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Well... that was pretty unexpected.
This so-called "Lion King Organization Itogami Island Office"—judging purely from its exterior—gave the immediate impression of some old-school ramen shop, one that simply hadn't finished renovations yet and was waiting to put up its sign.
But the moment you pulled open the entrance and stepped inside, you'd discover the interior décor and furnishings were modeled entirely after Urahara Kisuke's shop from Bleach.
The defining characteristic? It had everything. The shelves were stocked with all sorts of random items—from ceremonial wands to peach wood swords to talismans. Every conceivable demon-warding tool was available.
And... there was also a black cat.
The one who'd just spoken to Bokue Keikain was precisely this black cat.
A nekomata? No, wait—this feeling... it's a shikigami?
As a former honor graduate of the Keikain family, Bokue immediately saw through the nature of this black cat on the shelf.
However, unlike the typical combat-type shikigami—similar to Pokémon—or reconnaissance-type shikigami that normal onmyōji used, this black cat seemed more like a clone of sorts. Or perhaps it could be called a possession-type shikigami, allowing someone to project their consciousness into it across vast distances.
There was a saying: "Reading a letter is like seeing the person who wrote it." In this case... it was more like "seeing the cat is like seeing the person."
At the same time, Yukina Himeragi and Sayaka Kirasaka's reactions behind him instantly confirmed Bokue's theory.
After entering and closing the door behind them, both girls turned in unison to face the black cat on the shelf, then bowed deeply with perfect synchronization.
"It's been a while, Master." x2
"Mm."
The black cat on the shelf responded with a light hum, her amber feline eyes flashing with a distinctly human warmth.
Then she turned back toward the young man standing between her two disciples and nodded her cat head.
"Sorry about this. My real body isn't currently on Itogami Island, and it's not convenient for me to leave easily, so I can only meet with you all this way."
"Actually... I should have been the one to come see you. But given my current form, going outside would be rather inconvenient in many ways, so this was the best option."
As she finished speaking, the black cat on the shelf even raised one of her paws for emphasis.
That was fair enough. Since they'd teleported directly here, they hadn't felt it, but if they'd had to walk from here to the Keystone Gate, it would've taken at least half an hour even for an adult.
And as a cat... yeah, that would definitely be too difficult.
"Doesn't matter to me. I didn't have anything going on anyway."
Bokue wasn't particularly bothered.
"Besides, what exactly did you call us here for today?"
"Ah~ Well, if I'm being honest, it's not really that big of a deal."
Endou Yukari, in her black cat form, licked one of her paws.
"On one hand, I naturally wanted to check on how my two disciples have been doing on Itogami Island. Sayaka's stay has been relatively short, but Yukina has been here for almost two months now. In the past, she's never been away from me for that long."
"By the way—how far have things progressed between you?"
Yukari suddenly dropped that question out of nowhere.
Huh?
Setting Bokue aside, both Yukina and Sayaka felt their hearts skip a beat simultaneously upon hearing those words.
Especially Sayaka—her skin was far thinner than Yukina's. Even though she and Bokue had done everything they should and shouldn't do countless times by now, whenever it came time to actually get down to business, she'd still blush and get nervous like it was her first time.
Which, naturally, made Bokue particularly enjoy teasing her.
And so, the War Dancer girl stood at attention.
"P-p-p-progress?? Master, wh-what specifically are you referring to?"
"..."
Forget Bokue—even Yukina, who'd always worn her heart on her sleeve and never tried to hide her feelings, found Sayaka's acting painfully stiff.
'Could you calm down a little?? You're practically tongue-tied—you're basically admitting everything to Master!'
"'Referring to'? Do you two really need to play dumb with me?"
Yukari lowered her paw and raised an eyebrow.
"Whatever. Let me rephrase—will I be holding my precious grandchildren by next year?"
"..."
"..."
Way too direct. If Yukina had still been thinking of ways to maybe smooth things over a moment ago, she'd completely given up now.
From the way Master was talking, she obviously already knew everything!
Realizing this, both girls fell into embarrassed silence. But judging from the all-too-obvious blush on their cheeks and the way they kept glancing at the young man beside them, the answer was already clear as day.
After all, the school year had only just started this fall—there was still quite a bit of time until year's end. Based on their daily routine with Bokue, it would actually be hard not to get pregnant.
The two girls exchanged glances. Finally, Yukina mustered up her courage and took a deep breath.
"A-anyway! This is our private life, so Master doesn't need to worry about it too much! Besides, you called us here today because you have something else to discuss, right??"
"Oh, that's true enough."
Despite being rebutted by her disciple, Yukari showed no signs of anger. She simply continued where the sword shaman girl had led.
"There is another reason I called you here today. You should be aware of it—it's been all over the news these past couple days."
News??
Sayaka thought for a moment.
"If we're talking about Itogami Island news from the past few days, there are really only two big stories. One is the massive defensive barrier that suddenly appeared above the island the day before yesterday, along with the giant dragon that manifested within it. The other is the dozen or so patients who've mysteriously fallen into comas at the island's hospitals due to some unknown nightmare-inducing power—and the culprit still hasn't been found..."
"No need to keep guessing. It's the first one you mentioned."
Yukari spoke calmly.
"You overdid it way too much. You even brought out a giant dragon. At this rate, the Bureau of Astrology will almost certainly get involved."
"Bureau of Astrology?"
Yukina's eyes widened slightly.
As a sword shaman of the Lion King Organization, she naturally understood what those three syllables represented.
If the Lion King Organization was an agency established by the Japanese government specifically to handle man-made magical disasters, then the Bureau of Astrology was the organization responsible for naturally occurring magical disasters—things like demonic beast invasions and the like.
With a giant dragon appearing above Itogami Island the day before yesterday, it clearly fell under the Bureau of Astrology's jurisdiction.
But...
Yukina glanced at the young man beside her.
If Itogami Island were still under Japanese government control like before, then fine—the Bureau of Astrology sending people to investigate would be perfectly reasonable.
But now Itogami Island had become senpai's private territory. If the Bureau of Astrology still wanted to send people over... they couldn't actually do that, right?
Would they try to force their way in? Did they want a taste of the God-Slaying Overlord Fist?
"I know what you're thinking, Yukina. But honestly, if they tried forcing their way in, that would actually be easier to deal with."
Yukari glanced at her two disciples.
"However, I'm guessing the Bureau of Astrology will employ more roundabout tactics. They might even stoop to deploying the Six Blades (Kiriha Kisaki)... Anyway, if you see anyone resembling the Bureau of Astrology personnel during this time, you and Sayaka should keep a closer eye on them."
"...Understood."
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