Jashin-chan's mind went completely blank.

She had never met such a shameless Servant, one who would frame her so blatantly. The words just fell right out of his mouth!

This was too much!

'Baka—!'

And yet, amid her fury, Jashin-chan felt a strange sense of familiarity. She felt like she'd seen this kind of person often, but she couldn't quite recall who...

Who was it?

...

It didn't matter who it was!

Jashin-chan thrust a slender finger out, pointing straight at Ryohei Tanaka. Her chest heaved dramatically, and her tail began to slap the floor—smack, smack, smack—as she shrieked her accusation.

"He's slandering me! He's slandering me!"

"This is absolutely shameless!"

Jashin-chan zipped over to Yurine's side, gesturing wildly as she desperately tried to explain. "Yurine, it's not true! I'm completely innocent! You have to believe me!"

"Mhm. I believe you."

( ≖_≖)

Yurine cast a deadpan glance at Jashin-chan.

She wasn't an idiot. It could have been anyone but Jashin-chan. Honestly, Minos would be a more believable candidate. Besides, she had already said she smelled another woman's scent. How could Jashin-chan just ignore that key piece of information?

In a single instant, Yurine had been rendered speechless twice.

"Phew—!"

Jashin-chan tilted her head back and wiped non-existent sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, letting out a long sigh of relief.

Yurine glanced at Lucoa, who was standing by the small window with her hands behind her back, pretending to look at the scenery outside. Yurine's gaze then returned to Ryohei.

By this point, Ryohei had already raised his head. He pointed a finger at Lucoa and explained with a serious expression and a helpless tone:

"Lucoa was probably just trying to tease me, to startle me..."

"She woke me up this morning using one of those methods you only see in anime."

Ryohei... creatively embellished... his explanation. He certainly didn't dare describe what had actually happened.

"Eeeh—"

( ≖_≖)

Yurine squinted at Ryohei, dragging out the sound. She said in a near-monotone, "Is that so?"

She looked over at Lucoa. From any angle, that woman's body was dangerously seductive. Yurine's mind instantly conjured several overly... "intimate"... ways to be woken up.

For example:

Directly straddling Ryohei, using her own weight to press him awake. Or, lying entirely on top of him in an extremely ambiguous position. Or, going even further, maybe even kissing him awake...

'Baka—!'

The moment she pictured these scenarios, Yurine's composure cracked. Even she had never woken Ryohei up so intimately!

Her expression instantly turned dark.

A black, spiritual aura began to radiate from Yurine's body, and the air in the room seemed to thicken.

'Yurine is pissed!'

Sensing the oppressive aura coming from Yurine, a drop of cold sweat trickled down Jashin-chan's temple.

'Hm?'

'Chotto matte!'

As if struck by an idea, Jashin-chan's eyes lit up. A sly arc pulled at the corner of her mouth, and in a flash, she appeared at Lucoa's side.

She raised her right hand, placed it solemnly over her left breast, bowed her head slightly, and spoke in a tone of respectful, unwavering devotion, as if swearing an oath:

"Lady Lucoa! I pledge my undying loyalty to you!"

"Please, let me be your right-hand woman!"

"And then... together, we will defeat the naturally evil Yurine and steal the Servant for ourselves!"

The more Jashin-chan spoke, the more excited she became. Her voice was full of passion. At the end, she spun around dramatically, pointed straight at Yurine, and her face was a mask of pure defiance.

"You're... defecting just like that?"

Even Lucoa was taken aback by this. She already thought Jashin-chan was a hopeless degenerate yesterday, but today she realized the snake-demon's standards were even lower than she'd imagined.

"Sorry, Jashin-chan. I really have no intention of doing that," Lucoa said, reverting to her usual smiling expression. She waved her hand gently. "It's just like how cats and dogs love the owner who feeds them. I just love Tanaka-kun, who makes delicious food."

Jashin-chan froze, turning her head back in stunned disbelief.

Σ(ﾟдﾟ)

'Wait, I put my neck on the line for this grand declaration, and THAT'S your response?!'

"Ja—shin—chan!"

Yurine's reddish-brown eyes shifted away from Lucoa. Her face was dark as she fixed a gaze as sharp as a blade directly onto Jashin-chan.

"May you rest in peace, Jashin-chan!" Ryohei Tanaka said, raising a hand to gently wipe away a non-existent tear from the corner of his eye.

"Rest in your head!" Jashin-chan snapped, before the full force of Yurine's murderous gaze hit her. Her body went rigid. Sweat poured down her face.

'I-I'm dead!'

"Uhm..."

(;＾◇＾;)ゝ

Feeling like she could still be saved, Jashin-chan raised a hand to scratch the back of her head, forcing a smile in an attempt to look cute and get away with it.

"Just now... ah, well... I saw the mood was getting a little tense, so I just wanted to tell a joke! To lighten the mood! Yurine, you have to believe me!"

"I am your loyal servant, Jashin-chan!"

"Mhm. I believe you."

Yurine suddenly flashed a devastatingly sweet smile, like a spring breeze melting the ice, so gentle it made one's heart tremble.

Then, she turned around, grabbed a watermelon knife from the knife rack, held it up in front of her face, and studied her own reflection in the blade.

"And now..."

An unnatural curve twisted Yurine's lips. Her gaze shifted to Jashin-chan. Her voice was soft, but it carried a chill that terrified the snake-demon to her core.

"I'd like to tell a joke to Jashin-chan, too~."

'You're going to tell me a joke with a KNIFE?!'

'This crazy woman wasn't going to let me off that easy!'

Jashin-chan trembled, an intense fear seizing her. She immediately bolted for the door.

He who understands the times is a wise man—or in this case, a wise demon. There was no way she could beat an armed Yurine. Run first, ask questions later!

"Where do you think you're going?"

A light, airy voice whispered right next to her ear.

Jashin-chan's pupils contracted. She glanced out of the corner of her eye—

Yurine had appeared beside her at some unknown moment. That "sweet" smile was still on her face as the watermelon knife swung down without a hint of mercy.

A flash of steel!

The cold blade cut through the air, carrying a fierce chill as it effortlessly sliced Jashin-chan in half at the waist.

"Aaaaaah—!"

"It hurts!"

Excruciating pain wrapped around her wound like fire, and Jashin-chan couldn't help but let out a bloodcurdling scream. Her upper and lower body separated instantly. Blood gushed out like a fountain, quickly dyeing the floor of the entryway crimson.

"Hm?"

"Jashin-chan, did you make little Yurine angry again?"

Minos, having just finished her shower, had just reached the living room entrance when Jashin-chan's upper torso flew past and landed right in front of her. She looked down, asked the question with mild surprise, and then, out of habit, made an assessment:

'Looking at this, she must have really screwed up this time.'

Back in the living room.

"Tanaka-kun, I'd like pan-fried snake steak for breakfast this morning~."

Yurine, holding the blood-stained watermelon knife, turned to look at Ryohei Tanaka, her face adorned with a sweet smile, as if she had just finished slicing a watermelon.

"No problem! Coming right up!" Ryohei replied without hesitation, giving her an "OK" sign.

"..."

Seeing that Yurine had no intention of starting a fight with Lucoa, Ryohei let out a small sigh of relief.

And so, in the end, a world where only Jashin-chan gets hurt was achieved.

Jashin-chan had suffered for everything.

Today's breakfast was now: lean pork and green vegetable congee, pan-fried snake steak, and sunny-side-up eggs.

Thank you, Jashin-chan, for your selfless contribution to the meal!

~~~

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