"Do you believe in devils?"
The sudden question echoed softly through the midday classroom, shattering the quiet stillness that had lingered only moments before.
It was an ordinary classroom, stripped bare—no equipment, desks and chairs pushed aside to make space at the center.
There, facing each other across the empty room, sat a boy and a girl.
The girl had an elegant face and finely shaped features. Her skin was so pale it seemed translucent, her black hair falling past her shoulders like silk. She was, quite frankly, illegally beautiful—so much so that her cold perfection made people hesitate to even approach her.
She carried an air of mystery, an untouchable presence.
Her black uniform, white blouse, and crimson ribbon marked her as a student of Sōbu High. The plaid skirt and black thigh-highs with white trim made the ensemble both modest and striking. Red ribbons tied at either side of her hair added a splash of color to the monochrome, making her stand out effortlessly even in standard attire.
At that moment, the beautiful girl sat with a book resting on her knees, turning a page—while fixing the boy before her with the kind of look one might give an idiot.
The boy, however, was hardly ordinary himself. Handsome and sharp-eyed, wearing the same uniform, his tall, lean frame relaxed naturally in his seat. The faint glimpse of collarbone and muscle beneath his shirt gave off an effortless masculinity—one that could make a less composed girl unconsciously swallow.
Yet this very boy—the kind who could easily make hearts flutter—had just uttered words that made the girl instantly think he was mocking her.
"Are you kidding me, Leo-senpai?"
Her tone was direct, even rude, despite the honorific.
Leo didn't seem offended.
"So, the fact that you said that means you don't believe devils exist, right?"
He spoke as though savoring the conversation itself, a playful gleam lighting his eyes.
"Can I ask why, Yukinoshita Yukino?"
The moment he said her name, Yukino's expression cooled further. She was now completely certain he was toying with her.
"I have no interest in meaningless discussions," she said curtly. "If you came to the Service Club just to talk about unrealistic nonsense like that, please don't waste my time."
Her words were sharp enough to cut, but Leo only smiled faintly.
"Meaningless? Unrealistic? A waste of time?"
He chuckled softly. "Just as the rumors say—Yukinoshita-san really is arrogant."
Her face hardened; this was no longer mere disinterest, but true irritation.
"Should I take that as a personal insult?"
Her voice was cold, precise, and completely unbothered by the fact that she was speaking to an upperclassman.
"I'm only stating a fact." Leo crossed his arms and one leg over the other, regarding her leisurely. "When you declare a topic meaningless and unrealistic, what you're really saying is that it's beneath even your consideration. Even without saying it outright, your attitude makes it clear—you've dismissed the idea without thinking about it. Isn't that arrogance?"
He smiled faintly.
"When you instinctively reject, deny, and dismiss something outright… that is arrogance, isn't it?"
Yukino's brow creased. "That's sophistry," she said coolly. "Anyone hearing what you just said would respond the same way I did."
"See? That's arrogance again."
Leo's smile sharpened. "You're not everyone else, Yukinoshita. Why assume everyone would think like you? Did you ask anyone else? Hear their opinions? See anyone else react like this?"
He leaned forward slightly.
"No? Then what gives you the right to speak for them? Isn't it because you believe you're always the one who's right?"
"From the start, you've already placed yourself on the side of correctness. Honestly, you're even more arrogant than I thought."
Yukino's grip on her book tightened. Finally, unable to contain herself, she snapped it shut and mirrored his posture—arms crossed, legs folded.
"If this is your way of getting my attention," she said icily, "then congratulations. You've succeeded. This is the Service Club, a club founded to help those in need. If you came here because no one else would listen to you talk about… this sort of thing, fine. I'll hear you out."
Her tone turned razor-sharp.
"But let me warn you first, Leo Eligos-senpai. The Service Club may take requests to solve people's problems, but if someone tries to use that as an excuse to approach me with ulterior motives, I won't tolerate it. Keep that in mind."
Leo looked at her strangely for a moment—then laughed.
It was a quiet, meaningful laugh.
"Wait… Yukinoshita, you don't actually think I'm trying to pursue you, do you? That I brought up devils just to get your attention?"
That smile—bright, dazzling, the kind that would make most girls swoon—only struck Yukino as painfully irritating.
"So you're saying I'm being conceited?" she snapped. "Because your actions could only be interpreted that way."
Leo shook his head, sighing with amusement.
"Well, I suppose that's fair. When someone's convinced they're always right—when they dismiss others out of sheer arrogance—it's only natural they'd think that way. Especially if that person happens to have the looks and the brains to justify it."
He rose to his feet.
"Looks like there's no point continuing this. Sorry for wasting your time, Yukinoshita-san."
With that, he turned and started toward the door.
"Wait!" Yukino stood abruptly, anger flashing in her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean? Are you calling me an idiot?"
"You're getting emotional, Yukinoshita."
Leo stopped, glanced back at her furious expression, and smiled faintly.
"Don't misunderstand. I only meant it literally."
He met her gaze evenly.
"As long as you've never seen the truth of this world—so long as you cling to the values your seventeen years of schooling have taught you—talking any further would be pointless."
"So I'll wait. I'll wait until something happens that shatters everything you believe in. Then we can talk again."
With that calm declaration, Leo drew a small piece of parchment from his pocket and placed it on the desk beside her.
"Consider this payment for today's conversation. Keep it with you—it might be useful. Of course, you can throw it away. Do that, and our connection ends completely. You'll never have to deal with someone as suspicious as me again."
Then, for the first time, Leo looked at her with genuine depth in his eyes.
"One last thing, Yukinoshita-san."
"When a devil sets his sights on you, it's never because he wants to fall in love."
His voice dropped, quiet but certain.
"It's because he wants your soul."
"Remember that."
Turning her earlier warning back at her word for word, Leo opened the door and walked out of the Service Club room without a backward glance.
"What… was that guy's problem?"
Watching him leave, Yukinoshita Yukino trembled with barely contained fury.
Whether she remembered his words or not didn't matter—what mattered was that he had definitely been provoking her.
If not for her family's strict upbringing forbidding unladylike behavior, she might have stormed after him and shredded him with her tongue until he regretted ever speaking.
It took several deep breaths before she managed to calm herself. Then she stepped forward and picked up the sheet of paper he'd left behind.
It wasn't ordinary paper.
It was aged parchment—old, yellowed—and upon it was drawn a crimson magic circle that pulsed faintly under the light.
Seeing it only solidified her conclusion.
Leo Eligos, the third-year senior from Sōbu High—if he wasn't mocking her just to get close, then he was hopelessly delusional, trapped in some fantasy he couldn't escape.
A devil's purpose isn't to fall in love?
As if. Even if she went blind and jumped straight out that window, she'd never fall in love with a guy who calls himself a devil.
Meanwhile, the senior who had just provoked the proud Yukinoshita Yukino into swearing such an oath was climbing the stairs to the rooftop.
Along the way, students greeted him warmly, and he returned each greeting with a gentle smile—looking nothing like the defiant, sharp-tongued boy from before.
When he reached the rooftop and confirmed that no one else was around, he stretched lazily.
Snap.
In the next instant, a pair of jet-black wings—like those of a bat—unfurled from his back.
With a single flap, Leo Eligos rose into the air.
He had no horns, no tail—and yet, at that moment, he was every inch a devil.