At the End of Revenge, There You Are ~The Scum Who Killed My Beloved, Prepare Yourselves! I Will Drag You All to Hell... Wait, What? Why Are the Heroine and the Demoness Coming After Me, a Woman!?(GL) - Chapter 18

As Yuzuha and I exited the dungeon, I spotted a familiar face—my former boss.

I immediately tried to slip past unnoticed.

“Hey, Shinomiya!”

No such luck.

Was he waiting for me from the start?

He had already spotted me and was heading straight in my direction.

“It hasn’t been that long, but… you’ve toughened up.”

Standing beside him was Gen, the bear-like old man.

Why were they approaching me?

Were they investigating something?

Could it be that they were tracking down that worthless leader?

If so… well, sorry about that.

I’m pretty sure he’s already been taken care of—permanently.

Just thinking about that smug, infuriating face made my fists itch.

I wouldn’t mind landing another punch on him…

“…Hey.”

My emotions were all over the place, so I gave a short nod in greeting.

Perfect.

Now then, time to make my escape.

I turned to leave, only to feel a hand reaching for my arm.

“Wait!”

“Don’t touch Akari, you—Hey!!”

“Guh…!”

Before the man could grab me, Yuzuha ruthlessly kicked him away.

Uh… wait. Was she about to say something just now?

Since when was she this aggressive?

“You bastard—!”

“Calm down, Chief. Akari… and you, miss, both of you, stop. This is the Guild. If you go any further, it’ll be a problem.”

“This already qualifies as obstruction of justice! You’re under arrest!”

“Yuzuha acted without knowing he was a Guild officer, so there’s room for leniency. From an outsider’s perspective, a man not wearing his uniform just tried to grab a woman. That would make you the assailant here.”

“You little—!”

The chief was about to explode, so I calmly shut him down with logic.

It also helped keep Yuzuha from getting any angrier.

As I waited for things to settle, I silently praised myself for calling her Sakuya in the heat of the moment.

Nice save.

“So? What exactly are you up to?”

Even after giving them time to cool off, the chief’s tone was just as rough as before.

Honestly, it was kind of disappointing.

“What do you mean? Just exploring dungeons, obviously.”

I responded flatly.

What else would I be doing?

“That’s not what I meant. You quit because you were furious—mourning your friend’s death, frustrated that the investigation was shut down. And now you’re just casually exploring?!”

…

Crap.

Does he know something?

Or is he just fishing for information?

“Why should we be subjected to an interrogation from the Special Investigation Department? We have plans—so if you don’t mind, let’s reschedule. Maybe in about… 200 years?”

“Wha—”

“Let’s go, Akari.”

“Uh… okay…?”

I almost panicked for a second, but Yuzuha steamrolled the conversation with sheer force.

Huh? Did I even mention that they were from the Special Investigation Department?

Did she just guess based on how much they seemed to know about me?

She’s always been scarily good at handling situations like this…

…Wait, what did she mean by ‘plans’?!

Yuzuha kept a firm grip on my arm, confidently striding forward.

We stopped by the Guild counter, exchanged any unneeded materials from our exploration for cash, and left the building.

But Yuzuha still refused to let go of my arm.

The place she dragged me to was…

A supermarket?

I turned into a mindless shopping cart machine while Yuzuha efficiently filled it with ingredients.

She paid using the money we had just exchanged at the Guild—

Something we had agreed upon beforehand.

Any earnings from our joint explorations would go into a shared wallet.

From there, we’d cover dungeon expenses and celebration costs.

…Wait.

Was this ‘plan’ of hers just a post-dungeon meal?!

I thought we were going to eat out, but judging by the groceries piling up, she intended to cook herself.

Ugh.

I… I can’t cook at all.

Not that I’m proud of it or anything.

Yet Yuzuha showed no signs of concern.

She casually handled checkout and—despite her petite and delicate frame—lifted the bags with one hand.

The other?

Still holding my arm in an iron grip.

Wouldn’t it be easier to walk if she let go…?

“Ahh, finally home. Mwah~”

“Mmm…?!”

The moment we stepped inside and shut the door, Yuzuha set down the bags—freeing up her hands.

One of them immediately wrapped around the back of my head.

And then—

She kissed me.

Wait, hold on—nnnh—why so deep, right at the entrance…?!

“Phew! That felt great. Battery fully charged!”

“Hey, Yuzuha!!”

What do you mean battery charged?!

Did she just drain something from me?!

Flustered, I quickly caught her other hand as it reached toward my chest.

“Hehe. You just relax, Akari. I’ll take care of dinner.”

“Are you sure? …Wait, can you even cook?”

“How rude! I’ve been making my own meals for ages, you know!”

For some reason, that felt like a personal defeat.

I had assumed Yuzuha was one of us—the hopeless cooks.

But no…

I clearly remember the disaster from high school—the time she tried making chocolates for someone she liked.

It had gone horribly wrong.

We ended up eating them ourselves, laughing it off, saying, “Well, guess we can’t give these to anyone now.”

She had looked so weirdly happy back then…

Wait.

Was she already…?

“I’ll do the laundry, so go ahead and take off your clothes—no, wait. Let me help you♡”

“Idiot! I can do it myself!”

“Aww, no need to be shy~ C’mon…”

…What is with that expression?

She was slightly tilting her chin up, lips pursed ever so slightly—

“Geez, Akari. A cute, devoted girl like me is about to cook you dinner. The least you could do is give me a little thank-you kiss, don’t you think?♡”

“Not happening!!”

“Ahaha! Fine, fine. Just go relax, okay?♡”

For the record, this place was a newly rented apartment.

Yuzuha’s old apartment had been vacated after her death, and I couldn’t use my own place since past me and future me absolutely couldn’t cross paths.

So, we rented this under Yuzuha’s alias and moved in immediately.

Naturally, that meant…

The blanket from that night was still here.

“So cute♡”

“Ah—Mmm… nnn… H-Hey, what are you—?!”

“Mwah~”

“Wh—What are you doing?!”

“Well, seeing you all cozy and defenseless like that… You’re totally inviting me, right? And when you invite, it’s only polite to respond~♡”

“I AM NOT!!”

Apparently, I had dozed off wrapped in the blanket.

And of course, Yuzuha misinterpreted my vulnerable state as an invitation—

And attacked.

No way this was just a misunderstanding—absolutely not!!