Chapter 423: Gabriel: The Fun Times Are About to Begin (Patreon)

The blow to her weight hadn't made Raphiel give up on her hunt for entertainment. If anything, it only convinced her more firmly that the one cure for her wounded heart was letting Gabriel hear the recording of Jhin's chat from yesterday. Her dedication earned a silent thumbs-up from a certain god of amusement.

To keep things from dragging on and going wrong, she'd arranged to meet Gabriel early today. She'd even taken the day off school to make sure she had plenty of time for fun.

"Ding-dong."

Hearing the doorbell, Gabriel reluctantly got up to answer it. She knew it was Raphiel. She'd never have wasted her game time on meeting her, but Raphiel had offered sweets specially made at Jhin's café as the price.

So she'd grudgingly accepted the "kind offer," with no idea that the food at the café was free for both of them anyway.

She yanked the door open impatiently and turned around and headed straight back into the room. "Don't forget, you promised to treat me to food at Jhin's place afterward, okay?"

"Hm?" Jhin stood in the doorway, puzzled. "Who's treating who?"

"Y-you? Why are you here?" Gabriel never would have guessed that Jhin would turn up on her doorstep.

Was this part of Raphiel's prank? Did that mean the promised sweets were a lie too?

Raphiel, you pathological liar!!!

"Achoo!" Raphiel, still on her way, sneezed for no reason at all. She blinked in confusion. "Don't tell me I've caught a cold too?"

"Can't I come over?"

"O-of course you can! Vigne helped me clean up last week, so the room isn't that messy yet. Since you're here, you can keep me company with a game."

Jhin let Gabriel pull him down to sit. Once she'd fished out the controllers, he asked her lazily, "If I remember right, today's Tuesday, isn't it?"

Gabriel, who'd been so eager a moment ago, froze on the spot, the controller cable halfway to the port, unable to decide whether to plug it in or not. With Jhin not around to keep an eye on her, and busy at the café and unable to prepare the daily bento he'd promised, she'd simply skipped school and holed up at home, gaming nonstop. His earlier warning hadn't even crossed her mind.

Now that he'd tracked her down, she finally realized she was in serious trouble. She wanted to use her divine magic to teleport straight to Vignette's house and hide out, but after a moment's thought she dropped the naive, stupid idea.

Never mind whether Vignette would sell her out afterward. She only had a handful of hiding places, and Jhin would find her sooner or later by checking them one by one.

Rather than flee like a guilty party and make her punishment worse, it was better to lie down and accept her fate. No matter how cruel he got, he'd go easier on her out of respect for their friendship.

W-worst case, I'll put on the maid outfit this time and let him touch my legs. It's not like I'd lose a piece of flesh.

Plotting to seduce him with her good looks, Gabriel flopped flat onto the floor and declared bluntly, "I was wrong! Skipping school all this time was my fault. But you didn't make my daily bento either, so you're partly responsible too!"

Jhin knew full well that he hadn't cooked for her as promised during this stretch, so he hadn't come to blame her. He was just surprised at how quickly she'd caved. He'd expected to have to haggle with this stubborn tsundere angel for ages before she admitted fault.

He walked over, helped her up, then picked up the comb lying carelessly on the floor, sat down, and started combing her hair.

Gabriel went completely blank.

Am I dreaming? He's not giving me a hard time, and he's combing my hair instead?

"Ow." When the comb snagged on a tangled knot and the pain made her gasp, she finally realized she wasn't dreaming. That only made her more uneasy. She'd heard the phrase "the calm before the storm," so she asked in a trembling voice, "Mr. Jhin, is there something else I did to make you mad?"

Her reaction amused him. He gently worked the knotted strands loose with his fingers as he combed. "Relax. I know I'm partly to blame for you not going to school lately, so I won't scold you for no reason. Your hair was just such a mess that I wanted to tidy it up for you."

Gabriel's attitude changed like the weather. The moment she knew she was safe, she crossed her legs and propped her cheek on her hand, glaring. "What the… then why didn't you say so? Is scaring me fun for you?"

"It's pretty entertaining, actually."

"You!"

"Hey, I'm combing your hair here. Don't wiggle around. If it snags on another knot, you'll be the one who suffers."

"Okay…" Gabriel obediently stopped moving. For some reason, ever since Jhin got back from his business trip, there had been a scent about him that felt very familiar to her. If she paid close attention, it was almost as if her own aura had been smeared onto him.

It left her both embarrassed and delighted. This way, if he ran into angels from other regions outside, they'd know right away that this rascal was her bosom friend, and it would serve as a warning to any demons too.

Anyone who dares prank this guy had better watch out for Heaven's former valedictorian!

Thinking of that, Gabriel happily began humming a tune. Listen closely, and it was none other than Kessoku Band's "If I Could Be a Constellation."

It took a while to untangle her knotted golden hair. Only then did Jhin properly start combing. He had to admit angels were amazing. Even with hair she clearly hadn't looked after, it was still smooth and glossy, and a couple of light strokes made it shine.

He didn't comb it perfectly flat, though. A few stray tips sticking up at the edges were what made it look like Gabriel's hair.

"Okay, all done. Want to go look in the mirror?"

"I'll give you credit for your skills, you jerk. No need." She touched the tips of her ears, which had turned a bit hot, then picked up a controller from the floor, plugged in the cable, and handed it to him. "So, do I have to go to school like normal tomorrow?"

Jhin took the controller with a helpless smile. "You were supposed to go to school like normal all along, weren't you?"

"School is just a waste of my gaming time. As an angel, I should be in Another World saving people from their suffering!"

She spouted these unreasonable excuses as she plopped down into Jhin's lap, rubbed her little head against him twice to find a comfortable spot to lean, and patted his thigh with her small, pale hand. "Hurry up and pick a game. Since you came all the way here, that means you're planning to spend the whole day with me, right?"

"I only have the morning. I've got things to do this afternoon."

"Are you really that busy lately?"

"Just for this stretch."

"Then let's not waste any time."

A pleasant scent, a warm embrace to lean against, the cheerful sounds of a game, and a little bit of affection that even Gabriel herself hadn't noticed all came together into happy hours that she sank blissfully into.

"Ding-dong."

Raphiel pressed the doorbell. She was determined to heal her wounded heart at Gabriel's place.