After that, Duanmu Huai returned to the banquet hall with Toujou Koneko. He found Rias and explained what had happened. Rias was thoroughly frightened when she heard about it. She hurriedly grabbed Toujou Koneko and looked her over several times, and only relaxed after confirming that she was unharmed.
"Phew... Thank you so much, Teacher."
"No need to thank me. Koneko is my student too."
"Hahaha..."
Hearing Duanmu Huai's answer, Rias could only smile wryly. Of course, she understood what he meant. The relationship between the Inquisition and the Demons was very delicate, and there had to be a pretext. The Gremory Family and the Inquisition did not have a formal alliance, and the Inquisition would inevitably stand on humanity's side. Thus, Duanmu Huai's reason for helping Rias was personal and did not involve either group.
That was the same reason he had used when helping Rias resist the Phoenix Family, as well as when helping Kiba Yuuto and Toujou Koneko.
I'm your teacher, and you're my students. This is entirely a personal position, not the Inquisition's diplomatic policy.
Actually, that was not bad either, but deep down, Rias hoped to take things a step further.
Unfortunately, she could not join the Inquisition like Naruse Mio had. Naruse Mio had clearly abandoned her family, while Rias was still the heir to the Gremory Family. Besides, she did not have the irreconcilable conflict with her family that Naruse Mio did. Her father's unilateral decision to arrange her engagement had made Rias furious, but it had not driven her to the point of wanting to leave her family.
Then the only remaining solution was...
"Speaking of which, I think it's time for Koneko to change a little."
Duanmu Huai's voice rang out again, interrupting Rias's thoughts.
"As a fighter, she's useless at