章 50: Family Planning
While a part of you wanted to summon four different DxD girls and see the chaos unfold, you're not really ready to unleash that kind of disaster unto the mortal realm just yet. You settle for a more business focused meeting between you, Rias, Akeno and Xenovia. And where better to hold this 'family' meeting than your newly refurbished mansion! It only took a few days for the veritable army of contractors that Venelana hired to get things in order.
Now you have running water, working electricity, properly insulated rooms and even some of the furniture that Rias has ordered to decorate the place with. A tiled recreation of the Gremory clan's crest has been laid into the lobby floor between the embrace of the twin staircases. It's a classy kind of ostentatious gothic. With polished wooden furniture and heavy splashes of deep colour. You were sceptical about Rias' choices at first, but seeing and experiencing it has made you a firm believer. It's a different vibe to most big, expensive houses around here. They're a touch too boring for your liking, always obsessed with modern furniture and bland colours.
Soon that same kind of renovation will be coming to Mitsuru's newly purchased industrial estate. She wanted to gestate the planning process a little more before giving Venelana the go ahead. You also believe that she's going to be asking for something low-key so that it doesn't attract a bunch of unwanted attention, even though the surrounding area has been undergoing a rather extreme regeneration in the past few years.
"This is better than the clubhouse," Xenovia comments idly as you assemble in the living room. There are still a lot of finishing touches to be made. The bookcases that line the far-side wall haven't actually been filled with décor, tomes or the television just yet. You're sure that those things will come with time and use.
Akeno stands silently behind Rias, who has taken point in the big, single armchair that rests at the end of the coffee table. Rias twirls a lock of her hair, "We had a much higher budget. The work on the clubhouse had to be concealed from the school authorities, after all. The building itself was also left to decay for a very long time."
As for the topic of discussion – Xenovia hadn't kept her peace for very long after your first meeting together. She had immediately waylaid Rias with a sudden request to become one of your wives, and to have children with you. As the thirstiest character in a franchise filled with thirsty characters, you are not surprised by her eagerness. Rias clearly has an issue with that idea. The fact that you even have to consider this kind of thing shows how much of an overly lucky bastard you are. Men would kill to have this kind of 'problem.'
"Shall we get to the point?" you ask.
Rias clears her throat and addresses Xenovia directly, "I understand that you have taken a liking to my fiancé, Xenovia."
She bows her head respectfully, "Yes. I know that it seems sudden and impulsive of me." Two words that fit her perfectly.
"There is no need to apologise. We are the three with the most expressed interest in doing such a thing," Rias explains, "Which is why I have called us here to have a chat."
A thought springs to mind, "Hm. What about Venelana?"
"My Mother said that I must learn to handle these issues myself. As the future lady of the house, it will be my responsibility to ensure a firm and fair regime that allows your wives to enjoy their time with you to its fullest. I suppose you could say it is an extension of my existing peerage duties."
"I see."
Rias smiles, "Do not take her abdication as an indicator of her own desire. She would be more than happy to bear me another brother or sister by your making."
She never lets a chance to fluster you go, does she?
Xenovia is firm and leaps back into the conversation with an incredible demand; "President. Please permit me to practice 'baby-making' with your fiancé. I believe that he is the perfect mate, capable of creating a strong child."
Her melding of 'practice' and actually having a kid if it happens is incredibly obvious. For her, they're the same thing.
"My my..." Akeno mumbles, "How forward." Is Akeno really the person making that kind of statement here? Pretty much every word that comes out of her mouth is drenched in filth, always with the innuendo or flirting. Not that you don't enjoy it. Having such a beautiful woman fawn all over you is flattering.
Xenovia turns to you, "Surely as a good male, he would agree to my proposal."
That isn't your decision to make. "I'm afraid that it isn't that simple," Rias sighs, "Aside from hubby's consent, we have to worry about our children. Devil clans work differently to human royalty. Children born to any spouse, even the concubines, have a claim to the house. To be the first born amongst a harem of devils is to receive a significant level of authority. As the present heir, the position of our future children is not secure through lineage alone. My child could be supplanted as long as the contender is my husband's, and born before them.."
You nod, "And that's why you want Xenovia to wait."
"I am personally unhappy to issue such orders, but I must do so for the sake of the clan. The first-born devil must be mine. Ironically, if Xenovia were still human things would be different. But what's done is done. We must make the best of the situation and tread carefully."
Xenovia has a morose frown on her face, but she isn't going to go against what Rias orders her to do. She bows again, "I understand, President."
Rias tries to perk her up with the promise of future debauchery, "With that said, once our darling marries into the family and blesses me with that child – there will be plenty of opportunities to make up for lost time! I'll try to expedite the process so that you can join in soon, Xenovia."
"Indeed!" Akeno adds with a clap of her hands, "I am certain that he won't rest until every empty room within the Gremory estate is occupied!" You try to calculate how many children that would be in your head, including your son.
You give up and ask directly, "Uh, how many empty rooms does the estate have?"
Rias is quick as a whip, "Three thousand - give or take."
The land values in the underworld are totally fucked up. You recall that the estate presented in the show was extremely large and elaborate, more of a city than a simple manor; consisting of multiple full-sized buildings with a huge footprint. The sheer size of the place combined with multiple floors and buildings makes that number seem more realistic than it first sounds.
Xenovia is salivating at the prospect. You can see the gears turning in her head as she tries to figure out just how many kids she can pump out on short notice. You're going to have to be careful with summoning baby crazy girls from here on out. These devils are absolutely insane. Motoko is a beacon of rationality versus them, though not having a real reproductive system and a dangerous job might have something to do with that. Rias brings things back down to earth, "Additionally, it wouldn't be becoming of us as students to become pregnant. It would attract unneeded attention to our activities as the Occult Research Club."
"Fufu. They can stare all they like – they're just jealous that they don't have a handsome fiance like we do," Akeno smirks.
Rias ignores her, "Until then, magical contraception will have to do."
Didn't she hand you a condom for your first time? Or did she only hit the books and learn how to do that later after you slept with her? That's an easy solution for the devils, but the rest of your harem will need to rely on other methods.Akeno isn't giving up on the game, she titters and holds one of her cheeks mockingly; "Oh, but I may just forget to cast it before we make love..."
"Akeno," Rias says sternly.
Akeno just giggles at her. This reminds you of a certain plotline from the show. Polygamy being normal or not, these two are going to start fighting if you don't say something soon.
"Rias, there was something else I wanted to ask you."
She turns back, "You can ask me anything, dear."
"Do you still have some of your evil pieces?"
Since Koneko is not yet comfortable with using her real form in battle, that means that events in their world haven't advanced as far as you first thought. Rossweisse is not yet a member of Rias' peerage, which means she has a spare Rook available for someone. If only Issei hadn't hogged all eight of her pawn pieces, this kind of compromise wouldn't have to happen.
"Just one," she confirms, "Why?"
"It's nothing really. Mitsuru has been getting on my case about it. She thinks I need to get even stronger to fight properly because she's worried about me. Don't tell her I said that."
"My lips are sealed," Rias replies.
"So she told me that becoming a devil would be an easy way to get there. I wasn't so sure about it though."
Rias crosses her legs and hums to herself, "As someone who has always lived as a devil – it would be very simple of me to claim that being one is nothing but positive. However, there is much to worry about. Maintaining the honour of my family, training in magic, rating games and building peerages. These are all things that are unique to devils."
"That's true."
"But some of the greatest threats to devils do not exist in this world. There are no politics, rating games or Church assassins to worry about."
That last comment rubs you the wrong way, "As far as we know..."
"In a world of rationality such as this, the presence of supernatural entities elicits nothing but scepticism. People are increasingly secular as there is no true evidence of Satan's existence - or the other one. I believe it would be possible to live peacefully here as a devil. Building further power and becoming high class however, that would be impossible. A peerage of your own would require a trip into our world and participation in the system."
She's right. There are less things to worry about in this world. The Church isn't hunting down and killing people for being devils, not anymore anyway. You could take the free power up and get an edge over the aliens. "And what do you think?"
Rias smiles, "We'd be honoured to have you. It's natural that I would like my fiancé to be a devil too. But it is not something to be taken lightly. Do not suppress your hesitation for the sake of us. There is no going back once that decision is made. You will be reborn into a new form, one detached from human mortality."
She's given you a lot of big questions to think about – but she would happily do it if you asked. Rias has always been level headed, so her perspective is very valuable. If you want to have a peerage of your own and lead the Gremory clan, you'll need to go through to their side eventually. And when you do, you will likely have to become a devil to do it.
You exhale and flop back onto the couch, "Heh. It's weird talking about something like this so casually. I'll have to think about it." Rias might imply that you have time to make a decision, but you know that Rossweisse is on the horizon. If push comes to shove, Rias will have to accept the Valkyrie into her peerage as a favour to Odin.
"Take all the time you need."
"Yes. My body is ready at all times of day to receive your life-giving essence," Xenovia declares, with such a straight-forward drive and earnestness that it takes everything not to burst out laughing. Akeno doesn't even try – she just giggles into her hand and tries not to disturb the proceedings.
"If that is all we'd best be away," Rias concludes. "But don't be afraid to spend time with Xenovia, Akeno, Asia or Koneko. Koneko may put on a tough front, but she really likes you."
"Sure. I'll arrange something. Sound good, Xenovia?"
The blue-haired bombshell nods, "I look forward to it."
クリエイターの想い 
DWS
DWS I got extremely distracted in making cards for all of the girls people suggested - it takes a long time to do, but seeing the collection is very satisfying! A lot of girls who haven't debuted are included, but I'm not going to spoil them before they appear. Just being prepared, that's all.
I also remade some of the old ones - but since Webnovel is a huge stickler for image content, showing them off on here is difficult. The AO3 version has a glossary with all of them in the first chapter, you can just google "AO3 Harem Hero" and find it easily.
Anyway, that's just bonus content for people who are really into this. You don't need to see the cards to understand the story. Thanks again for your suggestions, the list is immense. I started watching Fairy Tail to do research on some of the characters.
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