The Incubus System Chapter 1228. Heroic Housewife

The Incubus System Chapter 1228. Heroic Housewife Ethan’s PoV I stepped out of the portal and took a breath. The cold air of the mortal wor

The Incubus System Chapter 1228. Heroic Housewife

Ethan’s PoV

I stepped out of the portal and took a breath.

The cold air of the mortal world hit different. Lighter. No sulfur. No blood. No lingering buzz of divine judgment hanging in the atmosphere like some half-whispered sermon. Just… night air. A little city smog. The faint hum of a broken streetlamp outside my house flickering like it hadn’t made up its mind about staying alive.

I was back.

Demonic form gone—shifted out of me in a slow, warm ripple the second I re-entered my space. Wings retracted, tail vanished, the horns dissolved into nothing but dull pressure in the back of my skull.

My pets followed me in.

Rave perced on my shoulder. Buni bounced onto the armrest and gave a few lazy ear flicks before curling up like she owned the place. Shadow slunk into the hallway without a word, disappearing like some disgruntled ninja. And Miranda?

She walked in calmly, eyes alert, her human form back in place.

The bedroom smelled like me. But it was empty.

“…Weird,” I muttered under my breath. “I thought they’d put Larry here.”

Miranda stepped up behind me, quiet as usual. “He’s not here,” she confirmed. “Maybe… your sister’s room?”

I sighed. “Could be.”

We went out and was about to check Celia’s room, but—

The moment I open the door—

My nose twitched.

Food.

Warm. Oily. Spiced. Stir-fried.

I froze.

Miranda raised a brow.

“…They cook?” I muttered.

She gave a small shrug. “Smells like fried rice.”

I didn’t wait.

I went straight down the stairs, boots thudding on the wood, the scent growing stronger—onions, garlic, soy sauce, egg, something with shrimp maybe? And there, in the kitchen that bled straight into the open dining area—

Chaos.

Larry was planted at the head of the table like some reincarnated rice god, a literal mountain of fried rice before him, shoveling it down like the world was ending tomorrow.

“Slow down or you’ll choke,” I muttered, stepping into the room.

He looked up—cheeks puffed, lips shiny with oil—and beamed. “Oh hey, Ethan! This food is nice. Your sister treats me!”

I blinked.

Yuffy was near the counter, arms crossed, eyes wide with that smug sort of ‘aren’t-you-glad-I’m-here’ expression. Her hair caught the warm kitchen lights just right, like she’d planned this whole “heroic housewife” aesthetic.

Celia stood beside her, hair a mess, apron streaked with soy sauce, and judging by the state of the stove behind her—splattered oil, a half-melted spatula, and what looked like a pot that had given up on life—she’d been fighting a war she barely survived.

Puriel sat calmly at the edge of the dining room, legs crossed, tea in hand like a disapproving aristocrat who had witnessed humanity’s downfall one fried rice grain at a time. She sipped silently and shook her head, as if this level of chaos didn’t even surprise her anymore.

Red was too stunned to do anything. He just stood there, ears slightly back, tail stiff, eyes locked on Larry like he couldn’t decide whether this was a resurrection or an anime filler episode. His spiritual processor had clearly crashed.

Buni hopped up onto a nearby stool and tilted her head, her long ears twitching. “Oh, he looks okay,” she chirped with a casual smile.

“Too okay…” Shadow’s eyes gleamed faintly in the low light, his black fur melting into the wall like he was the darkness.

“Hell,” the cat muttered, “he looked like a half-dead ragdoll an hour ago. Now he’s eating like a dungeon boss.”

“I had to feed him,” Celia muttered, dragging a dish towel over her shoulder and wiping her face like a tired soldier returning from the frontlines. “He keeps saying ‘I’m hungry’ every five seconds. “

I exhaled slowly, walking toward him. Larry was surrounded by a chaotic halo of food scraps, empty plates, and condiments that hadn’t seen daylight in years. I pulled out the chair beside his and dropped into it with a weight I hadn’t fully realized I was carrying.

“You okay?” I asked, watching him shovel another heap of fried rice into his mouth like he was trying to speedrun digestion. “Like… really feel okay?”

He gave me a thumbs-up. Didn't even stop chewing.

Then, with a massive swallow that looked medically questionable, he grinned. “Yup! I feel good. Thanks to your woman.”

I turned my head toward Yuffy.

She didn’t say a word. Just raised one perfectly shaped brow and tilted her chin up, smiling like she was the queen of hospitality and sin.

“Mmhm,” she hummed, like, ‘you’re welcome, my prince.’

I gave her a long look.

She blew a kiss at me.

I turned back to Larry.

“And you decided to eat first? Out of anything else?”

He paused, spoon still halfway to his mouth. A genuinely confused expression spread across his face like he’d never considered an alternate option. “Hey, I was there like… forever, man. I don’t know. They barely fed me. I think I got a cup of soup once? Maybe that was a hallucination. Either way—I’m starving.”

And just like that, he went back to eating.

“Nice,” Buni said with a chipper nod. “He just needs some dessert now.”

Celia grunted. “Don’t give him ideas.”

“I’m gonna give him cake,” Yuffy said cheerfully.

“Don’t you dare,” Celia snapped.

Miranda stood with her arms crossed near the door, silent for a moment before she said, “At least… he is okay.”

I nodded, running a hand through my hair. “Yeah.”

It was true.

And yet—something about it still felt surreal.

Like the moment hadn’t caught up to itself yet. Like the pain Larry had gone through hadn’t fully dissolved from the air.

There was still a tension in my gut. The kind that lingered even when the battle was over. Even when the screams stopped. Because you remembered them. You remembered the way he looked, chained and bleeding in that cursed lab. You remembered how many times he tried to smile even when his skin was bruised to the bone.

And now?

He was here.

Stuffing his face.

Alive.

“Did they hurt you… like bad?” I asked quietly.