Things to Do Tonight

"----"

The clubroom fell silent for the third time.

Haruno Yukinoshita gave Leo a long look, his face still wearing a smile, then abruptly rose to her feet.

"Well, let's leave it here for today." Haruno turned to Yukino. "I'll head home now, Yukino."

Both Leo and Yukino looked surprised.

"Y-you're leaving already?"

Yukino seemed completely caught off guard.

Leo hadn't expected Haruno to say that, either.

But what else could Haruno do?

She'd met all kinds of people, and from their conversation just now, she'd already formed a preliminary judgment: her usual way with words might not be enough to handle Leo.

It wasn't that her rhetoric or negotiating skills were lacking. The problem was that he seemed utterly unafraid of consequences and acted as if the rules of society didn't apply to him. Haruno realized that continuing the conversation wouldn't bring her any clear advantage.

The boy in front of her seemed sunny, cheerful, and easy to talk to. In truth, he was extremely self-assured and couldn't be influenced by anyone or anything around him.

To put it nicely, he was confident and forceful. To put it bluntly, he didn't play by the rules and had no regard for social etiquette.

That meant she couldn't let herself be drawn into his rhythm or led around by the nose.

She knew far too little about him. She hadn't done a thorough investigation before coming, and with so little preparation, thinking she could keep control of the conversation was pure fantasy.

What gave him the confidence to confront the next Heir of the Yukinoshita Family so forcefully? Did he have some remarkable background that let him remain so composed in front of her? Haruno decided she'd need some time to find out.

Otherwise, she might stumble into some terrible trap.

And so Haruno decided to retreat while she still could.

"I haven't told Mom and Dad about this yet." Haruno glanced at Yukino. "Yukino, you're not a child anymore. I'm sure you understand what you should and shouldn't do."

"Let's leave it here for today. I'll come by again another time."

As she spoke, Haruno turned to Leo and smiled.

"When I do, I hope you'll give me just as much guidance as you did today, Eligos-kun."

Leo's eyes flickered, and he couldn't help admiring her.

So this was Haruno Yukinoshita.

She'd realized she was unprepared and that the situation was against her, so she'd immediately withdrawn. She'd made just the right concession, hoping to come back with a stronger attack next time. She really was decisive.

If he could recruit a woman that clever as one of his Devils, he could even consider giving her the Queen position.

What a shame she didn't seem to have any particular aptitude.

Leo turned his attention to the Evil Pieces hidden in the Different Dimension.

Of the fourteen Evil Pieces, only the eight Pawn Pieces were emitting a faint glow. The rest showed no reaction at all.

Not only was there no response from the Queen Piece, but the Bishop, Rook, and Knight Pieces were also completely unresponsive. That proved this Perfect Superman had far less potential in the Underworld Society than Yukino did.

If Yukino, who'd always admired her older sister but had also lived in her shadow, constantly dreaming of surpassing her, found out, how would she feel?

Leo couldn't help thinking about it with a touch of mischief.

Of course, the Evil Pieces' response was only a hint. It told Leo whether the person in front of him was suited to becoming one of his Devils, and how much potential they had. It didn't mean someone who showed no reaction couldn't be reincarnated with the Evil Pieces.

The final decision was Leo's, and he was the one who used the Pieces. If he didn't care about someone's potential or whether they were suited to reincarnation, and insisted on making them one of his Devils, he could do so.

But that would waste his Peerage Transformation trait and throw away a chance to receive feedback.

Leo would never do that.

So, despite his disappointment, he gave up on making Haruno one of his Devils.

And with that, Haruno left without a backward glance.

But Yukino didn't feel relieved at all. Instead, she grew even more anxious.

"You're being way too timid. The Yukino Yukinoshita I know isn't like this!"

Leo was amused by the way Yukino was worrying over nothing.

"You don't understand." Yukino had no interest in bantering with him. Instead, she said anxiously, "My sister isn't the type to let things go."

"When she likes something, she'll toy with it to death. When she hates something, she'll crush it completely. The only things she leaves alone are the ones she isn't interested in."

"And the way she acted just now was clearly telling us that this isn't over."

"I'm afraid she'll find out something."

Yukino didn't want her family to learn that she'd not only been killed once, but had also become a Devil and Leo's servant.

Knowing her family, if they found out, they wouldn't let it go.

The precious daughter of the Yukinoshita Family had become a Devil—and someone else's servant. Could they possibly accept that?

Even setting aside their concern for her, they wouldn't tolerate it for the sake of the Yukinoshita Family.

But there was nothing they could do, even if they couldn't tolerate it. Their opponent was a genuine Devil, and a noble among Devils. No matter how much influence the Yukinoshita Family had in the human world, they couldn't do anything to Leo.

What Yukino feared was that her family wouldn't understand the situation and would insist on challenging Leo. They'd only end up battered and bruised.

Most of all, Yukino didn't want her family dragged into this mysterious world.

She'd truly died once because this world existed, and by now she knew that it was far from peaceful.

The Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels might no longer be engaged in large-scale conflicts, but smaller clashes were always happening, and people could be injured or killed in them.

How could ordinary people venture into a world like that without encountering danger?

If someone from the Underworld Society took an interest in them because they'd uncovered something they shouldn't have, all their efforts would be for nothing.

The thought left Yukino deeply worried.

"I can more or less understand what you're worried about." Seeing Yukino fidgeting restlessly, Leo shook his head. "You're worrying for nothing. Even if the Yukinoshita Family got caught up in something, the Church wouldn't just stand by."

"The Church?" Yukino froze, surprised. "They'd help my family?"

"Unless something unexpected happens, your family is probably one of their main concerns." Leo explained his reasoning. "Chiba Prefecture is the Church's territory, and your family is a prominent local family. There's no way they wouldn't be on the Church's watch list."

"After all, Devils need quality partners for their deals, and prominent families like yours are usually targets."

"As long as the Church keeps an eye on people like that, they can immediately show up and exorcise any Devils if they notice something suspicious. They can also use the opportunity to build ties with the local families and get donations. And if they can spread their faith and turn members of the nobility into believers, all the better."

"So it's possible your family has already made connections with the local Church in Chiba Prefecture without you knowing."

At that, Yukino relaxed a little.

"But what if they contact the Church and send its exorcists after us?"

Yukino was worrying about that now, too.

"Let them come. We can just send them away," Leo said casually. "Like I said, it should be the people from the Church hiding from me, not the other way around. If your family really uses its connections with the Church to find out who we are, that'll save us the trouble."

"Then you won't have to hide from your family anymore. You can openly carry out your Devil activities."

In the end, Leo simply wasn't afraid. Just as Haruno had thought, he was utterly untroubled, and didn't take any of this seriously.

If he truly didn't want to be exposed, he could have used Demonic Power to plant a suggestion or hypnotize Haruno, making her ignore what was going on between him and Yukino.

"More important than that, we have something to do tonight."

Leo quickly put the Yukinoshita Family out of his mind and said that to Yukino.

"Something to do tonight?" Leo had shifted her attention, and Yukino blinked in confusion. "Is there something we need to do tonight?"

"That's right." Leo nodded. "You've been a Devil for a month now. Besides making progress with your work as a Devil, you've probably figured out your own abilities by now, right?"

"More or less." Yukino pressed her lips together. "At least, I can use Demonic Power to some extent now."

Yukino raised her hand, and a surge of Demonic Power appeared in her palm.

The power shifted between flames, flowing water, whirlwinds, and ice, all at her command.

But her strongest transformation was Ice. The other powers were weak and couldn't pose any real threat.

Clearly, Yukino had a talent for wielding Ice-based Demonic Power.

Perhaps it was because her Sacred Gear was Ice-based—and a Longinus at that.

"I've also gotten the hang of using my Sacred Gear."

Behind Yukino, the Ice Princess formed from ice appeared and disappeared, radiating a chilling aura.

"Good."

Leo nodded in satisfaction.

"Tonight, I'm taking you to hunt a Stray Devil."