_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Night fell, and suddenly a divine light spread over the roof of the house.
Guided by some mysterious power, the radiance streamed through a bedroom window.
From the golden glow stepped out a blonde angelic girl, her feet touching the floor with effortless grace.
"So this is my room? Looks pretty plain. Guess I'll need to give it a proper cleaning."
The girl who had descended through Heaven's passage was none other than Gabriel White—top graduate of the Angel Academy, a prodigy even among the heavens, a flawless angel blessed with unique gifts.
At that very moment, Andrew stirred awake. He had been dozing off while holding Mahiru Shiina in his arms, but the sudden surge of holy energy made his eyes snap open.
"This aura… an angel?" he murmured, his emotions tangled.
He hadn't really expected angels to be real, yet here one was—and she'd ended up living right upstairs from him.
The only question was whether she could see through his own identity as a demon.
Still, Andrew didn't panic. So what if she's an angel? If she turned out to be a cute girl, then he might even have a chance to make her his own.
After all, he wasn't like the demons of this world's hell. He was a sovereign demon—one who wielded true authority.
In theory, he was an all-powerful kind of demon. Once he unlocked all his abilities and powers, he would stand on par with the gods themselves.
Breathing in the faint fragrance of Mahiru's hair, Andrew closed his eyes again and drifted back to sleep, content.
Angels could wait until tomorrow.
Upstairs, Gabriel noticed nothing. She diligently cleaned her new room, took a refreshing bath, and finally went to bed. Having worked so hard to graduate first in her class and earn the chance to descend to Earth, she fully intended to make the most of this opportunity.
The next morning, Mahiru carefully slipped out of Andrew's warm embrace.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes with delicate white fingers, she cast a soft glance at his sleeping face before quietly getting up.
After washing up, she tied on an apron and set to work on breakfast and packed lunches.
It was strange. Even though she had been worn out last night—forced into "overtime exercise" by Andrew—she felt full of energy now, not the slightest bit fatigued.
In fact, her strength even seemed greater than before.
And more than that, there was this odd sensation inside her body, like something was quietly growing or brewing within.
The more she thought about it, the more confused she became.
"…Wait. Could it be… I'm pregnant?"
Her face flushed as the thought hit. Ever since she and Andrew had been together, they had spent so many nights tangled up in passion—without a single precaution.
Panic set in. She liked children, sure, but having one now? That was way too soon. She wasn't ready for that at all.
Placing a hand over her belly, Mahiru decided she would order a pregnancy test online, just to be sure.
If it turned out she really was pregnant, then… well, she'd have no choice but to keep the baby.
Either way, Andrew was going to have to take responsibility!
Of course, she didn't know the truth: what she was sensing wasn't a child, but the demon seed of Andrew's magic quietly developing inside her.
By the time Andrew finally got up, washed, and dressed, a knock came at the door.
"I'm coming, just a second," he called, slipping on his slippers as he hurried to answer.
When he opened the door, he was greeted by a petite girl with shimmering golden hair and an angelic smile so sweet and gentle it was impossible to forget. The aura of holiness and kindness she radiated washed over him like sunlight.
It was her—the angel from upstairs.
"Hello. I'm Gabriel White. I just moved into the apartment above yours. Since we're neighbors, I wanted to stop by and introduce myself. Please take care of me from now on."
She handed him a small gift as she bowed deeply, her manners flawless.
Seeing no hint of hostility—and no sign she had noticed his demonic nature—Andrew relaxed. He accepted the gift with a smile.
"I'm Andrew. Nice to meet you, Gabriel. Looking forward to being neighbors."
After exchanging greetings, Gabriel left to introduce herself to the rest of the building. Andrew went back inside to find Mahiru already bustling about with breakfast.
But inwardly, his thoughts were far from calm.
Gabriel… So it really is her. The so-called 'perfect angel' who, after descending to Earth, got addicted to video games and became a lazy shut-in.
So she was the one living upstairs, huh?
If that was the case, then all he had to do was nudge her into falling for games a little earlier than usual. Once she got hooked, even if she discovered he was a demon, she probably wouldn't bother to do anything about it.
And if things followed the pattern of the story he remembered, then another angel should also descend—one with white hair and a rather dark personality. Raphael, wasn't it?
Not to mention that Hell would also be sending its own trial demons to Earth. Cute girls, too.
If he remembered correctly, one of them was Vignette Tsukinose April, the blue-haired demon who, ironically enough, acted more angelic than the angels themselves…
As for the other new neighbor—Satanichia McDowell, with her peach-pink hair—she looked every bit the clumsy, over-the-top chuuni type.
Maybe life would get a lot more interesting now that angels and demons were part of the mix.
"Andrew, what are you spacing out for? Breakfast's ready."
His wandering thoughts were cut off by Mahiru Shiina, who smiled warmly in her apron as she called him over.
Andrew wasted no time heading to the table to enjoy the breakfast Mahiru had lovingly prepared.
While eating, he casually mentioned yesterday's surprise visit from the upstairs neighbor.
Mahiru simply nodded, acknowledging it. She didn't seem particularly concerned about the people living above them. As long as they weren't difficult to get along with, she didn't mind.
After breakfast, Mahiru quickly washed the dishes and neatly put everything back in place with practiced ease. She was getting more and more familiar with his apartment.
Taking a deep breath, Andrew suddenly pulled Mahiru into his arms, hugging her soft, delicate frame.
"Mahiru, I'm so glad I have you."
His warm breath tickled her ear, making Mahiru's face flush red while her heart melted at his words.
She turned around and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her cheek against his chest and breathing in his scent before giving him a gentle push.
"Alright, that's enough. Time to head to school, or we'll miss the train."
At this point, she didn't reject his morning hugs anymore. If anything, she'd grown a little attached to the comfort of his embrace.
"Yeah, let's go."
The train ride didn't take long, and soon they reached the station near school.
As they walked toward the campus, Andrew suddenly noticed Yukinoshita's younger daughter standing a short distance from the school gates, dark circles under her eyes as she quietly waited.
He told Mahiru to go on ahead without him, coming up with some excuse. She didn't question it, heading into the schoolyard where she was immediately intercepted by Mori Summer, who dragged her off toward class.
Meanwhile, Andrew approached Yukino Yukinoshita with a teasing grin. "Yo, Yukino. Morning."
Yukino bit her lip and turned away sharply, making it obvious she didn't want to see him.
Because of him, she hadn't been able to sleep last night.
And yet, she had still gone out of her way to wait for him here at the school gates.
Why did she always end up listening to him like this? Why was she standing here so early just to get bullied by him?
She grumbled to herself inwardly, but her body didn't resist when Andrew took her by the hand and led her to a quiet, empty corner.
Holding onto her pale, delicate fingers, Andrew smiled, clearly pleased.
"Honestly, Yukino, I didn't think you'd actually be waiting for me at the gate."
Yukino kept her lips pressed together, refusing to answer.
Sure, he was happy—but she had stayed up all night because of him. And now she had to get pushed around by him first thing in the morning.
Why was he always like this? So infuriating.
Lost in her tangled thoughts, she didn't even notice until Andrew had pressed her back against the wall of the alley and stolen a kiss from her lips.
He had said he would kiss her, and apparently, he meant it.
At first she pressed her hands weakly against his chest, but then they slowly dropped, as if she had given up completely.
There was no point resisting. If he wanted to bully her, there was nothing she could do. So she just let it happen.
When Andrew finally pulled back, reluctantly breaking the kiss, he saw the dazed look in her eyes and realized he had gone too far.
He hadn't given her any warning, just pushed her like this for days in a row. Of course little Yukino would feel upset.
Still… once she got used to it, it would be fine.
His gaze lingered on her as his hand slid around her slim waist, feeling the soft curve beneath his palm.
That snapped Yukino back to her senses. Her face turned bright red as her icy blue eyes glared at him.
"That's enough! If you're done, let go already—we're going to be late!"
Andrew sighed softly and raised a hand to cover her eyes. With a touch of magic, the dark circles under them vanished.
"That's all for today then, Yukino. But don't forget—demons are never satisfied so easily. You've got a lot left to learn."
Yukino said nothing.
Learn? This was the last thing she wanted to learn.
Inside, she couldn't help but mutter to herself in frustration.
"..."
________________________________________________________________________________________________________