I have bound two systems.

"I'm sorry, because this matter is very important, I have to test and confirm again and again. If it makes Suzumiya feel uncomfortable, I apologize to you."

When Yukinoshita Yukino apologized, her expression still seemed a little cold.

But since she said so, and seeing how cute she was, with long black hair that was extremely similar to Kazusa's and that hit his strike zone, Suzumiya Chisato didn't want to argue with her too much.

"I think it would be better if you just said it directly and stopped wasting our time."

Shiyu is still having a stomachache at home, so I have to go home quickly to massage her stomach.

"I understand."

Yukinoshita Yukino nodded in compromise.

At first, she hadn't thought about what to say when she let Chisato Suzumiya come in, but she kept acting with the thought in her mind that "he who can help me get out of that state might know the details of what happened to me."

Now that I haven't obtained any useful information, perhaps I have no choice but to tell the truth.

After all, if this kind of...phenomenon happening to me is just a phenomenon, let's just call it a phenomenon.

If this kind of strange phenomenon continues to occur in the future, then it is necessary to confess the truth to Chisato Suzumiya as soon as possible, so as to convince him to cooperate with me to find the truth and rules behind this strange phenomenon.

Most importantly, it allows her to transform back into a human body, rather than performing restricted actions in the form of a cat.

"The reason I asked Suzumiya-san to come here today was mainly because of my own business."

Yukinoshita Yukino placed her hands on her chest, looked into Suzumiya Chisato's eyes, and spoke slowly.

"kindness."

Suzumiya Chisato nodded, indicating that she was listening and letting her continue.

"What I am going to say next may sound a bit absurd and unreasonable to you, and you may think that I am joking with you, but please believe me, I am absolutely not lying to you, let alone making fun of you."

"I understand. I won't have that half-hearted mentality."

So far, psychological expectations have been prepared in advance.

Although Yukinoshita Yukino was still a little uneasy, she had no other choice but to continue talking.

"Does Suzumiya know the story of the Frog Prince?"

"Grimm's fairy tale? The one where the prince turns into a frog and needs the princess' help to change back into a human body?"

"Yes, what I encountered yesterday is somewhat similar to this story..."

"...Please wait a moment."

As Yukinoshita Yukino was speaking, Chisato Suzumiya suddenly raised her hand to signal her to pause.

Although she didn't know why, Yukinoshita Yukino still obeyed his words and stopped. The next moment, she saw Chisato Suzumiya, who was obviously a little shaken and flustered, drank the coffee in front of her in one breath, and at the end she coughed twice because she drank too quickly.

He sat there, tiptoeing slightly, which he had not done before. It seemed that his palm had slowly risen up and approached his mouth, but he quickly reacted and put his hand down.

After a brief period of peace between the two people who each had their own thoughts, Suzumiya Chisato finally spoke again and asked Yukinoshita Yukino to continue.

After seeing Chisato Suzumiya's performance just now, Yukinoshita Yukino seemed to be thinking about something, but did not choose to ask at this time. Instead, she followed the other party's meaning and continued what she had not said before.

"Although it sounds incredible, my situation is actually similar to the fairy tale. The only difference is that I cannot put myself in the shoes of the princess in the story. I need to switch my position and put myself in the shoes of the prince."

"…What do you want to say?"

"In short, I became a cat."

"..."

It’s indeed concise.

After Yukinoshita Yukino finished her short words, Suzumiya Chisato heard and understood it, and she cooperated very well by opening her eyes wide and showing an expression of astonishment.

He did not laugh out loud in disbelief and express his doubt, thinking that this was a joke, as Yukinoshita Yukino had guessed. Instead, he simply accepted it.

Even if she had been prepared beforehand, after hearing such words, wouldn't a normal person not believe it and think it was just a joke?

But what was going on with Chisato Suzumiya? She immediately believed it and accepted it without any doubt.

From the conversation just now, it can be seen that he has excellent reflection and thinking abilities, and does not seem like the kind of idiot who is easily deceived.

The reasons behind this are worth pondering.

Yukinoshita Yukino secretly kept a watchful eye.

Even if Chisato Suzumiya didn't know what happened to him, it seems that we can't conclude that he has nothing to do with what happened to him.

Suzumiya Chisato was not surprised for long. He accepted the fact without questioning it and leaned back slightly.

"Yukinoshita-san, you said you turned into a cat?"

"Yes."

"Does this transformation into a cat mean literally, or does it mean..."

"That's what it means."

She pointed at herself.

"Yukino Yukinoshita has a human body and has turned into a cute cat that looks like a ragdoll. It's no different from the cats we see in our daily lives."

"..."

Suzumiya Chisato stared at her for a long time, her brows furrowed, and no one knew what she was thinking.

But in the end he still spoke, but what he said made Yukinoshita Yukino want to make a fist and punch him.

"I have heard about Yukinoshita's character from your sister many times. You said you can turn into a cat... I'm not saying I don't believe it, but I want to see it for myself. After all, I have only seen such plots in some otaku-friendly anime and movies before."

What he meant was that he wanted to see Yukinoshita Yukino demonstrate on the spot what she had just said.

However, Yukinoshita Yukino's eyes were cold, and the moment that gaze appeared and shot straight at her, Suzumiya Chisato instantly felt the temperature around her drop by several degrees.

She was very angry, and it was obvious, but she still patiently explained it in detail.

"I can't control things like that."

"No way to control it... you mean, random?"

"You can say that, but although I can't control the time of turning into a cat, I do have some clues about the way it turns back into a human form from a cat. That's why I want to talk to Suzumiya urgently."

Thinking of the conversation about the frog prince that Yukino Yukinoshita just mentioned, Suzumiya Chisato made a guess.

"... Could it be that it has something to do with me?"

"Yes."

Yukinoshita Yukino confirmed Chisato Suzumiya's guess.

"I don't know the exact conditions yet, but there is no doubt that you, Suzumiya-san, are the key to my transformation back. This has been confirmed."

"Confirmation or something, I don't think we've met before...ah——"

Suzumiya Chisato suddenly stopped talking, as if she had thought of something.

"It seems that you have remembered it."

"Yes... yesterday when I knocked on your door to give you medicine?"

Yukinoshita Yukino nodded and added,

"Also, when you came and knocked on the door just now."

"Those two times...after I knocked on the door, you asked me to wait for a while."

"Well, that's because I was in my transformed state at the time, and I felt a little dizzy, so I couldn't get up and open the door right away."

Yukinoshita Yukino's cheeks blushed slightly. She didn't want Suzumiya Chisato to know that she was naked when she turned back into a human from a cat, so she was vague about what happened at that time.

Fortunately, Chisato Suzumiya did not seem to pay too much attention to this matter. What he cared about most was the fact that Yukinoshita Yukino turned into a cat.

“When did this start?”

"Last Sunday, I had lunch and was reading a book. Then I suddenly felt sleepy around one or two o'clock in the afternoon. Then I woke up again around four o'clock. By then, I had turned into a cat."

"..."

After Yukinoshita Yukino's explanation, Suzumiya Chisato fell into deep thought.

On Sunday, if I remember correctly, on Sunday...

Because the time interval was not far, Chisato Suzumiya easily recalled what happened that day.

And based on the time provided by Yukinoshita Yukino, the time he needed to retrieve his memories was further shortened.

It was around one or two o'clock in the afternoon on Sunday, if I remember correctly, he was having dinner with Touma and his daughter. Halfway through the meal, they sent him a message saying they had won an award at the music festival, and then... then the Pure Love System popped up a notification that the mission was completed.

Chisato Suzumiya's heart beat faster and faster.

At that time, a mosaic similar to a computer crash suddenly appeared in the task reward column.

At that time, he secretly complained about the uselessness of the Pure Love System, which was as embarrassing as ever. And he happened to be talking to Sha Lai, so he simply closed the system page and ignored it.

Now that I think about it, I seem to be the culprit who caused Yukinoshita Yukino to encounter such an incident.

After realizing this fact, cold sweat broke out on my forehead.

"From Suzumiya-san's previous series of performances, it seems that he has some clues about what happened to me. This shouldn't be my illusion, right?"

Yukinoshita Yukino spoke again.

She has a keen insight and hits the mark right away once she opens her mouth.

"...Haha, maybe it's just that my ability to accept things is strong, which makes you have this illusion."

In this case, of course we cannot directly admit it, otherwise the explanation will be unclear.

While replying, Suzumiya Chisato also clicked on the Pure Love System page to find out what was going on, but the result was that this embarrassing system was still stuck on the page before it was closed, with no feedback at all. She didn't know whether it would be like this in the future or it would take some time to recover.

Anyway, it is of no help at all after causing this mess, and Chisato Suzumiya can only clean up the mess herself.

"You are indeed very receptive. I thought it would take some effort for you to accept what I said, but I didn't expect it to be so easy."

"This... maybe it has something to do with my love for superpower science fiction novels. After reading so many of these books, I naturally have fantasies of what it would be like if those wonderful things could happen to me. So I wasn't that surprised when you told me that you turned into a cat."

Let me just sort out my thoughts and rationalize my wavering behavior.

Maybe it doesn't have much effect on Yukinoshita Yukino, but it still makes sense on the surface.

Regardless of whether Yukinoshita Yukino believes it or not, she has more important things to seek help for.

"It may seem shameless to bring this up suddenly, but I would like to ask Suzumiya-san for a favor..."

………………

Chapter 8.5: The changing relationship between the two (k)

"...I always feel that you are worried today."

Chisato Suzumiya left Yukinoshita Yukino's apartment and went home.

Kasumigaoka Utaha was lying on her side on the sofa, facing the TV screen playing a comedy variety show, with her head resting on his thigh. The posture of the two of them had changed compared to the past, but this would only happen during the few days when she had a stomachache, and then she would return to her original state.

Suzumiya Chisato looked down at Kasumigaoka Utaha and secretly sighed that her mind was still as sharp as ever.

Before, because I stayed in the elevator with Yukinoshita Haruno for a while longer, she noticed a strange scent on my body and deduced the truth.

With such a smart and logical mind, it would be more appropriate for you to stop being a romance light novel writer and become a full-time detective.

"I do have some concerns, but it doesn't matter. I can handle it myself."

Suzumiya Chisato gently touched Shiyu's head, confirming her doubts, but not wanting to elaborate.

He did know roughly what happened to Yukinoshita Yukino and perhaps it had something to do with him, but the reason behind it was still a little unclear to him. Since he himself was not clear about it, he naturally had no way to explain it to others.

Kasumigaoka Utaha heard the hidden meaning in his words. She was not the kind of woman who would keep asking for the truth about something her partner wanted to hide, so she just made a joke.

"I see... I see. It's up to you. As long as you don't end up cheating on your girlfriend and bring her home, and want to introduce her to me and Eriri and have us accept her, then it's fine."

"What are you talking about... How could something like that happen?"

"I'm not referring to you specifically. It's just that men have a natural desire to reproduce all the time, and it's hard to be completely relieved."

Kasumigaoka Utaha spoke these words in a flat tone. Her eyes were still fixed on the TV screen while she spoke these words. She had no intention of looking up at Suzumiya Chisato's expression. She behaved quite calmly, which showed that she absolutely believed that there was nothing wrong with her words.

"..."

Suzumiya Chisato was silent for a moment, then couldn't help laughing, and the original action of patting the head turned into rubbing the face.

"What do you think I am? A person who has a nature that wants to reproduce all the time. What do you think I am? An animal without reason? Have you watched too much animal world recently?"

"Well... stop rubbing my face. This is the experience I gained from various humanities books and film and television works throughout the ages. The experience of the predecessors is presented in this way, and I am just saying it. Besides... you have been very proud recently, haven't you?"