8 Chapter 8: New Roommates

"Please have a seat," Jin Toujou starts cooly, motioning me to sit on the opposite side. I refrain from pointing out that it's my couch and settle myself while thinking just what the hell is someone of his caliber doing at my house! Didn't my powers just get revealed, and I already have one of probably the strongest entities visiting me? I expected company but certainly not this quickly.

"You are quite calm," he points out, unfazed by my blank look.

"Too many things happened over the past few hours, and I'm honestly numb. Two mysterious visitors won't faze me, not tonight anyway," I respond, deadpan.

[+5 Reputation with Jin Toujou under the effect of <Curiosity> trait]

"Haha. Interesting, interesting," he gives a broad smile and takes out a cheap cigarette. Lighting it, he draws one in and blows out a smoke ring, continuing, "Don't worry, I won't take too much or your time. Let's start with introductions, I suppose. I'm Jin Toujou, a freelance photographer and a… Hero."

"…I'll hope you are here as a photographer because breaking into another's house doesn't really fit my image of a hero." Noticing that he has no intention of killing me outright for whatever unknown reason, I calm down a bit.

"Haha. That's unfortunate, but I'm here for my work as a Hero."

"That's truly unfortunate, and my childhood image of a hero is ruined. So, how can I help you? I don't see any reason how I could help a hero." I respond sarcastically.

"You have quite some guts, kid, I like you. You remind me of my son," he smiles, not minding my rudeness in the least. Wait, did he just compare me to that dumbass Basara? That's an insult on its own. Typical anime overprotective and overpowered father think their kid is the shit. Thankfully, I don't carry emotions on my face. Otherwise, it may have been unable to in the future… after he was done with me.

"Anyway, let's get serious." Although he says that, he was still laid back, drawing in a cigarette and blowing out smoke rings. "Do you know what the job of a Hero is?"

"To protect the world or something? Beating up evils? Acting like the good guy?"

"You have some interesting views, but you aren't wrong. Hypocritical as it might sound, but we Heroes see ourselves as protectors of justice. Though we are only involved in supernatural sides of things." He shrugs nonchalantly. I am taking everything with a teaspoon of salt. In the anime, he is shown to be a patience and cunning man; he's not easy to deal with. Further, he continues, abruptly switching topics, "You see, I hate wars. Things get messy; men get killed; women get raped; weak are enslaved. It's a nasty little thing. Don't you think so?"

"…I suppose, but I don't see how it's related to me? " I lied.

"It is, actually, believe it or not. Let me fill you in and show you things from a different angle. Do you know why Rias is trying to make you join her Peerage?" He questions. I see where this is going.

"Because I'm this supposed Sacred Gear user?" I snorted lightly, appeared pissed at her.

"That's part of the reason. You see, she has a politically arranged marriage she wants to escape from. To achieve that, she has a win something called a Rating Game. Well, in laymen's terms, her Peerage has to fight and win against her fiancé's Peerage." He reveals, making me raise an eyebrow.

I take a moment to process it and then cross my legs and respond, trying to make my stand clear, "I see. That's certainty unpleasant. Perhaps she should have asked me directly for help instead of playing games, and I might've helped her. But now, it's difficult for me to care."

"That's understandable," he agrees, surprisingly. "What's non-understandable is your decision not to become a Devil. Don't you know how powerful you can become after changing your race? I somehow doubt you care about your humanity that much." I can feel genuine curiosity in his question.

"You are right, I don't care about my humanity, but it doesn't mean I'll choose to become someone's Servant just to become powerful. Furthermore, I've my plans."

"I see. To be honest, I don't care in the least if she marries some brat I don't even know, but there's a problem. More accurately, her brother is."

"Yeah, you lost me."

He smiles. "Alright, let me put it like this. His brother is freaking powerful Satan, and he's a sis-con who won't bear to see his beloved sister get married against her will. Worst come to worst, he'll use his special position, which is supposed to be neutral, to interfere."

I pause again, my eyes showing calculated intelligence as I respond, "And you're telling me that's enough to cause war? The Underworld… isn't it too unstable?"

"The Civil War." He says simply. "You aren't wrong. It's nice to talk with intelligent people. The Civil War has shaken the pillars of the Underworld. Devils are slow to chance brought after The Civil War, and the mass population is simply obeying due to the strength of the Four Great Satans. Their leader is Sirzechs Lucifer, inarguably the strongest Devil as well as Rias's older brother by the way. However… they can only control so much. Worse, suppose a Satan, who's supposed to be neutral, interferes in a decade-old marriage agreement between two of the big families. In that case, that may very well end up becoming the tipping point that would spark another Civil War, something I truly want to avoid. As I said, I hate wars, and I want to enjoy my vacation at Vatican City." He revealed his true reason at last.

Listening to his long speech, I sigh and deadpan, "So you're telling me that if I help Rias win this so-called Rating Game, Civil War won't happen, and… you can enjoy your vacation freely?"

[+5 Reputation with Jin Toujou for being easy to talk to]

"Exactly!" He smiles as his eyes behind the spectacles wait for my answer.

I thought for a moment and asked, "Can't you ask someone else to do this? I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person who can help her. You said you have a son, can he not…."

"Unfortunately, he can't. Or rather, I won't let him. His powers are a bit unstable, you see, and I don't want my cute son to get involved into Devil's messy affairs." He denies, making my lips twitch violently. He doesn't want Basara to get involved, but he's pushing me into it? Jin Toujou, you asshole.

"I had only awakened my Sacred Gear a week ago; I'm not sure if I'm powerful enough to be able to handle the Rating Game." I try, knowing it's futile.

"I wouldn't worry about it. You'll only continue to get stronger."

"How do you know that?"

"My gut feeling." He remarks casually.

I can't help but look at him in incredulity. "Your… gut feeling?"

"Yeah. And my gut feeling is never wrong. There are two things in life I believe in more than my brain: my guts and my dick. They've never proved me wrong." He smirks. I almost stumble out of the couch, not expecting him to be so direct.

"Now, Levi-Kun, make your choice." He says, his eyes turning green, and I feel my blood running cold immediately.

Unfortunately, I'm a tough nut to crack. I don't give up that easily. This is not the first time I'm forced to make a decision that'll decide my fate. I take a deep breath, resisting his flaring aura as I respond, "The second thing I hate the most is working under someone. I won't join her Peerage…." I hear a whoosh, and things start breaking around me; the coffee table turns into dust. I remain unshaken. "But… I agree to help her." His aura vanishes suddenly, leaving behind the mess of the place that is my house.

"Kid, you surprise me." He compliments as he thinks, his eyes flashing a few times before he finally sighs. "Alright, I'll make it so you can participate in the Rating Game without joining her Peerage."

My lips twitch. "If you can do that, why didn't you say that from the start? We could've saved my beautiful house."

He looked around at the mess and shrugged. "Power deterrence is necessary once in a while to make sure young generation understand that they've much to learn." I don't believe his nonsense for a second. I am reasonably sure that I would be dealt with out of spite if I didn't add the line about agreeing to help Rias. Yeah, I hate this shitty world.

Jin Toujou then stands up. "Alright, I have to go and make some arrangements and make sure that you can join Rating Game without becoming a part of her Peerage." He was about to go away when he suddenly remembered and looked at the silent girl, "Oh, right, by the way, she's Yuki Nonaka. She'll be staying with you as my sp—, I mean she's transferring to Kuoh Academy tomorrow, and I've looking for a place for her. Fortunately, although a bit busted, your house is good enough. Make sure to treat her well. Later, kid." Right after saying that, he disappears, leaving me completely stunned. He was going to spy. He was going to say spy, wasn't he?! At least pretend a little damn it! I don't like the guy. He came uninvited, lectured me about Underworld current affairs, threatened me, and then dumped a spy at my house. On the flip side, I've got a cute roommate? Yay?

My new roommate and I looked at each other, finally acknowledging our existence. Noticing that she has no intention of speaking, I start first, "You can call me Levi. And I'll inform you beforehand; this house only has one bedroom. You can settle yourself wherever you see fit." She simply nods at my words, the air around her bafflingly calm and relaxed as if she wasn't thrown into a stranger's house. "Yuki." Following her one-word answer in a villager-type accent, she sat down on the couch, took out her long sword, and started cleaning it slowly using the cloth she took out of nowhere. I scratched my head, too tired to care about her. Today has been too hectic, and I'm fucking exhausted, so there's only one thing I should be doing right now. Jumping onto my soft bed.

Unfortunately, I was forced to stay awake as I heard the doorbell go off like crazy. I don't want to deal with that. So I ask Yuki, "Yuki, can you check to see who's there?" Only to get ignored. She doesn't even lift her face. Okay, that's a fat no, I think? Making a mental note to throw her sword into the sewer secretly, I open the door myself. The two figures that occupied my vision made me raise my eyebrows.

"Please let us live with you!" Maria states her wild desires most suddenly. I had an urge to shut the door in her face, but Mio's presence prevented that. I can hear them at the very least. Their wounds from the battle have healed, not something surprising, to be honest.

"Why?" I ask back patiently.

"Levi-San, someone as broadminded as you wouldn't mind if we come inside, would you? We can talk there. I promise you'd not regret it." She says seriously, or as serious a midget with a thin voice and high pitch can get. Wait, is she a legal loli?

After a while, my living room is filled with three newcomers. The duo was looking at the destruction Jin Toujou had caused when I asked, "So, can you tell me now why do you want to live here? Did you guys run away from home or something?"

Mio showed a sad smile as Maria began speaking, "We… don't have a house. As you can guess, we are both Devils too. To be precise, we are from the Old Satan Faction, a power in the Underworld that opposes the ideology of the new Four Great Satans. We have been living there in oppression for the past sixteen years. Something… happened, and almost half a year ago, we were able to escape from them. However, like you saw tonight, one person has been targeting Mio-Sama relentlessly, leaving us with no choice but to move from one place to another and…."

"And you girls are running out of money because of that?" I finish her sentence, glancing at strangely blushing Mio and then looking back at serious Maria.

"Yeah. That's why I was hoping you'd let us stay here for some time. Of course, we won't ask you to do it for free. Mio-Sama can take care of chores, and l cook pretty well so I can take the role of a cook." She said. Her serious persona shifted as she cooed with a sultry touch, "Also, you can live with two beautiful girls. Isn't that every teenage boy's dream?" Mio blushes harder at her blatant attempt of seduction. Except, I was unconvinced. I was using [Ear for Deceit] and came to find that her world was only half true. She was hiding things.

"Why are those people targeting Mio in the first place?" I ask straightforwardly, making Maria smirk stiffen. She goes to say something, probably a lie by the looks of it, but Mio stops her.

"Maria… we should tell him," Mio says, to which Maria goes to respond, but she backs down at the end under Mio's resolute gaze. Mio turns back at me and says, "I'm sorry, Levi, but can you ask your friend to give us some privacy?"

I cock my eyebrows and then look at Yuki. She looks back briefly before getting up and leaving for the bedroom without saying anything.

"Thank you, Levi. Come to think of it; I've never properly introduced myself. I'm Mio Naruse… or I should call myself Mio Lucifer. I'm an illegitimate daughter of Lucifer Morningstar." Mio reveals as she stands up.

I couldn't help but pause. So that's the bullshit in the background? Unexpectedly, Mio has become an illegitimate daughter of Original Lucifer in this reality? That's… a big deal. If Rizevim got this piece of news, then I cannot even imagine the consequences. I only had the slightest idea about Rizevim, but I know that he's 'evil', in every sense of the word.

"Lucifer Morningstar… I see. But that still doesn't explain why you'd targeted?"

"Yeah. The real reason why I'm targeted is because… I've inherited a special hidden power from my father. Something called Gravity Magic. I can't show it to you since I'm still unable to make use of it." She sits back down, slightly embarrassed.

Gravity Magic… she has still ended up inheriting that after all. That is a fascinating and powerful form of magic, and if mastered, users can even form black holes that can swallow everything whole—as such, making her owe me wouldn't be such a bad thing. And according to my prediction, it shouldn't be long before she fells in love with me. Her Affection is at 65, which means she already likes me quite a lot. I'd be a fool not to take advantage of this vulnerable girl right now. The only downside is that I may have to protect her from whoever is targeting her. The money thing is most likely a pretense. They just want my protection after witnessing how powerful I am.

"Alright, I understand. You guys can stay here…." Taking a deep breath, I nod and say seriously, watching their faces light up as I continue, "is what I'd say when you girls tell me everything. I know a type of magic that can help me tell lies from truths. So I know for a fact you girls have been telling me half-truths."

Hearing my words, Mio's face fell. She glared towards Maria lightly and nudged her. "Levi-San…" Maria gulps, seeing us both look at her, and decide to come out with it after a moment. "Actually, I've planned on mind-controlling you…."

Immediately, my face darkens. "What did you say?" To be honest, even if she used it, nothing would've happened thanks to [Gamers Mind], but she's not getting away easily.

"Um… I wanted to mind-control you and then make you our sugar daddy," Maria laughs awkwardly, trying to joke. I was unamused.

"I see. It seems like I need to reconsider my decision," I remark with an undertone of anger in my voice. I then stand up, preparing to see them off.

"Wait, Levi-San! I apologize! Right! I… I have a technique that can help you become stronger! How about that as an apology?" Maria quickly ran up to me and held my arm. I look back at her, unable to find any hesitance that should be present there.

"Did you come prepared with that line?" I ask as her eyes widen.

"No… I…" She stammered, and that's all the confirmation I needed. She really is a little schemer. If I didn't have [Ear for Deceit] and my own experience, I'd have been deceived in thinking that she came up with that offer just now. But evidently, if I weren't able to find out about her little mind-controlling thing, she wouldn't present that offer.

One thing I noticed is that Mio also seems to know about this, yet she didn't expose Maria herself. I suppose that makes sense. Although her Affection towards me is 65, Maria has more weight inside her heart. Something to keep in mind in future.

To be honest, I found Maria interesting. And that's it. No matter how interesting she is, since she tried to deceive me, she needs to be taught a lesson. I stare into her purple eyes and say darkly, "I'll advice you for the first and last time, try deceiving me again, and that'll the last of you little schemes. Do you understand?"

"I… I understand." She nodded quickly, repeatedly, fear apparent on her face.

"Good. Now, why don't you tell me about that method." I didn't have much expectation from whatever technique she was talking about. Still, it doesn't hurt to hear her once.

After finally getting a taste of my wrath, Maria didn't dare to test my patience, she began speaking as soon as I finished. "The method I'm talking about it called Master-Servant Contract… eh? Levi-San, why are you palming your face?"

Because I can't help it, Maria. Call me a dumbass but I actually forgot about the whole Master-Servant thing. Of course, it would be present in this world too!

"No… please continue."

"If you say so… anyway, I was saying that the method is called Master-Servant Contract. You can become both of our master." She continued.

I look towards Mio and find her averting her eyes with a tomato like face. Ah, so that's why she was blushing the whole time.

"After joining with us using Master-Servant Contract, you can sense where we are all the time. Also, you get an insurance that we can never betray you. A curse would activate whenever the Servant either betray or feel guilt towards their master. Furthermore, it'll also help us become stronger together."

"Is there really such a convenient magic?" I ask with disbelief.

"Of course, there is! I'm not lying. You can tell it, right?" She urges.

I look at her for a moment, making her growing nervous. I finally chuckle. "Consider me interested. How do we do this? Oh before that, I must ask, Mio, are you really sure?"

[+10 Affection with Maria Naruse for forgiving her and agreeing to become their sugar daddy]

Mio glances at me with ruddy complexion before nodding. "I am. I came here prepared for that."

"Great! Levi-San, we can form Master-Servant Contract on the night of full moon which should be three days later," Maria notified with a… perverted face?

…oh.

Oh boy…

She's gonna do that, isn't she? And judging from flustered Mio, she already knows. So I've no reason to call Maria out on this.

"Three days later, huh? Alright. Anyway, I think I've faced enough crazy for the night so I'm retiring to my bed. What are you girls going to do?"

Maria replies before I even finished. "Of course, we are going to sleep with you. The Master-Servant Contract is special. The more a Servant submits to their master, the more powerful they become. Skin ship is necessary."

I shrug. "Do whatever you what." After that, I just go into the bedroom and slump down onto my bed. Yuki was already asleep on the other side. Honestly, isn't she even a bit worried? Guess I now know another weirdo.

I sleep for almost half an hour before I open my eyes and look at the sides. Maria and Yuki were clinging onto left and right respectively, leaving me almost no room move around. I sigh. Looks like its going to be a rough night.

-Ophis-

"You called for me? Nya~" The licentious figure of Kuroka appears hundred meters behind Ophis. She didn't just teleport behind her. A person did that a decade ago and spoiler alert, they don't seem him around anymore.

"I felt creation and destruction of dimensions in human realm, go check it out?" Ophis orders emotionlessly.

"Nya~?" Kuroka tilts her head, utterly confused. Ophis glare sets her straight. Even if she's bonked until she has become stupid, she wouldn't be silly enough to question Ophis.

Although human realm is big, she would rather use her life finding that human than to upset Ophis. Actually, isn't this an excellent opportunity to have a vacation Nya~?

"Is there… a problem?" Ophis' childish yet endlessly deep eyes meets with Kuroka, who stiffens before saluting.

"I'll see to it immediately, Nya~!" Saying so, Kuroka disappeared at once.

After she disappeared, Ophis looked back at the endless wasteland.

"My silence… I hope that person can give it to me."

Author's Note:

Yeah, Levi got slapped around a bit. It is what happens when a War God visits your house. But worry not, Levi is not a pushover and War God has two beautiful wives.

I know many of you guys will be disappointed and will probably go like 'why he can't go to dungeon until he becomes super strong or something?' Frankly, because it would make the story boring, to me at least.

Also, Kuroka is coming for a visit.