"Thank you for your hospitality, Shin Kun. We had a great time today."
As evening fell, the group prepared to head home. Standing at the entrance of the courtyard, Nijika waved at Shin with a bright smile on her face.
Though Shin had stepped away twice—once to take a call and another time to talk privately with Gabriel—he had spent the rest of the day hanging out with Kessoku Band.
From Nijika's perspective, it was impressive that someone as young as Shin, living in such a large house without relying on family support, could still find time to spend with them despite what must have been a busy weekend.
She was genuinely grateful.
If Shin knew what she was thinking, he'd probably find it amusing—after all, the reality was quite different from Nijika's assumptions.
The way Shin obtained money didn't require much effort at all. All he had to do was demonstrate his power, and the Shinomiya family would obediently provide him with every possible convenience in life.
"Miss Tohru's lunch was also delicious."
Meanwhile, Yamada, standing next to Nijika, expressed her gratitude in a slightly different way—by focusing entirely on the food.
It seemed the aftereffects of blowing all her living expenses to buy Ikuyo Kita's bass still hadn't worn off. She was still relying on Shin's generosity for meals.
Having tasted Tohru's cooking at home today, she didn't hesitate to praise it.
*"Hmph. Though you're just an inferior species, at least you have good taste."*
Hearing Ryou's compliment, Tohru's face lit up with pride, her nose practically pointing to the sky as if she fully agreed with the praise.
To properly play the role of a maid, she had spent a considerable amount of time learning human cuisine. It had taken her several days to finally master dishes that could satisfy most people's palates.
Standing beside Tohru, Sayu Ogiwara wore an awkward yet polite smile.
Ryou might not have known, but Sayu was well aware—Tohru had tried more than once to sneak her own tail meat into Shin's meals.
Perhaps, in Tohru's mind, offering her tail meat to someone was a gesture of intimacy.
Either way, Sayu had expended a lot of effort trying to dissuade Tohru from treating dragon tail as a delicacy.
She wondered if Ryou would still be so complimentary if she knew she had almost eaten Tohru's tail.
"I… I also had a really good time."
Gotou Hitori spoke up timidly—a huge step forward for someone as socially anxious as her.
It was proof that her personality had undergone significant changes recently. At the very least, she wasn't like before, where she couldn't string together a complete sentence for days after meeting new people.
Today, even when facing Shin's family for the first time, she had managed to hold a conversation, albeit haltingly.
Hitori was thinking the same thing, but as she did, she also glanced up at Shin.
Maybe once she grew a little braver, she'd have more things she wanted to say to him.
---
After seeing off Kessoku Band, Megumi, and the others, Shin lingered at the entrance instead of immediately heading back inside.
Sure enough, before long, a car pulled up and stopped right in front of him.
As the door opened, Ai Hayasaka stepped out from the back seat—dressed in the Shinomiya family's maid uniform—and addressed Shin:
"Master, the Shinomiya family has sent a car for you."
That's right. Tonight was the evening banquet hosted by the Shinomiya family.
Their goal was likely to facilitate some interaction between Shin and Kaguya Shinomiya, seeing if the two could develop some kind of relationship.
Though, given that the Shinomiya family had already witnessed Shin's power, they probably weren't just hoping for a possible connection.
No doubt, they had already given Kaguya some… *preparatory guidance*—likely urging her to take the initiative with Shin.
"Master, Lady Kaguya will probably approach you proactively tonight. I hope you can… go easy on her."
Sure enough, as soon as Shin took his seat in the back of the car, Hayasaka spoke up with a slightly resigned tone.
She cared deeply about Kaguya, so even though she knew Kaguya was practically being handed over to Shin, she still hoped he wouldn't be too harsh with her.
After all, Hayasaka was well aware of how cold Kaguya could be toward outsiders. There was a chance Shin might take offense.
"Don't worry. I've always had a soft spot for beautiful women."
Shin chuckled in response—he already knew what Kaguya was like. He wasn't the type to get worked up over a girl's attitude.
Hearing this, Hayasaka rolled her eyes.
*oft spot?
Of all the girls Shin had been involved with, Hayasaka was probably the only one who truly understood just how rough he could be.
If not for the enhancements and recovery provided by her Stand ability, she would've been broken long ago.
But as a maid, she didn't have the right to interfere too much. So after that one remark, she didn't press further. Instead, she asked:
"By the way, since this is a formal banquet at the Shinomiya residence, it'd be best not to make too much of a scene, right? Would you like me to… help you out first?"
Shin twitched at her shameless suggestion.
He had noticed before that Hayasaka had become very open around him, but this was on another level.
He knew exactly what she meant by "help you out." Shaking his head, he replied:
"Don't bother. I've already vented enough today… Besides, if we really got into it, we'd probably be late, wouldn't we?"
Since he had agreed to attend the banquet, Shin didn't plan on being rude—like deliberately showing up late just to flaunt his status.
"That's true."
Hayasaka nodded as if she completely agreed.
She was well aware of just how monstrous Shin's stamina was. Frankly, in their past encounters, if Shin hadn't stopped of his own accord, he could've kept going indefinitely.
If he didn't need her help, that was just as well—they really didn't have much time to spare.
The female driver in the front seat remained expressionless, acting as though she hadn't heard Hayasaka and Shin's strange conversation at all. She simply focused on driving in silence.
As a servant of the Shinomiya family, she knew better than to dwell on certain things.
Whatever enters the left ear should immediately exit the right—no thinking necessary.
To be continued…
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