Chapter 529: Abnormal Hancock, Different Sacrifices
Courage and the other inspectors retreated upstairs immediately after dinner, buried under a mountain of official reports that required urgent processing. Justice headed off to tidy her quarters, though she took a deliberate detour to Modeus's room, dragging a highly reluctant Pandemonica along by the collar. Whatever hushed conversation transpired behind that closed door remained strictly between the three demons.
Cerberus bounded over to Rantabi and the others to join the evening commotion. Nami and Aoandon also excused themselves to organize their respective rooms. Before leaving, Aoandon mentioned she needed to return to her native world for a couple of days, if only to accurately measure the time dilation between the two realms.
Downstairs, the living room grew quiet. Ren sat on the sofa, his gaze drifting toward Kasugano Sora. The silver-haired girl was slumped against the cushions, completely lethargic after burning through her daily reserve of energy, her eyes glued to the glowing screen of her phone.
Ren watched her thumbs tap away at the screen for a moment. "Sora, what are you doing?"
"Playing on my phone," she mumbled, not looking up.
Ren leaned back, his tone dryly amused. "Didn't you forget something?"
Sora blinked, her thumbs pausing as she looked up with a puzzled expression. "What? I didn't promise to play games with Hinata-senpai today, so there shouldn't be any major issues, right...?"
A brief silence settled over the room. Ren kept his voice perfectly level. "Today is the weekend."
"Yes, I know that."
From the kitchen, Lucifer stepped out wiping her hands on her apron, an exasperated sigh escaping her lips. "Then why are you sitting there so calmly?"
Sora waved a dismissive hand, entirely unbothered. "Small matter, small matter. Isn't it just going to school tomorrow? Easy-peasy. With my current motivation, I can definitely pay attention in class!"
Lucifer stared at her, genuinely taken aback by the sheer audacity, before her crimson eyes narrowed. "Going to school is your own business. The real issue is, did you forget that you haven't written a single word of your weekend homework yet? Or are you going to tell me you magically finished it?"
Sora froze. The color drained from her face. Her pupils contracted into tiny dots as she slowly lowered her gaze to check the time on her phone screen.
In the next second, she shot off the sofa like a startled cat and vanished up the stairs in a blur of motion.
Lucifer shook her head, leaning against the kitchen counter. "Sora really has a long way to go..."
"She'll get used to it eventually," Ren said, a faint smile touching his lips. "But I have to admit, it's a bit absurd. If that girl is only just starting her assignments now, is she even going to be able to wake up tomorrow morning?"
"If she can't wake up, we just throw Cerberus into her room. Problem solved." Lucifer waved the concern away, then crossed her arms. "But speaking of which, I have a feeling today might turn out to be very interesting..."
Lucifer tapped a finger against her arm, her expression turning skeptical. "Whenever you use the word 'interesting', it usually means some incredibly strange people are about to show up. For once, I hope it's someone a little more normal."
"What exactly is your definition of a 'normal person'?"
"Well..." Lucifer tilted her head, thinking it over. "Pepper is quite normal... and Nami is very normal too. Hancock, on the other hand, is not normal! That woman is definitely not normal! She's far too lecherous!"
Ren chuckled, shaking his head at the Queen of Hell's harsh assessment. "She's alright. Hancock is generally pretty well-behaved... though I suppose she is indeed a bit abnormal. It seems she'll be dropping by today, too."
"She's coming again?!"
"Definitely. But she probably won't stay for long. It really just depends on whether Zoro or that girl arrives first."
Lucifer paused, her crimson eyes studying Ren's face with a sudden, piercing intensity. "Ren, honestly... do you have feelings for Hancock? The way you casually call a woman like her 'little girl'or'that girl' has quite a psychological effect, you know."
Ren sighed, his posture relaxing into the sofa. "As I've explained before, a very long time has passed on Hancock's side of the world. But for me, it's only been about half a year. In my memories, she's still just a little girl."
Lucifer stared at him in silence for a long moment, the ambient light of the living room catching the faint narrowing of her eyes. "Is Hancock pretty?" she asked softly.
"Girls change a lot as they grow up," Ren replied, his tone entirely objective. "Even when she was young, you could easily tell she was going to be a beauty. And time proved that true. Hancock is exceptionally beautiful."
"Then is her figure good?"
Ren didn't hesitate. "Very good. Actually, I'm quite curious to see how Hancock reacts when she finally meets Yuko. Both of them have incredible figures, both are very tall, and their looks are absolutely impeccable. The only clash will be their personalities. Hancock would probably be driven completely crazy by Yuko."
Lucifer pictured the hypothetical collision between the Pirate Empress's explosive arrogance and Fuji Yumiko's seasoned, teasing maturity. A sudden burst of laughter escaped her lips. "Hmm! I can perfectly picture it! As expected of Yuko. She's really gained a wealth of experience from all her past rebellions, hasn't she? It's truly outrageous."
"That's pretty much it," Ren agreed. "All things considered, having life experience is always more reliable than lacking it. Oh, by the way, Lucifer... all of your current employees are living here with me now. Does that mean the rest of your subordinates are going to discover this place soon?"
Lucifer groaned, massaging her temples as a headache threatened to form. "Don't even mention it... Just thinking about the rest of them gives me a migraine. Not a single one of the remaining demons is normal. Oh, right, Ren. If Zdrada ends up coming here, you just need to..."
"Need to what?"
"If you ever get bored, just hit her."
Ren blinked, the casual domestic atmosphere suddenly derailing. He looked at her, genuinely baffled. "I don't think I heard that correctly. Can you repeat that? What exactly should I do if I'm bored?"
"You heard me. Just hit her if you're bored. She is..." Lucifer trailed off, gesturing vaguely as if that explained everything.
Ren let out a long, heavy breath. "I understand... I just constantly get the feeling that if I stay down here with you girls for much longer, your common sense is going to permanently warp mine. I suppose this truly is Hell..."
"That is not how Hell is described!" Lucifer snapped exasperatedly, her cheeks flushing slightly. She huffed, adjusting her apron. "Never mind... You're right, though. My subordinates really are a bit too strange..."
Ren let the comfortable silence return for a few moments, listening to the faint sounds of the evening outside. "Speaking of which," he murmured, "it feels like I haven't seen Yumiko in quite a while. She seems to be buried in overtime work lately."
Lucifer pulled out her phone, scrolling through her messages. "She was actually talking about this yesterday. Yumiko said she wanted to take a proper vacation, which is why she's been working like an absolute maniac to clear her schedule. But... she really seems to be overdoing it."
Ren tilted his head. "Hmm? Is that so? Her company's structure is indeed like that. If she completes a sufficient workload in advance, she can apply for extended leave. But just how long of a break is she planning to take that requires this much overtime?"
"I don't know the exact details. She just mentioned that she desperately needs to carve out time for her private life, and to play games with Shusuke and the others. Sigh... Is Yumiko a sister or a mother? She worries about those boys far too much."
Ren offered a helpless smile. "When it comes to that, Shusuke and Yuta actually feel incredibly guilty toward Yumiko, and toward their parents. Because she took on the burden of caring for the family, Yumiko literally has to calculate every single minute of her private time with absolute precision."
Lucifer crossed her arms, shooting him a sideways glare. "Are you trying to show off to me? Bragging that you managed to win over a devoted, hardworking girl like Yumiko? Because if that's the case, I might as well just abandon Hell entirely and stay here permanently!"
"That is a tempting offer," Ren noted dryly. "But Lucifer, you seem to have a fundamental difference from Yumiko."
"What difference?"
"Yumiko sacrifices her own time for the sake of her family. You, on the other hand, sacrifice Hell's time for the sake of your family." Ren met her gaze, his eyes gleaming with quiet amusement. "In a sense, you two are complete opposites. Tell me, Lucifer... are you absolutely sure you aren't just using us as an excuse to be lazy?"
Lucifer's face flushed a brilliant shade of crimson. She marched over and playfully slapped his shoulder, her voice rising in flustered indignation. "One does it for family, and one does it for love! Couldn't you just phrase it beautifully like that?! Why did you have to add 'being lazy' to the end of it?! Besides, who exactly benefits when I abandon my duties for love?!"
[Akarin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me!
Want to read ahead on our official home, or unlock 50 advanced chapters to feed your addiction? Help keep this shameless translator alive here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
🌐 Read on our site: Elysianreads[.]com or Check the link in my Webnovel Profile bio!
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters & Ad-Free): patreon[.]com/AkarinTL or Search AkarinTL on Patreon
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]