Chapter 421: Sheila's Unusual Behavior
Although the Underworld possessed futuristic technology combining magic and science, the overall customs still leaned toward medieval Europe.
Not just Sheila, but even ordinary young female demons lacked the concept of underwear.
So when faced with Haruto's teasing, Sheila showed no embarrassment at all. Instead, she retorted with disdain, "What's the big deal? Besides, I used magic to conceal it. Who knew you'd actually take up residence there?"
Haruto could certainly travel on his own, but a cute cat walking alone would inevitably attract attention. If he encountered demons who particularly liked small animals, dealing with them would be even more troublesome.
But by hiding directly in Sheila's chest, with only his adorable cat head peeking out, he avoided a lot of complications.
Even if people were curious, due to his position, passersby would feel too awkward to stare for too long.
After all, others didn't know Sheila's true age. Staring persistently at a little girl's chest would be social suicide.
As they bantered back and forth, they were rapidly approaching Ramsus's residence.
To maintain stealth, Sheila didn't use conspicuous long-distance teleportation that would draw attention. Instead, she continuously performed short-range spatial jumps.
A purple spatial magic circle appeared on the wall, and Sheila, carrying her heavy chest, stepped right through it.
The next instant, an identical magic circle materialized on the wall of Mio's bedroom, from which Haruto and Sheila emerged.
Mio and Lucia had just finished bathing and happily rushed over upon seeing Haruto and Sheila return.
"Aunt Sheila, Haruto, how did your investigation go?"
After the initial novelty wore off and without finding any traces of her parents' lives, the long-legged, busty red-haired twin-tailed beauty was already feeling a bit homesick.
"Not that fast," Haruto leaped out from Sheila's collar and flashed over to land on Mio's bouncy, ample chest beneath her pajamas.
While surveying the luxurious bedroom that rivaled his own—filled with an ancient aristocratic aura yet upon closer inspection revealing pink-hued ceiling chandeliers and delicate tea tables and desks—he padded his pink paw pads, causing the girl to feel flushed. Only after finding the most comfortable spot did he settle down and continue, "My matters are trivial, we can look into them later. The main concern is your situation here."
Sheila shot a displeased glare at Haruto, who'd 'abandoned the old for the new,' then plopped down beside Lucia, swinging her fair, delicate feet.
"You all chat first. I'm going to take a bath. My feet are sore from running around all day."
In truth, her feet weren't sore at all—Sheila had probably walked less than a kilometer the entire trip. She was just intentionally complaining to Haruto.
It was merely a subconscious fit of pique, stemming from an inexplicable sense of loss after being 'dumped' by Haruto.
The others didn't dwell on it much. After Lucia took Sheila to bathe, Mio and Haruto began discussing tomorrow's meeting with Leohart.
"So eager already..." Haruto also felt it was a bit rushed, but considering Leohart was now alone without the backing of the god-tier powerhouse Liala, he could understand.
He figured the young Demon King must be quite troubled dealing with the old foxes in the Cardinal Council these days.
Previously, he could suppress the Cardinal Council using his authority as the Demon King. But with Mio's arrival, if the Cardinal Council started making issues about the Demon King's position, he'd truly have a hard time handling it.
"Don't worry, no need to overthink it. I'll go with you tomorrow."
Remaining in his black cat form, Haruto remarked, "Overthinking it now is pointless. It all depends on what attitude that Demon King holds."
He detested the undying old fools of the Privy Council, but he also had no particular impression of this young Demon King he'd never met before—it wasn't as if he was necessarily on his side.
Although joining forces with Leohart to oppose the Privy Council and the traditionalist demons would make things much easier, it didn't mean Haruto couldn't handle the Privy Council and the old-school demons on his own.
If Leohart tried to make a move on Naruse Mio tomorrow, Haruto wouldn't mind first helping the Privy Council eliminate Leohart and his subordinates, then dealing with those old fossils and the traditionalist demons by himself.
After their discussion, it was already quite late. Naruse Mio blushed slightly as she looked at Haruto. "Brother Haruto, are you planning to stay like this all night?"
"Hmm..."
Haruto replied instinctively, "This form is surprisingly comfortable. After using it for so long, I don't really feel like changing back to human form."
As he spoke, his sapphire vertical pupils happened to catch the conflicted expression and blush on Mio's pretty face. Being quite experienced in matters of love, he immediately understood.
"Mio, are you in the mood?"
"Not at all! It's just, it's just..."
The familiar tsundere behavior—she stammered for a while but couldn't come up with a good excuse.
Haruto found it amusing and teased, "We've already dual cultivated together so many times, why are you still so shy?"
Not only had they dual cultivated together, but thanks to that lecherous succubus loli Maria, the two of them had basically tried every variation imaginable.
He found it curious that now, when they were alone together, Naruse Mio was acting shy.
Just then, Sheila and Lucia returned wrapped in large bath towels.
The silver-haired, seductive succubus big sister similarly teased, "Mio-sama, even though Maria isn't here, if you're feeling restrained, I can help out too."
Naturally, Sheila wouldn't miss such an opportunity and immediately added fuel to the fire, "Ara ara, I was thinking the three of us could sleep together tonight, but it seems I should go next door instead~"
Since Ramsus knew Sheila had come too, he had naturally prepared a room for her. However, Naruse Mio and Lucia had been assigned to share a room.
Compared to his niece's room though, her room was clearly not nearly as spacious.
Haruto even suspected that Ramsus's own room wasn't this luxurious either.
Faced with teasing from all three, Naruse Mio decided she had nothing left to lose and retorted in flustered irritation, "It's still so early, how could anyone sleep? And there's no phone signal either..."
Haruto and the other two were taken aback for a moment, but quickly understood how Mio felt.
Despite having various technologies integrated with magic, the overall lifestyle in the Underworld still tended toward "early to bed, early to rise."
After dark, aside from procreation, demons didn't have much in the way of entertainment.
This reminded Haruto of the sci-fi styled colosseums and various buildings he'd seen along the way, yet when he looked at the streets, common demon folk were still wearing coarse linen clothes and engaged in the most primitive labor.
Somehow... it felt rather discordant.
Haruto could understand it, but this peculiar feeling was hard to shake off immediately.
"Whatever, do as you please. I'm going back to my room to rest," Sheila said with a bored yawn, stepping into a spatial magic circle she casually conjured while wearing cute slippers.
Even though her room was just next door, she couldn't be bothered to take those few steps.
Not only does technology make people lazy, but magic does too.
At the last moment before the magic circle disappeared, Haruto jumped in as well, leaving only a single sentence: "I'm going to discuss tomorrow's plan with Sheila."
Lucia had already informed Sheila about tomorrow's meeting with Satan Leohart, but Haruto still needed to discuss the specifics with her in detail.
However, another reason Haruto followed was mainly because he was afraid of staying overnight on this side—his cat form couldn't even be maintained for 24 hours.
He didn't have to worry too much about exposure while with Ramsus, but reverting to human form for dual cultivation here would be like slapping his own face.
Haruto's intentions were good, but he absolutely shouldn't have gone to Sheila's room.
The loli-mature Succubus Queen Sheila knew far more tricks than Lucia and Mio Naruse combined.
With Haruto and Sheila's departure, the luxurious bedroom fell into silence once more. Lucia and Mio exchanged glances for a moment before obediently going to bed to rest.
As for whether anything might happen between Haruto and Sheila, Mio didn't even consider it, while Lucia couldn't care less.
Not to mention that Haruto couldn't perform dual cultivation while maintaining his cat form, even if something did happen, it didn't seem like a big deal.
Miss Grayfia had already boarded this pirate ship, let alone the former Succubus Queen who currently had no husband.
...
Sheila looked curiously at Haruto who had followed her. "Aren't you staying over there to help Mio and Lucia improve their strength? What are you doing in my room?"
"It's not like it's our first time dual cultivating. How much improvement can one night really bring?" Haruto remarked casually while surveying the noticeably more ordinary bedroom.
The speaker might have been careless, but the listener took it to heart.
If it wasn't the first dual cultivation session that lacked significant effects, that meant the first time—even if just for one night—could be quite effective.
The former Succubus Queen, who had been suppressing her instincts all day while being physically close to Haruto, now completely inflamed with desire, couldn't help but let her thoughts wander.
Sheila's amethyst-like beautiful eyes immediately misted over, her pure succubus energy circulating continuously within her.
Her moist nose twitched slightly. In his nekomata form, Haruto's sense of smell had been greatly enhanced.
He could not only distinguish various scents but even detect the aura of magical power.
His blue cat eyes curiously followed the source of the scent, meeting Sheila's adorable face that was fair with a rosy blush.
They were so close that Haruto could feel the warmth of Sheila's breath.
Within the faint fragrance was a subtle, indescribable allure.
He was no novice either—while not exactly a Casanova, he could easily recognize what Sheila's current state meant.
His soft, fluid cat body stiffened momentarily but soon relaxed again.
Though he didn't understand the reason, at this point he naturally wouldn't back down.
Haruto found Sheila's attitude somewhat strange. When he had taken the initiative before, this loli wife had refused him.
This time he hadn't done anything particularly suggestive—at most, he'd taken some small advantages while in cat form.
Come to think of it, transforming into a black cat form did make it very easy to enjoy various benefits.
What girl could resist an adorable kitty? And what bad intentions could a little cat possibly have?
Just as Haruto was beginning to process this, Sheila suddenly pulled him—still in cat form—into her embrace.
With a delicate wave of her slender, pale hand, pink magical energy instantly filled the entire room.
The succubus-attribute mana immediately made both their bodies grow warmer, while this ambiguous magical energy also formed a barrier, isolating external perception.