On a deserted, uninhabited island, Shichen lay on the sand, watching Kurosaki Mea swing her scorpion-braid.
"Brother-in-law~" Mea's face was flushed bright red, her eyes practically sparkling with little hearts.
"Mea... where did you learn that from?" Shichen asked in a low voice.
"I saw it from Momo," Mea pressed a hand against Shichen's chest, lips curled in a smile.
"From Momo... figures." Shichen nodded slightly.
He remembered that Mea had a kind of telepathy, even shared memories—so picking it up from Momo and seeing what had happened between him and her wasn't strange at all.
"Heehee~ Brother-in-law, don't think about anyone else right now. Please look only at me~" Mea leaned down, cupped Shichen's face and, smiling, kissed him lightly.
"Mea, you're playing with fire."
"Haven't we already started playing?" Mea shot back.
Shichen really had no way to refute that.
Out in the sea, after giving Mea a good "drink," he'd gotten in the mood and brought her to this deserted island.
He'd bitten her, turned her into a familiar in one smooth sequence, and then Mea completely lost control of herself.
Her head was full of those images she'd seen from Momo, and on top of that she was dealing with the aftermath of being bitten. There was no way she could have held herself back.
Shichen just went along with it and let himself be "acted on" for once.
After all, Mea wasn't some ordinary girl—her physical ability was excellent, and with how much "experience" she'd absorbed in her head, even if her body was new to it, it wasn't a big problem.
He'd been to this island before, so he wasn't worried about any animal wandering in and disturbing them.
Now Shichen intended to let Mea properly experience his "true strength," so she wouldn't be so reckless in the future.
He stopped just lying there and sat up, pulling Mea into his arms.
"Brother-in-law?" Mea blinked, momentarily stunned.
"Tired yet? Switch with me." Shichen smiled.
"Eh? I'm not tired at all..."
A lovely "song" rang out, echoing all across the island, clear and sweet—though only Shichen could hear it.
He watched Mea's eyes gradually lose focus and smiled in satisfaction. This little girl had only seen some things—when it came to the real thing, she was still way too green.
All it took was him getting a little serious and she forgot herself entirely, mind going blank.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Shichen frowned, looking at Mea in surprise.
Right before his eyes, her hair began to darken, her skin tone turned dusky, and even her body size shrank, becoming more petite.
"You really are... something else~"
Mea—no, the girl now—tilted up her small face, giving Shichen a wicked little smile. Her voice and appearance had changed; golden eyes gleamed with a bewitching light.
At a glance, Shichen knew who it was.
"Nemesis?" Shichen didn't bother pretending; he called her name directly.
"Oh? You actually recognize me... ngh—"
Nemesis had just shown a flash of surprise when her brows suddenly knit.
"Since you're here, don't even think about running." Shichen wrapped his arms around the now-tiny body, grinning from ear to ear.
Someone delivering themselves right to his doorstep—how could he possibly refuse?
Even if her skin was dark, Nemesis's features were exquisitely cute, and paired with such a petite frame, she was exactly his type.
"Run? We'll see who's the one begging to escape later," Nemesis laughed, unwilling to concede.
"You really think that?"
"Mmff..."
She couldn't get another word out, and she didn't last long at all.
Nemesis didn't try to act tough either and voluntarily retreated, returning the body to Mea.
"Eh? What happened to me just now? Did I fall asleep?" Mea blinked as soon as her consciousness returned, looking genuinely confused.
"Yeah. You got so excited you passed right out," Shichen said, not mentioning Nemesis at all.
"So amazing!" Mea lit up again, clearly thrilled.
Before long she was "singing" again.
They could freely shapeshift, after all, switching back into their own forms whenever they liked.
Shichen was, in fact, very happy that Nemesis had suddenly shown up, because it meant she'd become smaller.
Like that, the sun dipped toward the horizon; the afterglow spilled across the sand, covering the ground in a dim golden wash and bathing Shichen and Mea in its light.
Cradling the now-fainting Mea, Shichen dressed her back into her swimsuit and carried her away.
Now that Mea had been turned into a familiar, Shichen could freely use her abilities through her.
Strangely though, he didn't sense Nemesis's presence at all.
Looks like Nemesis hadn't fully taken over Mea's body—and from here on, she wouldn't have the chance.
With Mea now a familiar, Nemesis had lost the ability to control her.
On his way back, Shichen casually caught several dozen large lobsters—Australian lobsters, the kind without big claws, not so different from the scampi.
Unfortunately, he didn't run into any "Pobster," the kind with big claws.
Shichen decided that tomorrow he'd go hunt some clawed lobsters. Eating lobster without the big claws just felt wrong.
By the time he reached the island, Mea still hadn't woken up. Lala and the others, however, were all awake again and splashing around in the water.
"Shichen~ you're back~"
"Brother-in-law, where did you go? You were gone forever."
"Why is Mea with you?"
"I went hunting for ingredients. Mea was bored and insisted on coming along. Look at her—she got so bored she fell asleep."
"Is that so..."
Momo stared at Mea's face. Her cheeks were rosy, her brows soft and content—that didn't look like someone who'd just dozed off from boredom.
Had it worked?
"You guys clean the ingredients. I'm going to carry Mea back to her room," Shichen said, dropping the big pile of seafood onto the sand before walking off with Mea in his arms.
Nana watched his back thoughtfully, but in the end chose not to follow.
She did know what Mea's goal had been, and had no idea how that went.
She'd just have to wait until Mea woke up and ask her herself.
Reaching Mea's room, Shichen had just set her down on the bed when her body changed again.
Her frame shrank again, hair went black, skin darkened; her features shifted, and a black kimono appeared over her.
"You really don't hold back at all, do you," Nemesis said, opening her eyes and glaring at him crossly.
"Isn't that just proof that you're very attractive?" Shichen replied with a smile.
"...You really do have a wide range of tastes."
Nemesis couldn't help touching her own chest.
"So what exactly is your situation now? Just a single fragment of consciousness?" Shichen asked.
"You know quite a bit," Nemesis sat up with a little chuckle. "But where did you hear about me?"
"Mea told me."
"Don't lie. I've been inside her this whole time."
"Maybe she talked in her sleep."
"Hmph~ I don't believe Mea would rat me out."
"If you trust her that much, why were you hijacking her body?" Shichen asked.
"I have my own reasons... though looks like I can't do that anymore," Nemesis said helplessly.
"And forget about trying anything with Yami—'Golden Darkness' either," Shichen warned.
"Oh?"
"Don't believe me? I'll show you when I get the chance."
"Fine, I'll be waiting."
"By the way, what about your real body? You're using Mea's, right?" Shichen said, licking his lips.
"You really are... Hmph, find my real body first, then we'll talk," Nemesis snorted lightly, lips curled in a faint smirk.
"What, are you scared? Can't blame you—you were the one crying and trying to run last time."
"That was Mea's body. I'm not used to it..."
Nemesis trailed off suddenly.
"What is it?" Shichen asked, puzzled.
Nemesis lowered her head, saying nothing.
Shichen: "..."
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 220+ Chapters Ahead of Others!