Heavy girl? I feel worse than Black Hole Trigger!

Qiliangliang sighed and meowed, "When will the rain stop..."

She had intended to return home to avoid the rain after delivering the last order, but she had filled in the wrong number in the sender's address, causing her to wander around in the alley for a few more minutes.

As the drizzle turned into a heavy downpour, she panicked and ran into this alley she had never been to before.

Inazuma Castle, she'd walked through it all, from Hanamizaka to the main street, even to the castle tower where the great Shogun resided. Every corner was familiar to her. It was precisely for this reason that, despite being a youkai, she'd chosen this courier job. However, in this outlying island port, nestled outside the main city, she only knew the main thoroughfare—a familiarity she'd only acquired after becoming a courier.

She was not afraid of getting lost. As long as the rain stopped, she could easily climb onto the roof, look far away, and naturally find her way home. But now, when she was hiding from the rain, she didn't know where to go to find someone to sell her an umbrella.

As a monster who has mastered the art of transformation, getting caught in the rain is naturally no big deal.

What's important is her clothes...

"no solution anymore."

The girl gritted her teeth and suddenly disappeared with a bang. The next second, a kitten came out from her clothes, folded the clothes neatly, and put them into the empty cardboard box beside her.

Komagariya's delivery boxes are incredibly waterproof. Just transform into your Nekomata form and prop up the sealed box, and you can walk out in the rain without worrying about getting your clothes wet or dirty!

"Meow……"

The kitten looked left and right, ready to run towards the rain.

Suddenly, "Ding-ling-ling~" a crisp bell sound came from behind.

She quickly put the box down again and turned her head to look.

The back of the room was originally locked, and it looked like no one had lived in it for ten or twenty years. It was replaced at some point with an exotic hinged door. There was a glass window above it, and light was coming out, but it was blurry and it was difficult to see what was inside through the window.

"……Meow?"

As the saying goes, curiosity kills the cat, but it shouldn't kill the cat.

Qi Liangliang paused, then cautiously took a few steps towards the door, poking out her little pussy and gently touching it.

next second.

"Jingle Bell……"

●

"Welcome. Hmm? No one here?"

When Baodeng Zheli heard the doorbell, he called out casually, but when he put down the glass that he had wiped until it was as bright as if it could be used with a Spirit Bomb and looked up at the door, he saw no sign of the guest.

He said to the girl at the door, "Little Lenai, are you leaving?"

He guessed that it was the girl who pushed open the door, causing the sound of rain outside to temporarily drown out the soft music.

"Hmm?" The silver-haired girl turned around.

Zheli noticed that she was holding something in her arms. It was——

"……cat?"

Why is there a cat in this place?

The store manager raised his eyebrows in confusion and looked out the window.

Outside Nascita, the alley was as quiet as ever, almost deserted. Even on a cloudless day, few would pass by, let alone during the intense afternoon thunderstorm. Seeing the intensification of the downpour, Zheli had even sent a message to Nagasaki Suyo, telling her not to go out at this hour. Instead, it was Lenai who appeared, wearing rain boots and holding an umbrella.

"Let it take shelter from the rain." said Zhe Li.

Lena nodded. She also had the same idea.

The girl bent down and touched the kitten's head, then took it to the counter and placed it on the counter.

Zhe Li had just turned around to prepare a glass of water when he saw the girl doing this. He quickly frowned and said, "How dare you! Don't leave the cat on the table. What if it rummages through my counter?"

“Meow meow——!”

The kitten, who had been lying obediently on the table just a moment ago, suddenly called out to the man and shook its little paws.

It's like saying: I wouldn't do that!

Zhe Li couldn't help but smile: "Wow? Quite smart."

He took another look at the kitten's butt and saw a furry tail hanging straight in the air and swaying gently.

Since meeting Lenai, he'd read some books on cat behavior. This tail movement seemed to indicate... a greeting, happiness? It matched the emotion he instinctively sensed. Even though Lenai had taken it into a strange place, it was acting so brave and well-behaved. Was it someone's cat that had gotten lost? It didn't look like a stray.

Alas, it would be much easier for him to interpret if Lenai could also grow a tail.

"Give."

While thinking about all sorts of wild and imaginative things, Zhe Li poured the warm water he had just prepared into a small plate and placed it in front of the cat.

It's a common myth that cats like to drink milk. While it's certainly not certain whether cats actually like it, the vast majority of cats are lactose intolerant. While it's okay to feed them industrially processed low-lactose foods like yogurt, feeding them milk directly is not.

There isn't much food suitable for kittens in this cafe, so just give them some warm water.

"Meow……?"

The kitten blinked its big green eyes at him as if in confusion, then lowered its head and licked the warm water.

The melodious music is accompanied by the faint aroma of coffee beans, and raindrops are hitting the window outside.

One man, two cats.

Chapter 1: I have always lived in her shadow

"Knock knock."

On a clear afternoon after the rain, a knock on the door, neither light nor heavy, echoed in the quiet coffee shop.

Baodeng Zheli glanced at Lenai, who was petting the kitten, and called out to the vague figure outside the door, "Come in."

The kitten, who was squinting as if in a half-asleep state, shook its tail and glanced towards the door.

A blue-haired girl said, "Excuse me," pushed open the door, and stepped into the store. In the brief moment the door was open, she could see a deserted Tokyo alley outside, with asphalt roads and concrete buildings covered in puddles of rainwater. This scene, which should be very ordinary, seemed to make the little kitten very confused.

Unfortunately, the door was gently closed the next moment. The girl stood in front of the door and nodded slightly to the store manager behind the counter.

"I'm here to report."

Another week has passed since "CRYCHIC's Second LIVE".

On the first weekend after the summer vacation, Shoko Toyokawa finally came to Nascita to officially report as an employee.

"Welcome, Fengchuan-san." Zheli first exchanged pleasantries, then asked, "Is everything alright at home?"

"thanks to you."

Shoko Toyokawa bowed slightly to the man before walking towards the counter.

Although she did not ask in depth the reason for her father's sudden change in attitude, she knew it must be related to the man in front of her.

That night, the father and daughter talked about a lot, from their childhood, to the reason why their mother left, to everything she had experienced in her life so far... Xiangzi finally understood why her father was angry with her, and also realized how desperate her "willfulness" had pushed her to.

But she also told her father clearly: I don't regret it.

If she was initially forced to do so out of desperation and was still confused about the future, then in Gao Songdeng's singing, in that rain-like melody, she had already made a true awakening.

—Sever the darkness from this world.

That will no longer be empty lyrics, but the path she has decided to take personally.

"Why are you looking so grim?" Zhe Li waved his hand in front of the girl, trying to attract her attention.

Xiangzi bowed quickly and said, "I'm sorry! I was distracted for a moment."

"Are you feeling unwell? Or are you feeling unwell?"

"No, no...I was really just distracted for a moment."

"Haha, don't think I'm nagging. After all, I'm the boss now—" The man's lips curled slightly, but his eyes seemed to have a hint of blame. "Assigning an absent-minded employee to work is not good for either you or me."

Xiangzi was a little embarrassed. "Yes. I'm very sorry..."

Fortunately, Baodeng Zheli had no interest in bullying the little girl and soon returned to his usual casual self.

"Well, let's skip the extra small talk. I'll first show you around the work environment."

"Okay, okay." Xiangzi suddenly felt a little nervous. He looked around for a while before asking timidly, "Um, do you need to change into your uniform?"

"uniform?"

Zhe Li had just opened the back door when he paused after hearing the question. He turned his head, pinched his chin, and thought for a while.

"I do have something resembling a uniform, but I don't have any rules here, so it doesn't matter if you don't change."

"...Please let me change." Xiangzi said softly.

As a talented and beautiful young writer of the Toyokawa family, Xiangzi has been almost alone since she "ran away from home", perhaps because she is used to being followed by others wherever she goes. She often has a vague illusion about her current situation: it seems that when she wakes up from her dream next time, she will return to the spacious but cold berth and be forced to devote herself to the topics that she has never been interested in.

It seems that nothing has changed.

Even in the beginning, she had to sit in her simple bedding and look around for several minutes before she could confirm that what happened in her memory was real experience.

Although she was reluctant to admit it, Xiangzi urgently needed an item that could help her confirm that "everything was not a dream."

For example, a unique uniform with a distinct personality that doesn't look like something that would appear in the Toyokawa family's wardrobe.

Zheli carefully observed Xiangzi's expression, confirming that he wasn't just jumping on the bandwagon, but genuinely wanted to change into his uniform. He didn't know why, but since it didn't matter whether he changed or not, he nodded. "Alright, then. Follow me. I'll take you to the changing room... You'll probably be the only one using it right now."

The man led the rookie employee backstage, passed the familiar studio door, pointed to the door on the other side and said, "This is the warehouse. Any miscellaneous items that aren't placed on the counter are placed here. ...And this is the dressing room."

He walked to another room next to the warehouse, hesitated for a moment, and then opened the door.

The cafe "nascita" is actually a composite structure of a residence and a shop. CRYCHIC often uses the recording studio, which only requires access through the back door, but in terms of layout it is still part of the store - after all, ordinary business stores also have guest seats and work areas, for example, the recording studio should be designed as a storage room.

However, Bao Dengzeli has been to the world of Kamen Rider Build after all.

How can it be called nascita if it doesn’t have a mysterious underground passage hidden in the refrigerator?

He converted his bedroom into a simple studio and collection room, displaying some of his safe inventions outside, while hiding dangerous toys in an explosion-proof space in the basement, which can be reached by opening the small refrigerator in the bedroom.

This is also the real reason why he dared to let CRYCHIC move freely backstage.

These so-called private spaces in the backstage are ultimately just illusions on the surface!

...Because of this, Zhe Li hasn't checked the specific conditions of these rooms for a long time.

As the lights came on, the entire locker room was revealed to Shoko Toyokawa.

"It's a little shabby. Sorry, I didn't think anyone would actually apply..."

It was indeed a rather spartan room, with only cabinets on either side and a tightly closed ventilation window. The air felt a bit stuffy, as if the door hadn't been opened in a while, and Xiangzi couldn't help but wrinkle his nose.

Zheli walked into the room first, opened the cupboard closest to the door, and showed it to Xiangzi.

The room was filled with clothes that were similar in style to the one Zhe Li was wearing, but they were obviously women's dresses.

Xiangzi looked into the cupboard for a long time and was very puzzled by the number of things that filled it.

Zheli added, "If you have any doubts, you can change in the bathroom."

"Eh? Ah. Thank you for your concern, Mr. Ori, but it's okay."

Xiangzi quickly smiled at the man. If he still suspected him of having ulterior motives at this point, he would have despised himself before he could even react.

She just had other questions—

"Um. Why are there so many uniforms?"

Bao Deng Zheli had only opened one cupboard, and there were so many similar styles (only slightly different colors), all women's uniforms. Even if it was just for precaution, he probably wouldn't need so many sets, right? Especially since he hadn't expected to have any employees joining the store.

"Ah. Well, that's a long story..."

Zhe Li slowly shifted his gaze towards the ventilation window.

"These are actually the clothes that Su Shi has worn. I just kept them here temporarily."

"……Eh?"

"Doesn't that kid occasionally help out at the store? One day he said he felt more motivated to work when he wore a uniform, and that he was tired of wearing the same uniform all the time, so he asked me to make some more designs for the uniforms in the store."

Zheli took out one of the uniforms with a sky blue collar, pointed at the cat pattern sewn on the chest and laughed:

"Lena's mother is a fashion designer and gave us some useful ideas, so Sushi sewed a cat on it for her as a thank you gift. But in the end, Lena didn't wear it, so Sushi put it on herself to show her. The lively color also surprisingly suited Sushi."

"..."

So, are they couple outfits? Or are they leftovers?

The girl's lifeless gaze lingered for a moment on Zhe Li's expression, which she couldn't tell whether it was one of nostalgia or doting.