Chapter 45
Even after entering the hotel, Denji maintained the "left arm right arm" embrace pose.
This wasn't purely for enjoyment.
In truth, Denji wanted to investigate the "secret" on Higashiyama Koharu.
He ran through his past-life memories again in his mind. The girl with almost zero presence turned out—upon closer inspection—to be strangely special in certain ways.
He had considered whether her unusual experiences might just be coincidence, but after personally feeling it earlier, Denji finally realized what was wrong.
That mysterious power was faint, but its essential nature was extremely high-level—sitting at the same table as "Fate" itself.
He glanced down at Higashiyama Koharu on his right.
This silly girl—will the tears never stop?
Still crying?
And… are those crystal pendants about to fall out…
The hand resting near Koharu's neck temporarily loosened.
Koharu looked up at Denji in confusion. At that moment, Denji happened to pull a pack of tissues from his pocket.
Under her puzzled gaze, he held it close.
He rotated his hand in a circle, miming wiping a face, then offered it again.
Koharu understood. She took the pack that was practically being pressed against her face.
"Thank you~"
Her voice was mosquito-like, but that soft, sweet, delicate tone truly felt like someone was massaging his ears—heaven…
With a slightly dazed, floating expression on his face, Denji placed his hand back near Koharu's neck. He smoothed nonexistent wrinkles on her shoulder—suddenly feeling that Koharu's texture felt even better~
Of course, Denji was very good at balancing water. After smoothing Koharu's shoulder on one side, he immediately smoothed the now-bristling Power on the other.
Power—slightly jealous—was now super eager to "go all the way" with Denji.
She hadn't done it yet, but life has to have a first time, right~
"This great one is right, isn't she, Denji~?"
"Huh?"
Did Power just say something?
Whatever, didn't understand → just placate.
"Uh, yeah yeah yeah, everything you said is right."
"Then let's find a spot later and go all the way~!"
"Sure—wait?! Stop messing around! You still don't understand enough, tsk…"
Denji didn't even know how to explain anymore.
If a bad woman like Makima said something like that, he'd definitely stand up and charge!
But when Power said it like this, he always felt something was… off.
He'd been dragging this point out the whole time.
Was it because he always saw Power as a little sister or daughter figure?
Or because the heavy responsibilities he carried had lowered his desires in that area?
Wait—deny that one first!
Right now, just looking at Higashiyama Koharu's delicate, easily-pushed-down appearance already triggered a strong instinctive urge to go further!
Not to mention Makima.
Speaking of which… didn't I agree to go on a date with Makima tonight?
His thoughts drifted farther and farther—he completely forgot to keep rejecting Power.
And Power—having not heard a clear refusal—selectively forgot the unimportant parts.
So she happily started humming a little tune again.
She quietly slipped out of Denji's embrace—sometimes running ahead to peek into rooms, sometimes falling back to check stairwells and bathrooms…
Her mind was filled with clearly naughty thoughts, but when she tried to continue imagining, she couldn't quite picture it.
What comes after kissing?
Touching?
Then what comes after touching?
Kissing while touching?
…
Aside from Power, Higashiyama Koharu also had some unspeakable worries.
Although the distracted Denji was only repeating the same stroking motion, Koharu—who had almost never been in physical contact with men—found the sensation far too stimulating~
After the mix of sadness and guilt passed, all that remained was extreme mental overload and shyness.
She felt like an unnoticed "marginal weak girl" who had been forcibly claimed by a handsome, powerful "delinquent."
Speaking of which, the curve of her inner thoughts was truly bizarre:
At first she thought she was just unlucky and pitiful—mind blank, somehow causing huge trouble out of nowhere.
But she really didn't do it on purpose… If she thought a little darker—was it possible he did it intentionally? But she quickly killed that dark idea herself.
It was clearly her mistake—why shift blame onto someone else?
She began blaming herself even more, then started wondering what he intended by holding her like this the whole time.
She was just a miserable working adult, penniless and unlucky. At home she had one older brother and eight sisters—and she was the least noticeable, least useful one.
She entered society early to work because her parents wanted her to earn money to send her brother to university. If she didn't want to go into that line of work, the only other option was devil hunting.
Because those were the only two jobs she could do that paid relatively well.
The more she thought, the sadder she became. She never spent a single cent of her salary on herself—almost everything went home.
Her clothes—other than her uniform—were almost all hand-me-downs from her sisters.
The little private savings she managed to scrape together, she didn't dare touch. Even thinking of using it required considering her family.
What was there worth claiming about a girl like her?
But… what if he really did have that kind of idea…
If he wanted to make her his possession, then maybe she wouldn't belong to her parents anymore, and wouldn't have to carry all those blood-tie burdens…
No—I can't think like that.
My parents gave me life. My brother and sisters are my most important family…
Are they?
But… but I really didn't do it on purpose…
I was forced by him, and I did do something wrong—punishment is only natural.
So from now on… I'll be his possession, right…
How will he treat me?
Will he treat me like a human?
Come to think of it… being kept like a dog or pet doesn't sound so bad…
Will I get new clothes?
Can I occasionally eat something delicious?
The fiend he keeps seems to enjoy a very comfortable life… Could I… maybe do the same?
Even half—no, one-tenth, one-twentieth—I think I'd be satisfied~
Even less would be okay… mm, just don't oppress or abuse me too much~
How do they write it in books?
He'll probably claim me very roughly, right?
Does he like confinement play?
I hope the things he likes aren't too painful… I'm… kind of scared of pain.
It'd be best if we could do some contraception—I really don't want my child to end up like me, so better not to have any.
Of course, that's up to him to decide.
But… but…
"Wuwuwu… c-can you please… not rush to make me have a baby yet?"
Her voice was too small—completely drowned out by crying.
Perhaps because he had grown used to Koharu's crying, Denji didn't snap out of it at all…
Power daydreaming naughty thoughts, Denji lost in his own mind, and Higashiyama Koharu in her lowest-presence gloomy state.
Truly a strange trio.
Though their personalities were all different, in their current fantasies, there always seemed to be a faint peach-colored aura around them…
From behind, Himeno nudged Aki, then leaned close to his ear and whispered:
"Those two 'monster' newbies you brought—are they normal? How did they assimilate my little Koharu in just this short time?!"
Aki blinked. He honestly didn't know what to say.
After all, his own knowledge was limited.
Since he couldn't speak, he could only tell Himeno his honest feelings:
"Denji is relatively normal… just that the way he treats people feels a bit different from ordinary folks…
As for Power—except for the special treatment toward Denji, to outsiders like us, she basically feels no different from a devil."
"…Then isn't Koharu in danger?"
"Probably not. If it was dangerous, we'd likely already be 'in danger' together."
Aki's mind did turn a bit faster than Himeno's. To some extent, once freed from emotional constraints, he saw the essence of things more clearly.
And precisely because of this reliability, Himeno had come to rely on him more and more…
Vision shifted farther back.
Well—no need to look farther. The rest aren't important.
While browsing and choosing rooms, Power pushed open a certain door.
A devil with a human brain for a head—and two legs sprouting from either side of that brain—walked out.
Oh, here it comes.
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