"Um, Jhin…" Raphiel really couldn't hold back her doubt any longer. "All these ingredients on the table are so expensive. Could it be… that you're actually rich?"
"Hmm?" Jhin paused for a moment. It seemed Raphiel, being the wealthiest of the four who had descended, had recognized that the beef he'd bought was wagyu.
Thinking there was no need to hide it from them, Jhin nodded. "I guess so. I have over 1.8 million in my bank account right now."
After he completed Hitori Gotoh's mission, one million was automatically deposited into his bank account. If it weren't for the text message notification, Jhin wouldn't have even known he'd received another huge sum. This one million was clearly from his boss, and it wasn't even counted as part of the mission reward. Truly a god who treats money like dirt.
"Pfft!" Gabriel almost spat the cola in her mouth all over the table. "One point eight million?!"
Vignette and Satania were stunned by the seven-figure sum, their chopsticks hovering in mid-air. Although Raphiel was also surprised, she wasn't as dumbfounded as them. She put down her chopsticks and gently patted her chest to calm her own shock.
"Hey, Jhin…" Gabriel's face turned pale as she thought about the exceptionally delicious ingredients every time she came over to his place for a meal. She asked in disbelief, "Don't tell me the ingredients you use for my bento are also…"
"They are." Jhin didn't deny Gabriel's suspicion. Money was meant to be spent, and besides, he had no other expenses apart from food at the moment. Why not eat a little better? "I've probably spent over a hundred thousand on food during this time."
"Clatter!" The chopsticks in Gabriel's hand fell directly to the floor. A sound like malfunctioning machinery came from her wide-open, cherry-like mouth. She had been eating such expensive ingredients all this time!?
"Damn it!" Gabriel cried, tears streaming down her face as she weakly pounded the floor with her fists. "I actually… I actually ate so much money that could have been used for microtransactions!"
The first thing she thinks of is still microtransactions. This fallen angel is a lost cause.
The other four all had the same thought simultaneously.
"What are you thinking? Even if I switched the high-end ingredients for regular ones, I wouldn't give you that money for microtransactions." Jhin had no intention of stepping on the gas pedal of Gabriel's ongoing fall.
"That's true." Hearing this, Gabriel came to her senses. She picked up her chopsticks and, as if to vent her anger, launched a relentless assault on the beef on the table.
"Ah! Gabriel, you monster, leave some for me!" Satania was a simpleton, after all. She was more concerned about the rapidly diminishing delicious beef on the table than the fact that Jhin was rich.
"There's still uncut meat in the kitchen. Eat to your heart's content. It's your first time as guests at my place, I can't let you go home hungry. Vignette and Raphiel, don't be shy, eat up."
When Gabriel heard this, the speed at which she wielded her chopsticks increased. Satania, not to be outdone, waved her chopsticks so fast they left afterimages in the air. The two glared at each other, the air thick with tension.
"You can actually keep up with my speed. Not bad."
"Hmph, as expected of my arch-rival. You're no slouch either."
The two, who had started competing for some unknown reason, ended up eating until their bellies were round and bloated, unable to move as they sat burping in their chairs.
"Ugh… I feel like if I move, I'll throw up." Gabriel clutched her mouth, looking uncomfortable.
"Serves you right for stuffing yourselves when you were already full," Vignette shot her a look.
"Gabriel and Satania are exceptionally cute like this, too." Raphiel took out her phone and started snapping photos of the two helpless figures. Coming along was definitely the right choice; she was getting such precious pictures.
"Raphiel, there's a fee for taking pictures like that," Gabriel protested Raphiel's frenzied-reporter-like photography.
"So how much for one picture?" Raphiel pulled her wallet out from her pocket.
"Hmm…" As the top graduate of the angel school, her price couldn't be too cheap. Seeing Raphiel's sincere attitude, she'd give her a 10% discount. Gabriel thought for a moment before giving her answer: "900 yen per picture."
"What a shame, I don't have that much money on me right now. I guess I'll pass." Raphiel put away her phone and wallet with feigned regret.
"But you've already taken so many pictures, haven't you?"
"But I took these before you told me the price, you see."
"They still count!"
"Oh dear, I seem to have accidentally deleted all the photos." Raphiel tapped her own head and stuck out her tongue, pretending to be clumsy.
Gabriel didn't believe for a second that Raphiel could be that clumsy. "I don't believe you. Let me check your phone."
"By all means, Gabriel, come check it yourself." Raphiel stood her ground with a smile, gently waving the phone at the immobilized Gabriel.
"Tch, I'll let it slide this time. But if I find out you've shared those photos, you're dead."
"Satania, are you okay?" Vignette looked at Satania, who was leaning back in her chair, unable to even speak, worried she might have actually made herself sick.
"Mmm, mmm, mmm." Satania clutched her mouth, first shaking her head, then nodding. She was probably trying to say that although she was very uncomfortable, she was fine.
Meanwhile, Jhin and Raphiel exchanged contact information. Raphiel had barely put her phone away when she received a message from Jhin.
"Please send me a copy of those pictures."
Jhin gave Raphiel a thumbs-up gesture, then walked away to get two digestive tablets from the cabinet for the uncomfortably bloated Gabriel and Satania.
What an interesting human. Raphiel had gathered quite a bit of interesting intel during this one meal, such as the fact that Jhin had been making all of Gabriel's bentos, and his indulgent attitude towards Gabriel's various behaviors. Just thinking about it made the corners of her mouth curl up into a smile.
As an angel who continued to stay in touch with Gabriel even after she'd befriended a demon like Vignette, Raphiel cared for her more than Gabriel imagined. It was just that most of the time, this concern was hidden beneath Raphiel's teasing personality.
Gabriel, have you truly developed mortal feelings since coming to the human world? Raphiel watched Gabriel, who was now bickering with Jhin, with a profound look in her eyes. At present, she still thought Jhin didn't know about Gabriel's identity as an angel.
"Good luck, Gabriel." Leaving these words in Gabriel's ear, Raphiel left with Vignette and Satania.
"What kind of weird stuff is she talking about?" The clueless Gabriel had no idea why Raphiel was speaking in riddles. Was this her latest way of teasing people?
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. What game are we playing today?" Gabriel stopped thinking about why Raphiel would say such a thing to her. Playing games with Jhin was more important right now.
"Let's play a co-op game today. It's getting boring to just stomp on noobs in versus mode all the time."
"Huh?? I was letting you win! How could I, an angel, possibly go all out against a mere mortal like you!" Gabriel would never admit she was bad at the game. Jhin must have been practicing secretly for a long time to get that good and see through her attacks so easily.
"If you suck, practice more. The past is the past, and now is now. If you're going to keep using your angel status as an excuse, why don't you show your wings and fight me?" Jhin held up his hands like crab pincers and said to Gabriel in a solemn tone.
This really ticked Gabriel off. She immediately revealed her angel's halo and pure white wings. "You asked for it. Don't come crying to me later!"
The pitch-black halo above Gabriel's head, which showed not a trace of angelic sanctity, almost made Jhin burst out laughing. He stifled his laughter, took out a mirror, and held it up in front of Gabriel. "An angel?" he questioned.
"Th-this is just mold from not wiping it for too long." Gabriel hurriedly wiped it clean, placed the once-again-gleaming halo back on her head, and picked up the controller with feigned composure. "Come on, watch me crush you this time."
So an angel's halo can get moldy if you don't clean it for a long time. Jhin suddenly felt the thing was surprisingly down-to-earth.
Even in her angelic form, Gabriel was still no match for Jhin. Staring at the glaring red "K.O." on the screen, she flew into a rage, jumping into Jhin's lap and delivering a righteous punishment of iron fists.
Of course, Gabriel didn't use her angelic strength, or Jhin would have probably been turned into a pile of meat paste. He managed to coax her off him after much persuasion, and this time she finally agreed to switch to a co-op game, and they continued to play.
_____
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