That’s right, since they’re here, I should go to Irina’s parents and Sister Griselda-san to say ‘Please give me your daughter!’ or ‘Please give me your sister!’. I had already gained the approval of Rias’ parents and Barakiel-san, so I had to make sure that I had everyone’s blessing! Although I was previously quite confused, I had changed my mind now, and decided to face everything head on. —Just at that time. An enormous figure appeared in the living room—. A two metre tall body with a thick neck, thick arms, legs thicker than my waist…and the face of an elderly man that was incongruent to that body! The grey-haired giant who was wearing a priest’s vestments stood right there. “Hoho, wedding ceremonies huh. Please allow me to give my blessings at that time as a priest, as that would give me great satisfaction.”
After saying that, he revealed a smile upon his wrinkled face! T-This was a man whom I couldn’t forget. “Your Eminence Strada!”
The Vatican’s former Cardinal Priest, His Eminence Vasco Strada stroked my head with his large hand. “Good day, Sekiryuutei boy. I watched your game, and I must say that it was truly a splendid match.”
Astonished by his sudden appearance, both Xenovia and Irina quickly knelt down (following this, Lint-san also knelt down). To the warriors of the Church, he was their former leader…. Strada waved his hand, motioning for the three of them to stand up. T-This man was a major figure who had come to Japan from the Vatican during the previous rebellion of the Church warriors. After taking the blame for the coup, he should have begun to live a secluded life afterwards…. Although he had given us his support during the battle against Trihexa, why did His Eminence Strada come to my house…? My team members were also very surprised — but that didn’t appear to be the case for the members of Rias’ team. It was only natural that the appearance of such a major figure here would cause Xenovia and Irina to feel surprised…. Ravel seemed to have understood the meaning behind His Eminence’s appearance, and she looked towards Rias. Rias smiled fearlessly in acknowledgement. “It’s just as you think, Ravel. I invited His Eminence to join my team.”
[—What!?] Rias’ remark completely shocked all of us! Damn it! It’s been surprise after surprise! Our parents had begun to discuss wedding ceremonies in an energetic manner, and Rias’ team had managed to recruit His Eminence Vasco Strada for battle! I had heard that he was already retired, so I never expected that he would participate in the World Tournament! Moreover, he joined Rias’ team! Under normal circumstances, even if His Eminence was to participate, he would probably join a team that had some relation to the Church or Heaven…! What exactly did Rias do to persuade His Eminence Strada to join…? No, Rias was very good at persuasion to begin with. We had also taken been persuaded by her in the past to become her servants and gather together here! All of us were incredibly talented people. Taking into account the addition of His Eminence Strada, I guess it is quite unbelievable. B-But! I still found it difficult to believe that His Eminence Strada had joined Rias’ team…! The expressions of Ravel, Xenovia and my other team members shifted from surprise to caution. The atmosphere had shifted from the liveliness of the wedding ceremonies to the heat of the tournament. Yet the people to break this apart were Irina’s father and Sister Griselda-san. The two of them also knelt down upon seeing His Eminence. [Your Eminence.] His Eminence Strada smiled, and then motioned with his hand for them to stand up. “It’s quite alright. Warrior Shidou Touji, Sister Griselda, please stand up. I have come here on a private occasion.”
Rias’ parents then also greeted His Eminence. “It’s our first meeting. Your Eminence Vasco Strada, I am the current head of the House of Gremory. This is my wife Venelana.”
Ravel’s mother also said her greetings
“I am the wife of the current head of the House of Phoenix. It is an honour to meet such a famous holy man today.”
It was quite a striking scene to be able to see high-class Devils and a former executive of the Church in one place. If this was in the past, it would likely have turned into an unavoidable war. Barakiel-san stood up and shook His Eminence Strada’s hand. “Being able to see each other face to face like this…it has been decades.”
“Hahaha, I was still a youngster back then. It’s nice that you’re still in good health.”
The two of them know each other? Well, His Eminence Strada has been a warrior for a long time. Kiba explained to me
(His Eminence is said to have had several encounters with the Fallen Angel Cadres when he was younger.) Ah — I recalled the story of how His Eminence had forced Kokabiel to retreat. And when Kokabiel attacked us here, he had made mention of His Eminence Strada, most likely because that incident had a great impact on him. Like this, His Eminence Strada also joined the discussion of the wedding schedule, and the talks continued—. Sometime after the topic of wedding ceremonies was discussed, kaa-san quietly said to me
“We should also call over your grandmother in the country, but how do we explain something like this to an elderly person…”
What she just said…was rather serious. My grandmother had no idea about Devils or Youkai! Tou-san also said
“If my old man was still here, he’d probably say something like ‘Oh, so they exist!’ and accept it on the spot.”
Ah — just as tou-san said, jii-chan would probably believe in the existence of Devils and Angels. After all, he was a rather open-minded and easy-going person. Tou-san continued
“Hmm, I think kaa-chan like to believe in such things too. For a long time, she’s been the kind of person who would believe in youkai, mountain gods, and the like.”
“Surprisingly, the older generation may accept such things much more quickly.”
Kaa-san replied. And then Rias’ father said
“—If normal people believe in the supernatural, then showing those people the supernatural beings of their own country is the most direct way. The best one would be the Kappa…but, it’s possible that the shock will be too immense…hmm.”
Rias’ father then shifted his gaze towards Koneko-chan and Kuroka (came home just earlier) who were sitting side by side on a sofa. “Since Koneko-kun and her sister are here, it might be better to start making her feel accustomed with the nekomata. She can look at their cat ears and tails while talking about it.”
Starting with Koneko-chan and Kuroka huh. That should work. Based on appearance alone, they aren’t very different from ordinary people. Their cat ears and tail might fool some people into believing that they’re decorations, but they’re not frightening, so it seems like they’ll be able to be accepted by people more easily. I had become a Devil, and my future wives are Devils and Angels, so it will be necessary to honestly explain things with my grandmother before the wedding ceremonies.