MTLNOVEL Chapter 18: The Devil Lady and Her Loyal Servant
— — — — — — —
At the Yotsuya residence.
"Thank you for bringing me back, Lynn-sama!"
Yotsuya Miko stood at the doorstep, bowing slightly as she thanked Lynn.
Lynn waved it off. "No problem. I needed to come here to set a teleportation marker anyway."
"Um..." Miko hesitated for a moment before lowering her voice. "Would you... like to come in for a bit?"
Lynn glanced at the slightly opening door behind her and chuckled. "I think you'd better explain the situation to your mother first."
"Ah..." Miko stiffened and slowly turned her head, only to see the door had indeed been left open just a crack.
With a resigned sigh, she muttered, "Alright."
"Well then, see you tomorrow." Lynn gave a casual wave before stepping away and disappearing in a flash.
"Miikooo"
Miko's neck shrank in reflex.
Standing behind her was her mother, Yotsuya Touko, who sighed dramatically. "So this is why my dear Miko came home so late... She was out on a date with her boyfriend."
"Poor, poor Mom. I waited for you, even let the food go cold, and now I'm still starving..."
"I'M SORRY, MOM!" Miko apologized immediately, bowing deeply.
Touko grinned. "Alright! I'll forgive you... but next time, bring your boyfriend over for a visit!"
"Huh?!"
— — —
The Next Day
Supernatural Research Club
Miko arrived a little later than usual.
After leaving Hana behind yesterday, she had promised to make it up to her, so they had gone out for daifuku together. Only after parting ways with Hana did Miko rush back to school.
"I really need to learn Teleportation magic..." she thought to herself, recalling how effortlessly Lynn had teleported the night before.
During class, she had asked about it in the "Lynn's Harem Chat Group." However, when Utaha-Senpai sent her a massive wall of complicated theoretical knowledge, Miko immediately gave up.
"Yeah, nope. I'm just not cut out for studying..."
Standing outside the clubroom, she let out a small sigh of defeat before pushing the door open.
Inside, Lynn was seated by the window with his eyes closed, lost in thought.
To his side, Utaha was tapping away furiously on her tablet.
However, what truly caught Miko's attention was the massive, grotesque spirit in the middle of the room—so large that its head nearly touched the ceiling. And it was... tied up?
"Yiiaaaaa!!"
The bloated spirit let out an ear-piercing shriek.
Miko quickly stepped into the room and slammed the door shut behind her.
The speed at which she moved made it clear she was afraid the spirit's screams would echo throughout the entire school.
"Relax. Normal people can't see or hear it," Lynn said, opening his eyes.
Of course, that didn't mean Natsuki wouldn't send him a message complaining about the noise later.
Miko sighed in realization. "Ah, right..." She scratched her cheek awkwardly, then turned to the massive spirit. "Uh... so... what's the deal with this thing?"
She wasn't sure what to make of this situation.
Since when did the Supernatural Research Club... start abducting spirits?
If this had happened just a day earlier, she never would have believed it.
"This is a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit," Lynn explained. "Use Spirit Absorption on it, Miko."
"Oh! Right!" Miko quickly snapped to attention.
So this was an experiment—to see just how effective her Spirit Absorption ability really was.
Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand, palm facing the spirit, and commanded firmly:
"Spirit Absorption!"
A hum resonated through the air as her magic activated.
The spirit's body began to ripple.
"AAAAA!!"
Sensing danger, it started thrashing wildly, desperately trying to break free from its bindings.
But... that was all it could do.
Lynn observed Miko closely as she started to breathe heavily.
"A Grade 2 Cursed Spirit... It's still a bit much for her right now."
Moreover, it wasn't even turning into an experience orb for her.
"That's enough," Lynn said, stopping Miko before she exhausted herself like Utaha had before.
Though, he wouldn't exactly mind helping his subordinates recover their magic in other ways...
"Haaah..." Miko exhaled, stopping her magic. Seeing that the spirit remained unchanged, she looked down in disappointment. "I'm sorry, Lynn-sama. I'm too weak—I couldn't even weaken it."
Lynn simply patted her shoulder. "It's fine."
"Honestly, this is the expected result."
If there were no restrictions, he could just bring over a Special-Grade Cursed Spirit for Miko to absorb, and she'd level up like crazy.
Stepping closer to the bound spirit, Lynn casually patted it. "Alright, you're useless now."
The magic ropes binding the spirit instantly tightened.
"ARGHHH!!"
With one last scream, the spirit was crushed and exploded into nothingness!
Unnoticed by the others, tiny dust-like particles drifted toward Lynn, absorbing into him.
Spirit Absorption.
Unlike Miko, who compressed spirits into purple orbs before absorbing them, Lynn could directly absorb them as they dispersed.
He closed his eyes and felt it.
His power had indeed increased.
Though, not as much as when Utaha and Miko had turned into devils under his command.
After all, every time his subordinates grew stronger, he also received a portion of that power.
If he really wanted to boost his strength, the best approach was still recruiting more subordinates and helping them level up.
Spirit Absorption...If he could absorb a Grade 1 or even a Special-Grade Cursed Spirit, his power would surge dramatically.
But...
"Cursed Spirits of that level aren't exactly common..."
Well, he'd leave it up to fate.
Maybe he'd ask Natsuki to keep an eye out. While she didn't specialize in Spirits, she had colleagues who did.
That said, even if he found a Special-Grade, he wasn't sure if he could handle it.
Even though [Spirit Devil] granted him an advantage against spirits, he wasn't entirely certain how effective it would be.
Better to be cautious.
"All done?" Utaha stretched lazily, setting her tablet down.
That old hag, Machida Sonoko...
Just because she had missed a deadline, the woman had said such cruel things to her.
A year ago, this would've devastated her.
But ever since she met Lynn, everything had changed.
Not just her life as a devil, but even her approach to writing.
Maybe she should start a new novel...
How about...
The Devil Lady and Her Loyal Servant?
Utaha glanced at Lynn, eyes sparkling with amusement.
If Lynn knew what she was thinking, he'd probably say she was getting way ahead of herself.
Smirking to herself, she chuckled.
Lynn sighed. "I just uploaded a file to the group chat. Check it when you get a chance."
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