"Since he's your fiancé, there's nothing wrong with it," Xenovia said with a dry laugh, trying to regain her composure.
Still, her curiosity burned.
As devils sworn enemies, Xenovia and Irina understood the predicament pure blood devils faced.
The devil clans, prized blood purity, but their birth rates were low.
To maintain that purity, pure blood devils typically married within their own ranks, especially someone like Rias, the direct heir of the Gremory clan.
Her future husband should be another devil noble, not a human.
The fact that Rias herself confirmed the engagement only deepened their suspicion.
"Anyway, we're here to inform you that Kokabiel has infiltrated Kuoh Town, with the stolen excaliburs," Xenovia said, steering the conversation back to the holy swords.
"We don't want complications. Otherwise, both Irina and I, as well as the Church headquarters, will hold grudges if things go wrong."
"I understand your business," Rias began, about to nod in agreement, but Roy gently pressed her hand to stop her.
"Unfortunately, even if we wanted to stay out of it, I'm afraid that's impossible," Roy said with a faint smile.
"Are you planning to interfere?" Xenovia asked, her eyes sharpening with a surge of fighting spirit.
"Rias Gremory, is this your stance?"
"Roy's stance is mine," Rias replied.
She didn't know why Roy said that, but she trusted he had a reason and would back him fully.
"Are devils so untrustworthy? Didn't you just say you had no interest in our affairs?" Irina said, her tone laced with dissatisfaction.
"You're mistaken. It's not that we want to meddle in your affairs," Roy said, shaking his head.
"You've brought trouble to Kuoh Town, and now we're caught up in this holy sword conflict."
"As I said, we'll handle it without affecting you," Xenovia said firmly, meeting Roy's gaze. "Once this is over, we'll leave Kuoh Town."
"Why do you think Kokabiel chose this town on purpose?" Roy countered.
"This isn't Church territory. He stole three holy swords, so naturally, he'd hide somewhere far from our reach," Xenovia replied.
The Church's stronghold was in Europe, where masters capable of rivaling Kokabiel resided, but they couldn't easily leave their posts.
Otherwise, Kokabiel wouldn't have the chance to act so boldly.
"That's one reason," Roy conceded, nodding.
"But have you considered a deeper motive?"
"A deeper motive? Don't be alarmist," Irina scoffed.
Roy cast a pitying glance her way.
"Hey, what's that look supposed to mean?" Irina snapped, glaring at him.
"I was just wondering why the Church would send two idiots for such a critical mission," Roy said with a sigh.
"Who're you calling an idiot?" Irina shouted, slamming the table, clearly provoked.
"I won't name names, but Irina, you're not exactly proving otherwise," Xenovia said, calmly throwing her teammate under the bus.
"Xenovia, you're the idiot!" Irina shot back, turning her ire on her partner.
"Oh? Like when you got swindled into buying that obviously fake painting on our way here?" Xenovia said with a light snort, her tone dripping with disdain.
"It was a saint's portrait! There's nothing wrong with buying it! You're just jealous because your faith isn't pure enough!" Irina retorted, unyielding.
"Your 'pure faith' got scammed out of our entire travel budget," Xenovia said, her voice tinged with frustration.
Roy and Rias exchanged a glance, both amused and exasperated by the sudden bickering.
They hadn't expected Roy's comment to spark such a rift.
Rias now agreed with Roy; the Church must have been desperate to send these two for such an important task.
"Ignoring your squabble," Roy said, cutting through their argument, "Kokabiel is a war fanatic. He's obsessed with restarting the war between fallen angels, angels, and devils, returning to the chaotic days of old."
He didn't mention how he knew this, but if pressed, he'd attribute it to Ddraig.
"And Kuoh Town happens to be home to the sisters of two Maou," he continued. Original content can be found at novęlfire.net
"What do you think would happen if something happened to them?"
"Roy, are you saying Kokabiel's real target is me and Sona?" Rias asked, her expression growing serious.
"It's very likely," Roy said, nodding. That was indeed Kokabiel's plan.
"A fallen angel cadre, holy swords, and the Maou's sisters," Roy explained.
"It's no coincidence that representatives of all three factions are converging here."
"That does seem plausible," Akeno said, looking at Rias with concern. "What do you think, Rias?"
"Let's not discuss it here," Rias said, her voice low.
"If something happened to Sona, with sister Serafall's personality, she'd never let it go. Even if it meant starting a new three factions war, she'd avenge her sister."
Sirzechs was a devoted brother who adored Rias, but as a Maou, he kept his emotions in check.
Serafall was a complete sister fanatic.
Rias, being Sona's childhood friend, had seen firsthand how much Serafall doted on her.
If Sona died, Serafall might very well try to destroy the world in her grief.
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