This afternoon's workload was much heavier compared to before.
It wasn't because of Kirara, but because tomorrow they would more or less begin diplomatic affairs with the Sumeru Akademiya.
So after the old man finished his tasks, it was time to go pick up the children.
"Kirara, you still can't use the Wind Glider yet. I'll go pick up little Eula and the others first. Tonight I'll teach you."
"Okay."
Although Kirara had already taken human form, some cat habits were still hard to change for the time being.
For example, she still retained the habit of lying on the tatami mat like when she was a cat, and occasionally couldn't resist licking her hand (paws).
Mm, actually these weren't big problems. Ever since raising Kirara, the old man had personally taken the lead in imparting human-related knowledge to her.
Plus Miyuki's "human virtue" education, Kirara had a huge advantage when it came to fitting in.
This was evident just from the fact that "after transforming into human form, Kirara didn't immediately jump into the old man's arms like in her cat form, but politely asked before approaching."
Cat Kirara watched the old man's departing figure as he flew away, then obediently squatted at the door waiting for him to return.
"Kirara...?"
One could only say children's intuition was amazing.
No one had told little Ayaka that Kirara had transformed into human form yet, but the moment little Ayaka saw the figure squatting beside the pond, she recognized her at a glance.
"It's little Ayaka~"
One could only say the cat took after her master. And Kirara had indeed played with little Ayaka for a very long time. She reached out and pulled the approaching little milk-dango over.
Lift high~
Hehe~ Back then you lifted me high—now it's my turn to lift you high!
Little Ayaka flapped like a butterfly a couple of times and looked a bit dazed.
But after seeing Kirara's happy face, she also revealed a very happy smile.
Standing behind the two, Kamisato Kayo also came up behind Kirara, smiling as she stared at Kirara's cat ears.
You play with my daughter, so there's no problem if I play with you a little, right?
Kamisato Kayo already knew about Kirara's human transformation—after all, for Kirara to enter the Kamisato residence, the guards had to be notified.
Facing Kamisato Kayo's not-so-innocent intentions, Kirara—who was already very familiar with everyone—naturally wouldn't refuse.
So when the old man brought everyone back, the scene before him was...
Little Ayaka looking at him with dazed eyes, Kirara sitting in a chair holding little Ayaka, and little Ayaka's mother ruffling Kirara's head.
It really was one thing subduing another...
Looked like the one who had now truly learned the old man's teachings wasn't little Eula anymore—it was this cat who had just transformed into human form.
At this, the old man laughed and introduced Kirara to little Eula and the others.
"Let me reintroduce her—Kirara, a two-tailed nekomata. The old man has truly raised a cat into a catgirl."
Wait, was it okay that he didn't call her a fox just now? The old man glanced at Kirara.
At this moment, the two tails behind Kirara were lively and animated. She didn't seem to pay attention to His Excellency the Shura Anyakonsen-shou's words—she cared more about the children's reactions.
And everyone's response was only mild surprise, but not shock.
Ever since they knew Kirara had grown a second tail, they had known this day would come.
The well-traveled children of Teyvat found this very normal.
They had seen the Raiden Shogun, seen fox youkai, seen baku dream-eaters...
A cat youkai wasn't particularly unexpected.
This actually made the old man's excited mood feel a bit regretful.
This was a catgirl, you know? Weren't they going to be more surprised?
With you all reacting like this, the old man felt like his bragging came off really lame?
But Kirara had successfully integrated into the group of children.
Just like before—no barriers, still warm and cozy.