"Medusa-san, please, come in."

After Minos entered, Ryohei gave a warm welcome to the girl still standing at the door, acting every bit the part of the man of the house.

"Hai!"

"I brought this special 'Undying Sweets' cake from the Demon World," Medusa said, offering him a cake box with both hands. It was a visitor's gift. The box was decorated with a peculiar logo: an illustration of a little girl licking her lips as an axe was buried in her head, with blood trickling down her cheek. It was certainly unique.

"A cake from the Demon World?" Ryohei accepted it with interest. He recognized the design; it had appeared several times in the anime. It was a parody of the real-life Japanese confectionery, Fujiya, and its famous Peko-chan mascot. Since it was from the Demon World, he definitely had to try it.

As Medusa leaned forward to untie the laces on her golden, open-work boots, her slender body bending into a graceful curve, Ryohei politely averted his gaze. "Medusa-san, you can take the paper bag off your head."

"Eh, is that okay?" Medusa asked, surprised. She looked up in his direction, her leg now free from one of the boots. "Ordinary humans are turned to stone if they see my eyes…"

"It's alright. I have this anti-petrification bracelet from Yurine," Ryohei said, casually shaking his left wrist. And even if he did get petrified, the effect was temporary. It wasn't permanent.

Medusa was tempted. Wearing a paper bag over her head was truly inconvenient and uncomfortable.

"Okay, then I'll take it off," she said, and gently removed the bag. She closed her eyes and shook her head, her medium-length purple hair swaying as if savoring the freedom. Then, she slowly opened her enchanting purple eyes and looked at Ryohei with a mixture of nervousness and curiosity.

It's okay! He wasn't turned to stone! Seeing him still standing, Medusa placed a hand on her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

Kawaii! Ryohei thought with silent admiration. Medusa was incredibly cute. She had delicate features, fair skin, and large, bright eyes with long lashes. A pair of golden, triangular earrings hung from her ears, and a golden hairpin shaped like a cartoon snake was clipped in her hair, from which a single, playful cowlick stuck out. But what was most captivating was her pure and innocent aura. She was just super cute.

"Ahem. Back with us, Ryohei-kun?"

Yurine, having folded their futons and tidied up the living room, had walked over. She gave Ryohei a pointed look and cleared her throat.

For some reason, Ryohei felt a pang of guilt, as if his girlfriend had just caught him checking out another girl. Then he remembered—he didn't have a girlfriend.

"I wasn't spacing out," he explained, to clear his name. He then glanced down at the bracelet on his wrist. This thing actually works! He remembered Yurine had just picked it up from a random street stall in Akihabara. He never thought it would actually prevent petrification.

"Medusa, you're here," Yurine said, ignoring Ryohei's excuse and greeting Medusa familiarly. Her gaze then shifted to Minos, lingering for a moment on her chest. Then she looked at her horns, her tail, and her shirt. A single thought popped into her head.

A dairy cow…?

"Yurine-san," Medusa replied politely, her voice soft and gentle, like a spring breeze. "This is my and Jashin-chan's friend—Minos. The three of us are childhood friends."

Meanwhile, Minos was sizing up Yurine with a puzzled expression. She doesn't look that strong. Just an ordinary human girl. How could Jashin-chan lose to her? Was she holding back? But that doesn't seem right. I heard she gets brutally punished every time she tries to kill her summoner. And Jashin-chan isn't a masochist… Minos couldn't figure it out.

"Hello, I'm Yurine," Yurine said politely. A guest was a guest. Of course, if this guest tried to help Jashin-chan attack her, she wouldn't show any mercy.

"Hi, I'm Minos," she replied just as politely. She then put her hands on her hips and looked around the living room. "So where's Jashin-chan? It's pretty rude of her to call me all the way over here and then not even be here to greet me!"

"Jashin-chan tried to ambush Yurine in the middle of the night, got counter-attacked, and is still regenerating," Ryohei explained, placing the 'Undying Sweets' cake on the low table and checking the time on his phone.

Minos and Medusa both froze.

"...How lame," Minos finally said, unable to hold it in, her expression complicated. "Trying to ambush a human in the middle of the night, and she still got counter-attacked…" What a disgrace to all demons! I don't know her! Minos felt a wave of second-hand embarrassment.

Medusa, by contrast, just looked worried. "Jashin-chan…" she murmured. "Um, where is she…?"

"In the bedroom," Yurine answered, knowing what she wanted to ask.

"Jashin-chan…!" Medusa immediately ran, barefoot, toward the bedroom.

Yurine glanced at Minos. Seeing that she had no intention of avenging her friend, she said politely, "Please, have a seat."

"Okay." Minos was seated in the living room. Ryohei went to cut the cake, while Yurine went to the kitchen to brew some black tea.

"Cake is served," Ryohei announced. When he came out, he saw Minos standing at the bedroom door, looking in with a disgusted expression on her face. Hearing his voice, she immediately abandoned Jashin-chan and came over, not forgetting to call out, "Medusa, come and have some cake!"

"I want some too!" Jashin-chan's weak voice called out from the bedroom.

There was, of course, no cake for Jashin-chan. Medusa had brought a 6-inch strawberry cream cake. Ryohei had already divided it into four equal pieces. Medusa, seeing this, was about to take her piece to Jashin-chan.

"Medusa, you spoil her too much," Yurine said with a sigh as she brought out the tea, knowing exactly what Medusa was planning.

"Exactly," Minos added, sitting cross-legged on the floor. "It's because you always spoil her that she's become more and more of a scumbag."

"Eh? I-Is it my fault?" Medusa looked flustered.

"Hey! What are you two trying to teach Medusa! Don't corrupt her!" Jashin-chan yelled from the bedroom. She was immediately silenced after Yurine paid her a brief visit.

Ryohei sat down across from Minos and took a bite of the 'Undying Sweets' cake. The sweet, delicious flavor filled his mouth. "This cake is really good," he said, impressed. "The sponge is so soft and fluffy, with a light egg fragrance. The cream is as light as a cloud and melts on the tongue, releasing a rich, milky flavor that's perfectly sweet without being cloying. And the fresh strawberries add a wonderful, tart fruitiness."

"You sound like one of the food critics from the Demon World," Minos said, surprised, her eyes lingering for a second on Ryohei's mouth. "You're just missing the mustache."

"...Do you have some weird stereotype about food critics?" Ryohei couldn't help but ask. "I'm a chef, so I guess that makes me half a food critic."

"Oh!" Minos said, as if she had just had a great revelation.

"By the way, the human world has really changed. It totally shocked me!" Minos began to chatter away, waving her hands. "The last time I was here, humans were still wearing armor and hacking at each other, and the buildings weren't nearly this tall…"

"That's because you rarely come to the human world, Minos," Medusa said with a pure smile.

"When was the last time you visited?" Ryohei joked, then added with a hint of envy, "I really envy you demons. Your lifespans are so long, centuries can pass in the blink of an eye." He wasn't a social butterfly, but he was so familiar with all the demons in the room from the anime that he didn't feel any sense of distance from them.

"Of course!" Hearing him say he was envious, Minos's tail began to wag happily. "Demons naturally live for a long time, and the higher-ranking the demon, the longer they live. Not like you humans, who barely make it a hundred years."

"But I have to admit, your bustling city really shocked me," she continued. "By the way, what do you think of my outfit? I bought it in Harajuku." She stood up and struck several poses, showing off her fashion sense from all angles.

"It looks great! You have great taste, and it's very unique!" Ryohei said, his eyes drawn to her wonderful figure and the very prominent "BEEF 100%" logo. He gave her an enthusiastic, triple-compliment thumbs-up.

"Haha, you think so? I put it together myself. You're a pretty good guy. Good taste, and you know how to give a compliment," she said, her tail wagging.

"..."

Yurine, listening to their conversation, silently lifted her teacup and took a delicate sip, shooting a glance at Ryohei. I didn't know Ryohei-kun was so talkative.

A sliver of displeasure pricked at her heart. She didn't think she was showing it, but the blacker-than-black dark spiritual aura that was backstabbing her said otherwise. It filled half the living room, an oppressive presence that seemed to want to swallow everything.

Medusa, who was happily enjoying her cake, shivered, a small piece of cake falling from her fork. She looked up, startled.

Minos, who was standing cheerfully on the tatami, also went rigid, turning around in disbelief. I-Incredible! This girl's aura is stronger than a high-ranking demon's! No wonder Jashin-chan can't win! In the span of ten short minutes, she had gone from doubting Jashin-chan to completely understanding her. But is she really human? Minos began to have serious doubts. What just happened? Why did she suddenly get like this?

In the bedroom, Jashin-chan, who had been listening to the cheerful laughter from the living room and gritting her teeth, suddenly felt a familiar pressure and paused. Huh? What's going on?

Ryohei couldn't see the dark aura, but he felt Yurine's gaze on him. He instinctively looked over and realized the problem: he had been chatting a little too enthusiastically with Minos. Not good! He had enough emotional intelligence to know that this was a surefire way to lose affection points with Yurine, who he felt had a pretty good impression of him.

Just as he was trying to figure out how to salvage the situation, Yurine tilted her head curiously—a movement that caused the dark aura to vanish. "What's wrong?" she asked, confused. "Why are you all suddenly staring at me? Do I have cream on my face?" She even touched the corner of her mouth.

"It's nothing. I just have a feeling that you're very strong, Yurine-chan," Minos, who had suddenly become much more reserved, said as she returned to her seat and took a sip of tea to calm her nerves. That had scared the horns right off her.

Yurine: "?"

"Speaking of fashion, I think your outfits are always really cute, Yurine!" Ryohei smoothly pivoted, trying to shift the focus onto her. It wasn't a lie; he really did think her clothes were cute, even the pajamas she was wearing now, with all their frills and ribbons.

Yurine's mood +1. She gave him a look that said, You have good taste. "I like cute clothes, so that's what I usually buy," she said. "But isn't it a little strange for a guy like you to be talking to us about these things, Ryohei-kun?" she teased.

"What's so strange about it? We're just talking about fashion."

Ryohei skillfully included Yurine in the conversation. Minos gradually returned to her talkative self, and Jashin-chan, in her room, returned to her teeth-gritting state. Time passed, and it was soon past ten o'clock.

Ryohei stood up from the table, full of energy. "Alright, it's about time I started preparing lunch."

"Even though we had a nice chat, don't expect to win me over with just one meal," Minos said, looking up at him with her arms crossed over her ample chest. "I'm not a gluttonous demon. And I've eaten plenty of good food in my time."

Ryohei just smiled. "I will win you over."

Medusa looked between the two of them, a strange feeling of excitement bubbling up inside her. Why do I want to cheer for the human?

Yurine just looked at Minos's chest and said nothing.