Tokyo Soft Rice King.

"Black Tail, don't you believe me?"

"Because I can't feel it at all, meow! Just like how you could see the light representing the gods when you covered your eyes with your hands before, if there are gods inside you, Shirako, I should also be able to see the light of your faith, meow!"

"Oh...that's true, I can't see the light spots on my own body either."

"If that sly snake was using your body to summon a spirit, it shouldn't be able to leave your body, meow. But snakes are cunning and treacherous, meow, and they're slippery and disgusting, meow... So maybe it has the ability to hide itself, meow. After all, snakes shed their skin, meow. The more I talk about it, the more disgusting it gets, meow."

Do you have some kind of prejudice against snakes... Oh, is it because you were possessed by a cat that you have an innate aversion to snakes?

"So, the giant serpent is still inside me, but it's just hidden, right?"

"It's most likely meow. Anyway, Bai Zi, just be careful, meow. If a strange voice suddenly appears in your head trying to seduce you, it's most likely that rascal snake is up to no good, meow."

"I've had this conversation with myself so many times, but there's been no response at all."

"Don't let your guard down, meow! If anything goes wrong, just come to the shrine and find me. Although I'm much weaker now, I can still handle this little country bumpkin snake!"

But Kuroo, aren't you from the countryside too...? Shikoku is even more rural.

"That's not the same, meow! I have my own territory in Tokyo, meow!"

It's like someone who buys a house in the capital city and thinks they have a local household registration – it seems even the gods have regional discrimination.

Our Kuroo is also a Tokyo Cat/Godly!

It's rare to see Kuroo showing such concern for me. She usually takes a bystander's stance, but she only stepped in to help me reverse the situation and replenish my mana when she saw that I was about to be drained to death.

"This is different, meow! Bai Zi, you are my agent, meow! I won't give you up to anyone! Whether you're a sly fox or a cunning snake, don't even think about taking away my agent, meow!"

Kuroba Akira was quite relieved that Kuroo was so protective of her, but unfortunately he knew Kuroo's true nature very well; she just didn't want to lose her long-term source of faith.

"Hmm... Anyway, I'll keep an eye on it."

After finishing his conversation with Kuroo, Kuroba Akira turned to Haruka, who was waiting silently.

"Ah, sorry, Qingxia, you must be completely confused by what I'm saying."

"Although I can only hear what you say, Kuroba-kun, and all I can hear from Nekogami-sama is a cute yet dignified meow, I can still roughly understand the situation because you mostly use rhetorical questions, Kuroba-kun."

As expected of Ah Qing, who is a master strategist.

"I can also help observe Kuroba-kun. If his temperament suddenly changes drastically, I will immediately take you back to the shrine to see the Neko-sama."

"Oh, then I'll leave it to you."

She's so reliable, it feels like I've gained a wonderful wife... Why do I say "wonderful"? Well, that's because my first wonderful wife was the angelic class monitor.

"It would be best if you could stay at the shrine forever, Kuroba-kun... Of course, I know that's not realistic."

"Actually, I quite like staying at home, and I'll probably stay home this winter break too."

This is a good opportunity to renovate the place where I will live in the future.

Moreover, now that we have money, we can arrange any kind of decoration and furniture, and even build a house like the one in Takanashi.

Thinking about it carefully, even without Ziyin, I still have my own space, and living alone doesn't seem so bad!

Akira Kuroba began to look forward to life after moving to the shrine.

"Although I went to the school library every day during the summer vacation, it was only because I had nowhere else to go and nothing fun to do at home. But I should be quite free this winter vacation. As long as I have a computer and can borrow some comics and games from Takanashi's house, I think I can easily stay at home for a month."

However, Qingxia showed a surprised expression and said.

"Kuroba-kun, what are you talking about? How could you possibly be idle?"

"Huh? But I don't have any plans... Are you talking about winter break homework?"

"Kuroba-kun, it's winter break now, a winter break without classes."

"Yeah, I know, that's why I said it would be a lot of free time..."

"Kuroba-kun, tell me, what is the most anticipated day for couples?"

Before the astonished Kuroba Akira could reply, Haruka began to list them one by one.

"Anniversary? Valentine's Day? Christmas? Each other's birthdays?"

"Is the answer... a holiday?"

"Yes, because not having to go to class means we can stick together all day long! So they definitely wish they could be by your side 24/7, every single second!"

Kuroba Akira already knew what she wanted to say.

But so far, they've been quite quiet.

Maybe everyone has their own things to do during winter break?

"Kuroba-kun, you must be thinking right now that 'everyone hasn't come to find me yet because they have personal matters to attend to,' right?"

"Qingxia, did you learn your mind-reading skills from the class monitor?"

"Please don't take any chances. They haven't come to you yet only because they want to spend New Year's Day with their families, and because you've been working so hard at the end of the year, they're giving you some 'buffer period'."

"Uh……"

"Today is January 2nd. Kuroba-kun, your rest day will end on the 3rd at the latest... After the New Year ends, starting from the 4th, they will definitely come looking for you. And the days leading up to the start of the school term will be a protracted and fierce battle."

"A fierce battle!"

Kuroba Akira also became serious. Although she felt it was a bit exaggerated, she was sure that Haruka had her reasons for saying that, and she would definitely explain it later.

"Yes, but we are outnumbered and it is impossible to completely defeat them, so we also need to come up with some selective strategies."

"Very well! May I ask what brilliant plan the strategist has in mind?"

"Actually, there's only one rule that needs to be strictly followed... and that's 'No Entry!' We need to wage a complete 'defense'!"

So that's it, it's about guarding the home!

Defending your home base doesn't guarantee victory, but it certainly ensures you won't lose... right?

"Uh, does that mean we can't let them into the shrine? Is that okay?"

"Kuroba-kun, you've misunderstood. What I meant was that girls are not allowed to stay overnight at the shrine."

Qingxia pressed one hand to her chest and emphasized again.

"No one, including me and Ziyin, is allowed to spend the night at the shrine with you, Kuroba-kun! Absolutely not!"

On this day, Haruka Tomita issued a ban on overnight stays.

This had a profound impact on the future order of the imperial harem.

Chapter 399 This is a scheme against the inferior woman's espionage.

"No matter how lovable they are, you can't let them stay overnight!"

"Oh... But why make such a rule? I don't quite understand the point of prohibiting overnight stays... It just doesn't seem very useful."

It's like being nagged by your parents to go to bed before 10 p.m. when you're in elementary school, or having your dorm say the lights and power will be turned off at 11 p.m. when you're in college.

Akira Kuroba felt that such rigid rules in form could not truly prevent sneaking out.

Just like how elementary school students could secretly play handheld games under the covers, college students could find a power outlet in a study room that wasn't experiencing a power outage to power the entire dorm and continue playing four-player games all night long. There's always a way to overcome difficulties.

"The greatest significance is that it makes everyone realize that no one can 'live with' Kuroba-kun anymore."

"Oh, living together... uh... sorry, I might be a little silly..."

Kuroba Akira still didn't quite understand, so Haruka continued to patiently explain.

"It's alright, Kuroba-kun. You're probably a little blinded by your own situation because you've been living with Shion for so long. But actually, living together is a 'privilege.' It's very rare for people to live together before they're even married or have graduated."

This is actually a cultural difference. Kuroba Akira doesn't think that couples living together is anything special. In his previous life, when he was in college, he had a roommate who lived with his girlfriend and only returned to the dormitory a handful of times a year. As a result, his roommate's spot became a storage room for other roommates to put their things.

However, in Japan, only couples with poor economic conditions but very deep feelings choose to live together before marriage. Or rather, when they decide to live together, they have usually already gotten married and changed their surnames.

This is also why there are many newlywed wives in Japanese apartment complexes; Japanese women do not like cohabitation before marriage because they crave a deeper commitment to the relationship.

Of course, during the Reiwa era, influenced by changes in marriage concepts and economic downturn, more and more young Japanese people in Generation Z tend to cohabit before marriage. However, for the alternate Japan in the era of Akira Kuroba, the concept of 'cohabitation = marriage' still exists.

"To put it in a way that's easier for you to understand, Kuroba-kun, in those romantic comedy light novels you read, the girl who lives with the male lead is usually the female lead, right?"

"Oh! Now I understand. Cohabitation does seem to be a more advanced stage of a relationship."

This is also why Ms. Ziyin feels she is in a high position and thinks all other women are cheaters, because she has the legitimate wife certification of living together.

"Furthermore, having a roommate also means that Kuroba-kun's home is an inviolable territory... After everyone found out about this, they must have all been more or less shocked."

Haruka herself was greatly shocked when she learned that Kuroba Akira and Shion were living together, but after finding out that Shion wasn't her girlfriend, she felt there was still a chance. However, even so...

"Look, this is clearly Xiaotong's grandma's house, but she rarely comes here to see you, right?"

"I thought it was because the class monitor didn't come often due to family reasons... I didn't know there was such a reason."

"Well...I don't know much about Xiaotong's family situation either, and she wouldn't tell her friends about these things..."

Although Haruka had seen Kuroo's memories, Kuroo didn't monitor Kuroba Akira all the time. Kuroo was only present on important occasions, such as when a chaotic scene broke out, mainly because she liked to read gossip.

But when Akira Kuroba and Hitomi Anri were having lunch together at school and showing off their affection, Kuroo found it boring. What's so interesting about a flash of light?

So Haruka only knew that Kuroba Akira and Anri Hitomi were very close, but she didn't know just how special Kuroba Akira was to Anri Hitomi.

But now, from Kuroba Akira's few words, she slowly figured out the relationship between the two of them, as well as Kuroba Akira's position.

It's not just about lovers.

"Is that so? So Hitomi did tell you these things, Kuroba-kun... As expected, you are the most special person to her."

"I think she doesn't tell you these things because she doesn't want you to worry."

“That’s true, but Xiaotong is willing to tell you these things… Oh, I see… I can understand why Xiaotong did that.”

"Hmm? What's the reason for doing that?"

"The reason for 'publicly revealing' you, Kuroba-kun, is that, as an outsider, I can understand everyone's feelings. They were all attracted to your qualities, Kuroba-kun. But I don't quite understand Hitomi's actions..."

Because they've been friends for so long, Haruka Tomita was able to notice that Hitomi Anri was acting strangely.

"Given Kotomi's personality and methods, it's not impossible for her to monopolize Kuroba-kun..."

Although the approach might be somewhat extreme and could even distort Kuroba Akira's very nature, if it were Anri Hitomi, she would definitely be able to get what she wanted.

Haruka noticed Anri Hitomi's true thoughts and intentions, which no one had previously been aware of.

"But I understand now..."

Qingxia gently nodded her chin, placed her hands together on her knees, and showed an understanding expression.