Chapter 263 - 263: Angel's Feet
"Gulp, gulp..."
Gabriel drank down the tea.
Only then did Rei Ao ask curiously, "Your own place is right next door, so why specifically come here to crash?"
"... ..."
Gabriel's eyelid twitched; she mumbled evasively, "I just felt like changing environments all of a sudden. Staying in the same place all the time can be bad for you, you know?"
"That I understand," Rei Ao agreed at first, then smoothly changed his tone.
"But for you, Gabriel, as long as you have your video games, doesn't the environment not matter at all? You're lying."
"I..."
Gabriel tried to explain, but Rei Ao simply chuckled.
"You're a fallen angel right now, so don't pretend angels never lie."
"Ugh..."
Cold sweat broke out on Gabriel's forehead. She really had wanted to use that excuse to slip by.
"Oh well."
Caught out, Gabriel stopped pretending. She slumped lazily onto the sofa, grumbling in annoyance, "Raphi kicked me out."
...
A few minutes earlier:
Raphiel had been doing her usual cleaning. Everything was perfectly fine—until a cockroach crawled out of Gabriel's room.
"... ..."
Raphiel's expression went dark. She disposed of the roach with magic, then forcibly dragged Gabriel out of her room, sternly warning, "Gab, there's another cockroach in your room! Until I finish cleaning, you can't stay here tonight!"
And so Gabriel was kicked out. She hadn't dared challenge Raphiel at that moment, so she came knocking at Rei Ao's place for help.
"Ah, seems like you never learned your lesson," Rei Ao teased, recalling the last time Vignette had blown up in fury at Gabriel's sloppiness.
"I have been cleaning, okay?! I have no idea where that roach came from!" Gabriel yelled indignantly. She was lazy, but she did try to keep the place tidy enough to avoid a meltdown.
"Haha, well, it's too late to talk about that now. You want to stay over, right?"
"Mm."
Gabriel nodded, then suddenly looked wary.
"Y-you're not gonna make me pay some...gross 'fee' just for lodging, are you?!"
"Heh. I'm not that stingy," Rei Ao chuckled.
"I do have a guest room free for one night, so you can use it."
He wasn't so petty as to refuse her or impose harsh terms. Besides, if he really wanted "perks" from this now net-addicted, fallen Gabriel, it wouldn't be hard in the future. No need to rush.
Thus Gabriel got her wish for a place to stay the night. Naturally, "staying" didn't mean "sleeping." Once she shut the guest-room door:
Game on!
She launched into hardcore gaming mode.
"Gurgle~"
Long hours later, near midnight, Gabriel's stomach rumbled. She realized she was hungry. After a moment's hesitation, she decided to look for food. Surely, with so many people living in Rei Ao's home, the fridge would have something inside?
So, with that in mind, she crept out, heading into the dark living room, not even turning on the lights. Under the faint glow of the fridge's interior bulb, she did indeed see many snacks.
"Gulp~"
They definitely stirred her appetite, but Gabriel didn't immediately snatch anything. Should she let Rei Ao know first? It was after midnight; he had to be sleeping, right? Waking him now would be bad.
"I'll just take a little bit, that's all. That should be fine, yeah."
Consoling herself with that excuse, she grabbed several small cakes and snacks. But when she closed the fridge door—
Click!
The living room lights came on. Someone had materialized on the sofa without her noticing.
Rei Ao wore a sly grin. "Gabriel, an angel shouldn't be sneaking food that doesn't belong to her. That stuff you're holding is Sora's favorite."
He'd sensed a stir in the living room, but didn't expect to catch such an amusing scene, especially feeling the waves of guilt rolling off Gabriel, which he found delicious.
"!!!"
She'd been caught. Gabriel froze, turning her head woodenly, forcing a nervous smile. "I—I thought you were all asleep, and I planned to tell you about it in the morning!"
"Oh?" Rei Ao pointed at her, teasing, "The moment you said that, the radiance around you dimmed a bit more."
She was falling deeper. Lying was making the fallen angel "fall" further.
"... ..."
She was done for. Rei Ao's unique sight let him perceive holy light, so her lie was laid bare.
"S-sorry, my mistake, please forgive me!"
Gabriel immediately dropped to her knees in a dogeza apology pose.
"No problem. I can forgive you—plus you can keep the snacks. I might even give you some money. But Gabriel, you have to do something to earn that forgiveness. Some real practical action."
Rei Ao's eyes gleamed suggestively.
"W-what do I have to do?" Gabriel asked, confused. She was feeling a wave of regret...
Yes, she was addicted to gaming and had no desire to change that. But stealing food? That went beyond her usual lazy boundaries and made her feel sincerely guilty. It was a matter of principle!
"Remember last time, how you paid me?"
"Last time..."
Gabriel glanced at her hands. Indeed, last time it had been with her hands. Startled, she lifted her head, eyes widening in shock. "You...you can't mean you want my hands again?!"
She imagined he wanted a repeat. But Rei Ao shook his head with a small laugh, pulling her to sit beside him. Gabriel looked baffled as he reached for her socks—removing one to reveal her cute foot. Feeling his gaze, she curled her toes in shame.
"W-what are you trying to do?"
"Heh heh. This time we won't use your hands; we'll use these," he said, indicating her feet.
"Huh?!"
Gabriel immediately tried to pull her foot back. That was absolutely impossible. But then Rei Ao fished out an item that made her eyes go wide: a white panty with a small bear motif.
Rei Ao smirked. "This looks familiar. Must be yours, right?"
"How'd it end up with you?!"
Gabriel's face was that of someone who'd just discovered a perverted thief.
"What are you thinking? I never stole it. I'm not interested in your weird hobby."
He rolled his eyes. "This thing appeared on my face by itself one morning."
"... ..."
That triggered her memory. It must have been the day her teleportation spell misfired!
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"Seems you recall. So I'll return it now—under one added condition. That's fair, no?"
Rei Ao leaned in, his voice tempting. "You've used your hands before; it won't kill you to use your feet this time, right, Gabriel?"
"N-no..."
Gabriel still felt humiliated, wanting to refuse. But Rei Ao's next statement sealed her fate:
"I'll give you 20,000 yen to spend on your game."
"!!!"
"Gulp."
Gabriel swallowed. She did want to spend on her game. She was wavering. Plus, Rei Ao wasn't wrong: after all, using her hands last time...what difference would feet make?
She insisted to herself that it wasn't for the money. Turning her face aside, she whispered, "J-just this once."
"Of course. You said once, so once it is," Rei Ao said with a grin. "Now, Gabriel...give me your feet."
~~~
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