— — — — — —
"Ugh... so what do we even do about the assessment now?"
Sitting in the farthest corner, Endou let out a sigh and covered her face with both hands, clearly exasperated.
"The mystery's totally gone. Two of the so-called Three Saints are basically little brats. Are we seriously putting people like that in charge of the Lion King Agency? That's just asking for trouble, right?"
"...."
Beside her, Shirona Kuraki's mouth twitched uncontrollably. She shot Endou a cold glare.
This annoying little gremlin really was the disgrace of the Lion King Agency.
Even now, when things were already a mess, she just had to throw shade. Completely heartless!
"I'm doomed... my cool senpai image is ruined…"
Sitting next to Ryo, Koyomi Shizuka buried her face in her hands and muttered in embarrassment, not daring to meet Yukina's eyes across the room.
"Yukina, don't look at me! Just—don't!"
Koyomi had just gotten caught red-handed peeking into her junior's memories. The shame was intense—like having your cringiest middle school diary read out loud by your teacher in front of the entire class.
Humiliation level: MAX.
Shrinking in her seat, face still hidden, Koyomi mumbled awkwardly:
"I was just... a little curious how you ended up in the Lion King Agency, that's all. I didn't mean to snoop, I swear...!"
Yukina tried her best to keep a straight face. She couldn't laugh—not now. If she did, her poor senpais would die of embarrassment on the spot. So she had to hold it in.
Meanwhile, sitting at the head of the room, Ryo lounged cross-legged, grinning.
"Now this is more like it. Assessments should be entertaining."
Yeah, you're the only one enjoying this.
Shirona kept her face stone-cold, silently grumbling.
This wasn't an assessment of Yukina anymore—it was an embarrassment exam for them!
Didn't Ryo notice that Endou was already on the verge of bursting into laughter?
That little troublemaker lived for this kind of chaos. And with Ryo clearly in "stir the pot" mode, this test was bound to be a trainwreck.
Shirona let out a quiet sigh and turned to Yukina.
"As you've just seen, both Koyomi and I have officially inherited the title of 'Three Saints' and are now part of the Lion King Agency's senior leadership."
"This assessment will be conducted by us, along with Lord Ryo, to evaluate your abilities. That is all."
"I understand." Yukina nodded seriously, trying her best to look composed.
"I'm glad you do," Shirona said with a soft sigh.
To have someone like Yukina—a thoughtful, diligent junior—as her subordinate... honestly, she felt lucky.
But then again, Ryo had already chosen Yukina to become his bodyguard after graduation—and possibly even his Blood Servant. And that thought made Shirona a little conflicted.
They were about to hand over their most promising talent, and there was nothing they could do about it.
"So... we're continuing with the assessment as planned?" she asked, glancing sideways at Ryo.
"Of course."
He nodded without hesitation.
Why else would he bother tearing down the curtains if not to enjoy this show?
Shirona took a deep breath and looked at Yukina, who was still trying to maintain her serious expression.
"Relax, Yukina. We may have different titles now, but we're all working toward the same goal. There's no need to stress over status—just treat us like you always have. Like your senpai."
"...Got it." Yukina nodded, finally managing to settle her nerves.
Shirona continued calmly.
"Yukina, you've had two years of general training and four years of foundational training. What have you learned during that time?"
"Modern-style curses, ritual magic, illusion techniques... and curse-breaking."
"You did a nice job just now breaking the memory link Koyomi placed on you."
"I just followed the textbook. I used the mental defense shield taught by Endou-Sensei."
Endou, sitting nearby, lifted her chin proudly.
Shirona gave her a quick side-eye but kept going.
"That alone is more than most people can do. What about advanced-level curses?"
"I haven't started those yet."
"Combat skills?"
Yukina hesitated. "I can use them... kind of?"
"Any experience in romantic relationships?" A Shirona's voice asked again.
Yukina's face went bright red. She stared at Shirona in shock.
Meanwhile, Shirona was dying inside.
She hadn't said that. She knew she hadn't. And judging by the smug grin on Ryo's face, she had a pretty good idea who did.
Still, with things as they were, she had no choice but to pretend the question was hers.
"Please answer honestly," she said, tone unchanged. "This assessment includes personality testing. Every response is part of your final evaluation."
"So please be honest."
Seeing how serious Shirona looked, Yukina swallowed her embarrassment and forced herself to respond.
"I haven't had any contact with the opposite sex."
"What about same-sex relationships?"
A 'Shirona' voice struck again.
Even Koyomi, who'd been quietly suffering this whole time, realized something was off—but chose not to call it out.
Shirona, meanwhile, barely managed to keep her expression neutral, pretending once again it was her question.
Yukina tilted her head, genuinely puzzled.
"Same-sex? Is that... something people do?"
"Huh?" Koyomi blinked in surprise, whispering under her breath, "So Yukina really doesn't know anything? That... makes me feel kinda bad for Sayaka."
"???" Yukina was totally lost. Why would Sayaka Kirasaka be the one to pity?
Before she could ask, the voice struck again:
"If you received an R-18 girl's romance manga... where would you hide it?"
Yukina froze.
...Seriously? That's a question now?
She stared blankly at Shirona, trying to process how someone so serious could ask something so utterly ridiculous.
Her eyes practically screamed: 'Aren't you even a little embarrassed asking that?!'
Shirona, who read Yukina's expression loud and clear, clenched her jaw to hold back her own emotions and replied with a deadpan face:
"Please answer honestly."
Faced with no escape, Yukina gritted her teeth... and quietly gave her answer.
.
.
.