Akeno walked out of the shrine and approached Haruka, who was still concentrating on his cultivation. Akeno wanted to ask Haruka something, but she still didn't have proof that Haruka was the person Rias was looking for.
"Did you enjoy your night bath, Akeno?"
"You've been soaking for almost half an hour," Haruka, sensing Akeno's presence, asked without turning around.
Akeno was surprised by his words, but something even more surprising came to mind.
'How does he know my name?'
"Oh my, Kaito-kun, how naughty, were you spying on me while I was bathing?" Akeno tried to cover her nervousness, attempting to appear more confident.
"Spying? Heh, I don't need to see you to know what you're doing."
"Not even an ant could hide underground without my knowledge if it were within 100 meters of me."
"Besides, you weren't exactly trying to hide it, were you?"
Akeno fell silent. She did enjoy being admired by many men, and she was used to being ogled, but this was the first time someone had said something like this so boldly, without shame.
"Oh my, what do you mean, Kaito-kun?"
"I was bathing in the bathroom, you know. I don't have an exhibitionist fetish to show my body to just anyone."
"Kaito-kun, you must have used some trick to spy on me when I was in the shrine," Akeno retorted.
Haruka smiled at her response.
"I'm not talking about your physical body."
"I possess a spirit sense; physical things like walls or clothes have no effect."
"I can see your spiritual form clearly without obstruction."
"Besides, your shrine doesn't even have barriers against scanning techniques. Many people could easily spy on you from outside."
Hearing Haruka's explanation, Akeno reflexively covered her chest and crotch.
'He can see through me?'
"A-Ara, Haruka-kun is really a pervert," she stammered.
Haruka could only shake his head.
"I told you, there's no point in covering it with... oh, whatever."
"Come, sit on this root; you wanted to ask me something, didn't you?" Haruka said, patting the large root beside him.
Akeno hesitated to sit next to him, as Haruka was still enveloped in a yellow aura of energy.
"It's okay, this spiritual energy won't affect you."
"Really?"
Akeno mustered the courage to step into the swirling light. She was surprised to find that she didn't feel anything. Even though she was a reincarnated devil, and a bit sensitive to light, every time she stepped forward, the light scattered into glowing dust. She finally sat on the root next to Haruka.
Akeno reached out her hand to try and catch the glowing dust, but every time she grabbed at it, it vanished.
Haruka chuckled at the sight.
"Hehe, you won't be able to catch it like that."
"This pure spiritual energy requires a special technique to be controlled."
Akeno felt a bit embarrassed, her face blushing slightly.
'Kuh, he's treating me like a child,' she thought. After turning her face away briefly to regain her composure, Akeno looked back at Haruka with a serious expression.
"Um, Kaito-kun, I wanted to ask you something."
"Do you know anything about the energy explosion that happened in an alley on the outskirts of Kuoh two days ago?"
Haruka looked at Akeno calmly.
"Two days ago? Ah, if you mean near the border close to Oyama City, that was when I was killed by a fallen angel."
Akeno was shocked, her face turning grim.
'A fallen angel? Near Kuoh? It seems there's another rat sneaking around here.'
"Can you explain that in more detail, Haruka-kun?"
"Well, after I finished my part-time job in Kuoh, I was walking towards my apartment in Oyama."
"When I reached the city border, I was suddenly stabbed by some kind of light spear."
Akeno was speechless for a moment, looking Haruka up and down.
"But you look fine now," she said.
Haruka responded with a smile.
"Sorry, but I can't tell you more than that."
"Besides, it's already been taken care of."
Akeno fell silent, reflecting on Haruka's words. On one hand, he could be lying, but given the immense strength he seemed to possess, there was also a chance he was telling the truth.
"It's up to you whether to believe me or not," Haruka said, shaking his head before returning to his meditative position, ready to resume his cultivation.
"If you have no more questions, may I continue my training?"
Akeno stood quietly, watching Haruka focus again on his cultivation. Though there were still many mysteries surrounding the man in front of her, Akeno decided to trust his words for the time being.
"I… very well, for now, I'll return to the shrine to rest."
"Let's continue tomorrow."
Akeno stood up.
"Will you be training here until morning, Haruka-kun?"
"That's what I plan to do, if you don't mind me being here."
"It's fine; there are still some things I want to ask you too."
Akeno walked towards the shrine but stopped at the entrance. She glanced back at Haruka one last time, squinting her eyes as if deep in thought before entering and closing the door behind her.
...
The night passed, and dawn began to break.
Haruka slowly opened his eyes, revealing glowing pupils.
"It's time," he said, clapping his hands in front of his chest. His breathing became slower and stronger.
As the sunlight began to shine, the spiritual energy around Haruka intensified like embers in a fire.
The yellow spiritual energy began to mix with red, shifting from calm flows to fiery waves.
Standing at the center of the spiritual energy, Haruka hastened to refine it into pure energy and absorb it. His body quickly filled with spiritual energy, and a dantian started to form within him. He also used his soul energy to accelerate the formation of the dantian in his abdomen.
After a while, all the spiritual energy in the air had been absorbed by Haruka. His breath was slightly ragged, and his body was drenched in sweat.
'Finally, I've formed a dantian in this body and entered the realm of Spiritual Awakening.'
After steadying his breath, Haruka stood up, stretching his muscles.
"Feels stiff… this body is still not used to cultivation," he muttered.
"I should also accelerate my Body Refinement process."
While Haruka was preparing his magic formation, Akeno came out of the shrine, still wearing her traditional miko kimono. She walked towards him, covering her mouth as she yawned.
"Hoam… I didn't expect you to train here until morning, Kaito-kun."
"Oh, Akeno. Good morning," Haruka said as he continued forming his magical circle.
"Mm, good morning."
Akeno observed what Haruka was doing.
'Is he a magician?'
'But I've never seen a magic circle like that before.'
As a reincarnated devil, Akeno had inherited a magic circle from the devil pillar that reincarnated her. Most magicians also had specific magic circles based on the source of their magic, but what Haruka was doing seemed completely different.
He appeared to be writing specific symbols in the air, and after he finished, the symbols broke apart into glowing dust, which was absorbed into his body.
'He doesn't seem like a threat,' Akeno thought.
'For now, I'll report this to Rias... or…'
"Kaito-kun, do you have any free time today?"
Haruka, having finished his magic formation, finally looked at Akeno and nodded.
"Mm, I have no plans except for training."
"Could you come with me to a certain place? There's someone I want to introduce you to."
"Sure, but could we do it in the afternoon? I still need to do some physical training after this."
"Of course. I'll wait for you here in the afternoon, if you don't mind?"
"Yeah, I'll be here around 5 PM. In the meantime, I'll head home, Akeno."
"There's a maid waiting for me at home. She said the food's ready."
Without waiting for Akeno's response, Haruka leaped toward the base of the hill near the entrance path, waving as he landed and continued running steadily.
"Bye, Akeno."
Akeno waved back.
"Bye…"
"…Maid?"