Book 1: The Wrong Girl in the Devildom

Apologies

"You know...I didn't take you all for being sore losers." Alicia rested against the wall of the common room with Asmo, Satan, and Levi. The fact that she was up unreasonably early on a Saturday was one thing, the fact that it was because they didn't believe Mammon really passed his tests was another. "He didn't cheat."

"Lucifer just wants to be sure." Alicia trained her eyes on Satan, shaking her head slowly. She could see him barely trying to hide a smug smile under his book.

"If you didn't want to make a pact with me, you shouldn't have gambled it, but what y'all are doing to Mammon isn't fair. It's so early, he's probably half-asleep in there."

"I'm sure if you really tutored him well, he'll be fine." Satan chuckled a bit, sighing in content. With Lucifer in the room, while Mammon tested, even if he knew the information, he knew Mammon would fuck up.

Asmo nudged Alicia and grinned. "So how did you do it? Enchanted pens? Did you both sneak copies of the answers?"

"I didn't help him cheat." She laughed a little and glanced over at him. "I wasn't the best student in my first few years...My grades were awful after I got to high school. I had a habit of falling asleep in class, so I learned how to effectively cram for my exams."

"All-nighters really aren't good for you."

"Why? Because of my skin?"

"No, because you're not going to perform at your best." Asmo rolled his eyes, but a small smile graced his face. "But I'm glad you're hearing me when I mention skincare. You don't want to look like an old lady when you turn 35."

"I appreciate the concern, I wish you all had the same concern for your brother."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Leviathan asked, looking up from his handheld game. He loved watching the chaos that ensued when Mammon presented his exam grades, he stuck around because he wanted to see the aftermath of the retest.

"I mean, Mammon was genuinely excited to pass his tests. I don't think I've seen him so proud since I got here...and the first thing you all did was accuse him of cheating. Then you doubled down on it when he talked about how hard he studied, how hard I tutored him. You didn't just insult him, you insulted my skills as a tutor." Alicia turned her attention to Lucifer when he walked into the room while holding a stack of papers. "Well?"

"He passed." Lucifer put the papers down on the coffee table. The other three demons quickly snatched up one of the tests, going over the grades. "You did an excellent job, Alicia." Lucifer smiled and went to pat her on the back, but she swatted his hand.

"Thanks, I hope you're all proud of yourselves." Alicia snatched up the last test and simply walked out of the room. She went to the classroom and watched Mammon grab his bookbag. "You okay?"

Mammon jumped when he heard the voice, relaxed when he saw Alicia. "I'm exhausted and annoyed, but I'm fine."

"I'm sorry you had to take the tests over. Especially while Lucifer watched." She took a seat on the desk and smiled a little. "If you don't have any plans, we can hang out later this evening."

"You don't need to pity me, Licia. This isn't new to me...well, passing is, but everything else is business as usual."

"This isn't me pitying you. Back home, when we all passed our exams, we'd all go out to our favorite restaurant and just...destress. We can go to Hell's Kitchen, my treat." She gently moved her foot and tapped his leg, smiling brightly. "Meet me at the entrance at 5?"

Mammon tried his best to hold back his smile, but eventually, he gave up. Her smile was too infectious, and he wasn't about to refuse a free meal. "Sure, I'll meet ya there. Bring your wallet, I might not be as bad as Beelzebub, but I love their food."

"I'll make sure I'm prepared." Alicia hopped off the desk and walked up to Mammon, looking up at him with a grin. "If it makes you feel any better, they're all in the common room in shock." She held up one of his tests. "I took this for you. I'd put it on the fridge if I didn't think it would embarrass you, but for now, I figured you wanted to keep a reminder that you, Mammon, are not an idiot. You just needed a new technique." She handed him his test and went to get ready for the evening.

"You look nice." Alicia watched Mammon come down the stairs and they walked out together. "Did you finally manage to get a good nap in?"

"Yeah, had a dream that I cleaned out Diavolo's entire savings at a poker game, and he made Lucifer stand down so I could collect it." Mammon threw his hands behind his head and laughed. "It was great."

"I'm glad you got some rest." The two talked idly on their walk to the restaurant, everything from their favorite kinds of music to personal pet peeves. When they arrived at the place, they were escorted to a table that was already preoccupied, and Mammon scowled.

"What're you guys doing here?!"

"How did you all know we were going to be here?" Alicia crossed her arms and looked at the brothers who were already seated.

"You're not as secretive as you think you are, you know." Asmo smiled brightly and patted the chair next to him. "But when you're right, you're right."

"We overheard you talking about coming here to celebrate Mammon's score here, and we couldn't let you foot the bill for it alone." Satan chimed in.

"It wasn't so much overheard...Asmo was eavesdropping."

"Levi!"

"Regardless of how we heard, Alicia you were right." Lucifer offered a chair for Mammon to have a seat. "We should've taken Mammon's success at face value. His cheating has never been successful, and we did insult your skill. We want to apologize."

"Plus, they're running a special tonight on their fried scorpion sandwiches and I didn't want to miss that." Beelzebub smiled, his stomach growling at the thought.

"So can we stay?" Alicia looked at Levi when he asked the question, and turned her attention to Mammon.

"It's up to you, do you want them to stay? This is your celebration dinner after all." She slipped her hands in her pockets and waited while he pondered.

"Eh...Sure. They can stay. More food for me." Mammon took a seat before the waiter got to the table. The group spent the rest of the evening discussing ways for Mammon to keep up the momentum with his grades in a healthier manner than cramming, and Alicia was placed on official tutor duty for the rest of her time at RAD.

Alicia was enjoying herself, but the vibration in her pants tore her from the moment. She glanced down at her phone and smiled a little.

L. Diavolo: Alicia! I can't wait for you to come over.

L. Diavolo: Barbatos has already set up your room, and we have a gift for you to show our appreciation.

L. Diavolo: Barbatos will be picking you up from the house of Lamination at 10.

Barbatos: No rush, Ms. Alicia. It looks like you're out with friends. Let me know when you're ready and I'll come pick you up.