The instant Kiana's and Elysia's gazes met, Kiana's mind short-circuited. Then, the world seemed to fall so silent it felt frozen.
Kiana leaped up, a single thought dominating her mind: a sharp blow to the back of the head will erase the last five minutes of memory.
I may not be able to beat that scoundrel Ye Feng, she thought, but I can definitely beat you!
The pattern on her lower abdomen surged, and power filled her entire body.
However, just as Kiana leaped into the air, Ye Feng grabbed the back of her collar. She was lifted into the air, her legs curled up.
"Scoundrel, what are you doing, meow!?"
「That's what I want to ask you, Kitty-Kiana. What do you think you're doing?」
Ye Feng used mental communication. A long, coarse stream of words instantly poured into Kiana's mind and churned it rapidly.
Even though Kiana had experienced this many times, she still felt a little uncomfortable.
Kiana roared, flailing her limbs, "None of your business! You scoundrel, and I trusted you so much! What happened to 'no one is here'?"
「Ah? I said 'no one was here at that time.' I never guaranteed no one would ever show up. All things are in a state of flux. The past is the past, and the present is the present. Kiana is so smart, I thought I wouldn't need to explain that specifically.」
"!!?"
Kiana shuddered violently as she quickly understood.
She hadn't "clashed" with Ye Feng for a few days and had let her guard down, failing to notice the verbal trap.
He did, in fact, keep his promises. But like a demon's contract, you never knew where a trap that didn't violate the rules might appear.
Kiana immediately fell silent.
「It's fine, you know. In everyone's eyes right now, Kiana is just a cat.」
"You hypnotized them?"
Kiana looked at Elysia and only then noticed that the pink-haired pixie's gaze… did indeed look like she was looking at a cat.
Otherwise, there was no way she would have this kind of reaction to seeing a beautiful girl being led around on a leash by a man.
"Wow, what an adorable little kitty."
Elysia leaned forward, resting her hands on her thighs. Her eyes, as brilliant as stars, were fixed on Kiana's face.
In her eyes, the creature before her was a small cat with fur as pure as snow and crystal-clear eyes as blue as the sky.
At this moment, the white-furred, blue-eyed cat was being held up by the scruff of its neck by its master, meowing away while making very human-like expressions.
Its little paws, in particular, were scratching the air, which was extremely cute.
"You have to be a good girl now. So cute, I really want to take you home."
Elysia couldn't help but reach out, wanting to "shake paws."
Kiana's little kitty face immediately soured.
Does she really think I'm a pet?
Kitty-Kiana let out a cold hmph and turned her head away.
"Eh? Does it dislike me?"
Elysia lowered her hands.
This was a first.
Ever since Elysia descended from the stars, her affinity with living creatures had been exceptionally high.
Birds would bring her seeds of goodwill, and flowers would weave her odes of love.
From the moment she gained consciousness, Elysia had lived in a world filled with love and sunlight.
Ye Feng held Kitty-Kiana in his arms and asked, "Did Elysia come looking for me specifically?"
"I did, oh, I almost forgot."
Elysia placed her hands on her hips and addressed the alpha male before her, "Mister Ye Feng, don't you think you were a little too cruel to me?"
The snake's seduction, the nun's prayers…
Those images were still deeply seared into Elysia's mind.
Ye Feng stroked Kitty-Kiana's ear. "Cruel how? Everyone goes through it, don't spout nonsense. It's hard on me too, you know. You should try some self-reflection once in a while. Has your stamina increased over the years? Have you been seriously studying the positions?"
"…Studying knowledge?"
Elysia tilted her head. Was this guy for real?
"That's right, Elysia. Look at Snake-Snake, and Chong Chong here. They're both very diligent students. Right?"
Ye Feng looked down at the Kitty-Kiana in his arms.
"Get lost, meow!"
Kiana pounded Ye Feng's chest with her fists.
In Elysia's eyes, however, the little kitty was giving an affirmative response and was even pawing at Ye Feng affectionately.
Elysia couldn't help but ponder, "Are you very fond of small animals?"
"I like pseudo-animals."
What did pseudo-animals mean?
A flash of confusion crossed Elysia's mind, but she quickly dismissed it.
Wait, her main purpose for coming here wasn't to chat about this.
Elysia wanted to pet Kitty-Kiana and then naturally change the subject, but Kitty-Kiana slapped her hand away with a paw.
You think you can just touch me?
Ye Feng consoled her, "It's not that Elysia isn't charming enough. It's just that this little kitty has a very picky personality. Only Mei and I are allowed to pet her."
"Mei?"
At the mention of this name, Elysia's eyes instantly lit up.
"You mean that young lady with the noble and elegant aura, but who also possesses a kind and clever heart? The one who's like a Yamato Nadeshiko from the Far East? I heard she can even control the power of a Herrscher. What a remarkable girl."
Meow?
Kiana shot a hostile glare at her. Why was this person so excited when talking about Mei?
Ye Feng noticed Kiana's displeasure and couldn't help but smile. "That's right, that's her. Raiden Mei. She's my first love, you know."
This was the truth. His first love was Mei, his wife was Big Duck Duck, and as for Kiana… what exactly was their current relationship?
"Eh?"
Elysia showed a clearly shocked expression, her face a picture of disbelief.
For real?
"A beautiful girl that pure and moving is actually the girlfriend of someone like Mister Ye Feng? How could this be…"
Elysia's voice sounded as if it were shattering, giving her the illusion that her worldview was collapsing.
The Mister Ye Feng before her—the Mister Ye Feng whose mind was filled with nothing but filth, the Mister Ye Feng who loved to toy with and trample on the pure feelings of others—was, at this very moment, introducing his first love with such a bright and sunny smile.
In Elysia's eyes, this was even harder to accept than Big Duck Duck's [Script].
After all, marriage and first love were different.
No, more than different. They were worlds apart.
First love was yearning, it was longing, the white moonlight, the good times, the culmination of all fantasies.
It was so flawless, so dazzling, as if it embodied all of humanity's hopes for what is beautiful.
It wasn't just Elysia; Kitty-Kiana, nestled in his arms, also felt extremely… pained.
Mei's first love was Ye Feng. Just thinking about it made Kiana feel sick all over.
"Elysia, your shocked expression clearly shows that your understanding of me is still incomplete. In my hometown, a man I greatly respect once said:
'Take a warrior, for example. He fights, he rests, he eats and drinks, and naturally, he also has sexual intercourse. If you were to isolate only that last aspect, paint his portrait, hang it in a brothel, and revere him as a 'Master of Copulation,' you couldn't say it was entirely baseless. And yet, would it not be a great injustice to him!'"