"Gabriel..." Jhin's voice trembled slightly. "What would you like to eat later?"
"Wh-whatever you like, I'm not picky," Gabriel replied, her voice equally shaky. She suddenly remembered she wasn't wearing socks and hurried back to the bathroom.
It seemed this crisis was temporarily averted. Jhin hoped Gabriel wouldn't come after him for revenge later.
Jhin wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, then saw Gabriel peek her head out of the bathroom, her face flushed. She held up a pair of black garter stockings and demanded indignantly, "Jhin! What is this? You expect an angel to wear these?"
"I didn't buy these! You threw away those fishnet stockings last time, didn't you? Kazuki gave me these garter stockings, saying they were part of the maid outfit. If you don't like them, you don't have to wear them."
Gabriel hesitated, looking at the alluring black garter stockings in her hand, then down at her bare, delicate feet.
'If I don't wear socks, won't I be even more attractive to Jhin? What if he finds out I was topless earlier? If I go barefoot in this maid outfit, won't I be walking right into his trap?' After much internal deliberation regarding her purity, Gabriel ultimately decided to put on the garter stockings. 'Being stared at a little more was better than being directly assaulted.'
"Gabriel, the high-quality red tea leaves you mentioned last time have arrived. They're in the same cabinet where the tea bags were!"
"I know!" Gabriel replied, then quickly hurried into the kitchen. Even in the few seconds it took to go from the bathroom to the kitchen, she could feel Jhin's gaze lingering on her calves, only solidifying her conviction that she'd made the right choice.
This time, she had learned her lesson. Before entering the kitchen, she grabbed a small stool and stood on it to retrieve the red tea leaves from the cabinet.
Gabriel first filled the electric kettle and boiled a full pot of water, then placed about a third of the red tea leaves into the teapot. After boiling for thirty seconds, she poured the water into the teapot, watching as the tea leaves unfurled their straight, slender forms in the hot water.
Next, she rinsed the teacups with boiling water, then filled them to warm them before pouring the tea, ensuring the temperature difference wouldn't hinder the tea's full aromatic release.
After another five or six seconds, Gabriel poured out the boiling water from the teacups and slowly poured the light red tea, creating a small whirlpool as its fragrant aroma permeated the air.
Gabriel finished brewing the tea and carried the teapot and cups out of the kitchen on a tray.
Jhin wrinkled his nose, the rich aroma of the tea already wafting over to him before it was even placed on the table. He praised sincerely, "Gabriel, your skills are amazing. I can smell the tea before it's even on the table."
"Of course!" Gabriel bent down to place the tray, and the hem of her skirt lifted slightly, revealing a hint of the garter beneath. It was like a cat scratching at Jhin's heart, stirring a delightful itch.
Indeed, clothing makes the difference. Even a supposedly useless angel like Gabriel, when dressed in a maid outfit, could make Jhin's heart race. 'Should he try to trick Bocchi-chan into trying it next time?'
Just imagining the scene made Jhin's nose itch.
'A very good maid outfit, making my personal terminal spin wildly.'
Gabriel had no idea that while Jhin was drinking tea, his mind was filled with lewd thoughts. Otherwise, she would have definitely used holy light to give her best friend a good brainwashing.
"By the way, what's your class planning for the cultural festival?" Gabriel wasn't interested in the cultural festival itself, but the three days off from school made her look forward to it. 'She even wondered if she should just skip school for those three days and stay home to play games.'
"A maid café. What about yours?"
"A haunted house."
"Both are the most common events you see in anime and novels."
"What about the boys, then? They won't be wearing maid outfits too, will they?" Gabriel imagined Jhin in a maid outfit and couldn't help but giggle, her shoulders shaking.
Jhin held his teacup and shot her a sideways glance. "How could that be? The boys will mostly be helping out in the kitchen."
"Oh, are you in charge of cooking? Then I absolutely must try some."
"You're overthinking it. At most, I'll just be doing some basic vegetable prep. Besides, I heard from the class committee that our budget isn't enough, so most of the food will be frozen."
Gabriel had no desire to spend money on frozen food. She propped her face up with her hand, her interest visibly waning. "Forget it then. I'll spend next month's living expenses on something else."
"You should be spending your living expenses on proper living!"
"Playing online games is part of proper living!" Gabriel argued vehemently.
"Your parents would cry if they knew."
"They don't know about that. Speaking of which, what about your parents? I've never seen you contact them."
"What, you want to meet my parents?"
Gabriel rolled her eyes at Jhin. "You're crazy. What kind of daydream are you having?"
"Just consider them missing for now." Jhin shrugged, spreading his hands helplessly. "I don't know what their situation is now."
'As a transmigrator, he probably didn't have parents in this world.'
'Hiss, wait, no parents, very rich—could I be this world's Batman?'
'Just kidding. I don't want a bunch of Arkham Asylum lunatics popping up in my daily life.'
Jhin nudged Gabriel's shoulder. "If you really want to go back to my hometown with me, I'll have to give you a name that fits in."
Gabriel's previously drooping eyelids suddenly lifted. She was quite interested in this topic. "What kind of name are you planning to give me?"
"Jiang Baili?"
(Basically, names converted into Chinese, similar to how Miguel is the Spanish equivalent of Michael, It's just a joke; they're not going to change their names or anything like that.)
"Jiang... Baili?" Gabriel awkwardly attempted to pronounce the name, her delicate eyebrows furrowed. "That feels a bit strange. What about Raphiel and the others?"
"Let me think..." Jhin pondered for a moment before blurting out a name. "Liang Feier."
"Pfft, what a strange name." Gabriel nearly spat out her tea. She wiped her mouth and urged Jhin to quickly come up with the next name.
"For Vignette... Wei Nait?"
Gabriel clutched her stomach and laughed uproariously. "Hahahaha! Next one! Next one!"
"Satania... Saniya?"
"Jhin, you're a genius!" Gabriel wiped away her tears of laughter and continued patting Jhin's shoulder. "I'll tell them later about the names you came up with for them."
"As long as you're happy, I'll go check what's left in the fridge."
"I already checked. There's nothing in there."
"Alright, then I'll head out to buy some groceries."
"Mhm."
Gabriel lay on the floor, rubbing her aching stomach, her limbs sprawled out in relaxation, enjoying the cool air from the air conditioner.
'Just making tea for Jhin once a month and getting five thousand yen—it's great!'
Before long, Jhin returned from grocery shopping, but he returned with an extra red-haired girl in his arms, a sight that made Gabriel's eyes sting.
"Jhin, what's with her?"
___
🔥 New stories are available now! 🔥
We're handing out that '25% bonus' that makes your wallet smile. 😄
✅ Access up to 40 advanced chapters of ALL stories!
✅ Receive exclusive content and updates!
Help us hit our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 180 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan