Chapter 618: Kirari: I'll Wait for You in the Abyss
Ren gathered the empty plates, stacking them with quiet efficiency. The chime of the front door announced a new arrival. Justice strolled into the dining area, a half-empty cup of milk tea swinging loosely in her grip. Her signature shades caught the warm indoor lighting. Taking in the crowded room, a wide, effortless grin spread across her face. If there was one thing the High Prosecutor thrived on, it was a packed house.
"Yo! I'm back!" Justice called out, her voice carrying a bright, infectious energy. "Look at this crowd. I didn't miss the main event, did I?"
Lucifer let out a long, exhausted breath, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You absolute party animal. Settle down for a single second and come eat this."
Justice paused, her head tilting slightly as she approached the table. "Eat what? Your chocolate cookies? Did you finally add macadamia nuts for me? Wait, what is that jar? Kimchi?" She leaned over the heavy ceramic vessel, firing off questions with rapid-fire curiosity.
Lucifer shot her a withering glare. "I am a queen baking gourmet chocolate cookies, and you have the audacity to make demands? Macadamia nuts... I will turn you into a macadamia nut. This is Buddha Jumps Over the Wall."
"Buddha Jumps Over the Wall... Ha! I know that one!" Justice snapped her fingers. "Isn't that the legendary soup that smells like heaven? Why isn't there any scent? Is my nose broken?"
Ichihara Yuko took a slow sip from her cup, a faint, amused smile touching her lips. "You will understand once you break the seal. Go ahead and open the jar. I promise the lid does not bite."
Setting her milk tea aside, Justice reached out and popped the heavy lid off the ceramic pot. The seal broke with a soft hiss. An impossibly rich, complex aroma instantly flooded the air, thick with the scent of slow-simmered abalone, sea cucumber, and aged wine.
Justice froze. Her usual casual demeanor vanished for a split second. "Whoa," she breathed out, genuinely taken aback. "This scent is out of this world!"
Lucifer's expression softened into a smug, satisfied smile. "Alright, enough marveling. Hurry up and eat. The rest of us have already finished. Ren specifically told us to save a portion just for you."
"Yay! Time to dig in!"
Bypassing bowls and ladles entirely, Justice simply picked up the entire ceramic jar, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and started eating directly from the source. The sheer lack of table manners drew a few surprised blinks from the gathered women, but it was perfectly on-brand for the laid-back demon.
Lucifer watched her eat, a sudden, mischievous glint flashing in her crimson eyes. "Hey, Justice. Is it delicious?"
"Does that even need asking?" Justice mumbled around a mouthful of tender meat. "I've practically bitten my tongue three times already. Exactly what I expect from Ren's cooking. What are you getting at?"
Lucifer leaned her chin on her hand, her tone dripping with playful instigation. "Oh, nothing much. Just that everyone here got to taste this dish... except Ren. He claimed he wasn't interested in Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and made absolutely sure we kept this portion untouched for you."
Justice stopped chewing. She lowered the chopsticks, turning her head slightly toward Lucifer, before silently resuming her meal.
A few seats away, Kobayashi Rindou leaned over the table, her golden feline eyes narrowing in amusement. "Hey, Lucy," she whispered, "you really just want to see how Justice reacts, don't you?"
"Naturally," Lucifer murmured back, a wicked smirk playing on her lips. "I am very much looking forward to the show."
Nearby, Jabami Yumeko rested her cheek against her palm, her eyes curving into sweet, crimson crescents. "President, Mr. Ren is truly exceptional. So incredibly thoughtful."
Yomotsuki Runa kicked her legs lightly from her chair, a lollipop rolling around in her mouth. "Yep, yep! He really is a great guy. Just a tiny bit of a playboy, though."
Momobami Kirari let out a soft, airy laugh, her ice-blue eyes gleaming with a dangerous intellect. "A playboy? If a man is not exceptional enough, he lacks the very right to be a playboy. Besides, there are far too many existences in his home who outshine me."
Runa stopped kicking her legs. She pulled the lollipop from her mouth, looking at the Student Council President with genuine surprise. "Whoa, that is actually insane to hear from you. But President, your love life must be quite the uphill battle, right?"
Kirari rested her elbows on the table, interlacing her elegant fingers. "It is precisely the things that are difficult to obtain that are the most exquisite. The most captivating. I revel in this struggle; it is my everything." Her gaze shifted, pinning the smaller girl in place. "Now... Runa. It would be best if you did not take an interest in Ren."
The casual warning made Runa stiffen. She sat directly opposite Kirari, but the distance suddenly felt suffocatingly small. Kirari stood up slowly, leaning across the table until her face was mere inches from Runa's, her voice dropping to a velvety, hypnotic whisper.
"Because if you become interested in Ren..." Kirari murmured, her breath ghosting over Runa's skin. "For people like us... you will desperately want to study him. The more you study, the more fascinated you will become. Fascination breeds obsession. Obsession breeds the desire to possess."
Kirari's eyes were twin pools of frozen sapphire, pulling Runa under. "In the end, you will willingly forge your own shackles. You will lock them around your wrists and slowly sink into the mire... bound by your own hands, stripping away any possibility of escape."
"Because you walked into the deepest depths yourself. You locked the chains yourself..."
Runa swallowed hard, the dry click loud in her own ears. Kirari had established a terrifying premise: people like us. The President was directly implying they shared the same twisted nature. Yet, beneath the creeping dread, a bizarre, electric thrill shot through her veins. She felt incredibly excited, and she had no idea why.
Kirari's words were a demon's lullaby, dripping with lethal temptation, coaxing her listener to willingly dive into a boiling cauldron—to plunge headfirst into the abyss. It was an aura designed to drive a person completely mad.
Forcing a grin, Runa matched the President's gaze. "Then... President... care to tell me just how deep you have sunk by now?"
Kirari smiled, a chilling, beautiful curve of her lips. "Me? I have long since reached the very bottom of this abyss. In fact, to get there, I actively sought out heavier weights to tie to my ankles, just so I could sink faster."
Runa chuckled, a nervous, breathless sound. "And how is the view down there in the abyss?"
"It is stunning..."
"Eh? Well, that sounds pretty nice..."
"It is. So..." Kirari tilted her head, her smile widening. "Runa... do not become interested. Otherwise..."
Runa slightly averted her eyes, unable to bear the full weight of that predatory gaze. "Oh? And what happens then?"
"I will be waiting for you at the very bottom of the abyss..."
Runa's heart violently skipped a beat. She could not articulate the sheer weight of that final sentence. It was terrifying, yet it sparked a massive, erratic surge of adrenaline through her system.
Kirari was a madwoman. Yumeko was a madwoman. And Runa was exactly the same. Private Hyakkaou Academy was nothing less than a sanctuary for the insane. The crazier a gambler was, the more they gained. The crazier they were, the more they could appreciate the lethal beauty of the abyss.
The heavy tension shattered as Ren walked back into the dining room. Seeing Justice happily scraping the bottom of the ceramic jar, a dry, amused smile touched his lips. "Looks like it's settled."
"Yes! Absolutely!" Justice beamed, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "I am seriously looking forward to the final result now!"
"Hmm... it sounds like it's going to be quite the spectacle."
Lucifer frowned, her gaze darting between the two. "What in the world are you two talking about? I've only heard you whispering about this lately. Are you plotting some kind of prank?"
Justice waved her hand dismissively. "I'm not Cerberus. I don't care about childish pranks. I just reached a little cooperative agreement with Ren. It proves we are a perfect match."
Ren merely smiled, offering no explanation.
Just as he stepped closer, Justice suddenly moved. With lightning speed, she skewered a thick slice of abalone on one chopstick and a piece of tender sea cucumber on the other. Holding them up toward Ren, she flashed a brilliant, challenging grin. "Since we are such a perfect match, we should make a toast."
Without missing a beat, Ren reached out and snatched the chopsticks right out of Justice's grip. He tapped the wooden ends together in a mock cheer, smoothly ate the skewered seafood himself, and then handed the empty chopsticks back to the stunned demon.
"Hurry up and finish eating," Ren said, his tone perfectly flat and exasperated. "Dinner will be starting soon."
Around the table, every single woman silently raised a thumbs-up in their minds.
Goodness, she had laid the trap perfectly, waiting for him to eat from her chopsticks. But his counter was flawless. His reaction speed was truly terrifying.
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