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After leaving Amaterasu and Sita in the Otherworld, Hiro returned to the human world through the passage opened by the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi.
A sweep of his Haki immediately told him that Seishuuin Ena and Mariya Yuri were together, likely having some private girl talk.
He had no interest in that.
Turning his gaze to the silver-haired maid, who looked exactly the same as when he had left, Hiro maintained the passage behind him and asked calmly, "Grayfia, how long were we gone?"
"About two minutes."
Two minutes.
Then there was basically no time difference.
Having confirmed that, Hiro didn't rush to claim the "6" hovering above Seishuuin Ena's head.
Instead, he waved at Grayfia.
Is he going to entrust me with another precious item?
Grayfia stepped forward, the thought unconsciously surfacing.
"I picked up a few things in the Otherworld that should suit you. I'll give them to you first. You can sort out the rest yourself. They come with instructions anyway."
As he spoke, Hiro prepared to transfer the items to Grayfia the same way he had before.
Physical contact wasn't strictly necessary.
But considering his previous actions, he didn't plan to skip it.
Slap.
This time, however, his hand was caught precisely before it could reach her.
"Hm?"
Meeting his steady brown eyes, Grayfia's expression remained completely calm.
"Hiro-sama. The gifts you've given me these past few days are already enough for me to defeat Sirzechs, Ajuka, and Serafall all at once and end the Devil Civil War by myself."
"Having reached this level, Grayfia is satisfied and dares not ask for more."
For your sake, I will join the rebels, become the new Lucifer, and continue serving you as Grayfia Lucifer.
She kept that part to herself.
"..."
Hiro glanced at his right wrist, still held by Grayfia.
He fell silent for a moment, unsure where to even begin.
"Grayfia."
"Yes."
Looking directly into her gray pupils, Hiro asked with a hint of helplessness, "Do you think I sacrificed something to give you all this?"
"I didn't realize you had such a romance-novel mindset."
"I agree with the statement that I do not possess a romance-novel mindset," Grayfia replied evenly.
"Then what about the first part?"
"Grayfia has no way to repay the Master's generosity."
...Alright. I get it.
Hiro shook his head, unsure how to comment on her sense of restraint.
She was clearly thinking for his sake, telling him not to waste effort on a maid.
But abilities like Telepathy-whose maximum range was shorter than his Kenbunshoku Haki-were basically useless to him now.
As for long-distance voice transmission, wasn't that something Mental Out could already handle?
After the materialization of his soul, his original perception range of just over two kilometers had expanded several hundredfold.
Standing here in northern Tokyo, he could already sense the southwesternmost edge.
That was at least a thousand kilometers in a straight line.
And it was still growing.
His once-beginner-level Kenbunshoku Haki, boosted by soul materialization, had jumped straight into advanced-almost top-tier-territory.
The only regret was that it still hadn't reached the level of future prediction.
But combining Enel's Mantra with Mental Out wouldn't be difficult.
"In that case, we'll leave it for now."
With a helpless smile, Hiro stopped arguing.
Grayfia nodded silently, released his wrist, and retreated to the doorway.
Tap.
Footsteps sounded behind him.
Amaterasu returned from the Otherworld.
"Amaterasu, you came back at the right time. Come with me into the city. We're looking for someone."
"Yes."
The blonde, blue-eyed girl nodded lightly.
"Grayfia, stay here and look after Yuri."
Taking the blonde girl's small hand again, Hiro gave his instructions.
"Understood."
Leaving Grayfia behind to guard his Hime Miko, Hiro led his "sister" into the city, bathed in the evening glow.
Among the flowing crowd, Hiro-still holding Amaterasu's hand-quickly spotted a white-haired girl standing at a busy intersection, her expression blank yet curious.
Judging by her appearance alone, she looked around thirteen or fourteen.
About the same age as Yuri Amaterasu beside him.
"Kasugaya Shizuri Castiella."
"What a strange name. Which country is she even from?"
Hiro glanced at the top of her head with his blue pupils and muttered inwardly.
As they waited for the light, he searched his memory and soon recalled her true identity.
One of the survivors of the Itogami Island Demonic Zone collapse that happened five or six years before the start of the Strike the Blood storyline.
Her actual age was twenty.
She had stopped aging six years ago after using her power to maintain the barrier of the virtual space, Engi Island.
Her weapon was the demonic sword Honoikazuchi, inherited from her benefactor, Shina Kasugaya.
I see. Another character from a different world.
"That girl..."
"She doesn't seem human."
Amaterasu's emerald eyes followed the girl as she spoke softly.
"Hm. She should be an Oni girl."
Hiro thought briefly before answering.
Though now that I think about it, does this world even have Oni?
"I see."
Fortunately, Amaterasu didn't question it, saving him the trouble of explaining.
Beep.
The light turned green.
Hiro led Amaterasu toward the girl, his expression subtly strange.
In the anime from my previous life, the title of Castiella's arc was The Knight of Heat Haze.
If she's the only Oni girl in the entire knight order...
Does that make her the Princess of Heat Haze?
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