— — — — — — —
The location of Kuoh Academy wasn't exactly close to Tokyo's Minato zone.
Lynn and Utaha spent over two hours on the train before finally arriving at Kuoh Town.
This long journey only made Lynn even more envious of Rias's teleportation magic, which was shown in the anime.
Utaha curiously observed her surroundings. "So, where exactly are we going?"
"Hmm… to a Devil family's territory."
"Huh?" Utaha stopped in her tracks, staring at him in shock. "A Devil family's territory?"
Her movements instantly became more cautious. She lowered her voice and whispered, "Are you sure it's okay for us to just say it like this?"
Seeing her acting so sneaky, Lynn reassured her, "Relax, I have a pretty decent relationship with the people in charge here."
Well… probably?
"That's good to know." Utaha let out a breath of relief, though she still seemed a bit uneasy.
After all, they were dealing with actual Devils.
So far, the only Devil she had encountered—aside from that stray Devil—was Lynn.
She had no idea what other Devils were like.
— — —
At the Front Gates of Kuoh Academy
A girl with long black hair tied into a high ponytail, nearly reaching the ground, stood quietly by the entrance.
The moment she saw Lynn, her eyes lit up. She quickly walked over, clasped her hands in front of her skirt, and greeted them with a gentle smile:
"You must be Mr. Lynn. I'm Akeno Himejima, a servant of the President. She asked me to escort you."
"Thanks for the trouble, Akeno-san."
Stare—
Utaha couldn't take her eyes off Akeno's figure.
That body was just… unreal!
She glanced down at herself. She had always been pretty confident, but in this match-up, she had to admit—she lost.
Completely.
Noticing Utaha's gaze, Akeno simply smiled softly. But, almost imperceptibly, she straightened her back just a little more, making Utaha even more frustrated.
After teasing Utaha a bit, Akeno led them toward the Occult Research Club located in the old school building.
Along the way, she gave them a guided tour of Kuoh Academy, preventing any awkward silences between them.
---
The Occult Research Club
"President, Mr. Lynn has arrived."
Rias flipped her vibrant crimson hair as she stood up from the couch to welcome them.
"Lynn, welcome to Kuoh Town."
She put on the demeanor of a gracious host, smiling warmly. "Since you've come all this way, let's sit down and chat first."
"Akeno, prepare some tea for our guests."
"Yes, President."
As Utaha sat down, she noticed a petite girl in the corner of the sofa.
Rias introduced her, "This is my servant, Koneko Tojo. She's still in the middle school."
"Nice to meet you, senpais." Koneko greeted them with a monotone voice.
Lynn took a look around, admiring the luxurious decor. Then something struck him. "Rias, you only have two servants?"
Rias paused for a moment before brushing her hair behind her ear with a small smile. "That's right. I prefer quality over quantity, so it's difficult to find suitable members."
Lynn pondered.
'No Kiba Yuuto or the others?'
'Was it because they hadn't been recruited yet? Or was this some kind of butterfly effect due to the crossover setting?'
"This girl must be your servant, then?" Rias's gaze shifted to Utaha.
She had only just sent the Evil Piece yesterday, yet today, Lynn already had a servant.
"They must have been close beforehand," Rias speculated.
"No Sacred Gear fluctuations. No signs of any training."
"She seems like a completely ordinary human..."
"Utaha Kasumigaoka."
Utaha introduced herself confidently, but her eyes inevitably drifted toward Rias's chest.
This master-servant duo...
Her expression turned complicated. Then she glanced at Koneko, and finally, she felt a little better.
Koneko: "?!!"
(Cat instincts: On high alert!)
"I already know why you're here."
After all, they had communicated over the phone yesterday.
Understanding that Lynn had never received formal training in the Underworld's Devil system, Rias pulled out an incredibly thick, black leather-bound book.
It was about the size of two bricks stacked together.
Lynn's eyelids twitched.
"This is 360 Applications of Magic, a standard guide in the Underworld. It contains basic magical techniques."
Rias offered a slight apology. "Sorry, but I can only provide general techniques for now. More advanced skills are usually exclusive to each Devil family."
Lynn nodded in understanding. "This is more than enough."
Just this one book alone would take a long time to go through.
Good thing… he had a labor force.
Lynn pushed 360 Applications of Magic toward Utaha with a smile. "It's all on you, Utaha Beast."
"...?"
A big question mark practically appeared over Utaha's head.
Also, what the hell was with that weird nickname?!
She wanted to complain, but since they were on someone else's turf, she had no choice but to swallow her frustration.
She turned to the massive book in front of her, feeling an impending headache.
Well, at least she didn't need to understand it. She didn't even need to learn it.
All she had to do was record it.
Utaha gritted her teeth.
"Fine! Time to copy!"
.
.
.