That Day When Suzuki-kun Wasn't the Mob-B! Chapter 294: The Domestic Charm of the Kuoh Shrine

"Hmm...."

Finn let out a long, lazy yawn, stretching his arms high above his head as he sat on the wooden engawa (veranda) of his newly renovated Kuoh Shrine. The early morning air was crisp and cool, and the rhythmic, soothing trickle of the koi pond beside him provided a perfectly tranquil soundtrack to the start of his day.

"Here is your coffee, Finn-sama."

The rich, roasted aroma of freshly brewed coffee mixed instantly with the sweet, intoxicating scent of vanilla and jasmine. Akeno stepped gracefully to his side, handing him the steaming ceramic mug.

"Thanks."

"What would you like for breakfast?" Akeno asked, her voice dropping into a soft, melodic purr.

As for why Akeno was the one taking care of him this morning? Ravel Phenex was currently dead to the world, buried deep beneath the thick blankets of his bed upstairs. The legendary endurance and physical durability of the Phenex bloodline was certainly impressive, but Akeno knew exactly what kind of relentless, stamina-draining monster Finn was behind closed doors. Ravel's energy was strictly tied to her Demonic reserves, which eventually ran dry.

Finn, however? Thanks to Senjutsu, he could seamlessly draw limitless energy from the surrounding planet. As long as the earth kept spinning, Finn could keep going.

Finn took a sip of his coffee, pondering what to eat, but before he could answer, Akeno leaned in closer.

"Would you like a normal meal? A bath first? Or... me~?"

"....."

Finn stared at Akeno, entirely speechless as she delivered the most cliché, trope-heavy line from a late-night eroge. Yet, despite the cheesy delivery, the visual impact was staggering. She had styled her long, raven hair differently this morning, gathering it into a loose, low ponytail that rested elegantly over her shoulder.

Usually, her high ponytail exuded a sharp, teasing dominance. But this low ponytail gave her an incredibly lethal, domestic charm. It perfectly exposed the flawless, pale skin of her smooth nape. She looked like a sweet, devoted young housewife who was completely unaware of the raw, dangerous, and insanely lewd charm she possessed.

"...Is it possible to have you first?" Finn asked, his voice dropping slightly.

"Then, let's take a bath together~!"

Akeno smiled warmly, but her violet eyes practically glowed with deep, heavy, unfiltered lust.

Half an hour later, the two emerged from the steaming bathhouse, their skin flushed, glowing, and smelling strongly of expensive soap and lingering heat. After Akeno had thoroughly 'bathed' him with her undivided attention, they finally walked out into the dining room to eat breakfast with the rest of the household.

The dining table was heavily laden with a massive, chaotic mix of traditional Japanese and Western breakfast foods. There was steamed rice, salted grilled fish, fluffy omelets, sunny-side-up eggs, flaky pastries, and thick cuts of bacon.

Why such a staggering amount of food? Because both Finn and Xenovia ate like starving beasts.

While Finn could passively absorb environmental energy, Xenovia could not. Despite her incredibly slender, feminine body, she needed a massive caloric intake to maintain her terrifying muscle mass. It was a bizarre biological anomaly; Xenovia's muscle density was leagues beyond that of a normal human or even a standard Devil. It was the only way she could wield heavy, blunt-force weapons like Excalibur Destruction or Durandal with such terrifying ease.

Yet, she sacrificed absolutely zero flexibility. Unlike bulky, stiff male warriors, her body remained incredibly supple and soft—a fact Finn frequently, thoroughly tested during their intense, breathless nighttime activities.

"Finn-sama, is my sword ready?" Xenovia asked, practically vibrating with excitement around a mouthful of rice.

"It is."

Finn reached into a spatial tear and pulled out the newly merged weapon. He had flawlessly combined Durandal with the core of Excalibur Destruction. The resulting broadsword retained its iconic blue and gold color scheme, but it now exuded a heavy, terrifyingly divine aura that completely defied its demonic craftsmanship.

"...Are you secretly a master craftsman, Finn-sama?" Asia asked, her large green eyes sparkling in pure amazement as she felt the holy weight radiating from the blade.

"Well, no..."

Am I a master craftsman? Finn pondered for a moment. Combining his innate Manager skill with the synergistic creation magic he had assimilated from 'Suzuki' of Arifureta, his forging abilities had likely breached the realm of the divine.

"I might be. I'm not entirely sure, to be honest," Finn shrugged. "But what do you think of the sword, Xenovia?"

Xenovia eagerly took the hilt. She immediately marched out into the grassy yard and swung the massive blade through the air. The heavy, whistling whoosh of the steel cutting the wind echoed loudly. The sheer weight remained the same, but she could instantly feel that its overall durability and destructive sharpness had been exponentially multiplied.

The unique property of Durandal had always been its unbreakable durability. Now, paired with Excalibur's devastating edge, it was a world-ending weapon. This was the exact type of blade that had once sent Kokabiel running for his life with his tail between his legs.

Yet, Xenovia's focus was entirely fixed on one specific, highly impractical fantasy.

"Is it possible for me to shoot a laser beam with this now, Finn-sama?!"

"...." Finn stared at her.

Akeno and Asia also turned to look at him curiously. After all, the memory of Finn modifying his own sword, Balmung, to fire a moon-scarring beam of pure aura during his fight with Vali was still fresh in everyone's minds.

"Sorry, but no."

"O-Oh..." Xenovia's entire body visibly deflated like a punctured balloon. But she quickly rallied, offering a grateful smile. "But, thank you so much, Finn-sama."

"...Do you really want to shoot a beam that badly?" Finn asked, utterly baffled by her obsession. "You don't have anywhere near enough demonic energy to pull that off."

"B-But... firing a massive sword beam is my ultimate dream, Finn-sama..."

Xenovia knew her physical stamina was monstrous, but her magical prowess was virtually non-existent. Forcing a magical beam out of her sword would be a suicidal move that would instantly drain her life force. She didn't possess an Ultimate-Class Devil's bottomless reserves like Finn did.

Finn sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "What if I told you I could make it so you just 'point' the beam?"

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"I mean, I can build an external, satellite-like magical array that stores the energy. You just use your sword as a targeting laser. Wherever you point the blade, the beam fires from the sky and annihilates the target. Would you be okay with that?"

"I AM ABSOLUTELY OKAY WITH THAT!" Xenovia screamed, her golden eyes burning with fanatic zeal.

"...Okay, then. I'll make it for you."

Facing her burning, fanatical desire, Finn could only sigh in defeat.

"Wait right here! I'm going to go put on my skin-tight nun outfit to celebrate!"

"Why?!" Finn yelled as Xenovia suddenly bolted toward her bedroom.

"Because you love it when I wear it!" she shouted back from the hallway.

"..."

Finn fell into a heavy silence. He slowly shifted his gaze to Asia. The little blonde bishop immediately flushed a brilliant, burning shade of crimson and lowered her head, hiding her face in her hands. The two of them knew perfectly well that they frequently engaged in a highly specific, incredibly lewd roleplay where the "pure nuns" performed a deeply physical ritual to cleanse the "evil devil" using copious amounts of their own holy water.

...But, that was a topic for another night.

"Sit back down and finish eating, Xenovia," Finn called out. "We can play around later. You know perfectly well what kind of headache we have to deal with tonight."

"Isn't it just a peace summit?" Xenovia asked, poking her head out of the hallway. "We just stand there, listen to the higher-ups drone on about peace, and then come home, right?"

She made it sound like a boring school assembly.

"Do you honestly think everyone in the supernatural world is just going to blindly accept peace?" Finn asked.

"..."

The room fell quiet. The concept of peace was wonderful, but the reality was messy. Could the rogue factions, the war-mongers, and the countless individuals deeply scarred by centuries of bloodshed between Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels truly lay down their arms?

"Will the peace treaty fail, Finn-sama?" Akeno asked, a hint of genuine concern tightening her voice. She knew better than anyone that Finn deeply favored his lazy, peaceful life. If the treaty held, he wouldn't have to fight anymore.

"No."

"Eh?" The three girls blinked in unison.

"Why are you so surprised? The three absolute leaders of the factions have already secretly agreed. The grunts and goons at the bottom of the food chain have no choice but to fall in line, right?"

"....."

"You make a fair point," Xenovia nodded seriously, walking back into the dining room. "It's exactly like when you force me to wear my tight exorcist outfit in bed. I can't actually do anything to stop you. I just have to accept my fate."

"...." Finn rubbed his temples.

"It feels so incredibly good when you force me, though," she added with a completely shameless, incredibly lewd smirk.

"....." Finn groaned. That was absolutely not the right comparison to make!

"Just sit down. I'm going to explain the magical quantum mechanics of how your new orbital beam weapon is going to work."

"Ah, um..."

Xenovia's face instantly went pale. The world seemed to literally lose its color. She knew perfectly well that a mountain of impossibly complex, headache-inducing magical theory was about to be violently shoved into her warrior-brain. "I-I am so sorry! Akeno-san! Asia-chan! Please, save me!"

Akeno delicately sipped her tea, looking out the window and pretending she hadn't heard a thing.

Asia just smiled apologetically, refusing to make eye contact. Neither of them were stupid, but they were well aware of their intellectual limits. When Finn started lecturing on theoretical physics and divine artifact engineering, it was every girl for herself.

"Well," Finn smirked, sensing another presence crossing the shrine's boundary. "You're extremely lucky. I'll spare you the lecture for now."

"Eh? Really?" Xenovia gasped, hope returning to her eyes.

"Yeah. We have an uninvited guest."

In a fraction of a second, Xenovia's demeanor completely flipped. The silly, lewd warrior vanished. She dashed forward, her muscles coiling like springs. She swung the massive, newly forged Durandal like a sledgehammer toward the ceiling.

"Don't destroy the roof!" Finn barked.

A millimeter before the heavy blade could completely shatter the wooden beams, Xenovia's wrists shifted. The impossibly heavy sword suddenly redirected its momentum, flowing fluidly like a stream of water. Despite the sudden shift in gravity, the blade lost none of its terrifying sharpness, slicing straight through the air like a high-pressure water jet designed to cut raw diamond.

The intruder, however, was impossibly agile. The figure flipped backward through the air, dodging the fatal edge by a hair's breadth.

But before the intruder's feet could even touch the wooden floorboards, the sharp, deafening crackle of ozone filled the room. Akeno had already summoned a blinding web of golden lightning right above the guest's head.

"I give up, nyaa! I give up, nyaa! I'm not an enemy, nyaa!"

Despite the frantic surrender, neither Xenovia nor Akeno lowered their weapons.

Crouching on the tatami mats, hands raised in defeat, was a stunningly beautiful woman with long, midnight-black hair and a pair of twitching cat ears. She was wearing a black, highly traditional kimono, but it was draped so incredibly loosely and carelessly over her shoulders that it completely exposed the pale, smooth slope of her chest and the deep, heavy valley of her cleavage. The faint, alluring musk of a feline mixed heavily in the air.

It was one of the most infamous SS-Class stray criminals in the Underworld.

The Nekomata.

Kuroka.