"Ah, yes, that's right," Sū ěr nodded. "He's one of my good friends in this world."
"Haha, ahahaha, Sū ěr-ge, why do you talk like you're someone from another world?" Chiho Sasaki gave a dry laugh, looking somewhat speechless. "An-anyway, I'm a junior who has been looked after by Maou-ge a lot! Since you and Maou-ge haven't seen each other in so long, why don't we all go out for a late-night snack after work?"
"I-I know a great place! I can lead the way!" The girl suddenly became excited, raising her right hand high as if answering a teacher's question in class.
Clearly, the drunkard's interest was not in the wine.
Although she was using the excuse of a reunion for Sū ěr and Sadao, the fact that her eyes flicked to Sadao with basically every word made her true motive glaringly obvious.
If Chiho Sasaki's gaze had the effect of a knife, Sadao Maou would currently be a sieve.
"That's true. You disappeared for so long, and even the message to the manager was brought by a little girl. I thought you weren't coming back to MgRonald's," Sadao Maou said, looking at Sū ěr with a serious expression, completely oblivious to the girl's feelings like some dense anime protagonist. "Let's do what Chi-chan said. It can be a celebration for my promotion to acting manager!"
Here he goes again. As he spoke, Sadao's grin stretched almost to his ears.
This man could probably brag about this for another two days.
However, Sū ěr had no intention of being a third wheel—even if the sight of a social worker with a high school girl did feel a bit like an old cow eating tender grass.
"Sorry, I just got back to the city and have some stuff to handle. I'll have to celebrate with you later," Sū ěr shrugged. "Why don't you two go celebrate first? I'll catch up with you for a drink later."
"Eh? Ehhh?! J-just me and Maou-ge?!!" Chiho's eyes were practically sparkling.
"Eh? Hmm... true, there's a lot to handle after being away for so long. Need any help?" It had to be said that the simple country boy Sadao Maou was a good friend; he wasn't just being polite when he offered to help.
"No need. Just go and try that place Sasaki mentioned and see if it's any good," Sū ěr laughed.
"Sū ěr-ge can call me Chi-chan like Maou-ge does!" the high school girl said, raising her hand instantly.
Wow, how pragmatic... the moment I said I wasn't going to be a third wheel, she became instant best friends?
"Alright then. If you need anything, just say so. No need to be a stranger," Sadao Maou nodded, letting the subject drop.
Work, labor, servicing guests... I mean, attending to customers. Soul wounds naturally couldn't heal in such a short time; it might even take decades or centuries. But for Sū ěr, whose lifespan was now nearly infinite, these were things that could be waited out.
He had returned to his peaceful modern life. Once he got bored of being a clerk, he might try other professions, other lives—like the specific lifestyle of the wealthy. Life has many faces, each with its own charm.
"Then I'll be going. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah, bye."
"See you tomorrow, Sū ěr-ge~~~"
Waving one last time behind him, Sū ěr walked toward his rented apartment. He hadn't been making excuses to Sadao and Chiho; he really did have an appointment tonight.
Even if it could be described as the three of them finally meeting up to hang out, check out modern entertainment, and eat modern food... in Sū ěr mind, there was another common term for this.
A date.
A three-way date.
Unlike a simple country boy like Sadao, Sū ěr had always been very clear about these things.
How to put it? Even with his current experience and mindset, he couldn't help but feel a mix of nervousness and anticipation. Nervous because he was afraid Think and Jibril wouldn't be able to resist brawling in the city; anticipation because... it was a date.
It was a date, after all!
Come to think of it, back in that war-torn era, he and Think had just naturally ended up together. There had been basically no "dating" to build feelings... unless you counted taking care of Think while she was soaked in her lab, washing her, and feeding her.
But if you counted those as building romance, wouldn't it be lacking in flavor?
Not to mention Jibril was here now, closer than ever.
It was time to take their relationship a step further and let the memories the three of them created together begin!
Sū ěr secretly made up his mind, even pumping his fist to psych himself up—only to find his plan smashed to pieces from the very beginning.
A long white dress. Even the most conservative clothing couldn't fully hide that impressive chest. Golden hair cascaded from her head all the way to her waist. Her forehead was adorned with four beautiful gems. The pupils that should have housed hexagrams were now a brilliant sapphire blue. Her long ears had been transformed into human ones, hidden among the gold locks, showing only small, cute earlobes.
It was Think—but how the hell could Think look like this?
Undoubtedly, this was what Think would look like after local "humanization." At a glance, she'd be mistaken for a foreign tourist. In fact, her beautiful golden hair and Sū ěr platinum-silver hair complemented each other perfectly, making them look like a matching pair.
But that was exactly the problem.
Sū ěr knew Think current state better than anyone. That lifeform connected to his soul was still resting peacefully inside his body; he could perceive every particle, every part of her existence with perfect clarity.
She was right there next to his soul, having gone nowhere.
So... who on earth was this "Think" standing before him, smiling so sweetly?
"JIBRIL!!!"
Golden light erupted from Sū ěr body like an iron fist, smashing toward the "Think" in front of him. But the latter nimbly dodged to the side, accompanied by Think earth-shattering roar.
The Great Lady Nirvalen had never been this furious.