Meanwhile…
Rei Ao returned home. The moment he opened the door, he sensed something was off today.
"Uwaaaah—my demon pride has been gnawed away!!!"
A wail of despair echoed from the living room, mixed with dull thudding noises. Rei Ao paused, looking puzzled, then headed inside.
A razor-sharp gaze greeted him from the hallway.
It was Sakurajima Mai, arms folded, leaning against the wall.
Her dark hair fell around her shoulders, but her eyes glinted with displeasure.
"Oh? You actually remembered to come back?"
Her voice was an octave lower than usual.
"Your date ended?"
A very familiar note of jealousy. Rei Ao knew exactly how to handle it. He simply swept Mai into his arms and placed a series of soft kisses on her, dissolving her sour mood. This approach worked wonders—especially with several pairs of eyes watching from the sidelines.
"Still mad?"
Rei Ao grinned.
"If you are, I'll just have to take you to the bedroom and make it up to you."
"?! …"
Mai still got shy easily. Her cheeks reddened, and she shot him a glare.
"Pervert!"
"Better go comfort your precious student first."
With that, Mai slipped free from his embrace, genuinely worried he might drag her off for another "round." After all, not only were Futaba and the others home, there were also two "outsiders" around.
"Master! Master, where are you?! My pride as a demon is in tatters!"
The heart-wrenching sobs rose again—from Satania.
"Sigh…"
Mai waved a hand in exasperation.
"Your little demon apprentice has been wailing all afternoon. Vigne's practically on her knees at this point."
Rei Ao walked into the living room, half-smiling at the scene. There was Satania, collapsed on all fours, her red twintails splayed around her, looking like a wounded animal. Scattered around her were empty melon bread wrappers. Vigne knelt beside her, patting Satania's back in distress.
"Satania, calm down…Gabriel wasn't doing it on purpose, I'm sure…"
"She totally was!"
Satania's tear-reddened eyes shot open, snot and tears staining her face.
"Gabriel planned it all along—she stole all my melon pan, wooo!"
But the moment she caught sight of her beloved Master, her eyes lit up. Crawling forward on hands and knees, she grabbed onto Rei Ao's leg.
"Master! You're finally back!"
She looked up at him, cheeks drenched, voice trembling.
"Gabriel bullied me—she snatched all my melon bread…sob."
Rei Ao stooped down, scooping up Satania as though she were a child, then moved to the sofa. Tohru and the others politely made room for him. Satania's small frame felt especially delicate in his arms. He patted her back gently, sensing her sobs gradually subside.
"All right, all right. Didn't I teach you not to cry like a baby?"
At that, Satania's weeping became quieter, just sniffling. Rei Ao settled down on the sofa with Satania still in his arms, motioning Vigne to sit too.
"So…what happened this time?"
Vigne laced her fingers together guiltily.
"Well, these past few days, Satania's been challenging Gabriel to…various things."
"A duel! A battle of demon vs. angel dignity!"
Satania corrected, poking her face out from Rei Ao's embrace. Vigne sighed.
"Yes…a duel. From video games to sports, even cooking contests… But Gabriel kept…'bending the rules' and winning."
"She cheated!"
Satania waved her fists angrily.
"On the first day, we played console games—she sneakily used her angelic power to make my controller glitch!"
"On the second day, we raced—right at the finish line, she laid banana peels so I slipped!"
"And today…today…"
Her voice turned tearful again. She buried her face in Rei Ao's chest.
"Today we competed to see who'd buy the last melon bread at the convenience store. She actually used her angel halo to trick the clerk into thinking she was a celebrity, so she got priority! That was limited-edition melon bread!"
"Pfft—!"
Hearing all this, Sora couldn't help laughing. Futaba and Tohru also struggled not to laugh out loud.
Satania, at least, was consistent at landing in these comedic messes.
Rei Ao didn't laugh, though. He understood Satania's single-mindedness. Continuing to pat Satania's back, he glanced at Vigne:
"Vigne, what's your opinion?"
Vigne's face showed a rare look of helplessness.
"Honestly…this time, I do think Gabriel went too far. She knows how much those limited-edition melon breads mean to Satania."
She paused, lowering her voice.
"I suspect she planned it days in advance—apparently Gabriel was waiting at that store."
Satania whimpered louder:
"Master, you gotta help me get justice… That fallen angel's just mocking me!"
Rei Ao glanced over at Mai, who shrugged as if to say "Up to you." An idea began forming in his mind. He looked down at Satania, still red-eyed, and gave a small, knowing smile.
"Satania, want revenge?"
Satania jerked upright, her ruby eyes wide.
"M-Master, you have a way?"
"Of course. Your Master can do anything."
His hand wiped away her tears.
"Not only will I get even for you—I'll let you personally teach Gabriel a lesson. How's that?"
Satania's eyes sparkled. She squirmed excitedly on his lap.
"Really? You're not lying, Master?"
"When have I lied to you?"
Rei Ao teased, pinching her nose lightly.
"But I'll need your cooperation to stage a little…performance."
Vigne leaned in, intrigued:
"How exactly do you plan to do that?"
"That,"
Rei Ao said, a note of mystery,
"I'll keep under wraps. Vigne, you can come along if you want."
A faint grin tugged at his lips. Tohru and the others who knew Rei Ao's ways simultaneously gave Gabriel a silent prayer— because it seemed that she was about to have a very rough time.
~~~
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