"Although a familiar's appearance is influenced by its master, I was a bit curious so I looked into it." Jazz pulled out a book. "It should originally look like this, but now it looks like this." Iruma glanced at the picture in the book, then at Supu next to him.
"Hmm… there's quite a big difference, indeed."
Jazz suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
"Could it be that I'm actually… super cute?"
"Idol?" Iruma asked instinctively.
"Huh? What?" Jazz, who hadn't heard clearly because he was deep in thought, turned around and asked.
"Nothing… maybe."
Jazz thought for a while, completely unable to figure it out, and just lay on the floor.
"My rank went up, but there's no change, huh? I give up~"
"I see."
"Should I… break the contract…?" Jazz murmured, looking at the ceiling.
"Eh?"
"Honestly, I did think about it, but I can't do it… This guy hasn't done anything bad. To abandon it just because the guidance didn't meet expectations… after all, we've developed feelings…" Jazz said, even humming as he petted it.
Iruma watched this scene.
"I actually feel like this child is quite similar to Jazz-kun."
"Eh? Eh!! How are we similar?"
"He does bad things freely and casually, but he's actually very gentle. He keeps pace with everyone, and at critical moments, he'll step forward and stand at the forefront. So… this child will definitely become a powerful companion who can be relied on at crucial moments!" Iruma said with a smile.
"…Am I… like that?" Jazz was a little embarrassed by Iruma's praise.
"But he really is cute right now," Iruma said, holding Supu.
"Uh…"
"Wait, Jazz-kun, look! Supu's tail has scales now!"
"Oh, oh! It really does!"
"It's sparkling like a jewel!"
"Really! It's developing just like in the picture!"
Iruma looked at Supu.
"Looks like he's growing well."
Jazz looked at Supu's face.
"Pfft, but will he get bigger? He'll definitely become handsome, right?"
Just as the two were looking at Supu as if he were their child, the door was kicked open.
Clara, dressed in a police uniform and carrying a camera, ran in.
"Snack Police! I'm arresting you, Iruma-kun!" Clara ran directly to Iruma, picked him up, and carried him away.
"Snack Police! Arrest successful!"
At this moment, Shesi's voice came from the camera.
"Wait! Clara, first check if Iruma has any snacks in his clothes!"
Clara, who had just run off, put Iruma down upon hearing this and began to search him.
"Hmm… none found…"
The camera flew over and looked at Iruma.
"Are you really not secretly eating snacks?"
Iruma looked at the camera, but his gaze involuntarily drifted.
"N-no." Although he himself didn't know where the snacks in his bag went, still… thank goodness the snacks disappeared, amen.
Inside the room, Jazz looked at the snacks that had fallen from Supu's body.
"They really are similar…"
…A cheerful humming sound came from the hallway.
"Hehe~ Rimi-nee invited me to watch a movie together~ Hehe, I'll confess to her tomorrow that I'm a boy~ After all, we're so close now… Yosh! That's what I'll do. Today is truly lucky~ The weather is great, no homework, my favorite game has a new release, and Rimi-nee invited me~"
Lead skipped along, when suddenly a hand pressed on his shoulder.
"Shax Lead… let's duel." Asmodeus pressed on Lead's shoulder and said to him.
[Dear Mom and Dad, and that annoying sister, I might die today.]
…"Take this!"
"You can actually last until now?"
"Hmph, don't underestimate me! But since it's come to this, I must use my ultimate skill! Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, B, A!" Lead immediately used the strongest skill from his game console, knocking out Asmodeus's character in the game.
The match result was 16:0. Of course, Lead was the one who won 16 times.
"Damn it… one more time!" Asmodeus, unwilling to admit defeat, picked up the game console again, ready to continue, but Lead interrupted him.
"Hey, hey~ Let's take a break. When you said 'duel,' I thought I was going to be burned to a crisp today," Lead grumbled.
"But I never thought there'd be a day I'd play games with As-kun."
He looked at Asmodeus across from him, who was struggling to understand why he couldn't win.
"Pfft, As-kun has improved a lot since he first enrolled, at least his expression has," Lead said.
"What?"
"Nothing. By the way, why did you suddenly ask me to play games?"
"Well… of course it's because I promised Iruma-sama that we'd play the new game together in a few days! I must improve my skills before then!" Asmodeus said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Lead rolled his eyes upon hearing this.
"So, I'm just a punching bag, huh?"
"But I can teach you some tricks. Looking at your stats, you've put all your points into attack. You need to balance evasion and defense too."
Asmodeus heard this.
'Wouldn't that make battles take a long time?'
"That's how this game is played," Lead retorted.
"However, if you praise me, I'll teach you some little tricks. You just need to praise me as a knowledgeable game master~"
"Huh? Sorry, I can't bring myself to praise you."
"…" Lead froze upon hearing this.
"But, what was Asmodeus like when he was little?"
"Huh? Topic change?"
"Ah, no, no, it's just that you seem like a complete novice, as if this is your first time playing a game," Lead said.
Asmodeus began to recall upon hearing this.
"Hmm… after all, the environment I was in… wasn't like that…"
Lead looked at Asmodeus in surprise. Was he actually going to talk about it? He had expected him to coldly snort and continue the battle.
"From the moment I understood things, I was constantly praised with the word 'excellent' by those around me. Every day, I diligently trained and improved my skills. Although my mother was very boisterous when she was home, in my memory, my surroundings were always very quiet. While I wasn't dissatisfied by this… I even somewhat enjoyed the feeling, I still somewhat knew the difference between myself and others. So, when I had normal conversations with other demons, I always felt… like something was missing? In short, I felt like something was lacking." Asmodeus didn't quite know how to describe that feeling.
Lead heard this.
"So you came to me for me to tell you how to find that feeling?"
Asmodeus immediately slammed the table and stood up upon hearing this.
"N-no way!"
Suddenly realizing his rudeness, he cleared his throat and sat back down.
"I am the legitimate son of the Asmodeus family. As a close confidant of Iruma-sama and Lord Shesi, I must not do anything disgraceful!"
"Eh, does Shesi count too? What about Clara?"
"…She's a friend."
"Just a little bit, truly just a little bit, I envy your relationship with Iruma-sama. It seems wonderful…"
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