Today marks an entire week since my fight with Aspite. I'm finally back to classes after that long absence.

"And this is why torture is an effective method of obtaining information. I hope everyone is paying attention, this will become really important once you begin to rule over your family's territories."

Aah, I'd almost missed Nagasawa-sensei's strange lessons. Though, to be fair, they seem to be strange only from my point of view, and I couldn't say she was a bad teacher.

Not long after that, the bell signaling the end of classes chimed. That's 1 more day of lessons that flew completely over my head. I wonder how bad I'll do when the exams come around.

Well, that's a worry for the future. Right now, I have to go to the Palace to meet with Lizel-senpai and Reina.

"Let's go… Miyabi?"

"… H-huh? O-oh. I'm coming, Yuuto~!"

Please don't say things that can be misinterpreted, especially in such a loud voice. Even Nagasawa-sensei got embarrassed.

Miyabi got her things and followed me out of the classroom. Our objective was the Palace, but there's still a minute or so before we arrive.

"Miyabi, is everything okay?"

"Y-yeah. I'm just a little tired. Maybe I spend too long playing games hehe."

She had seemed distant the whole day today. Miyabi wasn't the brightest student, but she also wasn't the type to just go to sleep in the middle of classes like she did today.

And even when she was awake, her eyes seemed like her mind was somewhere else. I wondered if there was some problem, but could Miyabi really have just spent an entire night playing games and I'm worried for nothing?

Somehow, I have a bad feeling, but what can I do with no proof? I'll just hope it's just a bad feeling.

We arrived at the Palace soon enough. Lizel-senpai was already there waiting for us.

"Lizel-senpai."

"Senpai."

"So Yuuto and Miyabi have already arrived. Come, sit. Let's wait for Reina."

Lizel-senpai served us a cup of tea as Miyabi and I took our seats. I don't know anything about tea, but I might as well taste it now that it's served.

Yup it's… tea alright. I have nothing else to add.

"Mm? Isn't this tea from…?"

"Oh, so Miyabi knows this?"

Unexpectedly, Miyabi seems to understand about tea. She even started having a conversation with Lizel-senpai.

I suppose she is also the daughter of a noble family, but I have to say I didn't expect this from her. Somehow, it feels like I was abandoned by a friend.

"What? Does Yuuto not enjoy tea?"

"Well I wouldn't say that, just never took an interest. But I'm surprised Miyabi knows her stuff."

"What's that supposed to mean? Even I can play the part of a lady."

If you say it that way, it makes it seem like you're just pretending, you know?

In any case, we all enjoyed the tea while we waited for Reina to arrive. She got there like, 10-15 minutes after Miyabi and I.

"Reina's sorry she's late desu! Waaa!"

Reina got her katana, Pon-chan, stuck on the doorframe and fell on her butt. I think I've seen this somewhere before.

No, wait. This time Reina fell in such spectacular fashion her skirt rolled up and her panties are now in full view. This is different from last time.

Since the opportunity came, let's see what Reina is wearing today. Lemme look… o-oh…

"*gulp*"

I ended up reflexively swallowing the hot tea. I think my throat is burned, but right now I could care less.

What's with these panties?! That's just a string! I-I can clearly make out Reina's lower lips with little to no effort.

"'bii' that's foul play, Reina. You can't just greet Yuuto by showing your panties."

"I-it wasn't Reina's intention desu."

Reina took a seat beside Lizel-senpai, she also put Pon-chan beside her. I would have thought she would have learned to properly store it after we went out last week, but I suppose old habits die hard.

We were all together now, but we weren't in a hurry. There was time to finish enjoying the tea while we rested for a second.

After she finished her cup, Lizel-senpai waited for everyone else to be done before she started talking.

"How are you feeling, Yuuto?"

"Great. I feel like I can get back the week's worth of training that I missed."

I was knocked out for a day and a half after my fight with Aspite, that was due to the backlash of my second Characteristic Magic, Infinite Lovers. When I finally felt back to 100%, it was already the weekend again.

So that's how I lost an entire week's worth of training. Considering the distance between me and the other Devil King Candidates, this could be bad. I should get back on track as soon as possible.

"Ah, no, don't worry about that. Rather, Yuuto was so far ahead of the original schedule that I took this week to rethink a few things."

"Eh? So I won't be training with Lizel-senpai, Miyabi and Reina like before?"

"It's not quite that. Like I said, Yuuto was so far ahead of the schedule I thought we could put those training sessions on hold and focus on something else."

I suppose that made sense. But I still felt a little uneasy. This isn't the first time Lizel-senpai told me I was ahead of schedule, but I honestly didn't feel like I made that much progress.

"So what's Yuuto's training going to focus on now, senpai?"

"There are 2 main things: I want Yuuto to learn more magic, so he has more means of attacking, and I want to find a way to permanently unlock Infinite Lovers."

The Infinite Lovers I used against Aspite was just a temporary release of that power. The Arcana told me I hadn't properly fulfilled the conditions for it yet.

"To learn new spells, Yuuto will simply make use of the method he already knows, that is asking the Arcana. As for Infinite Lovers, Yuuto will also have to ask the Arcana about it, but there are also a number of other questions I'd like to ask."

"So Yuuto will have to work as senpai's interpreter? Sounds boring."

"Do your best, Yuuto-san!"

Well, I have to admit I shared Miyabi's opinion. It would be like 3rd wheeling a conversation, but it couldn't be helped. Lizel-senpai couldn't talk with the Arcana anyway.

"… Yes… it'll be inconvenient, but please help me, Yuuto."

"Lizel-senpai is doing this for my sake, so it's only fair I help. Please ask away."

"Then, let's start with the biggest question, what are the conditions for unlocking Infinite Lovers?"

I asked the Arcana that question, exactly as Lizel-senpai had asked it. The reply came fast, almost like it was expected.

[The conditions for unlocking Infinite Lovers are: a certain minimum amount of mana capacity must be reached, and Yuuto's heart must be filled with righteous fury.]

And, just like I repeated Lizel-senpai's exact words to the Arcana, I repeated the Arcana's words to everyone.

"I don't understand, could you be more specific about this 'righteous fury'?"

[It is hard to put it in human terms, so maybe I did not choose the best words. But simply put, Yuuto must be willing to fight for someone else, even if it's against a much stronger enemy.]

But isn't that strange? I mean, it's not like I fancy myself a hero or anything, but didn't I do stuff like saving Geld or even saving Lizel-senpai? Shouldn't that count?

[What Yuuto has been lacking isn't the feeling itself, but rather the intensity. Yuuto must reach the level where he is willing to kill for someone else's sake. And most importantly, it can't be faked.]

I thought I saw Lizel-senpai flinch for a second, but it was probably just a wrong impression.

But now what the Arcana said made sense. Sure I fought for other people, but I never really intended to kill my opponent, even against Haida. He ended up dying, but that wasn't my aim.

Can't help but wonder if I really could do that, get so mad for someone else's sake that I'm willing to kill another person. I would like to unlock Infinite Lovers, but it seems like it's a very tough condition.

"L-looks like there's not much to do about that. Then, the next question, about the mana capacity, can you elaborate? Maybe give an example with numbers."

[Yuuto's current mana capacity is 10000, when put to a numerical format. To unlock Infinite Lovers, a minimum of 50000 must be reached.]

10000?! 50000?! Those numbers sound big. I thought I only had a small amount of mana. Maybe I'm more amazing than I thought.

[For comparison, a 2-year old devil child would be around the 20000 mark.]

I see… sorry for thinking I was strong for a second there… I think I'll omit this comparison when telling the Arcana's words.

"Is there any way Yuuto can increase his mana capacity?"

[There are plenty. One such way is to keep using magic, but progress will be slow and almost imperceptible at Yuuto's current age, that method of training is best for young children. Recommended method is to make use of Healing Lovers.]

"What do you mean?"

[Yuuto's current magic circuits are of extremely high quality, but are also extremely damaged. Repeated Healing Lovers will repair those circuits, and then an effective Healing Lovers will be needed to put those circuits to working order.]

Huh, I didn't expect to have good magic circuits. At the end of the day, I'm still just human, yet the Arcana says my circuits are better than the average devil's.

For some reason, Lizel-senpai seemed a little relieved hearing that. But I couldn't dwell on that for long, since the Arcana had more to say.

[Yuuto has already successfully increased his mana capacity using this method. The Healing Lovers performed from the day Yuuto entered Ginsei Academy until the Unveiling repaired enough of his circuits. The Healing Lovers performed after the Unveiling provided enough mana to reactivate the healed circuits. A general planning for how to constantly increase the mana capacity can be given.]

"P-please say it."

[For the repairing of the magic circuits, quantity is needed more than quality. For the reactivation of the healed circuits, quality is needed more than quantity. As such, it is recommended that Yuuto and his Cards perform Healing Lovers as frequently as possible while limiting the range of the sexual acts, that will represent the quantity. It is best to choose a metric like the advancement of the Devil King War, or the learning of a new magic, or any preferred metric, for advancing the sexual acts, that will ensure the next Healing Lovers will be more effective than the last, represent the quality. By doing it that way, it is possible to have Yuuto's mana capacity increase with a good phasing.]

W-wait, if I got that right, doesn't this mean that I'll have to do even more lewd things to Lizel-senpai, Miyabi and Reina? Not just in the number of times, but also the lewdness itself.

I told everyone what the Arcana said, and obviously we all got rather embarrassed. I'm impressed with myself for saying all that without getting too embarrassed to continue.

"I see. I'll find a way to work it into Yuuto's training."

"How should I say it? As expected of an Arcana famous for being lewd."

"R-Reina will do her best desu!"

It doesn't seem like there's any immediate rejection at least. Then again, the girls already knew about Healing Lovers before becoming my Card, so maybe there wasn't much surprise actually.

"I think this will be the last question. Are there any other Characteristic Magics Yuuto can unlock?"

Oh, I actually hadn't thought of it. I assumed there was a single Characteristic Magic, but I found out there were at least 2 with Infinite Lovers. So why not more?

On the other hand, this also means the same is probably true for the other Candidates, but it can't be helped. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

[Yuuto has a total of 3 Characteristic Magics. The only condition left to fulfill for the last one is to reach the minimum required mana capacity, 200000 in that case.]

T-that's a lot! I suppose I can only try to work on it with time.

By the way, out of curiosity, what are all the conditions for all the Characteristic Magics?

[Healing Lovers only has the condition that Yuuto must give himself to physical pleasure. Infinite Lovers has the minimum mana capacity of 50000, and Yuuto must feel anger for someone else's sake. The last magic has the minimum mana capacity of 200000, and Yuuto must have felt pure love for another person.]

I have a few things I'd like to question. Like, when did I give myself to physical pleasure? Or how about when was it that I felt this pure love? I don't remember ever falling in love like that.

[It's fine if Yuuto doesn't remember for now. The time will come for it.]

… Guess I have no choice but accept that answer for now. At least, something inside me was telling me to not pry further.

I told the Arcana's answer to everyone. Lizel-senpai took a second to think it over before giving a reply of her own.

"I see. In that case, all we can do for now is have Yuuto learn and practice as much magic as possible while increasing his mana capacity. Hopefully, a chance will come that allows us to unlock Infinite Lovers, but for now it seems we can't count on it."

With that decided, Lizel-senpai started planning what spells I should learn first. Since I already knew the Basic and Intermediate versions, Lizel-senpai told me to ask the Arcana to teach me the Advanced fire magic, Fidezenon.

I did as Lizel-senpai asked, but what I got as a reply was:

[Advanced Magic Fidezenon acquired. However, the current mana capacity is insufficient for usage.]

I told that to Lizel-senpai. I know it's basically cheating, but I didn't expect a day would come that I wouldn't be able to use a magic that the Arcana taught me.

"Hmm, that's troublesome. I suppose Yuuto should focus on Basic and Intermediate spells for now. I'll prepare a list for what you should learn."

"Thanks, Lizel-senpai."

I didn't have time to keep feeling defeated though. I'll use what I have.

{Is this thing on? I hope it is. Can everyone hear me? This is the Devil King speaking.}

Suddenly, we all heard the Devil King's voice. It sounded like it was coming from a speaker, but I didn't see any such thing in all of Ginsei Academy.

It's probably some kind of magic. While I am a little curious, I suppose it's not the type of spell I should be learning right now.

{It's sudden, but I'd like everyone who's still on campus to come to the gym. I have an announcement to make. That's all for now.}

I looked at the faces of Lizel-senpai, Reina and Miyabi. For the Devil King to make such a broadcast, it must be something important.

We prepared ourselves to go to the gym.