— — — — — — —
Private Kuoh Academy ~ Occult Research Club.
Rias and Sona sat across from each other.
After some time, Sona had finally calmed down. She adjusted her glasses and spoke in a low voice, "Rias, this time, I was the one who made a mistake."
"Sona..."
Rias wanted to comfort her, but Sona cut her off. "Just like ... like Lynn said."
A complicated emotion flickered in Sona's eyes as she continued, "I was only thinking about myself, completely ignoring his situation."
Rias was silent for a moment. Then, she took a sip of her tea and chuckled. "Now that's the Sona I know..."
When others made mistakes, she would point them out without hesitation. But when she made one herself, she admitted it openly.
Sona also took a sip of tea, regaining her usual composed demeanor.
"So, what about your engagement?" Rias asked curiously.
The plan to break off the engagement had been a complete failure.
Although Lynn didn't resist the idea of breaking it off—in fact, he had been rather cooperative—the result was obvious.
Sona paused for a moment before saying, "Forget about the Rating Game. That would expose him to the Old Maou Faction's attention."
"I'll try to persuade my family myself."
Rias could hear the determination in her voice and joked, "If you ask me, Lynn isn't bad at all. Why not just go along with it?"
"..."
Seeing Sona fall into silence, Rias, who knew her well, was immediately surprised. "Wait... are you actually considering it?"
"I didn't have a bad first impression of him," Sona admitted honestly. "If it comes down to it, I'll try to develop feelings for him."
Rias' eyes widened in shock.
Something was off!
Something was really off!!
She vividly recalled Lynn's cold, indifferent gaze, his emotionless voice.
And that unforgettable sentence: 'You're really only thinking about yourself, huh?'
"Hiss—"
"Sona, you're not... into that kind of thing, are you?"
'Like... a masochist?' thinking inwardly.
"Into what?" Sona asked, confused.
"No, hahaha, nothing at all," Rias laughed awkwardly, avoiding her gaze.
'Surely not... right?' Rias began really thinking about it.
"Weird."
Sona frowned but didn't press the issue. Finishing her tea, she stood up to leave.
"Oh, right."
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a set of keys.
"I noticed his living conditions weren't great. The Sitri family owns some property in Minato, Tokyo—this is the key to one of the apartments. If you get the chance, give it to him for me as an apology."
Leaving those words behind, Sona activated a magic circle and disappeared.
Rias opened her mouth but ended up swallowing the words 'Why don't you give it to him yourself?'
— — —
Private Kuoh Academy ~ Student Council Room
A flash of red light.
Sona suddenly appeared.
"Tsubaki, I need a bath."
"Yes, President."
"And my clothes need to be washed."
"Yes, President."
"...Wait! I'll wash my own underwear!"
— — —
"Thanks a lot for reminding me, Nanami."
"I'll treat you to ice cream next time."
Carrying the discounted bento he had fought for, Lynn left the convenience store victorious after saying goodbye to Nanami.
By the time he stepped outside, the sky had darkened.
With a plastic bag in one hand, he absentmindedly toyed with a black chess piece in the other.
"So, Nanami has the potential to be reincarnated as a devil too..."
"Too bad she refused to let me implant this into her body."
Lynn sighed, a bit disappointed.
"Can you see me?"
"Can you see me?"
A cursed spirit with an unnaturally long tongue blocked Lynn's path, its sticky saliva dripping onto the pavement, producing a sizzling, corrosive sound.
Lynn gave it a look of pure disdain.
The long-tongued spirit twitched violently.
"You can see me!"
"You must be able to see me!!"
"You—aaaargh!!"
Before the spirit could enjoy this rare opportunity—a human who could see it—red flames erupted from its body, instantly incinerating it into nothing.
"You picked the wrong target," Lynn muttered.
"I'm a devil, after all."
His gaze swept across the other cursed spirits gathering around him.
Each one trembled under his sight.
Lynn shook his head and ignored them.
There were simply too many of these low-level curses; he couldn't be bothered dealing with them all.
Besides, after unlocking his past memories, he had kinda figured out what kind of world he was in.
A Real Anime Crossovers Universe. Yep!
For example, his identity—
The sole heir of a devil family from the Underworld, a freshman at Shuchiin Academy, where his homeroom teacher was Minamiya Natsuki, and the school had a Totsuki Culinary Division.
Oh, and the convenience store clerk, Aoyama Nanami.
And now, with all these different types of spirits infesting the streets, Lynn had a strong suspicion that this world also had a Yotsuya Miko.
"Hm?"
Lynn paused, eyes narrowing slightly.
On his status screen, the ability Evil (Devil's) Chess Pieces was glowing faintly.
This was another function of the Evil Pieces—if someone nearby had the potential to become his servant, it would notify him by flashing.
Lynn immediately released his magic, scanning the area.
A few seconds later, his eyes lit up. "Found it!"
Pinpointing the location, he changed directions and rushed over.
His potential servant wasn't in a good situation—currently being chased by a devil.
Yes, a devil.
Not all devils were like him—ones who followed human laws.
Of course, it could just be a stray devil.
From what he sensed, it was only at a low-class strength level. No real threat to someone like him, who was on the verge of breaking into high-class devil status.
---
"Huff... Huff... Huff..."
Heavy breathing echoed through a deserted alleyway.
Kasumigaoka Utaha gritted her teeth, forcing her leaden legs to keep moving. Her black stockings were tattered, her legs covered in scrapes and bruises, but she hardly noticed. All she could do was run.
Faster! Run faster!!
She could feel that thing behind her, chasing her, savoring the thrill of the hunt.
She didn't know if she would survive, but she knew one thing—
If she stopped, she would die.
So, faster!!
Bam!
Suddenly, she crashed into something warm.
But instead of relief, only one thought filled her mind— I'm doomed.
"Looks like you could use some help?"
Gasping for air, Utaha looked up.
A handsome face came into view, but she had no time for such thoughts.
"R-Run! There's a monster behind me!!"
She had no strength left. If not for leaning completely against this boy, she would've collapsed already.
She couldn't run anymore, but he still had a chance.
"A monster? You mean that thing?"
Lynn pointed behind her, his other arm steadying her in his embrace.
Utaha turned to look.
A creature with the upper body of a naked woman and the lower half of a spider was drooling as it stared at her.
She swallowed hard and forced a bitter smile. "This close... Looks like you won't be able to escape either."
"Why would I run?"
"It's just a low-class stray devil, after all."
.
.
.