Fate revealed itself before their eyes: a fairly ordinary apartment block. Issei looked worried; he had kept the client waiting for about thirty minutes—twenty if they had come by bike—but just the idea of being so close to Daniel sent shivers down his spine.
With a trembling hand, he knocked on the door. Daniel stood silently behind him.
"Good evening! I am an envoy of the devil Gremory-sama. Excuse me, is this the house that summoned us?"
Footsteps sounded from behind the door, followed by a frightened voice:
"W-Who… who's there?"
"We're rookie devils, summoned by you," Issei answered with difficulty.
Daniel added calmly:
"Good evening."
"Two? Why are there two? And besides… what kind of devil knocks on the door?"
Issei choked. The man had a point: since they hadn't appeared through the magic circle, they sounded suspicious.
Tired, Daniel just wanted to finish quickly and go back to sleep. He had no choice but to step in:
"Forgive the inconvenience, sir contractor. Due to technical problems, the magic circles have been malfunctioning." His voice sounded professional, almost like a salesman's. "Gremory Inc. apologizes for the trouble. Now, may we know the purpose of your summons?"
The customer-service tone seemed to work, and the bespectacled man behind the door let them in. The room was a bit cramped, filled with bookshelves packed with manga and figures. Carrying on the conversation wasn't easy; the man seemed intimidated by Daniel's formal tone and barely responded with short phrases like, "Thank you very much" or "No problem, sorry." Feeling suffocated in the tight, airless room, Daniel searched for a window to breathe, leaving the conversation to Issei.
---
Issei looked at the thin, sickly man before him, then turned his head to see Daniel sticking his out the window.
"Uh… seems like he's not paying us much attention. You can relax, man."
The man sighed as he brought out some cups and prepared tea.
"Your companion is pretty intimidating. I'm not good with salesmen," he said, pouring a cup for Issei.
Issei nodded. He had also felt uneasy when Daniel started talking like that. Wasn't Daniel younger than him? How could he sound so experienced at sales?
Sighing, Issei forced himself to focus. This was his first demon contract, and he wanted everything to go well.
"So then… friend."
"Morisawa. You can call me that."
Issei nodded and continued:
"Morisawa-san, what is your request? We'll do our best to help you."
The man hesitated a few seconds before speaking softly:
"Actually… I wanted Koneko-chan to come. Only she can help me."
"No, no, no. Don't doubt that we can do it too," Issei replied.
"Well… I wanted Koneko-chan to dress as Nagato Yuki and carry me princess-style," he said, pulling out a costume.
Issei froze for a few seconds, imagining the scene. It seemed impossible for the petite girl to manage that, but then he remembered the punch she'd given Daniel…
Still, as much as he wanted success, he wasn't about to fulfill that request. Morisawa didn't insist either; he didn't want to see a man dressed in cosplay.
Surprised by the room, Issei began chatting about various works and well-endowed characters he admired. When they touched on topics Morisawa was passionate about, he loosened up considerably—though he insisted that small breasts were better.
The two went on chatting, both thinking: "He's not a bad guy."
---
Daniel had been listening from the window. He was a little confused to hear himself described as intimidating. "Maybe I should've smiled," he thought.
"Like when I helped at Mom's bakery…" he muttered, before feeling a stab in his chest.
Remembering his life before arriving in this world always depressed him. He took deep breaths, trying to calm himself.
Even after a month, he couldn't come to terms with the fact that he had "died" and would never see his loved ones again. Almost dying again hadn't helped.
Sometimes he wondered if none of it was real, if it was all just a hallucination while he was still trapped in the twisted metal of the bus.
Daniel shook his head to drive away those thoughts.
Turning back and seeing the two happily chatting, he couldn't help feeling a twinge of envy. Issei had "died" once too, but it didn't seem to bother him. Daniel respected that mental strength. He even felt guilty for having considered using him as bait last time.
"King of the harem, huh?" he muttered.
It sounded like a strange, unrealistic dream—but if it motivated Issei, then maybe it wasn't so bad. "Maybe it's time I look for a dream of my own," he thought, before trying to join the conversation.
---
It had been hard to break into the conversation, but once they started talking about Dragon Ball and dropped the formal tone, everything flowed. Daniel knew the plot, and though it wasn't exactly the same in this world, everyone enjoyed the discussion. Morisawa agreed to become Issei's contractor, and both he and Issei recommended some manga to Daniel.
After saying goodbye to their new contractor, they stepped outside. The stars were already twinkling above. As they walked, Daniel reflected on the experience and thought it had been fun. Maybe he should try making more friends. Over the past month, he had only baked desserts for Koneko, played cards with her, and chatted… with her. He realized that Koneko was his only friend since arriving in this world—though at the beginning, he had been a contractor like Morisawa too.
The streets were quiet, and Daniel, feeling a little bored, decided to strike up a conversation with Issei before heading back to the club. But before he could open his mouth, his body tensed, the air grew heavy. A shiver ran down his spine, and his instincts screamed at him to dodge.
He quickly shoved Issei behind him as his wings burst open, shredding his clothes to shield them. A rain of feathers, as hard as steel, fell at high speed, producing metallic sounds as they struck his wings. Immediately after, a spear of light tore through the darkness and slammed into them.
Before Daniel could breathe a sigh of relief, he saw the spear begin to pierce his wings as if they were butter, finally punching through his shoulder. A burning pain spread from the wound. Though shocked and a little scared, he didn't hesitate to retreat, dragging Issei with him.
A mocking female voice rang out:
"Donasek, is this the boy who beat you? He doesn't look that strong."
Two shadows descended from the sky, black wings unfurled behind them.
"Don't play around, Kalawarner. We have to finish Raynare's job," said a man's voice.
Issei and Daniel recognized the man in the trench coat who had attacked them before. The memory made Issei tremble, while Daniel clenched his teeth in fury, enduring the pain.
The fallen angel woman laughed scornfully, fixing her gaze on Issei.
"Why are you still alive? Raynare was sure she killed you."
Issei didn't understand who she was talking about. He didn't remember any Raynare.
"Oh, that's right… she used another name. Was it Yuka? Or Yura?"
Issei understood: Yuma-chan.
Meanwhile, Donasek watched Daniel coldly.
"You seem weaker, boy… but this time I won't underestimate you," he said bitterly.
With a flap of his wings, he lunged at them.
Daniel didn't waste the distraction caused by Kalawarner's monologue and summoned the duel disk. Because he could only switch decks once a day, he had to use the Madolche. A little nervous, he summoned the two monsters in his hand:
Madolche Cruffssant (ATK 1500 / DEF 1200)
Madolche Hootcake (ATK 1500 / DEF 1100)
A little owl in a suit with a pancake hat appeared beside a small dog wearing a formal top hat.
Both monsters charged at the fallen angel while Daniel racked his brain for a plan. His wings didn't seem to work… but why? He remembered using them before. His thoughts raced a mile a minute, but the enemy was already upon them. The little dog leapt from the side toward Donasek, while the owl swooped at Kalawarner with speed.
Donasek dodged the pup and attacked with his spear, thrusting rapidly and forcing Daniel to evade while trying to shield Issei.
Though he managed to endure some cuts on his arms, a sharp sound from above alerted him: another volley of feathers shot down like projectiles from Kalawarner.
Daniel tried to dodge, but the speed was overwhelming. With no other choice, he wrapped himself in his wings to endure it.