Two hours later, outside the old school building.
"Watch a movie?"
"Yeah, and then I'll show you around Kuoh Town. After all, you haven't been here long, so there are still some places you don't know."
Rias took out two movie tickets from her pocket.
After two hours of consideration, Rias decided to take the initiative and launch an offensive against Lynn.
However, what Rias didn't expect was that Lynn looked down at the time on the movie tickets and shook his head at her.
"Next time. I don't have time this weekend. I have to go to Kyoto for something."
"Kyoto?"
"Yeah, I made an appointment to meet some Yokai in Kyoto."
A few days ago, after asking Kuroka for help, she arranged a meeting for him with the Yokai of Kyoto and the leader of the Nekomata clan.
After a brief negotiation, Magari-obasan, the leader of the Nekomata clan, proposed meeting directly in Kyoto to save time from traveling back and forth.
Kyoto hadn't refused either and had directly agreed.
And the time for this tripartite meeting was exactly this weekend, which was the time written on Rias's movie tickets.
Lynn handed the movie tickets back. "By the way, Rias, do you want to come with me to Kyoto?"
Rias, who had been slightly disappointed, froze. "Aren't you meeting with the Kyoto Yokai?"
Lynn nodded. "The meeting shouldn't take too long. Afterward, we can tour Kyoto."
Rias felt tempted after hearing this.
She had some knowledge of Kyoto, having visited once during a school trip last year.
Although she wasn't as knowledgeable as a local, showing Lynn around would certainly not be a problem.
Just in case, Rias asked, "Taking me to Kyoto won't disrupt your arrangements, will it?"
Lynn shook his head. "Be a little more confident. You are the sister of a Satan; bringing you along will actually boost my momentum."
Rias understood. "Then let's go together."
After asking Lynn about the time, Rias turned and walked back toward the club.
Since Lynn was going for a meeting, she didn't plan to bring Akeno and the others with her this time.
Before leaving, there were some things she needed to explain.
Meanwhile, after seeing Rias off, Lynn looked at the kitten who was still practicing immortal arts beside him.
Although it had been abandoned for a period, the kitten was, after all, a Cat Spirit with outstanding aptitude.
Under his tutelage, the other party learned Immortal Arts with remarkable speed, having already grasped seventy to eighty percent of what he knew. All that remained was consolidation and practice.
At this moment, however, the aura emanating from the kitten was fluctuating, her focus clearly not on the Immortal Arts.
Seeing this, a faint smile appeared on Lynn's face.
"Kitten, it looks like I won this time."
Not long ago, Lynn and the kitten had made a bet, wagering on whether Rias would confess to him within a month.
And just moments ago, Rias had proactively handed him movie tickets, her intentions clear.
On the other side, at Lynn's reminder, the kitten's cat ears atop her head twitched twice, her mood somewhat complicated.
Perhaps driven by a competitive spirit, the kitten did not concede defeat: "The President just wants to watch a movie with you; that doesn't count as a confession. I haven't lost yet."
"Alright then, it doesn't count as a loss."
Lynn chuckled softly, not refuting her, and continued the lesson, teaching the kitten Immortal Arts.
...
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, two days went by.
With plenty of time, Lynn and Rias did not use a Magic Array for teleportation, but instead took the Shinkansen to Kyoto.
Within minutes of exiting the station, Rias led Lynn to the front of a lavishly decorated, high-end hotel.
[Kyoto Sirzechs Hotel].
"As expected of a Satan, quite a lot of private property," Lynn remarked with a sigh.
"In a major city like Kyoto, every faction arranges some outposts to a greater or lesser extent. Besides, this counts as Gremory property," Rias replied.
Although it bore Sirzechs's name, this hotel was actually a Gremory outpost.
With Lynn in tow, Rias quickly completed the check-in procedures.
The room was the hotel's best suite, containing two habitable bedrooms.
After assigning one room each, Rias looked at Lynn beside her.
"There's still some time. Would you like to go out and explore?"
"Sure."
Lynn nodded casually.
Having spent the past few years secluded at home practicing martial arts, he truly hadn't visited Kyoto before.
Now with free time, it was a good opportunity to look around.
Unfortunately, Lynn and Rias's sightseeing plans fell apart in less than a minute.
At the hotel entrance, two women with fox tails stood on either side of the main door.
Between them, a petite beast-eared loli wearing luxurious kimono stepped forward.
"Welcome, both of you. I am the leader of Kyoto's youkai—Yasaka's daughter, Kunou."
After introducing herself, Kunou continued, "Mother said it's your first time in Kyoto and asked me to help show you around."
Lynn let out a light laugh. "Your information network is quite efficient."
It had only been about ten minutes since he and Rias got off the train.
To receive word so quickly without prior notice... one could only say it was befitting of the local power.
Lynn glanced at Rias beside him.
Rias understood his meaning. "Since the local host has sent someone to guide us, let's go meet them ahead of schedule."
...
Kyoto was different from other cities in Japan.
As the stronghold of youkai, Kyoto was divided into two distinct areas: the Surface Kyoto and the Inner Kyoto.
Led by Kunou, Lynn and the others arrived at the nearest shrine and passed through the torii gate into the Inner Kyoto.
Unlike the skyscraper-filled Surface Kyoto,
the Inner Kyoto was filled with old-fashioned houses, presenting a townscape reminiscent of the Edo period.
Similarly, the residents here were not humans, but various youkai with peculiar appearances.
A one-eyed giant-faced youkai, creatures resembling kappas with plates on their heads, standing raccoon dogs...
Not having studied them specifically, Lynn wasn't clear on the classifications of these youkai, only able to roughly gauge their strength through their auras.
Seeming to notice his confusion, Kunou deliberately slowed her pace to explain.
"That old man over there is a Nurarihyon. Although he likes to freeload meals at human homes, his nature is friendly. He usually helps Mother capture troublemaking youkai."
"Those birds perched on the branches are Nuen-batori. While there are rumors they like to eat human entrails, they actually prefer corpses and generally don't cause trouble."
"What about the one under the tree?"
"That one under the tree is a Yamawaro. He usually stays deep in the mountains; it seems he came back these past two days to visit friends. By the way, Yamawaro are also youkai quite friendly to humans."
"So that's a Yamawaro."
Rias looked over with some curiosity.
Although she had been in the human world for nearly three years, her knowledge of youkai was still limited.
This was her first time seeing a youkai like the Yamawaro.
"Speaking of which, Kunou, you're quite young but know a lot. You must study very hard usually."
"Of course, I have to help share Mother's burdens."
Perhaps rarely praised, Kunou was clearly in a good mood, her several small tails wagging back and forth.
Seeing this, Lynn felt an itch in his hands.
However, since it was their first meeting, suddenly touching a loli's tail might easily get him labeled a pervert.
Setting aside the tail-touching for their next meeting, Lynn followed Kunou and continued forward.
The Inner Kyoto was a special space constructed by the youkai.
Although its total area wasn't as vast as Surface Kyoto, it couldn't be considered small either.
At Rias's suggestion, Kunou didn't teleport Lynn and the others directly, but instead took them on a gradual tour.
Only after about an hour, seeing the time was about right, did they finally arrive at a massive estate.
"Mother, I've brought the guests."
"You've worked hard, Kunou."
In the courtyard, a mature woman wearing a miko outfit, with a voluptuous figure and similarly possessing nine tails, stepped forward.
"A pleasure to meet you both."
"I am Kunou's mother, the ruler of Kyoto's youkai. You may call me Yasaka."
After a brief introduction, Yasaka looked towards the elderly woman beside her. "This here is Magari, the leader of the Nekomata from the Kanto region."
"Magari-obasan, these two are the Red Dragon Emperor, Lynn Yukimura, and Rias Gremory, sister of the Satan Lucifer."
"Hmm, I see."
Magari nodded slightly, carefully scrutinizing Lynn and Rias.
She was not entirely unfamiliar with Lynn.
The mother of Kuroka and the kitten, Fujimai, also a Nekomata, was once her junior whom she had watched grow up.
Because of this connection, Magari had later taken in Kuroka for a while, teaching her Immortal Arts.
However, Kuroka was not a cat with a patient disposition.
After staying in the Nekomata territory for some time, she bid farewell and ventured out, traveling to the Dragon Country.
After that, it was Kuroka meeting Lynn and using the Lin family as a base to roam around the Dragon Country.
Since Kuroka often wrote letters to Magari her impression of Lynn was rather favorable.
This was another reason she agreed to help when Kuroka sought her assistance this time.
As for Rias...
Magari-obasan withdrew her gaze.
She also had an impression of this devil.
Because of Kuroka, she had sent people to investigate the kitten's situation and had indirectly learned about Rias.
No wonder Kuroka didn't come with Lynn.
Realizing why that wild cat who loved to roam everywhere hadn't come to see her, Magari-obasan looked at Yasaka.
"Since everyone is here, let's go inside."
"Yes, please follow me."
Yasaka nodded slightly and led Lynn and the others into the courtyard, arriving at a large room.
As her strength was insufficient, Kunou had bid farewell to Lynn midway and gone to another part of the courtyard.
Currently, the only ones in this room were Lynn, Rias, Yasaka, and Magari-obasan.
Once everyone was seated, a faint smile appeared on Yasaka's face as she initiated the conversation.
"Lynn, I heard from Magari that you wish to purchase youkai corpses from me. Is that correct?"
"Yes. After all, youkai can be good or evil. You probably dispose of some evil youkai who cause trouble normally. I'd like to reclaim those corpses."
"Depending on the corpse quality, starting at 100,000 Dragon Country currency per corpse, with no upper limit. What do you think?"
"No problem, a very sincere price."
Yasaka nodded slightly.
Youkai also needed to eat. Usually, when some youkai caused trouble and damage, she also had to spend money on cleanup.
Selling the corpses of some evil youkai for money while also establishing a connection with the Red Dragon Emperor was definitely not a loss for her.
However, youkai corpses were, to some degree, a rather sensitive commodity.
Just in case, Yasaka asked, "Could you tell me what you plan to do with these corpses?"
Lynn did not hide it. "Eat them."
Yasaka: "?"
...