Yurine took a sip of her tea and shot a glance at the two who were still shaking hands. ( ﹁ ﹁ ) I thought you were just 'checking things out'? How did it turn into 'It's a pleasure to meet you' so quickly?

Ryohei released Lucoa's hand, his mind reeling. Her name is Lucoa, she says she used to be a god, she has heterochromia, and that absurdly lewd figure… So the world of Dragon Maid is part of this crossover, too!

"This is certainly a surprise," Ryohei said, a double meaning in his words as he sat down on the sofa and picked up the Crème Caramel that was clearly meant for him.

"What are you surprised about, Heian-kun?" Lucoa asked, gracefully taking a spoonful of her own unfinished dessert.

Yurine's eyebrow twitched. She's already calling him by his first name? She had started with 'Ryohei-kun'. This woman… Remembering how Lucoa had shamelessly bent over in front of Ryohei earlier, Yurine felt a flicker of anxiety, and a great deal of frustration. She shouldn't have helped him draw that magic circle. It felt like she had cuckolded herself. And recalling that Ryohei had said he had a "luck boost" today, her gaze fell upon him. …Men!

"The summoning circle was so weak, Jashin-chan was laughing at me," Ryohei explained. "I never expected to summon someone like you. It was truly unexpected." He looked at Jashin-chan.

"Tch! It was just a coincidence. That wasn't your own power!" she huffed. "With your strength, you'd be lucky to summon a low-level magical beast, let alone a real demon."

"True," Ryohei admitted, not bothered in the slightest. Summoning Lucoa was something he could brag about for the rest of his life. Wait, does this mean I've intercepted her before she meets Shota? he thought, his mind wandering to her antics in the anime. Hold on, what am I getting excited about?! His girlfriend was sitting right next to him. He felt a pang of guilt, but he couldn't deny that a deep, dark part of him was also very excited. He quickly took a few sips of tea to calm himself down.

"She calls you 'Subject'?" Lucoa asked, her gaze shifting between Ryohei and Jashin-chan. So Jashin-chan is the summoner… but Yurine is Jashin-chan's master. And the Minotaur girl seems to be unaffiliated with any of them.

"I summoned my subject, using a demon-summoning spell," Jashin-chan said proudly. "I don't know where it went wrong, but I ended up with a human."

"And I was summoned by Yurine…" she began, pointing a finger at her, but then froze, realizing her mistake. Her finger took a sharp, comical turn and pointed at the coffee table instead. That was close! I almost got it broken again! she thought, a wave of post-traumatic fear washing over her.

Lucoa just tilted her head, looking at Ryohei. "Why did you want to summon a demon, Heian-kun? Did you have a specific goal?"

"Nope, no goal. I was just curious and wanted to try it once," he replied casually.

"Eh? Is that so?" Lucoa was surprised. Just for fun? She had answered the summon on a whim as well. In a way, she felt they were quite compatible.

Meanwhile, Yurine squinted at Jashin-chan, her voice dripping with menace. "Jashin-chan, you pointed your finger at me again."

"I didn't!" Jashin-chan shot back, her face a mask of indignation. "Didn't you see my finger take a detour mid-way?!"

"Alright, Yurine," Ryohei interceded. "Let's forgive her this time, on account of her impressive mid-air finger-turn."

"Fine," Yurine said, her expression softening as she looked at Ryohei. "I'll let you off the hook this time, for Heian-kun's sake."

Jashin-chan let out a sigh of relief. That was too close. She quickly took a bite of her Crème Caramel to calm her nerves.

"This Crème Caramel and black tea are a perfect match," Minos commented, leaning back comfortably on the sofa, her mismatched-stocking-clad legs crossed.

"Lucoa-san, where are you staying now?" Ryohei asked, trying to keep his eyes on her face.

"Hmm, in another world," she replied. She finished her dessert and placed the empty ramekin on the table. "But I've been thinking of moving here recently. It's a bit of a hassle to keep going back and forth."

"You probably can't go back now, can you?" Jashin-chan chimed in, a hint of schadenfreude in her voice. Finally, someone else is in the same boat as me!

"No, I can go back," Lucoa said. To prove her point, she opened one of her eyes, and in the next instant, a circular portal to another dimension opened in the middle of the living room. The others were stunned by this casual display of immense power.

Yurine squinted at Lucoa for a few seconds, then turned to Jashin-chan. "So the reason you can't go back is just because you're weak. Look at her."

Jashin-chan looked as if she had been struck by lightning. "Don't try to shift the blame!" she shrieked. "And she's returning to another world, not the Demon World! The contract probably only applies to demons returning to the Demon World!"

"No, the contract applies to me, too," Lucoa said with a cheerful smile. "But a contract of this level is something I can simply ignore."

What a flex! Jashin-chan stared at her, her eyes turning into little dots. After a few seconds, she sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine. I'm just weak."

"Do you have a place to stay here, Lucoa-san?" Ryohei asked kindly. "If not, I can help you rent an apartment." As her technical summoner, he felt a certain responsibility.

"Eh? I can't stay here?" Lucoa asked, surprised.

"We don't have any spare rooms," Ryohei said with a shrug. "But next time I buy a house, I'll be sure to leave a room for you."

"I can sleep on the floor in your room!" she offered, puffing out her chest, which jiggled with the movement.

"No!" Yurine was the first to object, her face darkening.

"Ahem, I don't think that would be appropriate," Ryohei said, politely refusing.

"Ehh? A rejection!" Lucoa pouted. "Then when are you planning to buy a house, Heian-kun?"

"Well, that might take a while…"

And then, Lucoa waved her hand. A purple-black rift in space tore open in the living room. With a great "clatter," a huge pile of gold coins poured out, forming a small mountain on the floor.

"These gold coins should be convertible to money here," she said, patting her chest. "Use them to buy a house. There's more where that came from if it's not enough."

Ryohei stared at the mountain of gold in his living room, his mind completely blank for several seconds.

Did she… did she just drop a pile of gold? he thought, stunned. He never expected this. Is this the true power of my [Lucky] trait?

~~~

Get early access to 20+ advanced chapters on Patreon!

https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn

~~~

Every 5 new reviews = 1 extra chapters

Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter