— — — — — —
Little Garden — Arcadia Headquarters
Under the soft glow of pale yellow light, Ryo sat at his desk and took a letter from the stone tablet Algol had left behind. He broke the wax seal and began to read.
{To Ryo Yagami:}
{After running around all day, I finally have time for skincare. This letter's just something I wrote on the side, so don't overthink it.}
Ryo chuckled under his breath and kept reading.
{Honestly, when you first said you'd found a suitable place for our plan, I didn't really believe you. But after coming here… yeah, I get it now. Totally worth it~}
{Hehe, this place you picked is pretty interesting. I took a look around. The people here are weak, but their development is kind of fascinating. You always manage to come up with something new, don't you? (snicker)}
A faint smile tugged at Ryo's lips.
He hadn't been completely sure that the High School DxD world would meet their goals, but from the looks of it, things were going well. At the very least, Algol seemed pleased.
He continued reading.
{That said, the impact here is going to be pretty big. Because of the ritual, I can't act too freely, and the devils here are a complete mess. Ugly as hell, yet somehow full of themselves. One of them even popped up claiming to be my son. Unbelievable.}
Ryo couldn't help but laugh.
Lilith's "son" had to be that guy—Rizevim.
Born with the power to nullify all Sacred Gears abilities, in addition to powers enhanced by using them with a single touch, surpassing even the limits set by the Creator God, he was called the first devil to transcend the system. In the original story, he was indeed the only biological child of Lucifer and Lilith, someone who stood at the very top of devilkind. You could say he was the ultimate second-generation demon.
But now…
It sounded like Algol had just disowned him on the spot.
One second he had a mother, the next—nothing. Ryo remembered the guy was actually pretty devoted, always mourning his mother's death.
Now? His "mother" came back and immediately denied him.
Rough.
{Anyway, I've got a basic grasp of things here. I had my new maid contact a group of small devils calling themselves the "Anti-Satan Faction" and told them to start a rebellion.}
{They're a bit more pleasant to look at than those so-called Satan faction types. Still ugly, but at least they listen and know their place}
{I picked a few of the less ugly ones and made them into something like the Four Great Satans. Shame I still need to prepare a bit more here, otherwise I'd just let you come in and stir things up yourself instead of bothering with all that.}
"Satan faction? So it's still the civil war period over there? The main protagonist hasn't even entered the stage yet?"
Ryo frowned slightly.
"If that's the case, it's a bit inconvenient… though nothing serious."
To observe a world, what mattered most was influence.
Often, following the trajectory of the story's protagonist and amplifying your impact along the way could lead to unexpected gains.
In Ryo's view, that was one of the shortcuts.
Of course, even without that shortcut, it wasn't impossible—just more troublesome.
Take the Bleach world. If you were strong enough, following Aizen's path and overthrowing the Soul King was the most efficient route.
In Demon Slayer, the core issue was simple: eliminate the anomaly—demons.
In Strike the Blood, everything revolved around the Fourth Primogenitor and Cain's legacy. He'd handled that quite well.
As for High School DxD…
The Rating Game? No, that wasn't the real core.
At its heart, the biggest issue was the death of the Creator God.
If that god hadn't died, devils would still be locked in chaos. The Reformists wouldn't have emerged as a stabilizing force. Trihexa wouldn't have been unsealed. The various pantheons wouldn't be eyeing the God's remnants or fighting over Sacred Gears.
Even the invasion from ExE might never have happened.
So in the end, everything traced back to one point: God was dead.
Ryo had his suspicions, but nothing concrete yet. He'd have to confirm it in person once he got there.
Shaking his head, he continued reading.
{Oh, right. Here's my new maid. (Image)}
{She's pretty average-looking. When you get here, I'll have her pick you up, so remember her face.}
{Though honestly, your taste isn't great. You seem to like this type.}
{If you want her, I can just give her to you.}
"…This is…"
Ryo stared at the high-resolution image.
A silver-haired maid in a classic uniform looked back at him—elegant, composed, breathtakingly beautiful.
His expression turned strange.
"Algol actually recruited Grayfia as a maid?"
First, he was surprised at how completely the original plot had derailed.
Then he focused on Algol's tone.
Average-looking?
He almost laughed.
Even he felt a flutter looking at her. And yet Algol had the confidence to say it. After all, being called the most beautiful woman in Little Garden wasn't something Algol claimed for herself—it was a title everyone recognized.
Still…
Giving Grayfia to him?
Ryo shook his head.
Poor Sirzechs. With things like this, there was probably no chance left between him and Grayfia.
He continued reading. The rest was mostly casual chatter, until he reached the final line.
{—Dictated by Algol, written by Grayfia Lucifuge.}
Ryo paused.
His eyes widened as he reread the line. Then he slowly scrolled back up, looking again at phrases like "average-looking" and "I can give her to you."
Then back down.
Dictated by Algol. Written by Grayfia.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
He almost burst out laughing.
Algol had made Grayfia write, in her own hand, that she was average-looking—and that she could be given away to him.
That was just vicious.
"…She really knows how to have fun."
Shaking his head, Ryo smiled helplessly.
After confirming the contents one last time, he crushed the letter at an atomic level, erasing every trace of it.
Then he stood, walked to the window, and gazed into the distance.
"Soon enough… once the war begins, I'll put a few concealment measures in place and head over to the High School DxD world."
"But before that… I should strengthen my foundation. Ever since reaching the Seventh Sense, my Cosmo's been getting harder to train…"
He let out a quiet sigh.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door, followed by Kurousagi's voice.
"Ryo, are you in there?"
He turned slightly toward the door. "I am. What's up?"
From outside, she replied, "Uesugi Kenshin has arrived."