"Aki-kun, what delicious food are you making tonight?"
"Himeno-senpai, why don't you stay for dinner too."
"Since Aki-kun offered, I'd be glad to accept." Saying that, Himeno walked out of the room with a grin. She grabbed the shochu she had left by the door and returned to the living room.
"Himeno-senpai, so you came prepared. You already left the booze at the door." Arata stood there with his hands on his hips.
"It's rare for me to get off work early, of course I have to have a drink." Himeno placed the shochu on the dining table. "Arata, you better drink up tonight."
"You aren't trying to get me drunk so you can interrogate me, are you?"
"The thought crossed my mind."
"What is this stuff? Let the great me have a drink first." Power stepped forward, snatched a bottle of shochu, and held it up to inspect it. Like Denji, she was completely illiterate. She probably knew even less than he did.
"That's shochu, it has a high alcohol content. Don't drink too much at once."
"The great me is the famous Blood Devil. A little shochu is nothing to me." Saying that, she popped the cap and started chugging.
"So spicy!!!" After taking a massive gulp, Power didn't forget to share her review. She then took a few more heavy gulps. Slowly, her face turned bright red and her eyes glazed over. "Did... did you drug the great me?"
"I told you not to drink too much at once."
"So dizzy, I..." Power's vision gradually blurred. She clutched her head, her body swaying back and forth.
Thud!! The next second, she collapsed straight onto the floor and fell dead asleep.
Watching Power's body rise and fall with her breathing, Denji couldn't help but gulp. Deep down, he strongly approved of Power joining their squad. Otherwise, a bunch of dudes hanging out would be way too boring.
"Denji, didn't you say you've never hugged a girl? Here's your chance." Arata sat in a chair and raised an eyebrow at Denji.
"Huh? Her?" Denji pointed at Power, his face instantly turning red. "Is that really a good idea?"
"It's just a hug, I'm not telling you to do anything else. After all, you've never hugged a girl."
"No way, Denji has really never hugged a girl?" Himeno looked at him with keen interest.
"Even if I haven't, so what? But I won't take advantage of someone while they're down," Denji shouted, clenching his fists. Even though deep down he desperately wanted to hug Power, the moment he thought of Makima, that burning desire was instantly squashed. He was terrified Himeno would secretly tell Makima that he hugged another girl. If that happened, his image in Makima's heart would be completely ruined.
"Oh, not bad. Didn't expect you to have such strong willpower." Himeno rested her chin in her hand and smiled.
"Dinner's ready!" Just then, Aki walked in carrying two dishes and placed them on the dining table. He glanced over and saw Power snoring on the floor. "What happened to her?"
"She got drunk after just one bottle of shochu. If she had a glass of combustible oolong tea, she'd be completely out cold."
"Drag her to the side, don't let her get in the way of us eating," Aki said emotionlessly.
"Denji, drag her into the bathroom."
"Into the bathroom? Isn't that a bad idea?"
"What, you're not listening to your master now? Just think about how she treated me earlier. She exposed me before I could even pull my pants up."
"Alright then." Denji scratched his cheek, grabbed Power's hands, and dragged her into the restroom.
"Aki-kun, you made a huge feast today." Looking at the delicious food on the table, Himeno rubbed her hands together excitedly. Whenever they had squad dinners, they usually ate out. It was rare to eat food cooked by Aki himself.
"Since there are more people, I obviously had to make more."
"Aki, you're basically their guardian now. Their every word and action is happening right under your nose."
Aki ignored Himeno's remark. He turned back to the kitchen and brought out the rest of the dishes, setting them on the table.
"Denji, get over here. Are you doing something dirty in the bathroom?!" Denji had dragged Power into the restroom a while ago, but he still hadn't come out even though dinner was ready.
"Coming." Hearing Arata, Denji violently pushed the bathroom door open and ran out, completely shirtless. Anyone seeing this scene would immediately let their minds wander in a very specific direction.
"Wow, you little punk. A minute ago you were saying you wouldn't take advantage of her, and the next second you drag her into the bathroom and get it done."
"Denji, you truly are my apprentice. Swift and decisive."
"What the hell!! That idiot just puked all over me," Denji hurriedly explained, looking a bit angry. "I'm not that kind of guy!!!"
"Alright, hurry up and eat. Aki made your favorite, ginger pork."
Once Denji sat down, everyone was present. Himeno quickly had Aki pour the drinks. After a few cups of shochu, Himeno's face flushed slightly pink. Her words started to slur a bit, but her eyes were fixed on Arata. "Alright, spit it out. What's your secret?"
"I'm not a virgin."
"I didn't want to know that secret! I wanted to ask about the devil inside you."
"Oh, the devil. I already told you, I contracted the Dream Devil."
"But how did you revive? I clearly saw your corpse." Aki's alcohol tolerance was decent; he still looked completely normal.
"What's so weird about a devil reviving? Denji can revive to full health just by drinking blood. I'm just a bit special, I can revive through dreams."
"You mean as long as someone is dreaming, you can revive through their dream?"
"Exactly. As long as someone can dream of me, I can revive. Plus, after I die, I can enter other people's dreams and force them to dream of me."
"Going by that logic, that means you can't die." Himeno suddenly got excited, her voice growing much louder as if she had discovered a treasure.
"You could say that." Arata chuckled and picked up a bite of food with his chopsticks.
"No wonder you survived Makima."
"Aki, now we have a highly capable assistant. Our chances of survival just went way up."
"Then can you kill the Gun Devil?" Aki asked, his tone heavy and earnest.
"Asking me to kill the world boss right out of the gate, you sure want to take the easy way out, Aki." Arata raised his glass and clinked it against Himeno's. "To tell you the truth, the stronger the devil, the harder they are to control. I'm just undying, I'm not invincible."
Arata knew his own strength perfectly well. Even though he seemed incredibly powerful, if his opponent was overwhelmingly strong, or if they discovered his weakness, being immortal wouldn't be much use anyway.
"Regardless, welcome to Division 4." Himeno downed her glass in one gulp, making it obvious how happy she was. After all, being a Public Safety Devil Hunter was a high-risk job. They faced ruthless, immensely powerful devils. It wasn't uncommon for people to die right after taking the job.
Himeno had seen many colleagues fall right in front of her. Even though she had grown numb to it, nobody wanted to see the coworkers they drank and chatted with suddenly die. This time, they actually got a coworker who couldn't die. That alone took a lot of worry off Himeno's shoulders.
"Relax, Himeno-senpai. I'll protect you guys. After all, I know a friend who has more than five devils inside him. I won't let you die," Arata said, pouring himself another drink to match hers.
"Contracted with more than five devils? Arata, you've definitely had too much to drink. There's no way someone like that exists."
"And what if I told you I'm that person?"
"Then you're definitely drunk." Himeno laughed out loud. "But thank you. You're the only colleague who actually puts my mind at ease."
"With me and my master around, no one in Division 4 is gonna die," Denji chimed in right after, his mouth already stuffed full of delicious food. Whether it was the food or the atmosphere, this was an experience Denji had never had before. He really liked this feeling. He silently swore to fight tooth and nail to protect this hard-earned group of companions.
Once everyone had their fill of food and drinks, the time slipped past nine o'clock in the evening. Aside from Denji, who didn't drink, everyone else was visibly drunk.
"Himeno-senpai, you take the bedroom. Let these two share a room."
"Thanks, Aki-kun. I'm gonna go take a shower first. Anyone want to join me?"
"For real? Or are you joking? We can shower together?!" Denji looked ecstatic. He never imagined that a squad dinner would come with this kind of nosebleed-inducing bonus.
"Himeno-senpai always likes making these kinds of jokes," Aki said while cleaning up the table.
"I'm not joking at all. I'm going in first. Whoever wants to join me is more than welcome." Saying that, she took off her shirt and tossed it onto the floor. She strutted sensually toward the bathroom. Before stepping inside, she deliberately paused at the door to shoot a wink over her shoulder.
Seeing this, Denji and Arata immediately started flailing around, stripping off their jackets. They were just about to sprint straight for the bathroom when Aki blocked their path. "Both of you, go back to your room and sleep."
"Aki, you're not making us sleep just so you can sneak in there yourself, are you?"
"I'm not that kind of guy. Plus, I'll be standing guard right here until Himeno-senpai finishes her shower."
Seeing the unwavering resolve in Aki's eyes, the two of them had no choice but to give up and head to their designated room. Meanwhile, Power was still sprawled out on the restroom floor, completely forgotten by everyone.