— — — — — —
An awkward silence filled the air.
Lynn stared at the pile of magic scripts, weapons, and various items scattered across the floor, speechless.
Finally, after Sona had finished taking everything out, she spoke. "T-This is your compensation?"
Sona hesitated for a moment before explaining, "I heard from Rias that you've been looking for holy and light-attribute artifacts recently."
"Compen…sation?"
Lynn raised an eyebrow, recalling their previous conversation.
If the engagement was annulled, she promised him compensation.
"But we haven't actually broken off the engagement yet, have we?" Lynn asked, puzzled.
Sona stiffened slightly, stumbling over her words. "W-Well… it's only a matter of time…"
"…Fine, whatever."
Lynn reluctantly accepted her reasoning.
It wasn't like he could refuse if she was dead set on giving him stuff.
"By the way..."
Lynn narrowed his eyes slightly. "Did you rob the Church or something?"
Hearing that, Sona regained her composure, pushing up her glasses as she calmly responded, "Just some insignificant pests."
"…Pests?"
Lynn's eyelid twitched, but in the end, he decided to let it go.
No point in exposing her when he was the one benefiting from this.
These holy and light-attribute artifacts would be perfect for Mahiru.
Wait— Would it be bad to give Mahiru something that Sona gifted him?
…Then again, Mahiru was already his, so technically, giving it to his Peerage wasn't the same as giving it away.
"Midori, make Miss Sona a cup of tea."
For bringing all this, she at least deserved that much.
Sona pursed her lips slightly.
"Miss Sona…"
"He calls Rias by her name, though…"
For some reason, that thought made her chest feel a little tight.
She silently turned her gaze toward Koneko, who was still nestled comfortably in Lynn's lap.
Feeling the cold stare, Koneko stiffened slightly before locking eyes with Sona.
Koneko: "…"
She remembered that Sona had an engagement with Senpai, right?
Was it really okay for her to be sitting on his lap like this…?
Wouldn't that be… inappropriate?
But…She was just a cat, wasn't she?
Unable to handle Sona's intense gaze any longer, Koneko quietly stood up. "Senpai, I'll head back now."
Without waiting for anyone to stop her, she activated her teleportation magic and disappeared from the apartment.
---
With Koneko gone, silence returned to the apartment.
Sona sipped her tea, feeling the awkwardness settle in.
She had come here on impulse.
But because of their rather… eventful first meeting, the dynamic between them was now a little strange.
She wanted to ease the tension.
But the only solution she could think of… was throwing more money.
After finishing her tea rather quickly, Sona took her leave.
Lynn, on the other hand, was completely confused by her actions.
Did she really come here just to drop off gifts?
Wait a minute…
Was this woman trying to sugar mommy him?
At that moment—
[Ding!]
His phone buzzed.
[Rias: "What did you do to Koneko?"]
—
Kuoh Academy ~ Occult Research Club.
Rias stared at Koneko, who had just returned from Lynn's place and seemed… off.
After pondering for a moment, she sent Lynn a message.
This state…It was obvious.
She was in heat.
Rias' expression turned complicated. Lynn… that bastard, he wouldn't have—
[Lynn: … "Does rubbing the ears count?"]
The moment she saw his reply, Rias blinked in confusion.
…That's it?
She had assumed something much worse.
Rias shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
But…Was Koneko really that innocent?
Just having her ears rubbed and she was already like this?
At least she hadn't gone full-blown heat mode—it was still manageable.
Rias rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
"…Maybe I should just forbid Koneko from seeing Lynn anymore."
It hadn't even been that long, and she was already showing her ears to him.
Next time, was she going to show her tail too?
"…My little girl is all grown up," Rias sighed like a mother sending her daughter off to marriage.
[Ding!]
A new message popped up.
[Lynn: [Image Attached]. "Also, tell Sona thanks for the generous donation."]
Since Sona was being this generous, shouldn't the esteemed Miss Rias follow suit?
Lynn was hinting at her hard.
[Rias: "???"]
Rias' expression turned complicated.
The picture was filled with magic scripts, spells, and holy/light-attribute weapons.
She didn't even need to ask—she already knew Sona was behind it.
Not too long ago, she had received news.
A Fallen Angel church in Kuoh had been wiped out.
And without a doubt, Sona was responsible for it.
Diplomatic incident! Diplomatic incident!!!
She did all that just to deliver holy-attribute weapons to Lynn?!
Sona…
You…
You've fallen for him, haven't you?
This incident was definitely going to reach the Four Satans.
At least…Sona had been rational about it.
She had specifically chosen to target the weakest faction of the Three Great Powers—the Fallen Angels.
So, in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't that big of a deal.
"…Still, lady Serafall is definitely going to find out about this…"
Rias sighed helplessly.
---
Underworld—Leviathan's Office
Sona's actions were swiftly placed on Serafall's desk.
Staring at the report in her hands, Serafall frowned. "Destroyed a Fallen Angel stronghold in Kuoh?"
"Sona did this?"
She found it hard to believe.
This didn't seem like something Sona would do at all.
But as she read through the entire report, her expression froze.
Then, she clenched the papers tightly, gritting her teeth.
"My dear Sona… she really went this far for that man?!"
She wasn't okay with this.
Serafall's eyes welled up with tears before she resolutely declared, "It has to be that man!"
"That man must've threatened Sona with breaking off the engagement!"
"Uuu… Sona, you've suffered so much…"
Of course, Serafall knew the truth—she had been aware of Sona's plan to annul the engagement from the very beginning.
But this wasn't a simple matter.
It concerned the entire Underworld.
Serafall, along with Sirzechs and the other two Satan-class Devils, were part of the new generation of rulers. Their foundations in the Underworld were still shaky.
If they failed to fulfill their promises, the Underworld would only become more unstable.
Sure, they could suppress everything with sheer power—but then, how would they be any different from the old Satan factions?
And so…The engagement between the Sitri and Valifer families became a stabilizing force for the Underworld.
Aside from her, the other three Satans all valued it greatly.
As a Satan herself, Serafall understood their reasoning.
"Still, I just can't let Sona bear this burden alone!"
Her eyes burned with determination.
This engagement was originally hers to begin with.
For Sona's happiness…
Her expression turned unreadable as she fell into deep thought.
— — —
A Few Days Later—Black Bullet World
The fall of Tokyo sent shockwaves across the world.
Every major power turned their attention to Tokyo.
Then, they were stunned again.
Scorpio… was dead?
But…How did he die? Who killed him?
No one knew!
Just as they prepared to investigate, they suddenly realized…Something was wrong in their own city!
The number of Cursed Children was mysteriously decreasing!
---
Lynn had reincarnated another batch of Cursed Children, growing stronger once again.
Then, on the map of the Black Bullet world, he marked an 'X' over the location of Sendai.
Sendai had fallen after Tokyo.
— — —
Shuchiin Academy—Faculty Office
Sitting at her desk, Natsuki squinted her eyes with an exasperated expression.
"…Yomi is missing?"
After putting down her phone, she massaged her temples.
Finding people?
That wasn't exactly her forte.
Then, she suddenly remembered the Devil flyer Lynn had given Yomi.
She wondered if Yomi had used it.
It would probably cost her an arm and a leg, but… At least she'd stay alive.
Considering Lynn's current strength, even Hagoromo Gitsune wouldn't be much of a problem for him.
After some thought, she sent Lynn a message.
---
Black Bullet World
Lynn received Natsuki's message.
"Isayama Yomi…"
He recalled the long-haired woman from a few days ago.
But…He couldn't sense the Devil flyer's call across worlds.
Turning around, he left for the main world.
---
Main World—A Certain Shrine
Isayama Yomi and Iwanaga Kotoko were in a miserable state.
Kotoko shot Yomi a resentful glare.
If not for this woman, she wouldn't be in this mess.
Feeling a little guilty, Yomi awkwardly apologized, "Sorry for dragging you into this."
Her voice was weak—she was clearly exhausted.
Looking around the area, her eyes filled with endless fatigue.
This…
This had to be some kind of illusionary space.
That was the conclusion she and Kotoko had come to.
But…Even knowing that, they had no way to escape.
"So…"
Kotoko said firmly, "This definitely has something to do with Hagoromo Gitsune."
Yomi simply let out a weak "Mm."
She barely even had the strength to speak.
Kotoko sighed.
"…So why haven't you used that 'save-my-life' flyer yet?"
Hearing this, Yomi hesitated. "Given our situation… if I use it now, I'll probably have to pay a steep price, right?"
Kotoko rolled her eyes. "We're already at this point."
"No matter how big the price is, can it be worse than this?"
Even if they didn't summon the Devil, being trapped here indefinitely was no different from dying.
"But…"
Yomi was still hesitant.
Kotoko had had enough.
Without another word, she reached into Yomi's pocket and pulled out the flyer.
Yomi was momentarily startled.
But Kotoko ignored her reaction, flashing her a sweet smile before raising the Devil flyer high.
"Please help us, Mr. Devil!"
As soon as the words left her mouth—
The flyer in her hand glowed brilliantly.
A magic circle instantly unfolded.
Lynn's figure slowly emerged from within.
However…Upon seeing Yomi and Kotoko, Lynn raised an eyebrow.
"So… who's the employer?"
.
.
.