Chapter 325: Humanoid Body Pillow, You're Worth It!
Bang, bang, bang...!
At one o'clock in the afternoon, Ryohei drove back to the luxury villa in Meguro Ward.
Just as he stepped into the foyer with Yurine, a series of party poppers exploded near his ears. Colorful ribbons and sequins drifted down from the air, giving him a start.
"Um—!"
Yurine seemed to be startled as well.
Angels, demons, dragons, zombie girls, and charcoal spirits stood on both sides of the hallway, holding party poppers or wrapped gifts, and shouted in unison, "Happy Birthday, Yurine!"
"...Arigato!" Yurine looked at everyone, feeling a bit touched.
"Here, birthday present!"
Persephone II stepped forward with a light gait and a bright smile, handing over a birthday gift.
The others also presented their prepared gifts one after another—
"This is mine..."
"Arigato..." Yurine thanked them as she accepted the gifts. Soon, she couldn't hold them all and had to move to the living room to put the gifts on the sofa.
"..."
"I could fill a whole sack! This is the first time I've received so many gifts!"
Her mood brightened involuntarily. Yurine's gaze shifted, looking expectantly at Ryohei—he was the only one left who hadn't given his gift yet!
"I ordered a bouquet from the florist. I planned to give it to you with the flowers before dinner."
Ryohei smiled, took the gift he had prepared long ago out of his storage space, and handed it over.
"Is that so..."
Yurine gazed at Ryohei with eyes that were practically dripping with affection. She reached out to take the gift and opened it right then and there—
Jashin-chan and the others watched curiously from the side.
"Ooh... a necklace?"
"It's quite pretty!"
"The pendant is a red heart; how romantic!"
"..."
The chain was crafted from 18K yellow gold, and the pendant was a red heart polished from natural red turquoise—
Yurine's eyes lit up as soon as she saw it. This gift truly touched her heart!
"Ryohei-kun, help me put it on!"
Yurine looked up happily, her gaze fixed lovingly on Ryohei.
"Sure." Ryohei agreed, picked up the necklace from her hand, took a half-step forward, looped the necklace around Yurine's slender white neck, and fastened the clasp.
Yurine held her hands behind her back, smiling throughout the process.
When Ryohei finished putting the necklace on her and was about to step back, she suddenly turned her head and planted a "smooch" on Ryohei's cheek, then reached up to touch the necklace around her neck.
"..." Kobayashi, who had come over to mooch a meal, couldn't help but look up at the ceiling—Suddenly I really want to fall in love. What should I do?
"Do you want a mirror?"
Seeing Yurine's action, Ryohei smiled and took out a palm-sized hand mirror from his storage space.
"Ryohei-kun really understands me!"
The corners of Yurine's lips curled up. She took the mirror and looked at her neck—
The 18K gold necklace outlined her fair swan neck, and the red heart hung directly below her collarbone. It looked absolutely stunning!
Yurine was very satisfied, and even felt a little sweet inside. Medusa and the others praised it unreservedly.
"Yawn—!"
Standing aside, Ryohei suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion and raised his hand to cover a long yawn.
Come to think of it, it made sense!
He had gotten up before five in the morning, then drove for four hours taking turns with Yurine. The group had stopped for eel rice on the way back to the villa, so it was perfectly normal to feel sleepy now.
Ryohei glanced at Yurine, who was unwrapping other gifts, and said, "I'm going upstairs to rest for a bit. I'll prepare a big meal for everyone later."
"Do you want me to keep you company?"
Lucoa crossed one arm over her chest and rested her other hand on it, tapping her fair cheek with her fingertips. She said with a smile, "A humanoid body pillow—you're worth it!"
"Cough."
Yurine coughed lightly, interrupting, "I'll do it later!"
Hearing Ryohei say he was going to rest, she felt a bit sleepy too.
"Next time for you."
Ryohei patted Lucoa on the shoulder and turned to walk toward the elevator.
Hearing this, Yurine narrowed her eyes and stared at his back—You little brat, you're not even pretending anymore, are you?
"Yurine, can you tolerate that?"
Jashin-chan grinned mischievously, poking Yurine's shoulder rapidly with her finger, clearly trying to stir up trouble.
"The Servant is getting a bit cocky now. I suggest beating him up to help him sober up!"
"..." Yurine turned her head, her gaze landing on Jashin-chan's restless finger. Jashin-chan immediately sensed danger, retracted her hand as if electrocuted, and quickly hid it behind her back.
"How many times have I told you not to point your finger at me!"
Yurine pulled a gift out of the pile beside her with an unhappy expression, her face softening slightly. "But for the sake of the birthday gift you gave me today, I'll forgive you!"
"...Are you hinting that I should give you more gifts in the future?"
Jashin-chan breathed a sigh of relief first, then looked at Yurine suspiciously.
Yurine, who was unwrapping the gift, paused in her movements, looked up, and rolled her eyes at her:
"I am not!"
Saying that, she took a set of clothes out of the paper bag. She looked closely—only to see the words "Ninja Transformation Set" written on the packaging.
Yurine was stunned for a moment, genuinely surprised.
Medusa, who was watching quietly from the side, blinked her charming purple eyes, covered her lips lightly with her hand, and said "Ah." "Jashin-chan gave me this for my birthday this year too."
Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but look at Jashin-chan.
Detective Persephone II pinched her fair chin, leaned thoughtfully close to Jashin-chan's face, and asked suspiciously, "This wouldn't happen to be a prize you won from playing pachinko, right?"
She guessed it!
Jashin-chan felt a pang of guilt, but who was she? In the next second, she straightened her back and retorted toughly, "Definitely not! I bought this from a store. I really like the ninja culture of this country!"
Lying through her teeth with righteous confidence!
"Hmm... really?"
( ﹁ ﹁ )
Persephone II expressed doubt.
"..." Yurine checked the size and put the transformation set aside. "Whatever, at least it counts as a gift..."
As she said this, ideas like "female ninja infiltrating at midnight" began to surface in her mind—no other meaning, she just planned to make the best use of everything. Letting it gather dust would be a waste.
She, Yurine Hanazono, was not a wasteful person!
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