Chapter 86: Time to Get to Work, Miss Poporon!
Understanding the reason for Yurine's hesitation, Poporon froze. To be honest, she had been planning to get revenge. The moment she got her Angelic Halo back, her first move was going to be to return to Heaven and file a report with the Lord. She would say that she had found the missing Pekola, and that she was consorting with witches and demons, having clearly fallen from grace.
With that, she could eliminate Pekola, secure her new position, get her revenge, and earn a great deal of merit all at once. A promotion and a raise would be just around the corner. It was a perfect plan.
"So you were planning to get revenge," Yurine said, her eyes narrowing ( ≖_≖). Seeing Poporon freeze up was all the confirmation she needed. "In that case, I definitely can't give this back to you. I'm not looking for more trouble."
"Eh? No, I wasn't!" Σ(°Д°; Poporon panicked, frantically waving her hands. "That's a misunderstanding! I was just trying to think of how I could earn your approval so you'd give me back my halo… I wasn't thinking about revenge at all! I'm an angel, after all. I'm magnanimous enough not to stoop to such things!"
"You don't exactly have a great track record with us," Ryohei said, glancing at Poporon, then back at Pekola, who was pulling the cart and immediately averted her gaze. "After all, you did just treat us to a spectacular performance of 'How to Backstab Your Superior'."
"If you can backstab your own boss, you can certainly backstab us," he continued, his tone teasing. "Even if you are an angel, you're a black-hearted one. If we cut you open, I'm sure you'd be black on the inside."
That's so mean! Poporon's cute face twitched, her sweet smile almost breaking. It was the first time anyone had ever called her a "black-hearted angel." What was even more infuriating was that she couldn't even argue with him. Damn it!
"So, it's time for some labor reform, Miss Poporon," Ryohei said, clapping his hands once, his tone shifting.
"Huh? What do you mean?" "Labor reform" did not sound like a good thing. Poporon had a bad feeling about this.
Yurine, however, understood immediately and looked at Ryohei. Is it okay?
Ryohei looked back, his eyes asking for her approval. Mhm. Yurine gave a slight nod.
Pekola, who was trailing behind them, had been secretly listening to their conversation. Hearing the words "labor reform," a worried expression appeared on her face. Even though Poporon had tried to kill her, she hadn't succeeded, had she? And she was her subordinate for many years. Pekola felt she was partly to blame for not educating her properly. And as a fellow angel, she didn't want to see Poporon suffer too much.
And then she heard Ryohei say: "Poporon, you can come work at my restaurant, too. It opens next Monday. You and Pekola can be waitresses together."
"Eh?"
"What? That's it? You scared me!" Poporon blinked, confirming what she had heard. When Ryohei nodded, she let out a huge sigh of relief. The term "labor reform" had made her imagine some terrible things.
"If I do a good job, can I have my Angelic Halo back?" Poporon asked Yurine, her eyes shining with hope.
Yurine looked at her, neither agreeing nor refusing. "We'll see how you perform."
"Okay, no problem!" Poporon immediately straightened her back, her fists clenched with determination. She had already been thinking she might have to work to earn her halo back, so this was completely acceptable. Hehe~, I still have a chance to get it back! A sliver of pride entered her heart. She glanced back at her old boss, but was met with Pekola's beaming, happy face.
Poporon froze, a strange, uncomfortable feeling like a thousand ants crawling on her skin washed over her. "Your smiling face is really annoying!" she snapped, and then quickly turned around, giving Pekola the back of her head.
"Eh!?" Σ(°Д°; Pekola was stunned, and a little hurt. Does Poporon really hate me that much? I never realized…
Hearing the commotion, Ryohei glanced at Poporon, then back at the dejected Pekola. He could guess what had happened. "Tonight, Poporon, you'll be staying with Pekola."
"Eh!?" x2
"Is that really okay?" Yurine asked.
"It's fine," Ryohei said, giving Yurine a reassuring look before putting an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close.
Poporon, hearing this arrangement, felt her brain short-circuit. What?! The last person she wanted to face right now was Pekola. She didn't know how to act around her. That innocent, happy smile had dealt some real damage to her conscience.
"..." Pekola, however, glanced at the suddenly stiff Poporon, and a thoughtful look entered her eyes. She didn't mind. In fact, she wanted to have a good, long talk with her.
Ota Ward, Yaguchi—
"This place is so peaceful and quiet," a man nearly 1.9 meters tall, built like a tank, said as he surveyed his surroundings. "It makes you want to go on a rampage!" It was the great mathematician, Omori Yakumo, otherwise known as Jason, a man dedicated to solving the equation "1000 - 7."
"There will be a chance for that, Jason," the妖艶人妖 Nico replied, following closely at his side.
"I know… but I'm getting a little impatient, Nico!" Jason's voice was a low growl, a savage light in his eyes as he looked at his companion.
At the same time, Ghouls belonging to Aogiri Tree were pouring into Ota Ward. Kirishima Ayato walked down the street, his hands in his pockets, his expression bored. "There don't seem to be any strong opponents in the 11th Ward. How dull."
Warm, gentle sunlight bathed the street. Though they were still some distance from their usual spot, a regular customer's eyes lit up, and he ran over to greet them.
"Chef Ryohei, good afternoon!"
"Good afternoon," Ryohei replied politely.
"Did you hire new staff?" the chubby young man in glasses asked, looking from Pekola to Poporon, his gaze lingering on the latter. "This one looks like an idol! Are you in a group or something?"
An idol? Poporon thought. Do I look like an idol?
"Poporon is not an idol," she replied.
"Oh, really? Well, in that case… can I buy two Omurice to go?" The young man, who had been ready to become her number one fan, now just wanted to eat. He was staring at the cart, his face full of hunger.
"Of course." Ryohei began to prepare the order.
Poporon, watching him cook, saw the golden light that bloomed from the omelette as he folded it over the rice. Was that my imagination? Or was it just the sunlight? she wondered, not entirely sure what she had just seen.
Pekola, meanwhile, was thinking about what the Omurice would taste like. She was already drooling. Ryohei had said that dinner was included on workdays. Does that include today? she wondered. I want to eat it! I really, really want to eat it!
"Heian-kun, get another Omurice ready," Yurine's gentle voice said. "Give it to Pekola. She's drooling."
"Eh?" Ryohei looked over and saw the little angel, her face bright red, frantically wiping the corner of her mouth.
"If you want to eat, you can just say so," he said, amused. What an honest angel. He handed the steaming, fragrant Omurice to the blushing Pekola, and then looked at Poporon, who was staring in wide-eyed shock.
"Time to get to work, Miss Poporon," he said.
"Oh," she replied instinctively, and took Pekola's place at the front of the cart, dutifully beginning her labor reform. After two steps, she couldn't help but ask, "Why does it glow?"
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