Time flew by, and the Eligos peerage's month-long special training was gradually drawing to a close.
Yukino Yukinoshita, Asuna Yuuki, Utaha Kasumigaoka, and Mahiru Shiina had completely adapted to the rigorous training. They no longer ended each day in the disheveled, exhausted state they had at the beginning; in fact, as the month progressed, it became increasingly difficult for them to even reach their physical limits during the daily drills. They began to handle the regimen with ease.
Ravel, Ram, and Rem had joined later, but unlike Yukino and the others who had started as ordinary humans, these three came from extraordinary backgrounds. Whether as pure-blooded High-class Devils or naturally powerful Oni, they possessed formidable foundations. Even a shorter period of training yielded significant results for them.
Ravel and Ram, in particular, showed explosive growth. One was a minor whose potential had never been fully tapped, leaving vast room for improvement, while the other was slowly reclaiming her strength after a ten-year hiatus. Their progress was remarkably swift.
As for Rem, her routine training remained much the same with marginal gains. However, under the "special tutoring" Leon provided her every night, she had gradually begun to adapt to her Oni form. She was now able to maintain her sanity for short bursts, preventing herself from losing control.
Initially, these intervals were mere seconds, but they slowly extended to a minute. By the final days of the training month, she could hold her form for two minutes without going berserk. While active combat might significantly shorten this duration—meaning it wasn't yet fully viable for practical battle—Rem was already overjoyed.
Unlike the negligible progress of the past, she finally felt herself growing stronger. Every time she extended her control by even a single second, it made her happy for a long time. It proved she had found the true path. As long as she persevered, even if she couldn't master the power entirely, being able to control it for a few minutes would be enough to transform her into the Eligos peerage's "wild card," ensuring she would no longer be a burden to Leon or Ram. Rem vowed to keep working hard so as not to disappoint them.
Leon naturally saw Rem's dedication, just as he kept a close watch on the growth of all his retainers. He was exceptionally gratified and satisfied. A month was a short time, but for the Eligos peerage, it was a period of true metamorphosis. Leon believed that when they stepped back into the public eye, they would shock everyone.
When that time comes, you'll understand. It's no longer possible to manipulate us as you did before, Leon thought silently.
Of course, while Leon was advancing, Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri were not standing still either. Although he was training in the Underworld, Leon maintained contact with them, and they frequently exchanged updates on their recent progress.
Consequently, Rias and Sona both knew that Leon had gained three new servants, including a daughter of the Phenex family and two survivors of the extinct Oni race.
"Phenex, huh—"
Rias's feelings were quite complicated upon hearing that Ravel Phenex had become Leon's servant. Ravel's family had practically become a chronic headache for her. It wasn't that she had a grudge against the Phenex family; quite the opposite, she was technically related to them—through an engagement.
It was an engagement Rias was ten thousand times unwilling to accept. Riser Phenex was someone even the approachable Lucifer, Sirzechs, looked down upon, let alone Rias herself. He was nothing but a crude, arrogant playboy. Although his family background was prestigious and his immortality allowed him to perform reasonably well in Rating Games, Rias simply couldn't stand him.
She was a woman with a dream: to become the champion of the Rating Games, replace the current emperor, and carve out her own legendary name. In short, Rias was a career-driven woman; how could she possibly be willing to marry into a family to stay home, serve a husband, and raise children as a dutiful daughter-in-law? If she married into the Phenex house, she would lose any chance of a public career.
Thus, Rias had been opposed to marrying Riser from the start, and his boorish personality only made her more resentful. If she could, she would have loved to follow the example of her childhood friend, Sona Sitri, and defeat Riser in a game to dissolve the engagement. Unfortunately, she lacked Sona's talent for strategic planning, and the Phenex family understood Riser's nature better than she did; they would never allow the engagement to be settled by a game of chess. Rias couldn't find a way out, and as she approached her coming-of-age debut, her anxiety grew. The two families had already agreed to hold the formal engagement party once she officially became an adult, cementing the union before the entire Devil world.
So, hearing that the daughter of the Phenex family had become the servant of a competitor she held in high regard made Rias's heart feel very heavy. However, she didn't let those feelings show, maintaining a normal tone while speaking with Leon.
"Ravel Phenex, the eldest daughter. I've heard of her—supposedly a very sharp and talented girl. Many say she has the potential to outshine her older brothers in the future."
Rias's voice came through the magic circle in Leon's hand, causing him to chuckle.
"Ravel is indeed very smart. She has her quirks, but in terms of intellect and strategic ability, she might not be much behind Sona."
Rias shook off her complicated thoughts, sounding genuinely surprised. "You rate her that highly?"
As Sona's childhood friend and best friend, no one knew better than Rias just how capable the Sitri heiress was. Rias was confident her own raw power surpassed Sona's, but when it came to a battle of wits, Rias admitted she wouldn't be a match for Sona even if there were two of her. Her friend had already used her wits to solve her own marriage problem, while Rias was still struggling in the mud. For Leon to say Ravel was on par with Sona was high praise indeed.
"She's my designated strategist. If it weren't inappropriate, I would have given her my 'Queen' piece," Leon said with a hint of pride. "Her strength isn't bad either; her immortality alone is enough to stall an Ultimate-class Devil."
Given how outstanding she was in both brains and brawn, it was no wonder Leon wanted to brag a little.
"—The Phenex family was actually willing to give you such an excellent daughter as a servant. They must really believe in you," Rias said after a long silence.
"Not as much as your family," Leon retorted instinctively. "Your family is willing to send their only daughter and successor away to be someone's daughter-in-law. How can the Phenex family compete with that?"
That statement plunged Rias into a dead silence.
"Let's talk about you," Leon said, sensing her discomfort and shifting the topic. "Sona told me you recently took on two new servants, right?"
Leon was quite interested in this. If he was correct, Rias's new recruits included the future protagonist who would change the fate of this world.
"You already heard from Sona?" Rias pushed down her frustration and laughed. Her mood clearly improved at the mention of this.
"Yeah, I heard," Leon said calmly. "I heard one of them is a Longinus wielder, and you had to use all eight of your 'Pawn' pieces to reincarnate him?"
Sona had mentioned this when she contacted Leon yesterday. She had originally called to check on him and share the news that she had finally recruited the Sacred Gear user she had been scouting. Then, she mentioned that Rias had been busy too—not only had she recruited more people than Sona, but they were also Sacred Gear users. One of them, like Leon, Yukino, and Mahiru, was a Longinus possessor, requiring all eight of Rias's "Pawn" pieces for the transformation.
"The 'Boosted Gear,' containing the soul of the Welsh Dragon, one of the Two Heavenly Dragons. Its ability is to double the host's power every ten seconds and transfer that power to allies or weapons. It's ranked fifth among the thirteen Longinus."
Leon spoke the name of the artifact that had crossed his mind countless times, smiling naturally.
"That's a tool ranked just behind the four highest Longinus, said to possess infinite power. Its ranking is higher than Yukino's 'Eternal Ice Princess' or Mahiru's 'Incinerate Anthem.' By taking someone like that as a servant, you must have startled the high-ranking officials of the Devil world."
Had he not already known the future, he probably would have been shocked himself. Rias having a Longinus wielder under her command was indeed a significant event. "One of the Two Heavenly Dragons becoming a Devil... I bet even Heaven and the Grigori are stunned."
However, Rias replied:
"It's actually thanks to you. You told me to keep an eye on the students at Kuoh Academy, which is how I found such a unique person." Rias laughed softly. "At first, I thought he was just a 'Twice Critical' host. I kept wondering why a regular Sacred Gear user would need eight Pawns to reincarnate. Then I realized it was the 'Boosted Gear,' which gave me quite a shock."
"Twice Critical" was a very common Sacred Gear that doubled the user's power for a set time—a low-tier version of the Boosted Gear. If the boy had only possessed that, a single Pawn would have sufficed. But the Boosted Gear was different; as a top-five Longinus, had the host not been an ordinary high school student, Rias might not have been able to reincarnate him even with eight Pawns without using a Mutation Piece.
Thinking of her new servant, Rias couldn't help but laugh. "He's exactly as you described—a total pervert."
She recalled his reputation at Kuoh Academy. He was known as part of the "Perverted Trio." He had supposedly chosen the school because it was formerly an all-girls academy and still had a high female population. Despite being extremely unpopular due to his lewd behavior, he persisted in his ways. His dream was to build a harem. After becoming a Devil and realizing his dream might actually be possible, he was working exceptionally hard on his duties, fantasizing about the day he would become a High-class Devil "King" and use his own Evil Pieces to officially recruit beautiful girls and live a life surrounded by maids calling him "Master."
"I hope he hasn't tried to take advantage of you," Leon joked, knowing exactly what kind of person Issei Hyoudou was.
"Pfft." Rias burst out laughing, unable to contain herself. "He wouldn't dare. Forget about us—he doesn't even dare to flirt with the girls at the academy anymore."
"?"
Rias explained the reason. It turned out that after Leon's warning, Sona Sitri—who had been listening—took it to heart. In her capacity as Student Council President, she had launched a massive campaign to clean up the morals and discipline of Kuoh Academy. She rounded up all the students who were damaging the school's reputation and gave them such severe "guidance" that many were left psychologically scarred.
The Perverted Trio, famous for peeping and discussing lewd topics in public, were singled out and publicly exposed by Sona, effectively resulting in their "social death" at school. They couldn't lift their heads anymore. Issei Hyoudou had been "disciplined" by Sona long before he became Rias's servant, and he now harbored a massive psychological trauma regarding the Student Council President. Knowing that Rias and Sona were best friends, he was terrified and didn't dare to step out of line.
Leon was stunned.
So... the Breast Dragon Emperor is going straight?
You must be joking.