Deal with the devil.

"I-I don't have an opinion, young master." Eyes lowered, face pale, the trembling small girl repeated the things she didn't really think.

"Fine then, let's do it in a roundabout way. What is your dream, Yin?" I asked another question.

"To lead the Su clan to prosperity, young master." At least her voice stopped trembling.

"That's an ambitious dream, Yin. Do you think you can succeed?" A second question.

"Yes." She raised her eyes, looking at me, confidence clear in her gaze.

"What is the first thing you need to accomplish, then?" A third question.

"I will need to take control of the clan. My father is weak, he can't control the elders. Elders are greedy, they are ready to sell my Su clan part by part to external forces. They are fine with being a puppet, just for an illusion of power." Color started returning to her face. Good, anger is better than despair. At least, I would take it any day.

"If nothing changes, how long will it take for you to do so?" A fourth question.

"Fifteen years, give or take one or two." She sounded confident. In the first round, she did it in just thirteen.

"And if you could use the Kouzuki Family backing freely?" Fifth one.

She fell into a thoughtful silence.

"Two years." Huh, this was much shorter than I could've thought.

"And what are you ready to pay for such backing?" The only question that really mattered in this whole conversation was

"Anything." She looked into my eyes, her black eyes gleaming with determination.

"Sold," I clapped my hands. "From now on, you are a mistress of Kouzuki Shinji. Use this name freely. If you need something from the Kouzuki Clan, tell it to my advisor, Kouzuki Maya, she will accommodate your needs."

The girl in front of me faltered. At last realizing what exactly she said.

"I will be frank with you, Yin. I have zero interest in you. But I think that you have enough potential to invest into. Show me your worth, prove to me that you have something of worth except your body." I spread my arms, sketching the familiar tradesman smile number five on my face, a devil you sold your soul to. "Two years. This is your time limit. Accomplish your goal and get your freedom, as a vassal of the Kouzuki family, of course. Fail to do so and be relegated to what is, essentially, my slave. Or get my interest, and, who knows, maybe in the future the Kouzuki clan will be yours to lead."

I let my words linger for better effect.

"Understood. Your will be done, young master." Su Yin bowed her head deeply.

***

Yin left, going back to school, though I wasn't sure about her true motivation or reasoning. At least she no longer looked like she was about to break. Ah, Olivia, your friend truly was a piece of work.

"A bit too dramatic for my taste, but otherwise it was passable," Kouzuki Maya rated my performance.

"You are just sour that he shut you up. Perfect score from me, Tian." Kouzuki Miya added her score as well.

"And you are too lenient on him," the Lady in White argued back. "Anyway, why did you do that, Shinji?"

"Hm, she is a friend of my girlfriend. And my silly girl would be sad if something happened to her friend." I did it for Olivia's sake, obviously.

"And you think she has a chance to succeed?" asked the Lady in Black.

"Well, I believe in grandma's eye for talent, as well as her tutelage. So, with the ability to use the support of our clan where she needs, Yin has a decent chance to actually succeed." I explained.

"And if she fails?" The Matriarch of the Kouzuki family questioned.

"Well, you can't sell the soul to the devil and not bear any consequences, right?" I smiled. "I think Yin has the potential to become quite a stunning woman in the future. Even if I'm not interested in her right now, who knows how it turns out?"

***

A few hours more of drinking tea, answering personal questions, and listening to Kouzuki twins bickering. Overall, I enjoyed the day a lot. Seeing those two, and I still had a bit of trouble believing there were two of them, in such a different way from what I was used to, was quite fun.

Sadly, time waits for no one, and, after checking time once more, I suddenly realized that it's time to pick Olivia up from school. Making sure that both noble ladies received my phone number and offering them to contact me as they saw fit, I said my goodbyes and was about to leave.

"Tian, I have something to give you," my grandmother called to me. She extended her hand, holding out a pitch-black plastic card without any special markings. I've seen a few of those in my years of working with certain sorts of clients. Usually at the very top. "I see you recognize what it is. This card is connected to my personal bank account. Money is no object. It's nothing much, treat it as the allowance for all those years plus interest, and just spend as much as you need. "

"As for me," followed my grandma. "In a few days, the official seal of Kouzuki Shinji will be done. It's a symbol of status, so treat it carefully. Or just use it as you see fit. It's yours. Don't forget to call me sometimes, whether you need something or not, I will wait for your call."

After they finished, I stood up, paid my respects and left.

***

The rest of the day went much less eventfully. Olivia, in her usual chatterbox mode, kept talking about one thing or another on our drive home. We also stopped by the drugstore to stock up on things my personal medical kit lacked. Which was almost everything.

After a bit of thinking, I told Olivia about Yin, the change in her status, and told her to immediately ask for Su's first young lady's assistance if anything happened. To my surprise, my girlfriend accepted it without much hassle, motivating it with a simple 'It's you, honey'. What was that supposed to mean?

As we got back home, Olivia changed into a more comfortable outfit, and plopped onto the bed. A moment later, loudly complaining about homework, she rose back up and decided to finish with this devil's creation first.

With that done, my crabby girlfriend dragged herself into bed and all but demanded a cuddle. Having nothing better to do, I obliged.

I was reading a book and periodically texting back and forth with Claire. She asked if I was up for another gym date, which I agreed, obviously.

Olivia was busy with her own smartphone. My curiosity won over me, and I asked what she was doing. The answer surprised me a bit, since I completely forgot about that thing. My girlfriend was shopping online for stuff that I tried out on our date. I guess she still wanted to add her colors into my life, of the literal kind as well this time.

For our dinner, I cooked some lazy fried rice with egg, chicken, and bacon. Olivia decided to distract me with a kiss in the process, so it turned out a bit burnt.

After dinner and dishes, we went back to our cuddle, while watching another episode of that trendy TV drama that my girlfriend and her friends liked. Between lack of sleep, lack of interest in the actual plot, and the soft and warm body in my arms, I almost dozed off.

The episode ended on another cliffhanger, and we decided to get some early sleep today. A great plan! Only to fail, since Olivia decided to get some practice done, and she refused to give up until I came. The downsides of having an overly eager to please girlfriend, sigh.

After all was done, I spooned Olivia, burying my face into the top of her head, and closed my eyes. Listening to her peaceful breath, I quickly fell asleep as well.