~Deng-deng deng-deng-deng~~~

A phone's ringtone suddenly broke the silence in the shop, causing everyone to instinctively look toward the source of the sound.

Yurine, who was sitting on a wooden high stool with a bubble tea beside her, was engrossed in a travel guide for the Jiangnan region on her phone. She looked over at Ryohei Tanaka, who was kneading dough next to her. Reaching out a slender, fair hand, she fished the phone out of his pocket. After a quick glance at the caller ID, she announced, "It's the renovator—a call from Takao Shimatani."

As she spoke, she had already answered the call and stood up to press the phone to Ryohei's ear.

"Moshi moshi—" The moment Ryohei heard who was calling, he guessed the reason for the call and his mood brightened.

Sitting on the other side, Lucoa, who exuded an aura of mature feminine charm with her straight back and crossed legs, perked up her ears in excitement. Jashin-chan, Minos, and the Second, who were all busy working, also paid close attention.

"Is this Mr. Tanaka?" a steady male voice asked from the phone. "This is Takao Shimatani from 'Shimizu Construction.' Your villa's renovation is complete. When would you be available to come and inspect it?"

"Let's make it tomorrow," Ryohei said after a brief pause. "Tomorrow at nine in the morning. We'll meet at the villa."

"Alright, I'll contact you then?"

"Yes."

With a soft beep, the call ended.

Yurine put the phone down and looked up at Ryohei with a smile. "The villa is finished?"

"The day has finally come!" Lucoa clapped her hands and stood up from her chair with a grin. Her world-class curves jiggled slightly with the movement, appearing incredibly supple. "Are you planning to move tomorrow, Ryohei-kun?" she asked, striding towards him, her long, full legs wrapped in blue jeans.

"Yes, the plan is to move tomorrow." Ryohei first glanced at Yurine before turning to the gracefully approaching Lucoa. "You can have the first pick of the rooms in the villa. How about that? A fair deal, right?"

Lucoa had essentially paid for both the villa and the renovations, and she had made it clear long ago that she wanted to stay and live with them. Given that, Ryohei didn't mind letting her have the first choice to make her happy.

Yurine had no objections either. After all, it was thanks to Lucoa that they could live in such a villa. Letting her pick first was only fair; she deserved it. Although having someone in the house who coveted her boyfriend was somewhat displeasing, the negative feelings weren't that strong. It had been agreed upon from the beginning.

Besides, Lucoa already came over first thing every morning, her spawn point being Ryohei's bedroom. She usually didn't leave until the shop was closing, or when it was nearly time for baths and bed. Whether she officially lived there or not didn't make much of a difference.

Yurine's main concern at the moment was whether she should share a room with Ryohei directly, and she wondered what his thoughts were on the matter. With that in mind, she took a sip of her cold, sweet bubble tea and stole a quick glance at him.

"Hm? You want me to pick first? Oh, that won't be necessary," Lucoa said, pointing a finger at herself in surprise before waving her hand with a smile. She actually wanted to be the second or third person to choose a room—preferably the one right next to Ryohei's.

From the open kitchen where she was wrapping Ascending Dragon Dumplings, Jashin-chan enthusiastically interjected, "If she doesn't want it, how about you let me pick first?"

"How about no," Ryohei replied without a moment's hesitation, turning to look at her.

"Tch—! You subordinate, you..." Jashin-chan clicked her tongue at Ryohei, her lips curling back in displeasure to reveal a pair of sharp snake fangs. "Are you discriminating against me?"

Why couldn't she pick first? Don't demons have rights?

"How am I discriminating against you?" Ryohei retorted with perfect confidence. "Lucoa paid for it, but she gifted it to me. If she doesn't pick first, then naturally, I will."

His logic was sound and convincing.

"Reasonable," Yurine nodded, backing Ryohei up.

"..." Jashin-chan opened her mouth, but she couldn't refute his point. However, being inherently unreasonable, she was still not convinced.

Ryohei glanced at her, sensing her dissatisfaction, and offered a carrot. "Once we move to the villa, you won't have to pay rent anymore. I'll cover some of your daily expenses too."

This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision; Ryohei had been planning it for a while. He had earned a considerable amount of money recently, which had just become a string of numbers on his bank card. He figured it was better to share the joy than to enjoy it alone and decided to give everyone at the shop some benefits.

Thus, he turned to Yusa and Minos. "That goes for you two as well. From now on, I'll cover your rent. And Yusa, I'll give you a living allowance as well." After all, Yusa didn't live with them, so she couldn't mooch off certain things...

"Thank you!" An upgrade in benefits was certainly something to be happy about. Minos wagged her tail and thanked him cheerfully.

"Thank you, Manager!" Yusa smiled gently. At work, she usually addressed him by his title; she had different names for him in private.

"For a subordinate, you can be quite human sometimes!" Jashin-chan, also pleased with the new benefits, remarked with a soft sigh.

Ryohei stared at her, speechless. "I am a human, you know! You're such a jerk, insulting me even when I'm giving you benefits!"

"Sorry! It's in my nature. You'll just have to put up with it," Jashin-chan said with a shrug and a smirk, her apology completely lacking sincerity.

Ryohei felt a sudden urge to smack her.

"Speaking of which..." Yurine, as if remembering something, said to Ryohei, "When we move to the villa, this house will be empty."

"Right." Ryohei looked at her and nodded. He had Minos and Yusa switch places with Poporon and Pekola, and then addressed the two angels. "Poporon, Pekola, would you two like to move?"

"Tomorrow, Yurine and the others will be moving to the villa, and this house will be vacant. By the way, I'll cover all your future rent and give you a living allowance as well."

"We'll move!"

"Is this for real?" Poporon's and Pekola's eyes lit up, and they both spoke up without hesitation.

"Perfect. The apartment is getting really hot, and the fan is completely useless," Poporon said, placing a hand on her slender waist and complaining with a "fed up" expression.

Pekola nodded vigorously. "It's true. It's been so hot at night that I can't even sleep..."

Ryohei felt a pang of guilt upon hearing this. He wasn't unaware of their situation, but he had figured that since they would soon be moving to the villa and the house would be free, it would be a hassle to find a new rental. Renting another place would just mean having to move out of it shortly after. So, he hadn't taken the initiative to help them.

"Ahem." Ryohei cleared his throat and changed the subject. "After we finish moving tomorrow, we'll help you guys move in."

"Okay!" Poporon and Pekola replied in unison.

~~~

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