"Hello—! I'm back from the Demon World!"
At nine in the morning, Minos appeared at the door, a backpack on her shoulders and a hand on her rolling suitcase, waving with infectious enthusiasm. As always, she was a bundle of energy.
"Welcome, welcome," Yurine said, clapping politely.
"You're here," Jashin-chan added from the side, her arms crossed. The punishment she'd received last night had been severe, but she had fully recovered overnight.
"Minos, have you had breakfast yet?" Ryohei asked as he opened the door for her, reaching to help with her suitcase. Since it was her first official day moving in, everyone had come to the door to greet her.
Whoa, heavy! The suitcase didn't look that big, but it was surprisingly heavy. He wondered what she had packed in it.
"Ho ho—! Everyone's here!" Minos's tail swished happily. She then looked at Ryohei, her eyes shining with anticipation. "I haven't eaten yet. I rushed over here first thing in the morning, so I'm a little hungry. Is there any food?"
"I'll make you something."
"Ooh—!" That was exactly what Minos wanted to hear. Her smile grew even brighter as she followed him inside, her long, shapely legs wrapped in their mismatched stockings. The hem of her black pleated skirt revealed a dazzling sliver of "absolute territory," the top of her thigh-highs digging slightly into her skin, creating an alluring and sexy look.
Yurine placed a pair of slippers with a cartoon cow pattern on the floor—Minos had picked them out herself last week.
"Thanks," Minos said. "Ah… let's take the suitcase to the living room first. I brought some local specialties, and some gifts for you guys."
Hearing the word "gifts," Jashin-chan's interest was immediately piqued. Yurine also looked at Minos curiously.
"Hehe, I brought something super cool and rare," Minos said proudly, her chest puffed out with confidence.
Her words successfully hooked their curiosity. Ryohei remembered a scene from the anime where Minos gave Yurine a Mandrake doll, which Jashin-chan then broke, leading to her being punished.
Minos sat down on the sofa and pulled an ugly-cute doll from her backpack.
"Ta-da—! This is a Mandrake doll. If you press its stomach, it lets out a death-struggle scream," she explained, and then demonstrated.
History repeated itself.
"Eww—! That's so gross! Your taste is as terrible as ever!" Jashin-chan said, looking at the doll with disgust. "I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up."
"That's so rock and roll!" Yurine, on the other hand, was completely captivated, her eyes wide with delight.
What part of that is 'rock and roll'…? Jashin-chan thought, unable to comprehend Yurine's taste.
"See? Someone here has good taste," Minos said, pleased. "What do you think, Chef?"
"Hmm… it's kind of ugly-cute when it's not screaming," Ryohei commented, his expression complex. The scream itself was not something he could appreciate.
"Then this is for you, Yurine-chan," Minos said, handing the doll over.
"Thank you!" Yurine accepted it happily and immediately pressed it twice, filling the room with its ear-piercing shrieks. Her smile only grew wider.
"..." Ryohei turned his attention back to Minos, who was pulling something else from her bag.
"Next up is a Demon Eye Mask!" she announced, holding up a fancy box. "These are really popular in the Demon World right now. I picked out a style that would suit you guys." She handed the box to Ryohei.
"Oh, thanks," he said, taking it. He opened it to find a black eye mask that would cover both eyes. "This doesn't have any… weird effects, does it?" he asked, just to be safe. It was, after all, an item from the Demon World.
"Nope," Minos replied, then tapped her cheek as if remembering something. "But I heard they're very good for helping you sleep. And for… increasing a couple's fun."
What kind of strange uses are you teaching me? To be honest, his mind hadn't gone there at all, but now Minos had put the idea in his head. ( ﹁ ﹁ ) Yurine quietly glanced at the eye mask, her ears turning slightly red.
"How does it increase a couple's fun?" Jashin-chan asked, leaning in with wide, innocent-looking 'dot eyes'.
"...This isn't something a child should know about," Ryohei said after a two-second pause, and then pushed her face away.
"Damn it!" Jashin-chan fumed, her hands on her hips. "Who are you calling a child?! I'm over 7,000 years old! Your age isn't even a fraction of mine!"
"An 'Undying Sweets' lollipop… Jashin-chan, this is for you," Minos said, pulling a lollipop from her bag.
Jashin-chan: "..." Are you treating me like a kid, too?! And isn't this gift a little half-assed?!
Minos ignored her complaints and went to her suitcase. She opened it and took out a vacuum-sealed steak. "I also brought some of the most famous Demon World Beef! We can eat it together later!"
Yurine, who was cuddling the Mandrake doll, looked at Minos's horns, her tail, and the "BEEF 100%" logo on her shirt. "Minos," she couldn't help but ask, "can you eat beef?"
"Huh? Of course. I'm a Minotaur, not a regular cow," Minos replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Ryohei looked inside the suitcase. Besides steaks and bottles of alcohol, it was completely empty. "You didn't bring any clothes?"
"I was planning to buy some here. I really like human-world clothes," Minos replied with a bright smile.
"Fair enough," Ryohei nodded. He took two of the vacuum-sealed steaks, then thought for a moment and grabbed a third. "I'll go make you some food."
"Ooh—!" The cow-girl stood up and let out a happy cheer.
Yurine looked on with anticipation. She wouldn't mind if I had a bite, right?
Jashin-chan, meanwhile, was eyeing the Demon Eye Mask on the coffee table. As everyone knows, demons have a very strong sense of curiosity.