Chapter 30:

What To Do When Approaching a Buff Demon Mommy for Nerds

The Wolf-Demon of Sloth is Trying to Ruin My Life, So I'll Turn Her Into a Housewife

Of all the things Quinn had expected to see when she walked through the door into her and Jarel’s apartment, Jinxia in sportswear was not one of them.

She froze.

Completely.

Jinxia grinned.

“Hello, backseat driver. How was the cooking lesson?”

Quinn didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Even her tail stayed perfectly still.

Sayang appeared behind her, peering around.

“Dearie, I can’t get past.”

Jarel, sitting on the couch, finally noticed what Quinn was holding - a transparent container filled to the brim with cookies. He opened his mouth to congratulate her-

Sayang sniffed.

“Okay then.”

Quinn yelped as she was abruptly jolted forward, nearly dropping the container before clutching it tightly to her chest. She spun around.

“Aunty-”

But Sayang had already walked past her, completely unbothered.

“Hello, dear and dearest. I see you’ve been out and about.”

Jarel groaned as Jinxia laughed, her grin widening.

“We have.”

She shot Quinn a smug look.

“He helped me choose clothes.”

Quinn froze again - this time for a different reason.

Jarel braced himself.

This was it. He was about to die.

But instead, Quinn slowly turned her head toward Jinxia. Her eyes narrowed.

“I never said you could touch my husband.”

Jinxia snorted.

“He’s not your husband.”

Quinn’s glare sharpened.

“He might as well be.”

Jarel, for reasons he didn’t fully understand, decided to just… let this play out.

And then it hit him.

That wasn’t normal.

That was Quinn’s influence.

He smiled faintly to himself - just in time to realize he’d missed part of the argument.

Jinxia’s voice cut through his thoughts, sharp and defensive.

“Just because my breasts are a bit smaller than yours does not lower my chances of success!”

Jarel shot upright.

How much had he missed?

Sayang’s soft chuckling seemed to unintentionally mock him.

“Alright then, young ladies. Let’s save the arguing for later, shall we?”

The two demons continued glaring at each other, but mercifully fell silent.

Sayang clapped her hands once.

“Now, I’m busy for the rest of the afternoon, but the three of you should go before the library closes.”

Both demons nodded, eyes still locked like predators sizing each other up.

Jarel sighed and pushed himself to his feet.

“We’ve got-”

Jinxia cut him off instantly.

“Whoever gets more attention wins.”

Quinn didn’t hesitate.

“Deal.”

Jarel blinked. Then shrugged.

Not his problem.

“Are we going, then?”

Both girls lunged for his arms at the exact same time.

He barely managed to hold his breath before the world vanished.

The library café was a strange place.

Libraries were meant to be quiet. Peaceful. Calm. But when you build a café into the side of one and remove the wall between them, all that silence gets buried beneath the clinking of cups and the low hum of conversation.

Even so, the space retained a certain serenity.

The high ceilings helped. The openness, too - the second floor wrapped around in a balcony that overlooked the lower level, and an entire wall of glass let sunlight pour in from the street outside. The weather was perfect, and the golden light gave everything a soft, almost dreamlike quality.

At a long table - surprisingly empty except for them - sat three figures.

Two romance-hungry demons.

And one deeply unfortunate man.

Jarel and Quinn sat side by side at one end, while Jinxia lounged at the far end like she owned the place. Her form-hugging outfit made her stand out immediately, but she didn’t seem to care. On the way in, she’d drawn more than a few glances - but so far, nothing had come of it.

Jarel sighed as the waitress walked away after taking their order.

“This is not what I had in mind.”

Quinn hummed in agreement, though her attention remained fixed - subtle, but constant - on Jinxia.

She looked far too confident.

Without context, she really did just look like a tall, powerful gym girl with a physique most people could only dream of.

By comparison, Quinn - wrapped as always in her knit turtleneck - looked as soft and squishable as ever.

Jarel rested his chin in his hands.

“What did Sayang have on today, anyway? She never goes anywhere.”

Quinn shrugged.

“She said she was meeting an old friend.”

That was new.

Jarel blinked, briefly wondering if said “friend” was another demon. Sayang seemed to attract them like moths to a flame.

But he dismissed the thought. The odds were too low.

“Did she say who it was?”

Quinn shook her head.

“I asked, but she hurried me out the door.”

He smiled.

“I can’t wait to try your cookies.”

That finally pulled her attention away from Jinxia. She turned to him, beaming.

“Sayang said I did really well!”

His eyebrows rose.

“Really? That’s high praise.”

She nodded rapidly.

“She said I can improve on a few things, but otherwise I’m a natural!”

Considering she’d tried to use a plate as a frying pan a week ago, that was impressive.

“I’m really glad.”

She shivered slightly, tail giving a small flick.

“I’m glad you’re glad!”

For a moment, it looked like she might lean in for a kiss - but, thankfully for Jarel’s heart, she stopped herself. Instead, her expression shifted, impatience creeping in.

“Where are the guys?”

He chuckled, feigning confidence.

“Give them time. They’re a shy lot.”

She nodded, apparently convinced.

Jarel, meanwhile, had absolutely no idea what he was doing. He could only hope that, somehow, something would-

His eyes caught movement.

He turned.

A figure was approaching Jinxia.

Short. Pale. Button-up shirt. Glasses. Built like a twig.

The full package.

A stereotypical nerd.

Jarel’s eyes widened slightly as the guy hurried over, clearly running on pure, hard-earned courage.