Tachibana Koneko didn't speak, quietly hugging Inaba Tsukiyo, lowering her head, not looking at her.
Inaba Tsukiyo didn't interrupt, gently stroking Tachibana Koneko's back, soothing her emotions.
"Don't worry, Koneko. Don't look at me as only a teenager; in fact, my true age is much older than you imagine."
"I will not allow anyone who harms me to exist, nor will I allow those who harm the people around me to exist. On the contrary, if that person is one of us, I will grant the greatest leniency. As long as she doesn't betray me, I will be her greatest shield."
"So, don't think that this test will make me feel disgusted with you. That's impossible, Koneko. I'm not that cold and heartless."
Moreover, she couldn't bear to part with this adorable little cat, Tachibana Koneko. This clingy little cat reminded her of the cats in the pet store when she first met Kurumi.
In the past, due to a certain special aura she possessed, small Animals dared not approach her easily.
She wasn't saying that Tachibana Koneko was a kitten, but Tachibana Koneko's subsequent behavior was so much like a cat that Inaba Tsukiyo couldn't help but stroke Tachibana Koneko using a cat-like petting method.
She originally thought Tachibana Koneko would be angry about her actions, but Tachibana Koneko wasn't angry; instead, she greatly enjoyed Inaba Tsukiyo's petting.
Every time she lay on Inaba Tsukiyo's lap, she would ask Inaba Tsukiyo to caress her head, just like a kitten begging its owner for affection.
'This... this is probably what they call 'cat petting,' huh? Haha~ I wonder if Koneko's race is the Cat Tribe; if so, would I have a cat girl?'
The figures of two cat girls, one black and one white, appeared in her mind. She wondered if Tachibana Koneko would be as cute as them.
Lying in Inaba Tsukiyo's arms, Tachibana Koneko enjoyed Inaba Tsukiyo's petting. The reason she liked being by Inaba Tsukiyo's side was also because of this comfortable feeling.
She didn't feel any annoyance from this feeling; on the contrary, she felt an increasingly uncontrollable urge.
Tachibana Koneko didn't realize that the magic she had always suppressed was showing signs of losing control. The power she had always repressed was slowly being released through her interactions with Inaba Tsukiyo.
Inaba Tsukiyo noticed Tachibana Koneko's abnormality, but she didn't remind her. She felt that this was something Tachibana Koneko had always hidden in her heart.
'It seems... Koneko is hiding a lot of things in her heart. But... now is not the time.'
Only when Tachibana Koneko actively confided in her would it mean she had emerged from the shadows of the past, and only then would she become even stronger.
"Tsukuyo, will you suddenly leave?"
Tachibana Koneko, enjoying Inaba Tsukiyo's gentleness, suddenly remembered Inaba Tsukiyo's previous intention to leave. She grabbed Inaba Tsukiyo's clothes with both hands and asked with some unease.
"Leave? Probably. Because I can't stay in one place for too long."
Yes, she couldn't stay in this world forever; she had other things to do and couldn't remain in one world for too long.
"However... I'm only leaving for a while. If you, Koneko, feel uneasy, you can wait for me here. Time isn't a valuable thing for devils, is it?"
Unlike humans, time isn't something important for devils. Even a decade or more is just the blink of an eye for some beings.
However... that's for devils without attachments. If they have attachments in their hearts, then for devils, time is the most severe punishment.
Tachibana Koneko felt she couldn't leave Inaba Tsukiyo's gentleness anymore. She couldn't imagine if Inaba Tsukiyo left her, whether she could return to being her original self.
But... she couldn't leave Rias. As Rias's Rook, she couldn't leave her master's side.
"...Truly, a lovable kitten."
Inaba Tsukiyo cupped Tachibana Koneko's cheeks and, under Tachibana Koneko's puzzled gaze, slowly opened her eyes.
They weren't the usual wine-red pupils, but pupils emitting a faint blue light.
The moment she faced these eyes, Tachibana Koneko felt an unprecedented sense of crisis in her heart. It was the danger of death, as if the Inaba Tsukiyo before her had become the Grim Reaper come to claim her life.
However, this feeling quickly disappeared, as if the previous sense of crisis was just her imagination.
"Indeed... just as I imagined. You really are cute, Koneko."
Caressing Tachibana Koneko's cheek, Inaba Tsukiyo sat up from the bed and smiled.
"Tsukuyo? Aren't you...?"
Tachibana Koneko was a little slow to react. Didn't she say she couldn't see? Why was she suddenly acting as if she could see things?
"Yes, I can't see things. However, by expending a little something, I can also see what colors this world, originally unfamiliar to me, truly holds."
Inaba Tsukiyo pointed to her eyes, those dual pupils glowing with a faint blue light.
"This is a Magic Eye I obtained by chance. When activated, it allows me to temporarily regain my sight. However, the effects brought by this Magic Eye are not as simple as just restoring my vision."
Yes, these eyes were capable of killing even gods. If they were only used to observe this world, it would be too extravagant.
In the past, when she opened these Magic Eyes, the surrounding world would become a world filled with countless 'lines of death' and 'points of death,' but now it was different.
Now that she could control these eyes, the 'points of death' and 'lines of death' had also become things she could control.
"Haha~ It seems I'm a little bold today."
Smiling, she winked at Tachibana Koneko, cupped Tachibana Koneko's cheeks, and gently kissed her on the forehead.
"Eh? Tsukuyo? This... this is...?"
"This is a swordsman's kiss of oath, Koneko. You are the first person I've ever kissed. So this oath is more important than any other."
"As long as this oath remains, I will appear whenever you, Koneko, need me. This way, you won't have to worry about me not returning. Is that alright?"
This... this was the first time she had made such a promise. In the previous worlds, she had never guaranteed anything to anyone; she didn't expect to give her first promise here with Tachibana Koneko.
Tachibana Koneko caressed her kissed forehead, recalling Inaba Tsukiyo's words from just now, and a smile bloomed on her face unlike any before.
"Tsukuyo!"
Like a child, Tachibana Koneko pounced on Inaba Tsukiyo, rubbing her delicate face against Inaba Tsukiyo, making her ticklish.
Seeing Tachibana Koneko completely relieved, Inaba Tsukiyo gave up on trying to stop her, letting her indulge in some good pampering for once.
However... Inaba Tsukiyo looked towards the door and shook her head helplessly.
Outside the room, Mikazuki Munechika, leaning against the door and eavesdropping on the situation inside, clenched her right fist, her body trembling with anger.
She had said she would give the previous time to Tachibana Koneko, but when truly faced with this situation, Mikazuki Munechika felt her heart bleeding.
"Why? Why did I commit such a foolish act? Even to apologize, I shouldn't have given away the chance to be alone with Master."
Even if her usual opportunities to be alone with Inaba Tsukiyo were when Tachibana Koneko wasn't home, she couldn't accept this!
Because of this conversation, the relationship between Tachibana Koneko and Inaba Tsukiyo progressed another step.
Inaba Tsukiyo had originally thought that when Tachibana Koneko returned to report the situation this time, the person behind her would come over or invite her to be a guest at Kuoh Academy.
The result was that on the evening of the next day, just as she was waiting for Tachibana Koneko to arrive, a familiar in casual clothes appeared in the living room with a flyer. After placing the flyer down, he left.
Inaba Tsukiyo picked up the flyer left by the familiar with interest, examining it. This flyer was identical to the two previous flyers.
"This... are they planning to send others to test me?"
This brand new devil flyer was undoubtedly a flyer for a new devil, very likely a devil from the same faction as Tachibana Koneko.
"...Master? I think it's better to tear this thing up."
Mikazuki Munechika looked warily at the flyer in Inaba Tsukiyo's hand. There was already Tachibana Koneko, that 'cat who steals fish,' competing for her affection; now there was going to be another person?
Please, no! Tachibana Koneko had even been coming at noon recently. Did she really have to reduce her personal time with Inaba Tsukiyo even more?
If she could, Mikazuki Munechika really wanted to tear that flyer into shreds to prevent a magic circle from suddenly appearing and a new devil showing up there.
"Don't be like that, Munechika. Since the other party is doing this, it means this person definitely has something they want to tell us. Perhaps we can even learn other information."
Mikazuki Munechika, who was about to tear up the flyer, was held by Inaba Tsukiyo. The suspicious Mikazuki Munechika immediately lost the idea of tearing the flyer, nestled shyly in Inaba Tsukiyo's arms, and stopped making a fuss.
Just as Inaba Tsukiyo was comforting Mikazuki Munechika, the flyer, as expected, lit up, flashing a dazzling red light.
Just like the last time Koneko was summoned, the flyer transformed into a massive magic circle that appeared on the ground.
Mikazuki Munechika pouted. Although she could use Second Sword Style to interrupt the summoning ritual, she struggled for a while and, finding no way to get out of Inaba Tsukiyo's embrace, she gave up struggling.
It wasn't that she didn't want to get out of Inaba Tsukiyo's embrace! It was just that she didn't want to make Inaba Tsukiyo angry, which was why she didn't act! Don't misunderstand!
When the red light dissipated, a graceful figure appeared in the room. This was a girl with completely different attributes from Tachibana Koneko; at least in terms of figure, this girl could outshine Tachibana Koneko by a mile.
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