After all, the two sides still hadn't completely torn their faces open.
On the surface, Ryusei Haruyoshi was still that younger brother who had been coming to help at her izakaya for quite a while.
And since Ryusei Haruyoshi even said he was tired from helping today, if he refused an invitation to have dinner together, it would seem a bit unreasonable.
"It's fine, Aunt, don't worry, I'm here," Seeing the uneasy Sayako, Hikari spoke to reassure her.
Seeing Hikari beside her, Sayako finally relaxed a little.
So in the end, she nodded and agreed, "Alright, since all the customers are gone, then let's have a late-night meal together."
Saying that, Sayako pulled Hikari along and walked over.
But before sitting down, Hikari casually picked up a new bottle of soju from behind the counter.
Once seated, he quietly watched Ryusei Haruyoshi, knowing that the guy definitely had something in mind.
Sure enough, not long after they sat down, Ryusei Haruyoshi immediately got anxious and tried to pour Sayako a drink.
"Sayako sis-in-law, come come, let's drink together."
But when faced with the enthusiastic jug in Ryusei Haruyoshi's hand, before he could get close, Hikari raised the bottle he'd personally taken from the counter and filled Sayako's bowl and his own.
Come on, who knew if the liquor Ryusei Haruyoshi brought had something slipped into it.
Even though with Hikari's current constitution, most poisons wouldn't affect him.
But Aunt Sayako was still here, and he didn't want her drinking anything she shouldn't.
So they were definitely not drinking the liquor Ryusei Haruyoshi brought.
Sure enough, after seeing Hikari beat him to pouring drinks, Ryusei Haruyoshi's expression grew even gloomier.
There was probably really something in that liquor.
Even though his face looked ugly, Ryusei Haruyoshi didn't say anything. Instead, he forced himself to smile and repeatedly raised his cup toward Hikari and Sayako.
Sayako was never particularly enthusiastic about drinking, but because Ryusei Haruyoshi acted so friendly, Hikari helped her respond. And with Ryusei Jun playing the innocent elementary-school-kid routine on the side and cracking little jokes, the whole table looked lively.
Between everyone clinking cups and exchanging bites, the meal seemed to be going quite pleasantly.
But Hikari knew things were nowhere near that simple.
Halfway through, Ryusei Haruyoshi suddenly slapped the side of the jug and complained, "Ah! No more liquor. Jun, go get us another jug."
Ryusei Jun got up and quickly returned carrying a liquor jug.
He didn't set it beside Ryusei Haruyoshi, but instead carried it to Sayako's side. With the innocent smile of a grade-schooler, he said, "Aunt Sayako, I don't have the strength anymore, can I trouble you to hold the jug for me?"
Sayako didn't think much of it and nodded.
Just as Hikari raised a brow, wondering whether Ryusei Haruyoshi had told Ryusei Jun to dr*g this new jug too, or what he was planning… something unexpected happened.
Ryusei Jun suddenly stumbled. His body pitched forward, and of course the jug in his hands followed, crashing onto the floor.
But as the jug fell, the liquor inside arced through the air, straight toward Sayako's graceful body.
Sayako couldn't dodge in time, and quite a bit of liquor splashed all over her dress.
"Ah!", Startled by the sudden splash, the dress-wearing Sayako let out a cry.
Ryusei Jun immediately apologized, "I'm sorry, Aunt Sayako! I accidentally dropped it!"
That's what he said, but while pretending to be a child, his small, l*stful eyes were glued to Sayako's soon-to-be-soaked figure. He didn't even try to clean the mess.
And Ryusei Haruyoshi, sitting upright with his drink, wore the same l*st-filled gaze as he stared fixedly at Sayako's figure.
Sayako's dress was soft material. Once soaked, it would quickly cling to her skin, revealing all the lovely curves beneath. It would be almost like she was wearing nothing.
The father and son clearly planned to use this spilled liquor to vent their frustration from tonight, and also to enjoy a good look at her.
But before Sayako's clothes could fully soak through and cling to her body, before the father and son could see anything at all, a figure stepped in front of her, blocking her completely.
Like a human wall, making sure not even half a glimpse of Sayako could reach those filthy eyes.
"Aunt Sayako, go upstairs and change your clothes," Hikari said to her.
As he spoke, he took off his coat and draped it around her.
He wasn't letting even a sliver of her reveal itself.
"Ah! Alright!", Sayako gave him a grateful glance, and before her dress was fully drenched, ran upstairs.
Once she left, Hikari sat back down, sweeping his gaze across the disappointed, resentful faces of the father and son.
Looking at the barely hidden malice in their expressions, he said bluntly to Ryusei Jun, "Jun, you broke the jug. Shouldn't you be the one cleaning it up?"
Hearing Hikari's commanding tone, Ryusei Jun almost couldn't hold back from cursing, but still forced himself to play the apologetic child, "Okay, Big Bro, I'll clean it now."
He lowered his head, picking up shards and wiping the spilled liquor.
His movements were careful, but his lowered face twisted with a vicious expression as he muttered softly, "Damn bastard… damn bastard… coming here and stealing all of Aunt Sayako's attention! Kept interfering with me and Dad's plan. We were about to enjoy that amazing, plump body of hers, and this damned Hikari kept getting in the way… damn him!"
With his excellent constitution came excellent hearing, so Hikari heard every word.
He didn't say anything. He simply stretched out his leg casually.
BANG!
Under the table, Ryusei Jun suddenly found a shoeprint on his face.
"Big Bro!"
Ryusei Jun looked up pitifully from under the table. His face was smeared dark, a huge shoeprint stamped from his forehead down to his chin, and even his nose had caved in a little.
———
Ryusei Jun, whose face had just been stomped on, stared at Hikari in grievance.
But before he could speak, Hikari wore an apologetic look and said, "Sorry, Jun. I just stretched my leg a little and didn't realize I hit you. I wasn't paying attention."
"But you too, squatting down there without a sound. How was I supposed to know? You're also partly at fault."
"And I didn't use much strength. You're fine, right?"
Before Ryusei Jun could even complain, he was hit with a barrage of scolding, leaving him dumbfounded.
Despite all the schemes he had learned from Ryusei Haruyoshi, he was still a kid, and his little brain couldn't keep up with Hikari at all.
Looking at Hikari's gentle smile, he didn't know what to do, so he forced a smile, "I'm… I'm fine."
"Good. Hurry and finish cleaning so we can eat. Honestly, you're so clumsy. By the time you're done, dinner will be cold," Hikari added.
He even threw in a few more admonishing remarks.
Ryusei Jun was so furious he almost vomited blood.
Why did every sentence feel like it was crushing him, a supposedly untouchable elementary schooler? Too much!
Usually, with his precocious manner and child identity, he almost never suffered losses.
But somehow none of that worked on Hikari.
No, he had to get revenge. He had to make that arrogant guy pay.
Just as he stewed in anger while cleaning, Sayako came back downstairs in new clothes.
Having been suddenly splashed and forced to change again, her expression was visibly unpleasant.
It was her second outfit change today. The first was due to her clothes getting wet from the spring water, which was partly related to Hikari, but mostly her own fault, so she didn't mind.
But this time, she was directly splashed by someone else.
If it weren't Ryusei Jun, a grade-schooler who might have simply been careless, she probably would've walked out and ended the meal right there.
What bothered her even more was that once she sat down, Ryusei Haruyoshi kept trying to toast her enthusiastically, clearly trying to get her drunk.
Even someone as slow as Sayako could now sense the father and son's intentions.
She ignored Ryusei Haruyoshi's attempts. And with Hikari blocking the drinks for her, it was basically him and Ryusei Haruyoshi drinking.
Seeing that he failed to get the widow drunk, Ryusei Haruyoshi shot Hikari a furious glare.
Hikari pretended not to notice and even smiled politely while toasting him.
Ryusei Haruyoshi forced the drink down, then gave Ryusei Jun a signal.
Ryusei Jun caught the hint. Thinking of the kick he received earlier, he grew angrier.
He raised his cup and smiled at Hikari, "Big Bro, I toast you… ah!"
Before finishing his sentence, Ryusei Jun deliberately flung the liquor in his cup at Hikari.
"Big Bro, I slipped! Are you okay?", he asked, pretending to worry.
But Hikari had already expected a trick when Ryusei Jun lifted the cup, so he dodged easily.
Just as he smiled and was about to speak, Ryusei Haruyoshi cut in first.
"Hikari-kun, liquor spills easily. Don't mind Jun, he's just a kid."
Ryusei Jun put on an innocent smile at just the right moment.
But having seen this happen over and over, Sayako was already displeased. Her brows tightened as she scolded him, "Can't you be more careful?"
Sayako wasn't angry when she herself got wet, but the thought of them doing this to Hikari made her furious.
"Aunt, I… I really didn't mean to! Big Bro, I'm really sorry. It's all my fault, I'm so clumsy, I'm really sorry," Ryusei Jun apologized with syrupy sweetness.
With her filter shattered, Sayako now saw clearly how sly this little kid was. His tone was obviously fake, and she wanted to scold him further.
But Hikari waved his hand and said, "It's fine, Aunt Sayako, don't be angry. It's nothing."
"Uncle Ryusei is right, liquor does spill easily. No need to fuss over something so small."
Even though he understood exactly what the father and son were trying to do, since they hadn't torn their facade yet, and since they still acted like helpful relatives at the izakaya, Sayako couldn't say much after hearing Hikari speak.
She continued eating with a displeased expression.
On the other side, the father and son also looked unhappy.
Because every one of their plans, tonight's attempt to get Sayako drunk, to take her down once and for all, had been thwarted by Hikari.
They had been prepared to reel her in tonight.
But with Hikari there, they couldn't do a thing.
Just as they silently planned a new dirty trick, Hikari suddenly stood up, "The soju I put in the steamer should be hot by now. It's cold tonight. Let's drink some warm liquor to heat up. I'll go get it."
Hearing that, Ryusei Haruyoshi's eyes lit up.
Perfect! With Hikari gone, only Sayako would remain at the table.
He immediately planned to pour Sayako several cups while Hikari was away, to get her drunk.
But Sayako refused every attempt with reasons of her own.
Her refusal, so blunt and without pretense, made Ryusei Haruyoshi's face darken even more.
And in less than half a minute, Hikari came back.
Carrying the steaming jug, he stood beside the table and waved to Ryusei Jun, "Jun, this liquor is hot, come help me."
"Be careful though. It's really hot. If it spills, that'll be bad."
Ryusei Jun looked at the steaming jug and his eyes spun.
He originally didn't want to help, but he suddenly thought. If he pretended to charge forward and "accidentally" bumped into Hikari, tipping that scalding jug all over him.
'Tsk, just imagining it feels good.'
"Okay! Jun is coming to help big brother Hikari!"
Thinking his revenge plan was brilliant, he jumped down from the stool and ran straight toward Hikari.
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