"Madam, you don't mind if I enter your room, do you?"
Rei Ao asked suddenly.
"Of course not."
She didn't refuse, so he stepped through her room until he reached the broken window. He glanced back at her.
"Now then, I'm going to take this creature's corpse away. You'll need to have your room re-sealed and repaired."
Mrs. Yukinoshita blinked in surprise.
"You… are leaving already?"
"Yes. Now that you're all safe, I've no reason to linger here as an uninvited guest."
He turned back and gave her a faint, gentle smile.
"I'm sure my presence here has caused you a lot of unease and pressure. Like I was commandeering your ho, right?"
"…"
She had no words for him.
"Next ti we et, I hope you can be a little more relaxed."
He glanced at her hands, folded over her lower abdon, and remarked with a slight laugh,
"You don't have to cover up on account of my so-called X-ray vision. I'm not in the habit of peeping without reason."
"!"
She stiffened and couldn't et his gaze. Ever since she'd first seen him, her hands had been placed over her midsection. At first glance it looked natural, but in truth, she'd done it because she couldn't forget his remark about being able to "see through things."
Rei Ao didn't linger on that. After turning away, he took the demon's corpse below the window and vanished.
"Gone…"
Mrs. Yukinoshita still wasn't used to his sudden entrances and exits; it was too surreal. A burst of amazent and relief washed over her.
"Haa…"
Once he'd left, a weight lifted off her shoulders, and her hands finally dropped from her stomach. Rembering his parting words, she let out a faint, self-deprecating chuckle.
"I've really been overthinking. Soone like , getting worried about being seen by soone like him…"
She'd cald down enough to realize she was well over thirty, hardly soone a young man would bother checking out. Next ti we et, I'd best try to relax, she thought.
Gazing at the shattered glass, her eyes grew thoughtful. Now there were several new matters demanding attention: the future of Yukino, the future of Haruno, and the future of the Yukinoshita family as a whole. Everything had changed because of Rei Ao—and she herself had lost her composure in front of a younger man for the first ti in her life.
…
As for Rei Ao—currently quite on Mrs. Yukinoshita's mind—he'd returned ho.
There, he spotted Mabel sprawled lazily on his couch, belly full, watching TV. He felt a vein pop in annoyance.
"Mabel, you finished breakfast and didn't go back to Yukino's place—so you're lazing around my house now?"
"Wah!!!"
She nearly jumped out of her skin at his sudden voice, shrieking as she bolted upright.
"Aaah, n-no, please, no more 'rod discipline'!"
"Huh?"
Mai and the others appeared, hearing the commotion.
"Oh, Rei Ao, you're back."
"Yeah."
Rei Ao shot a glance at Mabel—who was trembling, terrified he'd whip out a stick and "educate" her again—and sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"Mabel, could you be any more pathetic? If you're my so-called 'sslave'—my 'plaything'—then at least show a bit of courage, or it's an embarrassnt to as your master."
"Ugh, I…I'm just scared."
Blinking in pitiful tears, she asked him ekly, "S-so… you're not going to discipline again, are you?"
"Mmm…"
Rei Ao nodded slowly. Seeing that, Mabel finally relaxed. But a second later, he broke into a mischievous grin.
"No, I am going to discipline you—and to the max, with plenty of 'rod discipline.' Look forward to it, Mabel."
"Huh?!"
His stern tone shattered her fragile relief, sending her from heaven to hell in a heartbeat. Mabel's face went pale.
"Rei Ao-kun, I think you've really freaked her out this ti," Futaba said, poking Mabel's shoulder. There was no reaction.
"Leave her be," he shrugged. "If I don't knock so sense into her occasionally, she'll just run riot. She needs to be taken down a peg."
In other words, his announcent was more or less a "cri forecast"… or, more precisely, a "rod-discipline forecast." After issuing it, he no longer concerned himself with Mabel, who would remain terrified about being punished at any mont.
He turned his attention to Emilia, who was watching from a distance, munching on waterlon.
"Emilia. Co with for a bit."
"Huh? No way, no way," she said, shaking her head like a rattling drum. "I finally have a day off!"
She'd been working for a week, and her newfound appreciation for rest ant she was reluctant to give up her precious free ti.
"…"
Rei Ao had to laugh.
"You've only been working a week, and you've turned into a wage slave already?"
She couldn't really deny that. With all the knowledge she'd picked up about this world, she knew exactly what "wage slave" ant, and that's basically how she'd been living.
"Well," Rei Ao continued, "this is important. You and I are going to see the Demon King from your world."
"Oh… the Demon King, huh…"
Emilia paused mid-scoop of her waterlon. She didn't seem particularly roused at the ntion of a Demon King, not like she used to be.
Now, she was calm; after all, she knew the Demon King couldn't cause any major trouble in this world. Not when there was Tohru the dragon and—more importantly—Rei Ao, both far more powerful.
Plus, Rei Ao had apparently already t Satan (the Demon King) and warned him. That should've left him docile. She shrugged, deciding:
"Fine, I'll go with you. Laughing at the Demon King's sorry state will be worth giving up my day off."
"Get dressed, then," he said.
Emilia slipped into her room. But half an hour passed and she still hadn't co out.
"…"
Growing impatient, Rei Ao finally pushed her door open.
"Hey, does it really take this long to change clothes?"
Emilia, half-undressed in front of piles of clothing, jumped at his sudden entrance. Their eyes t.
Rei Ao raised an eyebrow, looking her over quite seriously.
"You've got a pretty good figure."
"Eek!!!"
~~~
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