"Um, this should be the right station..."
Since I'd never even heard the name of this station before, I checked the memo Cleria had given me one more time. This was a downtown area about eight stations away from Kuoh Town by train, with tall buildings lining the streets. Kuoh Town had mostly residential areas, but this place seemed full of business-related buildings. That's why I kept passing businessmen-looking people heading to work.
It was a weekday morning, so that made sense. I really should be at school too, but this was the only time that would work, so I'd called in sick. I felt guilty about faking illness, but I convinced myself it couldn't be helped.
When I told Lord Mephisto about all this, he said he'd handle things with school and home, so I needed to focus on this side of things. He also lent me some magical tools and useful items. With magic making me harder for ordinary people to notice, I wouldn't get picked up by truancy officers.
"Go straight down this road lined with buildings, then... wow, it's pretty far out on the outskirts. Cleria, how did you even find a place like this?"
Feeling her strong sense of curiosity, I moved forward relying on the information she'd given me. Come to think of it, maybe this place appeared in the original story too. I'm pretty sure Rias and her group visited him here, and it's near Kuoh Town. There probably aren't two or three of his hideouts near Kuoh Town, so this might be the same place. I was starting to feel a strange sense of fate.
"Well then, I never thought things would turn out like this, but... I-it'll be fine, probably. Cleria said she managed to sneak around without getting caught thanks to her 'Worthless' ability. At this time of day, there should be fewer people at the hideout too."
Anxiety bubbled up precisely because of where I was headed. But I was the only one who could move freely, and my Sacred Gear was well-suited for sneaking around. If Cleria got back safely after entering out of curiosity, there probably wasn't any kind of automated defense system. She'd looked worried when I said I'd go there, but she bowed her head and entrusted her hopes to me.
Maybe because I was sandwiched between buildings, the occasional cold wind made my body tremble. It was cold, but my anxiety was bigger. I'd never imagined I'd end up going to his hideout. And trespassing at that. It felt downright terrifying, like going into a super scary haunted house. Well, it was a house made by someone even scarier than ghosts.
"The hideout of one of the Four Great Maou, Lord Ajuka Beelzebub... Please, please don't let me get caught..."
At a small shrine I found along the way, I clapped my hands and prayed as earnestly as I could. Based on past experience, my luck stat seemed honestly low, so I prayed pretty desperately.
"The 'King' Piece..."
"Cleria, but there's no way a 'King' Piece actually exists..."
"Um, sorry. I don't know that much about Evil Pieces, but they're based on chess pieces like 'Queen' and 'Pawn,' right? And you use them to reincarnate people as devils or make them into peerage members?"
At the content Cleria was explaining, Lushana looked incredulous while Yaegaki, being Church-related, looked puzzled. To organize the information and also explain to Yaegaki, Lushana briefly described the Evil Pieces.
Evil Pieces were modeled after chess from the human world. A devil with a peerage title could possess fifteen pieces total: eight Pawns, two each of Knights, Rooks, and Bishops, and finally one Queen. They could reincarnate other races as devils, and depending on the abilities of the person being reincarnated, the number of pieces consumed would vary. To reincarnate Hyoudou Issei, Rias had used all eight of her Pawn pieces.
As for the King Piece in question, it was officially considered non-existent. According to Lushana's explanation, when upper-class devils reached a certain level, they would touch a "monument" kept by high-ranking officials to register as a King in the system. The King Piece's creation technology supposedly hadn't been established and couldn't be made. But that was just the official story.
Oh right, since we're talking about pieces, there's something I've been curious about.
"Come to think of it, um, this might be a strange question to ask here, but Yaegaki, didn't you ever consider reincarnating as a devil? If you became a devil, you wouldn't be Church-affiliated anymore, and the lifespan issue with Cleria would be solved, right?"
"Huh?"
Since we were discussing pieces, I asked what had just occurred to me. Then all three of them turned shocked stares toward me. Did I say something that strange?
"R-reincarnate... I never even thought about that..."
"You never thought about it? Yaegaki, if this whole situation had ended peacefully, what were you planning to do going forward? Devils like Cleria live for about ten thousand years."
Yaegaki deliberately turned his gaze away. This guy really does just live in the moment... Though I guess he didn't have the mental space to think ahead.
"Reincarnating a clergyman into a devil would be unprecedented. It's definitely a problem we need to think about, but still..."
"Currently, we can't reincarnate Yaegaki. There are three main reasons."
"Three whole reasons?"
Everyone's attention turned to Lushana as she elegantly held up three fingers. After clearing her throat with a small cough, she prepared a whiteboard and started writing with a marker like a teacher. As expected of the Belial peerage's brains. Very reliable.
"First, Cleria doesn't have enough pieces. With the pieces she has left, she can't reincarnate him. Even for reincarnation, compatibility with the pieces matters. The piece most compatible with Yaegaki would probably be a Knight. But Cleria has already used all her Knight pieces."
"Piece compatibility... But if she used all the remaining pieces together, maybe..."
"Second, and this is unavoidable, but it's Cleria's lack of strength."
"Ugh!?"
To reincarnate someone with Evil Pieces, the King's abilities matter. Basically, it's difficult to reincarnate someone stronger than yourself. There's an exception called Mutation Pieces, unique pieces that can handle a reincarnation that would normally require multiple pieces with just one, but Cleria apparently doesn't have any. Well, getting one of those is like winning the lottery, so there's no point regretting it.
Yaegaki was a renowned swordsman in the Church who'd survived countless brushes with death. Meanwhile, Cleria was still a student who hadn't even participated in an official Rating Game yet. I see, so with Cleria's current abilities, even using multiple incompatible pieces, it would be tough to reincarnate Yaegaki.
Thinking about it that way, Lord Mephisto, who reincarnated Tannin with just one Queen Piece, really is an incredible person. Cleria sobbing and depressed, and Yaegaki with a dry smile—this couple really has a rough road ahead...
"The third reason, or rather the biggest one, is to avoid triggering a war."
"A war?"
"Reincarnating clergy as devils. Once you're reincarnated with Evil Pieces, you can't go back to being human. If it's someone expelled from the Church that's one thing, but imagine if devils started reincarnating Church personnel left and right. Devils increase their numbers while the Church has theirs reduced. From the Church's perspective, which relies most heavily on human strength, they'd have every right to be furious. So this is an unspoken agreement. Yaegaki hasn't been expelled from the Church."
What a reason. Come to think of it, Rias only made Asia and Xenovia into peerage members after they'd been expelled from the Church. Whatever the reason, having the result that someone was reincarnated as a devil while still being clergy would be politically problematic. You can't just solve it simply by saying "they became devils, so they're not Church personnel anymore." Ugh, what a pain...
"This is another problem we need to think about, but first things first..."
"Ah, right. Sorry for derailing the conversation."
"No, it helped me confirm various things about Evil Pieces too. ...So, the King Piece, was it? Cleria, why do you think that piece actually exists?"
"...You all know I love Rating Game gossip, right? I'm aware I was heavily influenced by my brother in that regard, but more than anything, I knew my brother's strength as a champion. He's truly strong and carries the pride of a champion in his heart, and I've always watched him. That's why I hated more than anything the baseless rumors and sensationalist gossip articles written about my brother, who's remained champion for so long."
Having been by his side since childhood and witnessed Diehauser's strength and resolve, she couldn't forgive those things more than anything. The power of her cousin who protected the champion's name with real ability, and the underworld's information that belittled him. She started gathering Rating Game information to dispel all that. Especially since Diehauser's generation was apparently a bumper crop, with many talented young devils making it to the top ranker list.
"But did you know? The current second-ranked Rating Game player, Roygun Belphegor. The third-ranked Bideze Abaddon. Several other top players too—they were apparently devils with no talent in their youth."
"That's just gossip written by jealous people—"
"Maybe. So I investigated whether it was true. I looked into their childhood information over and over. ...But the more I dug, the more suddenly the information would cut off. There were other devils besides me who investigated gossip in the past. But every single one of them that I confirmed had been purged, either through accidents or as criminals."
There was something big hidden behind the top rankers. The fact that those seeking information were silenced gave her more and more conviction. And now, the devil side's movement toward this purge. She thought maybe someone who found her gathering information about Rating Games troublesome was trying to eliminate her.
"...The dark side of the devil's game, huh. But to eliminate people just for researching the past..."
"It wasn't just that, was it? Cleria, where did you get information about the King Piece?"
"Ahh, yeah. About that..."
Cleria averted her gaze with a strained smile. Come to think of it, where did she obtain information about the King Piece? Nothing in the story so far mentioned anything about pieces. Which meant after this, she'd found that clue. Information touching on the taboo of the King Piece.
"Actually, I found it by accident. I was really surprised too, since I'd only heard rumors that it was somewhere in Japan. I never imagined it would be near the Japanese area I was put in charge of. So, um..."
"Found? What exactly did you..."
"...Cleria. Be honest. Spill it. Talk right now. Come on, quickly!"
"Lushana is scary! I'm sorry, I found Lord Maou Ajuka Beelzebub's hideout! And then I thought that if it was Lord Beelzebub's hideout, since he proposed the game and manages the system, maybe I could find some Rating Game information, so I intruded just a little bit!"
Right, right. I think something like that was mentioned in the original story too... Yeah, what were you doing, Cleria? How curious can you be? Lushana was delivering a storm of silent chops with a beautiful smile. Cleria was sobbing, but you deserve to be scolded, so please reflect a little.
But wow, a Maou's hideout at this point. Cleria apparently snuck in there and searched through documents left at the hideout. The Maou wasn't there, and there were apparently only a few humans. Thanks to that, she managed to infiltrate somehow.
And in part of the documents there, information about the King Piece happened to be included. It apparently wasn't explicitly stated documentation, but since Lord Beelzebub who was involved in creating those pieces wrote it, she got excited, obtained the information, and came back. She then reported that story to her cousin Diehauser.
After that, she apparently investigated information on the premise that King Pieces existed. She kept it hidden, but there were probably devils who found her actions suspicious. They already knew she was digging into top ranker information, and on top of that came this suspicious information gathering. It wouldn't be strange for her to be marked. And maybe using this incident, they flowed toward purging her with a "better safe than sorry" mentality.
This is, well, Cleria was careless, but finding the Maou's hideout was probably also significant. In the original story, there was a scene where Rias and her group headed to the Maou's hideout. There, I think there were humans using the power of games, which was his hobby. It was probably a place known to some humans. That's why she could slip in too.
More than anything, what I just heard might be a bit problematic. According to Cleria's information, the King Piece only "might" exist. It could easily be dismissed as nothing. With just this level of information, it wouldn't serve as a card to entrust to Diehauser. Combined with this incident, the Emperor might believe it, but it might not work on the Old Devils or underworld people.
This is a miscalculation. Since she was being purged over it, I thought Cleria knew something deeper about the King Piece. They probably just thought she was in the way and decided to purge her while they were at it.
"With just this, it can't serve as proof that the King Piece exists..."
"I'm sorry. But the documents I saw were really just a small part, and I only found them by chance at the hideout, so I didn't explore everything. So if I go investigate one more time..."
"But we're being watched now. If they find out we went to Lord Beelzebub's hideout, that would be bad, and I don't think it's completely unmanned inside. Can we investigate thoroughly without being caught? Even if we asked for help, we can't tell humans or researchers..."
"Yeah, you're right..."
Cleria dropped her shoulders weakly, and Lushana looked deep in thought. Then Yaegaki glanced toward me with uncertainty. It's true, I did show him part of my abilities. And if you think about who here can move freely and is best suited for gathering information, the answer comes quickly.
Ahh, seriously? Yeah, this is the only way. I decided I'd work hard to save everyone. For that, I'd face even conflict with the Old Devils and the Church. And now my resolve includes trespassing into a Maou's hideout. I feel like my stomach is getting queasy.
What should I do, will I get caught? Even if I do, will the Maou forgive me? Lord Beelzebub is the Maou whose thoughts are hardest to read, isn't he? I think he's a good person and seems like the most serious devil among the Four Great Maou, but he does that Satan Blue thing and joins in if something seems interesting.
Still, I'll do it. I have to do it... Why is my path ahead so full of obstacles? I met a Stray Devil, got attacked by a stray magician, and when I thought I'd joined the magician camp, I got bullied by Azazel-sensei and Tannin. Then I got dragged into a past incident in Kuoh Town, made a contract with Mil-tan, and now I'm trespassing into a Maou's hideout. I'm starting to think I would've been safer getting involved during the original story's timeline!
"So I understand that I'm the one going, but still... Okay, I'll erase my appearance, presence, and Sacred Gear. I'll keep the other slot as a backup in case of emergencies so I can move."
I gripped my partner tightly, and nervous sweat formed as I approached my destination. As I walked forward, the presence of people gradually disappeared, and I started seeing buildings covered in ivy that looked unused and desolate scenery. My destination was an abandoned building standing in such a place.
When Cleria first found the hideout, the building's first floor was apparently a lobby with male and female humans around student age. They seemed to be using cell phones, but she didn't know the details. I came here on a weekday morning because those student-like people would be gone. I didn't know if they'd be completely gone, but apparently their numbers would be reduced. Pretty anxiety-inducing.
Also, young humans with cell phones. This is definitely related to the "game" Lord Beelzebub is developing in the human world. What even was that in the end? My memory's fuzzy, but I only remember that those cell phones apparently had a function to measure the abilities of different beings. There are probably other functions too, but what do you even do with a mobile game? I like games too so I'm curious, but I definitely don't have time to investigate unrelated things right now.
"...This is Lord Beelzebub's hideout."
I swallowed at the place I'd reached. I used my Sacred Gear to cloak myself in its erasure effect and blended my presence using pseudo-immortal techniques. I also activated the transparency magic Lavinia taught me and tried observing inside the building. Then I faintly saw what looked like three high school students in the first-floor lobby. This building is probably using magic power or something to distort outside interference. I could barely make out just the first floor.
However, I confirmed it wasn't unmanned. With just three people, slipping through wouldn't be that difficult. They look like high schoolers, so I can't help thinking they should go to school. I picked up an empty can that had fallen nearby and moved forward to the building's entrance. Next I had to enter the building, but forcing my way in wasn't a good strategy. I wanted to leave as few traces as possible that I'd infiltrated.
So I couldn't make a hole with my spear, and entering from above might be dangerous too. In that case, it would be safer to intrude from the front. Humans who visit here apparently just enter normally, and Cleria apparently entered from the front too by slipping past their eyes.
I threw the empty can in my hand at the entrance door. Clang! When it hit the door, a high-pitched sound rang out, and a male student inside the lobby seemed to notice. He approached the entrance with a suspicious expression. Then, as he opened the aged building's door, a scraping sound echoed. While the male student looked around, I quietly slipped through the open gap.
"What's wrong?"
"Looks like the wind blew an empty can into it. See?"
"Oh, that's all. Come on, let's continue quickly."
"Ah, sorry, sorry."
The young man who picked up the can I threw tossed it into a trash bin and rejoined the circle. I let out a relieved breath and surveyed the area while hiding behind a table placed in the back. The exterior looked run-down, but inside it was kept neat and clean. The floor seemed regularly swept too, so people must come in periodically.
The first floor seemed to just be a large lobby. Cleria found the documents on an upper floor apparently, so I guess I have to go up the stairs. I checked the map in a corner of the first floor and took a photo of it. Being careful not to be noticed by the three people, I quietly advanced toward the stairs leading to the second floor.
The stairs seemed climbable normally, with no locks or anything special. The steps were somewhat high and the staircase wasn't very wide, so I'd need to be careful not to miss my footing. Azazel-sensei said I should be able to fool up to upper-class devils, but it would be best if I didn't meet anyone at all.
"According to Cleria's notes, the second and third floors are sections ordinary humans can enter. They seem set up like recreation facilities. So the problem is the floors above that."
When I reached the fourth floor, I sensed a different atmosphere from the previous doors. This was magic power. It was locked using magic power so ordinary humans couldn't open it. That's why the humans visiting here couldn't go beyond this point. Cleria apparently used the Belial family's "Worthless" power to slip through this lock. I readied my partner and slowly moved forward to the door.
"I can't erase the door itself. If I annihilate this locking spell itself, someone will realize there was an intrusion. The Belial family's 'Worthless' power is the ability to erase characteristics. Cleria entered by erasing the intrusion-prevention characteristic only when she opened the door. So my Sacred Gear should be able to do that too."
I'd gotten information from Cleria about the spell placed on this door. I'd asked Lavinia to analyze it too. Make it affect only part of the spell's construction. I didn't know if I could do it, but if I couldn't move forward without doing it, I had to try. Since the door itself was imbued with the spell, I should be able to activate the ability by stabbing the door with the spear. The door itself was already damaged anyway, so if I aimed for a corner, they probably wouldn't notice a small hole. I concentrated my awareness on the Sacred Gear and thrust my spear into the spell placed on the door.
Hmm, this construction part is probably wrong. This is where it controls the magic power flow, so that's different. I traced the spell's concept relying on the crimson light from my partner. This locking spell's power source was magic power, but the formula itself was magic. Magic is calculation. There's always an equation and logic to it. I dove deeper and deeper, searching for the flow while relying on my partner's thoughts.
"...Found it."
Just as the formula development Lavinia taught me. As expected of a magical girl. Thanks for the assist, partner. I directed my awareness toward the spell construction I'd found. If I erased the locking effect for a set period of time, my intrusion wouldn't be noticed. By erasing only part of the function and removing its effectiveness for an instant, with the magic power repair function intact, it would fill the hole I made over time.
I wiped the nervous sweat that had formed from concentrating with my arm and steeled my resolve. This was my first time interfering with a spell's concept like this, but I'd definitely succeed. And if I kept learning about magical concepts going forward, I might become able to annihilate spell constructions or interfere with and cancel opponents' spells like Cardinal Strada. Using Ruin on magic itself consumed a lot of stamina, but if I could annihilate things by just erasing parts of magical constructions, it would be much easier.
Ah, but with formless magic, I might not be able to stab it with the spear. It's fine when a spell is cast on something like this door, but the attack magic Lavinia uses is all things without clear form like fire and water. I can apply material annihilation to the spear itself, but conceptual annihilation won't take effect unless I can stab something. I'll need to think about this more. I should ask Azazel-sensei if he has any good ideas next time.
"Alright, here I go. ...Remove."
I activated the ability and erased part of the magical construction. This caused the spell's flow to temporarily disorder, and the next moment a small sound rang from the door. I timidly turned the door's knob, and the entrance to the fourth floor opened. I'd been checking with my Sacred Gear, but it seemed safe. When I searched inside the floor with pseudo-immortal techniques, there didn't seem to be any human presence on the fourth floor.
"Alright, exploration of the fourth floor starts now. Preferably I should get out before students gather or devil activity hours begin."
Let's do this! I psyched myself up again, and my hideout exploration was only just beginning.
Today's Mil-tan
"Pastor, Mil-tan wants to know what's necessary to become a girl."
"Y-yes, well... Um, Mil-tan, why do you want to become a girl?"
"Mil-tan's heart is calling for it."
"Ah, yes."
Today too, Shidou Touji was earnestly working hard dealing with the giant who visited the church.
"Girl, a girl. First, wouldn't gender be important?"
"Was told that Mil-tan's gender is 'manly maiden,' so there's no problem."
"Who taught you such a term?"
A certain boy with a crimson spear sneezed and shivered, thinking it had gotten cold.
"Well then, wouldn't age also be important? Generally speaking, 'girl' refers to someone up to their teens."
"Mil-tan's heart is eternally in its teens, yes?"
"Ah, yes."
Shidou Touji felt a mysterious persuasiveness in the innocence of those eyes.
"Y-your heart may certainly be that way, but wouldn't appearance also be important? We humans form an image of someone based on their first impression."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Mil-tan, you have a very fine physique—"
"I see. Starting with appearance is important. Pastor, thank you for giving Mil-tan the push. To obtain the appearance, Mil-tan will work hard!"
Huh, how exactly are you going to work hard? Shidou Touji felt like he'd massively stepped on a landmine but didn't open his mouth, feeling like he'd lose something if he asked. However, several days later he'd witness the results of that effort with his own eyes, so in the end it was only a matter of sooner or later.
***
If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m /Well_being