Living as I Please (LAP)

"___" Text speech

'___' Internal thoughts

[___] status

(___) skills

(Great Sage:___)

{Author:___} author notes

Some things are subject to change depending on how I develop this story

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Meelis nodded to Grayfia, noting the slight blush that flickered across her usually composed face.

"Of course, Grayfia. I'll keep everything under control this time."

Grayfia gave him a sharp look, clearly skeptical of his statement, "I hope so. Remember, this mission isn't just about you."

Meelis smirked, watching her as she turned back to the group. 'I've caused a bit too much trouble for her in the past, haven't I?' he mused, though he couldn't deny enjoying the small victories he'd earned along the way. He wasn't exactly known for staying out of trouble, but today he intended to keep things running smoothly—at least for now.

As they walked around Kuoh Town and observed their surroundings, Rias could not help but comment, "Kuoh Town feels… different from the last time I passed by," Rias said thoughtfully as they approached what seemed to be a prominent government building. "It's quiet, but not in a bad way. It feels well-managed."

Grayfia nodded in agreement. "That's to be expected. Cleria Belial has been in charge here for some months in a joint contract with the Bael and Gremory Houses. She's known for running things efficiently."

Meelis already knew about Cleria Belial. A devil from the esteemed Belial family, she was both powerful and strategic. Her governing style had earned her respect from both devils and humans, and she had kept Kuoh under the devil's control without drawing unnecessary attention from the Church or other supernatural factions. But what he was most interested in was how things might go south, if what he remembered from the cannon was true, Cleria was on borrowed time.

Meelis himself was interested in the Belial's Worthless ability, if he could he definitely wanted such a power for himself, either via creating it himself or even obtaining Cleria herself, an idea that was very tempting to Meelis.

As they kept walking by, a Devil servant came up to them.

"Rias Gremory-sama, it is a pleasure to have you visit, Cleria-sama invites you and your group to join her for lunch."

Meelis did not care that the servant assumed that Rias was the leader of the group as his identity was still a secret, at least within the lower ranked devils, since a soon to be dead Devil managed to leak his information, but while he did not care Rias did care that he was not mentioned and was about to correct the servant, only to signaled by Meelis not to mind it. If anything he liked it better this way, at least he would not be bothered with those leadership roles and responsibilities.

"hmph, alright, guide us there." Rias did not have a good impression of this servant but still showed some manners.

'Seems like Rias is already awakening her Mama Bear instincts, too bad she's still to immature to act out in public.' Meelis shook his head internally as he witnessed Rias' annoyance on his behalf for his dismissal.

As they approached the mansion at the heart of Kuoh, two devil guards stood at the entrance and questioned the group, "Identify yourselves."

Before the servant could say anything, Rias presented her Gremory Magic Circle, proving her identity. Recognizing the Gremory insignia, the guards bowed and allowed the group to pass.

"Please forgive our disrespect it is their jobs." The servant apologized for the guards behavior, since despite it being their job, devils were usually prideful beings and could murder you for any slight disrespect.

"It's not problem, just guide us to your master." Rias accepted the apology without much hassle, she truly did not mind she was just slightly mad from the servants earlier dismissal of Meelis, not that they'd know that's the case.

The atmosphere inside was luxurious but restrained, nothing too opulent, just the right balance of comfort and power, much like the one who ruled here.

The group was soon led into a large office where Cleria herself sat behind a desk, meticulously going through papers. Her presence was immediate. She had long white hair cascading down her back with a tuff of hair sticking out the front reminiscent of a cowlick, and blue eyes that sparkled with intelligence and lots of curiosity. When she looked up, her gaze was sharp but not unfriendly.

"Rias Gremory, Grayfia Lucifuge, and…" Her eyes rested on Meelis for a moment, assessing him, as if she were deducing his identity. "Meelis Zagan," she said softly, recognizing him by his appearance. "Welcome to Kuoh Town. What brings the Gremory and Zagan houses here today?"

Before Rias would automatically assume the role of the leader since no one would recognize Meelis, but since Cleria clearly recognized him, she left the leadership role to him, something which Meelis clearly noticed, giving Rias the stink eye for leaving him the bothersome job of explaining themselves.

Meelis stepped forward, his posture casual but his mind alert. "We're here on a scouting mission, Cleria-sama. Sirzechs-sama sent us to assess the human world and possibly recruit members for our peerages."

As he talked to her Meelis went over her information in his head, 'Cleria Belial the devil who lusts for gossip, clearly knowing the dangers of investigating the King pieces just for her own self-satisfaction, yet still going through with it, not to mention loving a human exorcist and causing not just her own death but her lover's death. She looks remarkably similar to a certain wizard I know from another series; I wonder if that's actually how she looked like, or its some filler placed in by the universe since there's no visual representation of her in the series done by the author of DxD. Either way now that I've seen her and I know of her Worthless ability, I don't want to let her go, the question is how do I use her situation to help bother her and me.' Meelis planned how to user her tragedy to benefit himself.

Cleria leaned back in her chair, folding her hands in front of her a happy smile always stuck to her face, "Is that so? I suppose Kuoh is the perfect place to start, given the town's balance between human and supernatural affairs."

Rias stepped into the conversation and smiled warmly as she said, "We've heard a lot about how you manage things here. You've kept everything under control without drawing too much attention. It's impressive."

Cleria allowed herself a small smile. "Thank you, Rias-sama. It hasn't been easy, but the key to ruling a place like this is subtlety. Humans are fragile, and we devils must tread carefully. The last thing we want is an open conflict."

Grayfia stepped forward then, her tone formal. "Cleria-sama, it is rare for someone in your position to remain in the human world for as long as you have. Have you spotted any humans you would like to recommend for Rias-sama and Meelis-sama to have them join their peerages?"

Cleria shook her head and said, "Unfortunately, no, I am usually busy managing the territory or having meetings with the Church since they do have a Church set up in this town."

The moment Cleria mentioned the Church, Meelis ears focused in on her words, wanting to hear every detail as he wanted to verify if Cleria has met her lover yet and if she did, then how to plan around their events for his benefit.

'Wow, was I always this selfish or evil? Seems to me like I've been planning lots of things that take advantage of others, is it because I turned into a devil that my disposition become inherently evil, or was I always this much of a douchebag? Hmm… questions for later.' Meelis decided he'd ignore the fact his thoughts were evil, or manipulative, and just decided to go through with his plans, it's not like he was doing anything bad really, if he did nothing she would die, so in his mind his actions were justified.

{Author: hey guys, I feel like no one reads the webnovel author notes so ill just start typing them here instead. Anyways, the other day like 2 people subbed to my patreon, but then immediately refunded. Honestly I cant blame them, I try to upload there but sometimes I either forget or since I don't have much time I cant write chapters ahead, ;-; there goes that opportunity, well anyways now im gonna start trying better to at least be 5 chapters ahead since I noticed the increase of people checking my patreon out, which admitted part of my reason for not being so dedicated to it was because of my small audience.

Also I doubt you don't know this already but did you see that the man, the myth, the legend, EvansKannon finally came back after 9 months? I cant describe how happy I am, I loved that guys ff its honestly very good, if you somehow don't know it yet go check It out its great.}

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LP: 500

Devil Nobility Class: Low, Mid, High, Ultimate, Special (these are the actual cannon rankings of DxD)

Devil Strength Rank: Low(F), Mid(E), High(D), Ultimate(C), Satan(B-), Maxed Longinus(B), Dragon Kings(B+), Heavenly Dragons/Super Devils(A), Indra/Shiva(A+), Ophis/Red(S+ to EX)