Isn't It Enough That You're Not Human?

Sobu High School, Class 3-C.

After taking a day off, Leo had used a magic circle to jump directly into the Service Club room with Yukino Yukinoshita today, before heading to his own classroom.

However, the moment he stepped inside, Leo noticed his classmates sneaking glances at him, whispering and pointing in his direction.

"What's going on?"

Leo scratched his hair, which he had only briefly tidied up after waking. His locks looked a bit messy, but it didn't give off a sloppy vibe at all; instead, it had a sort of disheveled charm.

"Isn't this the devil-kun who took a day off to go do who-knows-what? Why did you decide to show up today?"

At that moment, an elegant voice reached Leo's ears. He looked over to see the literary girl sitting in her usual seat, a book spread open before her.

"Like you said, I only took a day off, so of course I'd come in today." Leo sat down next to Utaha Kasumigaoka and looked at her, puzzled. "It's just a day off, right? Why are all of your reactions so strange?"

Hearing this, Utaha Kasumigaoka lifted her eyelids, cast a subtle glance at Leo, and then withdrew her gaze, speaking with neither joy nor sorrow.

"Taking a day off isn't strange at all, but spending the entire day in the club room with the famous ice flower of our Sobu High School—that is stranger than anything else."

Hearing Utaha Kasumigaoka's words, Leo finally understood.

"So, I'm being rumored to be in a relationship with Yukino?"

Leo looked as if he had just had a sudden realization.

"Yukino... is it?" Utaha Kasumigaoka looked directly at Leo this time, her expression turning into a smirk. "You've already started calling her by her first name. It seems the rumors have a bit of credibility after all."

"Is senpai jealous?" Leo blinked, then laughed. "I can call you Utaha too, if you'd like."

"That's quite unnecessary, just don't call me senpai," Utaha Kasumigaoka gave a light huff. "Are you trying to deliberately change the subject? You dare to do it but don't dare to admit it?"

"If I had actually done something, I would definitely admit it," Leo spread his hands. "The problem is, I haven't made a move yet, so what do you want me to admit to?"

"In other words, you admit that you do intend to make a move on Yukinoshita?" Utaha Kasumigaoka's dark red eyes narrowed. "Daring to make a move on the second daughter of the Yukinoshita family, your guts are even bigger than I imagined, devil-kun."

Hearing Utaha Kasumigaoka put it that way, Leo finally realized a problem.

That is, since Yukino Yukinoshita had already become his peerage, was coming and going with him, and had even moved into his house, it was impossible for the Yukinoshita family to be completely unaware of this.

Although Yukino Yukinoshita was currently living alone, he had reason to believe that the yukino's elder sister—who, much like the current Demon King Leviathan, was a sister-complex—must be secretly monitoring her younger sister's movements and might have already found out about this.

Even if she didn't know yet, she would find out sooner or later. After all, even Sobu High School had started spreading rumors; it was only a matter of time before the outside world found out.

Would he end up encountering a traditional urban drama trope where the woman's family comes looking for trouble?

Thinking of this, Leo felt a bit conflicted, yet also somewhat expectant and curious.

However, he didn't show it, continuing to watch Utaha Kasumigaoka with a beaming smile.

"After all, I am a devil-kun, so my guts are only bigger than you imagine." Leo teased with a pointed tone, "Perhaps, I'm not just thinking about having Yukino make a move."

Utaha Kasumigaoka's dark red eyes narrowed instantly, followed by a sudden smile.

That smile was beautiful, as if a shy, budding flower had suddenly bloomed, leaving the male students watching from nearby stunned, their hearts pounding in their chests.

Yet Leo, facing this beautiful smile from the closest distance, felt nothing but a sense of danger.

"I see, you're even more of a scumbag than I imagined, devil-kun." Utaha Kasumigaoka said gracefully, "To make such a declaration right in front of me, you certainly have a lot of nerve."

"You should be used to this by now, shouldn't you, senpai?" Leo laughed mockingly, "After all, you're a light novel author; you must have seen plenty of harem declarations, right?"

"Don't bring things from novels into reality, you perverted devil-kun." Utaha Kasumigaoka retracted her smile, snorted coldly, and said, "My koi no metronome is the most traditional style of romance."

"That's why the second volume is having such a hard time being born, senpai." Leo wasn't intimidated by Utaha Kasumigaoka at all; instead, he spoke bluntly, "You wrote the first volume so sweet, so perfect—what else is there to write in the second?"

"The protagonist and the heroine basically confirmed their relationship in the first volume; it's sickeningly sweet. Even if you keep writing in the second volume, it's just more of the same sugar-coating."

"No matter how sweet something is, if you eat too much of it, you'll get sick of it, senpai."

Leo patted Utaha Kasumigaoka's soft, slender shoulder and said earnestly, "Maybe this is the time to boldly introduce a new character and start the rivalry phase."

Hearing this, Utaha Kasumigaoka immediately swatted Leo's hand away.

"That's why you boys only like these kinds of unrealistic fantasies." Utaha Kasumigaoka said with a sharp tongue, "Do you really like watching girls revolve around you, going through all sorts of hardships just to win your favor?"

"Wake up. That kind of stupid thing only happens in dreams. Girls are much more realistic than you imagine."

It was clear that Utaha Kasumigaoka was very dissatisfied with the suggestion Leo had made.

Leo, however, remained indifferent to her dissatisfaction.

"It's precisely because such good things rarely happen in reality that we like to step into the protagonist's perspective when reading novels, seeking a shred of pleasure from the illusory text to soothe hearts stung by cold reality." Leo confessed, "You girls are realistic and don't care for us stinky boys, but you can't take away our right to fantasize, can you?"

"In any case, I will absolutely never write it that way." Utaha Kasumigaoka looked at Leo with disdain and said, "Forgive me for not being able to satisfy your fantasies, perverted devil-kun. Please remember, humans are not animals; there will never be a situation where a lion king leads a pride of lionesses to strut around in public."

"Maybe." Leo met Utaha Kasumigaoka's disdain with a sunny smile and said, "Humans are indeed not animals, but as long as it's not a human, wouldn't that be fine?"

"Just keep fantasizing." Utaha Kasumigaoka looked as if she had given up on him, turning her gaze back to her book, "Anyway, don't expect to see that kind of thing in my light novel."

Leo shrugged and left Utaha Kasumigaoka without committing to an answer, returning to his own seat.

Watching Leo like this, the frustration in Utaha Kasumigaoka's heart was something no one else knew.

The guy who had been following the romance novel she wrote wasn't a fan of pure love, but a scumbag who fantasized about having a harem. This made Utaha Kasumigaoka feel extremely dissatisfied.

"Just you wait."

Utaha Kasumigaoka secretly made up her mind.

"I will definitely write the second volume and show you that pure love is the truth we should all be pursuing."

Three o'clock in the afternoon, the Service Club activity room.

After the day's classes ended, Leo arrived here and saw Yukino Yukinoshita.

However, Yukino Yukinoshita was no longer sitting in her chair reading peacefully as she usually did. Instead, she was leaning against the back of the chair, her head tilted to the side, fast asleep.

Her sleeping face was serene and elegant, looking countless times softer than her usual icy demeanor. If any stranger were here to see this scene, it would be perfectly normal for them to be completely mesmerized.

Looking at Yukino Yukinoshita like this, and then thinking of Utaha Kasumigaoka, whose single smile could make all the boys around her lose their souls, Leo couldn't help but sigh.

"The quality of beautiful girls in this world is truly high."

Even just within Sobu High School, there was more than one such beauty capable of leaving people stunned; it was simply a miracle of the Creator.

"Perhaps these really are the Creator's works of art?"

Leo chuckled to himself.

It couldn't be helped; this world had true gods, and the existence known as the Creator was real. On a whim, they might have just created these beautiful works one after another.

"Too bad, I'm a devil."

In terms of stance, he was an existence hostile to that very being.

With that thought in mind, Leo walked up to Yukino Yukinoshita and shook her body.

"Mmm..."

Yukino Yukinoshita seemed to be in a light sleep, and as soon as Leo shook her, she woke up immediately.

"...You're here?"

Opening her large, sleepy eyes, Yukino Yukinoshita straightened her posture, her voice sounding soft and listless.

"Are you that tired?"

Leo found it somewhat amusing, watching her like a cat stretching.

"What do you think?" Yukino Yukinoshita glared at Leo and said weakly, "Isn't it because you turned my body into this?"

"...That remark of yours is really easy to misunderstand." Leo was speechless for a moment, then retorted irritably, "Just hold on a little longer. Once you get used to the daytime, you won't get sleepy so easily."

As he spoke, Leo pulled Yukino Yukinoshita up and stepped into the magic circle with her.

The magic circle emitted a glow, teleporting the two of them to the manor's basement and whisking them away from Sobu High School in an instant.

"Cheer up. Starting today, you've got work to do."

Leo shoved a stack of parchment into the hands of the stunned Yukino Yukinoshita, leaving her frozen in place.

"These are... flyers?"

Yukino Yukinoshita came to her senses and recognized what she was holding.

The parchment, inscribed with magic circles, was exactly the devil flyer Leo had mentioned earlier.

"Your task for today is to hand out these flyers."

Ignoring Yukino Yukinoshita's shock, Leo delivered the instruction.

"This is your first job as a devil."