Eriri didn't pay any attention to the gazes of the pedestrians around her. She leisurely strolled along the sidewalk with Arifureta and the other two.
Although Itogami Island was an artificial island, the buildings and layout on it were not much different from an ordinary city.
There were cars, buses, and trains—every form of transportation one would expect. The island's greenery was also impressively well maintained.
It was currently March in this world, a time when the temperature was usually quite low. Yet, Itogami Island still maintained a pleasant temperature of over twenty degrees Celsius.
As they walked, Eriri saw a few demons, most of whom were ordinary vampires or beastmen.
After all, those two races made up the majority of the demon population. The rarer species—those nearly extinct—were seldom seen on the streets.
Not all demons living on Itogami Island could coexist peacefully with humans. Before Natsuki Minamiya had demonstrated her absolute power, the island's erased district—also known as the No. 27 Abandoned Area—had often seen incidents caused by demons running amok.
Because the connection structure of demon registration cards was disabled in that abandoned area, violent incidents there usually went unnoticed.
However, under Natsuki Minamiya's management, even the demons living in the abandoned zone eventually came under control. It had already been several months since the last disturbance occurred.
While wandering about, Eriri and her companions unknowingly entered that very abandoned zone.
At that moment, a vampire walking from the opposite direction suddenly caught sight of Eriri. The instant he saw her, an uncontrollable thirst for blood erupted within him.
Coincidentally, this vampire was one of those who had long been hiding in the abandoned district—frustrated and repressed.
Because Eriri was far too eye-catching, he failed to notice Natsuki Minamiya's presence nearby.
His pent-up urges and long-term suppression exploded simultaneously, driving him to harbor dangerous thoughts toward Eriri.
In his frenzy, he completely forgot that causing trouble on the island was forbidden. He bared his fangs and lunged at her.
"You're looking for death!"
The moment Natsuki Minamiya sensed the vampire's movement, her face darkened. Without hesitation, she used her evolved spatial power to restrain him in place.
Feeling his movements freeze, the once-frenzied vampire snapped back to his senses.
When he saw Natsuki Minamiya glaring at him with fury, it felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head. He sobered instantly.
"The Witch of the Void... why are you here!?"
He shouted in terror, trembling like a frightened animal at the sight of something horrifying.
Then, in panic, he began begging for mercy.
"I didn't mean to! Please forgive me just this once! I swear I'll never make the same mistake again!"
"Hmph. Reflect on your sins inside the Prison Barrier."
Without giving him any chance to repent, Natsuki opened a portal to the Prison Barrier and tossed him inside without hesitation.
Under other circumstances, she might have handled things more leniently—after all, her goal had always been to foster peaceful coexistence between demons and humans.
As long as they weren't irredeemably violent, she generally avoided imprisoning them.
But this time, that vampire had dared to target Eriri. That was something she would never tolerate.
Thus, the vampire would spend the rest of his life within the Prison Barrier.
"I can't believe someone still dared to cause trouble. Truly suicidal."
Natsuki huffed coldly, sweeping her sharp gaze across the surrounding demons.
Feeling her eyes on them, the demons immediately averted their gazes and quickly dispersed, afraid of sharing the vampire's fate.
Eriri didn't stop Natsuki. To her, that vampire was nothing more than an insignificant insect.
The No. 27 Abandoned Zone wasn't particularly large. Before long, Eriri and the others had crossed through it.
Thanks to Natsuki's earlier show of force, they encountered no further trouble along the way.
Around one o'clock in the afternoon, in front of an ice cream shop, Eriri and the other three sat around a small round table meant for customers to enjoy their treats.
Each of them had a cup of ice cream in front of them, only a few bites eaten so far.
It had already been over two hours since they left the abandoned district.
During that time, they had first gone to a seafood restaurant for a simple lunch, then came here for dessert.
Around them, many other customers were enjoying their ice cream as well—but without exception, all eyes were fixed on Eriri and her companions.
Even so, no one dared to approach them, even though most of the other customers were girls.
Ignoring the curious stares, Arifureta, with a small wooden spoon between her lips, stared longingly at Eriri's vanilla ice cream, her face full of anticipation.
"Eriri, how does your ice cream taste?"
"Not bad. You can try it."
Eriri nodded, scooped up a spoonful, and brought the spoon to Arifureta's lips.
Without hesitation, Arifureta pulled her own spoon from her mouth and accepted the one Eriri offered, slipping it between her lips.
"Mmm, it really is good! Eriri, you try mine too."
After tasting Eriri's ice cream, Arifureta used her own spoon—which she had just had in her mouth—to scoop up a generous bite of chocolate ice cream, smiling sweetly as she held it out to Eriri.
Eriri didn't mind in the slightest. She leaned forward and took the spoon directly into her mouth.
Such mutual feeding was nothing unusual for them; they often did it during meals.
Across from them, Natsuki Minamiya—who had clearly seen such scenes plenty of times before—showed no reaction at all.
"Natsuki-chan, where are you planning to take us next?"
After feeding Arifureta another bite, Eriri asked casually.
Hearing the question, Natsuki paused mid-bite and looked up, thinking for a few seconds before replying:
"Let's head to the museum first, then we can go wander around the Gate of Foundation. If we still have time afterward, we'll stop by Saikai Academy. I plan to start teaching there soon."
Arifureta's eyes brightened with curiosity upon hearing the last part.
"Natsuki-chan, you're still planning to be a teacher?"
"Of course!" Natsuki replied without hesitation. "Becoming a teacher was always part of my plan—why would I give that up?"
"Alright then."
Arifureta shrugged indifferently and returned to sharing bites of ice cream with Eriri.
Since they had already walked a lot in the morning and seen most of the scenery along the way, Eriri didn't plan to continue on foot.
So after finishing their ice cream, she casually pulled a four-seat car out of her storage system—right in front of the surrounding pedestrians.
The customers and passersby who saw the car appear out of thin air stared in disbelief.
...
However, their astonishment quickly faded. After all, the Witch of the Void—Natsuki Minamiya, master of spatial magic—was standing right there. Summoning a car from nowhere didn't seem so strange in her presence.
Under the reluctant gazes of the onlookers, Eriri and the others got into the car one after another. Then, with Eriri at the wheel, they headed toward the Demon District Museum.
...
The Demon District Museum stored various academic materials and artifacts related to the Demon District—such as a detailed model of Itogami Island, as well as numerous research devices and prototypes developed within the district.
It also displayed many rare items that couldn't be found elsewhere, including the equipment of the Island's Security Force and replicas of famous magical machines.
Of course, in the restricted area of the museum—closed to the public—were far more powerful artifacts, such as the twin anti-demon guns once taken by Kojou Akatsuki in the original story.
However, those so-called weapons and artifacts were no more than toys in Eriri's eyes. She had no interest in sneaking into the restricted area just to look at them.
Their visit to the museum was merely for novelty's sake. After wandering around for a short while, they quickly lost interest.
In total, the entire museum tour took less than half an hour.
It was the same story with the Gate of Foundation—Eriri and the others merely took a brief stroll before leaving again.
By around three in the afternoon, they finally arrived at their final destination of the day: Saikai Academy, the private school where Natsuki Minamiya was soon to start teaching.
Although it was currently spring break, the academy wasn't entirely deserted.
Along the walkways, Eriri occasionally saw students in uniform and staff members in casual clothes.
There were also several students who had come from outside Itogami Island to inspect the academy before enrollment began after spring break.
While strolling through the middle school campus, Eriri and her group happened to run into one such student.
"Excuse me, are you students at Saikai Academy?"
Standing before them, a slightly nervous girl greeted them politely. She had black hair tied in a single ponytail, wore glasses, and dressed simply—a white blouse and denim jeans. She looked like an ordinary girl at first glance.
But upon closer inspection, her features were refined, her skin smooth and fair, and her red eyes strikingly vivid behind her glasses.
This black-haired girl was none other than one of the main heroines of the original story—Asagi Aiba, known as the Priestess of Cain.
At this point in time, she had just recently moved to Itogami Island and hadn't yet adopted her later, more glamorous style.
"No, we're not students here," Eriri replied with a gentle smile. Though she recognized the girl, she didn't expose her identity, instead choosing to chat casually.
"I'm not a student yet either," the girl said shyly. "I'll be entering Saikai Academy's middle school division next month."
Seeing Eriri's warm expression, Asagi grew flustered. She nervously twirled a lock of her hair with her finger, her eyes darting about, unable to focus.
"There's no need to be so nervous," Eriri said kindly. "Fate has brought us together, so let me introduce you to someone."
She then pulled Natsuki Minamiya forward, wrapping her arms around Natsuki's chest from behind.
"This is Natsuki-chan. She's a teacher at Saikai Academy's middle school division. If you ever need help in the future, you can come to her."
"Huh? You're... a teacher?"
Asagi blinked in disbelief, her eyes filled with doubt as she looked at the petite girl before her.
"Hey, brat, what's with that look? I'm already in my twenties! I'm not a kid!"
Natsuki glared sharply, clearly annoyed. She knew exactly what that doubtful look meant.
Then, as if to prove her point, her body suddenly began to change.
Before their eyes, her petite frame expanded in an instant—transforming from a flat-chested loli under 140 centimeters tall into a voluptuous, mature beauty around 165 centimeters.
Her clothes didn't tear; instead, they shifted in proportion to fit her new form. The gothic lolita outfit morphed into a white blouse and black pencil skirt combination, accentuating her exquisite legs wrapped in alluring black stockings.
Though Natsuki now stood taller, Eriri was still able to rest her hands on her chest with ease.
"You... you're..."
Asagi's jaw dropped in shock at Natsuki's sudden transformation.
"Phew... it's been over two months since I last took this form."
Ignoring the girl's astonishment, Natsuki lazily stretched her arms above her head, fully displaying her flawless, mature curves.
Just then, she suddenly felt a soft pressure on her chest and froze, her face turning slightly red.
"Hey! Eriri! If you're going to put your hands there, keep them still—stop squeezing!"
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