After lying on Rize's lap for a while, Hayashi felt much more refreshed.
Their earlier conversation also made him feel that Rize had gotten a bit more normal. At least, their communication had improved. Her subconscious issues were still there, but they were working on it.
After a bit more chatting, Hayashi got up, stretched.
"Alright, Rize. Thanks for the lap pillow. I'd better go check downstairs."
Rize placed her hands politely on her knees. "Take care out there."
That was a phrase Japanese housewives often said when their husbands went out.
Hayashi couldn't say no, so he simply nodded and headed down.
Downstairs—
Everyone had already finished their food.
Every plate was spotless. Not even the garnish was left behind.
Manager Yoshimura had even slurped his ramen broth dry.
Everyone looked glowing with satisfaction.
Seeing Hayashi come out, they greeted him:
"Delicious as always, Manager Hayashi."
"That was the best food I've ever had!"
"I'll definitely be back again."
"I'll recommend your place to my friends too."
The praise was non-stop.
Hayashi thanked them all one by one.
Some hadn't had enough and ordered extra barbecue, desserts, and even beer.
Tohru wrote it all down.
Hayashi went back into the kitchen to prepare it.
He didn't mind. Cooking was something he genuinely enjoyed.
Soon—
Tohru carried out multiple trays of barbecue, desserts, and beer.
The barbecue and beer were ordered by the folks from the Anteiku café.
The desserts and drinks were from Makima's group.
Once the beer and barbecue were served—
Koma Enji stared at the fizzy golden drink chilling in ice water and let out a surprised gasp.
"So this is beer, huh? Finally get to try it."
Irimi Kaya looked cool and aloof. "Don't act like a child."
"As if you've had it before," Koma scratched his head. "Among all the ghouls, how many of us even know what beer tastes like?"
Even Yomo Renji nodded. "True."
Yoshimura chuckled. "Well then, give it a try."
Everyone divided up the beer and barbecue.
Koma took a glass, gulped it down in one go.
Gulp gulp gulp~
"Haaah~!"
"So this is what it's like! Beer's not bad at all."
Irimi took a sip and shook her head. "I still prefer coffee."
Touka tried it too—same.
Yomo took a sip. "Pretty good."
Beer is beer. Even if it's good, there will always be people who don't like alcohol.
Drinks are easier for most people to accept.
Meanwhile—
Public Safety Division 4 had also finished eating.
Now they were having dessert and drinks.
Makima was listening to the team's report about the earlier incident with the leech devil.
Aki and Himeno, the two senior members, were reporting.
"The manager was returning from a supply run and chatted with us for a bit. Then as soon as he left, the explosion happened. When we arrived, the crowd was already evacuating. His car was parked on the roadside."
Aki described the scene:
"As we approached, a black figure suddenly leapt nearly 100 meters. Then the sound of a chainsaw rang out. That's when we saw Pochita fighting the leech devil."
"The whole thing—no one else got involved. That leech devil had already swallowed a ghoul and a human. And then it was killed by Pochita."
Himeno recalled more details:
"Pochita evolved during the fight—got bigger, the chainsaw grew longer and darker, stronger and stronger."
"But as soon as it ended, it shrank back into its cute form and ran straight to the manager like nothing happened. They seem really close."
Power was still eating dessert.
When she heard that, she raised her hand and excitedly cut in—
Here is the English translation of the latest section:
The sky had fallen!
Himeno's mind was in turmoil.
In fact, every time she thought about it, she'd never be at peace again!!!
Meanwhile—
Hayashi went upstairs and collapsed onto the couch in a big X shape.
(Not a full spread eagle since he was wearing pants.)
"Everyone's insane…"
Hayashi let out a sigh, rubbing his face, then his temples.
Creak~~
Just then, the bedroom door opened.
Rize came out wearing a dress, walked over, sat beside Hayashi, pulled his head onto her lap, moved his hands away, and began massaging his temples.
Hayashi thought for a moment but didn't resist.
A lap pillow like this? Of course he was going to enjoy it.
Rize gently massaged his temples.
Hayashi closed his eyes, inhaled her faint scent, and let out a long breath.
He felt much better.
"Who's crazy? Who did what?" Rize asked.
"You," Hayashi replied immediately. "And that red-haired crazy woman, Makima. She's a devil. You two are both nuts."
"Heh heh~" Rize chuckled. "What kind of crazy?"
Hayashi began counting on his fingers. "You wanted to eat me at first, and now you can't bear to.
She wants me to eat her. I really don't get it.
You're both nuts."
When Rize heard that Makima wanted to be eaten, even she was surprised.
"Makima's way… is kind of romantic."
"?" Hayashi opened his eyes wide. "Romantic?!"
What kind of logic is that?
They're all messed up.
Rize placed her hand over his eyes and continued massaging.
"It's okay. I bought some books today about how to be a Yamato Nadeshiko (ideal traditional Japanese woman). I'll study them seriously. I bet that Makima woman can't do that."
"..." Hayashi thought about it.
Comparing Rize to Makima was like comparing two flavors of chaos. Rize lacked human social awareness, and Makima… well, she did too, but in a different way.
"What kinds of books do you usually read?" Hayashi asked.
"Takatsuki Sen's novels, and some books about human nature," Rize answered.
"You've read that much and still turned out like this…" Hayashi sighed.
Thinking of Takatsuki Sen, he suddenly said,
"You all should learn from her. Her ability to function in human society is actually acceptable."
"?" Rize paused. "Hayashi-kun, you know Takatsuki Sen?"
"Ah—" Hayashi suddenly remembered Takatsuki's identity was top secret—even Rize didn't know. "Let's say I know her. She probably doesn't know me."
Rize's little brain processed that for a moment, then asked,
"You're using her as a reference… so she's a ghoul?"
"If you've figured it out, then yeah…"
"Don't worry, Hayashi-kun. I won't expose her."
"Wouldn't matter. It's just a layer of disguise."
"No wonder The Black Goat's Egg was written so well. I should really study her," Rize said seriously.
"How are you going to study her?" Hayashi asked, curious.
Rize thought about it. "Maybe I'll visit her someday and have a chat."
"...Please don't get yourself killed," Hayashi muttered, wearing the expression of please don't get blood on my floor.
"Miss Takatsuki's that strong?"
"I can't say. Just don't provoke her."
"Alright. Then how about I bring her to the shop someday?"
"???"
"Just to share some good food. You wouldn't turn down a customer, right? Takatsuki Sen is also super pretty~"
"Do whatever you want."
As long as the blood didn't get on him, Hayashi figured he might even thank her for bringing more customers in.
"What she said is true! I saw it with my own eyes—Pochita is completely under Hayashi's control. That means Hayashi must be a devil too... but he doesn't smell like one."
Everyone started chiming in, one by one, and soon they'd reconstructed the entire afternoon's events.
Even the details were practically word-for-word.
Makima listened without any expression.
She sipped her drink from time to time, took a bite of dessert here and there, but otherwise stayed quiet.
When they finished speaking,
She still didn't respond.
Instead, she picked up a piece of dessert and looked toward Pochita, who was lying at the door.
"Pochita, do you want a bite?"
Pochita looked at her briefly, didn't respond, and then stood up and walked away in the opposite direction.
Makima retracted the dessert, looking regretfully toward Hayashi in the dining room.
Then, finally, she spoke.
"This time there were no casualties. That's good."
"But you also didn't get any real combat training. That's bad."
"What about next time? What kind of devil will you face then?"
"Are any of you as strong as Pochita?"
"I think you all need special training."
For a moment, everyone's expressions turned pale.
Then Makima clarified that Aki and Himeno didn't need it—
But Power and Kobeni did.
Power froze on the spot.
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her mind was spinning. She glanced toward Pochita at the door.
In the end, she nodded. She couldn't exactly say no—this was Makima.
Aki asked, "So what do we do about the leech devil incident? How do we report it to HQ?"
Every devil incident had to be reported.
But this one was unusual, and Aki wasn't sure how to handle it.
Makima thought for a moment, then nodded.
"I'll write the report. You don't need to worry about it. From now on, anything involving Shopkeeper Hayashi will be handled by me."
Aki nodded in understanding.
Himeno silently confirmed what she had suspected:
So it is true—Makima and him...
At the same time, surprisingly, Power was deep in thought—actually thinking!
That alone was shocking.
After a while, she suddenly said, "I'm going to the bathroom."
Aki quickly reminded her, "Flush the toilet. Or the shopkeeper won't let you come back."
Power didn't respond and walked off.
At that moment, Hayashi was sitting on a bench in the backyard.
Pochita had just come by to tattle: Makima tried to feed him, but he didn't eat it. He only eats food from Hayashi or the shop staff.
"Haha," Hayashi rubbed his head. "Good. That's the way it should be."
Pochita looked pleased.
Footsteps came from behind.
Hayashi turned and saw blond hair and red horns—it was Power.
She walked over, unusually shy and hesitant, and stood next to Hayashi.
Then, in a small, timid voice, she said:
"Um… um… I'd like to ask you for a favor, Shopkeeper…"
Hayashi couldn't hold back a chuckle.
Why did that sound like, "Please, I beg you, kneel down…"
He didn't mind her calling herself "this great me"—that was just her quirk.
"Wah~" Pochita, seeing someone had arrived and that his tattling was done, bounced away.
"Alright, let's hear it," Hayashi said, smiling.
"My… my kitty got taken by a devil…" Power said gloomily. "I can't beat that devil, but Pochita definitely can."
"So… so…"
Hayashi got it. "So you want to borrow Pochita to go save your cat, right?"
"Yes!" Power nodded hard.
Then she quickly crouched down beside Hayashi's chair, looking up at him with pleading eyes.
Hayashi leaned sideways in his chair and looked at her.
"What if the devil holding your cat decides to kill it out of spite?"
Power froze. "Kill it? What do you mean?"
"I mean, what if the devil threatens you—says it'll kill your cat if you bring help. What then?"
Power was stunned again.
She really hadn't thought that far ahead.
That cat was the most important thing in her life.
If it were going to be killed anyway, what would be the point of saving it?
But if she didn't try to save it, that was impossible too.
Her mind spun and spun—her mental CPU simply couldn't keep up.
"W-what should I do, then?" Power was so anxious she was about to cry.
Hayashi glanced at her. "What exactly did that devil say to you? Why didn't you tell Makima?"
Hayashi already knew about the cat situation from the original plot.
He wanted to see if Power was being sincere—or if, like in the original story, she was just trying to lure someone into a trap.
Pochita was plenty strong.
That bat devil was way weaker than the leech devil.
If Power, after seeing Pochita's power, still chose to deceive, then Hayashi wouldn't help her. She'd be on her own.
But if she was telling the truth, she'd explain everything clearly.
And if she wasn't, she'd lie.
So it all depended on how she answered.
Facing his question, Power truly struggled—she wasn't even good at lying.
She looked visibly conflicted, unable to act, completely torn about whether to tell the truth or not.
Hayashi could barely keep a straight face.
This was just adorably dumb—there was no way she could hide anything.
And Power was trying very hard!
Inside, her thoughts were racing:
"What should I do? Should I tell the truth?"
"Pochita is strong. Makima said the shopkeeper is strong too."
"Definitely stronger than that devil, right? And Thor is strong too—this should be fine?"
"Wait!?"
"What if I trick them and Pochita gets eaten? The devil might still kill the cat."
"If Pochita dies, the shopkeeper will be mad… I won't get to eat delicious food anymore… he might even chase me down and kill me…"
"Better tell the truth!"
Finally, she made her decision.
And Hayashi, just looking at her face, already knew she would.
"I didn't tell Makima… because the devil told me not to. And I figured maybe Makima wouldn't care about a cat anyway."
"That devil is evil. It's very weak right now. It said if I brought it another devil to eat, it would return my kitty!"
"But Hayashi, you're right. What if it kills my cat anyway?"
"So I wanted to ask you—to help me take it back properly!"
After she finished—
Power dropped to her knees, did a full dogeza (prostration), butt raised in the air, forehead on the ground, hands forward.
"Please, Shopkeeper!"
Helping Power wasn't actually hard—the bat devil was a pushover.
Hayashi turned slightly, smiling at her.
"Good. You were smart at the last moment."
"But after saying all that, you still didn't offer any payment. That makes it hard to take the job, Power."
"Eh…" Power trembled. She had no money—what now?
She thought for a bit, then suddenly sat up, puffed out her chest.
"Once it's done, Shopkeeper can feel my boobs all he wants. I promise I won't trick you!"
"Pfft—hahaha!"
Hayashi burst out laughing.
He almost forgot—this one in front of him was the original padded bra fraudster!
What you could see now? Half of it was fake. At most, she was a B-.
And she thought this would get the job done?
"Power, my maids are all Ds," Hayashi said, grinning. "If I help you for this, isn't that a total loss?"
"!?" Power nearly cried.
She hadn't expected to be rejected even on that front.
That's right—Thor was a D!
What now?
Is hope right in front of her and she still can't save her cat?
Power knelt on the ground, her upper body upright, looking completely lost.
Hayashi chuckled. "Have you thought it through? Do you have anything of value left to offer?"
Power was thinking.
But quickly realized—she had nothing.
Hayashi understood and held up two fingers, suggesting:
"You have two choices. One: become my dispatched worker. Technically, you won't be my employee, but whenever there's something I don't want to do—like killing someone—you'll have to do it. Basically, a freelance assassin."
"Two: obey three commands from me, like command seals. No matter how unwilling you are, you'll have to carry them out—even if it's murder. Complete three tasks, and we're even."
To put it simply, option 1 was free-range; option 2 was task-based.
Although the bat devil was weak and this was a guaranteed win, a favor in exchange for three tasks? Sounds fair, right?
But to Hayashi's surprise, Power thought about it—then refused.
"No way." Power shook her head. "Working is too much trouble. And I don't want to do stuff I don't feel like doing."
Hayashi: ?
Just as he was confused—
Power suddenly made up her mind, took off her shirt, and started unbuttoning her pants.
"I've decided! If the shopkeeper helps me, you can mess with my body three times—no, five times! Because you're so handsome!"
"Do whatever you want! Just don't film it or tell anyone!"
"Anyway, with how handsome you are, it's not a loss for me!"
Hayashi: o.0?
He had to admit, he didn't expect a devil's brain to work like this.
She'd rather offer her body than do actual labor or tasks.
And maybe being messed with would even feel good.
But doing jobs? That's just torture.
So Power was more willing to offer her body than her time or effort.
"…Tch." Hayashi fell into silence.
By now, Power had taken off her shirt and undone her jeans.
Her smooth skin reflected faint moonlight in the night.
Hayashi reached out.
Power leaned forward, ready to place her chest in his hand.
Smack.
Hayashi slapped her hand. "Your face."
Power understood, and placed her chin in his palm instead.
Hayashi gently touched her smooth jawline, then her cheeks, pressed the corners of her eyes, and finally tapped the small horns on her head.
At that moment, he really was examining her like a product.
But he had to admit—Power's figure and looks were top-tier.
Hayashi thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Alright. I accept."
"Really?!" Power was more excited than he was and jumped up. "Then when do we go!?"
"Tomorrow. Come early and bring Pochita," Hayashi said, pointing to the clothes on the ground. "Now get dressed."
"Woohoo~!" Power was over the moon.
Hayashi felt like he was being corrupted by perversion…
---
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