Under the summer sky,

"*Sigh* Today is just not my day. To think I would lose to Vali in that game and have to go buy the groceries."

A young boy grumbled as he walked under the hot sun. He was an extremely handsome boy with heterochromia. One eye being gold while the other was red. He was wearing black priest clothes that seemed rather heavy.

Despite the heat and the clothes he was wearing, the boy wasn't sweating one bit. He didn't even seem to mind the heat.

"Still, I guess it for the better. Vali is simply too in love with those ramen. If he was the one going. I am sure we would have ramen for another week."

Azrael pinched his brow when he thought about that. He liked those ramen quite a bite, and wouldn't mind eating many bowls of it. But eating the same thing from breakfast to dinner for an entire week was truly tiring.

After a while of walking, he finally reached the market and began to pay. Everywhere he stopped, people would say hello to him or call him by his name as they gave him some little benefit.

This scene even repeated when he began to buy some sweets. The place he went to look like a normal if somewhat large cafe.

*Cling* Cling*

A little bell sounded as he opened the door and entered the place. He took a look around before walking in,

'As always this place is surprisingly empty.'

Well, he wasn't really THAT surprised, after all this place couldn't be found by normal people. He called to a woman who seemed to be asleep.

"Hello, old woman. I would like some of your sweet. Ten lollipops and a few candies."

The old woman as Azrael called her was a kindly elderly woman of about 60 years old. She seemed like any other old woman but she was anything but. This woman was a Yokai. A very weak one, but a yokai none the less. He didn't know what type of Yokai she was, and since she never hurt anyone, he didn't care either.

The woman, who was sitting behind the counter opened her eyes and answered with a smile,

"Oh~! If it isn't the little Az. What brings you here. Did your big cat already finish the previous batch?"

As she said that, she directed her gaze to the place next to Azrael. There, in all its majesty, stood a black panther. It was a very majestic beast that radiated power. Normally, the woman would never call such a being "a big cat". But, after seeing that previously majestic beast meowl and stick her tongue for some candies, all her illusions were broken.

Azrael bitterly smiled as he nodded. Recently, he feels more like a parent than anything else. He had to take care of a brat, a cat and finally,

"Please, don't forget to add two-packs of beer."

He sighed he thought about how he somehow became the caretaker of a being who was a few hundred years older than him and who was supposed to be his caretaker.

The old woman looked at him with a compassionate glance as she signaled a waitress to get the things ready, after all she had met the two others. They were rather... Rowdy... To say the least.

She decided to change subject,

"So, how do you find this town?"

Azrael raised an eyebrow,

"You mean apart from the fact that it's the exclusive territory of a high-class devil?"

She laughed as she said, "Yes, apart from that."

"Then, I find it surprisingly cozy. Even though I have never met him, the devil in charge doesn't seem to be the kind to abuse his power."

"Yes. Lord Agrippa despite being a devil is a very good man."

"*Sigh* Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa. A historical figure who should have died Five hundreds of years ago. It always baffles me to hear that such a man becoming a devil."

The reincarnation system used by the devil was extremely interesting.

'Perhaps I should do some research in that? Having historical figures in the rank of the angels wouldn't hurt.'

Humans have and will always have limited potential. But this wasn't because of their talent. After all, there is always some outlier like Dulio or Vasco Strada who become so strong that you begin to wonder whether they were truly human or not. No. The greatest limit of humans wasn't talent. It was time.

No matter how strong they were, as long as they didn't manage to transcend to godhood, a human will never live more than a little over a hundred year. Compared to that, all supernatural beings calculated their natural lifespan in the hundreds or in the thousands. Devils, for example, could live for ten thousand years. While dragons were completely eternal beings.

What happens when a very talented human gets the racial boost and longevity of another race?

The answer was found by Ajuka Beelzebub. The creator of the evils piece system.

'If only we could create a system like that.'

Just imagining an angel Dulio or Vasco brought a shiver to his spine. Those guys were already monsters as humans.

The discussion with the old woman continued like that as Azrael waited. Finally, he got up after receiving what he came for.

"Ok, it's time for me to go."

"Goodbye Azrael. Oh. Before you go. Let me remind you to be careful and stay low for a while. I have heard that some members of the Himejima clan entered the city. They aren't particularly friendly with us supernatural beings."

"...One of the five principal clans? What brought them to this town?"

She shook her head helplessly,

"That I do not know. After entering the town, they directly went to meet lord Agrippa. The subject of this discussion is unknown."

"...I see. Thanks for the info."

He shrugged as he left the store. He didn't really care about the five clans. It wasn't like he had any reason to cross their path for the time being.

---

The apartment building in which he was currently living with his ragtag group was a little in the outskirts of the city. As such, while walking, he began to wonder if he shouldn't use a shortcut.

'Hum. There's a haunted factory not far from here. Perhaps I should use the road and eradicate those evil spirits'

It had always bothered him, but he was generally busy with his training and too tired to remember it. Now that he was a little free, he wouldn't miss the chance.

As he walked, he passed a man who had a somewhat bitter expression on the face. But, he didn't want to be a busy body so he continued his way and stopped in front of the factory.

'Hum? Weird, where are the spirits?'

He extended his senses but he could find nothing. Suddenly, he could feel a slight static energy in the air.

'Lightning?'

This situation was becoming weirder as time passed,

'What should I do?'

He could either continue investigating or simply give up and avoid entering potential trouble. It didn't take long for him to make a decision,

"Let's avoid trouble."

He immediately began to walk away. If his last encounter taught him anything, it was that in life, curiosity generally killed the cat. One such experience was enough.

Sadly, it seemed like that even if he tried to avoid trouble, trouble will find him. As he walked away from the factory and took another road, he was soon met with a rather sad sight, a little girl seemed to be about to fall down as she fainted. Thankfully, he was fast enough to reach her and take her in his arms before her head met the ground.

He couldn't help but murmur

"*Sigh*...What is a little girl like you doing here alone?"

A bitter feeling spread in his heart as he held this little girl. Even without taking her clothes into account. The spiritual power emanating from her was unmistakable. This little girl was in no way a normal human

'What kind of shit did I put myself in this time?'