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With Bokue having spoken up, no matter how unwilling Kuroka felt, she could only let the two girls enter.
Thus, one minute later, Irina and Xenovia found themselves seated on the living room sofa, with three steaming cups of tea placed neatly on the table in front of them.
"Please enjoy, you two."
Kuroka, who had sat herself down gracefully on a nearby single sofa, smilingly gestured at the tea.
Naturally, she had prepared this tea herself.
Rather than constantly sulking or using immature methods to express dissatisfaction, she preferred to exhibit the graciousness befitting the house's lady.
As long as she sat in the hostess position, the other party would naturally become guests, wouldn't they~?
It was immediately clear who had the higher ground.
Unfortunately, the innocent twin-tailed girl completely missed this subtle implication.
"Oh, thanks."
Irina picked up her cup and lightly blew on the tea before sipping carefully.
"Sorry again. It's just that I really didn't expect a fox girl to open the door earlier, so I was a bit startled…"
"It's a cat! A nekomata!"
Kuroka felt her blood pressure rising again, emphasizing her point by pulling out two fluffy black tails from under her kimono and waving them back and forth.
"Oh! Right, a nekomata, sorry, sorry!"
Irina hurriedly apologized.
Taking another sip of tea, she lifted her head again to face Kuroka.
"Ah right, we haven't introduced ourselves yet. I'm Shidou Irina, Bokue's childhood friend. Formerly a warrior from the Church, but now I've left the Church. After summer break, I'll transfer into Bokue's school."
"I'm Xenovia. Hmm… I suppose you could call me Bokue Keikain's knight."
Xenovia promptly followed up.
"Like Irina, I used to be a warrior from the Church as well, but I no longer have any ties with them."
"I see."
Gracefully lifting her own teacup, Kuroka took a gentle sip before smiling lightly.
"As for me, you can just call me Kuroka. I was also once Bokue's childhood friend, though we've moved beyond that into a romantic relationship quite some time ago."
"Ro…romantic relationship, huh…"
Irina's mouth twitched slightly.
Although she had expected this for a while now, directly hearing the word "romantic relationship" still made her feel somewhat bitter.
After all, by logic, she should have been the first. Whether in terms of knowing each other or… But now, somehow, she had become the latecomer instead.
Xenovia thoughtfully interjected.
"So if you're lovers, then you'd have done something like kissing before, right?"
"Kissing?"
Kuroka was briefly stunned.
Though it seemed quite strange for a guest to suddenly ask such a question, as someone experienced like her, a mere kiss was trivial.
In terms of invading personal privacy, this was about as harmless as asking someone if they'd eaten spicy food for breakfast.
"Well, we often kiss, yes. What's the matter?"
"Hmm, so kissing counts as lovers…"
Xenovia pondered earnestly for a moment, then suddenly turned toward her partner.
"Then if that's the case, Irina, wouldn't you and Bokue also count as lovers?"
"Ehh?! M-me? Why?"
Upon hearing this, Irina jolted as though her tail had been stepped on, sitting upright in panic.
There's a saying that a guilty conscience gives itself away, and right now, Irina perfectly embodied this.
After all, she'd yet to tell anyone about the things she and Bokue did together in that open-air park that night. Xenovia, on the other hand, had been the very person who noticed the hickeys on her neck the morning after.
Irina wondered if, after these past few days, Xenovia had come to realize something and deduced the truth.
Xenovia's face, however, remained utterly calm, even slightly puzzled by her friend's overly intense reaction.
"Isn't that the case? I remember you mentioning this back when we were in the Church."
"M-mentioning what exactly?"
"About how, when you were kids, you secretly kissed Bokue Keikain while he was asleep…"
Eh?
Irina momentarily froze in surprise.
She thought Xenovia had discovered something serious, but it turned out she was just recalling a casual anecdote Irina had shared during their girls' chats back in the Church.
Well, that's a relief.
On the other side, Kuroka appeared entirely indifferent about this.
A first kiss might sound sacred, but in reality, many people's "first kisses" had already been unknowingly given to their home's tiled floors or the asphalt roads outside. Such "kisses" tended to be deep and painful, complete with broken teeth and blood.
Similarly, some girls involved in martial arts or gymnastics could easily have their "first times" lost through physical activity or accidents.
Would anyone actually claim they'd given their "first time" to gymnastics or martial arts? Absolutely not.
Ultimately, this sort of thing was defined by personal intention. After all, children a few years old didn't understand such matters anyway, so it shouldn't count!
Thus, she was still undeniably the first who had truly claimed Bokue as a lover—and had even captured his virginity.
Kuroka, victory!
Just as the cat-eared girl was silently celebrating, the bedroom door opened.
Dragging out a large suitcase, Bokue stepped out, shrugging casually at the three girls on the sofa.
"Alright, let's go. Time to head out for Kyoto."
❁❁❁❁
Meanwhile, in Kyoto.
Under the dazzling summer sunlight filtering through gaps in the forest canopy, a young girl who appeared to be about seven or eight years old, her golden hair tied into a high ponytail and topped with fox ears, slowly walked along a mountain path. The air was filled with the fragrance of summer plants.
As she ascended the mountain path from the foot upwards, her red-and-white miko garments blended seamlessly with the natural scenery around her, her six fluffy fox tails swaying gently behind her as she walked.
Reaching the mountain path's end, a grand shrine appeared before her eyes.
Glancing up, she saw two words clearly inscribed upon the shrine's torii gate—"Yasaka."
Standing right beneath the gate was a beautiful woman whose facial features bore a strong resemblance to the girl herself. The woman's loose kimono accentuated her mature, alluring figure, while her similarly golden hair was elegantly pinned up with classical hairpins. Behind her, nine fluffy golden tails gracefully displayed her identity as a Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox.
Noticing her daughter climbing the final steps, the beautiful woman gently smiled and approached gracefully.
"You're finally back, Kunou. You must be hungry—lunch is ready, come inside and eat."
"Mm, I'm home, Mother."
Though she felt the gnawing hunger in her stomach, the girl named Kunou didn't forget her duties, tilting her head upward slightly to report.
"I completed my patrol—nothing unusual to report."
"Is that so? That's good then."
The elegant woman smiled, gently taking hold of her daughter's hand and turning towards the shrine.
Kunou allowed herself to be led forward, gazing upwards at the glaring summer sky.
"It's already summer again, isn't it, Mother?"
"Yes, it is."
"Will Bokue Onii-chan come this summer?"
"Hmm… He probably will. If Kunou wants to see him, I'm sure your Bokue Onii-chan will definitely come back."
The beautiful golden-haired woman paused slightly as her free hand unconsciously moved to rest gently upon her lower abdomen.
I really want to see you too, Bokue…
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