169 Which is Scarier? Sirzechs' Determination or a Woman's Revenge?

Human World, Japan, Kuoh.

"After the incident with Akeno and Baraqiel, Lord Beelzebub arrived and collected the corpses of the Midgardsormr clones." James said, concluding his report on the altercation with Loki. "On another note, Vali left as soon as the space locking barrier was taken down."

"Thank you for the report and the good work, James." Sirzechs said with a smile.

"Where is that foolish foster son of mine?" Odin asked.

Instead of answering verbally, James looked back at his [Queen], Scathach who immediately turned back to the door. A moment later, she opened the door and Fenrir walked in while dragging Loki with him.

Loki had regained consciousness since his defeat in the battle against James and Vali. However, he was still unable to speak or move because of Scathach runic seals. Seeing Loki like that, Odin had a melancholic expression on his face.

"*Sigh* It really did not have to end like this, my son." Odin said as he gazed at Loki with pity. A moment later, however, his expression hardened. "Upon our arrival in Asgard, you will be imprisoned and interrogated, and your punishment will not be a light one."

Loki only looked at Odin Disdainfully. It was obvious he could not care any less about the punishment he would receive. Instead, he still held on to the belief that Odin's decision to pursue peace was a foolish one.

"I thank you for bringing in this criminal, Young James." Odin said, smiling in James' direction. "I will have an appropriate reward prepared for you."

"Thank you, Lord Odin." James said with a polite bow. "You' are far too kind."

"You did a great job, Jay-Kun." Serafall said with a smile.

"Thank you, lady Leviathan." James replied with a cheeky smile.

In response, Serafall puffed her cheeks in annoyance. However, she knew that James was speaking the way he should in an official setting.

"Well, if you have no more questions for me, I'll be taking my leave." James said, politely excusing himself.

Receiving several nods in response, James bowed once again then he turned and made his way toward the door. Scathach followed behind him after he passed her. Then, once James placed his hand on the doorknob, James looked back over his shoulder and made eye contact with Azazel.

"Oh, and Azazel-Sensei." James said in a sarcastic tone. "You should expect a formal complaint from Rias in the next few days. She's not happy that Baraqiel attempted to slap Akeno."

*Smack!*

Hearing that, Azazel did not reply. But if the smack that sounded from his face palming was any indication, he was not in the best of moods after James' last statement.

"I guess he really is a shit father..." Azazel muttered to himself.

With that, James smiled, then he turned the doorknob and pulled the door open. A moment later, both he and Scathach had walked through the door and closed it behind them.

"I kinda feel bad for you Az-chan." Serafall said after the door closed behind James.

"Yeah, I'm gonna pay out the ass for this compensation." Azazel said while cupping his face with both hands.

At the same time, Sirzechs smiled at Azazel in a seemingly friendly way. Unfortunately, everyone present could tell that there were no friendly intentions behind that smile.

'I'll do anything to make sure Ria-Tan is happy with the Grigori's compensation.' Sirzechs thought to himself.

After leaving the meeting room with the faction leaders, James and Scathach, along with Fenrir who had shrunken down to the size of a German Shepard, made their way to the waiting room where the rest of the fighting force was gathered. When they arrived, they noticed that Akeno had yet to cheer up from the argument with her father.

"Yo, I'm back!" James announced his presence energetically.

"Welcome back, James." Sona replied. "Were there any issues?"

"Nah, everything went fine." James replied nonchalantly. "I wouldn't have been surprised if Odin had tried to ask for Fenrir to be returned, though."

When James finished, he could hear a quiet growl from Fenrir, who was standing next to Scathach.

"But if he had, he would have had to deal with three beings capable of killing gods." James said with a smile while making eye contact with Fenrir.

Fenrir snorted in response. However, his wagging tail gave away how he was really feeling.

"Holy shit there will be another tsundere in our group." James said after seeing Fenrir's tail wagging. "Wasn't Dante enough?"

"Fuck you!" Dante shouted almost immediately after James finished.

With that, everyone except Dante either smiled or laughed. Meanwhile, James made his way over to Akeno. When he drew near, Koneko attempted to stand so that James could have her seat next to Akeno.

"Don't worry about it, Kitty Cat." James said when he noticed that Koneko was about to get up. "I'll get my own seat."

Then, Rias, Akeno, and Koneko looked at James in dumbfounded amazement when James lifted Akeno out of her seat. After that, James sat in Akeno's seat without putting her down. Then, after he made himself comfortable, he sat Akeno in his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"There, I like this seat." James said with a smile as he rested his chin on Akeno's shoulder.

Even though they knew that Akeno needed to be cheered up the most, Rias and Koneko could not conceal their envious gazes. All the girls in James' harem agree that James lap is their favorite seat. Koneko also agrees with that statement, as she sits in James' lap as often as possible.

"I know what Baraqiel did shattered any chances of you reconciling." James said softly into Akeno's ear. "And I know that you're sad. But I do have some good news."

Curiously, Akeno turned her head toward James. When her head was turned, she was surprised when James stole a quick kiss, but she still looked at him and hurried him to continue with her eyes.

So, understanding what Akeno meant, James leaned in for another kiss. And once again, Akeno was surprised. But this time, she showed a bit of annoyance on her face.

"You knew exactly what that gaze meant." Akeno said in mock anger. "Continue the story, not continue to kiss me."

"So, you didn't like it?" James asked with a tilt of his head.

"If you didn't like it, get up and let me take that seat." Rias said with jealousy burning in her eyes.

"Of course, I liked it." Akeno declared. "But I want to know what this good news is."

"Oh, I see." James replied with a nod.

Then, he leaned in and kissed Akeno again. After that, he smiled and continued with the good news.

"I mentioned that Ri Ri would be seeking compensation for Baraqiel's actions as I left the meeting room." James said with a smile.

"And?" Akeno asked curiously.

Rias and Koneko also looked at James curiously.

"And Sirzechs had the flames of determination burning in his eyes when he looked at Azazel." James said with his smile growing wider. "I bet he was thinking something like: 'I'll do anything to make Ria-Tan happy.' Or something like that."

It took a few moments for the three girls to realize exactly what James was getting at when he brought up Sirzechs. A moment later, they realized that Sirzechs was a Serafall level sis-con. Then, they almost felt bad for Azazel.

"So, the Grigori is gonna get fleeced, huh?" Akeno asked with a smile on her face. "I admit, that's fairly good news. Hopefully Baraqiel will be punished severely, too."

"I seriously doubt that." Rias said while tapping her chin with an index finger. "But I'm sure I can come up with some compensation terms that will really put him in a tough situation financially, at the very least."

"Good." Akeno said with a vicious expression on her face. "I can't believe that son of a bitch actually tried to slap me."

"Wow." James said in mock surprise.

"What's wrong, James-Nii?" Koneko asked.

"Akeno literally just called Big G a bitch." James replied in astonishment.

Everyone looked at him in amazement. Then, they played the conversation back in their heads.

"Wow, she really did." Koneko said.

"If you look at it that way, doesn't that make Akeno Big G's granddaughter?" Rias asked curiously.

"Wow, Akeno's super disrespectful to her elders. "She literally just called her grandpa a bitch."

Hearing that, Akeno could not help but feel her lips twitching in annoyance.

"Are you done yet?" Akeno asked.

"Nope." James and Rias answered simultaneously.

Instead of bickering further, Akeno gazed at James and Rias, who were smiling brightly, with a blank stare. Then, she stopped her gaze on Rias and smirked. Rias did not know what that smirk was for, but she did not think that she would like what followed. And sure enough, Akeno leaned toward James and kissed him deeply without warning after she smirked at James.

Needless to say, Rias was not happy after seeing the way Akeno kissed James, right in front of her. However, she pushed down her jealousy for the moment. She could at least see that Akeno's mood was improving.

'James really is good at changing the mood in a room for the better.' Rias thought as she watched James and Akeno make out. 'But I think that's long enough, right?'

Rias continue to endure her jealousy until she noticed that James hands were beginning to move down from Akeno's waist.

"Okay, that's enough." Rias said while standing up and grabbing Akeno by the back of her collar. Then, with one swift pull, Rias separated Akeno from James. "I think you've been cheered up enough for now."

"Wow, Rias." Akeno said while looking at Rias with a surprised expression on her face. "I never thought you would last that long. I thought you would have separated us in under a minute."

"What kind of person do you think I am?" Rias asked incredulously.

"A devil whose actions are dictated by the sin of greed." Akeno said with a contemplative expression. "I mean, we all know that you don't like people touching what you consider yours. I mean, that's what led to James not talking to you for an entire year, right?"

"OMG! Are you all ever gonna let that go?" Rias asked frantically.

"Nope!" James, Akeno, and Koneko, who had occupied James' lap after Akeno was forced to vacate, replied in unison.

Rias looked at the three people in front of her incredulously. Then, her eyebrow twitched when she saw that Koneko was now sitting in James' lap.

'She's sneaky like a real cat.' Rias thought as she pouted at the fact that she could not sit in James' lap.

Seeing Rias' expression, James did what he thought was the best move at the time. He shifted Koneko so that she was seated on just his left leg. Then, he patted his right thigh and looked at Rias with a smile.

Natually, Rias accepted James' invitation. Then, she smiled at Akeno smugly before leaning onto James' shoulder.

"Seriously, though." James said with a smile. "You need to think of some terms of compensation that will hit Baraqiel hard, and not the Grigori as a whole. I mean, it's not like they've done anything to you, right?"

"No, they all need to suffer from this." Rias and Akeno said simultaneously.

"If they all suffer then find out that it's Baraqiel's fault later." Rias said, beginning to explain the reason behind their refusal.

"They'll begin to ostracize Baraqiel." Akeno said, finishing the explanation.

Hearing that, James shifted his gaze between the smug faces of Rias and Akeno. Then, he looked at Koneko's expression as well. What he saw from Koneko was her head nodding in agreement with a smile.

'Fuck! They're going hard as fuck!' James shouted internally. 'Is it just these three, or all girls this scary?'

James thought about all the women he knows after having that thought. Then, with his mother, Leona, and his master, Scathach, at the top of his list of examples, James came to a conclusion.

'All women are scary.' James thought as he listened to the plans Rias, Akeno, and Koneko were coming up with to make Baraqiel pay.