"Thanks for the compliment."
Kiga replied evenly, her expression entirely unchanged.
At that moment, Pochita scampered down from the upstairs bedroom.
Perhaps drawn by the scent of the snacks, or perhaps reacting to the distinct aura of the Famine Devil.
Judging by Pochita's behavior upon dashing down, the Famine Devil's scent was overwhelmingly the primary factor.
Having previously fought in the grand war against the Four Horsemen, Pochita was intimately familiar with the Famine Devil, who was one of those very horsemen.
The moment Pochita reached the bottom of the stairs, it bared its teeth and growled directly at Kiga.
"Woof! Woof!"
"Pochita, don't do that, this big sister isn't a bad person."
Seeing Pochita act like this, Denji immediately hurried over to soothe it.
Yet Pochita remained tense, continuing to glare fiercely at Kiga with an aggressive expression.
"Although I did join my sisters in ganging up on you back then, I harbor zero hostility toward you now, so there's no need to look at me with such intense animosity."
As always, Kiga tilted her head slightly, speaking to Pochita with a completely flat, emotionless tone.
Pochita wasn't about to drop its guard that easily, however, until Otonashi Chiya stepped in. "Pochita, she really isn't our enemy. We're in a cooperative relationship now, and she has a contract with me, so you don't need to worry about her causing trouble."
Only then did Pochita finally relax its vigilance, though it still maintained a respectful distance from Kiga.
"So its name is Pochita now? A rather cute name. I never expected it to turn out looking like this."
Kiga felt a mild sense of surprise regarding Pochita's current appearance.
Transitioning from the ferocious, legendary Chainsaw Man of Hell into such a seemingly "harmless" little canine created a jarringly massive contrast.
She understood how Pochita ended up in this form, knowing that the War Devil had similarly weakened to the point of resembling a small animal.
Yet she could clearly sense that Pochita's power had already recovered to nearly its peak, bearing no resemblance to the crippled state of the War Devil. Why would it deliberately choose to maintain its weakest physical form?
"What's the deal with this Kiga person? Why is Pochita reacting with such intense hostility toward her?"
At this point, driven by a mix of curiosity and concern, Shingetsu couldn't help asking Otonashi Chiya.
Reze and Kobeni were naturally harboring a fair bit of curiosity as well.
Being a humanoid devil while carrying an unknown history with Pochita made her impossible to ignore.
Right as Shingetsu finished speaking, Kiga characteristically chimed in with a touch of stubborn insistence, "Call me Little Famine (Kiga-chan)."
Otonashi Chiya was momentarily debating whether he should directly reveal Kiga's true identity as the Famine Devil when Kiga beat him to it, stating bluntly, "I am the Famine Devil. Back in the day, I had some unpleasant history with the Chainsaw Man—or rather, Pochita, as we should call him now—which is why it still dislikes me to this day."
"The Famine Devil...?"
Reze fell into a brief moment of contemplation. "Isn't that name part of the legendary Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?"
To accommodate Denji and Kobeni, Kiga had been speaking in Japanese. Unbeknownst to her, Shingetsu was the only one in the room who didn't understand Japanese, leaving her completely out of the loop.
Fortunately, Reze kindly offered a translation for Shingetsu, though she couldn't resist a mischievous spin: "Little Famine is saying she's the Famine Devil of the Four Horsemen, but she was so completely captivated by Otonashi Chiya's charm that she's now voluntarily following along by his side."
"What..."
Shingetsu faltered visibly.
Ever since she had met Otonashi Chiya—and especially after crossing paths with Reze—her usually ice-cold, aloof composure had shattered on more occasions than she could count, thanks to Reze's relentless teasing and playful prodding.
The crux of the matter was that Shingetsu was remarkably innocent when it came to matters of romance and social banter, leaving her completely at Reze's mercy.
"Cough, cough..."
Otonashi Chiya let out an intentional cough. "Reze, dial back the embellishments. Little Famine didn't say anything remotely like that."
"You—!"
Shingetsu finally caught on, realizing yet again that she had been played by Reze.
"Hehehe~"
Reze stuck out the tip of her tongue in a playful gesture.
Yet, despite Reze's heavy-handed embellishments, Kiga didn't offer a single denial. Instead, she nodded and remarked, "That is essentially the gist of it. There is nothing particularly incorrect about that statement."
After all, she genuinely considered herself captivated by Otonashi Chiya's "charm"—defined primarily by his immense strength and the exquisite taste of his blood—making her more than willing to cooperate with him.
Clearly, her interpretation wasn't quite aligned with the romantic nuance Reze had implied.
"..."
Otonashi Chiya gazed at Kiga with a helpless expression, falling completely silent.
Shingetsu's pupils dilated abruptly.
So when all was said and done, this humanoid devil was still essentially a "rival"?
However, this time it was Denji and Kobeni's turn to be entirely lost, as Kiga had spoken in Russian.
"Eh...? Huh?"
Even Reze was momentarily caught off guard.
Her previous remark had purely been intended as a joke; she never expected Little Famine to actually validate it straight-faced.
"Reze-neesan, what are you guys talking about?"
Noticing the peculiar reactions rippling through the group, Denji asked with genuine curiosity.
"It's nothing, just chatting about Little Famine's background and such."
For once, Reze refrained from teasing Otonashi Chiya.
Sensing that Kiga's underlying intent differed from her own joke, she chose to gloss over it rather than explaining the details to Denji and Kobeni.
Still, a bit of light teasing was practically mandatory. Reze leaned in close, whispering quietly right into Otonashi Chiya's ear, "First the Seven Deadly Sins' Wrath Devil, and now one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse—the Famine Devil. I can only say you really live up to your title, 'darling'~"
You really are a 'sinfully captivating' human man, aren't you~
At the same time, Scarlet chimed in from within Otonashi Chiya's consciousness with a deliberately playful tone.
"Will you both cut me some slack..."
Otonashi Chiya felt completely desensitized by this point.
Steering the subject back to practical matters, he promptly transitioned the conversation. "It's already well past lunchtime, so let's head out for a meal together. Everyone, how does that sound?"
"Since the snacks are almost gone, you can just snack on these along the way."
Otonashi Chiya handed the remainder of the snack stash directly to Kiga.
"Sounds great! Changing up the routine with a trip outside every once in a while isn't a bad idea at all."
Denji readily agreed.
"Woof~"
Pochita barked a soft affirmation.
Its initial hostility toward Kiga had already subsided quite a bit, having observed that she was coexisting peacefully with Otonashi Chiya and the rest of the household.
Even so, it couldn't drop its guard entirely, knowing all too well that the Famine Devil's remaining sisters were each more troublesome than the last.
"I—I think that sounds nice too," Kobeni murmured quietly.
"As it happens, Miss Shingetsu and I just discovered a rather decent restaurant recently. We can all head over and give it a try—I'm sure Little Famine will love it," Reze proposed.
"I have no objections."
Kiga replied indifferently, her attention already entirely consumed by the snacks in her hands.