After some pleasantries, Tatsuma sat down on the club's sofa.
"Here."
Akeno poured him a cup of tea.
Tatsuma picked up the teacup and took a sip. "I've long heard that Akeno-senpai's skills are excellent, and it's indeed delicious."
"Oh my, thank you." Akeno's face showed a smile.
"Akeno, come sit here."
After Rias called out, her gaze turned towards the man in front of her.
"I've already heard about your purpose from Koneko."
"You came here to find opponents of comparable strength, is that right?"
Tatsuma nodded. "That's right."
Rias said, "I can fulfill your request. However, signing a contract with a Devil requires paying corresponding compensation."
"The compensation is already prepared."
Tatsuma flexed his muscles and said, "I'll be your enforcer, helping you clear out Cursed Spirits or enemies within your jurisdiction and maintain order."
"You certainly have a good plan."
Rias saw through Tatsuma's purpose at a glance.
Through signing a contract, he could battle and train with opponents of comparable strength. Then, pay a price to fight and kill enemies of different levels.
He would profit from both sides, suffering no loss at all.
Tatsuma asked, "What's wrong? Is this compensation not enough?"
Rias said, "It's enough, but I have a better suggestion."
Tatsuma asked, "What suggestion?"
"I would like to invite you to become my Peerage."
Rias took out a Devil Piece.
Being able to defeat Koneko with his bare hands after only training for just over a week, Tatsuma's strength and potential were beyond doubt. For such a high-quality potential stock, Rias would naturally try to recruit him if she had the chance.
"There are many benefits to becoming a Devil, the most basic being obtaining nearly endless lifespan."
"Furthermore, as my Peerage, you can also receive a piece of land in the Underworld for free as your territory."
"If you wish to remain in the Human World, you can also join the Gremory's industries."
"Although you'd start from the bottom, getting promoted to a senior executive within a few years is absolutely not a problem."
"In terms of benefits and treatment, they are also of the highest standard, and there will be various bonuses every year."
"Sounds quite good." Tatsuma rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
He didn't think Rias was lying. As the heiress of the Gremory clan and the sister of the current Lucifer, Rias held a high position in the Underworld.
Even considering it more deeply, what Rias just said were only the obvious benefits. By becoming her Peerage, the benefits gained secretly would only be greater.
For Tatsuma, who only wanted to become stronger, this suggestion was entirely beneficial with no drawbacks.
"Oh, there's one more thing I forgot to mention."
Rias continued to promote herself, "As long as you become a Devil of the Gremory clan, you will gain the right to freely enter and exit the Underworld."
"When we have free time during the summer break, we can go to the Underworld together. You can spar with the Gremory's Devils for free, and if that's not enough, I can even help you invite experts from other clans."
Tatsuma nodded. "Deal."
What she offered was simply too much.
(Note: Before you go ahead and criticise this decision, hear me out. This is not a master-servant relationship but a client-mercenary or guild-adventurer relationship. Rias has no leverage over MC as he can take the devil piece out without repercussions whenever he wants.)
"Welcome, Tatsuma."
Rias was in a great mood, her lips slowly curving upwards.
Taking out all the devil pieces from her storage space, she placed them separately on the table.
"These are the pieces I have left now, which one do you want?"
"Any is fine, you can decide."
"Then the Rook will do."
The value of a Rook is equivalent to five Pawn pieces, second only to the King and Queen.
Coupled with Tatsuma's proficiency in close combat, giving him a Rook piece could be said to be just right.
Activating the power of the Devil Pieces, Rias integrated it into Tatsuma's body. However, just then, an unexpected event occurred.
Bang!
The Rook piece that had just integrated into Tatsuma's body was repelled.
"Huh?"
Akeno, who was nearby, was somewhat surprised.
"This situation... is it because Tatsuma's potential exceeded the piece conversion limit?"
"It seems so."
Rias was also a bit surprised.
"Tatsuma, it seems you can only be a Pawn."
"No problem."
As if he had thought of something, Tatsuma temporarily unequipped the Limitless Potential trait.
The Pawn piece was activated, and Rias integrated it into Tatsuma's body.
[Detected external power, convert it into a white trait?]
A notification sound suddenly rang out.
Subsequently, before Tatsuma could react, the second Pawn piece integrated into his body.
[Detected external power, convert it into a green trait?]
It can still upgrade?
Glancing at the remaining six pieces, Tatsuma continued to integrate the Pawn pieces.
The fourth Pawn piece integrated, and the trait level was promoted to blue.
The eighth Pawn piece integrated, and the trait level was promoted to purple.
"Huh? Why hasn't it succeeded yet?"
Rias couldn't hold back her surprise, widening her eyes with an astonished expression.
These were eight Pawn pieces!
Even Dragon King level powerhouses could be converted into Devils, so why was there no reaction at all with Tatsuma?
"Don't worry, it's just taking a little longer to take effect." Tatsuma pressed the confirmation button.
The next second, the eight Devil Piecess inside him disappeared, transforming into a new trait.
[Pawn (Purple): Gathers the power of eight Pawn pieces, can convert one's race into a Devil, and significantly improve physical attributes.]
Good stuff.
This was the first time Tatsuma had obtained a trait that directly improved physical strength, he immediately equipped it.
The next second, a special aura rose from his body, and black wings unfolded behind him.
"It seems it succeeded." Rias breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing that there had been no reaction from Tatsuma's side just now, she had thought it had failed again. If that were truly the case, then she would have no way at all.
"Next, I need to set aside some time for flight training."
After a simple test of the Devil wings, Tatsuma put the Limitless Potential back on.
[Tatsuma Nakamura]
[Race: Devil]
[Strength: Level 2]
[Equipped Traits: Spiritual Healing Bracelet (Blue), Pawn (Purple), Senjutsu (Purple), Boost (Red), Limitless Potential (Rainbow)]
As expected, it's still necessary to interact with more people.
Looking at the much more luxurious trait panel, Tatsuma was in a great mood.
However, just as he was about to invite Rias to battle, the sound of a door opening rang out from nearby.
"President, I'm back."
Yuuto, who had just dealt with an evil spirit, walked in from outside.
"You're back at a good time, we have a new member joining us."
Rias explained Tatsuma's situation and also introduced Yuuto to Tatsuma.
Yuuto exclaimed, "Eight Pawn Piecess? No wonder Tatsuma was able to defeat Koneko, he indeed has a lot of potential."
Rias said, "Tatsuma's purpose for joining us is to find more strong opponents to battle. Yuuto, if you have time, you can spar with him more."
Yuuto nodded. "I understand."
"Do you have time now?"
Just then, Tatsuma's voice suddenly rang out.
Rias and the others were stunned for a moment, then showed helpless expressions.
"As expected, just like President said, he's a battle maniac."
Yuuto agreed.
As a member of the club, he naturally knew about Koneko's crushing defeat last night.
This was a rare opportunity, perfect for using this exchange to understand Tatsuma's true strength.