“I’m ready to go, Master!”

Orobas said this, stretching out his body.

I was about to summon Crocell in my room.

Well, it seems like Orobas won’t be needed this time.

I can’t imagine Crocell going wild like Aim did.

Alright, I thought, and chanted the summoning spell.

“Love thy neighbor. And worship thy Lord. Well, I was expelled from Heaven, so I’m not in the mood for that…”

She began with a gloomy atmosphere.

“Crocell, I’m here to save you.”

I declared this early on, to show my resolve.

“Save me… Are you going to guide me back to Heaven?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.”

“I see… There’s no way you could, is there?”

Crocell had a clearly disappointed expression.

But, I thought it was better to be honest about what I could and couldn’t do.

“Crocell, would you mind telling me why you were expelled from Heaven? Talking about it might make you feel a bit better.”

“An angel confessing their sins to a human… It’s not like I’d gain the Lord’s forgiveness by confessing to you. Well, alright.”

Crocell began to speak, sounding apathetic.

“An angel’s job is to guide and protect humans, following the Lord’s will. But, sometimes the Lord gives humans trials. That’s what happened back then. The Lord gave humans a trial called a flood. Many people were supposed to die in that flood.”

As I listened to Crocell’s story, I thought, ‘What a cruel thing for the Lord to do.’

Is a trial really necessary, like the Lord says?

“But, many of the people who were supposed to die in the flood were people I knew. So, I couldn’t help but go against the Lord’s will and stop the flood. By consuming the Water Goddess, who was the cause of the flood.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

That was my thought after hearing her story.

If an angel’s role is to protect people, then what Crocell did was right.

“No, angels are meant to be the hands and feet of the Lord. The moment I allowed selfish emotions to sprout, I was unfit to be an angel.”

Well, if an angel’s role is to absolutely follow the Lord’s will, then Crocell was indeed unfit.

“So, you were expelled from Heaven?”

“Yes, that’s right. I went against the Lord’s will, and I killed the Water Goddess by consuming her. These two things are my sins.”

“I see…”

I said this, and I didn’t know what to say to her next.

Because I couldn’t understand the angel’s feelings at all.

After hearing her story, I didn’t think she had done anything wrong.

But, even if I said that, it wouldn’t save her.

“Hey, what do you think of demons?”

So, I decided to probe her true feelings from a different direction.

“They are wicked and wickedly defiant, trying to deceive the Lord.”

Crocell answered immediately.

That’s pretty harsh.

She’s one of those demons, too.

“I don’t think so. Well, I haven’t met a lot of demons yet, but I know. Demons are selfish, illogical, and emotional creatures.”

I used some of Furcas’ words to make my point.

“So, Crocell, who helped people out of her own accord, is very demon-like.”

“Ah, are you trying to hurt me?”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that… ”

I panicked.

Did I use the wrong words?

“Hey, Crocell, why don’t we do something fun together?”

“Fun? …”

“Yes, now that you’re free, you shouldn’t miss out on doing things you enjoy.”

“Free? …”

Crocell is freer now than she was when she was an angel. But, it’s a shame that she’s only depressed.

“Yes, demons are the kind of creatures who enjoy being free. Orobas is like that, right?”

“Yes, for me, serving my Master is my greatest joy!!!”

Yes, Orobas is truly demon-like: he cries emotionally, praises me dramatically, and hates being dismissed.

“So, Crocell, let’s have some fun.”

“But I don’t know how to have fun.”

“Well, is there anything you want to do, Crocell?”

“Do I want to do anything?”

Crocell said this, staring at me.

Then, huh? Crocell blushed and her eyes darted around.

Why?

“W-well… I might want to interact with humans more.”

That’s right, she said that she stopped the flood to help humans.

So, she probably had an interest in humans from the beginning.

“Alright, let’s start by becoming friends.”

I extended my hand.

Then, Crocell, hesitantly, took my hand.

“Alright, I’m sorry to be so direct, but I want you to teach me Water Magic.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Yes, I want to learn Water Magic quickly.

My head has been filled with that desire since earlier.

◆

Crocell’s Perspective

It was a long time ago.

Back when Crocell was still an angel.

Back then, unlike now, she was emotionless, like a proper angel.

“Hey, Angel, let’s play.”

One day, a young human boy called out to me.

At that time, I was following the Lord’s commands and descending to the mortal realm, doing my duty.

“No, I have things to do, so I can’t.”

I remember coldly replying.

But, the boy kept calling out to me, “Let’s play,” every day, whenever we met.

Then, one day, I began to talk to him, and before I knew it, we were playing together.

Before I knew it, I wasn’t just interacting with the boy, but with many people in the town.

When I was an angel, I felt like a machine; I didn’t have emotions.

But, when I started interacting with the boy and the people in town, something like emotions began to sprout within me.

And then, one day.

The Lord decreed that the town’s residents should be subjected to a flood.

If I was still my old self, I would have followed the orders without thinking.

But, that person was no longer there.

As I said before, I saved the people by consuming the Water Goddess.

And I fell from Heaven for disobeying the command.

As a demon, I spent a long time in the Demon Realm, living in a gloomy state.

Every day, I repented to the Lord and regretted my actions.

“So, Crocell, let’s have some fun.”

But, today, a boy said this to me.

Is it just my imagination, or does he resemble the boy I met a long time ago?

Have fun.

I had completely forgotten that emotion.

But I remembered it. I remember having fun when I interacted with the boy and the townspeople.

Maybe he can bring back the joy I felt.

So, Crocell took Norman’s hand.