Chapter 35
Warm, moist breath tinged with alcohol slowly drew closer.
In his sleep, Hayakawa Aki not only didn't avoid it—upon sensing that familiar scent, he actually turned his face toward the approaching breath.
Clearly, the person coming near hadn't expected the seemingly fully asleep Aki to suddenly move his head.
What was meant to be a cheek kiss landed squarely on the corner of his mouth instead.
A fleeting touch—then instant separation. A shy, thrilling flush like dyed flowers quickly overtook the lingering alcohol-red on her face.
She seemed annoyed at her own cowardice—such a perfect chance, yet she flinched.
So she stomped her foot lightly, gathered courage again, and prepared for the next "sneak attack."
Aki's breathing quickened slightly. Unconsciously, he licked his dry lips.
Consciousness gradually returned. Slowly waking, he coughed twice, then opened his eyes. In his blurry vision, he saw a figure.
"Himeno-senpai… you're here."
His voice was very hoarse—Aki himself didn't seem to notice.
Himeno looked at him worriedly.
Is he feverish?
Thinking so, she first raised her hand to feel his forehead temperature—then realized her own hand was too cold, so she leaned in with her own forehead instead.
After a brief touch—before she could feel anything—Aki spoke:
"Himeno-senpai, are you the one with a fever? Your head feels kind of hot… and your face is really red."
Hearing that, Himeno's face flushed even deeper.
Giving up on forehead temperature-checking, she huffed and gave Aki's chest a light pat.
"I'm just drunk—haven't sobered up yet. I saw you looked bad and wanted to check if you had a fever. Geez."
"I'm fine. Let's go."
Aki squeezed his eyes shut hard, then opened them slowly with a frown. He took a deep breath, left the chair, and stood up gradually.
He patted his numb legs and walked ahead stiffly.
Himeno followed, still worried, and asked again:
"You sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine. This mission is important. The more Gun Devil fragments we collect, the better our chance of finding its main body!"
Saying so, Aki pulled the mission file from inside his shirt and handed it to Himeno.
Hearing that, Himeno just sighed helplessly and thought:
Later I'll take it more seriously—carry more of the load myself. Maybe I can deal with that devil alone before Aki even gets involved.
In his vacant emptiness, Aki temporarily regained a spark of determination.
Right—he remembered.
He remembered his family's death. Remembered the despair so suffocating it nearly shattered his mind.
Remembered his hatred for the Gun Devil.
I came this far, reached this point—all for revenge against the Gun Devil, didn't I?
Once that thought filled his mind, Aki's movements grew increasingly agitated, increasingly heavy.
Himeno sensitively noticed the change—but chose not to speak or try to persuade him.
Because she knew. She knew exactly how much Aki hated, how desperately he wanted to kill the Gun Devil.
She simply chose to stand firmly by his side—accompany him as they burned together in the flames of revenge…
…
While Aki and Himeno drove toward the mission site,
On Denji and Power's side—
Right now, Power was being exceptionally obedient and sensible. Knowing Denji had business to handle later, she proactively offered to go home first and take care of Meowy.
"This great one will stay home properly and wait for Denji to come back.
This great one will train hard at home and control my power~
This great one will be very good, Denji—this great one will be super useful to you~"
Who knows what wild scenarios Power had already imagined in her head in such a short time.
This kind of insecurity is normal—even for a devil, only time can gradually confirm and clarify the existence of emotional bonds.
It's fine. As long as the plan goes smoothly, time is the one thing Denji has plenty of.
He only feared and dreaded uncontrollable accidents. He would never allow them to happen again.
Before heading to deal with Aki's aftereffects, he had actually considered whether it would be better to leave Power at home waiting.
After all, this operation was to fine-tune Aki's condition—something he'd never done before—so he wasn't arrogantly certain he could handle it easily.
He approached it with proper caution.
But seeing Power being so good—and remembering how hurt she'd been earlier because of him—he couldn't bear to abandon her now.
Even though it was only a few hours apart, he knew her current emotions weren't as stable as her obedient surface suggested.
He had experienced being abandoned himself—so he could empathize deeply with Power's perspective right now.
Forget it. I can do it—comfort Power and control the situation at the same time.
"Who said that?"
"?"
"Something this interesting—how could I not bring my favorite Power along as an audience?"
"Eh, r-really? ~"
Silly Power would believe anything Denji said—and once she believed, her emotions would be easily swayed by his words.
Denji had no intention of toying with her in this moment—he would only prove it steadily with action.
"Manifest"—"Royal Blood Handle · True Blood Devil Form" blood-wing cloak.
Suddenly scooping Power into a princess carry, he took off instantly.
The blood wings spread slightly—growing larger with each gentle flap, generating exaggerated air currents.
Allowing Denji to freely soar and conquer the sky.
"Hold on tight—don't accidentally fall~"
Flying through the air felt way too exciting, way too fun~
Power—emotions fully switched to exhilaration—wrapped her arms backward around Denji's neck, body pressed tight, conveying warmth and feeling bit by bit.
"Hehe, this great one knows! This great one will hold on forever and ever—one lifetime—no, not enough!
Two lifetimes, three lifetimes…"
The passionate confession at the start turned into counting on her fingers—trying to come up with the biggest number possible~
One thing about dumbasses is definitely good: they don't hold grudges.
You kick her hard when you're angry—she whimpers in pain and runs away crying. But the moment you walk over and give her a little snack, she forgives you instantly. If you pet her and play with her a bit, she'll decide you're the best person in the world again.
"This great one wants infinite lifetimes—always together with Denji!"
Finally remembering the biggest symbol, Power—still in Denji's princess carry—kicked her legs and waved her arms excitedly like she was celebrating.
The sudden jerk nearly launched her right out of his arms.
Denji quickly adjusted his grip—irritably hugging the dummy's soft body even tighter.
Left arm looped around her waist, right arm locked across her chest—then he reached up and pinched her soft, squishy cheek in mild annoyance.
Realizing she'd done something silly again, Power just gave an embarrassed, goofy grin.
After a moment, she suddenly exclaimed in delight:
"Denji! Denji! This great one just made a world-shaking discovery!"
"Good, good—our Power is the best."
Denji casually humored her.
Power didn't notice the perfunctory tone. After receiving Denji's approval, she suppressed her excitement slightly, tilted her head back—her soft hair brushing across his nose.
Feeling their cheeks were close enough, Power whispered mysteriously:
"Our hearts are both on the left side. As long as Denji keeps holding this great one like this, our hearts can always be together~!"
Heh~ Interesting.
"Hmph hmph—this great one really is the smartest!"
Denji smiled and—after hearing Power's smug declaration—didn't say anything to shoot her down.
After tasting the sweetness of being called smart (head pats), Power seemed to keep using her "Hell-shocking wisdom" to think.
After a while, Power mentioned switching positions—she wanted to face Denji while hugging.
Typical dummy—changing her mind every second.
Denji didn't refuse or comment—just went along with her request.
He shifted their positions.
After the change, Denji glanced down at Power in his arms.
She still wore that smug "I'm so smart" smile.
Denji couldn't help asking curiously:
"Didn't you just say hugging like before would keep our hearts together? Why switch now?"
"Dummy That's exactly why our hearts are both on the left—when we embrace face-to-face, we can fill each other's empty spots perfectly"
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