The tumultuous night finally came to an official end after Sirzechs departed with the devil reinforcement troops sent from the Underworld.
By the time daylight broke, Kuoh Town had returned to its usual self. The residents didn't even remember the strange events of the previous night; it was as if a dream had dissipated with the passing of the dark.
Kuoh Academy had likewise restored its former appearance, showing no signs of the mess or destruction from the night before. Students stepped into the academy and attended classes as usual, none the wiser that a battle determining the very survival of Kuoh Town had taken place right there.
Naturally, the members of the Gremory and Sitri retinues continued to attend school normally. Even though they hadn't slept all night and were exhausted from the fierce battle, they had no intention of taking a leave of absence.
As for Leon and his group, they had already returned to Chiba. Their vacation was over, and they had to return to Sobu High to continue their classes.
Of course, the news of their month-long collective absence had already caused a stir throughout Sobu High. Now that the holiday was over and they had returned, they were naturally the targets of curious stares and numerous inquiries.
In response, Leon and the others used "club activities" as an excuse to shut down the rumors, though this left many people dissatisfied.
Using club activities as an excuse was fine, but they could at least explain the specific content of those activities!
The top-ranked boy on the Sobu High popularity charts going away for an entire month with four of the "Five High-Heeled Flowers" for so-called club activities? It was impossible not to let one's imagination run wild.
Many even fantasized that during this month, the five of them had already done something unspeakable and that their relationships had undergone a drastic change.
At the very least, Leon was subjected to such interrogations.
"Just tell us, we promise not to tell anyone."
"Yeah, satisfy our curiosity. We'll definitely keep it a secret for you."
"Did nothing 'beyond friendship' really happen? I don't believe it!"
"At least tell us who you've set your sights on. There are four Flowers there; you must like one of them, right?"
The boys were only concerned about such things, desperate to know which High-Heeled Flower had been "plucked" by Leon.
In fact, the girls were also particularly concerned about this. Their gossiping hearts had long been itching, to the point where Yukino Yukinoshita, Asuna Yuuki, Utaha Kasumigaoka, and Mahiru Shiina were surrounded all day by girls—both familiar and strange—trying to get the scoop.
To this, Yukino and the others really wanted to say:
"We went to the Underworld for special training, would you believe that?"
"In the morning, we were chased and bombarded by a heartless master with magic bullets, and at night, we had to be chased by all sorts of monsters on a battlefield. Can you even imagine such club activities?"
"We were so tired every day that we couldn't even lift a finger, and we encountered life-or-death crises time and again. How could there be any 'progress' in our relationships?"
"Our strength has certainly improved a lot, but if we told you that, could you even understand it?"
The girls complained inwardly.
The only breakthrough in their relationship with Leon over the past month was that they could now soak in hot springs and bathe together.
But if this were ever leaked, the entirety of Sobu High would probably explode.
The students of Sobu High would never have guessed that while they were speculating about who had a "special relationship" with Leon, the truth was that all four Flowers had stood before him in the nude more than once. If this were exposed, Leon would be the one to explode—blasted by the envious and hateful glares of every boy in school.
This simply wasn't something that could be talked about, so they could only offer vague excuses.
In the entire school, only one person learned the truth about the Occult Research Club's activity: Eriri.
"…Your lives are really getting more and more intense."
After Eriri learned the truth from Utaha, she couldn't help but complain.
Going to the Underworld for special training was the kind of plot that only appeared in hot-blooded battle manga. Why did it appear so brazenly in reality?
If they had at least some shoujo manga-style developments, they wouldn't feel so out of place with the school's atmosphere.
What? You say communal bathing is a shoujo manga plot?
Don't be ridiculous. Japan has its own national circumstances; while mixed bathing makes people imagine things, it's at least grounded in reality, right?
Though, the idea of four High-Heeled Flowers and one boy bathing together was still a bit absurd—
"I'm glad I didn't become that guy's servant…"
While Eriri felt lucky in her heart, she couldn't help but lapse into fantasy.
One man and four women in a bath… that sounds like great material!
She had inspiration for a new doujinshi!
"This woman is beyond saving."
One look at Eriri's lewd expression and Utaha knew exactly what she was thinking.
"Do you really not plan to take that girl as a servant?"
In the Occult Research Club room, Utaha asked Leon this question. She looked as though she wanted him to act quickly if he had the intention—to discipline that woman so she wouldn't have the leisure to think such nonsense.
"Forget it. I'm past the stage of being desperate for talent."
Leon took a sip of the black tea Mahiru had brewed for him, shaking his head as he drank.
He never intended to force anything, and he certainly wasn't going to start now.
Previously, when his strength was insufficient and he felt a strong sense of crisis about the future, he would spare no effort to plan and recruit new talent. But after Ravel, Ram, and Rem joined, Leon had attained a certain level of self-preservation. He no longer needed to feel as pressured as before.
Now that the summit meeting between the three major factions was about to begin, the world's situation would soon be like a speeding train on a track that could derail at any moment, causing major events to happen one after another.
In such a situation, if he recruited ordinary people who needed to be trained from scratch, they might be swallowed up by the ensuing chaos before they could even grow.
Therefore, Leon no longer planned to recruit servants from ordinary backgrounds. From now on, his requirements for new servants wouldn't just be high potential, but also a baseline of actual power.
Considering the upcoming major events, a candidate would need at least the strength of a High-Class Devil to join; otherwise, they would likely end up as cannon fodder.
Even without High-Class strength, they would need extremely special potential like Rem's. Otherwise, they would truly risk becoming collateral damage in the grand scheme of things, disappearing without even making a splash. That would be doing a disservice to everyone involved.
Leon had already mentioned his thoughts to Sirzechs and Ravel, and both had promised to keep an eye out for special talent for him.
The Satans, led by Sirzechs, were extremely satisfied—even pleasantly surprised—by his growth. Regarding Leon's request, they intended to assist him as much as possible to cultivate another top-tier combatant for the Devil race.
Ravel, in particular, took this responsibility seriously. The development of the Eligos Peerage was now her own business. Naturally, she wanted to help Leon become stronger and ensure her family's investment didn't go to waste. Thus, she had already sent Leon's thoughts back to the Phoenix family, letting her relatives handle the search.
"Well, it seems that blonde loser really doesn't have the luck to enter this world."
Utaha shrugged and muttered.
She had seen it long ago: Eriri wasn't uninterested in supernatural power and the hidden world; it was just that the idea of becoming someone else's servant made her hesitate or was simply unacceptable to her.
Seeing her like this, Utaha felt a mix of disdain and a desire to help her out a bit.
Unfortunately, a loser is a loser. Having missed the period when Leon was most desperate for talent, Eriri had missed her best opportunity. Entering the supernatural world in the future wouldn't be so easy.
"Why don't you make her your own servant later?"
Looking at Utaha, Leon suddenly spoke.
"Me? Make her my servant?"
Utaha was stunned. Yukino, Asuna, and Mahiru were equally surprised.
Ravel, Ram, and Rem were not present, as they weren't students of Sobu High. Ravel was still considering whether to attend school in the human world, while Ram and Rem had no such desire, preferring to manage the manor as maids. Thus, the three of them were currently at the estate.
Seeing the four Flowers frozen there, Leon smiled and added a sentence.
"Even Issei Hyoudou has the dream of becoming a High-Class Devil and openly having a harem. Don't you guys want that?"
Leon's implication wasn't for the girls to start a harem, but for them to become High-Class Devils—to become "Kings."
"Once you become a High-Class Devil, you are eligible to receive Evil Pieces and become a 'King.' If you're interested, you can try in the future."
This time, the girls understood.
"You mean, once I become a High-Class Devil, I can go and take that blonde loser as my own servant?" Utaha began to catch on.
"Exactly," Leon spread his hands. "Provided you have the desire for independence."
Not every High-Class Devil wanted to be a "King."
For instance, Ravel, as the daughter of the Phoenix family and a pure-blooded devil, already met the requirements to be a "King"; she just didn't have the inclination yet. She felt she still needed to learn and make more preparations.
Once she decided she wanted to be a "King," she could apply to the Underworld at any time to register and receive her Evil Pieces.
In other words, Ravel technically had the right to become independent from Leon's command at any time. This was also why the Phoenix family was willing to send their precious daughter to be his servant.
If life in the Eligos Peerage wasn't to her liking, Ravel could strike out on her own. Even if she still had to return as the "Rook" of the Eligos Peerage when Leon needed her, the restrictions weren't as absolute as those for typical servants.
Of course, that was under normal circumstances.
While Leon had revealed the existence of his "Servant Transformation" trait, he hadn't revealed everything. At the very least, the Devil world had no idea that anyone turned by Leon's trait would have their soul marked with a brand exclusive to him, becoming his possession.
Life in the Eligos Peerage not being to their liking? That was impossible.
These girls, whose very souls had been conquered, would only grow to acknowledge, trust, and feel closer to Leon. Once the Phoenix family sent their daughter over, she was Leon's for good; they couldn't take her back even if they wanted to.
Therefore, Leon didn't mind if his servants became independent "Kings." Regardless of whether they were independent or not, they would always be his servants and his people.
"Being a 'King'…"
Truth be told, Utaha was a bit tempted.
Not just her; Yukino also had some thoughts.
"Becoming a 'King' myself, recruiting servants, leading a team in the Rating Games, and making a name for myself in the Underworld… that sounds like a good path."
Yukino thought silently.
She was someone who always wanted to change something. Even though she had acknowledged Leon as her master, it didn't mean she would be content with the status quo.
Now that she was Leon's servant and a devil, her original path—founding the Service Club to change the world by helping others and proving herself to her family—was no longer viable.
However, debuting in the Underworld as a "King" and gradually raising her status through Rating Games to gain the power to change the world seemed like a more realistic and clear path.
Thinking of this, Yukino secretly made a resolution.
"But we're still just the lowest Low-Class Devils right now."
Utaha was more realistic and rational than Yukino, immediately pouring cold water on the idea.
"How long have you been devils?" Leon rolled his eyes at Utaha. "Even for me, it took a full fifteen years to grind from a Low-Class Devil to a High-Class one. You haven't even been devils for half a year; it's perfectly normal to be Low-Class."
In the Underworld, there were plenty of people who remained Low-Class or Middle-Class Devils for their entire lives. Becoming a High-Class Devil meant being knighted and becoming nobility; it was a feat only a few could achieve. Most devils spent their lives looking up at High-Class status as something unattainable.
However…
"The situation is getting more tense, and we will experience more and more battles. That will be your time to build merit."
Leon spoke confidently.
"As long as you have enough achievements, you'll find that becoming a High-Class Devil is just something within reach."
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