A magical girl suffused with girlish energy flew through the sky above Sitri Territory.
She darted between the multiple moons of the Underworld, leaving her silhouette against their pale glow. Sure, she could have used a teleportation circle to return home directly, but a proper magical girl should traverse the skies with her wand's power! That was simply the correct way of doing things.
"That man is at my house with So-tan today," Serafall muttered to herself, her expression shifting between emotions. "I absolutely can't let him stay with So-tan for too long!"
Her twin-tails bobbed as she picked up speed.
"Men are all beasts dominated by desire! Perverted beasts with all kinds of weird fetishes!"
This was the conclusion the Maou Leviathan had reached after countless viewings of certain... questionable visual novels.
"It's just ahead... I definitely won't let that man monopolize my precious So-tan!"
This was precisely why Serafall had rushed back from her duties at the Maou's office.
However, what she witnessed next would shock her for the next hundred years.
"Hm?"
"What's that sound?"
Serafall frowned. If she remembered correctly, that sounded like Sona's voice?
She looked toward the source of the sound.
Her perception was quite sharp, and the moonlight illuminating the territory was bright enough. So she saw it clearly.
Her little sister, Sona...
And the man she feared would steal So-tan away!
"They're... they're... they're..."
The magical girl Serafall covered her eyes in disbelief.
Of course, her fingers were spread as wide as possible.
"Ah~"
She thought she heard the man say something, and then,
"CLANG!"
From somewhere, a golden sword came hurtling toward her with deadly accuracy!
"Sona, look who's here?"
"Eh?"
Sona's reaction came after a brief delay. She followed Takeyo's gesture and looked up.
"Onee-sama?"
Sona couldn't help but exclaim. Wasn't Serafall supposed to be working at the Maou's office these past few days?
"So... Sona, could you do me a small favor?"
Takeyo leaned close to Sona's ear and whispered something.
"W-what is it..."
Sona's voice came out somewhat breathless. Your favor is fine, but don't stop what you're doing while asking!
"It's like this..."
Takeyo explained quietly.
"This..."
Sona considered his words. It did make sense, now that he mentioned it.
"Alright... leave Onee-sama to me."
Sona finally made her decision.
"Eh? So-tan? Help me, So-tan, let's team up and beat this man together!~☆"
Despite having been struck by Takeyo's Sword of Words and lying sprawled on the ground, Serafall refused to admit defeat.
"Yes, Onee-sama... I'll 'help' you..."
Perhaps because Serafall had bullied her so often, Sona wasn't about to pass up this opportunity to turn the tables.
"Eh? So-tan, didn't you say you'd help me?"
Serafall was utterly dumbfounded watching Sona's actions.
So-tan, how can you be so inconsistent with your words?!
"Ahem, let's just say the timing worked out perfectly. We can review our homework."
Takeyo coughed tactically.
"Now then... it's time to see if you've properly studied everything I taught you,"
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the Host for completing a Plot Sign-in! Sign-in Level: Diamond!]
[Sign-in Plot, Cosplay Game with the Devil Girl!]
[Plot Description: Maou Serafall, who has always proclaimed herself a magical girl, secretly longs for someone to play games with her, to become the Demon Lord who defeats the magical girl and completes the classic story of villain conquering heroine...]
[Congratulations to the Host for the reward: Supreme Magical Gift!]
[Supreme Magical Gift: When using magic, power consumption is reduced by 80% while effect potency increases by 100%! Casting speed increased by 100%, and magic gains full interruption resistance, making it nearly impossible to disrupt.]
The next day, Sitri Territory was enveloped in an unprecedented atmosphere of gloom. One might even say it felt... empty.
I... Tsubaki Shinra... as the Queen of Lady Sona Sitri, woke up early today as always.
After all, Sona was an extremely self-disciplined person. She never delayed her 6:30 AM wake-up time.
"Hm? Why isn't she meditating in the training grounds?"
The early morning training session was a habit Tsubaki and her King had developed together over time.
Ever since Takeyo had effortlessly identified the flaws in her magic, Tsubaki had resolved to keep chasing after that man. Though he was undeniably powerful, over ninety percent likely to secure victory for their team in the upcoming Rating Game, she still needed to fulfill her responsibility as a peerage member. Even if her contribution was just minor support, she would give it her absolute best.
"Perhaps she stayed up late having tea with Takeyo last night..."
Tsubaki sighed and prepared to go wake Sona in her room.
She's really changed. She acts completely different from the Sona in my memories whenever that man is around.
Not that Tsubaki thought this change was necessarily a bad thing.
With these thoughts, she arrived at Sona's door.
"Hm?"
She heard something. A faint sound.
Even though it was extremely quiet, she was certain it wasn't her imagination.
"Is that... Sona's voice? No... wait... it doesn't quite sound like her?"
"It almost sounds like... Serafall-sama? But she should still be at the Maou's office..."
How could that be possible?
But... if it wasn't Serafall, who else could be in Sona's room?
Two possibilities crystallized in Tsubaki's mind.
If it wasn't Serafall, that meant someone else was in Sona's room.
But if it was Serafall... that meant the Maou was making such sounds in her younger sister's room?!
Either scenario was terrifying.
Tsubaki knew that Serafall had always adored her younger sister, obsessively so. She'd even expressed a desire to be with Sona forever.
Could it be...
No way!
I have to stop them!
With that determination burning in her chest, even if it meant being punished by a Maou, Tsubaki resolved to save her King. She threw open the door without hesitation.
"Lady Sona! Are you alright?!"
She burst in, ready to rescue Sona from whatever dire situation awaited.
If she was present, surely Serafall wouldn't attack Sona!
"Ah, Takeyo... Takeyo...~"
Just as she'd feared, Serafall was indeed doing something inappropriate!
It was just... not quite what she'd imagined.
Tsubaki stood frozen, staring at the scene before her.
"Tsubaki?"
She heard Sona's voice. Her King was looking at her with quite surprised eyes.
For the first time in her life, Tsubaki felt afraid of hearing Sona's voice.
At this moment...
I...
Tsubaki Shinra...
Deeply regret returning to Sitri Territory for this Underworld Expressing.
And this was only the second time in her life she had experienced such profound regret.
I...
Tsubaki Shinra...
Want to die... immediately... right now...
Above Sitri castle.
Today's wind... it's rather noisy.
"Here you are..."
Tsubaki poured tea for Sona with gentle, mechanical movements.
Takeyo and Sona were currently discussing their strategy for dealing with Diodora. As Sona's Queen, Tsubaki should have been participating in the discussion, but she felt utterly incapable of contributing. She didn't even want to participate.
Who am I? Where am I? What I saw this morning... that was real, right?
Tsubaki was still questioning her very existence.
She was certain she hadn't hallucinated. Which meant... what she'd witnessed was indeed real.
Takeyo-sama was using Serafall-sama's twin-tails as...
It's almost like a steering wheel... That was her first coherent thought upon seeing it.
"Tsubaki? Did you hear me? I need you to handle this part."
Sona's voice snapped her back to reality.
Though Sona was clearly embarrassed, she certainly hadn't expected Tsubaki to walk in unannounced, she had to maintain her authority and composure in front of her peerage.
So... she would simply pretend this morning's incident never happened. As long as Tsubaki didn't bring it up, Sona would never mention it.
"Eh? Sona? I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. Could you repeat it?"
Tsubaki apologized, her mind still scattered.
I was thinking about something completely inappropriate.
"I said our strategy is simple: Takeyo attacks directly while we maintain our formation."
Sona pushed up her glasses as she spoke.
"Huh? Is that really all?"
Tsubaki was genuinely surprised. She'd expected Sona to devise an intricate battle plan, as was her usual style.
"That's it."
Sona nodded with conviction. Ever since witnessing Takeyo subdue Serafall so effortlessly, she'd abandoned any lingering doubts.
She'd seen Takeyo instantly defeat the White Dragon Emperor and overpower Old Satan Faction members before, but those battles hadn't felt quite real to her. Her analytical glasses couldn't properly display the strength of Maou-level combatants.
But Serafall was different. Sona had grown up hearing legends of the Four Great Satans.
Yesterday, Serafall's image had completely collapsed in her heart, both in terms of strength and personal dignity.
In terms of power, Takeyo had managed her effortlessly due to a moment's carelessness on her part.
As for her personal image... Sona didn't even want to think about it. She could only offer one sentiment: Onee-sama... I never knew you were that kind of magical girl...
"Tsubaki, are you willing to place our hopes of victory on me?"
Takeyo smiled and asked.
He had noticed Tsubaki's presence last night, but hadn't expected her to burst in without warning.
Fortunately, his composure was quite impressive... ahem...
Actually, he just needed to be more shameless than Sona and Tsubaki. That was enough.
Facing Takeyo's question, Tsubaki hesitated briefly.
"If it's you, Takeyo, then yes, I'm willing to trust you."
After speaking, Tsubaki sighed internally.
She could see clearly now that Takeyo had become irreplaceable in Sona's heart.
And that made sense. Sona was still a young woman. With a powerful and capable partner at her side, even someone of her temperament would inevitably be deeply affected.
"Good. I won't disappoint your expectations."
Takeyo's lips curved upward. He was actually looking forward to the battle with Diodora.
What he wanted was to thoroughly crush that villain, but doing so in front of Ajuka would have been inappropriate.
According to his predictions, no, according to his certainty, Diodora had already betrayed the Devils and colluded with the enemy.
However, this was merely an opportunity to deal with certain matters ahead of schedule. He had essentially already deduced who his true opponents would be.
And so it began.
The competition that had captured the attention of the entire Underworld commenced as scheduled.
The venue was a dimensional space created by Ajuka Beelzebub himself.
However, to Takeyo, the alternate dimension crafted by his teacher was as familiar as his own backyard.
He had thoroughly mastered Ajuka's knowledge long ago.
In the preparation room, a silver-haired maid was explaining the rules.
"The rules for this match are conventional: both sides deploy all their pieces into the dimensional space. Victory is achieved by defeating the opponent's King."
Grayfia glanced at Takeyo, her eyes betraying complex emotions.
"Due to the wager between Lord Takeyo and Lord Diodora, many prominent figures in the Underworld will be observing this match. Lord Takeyo, I must ask that you refrain from taking your opponent's life."
"I'll try my best?"
Takeyo raised an eyebrow. Grayfia, aren't you overstepping a bit?
But it didn't really matter. If someone got involved in this mess, whatever happened to them would be perfectly natural, wouldn't it?
☆☆☆
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