Ryuichi's words struck the five sisters like a sudden clap of thunder.
After all, their grades were… a serious headache right now.
"S-So this is what they call… the whisper of the devil, huh?" Nakano Ichika said with a wry smile.
Sitting with her arms crossed, Nakano Nino let out a skeptical hum.
"Are we seriously considering this? Doesn't this whole thing seem way too convenient? Like, 'free miracle, limited time only' convenient?"
Being questioned didn't seem to bother Ryuichi in the slightest. He answered evenly, calm as ever:
"There's no reason for me to deceive you. We devils complete all kinds of requests for humans — and in return, we receive payment that strengthens our power.
That's simply how devils survive in today's world."
"I believe Ryuichi-san's a good person!" Yotsuba declared enthusiastically, nodding over and over.
"Thanks," Ryuichi replied dryly. "But I'll pass on the 'good guy' card."
The sisters: "…"
Miku tilted her head curiously.
"Um… so, no matter what the problem is, we can ask you for help?"
"Exactly. The stronger a person's desire, the greater the price we can collect through the contract once the request is fulfilled.
That's why we put effort into completing those requests — to satisfy human desires."
"W-Wow… that sounds like it could be, um… taken the wrong way," Itsuki murmured under her breath.
"Then… what if someone wanted to do something criminal?"
A mischievous glint flashed across Ryuichi's eyes as the corner of his mouth curled up.
"Criminal, huh? Well, destroying the world is beyond me… but blowing up your school? That I could manage. You don't like studying anyway, right?"
"Waaah! No no no no! Don't listen to Itsuki, she's just joking!!" Yotsuba flailed her arms in panic.
Ryuichi chuckled softly.
"Relax. I'm kidding. Wanton destruction is forbidden — there are rules, after all."
The truth was, in this modern age — the era of human dominance — angels and devils alike couldn't act recklessly anymore. Humanity itself had powerful individuals capable of keeping the balance.
Those who went rogue — stray devils or exiled outcasts — were hunted down and eliminated without mercy.
The sisters exchanged looks with one another. Judging from what they'd heard, it didn't actually seem that risky.
"I say we give it a try," Ichika said with a teasing grin. "It's not every day you get to experience something this incredible.
And honestly, I'd rather not have my memory erased."
Yotsuba immediately raised her hand next. She'd been the most enthusiastic from the start — after all, this whole thing had begun because her wish had called Ryuichi here.
Miku and Itsuki soon followed with hesitant but excited nods.
Only Nino remained. She looked at her sisters, hesitated, then sighed and puffed out her cheeks.
"Ugh, fine! You've all agreed already — of course I'm in too! We five always stick together, right?"
Ryuichi's lips curved into a faint, satisfied smile.
Got them.
He hadn't expected to walk away today with five new contracts. For a devil who only had one contractor so far, this was a huge deal.
And so, he formally entered into contracts with each of the five girls. These were simple, standard devil contracts — nothing like the "faith contract" he'd once formed with Sakurajima Mai, the kind that had even Rias Gremory herself astonished.
Still, quantity had its own value. Five at once wasn't bad at all.
And who knew — maybe someday, with effort, these contracts could evolve into faith contracts too.
Tapping his finger lightly on the table, Ryuichi drew their attention back to him.
"Alright then. From this point forward, I'll be tutoring you girls personally.
But before that — show me your test papers. I need to see what level we're starting at."
At that, all five sisters froze.
They looked at one another awkwardly, shifting in place, faces turning pink.
Ryuichi blinked and urged them on.
"Well? The test papers?"
With no way to refuse, the sisters reluctantly pulled their papers out of their schoolbags and handed them over one by one.
Ryuichi flipped through them carefully — and then fell completely silent.
"Not bad," he said at last, his tone unreadable. "You girls managed to score a perfect 100… when you add them all together."
The five identical beauties immediately looked mortified, glancing around as if trying to find somewhere to hide.
Ryuichi sighed inwardly. He'd known their grades weren't great — after all, Yotsuba's wish had been for all five of them to graduate successfully.
But this… this was worse than he'd imagined.
Together, they barely scraped a hundred points!?
Do these five share a single brain cell or something…?
He pressed his lips together, already realizing this was going to take serious work.
Still, with the help of his power to modify cognition and reinforce understanding, it shouldn't be impossible.
"Alright, it's fine," he said finally, smiling reassuringly. "Don't worry. Leave everything to me."
His gentle tone caught the girls off guard.
"Really?" Ichika asked softly. "You're the first person to ever say our bad grades aren't a big deal…"
"I never said you shouldn't study," Ryuichi corrected smoothly. "Learning more never hurts anyone."
His calm, almost teacher-like response made Nino roll her eyes.
"You sound just like one of those lecturing adults…"
"Oh? Is this your rebellious phase?" Ryuichi tilted his head slightly, fixing her with a sidelong look.
"It's not!!" Nino snapped back, glaring at him. "And since you're a high schooler too, your grades must be amazing, right?"
Ryuichi shrugged casually.
"My grades? Nothing impressive. I usually land right on the passing mark for every subject."
"Huh? Then you're not any better than us! And you think you can teach us?" Nino shot back in disbelief.
Ryuichi gave a faint laugh.
"Just because I choose to hover at the passing line doesn't mean that's the limit of my ability.
If I wanted to score a perfect hundred, I could."
The sisters fell silent.
Despite how mild his tone was, every word carried an unmistakable arrogance.
"So… it really was my fault earlier, wasn't it?" Yotsuba said, face falling. "I didn't understand any of what you taught me…"
"Heh, maybe the truth is that someone just taught you useless stuff," Nino said slyly, giving Ryuichi a sidelong smirk.
Ryuichi raised an eyebrow, answering without missing a beat.
"Now, now. Is that really how an older sister should talk about her younger sister?"
Nino: "…??"
Yotsuba: "...???"
It took everyone a moment to realize what he'd just implied — and then they all fell silent, speechless.
Without another word, Ryuichi stood, ignoring Nino's puffed-up cheeks, and said to the group:
"Anyway, that's enough for today. I'll prepare proper materials tonight and start tutoring you all tomorrow.
For now, get some rest."
"Ooh, okay~ Then we'll be counting on you, Ryuichi-kun," Ichika said cheerfully, waving.
"See you tomorrow."
As Ryuichi spoke, glowing patterns of a magic circle formed beneath his feet. A moment later, his figure vanished from sight — gone in a flash of light.
The sisters stared, mouths slightly open, awestruck by the surreal sight.