Delivery Turmoil

By the time Aozaki Aoko woke again, the lights outside had already begun to glow. She stared blankly at the deep night sky beyond the window. Amid the leaden clouds, a single star struggled to give off its faint, insignificant light.

"Hiss—"

It felt as though someone had split her head open with an axe. Aozaki Aoko sucked in a sharp breath. Not only her head, but her entire body seemed disconnected from her soul, unexpectedly heavy.

She tried to swallow some saliva to moisten her parched throat, but it felt like swallowing razor blades. Even so, she forced it down.

"You're awake. You look pretty good."

A cup of warm black tea, wisps of steam rising from it, was held out before her. Aozaki Aoko was about to thank him out of habit when she caught sight of Michael's gloating smile.

Which eye of yours says I look pretty good?!

Roaring inwardly, she hesitated slightly before taking the warm tea and sipping it gently. As the warm liquid slid down her throat and into her stomach, her headache unexpectedly eased considerably. Even her body became more nimble, free of that sluggish, heavy feeling.

But this taste... was this really black tea?

"I added some sugar cubes. They say sweet things can make people feel happy."

As if he knew what Aozaki Aoko was thinking, Michael said with a smile. They said one should not strike a smiling face, but why was the smile on his face so irritating?

Aozaki Aoko shook her head lightly, driving those thoughts from her mind, then struggled out of bed. But she quickly realized she was wearing her usual pajamas.

"It wasn't me. Alice changed you."

As though he had once again seen through her thoughts, Michael explained.

"How do you know what I'm thinking?"

Doing her best to suppress the anger rising within her again, Aozaki Aoko asked casually.

Could it be mind-reading magecraft?

"Classmate Aozaki, every thought in your heart is written all over your face. There is no need for mind-reading magecraft."

Michael could not help sighing. Compared to the old foxes he had encountered before, Aozaki Aoko was a pure little white rabbit. Even Alice Kuonji next door was the same.

"Whew—"

Aozaki Aoko drew a deep breath, then flashed a charming smile. Michael caught the scent of danger and abruptly leaned back. A pale, delicate fist swept past right before his eyes.

She had clearly missed, and she tumbled right off the bed. Fortunately, the floor was covered in a soft carpet, so it only hurt a little.

"Seeing you so full of energy puts my mind at ease."

Michael headed toward the bedroom door. Just as he was about to leave, he stopped and revealed a devilish smile. "Then doubling tomorrow's training workload should be fine too, right?"

At that moment, Alice Kuonji was considering what to eat that evening. She examined the several cards laid out before her, hesitating over which restaurant's ordering number to call.

After hesitating for a long while, she finally made up her mind. Picking up the receiver, she swiftly pressed a string of numbers.

Clearly, Alice Kuonji and Aozaki Aoko were already familiar customers to the restaurant on the other end. The owner even remembered their preferences perfectly.

"Two bowls of kitsune udon again?"

The owner's muffled voice came through the receiver. Alice Kuonji instinctively gave an "Mm," but quickly remembered something.

"Add one more bowl of kitsune udon."

Waiting for delivery was agonizingly long, with every second feeling like a year, especially when one was starving. But amid everyone's eager anticipation, the faint sound of a bicycle finally came from outside the mansion.

However, a cry of alarm soon shattered the quiet outside. Not long afterward, the mansion's doorbell rang.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

The person in the teddy bear costume bowed deeply, apologizing with complete sincerity. From the rich scent of kitsune udon clinging to him alone, Michael could imagine what had happened. He could probably even write a short story tens of thousands of words long about it.

There was a patch of frozen ground on the road outside. It seemed a water pipe from one of the houses had burst from freezing during the winter. Although the pipe had been repaired promptly, the wet ground was not so easily dried. Naturally, it had frozen over during the night.

This unlucky deliveryman had failed to notice the icy patch and gone sprawling. The kitsune udon everyone had been eagerly awaiting had spilled all over the ground.

Alice Kuonji raised an eyebrow slightly. Though she said nothing, she was still quite displeased inside. Her face, however, remained as expressionless as ever.

Seeing the calm on Alice Kuonji's face, the deliveryman grew even more terrified. He apologized repeatedly, his head nearly lowered to the ground.

Aozaki Aoko came over as well. Having only just climbed out of bed, her stomach was growling with hunger. But seeing how sincerely he was apologizing, she could not say anything too harsh. She could only sigh softly and rub her empty stomach.

Still, this deliveryman's voice sounded strangely familiar...

"So this is Classmate Aozaki's home?"

The deliveryman removed the cute teddy bear mascot head, revealing a plain and somewhat dull-looking face. Aozaki Aoko had certainly seen that face before, and was even fairly familiar with it. After all, he was one of the two transfer students, and because of him, Teacher Yamashiro had ruined her wonderful holiday.

"Eh—Classmate Michael lives here too?"

Shizuki Soujuro looked toward Michael with mild surprise. Though he too had transferred in only recently, his good-natured personality had left quite an impression on many classmates, allowing him to blend perfectly into the new class.

Through the chatter of his new friends, he had naturally heard about the Demon President's rumored boyfriend. Although everyone had spoken as if it were true, he had not really believed it—until this moment...

"All right, Classmate Shizuki, you can leave now. If you dare tell anyone, I'll call the manager and tell him you spilled the delivery."

The moment she saw Shizuki Soujuro's expression, Aozaki Aoko immediately knew what he was thinking. Though she wore a cheerful smile, she gave off the feeling of, If you tell anyone, I'll kill you to keep you quiet.

And as the student council president, she had information on every student. Shizuki Soujuro was in financial difficulty and worked several jobs. If she told his manager that he had spilled the delivery, he would definitely have some pay deducted.

Aozaki Aoko shut the door impatiently, then felt a resentful gaze fixed on her back. Slowly turning around, she saw Alice Kuonji's calm face.

"Haha... Alice... hahahaha..."

Aozaki Aoko let out a dry laugh, then scratched her head awkwardly. Though both of them were similarly expressionless, after living together day and night for the past two years, she could still notice the subtle changes in Alice Kuonji's expression when she was in different moods.

For example, Alice Kuonji was very dangerous right now.

"Fine. I'll order tonight's delivery."

Alice Kuonji's expression did not change in the slightest.

"I'll order tomorrow's delivery too."

Aozaki Aoko sighed softly, her heart aching over the money she was about to spend.