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Bokue wasn't entirely surprised that Yura would say something like that.
After all, Japan had no concept of "dating too young," so both boys and girls matured relatively early.
Under normal circumstances, if someone was reasonably popular, they'd have a romantic partner by middle school. Especially for girls—if you were still a virgin in high school, you'd likely get teased about it.
But being questioned by his little sister about this was admittedly a bit awkward.
And so, half a minute later, Bokue found himself half-forcibly dragged into Yura's bedroom and made to sit down on the tatami.
"Come clean. Did Brother use taking Senpai back to her hotel as an excuse to do something inappropriate with Busujima-senpai?"
"It wasn't anything inappropriate..."
Under his sister's scrutinizing gaze, Bokue's mouth twitched slightly.
While they had indeed done that, it couldn't exactly be called "inappropriate," could it?
"Then what exactly did you two do?"
The young Onmyōji girl narrowed her eyes, continuing to press.
"Brother's relationships with women are already complicated enough. Last time when you took me to Itogami Island, every single one of those ladies living at the top of the Stone Gate had an extraordinary relationship with you. And if that number keeps increasing..."
Bokue: "..."
Honestly, if it were anyone else nagging him about this, Bokue would've already sent a Heroic Fist their way to physically shut them up.
But sitting across from him right now was Yura. Yura was Yura, so he obviously couldn't do that.
After brief consideration, a little lightbulb dinged above Bokue's head.
"Oh, I remember now. We were just discussing Busujima-senpai's technique in her room."
"Technique?"
Yura paused slightly.
She knew her brother had never been interested in researching spells or techniques. His approach to using power was all about overwhelming force through sheer strength—simple and brutal.
He actually had the leisure to discuss techniques with Senpai?
"Actually, Busujima-senpai was the one who brought it up... about that incident at Kiyomizu-dera when she attacked me with her blade while in her Domain state."
Bokue said.
Oh, that...
Yura immediately recalled the scene in her mind.
Honestly, she'd been genuinely startled when she saw that happen. But since Bokue had left her floating in that light sphere barrier in the air at the time, unable to get out, she could only watch helplessly as events unfolded.
Fortunately, his strength had been sufficient to prevent any bad outcomes.
"So what exactly happened back then? Why did Busujima-senpai attack you, Brother?"
The moment anything related to her brother's safety came up, the young Onmyōji girl's attention immediately shifted.
"Well..."
Bokue got stuck here. While Saeko had brought up the topic at the time, she'd only mentioned it—there hadn't been any detailed explanation before things fast-forwarded to the next step.
However, judging by the feeling he'd gotten on Kiyomizu Stage, Busujima-senpai probably lost all rationality after Domain Expansion, leaving only instinct to guide her combat.
In that case...
"Probably a physical self-preservation mechanism."
Bokue came up with the most reasonable explanation he could think of at top speed.
"Yura, do you remember Busujima-senpai's attack patterns after activating her Domain? Her body simply can't withstand the force she outputs. Even just attacking tears her muscles and shatters her bones. That kind of pain isn't something an ordinary human could endure while conscious."
"Physical self-preservation... I see."
Hearing this, Yura nodded.
As the Keikain family's heir apparent, with her level of Onmyōdō mastery, she naturally understood what Bokue had just explained.
Simply put, the power Saeko unleashed after Domain Expansion completely exceeded the human body's safety threshold. Each attack was like forcing someone to smash their bare hands against a boulder until their hands broke.
Forget the subsequent pain—just the psychological barrier of breaking your own hands was incredibly difficult to overcome.
"Right, so then what?"
"...Then what?"
Bokue got stuck again.
He didn't know what specifically Yura's "then what" was referring to.
"Well, yeah?"
The young Onmyōji girl tilted her head as well.
"Didn't you and Busujima-senpai discuss technique-related topics? Didn't you reach any conclusion in the end?"
"Conclusion..."
Bokue hesitated once more.
"Hmm... the final conclusion was that Busujima-senpai needs to continue strengthening her physical body until it can handle the force output from Domain Expansion."
"You mean she needs to work hard training her body?"
"No... it's not quite that simple..."
Bokue scratched his forehead.
"To put it bluntly, I used my power to enhance Busujima-senpai's physical strength."
"Huh?"
Yura had expected some other explanation, but certainly not direct power transfer. She couldn't help but pause in surprise.
And when did her brother even have that ability?
"Brother, you mean you directly transferred your power to Busujima-senpai, thereby increasing her strength?"
"Exactly."
Bokue nodded affirmatively.
Everything else he'd made up on the spot, but this one point was an unchangeable fact.
After all, Kuroka—who he'd already "filled up" into a Transcendent—was proof of concept. Plus, everyone else including Rias and Akeno all experienced varying degrees of power increase after he "filled" them.
"Then... Brother, can you give me a little bit too?"
Yura thought for a moment and extended her hand.
The girl said it casually, but to Bokue's ears, it was an entirely different matter.
"Huh? What do you need that for, Yura? And haven't you always advocated relying on your own..."
"I'm just verifying it for you, Brother."
Yura kept her hand extended, insisting.
"Just a tiny bit. It's not like I'm going to rely solely on this method to get stronger from now on."
Hmmmm...
Bokue fell into thought.
Honestly, his spiritual power really wasn't suitable for distributing carelessly. Once someone was exposed to it...
"What's wrong? It's just a little bit."
While the young man was still hesitating, Yura across from him was already urging him again.
"Or did you actually use 'power transfer' as an excuse to get handsy with Busujima-senpai?"
"...Can you have just a little more faith in your brother, Yura?"
Bokue rubbed his forehead slightly.
Though it should be fine, right? After all, under normal circumstances Yura wouldn't have much intimate contact with him—at most just holding hands while going out together. And she probably wouldn't have lewd thoughts about him like Kuroka did.
It shouldn't trigger a "craving" state.
With that thought, under the young Onmyōji girl's watchful gaze, Bokue raised his hand and condensed a small sphere of golden magnetic field energy at his fingertip. With a light touch, it merged into Yura's small body.
"Mmm... so this is Brother's power? It feels warm, and also..."
Yura didn't continue. Under the bedroom's warm lighting, the flush on the young Onmyōji girl's cheeks deepened slightly, and her legs pressed more tightly together beneath her pajamas.
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At the same time, in Bokue's own bedroom—
The swordswoman lying under the covers slowly opened her eyes. Facing the pitch darkness that filled her vision, a warm, humid murmur escaped from between her lips and teeth.
"Bokue.."
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