Rias hid in the shadows outside the church, her figure stretched long beneath the moonlight.
She held her breath and felt the magical power surging from inside the church. It was Genichi's magic—steady, powerful, and utterly unmoved.
She knew Genichi was strong. She knew he had already advanced to middle-class devil. She knew he possessed the Boosted Gear and a number of strange spells.
But she had still come, quietly following behind him and observing from the dark.
It was not that she distrusted his strength.
She was worried about something else.
Mercy.
But clearly, her worry had been unnecessary.
The fight inside the church began quickly and ended even faster.
Freed's scream lasted only an instant before vanishing completely.
Then came Raynare, the fallen angel who had once nearly killed Genichi. Before him, she had no power to fight back at all.
When that massive burst of flame swallowed Raynare, Rias clearly felt Genichi's magical power erupt—steady, precise, fatal, and without the slightest hesitation.
For an instant, it was as though she had seen a true devil. A warrior who killed decisively and left no future trouble behind.
The corners of Rias's lips lifted slightly.
The church doors opened, and Genichi stepped out from the ruins.
Moonlight fell over him, coating him in a layer of silver radiance.
There was some dust on his clothes, but not a single wound on his body. His expression was so calm that he looked as though he had simply gone out for a walk.
Rias stepped out of the shadows, a bright smile appearing on her face.
"You did wonderfully, Genichi!"
She walked up, pulled Genichi into her arms, and pressed his head against her chest.
The movement came too suddenly. Genichi's body visibly stiffened, and he instinctively raised his hands to push her away. But Rias held him tightly. After two unsuccessful attempts, he simply gave up.
His ears turned faintly red, though his face remained calm.
Rias looked down at his forced composure and could not help laughing.
So this boy, who usually acted indifferent to everything, could still get embarrassed.
Only after a while did Rias release him. She took a step back and looked Genichi up and down.
Her eyes carried a joy and satisfaction she had never shown before—not just satisfaction with his performance tonight, but with him as a person.
From the day he reincarnated as a devil, Genichi had kept surprising her.
First came the Boosted Gear. Then came the value of eight mutated Pawn pieces. After that, he advanced from a low-class devil to a middle-class devil in just a few short months.
And now, with this clean and decisive revenge, he had proven his worth once again.
This was exactly the kind of peerage member she needed.
"Genichi, hurry and grow stronger."
Rias's voice was soft, but it carried an indescribable expectation. "Hurry and become a high-class devil."
Genichi rolled his eyes inwardly.
Become a high-class devil?
Easy for her to say.
He had advanced to middle-class devil largely because he had devoured the dragon soul of Ddraig, the Red Dragon Emperor.
That dragon had lived for over a thousand years. The magical power contained within his soul had allowed Genichi to cross the threshold from low-class to middle-class in one leap.
But now, where was he supposed to find another powerful soul to devour?
Ordinary vengeful spirits would barely help even if he swallowed ten thousand of them.
The magical power required for a high-class devil was an astronomical amount. If he relied on gradual accumulation alone, who knew how long it would take?
"I'll do what I can," he said perfunctorily.
Rias was clearly not satisfied with that answer.
She tilted her head, a sly light flashing through her eyes.
"Once you become a high-class devil, you can do anything you want to me."
Her voice was soft, carrying a faint, almost teasing temptation.
Those emerald-green eyes stared straight at Genichi, and a meaningful smile curved her lips.
Genichi looked at her expressionlessly.
"Oh."
Rias's smile froze for a moment.
Oh?
Just "oh"?
She was Rias Gremory, the heir to the Gremory family, a beauty recognized throughout the devil world.
Countless devil nobles pursued her obsessively, and she had never spared them a proper glance.
Yet now that she had taken the initiative and said something like this, this brat responded with one "oh"?
"Genichi, are you really not tempted?" she could not help asking.
Genichi glanced at her and said flatly, "No."
Rias's face flushed slightly, though whether from anger or embarrassment, even she could not say.
"Why?"
"Because I'm only a middle-class devil right now. It's too early to talk about that."
That answer made Rias even more depressed.
So it was not because he was uninterested, but because his rank was not high enough?
What kind of reason was that?
She remembered that she had tried to tempt Genichi before as well.
Back then, he had been just as unmoved.
But what about now?
He had already advanced to middle-class devil and was now comparable in strength to the other members of her peerage, yet he still looked completely impossible to sway.
Rias could not help wondering whether her charm was lacking.
"By the way, Genichi."
She asked tentatively, "You wouldn't happen to be like Yuuto, with no interest in girls, would you?"
Genichi's expression finally changed.
He raised his head and looked at Rias with a strange expression.
"Huh? Are you saying Kiba is gay?"
How could he fail to understand what Rias was implying?
If Kiba had no interest in girls, did that not mean he liked men?
Having accidentally exposed her peerage member's sexual orientation, Rias was somewhat embarrassed for a moment.
She quickly waved her hands, wanting to explain, only to realize that this was the sort of thing that got worse the more one tried to clarify it.
"That's not what I meant. I mean…"
"Enough. I understand."
Genichi cut her off, his tone calm.
"Don't worry. My orientation is normal. I already told you the reason before. Right now, I'm still too weak."
Rias looked at him, a complicated emotion flashing through her eyes.
Relief, curiosity, and a faint, hard-to-define trace of… happiness?
"That's good," she said softly, a smile returning to her face.
Genichi said nothing more and turned toward the Natural Dormitory.
Rias followed behind him. Moonlight stretched both their shadows long across the ground.
"Genichi."
She suddenly spoke.
"Yeah?"
"Do you know why I want you to become a high-class devil so badly?"
Genichi did not answer. He simply listened in silence.
"Because only if you become a high-class devil will I have a chance to break the engagement binding me."
Rias's voice was soft, but it carried a seriousness she had never shown before.
"Once the engagement is broken, no one will be able to stop me from marrying whoever I want, or becoming whoever's girlfriend I want to be."
She paused, then continued, "So whether it's for me or for yourself, I hope you can stand somewhere higher. Somewhere everyone can see your value."
Genichi stopped and looked back at her.
Under the moonlight, the red-haired devil princess's eyes shone with sincere light.
"I will."
His voice was soft.
It was not perfunctory. It was not comfort.
It was a promise.
A brilliant smile bloomed across Rias's face.
"Then it's settled."
She quickened her pace, walked to Genichi's side, and continued forward shoulder to shoulder with him.
(End of Chapter)
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