"Uh…"
With a soft groan, Hayashi sat up, rubbing his head and saying with a hint of confusion, "What just happened…?"
Hisako, who was leaning on the table, turned her head upon hearing the noise, her face lighting up with joy as she said, "Ah, Mr. Hayashi, you're awake!"
"Hisako? What happened to me?"
"You fainted after Gengar licked you! So, I and Erina asked Gengar to carry you to the room."
"Ugh—"
Hayashi couldn't help but rub his face, saying, "I guess Gengar instinctively used lick, and since I'm not a super rookie, I just passed out."
"Eve eve!"
At that moment, a small brown fluffball leaped onto Hayashi's chest, making whimpering sounds, seemingly very worried about him.
"Oh, Eevee, I'm sorry to worry you—" Hayashi quickly reached out to pet Eevee's back, saying, "It's okay, Gengar just made a mistake!"
"Gah, gah—"
Just then, with an embarrassed voice, Gengar's figure emerged from the shadows by the bed, looking apologetically at Hayashi, and that worried, pitiful expression made Hayashi unable to scold her.
"I'm fine, Gengar." Hayashi raised both hands in a show of strength and said, "See! I'm full of energy!"
"Kukuk!" Seeing that Hayashi was okay, Gengar immediately sighed in relief, her worried expression transforming back into a smile, "Kukukuk!"
"Sorry to worry you." While stroking the soft belly of Eevee, Hayashi said to Gengar, "You're such a gentle Gengar."
"Kuk, kukuk!"
How annoying! Why does this human keep complimenting me? I'm so embarrassed!
Gengar's face turned bright red as she covered her face with her hands, her chubby body squirming shyly as if she were extremely bashful.
"Wow—"
Hisako widened her eyes in disbelief and said, "Gengar's color is almost turning pink—"
Is she really that shy!?
Hayashi looked at Gengar, whose skin had turned pink from embarrassment, and couldn't help but stroke his chin, saying, "Looking at this pink Gengar, it reminds me of a scary little story—"
To be precise, it was something he had seen before while browsing a certain video site, a video about "chilling Pokémon trivia," one of which was about Gengar.
"A... a scary little story?" Hisako gulped nervously and asked, "What is it?"
"It's just about Gengar—" Hayashi glanced at Gengar and, noticing that the little chubby creature was now intrigued by his topic, smiled and said, "Want to hear it?"
"Kuk, kukuk!" Gengar nodded curiously, while Hisako, who was not at all interested, could only nod tearfully in agreement when she saw Gengar's pitiful expression.
"Ahem, this story requires everyone to think carefully to reach a conclusion—"
"According to the Pokédex, Gastly and Haunter are classified as gas-type Pokémon, both weighing 0.1 kg, and their ability is Levitate—"
"But once they evolve into Gengar, their classification changes to shadow-type Pokémon, and their weight skyrockets to 40.5 kg, with their ability becoming Cursed Body."
"Why is there such a huge difference? This clearly doesn't add up!"
"Just when everyone was puzzled, someone suddenly discovered through silhouettes that the appearance of Pikachu is strikingly similar to that of Gengar—"
"Not only that, but after checking the data, they found that Pikachu weighs 40 kg, only 0.5 kg lighter than Gengar, and Pikachu's ability, Cute Charm, is extremely similar to Cursed Body—"
"So, some speculate that Haunter evolves into Gengar by consuming a Pikachu and taking over its body—"
"GAH!"
Hayashi suddenly let out a loud gasp, startling Hisako, who was imagining Haunter transforming into a shadow and devouring Pikachu before evolving into Gengar, causing her to squeal, "Ahhhh—!"
"Kukuk!!"
Hisako's scream startled Gengar, who was questioning her own existence— I don't remember eating a Pikachu when I evolved— the purple little chubby creature jumped up to the ceiling and then "thud, thud, thud" landed back on the ground.
"Hahaha—"
Watching this amusing scene, Hayashi couldn't help but burst into hearty laughter, "Gengar, it's embarrassing that you're a ghost-type Pokémon and a master of pranks, yet you got scared by Hisako's scream! How embarrassing!"
"Kuk, kukuk!"
Gengar, looking utterly shocked, covered her head.
Oh no, I've become the most embarrassing ghost-type!
...
...
Half an hour later.
"Kuk, kuk, kuk... kukuk!!!"
Gengar sat on a chair with a dazed expression, looking like a stunned Akua, while in front of her was a plate of curry rice emitting an enticing aroma.
Clearly, this was the work of Erina—after Hayashi fainted, she had asked Hisako to stay and take care of him while she went to the kitchen to prepare lunch: "It's almost noon; when he wakes up, he must be hungry, right?"
And since this was in Gengar's mansion, Erina also made a spicy chicken curry for Gengar, which led to Gengar, who had never tasted such delicious food, questioning her life once again.
I've lived this long and this is the first time I've eaten something so good!? Did I waste my previous years?
"Wow! It's spicy and delicious!" Hayashi fanned his mouth while giving Erina a thumbs up, saying, "Ah, my stomach has transformed into Eriina's shape; I can't live without her now!"
Erina blushed and shot a glare at Hayashi, saying, "You idiot, you're saying weird things again! Be careful or I'll put poisonous beans in your cooking next time!"
"Go ahead and do it! Even if I know there are poisonous beans, I'll still eat it!" Hayashi said defiantly, "Even if I have to run to the bathroom after one bite, I won't miss out on Eriina's cooking, ahhh!"
Damn it, I'm fired up!
Erina helplessly covered her forehead and said, "Don't get fired up in such a strange place!"
So strange! Are you the dumb protagonist of a shounen manga?
"Hahaha, it's just that Eriina's cooking is too, too, too delicious!" Hayashi grinned and then asked Pikachu, Eevee, and Gengar, "Right?"
"Pika Pika!" (oo)
Absolutely!
"Eve!"ヾ(≧▽≦*)o
So delicious!"
However, unlike the excited Pikachu and Eevee, Gengar's reaction was a bit...
emo?
"Kuk, kukuk!" (';ω;`)
I won't be able to eat this again, what now?
"Is it not to your taste?"
Erina looked at Gengar's expression of emotional damage and asked with concern, "Is it too spicy? Should I get you something else?"
"Kuk, kukuk!"
Upon hearing that the curry rice might be taken away, Gengar hurriedly grabbed the plate and, to everyone's astonishment, gulped down all the curry rice in one go, chewing it a few times before swallowing with a "gulp."
One, two, three...
"Kuk, kukuk!" Σ( ° △ °|||)
So spicy!!
"Wow—"
Hayashi stared in shock at Gengar, who jumped up from her seat, muttering, "Can Gengar learn to use Flamethrower? No way?"
Erina was also stunned, saying, "Hisako, this is the first time I've really seen a creature breathe fire from being spicy!"
Hisako nodded dumbly, "Me too—"
'Is Gengar just playing around, or is she really breathing fire from the spice?' Hayashi looked at Gengar, who was hopping in place, then lowered his head to take another bite of curry, feeling the pain blooming on his tongue, and couldn't help but muse, "By the way, I've heard a saying—spice isn't actually a taste, but a pain sensation, so people who prefer spicy food actually enjoy the feeling of their tongues hurting."
Erina looked at Hayashi curiously, "So?"
Hayashi expressionlessly took another bite of curry and explained, "So, those who like spicy food are masochists."
"Pu—"
Erina choked, and it was from the spicy curry, causing her to tear up.
After coughing for a while and drinking some water to ease the pain, Erina glared at Hayashi and said irritably, "If you like spicy food so much, does that mean you're a masochist?"
"Well..." Hayashi pondered for a few seconds, then looked at Erina and said, "How about you try looking at me with that trashy gaze and say, 'You're hopelessly a masochist'?"
"???"
Erina fell silent, looking at Hayashi with disbelief, saying, "You actually play like this?"
Hayashi pointed at Hisako beside them, saying, "She's about to have a nosebleed."
"?"
Erina quickly turned her head and found Hisako staring blankly at the ceiling, but her flushed face clearly indicated she wasn't thinking about anything healthy.
"Hisako, you..." Erina said with a complex expression.
"!"
Hearing Erina's voice, Hisako quickly wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and frantically waved her hands, saying, "M-M-Miss! Please don't misunderstand! I-I-I absolutely did not imagine you stepping on me while saying 'Hisako, you're my dog' or anything like that!!"
Hayashi facepalmed: 'So, aren't you just admitting it? Hisako, you're playing even more than I am!!'
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