A Few Weeks Later…
Well, safe to say I'm grounded.
After the collateral damage from that fight, I had to pay for everything out of pocket. Everything. Buildings, roads, even a goddamn ice cream cart.
And Mother? She punished me the old-fashioned way, demonic-enhanced slaps on the bum. I'm not even kidding.
The wasn't even the worst part. The worst part is that Lavinia saw it. After everything, after looking cool, saving her life, I ended up bent over with my pride in shambles.
Ughhh kill me now...
Even Serafall showed up, arms crossed, looking like a disappointed big sister.
"Do you know how many meetings I had to sit through? With the Angels and the Greek pantheon?" she scolded me for the first time in a long time.
Then came the big one, reporting that Lavinia had the Longinus, Absolute Demise, hidden in her... and that I, by some miracle or cosmic accident, turned the Longinus: Incinerate Anthem into a Devil.
Ajuka actually paused when he heard that. He even requested a meeting once my... confinement ended.
The higher-ups nearly panicked. They ordered me to keep Incinerate Anthem a secret until they could spin a narrative. Something, anything, to explain this without causing another war from the angels.
On top of that, I had to cancel all contracts with my other clients and my other projects. Good thing most were understanding… though I owe them big time.
As for the witches, we couldn't find them even after searching for a while. Eventually, with the help of both the Grauzauberer and the Golden Dawn, we confirmed that they belonged to a secretive magician group known as the Wizard of Oz. Augusta, the one who attacked us, was apparently the Witch of the East.
She used to be an infamous member of Grauzauberer, but was marked as dangerous by Mephistopheles himself. Before they could capture her, she escaped.
Honestly, I was lucky. She had burned through most of her magic just keeping that flame giant active, so by the time I struck back, she didn't have enough power left to raise a proper shield. Especially considering she was ranked as an Ultimate-Class combatant.
On top of that, Serafall-sama dragged me away, saying it was my punishment for giving her more work. So now I'm stuck working as her assistant.
At this point, I should sue Serafall for child labor.
"Leoooo~kun!" a familiar high-pitched voice sang from behind me.
Serafall jumped on my back, hugging me tight and rubbing her cheek against mine like an overaffectionate cat. "What are you waiting for? Start cooking! I'm huuungry!"
I groaned and pushed her face away gently.
"Serafall-sama, can you please wear something less... revealing? It's bad for my heart."
She wore a flimsy baby doll nightgown, half slipping off her shoulder, her disheveled hair giving her an oddly charming messiness.
"Mou~! You sound just like So-tan!"
I sighed, walking toward the kitchen with a defeated shrug. "Maybe she just has a point…"
Serafall grinned mischievously, still hanging on my back like a clingy koala.
"Ne~ Leo-kun~ You really went all out for that Lavinia girl, huh?" she teased, poking my cheek.
"She had those love-sick eyes~ I even talked to her after. She kept calling you her hero~"
I scoffed, chopping onions with extra force. "Love-sick eyes? She's still too young for that."
Serafall let out a theatrical gasp. "But you're twelve! Leo-kun, sometimes you act like an old man! What kind of twelve-year-old wears a samue to bed?"
I glanced down at my midnight-blue samue pajama set and huffed. "Mind your own business. You wear a magical girl outfit as your official uniform."
"That's called style, thank you very much~!" she said proudly, puffing out her chest. The loose neckline of her thin nightgown dipped down just enough for me to lose my train of thought for half a second.
I quickly turned back to the stove. "You keep clinging to me, I swear I'm going to slap your bum."
Serafall suddenly burst into laughter, sliding off my back and landing with a playful twirl. "Speaking of slapping! Is your butt still okay after getting spanked by Aunty~?"
I froze for a moment, rubbing my backside with a grimace.
"Awww, poor baby Leo-kun~" she teased, mimicking a baby voice and making exaggerated pouting lips.
I ignored her, focusing on stirring the pan. The vegetables were starting to sizzle just right.
"Now go sit down. I'm making food."
"But I wanna help~!" she chimed, prancing toward the kitchen counter.
Before she could take a step closer, a whoosh of demonic energy flared out from under the kitchen tiles. Purple flames formed a neat cage around her, halting her in place.
"Ehhh? What's this?!" she blinked, poking the flame barrier.
I glanced over my shoulder with a deadpan expression. "I won't cook for you if your annoying me."
"Can I at least taste test?" she whined from behind the flame bars.
"Only if you behave."
"I'm always behaved~!" she then sat back down to her chair, then pops her first in her palm.
"Oh yeah, where's Vivi-chan?" Serafall asked, now dangling her legs over the armrest of the couch like a child at a sleepover.
"I was thinking of hiring her for my show! She could be my witch sidekick"
"She's with Aunt Grayfia," I said flatly while slicing up some eggplant.
"She said she'll train her to be my Queen. Something about 'maid potential' or whatever."
Serafall burst into giggles, kicking her feet. "Ahh~ Grayfia's still on about that maid thing, huh? She should really keep those kinks in private~"
I shot her a sharp look. "Says the woman who wears a magical girl outfit in every diplomatic meeting."
She winked and struck a pose with two fingers forming a peace sign near her eye. "You'll understand the true beauty of magical girls when you're older, Leo-kun~ Just look at my adorable So-tan!"
Before I could stop her, she whipped out a thick photo album, laced with glitter and pink stickers and started flipping through pictures of Sona in various magical girl costumes.
One had her holding a glittery wand; another was mid-transformation pose with overly dramatic lighting.
"You actually got her to wear these?"
"She enjoyed it~!" Serafall beamed, then opened a video on her phone showing an old episode of her show.
On screen, Sona looked visibly dead inside as she recited her lines while Serafall struck sparkly poses.
"...Does Sona know you kidnapped me from my house for weeks and forced me to live here?"
"Nope~" she chimed without a hint of shame.
I put down the knife and gave her a tired stare. "I'm leaving."
"But whyyy~?" she pouted.
"Because Sona doesn't like her onee-chan being around guys. Remember what happened to those poor souls who tried talking to you?
They mysteriously slipped, and a bucket of water 'accidentally' fell on their heads."
Serafall clasped her cheeks, visibly touched. "Aww, that's sweet of her~ She's always so serious but she loves me sooo much!"
She kicked her feet again and started humming a tune. "Oh! Don't worry, she actually approved of you, Leo-kun!"
"Approved…?"
"Mhm! Apparently, you're one of the very few who ate her cooking~" she grinned.
I froze, My gaze went blank.
'Oh no.'
I didn't eat it. I used Apport, a spell that I specifically made that teleports small objects to my hand.
Every time she turned away, I chanted under my breath, and her deadly-looking dish would vanish into my mouth bypassing all taste buds. I even made chewing sounds for effect.
I gulped hard, wiping sweat from my brow. "Y-Yeah... delicious stuff…"
As I was stuck in my own internal horror, Serafall suddenly leaned over the kitchen counter, practically purring.
"Ohhh, speaking of shows~ Isn't there an upcoming program in a week where the heirs of various noble houses perform there talents?" she asked, clearly fishing for drama. "I heard you've been practicing in secret~"
I sighed. "I don't want to perform in front of people though" while making sushi.
"Then after I was scolded my mother you swooped right in, stole me from my home and made me your personal chef-slash-secretary for the Department of Foreign Affairs for weeks. I told your old assistant I'd only be replacing her for a month, she cried herself to sleep on the office couch after hearing that."
"Awwww~" Serafall giggled, cupping her face. "She really liked you, you know. Said you made her job easier! And your food's better than the stuff at fancy banquets~"
"I'm twelve, Leviathan-sama. You've got me cooking, cleaning and handling very classified political files. This is clearly child abuse"
She tilted her head innocently. "So what you're saying is... you want a raise?"
I threw my headband through the cage. She caught it, laughed, then playfully sniffed it like it was a bouquet.
"So mean, Leo-kun~"
I rolled my eyes, wondering how long this woman would keep dragging me into her rhythm.
"Also," Serafall chimed, striking an exaggerated pose with one hand on her hip and the other raised toward an imaginary moonlight, "Can you attend one of my shows as a villain? I saw that armor you wore during the presentation, it looked so menacing!"
She shifted poses, making a dark scowl with puffed cheeks and a dramatically raised cape. "Like an edgy dark knight~!"
She deepened her voice. "'I am the shadow in the flames…'—Gah! So cool!"
I stopped stirring the stew.
A vein ticked on my forehead.
"...Serafall-sama," I said calmly, setting down the ladle as the temperature in the room rose.
"Oh? Getting flustered~?" she giggled
Serafall, unfazed, leaned close to one of the glowing bars and casually blew cold air on it.
Fwoooo.
The flames sputtered, whimpered… then burst apart like fireworks, shattering the cage into fading embers.
With a smug grin, she brushed imaginary dust off her shoulder.
"You're as monstrous as ever, Leviathan-sama" as I watched one of the holy relics just turned off my a mere breath. I gave her a flat stare.
"Don't be so formal, Leo-kun," she continued, smirk widening.
"Are you scared~? That your scary, holy purple flame that annihilates devils in a single touch gets destroyed by me~?"
The flames around me fizzled.
I turned away, grabbed the prepared bowl, and lifted it.
"I'm not making you breakfast anymore."
"Ehhhh!? Wait, wait, wait—" she scrambled to her feet.
Too late. My magic circle lit up beneath me.
"Ahhh, I'm sorry! Did this older sister tease you too much? Come onnn, I'll let you peek under my skirt~!"
She twirled in place teasingly, lifting the hem of her nightgown slightly.
"Not even my fans have seen Levi-tan's panties~!"
My deadpan expression could've turned a dragon to stone.
The magic circle intensified.
"Nooo don't goooo~!" she whined, arms reaching as the teleport spell activated.
With a faint glow, I vanished, leaving a steaming bowl of soup levitating behind me for her.
She blinked as it lowered into her hands. Her expression softened.
"…He's such a tsundere~," she whispered, then happily dug in.