Chapter 27
"Idiot. You've always been my favorite exactly the way you are."
"Eh—?"
Power froze. She kept staring at Denji, but something new was blooming in her eyes.
Like tiny meteors streaking by—shimmering trails of dreamy, beautiful light—finally bursting open in dazzling flashes.
Even Denji was momentarily captivated by how unbearably cute she looked—until he felt the naughty little hand wandering below. He couldn't hold back and lightly bonked her on the head!
"Ow! Why'd you hit this great one's head, Denji~?"
"You've got the nerve to ask? No messing around until you've completely mastered your power!"
Denji warned seriously.
He really didn't want the house collapsing mid-… anything.
"Oh~"
Power responded with an obedient-sounding tone, head lowered, one hand covering her head. To anyone who didn't know better, it looked like she was genuinely remorseful~
Another bonk—this one harder. Finally Power withdrew her other wandering hand and clutched her head with both.
"Waaah~ Denji has fun stuff on him and won't let this great one play! Denji is stingy!"
Seeing Denji raise his hand again, Power hurriedly dodged sideways, leaped onto the bed, and in one second burrowed completely under the blanket—rolled into a tight ball~
"…"
Denji was speechless. This was his room. His bed.
Still, he didn't kick Power out or go sleep in another room.
He casually flopped onto the empty side of the mattress, picked a comfortable spot, one hand on his stomach, the other beside his head, and lay flat—ready to sleep.
Beside him, the balled-up Power carefully sensed the surroundings.
After feeling the slight dip when Denji got on the bed, nothing happened for a long time. So she cracked open a tiny gap in the blanket and secretly peeked out.
Rotate~
Target acquired!
Target is sleeping. Seems completely defenseless~
Deploy bait probe.
Power first unwrapped the blanket from herself, lifted one side, and slowly began draping it over Denji.
Starting from the stomach, extending down to cover his legs, then fully covering his chest—finally leaving only his head exposed.
Throughout the process, Denji showed no reaction.
Power narrowed her eyes in thought for a moment, then very carefully extended one hand from under the covers toward Denji.
First she smoothed the blanket near his feet, then pretended to tuck him in—tucking the opposite left shoulder—then on the pull-back, suddenly struck downward!
Smack—!
Did Power seize the future?
No—Denji seized Power's hand.
Even without the light on, Denji's open eyes still carried a faint, eerie clarity.
Power felt a little embarrassed. She wanted to scratch her head with her free hand—but couldn't pull the captured one back.
Not knowing what else to do, she turned her head aside, pretended nothing happened, and started whistling.
The problem was—this dummy couldn't whistle. All that came out was "psss psss psss."
Maybe it sounded bad even to her, because midway through she switched to humming a song.
The tune was a bit off-key, but honestly not bad—her natural advantages (cute, clear, full of energy and straightforwardness—extremely distinctive voice) were more than enough to cover the flaws.
Denji—done managing whatever—directly reached for Power.
Noticing his movement, Power immediately shut her mouth, closed her eyes, shrank her body, and waited for the coming punishment.
In her mind: if it's Denji's punishment… maybe it'll actually feel good…?
She subconsciously curled tighter—then relaxed a little, even feeling a tiny bit of anticipation…
But nothing happened.
Denji simply rolled onto his side, facing her, and pulled all of Power into his arms.
"Be good and sleep. Right now this is the limit. Anything more can wait until you can control your power properly."
"…Mm~"
Power lay on Denji's solid, reassuring arm—curled in his warm embrace—and—for once—obediently agreed with extreme gentleness.
From what Denji knew of her, this response was sincere.
Sure enough, not long after, the two fell asleep in that exact position…
But Denji forgot one thing: Power does not sleep honestly.
Even if she genuinely agreed—could her sleepwalking, unconscious actions be controlled by her?
No~ So…
One night passed.
Morning.
Breakfast time.
Denji—currently making breakfast—had a very faint, shadowy purplish-blue tint under his eyelids…
His movements carried a slight air of exhaustion.
Meanwhile, Power—sitting at the dining table waiting for breakfast and playing with Meowy—had a face glowing with post-spring-dream satisfaction… overflowing with delighted release…
Breakfast done. Denji carried the plates over, gave Power a faint glance, and said in a slightly tired voice:
"Did you wash your hands?"
"Hehe… yeah, I washed. Should I go wash again?"
Power gave an embarrassed chuckle first, then flashed an ingratiating smile while answering Denji.
Denji took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
"Never mind. Washed is fine."
Breakfast was egg-bacon-lettuce sandwiches on bread, plus a glass of milk.
He slid the plate toward her. Power quickly took it.
Denji sat down beside her.
Because Power's attention was basically glued to Denji the whole time, she didn't notice the vegetables in the sandwich—just took a big bite.
After chewing, she realized the taste and immediately wanted to spit the lettuce out.
Denji seemed to have anticipated this. After swallowing his own bite, he didn't even look up from his sandwich—just said slowly:
"If you eat your vegetables properly, next time I can reward you with bloodsucking, and also…"
Denji paused, as if steeling himself mentally.
"…allow you to sleep with me for a while. But when you sleep, you have to behave a…"
Before the last word "bit" was out—
Power had already wolfed down the entire sandwich—chewing fiercely—then chugged the milk in one go.
After finishing, she immediately leaned close to Denji and opened her mouth wide.
"Ahhh~~~"
Showing him proof that she'd eaten and swallowed everything properly~
Denji took one glance and immediately looked away.
Can't look too long. Not good first thing in the morning.
After silently reciting a calming mantra to himself, Denji continued eating breakfast.
Not hearing the promised approval, Power let out a spoiled "Mmm~~" and grabbed Denji's free hand, gently shaking it
After Denji finished eating at his leisurely pace, he pulled out two paper napkins—one for himself, one held in reserve.
After wiping his own mouth, he swapped the used one for the clean one and wiped Power's mouth—cleaning off the little milk stain at the corner.
While being wiped, Power was extremely well-behaved. After it was done she started "Mmm~" ing and shaking his hand again.
"I keep my promises, don't worry.
Now go—your turn to wash the dishes."
Denji waved dismissively with "disdain."
Power happily picked up both plates and cheered her way to the kitchen sink.
"Oh~! Denji is so nice! This great one loves Denji the most!"
After that, she started humming some nameless cheerful tune.
Denji stood up, about to leave—then felt "stick-stick~" at his feet.
Meowy rubbing against his pant leg.
He crouched down and gave her a good petting.
"Good girl. I'm going next door to get Aki. You stay inside and watch Power."
"Meow~"
Meowy obediently agreed, then padded toward the kitchen as instructed.
Cats really are so obedient and reassuring~
Denji sighed softly in his heart, walked to the door, and called toward the kitchen:
"I'm heading next door to get Aki. Wash the dishes properly."
"Oh~"
Door opened.
He walked to the neighboring Hayakawa residence.
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