Vermillion Heir's Introduction to Society

I, Nadeira Gremory, have resided in this world for ten years now, and I have learned some new things. For starters, aside from everything supernatural or mythical is very real, the Biblical God has created items that granted ordinary humans a chance against the supernatural, Sacred Gears. Not only that, there are special Sacred Gears known as Longinus that can kill gods, and I have learned their 11 of these God-slaying weapons.

When I learned of this, it made me want to meet the Biblical God because if he existed back at my version of Earth, things might not have gotten as bad as they did, but in all likelihood, religion back at my Earth was based on misconception or works of fiction. I may have never been religious, but I could accept higher powers, just not that they were the same ones that people prayed to across the world.

Putting these facts of my new life with me being ten years old, I will soon be introduced to Devil high society. In all honestly, with little to no source of entertainment in this world currently, I need to fix that; Devil nobility throw parties to keep themselves entertained whenever they find a good enough excuse. I find the expression; an idle mind is the devil's playground is funny in my current situation.

While still a couple of days before I am introduced to society, Mother is bothering me to try various dresses, the hideous things that belong to the middle ages, which I am currently living in, a depressing thought. Another thing to add to my to-do list modern fashion, along with surviving the upcoming war and figuring out how to remake modern forms of entertainment with magic, plus increasing my knowledge on as many types of magic systems as I can get my hands on.

Well, currently, I am living my childhood golden years, too young for proper responsibility but old enough to get around. Still, I finished off everything my tutors have taught me, so I am in my family library reading books on the world or worlds that exist connected to Earth, various magics, and supernatural history to kill time. I heard the familiar voice of my personal maid Lisaterra call out to me.

" Lady Nadeira, lunch is approaching. I recommend placing a bookmark in the book you are currently reading."

" Thank you, Lisa, for reminding me."

Lisaterra is the closest thing I have to a friend right now because whenever my parents tried to set up playdates for me, the Devil noble children got on my nerves a little too easily. They are brainlessly arrogant and braggarts of their simple accomplishments, and I reduced them into a crying mess by breaking them down with cold hard logic, which earned me no friends. Not that I care; if I want a friend, I will wait until I can travel on my own to see all the worlds and what they have to offer.

I headed off to the dining hall, and when I came in, I saw that the atmosphere around the table was tense and heavy. Even Grandmother was unusually solemn. I took my seat beside my mother and father, then sighed and told me.

" Nadeira, for your debut ball, all four Satans are coming to attend."

Okay, this is bad, like really bad, one Satan is bad enough with their arrogance and overbearing attitude but all four! I can't help but ask.

" Did they deem to fit us with a reason as to why?"

My mother Venelana grimaced as she answered.

" They wish to introduce you to their children."

" F*ck me."

Ordinarily, my mother would have scolded me for cussing, but she only patted my shoulder in reassurance and comfort. The four Satans are bad enough with their strength; you can not do anything against them but their children. They are weak and arrogant, with their parents backing them. I can not retaliate regardless of how I feel because if I do, it's not just me but the whole family that suffers from the consequences.

I may not have smoked or drunk in my past life; I could really go for a smoke or cold one to settle my nerves. While the son of Lucifer is mostly aloof and solitary, the other three are a problem. The daughter of Leviathan is a jealous and temperamental little b*tch that destroys the faces and bodies of girls or boy she thinks is even a little bit pretty than her.

While the son of Beelzebub takes anything, he likes of yours regardless of sentimental value or monetary value and expands his influence in any way possible. However, the worse for me is the son of Asmodeus, that has taken the virginity of several Noble Devil girls, regardless of age, along with enjoying the wives of Devil Nobles of the 72 pillars. They are part of the reason that I wish to be strong, strong enough to never bow to them or anyone. I ran my mind as to how to evade them, so I asked my mother pleadingly.

" Mother, can you hit me with the Power of Destruction and pass it off as a training accident gone wrong so we can cancel my debut to society?"

My mother gave me a sad smile as she shook her head and told me why.

" If we do that, the four Satans will just order the Phenex clan to provide Phoenix Tears to heal you, and feigning an illness will not work either."

I bit my thumbnail in worry, trying to find a way to avoid the worst-case scenario of r*pe, humiliation, and who knows what else. My anxiety filled me, and I had an idea, not a good one but could work while still having my coming of age ceremony and avoiding the wrath of the Satans. I explained my idea to my family, and while reluctant to go with it, they ultimately agreed to it. I only hope it works.

***

At the Gremory manor, various members of Devil High Society for Nadeira Gremory's debut ball and introduction to Devil High Society, including the 4 Satans, six houses of Lucifer, 72 Pillars, and a few Extra Devil clans. As the guests gathered in the ballroom of Gremory manor, the Gremory couple made small talk with one another to pass the time.

" Venelana, is our daughter ready?"

The Flaxen Hair Madame of Extinction sighed and answered, looking worried.

" She as ready as she can be, but if her idea works, it will make things complicated in the future, and I have a sneaking suspicion that our daughter came up with this idea to get out of coming to future parties, but if it helps her avoid the tender mercies of the 4 Satans then-."

Venelana sighs once more but more out of exasperation than anything else at her daughter's antisocial tendencies. Venelana briefly grimaced at the entrance of the 4 Satans. Lucifer showed up in a dark mix of robes and ceremonial armor with silver highlights. He is a tall man that could be called either handsome or beautiful with shoulder-length silver hair with matching silver eyes with a cold, arrogant, but aloof expression. His son Rizevim Livan Lucifer followed close by with a bored expression, and he is mostly identical to his father in appearance.

Followed by Beelzebub, he is a pale man shorter than Lucifer with long dark green hair and sharp brown eyes in a violet armored bodysuit with a dark cape covering his body. His son Bidleid Bashalun Beelzebub at his father's footsteps, the only thing separating him from his father is his brown hair. Next is Leviathan, a sun-kissed skin woman with light blue hair and eyes; she wore a more glamorous variant of a European middle ages style dress, and her daughter Tsufaama Tereaku Leviathan being a carbon copy of her mother.

Finally, Asmodeus entered. He is a man with a handsome elf-like appearance with long dark hair and eyes, and his son Damaidosu Zereikel Asmodeus was every bit as good-looking as his father but taller. The house of Lucifuge was also with them serving as Lucifer's guard, not that he needed it, which comprised of Lord Lucifuge and his daughter Grayfia Lucifuge, one of the most beautiful women in the underworld, a blue-eyed woman with twin braided silver hair and a flawless snow-white complexion. Zeoticus went up to the Devil Kings of the underworld and gave them a deep bow as he greeted them.

" Welcome to my humble abode Lords Lucifer, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, and Lady Leviathan and my daughter's social debut to Devil High Society."

Lucifer absentmindedly as he waved off the Lord of Gremory.

" Yes, yes, feel honored that I am here."

Lucifer's usual disregard for others is well known amongst the 72 Pillars. The next thing that happened was Lord Lucifuge came up, a silvered-haired older man with sharp blue eyes, and questioned Zeoticus in place of his lord.

" So, where is your daughter Lord Gremory?"

" She is finishing her final preparation despite her appearance," Zeoticus grimaced as he answered.

" What do you mean?"

" An unfortunate accident happened that mutilated my daughter's face and body when she left the grounds without notifying my wife or me. She came across a rather vicious Demonic Beast that secreted a weak acid that scarred her, and unfortunately, we could not get any Phoenix Tears to her on time, so the damage is permanent."

" I see my condolences," Lord Lucifuge stated while Grayfia grimaced, guessing the truth of the matter, which is Nadeira trying to repel the children of the Satans. Damaidosu chuckled and whispered to Tsufaama and Bidlied.

" I guess my reputation precedes me. No matter how she tries to hide her appearance, I will reveal it, and if she is to my liking, I will give her the pleasure of warming my bed this night."

Bidlied just gave a sinister-looking smile in reply while Tsufaama retorted.

" Sure, sure, once you're done with her, I would like a "chat" with her."

Seeing a sadistic smile gracing the younger Leviathan's face left little to the imagination at what that so-called "chat" will actually be about. Soon one of the servants of the Gremory household announced.

" Ladies and Devils, I present to you Nadeira Gremory, Heir Apparent of the house of Gremory!"

Nadeira appeared with a silk veil covering her face, but what drew the eyes of all the devils was not her modest red dress but the burn marks seen on her neck. As Nadeira stood on the ground floor of the ballroom, she curtsied and introduced herself.

" Welcome everyone, especially to the Lords and Ladies of Lucifer, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, and Leviathan, to this humble ball and make yourselves at home!"

Damaidosu walked up to the vermillion-haired girl with a confident smirk and said.

" Now, little Gremory, is it not rude to conceal your face? Let's see what you "really" look like!"

Damaidosu ripped the veil from Nadeira's face revealing her appearance, which made many gasps in shock from everyone around. Over half of her face is burned, and even her teeth are exposed from the missing chunks of her cheek on the right side of her face, and her right eye is red and murky from the "damage" done to it. The younger Asmodeus scoffed at the appearance and said while touching her face.

" Not a bad attempt, but the thing about glamours that hides one's appearance is that they are easy to break with sufficient force."

Damaidosu radiated power at around the lower rungs of High-Class strength by Devil standards. The glamour did break but instead of revealing Nadeira's usual beautiful face, what was shown was a face that fully resembled a burn victim's face from an inferno. The younger Asmodeus paled at Nadeira's "true" appearance and threw up then and there. Biidlied looked green along with his father; Tsufaama laughed at the young Gremory's appearance while her mother merely smirked. The Lucifers simply gave a glance, then turned away, losing interest, and Damaidosu roared out in disgust.

" GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU WRETCHED THING!"

The young Asmodeus slapped Nadeira to drive her away, knocking her to the ground. Damaidosu continued to look ill and informed his father.

" I will be leaving, Father. I need to cleanse myself of the filth I just touched."

The next moment he conjured a magic circle and teleported himself away. The original Asmodeus also said is his goodbyes and left along with his son. The Lucifers, along with the Lucifuges, also went with barely a word, but the Leviathans and Beelzebubs stayed and mingled or rather terrorized the party. Soon the party ended far earlier than most originally expected as the guest left after giving the Gremory household their goodbye and condolences. Not long after, the Gremory household gathered within Nadeira's room.

They soon saw the sight of Nadeira restoring her flesh to its original unblemished state through the use of a branch of magic known as flesh sculpting. A rather strange type of magic considered by most but Nadeira's found out about it in her studies and made comparisons to plastic surgery and thought it might be useful in her future contracts as a devil; after all, what person does not want to be beautiful or handsome. After Nadeira mended her face, her mother, Venelana, watched with an appraising look then commented.

" Nade, my dear, I will not be surprised that in the future, you will have to beat away a number of contractors with a skill set like yours."

" Part of the reason I studied this branch of magic in the first place, Mother."

" Oh? What other reasons made you study this particular magic?"

Nadeira smiled and told her truthfully as she had little to hide.

" To study how life is shaped, formed, and changed, then lastly created."

Her mother smiled at her daughter's ambition, and her father then said.

" Well, with this Nade, you can pretty much get out of future social events without too much trouble, especially with the Devil Kings involved, as you pretty much disgusted them all to one degree to another."

Her Grandmother chuckled at her granddaughter's slyness at getting what she wanted in the first place, not to get involved with Devil Politics unless absolutely necessary. She then told her daughter-in-law and son.

" Well, the two of you better work hard to give me a grandchild I can actually spoil because little Nade here is far too mature for my liking."

Zeoticus sweatdropped at his mother's request once again, and Venelana added her thoughts to the matter.

" True, I am slightly disappointed that she grew so independent so quickly that I really did not get a chance to enjoy her childhood."

***

I, Nadeira Gremory, have been enjoying myself during the past year as I studied various magics without needing to go out and get involved with Devil High Society too much. But unfortunately, I can't get out of this one party since it involves the introduction of one of the family's closes allies, the Glasya-Labolas Pillar family. They also head an heir that was only a year younger than me, and his name is Falbium Glasya-Labolas, with a rather interesting rumor about him. He is a Devil with a strong inclination towards the Sin of Sloth despite the fact his strength already surpasses most of his peers if rumors are to be believed.

A new fact of Devil life I have found out about is that every Devil has an inclination towards one of the Seven Deadly Sins. I only found out recently when Mother talked to me about my Sin or rather Sins. I am a Devil of Greed and Pride. I am greedy for knowledge and power, while my pride does not allow me to be slacking in my efforts for said knowledge and power. As my mother informed me, regardless, it hardly changes anything for me except to better learn either self-control, which is a rarity amongst Devils, or be a better schemer to get what I want. Unfortunately, most Devils are more likely to be idiotic in their impulses than be a better schemer or learn better self-control.

However, this party serves as an opportunity for me to introduce more modern style dresses because when I showed Mother the simplified designs, she fell in love with them and got the seamstresses to work on making new dresses plus a new suit for Father, which he took a liking to, it resembles a simplified white dress shirt with matching pants and a blazer with gold accents. Mother went with a light purple dress with a short skirt slightly above the knees with matching stockings and gloves and a pair of simple white heels.

For me, I went with a conservative dark red dress with a long skirt that reached my ankles with a slit on the side and a black mesh over my torso, and long fingerless gloves. Let's not forget my veil to obscure my face as to keep the rumors alive that I am scarred, plus a necklace with a glamour on it to make my appearance resemble what I looked like at my party a year ago. Mother set up the teleportation circle to the Glasya-Labolas residence, and the next moment we were there, I got to love how easy it is to teleport for Devils. After a brief introduction to the hosts of the party, the star showed up as he was announced.

" Presenting the Heir to Glasya-Labolas, Falbium Glasya-Labolas!"

I was tempted to do a spit take because the guy is around my age and is already BALD! The only indication of his hair color was his violet eyebrows, which matched his irises. He had an expression that said he would rather be sleeping right now than here with his tired eyes and slothful posture. I guess the rumors about him being a Devil of Sloth were true after all. As he walked down the stairs, he started his address with a half-hearted bow.

" So, um, greetings, I am Falbium Glasya-Labolas, and that's it..."

I know it's poor etiquette, but I can't help but snicker at his laissez-faire attitude while most everyone else was just stunned by it, and I got a glimpse of Lord and Lady Glasya-Labolas looking like their souls are leaving their bodies. After a few moments of awkward silence, Lord Glasya-Labolas pulled himself out of his stupor and announced.

" Let the festivities begin!"

While most younger Devil danced or got drunk, apparently, there is no age restriction for drinking for Devils; I enjoyed some of the local delicacies unique to the Glasya-Labolas territory. Glasya-Labolas is the biggest producer of high-class pork products along with other domesticated animals, so their sausage is fairly good even by my modern standards. As the other young Devils gave me a wide berth throughout the party, the star of the party came up to me.

" So, hello, Heir Apparent to the Gremory household..."

I decided to ask a rude question just to see how this lazy Devil would react.

" I return your greetings Heir to the Glasya-Labolas household, but may I ask something of you?"

He gave me a casual shrug, and I asked him.

" Are you naturally bald?"

Silence filled the surroundings at my question as all the young Devil wanted to know the answer to the question. The Glasya-Labolas Heir ignored everyone else's reaction answered in a dull tone.

" My Mother kept on fussing over my hair and was troublesome to deal with, so I got rid of it. It actually made napping easier without my hair in the way and making things uncomfortable."

I smiled behind my veil and started to find this guy interesting compared to other young Devils. He then asked me.

" Mind if I ask a question of my own?"

" Certainly go-ahead."

The air around the guy changed as he looked more serious and asked in a whisper that only I could hear.

" Did you mutilate yourself to get out of going to parties like these and to avoid the children of the Satans?"

I was a bit surprised at his question but answered truthfully to see his reaction.

" Yes on both accounts, but don't tell my parents about the former reason; they would never let me hear the end of it."

He smiled then asked.

" Do you think I could get it to work, so I don't have to attend parties like you?"

I laughed at his question and answered him.

" If you were a girl, you might be able to pull it off, but as a guy, your appearance is less relevant than a girl's, so your parents would force you to go regardless."

He actually looked disappointed by my answer and simply said, sounding a little depressed.

" I see..."

This guy is definitely more interesting than other Devil children, and I could use him to keep my parents off my back about making connections with others. So I made him an offer.

" Falbium Glasya-Labolas, I think we can help each other."

" How?"

I smiled and told him my offer while giving him some context.

" If your parents are anything like mine, they nag you to make connections with other Devils, right?"

He nodded in reply, and I continued telling him what I had in mind while focusing on a few words to check his attention on a different meaning. This also serves as a test to see if he is a lazy idiot or an intelligent lazy person.

" My offer is this, "we" become "friends", but when we have our " playdates," we each just do our own thing, reading for me, and I am guessing you want nothing more than to sleep your days away."

He looked interested and asked.

" You have my attention, but why me?"

" Well, if your sleeping or doing whatever you want without bothering me, then I won't find you annoying, which makes you far more tolerable than the usual Devil near our age. Plus, we both benefit from our "friendship," and making connections like these is expected of us as heirs to our households."

After a few moments of silence in measuring each other's temperament to the deal, Falbium Glasya-Labolas extended his hand and told me.

" You have a deal, "Nadeira"."

" I am glad we are so like-minded, "Falbium"."

We shook on it and then started to make some plans together to get out of future social events like this; I think this is the start of a beautiful partnership.

***

Meanwhile, the elder Gremorys and Glasya-Labolas' chatted with one another, and Zeoticus Gremory spoke to Lord Glasya-Labolas in merriment.

" I guess we both have problematic children, Lord Glasya-Labolas, don't we?"

Lord Glasya-Labolas sighed in agreement and said with a grievance.

" Falbium is too smart for his own good and uses it in all the wrong places; he bribed and convinced his tutors to let him sleep during his classes in exchange for giving them sparkling reviews. He then showed the bare minimum of effort in front of me during combat practice and losses in a way that I did not notice at first until later on so he could end combat practice early. What am I going to do?!"

Zeoticus patted his friend's back in reassurance and directed his gaze towards Falbium and Nadeira getting along in the distance.

" Come on now; my friend, look, our children are getting along well, and it looks like they're going to be fast friends!"

Lord Glasya-Labolas looked over to see his son smiling at the veiled vermillion-haired girl and look relieved.

" At least Falbium does his duty as the heir, so I can't complain about that even if it is the bare minimum."

The men shared a drink and talked about the hopeful, good influence they would have on each other. Mean, while the ladies of the households had different ideas in mind knowing their children. Venelana asked Lady Glasya-Labolas as she watched her daughter and Falbium.

" What do you think those two are planning?"

Lady Glasya-Labolas sighed and commented.

" Knowing my son and you have told me about your daughter, they are likely making an alliance to get out of social events. If only those two would put that amount of effort into building their future political career rather than the opposite."

Venelana told her friend and ally.

" Don't worry; we just need to convince the two of them that it's more troublesome not to build a solid political base than actually do so, plus they do care about their homes so that it can be done, but we just need an argument they can't win against."

" I hope you're right, Venelana, because those two are definitely some of the brightest of their generation."

And thus, the party ended, and a new partnership is formed.