Hinata Hiraizumi had, once again, just finished her job. After pulling an all nighter, all that was left for her to do was compile the results of her investigation and deliver it to her client.
"... But I should take a bath first."
Hinata had been working for a long time now, so a bath was a good idea. Normally, it was something she would leave for after her work was completely finished, since she was fond of long baths, but today was an exception.
If Hinata was being honest, she would rather not complete this job. That's why she decided to take her bath now. Maybe, after an especially long bath, something would happen that wouldn't allow her to finish this job. She had to at least hope for something along those lines.
So she entered her private bath. Being the daughter of the noble Hiraizumi family, the little sister of the future head, and Hierophant's Queen, Hinata's private bath looked about as luxurious as one would expect.
That being said, her bathing habits didn't differ much from what you would expect from anyone else. She'd enjoy a nice hot shower as she washed her body and hair. Once that was done, she'd soak in the bath and enjoy a relaxing time there.
"Haah~ so good~"
Hinata felt a weight off her shoulders, literally.
Hinata was the type of girl who looked slimmer in clothes. Dressed in her usual school uniform, she didn't look especially curvy for her age. But it was a different story when she was dressed in something tight or when she was naked, like now.
Her breasts were bigger than those of any girl her age, including Miyabi. In fact, Hinata could probably compete with Miyako. And the same held true for the rest of her body, her butt was big and her waist thin. And it's not like she has a hard time keeping that figure, luck and genetics just favored her.
There were many reasons for why Hinata enjoyed these long baths. She liked feeling the water, liked thinking over a bunch of things she enjoyed, enjoyed letting her breasts float, and it was also the time she could take care of more private matters without worry, just to name a few.
But no matter how long the bath, it would eventually end. Hinata only remembered why she'd chosen today to take an especially long bath as she was drying herself.
Unfortunately, nothing happened that would give her an excuse to not finish the job. Unwilling as she was, Hinata dressed herself and then got back to work. Efficient as she was, it wasn't long before it was finished.
"… I guess this is it."
Hinata finished compiling her work. All that was left now was to deliver it.
She left her room and was going to start heading on her way to deliver the report she'd made, but then she met someone. Her brother, future head of the Hiraizumi house, and Hierophant's Candidate, Hirono Hiraizumi.
Hirono still had his head shaved bald, as is customary for male Candidates of Hierophant. The Hierophant Arcana was an interesting one, since it never chose a Candidate outside of the Hiraizumi family.
It's a family tradition that, if the Candidate for Hierophant is male, then he shaves his head bald and keeps it that way for the duration of the Devil King War. They're only allowed to grow their hair again if they survive, which until the previous Devil King War meant becoming Devil King.
"Good morning, Hinata. Up all night working?"
"Yes, brother. I was about to finish the job by delivering my report."
"I see. You don't seem too happy about it though. Is there some problem?"
"That's…"
Hinata might have not told Hirono anything, but he knew his sister. If she was being hesitant about her job, that meant it would probably start a fight, or might put some good people in bad spots.
Some people considered this characteristic of Hinata as a defect, but Hirono didn't think so. For those who work in the shadows, seeing the worst parts of both humans and devils, it's especially important to have a good moral compass.
Hirono asked to see Hinata's work. He skimmed through it, as well as who had ordered that investigation. Now understanding the reason for Hinata's hesitation, he made a decision.
"You helped me out the other day, so how about I repay the favor? I'll deliver this for you."
As Hirono said, when Hinata delivered the report to Barbatos, she was actually doing her brother's work. He'd been the one keeping an eye on Death's Group, and decided to entrust the delivery of the report to Hinata so he could keep observing them, but not delay the report.
"Would you? But…"
"It's fine, it's just a delivery, anyone can do that. Besides, I have to go out anyway. I'm off now."
Hirono dashed off before Hinata could raise any objections. If he'd stayed for longer, it was likely she would have decided to make the delivery herself.
He really wanted her to rest, but there were also other reasons for Hirono taking over that delivery.
The main one was the investigation itself. It was supposed to investigate Lizel Himekami's full history, from the day she was born until now. And the person who had requested this was Yotaka Hayachine, Hanged Man's Candidate.
The Himekamis and the Hayachines were rivals for as long as history can remember. It wasn't unusual for them to try and find, or plant, dirt on each other, though it didn't often happen during a Devil King War, since they could just settle things more directly.
Hirono read the report. Being Hinata's work, the only thing better would be an autobiography. It really had just about everything. Hinata being in the same class as Yuuto and Miyabi, who are close to Lizel, probably also helped.
While on his way, Hirono was able to read everything. Once he was done with that, he understood why Hinata was hesitant about this.
During the course of her investigation, she obviously learned a lot about Lizel and everyone near her, including the other people in Lovers' team. By giving this to Yotaka, Hinata would be indirectly inviting tragedy into all their lives.
A fight between Hanged Man and Lovers was basically a sure thing with this, but these pieces of paper could do a lot more damage. If this were to be made public, the Himekami family was likely to crumble down.
But of course, this was still a job. While not as much as Hinata, Hirono was also torn between delivering this or not.
Luckily, Hirono had to visit Barbatos now. Being the Devil King, if Barbatos were to know about this report and tell Hirono to not deliver it, then there would be nothing a mere Candidate like himself could do but apologize to Yotaka.
And that's what Hirono did. After talking with Barbatos about the subject he'd come to talk about, Hirono showed him Hinata's report.
"Hmm… this is interesting. I had no idea that's how it went down. Now I get it… so that's how…"
Barbatos seemed to have figured something out from the report. Hirono didn't know what it was, but he knew how to control his curiosity.
Once he was finished, Barbatos gave the report back to Hirono and then told him:
"You should deliver that soon."
"Are you sure? This could seriously endanger Lovers."
"It couldn't, it will. But I doubt Yotaka is relying on this single report for her plans."
Barbatos was likely right. There was nothing stopping her from investigating using her own means. Besides, while the Hiraizumi family was the best in their area, they weren't the only family with such a specialty. So at best failing to deliver this report would delay Yotaka, but it would hardly stop her.
"But you know, this is quite a big report. Maybe you should make a summary of it. Some stuff gets lost when you do that, but it can't be helped."
"… Yes, you're right. Thank you for the idea, Devil King."
After that, Hirono got to work in making a summary of Hinata's report. As Barbatos said, some details got lost along the way, but it wasn't really anyone's fault. Hirono simply took the client's time into consideration. After all, not everyone has time to read 100+ pages about someone else's life.
And it just so happened that the full report disappeared once the summary was complete. But what the eyes don't see can't hurt the heart, so Hirono would just pass the summary as the full report. Only Hirono and Hinata would be able to tell the difference anyway.
He eventually arrived at Yotaka's mansion. He informed the people at the gate that he was there to deliver a report, and they guided him inside.
A few minutes passed and then someone came to see Hirono. But it wasn't Yotaka. Rather, it was her Ace and servant, Iratsume Ayaori.
Much like all of Yotaka's other servants, Iratsume was quite the beauty. Her short black hair was beautifully brushed and her figure was nothing to scoff at. Despite everything, Hirono was still a man, so he couldn't deny the joy of seeing a beautiful woman, though he'd never let it show.
"I apologize, but miss Yotaka is still sleeping, so she can't greet you personally."
"It's no trouble. Can I just leave this with you?"
"Yes, if you please."
Iratsume took the report from Hirono and gave him a receipt, complete with Yotaka's signature and everything. She must have been really trustworthy to be able to handle her master's signature like that.
With his job done, Hirono left. He still had to do his actual work of keeping an eye on Death's Group.
As for Iratsume, she went to Yotaka's room. It was about time she woke up, and getting news of her long awaited report finally arriving would be a good way for her to start the morning.
"Mistress, it's time to wake up."
"Hmm~ what is it?"
"The report on Lizel Himakami just arrived."
As if that was some sort of trigger, Yotaka immediately got up. Her purple hair was still a little messy, but Yotaka's figure in her sleepwear was so bewitching that no one would have paid any mind to her hair.
Yotaka asked for the report and Iratsume delivered it. She would give it a more careful read later, but Yotaka wanted to at least take a general look at it. Yotaka looked at the summary and then opened a specific section and then started skimming through it.
"Ka, hahahaha!"
And then she started laughing. Whatever was in there, it seemed to please Yotaka. Enough that she got up and then started caressing Iratsume's face. She expected a kiss, but instead what came was a finger.
"Not yet, let's save it for the night. I'm in a good mood today. Tell all the servants to prepare themselves, because I'm not stopping until I'm satisfied tonight."
"Yes, master."
Iratsume took Yotaka to her bathing room. While her master cleaned herself, Yotaka delivered the news to everyone.
Yotaka's day had already had a great start, and it would only get better as she read the report. It was as if, with every line, she got closer and closer to Lizel.
