On the way back to school, considering that he couldn't hide Nina, Shichen handed her over to Natsuki Minamiya, who teleported her back home.
Natsuki Minamiya didn't show any wariness towards Nina, perhaps because she truly seemed harmless.
After Natsuki Minamiya teleported Nina back, she asked Shichen again, "Speaking of which, why did you suddenly come to this place? Did you know there was a Sage's Spiritual Blood here?"
"More or less," Shichen admitted honestly.
"Then you said you accidentally stumbled upon Itogami Island? Were you lying to me before?" Natsuki Minamiya asked with a cold face.
"I wasn't lying to you. Accidentally stumbling upon Itogami Island and knowing there's a Sage's Spiritual Blood here aren't contradictory," Shichen replied confidently.
"Hmph~ I hope so."
"Hehe~ I could never bear to lie to Natsuki-chan." Shichen leaned closer to her, grinning mischievously.
"..." Natsuki Minamiya pursed her lips, but didn't move away from him. She changed the subject and asked, "What's with all those stray cats here?"
"Oh, they're adopted by a little girl named Hishiragi Kanon," Shichen replied casually.
"Hmm? A little girl?" Natsuki Minamiya looked at him with an unfriendly gaze.
"...Why are you misunderstanding again!" Shichen cried out, feeling wronged, "She's just an elementary school student! A person cannot, or at least should not."
"Heh~ But aren't you a vampire now? You're not even human anymore."
"Natsuki-chan, don't slander me. I'm still human. Vampirism is just my power."
"...How did you do that?" Natsuki Minamiya asked, frowning.
She could naturally see Shichen's extraordinary nature and confirmed that he was indeed human, which was incredible.
To be human, yet possess the abilities of a True Ancestor.
Unheard of.
"It's simple," Shichen said proudly, "My physique is special."
The Divine Body integrated with the True Ancestor Body, essentially devouring it and absorbing its abilities. So, he wasn't a vampire, but he possessed a vampire's abilities.
It's just a pity he doesn't have any abilities yet.
The True Ancestor's most direct ability is the extremely destructive Familiar, but he doesn't have any Familiars now, so he's not a True Ancestor at all, just a facade.
"A special physique, huh..."
Shichen's special physique was obvious to anyone; his extraordinary aura, perfect body, could make people relax their guard.
However, Natsuki Minamiya didn't intend to ask more: "Since your physique is special, then tonight we'll see how good your learning talent is."
"I guarantee I won't disappoint you!"
"Hmph~ I hope so... Oh, right, what does that little girl you mentioned look like?"
"..."
"Speak!"
"Uh... she looks like a saintess."
"Saintess..."
"Natsuki-chan, what's with that look? I'm really just telling the truth! It's not that I have any thoughts about her! If you don't believe me, you can see for yourself after school!"
"You even made plans to meet her after school?"
"..."
In the afternoon, after school, Shichen first bought some snacks for the kittens, then went to the back mountain of the school alone.
The ruins hadn't changed much, only the relief carving was gone.
"Meow~"
The kittens already remembered Shichen. Seeing him come, Little Snow led the way and ran towards him.
Shichen, biased, knelt down and picked up Little Snow. He wasn't afraid of getting dirty, rubbing his cheek against Little Snow's fluffy head and asking dotingly, "Little Snow, did you miss me?"
"Meow~" Little Snow obediently let him rub her, opening her round, big eyes, a pair of amber vertical pupils staring at him, and responding with a soft meow.
"You missed me, after all," Shichen chuckled happily.
He couldn't understand Little Snow's words, but since she didn't resist, she must have agreed.
"Meow~"
"I brought you some yummy treats~ But you have to wait until Kanon comes before you can eat them."
"Meow~"
"Good, good, so well-behaved~"
"You, are you really so fond of cats?" Suddenly, Natsuki Minamiya's voice rang out.
Shichen wasn't embarrassed. He turned to look at the petite girl who had suddenly appeared behind him and replied with a smile, "Kittens are so cute."
"Hmph~ Just so you know, we can't have small animals in our home."
"I know, but... 'our home,' huh?" Shichen winked at Natsuki Minamiya.
"Is there a problem?" Natsuki Minamiya glared at him.
"Of course not."
"You're getting more and more out of line," Natsuki Minamiya sighed.
"Who told you to be so eloquent?" Shichen blamed her.
"Shut up!"
"Yes, yes, yes... Natsuki-chan, do you like kittens? Do you want to hold one?"
"I'm not interested in small animals," Natsuki Minamiya replied calmly, crossing her arms.
"Really? Then how about I hold you?"
"What? You have magic now, so you've gotten bolder?" Natsuki Minamiya narrowed her eyes at Shichen.
"Not at all, I've always been this bold. I'm just expressing my actual thoughts."
"Hmph! Then dream on. Maybe there's hope in your dreams."
"Okay, I'll have that dream tonight."
"..."
Natsuki Minamiya ignored him, turning her back to him, and just then, she saw an incredibly pure and holy little girl walking over.
"Is that the girl you were talking about?"
"Hmm? Kanon's here." Shichen stood up, holding Little Snow, and waved to Hishiragi Kanon.
Noticing Shichen, Hishiragi Kanon smiled, pure and clean.
Natsuki Minamiya watched Hishiragi Kanon approach with a straight face: "You really didn't exaggerate. This little girl truly is like a saintess."
"Right? Right?"
"What are you so proud of?" Natsuki Minamiya turned around and glared at him irritably.
"Cough, cough." Shichen immediately reined in his smile.
"Teacher Shichen." At this moment, Hishiragi Kanon also walked up to the two of them.
"Kanon, you're here."
"Yes, and this is...?" Hishiragi Kanon looked at Natsuki Minamiya timidly.
Although Natsuki Minamiya was about the same height as her, her serious face still made her a little scared.
"She's my older sister, Natsuki Minamiya. She's also a teacher at Saikai Academy, and she teaches at the high school section."
"Teacher Shichen's older sister?" Hishiragi Kanon was surprised.
A very normal reaction.
"Hehe, don't look at Natsuki-chan's small stature, she's already an adult~"
"Call me Older Sister outside!" Natsuki Minamiya swung her lace fan and lightly hit Shichen.
"Alright, alright, Older Sister Natsuki." Shichen replied helplessly, but with a hint of indulgence, as if he was humoring his younger sister's playful antics.
This annoyed Natsuki Minamiya greatly.
Although it wasn't the first time, being in front of a little girl made her a bit irritated.
"Hello, Teacher Minamiya, my name is Hishiragi Kanon." Hishiragi Kanon watched their playful banter, believed that Natsuki Minamiya was indeed an adult, and immediately bowed to greet her.
"Mm." Natsuki Minamiya nodded lightly, maintaining her adult dignity.
"Kanon... Is it okay if I call you Kanon?"
"No problem," Hishiragi Kanon shook her head gently.
"That's good. Kanon, you don't have to be so formal. Just treat us as your older brother and sister. We're not your teachers yet."
"Older brother and sister?" Hishiragi Kanon blinked, her eyes showing a hint of interest.
"You don't want to?" Shichen looked at her sadly.
"No, I do!" Hishiragi Kanon immediately replied.
"Then call me Big Brother and see?" Shichen held back his laughter and asked expectantly.
"..." Natsuki Minamiya remained silent, unable to resist rolling her eyes at Shichen.
This guy, his intentions were too obvious, weren't they?
He couldn't really like younger girls, could he?
"B-Big Brother." Hishiragi Kanon, however, didn't think too much of it. Her fair face flushed as she shyly called out.
"Mm-hmm!" Shichen nodded in satisfaction.
"Kanon, you can come to me for anything in the future. I'll help you later."
"Can I?"
"Of course, I'm your Big Brother."
"I understand."
"You, can you not be so obvious?" Natsuki Minamiya couldn't help but interject. She couldn't take it anymore.
"Hmm? Natsuki-chan, do you also want to be called Big Sister? Kanon, please indulge her."
"Big Sister." Hishiragi Kanon immediately called out obediently.
"..." Natsuki Minamiya opened her mouth, unable to say anything.
And indeed, having such a pure and cute little girl call her Big Sister in a soft voice was an experience she'd never had before.
It was truly wonderful.
"Your name is Kanon, right? You can also come to me for anything in the future. This guy isn't reliable," Natsuki Minamiya said seriously.
"I understand, thank you, Big Sister," Hishiragi Kanon replied sweetly.
"Mm..." Natsuki Minamiya pursed her lips, almost unable to hold back a smile.
Shichen watched from the side, finding it amusing, but he didn't expose her.
"Alright, now that we've all met, let's quickly feed Little Snow and the others. They must be hungry."
"Mm-hmm!" Hishiragi Kanon nodded excitedly.
She truly loved these little animals.