Chapter 81: Mai's Shyness, Yumiko's Confusion, Eriri's mom Loneliness, Gabriel's addictiveness

The Library.

"Not here yet?"

Yumiko, wearing a hat and mask, sat in her seat, frequently glancing toward the entrance. She was waiting for Rei Ao and Mai Sakurajima. She had even skipped lunch for this. Turning her head once again—

"!!!"

This time, she saw them. Rei Ao and Mai walked in side by side. Yumiko quickly pulled her hat lower, trying not to be noticed. Little did she know, Rei Ao had already spotted her out of the corner of his eye. However, he didn't greet her or tell Mai. Instead, he quietly led the shy and blushing Mai toward a secluded corner of the library, where no one was around.

"I'll see what you two are up to!" Yumiko silently followed them, keeping her distance.

But after reaching the empty corner, Yumiko suddenly paused, feeling confused.

"Wait… what was I doing here again?" She looked around at the empty sofa and table, surrounded by shelves full of books.

"The library… I guess I came here to read?" Unsure of herself, she grabbed a random book and started flipping through it aimlessly. Her mind, however, still wondered if reading was truly why she was there.

What Yumiko didn't notice was that Mai was kneeling right in front of her at the table. And behind her was an excited Rei Ao.

"Mai, your ability to disappear from perception is really useful. I love it."

"Mhm!" Mai turned to him with a dazed and resentful look but didn't dare speak. Despite knowing how the ability worked, she was still afraid of being discovered by Yumiko. Her helpless expression only made Rei Ao even more excited.

He truly wished he could take full advantage of Mai Sakurajima in that moment. But for now, he had to turn that desire into the fuel that kept him going.

Under his manipulation, Mai couldn't help but murmur, though even she probably didn't know what she was saying. The power of disappearing from perception didn't just make her invisible or forgotten; it also ensured that anyone about to touch her, even without seeing her, would instinctively avoid doing so. They would subconsciously believe their avoidance was completely reasonable.

This gave Rei Ao the chance to take things even further.

For instance, right now, Yumiko was lying on the sofa, her book in hand, completely unaware of the fact that Mai and Rei Ao were practically right on top of her, their movements unnoticed.

…

At Eriri's Home.

After crying her heart out, Eriri had taken the day off from school. When Sayuri came home from school, she didn't say much. She quietly prepared lunch while seeming to be deep in thought.

When lunch was ready, Sayuri called out as usual, "Eriri, lunch is ready."

"I'm not hungry, mom," came the muffled response from Eriri's room.

Sayuri wasn't surprised, but she knew she had to get Eriri out. She decided to take a firm tone, "Eriri, I have something important to discuss with you. Come out first."

"..."

After a brief silence in the room, Eriri replied, "Okay."

Eriri opened her door and came out. Her eyes were still red and puffy from crying. She washed her hands and sat down at the table but didn't touch any of the food.

Seeing this, Sayuri put down her utensils and looked at her seriously.

"Eriri, I know everything about you and Tomoya Aki."

"..."

Eriri looked up, sniffling, as tears threatened to fall again.

But Sayuri cut in sharply, "No crying!"

"!!!"

Eriri froze. It was the first time her mother had ever raised her voice at her, and it startled her so much that she forgot to cry.

Seeing her daughter's fear, Sayuri's tone softened again out of concern. "Eriri, let me tell you this—it's not your fault, and I think you should cut ties with Tomoya Aki."

"Huh?" Eriri was confused. Why was her mother saying this?

Sayuri sighed deeply as she looked at her dazed daughter. "Actually, today I went to school and talked to Rei Ao. The truth is, Tomoya's conflict with him started because Tomoya harassed a girl."

Not only that, Sayuri explained that Tomoya hadn't come to school because he had been in a bike accident. She even went so far as to show Eriri footage of the accident, which she had retrieved from the scene. In the video, Tomoya could be seen stopping and staring ahead for a long time, his expression growing darker before he suddenly sped up, lost control, and crashed into the road.

The key moment? The people Tomoya had been staring at were Rei Ao and Megumi Kato, walking together.

"Eriri, that girl is the one Tomoya harassed that morning," Sayuri explained. "Rei Ao was just trying to protect her, and that's why he had a conflict with Tomoya. As for the accident… you saw it. I believe it was Tomoya's own grudge that led to his crash."

Eriri was overwhelmed, her mind in chaos. But under Sayuri's careful guidance, Eriri began to believe that Tomoya had been in the wrong, and his jealousy toward Rei Ao had led to the accident.

That's exactly what Sayuri intended. She had no proof of Tomoya's intentions but firmly believed her own interpretation. Combined with the insulting messages Tomoya had sent Eriri the previous day, Sayuri was determined that Eriri should cut ties with him. She subtly steered her daughter's thoughts in that direction.

As Eriri sat there in shock, Sayuri handed her Eriri's cracked phone.

"Eriri, I've seen the hurtful messages Tomoya sent you. So, trust me and end things with him."

After Sayuri's persistent efforts, Eriri finally changed her mind.

"Okay, mom, you're right," Eriri said, wiping the tears from her eyes. She decided to follow her mother's advice and sever all contact with Tomoya Aki. She blocked him on every platform.

Seeing this, Sayuri felt relieved. She then lightened the mood by teasing, "By the way, Eriri, I heard you know Rei Ao. How did you two meet?"

"Eh? W-Well…"

The question made Eriri blush and look down, fidgeting with her fingers.

"Oh?" Sayuri's eyes lit up—an unexpected bonus! She immediately sensed that there was more to the story. Smiling meaningfully, she said, "It's okay, Eriri. I've met Rei Ao, and I think he's a great guy. Why don't you tell me?"

"Well… okay," Eriri mumbled, her face turning even redder as she recounted how she met Rei Ao. Sayuri listened, astonished. In summary: a charming, cool guy rescued her, kept her secret, honored his promise, and didn't judge her for her unique hobbies.

Tsk...

After hearing all that, Sayuri doubted her naive daughter stood a chance against such a series of events, even though they had happened by chance. One look at Eriri's flushed face, and she could tell exactly what was on her mind.

Sayuri didn't expose her daughter's thoughts. Instead, she smiled and said, "Looks like I wasn't wrong about Rei Ao. He really is a good person."

"Right?!" Eriri's eyes sparkled as if someone had just praised her for finding a hidden gem, a sight that made Sayuri chuckle.

Smiling warmly, Sayuri suggested, "Since Rei Ao helped you out, why don't we invite him over this weekend for a proper thank-you?"

After all, with just the two of them at home, inviting someone over didn't need anyone else's approval.

"Sure, mom! I'll ask him," Eriri said excitedly, her face filled with anticipation, though she still felt a bit anxious about how Rei Ao might react if he knew about her real hobbies.

Seeing her daughter's mixed emotions, Sayuri felt certain that Tomoya Aki was no longer important to her. She decided not to dwell on Tomoya's condition any longer.

'Sigh', Eriri's growing up, Sayuri thought, her mind wandering.

If Eriri gets married, I'll be left alone in this house…

For a moment, a sense of loneliness washed over her.

…

'What am I even doing?'

Yumiko rubbed her head in frustration...

Lunchtime was almost over, and she had spent the entire break reading in the library? She felt like she had forgotten something important today.

Standing up from the sofa, she suddenly noticed, "Where did this water come from?" Her pants were unexpectedly wet. Had she brought a water bottle with her?

"Sigh, today has been so weird," she muttered. She pulled some tissues from her pocket and carefully wiped off the strange mixture of liquid. After cleaning up, she glanced around the empty corner of the library but couldn't figure out why she felt so unsettled, so she left with a sense of confusion.

"..."

On the other side of the sofa, Mai, lying in Rei Ao's arms, looked up with a gaze full of silent resentment.

"Rei Ao, don't you think you've gone too far?" Mai asked, her voice tinged with accusation.

Rei Ao pondered for a moment. "Yes, I might have. I'll make it up to Yumiko later."

"But for now, should we go back to class or head home?"

"I can't go back... Let's just go home," Mai said, exhausted.

"Alright, but get dressed first."

"No... you need to get off me first…"

"Sigh."

"Fine!"

...

Meanwhile, back at home, Gabriel plopped down as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"Gab, you've been acting really strange lately," remarked Raphiel, who had returned with her, a strange look on her face. Gabriel had been behaving oddly—no motivation in class and rushing straight to her room whenever she got home, just like now.

"Raphiel, I'm fine. I'm just tired. I'm going to sleep," Gabriel said before disappearing into her room and shutting the door.

"..."

Raphiel narrowed her eyes. "Something's definitely up with Gab."

Once inside, Gabriel dropped her bag and ran to her computer to start gaming. The once-studious Gabriel was no more. Now, all she wanted to do was play video games. She spent the entire evening in front of the screen, healing characters with her "Staff of God" until it was late at night, even forgetting to eat dinner.

Until...

'Ding!' [Sorry, your Superior Healing Spell cannot treat this injury. You must use a Basic Holy Healing Spell!]

"???"

Gabriel stared blankly at the screen. "Why can't the superior spell work? Why does it need a basic one?" She quickly realized her mistake—there were two different spells: Healing and Holy Healing!

Frantically, she searched through her inventory for an item with the Basic Holy Healing skill.

She found it.

[God's Feather]: Grants the ability to cast Basic Holy Healing when equipped.

[Price]: 5,000.

"..."

Gabriel's eye twitched. She didn't have the money... Taking her hands off the keyboard, Gabriel stood up. Was she going to stop playing?

Not a chance!

She needed to borrow money. And there was only one person to turn to.

Gabriel quietly slipped out of her room, trying not to wake Raphiel in the next room, and made her way out into the night. She rang Rei Ao's doorbell, hoping not to be noticed.

"..."

Rei Ao opened the door in his pajamas and slippers. Seeing Gabriel at this hour, he wasn't even surprised. He knew she had been on a downward spiral lately, losing all her angelic standards.

Sure enough, Gabriel stretched out her hand. "Rei Ao, can I borrow 5,000?"

'Grrr' Her stomach growled right after she spoke.

Rei Ao gave her a strange look. "Gabriel, did you forget to eat because of your games?"

"Uh..." Gabriel scratched her head, unsure of what to say.

"Come in," Rei Ao sighed, letting her into the room. "Sit on the sofa and wait."

He went into the kitchen and grabbed two slices of bread from the fridge. Realizing what he was doing, Gabriel said awkwardly, "You don't have to, just lend me the money."

Rei Ao shot her a disapproving look. "Skipping meals for games? You're really something."

"I was saving the world!" Gabriel insisted, absolutely refusing to admit it was just a game.

Rei Ao merely chuckled at her denial.

~~~

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