Becoming a Shadow in the New World

As Tacheng Cat mentioned earlier, he's busy with training and needs some time, so what's the reason for this guilty conscience?

A mocking smile appeared on Sid's face.

Because the kitten exaggerated, she said earlier that she was busy with training and needed more time. Although she didn't say anything, she subtly implied that she had been trying to find people these past few days and had already found a few, but she was too busy with training and didn't have enough time. She needed more time to find enough people.

The truth is that the progress of finding Tacheng Xiaomao these past few days has been zero. She hasn't found a single person. When someone calls to ask when she will arrive, she says on the phone that she is on her way and waiting at a traffic light, even though she has just gotten up.

The kitten was a good child, and she wasn't smart enough to think that far ahead, so she just said it subconsciously to make the lie more believable, but she knew she was lying, and her voice inevitably carried a hint of guilt.

Oops, little cat, you're being naughty!

A large amount of information was processed in one go, and the answer was obtained in just a few seconds.

"It's okay, it's okay, I'm not rushing you, little cat, I'm not in a hurry."

"It's okay if it's slow. I really like those stray cats, and I'm a little sad to think about giving them away."

That's what he said, but Sid's voice sounded strained, as if he was forcing himself to speak.

"I'll handle this request as soon as possible, don't worry, senior."

Although it was very subtle, the kitten still sensed the emotions hidden in Sid's voice.

"Little cat, I'm really not in a hurry, you don't need to... Hey, hey, hey."

"Tsk, all done."

After confirming that the kitten had hung up, Sid clicked his tongue and decided to call Kiba Yuto.

She felt guilty for making the cute little cat do things for me, because I am a Shadow-level user.

I made a mental joke about it, and then I got through on the phone.

Kiba Yuto was the simplest one. He already felt indebted to him because of what happened a few days ago, and since it wasn't a big deal, it was basically a natural progression.

While Cid was fooling people, Rias was...

Chapter Fifty-Six Claire's Secret

"And so, my elder brother, I have taken the Cagaino siblings as my retinue."

"That's good, Rias."

Standing in front of the table, Rias looked at the virtual projection of the red-haired man floating on it.

The red-haired man, though merely a projection, exuded an unfathomable aura. He was none other than Sirzechs, one of the four great demons of the underworld, born into the Gremory family but inheriting the name of Lucifer.

After listening to Rias's report on the recent situation, the red-haired man nodded in satisfaction.

"That's good, Rias. I believe you'll get along well with the siblings."

Hearing Sirzechs's expectations of her, Rias showed no joy on her face, but instead looked hesitant to speak.

After some hesitation, Rias finally asked the question that had been bothering her.

"Brother, I still don't quite understand why you insist on making Claire Kagano your familiar."

She even specially asked Prince Beelzebub to make a special chess piece for her. What's so special about her?

It's not unusual for her brother to introduce her to potential family members; many of her current family members were introduced through her brother. What puzzles her is why Claire is so special.

Not only did her brother specifically request Prince Beelzebub to make special chess pieces, but he also specifically instructed her to agree to all conditions as long as they weren't too unreasonable.

If Sazex hadn't specifically instructed her to sign the contract after only knowing her for a day and being completely unfamiliar with her, she might not have actually signed it.

In three days, it will be her ranking game with her fiancé, Lessa. Under these circumstances, the sudden addition of an unfamiliar combatant has completely disrupted her original battle plan. You know, sometimes one plus one does not equal two.

No, it's not one, actually it's two, but Sid can be ruled out because he hasn't fully integrated with the demon pieces. Otherwise, given Sid's combat power, it's highly likely that one plus two would result in a situation where one plus two is less than one.

She welcomes others to be her familiars and doesn't mind if they are weak, because as long as they work hard after obtaining demon blood, they will definitely become stronger, especially with her pure demon bloodline.

However, this period is an exception. Having one more person would change her battle plan, especially someone she doesn't know well. It would be ridiculous if their combat effectiveness decreased instead of increased due to unfamiliarity with each other.

If it were a regular ranking game, she could accept losing; she wasn't someone who couldn't handle losing. But this ranking game involved her engagement. She could lose any other time, but she couldn't afford to lose this ranking game.

"Well... you'll have to figure that out yourself, Rias. But I can give you a little hint: Claire's situation is very similar to one of your familiars."

"He looks a lot like one of my family members?"

Rias frowned slightly as she began to ponder the hint that Sazecos had given her.

Zhu Nai?

Rias immediately thought of her own queen, but then shook her head, dismissing the idea.

Whether it's fighting style, personality, or identity, Akeno Himejima has absolutely nothing in common with Claire, and neither does Koneko.

After much thought, the only one who seems to fit is Kiba Yuuto. Both are swordsmen, but that's not worth the greatness of one of the four rulers of the underworld going to such lengths. Besides, these two only have this one thing in common, and have nothing else in common.

After much thought and comparing her four current familiars, Rias still couldn't figure out why her brother was going to such lengths. Or perhaps...

"Is it... is it Akeno? Is Claire also wanted because of her bloodline issue, like Akeno?"

Hesitantly uttering Himejima Akeno's name, Rias stared intently at Sirzechs, wanting to know if her answer was correct.

"Hahaha... You're half right, Rias."

The sound grew louder, and Sazex smiled and shook his head, giving a negative answer.

"If it's not Akeno, then could it be Yuto?"

Rias wanted to take this opportunity to get the information out of them.

"Alright, Rias, stop messing with me. I won't tell. This is for your own good."

"I understand, Your Highness Lucifer."

Having received a definite answer from her brother, Rias's voice lowered, taking on a somewhat distant tone.

Seeing his younger sister so downcast and calling him by such an unfamiliar name, Sazex became a little anxious. He was about to say something when he noticed a sly glint in Rias's eyes.

Realizing he had been tricked, Sazex was both amused and exasperated. After thinking for a moment, he gave Sazex a few more assurances.

"Alright, alright, Rias, I'll tell you a little more."

Upon hearing her brother change his mind, Rias's dejection vanished instantly, and she immediately raised her head, afraid of missing any detail her brother had mentioned.

"Ahem, I assure you, Rias, if Claire is really willing to help you, you will definitely win the battle against Raiza in three days."

Rias listened to the so-called hint word for word, but she couldn't react for a while, as if her brain hadn't finished processing the information.

That's right. What's bothering Rias the most right now is her ranking game with Raiza. It would be a fool to suddenly tell her there's a way to win without any chance of success.

"Brother, you're not joking."

Rias's first reaction upon realizing what was happening was that Sirzechs was joking. This wasn't impossible; on the contrary, it was highly likely.

It's possible that Sazex saw their morale was low and told a white lie to boost it, allowing them to use the next few days to improve their coordination with Claire.

Sirzechs simply gave Rias a mysterious smile in response to her disbelief, seemingly saying nothing, but in reality, he said it all.

"But... how is that possible?"

Even though Sirzechs said he wasn't lying, Rias still couldn't believe it.

She was the one who devised the battle plan, and she knew all too well the difficulties of this battle.

According to the information her brother revealed to her, driven by the war, Lessa's strength had recently broken through, and she could now be considered one of the top young people in the Underworld.

A year ago, he already had A+ strength. Now that he has broken through, and considering the difficulty of dealing with the immortal body brought by the Phoenix bloodline, he is likely to be S-rank, which can be called the highest-level demon.

On her side, besides herself being an A+ rank, there's only Akeno being an A rank. Even if she could persuade Akeno to use her unused power, Akeno would most likely only be an A+ rank and wouldn't be able to undergo a qualitative change.

Then, including the newly joined Claire, they only have three A+ level members on their side.

Even if they only faced one Raiza, there was a considerable chance they would lose, not to mention that Raiza's familiars were at full strength, making it unrealistic to fight just Raiza alone.

In her plan, the best way to win was to kill all of Raiza's retinue without losing anyone, and then team up with Akeno and the others to gang up on Raiza.

This is only a possibility, after all, immortality greatly increases the margin for error. She wouldn't need to worry so much if she were a regular S-rank.

Now, telling her that Claire could easily defeat Lysa if she wanted to, how could she possibly believe it?

"Could it be..."

Rias seemed to suddenly remember something and tentatively spoke up.

"Does Claire possess a divine artifact?"

"No."

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Issues of Personality

Rias was stunned to receive a negative reply from her brother. In her mind, only a divine artifact could allow Claire to fight across so many levels and still have a sure chance of winning.

"Alright, Rias, is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Let me make this clear beforehand: even if you continue to play the victim and try to get information about Claire from me, I won't tell you anything. This is for your own good.

"If you can become friends with her, I believe she will tell you. Or perhaps you lack confidence in yourself?"

Rias, who had originally wanted to try and find out more information, gave up her little scheme after hearing the second half of Sirzechs's sentence. Instead, she proudly raised her head and spoke.

"They are not friends, but family. I will treat all my relatives as my family."