While Mitarai was at school, Irina would stroll through the town. Her skills as a former exorcist were no joke. She would hunt down the low-level stray devils that came to this town, and in return, Rias would pay her a bounty, which she would then give to Takashi. She had told him everything about her circumstances.
Even though she was capable, he would worryingly tell her not to push herself since she lacked experience and a proper weapon. It felt good to have someone worry about her. How long had it been since that last happened?
It was about a week ago that she realized she did, in fact, have a weapon. Her former partner seemed to be a natural Holy Sword user. Perhaps like attracted like, for Irina discovered she, too, was a natural Holy Sword user.
Perhaps answering her vow to risk her life for him, she was able to manifest a Holy Sword with power surpassing even the one she had once wielded.
She hunted stray devils diligently, without drowning in her power, without arrogance or conceit. It was all so different from her time in the Church.
There, she had been taught devils were absolute evil, but here she learned there were devils like the kind-hearted Rias. So perhaps even the stray devils had their own circumstances. According to Rias, not all strays were necessarily evil. But Irina had her own circumstances, too.
Important ones: earning money for her life with Takashi, and gaining the strength and experience needed to protect him.
"Well now, I wonder who will show up today? Lately, there haven't been any strays strong enough to even test my skills. It's a bit of a letdown."
Many stray devils gathered in Kuoh Town. The biggest reason was likely because it was territory managed by the Gremory clan. Precisely because devils managed it, more reasonable devils, including the Satans, often visited.
For strays pretending to be harmless, it was the perfect land. To survive, they needed to feed on something, and it was an ideal place to prey on humans.
Furthermore, there were those sent by war-mongering factions who gathered strays and wished to reignite the ancient war. Until now, Rias would dispatch familiars during the day to monitor all of Kuoh. If any problems arose, she would skip class to deal with them.
However, now it was different. With Irina—a girl wielding a holy weapon, the natural enemy of devils—performing exorcisms under the guise of daytime strolls, Rias could now focus seriously on her studies.
…
Irina returned from successfully dealing with the stray that had arrived...
After washing her hands and gargling, it was time to prepare dinner. She tried her hardest every day, driven solely by the desire to make delicious food for him, but it wasn't going smoothly.
While the lunches she packed had recently reached a passable level, dinners with multiple dishes were still a challenge.
"Maybe I'll make hamburger steak today. He said it was one of his favorites."
Taking the ingredients for hamburger steak patties from the refrigerator, she immediately began cooking.
Thirty minutes later, the ingredients were ready, needing only to be fried. All that was left was to wait for his return. After finishing dinner prep, Irina's next tasks were cleaning the bath, gathering the laundry, and folding it. She worked diligently and cheerfully around the apartment, much like a devoted wife supporting her husband.
Just as she finished folding the laundry, Mitarai returned home. He was holding a bag, having apparently bought something on his way back.
"Welcome home, Takashi-kun."
"I'm home, Irina. I bought a cake as a treat today. It's been about a month since we met, so it's also a bit of a commemoration."
"You didn't have to. But thank you. Let's have it after dinner. I tried making hamburger steak today since you said you liked it."
"Whoa, that's great. Thanks. I'll go take a bath first, so please get dinner ready."
"Okay~!"
The apartment room, despite its modest exterior, was surprisingly spacious inside. It had three rooms, and there was a reason for that. Originally, it seemed this unit had been remodeled for the apartment manager to live in, but they hadn't been satisfied with the result and eventually put it up for sale. It was a quite comfortable home that his parents, searching for a place with reasonable rent for their son living alone, had found.
It even came with a bath and toilet. For an apartment at this price range, it was exceptionally well-equipped, perhaps unmatched. After plugging the bath and letting the hot water run, Mitarai changed out of his uniform.
Confirming the bath was filled, he returned to the living room where the dinner table was set.
"Let's eat."
"Let's eat."
At first, out of habit, she would pray before meals, but recently, a simple "let's eat" sufficed. According to her, since she had gained her own power, she no longer needed the strength granted to the Church's warriors.
Steaming dinner dishes were already arranged on the table. The hamburger steak patties were slightly misshapen. Cutting one with his chopsticks revealed the inside was properly cooked, with meat juices oozing out. The seared surface was a nice touch. Topped with demi-glace sauce, the flavor that spread in his mouth was one of pure happiness.
"Mmm, delicious."
"Really? I'm glad. Since it's your favorite, my effort paid off. There are seconds, so eat as much as you want."
Until a month ago, he had eaten alone, feeling a bit lonely. But now, with Irina as his roommate, it was enjoyable.
Moreover, Irina was a beautiful girl. If the pervert, Hyoudou Issei, or others found out, they'd probably be insanely jealous.
She was polite and had enough conversational depth to keep things lively. Considering her circumstances, it was understandable, but he hoped this was a chance for her to start a new life.
Currently, she seemed to be earning money by taking on requests from Rias, and she insisted on giving that money to Takashi for food and other expenses. However, Takashi didn't touch that money, living off his allowance from his parents and part-time job earnings instead. It might feel a bit lonely to save it, but it was for the day she would eventually spread her wings.
After finishing the meal, they took turns bathing. While awkward at first, after a month of living together, one gets used to it. They could bathe without particularly conscious thoughts, even after the other had just used it.
However, what had been troubling Mitarai lately was Irina's choice of attire.
While her going-out clothes were perfectly decent, her indoor wear often exposed a lot of skin.
For sleepwear, she wore his dress shirt over her underwear and, mysteriously, no pants. As a result, her completely visible bare legs and seemingly soft thighs were distracting, and occasionally, even her panties were in view.
He wished she would be a bit more conscious that her roommate was a man. Or was it that she didn't see him as a man? Lately, having built physical relationships with beautiful women like Rias and Akeno, he had gained a little confidence, but this made it waver.
"Ah! Tomorrow, Rias-sama called for me, so I'll be back late. I'll make dinner beforehand, so please go ahead and eat without me."
"Mm, got it. But don't be out too late, okay? This town isn't entirely safe either. Especially around Kuoh Academy, there's that troublesome trio of perverts. If they spotted a beauty like you, they might start stalking you. Hmm... Maybe you should take a personal alarm? I think I got one as a prize from the shopping district; it's stored in the closet."
"My, Takashi-kun, you really are a worrier. But thank you. You reminded me how wonderful it feels to have someone worry about you. I'll take the alarm with me, since you went to the trouble."
Irina murmured this, her cheeks flushing at Mitarai's words.
In the bedroom, two futons were laid out, separated by a curtain he had bought.
Mitarai had voluntarily bought and set it up so Irina wouldn't be troubled if he saw her changing or something. Irina thought it would be fine if he did see, but she felt happy at his consideration.
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