In the end, Ren Kuroda managed to drive off the entire crowd that had been trailing him—leaving behind only those who genuinely had business to discuss: Azazel, Michael, Rias, and Sona.
As for the others and their various questionable excuses, there was no way Ren was letting them come along to stir up trouble.
Akeno was infamous for her mischievous, sadistic streak. If she ever discovered that Kunou occasionally snuck into Ren's bed to sleep, then regardless of whether he actually had such inclinations, rumors would start spreading through the academy before long.
As for Issei—there was even less chance of letting him anywhere near the place. A notorious pervert who had managed to develop a technique like Dress Break purely through the power of his imagination… Ren didn't even want to imagine what would happen if that guy laid eyes on the beast-eared maid squad.
Even Ren himself—despite having seen his fair share of things and priding himself on his mental discipline—had taken to going out for late-night walks just to cool his head. That alone spoke volumes about just how dangerous the beast-eared maid ensemble truly was.
Stopping in front of what appeared to be an ordinary apartment building, Ren casually raised his hand and tapped the air.
In the next instant, the empty space rippled like the surface of water, revealing layers of floating incantations shimmering into view.
With a few swift hand seals, the ripples receded like a withdrawing tide.
The drab apartment building began to fade… its colors draining away as though peeled from reality itself—until, in its place, stood an opulent, sprawling villa.
"What an exquisite barrier technique… Even from that close, I couldn't detect that what we saw was merely a disguise."
Azazel's expression shifted to one of genuine surprise, while Michael nodded in quiet admiration.
"No wonder Lady Yasaka has been here for so long without us being able to trace her presence. So this barrier was concealing everything."
Those who understood such things recognized their depth. Though neither Azazel nor Michael specialized in barrier techniques, at their level, they possessed more than enough knowledge to grasp the sophistication of what stood before them.
This was no ordinary spell—it was a high-tier barrier, crafted by someone with exceptional mastery.
If even they reacted like this, then Rias and Sona—still relatively inexperienced in comparison—were naturally even more stunned.
"It's not that impressive," Ren said with a shrug. "This barrier only handles concealment. It doesn't have any real defensive capability, so it's not as amazing as you're making it out to be.
"When Yasaka showed up unannounced before, she got through it pretty easily and found the place where Kunou and I live."
The barrier hadn't been set up by Yasaka, but by Ren himself—after that incident when Kunou had called him in distress.
It had made him realize that leaving her home alone while he was out was a serious safety concern. So he had created this concealment barrier as a precaution.
"Hah… Brother, you're being far too modest."
A graceful voice rang out as the front doors opened.
Yasaka stepped forward, accompanied by her attendants, a faintly exasperated smile on her face.
"You may not realize it, but when I first arrived, I wandered outside this barrier for nearly half a day."
She placed a hand lightly against her cheek, recalling the memory.
"In the end, I only managed to break through the disguise by following the faint traces of Kunou's scent—and thanks to my own limited understanding of barrier techniques. It was anything but easy."
Her golden eyes turned toward Ren with a hint of admiration.
"A barrier of this scale, capable of covering such a wide area without requiring constant maintenance… that alone is already remarkable. If you continue to downplay your abilities, Brother, I truly won't know where to put my pride."
The moment the barrier had been disturbed, Yasaka had sensed it immediately. And upon detecting several powerful presences accompanying Ren, she had hurried over with her maids to greet them.
Naturally, she didn't miss the earlier exchange—and wasted no time stepping in to sing Ren's praises.
Once inside the residence, the beast-eared maids swiftly served fragrant tea before stepping aside in perfect silence.
Seated around a wooden tea table, the group arranged themselves by faction.
Azazel and Michael sat together on one side.Rias and Sona took another.Ren and Yasaka occupied the third.
Yasaka had originally intended for Ren to take the seat of honor, but he had firmly declined, insisting that as the supreme commander of the yokai, she should take that position instead.
"I must say," Azazel began casually, glancing around the room, "given how refined that barrier was, I expected the interior to be equally… extraordinary. But this is surprisingly modest."
Michael nodded slightly, clearly in agreement.
They didn't jump straight into serious matters, instead offering neutral observations to ease the atmosphere.
Ren, however, was left momentarily speechless.
If not for their utterly serious expressions, he would have thought they were joking.
After all, ever since Yasaka had remodeled the place, the décor and furnishings had, in Ren's eyes, reached royal-level luxury.
And yet… in their eyes, this counted as modest?
"I've actually brought this up with my brother more than once," Yasaka added with a soft sigh, her tone tinged with self-reproach.
"However, Brother has always preferred a simpler lifestyle and dislikes excessive extravagance. And since I've only recently arrived here, I haven't yet been able to fully prepare a residence worthy of him."
She lowered her gaze slightly.
"That is, perhaps, a failure on my part as his younger sister."
From the very first day she had arrived, Yasaka had been expanding and upgrading the residence. But with limited time—and being far from Kyoto, where her resources were thinner—this was as far as she had managed so quickly.
She had long known that representatives of the three factions would eventually visit, and she took such matters of face quite seriously.
Ren, listening to all this, felt even more at a loss.
Leaning slightly toward Rias, he whispered under his breath:
"Is this place really that shabby? There are over twenty maids here, you know…"
Rias hesitated for a moment. Though she didn't particularly want to crush his spirit, she answered honestly.
"The main Gremory estate in the Underworld is… well over a hundred times larger than this."
She spoke calmly, as if stating something entirely ordinary.
"And as the next heir of the Gremory family, even if Issei and Akeno were to establish their own territories, they would each be served by at least fifty maids."
Ren's expression froze.
"I always thought that someone as strong as you, Sensei, would live somewhere even more impressive," Rias continued thoughtfully.
"But this is… far more modest than I expected."
She paused, then added kindly:
"Of course, since this area falls under Sona's and my jurisdiction, if you ever require assistance, we'd be more than happy to help.
"And if you don't mind your maids being devils… Sona and I could arrange for several hundred to be sent here immediately."
Ren fell silent.
Completely silent.
So in the end… was he the only poor one here?
The so-called three great Biblical factions… were they all this absurdly wealthy?
He had thought his current lifestyle was already indulgent enough.
And yet, in their eyes… this level of living was considered frugal?