When Shin returned home, he happened to see Gabriel stepping out of the house.

She had already changed back into casual clothes—clearly, her maid duties for the day were over. Even though Shin hadn't eaten at home tonight, Gabriel's maid work still proceeded as usual.

"Where'd you run off to tonight?"

Running into Shin at the door, Gabriel couldn't help but ask curiously. She even leaned in to sniff him, as if trying to detect something.

Unfortunately, Gabriel was an angel, and a keen sense of smell wasn't one of her strengths. No matter how much she sniffed, she couldn't pick up anything.

If it had been Tohru, though, she probably would've caught the mixed scents of several different girls on Shin—after all, he'd hugged every member of Kessoku Band earlier.

"Are you a dog or something?"

Shin smacked Gabriel's head in annoyance—despite being a high schooler, her height was more akin to a middle schooler's.

Maybe it was due to poor nutrition in Heaven, leaving angels underdeveloped, or perhaps some other reason.

Then again, it might just be the original art style's fault—the pre-isekai manga artist probably drew Gabriel and the others deliberately short and cute.

"Ow."

Gabriel rubbed her head. Even though Shin had only used an ordinary person's strength, given his Saiyan physique, it still hurt more than a normal slap would.

She glared at him unhappily and couldn't resist complaining:

"I've been working as a maid all day, and you can't even be a little nicer to me?"

"If I'm too nice, you'll just take advantage of it, won't you?"

Shin smirked at her disgruntled expression.

He knew exactly what would happen if he spoiled Gabriel—just look at what she'd put Vignette through. If Shin hadn't awakened Vignette's Stand, giving her the power to finally keep Gabriel in check, poor Vigne would've been tormented endlessly.

That's why Shin had to be firm with Gabriel. If he gave her an inch, she'd take a mile.

This was also why he still hadn't awakened Gabriel's Stand—he wanted to keep her motivated to serve him diligently in exchange for that goal.

"But speaking of being tired..."

Shin looked at Gabriel's sulky face and, for some reason, was reminded of Kessoku Band earlier.

After their performance, they'd been exhausted too, and they'd all hugged him to relieve their fatigue.

Thinking of this, Shin grinned and stretched out his arms toward Gabriel.

"How about a hug to recharge?"

"Hah? Are you joking?"

Sure enough, Gabriel rolled her eyes at him—since when could a hug relieve exhaustion?

Sure, some cheesy motivational quotes might claim so, but Gabriel wasn't the type of girl to fall for that nonsense.

She'd already been thoroughly corrupted by online games—now, she was a full-fledged shut-in who could only relax through gaming.

Still, despite her words, Gabriel huffed and stepped forward into Shin's arms, burying herself against him for a moment.

After a while, she finally pulled away, her face completely red, and barked at him:

"There! Happy now? I'm going home!"

Shin chuckled and shook his head—of course, Gabriel wasn't as emotionally driven as Kessoku Band.

After saying goodbye to her, Shin stepped inside, leaving Gabriel standing at the gate.

She watched his retreating figure, then subconsciously lifted her arm and sniffed at her own sleeve—as if trying to catch any lingering scent from their hug.

But she immediately realized what she was doing and shook her head violently.

"No! What am I doing?! How could hugging that guy actually relieve fatigue?!"

Grumbling, Gabriel stomped off, ready to go home and game.

With Vignette now enforcing a strict "sleep schedule" and "gaming equipment" balance, Gabriel only had a few hours of playtime left each night.

So she had to make every second count.

...

"Shin... you've set a new record today."

The moment Shin stepped inside, he was greeted by Tohru's visibly displeased expression.

Unlike Gabriel, Tohru had instantly detected the number of different feminine scents clinging to him.

"Seven different girls."

"Seven?"

Shin blinked, mentally reviewing the girls he'd been in close contact with today—Kessoku Band and Kato Megumi made five at most, right?

Oh, wait—he'd also been sandwiched between Utaha and Eriri this morning. Had Tohru really picked up scents from that long ago?

"Heheh, I memorize Shin's scent every morning. So whenever he comes home, I can tell exactly who's been near him."

Noticing Shin's expression, Tohru puffed up proudly, looking immensely pleased with herself.

"That's not exactly something to brag about..."

Shin couldn't help but retort—who in their right mind memorized someone's scent like that?

But considering Tohru was a dragon, and her personality did lean a bit toward the obsessive... this kind of behavior fit her character perfectly.

"Ugh, no—I can't stand it! The thought of so many girls getting so close to Shin is pissing me off!"

The more she smelled the lingering scents, the more irritated Tohru became.

Even though she'd accepted that Shin had relationships with multiple girls, her mood still soured over things like this.

So she grabbed Shin's hand and began dragging him toward the bathroom, declaring:

"Shin! You must be exhausted after running around all day. Let me bathe you!"

It sounded like a maid dutifully tending to her master's hygiene, but Shin knew better—Tohru just wanted to wash away the traces of other girls.

And maybe mark him with her own scent in the process.

Shin didn't resist and let her lead him to the bath.

Meanwhile, from around the corner, a small head peeked out.

"Tohre-nee is hogging Papa again..."

Illya's face was tinged with worry—even though she was just an elementary schooler, she seemed to have a good idea of what was about to happen in that bathroom.

"I guess I'll have to encourage Mama to step up her game. Can't let Papa get stolen away..."

To be continued…

Advance 100 Chapters are up on my Patreon!

pat reon.com/AlphaSenatus