Although Hayashi had mostly adjusted to Scarlet Moon's peculiar attitude toward him by now, he was still startled by her latest action.
"You look exhausted, and this chair doesn't even have a backrest," she murmured softly."It must be tiring to sit so straight—let me be your backrest so you can relax, alright?"
Though she phrased it as a question, Scarlet Moon had already pressed herself against his back. Her hands slid to his broad shoulders, kneading them gently.
Despite the calm tone of her words, her expression betrayed her—her usually serene features were flushed with warmth. She felt the heat radiating from her own chest, a tingling stimulation spreading through her body.
Even with two layers of fabric between them, her most sensitive curves were brushing directly against the back of his head. And because she kept moving as she massaged him, her breasts were constantly rubbing through his hair.
The sensation sent tremors through her without her consent. Scarlet Moon felt the soft swell of her chest growing firmer, tightening under the fabric. She bit down on her lip, forcing herself to suppress the strange, rising impulse and steady her trembling hands.
Hayashi, blissfully unaware of the turmoil behind him, closed his eyes slightly, focusing on the massage. Since Scarlet Moon had taken the liberty of starting without asking, what else could he do but enjoy it?
Unfortunately, while she had the face of a gentle, refined beauty, Scarlet Moon had clearly never massaged anyone before. Her technique was clumsy—pinching his shoulders, releasing, then repeating without variation or finesse.
Yet even so, Hayashi found himself growing excited—not because of her skill, but because of the intoxicating rose-like fragrance and the yielding softness pressing into the back of his head.
When she had removed her coat earlier, he'd already caught sight of her stunning curves. But now, actually resting against them, he discovered they were even more elastic and inviting than he'd imagined. Just lying there and shifting slightly was enough to make him want to groan in pleasure.
The dual assault of scent and touch made his blood surge, and he felt the unmistakable stir of arousal. He quickly pressed his legs together and gave a casual order to disguise himself.
"Push a bit harder, Scarlet Moon. Don't you feel how stiff my shoulder muscles are? If they're tight, you need to use more force. Don't just pinch and let go—work your fingers more."
"Mm… ah—yes, I'm sorry!"
His words only heightened the strange tension building in her body, and she nearly let an involuntary sound slip from her lips. Peeking cautiously at Hayashi, she saw his expression remained unchanged. Relieved, she refocused on the massage, forcing herself to ignore her own reactions.
Hayashi, keeping his legs pressed tightly together, watched her from the corner of his eye. She seemed intent on the massage, apparently oblivious to anything unusual. Her flushed face and the beads of sweat on her skin, he assumed, were just from the effort—after all, there was no fan or air conditioning in the room, and the temperature hovered around twenty-four degrees.
At this temperature, with her working his shoulders so energetically, a little redness and perspiration were perfectly normal… right?
Still, even though part of him longed to take Scarlet Moon—this breathtaking beauty—right here and now, his rational side reminded him it wasn't the right moment. Her affection for him was already at eighty on his internal scale, meaning she likely wouldn't resist if he made a move. But they'd only officially met and spoken for less than two hours—it was too fast, even for him.
Hayashi might consider himself a degenerate—he'd read countless risqué novels, played adult games, and watched every explicit film under the sun—but diving into that kind of intimacy so soon still felt unnatural. He hadn't yet fully learned who Scarlet Moon truly was.
Of course, if he knew what her body was going through at that very moment, he might have picked up his "gun" and "mounted his horse" without hesitation.
To distract himself from that temptation, Hayashi forced his attention back to the documents in his hand.
"Master Hayashi, what do you think?" Scarlet Moon asked suddenly.
By now, her massage technique had improved considerably. As an accomplished puppeteer, her fingers were naturally dexterous—her earlier clumsiness was simply inexperience. After his instructions, she quickly adapted, her ten fingers shifting into six different motions across his shoulders.
"Of course, no problem," Hayashi replied absentmindedly, assuming she was asking about her massage technique.
"Really? That's wonderful. I was thinking that if you weren't confident, I might stop by Aoki's house tonight and take care of something."
"Although the intelligence reports suggest you have no chance of winning, since you've said so, I feel reassured." Her eyes shone with admiration and excitement, and her fingers unconsciously pressed a bit harder.
Scarlet Moon had now been with Hayashi for over an hour, and her trust in him had deepened beyond the level of blind devotion she'd started with. Before meeting him, her affection level of eighty already bordered on fanatical loyalty. Raising it further through everyday interaction was nearly impossible—even surviving a life-or-death ordeal might only nudge it to eighty-one or eighty-two.
At fifty points, one could already become a lifelong friend, willing to trust the other completely on the battlefield—or a lover who would defy family, endure hardship, and remain together for decades. At eighty, loyalty was absolute.
And now, after just this hour, she didn't even consider doubting him.
"What… oh, yes," Hayashi said quickly, realizing he'd misunderstood but rolling with it. "Tomorrow's match won't be a problem, as long as nothing major happens."
Still, her last remark gave him pause, and he added a caution."Tomorrow's competition should be fair. Don't resort to anything underhanded."
He didn't know her exact strength, but given her youth and rank as Deputy Commander of the Shadow Guard, she had to be formidable. Even if she couldn't beat Aoki in a direct fight, she could probably use underhanded methods to disrupt his condition before the match.
"Scarlet Moon understands! In tomorrow's competition, I'll make sure no one interferes with Master Hayashi!"
"Oh, and one more thing," Hayashi said quietly, closing his eyes again. "From now on, just call me by my name. Drop the 'Master' or 'Sir.' It's too formal."
He was gradually adapting to this world, loosening the bottom lines he once held, but he still disliked it when people close to him used honorifics—it felt unnatural.
In his heart, Hayashi already considered Scarlet Moon his future woman. He might still be undecided about making a move right now, but he'd already resolved to wait a few days, get a better read on the situation, and—if the opportunity arose—pick up his "gun" and start the fight.
His scoundrel nature was becoming harder and harder to hide.