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By the time they returned to the Gremory family's territory, it was already deep into the night. After a quick shower, it was practically midnight.
In his bedroom, Keikain Bokue lay comfortably on the large bed, holding his phone and watching an anime he'd downloaded a couple days ago, before coming to the Underworld.
It was a necessary precaution, considering there was no internet down here.
For a modern person, sleeping without scrolling through something on their phone first was simply unacceptable—even for the Acting Head of a distinguished Onmyōji family.
Outside, a cool breeze fluttered the curtains as it blew gently into the room. In human form tonight, Kuroka quietly curled herself up against the young man, peacefully watching the anime alongside him, her twin tails—symbols of her Nekoshou heritage—gently swishing about, lifting the hem of her kimono slightly as they swayed.
Again, if Rias happened to barge in at a crucial moment, things would certainly become… awkward.
Especially considering that yesterday, in an attempt to prove herself superior to a certain red-haired girl, Kuroka had boldly overextended her limits, resulting in lingering soreness today. If they continued tonight, she'd probably need a full day tomorrow just to recover.
Creak—
Speaking of the devil…
Just as the curtains settled back down, blown by the breeze, the bedroom door quietly swung open.
It was none other than Rias, freshly showered as well.
Compared to yesterday's shy, cautious demeanor, Rias today appeared far more comfortable. She walked directly into the room, stopping briefly at the doorway to exchange a quiet glance with Bokue, who still lay comfortably on the bed.
"…"
"…"
"Is something the matter?"
When Rias continued standing motionless in the doorway for longer than three seconds, Bokue couldn't help but ask.
"Hmm… nothing."
Rias shook her head gently, closing the door behind her.
Perhaps it was intuition or merely overthinking—but even though there was clearly only one young man and one cat on the bed, with the cat sitting neatly beside the pillow, the way Bokue lay holding his phone gave Rias an odd sense of déjà vu…
As if, moments before she entered, he'd been embracing someone else.
But… surely not?
Putting the thought aside, Rias approached the bedside, smoothing out her silky nightdress before sitting down.
"Bokue, I told Mother we'll be heading back tomorrow morning."
"Oh? That soon?"
Bokue raised an eyebrow curiously.
But as soon as he'd finished speaking, Rias shot him an exasperated look.
"It's already late enough! Honestly…"
The red-haired girl pouted lightly in disbelief.
"You don't seriously think we're on vacation now, do you? We came here Saturday, and today is already Sunday night! Tomorrow's Monday, and everyone has classes. We've already requested leave for one day, and Sona, as Student Council President, could only approve one day off for the entire Occult Research Club."
Alright, she had a point.
Bokue gave a brief nod of acceptance.
"So—"
"Ah!"
At the sudden sensation of fingertips brushing softly through her silky, translucent nightgown, Rias involuntarily shivered, immediately sitting straight up.
"S-s-stupid, don't do anything reckless!"
"Hm?"
"Today… today isn't a good day for that."
Turning to face Bokue's confused gaze, Rias felt her cheeks grow even hotter, averting her eyes slightly.
"Yesterday… we might have gone a bit overboard…"
She was telling the truth. Last night, she had assumed that since it wasn't their first time, she wouldn't have to hold back as much. But she'd overlooked the fact that even though it wasn't her first time, it was still just her second experience.
As a result, she'd spent practically the entire day barely able to walk straight, only recovering sufficiently by evening, just in time for the Phenex family's banquet.
Moreover, after they returned tomorrow, classes would resume immediately the day after; they couldn't afford to request another day off.
"In any case, we'll have plenty of opportunities later…"
With these words, Rias leaned down, gently leaving a tender kiss on the young man's lips. She then slowly stood back up, bracing herself against the bed with both hands.
"Well then, I'll head back to my room now. Bokue, make sure to get some rest."
"Alright. Good night."
"Good night."
After exchanging good nights, the red-haired girl quietly left the room.
As he watched the door close once again, Bokue suddenly sank into a strange contemplative mood.
It felt like… he was about to make some monumental progress on his journey of celibacy.
Carefully thinking about it—previously, even the slightest contact or a lingering glance at Kuroka, let alone anything more, had been enough to completely obliterate his "day one" of abstinence.
Now, Rias was part of the equation as well, theoretically making celibacy even harder to achieve.
Yet last night, in a rare moment of recklessness, both girls had completely pushed themselves past their limits—one trying to prove herself, the other boldly attempting to go even further.
The final outcome was that both ended up too exhausted today for any further activities.
Did that mean his perpetually recurring "Day One" of celibacy was finally advancing into a legitimate "Day Two"?
He had to admit, even though he'd frequently encountered such jokes online, personally experiencing this moment still left him feeling oddly complicated.
Perhaps… similar to missing a daily login reward in a mobile game?
As Bokue continued to idly ponder such trivial thoughts, debating whether to turn off the lights and get some sleep, the bedroom door—which he'd assumed was firmly shut—quietly reopened just a bit.
Catching sight of it out of the corner of his eye, Bokue slightly raised his head from the bed, voicing a confused question.
"Something wrong?"
He'd assumed Rias had returned for some reason. But, to his surprise, the figure that stepped quietly into the room was someone else entirely.
Long brown hair cascaded gracefully over slender shoulders, still faintly fragrant from shampoo. The woman possessed a gentle, mature beauty remarkably similar to Rias's own, tempered with the refined elegance unique to married women. Beneath her sheer, translucent nightdress, her figure appeared even more alluringly mature than her daughter's.
It was none other than… Madam Venelana.
Seemingly entirely unconcerned about presenting herself in such a state in front of him, the elegant milf calmly stepped forward without hesitation.
Noticing Bokue's momentarily stunned expression, Venelana lightly covered her lips with her hand, smiling softly.
"Ah, my apologies—I just finished showering, and unfortunately, I don't own any other styles of nightwear here. So, I simply came over dressed like this."
It made sense, after all. Besides the maids, Venelana was the only one living permanently in the castle. Sirzechs had been endlessly busy since becoming a Satan, rarely even visiting. Whenever Rias visited, she only brought along female servants.
In other words, currently, Bokue was essentially the sole male inhabitant in the entire castle.
Under these circumstances, forget sheer nightgowns—even if Venelana wandered around the castle completely unclothed, no one would say anything.
She approached the bed, gracefully sitting down precisely where her daughter had been moments before, offering the young man her usual warm, gentle smile.
"I just noticed Rias leaving your room shortly after entering, so I assumed you weren't asleep yet. Do you perhaps have time to talk?"
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