— — — — — —
Teaching Sector, Building C16, 6th Floor.
Ryo lounged on a white linen sofa, one leg crossed casually over the other, sipping a cup of tea while gazing out at the ocean.
After a small sip, he swirled the tea in his cup with a faintly displeased expression.
"Brandy in black tea? That's just wrong, Natsuki-chan."
Across from him, Natsuki Minamiya took a calm sip from her own teacup, one eye half-closed in her usual laid-back demeanor.
"We're both adults. Don't whine about a little alcohol."
She paused, setting her cup down gently. "Looks like the snake charmer and Iblisveil Aziz finally stopped fighting."
Ryo chuckled, placing his cup on the glass table with a soft clink.
"Natsuki-chan, peeking is bad manners. If I hadn't covered for you just now, Giada would've caught you red-handed."
"Oh please. As a freak like you will care about the Third Primogenitor," she shot back with a dramatic eye roll.
Ryo leaned back, resting one hand behind his head with a sigh. "Still... calling me a freak outright? Bit harsh, don't you think?"
Natsuki calmly set her cup down as well, her tone even but firm.
"To me, the three Primogenitors are unbeatable monsters. But to them, you're the kind of monster they can't defeat. So tell me, what do you call a monster that even monsters fear?"
Ryo grinned. "Husband."
"…"
Natsuki raised her head and stared at him with a long, exhausted look. His smug expression made her temples throb.
"Spare this poor little witch, would you, O great god from another world?"
"I'm still human, actually," Ryo replied, stretching and scratching the back of his head.
"Sure, I've got a divinity core, but it's not like it makes me a full god. All it does is push my power up to the limits of my race. So really, you could call me a half-god at best."
He gave a helpless shrug.
"Honestly, if I took the god-core out, I'd still be full of human DNA. So..."
His voice dipped into something more teasing. "Want to test whether my 'genetic material' is still human or—?"
Before he could finish that thought, Natsuki's hand flicked toward the air—and shing!—a small card zipped through the room like a dart.
Ryo caught it instinctively and blinked.
"What's this?"
Natsuki casually took another sip of tea, her tone cool as ever.
"A demonfolk escort service card. If you're that full of energy, feel free to... work it off there."
Ryo's eyebrows shot up.
"Using your money?"
That was clearly unexpected.
Natsuki's face darkened.
"If you promise to leave me alone afterward, then yes—go nuts."
Ryo twirled the card between his fingers, amused.
"You're no fun at all."
A visible vein practically popped on Natsuki's forehead, but she swallowed her irritation—she knew the gap in strength between them was way too wide to act on her temper.
Ryo, still lounging on the couch, closed his eyes with a smirk.
"Hey... do you think they have escort services in prison?"
Natsuki didn't dignify that with a full response.
"...No"
Ryo grinned without missing a beat. "Shame. I was hoping to book a session with that top girl, Aya Tokoyogi."
Natsuki froze mid-sip. Her hand holding the teacup stopped in midair.
Aya Tokoyogi.
A former witch like herself, the Witch of the Notaria, a dear friend from ten years ago. And the very same woman she'd been forced to imprison with her own hands.
The woman who'd pushed her into signing a contract with a demon.
Back then, Aya had used the lives of students from Saikai Academy to fuel her spell. As one of those students, Natsuki had no choice but to fight against her.
Her feelings toward Aya were complicated—far too complicated.
She let out a long sigh.
"I don't know where you heard that name, but listen... Aya isn't someone who just bends the knee to anyone."
Ryo simply smiled.
"Creating a peaceful world without magic... sounds interesting."
That was Aya's goal—a world without magic, where witches wouldn't be persecuted.
Natsuki stared at Ryo like he'd grown a second head, her mouth twitching slightly.
"I take back what I said earlier. If you really help her reach that goal... she'd probably let you do whatever you want."
'And then kill herself afterward...' Natsuki added silently, her mood dipping slightly.
Still, Ryo had brought up Aya —so she couldn't just sit still anymore.
"What exactly are you planning? Tell me, and I'll help."
Ryo's smile deepened.
"If Cyrora fully awakens, the resulting surge of magical energy would affect all of Itogami Island. That'd trigger fluctuations in the Prison Barrier... making it materialize into this world. Am I right?"
Natsuki narrowed her eyes briefly, then sighed.
"If I don't reinforce the Prison Barrier in time... yeah. That's exactly what would happen."
Ryo didn't say a word. He just looked at her.
Smugly.
Natsuki rubbed her forehead.
"Fine. I'll stop maintaining the barrier and let it surface in the real world."
She gave him a side glance.
"But I don't want anyone besides Aya being released from there."
Ryo tilted his head, genuinely puzzled.
"Why not just kill the rest?"
"Because most of them have... complicated backgrounds. Some are connected to the three Primogenitors—"
She stopped midsentence, face gradually shifting into a strange expression.
Then, staring at Ryo, she spoke in an oddly serious tone. "Wait. With you involved... we really could kill them all."
The prisoners in the barrier had long since earned the death penalty.
But their political and supernatural affiliations made execution far too risky—so they were sealed away instead, to avoid sparking a war.
But now? Now I have him.
This man could one-shot the Third Primogenitor. What were a bunch of death row inmates to him?
Let them come. Let them all come.
Natsuki's eyes gleamed slightly. "Would you do it?"
Ryo raised an eyebrow, mischief in his voice. "Sure. But Aya...?"
Natsuki's mouth twitched.
She refused to answer that.
Yes, she wanted Aya to wake up... but not like that. That was way too much.
But knowing Ryo's methods, she'd probably end up releasing Aya into his custody anyway.
As long as the chaos stayed inside the prison barrier, the inmates would likely cause enough trouble to draw his attention.
Of course, cleaning up the mess afterward would probably fall on her.
And knowing Aya, she'd almost certainly get on Ryo's nerves and... yeah. That'd probably drag her into it too.
Natsuki sighed deeply.
"Can't you just woo a girl like a normal person?"
Ryo shot her a side glance and replied with an amused smirk. "Are you a normal girl?"
Natsuki didn't respond.
Instead, she gulped down her tea like it was vodka and stared dead ahead, expressionless.
God, I want to kick this guy out so badly... but I can't. I can't win that fight, and I know it. It's infuriating!
Ryo smiled, watching her sulky, angry-but-powerless expression with great satisfaction.
He'd seen that same face on Black Rabbit more times than he could count. He'd practically developed a taste for it.
Beautiful girls making that face? Yeah. Never got old.
After a moment, Ryo shifted his gaze toward the door and murmured. "My... delivery has arrived."
Natsuki's eyes narrowed slightly.
Already...? That was fast.
After a brief pause, she sighed and snapped her fingers.
The door creaked open slowly with a soft, ominous groan.
.
.
.