As class time neared, Hayashi Maki finally let the Second Heiress drift off to sleep.
He pulled the covers up for her, pressed a light kiss to her, then left and returned to his rented apartment.
After this session, the mana seed inside Yukino had begun to stir. With a bit more effort it would likely hatch completely. And with the alchemy that came from contracting with the second young lady, perhaps his craft would level up again?
Alchemy was seriously powerful. He could already make some magical tools himself. The snag was materials: he had to use jade or rare gemstones as mana vessels. For now he was only using jade—he hadn't started collecting gems yet. They weren't cheap.
When he got back, Shiina Mahiru had dinner ready, and asked him to go call Mashiro. Hayashi Maki had no objections.
After calling over the dazed, airheaded Mashiro, they started in on dinner.
…
The next day.
Yukinoshita Yukino opened her eyes and, by habit, touched her stomach. Then she remembered—last night that certain scoundrel had scooped her up and carried her to bed. They'd even skipped dinner. Oddly, she wasn't very hungry. Was that the mana seed he mentioned doing its work?
She glanced at the guardian ring on her finger; a blush rose to her cheeks. Remembering their plan, a look of anticipation crept onto her face. A cat café—she wanted to go so badly. But she disliked crowded places and always felt ill at ease, so she'd never gone—only sighed at the TV whenever cats appeared.
Rubbing her cheeks, she slipped on her cat slippers and went to wash up. Seeing the kiss marks on her neck, she couldn't help pouting.
"That jerk—he did it on purpose! Leaving marks like this… is he trying to stake his claim?"
Thinking of how obsessed he was with her, a pleasant shiver ran through her and her heartbeat quickened.
…
Over to Hayashi Maki.
Early in the morning, his upstairs neighbor Aoyama Nanami was already up to deliver milk around the neighborhood.
A girl juggling several part-time jobs for her dream, racing the clock every day. Every time Hayashi Maki saw Nanami working so hard, his eyes lit up; he admired her.
Upstairs, Gabriel yawned—she'd gamed all night. As her level rose, the devs had pushed a new, super-hard dungeon; she and her party had wiped in the final phase over a dozen times.
"Hmph—at times like this, there's only one thing to do!"
Brows arched, Gabriel looked smug and clicked Top-Up—time to enter the realm of the whales. But the moment she tried to charge her card, an "insufficient balance" prompt popped up.
"Eh?!"
Wide-eyed, she tried again.
[Beep. Your card has insufficient funds. This purchase cannot be completed.]
"No… no money? Seriously? My party's waiting for me to carry them and I'm broke?!"
Groaning, Gabriel collapsed on the floor to reflect. "Looks like it's true. Checking my charge history—I've spent the whole month's budget, including my food money."
Patting her flat belly, she wailed. What now? An angel, come down to earth, starving because she couldn't afford food? Was she about to become the first angel in history to die of hunger?
She opened the fridge—and her vision went dark. Done for. She'd been too lazy to cook lately and had ordered delivery nonstop—now there was no rice or fresh food at home.
Just a pile of soda; she'd finished the instant noodles last night. In other words: no reserves. And she couldn't order delivery—her card was empty; she'd blown it all on in-app purchases.
Panic. For the first time, she felt the terror of being penniless. Her stomach growled in protest.
Suddenly, a delicious smell drifted by. She opened her door without thinking and followed it downstairs. At Hayashi Maki's door she hesitated, then pressed the bell.
Hayashi Maki was just about to eat with Mashiro and Mahiru. Hearing the bell, he got up to answer. He blinked in surprise.
"Gabriel? What's up?"
A bit embarrassed, she sniffed and didn't know how to begin… She was an angel! How could she beg humans for food? What would that make her?
But her belly answered for her with a loud grumble.
He understood in an instant—she'd probably blown her money on her game and had nothing left for food. Perfect timing.
Smiling, he made the invitation. "If you don't mind, come in and have breakfast with us?"
"Eh—really?"
Gabriel's eyes widened; she looked bashful. She hadn't been fallen long—she didn't have that thick a skin yet.
"Of course. We're neighbors, classmates, friends—no problem eating together. Come on."
"T-then… sorry to intrude."
She followed him in politely.
Ahh—what a heavenly smell. Food, here I come!
"Eh—Gabriel-san?" Mahiru blinked in surprise.
"Mm. Gabriel's joining us today," Hayashi Maki said. "Mahiru, sorry to trouble you."
"It's no trouble—leave it to me. Gabriel, sit, I'll get you some rice."
Smiling, Mahiru guided Gabriel to a chair and sat her down, then served her personally. She knew Gabriel's "real angel" identity and wanted to build a good relationship.
"Th-thank you," Gabriel murmured, moved—both Mahiru and Hayashi Maki were too kind.
Um… who's the airheaded one over there?
"Mashiro," said the airhead to herself.
Gabriel arched a brow, puzzled.
"Shiina Mashiro," the airhead clarified.
Lines of exasperation ran across Gabriel's face as she realized Mashiro was introducing herself. She introduced herself in kind. "I'm Gabriel White Tenma—just call me Gabriel. Mashiro, nice to meet you!"
"Mm. Nice to meet you."
Just then Mahiru set a steaming bowl of rice in front of Gabriel.
"I'm digging in!"
With each bite of Mahiru's cooking, Gabriel's eyes grew a little misty. This was way better than takeout.
~~~
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