Family heirloom, then turned into a demon girl

Chapter 39 Mission: 03-4 Letter

"Well...I wonder what you guys want from me?"

The Baron's demeanor clearly indicated he didn't want Beatrice to attend the reception. Nero had a vague feeling that mentioning Beatrice here wasn't a good idea. So she took the initiative and said, "It's nothing important, just a passing mention. If your daughter can't come, there's no need to bother."

Then she winked at Ritsuka, not knowing whether the other party understood.

As the protagonist of the welcome party, Georgos seemed unimpressed by this somewhat pretentious lord and immediately prepared to leave: "Thank you for your hospitality, Lord. It's time for us to take our leave."

"Hey, please stay for a moment."

The lord immediately stopped them and kindly invited them to stay in his mansion temporarily.

In order to more conveniently protect the lord from the Demon Pillar and to have easier access to Beatrice, the few of them briefly exchanged opinions and decided to accept the lord's invitation.

On the first day of their stay, everyone did not rush to contact Beatrice, but instead discussed the current situation again.

"Oh, thank goodness the primary goal has been accomplished," Ritsuka said, stretching lazily in the room. "Just be careful when you leave town again."

Nero nodded in confirmation of her opinion. "Next time Ritsuka leaves town, let one of me or Georgos go with you. This demon is truly unreliable."

Mephisto held the back of his head and laughed shamelessly: "It really makes me sad to hear that. I, a demon, was the one who protected the Master in the first place and made great contributions, you know?"

"You say that, but I'm afraid you won't give your all next time."

Suddenly, Georgos cast a sharp gaze at the demon: "You deliberately put the Master in danger, didn't you?"

Ritsuka looked at Mephisto in surprise: "Huh?! Is that so?"

Mephistopheles smiled helplessly and shook his head. "You speak as if I knew there were dangers along the way. This is slander, Saint. You have violated the precept of perjury."

Georgos stared at it coldly for a moment, then looked away: "Don't you want to admit it? Never mind.

"Anyway, there's no way you could kill the Master."

Nero felt more and more that Georgios had seen something in the devil.

I think Ritsuka feels the same way. She turned to look at Mephisto standing behind her and said, "I also think it's time for the Devil to speak the truth."

"Master," Mephisto said with a smile, "the devil's true words are meant to deceive you sincerely. Do you really want to hear it?"

"Go ahead," Nero interrupted. "If you don't, I'll yell your real name right here."

Under this naked threat, Mephistopheles yielded: "Okay, okay. Then let me swear on my real name -

"In this singularity, all my actions will be for the Master's sake, out of goodwill for you. How is that?"

"I feel like I can't prove anything." Ritsuka complained.

For the Master's sake—it didn't say whether he wished her good or bad. Out of kindness for the Master—but whether this kindness was so that Ritsuka could successfully complete the contract, or so that he could take her soul, no one knew.

"I knew nothing good could come out of a devil's mouth," Nero chimed in, then changed the subject, no longer dwelling on this untrustworthy demon. "What do you think of the lord?" "He's a good guy, isn't he?" Ritsuka thought for a moment and replied, "He's very kind to the townspeople and seems quite approachable."

But Georgos gave a different answer: "A hypocrite. Ordinary as a human being, but repulsive as a lord."

"Do you think so?" Nero held his forehead with his hand and sighed. "I once pretended to be a believer, so I'm very familiar with this behavior."

It was a case of like repelling like, to some degree. Nero could see that the lord didn't actually believe in God, and that he only acted pious to win the townspeople's praise. This subtle sense of dissonance seeped through his overly enthusiastic attitude towards Georgios, leaving Nero feeling as uncomfortable as if he had seen a bug in his food.

"No, you're different."

Nero was puzzled by Georgos's sudden words. She looked at the saint, who lowered his head and said, "I must apologize to you as well. Yesterday, I called you a demon simply because you possessed demonic powers. That was inappropriate."

"That's not a big deal. I don't really care about it..." Nero waved his hand awkwardly. "There was a demon nearby at the time. It's its fault."

Ignoring Mephistopheles' protests, Nero then asked, "But what do you mean when you say I am different from him?"

"Not only does he not believe in God," Georgos replied, "he also doesn't believe in people, love, or goodness... This is the terrible thing about him as a lord.

"But you are different. I know that you have your own beliefs in your heart."

Ritsuka was clearly having trouble following the topic; her expression betrayed that she was barely listening. Instead, the demon Mephistopheles laughed and said, "How condescending! This is why I like humans."

This incoherent sentence is highly ambiguous. Who exactly is "high above"? Does it truly love humans, or is it just looking for an excuse to dislike gods and saints?
Nero looked at the demon, and suddenly realized that there was more than one Riddler in this singularity.

She even suddenly felt that it was not impossible that Mephistopheles was the mastermind behind the scenes.

"No need to try again, demon."

Georgius finally responds to Mephistopheles: "I already know your true nature."

Knowing the essence? Did this mean she guessed Mephistopheles' real name?

Nero and Ritsuka both looked at Georgios, but Mephisto smiled nonchalantly.

"Really? Saint?"

The saints define it this way: "You are not sin, you are the trial. Therefore, you cannot defeat me."

She didn't continue, but Mephistopheles did stop smiling and looked a little serious.

However, there is bad news: the Riddler is showing signs of being a Heroic Spirit, and is multiplying.

Nero, feeling a bit of a headache, spoke again to change the subject: "Okay, let's talk business.

"Given the unexpected circumstances we encountered today, leaving town to search for other Heroic Spirits is out of the question. So, should we still contact Beatrice?"

Ritsuka didn't speak immediately, so Nero continued, "I think if the Demon Pillar wants to use Beatrice's ideas to make a fuss, its focus should be on the lord."

(End of this chapter)