Wouldn't You Want to Go See for Yourself?

"Huh?"

The sudden change startled Utaha Kasumigaoka.

Almost by reflex, she threw the parchment in her hand. But it didn't fall to the floor. Instead, it floated in midair, and the simple magic circle on it detached from the page and rapidly expanded. Like a scanner, it swept down from top to bottom, revealing a figure from head to toe.

It was Leo, who had been about to take a bath just moments ago. He'd even taken off his clothes, but after sensing the summoning, he'd immediately put them back on and leaped through the magic circle.

He raised his eyes and looked at Utaha Kasumigaoka, who stood frozen before him, staring blankly. The smile that had just begun to appear on Leo's face froze, too.

The two of them stared at each other without saying a word.

After a long while, Leo was the first to break the silence.

"Good evening, senpai." Leo spoke in a faintly rueful tone. "I'm glad you finally summoned me, but you didn't have to give me such a generous treat, did you?"

Leo's words snapped Utaha Kasumigaoka out of her daze, reminding her of her current state.

That's right. She'd just gotten out of the bath and was wrapped in nothing but a towel...

"!!!"

Utaha Kasumigaoka abruptly raised her arms to cover herself, grabbed the pillow beside her, and hurled it at Leo.

Unfortunately, the weak attack only made Leo tilt his head and dodge it.

"Bang!"

A moment later, the room rang with the loud slam of a door as Utaha Kasumigaoka dashed out.

"Take care."

Leo watched her leave and waved with a smile.

He looked like he was begging to get punched.

Half an hour later, Utaha Kasumigaoka returned to the room.

She glared at Leo, who'd made himself right at home on her bed, flipping through a Light Novel he'd taken from her bookshelf with great interest. Her eyes were fierce enough to kill.

"Aren't you going to explain yourself?"

Utaha Kasumigaoka gritted her teeth, barely restraining the urge to rush over and beat that infuriatingly handsome face to a pulp.

Only then did Leo look up from the book and turn his gaze to Utaha Kasumigaoka, taking in what she was wearing.

She'd changed into casual clothes: a simple, lightweight shirt on top and shorts below. Her long, bare legs gleamed white and caught the eye, making Leo whistle in appreciation.

"Shouldn't you be the one explaining things, senpai?" Leo said with a straight face. "You chose to summon me in that state. I thought my kind-hearted senpai was rewarding her well-behaved junior."

Utaha Kasumigaoka really wanted to hit him.

"Who knew that thing could summon you?!" Utaha Kasumigaoka flushed red and raised her voice. "And you're neither my junior nor well-behaved. Those words have nothing to do with you and never will!"

If she hadn't had so many questions on her mind, she would've started kicking him out already.

"That's a little hurtful, Kasumigaoka-san." Leo sighed dramatically. "If I weren't well-behaved, why would I make a point of reading the sugary drafts you send me every night—the kind that could give someone cavities?"

Utaha Kasumigaoka's fists clenched.

"Those. Are. Not. Drafts!"

Her deliberate enunciation made it clear she was at the end of her patience.

Leo knew that if he kept provoking her, Utaha Kasumigaoka would really lose it.

So he decided to quit while he was ahead. He closed the book and smiled at her.

"Anyway, you finally used that Devil Flyer, so at least I didn't wait for nothing." Leo stretched and spoke generously. "Since you're my precious contractor, ask whatever you want. I'll answer everything."

At that, Utaha Kasumigaoka calmed down instead and fell silent.

After a while, the beautiful senpai finally spoke in a quiet voice.

"So you really are a Devil? You're not joking with me?"

A trace of doubt lingered in Utaha Kasumigaoka's eyes as she looked at Leo.

Leo didn't explain. As usual, he simply spread his wings, and bat-like Devil Wings appeared in Utaha Kasumigaoka's room.

Utaha Kasumigaoka's face stiffened at once, and she instinctively took a step back.

Her first thought was... Could those be props for cosplay?

"They're not props."

As if he could read the girl's thoughts, Leo rose slightly into the air. His wings beat behind him, lifting his feet dozens of centimeters off the floor as he spoke with a playful smile.

"Now, surely you don't think I'm hanging from wires?"

Hearing Leo's words, Utaha Kasumigaoka really wanted to say that was exactly what she'd thought.

But she knew that would just be fooling herself.

After all, from the moment Leo had appeared in her room in such an inconceivable way, there was no point questioning whether this was real.

At least, Utaha Kasumigaoka had never heard that human technology had advanced to the point where someone could appear out of thin air in another person's room—unless they were a chameleon.

Leo might be a pervert, but he definitely couldn't change color.

Even if he could, he'd probably only turn yellow...

Seeing that Utaha Kasumigaoka still hadn't recovered, Leo folded his wings and spoke with exasperation.

"Come on, this isn't something worth being shocked about for so long. Anyone else, maybe, but you're a Light Novel writer, senpai. You must've imagined supernatural phenomena appearing right in front of you and turning from fantasy into reality plenty of times. Do you really have to be surprised for this long?"

"...How many times do I have to tell you? I write romance novels, not fantasy!"

Utaha Kasumigaoka retorted, a dark look on her face. That one line helped her settle down somewhat.

"You said I'm your contractor, right?" Utaha Kasumigaoka asked, brows furrowed. "What does that mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like." Leo put his hands on his hips. The casual gesture did nothing to diminish his bearing. "A Devil gets summoned, makes a contract with a human, and grants their wish in exchange for a corresponding price. That's a Devil's job. They mention it in books and on TV, don't they?"

"Senpai is the kind of person who's usually treated as a villain in those stories—the sort who summons an evil Devil into the Human World and sells her soul to fulfill her own wish."

"Someone like you would've been tied to a cross and burned alive in the old days. But people are much more tolerant of that sort of thing nowadays, so you should be grateful, senpai. You won't get tied up and burned alive... probably."

Leo's usual habit of running his mouth, just like when they chatted in the classroom, made Utaha Kasumigaoka's mouth twitch. She'd just begun to feel a little solemn, and now she was on the verge of losing her mind.

"I can't talk seriously with you. You'll drive me insane."

Utaha Kasumigaoka's sharp tongue was itching again. She wanted to snap at Leo and make him look as if he were questioning his entire life, like the boys who tried to pursue her.

"I look forward to it." Leo flashed a bright smile that seemed entirely unbefitting a Devil. "If you really do get driven insane, I'll gladly accept your soul. I'll keep you by my side forever. You won't be able to run away."

"Then I'll have to find a way to live to a ripe old age." Utaha Kasumigaoka gradually regained her composure. "Is there any way to make that happen, Mr. Devil who can grant wishes?"

"Of course!" Leo's eyes lit up, as if he'd been waiting for this moment for a long time. "If you choose to merge this with your body, your lifespan will be extended by at least tens of thousands of years. It'll slow your aging, too, and even keep you forever young!"

As he spoke, Leo produced a crimson Evil Piece and offered it to Utaha Kasumigaoka as if presenting a treasure. He grinned.

The piece even flashed as it glowed.

"Your lifespan will be extended by at least tens of thousands of years, and it'll slow your aging and even keep you forever young...!"

Utaha Kasumigaoka hadn't noticed the glow. She was simply very, very tempted.

A longer lifespan was one thing, but slowing aging and staying forever young... What girl could resist that?

Utaha Kasumigaoka wasn't sure she could.

But seeing Leo grin like a thief, she grew wary.

"There's a price to pay for having a wish granted, right?" Utaha Kasumigaoka asked cautiously. "What would I have to pay?"

"It's simple." Leo didn't hide anything and answered directly. "You'd be reincarnated as a Devil like me, become my servant and familiar, and serve me for the rest of your life."

"Goodbye." Utaha Kasumigaoka opened the door without hesitation and gestured for Leo to leave. "Please don't ever show up again. Thank you."

"Don't rush to say no." Leo toyed with the piece in his hand, the corners of his mouth lifting. "The price may be steep, but this is a rare and precious chance for an ordinary person like you to come into contact with the mysterious world."

"An extended lifespan, slowed aging, eternal youth... Those are just bonuses."

"Accept this piece and be reincarnated as a Devil, and you'll gain Supernatural Power. The world you Light Novel writers could only imagine in your heads will become reality."

"Wouldn't you want to go see for yourself?"

Leo's words left Utaha Kasumigaoka dazed.

She was tempted again.

And this time, it was completely different from the simple temptation of being lured by his offer.

It was the feeling that something she longed for and yearned toward was right before her, within reach.

She, Utaha Kasumigaoka, really did want to come into contact with another world, one different from reality.