Slipping silently out of the compound, Mael let out a deep sigh of relief.
Welp… time to head back home. It's already late, he thought to himself.
As he walked along the empty street, his thoughts returned to his encounter with Azazel.
Archangels were forbidden from entering the mortal realm—so why was he here?
Time passed quickly, and Mael finally arrived at his destination—the motel.
"Finally back home," he said as he made his way up the stairs.
I'll pay my dues tomorrow. No need to disturb Mrs. Joann this late at night, he thought, letting out a small chuckle.
And with that, Mael entered his room and lay down to rest for the night…
Click—
The door opened, and Mael stepped into the morning. He inhaled deeply, the cool air filling his lungs, before letting out a long, weary breath.
Mael glanced down at the five gold coins resting in his palm and muttered, "Alright… time to pay my rent to Mrs. Joann."
He turned his head to the right and, as usual, spotted the cleaning lady. Raising a hand, he greeted her, "Morning."
Mael locked the door behind him and headed for the stairs.
"Young boy, don't you want your room to be cleaned?" the cleaning lady asked as Mael passed by her.
"Maybe next time!" he said while heading down the steps. "I'll be back soon—see ya!"
His voice disappeared as he went downstairs.
Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!
The door burst inward.
"WHAT!?" Joann yelled in anger. However, when she caught sight of the glint of gold in Mael's palm, her demeanor softened.
With a sigh, Joann said, "Come in," gesturing toward her office.
"Woah, you've got quite a nice place here, Mrs. Joann," Mael said.
Although it was nothing compared to the buildings of Paradiso, it was still rather nice—especially considering how rundown the outside looked.
As Mael looked around the room, his gaze drifted toward the coffee table, where a little girl sat silently sobbing. Several study books were scattered across the table before her.
"Mrs. Joann, who is that?" Mael asked, his curiosity drawing his gaze toward the corner of the room.
Joann followed his line of sight. "That's my granddaughter," she said. Then, raising her voice, she called out, "Lily, come here and greet our guest."
The sudden command made the girl freeze, her shoulders tensing as though she had been caught doing something wrong. After a brief pause, she wiped at her eyes and forced herself to stand.
"O-okay… I'm coming," Lily murmured, her voice barely above a whisper as she stepped away from the table.
Her long brown hair fell straight down her back, barely stirring as she moved, a small pink hair clip fastened to one side of her head. Dark blue eyes—so similar to Joann's—peeked out timidly from beneath her lashes, still shimmering with unshed tears.
She was small and delicate, her slender frame fitting for a child of no more than eight years. Dressed in a pale pink T-shirt and white shorts, she looked painfully fragile, as though a harsh word alone might make her crumble.
As Lily stepped closer to Mael, she spoke at last, a tremor running through her voice.
"H–hello… m–my name is L–Lily," she said, dipping into a small, timid bow.
"Hello, Lily. My name is Mael—nice to meet you," he said, offering her a small, gentle smile.
As Lily lifted her head, her eyes met Mael's smile. Her cheeks flushed pink in embarrassment, and she quickly looked away, her fingers fidgeting at her side.
Joann suddenly spoke up, her voice loud and sharp. "Lily, go back to the table and study some more!"
"Y–yes, Gram-Gram," she whispered, quickly retreating to the table with small, hurried steps.
Why is she so harsh toward her own grandchild? Mael wondered.
"Alright, sit there and wait," Joann said, pointing toward the large office desk. "I'll head out to the print shop to get the invoice. My printer's busted."
With that, Joann picked up her laptop and left the room, closing the door behind her and leaving Mael and Lily alone…
Minutes slipped by as Mael waited, boredom slowly creeping in.
Suddenly, a small, frustrated sound escaped Lily. She sat frozen in place, staring intently at a single question on the page, her pencil hovering uselessly above it.
"What's the matter, Lily?" Mael asked softly.
His question made her cheeks flush with embarrassment. "Th-this question is too hard," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know how to solve it."
"Alright, let me take a look," Mael said. He rose from his chair and walked over to her.
Lily's face flushed a deeper shade of red as Mael took a seat beside her.
"Alright," he said gently, leaning closer to the page. "Let's see what you're learning."
It was mathematics. A multiplication problem—simple in concept, yet daunting to her.
"See?" Lily said, pointing at the question with the tip of her pencil. "There's this letter 'X' in it… and I don't get it."
"The letter 'X' means multiply," Mael explained. He paused for a moment, then pointed to a different question on the page.
"How about we try this one instead?"
He gave her a small, reassuring smile.
"I'll help you with a similar problem, just with different numbers."
Lily smiled, her confidence returning. "Okay!"
"Six times three," Mael said gently. "You can think of it as three groups of six—or six groups of three. They both mean the same thing."
Then Mael asked gently, "So, Lily… what is six plus six plus six?"
"Let me think," Lily said softly. She raised her fingers and began counting.
"Six plus one, two, three, four, five, six… that's twelve."
She paused, then continued,
"Twelve plus one, two, three, four, five, six… that's eighteen."
She looked up at Mael, her eyes shining as she spoke in a happy, hopeful tone.
"I–it's eighteen, Mael. Am I correct?"
She waited anxiously for his answer.
A soft smile spread across Mael's face.
"That's right—good job, Lily."
He gave her a gentle pat on the head, and Lily beamed, clearly enjoying the praise.
"Alright, now what's the answer to this one?" Mael asked, pointing to the question Lily had struggled with earlier.
"Four times three."
"Ooh—oh! I know this one!" Lily exclaimed, raising her hand eagerly.
She lifted her fingers once more and began to count. Not long after, her face lit up.
"Twelve… the answer is twelve, Mael!"
"That's correct," Mael said with a gentle smile. "Great job, Lily."
Suddenly—
Ahem!
The two of them stiffened.
"Hey, boy! Get back to my desk and sign the invoice," Joann snapped from behind them.
"Alright, Lily," Mael said gently as he stood up. "I think you should be able to do this by yourself now."
With that, he turned and walked back toward Joann's desk.
"Sign here," Joann said, pointing to the invoice as she sat across from Mael.
Mael took the pen and signed his name.
"Coins," Joann demanded, opening her palm.
Without a word, Mael handed them over.
"Okay, good," Joann counted the coins then said, "Now, you can get out of here."
With that, Mael walked out of her office.
Before heading up the stairs to his room, a thought crossed his mind.
How odd… I didn't feel her presence when she returned.
Normally, I would have sensed someone approaching long before they spoke.
Was it because I was preoccupied—or because my angelic abilities are restricted?
With a quiet sigh, he climbed to the third floor, unlocked his room, and gently shut the door behind him.