— — — — — —
"Come on, Koneko. Call him brother-in-law, nya~"
After being "abandoned" and then deliberately teased by her sister on top of it, Koneko puffed out her cheeks and shot Kuroka an indignant glare.
"Hmm? Why's Koneko so quiet?" Kuroka tugged on Ryo's sleeve and feigned innocence. "Could it be that she has a problem with me being Ryo's wife?"
'You're really reaching there...'
Ryo's eyelid twitched.
Koneko, meanwhile, immediately got annoyed when she saw Kuroka using her as an excuse to angle for a title.
"I don't have a problem with the Governor. I have a problem with you. And stop using me as an excuse. Whether you're someone's mistress or whatever else, it has nothing to do with me!"
The moment she heard the loud rebuke, Kuroka's face fell dramatically.
Clinging to Ryo's arm, she whined pitifully, "Darling, look at her. Even my own little sister is criticizing me for being shameless."
'When have you ever been anything but shameless?'
Rias and Akeno both felt black lines forming on their foreheads.
"Alright, that's enough." With a sigh, Ryo pulled his arm free.
If Kuroka kept this up, he'd never get anything done.
He glanced at Koneko. Seeing her flushed face and angry eyes, he found Kuroka's awkward way of expressing affection utterly baffling.
Why not just explain things properly? Why insist on acting like some terrible big sister?
Shaking his head, he said, "Calm down for now. I'll leave this cat to you later."
"Okay!"
Koneko agreed instantly without even hearing the full condition.
"Wait, what do you mean you'll leave me to Koneko?!"
Ignoring Kuroka's protest, Ryo turned toward Rias. "Did you bring him?"
Rias stepped aside, revealing a large cardboard box behind her.
With a helpless expression, she said, "Gasper is inside."
Gasper, one of Rias's peerage members. A half-vampire. Biologically male, but self-identifying as female while also enjoying wearing girls' clothing.
A very complicated Dhampir. Having grown up among vampires and being born from a human mother, Gasper had become childhood friends with Valerie Tepes, the current wielder of Longinus Sephiroth Graal (the Holy Grail of the Secluded World)
That connection was why Ryo had asked Rias to bring Gasper to Kyoto.
His plan was to use Gasper to stimulate Valerie and help wake her up.
...
"???"
Ryo stared at the moving box, "He's in there?"
"The box is soundproofed," Rias explained helpfully. "He's hiding inside."
It wasn't that Gasper disliked other people.
He was simply so introverted that being outside the box made him feel as if he were about to die.
If one had to summarize Gasper's mindset in a single phrase, it would be: Everyone is out to get me.
"Does he sleep in there too?" Ryo asked. "What about eating? Going to the bathroom?"
Akeno's expression twitched. "He sleeps inside it. As for using the restroom... he carries the box with him."
"Impressive."
Ryo sounded completely sincere.
How much emotional security did someone have to derive from a cardboard box to reach this level?
"Ryo, should I drag him out?" Rias asked awkwardly.
Even she was embarrassed by her own servant's behavior. It really was too much.
"No need." Ryo waved a hand. "He'll come out on his own soon enough."
"No I won't!"
"See?" Ryo replied immediately.
Then he lowered his head.
At the same moment, several of the girls nearby also turned toward the box.
Rias looked shocked, "Gasper? You were listening?"
"I was watching the sisters fight. Hehe. I like watching sisters fight." A crunching sound echoed from inside the box. "But why isn't the white cat hitting the black cat yet? I'm almost out of chips here."
Koneko, who had been glaring murderously at Kuroka, twitched visibly.
Meanwhile, Kuroka burst out laughing.
Without a word, Koneko walked over to the box and reached inside.
"Ah! Don't steal my chips! Give them back! Give them back!"
A half-open bag of potato chips was forcibly pulled out.
Koneko dumped the entire contents into her mouth, chewing expressionlessly.
Then she said, "Gasper. Get out."
"No! You're a bad person! A chip-stealing bad person!"
Gasper sounded like a little girl whose favorite doll had just been taken away.
"I said get out."
Koneko grabbed the box, flipped it upside down, and started shaking it violently as if emptying trash.
As the box rattled, two skinny legs appeared first.
Then the lower half of a school uniform skirt.
But Gasper's upper body remained firmly wedged inside the box. Apparently Gasper was gripping something inside with all possible strength.
No matter how hard Koneko shook it, Gasper refused to fall out.
"I'm not coming out! The white cat wants to hurt me! I won't come out!"
Listening to the crying and whining, Rias pinched the bridge of her nose in despair, "Why are all my Peerage members such weirdos?''
"Hm?" Akeno let out a soft nasal sound.
Rias instantly shut her mouth. She'd accidentally included everyone in the blast radius, and Akeno clearly had objections.
"Koneko."
The moment Ryo called her name, Koneko stopped shaking the box.
Holding it in one hand, she stared at Gasper's dangling lower body, suspended in midair while the upper half remained hidden.
She clicked her tongue in disgust.
Ryo walked over and asked, "Are you sure you're not coming out?"
"I... I can't stay inside?" Gasper asked weakly.
The tone sounded exactly like a helpless elementary school student surrounded by delinquents.
"Koneko. Seal it up." Ryo turned and instructed her, "If he decides he wants to come out later, don't let him."
Koneko nodded seriously.
She dropped the box onto the floor.
Gasper yelped after crashing down.
Then Koneko flipped the box upright and began wrapping it with layer after layer of packing tape.
Riiip. Tear.
The sound of tape being pulled echoed through the room.
Watching the cardboard prison rapidly gain new layers, Rias hesitated.
"Is this really okay? Weren't we supposed to use Gasper to help wake someone up?"
"As long as Valerie reacts, that's enough." Ryo waved dismissively. "Valerie's biggest problem is that her self-awareness and soul have become tangled together with all sorts of other lifeforms and consciousnesses. It's like someone dumped dozens of colors of paint into a bucket and mixed them together."
"The hard part isn't removing the extra colors. It's identifying which color is Valerie's in the first place."
He sounded completely confident. "Once her own sense of self becomes distinct enough, I have plenty of ways to remove the impurities."
"Valerie?"
Gasper's voice suddenly came from inside the box, "Are you talking about Big Sis Valerie?"
Ryo turned his head and glanced at Koneko.
She instantly understood.
Another thick layer of tape went around the box.
"Ahhh! Stop wrapping it! Don't seal the air holes too!"
Nobody paid any attention to Gasper's screams. Instead, everyone looked toward the door, which had just been opened.
Outside stood a Crow Tengu guard.
He bowed respectfully toward Ryo, "Governor, the Graal wielder has arrived."
.
.
.