Chapter 444: Cringeworthy Lines and a Hopeless Teammate
Hiratsuka Shizuka, an avid fan of hot-blooded shounen manga, and Sengoku Chihiro, an unreliable and perpetually laid-back teacher, found common ground in many of their hobbies.
Smoking, drinking, reading manga, and enjoying good food—they were remarkably in sync, right down to being fellow career singles.
A spark of anticipation lit up Hiratsuka Shizuka's eyes. She often came to browse for manga on her own, but never with this level of enthusiasm. It was Sengoku Chihiro's presence that had clearly elevated the simple errand into an exciting outing. Sometimes, a task one lacks the motivation to do alone becomes an adventure when a friend joins in.
Meanwhile, Lucifer was still clinging to Ren's arm, insisting he read novels with her—the strange, outlandish ones she adored. In the middle of their browsing, Ren had picked up a novel clearly aimed at a male audience. Though he couldn't get invested in the plot, every page he flipped to seemed to contain some new, absurd declaration, leaving him to wonder what on earth was going through the author's mind.
A corner of Lucifer's mouth twitched, her shoulders trembling as she fought to suppress a laugh. Whenever she became engrossed in her own book, a bored Ren would lean in close, pulling her into his side and softly reading a line from his. And every time, Lucifer would lose her composure.
"Lucifer…"
"How's the air in here?"
"It's fine. What could be wrong with the air in a bookstore? The smell of ink is a little strong, is all… Wait… what are you getting at?"
Ren wrapped an arm around Lucifer's waist, his lips brushing against her ear as he whispered, "Do I need to dispatch my men to replace all the air in Tokyo for you? My little queen~"
"Pfft… Hahahaha!"
The dam of her composure broke, and Lucifer erupted into laughter, slapping his arm playfully. "Who wrote this? Are they completely insane? Hahaha! Replace the air… for an entire city! Hahaha!"
Before she could finish, she heard Ren's low voice continue, "Have someone record my little queen's laughter. I want it broadcast across the entire world, every day, for twenty-seven hours a day. Everyone must know of my little queen's happiness."
Lucifer shot him a look, trying desperately to hold it in, but another wave of laughter burst forth. They were in a bookstore, a place that demanded quiet. Her previous giggles had been muffled, but this time, she truly couldn't contain it.
Watching Lucifer hug herself tightly, her body shaking as she tried to stifle her peals of laughter, Ren suddenly thought that buying one of these books just to tease his little queen was a rather brilliant idea. No… teasing anyone with these lines would be interesting.
"Little queen, you're toying with the five elements of my soul."
"Can you not hear the sound of this heart, beating like a thousand exploding suns? Can you not feel its rhythm, a velocity that surpasses the very speed of light?"
"Little queen, two bags of marinated chicken feet weigh more than you."
Lucifer was nearly delirious with laughter. "Stop, please stop!" she wheezed. "Who writes this stuff? It's incredible!"
Ren looked at her, her face flushed a deep red from the effort of holding back her mirth. He set the book down and gently rubbed her cheek with a smile. "Mm, it is quite amusing. You seem to like it a lot."
Lucifer considered this for a moment, then a grin spread across her face. "I like it, but it's clearly the work of a madman. Ren, it's fine for you to say these things as a joke, but please don't actually learn from it. It's so embarrassing."
"Eh? But it's fun."
"You, you, you…"
Lucifer glanced down at the book in her own hands before turning back to Ren. "You stubborn man, you won't listen to this Queen's words, but surely you'll listen to the child in my womb, even if it's only been seven days… Baby, scold this insufferable man for me! Pfft… no… what kind of a child would that even be?"
Ren tilted his head. "Lucifer, I have a feeling that if you actually said that, the child might be so mortified it would run out on its own on the eighth day."
"Pfft… I'm going to die! Don't say another word!"
Ren just smiled and shook his head. This little queen of his was truly something else. A moment later, however, Lucifer seemed to remember something and waved a dismissive hand. "Go buy your manga first. You can come back and keep me company later."
Ren nodded, placed the book back on the shelf, and walked away. After he was gone, Lucifer took a deep, steadying breath, then rubbed her cheeks. Good heavens, she had almost suffocated from holding in her laughter.
'Making a seven-day-old fetus curse someone… Pfft, this really isn't your ordinary novel. But why not? That's how human children are, but what about demons?'
Lucifer absentmindedly rubbed her stomach, lost in thought for a moment before turning back to her book. This time, however, she couldn't focus. Her mind was already wandering off to who-knows-where.
When Ren arrived at the manga section, he was slightly taken aback by the towering piles of new arrivals. It seemed a lot of series had released new volumes recently.
"Shizuka, find it yet?"
"No, there are too many new releases spread across several shelves. We'll have to look slowly…"
Hiratsuka Shizuka and Sengoku Chihiro had been searching for a while with no luck. Neither complained; they had come prepared for a long hunt.
Compared to the two of them, however, Ren was far more efficient. It took him almost no time at all to spot his target. Seeing the manga on the shelf, he nodded in satisfaction. Just as he reached out to grab it, another hand shot out from the side, aiming for the same volume.
Both Ren and the owner of the hand froze. They turned their heads in unison. Ren glanced down slightly, and their eyes met. He looked at the black-haired girl before him, momentarily stunned. He never would have expected a hot-blooded shounen manga like this to have such a reader.
A small smile touched his lips. He shifted aside and gestured politely. "You first."
The girl nodded, quickly took two copies from the shelf, and then handed one to Ren. He paused, then accepted it with a grateful smile. "Thank you. I'm surprised to see a girl reading this."
"Ah… um… Well! This manga… it looks pretty good."
Ren's smile widened. "Mm, it's definitely not bad, though it feels like it's about to end soon. Ah, it looks like your friend is looking for you. Well then, I'll be on my way."
Without waiting for a reply, Ren turned and left with his manga. The girl bit her lip, watching him go just as her "friend" walked over.
Sengoku Chihiro smiled obliviously. "Shizuka, you already found it? You should have said something."
Hiratsuka Shizuka bit her lip, glaring at Sengoku Chihiro. 'This moron Senpai,'she fumed internally.'Do you have any idea how rare an encounter straight out of a novel is?! Why did you have to show up right now!'
Sengoku Chihiro blinked, completely bewildered. "Hm? What's wrong, Shizuka?"
"You absolute idiot, Senpai!"
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