Taking out his phone, Tatsuma opened his contacts, scrolled to the second to last entry, and pressed the dial button.
"Okay, no problem."
"I understand, I will send someone later to discuss the specific cooperation details."
"Trustworthy management personnel? Everyone I have is very busy. If you don't mind, I can find someone from another clan for you."
"Don't worry, she is trustworthy."
"Okay, leave this matter to me."
The brief conversation echoed in the room.
Ending the sudden communication, Sirzechs looked to the side.
"Ajuka, Tatsuma sent a message, he has taken down MAR."
"As expected."
Ajuka was not surprised by this. He had already received the news that Shahryar was not at MAR today.
Without a God-class enemy to contend with, it would be strange if Tatsuma couldn't take it down.
"MAR has been occupied, this news will spread within half a day at most."
"We must constantly monitor the reaction of the main MAR company to prevent Shahryar from resorting to desperate measures."
Sirzechs's expression became subtle as he said, "Tatsuma also mentioned this matter. He said he captured the MAR Executive Director, Ladli, Shahryar's sister."
"Huh?"
Ajuka was stunned. "Didn't the intelligence say that Ladli, like Shahryar, wasn't at the headquarters today? Where did he capture her?"
Sirzechs shook his head. "I'm not sure, Tatsuma didn't elaborate."
Ajuka said, "As expected of the Red Dragon Emperor, he always manages to surprise people."
Ladli was no ordinary person. As Shahryar's biological sister, she was also a Deva. In MAR, she could be said to be second only to one person and above everyone else.
By threatening her to make her cooperate, the impact of MAR falling would be minimized.
However...
"Ladli is a member of the Deva. Even with restrictive measures, she cannot be fully trusted."
"The Red Dragon Emperor isn't interested in managing forces, should we send someone to help him keep an eye on Ladli?"
Sirzechs said, "Tatsuma mentioned this matter, he wants a trustworthy person to help manage MAR together."
Ajuka asked, "Looking at your expression, you already have a suitable candidate in mind, right?"
Sirzechs nodded. "Although still very young, the girl from the Phenex Clan has talent in this area."
"Phenex Clan?"
A hint of thought flashed in Ajuka's eyes.
Because of Rias, Tatsuma had a Rating Game with the third son of the Phenex Clan not long ago. Theoretically speaking, sending someone from the Phenex Clan to assist Tatsuma was not a good choice.
However, he had heard some rumors about the girl of the Phenex Clan. He heard that after that Rating Game ended, she became interested in Tatsuma. Thanks to her, the head of the Phenex Clan even privately inquired about Tatsuma with Sirzechs.
Ajuka asked, "Are you trying to use this opportunity to resolve the Phenex Clan's reservations?"
Sirzechs said, "That's one of the reasons. Besides, I want to use this opportunity to help Tatsuma expand his connections."
"You want Tatsuma to become a Satan?"
"Yes, it doesn't matter if he doesn't do anything, as long as he can become a connecting hub."
"I understand."
Ajuka showed a thoughtful expression.
Thinking about it carefully, he had a niece at home who was also quite good. He would find an opportunity later to see if he could send her to work for Tatsuma.
At the same time.
After ending the call with Sirzechs, Tatsuma handed over the clean-up work to Ladli, Sho, and the others.
He himself took Le Fay and Kuroka back home through a teleportation array.
"Tatsuma, your house is so big, nya." Kuroka looked around curiously.
"Don't run around."
Tatsuma took Kuroka with him and came to the second room on the right side of the third floor, raising his hand to knock twice on the door.
"Just come in, the door isn't locked." Koneko's voice sounded from inside the room.
Tatsuma pushed open the door and walked in first.
Unlike Asia's simple layout, Koneko's room had many figures and decorations.
In the corner of the room, Koneko was holding a game controller and operating it with a focused expression. Hearing the sound of the door opening, she turned her head and glanced over.
Noticing it was Tatsuma, Koneko blinked in surprise, put down the controller, and walked over. "Tatsuma, is there something you need me for?"
"I ran into your sister when I went out today."
"You weren't hurt, were you?"
"Of course not, with your sister's little strength, I can take her down in three moves."
As he spoke, Tatsuma turned his head and called out to someone not far away.
"Stop hiding, come in."
"Cough! Coming, nya."
Kuroka peeked her head out from the edge of the door frame and waved to Koneko, greeting her. "Long time no see, Shirone."
"Kuroka?!"
Koneko instinctively tensed her body, mobilizing the natural energy in the surrounding air.
But just then, a hand reached out from the side and stroked her head. "Relax, with me here, she won't dare to act rashly."
"...I understand."
Koneko retracted her aura, but her gaze towards Kuroka remained full of vigilance.
"Tatsuma, why didn't you kill her?"
Kuroka feigned a sad expression. "Huh? Shirone is so heartless, nya."
"I missed you so much, how can you say such cold words as soon as you see me?"
Koneko snorted coldly, her gaze still icy, "Regarding the sister who killed our master and then abandoned me to escape the Underworld, I have nothing to say."
After Tatsuma's guidance, Koneko was no longer as resistant to the power of the Nekoshou as she used to be. However, this did not mean she had let go of the past. She still had not forgotten Kuroka's actions to this day.
"Koneko, calm down."
Just then, Tatsuma's voice sounded again.
"You have some misunderstandings about Kuroka and the Naberius clan who adopted you two sisters."
"Misunderstanding?"
A hint of confusion flashed in Koneko's eyes as she asked, "Is there some inside story about Kuroka's defection from the Underworld back then?"
Tatsuma nodded. "The Devil who adopted you, Caro Naberius, was trying to create Super Devils."
"He didn't adopt you sisters out of kindness back then, but because he saw your potential."
"Because the technology was not perfect, the technology to forcibly activate potential and create Super Devils carried a certain risk."
"For someone like Kuroka who is already an adult and has initially mastered her bloodline power, it's fine, but if it were you, there would be a high probability of losing your life."
"Kuroka sensed this, which is why when Caro Naberius was about to make a move on you, she struck first and assassinated him."
"Is... is this true?"
After hearing Tatsuma's explanation, Koneko was greatly shocked and immediately looked at Kuroka, asking if it was true.
Kuroka immediately replied, "It's true, nya."
In fact, she was also startled by what Tatsuma said.
Caro Naberius's confidentiality work was very good, he never revealed what he was doing to the outside world. If Tatsuma hadn't mentioned it himself, she wouldn't have known that what he was doing was trying to artificially create Super Devils.
However, one thing Tatsuma didn't say wrong was that she did sense that this experiment had problems back then. Because several negotiations didn't work out, Caro Naberius decided to experiment on Koneko, and only then was Kuroka forced to kill him.
"How is it, Shirone?"
"After learning the truth, weren't you moved by what your sister did, nya?"
"..."
Koneko fell silent, her expression very complicated.
In fact, she had been resenting Kuroka all these years.
Resenting her for being obsessed with power and falling into depravity, causing her to almost be executed by the Devil higher-ups.
But after learning the truth of that year, Koneko finally realized that she was the one being protected. What Kuroka did was essentially to protect her from harm.
Looking at the woman in front of her, who bore some resemblance to herself and was staring at her with an expectant look, after a moment of silence, Koneko lowered her head and said softly, "...Thank you."
"Huh? Shirone, what did you just say? I didn't hear it clearly, nya."
"..."
"Shirone, why did you suddenly stop talking? Your sister is so..."
Bang!
"Ouch!"
Kuroka covered her head and looked aside with a resentful expression. "Why did you suddenly hit me, nya?"
"I brought you here to help Koneko resolve her inner conflict, not to tease her."
After Tatsuma explained lightly, he left Kuroka and Koneko in the room and left.
"I have something to do, so I'll be leaving for a bit. You two sisters can chat slowly."
"Eh? Running away after hitting someone, you're so mean, nya."
After watching Tatsuma leave, Kuroka turned her head to look at her sister next to her. "Shirone, Tatsuma is really mean, isn't he?"
"...Sometimes, a little."
Koneko originally wanted to say something nice about Tatsuma but as the words reached her lips, she suddenly remembered the scene of her first meeting with Tatsuma where she was beaten until she was red.
Thinking of this, a strong sense of curiosity rose in Koneko's heart. "Sister, did Tatsuma hit you?"
"He didn't hit me, but he treats me differently, nya."
Kuroka began to recount her recent experience.