"Woooooooo!~~"
As soon as she heard Takumi, Serafall tried her best to widen her big, shimmering eyes. Magical girl... No, the charm of a Maou girl is truly terrifying.
"What happened?"
Seeing Serafall like this, Takumi basically knew what she was going to say.
"Takumi-kun... Sona-chan... Sona-chan doesn't want me anymore!~~"
Serafall hugged Takumi's thigh, completely abandoning her image as a Maou. Takumi, feeling a little awkward, just nodded silently. Well, I knew you would say that.
"Sona-chan said... Sona-chan said that she doesn't like my closeness! She even kicked me out of her place! Takumi-kun!~~"
Serafall's jet-black hair was tied into twin ponytails. Her fair face was full of distress; her small mouth was pouting under the bridge of her small nose, expressing her dissatisfaction toward Sona. Her eyes twinkled like stars, and while Takumi wasn't paying attention, a hint of slyness flashed through them.
"Hey, hey, hey! I know. If Lady Serafall doesn't mind, she can stay at my house tonight," Takumi said with a smile.
He knew this was the reason Serafall had come to his home. Even if he hadn't offered, Serafall would have suggested it herself.
"Mmmm! Thank you, Takumi-kun! Takumi-kun is really good!~~"
Serafall lifted her head from Takumi's lap and looked at him with eyes twinkling with small stars.
"Well, come in first. You can rest if you have nothing else to do."
Takumi took Serafall into his small villa. He wasn't worried about his parents coming back and misunderstanding that he had found a beautiful girlfriend, as they had passed away in a car accident two years ago.
"Mmmm! Thank you, Takumi-kun!~~"
Serafall did not radiate the overwhelming pressure of a Maou. No, it should be said that none of the current Four Great Maous in the Underworld act like typical rulers; they all appear to be, and arguably are, good people.
"This is tea, please enjoy it."
Takumi brought two cups of hot tea and spoke slowly.
"Oh! Is this a drink unique to this country?"
Serafall, as if finding a treasure, carefully held up the hot tea in front of her.
"Yes."
Takumi nodded. He had only one thought at this time: Stupid woman, do you know you're interrupting my studies? If I could beat you, I would have pinned you to the sofa and given you a stern lesson.
"Right! I heard that Takumi-kun joined Sona-chan's Student Council? I remember that only Sona-chan's peerage members can join. How did Takumi-kun join?"
Serafall did not intend to rest yet. Although she was indeed driven out by Sona-chan, she didn't necessarily need to go to Takumi's house to find a place to live. The Underworld has plenty of assets in the human world; did they not have a single piece of real estate? She wanted to stay at Takumi's house for her own purposes. Takumi knew this from the moment he saw her, so he wasn't particularly fond of her presence. It's a pity he didn't have the leverage to have a direct confrontation with Serafall yet, so he let her in.
"It's nothing; it's just the result of a chess game with Sona."
"Oh! So, did Takumi-kun beat Sona-chan head-to-head in chess?"
Serafall had an expression of pure admiration. She truly admired it because she had never seen Sona lose a chess match since they were children. Even Sona's fiancé was completely dismantled by her chess tactics before he offered to cancel the engagement himself.
"Well, that's right."
"So... Takumi-kun's ability to calculate and analyze is very strong? No wonder Sona-chan wanted that item from Ajuka... Oh! By the way, have you opened that thing yet?"
"I have used it, and I must thank the President."
Takumi knew Sona got the item for him, but he didn't know the exact price she paid.
"Yeah, you have to work hard for Sona-chan! Sona-chan made a promise regarding her position as the head of the Sitri family for you!"
Serafall put her magic wand on the sofa beside her.
"Huh?" Takumi narrowed his eyes slightly.
Well, it seems the purpose of Serafall's visit was exactly as he imagined: to win him over. It could be seen as playing the emotional card, or perhaps a subtle way of pressuring him.
"This is already the biggest bargaining chip Sona-chan can come up with. After all, she is only the next head of the Sitri family. Such a promise may force the family to make difficult decisions in the future."
Serafall waved her hand, but her pink eyes flashed with seriousness. In fact, those things alone weren't enough. When Ajuka told her about Sona's request, Serafall also paid a price to successfully obtain those materials from him.
"Well, I will remember Sona's help for the rest of my life. When she needs help, I will provide it without hesitation."
Takumi spoke very seriously. He is a person who values loyalty. When others treat him well, he repays it twofold. Sona clearly had affection for him; in a place with so many stray devils and fallen angels, he had never encountered a single threat. While his own algorithms helped him avoid them, Sona must have been secretly watching over him. She didn't want her Student Council members to be unable to attend school because of some low-level stray devil. Sona Sitri was very kind to him, and he would always keep that in his heart.
"So, do you want to become a servant of Sona-chan? Not only can you have a lifespan of ten thousand years, but you can also enhance your own strength!~~"
Serafall said excitedly. That was the real reason she came to Takumi's house! She didn't care that Sona told her not to disturb Takumi and to go back to the Underworld. Since he had accepted the gift, she wanted him in the Sitri peerage for life!
"Become Sona's family? That means... becoming a devil?"
Takumi narrowed his eyes. Have you finally revealed your true purpose?
"Well, that's it! Think about a lifespan of ten thousand years, the chance to be with Sona-chan forever, and becoming her family. Maybe you can even have a territory? After all, the Sitri family still has plenty of land—some areas are the size of a small country."
Serafall stood up proudly. For a human, Sona-chan is like the princess of a small country, right? Maybe she will even be the queen in the future? Since Serafall already served as a Maou and changed her name from Serafall Sitri to Serafall Leviathan, she could not inherit the Sitri family's territory.
"No, I don't need it for the time being. I have no intention of giving up my human identity right now."
Takumi smiled. Sitri's territory? With enough strength, what does that matter? If I had the power of Ophis or Great Red, I could say the whole world is my territory, and who would dare to object?
"Eh?! Why? Sona-chan paid so much for you!"
Serafall couldn't believe it. Does he think his level is too high for this? She is the Maou's sister!
Takumi thought: I do think my level is very high.
"Sona's kindness to me, I will always remember. When something comes up that requires me, I will definitely take action."
Takumi gave his promise very seriously.
"You don't want to be Sona-chan's family? Sona has paid so much for you!" Serafall looked directly into Takumi's eyes. Was Sona-chan's judgment wrong?
"I'm willing to repay her affection, but I don't want to be a devil. Also, this magic wand is quite nice..."
"Huh? What do you mean the magic wand is nice?"
Serafall looked toward where Takumi was sitting, but he was no longer there.
"Huh??!!~"
She looked to her side. Takumi had moved to her side at some point! He was fiddling with her magic wand!
"I just want to say that if I want to run, no one can stop me. Serafall, you surely don't want to force me into being on the opposite side of Sona-chan, right?"
Takumi said with a smile.
"......."
Serafall looked at Takumi quietly. With her strength at the peak of the Maou level, she hadn't even seen when Takumi moved to her side!
"Oh, yes. If you want this crystal ball back, I can return it to you tomorrow," Takumi added.