Reporting Results of Defence Battle

"To think Lord Bael and even the Ancestor Bael would be sent recommendation letters for a Rank up"

Jacob was sitting in a horse Carriage together with Shirone and Angelica,

"But we have only worked for the family for a little more than a month and this beast stampede"

Jacob could understand Angelica's confusion

"Well the Stampede is something that does not happen often which makes it quite an important event to rake in Achievements fast, but you two and Masaru led a group of Low-class devils four times smaller in quantity compared to other groups and managed to defend the Western Gate without the need of reinforcements.

And not to mention the two of you commanded your respective teams including the number of beasts you took down, it's not impossible to get a recommendation but it will be delayed by the other devils till you achieved some more before it will go through"

"Then isn't this strange?"

Shirone spoke feeling something was wrong, she could not help but feel something was wrong with this situation.

"Your correct, I believe the reason for your promotion being processed fast after a single defence campaign is because of Masaru. It seems his abilities has piqued the interest of the Bael Family, whether it is a good thing or not. Well I will sort that out with Master Diehauser, for the two of you I suggest you get Calfa to help you study and prepare for it before you get the invitation date"

>\/<

"Lord Ajuka, I have good news and bad news"

One of the assistants of Ajuka came rushing in breathing heavily, Ajuka looks at her wondering why she is so stressed so he gestured for her to continue.

"Masaru has succeeded in defending the Western Gate of the Bael Territory against the Demonic Beast Stampede with only his two peerage members and a small group of low-class devils four times smaller than the other teams in the Northern and Western Gates mid to high-class devils."

"Hoh? It appears he truly lived up to my expectations. But then again the beasts that appeared were?"

The girl flips over a page to read

"Most of the were Low class, the second majority were mid-class and minority were high class. However, from our report from one of our intelligence officers, it appears young lord Masaru has signed a familiar contract with a pseudo Territory lord beast which is a four-pillar snake"

Ajuka kept silent, thinking about how he should proceed from now on. But the assistant continued the report

"The bad news is Yui's existence has been discovered by the Bael Family, they have already dispatched a messenger to demand her"

Ajuka could only sigh thinking the time came several years sooner than he actually thought they would discover her,

"I want you to take some of the Four Leaf members and clear out my Research Facility, I don't want a spy inside"

The Four Leaf was a secret department of which no one but the assistant and Ajuka knows who the members of,

"Also call Yui for me"

"Understood Master"

"You have called me Ajuka-sama"

Yui entered the office closing the door,

"Take a seat Yui"

From the tense atmosphere, Yui could feel something was wrong so she immediately took a seat. Waiting for Ajuka to explain.

"What do you think of Masaru as an Individual?"

Yui's eyes widen wondering why the hell is the atmosphere this heavy because of such a question, she thought for a moment remembering her short time she worked together with Masaru especially the manner how he kept being stubborn on studying the aspects of the Sleeping disease as well as topics relating to the soul.

"He's hardworking yet stubborn once he decides on something, his smart when it comes to magic-related things and possess a strong curiosity towards many things. Despite being strong, I feel his kindness and protectiveness towards his family and peerage is both his weak and strong point..."

Ajuka could not help but smile that Yui gave him a report of his character instead of her personal view

"I meant to hear your own point of view, how do you see him? or better yet... If I were to ask you to join his peerage for example"

'To think it was this...'

Yui naturally understood Ajuka's plans for her was to join Masaru's peerage, she honestly does not have any qualms about it but she felt it was a bit too rushed after all.

"Ajuka-sama, honestly I have a favourable impression of Masaru-sama and will not object joining his peerage but I feel it is still too soon"

Ajuka nodded

"It's true that it is too soon however a family has made a move which I can't guard for you against"

Yui could only sigh

"So they found out I was here?"

"It's my fault for not cleaning out my Research facility, it appears they had a spy inside here which I did not discover until I saw their letter. Don't think wrong of me Yui but I am asking you to join Masaru's peerage"

Yui nodded

"Understood"

Ajuka could only bitterly smile

"It's for the sake of protecting you and also, I believe Masaru will look after you"

'What you need now is not just protection but family'

Ajuka already noticed the past few months Yui's productiveness was dropping because of her increased stress and worries over her family that is targeting her.

'I believe Masaru will not object either, she is, after all, a bearer of Destruction power which will make her a good peerage member

But then again... His group has several with girls targeted by their families... What a strange twist of fate'

Ajuka calmly sips his tea, normally such events would not warrant his attention but because the importance of Masaru's spellbook has been raised he could not help but get involved in and behind the scenes.

He naturally held back helping since he already laid down the path for his family to rise to Duke level, then he can allow Masaru to handle politics on his own so while he was young he will get involved.... why? Because he is bored and needs some entertainment apart from his research to spice up his life.

>\/<

Dominic was currently drinking his tea while reading the reports of his restaurants he started in the UK, the financial statistic was rising steadily with an occasional drop every now and then. However, the popularity of the clothes Shuri and Calfa design has become quite popular since it was completely different from the usual clothes not easily accessed,

"Hmm...?"

Dominic heard his phone vibrate which he rarely used but was connected with the Devi-Banking system which notifies him of payments made into their Belial Family's account.

What was displayed was an enormous amount of money that could rival the reward money of a single official Rating Game victory cash price, on the payment note it was written [Defense Reward money].

When he saw that he began to laugh while walking downstairs to brag to his Wife and Father about his grandson who accomplished a beautiful feat.

"Dear, I just report from Masaru's feat! He succeeded in defending the walls of the Bael territory"

When Dominic entered the room he discovered Damian and Diehauser were in the room as well,

"Yes, we have received the report however we also have a troubling matter attached to it"

Diehauser spoke while handing over the letter to his father, after reading it Dominic looked at his father

"Is such a fast promotion even possible?"

Damian nodded

"On the paper that campaign is enough to promote a devil to mid-class, however, it is because of the Devil Council that restricts fast promotions and making it hard on purpose. This is why a devil needs to accumulate numerous achievements beyond their initial requirement before they are approved. Even Devil Kings can't pressure the council but the Bael family is an entire matter altogether"

"It appears we will need to keep an eye on the Bael Family, according to the people that have been protecting my sister from the shadows there has been an awful lot of Bael Devils going in and out of her territory"

Dominic who heard this from Diehauser felt perplexed,

"Could it be the family which Masaru mentioned about his vision that time ago was actually the Bael family?"

Diehauser shrugged also feeling perplexed due to the fact he could not capture devils related to Bael to interrogate them

"It's possible, I can't confirm but then again. The Bael Family is one of the main factions that are against interracial relationships after all"

"What about Masaru?"

Damian looked at the roof

"We have to send some shadow guards to protect him for now, until we can confirm whether Bael is an ally or enemy it will be best we be careful for the next few months... But from what I can see here is the Bael family's attention is on Masaru who has that spellbook which is absurd, they might consider using Shirone and Angelica's promotion to have him owe them one"

"Then won't it be easier to simply decline it?"

Damian looked at his foolish son Dominic who suggested to decline the promotion,

"Why would he do that? Let the promotion continue, just as the Bael family try to use us we will use them to promote Masaru's status faster so his status can protect him from fools. The Devils has enough enemies outside but they still have internal battles with one another which comes to the fact only with a strong status and backing will it be easier for him in the future"

>\/<

"Akeno! Ingvild! Ichika a report of Masaru has arrived!"

Diana called out to Akeno and Ingvild who was playing a higher-level form of Rating game with chess pieces as a form of entertainment and training, hearing Diana's call the two of them stopped and ran towards her while Ichika came out of the kitchen carrying a tray with tea prepared for each of them.

"It appears Masaru a managed to succeed in achieving something amazing at the Bael Family"

Diana began to read out the report she got to Akeno, Ingvild and Ichika but the three of them felt a bit sour when they heard the promotion recommendation Shirone and Angelica received,

"General Diana, don't you think the Bael Family is making too obvious movements?"

Since they were in the military base the girls had to call Diana as General Diana instead of Mother, Dian nodded

"I am certain Masaru's awesomeness has entered the sights of that Family, I am not certain but I feel like they are trying to move towards Masaru by using his peerage members"

Ingvild thought for a moment and came to the same conclusion as the men at the Belial family came to,

"Could it be the Bael family intends to control Masaru?"

Diana's eyes became stern, this possibility was something that slipped her mind but then again it was possible.

"For now we will be moving carefully with things related to the Bael family from now on"

Diana took her seat thinking

'The power of my son, Masaru is powerful but because of his young body although it is resilient thanks to the experiment incident and the evil piece he gained from Lord Ajuka. He can still not harness it all without losing control over it which is why his power level is still at low rank high class.

This is why Diehauser placed a restriction on his body to suppress his magic power to low high class for the next few years so he can learn to control it, we will need to keep an eye on this shadow of the Devil Race family'

"Oh yeah, Ichika how is the choice you made about the question we asked you?"

Diana looked at Ichika who placed the tray of tea down,

"I have considered everything and decided to accept it"

Diana nodded

"Good!"

>\/<

Masaru was sitting in the carriage looking at the messenger from the Bael Family, he did not feel comfortable with the man in front of him. Once this man intruded into his carriage under the pretext of heading towards the same destination he told Masaru he is going to collect a descendant of the Bael family that is working at the Ajuka Research facility.

Naturally, Masaru knew some of Yui's circumstances and if it was not the Bael family he might have simply offed this man halfway the journey and report a monster killed him.

But the recommendation reward he received for Shirone and Angelica indirectly told him the Bael family's eyes is now on him so the number of movements he can make from now on was limited,

"I have heard many great tales of young master Masaru's adventure to the Vatican territory, could you tell me about it?"

Masaru looked at the man

'You think I don't know you are trying to investigate me further? ptui! I will not tell you anything useful'

Masaru out of spite began to talk about the food, the clothes, and everything else he, Shirone and Everest did between the times they did not have monitoring duties which caused the messenger's face to cramped up

'You do realize I want to hear your battles, not your dating adventure!' The messenger thought

Afterwards, the messenger kept quiet and no longer asked anything or even talked, he knew Masaru had no intentions to tell him anything so he could only scoff in his heart thinking he will investigate it himself later.

Akiva whom is curled around Masaru's wrists has moved up his arms to hide within his sleeves, she has been quite docile since he signed a contract with her and she refused to go back to the wild to hunt her food so Masaru made sure to keep some fresh beast corpses with him so he could feed her when she wakes up.

A Few hours went by and they arrived at the familiar Research Facility since the staff already knew Masaru they simply let him go pass while they inspected the messenger. Under the orders of Ajuka, they were deliberately delaying the messenger under the pretext that they found a spy within the facility.

Masaru who was a bit worried about Yui did not first go put down his bag but instead went up straight to Ajuka's office.

He gently knocks on the door to Ajuka's office,

"Come in"

Ajuka's voice could be heard from within as Masaru stepped in he noticed Ajuka was drinking tea and Yui was in front of him, Ajuka gestured for Masaru to take his seat. Masaru started his report including the process of the defence earning Ajuka's praise for making use of resources other people neglect because of their pride.

When the topic of the Bael family came up Ajuka could not help but furrow his brows almost instantly figuring out the intent of the Bael family. Masaru also mentioned that the messenger forcibly joined his carriage to arrive here.

The arrival of the Messenger did not disturb Ajuka and for some reason Yui had a resolved face as if she already decided on something important,

"Masaru what do you think of Yui?"

Masaru looked at Ajuka for a while wondering what this monstrous genius's intent was but soon gave up trying to figure it out, he honestly felt tired of politics.

"She's bright, responsible, smart. Someone I enjoy working with since I started working here"

Ajuka nodded and then smiled warmly at Masaru

"I will be honest, with Bael's eyes on you even I can't predict the path of your future. I have already spoken with Yui and I would like to ask you to allow her to join your peerage"

Masaru was taken aback by this suggestion, but Ajuka being his superior and how much he owes Ajuka for all his help so far it made it difficult to decline so easily.

"Although it might turn your relationship complicated due to change of status between you two, however, if you take her into your peerage then Bael will take a step back and even recognize Yui as being a descendant of the Bael family.

This will guarantee Yui's safety and in turn, it will give you a solid relationship with that old Devil house. It will only be a bit complicated for the first few months since you will push them to acknowledge a half-devil while they are in the pureblood faction"

"I have already considered this after Ajuka-sama mentioned this to me, honestly I did consider asking to join you after a few more months since I did not want to rush it after all"

Yui stood up and faced Masaru with a determined face

"Please accept me in your peerage"

Masaru looked at Ajuka and then sighed with a bitter smile

"You both know I can't reject ladies especially beautiful ones to join my peerage and Lord Ajuka is my benefactor so naturally I will accept this. Although my real reason is that I want to stick a thorn in the Bael's butt"

Yui giggled while Ajuka felt relieved.

Masaru took out a mutated Pawn piece and allowed it to enter her body thus turning her into his pawn for his peerage,

"Although many circumstances forced us to move fast, as the King I welcome you into my family. Please take care of me for many years to come"

Yui smiled brightly

"Take care of me as well for years to come, Masaru-sama"

The messenger that just arrived at Ajuka's office pushed open the door to see Masaru turning Yui into his peerage member, at first he felt rage like he wanted to yell at these people for using such a despicable move but with this, Masaru who could become related with the Bael.

This will allow them easier ways to control and manipulate Masaru, so he took a step back thinking this will be much more acceptable for his master.

'The only route I can advise Lord Bael is to recognize her as a Bael Descendant so we can use her lineage as a link to Masaru which will make it easier for us to control him..... But we will have to deal with the factions behind us who support the Pure Blood ideology'

Just as Ajuka predicted, the messenger already formulated a plan on how to deal with this change of circumstances.

"Ah apologies for the disturbance Lord Ajuka, I have come on behalf of the family to ensure if the young lady is healthy since we lost contact with her for so many years. I was a bit restless that I could not help but barge in"

Yui could only curse this shameless bastard for his words but Ajuka felt completely amused since it was rare to give a family like the Bael a slap in the face.

"I can understand the hardship of the Bael family for looking for their descendant for so long, even Diehauser can sympathize with you since he too took many years to look for his son. I am sorry I am so busy with many research topics that I honestly forgot to tell the Bael family about this"

The messenger who heard Ajuka's even more shameless reason felt like he could spit out blood,

'Holy hell! It has been 8 YEARS!!! How the hell did you end up so busy for so many years to forget to report!? Why not use your assistants!'

The messenger thought but he knew Ajuka was simply spewing nonsense but there was no proof and Ajuka was a Devil King.

"No need to worry, I am sure the family will understand. I am even more surprised to see the young lady has joined young master Masaru's peerage, I am almost certain the Bael Family will certainly support your peerage whenever you need"

When Masaru heard what this messenger said he could only laugh in his heart

'No need, soon my companies will start instantly together. With the support of the Devil Kings, I can promote it faster and generate income which will soon turn the Belial family who once gained income by sending peerage members to work in other devil family businesses to now generate its own source of income using their own peerage members to do so'

"Since I have done what I came here to do, I will bid you all farewell,"

The messenger said his goodbyes and left faster than he came, Ajuka turned to Masaru

"So you understand now, your position is delicate. Your facing devils who jealous of you, Bael Family that wants to control you and finally the spies of the other factions and races will surely put a mark on you as a potential threat"

Masaru understood this point, although he was used by Ajuka to safe Yui. He, himself would have saved her regardless. But the idea that him grabbing too much attention would need to be dealt with, he could only nod while planning how to remain low-key,

"Well you don't have to worry too much about it, I will give you five years to prepare yourself. Don't increase your magical abilities, focus on increasing your control over your magic and your physical abilities and increase your knowledge especially in politics for the next five years."