“Meow...”
Watching that dog-and-pony couple fool around and ignore it completely, the black cat felt speechless.
A cat would never get human romance and all that messy stuff.
Right now, it only wanted these two two-leggers to hurry up, pack their junk, and leave. Give the “natives” some peace.
Good too. It felt like the damage to its third eye had finally eased a little.
It still couldn’t muster a real strike. But warning those two two-leggers? That was fine.
“Meow.”
The sacred eye on its brow cracked open. A sliver of blazing red glowed inside, like a sea of blood.
Fusiming and Nainai felt a pressure hit them. A psychic weight, almost solid.
They’d already fought an earth-shaking battle with the black cat, so Fusiming handled it better.
He’d tasted power a thousand times scarier than this faint prickle. Compared to that, this was just fine rain on the skin. Not even an “attack.”
But Nainai was different.
“Uwah...”
She jolted, full-body flinch.
A shut-in like her had never felt killing intent this sharp.
Does getting knifed in a game while you’re AFK having a smoke count as killing intent?
The black cat hadn’t tried to hide that the force came from itself. So Nainai followed the pressure with zero effort and found the black cat staring at them.
Now she got it.
So that killing intent that scared her into wetting herself earlier came from this black cat...
“Kitty. Even if I made you mad just now, you don’t have to stare at me like that...”
“Please don’t hate me...”
The Little Succubus’ big watery eyes drooped, so meek and wronged.
Clutching Fusiming’s shirt, Nainai made sure she wasn’t flashing anything, then carefully stood up.
That pitiable look on the pink-haired loli made Fusiming soften a little.
“It’s probably trying to chase us off.”
Not wanting Nainai to mistake the cat’s intent, Fusiming lowered his voice.
“It doesn’t hate you.”
His mouth was still gagged with cloth, so his voice came out muffled.
Hearing that, Nainai shot Fusiming a strange look.
Huh. So he does know how to comfort people?
She’d thought this zero-EQ guy only knew how to piss her off.
The Little Succubus’ mood lifted a little. Her brows, tight a moment ago, eased softly.
“Is that it, kitty?”
Fusiming’s words didn’t count. Right or wrong, Nainai wanted it from the source.
She knew this cat, whose eyes were nearly human, could absolutely understand her.
“...”
Those dewy, shimmering eyes were a tough boss even for the black cat.
“Mrrrow...”
Its low, hoarse rumble softened a bit.
It didn’t hate Nainai. That much was true.
Of course, the male two-legger was another matter.
But either way, both of them had to go.
“The rain’s eased.”
Fusiming listened to the almost thread-thin patter by his ear and spoke calmly.
He meant they should head home.
He’d brought Nainai here to get out of the rain and find a way to feed her.
Both goals met. No reason to stay.
Besides...
The black cat’s sharp, cold gaze carried a clear push to leave.
Not using “force” to drive them out was already the biggest concession it could make for Nainai’s sake.
But Nainai wasn’t done with all this softness and floof.
She hadn’t petted nearly enough!
A free “cat café” like this? Coming only once was such a waste.
When Fusiming first hauled her in here, Nainai thought the place was scary as hell.
But once she learned so many clever, cute, well-behaved cats lived here, her rating for the junkyard shot up.
See? Not bad at all...
From the black cat’s distant, cool eyes, she caught a hint of gentleness. She knew it didn’t hate her.
But there were only two people here.
If it didn’t hate her, who else could it hate?
No need to think!
She slanted a look at the brooding, shirtless youth. Her languid, sultry gaze filled with smugness.
Know what? You already lost.
That surge of superiority really does make humans feel great in a snap.
Nainai felt ridiculously comfy inside.
Even standing, her back straightened a bit.
“Let’s go. I want to go home.”
She gave the fluffy cat crowd one last reluctant look, then walked to Fusiming’s side and spoke coolly without lifting her head.
The damp, sticky filth on her thighs and clothes made the Little Succubus feel even more gross. She couldn’t wait to get home and take a long, cleansing shower.
She’d just bathed yesterday. Now again today...
That rhythm was rough for a bath-hating Nainai.
But compared to crawling into bed smelling like pee... she’d rather scrub herself sparkly clean.
“Walk me back.”
Facing a guy several heads taller, the tiny pink loli gave her orders as if it were only right.
She’d given this jerk a lot of freebies today. Not charging him was already kind.
So what’s wrong with escorting her home?
It’s his fault anyway. Why didn’t his memory get wiped...
“I got it.”
Honestly, he would’ve done it even without her asking.
As long as he was with Nainai, Fusiming would protect the Little Succubus’ life. No matter what.
...
They came under a downpour. They left in a fine drizzle.
Finally, the cats of the junkyard got a precious sliver of quiet back.
“Meow...”
The black cat, their king, finally exhaled. It sprawled out, eyes lowered, and sighed softly.
Its half-lidded amber eyes were heavy with fatigue.
It had been so long since it unleashed power this strong.
Its body paid for it.
And the backlash wound needed real rest.
“Meow...”
It struggled to its feet. With the clowder crowding around it, it staggered into the dark corner and vanished.
Hopefully those two two-leggers won’t come back.
Beast and human lives shouldn’t tangle.
“Meow-meow...”
...
The free housing the Federation assigned to Nainai was a squat, beat-up apartment with only three floors.
From the moldy, peeling walls alone, the fact it wasn’t condemned yet was a near miracle.
Judging by looks, even the demon lord from that one anime lived better than this.
Calling it “a relic from ancient times” didn’t feel off at all.
But Nainai had no complaints.
A place to live, utilities and internet comped up to a cap, summer power billed separately—what more could you ask for?
Besides, this was assigned housing specifically for legally unemployed Subhumans.
In recent years, lots of Subhumans got out of poverty and moved on. The place wasn’t even full now.
So quiet, so free—Nainai could only enjoy it.
At the foot of the shabby building, she stopped.
“Okay, this is far enough.”
Her tone was guarded. No way was she letting a stinky man into her “inner sanctum.”
Fusiming understood. It was a matter of propriety.
He never planned to tail the Little Succubus home like some shameless creep anyway.
But before saying goodbye, there was something important.
“What about tomorrow?”
Fusiming asked softly.
He meant Nainai’s hunger.
She’d fed on some desire already...
But that energy was thin. It wouldn’t last even 24 hours.
“Uu...”
As the one suffering, Nainai knew it all too well.
Ashi City had entered a full curfew. Starting 8 p.m. tomorrow, no one could go out without permission.
Whether she could find food in the East District after that... honestly, even she had no clue.
But in the West District...
It was mostly businesses, parks, and normie hangouts. Crowded and nosy.
If she went there to seduce a male, wouldn’t they just think she was some sugar baby?
If it were only that, it might even be okay.
That filthy “business” pops up everywhere no matter the crackdown.
But the biggest problem was Nainai’s looks.
135 cm tall, a face no different from an elementary schooler.
With that, she goes out claiming she’s an adult—who the hell would believe her?
That’s screaming jailbait. Prison flags waving.
Her mind went blank. As for tomorrow... Nainai had zero plan.
She even considered whether she should...
Hire an on-call gigolo?
Not wise.
Embarrassing truth: Nainai didn’t have the money to book one...
...
Forget it. Don’t think about it.
Keeping with her usual let-it-rot style, Nainai decided to deal with the headache later.
Live in the now. The cart will find a way around the hill.
Once she dropped the issue, her mood brightened at once.
As a shut-in with no hopes for the future, she had a weird kind of optimism.
As long as a problem didn’t blow up into an unbearable consequence right away, she’d keep kicking it down the road.
Like when summer break starts and you think, two whole months, plenty of time to finish homework, then you go feral and play.
And on the last day, you realize you haven’t written a single word. You’re so anxious you want to time-travel back and slap yourself.
Classic severe procrastination.
When a problem shows up—procrastinate hard!
