Hayashi Maki's words made all the hired thugs look at each other—and then burst out laughing.
The white-haired man in the flashy shirt stared at him coldly.
"Kid, you've got a big mouth. But you really shouldn't have gotten involved with us."
He jerked his chin at the goons.
"Do it. Put a couple of holes in him first so he learns some respect."
At his order, the already-itchy trigger fingers pulled.
"Watch out!"
Hinagiku immediately stepped in front of Hayashi Maki with her eyes squeezed shut.
She was terrified—her whole body was trembling—but she still threw herself in front of him, using her own body as a shield.
As student council president, she couldn't let Hayashi Maki be hurt because of her.
Yukiji also moved at once, taking up position in front of them with a look of grim resolve.
For all their differences, the sisters were still sisters.
Yukiji might act like a walking disaster most of the time, selling stolen photos of her little sister for cash—but when it mattered, she'd put her life on the line to protect her.
Hayashi Maki let out a soft sigh, slid an arm around Hinagiku's waist, and pulled her into his arms. Then he raised his hand and began to move, his arm a blur.
In the white-haired man's disbelieving gaze, the bullets seemed to bend mid-air, pulled off course by some invisible force, and dropped neatly into Hayashi Maki's open palm.
Yukiji's eyes went wide. She stared at Hayashi Maki, stunned.
She knew there were plenty of weirdos in the world, but she'd never expected her sister's "underclassman" to literally catch bullets with his bare hand in front of her.
"Here. You can have them back."
Hayashi Maki flicked his wrist.
The bullets shot out in a spray of sparks, slamming into the gunmen who had just fired. One by one they screamed and toppled over, weapons clattering across the floor.
The white-haired man gaped at him, jaw hanging open.
"Y-You… what are you, some kind of monster?"
Hayashi Maki frowned and casually waved his hand.
A blast of force smacked the man off his feet, sending him flying. When he hit the floor, his face was already swelling.
"Aaagh!"
He spat out a mouthful of blood—along with two very visible teeth.
In less than a minute, the situation had completely reversed.
Hinagiku slowly opened her eyes.
She saw the groaning bodies scattered all over the floor, then looked down at the arm still around her waist. Her face went bright red.
"H-How long are you planning to hold me like that?"
"Ah—sorry. I was just protecting you."
Hayashi Maki gave her an embarrassed grin and let go of her waist.
Hinagiku puffed out her cheeks and shot him a glare, but she didn't scold him.
"It's fine. I should be the one thanking you."
"But… what do we do now? The IOUs my sister signed are still in their hands."
"That's easy."
Hayashi Maki smiled and looked over at the white-haired man still writhing on the floor.
"Wipe out Katsura Yukiji's debt."
Purple light flickered in the man's eyes. Under the effect of Hayashi Maki's "Absolute Control," he didn't dare resist. He grabbed his tablet and started tapping, deleting every line of Yukiji's debt from their records.
Then Hayashi Maki pulled out his phone and called the police—specifically, Kosaka Daisuke.
These guys screamed "gangsters" from head to toe. With guns on them and a loan-shark operation going, it was almost guaranteed they'd done a whole lot of illegal things.
They were just small fry, sure, but small fry still counted toward Daisuke's arrest stats.
And since Hayashi Maki planned to court Daisuke's daughter Kirino sooner or later, helping future "father-in-law" rack up some achievements wasn't a bad idea at all.
Before long, Kosaka Daisuke arrived with a squad of officers.
He eyed the pistols scattered around and clapped Hayashi Maki on the shoulder with a broad grin.
"Not bad, kid. You've given me another big one. Hahaha. You should come by my place sometime—I'll cook for you myself."
"No problem. I'll leave things here to you, Daisuke-san. We'll head out first."
"Yeah, go on. We've got it from here."
Once the matter was wrapped up, Yukiji gave her sister and Hayashi Maki a strange look, muttered something about having business to take care of, and bolted.
Hinagiku wanted to scold her, but the speed at which her sister fled left her with no chance. All she could do was sigh.
Walking down the side street with Hayashi Maki, she glanced at him from under her lashes.
"Thank you," she said quietly. "For today… thank you, Hayashi Maki."
"Hehe, if you're going to thank me, how about something more… concrete?"
Hayashi Maki gave her a playful look, taking the chance to make a request.
Hinagiku hunched her shoulders, suddenly self-conscious.
"What kind of… concrete?"
"How about a lap pillow?"
"The whole school would kill for a chance to use the student council president's lap as a pillow, you know."
Hinagiku flushed, then smiled and nodded. "All right. Once I've worked up the courage, I'll let you."
She wasn't the type to take kindness for granted.
And compared to what he'd done for her today, a lap pillow didn't feel that outrageous.
Embarrassing, sure. Letting a boy rest his head on her thighs and get that close would definitely make her shy.
"But… it's not like it's something impossible."
"Then I'll look forward to President Hinagiku's lap pillow."
Hayashi Maki's grin got even brighter.
Sure, he could've asked for something bolder—like a hug, maybe.
But honestly, nothing beat resting his head on a beautiful girl's legs and breathing in the faint scent of her shampoo. It was a special kind of indulgence.
Looking at his gentle smile, Hinagiku felt warmth bloom in her chest.
What happened today had taught her a harsh lesson.
She was still too weak.
If Hayashi Maki hadn't shown up, she might have been forced to give in—even if only as a delaying tactic. But a compromise was still a compromise.
For someone as proud as her, that would have been a crushing humiliation.
But Hayashi Maki had walked in, turned the entire situation on its head in seconds, and walked her right back out.
He'd taken on a roomful of guns bare-handed, caught bullets like it was nothing, and crushed a problem she couldn't have solved in a hundred years… in less than a minute.
Yukiji's "three-billion-dollar debt" vanished just like that.
She couldn't help but admire him for it.
"Um… Hayashi Maki," she said hesitantly, "could you tell me what you really are?"
"That trick you did—catching bullets with your bare hands—how is that even possible?"
She looked at him nervously.
She knew she was prying. She knew some things weren't meant to be asked.
So she added quickly, "You don't have to answer. I was just curious. I'm not trying to dig into your secrets."
Hayashi Maki waved a hand lightly.
"It's not that I can't tell you. But if I do, you won't be allowed to leave my side anymore."
"Eh? Why?"
Hinagiku stared at him, puzzled.
"Because that secret is something only my family gets to know."
"So, Hinagiku-senpai… do you want to become my family? And stay by my side?"
Hinagiku froze.
That was basically a confession.
For two people with no blood relation, becoming "family" only really meant one thing: date, get engaged, get married, have kids—and grow old together.
Her face went bright red, eyes darting everywhere.
"J-Just pretend I never asked!"
"Heh. You're adorable when you get like that. But you did ask, so I am going to tell you."
"Don't!"
"I must."
He leaned in closer, eyes glinting with mischief.
"The truth is, I'm a demon. What you saw back there—that was just a little of a demon's power."