88. Kuroka's Decision and the Alliance!

Kuroka's POV

Things have settled down for now. The Nekomata village has decided to permanently stay in this pocket dimension. They would be helping out at Akatsuki.

But I still cannot get over how vast this place is, even though certain areas are restricted and closed off. I can feel the spatial distortions, as I have also learned a bit about space magic before.

I heard all the food items sold on the website come from this place, the Demiplane. I was amazed at seeing so many different things when one of the members of Akatsuki gave us a tour.

I have never seen giant trees spanning endless water streams, nor have I ever seen giant flowers gulping people and submerging them in their sap to heal them.

There are even dragons here. This place seems more like a fantasy world than any other place I have ever been.

"You will get fat if you eat so many sweets, you nya?" I blandly told Shirone. She had been eating sweets nonstop since we arrived here.

On the first day, Akatsuki showed her some fruit trees within the area that the children could freely use to eat desserts and sweets.

But she has been eating too much of those! I can't deny how tasty they are, though.

The best of them are probably Desert Arbore (confectionary tree), Platinum Peach, Meteor Garlic (metallic-hued cloves growing on a sturdy garlic plant), Gourmet Strawberry, and Mystery Soup.

There's only one of each such tree in the area, so people cannot take much. But Shirone seems to like the Desert Arbore and Gourmet Strawberry the most.

Well, I liked the Mystery Soup the best, as you can eat any soup you want just by thinking about it before opening the big bowl-sized fruit.

I also heard gossip about the Gourmet Corpse Tree (an eerie, skeletal tree with fruits resembling miniature gravestones), which is off-limits as some say it can resurrect people.

Weird place this is, with weird and fantastical stuff. How did he find such a place, I wonder?

After hearing my words, Shirone had a look of realization and shock as she kept looking at the sweets in her hands and her flat belly.

After what seemed like a very hard choice, she started munching on the sweets again, mumbling things like "I don't get fat," "I have another stomach for sweets," and such. Honestly, she looked really cute and I would fight anyone who says otherwise!

But I had to scold her for a long time when we first got here, reminding her not to take sweets from strangers or get bribed by sweets so easily. She had been way too careless. I had to knock some sense into her.

After seeing her eating sweets, I couldn't stop myself from taking a few bites too. I mean, I won't get fat, okay?! I have a special place for my fats to go!

I looked at the village and thought about how much my life had changed in such a short time. I really am grateful to Akatsuki for this.

Without his help, I might still be locked in that place along with Shirone. She deserves better than that life!

While I was thinking about all this, I was reminded of my current situation. I was the bishop of Naberius.

Since that man is already dead, it technically makes me a stray. Devil laws are really messed up!

If the king dies, the peerage members automatically become strays unless someone else takes them into their peerage, the devils remove the evil piece inside them without killing them, or they simply do not convict them as strays.

Thankfully, I am strong and have full control over my aura, so I won't mutate or become mind-broken like the other strays.

Normally, devils mostly reincarnate humans and such newly reincarnated low-class devils, who were from a different race their whole lives, take time to adapt to fully functioning as a devil.

This includes their unstable demonic aura that only the Kings of each peerage can help them get used to over time.

It takes years upon years to truly get used to such an aura and not need the help of their masters anymore to control it.

There are even many high-class reincarnated devils who haven't gotten used to it, so the unstable demonic aura mutates them when they betray their King and stop receiving the help of their Kings to maintain control over the aura.

This is why there are still rare high-class strays—because they couldn't control their aura by themselves even after becoming stronger.

On the contrary, if someone can properly control the aura, then even a low-class devil can stay sane and not mutate even if they become a stray.

I can fully control my aura, so I do not have to worry about mutating or going insane. But I do not know if I will be hunted down or not. Devil laws are horrific!

There's also the thing that Akatsuki said about me. Because of all the experiments, even though my power has increased so much, I might soon reach a bottleneck someday as a side effect.

If I had stayed a pure Nekoshou, he said I would have had an easier time getting stronger.

But he also said he would look into finding a permanent cure for me. Right, he had also asked to meet me today! I should get going!

"Shirone! I will be..." I stopped mid-sentence when I was about to inform Shirone about me going to meet Akatsuki for a check-up, because that guy's right here, patting Shirone's head as she is sitting on his lap, and eating more sweets!

When did she get so close to him? Did she even listen to what I said before?! But when did he even get here? I didn't even realize!

"You know, I was waiting for you in the lab for the last half hour. It's rude to make others wait for you. I still have other things to do, you know. So I came to bring you myself," Akatsuki said.

"When did you get here?! And what are you doing right now?" I asked, staring at him.

"I got here when you were busy, deep in your thoughts! And as for what I am doing, as you can see, I am petting Koneko-chan's head!" he replied as he also scratched Shirone's ears, which made her purr cutely.

For some reason, this guy has been calling her that, and at some point, Shirone even stopped correcting him.

This guy even had the audacity to enter our surname as 'Toujou' in Akatsuki's database, right in front of us, when they were making IDs for everyone, without even asking for our opinion.

We don't know where the name came from, but he has been doing whatever he wants, which is a bit annoying... slightly, only a bit, okay? Not by much, to be honest. Hmph!

He gets a free pass because he's handsome and strong!

Well, our mother never had a surname, as most Youkais don't, and we didn't want to use our father's surname. So it helps out, I guess.

I had already told Shirone about Naberius and our father, who was most likely acting according to Naberius. Shirone needed some time, but she's a strong girl. She's doing great!

"Well, you should know that waiting for a beautiful woman is one of life's privileges. Not every man gets the chance to meet a beautiful girl like me alone in a room," I replied teasingly, leaning towards him slightly in my loose kimono, showing a fair bit of skin and a toothy grin.

Both Akatsuki and Shirone gave me blank stares. Umm... yeah, that was not a good one. Even I found it a bit too cheesy.

"So, didn't you say you wanted to have a look at my body? Let's go!" I said, taking him by the hand and starting to walk towards his lab.

Shirone followed out of concern, but I asked her to stay and play with the kids in the village.

Soon, we arrived at his personal lab. There were a lot of security measures in place. It consisted of the typical things you'd find in a high-quality lab.

I heard he and the researchers in Akatsuki had been looking at the state of everyone individually and made separate cures for them all.

Many were in a far worse state than me. My condition was stable, so they decided to prioritize the others.

Now, it seemed they had successfully cured everyone; even some of the mental scars were mended, as I saw many who previously had lifeless looks in their eyes walking around the Akatsuki Hospital, chatting normally with everyone.

Seeing that no one was here except for us, I decided to get a bit bold.

"So, what do I do? Do you need me to take off all my clothes?" I asked, lowering my kimono a bit with my hands.

"You don't really need to. But be my guest if you are comfortable doing so. I would never refuse a willing beautiful girl," he replied with an infectious smile instantly.

This was not what I expected, so I decided to stay as I was. I think I could feel my cheeks getting warm. I guess we can always go a step further after getting to know each other better.

[A/N: Kuroka is not desperate enough to jump on the MC like she was in Canon due to the responsibility of repopulating her clan, which doesn't bind her now. She is also younger than the Kuroka you all know.]

After a lot of different tests, Akatsuki finally spoke.

"Don't worry, I can make a cure for you. You will be just fine," he said.

"Thanks," I replied.

I couldn't really thank him enough for all he had done for us. Even a lifetime of gratitude would feel insufficient.

But I was still worried about the stray situation. Would I have to hide my whole life, from the devils? Or maybe I should talk to the village chief or the others about this?

I was sure they might be able to help me. Even Akatsuki might be able to talk things out with the Satans. He had already done so much for us. But I didn't want to leave Shirone alone because of this!

"Hey, listen..." I started, getting his attention.

Shamelessly, I told him everything about my situation. Then what he said blew my mind!

"Then, wanna join my peerage?" he said.

Was he not a human, but a devil? After that, he told me a bit about himself, and yes, he is weird. As weird as his situation.

Was I actually trying to get in the pants of a twelve-year-old boy, who's barely older than Shirone? Well, normally devils his age already start baby-making sex. So it doesn't really matter, I guess?

I accepted his proposal, and he said he would take care of all the formalities for my transfer to his peerage. Then, Shirone and I moved to his house the following weekend.

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Kouske's POV

"Thanks for your help, Akatsuki-san. The West Youkai will always remember your help," says Yasaka-san as she sits gracefully in a seiza position in one of Akatsuki's meeting rooms.

But my whole attention was on her heavenly melons. I still don't understand how those pieces of flesh can defy the laws of physics! Maybe she uses magic?

*cough*

I heard Sakuya coughing to get my attention while Yasaka-san had a teasing smile on her face. She knows!

"You don't need to thank me. I honestly only did it to just save them," I replied making her happy.

Beside her is the old Gourd youkai, Nurarihyon, with a huge gourd head. If he didn't have that head, he would just look like your typical old man with a villainous face.

Well, he isn't much of a villain, though he's a bit of a lecher and a prankster. I've heard he has a history of entering strangers' homes to make them show him hospitality via hypnosis.

He has also made random beautiful girls on the street give him shoulder massages publicly.

Despite his mischievous nature, he is one heck of a leader, even better than Yasaka-san, who might look like a little girl compared to him.

His East Youkai faction is a lot stronger than Yasaka-san's territory, as it's a gathering place for all the hot-tempered, muscle-headed Youkai.

Surprisingly, he has tamed them quite well. Yasaka-san and he don't get along too well, but they can still work together perfectly in times like these.

Currently, we are in the middle of solidifying our alliance. Nurarihyon-dono has Kunou sitting on his shoulder, playing by herself, while Magari-san is off meeting Kuroka and Koneko-chan.

I heard their mother was an acquaintance of both Nurarihyon-dono and Magari-san. After seeing that both Kuroka and Koneko-chan have the potential to use Senjutsu, she seems to want to train them in Senjutsu and Youjutsu, as she is a master of both.

Even Nurarihyon-dono cannot use Senjutsu, which only a few, like the Senins, can master. Yasaka-san can also use Senjutsu, and if I remember correctly, Kunou-chan will also be able to in the future.

She is a year younger than Koneko-chan, and I can see Nurarihyon-dono doting on her like his own grandchild, which Yasaka-san doesn't seem to mind even though they don't get along too well.

"Well, let's just sign the alliance contract now. We have already discussed all the necessary details. That Kuoh town you mentioned will be rented to that Sabnock kid from your organization. I need to head back soon, or those muscle heads might start causing more trouble in my absence, but I would like to tour this place a bit before leaving. I heard you have very tasty grapes?" Nurarihyon-dono asked.

"Yeah, we have some. I'll give you a bag to take home," I replied, noticing Sakuya already standing nearby with a bag of the fruits for Nurarihyon-dono.

She truly is the best maid one could ever hope for—getting things done even before being asked. Efficient as hell! I might tear up a bit...

'I appreciate the compliment, Kouske-sama,' I received her telepathic message suddenly and saw her smiling beautifully. Was I so obvious about what I was thinking?

"Why don't you make alcohol from them? I bet it would be great," Nurarihyon-dono suggested, tasting a few. Kunuo-chan on his shoulder also took a few.

"We are in the process, actually," I replied.

We are looking for the best combination. I'll market the finished product after aging it for years with my Time Manipulation.

I also have the idea of going to Danmachi to have Soma make wines for me. I'm sure he would gladly make them if I just provided him with the best ingredients that he could never get in Gekai.

I'm also immune to mental attacks because of the system's passive effect, so I won't get influenced even if I drink his wines to talk to him.

Just thinking about aging divine wines made by a literal God of Wine Making to sell them everywhere makes me excited. I will be rolling in money!

After that, we discussed other things for a while and I even showed them around a bit. If people could actually tour this place, the Demiplane would have turned into the best and most otherworldly tourist spot in the world.

Kunou-chan was having fun, and Sakuya seemed to be playing with her. After the tour, they all went back home.

Next week, I had to meet Yasaka-san as Kouske Sabnock to get the paperwork done to become the newest Overseer of Kuoh town.

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