Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

"Okay, sure, then hurry up, I'm about to close up shop."

Upon receiving the customer's earnest request, the young shop assistant nodded subconsciously.

Immediately, the man and woman in their seats stood up in perfect unison and walked across the aisle.

What was I supposed to do? Pack it up, yes, pack it up...

The young shop assistant, still engrossed in the story of the book, had just rummaged through the food box and was about to collect the remaining desserts on the table when her gaze fell upon something and she froze.

Because the plate was actually empty, you can't just stuff the plate into it if you insist on taking it home, can you?

The young female shop assistant snapped out of her daze and turned to look at the two customers.

At this moment, the two people who had already arrived at the front hall did not stop. Instead, they walked faster and faster, rushing straight out of the door.

The two glass doors, pushed open, creaked and swayed as the cold wind blew through the hall.

The young female shop assistant looked at the food box in her hand, then at the dense night outside the door, and fell into thought.

A moment later, a figure, belatedly realizing what was happening, rushed out of the door, brandishing a kitchen knife, and cursing angrily at the empty shopping street.

"You two bastards, how dare you skip out on the bill! Don't let me catch you!"

At the same time, the two figures running wildly in the dark heard the drifting accusation, froze for a moment, and then sped up again.

Aozaki Touko caught up with someone who was running ahead of her, veins bulging on her forehead, and she scolded him through gritted teeth.

"Didn't you say you were treating?"

"I said I was treating, but I didn't say I was paying!"

Samael spread his hands and blinked innocently.

That statement doesn't seem wrong, does it...?

He's been dismembered, and now he hasn't even collected all the parts, so he has no money to speak of.

Aozaki Touko was so angry that she felt her blood rush to her head, and she wanted nothing more than to kill some bastard who had done nothing right there in the street.

"If you don't have money, then treat me to dessert, and order the most expensive one?!"

"I don't have money, but you do! What's wrong with eating a more expensive dessert?"

"I'm using my money, why would I need you to pay me?"

"Can't I just consider it a loan? It's not like I won't pay it back! You can just cover it for me first. It's a debt relationship anyway, what's mine is yours, don't be so stingy."

Samael retorted vehemently, even complaining about the creditor's stinginess at the dessert shop.

"How dare you bring this up! All my valuables are tied to you, do I look like I have any money now?!"

"You should have said something earlier next time, Orange. Aren't you from the Aozaki family the local big shots in Misaki City? Who knew you'd end up in such a sorry state? You can't even pull out 3000 yen from your pocket."

"...Stop right there! I promise I won't kill you!"

Aozaki Touko's eyes turned completely red, and the emotion that had been brewing in her heart turned into a raging fire. She wished she could disassemble that scumbag who had exposed his true nature into parts and display them in the workshop as specimens.

However, even after losing his powers, Samael, whose physical condition was still better than that of livestock, still led the pack by a wide margin on the racetrack.

That bastard can really run!

Oh, and when he tried to skip out on the bill, he ran faster than me! What a jerk!

Aozaki Touko, who could only follow behind and eat dust, couldn't help but think that she had almost become a scapegoat in the dessert shop. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and she almost suffered internal injuries from holding it in. In her anger, she raised her right hand and traced the trajectory of runes in mid-air.

"Stop, stop, stop! We've already escaped, everything's alright now, right? Why should we fight amongst ourselves?"

Sensing the surge of magic behind him, Samael quickly stopped, intending to divert Aozaki Touko's hatred.

"So, these are your last words?"

Having been thoroughly tricked, Aozaki Touko stepped forward with an unfriendly expression, glancing at the instigator with a cold smile.

"Don't hit me, don't hit me, it's your loss if you hurt me."

Samael slowly backed away, chuckling as he tried to calm the furious Aozaki Touko, and tactfully offered a solution.

"Here's what we'll do: lend me a 10-yen coin. I'll make a phone call, get some money, and then I'll pay off the debt at the dessert shop and the cost of my prosthetic limb—double the amount!"

Hearing the man's confident promise, Aozaki Touko snorted and tossed out the last coin in her pocket.

Samael caught the coin as if it were a treasure, then, with the still furious Aozaki Touko, went to a nearby public payphone booth, inserted the coin into the slot, picked up the receiver, thought for a moment, and dialed a phone number.

"Moshi moshi, sis, I'm a little short on cash, could you lend me some money first?"

"..."

Meanwhile, at the Parliament Castle, Holo, who had just answered the phone, heard that familiar voice. Her brow, which had been furrowed for days, relaxed with relief. Her right hand, which had been flailing about, immediately picked up a slightly wilted apple from the fruit bowl on the table, took a big bite, and her amber eyes narrowed into crescents.

"Okay, give me your household registration and bank card number first."

Account number? Card number?

Right, there always needs to be a medium for transferring money across borders.

Samael looked down at his body, which was still incomplete, then turned and gazed wistfully at Aozaki Touko beside him.

"Excuse me, if I may ask, do you have a bank card, Orange?"

"Bank card? What's that?"

The girl, who had only recently emerged from the deep mountains more than a decade ago, looked bewildered.

For a moment, Samael's hand holding the receiver trembled slightly as he and Aozaki Touko, standing in the phone booth, looked at each other in bewilderment.

Chapter 81 Attempt to rob her of her virtue backfires...

At that moment, Samael realized something far more painful than the tragedies of "dying with unspent money" and "living with no money"—"living with money, but unable to access it..."

Due to the previous battle and the freefall from a great height, his passport, bank cards, and other documents were all rendered useless.

Even though my sister, who is usually a miser, was generous today, she still couldn't send him money remotely without any tools.

Holo, crunching on her apple, pondered for a moment, then curled her lips into a smile and offered another way to solve the problem, her rising tone carrying a hint of mockery.

“Little Samael, why don’t you tell me where you are? Hold on for a few more days, and I’ll have the council send someone to rescue you.”

"No need, I can handle it myself. See you later."

Gu Shepi shook his head with a forced smile, declining his older sister's "kindness," and hung up the phone without hesitation.

The reason is very simple.

Just let him know you're safe; there's no need to go into too much detail. After all, he can't afford to lose face.

Since the call has already gone through, with the power of the council, it's only a matter of time before we find him by following the clues. Whether the call ends sooner or later doesn't make much difference.

Instead of exposing the embarrassing incident, it's better to take some time to recover and pick up the pieces of your shattered integrity.

Based on his understanding of Holo, this cunning older sister would most likely instigate the women in the family to take action, while a certain wise wolf hides behind and watches the show, as revenge for his good brother's inexplicable disappearance and the wicked act of causing her to lose her fur.

Tsk, no bank card? We can't count on headquarters' coffers now. Miscalculation...

Samael muttered a few words, pondered for a moment, and then hooked his left pinky finger upwards on the coin slot. With a clinking sound, the 10-yen coin that had been inserted into the coin slot was pulled out again.

By the moonlight, Aozaki Touko saw that the coin seemed to be tied with a thread that someone had taken from their clothes, and the other end of the thread was hanging on the guy's little finger.

They even scammed people using public phone booths...

The naive young girl stumbled, speechless, nearly breaking her back from the actions of some scumbag.

The man, completely unashamed, put the reused 10-yen coin back into the coin slot, raised his hand to dial another number, and muttered into the microphone.

"Hey, Natalia, when you used to drink with me, didn't you always brag about how you had connections no matter where you were down on your luck? Do you even know anything about Misaki City?"

"Hmm? Misaki City? To be honest, I've not only been there, I know it very well!"

Across from her, the female dream demon, who was leaning against the headboard drinking beer, raised an eyebrow, cleared her throat, and gave a smug, slightly drunken lecture to a colleague with a smug tone.

"Misaki City is a very murky place. Not only is there the Goda Church, a branch of the Holy Church, but also the Aozaki Clan, a family of sorcerers who have produced sorcerers in the Mage's Association. In addition, as far as I know, the local power of the four major exorcism families in Japan, apart from the Ryougi family, the other three families, Wujing, Asakami, and Nanaya, have most of their exorcists operating in secret in Misaki City. Generally speaking, if you want to go to Japan to carry out a mission, this place is a very good transit point and information gathering point."

Samael listened attentively, nodding frequently. He naturally showed a humble attitude towards the valuable insights shared by this veteran in the industry.

"Wait, you didn't end up in this godforsaken place, did you?"

Natalia wasn't stupid either. After satisfying her urge to confide in someone, she quickly realized the subtle information that someone had revealed and couldn't help but frown slightly, reminding them through the microphone.

“I’m telling you, you’d better be careful. Misaki City is a very complicated place. Besides the forces you just mentioned, I also discovered traces of Dead Men’s activities in the suburbs a few years ago…”

The female nightmare demon paused, then frowned and added a sentence.

"A very high level one... I suspect it's [Ancestor]..."

The agents of the Holy Church, the magicians of the Magic Association, the ancestor of the Millennium City, the hidden boss of the Dark Council whose plane crashed here, and a group of exorcists from the four major local exorcist families... In a sense, Misaki City is more lively than Fuyuki City, which will later be peaceful every day.

"Well, I'll be careful."

Upon hearing Natalia's unintentional expression of concern, Samael nodded in agreement, then changed the subject, lowering his voice to ask his friend for help.

"Um, I'm a little short on cash right now, is there any way to help me out with some money?"

"Huh? Are you kidding me! You're so rich you should have hung up streetlights dozens of times over, and you want to borrow money from me? Sorry, no money, no deal! You've got the wrong number!"

Upon hearing that it was about money, Natalia immediately raised her voice eight octaves and was about to hang up the phone.

"Ahem, I ran into some trouble in Misaki City. I lost my documents and personal belongings. I have money in my account, but I can't get any cash. If you have any connections, could you lend me some first? I'll make it up to you double later."

Upon hearing that the Nightmare on the other side was about to turn hostile, Samael quickly recounted his predicament, half-truthfully, and promised him great benefits.

"Oh, so that's what happened! You should have said so earlier! It's a minor issue!"

Natalia smiled warmly and brought the microphone close to her ear again, her voice filled with the warmth and familiarity of misunderstanding resolved.

That was so easy to solve! Well done, Natalia!

Seeing that there was a way to solve the predicament, Samael couldn't help but secretly praise his reliable "good brother".

"ten times!"

"..."

Upon hearing this additional comment, Samael fell silent for a long time, veins bulging on his forehead.

"You damned nightmare, trying to raise prices like this? Why don't you just rob me!"

"You don't need it? Never mind then, I'm going to sleep now."

Natalia, who had a keen eye for her friend's weakness, pretended to hang up the phone.

"Okay! Ten times it is! Where's the money?"

Samael, who desperately needed funds but also wanted to maintain his integrity in front of his subordinates at the castle, had no choice but to swallow his pride and accept Natalia's exorbitant price with a dark face, while secretly making a note of it in his notebook.

“I have a safe house near Misaki City. I’ll transfer the address and the rune key to you in plain text.”

Having received Samael's promise, Natalia readily sold the stronghold and temporary reserves she had prepared.

Of course, at ten times the price.

Having been ripped off, Samael secretly memorized the address and the key to the door, took a deep breath, and put down the phone.

Natalia, that opportunistic scum, don't fall into my hands later, or you'll regret it!

Just as Samael was gritting his teeth and plotting how to create that succubus hybrid, a frivolous whistle came from outside the phone booth.

"Little sister, what if you run into bad people dressed so lightly at night? This world is very dangerous."

At the same time, several slightly drunk Mohawk-wearing women, wearing sequined leather jackets and with hair as bright as turkey feathers, walked over from the alleyway not far away and began to flirt with Aozaki Touko, who was waiting in the cold wind.

At this moment, Aozaki Touko looked around, frowned, and muttered to herself.

"Danger? Is there?"

"Hehehe, of course we are, because we are the bad guys! Little sister, come here, let us older brothers give you a check-up!"

The mohawks exchanged mocking glances, let out malicious snickers, and lewdly extended their claws, closing in on the slender orange-haired girl.

"Hey, what did you say?"

Surrounded, Aozaki Touko turned her head to look behind her and pursed her lips in a soft hum.

Eee...

"Tsk, what I wished for came true, what a lovely bunch of people..."

At that moment, a tall figure emerged from the backlit phone booth, arrived as called, and greeted the mohawkers who surrounded him with a smile, expressing his heartfelt admiration.