The greatest difference between the Human World and the Underworld lay in the fact that the Underworld had no moon at night, while the Human World featured a silver moon hanging high in the sky, adding a great deal of aesthetic beauty out of thin air.
It was a rather cool night. Gusts of night wind blew one after another, causing many pedestrians to wrap their clothes tightly around themselves and quicken their pace toward home.
Of course, a night wind of this intensity was merely a comfortable breeze for devils like Leon and Ravel. Even as they stood atop a skyscraper, their clothes and hair fluttering violently in the wind, they felt no chill at all.
"It's a beautiful night. I wonder if things will go smoothly."
Standing on the edge of the rooftop, Leon gazed at the moon while letting his hair and clothes whip about, his expression full of leisure.
Beside him, Ravel also stood on the very edge—a place where a single step would lead to a fall. One hand pressed down her skirt while the other held her hair in place as she spoke to Leon.
"Why are we waiting for Kaguya Shinomiya here?" Ravel asked, sounding somewhat puzzled.
"Didn't you say that the road below is the path Kaguya Shinomiya takes home from school every day?" Leon gestured toward the road below with his chin, his hands in his pockets, looking composed and unhurried.
"But there's no need to wait on the road, is there?" Ravel was still confused. "If Lord Leon wants to see Kaguya Shinomiya, couldn't we just go directly to her home?"
The main residence of the Shinomiya family was filled with experts, with exorcists led by the Five Great Clans stationed there year-round. However, Kaguya Shinomiya did not live in the main house; she lived in a detached western-style mansion far away from the main estate.
Given Kaguya's circumstances, if she lived in the main house, she would likely have numerous conflicts with the family members, who didn't particularly care for her either. Consequently, after entering high school, Kaguya had moved out of the main residence.
And in that detached mansion of hers, there weren't nearly as many experts.
Therefore—
"You think I should just barge right in?" Leon glanced at Ravel and smiled.
"Shouldn't it be that way?" Though Ravel was curious, she spoke as if it were a matter of course. "With Lord Leon's strength, as long as you don't encounter a Super Devil-class existence, you have unimpeded passage here. Forget Kaguya Shinomiya's house—you could even barge into the Shinomiya main estate, couldn't you?"
"With a single command from Lord Leon, even the Shinomiya family and the Five Great Clans wouldn't be willing to trouble you over a mere treasure."
"So, there's no problem even if you don't meet Kaguya Shinomiya. As long as you make the Shinomiya family submit, you can easily achieve your goal."
Hearing Ravel's words, Leon gave her a long, deep look.
At this moment, Leon recalled a comment Lady Phenex had made about her daughter in the original story:
"Ravel's true nature is 'Domination'—the path of ruling the world through force and intellect. It is a path where resentment is easily generated."
Indeed, despite the young lady's beautiful, delicate appearance and exceptionally good proportions, deep down, she was a very willful and proud conqueror.
In the original story, after becoming the protagonist's servant and core strategist, Ravel supported the entire team with her brilliant tactics and strategic talent. However, her style of operation was always known for its "domination." She excelled at formulating aggressive strategies to turn the tide of battle, making her the polar opposite of the cautious and meticulous Sona Sitri.
Because of this, Lady Phenex had given the original protagonist a piece of advice:
"If you rely entirely on Ravel, you will surely fall into the path of domination. You must not make a mistake in how you steer her."
Thinking of this, Leon felt like complaining internally.
Great. She didn't give me any advice at all, making me almost forget about this.
If Ravel hadn't suddenly revealed her true nature, Leon might have been deceived by this well-behaved and obedient young lady.
What Leon didn't know was that Lady Phenex hadn't forgotten to remind him; she had simply chosen not to.
She could see that while Leon appeared casual, cynical, and loose, he was actually very independent and self-centered. He was not easily influenced by others.
Specifically regarding negative influences, Leon seemed naturally insulated from them. Or rather, he had his own code of conduct that simply couldn't be permeated.
Others relied on rock-solid willpower to resist the influence and temptation of others to remain true to themselves. Leon was different. He wasn't a rock; he was cotton. He seemed light and easy to handle, but he could actually bounce back any force, remaining true to his essence.
He had indeed "let himself go" after becoming a devil, but what he let go was his personality, not his humanity.
He wanted to enjoy life and freedom, but not at the cost of sacrificing others. He might perform minor self-serving acts with the mindset of a prank, but if something was too malicious, he would feel uncomfortable doing it. Otherwise, back in the day, so many terrible people wouldn't have been "humanely destroyed" by him immediately after summoning him.
Though Lady Phenex had only met Leon once, she had studied him thoroughly beforehand. Knowing what kind of person he was, she didn't feel the need to give a deliberate warning.
She felt that even her own daughter would find it hard to influence the free-spirited Leon. And with Leon's strong personality, she wasn't afraid he would be unable to control Ravel.
Leon, unaware of this, continued to complain in his mind while his face remained unchanged.
"Do you know about the time we were attacked by the Old Satan Faction?" Leon suddenly brought the matter up.
"Of course." Ravel was slightly startled. "The news of you, Lady Rias, and Lady Sona being attacked by the Old Satan Faction in the Human World, and how you turned the tide and defeated the attackers, has long since spread among the nobles. Only idiots like my brother would ignore it."
—Did she just casually insult her own brother?
Well, Riser was indeed a fool.
"The leader of that incident was a remnant of the Trix House. He led members of the Old Satan Faction in a direct assault on Kuoh Academy, never even considering that he might fail." Leon looked at Ravel. "Because he felt that with his strength, he already had us in the palm of his hand."
Hearing this, Ravel's pupils constricted slightly. How could she not know what Leon was trying to say?
"There are many powerful beings in this world. Even Lord Sirzechs and the others, known as Satans, actually possess strength far exceeding the Satan-class. To say nothing of the entire world."
Leon's voice traveled into Ravel's ears on the night wind.
"Even among the Top 10 strongest in the world, many God-class beings can't even make the list. Within the Three Great Factions alone, there are plenty of Satan-class existences."
"In our Devil World, aside from the Four Great Satans, those ranked at the top of the Rating Games have Satan-class strength, not to mention the ancient elders of various families who may still be alive today."
"Heaven has many top-tier angels led by the Four Seraphim. The Fallen Angels' Grigori also has the Governor-General, the Vice Governor-General, and the Six Cadres. All of them likely possess Satan-class strength."
"There's also the Old Satan Faction, the Hero Faction, the Church... none of these forces lack Satan-class combat power."
"So, do you really think I have the strength to pass through here unimpeded?"
Leon's counter-question left Ravel in deep thought. She actually wanted to say yes. After all, even if there were many experts in the world and Satan-class beings in every faction, how could those big shots just randomly appear here?
Moreover, Leon, who had already achieved the Balance Breaker of "Zenith Tempest" could hold his own even if he encountered such people. Why the need for such caution?
If he really couldn't win, he could just retreat. Could the opponent actually stop him? That would be underestimating an eight-winged High-class Devil and the world's second-strongest Longinus far too much.
As long as an existence above the Super Devil-class didn't intervene, or a multitude of Satan-class beings didn't surround him, Leon could go anywhere in the vast world with his strength.
But Ravel knew that this wasn't the answer Leon wanted to hear.
She knew how strong he was, and as the person himself, Leon knew his own strength even better. He wasn't arrogant, but he wasn't self-deprecating either; he didn't think he needed to fear a mere Shinomiya family.
Even if the Five Great Clans sent out all their elites, he wouldn't be afraid. At most, he just wouldn't be able to do anything to them. He could easily manage a composed retreat. So what was there to fear?
But not being afraid didn't mean he could ignore the threats.
"Strength is just confidence; it is a means to achieve a goal, not a reason for blind self-assurance," Leon said slowly. "Before fully understanding the enemy's methods, any accident is possible. Even if the probability of that accident is extremely low, walking into it voluntarily only makes one look stupid."
"The fact that the Five Great Clans have been able to hold this land as humans proves they indeed have methods."
"The fact that the Shinomiya family can associate with the Five Great Clans and have them protect them is also not simple."
"Don't be deceived by what is shown on the surface."
"So, rather than taking a risk at the Shinomiya main estate, why not have a little more patience and try a simpler method?"
"..."
Leon's implication was clear: there was no need to deliberately show off. Since the Tablet of Destiny was in Kaguya Shinomiya's hands, they only needed to contact her in secret.
As for the reason for waiting by the road, it was simple. Leon felt that Kaguya's home might not necessarily be devoid of other forces.
If he remembered correctly, in Kaguya Shinomiya's story, her father didn't actually not care for her. Rather, he was afraid she wasn't his biological daughter—afraid she wasn't the crystallization of love between him and the person he loved most, and afraid his beloved had been involved with another man. Thus, he didn't dare to approach Kaguya or even do a DNA test, leading Kaguya to misunderstand him.
His outward indifference was also to protect her. If he showed that he cared too much, countless people would target her and bring her danger.
Under such circumstances, Leon didn't believe Kaguya only had Ai Hayasaka as a guard. Perhaps, in Kaguya's home, there was a group of people she didn't even know about guarding her.
While Leon wasn't particularly afraid even if he encountered them, the question remained: why not use a simpler method? Waiting for the target to come to him on a main road was better than running into someone's house to be ambushed.
This wasn't caution; it was simply a logical choice after weighing the pros and cons.
"I understand, Lord Leon." Ravel thought for a moment, then nodded and accepted Leon's explanation.
But looking at Ravel's expression, Leon knew that while she had listened to his words, she didn't think there was anything wrong with the approach she had advocated. In her view, it was justifiable for Leon to choose a simpler method, but it would have worked just as well if he hadn't. Since that was the case, where was her error?
If it were up to her, she would still feel that ruling the world through force and intellect was the most natural thing to do.
"I hope you truly understand." Leon didn't expect Ravel to grasp it all at once.
He wasn't a protagonist with a maxed-out aura; he didn't think he had some heaven-defying "Talk-no-Jutsu" that could easily convince others. But he wasn't worried, because he felt this kind of thing could be done slowly, like a gentle rain soaking the soil. Once Ravel was deeply influenced by him and the people around him, her thinking would naturally shift.
He had plenty of time and plenty of patience. Slow and steady would do.
"Well then, it's time to get down to business." Leon turned his gaze toward one end of the road.
There, a luxury limousine drove toward them at an unknown time. Judging by the Spirit of Ecstasy on the hood, the person inside was either rich or noble—definitely someone of unusual status.
"That should be the car, Lord Leon." Ravel also made the correct deduction, pointing at the limousine.
"Yes, the target is in the car." Leon's magic detection had already spread out. He raised an eyebrow and let out a faint smile. "As expected, nothing should be taken at face value."
He had already discovered the unusual nature of their surroundings.
"Then I shall take the lead, Lord Leon," Ravel said, clearly lacking Leon's detection abilities.
"Mm, go ahead." Leon also wanted to see Ravel's capabilities and nodded.
Ravel gave a charming smile, and her eyes began to burn with fire. This was her first battle since joining the Eligos peerage and serving Leon. She had to—perform well.
Thus, a pair of blazing fire wings unfolded behind Ravel. They weren't the wings of a devil, but those of a Phoenix.
Members of the Phenex family were different from other devils. Because they presided over fire and were more adept at using it for combat, they didn't like using devil wings to fly. Instead, they preferred wings composed of flames.
With her fiery wings spread, Ravel jumped off the building, transforming into a streak of fire as she flew toward the limousine.