Chapter 53: Kuroka: Too Weak, My Turn! (Patreon)

Since they were facing the Phenex family tomorrow, getting a good night's rest tonight was essential.

Those were Rias's exact words.

And so, after dinner, everyone returned to their respective rooms to wash up.

Just like that, the time ticked past eight o'clock in the evening.

Inside his bedroom, Hanakain Fubuki, having already bathed, was lying on the bed playing a handheld console. Kuroka, taking advantage of the fact that no one else was around, had reverted to her original form. She plopped herself down in the young man's lap, restlessly nuzzling and squirming against him, clearly trying to cause mischief.

Looking at this scene alone, it wasn't drastically different from their usual days at home, aside from playing on a handheld instead of a console.

But that couldn't be helped. After all, the aesthetic sensibilities in the Devil World mostly seemed stuck in the previous century compared to the human world, and electronic entertainment was far less abundant.

The most crucial point was that the Devil World's network and the human world's network were not interconnected. Even if one wanted to use a phone to create a hotspot for a gaming device, it required having a signal in the first place.

Unfortunately, mobile phones had no signal in the Devil World either. At best, one could only play offline games.

Creeak—

In a scene that felt strangely familiar, the sound of a door hinge turning echoed without warning from the doorway. The moment the door pushed open, Kuroka, who had been mischievously nestled in Hanakain Fubuki's lap, vanished instantly. In her place was a well-behaved black kitty, curled into a neat ball upon the young man's legs.

Following this, a certain red-haired girl poked her head in from outside the door.

This time, she specifically fixed her gaze on Hanakain Fubuki on the bed the very instant she entered.

Okay, good. No sign of that black-haired, cat-eared girl in a loose kimono. So, she must have been mistaken that morning...

While Rias was letting out a small sigh of relief over here, the young man's voice came from the bed.

"What's wrong, Rias? Aren't you coming in?"

"Mmh, coming..."

Responding softly, Rias pushed the door open and gracefully walked into the room, coming to sit down on the edge of the bed.

Hanakain Fubuki looked down, exited his game, and placed the handheld aside. When he lifted his head again, he got a clear look at Rias's appearance.

Likely having just bathed as well, Rias was wearing only a short, silk slip-style nightgown. The hazy white material draped over her impressive figure, barely covering down to the bottom of her hips, revealing her perfect curves in a way that was both clear and dreamlike.

Unable to directly meet the boy's gaze upon her, Rias turned her face slightly away, her cheeks flushed an even deeper crimson than right after her bath.

"Wh-what are you staring at? This is just a nightgown I wore when I was little. Since I was back home, I dug it out and tried it on. Apart from being a little short, it looks alright, doesn't it?"

"Of course. It looks very nice."

Hanakain Fubuki stated honestly.

However, the words had barely left his mouth when Kuroka, transformed into an ordinary cat lying on his lap via Senjutsu, subtly twitched her hind leg, giving him a stealthy kick from an angle the red-haired girl couldn't see.

"But isn't it a bit early to come over now?"

"Eh? Is... Is it?"

As if her secret intentions had been instantly exposed, Rias froze for a moment, then stammered, her face reddening further.

"But I just came back from chatting with Mother for a while! Mother said she needed to rest, so I came out."

"Does Auntie usually rest this early?" Hanakain Fubuki narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Well, no."

Rias recalled for a moment.

"Usually, Mother sleeps a bit later, probably around ten o'clock each night. But she just told me that because she knew I was coming back today, she couldn't help waking up a bit early this morning, which made her sleepy now..."

"Alright, I believe you."

Hanakain Fubuki pursed his lips.

It didn't take a genius to figure it out. Devils have practically endless lifespans. Aside from the newer generation, many devils from the previous generation were hundreds, if not thousands, or even tens of thousands of years old.

Humans, with their short lifespans, couldn't even adjust their sleep schedules completely within a single day, let alone devils whose lives stretched out almost infinitely.

"Eh? What do you mean? Fubuki, are you saying..."

Rias paused again, then suddenly understood.

If her mother wasn't really sleepy and just told her to go back to her room first, did that mean her mother actually knew what she was planning...?

"Perhaps you were too distracted while chatting with Auntie, and she saw right through you," Hanakain Fubuki delivered the final, decisive blow.

Rias's small face instantly turned beet red, but she stubbornly persisted, "I wasn't distracted, I was just multitasking! Half my attention was on chatting with Mother, and the other half was thinking about... you. That's perfectly reasonable, isn't it!"

This declaration sounded almost like a confession, causing Kuroka, lying on the young man's lap, to crack open an eye and glance over before sticking out her tongue.

Blegh~ How could she say something so cheesy without cringing?

Unlike her, she spent every day thinking wholeheartedly about Hana-Hana.

"Um..."

Rias's face grew redder the more she spoke, her gaze drifting elsewhere. The white shoulders exposed by the silk nightgown gently rose and fell with her increasingly rapid breathing.

"Anyway, since I'm already here, it's about time we..."

The girl was too thin-skinned to continue, but her intention was abundantly clear.

It was time to do it.

...

And so, from just past eight o'clock until nine-thirty at night, a full hour and a half passed.

When the activity in the room finally ceased, Rias had not a shred of strength left in her entire body. She lay limply collapsed in the young man's embrace, her silk nightgown completely soaked with sweat, clinging to her skin and outlining curves that were previously only hinted at.

The two lay quietly on the bed, the aftermath of their encounter spreading traces across the nearby floor.

"Fubu...ki..."

On the bed, Rias propped herself up, tilting her face as if wanting to kiss the young man's lips again.

But she didn't notice that on the sofa near the wall, Kuroka had curled her soft feline body into a ball, her golden eyes reflecting the pair's figures with utter disdain.

Hmph~ Such a weak little girl, already done after just over an hour. How can she expect to satisfy Hana-Hana with such a short stamina bar?

Too naive!

With this thought, Kuroka sat up on the sofa. Her spiritual power stirred, undoing the transformation spell and returning her to her original form. She raised her index finger, tapped lightly, and condensed a small white orb of light in the air. It flew towards the red-haired girl on the bed, who had her back to her. The moment it touched Rias's body, it merged directly into her.

As if hit by a lullaby, the light orb struck Rias, and her exhausted body could no longer hold itself up. She slumped to the side, falling into a deep sleep.

Gazing at the red-haired girl on the bed, who was unlikely to wake up anytime soon, Kuroka hummed a triumphant little tune. She hopped off the sofa, climbed onto the bed, and reclaimed the spot that rightfully belonged to her, licking her lips enticingly.

"Now then, Hana-Hana, it's big sister's turn~"