By now, the basement was no longer the icy, snow-covered scene it had been that morning; it had returned to its original state.
The crimson Magic Circle emitted bursts of red light, gradually transforming into two figures under the gaze of Leo and Yukinoshita Yukino.
Seeing these two figures, Leo displayed a much more candid smile than usual, while Yukinoshita Yukino looked at them with a mix of nervousness and curiosity.
They were two women who could be described as striking in every sense of the word.
One stood in front, and the other slightly behind, much like Leo and Yukinoshita Yukino on their way to school that morning, clearly indicating a master-servant relationship.
The one in front was a slender, petite girl with a physique similar to Yukinoshita Yukino's, but with exceptionally delicate and refined features. She wore glasses and exuded a cool, serious aura, her hair cut in a shoulder-length bob.
The one behind was a long-haired woman in black, also wearing glasses. Her appearance was equally beautiful, but her figure was much better than the former's—tall and voluptuous, full of mature charm.
To be honest, Yukinoshita Yukino was quite surprised to see two such individuals emerge from the Magic Circle.
Both women possessed top-tier looks and auras; even at Sobu High School, they would likely be popular figures on the level of the 'Four Unreachable Beauties.'
These two were actually High-Class Devils?
Are all female High-Class Devils in the Underworld of such high quality?
As Yukinoshita Yukino pondered this, the two women had already stepped out of the Magic Circle.
"I've finally waited for you to visit, Sona."
Leo also walked up to the leading, cool-looking girl and teased her with a smile.
The seemingly unsmiling, cool girl also showed a faint smile.
"I've been waiting for you to finish your business here. This doesn't count as making you wait long, does it?"
Sona Sitri's smile was very faint, almost imperceptible, but anyone familiar with her would know that this was already her way of showing closeness.
"If anyone made someone wait, it was me making you wait." Leo shrugged, then turned to the woman behind Sona Sitri and said, "It's been a while, hasn't it, Tsubaki?"
"Yes, Lord Leo." The tall woman immediately bowed respectfully to Leo, saying, "The last time we met was when I accompanied the President to the Underworld for your High-Class Devil promotion ceremony."
That was actually not long ago, but compared to Sona Sitri, who contacted Leo occasionally, she and Leo could indeed be said to have not seen each other for a long time.
"Let me introduce you." Leo smiled and began to introduce Yukinoshita Yukino, who stood behind him, saying, "This is my first Retainer, Yukinoshita Yukino, who serves as the 'Bishop.'"
Yukinoshita Yukino nodded to the two women, appearing somewhat aloof, fully displaying her lack of social skills.
As a Retainer, being so cold towards another High-Class Devil would be problematic from any angle, making her seem rude and arrogant.
However, Sona Sitri seemed to have already learned about Yukinoshita Yukino through her own channels, so her expression remained normal.
"I am Sona Sitri, my true name is Sona Sidy. I am a third-year student at Kuoh Academy. Please take care of me, Yukinoshita-san." Sona Sitri also nodded towards Yukinoshita Yukino, then introduced her own Retainer, saying, "This is Shinra Tsubaki, both my 'Queen' and my first Retainer. I hope you two can get along well."
Shinra Tsubaki bowed lightly to Yukinoshita Yukino as a sign of politeness.
"Kuoh Academy?"
Yukinoshita Yukino looked at Leo.
"It's a private academy located in Kuoh Town. A few years ago it was an all-girls school, but now it's co-ed. Sona and Tsubaki are both students there, and Sona is even the student council president."
Leo briefly explained to Yukinoshita Yukino.
"Kuoh Town, huh?"
Yukinoshita Yukino recalled the place.
It was a town in Kanagawa Prefecture, Tokyo, not a large place, and not far from Chiba Prefecture; it was a place one could travel to and from on the same day by train.
There didn't seem to be any prominent noble families there; at least, the Yukinoshita Family hadn't paid much attention to that place. She never expected there to be a pure-blooded High-Class Devil stationed there.
"There isn't just one High-Class Devil in Kuoh Town. My childhood friend also uses that as her base and, like me, attends Kuoh Academy. She was actually the one who attracted me to study there." Sona Sitri seemed to have noticed some of Yukinoshita Yukino's thoughts and said, "If you have time in the future, you can come visit. Rias and I will both welcome you."
There's another High-Class Devil stationed there?
Is Kuoh Town some extremely important place?
Yukinoshita Yukino pondered silently.
Normally, she, who liked to speak her mind, would have already asked all these questions.
But now, it involved things she had never encountered in her seventeen years of life, making her a bit more cautious. She suppressed her inner questions, trying not to embarrass Leo.
However, this feeling was not pleasant, at least for Yukinoshita Yukino, who was competitive and proud. This somewhat ignorant situation was absolutely unbearable.
"Spend more time reading later. At the very least, you need to master common sense and basic knowledge."
Yukinoshita Yukino made up her mind.
She didn't know that Sona Sitri was already secretly observing her, and very carefully at that.
She noticed that although Yukinoshita Yukino had just been reincarnated as a High-Class Devil, the magical power subtly emanating from her was by no means weak. It likely far exceeded the level of a Low-ranking Demon and was close to touching the realm of a High-Class Devil.
Furthermore, Sona Sitri clearly felt an unusually strong sacred gear fluctuation from Yukinoshita Yukino.
This was the most intense sacred gear fluctuation she had ever witnessed, enough to make the usually unflappable next head of the Sitri Family feel solemn.
"It seems, Yukinoshita-san, just as you previously guessed, is a god-slaying tool wielder."
Sona Sitri pushed up her glasses and said this.
"President Sidy knows about my sacred gear?"
Yukinoshita Yukino finally couldn't hold back and asked.
"Of course." Sona Sitri glanced at Leo, who was smiling at her, and said, "Your master had his eyes on you long ago. After receiving the devil chess piece, he immediately told me that he wanted to take you as his first Retainer, lest a rare god-slaying tool wielder slip away right before his eyes."
"Not only do I know about this, but almost all High-Class Devils who pay attention to your master and knew about your previous sacred gear instability also know about it."
"If it weren't for the unwritten rules among High-Class Devils that you can't just barge into someone else's territory to snatch people, many High-Class Devils, including myself, would probably have been drawn to you, wanting to recruit you as a Retainer."
This was the wielder of one of only thirteen god-slaying tools.
If it developed smoothly, it was said to be capable of destroying gods and Demon Lords.
Who wouldn't want such a Retainer with unlimited potential?
Unfortunately, Leo had the advantage of timing, location, and connections, so almost no one could contend with him, and this huge opportunity could only be monopolized by him.
However... "I thought he would give you the 'Queen' position. I didn't expect you to end up as a 'Bishop.'"
Sona Sitri was indeed somewhat surprised by this.
Not just Sona Sitri, even Shinra Tsubaki was very surprised.
This was a god-slaying tool wielder. Wasn't serving as a 'Bishop' too much of a waste of talent?
Normally, as long as the 'Queen' position was still available, giving it to Yukinoshita Yukino should be the natural course of action, right?
Yukinoshita Yukino was also Leo's first Retainer, so it should be even more natural for her to become the 'Queen,' shouldn't it?
The 'Queen' is not only the strongest Retainer under the 'King' but also his most capable assistant, usually accompanying the 'King' everywhere. Such a position naturally should not be missed by the most outstanding individuals. Therefore, everyone who knew Leo had his eyes on a god-slaying tool wielder expected him to grant the 'Queen' position to her.
Who would have thought that she would eventually become a 'Bishop'?
"This isn't me being stingy and unwilling to give her the 'Queen' chess piece."
Seeing all the women looking at him, Leo quickly explained.
"This was the chess piece's own choice."
Upon hearing this, everyone was momentarily stunned.
"The chess piece's own choice?" Sona Sitri's heart stirred slightly, and she said, "Are you saying that this is one of the changes that occurred in the devil chess piece after your mutated characteristic connected with it?"
Yes, Sona Sitri knew what kind of characteristic Leo had awakened.
Not just Sona Sitri, but essentially everyone who was paying attention to Leo knew about this.
The reason was simple: Leo never intended to hide it.
When he received the devil chess piece and awakened his characteristic, many people were present to witness the ceremony and saw the strange phenomenon caused by the connection between the devil chess piece in his hand and himself.
At that time, the devil chess piece in his hand caused quite a stir, and afterward, it even attracted the attention of the current Demon Lord, Beelzebub.
After examining Leo's devil chess piece, the Demon Lord concluded that his devil chess piece had undergone a mysterious change unknown to outsiders.
This was also why Sona, when contacting Leo yesterday, said that Leo's background and his person were very special, and many people were secretly watching him.
Leo's uniqueness was no longer a secret among the High-Class Devil hierarchy.
Thanks to this, Leo also did not conceal the mutation of his characteristic. Since he couldn't hide it anyway, he simply used it as leverage to deepen his impression among the higher-ups, gain more attention and importance, and seek more support.
Many of the extremely precious books in his study were only successfully delivered into Leo's hands after that, showing that Leo had indeed gained quite a few benefits from it.
Leo knew that one of the main reasons for Sona Sitri's visit this time was to find out what changes his characteristic and the devil chess piece had brought about.
"This isn't the place to talk."
Leo winked at Sona Sitri.
"Let's chat over tea."