Chapter 32 devil.

Raising an eyebrow at Clarissa, I said, "Did you hear that?"

"No, my king. The sword did not speak to me."

Nor will I. I only speak to those I elect to. My previous wielder never once heard my voice.

"Actually, an important note about talking." I said aloud before thinking, Can you hear me when I think at you?

So long as your thoughts are directed at me, I will perceive them, devil. Though I am unable to hear anything you wish concealed from me.

That was good to know. It might be lying, but I got the sense it was telling the truth.

Turning away from the sword, I faced Clarissa and said, "Apparently the sword only talks to those it wants to talk to. It said it was once a holy sword but it was corrupted somehow. Does that correlate with your assessment?"

Clarissa nodded. "That would explain the strange results I received from my spells. Do you have any other questions about the blade, or anything else I can help you with, my king?"

I shook my head and picked up the sword. "No, but thank you, Clarissa. Go ahead and get back to whatever you were doing before I interrupted you."

I carried the sword out of her lab and headed towards my bedroom. "Is there anything else you want to say before we start this partnership."

I have said all I need to, devil. Now I will be content to watch and wait.

That was somewhat ominous, but I trusted Clarissa's analysis of the situation. If she said the sword was safe, the sword was safe.

Closing the door to my bedroom, I decided to take a nap before dinner. I'd been working way too hard recently, and I felt like I deserved a break.

X

"Alfonse Gregory has retired. Riser is the victor." the announcer called in a somewhat bored voice as Yubelluna, Clarissa and I were transported from the arena.

This, our second Rating Game, was nothing like our first. Last time I'd been a pillar devil fighting a pillar heiress. This time, I was a minor lord – the land grant I'd received from Serafall was enough to restore my nobility, albeit not to the height it once was – battling the son of an even more minor lord. The fight didn't last long at all. Clarissa and I basically just stood back and watched as my queen destroyed the entire arena, blanketing the ground in a sea of explosions that tore through Alfonse's peerage. Shortly before she reached him, Alfonse retired out of fear of facing Yubelluna.

I was a little disappointed at not getting to try out my new intelligent sword, which now hung from my belt in its sheath, but the ease of our victory allowed us to keep the majority of our arsenal a secret. Currently, all that was known about me was that I used Hellfire and Wind, could change into flame and could stab someone in front of me. Yubelluna was known for explosions, but she had yet to demonstrate her abilities in physical combat. When I'd made her my queen, I'd stipulated that she must make use of the queen piece's physical boost, and I was proud of her progress and dedication to do just that. Clarissa, finally, had shown nothing. No one outside of Lord and Lady Phenex knew what she was capable of because Clarissa rarely left her lab in the Phenex Manor. She humbly referred to herself as a 'third rate bishop', but I wasn't sure if I agreed with that assessment.

While the low caliber fight allowed our strength to remain a secret, it was more than a little stinging to what little pride I had left to be lowered to this, but if I ever wanted to gain back the 'right' to fight on the same field as someone of Rias's stature ever again, I needed to absolutely tear through the competition on the lower tiers. Given we had nothing better to do, I'd scheduled a large number of Rating Games to build back my reputation. I had a long way to go before I'd be fighting in a filled arena again, but the winnings from even minor Rating Games like this one were more than worth the time.

As we reappeared in the waiting room, I smiled at Yubelluna. "Well done, Yube. I'm sorry I put the whole fight on your shoulders."

"Think nothing of it, my king. I enjoyed the opportunity to exercise my power."

"And a fine job she did!"

My two peerage members and I turned to see two figures enter the waiting room. The first was an older, taller version of myself. The second was his silver-haired queen. Both were smiling as they walked up to us.

"So, little brother, how did your second victory feel?" Ruval said as he and Zissa came to a stop a few feet in front of me.

Shrugging, I said, "It was more Yubelluna's win then mine, but either way, it wasn't nearly as exciting as my last fight, and even that wasn't all that exciting. I need to find someone on my level to spar with."

Ruval laughed and slapped me on the back, mirth in his voice as he said, "You can never have too many friends, little brother. Even if you've somehow managed to make friends with one of the four Satans. If you want my advice? I suggest leveraging some information from your anonymous source," Our way of referring to my 'visions' when it was possible we'd be overheard. "To gain more friends your age. That is, of course, if there isn't any information you can act on yourself."

"I'll keep that in mind, Ruval. Thank you for coming to watch our match."

"I wouldn't miss it, Riser." After patting me on the back one last time, he and Zissa teleported away.

"Ruval's counsel is wise, my king." Yubelluna said, stepping up next to me. "While the three of us are sufficient to deal with our current competition, if you truly wish to make a name for yourself in Rating Games, you will need more pieces."

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