At this time, Leon was still in the classroom with his head down, stealing some sleep.
Lunch break was nearly there, and the final period for Class 3-C wasn't an important subject. Leon simply sprawled out on his desk to nap. Utaha Kasumigaoka was doing the exact same thing, sparking various flights of fancy in the minds of the many classmates who were secretly observing them.
When Sona Sitri's contact came through, Leon still looked bleary-eyed and lethargic. However, as soon as class ended, he left the classroom and headed to the rooftop, unfolding a small magic circle in the palm of his hand.
"Go to Kuoh Academy?"
Upon learning of Sona's intent, Leon's sleepiness dissipated quite a bit, replaced by a look of interest.
"What's with the sudden invitation to bring my peerage over to Kuoh Academy as guests?"
Leon patted his face to shake off the grogginess and questioned Sona.
"It's not exactly sudden. Haven't we been talking about it for a while? If the opportunity arose, we'd have our peerages meet and get to know each other so they can look out for one another in the future," Sona said with her usual efficiency and decisiveness. "This time, Rias happens to be very curious about your situation, so I thought it would be a good time for a meeting."
Leon, Sona, and Rias were all part of the new generation of Devils set to make their official debuts. Being of the same age and status, they were likely to be either competitors or mutually beneficial partners in the future; getting to know each other early was definitely a good thing.
The Underworld wasn't just about fighting and killing; it required navigating social graces and human relationships. Just as the prominent families of the Human World needed to develop networks, the Pure-blooded Devil families of the Underworld needed mutual aid and benefit even more. Especially as the number of Pure-blooded Devils dwindled, they were natural allies. If they could form marriage alliances between families, it was the outcome the family elders wished to see most.
With the advent of the Evil Pieces, the Underworld was seeing more and more Reincarnated and Mixed-blood Devils. If the Pure-blooded families didn't want their lineages to die out or lose their voice in affairs, they had to either form alliances or find ways to increase the number of Pure-bloods.
Consequently, in the current Underworld, Pure-blooded families were most enthusiastic about arranged marriages. The fact that both Sona Sitri and Rias Gremory had been betrothed since childhood was proof of this.
Although Leon was of mixed blood—specifically inheriting the blood of a human exorcist—he was, after all, the last heir of the extinct Eligos family. Now that he had become a High-class Devil and received a title and Evil Pieces, the upper echelons had to accept his status as a Pure-blooded Devil, even if they had to hold their noses to do it. This was all for the sake of increasing the count of Pure-bloods and protecting their collective interests.
Sona Sitri's support of him on behalf of the House of Sitri meant that, from the very beginning, the Sitri and Eligos families became inseparable allies. Naturally, Sona wanted him and Rias to meet and foster a relationship.
She and Leon were natural allies, and she was a childhood friend and best friend of Rias—the successor of the House of Gremory. They were allies among allies, with ties that were inextricably close.
Thus, Sona had long wanted Leon and Rias to meet. Doing so might help Leon gain the backing of the Gremory family, and it might even help with the matters that had been troubling Rias for a long time...
In short, these were the two people in her generation she was closest to; shouldn't they stick together?
Leon understood Sona's meaning well enough.
"Fine, let's meet then," Leon agreed readily. "I'm quite curious about that 'Princess of Destruction' myself."
After all, she was the primary heroine of the original story and a popular character with all sorts of protagonist-tier "buffs." It would be a lie to say he didn't want to meet her.
Furthermore, Rias Gremory was not only the next head of her house like Sona, but she also had immediate family members who had become Satans. Her influence in the Underworld was considerable; building a relationship would certainly have its perks.
The members of that young princess's peerage were each more unique and special than the last. Even though Leon's current peerage members were all high-potential "growth stocks," they really paled in comparison to the future Gremory peerage as a whole.
In the original story, Rias's peerage contained more than one Longinus possessor. The rest either had unique bloodlines or extraordinary backgrounds. Almost every single one of them possessed special talents or traits. In the future, every one of them would start as a High-class Devil, and eventually, more than one would reach the Satan-class or even surpass it. It was absolute protagonist-tier treatment.
Rias was currently envying him, not knowing that Leon was the one truly feeling envious.
If he had peerage members of that quality, he'd probably skyrocket in power in minutes.
Even just considering the present, Rias's current peerage wasn't much weaker than his own. Although the Longinus possessors hadn't appeared yet, they were definitely not to be underestimated.
Leon and Sona agreed on a time. When the time came, Leon would take his peerage and jump directly to Kuoh Academy via a magic circle.
After finishing that topic, Leon remembered his promise to Tiamat and mentioned it to Sona.
"You actually met the 'Chaos Karma Dragon'?"
Sona was very surprised when she heard the news.
"I should say she was the one who was drawn to me," Leon scratched his head. "I didn't expect that just going to catch a familiar would lead to meeting the overlord of the Familiar Forest."
"Then your luck is quite good," Sona marveled. "Although many people know that Dragon King lives in the Familiar Forest, very few have actually seen her face. She seems unwilling to get too deeply involved with the Devil world. To be able to meet her is indeed good fortune."
Hearing Sona say this, Leon understood that she likely didn't know Tiamat was an ally of the current Satan Beelzebub. On the surface, she seemed to have little to do with the Devil world, but in reality, she was the most important underground judge of the Rating Games. That was a staggering identity.
But that made sense. In the original story, not many people knew about this. Even the current number one of the Rating Games—the champion known as the "Emperor"—had only heard rumors of it, only confirming it later after intentionally drawing her out. Sona was just the successor of the House of Sitri and hadn't even experienced her debut battle yet, so it was unlikely she would be privy to such secrets.
Since Sona didn't know, Leon naturally wouldn't expose it.
"If you have time, help me keep an ear out for news regarding that Tablet of Destiny," Leon said, stating his purpose for bringing it up. "Even just some clues would be fine."
"Alright, I'll have my family look into it and see if we can find it for you," Sona replied. Like before, she rarely refused Leon's requests. "If you can find it, you'll not only gain two excellent peerage members but also establish a connection with the strongest Dragon King. That will be a huge help for your future."
"True," Leon said jokingly. "If only I could recruit her."
"You actually want to make the 'Chaos Karma Dragon' your servant?" Sona laughed. "You certainly are a bold dreamer."
If Leon could take Tiamat as a peerage member, he wouldn't have to wait for the future; he could soar right now.
With Tiamat's strength, which far surpassed that of an ordinary Satan-class, if she participated in a Rating Game with Leon, everyone else wouldn't even need to fight—they might as well just surrender.
Leon knew it was an unrealistic fantasy, but he couldn't help it. After all, why did his Evil Pieces react?
The moment Tiamat appeared before Leon, the Evil Pieces he kept in his pocket dimension had their most violent reaction in history. Particularly the "Queen" piece. Even Yukino Yukinoshita, a Longinus possessor, hadn't elicited such a huge reaction from it. When Tiamat appeared, however, this strongest piece glowed with unprecedented brilliance—even greater than the reaction when Yukino was chosen by the "Bishop."
If he could get his hands on her, not only would his most important peerage position, the "Queen," be filled, but the feedback he would receive would likely dwarf what he got from Yukino. It would cause his strength to explode; it was entirely possible he'd directly become a Ten-Winged Devil.
Unfortunately, she was the strongest Dragon King. Forget Leon—probably not even one of the current four Satans could successfully take her as a servant. Otherwise, Ajuka Beelzebub would be her ally, not her master.
His most important "Queen" piece would just have to remain on standby. He hoped it would find a home in the future.
Sona disconnected the communication magic circle. Leon also put his away, left the rooftop, and headed toward the Occult Research Club's activity room.
He estimated that the girls in his peerage were still sleepy. He didn't know if they would eat lunch or just head straight to the activity room to catch up on sleep.
As Leon returned to the room with these thoughts, he was surprised to find the girls were all awake and looking quite refreshed.
"President, you're here?"
Asuna Yuuki was brewing tea for Yukino Yukinoshita and Utaha Kasumigaoka. He didn't know what kind of tea it was, but the aroma was incredibly rich. Yukino and Utaha were holding their teacups, looking quite comfortable as they drank. Even their dark circles had vanished.
"Did you all skip class this morning to sleep?" Leon said with some surprise as he walked into the room. "Why do you all look so energetic?"
"Skip class?" Yukino glanced at Leon. "Who do you think we are? How could we skip class just because we were sleepy?"
No joke, they were all top students. How could they skip class so casually?
"We have Asuna to thank for this." Utaha Kasumigaoka no longer looked like she was half-dead as she had in the classroom that morning. She sipped her tea comfortably. "This tea is truly delicious and very refreshing. If I had known there was such a good thing, I would have gone straight to Asuna."
Tea?
Leon looked at the fragrant tea.
Truth be told, just smelling the tea gave one a sense of mental clarity. It was invigorating, making fatigue vanish instantly.
Where exactly did this come from?
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