Without a doubt, the self from the parallel world was straight.
Being a young girl, she was defenseless; it was only natural to react this way after receiving such a severe shock for the first time.
As the dominant party, giving the dominated party some private time to calm her heart was part of a gentleman's elegance.
Leaving this world's Rias's room, Rias walked toward the living room.
On the sofa, a black-haired girl was drinking tea.
"Rias?"
Himejima Akeno blinked and said, "Up so early? Why not sleep a bit longer?"
"I couldn't help it. I saw an interesting sight and was too excited to sleep."
Rias sat down calmly across from her, while Akeno familiarly poured a cup for her as well.
Taking a few light sips, the tea went down her throat, leaving a lingering sweetness on her taste buds.
The tea was good tea, proper tea, but unfortunately, the person wasn't a proper person.
"What do you mean by 'interesting sight'?"
Akeno asked curiously.
She was clearly worried about the marriage matter yesterday, yet she woke up in such a good mood. Did something good happen so early in the morning?
"Hmm, a young girl's cute reaction?"
Rias placed her index finger on her cheek and gave a sweet smile.
Looking at Rias's smile, Akeno's heart skipped a beat for a moment for some reason.
A feeling completely different from the usual Rias emerged in her heart.
It was as if Rias had suddenly gained a Succubus-like charm.
However, this charm wasn't that kind of charm, but rather an overall improvement.
It was as if her entire being had been sublimated.
Even if she couldn't perceive Rias's full essence, she still keenly noticed that the Rias before her was different from the Rias of the past.
Being childhood friends, it was only natural to realize this.
"Yes, just like Akeno, you showed a quite cute expression just now."
Rias gently placed her hand on her cheek and smiled.
Feeling the warmth from the skin contact, even though she was already used to physical touch between them, today it made her heart beat wildly.
Forcing herself to remain calm, Akeno narrowed her eyes and replied with a smile, "The President's mood is indeed very good today; you're even making jokes now."
"No, to be precise, I'm very happy."
Rias withdrew her hand, picked up her tea, and took an elegant sip.
It was truly strange; usually, she was the one teasing Rias, but today she was being teased in return and could only barely maintain her composure.
Could it be that Rias was the type who became quite formidable when her mischievous side came out?
No, something felt off.
Akeno studied Rias, her narrowed eyes extremely aggressive, as if she wanted to see right through her.
Facing such a gaze, Rias remained perfectly calm, drinking her tea without a hint of guilt.
Was it an illusion?
Akeno thought to herself.
At this moment, Rias finished her cup of tea and stood up, saying, "I'm going to play with Little Shirone. Make yourself at home."
"Little Shirone?"
Akeno was stunned for a moment, and by then Rias had already walked out the door.
A moment later, another Rias rushed into the living room.
"Didn't you go to find Koneko? Why are you back already?"
Akeno said, then suddenly realized something.
"That person went to find Koneko?"
This world's Rias was stunned for a moment.
"The Rias from just now... called Koneko 'Little Shirone'."
Akeno said seriously.
The two looked at each other, both realizing something.
If the Rias from the parallel world called Koneko 'Shirone', things would get complicated.
Due to Toujou Shirone's childhood experiences—her older sister killing their 'master' and fleeing—Toujou Shirone had faced execution.
By the time Toujou Shirone was brought back, her spirit had already been broken.
Abandoning her former name and calling her 'Koneko' was to prevent her from drowning in the shadows.
And for Rias to call her 'Little Shirone', it meant either that incident never happened, or she had helped Koneko step out of the shadows.
If it were the latter, she would definitely be able to help the current Koneko.
Of course, Akeno only realized that the previous Rias wasn't the real Rias; although she was also curious about why Rias called Koneko 'Shirone', the more important thing now was to find her and ask her face-to-face.
"It looks like we've encountered quite an extraordinary incident."
Akeno stood up.
"After her!"
This world's Rias grit her teeth and said.
Meanwhile, Rias had already walked to the training ground in the backyard.
Koneko was doing physical training.
Running, stretching, push-ups, sit-ups, and boxing.
Even on weekends, Koneko rarely slept in, just like the one in Rias's home.
Except this one was for training, while that one was for fun.
"Good morning, Little Shirone-chan."
Rias suddenly appeared, giving Koneko a start.
At that moment, Rias's hands were already under her armpits, lifting her high and spinning her around once.
"President?"
Toujou Shirone tilted her head, looking at Rias with some confusion.
The shadows were always there; while she wouldn't be terrified of her past shadows just because of a name, it did indeed make her feel strange.
"Hmm, as expected, you're too composed, without a hint of childishness. If it were the one at my home, she would already be hugging me and acting spoiled."
Rias looked Toujou Shirone over, then smiled and rubbed her cheek against hers.
"?"
Feeling slightly uncomfortable with Rias's intimacy, Toujou Shirone gave Rias a gentle push but couldn't move her, looking like a kitten trying to reject its owner's cuddling.
However, this Toujou Shirone had no cat ears on her head, nor was her tail visible.
Whereas the Shirone from Rias's home never hid her Nekomata features, whether in the Underworld or the Human World.
"Sleeping in occasionally and getting good rest is the only way to get stronger."
Rias smiled and set Koneko down.
"Mm, thank you for your concern, President."
Toujou Shirone's tone was flat, her eyes fixed intently on Rias.
A Nekomata's intuition was sharp; she had already noticed something was wrong with Rias, but like Akeno, she couldn't be certain because of that sense of familiarity.
"Do you want to spar with me?"
Rias asked.
"Then... I'll leave it to you, President."
Toujou Shirone blinked, then took two steps back and assumed an attacking stance.
"Let's begin."
As Rias's words fell, Toujou Shirone charged forward.
She threw a punch at Rias, and at that moment, Toujou Shirone was a bit surprised.
After all, Rias specialized in magic attacks; even as a High-Class Devil, she should be dodging at this point.
However, Rias raised her hand and easily caught her attack.
Not only that, after catching the attack, Rias lightly stepped to the side, and her hand reached Shirone's head before she realized it, even giving it a few rubs.
She instinctively pulled back her fist and threw a roundhouse kick, but it was still dodged with plenty of room to spare.
Her movements were extremely relaxed and fluid, like she was teasing a kitten; no matter what, she couldn't be touched.
She dodged all the attacks with minimal movement and even had the presence of mind to tease her.
These highly insulting actions had already sparked her temper.
Yet even by the time she was panting for breath, she hadn't managed to touch even the corner of Rias's clothes.
When did the President become this strong?
Koneko stared intently at Rias, her heart filled with confusion.
"Found her!"
At that moment, hearing a familiar voice, Toujou Koneko turned her head and saw Rias and Himejima Akeno running toward them.
"Two... Presidents?!"
Koneko's eyes widened in surprise.
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