I became the emperor in the comic book series.

"Then I'll leave the funding to Kongming. Feel free to ask for support if needed."

Upon hearing this, Kongming's expression turned slightly serious, and he nodded.

The look in his eyes as he watched the girl perform on stage was filled with reminiscence, appreciation, and the care of an elder, but not a trace of lust.

In the end, it's just another similar flower.

Having already dedicated myself to the country, why delay again?

Seeing someone who resembles a deceased friend alive is enough to comfort one's heart.

Seeing this, Higashino Akira felt even more strongly that Kongming was treating that blond-haired kid like a junior relative of his niece.

……

In the evening, Yotsuya Miko was woken up by Yurikawa Hana. After a long yawn, she squinted and walked out of the room, still half asleep.

"Look, look! Look!"

Suddenly, Xiaohua ran over from the living room, holding something in her hands with surprise.

Yotsuya Miko looked closely and saw two small bags filled with various candies. There were sticky notes on the bags, one with Xiaohua's name on it and the other with her own name on it.

"Ding ding! It's Halloween candy!"

"I didn't expect Higashino-nii to prepare this in the end." Yurikawa Hana happily held the small bag of candy that had been given to her, cheering excitedly, "Long live Higashino-nii!"

"Bliss, hehe..."

"Um... I really want an older brother like Higashino-san, that would be so great!"

On the living room sofa, Toyokawa Shoko was woken up by the two of them. She sighed helplessly, picked up the white envelope next to her, walked over to the black-haired girl, and patted her leg.

Miko Yotsuya bowed and took the envelope, which read "Living Expenses" on it.

"Ah, it's a cat! So cute!"

Toyokawa Shoko nimbly dodged Yurikawa Hana's outstretched hand that was trying to pet her. After a month as a cat, she was a completely different person. She was no longer the Shoko who used to stumble and fall even when walking.

Sending a letter to Miko Yotsuya was Akira Higashino's request.

That guy was really something, arranging tasks for the cat without caring whether the cat could understand or not. Sometimes, Toyokawa Shoko even suspected that he had already discovered her abnormality, but he didn't say anything else, making it hard to tell what was going on.

Chapter Twenty-Two: I Just Like You

Does Akira Higashino really not know?

Lying in bed, with his eyes closed, he recalled everything that had happened that day. Ever since his anger and frustration had gradually deepened, Higashino Akira had a habit of casually giving a look to any attractive woman he encountered.

Unfortunately, perhaps because we are in a comic book world, the minimum level of attractiveness of the passersby is ridiculously high. Many of the so-called anime characters are not much more beautiful than the passersby, just more distinctive. The average attractiveness of the passersby is often at the level of a former school beauty or heartthrob. It is rather difficult to find a woman who meets the standard by casting a wide net based on her aura.

Many middle-aged men are not good-looking, and they look like completely different people compared to their student days. It's as if their appearance has been forcibly altered by life.

The result was that with such a low probability, he encountered several purple-hued auras today, some with golden hues. If there was any common characteristic among them, it was that their hair was basically not black.

The store's name, literally translated, seems to be "Starry Night." With so many attractive and stylish women gathered there, it might be an important location for some anime storyline. I feel like this place is very lucky for him; I might visit it more often when I have time.

As for Eiko Tsuki, Higashino Akira wasn't sure if reincarnation existed in this world, or if it was just a coincidence. Whether Kongming repaid her a debt of gratitude or raised her as his daughter didn't matter to him. Sex was just a seasoning in life, and there were too many choices to make. It just depended on whether he was willing to spend the time to find her. Anyway, he didn't have much feeling for her. So what if she was an anime character? There were such big Yukino Yukinoshita and Shizuka Hiratsuka right there, and he didn't make a move on her. There was no need to do anything that might alienate the people around him.

Women are not important; a woman you don't know is even less important than Kongming.

I still need to make money and build a career. With money and a career, I'll always have women, and I can even change to eighteen-year-olds every year!

Higashino Akira habitually kneaded her gently, the soft, warm, and delicate skin in his palm was infinitely beautiful, especially the occasional soft moans that the girl tried to control, which added to her charm.

[Name: Toyokawa Shoko]

[Official Rank: Fourth-Rank Beauty]

[Air-assisted aircraft]

It was 12:13 AM.

Akira Higashino wasn't the sleeping husband in the movie. How could he not have noticed anything unusual for a whole month?

On the contrary, his sleep was relatively light. The supernatural creatures would often wake him up. Even if he wasn't fully awake, being half-asleep during this time of day was enough to explain the problem. In addition, he already knew that this world had a supernatural background, so it was even more impossible for him to ignore it.

So, it's nothing more than pretending to be asleep one night and then discovering the truth.

For example, there's a certain 'Snail Girl' who doesn't know how to repay kindness but only knows how to breathe on others and steal feelings.

Furthermore, it was discovered that the other party also seemed to be trying, only able to transform into a human at midnight each day, and only when they were by one's side, and could maintain the transformation for about half an hour. The farther away they were, the shorter the transformation time became, and beyond that distance they could not transform into a human at all.

During her transformation into a human, her true name could be discerned by observing her aura; her name was no longer just a question mark.

Higashino Akira silently observed her, tacitly allowing her to secretly use his phone. He maliciously pretended to be asleep and didn't remind her. He even logged into her account through the traces she left after using the phone and learned about Toyokawa Shoko's identity from her chat with a girl named Nagasaki Motoyo.

Another rich girl!

And their family is even more expansive than Yukino's!

She is an only child.

My beloved concubine's family is quite wealthy.

At night, Shoko Toyokawa, who was already used to the man's groping movements when he was asleep, took out her phone and skillfully logged into her social media account with a blush on her face. To save time, she didn't even delete the account information. She simply logged out of the man's social media account and logged in with her own account.

Then there's the daily blocking of Nagasaki Motoyo. That's the annoying thing about this new phone; every time she logs out and logs back in, she has to reset it, forcing her to manually block Motoyo every day to escape the barrage of messages from her.

Thinking of that persistent girl, Toyokawa Shoko gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with both guilt and impatience.

If I had known that girl bands were such a heavy thing, I wouldn't have made such a boast or taken the lead in starting a band!

Shoko Toyokawa groaned, squeezing her legs tightly together, furious and embarrassed. "You were awake all along, weren't you?!"

Normally, it's just touching the outside, and we assume he's really asleep. He's gotten used to it, and his outside has been touched almost everywhere. To be honest, Toyokawa Shoko herself has gotten a little used to it. Although she's still shy and sensitive, and feels strange every time, at least she's not so ashamed that she's about to cry with her little pearls hanging up.

This time, however, this kind of pushing his luck is something no sleeping person would do!

After being quietly scolded by the girl, Higashino Akira paused, feeling a little embarrassed. This was something he was really used to; he followed the same routine when he was with Kawasaki Saki.

However, he soon continued to explore.

Closing your eyes means you're asleep!

Besides, what's wrong with me being intimate with my beloved concubine?

"Vulgar! Pornographic! You're so bad, you stockings!" Toyokawa Shoko grabbed his hand, pulling it out of his hand that had already explored a knuckle, her voice trembling with tears, "How could you do this!"

In the darkness, the girl's soft sobs broke out; she could no longer hold on.

I inexplicably turned into a kitten and was starved nine times in three days.

After finally finding a seemingly decent and loving person to be her pet, she discovered that she could turn back into a human. However, she found that she had been missing for so long, a month had passed, and none of her family members had noticed.

I've only just figured out the pattern of turning back into a human, and I don't even know why I turned into a cat.

In the end, they still get taken advantage of.

How could this world be so bad!

From initially trying to suppress her emotions to finally bursting into uncontrollable sobs, Toyokawa Shoko was heartbroken, as if someone had stolen her packed meal.

"Why can't I do this?"

Behind Toyokawa Shoko, Higashino Akira, concealing his cunning, held her in his arms and softly asked in return.

"We're not a couple; at most, we can only be considered pet and owner or benefactor. That's not right!"

Shoko Toyokawa loudly accused him.

Upon hearing this, Higashino Akira remained silent for a long time. "I don't think I've ever called you a pet. I've always told everyone that you're my little lover."

"Besides, you didn't refuse when I first took you home."

"No!" Toyokawa Shoko exclaimed anxiously, "Back then, I was a cat! If you said something like that, at most anyone would just think you liked cats too much!"

"You've misunderstood. I don't like cats that much."

"I just like you."

"So, I've never treated you like a cat. Of course, you can also not treat me like a human, I don't care."

Chapter Twenty-Three: Observation

The golden aura has a daily value of 50,000.

Let alone just raising a cat, even if there were a Nie Xiaoqian hiding under the covers, and his yang energy was being drained every day, as long as it didn't damage his foundation, he would be willing to do it day and night!

"You knew from the beginning that I wasn't a cat?" Upon hearing his words, Toyokawa Shoko suddenly recalled the unusual things he had done before.

A talking, disciplined raven; a large number of footsteps and conversations that inexplicably appear on the empty streets at night; a Kongming who looks a lot like Zhuge Kongming and whose name is also Zhuge Kongming; and even after knowing that he can turn from a cat into a human, he remains calm and seems to have a high level of acceptance.

Things I hadn't thought about deeply before, now when I look back, reveal his extraordinary nature in every detail.

So, this situation was something he designed from the very beginning?

To take it even darker, could it be that his involvement is also related to me turning into a cat?

Otherwise, why can she only turn back into a human when she's with him?

Toyokawa Shoko's heart sank lower and lower.

She questioned herself: what should she do if everything leads to the worst possible outcome?

Fortunately, things didn't escalate to that point. Upon hearing this, Higashino Akira simply shook his head slightly and said, "No, it didn't."

“At the time, I was going through some bad things and realized that there was another, less scientific side to this world. I happened to meet you and felt that you were special, so I brought you home.”

"Anyway, it's just a kitten, and it won't cost much to raise. What if it turns into a catgirl and comes back to repay my kindness?"

"Unfortunately, it didn't repay the favor. It seemed like such a well-behaved kitten at first, but later it started hissing all the time and even messed around with my things and broke my phone."

Shoko Toyokawa sobbed softly, her initial wariness shattered, and she stammered for a long time, unable to speak.

"Then why did you do that at night...?"

"How is it?"

Higashino Akira climbed Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, his movements skillful and practiced, gently gathering, slowly twisting, stroking, and picking.

The sudden stimulation caused Toyokawa Shoko to let out a soft moan, interrupting her crying. Her face flushed red for a long time, and she could no longer continue her sorrowful emotions.

"hentai!"

"Flirtatious!"

She squeezed her legs together tightly, stretched out one arm to block the bad guy's hand in front of her chest, and placed the other arm down from her lower abdomen in front of her.

"How can you calculate things like that with your lover!"

On matters of principle, however, Akira Higashino was unyielding.

"Kawasaki and you are the ones who are, I'm not. I was a cat before, so that doesn't count when you agreed!"

"You're the same as the cat. If I only pet the cat and not you, wouldn't that make me seem too biased?"

Akira Higashino lowered his head and gently inhaled the fragrance emanating from the girl. Come to think of it, wasn't his connection with the blue-haired female character a little too deep?

Saki Kawasaki also has blue hair, as does Shoko Toyokawa, and both of them are strong-willed and serious, with a touch of tsundere.

"Don't worry, you're cute too, no less so than a cat. Be confident."

"That's not what I meant!" Toyokawa Shoko blushed, her breathing becoming rapid involuntarily, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, or perhaps comfortable? Her voice softened, "Don't touch me anymore!"

"By the way, you haven't had a bath in almost a month, have you? You still smell nice. I only bathed you once when you were still a cat. Do your cat form and human form not share the same state? Or did you secretly bathe yourself?"

Akira Higashino's sudden question stunned Shoko Toyokawa, who was then overwhelmed by a wave of shame, her face turning slightly red.

Who asks a girl this kind of question?!

Besides, if you minded, why did you touch me so enthusiastically before?

Does she not want to take a shower?

If she hadn't suddenly turned into a cat, or even if she had turned into a human and stayed away from this guy, would she have turned back?

When she was a cat, she learned how to clean herself and paid attention to hygiene, okay!

The girl gave a loud snort, not wanting to talk to this person anymore.

When his intelligent brain returned, he shed the shyness that only humans have, and his IQ returned to its peak. For example, even though he had only encountered that thorn in his side once before, why did he suddenly start acting violently almost every day after one day? Why couldn't he block his friends on social media? Toyokawa Shoko figured all of this out.

Akira Higashino smiled as he looked at Shoko Toyokawa, who had suddenly turned into a hedgehog, puffing up her cheeks and remaining silent. He didn't try to take it any further.

Unlike Kawasaki Saki, who had agreed beforehand to be mentally prepared for what might happen, Toyokawa Shoko was tricked and taken home by someone, so Higashino Akira didn't mind giving her enough time to gradually adapt.

At 12:30, the miracle failed.