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As if her mind was already made up about leaving, Sapphire put down her chopsticks after finishing her meal and left the dining room, heading straight upstairs to pack her things.

With one "outsider" gone, the atmosphere in the second-floor dining room immediately relaxed considerably.

Only Maria still looked worried.

"Is Aunt Sapphire... really leaving?"

"Probably."

Compared to her daughter's concern, Sheila appeared much more at ease.

"After all, Sapphire has no reason to stay here anymore. Both her brothers are gone, Lord Leohart's city has become the Northern Territory's new capital, and this Old Capital won't have citizens needing the Old Demon Lord faction's protection anymore. Especially now that you and Mio have inherited this place, Maria—Sapphire doesn't need to keep guarding this empty city."

Sheila smiled slightly.

"Though it might not seem like it, she's actually someone who loves traveling around."

Maria paused, as if realizing something: "So Aunt Sapphire stayed here all this time because..."

"Probably for us and Mio."

Sheila shrugged casually.

"I think Sapphire probably realized Ramusas's plans long ago. She stayed at the royal castle to prevent us—well, specifically to prevent you, Maria—from falling victim to Ramusas's schemes. She just never expected Ramusas would be crazy enough to target even Mio."

"I see..."

"Alright, alright, since it's all in the past, let's not dwell on unpleasant things."

Noticing her daughter's expression change, Sheila maintained her smile while changing the subject.

"So since the Northern Territory matter is resolved, does that mean Bokue-kun will next be..."

She looked at the young man at the table with what seemed like subtle implications.

This was a crucial question.

When Sheila asked it, almost everyone at the table looked up simultaneously.

Bokue Keikain stopped eating, pondering briefly before shaking his head.

"I'll probably need to visit Itogami Island for the next two or three days."

After all, he'd been in the Northern Territory these past few days, missing consecutive appointments at Itogami Island. If he didn't show up soon, that certain Sword Shaman girl might stab her Spear somewhere very uncomfortable next time they met.

Oh wait, Yukina probably wouldn't go that far...

But the point was, he couldn't play favorites.

While Bokue was thinking this, Rias beside him pouted, not bothering to hide her jealousy as she muttered quietly.

"Going to see that vampire girl again."

Though she knew the girl was still in middle school and Bokue probably wouldn't have any inappropriate relationship with her, having her man constantly spending time with another girl was annoying no matter how she looked at it!

"But summer vacation is already half over."

Venelana suddenly spoke up.

"About what we discussed before—getting you and Rias a bigger place to settle down. Have you decided where?"

"...How about Itogami Island?"

Bokue scratched his temple.

He said this somewhat guiltily, because—

"What? Itogami Island? Why..."

As expected, Rias's eyes widened at his words.

"Wait, don't tell me you really have something with that vampire girl..."

"It's not about that."

Bokue gestured for her to calm down.

"There are actually several reasons. First, Itogami Island as a Demon Sanctuary has special 'ports' that make traveling between the human and demon realms convenient."

"Second, after thinking about it, having our own territory would be more convenient..."

"Our own territory?"

Rias asked, confused.

"But I remember you always said you were too lazy to manage things. Why suddenly want your own territory?"

"Oh, because someone else will manage it for me~"

Bokue shrugged.

"Asagi's father is an Itogami Island councilor..."

"Stop, stop, stop—who's this Asagi now?!"

"I know this one!"

Before he could finish, Irina stood up immediately.

"It's that blonde otaku girl who always dragged you to play games when we were kids, right?"

"That's her..."

A drop of cold sweat rolled down Bokue's forehead.

He'd thought Irina had forgotten about all that, but apparently she still remembered.

Though thinking about it made sense. These two were opposites in a way—one was a tomboy who loved running around outside, while the other had turned herself into a shut-in from taking care of her sick mother as a child and still couldn't break the habit.

But for Bokue, who wasn't Naruto Uzumaki with shadow clones, he couldn't play games at home with Asagi Aiba while simultaneously going out to play with Irina. So these two had developed some strange competitive relationship from early on.

Kind of like rushing into a supermarket after school to fight over half-price vegetables.

Whoever got there first won that day.

"Eh~ So Bokue, does this mean we're moving?"

Hearing the youth seemed serious, Kuroka leaned in close, breathing softly into his ear.

"But big sister prefers our old apartment. It's perfect for two people—these palaces feel so big and empty, no warmth at all."

"No problem, that's all customizable."

Venelana waved her hand with a smile, indicating this wasn't an issue.

"Like I said before, the Gremory family has real estate business in the human world too. Customizing part of a building to your specifications is no problem... oh, if Miss Kuroka wants, we could even move your entire apartment floor exactly as it is, like switching drawers into different slots."

Hmm???

Though he knew Venelana must have a way if she said so, Bokue couldn't help his triple question marks.

Sure, magic was amazing, but extracting an entire floor from an apartment building and inserting it into another structure... wouldn't the load-bearing walls object?

"And I remember Bokue-kun mentioned the apartment across from yours is empty, right? That makes it even more convenient—we can move that unit too. That way, you'll step out to the same hallway from your memories every day. Wonderful, right?"

They could really do something like that...

Bokue thought to himself.

❁❁❁❁

However, what they didn't know was that at that very moment, in that "empty" apartment they were discussing, a certain curvaceous school nurse was murmuring softly while looking at a photo of the young man on her phone.

"Finally reclaiming the power that was rightfully yours?

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