The moment the door opened, Yazuki threw a punch.
"You—"
His smirk twisted but then his voice caught in his throat.
He hurriedly stopped his fist just a few centimeters away from a beautiful face. The force of his halted punch stirred the air, making her strands of hair flutter slightly.
That lovely face showed a momentary trace of shock and surprise at his actions before quickly regaining its usual indifferent expression.
"What do you think you're doing? Following a beauty like me? Planning to force your way in and do this and that to me? I already called the cops, you pervert!"
Her blue eyes remained cold. Her cherry-colored lips delivered those words in an equally cold tone, though the content was oddly narcissistic.
Most importantly, her slender fingers were already holding up her phone. The number was dialed. No, she had already called.
Yazuki's mouth twitched unnaturally.
But before he could even speak, Yukinoshita moved her lips again.
"That apartment over there is yours."
Her voice and expression remained as frosty as ever, but she seemed completely done with him.
"Ha—what kind of nonsense are you spouting? The third door on the right after stepping out of the elevator is—"
Yazuki's face twisted in frustration. He still looked angry—but before he could finish, Yukinoshita cut him off again.
"Did you even take the right elevator?"
She also gave him a look as if she were staring at an idiot. The intelligent Yukinoshita Yukino immediately understood why he had mistaken the apartment.
Hearing this, Yazuki froze for a moment and soon realized what had happened.
The elevator he had just used wasn't the one he usually took. His usual elevator was under maintenance, and the two elevators were positioned opposite each other across the hallway. Because of this, after using the other elevator, he had instinctively followed his usual path and mistaken the opposite unit for his own.
This was quite embarrassing.
Also… this woman was actually his next-door neighbor? Why had he never seen her before?
Oh, that made sense. His lifestyle was entirely different from the model student Yukino. Their schedules for entering and leaving the apartment must have never overlapped.
"By the way, are you okay?"
Yukino slightly furrowed her beautiful brows, and her voice softened a little. She had noticed the bandages wrapped around Yazuki's body, with several spots already seeping blood. Because he was carrying so many things, many of the bandages had come loose.
Hearing her words, Yazuki was silent for a second.
"What's the problem?"
His tone was lighthearted and indifferent, displaying the resilience expected of a man. With a turn, he gathered his shopping bags and headed toward his own apartment.
However, the moment he turned around, cold sweat poured down his back like a waterfall.
Problem? Of course, there was a problem—it hurt like hell! But there was no way he would show any weakness in front of this arrogant woman.
Damn woman!
Why was he blaming her? Because up until now, Yazuki had been so focused on other things that he had completely ignored his injuries, almost like self-induced anesthesia.
The moment he entered his apartment, he would have dived straight into the world of anime and games, completely forgetting about the pain. But now, thanks to her, he was forced to acknowledge his wounds, and the pain surged through him all at once.
He pressed the electronic lock of his door, and this time, the correct beeping sound rang out, confirming that it was indeed his apartment.
Hearing the faint mechanical whirring, the door opened.
He quickly stepped inside.
"Bang—"
The door slammed shut heavily.
Finally, Yazuki's mask of calm indifference completely crumbled.
"What a fragile body."
He let out a sigh.
Honestly, if he wanted to, he could easily create a stronger body than his current one.
How? By using the materials inside the Demon King's Ring.
But there was a problem. Wasn't the Demon King's Ring currently difficult to access?
His current body was nothing more than an ordinary human shell, where was he supposed to get the magic power needed to use it?
Actually, activating the Demon King's Ring didn't necessarily require magic power.
A powerful soul force could also serve as the key. After all, the soul inhabiting this weak human shell wasn't the same as before. It was the soul of a Demon King, tempered across different worlds.
So, why not just use soul power to activate the ring?
Sorry, that wasn't possible either. His soul was sealed—not in the sense that it was locked away, but rather that this world itself seemed to reject supernatural existences. As a result, his soul was suppressed, and he couldn't unleash even a sliver of its power.
In theory, he could forcefully free his soul. How?
Simple—by dying.
If his body perished, his soul would be released. But in that instant, his human shell would be obliterated. It would be like a balloon inflated to its absolute limit—if punctured, the internal pressure would explode it into tiny fragments.
Besides, this was a peaceful world. There was no need to unleash his full power. More importantly, this body was his real, human body—not one he had possessed, but a body truly belonging to him. It was the life his mother had given him. How could he just abandon it so easily?
Turning on the lights in the apartment, Yazuki looked inside.
From the entrance, several doors could be seen. Three were clearly bedroom doors, while the ones along the hallway were likely the bathroom and toilet. At the end of the hallway was the brightest area—the living room and dining space.
This was what you'd call a 3LDK layout.
Now that he thought about it, renting such an apartment must be very expensive.
So where did he get the money?
Did Eriri's father help?
No way. He wasn't shameless enough to let someone else pay for him.
Did he get money from his family?
Impossible. He had cut ties with them and hadn't received a single yen.
Then where did the money come from?
From himself. He earned it.
That brought up another matter, his hobby. It was quite similar to that of a certain twin-tailed blonde girl.
Well, whatever. It was time to immerse himself in the world of anime and games, making up for the countless years of deprivation.
"Huh? So that's how it is…?"
"What the hell?! The heroine actually died?! They're really using this kind of cheap plot device? Are you kidding me?!"
"No, no, this season's anime quality is way too bad…"
Inside the apartment, Yazuki's monologues continued. Sometimes furious, sometimes joyful, sometimes sorrowful, sometimes depressed, sometimes sighing, sometimes shocked…
Anyone listening from outside would probably think he was a lunatic.
It was supposed to be a sleepless night of entertainment, but—
A certain uninvited guest appeared.
And this uninvited guest was a teacher from his school, someone he constantly clashed with. Their battles of wits and evasion were legendary.