Ch 97: An invitation.

Rias was grateful the sports top Noah had made for her as she ran laps around the large villa, Akeno struggling to keep up. Most of the rest of the peerage members were training deeper in the woods, where damage to the surroundings would be less noticeable.

With Sona's cooperation, she and her peerage had taken the week off and moved to her summer house to train. She wore the white and red spats shorts and top Noah had made for her, and her heavy breasts that jiggled uncomfortably whenever she ran were nicely held down. Akeno had the same issue, and Noah had made a set for her, too, black lined with yellow.

When they both reached two hundred laps, they stopped in front of Noah, panting, and he smiled as he produced towels and gave them bottles of water.

"I'm envious of you, Noah." complained Akeno as she tried to regulate her breath.

"I'm sure." laughed Noah. "But it's necessary for you both to work on your endurance. Plus, I must say I enjoy the view."

Rias nodded, glancing down at herself and then at Akeno. They did look good on those outfits, and they knew it. She particularly appreciated that the clothes' self-cleaning feature evaporated her sweat instantly, and they felt fresh and comfortable even when she was profusely sweating from every exposed part of her skin.

Noah himself hadn't been idle, as could be seen from the sheets of paper spread over the nearby table. From what he had told them, he was working on creating some kind of semi-passive enhancement that would automatically cast the Hole bloodline magic and would swallow any projectile coming at him from under, above or behind him.

Rias envied that ability to create new magic abilities on the fly like this, but she knew she shouldn't. Noah had given her Ddraig, boosting her power far beyond what could reasonably be expected from a member of her peerage, given her two more very strong members, Suzu and Kaede, and she knew he would teach her some of the customized magic spells he would create. She already owed him so much.

She blushed as some ideas of how she might show him her gratefulness popped into her mind, most of them revolving about sex. Thankfully, Noah seemed to attribute her red face to the physical training.

"No slacking off, Buchou, let's do push-ups next." smirked Akeno.

She crouched on the ground and started on the two hundred push-ups that was the next part of her training. As she did, she occasionally looked at Noah, seeing him watching her, and made soft "Ufufu" sounds.

Noah laughed. "Keep teasing me, Akeno. A day will come where I will show you what happens to bad girls who tease their man too much."

Rias shook herself as she glared at Akeno, and she decided that she would do her push-ups right beside her Queen, to obstruct her view from Noah's position. And she got an idea.

"Say, Noah, what kind of hairstyles are your favorites?"

Noah looked at her with a raised eyebrow, then a knowing smile, likely having guessed the motive behind that question.

"I do not intend to dictate hairstyles for my women, and there are many that I find beautiful. I also like it when my girls vary their hairstyles, as it gives them something of a fresh appearance. But I must confess to having a fondness for ponytails, and a dislike for very short hairs and boyish cuts."

"I see. Noah, make me a ribbon, please." asked Rias with a smile.

Noah nodded as he made a black ribbon for her, but instead of taking it, Rias gathered her hair into a high ponytail and turned her back on it, waiting.

Noah grinned as he used the ribbon to tie her hairs, and Akeno groaned.

"Well played, Buchou. Well played." she admitted.

"Eheh." giggled Rias as she turned to Noah and rubbed his cheek. "How do I look?"

"Very appealing. You're drop dead gorgeous as usual, but the ponytail gives you a more high-spirited and youthful look." said Noah as he stared at her with hot eyes, not bothering to try to even try to hide his interest. "If the time was more appropriate, I would take you in my arms, carry you to my room, and we wouldn't leave it for a week. Unfortunately, business must go before pleasure, and it will be at least a few weeks before I can have my way with either of you."

Rias grinned, nodded, and started her own push-ups. Noah returned to his previous place and drew notes on a few sheets, the programming for his new magic slowly coming into shape.

"Hey, Rias." asked Noah after a few minutes.

"Yes?"

"Do you know anyone who might be able to accelerate the flow of time locally? That's sort of the answer to my needs, but I have failed to come up with the adequate magic to do it despite having the Magician Arcana. It would help me greatly if I had an actual example to work with."

Rias stopped her push-ups and sat down.

"There's my childhood friend Seekvaira. She's part of the Agares family, and she can create a barrier where the time inside will flow much faster than normal, with a twenty to one ratio, more or less."

"Would she accept giving me a few demonstrations?" hopefully asked Noah.

"Devils from the 72 main families aren't in a habit of helping others duplicate their bloodline powers, Noah. It's a closely guarded secret." frowned Rias.

She could already guess how things were going to end up, but as she thought about it, she didn't really dislike the idea. At this point, one more woman in the harem of her future King and Husband wouldn't change much, and she got along well with Seek. And when considering the perspective of ensuring safety for the underground and the human world, it would be reprehensible of her to try to stop Noah from getting stronger faster.

"Noah, you gain the bloodline powers of anyone who agrees to sign a contract with you, right?"

"When someone bind their soul to mine, AND when they recognize me as having authority over them, I gain one, and only one, of their special abilities, assuming they have any. And sacred gears don't count. Taking your case as an example, I would gain either the Power of Destruction of the Bael clan, coming from the maternal side of your family, or the great magical control the Gremory family is famous for. But not both."

"I see. I'll speak to my mother, and we will arrange for Seekvaira to meet you. At the very least, you should have an opportunity to speak to her during the rating game." nodded Rias.

"Thank you, Rias." gratefully nodded Noah. "That would be a lifesaver."

Noah made that smile at her again, and Rias's heart skipped a beat. It was unfair, how handsome he was. She felt like she couldn't refuse him anything when he looked at her like that.

Not wanting to fall behind Akeno, she resumed her push-ups, when Noah's phone pinged, signaling an incoming message.

Noah read it, then looked at her.

"Rias, is it fine if Himari teleports here? She has something to tell me."

"Of course." smiled Rias as she and Akeno interrupted their training and dried themselves with the towels. She was quite fond of Himari and would have wanted her in her peerage if she wasn't already busy with the ADC. Although, of all the members of the ADC, the one she would have wanted the most was Nei. She was just too adorable! She already wanted to hear Nei call her 'Rias-onee-sama' again!

A few seconds later, Himari appeared beside Noah, dressed in her black and red uniform. She quickly looked around.

"Hi, Master. Hi, Rias, Akeno. You look nice." she smiled. "Master, please make me a similar running outfit later."

"I suppose I could be convinced." nodded Noah. "From your current mood, I assume you're not bringing bad news?"

Himari shook her head.

"No. At least, I don't think so. I came to bring you an invitation, to witness the next Azuma family's Banquet. The request came directly from my grandmother, Tobera Azuma, and the current Matriarch. She specified that you are allowed to bring some of your subordinates as well, but only a few."

"A banquet?" asked Rias. "As in, a feast?"

"No. Well, there is a feast in the end, but that's not what the name refers to. In the Azuma family, the Banquet happens when the current Matriarch chooses to step down, and a competition takes place to determine who the next Matriarch will be. All the members of the family who are on active duty are sent to a small island in a separate dimension, and it becomes a battle royale. Not one to the death, of course, but accidents happen sometimes."

"The Matriarch invited Master to witness it… It's a bit of a strange request, really. As far as I know, no one outside the family has ever been invited to a Banquet before."

"When is this Banquet happening?" asked Noah.

Himari scrunched her face. "That's even stranger. Tobera-sama told me to ask you when you would be available. It seems she really wants you to attend."

"…I see. It would be impolite of me to decline the invitation, then. There's the rating game in six days, and from what Lilith heavily implied, I'll be in Soul Society the next week, likely for a few days. Maybe a little more. And then there's the Peace Conference in three weeks. How about in a month? If that's too far away, I might have to send in someone to represent me."

"I think it should be fine, Master. I'll ask her and confirm it with you."

"With the Azuma family being obsessed with strength, I can already guess that her request is about me being able to share my abilities. Or maybe they want a good healer ready to intervene, just in case of things getting out of hand. Did you tell them that you can also heal people?"

"My mother is aware of it, I think, but I am not certain she told Tobera-sama." shrugged Himari. "Most likely, I am not going to be the only member of my family to fall into your grasp, Master. On that note, do you like Yachiho?" she suddenly grinned.

"…I haven't interacted much with her, and my first impression of her isn't that great. She's treated you like crap." said Noah, frowning.

"Master, Yachiho actually loves me very much. To the point where I'd call her a siscon. She wanted me back in the Azuma household because she was worried about my safety. Besides, she's clearly a M deep inside, and she'll need a good Master. I'd feel relieved if that Master was you."

Noah took a few seconds to think about Himari's elder sister's behavior, reexamining her actions, and revising her opinion of her. But whatever he thought of her, he knew he would do it anyway. If Himari wanted her sister to gain immortality, he didn't want to disappoint her. And Yachiho would likely grow on him over time.

"Fine. She'll join the harem eventually, and I may request your assistance then. But let's wait for a while. I'm sort of drowning in girls at the moment."

"Yes, Master. Thank you." grinned Himari as she hugged him, and they kissed. Rias looked enviously.

"Ara ara, Rias is getting jealous!" laughed Akeno, not missing an opportunity to tease her best friend.

Himari smiled as she stepped back.

"Well, I'm not going to bother you guys anymore when you're training. Have a nice day."

"Yes, see you later, Himari." smiled Rias.

"Later." nodded Akeno.

Himari disappeared, and Noah turned toward Rias.

"Rias, if you want a kiss, you only need to give me permission, you know?" he grinned.

"Hum, yeah. Maybe in private." blushed Rias as she looked to the side.

"Ufufu." laughed Akeno again.

[It's quite entertaining to watch. Partner, you should be more proactive.] commented Ddraig inside her head.

[Shush you! I… After the rating game!]

Ddraig chuckled and said nothing more.

Rias sighed, as the decided to put the matter of her relationship with Noah aside and focus on her training. Despite her tendency toward laziness, it was easy. All she had to do was remember the smirk on Riser's face, his arrogant words, and her desire to smack him around was roused. Her motivation welled up once again.