A bright, golden-orange flash of the Phenex clan's magic circle blinded us for a moment, and just like that, Ravel and I were no longer standing in a noisy park in the Underworld, but on a quiet, twilight-bathed street in Kuoh Town. The air here was different—cleaner, cooler, free from the scent of sulfur and that magical heaviness that always hung over the demon territories.
We stood right in front of my new house. I took a metal key out of my pocket without rushing and approached the door.
"Well then, come on in," I clicked the lock and pushed the door wide open, making an inviting gesture.
Ravel Phenex froze on the threshold. All of her aristocratic bravado, with which she had so resolutely scolded me in the park, evaporated upon colliding with reality. It was one thing to invite him to her place, to her residence, where there would be servants, guards, and where she would be the hostess. It was another thing entirely to enter his house. Alone.
She didn't budge.
"Problems?" I asked, still holding the door open.
Ravel lifted her chin, her golden twin-drill curls bouncing. "I am Ravel Phenex. Heiress to one of the 72 Pillars. Do you... do you understand what it means if I, an unmarried girl from a noble house, enter a man's home... alone?"
She didn't sound scared, but strict, almost reprimanding me for a glaring breach of protocol. I gave her a long, mocking look, under which her confidence seemed to waver slightly.
"Relax, Phenex," my voice was dripping with irony. "I'm not going to 'bite'."
At these words, Ravel flushed to the tips of her ears. Her strictness instantly gave way to righteous anger.
"W-w-what are you saying, you idiot! Pervert!" she blurted out, instinctively taking a step back from the threshold. "I wasn't talking about that at all! I'm talking about propriety! About reputation! And you... you make everything vulgar!"
"Of course I'm the one making it vulgar," I replied calmly, seeing right through her stormy reaction.
I just silently held the door open, waiting. I had no intention of coaxing her, but I didn't plan on backing down either. Her reaction honestly amused me. I could see her warring with herself: her pride demanded she turn around and leave immediately, but her curiosity wouldn't let her.
Ravel, realizing how silly she looked standing on the porch scolding the host, gave an angry huff. She adjusted her perfect curls and, proudly turning up her chin, marched right past me into the hallway.
"I'm only coming in because you insisted! And only for a minute!"
"Whatever you say," I merely pressed my lips together to suppress a smirk, and closed the door behind her.
"And anyway, what is this..." Walking into the living room, she cut herself off mid-sentence.
We were met with a strange sight. On the floor, in the middle of the rug, lay a pitch-black rabbit in a completely unnatural pose. It was lying on its back, its little paws sticking comically straight up, its eyes squeezed shut, and a tiny pink tongue lolling out of its half-open mouth.
"Oh, gods!" Ravel gasped, pressing her hands to her mouth. "Jin-san! You... you have a...!"
Her reaction was genuine. Horror and sympathy instantly reflected on her face. She started to step toward the rabbit but froze when she saw my reaction. I stood perfectly still. My eyebrow arched in surprise. For a moment, my face was just as bewildered as Ravel's. I tuned into the familiar's aura... and felt... contentment? And barely contained inner laughter.
My expression instantly flipped from surprised to annoyed. "Oh, for the love of..."
I let out a relieved sigh. "Ignore him," I said tiredly, walking past it into the kitchen. "He's faking."
"W-what?" Ravel looked at me, stunned. "Faking?"
"Exactly. If you give in now, he'll start doing this all the time. Damn faker."
Ravel, still unable to tear her eyes away from the "dead" rabbit, looked at me in disbelief, and then back at it. And at that moment, she clearly noticed one of Kuro's long black ears twitch guiltily before going still again.
"I'm going upstairs to change," my voice drifted from the hallway. "Make yourself at home."
Ravel was left alone in the living room with the rabbit. She glared at it sternly, her arms crossed over her chest. Kuro, realizing that I had left and his new audience was in no rush to pity him, "resurrected." He clumsily rolled over, hopped onto his paws, and, as if nothing had happened, began washing his face with an air of self-importance.
"W-well..." Ravel couldn't help herself. "You certainly are a little rascal."
She carefully sat down on a chair. Kuro, seeing that the danger had passed, immediately hopped over to her, sat on his hind legs, and looked up at her with his huge, ruby, absolutely innocent eyes, tilting his head slightly.
"Don't even think about it," Ravel said sternly.
The rabbit squeaked and rubbed its head against her leg.
"I said no..."
The rabbit squeaked again, this time more pitifully.
"Oh... alright. But just this once."
When I came down a few minutes later, dressed in a simple black t-shirt and loose pants, I was met with a wondrous sight. Ravel Phenex, the proud aristocrat of the Phenex clan, was sitting on a chair, and on her lap, stretched out to his full length and purring loudly, lay Kuro. With a blissful smile, Ravel was scratching him behind his ears, which were brightly glowing with a soft pink light.
"How nice," I said, leaning against the doorframe.
My voice made Ravel jump. She instantly pulled her hands away from the rabbit and resumed her aristocratic posture, though the blush on her cheeks gave her away.
"He... he came over on his own!" she immediately started to justify herself. The rabbit squeaked in displeasure at the interrupted petting.
"Of course," I chuckled. "Looks like he won't be bored while I'm in the Underworld."
"You know, Jin-san," she began, fiddling with a ribbon on her dress. "I'm just... so tired after all this traveling. And the weather in the Underworld is so exhausting... But it's so..." she looked around my empty but stylish living room, "...quiet here."
She paused, gathering her courage. "Maybe we could... postpone that tea? Stay here a little longer? I..." she desperately searched for an excuse, "...I could help you with... dinner? Not that I want to... just as a thank you for my brother! You must be hungry..."
Her cheeks were burning. She was trying with all her might to maintain a strict, businesslike appearance, but her voice trembled with embarrassment. She had just used the most transparent excuse in the world to invite herself to stay at my place a little longer.
I looked at her. At her embarrassment, at her desperate yet incredibly clumsy attempt to hide her interest behind "fatigue." It was so childish, so naive. And so... cute. I put on a thoughtful expression, as if seriously weighing her "arguments." Ravel watched me with bated hope, afraid to breathe, yet trying to look as though she didn't care either way.
A light, teasing smile appeared on my lips. "No."
The word sounded quiet, but absolutely clear. Ravel blinked in shock. Her face fell. "W-what?"
"I said, no," my smile grew wider. "I don't want to postpone it. You invited me for tea as a sign of gratitude. I want my tea. And you are the hostess, after all."
"B-but... I told you, I'm tired!" she protested indignantly, her tsundere nature rebelling against such a direct rejection. Was... was he making fun of her?!
"Then you can rest at your residence," I shrugged, heading for the door. "Maybe some other time you can stay for dinner. But for now—let's go."
I opened the door, gesturing for her to step out. Ravel Phenex froze for a second, her face twisting with a mix of disappointment, embarrassment, and anger. She stomped her foot indignantly, causing Kuro to jump back in fright, and with a huff, marched past me out into the street.
"Fine, let's go!" she tossed over her shoulder.