[Third Person POV]
After dinner, everyone split off to do their own things.
Ruval and Rory were the first to leave.
Rory was only there because his parents told him to come. Now that dinner was over, he was heading out to continue his evening where he left off.
Ruval, meanwhile, was incredibly busy. Only having made enough time for dinner, he teleported back to his home the moment he could.
Ravel was taken to bed by one of the maids.
The fathers grabbed a couple of bottles of wine before heading to Roland's study to discuss politics and business. At least, Riser assumed they were doing that. He couldn't imagine the three lords discussing anything else.
Rae Phenex led the mothers to the garden, where she had the maids set up a tea set for them to enjoy after the meal.
That left Riser and Erza with Seekvaira and Sona.
By now, Erza had been thoroughly corrupted by Seekvaira's love for mechas. Not to the same fervent degree as the pale greenette, but the idea of a giant suit of armor that can shoot lasers was enough to make her a fan.
It got to the point that Sona felt the two needed to calm down, prompting her to ask if there was a television they could watch Gundam on.
Riser, agreeing with her idea, took them to the nearest TV.
Seekvaira, with practiced ease, loaded a mecha-only channel that was currently playing a Gundam movie marathon.
Erza, now truly understanding Gundam, had her eyes glued to the screen. Seekvaira, who was sitting next to her, was similarly enthralled.
That left Sona and Riser with nothing to do.
"Want to play a game or something?" Riser asked, unsure of how to talk to her.
Sona was mature for her age. Though still prone to thinking using emotions, Sona acted like a young adult, rather than a toddler. It was more strange than surprising how much faster devils physically grew than humans.
Sona nodded. "Do you have chess?" She asked.
"Yeah," Riser said, moving to the game cabinet to grab the chessboard from it.
He wasn't surprised Sona wanted to play, but he was curious about her skill level. It's often joked that Asian children have the same skills as American adults, and though Sona wasn't Asian, Riser knew that her skill would be above his, whether now or in the future, unless he used his abilities to fix it.
While they played, Riser was reminded that Sona would eventually have her husband decided by whoever beats her in a game of chess, and safe to say, Riser was somewhat tempted to try when that time came.
If he had to choose between Rias and Sona in terms of looks, Riser would probably pick Rias. Sona was attractive regardless, but Rias' body was just more sinful.
However, in terms of personality? Sona would likely take the edge. Rias really only had an attractive personality when she didn't hate you. Sona, even if she hated someone, would still show a modicum of respect, no doubt thanks to her maturity, but Rias would actively antagonize you just because she felt the need to show her displeasure.
Riser noted that in canon, Rias opposed the marriage only because it was political, yet still treated his counterpart like trash. Sure, that version was a Playboy and openly physical with other women, but was she truly against that stuff?
Her father had a harem, so it wasn't like she could say she was unfamiliar with someone like that; hell, she ended up marrying someone even worse! Issei, before he was ever important, could be described as a literal criminal, actively harassing women at Kuoh, a school that only recently started adding men to attend.
If not for her blatant favoritism, the school would've absolutely had parents protesting male admission because of Issei and his friends.
No, Rias didn't truly hate Riser because of that; it was because her ability to choose was taken. She dreamt of a fairy tale romance, but was disappointed when reality reared its ugly head.
While Riser thought about his likely fiancée, the chess game continued.
Sona was very clearly in the dominant position, having taken 3 pawns, 1 knight, and a rook, to Riser's 2 pawns and 1 bishop.
As the game wore on, Riser's position kept worsening until he was eventually checkmated.
"Good game," Sona said.
Riser shook her hand. He really couldn't beat her. He wasn't surprised. Though it was impossible to win as he was now, the Tear System allowed Riser to buy Sona's chess skills.
Funnily enough, that meant that by buying anyone's chess skills, provided they cost more than Sona's, would give him the best shot at victory.
Setting up another game, the two continued playing while their friends watched Gundam in the background.
This time, Riser had it even worse.
Now that Sona had gotten a feel for his playstyle, she was far more ruthless with her strategy, taking him down in half the time and with fewer losses.
Sona's tactical skills were truly impressive, Riser thought.
Though not a direct one-to-one for actual combat, if she had the necessary experience, he was sure she'd become a threat.
Despite losing twice in a row, Riser was enjoying himself.
Setting up the board once again, Sona deliberately played much more slowly the third time. Riser could tell she was thinking about something, but wasn't sure whether to ask.
It turned out he didn't need to.
They were only a minute into the game when she surprised him with a question he didn't think she'd ask him.
"Riser, do you think a Rating Game School is a good idea?"
__________
Author's Note:
I'm visiting Northern Italy with my father this week, so I'll give a rundown of the vacation next week in Telos Karma Meta Gacha. I'm currently running on almost no sleep thanks to jet lag and my garbage sleep schedule, so I'm practically about to pass out.
Thanks for reading; I'll see you next time!