Meanwhile, while Kuro was casually chatting with Ophis, deep within the forests of the Underworld, a man in a white robe stood facing a woman with long black hair.
A pair of cat ears rested atop her head, while two black tails swayed gently behind her in the breeze.
The black kimono she wore loosely wrapped around her well-proportioned figure, revealing a small amount of skin without being excessive.
Her golden, cat-like eyes stared sharply at the white-haired man before her.
From the Ki she sensed, the man was clearly neither a Devil nor an Angel. He was human. Yet that was precisely what made Kuroka even more wary.
How could a human appear in the Underworld out of nowhere?
Even stranger, the man's Ki felt like an endless fog. She could sense its presence, yet she was completely unable to measure its depth.
"Who are you, nya~?" she asked softly, though the wariness in her voice was unmistakable. "And why did you suddenly appear in front of me just to ask me to teach you Senjutsu?"
The man smiled faintly, placed his left hand over his chest, and bowed politely.
"My name is Ash." His voice was calm, almost completely devoid of emotional fluctuation. "A lord of pale mist... who watches over the stars."
Kuroka blinked slowly.
"...Ash?" She tilted her head, trying to remember something before eventually shaking it slightly. "Hmm... I've never heard of that name before, nya."
Her golden eyes once again examined the man from head to toe, as though hoping to find some clue from his appearance. Yet the longer she looked at him, the more unfamiliar he seemed.
"If someone as powerful as you really existed, I would've heard of you at least once."
Gabriel merely returned her words with a faint smile, calm as the surface of a lake untouched by the wind.
"That's only natural," he said. "Ash has never been bound by any era."
Silence once again descended upon the forest. The breeze rustled the leaves overhead while Kuroka continued trying to digest an answer that sounded simple yet left her with more questions than answers.
A few moments later, Gabriel spoke again.
"Of course, I have no intention of asking for your assistance for free." He placed one hand over his chest as a gesture of respect. "In exchange, Ash will grant you one wish."
Kuroka's cat ears twitched slightly.
"One wish?"
"Anything."
That brief answer only heightened her suspicion. She narrowed her eyes, attempting to detect even the slightest change in the man's expression.
"...Anything?"
Gabriel nodded slowly.
"Provided that it is truly your wish as payment for being willing to teach me Senjutsu."
Kuroka remained silent for several seconds. Then, slowly, a mischievous smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
"Nyaa... I see~?" She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Then how about I ask you to kill Maou Lucifer?"
Gabriel did not even blink.
"That can be done."
The immediate answer caused Kuroka's smile to fade slightly.
"...Then what if I wanted someone who had already died to come back to life?"
"That can also be done."
Her cat ears twitched again. The longer the conversation continued, the harder it became for her to determine whether this man was bluffing or genuinely serious.
So she decided to raise the stakes.
"...Then..." she murmured, staring directly into Gabriel's eyes. "What if I asked you to destroy the entire Underworld?"
Gabriel maintained his faint smile.
"If that is truly your wish as the price for teaching me Senjutsu..." he said calmly. "Then Ash will grant it."
Silence descended once again.
There was no hesitation in his voice. No arrogance, let alone any hint that he was joking. The words came so naturally, as though he were discussing something that happened every day.
Kuroka continued staring at him for a moment before finally speaking.
"...Are you bluffing me, nya?"
Gabriel slowly shook his head.
"No."
Once again, the answer came without any meaningful emotion.
For the first time since their meeting began, Kuroka genuinely found herself at a loss.
Three requests she had deliberately chosen because they should have been impossible to fulfill had all received the same calm response.
Either this man was the greatest liar she had ever encountered, or he really was capable of doing everything he had just claimed.
Before long, a faint smile slowly returned to Kuroka's lips.
Clearly, she had thought of something.
After all, the mysterious man's promised reward would become hers once she finished teaching him Senjutsu.
Besides, although Ash appeared far stronger than her, he was still a human rather than a Yokai. As far as she knew, no human had ever truly mastered Senjutsu.
In other words, there was a good chance she would receive her reward without actually losing anything.
And from her first impression, the man also did not seem like someone who would break his promises.
Even if he ultimately failed to learn Senjutsu... that wasn't her problem.
"Then..." Kuroka crossed her arms in front of her chest, her mischievous smile returning. "I want a child from you, nya~."
She deliberately said it casually and waited.
For Kuroka, the request was not a genuine desire, but bait intended to test how seriously the man was willing to stand by his words.
"Even though you're not a dragon," she continued with a light shrug, "you're still incredibly powerful. So... if I ever have a child someday, it would naturally be better if the father were strong too, nya~."
There was not the slightest hint of surprise on Gabriel's face. Nor did he appear embarrassed. His expression remained completely calm, as though the request were nothing unusual.
Gabriel simply looked at Kuroka calmly before giving a slow nod.
"That is not a problem."
"...Eh?"
"If that is truly your wish as payment for teaching me Senjutsu." A faint smile returned to his face. "Then Ash will grant it."
Of course, Gabriel had not said those words carelessly.
In his mind, he already had a method of fulfilling the request without relying on ordinary human reproduction.
Through Homunculus Magic, he could convert magical power into a genetic pattern and use it as a medium for creating life.
The technique did not depend on conventional reproduction. Instead, it operated through biological reconstruction entirely controlled by magic.
He had previously tested a similar method on Delta in the world of The Eminence in Shadow.
Although Delta was a Wolf Therianthrope while Kuroka was a Nekomata, the difference in race did not present an obstacle to the magic.
As long as the target possessed a compatible biological structure, Homunculus Magic could function as intended.
Because of that, from Gabriel's perspective, Kuroka's request was by no means impossible to fulfill.
Kuroka, however, had no idea why the mysterious man was so confident.
At the same time, the mischievous smile on Kuroka's face froze completely.
Her cat ears stood straight up, while her eyes blinked repeatedly, as though her mind refused to process the answer she had just received.
"...Huh?"
For the first time since their conversation began, Kuroka was the one who had been rendered speechless.
She had only wanted to test how far the man was willing to stand by his words.
It had never once crossed her mind that Gabriel would accept without hesitation, without even the slightest change in expression.
As though her request were nothing more than an ordinary transaction.
Gabriel did not even give her a chance to recover.
"Then..." he continued in the same calm tone. "When do you think would be the right time to begin teaching me how to use Senjutsu?"
Kuroka simply stared at him blankly.
Several seconds passed before she finally regained her senses. For the first time since their meeting began, the entire rhythm of the conversation was in Gabriel's hands.
Only then did Kuroka realize that she had just fallen into the very trap she had set herself.
"...W-Wait, nya!"
She hurriedly shook her head, causing her cat ears to wobble along with it.
"That doesn't count! I want to change my request!"
Gabriel fell silent. For the first time since their conversation began, he did not answer immediately.
He tilted his head slightly, as though genuinely considering Kuroka's request from another perspective.
Several seconds later, he finally spoke.
"That is not possible."
"...Eh?"
"The contract has already been sealed by Ash."
Kuroka blinked several times.
"Sealed...?"
Gabriel nodded slowly.
"The request was made. Ash accepted it. Therefore, the contract is already in effect."
His tone remained calm, sounding almost like someone explaining a rule that had existed since ancient times. That very calmness was what caused Kuroka to start losing control of the conversation.
"W-Wait!" she protested quickly. "There's no way a contract becomes valid just because I said something like that on a whim, nya!"