'Bocchi-chan's already started working at STARRY, huh.' Jhin received a text from Hitori Gotoh saying she'd started her part-time job. He recalled the general plot and knew they were about to find Kikuri Hiroi and start preparing for their next concert.
I should invite Gabriel and Vignette to go support them then. Though, I don't know if Gabriel will be willing to come out.
Although I'm currently using daily lunches to get Gabriel to attend school regularly, Jhin has heard all about her classroom behavior from Vignette—sleeping in class and hiding behind a book to play games are common occurrences.
Can I really get Gabriel back on the right track? For a fleeting moment, Jhin felt a bit lost, but the penalty for failing the mission quickly filled him with motivation. There are always more solutions than problems. This concerns the happiness of my future wife; I can't give up.
"Ah! The person who fainted that day!" Satania shouted, pointing at Jhin.
"Hm?" Jhin, who had just finished shopping and was about to head back, stopped in his tracks.
"Why did you just disappear that day? You made this great archdemon bring people all the way there for nothing." Satania stormed up to Jhin and questioned him angrily.
So it was her voice I first heard on the day I arrived. Jhin had thought it was just his imagination.
Although Satania looked a little angry, Jhin knew this foolish girl, just like Vignette, was a good kid from the simple-mannered Underworld. He explained to Satania, "Sorry about that. Actually, Gabriel rescued me that day."
"Mmm... As expected of Gabriel, my greatest rival!" Satania immediately took on a look of understanding.
"Take this melon bread as a thank-you gift." Knowing that Satania's favorite snack was melon bread, Jhin took one out of the plastic bag he was carrying and handed it to her.
"Oh, you're pretty savvy, aren't you? What's your name?" Having been fed, Satania seemed exceptionally happy, as this was her favorite food.
"My name is Jhin."
"Ahem." Satania swallowed the delicious melon bread, crumbs still clinging to the corner of her mouth. With one hand on her hip, she puffed out her chest and declared, "I am the future great archdemon, Kurumizawa Satanichia McDowell! You may call me Lady Satania."
"Woof woof!" A black shadow lunged toward the melon bread in Satania's hand with lightning speed.
"Get lost!" Jhin landed a karate chop on the little dog's head as it tried to snatch the melon bread, then gave its rear a kick to drive it away. He'd found that dog annoying in the anime, and now he finally had a chance to whack it.
"Wow, you actually drove away that ferocious beast... I mean, that troublesome little dog." Satania looked at Jhin with gratitude in her eyes.
She had no idea what was up with this dog. It showed no fear of her, a great archdemon, and constantly tried to steal her melon bread. Ever since coming to the human world, she'd lost count of how many snacks it had snatched from her.
"It was nothing, Lady Satania." Jhin placed his right hand on his chest and gave Satania a gentlemanly bow.
"J-Just call me Satania. Wait until I officially become a great archdemon, then you can call me Lady Satania." Not expecting Jhin to actually call her 'Lady,' Satania felt a little embarrassed.
"Ah~ What a delightful sight this is." Hiding behind a nearby telephone pole, Raphiel's face was glowing as if she'd just had the most luxurious spa treatment, a contented smile spreading across her lips.
To think that on a simple walk, she'd encounter a demon being chased by a dog, follow the spectacle, and even meet a human who carried Gabriel's scent. What a day full of surprises.
"Satania, want to come over to my place? Gabriel is there too," Jhin invited.
"Gabriel is at your house?" To be able to invite an angel into his home, this human was no simpleton. Satania felt she couldn't underestimate Jhin.
"We're neighbors."
"I see. On account of your sincerity, lead the way!" Satania waved her hand grandly, signaling Jhin to get going.
"I want to go too!" Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Raphiel popped out from behind the telephone pole.
"Who are you?"
"I am Gabriel's friend, Shiraha Raphiel Ainsworth." Raphiel answered Satania's question with a smile. "Would Jhin-san be okay with that?"
"You're all friends anyway. I'll call Vignette over too." Jhin didn't mind; it was just a few more people for a meal. It's just that the lunch Gabriel was looking forward to would probably turn into a hot pot party.
"You know Vignette too?" Satania was astonished.
"I met her through Gabriel not long ago."
"Jhin-san certainly knows a lot of people," Raphiel teased. To think that all the angels and demons at Shuka High School knew this human, Jhin, really made one want to investigate further.
Arriving at his front door with the newly acquainted angel and demon, Jhin didn't even have time to press the doorbell for Gabriel to open it. She flung the door open with a 'thud,' fuming, "Hey! Jhin, why did you bring all these people over?"
"I just happened to run into your acquaintances, so I invited them over." Jhin couldn't understand why Gabriel was so angry.
"Oh my, so Gabriel is this unwelcoming of us coming over to play?" Raphiel, as if guessing something, teased, "This isn't your house, now is it? Right, Satania?"
"Exactly! What right does a mere Gabriel have to stop us from visiting Jhin's house?" Satania, completely unaware she was being used as a pawn, nodded in agreement with Raphiel.
"Tch." Left speechless, Gabriel clicked her tongue in annoyance. She had finally managed to sweet-talk Jhin into making her a lavish meal, only for him to bring back three people after a short trip to buy groceries. More than the lunch turning into hot pot, she was furious that their time alone together had been disturbed.
Lately, she increasingly felt that she couldn't live without Jhin. As long as he was home, she could pull him into gaming sessions where they'd roast each other's skills. When they weren't gaming, they would watch anime together, discussing the plot, the main character's personality, and how certain scenes were designed.
Although she wasn't too keen on cleaning her room, Jhin would always come over and forcibly drag her into cleaning it with him, which she found acceptable. Several times when Vignette came to visit, she was so moved by the sight of the clean room that she shed tears of joy, thinking the model student Gabriel of the past had returned.
As long as she was with Jhin, she could actually be made to do things she was previously unwilling to do, on the condition that Jhin did them with her. He was the first friend she made after coming to the human world; Vignette was the second, made only after she put on her model student disguise on the first day of school.
Jhin had never shown a trace of disgust at her fallen state, which was much better than those angel classmates who stopped associating with her after finding out she was friends with a demon. Although he sometimes got a headache from her laziness, his eyes always held the same warmth she saw on the day they first met, a look that warmed her heart.
This must be what a true best friend is, Gabriel thought.
"Come in. Vignette is already inside waiting." Gabriel stopped arguing with Raphiel and Satania and turned to go inside.
Squinting at Gabriel's retreating back, Raphiel felt that a certain suspicion in her heart was becoming more accurate, and she couldn't help but break into an even more delighted smile.
Jhin took out a portable stove, set up the pot, and brought out the ingredients he had just finished chopping from the kitchen with Vignette. "I don't know if you all can handle spicy food, so I prepared a yin-yang pot."
"Jhin-san, your knife skills are amazing," Vignette, who had been helping in the kitchen, praised him after seeing his clean and efficient movements while preparing the ingredients.
"We're all friends, no need to be so formal. Just call me Jhin. You too, Satania and Raphiel."
Gabriel eagerly picked up a slice of beef, swished it in the mild broth, dipped it in sauce, and put it in her mouth. The tender, juicy beef paired with Jhin's specially mixed sauce made every taste bud on her tongue sing with joy. Gabriel wore an expression of pure bliss.
Seeing Gabriel's reaction, the others all followed suit, cooking a slice of beef for themselves. As the only angel among the four whose living allowance hadn't been cut—in fact, it had increased by thirty percent—Raphiel had of course eaten high-grade ingredients like wagyu beef before.
She looked at the wagyu beef, which made up basically half of the hot pot ingredients, and fell into deep thought.
Could it be that Jhin is actually very rich?
___
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