032: Deciding Your Own Fate

Leo contacted Sona Shitori in the morning, but it wasn't until the afternoon that she got back to him with a definite answer.

"My sister agreed. She'll send a member of her peerage over tomorrow. I'll have her go straight to your place."

When Sona told Leo the news, her voice carried an unmistakable weariness.

It wasn't physical exhaustion, but emotional exhaustion—the kind that left you drained.

Leo could imagine what Sona had been put through over those six hours, from morning to afternoon, by her sister, the Demon King with a Sister Complex. He could only imagine how tired she must have been.

"Thanks for all your effort, Sona."

Leo replied with both sympathy and gratitude.

After seeing Sona's willingness to sacrifice herself for him, Leo decided that he absolutely had to repay her with a generous gift someday.

"It was nothing. If you need anything else, just contact me."

Sona sighed as she said this, then ended the call. Using the magic circle in the basement, she sent over a large number of books.

They were all related to swordsmanship and sword techniques. Some were detailed guides to modern Kendo, the kind that could teach someone how to use a sword step by step. Others contained the teachings of famous schools passed down from ancient times. Still others were knowledge taken from the Church over the course of their long conflict. After all, the Church's exorcists excelled at close combat and often used swords.

Many legendary Holy Swords passed down through the ages were now in the Church's possession. The Church had also always trained suitable wielders for its various Holy Swords. So the books Sona had sent included records of different Holy Swords and instructions on how to use them. For Asuna Yuuki, they were undoubtedly treasures.

So Leo had Yukino Yukinoshita bring Asuna over to take charge of the books.

"T-this many...?!"

Asuna stared at the books piled into a small mountain and couldn't help taking a few steps back.

"Don't be nervous. I'm not asking you to read all of them." Seeing how pale Asuna had gone, Leo chuckled. "Start with the books about Holy Swords, then read some of the ones covering the basics of swordsmanship. You can look through the books on the various schools as you see fit. If you don't think a style suits you, or you're not interested in it, there's no need to read those books."

"Is that so?" Asuna looked a little less troubled. She still seemed apprehensive, but nodded. "I'll do my best."

At that moment, Yukino spoke up.

"Have you two forgotten something?" she asked. "Unlike me, since I live on my own, Asuna is only visiting Chiba with her brother. She can't just stay here and study."

"Her home is in Tokyo, and her school is there too."

"Now that she's been gone all night without a word, her brother and family must be frantic. This is hardly the time to worry about how she should study."

At that, Asuna suddenly snapped out of it and panicked.

"Oh no! I completely forgot!"

Poor Asuna. When she'd woken up that morning, she'd first been preoccupied with what happened the night before. Then the fact that she'd been reincarnated as a Devil had thrown her into turmoil, and she'd forgotten about her family altogether.

She'd been lost and unsure what to do next, so she'd simply gone along with Leo's arrangements. But now that she thought about it, what right did she have to decide all this?

Her family didn't know what had happened to her. Even if they did, they'd probably think she'd gone crazy. She couldn't just stay here and live as a Devil. Her brother was surely still looking for her, and she needed to return to Tokyo, go home, and resume her studies at her old private school.

As Asuna panicked over all this, Leo spoke up.

"I already thought of that," he said casually. "Don't worry. I've arranged for someone to contact the Yuki Family and set up a time to speak with your parents about what's next for their daughter."

Yukino and Asuna both turned to Leo, staring at him in surprise.

"Mr. Leo, you've already contacted my family?"

Asuna was startled.

"When did you do that?"

Yukino was just as surprised.

"I gave the order before Asuna even woke up." Seeing their surprise, Leo smiled unconcernedly. "Asuna's already become one of my peerage. How could I leave her with anything to worry about?"

"As one of my peerage, she shouldn't be too far from us, either. Tokyo and Chiba aren't that far apart, but it would still be inconvenient for her to operate from somewhere else."

"So I'd already used my connections to get in touch with the Yuki Family."

Don't assume that just because Leo was a noble of the Devil world, he had no connections or influence in the Human World.

He'd lived in Chiba for fifteen years, and had secretly operated as a Devil for just as long. From childhood, he'd taken on work for the Devils to advance to High-Class Devil. He'd received countless summoning requests and granted countless wishes, building up an enormous foundation of influence.

Many of the local bigwigs who had risen to prominence in Chiba in recent years were his clients. Some had once been utterly ordinary people; others had fallen on hard times. They'd all desperately wanted to get ahead, and Leo had helped make those wishes come true.

With Leo's abilities, clearing away their obstacles or creating opportunities for them to climb the ladder was unbelievably easy. He could use hypnosis, brainwashing, and a whole range of other methods that gave him an overwhelming advantage. Once he brought those tactics to bear, it was practically impossible for them not to get what they wanted.

In exchange for having their wishes granted, those powerful figures had paid a considerable price. Leo now held their lives and fortunes firmly in his grasp. They could all be considered his connections and backing in the Human World.

So Leo only had to use some of those connections to get in touch with the Yuki Family and bring them to the negotiating table. Asuna's brother had also been reassured, and wasn't panicking over her disappearance for the time being.

"I'll get your family to agree to transfer you here, so you can go to Sobu High School with us," Leo told Asuna. "You'll live here, too."

At that, Asuna looked both nervous and worried.

"Do you think they'll agree?"

Her family wasn't the sort she could easily deal with, especially her mother. She had already decided how Asuna's life should go, and would hardly change those plans on a whim to let her transfer to a "countryside place" like Chiba.

Just thinking about her mother's forceful personality made Asuna feel that this would be nearly impossible.

However...

"Are you not confident in me, or are you giving your family too much credit?" Leo said with an amused smile. "It's true that the Yuki Family is influential, and your parents are no ordinary people. But to me, they're still just ordinary humans."

Leo's words made Asuna realize that her new master was a Devil, one who wielded Supernatural Power beyond human imagination.

Against that kind of power, her ordinary human parents would have no means of resisting, would they?

Did this mean she had a powerful backer who could help her defy her family?

Asuna's feelings were complicated.

It wasn't just Asuna who was moved. Yukino felt the same way.

She'd worried that her family might discover she was living at Leo's house and come after her. But after Leo had sent her older sister—the so-called Perfect Superman—away empty-handed, forced to leave with her tail between her legs, Yukino had realized that her family's influence meant nothing in front of Leo, a High-Class Devil of the Devil world.

If Leo hadn't been considering her feelings, he might have already used Demonic Power to brainwash the Yukinoshita Family, so he wouldn't have to deal with them later.

Would her master also avoid using crude methods like brainwashing with Demonic Power to deal with the Yuki Family?

How would he persuade Asuna's parents?

Yukino couldn't help feeling curious.

"Anyway, I'll take care of everything. You don't need to worry about anything. Focus on what you most want to do right now: become stronger, until you can decide your own fate."

Leo waved the two of them away.

They silently picked up the books and carried them out of the basement, thinking as they went:

"Become strong enough to decide your own fate..."

The two girls' minds filled with countless thoughts as they left Leo's sight.

Leo spread his wings and flew into the air. He summoned a scene of rising winds and gathering clouds, then resumed his training.

A quiet neighborhood in Chiba City.

In this area near Chuo Ward stood a magnificent church.

Its exterior was simple, but the interior was solemn and grand. The chapel was especially vast, and at its far end stood a ten-meter-tall statue of Jesus. It was imposing, and the entire hall seemed to breathe with solemnity.

Perhaps the church had been cleared in advance, because the enormous chapel was completely empty.

Until... Haruno Yukinoshita arrived.

"Welcome to Chiba Church, Miss Haruno Yukinoshita."

A bewitchingly beautiful nun greeted Haruno as she entered.

It was none other than Sharon Holy Grail.

"So you're the one who sent me a letter saying you had something important to discuss?" Haruno looked at the nun, whose manner hardly seemed suited to her calling. "In this day and age, you still use letters to arrange a meeting—and sent it without a trace, so no one noticed. Is the Church always this old-fashioned and capable?"

"I only wanted to talk with you," Sharon said with a bright smile. "About something concerning your younger sister."

Haruno frowned, then relaxed.

"Then I'm all ears."