Her nose bridge was high, and her thin lips curved ever so slightly. Her pale skin was smooth as old ice crystal, carrying a faint chill in its sheen, and there was not the slightest unnecessary emotion visible on her face.
She remained standing straight, tall and poised. The fitted uniform traced her figure perfectly, outlining proportions that were only slightly inferior to Gabriel's.
Rod ran through the original plot in his mind. She looked very familiar, yet he could not place her at all.
Fortunately, the system thoughtfully provided a panel as usual.
But when Rod saw that the woman's name was Grayfia Lucifuge, he was slightly surprised.
With the maid outfit gone and this uniform on instead, he had nearly failed to recognize her.
Rod remembered that Grayfia had appeared at the conference between the three factions in the original story.
But what had left the deepest impression on him was that she was always wearing a maid outfit, with no exceptions.
Now that she had changed into a uniform he had never seen before, he really could not make sense of it.
Grayfia seemed to notice Rod's scrutiny as well. The gaze that had been sweeping over the whole room narrowed and settled onto him, sharp and edged.
Rod could sense a trace of hostility in her eyes.
"?"
No, wait.
Vali was one thing. At least there was a reason for that. But what was Grayfia's problem?
I haven't offended you, have I?
Could it be that she had become hostile just because he had taken one automatic glance at her?
Trash sunglasses!
For people at a high enough level, they could still see through the gaze hidden behind his shades.
It looked like he would have to come up with some kind of solution in the future. Otherwise, with so many women in the world of High School DxD carrying such overwhelming armaments, making him stop auto-locking was no easier than killing him.
Serafall also noticed the hostility coming from her good friend, and she looked confused too. Little Rod was such an outstanding man, so why were you being so rude, Grayfia?
But Grayfia's hostility was quickly withdrawn, and she returned to her usual expressionless look.
As the host, Sirzechs had not noticed any of this. Wearing his usual genial smile, he said, "I imagine everyone here already knows Mr. Rod, so I won't waste time introducing him."
"The red-haired girl behind him is my younger sister, Rias Gremory, along with her peerage."
"They were the direct participants in the Kokabiel incident, and also its victims. I assume you've all already seen the reports laying out the full sequence of events."
"I've read the report. If Kokabiel had succeeded, the consequences would have been unthinkable. Thankfully, with Mr. Rod's assistance, Kokabiel's evil plan was thwarted."
Michael nodded, then expressed his thanks to Rod.
"My apologies. Kokabiel's actions were entirely his own. He made that move without my knowledge or that of the other fallen angel cadres. Of course, he's already paid the price for it."
Azazel spoke in a cold tone, though his usual flippant manner remained.
As he said this, he cast a meaningful glance at Rod.
There was no real hatred in it. As Governor-General, Azazel was not childish enough for that.
If the one who had shown up that day had been Sirzechs, Serafall, or Michael instead, then there was no way everyone would still be sitting here having a peaceful conversation like this.
From that angle, he actually had to thank Rod for stopping Kokabiel ahead of time.
It was just that this brat's attitude toward him was way too disrespectful.
He was the Governor-General of the Fallen Angels, for god's sake!
"Rias, you and the others can sit with Sona Sitri."
In the corner of the conference room, Sona and her peerage were already seated there. At the moment, they looked like elementary school students listening attentively in class, their backs ramrod straight.
And once Rias had taken her seat, Sirzechs cleared his throat and said, "Although everyone is already here, before the conference formally begins, I'd still like everyone to reconfirm one premise."
"That is, God no longer exists."
At those words, the conference room fell silent.
The expressions on Rias's and Sona's faces showed no surprise. It seemed they had already known this in advance.
Besides, they were devils.
The one beside Rod who did look shocked was Lavinia.
"God... is dead?"
"That's right."
Rod nodded.
There was actually very little information available about the God of the Bible in the world of High School DxD.
Other than the widely known facts, the only thing Rod knew was that before the war between the three factions, the God of the Bible had sealed away the Beast of Revelation(666/Trihexa).
Beyond that, there was no other information.
Some people had said the God of the Bible had left behind a method for resurrection, but up until before Rod transmigrated, the novel had never progressed to anything like that.
Everything was just speculation.
As for Michael and the others, aside from their daily affairs, they probably knew even less than Rod did.
"..."
Lavinia did not say anything else. She simply let out a long sigh.
For a witch like her, whether God existed or not would not actually affect her life.
But as a human, upon learning that God had truly existed and yet had still perished, she could not help but feel a deep sense of sorrow.
Even if the Church and witches stood opposed to one another, very few people truly hated God.
After all, for the overwhelming majority of people, God was a supreme existence.
Love did not quite fit. Hatred did not either.
Azazel and Sirzechs were also carefully watching Rod's expression, and when they saw that his face did not change at all, both of them were deeply surprised.
Their three factions had completely sealed off the news of God's death from top to bottom. So through what channel had a mere human learned of it?
And at that moment, Rod suddenly realized something.
His gaze shifted from Gabriel's chest up to her face as he asked, "Where are Irina and Xenovia? If I remember correctly, they were supposed to be your guards. Why aren't they here?"
At the mention of that, both Michael and Gabriel showed helpless expressions.
"After learning that God had already perished, they suffered a severe emotional shock and are currently recuperating. That's why they aren't able to serve as our guards."
Michael and Gabriel could understand the feelings of the two girls, so they did not punish them.
Rod nodded.
As long as nothing serious had happened, that was enough.
Since Xenovia had heard this directly from a Seraph, she would not end up falling into despair and becoming a devil.
After that, the conference formally began.
Unlike the anime, where it was handled in a few quick strokes, the contents of the actual conference were extremely complex and tedious.
The main topics were deeply tied to the three factions' past and present in every possible way.
It also involved a great many specialized terms. From civilian affairs to military matters, all the way to future prospects, even a conference presided over by angels and devils could not escape that routine.
Precisely because he had anticipated this situation, Rod had shown real foresight and brought his phone and a concealed earbud. After connecting to the office Wi-Fi and entering the password 666888, he opened a movie and started watching.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
New Fanfic!
#~ Harry Potter: Professor with a D&D Panel
Read 55+ Advanced Chapters
p(a)treon.com/Shalltearr
Drop some POWERSTONES to push the story forward!