At seven-thirty the next morning, sunlight streamed through a gap in the curtains of apartment 302.
Natsuki had just finished washing up when someone knocked on his door.
He opened it to find Gabriel standing outside with dark circles beneath both eyes.
“Natsuki-kun…” Her voice was weak and listless, and even the holy glow surrounding her had dimmed considerably.
“Did you stay up all night?” Natsuki asked, raising an eyebrow.
It had only been one evening!
“Mm…” Gabriel rubbed her eyes.
“After we bought the computer yesterday, I downloaded the games you recommended.
Before I knew it, morning had already come.” She was still carrying her laptop bag.
Her blue-gray eyes held a strange mix of exhaustion and barely contained excitement.
“That game called Valhalla Kingdom Online is really fun.
Playing as a priest and saving people during the story felt so rewarding!” “And Monster Hunter was amazing too.
Fighting dragons was so exciting…” Natsuki stared at her in silence.
He had only recommended a few classic games on a whim.
He had not expected this angel to immediately grind through the entire night.
Knowing that he had personally set her downfall in motion left him with an unexpected pang of guilt.
‘Life sure isn’t easy.’ “Come in and sit down for a while,” he said.
“I’ll make you some coffee.” “Thank you for having me.” Gabriel obediently followed him inside.
It was her first time visiting Natsuki’s apartment.
Everything was neat and well organized, with shelves full of light novels and manga, along with several small plants arranged beside the window.
“Sit wherever you like.” Natsuki headed into the kitchen while Gabriel settled onto the sofa.
Her gaze drifted toward an open notebook on the coffee table.
Written across the page was an outline for the second volume of No Game No Life: Zero.
“Natsuki-kun, are you the author who writes under the name Natsuki?” Gabriel sounded genuinely surprised.
While waiting for her games to load the previous night, she had looked up a few things online.
No Game No Life: Zero was one of the most popular light novels on the internet at the moment.
Admittedly, she had only found it because its title overlapped with one of her searches.
She had taken a quick look out of curiosity—and immediately gotten hooked.
“Yeah, that’s just my pen name.” Natsuki returned with two cups of coffee.
“That’s amazing…” Gabriel accepted one and took a small sip.
The bitterness made her frown, though it did help clear some of the fog from her mind.
“We have literature in Heaven too, but most of it is about praising God and teaching virtue.” “Human novels are much more interesting.” She paused before adding earnestly, “I especially liked the way Blank was written in No Game No Life: Zero.” She had actually read it seriously.
Natsuki smiled.
“Thanks.” “Since it’s the weekend, are you planning to spend the whole day gaming again?” “Um…” Gabriel hesitated.
“Actually, I wanted to ask whether you were free today.
I’d like to buy some snacks and instant noodles.” “That way, I’ll have something to eat while I’m playing.” The warning signs of her fall were already becoming obvious.
Natsuki silently sighed, but nodded anyway.
“Sure.
I need to restock a few things too.” “Then should we leave now?” “Okay!” Gabriel stood up.
Her sailor uniform was slightly wrinkled, and she had not bothered to properly brush her long golden hair.
She looked nothing like the radiant honor student who had shown up the day before.
The two of them left the apartment together.
The streets were busier than usual because of the weekend.
Halfway to the supermarket, Gabriel suddenly stopped.
“Natsuki-kun, over there…” She pointed toward an alley beside the road.
Natsuki followed her gaze and saw faint black mist swirling deep inside it.
Ordinary people would not have noticed anything.
To him, however, it stood out clearly.
“Another demon?” “No.
This one seems to be a mass of accumulated resentment.
I believe humans call them Cursed Spirits.” As Gabriel spoke, she pulled a feather from her pocket.
It was pure white and surrounded by a soft glow.
Thankfully, she had not decided to pull out the Trumpet of the Apocalypse instead.
“Should I purify it?” she asked.
“I’ll handle it.” Natsuki stepped forward.
A Cursed Spirit?
As far as he remembered, Cursed Spirits in Jujutsu Kaisen were formed from cursed energy.
Ordinary humans could not see them, and enough negative emotion directed toward a particular person, place, or concept could eventually give birth to one.
Financial crises, constant examinations, or companies working their employees into the ground could all cause their numbers to rise.
Demons were one thing, but why could he see Cursed Spirits too?
Natsuki raised an eyebrow.
The only combat technique he knew was Hamon.
It had been the primary fighting style in the first two parts of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, mainly used against zombies and the Pillar Men.
Cursed Spirits had absolutely nothing to do with any of that.
The answer had to lie with one of his previous superpowers.
[Energy Equilibrium.] It consolidated different forms of energy and converted them into a unified source.
Natsuki raised his right hand as golden arcs crackled between his fingertips.
“Scarlet Overdrive: Diffusion!” A fan-shaped wave of golden Hamon swept into the alley.
Crackle—!
The instant the black mist touched it, a piercing shriek echoed from within.
The darkness dissolved rapidly, melting away like snow beneath the sun.
Three seconds later, the alley was quiet again.
“All done.” Natsuki lowered his hand.
The entire process had taken less than ten seconds.
None of the pedestrians passing nearby had even noticed anything unusual.
Gabriel blinked at him.
…
Ten minutes later, they arrived at LifeMart, the largest chain supermarket in the area.
The store was crowded that weekend morning.
Natsuki took a shopping cart while Gabriel followed beside him, looking around with open curiosity.
“Supermarkets in the human world have so much more variety than Heaven’s supply centers…” She spoke almost under her breath.
Everything in Heaven was distributed according to need.
No one lacked anything, but there were nowhere near this many choices.
“Pick whatever you like,” Natsuki told her.
“It’s on me today.” “Eh?
Are you sure?” “Consider it a welcome gift from your new neighbor.” “Thank you, Natsuki-kun!” Gabriel smiled brightly.
Her holy glow might have dimmed, but that smile was still wonderfully soothing.
They headed to the snack aisle first.
Faced with shelves packed full of brightly colored packages, Gabriel had no idea where to begin.
“Potato chips, chocolate, cookies, jelly…” “Just grab a little of everything,” Natsuki suggested.
“Okay!” Gabriel began placing snacks into the cart.
At first, she moved carefully and hesitated over every choice.
That restraint gradually disappeared.
By the time they reached the instant noodle aisle, the cart was already one-third full.
“What kind do you want?” Natsuki asked.
“This one.
Tonkotsu ramen.” Gabriel pointed at a popular brand.
“People say it tastes really good.” “How do you know that?” “I watched an instant noodle review video while I was gaming yesterday.” ‘Is this really what an angel is using her learning ability for?’ Natsuki kept the thought to himself and added several cups to the cart.
Next came the drinks aisle.
Cola, juice, milk tea—Gabriel grabbed two bottles of everything.
“Is this too much?” she asked belatedly.
“It’s fine.
We still have room.” Natsuki pushed the cart onward.
When they reached the fresh-food section, he stopped to pick up a few ingredients.
“You can cook, Natsuki-kun?” “I live alone.
I had to learn it sooner or later.” “That’s impressive…” Gabriel looked at him with envy.
Heaven had cafeterias, so she had never once needed to cook for herself.
“I can teach you sometime if you’re interested.” “Really?” “Sure.
It’s pretty simple.” They continued chatting as they wandered through the aisles, and before either of them realized it, the shopping cart was full.
“That should be enough.
Let’s go and pay.” “Okay!”