23 Chapter 23

"You know this would happen didn't you?" Sona questioned, breaking the silence that had engulfed the two without hesitation. From the very moment she accepted his demands without a thought she fell under his control. He really was a good 'teacher'.

"I take it you've figured it out?" Damian asked for confirmation though it was obvious that he knew that she did. It was difficult not to after all. It was hard to miss the innate connection connecting your very soul and the object made from your essence itself.

"These are connected to my soul and you intended to use them as leverage." Sona explained seriously, calmly speaking of the trap she almost walked into. To begin with, it was obvious that Damian intended for her to realize. It was an inevitability after all.

"That's right. Have you made your decision?" Damian questioned her calmly, leisurely relaxing his head on his palm. Despite their social status being the exact opposite, he held the power in this situation.

However, he would admit that he would only show this side of him with Sona. While she wasn't quite at his level just yet she was smart enough to understand his meanings and humble enough to take her experiences with him seriously and learn from her mistakes. She was the ideal noble and friend for somebody like him.

Rias was a good person and Damian could find himself liking her however he wouldn't have the same degree of acceptance for her as he did for Sona. It wasn't a matter of feeling, it was a matter of compatibility. They were both sly manipulators and so they got along fairly well.

"I decline." Sona declared without a shred of hesitation. She didn't even have to consult her sister about it, the offer was just too dangerous even if the return was most likely worth it. No source of information is worth practically giving free access to her soul.

She trusted Damian to a certain degree but that only applied to him being a sly bastard, she had no real trust in him as a person. It was only natural, each of the rare few times they met it was always in a setting such as this. Trusting somebody who you've only seen scheming was difficult let alone one who you have no understanding of their personality.

"I see." Damian replied calmly, not a trace of a surprise in his being. It was hard to be surprised when it was the result he had been expecting ever since he prepared the offer. It was no real skin off his back after all.

"Is your schedule next weekend open?" Sona questioned, her intentions hardly concealed. She wanted to give him Ingvild as soon as possible. It would be one thing if they didn't know she was there but if somebody was to find her in Serafall's territory it may cause a few issues for her and the Sitri clan by extension.

"It is." Damian declared with ease, a complete lie on his part. He actually had some lessons with his mother planned and a wonderful family dinner to wait for but those could wait. The matter with Ingvild was more important than a single dinner.

"Perfect. Then our business is done don't you think?" Sona questioned, though it wasn't really a question, as she placed her blue chess pieces in her storage space just as Damian had done. It was a miniature realm that only their demonic energy could access, there was nowhere safer to house one's soul.

"It is. It was wonderful speaking to you Sona." Damian spoke calmly, not even bothering to get up as etiquette demanded, there was no reason to do so. Both of them discarded their masks around one another, compared to that what was discarding tradition?

"That it was." Sona agreed as she stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her. Once more silence reigned supreme in the now empty room, Damian sitting in silence as he contemplated things.

"She's a smart girl isn't she?" He abruptly declared out loud, his calm voice echoing through the silent and empty room. There wasn't even a magic circle by his ear that would indicate he was on a magical call of sorts, he just spoke to the air.

"That she is." And the air responded. Shimmering slightly the form of Ajuka Beelzebub appeared before him, suddenly in the seat that Sona had just vacated mere moments before. On the Satan's face, there was an amused grin clearly relaying his interest and joy.

'He's not real.' Damian noted, his golden eyes absentmindedly tailing over his uncle's 'body' and all its flaws. With his hand 'resting' on the table there was no actual contact and his clothing ever so slightly sunk into the wood rather than spread on top.

Another clue was merely common sense, however. Ajuka was currently busying himself with speaking to the devil nobility in the main hall alongside all the other Satans, he didn't have time to meet him in person.

"I heard about your deal from Serafall. Are you sure you want to take such a risk?" Ajuka questioned solemnly, a look of worry in his eyes. He and the rest of the Satans knew the risk of an original Satan's descendant, they were arrogant and prideful to the core.

Even if he used the Evil Pieces and had saved her from the fate of eternal rest there was no guarantee that she would serve him faithfully. Rather, betrayal and rebellion were expected. It was in their blood after all.

The original four Satans were people who threw their people into war to fulfill their own desires without any thought for their people's lives. In the end, it wasn't just the four Satans that died but also the vast majority of all devils.

And their descendants weren't any better. Due to their greed for a throne that they didn't deserve they thrust the devils into another war, further reducing its already low population, and now they had to deal with the consequences.

While Ajuka had never met the original Satans he had met their descendants and he could confidently say that they would never subordinate themselves to anyone, even if the girl in question was half human. Arrogance wasn't in their blood, it WAS their blood.

"If it was any other person then no. But Ingvild Leviathan isn't like her kin. Besides, her sacred gear is worth the risk." Damian revealed calmly. He was revealing information that he really shouldn't but it was a planned maneuver.

Ajuka was somebody he trusted and Damian didn't even mind telling him that he was reincarnated. While he didn't treat his reincarnation as important enough to explain due to the butterfly effect he wasn't against using his knowledge to his advantage.

"You… no never mind." Ajuka muttered softly, a soft grin of acceptance on his face.