Chapter 85: Utaha and Sonoko's Experience, Empire's Upheaval

Within three seconds.

"I'm here."

A sudden burst of holy light illuminated the alley. Utaha, standing outside, peeked in curiously and gasped at what she saw.

"An angel!!!"

The words escaped her lips before she could stop herself. Utaha felt like she was dreaming.

"An angel?" Sonoko Machida blinked in confusion and also turned to look.

"!!!"

The angel who had just descended, Raphiel, tilted her head slightly. "Who are they?" she asked.

Rei Ao shrugged. "Just a couple of ordinary people who got caught up in this. One of them was almost eaten by the beasts."

Raphiel glanced at the shattered ice remains of the monsters on the ground. Her expression grew serious. "I'll handle cleaning up the scene first."

It didn't take long for Raphiel to record the incident and clear the remnants of the beasts. Then, they approached the tense Utaha and Sonoko Machida.

"I'll need to erase their memories now," Raphiel said.

Both women, who were still reeling from the sight of the angel, were shocked.

"Erase our memories?!"

Utaha's face went pale. "Do you mean everything we just saw? I-I promise I won't tell anyone!"

She desperately didn't want to lose her memory.

Sonoko Machida also panicked and quickly followed suit, pledging, "Me too! I swear!"

Raphiel, however, wasn't easily swayed. "I'm sorry, but those are the rules," she said firmly.

But before she could proceed, Rei Ao intervened. "Raphiel, is there any way to let them keep their memories?"

He didn't want them to lose this experience, especially since it could be a key moment to deepen his connection with them.

"Hmm..." Raphiel hesitated. Under normal circumstances, she would have insisted on erasing their memories. But it was Rei Ao asking—someone with a particularly unique status.

Besides, the power emanating from him was immense, almost on par with the legendary seraph, Gabriel's older sister. Zelal, the strongest seraph, was said to have enough power to destroy the surface of Earth with a single strike. Zelal's horn was even feared as a tool of ultimate destruction.

Considering Rei Ao's importance, Raphiel decided to use an alternative method.

"Fine… since you're asking, Rei Ao," she said, summoning two glowing documents. "These are confidentiality agreements. Unlike the non-binding ones you signed before, these have real restrictions."

"They'll prevent them from sharing what they've seen with ordinary people."

Rei Ao nodded in agreement and gestured to Utaha and Sonoko Machida. "Sign them."

"!!!" Sonoko Machida, sharp as ever, quickly realized that the only reason Raphiel had changed her approach was because of Rei Ao. She nudged Utaha under the table.

"Sign it, Utaha," she urged.

Understanding the implication, Utaha quickly followed her lead. The two women obediently signed and pressed their fingerprints onto the glowing papers.

Raphiel checked the contracts, gave a satisfied nod, and said, "Good."

"Rei Ao, since you know these two, I'll leave it to you to explain the basics. But remember, don't tell them anything about matters beyond this world."

"Understood," Rei Ao replied calmly.

"Then I'll be going. Take care."

Raphiel clasped her hands in a prayer-like gesture, and once again, a brilliant holy light flashed. Utaha and Sonoko instinctively shielded their eyes, and when they looked again, Raphiel had vanished.

"Gulp."

Utaha swallowed hard, her body trembling as she turned to Rei Ao. "Rei Ao-kun... what... what on earth is going on?"

Rei Ao didn't respond immediately. Instead, he looked at Sonoko Machida and said, "How about we find some clean clothes for Machida-san first?"

Only then did Utaha remember how disheveled Sonoko looked.

"Let's go back to my apartment. It's close by," she suggested.

Utaha's apartment was spacious, clean, and minimalist—perfect for finding inspiration and conveniently close to her school.

While the two women freshened up, Rei Ao relaxed, checking the messages in his chat group.

Akame had tagged him.

Akame: "@Rei Ao, are you there?"

Rei Ao: "What's up?"

Akame: "Najenda wanted me to ask about Esdeath."

Rei Ao: "What specifically?"

He had a good idea of what they wanted to know.

Akame: "We've made contact with the Revolutionary Army. With General Budo's death, they're preparing to attack the Capital."

Stella: "Are you going to take down that corrupt empire? Exciting.jpg"

Shizu: "So, the rebellion begins?"

Akame: "Yes."

Rei Ao: "Well, be careful."

Rei Ao: "Friendly reminder, Esdeath is way stronger than Budo."

"Oh, do you really think that highly of me?" came a voice from Esdeath, who was apparently watching.

Akame: "..."

In Akame's room, Najenda and the others exchanged bewildered glances.

Leone scratched her head. "I thought Rei Ao had already subdued Esdeath?"

Mine huffed, her expression frustrated. "You idiot, didn't you hear? Rei Ao isn't exactly helping us."

"Huh? That's what he meant?" Leone asked in confusion.

Sheele turned to Najenda. "What should we do now?"

…

Najenda remained silent for a while. She had already witnessed Esdeath's terrifying power firsthand. Even an army of 100,000 wouldn't be enough to defeat her. Without Rei Ao's assistance in keeping Esdeath from supporting the Empire, any attack on the capital by the Revolutionary Army would be suicidal.

"Sigh..."

Finally, she let out a long sigh. "There's nothing we can do. We don't have any formal alliance with Rei Ao, so it's understandable if he doesn't help us."

She paused before adding, "But it wouldn't hurt to test his stance a bit."

She looked at Akame. "Akame, I'll leave this task to you."

"Understood."

...

In the bathroom, an unusual quiet filled the space, with only the sound of water trickling from the shower. Both women, one in the bathtub and one under the showerhead, were trying to make sense of everything that had happened. Their thoughts were still in turmoil.

Monsters, angels, and Rei Ao freezing the monsters in place—all these images replayed in their minds. The one with the most inner turmoil was undoubtedly Sonoko Machida, who was under the shower's steady stream. Her drunken stupor had long since faded, but one thought lingered: the promise she made to herself when she thought she was about to die.

She had vowed to give her first time to the first man she saw after surviving—someone she didn't dislike. That man had turned out to be Rei Ao.

There was no denying that she didn't dislike him. On the contrary, after interacting with him, she found herself feeling youthful again. That's partly why she had drunk so much at the company party, lamenting her missed opportunities.

Now, she was mulling over several questions. Did that promise still hold? Would Rei Ao even be interested in her? And how should she face Utaha?

Her thoughts were all over the place.

In the bathtub, Utaha sat up suddenly and asked, "Machida-san, don't you think today was… way too strange?"

"Strange..." Sonoko chuckled bitterly. "I still feel like I'm dreaming."

Monsters and angels weren't exactly easy concepts to accept.

Splash!

Utaha suddenly stood up, her wet body gleaming as she stretched out her arm toward Sonoko's behind.

'Slap!'

The sudden pinch on her rear made Sonoko gasp in shock.

"Utaha, what are you doing?"

Utaha just nodded, saying, "Well, it hurt, so it must not be a dream."

"???"

Sonoko clutched her behind, her face full of confusion.

"Why didn't you pinch yourself?"

"I'm afraid of pain." Utaha giggled, breaking the tense atmosphere.

As she reclined back into the tub, she gazed up at the ceiling and muttered, "What exactly is Rei Ao? Not only does he have powers, but he also knows angels."

Every time she met Rei Ao, it seemed like he revealed a new side of himself, shrouded in layers of mystery.

"I have no idea… but from a light novel perspective, maybe there's some kind of hidden world, and Rei Ao might belong to some organization within that world," Sonoko speculated, her editor's imaginative mind already running wild.

Her theory wasn't too far from the truth.

"Still, Rei Ao seems to have quite a high status. Even that angel seemed to defer to him," Sonoko added with a sigh.

Utaha nodded in agreement. "Yeah, without Rei Ao, we might've had our memories erased."

Sonoko mulled it over, concluding, "Rei Ao isn't just our savior. He also made sure we retained our memories. So, I've made a decision."

She suddenly turned to face Utaha.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Utaha felt uncomfortable, especially with Sonoko's bare body facing her directly.

After gathering her thoughts, Sonoko spoke. "Utaha, I might have to apologize to you."

"???"

Utaha was confused. What was going on now?

Sonoko then confessed about the vow she had made during her near-death experience and revealed her current thoughts.

As she listened, Utaha's expression grew more and more bizarre. Finally, she let out a sharp yelp.

"What did you say?!"

Before she could say more, Sonoko quickly covered her mouth.

"Shh!"

Utaha nodded reluctantly, signaling that she wouldn't shout again. Once her mouth was free, she asked in disbelief, "Machida-san, that's just…"

She wanted to protest, but found herself at a loss for words. What could she even say? That this was ridiculous? That it was… like an older woman chasing after a younger man?

But then, why did she feel so oddly uncomfortable about it?

"Utaha…" Sonoko said earnestly, "You can't imagine how hopeless I felt when I thought I was going to be eaten. That moment, my deepest desire surfaced, and this is the result."

"…"

Silence fell between them once again, while in the living room, Rei Ao glanced toward the bathroom door, his curiosity piqued.

A while later, the two women finally emerged, dressed in clean sleepwear. It was clear that the sleepwear Sonoko had borrowed from Utaha was a bit tight on her.

"What do you want to ask?" Rei Ao got straight to the point.

The two women exchanged glances before Utaha spoke up. "The monsters, the angels… and you."

"Monsters are creatures, angels are as you saw, and as for me, I'm just a human with special abilities."

Rei Ao's answer was short and to the point.

"???"

Both women stared at him, utterly baffled. Was that supposed to be an explanation?

Rei Ao shrugged. "You wouldn't really understand even if I explained in detail. Just think of it this way: there are things like angels and demons in the world, and I'm… special."

"For example, the angel you just met, Raphiel, is actually a transfer student in Class 2-A at your school."

"Wait, what?!"

Utaha exclaimed in shock.

Sonoko Machida also widened her eyes. "But, Utaha, aren't you in that school?"

"Yeah, but…"

Utaha had heard rumors about four beautiful transfer students in the second year, but never in a million years would she have guessed that one of them was an angel.

"Wait, are all four of them angels?!"

Rei Ao shook his head, which made Utaha sigh in relief. However, his next words left her completely dumbfounded.

"No, two are angels, and two are demons."

"Demons?!" Sonoko gasped in horror.

When most people think of demons, they picture terrifying, dangerous creatures. Utaha and Sonoko were no exception.

"Relax," Rei Ao reassured them. "They won't harm humans. And the reason they're at the school is mostly because of me. Just understand that I'm… unique."

"…"

He was certainly unique. Perhaps even 'too' unique.

Being able to chat casually with angels and demons was beyond anything they had ever imagined.

~~~

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