"Hmm? Me? Well, actually, I didn't even report to work today. When I woke up this morning and got dressed, I looked at the time and realized I was already late."
"Thinking about it, Makima didn't give me a specific time for my leave. She just said to come back when I felt better. So I thought… I might as well pretend to be sick today too~ I'll go tomorrow and just be a bit thick-skinned about it. So I took the day off."
"Until now, I haven't had anything to do. I figured you guys would be getting off work soon, so I went to Aki's place early to wait for everyone to come back and have dinner or something."
After speaking, Himeno gently shifted her position, moving a little closer to Renji. She leaned her body slightly, then carefully rested her head on his shoulder.
The distance between them narrowed, as if they could feel each other's breath and heartbeat. Himeno spoke again, her voice soft.
"Speaking of which, Renji, do you know why I specifically asked for these few days off?"
Her voice was exceptionally soft, but her tone seemed to carry a different purpose—alluring, tempting.
Because with every syllable that came out of her mouth, a warm breath also escaped, and Renji could feel it very clearly, making his whole body tingle. He deliberately said,
"I don't know."
Himeno chuckled twice. She understood what he meant. After all, they had been together for a while, and Himeno could sense that Renji was a person with a bit of a twisted sense of humor.
To be precise, one could even say he was a pervert. Renji loved to dominate absolutely in matters related to sex—whether in actions or words.
It seemed this could satisfy some of his spiritual needs.
How to put it…
A desire for conquest?
Having no choice, Himeno cooperated with him in a sweet voice.
"How could you not know Isn't it all because of you? That time in the underground parking lot"
"It's all because of your big… thing It made me pass out and wake up repeatedly. My physical endurance just couldn't keep up. I was shouting for you to stop, to let me rest for a while But you just wouldn't listen~ Sigh…"
As she spoke, Himeno's hand slowly reached toward Renji's crotch, gently tapping through the fabric.
If it weren't for the fact that they were in a taxi at the moment, Himeno would have already firmly grasped him and used her five fingers to control Renji, just like before.
She changed the subject and complained again.
"I couldn't get out of bed for days because of you. If Aki hadn't taken the time to take care of me, I probably would have starved to death in bed. Renji, really, it's all because of you that I became like this. But you never came to see me during this time. To be honest, I still feel quite sad."
"Eh…? Is it that serious?"
Renji was very surprised, because Reze and the Angel Devil weren't like that—at least not as exaggerated as Himeno.
But thinking about it carefully, it seemed plausible. Himeno had an ordinary human physique, and during her first time, with the female-specific attack, she was directly unable to get out of bed for two or three days.
Reze had a weapon human physique and also needed to sleep. Even after waking up, she was still somewhat listless.
The Angel Devil had a pure Devil physique, but she also needed to recover for a while.
"Sorry. I thought you'd be fine after a good night's sleep. It definitely won't happen like this again next time."
Himeno felt a warmth in her heart, released Renji, waved her hand, and said happily,
"It's fine, it's fine. I didn't really take it to heart. Besides, I didn't help you much in the Bomb Devil incident. Aki told me about it later. I was probably still sleeping at that time. Since you're fine, we're even, yay~"
Himeno giggled and made a peace sign at Renji.
[Ding~ Detected Himeno's happy emotional state. System rewards 20 points.]
"Hmm I'm in a good mood Today was a pleasant day~ So, Renji, where are we going now?"
"To the coffee shop. I want to see Reze and check how she's doing."
"Re… Reze…? Ah, I remember. Aki told me about her. The Bomb Devil who wanted to cut off your… thing?"
"Yes."
"Eh…? No way…?"
...
The sound of brakes echoed as the taxi pulled up in front of the coffee shop. After the car door opened, the two of them stepped out one after another.
Renji stood still, raised his head slightly, and his gaze fell directly on the antique-style sign of the coffee shop. To be honest, he was a little nervous.
He didn't know what Reze's current arrangements were, but based on common sense, she was most likely working at this coffee shop now.
Reze was, after all, a Bomb Devil. If she were to directly join Public Safety's official work, it would be too impractical. If Renji were the leader, he would at least observe her for a period of time.
Himeno's questioning voice came from beside him.
"Aren't you going in?"
At this question, Renji snapped back to reality. He walked over and pushed open the shop door. Accompanied by the clear, pleasant chime of the welcome bell, he stepped inside.
"Welcome!"
As soon as he entered, the familiar greeting reached Renji's ears.
Almost instantly, his gaze locked onto the figure busily tidying a table.
When Reze saw that the person was Renji, her movements paused for a moment, and a faint smile immediately blossomed on her face. The smile was like a blooming flower in spring—fresh and warm.
"Boss, my friend is here. I'll chat for a bit."
Himeno called out toward the kitchen, and the boss's voice came back in acknowledgment.
Then the three of them walked together to the recently tidied table in the corner and sat down in turn. Renji sat on the inside, Himeno beside him, and Reze across.
Renji hadn't even settled into his seat before he opened his mouth, about to say something.
But at that moment, an indescribable, strange atmosphere permeated the air without warning…
There was an inexplicable awkwardness…
Eh…?
Himeno and Reze… nothing would happen between them, right…?
By the way, why did Himeno come along…
Oh, right… he was the one who suggested going out for a stroll, but he was so startled and angry at the time that he completely forgot such a dramatic scene might occur…
Renji secretly glanced at Himeno beside him. She was staring intently at Reze across the table, murmuring softly.
"Hmm…? Hmm… I see…"
And Reze seemed to have experienced such situations before. She showed no signs of backing down and looked back at Himeno openly. The two of them met each other's gaze.
Renji was about to speak when Reze spoke first. As if showing off, she took out a coffee shop flyer from her scarf pocket and handed it over.
"Renji The coffee shop has a promotion today Do you want to see what you'd like to order?"
Feeling inexplicably awkward, Renji nodded in agreement, took it, and spread it open to look.
"Um… I'll order a… um… that… this thing…"
He stammered for a long time.
"Eh Renji You rarely come to a coffee shop. Aren't you going to order anything? Let me see what delicious things they have?"
Himeno leaned over, squeezing in with Renji to look.
"Hmm…"
She looked for a long time.
"Anyway, I'll have a strawberry cake first."