What is life, anyway?

Rean's brain had completely crashed. His mind was blank, and yet somehow it had started pondering philosophy.

At the very least, this wasn't how a peaceful break was supposed to go, right? Getting pushed down out of nowhere?

He'd been in such a good mood today. Right now, he should've been drinking under the moonlight and looking like a refined, handsome man. So why the hell had things turned out like this?

He was the dignified Seventh Demon King, and yet he'd been shoved onto a sofa by a drunk angel. He'd finally worked up the resolve to get serious and push her away, only for her to steal his lips instead. If word of this got out, his glorious reputation would be utterly ruined!

This was beyond intolerable!

"Oh? Your face is red. Don't tell me that was your first time?"

Olga straightened up from over Rean and looked at his increasingly awful expression, smiling like a blooming flower.

"Even if you're drunk, there's gotta be a limit..."

Veins bulged on Rean's forehead. His fists clenched tighter and tighter, and his glare at Olga was so fierce it looked ready to spit fire.

He'd seen plenty of drunks before, but someone like Olga, drunk enough to practically switch personalities, was a first. Rean even started wondering if she was faking it. Maybe her goal was to pull something shady, then tie him down for good. After all, that was why she'd been following him in the first place.

He'd put up with her for days now. It was about time he let it all out... and used these two hands to beat some sobriety back into her!

"What limit? We're just getting to the good part..."

Olga leaned down and gently stroked Rean's cheek. Her tender smile was just like that day they'd talked in the alley, but the atmosphere couldn't have been more different.

"I've never done this either, but I'll be gentle. I'll take very good care of you..."

Her face drew close again. Rean's hand tensed, ready to deliver a fist of warning. But just as he was about to swing, Olga's body suddenly lost all strength and collapsed limply onto him.

"...MMP."

Rean covered his throbbing forehead and stared up at the ceiling, cursing under his breath.

If you were going to do this, then at least go all the way. Or wait until after you got punched to pass out...

He braced himself on the sofa with both hands, about to sit up and catch his breath, only to find that Olga, now drunk into a puddle, was practically glued to him. No matter how he pushed, she wouldn't budge. Soft and fragrant as she was, at a time like this she was nothing but a headache.

When this woman got drunk, she was like a pig...

Rean activated his Demonform again. Only then did he manage to lift Olga off himself and lay her down alone on the sofa. Then he casually cast a third-tier water spell, Gather Water. A clear stream flowed over the barbecue iron plate, then condensed into a medium-sized sphere of water. With a flick of his hand, he sent it flying out the window.

When he turned back, Rean crouched in front of the sofa and looked at Olga, who had already fallen fast asleep. Some time had passed. The cool moonlight slanted in through the window and landed on her fair face, still flushed from alcohol. Under that light, she no longer looked like a sloppy drunk. Instead, she looked a little like a sleeping angel...

Ah. Right. She actually was an angel.

Well, what could he do? Her usual behavior was just way too far from anything angelic.

"You know, when you're quiet, you're actually pretty likable. So how come the moment you open your mouth, you get so annoying?"

Rean reached out a finger and lightly poked Olga's cheek. The smooth, springy feel made him unable to resist pinching it a few more times.

Just like he said, Olga right now was several times more likable than usual. Even that disgusted look she'd had when they first met was better than how she acted in the daytime. At least back then, they could communicate efficiently. It wasn't like now, where everything was supposedly for world peace, yet she still made trouble all day and turned two out of every three sentences into an argument.

And because of that, he'd let his guard down and accidentally had his first kiss stolen by her...

"Rean... you can't... look at other women..."

Olga suddenly murmured in her sleep, and Rean immediately got a bold idea. He wanted to tease her a little. Quietly, he leaned close to her ear and whispered softly,

"If you keep saying things like that like it's some kind of mission, I'm gonna kiss you."

"Okay... then do it..."

"Guh... You're definitely awake, aren't you?!"

Olga's response startled Rean so badly he nearly fell backward onto the low table. But by the time he recovered and prepared to test it, Olga didn't say another word.

"Tch. Don't scare me like that, you idiot..."

Rean slumped back against the sofa and let out a self-mocking laugh. But in the next instant, the burning heat rising in his cheeks made him cover his face with both hands.

(What the hell am I even doing...?)

How had he gotten dragged into playing these little games too? Rean couldn't make sense of it no matter how much he thought about it. Something like this should've made him furious, right? So why had he ended up acting just like her instead...?

No. He had to think of a way to deal with her.

...

Mammon, Fifth Demon King's frontline stronghold — Cerus.

Aidan, one of Mammon's generals, sat in his tent, studying the troop distribution marked on the map before him. He was preparing a new battle plan, hoping to seize Yethania in the next offensive.

"General, sir! I have urgent news to report!"

A scout rushed into the tent in a panic. The fear and unrest on his face made Aidan instinctively feel that something was wrong.

"What happened? Speak."

Aidan set aside his work and looked up as he gave the order.

"Reporting to the general... our outpost outside Yethania's south gate... it was destroyed!"

The scout reported truthfully, trembling all over. The moment Aidan heard the news, his face turned ashen.

The south gate outpost had been manned by his elite troops. He had personally inspected it just yesterday. There was no way Yethania's weak and pathetic soldiers could have taken it down. So how could it have suddenly been destroyed?

"What exactly happened?"

"According to the information we gathered, Yethania got three new adventurers. It was those three who destroyed our outpost. Even the Stardust Lizards in the crystal mine were—"

"Impossible! Two hundred elite soldiers and thirteen Stardust Lizards were wiped out by just three people?!"

Aidan slammed his palm onto the table. Even the corners of the spread-out map jumped from the impact. He lowered his head, and drops of cold sweat began falling one by one onto the map.

Only three people had destroyed an outpost defended by two hundred soldiers? Since when did Yethania have experts like that?

And not just the south gate outpost. Even the crystal mine had been taken by the enemy? The thirteen Stardust Lizards they'd worked so hard to tame and bring here were just... gone?

But what made Aidan truly nervous wasn't the destruction of the outpost or the loss of every tamed Stardust Lizard. It was the fact that after several months, he'd failed to take not only the Kingdom of Tiyehua, but even a border city like Yethania. And now the crystal mine, which Demon King Mammon had given him strict orders to hold, had been taken back by the enemy. If he didn't find a way to recapture it soon, then when Mammon came to the front again to oversee the war, there'd be no way for him to explain himself.

If things went badly, he might even lose his head.

In that case...

"Pass down the order. Gather all scattered forces outside the east gate. We launch a full assault tomorrow morning."

Aidan let out a sigh, marked Yethania's east gate on the map, and gave the command.

"Sir, isn't this too sudden? I'm worried that if we don't prepare in advance, the soldiers won't be able to fight at full strength."

"If we aren't prepared, they won't be either. We'll strike with everything we've got while they're still drunk on this tiny success. We'll take Yethania in one push. If we wait until we're ready, the chance will be gone!"

"Yes, sir! I'll go at once!"

The scout voiced his concern, only to be harshly rebuked by Aidan. He hurried out of the tent to relay the order.

The sound of his running footsteps gradually faded. Only then did Aidan slowly sit back down.

For some reason, the moment he heard that three people had destroyed the outpost, his heart had leapt into his throat. Fear and unease had nearly swallowed him whole. He had this overwhelming feeling that if he didn't act immediately, the end would come for him.

But still... no matter how strong three people were, if three thousand or thirty thousand attacked together, there was no way they could hold them back... right?

...

The first light of dawn lifted the thin veil of night. The sun smiled from behind the clouds. A new day had begun.

"Mmm..."

Sunlight fell across Olga's face, making her eyelids twitch on reflex. Her sleep disturbed, she let out a cute little whine and turned over, hiding her face from the sun.

"Breakfast's ready~ Time to get up~"

"Just let me sleep a little more... kyaaaaaaaaah—!"

A man's gentle, magnetic voice sounded by her ear, and Olga instinctively started acting spoiled. But a few seconds later, her hazy mind snapped awake. Her eyes flew open. The moment she saw Rean leaning over by her ear, she let out a shrill scream.

"Y-you didn't do anything, did you?!"

Olga quickly checked her clothes. She didn't find any signs that they'd been tampered with. But then she thought of all the weird tricks Rean might have, and the heart she'd just settled immediately leapt back into her throat.

At the same time, a dizzy spell hit her head. The body she'd just forced upright nearly toppled back onto the sofa.

What happened last night... I only remember eating barbecue... What happened after that?

Don't tell me... don't tell me he drugged me?! He acts all proper, but inside he's just full of filthy thoughts!

"Don't move around so much. You chugged all the good wine I'd been saving yesterday. If you aren't hungover, who is?" Rean said with a bitter smile as he set a cup of honey water in front of Olga and helped her sit properly. "Drink this. It should make you feel better. Then after breakfast, go upstairs and find a room to sleep in for a while. You should be fine after that."

"W-wait a second! Why are you suddenly so gentle after just one night?!"

Olga took the warm honey water and abruptly realized just how abnormal Rean was acting. He was even gentler than he'd been at dinner yesterday. Honestly, it was almost gross...

"Because I think I was too harsh on you before, so I've decided to change." Rean sat down beside Olga and gently stroked that smooth, honey-gold hair. His hand slid from her hair to her cheek. Watching her face grow hotter and hotter from the hangover, he said softly, "From now on, let's get along, okay?"

"Eek—"

Olga's hands shook violently around the cup, and the liquid inside nearly spilled out.

She felt goosebumps all over her body. Sure, Rean changing his attitude toward her should've been something to celebrate, but this was way too sudden. Worse, he'd overdone it so much that it just felt unbearably unnatural!

"Stop that! This feels so weird! You trying to act cool on purpose is disgusting!"

Hahahahahahahaha! Just as I thought, she can't handle this!

Rean was laughing like mad inside. Since Olga didn't respond well to force, then he'd just go soft instead. Seeing that flustered expression on her face felt amazing.

"Come on now~ Stop sulking. Breakfast's already ready... shut up."

"—!"

Rean had been about to keep teasing Olga, but the moment he heard the commotion outside the window, his expression changed at once. He sprang away from the sofa and rushed to the window.