Inside the Academy's lost and found center.
Fortunately, someone had turned in Urr's phone. Yuria bowed her head in thanks, then turned on Urr's phone to check it.
Would someone who didn't even know what a phone was have properly turned it off?
The more she thought about it, the less likely it seemed. She furrowed her brow as she examined the device for external damage and tilted her head.
It had turned off from the impact of falling, but it wasn't shattered to pieces, which made her furrow her brow even more.
After checking it once more, she turned on the power. The screen lit up and began functioning normally, causing Yuria's eyes to widen.
She hadn't expected the protective case she'd given Urr would work so well. She'd given it to Urr because she fell often, but given the current situation, she wondered briefly if she had somehow anticipated this.
She shook her head. Putting useless thoughts aside, she checked the now-powered phone. After synchronization finished, notifications that had arrived while the phone was off came flooding in.
Yuria groaned at the notifications rapidly filling the screen.
Sera, Aria, Karen. Everyone had sent messages, and it seemed they were trying to check on Urr's situation in real-time through both group and individual messages.
Deciding to let Urr read them later, she turned the power off again. She tucked it safely in her pocket, planning to take it to the repair center to check if there was any internal damage.
Ouroboros had been staring at this the whole time and tilted her head.
"What is that?"
She was aware it was something she had carelessly thrown onto the street, but not knowing what it was, she asked Yuria.
Yuria took out her own phone and wiggled it.
"With this, you can contact people whose contact information you have."
Though Yuria finished her explanation, Ouroboros tilted her head as if she didn't understand.
For a Demon God who had no one to contact and no means of communication, modern conveniences were too new and exotic—she didn't know most of them.
Seeing Ouroboros's expression of complete confusion, Yuria hesitated briefly, then turned Urr's phone back on and handed it to Ouroboros.
She then made a call and handed it to Ouroboros, who opened her eyes wide as she felt the vibration.
"Is this the vibration I felt before?"
"If you swipe your finger across here, you can answer the call."
"Did it work?"
[Did it work?]
Ouroboros was shocked to hear Yuria's voice coming from both Yuria's mouth and the device simultaneously, leaving her mouth hanging open.
She understood that recording someone's voice was possible somehow, but sending words to someone in real-time like this was so fascinating that she couldn't help but hold onto it.
Before, she had carelessly thrown it to the ground because it was annoying, but now she held it preciously with both hands while staring at the screen.
"Ohhh."
Ouroboros nodded with a reaction like a primitive human discovering fire.
The thought briefly crossed her mind: Why did I throw this away? She also wondered if this was how someone felt after throwing away a gold nugget without knowing its value.
Of course, her feelings were more like someone who had picked it back up and would now treasure it.
"But since these are messages for Urr, I think it's better if I keep it. I'm not sure how everyone would react if you answered."
"...Ah."
Ouroboros seemed to have an "oops" moment as she wiped away all traces of her fascination and put on a cold expression. Whether her interest had suddenly vanished or she was disappointed that it wasn't hers, she pouted.
"I suppose such an object is of no use to someone who will disappear after five nights anyway..."
"Ah, why would you say that?"
Yuria squeezed her eyes shut.
Of course she wanted to see Urr, but that didn't mean she wanted to completely push Ouroboros away.
She was scared, yes. The fact that Ouroboros was immortal with an overwhelming presence and cold eyes made her more threatening than other Demon Gods—that was an objective assessment, not an emotional misjudgment.
But she hadn't expected to find this side of her beneath the intimidating exterior, which made her slightly doubt her initial judgment.
Though she had never encountered a case of dual personality, she wasn't completely unfamiliar with the concept. Just because two personalities shared one body didn't necessarily mean they had the same character—they could have completely opposite tendencies. So Yuria's thoughts weren't entirely wrong.
It was a retrospective observation, but after facing the reality that wasn't the case, she felt somewhat bitter.
"...For now, just keep it."
Yuria finally gave in to Ouroboros's reaction and handed her the phone. Ouroboros seemed to check Yuria's expression before smiling with delight at being granted permission.
Though it was temporary, she decided to be satisfied with being able to briefly handle this fascinating object.
That's where the problems began.
As usual, they ate dinner, bathed, and then lay in bed in their pajamas. Ouroboros was fiddling with the phone when she encountered a video streaming app for the first time.
This was when Yuria clearly recognized that Ouroboros and Urr were definitely different.
While Urr would have accepted the phone with indifference—take it or leave it, using it strictly for communication—Ouroboros seemed intent on discovering everything this fascinating object could do.
While Yuria was working on her thesis, Ouroboros lay in bed staring at the phone.
With her neck slightly bent against the headboard and the phone resting on her stomach as she looked at the screen, Yuria couldn't help but feel concerned.
Though there was no need to worry about health issues for a Demon God like Ouroboros, her posture looked like it would strain her neck, which kept bothering Yuria.
Ouroboros must have found this position most comfortable, as she continued swiping the screen in that posture.
Ouroboros couldn't read. Though conversation was possible, literacy required education. Therefore, she couldn't search for topics that interested her.
Unfortunately, she had to rely on the algorithm's choices, but Ouroboros was lucky enough to quickly encounter content in a field that interested her.
It was a food mukbang streaming channel.
"...Dwarves have short bodies but large stomachs, it seems."
Ouroboros muttered while watching the video.
Seeing a stocky figure devouring laid-out food, Ouroboros shook her head. Food itself wasn't something that particularly interested Ouroboros.
She kept swiping while watching, searching for different videos.
Then she came across a video of someone eating five pizzas laid out in front of them.
"Humans who eat a lot really do eat a lot..."
As she kept muttering to herself, Yuria grew concerned about Ouroboros's state and turned her head.
Wondering if something was wrong, she glanced back, and Ouroboros, detecting her gaze, raised her head.
Meeting Yuria's eyes, Ouroboros hesitated briefly before tapping the phone.
"...This human eats an enormous amount."
She turned the screen slightly. Yuria, sitting in her chair, narrowed her eyes and leaned forward.
The screen Ouroboros showed definitely featured someone trying to devour more than one whole pizza. It was amazing that the slender woman had already consumed an entire pizza. The fact that she claimed she would eat four more was astounding.
While Yuria was shocked, Ouroboros took it in stride.
Perhaps because she could do the same, she didn't find it strange.
"..."
Seeing Yuria's blank stare, Ouroboros glanced at her cautiously.
Is she going to say she wants to eat now? At this hour? We already had dinner, and if she asks for several more meals, I can't handle it. Well, it's only five days, so maybe I should let her eat if she wants to.
Yuria was conflicted internally. Before she could make an offer, Ouroboros spoke.
"Why is this person filming themselves eating? It's not like I'm visible in front of them."
Ouroboros waved her hand in front of the screen. Seeing no reaction from the person in the video, she tilted her head.
"Right. They film videos because they get money just from people watching."
At Yuria's explanation, Ouroboros raised her eyebrows.
"Money?"
"Money to buy new food, or things, or resources to do what you want."
Her thumb and index finger formed a circle. It seemed like something had clicked.
Ouroboros stared at Yuria's hand and let out an impressed sound.
"So I just need to eat a lot?"
"You need to eat deliciously too. If you eat unappetizingly, people won't watch."
Ouroboros's gaze drifted into space. She seemed to be looking at the ceiling, but regardless of her gaze, Ouroboros was searching through her memories.
Since she had never eaten while looking in a mirror, she couldn't answer how she ate.
"Hmmmm."
She seemed to be contemplating something. Yuria was about to dismiss it with "No way," but Ouroboros confirmed her suspicion with sparkling eyes.
"If I film this, I can earn money and eat new things?"
"...It doesn't happen overnight, you know."
Yuria broke into a sweat as she tried to explain the harsh reality, but since Ouroboros didn't understand such things well, she just brushed it off.