A complex summoning circle unfurled at Ren Kuroda's feet, its intricate lines glowing as radiant light burst forth. Within that brilliance, the outline of a small figure gradually took shape.
As Ren's strength had continued to grow, he had, in truth, rarely relied on summoning his Hyakki Yakō from other worlds through contracts anymore.
Part of the reason was simple—his own power had already begun to far surpass that of most of the yokai under his command. If even he couldn't handle an opponent, then sheer numbers would amount to nothing more than a procession of ghosts.
The other reason was more personal. Every time he summoned them, it was usually for trivial errands or to bolster appearances. After a while, even Ren started to feel a little guilty about it.
The moment the summoning light faded, a lithe figure leapt out of the circle—a nekomata. The instant she saw Ren, she pounced straight at him, wrapping herself around him in an affectionate tackle.
Back in the Slime World, after undergoing a Demon Lord awakening and being generously fed a large number of high-grade demonic energy crystals, this nekomata had already reached the level of an SS-rank yokai.
Measured by the standards of this world, her strength was roughly on par with a ten-winged fallen angel executive.
All things considered, she wasn't among the absolute top-tier here—but she was far from weak either. Wiping out the current Rias group? That wouldn't be much of a problem.
There were two kinds of nekomata: those born from malice and those who attained enlightenment as benevolent cat spirits. The one Ren had summoned belonged to the latter—a "cat sage" from the world of the Nurarihyon no Mago.
In terms of raw strength, she wasn't a match for Ren. But when it came to teaching another nekomata—Koneko—Ren believed she was far better suited than himself.
It wasn't just Koneko who stared in astonishment at the summoned spirit. Even Yasaka, standing nearby, watched with undisguised curiosity.
She knew full well—like the nine-tailed fox, nekomata were far from ordinary yokai. Their numbers in the present world were exceedingly rare.
Legend had it they could wield techniques akin to "sage arts," much like fox spirits. Once fully matured, their combat strength was anything but ordinary.
"Ren… it seems you've been keeping quite a few secrets from me," Yasaka said, narrowing her eyes slightly. "From the way that nekomata acts, you've known her for quite some time, haven't you?"
Ren felt a flicker of unease. The excuse he had used before—that he had been sealed away for many years—was suddenly looking a bit shaky. How exactly was he supposed to explain this?
"She's one of the yokai who were sealed along with me," Ren replied smoothly. "However, since her power isn't on my level, she can't break free from the seal on her own yet.
"But thanks to our contract, I can temporarily summon her into this world using my own strength. You could think of them as part of my Hyakki."
His explanation didn't raise Yasaka's suspicion. After all, there were precedents for such abilities.
For instance, the Devil King Sazex Lucifer had a knight peerage member—Okita Souji—who possessed similar powers.
Okita's swordsmanship had been extraordinary, but his body had been ravaged by illness. To prolong his life, he had undergone numerous magical rituals, eventually becoming a reincarnated devil at the cost of two Knight pieces from Sazex.
Because of those repeated rituals, his body had become something akin to a chimera—a host for various supernatural entities—granting him the ability to manifest a Hyakki Yakō all on his own.
"Ren," Yasaka continued, her eyes gleaming with interest, "how many yokai at this level can you summon?"
There was unmistakable excitement in her voice.
Her dream had always been for the Kyoto yokai faction to stand independently—no longer pawns caught in the struggles between greater powers.
But before Ren's arrival, the only truly formidable force they had was herself.
As the supreme commander of Kyoto's yokai, her title sounded impressive—but she knew the truth. She likely wouldn't even rank among the top twenty strongest beings in the world.
Now, with Ren's addition—and her own strength reaching the level of a Dragon King—they finally had top-tier combat power.
But beyond the two of them, Kyoto's high-end forces were still lacking compared to other factions.
Ren didn't hesitate to crush her rising hopes.
"Without affecting my own strength, I could probably summon around twenty yokai on par with her—or slightly stronger," he said plainly. "But don't get any ideas about using them to expand Kyoto's forces, Yasaka."
"Powerful yokai tend to be proud. They won't necessarily obey your orders. And more importantly… they can't remain in this world for long."
He paused, then added, "That said, for tomorrow's three-faction conference, as the leader of Kyoto's yokai, you can summon a few as bodyguards. At the very least, they'll make for an impressive showing."
—
That night, Rias and her group left utterly exhausted.
They had originally intended to stay overnight, but Yasaka firmly refused, claiming there weren't enough spare rooms.
In response, Rias—clearly annoyed—pulled out her phone on the spot and, with absurd wealth, bought up the surrounding properties near Ren's residence. She then declared her intention to build a dedicated mansion for the Occult Research Club.
By the next morning—also the weekend—Ren and Yasaka stepped outside only to find that, in a single night, a luxurious mansion had already been constructed… and was now fully occupied by Rias and her group.
As their new neighbor, Rias even cheerfully informed Ren that a room had been prepared for him inside—one befitting his "status," both in size and decoration.
Hearing what was clearly a targeted remark, Yasaka glanced at the mansion—which was indeed more extravagant than their own—and let out a cold laugh.
"A grand mansion, is it? What's the point if it's all superficial?" she shot back. "By the way, Rias, you didn't even step inside our home last night, did you? Just one of the ornaments in our residence is worth more than ten houses like yours—"
Before she could finish, Ren grabbed her by the back of her collar and dragged her away.
Behind them, the nekomata and a samurai spirit followed closely, acting as their escorts.
From Ren's perspective, Yasaka's behavior was downright embarrassing. Rias might still be a high school girl, but Yasaka was centuries old—and yet she was bickering like a child.
More importantly, the two groups were drawing far too much attention. Passersby had already begun to stare.
Ren had no interest in becoming a roadside spectacle, so retreating immediately was the only sensible option.
—
This time, only Ren and Yasaka would attend the conference.
Kuzunoha Kuroe—Koneko's younger counterpart—was left at home, with trusted retainers assigned to protect her.
Ren had briefly considered summoning Hagoromo-Gitsune to assist. But after some thought, he abandoned the idea.
After all, both Hagoromo-Gitsune and Yasaka were supreme leaders of yokai factions. Both were fox spirits. Both stood at comparable levels of power.
And on top of that… Yasaka had something Hagoromo-Gitsune didn't—a daughter.
Ren had a strong feeling that summoning her into this situation would lead to consequences he absolutely did not want to deal with.