After learning the details about Utaha Kasumigaoka, Yukinoshita Yukino understood Leo's reasoning—but she still wasn't entirely pleased.
"Do Sacred Gears prefer choosing girls or something? Or girls who happen to be pretty?"
She clearly still doubted the fact that all of Leo's servants were beautiful girls.
Leo's expression turned into a half-smile.
"So you think I should recruit a few guys instead?"
Yukino answered without hesitation.
"Preferably not. I don't want this place turning into a mess."
Her meaning was obvious: if a guy moved in, things would absolutely get complicated.
Yukino wasn't exactly humble. She'd always known she was cute, and so had everyone else—she'd been confessed to more times than she could count, often causing unnecessary trouble.
Yuuki Asuna might not have talked about her own experiences, but even Yukino had to admit Asuna's charm wasn't any less than hers. It would be strange if boys didn't like her.
And then add Utaha Kasumigaoka, the most popular girl in the entire school, with the biggest fan club backing her…
Yukino didn't even want to imagine what things would look like if a guy lived here too.
So she was firmly against the idea of any male servant joining.
"Then why complain?" Leo rolled his eyes at her.
"My thoughts make sense. But you? Only picking pretty girls as your servants—of course that makes people suspicious about your motives." Yukino pointed out without mercy. Then something came to mind, and she asked, "Speaking of which, besides me and Kasumigaoka-senpai, is there a third Sacred Gear user at Sobu High?"
"You think Sacred Gear users grow on trees?" Leo snorted. "Being chosen by a Sacred Gear is rare to begin with. The fact that Sobu High has two— you and Kasumigaoka—is already impressive."
Meaning: aside from those two, he had never sensed another Sacred Gear at Sobu High.
If someone did have one, either it was extremely well hidden, enough that even Leo couldn't detect it—or it simply didn't exist.
There was also the possibility of someone deliberately suppressing their Sacred Gear's energy. Leo, Yukino, and Asuna all concealed theirs after awakening. That made them hard to detect.
But that would also mean someone had awakened a Sacred Gear without Leo noticing—someone capable of controlling its power well enough to hide it.
Leo found that unlikely. Sobu High was his territory. He kept tabs on it constantly. If someone that suspicious had appeared, he would've known.
So he was inclined to believe there were only two Sacred Gear users at Sobu High—Yukino and Utaha.
"Though Sacred Gears aren't always innate. When their previous hosts die, some of them find new masters. One could end up in someone here later."
Leo explained, and Yukino fell into thought.
"So right now we're the only ones, but there's no guarantee it stays that way. Correct?"
"Exactly." Leo nodded. "Or someone like Asuna might transfer in later."
But that depended on luck.
And even then, most Sacred Gears were unimpressive—small abilities with limited use. Only a few were powerful, and the stronger they were, the rarer they became. Stumbling across one was already a long shot.
Running into Asuna and her rare Sacred Gear during a simple extermination job? That was the sort of luck Leo didn't expect to see twice.
"In short, good servants are rare. If we find one, we don't let them go."
Leo still didn't know what Sacred Gear slept inside Utaha Kasumigaoka, but after observing her for two years, he was certain it wasn't anything weak.
Based on the fluctuations he sensed, at minimum it was combat-capable—and possibly on the same tier as Asuna's Blade Blacksmith, one of the strongest Sacred Gears excluding the Longinus.
As for it being a Longinus… he doubted it.
The fluctuations never reached that level. Unless part of its power was still hidden beyond his range, Utaha being a Longinus user was extremely unlikely.
Leo wasn't greedy enough to expect another miracle. He'd be perfectly happy with something around Asuna's level.
And that hope felt realistic—especially after his devil pieces reacted to her.
"Which pieces reacted to her?" Yukino asked, clearly thinking the same thing he was.
Leo didn't hold back.
"Rook, Bishop, Pawn, and… Queen."
Yukino's expression shifted immediately.
"Even Queen?"
Did that mean Utaha had the potential to become his second-in-command—someone who could oversee all of them?
"It was only a faint reaction." Leo chuckled at her expression. "Didn't the Queen react to you too?"
Yukino had caused every single piece to react on the day he reincarnated her. In comparison, Utaha's result wasn't that outrageous.
"What reacted the strongest?"
Yukino relaxed slightly and continued her questioning.
Leo gave the answer.
"Rook."
…
After Utaha finished touring the estate, Yukino stepped forward to take her along for devil work.
Asuna was still new to that side of things, so Leo had Yukino handle it.
Yukino had acted like she was unhappy about Utaha joining, but now that she understood the whole situation, she begrudgingly agreed to cooperate.
And so, under Yukino's lead, Utaha experienced her first magic circle jump, arriving at a client's home. She spent the entire night observing Yukino's work.
By the time they returned to the mansion, Utaha looked exhausted but satisfied.
"Devil work is actually pretty interesting."
The moment she stepped inside, she gave Leo her thoughts.
"I thought devil work would be more evil and terrifying, like in movies. But… it feels kind of like a help-for-hire service?"
Yukino had helped fulfill three wishes tonight: repairing a broken roof, driving away a dangerous animal, and treating a sick child.
It was far more normal than Utaha expected—nothing like the stereotypical "sell your soul" darkness people imagined.
"There are devils who grant the kind of evil wishes you mentioned, you know?" Leo said as Asuna poured Utaha a cup of tea. He smiled. "Devils aren't that different from humans. Some do good work, some do terrible things."
"Some don't care what the wish is—as long as the client can pay the price, they'll do anything."
"But others, like us, are picky. If the summoner is immoral trash, we won't fulfill their wish. We might even… deal with them."
"Of course, that's not exactly encouraged in the industry."
Utaha gave him a long look.
"You're pretty honest, Devil-kun."
"It's just the truth. Nothing more."
Leo didn't mind her tone at all.
"In that case, I have no reason to hesitate anymore." Utaha met his eyes directly. "Turning into a devil—I'm agreeing to it."
Leo smiled and held out his hand to her.
"Welcome to the team."