[Location: Morningstar Manor, New York]

Selene burst into laughter, almost spilling her tea again. "Oh, Gabby… you're too pure for this world."

"I am?"

Selene slumped back on the couch, giggling uncontrollably. "You seriously are, Gabby. You make Disney princesses look jaded."

Gabriel blinked again, her wings twitching ever so slightly behind her. "Disney… princesses?" she asked, tilting her head. "Are they some sort of human saints?"

Selene clutched her stomach, howling in laughter. "Oh my god—yes! Let's go with that! Saints who break into songs and talk to animals!"

Zeraphira groaned audibly, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Selene. Stop corrupting the Archangel."

"Corrupting?" Selene said with mock offence. "Please, I'm educating her! Poor Gabby's been living under a celestial rock!"

Gabriel only smiled serenely, as if she didn't mind being the butt of the joke. "Oh, I see. Human saints who sing… That sounds lovely."

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. "Can we not turn the living room into a theology class, please?"

Selene winked at me. "C'mon, Dom, lighten up! You've got literal angels, demons, and witches in your house! You're hosting the most chaotic family dinner in the multiverse!"

"Dinner?" Gabriel perked up, clasping her hands. "Oh, that reminds me! I was hoping to stay for a while."

The room froze.

Zeraphira's eyes narrowed. "Stay?"

Gabriel nodded, still smiling with that disarming purity that could melt glaciers. "Mm-hmm! I especially descended to spend time with my dear-cute-grandnephew~"

She looked at me with pleading blue eyes. "May I?"

My brain stalled for a second, and I carefully adjusted the sleeping Grayfia on my lap. "You… want to stay? Here?"

"Yes."

"With me?"

"With me?" I repeated, still trying to process the words coming out of the literal Archangel's mouth.

Gabriel nodded eagerly, her golden hair bouncing slightly with the motion. "Of course! You're family, after all. It would be rude to appear after so long and then just… leave."

My eyes moved onto Azrael's figure, sitting unbothered. I'm not sure what my gaze looked like, but I was sure it screamed, 'Say something, you bastard. And why the hell are you doing, looking cool for no damn reason while my sanity's falling apart?'

Azrael blinked once, his silver gaze shifting lazily toward me. "She has decided," he said in that same soft, grave tone that made everything sound like a death sentence. "It would be… unwise to deny her."

Unwise?

That's angelic code for you'll cause a divine incident if you say no.

But he continued, "Actually, I was opposed to this at the start, for no matter what, Gabriel is one of the archangels of the highest order, and with her... gullible personality, she has the highest chance of falling from grace...if left unsupervised," Azrael finished, his tone so deadpan it could have frozen the sun.

Gabriel puffed her cheeks. "Brother Azzy! That's so mean! I don't fall from grace—I float gracefully!"

Selene snorted. "Pfft—float, she says! Oh my god, she's adorable."

Zeraphira's eye twitched. "She's an Archangel, not a plush toy."

Gabriel turned toward her with that same gentle smile that could disarm armies. "Oh, I don't mind! I quite like being called adorable. It's better than terrifying, isn't it?"

Selene raised her hand immediately. "Debatable. Terrifying is hot."

"Selene," I groaned, massaging my temples. "Please stop making theological conversations sound like late-night anime commentary."

"Too late~" she sing-songed, tossing her hair dramatically. "Besides, you have to admit, Dom, Gabriel's stay here makes this place way more interesting! Think about it—holy light meets demonic manor? That's peak slice-of-life content right there."

I shot her a look. "This isn't an isekai rom-com."

Selene smirked. "Sure it isn't, protagonist-sama."

Zeraphira turned her glare on her witch. "Selene. Shut up before I feed you to a rift beast."

"Yikes, touchy much?"

Meanwhile, Gabriel clasped her hands again and turned to me with that devastatingly innocent beam. "So it's settled, then! I'll stay here!"

I blinked. "Wait, no, we didn't settle anything!"

"Yes, we did," she said with divine certainty. "I decided, Azrael approved, and everyone else seems… content?" She turned hopefully to Zeraphira.

The crimson-haired demoness stiffened under that pure gaze, but she quickly crossed her arms and looked away. "Do whatever you want," Zeraphira muttered, her voice betraying the tiniest tremor. "Just don't get in my way."

Gabriel's face lit up like the dawn. "Wonderful! I knew you were kind, Miss Zera!"

"...Kind?" Zeraphira's eyebrow twitched. "That's… not the word I'd use."

Selene leaned in, smirking. "Aww, look at that—Zera-chan's softening up already! One 'Miss Zera' from a holy cutie and your heart's all melty."

"I will silence you permanently, Selene," Zeraphira said without missing a beat, a faint ripple of crimson mana curling around her fingers.

"Promises, promises~" the witch hummed, kicking her feet up onto the couch.

Meanwhile, I was still trying to mentally process the fact that an Archangel had just announced she was moving into my house like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Gabriel, you can't just decide that on a whim," I said, keeping my tone as diplomatic as possible. "This place isn't exactly… heaven-friendly."

Gabriel tilted her head innocently. "Oh? But I don't mind! I actually find the atmosphere quite cozy! It's like a cathedral—just… darker and more brooding."

"Cozy," I repeated flatly. "You're describing a place that once housed demonic seals and cursed relics."

"Mhm! Very homey."

I blinked. She was serious.

Azrael, still seated with the stillness of a statue, added, "She has already sanctified the east hallway."

My eyes widened. "She what?"

Gabriel smiled sweetly, tapping her chin. "Oh, that faint light in the corridor? Don't worry! I only blessed it a little. It should keep away malevolent energy."

"You mean the entire manor," I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose. "This house runs on malevolent energy, Gabriel. You might as well have blessed a battery pack."

Selene snorted into her sleeve. "So… holy Wi-Fi, basically?"

Zeraphira glared daggers. "Selene."

"What?!"

"Enough," I sighed, glancing down at the still-sleeping Grayfia in my lap. Her faint breathing was the only thing keeping me grounded. "Gabriel, if you stay, you have to promise me one thing."

She clasped her hands eagerly. "Anything!"

I exhaled deeply, rubbing the bridge of my nose again. "Don't use any holy blessings or divine energy inside the manor unless it's absolutely necessary. This place is held together by enough layered demonic enchantments to make a celestial auditor faint. Your light could… destabilise things."

Gabriel blinked innocently. "Oh! I wouldn't want to make it faint. That sounds awful." Then she smiled brightly again. "Understood, Grandnephew! No unnecessary light shows."

Selene snorted. "Aw, there goes my dream of a Gabriel-brand nightlight."

"Selene." Zeraphira's tone could've frozen fire.

The witch raised her hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay! I'll behave. Maybe."

I sighed, muttering under my breath, "I'm surrounded by lunatics…"

Azrael shifted slightly, the motion so deliberate it drew everyone's attention. "Then it is settled," he said softly, his tone final. "Gabriel will remain here until further notice. I will take my leave, I've been away for a week; there're souls to rip and report back to heaven."

I raised an eyebrow. "Souls to rip, huh? You really know how to make farewells sound heartwarming."

Azrael stood, his movements fluid and weightless, the shadows of the room bending subtly with him. "Death does not bid farewell, Dominic Morningstar. It merely… pauses." His gaze flicked once to Gabriel. "Do not cause trouble for your host."

Gabriel puffed her cheeks again. "Brother Azzy! I never cause trouble!"

"Mm." He didn't even argue. That single syllable held the weariness of millennia.

A faint breeze swept through the manor as his presence dimmed, reality folding around him like a closing shroud. One heartbeat later, he was gone — no flash of light, no sound, just absence.

Gabriel waved at the empty air. "Bye-bye, Brother Azzy! Don't forget to rest once in a while!"

Selene leaned back, crossing her legs. "Pretty sure the Grim Reaper doesn't get vacation days, Gabby."

Gabriel gasped. "That's so sad!"

"Yeah," Selene said with a smirk. "The afterlife's HR department is the worst."

Zeraphira groaned audibly. "I regret every decision that led me to share space with you people."

I chuckled faintly under my breath. "You're free to leave anytime, Zera."

She shot me a glare so sharp it could peel skin. "I'm not leaving you here alone with them."

"See? Loyalty!" Selene chimed in, pretending to wipe a tear. "Our little crimson tsundere's growing up."

Zeraphira's aura flared for half a second — just enough to make the chandelier rattle.

Selene immediately threw up her hands. "Kidding! Kidding! No mana explosions inside!"

Gabriel clapped her hands, smiling so brightly it nearly hurt. "Oh! That reminds me! I should prepare a room!"

I blinked. "A room?"

"Yes!" she said cheerfully, already standing up and gliding toward the stairs with that gentle angelic grace that made the air hum faintly. "I saw a lovely chamber on the third floor with a view of the moon! I'll just add a few—"

"Stop."

She froze mid-step, turning back with a questioning tilt of her head.

"No… modifications. No holy seals, no golden circles, no divine purifications, nothing."

Gabriel blinked, finger against her lips. "But it's a bit dusty."

"Then clean it," I said, deadpan. "Like a normal person."

Selene cackled. "Oh, I need to see this — an Archangel doing house chores! Somebody grab a camera!"

Gabriel, entirely unfazed, smiled sweetly. "Of course! I'll make it shine! Dust can be surprisingly stubborn — perhaps I'll sing while I work!"

Zeraphira groaned, massaging her temples. "She really is a celestial Disney princess."

Grayfia stirred faintly in my lap, murmuring something incoherent before settling again. I adjusted her slightly, my fingers absently brushing through her silver hair.

For a moment, the chaos around me dimmed. I looked down at her peaceful face — the calm within the storm — and exhaled.

When I looked up, Gabriel was already halfway up the stairs, humming a tune that made the shadows along the walls flicker uneasily.

Selene leaned closer to me, whispering with a grin, "You realise she's going to bless every piece of furniture she touches, right?"

I groaned softly. "I'm starting to regret not sealing the house with a holy ban."

"Too late now," Selene teased. "You've basically adopted an Archangel."

"Wonderful," I muttered. "Just what I needed. An angelic roommate."

Zeraphira's eyes followed Gabriel's ascending figure, her tail flicking irritably. "She's going to be a problem," she said quietly.

"She's already a problem," I replied.

Selene tilted her head. "Nah, she's comic relief. Every good story needs one."

"Selene."

"Okay, fine, I'll behave." She grinned. "Mostly."

Gabriel's voice drifted faintly from upstairs, soft and melodic. "♪ Dust and shadows, flee away… light shall bless this humble stay… ♪"

A faint golden shimmer rippled along the stair railings.

I closed my eyes and counted to three. "I said no blessings."

Her voice floated back down, all innocence. "Oh! Sorry! Reflex!"

***

Sorry, I know it's too much of a slice of life content. But worry not, fighting is not far wink* wink*

Stone me, I can take it!

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