Click.
The door opened.
A cold gust rushed out, and Haizaki shuddered.
This was a sinister wind.
As the door slowly opened, what entered Haizaki's field of vision was a girl with her head slightly lowered, radiating a chilling aura. Her long hair hung loose, and the overwhelming dark presence around her was startling.
This was the sign of an impending explosion.
"I think I can explain."
Breaking into a girl's room and seeing her nearly unclothed body—
He undeniably bore responsibility.
"This is already the second time. Yesterday was my fault, but this time…"
"It won't happen again."
Utaha didn't speak, her eyes fixed on Haizaki.
The silence lasted for a full minute. In the end, Haizaki chose to take the initiative and break it.
"You're worried that I might peek at you, so how about this—there's still an unused spare room on the first floor. I'll move down there and try not to appear on the second floor as much as possible. What do you think?"
Utaha's heart sank.
She understood that Haizaki was showing sincerity, trying to earn her trust.
But if she really accepted this proposal, it would mean planting an invisible barrier between her and Haizaki.
In the short term, it might not matter, but in the long run, it would absolutely be unfavorable.
Their future together was still very long—
One year, ten years, fifty years of life stretched ahead.
More importantly, she didn't want Haizaki to move to the first floor. What meaning would that have? None at all.
She only wanted Haizaki to understand that promises between them had to be remembered and upheld.
"That depends on your self-control."
Hearing this answer from the girl in front of him, Haizaki fell into thought.
Just as he was about to speak again, Utaha's faint voice rang out.
"And besides, don't you think moving to the first floor is just running away?"
"Running away?"
"Next, are you going to say you'll move out of Villa Five and go live in Villa Four instead?"
Both of them knew what Villa Four was like now—a place for storing supplies, filled with dust, completely unsuitable for living.
"I didn't know you had such an interest. Living alone all by yourself actually sounds pretty nice!"
The smile at the corner of the girl's lips was impossible to hide.
This woman—was she really not afraid?
"If you think that would work…"
Utaha froze.
She realized what Haizaki was about to say.
Was he really planning to compromise and go live alone in Villa Four? That wouldn't do! She was just joking—she absolutely didn't want Haizaki to actually move there by himself.
"I think it would be more suitable for you, Kasumigaoka-san, to move over there."
"Get lost—"
So she really had overthought it.
That joke eased the tension considerably.
However, Utaha had no intention of letting Haizaki off that easily.
She met his gaze, her red lips curling slightly as she continued.
"Without proper compensation, I won't agree to just let this matter pass."
Women—indeed, they always cared about saving face.
Especially someone as proud on the inside as Utaha.
"I understand."
"That's good…"
Just for today, I'll let you be happy for once.
After all, I enjoyed another visual feast.
He had no intention of developing anything further with Utaha or establishing a deeper relationship. Still, he didn't reject these unexpected benefits either.
Life needed a bit of color to decorate and adjust it.
"For dinner, I want sushi and sake. Yusuke-san, Compensation-kun, can you manage that?"
Alcohol? And sake at that.
Among the supplies he had brought back, alcohol was the one thing he didn't have—not even beer. Drinking as little as possible was his principle.
In the apocalypse, cigarettes, alcohol, and women were often men's best ways to relieve stress. Unfortunately, he hadn't touched any of them.
"Minors aren't allowed to drink."
Though there were no laws left to restrain them now.
"I want to drink."
Haizaki thought it over and decided not to lecture her. If she wanted to drink, then let her. Nothing would happen anyway.
"Fine. I'll go look for sake later. Wuhua City is big, but there's a good chance there won't be Japanese-produced sake. Please keep that in mind."
"Mm."
She wasn't being unreasonable. Without proper channels in the Eastern Union, it was normal not to find Japanese sake.
"All right. From now on, please be careful. Without my permission, don't open my door. Knocking first is the most basic courtesy."
"No problem. This time was really just an accident. Something happened that made me genuinely excited and happy."
In an instant, Haizaki noticed the change in Utaha's expression and hurriedly added,
"Not the kind of excitement you're thinking of. You have to believe me—I didn't come up here because of your body."
"Oh? Is there really something more exciting than my body?"
Her half-smile radiated natural allure.
The girl was a born actress—her expressions flowed effortlessly at will.
"Chickens."
"Go—"
That single word perfectly expressed her irritation.
If the earlier incidents could be understood as accidents or jokes, then this—
This was Utaha's genuine anger.
At this moment, she was furious, her wine-red eyes gleaming with a predatory light.
"Go to the living room. You'll know when you see it. I think you'll definitely like it."
No amount of explanation would be more effective than letting her see for herself.
With the thought of who would even like chickens, Utaha followed Haizaki downstairs, skeptical yet curious.
A large cardboard box sat on the coffee table in the living room.
After Haizaki pointed to it, Utaha hadn't completely let go of her anger, but she still approached out of curiosity.
"Chicks…"
In that instant, Utaha froze, then broke into a delighted smile.
That genuine, radiant smile made Haizaki stare in a daze.
In his memory, this was the first time he had seen Utaha smile so brightly and sincerely.
…