The Heroines All Regretted It

Yoru didn't pay her any attention and went back to the bedroom to read for an hour.

When the time was about right, he changed into a new outfit and came out.

"Hmm, Yoru, are you heading out?"

Gabriel opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Getting a haircut."

Yoru adjusted his uncomfortable hair—it was too loose and annoying. He made a scissor motion with his fingers.

"Mind waiting a bit? Vigne will come by soon. Let's go together."

Gabriel suggested.

Hearing Gabriel mention her, Yoru remembered who Vignette was and nodded.

He squeezed onto the small couch. Sansan immediately jumped into his lap, so he started playing with her using a cat teaser wand.

Only about ten minutes later—

"Sumimasen, sorry for the intrusion~"

Vignette took off her shoes at the door and curiously walked in.

Gabriel had already messaged her in advance.

After saying hello, there was no rush to leave, so Vignette sat down to chat for a while.

San-san, being so cute, made it impossible for anyone to walk away. She ended up being passed into Vignette's hands.

"Speaking of which, I invited Satania earlier, but she didn't agree to come…"

Vignette gently stroked San-san as she chatted with Gabriel.

"Ah, Satania?"

Gabriel yawned indifferently.

Always making a fuss in class, openly declaring herself a demon from the demon world, constantly shouting that she'd become a great demon and make puny humans submit…

The funny thing was, no one in class took her seriously. Everyone just thought of Satania as a cute, delusional foreign transfer student.

Not a single person suspected her true identity.

Gabriel was very close with Vignette, but her relationship with Satania was… neither good nor bad—more like oddly neutral.

"Satania really leaves me speechless," Gabriel muttered, twitching her mouth.

…

"Unforgivable! My most loyal friend from hell, Vigne—you've betrayed me, betrayed our demon realm, and now you're friends with an angel…"

The demon Satania, whom Gabriel was just talking about, was now downstairs near the apartment, hiding behind a utility pole. She muttered to herself while staring up at Yoru's place, her face full of tragic grief.

The next second, her expression flipped like a switch and collapsed into pitiful disappointment.

(っ╥╯﹏╰╥c)

"Ah~ Vigne~"

Satania actually really wanted to go shopping with Vignette too.

At that moment, taking advantage of Satania's distraction, Yoru stepped out of the apartment first and walked onto the balcony corridor.

Gabriel came out right after, then turned around to go back inside and change clothes. Vignette was the last.

"See you, San-san."

Waving goodbye to the cat.

"Him… that chubby guy?"

When Satania looked again, she was surprised to spot Yoru.

"I remember seeing him with Gabriel a long time ago…"

"They seemed to be really close."

Satania stood frozen for a few seconds, trying to recall details.

Gabriel quickly changed and came out in a loose white t-shirt and shorts.

After a few words, they left the apartment.

"Hm?"

Gabriel, walking at the end, glanced back at the utility pole Satania had just been hiding behind.

Nothing there.

Did she imagine it?

Gabriel scratched her messy blonde hair.

"Mere angel, don't think you can spot me."

Satania stepped out from the shadows after they left, secretly following Yoru and the others, her gaze bouncing back and forth between Yoru and Gabriel.

The three didn't go to a train station but instead chose to walk.

Vignette and Gabriel weren't interested in shopping malls or tall city attractions, not even department stores.

They chose a market street about a 30-minute walk from the apartment.

It was full of local flavor.

The road was wide and newly paved, not run-down or cramped like one might expect. Everything looked neat, bright, and upscale.

Shops lined both sides.

"Come on in! Spend over 3,000 yen for a spin at the prize wheel! Grand prize: a seven-day Okinawa trip from a travel agency. Summer's here!"

"Fresh fruit! Fresh watermelons from Kumamoto! Flown in just last week…"

"July eel! July eel! Fresh live eels, now on discount!"

Yoru was carrying a bag of fruit when he stopped in front of a fish stall.

Gabriel and Vignette naturally stopped with him.

"Hey there, young man, check out these eels. Really plump and lively. What do you think?"

"Here, I'll give you gloves. Want to try grabbing one to test how lively they are?"

The fish stall owner, wearing a white towel around his head, enthusiastically promoted his goods to Yoru.

…

"Let me see."

Yoru stepped forward and peered into the big tub filled with squirming live eels. Packed together, their bodies secreted a white, slippery slime.

Japanese people love eating eel and use all kinds of methods to prepare it—grilled kabayaki, charcoal roasted, tempura, and so on.

There's also a seasonal tradition of eating eel in July.

Specifically, on July 25th.

It's even got a name: Doyo no Ushi no Hi (Midsummer Day of the Ox).

Even chains like Yoshinoya, which don't usually serve eel, will release a limited eel bowl that day.

Every year, Yoru's mom, Kitakami Megumi, would make it for him.

"Ew, that's gross~"

Curious, Gabriel stepped forward and leaned over like Yoru.

But after seeing the mass of black, worm-like bodies writhing together, her expression turned grim and she immediately stepped back.

"Scary, huh?"

Seeing Gabriel's reaction, Vignette couldn't help taking a peek too—only to quickly retreat as well.

"Ah, you two must be foreigners, right?"

"Not used to eel? Don't worry."

"It's totally safe, not a snake, not poisonous, and super tasty however you cook it!"

The uncle now turned his sales pitch to Gabriel and Vigne.

"Are you really going to eat that, Yoru?"

Gabriel no longer used "classmate(formal)" titles when addressing him and asked curiously.

To her, that thing was just gross.

"Yeah, you've never tried it, right?"

"Eel is great this time of year. We can buy some and cook it for lunch."

Yoru nodded and looked at the vendor.

"Alright, young man, how many would you like?"

The vendor grinned so hard his eyes nearly disappeared.

The fish had price tags attached.

He might give a discount to regulars or for bulk purchases.

Yoru bought ten eels and rounded down the total. The vendor helped clean them and added some crushed ice to keep them fresh.

"I'll cook them for lunch."

Yoru weighed the bag in his hand.

After the three left, the fish vendor stood frozen for a moment.

"No way…"

"That chubby guy was out shopping with two cute foreign beauties?"

"So jealous!"

The vendor shed tears of envy, then quickly went back to serving customers.

"What are they looking at?"

Pretending to browse trinkets, Satania secretly spied from the shadows with a confused look.

And Gabriel seemed surprisingly close to that chubby guy…

An evil thought gradually formed in Satania's mind.

Just thinking about it made her adrenaline spike and her tailbone tingle.

"Hehe… Gabriel…"

Muttering her name under her breath, Satania stealthily followed after them.

She passed the fish stall, where the vendor greeted her warmly, so she glanced inside.

"Ah! What is that?! So creepy!"

Satania was startled and kept trembling as if she had narrowly escaped death.

When she finally came to her senses, she realized she had lost track of them.

…

They wandered the market street for a good hour and a half, buying everything they needed.

The three of them carried bags of groceries as they took shelter inside a hair salon while Yoru got his hair cut.

Gabriel and Vignette waited at the entrance, enjoying the air conditioning.

Summer had arrived, and midday in Tokyo was scorching hot.

Satania, who had lost track of them, wandered the streets with a frustrated and dejected expression.

"Ah~"

She opened her mouth and took a bite of a tri-color dango, chewing as she walked.

"Eh? Isn't that Satania?"

Hands in her pockets, Gabriel spotted the distinctive red hair in the crowd.

"I told her we'd be coming here, but… did she find us on her own?"

Vignette stood up and started walking toward Satania.

"Satania!"

Gabriel raised her voice and called out clearly.

Who's calling me?

Did I hear wrong…?

No, wait!

"Gabriel!"

Satania instantly snapped out of her slump and jumped up, shouting Gabriel's name.

Vignette stopped and waved, signaling her to come over.

Should I go or not?

If I go and Gabriel finds out I was secretly following them… how disgraceful for a proud demon like me.

If I don't…

Satania hesitated, staring at the hair salon, then gave a small hum and walked over.

"Hey, what a coincidence, Gabriel, Vigne."

Standing in front of the hair salon, Satania greeted Gabriel with her usual arrogance.

"Don't tell me you've been following us the whole time?"

Gabriel didn't change her expression, simply replying in a flat tone.

"Huh?!"

Satania froze, eyes wide, looking completely dumbfounded.

Then she realized she had overreacted. Leaning in until her face was almost touching Gabriel's, she whispered with a dark tone, "Angel, what are you being smug about?"

"Do you think I, the great Satania, would need to follow you around?"

"A-ha-ha-ha-ha—!"

With a dramatic spin, Satania twirled once and then began laughing at Gabriel.

That was her act on the surface. Deep down, she was drenched in cold sweat and didn't dare stick around.

Gabriel: "..."

Vignette: "..."

"Hehe, I won't waste time talking with you two. I'm leaving."

Cutting off her laughter, Satania glanced inside at Yoru getting his hair cut, then awkwardly ran off.

"She okay?"

Gabriel tilted her head adorably.

"She's fine, it's just Satania~"

Vigne was a bit speechless, but not worried.

A few minutes later, Yoru came out with his haircut finished.

He was still a bit chubby, but he looked much more refreshed.

"Let's go."

Yoru said as they headed back to the apartment on foot.

Back home, Yoru consulted a recipe and aimed to make the eel as light as possible.

It didn't need too much oil or salt—just some black pepper and chili for seasoning.

Vigne helped Yoru in the kitchen.

"Chop the green onions into sections, mix in some chicken bouillon, oyster sauce, and sesame paste—go easy on the oil."

"Sesame paste has healthy fats. It's fine to eat a little."

"Okay, got it!"

Vigne was a bit flustered but didn't make any mistakes.

Thirty minutes later.

Braised eel with chicken sauce and green onions, pan-fried eel, and stir-fried celery with shrimp were placed on the makeshift dining table by Vignette.

Seeing the neatly cut eel segments coated in rich amber sauce and bursting with umami, Gabriel began drooling uncontrollably.

So that disgusting-looking eel could smell this good? Even better than stir-fried beans.

"San-san, there's some for you too."

Yoru had set aside a small portion of fresh eel just for San-san. After feeding it to her, he sat back at the table.

"Let's eat."

Yoru looked at the two beautiful girls beside him.

Gabriel didn't hesitate. She picked up a piece of eel with her chopsticks and was about to put it into her bowl—but ended up placing it into Yoru's bowl instead.

"My chopsticks are clean. I haven't eaten yet."

Gabriel mumbled.

"Alright, I'll go first then. No need to hold back."

Yoru didn't mind at all.

As for the taste…

He'd already sneaked a bite in the kitchen.

It was amazing. Definitely good enough to open a shop. Bring in some old grandpa to cook it, and it'd have the vibe of a legendary eel master.

"So good…"

Vignette followed, picking up her chopsticks. The moment she placed the eel in her mouth, her face lit up in bliss, eyes closed with joy as she bit down.

She slowly savored the flavor.

'It looked gross, but it's seriously delicious.'

Vignette thought to herself.

Gabriel couldn't wait any longer and reached out with her own chopsticks…