Ch.90Chapter 90

At the lost and found center inside the Academy.

Fortunately, someone had turned in Ourr’s phone, and Yuria was able to retrieve it there. After giving a polite bow, Yuria turned on Ourr’s phone to check it.

Would someone who didn’t even know what a phone was have properly turned it off?

Thinking that was unlikely, she furrowed her brow as she examined the device for external damage and tilted her head.

It had turned off from the impact of falling, but it wasn’t shattered to pieces, which made her furrow her brow.

After checking it once more, she turned on the power. When it lit up and began working normally, Yuria’s eyes widened.

She never expected that the protective case she’d given to Ourr, who had been looking for something durable, would work so well. She had given it to Ourr simply because she fell often, but given the current situation, she wondered if she had somehow anticipated this.

She shook her head. Putting aside unnecessary thoughts, she checked the now-powered phone. After synchronization finished, notifications that had arrived while the phone was off came flooding in.

Yuria groaned at the notifications rushing up the screen.

Sera, Aria, Karen. Everyone had sent messages, and it seemed they were trying to check on Ourr’s situation in real-time through both group and individual messages.

Deciding to let Ourr read them later, she turned the power off again. She carefully tucked the phone into her pocket, planning to take it to the repair center to check if there was any internal damage.

Ouroboros, who had been staring at it from the side, tilted her head.

“What is that?”

She was aware that it was something she had carelessly thrown onto the street, but since she didn’t know what it was, she asked Yuria.

Yuria took out her own phone and wiggled it.

“With this, you can contact people whose contact information you have.”

Though Yuria finished her explanation, Ouroboros tilted her head as if she didn’t understand.

For a Demon God who had no one to contact and no means of communication, modern conveniences were too new and exotic, and she didn’t know most of them.

Seeing Ouroboros’s expression of complete bewilderment, Yuria hesitated for a moment, then turned Ourr’s phone back on and handed it to Ouroboros.

She then made a call and gave it to Ouroboros, who felt the vibration with wide eyes.

“Is this the vibration I felt before?”

“If you swipe your finger across here, you can answer the call.”

“Did it work?”

[“Did it work?”]

Ouroboros was surprised to hear Yuria’s voice coming from both Yuria’s mouth and the device simultaneously, and her mouth fell open in amazement.

Though she understood that recording someone’s voice was somehow possible, being able to send words to someone in real-time was so fascinating that she couldn’t help but hold onto the phone.

Before, she had carelessly thrown it to the ground because it was annoying, but now she held it preciously with both hands while staring at the screen.

“Ooh.”

Ouroboros nodded, reacting like a primitive human discovering fire.

The thought “Why did I throw this away?” briefly crossed her mind. She wondered if this was how someone who didn’t know the value of gold felt after throwing away a gold nugget.

Of course, she now had the mindset of someone who would pick it up again and treasure it.

“But since these are messages for Ourr, I think it’s better if I keep it, because I don’t know how everyone would react if you answered them.”

“…Ah.”

Ouroboros seemed to have an “oops” moment as she withdrew her fascinated reaction and put on a cold expression. Whether her interest had suddenly dropped or she was disappointed that it wasn’t hers, she pouted.

“I suppose such an object is of no use to someone who will disappear after five nights anyway…”

“Ah, why would you say that?”

Yuria squeezed her eyes shut.

Of course, she wanted to see Ourr, but she hadn’t intended to completely push Ouroboros away.

She was scared. The fact that Ouroboros was immortal with an overwhelming presence and cold eyes made her more threatening than other Demon Gods—that was an objective assessment, not an emotional misjudgment.

But she hadn’t expected to see this side of her within the atmosphere and situation, which made her slightly doubt her judgment.

Though she hadn’t personally encountered cases of dual personality, she wasn’t completely unfamiliar with the concept. Just because personalities share one body doesn’t mean they have the same character; they could have completely opposite tendencies. So Yuria’s thoughts weren’t entirely wrong.

It was a retrospective thought, but after facing the fact that this wasn’t the case, she felt somewhat bitter.

“…For now, just keep it.”

Yuria finally gave in to Ouroboros’s reaction and handed her the phone. Ouroboros seemed to check Yuria’s expression before smiling with raised corners of her mouth, happy that she had been granted permission.

Even though it was temporary, she decided to be satisfied with being able to briefly handle such a fascinating object.

That’s where the problems began.

As usual, they ate dinner, bathed together, and then lay in bed in their pajamas. Ouroboros was fiddling with the phone when she first encountered a video streaming app.

This was when Yuria clearly realized that Ouroboros and Ourr were definitely different.

While Ourr would have accepted the phone with indifference—take it or leave it, using it strictly for communication—Ouroboros seemed eager to discover everything this fascinating object could do.

While Yuria was writing her thesis, Ouroboros lay in bed looking at the phone.

With her neck slightly bent against the headboard and the phone resting on her stomach as she stared at the screen, Yuria couldn’t help but feel concerned.

Though there was no need to worry about the health of Ouroboros, a Demon God, her posture alone made it look like her neck would soon be permanently bent, which kept bothering Yuria.

Ouroboros, finding this position most comfortable, continued swiping through the screen.

Ouroboros couldn’t read. While conversation was possible, written language required education. Therefore, she couldn’t search for topics of interest.

Unfortunately, she had to rely on the algorithm’s choices, but Ouroboros was lucky enough to quickly encounter a field she found interesting.

It was a food mukbang streaming channel.

“…Dwarves have short bodies but large stomachs, I see.”

Ouroboros muttered while watching the video.

Seeing a short person setting up food and gobbling it down, Ouroboros shook her head. Food itself wasn’t something that interested Ouroboros in the first place.

Even while watching the video, she kept swiping to find different content.

Then she came across a video of someone eating five pizzas laid out in front of them.

“Some humans eat quite a lot too…”

As she kept muttering to herself in admiration, Yuria grew concerned about Ouroboros’s state and turned her head.

Wondering if something was wrong, she glanced back, and Ouroboros, detecting her gaze, raised her head.

After meeting Yuria’s eyes, Ouroboros hesitated for a moment before tapping the phone.

“…This human eats an enormous amount.”

She slightly turned the screen. Yuria, sitting in her chair, narrowed her eyes and leaned forward.

On the screen Ouroboros showed her, there was indeed someone trying to devour more than one whole pizza. It was amazing that a slender woman had already eaten one pizza. The fact that she claimed she would eat four more was astounding.

While Yuria was shocked, Ouroboros took it in stride.

Perhaps because she could do the same, she didn’t find it strange.

“……”

Seeing Ouroboros staring blankly, Yuria cautiously observed her.

Is she going to say she wants to eat too? At this hour? We already had dinner, and if she asks for several more meals, I won’t be able to handle it. Well, since it’s only for five days, maybe I should let her eat if she wants to.

Yuria was conflicted internally. Before she could make an offer, Ouroboros spoke.

“Why is this person filming themselves eating like this? It’s not like I’m visible in front of this person.”

Ouroboros waved her hand in front of the screen. Seeing no reaction from the person in the video, she tilted her head.

“That’s right. They film videos because they can earn money just by having people watch them.”

At Yuria’s explanation, Ouroboros raised her eyebrows.

“Money?”

“It’s for buying new food, or things, or resources to do what you want.”

Her thumb and index finger formed a circle. It seemed like a lightbulb moment.

Ouroboros stared at Yuria’s hand and let out an impressed sound.

“So I just need to eat a lot?”

“You need to eat deliciously and appropriately. If you eat unappetizingly, people won’t watch.”

Ouroboros’s gaze drifted into space. She seemed to be looking at the ceiling, but regardless of her gaze, Ouroboros was searching through her memories.

Since she had never eaten while looking in a mirror, she couldn’t answer how she ate.

“Hmm.”

She seemed to have a lot to think about. Yuria was about to dismiss it with “No way,” but Ouroboros’s eyes sparkled as if confirming her suspicion.

“If I film this, can I earn money and eat new things?”

“…It doesn’t happen overnight, you know.”

Yuria broke into a sweat as she tried to explain the harsh reality, but since Ouroboros didn’t understand such things well, she just brushed it off.