The Impulse That Changes Everything

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was Sunday.

There was no school today, as usual. After spending all of yesterday reading, Yukino Yukinoshita prepared to head to the basement right after waking up to do some training, just like Leo.

However, just as she was about to step out of her room, she received a phone call.

"I'm not interrupting your holiday, am I? Yukino?"

A familiar voice rang out from the other end of the line, causing Yukino Yukinoshita to fall into a brief silence.

"What do you want?"

Yukino Yukinoshita tried her best to sound calm, even cold.

"Can't I call to chat with you if there's nothing wrong?" Haruno Yukinoshita laughed as if it were unintentional. "Or did your sister really interrupt your holiday, keeping you from fawning over your little master?"

The moment the term "little master" was uttered, Yukino Yukinoshita knew that her sister, just as Leo had previously guessed, had already investigated and uncovered certain things.

"You really are heartless, Yukino." Haruno Yukinoshita's voice dropped, sounding both angry and resentful. "Such a big thing happened, and you didn't say a word to anyone at home. If we hadn't discovered it ourselves, were you planning to keep hiding it like this forever?"

"...What good would it do to tell you?" Yukino Yukinoshita was silent for a moment, then said expressionlessly, "Since it has already happened, one shouldn't dwell on the past, but look to the future. Even if the losses cannot be recovered, one must seize the fleeting opportunities to become better."

"Isn't that the style of our family?"

Yukino Yukinoshita's words caused Haruno Yukinoshita to fall into silence as well.

After a long while, Haruno Yukinoshita spoke up with a complicated tone.

"I'm waiting for you at home. Mother is here, too."

Leaving those words behind, Haruno Yukinoshita hung up the phone, leaving Yukino Yukinoshita speechless for a long time.

She knew she had to talk to her family.

Otherwise, there was no telling what might happen.

Thinking of this, Yukino Yukinoshita took a deep breath and walked out of the room.

She no longer had the intention of heading to the basement to train. Instead, she walked straight out of the western-style mansion, entered the garden, and headed toward the gazebo.

When she arrived at her destination, the owner of this manor was there, just as she had expected, and even the companion who had joined yesterday was present.

At this moment, Leo and Asuna Yuuki were sitting opposite each other in the gazebo, the former appearing to be informing the latter of something.

"Word has come from your side that they will make time to come over today to meet with me. The time and place are currently undecided, but you will come with me when the time comes to properly see your family."

"Later, your sword instructor will also arrive directly at this manor via a magic circle to meet with us."

"So, it's going to be quite busy today. You need to prepare yourself mentally."

Leo revealed the day's schedule to Asuna Yuuki, causing the young girl to nod silently.

Yukino Yukinoshita paused where she stood for a moment. Only after Leo had finished giving all his instructions did she step into the gazebo and approach him.

"Why have you come over?" Leo had naturally noticed Yukino Yukinoshita. Seeing her walk toward him, he asked with some confusion, "Didn't you say you were going to use the basement today to do some training there?"

Asuna Yuuki also looked at Yukino Yukinoshita, her eyes filled with inquiry.

"I probably won't have time today." Yukino Yukinoshita lowered her eyes and said, "I have to go home."

That single sentence made Leo instantly understand what was going on.

"Senior Haruno is quite something, isn't she? To have dug up some information so quickly." Leo praised her with a sense of admiration, then added, "Is she preparing to have a frank talk with you?"

"It was to be expected, wasn't it?" Yukino Yukinoshita took a deep breath and said, "My mother will likely be there as well."

"And so?" Leo picked up his black tea, took a light sip, and smiled. "Do you need me to go with you?"

"No." Yukino Yukinoshita shook her head decisively. "My sister told me to come over but didn't mention you, which proves that neither she nor my mother wants you to be present."

"I don't want them to look down on me either, thinking I don't dare to face them alone."

"So, I want to go by myself."

This was a way of being headstrong that was quite characteristic of Yukino Yukinoshita.

It wasn't that she didn't feel nervous. After all, whether it was her sister or her mother, both held positions in the family clearly above her. She had always lived in the shadows of those two and became particularly vulnerable in their presence.

But she had never intended to let things continue like this forever. Deep down, she sincerely hoped that one day, she could break free from the shadows cast by those two and live for herself.

Therefore, this time, she wanted to face those two alone.

Watching Yukino Yukinoshita like this, it was now Asuna Yuuki's turn to feel as if she were seeing her past self, catching a glimpse of her own shadow in this young companion.

Although she didn't harbor the same deep-seated inferiority and resistance toward her family as Yukino Yukinoshita did, she had also lived in the shadows of her family, having her entire life arranged for her like a marionette.

She hadn't expected that just as she was about to face the difficulties of her family for the first time due to sudden changes in her life, Yukino Yukinoshita, a senior among the peerage, would have to face the same thing.

Asuna Yuuki's expression changed as she looked at Yukino Yukinoshita. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.

Leo, on the other hand, remained calm throughout.

"That's for the best. Some things are indeed hard to explain clearly when an outsider like me is present, especially given that your family might already know my true identity."

As Leo spoke, he took a devil flyer out from his pocket.

This was a devil flyer that looked slightly different from the previous versions.

The previous devil flyer used what looked like fairly ordinary vintage parchment, but this one was made of a special, jet-black parchment that radiated a faint demonic power.

"I specifically created this simplified magic circle based on our situation. Its function is the same as a regular devil flyer—both can summon us instantly. The only difference is that the former can potentially be intercepted, while this one is virtually impossible to block."

Leo explained the science to Yukino Yukinoshita and Asuna Yuuki.

The magic circles used by devils in their daily lives are not impossible to block. As long as a barrier is set up near the destination, or a spell formula specifically designed to intercept spatial displacement is deployed, devils cannot jump there using a magic circle; they will be blocked by the barrier or spell.

Leo's custom-made simplified magic circle, however, has no such vulnerabilities. Even if a barrier or interception spell is set up at the destination in advance, it cannot stop the jump. However, it does have strict usage conditions—or rather, it can only be triggered by specific targets.

This was developed by Leo based on his own peerage transformation trait. It can only be triggered by subordinates who have an evil piece connected to his trait within them. The principle relies on using the connection between himself and the evil piece inside the subordinate to perform a higher-dimensional spatial jump, effectively bypassing any intercepting barriers or spell formulas.

"Take this with you. Once you encounter danger, the evil piece inside you will automatically resonate with the special magic circle on this, activating it. That way, I can arrive at your location instantly."

Leo handed the black devil flyer to Yukino Yukinoshita and gave her instructions.

"Since your family already knows the true identities of both you and me, they have likely already made contact with the church. This is just a precaution."

As he spoke, Leo took out another black devil flyer and handed it to Asuna Yuuki, who was standing nearby.

"Here, you have one too. Don't say I'm playing favorites."

Hearing this, Asuna Yuuki took it, looking somewhat pleasantly surprised.

"Th-thank you."

Asuna Yuuki whispered her thanks.

Yukino Yukinoshita silently tucked the flyer into the lining of her uniform, her expression as cold and indifferent as ever.

"I'll be heading out then."

With that, Yukino Yukinoshita turned around, left the gazebo, and walked toward the outside of the manor.

Leo went ahead and contacted the familiar responsible for driving at the manor, asking them to take Yukino Yukinoshita to the Yukinoshita family estate.

"Is Yukino-san... going to be alright?"

Asuna Yuuki was starting to feel a bit worried.

"Don't worry, it's not a big problem." Leo smiled, as if he could see through everything and predict the future. "Since we've run into this, it's the perfect opportunity to solve the problems with both your family and Yukino's at once, so you don't have to go around looking so worried every single day."

Asuna Yuuki gave a wry smile.

How could she not be worried?

Even now, she still felt bewildered by how quickly the situation had developed!

Only two days ago, she was just an ordinary human, a wealthy young lady following the life plan arranged by her family and receiving elite training. Now, just two days later, the trajectory of her life had changed drastically, and she was about to confront her family because of it. To Asuna Yuuki, all of this felt as unreal as a dream.

However, it must be said that the events of this time had added fuel to the fire within Asuna Yuuki, sparking a desire to take this opportunity to make a change.

Girls have moments like these, after all—moments when they suddenly no longer want to follow their family's arrangements and live a life that can be seen through from beginning to end. There is an urge to change it all.

Before this, Asuna Yuuki had not yet had the chance to develop such an impulse.

But this time, the impulse suddenly arose in her heart, even if only a sliver.

"To be a devil..."

Asuna Yuuki murmured in her heart, suddenly looking at the man before her.

He held his black tea with a leisurely air, sipping it in a relaxed manner. He didn't look like a devil at all; he looked more like a young nobleman from a prestigious family.

"Hm?"

Under Asuna Yuuki's gaze, Leo looked up for no apparent reason.

"They're here."

As if sensing something, Leo stood up.

"Let's go. It's time to welcome your teacher."