Seeing that the matter was settled, Moroboshi Dan finally had time to look at the person in his arms.
Just as he was about to lecture the other for paying no attention to his own safety, he caught sight of the boy's neck, bruised somewhat red from being choked.
Coughing in fits against his chest, with the corners of his eyes faintly flushed, the boy looked so pitiful that any harsh words died on his tongue.
"Th-… cough, cough, thank you guys, cough…" Ling Luo felt rather exhausted. His neck was red, wasn't it? Definitely red.
You had to know he was terrified of pain, but—
[Ding! Target's emotional fluctuation detected. Emotion value +2, +2, +2…]
Listening to the emotion values steadily rolling into his account, Ling Luo told himself to endure, though he had no idea why they were increasing.
Don't worry, he would find out why very soon.
The boy's breathing brushed against Moroboshi Dan's neck, making the tips of the Ultra's ears turn faintly red.
[This guy is a bit light.]
"Hey, are you… are you okay?" Struggling to calm his somewhat chaotic heartbeat, Moroboshi Dan asked.
Weren't you acting all brave just a moment ago?
But… sigh.
After all, this incident was somewhat his own fault. If he had managed to catch the opponent sooner, the boy wouldn't have had to suffer this undeserved disaster.
Moroboshi Dan looked down at the person in his arms who remained completely still, thinking he had been frightened. Panic set in—what should he do? He didn't know how to comfort people!
Sensing the other's flustered state, Ling Luo finally snapped back to reality and realized he was still draped all over the guy.
Noticing the tips of the other's ears glowing slightly red, a mischievous impulse stirred in his heart.
Ah, what a shy little rabbit~
"Um, cough, cough, you can put me down now." While saying he wanted to get down, Ling Luo intentionally or unintentionally rubbed his head against the other's neck during the movement.
"Ding! Key figure's emotional fluctuation detected. Emotion value +6." The system notification, which had stopped for only a few seconds, rang out once more.
Hm~ Not bad, not bad.
Moroboshi Dan once again forced down his unruly heartbeat, but looking at the boy's innocent expression, he took a deep breath and silently lectured himself inside: *He didn't mean it, he didn't mean it, I'll endure, I'll endure…*
"Thank you for saving me. This makes the second time~" Ling Luo smiled.
The second time? But isn't this the first time they've met?
Before Moroboshi Dan could ask why it was the second time, the boy moved close again. Feeling the other's proximity, Moroboshi Dan instinctively froze in place.
Ling Luo's slightly teasing voice rang in his ear: "Thank you so much, Mr. Rabbit~ You're exceptionally handsome today, too~"
[His voice sounds so nice… No, wait!]
Before Moroboshi Dan could lose himself in the audio onslaught—
[Mr. Rabbit? What rabbit? Wait, could it be?!]
The boy he had met the day before: "It's Sai the Rabbit! So handsome~" "It's Sai the Rabbit~ It's a rabbit~ A rabbit~"
The two faces instantly merged into one. It was the same person! Ahhhhh! And he knows my identity!
"By the way, my name is Ling Luo, don't forget it, okay? Oh, I'll give this to you as a gift. If there's a chance, I'll treat you to something delicious next time!" Ling Luo's voice drifted from afar.
Moroboshi Dan snapped out of his daze and turned his head, but Ling Luo was nowhere to be seen.
Even his teammates had retreated at some unknown point, leaving our poor Master Zero all alone in the dust.
……
"Ding! Target's major emotional fluctuation detected. Emotion value +18."
Mmm~ Now that's satisfying.
Ah, Sai the Rabbit's points are so easy to earn~
……
Huh? You ask why Moroboshi Dan didn't recognize him at first?
Please! Ling Luo had actually dressed up before going out today—how could he possibly look the same as his disheveled self from earlier?
What's more, to prevent any slip-ups while acting as a "hostage," he had deliberately turned his face to the side so the other party couldn't see his direct features.
Oh, I really am a clever little fox~
……
"Phew~ That was a close one today." The moment Kurenai Gai returned to the base, he collapsed onto the sofa.
"True. But speaking of which, is it really okay for us to just leave Dan back there like that?"
Kudo Hikaru felt a lingering fear; after all, when Dan really lost his temper, it was quite terrifying.
At this thought, the three people sitting face-to-face all shivered in unison.
"It should… probably be fine, right?" said Sho, who had no idea what had happened, hadn't reacted in time, but had just blindly followed them back.
"Yeah, Dan probably won't be mad. After all, I could see he really wanted to have a chat with that person," said the black-bellied Kudo Hikaru.
"Ahem, I think it'll be fine. Who knows, maybe Dan would even feel like we were just getting in the way there." This came from Kurenai Gai, who spoke as though he had seen right through the truth.
Ozora Daichi, who had just walked over: ?
"Where's Dan? Didn't he come back with you guys?"
"Ah, well, this…"
The three of them stammered "this and that" for ages without spitting out any coherent explanation.
Ozora Daichi: *Stare~*
"Ah, it's lunchtime! I'm going to go make food first!" The moment Gai finished speaking, he vanished into the doorway of the kitchen.
Kudo Hikaru and Sho exchanged a glance, acting with practiced tacit understanding: "We'll go help, too."
Ozora Daichi: ……
Gai was one thing, but the two of you—are you planning to blow up the kitchen?
Yet he didn't expose them. If they wouldn't talk, they wouldn't talk; he'd just check the security footage himself later ^ω^.
Xio, who understood his host's thoughts: ……
The sound of a door opening came from behind.
"Dan, you're back."
"Yeah."
Noticing that Moroboshi Dan's complexion looked a bit poor, Ozora Daichi walked over and patted him on the shoulder.
Moroboshi Dan: ?
"Right, I'm going to order delivery in a bit. Shall I stick to our usual tastes?" Daichi figured it was better to make preparations in advance; they couldn't possibly rely on those kitchen assassins.
Especially you, Sho! I told you not to put wafers in the soup!
Sure enough, before long, the group gathered in a circle, staring at the unidentifiable objects on the table.
A flock of crows flew past…
"Is this some new chemical substance?" Ozora Daichi broke the silence first.
"I advise you not to eat it. There is a 99% probability something will go wrong," Xio offered kindly.
Not saying 100% was giving them their final shred of dignity!
Let's just say, even if you claimed this thing was edible, none of them would dare to try it—the appearance was simply too lethal.
In the end, they had to rely on the reliable Ozora Daichi, who had pre-ordered delivery, to save everyone's lunch.
Daichi reflected that life was just too hard for him.
Back in his own room, Moroboshi Dan sat in silence for a moment before taking out the item the boy had given him: a pair of dark blue circular studs.
Knowing his true identity and clearly having met him before, yet he himself had no impression of the boy whatsoever.
"Ling Luo, huh. Ha."
……
"Alright, Xiaoyou—hurry up and report the results of just now to me!"
The second he returned to his own place, Ling Luo asked impatiently. As for the slight injury on his neck, Ling Luo dismissed it as nothing at all.
His attention was locked right here—after all, this was his "first pot of gold."
"Ding! Congratulations, Host! A total of 46 emotion values were collected this time. The exchange rate between emotion value and points is 1:1, which has been automatically converted to points for you. Your current total points: 132."
Hm? You ask where the missing fraction of points went? Why don't you guess where the gift for the rabbit came from?
There was no help for it; the very first time he saw the guy, he felt those earrings suited him perfectly.
"Sigh, it's still a bit low."
"Ding! Considering the Host has begun actively completing tasks and collecting emotion values, the gacha mode is now unlocked. Note: Novices get one free draw; reaching the target emotion value every month grants one free draw. Target emotion value: 200."
"A gacha? Sounds interesting~" Ling Luo smiled. "Xiaoyou, what kind of things are in there?"
"Rest assured, if you can think of it, there's nothing you can't pull," Xiaoyou replied, warning him not to fish for secrets.
"Then give me one pull right now." Ling Luo was eager to try. He knew his luck was exceptionally good, after all~ It was just a mere gacha draw.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host for obtaining: Shapeable Bomb × 10."
Bombs? And shapeable ones at that?
"Xiaoyou, are these shapeable bombs the kind I'm thinking of?" Ling Luo grew a little excited. If they really were that kind, they would still be quite useful~