Chapter 20: Big Hentai
"Feels like I forgot something..."
Kouya's eyes swept slowly across the room, his thoughts drifting. The faint hum of afternoon chatter filled the air, but something tugged at the back of his mind, like a whisper he couldn't quite catch. Then his gaze fell upon Gabriel—and she froze.
The blonde angel stiffened like a startled deer caught in headlights. Her shoulders twitched, and she almost jumped from her seat as if struck by lightning. Her small, flawless face turned bright red, the color rushing up her neck to the tips of her ears, her whole expression a portrait of panic. Her big blue eyes darted toward the window in desperation, refusing to meet his.
"That's... suspicious," Kouya muttered under his breath.
He gave her a puzzled look, sat down, and reached for his textbook. But as his fingers brushed the edge of the drawer, a bolt of realization hit him.
"Crap! The manga! I forgot to put that erotic manga away!"
His heart skipped a beat. He immediately leaned forward and looked down. There it was—the book sat innocently inside the desk drawer, perfectly centered like a ticking time bomb. Relief washed over him.
Even as a self-proclaimed Demon Lord who could face storms, swords, or scorn without flinching, being caught with something so indecent would be mortifying. Not terrifying—just humiliating.
Then his eyes flicked toward Gabriel again. The way she sat stiffly, her face practically steaming, her breathing quick and uneven—it didn't take a genius to piece it together.
Wait... no way. She didn't, right?
But the subtle, guilty glances from her direction told him everything.
"Hey—"
He had barely opened his mouth when Gabriel's head dropped like a rock.
Her entire face flushed an even darker crimson, almost glowing. Even her delicate white ears were tinged pink. Without saying a word, she buried her face in her arms, trembling slightly, and within moments a faint, rhythmic sound of breathing filled the air.
Pretending to sleep.
Yeah. Sure.
That acting was so fake it was insulting. The kind of bad performance that made even a brick wall cringe.
Kouya frowned, glancing between the desk and the angel behind him. The corner of his mouth twitched. He could practically hear the guilt radiating off her.
You looked, didn't you? You couldn't resist, could you?
He rubbed his temples. Maybe he should clarify things before she spread rumors. After all, that filthy piece of art wasn't his—it was forced on him by that degenerate chubby pervert from earlier. If it were anyone else, he wouldn't care, but being mistaken for that guy's partner in crime? No way.
He wasn't taking that bullet.
"Ahem, actually that manga—"
Before he could finish, Gabriel's head shot up like a spring. Her face burned redder than ever, her golden hair trembling with her frantic movements. "D-don't say it! Don't talk about it! Please!" she stammered, her voice almost breaking.
Her eyes shimmered with tears, her whole body tense. She looked like she'd just witnessed a sacred relic defiled before her very eyes.
God only knew what kind of trauma she'd just inflicted on herself.
It all started innocently enough. After lunch with Vigne, the overworked Gabriel—who'd been losing sleep for days under the self-imposed mission of "saving the world of Arad"—returned to the classroom planning for a short nap. But then, out of the corner of her eye, something in Kouya's desk glinted under the light.
She blinked. Was that... a drawing? A girl with cat ears?
Curiosity tugged at her. She hesitated only a moment before pulling the manga out. And that was when she unknowingly opened the forbidden gates of another dimension.
By the time Kouya turned toward her again, she was scribbling furiously on a sticky note, her hand trembling as she passed it to him.
Kouya raised an eyebrow and unfolded it. The delicate handwriting read:
"I'm sorry! I looked at your manga without permission!"
He sighed. So she did look.
And now he was somehow the villain.
"Well, it's not a big deal," he said carefully, trying to sound nonchalant. "Actually, that manga—"
Gabriel shook her head wildly, cutting him off with more frantic scribbling.
"I only saw it because it was about to fall out of your desk! I didn't mean to look, really!"
She thrust the note at him again, her hands shaking.
Then, before he could respond, she wrote another line.
"I've read normal manga before, so I thought it'd be something cute or funny... but what I saw—it was horrifying!"
Kouya pressed a hand to his face. Of course. That idiot chubby pervert never brought anything safe for work. Just looking at the cover screamed adult content! How could anyone think it was innocent?
Even if she didn't notice the clues, one flip through the pages would've made it painfully clear.
And she still read it all?!
Gabriel looked down, scribbling again in defeat.
"Because... because I have OCD!" she wrote, adding a little doodle of a crying angel next to the sentence.
"I think every manga is the author's heartfelt work, made with love and care! Not finishing it would be disrespectful!"
Kouya almost laughed aloud. Respectful? Really?
Respectful, my ass!
Those who draw H-manga aren't chasing art—they're chasing profit! The moment you buy it, their job's done. And if those poor authors knew their characters were being used for... that, they'd probably want to quit drawing altogether!
Gabriel kept writing.
"Yesterday, I read online that 'boys are disgusting creatures.' I thought that was mean... but now... I think they were right."
Kouya felt words catch in his throat. He wanted to argue, but logically? She wasn't exactly wrong. Still—he couldn't just let that slide.
Biologically speaking, attraction and desire were natural instincts, engraved into the very core of humanity. Curiosity toward the opposite sex wasn't filth—it was survival instinct, the basis of evolution.
Honestly, what guy that age didn't have some kind of hidden stash under his bed or in a secret folder?
It was biology, not depravity.
But before he could explain, Gabriel slammed another note onto his desk.
"But now I know... you're even filthier than them, Kouya!"
He choked. "Pfft—"
She wouldn't even let him talk.
"That time in the supermarket, when you helped me carry groceries... I thought you were nice! But now I see! You're a monster in disguise!"
Gabriel's voice cracked as she pointed accusingly, then crossed her arms tightly over her chest, glaring at him like a cornered rabbit staring down a predator.
Kouya groaned. "Wait, wait! Why are you looking at me like that?! That's the look you give that other pervert!"
He grabbed the manga again, desperate to prove his innocence.
The first few pages were surprisingly wholesome—clean art, soft tones, the beginnings of a sweet high school romance. The boy was a model student, the girl his seatmate, bright and innocent. They studied together, laughed together, gradually growing closer.
Then, he turned another page.
The shift was instant.
The girl accepted the boy's invitation to study at his house... and stepped right into his trap.
The next few pages told the story of a predator and his prey—the boy's hidden obsession, the girl's tears, the trembling innocence. It was a twisted, R-rated retelling of "The Cat and the Wolf."
And why a cat? Because the boy made her wear a revealing cat-eared maid outfit. No wonder the cover looked the way it did—those tear-filled eyes, that fragile blush, that soft trembling.
And the pages after that? Unmentionable. Bedroom, kitchen, living room, balcony—there wasn't a single safe space left.
Kouya shut the book with a loud snap. Damn it. Even he felt tainted now. He'd need holy water after this.
Gabriel sat up straighter, no longer blushing but now fully alert, her angelic face a portrait of moral superiority. Her eyes narrowed.
"Please don't talk to me again," she said flatly.
"Eh? Wait, what—"
"Anyone who reads that must be overflowing with disgusting thoughts!"
Kouya opened his mouth to protest. "I'm telling you, it's not mine—it's—"
"Hentai!"
"Big Hentai!!!"