Chapter 4 : You Won't Lie

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I updated the warnings, don't hesitate to go see them

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Zeoticus found himself in a state of evident perplexity. Seated at his desk, with Rias sitting on his lap, he wore a perplexed expression, massaging his temples to absorb the freshly heard information.

In front of him, the source of all these events, a young man with a distinguished appearance, after Zeoticus and his family teleported into his office seeking clarification on certain matters.

Despite Rias's explanations, he and his wife Venelana still struggled to accept the reality of what their daughter was revealing.

Rias, usually so studious, had suddenly decided to engage in an occult ritual to summon a familiar from another world, without any apparent reason other than "I wanted to try." Although their child was not always the most obedient, she, who demonstrated incredible intelligence for her age, should have enough logic not to blindly delve into such practices without taking the necessary precautions.

No matter how the two parents tried to make sense of the situation, they could not find any logic in this approach.

Zeoticus and Venelana looked at the boy who had remained calm and silent until now.

It was Zeoticus who broke the silence with a certain mistrust, "Who are you?"

With a perfectly composed demeanor, he stood up, "Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Leon..." However, before he could finish his sentence, his body was struck as if by lightning, surprising everyone, including the principal party involved, as he fell to the ground with a shocked expression on his face.

No one had time to react, not even Zeoticus, who observed the young man with incredulity. However, as if nothing had happened, Ciel got up and discarded his clothes.

"Sorry for that, I needed to test something. Let me start over," he declared, resuming his speech as if the previous incident had never happened. "My name is Ciel Krone, holder of the title of Wizard-Marshal, the highest military distinction in the Mage Tower, and also the title of Archmage, an accolade bestowed upon the greatest genius in magical research." The young man didn't hesitate for a moment in his words, clearly and intentionally displaying his distinguished status.

Putting aside the previous situation, Zeoticus continued his interrogation. "What is this Mage Tower you mentioned?"

Ciel paused, contemplating how to explain. After a few seconds, he began to detail, "It's an organization that gathers the majority of human mages, exclusively human in my world. In the world I come from, supernatural species have signed a non-aggression treaty, declaring the human world as a non-war zone where supernatural species have lost their authority to use their powers freely. The passage of supernatural species is regulated by major factions. To represent humans, a faction composed of human mages was formed, with the goal of studying magic and concealing the supernatural world from ordinary humans, to avoid strengthening the power of those species that feed on the emotions produced by ordinary humans. That's how the Mage Tower came into existence."

The head of the Gremory family looked at Ciel with a perplexed expression, seeming not to understand something. "If it's an association of humans, why are you, who clearly isn't human, a part of it?"

To this question, Ciel looked rather amused. "That's because I'm dead. I'm what they call a 'sinner,' a human soul who committed crimes and was sentenced to eternal hell. Sinners are human souls that are much closer to demons than humans. Some of them manage to free themselves from purgatory and live like native demons of hell. Among them, some stand out by accumulating a lot of power. These souls, of which I am one, are called 'SinLords.' Although I was a distinguished mage in my lifetime, I am now dead and not really close to being human."

Seeing that Zeoticus was taking his time to assimilate the information, Ciel took the opportunity to ask a question that had been lingering in his mind.

"If I may, I have a question that has been on my mind for a while. It's clear that none of you are human, yet I can't seem to define what species you are since... Can I know?"

Zeoticus spoke again with a pride oozing in his expression, "We are devils, and I am Zeoticus Gremory, the current head of the Gremory family."

In response, Ciel delved into his thoughts, whispering barely audible words, "Everything makes sense now."

However, Zeoticus didn't seem done with him. While taking out the grimoire he had found in Rias's room, he began to stare at Ciel intently, as if trying to penetrate him. Until now, he hadn't seen a hint of falsehood in the man before him. For a man like Zeoticus, active in the political arena, he was accustomed to being quite confident in his ability to detect lies from someone, even without using his demonic power. However, this time, he decided to use it because he wanted to be sure that Ciel was telling nothing but the absolute truth.

"What do you know about this ritual?" As these words were uttered, the room's temperature suddenly dropped, and everyone could feel the gravity of the question asked. For Rias, it was the first time she saw this side of her father. The man who always showed extraordinary affection towards her and almost everyone in general now had such a serious expression on his face.

Ciel, as the main person involved, knew that if he answered this question poorly, his plan, originally aimed at ensuring his survival, might end up being the cause of his death.

While maintaining an extremely serious expression, Ciel spoke, "Before I answer that question, I'll show you something." He extended his hand into the void, seemingly trying to grasp something, but the next second, a chain appeared, extending from his chest and connecting to Rias's hand.

Seeing this, both Zeoticus and Venelana seemed surprised, and for the first time since the interrogation began, the family matriarch spoke with a worried tone, while the expression on her husband's face seemed to have darkened. "What is this?!"

Various thoughts crossed the minds of the two parents: Is he a threat? Is it a deadly spell to harm our daughter? If we kill him, what will happen?

However, all of these concerns were quickly dispelled by his next words, "You don't have to worry. This is just the contract that binds me to your daughter. It's a kind of pact connecting a master to their familiar in exchange for demonic power. I've committed to defending her and fighting for her. The contract is almost one-sided, so there are no hidden clauses except that she must provide me with demonic power for my energy expenses."

"Regarding the question you asked earlier, I'm the one who created this ritual."

Every person in the room looked at Ciel with a certain doubt in his words. Strangely, it was Rias who spoke up, "Didn't you say you came from another world? How did you manage to have this ritual in this world?"

Without dwelling too much on the question, Ciel responded, "I'll skip the technical details, but let's say I 'dropped' this ritual into your world intentionally and through certain means. It was a contingency plan in case I found myself in a critical situation in my world. I'll skip the details again, but I was in a desperate situation and intentionally escaped by taking refuge in the interstice that separates our worlds."

"I don't know how you got hold of the grimoire, but originally, I designed it so that a human could use it to summon me. It contains enough power for even a simple human to invoke me. However, it seems to have ended up in your hands somehow."

Silence settled in the room as everyone absorbed Ciel's revelations.

"I'm relieved to see that all of this wasn't a direct threat to our family. However, I still wonder about Rias's choice to proceed with this ritual without discussing it with us beforehand," Zeoticus declared in a calmer tone, but there was still a hint of concern in his voice.

Rias lowered her head, acknowledging her lack of communication in this matter. "I'm sorry, father, mother. It was an impulsive decision on my part. I was curious, and I didn't think about the consequences."

However, as the young girl apologized, someone seemed to be struck by a strong electric shock while looking in Ciel's direction. Everyone was surprised to see him once again in the same situation as before.

With a hint of embarrassment, Ciel spoke up, "I may have omitted to mention something about this grimoire. It is enchanted with a subtle and almost undetectable suggestion aimed at making whoever reads it desire to perform the ritual. It doesn't work on powerful individuals, but it is quite effective on those with a poorly guarded mind."

Zeoticus and Venelana looked at each other, finally understanding why their daughter had acted in this way. Zeoticus sighed, accepting the circumstances. However, as he examined the book more closely, the head of the Gremory family suddenly had a sudden flashback as he looked at the cover of the book.

The family patriarch felt quite embarrassed because what had happened was partly his fault. He had obtained this book a long time ago in his youth. A client had given it to him, an old sorcerer who had summoned him, and in exchange for services, he had received books. At the time, he loved collecting books, and he had simply thrown them into the library. At that time, however, no one noticed the embarrassment that tinged his face.

The two women in the room, being more concerned with the mage bowing politely to Rias, saw him express his gratitude, "Although originally I aimed to be summoned by a simple human, I must thank you for something, young lady. If you hadn't summoned me, I would probably have drifted out of the world for eternity, so you have my gratitude."

Seeing Ciel's gratitude, Rias stood up with a confident air, "Father, mother, I have decided. He will be my familiar from now on."