Arriving at school, Hayashi Maki noticed the seat behind him—Gabriel's—was empty.
Unsurprisingly, the newly fallen angel had probably gamed all night again. She'd either be late today, or find an excuse to skip class.
Even so, he sent her a message to check in and show some concern. As the only "human male" with Gabriel's contact info, he needed to make himself stand out in her mind.
Why did no one else have Gabriel's contact? Simple: other boys didn't have Hayashi Maki's thick skin to ask a super–cute girl for her number.
Ordinary high schoolers get shy and nervous around a very cute classmate. If a targeted approach like asking for her number got rejected, wouldn't that be mortifying—public social death? Most couldn't take that risk.
So only sly Hayashi Maki had boldly asked while Gabriel was still a naïve angel and gotten her contact.
After receiving his message, Gabriel finally noticed it was already morning. But she still hadn't gotten one last piece of gear to drop, so she wanted to keep running dungeons.
She said she'd "accidentally gotten sick," and asked Hayashi Maki to request leave from Kirisu Mafuyu on her behalf.
Hayashi Maki agreed—no big deal.
Vignette, for her part, was speechless at Gabriel's "sick day." Yesterday, worried, she'd gone to Gabriel's place and found her gaming nonstop—hair a mess, too lazy to wear a skirt at home, just an oversized top and panties, sprawled out playing PC games.
Told you—angels don't fall ill that easily. She was faking it to skip class and play.
As classmates trickled into the room, the ditzy little demon Satania came over to complain, teary-eyed.
"Waaah, senpai, that dog is the worst! It went after Satania's pineapple bun again and stole it!"
After hearing Satania out, Hayashi Maki didn't even know where to start. She said that ever since arriving in the human world, she'd fallen for pineapple buns and used her allowance to buy one every morning for breakfast.
And every time she passed an alley on her way to school, a little white dog would rush out and snatch it—so mad she came to report it.
The problem being… Satania, you're a demon. Reveal your true form—one flick with your mana and you could blow up a street—yet a normal dog steals your bread?
At a loss, Hayashi Maki patted her head and smiled. "I happened to buy an extra pineapple bun today—take it, Satania. Try to forget that little dog and enjoy this one."
"Eh? Really? You'll give it to Satania?" The girl's sparkling eyes locked on the bun in his hand.
"Of course. It's extra; I can't finish it."
"Waaah, thank you—senpai is the best!"
Satania wiped her eyes, happily took the bun, and—in the process—handed him a "Nice Guy" card.
Hayashi Maki sighed. The little dummy was too easy to coax. Felt like he could coax her into having ten kids and she'd still sweetly thank him and help raise them.
That bun, in fact, was a mana item—something he'd "kneaded" up with the alchemy Yukinoshita Yukino had granted him. It tasted like the real thing and would replenish a bit of his mana. Satania would like it.
Listening to Hayashi Maki and Satania, Vignette was at a loss. A demon getting her bread stolen by an ordinary dog? Figures—Satania was a ditz; it was embarrassing for demonkind.
Satania's voice was loud, so half the class heard her call Hayashi Maki "senpai." Nibutani Shinka, who'd been keeping an eye on the scoundrel, immediately messaged him:
"Hey, Scoundrel-san—why is Kurumizawa calling you senpai?"
Kurumizawa meaning Satania—full name Kurumizawa Satanichia McDowell.
Hayashi Maki replied casually:
"Satania keeps calling herself a 'great demon,' so I said I'm an even higher-ranked 'great-great demon,' and she started calling me senpai."
Shinka's mouth twitched.
"As expected of you—you even scam the chūnibyō. You didn't do anything to her… did you?"
Hayashi Maki:
"Just showed her the way to upgrade from great demon to great-great demon. Simple—just a kiss. Same as last time with you, Mori Summer."
Shinka's cheeks went scarlet; her hands trembled and she nearly dropped her phone. She shot him a ferocious glare and typed:
"Scamming a ditzy chūnibyō—that's a crime! I could call the police!"
Hayashi Maki:
"She's not a regular chūnibyō—she's an actual demon. And I… am a bona fide mage/great-great demon, over 500 years old, with awakened memories."
Shinka felt her sanity slipping.
"Stop it, you big idiot! How many times are you going to make me face my black history? Ugh, I graduated from my chūnibyō phase—say one more word and I'll curse-kill you!"
Hayashi Maki:
"Funny how telling the truth gets no respect nowadays. But Mori Summer—by threatening to curse-kill me, you've proven you haven't fully graduated from chūnibyō."
Shinka froze, face draining. He was right—reflexively invoking "curse-kill" to vent her embarrassment… wasn't that just chūnibyō?
While she was spiraling, another message came in:
Hayashi Maki:
"Come out with me after class. As club president, I should connect with my members and build rapport."
Shinka jolted, cheeks burning. Going out alone with a lecher who'd set his sights on her—she didn't need to guess how that would go.
"Ugh—what are you planning? I… I'm not going! Can't you talk to me when Shiina and Kato are around?"
Hayashi Maki:
"Mori Summer, you wouldn't want the class to hear about your 'curse-kill' habit, right?"
One line—checkmate.
Shinka pulled a face and typed, begrudgingly:
"Fine, I'll go. I'll go out with you—are you happy now, stupid Hayashi Maki?!"
~~~
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