"Actually, Iris had already told me long ago, you all just wanted to protect me and Iris's aid, it's no different from how I usually help everyone."
"Mm, I think there's still a bit of a difference..."
Seeing that Hachiman truly had known for a while and wasn't just generously forgiving her, Vignette's guilt lessened a lot, but hearing Hachiman compare their protection of him and aid to Iris with his own aid to others, she still couldn't help but softly retort.
Although both are aid and help, she felt it was very different. Their aid to Hachiman was not like Hachiman helping those girls, skipping class all day, in the bathroom, in the student guidance room, in the infirmary, in the gym.
If they didn't clearly know that Hachiman and those girls' physical and mental states were improving, just seeing Hachiman and the others immersed all day long in that near-deg-enerate pleasure, they would definitely think everyone had fallen.
They really couldn't figure out how Hachiman managed to help people so intensively in such a special way without ruining his own body.
It wasn't sacrificing himself to lift up others, nor sacrificing others to lift himself, but happily growing together amid laughter and joy.
"Vignette, are you insisting on apologizing and seeking punishment because you have some improper thoughts about me? Want me to punish you harshly?", Seeing Vignette still conflicted and hesitant, Hachiman stood up and sat beside her.
"N-no... I just feel like if I did something bad, I should be punished," Seeing Hachiman sit beside her and smilingly look at her, Vignette instantly sensed something was off, but she still braced herself and softly confessed her thoughts.
Doing something bad without being punished, wouldn't that just be encouraging herself to continue doing bad things? She felt she must receive a lesson as a constant warning to not do such careless privacy-peeking things again.
Even though now she had Hachiman's consent, she hadn't asked for it before, those were two different things.
"Let me think... then, your punishment will be to finish the dinner I made myself," Hachiman pondered for a moment, then slid the two full bento boxes over and smiled at Vignette.
"What kind of punishment is that?", Vignette froze upon hearing his words, feeling that this punishment was completely painless and ineffective.
Though it was only during the first two days that she got to eat Hachiman's cooking, after that it was mostly her or Shion and Gabriel cooking together, with Hachiman occasionally helping, she had tasted his cooking several times and knew it wasn't bad.
Even though she had eaten a little earlier and wasn't very hungry, eating Hachiman's homemade dinner really didn't count as punishment.
"Vignette, I didn't mean for you to eat by yourself, but for me to feed you."
Seeing that Vignette hadn't realized the seriousness, Hachiman shook his head, picked up his chopsticks, and gently brought a piece of golden tamagoyaki to her lips, smiling.
"Hachiman, you're going to feed me?", Vignette looked at the tamagoyaki near her lips, then at Hachiman's smiling face, and gulped nervously.
This punishment… really wasn't painful, but it did seem to go beyond her expectations.
"Not willing to accept this punishment? Then I won't force you."
Hachiman held the food position for a few seconds, but seeing Vignette panic and not immediately agree, he put the chopsticks down and returned the tamagoyaki to the bento.
"Thi-this, this this..."
Seeing Hachiman put down the chopsticks, Vignette's face grew burning hot. Her insistence earlier on being punished by him now seemed like a joke, like it was mocking her in her own ears.
A punishment is called a punishment because it's something unpleasant to do. Otherwise, just call it a reward.
Being fed by Hachiman wasn't really against any principles, no one was being hurt.
As long as she could overcome a bit of shyness, this punishment could help her grow through experience.
After much internal struggle, Vignette finally accepted the punishment. She pursed her lips, then slowly opened her moist, pink lips to Hachiman.
"Hachiman... I'm willing to accept the punishment..."
"Now you know how embarrassing it is to be stared at by someone else, right? Want to keep peeking next time?"
Seeing that Vignette had resolved to accept the punishment, Hachiman once again picked up the tamagoyaki and gently placed it into her small mouth.
"Mm-hm... I don't dare anymore...", Vignette gently chewed and swallowed the tamagoyaki, then softly and shyly responded.
Although she didn't think there was any special relationship between herself and Hachiman. After all, Hachiman liked Gabriel, she still found this act extremely embarrassing.
Just being watched while being fed made her squirm. Putting herself in the other person's shoes, what if she were being peeked at while aiding Hachiman?
'No, no! That kind of replacement thought is no good!'
Vignette imagined it for a moment, replacing those heroines with herself, then quickly shook her head to toss away the awful mental image, her flawless pink face turning even redder.
"Ah~"
Seeing Vignette spiraling in her thoughts again, Hachiman called softly. Once she returned to her senses, he slowly picked up a tender, delicious piece of eel and placed it into her mouth.
Feeding a demon was kind of fun. Too bad he couldn't take a picture of her flushed face.
But Vignette probably wouldn't let him take one anyway, this kind of thing was definitely black history not to be shared.
"Mm-hm... gulp..."
Seeing Hachiman feed her like coaxing a child, Vignette wanted to say something, but the food was already stuffed into her mouth. She had no chance to speak and could only blush as she opened her mouth to continue accepting Hachiman's punishment.
At first, she didn't understand why Hachiman would use eating dinner as a form of punishment.
But as the shameful feeding continued bite after bite, she suddenly realized Hachiman's thoughtful intention.
Turns out Hachiman wanted her to empathize this way... letting her know how it feels to be stared at and peeked at, but without truly violating her privacy.
'Hachiman really is kind and considerate...'
'Gulp—Hachiman, wait, this time's a bit much. I can't eat that fast...'
Vignette thought being fed dinner was just a shame challenge, but as Hachiman sped up the feeding, she realized this punishment wasn't that simple.
"Gabriel, I brought two bento boxes. Don't you want to come out and eat with Vignette?"
Watching Vignette busy chewing and swallowing without time to speak, Hachiman smiled, then looked at the air in front of him and spoke.
"I know you're definitely secretly watching us. If you don't come over and share the suffering with Vignette, once I finish feeding her, I'll bring her over to find you."
Hearing Hachiman's words, Vignette, who was trying hard to chew and swallow, was shocked.
If little Gabriel didn't show up, would she have to eat both bento boxes alone?
Each box Hachiman brought was packed full, even one might be too much. Two... no way she could finish them.
After Hachiman finished speaking, nothing happened. The room remained filled only with Vignette's chewing and swallowing sounds.
After a while, just as Vignette thought Gabriel wouldn't come and she'd have to stuff herself, the doorbell of the rental rang.
Hearing the doorbell, Hachiman glanced at the surprised Vignette, smiled, and set down his chopsticks to open the door.
Ding!
As expected, Gabriel stood outside.
But she looked different from her usual neat, pristine, golden-haired angel self.
Now, Gabriel's hair was messy, her once radiant golden hair slightly dull.
The white shirt on her was loose and wrinkled, it was obvious she had just gotten out of bed.
'Has she fallen or not?'
Hachiman looked at Gabriel, now somewhat like a fallen angel, feeling unsure.
Seeing Hachiman silently sizing her up without speaking, Gabriel, knowing she had skipped class all day and had no excuse, also said nothing. She just took a deep breath and slowly stepped into the devil's den.
Hachiman closed the door, followed behind her, and returned to continue feeding.
Except this time, he wasn't just feeding a demon, he had to feed an angel too.
"Wait, Hachiman, can you choose another punishment method? I feel this food-feeding punishment is a bit off, isn't it?", Seeing Hachiman silently picking up food and bringing it to her mouth, and Vignette beside her staring without blinking, Gabriel couldn't help but protest.
She had seen how miserable Vignette looked earlier and knew Hachiman wouldn't feed them slowly.
"Gabriel, you're unwilling to accept this punishment? Then why didn't you say anything while watching Vignette get punished?"
Hachiman kept holding the shrimp with chopsticks, smiling at this Schrödinger's fallen-state Gabriel.
Gabriel never used to speak like this. It seemed there were signs of her fall. But she wasn't falling due to gaming addiction like before, her fall was probably in a different direction.
"...", said Gabriel.
She had been in her room just now, was she supposed to charge out and stop it?
"Gabby, I think this punishment is fine. We did wrong, so we should be punished."
Seeing Gabriel trying to change the punishment method, Vignette pursed her lips and softly persuaded.
"Vine, you just don't want to be the only one seen in a shameful state, you're trying to drag me down...", Gabriel stared at Vignette, whose mouth still had white rice grains, her gaze somber.
"Clearly you wanted to take all the blame at first, so why change your mind after being fed by him? Vignette, you've fallen!"
"I..."
Vignette opened her mouth, but her mouth, still stuffed by Hachiman, couldn't say a word.
She did want to take all the responsibility at first, but there was no choice. If Gabriel switched to a different punishment, then what about all the remaining food? There was so much, she couldn't finish it alone.
And if Hachiman asked her to switch to Gabriel's punishment too, then she might face a second shame challenge.
She agreed with being punished after doing something wrong. Otherwise, she wouldn't have asked Hachiman to punish her or accepted such an embarrassing punishment.
But being punished twice for one mistake? That felt a bit much.
"So what about you, Gabriel? You're a little angel, surely you wouldn't let Vignette take the punishment alone, right?"
Seeing Gabriel, an angel, accuse Vignette, a demon, of falling, and that Vignette was truly struggling, Hachiman found it amusing but held back his laughter, staring directly at Gabriel.
"Ah?", Gabriel was startled, thinking her identity had been discovered, but after calming down, she realized Hachiman just thought she looked like an angel.
That's right. As long as they didn't reveal their identity or show their angel halos or demon horns, Hachiman wouldn't randomly think they were angels or demons.
"...Fine, I'm willing to accept your punishment together with Vignette."
Seeing Hachiman still smiling with chopsticks in hand, unable to harden her heart to let him down, Gabriel hesitated a while and then agreed to the embarrassing punishment.
She didn't know why Vignette had agreed in the first place.
She originally wanted to keep a distance from Hachiman, not get this close.
Being fed mouth-to-mouth by Hachiman, this was way too intimate. If Hachiman liked her more because of it, that would be terrible.
'Wait! don't tell me Vignette?'
Gabriel opened her mouth and ate the shrimp Hachiman fed her, then blankly stared at the blushing Vignette beside her.
Angels earned their living expenses by doing good deeds, demons by doing bad things, then how did kind-hearted Vignette, a demon, raise her living expenses?
"Gabriel, ah~"
"Mmmph..."
As Hachiman brought another bite, Gabriel was pulled out of her thoughts, her mouth stuffed. She had no time to think about Vignette and Hachiman anymore.
Hachiman's chopsticks went pretty deep, her tongue got touched… and Vignette was watching.
Normally when she picked up food herself, there was no such sensation.
Why did it feel so weird when Hachiman touched her with the chopsticks.
Back when she was watching Vignette being fed, it didn't feel like this.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have so easily agreed to this shameful punishment after hearing what it was!
At that moment, Vignette also wanted to ask, why?
Why did eating together feel more painful than when she was eating alone?
When it was just her, Hachiman fed very frequently. Now that there were two, Hachiman slowed down, taking turns feeding them.
But this slower pace was instead more shameful for her and Gabriel.
Because one second she was watching the other being fed with a shy expression, and the next she had to open her mouth under that same gaze to receive Hachiman's feeding...
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