"Venena-sama, I am back."

  "Welcome back, Grayfia. How did it go?" asked Venena, setting aside the book she had been reading.

  "As expected, the matter with the Phenex family will be settled with a rating game. I estimate that Rias-sama will win."

  "I hope so. The Phenex kid is too immature and perverted. If he were to become her fiancé, I'd have to make some concessions to his father to get the engagement annulled ter."

  "Venena-sama, I think you may want to reconsider your order to kill Noah Enfield." suggest Grayfia after a short hesitation.

  "…Tell me."

  Grayfia had an excellent memory and proceeded to rete what happened during the tea party, not missing a word of that was said.

  "Venena-sama, I believe Noah was honest when he said he saw Rias as more than the heir of the Gremory. And I estimate that he would be a valuable asset for the Gremory House, both for his combat potential, and for his scheming."

  "…Very well. Simply observe him for now, and I will meet with him some time after that rating game. I want to see for myself the man who might become my son-in-w. But Grayfia… do you have feelings for him?" asked Venena, in a carefully neutral voice.

  Grayfia's eyes widened in shock.

  "Please do not jest, Venena-sama."

  "Are you sure? You are more animated than usual when you speak about him, and you wear the uniform he gave you more often than the others."

  "I… That uniform is simply more comfortable than the others I have, and I like its design. I will get rid of it, if it makes you think my loyalty is compromised."

  "There's no need." smiled Venena. "You have served me loyally for over a century now, Grayfia. If you fall in love for someone, you'll have my blessing to pursue your own happiness, as long as that person doesn't harm our House. Even if that means you not being my head maid anymore. Although should this happen one day, you will have to find and train an adequate repcement before leaving my service."

  "Venena-sama, I truly don't have feelings for him… I think. At the very least, I do not intend to leave your side. Please do not question my loyalty." said Grayfia firmly.

  "I do not doubt your loyalty, Grayfia." sighed Venena. "Just make sure to inform me, if you ever have a change of heart."

  "I will, Venena-sama." replied Grayfia softly.

  For the rest of the day, she worked with her usual efficiency, setting up the rating game, sending invitations to various noble families, and so on. But the occasionally thought about Venena's words and tried to analyze her own feelings toward Noah. She respected him, for his strength, his potential, and his cunning. He would make a fine addition to the Gremory house. Far better than any devil noble of Rias's age she could think of, at least.

  But love? Grayfia, who had never fallen in love before, tried to imagine Noah as his lover. Going on dates with him, and more. It… wouldn't be unpleasant.

  …

  When Noah returned home, he found Rui and Hisui pying in the video game room and didn't bother them.

  Alice was in her room, struggling not to try to insert her fingers under the belt, even knowing that she would be punished for it, when she heard a knock at her door.

  She stood from her bed and carefully walked to the door, gritting her teeth.

  She opened it, and as she expected, her 'Master' was standing there, looking at her with his gentle, yet ruthless eyes.

  "Hi, Alice. How are you doing?"

  "How the hell do you want me to do, 'Master'?" replied Alice, with venom in her voice. She flinched as Noah's voice came out from the belt under her skirt.

  [Insult directed at Master detected, three more days for the naughty maid.]

  "You just can't stop getting yourself in trouble, can you?" sighed Noah with a bittersweet smile.

  "What the… I didn't curse at you!" protested Alice.

  "I know, but the belt still reacted to your tone. Since I didn't warn you about it before, I'll let this one go. But be careful about it next time. Lift your skirt, Alice." he said as he entered her room.

  Blushing, Alice did as ordered, and Noah put his hand on the belt's front pte.

  "There, three days removed from your sentence."

  "…The penalty you gave Cire… why did you choose that of all things?" asked Alice, out of breath after being tormented by the belt the whole day, wanting to distract herself from the fire in her womb.

  "Did you expect me to choose something more btant? Maybe exploit her vulnerability to demand outright sex with her or something?"

  "Well, yes… I do not have a very high opinion… of you right now." conceded Alice, and Noah chuckled.

  "And that's understandable, considering your situation. But remember that this is what you chose freely, knowing what the belt would do to you. You haven't been scammed. And you have the option to change that belt for the passive kind anytime you want. But back to your question, why the tex gloves? There are two reasons."

  "The first is that I like the sounds she makes when she moves her hands, and I will from times to times have her rub her arms or such just to let me hear them. I find it rexing, as well as visually pleasing. The second is that I want Cire to start getting used to wearing tex and for her to learn to appreciate it. She will wear more of it eventually, for the reasons cited previously, but I'd prefer for her to first grow a liking to it rather than for me to just order her to."

  Alice's eyes narrowed as she considered his words and looked at him in suspicion.

  "You want her to wear… the rest of your maids, too?"

  "Yes. Back in the previous world, Suzu and the other maids had two kinds of maid uniforms. The 'day' uniform, identical to what you wear right now, and the 'night' uniform, that was entirely made of tex, had a shorter skirt and showed a bit a cleavage. You will have a night uniform too, eventually, but don't worry, I'll take my time to ease you girls into it. You will end up liking wearing tex, too."

  "Are you going to keep making me wear this at school tomorrow?" asked Alice, voicing her most immediate worry.

  Noah rolled his eyes. "And wouldn't that be fun? Of course not. There's no way you'd be able to focus in css with this on. Education is important, same as making friends in css, and I don't want other people to ask why you are flushed and occasionally panting. So, all you girls will be belt-free from the moment we prepare to go to school, until we return home after your supplementary lessons."

  Alice let out a deep sigh of relief. She wasn't sure she would have survived the humiliation, if news of her wearing a vibrating chastity belt spread around. And if she could have some alone time in one of the academy's restrooms, maybe she could give herself some bit of relief. Heaven knew she deserved it.

  She saw Noah smile suddenly.

  "However, that time without you wearing the belt will not be counted in your sentence, and I advise you not to try to cheat. Again."

  Was this man able to read her thoughts? Alice frowned as she stared at him. All while trying to ignore the smoldering fire in her crotch.

  "Well, you seem to be doing okay, so I'll go check on Cire." said Noah.

  Alice nodded.

  When she closed the door behind him, she pressed her back on the door and slowly exhaled. She was going mad, there was no other expnation. When the voice had come from the belt to announce her punishment, she had been properly horrified, but she also had felt a thrill of excitation!

  …

  Noah knocked on the door of Cire's bedroom, and she opened the door. She was wearing the same maid uniform and leather choker than the other maids, but also had her arms covered almost up to the shoulders with glossy bck tex gloves.

  "I'm back, Cire. How are you doing?"

  Cire stared at him in silence for a moment before she answered.

  "…Better. Still not happy, but this is a lot more tolerable… Master."

  "I understand. You need a bit of time to adjust. Come with me, please." smiled Noah.

  "Is that an order?"

  "Do I need to make it one?" grinned Noah.

  Cire sighed and followed Noah into his room. She gulped when she saw the huge bed, rge enough to a dozen people to sleep in.

  "You can sit or y in the middle of on the bed, Cire. Get yourself comfortable."

  "W-What are you going to do to me?"

  "Nothing perverted, so you don't need to worry. I want to have a talk with you, but I figured that we might as well get comfortable doing it. Well, mostly me, I guess. You're going to give me a p pillow, Cire."

  "…Do I have a choice?"

  "Nope. Can you stop acting like I'm demanding your panties or something? It's just an innocent p pillow, and there will be no direct skin contact, since I'm not asking you to lift your skirt."

  "…Fine." sighed Cire, sitting in the middle of the bed.

  Noah positioned himself so that his head would rest in her right thigh, and activated Hands of Nirvana.

  "Quite comfortable. It occurred to me that we never had a serious one on one chat until now. It's my fault for being so busy, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't address it. I know a few things about you, of course, but I want to know more. And feel free to ask about me as well."

  "What are you going to do to me? To us? Tell me the truth, please, without hiding anything."

  Noah looked at her for a few seconds, thinking. He finally decided to keep following his mostly honest policy, since it had served him well so far.

  "…I will tell you, but this doesn't leave this room, that's an order."

  Cire nodded.

  "It's not even all that much of a secret anyway. Hisui and Alice already know or strongly suspect it, at least where the four of you are concerned. I am going to cim you as mine, Cire. But not just you, Alice, Rui and Hisui. I will also get my hands on Maria, Lay and Iris eventually."

  "Even them?" asked Cire. She wasn't really surprised.

  "I already told you girls why I need trustworthy subordinates to push my reforms through, and to put down all the Taro Aoyama of the world. But the power I give my subordinates isn't something that can be entrusted to just anyone. Even pure love fades away with time, and people change. I was aware from the very start that, in order to be certain one of my subordinates wouldn't start murdering innocent people or cause atrocities a hundred or a thousand years from now, I needed a bond stronger than love between me and them. I understood that what I needed wasn't just lovers, but sves, bound to me by soul magic."

  "I'll also admit to being a bad guy, being greedy and possessive, since I'm having an honest moment."

  "And maniputive."

  "Yeah, that, too. But for all my faults, I'm no Taro. I might take away your freedom, but I will, already am, really, taking steps to ensure that you will be happy."

  "You are?"

  "Tell me honestly, Cire. What do you think of the tex gloves you are wearing?"

  Cire hesitated for a moment before answering.

  "… As far as penalty goes, it could be much worse. They are embarrassing to wear, but I'm getting used to them."

  "What you are understating is that you are starting to like the tight feeling of the tex on your skin, it's glossy appearance, and the crinkly and squeaky sounds it makes when you move of rub them together. It makes you feel sexy and hot. Am I wrong?" softly asked Noah with a knowing smile.

  "…No." sighed Cire, looking away. She wanted to deny it, but she couldn't. Before he came to her room, she had been busy rubbing her arms with her hands, and occasionally fondled her breasts through her maid uniform. If not for the chastity belt, she would have masturbated herself in the bathroom with the gloves on. More than once.

  "That's part of the steps I am taking. Nurturing in you girls a liking for the things we'll do together. I want you girls to be happy to be mine, because I'm a control freak, not a sadist. And I could ask you to tell me honestly if you like being forced to wear that belt, if you like having your ability to orgasm being controlled by your Master, but we both know the answer, and I'll spare you the embarrassment."

  "…Am I supposed to feel grateful?" bitterly asked Cire, blushing. She did feel a bit thankful that he wasn't going to make her say it.

  "No. Ideally, you would realize sooner rather than ter that you're stuck with me as your Master for eternity, and negotiate your surrender to me. You know, the 'If life gives you lemons' saying. But I cannot control your decisions to that extent, nor do I want to…"

  "Actually, that's incorrect. I could use something really dirty that would cause you to fall deeply in love with me and forget about Kensei in mere seconds. But I won't. It wouldn't be fun, and I wouldn't be worthy of calling myself your Master if I resorted to something that cheap."

  "Something Lilith gave you?" she asked, and Noah immediately snorted.

  "Hell no. I'm pretty confident she despises that particur magic just as much as I do. You remember what I said about the Devil King War, right?"

  "Yes. You just joined it, I believe. You had that ritual of sorts two days ago."

  "Right. And my first move had been to execute a devil who could, thanks to the Devil Arcana, use a magic called 'Psiconnect'..."

  Noah told her about the effects of the magic, and how Ibiza Mitsuishi had used it.

  "…So, I beheaded that guy. I intend to defeat without killing the vast majority of my opponents in this competition, but not that guy."

  "Did you steal that Arcana from him?" asked Cire, unable to keep her fear from her voice.

  "No. I would have destroyed that Arcana, if I could. It disappeared the instant its host died. But he did try to ensve me using Psiconnect, and you know how my own Gemini Drive works. I can use Psiconnect now, but I just won't."

  "…Why?"

  "Why I'm not going to use it on you girls?" asked Noah. Cire hesitated, then nodded.

  "You made clear that you are prepared to use dirty tricks to reach your goals, and wouldn't the result be the same in the end? We would all be yours, brainwashed and happy to be your sves."

  "…There are three reasons, really. First, and I am a bit ashamed to have to admit it, but I do enjoy your resistance. There is a little bit of sadism in me after all. I enjoy our contest of willpower, skewed as it is."

  "The second reason is that it gives meaning to your eventual surrender, and that is important to me... Tell me, Cire, what would be the most important to you? A dress that you worked hard to obtain, or the same dress that would be given to you by a random person for a trivial reason?"

  "The one I worked hard for, obviously… I understand what you mean. If you were to use that on us, our value would be lowered in your eyes."

  "Exactly. As for the third reason, I do not want to brainwash you girls, as you put it. I do not want a bunch of yes drones, and that is what I would obtain if I were to use this shit. Talk about boring. I want girls who would be able to take initiatives, have their own hobbies, do not hesitate to tell me if they think I'm wrong, and who would be able to function independently when I'm away. I'm going to have multiple worlds in my purview, so that is especially important, because I'll be away a lot."

  "Also, do not use words such as 'brainwashing' to describe what I am doing to you. I am only introducing new things to you girls in a way that makes you like them. I am not altering your memories, or changing your existing thought processes, or repcing your personalities. You girls will still be yourselves, even after you agree to give yourselves to me. You will still love your Nii-san, just not enough to consider living away from me."

  "…you really are a bad man." concluded Cire after a while.

  "I am… Do you regret becoming my maid?"

  "If I didn't become your maid, you wouldn't revive Kensei. I was serious when I said I was willing to do anything for it to happen. Even if that means, not being able to be with him anymore… You are going to revive him, right?"

  "I will. I may be a bad guy, but I understand the value of being known as someone who keeps his promises. And I will allow you to see Kensei as often as you want, just not to have a physical or romantic retionship with him."

  "…Why do we even wear those damn belts? You never intended for any of us to be with Kensei, did you?"

  "No. But there is a difference between what I want to happen, and what will happen, in which case our agreement will be relevant. It isn't impossible for one of you girls to withstand your sentence until you're free of the belts, and resist any subsequent attempt from my part as well until your maid contract expires. If that happens, and if Kensei chooses only one of you, I will do my part of the agreement."

  "…But you're not going to let that happen."

  "No. You girls have too much potential value as subordinates, and I am getting attached to you, too. Besides, I need to gain a number of subordinates to unlock the ability to resurrect people, and as one of those who would benefit from me gaining that ability, it would be fairer for me to make you, Alice and Hisui my subordinates, rather than to choose completely unreted people."

  Cire thought about it, and couldn't disagree, however much she wanted to.

  "…How was your life, before you met Lilith?"

  "Boring and mundane, compared to what happened after that fateful day, that's for sure. I should point out that while my body is set to look like eighteen years old or so, my real age is closer to twenty-six. Not that age matters much when speaking about immortal beings. Anyway, I lost my parents at sixteen in a car crash, then lived with a financially abusive aunt until eighteen. She stole my bank details and wasted my inheritance and the insurance money on designer clothes and cruises around the world, and made no secret of wanting me to give her all my sary as rent the moment I would get a job after college. I managed to get a part-time job without her noticing and found myself a small ft, finished my studies, started working as an accountant."

  "An accountant?"

  "Thrilling career, I know. I lived like this for four years, until I somehow stepped into some kind of dimensional fissure that wasn't visible to the naked eye. What was on the other side is the stuff of nightmares, but I somehow managed to survive, found another dimensional fissure right before some abomination killed me, and nded into Lilith's home dimension. She examined my memories and personality, decided I was suitable for her needs, and offered me to become her newest Champion."

  "…Before this happened, did you have a girlfriend? Someone you miss?"

  "Not particurly. I was focusing on my studies, on getting out from under my aunt's thumb before she drained me dry, then on my professional career… Sometimes, I wonder if Lilith would have offered me the job, if I had someone to return to."

  Cire remained silent for a few minutes, thinking about her future, and Noah was content to give her time to.

  "You can, make your subordinates immortal, right?"

  "I soon will. This is a skill I have yet to exchange for, but I have accumuted nearly enough points for it. At the current rate, I'll have it within two weeks, unless circumstances force me to spend those points elsewhere first."

  "Can you also make males immortal?"

  "…I can. What are you thinking about?"

  "I'm wondering if, maybe, Nii-chan could become immortal, too, after you revive him."

  "…I have made one guy my subordinate, in the other world. But, since I have no interest in having a male subordinate around, I had my girls dominate him and turn him into a masochist. One who has learned to enjoy wearing a chastity belt long term. He is happy, regurly receiving the praises and attention and discipline of his Mistresses, but they won't do anything sexual with him, ever. Though I don't mind letting him go free if he ever finds himself a girlfriend, or even just wants to. But he's too addicted to being spanked or whipped by my girls to want freedom, I think. If at some point, you want to dominate your Nii-chan to make him immortal, I'll consider it, but I won't allow you to have sex with him or kiss him."

  "Please forget I asked." hurriedly said Cire.

  "It's your turn now, Cire." grinned Noah.

  "Tell me about you. Your childhood before you were taken to that isnd, your life in that pce, your goals in life now that you escaped it. And while you do it, I'd like you to make some noise with your gloves."

  "Noise with my gloves?" asked Cire, tilting her head in confusion.

  "Have you ever heard of ASMR?"

  "No. What is it?"

  "Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. Most human beings have different kinds of response to different sounds. It varies a lot from individual to individual, but after some experimentation, I found out that three kinds of sounds were particurly pleasant to me. The soft impacts of wooden objects against each other, the creak of leather, and the crinkle of tex. That's one reason I'm having you wear those gloves."

  "…I see."

  Cire hesitantly started rubbing her gloves against each other, and Noah closed his eyes, focusing on his hearing.

  "Yes. Just like that, Cire. Thank you." he said softly.

  "It's… not bad, actually, this ASMR thing." commented Cire after a few minutes.

  "I'm gd you approve, because this p pillow and ASMR session won't be a single occurrence. I might indulge myself a little from times to times. Tell me about you, Cire."

  "…I am Cire Belial." sighed Cire, unable to keep silent about it any longer, due to the effect of the soul contract. Her st name was a taboo among the Returnees who knew her, because her family had powerful enemies among the devils. She would not have survived Hagun Isnd if Taro Aoyama had learned about her identity.

  "Belial? Are you a retive of Diehauser Belial?"

  "I do not know. My mom was named Cleria Belial. I was only eight when I was kidnapped, mom was killed trying to save me, and I don't remember any other member of my family."

  "Diehauser Belial is your mother's cousin… When the time come, remind me to add your mom to the list of people to be revived. She probably won't cost me too much." muttered Noah, and he felt his temporary pillow tremble.

  "You will? …Are you going to ask me for something in return?"

  Noah smiled as he lifted a hand to touch Cire's long silver hairs, idly twirling a few strands around his index.

  "…No. By the time this happen, you'll be mine already. I won't demand or negotiate for anything you would offer me willingly. Consider this just a part of the 'make you happy' package."

  "…Thank you, Master." replied Cire quietly.

  It was the first time Noah heard genuine respect in her tone when she said the word.