DxD: Chapter 268/269

Chapter 268: Unexpected Arrival

Erina's throat moved subconsciously at the thought of supernatural ingredients she had never tasted before.

By the time she realized it, her cheeks were already red, and she cursed herself for being so useless.

But...

There was nothing she could do about it.

Even though she possessed the God Tongue...

She couldn't control it at all!

Worse, she was often led by it, which frustrated her to no end.

Just like now.

To think it made her show such an embarrassing expression in front of Lynn.

Even though...

Lynn had already seen more embarrassing photos of her.

Still...

She couldn't help but feel ashamed.

Erina dug her toes into the floor, wishing she could dig a hole and crawl in.

On the other side.

Lynn didn't pay her any more attention and simply said, "Hayasaka, take them to the kitchen."

"Yes."

Hayasaka stopped massaging Lynn's shoulders, raised her head, and looked at Erina and Hisako calmly.

"Come with me."

With that, she turned and headed toward the kitchen.

Erina opened her mouth, wanting to say something to Lynn, but he didn't even look her way, clearly uninterested.

Seeing this.

Erina could only suppress her thoughts and hurried after Hayasaka.

Soon, their figures disappeared from the hall.

Lynn leaned back on the sofa, his expression indifferent.

When it came to entertaining Erina, Hayasaka and the others were enough.

He had more important matters to attend to.

He pulled out his phone and looked at a message from Inukimi.

> "Master! That woman from the Underworld is here!!"

The double exclamation marks revealed how flustered Inukimi was.

Lynn raised an eyebrow slightly.

A woman from the Underworld?

Hmm…

Grayfia?

His expression shifted.

What was this about?

He activated the Evil Piece connection and opened the visual feed from Inukimi.

A virtual screen projected into the air.

Soon—

A woman with long silver hair, a cold expression, and a voluptuous figure appeared.

Yep—

It was Grayfia.

But…

The setting clearly wasn't the Underworld.

It looked more like…

The Warring States period?

Grayfia had left the Underworld?!

Lynn: "…"

Meanwhile.

Following behind Hayasaka, Erina had a ton of questions but didn't know how to start.

Plus…

She was still a little nervous.

"You're the eldest daughter of the Nakiri family, right?"

"Huh?"

Erina blinked in surprise.

She hesitated. "Hayasaka-san… do you know me?"

She couldn't be blamed for thinking that way.

Everyone here only seemed to recognize her as Erina, not her family background.

But...

Hayasaka said "eldest daughter of the Nakiri family" like she knew everything, even about the family itself.

"The leading family in the food industry. Their name's well-known."

Hayasaka's tone was flat.

Even though her words were impactful, her expression didn't change at all.

She clearly didn't care much about the Nakiri family.

But...

The naïve Erina didn't notice.

She scratched her cheek awkwardly. "Ahaha… I guess that's true."

Her voice carried a bit of modesty, but her face showed unmistakable pride.

Hisako held her forehead helplessly.

Miss, she's just being polite!

A few seconds passed.

Erina finally came back to her senses and asked, "Um… Lynn-san…"

"Is he really a devil?"

"Or is that just his online name?"

She had been wondering about this.

She'd wanted to ask earlier in the hall but couldn't find the chance.

And...

She was a little scared to bring it up in front of Lynn himself.

But...

Hayasaka didn't answer her.

Instead, Hisako blinked in surprise. "Devil?"

A devil?

Wasn't this place just an off-campus site for the Supernatural Investigation Club?

When she saw Lynn, that had been her first assumption.

Plus, Kaguya releasing cold air now made sense.

Supernatural powers were normal for the Investigation Club.

But...

Where did the word "devil" come from?

Erina turned her head slightly and whispered, "Did you forget who I sent those pictures to?"

Hisako froze, then asked, "You mean... Mr. Devil?"

But she frowned. "Wasn't that just some internet romance you got into, Miss?"

"What kind of romance is that?!"

Erina raised her voice slightly, sounding defensive. "That was Lynn!"

"?"

Hisako was stunned, then muttered in disbelief, "Miss, are you actually in an online relationship with Lynn?!"

Ever since Lynn had saved Tokyo and revealed his powers, the entire city—and even the top levels of the country—had gone into a frenzy.

Everyone wanted to get close to him.

Even the Commander-in-Chief was worried about his influence.

And now...

It turned out her young lady had already been in contact with him?

And even...

Posted those kinds of photos?

Hisako felt her assumptions were confirmed.

Miss, you really are ahead of your time!

She looked at Erina with newfound respect.

Erina: "?"

"Hisako, you…"

Erina sighed and held her forehead. "You've got the wrong idea."

Eventually.

She explained everything to Hisako.

Finally understanding, Hisako fell silent.

Then...

She gave Erina a strange look.

Miss… how could you?

Without knowing anything about the man, you just went and.

Sent that kind of photo?

Hisako felt like she still didn't understand her lady at all.

Still...

Calling Lynn a devil?

She must have been tricked, right?

How could someone like Lynn—that handsome, powerful, and famous—be a devil?

Besides...

Would a real devil be attending a human high school?

The more she thought about it, the less sense it made.

Hmm...

It must be a nickname. Maybe Lynn had a twisted sense of humor.

Across from her.

Erina noticed the way Hisako was looking at her and grew uncomfortable.

Why are you staring at me like that?

She pursed her lips and her face turned red.

But...

She couldn't come up with a decent rebuttal.

So she simply turned her head away.

Thankfully—

Hayasaka's voice saved her from the awkward silence.

After seeing the two finish their exchange, Hayasaka nodded.

"That's right."

"And…"

She paused briefly before continuing.

"Kaguya, me, and…"

She suddenly stopped walking.

Her blue eyes scanned the other Peerage members passing by.

Due to the recent shortage of manpower, Lynn had summoned people from other worlds.

"Everyone in this entire villa…"

"They're all devils."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 269: Air Conditioner

When Erina and Hisako heard Hayasaka's words, their pupils instantly dilated.

They couldn't even process their earlier emotions as they stammered, "All... of them?"

Erina spoke with difficulty, glancing between Hayasaka and the others.

This...

She couldn't tell at all!

Across from her.

Hisako stared in disbelief. "So they really are devils?"

Wasn't that just Lynn's idea of a joke?!

Then...

Wouldn't that make this entire place a den of devils?

Hisako gulped, her throat dry. Her eyes trembled as she stared at Hayasaka and the others.

She couldn't shake the feeling...

That at any moment, the people around her might peel off their skin to reveal terrifying forms and devour her whole.

Uuuu~

Just thinking about it made her body tremble. A soft whimper escaped her lips.

Hayasaka: "…"

She sighed and said plainly, "Relax. We were all human before becoming devils."

"Huh?"

Erina and Hisako blinked, not quite understanding what she meant.

Hayasaka paused for a moment. "To be precise..."

"We're technically human-devil hybrids now."

"Before our transformation, we were all ordinary humans."

Even after their Devil Transformation, their human blood wasn't erased. It remained, coexisting harmoniously with their devil lineage.

Since it was likely these two would become part of the Peerage eventually, Hayasaka decided to explain it a bit more clearly.

A few seconds later—

Erina and Hisako finally understood.

"So…"

Hisako asked hesitantly, "Hayasaka-san is both a human and a devil now?"

Hayasaka nodded. "You could say that."

"Then…"

Erina asked anxiously, "Is this how you really look?"

Hayasaka answered calmly, "Of course."

If one undergoes Devil Transformation, there would naturally be devilish traits.

But…

This was still her normal state.

After hearing the confirmation, Erina and Hisako both breathed a sigh of relief.

"I feel better now."

Hayasaka's voice remained indifferent as she looked at them with an even gaze.

Erina and Hisako exchanged awkward smiles. "Sorry, we…"

Hayasaka raised a hand and cut them off. "It's fine. Normal humans would be startled upon hearing about devils."

Well...

Most people would probably think it's a joke.

But—

Those who have seen supernatural powers would at least accept the possibility that devils could exist.

That said...

The fact these two accepted it so easily probably meant they weren't all that bright.

Hayasaka silently grumbled to herself.

Still—

That just meant less explanation was needed.

On the way to the kitchen.

Erina asked curiously, "So if I become a devil... would I gain powers like Kaguya-san?"

She remembered the cold aura surrounding Kaguya.

And with what Hayasaka had just said...

Kaguya was once an ordinary human.

So—

Did becoming a devil grant her supernatural powers?

Hayasaka nodded without hesitation. "Of course. Becoming a devil gives you devil powers."

The power of a devil...

Even ordinary people could obtain them?

Then what about her?

Erina's heart stirred. Curiosity and anticipation welled up inside her.

Could she...

Become the kind of hero you'd see in a comic?

She continued asking, "But… are there people born with supernatural abilities?"

She thought of her God Tongue.

Surely...

That counted as a supernatural ability?

Before discovering the supernatural world, she'd always believed her tongue was just a rare natural gift.

But now, there was a better explanation—

A supernatural power.

Although...

Wasn't her supernatural ability a bit too... niche?

All it did was taste food and rate chefs.

The thought made her expression twitch slightly.

That's too basic!

Up ahead—

Hayasaka replied casually, "There's a girl in the first year of Shuchiin with Yin-Yang Eyes. She can see things like cursed spirits."

"Cursed spirits?!"

Erina and Hisako shouted in unison, shivering as if a gust of cold wind had blown past them.

A cold voice echoed beside them.

"Do you mind if I learn alongside you two?"

"EHHH!!"

Erina and Hisako leapt in fright, almost in tears.

Kaguya: "?"

She looked at Hayasaka in confusion. "What's wrong with them?"

Hayasaka: "…"

She replied dryly, "Turn off your cold aura."

Kaguya frowned slightly. "But Master said it feels good hugging me when I'm like this."

Saying this, her expression turned soft and her eyes glazed over dreamily.

Hayasaka was speechless.

Of course it felt good.

He's using you as an air conditioner.

"So you just keep it on 24/7?"

Kaguya straightened her posture and replied with pride, "I'm practicing!"

"This way, I can adjust the temperature to whatever Master wants!"

"?"

Hayasaka paused and glanced at Kaguya's lower half with a strange look.

"I didn't expect…"

"You'd actually come up with something like that."

Adjustable temperature...

Kaguya's advantage just skyrocketed!

"Of course!"

Kaguya puffed out her chest proudly.

With this.

She could warm Lynn's bed without worrying about him feeling uncomfortable!

Clearly—

Kaguya and Hayasaka were not on the same wavelength.

Meanwhile—

Erina and Hisako looked at Kaguya, then glanced at each other.

They could see the same exhausted expression in each other's eyes.

So there really was cold air earlier...

But cursed spirits?

Just thinking of certain horror movies made their hearts tremble.

If devils existed...

Then cursed spirits probably did too.

Still—

They nervously looked around, scanning the area like they were searching for spirits.

Of course...

The fact they couldn't see anything only made their anxiety worse.

Hayasaka noticed their fear and reassured them.

"Don't worry. This is the devils' base. Only blind cursed spirits would wander here."

Plus—

There's a barrier around the entire Peerage residence. Not even a fly can get in.

"And besides…"

"Normal human eyes can't see cursed spirits anyway."

"Huh?"

Erina and Hisako blinked. "Is that so?"

But—

Before they could feel any relief, Hayasaka added flatly, "Of course, if you can see them, it means they're about to eat you."

Their faces froze.

Eat them?!

AHHHHHH—

Maybe... it was better not to know anything at all!

(To be continued.)