After paying for the dessert he had ordered for Ophis, Kuro left the café and began walking along the sidewalk of Kuoh Town, which was gradually becoming busier with pedestrians.
The morning sunlight was still pleasantly warm, while the relatively cool air brushed comfortably against his skin.
Earlier, while completing the payment, Kuro had paused for a moment to think. He had ultimately decided not to rush through all of his business in the world of the Draconic Deus, more commonly known as DxD.
For once, he simply wanted to take a walk and enjoy the atmosphere of the small town. After all, there was nothing wrong with relaxing every now and then instead of constantly chasing one goal after another.
After walking for several minutes, Kuro stopped and turned his gaze toward the other side of the street.
A few kindergarten children could be seen walking in a line behind a woman who appeared to be around twenty-five years old.
The simple sight made him pause for a moment before a thought suddenly came to mind.
"...Hmm." Kuro rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe I should buy something for Illya and Yuki before heading back to the hotel?"
A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips once he had made up his mind. Without wasting any more time, Kuro continued walking, his mood feeling slightly lighter.
However, a few moments later, his steps slowed once again.
In the distance, he spotted a rather familiar figure: Tamamo no Mae.
The fox girl was standing near a zebra crossing, wearing a pink jacket that matched the color of her hair, complete with white striped patterns.
Black shorts, thigh-high socks, and black shoes with small ribbons at the backs of her ankles completed her outfit.
It was hardly surprising that Tamamo managed to attract plenty of attention. Several men walking nearby even found themselves glancing at her more than once.
Tamamo herself, however, paid little attention to them. She was already well aware that her appearance naturally attracted attention, so those lingering gazes were nothing more than an ordinary sight to her.
When the pedestrian light changed, Tamamo reflexively glanced to the side—and spotted Kuro.
Her eyes immediately lit up, and a bright smile spread across her beautiful face.
For a moment, the attention of the men around her seemed to shift in the same direction, especially when Tamamo raised a hand and called out loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear.
"Darling!"
Several heads immediately turned.
The men who had previously been watching Tamamo now followed her gaze and saw a handsome young man standing not too far away. Kuro responded to her call with a small smile and raised his hand.
Tamamo didn't wait any longer.
As soon as the pedestrian signal allowed her to cross, instead of continuing toward the other side of the street, she quickly made her way toward Kuro.
Once she was close enough, the fox girl immediately grabbed his arm and hugged it affectionately, pressing her soft cheek against it.
"Fufu~"
Kuro looked down at Tamamo clinging to his arm before briefly glancing around.
There, he found several of the men who had previously been admiring Tamamo now staring at him with expressions that seemed to blame him for every injustice in the world.
Seeing the sight, a faint smile appeared on Kuro's face before he let out an amused laugh.
"Caster, it's still morning," he said, shaking his head slightly. "And you've already made me the target of everyone's resentment?"
Tamamo merely giggled. She didn't look the least bit guilty. If anything, she tightened her embrace around his arm.
"Fufu~ Isn't that hardly my fault, Darling? I merely came over to you." She lifted her face slightly and gave him a sweet smile. "If they're jealous, isn't that their own problem?"
Kuro stared at her for several seconds before letting out a small sigh. He couldn't exactly argue with such simple logic.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say."
Afterward, Kuro glanced toward the increasingly crowded street before looking back at Tamamo.
"By the way, what about the kids? Are Yuki and Illya already awake and have they had breakfast?"
"They have~ They even ate quite a lot." Tamamo answered casually, though the smile on her face gradually turned a little gloomy. "They had spaghetti at the hotel restaurant."
Kuro nodded slightly.
"That's good."
Tamamo, however, let out a soft sigh as she looked ahead.
"Although I'm a little disappointed..." she murmured. "It's a little sad that the children ended up eating at the restaurant instead of getting to enjoy my cooking."
Kuro turned toward her. From Tamamo's expression, it was obvious that she couldn't completely hide her disappointment.
To the fox girl, cooking wasn't merely a household chore. It was one of the ways she expressed her affection toward the people she cared about.
Kuro simply smiled faintly.
"In that case..." he said after thinking for a moment, "where were you actually going?"
Tamamo blinked before a small smile returned to her face.
"Me?"
"Yes."
"Since Karna is looking after them at the hotel and they've even gotten him to play with them," Tamamo answered casually, "I didn't really have anything to do, so I decided to take a walk and enjoy the town."
Hearing her answer, Kuro nodded slowly. However, in the back of his mind, he still couldn't quite wrap his head around how exactly Karna had ended up being invited to play by Illya and Yuki.
The image of two little girls asking a legendary Heroic Spirit like Karna to play with them was rather absurd to imagine.
"Heh~" Kuro finally chuckled. "That must be quite a sight."
Tamamo giggled along with him before snuggling closer against his arm once again. Her golden eyes then shifted toward him, and a teasing smile slowly appeared on her beautiful face.
"So, Darling hasn't been back all night, has he?" she said in a sweet, affectionate tone. "And now that we've happened to run into each other... how about we have a little fun?"
Kuro fell silent. He turned and looked into Tamamo's golden eyes, which were now gazing at him expectantly.
For a moment, his thoughts wandered through all sorts of enjoyable activities they could do together.
After considering it for a few seconds, Kuro finally nodded.
"All right."
Tamamo's smile immediately widened.
"Fufu~ In that case, let's go, Darling."
Kuro then started walking, still allowing Tamamo to cling to his arm.
However, instead of heading toward the busier main street, he led the fox girl toward a narrow alley a few blocks away—the same place he had passed through earlier.
Tamamo noticed the direction they were taking before turning toward Kuro curiously.
"Darling, where are we going?"
Kuro merely smiled faintly.
"You'll find out soon enough."
Without offering any further explanation, the two continued walking down the alley, while the bustle of Kuoh Town gradually faded into the distance behind them.
***
Upon reaching the deepest part of the narrow alley, Kuro gently pressed Tamamo back against the wall. Her golden fox-like eyes widened slightly in surprise.
Before she could utter a single word, Kuro raised his hand and touched her chin, drawing her face closer until the thin boundary between them disappeared completely.
Tamamo fell silent. She felt something like a serpent winding its way through a narrow stream, as though searching for its counterpart. Slowly, the surprise in her eyes faded, her golden gaze becoming half-lidded.
"Eum~♡ nng... mm..."
The fox girl allowed the dance to continue—a movement that drew them closer, curled around itself, turned, then drifted apart before returning once more, like a warm dance whose meaning could only be understood by the two of them.
"Mmm... lick..."
Tamamo's soft breathing gradually became audible, filling the silence between them and turning their dance into a faint yet beautiful melody.
Her three tails, touching the wall and hidden beneath the veil of illusion, began to sway gently. Yet the narrow space left them pressed between Tamamo's back and the alley wall.
At the same time, Kuro's hand moved with the gentleness of a serpent discovering a hidden secret beneath layer after carefully guarded layer.
His touch remained soft and attentive amid the sea of petals within the forbidden garden, yet that very tenderness caused Tamamo's body to tremble faintly, like a leaf touched by the evening breeze.