"The leader of the Crimson Demon Clan must be pretty strong, right?" Hisako picked up on the deeper meaning behind Yunyun's declaration and smiled. "In that case, you must be quite skilled yourself?"
"B-but—" Yunyun's face paled as she lowered her head. "I... I haven't mastered advanced magic yet—"
Given her talent, Yunyun should have long accumulated enough skill points to learn advanced magic. However, during her graduation exam, Megumin's little sister Komekko was attacked. Understanding that Megumin had saved all her skill points for Explosion Magic, Yunyun selflessly spent her own points to learn intermediate magic and fend off the attackers—depleting her hard-earned reserves. As a result, she still hadn't regained enough points to learn advanced magic.
She didn't want to hide this, nor could she. In the eyes of the world, every Crimson Demon Clan member mastered advanced magic. Even if she lied to join a party, the moment her teammates asked her to demonstrate, the truth would come out.
'They... they must be disappointed, right?' Yunyun gripped her staff dejectedly. Though she had confidence in her abilities, she knew that a Crimson Demon without advanced magic would be seen as utterly unqualified—like an author who couldn't perform a 7200-degree backflip in the snow to beg for votes—and would inevitably be rejected.
Although she already knew the reason, Erina deliberately feigned surprise and asked, "Huh? You're from the Crimson Demon Clan, yet you can't use advanced magic?"
Yunyun's heart tightened, and she replied somewhat flustered, "W-well, due to certain circumstances, I had to use up my skill points early—but I've already saved up quite a few again! I'll be able to learn advanced magic soon!"
Upon hearing Yunyun's words, Hayashi, Erina, and Hisako couldn't help but smile inwardly—the fact that she offered an explanation meant she still wanted to join their party. Otherwise, why would she bother explaining?
Still, they needed to encourage this girl who lacked confidence in front of outsiders but showed a bit more courage among friends.
With that in mind, Hisako leaned forward with a curious expression and asked, "Miss Yunyun, may I ask what led you to use up your skill points early?"
"O-oh, you don't need to call me 'Miss'—just Yunyun is fine!" Yunyun waved her hands shyly before lowering her voice to explain, "A long time ago, I had to use my saved skill points in an emergency to save someone."
Such an earnest reply—truly a good kid.
Crossing her arms, Erina lifted her chin slightly and declared, "Yunyun, do you regret saving that person?"
"Not at all."
"Then you have absolutely no reason to feel ashamed! You should proudly tell this story instead!"
"Eh?"
"You should proudly tell others—I am Yunyun! I am a member of the Crimson Demon Clan who used my skill points to learn intermediate magic to save others, then saved up again to master advanced magic!"
As Erina finished speaking, Hisako nodded approvingly beside her and said, "That's right, that's right! This is absolutely something to be proud of!"
It was the first time anyone had ever said such words to Yunyun, and she was so moved that her eyes welled up with tears. "I... I..."
Hayashi smiled and handed Yunyun a tissue, saying, "Being willing to spend your hard-earned skill points to save others—Yunyun must be a kind-hearted girl."
Yunyun lowered her head bashfully. She... she was being praised! This was her first time ever being praised!
After all, the entire Crimson Demon Clan was made up of extreme chuunibyou sufferers. Getting these people—who spouted lines like "the abyssal darkness of eternity" or "the thunderous heavens"—to say something like "you're awesome" was about as likely as getting Vegeta to dance like a clown at Bulma's birthday party...
Oh, wait, he already did that? Never mind, then.
Hisako mused thoughtfully, "Morally, she was willing to spend her hard-earned skill points to learn intermediate magic and save others. In terms of ability, even though she only mastered intermediate magic, she quickly saved up again to learn advanced magic—from both perspectives, Yunyun is more than qualified to join our party, don't you think?"
Erina nodded in agreement. "Exactly! That's what I think too!"
Hayashi then turned to Yunyun and asked, "Yunyun, what do you say?"
'They... they're all such good people, such kind, wonderful people—' Yunyun was so moved she was on the verge of bursting into tears, stomping her feet in overwhelmed joy. How could she possibly refuse?
"I... I-I'd love to—"
Yunyun nodded vigorously, officially joining Hayashi's party.
...
...
Normally, when a new member joins a party, the group should first take on a quest together to get used to each other and gauge their teammates' actual abilities—just to be sure. I mean, what if—just what if—there was a priest in the party who cast a spell on a frog, only for the frog to take no damage and swallow them whole instead? Wouldn't that be an instant "GG, we're doomed" situation?
But on one hand, it was already nearing noon, and on the other, to boost morale and win over their new member through her stomach, Hayashi and Erina unanimously decided that before setting out on any quests, they would first hold a welcoming lunch party!
A whole table of dishes, paired with chilled juice (courtesy of Shuckle)—now that was the good life!
"Come on, don't be shy—"
Hayashi pulled out a chair and warmly ushered the flustered Yunyun to sit down. "Yunyun, you have to try Erina's cooking. Let me tell you, her culinary skills are second to none! Even my grandma once said she'd love to treat her to knife-cut noodles!"
Yunyun nodded eagerly, her face full of anticipation. "Actually... I could smell the delicious aroma from outside," she admitted shyly.
If Yunyun had Hayashi's double-layered social anxiety—shy around strangers yet utterly unrestrained among friends—she would undoubtedly plant her hands on her hips and declare boldly, "The courage to admit that even swallowing saliva can fill you up is true bravery!"
"It's here, it's here—" Erina, wearing heat-resistant gloves, placed a steaming pot in the center of the table and announced, "Erina Special: Tomato Beef Brisket—Extra Spicy Edition!"
"That sounds absolutely delicious—" The moment the pot touched the table, Hayashi swiftly lifted the lid. Instantly, an intoxicating aroma of meat wafted through the steam—spreading as rapidly as the cries of a newborn baby on a plane soaring over neon-lit skies, enveloping the entire street.
"Holy crap, that smells amazing!"
"Good heavens, what is that scent?"
"It's too good! My kid just ate a pound of drool just from the smell!"
The street outside immediately erupted with chatter. Hayashi and Erina exchanged glances, then simultaneously stuck out their tongues, stifling laughter as they tightly shut the doors and windows to prevent outsiders from peeking in.
"Alright, alright, let's eat while it's hot," Hisako smiled at Yunyun, placing a large bowl of white rice in front of her. She then ladled a generous scoop of tomato beef brisket over the rice, her voice dripping with temptation: "Hot tomato beef brisket poured over rice—dig in with a big spoonful and savor it. The sensation is absolutely divine!"
The mesmerizing aroma curled around Yunyun's nose, the steaming white rice glistened before her eyes, the tomato beef brisket boasted an irresistible hue, and Hisako's devilish whispers echoed in her ears...
It wasn't that Yunyun lacked willpower—her teammates were just too cunning!
So, with zero shame, she swallowed a huge gulp of saliva, clasped her hands together, and lightly patted them in front of her chest. "Let's eat!" she declared.
Then, she lowered her head, picked up a clump of rice drenched in sauce and mixed with beef, and stuffed it into her mouth. The moment the food touched her tongue, Yunyun froze.
It was as if a beam of light had pierced her mind. In that fleeting 0.0001 second, countless thoughts raced through her head—the Big Bang, the rotation of galaxies, the birth of planets, the origin of species, the evolution of life, what women think when they're angry...
If this were a cultivation novel, Yunyun would have closed her eyes, achieved enlightenment on the spot, gained boundless virtue, and ascended as a sage. In reality, she did attain enlightenment.
"Sniff—"
A single crystalline tear rolled down Yunyun's cheek, leaving Hayashi and the others stunned. "Wh-what's wrong?" they asked.
"I—I'm just so moved. I feel like I've realized so many things," Yunyun wiped her tear, her face filled with emotion and reverence. "Humanity evolved to the top of the food chain—all for the sake of eating meat!"
"Honestly, facts!" Carnivore Hayashi immediately gave Yunyun 10,086 virtual thumbs-ups. He swiftly piled seven or eight pieces of beef onto her plate and declared magnanimously, "Eat! Eat your fill! A life without meat is an incomplete life!"
"Mhm, mhm!"
Yunyun sniffled and then nodded vigorously, saying to Hayashi, "Mr. Hayashi, you're such a good person!"
"?"
Hayashi paused mid-bite, glancing at Yunyun before pensively resting his chin on his hand, lost in thought.
Hiss, did I just get friendzoned?
Beside him, Erina took a bite of vegetables without changing her expression and remarked, "Don't worry, that doesn't count as a friendzone."
Hisako: "???"
Wh-what's going on? Did something happen between you two that I missed? Huh? Huh!? Why does it feel like I'm the only one left out here?
What exactly did I miss??
Meanwhile, Yunyun: 0v0, so delicious.
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