Yui replied with a bright smile, "Mom, I'm going over to Yumiko's place today. I might stay the night, so I'll call you and let you know."
"Oh, Yumiko, huh."
Yuigahama's mother had met her before: a girl who seemed like she had the disposition of a proper young lady but actually cared a lot about Yui. From what she'd seen, she felt comfortable with Yumiko.
"Sure, go ahead, just remember to keep me updated."
"Okay!"
Yui left. Yuigahama's mother watched the door close, murmuring to herself.
Her daughter had reached the age where she was starting to move on with her own life.
"I wonder who Yui will end up with someday"
She couldn't help thinking that, recalling a certain figure:
That gentle yet assertive boy who had kissed herRei Ao!
"!!!"
She still couldn't shake the feeling of that moment from her lips. Even recalling it made her flush and her heart pound.
"Ugh If the boy Yui likes turns out to be him"
Her thoughts swirled in chaos. She genuinely wouldn't know how to handle the relationship between herselfas the mother-in-lawand her son-in-law if it came to that. It would beso complicated.
Yumiko's House
In the shower, Yumiko let the water flow over her soft skin, her gaze unfocused. She kept replaying the moment she and Yui parted ways earlier. Yui had seemed to muster all her courage, proclaiming with determination that she would never give up.
Yumiko couldn't calm down. That statement was Yui's direct reaction after overhearing everything that happened between Yumiko and Rei Ao firsthand.
"Yui She's not going to do anything reckless, is she?"
Finished rinsing off, Yumiko reached out to shut off the waterbut her hand froze in midair. A trade notification had popped up in their chat group:
[Ding! A new Trade has begun!]
[Trade Partner: Yuigahama Yui]
[Trade Content: Save her!]
[Trade Condition: Right to use her body once]
[Duration: Unlimited]
"???"
What in the world?
Sensing that something was wrong, Yumiko rushed to the group to ask.
Miura Yumiko: "@Rei Ao, @Yuigahama Yui, what's going on? Is Yui in danger?"
Yuigahama Yui: "Yes, but thankfully Rei Ao-kun was here."
Rei Ao: ""
Gazing at the perfectly uninjured Yui standing before him, Rei Ao suddenly had no idea how to cover for her lie.
Yes, it was a complete lie.
One minute earlier
Rei Ao had been having an engaging conversation with Kirisu Mafuyu when suddenly he received Yui's trade request:
[Ding! Yuigahama Yui has initiated a trade request!]
[Trade Content: Save her!]
[Ding! Please select trade conditions!]
He thought Yui was in some sort of danger. After asking in the group chat and getting no reply, he chose the trade condition, and the trade was instantly confirmed. Assuming Yui was in urgent trouble, Rei Ao excused himself and stepped out. The moment he left his house, he was teleported via the trade to Yui's location.
But there were no monsters, no demons, no thugsnothing dangerous. There was only a room drenched in a suggestive mood. Ahotel room. Yui's clothes were intact, no signs of coercion. Combined with Yumiko's question and Yui's earlier response, Rei Ao knew at once that Yui's "trade" had been a sham.
After responding to Yumiko, Yui closed the group chat. She looked up at him, eyes filled with nervousness, tears almost welling up.
She whispered, "I'm sorry, Rei Ao-kun I lied. I tricked you"
"Mm, I know."
"Do you hate me for lying like this?"
She lowered her head. Only now did Yui regret what she'd done.
"I'm not mad," Rei Ao said, gently stroking her hair. "As long as you're alright. But I am curious about why you specifically brought me here in this way."
He glanced around.
"The decor here looks like a hotel. It's so late, yet instead of being at home, you're at a hotel. What are you doing?"
"Ugh!"
Yui's shoulders trembled.
"Phew"
Rei Ao could hear her breathing grow uneven. And then
To his astonishment, Yui suddenly leapt forward and hugged him tight. She buried her face in his chest, speaking in a small voice:
"Rei Ao-kun, I I like you, so so"
"Could you treat me the same way you treated Yumiko?"
Just saying that took all the courage she'd ever had, much more than when she first confessed.
After an afternoon of battling her own thoughts, Yui admitted to herself that she was jealous of Yumiko. And likewise, she didn't want to have any regretsso this was the step she chose.
Whatever it took, she wanted to give herself to the person she loved most.
Rei Ao understood everything in an instant. He hadn't expected his impulsive actions to push Yui this far.
""
Silence. They could both hear each other breathe. But Yui, still pressing against him, felt nothing happening, and the excitement in her heart began to cool.
"I I guess it's no good, huh?"
She assumed she wasn't as attractive to Rei Ao as Yumiko wasafter all, that was Yumiko.
But the next second, a strong yet warm hand tipped her chin up. Head tilting back, Yui saw his deep-blue eyes move in, followed by the heat of his lips.
"!!!"
This wasthe kiss she'd so badly wanted! The intense warmth exceeded anything she'd imagined, making her cling to Rei Ao and lose herself in it.
After a long while, their lips parted.
"Hah"
Yui gasped, almost forgetting to breathe. Rei Ao teased her: "You couldn't catch your breath, yet you clung to me and wouldn't let go."
"Ugh!"
Already flushed red, Yui's face burned hotter with frustration. It was trueunder Rei Ao's gentle guidance, she'd awkwardly "learned" and gotten so caught up she forgot the need to breathe.
"Yui, there's no going back now. It might be your first time, but it won't be your lastbecause I fully intend to have you in my future."
He couldn't help it. His possessive streak ran too deep. There was no possibility of a one-time-only deal.
Yui said nothing. Instead, she slowly sank to her knees, eyes reddened, gazing up at him:
"Rei Ao-kun I studied a lot of books for this day. This is how serious I am!"
"??!"
This time it was Rei Ao's turn to be stunned. He never imagined Yui would come this prepared. It was a bit thrilling.
Well then, no need to hold back any longer. With a wave of his hand, he cast a magical barrier around them, then posted a message in the group chat:
Rei Ao: "Yui was rightstarting now, I'll be carrying out a 'rescue operation' for her."
Yes. Time to let out the flood.
~~~
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Chapter 349: Danger is Everywhere and Kanna, the Cute Dragon!
Kawasaki Saki: "Did Yui also run into danger?"
Sayuri: "Looks like it, and it seems pretty urgent, too."
Machida Sonoko: "If Rei Ao is preparing to rescue her, it must be no small matter."
Kasumigaoka Utaha: "Could it be something even more terrifying than the demons we faced?"
Sakurajima Mai: "No idea. All we can do is hope she's safe."
Shin "Hang in there, Daddy!!! Mommy and I are cheering for you!"
Kobayashi: "???"
"Shin-chan, you're starting that again!"
Kobayashi glared at Shin.
"Hehe, brother or daddy, doesn't matter in the end, he'll be Daddy anyway."
Shin shook her head, utterly unconcerned, as though she was one step away from striking a smug pose that would leave Kobayashi with no recourse.
She already gave Kobayashi a big headache as it was.
Shin's eyes darted about.
"Mommy, we haven't seen Oniichan in so long. I miss him. When can we go to his house?"
Kobayashi wanted to refuse, but
A pair of cute, pleading eyes popped up right in front of her.
" "
Kobayashi found herself speechless.
She'd been caught at her weakest point. How could she possibly say no to such an adorable, pitiful expression?
"Sigh."
In resignation, she said, "Alright, in a few days."
"Yay!"
Shin jumped up happily.
Miura Yumiko: "Seriously, what kind of world is this if even Yui is in danger now?"
Miura Yumiko: "Everyone, we should all be extra careful."
Kato Hiromi: "Well, I guess we'll be fine. No matter what, we can always ask Rei Ao for help in the end. It's just our families"
Kato Hiromi: "If Mom and Dad run into something dangerous, that'd be a real problem."
Eriri: "Hehe, my mom's in the group too."
Sakurajima Mai: "So's mine."
Sayuri: "Oh my, Eriri is actually thinking of her mom. How sweet! She really has grown up."
Sakurajima Ai: "Mai about that thing"
Sakurajima Mai: "Mom, let's not talk about that now. At this point, we can only look forward. Anyway, come by our place soon."
Sakurajima Ai: "Alright."
Hiratsuka Shizuka: "Hmph. I'm so jealous you all don't have any worries."
Yukinoshita Yukino: ""
Initially, Yukino hadn't been worried at all. But after reading these messages, she froze. She suddenly remembered that she still had her mother and sister. She was willing to take responsibility for her own life, but if her sister or mother encountered the same danger, what then?
For the first time, Yukino realized just how serious the issue was. She couldn't help sinking into thought.
"Goodbye!"
Hyodo Michiru waved to her bandmates as they left.
Once they were gone, she finally let out a sigh of relief. The peace and quiet at last.
The problem was that in her band, everyone kept bringing up Rei Ao at every turn, always pairing the two of them up and egging her on to confess. Michiru was dying of embarrassment.
Of course, she knew she had good feelings toward Rei Ao. But confessing She was afraid she'd just get rejected, and that'd be super awkward. After all, they were seated one in front of the other in class. Besides, until she was absolutely certain about her feelings, she couldn't just rush in and confess.
"I wonderwhat he thinks of me"
Strolling home, Michiru was also curious what Rei Ao might be doing. She was debating whether or not to send a message when she spotted something small and white in her field of vision.
On closer inspection, it was an adorable little girl, standing by the roadside, plucking leaves from a shrub and putting them in her mouthswallowing them, too.
"???"
What sort of kid goes around eating leaves? She couldn't just ignore that.
"Hey, sweetie, you can't eat leaves."
Michiru hurried over and grabbed the girl's hand. The child turned her head.
"She's so cute!"
Michiru was enchanted by the little girl's round cheeks and big blue eyes, nearly unable to resist pinching those chubby cheeks. Thankfully, reason won out over impulse.
Seeing no adults around, Michiru asked curiously, "What's your name?"
This little girl was not only alone but dressed in a rather unique waya white horn on her head and a small, fuzzy white tail behind her.
"Staaare"
The child stared at Michiru for a good while, as though assessing whether she was dangerous. Tohru was always saying humans can be cunning, after all.
" "
The girl didn't answer, and Michiru wondered if she should call the police.
"Grooowl"
A sudden sound made Michiru focus on the child's stomach.
"Hungry?"
" "
She nodded but still didn't speak.
Michiru took some bread from her bag and handed it over.
"Here you go."
"?"
Taking the bread, the little girl examined it briefly, then opened her mouth to chomp it down, wrapper and all.
"!!!"
At the sight, Michiru broke into a cold sweat and hurriedly stopped her.
"Wait! You can't eat the wrapper, too!"
"Huh?"
The child watched as Michiru tore open the wrapper.
"This is how you eat it."
" "
Taking the now unwrapped bread once more, the little girl glanced at Michiru, then at the bread.
"Aaah!"
She swallowed it in a single gulp.
"???"
Michiru froze. Did kids that small really have such a big mouth?
By the time she processed it,
"Gulp!"
the child had already swallowed the entire piece of bread.
"You'll choke eating like thathere, drink some water!"
Panicking, Michiru quickly took out a water bottle, worried for her.
"Tasty."
It was the first time the little girl had spoken.
"Kanna."
"Huh?" Michiru tilted her head, confused.
Blinking her gem-like blue eyes, the little girl repeated, "Kanna. You?"
"Oh!" Michiru finally understoodher name.
"I'm Hyodo Michiru."
"Michirugood person."
"Haha, that's dangerous, you know. Bad people love to lure little kids with snacks."
"Kanna Are you a bad person, Michiru?" the girl asked, tilting her head.
"I'm not, no."
Still, she warned her: "I'm not, but if there are other bad people, Kanna, you need to be careful, okay?"
"Kanna's not afraid of bad people."
The little girl waved a tiny fist, speaking in a babyish voice, "Kanna can chase away bad people!"
"Haha, wow, Kanna, you're so brave."
Michiru felt her heart melting at the sight of her cute display.
~~~
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Chapter 350: No one can escape the cutest!
"Kanna, where are your mom and dad?"
Michiru crouched down, asking her gently.
""
All Kanna did was shake her head.
"You don't know? So you got separated from them?"
That was Michiru's interpretation. She took out her phone to call the police, figuring the child's family must be worried.
Just as she turned on the phone's screen, the fluffy white "ball" behind Kanna suddenly moved. At first, Michiru thought Kanna was just playing around, but then:
"Zzzt zzzt beep beep beep!"
Blue electric arcs flickered.
"!!!"
Startled, Michiru flung her phone away. The moment it left her hand, though, it stuck to the fluffy tip of Kanna's tail.
Michiru's eyes went wide. She saw arcs of electricity traveling from her phone, up Kanna's tail, and into her body. It was horrifyingly quickjust a blink.
"Bzzz bzzz!"
Her phone, which had been at eighty percent battery, beeped a low-battery warning and then shut off completely.
Clack!
The phone dropped to the ground.
"Burp!"
Kanna let out a little belch.
"!!!"
Michiru snapped back to her senses. She looked at Kanna in fear. Did she justabsorb the electricity from my phone?!
Suddenly, Michiru thought of all kinds of urban legends. Panicking, she stood up and staggered backward.
""
Kanna watched her, confused. She took a step forward, and Michiruterrifiedtook several more steps back, even turning as if to run away.
It was clear she saw Kanna's behavior as something monstrous or supernatural.
