Making lunch

In the original story, the identity of the devil Kobeni Higashiyama had contracted with remained unknown.

One theory was the Secret Devil, and another was the Illegal Devil, but there was no way to know for sure.

Asaba Kotone could also sense that Kobeni Higashiyama's presence was completely different from usual.

But the next moment, when Kobeni Higashiyama saw that Asaba Kotone was unharmed, she instinctively released the "weapon" in her hand, which had already turned into a foam rod. Her demeanor returned to its usual timid state.

"Th-thank goodness..."

Kobeni Higashiyama looked close to tears of joy, rubbing her reddened eyes as relief washed over her.

"Sorry for worrying you."

Asaba Kotone more or less understood that Kobeni's mysterious power had erupted because she was worried about him, and he couldn't help feeling touched.

Still, Kobeni had just used that power, yet she didn't seem to have paid any price.

Nor was she like Himeno, who had lost an eye the moment she made her contract.

From what Asaba Kotone remembered of the original story, he could roughly infer the terms of Himeno's contract with the Ghost Devil. In exchange for her right eye, Himeno could use the Ghost Devil's right hand without any further payment. If she wanted to use its full power, she had to offer more.

Then there was Aki Hayakawa's arrangement. He had paid nothing when making the contract, but each time he used the Fox Devil's power, he had to offer some of his flesh or hair.

But Kobeni Higashiyama's case matched neither Himeno's nor Aki Hayakawa's. She wasn't missing any body parts like Himeno, and she didn't seem to pay a price each time she used her power like Aki Hayakawa did.

Perhaps it was like Aki Hayakawa's contract with the Future Devil. By letting the Future Devil live in his eye, he could use its power without paying anything else.

Kobeni Higashiyama might have had a similar arrangement, letting some devil live inside her body in exchange for freely using its power.

But that was only Asaba Kotone's guess, and it wasn't necessarily right. After all, the price of a contract depended entirely on the devil's mood. If it was in a good mood, any bizarre, trivial payment might suffice.

Although Asaba Kotone was curious about which devil Kobeni Higashiyama had contracted with, prying into someone else's secrets wasn't very nice. (Actually, this author didn't dare make something up, for fear of getting blindsided by Fujimoto...)

The appearance of the maze devil had caused numerous casualties, so the amusement park shut down immediately and fully refunded the admission fees of visitors who were still there.

It would probably also have to take responsibility for the visitors who had been killed, injured, or frightened, but Asaba Kotone didn't look into the details.

He had already left the amusement park with Pochita, and Kobeni Higashiyama had gone home as well.

As for the maze devil's corpse, it was nothing more than a heart, which Asaba Kotone had placed in the Kamui Dimension.

Before going home, he stopped by the Black Market.

The Black Market's staff had only just heard about the maze devil appearing at the amusement park when Asaba Kotone brought its corpse in to sell.

He received five hundred thousand yen for it. After all, the maze devil's corpse consisted of only that one heart, and small corpses generally weren't worth much.

Without the Gun Devil's flesh fragment, the maze devil wouldn't have been that powerful.

As for that fragment of the Gun Devil's flesh, Asaba Kotone had no intention of handing it over to Chiba Public Safety or Tokyo Public Safety for now.

He would be joining Tokyo Public Safety sooner or later anyway, so he might as well keep it for now. With it stored in the Kamui Dimension, no one would know he was holding a fragment of the Gun Devil's flesh without authorization.

Over the weekend, Asaba Kotone took Pochita to an arcade and a burger joint to eat and have fun.

[Pochita's affection +5%]

[Pochita's affection +5%]

[Pochita's affection progress has reached 60%. Achievement reward obtained: constitution +1]

Pochita's affection had increased on both days. It wasn't because Pochita particularly loved burgers or games; the main reason was that Asaba Kotone had been there enjoying them together.

Of course, they didn't encounter any more devils that weekend.

He wasn't some elementary-school Grim Reaper who ran into trouble wherever he went.

Sunday evening.

Asaba Kotone made a point of calling Denji to check on how he had been doing lately, only hanging up after confirming that everything was all right.

Monday.

When he got up that morning, Asaba Kotone remembered to bring the ingredients and cooking utensils to school.

Normal classes had resumed, and the matters involving Gotō Iwen and the Jealousy Devil had largely been dealt with.

Asaba Kotone had Pochita stay in the Kamui Dimension as usual, and stored the ingredients and utensils there as well.

After arriving at school, he first visited the Reading Club's clubroom, then took out the ingredients and utensils and put them in place.

The morning classes were as easy as ever for Asaba Kotone. During every break, several classmates came over to chat with him, either praising him or thanking him.

Clearly, this was because of the recent Jealousy Devil incident. If he hadn't stepped in then, the school would probably have suffered heavy casualties.

Although Gotō Iwen might not have been exploited by the Jealousy Devil if he hadn't come to this school, as long as the Jealousy Devil was there, something would have happened sooner or later.

After the fourth period ended at noon, Asaba Kotone went to the clubroom with Kobeni Higashiyama.

Of course, Kobeni Higashiyama remembered their agreement. She was going to cook lunch herself for both her and Asaba.

She had even spent the weekend preparing thoroughly for it, learning every dish she could and refreshing her memory of the dishes she already knew how to make.

Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to practice at home. She wouldn't dare help herself to the ingredients there, so she was a little anxious today.

After all, Kobeni Higashiyama couldn't display her astonishing skills whenever she pleased. They only came out under extreme circumstances.

In her current nervous, slightly panicked state, she was actually more likely to make mistakes.

Cooking for Asaba... Isn't this just like being newlyweds?! The thought suddenly struck Kobeni Higashiyama.

At that thought, her hand trembled, and she nearly cut her finger while chopping vegetables.

Asaba Kotone was a little worried, but he said nothing about it.

Knowing that he was the reason Kobeni Higashiyama was so nervous, he told her, "I'm going to step outside for a bit. Take your time. There's no rush."

Sure enough, once Asaba Kotone went outside, Kobeni Higashiyama's nerves settled a little.

She also reined in the wild thoughts running through her head, so at least she stopped making basic mistakes.

After quite a while, Kobeni Higashiyama managed to finish cooking. She tasted a small bite herself and thought it was passable, though hardly delicious.

Worried about whether it would suit Asaba's tastes, she stepped out of the clubroom to look for him.

But when she opened the door, she found not Asaba, but a girl in a middle-school uniform with two clips in her hair. Her features bore some resemblance to Kobeni's, and a friendly smile lit up her face.

"Kobeni, I heard you have a boyfriend?"