Surprised for only a moment, Ethan quickly put the matter out of his mind.
He had already witnessed similar inconsistencies. For instance, Koneko Toujou should have been a year younger than Issei Hyoudou, but they were currently in the same grade.
This world was clearly not a perfect replica of High School DxD; otherwise, characters from other animes wouldn't be appearing.
Now, if someone told him that Yuuto Kiba was actually a busty blonde girl, he could quickly accept the fact.
Ethan patted Amano Yuuma's smooth, pale, round butt and stated directly, "I'm not prying into your mission. I've merely set my sights on a Sacred Gear and wanted to ask if you have any way to search for one."
"Mmm..."
Amano Yuuma let out a soft moan as she slowly slid the behemoth out of her body, her exquisite face completely red.
Calming her agitated body, she thought for a moment. She felt that telling Ethan the truth was fine, and for their cooperation to remain close and seamless, it was necessary to be clear.
"Actually, it's no big deal to tell you. We received orders from above that a very dangerous Sacred Gear has appeared here, and we're supposed to eliminate its host."
Amano Yuuma continued, "But we still have no idea who the Sacred Gear is housed in, let alone how to eliminate them."
Ethan stroked his chin. This Sacred Gear was likely the Boosted Gear.
Of course, he wouldn't reveal that fact.
"From what you're saying, it sounds like you don't have a way to track Sacred Gears either."
"Of course not. Sacred Gears aren't that easy to find. If they were, they wouldn't choose their hosts on their own; people would forcefully claim them."
Ethan rolled his eyes. He knew Sacred Gears were hard to find. Even the most common Second-Class Sacred Gear, the Dragon Hand, could double the host's power, and in the hands of a strong person, the effect would still be terrifying.
"My mistake, I overestimated you."
He said with a hint of disappointment, "You're right. Even Rias can't actively search for Sacred Gears. Since your status and strength are inferior to hers, you naturally wouldn't have a way."
Although Ethan was speaking the truth, it didn't prevent Amano Yuuma from getting extremely annoyed.
She viciously twisted the soft flesh around Ethan's waist until he cooperated with a pleading smile before she let go.
With A-rank strength, a pinch of soft flesh certainly wouldn't hurt Ethan, but since they were still embracing intimately, he couldn't completely disregard the Fallen Angel's feelings.
Having vented her anger, Amano Yuuma pouted. "I can't search for a Sacred Gear, but I know how to deprive a host of their Sacred Gear."
Before meeting Ethan, since her strength couldn't advance further, she turned her attention to Sacred Gears and specifically sought out a method for deprivation.
After all, finding an unowned Sacred Gear was too difficult, and it might not even suit her.
Stripping one from an existing host naturally bypassed those complications.
Looking at Amano Yuuma's exquisite little face, Ethan was reminded of a certain air-headed nun.
"Yuuma-chan, this method leads to the Sacred Gear host's death, doesn't it?"
He sighed, advising, "You shouldn't use it within Kuoh Town."
Amano Yuuma twisted her body, settling into a more comfortable position in Ethan's arms.
"Why? It's just one person's life. It's not enough to make your precious President disregard everything and hunt us down, is it?"
Rias indeed wouldn't attack because of it. In fact, if it weren't for the simpleton Issei Hyoudou, she hadn't even planned to save the air-headed blonde nun in the original story.
"She won't, but if you do it, our cooperation will have to end."
Ethan wanted to help the air-headed little nun, but she was likely still somewhere unknown, perhaps not yet cast out by the church that adopted her.
He couldn't say anything too harsh to Amano Yuuma for the sake of someone he hadn't even met.
After all, she did give him her first time...
"Tch... End it then. Who cares?"
Though she said that, Amano Yuuma's heart had already ruled out the Sacred Gear deprivation plan.
Compared to constantly increasing strength, an artifact was nothing.
She subconsciously ignored the brief moment of sadness and loss she felt when Ethan mentioned ending their cooperation.
Ethan stroked Amano Yuuma's smooth, pink back, choosing not to dwell on the topic.
He had done what he could. The fate of the little nun would have to be proven by time.
The worst-case scenario was that Rias would use a single Pawn piece to reincarnate her as a Bishop piece.
Speaking of which, the effect of the Devil Pieces was truly astonishing, capable of resurrecting the dead...
"Tell me about the method for depriving the Sacred Gear." Clearing the clutter from his mind, Ethan proactively asked.
"What's this? You forbid me from using it, but you're allowed to?"
Amano Yuuma scoffed. "As expected of a Devil. You're far more malicious than I, a Fallen Angel."
"I'll teach you a word: it's called double standards."
Ethan was unfazed. He had never denied being a hypocrite.
If Issei Hyoudou wasn't somewhat of an acquaintance, and if he hadn't left a favorable impression while watching the anime, Ethan would have long since tied him up and performed the deprivation ritual.
Even now, having decided to claim the Boosted Gear for himself, if all other methods failed, he would eventually resort to forced deprivation.
At most, he would prepare a way for resurrection beforehand.
The scene of the little nun's resurrection was memorable. She was resurrected and then re-equipped with the Sacred Gear Twilight Healing; she didn't have to return the Sacred Gear before being resurrected.
Ethan vaguely remembered that after this procedure, Twilight Healing truly became an item, and could even be borrowed by others.
The resurrected little nun was no longer the host of the Sacred Gear, just a user, so she wouldn't have to worry about dying from Sacred Gear deprivation anymore.
Amano Yuuma rolled her eyes at Ethan. "Double standards... Heh, that's a very fitting description."
Ethan shrugged and added, "Besides, I only said you couldn't use it in Kuoh Town. Everywhere else, use it however you please."
If the Sacred Gear host was a stranger, he wouldn't interfere.
If the Sacred Gear Amano Yuuma wanted to seize belonged to an enemy, he might even actively help.
"Fine, fine. I won't cause trouble for your dear President in Kuoh Town."
Amano Yuuma snapped back testily. The jealousy in her tone was extraordinarily strong. Aside from her lack of self-awareness, even the constantly observing Mitelt and Kalawarner couldn't help but exchange glances.
Ethan heard the jealousy in Amano Yuuma's voice, but their relationship was purely one of cooperation; he couldn't even be bothered to pretend they were anything more than casual partners.
"Tell me in detail how to deprive the Sacred Gear. As compensation, I can do one thing for you within my capabilities."
Amano Yuuma's eyes lit up. "It's a deal then."
"Depriving the Sacred Gear requires a special ritual. This ritual can only be performed on a full moon night, and you also need to prepare a deity statue carved from Amethyst Stone in advance..."
Listening to Amano Yuuma's account, Ethan couldn't help but frown. Sacred Gear deprivation was more troublesome than he thought.
Not only did the ritual have to be performed on a full moon night, but many things had to be prepared in advance. The statue made of Amethyst Stone was only one of them.
Finally, the entire ritual needed to last four to five hours without interruption to completely strip the housed Sacred Gear.
No wonder Amano Yuuma didn't immediately perform the deprivation ritual on the blonde little nun in the anime. It wasn't that she didn't want to, but that she couldn't.
But no matter how troublesome, as a final fallback measure, Ethan still had to find a way to prepare all the ritual items.
"Yuuma-chan, can you help me prepare a set of those ritual items you mentioned?"
Ethan pondered for a moment, deciding to entrust the collection to the Fallen Angels. The materials weren't rare, but the process was tedious, and he didn't want Rias to know about it.
"I can add a little extra to the cost of acquisition, consider it a commission fee."
Spreading two pairs of black wings behind her, Amano Yuuma stretched languidly. "I have a complete set here already. I originally prepared it for myself, but lending it to you now is fine too."
"Oh? That's wonderful!" Ethan looked genuinely surprised. "Thank you, Yuuma-chan. You truly are the cutest."
"Don't celebrate too soon," Amano Yuuma waved her pale little hand dismissively. "I won't lend it to you for free. You need to promise me one more condition."
"What condition?"
"I haven't thought of it yet. I'll tell you when I do."
Gazing at the Fallen Angel beauty, who was both pure and seductive, Ethan felt a familiar suspicion.
He was very familiar with this kind of scenario, so...
He decisively refused, "How about I just pay for it? Whatever the materials cost you, I'll add thirty percent, and I'll return the items to you after I'm done using them."