Back at the apartnt, Mai quickly noticed sothing was off.
Rei Ao's massive presence seed to be stirring physically again.
Realizing what might co next, she hurriedly began getting out of bed to dress. If she didn't, the consequences could be disastrous.
All Mai could hope for was that soone, anyone, would occasionally step in to share the burden. She was truly at her limit—Rei Ao was simply too relentless.
'Ding-dong!'
The crisp chi of the doorbell rang, and to Mai, it felt like an angel extending a saving hand.
Pulling the blanket tighter around her body, she urged, "Soone's at the door! Go see who it is!"
"Hm?" Rei Ao gave her a peculiar look. Monts ago, she was clinging to him, begging for more, and now she was pushing him away.
Ah, won.
Still, he understood what Mai feared. After leveling up, not only had his power and abilities grown exponentially, but his physical stamina and… needs had also surged dramatically.
It wasn't sothing he could turn off, much like a car in overdrive.
Deciding to indulge her, Rei Ao threw on so clothes and went to open the door.
Standing there was, indeed, an angel—literally.
"Gabriel."
But this angel looked utterly disheveled and lifeless. There was none of the divine radiance one would expect.
Despite it being just a day since they last t, Gabriel seed completely drained of energy, her dull, fish-like eyes evidence enough.
Rei Ao didn't need to ask; it was obvious she'd spent another night gaming without sleep.
Whenever Gabriel showed up, it was usually for one of three reasons: borrowing money, borrowing money, or… borrowing money.
"How much?" he asked flatly.
Gabriel held up one finger. "Ten thousand."
"Another ten thousand, huh?" Rei Ao crossed his arms.
"Gabriel, I feel it's necessary to remind you: you already owe quite a few tens of thousands, yet you haven't repaid a single cent. So, what do you propose we do about that?"
"Uh…" Gabriel shrank back, pulling her head down between her shoulders.
She'd spent all her money on microtransactions and had completely lost track of how much she owed.
"I'll… I'll pay you back! I promise!"
Her assurance was clearly half-hearted.
Rei Ao wasn't going to let her off so easily this ti.
"That's not going to cut it, Gabriel. At this rate, I'll never see my money again. Don't you think I deserve a little… interest?"
"W-what kind of interest?" Gabriel stamred.
"What do you have to offer?" he asked casually.
"..."
Gabriel thought hard. Apart from a mountain of trash bags in her room, she had nothing. Well, she did have the 'Horn of Destruction', but there was no way she'd hand that over.
Utterly flustered, she could only shake her head.
"Sigh," Rei Ao feigned disappointnt. "If you've got nothing to offer, what am I supposed to do?"
He stroked his chin, his gaze slowly sweeping over Gabriel's figure until it stopped at her lips.
"How about… you give a kiss?"
"W-what?!" Gabriel's eyes widened in shock.
A kiss?
Her eyes followed Rei Ao's gaze, realizing where he was looking. She hadn't misunderstood.
"T-this isn't appropriate, is it?"
A blush spread rapidly across her face, painting her cheeks a vibrant red.
Sothing like this… shouldn't it be reserved for soone she truly cared about? Even as an angel, she hadn't reached that point yet—after all, not even her older sister had experienced such a thing.
Rei Ao sighed, "Well, you need to give sothing. Otherwise, I'll just assu you'll never pay back."
"I…" Gabriel lowered her head, ashad.
He wasn't wrong. She had no way to repay him anyti soon. But give up gaming? Absolutely not!
Resolving to stick to her gaming life, Gabriel shyly raised her head. "C-can I kiss your cheek instead?"
"Sure." Rei Ao smiled, agreeing without hesitation.
One step at a ti, he thought. If it was her cheek this ti, her lips would follow next. After that, she might even get acquainted with sothing 'bigger'.
"C-close your eyes first!" Gabriel demanded nervously.
"Alright." Rei Ao closed his eyes, obliging her request.
After confirming he couldn't see, Gabriel gave herself a pep talk.
"Gabriel, you have to save the world—you can't falter here!"
Her determination to save the gaming world (read: her gaming addiction) overca her embarrassnt. She stepped forward, tiptoed…
'Mwah!'
The kiss was fleeting, lasting just a second.
Rei Ao opened his eyes, about to say sothing, but Gabriel had already turned and bolted.
She stumbled over her words as she fled. "R-r-rember to transfer the money!"
In a flurry of embarrassnt, Gabriel dashed back to her apartnt. Door open, door slamd shut—it was a single fluid motion.
Rei Ao chuckled. "Heh."
Rei Ao touched his still-warm cheek, the smile on his lips refusing to fade.
It seed the next step in his plan to "conquer" Gabriel could officially begin.
…
"Who was it this ti?"
Mai, fearing Rei Ao would return to the bedroom and continue their activities, quickly got up and stepped out.
Rei Ao closed the door behind him and replied, "No one important. It was Gabriel."
"Let guess—borrowing money again?"
Mai instinctively blurted out, barely able to hold back a chuckle.
She had originally thought angels and demons would be majestic, unapproachable beings. But after spending ti with them, their quirks beca apparent.
- Gabriel: A gaming-addicted recluse who was perpetually borrowing money from Rei Ao.
- Vignette: Despite being a demon, she was sweet and kind, practically angelic. Even Rei Ao had jokingly remarked she was more suited to being a seraph.
- Satania: A self-proclaid demon queen who was more like a mischievous child. She had declared Rei Ao her "master" but remained hilariously naive.
- Raphiel: The one Mai found the hardest to read. Outwardly elegant and ladylike, but sothing about her serene deanor always felt… slightly off.
"Gabriel's been spending more on microtransactions lately," Rei Ao said, shaking his head.
Mai frowned. "Why do you keep giving her money? If her ga keeps encouraging her to spend like this, it's definitely problematic!"
"Why?" Rei Ao's lips curled into a sly grin.
"Mai, what would you say if I told you I was working on getting you a sweet little angel sister?"
"???"
Mai imdiately understood the aning behind Rei Ao's mischievous tone and expression. It was all too familiar.
With an exaggerated eye roll, she sighed, "You're such a scumbag. You're actually using this to seduce an angel?"
She knew exactly what he was up to. Gabriel was clearly already ensnared in Rei Ao's web—just like she had been.
"How did I end up on this sinking ship with you?" Mai groaned dramatically.
"Sinking ship?" Rei Ao teased, hugging her from behind and inhaling the scent of her hair.
"I think you're just scared of how much you want ," he murmured, pointing suggestively toward the bedroom.
"You wouldn't want it to 'break,' would you?"
"Ugh!"
Mai's cheeks burned bright red as she broke free from his embrace.
"Can you not talk like that?! Seriously!" she huffed, glaring at him in embarrassnt before storming off to the bathroom.
Rei Ao chuckled as he watched her retreating figure.
He knew her well—beneath the surface, Mai was straightforward and surprisingly easygoing, even if she liked to act otherwise.
…
Back at Gabriel's apartnt, things weren't going much better for her.
"Gab, why's your face so red?"
The last person Gabriel wanted to see was there to greet her: Raphiel.
"Ah! Uh, it's… nothing! I was just out running. Yeah, running!"
"Running?" Raphiel's half-lidded eyes glead with amusent.
From what she'd heard, Gabriel had been out for less than two minutes. That didn't exactly sound like a strenuous jog.
Gabriel's avoidance of her gaze only made Raphiel's suspicions grow stronger.
She narrowed her eyes, her tone playful. "This slls like a lie."
Just then, Gabriel's phone pinged with a notification:
[Your account has been credited: ¥10,000.]
The chi filled the room, punctuating the silence.
Raphiel raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Oh? Since when does running earn you ¥10,000?"
The heavenly realm didn't send out living allowances today.
So where did Gabriel get that ¥10,000 windfall?
"Gab, you haven't done anything bad, right?"
Raphiel's sharp tone and slow approach made Gabriel sweat bullets.
"Uh, Raphi, how could I possibly do sothing bad? Haha, haha…"
Her nervous laughter and forced smile couldn't hide her guilt.
Seeing that Gabriel still wanted to bluff her way out, Raphiel decided it was ti to lay her cards on the table.
"Really? But I distinctly rember seeing your computer the other day… logged into a ga."
"!!!"
Gabriel froze, her heart skipping a beat.
Uh-oh. She's onto !
Raphiel continued, "You've been listless in class lately, your halo's dimd, and you've been holed up in your room. Could it be… you've fallen into the grip of 'gaming addiction'? Staying up all night gaming?"
"I… I haven't…" Gabriel stamred, trying to refute the claim.
But Raphiel's sharp gaze bore into her.
"Gabriel, lying is a sin, you know. Should I inform your sister, Gab?"
'THUD!!!'
The mont her sister's na was ntioned, Gabriel dropped to her knees in a dramatic 'dogeza' pose.
"I was wrong, Raphi! Please don't tell her!"
Raphiel smirked. She knew Gabriel's biggest weakness—her fear of her sister, Zelel.
"Now, spill it. What exactly have you been up to?" Raphiel asked, crossing her arms.
"I… I've been saving the world through gaming!" Gabriel cried, attempting to dress up her addiction as a noble cause.
"Hah. Let's call it what it is—a full-blown human gaming addiction," Raphiel retorted, rcilessly cutting through Gabriel's excuses.
"Fine, continue. What's that ¥10,000 for, and how did you get it?"
"It's for equipnt… to save the world… and I borrowed it from Rei Ao," Gabriel muttered, her voice growing smaller with each word.
Raphiel didn't buy it for a second. But she was intrigued by the money's source.
Reflecting on how quickly Gabriel had returned earlier, Raphiel realized it must have been a visit to Rei Ao's apartnt, conveniently located next door.
But Gabriel sensed things might spiral out of control if she let Raphiel keep pressing. If the kiss with Rei Ao ca to light, she'd never hear the end of it.
So she clung to Raphiel, tears streaming as she begged, "Raphi, please don't tell my sister!"
"!!!"
Raphiel's expression twisted—not out of pity, but from sheer disgust. Gabriel's tears were dripping onto her leg, and she was fairly certain so of it was snot.
"Gab, let go of first," Raphiel said, trying to pry her off while pulling her leg away.
"No! Not unless you promise not to tell my sister!"
Gabriel's desperation had rendered her shaless.
"You…"
Raphiel sighed, exasperated. The Gabriel she once knew had truly changed.
"Fine, I promise I won't tell your sister."
"Really?!" Gabriel's face lit up instantly, her tears vanishing as quickly as they'd appeared.
Raphiel frowned, catching her breath.
"Don't celebrate just yet," she warned. "At this rate, you're bound to fall completely."
"Fall, huh…" Gabriel mused.
She raised her hand, summoning her halo. It floated above her head, faintly tinged with black.
Raphiel scoffed. "Gab, you've 'already' fallen."
"Oh."
Gabriel barely reacted. Instead, she plucked the halo off her head, held it in her hand, and blew on it like it was covered in dust.
Then, she casually used the hem of her shirt to wipe it clean.
In a matter of seconds, the black discoloration disappeared, leaving her halo pure and glowing once more.
She placed it back on her head and smiled.
"All fixed. No more falling."
Raphiel: "..."
…
Noon.
In another part of town, Mafuyu Kirisu ticulously checked her shopping bags.
"Everything should be here, right?"
The sofa was piled high with snacks, fruits, and various gifts.
Why did she buy so much?
Simple: to thank Rei Ao for his help last ti—both for saving her and for cleaning her apartnt.
However, she still felt utterly humiliated from that incident. As a teacher, her dignity had been thoroughly trampled.
This ti, she was determined to make a better impression.
After confirming everything was in order, Mafuyu steeled herself.
"Alright, ti to bring these over."
But when she looked down at her trembling, reddened hands, she hesitated.
She… couldn't lift them.
Monts later, things took an unexpected turn.
Rei Ao was standing in her living room, staring at the mountain of bags with a bemused expression.
"So… all of this is ant to be a thank-you gift for ?"
"…Yes," Mafuyu replied, her voice barely above a whisper as she stood there like a scolded child.
"And you want to carry it all back myself?"
"I… I'm sorry… I can't lift them anymore…" Mafuyu mumbled, holding out her shaking hands, which were clearly overworked from carrying the bags all the way ho.
Rei Ao: "..."
~~~
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