Ring ring ring—!

The alarm clock on the bar rang out, signaling that it was nine o'clock.

Hearing the sound, Ryohei Tanaka let out a long sigh and relaxed completely. A smile spread across his face as he turned to Lucoa at the counter and said in a gentle tone, "Lucoa, could you please turn off the alarm?"

After that, he gave an order to Poporon, who was waiting to pick up an order. "Poporon, go flip the 'Open' sign on the door to 'Closed'."

"Mhm."

Lucoa leaned forward, her fair arm extending as her fingertip pressed the button on the alarm clock, silencing the crisp ringing.

Poporon, who was waiting for the food, also acknowledged the request and walked over to the entrance. She opened the door, flipped the sign hanging on it, revealing the word: 'Closed'.

"Eh? Are you closing? Nooo!"

A cry of disappointment came from the line, followed by a chorus of laments.

"Please stay open a little longer, it's only nine!"

"Uwaah—! I've been waiting patiently for two hours!"

…

As closing time approached, many people who felt they wouldn't make it had already left. However, some still clung to a sliver of hope that Ryohei Tanaka might make an exception and extend the business hours, seeing as there were still quite a few people in line. Since the restaurant had opened a little after six today, those near the front of the line were hoping he might stay open a bit longer to make it a full three hours.

Now, seeing Poporon flip the sign to 'Closed', they all let out sounds of disappointment.

"So sorry, everyone! We're closed for the day. Please come back early tomorrow!" Poporon said to the wailing customers with a standard, professional smile before returning inside to continue her work.

…

Although the 'Closed' sign was hung up at nine, there was still one last batch of customers inside that needed to be served. The actual closing time would be later than nine.

By the time they saw the last customer off, it was already past nine-thirty. After cleaning up the restaurant, it was nearly ten o'clock when they were ready to leave.

"Ah… that's right!"

Stepping out of the restaurant, Ryohei Tanaka held the door handle to keep it open for the others. As if remembering something, he turned his head to Yusa and Jashin-chan.

"Yusa, Jashin-chan, if you want to settle your personal grudge, you should do it quickly," he said. "Also, try not to make a bloody mess. It would be a pain to get the car dirty."

That last part was directed at Yusa, and his gaze rested on her.

Σ(°Д°;

Jashin-chan was suddenly shocked. Her eyes widened as she stared at Ryohei in disbelief.

"Servant, you jerk! What are you talking about?! Am I less important than your car's cleanliness?" she shrieked. "And what makes you so sure I'm going to lose?!"

She was fuming!

She had completely forgotten about the matter, and Yusa probably had too! Why did he have to bring it up?!

'Damn it!'

Feeling utterly betrayed by Ryohei, Jashin-chan clenched her fists, wishing she could grab him by the collar and beat him black and blue.

"Understood."

Yusa smiled like a graceful Yamato Nadeshiko, a smile as gentle as a spring breeze.

But the very next second, she turned to Jashin-chan, and her expression twisted into a menacing snarl, her beautiful eyes radiating a bone-chilling cold.

Her mood swings were terrifyingly fast!

The moment she got angry, the surrounding temperature dropped several degrees.

'Are the demons having a falling out?'

The oblivious Poporon took a step back to a safe distance, watching with great interest. She had no intention of intervening and was actually hoping they would fight to the death, or at least until they were both seriously injured. At the very least, Jashin-chan had to suffer a major defeat!

Ryohei clearly felt the sudden drop in temperature. He closed the door, took the key from his pocket, and thought to himself as he locked up:

'Having Yusa and her sister around in the summer would be really nice.'

'We probably wouldn't even need to turn on the air conditioning.'

'Speaking of which…'

A wicked idea popped into Ryohei's head.

"Let's fight another time," Jashin-chan suddenly said to Yusa, waving a hand lazily with a dismissive tone. "I'm exhausted after working all night. I'm not in the mood to fight you."

"Aah—I'm so tired!"

As she spoke, she dramatically stretched her arms and draped herself over Minos, as if she were truly on the verge of collapse.

"Jashin-chan, you're being so embarrassing." ( ﹁ ﹁ ) Minos placed a hand on her hip and turned her head to look at Jashin-chan clinging to her, a disgusted look on her face. She tried to shrug her off, but the snake-demon wouldn't budge.

"What's embarrassing? Do you even know how to talk?" Jashin-chan retorted, completely shameless and righteously indignant.

Smack—!

Just then, Yurine produced a white folding fan from out of nowhere and smacked Jashin-chan hard on the butt with it.

Jashin-chan yelped in pain, clutching her rear as she nearly jumped into the air. She spun around and glared at Yurine, grinding her teeth. "Yurine, what'd you hit me for?!"

"To punish you," Yurine said, tilting her head. "For causing trouble all day for no reason." She let out a soft "Hmm?" and asked, "Could it be that you have a problem with what I did?"

"I wouldn't dare."

Jashin-chan gritted her teeth, her fists clenched tight as two streams of tears flowed down her face.

'You naturally evil Yurine! I'll get you back for this someday!'

"You'd better not," Yurine said, crossing her arms and letting out a small huff. "I just ordered a new hatchet online. You don't want to test how sharp it is, do you?"

Ryohei: "…"

'I don't want to test it either!'

"No, no, I don't!" Jashin-chan shook her head so vigorously it looked like a rattle, without a moment's hesitation.

"Dealing with this one is really a job for Ms. Yurine~," Yusa said, lifting a slender, pale hand to cover her mouth with her wide kimono sleeve. Her lips curled into a slight smile as she reverted to her graceful Yamato Nadeshiko demeanor.

Koji-kun stood by her sister's side, tilting her little head up and looking at Yurine with a gaze full of admiration. She then turned to Jashin-chan and grinned, a silent, mocking laugh.

"Alright then… let's all head home," Ryohei said, clapping his hands. His gaze swept over the angels and demons around him. "You all worked hard today. Get some good rest when you get back."

"Okay, we'll be heading off then. See you tomorrow," Yusa said with a gentle smile, waving goodbye to the group. Koji-kun waved her small hand as well.

"See you tomorrow."

After the ice demon sisters left, the two angels also waved their goodbyes and departed in another direction.

Ryohei took his car keys from his pocket and looked at Lucoa. "You should head back too, Lucoa. Come over for breakfast around seven tomorrow."

"Mhm, but I'm the only one who lives in another world…" Lucoa said, cupping her ample chest with her left arm and tapping her cheek with the fingers of her right hand, her words full of insinuation.

"I'll sort out the housing situation as soon as I can," Ryohei said, turning to walk towards the white Toyota RAV4 parked in front of the restaurant. He waved back at Lucoa over his shoulder, keys in hand.

As he reached the driver's side and opened the door, a portal to another world materialized behind Lucoa. The tall and buxom former goddess waved with a smile—the generous curves of her chest swayed gently with the motion, as if the very air trembled around her, exuding an undeniable charm.

Then, she turned, her long, golden-highlighted hair swishing behind her. Lucoa stepped through the portal with her long, full legs clad in black over-the-knee stockings, returning to her own world.

The portal closed behind her…

~~~

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