After concluding their meeting with Rias Gremory and her servants, Kurosaki Renya, Orihime, and Elfaria spent a brief, leisurely moment just the three of them before heading toward the other party, the student council room, where Sona Sitri, a high-class devil of the House of Sitri, awaited.
"Renya-kun. What's the next one like?" Orihime asked, walking a few steps behind him.
Renya kept his pace forward as he recalled the details about their counterpart and answered.
"Well... Like Rias Gremory, she's the next head of the House of Sitri, which also produced a Maou. Her name's Sona Sitri, but apparently she goes by the alias Souna Shitori around here."
On that point alone, Sona was a cut above Rias. She had earned her reputation as a brilliant woman, though that was merely saying she was less of a headache.
"I see... But why are both of them attending a school in the human world? Shouldn't they normally be studying at an academy in the capital of the Underworld?"
"...Who knows? I'm not close with either of them, so I can't say for sure. But I can make a decent guess. They probably just picked Japan on a whim, like some kind of study abroad lark. To be blunt, hardly anything they'd learn here would be of any use in the Underworld."
It was only common sense. The knowledge required once they became heads of noble houses couldn't be acquired in any human school. The Underworld's institutions offered curricula that met or exceeded human education, along with specialized expertise tailored to their needs.
More importantly, the true purpose of attending a school in the Underworld was to build connections with peers, establishing networks that would serve them in the future.
After all, the high-class devils you went to school with would be assuming their positions as heads of their families at roughly the same time.
When that happened, the personal connections forged during their student days often proved invaluable. At noble academies and in high society, networking was the main event, far more crucial than academics.
For a Special-class Devil like Renya, who held no peerage and kept the government at a comfortable arm's length, such connections weren't all that important.
But for the next heads of the Seventy-Two Pillars, like Rias and Sona, it was a whole different ballgame.
Those two had spent over three years with almost no meaningful interaction with devils their own age in the Underworld. At this rate, even once they became household heads, the odds of their territories being managed successfully were slim to none.
"Well, I've got no intention of sticking my nose into other families' affairs. They each have their own reasons for coming to Japan. Personally, when it comes to the Gremory household, I'm far more interested in the nephew."
In Renya's estimation, the nephew—Millicas—surpassed Rias in intelligence, demonic power, and latent potential.
And he was dead right. In fact, a pro-Millicas faction was already beginning to form among the upper echelons of the Underworld. Next head of Gremory, or perhaps a new Demon King? At the very least, far more was expected of him, and he had far more paths open than Rias did.
Not that any of that excused Rias's utterly, literally spoiled behavior, of course.
"Right, we were talking about Sona Sitri. The Sitri we're about to meet is at least called a prodigy. So, for this discussion, at least, we shouldn't have to endure the same distasteful nonsense as before."
Unlike Rias, Sona had a solid grasp of etiquette and protocol. As a former member of the Seventy-Two Pillars, she wouldn't pull any clumsy stunts with a Special-class Devil like Renya.
She would, after all, understand that doing so would degrade not just herself but the entire House of Sitri...
"Ah, the common thread is that they both have a Maou in their immediate family. Gremory's got an older brother, and Sitri's got an older sister, sitting on the thrones of Lucifer and Leviathan, respectively. You two have studied up on this, right?"
"Yup. Lavinia-san and the others have been teaching us," Orihime replied.
"I've gotten a handle on that part recently, too," Elfaria added quietly with a nod.
When Renya questioned them, Orihime put a finger to her chin and looked upward as if searching her memory, while Elfaria gave a calm nod.
The Four Great Maou—Lucifer, Leviathan, Asmodeus, and Beelzebub—currently held their positions as replacements for those who fell in the Great War.
The present incumbents hailed from the Seventy-Two Pillar houses of Gremory, Sitri, Glasya-Labolas, and Astaroth, having distinguished themselves in past conflicts. Both Orihime and Elfaria had absorbed this as part of their education since becoming servants.
"Excellent. Educating our servants is the duty of us 'Kings' and the senior servants, after all. When a lack of refinement is exposed, it's the 'King' who ends up disgraced. Well, there are some high-class devils who don't even realize they're disgracing themselves, but those are exceptions."
Once someone became a servant, the 'King' bore full responsibility. If they were a reincarnated devil from another race, ignorance of the devil world's customs wasn't a sin; it was expected.
That education was the duty of the high-class devil serving as their 'King.' In that sense, a 'King's' judgment and skill were constantly being evaluated.
Of course, ignorance wasn't tolerated forever, so any reincarnated devil who grew too comfortable in that position and failed to learn couldn't complain if they were struck down for insolence.
"Well, most high-class devils let their hands—or rather, their demonic power—fly the moment they're embarrassed. It's not much of a threat, but it's a nuisance."
Most high-class devils, when humiliated, would throw a tantrum and unleash their demonic power rather than admit their own faults if they were to blame, even more so.
In itself, that wasn't a real threat, but if you dealt with them, then other high-class devils would start complaining and criticizing, using their influence to scheme and obstruct.
Just like in the old days, when Renya had been despised and nearly assassinated simply for being a mixed-blood devil of a notorious Special-class lineage...
"So, if there's something you don't understand or aren't confident about after you've studied, make sure you come to Lavinia or me and the others, got it?"
"Okay, Renya-kun."
"Understood, Renya."
Renya spoke firmly, and Orihime and Elfaria nodded just as they arrived in front of their destination, the student council room inside the new school building.
"Leonhard Pheles of the House of Pheles. I've come for our scheduled meeting."
"Yes, we've been expecting you. Just a moment, please."
The woman who answered in a quiet voice gave that preface, and immediately the door was opened from the inside.
"Welcome. Please, come in."
The one who said this and invited them inside was a female student with long black hair and intelligent glasses that left a strong impression.
She was Tsubaki Shinra.
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