Monsters, angels, and Rei Ao freezing the monsters in placeall these images replayed in their minds. The one with the most inner turmoil was undoubtedly Sonoko Machida, who was under the shower's steady stream. Her drunken stupor had long since faded, but one thought lingered: the promise she made to herself when she thought she was about to die.
She had vowed to give her first time to the first man she saw after survivingsomeone she didn't dislike. That man had turned out to be Rei Ao.
There was no denying that she didn't dislike him. On the contrary, after interacting with him, she found herself feeling youthful again. That's partly why she had drunk so much at the company party, lamenting her missed opportunities.
Now, she was mulling over several questions. Did that promise still hold? Would Rei Ao even be interested in her? And how should she face Utaha?
Her thoughts were all over the place.
In the bathtub, Utaha sat up suddenly and asked, "Machida-san, don't you think today was way too strange?"
"Strange..." Sonoko chuckled bitterly. "I still feel like I'm dreaming."
Monsters and angels weren't exactly easy concepts to accept.
Splash!
Utaha suddenly stood up, her wet body gleaming as she stretched out her arm toward Sonoko's behind.
'Slap!'
The sudden pinch on her rear made Sonoko gasp in shock.
"Utaha, what are you doing?"
Utaha just nodded, saying, "Well, it hurt, so it must not be a dream."
"???"
Sonoko clutched her behind, her face full of confusion.
"Why didn't you pinch yourself?"
"I'm afraid of pain." Utaha giggled, breaking the tense atmosphere.
As she reclined back into the tub, she gazed up at the ceiling and muttered, "What exactly is Rei Ao? Not only does he have powers, but he also knows angels."
Every time she met Rei Ao, it seemed like he revealed a new side of himself, shrouded in layers of mystery.
"I have no idea but from a light novel perspective, maybe there's some kind of hidden world, and Rei Ao might belong to some organization within that world," Sonoko speculated, her editor's imaginative mind already running wild.
Her theory wasn't too far from the truth.
"Still, Rei Ao seems to have quite a high status. Even that angel seemed to defer to him," Sonoko added with a sigh.
Utaha nodded in agreement. "Yeah, without Rei Ao, we might've had our memories erased."
Sonoko mulled it over, concluding, "Rei Ao isn't just our savior. He also made sure we retained our memories. So, I've made a decision."
She suddenly turned to face Utaha.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Utaha felt uncomfortable, especially with Sonoko's bare body facing her directly.
After gathering her thoughts, Sonoko spoke. "Utaha, I might have to apologize to you."
"???"
Utaha was confused. What was going on now?
Sonoko then confessed about the vow she had made during her near-death experience and revealed her current thoughts.
As she listened, Utaha's expression grew more and more bizarre. Finally, she let out a sharp yelp.
"What did you say?!"
Before she could say more, Sonoko quickly covered her mouth.
"Shh!"
Utaha nodded reluctantly, signaling that she wouldn't shout again. Once her mouth was free, she asked in disbelief, "Machida-san, that's just"
She wanted to protest, but found herself at a loss for words. What could she even say? That this was ridiculous? That it was like an older woman chasing after a younger man?
But then, why did she feel so oddly uncomfortable about it?
"Utaha" Sonoko said earnestly, "You can't imagine how hopeless I felt when I thought I was going to be eaten. That moment, my deepest desire surfaced, and this is the result."
""
Silence fell between them once again, while in the living room, Rei Ao glanced toward the bathroom door, his curiosity piqued.
A while later, the two women finally emerged, dressed in clean sleepwear. It was clear that the sleepwear Sonoko had borrowed from Utaha was a bit tight on her.
"What do you want to ask?" Rei Ao got straight to the point.
The two women exchanged glances before Utaha spoke up. "The monsters, the angels and you."
"Monsters are creatures, angels are as you saw, and as for me, I'm just a human with special abilities."
Rei Ao's answer was short and to the point.
"???"
Both women stared at him, utterly baffled. Was that supposed to be an explanation?
Rei Ao shrugged. "You wouldn't really understand even if I explained in detail. Just think of it this way: there are things like angels and demons in the world, and I'm special."
"For example, the angel you just met, Raphiel, is actually a transfer student in Class 2-A at your school."
"Wait, what?!"
Utaha exclaimed in shock.
Sonoko Machida also widened her eyes. "But, Utaha, aren't you in that school?"
"Yeah, but"
Utaha had heard rumors about four beautiful transfer students in the second year, but never in a million years would she have guessed that one of them was an angel.
"Wait, are all four of them angels?!"
Rei Ao shook his head, which made Utaha sigh in relief. However, his next words left her completely dumbfounded.
"No, two are angels, and two are demons."
"Demons?!" Sonoko gasped in horror.
When most people think of demons, they picture terrifying, dangerous creatures. Utaha and Sonoko were no exception.
"Relax," Rei Ao reassured them. "They won't harm humans. And the reason they're at the school is mostly because of me. Just understand that I'm unique."
""
He was certainly unique. Perhaps even 'too' unique.
Being able to chat casually with angels and demons was beyond anything they had ever imagined.
~~~
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Chapter 86: The Fallen Gabriel, Sonoko and Utaha
"The situation is basically like this. As long as you follow Raphiel's contract and don't talk about it, you'll be fine." Rei Ao stood up. "I'll be taking my leave now."
"Wait!" Sonoko Machida suddenly called out, her voice tinged with nervousness.
Under Utaha Kasumigaoka's increasingly complicated gaze, Sonoko, blushing slightly, asked, "Rei Ao-kun, could you come with me for a moment? I have something I want to talk about in private."
"Sure," Rei Ao replied.
With that, Rei Ao and Sonoko headed to the guest bedroom in Utaha's apartment. Before closing the door, Utaha caught a glimpse of Sonoko giving her a grateful look.
""
Utaha ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. Why had she agreed to let Sonoko use her guest bedroom? Were they really going to do that in there?
She couldn't help but hope, desperately, that Rei Ao would refuse Sonoko.
But things often unfold unexpectedly.
Suddenly, a voice echoed in her head, and a display appeared before her eyes. Along with this came an influx of knowledge and information.
"A trading chat group?"
She had experienced so many shocks today that she felt numb. Seeing this interface appear didn't even surprise her anymore. However, when she saw the name of the group leader, her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Rei Ao?"
Just as she tried to examine it more closely, she heard a strange sound coming from the guest bedroom where Rei Ao and Sonoko had gone.
"!!!"
In an instant, Utaha realized that Rei Ao had made the choice she most feared.
""
For reasons she couldn't explain, it left her feeling deeply dissatisfied.
A few minutes earlier.
After entering the guest bedroom, Sonoko locked the door behind her. Taking a deep breath, she turned around, only to find Rei Ao standing just inches away from her.
Before she could react, Rei Ao leaned in, his hand pressing against the door in a classic 'kabedon' stance, trapping her against the wall.
"Sonoko Machida-san, I think I need to remind you of something," Rei Ao whispered softly in her ear, watching her nervous expression closely. "My senses are incredibly sharp."
"Sharp senses?" Sonoko repeated, not fully grasping what he meant.
But in the next moment, something clicked in her mind. Her eyes widened in realization.
"Are you saying you heard everything earlier?!"
Rei Ao smiled lightly. "Heh, I didn't expect that after knowing how special I am, you'd still talk about your plan out loud right next to me."
"Ah!!!" Sonoko's face flushed with embarrassment, tears nearly welling up in her eyes. She couldn't believe that everything she had confessed to Utahathe plotting, the apology, the requesthad all been overheard.
What a disaster.
"Honestly, I didn't expect you to make such a bold decision, Sonoko-san. Going for the 'older woman, younger man' dynamic, huh?"
"Ugh" Sonoko hung her head in shame. "I-I'm sorry"
Now that her thoughts had been exposed, she felt utterly ashamed of herself.
"Sorry? Why are you apologizing?" Rei Ao chuckled, clearly amused. His right hand then lifted one of her legs.
"Sonoko-san, just like you, I don't mind trying something daring myself."
"In fact, I got my license for driving big trucks in another world, you know?"
"Eh?" Sonoko was confused by his words for a split second.
But in the next moment
"Mmph!"
She quickly realized that Rei Ao's "license" for driving big trucks was very, very real!
'Whoosh!'
"Ha~"
Gabriel yawned as she pushed open the bathroom door and stepped out.
But she couldn't sleep just yet.
There was a group raid in her game today.
Just then, the room filled with a holy lightRaphiel had just returned.
"Raphi?" Gabriel rubbed her eyes.
"When did you go out?"
Raphiel retracted her halo and wings before replying, "About ten minutes ago."
"Why did you go out so late?"
""
Raphiel looked at the messy-haired Gabriel with a meaningful expression. "Gabriel, have you forgotten our responsibilities in the human world?"
"Hmm" Gabriel mumbled, realizing she had indeed forgotten, caught up in gaming as she was.
But then she straightened up and recited with conviction, "First, deal with the issues arising from the otherworldly connections. Second, observe Rei Ao. Third, learn human knowledge."
"Good."
Raphiel's eyes glinted as she nodded.
"I went out earlier because Rei Ao notified me of the appearance of a magical beast."
"Oh."
Gabriel responded indifferently because if Rei Ao was involved, it wasn't an issue. If something was too much for him to handle, then there was no point in them trying.
"!!!"
Remembering her group raid, Gabriel hurriedly said, "Since it's already been handled, I'm going to sleep!"
She dashed back to her room in a flash.
In the darkness, Raphiel's lips curled into a pleased smile.
"Oh my, Gabriel has truly fallen. What should we do?"
As for 'fallen' Sonoko Machida, she chose to completely surrender. It wasn't that she didn't want to move; it was that her entire body felt like jelly, unable to muster any strength.
"Sigh"
Breathing out softly, a lingering warmth in her breath, she gazed contentedly at the ceiling. Sonoko Machida realized she had been completely wrong.
Rei Ao wasn't some naive young boyhe was a real man. At least this time, she was thoroughly dominated.
Finally, she understood why her friends and colleagues preferred to be in relationships. Men really were amazing!
No, not just men'Rei Ao' was different from the rest.
Feeling thirsty, she asked, "Water?"
Rei Ao walked over with a glass of water, unbothered, and helped her sit up, gently feeding her the drink. Sonoko Machida stared straight into his eyes. Being cared for like this by a man felt incredible.
She wanted to hide her emotions, but Rei Ao saw through it all. He pulled her into his arms.
"So, do you like me now?"
"Mm, a little," Sonoko admitted freely. She had never felt this way toward a man before and naturally leaned into his shoulder.
"Just a little?" Rei Ao teased, pressing her gently.
"Ugh."
Sonoko's body shuddered. How could she not like him?
"Liking you won't change anything, though. Sadly, you don't belong to me," Sonoko murmured, her fingers tightening slightly as a wave of melancholy washed over her. Rei Ao was a man she would never forget, someone she doubted any other man could compare to after experiencing the happiness he gave her.
Would she stay single forever?
"Sigh"
Sonoko sighed deeply, preparing to take advantage of this last opportunity to be with him. Just as she was about to make her move, Rei Ao suddenly said, "What if you belonged to me instead?"
"Huh?"
Sonoko froze.
"Are you saying as friends with benefits?"
That was the first thought that came to her mind.
"I'd be willing. As long as you don't tire of me, you can call me anytime!" She was overjoyed at the thought. Even being friends with benefits was fine. At least she'd get to enjoy herself for a few more years.
"Why do you sound so insecure?"
Rei Ao's expression grew amused.
"It's because I 'want' it," Sonoko answered without hesitation. "Even I can't control this desire."
She had to admit, she had grown addicted to this feeling.
Rei Ao chuckled. "You're at that age where the saying 'like a wolf and a tiger' fits perfectly."
"But no, I didn't mean being friends with benefits."
"Ah?"
Sonoko's heart sank.
But Rei Ao's next words made her feel like she was floating on air.
"What I meant was, if you become a woman who belongs to me for life, I can give you everything you want."
"You mean a wife?"
Sonoko gulped.
Rei Ao grinned.
"A wife, huh? You've got guts. Though, maybe one day you could become one of my wives."
"One of your wives?"
Was that even possible?
"Take a look at this."
Rei Ao showed her the chat group system. Sonoko stood frozen in place, trying to process it.
While she was still absorbing the information, Rei Ao made his move.
After a moment, her eyes regained focus, but her emotions were conflicted.
"I didn't expect you to have such a background"
She noticed something was off.
"Wait, when did I end up like this?"
Turning to look at Rei Ao's smiling face, she finally understood his playful approach. He was always one step ahead.
"You saw the othersAyame, Saeko, and Maibelong to me. Would you like to join them?"
""
Sonoko had seen the chat group logsraw, unfiltered transaction records.
She couldn't help but feel envious. She wished she had entered the chat group earlier, where she could have made transactions every day.
Just like now.
Her eyes filled with mist, and in a soft voice, she said, "Rei Ao-kun, do I even need to answer that? I've already given you my answer. Let me belong to you forever!"
