Chapter 16
After my bath, I dried the angel's hair.
Fortunately, she only looked a little relaxed when I dried her hair; she didn't make any strange sounds.
"Why is your head so tickli—no, why are you so sensitive?"
"Uh… Perhaps it's because of this halo…?"
The angel said this as she gently touched the angel ring floating above her head.
"Because of that ring?"
"I'm not really sure, either. It's not as though anyone has ever touched me like this before."
"I suppose it's hard to imagine an angel having her hair stroked or anything."
So… was I her first?
Thinking that made me feel strangely satisfied.
'I'm her first.'
I wanted to teach her more about all sorts of things.
I wanted to feed her delicious food and show her lots of fascinating things.
I turned my head to check outside the window.
I had already gone out once because of the alarm, so it was a little late, but not so late that we couldn't walk around.
But that also made it a good time to walk around quietly.
"Hey, do you want to go eat something delicious?"
"Something delicious…? What kind of delicious food?"
"Anything you want to eat. You know, there are all sorts of things. Pork, beef, and so on. Ah, since you're an angel, maybe you eat lamb?"
When I brought up lamb, the angel tilted her head.
She looked as if she was wondering why I had suddenly brought up lamb, so I scratched my head.
"You know, it comes up in the Bible and things like that. I don't remember the details, but they sacrificed a lamb. That's why I brought up lamb… Was I wrong?"
"Uh… That was offered to God, not to us."
I suppose that made sense.
Still, did that god not even share a single bite of his own offering?
What a stingy god.
Thinking that I might be punished by heaven, I rubbed my arms, which had broken out in goosebumps.
"Well, since we mentioned it, shall we go eat lamb? There's a place nearby that makes delicious lamb skewers."
"Sounds good!"
Well, whatever.
If a god who stayed hidden when I was looking for him suddenly appeared only when I insulted him to strike me with divine punishment, then he really was stingy.
"Let's go. It's just a short walk."
"Oh, right! Please wait a moment!"
When the angel hurried into the room and came back out, she had neither her angel ring nor her wings, just as when she had taken a bath.
"Where are your ring and wings?"
"We're going out for a nice meal together, and it'd be awkward if other people stared, right? So I left them behind!"
"Because they attract attention?"
"Yes!"
It wasn't as though she had an inconspicuous appearance even without her angel ring and wings.
The words rose all the way to my throat, but I simply laughed them off.
She'd realize it on her own with time, even if I didn't tell her.
After finishing our preparations, the angel and I left the house and headed for the lamb-skewer place.
On the way to the lamb-skewer place was the convenience store I always went to.
I suddenly thought of cigarettes and was about to stop by the convenience store, but then I remembered the angel walking beside me and decided against it.
"Weren't you going to the convenience store?"
"No, let's just go."
Just as I was about to pass it, my eyes met those of the convenience-store clerk.
We'd known each other for years, so I was about to give a casual greeting and move on.
Ding-ding――
The clerk opened the door and hurried outside.
"It's been a while. I was worried because you hadn't come by these last few days. Everything okay?"
"Ah… Yeah, more or less. Nothing in particular happened. I've just been a little busy lately."
"That's a relief. Oh, and the girl next to you is…?"
Saying she was an angel wouldn't make the clerk believe me.
Then there was only one suitable excuse.
"She's my cousin from overseas. I'm looking after her for a little while."
"Hello!"
"Ah, I see. Hello~ What's your name?"
A name.
I swallowed hard at that single word.
She wasn't going to say she was an angel, was she?
Or could I hear her real name?
As I wondered that and looked at the angel, she answered with a bright smile.
"I'm Angela!"
"Angela, huh? That's a pretty name, just like an angel."
"Hehe, thank you!"
She'd told them so easily.
I felt a little disappointed, but I let it go.
It was my fault for not asking in the first place.
I should've just asked her as plainly as I had now. What was I regretting it for this late?
In any case, I'd heard her name, so that was enough.
As I thought that, the convenience-store clerk smiled and nodded.
"So your name is Angela. Wait here a moment, will you?"
The clerk went into the convenience store and returned shortly afterward with a piece of candy and a pack of cigarettes.
They were the same kind of cigarettes I always smoked.
"Here, this is a gift for Angela. And this… is a gift for our regular customer."
"Wow! Thank you!"
"You really didn't have to…"
"You've been coming here regularly for over six years. I ought to give you this much service, at least. Haha."
At the clerk's genial laugh, I started to reach for the cigarettes, but shook my head.
"I appreciate the thought, but I've decided to quit smoking."
"Ah… I, uh, see. Haha, I was being thoughtless."
"No, it's all right. These things happen. Still, I'll just accept the thought behind the cigarettes."
When I said that, the clerk smiled and tucked the cigarettes away.
"I hope you manage to quit."
"Thanks for the encouragement."
"Haha, sure. Ah, a customer just came in. I'll be going, then!"
The clerk who had blown in like the wind vanished like the wind when it was time to leave.
It had been a little hectic, but I was somewhat happy that the clerk had looked after a longtime regular like me.
"Shall we go? Angela. Angela?"
After I called her twice, the angel blinked and looked at me, having been staring intently at the candy.
"Yes? Me?"
"Yeah. Isn't your name Angela?"
"Ah, no. I only gave them the most innocuous name because I couldn't exactly say I was an angel. For an angel, it's 'Angel.' Twist that a little and you get Angela. It's the most ordinary name, isn't it?"
"Then what's your real name?"
"I'm an angel. Just an angel."
Angel couldn't possibly be her name.
Even so, calling an angel Angel was awfully slapdash.
"Could it be that you don't have a name?"
"Yes. I mean, I've never needed a name until now."
"Hmm… I suppose that makes sense."
As I nodded, the angel approached and took my hand.
"More importantly, you've been a regular for over six years. Don't tell me you smoked even when you were underage?"
The angel's words sounded more concerned than scolding.
I smiled at that and took her hand in return.
"No, back then I came here to buy dinner, not cigarettes. I didn't know how to cook, and it was cheaper to buy something at the convenience store than to buy ingredients and try to make something. Then, once I got older, I started coming here often for cigarettes."
"Then what did you eat…?"
"I ordered food. Maybe because I'd never cooked in my life, or maybe because I just don't have a knack for it. Anything I made tasted terrible."
After burning even a single egg because I couldn't fry it properly, I simply gave up cooking altogether.
I chuckled and shrugged.
"Enough about that. Let's go eat dinner. I'm so hungry I could die."
"You can't die! Let's hurry!"
And so we arrived at a lamb-skewer place.
The angel sat down on a chair with an eager expression, swinging her feet back and forth.
She was so cute that I laughed.
"Is there anything you want to eat?"
"I like everything!"
"Then let's get some lamb skewers and lamb ribs. Besides that… They have stir-fried tomatoes and eggs. Do you want to try that, too?"
"Yes!"
At the sight of her sparkling eyes as she nodded, I ended up ordering everything without thinking.
'Is this too much?'
No, who cares? If there were leftovers, we could take them home.
The dishes we ordered came out quickly.
"I'll grill them for you, so just eat."
"Is that okay? I'll grill them with you!"
"It's fine. Fire is dangerous, so don't. Oil might splatter, too, so stay seated. I'll do everything for you."
"You're buying me delicious food, so I should at least help with that much…"
"Even if I do it alone, all I have to do is put the skewers on the machine. It's fine, so just eat."
Only after I talked her into it did the angel nod.
Being too kind could be a problem, too.
Well, that was probably why she was an angel.
I smiled, grilled some lamb skewers, and handed them to the angel.
"Here, these are all cooked, so you can eat them now."
"Yes!"
Just as I was looking for a well-cooked lamb skewer to eat myself, a piece of meat was pushed toward my mouth.
"Here, have a bite!"
"I told you to eat first… Still, I'll gladly have it."
"Is it delicious?"
"Maybe because you fed it to me, but it tastes even better."
"Ehehe. Then I'll have a bite, too…"
She was so cute as she chewed the lamb skewer with her tiny mouth.
It was like watching a giant hamster.
'Is this what they mean when they say watching someone eat can make you feel full?'
"Hwoaaah…."
"Is it good?"
"Mhm!"
"It's hot, so be careful while you eat."
The angel nodded at my warning, swallowed the meat in her mouth, and grinned cheerfully.
"Eheh, this is incredibly delicious!"
"See? I told you this place was good. Still, don't get too greedy just because it's delicious. You'll hurt yourself."
"Hehe. It's fine! This much is… Ow!?"
"I told you to be careful."
The angel was so absorbed in the taste of the lamb skewers that she held one in each hand and nearly burned her mouth.
Fortunately, she wasn't actually burned.
The lamb skewers I ate for the first time in ages were delicious.
Maybe it was because I had someone to eat with instead of eating alone, but they were truly delicious.
The evening of the second day.
Our time alone passed quietly.
* * *
Late at night.
After Yoo Seo-ah fell asleep, I quietly used my ability to slip out of her embrace and leave the house.
"…."
I took the candy I had received from the convenience-store clerk out of my clothes.
At first glance, it was an utterly ordinary piece of candy.
Crack.
When I crushed the candy in my hand, something like jet-black smoke seeped out.
Flash――
When my halo flashed once, the black smoke that had seeped from the candy disappeared.
"…They say it's darkest beneath the lamp, don't they?"
It seems there's something I need to do before I leave.
There seems to be something I need to do before I leave.