Late at night, in the bedroom…
After a "battle of words and will," a serene male voice broke the silence.
"Go brush your teeth, Tohru."
"Huh? But I already ate…"
"Brush. Your. Teeth."
"But…"
"Brush."
"…Fine."
Tohru trudged into the ensuite bathroom, and the sound of brushing and rinsing followed.
Moments later…
She returned and immediately dove into bed, wrapping herself around him.
Compared to before, she was way more affectionate and loving. The atmosphere was practically pink with romance.
If Hayashi had a cigarette, he definitely would've lit one.
Seeing her nestled against him, he suddenly remembered.
"…What kind of books are you even reading? Something about maids and masters?"
Tohru hesitated a moment.
Then she pulled out her phone, opened a bookmarked novel, and handed it over—face hidden behind the blanket.
Hayashi glanced at the screen.
"Holy—"
What the hell was this?
This was her study material?
This didn't even qualify as a light novel!
It was practically a royal lewd scripture!
Just look at the titles:
The Succubus Maid and the Purehearted Master's Lewd Daily Life
The Beastly Young Master Did This and That to His Loyal Maid…
The Elven Maid and the Dragon-Blooded Master's Forbidden—
Hayashi was speechless.
No wonder she'd been so forward earlier. She'd "learned" all this from second-rate fantasy smut.
"Where did you even find this stuff, Tohru…"
"Online…" came her muffled voice under the covers. "There was a lot of it. And… it was kind of good…"
"…Anime culture is corrupting dragons now…"
Oh well. He figured they'd done a "good deed" anyway.
Hayashi felt pretty great. Tohru was happy. It was mutual. All good.
"Whew…"
He exhaled and patted Tohru's head.
"But we've gotta pace ourselves, alright? Otherwise, you'll get addicted, and then the Demon of Lust will come knocking."
Tohru tilted her head. "Who's the Demon of Lust?"
Hayashi thought about it. "Who cares—definitely not someone you want to meet."
"Mhm." Tohru nodded.
The two of them kept chatting as Hayashi stroked her hair.
Before long, drowsiness set in.
"Let's sleep. We've got to restock tomorrow."
"Okay~"
Tohru snuggled close and got ready to sleep.
For some reason, she felt incredibly at peace.
This wasn't just a physical home anymore.
It felt like… a spiritual one too.
Elsewhere…
Even in the dead of night, several ghouls were on the move.
In dark alleys and empty streets…
These ghouls weren't ordinary—they wore black cloaks or suits, masks covering their faces. Professional.
"Damn it. The dogs were useless. Two of them couldn't even bring back one sub-SS class ghoul. Pathetic."
Another ghoul muttered, "Seriously… All they do is cause trouble. And they got themselves killed. The rain's washed away every trace. What now?"
These ghouls even carried tracking equipment.
But after a long, fruitless search, some were visibly losing patience.
"Target Kamishiro Rize has vanished. The home address has been abandoned. She could be holed up in any sewer licking her wounds. Start by checking missing persons reports—she'll need meat to recover."
"Let's also investigate major recent events. Everything's been happening in the 20th Ward lately. It's too suspicious. Even Aogiri Tree is sniffing around like wild dogs."
"Whatever it takes—move faster. The Doctor and the Boss are losing patience. The experiment's about to begin."
The next day, around noon…
Hayashi woke up—not naturally, but because he was being messed with.
Tohru was fidgeting around under the covers.
At first, Hayashi thought he was dreaming.
Then he sighed deeply.
After a while…
Tohru popped up, bright and cheerful, like she'd just licked a giant lollipop.
She had the look of someone begging for praise.
What else could Hayashi say?
He just chuckled to himself.
"Well played." He exhaled and got up to get dressed. "Wash up. We'll go out and shop this afternoon. No customers today, so it's a full-on gaming day."
"Yay~!" Tohru lit up immediately.
So she quickly took off her dinosaur pajamas and changed into her maid outfit.
Tohru had initially only liked her maid uniform, but after Hayashi gifted her a pair of dinosaur pajamas, she came to love both—now she had two favorite outfits.
After getting changed, she carefully folded and put away the pajamas, handling them with utmost care.
"Tohru, hurry up. You don't have to fold those so neatly," Hayashi called out.
"No, I have to fold them properly! I'll be right there!"
Once she was finished tidying up, Hayashi had also finished brushing his teeth and washing up.
Tohru, not wanting to keep Hayashi waiting, faked going into the bathroom and instead used magic to clean herself instantly.
Seeing her like that, Hayashi couldn't help but say, "It's fine if you use magic, but at least wait a bit. You were in there for like ten seconds."
"Ehehe~" Tohru scratched her head sheepishly. "I forgot."
When the two of them left the room, Rize Kamishiro's door was still shut.
Thankfully, the soundproofing was top-notch, so she probably hadn't heard anything from last night—or just now.
Not long after Hayashi came out, Rize also stepped out in her dress.
Hayashi waved. "Let's go. Time for breakfast."
Rize smiled. "Okay."
Downstairs—
"Wah~" Pochita was the first to greet Hayashi.
He was lying on the grass near the door, basking in the warm sunlight, looking blissfully content.
To think just a bit of devil-hunting could earn him this kind of lifestyle—his past life must've been hell.
But as soon as he saw Hayashi, he trotted over excitedly.
"Pochita, have you eaten?"
"Wah~" (Not yet! I finished everything!)
Hayashi glanced at his bowl and storage container. Empty.
"Alright. We're having egg fried rice today. I'll refill your storage food later."
"Wah~!" (Hayashi is the best!)
Pochita had two types of food.
One was like crunchy pet biscuits—snacks to fill his belly, but still tasty. Hayashi usually made a whole canister's worth and stored them for Pochita to eat at will.
The other was regular food—meals Hayashi made a portion of just for Pochita when cooking for everyone.
These two were more than enough.
Hayashi headed to the kitchen to start making egg fried rice.
Tohru came down and prepared the lemon tea and cold water.
After a little while…
Pochita's snack biscuits were done first—a huge bowl's worth, packed into the dispenser.
Soon after, four plates of golden egg fried rice were ready!
Tohru brought all four plates to the table in one go.
Hayashi set out the pickled mustard greens and Lao Gan Ma chili sauce.
Rize took a bite of the egg fried rice, her eyes narrowing in delight, a look of complete contentment on her face.
"How is it?" Hayashi asked. "How does a carnivore like egg fried rice?"
"It's delicious. It makes me happy," Rize said as she wiped her eyes.
Her childhood had been dark and bitter.
So when she closed her eyes just now, the memories flashing through her mind were all the good ones from after meeting Hayashi.
"Alright, dig in!" Hayashi said.
Tohru helped serve the pickles.
Pochita was already wolfing down his food outside.
Hayashi scooped up a mouthful of rice, chewed happily, and swallowed.
"Ahh, that hits the spot!"
He loved eating egg fried rice this way.
Big bites only—anything else was an insult.
Tohru, having mastered his technique, did the same: huge scoops, chew chew, swallow.
"Hayashi-san's cooking is too delicious~!"
As they neared the end of the meal, Hayashi, polishing off his plate, casually asked Rize:
"How's your recovery going? Feeling better?"
Rize paused for a moment.
It was the first time anyone had asked her something so… genuinely caring.
"I'm okay…" she replied quietly, then deliberately pulled a sad face. "Hayashi-kun, are you trying to kick me out already?"
"Dummy, I'm running a business," Hayashi chuckled. "You can stay all month. Just pay the deposit later."
Rize acted like she was about to cry. "Hayashi-kun… so cruel…"
"Heh." Hayashi gave a fake smile right back.
After chatting a bit longer, Rize got serious.
"I plan to go out today—to buy some books and check if there's news about Takatsuki Sen's new releases. I'll be back before evening, don't worry."
Hayashi thought for a second and asked, "What's your current threat level?"
"SS," Rize answered without hesitation.
"SS, huh…" Hayashi did the math in his head. "Not bad. Unless you run into a Special-Class Investigator, you should be fine. Even if you do, as long as there's not more than one, you can probably escape."
Rize smiled. "Running away isn't really my style, Hayashi-kun."
In other words, she'd fight to kill.
If necessary—she'd go down with them.
Hayashi gave her a thumbs-up. "Respect."
It had been a few days. Rize was probably mostly recovered.
She'd be fine unless she ran into a top-class investigator—those only acted when intel was confirmed. They were too busy to go on patrol.
After a bit more chatting, Rize wiped her mouth and stood to thank them for the food.
Then she went upstairs to grab some cash.
When she came back down—
She slammed a whole bag of money onto the chair.
Hayashi: "???"
Tohru: "!!"
"When did you bring this back?" Hayashi asked in shock. "And where did this money come from? Don't tell me you robbed someone?"
"Mm… I don't think it counts as robbery," Rize replied, unzipping the bag to reveal wads of bills. "I wiped out a ghoul gang before. This was their cash—and it's clean."
"There are a few more bags. This is just one of them. I went back to get them after I started recovering."
Clearly, Rize understood something now.
In human society, money isn't everything—but without money, you're nothing.
If she wanted a comfortable life, she'd need money to support it.
She nudged the chair forward with the bag on it. "Hayashi-kun, this money is all yours."
Tohru: "!!!"
Greed was in a dragon's blood.
Even if they weren't red dragons, most still loved treasure to some extent.
Tohru's eyes practically sparkled.
In their gaze, Hayashi reached out… and pulled out just a few hundred thousand yen.
"That's enough, Rize."
He handed the money to Tohru beside him.
Rize stared at him, surprised.
"Take the rest back. We'll square up if it's not enough."
Rize looked at him seriously.
"Why not take it all? I told you it's yours."
She knew full well—in human society, money rules.
99% of people wouldn't turn down a windfall.
Rize wanted to test him.
And Hayashi had only taken a small portion.
Faced with her confusion, Hayashi waved it off casually.
"I'm only taking what's fair. I earn what I earn. If I take more than I should, then I'm obligated."
"Either I pay it back—which is a pain…"
"Or I don't—which makes me a scumbag."
"So logically speaking, I'll just take what's right."
It sounded almost philosophical.
In truth, he was just being honest.
Yeah, us simple farmers are like that.
He hated trouble. Hated owing people. Hated being handed things.
So he turned her down—not because of principles, but practicality.
He just dressed it up with nice words for flair.
But Tohru and Rize both took it seriously.
"Hayashi-san…" Tohru looked at him with complete admiration in her eyes.
She was a dragon, which made her even more sensitive to the feeling of someone not being attached to wealth.
Tohru was already one of the least materialistic dragons.
But now she realized Hayashi was even more rational than she was.
"Hayashi-kun…"
Likewise, Rize Kamishiro was completely moved by this kind of integrity and character.
Up to this point, Rize had only liked Hayashi's cooking and his strength.
Yes, she didn't love his soul—only his body.
But now, Rize admitted to herself that she liked his soul too.
Having grown up in the darkness of the world, surrounded by the sins of ghouls—
Meeting Hayashi today felt like seeing the sun for the first time.
"Ziiip~"
Hayashi zipped Rize's money bag shut and handed it back. "Take it back."
Rize nodded, accepting his decision. But instead of immediately taking the bag, she stepped forward under Tohru's pouting gaze, gave Hayashi a hug, and planted a kiss on his cheek.
"Tsk~"
Only then did she take the bag, wave goodbye, and head upstairs.
A moment later, she leapt off the balcony and left.
Hayashi calmly wiped his face and shrugged at Tohru.
"Can't help it—I'm just too charming."
Tohru opened her mouth to argue, but couldn't. All she could do was go collect the dishes in silence.
While she was cleaning up…
Hayashi stepped outside, sat in the sun, and played with Pochita.
He lightly tugged on the zipper on Pochita's head, and with a "vrrr~", the chainsaw revved up like a power tool. It gave Hayashi the same satisfaction as spinning a fidget toy.
He played with it for a while, and Pochita didn't mind one bit—he even seemed to enjoy it.
But as they played, the doorbell suddenly rang.
"Ding-dong~!"
"Hmm?" Hayashi tilted his head and looked toward the entrance.
"Who could be coming at this hour? Everyone knows we don't open until sunset."
"I'm coming!"
Still puzzled, Hayashi put Pochita down and walked to the door.
He opened it—
And despite being nearly 180 cm tall, he saw no one in front of him.
"Where…?"
"I'm down here," said a voice below.
Hayashi looked down…
A cute little girl with light purple hair and dressed in a pink-and-white frilly dress stood before him. A floating orb bobbed behind her back, and two white little horns poked out from her head.
Her eyes were clear and blue like the ocean.
When she saw that Hayashi had finally noticed her, she immediately spoke—her voice childish, but her tone absolutely serious:
"Break up with Lady Tohru."
"I know what you did—you must have tricked her with all sorts of tactics."
"Give Lady Tohru back to me, you pervert."
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