"What a surprise. Manager Ren actually came to me for once!"
Rias looked genuinely surprised to see him, curiosity sparkling in her eyes.
Her relationship with Ren wasn't exactly close, but not distant either.
Mostly, their connection relied on Koneko and Asia.
Honestly, Koneko was the only one who had a good relationship with Ren.
Rias had to rely on her relationship with Koneko and Asia to stay in touch with him.
That's why she was shocked Ren had taken the initiative to visit.
"Mr. Ren, please have some tea."
After arriving at the Occult Research Club room with Sona, who had gone to notify her sister per her promise, Ren was welcomed by the others.
Akeno served him tea with a gentle smile.
Ren took a small sip and smiled.
He didn't really know much about tea, but a compliment was always safe.
"Miss Akeno makes excellent tea. Interested in working part-time at my shop?"
"My, such a direct offer, Mr. Ren."
"Of course. I always speak my mind. You can name your terms."
"That's almost impossible to refuse."
Akeno's elegant demeanor and warm smile made her seem like the perfect traditional lady.
Most people wouldn't suspect she had a sadistic side.
Rias rubbed her temples. Even though she knew Akeno was just playing along, she still felt exhausted.
"Manager Ren, is it really okay to poach my people like that?"
"Well, weren't you trying to recruit Asia to become a devil? This is just reciprocity."
"Asia won't agree to it, and you know it."
"And you know Miss Akeno is just being polite, don't you?"
Rias: "…"
Fine. She admitted she couldn't outtalk Ren.
Helpless, Rias quickly changed the subject.
"So what brings you to the Occult Research Club, Mr. Ren?"
"I brought Kuro to visit Koneko, and Asia to visit you. Since you've been busy, you probably haven't had time to visit. Asia said she missed her Rias-neesan."
"Mm…"
Hearing that, Asia shyly lowered her head and glanced toward Rias.
"Rias-neesan, I hope I'm not interrupting anything…"
"Not at all. I've told you—you're always welcome here."
Rias gently patted Asia's head, her face full of warmth.
Seeing this, Ren stayed silent and turned toward Koneko and Kuroka.
The moment Kuroka saw Koneko, she leapt from Ren's arms.
She nuzzled into Koneko's embrace, curling up like she'd just been through a lot.
Her pitiful act made Koneko glance toward Ren—just what kind of hardships had she endured with him to look like this?
Ren just sighed and shook his head helplessly.
"Kuroka, aren't you afraid that once you recover, your little sister will keep replaying all your cute and clingy antics in front of her?"
But thinking about Kuroka's shameless nature, Ren wasn't surprised at all.
When people are truly shameless, they're invincible. This girl had the nerve to start flirting openly in front of a group of people — what would she be embarrassed about?
No way, right?
"Alright, alright, it's fine now..."
Koneko kept petting Kuroka who was curled up in her arms, even offering her some of her snacks.
This surprised Akeno and the others nearby. Koneko was always very protective of her snacks. Even when Akeno, also part of the club president's entourage, sneakily took a bite, Koneko would give her an intensely resentful look for several minutes.
It seemed Koneko really liked this black cat.
Kuroka took a bite of the snack Koneko offered her. It satisfied her hunger, sure, but an odd expression still crept onto her face — the kind you make when you instinctively want to complain but force yourself to endure.
Koneko noticed the expression and subtly frowned.
"As expected... has Kuro been spoiled by Manager's food?"
These past few days, while Kuroka hadn't visited, Koneko had secretly tried some of the cat food Ren left behind.
She had seen her familiar sneaking over there whenever it could, and out of curiosity over how good the stuff must be, she took a bite herself. She had to admit, what Ren made was extraordinary — not only did it satisfy the taste buds, but it also provided a noticeable boost in strength.
With that kind of dual enjoyment, ordinary snacks just seemed... low quality.
"Meow meow meow meow meow~~~"
Sensing her little sister's mild dissatisfaction, Kuroka quickly tried to explain herself.
But before she could get another word in, Koneko unleashed her ultimate move: aggressive head-pats, completely cutting Kuroka off.
"Mmm~ meow~~~"
Kuroka's expression immediately melted into one of enjoyment.
She had to admit, her little sister really understood her after all this time.
This was dangerous... her sister now had a handle on her...
But Kuroka didn't want to think about any of that right now.
Wasn't it nice to just quietly lie in her sister's arms and relax?
"Yooohooooooooo——!"
Suddenly, a lively voice rang throughout the Occult Research Club, startling Kuroka awake.
Ren helplessly shook his head and quietly sipped his tea.
A blur of motion burst into the clubroom, her face full of excitement.
"Ren, you're finally here! Levi-tan missed you so much while you were gone!"
Serafall said these ambiguous words without a hint of shame, planting herself right next to Ren with a look of glee.
Behind her, Sona was so mortified she looked like she wanted to dig a hole in the clubroom floor and hide in it.
Sis, you're a maou. Can you act with some dignity?
Rias and the others stared at Ren with strange expressions.
So... had Ren and Serafall already gotten that close?
Especially Koneko — her gaze was the oddest of them all.
Understanding her thoughts, Ren simply pulled out a set of manga and handed them to her.
Sure enough, Serafall looked like she'd just been given a treasure, hugging it tightly with delight.
"Hehe... as expected from Ren! You finished this in just a few days!"
Of course, even after receiving her gift, Serafall didn't forget her purpose.
"By the way, Ren, what brings you here today? I heard from Rias that you rarely leave your shop. Did you come just to deliver manga to Levi-tan? Hehe... You don't have to go through the trouble anymore. I'll give you Sona's address in the human world. Just come directly there next time. Her house is big — you can even stay the night if you're tired. Then you can tell me magical girl stories all night and empty your brain for me!"
Ren: "..."
So this is the real Leviathan?
Sona: "..."
Sis! You're a Maou! Have some dignity!
Rias and the others: "..."
The rumors about Leviathan being a flake... totally true.
Ren cleared his throat to break the strange mood.
"Actually... I came here to say that I'm planning to leave Kuoh Town for a while. I may not return for some time. During that period, I plan to leave Kuro in Koneko's care. I'll also leave Fou here. Asia will help take care of her. If possible, I'd like to ask you to check on the shop when you have time."
The room fell silent.