Hearing Takumi's bluntly perverted statement, Mio Naruse's face turned crimson with shame. Maria Naruse, however, smiled knowingly.
"Hehe~ Takumi-nii, great minds think alike. Little sisters are meant to be trained, aren't they? Living like that must be amazing."
"H-hey!!! Maria, what are you even saying?!"
Mio screamed in embarrassment at her "sister" echoing such words. But Maria, putting on a serious look, replied. "When siblings live together, isn't it the sister's duty to serve? That's a very important job."
"Exactly~"
Takumi silently agreed, nodding along with Maria's perverse logic. As expected of a succubus—her tastes matched his perfectly.
"No! No!! This isn't the time to be talking about such things!"
Mio's head was spinning, but as she looked around at the like-minded Takumi and Maria, her eyes landed on the fallen Raynare. "The real issue here is this Fallen Angel! And our current situation… I need to be honest."
Pointing at Raynare, she spilled everything about her circumstances. Mio hated dragging others into her mess, and she hated deceiving people. Since Takumi already knew, she laid it all out.
When she finished, she breathed a long sigh of relief. "We'll leave soon. We won't trouble you further."
"Mio-sama…" Maria's chest tightened at her mistress's resolute tone.
Takumi, however, raised a hand, gesturing for Mio to sit. "I never told you to leave, so why rush? Didn't I just say, having two little sisters is pretty nice? And as for your lineage problem—I can lend a hand. But first… Maria, go make dinner."
Handing her a bag of groceries, he ended the matter simply. Maria blinked in surprise, then broke into a bright smile, happily carrying the bags into the kitchen.
Once Mio was seated, Takumi turned his eyes toward Raynare, who was slowly regaining consciousness. "Maria probably told you already, Mio—you're a fat prize."
His gaze drifted toward her full chest, and he smirked. The comparison felt very apt.
Mio paled, but Takumi continued. "Even though Fallen Angels have fallen, they're still of the light. Killing demons earns them points. As a stray high-blood demon without the Gremory clan's protection, you're prime prey. Other demon factions will hunt you too. If I let you go out there now, it's the same as sending you to die."
The weight of his words sank heavily in her chest. Not only demons, but now Fallen Angels too—did she really have no way out?
Just as despair began to smother her, a hand rested on her shoulder. Takumi patted her gently. "Relax. I haven't abandoned you, have I? For now, I'll protect you. No need to be so down."
Looking at his smiling face, Mio froze, then trembled as she asked. "Why… why protect someone like me? I have nothing to do with you. You don't need to risk yourself."
"Why? Maybe it's because I want you. Is that reason enough?"
He pinched his chin, tossing out the line casually.
Mio's carefully built emotions crumbled on the spot. "Y-you pervert! I'll kill you a hundred times, you degenerate!"
Shame and anger twisted her up as she pounded her fists lightly against his chest, before burying her face against him. "Uuu… thank you, Takumi. Thank you for saving me…"
All the fear and bitterness she'd bottled up spilled out in sobs. Takumi stroked her red hair, comforting her silently. Of course, it wasn't just her body he wanted. There were practical reasons, too—every Fallen Angel or demon drawn by her presence became his prey. That was far more convenient than hunting them down himself.
And besides, he knew very well where the Gremory heiress was now. With Kuoh Academy's new term starting soon, bringing Mio along would be perfect. If luck was on his side, maybe he could even earn the Gremory family's favor. From every angle, keeping Mio was a profitable investment.
Maria poked her head from the kitchen, grinning. "Takumi-nii, you really are a perverted good guy~ Don't worry, I'll help you capture Mio-sama's heart."
"Maria!!!"
Face burning scarlet, Mio shot out of his embrace, glaring furiously. Maria only darted back into the kitchen, giggling.
When she returned with fragrant dishes, her eyes flicked toward the bound Raynare sprawled on the floor. "Takumi-nii, why keep that Fallen Angel alive? Why not kill her outright?"
"Wha—!?"
Raynare's eyes bulged, shaking her head frantically. She didn't want to die!
Takumi ate a few bites of rice before answering calmly. "Alive, she's more useful. She must have companions. Better to use her to lure them out. Besides, there are questions to ask."
"Makes sense." Maria nodded, then her eyes glimmered with mischief. "But Takumi-nii, instead of interrogation, I have a better method."
Her devilish grin made Raynare's blood run cold. Something was very, very wrong.
She twisted her voluptuous body desperately, but the ropes held tight, leaving her struggles as nothing but a tantalizing show in Takumi's eyes.
Then Maria began tracing a magic circle on the floor. "This is our succubus clan's ancestral [Master-Servant Contract Magic]. Once the pact is sealed, she'll have no choice but to confess everything."
She then turned to Mio, who had been quietly watching. "Mio-sama, why don't you also form one with Takumi-nii? The contract lets you sense each other at a distance. If you're separated and something happens, it'll help you regroup quickly."
Mio hesitated. "Can't we just… not split up? If we must, we could just use phone GPS…"
But Maria cut her off at once. "Mio-sama, that's far too naive! Phones can die, break, or fail at the worst time. Blind trust in modern tech will only lead to regret!"
Overwhelmed by Maria's torrent of words, Mio's resolve wavered. She glanced shyly at Takumi—then finally, with a small nod, gave her consent.
...
If we reach 100 Power Stones this week, I'll release a mass drop of 10 chapters as a thank-you for your amazing support!