"This is your house?" In the central district of Chiba City, in front of Leo's manor, Kasumigaoka Utaha stood outside the main gate, pointing ahead with a look of disbelief.
"Someone gave it to me." Leo acted very calmly, as if it was nothing, exuding an invisible sense of showing off, and asked, "It's not bad, right?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha's eye twitched slightly.
How could "not bad" possibly describe a manor this size?
In all her life, she had never seen anyone live in such a luxurious and extravagant place. For a moment, she even wondered if a monarch's palace would be inferior to this.
And such a luxurious and extravagant manor was actually given to Leo by someone else?
Who is so generous? Is it your friend? Why don't you ask your friend if he minds being her friend too?
"I finally understand why some people suspect you are the son of a wealthy family." Kasumigaoka Utaha held it in for a long time before finally saying, "If those troublemakers at Sobu High School who have nothing better to do all day knew you lived in a place like this, I doubt anyone would question that point again."
At that point, the rumor that Leo was the son of a wealthy family would instantly spread throughout Sobu High School, causing his status to skyrocket.
Unfortunately, Leo was not interested in this.
"What does their suspicion have to do with me?" Leo said carelessly, "Forget finding out that I live here; even if they found out that Yukino and Asuna live here, what could they do?"
Speaking of this, Kasumigaoka Utaha narrowed her eyes again, giving a forced, unpleasant smile.
"Don't worry. As long as you don't expose yourselves, they would never imagine that the daughters of the Yukinoshita Family and the Yuuki Family would be some boy's Subordinate Servant, let alone already living with him."
Never mind them; even Kasumigaoka Utaha felt shocked and incredulous when Leo brought it up. How could anyone else believe it?
If she hadn't already speculated about the relationship between those two and Leo, Kasumigaoka Utaha would definitely think Leo was dreaming in broad daylight.
You must understand that the flower on a high peak of Sobu High School weren't chosen just because they had pretty faces.
The reason the flower on a high peak are the flower on a high peak is because they stand high above others, making ordinary people feel that they are unattainable.
Looks, figure, intelligence, talent, family background... every single one of these conditions must be extremely outstanding to be called an aloof beauty.
Therefore, including Kasumigaoka Utaha, every one of the flower on a high peak at Sobu High School is a young lady from an extraordinary family background.
Kasumigaoka Utaha and Sawamura Spencer Eriri were alright; although they had a certain degree of family background and their families could be considered affluent, compared to Yukinoshita Yukino, Yuuki Asuna, and Shiina Mahiru, they couldn't truly be counted as being from a prestigious family.
Yukinoshita Yukino, Yuuki Asuna, and Shiina Mahiru were different; each of them came from a prominent family, whose social standing was extremely high, having even been passed down for several generations, making them local powerful clans.
Especially the Yuuki Family, whose main branch in Tokyo is nationally renowned. Even if they can't compare to a world-class financial conglomerate like the Shinomiyas, they are far beyond what ordinary wealthy families can match.
Yet, the daughter of such a major family became someone else's Subordinate Servant. It was simply unbelievable.
"Don't look at us through the eyes of the mortal world." Leo glanced at Kasumigaoka Utaha and said, "Although I am not a wealthy noble in the present world, in the Demon Realm, I am a genuine High-Class Devil, the current heir of the Erigor ducal family, one of the Seventy-Two Pillars."
"If we only talk about identity, I am higher than any son of a wealthy family in the present world."
"Even though it was once severed, Erigor is a demon noble family that has been passed down for countless years. Now that I have inherited all the assets of this family, revealing just a fraction of its wealth could collapse the world's financial system."
Saying this, Leo led Kasumigaoka Utaha into the manor.
"You can learn about this later if you're interested. For now, let me show you our daily life, as you wished."
Leo then brought Kasumigaoka Utaha to the front of the mansion.
He had notified the household beforehand that he would be bringing a guest, so at this moment, not only was a red carpet laid out in front of the mansion gate, but rows of maid-attired familiars were neatly lined up in two columns, bowing to welcome them.
Appearing alongside the familiars were Yukinoshita Yukino and Yuuki Asuna.
"Welcome to the Erigor Family, Kasumigaoka-senpai."
Yukinoshita Yukino secretly glared at Leo, and then formally welcomed Kasumigaoka Utaha.
"Hello, Senpai, I am Yuuki Asuna, welcome to our home."
Yuuki Asuna had much more smiling on her face than Yukinoshita Yukino, and her demeanor was more appropriate, carrying a faint aura of gentleness that made Kasumigaoka Utaha look sideways at her.
"Hello."
Kasumigaoka Utaha nodded to the two of them, but was not overly enthusiastic.
She was essentially a literary girl, not a noblewoman who had specialized in etiquette, so she wasn't very particular even about superficial manners.
Furthermore, the flower on a high peak of Sobu High School usually operated under a "rivals never meet" situation; they were not familiar with each other at all, and had rarely even seen each other face-to-face.
Kasumigaoka Utaha only had contact with Sawamura Spencer Eriri due to some private hobbies, and this relationship was kept secret; outsiders had no idea they knew each other.
As for the other flower on a high peak, Kasumigaoka Utaha had only met them once.
For example, Kasumigaoka Utaha had basically only seen Yukinoshita Yukino at the entrance ceremony, because Yukinoshita Yukino was the top student of her grade and had to give a speech. Normally, this flower of winter of Sobu High School was either in the classroom or in the Service Club activity room, so the two had no chance to meet.
Shiina Mahiru, in the first year, was in the same situation. Yukinoshita Yukino was the top student of the second year, and Shiina Mahiru was the top student of the first year. Shiina Mahiru also gave a speech on stage at this year's entrance ceremony—that was the only time Kasumigaoka Utaha had ever seen her.
Yuuki Asuna was even more irrelevant; she was a second-year student who had transferred over recently. What chance would she have to meet Kasumigaoka Utaha, a third-year senpai?
In summary, despite meeting two other flower on a high peak from Sobu High School here, Kasumigaoka Utaha was completely unfamiliar with them and momentarily didn't know what to say.
Fortunately, Leo was the master here.
"As you can see, Yukino and Asuna are both my Retainers. They currently live in this manor, spending the daytime being peaceful students with me, and secretly carrying out demon activities at night."
Leo folded his arms and said this to Kasumigaoka Utaha.
"Since Senpai is interested in the life of a demon, you can first tour the place here, and then go with either Yukino or Asuna to complete a demon's work. Consider it a chance for you to experience how we usually sign contracts with others."
Several weeks have passed, and having resolved her family concerns, Yukinoshita Yukino is now getting into the swing of demon work and becoming increasingly proficient. Although her personality isn't great, making her seem difficult to deal with, her meticulous work attitude is reassuring to those who hope to have their wishes granted, so much so that Yukinoshita Yukino has now developed quite a few repeat customers, and her performance is soaring.
Aside from her daily training, Yuuki Asuna, just like Yukinoshita Yukino initially, first handled grassroots work like handing out flyers. Then, a week ago, she successfully received Leo's permission to formally accept summons and take on requests. Although she is still a bit inexperienced, her personality and outstanding appearance have allowed her work to progress much more smoothly than Yukinoshita Yukino's did originally, requiring no worry from Leo.
This current time slot was exactly when the two of them carried out their demon work.
Thus, Leo simply handed Kasumigaoka Utaha over to them.
"I'll leave her to you."
Kasumigaoka Utaha seemed quite serious about this matter and became solemn.
"It's just a small favor, Senpai, don't worry about it." Seeing that Yukinoshita Yukino had no intention of speaking, Yuuki Asuna immediately took the initiative and said, "I will first lead Senpai on a tour of the manor."
Kasumigaoka Utaha naturally agreed and entered the mansion under Yuuki Asuna's guidance.
Yukinoshita Yukino watched this scene, not following them immediately.
"Is she your next target?"
Yukinoshita Yukino abruptly threw the question at Leo.
"More or less." Leo did not deny it, saying, "Although I paid attention to her even earlier than when I first noticed you, she is indeed the next Retainer candidate I have my eyes on."
"You certainly know how to pick people." Yukinoshita Yukino jabbed him coldly, saying, "Are your next targets Shiina Mahiru from the first year and Sawamura Spencer Eriri from Class G?"
Clearly, Yukinoshita Yukino was mocking Leo for having impure intentions when selecting people.
First her, then Yuuki Asuna, and now Kasumigaoka Utaha—it seems you are only interested in the flower on a high peak of Sobu High School, right?
"You've misunderstood me there." Leo spread his hands and said innocently, "I didn't specifically intend to choose you flower on a high peak; it's just that all of you possess *that* thing, isn't it?"
"Are you talking about... Sacred Gear?" A trace of surprise appeared on Yukinoshita Yukino's cold face, and she asked, "Is Kasumigaoka-senpai also a Sacred Gear user?"
"That's right." Leo readily admitted this, saying, "I discovered she was a Sacred Gear user two years ago, right when we first enrolled."
This timing was indeed earlier than Yukinoshita Yukino, since Yukinoshita Yukino had enrolled in Sobu High School only a year ago, and Leo had only discovered she was a Sacred Gear user then.
However, at that time, he didn't know that the Sacred Gear inside Yukinoshita Yukino was a god-slaying tool. He only realized this when Yukinoshita Yukino lost control of her power before the start of this school year.
Otherwise, Leo's first target would actually have been Kasumigaoka Utaha, and only then Yukinoshita Yukino.
Yukinoshita Yukino truly cut in front of Kasumigaoka Utaha.