Chapter 214: The Wary Succubus Loli
After receiving Sona's notification, Haruto and the others were completely baffled. Rias happened to have returned to the Underworld to deal with contract matters, so there was no way to ask her about the situation.
In truth, even Rias wasn't aware of the secrets between the previous generation. Maria only learned about this hidden connection because Sheila had informed her.
Since the succubus Maria hadn't harmed anyone and her demonic aura was quite distinct, after discussing with the group, they decided to approach her first.
Led by a student council member, Haruto quickly found Maria wandering the third-year hallway.
The moment he saw her, Haruto felt a sense of familiarity, but he couldn't immediately recall the dusty memories in his mind.
After the special training ended, everyone who had taken extended leave returned to class. However, due to contract matters, Rias didn't even have time to show her face in the classroom before teleporting back to the Underworld.
After asking around, Maria discovered that Rias wasn't there and hadn't attended classes for a month, which made her mood grow heavy.
She had finally managed to get here, only to find the person she was looking for absent. Time was running short for her.
She couldn't keep Mio unconscious indefinitely—once she woke up, she would definitely fuss about going back...
Just as Maria was worrying, she suddenly sensed two presences approaching her.
Her cute nose twitched slightly, and her expression instantly turned serious.
One was a devil with strength similar to hers, while the other, though an ordinary human, gave her an extremely dangerous feeling.
Just as she was about to shift into combat form, Haruto spoke.
"Are you the one looking for President Rias?"
He glanced at the wary succubus loli, briefly sensing her strength—not even A-rank.
Dismissing her outright, he said, "The president is currently busy in the Underworld. If you're not in a hurry, you can stay and wait a few days."
"Who are you people?"
Maria had been wandering around the academy for a while. Although she noticed some strange things, she still didn't know the truth about Kuoh Academy.
The ratio of students in the hidden academy to ordinary students was about 1:9. Whether by luck or misfortune, everyone she had encountered so far had been ordinary students.
If she hadn't been so conspicuous, the student council might not have discovered her so quickly.
Haruto didn't rush to answer. Instead, he nodded to Kusaka Reya beside him and said, "Thank you for your help. I'll handle things from here. Please give my regards to the president."
"You're too polite, Haruto-kun. We're comrades after all."
The relationship between Haruto and Tsubaki wasn't a secret, and Haruto had long been recognized by the student council as one of Sona's servants. There was even a position reserved for him in the student council.
Kusaka teased Haruto with a smile before taking her leave.
Her class was Bishop, specializing in gathering intelligence and information. Previously, she had been responsible for monitoring the succubus loli.
Now that Haruto had taken over, Kusaka Reya was happy to be relieved of the duty, as student council work still awaited her.
During their conversation, more students had gathered in the corridor to watch, particularly drawn by Haruto and the beautiful loli - these two elements easily sparked imagination.
"Follow me."
After scanning the surroundings, Haruto decisively turned and headed toward the club activity room. "I'm Rias Buchou's servant. This isn't the place to talk."
Maria's expression was grave. Her senses told her Haruto was just an ordinary human, but the sense of threat he emitted made her wary.
Seeing Haruto gradually walking away, she gritted her teeth and jogged to catch up.
She had many questions now, and despite her unease, she could only take the gamble.
By the time they reached the club activity building, there were basically no people around. Haruto slowed his pace and asked, "Judging by your aura, you should be a devil too. What business do you have with Buchou?"
Maria, who had been maintaining distance and silently following behind him, hesitated for a moment before saying, "You claim to be Rias Gremory's servant, but do you have any proof?"
"Quite cautious for someone so young."
Haruto looked back at her in surprise, and the more he looked, the more familiar she seemed, as if he had seen her somewhere long ago.
He stopped and used magic power to reveal the Gremory family crest on his left hand.
Seeing the strange red pattern, Maria's wariness decreased slightly.
Confirming that Haruto was from the Gremory family, she could at least stop worrying about him being one of the pursuers.
"My name is Naruse Maria. My mother is Sheila, and my father is Wilbert. I'm here on my mother's request to meet with the next head of the Gremory family and strengthen our bonds."
Before meeting the actual person she came to see, the succubus loli didn't dare reveal everything.
Moreover, immediately asking for protection would put her in a completely disadvantageous position - she wasn't that foolish.
Haruto frowned. Except for the name Sheila, the other two names sounded very familiar.
He carefully examined the succubus loli, and gradually, a figure in his mind completely overlapped with her.
Then he recalled a certain black-haired, big-breasted glasses girl from the infirmary and finally realized.
"Naruse... Maria?!"
Haruto unconsciously raised his voice a little, "You actually know Rias?"
"Naruse... Maria?"
The succubus loli was also taken aback. She only had the name Maria, just like her mother Sheila.
The surname Naruse belonged to Mio. If she continued staying in the human world, living by Mio's side as her younger sister, being called Naruse wouldn't be bad.
But then she noticed something odd—Mio was still unconscious in the empty classroom, so how did the other party know this surname?
Just as she was about to ask, Haruto had already pushed open the clubroom door and urged, "Come in first. By the way, I'm Haruto Seishu. Just call me Haruto."
After Haruto took charge of the matter, Akeno and the others went back to class, so now the spacious clubroom only had Maria and him.
"How did you know the surname Naruse?"
As soon as they entered, the succubus loli couldn't wait to ask.
"Isn't Naruse Mio your older sister?"
Haruto countered, "More importantly, instead of protecting your sister, why did you come to Kuoh Academy?"
Maria was baffled by Haruto's questions. Had she ever said Mio was her sister? And how did Haruto know she was supposed to protect Mio?
Before she could sort out her thoughts, Haruto added, "Don't worry about how I know. Rias probably won't be back for another three or four days. If you have something urgent, you can tell me first."
Since his talk with Rias, he had completely relaxed, but explaining such things was troublesome, so he simply wouldn't.
After all, prophecies, divination, and the like weren't particularly rare abilities in this world.
To strengthen his persuasiveness, Haruto deliberately reverted to his true devil form. The powerful aura nearly sent the succubus loli tumbling to the ground.
"High-Class... no, Ultimate-Class Devil?!"
Haruto nodded, transformed back into his human form, and completely retracted his aura.
After discovering Chisato Hasegawa's true identity earlier, he had been somewhat suspicious, but since he hadn't met anyone else, he thought the plot of The Testament of Sister New Devil hadn't started yet.
Perhaps after some time, Chisato Hasegawa would leave to secretly protect her nephew, Basara Toujou, elsewhere.
Or maybe it wasn't even the same timeline...
Now it seemed not only was it the same timeline, but the plot had also begun, and there were hidden aspects he knew nothing about.
Haruto was now filled with curiosity, eager to know what relationship Maria and Rias had, or rather, what connection their families shared.
The power system in The Testament of Sister New Devil was somewhat vague, but with divine-level experts present, it was clear it wasn't weak.
Basara Toujou's "Banishing Shift" was an especially overpowered ability.
Simply put, this skill treated all beings equally—whether god or ordinary human, one hit could send you packing.
Having witnessed Haruto's immense strength, Maria blinked and decisively cast aside her worries and vigilance.
An Ultimate-Class Devil—that was the extent of Zolgear's current strength. If Haruto truly meant her harm, she would have no chance to resist.
"I don't know the specifics either. It seems to involve my father Wilbert and the former head of the Gremory family..."
The succubus loli revealed all the information her mother Sheila had shared, then explained her purpose for coming to the human world.
"You brought Mio here too?"
After listening to Maria's vague explanation, Haruto grew even more puzzled, though it seemed he wouldn't get answers for now.
Fortunately, news of Mio came as a pleasant surprise. He decisively went with the succubus loli to retrieve her and bring her back to the Occult Research Club.
Gazing at the busty, red-haired twin-tailed beauty who looked exactly as he remembered, Haruto felt immensely pleased.
No particular reason—just pure happiness.
Just like when he first met Rias and the others, seeing a beloved female character from his memories appear before him evoked a deep sense of fulfillment.