Yumi flopped onto her bed, her phone in hand, and dialed her dad. She needed to talk to someone who could match her chaotic energy, and Kikidori was always the perfect candidate.
The phone rang a few times before Kikidori picked up. His voice came through, cool and casual as ever. "Hey, kid. What's up?"
"Nothing much, Dad," Yumi said, twirling a strand of her hair. "Just surviving this stupid college life. What about you?"
"Oh, you know, the usual," Kikidori said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Smiting idiots, avoiding Lucifer's lectures, and making Ere'ana blush every chance I get."
Yumi snorted. "Sounds about right."
Sakunagi, who was quietly reading at her desk, suddenly froze when she overheard the conversation. Her eyes widened as she pieced together the details: *Kikidori… the prince of Hell… Yumi is his daughter… which makes her royalty!*
She dropped her book, her face turning bright red, and immediately stood up, bowing so low her glasses almost fell off her face.
Yumi noticed the sudden movement out of the corner of her eye and raised an eyebrow. "Uh… what are you doing?"
Sakunagi didn't answer, just kept bowing nervously, trembling like a leaf.
"Hold on a sec, Dad," Yumi said, muting her mic. She turned to Sakunagi. "Hey, stop that. You don't need to bow."
Sakunagi straightened up slightly but still looked flustered. She quickly scribbled on a piece of paper and held it up: *But you're royalty! I didn't know I was sharing a room with someone so important!*
Yumi sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Look, I don't do the whole 'royalty' thing, okay? I'm just a regular person—well, as regular as a half-demon, half-angel college student can be. You don't have to treat me any differently."
Sakunagi hesitated, then nodded, though her blush didn't fade.
"Good. Now, stop being weird," Yumi said, giving her a small smile before unmuting her mic. "Okay, Dad, I'm back. Where were we?"
"I was about to tell you that Lucifer tried to fight me in a chess match earlier," Kikidori said, his voice amused.
"Oh, no," Yumi said, laughing. "How'd that go?"
"Let's just say he's not as good at chess as he is at being an overdramatic boss," Kikidori replied. "I beat him in five moves, and he flipped the board like a sore loser."
Yumi cackled, completely forgetting the awkward moment with Sakunagi. Meanwhile, Sakunagi sat back down at her desk, still a little stunned but trying her best to act normal.
As Yumi continued chatting with her dad, Sakunagi glanced at her, thinking, *She's so casual about all of this… She really is amazing.*
Cerberus, curled up on Yumi's bed, let out a little bark as if to agree.
The End of Chapter 39