Akemi chuckled.
"Isn't this great? Shiho gets to relive her childhood days—how wonderful!"
She leaned forward, rubbing Shiho's now-little face.
"You're so tiny, so much cuter than before!"
The little loli just looked at her sister speechlessly.
As smart as she was, how could she not see through her sister's little thoughts?
Clearly, her sister was only acting this way because she had turned small and was no longer a threat.
But how could she know... her love rival wasn't her at all—
It was many other women!
Just then, Akashi looked around curiously.
"Huh? Why don't I see the Ai sisters around?"
Akemi answered casually,
"They were working late last night. Still catching up on sleep."
Then her eyes narrowed slightly, her voice gaining an undertone of suspicion.
"What's wrong, Akashi? Got business with them?"
Akashi replied nonchalantly,
"Not really. Just thought about talking business. Maybe sell them some jewelry."
In truth, meeting Akemi wasn't his only purpose today.
More importantly—because of his Treasure Copying Skill, Akashi could now consume a small amount of yin energy to duplicate jewels for resale.
A clean and easy way to earn big money.
The Kisugi family ran the Cat's Eye Café and had ties to both the black and white sides of the market. They even had channels for fencing stolen goods—making them ideal partners.
But Haibara's eyes suddenly narrowed in suspicion.
"Jewelry? Where did you even get those?"
After all, she'd been with Akashi constantly these past few days—and he hadn't mentioned anything like that.
"Secret~!" Akashi teased, giving a mysterious little smile.
Then, he casually waved his tiny hands toward the two women's hair.
[Yin Energy -80! Yin Energy -80!]
In the next instant, two exquisite necklaces materialized out of thin air in his hands—
A ruby necklace and a sapphire necklace, both dazzling with brilliance.
They were replicas of the most yin-energy-rich accessories found during the Suzuki Festival cruise ship heist—only outclassed by the Dark Star itself.
Each necklace provided 800 points of yin energy.
And now, with just 160 yin energy consumed, Akashi had used his skill to perfectly replicate both of them.
As the two necklaces appeared, Akemi and Haibara's eyes widened in shock.
It was as if they had witnessed actual magic.
They were certain Akashi hadn't been holding anything a second ago—nor was anything hidden in their hair.
The sisters immediately grabbed his small hands, searching him thoroughly.
"Where did you hide those necklaces?!" Haibara asked, incredulous.
Akashi just laughed.
"I told you—it's a secret~"
"Anyway, these two necklaces are a gift for you. Pick whichever you like."
At the word "gift," both sisters lit up with joy, their moods instantly lifted.
Akemi's heart softened.
She hadn't seen Akashi for days and had been a little upset.
But now—with a necklace like this?
Her annoyance melted into sweet warmth.
Just then, a sultry, mature voice echoed from within the house.
"Well, how generous. Giving away the Royal Twin Star Necklaces—the Blue Sea and the Crimson Dream—just like that?"
With a lazy gait, a curvy beauty in purple silk pajamas emerged.
She walked like a cat patrolling its territory—effortlessly elegant and full of allure.
It was Rui Kisugi, also known as the "Cat's Eye No. 1."
Seeing the necklaces, Akemi turned and asked curiously,
"Miss Rui, are these necklaces really that valuable?"
Rui approached, delicately picking up the jewels with a handkerchief. The brilliance of the ruby and sapphire made her eyes glaze with admiration.
"They're very valuable," she said.
"I'd trade one for an office building in Tokyo—without hesitation."
She glanced at Akashi meaningfully.
"These were once part of the Hatamoto family's collection. I didn't expect them to be real."
Then, with a seductive gleam in her eyes, she added,
"Son, you're becoming more and more interesting…"
Her gaze drifted over Akashi's small form—scrutinizing him.
But Akashi wasn't the same person he had been when he first arrived—timid, hiding his power, and worried about being exposed.
Back then, he had feared being discovered by Rui and losing his freedom—risking Haibara's rescue.
But now?
With tens of thousands of yin energy stored and a full arsenal of skills, he had countless escape routes.
Even if he were discovered, it didn't matter.
At worst—he could always transform and fight back in his adult form!
The Miyano sisters gasped when they heard Rui mention the necklaces' value.
A Tokyo office building?
That was worth billions of yen—millions in U.S. dollars!
Akemi stepped back and waved her hands.
"Akashi, this is way too expensive! You should take them back—we can't accept that!"
But Akashi ignored Rui's stare and calmly looked at Akemi.
"Why not? The Twin Stars suit you two perfectly."
Truth be told, Akashi hadn't known the necklaces were this valuable.
He'd simply picked the ones that gave the most yin energy. That they turned out to be national treasures was pure coincidence.
But since they only cost 160 yin energy to copy, he didn't care.
His easygoing, extravagant attitude left the three women stunned.
Akemi looked visibly moved.
If Rui hadn't been there, she might've jumped into Akashi's arms on the spot!
Beside her, little Haibara's fingers trembled.
She wasn't nearly as composed as she looked.
Without a word, she picked up the Crimson Dream necklace and gently helped her sister put it on.
"If it's a gift… of course we're keeping it."
She then placed the Blue Sea around her own neck.
The two sisters looked absolutely radiant with the necklaces on—glittering like the stars themselves.
Rui chuckled and suddenly grabbed Akashi's hand.
"Well, son, weren't you saying something about business?"
"I'm very curious to hear just how big a deal this is."
"Come on—let's leave the sisters to their bonding. You and I should find a quiet place to talk…"
The succubus shota raised an eyebrow.
He glanced at Rui's amused expression—one that seemed half teasing, half predatory.
He quickly caught her drift.
Akashi responded boldly,
"It's a business worth hundreds of billions. I might even need an investor."
Rui burst into laughter, as if she'd just heard the most hilarious joke in the world.
Akashi pouted slightly—clearly feeling mocked.
Meanwhile, the two sisters on the sofa remained confused, not entirely sure what kind of "business" the two were about to discuss.
Still, since Akashi had brought such priceless jewelry, they didn't stop him.
If he said it was business—they believed him.
...It's just a pity neither of them realized what kind of "business" was truly on the table.