A Little One Is Cute, Too

"What... a Longinus that could kill gods and demon kings?"

In the underground training room, which was gradually becoming a frozen land, Yukino Yukinoshita stared blankly at the creature standing behind her. Her head was spinning.

She couldn't understand just how terrifying this Longinus was. But when the spacious basement—large enough to fit several soccer fields—had turned into an icy wasteland in an instant, she finally understood why the Fallen Angels considered her dangerous.

A power like this, unleashed in the human world, would have unimaginable consequences.

Only then did Yukino begin to feel afraid.

"If I'd unleashed this power on the day school started, then Mother and my sister..."

They would have frozen solid, just like the tires on that car, wouldn't they?

And everyone on that street would have turned into ice sculptures and died.

Think about it. If someone near you had this kind of power, knew nothing about it, and could lose control at any moment, wouldn't you consider them dangerous?

She wouldn't go so far as to wish the person dead, but if she were honest with herself, Yukino would definitely want someone like that to stay far away from her—preferably never to return.

"Do you understand now?" Leo patted Yukino on the shoulder. "If power like this is left unchecked, no one would want to see what happens."

"So even if you didn't want to become a Devil, someone from the Angels or Fallen Angels would take you away. You'd have little chance of returning to a peaceful, ordinary life."

"To some extent, a lot of people will probably be relieved that I made you one of my servants. It means someone can keep an eye on you and keep you in check, minimizing the risk of you losing control."

"Well? Any complaints?"

Yukino was silent for a moment, then sighed.

"I'm a little unhappy about it, but that doesn't mean I have any complaints." At last, Yukino spoke her mind. "I know that if you hadn't reincarnated me as a Devil back then, I would have died."

"So I've never resented you. In fact, I'm a little grateful to you."

"I'm just not used to it. I suddenly learned about a whole new world, and became something nonhuman..."

Otherwise, with Yukino's personality, how could she have obediently followed Leo around?

She hadn't wanted to become a Devil, but it was a fact that Leo had saved her, and that she had survived because of him. Yukino had accepted the outcome long ago. She just wasn't used to it yet, and still felt a little reluctant.

Now that she truly understood how terrifying her power was, she had managed to come to terms with it.

"Setting everything else aside, could you teach me how to use this power first?" Yukino turned to Leo, her expression earnest. "I don't want it appearing uncontrollably again."

"Don't worry. That's what I was going to do next," Leo said readily. "Whether it's the power of a Devil or the power of a Sacred Gear, I'll teach you how to use it."

She was his first servant, and a promising one with infinite potential. It would be a waste not to train her properly.

He had plenty to do in the future. Whether he was restoring the Eligos Clan or making his debut as a new Pure-blooded High-Class Devil, he'd need powerful servants to help him go further.

Yukino wasn't the only one who needed to work hard. He did, too.

After all, he was also the wielder of a Longinus—and the second-ranked Top-tier Longinus.

Once he'd decided what to do next, Leo didn't begin teaching right away. Instead, he took Yukino to a study on the fourth floor of the manor.

Dozens of packed bookshelves stood there, filled with books from beyond the ordinary world—books about the supernatural.

They were all part of the Eligos Clan's collection. After Leo inherited the Eligos name, the Underworld had gradually returned the books to him. Among them were some particularly precious family texts.

Leo had spent years learning about Devils from these books. They also contained the Eligos Clan's hereditary secret arts, the magic training methods its ancestors had refined over generations, the methods they favored for using magic and their aptitude for detection, as well as precious spellbooks passed down from ancient times. They were practically priceless.

Unfortunately, the Eligos Clan had once been cut off, and many of its treasures had been lost. The Underworld's great Devil clans had also gone through the books here, so they were no longer as precious as they'd once been. Still, they were invaluable to Leo and Yukino, who needed this knowledge. To ordinary people without connections, they were just as valuable as ever. If any of them got out, they would be snapped up in an instant.

Leo handed Yukino a book on magic training and told her to memorize its contents and learn to use her own magic. He then searched the shelves for books on Sacred Gears and began studying how to use one.

Sacred Gears had existed for a long time, and all the major factions had encountered their wielders over the years. Though their knowledge of Sacred Gears couldn't compare to that of Grigori, which specialized in the subject, they weren't entirely ignorant.

Leo and Yukino both needed that knowledge and guidance to gradually learn how to use their Sacred Gears.

So the two of them simply called in sick at school and stayed at the manor to study hard.

This gave plenty of people at Sobu High School who had seen the two of them show up a lot to gossip about.

A boy and a girl had both come to school, but neither had spent the day in class. Instead, they'd taken the day off?

Who would believe there was nothing going on?

Especially since someone confirmed that Leo and Yukino had entered the Service Club room together—and hadn't come out since. After that, it was impossible not to wonder what they were doing in there.

Thanks to that, rumors about Leo and Yukino spread quickly through Sobu High School, eventually causing quite a stir.

But for now, none of it had anything to do with Leo and Yukino. They had no idea that rumors about them were spreading at school, and remained at the manor, studying hard.

That evening, Leo wouldn't let Yukino go home.

"You're one of my servants now. There's no harm in staying here."

Yukino eyed him warily.

"I feel like my chastity might be in danger, so I refuse."

She said it without hesitation.

Leo raised an eyebrow. His gaze lingered on Yukino's chest for a moment, then he gave her a look of utter disdain.

He said nothing, yet somehow managed to say everything. Yukino clenched her little fists.

"If you have something to say, just say it!"

"No, I have nothing to say."

"But that lecherous, ill-intentioned look of yours has already given you away."

"Sure—assuming I really did have bad intentions."

"Are you trying to defend yourself?"

"I'm just telling you that people should know their place."

"You mean I'm not cute enough for anyone to have designs on me?"

"Don't put it like that. There are still people like that out there. Maybe someone thinks little ones are cute, too."

"!!!"

After that brief exchange, Yukino lost control again. The white Ice Princess appeared behind her, releasing a startling wave of Freezing Breath.

But just as Yukino realized this was bad, Leo casually raised a hand and snapped his fingers. The terrifying Freezing Breath vanished instantly.

Only then did Yukino realize just how powerful Leo was.

To her, her own power had seemed terrifying. It could freeze a large area with ease and unleash devastating destruction. Yet Leo had dispelled it with a casual gesture.

"Is this the power of a High-Class Devil?"

For the first time, Yukino truly understood how strong Leo was.

"It's just that you still can't use your Sacred Gear properly."

That was Leo's explanation.

He hadn't dispelled the terrifying Freezing Breath with the power of a High-Class Devil, but with the power of Zenith Tempest.

Zenith Tempest could freely control the weather and natural attributes, including Ice. Absolute Demise was only the eleventh-ranked Longinus, placing it among the lower-ranked ones. Naturally, Leo could interfere with it by using the power of a Top-tier Longinus.

Of course, this was also because Yukino was still too weak. She couldn't use her Sacred Gear or her magic properly, which was why Leo could suppress her. If their Sacred Gears were evenly matched, Leo might still have been able to control her power, but it wouldn't have been this easy.

"Keep working at it."

Leo gave his servant a light reprimand, and Yukino looked frustrated.

In the end, Yukino stayed the night at Leo's manor.

She had no choice. Her apartment couldn't withstand her training with her powers.

Besides, Leo told her something else.

"Get ready. The meeting we talked about before is about to happen."

The High-Class Devil who represented the Underworld, provided Leo with support, and handled communications with him was about to arrive.

Night fell quietly.

When the sun had completely set and darkness covered the sky, Yukino finally experienced what Leo had told her about during the day.

As soon as night fell, Yukino felt her sluggish daytime body start running smoothly, like a machine that had been wound up.

Power welled up within her, and her mind grew alert. She felt like a fish returning to water. The darkness that humans instinctively feared felt strangely comforting to Yukino. She even seemed to have gained night vision; she could see a long way even without any lights.

With that, the two of them headed down to the basement.

The magic circle drawn on the floor was growing brighter and brighter.