Chapter 0150: Oh No, She's Caught On
After spending a few days in the Pokémon world helping Erina, Hisako, and Yunyun familiarize themselves with their new abilities, Hayashi returned to the Shokugeki world with his three teammates and fourteen guardians—leaving the remaining half-squad of maids to maintain Sky City's daily operations.
"Mmm—"
Back at home, Erina stretched lazily and sighed. "No matter how many worlds we visit, there's nothing quite like the comfort of home—"
"Hmm—"
Hearing this, Hayashi fell into thought. Hisako, standing beside him, asked worriedly, "Young Master, what's wrong?"
"I was just thinking… maybe I should go back too," Hayashi said, rubbing his nose. "I mean, to my world."
"Ah, right! Come to think of it, you've barely talked about your world," Erina blinked curiously. "The only thing I know is that it's an ordinary, everyday world… and that it was under some kind of global virus threat?"
"Because it's just too ordinary, with nothing particularly outstanding, that's why I haven't mentioned it much," Hayashi chuckled, saying, "It's just an unremarkable, ordinary world."
Hisako pouted in dissatisfaction, "Oh, come on! What do you mean by an unremarkable, ordinary world? Just the fact that it's the world you originally came from is enough to make us curious! Tell us already—keeping people in suspense is like guaranteeing a bad gacha pull—"
"Whoa!" Hayashi let out a cry of despair, wailing, "Hisako! That's too cruel of a curse!"
Erina couldn't help but laugh, "If you didn't keep us in suspense, there wouldn't be a problem, right? Just tell us already—"
The fourteen guardians nearby all nodded eagerly, their faces full of curiosity. Even Violet, who usually remained expressionless, widened her eyes and looked at Hayashi with anticipation—the world of the Supreme One? What could it possibly be like? They were so curious!
"Ugh—"
Hayashi tilted his head in frustration, then crossed his arms and sighed, "Alright, alright. Since you're all so interested, I'll just say a little about it."
"Yay—" x17
Upon hearing Hayashi was about to tell his story, the girls quickly settled on the corridor, some even squeezing into the living room inside. Seventeen pairs of eyes stared at him with such curiosity that it made him break out in a cold sweat.
"Well, my world is one where no special abilities exist—no magic, no battle aura, no summoned beasts, no ghosts, nothing like that," Hayashi thought for a moment before continuing. "And technologically, it's far behind worlds like Sword Art Online or Overlord. Right now, we've only developed VR games, and even those don't support full-body immersion."
Erina muttered, "No wonder you said it was a very ordinary world."
"Hahaha, right? So ordinary that there's almost nothing worth mentioning." Hayashi took a seat on the corridor space the girls had cleared for him and went on, "Then, about three years ago, a new flu virus was discovered in my country and quickly spread worldwide. You wouldn't believe how much people cursed our city back then, haha."
And so, bit by bit, Hayashi shared his story with the girls. Noticing the commotion, the old man also settled in the living room like the girls, quietly listening to Hayashi's tale.
...
...
"...And that's about it. A pretty ordinary world, right?" Hayashi lowered his gaze from the sky and smiled at Erina. "Honestly, there's nothing I particularly miss about that world—if anything, I've been gone so long without explanation that the government probably considers me a missing person by now."
He wouldn't be surprised if a headline like "Man from Northern Lake Province Mysteriously Disappears" had trended for a while before fading away when no leads turned up.
"Ah, well—"
Erina and Hisako exchanged glances, unsure of what to say.
"Hey, no big deal!" Hayashi waved his hand with a smile and said, "If there's anything I still care about in that world, it's probably that virus—if I get the chance, I'll look for a way to solve it and make one last contribution to that world."
Hearing Hayashi's words, the old man's lips curled into a smile—Hayashi's actions proved he was someone who cherished the past and knew gratitude. Having such a person as the Nakiri Family's partner, what more could he ask for?
Well, actually, there was one thing.
Without changing his expression, the old man glanced at Erina's abdomen, furrowing his brows in frustration, then covered his mouth with his right hand and erupted into a fit of violent coughing: "Ugh—cough, cough, cough—"
"Grandfather!"
Erina turned at the sound of coughing and saw Senzaemon hunched over. She rushed to his side, worried. "What's wrong? Are you sick?"
"I—huff—I'm fine." Senzaemon lifted his head, waving weakly with a pained expression. "It's just… when you get old, all sorts of ailments start to… ugh… cough, cough… show up…"
"Tsk…"
Hayashi couldn't help but suck in a breath, exchanging a glance with Yunyun beside him.
Honestly, looking at the old man right now, it wouldn't be surprising if he spat out blood and dropped dead on the spot to show his sincerity. But the problem was, in Hayashi and Yunyun's Aura perception, the old man's body wasn't just healthy—it was practically ready to win an Ironman Triathlon.
So what was with this act of weakness?
"Grandfather, you'll be okay!" Erina quickly turned to Hisako. "Hisako, come treat him!"
"Understood, Erina!"
Hisako hurried over, kneeling before the old man and extending her hands gently. "Status Check… Huh?"
When her Evergreen power entered the old man's body, the feedback she got was—this old man was in peak condition, fit enough to enter a no-holds-barred fighting tournament right now.
What was going on?
Hisako looked up in confusion, only to find Senzaemon and Hayashi both subtly signaling at her. In that moment, enlightenment struck—she understood!
"I'll begin treatment immediately—" Hisako immediately put on a serious expression and started casting skills. "Status Recovery! Life Restoration!"
After two consecutive skills, the already ridiculously healthy old man—who could probably bench-press a horse—suddenly felt like he had boundless energy, itching to jump up and dance in the square for an hour. But with his incredible willpower, he forcibly suppressed the urge, instead sitting up "slightly improved" and saying in a "weak" voice, "Thank you for your healing, Hisako."
"Director, it's my lack of skill that prevents me from fully treating your condition..." Hisako lowered her head with a "dejected expression," but quickly raised it again with determination, saying, "Don't worry! In the next world, I'll practice diligently so I can properly restore your health when I return!"
'What a dedicated girl!' The old man sighed inwardly, then continued his feigned lament, "Ah, in my nearly hundred years of life, what haven't I experienced? I have no regrets left."
Hearing Senzaemon's words that sounded like last wishes, Erina hurriedly covered the old man's mouth, exclaiming, "Grandfather, don't say such things! You still have many, many years ahead!"
Senzaemon laughed heartily, "Silly child, all men must die eventually. I've lived long enough... cough..."
Upon hearing this, Hisako quickly whispered in Erina's ear, "Miss Erina! The Director feels his life is complete and has lost the will to live! You must give him a new goal—"
"A n-new goal..." Erina looked at Hisako in panic, "B-but what new goal can I give him?"
Hayashi, who had been thoughtful nearby, remarked, "Generally speaking, an old man's wish would be to hold his grandchild, right?"
Erina's eyes lit up briefly before dimming again, "But Grandfather already has that wish fulfilled..."
Wasn't she herself the grandchild?
Hisako leaned in again and whispered, "He may have grandchildren, but what about great-grandchildren?"
Ah! Great-grandchildren!
Erina's eyes sparkled as she turned to the old man, "Grandfather, don't you want to hold your great-grandchild... huh?"
At this point, Erina suddenly sensed something amiss. Suspiciously furrowing her brows, she glanced at Hayashi, Hisako, and the old man.
All three tensed internally: 'Oh no, she's caught on!'
The next moment, Erina's spiritual energy surged forth, quickly scanning the old man's body—only to find him as healthy as a racehorse.
She understood. She realized. She saw through it all!
"You three..." The now-dark-faced Erina didn't even address him as grandfather anymore, directly grouping them together as "you three." Seeing her reaction, the trio knew trouble was coming.
"Ahem, this old man just remembered—I forgot to flush the toilet!" Senzaemon sprang up instantly, bellowing loudly enough to drown out all other sounds, "Ah, age really affects memory! Old age! How could I forget something so important? Truly unacceptable—"
As his booming voice faded into the distance, Erina turned her stormy gaze toward Hayashi and Hisako, who were attempting to sneak away quietly.
"Come here. Sit down—"
"Yes—" x2