The door of the barbecue restaurant was pushed open, and the copper bell hanging above it gave a clear, tinkling ring. Three girls entered one after another from outside, and by coincidence, Sato knew all of them.
Gabriel, Vignette, and Raphiel.
Sato, who had turned his head, saw them, and naturally, they saw him too.
Gabriel's expression was initially one of slight surprise, but it quickly turned into the look of someone thinking, "How did I have to run into you here too?" Her face was full of disgust.
Sato was exactly the same.
His face was practically screaming, "How did I have to run into you, this useless angel, even here?"
"Nohara-kun!"
Compared to Gabriel, the fallen angel, the angel-like demon girl Vignette was obviously much more likable.
When she saw Sato, her eyes brightened slightly, and she gently waved at him.
Vignette's eyes were beautiful. They looked like violets standing in the sunlight, or perhaps purple jade.
Clear and bright.
Sato nodded to her in greeting, then looked at Raphiel beside her.
Raphiel's eyes curved into crescent moons as she smiled.
Although this girl was an angel, Sato was somewhat wary of her.
His intuition told him that she was even more troublesome than Gabriel.
At the same time, Raphiel, who had her eyes narrowed into slits, was filled with delight.
Ara ara~
I never expected to run into Nohara-kun here. This should be interesting.
...
The barbecue restaurant was not very large, so Gabriel and the others sat down at the table next to them.
The aisle inside the restaurant was narrow, leaving the two tables practically side by side.
Sato turned around and looked at Gabriel.
Gabriel was wearing a somewhat oversized pink T-shirt, with blue short denim shorts on her lower half. It did not look much like her usual style of dress.
"Why are you guys here?" he asked.
Gabriel scratched her head, propped her cheek up with one hand, and gave a bored yawn.
"Vignette and the others insisted on dragging me out shopping."
She looked rather impatient, and the golden cowlick on top of her head bounced up and down.
Although her hair looked like someone had carefully groomed it, there was still a somewhat rough and unkempt quality to it, as though it had not been brushed properly in a long time.
Sizzle~
The hot oil on the barbecue meat bubbled and released a delicious aroma.
Raphiel suddenly turned her gaze toward Kosaka Akane, who was sitting beside Sato.
"What about you, Nohara-kun? And this person is..."
"This person is..."
Sato looked at Kosaka Akane, and his voice suddenly trailed off.
How was he supposed to introduce her?
Kosaka Akane was also looking at him with interest, seemingly curious about how he would introduce her.
"...my friend."
Sato finally introduced her.
Kosaka Akane froze for a moment, then an intense smile immediately spread across her face. Even her eyes were filled with amusement.
A friend?
How interesting.
Kosaka Akane and Raphiel thought the same thing at the same time.
Then Kosaka Akane asked with a bright smile, "Miyabi-sensei, what about these girls?"
"Of course they're friends too!"
This time, Sato answered without the slightest hesitation.
Vaguely, he seemed to hear Akane making a sound of amazement.
"What are you thinking about, Kosaka-sensei?" he asked.
Kosaka Akane was reaching out to turn the meat on the grill. After her sleeve slid upward, it revealed her fair wrist, white and dazzling like freshly fallen snow.
Her eyes were a wine-red color, much like Utaha's. When she smiled, the corners of her eyes curved slightly, giving her a charming air.
"I was thinking..."
She put down the chopsticks she had been using to turn the meat, raised her eyes, blinked at Sato, and smiled sweetly.
"Miyabi-sensei knows so many beautiful girls, so how come I've never heard you mention having a girlfriend?"
Swish!
In an instant, several pairs of eyes turned toward Sato in unison.
Sato was rendered speechless.
He could not help shaking his head helplessly as he looked at Akane.
"How did Kosaka-sensei become such a gossip too?"
There was a glass of lemon water in front of Kosaka Akane. She held the straw and gently stirred the ice cubes, making them clink against the glass.
The girl smiled at Sato across from her.
"Well, it is rather intriguing. Come to think of it, even among all the beautiful girls I know Miyabi-sensei has met, there are quite a lot of them. But I've never seen Miyabi-sensei have any particularly intimate contact with anyone..."
That's only because you haven't seen it!
Sato complained inwardly.
"Or perhaps..."
"Nohara-kun isn't interested in women at all, and what he actually likes is..."
Raphiel immediately picked up the conversation. She wore the same unsettlingly radiant smile, and an unnatural flush rose across her face. She looked somewhat excited.
Compared to her, she seemed even more frightening than Kosaka Akane. After all, Raphiel smiled with her eyes narrowed.
What was that saying again...?
People who smile with their eyes closed are all monsters!
The moment he heard Raphiel's words, that feeling became even more distinct.
In short, none of the people he was facing right now were good people. They were all dark and scheming, dark and scheming...
Well, except for Vignette.
Although Vignette's species was written as "demon," it was read as "angel"!
"First of all..."
Everyone looked at him.
Aside from the two scheming ones, Kosaka Akane and Raphiel, Vignette looked very curious. Gabriel was still propping up her cheek with her hand, looking completely unmotivated as she glanced sideways at Sato.
"My preferences are completely normal."
The two instigators remained unmoved. Vignette's face reddened slightly, while Gabriel tilted her head a little and clicked her tongue disdainfully.
Anyone who did not know better might have thought she was a fujoshi who was disappointed by what she had just heard.
"Furthermore..."
Sato paused, then slowly said, "I already have a girlfriend."
Kosaka Akane and Raphiel looked surprised, while Vignette covered her mouth in astonishment.
"Huh?!"
But the most shocked of all was Gabriel.
She stared at Sato in disbelief and cried out, "Why didn't I know you had a girlfriend?!"
The others opened their eyes wide and looked at Gabriel.
Raphiel stared at Gabriel excitedly, and even her breathing seemed to become slightly quicker.
Her eyes were practically glowing.
Could it be that Little Gab has feelings for Nohara-kun...?
Sato glanced at her.
"Why do you need to know?"
"I live next door to you, don't I? If you had a girlfriend, I would definitely know!"
Gabriel looked at Sato suspiciously.
Sato's mouth twitched as he stared at Gabriel, then he said irritably, "You should think about how many times we've even seen each other this semester! You fallen a... fallen creature!"
Whew, that was close. I almost let it slip!