This time, Kiryu had learned his lesson. Instead of making Shin take the subway to the Shinomiya household, he personally drove to the apartment building where Shin lived.
Aside from Kiryu and Shin, there was only one other person present—the subordinate who had also awakened a Stand. In other words, three Stand users were heading to the Shinomiya household.
Though this might seem like a modest entourage, their abilities made it unnecessary to bring anyone else.
If a conflict were to break out, Kiryu alone could use his Stand to escape the Shinomiya residence. After all, wrapping his Stand around his body made him nearly impervious to bullets.
In a way, it was somewhat reminiscent of Kenneth's moon spirit liquid.
Although Shin hadn't witnessed Kenneth use the moon spirit liquid in the mission world, he'd seen its effects in the original story.
"Lord Shin, please get in the car."
The subordinate who had awakened a close-combat Stand was driving. It was clear that he had now become Kiryu's right-hand man.
Though Shin still didn't know his name.
Nodding, Shin got into the back seat and looked at Kiryu, who was seated in the front passenger seat.
"Did the Shinomiya family say why they wanted to see you?"
"No… but the Shinomiya family's attitude seemed polite, not overly forceful."
Kiryu turned from the front seat, speaking respectfully to Shin.
"My guess is that someone noticed our Stand abilities during our fight, and the Shinomiya family caught wind of it."
Shin nodded. Although Kiryu didn't know the Shinomiya family's exact intentions, he had a fairly good idea.
So, without holding back, Shin began recounting what had happened after encountering Ai Hayasaka the night before, as the subordinate took the driver's seat.
Since they were about to meet the Shinomiya family, it was best to give Kiryu a heads-up to prepare him.
No need for him to show up clueless, making a fool of himself.
...
"Ai Hayasaka, aren't you going to school?"
At the gates of the Shinomiya estate, Kaguya Shinomiya looked at Ai Hayasaka, who stood motionless by the entrance, and asked with some confusion.
As her maid, Ai Hayasaka also attended Shuchiin Academy and usually went to and from school with Kaguya. Kaguya was used to this routine.
But today, after seeing her off to her private car, Ai Hayasaka stayed rooted at the door.
While Kaguya was typically indifferent to others, she was especially attentive to Ai Hayasaka, so her curiosity was piqued.
If Ai Hayasaka had something important to handle, Kaguya didn't mind waiting a bit.
As the student council president of Shuchiin Academy, Kaguya couldn't afford to be late. But as long as she wasn't late, a slight delay was acceptable.
"I have something to take care of today, so I'll be going to school a bit later. I've already informed the teacher."
Ai Hayasaka gave a slightly embarrassed smile, not wanting Kaguya to worry.
Despite her tough appearance, which she used to keep people at bay, she genuinely cared for Kaguya Shinomiya.
And her reason for staying at the Shinomiya household today was simple—the Kiryu group was coming.
Oko Shinomiya had informed her that morning, saying that the Shinomiya family had sent an invitation to the Kiryu group, which had been accepted almost immediately.
Given the family's interest in "supernatural abilities," they arranged a meeting at lightning speed, which even surprised Ai Hayasaka.
She hadn't expected that the report she'd submitted the night before would lead to a meeting the very next morning.
As the only person to have provided useful information, Ai Hayasaka was naturally instructed to stay back and meet with the Kiryu group.
A part of her was actually looking forward to it. After Shin's reprimand the previous night, she was left with a strange feeling of excitement.
However, her feelings toward Shin were one thing, but involving Kaguya Shinomiya was another.
While Shin was now her new master, she understood just how dangerous he was. She didn't want Kaguya involved in such matters.
"Is that so?"
Kaguya looked at Ai Hayasaka with a trace of doubt but couldn't discern anything.
Her upbringing had always made her aloof, and her ability to read others was practically nonexistent.
So, she failed to see what Ai Hayasaka's awkward smile hid and simply assumed she had something important to do.
Seeing Kaguya enter the car without further questions, Ai Hayasaka breathed a sigh of relief.
Though she was a daughter of the Shinomiya family, Kaguya had little chance of inheriting the family, so she lived a relatively sheltered life.
With many influential figures in the Shinomiya family paying attention to the "supernatural abilities" issue, Ai Hayasaka didn't want Kaguya to end up on their radar.
...
Not long after Kaguya's car departed, the Kiryu group's car arrived.
The car door opened, and the Kiryu subordinate stepped out from the driver's seat, opening the doors for Kiryu and Shin to get out.
The Shinomiya estate's attendants, waiting at the entrance, moved to welcome them.
Among them was Ai Hayasaka. Spotting Shin stepping out of the back seat, her heart skipped a beat.
Their encounter last night hadn't gone too smoothly. Though Ai Hayasaka came from a respectable background, she was still a young woman and secretly dreamed of a more conventional romantic relationship.
However, last night's interaction with Shin was far from ordinary. His rough behavior would generally be off-putting to most women.
Initially, Ai Hayasaka felt the same way. But after returning home, Shin's rough demeanor lingered in her mind.
She even dreamed about similar scenes—though it wouldn't be appropriate to go into further detail.
So now, seeing Shin again, her cheeks flushed, and she felt ashamed of her strange thoughts.
Ai Hayasaka, what are you doing thinking those strange things about him? Are you really that improper?
Fortunately, despite her inner turmoil, Ai Hayasaka's professionalism as a maid remained intact.
Suppressing her mysterious excitement, she managed to keep her expression calm and addressed the three of them:
"The master has been waiting for you. Please, follow me."
Of course, though she addressed all three, her gaze lingered mostly on Shin.
To be continued...
Thank you, everyone, for your good wishes. Alhamdulillah I am doing better now! The updates might be unstable as I am doing a Health and Safety officer course as well, but I will satisfy all my readers! There were some comments about it being tough living in Pakistan, etc; I am quite curious about what you guys mean xD because my country is perfectly fine. It is just that the media manipulation, as well as political propaganda, are sky-high nowadays…smh. And I sincerely thank everyone again for wishing me good health. May you all be blessed. By the way, I want to wish all my Christian readers a happy, festive day! May you enjoy your holidays to the fullest!