Downstairs—
One person, two dragons, and one ghoul were happily eating golden fried rice.
Oh wait—make that one person, two dragons, one ghoul, one cat, and one devil.
Pochita and the cat were also eating.
"Nom nom~ nom nom~"
Kanna held a big spoon, shoveling food into her mouth like an excavator.
Kamishiro Rize ate gracefully, her cheeks slightly flushed.
She was always like this when she ate.
Tohru clung to Hayashi's side, serving him water and refilling his bowl, buzzing around busily.
"Hayashi-san, aaah~~~"
Tohru scooped up some fried rice with a spoon and brought it to Hayashi's mouth, urging him to open up and take a bite.
Her tone was ridiculously sweet, and her face beamed with joy.
"..." Hayashi looked at her for a moment, then gave in and opened his mouth to eat.
But for the next bite, he refused: "Stop feeding me. I'm not a kid. You should be feeding Kanna instead."
Tohru shook her head. "Kanna's grown up. She can feed herself."
"?" Kanna, sitting nearby, was stunned.
She looked at her once-beloved big sister—
What happened to her?
Why was she like this now?
Oh well.
First, food.
Kanna lowered her head and kept eating.
"Eat your own food," Hayashi said helplessly, pushing Tohru's face aside. "Finish up quickly so we can go out and restock."
"Nooo~" Tohru whined, clinging to Hayashi. "Just one more bite~ Or Hayashi-san, would you like a drink? I can help you import it~"
"Enough already!" Hayashi reached out, flicked his finger against Tohru's forehead—thwack!
Pop~!
"Oww~!"
A crisp sound rang out.
Tohru finally clutched her forehead in pain and sat back down to eat on her own.
Hayashi gave a resigned smile.
That was just how Tohru was.
He was starting to forget—Tohru had a bit of a pervy obsession.
And the closer they got, the more intense that trait became.
Especially after they finally crossed the final line yesterday—
Tohru's affection had gone through the roof.
Which explained today's excessive clinginess.
A massive dragon, acting like a clingy housecat.
Equal parts painful and delightful.
"Eat properly," he said.
Tohru sat back down and began eating quietly.
Though not exactly behaving.
She kept using her tail to tease at Hayashi's pant leg.
Across the table—
Kamishiro Rize had just finished her fried rice, but noticed their constant flirting.
She lifted her head and looked at Hayashi and Tohru.
Seeing them banter so intimately, Rize felt a little sour inside.
But Tohru noticed her gaze.
She turned her head—and her eyes shifted into vertical dragon pupils with a sharp glare.
A wave of raw biological intimidation surged toward Kamishiro Rize!
SS-rated ghoul? So what?
Even SSS wouldn't matter.
That night, Tohru had been brought down to 0.1% life force and was still only being stalled because her magic was constantly drained. If not for the divine sword suppressing her, she would've recovered instantly.
In Tohru's world, ghouls were considered mid-to-low tier species.
If it had been any other dragon—
Kamishiro Rize might not even be allowed to sit at the same table.
Only Tohru's good-natured personality made this possible.
And Kanna.
Under that glare, Kamishiro Rize blanked out for a moment, then quickly came back to her senses.
It was just a warning.
"Alright… I got it," she said with a bitter smile, grabbing a napkin to wipe the oil off her lips.
Dragons really are powerful.
She genuinely didn't know how the Manager had managed to tame both of them.
"Hayashi, I'm done eating."
At that moment, Kanna lifted her face from a bowl larger than her head, a grain of rice still stuck to the corner of her mouth.
Not a single grain was left in the bowl—it had been licked perfectly clean.
"Are you full?" Hayashi asked.
He gestured for Tohru, who was closer, to wipe Kanna's mouth.
Kanna allowed herself to be wiped and nodded.
"I'm full."
Tohru was a bit surprised—Kanna was full already?
"That's all you're eating?"
Kanna gave her reason: "I need to save room for the food Hayashi will make this afternoon and tonight."
"Hahaha~"
Hayashi laughed happily.
"So that means we're all going out shopping again?"
"Yes." Kanna nodded. "Going out together is fun."
"Alright, then let's head out in a bit."
After everyone finished eating—
Tohru cleaned the table and washed the dishes.
Kamishiro Rize thanked them and got ready to head out.
She waved and said, "Hayashi-kun, I'm going to look around nearby for a new place to live."
"Good luck," Hayashi replied.
After Rize left—
Hayashi went to play with Pochita and the cat.
But when he got to the front door, he found Pochita lying on the lawn in the courtyard, sunbathing, with the cat curled up in its arms.
"Uh… well…"
It was clear—the cat really liked Pochita and even seemed to feel safe near it.
Hayashi thought for a moment and understood right away.
The cat was pretty clever.
It even knew Pochita had saved it, which is why it clung to him now.
"Who knows if Power will even be able to take the cat with her in the end."
"If the cat refuses to go with her and only wants to follow Pochita, things could get pretty funny."
Hayashi could already imagine the moment Power's whole worldview shattered.
All he could say was:
"My dog has a cat now."
"Woof~?" At that moment, Pochita sensed Hayashi nearby and tried to get up.
"It's okay, go back to sleep," Hayashi waved his hand. "We'll be heading out in a bit. Watch the house for me."
"Woof~" Pochita agreed.
After a while—
Tohru and Kanna were ready to go.
The three of them headed out, got in the car, and drove off toward the market again.
This time, as they left the city—
They could clearly see that more and more people were out and about.
Tohru and Kanna leaned against the windows, looking outside.
"There are a lot more people now," Tohru observed. "Everything's recovering fast. They've already forgotten the recent devil attack."
Kanna blinked. "Devil attack?"
Tohru explained, "Not long ago, right in front of Hayashi-san's shop, a devil several stories tall showed up!"
Kanna played along, putting on a surprised face. "Woah~!"
Tohru continued, "That devil was super strong—it swallowed humans and ghouls whole in one bite!"
"Woah~!"
"It knocked down nearby buildings like sweeping dust, and almost crushed Hayashi-san's shop!"
"What happened next?!" Hearing the shop was almost destroyed, Kanna panicked. "If it really got crushed, I wouldn't have been able to eat any of this amazing food these past few days!"
"Then the devil Hayashi-san picked up—Pochita—turned into a devil and zoom, dashed in and fought that devil, and finally killed it!"
Kanna nodded. "Good job, Pochita."
"Mm-hmm," Tohru agreed.
Meanwhile, Hayashi drove the car, trying hard not to laugh the entire time.
It was like listening to a comedic duo—one telling a story, the other reacting with full seriousness.
The story wasn't bad.
But don't forget—they were dragons.
Tohru had exaggerated the leech devil into some epic threat, but in reality?
If Tohru had even lightly struck it—
The leech devil's entire existence would've been erased.
Not even ashes would've been left.
Same with Kanna.
So hearing them tell the story like that, Hayashi wanted to laugh the whole time—but he held it in.
Otherwise, it'd be too rude.
The little car rattled on toward the market.
Meanwhile, Kamishiro Rize, who had left earlier, walked past the Antique Café on her way out of the alley—and felt a sudden, inexplicable wave of nostalgia.
As if this was where a new story had once begun.
Carrying that feeling, she pushed the door open and entered the café.
It was already noon by now.
There weren't many customers inside.
As soon as Kamishiro Rize entered, everyone noticed her.
No one said much, but they were clearly curious.
She walked over to a corner window seat and sat down.
Kirishima Touka came over, holding a tray and menu, just like old times.
She looked curiously at Rize.
"Miss Rize, you're back at our café?"
"?" Rize didn't quite understand the question.
"I mean, with how good Manager Hayashi's food and coffee are, why would you still come to our shop?"
Cough cough!
Behind the bar, Koma Enji and Irimi Kaya, who were polishing glasses, couldn't hold back their reactions.
It was true, yes.
But saying it out loud—and inside their own café? That was a bit much.
Basically, Touka had roasted her own store.
Hearing the coughs, Touka glanced over her shoulder, then turned back.
Rize didn't say much. She just ordered the same coffee she used to drink.
When the coffee was served—
She took a sip and frowned slightly.
It was average. Drinkable, but nothing special.
To someone like her, who now felt that even her body and soul had been reshaped by Hayashi, it tasted like dishwater.
But still—it was nostalgic.
"I'm just reminiscing," Rize said after another sip. "Only this feeling reminds me of how wonderful and full of hope life is now."
She turned and looked at the sun.
It used to feel blinding.
Now? The sunlight felt lovely.
The others heard her words, thought about them, and nodded in agreement.
Honestly, being able to eat food like that—
For ghouls longing for peaceful lives, it was a blessing.
Because of that—
They had all tried to keep things discreet, so as not to disturb Hayashi.
They secretly kept other ghouls away with intimidation and warnings—in the name of Antique Café.
But…
Kirishima Touka looked at Rize, thought for a moment, and finally asked:
"That's it? Miss Rize, that doesn't sound like you."
Rize blinked, then smiled softly.
"You're right. I've been thinking—what can I do for Hayashi-kun?"
She was half-talking to herself.
"Or rather—what can we ghouls do for Hayashi-kun?"
Hayashi had too many factions around him.
For the first time, Kamishiro Rize felt truly outmatched.
Hearing this, Touka understood.
She looked at Koma and Irimi.
They all nodded.
Then Touka said, "If you're willing, I can take you to talk with Manager Yoshimura. Ghouls who've tasted Hayashi's cooking should form a code, a mutual understanding. We should form a special group."
"To patrol the area—and eliminate any ghouls who might threaten the Midnight Diner or Hayashi."
Koma and Irimi added, "Devils are beyond our reach. But ghouls—we can and must handle them."
Hearing this, Kamishiro Rize understood.
The Antique Café was saying—
Let's not worry about the devils for now.
But ghouls? That's our responsibility.
To preserve and protect their current way of life, ghouls who've eaten Hayashi's food should unite!
Stand together against any outside threat!
To protect Hayashi and the Midnight Diner—at all costs.
The rest didn't matter.
But ghouls? That's still within our control, isn't it?!
"So? What do you think?" Kirishima Touka asked.
Kamishiro Rize thought for a moment, then added,
"Does Manager Yoshimura know about the trouble behind me?"
Touka shook her head, then nodded. "Manager Yoshimura said this—'Antique doesn't like trouble, but we're not afraid of it.'"
That single line made Koma Enji and Irimi Kaya smile knowingly.
Both of them were SS-rated ghouls.
The overall strength of Antique Café was enough to stake out its own territory in the ghoul world.
As long as they kept recruiting ghouls who had eaten Hayashi's food—those who sincerely wanted to preserve and continue this lifestyle—
Then they could truly build a safe zone.
Hadn't even Kamishiro Rize herself changed?
Hearing this—
Rize stood up.
"Take me to him then. Sorry to trouble you."
Kirishima Touka smiled brightly. "Miss Rize actually said 'sorry to trouble you'—that's amazing."
"Because Hayashi-kun wants me to become more socially adjusted. My goal is to be a proper Yamato Nadeshiko."
Koma Enji, Irimi Kaya, and Kirishima Touka: "!?"
Meanwhile...
Hayashi's little van had arrived at the market.
This time, Kanna jumped out on her own and pointed toward the seafood section.
"Kanna wants to go play there!"
"?" Hayashi shook his head. "That place isn't for playing. Don't go messing around with the seafood. You can look, but don't touch anything."
Kanna thought about it… yeah, that seemed true.
Yesterday, she had touched something—and got attacked by a super aggressive bug!
"Can we still go today?" Kanna asked.
"Sure." Hayashi nodded. "I'll make spicy crawfish for dinner! A big seafood feast!"
"Woooah~!" Kanna exclaimed in delight.
She didn't even know what spicy crawfish were, but if Hayashi was making it, it had to be delicious. She was all in!
Tohru got out of the car, closed the door, and asked curiously,
"What's crawfish? What kind of seafood feast?"
"Uhh... hard to explain. Basically, it includes all sorts of seafood. Crawfish are really fragrant," Hayashi said, unsure how to describe it. "You'll know once you see them—they taste amazing."
Kanna nodded. "Let's go!"
The three entered the market and began shopping.
They didn't need much—just restocking the essentials and buying ingredients for the day's meals. Mostly, it was for their own use.
After all, their regulars were mostly returning customers.
They shopped for meat, vegetables, condiments, and so on.
Finally, they reached the seafood section.
Kanna stared at the oxygenated tanks full of seafood, curious about each one.
She grabbed Hayashi's hand and began asking:
"What's this one?"
"Crab."
"And this one...?"
"Squid."
"This one...?"
"Scallop."
For a while, Hayashi basically turned into a seafood tour guide, explaining everything to Kanna from top to bottom.
As they walked along—
The seafood shop owners and customers who saw the scene all smiled warmly.
Some couples even began to imagine their own future families.
"That father is so responsible, explaining everything to his daughter."
"Right? He's so patient. What a great personality."
"Such a warm family vibe. I want to marry someone like that."
Hayashi, hearing all this, didn't care. He was used to it.
Only Tohru stood nearby with a gentle, motherly smile—blushing slightly.
You could tell—she was absolutely loving this atmosphere.
Along the way, Hayashi bought crawfish, clams, squid, abalone, and other seafood, along with a variety of seasonings. Once they had everything, they wrapped up the shopping trip.
As they walked toward the parking lot, they passed through the living goods area.
Just as Hayashi was wondering if he should buy some more books—or maybe get something for Kanna—
He spotted a familiar figure.
Among all the people he'd recently met, there was only one person with jade-green hair.
"Takatsuki Sen?"
Hearing her name, Takatsuki Sen turned around at the entrance of a bookstore, a bit surprised.
"Manager Hayashi? What a coincidence."
A coincidence?
For the One-Eyed King...
Probably not.
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