Although Leo hadn't revealed that he'd gained Zenith Tempest, his improvement was still nothing short of incredible in the eyes of Sona Shitori and Tsubaki Shinra.
"You're probably stronger than I am now, aren't you?"
Sona Shitori's expression was complicated.
In the past, Leo had always been weaker than her. After all, half of Leo's blood was human, while Sona Shitori was a pure-blood Devil. Their Demonic Power had been unequal from birth, so Sona had always had the edge in strength.
For one thing, Leo had only recently advanced to High-Class Devil, whereas Sona had already reached that rank before coming to the Human World. She'd become a High-Class Devil much earlier than Leo, so there was no way she could be weaker than him.
And yet the gap that had never narrowed was now erased—or even surpassed—thanks to the feedback from a single member of his Peerage?
How strong would Leo become once he had gathered all his servants?
"Are you trying to make me let my guard down?" Leo had no idea what Sona was thinking, but he could guess. He chuckled. "You're Sona Sitri. Who says that being stronger than you means they can beat you?"
Leo had known the girl in front of him for several years, and he understood her abilities better than anyone.
Among High-Class Devils, Sona wasn't especially strong. She couldn't even rank among the best of the young Devils of her generation. But her true strengths weren't Demonic Power or combat prowess—they were strategy and planning.
She was intelligent and exceptionally skilled at putting strategy and tactics to use. With meticulous preparation, she could often toy with her opponents, making anyone who underestimated her suffer a crushing defeat. She knew how to win against stronger foes.
She'd once been engaged, but she had never intended to go through with it. She even announced that she wouldn't marry anyone weaker than herself. So she and her former fiancé agreed to settle things with a game of chess: if she won, he would have to end the engagement unconditionally; if she lost, she would immediately bring her dowry to his house and marry him. She won decisively, shattering her former fiancé's confidence and sending him into seclusion. He had been considerably stronger than her.
In the future, she would also take part in a Debut Match against her childhood friend Rias Gremory, with both their Peerages competing in full. She and her Peerage were far weaker than the Gremory Peerage, the original protagonist group. Yet she used her wits to put them in a difficult position, performing so brilliantly that even the Devils of the Underworld were amazed. They thought she was even more suited to be a "King" than the princess of the Gremory Clan.
In the future Leo knew, the young Devils who took part in one major event after another—including the Gremory Peerage—all seemed to have some kind of cheat ability. Some had Longinus holders among their servants, while others found their own paths to astonishing strength. Only most of the members of Sona's Sitri Peerage were ordinary people with human backgrounds. They lacked both talent and ability, and had only one or two Sacred Gear holders. Yet Sona still earned the title of "one of the Four Kings of the new generation."
As a result, the Gremory Peerage, whose members were all brimming with talent, had always treated the Sitri Peerage as a formidable foe that couldn't be underestimated. They'd fought gods and Maous before without fear, yet they dreaded the comparatively weak Sitri Peerage. That showed just how thoroughly Sona had gotten into their heads.
So when Sona said he was stronger than her, Leo wasn't pleased. If anything, he felt a little exasperated.
"Don't you already have quite a few servants? I've only just gotten one!"
If Leo remembered correctly, Sona should already have six.
"Recently, I found another promising student at school. If nothing unexpected happens, he should be a Rare Sacred Gear holder." Sona smiled faintly. "I plan to observe him for a while, then take him as a servant. If you have time, you can come by and help me assess him."
"I'll pass. I still have to find my own servants." Leo shook his head. He couldn't say he had no interest, but he wasn't particularly enthusiastic either. "Yukino has only just been reincarnated as a Devil, and there's a lot I still need to teach her. I'd better not wander around before that."
"Fair enough." Sona nodded in agreement. "The school you attend, Sobu High School, has a lot of potential too. Besides Yukinoshita, there should be plenty of promising people there. Make an effort, and you might be able to bring them all into your fold."
"I will."
Leo smiled at Sona, then changed the subject.
They mainly discussed what had happened with the Fallen Angel the day before. Leo had reduced him to ashes, and that could cause some trouble.
But Leo took a firm stance.
"If the Fallen Angels had investigated properly, they would've known that Yukino was someone I'd taken an interest in. I'd already warned the Church, yet a newly arrived Low-Class Fallen Angel dared to attack her. If he got killed for that, he had no one to blame but himself."
The Fallen Angels had made the first move. Leo had only fought back. What could possibly be wrong with that?
"Aren't you worried this might disrupt the current balance and lead to a major conflict between Devils and Fallen Angels?"
Sona offered a word of warning, but Leo didn't take it to heart.
"Devils aren't the only ones who don't want to start another war. The Fallen Angels can't afford one either. We don't want to upset the balance, but do you think they do?" Leo saw things clearly—or perhaps he was simply unconcerned. He smiled. "The Fallen Angels are the ones in the wrong. Even if some hotheads want to act recklessly, I doubt their Governor General would approve. There's no need to worry about it for now."
"Besides, he was just a stupid Low-Class Fallen Angel. He trespassed on a High-Class Devil's territory. Did he expect to walk away unscathed?"
"He was attacking people in the middle of the street. Even if I hadn't killed him, someone from the Church would've done it if they'd seen him."
In the end, Sona accepted Leo's explanation.
This wasn't exactly a major incident, but it wasn't entirely insignificant either. Still, it didn't involve anyone important on the Fallen Angels' side—just the life of a Low-Class Fallen Angel who'd been all talk and no obedience. Who would go after a High-Class Devil over a nobody like that?
Even if they wanted to make trouble, they'd have to consider the price and whether they could afford it.
At least, in Sona's view, once she wrote up a report on their meeting and submitted it to the Underworld, Leo would receive much more attention—and much stronger protection.
Just one servant had transformed him from a newly promoted High-Class Devil into a Six-Wing High-Class Devil, placing him among the strongest of his rank. What would happen when he gained even more servants?
Even if not every servant could bring such a great improvement, they would add up. In the future, Leo would at least become an Ultimate-Class Devil, and might even reach Maou-Class, becoming one of the Underworld's strongest fighters.
On top of that, one of his servants was already a promising prospect of extraordinary importance: a Longinus holder. How could the Underworld not take notice?
If the Fallen Angels wanted to cause trouble for him over this, they'd have to get past the Maous first.
All in all, Sona had only warned Leo out of caution. She didn't truly think this would cause any major problems.
After making her point, she dropped the subject.
"We've asked about everything we needed to. We should be going."
Sona glanced at the time, then stood up.
"Won't you stay the night?"
Leo stood too and asked with a smile.
"I have classes tomorrow, so I'd better not." Sona pushed up her glasses. "Once you're nearly finished with what you need to do here, we can have our Peerages meet and get to know each other. There'll be plenty of time for overnight stays after that."
"Sure." Leo knew he'd only been asking casually and hadn't actually planned to have Sona stay the night. He shrugged. "Give my regards to the Crimson-Haired Princess of Destruction."
"I will." Sona thought of her childhood friend and smiled. "She's been wanting to invite you for tea for a while now. I'll introduce you two when we get the chance."
"Goodbye, Lord Leo. And goodbye, Yukinoshita."
Tsubaki Shinra bowed again, taking her leave on behalf of her master.
"See you next time."
Yukino Yukinoshita returned the bow. Her attitude was much warmer than it had been when they first met.
It seemed Yukino had formed a favorable impression of Sona Shitori and Tsubaki Shinra. She wasn't as tense as she'd been at first.
Sona's calm, intelligent demeanor suited her tastes, and Tsubaki had been friendly toward her. In that case, Yukino Yukinoshita didn't need to keep her guard up the entire time. She understood these basic social courtesies.
So Leo and Yukino accompanied Sona and Tsubaki down into the basement.
"Goodbye, Leo."
"Goodbye, Sona."
"Goodbye, Yukinoshita."
"Goodbye, senpais."
After exchanging goodbyes, Sona and Tsubaki stepped into the magic circle. They gradually disappeared in its rising red light and left the estate.
"Are they really Devils?" Yukino watched them leave. Only after the magic circle's glow faded did she speak, sounding surprised. "They don't seem like it at all."
"What were you expecting? Horns, fangs, and a hideous face?" Leo glanced at Yukino. "You're a Devil now too. Do you think you look like one to other people?"
As he spoke, Leo turned and headed upstairs from the basement.
"Come on. Let's get back to our books. In a few days, you'll have to learn how to be a proper Devil."
Yukino followed Leo in silence, leaving the basement behind...
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