By the time night fully fell, after some thorough one-on-one communication from Rin, Yuugi finally roused from her drunken stupor.
"Nngh… Too… too much… Mercy… please…"
"I'll never… hic… never provoke you again…" Yuugi murmured foolishly, her pupils unfocused and hazy.
Drenched in sweat and utterly immobilized, shocking streaks of white stained the surroundings, painting a scene of utter devastation.
"Dinner's soon. Don't fall asleep again, unless you want Suika to find out." Rin patted her slick back as a reminder.
But the moment he touched her, Yuugi convulsed violently before going completely limp again.
"..."
Rin's eyelid twitches. Seeing how she could barely lift a finger, he quickly fetched a towel to clean her up.
After changing her clothes and erasing all evidence, Yuugi finally regained some semblance of awareness.
"Hic~" An involuntary belch escaped her, her face flushing so red it looked about to drip blood. She couldn't bring herself to meet Rin's eyes.
Though she'd chugged plenty of liquor during the ordeal, other substances had mixed in, so much that their scent faintly overpowered the alcohol on her breath.
'Dinner's gonna be… rough.'
Before she could even get off the bed, Rin suddenly grabbed her ankle, making Yuugi's face pale.
'Again?! Haven't my legs been through enough?!'
"Stay still. Applying medicinal liquor. Helps sell the lie to Suika."
"Eh? Ah—ow." Yuugi answered guiltily, but as the cool balm spread over her skin, she relaxed slightly.
The strong herbal scent would help mask any lingering questionable odors.
Once the cover-up was complete, Rin nodded in satisfaction.
"Should be convincing enough. C'mon, I'll help you out."
Yuugi obediently slung an arm over his shoulders, slowly rising from the bed.
"Still sore?"
"N-No… Got used to it by morning." She mumbled, though her gait remained slightly off.
After all, some residue still lingered in un-cleaned wounds...
As the two staggered out the door, Ran and Keine emerged from the kitchen carrying dishes.
"Dinner's ready! Everyone, wash your hands!"
"Woo!!" Cirno and the other little ones immediately scampered down the hallway toward the bathroom.
Meanwhile, Yukari, still lurking near the basement cellar, suddenly tensed, nudging Suika, who was traumatized by the traps.
"Abort! Boss is coming out, we'll try again another time."
"Another time?! Never again!" Suika's face had gone green. This place is impossible to break into!
After countless attempts, her greatest achievement was advancing three steps before getting wrecked.
'Goddammit, the traps don't even repeat!'
She'd almost memorized a few patterns, only for the mechanisms to completely change the next round.
If not for Yukari's quick saves, she'd have been packaged and hung from a flagpole by now!
Seeing the lifeless despair in Suika's eyes, Yukari's eyelid twitches.
'Eh, a few drinks'll fix that.'
Without another word, she hauled Suika into a gap.
By the time everyone gathered at the table, Marisa, usually the first to chow down, arrived late, sweating like she'd just finished manual labor.
"What were you even doing up there? You look exhausted." Reimu eyed her suspiciously. Thanks to their shared senses, she'd felt just as drained all day.
Patchouli's wary gaze also locked onto Marisa, as if expecting another disaster.
"Ahem. Just, y'know… cleaning." Marisa lied smoothly, putting on her best model citizen act.
But the more innocent she looked, the more Reimu and Patchouli suspected her.
'This bitch is definitely plotting something.'
Under their scrutiny, Marisa simply turned away, pretending not to notice.
Meanwhile, Suika zeroed in on Yuugi's ankle, the pungent medicinal scent impossible to ignore.
"Does it hurt?"
"Not really. Just embarrassed I got that drunk." Yuugi scratched her head awkwardly. When she tried crossing her legs, a twinge from certain unhealed areas made her grimace.
Suika assumed it was her ankle and felt a twinge of guilt, pushing some of her liquor toward Yuugi.
Faced with Suika's innocent concern, Yuugi's conscience ached.
'But no turning back now. Such is the cruelty of competition!'
Better for her to endure this now than let Suika suffer it unprepared later.
As Yuugi mentally justified things. Ran, seated beside her, subtly glanced over.
She recognized the scent of awakened instincts.
'The relationships in this shop are terrifyingly complicated. But at least Yukari had been well-behaved lately, sparing her any new nightmares.'
"Lady Yukari, have another chicken leg."
"?" Yukari, mid-bite into a fried shrimp, blinked at Ran's weirdly approving look.
'Did I do something?'
Though confused, she happily accepted the offering.
Across the table, Keine locked onto Chen, who was nibbling fish, and tugged Rin's sleeve.
"The new student you mentioned… is it her?"
"Yep. Ran's busy enough as is. Leaving her with Yukari too much risks corruption—better to enroll her."
Keine's eyes sparkled, solemnly serving Rin extra dishes.
"Mr. Rin, you'll make a wonderful parent one day."
"If that evil-incarnate little vampire gremlin had been born into your care, she might not have turned out so mischievous."
"You flatter me."
"Evil-incarnate little vampire gremlin?"
'Why does that sound familiar?' Patchouli paused mid-bite, shooting a puzzled look their way.
Before she could ask, Marisa shoved a huge chunk of lobster into her mouth.
"Eat up, Patchy. You're frail, need the nutrients."