Like a fierce beast, draped in a cloak, its face obscured by the hood, it wielded a wooden sword and charged out at an extremely fast speed.
The next moment, the wooden sword in the cloaked figure's hand tore through the air and fiercely slashed down towards Inaba Tsukiyo's position.
The opponent had clearly been waiting for Inaba Tsukiyo's arrival at this spot, in the best position, preparing this fatal attack.
"...A bit interesting."
Slightly opening her eyes, the person who attacked her had quite good attainments in swordsmanship; at least, this series of movements had no flaws.
Although there was still room for improvement, if it were against ordinary people, caught off guard, this move would probably have succeeded.
However, it was a pity. Although the cloaked figure's hiding spot was very concealed, and there was no movement, Inaba Tsukiyo had already detected the opponent in advance.
She moved slightly to the side, easily dodging the opponent's attack.
Almost simultaneously as the wooden sword fell past her shoulder, Inaba Tsukiyo had already made her move, placing the palm of her right hand on the opponent's stomach.
"A very good ambush. However, trying this trick in front of me is still a bit underwhelming."
(Inaba Tsukiyo: What's wrong with you, little brother?)
The cloaked figure reacted immediately. Just as the opponent was about to swing the wooden sword in their hand to attack Inaba Tsukiyo's stomach, Inaba Tsukiyo moved.
[Bang!]
Like a cannonball, a violent explosion erupted from Inaba Tsukiyo's palm, directly sending the cloaked figure flying backward.
[Magic Bullet]
This was the ultimate move of Inaba Tsukiyo's foolish disciple. Although he was a somewhat annoying disciple, he still had his merits; at least with the Magic Bullet, Inaba Tsukiyo was very satisfied with him.
Watching the opponent fly away from the Magic Bullet's attack, Inaba Tsukiyo chose not to pursue, directly ignoring the opponent and turning to go home.
"Eh? Eh? Master! Master! Why aren't you continuing? That guy actually dared to attack Master, aren't you going to teach him a good lesson?"
"Have you ever seen someone attack with a wooden sword? I don't think this person's realm has reached the point where every blade of grass and every tree can be used to kill."
Moreover, this guy had no killing intent from beginning to end. Although every move was a killing move, Inaba Tsukiyo saw that this person had no killing intent, so she didn't strike to kill.
However... even without striking to kill, he would probably be in discomfort for a while, as the Magic Bullet's attack came from inside the body, even if the opponent was a devil.
"I really don't know which faction wants to test me. Could it be that the faction behind Koneko wants to understand my general strength before contacting me?"
And indeed, this person was sent by Rias. She was simply too curious about Inaba Tsukiyo's existence.
Originally, when they discovered that Tachibana Koneko's customer was a Little Loli, Rias and Himejima Akeno's expressions were very amusing.
They had originally thought the person would at least be male, but it turned out to be a girl! And a cute girl! A Little Loli!
This made things a bit interesting. From Inaba Tsukiyo's attire, they roughly guessed if she might be a shrine maiden. Himejima Akeno herself was a shrine maiden, albeit an S-type shrine maiden.
But... they couldn't deny the guess! Even if it was a girl, Himejima Akeno didn't think her idea was wrong, because she could see that Tachibana Koneko truly liked this regular customer.
Did this mean... Tachibana Koneko really liked Inaba Tsukiyo? Not the kind of liking for a friend, but a feeling beyond that?
This wasn't impossible; at Kuoh Academy, there were secret couples of girls, but they just hadn't been exposed yet.
Well, thinking about it this way, Himejima Akeno's curiosity about Inaba Tsukiyo almost reached its peak. This was truly too interesting.
She didn't think Tachibana Koneko was a lesbian. Even if she didn't show obvious interest in boys at school, she shouldn't be interested in girls.
What kind of charm did Inaba Tsukiyo possess that made Tachibana Koneko change her sexual orientation and fall for her?
Another point was that Tachibana Koneko's strength improved almost every day when she was with this Little Loli.
Rias and Himejima Akeno were too interested in this customer Tachibana Koneko was serving, not only Inaba Tsukiyo herself, but also the way she made Tachibana Koneko stronger.
And the gauntlets she took out when dealing with the Rogue Devil earlier, those were clearly high-level [Sacred Gears]. How did she get those [Sacred Gears]?
Tachibana Koneko's significant changes must be related to Inaba Tsukiyo. Who exactly was this person?
What was Inaba Tsukiyo's identity? Which faction did she belong to? And why did she appear in Kuoh Town?
To test Inaba Tsukiyo's depth, Rias secretly kept Tachibana Koneko after school and then had Kiba Yuto secretly go and probe her.
At the Occult Research Club, Tachibana Koneko, who was supposed to report here and then go to Inaba Tsukiyo's house, was sitting there, sending a text message to Mikazuki Munechika saying she might not come today.
Imagining Mikazuki Munechika's happy expression upon receiving this message, Tachibana Koneko felt a wave of discomfort.
But there was nothing she could do. Rias had called out to her just as she was about to leave.
She originally thought she would have to go out and deal with those [Rogue Devils] again tonight, but Rias wanted Tachibana Koneko to stay and keep her company.
There was no other choice. As Rias's subordinate, Tachibana Koneko could only reluctantly accept Rias's request and stay.
"Oh my~ Koneko, what are you doing? Did you make a new friend at school?"
Himejima Akeno asked. Tachibana Koneko's every move was watched by her and Rias. They were waiting for Kiba Yuto's return, for his assessment of Inaba Tsukiyo, and then they would decide on their next course of action.
"No, I'm just telling a customer that I won't be coming tonight. She's not a friend."
Right! That person was not a friend! That person who kept calling herself 'this concubine' was so annoying!
Did she really think wearing a kimono made her a young lady? She just spent more time with Inaba Tsukiyo, what was so great about that?
Tachibana Koneko also knew Mikazuki Munechika's true identity as a weapon. Although surprised, it wasn't something she couldn't accept.
There were many types of [Sacred Gears], and some powerful [Sacred Gears] even contained powerful souls. It wasn't strange for Mikazuki Munechika to be able to take on a human form.
Tachibana Koneko didn't know that Mikazuki Munechika was originally just a weapon. If it weren't for Inaba Tsukiyo, Mikazuki Munechika probably would never have had the chance to take human form in this lifetime.
"Oh~ Is that so? Hehe~ It seems this customer is very important to Koneko. Could you introduce this customer to me and the President? What kind of person is she?"
"Hm? Akeno-senpai? President? You two…"
Sensing something amiss, Tachibana Koneko looked at Rias and Himejima Akeno, then lowered her head, unsure whether to tell them about Inaba Tsukiyo.
If it were the old Tachibana Koneko, she would have unhesitatingly divulged all the information she knew.
But now it was different. As Inaba Tsukiyo's position in her heart grew, Rias and Himejima Akeno's request made Tachibana Koneko unsure which side to choose.
Rias saw this scene, and she couldn't help but feel a hint of jealousy.
Who exactly was this Inaba Tsukiyo! She had managed to conquer her adorable Koneko to such an extent! Koneko even hesitated at her master's request!
Unconsciously, Rias felt a bit hostile towards this Inaba Tsukiyo, whom she hadn't even met yet.
"Koneko… Do you know how terrible your performance has been recently?"
Himejima Akeno noticed Tachibana Koneko was still hesitating, so she directly pulled out her trump card, saying with a smile.
Tachibana Koneko's face stiffened as she looked at Himejima Akeno and Rias, mainly Rias. She was a little worried about Rias's reprimand.
She clearly knew that she had only been serving Inaba Tsukiyo during this period… or rather, she had been unilaterally enjoying Inaba Tsukiyo's care for her.
Thinking about it carefully, it seemed she hadn't done anything except help Inaba Tsukiyo arrange furniture and clean the house at the very beginning.
Then Inaba Tsukiyo gave her [Sacred Gears] and provided her with specialized training to make her stronger.
Every time she went, she could enjoy the meals Inaba Tsukiyo prepared for her, and Inaba Tsukiyo even prepared her own personal room, bought game consoles, and other daily necessities.
So… what exactly had she done… was it just pouting to Inaba Tsukiyo?
Tachibana Koneko couldn't help but think this. It seemed the most she had done was pout to Inaba Tsukiyo outside of training hours.
Although after Mikazuki Munechika appeared, this pouting turned into vying for affection, Mikazuki Munechika's identity was somewhat like a mischievous friend, while Inaba Tsukiyo was the master.
There was no other way, Tachibana Koneko could only simply recount the things she helped with when she was first summoned by Inaba Tsukiyo. Besides that, Tachibana Koneko omitted many things.
"Koneko, you're not being good. You haven't told us a lot of things, have you?"
Himejima Akeno could easily see through Tachibana Koneko's little thoughts. She hadn't revealed the detailed events at all.
Whether it was the reason her strength became so powerful, or the [Sacred Gears] she suddenly acquired, Tachibana Koneko showed no intention of speaking about them.
"I… I…"
Just as Tachibana Koneko didn't know what to do, the door of the Occult Research Club was pushed open.
Rias, Himejima Akeno, and Tachibana Koneko turned around and saw Kiba Yuto, battered and bruised, appearing there, clutching his stomach, leaning weakly against the wall.
"President, I'm back."
"Yuto!"
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