Following his gaze, Utaha's expression twitched. "What the hell are those things?"
She stared at the grotesque, misshapen Spirits with tongues dragging across the ground, a shiver running down her spine.
"Yeah, they're definitely monsterstechnically called Spirits."
"Spirits?"
So they're literally ghosts?!
Before she realized it, Utaha had instinctively moved behind Lynn at lightning speed.
Lynn: "..."
"I thought you wanted to grind levels?"
He grabbed her and pulled her back in front.
Utaha immediately clung to his arm. "I-I wasn't ready yet!"
"You can see me?"
"You can see us!!"
"Oh... looks like one of them noticed you."
Lynn calmly freed himself from the softness pressing against his arm. With a warm smile, he gave her a gentle push forward.
"Go get 'em, Utaha!"
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.
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I'm Going to Your Place
Kasumigaoka Utaha's eyes widened in shock, her pupils flashing with disbelief.
That damn evil devil, Lynn!
He actually pushed heran innocent, beautiful girlstraight into danger without hesitation, leaving her to face the cursed spirit alone?!
She wanted to curse him out.
But as the spirit loomed closer, a wave of fear gripped her heart. There was no time to scold Lynn now.
What do I do?
What do I do?!
Wait!
The Devil's Grimoire!
She was a Devil now! A mere cursed spirit shouldn't dare underestimate her!
With newfound resolve, she snapped open the Devil's Grimoire, ready to unleash its full power!
Smack!
Utaha slammed the Grimoire shut.
The clean, blank pages staring back at her filled her with despair.
She had just become an Archivist Devilshe hadn't recorded any abilities yet!
"You can see me!!"
The cursed spirit's guttural shriek was right next to her.
Its rancid breath blasted against her face, making her long black hair flutter. Her mind went blank.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!!"
Acting purely on instinct, she swung the Grimoire with all her might!
Boom!
A powerful shockwave ripped through the alley.
The Swing of Utaha!
The mighty skill of the Utaha activated! It was super effective!
"Aaaaagh!!"
The cursed spirit let out a final shriek before disintegrating into nothing.
Utaha cautiously opened one eye. Seeing the cursed spirit completely gone, she gasped in disbelief. "Did... did I just do that?"
"Nice work, Utaha."
Lynn strolled up beside her, giving an encouraging nod.
Utaha let out a sigh of reliefonly to glare at him with resentment.
Lynn, on the other hand, felt no guilt whatsoever.
Come on, as his servant, wasn't it only natural for her to grind levels and power him up? Did she really expect him to do all the work?
Besides, there was no way he'd actually let her die.
These spirits were weak. Even if Utaha stood still and did nothing, they probably wouldn't even be able to scratch her. She was a lower-class devil now, after all.
"How do you feel?"
Utaha shot him another glare, then took a deep breath to compose herself. Regaining her usual grace, she replied, "Not bad."
Lynn chuckled. If he hadn't just witnessed her flailing around in panic, he might've actually believed her.
"Since it's 'not bad,' why not keep going and chase these spirits?"
"Huh?" Utaha was dumbfounded.
"Just kidding."
Utaha gave him a deadpan look. "That didn't sound like a joke at all."
Lynn ignored her complaints. "For today, just get used to things. Starting tomorrow, we'll officially begin leveling up."
Utaha's eye twitched, but she said nothing.
Lynn turned and started walking out of the alley.
Utaha instinctively followed.
As they stepped onto the main street, Lynn tilted his head slightly and gestured forward with his chin. "Tell me, don't you want to get stronger?"
Utaha followed his gaze.
The streets were swarming with cursed spirits.
Some were standing, others crouching. Each had a hideous and eerie posture.
And every single one of them was asking the same question to the passing pedestrians:
"Can you see me?"
Utaha opened her mouth, then fell silent for a long moment before finally muttering, "...Has Japan already fallen?"
Cursed spirits. So many cursed spirits.
"These onesand the one you just defeatedare nothing more than low-tier grunts."
"Low-tier..." Utaha clenched her fists.
She understood what Lynn meant.
If these were the weak ones, then there had to be stronger ones out there.
Besides, it wasn't like she had a choice anymore.
She wasn't human now. She was a devil.
And one with a 'master' at that.
Closing her eyes briefly, she took a deep breath. When she opened them again, they were filled with determination.
"I understand."
She turned to face him properly.
"Please, make me stronger, Lynn."
"Hmm?" Lynn suddenly remembered something and smirked playfully. "What should you be calling me now?"
Utaha paused, then looked at him with disgust. "Perverted Master."
Lynn took a moment to process it.
Not bad. Even with the 'perverted' part, it had a certain charm to it.
Pulling out his phone, he said, "Let's exchange Line contacts. It'll make things easier."
Utaha gave him a weird look after seeing his icon's name. "Sigma man?"
A notification popped up.
'Utako has joined the group chat.'
Seeing the message, Utaha raised an eyebrow. "What's this?"
"Our servant chat group."
"I get that, but what's with the group name?"
Utaha held up her phone, showing the name 'Lynn's familia Harem Group.'
The words burned into her eyes.
Lynn looked confused. "What? Isn't it accurate?"
Utaha was left speechless. How was he saying this with such confidence?
Seeing her expression, Lynn seemed to realize something. "Relax. You're my first servant, so for now, I'm all yours. Consider it a privilege of being the first."
"Who the hell wants that kind of privilege?!"
Utaha felt like she was burning through all her energy just from arguing with him.
Still, she had to admithe was right about one thing.
She was his first servant.
If he ever got more servants in the future, that meant she would be their senior.
If this really turned into a harem, then she, without question, would be the head wife.
Utaha's lips curled slightly.
...Wait, no!
Why the hell was she even thinking about that?!
She quickly shook her head, pushing those weird thoughts away.
Damn it, it was all because of this ridiculous group chat name!
After exchanging contacts, Lynn stretched. "Alright, it's getting late. Time to head home."
Utaha hesitated, then glanced at the cursed spirits roaming the streets. "Are... are you sure I'll be okay?"
She was a little worried she might get killed on the way back.
"Relax. As long as you pretend you can't see them, they won't attack."
Utaha blinked. "So regular people really can't see them?"
That explained why the spirits were everywhere, yet no one on the street seemed to care.
Thinking back, before she became a devil, she hadn't been able to see them either.
But now that she knew they had always been there... the thought sent shivers down her spine.
Especially the ones sitting on people's heads.
"If you're still scared, I could walk you home," Lynn offered. "Consider it another privilege of being my first servant."
Lynn actually wasn't entirely jokinghe wasn't too comfortable letting Utaha go off alone just yet.
Sure, she had the power of a lower-class devil and a unique ability as an Archivist Devil.
But she had zero experience.
Accidents could happen.
"No need," Utaha refused immediately.
Before Lynn could ask why, she continued:
"I'm going to your place."
Lynn: "...?"
.
.
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Target — Kuoh Academy
"Don't get the wrong idea. I just feel safer being around you."
Utaha crossed her arms, her eyes scanning the nearby curses, feeling anything but safe.
This decision wasn't made on a whim.
First, ever since she started high school, she had been living alone in a rented apartment.
Second, she highly doubted her home was free of spirits.
Rather than returning to a place infested with malicious entities, staying with Lynn was the better choice.
At least she'd be safe.
And... well, it was easy on the eyes too. Thinking of this, Utaha sneaked a glance at Lynn.
If she didn't know he was a Devil, she would've thought he was some noble's young master. ...Or maybe a noble among Devils?
"That's all?" Lynn asked, looking disappointed.
Utaha's eyelid twitched.
Alright, with his brain filled with nothing but indecent thoughts, there was no way this guy was some noble gentleman!
...Then again, nobles were all scumbags anyway.
Stepping into Lynn's home, Utaha slipped on his spare indoor slippers, curiously observing her surroundings.
"What? Is my place weird or something?"
"No, I'm just a little surprised." She set her bag down.
Earlier, she had dropped it while running from the curses. Once things settled down, she went back to retrieve it.
"You're a Devil, yet you live in such a normal place."
Grabbing two cans of cola from the fridge, Lynn shrugged. "Even Devils need money to live in human society."
Speaking of which, he sighed dramatically.
When he arrived in the human world at seven years old, life had been tough.
Thankfully, his status as a Devil had some perks.
Taking on minor exorcism jobs helped him earn a bit of cash.
At least he managed to buy this place outright.
...
Lynn popped open a can and handed it to Utaha.
She took it with a nod of thanks, sipping as she sat on the couch.
Her gaze drifted slightly, unfocused.
Too much had happened today.
The shock was immense, and exhaustion settled in.
Even though her body had been revitalized after becoming a Devil, her mental fatigue remained.
After some time, a small 'ding' sound snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Dinner's ready."
Seeing the supermarket's half-price bento, Utaha couldn't help but comment, "For a 'Perverted Master,' your dinner is pretty half-assed."
"You eating or not?"
Lynn handed her a bento, and she wordlessly took it, skillfully digging in.
Judging by how naturally she ate it, she clearly wasn't new to convenience store dinners.
And she had the nerve to call him out.
After finishing her meal, Utaha finally got to the important question.
"So, what exactly are we gonna do?"
Lynn paused for a moment before answering, "Since we're just starting out, your main job is leveling up by taking down enemies... and making money to support me."
"...What?"
Utaha blinked in disbelief.
She pointed at herself, then at him. "Me? Supporting you?"
She was just a high school girl!
Had she already reached the stage of financially supporting a man?!
"Don't worry. Once you get a bit stronger, you can take on exorcism jobs. You'll level up and earn cash at the same time."
Well, that did make sense.
Utaha was successfully convinced.
Not that she had much choice.
Lynn was her master now, in every possible way.
Even if she protested, he had the final say.
"Speaking of getting stronger..."
She channeled her demonic energy, materializing the Devil's Grimoire.
"Can I learn magic? Maybe some Onmyouji techniques?"
She was determined to fill this grimoire with powerful spells!
Smacking evil spirits with a book was way too unladylike!
"Uh..."
Lynn opened his status screen and checked his skills.
Then, he fell silent.
Utaha had a bad feeling. "Don't tell me..."
Lynn spread his hands helplessly. "I've been in the human world since I was seven. I never learned any magic."
Smack!
Utaha facepalmed.
Great.
Looks like she was stuck with 'Book Smack' for now.
"Relax. As a Devil, I've got connections."
Well... connections he had literally just made today.
But hey, a connection was a connection!
And with the weekend coming up, they could get started soon.
The next morning.
Yawning, Utaha walked downstairs in a daze.
Half-asleep, she noticed someone sitting on the couch.
"...Huh?"
"When did a man move in?"
"Wait!"
Her mind snapped awake as yesterday's events came flooding back.
"Yo! So it's black lace huh? Good choice."
Utaha instinctively tugged her shirt lower, covering the exposed area.
"Tsk tsk. Surprisingly stacked."
Lynn's gaze shifted, now locked onto the slight underboob revealed by her movement.
Utaha immediately raised her arm to cover her chest
Which only made the black lace more visible.
Utaha: "..."
Screw it.
Just end the world already!
After running back to change, she returned with a deadpan expression, staring at Lynn.
"Enjoyed the view?"
Lynn gave her a thumbs-up. "A feast for the eyes."
Utaha bit her lip, feeling her ears heat up.
How the hell was this guy so shamelessly blunt?
Whatever...
"Let's go."
Their destination: Kuoh Academy.
.
.
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Its All on You, Utaha Beast
The location of Kuoh Academy wasn't exactly close to Tokyo's Minato zone.
Lynn and Utaha spent over two hours on the train before finally arriving at Kuoh Town.
This long journey only made Lynn even more envious of Rias's teleportation magic, which was shown in the anime.
Utaha curiously observed her surroundings. "So, where exactly are we going?"
"Hmm to a Devil family's territory."
"Huh?" Utaha stopped in her tracks, staring at him in shock. "A Devil family's territory?"
Her movements instantly became more cautious. She lowered her voice and whispered, "Are you sure it's okay for us to just say it like this?"
Seeing her acting so sneaky, Lynn reassured her, "Relax, I have a pretty decent relationship with the people in charge here."
Well probably?
"That's good to know." Utaha let out a breath of relief, though she still seemed a bit uneasy.
After all, they were dealing with actual Devils.
So far, the only Devil she had encounteredaside from that stray Devilwas Lynn.
She had no idea what other Devils were like.
At the Front Gates of Kuoh Academy
A girl with long black hair tied into a high ponytail, nearly reaching the ground, stood quietly by the entrance.
The moment she saw Lynn, her eyes lit up. She quickly walked over, clasped her hands in front of her skirt, and greeted them with a gentle smile:
"You must be Mr. Lynn. I'm Akeno Himejima, a servant of the President. She asked me to escort you."
