Yoru Moonshadow eyed the girl suspiciously. But as soon as she noticed him looking, she casually walked past without hesitation. A faint, soothing fragrance lingered in the air as she passed.
Huh?
Wasn't she following him earlier? Was this all just a coincidence?
Stare
Yoru stared unabashedly at the girl's smooth, porcelain-white cheek as she walked by. It practically shimmered.
Just as she passed him, the girl suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her icy blue eyes slid to the side, locking onto him with a sharp, chilling glare.
"When you stare at a woman on the street with that kind of creepy, full-course gaze, are you actively trying to be reported?"
Her voice was sweet like a babbling brook, but every word stabbed like a knife.
"And what's with all that stuff you're carrying? Don't tell me your degeneracy finally caught up to you and you got hunted down by a neighborhood morals committee?"
Her tone was elegant, but the hostility in her words was unmistakable. She acted like she knew him.
Then again, it wouldn't be strange if she did. After all, her uniform was from Chiba Municipal Sōbu High School.
Same school as him.
And ever since that incident, his name had spread like wildfire. There probably wasn't a single student who didn't know the name Yoru Moonshadow.
Though to most girls, he was nothing more than a social landmine to avoid at all costs.
So who was this girl?
Digging through his memory, he finally matched the face.
Yukino Yukinoshita. A top-tier beauty even among the elites of Sōbu High. Flawless in every sense academics, manners, poise. A snow queen with a frozen poker face. The kind of girl you admired from afar but never dared approach.
"Raaaagh!!!"
"Ah !"
Yoru suddenly let out a guttural roar and lunged forward as if to attack. Startled, Yukino let out an unexpectedly adorable shriek and jumped back, face breaking from her icy mask for the first time.
But in her haste, she tripped over her own feet and landed squarely on the floor.
She was wearing a skirt.
From Yoru's angle, her fall offered a brief, forbidden glimpse that would've made any gacha-banner waifu blush.
He blinked and turned away reflexively.
"Yikes," he muttered under his breath, half-coughing.
The Demon King smirked wickedly. Not because he saw anything he was far too sore to enjoy any of it but because her expression was priceless.
Yukino shot him a glare that made him feel like a cockroach. Her snow-white cheeks burned red with embarrassment.
Under the weight of her ice-cold, soul-piercing gaze, Yoru shrugged and gave a smug smile that made you want to punch him, then casually walked off toward his apartment building.
Even without looking or hearing her footsteps, he knew she was following him.
How?
Because he could feel that sharp, frosty gaze stabbing into his back the whole way.
What now? Was she planning some sneaky revenge? Going to club him in the back of the head?
She didn't say another word along the way. Not a single one. It was like even speaking to him physically disgusted her.
Huh?
His apartment complex finally came into view. But just as he saw it, Yukino's pace quickened. She passed by him like he didn't exist and walked straight toward the entrance.
Wait, what?
She lived here too?
Once inside, they entered the security door and stepped into the lobby. Some of the elevators were under maintenance. Yoru glanced around, and there she was already inside one of the working elevators.
She was... holding the door open?
And just as he stepped inside, she let go, wearing a cold, victorious smirk.
The doors closed in his face and the elevator shot upward.
"Tch. How old is she, five?" Yoru twitched.
The elevator was still climbing. Looked like she'd pressed the top floor button just to mess with him.
Did she actually live up there? Probably not. She likely got off a few floors earlier and just sent the elevator to the top to spite him.
He'd gotten distracted petting a stray cat that had rubbed against his leg probably missed her floor because of that.
Whatever. No point overthinking it. Was he really going to hold a grudge over this?
He was a Demon King. He didn't have time for petty squabbles with girls.
Ding
The elevator returned with a crisp chime. Yoru stepped in and hit the button for the fifteenth floor.
In the blink of an eye, the elevator arrived.
He stepped out.
"Which one was it again?"
He stood still, trying to recall his apartment number.
He approached a door without a nameplate. Room 1507.
Sorry, he still couldn't remember the number, but he did remember it was the fourth one on the right after getting off the elevator.
He reached for the keypad.
Beep beep!
Wrong code.
"Huh? Then maybe…"
Beep beep!
Beep beep!
Beep beep!
All wrong.
Damn. Guess it was time to use the key. With all the bags he was carrying, it took some effort to fish it out of his pocket.
Inserted.
Something felt off. The key wasn't sliding in smoothly.
He twisted it. Didn't budge.
"…Someone changed the lock without my permission?"
Yoru's face twisted with rage.
Who the hell trespassed on his territory?
This was a high-class apartment. He expected better management. If someone had tampered with his room, messed with his private collection...
He'd blow the whole damn building up. No joke.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of the door unlocking from the inside.
Perfect. Just perfect.
His eyes gleamed with the fury of a true Demon King.
They actually reassigned his apartment?
He remembered someone else had their eye on this unit back when he first signed the lease. They'd clashed over it, but in the end, he'd won out by offering higher rent.
Now, just because he disappeared for a while, they gave it away? His contract wasn't even up yet. He'd paid for a full year in advance!
As the door creaked open, Yoru clenched his fist.
Forget magic. He was about to flatten whoever was inside with a single punch.