Izumi woke from his sleep.
But he didn't rush outside immediately.
Instead, he leisurely sat up, calmly put on his clothes, and only then—unhurriedly—walked toward the exit.
As soon as he left the bed, Katō Megumi, who had been sleeping beside him, faintly opened her eyes.
She looked at Izumi with mild confusion, not quite understanding where he was going.
But she didn't think much of it.
Overwhelming drowsiness quickly reclaimed her consciousness, and she slipped back into a deep sleep.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Boom.
Far away from the villa, on a distant hillside—
Koneko Toujou was pounding her sister with her tiny fists.
"It's useless."
"My foolish little imouto."
"You can't beat your onee-san, nya."
Even though the atmosphere felt strangely comedic, Kuroka was effortlessly dodging every attack.
At that moment, Koneko's cat ears and tail were fully exposed.
"Shut up!"
"Why are you here?!"
Her anger flared.
Sharp claws extended from her fingers as she slashed toward Kuroka's face.
If that had landed, Kuroka's face would've been ruined.
Kuroka leaned back smoothly, avoiding the strike with ease, and teased her.
"If I hadn't come—"
"You'd already be dead, you know?"
"But Shirone, is this really how you treat your onee-san?"
"If you scar my face, I won't be able to get married anymore~"
Koneko exploded.
"I don't have a sister like you!"
"Die!"
"My sister would never abandon me and run away on her own!"
With that, she launched another furious assault.
She was genuinely furious.
Being abandoned had felt like betrayal.
And now, Kuroka had returned—trying to forcibly take her away.
There was no way Koneko would accept that.
Watching her sister's relentless attacks, Kuroka sighed.
She'd had enough of playing around.
If the devils noticed the disturbance and came after them, things would get messy.
With that thought, she prepared to use senjutsu to restrain Koneko—
And take her away to resolve the problem afflicting her body.
But just as she was about to activate her technique—
A golden flash streaked through the air.
In the next instant, Kuroka found herself bound by glowing golden chains, hoisted into the air.
"W—What?!"
Panicking, Kuroka hurriedly pressed her skirt down.
"Damn it—who did this?!"
"Show yourself!"
Koneko froze.
She stared in disbelief at her sister hanging helplessly in midair.
Before she could process it—
A large hand landed gently on her head.
"Well, well. What do we have here?"
"A little kitty sneaking out at night."
"If you remove the head and the fur, you could roast her and eat her."
"Plenty of protein."
"We could have meat tonight."
Hearing Izumi's voice, Koneko deflated instantly.
"…Izumi."
Izumi patted her head and smiled.
"Leave it to me."
"You two probably need to talk properly."
As he spoke, Izumi walked toward Kuroka.
Suspended in the air, Kuroka stared wide-eyed at the man approaching her.
"You're that guy by Shirone's side."
"Damn it—let me go!"
"Do you even know what you're doing?!"
This was humiliating.
Being strung up like this—absolutely humiliating.
Izumi rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Didn't Vali tell you?"
"How strong I am?"
"Trying to kidnap someone right in front of me…"
"Aren't you underestimating me a little too much?"
Kuroka stiffened.
Now that he mentioned it—
She had done something incredibly stupid.
Vali had nearly been killed by this man.
And yet she had come here to snatch someone away.
Her body froze.
Seeing her reaction, Izumi snapped his fingers.
Several more golden chains appeared, stretching her limbs outward until she was bound in a perfect X-shape.
Then—
Izumi pulled out a bundle of catnip.
Smiling brightly, he said:
"I've always been curious."
"What happens when a nekomata eats catnip?"
His grin turned unmistakably malicious.
He had tried giving Koneko catnip before—
But she had never accepted it.
Now this one had delivered herself right to him.
How could he not experiment?
Koneko didn't stop him.
She simply stood to the side and watched.
She had no intention of worrying about what would happen to her sister.
In fact—
She was curious too.
Every time Izumi had offered her catnip, she'd felt the urge to lick it…
Now her sister could serve as a test subject.
If there were no side effects—
Maybe she could try it herself someday.
…Though seriously, this guy always carried catnip on him?
His personality was way too evil.
Kuroka saw Izumi approaching.
Saw the thing in his hand.
And immediately panicked.
"Don't come closer, nya!"
"Go away! Go away!"
"You bastard!"
"Let me down if you've got the guts!"
Izumi ignored her shouting.
He stepped closer—
And placed the catnip right in front of her nose.
Her nostrils twitched.
Her body slowly relaxed.
"…Nyaa~"
A sultry catlike sound escaped her lips.
The atmosphere instantly became strange.
Kuroka licked the catnip in Izumi's hand, her face melting into bliss.
Her pupils dilated.
Her breathing grew erratic.
"Nyaa~ nyaa~!"
"More! I want more!"
"Give it to me—now!"
Koneko stared in horror.
Her sister's face was flushed bright red.
So this is what would've happened…
If she had accepted catnip in class—
Everyone would've stared at her like a weirdo.
From that moment on, Koneko regarded the catnip in Izumi's hand with extreme caution.
No matter what—
She would never accept that gift.
Izumi laughed.
"This is amazing."
"She really reacts just like a normal cat."
"Even yokai can't escape their instincts, huh?"
His excitement was obvious.
He released the Chains of Heaven, then casually pulled out more catnip from his pocket and waved it in front of Kuroka.
Kuroka collapsed onto the ground and began rolling around.
She even started rubbing against Izumi—
As if he were her owner.
Koneko was completely stunned.
So he was always prepared to do this to me too…?!
Izumi wore a perfectly gentlemanly smile.
"Hehehe."
"Come on, open your mouth."
"Here—have a little more."
With that, he popped a piece of catnip straight into Kuroka's mouth.
At this point—
He was clearly having way too much fun.