Early the next morning.
Ryuya slowly opened his eyes, got up, and walked to the window. Gazing at the rising sun outside, he took a deep breath.
He hadn't actually slept at all last night—instead, he had spent the entire night training.
After fooling around with Rias for a while the previous night, they had been caught red-handed by Asia when she walked in. The little beauty immediately knocked over the vinegar jar, and in the end, the three of them ended up playing together for a long time…
After coaxing Rias to sleep, Asia didn't fall asleep herself. Instead, she stayed up and trained together with Ryuya.
With Asia's Sacred Gear—the Twilight Healing—providing support, Ryuya naturally let himself go much more. He increased the strength of the resonance, ignoring the intense pain as his demonic power boiled violently.
He discovered that it wasn't a matter of simply maintaining Sacred Gear resonance to keep improving indefinitely. In reality, as his strength grew and his body's tolerance increased, the intensity of the resonance also needed to continuously rise.
If he likened himself to a piece of black iron, then resonance was a process of refinement. As iron was gradually forged into steel, the force required for refinement would only grow stronger.
If one day he could completely withstand all the negative effects brought by Sacred Gear resonance, then resonance itself would likely no longer be able to enhance his strength…
Correspondingly, by that time, he would surely be able to fully unleash all the power of the King's Sword and Shield…
Although Asia ran out of stamina after three hours and fell into a deep sleep, the results of an entire night of training were extremely satisfying.
Looking at the two beautiful girls on the bed, Ryuya didn't wake them. He simply got dressed and headed out.
He first went to buy breakfast. When he returned, both Rias and Asia were already awake.
"Good morning."
Rias greeted him with a smile while lying on the bed, her captivating body stretched out, making Ryuya involuntarily recall the lingering intimacy of the previous night.
"Get up and eat breakfast," Ryuya said softly. "After that, are you two still coming with me for morning training?"
"Ah, speaking of that, you don't need to go today."
Rias sat up and got out of bed together with Asia. The two beautiful girls began putting on their clothes piece by piece.
"Something up?"
Seeing Rias pick up the black ominous bra, Ryuya walked over. Rias tacitly turned around, and Ryuya reached out to fasten the clasps on her back before looking toward Asia.
"I'll need your help too," Asia said, her face slightly red as she turned around.
After this small favor, Rias had also finished putting on her white shirt.
With a backward motion, she gathered her crimson hair out from inside the shirt and smiled as she explained:
"There's a new request today. It requires us to investigate together. After breakfast, we'll head out directly."
"Understood."
The requests Rias referred to were issued by the devil duke faction. There were many types of requests—the previous subjugation of a rogue devil had been one of them—but this time, it was an investigation mission.
The details of the request were still unknown. Someone would explain once they arrived at the destination. After finishing breakfast, the group first teleported to the school's Occult Research Club room to gather.
Akeno Himejima and Koneko Toujou arrived soon after, and the group then teleported together to an ordinary-looking private residence.
A young man dressed in a suit immediately stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and saluted with a clenched fist to his chest.
"Samuel greets Lady Rias."
"No need to be so formal."
As a high-ranking devil, it was only natural for lower-ranking devils to show Rias such respect.
That was precisely because Ryuya and Koneko, along with the others, were Rias's servants—an extremely close relationship. Otherwise, in daily interactions, they would have to maintain the same level of respect as Samuel before them…
"This is Ryuya, and this is Asia. They're both new servants I've taken in—you haven't met them yet, right?" Rias introduced them casually.
Samuel quickly smiled and nodded. "I've only heard that Lady Rias has taken in new servants. This is indeed our first meeting."
"Hello," Ryuya and Asia greeted in unison, and Samuel promptly returned the courtesy.
"Alright, explain the commission. What exactly is all this secrecy about?" Rias asked softly.
Samuel hurriedly set up a magic barrier before speaking carefully.
"It's like this—our clan members operating outside have recently been attacked by Fallen Angels in succession. We've already suffered considerable losses. The Duke suspects that the Fallen Angels are plotting something again, so he sent people to investigate."
At this point, Samuel paused briefly, glanced at Rias, and lowered his voice.
"However, when our scouts reached a certain location, all contact was lost. There's been no word since. The Duke has reason to believe they've already met with misfortune."
As he spoke, he took a photograph out of his pocket.
Rias and Akeno exchanged a glance. Akeno stepped forward, took the photo, and her expression immediately sharpened.
"This is the New Cloud Building. It's about three kilometers west of Kuoh Academy."
Akeno recognized the location at a glance—they could see that building from the school in the distance.
"Hehe, so it's right within my territory," Rias smiled.
"Yes. That's why the Duke thought of you," Samuel said. "The Duke hopes you'll accept this commission and bring your servants to investigate the site, and determine the Fallen Angels' intentions as much as possible."
"Understood. I'll take the commission."
There was nothing to hesitate over. Kuoh Academy could be considered Rias's domain, and she had every reason to deal with incidents occurring nearby.
After accepting the commission, Rias turned to her servants.
"Regarding this building, have any of you noticed anything unusual?"
"Not really. But Fallen Angels have always been restless, haven't they?" Akeno replied with a gentle smile, looking unconcerned.
"Those guys are annoying," Koneko stated plainly, expressing her dislike for Fallen Angels.
Ryuya didn't speak. Instead, he glanced at Asia beside him.
"Ryuya, what about you? Have you noticed any related clues?" Rias asked when she saw this.
"I have thought of a few things…" Ryuya nodded.
He recalled the fierce battle during the rescue of Asia. From what those Fallen Angels had said, it seemed they were planning something big—and Asia's Sacred Gear was crucial…
And now, an unexpected incident had occurred on Samuel's side as well…
Could all of this… be part of the same matter?
After hearing Ryuya's explanation, everyone froze slightly.
"That's true… we can't rule out that possibility…"
Rias fell into thought. "If that's the case, then this place really must be investigated thoroughly!"
----
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