Ch. 56 The Neutral Ground and Dates

What came after the world changing match was nothing short of miraculous for a great many people.

These last few months, members from across the supernatural world gathered in one place for peaceful reasons and managed to experience Azaroth lands without having to fear being killed for simply being who they were.

Of course there were many who had to learn some lessons regarding bringing faction or pantheonic conflicts into the Neutral Grounds, but mostly that meant that the Guards were fully displaying exactly why they should be respected alongside the rules.

Enkidu also went through his formal debut.

-Flashback to incident

"You have received the honor of having the opportunity of laying with the greatest lover in this world, Eros. Come and I shall show you pleasures beyond what this puny man can give you." The now named Eros proudly declared as he stood in front of a couple running their café.

He was a smooth-faced pretty boy with golden hair, soft pink eyes, and a body which showed he had not worked hard a day in his life.

"Lord Eros, I am happily married, please leave." Was the reply from the glaring woman as she held her husband back from trying to punch the god in the face.

She possessed great beauty, with long, curly black hair, soft brown eyes, and seductive body.

Alongside her husband Harlef, the two had been running this Café which frequently welcomed House Azaroth members thanks to their great tea and coffee, alongside their pastry and light menu.

The woman had dealt with many trying to 'woo' her even after being married, and it wasn't too uncommon to have to kick out some handsy customers, so this sort of thing wasn't exactly new to her, but this was a god and she wasn't sure how to handle it.

Their lord had announced and distributed the various rules for guests now that Azaroth lands had become a neutral ground, so she knew that she didn't have to 'give herself', but it is hard to do anything against someone much stronger than her.

"You would reject me in favor of such a worthless man?" Eros said a bit darkly. "Nonsense. Come along."

Those last words were different as the god channeled his divinity into them, enforcing his will onto the married woman as her eyes glazed over and her face slackened while she slowly approached the god.

"Melissa!?!" Harlef yelled in rage.

Too bad the foolish god forgot the many rules in place for his kind, which includes things like following the law and no usage of divinities.

So Eros just smiled triumphantly as wanton lust and greed shone in his eyes, while the other customers grew upset and fearful.

"That is enough." An androgynous voice sounded out as Golden chains wrapped themselves around Eros completely, with a single one tapping the woman to free her from the effects of Eros' divinity. "Are you ok Melissa?"

"*Gasp* Lord Enkidu! Thank you very much for your help!" The freed Melissa responded as she snapped out of her dazed mind.

"It is my duty." Enkidu replied with a kind smile.

"What will happen to him?" The woman asked with venom.

She couldn't believe the audacity of this god to try and force himself on her and to steal her from her husband. Especially in their Lord's territory.

"Release me! I am a god of Olympus! You mortals will pay for this!" Eros shouted as he uselessly struggled against the chains binding him.

"On the contrary Eros. Due to breaking the laws set in place by the treaty permitting your presence here, you and Olympus shall now be fined for attempted assault, attempted rape, use of mind magic on citizens of Azaroth, and unsanctioned use of divinity.

You shall also be placed on the offender's list and have your permission to enter the Neutral Grounds revoked." Enkidu replied calmly as he began dragging the god away from the scene.

"Thank you Lord Enkidu! Next time you come, everything is on the house!" Melissa shouted with a thankful smile as she watched the bastard god being dragged around while swearing nonstop.

With a satisfied nod, she returned to her work and decided to give her husband some extra loving tonight to get rid of the disgusting feeling of being controlled by that piece of shit.

Melissa knew very well that their Lord would not be happy about what almost happened and that he would get proper compensation.

-End Flashback

The day after that event, the family and I went down to make sure Melissa was truly ok, which did spread like wildfire. I wanted to make sure there weren't any long term effects like her losing interest in her husband or Eros leaving something he could use to manipulate her later.

Thankfully there was nothing and we all enjoyed a nice lunch.

Olympus on the other hand, was not enjoying being the first pantheon to fuck up already, resulting in an even worse reputation. Hera was furious at the little shit who couldn't even keep it in his pants for more than a week, giving Eros some heavy punishments, while Zeus wasn't feeling so great at having to pay the fines.

Eros went crying to his mother to save his ass apparently, but Aphrodite slapped him publicly for his actions of 'bringing Lord Azaroth troubles'. That was starting to baffle me a bit. It wasn't the first time I had received a report regarding Aphrodite's favoritism of me, but she hadn't done anything against any of mine nor any wrong, so my current stance was to let her be while keeping an eye on her.

-Aphrodite's Palace, Olympus

"Please don't be mad at me Lord Azaroth. I will properly teach that stupid child how to respect you." The goddess of beauty said to an image of Lith Azaroth she had saved from his match.

She then turned to a sort of shrine containing secretly recorded images, Lith Azaroth merchandise and even some 'Replicas' of a certain part commercialized by a certain polymath using data she had on the man. In the middle was a regal image of the Devil lord, one newly made which showed both his forms.

All these products had been things Aphrodite had 'requested' from devils who wanted to please her.

'Like any of those insects can touch this body now that I have found the man I truly belong to.' Aphrodite thought as she took her favorite 'replica' with a heated gaze.

"Forgive me my Lord. Accept my penance as I devote my body to yours." She then said as she once again began 'worshiping'.

-Underworld

Anyway, beside Olympus being a bit of a laughing stock for that little debacle, news on Enkidu spread rapidly, even if in a more subtle fashion.

The revelation that the Mesopotamian pantheon's most feared artifact hadn't actually been destroyed, but had been sealed away and found by me was a chill inducing one. This brought much fear and further respect towards myself and my house as his current wielder.

Thor came back to ask for a fight because I 'hadn't gone all out against him'. He pestered me for quite some time before I finally agreed and had him completely tied up in no time. The god then laughed heartily, went out to feast, then said he'd come back after getting stronger.

Cool guy really. Fun to party with, plus he gets along rather well with Diana and Musashi.

But overall, the launching of the Neutral Ground has been a grand success.

Just in the financial sense, Azaroth has seen an increase in revenue by over 40% thanks to all the new guests and merchants. Keep in mind that this is on top of the ridiculous level of income we already had.

New products were currently a daily thing until the markets stabilized and proper supply chains can be set up.

Many new applications for permanent residency were submitted, various 'immigrants' were being processed to begin settling, and 'endangered species' were seeking asylum after hearing about others who were living Good lives.

Parts of the agreements I had signed with various Pantheons were coming into effect as new books and pieces of knowledge began spreading. Experts and masters of numerous trades, arts and Magics were brought in as instructors for guilds and academies/colleges. And new options were being introduced for growing or rearing.

Apart from things directly affecting Azaroth Lands, I have also been able to spread my influence more in the human world as I formed 'joint ventures' with ruling powers.

For now that mostly meant expanding the culinary institutes to other countries in order to improve food culture and carefully repeat my little trick from Japan and having the Perseus family grow their ranches in America.

Hestia actually volunteered to help run the new Académie de Cuisine Haute Class et Maison: Bon Séjour (Pleasant Stay Academy for Haute Cuisine and Home cooking). She liked cooking and helping others learn how to cook, so that went well. The place was going to be in France, but it would be the one for the majority of Europe.

Unfortunately the Americas weren't really in any state to pursue the culinary arts yet and the African Deity Coalition hadn't reached a consensus regarding joining the Neutral Grounds yet, but talks were going well with the Buddhists and Hindus.

People were honestly rather baffled at why i would be so into opening culinary schools, well those who hadn't experienced Azaroth standards of food nor the cooking culture anyway. But it helped in getting things done thanks to not many people thinking that it was a big deal.

They really couldn't tell the long term benefits of essentially controlling the food industry, simply because they don't bother looking deeper than it being a school that teaches cooking. Really delicious food rivaling that of gods, but cooking nonetheless.

It really baffles sometimes that so many long lived beings have such poorly developed foresight, even those who can actually see the future. But I guess not knowing how 'Capitalism' would develop and how important things like food culture would be can hamper ones understanding of my actions.

It did help that I made sure to not try and take everything. I was rather happy with just being in the food sector and people were relieved that I just seemed to have a weird hobby of opening cooking schools because I wanted better food.

But well, what's the point of competing with others and potentially revealing too much when I had an entire planet to myself?

Let's just be subtle and have a bit of fun.

Beyond the more, direct gains, Sera was having a much easier time during her job now that she was the wife of a Top Ten member and a major link to the Neutral Ground.

That didn't mean devils stoped being complete idiots. In fact, statistics show an increase due to the delusional fools believing that my presence meant devils could get away with more. Too bad those idiots met with mainly two ends: right to jail or off with their heads.

Regardless of those idiots, there were also some minor annoyances with the opening of the Neutral Ground as well.

The first was that the presence of descendants from the Old Satans leading High Skaro's Guards was discovered. Having full-blooded Beelzebub and Asmodeus devils with their famous abilities alive and under me sent some rather mixed messages after all.

Many who very much hated the Old Satans wanted them dead, which I was very vocal about and would have been even if I was still part of the Devil Underworld. If anyone tried to actually do anything at this point, that would be a near declaration of war if it was something like an assassination or a barely concealed one if they demand I give them up. But those two were rather touched at the support shown not just from myself and my House, but also the people they have been protecting for decades.

On the opposite side of things, the assholes amongst devils tried to either beseech them into reforming their ancestral Houses 'to preserve their noble lines.' Both told them that their homes are in Azaroth, so that didn't work. Others tried to be 'subtle' and attempted to 'persuade' them by offering riches, women, power and all the typical stuff, which also doesn't work very well against highly respected and ranked Devils with loving families and fulfilling lives.

I've heard Zekram Bael actually coughed blood when he heard that two noble descendants of the people he respected, were serving under me, a half-breed lord who founded his house and was akin to his mortal enemy now.

After this nonsense however, I was going to have to keep a closer eye on their families and children so no funny business happened, but that was about it.

The other thing some nobles have been doing 'for revenge' or whatever excuse they were giving themselves, was putting tariffs on Azaroth goods, which was annoying but hurt them more than me. This was because, while the tax was making them money and hampering the flow of goods a bit, it mostly made them less liked by the mercantile class and their own people due to the increase in prices for the goods we provide.

Too bad for them, this also made it easier for House Phenex to take more control of the Underworld's economy. With no one knowing Phenex was now a vassal of Azaroth, none impeded the rise of 'a power capable of competing against Azaroth.' In fact, many in the Great King faction were openly supporting House Phenex, which was amusing to since they had snubbed them a lot in the past for only having money and just being sources for Phoenix Tears, without true power.

And thanks to the vacuum I had created by 'pulling back' Azaroth troops from the Underworld's official military, the rejuvenated House Balam was making waves in that sector thanks to their elite troops. The Great King faction again pushed hard to help them 'take over' the gap I left behind in case I tried to take it again.

I was starting to feel bad about how easy it was to manipulate them into doing things beneficial for me, simply by giving them alternatives which match with their idiotic views. I mean, just give them 'established and noble Houses' to replace 'the half-breed' and they jump at the chance. They even overlooked the close relationship the two Houses had with mine, simply believing Devil greed was the reason for both 'betraying' Azaroth.

It was sad how much I was truly controlling in the Underworld while not even being part of it anymore. Only Sera knew from the Satans, but she wasn't telling due to us very much being supportive of each other, and my actions actually stabilizing and reinforcing the Underworld tremendously.

I would expect more from Ajuka, but he was too busy in his workshop after Da Vinci's display, Sirzechs had his hands tied as always, and Falbium was content that people were showing up to do all the work for him. The only one I can actually see piecing things together would be Grayfia, but she's probably too busy with all her duties and the mounting pressure to produce an heir at the moment.

And yes, that was becoming a bit of a point of stress for the couple and in some parts of the Underworld.

The two had been married for a few centuries now and still had no child. And since Sera actually had her child already, the pressure was there for the only other married Satan to make a powerful descendant. Luckily said pressure did reduce after my match, with me taking away Sirzechs title of 'Strongest Devil', but things were a bit tense.

I wasn't going to really help them with this due to my belief that they would notice if used my sacred gear to help them and that would be a can of worms I don't want to get into, and because I was curious if some kind of 'plot' would stop them from having a child until after Rias should be born. But I at least stamped down on those dicks slandering Grayfia for this.

Plus I was busy with my own love life.

-Youkai HQ, Ura Kyoto, Japan

"Welcome Azaroth-sama. It is an honor to have you here today." Yasaka's closest confident, Ushiwakamaru, said with a respectful bow.

"Pleasure to be here officially. It's honestly been a while since I've come to Japan and walked around instead of directly going to Takamagahara." I replied with a casual smile while wearing a comfortable black and purple, night sky themed, kimono. "As beautiful a country as I remember, even in the face of human development."

"Thank you for your praise." She responded as she kept in character perfectly.

This was a show after all.

The vast majority of Youkai don't know about the true depth of the relationship between Yasaka and I, with only her closest confidants being privy to such a matter, and only some high ranking ones know about me being the benefactor of the sun and moon foxes. It doesn't exactly look good that their leader was rescued and provided shelter by a Devil after all.

"Please follow me. Yasaka-sama and the other Lords are awaiting your arrival in the main hall." Ushi then said respectfully, to which I nod and follow along as Youkai look on in awe.

"There he is, Lith Azaroth."

"To think a monster like him is here."

"What do you think he's here for?"

"Maybe he's heard of Yasaka-sama's beauty and came to court her? I mean, didn't her sister join his wife's peerage?"

"Shhh! Don't talk about her! We'll get in trouble with those hardcore members."

"Whatever the reason, I doubt it's bad if he came respectfully like that."

"If these bystanders annoy you Azaroth-sama, this Ushiwakamaru can make them disperse." My little guide suggested a bit coldly.

"No need. I am rather used to being gawked at. Even more so after my match." I casually replied, staying the devoted girl's hand.

"Understood." She said neutrally.

It didn't take long to reach the main hall, finding Yasaka regally sitting in her 'leader spot' while flanked with her confidants and regional commanders.

And as soon as the doors closed, a barrier was erected, sealing any sort of sight or sound from inside the room, which then made everyone relax completely and sport various smiles.

"Hey everyone. Nice to see you all gathered again." I started off with a grin as my arm disappeared in my sleeve for a moment before reappearing with some good sake. "Let's begin our 'negotiations'!"

"""""""YEAH!!""""""" They all shouted as I placed a feast prepared by Liora in front of everyone.

The Oni twins immediately went for it, the old Nurarihyon went for the sake, the Yuki-onna matron, whom I've helped keep their youthful looks and who's name is Tsurara Shirayuki, was sampling the various ice creams, Ushiwakamaru, as the leader of the Tengu, attacked the sweets with sparkly eyes, Mio, the Jorōgumo head, was enamored with wrapped foods, and Kozuyu, the loli Tanuki leader, was munching on mochi mainly.

(As for where they all come from: Fate, Nurarihyon no Mago, Rosario+Vampire, Fate, Tsukimichi, and Yuragi-sou no Yuuna-san.)

All those present were people Yasaka trusted a lot and who lead the largest or most powerful factions under her. We have known each other for quite a while, so we all forewent formalities and just enjoyed ourselves.

Not like I was going to screw over my lovely little sun, and they all knew it.

Heck, I was the Satanfather to Tsurara's daughter, Mizore, and had the loyalty of the Yuki-onna for helping them stay 'youthful', Shuten and Ibaraki-douji were valued customers of Liora's stuff, I helped Yasaka teach Ushi about the world and how to feel, and Kozuyu was just too calming and cute to mess with. She was to be pampered and protected, as all loli's should be, even if she is over a century old.

Plus we were all friends.

So while they enjoyed the feast, I was being lovey-dovey with my mate as we happily fed each other in our own little world.

"So Shujin-sa~ma, will you be staying the night?" Yasaka asked playfully.

"Yes. But in exchange I won't be able to do it again until next week to be fair to everyone." I answered as I ate what she offered.

"Fufu~ Then I guess I will have to do my best to fulfill all my wifely duties~." The fox woman replied with a seductive smile on her full lips.

"We have all the [Time] in the world." I said to her meaningfully as we returned to enjoying ourselves.

I mean, that was one of the actual reasons why I made my lands a Neutral Ground. Whatever the benefits and the respect/fear I gained, I made it so I could openly be with all my women.

Peace should have eventually happened regardless of what i did, unless I wanted war, but i wasn't going to force even one of my women to hide our relationship any more. Yasaka deserved so much more and I was going to give it to her.

And now that Gabriel somehow also fell for me, it was doubly important as I did my best to ensure she wouldn't have to fall or anything to have her feeling reciprocated. She is perfect as she is and I cared for her greatly as well.

But for tonight, I would focus on my golden fox.

Which, in the eyes of the Youkai outside the group in the know, would look like a 'first date' as we enjoyed Kyoto together and then spent the rest of the day 'getting to know each other' down in Azaroth.

Yasaka is a very big fan of Elsa's spirit village thanks to its purity of mana and closeness to nature.

"*Sigh* This place always does wonders for my shoulders~." My fox woman said as she melted into my arms while enjoying the hot spring.

"That it does." I replied in agreement. "It's why I have a permanent reservation to everything here and a private room. Being me has advantages."

"Fufu~ How impressive my big strong man is." She amusedly responded to my minor bragging.

The two of us didn't do anything too wild today as we just had a rather innocent 'date'.

We partook of the beautiful forest which is inhabited by nature spirits, watching their graceful performances as the wind ones danced, the dryads displayed blooming wonders, the naiads had a water show, and even a few spirits of fire came to cook us some nice food before we went to our appointments for massages.

It was a nice day of relaxation after the onslaught of work which followed the opening of the Neutral Grounds. It would have been even worse if I hadn't formed a department for Foreign Affairs to handle all the nonsense that came with so many egos clashing.

Too bad for us, I eventually had to return Yasaka 'home'.

"It was wonderful spending time with you Yasaka. I do hope we can do so again soon enough." I told her with a gentle smile as I kissed the back of her hand.

"Fufu~ I hope so as well Lith-sama." Was her simple response as she hid her slight blush under a playful expression.

This little interaction sent waves of rumors across the Youkai and even the supernatural world due to the obvious presence of spies everywhere, but due to Azaroth's already close connections to the Shinto Pantheon, most though I was just horny and wanted the busty fox miko of Amaterasu as my new harem member.

I mean, they weren't technically wrong, plus it helps some people accept my 'success' if they see obvious character 'flaws'. Something too good to be true is always questioned by rational minds after all.

And so with this, Yasaka and I set the seeds to have her people slowly accept our relationship as we took the chance to enjoy ourselves in some more innocent manners. It was nostalgic to do things like this, but it was a very sweet experience for Yasa as she did skip a few steps before we became mates.

Her bright smiles were all I needed for rewarding my hard work into creating this Neutral Ground.

The great thing was that I was able to take all my women on nice dates and have them experience full on pampering now that things were going well. Even Tiamat and Ereshkigal had their first dates with me.

For Tiamat, well, we went through some draconic courtship formalities.

I dominated her in combat, gifted her prey i hunted, which happened to be a great sea serpent from Mars, offered her treasure that just so happened to be a nice ring which changes into a horn band in her dragon form, and then it ended with some 'claiming', which was intense fucking that changed the nearby landscape and scared any being with dragon blood within earshot as Tiamat roared out in warning and pleasure.

-Mars, in what would later be known as the Dragon Goddess of Life's basin.

"*Huff* To think I couldn't keep up even as a draconic goddess. No wonder you can keep that harem of monsters satisfied." Tiamat said with a bit of jealousy while we cuddled in one of the craters we created.

"Haha! I have to at least achieve that for them giving me their hearts. Just like I will take care of you." I replied with a meaningful look right into her eyes.

"Hmph, flatterer." She quietly mumbled with a blush as she hid her face in my chest, lightly kissing the new mark there.

This was Tiamat's proof that I was her mate, a small pale blue dragon inside a royal purple vortex. She had her own copy over her heart. This symbol representing that I was the 'dominant' in the relationship due to my symbol enveloping hers, thus anyone who knew how dragon mate symbols worked would know that Tiamat would have an even stronger mate to fear should she be hurt.

"I will flatter the women i treasure as much as I need for them to know how special they are to me." I softly replied as a gave her a kiss on her forehead, which made her cutely snuggle in deeper as we enjoyed each other warmth.

We were too powerful to really feel the cold on our naked bodies, but it still felt nice. Especially those breasts which are the great rivals of Yasaka's. The soft thighs on my leg were great too, and so was the ass in my hand.

Let's just go with Tiamat being near the top in terms of bodacious bodies in my harem.

It was a nice and primal way to sleep and gain a new woman, but not one I disliked.

We even decided to commemorate our bonding by having Tiamat use her water and life divinities, alongside my time and budding creation ones, to create the most pristine waterfall and basin on both Mars and Earth. It would later become a protected space for all living beings and essentially a place of worship centering myself and Tiamat, while being a center of pilgrimage for those wanting to 'bond' as well.

And yes, as the races on Mars have been developing, I have been gaining a few more divinities alongside my [Space/Time] due to my role as the 'Creator' of two races, my help in shaping the planet, and a few other things.

My Spacio/temporal double has been quite busy up here as well after all.

So by the end of my 'date' with Tiamat, I received my second mate and created a wonderful basin.

But like I said, she wasn't the only lovely lady I've had the chance to 'date' lately.

-Einzbern Family lands, German Confederation

"Hehehehehe! Hahaha~! Look at all this snow Lith!" Ereshkigal joyously exclaimed as she took off running barefooted in the snowy mountain owned by the Einzbern family.

Good thing we weren't really affected by cold.

The usually shy blonde, around me anyway, was showing a jubilant and childlike smile as she ran around with starry eyes, almost awed by the gently falling snow.

I could only look at her with a warm smile.

"Ne~ ne~ Come on Lith! I want to build a snowman like you showed me!" Eresh cutely pleaded.

"Of course." I replied with a headpat, causing her to giggle adorably.

We spent some time gathering snow I used magic on to make it stick properly for her.

So we packed the snow and placed the three pieces on top of one another.

"Hm~ Hm~" the twin-tailed goddess hummed. "Hey Lith, do you have anything to decorate it?"

"Yup. How do you want it to look?" I asked her.

"Hmmm, how about I make him look like Sigil's human form?" She answered while looking at me to see if it's possible.

"Sure, just look for some rocks for the face and some branches for the arms and horn, I'll prepare the jacket and pants." I told her as I began looking in my storage and she went out to do just as I said excitedly.

It didn't take very long since I still had some old clothes from when Sigil was younger laying around in my storage space. I then fixed up the snowman to give him Sigil's hairstyle and a few of his facial features to make it be more accurate.

"I'm back~!" Eresh announced with the results of her little hunt. "Ooh! It's starting to already look like him!"

"*Chuckle* Thank you for your praise." I replied as she approached and began placing everything in the right place.

By the time the goddess was done, we had a proud looking but pretty snowman with a white jacket and pants, and a horn I manipulated using my [Space] to look like a unicorn's.

"Perfect!" Ereshkigal called out with a proud smile at our 'masterpiece'.

"If you want I can move our work to the cabin and preserve it." I suggested.

"Can you?!" She asked as her eyes lit up even more.

"Of course. What use is being a master of [Space/Time] if I can't even maintain a snowman?" I jokingly asked.

"Yay!" Eresh celebrated as I enveloped us and the snowman, then teleported everyone to our little wooden cabin in the mountains.

It was a place I made in the Einzbern owned lands for a nice little snowy retreat. It makes for a nice little bit of fun since the Underworld doesn't really have proper winters nor snow in many provinces, and my girls quite like it after I showed them things like skiing, snowboarding, Tire D'Étable and other maple syrup products from North America, hot chocolat while watching the snowy mountain with a fire near them, and many enjoyable winter activities.

I thought this would be a perfect place for Ereshkigal to enjoy. Even though the Underworld was infinitely better than Realms of the Dead, and she had the opportunity to explore Mars while properly setting up Remnant as The afterlife there, this was an entirely different experience.

So with our snow Sigil out front, Eresh and I enjoyed a nice fire inside with hot chocolat and marshmallows for the lady.

"This is nice." My little blonde goddess said as she sunk into my arms.

"That it is." I contentedly replied.

""Say Lith… are you sure that you want to be with someone like me?" Eresh asked hesitantly as she looked down at her hot chocolat.

"*Chuckle* I should be asking that to you." I replied as I made my own drink float and wrapped my arms around her. "I am the one with a harem after all."

"That doesn't really matter to me. I mean, it was pretty common in my Pantheon and back then. I just, you know, feel kind of useless compared to the others, or that you might be weirded out by a goddess of death or something." She mumbled into her drink.

"Now listen here, you are a wonderful woman with a heart worth far more than anything your divinity might imply. You are determined, hard working and courageous, so don't put yourself down, ok?" I responded as I gently took her chin and made her look into my eyes.

"Un." Eresh emotionally replied as she looked up at me with tender eyes before suddenly moving forward and kissing me.

Lucky for me, I caught her hot chocolat as she flung her arms around my neck when she started getting more into it.

It took a some time as I enjoyed her small, but curious and inexperienced mouth, with the taste of chocolat still present. Only separating once I gently moved back.

"Eh?" The dazed girl called out as her body still moved for more before her brain rebooted from the kiss. "Y-yo-you better take responsibility for seducing me like this."

"For as long as you want Eresh." I whispered in her ears, causing the already blushing blonde's face to turn completely red before burying it in my chest.

"Then you're stuck with me forever you dummy." She responded with a shy voice.

"Forever it is then." I simply said as we enjoyed the rest of the day in each other's arms.

The next few days, Ereshkigal was an adorable blushing mess, especially when I took her hand.

And those adorably innocent reactions were only matched by Gabriel during our own little date, which turned out to be its own kind of fun.

-Flashback to Gabriel's day

Since the Neutral Ground had officially opened, Gabriel had been making a lot of visits to either my lands or Jeanne's Sanctuary.

That did make quite a few angels rather upset, with many feeling both worried and outraged that their 'goddess' was fraternizing with devils. I've heard a few actually fell because of it, but that immediately stopped when they all heard that the kind girl cried because she made people fall for playing with her friends.

Her tears moved the entirety of Heaven's angels as they shut up very quickly.

I was even called in to help her feel better for that one, which is why we were now at my private beach house near Leviat City.

And I have to say, God bless Himself for the sight before my eyes.

To likely be the first to see Gabriel shyly show me the bathing suit Sera had helped her pick out.

The archangel was wearing a simple white two piece bikini with some gold links, but her perfect womanly body and beautiful face made her look radiant.

She gave the most resplendent smile when I told her she looked wonderful in it, even if she was very shy about showing so much skin.

But she soon forgot about such worries when we began to have some beach fun, swim around, play little games, enjoy cold treats and make sand castles.

The mostly innocent Angel was giggling and smiling quite a lot during the day.

And when the sun started getting low, I took her to enjoy a performance in Leviat and have dinner at a pleasant restaurant which served great seafood dishes and pasta.

"Today was really fun!" Gabriel said as she ate her pasta a bit messily.

I was sort of used to it with some of the girls in the house. I mean, Milim isn't exactly the most proper eater and Sera herself can get a bit careless at time. So I reflexively took my napkin to while her cheek as she just lets me and giggles.

"Glad you feel that way Gabby." I replied as I sat down properly to continue my meal.

"I can't believe the other kinds of performances you can have by mixing magic in them properly. I should ask brother to send some angels interested in art to come study here. It would be great!" The angelic girl cheerfully said as she thought back to the show we saw.

"I'm sure the many artists would be quite interested in what artistic angels could create. Light magic does wonders for visual arts." I replied with a knowing smile towards the reaction of angels creating new pieces would have with the artists down here.

It would fire them up.

"It would make so many people happy in Heaven to experience something new like that." She agreed as we finished our food.

These were the types of conversations we had during the day as Gabriel enjoyed everything and thought about how to share her joy with those she cares for and Heaven. She was a wonderfully kind and selfless girl.

After our meal, I took her to a moonlit walk on the beach.

Gabriel was surprised at the presence of the bioluminescent algae making the beach look even more beautiful at night.

It was one of the little projects I worked on to make it safe and beautiful. Part of my contribution to Leviat's beauty.

And watching Gabriel take her sandals off and run along the shallow water as she created a trail of blue light while wearing a white one piece dress was quite worth it.

"This is amazing! Is it magic?" The archangel asked as she kept moving around to see more of the light.

"Mainly science actually. A little project of mine." I answered with a soft smile.

"Really?! That's incredible!" She exclaimed in admiration as she scooped up some of the glowing water before throwing it at me and bursting out laughing.

"Oh it's on." I replied as I began the splash fight, the two of us laughing without a care as we enjoyed ourselves.

I won by suplexing the squealing girl alongside myself in the water, before we finally came out and dried ourselves with magic and laid down on a big blanket I had.

We proceeded to enjoy the stars I had placed in the night sky for my people. It was actually a clever little use of the blanket dimension over Mars to 'broadcast' its stars here.

"Hey Lith, um, we are close friends right?" The girl asked hesitantly.

"Of course Gabby." I answered with a smile.

"Then, um, what would you think of maybe being more than friends?" She followed up as I could easily tell she was very nervous.

"That would be great." I softly answered her.

"Really?!" She asked as she snapped in my direction with watery eyes filled with hope.

"Of course Gabby. I wouldn't exactly spend my day like this and do all I've done with you over the years if I didn't like you silly girl." I teased with a roguish smile.

"I'm not silly!" She cried out, but she didn't get to say much as I brought her in for a hug and she latched on.

"Yes you are. You've made me wait a long time to let me tell you I wished to make you mine Gabriel." I replied as her brought her head up. "But now you're my silly girl."

With those words, I took the first kiss of the most beautiful Angel in Heaven, making her feel the pure love I had cultivated for the wonderful girl over the centuries. She would be the one I would have to carefully court due to her race, for now anyway, so she will be the one to pace the relationship as I will keep my lust under control to let her experience as much love as she desired.

"Hehe~. So that's what Sera meant when she said it makes your heart feel like it will burst from happiness." Gabriel said once we separated.

I was careful not to lewd her by using my various skills, keeping the kiss rather chaste and meaningful over one trying to rile her up.

"I hope I can keep making you happy then." I simply said as the brightly smiling girl enjoyed her snuggling position.

We stayed their all night as we enjoyed the sounds of the beach, letting it lull us to sleep while we held each other.

The next morning brought a very worried trio of brothers, but that's about it after we just said that Gabby tired herself out from playing and stayed the night.

She hadn't fallen and was still pure, so nothing obvious could be seen anyway.

-End of flashbacks

'I truly am surrounded by wonderful women.' I thought as I looked at Scáthach working beside me. 'Let's keep doing my best to make them all as happy as I can.'

_______________________________________

EXTRA AUTHOR NOTES:

Hello hello everyone!

So here's a little bit of a fluffy chapter to get the three newest relationships Lith has off the ground.

I thought this would be a good way to show things getting official cause I feel like I messed up Diana and Ciri joining the harem beyond showing that they actually wanted to be in it.

Yasaka was just Because for the world their relationship is getting established, so they'll just have dates in public and without any form of concealment now.

Tiamat was the most direct since she has displayed openness for a new mate and was ok'd, so that was what I thought some high level dragon courtship should pretty much be. Beat me, show you can feed and give me good shit, and know how to fuck.

Ereshkigal and Gabriel are basically the most innocent women around Lith for different reasons. Eresh has a lower self esteem due to her past and history, alongside some doubts because Lith is her savior, plus 2000+ years after being widowed isn't the greatest dating resume. Gabriel is just slowly learning about all this and Lith is trying his best not to lewd her, so slow and steady with purer feelings involved until she becomes a goddess anyway.

And while Lith enjoys the harem life, he's slowly spreading his influence in the world and the Underworld.

I honestly think the only people who could really see what Lith is doing down there are Grayfia, Ajuka and Zekram Bael, but that won't really happen due to the first being too busy and being under considerable pressure, the second is too enamored with his toys and the last might have a mental breakdown soon.

But yeah, Lith is using his two Vassals to fill gaps he created in order to gain greater control over Underworld affairs while no longer even looking like it was possible for him to do anything there. Meanwhile he helps Phenex and Balam navigate politically while spreading their influence in the two most important spheres like the Underworld's economy and military.

In the real world he's having fun creating a food revolution and probably forming the most badass horse ranch in America. Should be near the cowboy era too.

-Now for the support stuff.

I got to say thanks to those who've supported me. You guys are great even if your situation doesn't allow you to give any money.

Someone asked me what Ko-fi was, and it's a site where people can give one time donations or 'coffee' using PayPal or Stripe, to support creators. So no commitment or fear of supporting someone then forgetting about it.

Both my pages for Patre on and Ko-fi are under the name Alexander_the_grey if you're awesome enough to actually pass me some money. Links are in the author notes.

Hope you enjoyed.