In the yard on the first floor,
Hayashi and Tohru were playing with Pochita.
Tohru fed it food, petting it occasionally, and Pochita was overjoyed.
Good times came so quickly.
The dreams Pochita could hardly imagine were being fulfilled so fast.
It no longer needed to kill demons aimlessly, nor did it need to be called to slaughter, and it wouldn't keep reincarnating after death.
All it had to do now was listen to Hayashi's commands.
Most of the time, it would just guard the Midnight Diner, and that would be its job.
And everyone liked it. This place was warm.
It felt like a dream.
Pochita had been fully captured by this kindness.
"Hey, Pochita, have a cookie," Hayashi threw a cookie.
"Woah~!" Pochita leapt up and intercepted it in mid-air.
"Oh~!" Tohru clapped her hands, cheering.
Hearing Tohru's encouragement and praise,
Pochita couldn't believe it.
Was it really that simple to get praise?
And get such delicious food?
Who said the Midnight Diner wasn't its home?
This was its home!
Hell?
Not even a dog would go there!
After playing with Pochita for a while,
Tohru suddenly remembered that they hadn't gone to restock today.
She looked at Hayashi. "Aren't we going to the market today?"
"Ha~~~" Hayashi lay back on the lounge chair, yawning. "We played too late last night. I'll skip today. We'll go tomorrow."
Tohru, hearing that, lowered her head in slight embarrassment. "Then we won't stay up too late tonight."
Because last night, she had been so happy shouting.
If someone didn't know, they'd think...
Well...
It was fine though, since they were in Hayashi's house, tucked away in the alley with no one around. Otherwise, there would definitely be complaints about disturbing the neighbors.
Pochita, after watching the two talk,
Ran a few steps and lay down under the table next to the lounge chair, staying close to Hayashi's feet.
Hayashi looked over and suddenly had an idea.
"Tohru, how about we make a little nest for Pochita in the yard and in the house, and also a 'woof-woof' door on the wall so Pochita can come and go?"
Hearing this, Pochita, who had just settled down, immediately raised its head again.
Tohru's eyes lit up when she heard this. "Leave it to me! I'll go to the mountains and bring back two trees!"
"???" Hayashi thought for a moment, realizing that would work. They could use logs. "Okay, go ahead, but don't do it alone. Bring them back, and let's make it together."
Tohru nodded. "I'll go now."
With that, Tohru flew up, transforming into a giant dragon and soared away.
At that moment, footsteps approached from a distance.
Hayashi turned his head and saw
Touka Kirishima, who had just arrived, standing there, stunned, watching as Tohru turned into a giant dragon and flew away.
Of course, this was only because Tohru had allowed her to see it.
Tohru only used her presence magic.
This kind of magic, in order to detect it, at least an S-rank Ghoul or someone with matching strength would be required.
Hayashi looked at Touka, who was staring blankly. "What's wrong?"
Touka turned around, unsure of how to gesture with her hands.
She looked in the direction the giant dragon had gone.
Then, she glanced back at Hayashi.
Hayashi understood immediately. "You mean Tohru? She went to uproot some willow trees to get some logs for Pochita's little bed."
Upon hearing Hayashi's direct admission, Touka wasn't sure what to say.
Is this what it's like to be fearless with power?
Touka thought for a while, before finally managing to say, "Impressive."
She thought for a moment and then asked, "Who is Pochita? Why are we making it a bed?"
Hayashi lifted a leg, revealing the chainsaw dog beside him.
"It's my newly adopted pet. It's the gatekeeper."
"Oh~!" Touka's eyes lit up when she saw Pochita. "It's kind of cute."
Pochita wasn't the cutesy type, but it had a strange kind of cuteness.
The little thing was quite unique.
Touka liked rabbits, but she also liked the relatively cute things.
She jogged a couple of steps into the yard, petted Pochita, and scratched its chin.
She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she always felt like this strangely-shaped Pochita might be quite powerful.
It seemed that even though it looked cute, if it got serious, it could be something else entirely.
"Woof~" Pochita lightly barked.
It looked at Hayashi and saw that he didn't dislike Touka.
So, it lay down and allowed her to pet it.
If Hayashi's aura had shown dislike, even just a little, Pochita would've bitten them at least once, and the person would have gotten a "Pochita" on their head.
Touka petted Pochita for a while.
Then, she suddenly remembered why she was here.
Touka quickly stood up and said, "Oh, right, Hayashi-san, you need to be careful. The Antique Café received news that the executives from the Bronze Tree have arrived in District 20, and that night..."
Touka went on to explain everything she knew about Hayashi.
From the Antique Café to herself.
From that night's events to the Bronze Tree.
Once she was done, she looked sincerely at Hayashi and asked, "Tohru, is she the giant dragon from that night?"
There was nothing to hide.
Hayashi had long known that Tohru's identity would be revealed.
But so what?
Come and fight me, idiot.
He nodded. "Just like you guessed."
Touka sighed with relief.
Hayashi continued, "But Tohru is a good kid. As long as no one bothers her or the shop, she'll just be happy, running a little shop with me and living a peaceful life."
Touka: ???
It sounds right, but why does it feel so strange?
Touka looked at Hayashi, who was relaxed and still with his carefree attitude, and couldn't help but feel more curious.
"Aren't you worried?"
"The Bronze Tree has several S-rank executives, and even SS-rank ones."
Upon hearing this, Hayashi smiled slightly.
The Bronze Tree has a few masters... no, a few dragons.
He shook his head and revealed a small bit of information.
"Touka, if Tohru gets angry, really angry, and decides to act..."
"I'd just sink Tokyo."
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