After a nice breakfast and their usual mana-recharge routine, Hayashi Maki headed to school with Shiina Mahiru.
As for Gabriel, she'd probably stayed up gaming again and would definitely be late.
At the school gate they happened to run into the poised, aloof Yukinoshita Yukino.
As Mahiru brushed past Yukino, her nose twitched. She watched Yukino's back and arched a brow, muttering to herself: "That scent… it's the woman Maki-kun snuck off to 'sample' that night! So it was Yukinoshita…"
Mahiru puffed her cheeks. That shameless flirt—though he does have taste. Even an ice-cold beauty like Yukinoshita has fallen for him. Looks like I'll need to find a time to talk with her. To keep our "household" harmonious, Mahiru would go the distance. In short, she wouldn't let anyone ruin it; one way or another, she'd persuade the other girl to coexist in peace.
Yukino, for her part, felt a little miffed. As one of Hayashi Maki's "retainers," she had a mana seed too, and the moment she spotted the ring on Mahiru's finger, jealousy pricked her. That infuriating jerk—why didn't he give me and my sister rings too? So, in his heart, Shiina matters more? Annoyed, Yukino decided she wouldn't speak to him at lunch today. But could she really stick to that? She had, after all, just given herself to someone and was firmly in the honeymoon phase.
…Gabriel still came to school. Clearly she didn't want Heaven catching on to just how slothful she'd become. If she got deported back, she'd die of regret. With so much good food and fun down here, why go back? Heaven's basically prison—no computer, no internet, no games. Utterly boring!
Back in class, the thought of today's math period made her shiver. The math teacher was terrifying: bald, wore sunglasses, and looked downright menacing. Being scared of teachers is basically a student instinct.
Having skipped another day yesterday, Gabriel brazened it out and poked Hayashi Maki in the side. "Hayashi Maki, can I copy your math homework?"
"Of course," he said—how could he refuse an angel like Gabriel? It was only math homework.
But just as he took out the notebook to hand over, Vignette slapped it flat on the desk. "Nope. You should do your assignments yourself. Gabriel, copying will tank your grades. And you too, Hayashi Maki—how can you just lend your homework out to be copied?"
Hayashi Maki looked at the very serious Vignette and, feeling that forceful aura of hers, protested, "Because a friend asked. You know me, Vignette—I can't say no when a beauty like Gabriel asks."
"Friend or not, no. You're enabling her, and her grades will suffer."
Gabriel perked up at being called a beauty, then pouted at Vignette's scolding. "It's just one assignment. Not even once? That teacher is super scary and I'm out of time."
"You have time—I'll teach you." Vignette bent over and started coaching her.
"Tch, seriously?" With the shortcut blocked, Gabriel resigned herself to Vignette's help. As the Angel Academy's top student, she really did learn fast; with Vignette's guidance, she quickly got the hang of it.
Hayashi Maki could only shrug. With a helpful girl like Vignette around, his chances to interact with Gabriel dropped sharply. Maybe… he should win Vignette over too?
While they were writing, Satania's signature bombastic laugh rang from the doorway. "Wahahahaha! How embarrassing, Gabriel—you're actually doing homework? Looks like you've got a long way to go.
"I am the great demon Satania, future ruler of Hell! Petty homework? Didn't do it, obviously. Gabriel, my only rival—today I'll show you the gap between us!"
Striking bizarre poses under her classmates' awkward stares, she strutted up in front of Gabriel and kept posing.
Gabriel just spared her a glance and went back to her work. "Like this, right? Use that formula…"
"Mm-hmm, that's right," Vignette said seriously. Gabriel's ability was never in doubt—she was just too lazy.
"Hey, listen to me!" Being ignored left Satania mortified; she burst out in frustration. She'd pegged Gabriel as her rival mainly because, lately, Gabriel kept cutting class, gaming during lectures, doodling all over her textbook, and leaving half-empty bottles beside the trash—true A-rank demon behavior. Aiming to be an SSS-rank demon, Satania refused to be outdone by an angel, so she chose Gabriel as the small target to surpass. Her ultimate goal, of course, was to become a super SSS-rank demon like Hayashi Maki.
Bothered, Gabriel shot her a look and snapped, "You're noisy. Could you not interrupt my homework?"
"Eh?" Branded as "the person interrupting homework," Satania froze with tearful eyes. For all her chuunibyou swagger, she was a super timid girl who cared a lot about how others saw her. It usually didn't show—she didn't much care about humans' opinions. But Gabriel was an angel; the blunt dismissal stung and left Satania reeling.
Seeing the awkward mood, Vignette stepped in. "Satania, go do your homework too. Otherwise the teacher will chew you out."
Addressed at last, Satania perked right up, narrowed her eyes, struck what she thought was a cool pose, and boasted, "Hmph! How can a demon fear a teacher? Mere humans are nothing before me! Hahaha!"
Then she launched into her trademark cackle again. Hayashi Maki was speechless. This silly girl was missing a screw.
And so, when math class started, the bald teacher took the podium and said sternly, "All right, pass your homework forward from the back row."
Gabriel wiped the sweat from her brow and handed hers to Hayashi Maki—finished just in time.
"Uh, teacher! I have something to say." Determined to prove the gap between herself and Gabriel, Satania shot her hand up.
The teacher looked at her, puzzled. "What is it, Kurumizawa?"
Hands on hips, chest out, she declared proudly, "I didn't do the homework! On purpose!"
A vein throbbed on the teacher's forehead. "Oh? And?"
He actually let out a laugh of disbelief. It had been a while since a problem student tried openly provoking him.
Satania stood. "Hmph! I deliberately didn't do it, and I feel zero guilt. How's that for peak demonic behavior?"
Then came the signature, over-the-top laugh. "Well? Wahahahaha—wahahahaha! Are you terrified by my demonic presence? Mere humans should kneel before Lady Satania!"
She was laughing now; the next second she was in tears, standing out in the hall holding buckets.
After punishing her, the bald teacher announced the start of class. Satania, socially dead, sniffled alone in the hallway, buckets in hand.
Listening to her sobs, Hayashi Maki could only shake his head. To challenge a teacher to his face—she sure had guts.