RSE B2 CH 1 (Patreon)

When Leo awoke, he was surprised to find he was completely unable to move.

‘Wait… what the…?’

Opening his eyes, he realized that he wasn’t alone in his bed. His arms were pinned by two beautiful women—his maid and the sole member of his Circle.

Lucy and Asa.

They wore only skimpy panties, and the two of them were fast asleep. Breathing evenly, they each clutched one of his arms. Soft, warm skin enveloped his arms where they were pulled between two sets of breasts—one slight and perky, and the other heavy and full.

“Nn~” A small moan leaked out from Asa when Leo’s elbow gently grazed the inner slope of her breast, prompting him to stop moving.

Leo closed his eyes and focused on his breathing as he tried to understand what was happening. It took a moment, but then last night’s activities came back to him.

Last night, after Asa had accepted the Bishop piece, she’d been covered in a white cocoon as she went through a metamorphosis process. Then Lucy had offered to assist him with the ‘problem’ that hadn’t gone down, even after he’d taken Asa’s V-Card.  

After her ministrations, he’d been so drained—literally—that he simply went to his bed and fell right asleep.

Who would have thought that the two of them would join him?

“Awake?”

A hot breath stirred by his right ear, prompting him to turn toward the source.

Lucy was awake. She wore the faintest smile—only detectable as such because Leo knew her so well. The corners of his succubus maid’s mouth turned up just a tic. 

“Is it just me, or have you actually been smiling since yesterday?” Leo asked quietly. He didn’t want to wake Asa up.

“It’s just that I never felt so good in my life,” Lucy admitted. 

Her body didn’t feel completely different from her past self, but there had been a noticeable change. She couldn’t pinpoint the exact difference without doing deeper tests, but she figured she was roughly ten percent stronger than she had been yesterday. 

Not only that, her energy reserve and her mana sensitivity had increased by a similar amount. While there was surely more room to improve, she was really excited about her future potential. This strengthening was not unexpected. But given that this was just the start, she was excited to see where it would lead. 

She would continue to grow as long as her Master asked her to help with more Master-Servant Pact magic—which was all but guaranteed if she deepened her relationship with Leo. This was all because of the role she’d played in the Master-Servant Pact magic. Acting as a filter between Leo and Asa, she’d gained a measure of the power that had grown between them. 

Lucy put a finger over her lips to tell him to be quiet before slithering down under the blankets.

Leo was a little confused at first but then…

“Ahhhhh!” 

He groaned softly as he felt his briefs being pulled down and a moist sensation covered the tip of his morning wood.

This was without a doubt the best way to start the morning.

***

After Lucy’s ‘Good Morning!’ and a much-needed bath, Leo found himself at his dining room table with a delicious breakfast in front of him. Between bites of omelet and pancakes he discussed what had happened with a happily smiling Lucy and a clueless Asa.

The topic of their discussion centered, of course, around their new powers and the changes it caused. The conclusion they’d come up with, was that there had been a notable increase in the amount of energy all three could wield.

Physically, the changes weren’t significant for Lucy. She was already a peak-level devil and expert at both martial arts and her powers. But Asa was far from being used to her new strength. She kept breaking everything around her due to lacking an understanding of how to gauge the application of her new strength.

Lucy noted that with Asa’s new strength, she could crush hand of the world’s strongest man in her petite hand without even exerting herself. Of course, when the maid said this, she was speaking of normal people rather than those already attuned to the supernatural—like exorcists—or those who were no longer human. 

“But seriously, the changes will be startling. Technically speaking, Asa’s current power is equal to a median-level devil, if not a fairly high-powered median devil. And that is without considering her Divine Gear. She is still a fair ways from the upper-level threshold, but with proper training I believe it shouldn’t take her long to reach that level.”

Leo was astonished. He had to remember that, before her metamorphosis, Asa wasn’t even comparable to a lower devil. Not to mention that, before, she hadn’t been a fighter. 

But now? With some training, she could be a powerhouse. The changes were earth-shattering…

“The change for me,” Lucy explained, “was meager compared to the power you gave Asa. But it wasn’t insignificant.” Lucy chuckled softly, lips twisting up slightly in what could only be a grin. 

Leo could only shake his head in response.

“You were already a peak level devil. If it was possible to take you from peak level to transcendent level with one Master-Servant Pact… then this magic would be beyond reality and into the realm of lunacy.”

Lucy just shrugged. That was indeed the case. From the peak level onward, the difference in power and the thresholds separating each level was exponential.

If there was, hypothetically speaking, a difference of hundreds of points between a new peak devil and an upper level devil, then the difference between transcendent level and a normal peak level devil would be measured in thousands or even tens of thousands of points.

That was an oversimplification of how overwhelmingly powerful the four Calamities were—the final rank, above even transcendent level. 

An peak level devil would have to give it their all to destroy a country, while a transcendent devil like Livinia, for example, could destroy the same country several times over without breaking a sweat.

“Leo, I think we should discuss how we will develop your Circle.”

“What do you mean… how ‘we’ will develop my Circle?” Leo’s brows drew together as he studied his succubus maid.

“Well, it may be oversimplifying things… but let’s say that there are three types of Circles. Or, rather, that there are four types.” Lucy unfolded four fingers in front of her as she continued her explanation.

“The first of the types is known as the power Circle. As the name implies, it is a Circle that specializes in destruction. They generally lack the ability to cope with a multitude of situations that span a battlefield, but they make up for everything they lack with the sheer power they wield. Rayne’s Circle is heading that direction from what I’ve seen.”

Leo recalled what he had seen the previous week during the hunt for the stray devil with Rayne’ Circle. Rayne, Shuri, James, or Kira… they all boasted a great deal of talent for destructive power, with plenty of room for improvement as they developed in that direction.

“The second type is what is commonly known as a technique-oriented Circle, or simply a tactical unit. This Circle trades power for diversity. Each member of the Circle has specialized skills that allow the Circle, in general, to cope with just about any circumstance that may unfold. Fighting such a Circle is tiring, but they require a competent strategist to bring the Circle to its maximum potential. The best example of this, if I had to mention one you might be familiar with, would be Sharon Sitrin’s Circle.”

Leo nodded once again in understanding. He knew that simply being good at chess didn’t automatically make one a good tactician, but it was clear that this was the path Sharon was treading.

“The third type is simply called a hybrid. A hybrid Circle is honestly the most common and stable type of Circle, and I believe this is currently the track your Circle is leaning towards.” Lucy smiled at Leo as she finished her explanation. 

Her master was a pretty good strategist, and he certainly didn’t lack for power. Meanwhile, they had a great healer in Asa. Lucy could occupy the role of a front liner or back liner. She could be extremely flexible when the situation demanded it—and not just in the bedroom.

The three of them already had a stable formation, with Leo as the vanguard and Lucy as Asa’s guard. She could also open up an escape portal for all of them with her teleportation magic if things got tight or out of hand. Of course, this sparse formation would surely change when more members were added to the Circle. 

But that was a thought best reserved for the future.

Leo thought about it and found himself agreeing with her reasoning. But she’d said there were four types of Circles, not three.

“What about the fourth type?”

Lucy gave a mirthless chuckle at the question, which gave Leo a bad feeling, “The fourth type is simply called a Harem Circle, which consists of the leader and, you guessed it, his harem of girls. This is undoubtedly a popular type for many devils, and what your Circle will most likely turn into.”

“What do you mean—”

“Oh?” Lucy interrupted him. “Do you mean to say that you will add a male in a Circle where the main punishment when one of your Circle steps out of line is getting horny?” 

Leo blanched, then coughed weakly in embarrassment. He swallowed any and all rebuttals he might have had. While he didn’t necessarily want to have a Circle solely composed of women, there was no way he would ever allow another man to look at Asa’s nude body. 

Or any other woman he developed feelings for—which he was honest enough with himself to admit, would be any he offered a Piece to.

“Speaking of which… what do you plan to do once you defeat Rayne and her Circle?” Lucy spoke in such a blunt and matter-of-fact tone, it seemed the outcome of their Masque Game was a foregone conclusion. 

If before there might have been some hiccups because of Leo’s mental state, now that Leo had embraced a desire to become stronger, she knew there was no way he would lose against Rayne and her lackluster Circle. Sure, they had potential, but they lacked discipline and would require a significant amount of training to realize that potential. The way they were now, there was no way they could win against Leo—not in his empowered state.

Of course, there was always the chance he might experience a relapse and try to fade into the background. That was always a danger with significant trauma. But she believed in Master Leo.

“Before I decide what I’m going to do, could you give me a clearer picture of the situation surrounding Rayne and her Circle?”

Leo believed in gathering the best information possible before approaching a problem. Only then could a reliable plan be made. And Lucy did not disappoint in that regard. Not only did she have all the information he needed, she even gave her own perspective on the situation, with some hidden insights not even Rayne and her group were privy to.

This made Leo realize once more how useful it was to have an experienced, senior devil in your corner. Thanks to Lucy, he was privy to information he would never have been able to get on his own. The same thing had occurred when Lucy was able to directly contact Salvatore and inform him about the situation with the Fallen Angels.

‘Speaking of…’

He turned to Lucy and asked, “What should we do with the—”

“I already sent them to prison through a dimensional portal,” Lucy replied before he could even finish his sentence.

“You are really perfect.”

Leo could blink, speechless, when Lucy flashed a V sign without a change to her normal, emotionless face.

It was then that the house phone rang.

“I will get it,” he said, standing. 

Lucy didn’t stop him, even though answering the phone was one of her duties as his maid. Anyone calling Leo on a landline would be from the human world, and it wouldn’t do for it to be common knowledge that he was living with a woman… let alone two women.

Leo took the call.  “Hello, this is the Karteros household. How may I help you?”

“Good morning, Leo.”

“Ah… Miss Hastings?”

Leo was surprised at the call from the school’s nurse. “How may I help you?”

“….”

“I take it you forgot all about little ole’ me, yesterday?”

Leo thought for a bit before his eyes opened wide.

‘Shit!’

“From your silence, you must have forgotten about our arrangement.”

Leo heard the disappointment and sadness in her voice. “I know I have no excuse, Miss Hastings… but I am really sorry. Yesterday was just crazy. Too many things happened this weekend.”

Hunting the stray with Rayne’ Circle… 

Arguing with Lucy… 

Going out to clear his thoughts and then running into and Killing Barlowe… 

Taking in Asa…

Meeting Maria and Mimi…

Killing the Fallen Angels…

The revelation about him being a Mephisto…

Taking Asa in as a member of his Circle with Lucy’s Master-Servant Pact magic.

When he laid it all out like that, it was hard to believe everything that had happened since Friday evening.

“I forgive you, Leo… but I’m not going to let you off the hook. Thankfully, I feared something like this might happen. This is why I’m calling now. I know you have a busy day at school, but I will come by to pick you up this evening… say at six o’clock?”

Leo hesitated, but noticed Lucy wave a hand at him while giving an Okay sign. He grinned bitterly and nodded to himself. “Of course, I’ll look forward to seeing you at six.”

He knew he’d wonder what he’d set himself up for all day during class. Good thing he didn’t have any tests or quizzes today. How in the hells was he supposed to focus on schoolwork?!