Rinne told me we had to talk, with an expression I wasn't sure she wasn't about to kill me on the spot.
When she noticed I didn't understand why she seemed so mad, she got even madder for some reason. I don't know why, but she looks really scary, even though I know her combat ability is basically 0.
It was only after a little bit that she explained to me.
After the Labyrinth Battle Royale, the Devil King "gave" me Rinne and Hisoka as a prize for winning. The next day, when we all got together to talk about our next steps, Lizel told Rinne and Hisoka to choose what they wanted to do, and to give that answer within a week.
There were a lot of things they could choose, from becoming my Cards to continuing to fight in the Devil King War to simply disappearing. It wasn't something they could properly answer on the spot, that's why Lizel gave them that time to think.
Well, that week has already passed since a few days ago, and I've yet to hear their answer. But that's not because they hadn't thought about it, it's that, when Rinne tried talking to me, something else showed up.
That's the reason why they both agreed to participate in today's erotic cosplay session.
Okay, now I understand why she's mad. In my defense, it's not like I was avoiding them, I really just forgot about it.
In any case, since it was time for serious talk, the girls changed back into their regular clothing. Also, everyone went to go pick up dinner somewhere, since there was nothing in the mansion for us to eat yet, leaving only me, Lizel, Rinne and Hisoka to discuss things.
"Well then, let's finally hear it, what did you choose?"
"Yuuto's the one who's been avoiding us… haaah, whatever. Before we tell you what conclusion we came to, I want to tell our story, so there's no complaints about hidden details."
At this point, Rinne was probably at the end of her patience, still, Lizel was provoking her. I feel like we should just admit we messed up.
As for Hisoka, she was silently sitting beside Rinne. I'm not sure why, but she seems to have difficulties opening up to people, so it seems Rinne will be doing the talking for the two of them.
"I'll start from the beginning, since Yuuto seems to be missing some common knowledge. I'm the daughter of the Shimokadzuma family, and Hisoka is the daughter of the Kozukate family. While they are both fairly well-known noble families, they are not combat focused."
It seems that the Shimokadzuma family is basically a family of doctors. From a young age, they learn to use all kinds of healing magic. While there are other families focused on healing, the Shimokadzumas are basically the biggest name in the industry. So much so that they even have a Bloodline Magic called Regenerate, which does exactly what it says.
As for the Kozukates, they are basically a family of administrators. They don't own a lot of land, be it in the Devil World or the Human World, but they are often hired by other families to manage their territories and assets. They're so popular that, if they owned all the territories they manage, they would be the family with the biggest amount of land of all nobility. Again, there are other similar families, but theirs is the biggest name on the market.
Being well-known and respected non-combatant families made the Kozukates and Shimokadzumas grow interested in each other, and after a long history together you can basically say that the families are friends. So it wasn't weird when Rinne and Hisoka were made to play with each other since they were children. According to Rinne, if one of them had been a boy instead of a girl, it wouldn't have been strange if they had been forced to marry.
"If it was just that then everything would be fine. The problem started because of these damn cards."
Rinne showed her Arcana, Wheel of Fortune. Hisoka also silently pulled out her Hermit.
"As you can imagine, since we're non-combatants, neither of our families had ever had a Devil King come from them. But that didn't stop them from trying. When I got my Arcana, I stopped being taught how to save lives and started learning how to end them."
"W-when I got the Hermit Arcana, my family insisted I learn how to fight. They tried everything. But I have no talent for anything, so they quickly became disappointed with me."
"It was the same with me. Sure, I could do some basic self-defense, but that wasn't nearly enough to win the Devil King War. But, since I had both Regenerate and Revival, it meant I was very hard to kill and I would be basically back to perfect condition the next day, so my family saw it fit I be 'trained' until I was literally at death's door."
Neither Rinne nor Hisoka went into much detail of that period of their lives, but it wasn't hard to imagine how hard it must have been for them.
I know that, despite us looking basically the same, humans and devils are very different, especially noble devils. But still, just hearing about things like this makes me so mad I feel like I should just completely break down devil society and rebuild it from scratch when I become Devil King.
Anyway, it seems that Hisoka's family decided to just lock her up somewhere and see if she could somehow win like that. Even though she was still technically being cared for, she was more like a prisoner.
According to Rinne, Hisoka had always been more introverted, so she already had trouble meeting new people. When her loving family all turned on her and kept repeating how much of a disappointment she was, she completely closed off to the outside. Which is why, even now, Hisoka mostly hides behind Rinne.
Though, to her credit, she is trying her best to get to know us.
"It was around that time when Lost showed up. Now we know that his plan was just to absorb me for my Arcana, but maybe he felt pity for me. I don't know why but, rather than putting an end to me, he decided to try and save me."
So that's how Rinne met Lost. When I met the two of them in the Unveiling, the event where the Devil King Candidates are revealed to everyone, they were already together, so this must have been before that.
"Of course, it's not like I just trusted him from the start, but I thought he couldn't be worse than my family, that's why I followed him. When I did learn to trust him, I asked him to save Hisoka, since I had heard about what was happening with her."
The three of them had been together at the Unveiling, so again, this had to happen before that.
"O-our families aren't fighters, but they have a lot of connections. So they sent people after us."
"Right, can't let their precious chances of getting a Devil King escape like that. But Lost was too strong for the people coming after us, so for a while they just observed us. Which was the safest we'd been in a long while."
From there, the story went on basically as I already knew it. They stayed with Lost for a while, but his mind started being taken over by all the people he had absorbed, so he drove them away.
Once they were away from Lost, Rinne and Hisoka had to worry about the pursuers their families sent, but Lost found them again and enslaved them with Psyconnect. I freed them in the Labyrinth Battle Royale, and now here they are.
"So now you understand that, depending how you deal with us, it means picking a fight with not just the Shimokadzuma and the Kozukate, but also with their entire network of connections. So, if you say you don't want to deal with that, we'll understand."
"Do you really think I'd send you away? If anything, I'm more inclined to help you both now."
"Yeah, I thought so."
"Y-Yuuto is really kind…"
Rinne smiled to herself, as if she already knew it. And I'm glad to hear that Hisoka seems to be opening up to me.
"Yuuto, I just want to make sure you understand. Rinne said that you might be picking a fight with their families, but we can't forget this is a Devil King War. In all likelihood, this means fighting Hierophant."
"Yeah, I guess that's the case. But still, I don't mind. I'll protect Rinne and Hisoka."
I guess Lizel said that just to confirm that I understood what I was getting myself, and everyone else, into.
The Hierophant Arcana is a bit of a strange one, it's always stayed with the Hiraizumi family. The Hiraizumi family is another well-known noble devil family, but their work is one done behind the shadows.
They do everything from espionage to assassination. In a way, by taking in Rinne and Hisoka, I'm basically saying I'll fight Hierophant.
Our plans for the rest of the Devil King War were to lie low and fight as little as possible, but this is throwing that right out the window. Not only would I have to fight one of the Triumph Candidates, I'll be basically signaling the restart of the Devil King War.
Still, I won't change my mind. I will protect them. And it's not like we'll fight right away. We'll keep preparing while we wait for them to make the first move. Lizel seemed to agree with my idea.
"Then, here's our answer: we want to stay near Yuuto. But we don't want to just depend on you, we also want to help where we can."
"In that case, I'll be glad to have you both."
We shaked hands and smiled at each other. That was the beginning of the cooperation between Rinne, Hisoka and me.
Of course, cooperation also included Healing Lovers, but they're both pretty girls so I could hardly complain. It took them a while, but they eventually got used to it and even began to enjoy it quite a lot.
Many perverted adventures followed.
It would have been nice if that's what happened, but it wasn't. Instead, what happened was:
"Then, lI'd like to get to work on our contract. More specifically, I'll become your Card, so I'd like you to put those terms in our contract."
"Eh? But I thought Rinne trusted me. Why do you want a contract?"
"I know it'll probably be meaningless anyway, but I want to make this a contract, I need to. Yuuto probably doesn't understand it, but I can't trust something like kindness."
… Maybe Rinne was more hurt by all this then she was letting on. I felt quite sad thinking of that.
But I suppose I should do as she asks. I don't feel the need for a contract, but if it puts her at ease then I might as well. And it's not like it'll really change anything in practice.
"Then, first what I want from Yuuto… I want us to live decently, without having to worry about food or a place to stay. Also, protection if someone comes after us. And I don't want you to force Hisoka to do perverted things, but you can do as you please with me."
Lizel picked up a piece of paper and started writing on it. The Card contract magic isn't done on paper, so I guess this is just so everything's jolted down.
"What I'm offering is… basically myself and Hisoka. I'll become your Card, and while I can't fight, I'm confident that my healing abilities are enough to keep anyone from dying, and Revival can bring them back even if they die. I also heard you can copy Bloodline Magics, if that's true, you can also have my Regenerate. And of course, you can do as you please with my body. Hisoka can manage your things if you want and, if she gives her honest approval, you may even do as you please with her."
Lizel finished writing everything down. Then, she went over everything, to confirm everyone had understood it.
Rinne and Hisoka nodded in agreement.
"This is not a bad deal, Yuuto. You can't ask for a better healer than a Shimokadzuma, and there's no one better to manage Yuuto's things than a Kozukate. Even the ban of sexual activities with Hisoka can be dodged as long as she agrees to it. If Yuuto doesn't want to change anything, then this is good enough."
I suppose it is. And, like Rinne herself said, this contract will probably be meaningless anyway.
But still, I don't like it. There's too many holes in these terms. If I'm going to make this contract, I'll make it properly.
"There are a few things I want to change."
So I told Lizel what I wanted to change and she rewrote the contract. It ended up like this:
What I'll give Rinne and Hisoka - food and shelter, as well as everything else I can provide that they want, within reason of course. So it covers everything from food to clothes to even watching a movie if they want. And I'll provide it to the best of my ability, so it's not like I can just give the bare minimum and leave it at that. I'll also do my best to protect them from anything that could harm them.
What I'll receive from Rinne and Hisoka - they'll both help me where they can, how they can. Rinne will become my Card, but, like Hisoka, I'll only do Healing Lovers with her consent. Also, I'll take Rinne's Bloodline Magic.
"... Why? All you did was close the loopholes I left open."
"Ah, so you left those on purpose. Well, you said the contract might end up being meaningless, but I figured we should do it seriously if we're going to do it. I didn't put down anything I didn't already have the intention of doing."
"You humans really are weird."
Rinne said that, but I think she's happy deep down.
"I don't… like that Rin-chan is the only one working."
"Oh, but she isn't. Don't forget, you'll take care of Yuuto's stuff from now on. There's not a lot and I've been taking care of everything until now, but I'm not a professional, so there'll be a lot of cleaning up. And of course, it's going to expand quickly. I'll be counting on you from now on."
Lizel told Hisoka. I guess she didn't like it that Rinne was the only one "paying" in our contract, but her face also didn't look too happy when Lizel told her she'd have work as well.
Also, I'm not sure how I feel about Lizel saying my things are going to expand quickly, but at this point I learned to just accept it.
"Then I guess all that's left is to make it official."
Meaning I just had to prepare the contract magic and make Rinne into my Card.
While a Card contract magic is a bit special and more powerful than normal contract magic, it's also kinda useless.
Sure, we can put a bunch of terms in it like Rinne asked, but ultimately it means nothing if it's broken. There's no such thing as a curse like whoever breaks the contract dies or something, so it's about as good as a paper shield for protection.
That's not to say contract magic itself is useless. In fact, there are a few situations where it can be used, for example, what I'm trying to do with Tenka Fubu. Just that, like Rinne said at the start, this whole thing was probably a waste of time in our case.
But it's not like I'm planning to break it anyway, so again, it doesn't really matter.
I approached Rinne to kiss her. It's not really needed, but I've gotten all my Cards like this, might as well continue.
She was a bit confused at first, but seemed to understand it and then accepted my kiss.
I don't know if it's her first, but I can tell a clear difference of experience between her and my other Cards.
Oh well, I suppose she'll level up with time.
[Rinne Shimokadzuma has become Suit Card X.]
The X spot is just because of Wheel of Fortune.
With this, I guess this matter is settled.
"Now then, Rinne, please come with me so you can prepare."
"For what?"
"Since this is a good opportunity, why don't you and Yuuto test the Healing Lovers room? You might as well get a feel for your main job as Yuuto's Card."
"... Alright, lead the way."
I was going to say that Rinne didn't have to force herself to do Healing Lovers right away, but it seems she already made up her mind.
I guess my opinion doesn't matter? Lizel and Rinne left, then Hisoka bowed to me and went after them.
Well, not like I can or want to complain. Might as well go prepare myself as well then.
