Although she was temporarily unclear about the relationship between this human named "Nanamiya Hiro" and Grayfia Lucifer, Kuroka had already paid special attention to his entanglements with Shirone, Shirone's master Rias Gremory, and other devils over the previous period.
She might not have been fully familiar with the precise cause, process, and final outcome of everything.
But at the very least, she had deliberately learned the general flow of events and the key participants from Vali.
Because of that, the fact that Hiro knew the name "Shirone" and part of the truth of that year only surprised Kuroka slightly.
It didn't completely shock her.
After all, considering her age, her little sister Shirone had already been approaching puberty in the past two years.
It was only natural for her to develop a crush on a powerful and handsome male.
And it was also natural for her to confide those feelings to him.
"Young man, she doesn't seem to want to answer."
Black smoke representing Nemesis's true form seeped out from Hiro's chest.
It floated to his right and condensed into a petite female figure with copper-colored skin.
Nemesis looked at the black Cat-girl in front of her, who had suddenly bristled all over, with the gaze of someone examining a new and interesting toy.
There was clear amusement in her tone.
"Do you want me to help take a look? Don't worry. I won't cause any mental or physical damage, and the fun of playing won't change either."
As for who "Shirone" was, Nemesis-who had only recently moved into the Kirigaya House-naturally hadn't had the chance to find out.
And methods such as delving into someone's mind to read memories weren't suitable for use on Rias, Koneko, or Akeno.
On the other side, Kuroka's amber eyes abruptly contracted.
They locked onto the kimono-clad girl who had just appeared.
Her heart began to shake uncontrollably.
This person.
She's not human.
Not a devil.
Not a fallen angel, an asura, a god, or anything like that.
Then what is this sense of danger?
An aura equal to-no, even stronger than Lucifer's.
To be able to keep such a monster sealed inside his body...
Is this Nanamiya Hiro truly human?
Judging from the relative positions of Grayfia Lucifer and the young man opposite her, it was obvious that the young man was being treated as a superior existence.
And now, that young man had even released an unknown being with a female appearance that radiated an overwhelmingly terrifying "evil" aura.
Under these circumstances, it was impossible for Kuroka to continue treating Hiro as an ordinary human.
Body possession.
Cuckooing.
Possession-resurrection.
These were indeed techniques that existed in certain immortal Taoist arts.
If that were the case, then Lucifer's attitude, the appearance of that unknown being, and all of "Nanamiya Hiro's" peculiarities would suddenly gain a relatively reasonable explanation.
As she rapidly flipped through all the knowledge in her mind, Kuroka pieced together a hypothesis that barely managed to convince herself.
A trace of despair inevitably surfaced in her eyes.
One Lucifer was already more than enough to capture her in all kinds of ways.
Let alone the addition of two beings whose strength was at least on the level of Lucifer.
"Change the fun?"
Hiro raised an eyebrow.
After glancing at the expression on Nemesis's face, he immediately guessed what she was planning.
His tone remained flat.
"She is Kuroka. Koneko's relative."
The moment those words landed, the interest on Nemesis's face vanished.
It was replaced with obvious disappointment.
Once she learned that Kuroka wasn't a toy but a relative, Nemesis's desire to "play" dropped sharply.
"What? I thought you were interested in this one."
She shook her head lightly.
"So it turns out you're just reuniting another kitty with her family. How boring."
As she spoke, her ankle-length black hair swayed a few centimeters.
Her entire body dispersed into smoke again and drilled straight back into Hiro's chest.
Watching that scene from the corner of his eye, Hiro had a thought.
This really does feel like inner demon possession.
With Nemesis's figure gone, Kuroka's tension finally eased a little.
She was still extremely vigilant.
But she still opened her mouth to ask.
"Since you came to take me home, why didn't Shirone come herself?"
Unfortunately, the price she paid for that slight mental relaxation was the complete collapse of her mental resistance.
As it turned out, controlling one Kuroka was far easier than controlling one Mechael.
"Of course, because running into you in India was an accident."
Hiro spoke the truth without the slightest hesitation.
A faint smile appeared on his face as he stepped closer to Kuroka.
"Bringing you back as a souvenir for Koneko works just fine. It'll also help resolve her psychological issues before summer break."
"I still have other things to take care of."
"So for now, you should turn into a cat and follow me."
"Ha?"
Kuroka frowned.
She instinctively refused.
"Why should I follow you? You-"
"Hm."
Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly realized that she had lost control of her body.
Her field of vision rapidly dropped.
In less than two seconds, the black Cat-girl was gone.
Standing in her place was a small black cat with two tails.
Poof.
The kimono, now unsupported, fell softly onto the grass.
The black cat leapt lightly a few times and landed on Hiro's left shoulder.
"Nya, meow, meow, meow, meow?"
(What did you do?)
Kuroka's confusion was captured by [Psychological Control] and transmitted directly into Hiro's mind.
Hiro bent down and picked up the kimono from the ground.
With a simple application of Alchemy, he transformed it into a set of cat-sized clothing.
He reached up with his right hand and lightly scratched the black kitten perched on his shoulder.
His voice carried a hint of amusement.
"I just made you a bit more obedient. I'll undo the spell once you meet Koneko."
Of course, not completely.
He added that part silently in his heart.
"Nya, meow, meow! Nya, meow!!!"
(Let me go! Right now!!)
Ignoring the seemingly affectionate meowing near his ear, Hiro used magic to dress the black cat in the modified kimono.
Then, with a satisfied expression, he turned toward Grayfia.
"Grayfia, do you know how to enter Mount Sumeru?"
Mount Sumeru, much like the Underworld, was separated from the normal human world by a dimensional rift.
And Observation Haki couldn't penetrate such a rift.
There was no clearly defined "distance" to perceive.
Fortunately, the perfect and elegant Head Maid did not disappoint him.
"I do."
Grayfia answered respectfully.
She lifted her hand and waved it gently to the side.
A silver-white magic circle roughly two meters in diameter unfolded in the air.
It was a transfer magic circle.
Its destination lay somewhere within Mount Sumeru.
With a black kitten squatting on his shoulder, Nemesis resting within his body, and Grayfia Lucifer standing beside him, Hiro stepped into the center of the magic circle.
The light flared.
And then they were gone.
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