Ersian looked down at them with a crooked expression, then pulled something out of his coat pocket. He opened the small box carelessly with one hand, took out the glinting object inside, grabbed Moed’s hand and commanded.

“Open your hand.”

Moed obeyed without understanding.

Ersian inspected the slightly spread fingers, looked satisfied, and slid a sparkling ring onto the fourth finger.

It wasn’t loose nor tight, it settled smoothly on Moed’s ring finger.

Moed stared blankly at the ring, then jerked their head up. When their eyes met, Ersian pulled his left hand from his coat pocket.

“I put mine on myself.”

Just as he said, a ring shimmered on his own ring finger in the sunlight.

Mouth slightly open, Moed looked down again at their own ring. They knew humans exchanged rings as a token of love, but she never imagined she would ever do the same.

“…Is this a wedding ring?”

“We’re not even having a wedding. But since we’re moving in together, we should at least have rings. They’re not a replacement for a ceremony. If we were having a wedding, I could have given them to you in a much more elaborate way. But no — this is what happens when someone insists on not having a ceremony! Why don’t you want a wedding anyway? Have you changed your mind?”

Not knowing what else to say, Moed managed to utter a single sentence, to which she received a hundred in return. Seeing Ersian huff in irritation, Moed realized her mistake and quickly apologized.

“Eshi, thank you. This is the first ring I’ve ever received. It’s also the first time I’ve ever done something like this.”

“So now you’re trying to change the subject, is that it?”

“Is a wedding really that important…? I already marked you, Eshi. And you said you didn’t like wedding ceremonies because they’re such a hassle.”

“I said the procedures around the wedding are a hassle, who said I dislike the ceremony itself?”

Still grumbling, Ersian cleared his throat.

“…So. It’s your first ring?”

“Yes.”

“So you… you’ve never… dated anyone before?”

Johnny, who had seen everything, turned his head away and stared at the empty space behind them. By this point, he just wanted them both to leave quickly.

“How could I ever have met someone like this, Eshi?” It’s so beautiful. But I haven’t prepared anything. What should I do?”

“You don’t need to prepare anything. You don’t need to exchange gifts for occasions like this.”

If he hadn’t given the ring, he would have regretted it. Ersian looked away, pretending to be interested in the scenery, which he couldn’t care less about. Then, a sudden idea made him turn his head back around.

“But if you really want to do something for me…”

“Yes?”

Moed gently touched the ring, her expression one that Ersian had never seen before.

Their slightly curved eyes and faintly flushed cheeks made their excitement perfectly clear.

The feeling was so unfamiliar that Ersian faltered. For reasons he didn’t understand, he felt a small, unexpected ache in his chest.

Moed watched him grow quiet after calling to him, and seemed to realize something. She looked at Ersian with worried tenderness.

“Your face must be throbbing. What should we do…”

“…It barely hurts.”

“You look like it hurts.”

“A kiss would probably cure it.”

A kiss had no healing effect whatsoever. But instead of pointing that out, Moed glanced sideways at Johnny.

“Here…?”

Their eyes met, and Johnny radiated his existence with every fiber of his being, a silent plea telling them to please, please wait until they were alone.

“Sir Johnny is watching.”

“Let him watch.”

“Mm…”

However, Moed was far less aware of others than they seemed to be and unintentionally ignored Johnny’s desperate stare.

As Moed rose onto their tiptoes, Ersian bent down slightly. Their lips touched lightly, and then a small tongue slipped out to brush his soft lower lip before retreating again.

Ersian’s deep blue eyes fixed on the succubus who had just flicked her tongue out at him as though he might devour her whole.

“We’ll do the full healing at home.”

“Is your place ready for me to see yet?”

“I… I did clean very hard…”

Moed answered uncertainly and went to Johnny, trying to take one of the luggage bags. Even then, Johnny, who was still supporting the full weight of the young master’s belongings alone, felt a genuine desire to retire.

“Young master, at this rate Miss Moed will be crushed under the bags.”

It wasn’t an exaggeration. Moed was hugging a suitcase that was almost as big as her and was wobbling dangerously.

Ersian, who had been watching the troublesome little succubus, shook his head and strode over to promptly snatch the bag out of Moed’s arms.

“Ugh—”

And immediately dropped it onto the ground with a heavy thud.

Johnny gave him a look that said he absolutely saw this coming.

“…Why is it this heavy!?”

“Well, I did tell you it would be difficult to lift.”

“You should have told me earlier!”

“I told you more than ten times while you were packing.”

Ersian glared at him, but Johnny simply clicked his tongue and gathered the luggage together again. Balancing all three bags with practiced ease, he jerked his chin towards Ersian.

“It’ll be difficult for the two of you to carry these yourselves. I’ll bring them to your residence. Where should I go?”

“You dare gesture at me with your chin?”

“You’re not the young master anymore, so what does it matter?”

“Johnny, thank you. But it’s all right.”

Caught between the two men who had somehow begun an impromptu staring contest, Moed quickly squeezed in.

Hearing Johnny say that he is no longer the young master made Moed suddenly feel real danger, as if Ersian might actually hit Johnny this time.

Completely unaware of the succubus’s concern, Ersian smiled smugly at Moed and lifted his chin proudly.

“Right. We don’t need a porter. You think I’d bring you into a house I’ve never even visited myself along with some hired help?”

“…Then how exactly do you plan to get there? Even if you call for a carriage, transporting everything into the house would still be the two of you.”

“We don’t need a carriage. We have Moed.”

“Miss Moed?”

Yes, she was stronger than humans, but asking that tiny woman to carry three huge bags was a bit much.

Johnny stared at Ersian as though he had just witnessed something awful.

Moed, who finally understood the meaning behind Johnny’s look, let out a deep sigh and turned to Ersian.

“Are we really doing it?”

“We’re really doing it.”

“Will it be okay…?”

“It’ll be fine. You can trust him.”

Johnny quietly observed their exchange, growing increasingly confused. He had no idea what they were talking about, but it sounded both suspicious and strangely touching.

“What sort of conversation are you having with a person standing right here?”

“We’re leaving now. Moed, come on.”

“But this is really hard to do, Eshi…”

“I know. I’ll refill your strength the moment we get there, so just do it.”

“Yes… Sir Johnny, thank you for everything. We’ll be going now.”

Moed pulled the luggage closer again and grabbed the handle. Ersian did the same, holding one handle in each hand, and flashed a sharp grin.

“Watch closely. I won’t show you twice.”

“Watch wha—…?”

The sentence never reached its end.

The moment Johnny thought he saw the boyish, mischievous smile he hadn’t seen since Ersian’s childhood, both of them — along with all three bags — vanished.

A cold wind brushed past. Only then did Johnny let out a small, breathless laugh.

Moed was neither a timid maid nor an incompetent assassin. But he had never imagined that she wasn’t human at all.

He suddenly remembered all the times Ersian had ordered him to read books about demons and hell, insisting that humans weren’t the only beings in this world. And with that memory came a single thought.

Surely Moed’s true identity was—

‘Impossible.’

Johnny stared blankly into the distance, ran a hand through his hair, then turned away.

At least they had left smiling — radiantly and genuinely — and that was enough.

With a helpless smile, he started to walk away.

It was a perfectly clean farewell.