On the way back, Hayashi couldn't stop thinking about what had just happened.
If he wanted to find the Nutcracker, he'd need two women to capture her attention. And the key point: the Nutcracker was extremely picky. If they weren't strikingly beautiful, she wouldn't even glance at them.
Thinking about this, Hayashi fell silent.
Come to think of it… he really did have quite a few beautiful female investigators under his command.If you lined them up—Akira, Nashiro, Kurona—they all had very different styles, but there was no denying it: each one of them was a genuine beauty.
If he brought them along, this might actually work.
After getting off the train, Hayashi walked home, still lost in thought.
But the moment he stepped inside, he immediately felt something was off. The apartment was completely dark—no lights at all.
A break-in? No… if it were a burglar, running into Rize would've left them begging for death.
Then was it Aogiri Tree? No, they had no leads on him, and Eto certainly didn't have time to deal with something like this.
The Washuu clan, then? Did one of his steps slip somewhere?
Hayashi slipped off his shoes and walked naturally toward the living room.
The moment he reached it—pop—a faint candlelight flickered to life in the darkness.
"…Hmm?"
By that dim glow, Hayashi saw Rize's gentle, finely sculpted face. She wore a flowing red dress, its hem pooling naturally on the floor… yet between the fabric, he could still glimpse her delicate, beautiful feet.
Under the candlelight, she radiated an elegant, aristocratic aura.
On the table sat two plates, two glasses of red wine, and a decorative candle—almost like a romantic dinner setup.
"What… is all this?"
Hayashi walked forward, confused.
"This is a candlelit dinner I prepared for the two of us~"
Rize swirled the wine in her glass, a teasing smile curving her lips.
"You went out to buy all this?"
Hayashi's eyes narrowed.Don't tell him she secretly left the apartment while he was gone…
"No, I ordered delivery and had it brought right to the door."
Seeing right through him, Rize tilted her head and smiled.
"I see…"
Hayashi looked at the wine, silently hoping the delivery guy hadn't become part of the delivery.
"Come on, sit."
Rize tapped the table lightly and gestured to the empty seat.
Hayashi nodded and sat down.
"Try it. I don't know if it tastes good, but the reviews for these restaurants were high."
She carried several dishes out of the kitchen.
When he saw them, Hayashi was stunned.
Not only could Rize order food online—that alone was shocking enough—but she had ordered Chinese dishes of all things.
Mapo tofu, sweet and sour ribs, braised beef…
Paired with the Western-style tableware and candlelit atmosphere, it was the very definition of a cultural mashup.
"Well… let's eat."
Hayashi reached out, intending to interlock their fingers like last time.
But Rize refused.
"Hm?"
He blinked.
"We don't need to hold hands. I want to try something new."
"Something new?"
Hayashi recalled the last time she ate in his lap.Was that what she wanted again—?
Just as he was about to ask, she cut him off.
"If I understand correctly, you only need physical contact to transfer energy and influence my body, right?"
"As long as there's a point of contact, it should work?"
With that, Rize stood and leaned in close.
"And how exactly are you planning to do that?"
Hayashi couldn't help his curiosity.
"I want to try a different method~"
Rize exhaled softly, her eyes shimmering with mischief.
The next instant, darkness swallowed his vision.
He couldn't see anything—only feel the spreading heat in the air.
He didn't know how long it lasted, but by the time the dishes on the table were gone, it was a miracle the plates were still intact.
When it was finally over, Hayashi held his waist, feeling like he had just learned something he could never un-learn.
At least he had unlocked a new method of energy transfer…Even if it was a little unorthodox.
"Thank you, Hayashi. That meal was… extremely satisfying~"
Rize lay on the bed, completely pleased, like some luxurious Egyptian noblewoman bathing in elegance.
"About the rules I set before… I think we can revise them."
Hayashi cleared his throat.
Rize staying home all day doing nothing was a guaranteed recipe for trouble.If he didn't set boundaries now, who knew what outrageous ideas she might come up with next.
"I'm listening," Rize murmured lazily.
"You're allowed to go out. But you can't kill anyone."
Hayashi decided this was reasonable.
Rize blinked, then leaned toward him with a teasing glint.
"You're giving me free rein outside. Aren't you afraid I'll kill whoever I want?"
Hayashi shook his head.
"No. Because I'm giving you a condition you can't refuse."
"A condition I can't refuse?"
Her eyes lit up with interest.
"I'll stop feeding you."
Hayashi smiled lightly.
Rize froze.
Stop feeding her?
She wanted to laugh — what kind of threat was that? If she killed people, he'd just refuse to serve her meals?
But then she went silent.
After tasting real human cuisine after all these years of raw flesh… There was no going back.
Returning to eating human meat now would be unbearable.
Rize looked quietly at Hayashi's calm face.
"…Deal."
After a few seconds, she bit her lip, stubborn but clearly yielding.
"But you have to take me out every day to eat something delicious!"
Hayashi chuckled and nodded. "Of course."
Rize will never be a slave—unless she's promised free food and housing.