"!!!"
Vignette began to understand. Just now, their actions were interpreted as spying!
"Does that actually work?"
Rei Ao's eyes gleamed mischievously. "I have an even better idea. Stay right here." Suddenly, he scooped Mai up in his arms and carried her toward the bedroom.
Vignette and Satania exchanged confused glances, uncertain of what was happening.
"Rei Ao, the doorit's open!" Mai protested.
"That's exactly the point, and no using your abilities." Rei Ao's tone was firm.
"Wait!"
"???"
Vignette quickly pieced together what was going on, her face growing crimson as she realized. She stared down at the floor, unable to lift her gaze.
"Is Masterbullying Mai?" Satania asked, puzzled.
""
Vignette didn't know how to explain this and hadn't expected Rei Ao and Mai to be so bold.
A notification dinged on their phones once again.
[Mischief Level Increased!]
Satania jumped up excitedly. "Wow! As expected of Master! We're not even doing anything, but our mischief level keeps going up!"
""
Vignette bit her lip. Based on Rei Ao's earlier theory, she understood what this meantthey were eavesdropping.
But this kind of eavesdropping was soso unusual. She knew she should leave, but
Ding!
The notification held her rooted to the spot.
""
Forcing herself to endure the embarrassment and suppressing her demon tail that kept flicking up in a heart shape, Vignette thought, *All of thisfor the sake of my allowance!*
Three Hours Later
The sky had already darkened.
"How are you feeling?" Rei Ao, dressed in a robe, lazily asked Mai, clearly pleased with himself.
Mai gave him a resentful look. "It was embarrassing."
After all, two little demonswho were technically her khaiwere just on the other side of the wall. And there had been a few unexpected moments, like when Mai accidentally cried out for help, prompting Satania to rush in, adding a new chapter to her understanding of forbidden knowledge.
"What were you even thinking about with this ridiculous plan?"
Rei Ao chuckled. "Didn't I help them out? Didn't you see Vignette thanking me when she left?"
"Thanking" Mai sighed, remembering how Vignette had hurried out without so much as lifting her head.
In her heart, she knew Rei Ao was wonderful in almost every wayexcept for his unrestrained appetite for such "games," which she couldn't help but accept.
As Mai sighed, a message notification popped up from the chat group, with Megumi Kato tagging Rei Ao.
"Megumi?"
Megumi Kato: "@Rei Ao, are you there? I think something strange is happening."
Rei Ao: "What happened?"
Megumi Kato: "[Image]"
Rei Ao clicked the image. It was a photo taken from a high angle, showing a person standing under a streetlamp. Oddly, half of the figure seemed to be passing right through a trash can.
Stella: "Eek! Megumi, why are you trying to scare us at night?"
Megumi Kato: "No, I just happened to see it by chance."
Saeko Busujima: "Could it be a ghost?"
Shizue Izawa: "It does look like some kind of spirit."
Sui: "My room just got cold, and my closet started rattling!"
Frieren: "Stop scaring people."
Yukino Yukinoshita: "Ghosts are scientifically impossible. Perhaps it's just a trick of the angle."
Megumi Kato: "I didn't dare go any closer to check. But that person's been standing there for over an hour now without moving. It's really strange."
Mai glanced at Rei Ao, who was frowning. "Do you have any idea what it could be?"
Rei Ao shook his head. "I'm not sure yet."
Rei Ao: "Hang on, Megumi. I'll come and check it out."
Megumi Kato: "Thank you."
Instead of going directly, Rei Ao sought out Raphiel first.
"Rei Ao?" Raphiel looked at him, surprised by his sudden visit.
Rei Ao got straight to the point. "Raphiel, are there ghosts or malevolent spirits in this world?"
Raphiel shook her head decisively. "No, that's not possible. The existence of the afterlife is precisely so souls can reincarnate. This world doesn't have ghosts or malevolent spirits."
"I see," Rei Ao replied thoughtfully, understanding that the afterlife served as a waiting area for souls destined to reincarnate. However, Raphiel added a warning.
"Still, not everyone gets to the afterlife."
"Oh?" Rei Ao raised an eyebrow, curious.
"For instance, those killed by magical beasts Their souls can be completely erased due to the clash between worlds."
In other words, people killed by magical beasts don't even get a chance to reincarnate. But this still didn't align with the ghostly encounter Megumi had reported.
"Raphiel, my friend might have seen a ghost. Come with me to check it out."
"A ghost?!" Raphiel, now understanding why Rei Ao had asked, responded seriously. "Send me the location. I'll take you there."
Megumi Kato stood by the window, her gaze fixed on the shadowy figure outside.
Suddenly, a beam of light cut through the scene, and two figures appeared beneath the streetlamp. She recognized Rei Ao but didn't call out. The two seemed to be talking.
Moments later, the white-haired girl clasped her hands together, and a flash of golden light enveloped the figure, causing it to gradually dissipate.
"Alright, that's taken care of. Let's head back," Raphiel said, clapping her hands as if brushing off dust.
"Go back without me. I'm going to check on my friend," Rei Ao replied.
"Oh, alright," Raphiel nodded and then teleported away without further questions.
Rei Ao turned and waved up at Megumi, who was watching from her second-floor window.
Covering her mouth with a soft smile, Megumi messaged in the chat:
Megumi Kato: "@Rei Ao, would you like to come in for some tea?"
Rei Ao: "Sure."
Instead of taking the front door, Rei Ao leapt up with ease, entering through the open window to Megumi's astonishment.
"Rei Ao-kun really does things his own way," she said with a laugh.
Rei Ao grinned. "Isn't it more convenient?"
It was convenient indeed, though anyone watching him jump up two floors would have been shocked.
~~~
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Chapter 91: Tohru, and the God Sword
After entering Megumi Kato's bedroom, Rei Ao took a moment to observe the room.
It was a refreshing space, decorated with a delicate, feminine touch.
"What are you looking at, Rei Ao-kun?" Megumi asked.
"Nothing, I just find the way your room is decorated surprisingly cute."
"People at home often say I have a blank expression, but I'm just an ordinary girl too," Megumi replied, then gestured towards the living room. "Rei Ao-kun, let's go to the living room. No one else will be home today."
"?"
Rei Ao narrowed his eyes. "Megumi, don't you think that sounded a bit risky maybe even suggestive?"
Megumi tilted her head, her expression blank, as if she didn't understand what he was hinting at. Rei Ao had a feeling she was doing it on purpose.
After making tea, Megumi asked, "Was that really a ghost?"
"Yes and no," Rei Ao replied, giving a somewhat ambiguous answer before explaining, as Raphiel had described, the form of the figure they had seen. It was indeed the soul of someone who had passed ona ghost, in a sense. However, it wasn't something harmful like an evil spirit.
According to Raphiel, it was a "wandering soul" that hadn't yet reached the afterlife. Such souls linger in the human world, without consciousness or movement, simply standing in place and sometimes, by chance, being seen before vanishing soon after. So, there was no danger, and Raphiel had already sent that wandering soul to the afterlife.
"So people really can reincarnate," Megumi said thoughtfully after listening.
"Not everyone can reincarnate," Rei Ao corrected her.
Most beings were created from nothing and, even in the afterlife, not everyone would be granted reincarnation. It was a structured realm, with rules for selecting which souls would be allowed that path. And, just as in the human world, there were rewards and consequences based on one's virtues and misdeeds during life. Only a small number of souls would actually be reincarnated.
"The afterlife, how fascinating," Megumi remarked, clearly intrigued by the concept of a modernized afterlife.
"Megumi, it's best not to be too curious about that sort of thing," Rei Ao chuckled. "You're too young to be thinking about what happens after death."
Megumi smiled. "Don't worry, Rei Ao-kun. I'm not eager to die. I'm simply curious."
Rei Ao was curious, too. Raphiel had mentioned a certain name: Kanade Tachibana.
Kanade was the highest authority in the afterlife, on par with the leaders of the heavens and the underworld. No wonder he had felt an odd sense of familiarity when Raphiel first mentioned the afterlife. Kanade Tachibana, known as "Angel" in *Angel Beats!*, was the student council president in the afterlife's school, but here, she was a ruler of an entire dimension. The revelation had given Rei Ao much to think about.
As he pondered ways to reach the afterlife without actually dying, the chat group unexpectedly chimed in with a new trade request.
[Ding! Tohru has sent a trade request!]
[Trade request:] Remove the God Sword from her body.
[Ding! Please select the trade conditions.]
Tohru. She had joined the chat group alongside Yukino Yukinoshita but had only spoken once. Based on the available information, Rei Ao had a fairly good guess as to her identity.
[Name:] Tohru
[Level:] 50
[Abilities:] "Dragon Bloodline," "Dragon Magic"
Her name was Tohru. She was a dragon and even higher-level than him. With the chat's specific requirements for membershipbeing an "anime-based female character"there was only one conclusion Rei Ao could reach: she was likely *Tohru from Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid*.
"The God Sword does that mean Tohru is dying?"
Rei Ao recalled Tohru's initial message about being in battle, which must have been with some sort of divine beings. If he remembered correctly, removing the God Sword was no easy task; it was infused with divine power from another world. Though he was currently a lower level than Tohru, he was curious if he could actually pull it out.
Rei Ao didn't know for sure, but he decided he would go and find out. With that, he set the trade conditions and prepared to assist her.
Several dozen minutes earlier
Crack!
The stillness of the night sky shattered as a segment of space splintered open.
Boom!
Moments later, a massive figure burst through, descending vertically into the forest below.
Crash!!!
A wide expanse of trees was crushed, cushioning the impact of the creature's fall.
The being that had fallen was a giant green dragonTohru.
"Urgh"
A deep, weak groan escaped her dragon's mouth, sounding pained and devoid of strength.
The reason for her weakness was the God Sword embedded in her body, which had gravely wounded her. In a battle against the gods, Tohru had been defeated. The sword, summoned by the gods, was a bane to her powers, suppressing her strength to the point where she couldn't even recover.
The God Sword was a holy weapon created by the gods, bearing the command to slay any dragon in its sight. This sword possessed unique powers that Tohru couldn't counter. Pierced by it, she could only lie there, powerless to remove it, awaiting death.
Her dragon head drooped, eyes filled with exhaustion and resignation. For the first time, she felt draineddrained from war, from combat, from the endless taking of lives.
Perhaps death was the ultimate fate for those who had fought so relentlessly. Dragons were no exception. Tohru, in this rare moment of stillness, felt her mind calm. No longer burdened by thoughts of battle, she only wanted peace.
In this moment of clarity, Tohru remembered the chat group that had appeared during the fight. At first, she had thought it was another ploy by the gods to distract her, but the chat feature was still active.
"A trade?"
With little to lose, she tried it out, sending a trade request. Not long after, a response arrived.
[Ding! Your trade request has been approved!]
[Trade Condition:] "Dragon Bloodline" and "Dragon Magic"
[Ding! Do you wish to confirm this trade?]
Seeing that the trade wouldn't alter her form, Tohru decided to confirm it.
In human terms, this was a gamblea last, desperate measure.
[Ding! Trade commencing!]
[Trade Partner:] Tohru
[Trade Task:] Remove the God sword embedded in her body
[Trade Condition:] "Dragon Bloodline" and "Dragon Magic"
[Time of Stay:] Unlimited
"???"
Upon seeing the "unlimited" time limit, Rei Ao wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
"Rei Ao-kun, something seems strange about this trade," Megumi Kato noted, seeing the unusual prompt.
Everyone in the chat noticed as well.
Mai Sakurajima: "@Rei Ao, what's with this trade? Unlimited time?"
Mai was the most upset; if Rei Ao went and couldn't come back, she would never accept it.
Saeko Busujima: "This feels off somehow."
Ayame Yomogawa: "Lord Rei Ao, maybe it's best not to go through with this trade."
Frieren: "There's a real chance of trouble here. And it involves dragons and gods!"
Sui: "Yes, yes, if it's dangerous, please don't do it!"
Stella: "Hmm for someone so new to start off with such a big request is a little unnerving."
Yukino Yukinoshita: "Will this trade actually require him to stay in her world?"
Shizue Izawa: "But Rei Ao-kun should be able to cancel the trade and come back whenever he wants, right?"
Rei Ao: "Yes, I can cancel the trade at any time if needed."
Whatever the situation, it seemed that the chat prioritized Rei Ao's well-being.
Rei Ao: "Still, I have a theory about what's going on here."
Rei Ao: "I'll go investigate."
"What *are* they talking about?" Tohru wondered as she watched the messages scrolling by, vaguely making out what was being discussed.
At that moment...
A figure appeared on the forest patha human, staggering as she walked.
"Ugh, I hate working overtime... ugh, overtime sucks" grumbled a pink-haired woman with glasses. Her swaying walk and flushed cheeks made it clear she was drunk, muttering complaints about her company and late hours, the epitome of a worn-out office worker.
As she stumbled along, she suddenly collided with something hard and fell backward.
"Ouch that hurt," she murmured, rubbing her forehead. "Did I hit a utility pole? Or maybe a tree?" Blinking through her foggy vision, she strained to focus on the large object before her.
It looked enormous. And what she saw resembled two gigantic lanterns, glaring down at her.
