After Work, I Brought Home a Devilish Beauty - Chapter 10

8:30 a.m.

The sun had already climbed high into the sky, its warm rays pouring through the apartment window.

At the same time—

Ring! Ring! Ring!

A shrill alarm echoed throughout the room.

Still buried beneath his blanket, Yuichi Sakai groaned and covered his ears.

“Damn it…”

“I don’t want to get up.”

Unfortunately, the alarm showed no mercy.

The ringing continued relentlessly until, after several minutes of resistance, Yuichi finally surrendered.

With a heavy sigh, he slowly sat upright.

His head felt unusually heavy.

Yawning, he reached for his phone just before the alarm seemed ready to destroy itself from overuse.

One glance at the screen made his eyes widen.

“I’m going to be late!”

His expression immediately turned serious.

To make matters worse, he hadn’t slept well the previous night.

After sleeping on the tatami instead of his bed, he’d apparently caught a mild cold.

Dragging himself into the bathroom, Yuichi quickly washed his face, brushed his teeth, changed clothes, and prepared to leave.

Before opening the front door, he glanced toward the bed.

Chiba was still fast asleep beneath the blanket.

“I’m heading out.”

Without even opening her eyes, she lazily mumbled,

“…Mm.”

Then rolled over and instantly fell asleep again.

Yuichi could only smile helplessly.

“…Must be nice.”

Another day.

Another exhausting shift.

Normally, Yuichi could manage his workload without too much trouble.

Unfortunately, one of the company’s newest employees had abruptly resigned a few days earlier.

All of the unfinished work naturally fell onto the remaining staff.

And as one of the longest-serving employees…

Yuichi became the obvious victim.

He worked nonstop from morning until evening.

Documents piled higher.

Deadlines kept approaching.

Requests never stopped coming.

By the time night arrived, he could barely keep his eyes open.

Trying to stand from his chair, his legs suddenly gave out beneath him.

He stumbled forward and nearly collapsed.

The coworker sitting beside him, Yota Sasaki, quickly reached out.

“Sakai, you don’t look so good.”

“Are you alright?”

Yuichi forced a smile.

“It’s nothing.”

“My legs just fell asleep.”

In reality, he had been feeling dizzy all day.

But admitting weakness wasn’t exactly his style.

After clocking out, he slowly began the long walk home.

Each step felt heavier than the last.

The familiar streets somehow seemed farther away than usual.

Why does home suddenly feel so distant…?

Meanwhile…

Back at the apartment.

Chiba stood alone on the balcony, quietly leaning against the railing as she watched the city below.

Around her neck, the communication pendant occasionally emitted faint flashes of light.

She ignored them.

Normally, Yuichi would have returned by now.

Yet the apartment remained silent.

No footsteps.

No sound of the front door opening.

No complaints about overtime.

After waiting several more minutes, she quietly frowned.

“Why hasn’t that human returned yet?”

“…Did he die?”

To demons, humans were astonishingly fragile creatures.

Perhaps he’d been attacked by some dangerous animal.

Perhaps soldiers had captured him.

Perhaps he’d somehow been dragged into a war and lost his life.

The possibilities seemed endless.

Although Chiba often argued with Yuichi, she had no intention of letting him disappear.

After all…

He was useful.

And…

She didn’t particularly dislike him.

Finally making up her mind, she turned away from the balcony.

“There’s no helping it.”

“I’ll go find him myself.”

When Yuichi opened his eyes again, he found himself staring at an all-too-familiar ceiling.

He blinked.

Then blinked again.

“…Huh?”

The road he had been walking on was gone.

Instead…

He was somehow back inside his own apartment.

His exhausted brain immediately reached an outrageous conclusion.

“I get it!”

“This must be some kind of brand-new simulation game!”

“The developers must’ve noticed how hard I’ve been working.”

“So they recreated my home…”

“And now a beautiful maid in a revealing outfit is going to walk in and say—”

‘Welcome home, Master.’

Unable to contain his excitement, Yuichi practically bounced in place.

“No need for any more ridiculous theories.”

A calm voice interrupted him.

“You’re already home.”

Yuichi froze.

Then his eyes lit up.

“A beautiful girl appeared!”

He spun around in excitement—

Only to stop completely.

Standing before him wasn’t a maid.

Nor was she wearing anything remotely revealing.

It was simply the same black-haired demon princess he had rescued several days ago.

Chiba looked at him with her usual expressionless face.

For several seconds…

Neither of them spoke.

Yuichi’s body stiffened.

He had completely petrified.

Because no matter how hard he tried to process the situation—

He never could have imagined that the person who had carried him home…

Would be the devil herself.