-----
-----
"So... so good!"
Erina Nakiri was eating grilled meat, her face flushed pink as she moaned in delight. "Why? The grilling technique isn't anything special—it's just cooked meat. So why does it taste this amazing?"
Everyone's eyes instinctively shifted to Kasumigaoka Utaha, who had a knowing smirk on her face.
A beautiful girl like her, and you still brought her in?
Aren't you just feeding a lamb to a pack of wolves?
You don't think things are chaotic enough already?
But Kasumigaoka Utaha acted like she didn't notice any of it.
As the first "familiar," the one who supports her Master through thick and thin…
It's fine to be jealous, fine to be possessive, but she also knew what her Master liked—and how to make herself useful.
She looked at Erina and smiled like a sly old wolf in grandma's clothing.
"Why? Why does it taste so good?"
Erina's eyes sparkled as she eagerly asked, "The grilling was all over the place! It was just barely cooked meat! So how is it this delicious?!"
"..." ×N
Wow. This girl's got zero filter.
Kasumigaoka chuckled and said, "Well, I'll leave that question to our Master. After all, he's the one who gets to decide whether you step into this world or not."
"'Master'?"
Erina looked a little confused.
What kind of embarrassing title is that?
Looking around at all the pretty girls gathered here…
Wait a minute, did I get caught up in some weird cult or something?
Creak!
The apartment door opened.
"Looks like we've got a guest."
"Yup! Master, I invited her. She was really curious about the grilled meat," Kasumigaoka said proudly, waving like she expected praise.
"Nice, good job," Minato smiled. "What kind of reward do you want?"
"Tonight... I want to go to your place. Just me."
The moment the words left her mouth, Kasumigaoka's face flushed red.
There were still guests here, after all.
Erina stared at her in shock.
Uh, excuse me?! Did I just hear that right?!
You look like you're my age, and you're saying stuff like that out loud?
Shameless much?
Yeah, this place is definitely not safe to stick around in.
But… that meat is just too tempting.
Before Erina could spiral too far in thought, Minato asked with a warm smile, "Erina-chan, you interested in the grilled meat?"
"You... have we met before?"
Erina blinked. "Why don't I remember you?"
"I've seen you. You just haven't seen me."
Minato didn't elaborate.
Erina didn't press further either. She was kind of famous, after all, even though she was still a student.
"You wanna know what kind of meat it is?" Minato asked.
"Yes! Totally!" Erina's eyes lit up again as she pressed, "Is it beef? Lamb? Some kind of rare exotic meat?"
Minato didn't answer right away. Instead, he studied her for a moment.
Now that he thought about it…
His team really did lack a chef.
Medusa was the best cook, but she was often away in Fuyuki City.
But this girl... she might be the perfect fit.
"I'll tell you," Minato said slowly, "but only if you agree to one thing."
Erina leaned in urgently. "What is it? As long as it's something I can do, I'll do it!"
"It's simple," he smiled. "Just become one of mine."
Huh?
EH EH EH EH EH!?
Erina froze. Her face visibly stiffened.
No doubt about it!
Absolutely no mistake here—this place was some kind of bizarre secret society.
They already knew who she was, and now they'd lured her in with that mysterious grilled meat.
Damn it… I let my guard down.
She tried to keep a calm expression, but her thighs were starting to tremble uncontrollably.
Think, Erina, think!
Sure, she was a big name in the culinary world...
But at the end of the day, she was still just a student.
What now?
Was she going to be locked up and... and... you know?
Minato looked at her oddly.
Honestly, he sometimes wished he had mind-reading powers—just to figure out what kind of wild nonsense these girls were always imagining.
The other girls were twitching at the corners of their mouths too.
She totally misunderstood!
This girl was definitely jumping to conclusions.
But somehow… that made it kind of hilarious?
Minato sighed. "Relax. I'd never force you to do anything…"
"Ha... hahaha…"
Erina laughed nervously.
Yeah right. Like anyone's gonna believe that.
"Seriously," he continued. "We're all just students. Same as you."
Students?
Erina blinked.
Then she finally noticed—everyone, including Minato, was wearing a school uniform.
She looked more closely at the nameplates on their blazers:
[Private Kuoh Academy]
Wait, for real?
So they were students?
Did she get the wrong idea?
Now that she thought about it… yeah, maybe she did.
If they really wanted to do anything shady, they could've just knocked her out when she walked in.
Why bother with this whole song and dance?
Erina took a deep breath, finally calming down a bit. "So… you guys aren't bad people, right?"
"Of course not," Minato answered sincerely.
"S-sorry," she said, regaining her composure. "But… could you please not say such misleading things next time?"
"Nope. I meant it, though."
"Huh?"
"You just said you're not a bad person!"
"Yeah. 'Cause I'm not even human. So how could I be a bad person?"
…Not human?
Erina's elegant expression froze on her face.
Knew it!
This guy's just been messing with me the whole time!
What a terrible personality!
"Your Majesty, maybe don't scare her like that," Erica finally spoke up. "She's still just a student."
Your Majesty?
Erina blinked again.
Okay seriously, what's with these weird titles?
Just how many bizarre roles are in this crazy cult?
"Since even Erica says so," Minato shrugged, "let me explain it more simply—what I mean is, I want you to become one of my familiars."
"That way, you'll get to see the real world."
Erina asked cautiously, "What do you mean by 'familiar'?"
"It means becoming a demon," Kasumigaoka Utaha said sweetly, as a pair of black wings slowly unfurled from her back.
"....."