I Sealed Sukuna’s Finger#54: Madam Venelana: ‘Young Folks Are Really Bursting with Energy’ (Licks Lips)

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Enjoy~

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Rias slept abnormally deeply that night.

Ordinarily, being such a newly adult devil, she wouldn’t be the type to pass out the instant her head hit the pillow—unlike those older devils who’d lived centuries and had too many worries to sleep well. But this time was different. All night she lingered in a gray zone: her mind wanting to wake, yet her body refusing to move.

She repeatedly sensed something stirring beside her. Numerous times, Rias almost managed to crack her eyes open to see what was going on, only to find she couldn’t.

Through the scant gap of her blurred vision, she vaguely spotted a certain silhouette—strangely familiar—engaged in some vigorous movements atop the person next to her, accompanied by a flurry of embarrassing sounds.

Before she could figure out a way to intervene, she’d black out again.

❁❁❁❁

And so, morning came.

When the Underworld’s first beam of sunlight pierced through the curtains, Rias’s lashes fluttered, and she gradually opened her eyes. This was her home, after all; the ceiling was a comforting, familiar sight.

On the bed, all traces of the previous night’s chaos had been tidied by Bokue Keikain’s power. As Rias turned to look at who was by her side, she saw not the boy’s face, but something black, fuzzy, and round. Even though Rias had never owned a pet herself, she recognized it as… a cat’s butt.

Indeed, at the moment, a cat named Kuroka was curled up between them on the pillows, resting its head near Bokue’s cheek, backside facing Rias.

She couldn’t help but wonder if the cat had spent the night farting in her direction…

She recalled seeing memes of “once my husband got a cat, I felt like I had a rival.” Rias used to think that was comedic exaggeration; but now, yeah—maybe not. Even as a normal cat, it would insist on sleeping right there.

If it were a cat yokai able to transform into a woman, who knew what would happen?

Then her mind flashed back to that glimpse from yesterday morning, when she had opened the door and briefly seen a black-haired kimono-wearing cat-eared girl on top of Bokue. She might’ve only caught a fraction of a second, but she was quite sure a single cat couldn’t possibly be that large.

And considering how she’d been out cold all night in a strange half-sleep, there was a chance…

Realizing something, Rias jolted upright, lifting the blanket. She peered down at the black cat curled up on the pillow snuggling next to Bokue, trying to see if anything was off.

But she saw nothing unusual.

The cat was thoroughly catlike—both in appearance and manner, showing no openings. Absolutely zero sign it was anything but a lazy cat. Didn’t even bother noticing Rias’s watchful glare.

(Kuroka’s internal monologue: Huh, who’s your mistress? Shoo.)

Maybe Rias’s eyes just tricked her last night. Or maybe, after repeated times with Bokue, she’d started hallucinating from daydreaming.

At the thought of the latter, her face—just awakened and still pale—began to flush anew. She’d never had illusions like this before, but now, after so many times, it seemed thinking about Bokue alone triggered reflex reactions in her body.

Was she becoming an impure woman…?

Before she could dwell, Bokue’s abrupt yawn cut through the silence, pulling Rias back to reality.

“Haaa… Already up?”

Rias blinked, returning to a clear frame of mind, only to see Bokue open his eyes, still on his back beneath the covers.

His gaze settled on her, calmly taking in her posture. In his pupils, she saw her own shape: half-lounging, chin propped on her hand, gazing at him with a bit of a blush—like some dreamy fangirl.

“Uh… y-yeah.”

It was their first time waking up in the same bed in the Underworld, but after so many events, Rias wasn’t too shy.

“Um, how do I put this…”

“Huh?”

Seeing her hesitate, Bokue raised an eyebrow.

Rias reddened, glancing aside. “D-did you notice anything weird happen last night?”

“Weird? Like what?”

He thought for a moment.

Nothing came to mind. They’d finished around 9:30 PM, whereupon Kuroka took over until near midnight. Then they had a bath. Another session—he ended up cleansing the entire room, then fell asleep. The night passed with no special events, so…

“Don’t think so,” the boy concluded. “Why?”

So she really must have been imagining it. “Ah… n-nothing then.”

That ended the conversation.

She turned her eyes away, cheeks still flushed. “Anyway, I’ll head back to my own room. Mother might wake any moment, and if she saw me leaving your room, that’d be bad.”

“Would it?”

He found that puzzling. Considering how Venelana basically gave them space…

“N-never mind,” Rias stammered. “It’s not good to let her see, okay?”

She couldn’t articulate further, so she just sealed Bokue’s lips with a quick kiss, then hastily got up to retrieve her clothes.

“Ow…”

The instant her toes touched the floor, a sore ache from her waist down made her suck in a breath. She’d overestimated her stamina, wrongly believing that after the first time, it’d be easier. They’d gone a bit too far last night, and now she was paying the price.

Real cunning, Bokue thought, lifting the blanket and sitting up: “Should I carry you back?”

“N-no need—kyaah!”

She was about to protest, but Bokue didn’t listen. He scooped her up in a princess carry and walked straight to the door.

He opened the door at precisely the worst (or best) moment—Venelana stood outside, presumably fresh from her own room.

The two pairs of eyes met. Bokue stopped. Rias froze.

Venelana blinked, then put a hand to her mouth, chuckling: “Hoho, so lively. That’s young people for you—so full of energy~”