Chapter 0151: I Have a Bold Idea—
"Waaah, young master, we got scolded by Miss Erina."
"Indeed."
"But, but why does it feel so good?"
"A little."
"Pant pant, Erina, please keep scolding me, I'm your dog!"
"Stop right there—"
Hayashi covered his face with his hands. He was increasingly convinced that Hisako was developing a tendency toward Shirai Kuroko—could it be that whether it's Kuroko or Hisako, they all end up becoming degenerates?
"B-b-but, young master, don't you find it exciting?" Hisako looked at Hayashi in shock and said, "Just imagine, if Erina stepped on your face with her black-stockinged feet, looked at you with eyes full of disdain, and then said to you in a cold voice..."
Here, Hisako cleared her throat and imitated Erina's tone, saying, "Who allowed you to look up at me? You trash—"
"Gasp—" Hayashi couldn't help but shiver, then smacked his lips and said, "That does sound kinda hot!"
Hayashi wasn't a true masochist. If there really was a domineering queen-type character, he might at most join the crowd and shout, "Step on me, sis," but he wouldn't actually kneel at her feet, waiting for the queen's favor.
But if this "queen" was just a playful dynamic between lovers, then it was fine—Hayashi even wanted Erina to lift her skirt with a disgusted look and show him her panties while treating him like garbage!
Don't tell me you wouldn't want that!
Seeing Hayashi agree with her idea, Hisako's eyes immediately lit up as she said, "Right, right? If Erina made that kind of expression, it'd be absolutely perfect!"
Absolutely! When Erina first appeared, she was the epitome of a queen-type character. It was only after successive blows from Chef Abe (in cooking) and Mao Xing (in talent) that she toned down her sharp arrogance.
Hayashi nodded solemnly, then rolled over and got up from the floor, heading toward the room. Watching his movements, Hisako hurriedly asked, "Young master, where are you going?"
Hayashi turned his head and flashed her a grin, saying, "To grope some legs!"
"?"
Hisako froze for a moment, then clutched her chest in anguish and collapsed onto the tatami, wearing the expression of a defeated dog in every sense of the word.
...
...
A few days after returning to the Shokugeki world, the Guardians brought back from the Overlord world had mostly adapted to life here and were happily serving their Supreme Being, effectively becoming the latest model of NEET enablers—with ten times the potency.
As for Hayashi and Erina… well…
Alright, brace yourselves for some judgment—despite being back for days, they still hadn't taken that final step. Truly embarrassing for all involved.
"This won't do."
Hisako knelt on a cushion, her face full of worry as she said, "The atmosphere between Erina and the young master is great, yes, but every time it feels like they're about to reach that final step, the young master inexplicably chickens out—"
If there were any other older virgins here, they would surely understand Hayashi all too well, perhaps even empathize deeply—this feeling is akin to a single older man wanting to find a partner, searching online for tips on how to woo girls. After reading one guide after another, he starts thinking, "What's so hard about this?" But when it comes time to put it into practice, he chickens out upon seeing a lone girl, walking right past her without daring to utter a single word.
Hayashi was more or less in the same boat. Though he often fantasized about getting intimate with Erina before bed, when it actually came down to it, he inexplicably backed off—first experiences were just too important.
"Tch, is he even capable?" Mana Nakiri leaned back in her chair, exasperated. "I've never seen someone so spineless! Swap him out for any other guy, and I'd probably be holding my grandchild by now."
The old man nodded in agreement. "This can't go on! We need to give them a push!"
"How?" Mana arched her delicate brows. "We can't just strip them naked, lock them in a room, and say they can't come out unless they do the deed, right?"
"..."
The old man's face darkened. What on earth had gotten into his daughter to make her say something so outrageous?
"Absolutely not! That's completely beneath the dignity of the Nakiri Family!" the old man huffed.
Mana rolled her eyes. "Dignity, huh? Who was it that dragged me out of bed in the middle of the night, too anxious to sleep?"
"Ahem."
The old man coughed awkwardly before slowly pulling a sheet of paper from his sleeve and placing it on the table. "I've devised a plan—let's call it the 'Date Operation.' What do you think?"
Hisako and Mana leaned in to examine the plan, then fell into stunned silence.
Mana couldn't hold back. "I thought that as the head of the Nakiri Family and the director of Totsuki, you'd surely have some grand strategy when facing such a critical situation. But this? This is just pathetic!"
The paper appeared densely written, but once you stripped away the nonsense, crossed-out revisions, and boiled it down to its essence, the core idea was just one tiny segment—
First, send the two on a date to an amusement park, then guide them to a love hotel.
That's it? That's the plan?
"Director—" Hisako's expression looked as if she'd bitten into a Devil Fruit, her face scrunched in dismay as she flipped the paper back and forth. "Is this really all there is? No more detailed steps?"
What's the difference between this plan and saying, "Get rich, become wealthy"? Everyone knows making money leads to wealth—the question is how! You can't just go to Thailand, then Korea, marry a tycoon, divorce for half their assets, and then return to Thailand to undo the changes, right?
"Ahem."
The old man coughed sheepishly. "This is just the foundation, the main framework! It's up to all of us to refine and perfect it!"
Ugh, what kind of Aki Tomoya behavior is this?!
Mana and Hisako simultaneously covered their foreheads, letting out a long, exasperated sigh of "Aah—" that nearly broke the old man's composure—yet he managed to maintain his poker face through sheer willpower. Truly impressive!
"First of all, why would going to an amusement park inevitably lead to a love hotel?" Mana couldn't help but ask. "Can't they just go home? There has to be a logical reason, right?"
"Uh, what if they stay out too late and can't get a ride back?"
"Does the Nakiri Family not have cars? Are we forcing them to take taxis or the subway?"
The old man's hastily concocted excuse was mercilessly shot down by Mana, leaving him to gloomily sip his tea to soothe his wounded pride.
"What if it's an uncontrollable factor?" Hisako mused thoughtfully at this point. "Madam, Chairman, I have a bold idea."
A bold idea?
The old man and Mana exchanged glances before speaking in unison: "Let's hear it!"
"If we want Hayashi and Erina to end up in a love hotel, the primary condition is that they 'can't return home.' The Chairman's suggestion about staying out too late and lacking transportation is too unstable—we can't guarantee they'll play until the subway stops running."
"True."
"Therefore, we need to create a stable factor that prevents them from returning home. For example, a sudden torrential downpour—this could be achieved by having Yunyun and the guardians collaborate to use water magic."
"But even if it rains, couldn't they still take a car back?"
"The driver would also be from the Nakiri Family. We just need the driver to report car trouble—engine failure, for instance."
"Oho!"
Hearing this, the old man and Mana locked eyes again before declaring simultaneously: "This could work!"
Torrential rain → car breakdown → forced to stay at a love hotel → neighboring room plays adult films → young couple succumbs to the atmosphere and tastes forbidden fruit for the first time...
Brilliant, little sister!
Once the plan crystallized in his mind, the old man gazed at Hisako with fiery admiration—don't misunderstand, this was purely his heartfelt recognition that Hisako was at least an SR-tier strategist. He resolved to elevate the Arato family's status!
Let's do it. Right now!
...
...
The next morning, as the family gathered for breakfast, the old man suddenly acted as if remembering something. He pulled two tickets from his pocket and slid them toward Hayashi and Erina, saying, "An old friend of mine recently acquired an amusement park and upgraded it. He gave me two tickets to experience it—pfft, what's an old man like me doing at an amusement park? So why don't you two go in my place? Just tell me about your experience afterward."
A perfectly reasonable justification.
"Amusement park?"
Hayashi swallowed the bite of his meat-stuffed bun and glanced at Erina. Casually, he said, "You want to go? If not, we can give the tickets to Hisako and Yunyun."
'If it's just me and Hayashi going, wouldn't that practically count as a date?' Erina's ahoge shot upright. Clearing her throat, she said, "Now that I think about it, I've hardly ever been to an amusement park."
Hayashi nodded his head. After taking a sip of soy milk to moisten his mouth, he picked up a steaming fresh meat bun and said cheerfully, "Then let's set off in a bit."
'Yes!' x3
The old man, Mana, and Hisako exchanged glances before nodding in unison.
The first step of the plan was now complete. Next was to proceed as planned—tonight, they would definitely make those two roll into bed together!
The old man: 'Useless grandson-in-law, at your age, my wife was already expecting our second child!'
Mana: 'Useless daughter, at your age, my husband could barely get out of bed!'
Hisako: 'Well, um, wow, these buns are really delicious...'