"Ugh~"
At Asuna's home, at night.
The pathetic 096, wearing a husky mask, huddled in the corner, trying to bury its head in a wall crack.
Kyoko called her husband and son back, and together with Asuna, the family prepared a very lavish dinner to thank Hayashi and Yukino.
"Thank you both so much for saving our lives!"
At the dining table, Kyoko raised her glass to Hayashi and Yukino with a grateful expression.
"Yuuki-san, you're too kind. I didn't really help much."
Yukino said very honestly; to be frank, she even felt that she had failed this time. Too careless...
"Not at all, Asuna and I are very grateful to you..."
Clearly, Kyoko would not accept Yukino's honesty.
"..."
Hayashi merely nodded slightly in response, accepting her enthusiastic thanks.
To be honest, Hayashi didn't like dealing with such complex-minded people. If it weren't for her using Asuna's name, saying she wanted to thank him and Yukino and invite them to dinner, Hayashi wouldn't have stayed.
However, while he didn't like such complex-minded people, when she put on a smiling face and flattered him, Hayashi didn't dislike it too much.
Soon, a rather pleasant dinner concluded.
"Asuna, go see your two classmates out."
Although the Yuuki couple could sometimes misjudge people, such as misjudging Sugou... their ability to judge people couldn't be entirely denied. They easily sensed that Hayashi wasn't very interested in their flattery.
As they were leaving, Kyoko instructed Asuna.
"Yes, Mother."
After responding, Asuna stood up to see Hayashi and Yukino off.
Walking through the courtyard of the villa area.
Asuna suddenly spoke.
"I'm sorry..."
"Why are you apologizing?"
Hayashi asked Asuna, puzzled.
Yukino also looked at Asuna.
"My mother said she was grateful to you, but she was a bit too snobbish."
Asuna said apologetically, though she couldn't say much about her mother's behavior of using gratitude as an excuse to build connections.
"Actually, you don't need to apologize. Your mother didn't do anything wrong. If she wasn't enthusiastic towards us, was she supposed to show us a cold face? I just simply don't like her complicated mindset."
Hayashi said in a joking tone.
Yukino, listening nearby, couldn't help but nod. She also disliked the atmosphere just now. A gratitude that is always accompanied by calculation, unlike the pure gratitude of ordinary people.
This kind of gratitude reminded her of the various high-society charity banquets her mother often took her to.
Calculations hidden beneath goodwill are almost an instinct for such people, impossible to conceal.
"However, Asuna, don't worry; I actually enjoyed this dinner very much. After all, your S-rank stewed meat medley was excellent. What do you think, Yukino?"
"I thought Asuna's desserts were excellent!"
Although she usually didn't like to go along with the atmosphere, it didn't mean Yukino truly didn't understand. She cooperated well, though her praise for Asuna's cooking was also sincere.
"Heh~ Hayashi-san and Yukino-san, you're giving me too much credit, and Hayashi-san, you're exaggerating too much. S-rank what... it's just ordinary rabbit stew."
Facing their praise, Asuna shyly touched her cheek.
Soft moonlight filtered through the garden's trees, sprinkling onto the girl's fair, pretty face, tinged with a slight blush, exuding a delicate sweetness that was almost pitiful.
"..."
Watching this scene, Yukino suddenly felt a bit superfluous.
'Does Asuna want to say something to Hayashi alone?'
With this thought, Yukino decisively took her leave.
"My curfew is approaching; I'll be going first."
With that, Yukino turned and left, but as she departed, she couldn't resist looking back.
Under the moonlight, Hayashi and Asuna stood facing each other; the girl gentle and sweet, the boy handsome and dashing... Yukino couldn't help but feel a trace of regret.
'If it were me standing in front of Hayashi-san... what would I say?'
As this thought just arose in her mind, Yukino couldn't help but shake her head vigorously.
'How could I have such a thought…'
Although she said that to herself, Yukino's mind involuntarily conjured images of Hayashi saving her and Hayashi's streamlined and firm upper body muscles...
'Nonsense, nonsense!! Don't recall it!'
Yukino tried hard to tell herself not to think wildly, but clearly, her breathing was a bit erratic.
She even regretted being too good at reading the 'atmosphere' today.
Meanwhile, Asuna and Hayashi were left behind.
"Thank you, Hayashi-kun!"
Asuna's blush deepened, and she softly called out from her cherry lips, her sweet, soft voice like a feather rippling the surface of a lake.
"Am I a toad trying to eat swan meat?"
Hayashi's lighthearted words made Asuna slightly stunned.
Vaguely, she seemed to find this phrase a bit familiar, perhaps a sarcastic tone her mother had used?
But when she thought carefully, she couldn't quite recall... However, 'Is he referring to me as a swan?'
Asuna thought with a hint of insecurity; after all, compared to Yukino, who was like an ice queen before, she didn't think her current self deserved the title of a swan and…
"Hayashi-kun is not a toad!"
Asuna stated with certainty.
"Oh, then what am I? A wolf, a tiger, a leopard, or a bear?"
Hayashi's tone became teasing as he leaned closer.
"None of those. In my eyes, Hayashi-kun, you are a dragon!"
Asuna said, her eyes full of admiration as she looked at Hayashi, and she didn't know where she found the courage.
Taking a few steps forward and standing on her tiptoes, a sweet kiss, filled with a maiden's gratitude, landed on Hayashi's cheek.
Then, like a startled little rabbit, she covered her flushed cheeks and ran away.
That's Asuna for you~
Hayashi watched the girl's beautiful and cute retreating figure, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Gentle and sweet on the outside, yet not lacking initiative and courage on the inside.
Soft on the outside, firm on the inside, yet pure and gentle.
She's a very suitable girl to be a wife.
"What do you think of Asuna?"
Hayashi suddenly asked 096, who was hiding in a nearby corner.
"?"
096 lifted its dog head and looked at Hayashi in confusion. Its intelligence was inferior even to a husky.
How could it understand Hayashi's words? It even thought Hayashi was going to hit it again, trembling like thin bamboo in a strong wind, its limbs shaking.
It trembled continuously.
"What an idiot, but being a dog is just right. Alright, I won't hit you; come with me!"
Hayashi kicked 096 and then left with it.
However, before Hayashi had gone far, he received a message from the Bureau on his phone.
It instructed him to immediately bring 096 to the Bureau.
Hmm... it said that Director Elysia knew he had subdued a dangerous creature and had specially flown back from Kyoto to assess the creature's danger level.
To see if there was any hope of containing it in a containment facility.
But in reality~
Through his super perception, Hayashi knew that Elysia's target was him!
'It's over; I've been targeted by a lesbian.'
Thinking this, Hayashi looked at the crescent moon in the sky, feeling that tonight would not be easy.