Chapter 238: Jashin-chan is a Demon Noble!
Ryohei Tanaka led the Matsuya Group construction team to the lake on the east side of the ranch. In reality, he was just there for a walk-through; he left all the actual work to Minos.
Seeing Minos arranging everything in an orderly manner with the air of a general, Ryohei Tanaka gave her a heads-up and left, feeling assured.
After all, his "visibly shocking" dessert was not yet complete. Now that the ingredients from the Demon World had arrived, the ideas he had previously shelved due to a lack of materials could finally be attempted.
...
"Minos didn't come back with you?"
In the living room, Yurine Hanazono noticed Ryohei and Lucoa return and casually glanced over, asking the question.
"No, she's staying there to oversee things," Ryohei replied with a smile as he walked toward the kitchen.
Lucoa didn't follow him, instead veering off to the sofa and finding a random spot to sit.
Jashin-chan, sitting diagonally across from Lucoa with a cup of milk tea, praised Minos with a sense of shared pride. "Minos is a real pro at this. She's personally led many of the Matsuya Group's projects to completion."
"..." Yurine wasn't surprised. She already knew Minos's family was in construction, and since Minos worked for them, it wasn't a shock that she'd be a "foreman" or "team leader."
However, this sparked her curiosity. She turned to Jashin-chan. "Speaking of which, Jashin-chan, what does your family do?"
This was the demon she was most familiar with, the one she had the most... special relationship with, and yet she knew nothing about her family.
"Guess," Jashin-chan said, taking a sip of tea and looking at Yurine from under her lowered eyelids.
"...How could I possibly guess that!" Yurine was exasperated. She'd have to be psychic to guess something like that!
"I know!" JII raised her hand cutely. When all eyes were on her, she said sweetly, "I heard Mother mention it once. Jashin-chan's family is part of the Demon World's nobility. They control the food and water supply for the entire Demon World."
"Eh!?"
"Eeeh!?"
"No way!"
The entire living room was stunned.
Yurine Hanazono, who rarely lost her composure, shot up from the sofa, staring at JII in shock. "Are you serious!? You didn't misremember, did you!?"
She looked at Jashin-chan in disbelief. This girl was a noble? From such a powerful family?
Unbelievable.
Poporon, Pekola, and the others also stared at Jashin-chan, their faces masks of astonishment.
"Alright, fine!" Jashin-chan huffed. "I was trying to live among you as a common demon! But now, the secret is out!"
The sky was clear, the rain had stopped, and Jashin-chan was feeling herself again.
She set down her tea, hopped up onto the sofa, and struck a pose with her hand on her chest. "That's right! I am a noble of the Demon World, a genuine, bona fide, high-class lady!"
"In that case," Yurine interjected, unable to stand Jashin-chan's bragging. She zeroed in on the weak point and delivered a critical hit: "As a 'noble' and 'high-class lady,' why do you have loan sharks chasing you all over the place?"
"Gak—!"
Like a goose being strangled, Jashin-chan's arrogance vanished instantly. She fidgeted, pressing her two index fingers together, and turned her head away.
"I-I don't know!" she mumbled. "I just... came to my senses, and I was suddenly in a massive amount of debt... Medusa couldn't pay it off for me, and my family won't help me with this kind of thing..."
As she spoke, she covered her mouth, and a single, crystalline tear even welled up in the corner of her eye.
She was a truly tragic noble! How sad!
"Why don't you pay it back yourself!" Yurine snapped, losing her patience at the mention of Medusa. "Who asks a friend to pay off their high-interest loans!"
JII sighed like a little adult. "Medusa is so pitiful, having a friend like you!"
"I'll hit you, you little brat, you believe me?!"
That, Jashin-chan could not ignore! She immediately put on a fierce expression, clenched her fists, and glared at JII, looking ready to pounce.
"Blehh~." JII stuck her tongue out playfully and scampered over to sit next to Yurine. "You only know how to bully kids like me!"
"Hah!" Jashin-chan, far from being ashamed, put her hands on her hips and cackled. "So what? I love bullying the weak! What are you gonna do about it?"
"You're just the worst!" Pekola covered her face, unable to watch.
...
In the kitchen.
Ryohei Tanaka ground the newly acquired coffee beans, brewed a concentrated espresso with 95°C water, had Yusa chill it, and then mixed in a measured amount of the "See You Tomorrow" cocktail, setting it aside.
He grabbed two heat-resistant glass bowls from the cabinet, cracked in several "Grumpy Chicken" eggs, and separated the yolks and whites.
He added sugar to the yolks and beat them until the sugar dissolved. Then, from an ingredient container, he took the Demon World specialty: "Blackthorn Cheese." He added it to the yolk mixture in three parts, mixing until smooth. He then added three spoonfuls of the "See You Tomorrow" cocktail and stirred well.
For the egg whites, he added a small amount of sugar and beat them until they formed stiff, unmoving peaks.
He folded the meringue into the yolk-cheese mixture in three batches. The cheese mousse was complete. His prep work was done.
Ryohei took out the blueberry jam he had made two days prior, pouring half the jar into a glass container to cover the bottom. He then took the leftover ladyfingers (made that morning from Elven Wheat Flour) and dipped them in the coffee-cocktail mixture for three seconds each before laying them in a flat layer over the jam.
He poured a layer of the cheese mousse on top, followed by another layer of soaked ladyfingers.
With that done, Ryohei retrieved a glaze he had made this morning from the refrigerator and poured it over the top.
A mirror glaze—a gradient of deep blue, lake blue, black, purple, and sky blue—flowed over the surface, creating a stunning pattern.
He flicked a light dusting of powdered sugar over it with a brush...
A brilliant, starry sky suddenly unfolded before his eyes.
The "visibly shocking" dessert he had been aiming for...
"It's complete!"
Hearing his voice, Yusa, who was developing ice cream, and Pino, who was humming a cheerful tune while making her own sweets, curiously turned their heads.
The angel and the demon both stared, their faces identically stunned.
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