Romance? Even Dogs Don't Date!

On the other side, in the underground training room of Leo's manor...

Leo stood to the side, watching Miyamoto Musashi instruct Asuna Yuuki.

"Forget about Sword Birth for now. You need to build a solid foundation first. Start by learning how to hold the sword. Only when your stance is flawless should you learn how to swing it. Teaching you sword arts or techniques right now would be putting the cart before the horse."

Miyamoto Musashi was correcting Asuna Yuuki's grip. She looked laid-back, but whenever Asuna Yuuki's posture shifted even slightly, she would instantly point it out and forcibly correct it. No matter how small or subtle the flaw, it couldn't escape her eyes.

"Is this right?"

Under Miyamoto Musashi's guidance, Asuna Yuuki quickly mastered the correct grip. She wasn't holding a holy sword, but a wooden sword casually conjured from demonic power. Looking at her, anyone could tell this young girl was a complete beginner.

"Yes, yes, that's it. Just hold that position." Miyamoto Musashi seemed somewhat surprised by how quickly Asuna Yuuki picked things up and praised her sincerely, "Although it's clear Miss Yuuki is a layman, you're surprisingly a natural at swordsmanship."

Clearly, Asuna Yuuki had excellent talent for kendo; otherwise, she wouldn't have been chosen as one of Leo's "knight" pieces.

Miyamoto Musashi taught Asuna Yuuki several movements and tips, and since Asuna Yuuki learned and familiarized herself with them so quickly, Musashi found herself becoming quite invested.

"Female swordsmen were almost non-existent in my era, so I was an anomaly. Even in modern times, they are still rare. I never expected to run into a future powerful female swordsman like this."

Miyamoto Musashi saw potential in Asuna Yuuki's performance, and she began to take the training much more seriously.

As a result, before she knew it, Miyamoto Musashi had begun teaching Asuna Yuuki the fundamentals of Niten Ichi-ryu.

Niten Ichi-ryu is not a style limited to dual wielding; it is a school of swordsmanship where one moves with the sword and adapts to the flow of the situation.

It is about calming oneself when facing strong enemies or destiny, taking a stance, and bringing the sword heart to zero. That is Niten Ichi-ryu.

Therefore, one-sword style can utilize Niten Ichi-ryu, dual wielding can utilize Niten Ichi-ryu, and even someone like a certain green-haired guy who loves getting lost could hold a blade in his mouth for three-sword style and still utilize Niten Ichi-ryu.

In a sense, Asuna Yuuki was truly suited for Niten Ichi-ryu. Because her "Sword Birth" could theoretically create and wield countless swords, a style like Niten Ichi-ryu—which isn't restricted by the number of weapons—would allow her to maximize the advantages of "Sword Birth."

Miyamoto Musashi perhaps saw this as well. That was why she didn't teach actual sword moves, but instead focused on the fundamentals, explaining the principles and essence of Niten Ichi-ryu to Asuna Yuuki, letting her contemplate and understand it herself until she eventually formed her own version of Niten Ichi-ryu.

Although Asuna Yuuki didn't know Miyamoto Musashi's intentions, she listened very intently.

Watching Asuna Yuuki absorb Miyamoto Musashi's teachings like a sponge, her stance becoming more professional and taking on the air of a true swordswoman, Leo felt as if he could already see the "Berserk Healer" known as Asuna the Flash.

"At this rate, Asuna should be combat-ready soon, right?"

Leo was very satisfied.

Asuna Yuuki's talent for demonic power wasn't as high as Yukino Yukinoshita's; she wasn't even the most outstanding among low-class devils, let alone middle-class. However, her talent for the sword was undeniable, and it was in no way inferior to Yukino Yukinoshita's talent for demonic power.

Yukino Yukinoshita had only taken one month to reach a basic level of combat effectiveness. If Asuna Yuuki could maintain this rate of progress, she would likely reach the same point.

In a month's time, Asuna Yuuki should be able to rival a strong middle-class devil. If her opponent happened to be a demonic creature, she might even be able to contend with an entity at the level of a high-class devil.

"They are all rare stocks with immense potential. As expected of the heroines of their respective stories, I've truly struck gold."

This gave Leo a hint: perhaps he should focus on characters of heroine caliber and select his peerage from among them.

Those capable of becoming heroines in their own stories generally possessed extraordinary qualities. Even if they didn't qualify as high-potential peerage, they should at least be mid-tier.

Take Utaha Kasumigaoka, for instance—that woman was no ordinary person. And there were those other two high mountain flowers at Sobu High School; perhaps he should pay them some attention as well.

Although Leo had kept an eye on them before and confirmed that they didn't harbor a sacred gear like Yukino Yukinoshita did, perhaps once he turned them into his peerage, their potential would be unlocked, attracting a sacred gear to reside within them?

Sacred gears weren't necessarily innate; some could be transferred into the host's body midway.

Take himself, for example. Leo strongly suspected that his Zenith Tempest had only transferred into his body after he awakened the trait of peerage transformation, making him its host. Otherwise, having been a devil for so many years, it would have been impossible for him to remain completely unaware that a sacred gear was residing within him.

He had been born a devil in this life, a descendant of a pure-blood devil, while his other half of the bloodline came from a church exorcist. It was fair to say he was extraordinary from birth.

If he had been born with a sacred gear, it should have awakened long ago. How could it have remained dormant until he promoted to a high-class devil, without even the slightest hint of its existence?

His magic detection ability was already very strong. If a sacred gear existed within someone else, he would be able to detect it; there was no reason he wouldn't be able to detect his own.

In light of this, Leo felt certain that his Zenith Tempest must have been attracted to him only when he awakened his peerage transformation trait, making him the wielder of the second-strongest sacred gear in the world.

By the same logic, those ownerless sacred gears, under the operation of the sacred gear system in heaven, could potentially be attracted to anyone at any time, thereby recognizing them as their master and lodging within their bodies.

Those characters capable of becoming heroines in their own stories—once turned into his peerage and having their potential successfully unlocked—might very well become new sacred gear wielders.

"Speaking of which, that senior is really patient. It's been so long, yet she still hasn't triggered the devil flyer I gave her to summon me."

Leo thought of Utaha Kasumigaoka, who had been looking at him with increasing disdain lately, and inwardly grumbled.

It seemed that ever since he started coming and going from the service club as he pleased, often with Yukino Yukinoshita trailing behind him, the contempt and scorn in Utaha Kasumigaoka's eyes had only grown more intense.

Utaha Kasumigaoka, who used to call him "devil-kun" at every turn, now basically addressed him as "perverted devil-kun." With that look full of resentment, someone who didn't know better might think this autumn flower of Sobu High wanted to date him.

Unfortunately, he didn't want a girlfriend; he only wanted servants...

Love?

Not even a dog would bother!

"If it doesn't work out, I'll just shift my target for now. I really haven't paid much attention to the other two high mountain flowers lately."

The devil thought this in a remarkably scummy fashion.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, as if sensing something, Leo lifted his head.

He felt it—the specialized magic circle he had placed on Yukino Yukinoshita was entering a semi-activated state due to the emergence of a massive amount of magic power.

"Such immense demonic power... is Yukino actually getting serious?"

Leo thought of something and narrowed his eyes.

Glancing at Asuna Yuuki and Miyamoto Musashi, who were still immersed in their training, Leo silently retreated from the underground training room, activated a magic circle jump, and left the manor.

"Boom!"

The atmosphere roared.

As a blizzard-like cold current raged between heaven and earth, the moisture in the air seemed to be drained away, condensing into ice while emitting a thunderous rumble, creating endless ice in mid-air.

The ice merged together, quickly forming towering icebergs. Under the control of the three-meter-tall ice princess, they smashed toward the ground with terrifying momentum.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"...

The icebergs crashed down one after another like meteors, shaking the earth and unleashing violent shockwaves. Sharon, who was leaping and dodging, was blown away several times by the freezing gale.

"Ugh...!"

Sharon raised her hands, crossing them in front of her face, but she couldn't stop her body from flying backward like a cannonball until she slammed into an iceberg.

In mid-air, with the ice princess hovering behind her, Yukino Yukinoshita continued to press her advantage, frantically venting her demonic power to form new icebergs around her.

"Is this the power of a Longinus...?!"

Sharon faced the enemy with extreme caution, cold sweat dripping down her forehead.

It wasn't that she hadn't fought against sacred gear users before, but this was her first time battling a wielder of a Longinus.

Regrettably, this single encounter had already pushed her into a desperate situation.

"Compared to ordinary sacred gears, the power of a Longinus is simply too exaggerated. They aren't even on the same level...!"

Sharon, who was capable of rivaling a high-class devil, was currently being driven into a corner by Yukino Yukinoshita. One could only imagine how terrifying Yukino Yukinoshita was after using her Longinus.

The power capable of destroying gods or demon lords was already showing its true colors in this battle.

"Yukino!"

At the edge of the battlefield, which had been transformed into a frozen land, Haruno Yukinoshita and Mrs. Yukinoshita couldn't help but cry out in unison.

They shivered in the cold wind, their bodies covered in a layer of frost, and were barely holding on.

"I have to say, you two have a lot of nerve, daring to watch a battle in a place like this. Are you not afraid of death?"

At that moment, such a voice reached the ears of the two women of the Yukinoshita family.

At the same time, an invisible barrier rose up, blocking the incoming cold current.