Kei tried to leave the house.
Emphasis on tried.
He made it as far as the front gate with a backpack, a granola bar, and zero dignity—before the world itself seemed to hiccup.
The sidewalk looped.
The street reset.
The neighborhood blurred into a watercolor smear.
And he was back in the living room.
Again.
Third time that morning.
"I think I broke physics," he muttered, slumped on the floor.
Aris looked up from her laptop with zero sympathy. "Clause 7: Tenant may not exit residence until spiritual objectives are fulfilled."
"Clause 8," Vel added with a wink, "also prohibits unauthorized teleportation attempts, loophole marriages, or sexy pacts with rival demons."
Kei groaned.
That's when the front door slammed open.
"HEY! Is the newbie hot or not?!"
A girl barged in like she owned the world—and she looked the part: high heels, glitter eyeshadow, emerald bomber jacket, and perfectly styled hair that shifted tones with the light. Her eyes flickered green and gold.
She zeroed in on Kei like a predator.
"Ohhh, you're the mortal. Huh. Mid-tier cute. But we can work with that."
Kei recoiled instinctively. "And you are—?"
"Aera," she said, flipping her hair. "Envy. You'll thank me later."
"For what?"
"Competition, duh."
Aera plopped down beside him, grabbed his phone, and began scrolling through his socials like she'd done it a thousand times. "This feed? Embarrassing. Your coworkers? More successful. Ex? Doing better."
Kei flinched. "Okay, rude."
"You need motivation. I'm your motivation." She shoved the phone in his face. "See this guy? Same age as you. He just bought a house. Let's beat him."
"I don't even have health insurance."
"We start small."
Vel giggled from across the room. "Aera's how you become insecure but productive."
Before Kei could retort, a warm, rich scent filled the house.
Cinnamon. Butter. Something… healing.
He turned.
A figure waddled in from the kitchen—round face, messy apron, flour smudged cheeks, and a twinkle in her eyes. She balanced a stack of pancakes like it was sacred treasure.
"Hi sweetie!" she said brightly. "You look like you haven't eaten in days."
Kei blinked. "Uh—"
"Name's Tobi," she beamed. "Gluttony. But not the bad kind. The comfort food, feed-your-soul, cry-into-cookies kind."
She handed him a plate so fast it was already in his lap.
"Eat. Now. It's mandatory."
Kei glanced down. The pancakes were… smiling. She'd used jam and berries to make little faces.
He sniffed. "Is this… raspberry?"
"And redemption."
He took a bite.
He cried a little.
---
Later…
Kei sat at the dining table again. All seven sins were finally assembled, in varying states of chaos and color coordination.
"So," he said. "Let me get this straight."
"You signed the lease," Aris confirmed.
"Which means I'm stuck here."
"Until we fix you," Vel added.
"And I can't leave."
"Unless you want the 'soul-devouring consequences' option," Aera said, filing her nails.
"Which no one's picked in, like, 300 years," Tobi added cheerfully.
"And each of you represents a sin that's supposed to… help me?"
"Or make you suffer through self-improvement," Rika grunted, stretching in the corner.
Kei rubbed his temples. "So what happens if I survive this?"
Aris closed the folder with a snap.
"You move out," she said. "Fixed. Stable. Stronger. Free."
Kei looked around.
At Vel's grin. Rika's flex. Nebu snoring. Aera scrolling through his embarrassing photos. Tobi cutting fruit into stars.
And he sighed.
"…Fine. I'll stay. For now."
Vel smiled like she'd won a bet.
Aris stood. "Contract complete."
And just like that—Kei's soul stopped vibrating.