Conveniency

With a puff, the dust particles that sat upon the tips of a slender finger vanished from sight. This was the last of the atrocities that resided in the bedroom of this apartment room. The demonic beauty exhaled a heavy sigh.

Albedo found solace in cleaning what could possibly be considered her love nest with Suzuki Satoru. His words earlier stabbed her unexpectedly. She was tough as a frontliner but those words had dealt psychic damage. She didn't have to think when she was cleaning but now that she was content with its level of cleanliness, her sense came back to reality. Walking towards the main room to get started again, the mixed feelings swirled in her head.

- What does he mean? That I don't love him... I love him so much! My love for him is as big as the world. No, that's too small. More than the universe! Suzuki Satoru, isn't that the same as Momonga? I don't quite understand. Whatever it is, I'm sure I can love whatever part he's talking about!

She could hear clicking noises coming from the front. Knowing exactly who it is, not because she could tell of its presence. She knew who it was because she had already scoured this place for any clues of any potential woman that could be her contender. With her thorough investigation yesterday, she concluded this place did not see any visitors.

- How should I greet my love? If I just stand in place it might be fine… I think it's a bit rude though but if that's what he wants then it is only common sense I make his every wish come true.

The door opened and a man entered.

"Welcome back Satoru."

"Thank you Albedo."

She settled with just standing in place to welcome him. His movements were the same as yesterday. There were no wasted movements from here and to the kitchen. Satoru turned to hand Albedo a drink in a robotic motion after he finished sifting through his fridge and fattening it up with more items. The flexible disposable plastic container deformed in the hands of Albedo.

"Thank you, I'm deeply grateful."

"It isn't anything much."

Satoru began consuming it while he leaned his body against the wall. With the tip of the drink, she inserted it into her mouth and sucked. The steady stream of liquid entered and touched her palette.

It was a strange flavor that did not taste pleasing in the slightest. She would have spat it out if someone other than Satoru gave her this. Albedo could tell that if she consumed it enough then she might be able to reluctantly acquire a taste for it. She did not let this taste ruin her beautiful face.

The drink wasn't pleasant but that didn't bother her as much, after all they would be cooking soon. She would get to experience another flavor to overwrite that horrid taste.

What will he decide to cook today? Will he eat pasta? A steak? Or perhaps me~

Excitement exuded from her. The meal he cooked did not come close to the food in Nazarick from her memories. It didn't matter if it did. What she enjoyed was the thought of a husband cooking his wife a meal.

Slurping the last of its contents, her eyes wandered onto him. He had already finished before her and seemed to wait for her to finish. Albedo could feel his stare on her. She didn't have any abilities to read minds but she internally wished that Satoru was stripping her in his imagination, her body momentarily shivered from excitement.

You only need to tell me and it'll immediately be done!

Remembering yesterday's agreement to cook together, she prompted a question on the menu for today.

"What will we be cooking today?"

"Cooking?"

"Am I wrong? Then what will you perhaps eat?"

"Aah- sorry Albedo. It's normal to me, I didn't think of the possibility that it might not be the same for you. How do I put this into words… um, that was the meal."

"What was that? I don't understand. How could a drink be enough to settle your hunger?"

"Hm, it's filled with calories, vitamins, and all that stuff needed to live."

"This doesn't seem like a meal befitting for someone like you. Maybe a dish that was made with the meat of a dragon and topped with the finest spices."

"Dragons? Dragons don't exist here Albedo. This, how do I put it... This isn't Yggdrasil. Just think of this as transporting to a completely different world from yours. Like those Isekai light novels, except this world is full of shit and not worth exploring at all. So, I think this is normal. Besides, food is very expensive. I can't afford to be having the type of proper meal you're thinking of. Sorry, this is the best I can do."

"Is that so… If you need to, I can give you my items so you can sell-"

- Satoru stuck out his hand to stop her from continuing on.

"No, I can't do that to you. Maybe I'll think about it later if the situation calls for it but right now I don't think it's necessary. Also it doesn't sit well with me to be selling my friends NPC's stuff either. Thank you though Albedo. Now with that said..."

His hand grabbed something from a container. What came out from it was the strange thing he wore on his face whenever he left the apartment.

"Even though earlier I said this world is full of shit and isn't worth exploring.. On the spur of the moment, I bought a mask for you so you can go outside since it'll seem like you'll be here for a while. Ah, since you're an NPC from Nazarick with resistances to poison, you might not need this but it's always better to be safe than sorry. We also can't have you stick out like a sore thumb outside either. As I said, it was on a spur of the moment."

Albedo could tell he was eying her horns and wings. Even if he didn't voice it, she could predict her master's thoughts. Thankfully his face was more easily readable compared to his previous body so she felt more confident that she could pick up his thoughts.

"It is fine. Over the hundreds of years wandering, I visited a demihuman nation. I found an interesting magic item that could conceal my demon traits."

Her hands reached into a pocket dimension, extracting an intricately carved necklace from it. Not heeding to Satoru's puzzled look, she wore it around her slim neck.

Albedo's horns and wings slowly vanished from sight and her snake-like pupils turned to that of a normal human. She was just an extremely beautiful human right now, her appearances at least.

"How convenient. I was thinking what this shitty world would do to you if they found out, but this is a relief. It would have made me sad if you didn't have an option but to be cooped here. But I am impressed, I've seen it in Yggdrasil but to pull something out from thin air is kind of cool, like a magic trick."

Happiness surged throughout her body at her master's praise. A warm hand reached out touching where her horns used to be at, confirming if they really did disappear. Startled by the man's sudden action, her face flushed red.

"I wonder how many items you can stuff in there and if it still follows the system. It'll be interesting to test it out, then I wouldn't have to carry that heavy container everywhere. Ah but that's if you're okay with it. Hm? I feel like something is there."

"It is only illusion magic. It's still there."

Satoru retracted his hand after verifying that the invisible horns were indeed still there. She could see a man reflecting on his action and as soon as he realized what he had done, his face shared the same redness as hers.

"Whoa! I'm sorry Albedo. Touching you inappropriately, it isn't the first time either. I don't mean to make it a habit or anything! I was just so impressed that I forgot myself and must've come off kind of rude. I've seen magic in Yggdrasil but I haven't seen it in my life here."

"No. I would like to tell you that I am all yours. You are free to touch what is yours at any time, but I fear that is not what you want to hear. So, please be at ease, it does not bother me at all. The thing that does bother me... Does this world have no magic, Satoru?"

"That's correct Albedo."

"A world without magic… how strange."

"Is it? I guess I can see where you're coming from. Actually I wanted to take you outside to go to a place I had in mind. You can see a glimpse of a world without magic. The truth is, I wanted to take you out as an apology for what I did earlier. Leaving you covered in my stuff... that was definitely scummy of me. Anyways, the more that I think about this, maybe it's not such a good idea. There really isn't anything much good out there. I'll just have to find another way to make it up to you Albedo."

- Isn't this a date! I've only heard about dates from stories. An opportunity to deepen our relationship! Ah! I can't miss this chance.

"No, I want to go! I absolutely want to go!"

"I- I see, once you're ready then we'll head out."

"Yes!"