The Pawn's Own Choice

At this moment, the basement was no longer the frozen land it had been that morning, having returned to its original state.

A crimson magic circle emitted waves of red light, gradually taking the form of two figures under the watchful eyes of Leo and Yukino Yukinoshita.

Seeing these two figures, Leo revealed a smile far more candid than usual, while Yukino Yukinoshita examined them with a mix of nervousness and curiosity.

They were two women who could be called eye-catching in every sense of the word.

One stood in front, the other slightly behind, much like Leo and Yukino Yukinoshita had been on their way to school that morning; it was clear at a glance that one was the master and the other the servant.

The master was a young girl with shoulder-length hair, a slender and petite build similar to Yukino Yukinoshita's, and exceptionally delicate, well-defined features. She wore a pair of glasses and exuded a cold, serious temperament.

The servant was a long-haired woman, also wearing glasses. She was equally beautiful, though her figure was far more curvaceous than the former's—tall, full-bodied, and brimming with a mature charm.

To be honest, Yukino Yukinoshita was quite surprised to see such individuals emerge from the magic circle.

Both of them were top-tier in terms of appearance and temperament. Even if they were at Sobu High School, they would likely be popular figures on the level of the four high mountain flowers.

Were these two actually devils?

Was the quality of female devils in the underworld really this high?

As Yukino Yukinoshita pondered this, the two women stepped out of the magic circle.

"I've finally waited for you to come as a guest, Sona."

Leo walked up to meet them, teasing the cold young girl in the lead with a smile.

The cold girl, who usually appeared incapable of cracking a smile, also revealed a faint one.

"I've been waiting for you to finish your business on your end; surely that doesn't count as keeping you waiting, does it?"

Sona Shitori's smile was very, very faint—almost imperceptible—but those familiar with her would know that this was already her way of showing closeness.

"If we're talking about waiting, I'm the one who kept you waiting." Leo shrugged, then turned to look at the woman behind Sona Shitori. "It's been a long time for us too, hasn't it? Tsubaki?"

"Yes, Lord Leo." The tall woman immediately bowed respectfully toward Leo. "The last time we met was when I accompanied the President to the underworld to attend your promotion ceremony to high-class devil."

That had actually been only a short while ago, but compared to Sona Shitori, who kept in touch with Leo from time to time, it could indeed be said that she and Leo hadn't seen each other in a long while.

"Let me introduce you." Leo smiled and began to introduce the person standing behind him. "This is the first peerage member I've recruited, my bishop, Yukino Yukinoshita."

Yukino Yukinoshita nodded at the two women, appearing somewhat cold and fully displaying her lack of social grace.

For a peerage member to act so coldly toward another high-class devil was problematic from any angle; it would make one seem rude and arrogant.

However, Sona Shitori seemed to have already learned about Yukino Yukinoshita through her own channels, so her expression remained unchanged.

"I am Sona Shitori, my true name is Sona Sitri. I am a third-year student at Kuoh Academy. It is a pleasure to meet you, Yukinoshita-san." Sona Shitori nodded toward Yukino Yukinoshita as well, then immediately introduced her peerage, saying, "This is Tsubaki Shinra, she is both my queen and my first member. I hope you two will get along well."

Tsubaki Shinra bowed slightly to Yukino Yukinoshita to show her courtesy.

"Kuoh Academy?"

Yukino Yukinoshita looked toward Leo.

"It is a private academy located in Kuoh Town. It was an all-girls school until a few years ago, but it has since become co-ed. Sona and Tsubaki are both students there, and Sona is even the student council president."

Leo explained a few things to Yukino Yukinoshita for the time being.

"Kuoh Town?"

Yukino Yukinoshita recalled the place.

It was a town located in Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo. It wasn't a major place, and it wasn't too far from Chiba Prefecture; it was a distance one could travel to and from in a single day by train.

There didn't seem to be any prestigious or wealthy families there. At the very least, the Yukinoshita family had never paid much attention to that area. She never imagined that a pure-blooded high-class devil would be stationed there.

"I am not the only high-class devil in Kuoh Town. My childhood friend also uses it as her base, and like me, she attends Kuoh Academy. She was actually the one who convinced me to go there in the first place," Sona Shitori said, seemingly having read some of Yukino Yukinoshita's thoughts. "If you have time in the future, feel free to visit. Both Rias and I would welcome you."

There is actually another high-class devil stationed there?

Is Kuoh Town some kind of extremely important place?

Yukino Yukinoshita thought silently to herself.

Under normal circumstances, she would have asked these questions directly, as she preferred to speak her mind.

But now, she was dealing with things she had never encountered in her seventeen years of life, which made her a bit more cautious. She restrained her inner questions, trying her best not to embarrass Leo.

However, this feeling was not pleasant. At least for Yukino Yukinoshita, who was competitive and possessed a strong sense of pride, this state of appearing somewhat ignorant was definitely not easy to bear.

I should spend more time reading later. At the very least, I need to master common sense and foundational knowledge.

Yukino Yukinoshita made up her mind.

She did not know that Sona Shitori had already begun observing her in secret, and with great detail.

She noticed that although Yukino Yukinoshita had just reincarnated as a devil, the demonic power faintly radiating from her was definitely not weak. It likely far exceeded the level of a low-class devil and was almost touching the realm of a high-class devil.

Furthermore, Sona Shitori clearly sensed an exceptionally distinct fluctuation of a sacred gear coming from Yukino Yukinoshita.

It was the strongest sacred gear fluctuation she had ever witnessed, enough to make the future head of the Sitri clan, who was usually unflappable, feel grave.

"It seems, Leo, that Yukinoshita-san is indeed a holder of a Longinus, just as you guessed earlier."

Sona Shitori adjusted her glasses and spoke those words.

"Sona-kaicho knows about my Sacred Gear?"

Yukino Yukinoshita ultimately couldn't hold back and asked.

"Of course." Sona Shitori glanced at Leo, who was watching her with a beaming smile, and said, "Your master had his eyes on you for a long time. The moment he received the Evil Pieces, he told me he was going to make you his first peerage member, so as not to let a rare Longinus holder slip right past him."

"I'm not the only one who knows this. Any devil who keeps an eye on your master and knows about the signs of your Sacred Gear going out of control previously is basically aware of this."

"If it weren't for the unspoken rules among devils—that we can't just run into someone else's territory to poach people—many devils, myself included, would likely have been drawn to you, wanting to recruit you into their peerage."

This was a holder of one of the only thirteen Longinus.

If they developed successfully, they were said to be capable of destroying gods and Demon Kings.

Who wouldn't want a peerage member with such infinite potential?

Unfortunately, Leo had the advantage of timing, location, and connections; basically, no one could compete with him, so this massive windfall could only be swallowed by him alone.

However...

"I thought he would give you the position of Queen. I didn't expect him to end up making you a Bishop."

Sona Shitori was indeed somewhat surprised by this.

It wasn't just Sona Shitori; even Tsubaki Shinra was quite surprised.

This was a Longinus holder, after all. Wasn't it a waste of talent to make her a Bishop?

Normally, as long as the Queen position was still open, giving it to Yukino Yukinoshita should have been the logical choice, right?

Since Yukino Yukinoshita was also Leo's first peerage member, it would have been even more natural for her to become the Queen.

The Queen is not only the strongest member under the King but also their most capable assistant, usually accompanying the King wherever they go. Naturally, such a position should not be missed by someone so exceptional. That was why everyone who knew Leo had his sights on a Longinus holder assumed he would give her the Queen piece.

Who would have thought she would end up becoming a Bishop?

"It's not that I was stingy or unwilling to give her the Queen piece."

Seeing all the women looking at him, Leo quickly explained.

"It was the piece's own choice."

Hearing this, everyone was stunned.

"The piece's own choice?" Sona Shitori's heart stirred slightly. "Are you saying this is one of the changes that occurred in the Evil Pieces after your mutation trait connected with them?"

Yes, Sona Shitori knew what kind of trait Leo had awakened.

And it wasn't just Sona Shitori; everyone who had been paying attention to Leo basically knew about this.

The reason was simple: Leo had never thought about hiding this matter.

When he received his evil piece and awakened his trait, many people were present to witness it. They had seen the strange phenomenon caused by the evil piece in his hand as it connected with him.

At that time, the evil piece in his hand had stirred significantly, later even drawing the attention of the current Satan Beelzebub.

After examining Leo's evil piece, the other party concluded that it had undergone a mysterious change unknown to outsiders.

This was also the reason why Sona Shitori had mentioned yesterday that Leo's background and his own nature were both very special, and that many people were secretly keeping an eye on him.

Leo's uniqueness was no longer a secret among the higher-ups of the devils.

Thanks to this, Leo didn't bother hiding the fact that his trait had mutated. Since he couldn't hide it anyway, he simply used it as a bargaining chip to leave a deeper impression on the higher-ups, gain more attention and importance, and secure more support.

Many of the extremely rare books in the study had been successfully delivered into Leo's hands only after that incident, which showed that Leo had indeed managed to gain quite a few benefits from it.

Leo knew that one of the main reasons Sona Shitori had come over this time was to find out exactly what kind of changes his trait and the evil piece had brought about.

"This isn't the place to talk."

Leo winked at Sona Shitori.

"Let's chat over some tea."