"Fia-sis, are you sure you don't want to come with me to the human world?"
"I still have a few matters to wrap up. Once they're done, I'll join you."
After bidding Grayfia farewell, Kaiser gathered his luggage and left the castle.
Soon enough, he arrived at a vast, open station.
It bore some resemblance to a human-world train depot.
A sleek train with sharp angles and intricate demonic runes etched across its surface sat waiting on the tracks.
"Pretty modern for the Underworld."
Kaiser muttered with a wry smile.
This train, of course, was bound for the human world.
Normally, any devil proficient in teleportation magic could travel freely between the realms with the right coordinates.
But since this was Kaiser's first trip, he had to go through official channels—anything else would count as illegal entry and invite unnecessary complications.
Grayfia had already handled the paperwork, naturally.
All he needed to do was follow procedure.
...
Toot—!
The train's whistle blared.
Seated in first class, Kaiser turned his gaze from the rippling void outside the window and began sorting through his belongings.
He didn't have much in the way of personal items.
Most of what he carried was tailored for life in the human world.
"Let's see... this should be the address of the apartment Fia-sis bought for me. At least housing is taken care of."
"But the allowance is pretty skimpy..."
Kaiser glanced at his wallet, lips twitching slightly.
He'd tried asking for more, but Grayfia—under the guise of teaching him to adapt to human life—had nearly halved even this modest sum.
"Good thing I'm a devil. If push comes to shove, I can always 'borrow' a little from some scumbags. I'm sure they won't mind."
Worrying about money in his previous life had been bad enough.
Doing it again after reincarnating as a devil would just be pathetic.
An hour later, Kaiser stepped off the train and rode the elevator upward.
The Underworld station was built directly beneath its human-world counterpart.
Though separated by mere distance, ordinary humans could never detect it.
Stumbling into it by accident was practically impossible.
Emerging from the station, Kaiser began wandering the streets.
Kuoh Town might technically be a town, but its sprawling size rivaled that of a full city.
As expected, the overall scale of this fused world was several times larger than the one he'd known before.
He'd originally planned a little "wealth redistribution" from the undeserving rich.
But for whatever reason—bad luck, perhaps—he couldn't spot a single worthwhile target.
"Hm?"
Just as he prepared to head home, Kaiser's eyes narrowed.
On his panel, the Devil Contract skill pulsed faintly.
"Looks like my luck isn't all bad."
He murmured to himself, extending his senses outward.
Moments later, his expression brightened. "Found it."
In a flash, his figure vanished from sight.
"A g-ghost...!"
Nearby pedestrians caught a glimpse and recoiled in terror, sweat beading on their foreheads despite the bright sun overhead.
...
"Excuse me, could you let me pass?"
Shiho Miyano frowned deeply at the four students blocking her path—each sporting heavy dark circles under their eyes, as if they hadn't slept in days.
The alley was narrow, and with all four standing shoulder-to-shoulder, she had no way through.
At her words, the students froze for a second—then let out excited, guttural growls.
"You can see us?"
"You really see me?"
"This is perfect."
"I'm going to devour her—don't any of you get in my way."
Their once-handsome faces twisted into grotesque snarls, mouths splitting unnaturally wide to the backs of their ears, radiating malevolent energy.
"Th-this..."
Shiho instinctively took a step back.
Even she could tell something was horribly wrong now.
Almost on reflex, she spun around to flee.
Thud!
A muffled impact stopped her as she collided with someone's chest.
Her body stiffened, despair flooding through her.
It was over.
There were monsters behind her—and now one in front.
"No need to panic. I'm here to help."
Kaiser wrapped one arm around her waist to steady her, preventing a fall, while casually flicking his free hand.
Boom!
A crimson flash erupted as a beam of demonic energy tore through the air, engulfing the four cursed spirits.
The resulting explosion sent turbulent gusts whipping through the alley, lifting Shiho's skirt in fluttering waves.
"Aaahhh...!"
Their piercing shrieks echoed briefly before the spirits disintegrated into ash.
[Experience +4]
Kaiser raised an eyebrow at the notification.
His status panel really did feel like something ripped from a cheap browser game.
"Still, even weak cursed spirits giving experience at my level isn't bad."
He nodded to himself.
If this kept up, he might be able to grind his way to rapid growth.
Shiho stared in stunned silence, her voice trembling as she spoke. "Wh-what were those things?"
"Low-level cursed spirits."
Kaiser explained calmly. "They usually only attack people who can see them."
"Then... are you some kind of psychic?"
Hope flickered in Shiho's eyes as a veil lifted from her view of the world, revealing its hidden mysteries.
If that were true, maybe even the Black Organization wouldn't be untouchable.
Could she ask for his help?
Why is she suddenly so excited?
Kaiser studied her more closely, then felt his eyelid twitch.
No wonder she qualified as a servant candidate.
It was Shiho Miyano.
He hoped the timelines in this fused world hadn't gone completely haywire.
After a moment's thought, he relaxed—nothing seemed too out of place.
"Unfortunately, I'm no psychic."
Undeterred, Shiho pressed on eagerly. "An exorcist, then? Or a sorcerer?"
"Neither."
Kaiser shook his head, a playful edge to his voice. "Allow me to introduce myself."
"My name is Kaiser. And my race... is devil."
"D-devil?"
Shiho's mouth fell open, her mind struggling to process it.
The young man before her looked entirely human—how could he possibly be a devil?
"You don't seem convinced."
Kaiser smiled faintly. A pair of sleek, bat-like demonic wings unfurled from his back.
Whoosh!
The rush of air darkened the alley as an eerie, oppressive aura enveloped everything.
"..."
Shiho's pupils shrank to pinpricks.
Her entire worldview had just been shattered.
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