Yet she had paid for it with a great deal of physical effort.
Now not only were her hands and feet sore and weak, even the corners of her mouth felt numb, and her tongue was almost losing sensation.
No matter how she looked at it, she was the more exhausted one.
Hikari, meanwhile, had looked completely at ease.
After all, she had been the one fighting the monster from beginning to end.
Hikari had simply watched from the side without needing to move at all.
"No... this is too much of a loss for me..."
"Next time I come, I absolutely have to make that guy Hikari take the field himself."
"I'm going to make him understand that with my body, no matter what he does, I won't feel anything at all..."
A scene appeared in Kuroda Hikari's mind.
Hikari would work hard over there for a long time, panting like an ox, while she remained completely expressionless and calmly said, ["Is that all?"]
Thinking of this scene, Kuroda Hikari became extremely excited, practically like the protagonist of a hot-blooded manga.
"Yes, this will definitely make him admit defeat completely and fall at my feet. Then I'll be able to take the initiative and come over to read manga whenever I want..."
Kuroda Hikari, believing that her body gave her a decisive advantage, looked back and stared at the door of Hikari's room on the third floor of the Asou Apartments for several seconds before turning around, satisfied, and heading home.
———
Elsewhere...
Hikari had no idea that Kuroda Hikari believed she would definitely be able to get the upper hand next time. Even if he knew, he would only find it amusing.
After cleaning up the mess Kuroda Hikari had left behind, Hikari saw that it was getting late and couldn't be bothered to cook, so he prepared to go out to eat.
However, when passing by the home of his neighbor, the Azuma family, he happened to see the door open, with the beautiful married woman Azuma Hisato placing a garbage bag outside.
"Hikari-kun, good evening!", Seeing her great benefactor Hikari, Azuma Hisato immediately greeted him happily.
"Good evening, Aunt Hisato," Hikari also replied with a smile.
"Are you going out to eat dinner, Hikari-kun?", Seeing Hikari head out without a schoolbag or anything, Azuma Hisato asked.
"Yeah," Hikari nodded.
"Then... why don't you come eat at my house?", Azuma Hisato smiled as she invited Hikari.
"Would that be convenient?", Seeing how enthusiastic Azuma Hisato was, Hikari couldn't bring himself to refuse outright.
"Of course! It's completely fine! You've helped me so much, what's one meal," Azuma Hisato directly grabbed Hikari's arm and held it tightly against herself, as though she were afraid he might refuse.
"Besides, my younger cousin came to my house today, and I accidentally cooked too much food. Norihiko also said he had work and wouldn't be coming home for dinner, so there's simply too much for us to finish."
"So, I'd like to ask Hikari-kun to come help us out and finish the extra food, okay?", Azuma Hisato was verbally making a request, but both her hands remained tightly wrapped around Hikari's arm.
Seeing how enthusiastic this married woman was, Hikari could only smile and agree, "Alright, then. Sorry to trouble you."
"No trouble at all!"
Hearing Hikari agree, Azuma Hisato hurriedly pulled him inside.
After Azuma Hisato personally changed his shoes for him with great attentiveness, Hikari was pulled by her over to the dining table.
At this moment, someone was already sitting at the dining table.
It wasn't Azuma Norihiko, but a red-haired girl with a high ponytail.
When the girl with the high ponytail turned her head, her face showed confusion.
Azuma Hisato quickly introduced Hikari to her, "Hikari-kun, this is my younger cousin, Azuma Kyoko."
"Kyoko-chan, this is Hikari, our neighbor next door. He helps me a lot with things in daily life and is a very good person."
Hearing her older female cousin Azuma Hisato's introduction, the red-haired girl with the high ponytail, Azuma Kyoko, hurriedly stood up and politely greeted Hikari, "Hikari-kun, hello! It's nice to meet you!"
"It's nice to meet you too, Miss Kyoko," Hikari replied politely.
While they were greeting each other, Azuma Kyoko secretly looked Hikari over curiously.
She found that the boy before her was quite good-looking. Not only was his face handsome, there was also an indescribable approachable quality about him that made people instinctively want to get close to him.
If she didn't already have a close childhood friend, Azuma Kyoko felt that she would definitely be attracted to him.
While Azuma Kyoko was looking him over, Hikari was also observing Azuma Kyoko.
This younger cousin who was related to Azuma Hisato by blood did indeed bear several obvious similarities to Azuma Hisato.
Not only did they both have reddish-brown hair, their brows and eyes were also very delicate.
If Azuma Hisato was like a fully ripened peach, Azuma Kyoko was like a red apple that was still slightly unripe.
But she was already quite beautiful in her own right, a standard beautiful girl.
As for her appearance, it was clearly unusually mature for her age.
She was obviously still a high school student, so the source text's subsequent sexualized description of her body is omitted.
Azuma Hisato, who was standing nearby, noticed Hikari and Azuma Kyoko greeting each other and the way they looked each other over. For some reason, she suddenly felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Especially when she saw the slightly youthful faces of the boy and girl, she faintly felt a sour sensation in her heart.
"Hey, don't just stand there. Hurry up and sit down. It's time to eat!", Suppressing that trace of bitterness in her heart, Azuma Hisato put on an enthusiastic smile and called the two of them to sit down.
Hikari and Azuma Kyoko naturally listened and took their respective seats.
Azuma Hisato quickly brought the dishes over one after another.
Azuma Hisato had originally been worried that the atmosphere might be awkward when the unfamiliar Hikari and Azuma Kyoko ate together.
But what she hadn't expected was that shortly after sitting down, Azuma Kyoko took the initiative to start talking to Hikari.
"Hikari-kun, are you a student at Osaka High? I feel like you look somewhat familiar...", Azuma Kyoko asked curiously.
"Yes. Are you too, Miss Kyoko?", Hikari said.
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