"Meow?"
Because she felt no magical aura that would trigger her hatred, the black cat didn't hiss at the newcomer. Instead, she let out a soft meow, trying to win the human's favor. It was a trick that had never failed her.
The person who found her was, of course, Rhode. He had activated Presence Concealment EX before approaching, knowing that unusual magic fluctuations in a place like this were a red flag.
Just as he expected, while there was only an injured black cat under the shade, the system panel revealed its true nature.
[Character: Kuroka]
Race: Nekomata (Nekoshou)
Status: Injured
Description: A black-haired cat-girl. A 'Hajimi' (cat). Formerly a test subject for the secret 'Post-Transcendence' research of the Naberius branch (Rank 24 of the 72 Pillars). She killed her master to protect her sister from being used as a test subject and fled, becoming a Stray Devil. Currently wanted.
Note: Easy to trigger a hiss before gaining her trust!
Rhode was surprised. Getting involved with the Five Great Clans in Kyoto was one thing, but running into a fugitive Kuroka right after leaving was another.
Then again, it made sense. Kuroka was a Stray Devil on the run, and since her mother was a Japanese yokai, it wasn't strange for her to hide in Japan. Considering the Devil faction's territory was only a hundred kilometers away, she likely just had a run-in with a pursuit squad.
Two new system quests appeared before Rhode:
[Quest: Ruthless Execution]
Objective: Kill the Stray Devil Kuroka and deliver her body to the Devil faction.
Reward: Naberius Family favorability +10, Random Reward *2
...
[Quest: Kitty Rescue]
Objective: Heal the injured Stray Devil Kuroka.
Reward: Kuroka favorability +30, Random Reward *1
Rhode immediately chose the second one. If Kuroka were a truly irredeemable devil, he wouldn't mind putting her down. But knowing her backstory, he couldn't bring himself to harm an innocent "kitty." Rhode's moral compass was flexible, but it still existed.
Plus, Kuroka was an important character—the biological older sister of Rias's servant, Koneko. Having a pair of cat-girls, one black and one white, was too good an opportunity to pass up.
"I didn't expect so many surprises before even reaching Kuoh Town," Rhode whispered to himself. He hadn't had many chances to interact with the major female characters of DxD until he took the quest to protect Asia. Now, his "luck with women" seemed to be on a roll.
Kuroka, still in her cat form, continued to meow weakly at Rhode. Internally, however, she was on high alert. Normally, humans fell into two categories: cat-lovers who tried to hug her, or strangers who just walked past. She usually avoided the former.
But her leg injury made movement difficult. She had specifically chosen this forest to rest; why were there still troublesome humans here? And more importantly, any human who appeared in the middle of a forest without warning was inherently suspicious!
Kuroka's instincts screamed at her to run, but before she could react, a large hand snatched her by the scruff of her neck and lifted her off the grass.
What a fast grab!
As a Nekoshou—the strongest of the Nekomata—Kuroka had been powerful enough to kill a High-class Devil even before becoming a fugitive. Now, she was on par with a pureblood High-class Devil. Even injured, she shouldn't have been caught by a normal human.
She was utterly baffled. She hadn't even seen him move before his hand was on her. Just as she was about to release her mana to blast him away, Rhode held her up to his face.
"Don't hiss at me just yet. I'm here to help."
"Meow?"
"I know your story. You became a Stray Devil for the sake of your sister, Shirone. I can help you with that."
Seeing Kuroka stop struggling, Rhode knew he had hit her weak point. For Kuroka, nothing in the world mattered more than her sister, Shirone (Koneko).
"How do you know about that, meow?" The black cat stared into Rhode's eyes, her tone anxious.
"I have my ways. But if you want to see Shirone again, you have to listen to me. You don't want anything to happen to your sister, do you?"
"Meow?!"
"Oh, my mistake. What I meant was, if you expose your identity recklessly, Shirone will be the one who suffers for it."
Kuroka calmed down instantly at the mention of her sister. "How do you plan to help me?"
"Don't worry about that. Just know that I have a way for you to meet Shirone. But until then, you follow my lead. If everything goes well, you'll be reunited."
Kuroka fell silent. She didn't trust this human, but he knew too much about her and Shirone. If she fled now, she couldn't predict what would happen to her sister. She briefly considered killing the man, but the fact that he could snatch her scruff so easily made her abandon that plan.
"You'd better not be lying, meow! Otherwise, the consequences will be very serious!"
Kuroka tried to sound threatening, but being in cat form just made it look adorable. With the agreement made, Rhode brought her back to the car.
Lavinia's eyebrows shot up; she could see the cat's devil nature, but she trusted Rhode's judgment. "Asia, give her a quick heal."
Rhode placed Kuroka in front of Asia. As the green glow mended her leg, the quest completion prompt appeared.
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High School DxD : Reincarnated into the Multiverse, but it's High School DxD (117 Chapters – Ongoing)
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