Help Wanted

An angel, walking through the neighborhood, stumbled into a house. It saw a kid at the window, asleep while doing homework; its halo was damaged as the glass began to shatter.

“A kid falls asleep while doing their homework.”

It flies through the open window and reviews the paperwork.

“You must be tired from thinking so much... Let me carry that exhaustion...”

The angel touches the kid's back, absorbing its positive energy, while its halo begins to fracture even more.

“I hope you’ll wake up like a newborn person.”

---

Meanwhile, in the mansion of Ouroboros, everyone’s attention turned to Miyo.

Reona was surprised by how easily Miyo approached the new Harbinger.

“So, you met the Harbinger? That’s interesting. We can’t even go near the Harbinger yet.”

Miyo was shocked

“Wait, what? Is she the Harbinger? I didn’t even see Kaguya’s book on her. All I saw was a sketchpad, her white dog, and a bunch of dog supplies. What makes her the Harbinger?”

Jei responded calmly.

“Well, as Shiizaa said, she has a white Akita Inu. We don’t yet have much information about her. But thanks to the mansion staff, we’re able to get a little closer to her. Each staff member has a name given by Shiizaa, so they’re all undetectable to the eye of order.”

“Oh, I see. For additional information, she’s a garment maker and—“

Miyo's eyes sparkle

“I am her model!”

Shiizaa was surprised and happy with Miyo because of her free-spirited personality. Everyone knows that she always wants to become a model.

“That’s actually perfect, my lady. We should be celebrating then.”

He clapped his hands, and a female angel approached him.

“Please prepare a small feast for seven of us and make a strawberry cake.”

“Sure, my master.” The butler bows before leaving.

Juriasu looks at Shiizaa.

“Looks like we’re having a feast tonight. If I’m not mistaken, Miyo always wanted to become a model or a superstar.”

“Juriasu! You’re talking too much!”

“What? My lady wanted to be a superstar, too?” Shiizaa was so surprised.

“Well, hmm, our lady has a talent for acting, too.” Juriasu copied Shiizaa's accent.

“That’s interesting.”

“Please stop it!” Miyo was blushing while screaming.

---

The small feast was prepared by the mansion staff and included three of Miyo's favorite dishes along with strawberry cake.

“Oh my, that looks delicious. Thank you so much.”

Shiizaa places his right hand on his chest and lowers his head after the staff serves it. The staff lowers their heads too before they leave.

“I didn’t expect the staff to serve all of Miyo's favorite foods.

“Hehehe, thank you, Shiizaa.”

“Go on, dig in.”

Umi starts talking while eating.

“So, if Miyo met the Harbinger, then she probably got her name.”

Miyo claps her hands. “Ohhh! Yeah! I almost forgot that my new friend's name is Chitose; I didn’t get her last name.”

Hearing Nao's name gives her a heart attack.

“That's giving me a heart attack. If her name is Chitose Sasaki, I’m going to be shocked because that’s my garment maker.”

Miyo, add more details about Chitose.

“Well, she has long brown hair and calm gray eyes.”

Nao was stunned as Miyo began adding details about Chitose.

“Ohhh, I have her contact info.” She takes a quick look and—

“Her name in my contacts is Chitose Kurosawa.”

“Can I see the picture she’s using for her contact?”

“Okay! Here!”

And Nao takes a look at her contacts.

“What!? Did my garment maker just get married?”

“Wait! Wait! Wait! Oh, what’s going on!?” Umi was acting as if he were confused.

“So, we’ve been connected to the Harbinger all this time?” Reona was surprised.

“We didn’t even need to stalk her in the first place,” Jei says with his mouth full.

Juriasu was trying to break the surprise by inspecting the keychain's details.

“Thank you again for the keychain, Miyo-chin.”

“Glad you like it!”

Nao stood up quickly.

“Please, I’ll excuse myself to congratulate my garment maker. And please, Miyo, explain more. How did you meet out of nowhere?”

“Sure, Miss Nao, take your time.”

Miyo nodded as Shiizaa responded.

---

Chitose's phone began to vibrate.

It's nighttime. Her father leaves while Chitose continues working on the dress Nao requested.

She was so focused, yet worried about how her father was acting.

She sighs, breaking her focus.

They continue to vibrate.

And finally, she noticed it and answered quickly.

“Hello, Miss Morizuki.”

“I’m sorry to call you so late. I just found out you got married. Congratulations on your marriage.”

Chitose laughs awkwardly

She probably saw my name in the contacts.

“As your regular customer, I would like to thank you personally for making me a beautiful dress. I’ll be sending a gift. Was your address the same as the one you used when you took my measurements?”

“Thank you for the gift, but unfortunately-”

She glanced at Kazuha, who was sleeping.

“My husband died the same day we married.”

Nao became silently sad.

“Is that so... I’m so sorry for your husband.”

“Don’t worry about me, Ms. Morizuki. I’m doing fine now, so I’m slowly starting to get back to my normal days. If you have free time, you can stop by and have a usual chat about the dress you want.”

Nao smiled. “Sure, I’ll be there. Maybe the next day?”

“Sure, sure, I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Thank you again, and see you.”

And Nao ended the call.

I never thought my garment maker would become a Harbinger... I hope she’s doing okay...

---

It’s unusual that she called me this late.

The eye of order detects a new entity.

“Inside the house?”

Type: Sedulity

Kazuha woke to the sudden warmth of the place.

Chitose saw an angel with a severely damaged halo.

The angel notices the eye of order.

“You are the Harbinger?”

Chitose nodded

“Please don’t mind me. I’m here to do my duty as an angel as well.”

“You seem stressed and working so hard. Please allow me to take your exhaustion.” The angel was slowly reaching her.

Chitose is stepping backward.

“The eye of order identifies you as Type Sedulity.”

“I don’t know what it was, but all I know is that you must be tipping the balance.”

The angel realizes how dangerous Chitose is.

“Is that so, Harbinger? I suppose I should absorb your neighbor's exhaustion instead.”

But it says: “Please don’t kill me, Harbinger. I didn’t do anything wrong, unlike the demons. It’s my duty to absorb exhaustion from humans and carry it on me forever. I never harm them.”

The angel passed through the walls.

“You never harm them?”

Chitose takes a grimoire and activates the domain of order, turning her whole room monochrome. The grimoire recommends chalk.

“A chalk? Do I have to draw something?”

She took the chalk and drew a small circle on the wall. She was going to draw a stick figure, but as soon as she started, she drew a small circle showing the room in her neighborhood.

So she expands the circle and sees the angel touching her neighbor, absorbing his positive energy.

“This person is working so hard, Harbinger.”

The angel talks as its halo fractures even more and passes through the walls to move to the next room.

Chitose ran quickly to examine her neighbor.

“He’s still breathing.”

Could it be the angel doing its job, but I just saw its halo begin to break?

Chitose grows even more curious about the angel and follows it into the next room.

The angel touches the head of a woman.

“This woman is doing her best as a housewife. May tomorrow bring happiness to you and your family.”

Its halo became even more fractured.

“So do you believe in me now, Harbinger?”

“But why? I mean, what’s the cost to you of doing your job?”

“Harbinger, no matter what it costs, angels are always to act as angels.”

Chitose points to the halo of the angel.

“Your halo is breaking as you absorb human exhaustion.”

“My halo? It only fractured, but I’ll always be an angel. So come here, Harbinger. I’ll absorb your exhaustion.”

The angel offered its arms, then walked slowly to Chitose and embraced her.

The angel’s hug offers warmth, absorbing the stress that Chitose endured over the past few days.

And the angel slowly let go of the hug and smiled.

“Did you feel better now, Harbinger?”

“Yes, I feel very well. It feels like I can finally finish my work in one sitting. Thank you very much. How about you? How are you?”

The angel was happy. “As long as you feel better, I feel better, too.”

---

Its halo finally collapsed, leaving it like shattered glass hovering above its head.

“But your halo is completely shattered-“

Chitose was horrified; the angel kept standing, its eye looked dead. It felt like the angel she had just hugged was gone.

For a little while, the angel's skin began to peel vertically, and another entity began to emerge from beneath it.

Type: Sedulity

The eye of order identifies the entity.

The angel becomes a humanoid with one pair of legs and three pairs of arms; its body consists only of bones and muscle, with only the arms and legs to control its joints. Its head is a massive brass sundial with a single eye. This angel never stands on its feet, yet it crawls.