Starting from Zero to Build a Demon Family - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Sona, You Really Are Full of Yourself

“Tea, coffee, or cola?”

Sona and Rias stared in silence at the can of cola in front of them.

Was this even a choice?

“Sorry, looks like cola is all I have,” Lynn said casually.

Sona remained expressionless. Rias glanced at Sona, then at the cola.

Lynn leaned back into the sofa, completely unfazed by their speechless reactions.

Having watched two seasons of High School DxD in his previous life, Lynn was quite familiar with them. But that was all.

Since arriving in this world, he’d never crossed paths with them—until today. Their sudden visit left him completely in the dark.

“So, what brings you two here?” Lynn finally asked.

“Rias Gremory. Just call me Rias,” she introduced herself briefly, then gave Sona a look, signaling her to go first. Meanwhile, she eyed the can of cola in front of her as if debating whether to open it.

“Sona Sitri,” Sona said, placing a parchment on the table.

Lynn’s gaze dropped, his eyes narrowing slightly.

The parchment was densely packed with words—but not in any human language.

Demonic script.

Seeing it left Lynn momentarily dazed. It had been a long time since he’d last seen the language of demons. And more importantly…

His eyes trailed to the bottom of the parchment.

“The crest of Walburga…”

Walburga—once a noble demon family of the Underworld. And his full name was Lynn Walburga. A transmigrator. This was already his second life.

He had only unlocked the memories of his past life a few days ago.

In this world, he was not purely human but a half-blood, born of a human and a demon. But at the age of seven, the Walburga family had exiled him because of his mixed heritage, forcing him to live in the human world.

And now, it seemed trouble had come knocking simply because of his last name.

This parchment… was a marriage contract. Between the Walburga family and the Sitri family.

Lynn’s expression turned strange. Now he understood why they’d come looking for him. Under normal circumstances, as a half-blood demon, this marriage contract wouldn’t have involved him. But years ago, the Walburga family had been wiped out overnight.

As its only surviving bloodline, the marriage contract had naturally fallen onto him. However…

Lynn glanced at Sona Sitri, who remained expressionless. He could guess that she wasn’t here to fulfill the contract.

So, was she here to annul it? A transmigrator facing an arranged marriage annulment?

Wasn’t this just like a cliché novel plot?

Lynn decided to get straight to the point. “You want to cancel the engagement?”

Sona and Rias both looked momentarily stunned. They exchanged glances before Sona finally spoke. “I apologize. I’ll compensate you for it.”

A flicker of guilt crossed her eyes.

Lynn was the only surviving member of the Walburga family, and here she was, personally coming to break off their engagement—it felt like kicking someone while they were down.

But she had no desire to spend her life with someone she’d never met before, someone with whom she had no emotional connection.

“Sure. I agree,” Lynn replied without hesitation.

It wasn’t about compensation. He simply had no interest in getting involved in such a mess.

If he recalled correctly, wasn’t there a sis-con Demon King backing Sona Sitri?

He had no intention of going through a Xiao Yan moment—some dramatic “three-year promise” where he’d break the engagement, only to fight the sister next.

Sona opened her mouth slightly, a look of disbelief flashing in her eyes. She hadn’t expected Lynn to agree so easily. She certainly hadn’t expected the annulment to go this smoothly.

A marriage contract with the Sitri family was a big deal.

In the Underworld, anyone who had a chance to marry into the Sitri family would never give it up so easily, especially a family like Walburga, which only had one heir left.

If he used this contract wisely, he could even rebuild the Walburga family with the Sitri family’s help. And yet, Lynn had agreed to cancel it just like that?

This was not how she had expected things to go. What she didn’t realize was that Lynn had always been treated like an invisible figure in the Walburga family.

Not to mention, he had been exiled to the human world at the age of seven. He had no emotional attachment to his so-called family.

Rebuilding the Walburga family? Not even a passing thought.

Rias, who had been silently observing him, was equally surprised. She hadn’t expected Lynn to be so agreeable.

“So, what’s next?” Lynn asked. “Do we sign an official annulment contract? Or…” He picked up the parchment. “Do I just tear this thing up?”

Rias whispered, “That contract was approved by the four current Demon Kings. Unless you have power exceeding all four of them, you won’t be able to tear it apart.”

Lynn silently put the parchment back down. Without a change in expression, he said, “Let’s talk about the annulment contract instead.”

Rias pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh.

This guy was interesting. And good-looking, too.

Black hair, red eyes, and an air of nobility that was hard to describe.

Sona’s unexpected fiancé—aside from possibly being weaker—was far better than that firebird. But thinking about her own marriage contract, Rias suddenly didn’t feel like laughing anymore.

Sona, on the other hand, was still struggling to process what had just happened.

Lynn’s unexpected response had thrown her off completely.

She had come prepared to challenge him to a Ranking Game in order to get out of the engagement.

But now?

She was at a loss.

“Ah… I didn’t prepare any annulment contract,” she admitted.

Lynn sighed. “You’re really unprofessional at breaking engagements. There’s a print shop downstairs. Go print one and bring it back.”

“Ah… right.”

Sona instinctively stood up—then froze.

“Wait, no!”

She sat back down, shaking her head.

Lynn raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.

Sona took a deep breath. “Sorry, but it’s not that simple. A contract won’t work in this situation.”

She explained, “This visit is purely my decision. My family does not support annulling the engagement. So even if you agree, it won’t be recognized by the four Demon Kings.”

Lynn’s expression darkened. “You should know why the Walburga family was wiped out, right?”

“Retaliation from the Old Satan Faction,” Sona replied quietly.

Lynn’s voice turned cold. “Then you understand what will happen if my name is exposed?”

Sona’s heart clenched. “I… I would…”

Die.

Lynn crossed his legs, his tone indifferent. “You really are full of yourself.”

“I… I’m sorry, I…” Sona’s voice wavered, her mind reeling.

You are full of yourself…

Full of yourself…

The atmosphere in the living room grew oppressively heavy.

Then—

Crack!

A crisp sound echoed.

The tension broke.

Sona’s shoulders loosened slightly as both she and Lynn turned toward the source of the noise.

Rias had cracked open the can of cola. She smiled at Lynn. “I’ve never tried a carbonated drink before. Thought I’d give it a shot.”

She took a sip—then immediately stuck out her tongue. “Ugh, I really can’t get used to this.”

Setting the can down, Rias turned to Sona. “Now that you’re done, it’s my turn to talk.”

Sona practically bolted from her seat. “Apologies, I’ll be leaving now!”

And without another word, she rushed for the door.

Rias watched Sona leave and shook her head with a small smile. In all her life, she had never seen Sona act like that. After the sound of the door closing, she turned back to Lynn.

“Sorry. Sona didn’t think the annulment thing through properly.”

Lynn responded with a simple “hmm,” calmly accepting the apology. Then he asked, “Miss Rias, is there anything else?”

“Just call me Rias,” she corrected before extending her hand over the table. A purple magic circle appeared out of nowhere. In the next second, a chess set materialized on the table.

Lynn’s eyes flickered slightly. Even though he was a demon and had magic within him, he lacked the resources to perform such precise magical operations. Carefully studying the runes on the magic circle, he didn’t shift his gaze until the glow faded and the spell dissipated.

“I wonder if you know about demon pieces,” Rias said.

“I know a little,” Lynn replied.

Rias smiled. “Then this will be easy.”

She gave him a brief explanation of the demon pieces before getting to the main point.

“Due to the near extinction of the Walburga family, the four current Demon Kings have entrusted me with delivering this set of demon pieces to you. They hope you’ll use them to build your own peerage and rebuild the Walburga name.”

After relaying the message, Rias stood to leave, but before she did, she added Lynn on LINE. “If anything comes up, you can contact me.”

Lynn had no intention of being reserved. He had long envied the ability to perform precise magical manipulation, and now that he had a tangible path toward acquiring it, he wouldn’t waste the opportunity.

“Demon pieces…”

His gaze fell on the chess set, but there was no particular excitement in his eyes. A few days ago, he might have been thrilled, but now, things were different.

With a thought, a status panel appeared before him.

[Lynn Walburga]
 [Race: Demon]
 [Level: Intermediate Demon]
 [Authority: None]
 [Peerage: None]
 [Skills: Demon Pieces, Demon Summoning, Magic Release]

Lynn focused on two skills in particular—Demon Pieces and Demon Contract.

Demon Pieces allowed him to create pieces similar to the ones Rias had given him. The effect was the same: turning other races into his demonic subordinates. However, unlike the standard pieces used in the Underworld, which merely served as a reincarnation mechanism, his had an additional function.

His pieces didn’t just turn others into demons—they had the potential to grant unique blessings, akin to the Falna system in DanMachi. His subordinates could grow stronger through experience, and in return, he would receive feedback from their growth, strengthening himself in the process.

As for Demon Summoning, it was essentially a request board that extended across multiple worlds. If someone issued a request, he could traverse dimensions to answer the call.

However, he hadn’t had the chance to test these skills yet.

After all, if a random person walked up to you and said, “Would you like to become my peerage member?”—getting called a chuunibyou might be the least of their concerns.

Besides, not just anyone could handle the transformation, not even as a mere pawn. Becoming his subordinate required a certain level of aptitude.

The first step was always the hardest.

That said, with these abilities, Lynn had the potential to reach the pinnacle of this world.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

As he contemplated how to recruit his first peerage member, his phone suddenly vibrated.

Incoming Call: Nanami Aoyama.

Lynn’s eyes widened. “Crap! My half-price bento!”