Family heirloom, then turned into a demon girl

Chapter 79 Mission: 01-2 Chihaya Aine
"Ugh."

Chihaya Aine walked out of the airport, dragging her suitcase and standing at the airport gate, looking back.

Under the dim sky, the lights were scattered on the ground, as if her dream of studying abroad was shattered by reality.

From the time she boarded the plane more than seven hours ago to the moment she landed, Chihaya Aine had pondered over and over again: If she hadn't been so arrogant beforehand, had done more research on her target university, flown to that country in advance to acclimate herself to the environment, and practiced speaking more, would she have avoided such a failure?
However, there is no regret medicine in the world, which is why failure is always a constant in life. Since you have failed, you can only choose to start over.

It was getting late, so Chihaya Aine chose to hail a taxi instead of taking the subway. Although it was a bit expensive, Aine had enough money on hand and could afford it.

She looked at the bright lights outside the window and didn't communicate much with the driver. After reporting the destination, she became absent-minded, thinking about which school she should go to next.

The car stopped. She got out at the door. Although her parents had agreed to Chihaya Aine's request to go home, she still didn't know what to say when they met. So she stopped and decided to go to a nearby cake shop to fill her stomach.

She had only eaten a small breakfast before boarding the plane, and airplane meals are notoriously mediocre.

This familiar road made Chihaya Aine feel at ease. However, it was precisely this kind of peace of mind that often led to danger.

In the pitch-black night, in a corner unlit by the streetlights, a crack barely noticeable to the naked eye opened slightly. From within that crack, a dark figure with horns on its head slowly crawled out, following behind Chihaya Aine.

Its footsteps were so light that they were almost inaudible. If it weren't for the shadow under the streetlight that revealed its presence, perhaps Chihaya Aine's life would have ended today.

At that time, she would regret her rash decision and regret why she had returned to this dangerous den.

She followed the shadow and looked behind her - this was not for any other reason, but because the shadow was staggering and looked like a drunk who was in trouble. However, Chihaya Aine never thought that it would be something more terrifying than a drunk.

"Evil, devil?!" Chihaya Aine screamed.

She immediately dropped her luggage and took off running. Not towards home, but ahead. However, realizing she was exposed, the snake-faced, goat-horned demon ran faster than Chihaya Aine, and the distance between them quickly closed.

"Is this my punishment for running away from that religious school?" Chihaya Aine couldn't help but wonder. And in that moment of distraction, she tripped over something and fell to the ground. The snake-faced demon lunged at her, claws bared, aiming for her life.

However... at the moment the demon felt relieved that the hunt was almost over, danger also came to it. Unlike Chihaya Aine, it didn't even have the chance to regret.

A cold, blue light pierced the night, freezing the hideous figure in its tracks. Seconds later, the demon's head slowly fell to the ground.

"Alas!"

Chihaya Aine sat there, watching the head rolling towards her, and couldn't help but shudder. She looked towards the knife light that cut through the night, wanting to see who saved her.

Under the light of the street lamp, a beauty in a tuxedo, whose gender was difficult to distinguish, stood there. He - or she - took off his bowler hat with one hand and held it in his hand, revealing a black feather mask inlaid with gold thread and scarlet eyes. His silver hair, as beautiful as the moonlight, was tied into a ponytail and swayed behind him.

The man was holding a beautiful katana, which he looked like he had used to chop off the demon's head.

"It's better not to walk on this kind of road at night," she said. "This city is very dangerous at night."

As soon as the other person spoke and heard that sweet voice, Chihaya Aine knew that the person in front of her was a young girl who couldn't be too old. Aine nodded a little stiffly and asked, "Thank you for saving me. May I ask... may I ask your name? I'll give you a thank you gift later!" "It's proper etiquette to introduce yourself before asking someone a question, right?" the girl in the tuxedo asked with a smile.

"Ah! Sorry."

Chihaya Aine quickly got up from the ground, her legs still trembling. She bowed to the other person and said formally, "My name is Chihaya Aine, thank you very much for saving me."

The girl in the tuxedo looked at Aine in silence. After a few seconds, she chuckled and replied, "You can call me 'Samael'."

Then the girl said, "But there's no need for any thank you gifts. You should just go home quickly. I hope we won't have the chance to meet again."

As clever as Chihaya Aine was, she naturally understood that this meant, "If we meet again, it could only be because you've been attacked by a demon again." So, after saying "Thank you so much," she forgot about buying the cake and hurried home.

I'm still hungry, but there's nothing I can do. I'll just let Mom cook something for me when I get home.

Behind her, the girl in the tuxedo sheathed her long sword, her elegant silver hair instantly turning a dazzling gold. She reached out and took off her mask, and the bloodshot in her eyes dissipated, replaced by two clear, sky-blue pools.

"Should I say it's better to let her introduce herself first."

The girl in the tuxedo—Nero said softly.

Although Nero felt the pink-haired girl looked familiar the moment she saw her, it wasn't until she introduced herself by name that she was finally able to confirm her identity. The protagonist of a band anime—perhaps not quite, but still an important figure.

"Looks like she just returned home?" Nero tilted his head, his eyes following Aine as she walked away in the direction where he had dropped her luggage. He couldn't help but sigh, "What bad luck."

I was attacked by a demon just after returning to the country.

Although the demonic presence in this city was strong, the number of attacks was relatively low. Nero, who had walked all the way here because he couldn't take the subway, had a good idea of ​​this. He just didn't know if the "big fish" was still planning something bigger, or if there were other demon hunters operating in the city.

Therefore, Chihaya Aine, who was attacked upon returning to her country, was a major anomaly. Nero felt that he should pay more attention to her.

What should I do? Track or protect? That would be too much trouble.

Then Nero remembered that the other party seemed to be transferring to a new school in a few days. Should he be observed in the school?

Maybe it's a good idea. Because Nero suddenly remembered something -

She is only sixteen years old this year, which is the right age to go to high school.

　Is this chapter title a bit too direct?

　　Never mind.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)