Time flowed by, little by little. Kasumigaoka Utaha stood there, her expression shifting between gloom and clarity as she pondered, allowing others to easily discern the conflict in her heart.
Leo was not in a hurry either, continuing to fiddle with the glowing devil chess piece in his hand, looking as if he were completely indifferent to the matter.
Neither of them spoke again, causing the air in the room to become slightly heavy.
"Huu..." It was a long, long time later that Kasumigaoka Utaha finally let out a breath.
"I believe you are a Demon Lord now," Kasumigaoka Utaha remarked with emotion. "Only a Demon Lord could so accurately corrupt hearts and lure humans, right?"
"That is truly rude, Senpai," Leo said, sounding slightly displeased. "Everything I said was the truth; not a single word was a lie."
"That's why it's terrifying," Kasumigaoka Utaha said with surprising calmness, like an outsider observing the situation. "Lies are sometimes easy to expose and cannot deceive truly intelligent people, but the truth is different. As long as the right method is found, even the smartest person will be fooled and eventually choose to compromise."
"In that case, Senpai, have you agreed?" Leo handed over the devil chess piece he held.
However, Kasumigaoka Utaha did not take it.
"Becoming a Demon Lord, abandoning my humanity, and becoming a Retainer, your Subordinate Servant—how could I possibly agree to such a thing right away?" Kasumigaoka Utaha looked deeply at Leo. "Tell me honestly, Demon Lord, have you been watching me for a long time?"
Clearly, Kasumigaoka Utaha had figured out a few things.
"Does Student Kasumigaoka want to hear the truth, or a lie?" Leo, unlike before, didn't answer immediately but smiled, keeping her in suspense.
"Let's hear the lie first." Kasumigaoka Utaha always did the unexpected, as if unwilling to be controlled by Leo. "I want to see what kind of sophisticated lies a Demon Lord can tell."
"It's not sophisticated; it's just stating the facts." Leo spread his hands. "Didn't I tell you? Being summoned by someone, forming a contract with a human, and fulfilling their wish in exchange for a corresponding price as compensation—that is the job of a Demon Lord. Therefore, all humans with desires are my potential clients, including Senpai. If that counts as watching, then Senpai certainly has been watched by me."
"That is indeed a very clever lie, using one truth to conceal another. If I hadn't prepared myself beforehand, I would likely have been fooled." Kasumigaoka Utaha hugged her arms and nodded. "So, what is the truth?"
"The truth is, I might not be the only one watching Senpai." Leo looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha's feigned calmness and smiled meaningfully. "Humans with desires are my potential clients, but Senpai is much more special than the average client. Therefore, including myself, there should be quite a few people secretly watching you."
These words made Kasumigaoka Utaha frown, and her eyes lost their calmness.
"Why? What is it about me that makes me worth doing this?" Kasumigaoka Utaha asked, sounding less than composed.
Unfortunately, Leo offered no further explanation.
"I have already given the necessary explanations, and even offered quite a few friendly hints because of our relationship. I cannot tell you anything more." Seeing Kasumigaoka Utaha looking unable to accept this, Leo immediately added, "If Student Kasumigaoka doesn't intend to interact with the world we belong to, it's best not to know too many details, or it will only be detrimental to you."
"Besides, I am a Demon Lord. You summoned me here, yet you neither take care of my work nor my performance, and you treat me like a free audiobook reader. That's a bit much."
"I am not one of those desperate sycophants in school who are so crazy about chasing you that they lose all sense of direction just by talking to you."
Kasumigaoka Utaha fell silent, her frown deepening.
But quickly, Kasumigaoka Utaha's frown eased.
"In that case, what if I make a wish to know everything I want to know right now?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha proposed a request that surprised Leo yet also piqued his interest.
"This is truly an unexpected development. Senpai, you are indeed very cunning, like a vixen."
Leo offered sincere praise, but unfortunately, the way he phrased it was not at all pleasing.
"Let me see." Before Kasumigaoka Utaha could respond, Leo excitedly pulled out a device.
This was a device exclusively used by Demon Lords. It was the same type as the one Yukinoshita Yukino previously used to search for humans with desires. All Leo had to do was operate it, input the client's wish on the interface, and the device would automatically calculate the price required for payment.
The price varied from person to person because the value of human beings is not equal. The more valuable, capable, and potential-filled a person is, the greater the wish they can fulfill.
For instance, if a useless vagrant wished to become a global tycoon, unless he truly possessed the potential to become one, the price he would have to pay to realize this wish would far exceed imagination. He might even die immediately and have his soul taken away.
However, those who are valuable, capable, and potential-filled are different. The value of their lives and souls is very high. If one aimed to collect a price based on that, they might have to put in considerable effort to fulfill a particularly grand aspiration for the client.
What about Kasumigaoka Utaha's own value?
It could only be described as... very high.
She possessed many advantages that surpassed her peers, including but not limited to beauty, wealth, background, and literary and artistic accomplishments. Even if she were just an ordinary human, given her circumstances, her future development would allow her to achieve goals that over ninety-nine percent of people in this world could not. Therefore, the value of her life and soul was extraordinarily high, ranking among the best of all the clients Leo had met so far.
And if her inherent uniqueness were factored in, that value would be even greater, likely surpassing all clients Leo had ever encountered with ease.
Such a person already possessed the potential to come into contact with the world Leo belonged to. Now she merely wanted to gain some information in advance. The price required for this... could only be described as ridiculously low.
When Leo saw the result displayed on the device: "One piece of clothing previously worn by the individual," he fell silent.
He knew this price actually held no special meaning.
Just like how clothes worn by celebrities and great figures can fetch a considerable price even if they are old and torn, one piece of clothing previously worn by Kasumigaoka Utaha might not mean much to her, but Demon Lords could certainly collect it, wait until she achieved great success, and then bring it out. At that time, there would be plenty of people willing to pay for it.
Leo had collected similar compensation in the past, so he knew that anyone who had dirty thoughts upon seeing this message needed to go reflect on their behavior.
But he also knew that if he proposed this compensation, in the heart of the flower of autumn of Sobu High School, his title of "Perverted Demon Lord" would likely be stuck to him forever.
Forcing me to be a pervert, huh? Fine, fine, fine... Leo decisively put away the device and said something to Kasumigaoka Utaha.
"Kiss me, and I'll tell you."
The moment he said this, the air instantly froze.
Kasumigaoka Utaha was astonished, Kasumigaoka Utaha fell silent, and, unsurprisingly, a look of contempt appeared in Kasumigaoka Utaha's eyes.
"Are you sure this is compensation for a Demon Lord's work? Not your personal desire?" Kasumigaoka Utaha questioned him intensely.
"And what if it is?" Leo replied bluntly, like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water. "Regardless of which aspect it's proposed from, as long as the payment is made, the wish will be fulfilled. Isn't that fair?"
"Besides, are you losing anything?"
"Look at this face. If you put a lipstick mark on it, is it really that hard for you to accept mentally?"
Leo leaned his face close to Kasumigaoka Utaha, which startled her and also caused her cheeks to suddenly flush because of the extreme proximity.
"Don't get so close, Perverted Demon Lord."
Kasumigaoka Utaha pushed Leo's face away, fanning herself with her small hand, attempting to cool down her cheeks.
Seeing the girl's appearance, Leo was amused.
"For the sake of our relationship, I will grant your wish first."
Saying this, Leo raised his hand, and a Magic Circle unfolded on it.
"The memories you are about to receive are the mysterious world you wished to know about."
"I've given you the information first; the compensation will be put on your tab for now."
"As for the matter of becoming a Subordinate Servant Retainer... I will wait for Student Kasumigaoka to change her mind at any time."
As he spoke, a stream of memories poured into Kasumigaoka Utaha's mind, making her head shake, and her eyes began to lose focus.
Demon Lords, angels, Fallen Angels, the Church, Sacred Gears, the Underworld... all kinds of knowledge were received by Kasumigaoka Utaha, allowing her to quickly grasp what mystery was, what supernatural power was, what the hidden world was, and what reality was.
Kasumigaoka Utaha did not know how long she experienced this reception.
When she finally came back to her senses, dizzy and confused, and her eyes began to refocus, Leo's figure had already vanished. In his place, a Demon Lord flyer that had been used once before lay on the floor, the simple Magic Circle carved on it being so conspicuous and deeply impressive.
"..." Kasumigaoka Utaha remained silent for a long time before finally stepping forward and picking up the Demon Lord flyer.
"Sacred Gear... huh?"
Having learned about her own unique nature, Kasumigaoka Utaha's expression was exceptionally complex.
Recalling the fates of the uncontrollable Sacred Gear possessors mentioned in the knowledge Leo had transmitted to her, Kasumigaoka Utaha couldn't help but shiver.
"That guy definitely did this on purpose."
While maliciously complaining in her mind, Kasumigaoka Utaha lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling, remaining silent for a long time.