Okura Hotel

Okura Hotel was an internationally renowned hotel brand. Its Chiba City branch had plenty of guest rooms and excellent facilities, making it one of the top choices for business travelers.

Leo and the Yuuki family had arranged to meet here, in a luxurious suite on the top floor.

When Leo arrived with a somewhat nervous Asuna Yuuki, he found not only Asuna's parents waiting, but also her older brother, who had brought her to Chiba.

The three of them stared at Leo as he walked in, their expressions stern.

They still had no idea what had happened, or who this boy was, even though he looked about the same age as their daughter.

At first, when Asuna had gone missing, they had thought she'd met with some kind of accident. Then the wealthy families in Chiba Prefecture had suddenly contacted them, claiming someone wanted to discuss Asuna's situation. They'd even suspected that people here meant to use their daughter to threaten them into doing something.

It wasn't as far-fetched as it might sound. The business world was a battlefield, and the modern-day power players weren't princes or generals, but the tycoons who thrived in the world of commerce.

Sometimes, they'd use any means necessary to get what they wanted. Some had even made their fortunes in the underworld, and many still moved easily between the legal and criminal worlds. Why would anyone expect them to always play by the rules?

The Yuuki family was influential and wealthy, and they'd encountered similar situations over the years. They had every reason to suspect they were facing something like that again.

They had to take this seriously.

So the entire family had come to the meeting.

Leo didn't waste time. He immediately had Asuna reveal her Devil Wings, leaving the three of them utterly stunned.

But Leo didn't give them a chance to react. He got straight to the point.

"Don't be so shocked yet. Once you've received these memories, we can talk properly."

As he spoke, Leo opened a magic circle around the three members of the Yuuki family and gave them the memories they needed.

The memories covered the existence of Devils, the basics of the Underworld, what had happened to Asuna, and the circumstances they were currently in. All of it flooded into their minds at once, leaving them dazed.

Leo had gone looking for it in his library earlier that day: a Spell Formula involving memories that could impart a certain amount of knowledge to others, sparing him from having to explain everything.

He'd spent the last few days explaining one thing after another—first to his peerage, then to their families. He was getting tired of it, so he'd gone out of his way to find a spell that would save him from having to patiently explain things again if the same situation came up.

It would save him the trouble of explaining and make his words seem more credible. It was the best of both worlds.

So Leo had learned the spell on the spot and put it to use.

Once the three members of the Yuuki family had recovered from their daze, Leo ignored their uncertainty and swiftly produced a document.

"You probably understand the situation by now, so take a look at this." Leo smiled at them. "These are the benefits Asuna can expect as my peerage member. They include coverage of her expenses for life, the right to manage and own a territory in the Underworld, at least three trips a year, and help obtaining whatever documents and identities she needs in the human world. It's a much better deal than the life plan you've arranged for her."

"Of course, your family will benefit too. The Tokyo Metropolitan Area isn't my territory, and my influence doesn't reach that far, but if necessary, I can ask the people behind me to step in and help the Yuuki family."

"As for you personally, whether you want to extend your lives or stay free from illness and pain, I can take care of that too."

"Take a good look. Just don't get the wrong idea and think I'm asking you to sell your daughter."

"After all... your daughter is already mine. Your disapproval won't change that. These are simply favors I'm offering the families of my peerage members. In other words, it all depends on my personal wishes. If I want to give you something, you'll have it. If I don't, you won't. That's all."

This time, Leo took a much harder line than he had with the Yukinoshita Family earlier that day, and he made sure the Yuuki family understood the message.

The Yuuki family wasn't like the Yukinoshita Family. After seeing supernatural power firsthand, the latter had understood that they were at a disadvantage. The former, even after witnessing a few inexplicable things, might still rely on their status as a wealthy family from Tokyo and do something impractical and pointless.

That was why Leo had to be more forceful than he'd been at the Yukinoshita home earlier that day. He needed the Yuuki family to think carefully before acting.

"This..."

The three of them were still dazed. As they listened to Leo and looked over the benefits listed in the document, they couldn't help wondering if they were dreaming. None of it seemed real. It was all hard to believe.

"...Is all of this true, Asuna?"

Asuna's father had a stronger constitution than the others and was the first to calm down. Still, he looked at his daughter in disbelief.

Shozo Yuuki was the CEO of Rect, a manufacturer of electronic instruments and equipment. Unlike Yukino Yukinoshita's father, who had married into the Yukinoshita Family, he wasn't quite the unquestioned head of the Yuuki family, but he'd seen plenty of ups and downs and rarely lost his composure like this.

But this time, the truth was so absurd that he couldn't help it.

Asuna simply lifted the Devil Wings she hadn't yet put away. Sitting up straight, she fell silent for a moment, then spoke softly.

"It's true, Father. I really did become a Devil."

As she spoke, Asuna conjured a short sword in her hand. A sacred aura emanated from it, invigorating everyone who felt it.

This wasn't a power she'd gained simply by reincarnating as a Devil. It was an ability of her Sacred Gear. But unlike Yukino, Asuna hadn't yet thoroughly learned how to wield Demonic Power, so she could only use her Sacred Gear's power to prove her point.

She had awakened this power after reincarnating as a Devil, after all. That meant she wasn't exactly lying, right?

"So it really is true..."

Shozo still looked astonished, but the proof was right in front of him. He couldn't deny it.

"How could something like this happen?"

Asuna's mother seemed lost.

Kyoko Yuuki was a professor at a university in Tokyo. She held very traditional, elite-family values and had always controlled her children's lives through strict parenting, demanding that they follow the life paths she had planned for them, complete their studies, and enter society. In her children's eyes, she was even more imposing than their father.

Yet even this professor, who had worn a stern expression ever since Leo arrived, had now, for once, lost her usual rigidity and composure.

"This is all my fault. If I hadn't brought Asuna here, she wouldn't have had to go through this."

Asuna's older brother, Koichiro Yuuki, looked full of guilt.

Unlike their serious parents, he seemed easygoing. After learning the whole story, he'd been the first to feel shaken by what Asuna had gone through. Judging by his reaction, he might have been a better family member than their parents.

In different circumstances, Leo wouldn't have minded chatting with Koichiro, but now wasn't the right time.

Leo didn't interrupt them. He just waited quietly for them to come to terms with everything.

After a long while, the three of them finally accepted the situation. When they turned to Leo, their expressions were no longer stern, but complicated and apprehensive.

"Please let me thank you first." Shozo had some dignity, after all. He was the first to bow to Leo in gratitude. "Regardless of anything else, thank you for saving my daughter."

"Don't mention it. I did it for myself too," Leo replied frankly. "If Asuna didn't have the potential to become an excellent peerage member, I wouldn't have wasted a precious spot on someone I didn't know."

It was a brutally practical answer, but it actually reassured Shozo, who had spent his life in the business world.

"I understand what you're trying to tell us, and I understand that this has already happened and can't be changed, no matter what we do." Shozo gazed at Leo with a complicated yet earnest expression. "I only want to ask one thing: will my daughter be all right?"

"Who knows?" Leo glanced at Kyoko, then smiled. "But she'll probably be better off than as a puppet on strings in your wife's hands, won't she?"

At those words, Shozo's expression turned awkward, while Kyoko's face darkened.