asked Cu Chulainn with a smirk.

Not even having the energy to banter, Cu Chulainn responded simply.

"I hate you"

He then fell silent. Which led to Leona, Mizore, and Moka laughing at his misfortune.

'That will teach him to call us "shopping demons".' The ladies all thought to themselves.

After some small talk and a lovely meal, the group returned to the hotel to relax. The next day passed in the same relaxed fashion. The difference being that this time Cassiel was drafted into the position of the ladies' protector. The next day, at around noon, the group made their way to the convention center. Even if they expected James to pass, they still had to see it for themselves.

Arriving in front of the board with the new High-Class devils' exam numbers, Moka asked. "James, what is your exam number?"

Waving dismissively, James said, "There's no need to look." He then turned and walked away.

Everyone else was confused. Eventually Mizore asked. "Auntie Leona, what is James' exam number?"

Fishing James exam registration out of her purse, Leona answered Mizore's inquiry.

"973-4118-21." Leona read the registration information.

Cu Chulainn then turned and walked away as well.

"Lancer, where are you going?" Moka asked in confusion.

"James was right, there's no need to look." Cu Chulainn responded as he walked away.

"Stupid Cu, what did he mean by that?" Mizore asked in frustration.

Cassiel then pointed up at the top of the board. The three ladies followed the direction and saw the top few spots for the promotion exam.

1. 973-4118-21

2. 454-7318-99

3. 882-1115-29

"OMG! James got first place." Moka exclaimed excitedly.

"That silly Cu just wanted to look cool." Mizore shouted in annoyance. Though that didn't stop a smile from creeping onto her face.

As she had been shouting, Cu Chulainn almost tripped over himself when he heard Mizore calling him "Cu" in public. Instead of turning back and drawing attention to it, though, Cu Chulainn chose to catch up with James, who was waiting for the rest of the group outside of the crowd.

"So how does it feel?" Cu Chulainn asked.

"How does what feel?" James asked in return.

"Achieving your goal." Cu Chulainn clarified.

"OH, nothing special." James said nonchalantly. "This is a goal I had no doubt I would reach."

Nodding his head in understanding, Cu Chulainn then asked, "So, what's next?"

James did not answer immediately. Stroking his chin while he considered his reply.

"I have two goals that I'd like to complete sometime in the near future." James said, finally replying to Cu Chulainn's last question. "The first is to complete my peerage. Making it as strong as it can be. And the second... Well, that's a secret. But I don't think I can complete the first without the second."

"Tch!" Cu Chulainn clicked his tongue at James' half answer. "You're just trying to be mysterious."

In response, James smiled brightly. He genuinely enjoyed it whenever Cu Chulainn was annoyed.

At that moment, the rest of the group came out of the crowd. Noticing Cu Chulainn's frown, Mizore decided to rub salt in the wound. Even if she had no idea what it was that was annoying Cu Chulainn.

"What's the matter Cu?" Mizore said in a very sing song tone. "You need to turn that frown upside down, Mister"

"Would you shut up?" Cu Chulainn growled in response.

Moka then decided to join in as well.

"Mizore, you really should stop calling him that." Moka said in a mock reprimanding tone. "It's not very nice. Can't you see Setanta doesn't like it?" She then raised her finger and pointed at Cu Chulainn's frowning face.

After hearing Moka's cheap shot, Cu Chulainn deadpanned and said, "I hate all three of you. I just want you all to know that."

At that, Mizore and Moka broke into a fit of giggles. James then threw his arm around Cu Chulainn's neck and laughed hardily. Eventually, even Cu Chulainn dropped the frown and laughed along with the other three.

Seeing the kids having fun, Cassiel and Leona smiled happily.

"Our son sure can pick 'em." Cassiel said with a big smile on his face.

"Of course, he can." Leona said smugly. "He's my son after all."

"Well, he's my son too, Dear." Cassiel said with a tone like he was trying to remind her.

Scoffing at her husband's reminder, Leona replied in mock anger.

"If he took after you, he would still be all alone."

At that, Cassiel could only smile wryly. While Leona had a triumphant smile on her face. She then turned her attention back to the kids.

So, what do you guys wanna do now?"

Before anyone else could respond, James made his request.

"Can we grab a bite? Being in large crowds makes me uncomfortable. And when I get uncomfortable, I get hungry." Said James while he rubbed his stomach.

Then, continuing to laugh and chat, everyone made their way to a nearby restaurant.