Due to the urgency of the situation, Touka Kirishima returned first. Kaguya originally intended to go with her, but since there were still two little freeloaders at home, she couldn't just leave them unattended. Given their weak abilities, they would probably be in danger even if they stayed home.
However, what they said took Kaguya by surprise.
"What? You two also want to fight against the mutants?"
"Yes."
Kurona Yasuhisa and Nashiro Yasuhisa both nodded.
Seeing that they didn't seem to be lying, Kaguya was even more astonished. When did these two lazy couch potatoes at home develop such a sense of duty? It was simply unimaginable. Could something have provoked them?
But regardless, this was still a good thing—at least they were showing some ambition now. It seemed appropriate to praise them.
Kaguya nodded, raised her head, and said, "You two weaklings actually think you can fight?"
...Wait.
Why did those words come out of her mouth?
Upon hearing Kaguya's mocking remarks, Nashiro Yasuhisa's delicate face flushed with anger. She retorted, "Why can't we fight? Just because you're strong doesn't mean you can look down on others!"
"Oh, really?" Kaguya leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, looking at them with amusement. "Do you honestly believe that, with your half-baked abilities, you can survive even a single round in battle? Or... do you just think that if you act tough enough, I'll see you in a different light?"
"Of course not!" Nashiro Yasuhisa pursed her lips and shouted, "Don't falsely accuse us! We never did anything like that!"
"Is that so?" Kaguya smirked. "Then why are you so desperate to get more of my blood? If I'm not mistaken, even if you spent recklessly, you wouldn't run out of the money I left for you. And besides... what's this?"
As she spoke, Kaguya pulled out a pink wallet embroidered with delicate floral patterns from behind her back.
Nashiro Yasuhisa's face changed drastically. She reached for her pocket, only to find it empty.
"How did my wallet end up in your hands?!" Nashiro Yasuhisa asked anxiously.
"It's just a wallet. Why so nervous?" Kaguya opened it and pulled out a thick stack of bills, speaking playfully. "But you know, there's always someone coming to me, claiming they're out of money, starving for a whole day, and shamelessly asking for more. Did you really think I was that easy to fool?"
"No—we..."
Before Kurona Yasuhisa could finish, a sudden surge of invisible pressure erupted from Kaguya, radiating an icy, bone-chilling aura that spread outward in waves. Even the furniture in the room seemed to lift slightly under an unseen force.
"Did you really think I was easy to take advantage of?"
Faced with Kaguya's overwhelming presence, Kurona Yasuhisa and Nashiro Yasuhisa turned pale, instinctively stepping back until they lost their balance and collapsed onto the floor. Their wide, terrified eyes reflected sheer panic.
Only now did they remember—this seemingly easygoing and unassuming person standing before them was no ordinary human. She wasn't someone they could afford to provoke. She was an unimaginably powerful being, a legendary force that struck fear into countless others. Even the highest-ranking ghouls regarded her as an untouchable entity.
Perhaps because Kaguya had always been so approachable, they had gradually forgotten this fact. But now, reality had hit them like a storm, waking them up from their illusion. Their little tricks were laughably insignificant in her eyes—she had simply chosen not to call them out before.
But now... she was angry.
What should they do?
A trace of regret flickered in Kurona Yasuhisa's heart. Their plan had succeeded too easily, making her careless. She never expected to get caught. If she had known, she would have been more discreet.
As Kaguya stepped toward them with a cold expression, Kurona Yasuhisa spread her arms in front of her sister and shouted, "I was the one who planned this! I'm the mastermind! If you want to punish someone, punish me! My sister knew nothing about it!"
"Sister..." Nashiro Yasuhisa clutched her older sister's sleeve, her voice trembling.
"Oh?" Kaguya raised an eyebrow. "So you're the mastermind. That makes things easier."
She reached out, grabbed Kurona Yasuhisa's hand, and pulled her up from the floor.
Despite her fearless expression, Kurona Yasuhisa's heart pounded wildly. As soon as Kaguya seized her hand, she could hear the heavy thumping of her own heartbeat.
This is it. I'm doomed.
But what happened next completely caught her off guard.
Kaguya, who had been wearing a serious expression just moments ago, suddenly relaxed her face and broke into a smile.
"Not bad. I didn't expect you two to have such ambition. What a surprise."
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
Kurona Yasuhisa and Nashiro Yasuhisa were both stunned.
What's going on?
"If you want to get stronger, just tell me. Did you really need to go through all these roundabout tricks?" Kaguya said with a smile.
The twin sisters stood frozen for a long moment before they finally understood what she meant.
Did she only intend to scare us?
Kurona Yasuhisa and Nashiro Yasuhisa exchanged glances, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from their hearts. They both let out a sigh of relief.
"I don't know why you're in such a hurry to become stronger," Kaguya walked over and helped Nashiro Yasuhisa up from the ground, "but since you two are my pampered pets, as your owner, it's naturally my duty to train you."
"Um… we're not pets," Nashiro Yasuhisa mumbled timidly.
"What did you say?" Kaguya asked with a beaming smile.
"Ah—n-nothing, nothing!" Nashiro Yasuhisa quickly waved her hands and laughed awkwardly.
Beside her, Kurona Yasuhisa kept shooting her warning glances.
"However—"
Just as Kurona Yasuhisa and Nashiro Yasuhisa thought they were in the clear, Kaguya suddenly changed her tone. "Since you made a mistake, you need to be punished. If I recall correctly, you said you were the mastermind, didn't you, Kurona?"
"Uh…"
Kurona Yasuhisa let out a few nervous chuckles, took a few steps back—then abruptly turned around and bolted.
"Trying to run?"
Before she could get far, an irresistible force pulled her back.
"Banshō Ten'in."
A dizzying whirlwind of motion later, Kurona Yasuhisa found herself sprawled across Kaguya's lap. She looked up in a panic—only to meet Kaguya's kind gaze.
Kaguya narrowed her eyes with a mischievous smile. "Still trying to escape? You're too naive."
Before Kurona Yasuhisa could react, Kaguya grabbed hold of her waistband. Under Kurona's shocked gaze, she yanked her pants down in one swift motion.
"Aaaaahhh!"
Amid Kurona Yasuhisa's horrified screams, Kaguya's hand lifted—and came down hard on her fair, round backside.
Slap!
"This is for biting me, you little brat."
Slap!
"This is for tricking me."
Slap!
"This is for making me go hungry."
Slap!
"This is for ruining my plans today."
Slap!
"And this is for—"
...
If it weren't for stumbling upon Kurona Yasuhisa and Nashiro Yasuhisa bathing in the bathroom today, Kaguya might have remained completely in the dark. She had never expected to be schemed against by these two cunning little girls.
Kaguya had found it strange before—her salary wasn't exactly low, especially after her promotion, which had increased it significantly, more than enough to cover daily expenses. Yet, even so, whenever she handed her money over to those two, it would be spent clean within no time. It was simply outrageous. Even if Kaguya were oblivious, she would still notice something fishy.
Still, suspicions aside, seeing the two girls lying weakly on the sofa, too starved to move, she had believed they weren't faking it. Given how busy she had been recently, she hadn't thought too much about it—only to now realize she had been played.
Just thinking about how she had to scrounge for meals elsewhere while coming home only to have these two little brats bite her neck made Kaguya fume. And to think she had been so concerned about them—turns out, they were just a pair of ungrateful little wolves.
She had just given them a harsh punishment, spanking them until their buttocks were swollen. Watching the twin sisters walk away with a limp finally helped vent her anger.
But thinking back, their bodies actually had a rather nice feel to them—smooth, soft, and full of youthful elasticity unique to girls their age. It was truly hard to put down.
However, their reactions during the spanking were somewhat odd. Their delicate faces had flushed red, their teeth clenched as if struggling to endure something, and from time to time, they let out suppressed whimpers.
At first, Kaguya thought she might have hit too hard. But upon reflection, she hadn't actually used much force—she had carefully controlled her strength. Although the sound of the slaps had been loud, the pain itself wasn't unbearable, merely a sting that would fade quickly. It wasn't enough to cause real injury.
If Kaguya had truly wanted to beat them up, she could have broken their bones.
Yet their reactions were so strange, as if they were enduring an unbearable torment.
After the punishment ended, before Kaguya could even say anything, the two of them bolted like startled rabbits, their faces flushed. If anyone saw them, they might misunderstand and assume Kaguya had done something inappropriate to them.
Forget it—this was just a light punishment to teach them a lesson. If she caught them deceiving her again, she wouldn't let them off so easily.
Outside the apartment, the noise grew louder. Crisp gunfire and the rumble of explosions rang out, mixed with desperate screams and cries for help. Through the window, the distant glow of flames was already visible.
This outbreak… judging by the scale, it didn't seem like it would stop anytime soon. Kaguya had a rough idea of what was happening—most of the elite troops had been dispatched to the 16th Ward. Launching a surprise attack now meant the enemy had inside information and knew that the 20th Ward's defenses were at their weakest.
It seemed she couldn't just sit by and watch. Even those two freeloading brats knew to go fight—how could she not?
However, Kaguya also had an inkling of why those two were fighting so desperately, even at the risk of angering her to obtain her blood.
That was also why, despite realizing she had been deceived, she wasn't truly mad at them.
Just as Kaguya was about to stand up, she suddenly sensed something off. She froze for a moment, then looked down and noticed a wet sensation on her thigh. A slight breeze brushed over it, bringing a cool, damp feeling.
She reached down to touch it—her fingers met a slick, sticky moisture. Under the clear moonlight, it shimmered faintly.
What was this?
Puzzled, Kaguya stared at the glistening, sticky substance on her fingers and brought them to her nose. A distinct, oddly familiar body scent drifted toward her.
This smell… it seemed… very familiar. She had smelled it somewhere before.
Suddenly, Kaguya's body stiffened. A few veins popped on her forehead, and the corners of her mouth twitched.
If she wasn't mistaken, this was the bodily fluid of those two girls.
Recalling the way they had tangled together in the bathroom earlier, she finally understood why they had behaved so strangely just now.
She never would have thought… those twin sisters were actually perverts. And not just perverts—they were masochists.
Previously, when they clung together, Kaguya had thought it was just deep sisterly affection. But now, it seemed their relationship was much "deeper" than she had imagined.
Kaguya hurried out the door, but the first place she went wasn't the distant battlefield shrouded in smoke and fire. Instead, she headed to the Anteiku café first. The café was the designated meeting spot—whenever something major happened, everyone would gather there first.
However, when she arrived, she found the place completely empty, as if no one had been there at all. At that moment, a deafening explosion echoed from afar, so powerful that even inside the café, more than ten kilometers away, she could hear it clearly.
Kaguya's brows furrowed slightly. Something felt off. Just as she was about to leave, a crisp, melodious voice called out behind her.
"Sister Liuli!"
Kaguya turned around and saw a delicate loli—Hinami.
"What are you doing here?" Kaguya asked in surprise. "Where is everyone else?"
Hinami ran over hastily and grabbed her hand anxiously. "Sister, you finally came! Everyone waited for you for a long time, but when you didn't show up, they left first. Manager said that if you came, you should head to the East Gate immediately."
"It's that serious?" Kaguya's brow creased almost imperceptibly, but she quickly relaxed. Bending down slightly, she patted Hinami's head with a smile. "I understand. Stay here and wait for us to return."
Just as Kaguya was about to turn and leave, she suddenly felt a tug at the hem of her clothes.
"Can… can I go with you?" Hinami asked nervously, her head lowered in unease.
"What would you go for?" Kaguya asked in surprise.
"If… if possible, I want to be with everyone," Hinami said softly. "Only when I'm with everyone do I feel at ease. I don't want to sit here, waiting in agony."
Hinami… is she worried about everyone?
Kaguya was momentarily stunned.
"Ah, sorry," Hinami quickly snapped out of it, forcing a sheepish smile. "I was being too selfish. If I go, I'll probably just be a distraction for you. I should stay—"
Before she could finish speaking, Kaguya reached out and plucked the fox mask from around her waist, then placed it over Hinami's face.
"Then what are you waiting for? Let's go," Kaguya said with a squinted smile. "If we're late, everyone will probably complain."
Hinami froze for a second before a surge of joy filled her heart. She nodded firmly.
"S-Sister… could you turn around for a moment?"
Hinami's timid voice came from behind her, trembling ever so slightly.
"What is it?"
Kaguya turned around with a smile—only for her eyes to widen. The soft warmth pressing against her cheek swallowed any words she had left to say.
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