"Yurine, which room do you prefer?"

In the first-floor foyer, after seeing Takao Shimatani off and resetting the smart lock on the main gate, Ryohei Tanaka turned to Yurine to ask for her opinion. It was time to assign the rooms.

Yurine had already made up her mind. When Ryohei asked, she tilted her head and said, "I like the master bedroom on the third floor."

The third floor was quieter and had a better view. Yurine was also very fond of the beautifully finished open-air balcony. It was too hot to use it now, but when the weather cooled down in the autumn, it would be a wonderful place for afternoon tea or an evening gathering. The atmosphere would be perfect! The very thought of it was delightful.

"Then let's take the master bedroom on the third floor," Ryohei said with a smile, settling the matter according to her wishes.

Hearing this, Jashin-chan, Minos, and the Second were a little surprised, but they quickly realized it was perfectly normal. Ryohei and Yurine were a couple living together; it would be stranger if they took separate rooms.

Lucoa had no objections either. She simply raised her hand with a smile and said in her soft, charming, and mature voice, "In that case... I'll take the secondary bedroom on the third floor!"

Jashin-chan and Minos glanced at her without comment. Yurine, however, shot her a sidelong glance. This sneaky... dragon!

"Can the Second and I have the master bedroom on the second floor?" Minos asked, looking first at the Second and then at Jashin-chan in a consultative tone.

"I want the master bedroom too," Jashin-chan retorted, crossing her arms in opposition.

"In that case... there's no other way!" Minos's eyebrows shot up. Swishing her tail, she cracked her knuckles and glared at Jashin-chan, full of fighting spirit.

Jashin-chan punched her left palm with her right fist, looking fired up and ready to go. "Then... let's settle this once and for all!" she declared.

"Wait a minute—!"

Seeing that a fight was about to break out at any moment, Ryohei quickly stepped in to stop them. "You're not really going to fight over a room, are you?" he asked, astonished. "If you're going to fight, do it outside, not in the villa!"

Although Lucoa could probably restore the villa with magic afterward, Ryohei couldn't bear the thought of their beautiful new home being wrecked before they had even spent a single night in it.

"Huh?"

"What fight?"

"We weren't going to!"

Minos and Jashin-chan stared at Ryohei in confusion. Then, as if realizing something, Jashin-chan explained, "We were just going to decide ownership of the master bedroom with a game of rock-paper-scissors..."

"Did you misunderstand something, subordinate?"

"That's right, just rock-paper-scissors," Minos added, seconding Jashin-chan's explanation.

Ryohei was rendered speechless. What the hell!

Cracking knuckles and talking about "settling it once and for all" just for a game of rock-paper-scissors, all while looking like they were about to beat each other's brains out... He was speechless for a few seconds before waving his hand dismissively. "Fine, fine. Carry on," he said dryly.

"Lucoa, could you cast a purification spell?" Ryohei frowned, wrinkling his nose at the unpleasant "renovation smell" lingering in the air, and turned to Lucoa with the request.

"Of course." Lucoa smiled and nodded, raising a slender white finger. A fluorescent green light bloomed from its tip and swept through the villa, instantly freshening the air.

"Ah... the air is so much better!" the Second exclaimed with a look of pleasant surprise, sniffing the air. She had been on the verge of pulling out her gas mask.

"That's much more comfortable," Yurine agreed, exhaling softly. Her expression softened, and she cast an imperceptible glance at Lucoa. She had to admit, Lucoa was sometimes... no, often, very useful.

"Nice work!" Ryohei patted Lucoa on the shoulder with a smile of praise. He then turned to Yurine. "Let's go put our clothes and things away."

"Okay." Yurine nodded gently and walked with Ryohei towards the elevator, the bickering of Jashin-chan and Minos following them.

Their single round of rock-paper-scissors had ended with Jashin-chan losing. True to her scummy nature, the snake-demon was now demanding a best-of-three. Minos, of course, was not having it, and the Second was chiming in to support her. The three demons continued their noisy argument as they followed them into the elevator.

Yurine found their noise a bit irritating and frowned. After a couple of seconds, she clenched her fist and punched Jashin-chan in the face, sending her staggering. "A bet is a bet. Show some backbone and accept your loss! Don't go back on your word!" she said sternly.

The elevator fell silent instantly.

The Second blinked, then broke into an undisguised, gloating laugh. Minos stood with one hand on her hip, giving Jashin-chan an "I-told-you-so" look.

Jashin-chan held her cheek, staring at Yurine in a daze. It wasn't until the elevator dinged and the doors opened that she seemed to snap out of it. "Why did you hit me?!" she yelled indignantly. "The words 'accepting defeat' and 'backbone' don't exist in my dictionary!"

"Is that so? I don't believe you!"

Seeing the threatening look on Yurine's face, as if she was about to dish out another lesson, Jashin-chan shuddered and bolted out of the elevator without daring to look back.

Minos followed her out, chuckling. "It really takes Yurine to deal with Jashin-chan!"

"Indeed," the Second agreed with a solemn nod as she exited the elevator.

Lucoa also stepped out; she needed to return Jashin-chan's, Minos's, and the Second's belongings to them.

"..."

Ryohei and Yurine continued up to the third floor. They entered the master bedroom, and Ryohei took out the items he had previously stored. Toiletries went into the bathroom, clothes into the walk-in closet. As for Yurine's various cold weapons—Ryohei looked at them and then at her, suggesting, "I can buy you a weapon rack later. How about we put these in the gym?"

There wasn't a suitable place for them in the bedroom, but they wouldn't look out of place in the gym.

"Okay." Yurine, who was holding a mandrake root toy and wondering where to put it, glanced over and paused. "I'll buy it myself."

"That works too," Ryohei said, having no objection.

...

After putting everything away, they took Yurine's weapons down to the gym on the second floor. When they returned to the first floor, they found Jashin-chan and the others already waiting in the living room.

Having just moved into a new house, there was a long list of things to buy: various daily necessities, as well as new bowls, dishes, and chopsticks. Ryohei had left the old ones at the previous house for Poporon and Pekola and planned to buy a new set. They also needed to buy some groceries. Ryohei was planning a housewarming party.

Of course, it would just be for the people from his shop, plus Medusa, to celebrate together...

~~~

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