Chapter 32: Venelana's Date - Part 1
Now is the moment of truth.
The day after making Xenovia's card, you decided to put your plan into action. Venelana has made it clear to Rias that she'd like to have a one-on-one with you. After agreeing to a time (with some mathematical assistance from Mitsuru to make sure the dates line up,) you begin the long and difficult preparation phase. With a bank account swelling with over one hundred thousand dollars, you intend to make this one a night to remember.
You inspected a handful of luxury restaurants around town and eventually came to realise that most of them are very similar to each other. Modern decorations, soft jazz, and tables covered with white cloth. The owners and bookers responded to some of your inquiries about the best place for two people to sit, and eventually found a nice elevated booth that should provide a little privacy for you.
With a reservation secured, which wasn't hard given their struggling business, you then set about improving your appearance. You've never visited a store that specialises in suits and formal clothing before – you got a crash course in just how much a properly crafted suit really cost. A few thousand dollars gone in an instant. But you have to say, you think you'll look pretty good in it. You also get an expensive haircut, though you find that an expensive haircut isn't much better than a cheap one.
You considered hiring a car and valet to take you to the venue – but you realised that without a good place to depart from or return to, it would be a waste of time. All you had to do after was steel your nerves and practice talking into the gym's mirror so that you don't make a total ass of yourself in front of such an intimidating woman.
The suit was delivered to your crappy apartment, and you tried it on exactly once to make sure that everything was in order. The changes in your body measurements since you started working out were shocking to say the least. Then you watched the clock tick over until your pre-arranged time. Rias texted you with encouraging words.
You sneak around the back of the restaurant and take up a position next to an overly large pickup truck in the small parking lot. There's no way anybody can see you behind here. You take a deep breath and summon the sledgehammer, sliding Venelana's card into the magazine and pulling the trigger.
Venelana appears from the other side in a wonderful red and black dress, with matching crimson jewels dangling from a necklace. A side effect of that is that your eye is immediately drawn to her cleavage, which peers dangerously from the straight cut of fabric that tries in vain to cover them. The dress is tightly wrapped around her mature body, making sure that every inch of her amazing figure is on clear display.
Okay, that's enough slobbering over her appearance. You step out from behind the truck and take her fingers into your hand, leaning down and kissing the back of her hand. Venelana smiles pleasantly and greets you in kind, "Hello, suitor mine."
"Good evening Lady Gremory. You look amazing."
"Why thank you, shall we?"
Venelana does not ring you up for summoning her into a dirty car park round the back, mercifully. When you finally get a house with a parking space you'll summon them from inside there instead to save the embarrassment. She loops her arm through yours and follows you to the front door, the greeter recognizes you immediately and motions to escort you to your table.
The brief, thirty second walk from the front of the house to the back is the single most emotionally challenging thing you've ever faced. First – holy crap everyone is looking at you. They're glaring daggers at you for daring to bring such a beautiful woman on a date. Secondly, you feel like you're on top of the world. Hell yes. That's right, you DID bring this beautiful woman on a date, and you're going to pay the bill without shedding tears of financial distress.
The table is contained on an elevated platform at the back corner of the establishment, with artificial hedges and small fences placed between each section to provide every couple with some privacy. The table is smaller than the others – intended to create a more intimate dining experience. It isn't left wanting for elaborate and needless excess despite the size. The edges of the table cloth are nearly folded into a rippling polygonal pattern.
Manners, manners, manners. You quickly hurry to Venelana's side of the table and pull her chair out. She gracefully accepts the invitation. When you finally get around to sitting down yourself, you can already feel a cold sweat breaking out under your expensive suit. Venelana tries to assure you by smiling again, but that reminds you of a wolf stalking its prey more than anything else.
"I'm very happy that you decided to do this for me. I was worried that you were leading this old lady on."
You clench your teeth and stammer out a half-apology, "Oh no, of course not! It's not that I'm avoiding you – we've just been rather busy with people trying to… invade the world and all that."
"Hm. And how has that been going?"
"Just fine. We've fended off all of their attacks so far. Mitsuru got a new idea into her head yesterday, so she'll be out of my hair until it's finished like always." The noise of the patrons means that you can speak about these things without worrying about being overheard.
"Rias is rather taken with you, and she says that destroying your enemies is an effective form of training for her and her peerage."
"Really?"
She supports her head with her left head, leaning into the table and deepening the already profound view of her cleavage; "Oh yes. Rias is very much my daughter, always diving headfirst into what she desires with little concern for convention or precedent. She's already planning for a wedding with you and her peerage involved."
"A-Already?"
"Don't worry. She says that the rest of the girls need to come around to you first, before she decides to do that." Venelana doesn't seem to find the idea so absurd, especially if she's willing to speak so openly about it.
"I bet you had a thing or two to say about those plans."
She laughs, "As the first lady of the house – I was also responsible for keeping my fellow wives and concubines in line under my departed husband. Some of them were rather… rowdy."
"No doubt that was something you were good at."
Venelana shakes her head, "Not at first, actually. It was a role I had to learn. You seldom find yourself in the position to manage a gaggle of wives before you marry. Would you like me to take leadership of your own harem?"
"Right now, I can't summon more than four of you at the same time…"
The smirk she gives you sends a shiver down your spine, "Regardless, there are matters to be discussed even when we aren't together in person. Though the convention on birthing heirs that devil families subscribe to made things easier."
"What's that?"
Venelana takes a sip of her wine before explaining further, "Devils have a very low birth rate and the advent of the evil pieces meant that we no longer had to rely on natural births to increase our numbers. Even before that though, it was expected that the first lady of the house was to be the only one to bear children."
"The only one?"
She sighs, "That was the idea. Some took it a different way, instead insisting that the first lady was to have the first pregnancy, and that the others were permitted afterwards. It was a rather messy and boring procedural affair. The original intent was to prevent complicated and destructive succession crises."
You nod, "Oh, I see. What about now?"
"It's a matter of choice for the remaining families. However – the succession of the Gremory clan has been firmly established. Rias is the heir, as my eldest daughter and the only eligible selection. Upon her marriage, or when I step aside from the position, she will take on the responsibility. Waiting for a devil to die from old age is a frivolous task."
Her husband must have died somehow, it'd be a big mood killer to ask about that though. The title wasn't passed down to Rias like it should have been. Perhaps he asked Venelana to take custody of the family until she was ready. Or maybe Rias had rejected the title as she wasn't confident in taking it on just yet.
Venelana smiles and winks at you, "I assure you, any potential children borne from our romance will not interfere with the good order of our clan."
Gulp.
Wouldn't that mean that any hypothetical child between you and Rias will also take the title of family head someday? You realise now that Venelana is giggling at your shell-shocked expression.
"I haven't really thought about children at all. I guess I'm too focused on fighting off these invaders."
"It's nothing to concern yourself with as of yet," she replies, "You will not sire a child with a devil that easily. And I have to hope that Rias is using contraceptive magic responsibly." You're more worried about your other wives, like Chun-Li and Lala, who don't have that ability. "And an older woman like me… I don't like your chances."
"To be honest, you don't look a day over thirty."
She pouts, "Flattery like that won't work on me. By devil standards I am of an increasingly advanced age."
You sigh and sip your own drink, "I heard that you and Mitsuru have been up to no good again."
"That girl has her head in the right place," Venelana chuckles, "With a small amount of guidance, she started to come up with ideas and strategies that even impressed me."
"That's how Mitsuru has always been. She races ahead of everyone else with just a small amount of information or teaching. Doctorates in every subject I can think of, and some I can't. No doubt she'll be a multi-billionaire thanks to you in time."
Venelana finds Mitsuru interesting for that fact. You've spent more time on this date talking about other people than each other, but just as you try to think of a way to learn more about the drop-dead sexy woman sitting across from you, the food you ordered earlier arrives.
"Thank you dear," Venelana says to the blushing waiter. This woman is deadly and she isn't even trying. Questions about herself can wait until after, you don't want to let the food get cold. In contrast to most stereotypes about this kind of joint, the food is well portioned and looks delicious.
"This looks great."
"Indeed. Let us indulge in the best this city has to offer."
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