Knock Knock Knock, It's Your Friendly Neighborhood Demon

“I am Quanlin, a demon of the deadly sin of sloth, and as of today I will be moving in with you!”

Jarel didn’t know what to think.

He was still trying to process what stood outside his door. A very pretty girl. A fair bit shorter than him, maybe a head or so, with long, flowing silver hair. But that was where things stopped being normal.

Her eyes were a brilliant, sparkling red. A pair of fluffy ears - wolf-like, if he had to guess - rose from her head, matching her hair in color. A tail swayed lazily behind her, emerging from a dark, sleeveless knit turtleneck sweater that hugged her figure, emphasized her bust, and cut off at mid-thigh. It was entirely possible she had nothing else on beneath it.

Her innocent smile was utterly disarming.

Before he could say anything, her expression shifted to concern. She tilted her head.

“Jarel? Are you okay?”

He blinked, then shook his head to clear it.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine. Can you please say that again?”

Her smile returned instantly.

“Of course! I am Quanlin, a demon of the deadly sin of sloth, and as of today I will be moving in with you!”

It made absolutely no sense.

“I’m… sorry?”

“That’s okay! You didn’t do anything wrong!”

He shook his head again, as if that might somehow realign reality.

“No, I mean, what are you doing here?”

Still, she smiled.

“I already told you! I’m a demon of sloth, and I’m going to be moving in with you!”

He stared at her.

“…I think you might have the wrong house. I don’t know any cosplayers.”

She frowned.

“You are Jarel, correct?”

He nodded.

“I am.”

Her smile snapped back into place.

“Then I’m in the right spot!”

“But… I’m so confused.”

She beamed.

“Hi, ‘so confused’! I’m Quanlin!”

He groaned, which only seemed to delight her. Letting out a long sigh, he tried again.

“So, what exactly are you doing here?”

“Moving in!”

“And then?”

She shuffled her feet.

“Well… I’m supposed to ruin your life by removing all motivation to be productive that you might have.”

She smiled proudly.

“Because I’m a demon of sloth!”

Her tail continued its slow, lazy swaying.

He briefly considered the possibility that he was dreaming. Or hallucinating. Or that someone had slipped something questionable into his mince and beans.

But she showed no signs of leaving.

So, with a defeated exhale, he opened the door wider and stepped aside.

“Make yourself at home, then… I guess.”

Her eyes sparkled.

“Wow! That was easy! Thank you, I will!”

She darted past him before he could reconsider. Instead of pausing to take in the apartment, she made a beeline for the bedroom and vanished inside.

A moment later, Jarel followed - and froze in the doorway.

Quanlin was carefully removing his clothes from the wardrobe, one item at a time.

“What are you doing?”

She glanced over her shoulder, puzzled.

“You told me to make myself at home. So I’m preparing my bedroom.”

He rubbed his head.

“That’s not what I meant.”

She planted her hands on her hips.

“Then what did you mean?”

“I meant you could come in and relax. Not… take over.”

She smiled brightly.

“But that’s my job. I’m taking over.”

“Why?”

She frowned.

“Do you have short-term memory loss? It wasn’t on your file.”

“I don’t,” he said, shaking his head. “But you don’t know how wild your excuse sounds.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s not every day someone shows up at your apartment claiming to be a demon.”

She huffed.

“Do you not believe me?”

He fidgeted.

“You seem like a very enthusiastic cosplayer to me.”

Her brow furrowed. Then - suddenly - her expression lit up. Jarel could almost see the imaginary lightbulb flick on above her head.

“Oh! I know what to do!”

She spun around, bent forward slightly, and promptly lifted her sweater.

Jarel got a full view of… everything. Thankfully, she was wearing panties. But her tail protruded from just above the waistband, seamlessly joined to her skin. It swayed lazily, independent of her hips, as she beamed.

“See? It’s real!”

He slapped a hand over his eyes.

“I saw.”

She straightened and tugged her sweater back into place.

“So you believe me now?”

He sighed.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to think.”

She smiled gently.

“Nothing at all! You can go relax. In fact-”

The air suddenly changed.

It grew heavy, oppressive, pressing down on him from all sides. Quanlin didn’t move, yet she seemed to loom, her presence swelling until the room felt too small to contain her. Her red eyes flared, and her cheerful demeanor vanished, replaced by something ancient and terrifying.

Her voice dripped with cold authority.

“If you don’t go and relax, and only relax, you’ll find yourself in Hell tonight.”

He didn’t doubt her for a second.

Pivoting on his heel, he bolted for the couch.

“Yes ma’am!”

Just like that, the pressure vanished. The room returned to normal. But now he sat stiffly on the couch, back straight, hands planted on his knees, unsure what exactly he was supposed to do.

There were things that needed doing. Dishes. Emails. Work. Responsibilities. If he ignored them, the consequences would come later. His mind spiraled, anxious and relentless.

He barely shifted forward before a shadow fell behind him.

He froze, then immediately leaned back into the couch.

“What were you about to do?” Quanlin asked sweetly.

Slowly, nervously, he turned.

“I-I was going to clean the dishes-”

She scowled.

“No. That’s too productive. You sit. I’ll do them.”

He obeyed. But she’d only taken two steps toward the kitchen before pausing and glancing back.

“What do you do for money?”

“I go to work-”

“Not anymore you don’t.” She raised a hand. “Quit your job.”

He blinked.

“But-”

She growled, tail flaring.

“Now.”

He nodded rapidly and fumbled for his phone. But the moment he unlocked it, his screen lit up with notification after notification.

His breath caught.

Quanlin giggled.

“This is your doing, isn’t it?”

She nodded, tail wagging, her earlier menace completely gone.

“Any qualms about quitting your job now?”

He stared at the numbers scrolling across his screen - amounts only lottery winners ever saw.

“None.”

She nodded happily and turned back toward the kitchen. Then paused. Glanced over her shoulder.

“You seem oddly happy.”

He frowned.

“Am I not supposed to be?”

She studied him, eyes narrowing slightly.

“Well… I’m supposed to be ruining your life. People whose lives are being ruined generally don’t smile.”

He shrugged.

“You might have the wrong idea of what a ruined life looks like.”

She frowned.

“But humans love to work. You all do it.”

He suppressed a chuckle.

“I wish it were that simple.”

She stared at him for a moment longer, then turned away.

“Oh well. I guess I’ll have to do some research, then.”

He chuckled outright. She didn’t respond, though her ears twitched.

Halfway through typing his resignation email, a loud crash echoed from the kitchen.

A beat passed.

Then Quanlin’s voice followed.

“Oops.”