At the dinner table, the four of them sat together.
Today, Tanaka Kazumi had taken the day off because she brought Jahy along to handle her household registration paperwork.
After everything was sorted out, there was still plenty of time, so she bought a lot of ingredients and prepared a lavish spread as a welcome dinner for Jahy.
Everyone in the family was extremely satisfied with tonight's meal, swallowing instinctively at the sight of it.
Everyone—except Tanaka Masao.
Kazumi calmly slid the dishes that had originally been placed in front of Masao slightly to the side.
Then she put a plate of vegetable salad and a serving of boiled chicken breast in front of him.
"Here you go, Masao. Mom made this especially for you."
Masao looked at the food in front of him, then at the rest of the dishes on the table. Tears of emotion welled up in the corners of his eyes.
"Mom… you really love me so much… I'm deeply moved… sob, sob…"
Seeing Masao gritting his teeth while pretending to cry, Kazumi covered her mouth and laughed softly.
"Oh ho ho, as long as you're moved, that's enough. After all, Mom loves Masao the most."
Tanaka Kenji watched the scene, shook his head, and said nothing.
After all, Masao was the one who wanted to lose weight. As the family that loved him most, of course they had to cooperate.
[This dinner is amazing… I should have another can of beer.]
Jahy pinched her chin and silently noted it down.
[One of Tanaka Masao's weaknesses: dieting.
During a diet, he can't eat delicious food. Extremely painful.
Serves him right for spanking me—karma feels great.
No, I should sit next to him and eat all the tasty food right in front of him.]
The four of them each picked up their cups.
"Alright," Kenji said, "let's welcome Jahy officially into our family."
"Welcome."
"Welcome."
"I really like this new home. Cheers."
Their cups clinked, and dinner officially began.
Jahy ate heartily, shoveling food into her mouth as she spoke.
"Kazumi, I also want to go to school."
She hadn't forgotten her plan—go to school, learn knowledge, and become even stronger.
The Tanaka couple exchanged glances, both smiling.
Kazumi looked at Jahy and said warmly, "Don't worry, little Jahy. The school's already been arranged. You can start next week. I didn't expect you to be so eager to go—what a good child."
Masao, on the other hand, looked at Jahy with confusion.
[Why does she suddenly want to go to school?
Is she trying to integrate into human society faster? But isn't she supposed to rebuild the Demon Realm?
If she goes to school, where would she find the time?
Is she planning a long-term campaign in the human world?]
If Masao knew that Jahy wanted to go to school entirely because of him—because she thought it would make her stronger—he would absolutely laugh her to death.
Can school make someone stronger?
Of course it can.
But that kind of "strength" was very different from what Jahy was imagining.
Masao asked curiously, "By the way, how old is Jahy registered as? What grade would she be in?"
"Well…" Kazumi hesitated, recalling earlier that day.
Jahy had no birth certificate, no identification documents at all.
Luckily, since she was still a child, filing adoption papers was enough.
The only problem was her age. Kazumi didn't know how old Jahy really was, so she let Jahy answer herself.
The moment Jahy opened her mouth, she said she was several hundred years old.
Which was technically true—but everyone treated it as a child's joke and didn't take it seriously.
In the end, based on Jahy's appearance and Kazumi's opinion, the staff registered her age as nine.
"Jahy is nine years old this year. If she goes to school, she should be in third grade of elementary school."
"Third grade of elementary school…"
Masao nodded.
[So she's a bratty third-grader, huh.]
"That actually suits her vibe pretty well."
"Third grade?" Jahy tilted her head in confusion and looked at Masao. "Masao, what grade are you in?"
"I'm a first-year in high school."
Jahy stretched out both hands—one finger on her left hand, three fingers on her right.
"First grade… third grade…"
After comparing them, she became visibly excited.
"Then that means I'm older than you! The school I go to is clearly more advanced!"
Watching Jahy beam with pride, Kazumi couldn't bring herself to burst her bubble. She gently patted Jahy's head.
"That's right. Jahy is definitely more impressive."
Masao hadn't planned on competing, but seeing his mom dote on Jahy so much instantly annoyed him, and he tried to speak up.
"But high school is—"
Before he could finish, he felt a cold gaze on him.
He turned his head and met his father's eyes.
That silent father–son understanding kicked in immediately.
[If you dare say something that makes Jahy unhappy right now, I'll make you unhappy too.]
Faced with his father's warning, Masao shrank his neck and decisively shut up.
[Why does everyone like Jahy so much?
She's just… a little cuter than me, that's all.
I'm round and chubby—that's cute too, okay?
…
Alright, fine. I admit it.
If I were a parent, I'd probably like Jahy more than a greasy otaku son too.]
Masao chewed on his tasteless boiled chicken breast, then looked at Jahy, who was eating until her mouth was literally dripping with oil. A wave of sadness washed over him.
[There's no place for me in this family anymore.
Jahy has become the new favorite.
This brat has to have succubus blood in her—otherwise how could she charm everyone this badly?
Only me—my will is firm. I'm not affected by Jahy at all.]
Adult Jahy: Oh? Are you talking about me?
Fine. Masao just didn't like kids. If it were adult Jahy, he'd be captured instantly.
As dinner was coming to an end, Kazumi took out several bills and handed them to Jahy.
"Jahy, you went out with me today and are familiar with the area now. I have to work tomorrow, so I can't accompany you. Be good on your own. This is your allowance for the month—buy whatever you like."
Seeing the money, Jahy's eyes immediately lit up.
She knew very well that with money in the human world, you could eat whatever you wanted and buy whatever you wanted.
"Then I won't hold back," she said, taking the money without hesitation and already planning which food she'd buy tomorrow.
Seeing the cash in Jahy's hand, Masao felt indignant.
"Mom, why are you giving her 5,000 yen? When I was in elementary school, my monthly allowance was only 2,000 yen."
Kazumi replied calmly, "Aren't you getting 5,000 yen now too? I can't play favorites. And prices have gone up—giving a bit more is normal."
Masao shook his head.
[So people really do favor cute things more, huh…]