Life sat in the hotel's armchair, deep in thought. 'Ok, there's a lot to unpack here...' Exiting Henry's barrier a full minute after the girls, he rushed back to the hotel to ponder his next move.

As if the revelation that Nozomi's survival wasn't intended in the first place wasn't enough to give me a headache... Now I have to deal with the possibility that the people responsible for making Nozomi and her friend's lives harder aren't feeling it. If what Henry said on the train is true, there's also a small but existent chance that the Grand Master might not be willing to do his job. This is starting to look like a VERY similar scenario I've heard from War, and... yeah, no thanks!

He rubbed his temples, trying to calm himself with deep breaths. Now, now, calm down. Even if the situation is... whatever this is, it's no reason to lose your cool. Surely, there must be a way to make this whole situation work. The question is if I will be given enough time to actually think of something.

Just then, a fly flew into the room through the open balcony window, transforming into a series of small dark sparks into its true form: Judai.

Oh, if it isn't the ONLY one willing to do the job they were assigned... I actually had forgotten about you for a moment.

"So... how did it go?" Life asked, temporarily focusing on Judai as a stress relief.

"Henry was successfully scouted to Kurai, and I gave my fake report to her before she dismissed me," Judai responded neutrally.

Life nodded slowly. "Good, good. At least some things haven't become unnecessarily complicated."

A sudden thought hit Life, prompting him to stare intently at Judai. Wait... maybe...Considering how different the manga is from what's happening right now, surely I wouldn't be spoiled if I were to ask, right?

After a few awkward seconds of silence, Judai felt tense under Life’s gaze. "Uhh, can I help you?"

"Hey, Judai... would you mind telling me how your day with Henry went? Like, what did you guys do before finding Yoshino and Nozomi?" Life asked, hoping to gain some insight that might solve his current dilemma of 'not enough problems for the story's characters he's supposed to be managing.'

Judai sighed. "It was... more tiresome than it needed to be. Our mission was to find the one responsible for Nekomata's disappearance and deal with them in a non-permanent manner. But Henry felt the need to waste our time by going around town doing meaningless things like going to a hot spring, restaurant, karaoke hall, visiting a friend's house, and taking photos with other people... Apparently, people here really like Western culture? That's what Henry said to me before he asked if I was jealous."

"And you were?" Life raised an eyebrow.

"No," Judai deadpanned.

Life nodded slowly. "I see... any reason he gave for why he delayed Kurai's mission for so long?"

Judai rolled his eyes. "Apparently, it was out of some dumb urge he got during his trip here. To be honest, I think he was messing with me. I mean, our kind doesn't need to eat human food, so why did he feel the need to go to a restaurant?!" Judai questioned, clearly bothered.

Life nodded along. "Huh, it sounds like a lot."

"Yep, but y'know, even after all that... it still wasn't the part that bothers me the most. Before going inside his barrier to confront Nozomi and Yoshino, Henry turned to me and said he had a pretty fun day. He thanked me for the company with a cheerful smile. But..." Judai raised a hand to his chin. "It felt... off. Like he wasn't pretending to be happy, but there was still something lying underneath that happiness. Something he was attempting to hide from me, which... I suppose it worked? I have no clue what that underlying something was, so... yeah, weird."

Life had a guess what that underlying feeling could have been. He had seen it many times, albeit not as much as his wife, Death, probably did. Still, enough to recognize the pattern.

"Okay, I think that's good enough about Henry. Now... would you mind telling me more about your early days? Specifically, when you were summoned into this world?" Life asked, steering the conversation.

After giving it some thought, Judai shrugged. "There’s really nothing much to talk about. I was summoned to a hotel room in a city whose name I didn’t bother to know at the time. I later learned it was South Korea, where Kurai was on vacation."

Life blinked. "Wait, she has vacation days?"

Judai shrugged. "Apparently, yeah. In any case, I was summoned to find, by her words, an object of extreme importance."

Life frowned, sensing a setup. "I just know it's probably something incredibly stupid, but... what was it?"

"A movie. Specifically, an old South Korean film called Maid of the House. Kurai wanted to buy a limited edition that she had heard was only available in its country of origin. She had me search the entire city by using a photo as a reference."

"Huh, not as stupid as I thought it would be, I guess..." Life nodded slowly but then realized something. "Wait... Kurai's Japanese. How does she understand a Korean drama? Is she using magic to understand the language?"

Judai shrugged. "Beats me. I didn't really care about asking at the time. If I had to guess, she's just collecting for the joy of it, which is something I still haven’t figured out."

"Hmm... that actually brings up a topic that I would like to know more about. What's your honest opinion of Kurai? I mean, you already told some of it to me and the girls back then in our first encounter, but you didn't go into details," Life prompted.

Judai gave Life a bored shrug. "She’s fine, I guess. She could’ve asked me to do less busy work. For the time she couldn’t find the keys to her own house and asked for my help. Or collecting negative energy by hiding in random people's homes and waiting for weeks until I had enough to give to her. Thankfully, I'm not a stray, so I don't need to worry about dying by waiting. Overall, not bad. I wouldn't say perfect, but I wouldn't mind working for her until old age claims her. Although, her early attempts to restrain me from doing a good job did force me to learn how to leak my magic so she wouldn't feel inclined to do so."

Couldn't you have just told her you’re not a fan of hugs? Life shook the thought away before tilting his head. "And yet you still want to kill her daughter..." Life commented.

Judai rolled his eyes. "Yeah, so? I get they live under the same roof, but it shouldn’t be that big of a deal. She already has a son, right? If she wants a daughter so much, she could always make a new one," Judai said, completely oblivious to how insensitive he sounded.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Baffled, Life stared at Judai. "I'm... like... y'know what? I'm not even touching that. ANYWAY, what are your plans after, y'know, you do the deed on Yoshino?" Life asked, hoping to move the conversation away to safer ground.

Judai shrugged. "Eh, I have no further plans in mind. I’ll probably confess to Kurai and... most likely die for killing a human. She is very strict about that unless I'm pushed to do so. But considering Yoshino can't possibly harm me in any meaningful way, I cannot say that I was forced to kill her, so... yeah, she would probably end me."

Life’s expression became concerned at how nonchalantly Judai spoke of his demise. "And... you're okay with that? With just... dying? Wouldn't you be wasting the second chance at life you were granted? Many would do anything, and I mean anything, to have a second chance like yours."

Judai shrugged. "I mean... I did the one thing I set out to do. Besides, it’s not like I was ever that attached to my own life. Sure, I guess I don't want to die right now... but only because I still haven't killed her. Afterward, I wouldn't mind non-existence. As for my second chance..."

Judai looked down at the ground. "I couldn't care less. I never asked for it, never did anything exceptional to deserve it, and the only regret, if you can call it that, that I carried over from my previous life was something I still haven't fully understood. To be honest..." Judai crossed his arms. "I'm still coming to grips with this whole... going back in time situation."

Great... just my luck that the ONE actual bad guy in this story is someone who's one murder away from being on suicide watch. Life thought sarcastically. Though Life felt there was a reason he was handed these cards, it still didn't help him figure out that reason. "I see... that actually makes me curious. Why do you want to kill Yoshino so badly?"

Judai frowned. "Is that an order?" Life couldn’t help but notice how that question bothered Judai.

Life sighed. "Would you be more okay with answering if I allowed you to also ask questions?"

He didn’t need to do this, if he said it was an order, Judai would answer any questions. But Life figured getting Judai to answer by choice might be beneficial long-term.

Judai’s frown eased up a bit. "Fine... whatever. The reason I want to kill Yoshino is that..." He cut himself off, reflexively biting his lip. Life saw even Judai was taken aback as if the answer caused him pain, but the darkspawn didn't recognize why. "She hurt me... badly."

Life nodded slowly. "Ok, continue."

Judai stared at Life unblinkingly. "That's it."

Life blinked a few times. "That's... it?"

Judai shrugged. "Yeah... Is there a problem?"

It could be risky to push it, but Life wagered it could be worth it. "I mean... isn't that kind of basic?"

"That's already a second question," Judai pointed out.

Life's right eye twitched. Oh, you’re going to play like that, huh? Fine then. He sighed. "Very well, what do you want to know?"

Judai looked down, thinking for a few seconds, then settled on a question. "Are you God?" he deadpanned.

Life blinked, stunned. "Excuse me?!"

Judai elaborated. "When we made that contract, you probably felt my power, right? Well, I sensed yours too. Although it felt heavily restricted, it was power beyond the likes of anyone. Even the Grand Master’s power that I sensed during my creation was but a drop in the ocean of your power. You certainly LOOK human, but I don't believe for a second that you are. The only being I see having this kind of power would be that 'God' person humans pray to. So, are you this 'God'?"

Life nodded slowly. "I see..." He didn’t, but wanted to move the conversation along. "I... guess it makes some sense you would come to that conclusion, maybe. But, no, I'm not God or anything like it."

Judai tilted his head. "Then who are--"

Life cut him off. "Hey, hey, that’s another question. You will have to answer mine now."

Life had to try hard not to smile in smug satisfaction as Judai frowned before shrugging. "Very well, do you still wanna know about my motivations?"

Life nodded and Judai complied. "You’re not wrong, it IS basic, but... how can I explain it... If I don't pursue this desire for revenge at all costs, I feel I’ll regret it forever. The thought of not doing it is, somehow, worse than death. On the opposite end, thinking about hurting her for what she did to me makes me feel the most alive and free I've ever been, even though I know what caused these thoughts. It's confusing that I'm capable of thinking about it in the first place."

Life raised a hand to his chin, intrigued by the paradox of Judai’s revenge thoughts while not fully grasping them. "Hmm... okay. What’s your next question?"

Judai took a moment before looking Life in the eye. "Why are you doing this?"

Life raised an eyebrow, surprised Judai didn’t ask who he was. "Elaborate."

Judai sighed. "This." He waved his arms around Life. "Even if you aren’t God, you’re still a godlike being who should be above the concerns of everyone and everything on this planet – if not the entire universe. Yet, you bother yourself with the lives of others and hide your power. Why haven't you taken over this planet already?"

Life nodded slowly. "Yes, you’re correct. I COULD take over this entire universe, and crown myself as its ruler in seconds if I wanted to. I COULD solve most of my problems instantly. But you want to know why I won’t?"

Judai nodded, and Life answered. "Because I have nothing to prove, and I’m already living the best life I could wish for. If I were to conquer this entire universe, I would gain nothing from it besides getting bored beyond belief." Life groaned. That wasn’t the full reason, but without revealing his real job of managing this story, it sufficed. "Would that serve as an answer?"

Judai considered for a moment before nodding. "I guess... it works for now."

"Okay, my turn now. You mentioned something about 'strays' earlier. Care to explain?" Life asked.

Judai shrugged. "Not much to explain. They are darkspawns like Henry and myself but not summoned by someone like Kurai. They are created when an abundance of negative energy accumulates in one place."

Life slowly nodded. "So you're saying there are naturally-created darkspawns? Interesting..."

Judai’s expression turned unsure. "I guess you could describe them that way. In my opinion, they are nothing more than wild beasts under a timer."

Life raised a curious eyebrow. "Oh~? And why’s that?"

"Simple, they don't have a summoner – a master to rein them in. Due to not being fed with dark energy by someone, the darkspawn will 'starve' to death unless they produce their own negative energy. Such a desperate situation turns them into desperate beasts." Judai explained.

Masking his possible plans involving these strays from Judai, Life nodded. "Hmm... I suppose that does make sense. Alright, I guess this is all the questions I have for today. Say your last question."

Judai raised a hand to his chin, thinking for a minute before deciding. "What are your plans for me?"

Life tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... you said you would help me get revenge on Yoshino, but... what exactly would that entail?" Judai frowned.

Life raised a hand to his chin. "Well... I was thinking of training you, maybe giving you a weapon and setting up a situation where you and Yoshino would fight without interference. And before you ask why you need training, Henry awakened her potential and offered to train her."

Judai’s eyes briefly widened in surprise before growing into a frown. "I see... I suppose if it's like that, I’ll be in your care during this 'training'." Judai gave Life a small bow.

Life clapped his hands, ending their conversation. "Alright, now that we’ve discussed everything, return to Kurai before she notices your absence."

Judai nodded before departing the way he came.

Now alone, Life stretched his arms. Now, I guess if I want to find a new batch of... contractually motivated help. Better start looking at the first chance I've got. Although... Life looked up, but instead of the room's ceiling, he seemed to be looking at something else entirely. I can't shake this feeling that I got ripped off out of something interesting.

PING

Life blinked a few times at the sound. Remembering it was probably his phone notifying him, he pulled it out of his pocket and saw a message from Manabu on Chat,now!

[Hey, just confirming if you have seen the files about the new transfer students joining next week? I noticed you were the only one who hasn't confirmed it.]

Above the message were three files containing information about the new students. Life couldn’t help but respect Kurai. Even though she was, from what he heard, sick at home, she was still trying to be responsible. ALTHOUGH... Life would respect her more if he wasn’t the one picking up her slack until the substitute teacher's arrival.

[No problem, I've actually forgotten to check. Thanks for reminding me!]

Life replied before turning off his phone and placing it on top of the room's mini-fridge, but not before accidentally seeing the students' names.

The first file read Tekohá Hagurama, the second was Rea Heiwa, and the third was Jean Thurston.

It's probably not a big deal... or at least, it shouldn't be anything that warrants me to be worried, Life thought before settling down to sleep, hoping for some mental rest.