Chapter 51. Makima’s Inner Monologue — “Hayashi-kun, Can You Bite Me?”

Makima giving someone a gift—

It was the first time anyone had ever seen such a thing. No one could believe it.

And naturally, her arrival caught the attention of the Anteiku crew too.

Touka Kirishima was mostly calm.

But Koma, Irimi, Yomo, and even Manager Yoshimura exchanged glances—there was a flash of caution in their eyes.

Makima was powerful. That much was obvious.

What was truly concerning—

Was that none of them could tell just how strong she was, or even what kind of strength she possessed.

All they knew was: she was strong.

And that unknown… was terrifying in itself.

Not being able to analyze anything—was already a kind of danger.

Makima smiled as Hayashi accepted the cake, her body leaning slightly forward.

"Hayashi-kun, won't you try it now? You haven't eaten yet, right?"

He hadn't.

But he didn't know what game she was playing.

"I'll try it. I just made some sushi for you, too."

Hayashi walked into the kitchen with the cake.

Makima followed.

Inside, Hayashi unboxed the cake.

It was a normal small cake—from a Tokyo gift shop.

Makima smiled lightly.

"Sorry, it was a bit rushed. I didn't have time to make something myself."

"No problem," Hayashi said.

He opened the sushi he had kept warm and slid the tray toward her.

"This is a sushi platter. Try some."

So—

Hayashi took a bite of the cake. Makima tried the sushi.

Watching her closely, Hayashi confirmed the cake was safe.

Makima, meanwhile, showed the best emotional control of any customer who'd ever eaten his food.

Even if she felt pleasure—mentally or physically—

Her expression barely changed. At most, a slight blush on the cheeks like she'd dabbed on some powder. Nothing more.

Compared to everyone else's dramatic reactions, it was nothing.

The cake itself was standard. Whipped cream—decent quality.

As Hayashi took another bite—

Makima picked up a piece of sushi, leaned in, and held it near his mouth.

"Ahh~ Try this one too."

Hayashi paused half a second, then opened his mouth and took it.

He went back to eating his cake.

Makima offered him another piece, a little more intimate this time.

Hayashi leaned forward again, but—

Makima softly said,

"This one's my favorite. Let's share it. You take half, I'll have the rest."

Hayashi paused a full second, then bit off half.

Makima, without hesitation, put the rest into her mouth.

While chewing, she gazed directly at him.

After swallowing:

"Delicious~"

Hayashi was genuinely impressed.

She was too good at this.

Just from that single gesture, he could see two calculated moves:

One—she claimed it was her favorite, showing she was willing to share something important, especially after he had eaten all the others.

Two—they shared one item. The intimacy of eating the same food.

To someone honest and naive—

This would've been a critical hit. At the very least, half their heart would've been won over.

Just like that famous scene in Tom and Jerry—

Poor Tom, completely played in the palm of her hand.

Fortunately, Hayashi understood what kind of wicked woman Makima was.

He ate another bite of cake, wiped his mouth, and looked her in the eye.

"If you want to ask something, just ask."

Makima tilted her head and gave him a look of feigned innocence.

"Ask what? Tonight is a celebration dinner, isn't it, Hayashi-kun?"

"…Right."

Hayashi gave her a thumbs up.

Makima smiled and graciously accepted the gesture.

Still, curiosity flickered in her eyes.

She leaned in, sniffed at his chest, then backed away.

"Hayashi-kun's scent has grown stronger," she remarked.

"There's a mix of human and devil… it reminds me a lot of a certain devil I know."

Hayashi nodded.

"You mean the Chainsaw Devil?"

Hearing those words—

Makima finally showed a sincere smile.

"So you know about the Chainsaw Devil, Hayashi-kun?"

"Hold on a sec," Hayashi said, wanting to test something.

He called out to the dining area, "Pochita, come here for a second."

The sound of quick footsteps came from a distance.

Moments later, Pochita arrived.

Hayashi fed the remaining cake to him. Pochita happily gobbled it down, and inside, he muttered: Tasty! But not as good as what Hayashi makes.

Hayashi pointed at Pochita and asked,

"Do you recognize this?"

Makima stared at Pochita closely.

Her expression turned a bit curious, then increasingly confused. She eventually frowned and shook her head.

"No. Is this the devil that killed the leech devil? Power said it's completely under your control."

"That's right," Hayashi nodded.

Then he flicked the chainsaw on Pochita's head and asked again,

"Doesn't this look familiar?"

What Hayashi meant was—

Can't she tell the thing on Pochita's head is a chainsaw? How could she not connect it to the Chainsaw Devil?

It seemed the combination of devouring powers and the Chainsaw Devil's strength had become so overwhelming that even people's concept of it had changed.

Makima looked at the chainsaw again.

Then she fell into deep thought.

The longer she looked, the more stunned she appeared—more focused.

Eventually, her pupils contracted slightly. She snapped her gaze toward Hayashi.

"It's yours, the incarnation of the chainsaw. Hayashi-kun, so you're actually the Chainsaw Devil? But why do you have other devil powers too?"

Her golden eyes lit up as she spiraled into deduction.

"Wait, are you a new devil from Hell who devoured the Chainsaw Devil's power? Then what are you—Food Devil? Devouring Devil?"

Hayashi: ???

Watching her, Hayashi realized—

Makima really was smart. In a flash, she had pieced together that much. But she was also imagining like crazy.

All Hayashi wanted to test was: even someone who controls devils—could they still remember the original Pochita, the Chainsaw Devil?

Turns out, nope. It was completely erased.

But Makima's mind went full power—analyzing, understanding, reconstructing—

And arrived at a brand-new conclusion!

That Pochita's chainsaw was merely a symbol of a creature under Hayashi's control. Which meant—

Hayashi might be the Chainsaw Devil.

Or, more likely, he was a new kind of devil—one that had devoured many devils' powers!

This was Makima's most reasonable deduction, based on data, clues, conversations, and her own imagination.

Hayashi felt numb just listening to it.

The scariest part?

A lot of it was actually right.

Makima now believed he was a devil. And she wasn't exactly wrong. He did have the Chainsaw Devil's power, the ability to devour, and gave off a distinctly devilish vibe.

Even his scent was similar—though not identical.

Which meant Hayashi couldn't deny it.

Actually… there was no need to.

To Makima, the fact that he might be the Chainsaw Devil—or had that power—was a good thing.

The Chainsaw Devil was not her enemy.

In fact, it made him all the more attractive to her.

Hayashi wasn't sure whether that was good or bad.

But as she stared at him intently, Hayashi scratched his chin and neither nodded nor shook his head.

"You can think whatever you want. If you want to believe I'm a devil, go ahead. But I really just love the slow life. You can call me the Retirement Devil, the Farming Devil, the Chill Devil."

Makima continued staring him down.

"You have the Chainsaw Devil's power? No… you are the Chainsaw Devil. But that's just one of your powers."

"...Yeah, that's… one way to put it. You got part of it right."

"So you admit it?"

"What's there to admit? If I do, I do. If I don't, I don't."

"Hayashi-kun."

"Hm?"

"Can you bite me?"

"...???"

Hayashi was stunned into silence.

What kind of people were these?

Rize wanted to eat him.

Makima wanted him to eat her.

Why don't the two of you team up and try eating each other? Maybe you'll make some kind of perpetual blood-and-meat engine.

Hayashi was speechless.

"One wants to eat me but doesn't dare. One wants to be eaten. What are you all doing? You're all insane!"

Makima's eyes were still full of anticipation.

She rolled up her sleeve, raised her arm to Hayashi's mouth.

"Wanna try?"

Hayashi shook his head without hesitation.

"Not a good spot?" Makima misunderstood and undid half her shirt buttons, revealing her bra and cleavage.

Then she leaned in, presenting her smooth, porcelain collarbone.

"How about here?"

Hayashi was now taking deep breaths.

Not because of seduction.

Because of sheer frustration.

As expected—whether ghouls or devils—they were all goddamn perverts.

All of them. Lunatics!

Every last one of them!

Faced with Makima's hopeful gaze—

Hayashi grabbed her arm and gave her a small but firm bite. Two rows of deep teeth marks were left behind.

Makima usually had no reaction to pain.

Even when in pain, her face never changed.

But this time—it was different.

Her golden eyes squinted slightly, and she actually winced.

Hayashi let go, shaking her arm loose.

"Happy now? Did you like it?"

Hayashi couldn't understand—what kind of kink was this?

Makima touched the bite mark.

Her cheeks flushed.

Her eyes shimmered with faint moisture.

Hayashi: ???

Wait, what?

Are you a masochist or something?

Sure enough, Makima nodded. "Suki." (I like it.)

Hayashi was done.

Makima's expressions and behavior reminded him of Hori from Horimiya—

A heroine who liked it when the male lead was rough and sharp-tongued, smiling with joy as she was pushed around...

Makima was exactly like that now.

Hayashi had no idea what to say. He raised his hand halfway, then just gave up and said,

"You eat first, Makima. I'm going upstairs to rest."

And with that, Hayashi dipped.

Makima finished all the sushi, then returned outside.

She sat back down with her team and started discussing the earlier events and gathering everyone's reports.

Among them—

Only Himeno stared at Makima's slightly flushed cheeks and paused for a moment, her mind thrown into complete chaos.

Wait a damn second—

What did Makima-sama do in that kitchen?

What the hell happened between her and Manager Hayashi?

Why'd she come out looking like that?

This was...

Himeno's mind went into overdrive.

Then Makima locked eyes with her for a moment—without saying anything.

But to Himeno, that silence said everything.

In that moment—

The one eye not covered by her eyepatch shrank in shock.

This world is insane!

Makima-sama actually… actually…

The sky had fallen!

Himeno couldn't calm down.

In fact, every time she thought about it, she would never be able to calm down again!!!

Elsewhere—

Hayashi had gone upstairs and collapsed onto the couch in a starfish position.

(Not a full star shape, since he was still wearing pants.)

"Everyone's insane..."

He sighed, rubbing his face, then massaging his temples.

Creak~~

At that moment, the bedroom door opened.

Rize stepped out wearing a one-piece dress.

She walked over, sat next to Hayashi, pulled his head onto her lap, gently moved his hands away, and began massaging his temples herself.

Hayashi thought about it… and didn't resist.

This blessing—how could he not enjoy it?

He absolutely should.

Rize massaged his temples softly.

Hayashi closed his eyes, breathing in the faint fragrance from her body, and exhaled slowly.

He felt a lot better.

"Who's insane? What happened?" Rize asked.

"You," Hayashi answered immediately. "And that red-haired crazy woman named Makima. She's a devil. The two of you are both messed up."

"Hmph~" Rize let out a giggle. "What kind of crazy?"

Hayashi started counting on his fingers:

"You tried to eat me at first, and now you just can't bear to.

She wants me to eat her. I don't get it.

You're both crazy."

When Rize heard that Makima wanted to be eaten by Hayashi, even she was surprised.

"Makima's idea… is kind of romantic."

"?" Hayashi's eyes shot open. "Romantic?!"

What kind of logic was that?

They're all insane!

Rize covered his eyes with her hand and continued massaging.

"It's okay. I bought some books today about how to be a proper Japanese housewife. I'll study them carefully. I bet that Makima woman can't do that."

"..." Hayashi thought about it.

You vs. Makima… isn't that just the pot calling the kettle black?

Rize lacked human awareness.

Makima did too, but… they were still a bit different.

"What kind of books do you usually read?" Hayashi asked.

"Takatsuki Sen's novels, and some about human nature," Rize replied.

"You've read that much and you're still like this..." Hayashi sighed.

Thinking of Takatsuki Sen, he couldn't help saying:

"You should all learn from her. Her level of socialization is what's actually acceptable to humans."

"?" Rize's hands stopped. "Hayashi-kun… you know the author Takatsuki Sen?"

"Ah..." Hayashi suddenly realized—Takatsuki Sen's identity was highly secret. Even Rize didn't know.

"Let's just say I know her… she probably doesn't know me."

Rize thought about it for a moment, then asked,

"So, the fact that you use her as a reference means Takatsuki Sen is a ghoul?"

"If you've guessed it, then yeah..."

"Don't worry, Hayashi-kun, I won't expose her."

"Wouldn't matter. It's just a disguise anyway."

"Right… No wonder The Black Goat's Egg was written so well. I should really study her."

"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" Hayashi asked curiously.

Rize thought for a bit. "Maybe I'll visit her and have a chat sometime."

"...Please don't die," Hayashi looked at her like, don't get blood all over my floor.

"Is Miss Takatsuki that strong?"

"Can't say. Just… don't provoke her."

"Then how about I invite her to the shop someday?"

"???"

"Just to share some food. You wouldn't turn down a customer, would you? Miss Takatsuki is also a real beauty."

"Do what you want," Hayashi said.

As long as the blood doesn't splatter on him, he'd even thank her for bringing in customers.

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