Haruto took out a strange, jet-black device from the Kamui space—it was about the size of a lighter.
He quickly shoved it into Kaguya's hand.
Kaguya glanced at the object.
Though she had never seen this particular device before, based on its appearance, she could tell it was one of the Foundation's "Black Ball" series technological products.
And with a little thought, Kaguya immediately realized what it was.
"A memory eraser? Why are you giving this to me?"
This device was clearly used for applying Class-B memory erasure techniques—one of the Black Ball memory erasers.
Instinctively, Kaguya wanted to hand the device back to Haruto.
But Haruto gave her shoulder a serious pat.
This stunned Kaguya, and she instinctively straightened up.
"Kaguya, I'm entrusting the Foundation's duty to you. Fujiwara Chika and the others have learned some anomalous information. According to the Foundation's confidentiality regulations, either guide them into believing this was all a prank… or use the memory erasure method."
"This concerns the Foundation's core duties: We Contain, We Secure, We Protect! Now repeat it with me!"
Kaguya was dumbfounded, but she blankly repeated:
"We Contain, We Secure, We Protect…"
Haruto nodded with approval.
"Good! Very spirited! I'll leave Fujiwara and the others to you, Kaguya. I trust you! Well then, something urgent came up back at the Foundation. I need to return to the site. We'll talk more later!"
After that bluff, Haruto turned tail and ran.
Kaguya stood there holding the memory eraser, completely stunned.
Ai Hayasaka's mouth twitched.
As expected, the scummy president is still the same scummy president. That flutter in her heart earlier… it must've been a heart attack or something.
Poor Kaguya-sama… being completely played in the palm of his hand.
"Milady, you…"
Hayasaka tried to comfort Kaguya a little.
But before she could finish, Kaguya suddenly grabbed her hand, full of excitement.
"Hayasaka! President Haruto said he trusts me! The psychology books say that trust means opening one's heart…"
Hayasaka: ?
Good grief.
Hayasaka clutched her chest, worried that her high blood pressure might finally take her out.
You… you're just hopelessly in love, aren't you?
"Milady, the Shinomiya family's car has arrived. Take care on the way back. I'm still on vacation, so I won't be returning."
With that, Ai Hayasaka also slipped away quietly.
Leaving Kaguya standing alone, lost in the breeze.
The Shinomiya car pulled up, picked up Kaguya, and headed back to Shuchiin Academy.
Meanwhile, Haruto, watching from a nearby corner, finally let out a breath of relief.
Dealing with Fujiwara Chika…
Unless you go straight in and use memory erasure…
Otherwise, given her personality, she'd probably get obsessed with the anomalies and investigate them to the end. And along the way, she'd be saying the most outrageous nonsense, delivering random chaos to our side.
That kind of headache…
Yeah, Haruto decided to run away from it.
Ai Hayasaka folded her arms and quietly watched the scummy president from behind.
Tch.
Haruto turned around and saw Hayasaka had appeared behind him at some point. He gave her an awkward smile.
"President, I thought the Foundation was in a rush?"
Hayasaka gave him a "nuclear-sweet" smile.
"Oh, it's not that urgent. We're only scheduled to begin the Kisaragi Station containment exploration tonight."
Haruto laughed awkwardly.
Hayasaka let out a short huff and turned to leave.
"I'll walk you back," Haruto suddenly said, and immediately caught up with her.
Hayasaka looked at him with confusion.
"I shouldn't be in danger anymore, right?"
Haruto nodded but sighed helplessly.
"Actually, it was pretty close. I almost didn't make it in time."
Hearing that, Hayasaka didn't seem too fazed.
She had already mentally prepared herself for death back then.
That message and the strange phone call—she hadn't pinned too much hope on them.
Just like her whole life up to that point…
She had learned not to expect anything from anyone.
Any hope or expectation, even in herself, would eventually fall apart.
Maybe that's exactly why she was so moved by Haruto's sudden appearance.
Haruto sighed again.
"I should've gotten there earlier… I got your message, but I didn't investigate your situation right away…"
Hayasaka shook her head with a smile.
"That couldn't be helped. The situation was complicated, and I didn't send much information. But I'm more surprised that you didn't get mad when I called you a piece of trash."
Her teasing helped lighten the mood.
"By the way, I heard from Kaguya that you took a leave to go home. Something troubling you?"
Haruto shifted the topic.
Hayasaka shook her head.
"Not really anything serious… I just… wanted to see my mom."
Haruto didn't pry any further. Instead, he gently took her hand. Her hand was small and delicate, with long, slender fingers.
Hard to believe that such hands handled so many details and difficult tasks.
When her hand was grabbed, Hayasaka instinctively tried to pull away, but didn't follow through.
Finding a secluded spot, the two of them took off into the sky.
After Hayasaka pointed out the direction, they soon arrived at her home.
In truth, Hayasaka's mother was once a high-ranking officer in the Shinomiya family and used to live in the main mansion.
But after a falling out with Kaguya's older brother—and coinciding with the chaos of the Tomie incident—she decided to quietly withdraw and leave the Shinomiya household.
Due to being busy with work, Hayasaka hadn't seen her mother in a long time.
As they landed, Hayasaka quickly ran ahead toward the main house.
She eagerly rang the doorbell, visibly excited.
Seeing this, Haruto understood:
So Hayasaka was a total mama's girl.
Before long, the door opened.
A blonde, blue-eyed woman appeared.
Nao Hayasaka—Ai Hayasaka's mother.
She was a textbook example of a mixed-race beauty, bearing an 80% resemblance to Ai Hayasaka.
Standing side-by-side, they didn't look like mother and daughter at all, but rather sisters.
Haruto vaguely recalled that Ai Hayasaka had one-quarter Irish blood—clearly inherited from the elegant lady before him.
Hayasaka didn't hold back at all. She threw herself into her mother's arms.
If this were out in public, or in front of Kaguya, she might've restrained herself. But here at home, she showed no restraint.
"Mom! I missed you so much!"
She poured out her longing with no filter.
Haruto chuckled as he watched.
So even the famed "Thousand-Faced Maid" could be this emotionally expressive?
Madam Nao was a bit surprised, but soon reached out and stroked Hayasaka's head.
"I missed you too, my long-lost daughter."
The mother-daughter moment was full of warmth.
However…
Haruto soon felt Madam Nao's gaze shift to him.
"Well now, aren't you going to introduce us?"
Nao spoke softly.
Hayasaka let go and smiled.
"Mom, this is Haruto, the president of my organization and my current boss."
But when she turned back toward Haruto, her expression darkened.
"Hey, don't get any funny ideas! That's my mother you're looking at!"
Haruto's mouth twitched.
He wasn't some kind of pervert, okay?!
But he understood her real meaning—she didn't want him dragging her mother into the Foundation.
After all, Nao Hayasaka was a core executive in the Shinomiya household and Ai Hayasaka's direct mentor.
In terms of capability, she was likely even more competent than her daughter.
Knowing Haruto's habit of recruiting talented individuals, Ai was sure he'd have his eye on her mom.
And having seen firsthand the dangers of the Foundation, the ever-loyal daughter was intent on keeping her mother far away from it.
Just like how she initially tried to stop Kaguya from getting involved with Haruto.
As for Haruto…
Well, the Foundation wasn't as desperate for talent as it used to be.
He had no intention of ignoring Ai's wishes and forcibly recruiting her mother.
"Madam Nao Hayasaka, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Haruto, Ai's current superior. Sorry for dropping by unannounced. I've brought a small gift—please accept it."
Haruto took out the gift he'd prepared beforehand.
They were Tier-2 items from the Foundation.
Technologically advanced but not overly abnormal—perfect as polite gifts.
Among them, there was a type of tea that could repair cells, boost platelet production, and reduce one's biological age.