From the moment she found out until now — how many days had it been?
Kyou Fujibayashi no longer wanted to keep count of those days.
In fact, she had gone from her initial nervousness and worry to a tiny bit of sullen resentment and irritation.
In matters like this —
Generally speaking, wasn't it supposed to be the man who got impatient, the man who came rushing in?
She was beautiful, she had a good figure, she was still inexperienced in such matters, and her private life was perfectly clean.
Any man, upon learning all this, ought to be in a hurry — yet Lin Ye was the exception.
Far from actively looking forward to it, he even showed a faint trace of reluctance and resistance, as though he had no interest in her whatsoever.
And a reaction like Lin Ye's only further stoked her contrary streak, making her determined to find some way to get Lin Ye and achieve her aim.
Today, dinner, this very evening — it would be the perfect opportunity.
Kyou Fujibayashi had no intention of letting it slip by, and she meant to seize it well.
"Miss Fujibayashi, I'm sorry, I came in a bit of a hurry and didn't bring a gift."
Only after he'd walked all the way here and knocked on the door did Lin Ye realize he'd forgotten to bring a present.
Though the Fujibayashi sisters wouldn't mind too much, it really was a breach of etiquette on his part.
"It's fine,"
Kyou Fujibayashi shook her head, unbothered.
"There's still some time before six. I'll go buy something."
"No need,"
Seeing that Lin Ye was about to leave, Kyou Fujibayashi immediately reached out and grabbed his wrist. "No need. If you really feel you need a gift, just make up for it next time you come."
Next time?
The word made Lin Ye pause, and it made him realize that Kyou Fujibayashi's resistance toward him had indeed dropped a great deal.
It would be a problem if it hadn't dropped by now.
Back in the instance, he had saved Kyou Fujibayashi many times. No matter how hard-hearted she was, no matter what personal grievances she held against him, she ought to have come to accept him by now!
Kyou Fujibayashi's current reaction was, if anything, the normal one.
It was just that he wasn't quite used to it.
"Where's Ryou? Not back yet?"
"The hospital suddenly got in touch this morning — Ryou was needed back at work. But don't worry, she'll make it back before seven."
As a hospital nurse, Ryou Fujibayashi's shift schedule had long since been set, but this time Chiba Central Hospital was short on medical staff because of a sudden accident in the Chiba area, to the point that the hospital had to call in doctors and nurses who were on their days off.
Ryou Fujibayashi had gone back to help, but she didn't want to miss tonight's dinner either, and would hurry back in time.
"Nothing too serious, I hope?"
Lin Ye asked.
"It should be fine, don't worry."
Kyou Fujibayashi gestured with her hand. "Please, come in."
Led by Kyou Fujibayashi, Lin Ye once again entered the house he had visited several times before.
The living room was clean and tidy, a vase of fresh flowers in full bloom, the air filled with a faint floral fragrance.
Because of today's dinner, the two sisters had clearly done quite a bit of cleaning.
"Your uncle and aunt aren't home?"
"They're not. Away on business again. They won't be back for the next couple of days."
Lin Ye nodded as if he understood. "I still haven't met your uncle and aunt even now — makes me wonder if my luck just isn't very good."
"You want to meet my parents?"
"Just musing. If I really did meet your uncle and aunt, I'd be afraid I'd be treated as the future son-in-law come to call. The pressure would be enormous."
That single remark instantly made Kyou Fujibayashi's expression shift slightly, a faint blush surfacing on her face.
"Don't get any wild ideas. You're a friend of mine and Ryou's — you were before, you are now, and you will be in the future."
Having said that, Kyou Fujibayashi didn't actually hold out much confidence about Lin Ye. Keeping this guy away from Ryou was all but impossible, and even saying this now, there was no way she could get Lin Ye to easily accept staying merely friends with her and her sister.
But at the very least, she had to make her stance clear. If she didn't even make her stance clear, this guy would surely grow more and more out of line.
For Kyou Fujibayashi, it was enough that, for now, Lin Ye stayed friends with her little sister. Once she had fulfilled her end of the agreement, if her sister and Lin Ye truly did end up together, she wouldn't say anything more.
"The future isn't a sure thing, though, is it?"
Lin Ye's counter-question earned him an eye-roll from Kyou Fujibayashi. The purple-haired girl brought over a cup of tea along with biscuits as a snack, setting them down on the coffee table.
"Sit for a while first. I'll go to the kitchen and start preparing tonight's dishes."
"Want some help?"
"Whoever heard of making a guest help out?"
On this point, Kyou Fujibayashi was very firm, so Lin Ye didn't keep insisting on going to the kitchen to lend a hand.
'Tap, tap…'
Kyou Fujibayashi turned and stepped away from the living room, heading to the kitchen to continue her work.
Lin Ye sat on the sofa, his eyes roaming, observing the surroundings of the living room.
A simple yet warm home.
Although the Fujibayashi family hadn't been living here long, the layout of the living room, and that photo of the whole family up on the cabinet, all spoke to this family's warmth and friendliness.
This was a loving household.
"Fujibayashi, can I wander around the house and take a look?"
"You can, but you're not allowed in my room."
"Mm."
"And you can't go into Ryou's room either. If I find out you dared go into Ryou's room — heh heh."
Kyou Fujibayashi snorted twice, conveying the true state of her inner feelings.
"Now that you put it that way, I'm even more interested."
Lin Ye stood up, a thoroughly amused smile spreading across his face,
which threw Kyou Fujibayashi into a fluster.
"No, you're not allowed to go."
Kyou Fujibayashi gripped her spatula, shooting Lin Ye a warning glare, her tone resolute.
"You wouldn't happen to be hiding something you can't let anyone see, would you?"
That one line seemed to strike right at Kyou Fujibayashi's heart, sending the girl's emotions into an even greater stir.
"What nonsense are you spouting? No, where would I buy that kind of weird, strange stuff — it's you men who like that sort of thing—"
"Um… Miss Fujibayashi, I don't think I ever specified exactly what kind of thing I meant."
The expression on Kyou Fujibayashi's face froze.
"What other kind of thing could you men possibly think of? Lecherous men like you — I've seen plenty."
Me, lecherous?
Lin Ye really didn't think he fell into the lecherous category.
At most he just toed the line a little!
If he were lecherous in the strict sense, then back when he first obtained the Time Stop superpower, the perspective superpower, the Invisibility superpower, wouldn't he have made vigorous use of these powers to satisfy that lecherous heart of his?
But he had done no such thing at all. The partial 'lecherous' behavior was a drawback that came with the superpowers, and had nothing to do with his own will.
"Since you've already said so, I won't deny it."
"Hmph, just as I thought."
"Then I absolutely have to go check. Let me see whether Miss Fujibayashi has any of those special items. I'm a lecher — who's to say Miss Fujibayashi isn't a Pervert?"
With that,
Lin Ye turned and headed for the stairwell, moving so quickly that Kyou Fujibayashi couldn't react in time.
"Wait — you stop right there for me."
Kyou Fujibayashi, completely heedless of her own image, chased after him in big strides, one hand instantly clamping down hard on Lin Ye's wrist.
"You're not allowed to go."
"That's not for Miss Fujibayashi to decide."
The two stood in a standoff.
With the slightest movement, Lin Ye successfully slipped free of Kyou Fujibayashi's grip.
"Lin Ye, don't go, I'm begging you, okay? My room… it's a bit messy, not fit for anyone to see."
She gritted her teeth, unwilling, but her words were pleading — she was making a plea to Lin Ye.
"Fine then."
Lin Ye had always responded to the soft approach, not the hard one.
Sometimes he wouldn't even respond to the soft approach.
But now that Kyou Fujibayashi had softened her attitude and adopted a posture of request, he stopped making things difficult for her.
"Mm."
Kyou Fujibayashi gave a small grunt of acknowledgment and returned to the kitchen.
"That almost burned."
She quickly flipped the ingredients in the frying pan.
'Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle…'
Oil splattered and overflowed, an enticing aroma steadily spreading through the air.
'Ding-dong…'
Lin Ye, who had returned to the living room, had been sitting for less than ten minutes when the doorbell rang.
Lin Ye got up and went to open the door.
"Oh my, Senpai."
It was Isshiki Iroha.
She had come.
"Senpai, that was too much. You didn't take my calls these past two days, didn't reply to my messages either — so hateful."
Isshiki Iroha unleashed a barrage at Lin Ye, huffing and puffing, complaining about how cold he'd been these past two days.
She had originally planned to use this chance of visiting the Fujibayashi home to do some thorough probing, to get out of Lin Ye the secrets she was curious about.
But Lin Ye hadn't been answering his phone, hadn't been replying to texts, which left her completely without options.
"The timing wasn't right."
"What's that supposed to mean? It's not like you were off on a date with some girl — what timing wasn't right?"
"I was exactly off on a date with a girl, and even stayed out overnight, so where would I have had time to take your calls or reply to your messages? Besides, I recall I did reply to one of your messages."
"That one 'mm' reply of yours doesn't count as a reply at all."
But what startled Isshiki Iroha at this moment was what Lin Ye had just said.
A date, an overnight stay —
the two combined together set her imagination running wild despite herself.
"Senpai, you couldn't be… it can't be true, right? You're not joking with me?"
"I'm not."
"Who? Senpai, who did you go on a date with? Do I know them?"
Isshiki Iroha's interest immediately surged. She reached out and grabbed Lin Ye's right arm, giving it a good shake, expressing the curiosity in her heart.
"Secret."
"Senpai, tell me! Look at me."
Isshiki Iroha pointed at herself, tilting her little head up at a thirty-degree angle, showing off her cute side. "Look how cute I am — for the sake of your cute little junior's face, just tell me! Satisfy my curiosity!"
Seeing that Lin Ye still wouldn't talk, Isshiki Iroha began to guess after a moment's thought. "It couldn't be Yukinoshita-senpai, could it? How wonderful! How enviable! Senpai's already together with Yukinoshita-senpai, even staying out overnight together."
That was something countless men dreamed of!
And now, Lin Ye had made it happen. If this got out and the boys of Sobu High heard about it, who knew how many of them would be heartbroken to the point of tears.
Although the boys of Sobu High had no nerve whatsoever to pursue Yukinoshita — these days not even a single person wrote her love letters anymore, they all shrank back before Yukino Yukinoshita — still, the moment they learned some man had successfully won Yukinoshita over, their hearts would surely brim with discontent and anger.
"Just call Yukinoshita directly and ask her. I guarantee you won't be beaten to death by Yukinoshita."
"Ah, Senpai would never be willing to beat me to death."
"She'll beat you until you can't take care of yourself, and then just pay you a sum of money — her family can smooth over anything anyway."
"Uh…"
Isshiki Iroha was well aware of the Yukinoshita family's influence in Chiba — that was not something a small-town commoner like her could ever go up against.
"Senpai, you have to protect me! I'm your most, most, most adorable little junior."
"Between the two of you, I choose Yukinoshita."
"Tch, Senpai, you're so awful. This is the moment when you're supposed to firmly choose me, promise to protect me — who's to say your cute little junior wouldn't be moved by you, and then… tonight, this and that… make you happy."
'Bonk…'
Lin Ye's finger rapped against Isshiki Iroha's forehead.
"A girl shouldn't say that kind of thing to a man — it'll be misunderstood."
Clutching her little head, Isshiki Iroha pouted. "I, I'm serious! Even if Senpai misunderstands, it's fine!"
But under Lin Ye's solemn gaze, Isshiki Iroha gave an awkward laugh and glanced away. "I, I get it, I'll be more careful from now on."
Lin Ye understood that getting Isshiki Iroha to accept and change was impossible — this girl was simply this kind of personality and behavior pattern.
"Come in first."
At this point, Lin Ye, realizing the two of them had been standing in the doorway for quite a while, gestured for Isshiki Iroha to come inside.
"Senpai, honestly, blocking me at the door for so long. Here, a gift."
But after Isshiki Iroha placed the gift into Lin Ye's hands, she abruptly realized this wasn't appropriate — Lin Ye wasn't a member of the Fujibayashi family, so how could she hand the gift to Lin Ye!
"Alright, I'll accept it."
While Isshiki Iroha was still stunned, Lin Ye unceremoniously accepted the gift.
"Hey, hey, hey!"
"As it happens, I forgot to bring a present today. This gift is perfect — I'll give it to Fujibayashi as my own gift."
Isshiki Iroha: ???
Senpai, you're way too much.
Not only accepting it but presenting borrowed flowers to Buddha, monopolizing Miss Fujibayashi's gratitude in one stroke.
"Give it back, Senpai. This is the gift I brought for Miss Fujibayashi — it's not for you."
"I don't care. You gave it to me first anyway."
"No, please don't!"
Isshiki Iroha stepped forward trying to snatch it back, but even though she was practically hanging off of Lin Ye, she still had no way of getting it back from him.
Instead, the intimate contact led to quite a bit of physical contact between the two of them.
Isshiki Iroha's feelings were nothing short of complicated.
The gift she'd brought had been devoured by Lin Ye — how was she supposed to face the Fujibayashi sisters now!
Isshiki Iroha walked over to the living room and sat down on the sofa. The soft sofa gave her spirit a considerable release.
"This sofa is nice. Miss Fujibayashi really knows how to enjoy herself."
"These snacks are nice too. But what I brought is also a snack — I wonder if Miss Fujibayashi will like it!"
It wasn't that Isshiki Iroha hadn't considered other things,
but other things, the more she thought about them, the less appropriate they seemed. Nothing beat a dessert — sweets that everyone loves.
The price was right, the taste was good, and girls all loved to eat them.
"At the very least she won't dislike it,"
Lin Ye gave Isshiki Iroha an answer.
"Senpai understands Miss Fujibayashi so well!"
Isshiki Iroha put on a faint, mischievous smile, her eyes glinting with a flicker of amusement.
"I understand you quite well too, Isshiki."
"Oh ho, how well exactly? Could it be Senpai even knows the color of my underwear?"
This made Lin Ye pause.
The thing he understood couldn't be simpler.
"Haha, just as I thought, Senpai doesn't know. If Senpai doesn't even know that, how well do you understand me?"
"Blue,"
"Hm?"
"Your underwear is Blue."
Isshiki Iroha: ???
She really was wearing Blue underwear today.
The instant she realized it, Isshiki Iroha folded her arms across her chest and looked at Lin Ye with a huffy yet bashful expression.
"Senpai, secretly sneaking peeks at a girl's underwear is hardly polite — it's not behavior befitting a gentleman."
"I looked openly and aboveboard."
Right there in front of Isshiki Iroha, he had used the perspective skill and seen the color of the underwear the girl was wearing.
"Senpai, you're so shameless. Looking openly and aboveboard — how could you possibly see anything that way?"
Lin Ye shrugged and didn't bother explaining further.
Isshiki Iroha snorted twice, and the hand clutching her chest slowly came down. "Senpai, now that you've seen, I can never get married off."
What she would say next, even if Isshiki Iroha didn't say it, Lin Ye could already anticipate—
"You want me to take responsibility, right?"
"Of course! Senpai, as a man, shouldn't you take responsibility?"
"Then go fight it out with Yukinoshita first, and let's see who I should take responsibility for first."
Isshiki Iroha froze, but then a thought struck her, and with a trembling finger she pointed at Lin Ye. "Sen, Senpai, you, you even secretly peeked at Yukinoshita-senpai too?!"
'Gulp…'
If that campus flower of Sobu High found out she'd been secretly peeked at by Lin Ye, wouldn't she viciously retaliate against him, make him pay an enormous price?
"I looked openly and aboveboard,"
Lin Ye gave the same answer as before.
Whether now or in the past, he had always looked openly and aboveboard — there was absolutely none of the so-called sneaking around.
"You, you really did?! Senpai didn't get killed by her?"
At this moment, Isshiki Iroha could hardly imagine how furious and humiliated Yukinoshita-senpai would be upon discovering it.
For Senpai to appear completely unscathed and safe and sound, he must have paid an enormous price and made some extremely high promises!
Isshiki Iroha couldn't help but think.
"I'm alive and well — how would I have gotten killed? Yukinoshita wouldn't go that far. I'm actually more worried about your safety, Isshiki."
"Hm? Why do you say that?"
"Now that you know this secret, Yukinoshita might silence you to keep more people from finding out."
Isshiki Iroha's expression froze.
This was a reminder to her not to go talking carelessly.
"Senpai's the one who should bear the main responsibility. If Senpai hadn't told me, I wouldn't have to worry about this kind of risk at all."
Isshiki Iroha immediately shoved the blame right in front of Lin Ye.
For Isshiki Iroha, this was her best excuse for shifting responsibility.
"I do indeed have to bear responsibility,"
Isshiki Iroha was surprised, but Lin Ye's next sentence made her face change completely.
"So I've decided — I'll personally take care of this troublesome problem that is you, Isshiki."
As his voice fell, Lin Ye rose and loomed over Isshiki Iroha, who was seated across from him.
"No! Senpai can't do that."
Isshiki Iroha curled up in fright into the corner of the sofa, trembling all over.
Lin Ye laughed,
and inwardly, Isshiki Iroha was smiling too.
She knew this was just one of Senpai's jokes. Whether it was real or a joke, she, Isshiki Iroha, could still tell perfectly well.
"So, Senpai, tell me who you went on a date with over the weekend, and I'll forgive you."
A little while later, Isshiki Iroha spoke up again.
"You won't believe it."
"I'll believe whatever you say."
"Really?"
"Of course."
Isshiki Iroha put on an expectant face.
"Mai Sakurajima."
"..."
After her astonishment, Isshiki Iroha immediately clutched her stomach and burst out laughing. "Hahaha, Senpai, you really ought to at least pick a girl's name that's reliable enough for people to believe."
"Right now, who doesn't know that Mai Sakurajima was in Akihabara yesterday, and in the evening was even together with that boyfriend of hers? Where would she have had the chance to date you, Senpai?"
"The way I see it, Senpai, you were at most one of the onlookers in Akihabara last night. Senpai! It's perfectly normal to like Mai, but a person still needs to keep their feet on the ground and have fewer fantasies. Senpai, why don't you give Yukinoshita-senpai some consideration instead?"
"The probability of Yukinoshita-senpai becoming your girlfriend is far, far greater than the probability of Mai Sakurajima becoming your girlfriend."
This little junior with the little-devil personality now began her persuasion, hoping Lin Ye would fantasize less, be more realistic, and recognize his own situation clearly.
And with this answer, Lin Ye was actually satisfied.
It meant his disguise yesterday had been a success. Isshiki Iroha had spent a fair amount of time with him in private, yet she still hadn't been able to recognize that the male lead of the 'Akihabara confession incident' was him, Lin Ye.
So, other people more distantly connected to him wouldn't recognize him as the male lead of last night's incident either.
Up to now, aside from Haruno, who was a participant, the only people who could know this secret were Yukino and Ai Hoshino.
Other people shouldn't be able to recognize him.
His normal daily life wouldn't suffer too great an impact.
His life would go on as before.
"How about I introduce a girlfriend for you, Senpai? Looking at how Senpai's even fantasizing that Mai Sakurajima is your girlfriend, Senpai must be really starved, must really want a girlfriend."
At this point, Isshiki Iroha immediately made a gesture and continued, "I'm not in the running, though — Senpai, don't you go setting your sights on me."
She even made a crossed-arms 'X' gesture.
"Not interested in you."
Isshiki Iroha took a critical hit, her whole being thrown into disarray. She sat on the sofa silently muttering to herself, voicing her grievances against Lin Ye in mournful low whispers.
Lin Ye, by contrast, was in a very good mood.
'Click…'
About twenty minutes passed,
and the front door opened once again.
Ryou Fujibayashi was back.
She took off her shoes and placed them in the shoe cabinet, slipped off her coat and casually hung it on the coat rack.
"Lin-kun, Isshiki-san, sorry, I'm back late. Today was supposed to be my day off, but it turned out, it turned out…"
Ryou Fujibayashi walked toward the two of them, brimming with apology, her words steeped in an apologetic tone.
"We understand. Ryou went to the hospital to save lives and heal the wounded — it's fine, don't worry about it."
"An angel in white like Big Sister Ryou — she's the one I admire most, the one I love most."
Isshiki Iroha switched to an intimate form of address.
She even sweetly threw her arms around her, pulling Ryou Fujibayashi to her side and launching into a stream of chatter.
In particular, when it came to Lin Ye's fantasy, Isshiki Iroha gave an especially emphatic recap.
Only,
hearing this, Ryou Fujibayashi couldn't help but look toward Lin Ye, seeking an accurate answer from him.
She knew Lin Ye had many special abilities — disguising and impersonating a stranger's appearance was by no means a difficult thing for him.
But Ryou Fujibayashi didn't get any response from Lin Ye.
This, instead, confirmed the guess in her heart.
How awful. The good mood she'd had about Lin-kun visiting the house today was completely gone.
Lin Ye and Mai Sakurajima had become lovers, were already going out — so what was she supposed to do?
Ryou Fujibayashi's mood sank low.
Had she known, had she only known, she should have been more proactive, made her own feelings clear, and should have more resolutely opposed her sister's obstruction.
She'd had too many misgivings before. Her sister's obstruction, the existence of Ren — these were all the hurdles that had kept her from firmly taking that step. And now, an even bigger hurdle had appeared.
Lofty as a high mountain, impossible to surmount.
She, Ryou Fujibayashi, had become a thorough and utter loser.
Kyou Fujibayashi was still busy in the kitchen, and even there she could hear most of the gist of Lin Ye and Isshiki Iroha's conversation.
Aside from marveling at how the relationship between those two went beyond an ordinary senior-and-junior relationship, she also took note of that one line Lin Ye had said — Mai Sakurajima.
"It shouldn't be."
"How could it possibly be Lin Ye?"
She didn't believe it either.
Last night's Akihabara confession incident — even from far-off Chiba she'd heard about it, learning of last night's events through online videos.
How could Lin Ye and Mai Sakurajima possibly have any connection?
"I won't think about it,"
"It has nothing to do with me. What I need to do well is to do what I can do, to do what I need to do."
She reminded herself.
"Ryou, come help me in the kitchen."
Kyou Fujibayashi called out toward Ryou Fujibayashi, who was conversing with Isshiki Iroha outside.
"Coming, Sister."
Ryou Fujibayashi got up at once and headed to the kitchen.
The two sisters bustled about in the kitchen.
The living room was once again left with only Lin Ye and Isshiki Iroha.
"Big Sister Ryou and her sister really do have a great relationship."
"If you had siblings, your relationship would be just as good."
"Haha, maybe!"
Isshiki Iroha figured that if she had siblings, those siblings would probably be quite the headache.
The Fujibayashi sisters had dinner ready.
A sumptuous Japanese spread.
From deep-fried tempura, to miso soup, to grilled saury — the most common dishes of a Japanese meal had all made it to the table.
Each dish was exquisitely prepared and beautifully plated, the cooked food giving off a faint, enticing fragrance.
"Welcome, both of you, and once again my sincere thanks for the help the two of you gave that day."
"No need to thank us, no need to thank us."
Isshiki Iroha smiled and kept waving her hand to say there was no need to be so formal.
"We helped because we happened upon it — Miss Fujibayashi needn't make too much of it."
"Thanks that are due must still be given,"
she said to Lin Ye,
but there was a hidden meaning in her words, and Lin Ye caught it.
And Ryou Fujibayashi, watching how the interaction between Lin Ye and her sister Kyou Fujibayashi had become much more normal, how her sister's attitude toward Lin Ye had improved a great deal, felt a weight that had been hanging in her heart lift considerably.
The four of them dug in.
Before long,
Lin Ye felt a change in the flavor on the tip of his tongue.
The drawback of the Superpower: Devour had once again been shared.
The target was…
Hm?
Lin Ye blinked.
He was eating saury, but the taste of tempura also appeared in his mouth. Kyou Fujibayashi and Isshiki Iroha were both eating tempura right now, but besides the tempura, Lin Ye also tasted yakitori grilled meat — and Ryou Fujibayashi was eating yakitori grilled meat.
No way!
Lin Ye had a bold guess.
This time the target of the drawback was perhaps not one person, but two — yet in the eyes of the superpower's drawback, perhaps they counted as one person.
Did twins really have that kind of effect?
Lin Ye marveled inwardly.
After quite a while, Lin Ye could clearly sense that Kyou Fujibayashi and Ryou Fujibayashi had both also noticed that little bit of an oddity, but neither of them made a fuss about it — instead, they silently accepted it.
"Here, have a little fruit wine, Ryou."
Kyou Fujibayashi took out a bottle of wine and poured her little sister Ryou a little less than half a glass.
"Mr. Lin and Isshiki-san can have fruit juice."
This left Isshiki Iroha rather disappointed.
She actually quite wanted to give it a taste, except that alcoholic drinks — Japan's regulations required you to be twenty years of age and an adult to drink them.
Though sneaking a sip wouldn't really matter, for Isshiki Iroha to proactively bring up drinking — she still wasn't quite able to suggest it. If Kyou Fujibayashi had urged her to drink, she would have accepted.
But,
she didn't.
"I've got orange juice and apple juice here — what would you two like?"
"Orange juice,"
"Apple juice,"
"Alright, please wait a moment."
Kyou Fujibayashi went off alone to the kitchen to get things ready.
A little while later, she set the orange juice in front of Lin Ye and the apple juice in front of Isshiki Iroha.
Lin Ye gave it a sniff.
She wouldn't have drugged it, would she?
No matter — with the Devour superpower around, even if it were drugged, he'd be fine.
Over ten minutes later,
Ryou Fujibayashi started yawning, and Isshiki Iroha was in much the same state, yawning one after another.
"Sister, I… I'm a bit sleepy. I'll… go back to my room to rest first. I'll… leave the cleaning up to you."
Ryou Fujibayashi staggered as she tried to get up on her own and head to her room. Kyou Fujibayashi immediately rose and steadied her little sister Ryou.
"Lin Ye, help Isshiki-san to a room."
By now, Lin Ye was certain of one thing:
the drowsiness of these two was by no means natural — they'd been dosed with sleeping pills.
Soon,
Ryou Fujibayashi was lying in her own room, and Isshiki Iroha was settled in the guest room.
"Miss Fujibayashi, what you're doing here is…"
Kyou Fujibayashi shot him a sidelong glance. "What do you think?"
She came back downstairs.
"Wait for me a moment, I'll clear the table first — it'll be quick."
She immediately began tidying up.
Lin Ye couldn't sit still, couldn't stand still.
Kyou Fujibayashi's purpose — he understood it all too well.
His body felt a little hot.
Seven or eight minutes later, Kyou Fujibayashi came before Lin Ye. "Let's go. To my room. I'll fulfill my promise to you."
With that she headed for the stairs, but seeing that Lin Ye hadn't followed, she gritted her teeth and grabbed his wrist. "What, you don't dare anymore?"
"A big grown man like you, and you're scared of a little woman like me?"
Lin Ye thought it over and spoke. "Doing it at your home isn't a good idea, is it?"
"My house is pretty well soundproofed. Ryou and Isshiki are both asleep. Or are you actually scared, chickening out?"
"How could that be — a pretty girl, I generally don't refuse, let alone be scared."
A ball of fire burned in his heart.
Lin Ye looked at Kyou Fujibayashi, his body still continuously heating up. "You put something in the orange juice just now, didn't you?"
"Afraid you wouldn't be up to it, so I added a little something."
Me, not up to it?
You've got to be kidding!
Why isn't this Devour superpower of mine handling it — toxins and the like, wouldn't they easily be devoured spotlessly clean, with no effect on the body at all?
But why was it that this time, the superpower had no effect — instead it was…
No — it had taken effect, maximally triggering the drug's potency to its fullest! Like caffeine?
At this rate, tonight was going to be an intense battlefield.
He was being done in by the side effect of the Devour superpower.
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Week 6: Hypnosis
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