Zeroy accepted Rias's polite invitation, though of course not for now.
This was hardly the time to host guests, nor should guests be invited so hastily.
Rias needed time to prepare for receiving such important visitors, and Zeroy herself was injured, having just come through a battle, and needed to rest and recover.
So Rias scheduled the invitation for tomorrow, to show she truly had no ulterior motives.
...
A hotel room—this was Zeroy and the others' temporary lodging.
Back in the room, Zeroy handed all the Sacred Gears she had taken from the brute over to Patchouli.
Without a doubt, these Gears had high research value, especially the Longinus [Boosted Gear].
It was the first Longinus they had ever seized.
Patchouli loved knowledge, loved to research such things, and Zeroy was more than happy to entrust her spoils to her. Whatever Patchouli discovered would also benefit Zeroy.
Just as in the Akame ga Kill world, where all seized Imperial Arms had first gone to Patchouli for study.
And then Zeroy had obtained Little Hell.
Anyway, this time, Patchouli only held the Longinus briefly, sensing it, then returned all the Gears to Zeroy.
"Though I'd love to study these, especially a Longinus, you should first familiarize yourself with them. Unlike the last world, our situation here isn't favorable. We need to turn gains into power quickly."
If Patchouli researched, the eventual reward might be greater, but it would take longer.
One path was low return but immediate.
The other was high return but delayed.
With pressure, you pick the former. Without pressure, the latter.
"Mm... fair enough." Zeroy agreed with her reasoning.
...
Of course, she couldn't test such destructive power inside a hotel, especially not the Red Dragon Emperor's gauntlet.
So Zeroy left, wandering the streets of Kuoh Town. Along the way, she even bought a motorcycle.
She cruised at an even pace, eyes scanning around. Dressed differently, she could have passed for a patrolling officer.
"Mm... can't find a suitable target..."
Her brow furrowed slightly the whole ride.
The streets were peaceful. Her senses found no pests, no hostility directed toward her.
Stability and harmony were good—though for Zeroy, not having a target to test herself on was also a problem.
After ten more minutes of wandering, she stopped.
Leaning against her bike, she pondered.
What if she went to Azazel, hiding in Kuoh Town?
In terms of strength, he'd be more than enough for practice.
However, she had already scanned him with her good-and-evil judgment.
He bore much black mist, but he wasn't a pest that had to be purged.
Which meant he wasn't her enemy—just someone who could use a cleansing of Hellfire.
And that made things different.
This was Rias's territory. A fight with Azazel would cause no small stir. Zeroy had no quarrel with him, nor with Rias. As a guest, would it be proper? Would it be necessary?
Azazel was the Governor of the Fallen Angels. If their fight escalated, win or lose, the consequences would be immense.
Even so, Zeroy still wished to keep a low profile. Her current strength and her unfinished tasks didn't allow her to be too high-profile.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have been restraining her urge to slaughter pests.
Still, if she truly couldn't find another target, fighting Azazel might be an option... though she wondered if he'd hold a grudge after being burned by Hellfire.
Just then, a voice came.
"Miss Zeroy."
She turned. A small, white-haired girl stood there, expressionless—a loli with no emotion in her face.
"I remember... you're Rias's Koneko, Toujou Koneko?"
"That's me. Do you need help with something, Miss Zeroy? You looked troubled just now."
"Troubled, huh... Hm? That's right!"
Looking at Koneko—or rather, Toujou Shirone—Zeroy suddenly had an idea.
"Koneko, you have an older sister, don't you?"
"—?!"
Shirone instantly leapt back several steps, widening the distance, her expression turning sharply wary, even hostile.
"Why... would you know about that?"
Her voice was low.
Toujou Koneko, true name Shirone, was in fact a Nekomata, one of the strongest cat-yōkai in Japan.
After her parents died, Shirone had lived with her sister Kuroka. Later, both were adopted by a high-class devil.
Although, when Kuroka, after becoming that devil's servant, rapidly grew in power, she suddenly killed her master and fled, becoming a stray devil.
Because of this, Shirone was implicated. The devil authorities judged her as equally dangerous, intending to execute her.
Only through the guarantee of the Demon Lord Sirzechs Lucifer did she escape execution. She was placed under the care of his sister, Rias Gremory, and reincarnated into her peerage.
Albeit the shadow of her sister left deep scars. She carried heavy psychological trauma.
She avoided using her Nekomata powers and grew silent, withdrawn. Rias gave her a new name—Toujou Koneko.
Her sister remained her deepest wound, her taboo.
Anyone who brought up Kuroka in front of her had always meant to wound her.
"Relax, I mean no harm."
Zeroy waved a hand, casually raising a barrier to block sight and sound.
"In Shirone's eyes, what is your sister? A stray devil who betrayed her benefactor, abandoned her little sister, lost her reason, and gave in to desire and corruption?"
"Shirone surely cannot understand why her sister became so unrecognizable, right?"
"However, in my eyes, your sister is completely different. If you can accept it—if you want to know the real Kuroka—then stop the spell you're using to notify Rias and the others."
...
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