Having finished his farewell with Fern for the time being, Renya next visited one of the rooms in a high-rise apartment building that he personally owned.
Kurosaki opened the door to a corner room on the top floor.
Inside, instead of a room furnished with tasteful interiors, for some reason, what stretched out before him was a beach, with white sandy shores and emerald green sea. The only difference was the absence of the sun and the whiteness of the sky.
This was a seaside location in Europe, recreated by Renya using magic and magical power.
Renya surveyed the empty space, followed the sound of a beautiful voice that reached his ears, and made his way toward the person he was looking for.
"~ ~ ~"
The owner of the soothing, pleasant voice was a single, beautiful, and cute young girl.
With long purple hair and orange eyes, she stood barefoot on the sandy shore in a white one-piece dress. Enjoying the sensation of the gentle waves lapping at her feet, she gazed at the horizon and sang.
"~ ~ ~ ~ ...? Ah, Renya. You came."
Noticing Renya's presence, the girl stopped singing, turned around, and offered a gentle smile.
"Ah. It's been a while, Ingvild."
"Yeah."
Ingvild, the girl called, didn't show much change in expression at Renya's visit, but she radiated an aura of genuine happiness.
Her full name was Ingvild Leviathan.
Bearing the name of one of the Four Great Maou, she was a descendant of the original Maou Leviathan, born between a devil and a human. She was a special half-breed born with the power of a Devil due to atavism.
She was a descendant of a child the Leviathan clan had with a human woman and left in the human world. She was born and raised in a seaside town in Europe—this space was recreated based on those memories—but at the age of seventeen, she fell victim to a strange disease unique to Devils known as the "Sleeping Sickness."
To save Ingvild, her parents summoned a noble devil from the Leviathan faction, and she was taken in, secretly hidden away to protect her from harm by purists.
However, she remained asleep for over a hundred years. Contacted by the noble devil, Mephisto, due to an old connection, took her in. While analyzing and controlling her abilities, he brought her together with Renya, who was in a similar situation.
By analyzing the "Sleeping Sickness" with magic and creating a dispelling spear with the power of "Demon Spear Creation" combined with magic, Renya succeeded in safely awakening her.
However, the weight of a hundred years pressed down on Ingvild after she awoke from her long slumber.
All her acquaintances had died while she slept, leaving her utterly alone. For a time, Ingvild spoke and expressed little, even beginning to think she would have preferred to remain asleep, knowing nothing. But Renya visited her frequently, and with support from fun things, delicious food, and things that didn't change—like songs and memories—she recovered, especially by becoming friends with Renya.
Hearing her true feelings that she was afraid of losing her acquaintances again while she slept, Renya naturally asked her to stay with him, which sparked a budding affection within her.
He cherished Ingvild and had decided that even if he didn't make her his Servant, he would keep her by his side if she wished.
"How have you been lately?"
"Yeah. I've been getting better at controlling my Sacred Gear little by little."
Ingvild, whose eyes still looked somewhat sleepy due to the aftereffects of the Sleeping Sickness, replied to Renya's question.
Yes, Ingvild was not only of the Old Maou bloodline but also possessed a Sacred Gear as a human.
That Sacred Gear was the unidentified Longinus, " Nereid Kyrie, the Song of the Dying Emerald Sea."
She possessed a beautiful voice that was healing just to listen to, and that voice held power.
Of the two characteristic abilities of the Longinus, whether due to Renya's influence or not, the ability to control the sea had transformed into a subspecies ability: powerful control over all water.
Ingvild's influence over Dragons had weakened, but Renya's assessment was that it would change depending on her growth.
Furthermore, as a blood relative of the original Demon Lord, the power and talent she held within were on a different level from ordinary Devils.
During her first interaction with her powers, she suddenly sprouted eight wings. The sheer volume of her aura already surpassed the Maou-class. Her handling of magical power was genius-level, and her growth rate was rapid.
In a short time, she manifested affinities for various attributes, primarily water. Shortly after training began, she mastered applied techniques like controlling a massive dragon made of water. Not long after that, she could create over a dozen massive water dragons, each over thirty meters long and several times stronger, using compressed aura. Additionally, she learned magic as soon as it was taught to her.
Moreover, having spent her childhood running along the beach in her hometown, she had a baseline level of stamina.
Although she was often attacked by drowsiness in daily life due to the aftereffects of the Sleeping Sickness, this would likely improve with rehabilitation and time.
Renya had been sheltering Ingvild and had not yet reported her existence to the Netherworld government, which advocated for the protection of Devils, including the descendants of the original 72 Pillars.
This was because, as a descendant of the Old Maou bloodline, Ingvild would likely be treated as at least a High-class Devil by the Netherworld government.
If that happened, various parties with different agendas would try to contact her. Renya judged that while it was a mixed bag, it was still too early for Ingvild, no matter how talented she was, to deal with such cunning and experienced individuals.
Therefore, Renya had not brought Ingvild into the public eye nor made her his Servant. He was still in the process of seeking a way to give her freedom and safety.
'It's not exactly easy to come up with something...'
This was a difficult problem even for Renya. As an Extraordinary Devil like him, an outsider with territory but no title, he had no political influence.
Minimizing involvement with the government was a characteristic of Extraordinary Devils as a whole; only a few eccentrics got involved.
Noticing Renya's demeanor, Ingvild tilted her head curiously.
"Renya? What's wrong?"
"...Hm? No, I was just thinking. I'm sorry for keeping you confined like this."
"No, no, it's totally fine. Renya and your Servants come to visit me."
Saying this, Ingvild smiled. Though she was considerate of Renya, she seemed to genuinely feel that way.
"Is that so... But I don't intend to take that for granted. Someday, I'll set you free, Ingvild, and take you to see the real ocean."
"Okay. I believe in you, Renya."
Ingvild showed not a shred of doubt at Renya's declaration.
"Ah, but don't push yourself too hard, okay? If something happened to Renya, I'd be really sad..."
If anything were to happen to Renya, she would be left alone again. Ingvild spoke with a lonely, sorrowful expression.
"Ah, of course. I won't just disappear on you. Ah, wait!!"
He said that, but then remembered one of the reasons he had come, to tell her about his dispatch to Japan. A guilty look crossed Renya's face.
"What's wrong, Renya?"
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