Chapter 5: Esther
Every time she recalled it, Rias felt a mix of emotions.
Her Pawns were her friends, even family—unlike other devils who treated their Pawns as subordinates or tools to be used arbitrarily.
But Renga's words had left her utterly perplexed.
Fortunately, she later learned that her friend Sona Sitri had also recognized Renga's talent and sent her Queen to recruit him, only to be similarly rejected.
"Let's continue observing him for now, and maintain contact regularly," Rias sighed.
"By the way, Rias, when are we planning to take action against those fallen angels who sneaked in?"
As Akeno spoke, the warmth in her eyes faded, even radiating a hint of killing intent.
Rias declared decisively.
...
Meanwhile.
While Rias and Akeno Himejima were having their nighttime discussion, the murderer they mentioned, Renga, had long returned home.
His residence was a single-family villa, quite spacious by Japanese standards.
Currently, he was the only one living there.
The other occupant wasn't human.
When Renga threw down his backpack, a silver light suddenly leaped from his body. As the radiance shimmered, the shape of a sword gradually manifested and quickly transformed into the form of a young girl.
Silver hair, jade-like skin, and a petite figure that made her look like she was in elementary school.
The girl's name was Esther.
When Renga first obtained her, he had been quite shocked. While other transmigrators received either equipment or girls as gifts, his case combined both into one package.
"You worked hard today too, Esther."
Renga smiled gently, his tone filled with tenderness as he reached out to stroke Esther's warm little head.
"As long as I can help brother, it's no trouble at all."
From the moment she first appeared, Esther came with maximum affection, obeying Renga's every word in almost everything.
Except for those black thigh-high stockings.
Even Renga couldn't force Esther to take off her stockings.
Other than that, she didn't mind being completely naked elsewhere.
Though aware of Esther's peculiar preference, Renga hadn't been entirely comfortable with it when they first started living together.
But as time passed and years went by, the two had developed remarkable tacit understanding.
In public, they presented themselves as siblings.
Despite one having black hair and the other silver, in this comprehensive anime world, hair color didn't determine blood relations between siblings.
After all, didn't a certain father's two daughters, Marina and Eri, have different hair colors while still being biological sisters?
"Brother, what would you like to eat tonight?"
Esther spoke with an expressionless face, appearing as lifeless as a machine.
But Renga had long grown accustomed to her personality. Esther only seemed cold, she was far from being truly emotionless.
She possessed all the emotions and feelings of an ordinary person, just expressed differently.
"Let's have steamed buns tonight. We still have the filling I prepared yesterday."
Renga said.
His "Heaven Rewards Diligence" ability made him exceptionally skilled at many things.
Where ordinary people struggled to master culinary arts, Renga needed only two and a half months to rival Michelin chefs.
Beyond that, he had reached the pinnacle of human achievement in painting, singing, writing, driving, boxing, and other areas.
Even masters long renowned in their respective fields couldn't compare to him.
Yet Renga never showed off.
After all, equipped with cheats and having trained since childhood for several years now, compared to those born with silver spoons in their mouths, he didn't have much worth boasting about.
He was only slightly stronger than ordinary people, just by a tiny bit.
After hearing they were making steamed buns, Esther's eyes narrowed into slits as she followed Renga to the kitchen to help.
After wrapping the buns, they steamed them for about forty minutes.
"So hot..."
Esther placed the steaming white bun into her mouth and took a gentle bite.
However, being sensitive to heat, she soon opened her mouth to puff out air. Renga watched her fondly and handed her a glass of cold water.
Seeing Esther so adorable, a relaxed expression surfaced in Renga's eyes.
The journey through dimensions was particularly lonely. Moreover, Renga had never intentionally revealed himself in the past. For someone who lived alone at home, Esther's arrival undoubtedly brought much light into his life.
Especially at night, when this silver-haired loli would actively take human form to warm his bed and could only fall asleep while holding him—this made Renga's heart feel brighter. Thus, he never treated Esther as a weapon but rather as a true younger sister.
At the dining table.
Noticing Esther secretly spitting out some of the filling, Renga spoke helplessly, "Picky eating isn't a good habit. Eating a little ginger in the filling is beneficial."
"Mmm... alright."
Esther nodded expressionlessly, then pinched her nose and swallowed the ginger-filled portion as if drinking poison.
Seeing her like this, Renga found it amusing. "When I didn't add ginger before, you insisted that I should."
"Because without ginger, the flavor becomes different."
"Alright, rest early after eating. I have classes tomorrow."
"Mm."