The next day...
Diego, still in his dreams, felt as if an invisible hand was gripping the throat of his fate, and he couldn't even open his eyes.
This made him very uncomfortable. He struggled to prop himself up, preparing to get out of bed.
At this moment, he suddenly heard Mabel's voice.
"Good morning, Dio!"
Diego's eyelids fluttered twice. Finally, he opened his eyes against the sunlight and saw Mabel standing in front of the window with the curtains pulled open.
She was bathed in sunlight, her round bright eyes open wide, the corners of her mouth stretched into a big grin, arms spread out to both sides as if she was about to leap into the morning light.
Eh... sleep...
I must not be awake yet?!
This is impossible! She's Mabel...
The NEET who sleeps until 2 PM in the afternoon...
(Note: "NEET" is short for "Not in Education, Employment, or Training," referring to young people who are neither studying, working, nor participating in vocational training.)
Actually standing under the sunlight?!!
"Wake up and get ready to take me out to play. I want to see the place where Dio lives!"
"...Okay..."
This is actually reality...
Diego now confirmed he wasn't dreaming.
He rubbed his still somewhat sleepy eyes and sighed. "Mabel... You really got up early...!"
"Sleep cycle——" Mabel straightened her back, closed her right eye and smiled, her tone almost boastful. "Completely reversed!"
No good. This guy's biological clock is completely dead...!!
Diego yawned and asked again, "Eh? Is that okay?"
Mabel thought for a moment and answered, "Hmm... It's pretty bad!"
Then she looked at Diego's neck. Frieren, not knowing what dream she was having, was firmly choking Diego's neck with both hands, her whole body hanging onto him.
"Speaking of which, are you and Frieren playing some kind of assassination game? What kind of position is this?"
"...I was about to ask you." Diego lifted the sleeping Frieren like a little chick, raised his eyebrows, and said in disbelief, "When did this idiot elf sneak in to sleep?"
Alicia and Sui had slipped away after waking up.
Sui had originally tried to take Frieren with her as well.
But Frieren was hugging Diego too tightly. Out of concern that waking the two of them, the matter could only end without any result.
"Why ask me?"
Seeing Mabel's blank expression, Diego suddenly realized something and held his head while laughing.
"Cough, never mind. Wait for me to tidy up before we go out."
Mabel nodded. In her heart, she started calculating and asked, "Does Dio have a job here?"
Ehehe, what kind of job could support Dio buying such a big house?
I must find out, then find a way to sneak in, slack off, and get paid until my hands are full!
Hehe, then use the money I got without working to support Dio. He'll respect and worship me even more...
"Hmm... If we're talking about a proper job, I did have one once..." When it came to work, Diego immediately thought of his identity as Kessoku Band's manager.
"You had one?"
"Then I got fired."
"Pfft——"
Mabel quickly covered her mouth.
Diego narrowed his eyes. "Hey, you're laughing, aren't you?"
"No no..." Mabel's body was trembling unnaturally. She was holding back her laughter with great difficulty and forced out, "Well... Can you take me to see that job?"
"That shouldn't be a problem. Besides, it's also an entertainment venue. Not to brag, but I'm quite respected here..."
...
Shimokitazawa, in front of STARRY Performance Hall...
"Why do I have to come too? I clearly wanted to stay home and read books all day..."
Frieren had a face full of grievance. She had been forcibly brought out by Diego.
Before she had fully woken up, Diego had already helped her complete changing clothes, washing her face, brushing her teeth, and eating breakfast.
By the time she was fully awake, Frieren was already in the car heading to Shimokitazawa.
Diego curled his lip, his tone somewhat sarcastic. "Other↘world↗ly↘ cui↗sine↘"
He was still holding a grudge about his cooking losing to the temptation of otherworldly food.
Only after Frieren personally tasted otherworldly cuisine would she understand the gap in strength. Not just anything can challenge ko no Dio da!
"Eh... You really hold grudges..." Frieren casually complained.
Mabel had lifeless eyes on both sides of her face. Her body leaned slightly forward, both hands supporting her thighs, looking completely exhausted as she panted, "A-Are we there yet?"
"We've only walked a few dozen meters since getting off the car." Diego looked speechless as he led the two toward the downward stairs, gesturing forward with his hand. "But we're here."
The three arrived at the entrance of STARRY Performance Hall.
It wasn't business hours now. Logically, only the manager and Nijika should be inside. The possibility of randomly refreshing a freeloader couldn't be ruled out.
"Ooh——..."
"Amazing..."
Hearing the two's exclamations, Diego smiled proudly.
That's right, worship me, Dio, even more like this!
But soon, his smile froze.
He only heard Frieren reading word by word: "Diego Brando and dogs not allowed inside."
Diego looked up and only then noticed that a small blackboard had been hung at the entrance of the performance hall at some point, with words written on it that were disrespectful to Dio.
"wryyyyyy!!!"
"What's going on?! When was this hung up?!"
Diego let out a sharp explosive cry.
Whoosh!
In almost an instant, Diego took down the blackboard. His eyeballs spun rapidly as he stared at the words on it in disbelief.
Mabel was snickering on the side. "Dio really is respected. He even gets to enjoy the same treatment as cute little dogs."
"Not being wanted by the police is already an epic level of progress!" Frieren deeply agreed.
"Damn it!" In his anger, Diego directly snapped the blackboard in half. "I'm going to ask the manager what's going on!"
The two watched as he angrily rushed inside, still shouting, "Manager! Where's the manager?! I demand an explanation!"
Not even a minute later, the sounds of clanging and banging came from inside, with pots, pans, and bowls occasionally flying out.
Smack!
The invincible Diego came out again.
However, his angry expression had changed to one of embarrassment.
"My hand wasn't feeling good today. I'll let her off this time."
Appearing together with him was Ijichi Seika, who was pushing Diego with a face full of anger.
"Get out, you bastard who hurt Nijika!"
"Oh——"
"So strong!"
Mabel and Frieren stared at the two in shock.
Only then did Ijichi Seika notice the two girls standing at the entrance. Her expression instantly froze.
"Y-You, are you guests?"
The two looked at each other, then nodded.
"Brought by Dio?"
The two nodded again.
Ijichi Seika suddenly felt like the sky was falling. She stiffly turned her head to look at Diego, one frame at a time.
No, why didn't you say so earlier? What do we do now?
Diego: You didn't give me a chance to explain.
Ijichi Seika: So you're just dumping this problem on me?!
Seeing Diego deliberately pretending to be blind and not replying, Ijichi Seika forced a stiff smile and rubbed her hands while smiling apologetically. "A-Actually, this is a program!"
"Do you two like it?"