The Time Had Come for the Secret to Come Out

The days that followed became peaceful, with nothing noteworthy happening.

Leo and Yukino Yukinoshita settled into a very regular routine. During the day, they went to school as students; at night, they went about their business as Devils. Their lives were peaceful and fulfilling.

There was little to say about their school life. Although the fact that Leo and Yukino Yukinoshita were always together sparked plenty of gossip and rumors, neither of them cared much about what others thought. They carried on at school just as they pleased.

At night, Leo began training hard, constantly honing his ability to use his Sacred Gear. Yukino Yukinoshita gradually found her footing, no longer feeling as uneasy as she had at first. Her progress in her work as a Devil was quite encouraging.

Under the circumstances, Leo no longer had Yukino Yukinoshita do basic jobs like handing out flyers. Instead, he had her start taking on requests as a Devil.

Every night, Yukino Yukinoshita would sense a client's summoning through the magic circle, then travel to their side through it and help them fulfill their wishes.

At first, the work did not go smoothly. Yukino Yukinoshita's social skills were a weakness, and she was blunt to the point of being sharp-tongued. Naturally, things did not go well when she had to deal with people whose desires had prompted them to summon a Devil.

If their desires were ordinary, that was one thing. But human desire knew no bounds. Some people harbored such ugly desires that even Devils found them repulsive. With Yukino Yukinoshita's personality, how could she possibly put up with them?

So, at the beginning, Yukino Yukinoshita's work as a Devil truly went poorly. Once, she even attacked a client, leaving Leo at a loss for words.

Fortunately, Leo was not a Devil in the traditional sense, either. He had dealt with clients whose wishes clashed with his before. Some clients had desires so vile they were hard to imagine. His response to them had been far more excessive than Yukino Yukinoshita's; putting them out of their misery had been the least of it.

So he had no intention of blaming Yukino Yukinoshita. Instead, he encouraged her and told her not to dwell on it.

"Don't feel burdened. We're Devils, after all, and our aim is to take the souls of those who summon us. Just do what you think is right, however you want. You don't need to worry about anything else."

Leo's words made Yukino Yukinoshita think that perhaps becoming a Devil wasn't such a bad thing after all.

Of course, the way the two of them handled things meant their performance as Devils was less than impressive. That might affect how the Devil leadership viewed them and, in turn, their chances of promotion.

But neither Yukino Yukinoshita nor Leo cared much about that.

He had always done things his own way, and he had still managed to rise to the rank of High-Class Devil, hadn't he?

A Devil's work and performance did affect promotion, but they weren't the only factors. As long as someone excelled in other areas, they could still be promoted.

Besides, Leo and Yukino Yukinoshita hadn't done absolutely nothing. They could handle ordinary requests just fine.

For example, lately, Yukino Yukinoshita seemed to have been summoned by a female student from Sobu High School. Her wish was simple: she wanted Yukino Yukinoshita to teach her how to make cookies so she could thank someone who had once helped her.

"A female student from Sobu High School?" Leo asked thoughtfully. "What's she like?"

"...A flashy girl," Yukino Yukinoshita replied after a pause. "And annoying. She's timid, too. Whenever something doesn't go her way, she wants to give up. It's unpleasant to watch."

Even so, Yukino Yukinoshita didn't dislike her.

Even when Yukino Yukinoshita criticized her, the girl didn't hold it against her. Instead, she said she liked how Yukino Yukinoshita could express her thoughts honestly.

She said she could never do that herself. She was always too concerned about other people's feelings and too focused on the mood around her.

So she said she was a little envious of Yukino Yukinoshita.

Remembering the girl's admiring, almost worshipful gaze, Yukino Yukinoshita pressed her lips together.

"Anyway, she's the sort of person who makes you worry. But she summoned me and asked for my help, so I'll see it through to the end."

For that reason, Yukino Yukinoshita had spent much of the past few days working on this unremarkable request, even turning down several more important ones.

Seeing this, Leo didn't stop her. Instead, he smiled and said, "Be nice to her~~~"

Outside of her Devil work, Yukino Yukinoshita also continued to read during her free time. She never stopped studying her Sacred Gear, either.

She was genuinely talented. In less than a month, she had learned to control its power. She couldn't use it with complete freedom yet, but she could certainly wield it as if it were an extension of herself.

If nothing unexpected happened, these days would continue.

At least, that was what Yukino Yukinoshita believed.

She had completely forgotten that, while she had adapted to life as a Devil, she had drifted far from her life as a human.

For example, she had been living in Leo's estate for a long time and hadn't returned to her apartment in ages.

And with the rumors at school growing more and more rampant, the time had finally come for the secret to come out...

That day, Yukino Yukinoshita went to the Service Club's room as usual and sat down in her usual seat.

The school bell had rung some time ago, and the halls of Sobu High School had grown lively. The students' chatter and laughter kept drifting in through the windows.

Yukino Yukinoshita watched the students outside, laughing and fooling around in the sunshine. The troubled look that had once marred her delicate face was gone.

"Looks like I've finally gotten used to daytime and sunlight."

Yukino Yukinoshita raised one hand to shield her brow and looked up at the blue sky and glaring sun, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"That guy... What's taking him so long?"

After waiting a while, Yukino Yukinoshita began to grow impatient.

In the past, she had never been bored sitting here by herself. But at some point, whenever her master took too long to come to the clubroom and take her back to the estate, she started to feel restless.

"He's probably busy chatting with some pretty upperclassman in his class again, isn't he?"

Thinking of some rumors she had happened to hear, Yukino Yukinoshita grew even more irritated.

"Never mind. I'll read first."

She shook her head, tamped down her irritation, took out a book, and began to read.

Most of the books she read now came from the estate's library. She no longer read the literary works she used to.

Leo let her take books from the library, but only one at a time, and absolutely forbade her from letting anyone else see them. They were for her use alone.

Yukino Yukinoshita had no intention of showing anyone a Devil's book, so she didn't read them in the classroom. She read them in the Service Club's room instead.

The book she was reading now was about the Underworld. It described the customs and conditions of its various territories, giving her a basic understanding of a world unknown to ordinary people.

"Now that I've become a High-Class Devil, the territory of the Eligos Clan has been returned to me. Once we have time, I'll take you back there to see it."

Leo had told Yukino Yukinoshita that before. He had even said he would grant her part of the territory, which had felt utterly unreal to her.

Even Yukino Yukinoshita had never imagined that one day she would be granted land by a noble, like someone from the Middle Ages, and become its ruler.

Leo had told her that every High-Class Devil granted part of their territory to their servants. He would treat all of them equally, whether it was her or any future servants, and give each of them land in due time.

But the conversation was so far removed from reality that Yukino Yukinoshita still wondered if he had been joking. It didn't feel real at all.

Just as Yukino Yukinoshita began to focus on the book in her hands, the door to the Service Club's room opened.

"You're late."

Yukino Yukinoshita tossed out the words without looking up, but the familiar reply never came.

Then she heard a voice that was even more familiar—and far more unsettling.

"Who are you waiting for, little Yukino? You aren't waiting for your big sister, are you?"

When that voice, edged with amused teasing, reached Yukino Yukinoshita's ears, she froze. Her expression stiffened completely.

She slowly raised her head and looked toward the door of the Service Club's room.

There stood someone she absolutely did not want to see at that moment.

She was a young woman, perhaps two or three years older than Yukino Yukinoshita.

She had delicate features similar to Yukino Yukinoshita's, but her expression wasn't nearly as cold. Instead, she seemed lively and sunny, making the face that had once belonged to the Ice Flower bloom into something bright and summery.

Her figure was quite different from Yukino Yukinoshita's: tall and curvy, with the same mature allure as Tsubaki Shinra.

As Yukino Yukinoshita looked at her, her hand clenched unconsciously, and she forced out a word with difficulty.

"Big sister..."

That was right. It was her older sister.

The sister who had kept her in the shadows, someone she both admired and resented.

"It's been a long time, Yukino."

The amused, teasing smile never left Haruno Yukinoshita, the eldest daughter of the Yukinoshita Family.

At the sight of that expression, Yukino Yukinoshita felt her heart sink. She couldn't say another word.