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Ultimately, the banquet originally intended as an ambush by the Phenex family was forcibly transformed into a Gremory family victory celebration—thanks to Bokue Keikain's fists.
He beat their man, drank their wine, and walked away carefree.
It was arrogance of the highest order in every sense.
The scene shifted to outside the Phenex castle. The road previously packed densely with carriages had noticeably thinned out.
The banquet was drawing to a close, and one by one, the various high-ranking devils were leaving.
Naturally, Bokue and the others rode back on the Gremory carriage, with the Sitri family carriage positioned just ahead of theirs.
Beside the carriage, still dressed up in her magical girl outfit, Serafall joyfully clung to her younger sister, utterly ignoring the visible reluctance on Sona's face, and tightly embraced her, rubbing her cheek affectionately.
"Alrighty~ Sona-chan will come back home with Big Sis now. Bokue-kun, you guys can head home directly~"
"Onee-sama... please stop..."
Sona Sitri desperately tried to escape the magical girl's hug, but Serafall refused to let her speak.
"Huh~? What was that, Sona-chan? Big Sis can't hear you♪"
Utterly helpless.
"Well then, since that's settled, we'll head back first."
Venelana smiled warmly, glancing backward toward the youth and the girls near the carriage behind her, gently nodding.
"Shall we? It's about time to go home."
Indeed, although at first glance it seemed only about eight in the evening, considering it would take at least three hours by carriage to reach the Gremory territory, they'd surely arrive well after eleven at night.
And since Sona had been forcefully "arrested" by her beloved sister and taken back home, Tsubaki Shinra, who was originally responsible for driving their carriage, naturally had to accompany them as well. Thus, the crucial role of driving now fell onto Koneko Toujou's shoulders.
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Inside the carriage on the return journey—
Unlike their initial shy and reserved attitude, Rias now openly and naturally claimed the seat next to Bokue Keikain. Her delicate hands clung tightly to the young man's arm, beautiful face brimming with genuine concern.
"Bokue, are you really okay? You don't feel dizzy or nauseous at all?"
"Nope."
Bokue rested his hands on his lap, leisurely stroking Kuroka, who was comfortably curled up in a perfect cat-ball.
This was the third time on the journey back that Rias asked him this exact question, and the third time he gave the exact same answer.
Mainly because...he really wasn't dizzy or nauseous at all.
"I see... that's good then."
After repeatedly confirming the youth was indeed fine, Rias finally breathed a tentative sigh of relief.
It wasn't that she was worrying over nothing; rather, Bokue really had consumed quite a bit of alcohol at the banquet earlier. Besides the initial glasses offered by her brother Sirzechs and Venelana, even Serafall had playfully joined in with her sister, and their cousin Sairaorg also got involved.
Rias had watched helplessly as Bokue downed drink after drink, unable to intervene and forced to stew anxiously on the sidelines.
Those people truly had no sense. Knowing full well that Bokue was still a high school student—still a minor—they'd nevertheless followed her brother's irresponsible example.
"Anyway... if you start feeling unwell, let us know immediately. It's better to throw up rather than hold it in."
The red-haired girl couldn't help but add another worried reminder.
"I told you already, I'm really not drunk..."
Seeing Rias still looking so concerned, Bokue sighed helplessly.
Putting aside the fact that with his physical constitution, alcohol barely had any effect to begin with, he hadn't even allowed the alcohol to enter his body properly. The instant he'd swallowed each mouthful at the banquet, he'd already burned away the alcohol content using spiritual energy, leaving nothing but mildly sugary water behind.
He enjoyed drinking purely for the pleasant taste—not to feel dizzy, flushed, or intoxicated.
To demonstrate this, Bokue casually loosened his practice robe collar slightly.
"If you don't believe me, Rias, come smell it yourself. No strong alcohol odor, right?"
Instantly, Rias's eyes were irresistibly drawn to the youth's flawless, jade-like collarbone. Without thinking, she inhaled slightly.
True enough, drunk people usually carried a rather unpleasant alcoholic stench—like fermented sweat mixed with leftover alcohol.
Yet, from Bokue's body, she detected only the faintest scent of wine, pleasant and gentle, without any offensive odor.
Rias hesitated for a brief moment, deciding to dismiss her worries, but at that exact instant—
"Ahhn~…"
It was as if staring for over three seconds had triggered some secret, hidden switch. Rias—who just moments ago appeared perfectly composed—suddenly trembled, letting slip a quiet, involuntary moan as her cheeks quickly flushed bright red.
Wait—this feeling was…!
A familiar faint current of electricity coursed gently through her body. Instinctively, Rias swiftly turned her face toward the window.
Not good, not good, not good! Why did she have to feel like this at a time like now?!
Rias clenched her teeth tightly, struggling desperately to endure.
If it had happened in the Occult Research Club room back at school or in the privacy of her own bedroom, it wouldn't have been a big deal. She'd simply have returned to her room, locked the door securely, and endured quietly by herself.
But right now, she was still on the carriage ride home—with Akeno and Asia next to her, and her mother sitting just diagonally across from her. If anyone noticed—
"Ara~ no need to be shy, dear."
Venelana's gentle voice, tinged with playful teasing, broke the silence inside the carriage.
"This means my Rias is finally learning how to care about someone else. That's wonderful progress—you really shouldn't feel embarrassed."
"Exactly~♪"
Seated on Bokue's other side, Akeno immediately chimed in, unable to resist teasing.
"But if the president feels embarrassed, perhaps I should take over the responsibility of checking Bokue's condition instead?"
As she spoke, she leaned closer from the opposite side, intentionally pressing her soft chest against Bokue's arm, and dramatically lowered her head—almost burying her face in the crook of his neck, taking an exaggerated sniff.
"Mmm~ Hmm, no noticeable smell of alcohol. Seems he's really not drunk after all… but just to avoid misdiagnosis, maybe I should inspect further—"
"Alright, alright! We get it, he's not drunk!"
Watching Akeno's increasingly bold behavior, Rias finally snapped.
She forcefully suppressed the strange sensation rising within her and quickly turned back around, assertively pulling Bokue over to her side. In a few swift motions, she straightened out his collar, covering his collarbones and chest thoroughly once more.
There. That looked much better.
With the dangerous temptation that had nearly "led her astray" now safely hidden from view, the red-haired girl quietly exhaled, relieved.
Thankfully, her mother hadn't noticed anything unusual.
However, what Rias didn't realize was that at the precise moment Bokue had pulled open his collar just now, the elegant and gentle matriarch sitting directly opposite—Venelana—had also involuntarily inhaled softly.
And if one observed very closely, her throat could be seen subtly moving as she quietly swallowed.
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