The Red-Eyed Devil Sets a Trap for the Samba Fairy

Evening.

When Kiyoharu returned to the Chihaya residence, Airi hadn't arrived home yet. She had been busy with company affairs lately and always came back a bit later.

This suited Kiyoharu just fine. He decided to take the opportunity to take a bath first.

He might as well throw his shirt into the washing machine to get it clean.

Once Kiyoharu changed into his casual home clothes, the scent of Ayano that had clung to him completely disappeared.

"She shouldn't suspect anything, right..."

Kiyoharu muttered to himself in the mirror, then found himself amused.

Ayano was the one with ulterior motives towards him, yet it felt as though he were the one secretly developing another relationship as a fiancé.

He supposed it was always better to be cautious. Airi's background and temper were not to be trifled with!

Arriving in the kitchen, Kiyoharu began preparing dinner.

Tonight's main dish was a mix of various vegetables and marinated beef, tossed together and baked in the oven.

This dish didn't have a specific name. Airi, lacking a talent for naming things, couldn't be bothered to think of one, so Kiyoharu called it "Yu's Old Recipe."

The vegetable combinations and oven settings were mechanical. The key was the marinade, which Kiyoharu had indeed developed himself, so calling it Yu's Old Recipe was fitting.

Speaking of recipes.

Kiyoharu couldn't help but recall the traditional Chinese medicine Ayano had mentioned today.

Ayano's family had planned her upbringing from childhood, employing various extreme methods to mold her into their ideal "perfect wife." It was an eye-opener for Kiyoharu.

Even though Kiyoharu had grown accustomed to the perverted games played by the upper echelons of Tokyo in this world over the years, Ayano's experiences still left him feeling oppressed.

"Host, are you feeling a little sorry for her? Why don't you quickly advance Ayano Kitahara's side quest?"

"I'd love to fleece her for some resources, but you're not giving me any tasks!" Kiyoharu felt a bit stuck.

"Coming soon, coming soon. According to my observations, a weighty task will soon emerge from Ayano Kitahara..."

"How weighty? How does it compare to the Young Lady's feet?"

"Of course, it's much more important!"

"Hiss, then I'll look forward to it. But let me say this first: if the task requires us to get too close, I absolutely won't do it. Don't have any objections, alright?"

Objections?

What objections could she possibly have? Doesn't this host always do whatever he pleases?

The system silently grumbled.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot one thing." Kiyoharu suddenly remembered something and asked enthusiastically, "Since massaging Airi's feet is part of the system's tasks, can I skip that process?"

"Huh?" The system was momentarily taken aback. "Skip what?"

"Like, letting me complete the entire process unconsciously, without having to put in any effort, like one-click sweep in a game."

"Uh, Host, may I ask? You clearly enjoy it, why would you want to skip it?"

"Bullshit, when did I enjoy it? I was walking on eggshells the entire time. How can you slander me out of thin air?"

"But Host, when you were massaging her feet, I monitored your physiological indicators. The data shows your happiness index rose to a considerable level, slightly higher than when you defeated Valkyrie without taking damage using the Level 1 Useless Person skill..."

What the hell?!

"How is that possible?!" Kiyoharu was getting agitated. "How can the Red-Eyed Devil compare to Ren-Ren? Your system must be broken. You're so weak, it's normal for your data to have problems."

"..."

"Stop with the useless talk. Just tell me if I can skip it or not."

"Wuwu, I'm sorry, this feature is still under development..."

"Damn it! Even open-world anime mobile games with self-developed features have skip functions, and you, you bastard... Fine, fine. Get lost, I need to cook!"

The peaceful cooking time didn't last long. The sound of the front door opening could be heard from a distance. A moment later, Airi appeared in the kitchen.

This was an uncommon sight. Airi rarely entered the kitchen. Kiyoharu, out of curiosity, had done some research. It seemed that Gen'ichiro had instilled in her from a young age the idea that "only useless people waste their time on housework."

Alright, Kiyoharu admitted he was indeed quite useless. He enjoyed doing simple, leisurely work and spending his free time cooking at home. But this was also a way of life, and he felt there was nothing to criticize. As for what Gen'ichiro thought, that was the old geezer's problem.

"I think there's something fishy going on." Airi said without any preamble.

"It's not that bad. Maybe she had an epiphany in a foreign land and was reborn."

"...You know what I'm talking about?"

"Takagi Akane, right? She just got back, and you're definitely paying close attention to her situation. You probably heard that child is a prime example of overcorrection. I even suspect she underwent some kind of luck-transfer ritual by a Brazilian witch..."

Kiyoharu fiddled with the ingredients in his hands, his mouth babbling incessantly.

One thing Airi always admired was that sometimes, the problems she pondered on her way home could be spoken aloud the moment she arrived, without any prior context, and Kiyoharu could instantly pick up the conversation. It was hard to say whether he had high emotional intelligence or if they were just that in sync.

Kiyoharu, however, didn't feel anything special about it. In order to gain favor with the Chihaya family, he had already successfully cultivated his understanding of "Liyuan Language" to Level 10. Sometimes, he could accurately interpret the meaning from just a piece of body language.

If a leader paid you a large sum of money every month, if just cooking was worth two million yen plus various additional allowances, and the leader could also solve your life-threatening problems... wouldn't you have to study the leader's style thoroughly?

"We can find an opportunity to test her."

"Explain."

"Your class is organizing a school trip next month, right? I'll cover the expenses. I'll arrange for a location that's sufficiently complex and completely under my control. You'll cooperate with me to put on a play to test whether Takagi Akane is truly indifferent to you."

It was clear Airi had thought this plan through. Kiyoharu felt she was merely informing him, not discussing it, so he nodded without thinking:

"Roger that!"

Here we go again, those two hateful words.

Airi couldn't help but lift her leg and kick him. The instep of her foot, clad in black stockings, landed on Kiyoharu's thigh. She didn't put much force into it; it felt less like anger and more like a pout.

But Kiyoharu wouldn't believe Airi was genuinely pouting. He remembered when they first started living together, Airi hadn't been very careful with her strength. It was only after Kiyoharu protested a few times that Airi learned to gauge her force.

"Go wait at the dining table. Dinner will be ready soon."

"Hmph."

Cooking was Kiyoharu's time to enjoy life. It was best if the Red-Eyed Devil didn't linger around him.

But… was that trip really okay?

When the food was ready and it was time to eat, Kiyoharu raised his question: "Are you coming on the school trip?"

"Of course."

"There's no proper reason for you to go. It was fine before when faculty members went out; you could be considered family…"

"I'm paying, so why shouldn't I be qualified?"

"I'm not saying you're not qualified, it's just that if you go, you won't have anyone to accompany you, and it would be quite abrupt."

"I'll hang out with Hitomi! She's also a teacher in your class and will be participating in the school trip, so it's fine."

"Oh, then it's fine."

As long as someone accompanied the Red-Eyed Devil, it was fine. He just hoped she wouldn't get bored and drag Kiyoharu along to play.

The school trip was a rare opportunity to escape the Red-Eyed Devil's control, and Kiyoharu intended to savor it.

It was a bit disheartening that it had now become a segment for testing Takagi Akane. Fortunately, Shimaura Hitomi was also going, which could significantly alleviate Kiyoharu's stress. Not only the stress from Airi, but he could also have the students help look after her.