Yurine had a wide circle of friends—thanks to her summoned demon, Medusa and Minos, both classmates of the troublesome little demon, were regulars.
As for the angel, Pekora was just a pitiful fallen angel whose halo had shattered, leaving her stranded on Earth.
The world was never short of unlucky souls like Pekora.
Li Mo shifted his attention from the people to the table, where an induction stove and a pot of boiling red broth sat. "Are we having hot pot?" he asked.
"Yes," Yurine replied. "I recently got my hands on some A3-grade Kobe beef. Perfect for hot pot."
Li Mo rubbed his chin. "Kobe beef isn't cheap. Does your part-time job cover that, Yurine?"
Hanazono Yurine was a university student who worked part-time to support herself, and she didn't seem particularly well-off.
"Yeah, Yurine, don't you have a lot of expenses?" Medusa asked, concerned.
Yurine shrugged. "I do, but my family supports me financially. The part-time job is just for my hobbies—and to give Jashin-chan some pocket money."
"Wait, a demon gets an allowance for doing nothing?!" Pekora stared at Jashin-chan in disbelief.
Jashin-chan smirked. "Got a problem with that?"
"Pekora… Pekora…" The fallen angel's voice trembled as she recalled her own struggles to scrape by.
"Don't dwell on it," Yurine said gently. "Let's just enjoy the hot pot. Good food always lifts the mood."
There wasn't much anyone could do about Pekora's situation. Logically, she *should* have been able to live decently with her part-time earnings, but a combination of misfortunes kept her in poverty.
At some point, Yurine punched Jashin-chan. No one batted an eye—Yurine beating up Jashin-chan was as natural as eating or sleeping.
Li Mo plopped down beside Medusa. "Hey, remember what we talked about last time?"
"Ah… Oh, you mean that device to suppress my Mystic Eyes? Sorry, I forgot to gather the materials," Medusa said apologetically.
"I've got the materials on me. Want me to make a prototype now? No charge if it doesn't work," Li Mo offered.
"Sure!" Medusa agreed.
Among those present, Medusa was easily the wealthiest. It was no wonder Jashin-chan treated her like an ATM. Rumor had it that Jashin-chan's current trashy personality was entirely the result of Medusa spoiling her.
Not that Li Mo cared. What was the point of complaining now?
He pulled materials out of thin air, drawing Yurine's attention. "You can do that? So you can carry things around anytime?"
"It's an innate ability, not teachable magic. But theoretically, magic should be able to replicate it."
Mystery was practically omnipotent. Anything technology could do, mystery could do—and more. A personal pocket dimension should be achievable through magecraft.
Yurine's response was blunt: "I can't do it."
The hot pot broth bubbled furiously. Uncharacteristically serious, Jashin-chan dumped all the ingredients in, starting with the prized Kobe beef.
The marbled meat alone was enough to make mouths water. How much better would it taste after a quick boil?
"Yurine, if I'd known we were having hot pot, I could've brought more meat," Li Mo said. As a staunch carnivore, he believed hot pot without meat was pointless.
Even as he spoke, his hands were busy assembling materials. Mystic Eye Killers were usually designed as glasses for aesthetics. By sheer coincidence, he had a pair of plain, non-prescription glasses in his inventory—perfect for repurposing.
"Forgot you're a guy. Your appetite's probably way bigger than ours," Yurine mused.
"Should I go buy more?" Medusa raised her hand.
Li Mo multitasked, still shaping the device. "The ingredients are already in. Let's just order delivery." He pulled out his phone and conjured a third hand to operate it.
Japan's delivery apps were plentiful and efficient—but like taxis, absurdly expensive. Such was the cost of labor.
With that settled, everyone waited for the food to cook. Soon, Li Mo finished the Mystic Eye Killer.
"Medusa, wanna test it?"
"Here? There's nothing to test it on," she pointed out.
"Fair. Just take it for now. Pay me after you've tried it."
He wasn't worried about her skipping payment. This was *Medusa*—the famously loaded sweetheart. If not for her inexplicable soft spot for Jashin-chan, he might've jokingly begged her to support him.
She was exactly the type to attract gold-diggers.
Soon, the hot pot was ready. Under Yurine's direction, most of the Kobe beef ended up in Pekora's bowl. Li Mo exchanged a glance with Yurine—this "welcome party" was really just charity for Pekora, wasn't it?
Pekora was undeniably the poorest here. Everyone subtly accommodated her—except one.
Jashin-chan had no concept of morals. What could you expect from a demon? After realizing she wasn't getting enough beef, she piled all the meat onto her own plate, leaving Pekora with nothing but vegetables.
"Pekora~ Eat up! No more chopsticks until you finish!" Jashin-chan taunted.
Li Mo sipped his drink, expression neutral but secretly amused. Minos sighed. Medusa wanted to intervene but held back. Pekora just stared longingly at Jashin-chan's mountain of meat, which only made the demon smirk wider.
Yurine?
She walked over to the cabinet, pulled out a *machete*, and—
Well. Jashin-chan had it coming. If she couldn't even notice *that*, she deserved what followed.
What came next was a scene straight out of a B-grade horror flick—and Li Mo enjoyed every second of it.