"Eh?"
The sudden change shocked Utaha Kasumigaoka in her tracks.
She almost instinctively tossed the parchment in her hand away, but the parchment did not fall to the floor. Instead, it floated in mid-air, and the simple magic cube array on it detached from the paper and rapidly expanded, gliding down from top to bottom like a scanner. A figure became visible within it, appearing from head to toe.
It was Leon, who had been about to take a shower and had even stripped off his clothes. However, upon sensing the summons, he immediately put his clothes back on and leaped over via the magic array.
Lifting his gaze, Leon saw Utaha Kasumigaoka standing there blankly, completely frozen in place, and the smile that had been about to appear on his face also froze.
The two stared at each other, neither speaking immediately.
After a long time, Leon was the first to break the silence.
"Good evening, Senpai," Leon said languidly. "While I'm happy you finally summoned me, did you really need to provide such a massive bonus?"
Leon's words instantly reminded the stunned Utaha Kasumigaoka of her current state.
That's right, she had just gotten out of the shower and was only wrapped in a bath towel...
"!!!"
Utaha Kasumigaoka quickly threw her hands up to cover her body, while grabbing a nearby pillow and hurling it towards Leon.
Unfortunately, this soft, weak attack only caused Leon to tilt his head, easily dodging it.
"Bang!"
A loud slamming sound soon echoed in the room, as Utaha Kasumigaoka had already dashed out of the room.
"See you later."
Leon watched her leave, waving with a smile.
His demeanor was incredibly punchable.
Half an hour later, Utaha Kasumigaoka returned to the room.
She looked hostilely at Leon, who had made himself completely at home, sitting on her bed and flipping through a light novel he had taken from her bookshelf, reading it with great relish. Her expression was so fierce she looked capable of bursting into violence at any moment.
"Aren't you going to explain yourself?"
Forcing down the impulse to rush forward and beat that infuriatingly handsome face, Utaha Kasumigaoka spoke through gritted teeth.
Only then did Leon shift his gaze from the book to Utaha Kasumigaoka, taking in her outfit.
She was wearing casual homewear, a very simple style: a light, thin shirt on top and shorts on the bottom. Her two pale, bare legs were dazzling, causing Leon to click his tongue in appreciation.
"Shouldn't you be the one explaining, Senpai?" Leon said quite seriously. "To choose to summon me in that state—I thought it was a reward given by a kind Senpai to a well-behaved junior."
Utaha Kasumigaoka truly wanted to hit someone.
"Who knew that thing could summon you?!" Utaha Kasumigaoka was flushed red, her voice significantly raised. "And you are neither my junior nor well-behaved. That word will never be associated with you!"
If she didn't have so many questions, Utaha Kasumigaoka would have started throwing him out by now.
"Those words are a little hurtful, Kasumigaoka-san," Leon said with a sigh. "If I weren't well-behaved, why would I diligently read through the saccharine, teeth-rotting drafts you send me every night?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka's fists were clenched.
"Those! Are! Not! Drafts!"
Her word-by-word tone clearly indicated she was at her limit.
Leon knew that if he continued to provoke her, Utaha Kasumigaoka would truly explode.
So, he decided to stop while he was ahead, closing the book in his hand and smiling at Utaha Kasumigaoka.
"In any case, Senpai, you finally used that devil's flyer. It wasn't a waste of time waiting." Leon stretched grandly and said generously, "Seeing as Senpai is a valuable Contractor, ask whatever questions you have. I'll answer them one by one."
Hearing this, Utaha Kasumigaoka calmed her emotions instead and fell silent.
After a moment, the beautiful Senpai spoke faintly.
"So, you really are a devil? You're not joking with me?"
A trace of shock and doubt was hidden in Utaha Kasumigaoka's eyes as she looked at Leon.
Leon offered no explanation, simply opening his wings as usual, allowing the bat-like devil wings to appear in Utaha Kasumigaoka's room.
Utaha Kasumigaoka's face immediately stiffened, and her feet unconsciously retreated a step.
Her first thought was... could that be some kind of cosplay prop?
"It's not a prop, no."
Leon, as if he could read the girl's mind, floated slightly, his wings beating behind him, his feet dozens of centimeters above the ground, and he spoke with a playful smile.
"With me like this, you shouldn't suspect I'm hanging from wires, right?"
Hearing Leon's words, Utaha Kasumigaoka truly wanted to say that yes, that's exactly what I'm thinking.
But she knew very well that would just be self-deception.
After all, from the moment Leon appeared in her room in that unbelievable manner, this matter shouldn't have been questioned.
At the very least, Utaha Kasumigaoka had never heard of human technology advancing enough to allow a person to appear out of thin air in someone else's room, unless that person was a chameleon.
Leon might be a pervert, but he definitely couldn't change color.
Even if he could, he would probably only change to yellow...
Seeing that Utaha Kasumigaoka was still unable to regain her composure, Leon, having retracted his wings, spoke crossly.
"Alright, this isn't something worth being shocked about for so long. For anyone else, maybe, but Senpai, you're a light novel author. You must have fantasized about supernatural phenomena appearing before you, turning fantasy into reality, right? Is there really a need to be this surprised?"
"...How many times do I have to tell you? I write romance novels! Not fantasy novels!"
Utaha Kasumigaoka snapped back at Leon, her forehead veined with black lines. This one sentence helped her calm down somewhat.
"You said I'm your Contractor, right?" Utaha Kasumigaoka asked, knitting her brows. "What does that mean?"
"It means exactly what it says," Leon said, putting his hands on his hips, his posture looking casual without diminishing his demeanor. "Being summoned by others, signing a contract with a human, and fulfilling their wish to collect the corresponding price as compensation—that's the job of a devil. It's mentioned in books and on TV, isn't it?"
"Senpai is the kind of person who is usually portrayed as the villain, someone who sells their soul for their wish and summons an evil devil into the world."
"Someone like you, in the past, would be captured and burned at the stake. But modern times are quite tolerant of these things, so be grateful, Senpai. You won't be captured and burned alive... probably."
Leon's habit of running his mouth, just like when they casually chatted in the classroom, made Utaha Kasumigaoka's mouth twitch, and she felt a little frantic inside, despite the solemn emotions that had just begun to surface.
"I can't talk seriously with you, or you'll definitely drive me mad."
Utaha Kasumigaoka's poisonous tongue itch returned, and she badly wanted to roast Leon a bit, making him look as bewildered as the boys who tried to pursue her.
"I look forward to it." Leon showed a bright smile that was completely uncharacteristic of a devil. "If Senpai really does die of anger, I'll gladly accept your soul, the kind that will stay by my side forever and can never run away."
"Then I must find a way to live to a hundred." Utaha Kasumigaoka gradually found her footing again. "Is there a way to do that, Mr. Devil who can grant wishes?"
"Of course!" Leon's eyes lit up, as if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. "As long as Senpai chooses to integrate this into your body, your own lifespan will be extended to at least tens of thousands of years, and it can also slow down aging, even granting eternal youth!"
As he spoke, Leon produced a completely crimson chess piece like an offering, smiling as he handed it to Utaha Kasumigaoka.
The chess piece was blinking, actually glowing.
"Lifespan will be extended to at least tens of thousands of years, and it can also slow down aging, even granting eternal youth...!"
Utaha Kasumigaoka didn't notice the light. She only felt her heart severely flutter.
Extending her lifespan was secondary, but slowing down aging and granting eternal youth... which respectable young woman could resist that?
Utaha Kasumigaoka felt somewhat unable to resist.
But looking at Leon's smile, which was as bright as a thief's, a feeling of wariness rose in Utaha Kasumigaoka's heart.
"Fulfilling a wish requires a price, right?" Utaha Kasumigaoka asked cautiously. "What price do I need to pay?"
"It's very simple," Leon didn't hide anything and said straightforwardly. "You will be reincarnated as a devil like me, become my Peerage servant, and serve me for life."
"Goodbye." Utaha Kasumigaoka opened the door without hesitation, making a gesture for Leon to leave. "Please do not appear again in the future. Thank you."
"Don't be so quick to refuse." Leon played with the chess piece in his hand, the corner of his mouth curving slightly. "Although the price is steep, this is a precious opportunity for an ordinary person like Senpai to come into contact with the world of the supernatural, you know?"
"Extended lifespan, slowed aging, eternal youth... those are just complimentary bonuses."
"Accept this chess piece and reincarnate as a devil, and you will possess supernatural powers. The world that could only be a figment of imagination for light novel authors like you will completely materialize into reality."
"Don't you want to see it?"
These words plunged Utaha Kasumigaoka into a state of distraction.
She felt her heart leap once more.
And this time, the feeling was completely different from the purely tempted feeling she had just moments ago.
This was the fluttering heart that occurs when something yearned for and longed for is right in front of you, within reach.
She, Utaha Kasumigaoka, truly wanted to experience a world different from reality.