The sudden shift in scenery left Kuroka and Shirone Toujou momentarily stunned.
But only for an instant.
They reacted almost immediately.
Kuroka hurriedly scrambled to her feet, clearly intending to dash outside—
Only for her body to freeze mid-motion.
The surrounding space solidified, locking her firmly in place.
Izumi's calm voice followed.
"Miss Kuroka, where exactly do you think you're going?"
"Oh, right. I almost forgot to tell you."
"Vali fired you."
"You're officially unemployed now."
The words hit like a thunderbolt.
Kuroka froze completely.
"…Fired?"
She stared at Izumi blankly, disbelief written all over her face.
"Y-You're joking, right?"
"Kicked out… just like that?"
Izumi nodded, smiling warmly.
"That's right."
"From today onward, you're homeless."
The teasing gleam in his eyes made his intent painfully obvious.
At that moment—
Shirone's eyes lit up.
She immediately turned toward her sister.
"Then, Onee-san, you can live with me from now on."
Not only Shirone—
Even Rias Gremory's expression brightened.
She stepped forward eagerly.
"Exactly."
"Kuroka-san, why don't you stay with us?"
"I have plenty of empty rooms. You'd be more than welcome."
Rias was already thinking several steps ahead.
If possible—
She genuinely wanted Kuroka to join her peerage.
Kuroka, meanwhile, was completely at a loss.
After hesitating for a moment, she turned toward Izumi.
"…Boss."
"Do you take in cats?"
Between Rias and Izumi—
She much preferred Izumi's side.
Living with Rias would mean being with her sister every day, sure…
But staying with Izumi didn't sound bad at all.
In fact, it felt safer.
Stronger.
However—
Izumi rejected her instantly.
"Nope."
"I don't need any more mages."
The refusal was swift and merciless.
His group was already crowded enough.
Le Fay.
Katō Megumi.
Asia Argento.
Eriri.
And the newest addition—the roaming angel Kanon.
That was already more than enough.
Not to mention—
At home, there were also Tohsaka Sakura, Tohsaka Rin, the mascot duo Ophis, and Avrora.
His household was already overflowing with women.
Adding more right now was just asking to get stabbed—possibly literally.
Besides—
Catgirl traits?
He already had a far more dangerous and adorable little one at home.
Letting Kuroka join Rias was the proper move.
In the end—
Wherever she went, she wasn't escaping anyway.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Kuroka went silent.
That was… awkward.
She had just reconciled with her sister—
And yet Izumi had flat-out rejected her.
Pouting, she clicked her tongue.
So he's clearly interested, but still acting all righteous.
Men really are all the same—big liars.
Still, she quickly made peace with it.
Joining Shirone's side wasn't bad either.
"Well, fine then."
"I'll join your peerage."
"But let's get one thing straight first."
"I'm not going to listen to you."
"I'm only joining because I don't have anywhere else to go."
Some things needed to be made clear in advance.
After all—
She had a new goal now.
To have a ridiculously powerful child with Izumi.
She had heard plenty about just how terrifying his strength was.
If she could bear his child…
That kid would definitely be monstrous.
For that future—
She could tolerate this arrangement for now.
And while she was at it—
She could also teach Shirone properly.
All the youkai techniques and senjutsu her sister had suppressed and neglected over the years.
Power mattered in this world.
Without it, you didn't survive.
Rias didn't object to Kuroka's conditions.
She accepted them readily.
Just getting Kuroka to agree was already more than she had hoped for.
At last—
Her peerage was complete.
It had taken absurd effort.
Himejima Akeno.
Toujou Koneko.
Xenovia Quarta.
Tendō Kisara.
And now—Kuroka.
A full team.
Just thinking about it made her emotional.
Without wasting any time, Rias eagerly took out her chess pieces and handed them to Kuroka.
"Choose whichever you like."
"Any position is fine."
Kuroka didn't think too deeply about it.
She casually picked up a Pawn piece and merged it into her body.
Only then did Rias finally let out a breath of relief.
Even with just one piece—
It was enough.
Kuroka was stronger than Rias herself anyway.
The chess pieces could barely restrain her.
But only after accepting a piece did one truly become part of her peerage.
With that—
The special training officially came to an end.
Izumi had no intention of continuing it further.
The mysterious spatial rift that had appeared earlier was now designated as a training ground for the Three Factions' newcomers.
There was nothing more for him to do here.
After exchanging a few words with Rias and the others, Izumi left with Katō Megumi and the rest.
From that day onward—
Kanon moved into Izumi's home as well.
After bidding farewell to the members of the Three Factions who stayed behind to manage the area, Izumi's group returned home.
Once there—
Megumi and Eriri also took their leave.
They had been gone for over a month.
It was time to report back and reassure their families.
Kanon curiously observed Izumi's house.
This would be her home from now on.
Returning to her own country wasn't impossible—
But angels were stationed there.
If she lost control and attacked one of them…
The consequences would be catastrophic.
For now—
Izumi's place was the only place she truly belonged.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Kanon wasn't originally from Japan.
Although she had grown up in the Sakura Prefecture of the Dragon Kingdom, she was, in truth, a princess of a foreign nation.
Her older brother was the reigning king.
That country was a vassal state of the Church, with angels permanently stationed there.
That was why she had been chosen as a Holy Maiden.
The same was true for her niece—
La Folia Rihavein.
Michael had already informed the country of Kanon's transformation.
The royal court had been stunned.
But they raised no objections.
Even if she could not return—
She was still a princess.
Kanon's arrival was warmly welcomed by everyone—
Except Avrora, that is.
After all, she was a vampire.
And vampires didn't exactly get along with Church saints.
…At least, that's what she thought.
That mindset vanished instantly after tasting a single drop of Kanon's blood.
Avrora's opinion flipped completely.
Kanon's status in her heart skyrocketed.
Second only to Izumi, Ophis, and Asia.
Kanon, for her part, adored Avrora.
She treated her like a little sister.
The same went for Asia.
Strictly speaking, Asia herself could've become a Holy Maiden—
If not for certain unfortunate incidents.
Their personalities were remarkably similar.
So when they were together, they always had plenty to talk about.
Watching everyone get along so harmoniously—
With no signs of internal strife—
Izumi finally relaxed.
Looks like my household management skills are still top-tier.
He nodded to himself in quiet satisfaction.