Chapter 15: Family Bonds Grow Through Communication

“By the way, you said you slept for a thousand years—where exactly?”

“Didn’t Lady Doroshi just mention it?”
Ren flashed a sly smile, pointing at the phone still in Doroshi’s hand.

Doroshi raised her phone, staring at the photo of the red light pillar piercing the Leitinghake Plains.
“No way… you mean that plain?”

“Indeed. I wasn’t certain before, but seeing that photo confirmed it. The phenomenon in the picture is tied to me—the fusion of Sophiatola and Kimihiro Ren happened in that plain.”

Overwhelmed by the flood of information, Doroshi rubbed her temples, setting her empty teacup back on the tray.
“So, you’re saying you were sleeping in the Leitinghake Plains?”

Messing up her hair with both hands, Doroshi groaned.
“I thought that news had nothing to do with me, but turns out it’s super connected!”

“Exactly,” Ren said.
“And even now, my true body remains in the Leitinghake Plains.”

Noticing Doroshi’s empty cup, Ren used her tentacles to pour another, placing it before her.
She swiftly tucked the tea set back under her pajama skirt—Doroshi had no idea where it went.

“Your true body’s in the plain?”
Doroshi blinked, increasingly lost.

Ren, ever patient, explained meticulously.
“What stands before you, Lady Doroshi, is a spare body modeled after the human Kimihiro Ren, formed from a fragment of my true body’s flesh.”
“My real form slumbers in a dimensional space beneath the Leitinghake Plains called the ‘Abyssal Sea.’”

“Dimensional space? Abyssal Sea? Sounds like some pay-to-win mobile game where you control battleships that turn into cute girls.”
“Guess it’s easier to think of it as a game setting,” Doroshi mumbled, momentarily lost in Ren’s flawless face.
“Looking at you as this ultimate cute girl, it’s hard to imagine what your true body looks like.”

“Hmm…”
Ren drew out the syllable, resting her chin between her thumb and forefinger, pondering how to explain.
“In terms of size, the smallest would be about sixty kilometers, and the largest…”

Before she could finish, Doroshi, sweating, crossed her arms frantically.
“Stop, stop! Nope, the moment you said ‘kilometers,’ you’re out! Completely out!”
‘How can a cute girl’s height be measured in kilometers?! You’re not some giantess!’

“If people knew my maid’s real height was city-sized, that’d be terrifying. Please, Miss Demon God, don’t wake your true body up casually.”

Unsure why Doroshi was so flustered, Ren smiled politely.
“As you wish, Lady Doroshi.”

By the way, as they spoke, Ren’s tentacles wielded an ornate wooden comb—procured from who-knows-where—to tidy Doroshi’s mussed hair.
The pampered, meticulous care made Doroshi sink into blissful comfort.
Having a perfect maid was the best.

“Ahem, anyway,” Doroshi said, “you slept in a dimensional space under the Leitinghake Plains for a thousand years, fused with a human girl named Kimihiro Ren, came to Yokohyo City, and I happened to bring you out of that orphanage?”

“Precisely, Lady Doroshi. Your summary is spot-on.”
Ren offered timely praise.

Knowing Ren would shower her with compliments no matter what, Doroshi grinned awkwardly to brush it off.

After a moment, the two shared a smile, and Doroshi sighed.
“All this happened in just one day, but it feels like forever. Somehow, I ended up with an incredible maid.”

Taking a deep breath, she spoke earnestly.
“Starting tomorrow, if you want to talk to me at school, go ahead.”
“I got caught up in an incident at school before, and everyone isolated me over a misunderstanding.”
“But I don’t care about that, and for some reasons, I don’t plan to clear it up. I just didn’t want you to get dragged into my mess—but I’m relieved.”
“Unlike me, you’re super popular at school, like a campus idol. That’s awesome.”

“No, I’m not so sure about that,” Ren said, shaking her head with indifference.
“Compared to you, Lady Doroshi, everyone else’s opinions at school have always been irrelevant.”

Doroshi covered her face.
“That’s exactly what worries me about you.”

“I’ll strive not to cause you worry.”

“That’d be great.”

Rallying her spirits, Doroshi stood, glancing at the time.
“Yawn—I’m getting sleepy. Shall we hit the hay? Oh, and I’m counting on you for breakfast tomorrow.”

“Yes.”
Ren’s face lit up with a dazzling smile, nodding firmly.

Ren insisted she didn’t need sleep and wanted to stay in Doroshi’s room to watch over her.
Imagining the demon god staring at her sleeping face all night gave Doroshi chills, so she firmly refused.

Doroshi shared a bit about her home life: her parents passed away in an accident years ago, and her mother’s younger sister—her aunt—took her in.
The apartment had two bedrooms, so her aunt had her move in.
But her aunt, due to her job, was away on business trips most of the year, leaving the spare room empty—perfect for Ren to use temporarily.

Mentally noting Doroshi’s frequently absent aunt, Ren was ushered to bed by Doroshi.
Like tucking in a child, Doroshi pulled the covers over her, leaving only half of Ren’s face peeking out.
With a hint of resignation, Ren wished her goodnight.

“Goodnight!”
Doroshi giggled, gently closing the bedroom door.

★

After a karaoke outing with classmates, the trendy high school girl walked home alone.
It was late, and the streets were nearly empty.
Entering the familiar dark stairwell of her building, she felt a wave of loneliness.

As if to steel herself, she stomped her foot hard, but the faulty motion-sensor light, as expected, didn’t turn on.
She’d complained to the property management multiple times, only to get brushed off.
After nearly half a year, the light still wasn’t fixed.

Out of options, she resigned herself to it.
As a broke student who’d left her hometown for high school in this city, her part-time job earnings and allowance went to keeping up appearances and daily expenses.
There was no spare cash for a better place.
She’d accepted her fate half a year ago, so now she could only grumble.

Her thoughts drifted to the red-haired transfer student in her class.
One glance screamed elegance and mixed heritage—probably from a rich family, unlike her.
She was honestly jealous.

Scowling, she walked through the quiet hallway to her rented apartment, pulling out her key.
As she reached for the door, a cold chill ran down her spine.

Turning instinctively, she saw only the usual nightscape.
It was the same monotonous life she was doomed to, and it irritated her.

Click.
Pushing the door open with a slight twist, she reached for the wall to flip on the living room light, muscle memory guiding her.

Then, her hand brushed another—icy cold—already on the switch.
Her blood froze.

Eyes wide, the trendy girl turned stiffly.
A grotesque, blood-red, twisted maw filled her vision.
Her consciousness plunged into darkness.