My dear wife, I still love you more.

"Thank you," Hasegawa replied politely.

To be honest, Hasegawa still felt a little strange facing these maids. Although this wasn't one of those maid cafes in Akihabara, the polite maid-dressed waitresses still made Hasegawa feel odd.

Although Hasegawa felt something was off, he didn't show it on the surface. He maintained a polite smile, and while he wasn't exactly handsome, he was quite pleasant to be around. Seeing Hasegawa like this, the maid's polite smile became slightly more genuine.

"Please come this way, guest."

Guided by the maid, Hasegawa sat down at an empty seat and casually ordered a coffee and a few cakes and pastries.

He took a small sip of coffee; the bitterness was complemented by the unique aroma of coffee, along with a hint of milkiness—it tasted quite good. However, Hasegawa didn't have any particular fondness for coffee. So, after taking a sip, he put it down and picked up a piece of cake, putting it in his mouth.

"Mmm, the familiar taste, it tastes delicious." Hasegawa couldn't help but smile; this was Mrs. Yuihama's cooking.

"Guest, is there anything else you need?" The maid came over when she saw Hasegawa beckoning.

"Well, I'm Mrs. Yuihama's friend. I've come here to check on her, so could you please call her over?" Hasegawa said with a polite smile.

"Huh? It's you? You're the one who brought Yuihama for the interview?" The maid suddenly realized and recognized Hasegawa.

I'm going to the gym again today, so I'll update early.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Mrs. Yuihama often mentions you...

"It's me. May I ask, Miss Maid, could you please call Mrs. Yuihama over here?"

"Wait a moment, I'll go to the back and call Mrs. Yuihama." The maid seemed a little different now, as if she had become more lively, probably because Hasegawa was one of her own, so she had let down her guard a little.

Soon, Mrs. Yuigahama came out of the kitchen. Wearing a work uniform and apron, her hair was tied up in a bun at the back of her head, somewhat similar to Yui Yuigahama's hairstyle. Looking at Mrs. Yuigahama like this, Hasegawa even mistook her for Yui Yuigahama grown up.

"Hasegawa-kun, what brings you here today?" Mrs. Yuihama greeted Hasegawa with a genuine smile as she walked over.

"I had some things to do today, and I happened to be passing by here on my way back, so I thought I'd stop by and see how Mrs. Yuihama is doing at work. Is everything going well? Has anything happened to her?" Hasegawa asked with concern.

"I'm doing great, and I'm very happy with my job here. Although I felt a little tired at first, I've gotten used to it and it's actually quite nice. The manager and the others are also very kind and take good care of me. I'm very happy working here." Mrs. Yui smiled, her eyes turning into two crescent moons.

Seeing Mrs. Yuihama smiling so happily, Hasegawa breathed a sigh of relief and felt at ease.

"Just be happy here. But if anything happens, be sure to let me know."

“I will. But the way Hasegawa-kun talks makes it sound like he’s older than me. Are you treating me like a child? I can handle anything. I’m not a child.” Mrs. Yui found Hasegawa’s behavior very amusing and couldn’t help but cover her mouth and laugh.

"Well, I'm just worried about Mrs. Yuihama. After all, she hasn't worked for a long time, so of course I'm concerned about whether she'll be able to adapt to this kind of work environment," Hasegawa explained with a smile.

"Alright, alright. I know. But it's still funny to see Hasegawa-kun acting like such a grown-up. When you go back, tell Yui that I'm doing well here and my work is going very smoothly, so she doesn't have to worry about me." Mrs. Yuihama said to Hasegawa with a smile. She thought that Hasegawa might have come here because of Yuihama.

"Okay, I'll pass it on to Yuihama." Hasegawa nodded, seemingly unaware that anything was amiss.

"Then thank you, Hasegawa-kun. But I'm at work now, so I won't chat with you for too long. I'm going back to work now. Hasegawa-kun, you can stay here a little longer if you like."

"I only came to check on you because I was concerned about your work environment, Mrs. Yuihama. Now that you're doing well at work, I'm relieved. I should be going now," Hasegawa said to Mrs. Yuihama.

After finishing his conversation with Mrs. Yuihama, Hasegawa watched her figure disappear at the entrance of the kitchen before turning his gaze away.

Hasegawa had barely turned around when he saw the maid staring at him with a curious expression. Luckily, Hasegawa had a pretty good mental fortitude, or he would have been really startled.

"Miss Maid—"

"So you're Hasegawa-kun. We've often heard your name from Yuihama." The maid looked Hasegawa up and down, her curiosity barely concealed.

"Huh? You often hear my name from Mrs. Yuihama?" Hasegawa was a little surprised, but also a little delighted.

"Yes, Mrs. Yuigahama told us that Hasegawa-kun is a very steady, reliable, and handsome guy who gives people a sense of security. We don't know much about other aspects, but as for handsome, Hasegawa-kun can only be considered moderately handsome at most." The maid couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh as she spoke.

Hasegawa couldn't help but chuckle when he heard the maid say that. "I know my own limitations. Forget about being called handsome. I'm just an ordinary person with a plain, average face. But thank you for the compliment, maid."

"Hasegawa-kun has a nice personality, no wonder Yui-hama mentions you so often. Hey, I'm a little curious, is what Yui-hama said true?"

What did she say?

"You're good at everything. You're incredibly skilled in kendo, the kind of person who can take on ten people by himself. You can also cook, your culinary skills are top-notch, your academic performance is excellent, you're number one in the entire grade, and you're also very knowledgeable about music, even to a very high level." The maid looked at Hasegawa with increasing curiosity.

Her knowledge of Hasegawa was limited to what Yui Hama had told her, and Yui Hama seemed to want Hasegawa to be her son-in-law. What kind of magic could someone possess to earn such praise from Mrs. Yui Hama?

"It's not that impressive. I only touched on it a little bit," Hasegawa said modestly.

"So what Yuihama said was true? That's amazing! No wonder Yuihama wanted you to be—cough cough. Hasegawa-kun is really outstanding." The maid almost let it slip.

"It's not that bad. Alright, Miss Maid, I've finished eating and it's time to settle the bill. Could you please calculate it for me?"

"Let's forget about the bill. After all, you're here to see Yuihama, so you're practically one of us. The manager won't charge you," the maid said, waving her hand.

"Isn't this a bad idea?"

"There's nothing wrong with it. Everyone does it this way. As long as you don't come too often, the manager won't charge you if it's just once in a while."

"Then, thank you so much."

Having gotten a free meal, Hasegawa walked out of the coffee shop in a rather pleasant mood. He knew about Mrs. Yuihama's work environment and that she was quite comfortable in her job. In particular, he learned from the maid that Mrs. Yuihama often mentioned him at work.

Although it wasn't a particularly interesting topic, the fact that Mrs. Yuihama could let her colleagues know about her existence was already something that Hasegawa was very happy about.

Hasegawa even considered visiting Mrs. Yuigahama more often, but then decided against it. After all, as the maid had said, frequent visits might be seen as an attempt to freeload, and even if Hasegawa was willing to pay, the coffee shop might not accept it.

Chapter Thirty-Four: Mrs. Yuihama, Feeling Happy

"I'm back." Hasegawa said this as usual before walking into the room.

But when Hasegawa returned, he found Yuigahama Yui practicing the singing fundamentals he had taught her the night before. She was incredibly focused and serious, so much so that she didn't even notice Hasegawa's return.

Seeing this, Hasegawa smiled. It seemed that Yui Yuigahama truly loved music and was genuinely practicing and learning with dedication.

At that moment, Hasegawa suddenly felt a sense of relief—well, it was probably similar to the feeling of his daughter finally finding something she liked, finally finding her dream and working hard for it.

Hasegawa didn't bother Yui, after all, he had taught her quite a bit yesterday, and she needed to practice it properly.

However, Hasegawa will also keep an eye on the situation here.

After paying a brief look, Hasegawa turned around and went back to his room, where he sat down at his computer.

Writing novels. Hasegawa had almost gotten used to it, spending some time writing every day. Not to mention he had just met with his editor, Machida Sonoko, and even confirmed a book signing next weekend. Furthermore, according to Machida Sonoko, *Tokyo Ghoul* would likely be released one volume per month going forward.

Therefore, Hasegawa needs to have at least a certain amount of manuscript in reserve. Of course, publishing one volume a month is nothing special for Hasegawa. But Hasegawa needs to write more to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

Regarding Tokyo Ghoul, Hasegawa is currently writing a plot point where a ghoul organization called Aogiri Tree appears, which is also the first large ghoul organization the protagonist will face.

Because of the outline that had been prepared in advance, Hasegawa wrote very smoothly. With the help of his typing skills, his hands were typing rapidly on the keyboard, almost leaving afterimages.

It wasn't until evening that Yui Yuigahama reappeared in Hasegawa's room. "Yes, it's important business."

“Okay, now let me see the results of your practice today. First, abdominal breathing…” Hasegawa said to Yui Yuigahama with a serious expression.

Yui Yuigahama was a little shy, but she still showed Hasegawa all the results of her practice that day.

“Good, I can see you practiced very hard today. However, you still need to practice the part about vocal closure. You might be practicing it a little incorrectly. You should do it like this, look, like this…” Hasegawa pointed out Yui Yuigahama’s mistakes or inadequate parts, and then personally demonstrated to Yui Yuigahama the correct way.

This lesson lasted about two hours. During the lesson, Mrs. Yuihama brought some fruit, which was a nice treat for Hasegawa.

After all, fruit is generally quite expensive in Japan, even more expensive than pork in China at that time.

Mrs. Yuihama specially bought the fruit to thank Hasegawa; otherwise, given her current family situation, she might not have been willing to buy fruit.

After all, if Yui Yuigahama were to attend a specialized training course or hire a teacher, the cost would be extremely high. Since everything was free for Hasegawa, Mrs. Yuigahama was naturally willing to buy some fruit for her teacher, Hasegawa.

"Alright, that's enough for today. Practice hard. If there's anything you don't understand, just ask me. Don't practice on your own if you don't understand something, or you'll easily make mistakes. If you develop a bad habit, it will be very troublesome to correct it later." Hasegawa closed his notebook and said to Yui Yuigahama.

"Yes, I will. Thank you, thank you Hasegawa." Yui Yuigahama nodded earnestly, then thanked Hasegawa again.

"No need for thanks. After all, we're on pretty good terms now, so it's normal for us to help each other out. As long as you practice and study hard, and don't let my efforts go to waste, that's enough."

"I will definitely study hard and practice diligently. When I earn money in the future, I will definitely pay you back for this tuition fee," Yui Yuigahama said to Hasegawa with great emotion.

Although Yui Yuigahama had never taken classes with other teachers or attended other professional training courses, she could still sense that Hasegawa was teaching her genuine skills, which were at least no worse than those of professional teachers.

A teacher like Hasegawa would absolutely cost hundreds of thousands of yen a month. That's Yui Yuigahama's opinion. In reality, even if the price doubled, hiring Hasegawa would still be worthwhile, given his teaching skills—the skills of a teacher that countless people dream of.

……

Goodbye, Mom!

"Goodbye, Mrs. Yui." Hasegawa and Yui Yui said goodbye to Mrs. Yui again.

Today is Monday again, and it's time to go to school. So Hasegawa and Yui Yuigahama said goodbye to Mrs. Yuigahama early and set off.

Mrs. Yuigahama watched Hasegawa and Yui Yuigahama's departing figures, a happy smile spreading across her face. Mrs. Yuigahama truly felt that her life was incredibly happy now.

Every morning, Mrs. Yuihama felt incredibly happy watching this young couple go to school together. She could especially sense the changes in Yui.

Previously, it was thought that due to family troubles, Yui Yuigahama had suddenly become silent and cautious, giving off a very timid feeling. But now, Yui Yuigahama has changed again, returning to her previous energetic self—no, she should be even more vibrant than before, and seems to have become more confident.

It's probably because she's found something she's good at and has put in the effort. As a result, Yui Yuigahama is in much, much better shape than before. Even back in middle school, she wasn't in such a good state.

Seeing such a noticeable change in her daughter, how could Mrs. Yuihama, as a mother, not be happy?

All these changes were brought about by Hasegawa, so Mrs. Yuihama looked at Hasegawa with even greater satisfaction. If she let go of such a son-in-law, Mrs. Yuihama felt that she might be struck by lightning.

Therefore, you absolutely cannot let go; you must hold on tightly. Ideally, you should see Hasegawa tied up. With iron chains.

Author's Note + Bounty

It's finally going to be published! After receiving the text message from my editor, Tangshui, last night, I was incredibly excited. But along with the excitement came a little anxiety.

After all, the real test of a book's success is when it goes on sale. I feel both excited and nervous.

As for the author's post-launch remarks, I don't know what to say. So, without further ado, here's the bounty!

Bounty:

With nearly 20,000 favorites currently, and a relatively good subscription-to-collection ratio on Hedgehog Cat's side, the author has tentatively set the ratio at 5:1. This means that if the initial subscriptions exceed 4,000, the author will add an extra chapter for every additional 500 subscriptions.

Then there are the tips; for every 20,000 tips, an extra chapter will be added.

For every 200 blades, an extra chapter will be added.

Since both tips and criticisms require readers to spend money, the author will include tips and criticisms received before the book's release in the bonus chapters. After all, you've all supported the author, and the author can't ignore it, because there are 10,000 tips and 300 criticisms. Therefore, the author will add two extra chapters when the book is released.

Then there are recommendation votes; for every 10,000 additional votes, one extra chapter will be added.

For every 500 additional monthly votes, one extra chapter will be added.

There are only a few things that will result in extra chapters. After all, since the author guarantees at least three chapters per day, the conditions for extra chapters might be a little higher.