Chương 303: Matchmaking

When morning came to Asora a trio of figures could be seen leaving a western style restaurant that had a sign up saying 'Wisteria2', belonging to none other than Sonobe Yuuka and her parents, of the Returnees. As they left, one of the trio, Akeno, said to the others,

"I'm happy for Yuuka, she must be so excited." Miledi nodded and said,

"I know, but I was so surprised it happened because of Kaori; not only because she accepted it, but that Yuuka confessed despite Kaori and Hajime's current relationship." Alex smirked and said smugly,

"Well I might have had a hand in both of those things, eventually convincing Yuuka to confess, and Kaori agreeing to Hajime having a second wife." The two girls looked at Alex expectantly as if demanding details, but he kept his mouth shut as he continued walking through the snow to the Grigori lab. The truth was that both of those things were easy compared to getting Hajime to accept Yuuka as a second wife, as to get Kaori to agree all Alex had to do was threaten to spread a heavily edited video of a certain nights events in the Frost Caverns of Schnee(obviously he would edit the other girls out of it though). Knowing that 'something' happened that night, Alex used Regeneration magic to replay what transpired, and was shocked to see Kaori and his women going at it together, though he couldn't deny that the sight was quite appealing. Smiling as he recalled the look on Kaori's face when he showed her the original and extremely graphic video, Alex continued leading the way to the Grigori lab while the two curious girls followed behind. When they arrived however, Alex and Akeno were both surprised to find out that the specific person they came to see had yet to arrive, as another fallen angel said,

"I'm sorry sir, and miss Akeno, but Barakiel said something about going out last night to explore the city in this version of the human world, and he hasn't gotten back yet." Alex and Akeno shared a look when they heard that, as Barakiel was usually the more responsible one within the Grigori, typically hiding the fact that he was a massive masochistic pervert. Because he was quite literally the strongest fallen angel in Asora however(excluding perhaps Akeno herself), they decided to hold off getting too worried as the other fallen angels started working to analyze the data Miledi brought back from her travels. It was right when Alex was about to leave to return to the academy that he walked in, looking tired even though there was a bit of a spring to his step.

"Good morning, I'm sorry I'm late." He called out while Akeno made her way towards him and said,

"Not at all. Good morning father, I brought you some breakfast." She then kissed him on the cheek while setting down the homemade breakfast before him, a look of utmost gratitude spreading on Barakiel's face as Akeno's cooking tasted exactly the same as her mothers. As he started digging in, Alex held out a paper to go cup and said,

"Here, I also got you some coffee from Wisteria on the way." Though Barakiel loved their coffee, he couldn't help but look at the cup Alex offered suspiciously, making him roll his eyes as he quickly took a swig and stated, "There, that should prove I didn't do something to it." Barakiel rolled his eyes this time as he accepted the cup from Alex and took a swig of it himself, right as he continued, "Then again, if I did do something to it then wouldn't my poison resistance protect me?"

"PFFFFFFFT!!!" Barakiel spat out everything he had swallowed onto the assistant from earlier, making Alex, Miledi, and even Akeno start laughing while the man glared at him. This continued until Akeno managed to get out while laughing,

"Father, Alex didn't do anything to your drink, or I would've said something." Even though Barakiel knew his daughter was telling the truth, he still let out a simple, "hmph!" and turned away from Alex to enjoy his breakfast. As he did that however, Alex caught sight of something and said,

"Hold still for a second Barakiel." Though the fallen angel was about to protest, Alex grabbed his shirts collar and pulled it down before he could, revealing a red welt that Alex and Akeno immediately recognized as a whip mark, as he had left quite a few on Akeno and Tio during their nights in the formers dungeon. At this point Barakiel tried to escape Alex's grasp to prevent further exposure, but all he managed to do was help him literally tear his shirt off, revealing several more marks decorating his entire upper body. With everyone staring at him with wide eyes and gaping mouths, Barakiel hurriedly said,

"I can explain-" Before anything else left his mouth however, a unnatural chill swept through the room as everyone hesitantly turned towards the source, Akeno. The usually calm and happy girl had a dangerous aura about her as her clothes and hair started waving from a nonexistent wind, and everyone could see the nonexistent eastern dragon made of lightning behind her as she said in a deathly low voice,

"Explain what father? That you're betraying mother? Or that you've forgotten her?" Though everyone felt the chill in her voice, Barakiel shuddered and felt it the worst as he hurriedly said,

"N-not at all! I-I just went out to relax last night and met someone, then one thing led to another-"

"Oh I see," Akeno said as she started nodding slowly, before continuing, "So it's a one night stand? Instead of forgetting mother you're just gonna go out and find a slut to fuck whenever you please, is that it?" Barakiel paled at Akeno's words as he struggled to get out,

"N-never! I-it's just that she was gone when I woke up in the hotel this morning, I-otherwise I would've asked her out for another date-" "So it's betrayal then!" Akeno cried out as she seized her father's ear and started dragging him towards his office, before adding, "Let's see how you act in front of mother, you do still have her picture in your office right? You haven't thrown it out yet?" Alex and everyone shook their heads as they watched Akeno lead her father away, the man blubbering about how sorry he was and how he would never betray Shuri, Akeno's mother, ever again. As they disappeared Miledi said,

"Wow, that man will live for how long? And he will never be allowed to get laid again..." Alex started laughing once more at this while a few of the spectating fallen angels also started snickering, before he said,

"Actually, that's not true. Akeno even told me not too long ago that she was starting to wonder if she should even set Barakiel up with someone since it seemed as if he'd never date again, though after what happened to Shuri it's not too surprising." The surrounding fallen angels nodded as, even now after Akeno had forgiven him, Barakiel still held himself responsible for his wife's death and was terrified of a repeat incident. With confusion apparent on her face, Miledi demanded,

"Then what was with the way she reacted just now?!" Alex chuckled once more along with the fallen angels as he said,

"Most likely that was just her giving him a hard time, after all kids don't usually like it when one parent dies and the other moves on." Though Miledi didn't seem too convinced, Alex knew he was right because he had seen the characteristic sadistic gleam in Akeno's eyes, and that she was fighting the urge to smirk as she tormented her father. Alex then realized he was running slightly behind, since this was just supposed to be a quick stop on the way to the school, and quickly left after saying his farewells.

***

As Ririko Kagome entered the staff room first thing that morning, she became the immediate center of attention due to the fact that she seemed to be radiating an aura of femininity, and had a noticeable smile on her face. While the male teachers were quietly discussing her appearance amongst themselves, Nekonome approached her fellow teacher and asked,

"Nya~ what's got you into a good mood?" Ririko smiled knowingly and said,

"Nothing in particular, just a very pleasant evening last night with some equally pleasant company." While Nekonome tried to get some details, and the male teachers reacted to this news, the door to the staff room opened and everyone immediately quieted down as Alex walked in, the previous day's events still very fresh in their minds. Though Alex didn't pay the other teachers any mind as he walked to his desk, he did notice that Ririko seemed to be in a different mood than usual and asked,

"What's up?" Ririko snorted when she saw the person responsible for her deciding to go and drink the night before, and turned her chair to look away from him while saying,

"Nothing I'll share with you." Alex could only smile wryly as for some reason she seemed to really dislike him, but before he could say anything else Nekonome piped up,

"She met someone last night~Nya." This earned her a glare from Ririko, while Alex's expression went deadpan as, knowing what she was really like, a seemingly impossible thought popped into his head. He then asked,

"Is that so? Do you plan to see him again?" Ririko snorted before a somewhat melancholic expression appeared on her face momentarily, and she said,

"I doubt it." Throughout their entire tryst the night before she hadn't been able to feel any supernatural power from her lover, something that admittedly disappointed her since youkai-human pairings rarely ever worked, and had led to her sneaking away exceptionally early this morning. Alex shrugged when heard her answer and said casually while turning around,

"That's too bad, I'm sure Barakiel will be somewhat disappointed." Ririko nodded and continued,

"Yeah, but it's probably for the best-" She then cut off as she realized she had never once uttered her lovers name that morning, causing her to turn slowly and mechanically towards Alex before demanding, "How do you know his name?!" Alex's eyebrows shot up at the realization that his random hunch was correct, before he casually said to her,

"Well I'd hope I know who Barakiel is, after all he is my father in law." Ririko's jaw looked as if it was about to hit the floor at the revelation, while the rest of the teachers, who looked as if they were watching the country's most popular soap opera, all started muttering amongst themselves once more excitedly at the new development. Ririko however said once the shock wore off,

"YOU'RE THE DAUGHTER'S BOYFRIEND?!!!!!" This surprised Alex once more as he wasn't a mere 'boyfriend', but after thinking about it for a moment he muttered,

"Well, officially she's my sex slave, but I can see where that wouldn't be a very appealing way to talk about your daughter." As the conversation took a weird turn, both Ririko and the spectators were feeling quite exhausted, both mentally and spiritually, from the constant bombshells that were being dropped, however Alex didn't seem to care as he added, "So why wouldn't you see him again?" As she was growing increasingly tired from their conversation, even though she had such a pleasant night, Ririko could only sigh as she reluctantly said,

"Because I thought he was a human, and relationships between humans and Youkai don't usually work out." When he heard this Alex smirked slightly and held out his hand, on which a magic circle appeared that summoned a small pile of leaflets. He then held out the stack of papers and said,

"Go ahead and hold onto these for now, they'll let you call Barakiel similarly to a cell phone. And for the record, he is most definitely not human; Barakiel has been alive for at least a thousand years, possibly even more than two, and his abilities would even put him ahead of the three Dark Lords. While I do give him a lot of shit, he is still my father in law and I'd like to see him happy." After a brief moment of hesitation, Ririko reluctantly took the stack of papers from Alex and tossed them in a drawer of her desk, making him smile wryly as he turned back to his own and stared sorting through the notes left to him from the day before. With the drama over the other teachers started to reluctantly disperse as they made their way to their respective classrooms, however a certain someone stayed behind as she asked,

"Um, teacher Alex, can I please talk to you for a moment~Nya?" Alex turned and saw Ms. Nekonome standing there as she waited for him. Seeing she had his attention, Nekonome hesitantly said, "You see~Nya, I'm the adviser for the newspaper club and we're in danger of being shut down. Though it was already a possibility before, it's a guarantee now after the only member, Ginei Morioka, disappeared recently. I was hoping that you'd be willing to become an assistant adviser and help me gather some new club members~Nya."

Alex couldn't help but go wide eyed a bit when he heard her request, as he had been debating on joining the newspaper club similarly to Tskune in the original timeline; mostly due to the fact that the newspaper club was able to leave school grounds, and seemed easier to be a part of than some of the other clubs that would require near constant attention. Plus there wouldn't be much of an issue with preparing the newspapers, as they'd have an entire "week" the night before the deadlines for proofreading and editing. As such, he didn't hesitate to answer,

"Sure."

***

A week later Nekonome was standing in the front of the newspaper club room, a wide smile on her face as she said,

"I'm so happy to see so many new club members~Nya, I hope all five of you really enjoy your time as part of this club, and don't hesitate to ask if you need help! That being said, I'll be in the staff room if you need me~Nya!" With that being said, Nekonome was immediately gone, leaving Alex smiling wryly as Moka, Kurumu, Millicas, and his friend Yukari all stared back at him with deadpan looks. Alex shrugged in response to their looks, but before he could say anything,

"Excuse me!" The youngest member of the club, at only eleven years old, bounced up and down in her seat, her hand waving in the air as it kept accidentally bumping against her witches hat.

"Yes?" Alex asked, giving her permission to speak, to which the little witch asked,

"Why'd Ms. Nekonome say the five of us? There's only four of us here?" As Alex didn't count among the club members as an adviser, everyone looked around as they realized she was correct and the number was off. Alex's response however was only a wry smile as he glanced back towards the room, where a cupboard opened slightly and purple haired girl peered through the crack.

"She was talking about me. I'm Mizore Shirayuki, I don't have any friends so it's nice to meet all of you." Alex nodded but then added,

"First we'll do a self introduction for everyone since this is the first time some of us have met. We'll do names, our true forms, and then somethings else about ourselves." Though it was against the school rules to reveal your true form, no one seemed to care as Mizore continued while her fingers elongated into ice sickles,

"I'm also a snow woman." Following her lead, Yukari jumped up and excitedly declared,

"I'm Yukari Sendou, a witch and a genius that was allowed to enter highschool even though I'm only eleven!" Ignoring the slight grimaces that everyone else had from Yukari introducing herself as a 'genius', she then directed an intense look at Moka, her eyes shining slightly. With an awkward laugh at his friend's antics, Millicas stood and said politely,

"It is nice to meet you everyone, my name is Millicas Gremory and I am a devil." At this point Millicas summoned his wings, making Yukari and Mizore go wide eyed while Moka and Kurumu smiled to each other knowingly, before he continued, "I come from the noble house of Gremory, and due to my tutoring until now I was luckily able to test into this academy despite being only twelve years old, please take care of me." Finishing with a polite bow, everyone was somewhat impressed with Millicas's introduction while Yukari beamed smugly next to him. In the month since school started she had become very close to Millicas while also developing a bit of a crush on him due to his polite and sophisticated manners, as well as the fact that he had defended her from the bullies in their class. In her mind they suited each other perfectly due to the fact that they were on a 'similar level' of existence, both being people that were exceptional and outside the norm. With his introduction over, Kurumu stepped forward and said,

"My name is Kurumu Kurono, and I am a sucubus!" At this point she summoned her tail and wings before continuing, "My original goal was to then every guy in the school into my love slaves, but I gave that up when I met and fell for my darling!" As she finished up her introduction, Kurumu ran over to Alex's side and planted a kiss on his cheek in in front of everyone while also wrapping her arms around one of his, making Moka puff her cheeks out cutely from jealousy, while the entire cupboard started getting coated in ice from Mizore. Shaking his head slightly, though with a wry smile on his face, Alex turned to Moka and indicated that she should finish the introductions, prompting her to take in a breath to calm herself before saying,

"My name is Moka Akashiya, I'm a vampire and I also like teacher Alex!" As she finished speaking Moka raced to Alex's other side as she embraced his other arm and planted a kiss onto his other cheek, making Yukari's eyes go wide as plates while the entire back of the room suddenly exploded wth ice. Alex simply shook his head as the two girls glared at each other, except Kurumu had a look of superiority from already being a part of his harem, while Moka looked jealous due to her 'other self' still restricting what she could and couldn't do with Alex, to the point that he still hadn't even kissed her or seen her naked.

He then gently shook them off of his arms before lightly flicking each of them in the forehead, then making his way back to the giant shards of ice that were slowly creeping forward and flicking then as well, causing the whole thing to shatter. Ignoring the dumbfounded looks of Mizore and Yukari, and the two girls that were still rubbing their foreheads, Alex then summoned a magic circle before several tables in the club room were suddenly covered with drinks and various snacks. He then said to the silent room,

"For our first meeting, I thought it would be a good idea to simply have a small welcoming party while we just toss around ideas for our first issue." There was a single beat before everyone eagerly made their way to the food and drinks, with Moka and Kurumu forgetting about their foreheads while even Mizore came out of the cupboard to get some snacks. The tense atmosphere from before gone, everyone then started talking with each other as if it was normal, with even Mizore going up to Kurumu and Moka. Alex was enjoying one of the cupcakes(made specially by Rias), when he felt someone tugging at his sleeve and looked down to see the witches hat.

"Um, I have a quick question, how do you know Millicas teacher Alex?" Yukari asked hesitantly, making Alex cock an eyebrow as he glanced at Millicas questioningly. Millicas simply shrugged in response as, despite knowing about the relationship between his mother and Alex, he didn't really know how to describe his own relation to Alex. After thinking about his response for a second, Alex simply replied,

"His mother's my maid, and his aunt's one of the chief girls in my harem." Of all the answers she suspected, that was one that Yukari never considered as she muttered to herself, "Harem?" while picturing being smothered by several girls and soft and bountiful chests. Despite her budding feelings for Millicas, a silly smile spread on her face while her hands made an obscene gesture as if she was groping some tits. Both Alex and Millicas shook their heads as they watched her, before the former looked over and noticed Mizore quickly look away, indicating that she had overheard their conversation, and making Alex wonder what she thought of him having a harem.

As far as his current stance was with her, while Alex was more than willing to accept Mizore into his harem, he didn't intend to go out of his way to try and seduce her while also trying to convince her to accept his other lovers. Instead, he was waiting to see how she'd react to him having a harem and if she'd want to join it, then he'd accept her with open arms; the main reason for this was that if he simply seduced every girl that had a bit of a crush on him during his time in this world, the chances were that he'd end up accepting at least dozens of female students into his already massive harem.

After a moment to contemplate things, Alex shook his head lightly and turned his attention back to the party, where everyone continued to mingle and interact with each other until the time for club was nearly over, and Alex called for attention once again.

"Now before we go for the day I want all of you to help pitch ideas for our first paper." Everyone was silent for a moment until Millicas said, "How about a piece on the clubs and their new members?" Alex nodded and wrote his idea down on the chalkboard before saying,

"Good, that can be one of the side articles, any more ideas?" Slowly but surely everyone offered up ideas for the newspaper until Alex figured they had enough, and finally asked for an idea for the front page. This time they were slightly stumped until Yukari suggested,

"How about the story about you eliminating the various bad guys around school? I'm sure everyone would be excited to read that!" While the others contemplated her idea, Alex immediately said,

"If it was a week ago then it'd be possible, but by this point that's old news so it wouldn't sell as well." Everyone was a little depressed at his refusal, but since Alex's reason made sense, they didn't argue and instead kept trying to come up with a main story, until Mizore finally suggested,

"How about a cover story of the new gym teacher that everyone keeps talking about, and had already removed several troublesome people from the academy?" Kurumu jumped up at Mizore's idea and said,

"That'll work! Everyone wants to know more about Alex, who he is and where he came from, we can even add in some of the stuff that happened last week and everyone will eat it up, especially the girls!" With everyone else quickly agreeing they turned to Alex to see what he would say. With a bit of a wry smile on his lips they thought he might agree, but when he spoke he only said two words,

"Hell. No."