Time passed by, little by little. Utaha Kasumigaoka stood there, her expression shifting between uncertainty and clarity, making it easy to see her inner conflict.
Leon was not in a hurry. He continued to fiddle with the glowing chess piece in his hand, looking completely unconcerned about the matter.
Neither of them spoke again, causing the air in the room to become slightly heavy.
"Hoo..."
It was a long time later that Utaha Kasumigaoka finally let out a breath.
"I believe you're a Devil now," Utaha Kasumigaoka remarked with emotion. "Only a Devil could so precisely bewitch hearts and deceive humans, right?"
"That's quite rude, senpai," Leon said with some dissatisfaction. "Everything I've said is the truth; not a single word is a lie."
"That's what makes it so terrifying," Utaha Kasumigaoka said with unexpected calmness, like an outsider observing the situation. "Lies are sometimes easy to expose and can't fool truly smart people, but the truth is different. As long as you find the right method, even the smartest person will be fooled and eventually choose to compromise."
"So, senpai, do you agree?"
Leon handed over the Evil Piece in his hand.
However, Utaha Kasumigaoka did not take it.
"Becoming a Devil, leaving humanity, and becoming a Servant to be your retainer—how could I possibly agree to such a thing instantly?" Utaha Kasumigaoka looked deeply at Leon and said, "Tell me honestly, Devil-kun, have you been targeting me for a long time?"
Clearly, Utaha Kasumigaoka had figured some things out.
"Does Kasumigaoka-san want to hear the truth, or a lie?"
Leon didn't answer every question as he had before, but instead smiled and played coy.
"I'll listen to the lie first," Utaha Kasumigaoka always did the unexpected, as if unwilling to be manipulated by Leon. "I want to see what kind of clever lies a Devil can spin."
"It's not clever; it's just stating the facts," Leon spread his hands. "I said it, didn't I? Being summoned, signing a contract with a human, and fulfilling the other party's wish to receive the corresponding price as compensation—that's a Devil's job. Therefore, all humans with desires are my potential clients, including senpai. If that counts as 'targeting,' then senpai is indeed being targeted by me."
"It is indeed a very clever lie, using one truth to conceal another. If I hadn't been prepared, I would have fallen for it," Utaha Kasumigaoka said, crossing her arms and nodding. "So, what's the truth?"
"The truth is that I'm probably not the only one who has been targeting senpai," Leon said, looking at Utaha Kasumigaoka's deliberately calm expression, and smiled meaningfully. "Humans with desires are my potential clients, but senpai is much more special than the average client. Therefore, including me, quite a few people should be secretly watching you."
These words made Utaha Kasumigaoka furrow her brows, her eyes losing their tranquility.
"Why? What is it about me that makes you people do this?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka inquired, no longer so composed.
Unfortunately, Leon offered no further explanation.
"I have already provided all the necessary explanations, and even gave you plenty of friendly warnings out of consideration for our relationship. I can't tell you any more than this," Leon said, seeing Utaha Kasumigaoka's somewhat unacceptable expression. "If Kasumigaoka-san has no intention of getting involved with the world we inhabit, it's best not to know too much; otherwise, it will only be detrimental to you."
"Besides, I am a Devil. You summoned me here, and not only do you fail to consider my work or my performance, but you also treat me like a free reading machine. That's a bit too much, isn't it?"
"I am not one of those desperate suitors at school who would be ecstatic just to have a conversation with you and lose their heads."
Utaha Kasumigaoka fell silent, her brows only furrowing deeper.
But soon, her frown relaxed again.
"Then, what if I wished to know everything I want to know right now?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka proposed a request that was somewhat surprising and amusing to Leon.
"That's an unexpected turn of events. Senpai, you really are sly, like a vixen."
Leon praised her sincerely, though the manner of the compliment was not at all pleasant.
"Let me see."
Without waiting for Utaha Kasumigaoka to respond, Leon excitedly took out a device.
This was a mobile device exclusive to Devils, the same type as the one Yukino Yukinoshita used earlier to locate humans with desires. With a few operations, and by inputting the client's wish on the interface, the device would automatically calculate the price required to be paid.
The price varied from person to person because human value is not equal. The more valuable, capable, and potential-rich a person is, the greater the wish they can have fulfilled.
For example, if a useless homeless person wished to become a world billionaire, unless they truly had the potential to do so, the price they would need to pay to fulfill this wish would far exceed imagination. They might die instantly, and their soul would be taken.
The same is not true for those who are valuable, capable, and potential-rich. The value of their life and soul is very high. To take this as the goal for collecting the price, one might have to put in considerable effort to grant them an extremely large wish.
What about Utaha Kasumigaoka's own value?
It can only be said... very high.
She possesses many advantages that surpass her peers, including but not limited to beauty, wealth, background, and literary/artistic accomplishments. Even if she were just an ordinary human, developing under her conditions, she could achieve goals that over ninety-nine percent of people in this world could never achieve. Therefore, the value of her life and soul is extraordinarily high, ranking among the best of all the clients Leon had encountered so far.
And if her inherent special nature were also taken into account, that value would be even greater, likely surpassing all clients Leon had met so far with ease.
For someone like her, who already had the potential to encounter the world he belonged to, and was now only seeking to obtain some information in advance, the price she needed to pay... could only be described as shockingly low.
Seeing the result displayed on the device was "a piece of clothing used by the person themselves," Leon fell silent.
He knew that this price didn't have any particularly special meaning.
Just like celebrities and great people, the clothes they wear, no matter how old or torn, can sell for a considerable amount. A piece of clothing used by Utaha Kasumigaoka herself might not mean much to her, but Devils could collect it and bring it out after she became famous, and there would be plenty of people willing to pay for it then.
Leon had collected similar compensation in the past, so he knew that anyone who had an improper thought upon seeing this message needed to go reflect on themselves.
However, he also knew that if he proposed this compensation, his title as "Perverted Devil-kun" would likely never be removed from the mind of this Autumn Flower of Soubu High School.
Trying to force me to be a pervert, are you?
Fine, fine...
Leon decisively put away the mobile device and said something to Utaha Kasumigaoka.
"Kiss me, and I'll tell you."
As soon as he spoke, the air instantly froze.
Utaha Kasumigaoka was stunned, Utaha Kasumigaoka was silent, and an expression of contempt, unsurprisingly, appeared in Utaha Kasumigaoka's eyes.
"Are you sure this is the compensation for a Devil's work? And not your personal desire?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka raised a strong objection.
"What if it is?" Leon, however, was impervious to criticism and very direct. "No matter which aspect it comes from, as long as the payment is made, the wish can be fulfilled. Isn't that fair?"
"Besides, are you losing anything?"
"Look at this face. Is it really that hard for you to put a lipstick print on it?"
Leon brought his face close to Utaha Kasumigaoka's, which startled her and caused her cheeks to suddenly flush from the close proximity.
"Don't get so close, Perverted Devil-kun."
Utaha Kasumigaoka pushed Leon's face away, fanning herself with her small hand, attempting to cool down her cheeks.
Watching the girl's reaction, Leon was amused.
"Given our relationship, I'll grant your wish first."
Saying this, Leon raised his hand, and a magic cube circle unfolded on it.
"The memory you are about to receive is the mysterious world you wish to know about."
"I've given you the information first; consider the compensation noted down for now."
"As for the matter of the Peerage servant... I'll wait for you to change your mind, Kasumigaoka-san."
As he spoke, a stream of memory surged into Utaha Kasumigaoka's mind, causing her head to shake and her eyes to lose focus.
Devils, Angels, Fallen Angels, the Church, Sacred Gears, the Underworld... various kinds of knowledge were received by Utaha Kasumigaoka, allowing her to quickly understand what mystery was, what supernatural power was, what the inner world was, and what the truth was.
Utaha Kasumigaoka didn't know how long this reception lasted.
When she, dizzy and disoriented, finally came back to her senses and her eyes began to refocus, Leon's figure was already gone. In his place, a Devil flyer, which had been used once before, lay on the ground. The simple magic cube circle drawn on it was so conspicuous and unforgettable.
"....."
Utaha Kasumigaoka was silent for a long time, and then she walked forward and picked up the Devil flyer.
"Sacred Gear... huh?"
Having learned about her special nature, Utaha Kasumigaoka's eyes were exceptionally complex.
Recalling the fates of the out-of-control Sacred Gear wielders mentioned in the knowledge Leon had transmitted to her, Utaha Kasumigaoka couldn't help but shiver.
"That guy was absolutely deliberate."
Utaha Kasumigaoka maliciously muttered to herself while lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, remaining silent for a long time.
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