Saturday
Sakurai Saki wanted to spend his last weekend before Golden Week doing absolutely nothing—just lounging at home, resting his soul.
But, of course, things never turn out as expected.
Have you heard of Murphy's Law? It says that if anything can go wrong, it will—no matter how tiny the possibility.
To give a simple example: in a gacha game where a character is guaranteed within eighty pulls, when there are only five left, some people will always think, "No matter how unlucky I am, it can't possibly be the very last pull, right?"
The result? It absolutely can be.
You can doubt anything, but you can't doubt your own misfortune.
All of the above comes from Sakurai Saki's rich experience in mobile game gacha pulls.
It was now 9:30 a.m., and Sakurai Saki was reluctantly preparing to head to Gabriel's apartment.
A few minutes earlier, Gabriel had sent a dramatic message:
"A-Ying, if you don't come soon, I'm going to die!"
He knew she was probably exaggerating—but with Gabriel, you could never entirely rule it out.
Gabriel's apartment was in Nakano Ward, Tokyo. The area was convenient and cheap, so it was packed with people.
Gabriel, a so-called "angel," was living off the monthly allowance Heaven provided—and somehow still needed a part-time job because she spent it all on gacha. For her, the only reason to live in such a rundown place was to funnel every spare yen into microtransactions.
Speaking of money, one story had to be told.
A few months ago, Gabriel had even asked Sakurai Saki to become her sugar daddy—for a modest sum of 300,000 yen per month. She'd even offered "on-call companionship" and exorcism services.
"Isn't it great to have an angel as your lover?" she had said.
Sakurai Saki had glanced at the mountain of garbage in her apartment and the faintly blackened halo above her head—and rejected her on the spot.
If he were ever to support an angel, he'd prefer one who wasn't completely useless—one who could do more than play games, waste money, and look pretty.
Exiting Higashi-Nakano Station, he pushed through the morning crowds. Around 10 a.m., he finally arrived at Gabriel's apartment building—a two-story structure with an external staircase and no main gate.
In a word: dangerous.
Only someone with Gabriel's "unique" courage would live here. If a criminal ever wandered in, it was debatable whether Gabriel would pay them or the other way around.
Heaven, after all, measured angels by their good deeds—the more they did, the higher their allowance. Demons were the opposite: more bad deeds, more pay.
Under those circumstances, Gabriel would do anything for money.
Whether the poor criminals would need therapy after being beaten up by a petite blonde angel, Sakurai Saki didn't know.
The iron stairs creaked under his feet as he climbed to the second floor.
In front of door F206, he took a deep breath, fished out the key from his pocket, and turned it in the lock. After a few stubborn jams, the door finally opened.
The moment he stepped inside, he was struck by how… terminally unstable the building felt. It gave off the aura of a structure that might collapse at any moment. Only Gabriel would dare live here.
Not that he was exaggerating—she was literally the only tenant left.
Even with the cheap rent, most people wouldn't trade their safety for it.
"Heheheh~"
A cheerful humming came from within.
Sakurai Saki froze.
Hadn't she said she was dying?
His fists clenched.
"Dadadada Useless Angel ♪"
Gabriel's voice sang out in a lilting tune.
"Dadadada~ Is it useless? ♪"
Sakurai Saki blinked. "...What?"
A character song?
He'd heard this before—'DADADADA Angel', a parody song about a hopeless angel. It just sounded disturbingly natural coming from Gabriel's mouth.
He changed his shoes in the entryway, stepped through the living room, and was immediately greeted by a mountain range of garbage bags. His face darkened.
A year ago, when he first met Gabriel, she had been a gentle, polite, model angel.
What on earth had happened in just one year?
Electronic heroin—that's what.
If angels could be cured by electrotherapy, he would've signed her up for internet addiction rehab months ago.
Ignoring the mess, he pushed open the bedroom door.
Inside, a blonde girl with messy long hair lay sprawled face-down on the floor, wearing nothing but an oversized long-sleeved shirt and underwear. To her left sat a half-empty soda can; to her right, a bag of potato chips with a tiny opening.
"♪The angel's halo flickers as if it's about to extinguish...♪"
She had just sung that line.
At that exact moment, Sakurai Saki saw the dim glow of a black halo hovering above her head.
"Gabriel."
Sakurai Saki appeared behind her like a ghost.
Then came a movement so stiff it could put a thousand-year-old zombie to shame.
Gabriel's head turned painfully slow—ten times slower than normal, as if even her neck resisted the morning.
A few seconds later, she blinked.
"Ah, good morning."
Sakurai Saki looked around the dim, messy room, sighed quietly, and walked over to the window.
With one sharp pull, the curtains flew open.
"Whoosh!"
Warm spring sunlight flooded the room. Despite being an angel, Gabriel shrieked and covered her eyes like a vampire caught in daylight.
"It's so bright!! A-Ying, close it! I'm going to die!"
Sakurai Saki ignored her complaints, grabbed both her hands, and forced them away from her face.
"Did you stay up all night again?"
Gabriel's face was pale and hollow, her expression as lifeless as a zombie.
"Ah—" she groaned, sounding more like a demon than an angel.
Without a word, Sakurai Saki took off her halo and wiped it clean with a handkerchief from his pocket.
"Why can humans even touch an angel's halo?" he muttered.
Gabriel blushed, eyes darting away. "Because... I control it. Angels only let people we like touch our halos."
"The truth?" Sakurai Saki's voice dripped with disbelief.
Gabriel dropped the act immediately. "It's just a decoration."
As soon as she said that, another faintly golden, translucent halo shimmered above her head.
Sakurai Saki finished cleaning the fake one and placed it neatly back on top.
"Why did you even call me here?"
Gabriel fidgeted, looking pitiful. "I'm starving to death."
"No money?"
She coughed awkwardly. "The pay from my part-time job hasn't come in yet."
Sakurai Saki sighed, pulled out his wallet, and extracted a few ten-thousand-yen bills. Then he squatted in front of her—and began slapping her face with them.
Smack. Smack. Smack.
After venting his frustration, he said flatly, "Don't forget to pay me back next month."
Then something caught his attention. He frowned and glanced at the pile of cola bottles and junk food scattered across the floor.
"Where did all these come from?"
At that, Gabriel climbed up from the floor and burrowed into his arms. Despite her laziness, angels seemed to have an automatic cleanliness trait—she was spotless, even in chaos.
"I love you A-Ying" she said sweetly, gazing into his eyes.
Sakurai Saki rolled his eyes and slapped her face again with the banknotes.
"Don't try that trick again."
This wasn't the first time she'd used her charms to get money from him—but Sakurai Saki prided himself on not falling for the same move twice. Not even a Saint Seiya would.
"Two hundred thousand yen a month~" Gabriel cooed, lowering her voice.
She was talking about the sugar baby rate.
"Too expensive!"
"One hundred fifty thousand yen~?" she pleaded, eyes watery.
Sakurai Saki shoved her away without hesitation. "I wouldn't take you even if you were free."
He eyed the half-eaten snacks around her. She'd probably spent every last yen on junk food again.
That was just like Gabriel—she'd rather starve than give up her snacks.
If not for her divine constitution, she'd have been overweight ages ago. Apparently, the law of conservation of energy didn't apply to angels—no matter how much she ate, her figure remained frustratingly flat.
Still, willing to splurge on chips but unwilling to buy groceries… this angel was beyond saving.
"Ding dong~"
Just as Gabriel was about to throw herself into his arms again, the doorbell rang.
Her eyes instantly lit up. "My savior is here!"
"You called someone else?" Sakurai Saki asked, frowning.
"Cast a wide net, catch many fish, choose the best to follow," Gabriel said mysteriously.
"A-Ying lends me money, and Vignette handles my daily needs."
She counted on her fingers, proud of her little system.
The two walked to the entryway together.
As soon as Gabriel opened the door, she was enveloped in the arms of a girl with short, black-purple hair.
"Gabriel! Are you okay?" Vignette fussed, running her hands over the angel like an anxious mother.
Sakurai Saki said blandly, "She's suffering from poverty sickness."
Then he added, "Along with laziness, internet addiction, procrastination, study aversion, and social phobia."
Vignette's expression froze. The gentle motherly smile vanished instantly, replaced with fury.
"Gabriel, you called me here this early... for this?"
"I'm hungry!" Gabriel shouted.
"Vignette, you brought groceries?" Sakurai Saki asked, noticing the bags behind her.
The bags Vignette carried were filled with ingredients meant for recovery and nourishment.
"Vinet! Let me support you!" Sakurai Saki said suddenly, eyes shining.
Now this was the kind of angel worth supporting!
As for Gabriel—she could go back to Heaven's blacklist and rebrand herself as a fallen angel for all he cared.
"I refuse!" Vignette shot back sharply.
"I finally understand why you two get along so well!" Sakurai Saki muttered.
Both of them had the same hobby: teasing people to death.
"It's almost noon! Let me in to cook!" Vignette sighed, changing her shoes and lifting the bags again.
But as she stepped into the living room, her eyes widened.
The scene before her was... apocalyptic.
This place was dirtier than the Sea of Blood in the Demon World. Was this really an angel's residence?
"Vinet~ help me clean up!" Gabriel whined, pouting.
"Do it yourself," Sakurai Saki said dryly.
He'd cleaned this place for her too many times. Not today.
"Tch!" Gabriel clicked her tongue, reluctantly kneeling by the sofa.
As she bent down to pick up a soda bottle, her small, round backside lifted slightly, the hem of her oversized shirt riding up—revealing the faint edge of her pure white cotton panties beneath.
"Gabriel—your clothes!!" Vignette shrieked suddenly.
There was still a boy in the room!
How could Gabriel be this careless?! Everything was visible!
"Oh." Gabriel tossed the bottle into the trash, then lazily tugged her shirt down.
Vignette's face turned red as she dropped her groceries and dragged Gabriel back to her room by the arm.
Sakurai Saki just blinked, not quite understanding the fuss.
To him, Gabriel was so familiar—so hopelessly lazy—that he didn't even see her as a girl.
Besides, angels had strange ideas about love. Gabriel had explained it herself once.
"Heaven still uses letters to express affection," she'd said. "It's just like the Heian period on Earth—male and female angels exchange feelings through writing. That's why I think... maybe love in games suits angels more than real love!"
Then she'd asked, perfectly seriously, if that reasoning could justify introducing computers in Heaven.
But Heaven hadn't even built internet infrastructure yet. Computers were considered dangerous contraband that could "corrupt the minds of angels."
And that was exactly why Gabriel cared about it so much.
Sakurai Saki thought grimly: If the internet ever reached Heaven, Gabriel would be doomed.
Right now, she was only half-ruined. There was still hope—maybe.
He set the groceries in the kitchen and began washing vegetables.
A few minutes later, Vignette shoved Gabriel—now dressed in her school uniform—back into the living room.
"Next time," Gabriel grumbled, "I'm buying a one-piece pajama! A hamster-style one!"
Wearing a school uniform at home, and just to keep A-Ying from "seeing too much"?
Honestly, what was there to guard against?
Gabriel sighed, thinking. She and Sakurai Saki were just good friends. Totally platonic. Nothing romantic.
Right?
Would you ever fall in love with your brother? she asked herself. Of course not.
Although… he was handsome.
And he helped her with gacha pulls.
And sometimes he came over to take care of her.
Gabriel froze.
Wait. That doesn't sound so bad.
If she married him, she could save money, live at his place for free, and have a guaranteed caretaker for life!
Wasn't that the ideal arrangement for a freeloader angel?
"A-Ying, let's get married!" she blurted out suddenly.
"Thump!"
Her head was immediately flicked by Vignette.
"Girls shouldn't say things like that!" Vignette scolded.
"I wouldn't want you even if you were free," Sakurai Saki said flatly, resuming his chopping.
"Do you need help?" Vignette asked, trying to compose herself. She'd tasted his cooking before—it was far better than Gabriel's.
Their first meeting had also been because of her.
Back then, Gabriel hadn't fallen yet. She'd been the top student at the angel academy—brilliant, elegant, and admired by everyone.
Vignette's eyes grew misty. "Wuwu~ Why did Gabriel have to turn into such a lazy angel?"
Sakurai Saki suddenly felt a chill crawl up his spine.
...He was the one who'd introduced her to online games in the first place.
Regret struck him like lightning.
He'd destroyed an honor student.
Patreon Rene_chan