The next morning, all four members of Leo's group showed up at school with dark circles under their eyes. No surprise there.
Utaha, in particular, looked like she was about to explode. She'd only just reincarnated as a devil and still wasn't used to being awake during the day. Add in a night of barely any sleep, and her whole vibe practically screamed feral. Students were already whispering about what on earth she had done last night.
She had just joined the Occult Affairs Club, yet she already looked like she'd pulled enough all-nighters to ascend to godhood. How could people not start questioning it?
And with Leo, Yukino, and Asuna looking only slightly less miserable, the Occult Affairs Club—already a hot topic—instantly became the center of attention again.
Leo was fine. Yukino and the others, on the other hand, absolutely deserved it.
After returning to the manor, Leo had collapsed into bed and knocked out instantly. But the three girls, too excited after receiving their ideal familiars, stayed up playing with them until dawn. Only when the sky turned light did they reluctantly fall asleep. Saying they deserved their exhaustion wasn't wrong at all.
Leo's group couldn't be bothered to deal with the school gossip. They were genuinely exhausted and barely functioning.
They didn't know that, over in Class 1-A, Mahiru was troubled as well.
"Has Eligos-senpai… already arrived at school?"
Sitting at her desk, Mahiru listened to the surrounding chatter, hesitation clouding her expression.
Yesterday, after fainting in front of Leo, she slept straight through until the next morning. Her illness was gone, her fever disappeared, and even her mood had somehow improved—far better than the gloom she'd carried the day before.
Her own embarrassing problems aside, the sight she witnessed in Leo's place had burned itself into her memory. Even now, the angel girl wondered if she'd simply been delirious with fever and hallucinating something impossible.
"Devils…"
Remembering that upperclassman spreading three pairs of wings that blotted out the sky, taking her hand, staring straight into her eyes—Mahiru's heartbeat quickened without warning.
And then, Leo's voice echoed in her ears.
"If no one wants you, then I'll take you."
"Stop being an angel, Shiina. Come be a devil."
"All that effort you spent on your parents—use it on being needed by me."
Just three short lines, yet they still tugged at Mahiru's heart even now.
Mahiru didn't consider herself someone who was easily moved.
Quite the opposite—she knew she was realistic, even cold.
Everyone called her an angel, praised her perfect personality, but only Mahiru knew how fake it all was. She kept up the sweet act so her parents would believe she was obedient, socially capable, outstanding.
She smiled every day, but never when she was alone.
She always seemed to be at the center of social circles, close with everyone—but anyone perceptive would realize she kept a careful distance, never letting anyone into her world.
When people talked, she echoed politely but only observed from afar.
When people showed her kindness, she responded gently but never actually cared.
The "angel" was just a mask.
Eriri played the good girl too, but she didn't keep people at arm's length. When Eriri made a friend, she genuinely treated them as one. Mahiru wasn't like that. She had never once regarded anyone as a real friend.
People said she was cute—but Mahiru knew her appearance wasn't effortless. She meticulously maintained her beauty every day, followed fashion trends, all to preserve her flawless image.
People assumed her excellence came naturally, but Mahiru worked endlessly to maintain her grades, never allowing herself to slack even once.
To her, she wasn't an angel.
She was a human wearing an angel mask—everything about her was fabricated.
Someone this pragmatic and detached would never be swayed by a few lines from someone else.
Just like yesterday: even drenched in rain and looking pitiful, if someone had tried to take advantage and hit on her, she would've brushed them off coldly. If someone who knew her family situation tried spouting the things Leo said, she wouldn't be moved—she'd be furious, drive them off, maybe even teach them a lesson.
That was Mahiru—the real one, not the so-called angel.
But when those words came from a devil… Mahiru couldn't stop herself from wavering.
"…Could it be real?"
Was there truly such a thing as devils in this world?
Had she simply hallucinated from fever?
Or… had she been so desperate to be needed, so desperate for her efforts to matter, that she imagined such a ridiculous sight?
But what if…?
What if it had all been real?
"Occult Affairs Club…"
Mahiru whispered the name to herself, deciding she would go check after school.
Coincidentally, someone else had the exact same idea.
"I have to go see what that Occult Affairs Club is up to!"
In Class 2-G, Eriri clenched her jaw as she overheard her classmates discussing Leo's group again.
She really couldn't ignore it anymore. Just what had that brand-new club done last night to make all its members look like they'd been out committing crimes?
"That damned Kasumi old hag—talking about being 'in the same boat,' about how the club has deep secrets and I shouldn't pry! Look at yourself! You show up looking like you were doing who-knows-what with people in the middle of the night! How am I not supposed to be curious?!"
Eriri fumed internally.
"I'll find out what you guys are doing all day long!"
None of this—not Leo, not the others—was known to the Occult Affairs Club.
What they also didn't know was that it wasn't only Sobu High talking about them. Far away in Kuoh Town, Kanagawa, people were discussing them too.
...
Kuoh Town — Kuoh Academy.
It was a school where girls held overwhelming power and outnumbered boys to a ridiculous degree. Boys were the weaker side—practically voiceless.
The reason was simple: the school had been an all-girls academy until a few years ago. Even after switching to co-ed, the sheer dominance of the female population persisted. Boys could only group together for survival.
The lower the grade, the more boys there were. Third-years had the fewest—only two boys for every ten girls. Second-years had slightly more—three boys per ten students. Even in first-year, boys made up barely forty percent. Combine that with the lingering power structure, and nearly every leadership or authority position was held by girls, including the student council.
Right now, inside the student council office, Sona—the president—was receiving two very unusual guests with Tsubaki standing beside her.
"It's rare for you to visit me."
Sona sat on one side of the guest sofa. Next to her, Tsubaki stood gracefully as she poured tea, her eyes fixed on the visitor. Even her normally cool face carried the same faint smile she showed only when Leo was involved.
"Are you saying I'm unwelcome?"
The girl seated across from Sona spoke playfully, entirely unfazed even before Kuoh Academy's famous ice queen.
A closer look revealed she, too, was breathtaking.
Around Sona's age, she carried herself with a grace and nobility that surpassed even the heiress of the Sitri House. Her figure put Sona's to shame—almost unreal in its allure, like a living example of what people called a "devilish body."
With such curves, her face was predictably just as extraordinary. Every feature was shaped to perfection, combining into a beauty so striking that anyone who saw her would feel their heart lurch, falling for her at first glance.
No one could resist the impact of her appearance.
And that beauty was paired with long, flowing crimson hair—an intense shade that should have looked garish on anyone else, yet on her it only heightened her charm. Not a hint of tackiness, not a single flaw—her presence became radiant, impossible to ignore in any setting.
She was the idol of countless Kuoh Academy students, overwhelmingly acknowledged as the school's number one in both popularity and beauty.
Her name was Rias—the successor of the Gremory House of the Seventy-Two Pillars, Sona's childhood friend and closest confidante, and the hidden queen of the academy.
Behind this "Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess" stood another girl whose beauty matched hers—long black hair tied in a high ponytail, gentle expression, elegant posture, radiating the aura of a perfect Yamato nadeshiko.
Bringing this lovely girl with her, Rias had come to the student council office for tea with her best friend.
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