The sports car slid back into the flow of night traffic.

Inside, it was just the two of them.

Emilia leaned against the passenger seat, a soft smile on her face as she watched the lights of the city blur past the window.

"Rika's honestly super cheerful. And she really knows how to take care of people," she said quietly. "Being with her just feels… easy. Relaxing. Fun."

Her mind drifted back to Ente Isla, where her companions were usually people like Emeralda—calm, dependable—or Albert—loyal and upright to a fault. But someone like Suzuki Rika? Bright, carefree, with that real everyday charm? Totally new for her.

"Yeah," Rei Ao nodded, grinning. "She's a fun one, that's for sure."

"She's got the gift of gab, lively personality, knows how to read the room… and she's amazing at keeping the mood light."

"When she's around, time just flies."

Emilia's smile faltered slightly.

She turned her head, her gaze settling on Rei Ao's sharp profile.

There was a glimmer of curiosity—and maybe just the tiniest hint of jealousy—in her clear, gem-like eyes.

"You… kinda like her, don't you? Wait—don't tell me you've got a crush on Rika?"

Rei Ao didn't deny it.

Instead, he tilted his head slightly, pinching his chin like he was genuinely thinking it over. A teasing gleam lit up his dark eyes.

"Hmm… Rika-san is cute. Great personality. Full of energy…"

"Rei Ao!"

Emilia practically exploded, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Her cheeks puffed out in a full-on pout, all that earlier gentle sweetness gone in a flash.

She reached over and twisted his arm.

"You shameless flirt! I knew it—eating what's in your bowl while staring at someone else's plate! You—mmph—!"

Her rant was cut off mid-sentence by a surprise kiss.

Right as they hit a red light, Rei Ao leaned over and kissed her—quick but intense, full of boldness and unmistakable possessiveness.

"Dummy," he murmured. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs noⅴelfire.net

The light turned green.

He let her go and restarted the car, his tone relaxed, playful, and warm.

"No matter how fun or cute she is, she's just a friend."

With one hand on the wheel, he reached over and laced his fingers with hers, gently rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

"I hang out with her because you like her. Because she makes you happy. That's it."

Emilia sat there dazed, still reeling from the kiss and those blunt, sweet words. Whatever jealousy she felt just melted away, replaced by a warm, giddy kind of embarrassment.

Blushing hard, she mumbled, "Hmph… who knows if you're telling the truth, you two-timing flirt…"

Rei Ao just laughed and didn't tease her anymore.

Instead, he smoothly shifted gears. "Alright, time to get serious. I'm taking you to meet a few people."

"People?" Emilia blinked. "Who?"

"You'll see when we get there," he said with a smirk.

He stepped on the gas.

The engine let out a deep purr as the car sped off toward another part of the city.

…

It was late now.

Sasazuka was an old neighborhood, and it felt even quieter at night.

The dim streetlights stretched long shadows from the run-down apartment buildings across the cracked sidewalks.

That sleek, silver-gray sports car—completely out of place in this rundown part of town—rolled to a silent stop in front of the apartment where Sadao Maou and Shirou Ashiya lived.

Rei Ao and Emilia got out.

Emilia looked around at the obvious poverty and frowned slightly, still not sure who they were here to see.

But instead of heading toward the door, Rei Ao just stood in the overgrown patch of yard outside and looked up at a second-story window faintly glowing with light.

Then he called out, calm and casual:

"Come out. Your place is too cramped."

His voice wasn't loud, but it cut right through the walls.

From inside came the sounds of panicked shuffling and someone whispering, trying not to freak out.

Then—

Creaaak.

The battered wooden door creaked open.

Out came Sadao Maou in a wrinkled T-shirt, looking like he'd just lost a week of sleep, and Shirou Ashiya, still in his neatly tucked-in shirt, clearly trying to keep his usual butler composure despite the tension.

As soon as they spotted Rei Ao—and especially Emilia—their bodies froze. Their faces practically screamed we're dead.

But it didn't end there.

A third figure hobbled out behind them, limping badly.

It was Lucifer—black and blue, hair a mess, looking like he'd survived a small explosion, clutching his stomach and moaning as he shuffled forward.

Emilia's eyes widened in shock.

"Lucifer?!"

Her voice turned cold as ice in an instant.

Her right hand went instinctively to her waist.

A burst of righteous energy flared around her—pure reflex from her days as a Hero.

"Demon King Satan! Why is Lucifer alive?! What are you planning?!"

Her gaze zeroed in on Sadao Maou, sharp and full of suspicion.

To her, Lucifer turning up alive could only mean trouble.

"No, no, no! Wait!" Maou practically tripped over his own words, waving his arms wildly.

"It's not me! It was Rei Ao-sama! He's the one who brought him here!"

"And—and—"

He didn't get to finish.

Because yet another person slipped out the door, head low, clearly trying not to be seen.

And when Emilia caught a glimpse of the shiny bald head—and the bruised face that, despite everything, she still knew all too well—she froze in place.

"P—Priest Olba?!"

She gasped, eyes wide with disbelief.

She looked from the beaten-up Lucifer to the equally battered and terrified Olba.

Her anger spiked.

"Demon King—what did you do to Olba?! How dare you—!"

She was this close to charging forward and decking Maou in the face.

"It wasn't me! I swear it wasn't me!!" Maou nearly cried, throwing his hands in the air like a man wrongly accused of murder.

Then he jabbed a finger at Rei Ao, who stood calmly off to the side, arms crossed, looking like he was enjoying the show.

"It was Rei Ao-sama! He caught them! He beat them up! I had nothing to do with it!!"

Emilia's fury short-circuited.

She spun around to stare at Rei Ao, eyes full of disbelief, confusion, and a million questions.

"You? Rei Ao? You caught them? You… beat up Priest Olba?!"

Rei Ao met her stunned look without blinking and gave a simple nod.

"Yeah," he said, like it was no big deal. "That was me."