Don't You Want to Go and See?

"Huh?"

The sudden change caught Utaha Kasumigaoka off guard.

Almost as a reflex, she threw the parchment in her hand away. However, instead of falling to the floor, the parchment hovered in mid-air. The simple magic circle on it detached from the surface and rapidly expanded, sliding from top to bottom like a scanner, revealing a figure from head to toe within its glow.

It was Leo, who had just been preparing to take a shower and had even taken off his clothes, only to immediately put them back on and jump through the magic circle upon sensing the summoning.

Lifting his gaze, Leo saw Utaha Kasumigaoka standing there blankly, her entire body frozen in shock. The smile that had been about to form on his face also froze.

The two stared at each other, neither speaking for a long moment.

Finally, Leo was the first to break the silence.

"Good evening, senior," Leo said in a faint tone. "While I'm glad you finally summoned me, you didn't have to provide such a generous benefit, did you?"

Leo's words caused the brain-dead Utaha Kasumigaoka to immediately realize her current state.

That's right, she had just finished showering and was wrapped in nothing but a bath towel...

"!!!"

Utaha Kasumigaoka suddenly raised her hands to cover her body, grabbing a pillow from beside her and throwing it in Leo's direction.

Unfortunately, this weak, limp attack only caused Leo to tilt his head slightly to dodge it.

"Bang!"

A moment later, a loud door-slam echoed through the room as Utaha Kasumigaoka rushed out.

"Take your time," Leo said, waving with a smile as he watched her leave.

He looked insufferably smug.

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

She glared at Leo, who was sitting on the bed as if he owned the place, engrossed in a light novel he had pulled from the bookshelf. Her eyes were so fierce it looked like she might pounce and kill him at any moment.

"Aren't you going to explain yourself?"

Suppressing the urge to rush over and beat that smug, handsome face to a pulp, Utaha Kasumigaoka gritted her teeth and spoke.

Only then did Leo shift his gaze from the book to Utaha Kasumigaoka, taking in her attire.

She had changed into casual loungewear, a simple and minimalist style consisting of a thin shirt and shorts. Her two fair, shapely legs were left bare, dazzling enough to make Leo click his tongue in admiration.

"Shouldn't you be the one explaining things, senior?" Leo said with a rather serious expression. "To think you chose to summon me under those circumstances. I actually thought it was a reward from a kind-hearted senior for her well-behaved underclassman."

Utaha Kasumigaoka really wanted to hit someone.

"Who knew that thing could summon you?!" Utaha Kasumigaoka flushed red, her voice rising significantly. "And besides, you aren't my underclassman, nor are you well-behaved. That word will never have anything to do with you in this lifetime!"

If it weren't for the many questions weighing on her mind, Utaha Kasumigaoka would have already started kicking him out.

"That's a bit hurtful, Kasumigaoka-san," Leo said with a sigh. "If I weren't well-behaved, how would I have insisted on finishing every single one of those tooth-achingly sweet draft manuscripts you sent me every night?"

Utaha Kasumigaoka's fists were already clenched tight.

"That. Is. Not. A. Draft!"

The way she enunciated every word made it clear she had reached her limit.

Leo knew that if he continued to provoke her, Utaha Kasumigaoka would truly lose it.

So, he decided to quit while he was ahead. He closed the book in his hand and smiled at Utaha Kasumigaoka.

"Regardless, you finally used that devil flyer, so I suppose it wasn't a wasted wait." Leo stretched his arms and said generously, "Considering you are a precious contractor, feel free to ask whatever you want. I will answer everything one by one."

Hearing this, Utaha Kasumigaoka calmed her emotions and fell into silence.

After a long while, the beautiful senior spoke softly.

"So you really are a devil? You aren't joking with me?"

There was a hint of shock and suspicion in the way Utaha Kasumigaoka looked at Leo.

Leo didn't offer an explanation; instead, he simply spread his wings as he always did, letting his bat-like devil wings manifest in Utaha Kasumigaoka's room.

Utaha Kasumigaoka's expression stiffened instantly, and she took a step back involuntarily.

Her first thought was... surely those weren't just props for roleplay, right?

"They aren't props."

As if he could see right through the young girl's thoughts, Leo hovered slightly, his wings flapping behind him as his feet lifted several centimeters off the ground. He spoke with a grin.

"With me like this, you shouldn't suspect I'm hanging from wires, right?"

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

But she knew very well that would just be deceiving herself.

At the end of the day, ever since Leo had appeared in her room in such an inconceivable manner, this matter was no longer something to be questioned.

At the very least, Utaha Kasumigaoka had never heard of human technology advancing to the point where a person could appear out of thin air in someone else's room, unless that person was a chameleon.

Leo might be a pervert, but he certainly couldn't change his skin color.

Even if he could, he would probably only turn yellow...

Seeing that Utaha Kasumigaoka remained unable to regain her composure for a long time, Leo, who had tucked away his wings, spoke up with annoyance.

"Alright, this isn't something worth being shocked about for so long. Other people might be excused, but you're a light novel author, senior. You must have imagined such supernatural phenomena appearing before you countless times, haven't you? Is it really necessary to be surprised for this long?"

"...How many times do I have to say it? I write romance novels! Not fantasy novels!"

Utaha Kasumigaoka retorted with black lines running down her forehead, and it was this very sentence that helped her calm down a little.

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

"Exactly what it sounds like." Leo put his hands on his hips, his posture casual and doing nothing to diminish his aura. "Being summoned, signing a contract with a human, and collecting a corresponding price as payment for fulfilling their wishes—that is the job of a devil. It's mentioned in books and on TV, isn't it?"

"You, senior, are the type of person who would usually be seen as the villain in those stories—the one who, in order to fulfill their own desires, would sell their soul and summon an evil devil into the human world."

"People like you would have been captured and burned at the stake on a cross in the past. But modern society is very tolerant of these things, so be grateful, senior. You don't have to worry about being captured and burned... probably."

Leo's behavior, spouting nonsense just as he did when chatting in the classroom, made the corner of Utaha Kasumigaoka's mouth twitch, despite the sense of gravity that had just begun to rise in her heart. She felt somewhat frantic inside.

"I can't have a serious conversation with you; otherwise, I'll definitely be angered to death."

Utaha Kasumigaoka's sharp-tongued habit flared up again. She really wanted to lash out at Leo and make him look as devastated as the boys who tried to pursue her.

"I look forward to it." Leo flashed a brilliant smile that didn't seem like something a devil would have. "If you really were angered to death, senior, I would gladly accept your soul and keep you by my side forever—the kind where you couldn't run away even if you wanted to."

"Then I must find a way to live to be a hundred years old." Utaha Kasumigaoka gradually regained her rhythm. "Is there a way to do that, Mr. Devil who can fulfill wishes?"

"Of course!" Leo's eyes lit up, as if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. "As long as you choose to integrate this into your body, senior, not only will your lifespan be extended to at least tens of thousands of years, but you can also delay aging, or even achieve eternal youth!"

As he spoke, Leo pulled out an evil piece that was entirely crimson, as if presenting a treasure, and handed it to Utaha Kasumigaoka with a beaming smile.

The piece was even flickering, glowing with a faint light.

"Lifespan extended to at least tens of thousands of years, and the ability to delay aging, or even achieve eternal youth...!"

Utaha Kasumigaoka didn't notice the implications; she only felt her heart racing with temptation.

Extending one's lifespan was secondary, but delaying aging and achieving eternal youth... what young girl could resist that?

Utaha Kasumigaoka certainly couldn't.

However, looking at Leo's smile, which was as bright and cunning as a thief's, a sense of vigilance rose in her heart.

"Fulfilling a wish requires a price, right?" Utaha Kasumigaoka asked cautiously. "What price do I need to pay?"

"It's very simple," Leo said, not hiding anything and speaking straight to the point. "Reincarnate into a devil like me, become my peerage servant, and serve me for the rest of your life."

"Goodbye." Utaha Kasumigaoka opened the door without a moment's hesitation, gestured for Leo to leave, and said, "Please do not appear before me ever again. Thank you."

"Don't be so quick to refuse." Leo toyed with the chess piece in his hand, the corners of his mouth curling upward. "Although the price is high, this is a rare and precious opportunity for an ordinary person like you, senior, to touch the world of mystery, isn't it?"

"Extended lifespan, slowed aging, eternal youth... these are merely the bonuses."

"Accept this piece, reincarnate as a devil, and you will possess supernatural power. The world that, until now, could only exist as fantasies in the minds of light novel authors like you, will completely turn into reality."

"Don't you want to go and see it?"

These words left Utaha Kasumigaoka in a daze.

She felt her heart stir once again.

Furthermore, this time, the feeling was completely different from the pure temptation she had felt just moments ago.

This was the stirring of the heart that occurs when something one yearns for and aspires to is right before one's eyes, within reach.

She, Utaha Kasumigaoka, truly wanted to touch a world different from reality.