The turbulent night officially came to an end only after Sirzechs returned to the Underworld with the devil forces sent from there.
By the time daylight arrived, Kuoh Town looked no different from usual. Even the residents couldn't remember the strange things that had happened the night before. It was as if it had all been a dream, fading away with the darkness.
Kuoh Academy was the same. There was no trace of the wreckage or chaos from last night. Students streamed onto campus as always, attended classes as usual, and not a single one of them knew that a battle deciding the life or death of all Kuoh Town had taken place right here.
Naturally, the members of the Gremory peerage and the Sitri peerage also continued going to school as if nothing had happened. Even though they hadn't slept all night and had just been through an exhausting battle, none of them planned to take time off.
As for Leo and the others, they had already returned to Chiba.
Their vacation was over, and they had to go back to Sobu High to attend classes.
Of course, their month-long absence, taking collective leave to go somewhere, had already become hot gossip throughout the school. Now that the vacation was over and they were back, it was only natural that they were stared at and bombarded with questions.
In response, Leo and the others used "club activities" as their excuse, neatly shutting everyone up, much to the dissatisfaction of many.
Using club activities as an excuse was fine, but couldn't they at least explain what kind of club activities those were?
The most popular guy at Sobu High going out for a full month with four of the school's five campus idols, all in the name of club activities... how was anyone not supposed to let their imagination run wild?
Many people even secretly fantasized that during that month, the five of them had done something… inappropriate, and that their relationships had undergone dramatic changes.
At the very least, Leo was subjected to plenty of that kind of interrogation.
"Come on, tell us. We swear we won't tell anyone."
"Yeah, just satisfy our curiosity. We'll keep it a secret."
"You're saying nothing happened with any of them? I don't buy it!"
"At least tell us who you're into. One of them has to be your type, right?"
This was what the guys cared about most, dying to know which of those girls had already fallen to Leo.
The girls were just as curious. Their gossip instincts had long since gone into overdrive, to the point where Yukinoshita Yukino, Yuuki Asuna, Kasumigaoka Utaha, and Shiina Mahiru were surrounded all day by girls, some familiar, some not, poking around for information.
They really wanted to say:
"We went to the Underworld for special training. Would you believe that?"
"Getting bombarded by demonic power blasts from a heartless master in the morning, then chased around by all kinds of monsters on the battlefield at night. Can you even imagine a club activity like that?"
"Being so exhausted you can't even move a finger, running into life-and-death situations over and over again... how would there be time for relationship progress?"
"Our strength did improve a lot, but if we told you that… would you even understand?"
The girls complained endlessly in their hearts.
Over the past month, the only truly "breakthrough" development between them and Leo was that they could bathe together, soaking in hot springs and even bathing together.
If that ever got out, the entire Sobu High would explode.
None of the students there would ever imagine that while they were guessing which girl Leo had crossed the line with, the truth was that all four of them had already seen him completely bare more than once. If that came out, Leo himself would probably explode.
Well…
He'd be exploded by the jealous, resentful glares of the guys.
That definitely wasn't something that could be said out loud, so all they could do was brush it off.
In the entire school, only one person knew the truth behind the Department of Mystical Affairs' "club activities."
That person was Eriri.
"…Your lives are really getting more and more intense."
After hearing the truth from Kasumigaoka Utaha, Eriri couldn't help but mutter that.
Training in the Underworld was something that was supposed to exist only in hot-blooded battle manga. Why was it appearing so matter-of-factly in real life?
If there had at least been some shoujo manga–style developments, it wouldn't have felt so wildly out of place with this school's vibe.
What? You're saying mixed bathing is a shoujo manga trope?
Give me a break. Japan has its own cultural context. Mixed bathing might make people's imaginations run wild, but it's not exactly unrealistic.
Four campus idols bathing together with one guy, though... that was a bit too much.
"…Good thing I didn't become that guy's servant."
Eriri felt relieved, and at the same time, couldn't help but drift into fantasy.
One guy and four girls in a mixed bath…
Just hearing it sounded inspiring.
Looks like I've got new material ideas!
"This woman is beyond saving."
One look at Eriri's lewd expression, and Kasumigaoka Utaha knew exactly what she was thinking.
"You really don't plan on turning her into a servant?"
In the Department of Mystical Affairs' clubroom, Kasumigaoka Utaha asked Leo that question directly.
"If you've got any intention at all, hurry up and make a move. Put that woman in her place so she doesn't have time to keep fantasizing."
"Let it go. I've already passed the stage where I was desperate for talent."
Leo shook his head as he sipped the black tea Shiina Mahiru had prepared for him.
He had never intended to force anything, and now he had even less reason to.
Back when he was weak and constantly anxious about the future, he had gone all out with planning and recruiting new servants. But after Ravel, Ram, and Rem joined, he had gained a basic level of self-preservation. He no longer needed to live with that same sense of urgency.
Now that the three-faction summit was about to begin, the world's situation was going to accelerate like a runaway train onto tracks that could derail at any moment, triggering one major incident after another.
Under those circumstances, recruiting ordinary people who would need to be trained from scratch would likely mean they'd be swallowed whole by the coming chaos before they could even grow, bones and all.
Because of that, Leo no longer planned to recruit servants from ordinary backgrounds.
From now on, his requirements for new servants wouldn't just be high potential, they'd need a certain level of strength as well.
Considering the major events ahead, at the very least, they would need to be at the level of a High-Class Devil to qualify. Otherwise, they'd likely end up as cannon fodder.
If they weren't at that level, then they'd need something extremely special, like Rem's unique aptitude. Otherwise, they really might end up as meaningless casualties, unable to even make a ripple before being crushed by the tide of history.
Leo had already discussed these thoughts with Sirzechs and Ravel, and both had promised to keep a special eye out for suitable talent.
The Maou, led by Sirzechs, were already extremely satisfied, and even pleasantly surprised, by Leo's growth. Because of that, they were more than willing to support his requests, hoping to cultivate another top-tier combat force for the devil race.
Ravel, in particular, took this responsibility very seriously. The development of the Eligos peerage was now her own business. Naturally, she wanted Leo to become stronger, and she wanted her family's investment to pay off. She had already relayed Leo's requirements back to the House Phenex and had her family handle it.
"Well then, it looks like that blonde loser really doesn't have the fortune to enter this world."
Kasumigaoka Utaha shrugged and muttered.
She had seen it coming. That blonde loser wasn't uninterested in the supernatural world. She was just deeply conflicted about becoming someone else's servant. Or rather, she simply couldn't accept it.
Watching her hesitation, Utaha felt both contempt and a vague urge to help her out.
Unfortunately, a loser was still a loser. Having missed the period when Leo was most desperate for talent, Eriri had also missed her best chance. If she wanted to step into the supernatural world in the future, it wouldn't be nearly so easy.
"Why don't you recruit her as a servant someday?"
Leo suddenly said that to Kasumigaoka Utaha.
"Me? Recruit her as a servant?"
Utaha froze. Yukinoshita Yukino, Yuuki Asuna, and Shiina Mahiru were just as stunned.
Ravel, Ram, and Rem weren't present. They weren't students at Sobu High. Ravel was still considering whether to attend school in the human world, while Ram and Rem had no interest at all and only wanted to manage the estate. All three were currently at the manor.
Seeing the four girls standing there in a daze, Leo smiled.
"Hyoudou Issei wants to become a High-Class Devil and openly build a harem. Don't you want something like that too?"
He wasn't suggesting the girls build harems. He meant becoming High-Class Devils, becoming Kings.
"As long as you become High-Class Devils, you'll be qualified to receive Evil Pieces and become Kings. If you're interested, you can try in the future."
Now they understood.
"So you're saying that after I become a High-Class Devil, I can go recruit that blonde loser as my own servant?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha was starting to get it.
"That's exactly it." Leo spread his hands. "The premise is that you actually want to be independent."
Not every High-Class Devil wanted to become a King.
Take Ravel, for example. As a pure-blooded devil and the daughter of the House Phenex, she already met the conditions to become a King. She just didn't have that intention yet.
She felt she still needed to learn more and prepare further.
Once she decided she wanted to become a King, she could apply to the Underworld at any time, officially register as a King, and receive Evil Pieces.
In other words, Ravel already had the qualifications to become independent from under Leo's command at any moment. That was also why the House Phenex was willing to entrust their precious daughter to him as a servant.
If things ever became unpleasant in the Eligos peerage, Ravel could always leave and stand on her own. Even if she had to return as a Rook piece when Leo needed her, the restrictions wouldn't be much worse than those of an ordinary servant.
That was under normal circumstances.
Although Leo had revealed the existence of his Servant Conversion trait, he hadn't revealed everything.
At the very least, the Underworld had no idea that anyone reincarnated through Leo's Servant Conversion would have their soul branded with his mark, becoming his possession.
Feeling dissatisfied in the Eligos peerage?
That was impossible.
With even their souls conquered, the servant girls would only grow more accepting of Leo, more attached to him.
Once the House Phenex sent their daughter over, she was truly his. They wouldn't be able to take her back even if they wanted to.
That was why Leo didn't mind his servants becoming independent and turning into Kings.
Independent or not, they would still be his servants. His.
"Becoming a King…"
Kasumigaoka Utaha really was tempted.
And not just her. Yukinoshita Yukino had ideas of her own as well.
"Becoming a King, recruiting servants, leading a team into Rating Games, making a name for myself in the devil world… that doesn't sound bad."
She thought quietly.
She was someone who genuinely wanted to change things. Even after accepting Leo as her master, that didn't mean she was content with the status quo.
After becoming Leo's servant and turning into a devil, she had founded the Service Club at school, trying to change the world by changing others, and proving to her family that her chosen path wasn't wrong.
So then, debuting in the devil world as a King, steadily climbing in status through Rating Games, gaining the power to change the world…
Wasn't that a more realistic, more clearly defined path?
With that thought, Yukinoshita Yukino quietly made up her mind.
"But right now, we're still the lowest Low-Class Devils."
Kasumigaoka Utaha was more realistic, and more rational. She poured cold water on the idea immediately.
"How long have you even been devils?" Leo shot her a look, annoyed. "Even I spent a full fifteen years going from a Low-Class Devil to a High-Class Devil. You've all been devils for less than half a year. Being the lowest Low-Class Devils is completely normal."
That was the truth.
In the Underworld, there were countless devils who spent their entire lives as Low-Class or Mid-Class Devils.
Becoming a High-Class Devil meant being granted a noble title, becoming part of the aristocracy. That was something only a minority could ever achieve. For most devils, High-Class was nothing more than an unattainable dream.
"The situation's only getting more tense, and the battles we face will keep increasing. When that time comes, that'll be your chance to build achievements."
Leo said it plainly.
"As long as you rack up enough merits, you'll realize that becoming a High-Class Devil is nothing more than something within reach."