Only Looking at My Own Will

The Okura Hotel is an internationally renowned hotel brand. Its branch in Chiba City boasts a large number of guest rooms and comprehensive facilities, making it one of the top choices for business travelers.

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

When Leo arrived with a somewhat nervous Asuna Yuuki, he was met not only by her parents but also by the brother who had accompanied her to Chiba.

The three of them watched Leo walk through the door, their expressions extremely grave.

Until this moment, they had no idea what was happening, nor who this boy—who appeared to be the same age as their daughter—actually was.

Initially, when Asuna Yuuki went missing, they assumed she had met with some kind of accident. When the wealthy families in Chiba Prefecture suddenly contacted them, claiming someone wanted to speak with them regarding Asuna Yuuki, they even suspected these people were trying to use their daughter as leverage to achieve some goal.

Do not think it impossible. The business world is like a battlefield; modern power players are rarely kings or generals, but rather the capital sharks who thrive in the commercial sphere.

Sometimes, to achieve their ends, they will use any means necessary. Some even started out in the underworld and continue to operate in both the light and the dark; how could they be expected to stay law-abiding forever?

The Yuki family is prominent and wealthy, and over the years, they have encountered similar situations. Therefore, they had every reason to suspect they were dealing with something of that nature.

However, when they mobilized their own resources to investigate the situation here, they discovered something was wrong.

The most peculiar thing was that the wealthy families who had contacted them were not acting for themselves.

These people were merely working for a young man, acting as intermediaries to provide convenience at his request.

As for this young man, no matter how they investigated, they could only find that he attended Sobu High School and was currently a somewhat prominent third-year student. As for his family background, his ancestors, or his parents' names, they could find absolutely nothing. Even the information they did find appeared to be falsified or tampered with.

Yet, this young man owned a manor in the heart of Chiba City that was even more luxurious than their own, could command so many local wealthy families, and even had political figures calling them specifically to issue warnings...

This made the Yuki family realize that they had likely stumbled into something extraordinary.

They had to treat this with the utmost seriousness!

And so, the entire family had turned out in full force to attend this meeting.

Leo was direct. He immediately had Asuna Yuuki reveal her devil wings, leaving the three, who had been so stern just moments before, completely dumbfounded.

Leo gave them no chance to react, diving straight to the point.

"Don't be surprised yet. Once you have accepted these memories, we can have a proper talk."

As he spoke, Leo unfurled a magic circle, drawing the three members of the Yuki family into it, and began to transmit the necessary memories into their minds.

These memories touched upon the existence of devils, the common knowledge of the underworld, Asuna Yuuki's experiences, and the current situation. As all of this information was poured into their minds at once, their heads began to spin.

Leo had specifically searched for this in his study's collection earlier that day. It was a type of spell formula involving memory, capable of instilling a certain amount of knowledge into others, thereby saving him from unnecessary explanations.

Having spent these past few days explaining this and that—first educating his peerage, then educating their families—Leo had grown tired of the repetition. He had specifically sought out this magic to avoid the need for patient explanations should he encounter similar situations in the future.

This would save the effort of explaining while also increasing the credibility of his words; it could be said to be killing two birds with one stone.

Therefore, Leo immediately learned this magic and applied it directly here.

Once the three members of the Yuki family recovered from their dazed state, Leo, ignoring their shock and uncertainty, decisively produced a document.

"You likely already understand the situation, so take a look at this." Leo smiled at the three of them and said, "These are the benefits Asuna Yuuki will receive after becoming my peerage. They include, but are not limited to, coverage of her lifelong expenses, the management and ownership of a territory in the underworld, no fewer than three trips per year, and the handling of various documents and identities required in the secular world. These conditions are far superior to the life plan you arranged for her."

"Of course, your Yuki family will also receive corresponding benefits. Although the tokyo metropolitan area is not my territory and my influence does not reach there, if necessary, I am not above asking the people behind me to intervene and provide some assistance to your Yuki family."

"As for yourselves, whether you want to extend your lifespans or ensure a life free of illness and pain, I have the ability to resolve that for you."

"Take a good look, but please don't misunderstand; this is not me asking you to sell your daughter."

"After all... your daughter is already mine. Even if you object, it would be ineffective. Therefore, this is merely a favor I personally grant to the family of my peerage. In other words, everything depends solely on my own will. If I am willing to give, you receive; if I am not, you don't. That is all."

The attitude Leo adopted this time was much more forceful than it had been at the Yukinoshita family earlier that day, at least enough to firmly intimidate the members of the Yuki family.

There was no helping it; the Yuki family was not like the Yukinoshita family. The latter, after witnessing supernatural power with their own eyes, understood that they were in a position of weakness. The former, even after seeing a few incredible scenes, might still rely on their status and position as a prominent family from Tokyo to do something unrealistic and a waste of time.

Therefore, Leo had to make his attitude more forceful than it had been at the Yukinoshita residence to make the Yuki family think twice before acting.

"This..."

The three members of the Yuki family were still in a daze. Listening to Leo's words and looking at the list of benefits marked on the document in front of them, they felt as if they were dreaming. Everything felt so unreal, so suspicious.

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

Asuna Yuuki's father clearly had a stronger psychological tolerance and was the first to calm down, yet he still looked at his daughter with suspicion, his face filled with disbelief.

Shozo Yuuki, the CEO of the integrated electronic equipment manufacturer Rect, was different from the father of Yukino Yukinoshita, who had married into the Yukinoshita family. He was not necessarily the sole decision-maker of the Yuki family, but he was at least someone who had seen his fair share of storms and rarely lost his composure like this.

But this matter was simply too bizarre; he couldn't help but react this way.

To this, Asuna Yuuki merely raised the devil wings she had yet to retract. Sitting with a dignified posture, she remained silent for a moment before speaking in a low voice.

"It is true, father. I have truly become a devil."

As she spoke, Asuna Yuuki manifested a short sword in her hand. It released a sacred aura that made one's spirit feel instantly refreshed.

This was not a power one possessed simply by reincarnating as a devil; it was an ability unique to Asuna Yuuki's sacred gear. However, unlike Yukino Yukinoshita, who had already fully learned the techniques of using demonic power, she could only use the power of her own sacred gear to provide proof like this.

She had indeed awakened this power only after reincarnating as a devil, so she wasn't exactly lying, right?

"It's actually true..."

Shozo Yuuki still wore an expression of disbelief, but the facts were right in front of him; he had no choice but to believe.

"How could such a thing happen?"

Asuna Yuuki's mother was somewhat dazed.

Kyoko Yuuki, a professor at a university in Tokyo, possessed very traditional elite family values. Consequently, she had always controlled her children's lives with strict upbringing, demanding that they follow the life path she had planned for them to complete their studies and enter society. In the eyes of her children, she was a figure of even greater authority than their father.

Yet, this university professor, who had maintained a stern expression ever since Leo entered the house, had now uncharacteristically lost her usual rigidity and was, for once, showing signs of losing her composure.

"It's all my fault. If I hadn't brought Asuna here, she wouldn't have encountered something like this."

Asuna Yuuki's brother, Koichiro Yuuki, was filled with guilt.

Unlike his parents, he was not as stern; on the contrary, he was someone who looked very easy to talk to. Upon learning everything that had happened, he was the first to express lingering fear over Asuna Yuuki's ordeal. Judging by this behavior, he might be considered a more qualified family member than his parents.

If the circumstances were different, Leo wouldn't have minded chatting with Koichiro Yuuki, but now was not the right time.

Leo did not disturb them, waiting quietly for them to process the situation.

After a long while, the three of them finally accepted the current reality. The expressions they turned toward Leo were no longer stern, but rather complex and somewhat fearful.

"Please allow me to express my gratitude first." Shozo Yuuki, who ultimately possessed a certain level of stature, was the first to lower his head and bow to Leo. "Regardless of everything, thank you for saving my daughter."

"Don't mention it; I did it for my own sake as well," Leo accepted the thanks candidly and added, "If Asuna didn't have the potential to become an excellent peerage, I wouldn't have wasted a precious slot to save a complete stranger."

This was very realistic, yet it actually made Shozo Yuuki, a man who had spent his life in the business world, feel at ease.

"I understand what you want to tell us, and I roughly understand that this has already happened and cannot be changed regardless of what we do." Shozo Yuuki stared at Leo, his expression complex yet exceptionally serious as he said, "I only want to ask: will my daughter live well?"

"Who knows?" Leo glanced at Kyoko Yuuki, who was standing to the side, before smiling. "But it should be much better than being a marionette in your wife's hands, right?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Shozo Yuuki's expression immediately turned awkward, while Kyoko Yuuki's face darkened.