This realization surprised Rei Ao.
But upon reflection, it made sense.
After all, if the demon realm could produce abstract demons like Vignette and Satania, it wasn't too strange that there was no Demon King.
Besides, both the celestial and demon realms were heavily "urbanized."
His scattered thoughts returned to focus, and Rei Ao's expression showed satisfaction.
At the very least, the trip to Hijiri Kasuga's world hadn't been in vain.
However, a significant problem awaited him upon his return.
He didn't have much time to think about the increase in his powerbecause the space he had returned to wasn't empty.
Standing nearly pressed against him was another person.
Before him stood Sakurajima Mai's mother, holding a towel, frozen in place and utterly stunned.
Her expression was one of shock, her body rigid as she stared at the suddenly appearing Rei Ao.
Her mind went completely blank.
Especially since it was her first time encountering a real manone who radiated an overwhelming presence like the sun itself.
Rei Ao averted his gaze from Mrs. Sakurajima, adopting a serious tone.
"I believe this might be a misunderstanding, Mrs. Sakurajima."
He thought it best to address her formally for nowit might help ease the awkwardness.
"Or, if you prefer, I can explain everything."
Rei Ao felt it was necessary to offer an explanation, especially given her unique position.
Hearing his words, Mrs. Sakurajima slowly regained her ability to think.
She forced herself to calm down, steadying her thoughts.
She was aware that Rei Ao possessed the ability to appear and disappear without a trace.
It was similar to when he had appeared in her bedroom the last time.
So
Mrs. Sakurajima concluded that this was likely just an unintentional misunderstanding.
~~~
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Chapter 177: Mrs. Sakurajima's Wonderful Experience, Dragon Knight! (Bonus Chapter)
Turning off the shower.
Sakurajima Mai's mother crossed her arms, feigning calm as she tried to cover the more "compromising" parts of herself.
She forced herself to look straight ahead despite her humiliation and softly said, "Rei Ao, I've always trusted you."
"But could you leave this space to me for now?"
The confined space of the bathroom felt unbearably crowded.
Mrs. Sakurajima could even feel the faint touch of the "rising sun," making her heart race so wildly she thought it might burst from her chest.
"No problem," Rei Ao replied and prepared to leave.
"Ah!"
As she shifted slightly, Mrs. Sakurajima realized her legs had gone weak and she nearly collapsed.
Falling in a slippery bathroom could result in serious injuries, but before she could hit the ground, a strong arm caught her.
Rei Ao had returned just in time, preventing her from falling.
"Are you alright?" Rei Ao asked softly.
That single question, combined with his steady presence, made Mrs. Sakurajima's entire body heat up, and something deep within her seemed to switch on.
Acting on impulse, she kissed Rei Ao.
"..."
Even Rei Ao froze momentarily, caught off guard.
But, recalling a similar situation with Yuriko Takagi, he quickly made the decision to respond.
At that moment, Mrs. Sakurajima's mind went blank, unable to process anything but the heat of the moment.
Until
"We're back!"
The sound of the front door opening, accompanied by Mai's voice, jolted her back to reality.
"!!!"
Mrs. Sakurajima snapped to her senses and stepped back in panic.
"Quick, you need to leave! Mai is back!"
Rei Ao, casually drying his hair, sighed. "I could use spatial magic to teleport back to the bedroom, but don't you think this is a bit unfair to me, Mrs. Sakurajima?"
"..."
Her face turned bright red like an apple, and her expression showed nothing but shock and embarrassment.
She couldn't understand the magnitude of his powershow Mai had managed to "handle" someone like him was beyond her.
Rei Ao brushed a strand of her hair aside with a teasing smile. "I can leave anytime, but before I do, you should take responsibility. We can always approach this differently."
"???"
Meanwhile, Mai and Tohru returned home, carrying bags of groceries.
"Hm? Where's Mom?" Mai asked, noticing her absence.
She could hear the sound of the shower running in the bathroom.
Tohru, glancing at the bathroom door with an enigmatic smile, said, "Your mom's taking a bath."
"Oh, alright. Let's start cooking," Mai replied, not giving it much thought, and got to work.
Tohru gave the bathroom door one more meaningful look before turning her attention back to the kitchen.
A short while later, the sound of the bathroom door opening echoed through the house.
Mai, busy in the kitchen, looked up to see her mother emerging from the bathroom. Her face was flushed from the hot water.
"Mom, why don't you rest on the couch? Dinner will be ready soon, and Rei Ao should be back any minute," Mai said.
Just as she was about to message Rei Ao in the group chat to ask when he'd return, he stepped out of the bedroom, fully dressed.
"Mai, I'm back."
"Hm?" Mai blinked her pretty eyes and playfully scolded, "Why didn't you let me know you were back?"
"Now that you're here, keep Mom company while I finish up in the kitchen with Tohru."
Without waiting for a response, she turned back to her cooking.
Mrs. Sakurajima, who had barely calmed down, felt her heart race again when Mai looked at her. Now, with Rei Ao sitting close by, she didn't dare make eye contact and sat stiffly on the couch, her nervousness apparent.
Rei Ao placed a glass of water in front of her, smiling knowingly.
"Here, Mrs. Sakurajima. Have some water to soothe your throat."
"..."
That gaze sent a shiver down her spine, making her entire body feel weak.
Silently, she picked up the glass and sipped it in small, nervous gulps.
It was just plain water, yet it gave her an inexplicable sense of intensity and illusion.
Fighting her embarrassment, she finished the drink and quickly lowered her head, avoiding his eyes.
The two sat in silence, neither mentioning the earlier incidenta silent agreement to pretend it hadn't happened.
Mai, who was initially preparing herself to face her mother, suddenly felt much more at ease.
She even took the initiative to ask, "Mom, this is the first time I've cooked for you properly, isn't it? How does it taste?"
The last time, Mrs. Sakurajima had only taken a bite of foodand it was Tohru's tail meat, no less.
Remembering her mother's embarrassed expression back then, Mai couldn't help but feel a little awkward.
She hadn't intentionally brought it to mind; the memory was simply too vivid to forget.
Especially since Rei Ao had made a very precise comment about her mother, a comment Mai could never forget because of how accurate it was.
Even Mai herself felt her mother's youthful charm was overwhelming, rivaling Rei Ao's fascination with savoring "unique experiences."
Though, unlike herself, her mother had a different "flavor."
Rei Ao often praised Mai as a "white tiger," akin to a mythical beast that radiated authority.
Her mother, on the other hand, was described as "gentle flowing water," soft and elegant without losing her allure.
"What am I even thinking?!"
Mai shook her head quickly, trying to clear her thoughts.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Sakurajima snapped out of her daze.
After what had just happened, she didn't have the heart to savor any food properly.
No matter what she ate, her mind kept wandering back to the taste she had just experiencedsomething so unique it lingered in her senses.
"Could that even be considered delicious?"
The question floated in her mind.
"Mom? Is it good?"
Mai's voice interrupted her thoughts.
Mrs. Sakurajima instinctively replied, "Yes, it's very good. I'd love to have it again."
"That's great!"
Hearing her mother's praise made Mai genuinely happy.
But Mrs. Sakurajima froze in place, stunned.
She realized she wasn't talking about the foodthey weren't even talking about the same thing.
She had accidentally voiced her true thoughts.
Did she really want to experience that again?
Her body trembled.
Now she couldn't bring herself to face either Mai or Rei Ao.
The atmosphere at the table grew quiet, and lunch ended in awkward silence.
Mrs. Sakurajima quickly excused herself and left.
After seeing her mother off, Mai looked puzzled.
"Why does it feel like Mom was in such a hurry to leave?"
Rei Ao chuckled and replied, "Maybe she has something urgent to take care of."
Tohru, on the other hand, kept staring at Rei Ao with a curious look, clearly deep in thought.
Mai sighed. "Well, Mom did mention she's planning to leave her current job. She might be really busy for a while."
Rei Ao simply smiled without responding.
He knew the real reasonMrs. Sakurajima was trying to avoid him.
That was fine; she needed time to cool down.
Shifting his attention, Rei Ao opened the group chat.
In the current world's group, Shizuka Hiratsuka hadn't sent a single message, likely because she was still passed out from the "early-morning racing session."
The rest of the group hadn't noticed the new addition yet.
Meanwhile, in Shizue's group, someone was looking for him.
Velzard: "@Rei Ao, are you done with your business?"
Rei Ao: "It's all taken care of. What's up?"
Velzard: "Obviously, I want to know how you managed to reshape an entire world."
Velgrynd: "Hmph, my man got so much stronger without telling me! I'm furious!"
Shizue Izawa: "Huh? But didn't Velgrynd just say she was super proud of him earlier?"
Velgrynd: "???"
Velgrynd glared at Shizue, embarrassed.
"Don't ruin my image, Shizue!" she snapped.
Of course she was proudthis was her man, after all. The fact that he was now almost stronger than her was unbelievable.
Rei Ao: "The truth is, that power was temporarylimited to that specific world."
Velzard: "Temporary? What do you mean?"
Rei Ao: "I have an ability called 'Demon King.'"
Rei Ao: "I didn't fully understand its potential until today. Its essence lies in what's known as the 'Demon King's status.'"
Rei Ao: "In Hijiri Kasuga's world, a Demon King exists at the very foundation of its reality."
Rei Ao: "This power allowed me to match that status, reaching the Demon King's limit and obtaining its full strength."
Velzard: "!!!"
Velgrynd: "???"
Both Velzard and Velgrynd exchanged shocked glances.
Because their world also had a Demon King!
They both realized the implications.
Velzard: "If you use that power in our world, wouldn't that make you the Demon King here too?"
Velgrynd: "And not just a Demon Kingbut the Demon King at its absolute peak"
Velgrynd couldn't even imagine how powerful Rei Ao would become in that scenario.
Even ancient beings like the "Lord of Darkness," the Primordial Red Demon Guy Crimson, hadn't reached the Demon King's ultimate limit.
Rei Ao: "That remains to be seen. I'll visit your world to test it sometime."
Velzard: "I'd love to witness it myself."
Velzard: "And if you manage to surpass Guy Crimson, well you can do whatever you want with me and Velgrynd~"
Velgrynd: "??? What's with that phrasing?!"
Velzard: "Hehe, didn't you tell Shizue you got all worked up yesterday and couldn't stop humming?"
Shizue Izawa: "Hmph"
Velgrynd: "You!"
Rei Ao: "Haha, let's see how it goes. After all, I do want to truly claim you bothalong with Shizue."
Shizue Izawa: "Huh?!"
Velzard: "Oh? So you mean all three of us at once?"
Velgrynd: "Hmph! Do you even understand how powerful dragons like us are after centuries of abstinence? We're nothing like Tohru, that young hatchling."
As ancient dragons, they had every right to call Tohru a "young hatchling."
Rei Ao: "Ah, but a Dragon Knight fears nothing!"
~~~
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Chapter 178: Sora and ilia, Struggles of Middle-Aged-Woman (Bonus Chapter)
"Why are you smiling so wickedly?"
Seeing his mischievous grin, Sakurajima Mai poked Rei Ao in the stomach.
"Nothing, I just thought of something fun," Rei Ao replied casually.
After saying this, he retrieved two palm-sized, intricately designed books from the group chat space.
"What are these?"
Mai looked at the books curiously, while Tohru eyed them with a serious expression.
"These books contain strange powers," Tohru remarked cautiously.
"They're magical tomes imbued with magic," Rei Ao explained.
The one on the right was Ilias Fragment.
The one on the left was Astil's Manuscript.
Both were obtained from his transaction with Hijiri Kasuga.
Ilias Fragment originally belonged to Hijiri.
Astil's Manuscript was the tome she had intended to give to her brother, Arata Kasuga.
Rei Ao recalled that, in the Trinity Seven, these two tomes had manifested as human forms.
With this in mind, he decided to conduct an experiment.
Rei Ao shifted into his Demon King form.
"!!!"
Tohru's tail instantly stiffened as her instincts kicked in.
The aura radiating from Rei Ao was overwhelmingfar stronger than anything she'd ever felt.
Ignoring her reaction, Rei Ao channeled his magic into the two tomes.
As the magic poured in, the books trembled violently.
Reaching their limit, Rei Ao released them, and the tomes floated mid-air, glowing brightly.
Within the light, two faint human silhouettes began to take shape.
They were two girls.
One had long blue hair, a black butterfly ribbon, thigh-high stockings, and leather boots.
The other had long green hair, a black headband, an over-the-knee black skirt, and a reserved elegance.
"Who are they?"
Mai couldn't understand how these two girls suddenly appeared.
"They are the magical tomes," Rei Ao explained.
As he finished speaking, the two girls opened their eyes, locking their gaze on Rei Ao.
The blue-haired girl immediately dashed toward him, throwing herself into his arms and exclaiming, "Master, you smell amazing!"
The green-haired girl landed gracefully on the floor, more composed but still visibly excited. She softly said, "Master."
"Good," Rei Ao said with satisfaction.
They were exactly as he remembered them.
"You don't have names, so I'll give you some," he said thoughtfully.
