Apartment, Room 705.
In this room that would be a bit cramped for a whole family but overly spacious for a single person, laughter from a girl and joyful meows of kittens were constantly echoing from one of the side rooms.
"Wah, this little one is so cute. Come here, come to big sister, let big sister hold you!"
"Here's some catnip for you, Nagisa-chan."
"Thank you, Kanon-chan, but is it okay to give such a small kitten catnip?"
"Just a little bit is fine."
"Alright~~~ Come on, be good, be good."
"Ah, don't go near the window."
This warm scene of Akatsuki Nagisa and Kanase Kanon playing with the kittens was unfolding in the side room, accompanied by silver bell-like laughter that echoed constantly through the space.
Off to the side, Kaiser, who was preparing the cat litter, found this scene especially pleasing to the eye. He couldn't help but take out his phone and snap several photos of Nagisa and Kanon, who were surrounded by cats—with kittens lying on their shoulders and knees.
"Kai-kun! Don't take pictures of us secretly! Secretly taking photos of girls is a crime, you know!"
The sharp-eyed Nagisa noticed the scene first, feeling a bit shy at first, then puffing up angrily to protest.
Kanase Kanon had already noticed Kaiser taking photos of them. Though she didn't understand what was worth photographing about someone like her, she still gave a slightly embarrassed and shy smile, which made Kaiser snap even more photos of her.
"This is the price for coming to my house to play with cats," Kaiser said matter-of-factly without putting his phone away. "Even cat cafés charge a fee, right? I'm just taking a few nice photos—it's a reasonable price, don't you think?"
"There's no such thing as charging people without notice! If there's such a price, you should have said so in advance! Otherwise, you really will be taken to the police station!" Nagisa wasn't as easy to fool as Kanon. She snorted lightly and said, "Anyway, Kai-kun, you can't just take pictures of us. What if the photo doesn't look good?"
Alright, that last line was the main point.
Girls, after all, don't really hate being photographed.
As long as the photos turn out good, they might even wish for more to be taken—shoot for a whole day without issue.
The only thing they truly can't accept are ugly photos. Such pictures are absolute anti-humanity records that must not exist.
But Kaiser wanted to say this to Nagisa:
"Do you two have some kind of misunderstanding about your looks?" Kaiser sighed and said, "With faces like yours, no matter how I shoot, the photos will turn out great, okay?"
Needless to say for Kanase Kanon—she was the saint of the middle school division. Clearly just a girl under fifteen, yet she was already practically the school beauty of Saikai Academy, making even the high school senior girls feel overshadowed.
Although Nagisa wasn't quite as stunningly beautiful as Kanase Kanon, she was still a bonafide beauty in the making. In the future, she might not fall short compared to Kanase Kanon.
So, no matter how they were photographed—left, right, top, bottom, even upside down—they would still look good. Even making silly faces would come off as cute.
Kaiser openly said these things, making both girls a bit embarrassed.
"Geez, it's not as exaggerated as you say, Kai-kun,"
Nagisa said this with her mouth, but the visible joy on her face showed that she was still quite pleased with Kaiser's compliments.
"Nagisa-chan is definitely very cute," Kanase Kanon said. "Unlike me."
"Kanon-chan, are you joking with me?" Nagisa was a bit dumbfounded. "You're the saint of the middle school division! It's not just your class—there are tons of boys in our class who like you too, you know?"
"How could that be?" Kanase Kanon didn't quite believe it, fiddling with her hair and saying, "No one really wants to talk to me. I can tell."
This girl—she's way too unaware of her own beauty.
"See, it's that line again. Didn't I already tell you, it's not that people don't want to talk to you, it's that they don't dare to," Nagisa slapped her forehead and looked toward Kaiser as if asking for help. "Kai-kun, you tell her too. Let Kanon-chan properly realize how pretty and popular she really is."
"Forget it. She's fine the way she is," Kaiser didn't go along with it and said bluntly, "As long as Kanon remains unaware of her looks, I can keep boosting favorability by constantly praising her. Hm, this strategy's difficulty is really low."
"This isn't a game! You're not allowed to use underhanded tactics to win over girls' hearts! Stupid Kai-kun!" Nagisa was unhappy, huffing angrily. "I was even thinking of treating Kai-kun to dinner tonight, but now… hmph! No dinner for you!"
Was that a threat?
You're using this to threaten a God-Slayer?
What kind of God-Slayer would accept such a threat?
"I apologize, I'm sorry." Kaiser immediately changed his tone and said, "Please, Lady Nagisa, spare me just this once. Don't let me starve to death at home tonight."
Upon hearing this, Nagisa burst out laughing.
"I'm telling you, Kai-kun, you're being way too dramatic."
Seeing Nagisa laugh, Kanon also laughed. But in her glacier-blue eyes, a hint of envy quietly appeared.
She envied the close relationship between the boy and the girl, close enough to mess around so casually.
She also envied that the two were neighbors, able to eat dinner together, laugh together, and spend a beautiful evening together.
Unlike herself…
Thinking about what she had to do after returning home, Kanase Kanon's gaze lowered, hiding the gloom that nearly surfaced.
But watching the kittens running around and rolling freely in the spacious room, playing happily, Kanon unconsciously felt at ease again.
Kaiser's apartment was the same type as the Akatsuki household—three bedrooms, one living room, with kitchen, living, and dining areas. It was definitely a bit large for just one person.
Especially the rooms—Kaiser only needed one for his bedroom. Of the remaining two, he planned to turn one into a computer room.
As a demonic zone, Itogami Island was at the forefront of researching demons, and many new technologies were born here, including internet tech.
So, even though the world's current timeline was in 2011, in a place like Itogami Island, some science and tech were still quite advanced.
Kaiser had discovered many online games in this world that he had never heard of before and became interested—thus the idea of converting a room into a computer room.
Because his gains from the previous world were already enormous—not only becoming a Campione and acquiring a very special physique, but also obtaining around ten Authorities—Kaiser didn't have such grand ambitions this time.
So this time, Kaiser didn't plan to deliberately create an exciting life for himself. He planned to enjoy life a bit and relax.
After all, even if he did nothing, as long as he existed in this world, this fantasy world would gradually turn into reality. So what's wrong with taking it easy for a while?
There weren't any especially appealing armaments in this world either. Given that, slowing down the pace of growth might not be a bad thing.
Now, Kaiser had already basically passed the early phase of being weak and lacking in power—there was no need to be so obsessed with chasing strength anymore.
This idea also came from that conversation with Athena.
"My future is still very long. With the Hōgyoku residing in my body, I am destined to be undying and immortal. So for hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, even hundreds of millions of years to come, must I keep obsessively pursuing strength like this?"
There was no need at all.
He absolutely didn't want to become like those battle maniacs, who could only find stimulation and entertainment in combat in the future.
With that in mind, Kaiser decided to slack off temporarily—take it easy, and occasionally stir things up with a fight for fun.
As for power… leave it to fate.
He was already strong enough.
Then, the last room—Kaiser had originally planned to use it as a storage room, but now intended to convert it into a cat room.
From now on, the dozen or so cats in the house would live there—their eating, drinking, and bathroom needs would all be taken care of inside.
Devoting an entire room to raising cats…
It had to be said—that was quite generous.
And this was what made Kanon feel reassured. She believed that Kaiser would never mistreat these kittens.
......
Just like that, Kanase Kanon stayed in Kaiser's home for over an hour before finally saying goodbye and leaving.
Kaiser and Akatsuki Nagisa didn't walk her out.
"Someone will come to pick me up."
Kanon only said that one line, then left the apartment with a somewhat ethereal smile.
After Kanon left, Nagisa also went home, saying she was going to make dinner.
However, before leaving, she said this:
"It's been a long time since I saw Kanon-chan smile so happily."
According to Nagisa, Kanon didn't seem very happy at school. Occasionally, she would even show a sad expression, which made others feel uneasy.
At first, the reason she approached Kanon was because she saw that sorrowful look.
"I heard Kanon-chan used to live in a convent five years ago. She's an orphan. After an accident at the convent, everyone died—only she survived…"
"Kanon-chan must be very sad, right?"
"Thank goodness someone adopted her."
Leaving those words behind, Nagisa left.
"Thank goodness someone adopted her… huh?"
Kaiser watched Nagisa leave and murmured softly.
"That might not necessarily be a good thing."
Perhaps that was just the beginning of another kind of sorrow?
With this thought, Kaiser returned to the cat room.
"Come here."
With a single command, all the kittens came running to him.
Spiritual power surged within Kaiser's body, and the Authority of the King of Beasts quietly unfolded and activated.
"Buzz…"
Waves of the Authority spread out, reaching each of the kittens.
Before long, the eyes of each kitten became bright and intelligent, as if they had been enlightened and gained wisdom.
Under the influence of the King of Beasts, these kittens had now become magical creatures—Kaiser's familiars.
"Chirp chirp chirp——"
Outside the window, flocks of little birds flew over, landing on the sill. Their eyes were just as lively and humanlike as the kittens'.
No one knew that these seemingly ordinary birds and cats had already become soldiers under Kaiser's command—no longer what they appeared to be...