"Hello, please forgive my uninvited presence."
The girl had a mature and voluptuous figure. Even wearing the Kuoh Academy uniform, she couldn't hide her extraordinary charm.
With just a bow, the aura of a Yamato Nadeshiko was evident, and her gentle voice naturally evoked goodwill.
However, all of this had no effect on Inaba Tsukiyo, who had her eyes closed.
Although no boy could resist the girl's charm, Inaba Tsukiyo was not a boy, and coupled with her state of mind, she was no longer one of those restless teenagers in puberty.
As for Mikazuki Munechika, it was even more so. As a loyal follower of Inaba Tsukiyo, she wouldn't care about anyone other than Inaba Tsukiyo.
It was the other party's voluptuous figure that made her immediately list this girl as an enemy.
Looking at her own figure, although Inaba Tsukiyo often praised her as cute and pretty, these compliments had nothing to do with beauty.
If she could, she would also like to have such a good figure, but that was impossible.
Because Mikazuki Munechika always followed Inaba Tsukiyo, certain aspects of herself would be influenced by her master.
That's why Mikazuki Munechika appeared in the form of a kimono loli when she became human, rather than a voluptuous older sister figure.
(fuhai: Don't complain about how weapons turn into lolis. Now, in addition to cats being able to turn into humans, even locomotives can turn into girls, so what's wrong with weapons turning into girls? Haven't you heard of sword maidens!?)
"You are... Koneko? Where is Koneko?"
Inaba Tsukiyo wasn't concerned about this person's existence; she just wanted to know why Tachibana Koneko hadn't arrived today.
"I am Himejima Akeno. Like Tachibana Koneko, I am a Devil under the high-ranking Gremory, with the rank of [Queen]. Tachibana Koneko has some matters today, so I am here to fulfill your wish."
Himejima Akeno bowed slightly to Inaba Tsukiyo and spoke politely.
"Rank... Koneko also mentioned it before. Her rank is [Rook]. It seems your Devil ranks are determined by chess pieces."
The chess pieces in international chess are: King, Queen, Rook, Bishop, Knight, and Pawn, these five ranks.
Based on the information gathered so far, the King should be the President that Tachibana Koneko often mentions, and this girl with the aura of a Yamato Nadeshiko is the Queen.
"Yes, but I am not suitable to explain the specific details to you. You can learn more about it when you meet my President."
Inaba Tsukiyo nodded. She couldn't tell if Himejima Akeno was hiding something or if her status made it unsuitable for her to tell others about Devils.
But she believed that with Tachibana Koneko as a bridge, she would soon meet that President.
"Since that's the case, I understand. You can go back now."
Himejima Akeno, who was originally waiting for Inaba Tsukiyo to speak, heard that she could go back, and the smile on her face immediately froze.
"Um... you mean..."
"Huh? Wasn't the purpose of your visit to tell me that Koneko couldn't come? If so, you can go back now."
"..."
Suddenly, she felt... what she said made so much sense. What should she do? What should she do now?
Himejima Akeno was a little flustered. She had never encountered a customer like this. In the past, customers who summoned her, whether male or female, would show all sorts of dispositions.
Himejima Akeno was confident that her charm was great, and even some humans with extremely strong self-control shouldn't be able to refuse the services of a beautiful girl like her.
But this person... actually told her to go back directly? What was this? Did she not want her just because she wasn't Koneko?
"Um... you have already used the flyer to summon me. If I don't do something, then my performance will..."
"Eh? But I didn't intend to use the flyer at all. The flyer summoned you on its own; I had no intention of asking for your services."
Inaba Tsukiyo said innocently. She had no intention of summoning Himejima Akeno; the flyer acted on its own the whole time, and it had nothing to do with her.
Alright, things got awkward again. She had spent a lot of effort to get Rias to stall Tachibana Koneko, asking her to handle other matters tonight so she could come and gauge this customer first.
She didn't expect this customer to be impervious to everything, and they were all girls, so it was impossible to seduce her. What should she do now?
"Hey! Did you hear that! My Master has already told you, you can go back!"
Mikazuki Munechika was very happy. It seemed Inaba Tsukiyo wasn't very interested in this type of girl.
No wonder Inaba Tsukiyo chose to be with Victorica back then. It seemed Inaba Tsukiyo liked girls with small figures and cute appearances like Victorica.
"...Um, please let me do something. I can do what Koneko does. Even if it's just helping with cleaning, it's no problem."
At this point, Himejima Akeno wasn't planning to leave directly. Even if it meant doing housework, she would just grit her teeth and do it.
Himejima Akeno was quite versatile with housework. She was originally an individual, and her housekeeping skills were inherently higher than others in the Occult Research Club.
"...Forget it, since you're already here. I can't let you do nothing."
No choice, who made Inaba Tsukiyo soft-hearted.
Anyway, Himejima Akeno was also Tachibana Koneko's companion. She would just treat her as a friend visiting and entertain her well.
As for what Himejima Akeno should do, she could simply tell her some things about the Underworld. She was quite curious about the Underworld of this world.
Just like that, Himejima Akeno was passively pulled to the dining table by Inaba Tsukiyo to eat, and under Inaba Tsukiyo's questioning, she told Inaba Tsukiyo about the Underworld.
Himejima Akeno didn't know much, but she was very clear about the conflicts between some Devils and other factions.
To please Inaba Tsukiyo, Himejima Akeno told Inaba Tsukiyo some interesting things, including Tachibana Koneko's recent joining of their group.
"You mean, Koneko's sister killed her master and defected to become a Rogue Devil. Koneko was guaranteed by your President's brother, then transferred to your President's command, becoming your President's Devil?"
"Yes, originally, because of her sister, Koneko was almost punished due to concerns that she might pose the same danger as her sister. However, even after becoming the President's Servants/Peerage Members, Koneko faced a lot of external pressure, which caused her to become her current taciturn personality. So, when we saw that Koneko had someone she cared about, the President and I were very happy."
Himejima Akeno certainly liked to tease people, but she deeply cared about her Servants/Peerage Members, especially Tachibana Koneko, who was like a younger sister to her. She was very happy to see Tachibana Koneko's personality gradually warming up.
However, upon learning that the person responsible for Tachibana Koneko's improved disposition was a Little Loli, Himejima Akeno's feelings became incredibly complex, and she was at a loss for words.
"My presumptuous visit this time is actually to thank you for what you've done for Koneko. At the same time, I also want to apologize for the attack on you last time; the Minister didn't mean it."
"It's fine, I know that person didn't harbor any ill will. Otherwise, I'm afraid that the next time you saw him, he would have been nothing more than a corpse."
Inaba Tsukiyo uttered incredibly terrifying words without realizing it. Of course, she wasn't lying; if Kiba Yuuto had truly attacked her with malicious intent, he would likely be a corpse by now.
Himejima Akeno believed Inaba Tsukiyo possessed such power, after all, Kiba Yuuto himself had said that Inaba Tsukiyo instantly defeated him, and he was no match for Inaba Tsukiyo.
Of course, what Himejima Akeno was even more curious about was another aspect of Inaba Tsukiyo: how Inaba Tsukiyo made Tachibana Koneko stronger.
Time passed by bit by bit, until the lights in the surrounding houses were all turned off, and only then did Inaba Tsukiyo come back to her senses.
"I can't believe it's gotten so late! Usually, I'd be fast asleep by this time."
In fact, it didn't matter if she didn't go to bed so early. She was past the age of growing, so not sleeping wouldn't be an issue.
This time, she learned many things from Himejima Akeno. Although it was a direct exchange of information, it gave Inaba Tsukiyo a general understanding of this world.
"Thank you for telling me so much today, Miss Himejima."
"No, I didn't really do anything. I just told you a few things I knew, that's all."
Himejima Akeno shook her head. She had originally thought she would be asked to do some hard labor, but it turned out she was only asked to talk about the Underworld and Tachibana Koneko.
Along the way, Mikazuki Munechika treated her words as a story, went to get a lot of snacks, and listened while eating.
"Hmm~ According to Koneko, whenever a Devil grants a wish, they always collect a certain reward. What do you want, Miss Himejima?"
"You can just call me Akeno, Miss Inaba. As for what you can give me, I'm here to fill in for Koneko anyway, so just give me the same reward as Koneko."
Himejima Akeno smiled. This reward was also one of her reasons for coming.
It had to be said that being with Inaba Tsukiyo was truly comfortable. At least Inaba Tsukiyo's polite attitude made Himejima Akeno develop a slight fondness for her.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Himejima Akeno felt as if she was talking to an elder. Inaba Tsukiyo was not a teenage Little Girl at all, but rather an elder with very rich life experience.
Although Inaba Tsukiyo exuded a human aura, Himejima Akeno didn't believe Inaba Tsukiyo was just an ordinary human.
Tachibana Koneko's change was evident. If an ordinary human could accomplish such a thing, it would be too strange.
"You... want the same reward as Koneko?"
Himejima Akeno's words made Inaba Tsukiyo slowly open her eyes. Her burgundy pupils met Himejima Akeno's purplish-red pupils, and a glint flashed in her eyes.
"Interesting... Haha~ It seems this is your true purpose, Miss Himejima."
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I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/SolyuraMT
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