Through Rias's arrangement, every afternoon after school Haruto would first come to the Occult Research Club, then follow Koneko to the grove for training.
Though called training, the reality was Haruto getting beaten up one-sidedly by the white-haired loli.
Koneko's close combat skills were exceptional, but she wasn't good at teaching.
She herself had never been formally instructed, having developed her skills purely through the traits of her Evil Pieces and real combat experience.
Additionally, the white-haired loli wasn't particularly talkative, showing tendencies of being a classic "silent type" character.
When it came to teaching, she only knew how to demonstrate through action.
Yet she was a remarkably responsible instructor—not only serious in her teaching but also extremely patient.
If Haruto didn't understand something, Koneko would just beat it into him a few more times until he got it.
If he got injured or exhausted, a recovery spell would fix him up before continuing the practical training.
Thus, Haruto endured both pain and progress.
The beatings hurt, but his improvement was visibly rapid.
With his natural talent for perfectly controlling his muscles, his combat potential was extraordinary.
Within just a few days, when using equal strength and speed, he could already parry Koneko's attacks.
He even managed to counterattack occasionally, though he'd never successfully landed a hit yet.
During the weekend, Haruto didn't rest either, treating it like a training camp as he went to school for more sessions with Koneko.
To facilitate Haruto's training, Koneko had recently stopped taking missions.
Others had taken over her workload.
Her only responsibility now was focusing on instructing Haruto.
...
Monday.
Tsubaki and Sona sent word—the investigation results were ready.
"Haru-chan, let's pause today's training," Rias called out to stop Haruto, who was about to head straight for the grove after greeting them.
"President, could you use a different nickname..." Haruto weakly complained.
These days, his relationship with Rias was getting better and better. Before he knew it, he was affectionately called "Haru-chan."
Perhaps it was because he was young, had delicate features, and wasn't even as tall as Rias...
Rias stood at 172 cm, while Haruto was only 170 cm.
Before his abilities awakened, he hadn't even reached 170 cm.
If he dressed up a little, he could easily pass for a girl—except for the lack of curves.
At one point, Haruto had even suspected that there might have been a "gender-bending" storyline for him in the original plot, which kept him awake for several nights.
Back when he lacked strength, the influence of the "Cuckold Protagonist Template" had stunted his growth, preventing him from getting taller or more muscular.
But as his power increased, Haruto gradually shook off that influence. He surpassed 170 cm in height and even gained some muscle mass.
He wasn't exactly the epitome of masculinity, but at least he no longer had to worry about accidentally turning effeminate.
Besides, he was only sixteen—there was still plenty of room for growth.
Since Rias kept calling him "Haru-chan," Akeno and Koneko followed suit and started addressing him the same way.
After some recent "training," the Takamine sisters no longer called him "Haru-chan" but instead referred to him as "Master."
Both in and out of bed.
His position in the household had shifted from "little brother" to "emperor" just a few days ago, yet now he found himself having to endure a new round of "humbling experiences."
What could Haruto do? He who eats another's bread is bound to their will.
He wasn't even Rias's servant, yet she treated him exactly like one.
More importantly, there wasn't a single person among them that Haruto could actually defeat in a fight.
So while he might complain verbally, his body obediently complied.
Koneko, who was a few months younger than Haruto, took advantage of her status as his mentor and also addressed him in the same patronizing way—"Haru-chan."
The most effective way to deepen bonds was, unsurprisingly, physical interaction.
Not the kind that happened in bed, but Koneko's daily habit of playfully punching his chest with her tiny fists had rapidly warmed their relationship.
Especially since Haruto was deliberately trying to charm her—showering her with care, gently chatting with her, and leveraging his naturally appealing looks along with the inherent attractiveness of the "Cuckold Protagonist Template."
Koneko, this so-called "emotionless loli," found her affection for him skyrocketing.
Aside from not mentioning her estranged older sister Kuroka, Koneko told Haruto everything—including the origin of her name, "Koneko Toujou."
Her original name was Shirone.
After becoming Rias's servant, Rias gave her the name "Toujou Koneko."
The surname "Toujou" was derived from the word for "castle."
As for "Koneko" (kitten), it was simple—she was a cat youkai.
Haruto felt that if he had just one more week...
Two at most—no more than that.
He was certain he could coax Koneko into bed and make her whimper and beg for mercy.
Ignoring Haruto's grumbling, Rias smiled and said, "We've confirmed who's targeting you."
"Really?!"
Hearing this, Haruto immediately stopped protesting and hurried over to Rias. "Who is it? That blond-haired youkai?"
"So you do remember. I thought you'd forgotten all about it after spending these days flirting with Koneko."
Haruto: "..."
He had nearly forgotten, but it definitely wasn't because he was too busy flirting with a white-haired loli—just deeply engrossed in training.
Rias didn't continue keeping them in suspense and said slowly, "It is indeed Taisei Oida. I didn't expect your first instinct to be quite accurate."
"See, I told you it was this guy," Haruto said indignantly. "With that blonde hair and pointy face, he looked like trouble from the start."
"If you'd listened to me earlier, we wouldn't have let that Blonde Devil gloat for so many extra days."
"You just happened to guess right. Without the account and transaction records provided by Tetsuya, we wouldn't have had any evidence to pin him down."
Haruto retorted stubbornly, "It wasn't a guess—I had proof."
"What proof?"
"Just look at that blonde hair. The moment I saw the photo, I was 100% sure it was him..."
Blonde hair, blonde hair...
Rias felt like her ears were about to grow calluses from hearing it so much.
In the end, it was still just intuition—what kind of proof was that?
She rolled her eyes at Haruto, too exasperated to respond.
Rias noticed that Haruto had a strong prejudice against blonde-haired people. Yuuto Kiba had visited the club a few times over the past few days, and Haruto's attitude toward him was clearly different from how he treated Koneko.
Not exactly hostile, but definitely not friendly.
Rias had reason to suspect it was because Yuuto Kiba had short, golden-blonde hair.
Haruto didn't know what Rias was thinking, or he would have cried foul.
He did dislike Kiba somewhat, but mostly because the guy seemed like a potential gay man.
Kiba wasn't a beautiful girl, so there was no chance of gaining any abilities from him.
As for his hair color...
If he changed it, Haruto might be able to try getting along with him.
But alas, until he could kill or cuckold a few more blondes, this knee-jerk reaction probably wouldn't go away.
If possible, Haruto wished Yuuto Kiba could be Yuuko Kiba instead.
Not only would the blonde issue disappear, but she'd also be another potential source of abilities.
Yuuko Kiba had an official character design, but there was no corresponding storyline.
As far as Haruto could remember, aside from that one image, there was no information about Yuuko Kiba.
She likely didn't exist in the Beta timeline, and he had no idea why the creators had even made that design.
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