Silence returned to the room, leaving only the sound of Genichi's own breathing.
His fingers unconsciously rubbed at his shirt cuff. His brows knit slightly, and behind his black eyes, thoughts churned and twisted with unease.
Rias Gremory's line, "I've only ever done this with you," refused to fade. It echoed in his head like an aftersound that wouldn't disperse, stirring doubts beneath his calm surface.
Something was off.
Rias's attitude toward him had clearly gone beyond how she would treat an ordinary new servant, even a reincarnated devil with a low-tier dragon-hand Sacred Gear.
It was too close. Too special.
Especially when Genichi knew she supposedly still didn't understand what he truly held was the Longinus, the Boosted Gear.
For a reincarnated devil with only a lower-class Sacred Gear, and a guy with a notorious past reputation, why would Rias, the next head of House Gremory and someone on the "elite track," favor him to this extent?
Why would she even use a method that crossed the usual master-servant boundary and bordered on outright intimacy, all to raise his strength?
It didn't add up.
Genichi didn't believe for a second that this red-haired devil princess was the type to act on a whim, or get swept away by shallow attraction.
Every move she made had to have a deeper calculation behind it.
Being singled out like this, without knowing why, made him uneasy.
The unknown meant the possibility of losing control.
He needed an answer.
At the very least, he needed an explanation he could live with, for now.
"Rias-buchou, there's something I want to ask."
"Oh?"
"What is it?"
Genichi arranged his words, keeping his voice as level and direct as possible, without letting emotion leak through. "Why do you seem to favor me so much? Enough that you'd use a method like that to raise my strength. Can you tell me the reason? I don't think the potential of a low-tier dragon-hand Sacred Gear is enough to justify this."
He didn't dance around it. He went straight for the core contradiction.
Not only did Rias not look offended or surprised, a clear note of approval surfaced in her eyes.
She gave a small nod, like she was saying: So you finally asked.
"A sharp question, Genichi."
Her voice carried a smile. "As expected, you're completely different from the 'Harem Trio' Hyoudou Genichi in the records. You're not a brainless idiot ruled by desire."
Then her tone shifted. She leaned forward slightly, those green eyes like a deep pool, reflecting Genichi's calm face.
"But before I answer, before I tell you why I'm giving you special treatment…"
Rias's voice turned playful. "Can you tell me first why you're so different from before? That Hyoudou Genichi who drooled over girls, and you now, calm, rational, almost overly cautious, you're like two different people. I'm curious what caused that change."
She threw the question back at him, and it struck at another obvious point of suspicion: the sudden, dramatic shift in his personality.
Genichi had expected this.
He knew he couldn't hide that change from someone as observant as Rias.
He had already prepared a line. Simple, universal, and the hardest to disprove completely.
"Everything before was an act."
He answered concisely, flatly, as if stating a fact.
"An act?"
Rias raised a brow, clearly unsatisfied. "And?"
"That's it."
Genichi met her gaze. "That's why I seem completely different."
He wore the expression of someone saying: that's the truth, no further explanation required.
But that near-dismissive answer obviously didn't satisfy Rias's curiosity. If anything, it drew a flicker of irritation, like she felt slightly brushed aside.
Her smile vanished. Her beautiful green eyes widened a fraction, and then she puffed her cheeks in open displeasure.
The childish gesture on her mature, breathtaking face somehow didn't look wrong at all. Instead, it gave her a strange, disarming charm.
"You're brushing me off."
Her voice rose a little, unmistakably annoyed. "Why did you act? Who were you acting for? What was the purpose? You didn't explain anything."
She looked like a child who'd discovered a toy's secret and been denied an explanation. At the same time, she carried the intensity of someone whose authority had been challenged. Her eyes stayed locked on Genichi, demanding a fuller answer.
Genichi stayed silent, returning her stare.
He knew he couldn't reveal the real core secret.
And any excuse built with too many details would only create more openings for her to pick apart.
Silence was safer right now. Admit the anomaly, refuse to explain the reason.
He looked away, toward the brightening sky beyond the window, making it clear he wouldn't continue this topic.
Rias stared at him for several seconds. When it became obvious he truly wasn't going to elaborate, she seemed to give up, or at least shelve the question for later.
She let out a small huff and shot him a look that practically said, I'm keeping score.
"Fine. If you don't want to say it, I won't press for now."
Her gaze sharpened, her tone turning serious again as she returned to the original topic. "Then I'll answer your question, why I favor you so much."
She paused, as if choosing her words carefully, then spoke two words clearly.
"Because of your potential. I see unmatched potential in you."
"Potential?"
Something shifted in Genichi's mind, but his expression stayed calm. "You mean that dragon-hand Sacred Gear? A low-tier one? That doesn't sound like something with much potential."
"No. Not the Sacred Gear. You."
Rias shook her head. "The Sacred Gear on your left hand was one of the reasons I noticed you at first. But what made me decide to invest more attention in you, even to use some special methods, was what you yourself showed. The possibilities you carry."
She rose and walked up to him, closing the distance again.
Close enough that Genichi could clearly catch the scent that clung to her.
And shamefully, as Genichi faced Rias at arm's length, completely unguarded and unbothered, his body reacted again.
Rias let out a light laugh.
"Now you look a little more like the Harem Trio after all, Genichi," she teased, voice soft with amusement. "Mm, you're full of energy, aren't you."
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