Back at the Keikain residence—
Bokue arrived home later than usual and had to endure a predictable round of face-hugging and clingy catgirl antics the moment he stepped through the door.
After washing up—wiping away the traces of saliva left by a certain cat-eared housemate—he emerged from the bathroom to find that Kuroka had already set out dinner on the table in the living room.
"Alright, time to eat."
She hummed a little tune, taking her seat by the dinner table and waving Bokue over. Two fluffy cat tails swayed behind her kimono, clearly showing she was in a decent mood.
It was hard to believe that only minutes earlier, she'd been snarling and "Sniffing" him for the scent of some unfamiliar woman—attempting to bite him in annoyance.
But cats are just like that: after they mark their territory, everything is fine again.
Sure, it was a bit odd.
She insisted on removing her scent from Bokue each morning—so that her younger sister wouldn't catch wind of it—and yet come evening, she'd throw a fit if she detected someone else's smell, promptly reapplying her own. Then, the next morning, she'd remove it all over again…
Like a strict uniform policy at school where you can only show off your new outfit for a few hours at home, then you're back to the uniform the next day. But Bokue didn't mind. If it made the catgirl happy, that was all that mattered.
The moment Bokue sat down, Kuroka slid her way into his lap as if by magic—without him lifting a finger. Her catlike flexibility let her wiggle right onto him. And then—casually—she grabbed a large hunk of braised beef, holding it in her teeth and offering it to him.
No words needed—her intent was obvious: she wanted him to bite it from her mouth, basically sharing the chunk of meat.
Bokue paused, then gave in. Just as he opened up, Kuroka lunged and tore the beef into two roughly equal pieces—one for each of them.
"…How is it? Tasty?" Find the newest release on NoveIＦire.net
She licked her lips, satisfied. Bokue chewed for a bit.
"It's okay, I guess—most of the juices got sucked away by you, so it's kinda bland now."
"Shall I get you another piece?"
"Nah, let's just eat dinner properly…"
Even so, she didn't climb off his lap. She remained perched on him, "helping herself" whenever he lifted a bite of something she wanted. Conversely, she sometimes offered tidbits to him, either by hand or mouth. It made the extra dining chairs seem entirely pointless.
Bokue ate, half-smirking inwardly at their routine.
Then Kuroka glanced up from his lap.
"By the way, how did things go with my sister at school today?"
"Huh? Fine, I guess…"
Bokue swallowed his food. Kuroka's little sister, of course, was Koneko—originally named Shirone. Kuroka had told him about that long ago.
"What do you mean, 'fine, I guess'?" she asked, feeding him a mouthful of enoki mushrooms straight from her chopsticks. "I told you to keep an eye on Shirone at school, didn't I? Or were you too busy getting it on with those busty women every day?"
"Getting it on"?! Great.
He tapped her lightly on the head with his chopstick handle, giving her a faintly exasperated look.
"You're imagining things. Besides, Koneko's not in the same grade. Wandering into another class all day would look suspicious—like I'm up to no good. She's hardly a kid who needs constant watch to make sure she's eaten lunch."
"So what? I've already said it's okay if you get together with Shirone, haven't I?"
"…You're joking, right?"
"How is that a joke?"
Kuroka genuinely didn't seem to see the problem. After a moment's thought, she let out an "oh" of realization.
"Oh, you mean that time I said I'd pop up right in the middle if you tried something with Shirone—then join in, yeah? Hmm, well, that can't be helped. She's still avoiding me, after all. A book I read says sisters are more likely to reconcile if they do certain things together~"
"I'm pretty sure that 'certain things' in your book wasn't about 'that'."
Bokue resisted the urge to facepalm. "Never mind. Let's not talk about this bizarre stuff."
Surprisingly, she gave up the topic readily, just licking her lips in a flirtatious manner.
"Anyway, after dinner we can bathe. Then—heehee~"
Midway through her suggestive words, she recalled something else.
"Say, did that Jujutsu Sorcerer girl from before contact you again?"
"No. Haven't heard from her."
Bokue set down his chopsticks, pulled out his phone, and glanced at both the forum DMs and his texts. Nothing new.
Kuroka leaned over to confirm no new messages, then shrugged.
"Fine, Let's keep eating. Then we can get down to… a different kind of business!"
Right as she said that, a news-app banner popped up on Bokue's phone:
[Breaking: 5:39 P.M. Today—Authorities discovered the body of a male victim in a Tokyo Chuo Ward home, apparently slaughtered by a cult. Police advise residents to keep doors and windows locked, and report suspicious persons…]
The rest was the usual police statement. Bokue focused on the first half.
It matched the place where he'd killed the ex-priest Freed. That poor homeowner must have been found. But why only one body? He'd left Freed's severed head on the table, too, right?
Japan's police weren't so incompetent as to miscount the corpses… were they?
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