The matter concerning Sharon Holygrail was initially brought up to Leon by Sona Sitri.
As she was an old rival who kept pestering him, Leon naturally investigated her. He specifically asked Sona Sitri and used the power of the Sitri family to clearly investigate her origins and background.
At first, when he learned that Sharon was a product of an artificial genetic modification project, Leon was only slightly surprised. But when he found out that Sharon possessed devil factors, and was an exorcist warrior who gained the power of a devil while remaining human, he understood why she was so persistently bothering him.
Although she was innocent, as a human with devil factors, she grew up in the Church, a place that regards devils as evil creatures. It was virtually impossible for her not to be treated unfairly.
Consider Asia Argento, who in the original work was a nun from the Church and hailed as a "Saint." Simply because her Sacred Gear could heal devils, she was exiled and ostracized by the Church. How could Sharon, who actually possessed devil factors, not be viewed with contempt?
Therefore, it was not difficult to understand why she would reject the devil factors within her and reject devils.
Of course, this was Sharon's perspective. From Leon's own standpoint, this was utter nonsense.
You are treated unfairly, yet you don't hate the people who treat you that way. Instead, you hate the devil factors that led you to this situation, and even go so far as to hate the source of these factors?
And to top it off, you are still working for that very organization, continuing to run errands for them?
"Who exactly captured you and experimented on you, the Church or the devils?"
Leon once spoke those words in front of Sharon.
And then... then she pestered him even more fiercely.
Given this, in Leon's mind, Sharon Holygrail had always been someone with a few screws loose. If the current situation hadn't been so delicate, and if he hadn't lacked the ability to casually dispose of Sharon at that time, he would likely have found a way to crack open that woman's head and see if there were any signs of brainwashing by the Church.
Although, precisely because of this, Sharon later tried to use a honey trap on him, allowing him to benefit quite a bit, he still looked down on the woman. As soon as he saw her, he couldn't help but provoke her and watch her lose control. It made him feel vindicated.
Naturally, he also knew that with a lunatic like Sharon, she would likely target Yukinoshita Yukino, who had become his peerage member. That was why he prepared special devil flyers, adding an extra layer of insurance for peerage members like Yukinoshita Yukino.
The facts proved he was right.
"This time, I didn't go easy on her. She will most likely be bedridden for a long time. It wouldn't be surprising if she's crippled or even dies from this."
Leon's tone shifted, no longer focusing his emotions on that woman, and he turned to Yukinoshita Yukino.
"If she is lucky enough to survive and comes back to cause you trouble, you don't need to sympathize with her. The pitiable must have something hateful about them. Who knows what else that woman might do? If you encounter her, you should take your revenge and redeem yourself. Don't overthink it."
Although the current situation was delicate, if the opponent intended to kill, Leon wouldn't be overly cautious or indecisive.
If others don't care about something, why should you consider it for them?
If something truly goes wrong, worst case, he, as the master, would clean up the mess for his peerage member.
Perhaps in the past, he didn't have the ability to influence the overall situation between factions, but he definitely had that capability now.
The Zenith Tempest has not yet been developed to its maximum potential. Once it reaches the domain of the Balance Breaker, Leon would have a way to become one of the existences influencing the landscape. Not necessarily a player, but at least a chess piece that the players couldn't manipulate at will.
The feedback brought by the 'Peerage Assimilation' characteristic still has significant room for improvement. With a total of fifteen peerage members, Leon has only taken two so far and is already able to rival a Highest-Class Devil. If he could collect all of them, even if the subsequent peerage members only possessed medium potential, he could immediately ascend to become a Supreme-Class Devil, at least not inferior to a Devil King.
At that point, with the strength of a Devil King in his base state and the second strongest Longinus as his backup, he shouldn't be inferior to the original work's Red Dragon Emperor and White Dragon Emperor, right?
The Two Heavenly Dragons later became existences that couldn't be ignored by any faction, possessing the potential to become world-class experts. If he, with the trump cards of 'Peerage Assimilation' and Balance Breaker, couldn't surpass them, then he might as well resign himself to being a local tyrant in Chiba, spending his days delighting in teasing his beautiful peerage members.
"I understand."
Yukinoshita Yukino took a deep breath, finally calming her emotions.
She was the type of person who was straight to the point. If others were wrong, she would mercilessly point it out or even criticize them, instead of accommodating them, understanding them, and letting herself suffer.
Losing to Sharon today had already made Yukinoshita Yukino feel resentful enough. She certainly didn't want to repeat the mistake.
Therefore, she decided to diligently cultivate and become stronger. If she encounters Sharon in the future, just as her nominal master said, she should take her revenge and fully redeem herself.
Seeing that Yukinoshita Yukino had come to terms with it, Leon smiled faintly and finally looked at Yukinoshita Haruno and Madam Yukinoshita, who had remained silent all this time.
"It's time to discuss our business, ladies," Leon tapped the table, smiling as he said, "I believe both of you must have a lot to say?"
"It's fine. Say whatever you want to say; I'm listening."
Leon's words caused the tense atmosphere in the reception room to start flowing, but it was met with an even more oppressive silence.
The Yukinoshita women all closed their mouths, not speaking immediately, only their eyes and expressions appearing particularly complex.
"Well, I can understand everyone's feelings right now, but continuing to remain silent is just wasting time," Leon ruthlessly broke the silence. He continued, "I recall that the Yukinoshita family members are usually very decisive people, aren't they? You are all famous businesswomen! Surely you haven't failed to compose yourselves even by now?"
Under Leon's seemingly intentional and unintentional provocation, the Yukinoshitas present had no choice but to suppress the complexity in their hearts and regain their composure.
"Mr. Eligos... is it?"
Madam Yukinoshita finally spoke.
"Just call me Leon." Leon accepted the change graciously, giving Madam Yukinoshita the respect she deserved. He spread his hands: "I know this might sound demanding, but your daughter has ultimately become my servant. We can tentatively be considered family. Madam, you can treat me as an ordinary person."
Hearing this, let alone Madam Yukinoshita, even Yukinoshita Haruno felt a little critical in her heart.
A servant, yet a family member, yet an ordinary person... Even if there's no logic, there should be a limit, right?
These are three types of people that can't be strung together, yet he managed to combine them into one sentence without batting an eyelid...
"I'll call you Mr. Leon, then." Madam Yukinoshita gave a strained smile, then sighed: "At this point, I suppose I understand. You and people like us simply don't belong to the same world. I estimate that whatever we say will be irrelevant to you, won't it?"
"That's not entirely true." Leon looked at Madam Yukinoshita and managed a smile: "While the outcome cannot be changed, you are, after all, Yukino's family. I don't want to have an unpleasant relationship with the family of a peerage member I will be with for the rest of my life."
"Therefore, Madam, you can tell me any concerns you have. I will try my best to alleviate your worries and satisfy you."
Leon's attitude might not have been sincere, but it was at least cordial.
Thus, Madam Yukinoshita felt slightly reassured and retrieved a bit of composure.
"Since you put it that way, I'll be direct then." Madam Yukinoshita summoned her courage, looked directly at Leon, and solemnly asked, "I can't fully comprehend the world you belong to. I only want to ask one thing."
"What will become of my daughter, Yukinoshita Yukino, now that she has become a devil?"
Madam Yukinoshita wisely avoided the topics she shouldn't touch, going straight to what concerned her the most.
This was the mark of an intelligent person, which made Leon look upon her favorably.
"To you, Yukino will still be Yukino; nothing will change." Leon gave Madam Yukinoshita and Yukinoshita Haruno the answer they most desired, saying casually, "She won't go to places you can't see, nor will she suddenly become someone you don't recognize."
"She will continue attending Soubu High School with me until graduation. If she has time, she can come back to see you anytime. Even if she leaves with me in the future, she can return instantly, which is more convenient than taking a plane."
"If I had to say what's different about her now that she's a devil compared to before, it would probably be that she has gained supernatural power, as you saw earlier."
While playing with the teacup, Leon added, seemingly intentionally or not.
"Other than that, her lifespan will become very long. By the time you ladies are old and frail, she will likely still look as young and beautiful as she does now. Eternal youth is a trivial matter for her..."
Madam Yukinoshita: "!!!"
Yukinoshita Haruno: "!!!"
There's such a good thing?!
Yukinoshita Yukino: 「(ｷ｀ﾟДﾟ´)!!」
There was such a good thing?!
The phrase "eternal youth" instantly changed the look in the eyes of all three women.
"If Yukino gains more ability in the future, she might actually be able to help you in this regard too."
Leon spoke, his tone full of seduction, like a true devil.
"For a powerful devil, helping a human extend their life and maintain their youth is not an impossible task."
One sentence again changed the expression of the three Yukinoshita women.
"Oh, and I know many people who might be able to help you?" Leon revealed his final fangs and asked, "I'll just ask you one thing: Does the Yukinoshita family want to progress?"
The three Yukinoshita women: "..."
This is the whisper of the Devil!