"What are you doing here?"
A man's voice suddenly emerged from beside the black cat, causing her ears to twitch involuntarily.
"I'm here to, nya,"
Kuroka started to respond, but let out a soft cry mid-sentence.
A familiar sensation ran through her tail, that man had grabbed it without permission!
Although Kuroka's cry escaped her lips, the only person who noticed in the classroom was Koneko. Most of the other students had already been affected by Kuroka's suggestion magic.
Of course, Kuroka's hypnotic hints weren't even necessary since Takeyo had already layered his own suggestions over the classroom for safety.
"Do you know there's a Maou patrolling the area? With your strength, can you escape from a Maou if you're caught?"
Takeyo asked while continuing to stroke Kuroka's tail.
"I definitely came here with confidence, nya~ Also, you need to let go of my tail, nya~"
Kuroka showed her little fangs in displeasure. In a sense, this man was even more shameless than Vali!
"I know you have ways to escape from an ordinary Maou, but... what if something beyond a Maou's level shows up?"
Takeyo decided to give the little wildcat a reality check.
"Beyond a Maou's existence?"
Kuroka's ears stood at attention. She'd heard Vali mention this realm before, but had never truly encountered it herself. She only knew that beings of this strength were among the world's top ten or twenty strongest.
"That's right. You never know when someone like that might decide to catch you."
Takeyo's expression remained serious.
Sirzechs could definitely capture Kuroka if he chose to, but the question wasn't whether he could, it was whether he would.
That whole situation with her former master... the Underworld hadn't exactly handled it properly.
Of course, Sirzechs only refrained from acting because he believed Kuroka wouldn't cause trouble when visiting her sister at school.
If he knew she'd become involved with terrorist organizations, he would have already dragged her back to the Underworld and locked her up.
"Nya? Do you think you have the power of a Transcendent who could defeat Vali in his Juggernaut Drive form?"
Kuroka's tone carried a trace of skepticism.
You're all telling me Transcendents are incredibly strong, but I don't have any real frame of reference, nya.
"Forget it. Anyway... you came here today to see Koneko, didn't you? You're not planning to take her away right now, are you?"
Takeyo shook his head.
In the past, when he was still a mid-level Devil, he'd possessed Maou-class power through his Transcendent incarnation. Now, using that ability, he could indeed reach the Transcendent tier temporarily.
But... that wasn't the same as truly reaching Transcendence.
Kuroka listened to Takeyo's words and stretched languidly.
"What do I have to worry about when Shirone is by your side, nya? If you can't protect her, then I certainly wouldn't be able to either."
She already knew from Koneko that Takeyo possessed the ability to hear others' calls and rush to the caller's side instantly.
He'd been able to reach Koneko's side before specifically because of this power.
With his formidable strength, Takeyo could definitely protect her better than she ever could.
She could also see how much Takeyo valued Shirone.
So now... there was only one problem left to worry about.
"Takeyo, I can entrust Shirone to you... but you must promise me one thing, nya."
Resisting the strange sensation of having her tail touched by Takeyo, Kuroka spoke seriously.
"Right now, the issue is that you want to take her away, but you can't take her away. But go ahead, tell me what you want."
"This is very important, nya~"
Kuroka placed her hands on Takeyo's shoulders, her golden and black heterochromatic eyes meeting his gaze directly.
"You absolutely cannot let Shirone have children before she reaches adulthood. If she gives birth at her current age, it will cause serious problems for both of you, nya~"
Kuroka's tone carried more gravity than ever before.
"Alright, I understand what you mean."
Takeyo nodded seriously.
"You're saying that Koneko can't give birth to children yet. So the responsibility for bearing children falls to you instead, right, Kuroka?"
Takeyo's lips curved into a teasing smile.
"Huh?... Nya?"
Kuroka hadn't expected the conversation to turn toward her so suddenly, momentarily thrown off balance.
However, she recovered quickly.
Her cherry-red lips curved into a seductive smile as she licked the corner of her mouth.
"Nya, that's right~ If you're interested, you can come find me anytime~ I also want the child of a powerful dragon,"
Kuroka gazed at Takeyo with open desire. As a cat mandrill in her current state, she had complete control over her heat cycles.
"No!"
Just as she and Takeyo locked eyes, a young but firm voice came from the side.
"I won't hand Senpai over to Nee-sama!"
Koneko had appeared beside them at some point, her cheeks slightly puffed with displeasure as she expressed her dissatisfaction with her sister.
After saying this, Koneko directly hugged Takeyo's arm, claiming her territory.
"Ara ara, Shirone, do you want to compete with your older sister for a man? You'll need to wait until you become an adult for that,"
Kuroka looked down at Koneko condescendingly.
"What kind of assets do you have to attract this man, nya? You know that men are creatures loyal to their desires, right,"
Kuroka gave a provocative look before lowering her head toward Takeyo's hand.
She gently extended her small tongue and licked his palm.
There, nya~ Shirone, you're still too inexperienced. This is the proper way to capture a man,
"Hey, could you at least ask for my opinion on this?"
"Bonk~"
"Bonk~"
Without hesitation, Takeyo knocked both sisters on their heads.
The strength differed appropriately, but both impacts were just enough to cause mild discomfort.
"Nya?!"
"Senpai?..."
"Don't worry. As long as Koneko wants to live a peaceful life, I'll make sure she can have exactly that."
"And if she ever chooses to fight, I'll guarantee her safety."
Takeyo made his promise clear.
Just as he'd said before, his promises... would definitely be fulfilled.
"Then I can rest assured, nya,"
"But one thing at a time... so, are you interested in having children with me now, nya? The children we'd produce might be able to transcend the limits of our species,"
Kuroka had only maintained her serious demeanor for a moment before immediately returning to her carefree temperament.
"Hmph,"
Faced with her sister's provocation, Koneko gave her own response.
"I won't back down when facing Nee-sama. I've spent far more time with Senpai than you have!"
Koneko and Kuroka's gazes locked in front of Takeyo once again.
"Ara ara, Really, Shirone? Then let me tell you about the proper techniques for satisfying a man, nya,"
"Nee-sama, don't say it!" Koneko interrupted with a protective expression.
"Even without using that, I can still satisfy Senpai!"
Koneko's voice, though small, carried absolute firmness.
"Without using that, nya?" Kuroka showed a puzzled expression.
A few seconds later, realization dawned on her face as she stared at Koneko in disbelief.
"Shirone, what do you mean by, "
"Alright! This topic ends here!"
Takeyo stopped the two sisters before things could escalate further. If this continues, I'm going to have a problem.
"Ahem..."
To successfully redirect their attention, Takeyo tactically cleared his throat, achieving his goal.
...
Takeyo's assessment could be summed up in one sentence: these two sisters were way too much trouble.
So the solution was obvious, divide and conquer.
...
A short while later, Takeyo, who'd received a rescue call from Sona, finally managed to extricate himself from the two sisters, Koneko and Kuroka.
Kuroka shouldn't pose any threat now, and letting her spend time with Koneko to improve their relationship was probably for the best.
What happened next was more important.
Just moments ago, Takeyo had received a call from Sona requesting help.
"Takeyo? Please save me! I'm being smothered by my sister! I still have so much work to do!" Sona had pleaded while resisting her sister's aggressive affection.
"So-tan, You were absolutely amazing today! Your Onee-sama is so proud of you that I could cry,"
Serafall, dressed in her magical girl costume, was giving her sister an enthusiastic facial massage with her chest.
In keeping with her extreme sister complex, she wore an expression of pure bliss.
"Ah, "
Perhaps because Serafall was holding her too tightly, the phone in Sona's hand fell to the ground.
...
Having received the Student Council President's distress call, Takeyo found the two of them in a spirit of both rescuing Sona and teaching the Maou girl Serafall about debt repayment.
"Fortunately, there's nobody around. Otherwise, the President would really lose face."
Takeyo looked at their predicament and couldn't help but massage his temples.
"Bzzt,"
A bolt of lightning shot from Takeyo's hand and struck Serafall's body.
"Kyaa!,"
Serafall had a stress reaction and instinctively released Sona.
Sona seized this opportunity and broke free from Serafall's death-grip embrace.
"Heh,"
Takeyo smiled and casually blew on his fingers.
Perhaps it was because he'd just recently "educated" Grayfia, but Takeyo was feeling quite good about his Thunder Dao abilities.
"Do people with thunder attributes all have this hobby?" Takeyo wondered, remembering Akeno, she was also an S, wasn't she?
Wait... that's not right.
I haven't awakened any strange hobbies.
"Serafall, are you here to pay your debt?"
Takeyo's lips curved into a playful smile.
"Pay... a debt?"
Serafall's eyes filled with confusion. What debt? Do I owe you something?
"Have you forgotten? You said that if you lost to me, you'd agree to my conditions. You took all my CDs. You can't tell me you're going to deny it now."
Takeyo smiled slightly, and a golden sword appeared in his hand.
This was the Sword of Words that had sealed Serafall during their previous battle.
"The CD?"
Mentioning the CD jogged Serafall's memory.
"You mean... that Magical Girl Milky special edition CD?"
Serafall stammered slightly.
"That's right."
Takeyo responded with a smile.
Seeing her reaction, Takeyo knew she must have already experienced the content on that CD.
In fact, his speculation was correct.
Serafall hadn't just watched it, she'd replayed it at least five times!
She couldn't explain why she couldn't control her urge to keep playing that particular game.
Could it be... could it be that what I really yearn for is becoming that kind of magical girl? The kind who gets thoroughly ravaged by the Demon Lord and forced to do all sorts of things?
She'd played other games to clear her mind, but she just couldn't stop herself from returning to that one.
The reason was actually quite simple.
Because... that CD, like Takeyo's cat toys, had been drawn from the system.
This game was the type that made people unable to stop once they started playing. That's exactly why Serafall was questioning her entire existence.
After Takeyo's recovery period ended, there had still been a few unclaimed check-ins waiting when he woke up. The magical girl game CD was exactly what he'd obtained from one of those check-ins.
"It's that CD. So, Serafall, do you want to fulfill your promise?"
Takeyo asked with a smile.
However, what Takeyo considered a perfectly reasonable expression looked decidedly "nuclear" in Serafall's perception.
"I... I don't remember making any promises with Takeyo-chan. Ahaha,"
Serafall invoked a woman's privilege and played dumb.
"Oh? So you want to go back on your word?"
Takeyo shook his head, the small golden sword in his hand spinning continuously.
"No, how could it possibly be going back on my word, Takeyo-chan?"
"Ah! I suddenly remembered that Gabriel wanted to compete with me! So I'll be leaving first, So-tan, do your best,"
Serafall knocked herself on the head as if suddenly remembering something important, then fled in a hurry.
"My, what a willful Maou,"
Takeyo didn't actually intend to make her fulfill the promise right now, after all, Sona was still present.