Kobayashi, feeling a little nervous, handed over a gift bag.
Wasn't this basically the same as bribing an official? But this was an angel! Did she seriously think human worldly goods would work as a bribe? What was she thinking?! And to make it worse, the contents of the gift were rather... special.
In reality, Kobayashi wasn't the type to do something like this. It was Lucoa who had instructed her to do it, which made her feel utterly speechless. Would an angel really accept something like this?
If she did, then wouldn't that completely shatter the image of a kind and pure angel?
Meanwhile, in the cage, Tohru looked quite energetic. When she saw Kobayashi, she became visibly excited. It seemed like she was doing fine, which made Kobayashi breathe a little easier.
"I'm Raphael. If you want to give it to little Gabriel, that would be her."
The beautiful silver-haired angel spoke with an enchanting smile, causing Kobayashi to freeze for a moment. Following Raphael's gaze, she turned to look at the blonde girl whom she had assumed to be a demon, only to realize that she was the one she was supposed to meet.
Uh—
At that moment, Kobayashi felt her head throb.
She glanced at the blonde girl. Her expression seemed a bit hostile. If she really was an angel, then she was probably the strict, no-nonsense type.
Lucoa, you tricked me!
"I mean, what do you humans take us angels for? Trying to bribe us with your worldly things? You look down on—"
Gabriel, the blonde angel, spoke in a disdainful tone, standing on the table and looking down at the humans.
But just as she was about to finish speaking—
"Huh? What's this? Limited Edition XXX, the latest release of the XXX series, and this—"
The one who interrupted was Raphael, rudely taking the items out of the bag and examining them.
"W-What— This is the limited edition I couldn't get last time! And this one too—oh, oh, oh! This is the in-game event-exclusive costume voucher that was only distributed at offline meetups! It's already going for 50,000 yen on the forums! And—"
Gabriel's excited screams filled the room. She looked like a starving wolf that had just spotted a fat rabbit, practically drooling. Meanwhile, Raphael had long been pushed aside.
Watching this scene, Kobayashi was dumbfounded.
This angel changed her tune way too fast!
And judging by how obsessed she was, it was clear, this angel was a hardcore otaku. A seriously hopeless one at that.
As for Kobayashi, who didn't understand otaku culture, how did she acquire all this knowledge? It was thanks to the help of a colleague who was also a hardcore otaku.
Perhaps realizing that she had been acting too conspicuously, Gabriel straightened up a little.
"Ahem, Vigne, serve tea to our guest. I'll go get ready."
Leaving behind these words, Gabriel had just stepped out of the room when, the very next second, she returned. However, her appearance was completely different from before.
The Gabriel standing before them now was dazzlingly radiant. Her previously slightly messy golden hair now flowed smoothly like a shining waterfall, a golden halo rested atop her head, and behind her were soft, pure white angel wings.
Ah, this was undeniably a true angel. The divine radiance she exuded was almost blinding, especially that gentle angelic smile, which felt as if it could sweeten one's heart.
"..."
Vignette, witnessing this scene, couldn't help but twitch at the corners of her eyes and mouth, while Raphiel on the side showed an extremely amused expression.
As for Lucoa, she let out an "Oh my, oh my" in surprise.
"Vigne, w-who is she?"
A dazed Satania, who had just regained consciousness, was bewildered upon seeing the holy angel before her and whispered into Vignette's ear.
"Gabriel."
Hearing this, Vignette let out a somewhat helpless sigh. Satania had no idea about Gabriel's past self.
"Huh? Gabriel's relative? Her older sister?"
"No, it's just Gabriel."
"Not her older sister? Then her younger sister?"
"No, it's just Gabriel!"
"Not her younger sister either? Then her mother?"
"Face reality, Satania! As much as I hate to admit it, that person is the Gabriel you know!"
Vignette placed both hands on Satania's shoulders, looking at her expression of disbelief.
She could understand—after all, she had gone through the same shock when, one day, the once kind-hearted and selfless angel had fallen so far. It had hit her pretty hard for a while.
"Oh, I know! This must be a dream! Once I wake up, everything will be back to normal!"
Before Vignette could react, Satania suddenly turned and rammed her head into the doorframe.
Bang!
"Ugh!"
And just like that, she lost consciousness again, leaving Vignette to sigh deeply.
"Now then, I must trouble you to explain your relationship with this illegally intruding dragon."
The kind and gentle voice of the golden-haired angel pulled Kobayashi back to reality. Somehow, she had the feeling that this angel was not very reliable.
And then, the moment the golden-haired angel finished speaking, the entire scene around them changed. The previously somewhat messy room transformed into a mysterious-looking courtroom. Kobayashi now stood at the defense attorney's bench, with Lucoa beside her.
This unbelievable scene left Kobayashi momentarily stunned.
"Here's what happened. I..."
Kobayashi explained how she had met Tohru and the reason why Tohru had once again illegally traveled between worlds the previous night.
"Oh, I see. That does make sense. Now then, the defendant dragon, please explain—what is this about the Demon King?"
With Gabriel's words, the object gagging the dragon girl Tohru disappeared.
"Hmph—!"
Tohru snorted coldly, showing no intention of speaking, as if she were determined to protect the Demon King.
"Tohru, hurry up and explain! What's going on?"
Kobayashi urged her anxiously, but Tohru only responded apologetically.
"Sorry, Kobayashi, I can't say. Because that is—"
Just as she was about to say what it was, Tohru hurriedly shut her mouth. But for some reason, her whole demeanor suddenly changed, as if she were enveloped in a romantic atmosphere—giving off an unsettling, nauseating feeling.
"Tohru, this is no laughing matter."
Lucoa's slightly serious tone made Tohru look troubled. As someone who had always cared for her, Lucoa had clearly gone to great lengths to help her. Looking at Kobayashi as well, she was clearly worried about her.
"Although that Demon King seems to have been destroyed, but—"
"What?! Destroyed?! Who did it?! I'll kill that bastard! That was mine and Kobayashi's love child! I'll murder them! I'll kill that bastard—!"
Tohru suddenly flew into a rage, nearly transforming into her dragon form, while her words left everyone utterly baffled, especially Kobayashi.
"Calm down, you stupid dragon!"
"Tohru, calm down! What are you even saying? What 'love child'?!"
"Calm down?! That was... so how can you expect me to—"
After Tohru's furious outburst, everyone's expressions turned strange.
"Pfft—hahaha! I'm dying of laughter!"
The presiding angel, Gabriel, could no longer maintain her facade. Tears of laughter streamed down her face as she slammed her wooden gavel repeatedly on the desk, completely abandoning her earlier divine and holy image.
Everyone else was struggling to hold back their laughter as well, while Kobayashi hung her head in utter embarrassment.
"Tohru, let me explain something to you... The best proof of all this is that you're still a virgin dragon."
Lucoa, who hadn't expected Tohru to be this innocent, was also about to burst into laughter. Meanwhile, the still-confused Tohru seemed about to fly into a fit of embarrassed rage, prompting Lucoa to hurry over and whisper into her ear.
Tohru blinked in confusion as she listened, her face gradually turning redder and redder—until she resembled a boiled octopus, steam practically rising from her head. The earlier image of a world-ending rampaging dragon was completely gone, replaced by a shamefully fidgeting and flustered girl.
"Ahem, alright, now that everything is clear... I hereby declare a verdict of not guilty!"
With a final bang of her gavel, Gabriel left behind the words "Wait here a moment" before disappearing into a magic circle, carrying a stack of documents she had somehow already written.
About ten minutes later, the magic circle lit up again, and a panting Gabriel reappeared, tossing a few certificates to Kobayashi and Tohru.
"I'm exhausted! Damn Principal, Placing so many seals on the stamp!"
Gabriel lay sprawled on the ground, completely ungraceful, blurting out something quite shocking. Upon hearing this, Vignette's face twitched. This was beyond just abusing authority—this lazy angel was truly beyond saving.
"By the way, what was that Demon King's name?"
Raphiel, filled with curiosity, asked. Perhaps knowing the name could help determine which otherworld he came from.
"I think it was Rostal Ignatius Woods! That bastard actually dared to deceive my feelings!"
If he wasn't already dead, and if he appeared before her again, Tohru would absolutely tear him apart. This was beyond just embarrassment—this was a disgrace to dragons!
However, as soon as she spoke, she noticed something unusual—Lucoa, who always had her eyes half-closed, suddenly opened them completely. Her usually calm and carefree face showed a rare trace of shock and seriousness.
"What's wrong, Lucoa? Do you know him?"
"Know him? If the name you said is correct, then Rostal Ignatius Woods, that half-dragon, perfectly matches a nearly forgotten Demon King from an ultra-ancient era in our world—"
As she spoke, Lukoa's voice grew lower, as if she was about to reveal something shocking. Everyone pricked up their ears.
"A half-dragon who forcibly ruled over all dragonkind, demonkind, humankind, elves… and even the gods themselves!"