Chapter 83 - Meeting the family again

When Thomas said that he would visit Rias, he didn't expect that she will be so excited, that she bragged to her brother about it which by some devil luck cried his heart out to Serafall. If that wasn't bad enough as it was, when Serafall heard that she immediately left Lilith, the devil capital, and teleported right into Thomas's room bursting out in tears that he had betrayed her and even chosen Sirzechs-chan over her and how he had broken her heart.

It took almost all of his energy to call down the childish Satan, but after a grueling five hours attempt at calming her down, he finally managed to do it, albeit with the help of his mother, who upon hearing someone crying in her son's room barge inside, only to find him doing his best to explain himself to an older girl than him.

Once Serafall, was sure that Thomas wasn't going to join any devil peerage on his visit to the Gremory mansion, she happily left, but not before thanking Thomas and Kate for what they have done, and also apologizing to them for the trouble.

As soon as Serafall left, Thomas collapsed onto his bed, feeling utterly drained both physically and emotionally. He massaged his temples, wondering what he had done to deserve such a chaotic life. At almost 12 years old, he never expected to be dealing with the emotional roller coaster caused by a crying Satan.

Seeing her baby boy in distress, Kate quickly sat beside him. She gently nudged him, prompting Thomas to look at her. In response, she signed, asking him who the girl was and what had happened. Thomas took a deep breath and began explaining to his mother, using sign language to communicate.

"She's a devil, Mom, like Latia," Thomas signed, carefully choosing his words. "Her name is Serafall. She came here because she was upset that I agreed to visit Rias, another devil and a friend of Sera's little sister that I befriend a while ago. She thought I was betraying her."

[Is everything alright then? Did you properly explain to her everything? The poor girl looked really heartbroken."

Thomas nodded his head, reassuring his mother. "Yes, Mom, everything is fine now. I managed to calm her down. It was just a misunderstanding, but I didn't want to worry you with all the details."

Kate smiled softly, reaching out to gently stroke Thomas's hair. She may not have been able to speak, but her love for her son was evident. [Oh, my baby. I still remember when you were just a little boy playing with toys and now look at you, playing with a girl's feelings.]

Thomas didn't say anything as his exhaustion began to catch up with him, and he leaned into his mother's touch, finding comfort in her presence.

The next day, Thomas prepared himself both mentally and physically for what was to come or what he might see and meet at the Gremory mansion. Judging from what Sona told him a month ago when he spend the night at her house, Rias's older brother, Sirzechs Lucifer was maybe even worse than Sera. And that only scared the boy, after all, anyone sane would rather run away than face a jealous siscon, Satan.

Taking a deep breath, Thomas drew the magic circle that Rias gave him and suddenly he disappeared from his room and shortly afterward he appeared in a beautiful garden. It took him a second to adjust before looked around, fascinated by the sheer number of exotic plants growing peacefully in this garden.

Sadly, for him, almost a few seconds after he teleported into the garden a woman wearing a traditional maid outfit was. For some reason, she stopped beside the boy not saying anything for a good thirty seconds. Seeing this, Thomas decided to greet the woman and apologize for his intrusion.

"Good day, ma'am. I apologize for my sudden intrusion."

The maid looked at him without saying anything almost as if she was judging to see if he was lying to her. Once again Thomas found himself in a dilemma, but before the woman could do something, he decided to introduce himself and tell her the reason for his sudden visit.

"Ma'am, my name is Thomas Grayson, and a friend of Rias Gremory. She told me that I could visit her anytime, so that's why I'm here today. Of course, if I came at a bad time, I can leave and come at a later date."

Finally, the woman's eyes open slightly before she speaks for the first time.

"You are the little boy, Serafall-sama brought to the underworld a few months ago, am I right?"

"Yes, ma'am. At that time I was gravely injured and Serafall and her family saved me."

"That means you are Tommy-kun Ojousama mentioned. I apologize for my lack of response, but you suddenly teleported here, not to mention that unlike my ojousama you seem to have seen real combat at least once in your life. However until I can be one hundred percent that you are the guest my ojousama is expecting, I kindly ask you for your weapons."

Thomas was surprised by her words, but what took him aback was her sudden request. Now, he didn't have anything against leaving his dagger and wand to her considering this was Rias's home, but that didn't mean he didn't feel insulted. However he didn't say anything, instead he took his wand and dagger and gave them to the maid, even though he was regretting coming here now.

After she took the weapons, the maid led Thomas inside the mansion and to the living room or at least that's what Thomas could call the huge room, almost twice the size of the one in Sona's home. Once inside the room, the maid instructed him to wait on one of the couches while she goes to inform Rias that her guest had come to visit her.

When the woman left, Thomas let out a sigh, regretting even more coming here after he saw how he was being treated, then again for them, he was just a mere human boy, unlike Rias who was the heiress of her family.

Thankfully for him after two minutes of staying alone, thinking about things he felt a presence slowly creeping behind him and before the presence could do anything Thomas flew from the couch in the air using his modified levitation charm only to find a very surprised Akeno staring at him, not knowing how to proceed from there. Seeing that the one who was behind was Akeno, Thomas returned to the ground before apologizing to the girl.

"I'm so sorry. If I knew that you were behind me I wouldn't have reacted like that."

As soon as she saw that Thomas seemed sad, a small grin appeared on her face, before Akeno buried her face in her hands crying. When he saw her crying, Thomas panicked and rushed towards her, fearing that he had scared her, but as soon as he was in front of her, Akeno raised her head and stick her tongue out at him while laughing aloud.

Akeno wiped away her tears, still chuckling, and said, "You're such a funny boy, Thomas. I didn't mean to scare you. But don't worry, I'm fine. Now, how about we sit down and enjoy some tea together?"

Thomas nodded, relieved that he hadn't truly upset Akeno. "That sounds great. Thank you, Akeno."

As Akeno brewed the tea, Thomas decided to ask her where was Rias and Koneko. "So, where's Rias and Koneko?"

"Ah, we were actually studying with Rias's mother, Lady Venelana. We were learning proper etiquette and how to conduct ourselves as members of noble devil families."

Thomas nodded, intrigued by Akeno's response. "That sounds like an interesting lesson. I didn't know you girls have to learn proper etiquette."

Akeno smiled and nodded. "Yes, it is. Lady Venelana is a wonderful teacher, and she expects us to uphold certain standards and comport ourselves accordingly. Though as you might have already seen last month, Rias isn't exactly the type of person who will act like that."

"I mean who could blame her? Even I hated that at first when my friend's mother as well as her husband's queen almost forced me to learn proper etiquette."

"Your friend?"

"Latia Astaroth."

"Ah, she's the girl that made everyone crazy when she joined the exam for middle-class devils. I didn't expect her to be your friend. And if you said that the queen of her father taught you, does that mean you know the Crazy Witch of the North?"

"You mean Freja? Yeah, I know her. She taught me some things about magic a while ago."

"Oh, my, Satan. Rias is going to die if she hears this. She's one of her biggest fans."

"Leif Astaroth is a legend in the underworld as the man who killed tens of devils in the one hundred years war, and when he became a devil he got famous fighting in the peerage games."

Thomas was genuinely surprised to hear that Leif was such a big shot in the underworld, then again, from what Latia told him, her father was actually stronger than most devils before he got injured in a fight."

Just as Thomas was about to ask more about Leif, a familiar voice filled the room, and before he could react, Rias tackled him with an enthusiastic embrace. He was taken aback by the sudden display of affection, but a smile formed on his face as he returned the hug.

Akeno chuckled at the sight, clearly amused by Rias's exuberant greeting. "Well, it seems like Rias couldn't contain her excitement. I see you've made quite an impression on her, Thomas."

Thomas chuckled, though his voice was slightly muffled by the hug. "I guess so."

As Rias finally released him from the hug, she grinned from ear to ear. "Tommy-kun, I'm so glad you're here! I couldn't wait to see you again."

Even though he smiled at her, Thomas couldn't help but remember that maid and her words as he responded to Rias. "I'm glad to be here too, Rias."

Venelana, Rias's mother, and Koneko observed the scene from across the room. Venelana looked very much like her daughter, albeit with shorter, flaxen hair and violet eyes, though as soon as Thomas saw her, he blinked in surprise. After all, this was what Rias was going to look like in a couple of years. Despite his shock, Thomas quickly composed himself before greeting to the best of his abilities, considering he was still being hugged by a crimson-shaped koala, something that surprised Thomas since he and Rias just met a month ago and other than talking almost daily, something that he does with almost all of his female friends, he didn't saw her since the day they met at the garden.

Akeno gestured towards Velena and Koneko, introducing the older woman to Thomas. "Thomas, this is Lady Venelana, Rias's mother."

Thomas offered the woman a somewhat respectful bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Venelana."

After he greeted her, Thomas smile at Koneko before greeting her too. "It's to see you too Koneko."

Koneko on the other hand just nodded at him, happy that he had remembered her. Meanwhile, Venelana observed Thomas with a warm smile. She then approached him, Rias, and Akeno, and with a playful glint in her eyes, she addressed Thomas directly. "So, you must be the wizard boy my daughter has been talking about for the past month. It seems she's taken quite a liking to you."

Thomas's eyes widened in mock surprise, and he turned dramatically towards Rias, placing a hand over his heart with a hurt expression. "Rias, how could you? So quickly finding another wizard boy to befriend! I thought we were friends!"

Rias couldn't help but burst into laughter, realizing the playful act Thomas was putting on. "Oh, Thomas, don't be silly! You know you're the only wizard boy I want as a friend."

Thomas couldn't hold back a grin as he dropped the act, joining Rias in her laughter. He turned back towards Venelana, his expression now one of genuine warmth. "Well, you aren't wrong ma'am. Rias and I have become good friends over these past weeks."

Venelana chuckled in response to Thomas's playful act. "I can see that. Thought despite how she acts, my daughter doesn't have too many friends other than Sona, Tsubaki, Akeno, and recently Koneko."

Once Rias and Thomas calmed down from their laughter, they all start speaking, mostly about Thomas's life as a wizard and what he had accomplished, making both the girls and Lady Venelana surprised to hear what he had done in this past year.

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