— — — — — — — —
"Is that... Light?"
Rias's expression turned complicated as she watched Mahiru Shiina continuously test the effects of light energy on the stray devil.
She turned to Lynn and asked in disbelief, "Lynn, did you just recruit an angelas your servant?"
"An angel?"
Lynn thought about Mahiru's nickname and casually replied, "You could say that."
Rias: "..."
She was starting to really admire him.
No wonder he wanted to find stray devils.
So he was testing how effective light was against them?
'Wait—'
Rias's face stiffened as a sudden realization hit her.
'Why was Lynn testing this?'
A sense of unease crept into her heart.
'Was it... preparation to deal with the Old Satan Faction?'
She wasn't wrong.
That was exactly what Lynn had in mind.
By testing the effects, he could get a rough idea of their capabilities.
If those lunatics ever came knocking, he'd have a trump card ready.
After observing for a while, Rias couldn't help but have a few questions.
'Hold on...'
'Can a reincarnated angel still retain their light abilities after becoming a devil?'
She had never seen Akeno use light-based abilities before.
Rias discreetly glanced at Akeno, who had suddenly fallen silent.
'Was it because of her bloodline that she didn't want to use it? Or did she simply not retain that ability?'
Despite her curiosity, Rias didn't want to bring up Akeno's past.
That was a pain she knew Akeno would rather forget.
---
After a while, Rias looked at the stray devil, now completely lifeless on the ground, and felt her eyelid twitch.
That... was a brutal end.
Mahiru was panting heavily from exhaustion.
Rias glanced at the weapon in her hands and remarked, "That human weapon doesn't suit her."
"Oh?"
Lynn's eyes immediately lit up. "Oh? Then do you have something better in mind? What do you have for me?"
Rias:"..."
She gave him a look of exasperation.
"Are you treating me like Santa Claus?"
Lynn shrugged. "What can I say? You're the only rich, kind-hearted, and gorgeous noble lady I know."
"Hmm! Kind-hearted and gorgeous..."
Rias extended her hand to the side, conjuring a magic circle.
A white and gold flintlock pistol materialized in her grasp.
"Take this—Flare Gun."
Lynn's eyes gleamed. "Does it have holy attributes?"
Rias: "???"
"You're seriously picky?!"
— — —
Kuoh Academy—Occult Research Club
Rias sighed and rubbed her forehead in frustration. "I just gave away the Flare Gun that easily?"
Akeno handed her a cup of tea with a gentle smile.
Rias picked it up and muttered in frustration, "Akeno, why didn't you stop me back then?"
Akeno chuckled, "Because, my dear President, you had already fallen under the spell of his 'sweet-talking' magic. There was nothing I could do."
Rias sighed again. "I'll just treat it as an investment."
Yes, an investment!
She actually had high hopes for Lynn.
Although they had frequent contact through their phones, they had only met in person three times.
Yet each time, she could sense subtle changes in him.
Especially this time...Her expression grew serious.
"Akeno, did you notice? Compared to last time, Lynn seems..."
"More unfathomable?"
Rias hesitated but nodded.
His strength had clearly grown—by a lot.
That was the feeling she got.
"Unfathomable, huh..."
Akeno's gaze darkened slightly.
To this day, she hadn't forgotten the black lightning that danced at Lynn's fingertips the last time they met.
She murmured, "President, have you ever considered..."
"That he has always been unfathomable? You're only realizing it now."
Rias was taken aback. "Is that so?"
She wasn't sure.
During their first meeting, apart from being struck by his personality and looks, she hadn't noticed anything particularly special about him.
But today felt... different.
And then—Her expression shifted as she thought about Lynn's servants.
Whether it was Utaha or Mahiru, both were insanely talented.
An Archivist devil servant, and now... an Angel + Devil mix servant?
She thought about Lynn's other servants.
Muttering to herself, she said, "Could it be... all of Lynn's servants have some kind of special ability?"
"Looks like I really need to study Lynn more closely."
Rias made up her mind.
At the very least, she needed to learn a thing or two about servant recruitment from him.
Akeno smirked playfully. "President, wanting to 'study' a man this closely is a dangerous sign, you know~"
"You're overthinking it, Akeno."
Rias smiled and shook her head. "Lynn is Sona's fiancé. How could I possibly have feelings for him?"
Akeno raised an eyebrow. "Oh? But isn't Sona planning to annul that engagement?"
"Heh..."
Rias let out a cold chuckle.
"I have a feeling she's already changed her mind about that."
— — —
Knock, knock!
The sound of someone at the clubroom door interrupted them.
Rias: "..."
"See?!"
She shot Akeno a look before sighing. "Akeno, go ahead and invite Sona in."
Akeno: "..."
Even she couldn't hold back a small laugh.
Shaking her head, she opened the door and welcomed Sona inside.
Sitting across from Rias, Sona hesitated for a while before finally speaking.
Her gaze was uncertain, as if she was struggling with something.
Seeing her like this, Rias didn't even bother pretending anymore. "You're here to ask about Lynn, aren't you?"
"Ah... um... yeah."
Sona's gaze flickered.
Rias sighed, massaging her temples.
Then, in a calm voice, she briefly explained Lynn's purpose for recruiting stray devils.
Hearing this, Sona frowned slightly.
"Five servants already? Isn't that... a bit too fast?"
Wouldn't that risk gathering a team of ordinary talents?
Rias didn't mention Mahiru's abilities to Sona.
Just like she hadn't mentioned Utaha's before.
After all, that was Lynn's business.
He trusted her enough to let her witness his servants' abilities, but that didn't mean she had the right to share it with others.
Seeing Sona's worried expression, Rias couldn't help but tease, "Isn't this better for you?"
"If things escalate to a Rating Game for the engagement, you'd win easily, right?"
Sona fell silent before firmly stating, "I won't participate in a Rating Game."
Doing so would inevitably expose Lynn's lineage to the Old Satan Faction.
And that—She would never allow.
Rias paused for a moment, then reminded her, "Sona, does Serafall know about your plan to cancel the engagement?"
"If you keep dragging this out, who knows what she might do?"
Sona's expression froze.
She had completely forgotten about her troublesome older sister.
"I... I'll talk to her."
.
.
.