Chapter 5: I'm Going to Your Place
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Kasumigaoka Utaha's eyes widened in shock, her pupils flashing with disbelief.
That damn evil devil, Lynn!
He actually pushed her—an innocent, beautiful girl—straight into danger without hesitation, leaving her to face the cursed spirit alone?!
She wanted to curse him out.
But as the spirit loomed closer, a wave of fear gripped her heart. There was no time to scold Lynn now.
What do I do?
What do I do?!
Wait—!
The Devil's Grimoire!
She was a Devil now! A mere cursed spirit shouldn't dare underestimate her!
With newfound resolve, she snapped open the Devil's Grimoire, ready to unleash its full power!
Smack!
Utaha slammed the Grimoire shut.
The clean, blank pages staring back at her filled her with despair.
She had just become an Archivist Devil—she hadn't recorded any abilities yet!
"You can see me!!"
The cursed spirit's guttural shriek was right next to her.
Its rancid breath blasted against her face, making her long black hair flutter. Her mind went blank.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!!"
Acting purely on instinct, she swung the Grimoire with all her might!
Boom!
A powerful shockwave ripped through the alley.
The Swing of Utaha!
The mighty skill of the Utaha activated! It was super effective!
"Aaaaagh!!"
The cursed spirit let out a final shriek before disintegrating into nothing.
Utaha cautiously opened one eye. Seeing the cursed spirit completely gone, she gasped in disbelief. "Did... did I just do that?"
"Nice work, Utaha."
Lynn strolled up beside her, giving an encouraging nod.
Utaha let out a sigh of relief—only to glare at him with resentment.
Lynn, on the other hand, felt no guilt whatsoever.
Come on, as his servant, wasn't it only natural for her to grind levels and power him up? Did she really expect him to do all the work?
Besides, there was no way he'd actually let her die.
These spirits were weak. Even if Utaha stood still and did nothing, they probably wouldn't even be able to scratch her. She was a lower-class devil now, after all.
"How do you feel?"
Utaha shot him another glare, then took a deep breath to compose herself. Regaining her usual grace, she replied, "Not bad."
Lynn chuckled. If he hadn't just witnessed her flailing around in panic, he might've actually believed her.
"Since it's 'not bad,' why not keep going and chase these spirits?"
"Huh?" Utaha was dumbfounded.
"Just kidding."
Utaha gave him a deadpan look. "That didn't sound like a joke at all."
Lynn ignored her complaints. "For today, just get used to things. Starting tomorrow, we'll officially begin leveling up."
Utaha's eye twitched, but she said nothing.
Lynn turned and started walking out of the alley.
Utaha instinctively followed.
As they stepped onto the main street, Lynn tilted his head slightly and gestured forward with his chin. "Tell me, don't you want to get stronger?"
Utaha followed his gaze.
The streets were swarming with cursed spirits.
Some were standing, others crouching. Each had a hideous and eerie posture.
And every single one of them was asking the same question to the passing pedestrians:
"Can you see me?"
Utaha opened her mouth, then fell silent for a long moment before finally muttering, "...Has Japan already fallen?"
Cursed spirits. So many cursed spirits.
"These ones—and the one you just defeated—are nothing more than low-tier grunts."
"Low-tier..." Utaha clenched her fists.
She understood what Lynn meant.
If these were the weak ones, then there had to be stronger ones out there.
Besides, it wasn't like she had a choice anymore.
She wasn't human now. She was a devil.
And one with a 'master' at that.
Closing her eyes briefly, she took a deep breath. When she opened them again, they were filled with determination.
"I understand."
She turned to face him properly.
"Please, make me stronger, Lynn."
"Hmm?" Lynn suddenly remembered something and smirked playfully. "What should you be calling me now?"
Utaha paused, then looked at him with disgust. "Perverted Master."
Lynn took a moment to process it.
Not bad. Even with the 'perverted' part, it had a certain charm to it.
Pulling out his phone, he said, "Let's exchange Line contacts. It'll make things easier."
Utaha gave him a weird look after seeing his icon's name. "Sigma man?"
A notification popped up.
'Utako has joined the group chat.'
Seeing the message, Utaha raised an eyebrow. "What's this?"
"Our servant chat group."
"I get that, but what's with the group name?"
Utaha held up her phone, showing the name 'Lynn's familia Harem Group.'
The words burned into her eyes.
Lynn looked confused. "What? Isn't it accurate?"
Utaha was left speechless. How was he saying this with such confidence?
Seeing her expression, Lynn seemed to realize something. "Relax. You're my first servant, so for now, I'm all yours. Consider it a privilege of being the first."
"Who the hell wants that kind of privilege?!"
Utaha felt like she was burning through all her energy just from arguing with him.
Still, she had to admit—he was right about one thing.
She was his first servant.
If he ever got more servants in the future, that meant she would be their senior.
If this really turned into a harem, then she, without question, would be the head wife.
Utaha's lips curled slightly.
...Wait, no!
Why the hell was she even thinking about that?!
She quickly shook her head, pushing those weird thoughts away.
Damn it, it was all because of this ridiculous group chat name!
After exchanging contacts, Lynn stretched. "Alright, it's getting late. Time to head home."
Utaha hesitated, then glanced at the cursed spirits roaming the streets. "Are... are you sure I'll be okay?"
She was a little worried she might get killed on the way back.
"Relax. As long as you pretend you can't see them, they won't attack."
Utaha blinked. "So regular people really can't see them?"
That explained why the spirits were everywhere, yet no one on the street seemed to care.
Thinking back, before she became a devil, she hadn't been able to see them either.
But now that she knew they had always been there... the thought sent shivers down her spine.
Especially the ones sitting on people's heads.
"If you're still scared, I could walk you home," Lynn offered. "Consider it another privilege of being my first servant."
Lynn actually wasn't entirely joking—he wasn't too comfortable letting Utaha go off alone just yet.
Sure, she had the power of a lower-class devil and a unique ability as an Archivist Devil.
But she had zero experience.
Accidents could happen.
"No need," Utaha refused immediately.
Before Lynn could ask why, she continued:
"I'm going to your place."
Lynn: "...?"
.
.
.