Chapter 13 - Black & White Cats

"But, I don't have anything to repay you with right now..."

"You're a youkai, right? I can sense that you can use Sage Arts and Monster Arts. How about you let me do research on your abilities? I'm quite interested in those things."

"Research... Okay! But please, don't do it on my daughters... They're still young and can't handle the burden..." Fujimai's expression darkened at the mention of research. She hated that word because of her husband.

"For research, he didn't care about his family. For research, he didn't even recognize his daughters. For research, he could do anything…"

"Don't worry. It's not those kinds of research where your body will be dissected, like the devil's did. I just want you to show me how you use your energy and power." Ryuuga explained, noticing her distressed expression. He couldn't let her have a bad impression of him.

His research was purely out of curiosity and for invention! It wasn't like the experiments he had conducted on fallen angels and devils he'd killed before.

"Alright, I agree." Fujimai decided, relieved by his reassurance. If she didn't agree, she couldn't leave. Besides, she could sense he wasn't a bad guy. She didn't feel any bloodlust or other evil intentions from him.

Fujimai was a Nekoshou, the strongest species of Nekomata, capable of using both Sage Arts and Monster Arts.

Ryuuga was mostly interested in Sage Arts. In the novel, it was a power that allowed one to manipulate the Qi inside a living being, a highly coveted skill even in a cultivation world. This skill was so powerful that one could disrupt the flow of Qi in their enemy, making them burst like a balloon.

"Okay." Ryuuga nodded, muttering an incantation. A magic circle appeared on his palm, and from it, a pair of chains shot out, binding Fujimai's and his own pinky fingers. Fujimai couldn't dodge. The chain was too fast.

"This is a Contract spell from Sealing Magic. If you break the promise, your soul will be destroyed directly." Ryuuga explained, seeing Fujimai's confused and shocked expression.

"Okay." she nodded with a serious expression. She wasn't the kind of person who broke promises. She wasn't afraid.

"Well, off you go." Ryuuga nodded as the chains binding them vanished. He walked to the door and opened it for Fujimai.

Without hesitation, she left Arcadia. Ryuuga created a water balloon and wind currents around her to protect her from the fire.

"Thank you…" Fujimai muttered as she left. She knew he did it for her sake.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

A few hours passed, and Fujimai still hadn't come back. Maybe she would return at night.

Suddenly, the Dimensional Gate opened, and a group of girls stepped through. Two of them looked about the same age, while the rest appeared to be around Ryuuga's age.

"I'm back, Ryuuga-sama." Cleria said with a gentle smile. She had finally returned to Arcadia after roaming the world to find some promising talents.

As Cleria returned, Ryuuga received 10,000 Destiny Energy, which left him a bit confused. Why did he get them so suddenly? What had he done to earn it?

"…Who are they?" Ryuuga asked, looking at Cleria oddly. He knew she went out to find gifted individuals to train, but why had she come back with nine little girls? Has Cleria become a kidnapper?

He knew she had given them the Servant Cards because he could feel it when she used them. But he only knew the cards they received. He didn't know their names, ages, exact genders, or anything else.

"Well, they're the good seedlings I've found." Cleria said, excitement lighting up her face.

"..." Ryuuga looked at the group of girls, who were glancing at him with interest. Despite their young age, their strength was already on par with High-Class Devils, though they lacked proper training to harness their power.

"Okay. How about you introduce them to me?" Ryuuga shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it. Whether they were little girls or grown women, he would accept them all—as his vassals, of course.

"Yeah! This is Yubelluna the Caster. She excels in Fire Magic and Explosion Magic." Cleria introduced the girl beside her, who seemed to be about the same age as her. Yubelluna was the oldest recruit Cleria had brought back.

"Hm?" As he heard her name, Ryuuga felt something was off. Isn't Yubelluna the name of Riser Phenex's queen? And she has the same powers… Could it be? Did he just cuck one of the antagonists?

"Nice to meet you, Ryuuga-sama." Yubelluna greeted him with a bow and a smile, which Ryuuga found a bit too lewd.

Her appearance didn't match what he saw in the anime, but rather the novel's description. It seemed the author had downgraded her looks for the adaptation. What a poor girl...

"Well, this is the sabers Karlamine and Siris, Smasher Marion, Gunner Bulent, Healer Mihae, Hunter Shuriya, Brawler Isabela, Tanker Xuelan, and Lancer Adriel." Cleria continued, introducing the nine little girls who looked around six to seven years old.

"..." Ryuuga remained silent. Not only had Cleria brought back Riser's Queen, but also one of his Bishops, two Knights, two Rooks, and three Pawns.

'Wait… who is Adriel?' Ryuuga wondered, not recalling anyone named Adriel in the light novel.

He glanced at Adriel, a girl with long silver hair and emerald eyes. She looked cute and energetic, dressed in a nun's habit.

"Adriel here is a former nun. I saved her from being defiled by a young devil." Cleria explained, noticing his puzzled expression.

"A young devil? Chasing a nun? Is it a boy with dark blue hair?" Ryuuga asked, thinking of the only young devil he knew who would chase nuns.

"Yeah. He is from the Astaroth Clan." Cleria confirmed, looking at Ryuuga with amazement. How did he know?

'So, it's Diodora Astaroth.' Ryuuga thought, realizing she must have encountered him during her search for recruits.

"So, what happened to him?" Ryuuga asked.

"Hehe, I broke his pee pee." Cleria answered, sticking out her tongue playfully.

"..." Ryuuga felt a shiver run down his spine. This woman was scary. She could easily break someone's…well, he didn't even want to think about it. Should he start calling her the Nut Cracker?

"Oh! I remember I broke another one too. It was a boy from the Phenex Clan who tried to forcefully recruit Yubelluna." Cleria said, suddenly recalling another incident. 

Yubelluna nodded with a smile. Thinking about it, she felt quite satisfied.

"...Okay." Ryuuga replied, now a bit on guard. He made a mental note to never try anything funny around Cleria. He definitely didn't want to end up like those other guys.

"Well, then I'll go take them around Arcadia, Ryuuga-sama." Cleria said with a smile. The girls were curious about this new place too.

Cleria had told them a bit about how they would be living in a special dimension and about their master, Ryuuga.

"Okay. But, stop calling me with honorifics." Ryuuga reminded her. Cleria looked troubled by his words. She hesitated and thought about it for a moment before her smile returned.

"Okay, master." Cleria said, bowing as she took the girls away. She didn't wait for Ryuuga to respond.

"..." Ryuuga was speechless at the slyness of this girl. Well, it's better than being called 'sama.' He was used to being called Master in his previous life anyway.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Several hours passed, and the sky had turned dark.

Ryuuga was eating on the dining room floor he had created in Arcadia, alongside all of his vassals except Akeno, Reni, and Lavinia.

They were all wearing the maid dresses he had created and were eating at the super long dining table he had just bought.

At first, they refused because it wasn't appropriate for servants to eat with their master at the same table, but Ryuuga ordered them to obey, and they finally relented and ate with him.

"Um?" Suddenly, Ryuuga felt a slight change in the contract he had created with Fujimai using Sealing Magic.

It seemed like she had already gotten her two daughters and was ready to come back to Arcadia.

With a slight wave of his hand, the door to Arcadia was created for them.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

On the other side, Fujimai was running together with both of her daughters, Shirone and Kuroka. Kuroka was the older one with black hair, while Shirone was the younger one with white hair similar to Fujimai's.

They were running away from the devils of the Naberius Clan who were chasing after them. Fujimai had come back for her daughters, but the Naberius devils refused because they wanted to use them for experiments.

The goal of the research was to enhance the power of devils. They were about to use Evil Pieces on Shirone and Kuroka when Fujimai suddenly arrived.

The thing was, the Naberius and Nebiros Clans were affiliated, and Fujimai's former husband had once been a researcher of the Naberius Clan.

They must have known about the explosion at the research institute because they were the ones who arranged it so that no one would interfere when they started to experiment on her two daughters.

"Kekeke! Bitch, do you think you can take back your daughters?!" One of the devils laughed mockingly.

Then, he and the devils behind him threw a barrage of devil bullets at Fujimai to stop her from running away.

"Okaa-sama, be careful!" Shirone shouted as she saw the barrage of bullets coming at them. Kuroka also worried about her mother's safety, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she quietly held Shirone's hand tightly.

She needed to stay composed so that her sister wouldn't become even more anxious.

Fujimai dodged the bullets with ease as she kept running away while carrying her daughters. Being a Nekoshou, her agility was naturally high enough to dodge magical bullets.

Although she didn't like fighting and only used her power for healing, her physical strength was still superior to that of the devils.

Suddenly, not far away in front of her, she saw a familiar door standing on the ground without anything supporting it.

Seeing the door, she became immediately excited and happy. It seemed like she had found hope for escaping from them.

"Bitch, stop!" the devil shouted as he saw Fujimai running even faster towards the door that had appeared out of nowhere.

He was really anxious. If he couldn't get them back, he might be killed by his master!

"Don't let her enter that door!" the devil shouted to the devils behind him, and they all nodded. They were also afraid of the consequences of failing their mission!

They all barraged Fujimai with their strongest attacks, aiming to kill her on the spot!

At least, if all three of them died, their punishment would be lighter than if they let them escape!

But what they didn't know was that Fujimai and her daughters had entered the area covered by the door. As their attacks were about to reach them, the attacks bounced back in their direction.

"GAHHH!" The devils were almost all killed as soon as the rebounded attacks hit them. This was because the damage of the attacks had tripled!

"Bye bye!" Fujimai smiled and waved her hands as she entered the door together with her daughters. Even Kuroka and Shirone stuck out their tongues to mock the devils.

But now, it was time for her to uphold her promise.

"FUCKKKK!!" The leader of the devils screamed and destroyed the surroundings when he saw Fujimai and her daughters had already entered the door and disappeared.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

"I'm back as I promised." Fujimai said as she and her daughters appeared in the dining room, guided by Yubelluna.

Shirone and Kuroka looked around curiously. They were both curious and happy to see many girls around their age. They could play together!

"Well, come and eat together." Ryuuga said with a slight smile, waving his hand as three more chairs appeared at the dining table.

Fujimai nodded, noticing her two daughters eyeing the food on the table with drool. It seemed like they hadn't eaten for a while.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

A/N: I'm sorry that I haven't been able to upload any chapters for the past few days because I've been quite busy with work. Sometimes, I get caught up reading manga or novels as a hobby and lose track of time, haha.

Just a reminder that this is a harem novel. Even if he won't have any romantic relationships with them in the future, he will acquire more girls as his maids. Hehehe. Just my preference, actually.