Kaguya had caught a severe cold from her time in the rain.
The warm ginger soup Yuto had prepared for her offered some temporary comfort, but sitting in the restaurant while her damp clothes air-dried had taken a toll on her fragile health.
Her body simply couldn't handle the lingering chill.
By the time she returned to the Shinomiya estate, she was bedridden with a fever.
Hayasaka took the day off from school to stay home and nurse her.
Carrying a basin of warm water and a fresh towel, the blonde maid quietly entered Kaguya's bedroom.
The room was vast—its floor plan alone was larger than Yuto's entire restaurant—but the furnishings were painfully sparse.
A bed, a desk, a wardrobe.
There was no warmth here.
Hayasaka walked to the bedside since Kaguya was still trapped in a feverish slumber.
She lay curled up on her side beneath the heavy blankets, looking like a small, vulnerable child.
The sleeping girl was quiet, a stark contrast to her usual sharp, composed demeanor.
Traces of dried tears stained her pale cheeks, suggesting her dreams had offered her no escape from her waking sorrows.
Looking down at her, Hayasaka felt a familiar pang of pity.
She set the water basin on the nightstand and leaned over to gently tuck the slipping blankets around Kaguya's shoulders.
Assuming her mistress would sleep for a while longer, Hayasaka turned to slip quietly out of the room.
But a soft, ragged sigh stopped her in her tracks.
Kaguya's ruby eyes slowly fluttered open. A hazy fog lingered in her gaze from the long sleep, along with a quiet, lingering sadness.
The painful memories of her dream had followed her into the waking world.
"Kaguya-sama, are you feeling any better?" Hayasaka asked, stepping back to the bedside.
Kaguya gave a weak, dazed shake of her head.
She turned her gaze toward the massive window. The sun had long since set, leaving the sky painted in a deep, bruised purple.
A few scattered, lonely stars stubbornly pierced the gathering dark.
The moon hung high and bright, making up for its absence during yesterday's storm.
"How long have I been asleep, Hayasaka?" she asked. Her voice was raspy, stripped of its usual icy armor.
"About four hours since you last woke for water," Hayasaka answered.
"What time is it now?" Kaguya asked, her brow furrowing slightly as she tried to shake off the grogginess.
"Just approaching eight o'clock."
Kaguya brushed a damp strand of hair from her forehead and took a shallow, shaky breath.
"Thank you for your hard work."
"It is my duty to serve you, Kaguya-sama. I do not consider it a burden," Hayasaka replied smoothly.
A heavy silence stretched between them. Kaguya's eyes flickered down to her lap.
Her lips parted, hesitating as she fought to suppress the desperate, childish hope welling up in her chest.
She bit her pale lower lip, letting her long dark hair fall forward to hide her face.
"Where is Father?"
Hayasaka hesitated.
Her hands tightened by her sides. "Shinomiya-sama left for an overseas business trip early this morning."
Kaguya gripped the bedsheets.
"Did Father... say anything about me?" Her voice was little more than a fragile whisper, like smoke dissolving in the wind.
Hayasaka's knuckles turned white. "He... reprimanded you for sneaking out of the estate last night. He expects you to reflect on your reckless actions."
"Is that all...?" Kaguya asked softly.
"Yes," Hayasaka forced the word out.
She kept her face an unreadable mask, though her fingernails dug painfully into her palms.
Kaguya's head sank lower.
The silence in the vast room grew suffocating.
A fresh layer of moisture gathered in her hidden eyes, and her breathing grew ragged, labored by both the cold and the crushing weight of her father's neglect.
"Hayasaka... could you drive me around for a bit?" Kaguya asked, her voice eerily calm.
"Kaguya-sama, your fever just broke. I suggest you stay in bed—"
"Please."
Kaguya lifted her head, cutting off the protest.
She stared up at her maid as her ruby eyes swam with unshed tears.
The corners of her mouth trembled as she tried to force a composed smile, but she just didn't have the strength.
Her chest ached with a hollow pain that no amount of logic could fix.
She just needed to escape this cold, empty house.
Seeing that shattered expression, Hayasaka swallowed her protests.
A fierce, helpless anger toward the Shinomiya patriarch burned in her chest, but she simply bowed.
"Very well. Please allow me to help you change."
...
The Tokyo night was alive with color.
Dense, interwoven neon signs flickered across the slick pavement, and crowds of pedestrians bathed in the vibrant glow of the city.
Hayasaka drove the sleek luxury car in quiet, aimless loops.
They crossed illuminated bridges, cruised past busy riverbanks, and drifted through the bustling commercial districts.
Inside the insulated cabin, it was dead silent; outside, the world was loud and vibrant.
People on the street pointed and took photos of the expensive vehicle, envying whoever was lucky enough to ride inside.
They had no idea a heartbroken, shivering girl sat hidden behind the tinted glass.
Kaguya leaned her feverish forehead against the cool window, staring blankly at the dazzling lights blurring past.
The vibrant world outside felt miles away.
After a long, quiet drive, she finally spoke.
"Hayasaka... take me to that restaurant from yesterday. I am hungry."
"Of course, Kaguya-sama."
...
"Shouko, this is Uncle Saitama, and this is Uncle Ainz," Yuto said, gently introducing his two friends to the little girl.
Shouko offered a bright, obedient smile and waved her small hand.
"Hello, Uncle Saitama. Hello, Uncle Ainz."
Her speech was already flowing much better, carrying only a slight endearing lisp.
Looking at her sweet innocent wave, both Saitama and Ainz froze in a daze.
Since Ainz was a bare skull, his expression remained unreadable, but Saitama wore a goofy, simple-minded grin.
The sheer concentrated cuteness of the little girl had instantly healed his tired soul!
Yuto chuckled softly, shaking his head.
A few moments ago, Ainz and Saitama had finally reconciled, returning to their usual comfortable dynamic.
During their chat, Saitama had naturally grown curious about Shouko.
She looked to be only five or six years old—an age when a child should be safely at home with her parents, yet she was sitting in a late-night restaurant.
Yuto had quietly filled them in on her tragic background.
He wanted Shouko to make more friends.
Since she had so few people in her life, Yuto hoped the restaurant could become a safe haven for her.
He trusted Ainz and Saitama, though he was just glad they were inside the restaurant's magical boundaries, otherwise, an undead skeleton would have undoubtedly terrified her.
A familiar green light pulsed over Ainz's bones.
[Emotion Suppression] triggered, snapping him back to reality.
He let out a dry, rattling cough to wake his bald friend from his trance.
Saitama blinked, rubbing the back of his shiny head with a sheepish smile.
"Kamisaka... you really should have taught those brats a harsher lesson this morning," Ainz rumbled, a dangerous red glow flickering in his eye sockets.
Though his undead nature made him indifferent to human life, he still fiercely guarded his inner circle.
Yuto and Saitama were his closest friends, and hearing this sweet little girl call him 'Uncle' had struck a chord in his nonexistent heart.
Right now, the Overlord of Death genuinely wanted to slaughter a group of neighborhood bullies!
He didn't give a shit about the consequences.
"Sigh. Even kids these days have gone bad," Saitama muttered, his shoulders slumping.
Ainz leaned forward, trying to soften his booming voice. "Shouko-chan, come here. How about Uncle Ainz gives you a gift?"
He tried to force a warm tone, momentarily forgetting he lacked vocal cords.
His words still sounded a bit stiff and hollow, but the gentle intent was there.
Hearing the offer, Shouko looked up at Yuto, a hint of hesitant confusion in her eyes.
Children instinctively rely on the person they trust most, and for Shouko, that was Yuto.
"Go ahead," Yuto smiled, giving her a reassuring pat on the head. "Uncle Ainz wants to give you a present. Just remember to thank him properly."
Given permission, Shouko hopped down from her stool. She trotted over to the towering skeleton on her little legs.
For the first time today, she acted like a normal child her age—lively, cheerful, and excited at the prospect of a gift, rather than silent and bowing in apology.
"Uncle Ainz," she called out in an adorable, well-behaved voice.
Another green flash enveloped Ainz's body.
The Overlord was fighting a losing battle against his own passive emotion suppression.
"Here you go, Shouko-chan. Uncle Ainz is giving you a protective charm. With this, you will never have to worry about anyone bullying you again," Ainz said, adopting a coaxing, grandfatherly tone.
Yuto watched the terrifying undead gently hand a toy to a toddler.
The contrast was staggering.
Ainz placed a small cloth doll into Shouko's hands.
It was tiny, barely half the size of her palm, but intricately woven and beautiful.
Yet, Yuto felt an unsettling chill when he looked at it.
Something about the doll seemed... off.
Shouko, however, was thrilled.
She held it up, examining the intricate stitching with wide eyes.
She rarely received toys, every yen in the Nishimiya household was carefully budgeted for necessities.
She had always yearned for the dolls other girls carried, but being a sensible child, she had never asked her mother for one.
The doll Ainz gave her was gorgeous.
She loved it instantly!
"Thank you, Uncle Ainz!" she beamed, hugging the doll tightly to her chest and bowing her head in deep gratitude.
"Hahahaha! No need, no need!" Ainz laughed heartily. "If anyone ever tries to bully you again, Shouko-chan, you just come here and tell Uncle Ainz. I will teach them a thorough lesson!"
Shouko nodded happily and scrambled back to her seat, her face glowing with joy as she played with her new treasure.
"Hey... that is a magical item, right?" Marisa leaned over the counter, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
As a witch, she could clearly sense a dark, dense magical energy radiating from the tiny toy.
Hearing this, Yuto turned a concerned gaze toward the skeleton.
Ainz crossed his arms and offered a slow, confident nod.
"Is it dangerous for Shouko to carry it around?" Yuto asked, his protective instincts flaring.
"Don't worry. Its just a simple protective charm," Ainz waved his bony hand dismissively.
The 'simple charm' was actually a high-level passive artifact he had acquired back in YGGDRASIL: the Doll of Misfortune.
He had no use for it anymore, but since Shouko had grown on him, he decided it was the perfect fit for her situation.
The item's effect was brutal: any creature that attacked the bearer would be immediately cursed by the doll, triggering severe adverse effects like spontaneous 'accidental' injuries, massive blood loss, or sudden poisoning.
The severity scaled inversely with the attacker's level.
By ordinary human standards, if a neighborhood bully shoved Shouko, the probability of the curse triggering a life-threatening "accident" was over fifty percent.
Furthermore, the curse disguised the damage as sheer bad luck, meaning no one would ever suspect the little girl.
Ainz knew the curse's effects were horrifying for fragile humans, but frankly... he didn't care.
Let them suffer.
"By the way, Kamisaka-kun, there is something I have been meaning to ask you," Utaha said, suddenly remembering her primary reason for visiting the restaurant tonight.
She wanted to interrogate him about the Hosen gang arrests she had seen on the morning news.
Just as she spoke, the front door slid open.
Kaguya and Hayasaka stepped out of the cool night air and into the warm restaurant.
Kaguya looked pale and fragile, her ruby eyes carrying a lingering, feverish exhaustion.
"Sorry, Kasumigaoka-san, could you hold that thought for just a moment?" Yuto smiled apologetically at the novelist before turning his full attention to the newcomers.
"Welcome back," he said gently, his voice softening as he took in Kaguya's weary state.
"What can I get for you two tonight?"
---------
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