That Day When Suzuki-kun Wasn't the Mob-B! Chapter 270: A Taste of Normalcy

I have genuinely done a lot of wrong things to Rias.

Finn sighed internally as he led Asia down the bustling street. When he actively thought about the fact that he was poaching Rias's original peerage members, he realized he owed the Crimson Princess a massive debt. By taking Akeno—and now targeting Asia—he was actively weakening the Gremory House's future potential.

But frankly? He wasn't entirely sorry. In the original timeline, Rias's peerage stopped revolving around her almost immediately. She was effectively demoted to a supporting pillar in Issei's perverted harem. The entire group's dynamic had devolved to orbit a protagonist whose primary combat strategy involved groping the breasts of the women he supposedly loved in front of massive, public audiences to fuel his power-ups.

While Finn didn't believe any other Devil would actually dare to look at Issei's women with lewd intent in that timeline, Issei's behavior was still embarrassingly pathetic.

If I recall correctly, most of the original group eventually drifted away anyway, right? Finn mused, thinking Issei would leave Rias's peerage to make his own peerage. 

So, what was the harm in expediting the process? He had already claimed Akeno, and now he was securing this innocent young woman.

"A-Am I holding it correctly?" Asia asked nervously, gripping a large, heavily loaded hot dog with both of her small hands.

"Yes. Just open your mouth, hold it steady, and take a gentle bite," Finn instructed smoothly.

He honestly wasn't trying to be a pervert. In the original story, Issei had taken Asia out for a generic hamburger because she had never eaten fast food before. Finn simply wanted to change the script to make the outing slightly more original, so he bought her a hot dog.

As expected, Asia had never seen or eaten one before. Staring at the thick, steaming sausage nestled in the soft bun, she hesitated for a moment, clearly intimidated by the size. Yet, she trusted Finn implicitly. She opened her pretty, cherry-blossom lips, tentatively stuck out her small, pink tongue to lightly taste the tip, and then took a delicate bite.

"Hmn~!"

Asia's emerald eyes widened in absolute shock. She quickly covered her mouth with her free hand, practically vibrating with joy. "It is so delicious, Finn-san!"

"Right?" Finn smiled warmly.

Seeing her pure, unfiltered happiness immediately washed away any lingering guilt Finn felt for the highly suggestive thoughts that had crossed his mind while watching her eat. It felt wrong to harbor dirty intentions toward someone so completely innocent, especially over a simple snack.

Regardless, the two of them enjoyed their afternoon immensely. Finn took her to a massive, loud arcade, patiently teaching her how to play various rhythm games. He won her a soft, fluffy plushie from a notoriously rigged crane game, and they even squeezed into a photo booth to take a silly commemorative picture of their first outing together.

Wasn't it strange for a teenage girl to have never experienced any of these normal, everyday things?

Finn didn't think so at all. Asia was a holy nun. Those who are truly dedicated to serving the Church are taught to completely reject worldly, material pleasures. They didn't have money, and they didn't desire it. Their entire existence belonged to God.

Yet, as a Devil—a creature inherently drawn to desire and temptation—Finn understood the tragic contradiction of humanity. Those who gave their lives to strict servitude secretly, desperately longed for a taste of the ordinary. And those who lived ordinary, mundane lives often desperately longed for the divine purpose of serving a higher power.

The world is entirely built on contradictions.

It didn't take Finn long to make Asia temporarily forget all her trauma. He allowed her to fully experience the sheer, overwhelming joy of the present moment, where she didn't have to worry about the Church, Stray Devils, or her failing faith.

He brought her a sudden, vibrant splash of color into her painfully monotone life.

When the streets grew too crowded, Finn smoothly reached out and took her hand. Asia didn't pull away; instead, she accepted the contact as completely natural, holding onto his large, warm hand tightly. Her heart hammered violently against her ribs. She was feeling incredibly intense, deeply unfamiliar emotions for the very first time.

"What's wrong, Asia-chan?"

Hearing his low, incredibly handsome voice, Asia looked up at him in a daze. She genuinely wondered if this was all just a beautiful, fleeting dream. If it was, she absolutely refused to wake up. Reality was far too painful.

Sometimes, she forced herself to believe that her suffering had a divine purpose. She told herself that her painful, lonely journey was simply a thorny path laid out by the Lord to test and strengthen her faith. But recently, the pain had just become too much to bear.

So, when she was suddenly handed this pure, unconditional sweetness, she desperately didn't want to let him go, despite the fact that they had only just met hours ago.

"Finn..."

"Hmm?"

"I am so incredibly happy today."

Asia offered him a breathtakingly pure, angelic smile. Looking at him, her heart completely melted. Was this the ultimate reward the Lord had granted her for years of devoted prayer? "Are you?" Finn asked, slightly amused that a few arcade games and a hot dog could evoke such profound joy.

"Yes!" Asia nodded enthusiastically. "Everything you have given me today... I will absolutely remember it for the rest of my life. Thank you for everything, Finn."

"...You are exaggerating," Finn chuckled softly.

"I am not!" she insisted, pouting slightly.

"You are," Finn sighed, offering a gentle, devastatingly charming smile. "You might remember today forever, but you are forgetting one very important thing: there is always tomorrow."

"T-Tomorrow?" Asia blinked, completely dumbfounded.

"I don't know exactly how long our paths will cross, Asia-chan, but there is tomorrow, the day after that, and the day after that," Finn squeezed her hand gently. "As long as we are together, you will experience countless happy moments. Today is merely the very first day of many."

Asia gasped softly, tears immediately pricking her beautiful green eyes. She knew that she might encounter much more happiness in the future, but she also knew that this specific day—the day Finn pulled her out of the darkness—would be etched into her soul forever.

"So," Finn stopped walking, turning to face her under the warm, orange glow of the sunset in the park. "Are you ready to be happy?"

"I..."

As Asia held his hand tightly, her heart overflowing with hope, she opened her mouth to give him her answer.

Suddenly, a blinding flash of silver slashed through the romantic atmosphere!

A violently fast, razor-sharp blade aimed directly at the back of Finn's knees!

"Hyahaha!"

A terrifying, crazed young man laughed like an absolute maniac as he forcefully swung his sword, fully intending to brutally amputate Finn's legs!

"Thank you so much, Asia-chan! I AM GOING TO CHOP THIS FILTHY DEVIL YOU LURED OUT TO PIECES! HYAHAHAHA!"

Just a split second before the blade could sever his flesh, Finn lazily lifted his foot.

Clang!

Finn casually stomped his polished shoe directly down onto the flat of the blade, pinning the holy weapon immovably against the concrete pavement.

The rogue exorcist froze. He stared down at his trapped sword in absolute disbelief, then slowly looked up, meeting Finn's remarkably calm, terrifyingly gentle smile.

"I..." the exorcist choked.

Before the situation could escalate further, two figures suddenly burst out from the shadows of the park, drawing their own weapons as they locked their eyes onto the manic exorcist and the Devil holding him down.

"Freed Sellzen!"

The two female exorcists wore skin-tight, black battle suits that left absolutely nothing of their lush, womanly curves to the imagination. Their expressions were deadly serious, perfectly trained, and ready for immediate combat.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't make me your target!" Freed screamed, desperately yanking on his trapped sword. Realizing the terrifying physical strength of the Devil pinning his weapon, he panicked. "Aim for that guy! He is a Devil! I might be a rogue, but I am still an exorcist! As fellow servants of God, let's team up and butcher this filthy Devil who seduced our pretty little nun! Okay—?!"

Freed kept rambling, desperately hoping to manipulate the two women into drawing Finn's attention away from him.

But...

SPLASH!

Before Freed could finish his sentence, his head violently exploded like a crushed watermelon.

Brains, bone fragments, and thick, hot blood splashed violently across the pavement, splattering onto Asia's immaculate white habit and heavily soaking the two stunned exorcists in gore.

As Freed's headless, twitching corpse collapsed into the dirt like a dying worm, Finn slowly lowered his hand. He hadn't even used a weapon; he had simply utilized pure, condensed Demonic Power to instantly detonate the lunatic's skull.

Finn casually wiped a drop of blood from his cheek. He looked at the two horrified, trembling exorcists and asked in a polite, chillingly calm voice:

"Do you two also want to fight?"