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"Nice speech," Bokue said, spreading his hands helplessly, "but unfortunately—"
He shook his head, looking directly at Sairaorg.
"Isn't the Rating Game exclusively a Devil thing? I'm not a Devil, and I've never used Evil Pieces. No matter how you look at it, I'm not eligible to participate, am I?"
Quick recap—Rating Games were events specifically devised by Devils to provide a safe yet competitive way to blow off steam and establish rankings.
Basically, it's just like online game leaderboards: the more matches you win, and the fewer losses you suffer, the higher your rating.
It's as straightforward as KD in a competitive shooter.
However, to ensure fair play and avoid brute-force methods like overwhelming numbers, the teams in a Rating Game were structured according to the classic Devil peerage system. That meant each side had positions based on chess pieces: a King, a Queen, Bishops, Knights, Rooks, and Pawns.
In online gaming terms, this translated to the traditional RPG holy trinity—Tank, DPS, Healer—but with a few more roles sprinkled in. Naturally, Rias currently had Akeno as Queen and Koneko as Rook, while Bokue had…
Well, Bokue had exactly zero.
To reiterate, Rating Games required participants to follow Devil traditions and rules. They involved using Evil Pieces to convert members into Devils, forming a complete peerage, and then officially competing.
Bokue himself wasn't even a Devil—much less a Peerage King with a full set of Evil Pieces.
"Hold on, hold on—just hear me out first," Sairaorg waved his hand hastily, clearly expecting Bokue's rebuttal.
"Evil Pieces were initially created to replenish Devil numbers rapidly after the Great War by converting individuals from other races into Devils and awakening their latent abilities. To put it bluntly, their original purpose was simply to mass-produce troops quickly. However, as Lord Sirzechs recently explained to me, given that the Underworld and Fallen Angels have signed a peace treaty, it's very unlikely we'll see another Great War. As a result, Evil Pieces have mostly lost their original purpose."
He paused briefly, then continued:
"In line with this development, after discussing it with Sirzechs, who then consulted Beelzebub—the creator of the Rating Game—it's been decided that the games will no longer be restricted solely to Devils. Even Humans or Fallen Angels will be allowed to form their own teams and compete. As for Heaven, well… that'll depend on Azazel's ongoing negotiations with the Angels."
Ah.
So basically, the Rating Games were finally adopting a proper MMO-style party system—race would no longer matter. Just pick your favorite class, gear up, and jump straight into the arena or raid content.
In that case…
Bokue raised his head thoughtfully.
If he were to assemble a team to participate, naturally, he'd take the role of the "King." Besides himself, there was Kuroka and Asia, who could easily fill the two "Bishop" slots, balancing out damage and healing. A perfect setup.
Next, there was Xenovia and Irina.
Ideally, these two could function as his "Knights," though their current problem was a lack of suitable weapons, given they'd returned their swords to the Vatican upon leaving the Church.
He'd previously mentioned commissioning custom blades for them from his family's master swordsmith—but thanks to some heated arguments at a recent clan conference regarding the Fourth Progenitor, negotiations had stalled awkwardly.
As for the "Rook" and "Pawn" slots… they were severely undermanned.
Maybe he could just handle it solo as the King?
Bokue quickly began planning how he might sweep every opponent single-handedly.
"If you truly intend to participate but lack enough people, you could temporarily borrow some members from Rias," Venelana suddenly offered, seeing Bokue fall into thought. "There's also that little girl from the Phenex family and Sona Sitri; you could probably borrow from them too."
Indeed, if they went this route, the shortage of available fighters could easily be solved. Rias, Akeno, Ravel, and Sona could all comfortably fit Bishop or other roles alongside Kuroka, providing solid magical and tactical support.
"Still, there is one slight complication—the Queen position—"
"Me!"
"Pick me!"
"I'm obviously the best choice!"
Before Venelana could finish her sentence, the previously quiet girls suddenly burst forth simultaneously.
Kuroka raised her hand straight into the air as if eagerly volunteering in class.
Rias was even more direct. Standing just behind Bokue, she suddenly leaned forward, placing her hands heavily on the back of his chair. She turned her head, bringing her face startlingly close to his, staring straight into his eyes with an intensity that practically shouted—I'm your fiancée, right? So, naturally, you'd choose me?
Bokue: "…"
He subtly glanced toward Venelana, who sat at the head of the table, still calmly smiling. A deep, resigned sigh echoed in his mind.
Really, thank you very much, Aunt Venelana. You've just tossed me the toughest problem yet.
Now, what should he do? Who should he pick?
"Hold on—obviously the choice should be me!" Kuroka protested immediately, rising to her feet. "I'm Bokue's official girlfriend! Why would I yield the Queen position to someone else who came later?"
She glared challengingly at Rias, who stared right back, unwilling to back down.
Akeno stepped forward next, smiling gently, her eyes closed as she touched her cheek softly.
"Ara ara~ If we're reorganizing our peerage and joining Bokue's team, naturally, the Queen position should belong to me, shouldn't it?"
Although not as fierce or direct as Kuroka or Rias, her words carried a subtle yet undeniable finality.
A strange tension filled the dining hall. It was only the initial discussion—just preliminary planning—yet the atmosphere had become as tense as the final moments of a championship match.
Even someone as thick-headed as Sairaorg could sense things hadn't gone exactly as planned. He turned awkwardly to his aunt.
"Um… Aunt Venelana, maybe I shouldn't have brought this up after all?"
"No, no~" Venelana waved off his concern easily, her soft smile never wavering. "Actually, your timing is perfect, Sairaorg. Even if you hadn't raised it today, they'd have eventually confronted the same problem anyway. Better to handle it sooner rather than later."
"I-is that so…?"
"Indeed," Venelana chuckled gently, standing up gracefully. She clapped her hands softly once, drawing everyone's attention, including Grayfia, who had quietly returned and stood near the wall.
"Honestly, though, it's disappointing that you're already arguing when we've barely begun to discuss team formation. Such internal strife will only trouble Bokue and hinder your teamwork. Can you really achieve victory in the Games with such distrust among yourselves?"
"This…"
"I was just—"
"Well…"
A single pointed question from Venelana was enough to immediately silence the three previously bickering girls.
She continued calmly and confidently:
"It's obvious that none of you are prepared yet for team play. In that case, if Bokue really does intend to participate but still lacks a full roster, the Queen position can temporarily be entrusted to me. That way, we can avoid the pitfalls of inexperience."
"…Huh?"
Bokue's eyes widened in disbelief. He stared at Venelana, momentarily stunned into silence.
"Oh my, surprised?" Venelana smiled knowingly, gracefully brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "There's nothing unusual about it. After all, a Queen's duty is to support her King, isn't it? Given the circumstances, who better than me, someone experienced enough to handle unexpected situations, hmm?"
As her gentle yet powerful voice echoed in the dining hall, everyone could only stare at her, speechless.
Kuroka, Asia, Irina, Akeno, Rias—even Grayfia, standing by the side—blinked, utterly caught off-guard by Venelana's sudden, bold suggestion.
Bokue simply closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose with a weary sigh.
No doubt about it.
When it came to calmly stirring up a whole new set of troubles… Aunt Venelana was truly in a league of her own.
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