Chapter 96 - The Next Step

Chapter 96: Chapter 96 - The Next Step

It could be said that life remained relatively peaceful after he turned Grayfia into his servant. The problems involving the Gremory family were resolved without major difficulties and, curiously, the funniest part of it all was that her husband, completely oblivious to the fact that he was wearing a green hat, ended up visiting him in person to thank him for finally having accepted and formalized the agreement. In addition, he even asked him to take care of his wife. Alear, of course, promised that he would do exactly that.

After that matter was settled and Grayfia officially took on the position of head maid of the mansion, his life had improved considerably because of it. She got along well with the other girls, although she occasionally displayed a certain jealousy toward his wives and other servants. Even so, she never allowed those feelings to interfere with her responsibilities. On the contrary, she began helping with the training of all of them, teaching about magic and control of demonic power. She also took care of the meals, assisted in the office, organized various affairs of the mansion, and remained always available whenever he needed something. In the end, she was extremely dedicated to her duties, fulfilling her new responsibilities with great zeal...

The only complaint he could have about her was that Grayfia was quite nymphomaniacal. After becoming his head maid, she always found some excuse to take care of their sex life, as if that were also one of her responsibilities. Not that he was really complaining; in fact, it would be rather hypocritical of him to do so.

The problem was that Grayfia was not the only one. Maria, Mio, and Ravel were also extremely thirsty for his attention, in addition to Serafall, who had begun appearing far more frequently. In the end, he himself had created that situation, so he could not exactly complain about the consequences.... And, as if that were not already enough, he also ended up sleeping with Seekvaira. His other future wife had finally decided to take the initiative and attacked him, resulting in a rather intense night that ended up involving even Ravel and Serafall. How did that happen? Ravel simply passed through the hallway and ended up hearing the sounds coming from the room. At first, she probably tried to ignore it, but she could not resist for long and ended up entering. As for Serafall, she had placed a camera in the room for some reason that only she would consider a good idea. When she discovered the situation while watching her "Ale-chan" before going to sleep, she simply teleported into the room. To her, the fact that her three wives were serving their husband together seemed like a wonderful idea.

Honestly, it was exactly the kind of thing he would expect from her....

With Seekvaira officially becoming his, Maria, who had watched everything before being dragged out by Mio, who grabbed her head and hauled her outside, joked that he still needed to try harder, after all, Valerie, Ingvild, Echidna, and Meredith were still missing to complete the group. And, considering the growing closeness he had with all of them, it was becoming increasingly difficult not to consider that possibility....

But setting aside the provocation of that cheeky little girl.

Speaking of Meredith, she had adapted very well to the Underworld and to life in the mansion. She became quite good friends with Ingvild, probably because they were some of the youngest in the group, with the exception of Echidna, who had arrived in an intermediate period between the two. However, Echidna was... far too eccentric to be compared with either of them. The worst part was that the two of them had also begun to be influenced by the little succubus, who had already done the same to Valerie previously. That had become a major headache for him, because that little creature seemed to have a special talent for corrupting the people around her. Fortunately, Grayfia managed to put her in her place and began teaching her how to behave properly.

One point for his maid.

That had reduced his problems by half.

Enough of thinking about that walking headache.

Occasionally, he still visited the "Leaking Cauldron" and his underground potion factory. Since he could no longer split himself in two to take care of everything at the same time, he needed to do the work personally when necessary; the profits continued to be absurdly high. Thanks to the quality of his potions and the efficiency of the production, he could easily be considered one of the richest men in the Underworld, and that without even taking into account his [Golden Rule] ability, which basically made it impossible for him to become any poorer....

Regarding his potions, he needed to visit Ajuka a few times. The Super Devil had shown considerable curiosity about the production method of most of them, and the two ended up exchanging knowledge in various areas. Thanks to that, Alear managed to officially learn the "Kankara Formula," which meant that, should he decide to use it, he would no longer have any problems related to its origin or authorization. He had ignored that magic he learned in his first encounter with the Satan precisely because of that issue, but now he no longer needed to worry about it.

In exchange, he also shared with Ajuka various pieces of knowledge and techniques that could be extremely useful for his research, such as "Memory Partition" and "Thought Acceleration." Both were extremely valuable abilities for a researcher like the Satan, allowing an analysis and information-processing capacity far above his normal level.....

It was an excellent exchange for both of them.

Business continued to prosper, his life remained peaceful, and at that moment everything seemed to be proceeding perfectly....

Then the moment arrived to take the next step. He officially announced his presentation party to high society, which would be held at the "Palace of the Great President," an important event to establish his presence and position within the Underworld in one month. From that moment on, the preparations began, and the entire mansion started moving to ensure that day would be carried out without any problems.

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.

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One month later.

In the interior of a deep and isolated cave of the [World Where I Can Personify God], Alear remained standing in silence. Before him, a multicolored light floated in the air, taking the form of a small dragon about ten centimeters tall, composed entirely of pure energy. Its existence seemed extremely mysterious, carrying a unique presence that was difficult to comprehend.

In his right hand, Alear held a small green sphere. He observed it for a few seconds, keeping his gaze calm and distant.

"Farewell, Boosted Gear."

With a simple movement, he tossed the sphere toward the multicolored light.

The instant the object touched the form of the dragon, the light enveloped it completely. The sphere vanished without leaving any trace, being absorbed in a single moment. The silhouette of the dragon began to grow slowly, its colors intensifying while its presence became denser and more oppressive....

Alear extended his hand; the multicolored light moved toward him and wrapped around his fingers, climbing up his arm like a living current. In a few instants, it traveled through his entire body. His skin was momentarily covered in iridescent scales, his eyes narrowed into reptilian slits, and a primitive energy ran through every cell of his existence. The sensation, however, lasted only a few seconds before the light dissipated, sinking into the depths of his core and vanishing completely within his [Divinity].

Alear let out a long sigh, observing his own hand that was now returning to normal.

"...It was exactly as I had thought."

Even the [Dragon Factor], something he had created and cultivated for so long, ended up serving only as nourishment for his [Divinity]. There was no visible change or immediate increase in power, but even so, he could feel that he had taken one more step toward completion.

During that last month, his research into his own [Divinity] had been practically useless. Well... It was not as if he had learned nothing; on the contrary, he had discovered some important information about how it functioned and about his own existence. However, none of that had resulted in a direct increase in strength, a new ability, or any perceptible evolution....

He was beginning to feel bothered by that lack of progress.

Even so, there was at least one positive thing. He had an idea, even if still vague, of how to complete the Zero-Sum stage and advance to the next level. It was precisely for that reason that he decided to hurry and use the [Boosted Gear] as nourishment to finally give rise to the [Dragon Factor]. His intention was for his [Divinity] to devour that concept in the same way it had done with [All the Evils of the World].....

That was why he was in that cave, far from any interference, carrying out that experiment. Fortunately it succeeded, just not with the results he had expected.

Alear let out a long sigh.

There was nothing more to be done there. He moved away from the area where he had performed the experiment and walked toward the exit of the cave. Upon crossing the boundary of the cave, the landscape of the [World Where I Can Personify God] dissolved around him, and he returned to the real world.

The soft light of the office in the Häangenti Mansion welcomed him once more. He remained standing for a moment, adjusting the collar of his clothes, before heading to the window and observing the horizon of the Underworld.

There were only three days left until his welcome party into high society.

There were still a few final details to resolve, but nothing that required his immediate attention. After everything that had happened in recent months, that event represented a new stage for his position within the Underworld.

He would finally meet Zekram Bael, the enemy of his family.

Even so, he was not worried. He had already prepared everything he needed, and with the help of his servants and allies, the party would take place without problems. Now, all that remained was to wait for the right moment.....

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