— — — — — —
Outside the train, in the passage beneath the platform—
The moment the train came to a stop, station security rushed forward. Whistles shrilled through the air as they hurried to clear out the stranded passengers along with the crowds clutching cameras, people who looked like reporters, though their races varied wildly.
Fresh off the train, Ingvild felt like she'd stepped into a bustling marketplace. The noise was overwhelming, and mixed into the chaos were loud, relentless questions:
"Satan Beelzebub, could you comment on the tripartite talks?"
"Satan Beelzebub, we've heard the new governor of the Fallen Angels will serve as leader of the three-way alliance. Are you here to welcome him, Ryo Yagami?"
Ajuka climbed the stairs to the platform without changing expression once. He merely cast the reporters a cold glance before continuing upward.
"If you keep ignoring reporters like that, people are going to call you a dictator," Yasaka said with a smile as she politely faced the cameras.
"It doesn't matter. They'll all be searched before they leave anyway." Ajuka stepped onto the platform, exhaustion visible in his eyes.
Below them, security personnel struggled to push the reporters back and clear the area.
Once most of the crowd had been forced away, Ingvild, leaning against the railing above, watched as the legendary Ajuka Beelzebub, one of the Four Great Satans of the Underworld, walked together with Yasaka toward the young man she'd seen through the train window earlier.
"Let's go as well." Grayfia gave Ingvild a nod before dragging Serafall along toward Ryo.
On the platform itself, Ryo smiled and extended a hand toward Grayfia, "You've worked hard, Grayfia."
Grayfia immediately released Serafall's arm, stepped back, and dropped to one knee, gently kissing the back of Ryo's hand. "You praise me too highly. This is merely a maid's duty."
"Probably not something you should say in public." Ryo joked lightly before turning toward the two women behind her. "So these are the two Leviathan attendants assigned to me?"
"Yoo-hoo! Serafall Leviathan here. Nice to meet you!"
Unlike the reserved Ingvild, who bowed her head quietly, Serafall waved cheerfully. Dressed in dark green, she somehow managed to look both seductive and innocent at the same time.
'...When did she change out of the nurse outfit?'
Grayfia stared at Serafall in disbelief, her expression turning complicated.
As if she'd read Grayfia's mind, Serafall winked playfully. "For magical girls, transformation scenes are the most important thing!"
"No, it's the light effects," Ryo chimed in.
Serafall's eyes instantly lit up. She immediately dragged Ingvild over in front of Ryo and asked excitedly, "Oh? Are you one of my people?"
"I know a little," Ryo answered modestly.
In reality, he'd watched more than enough magical girl anime to fill several lifetimes.
"Eh?!" Serafall widened her eyes and grabbed Ryo's hand in excitement. "Are you free tonight?"
"???"
Question marks practically appeared over everyone's heads.
"I... should be?" Ryo replied awkwardly.
Was this another Lavinia situation?
"In that case, remember to leave the door unlocked for me~~" Serafall seemed completely unaware of how dangerous that sentence sounded.
"Sure."
'If you actually dare show up, then I can only...' Ryo thought silently.
"That's enough."
Grayfia yanked Serafall away with one hand and said coldly, "You should pay more attention to your status, Serafall Leviathan."
"Hm? Are you jealous?" Serafall raised an eyebrow teasingly.
"What are you talking about?" Grayfia frowned.
"You're definitely jealous." Serafall grinned broadly. "Well now... originally I wasn't thinking that way, but now I kind of am."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Grayfia said through clenched teeth.
"Then let's duel, Grayfia! We'll wager Ryo's chastity—"
Thunk!
Looking at Serafall with a giant lump swelling on her head, Ryo suddenly had no idea what to say.
"My apologies. I need to provide her with some emergency education. Excuse us for a moment."
Grayfia dragged away the loudly protesting Serafall, who was shouting "I won't surrender!", walked to the railing nearby, picked her up, and threw her straight over the side.
"Uh..."
Ingvild looked flustered, "Shouldn't someone stop them?"
"Nah, they do get along well."
Listening to Serafall's distant scream, Ryo rubbed his chin and turned to Ajuka, who had just walked over.
'This counts as getting along well?' Ingvild thought blankly.
Ajuka, meanwhile, laughed at Ryo's description. "Speaking of which, it seems Serafall has taken an interest in you. Are you really okay with that? Her personality is... Ah, wait. I almost forgot. Since you're the one being chased, then I suppose it's fine."
For once, Ajuka teased him openly, poking fun at Ryo's unusual taste when it came to women.
Though honestly, it wasn't unusual. As far as Ajuka could tell, Ryo only had one requirement: as long as they were beautiful.
Ryo rolled his eyes, "You say that like being pursued by Serafall is some terrible thing. Is she really that bad?"
"Of course not. As long as you can tolerate the way her brain works, the Sitri family would be more than happy for you to take her in."
Ajuka's expression turned strange.
It was the look someone might give an honest young man willingly marrying a complete airhead. Of course, Serafall wasn't actually stupid. If anything, she was an absurdly gorgeous beauty who loved costume changes. To certain groups of people, a magical-girl-obsessed devil like her was practically heaven-sent.
And Ryo was far from innocent himself.
If he had to describe them... Birds of a feather, maybe.
Naturally, nobody would say that aloud. Publicly, they'd just praise them as a "perfect match." Adult devils were experts at speaking diplomatically.
At that moment, Grayfia finally returned after "dealing with" Serafall. Dusting off her hands, she looked toward Ajuka. "So you're the only one here to receive us?"
"Sirzechs seems like he's about to level up again," Ajuka sighed. "And you know how it is. He has to maintain the image of overwhelming military strength at all times."
"Sirzechs? Actually," Grayfia's expression remained icy. "In Lady Lilith's eyes, Ajuka, your abilities far surpass Sirzechs and his brute-force fighting style."
"Oh? So that's what Lady Lilith thinks?"
Ajuka looked genuinely surprised.
A pure researcher like him, someone devoted entirely to spells, techniques and formulas, was actually valued that highly?
He'd always assumed Lady Lilith preferred someone like Sirzechs: overwhelming magic power, devastating destructive force, terrifying combat ability.
Seeing the doubt on Ajuka's face, Ryo smiled. "Have a little more confidence, Ajuka. You should remember this. The greatest research master this world has ever produced was the Creator God. And you have the potential to reach that level."
"You flatter me." Ajuka bowed politely.
It wasn't that he disbelieved Ryo. It was simply that devil society had always worshipped raw magical power and large-scale bombardment.
So even after inventing spatial magic systems, the Underworld trains that crossed dimensions, Evil Pieces, subspaces, and countless other technologies, Ajuka still subconsciously believed he was worse than the real strong.
Everyone around him specialized in overwhelming firepower, while he alone focused on technical systems.
Naturally, that mindset had rubbed off on him.
But now, with recognition from Ryo, Grayfia, and even the absent Algol, Ajuka finally began to feel a little more confident.
Maybe... he really wasn't inferior to Sirzechs after all.
Ryo smiled at the thoughtful look on Ajuka's face.
Some things couldn't be explained with words alone. Once Ajuka reached Little Garden, he'd understand soon enough.
Sirzechs really was just a reckless powerhouse. In Little Garden, that kind of fighting style got people killed the fastest.
Shaking his head slightly, Ryo took Ophis's hand and turned toward Ingvild with a smile. "Come to think of it, Ingvild hasn't met us yet."
"Y-Yes." Ingvild nodded stiffly.
"This is Akeno Himejima, currently acting as my assistant on the Fallen Angel side. And this is Lavinia, the bodyguard assigned to me by the Fallen Angels."
Ingvild glanced at the two women, surprise flickering in her eyes.
So beautiful...
After introducing Akeno and Lavinia, Ryo gently pulled Ophis in front of him, his tone softening with obvious affection.
"And this is Ophis, the Infinite Dragon God. She'll be your playmate from now on, so make sure you get along, alright?"
"Okay!" Ingvild nodded quickly.
But the moment she lowered her head, her eyes suddenly turned strangely hollow.
Standing before her, Ryo sensed the faint abnormal power hidden within her body, and the corners of his lips slowly curled upward.
Looks like the little bug finally crawled out on its own.
.
.
.