The cat cafe near Nijō Castle.
Although it was business hours, the shop now had a "Closed" sign hanging outside.
Customers who arrived found it odd since it wasn't a scheduled day off, but after seeing the empty interior through the glass walls, they had no choice but to turn back.
However, inside the shop at that very moment...
"Meow~~"
Loli Kurumi, her twin tails swaying, lay sprawled on the table and let out a cat-like sound at a British Shorthair.
Perched on the table, the British Shorthair tilted its head, staring blankly at the strange human before it, then let out a curious meow in response.
When it meowed, the other cats in the cafe followed suit with a few calls of their own.
Hearing the cats' cries, loli Kurumi immediately turned her head and excitedly said to Luo Shu behind her:
"Luo Shu, Luo Shu! It meowed, it meowed!"
"I can hear it." Luo Shu patted loli Kurumi's head, then turned to glance at original Kurumi's sour expression and awkwardly smiled.
After that, he looked back at the scene inside the cafe—one he'd already anticipated—and couldn't help but smile wryly.
At that moment, twelve cats in the shop were facing off against twenty-four Kurumis. Each cat had to endure the attention of two guests, leaving every feline in the cafe utterly helpless.
"Your little sister seems to really like cats," the female owner behind the counter remarked with a smile.
From her perspective, the cafe had an unusually large number of guests today—all girls with distinct appearances. Fortunately, none of them seemed inclined to move around much, content to play with one cat each, which made things easier.
Of course, the most noteworthy among the guests were the pair of sisters accompanying the young man at the counter.
This wasn't just because of their looks, but also because they were the only ones who had actually ordered drinks.
"Here you go~ This is our signature latte. Please enjoy."
The owner handed the latte to Luo Shu, then smiled at loli Kurumi in his arms:
"Little miss, remember to wear gloves when petting the cats later, okay? Otherwise, they might feel uncomfortable."
"Got it~~ Thank you, big sister~~"
Hearing loli Kurumi's sweet, childish voice, original Kurumi beside them covered her face in regret:
"I knew this would happen if I brought you all out..."
To be honest, Kurumi Tokisaki hadn't wanted to summon her clones. But the Kurumi clones had protested, declaring in the Kurumi Council that if the original dared to hog Luo Shu for herself, they would stage a rebellion the next time they manifested.
This left Kurumi Tokisaki with no choice but to summon all the clones that had appeared in Kyoto to the cat cafe, letting them play with the cats to their hearts' content.
And now, here they were—stuck in this ridiculous situation.
"Kurumi-chan really loves cats, huh?" Luo Shu grinned, pinching loli Kurumi's cheek right in front of original Kurumi.
"Cats are the cutest!" Loli Kurumi rubbed the British Shorthair's head, her voice brimming with childish delight.
The British Shorthair in front of her was a six-month-old kitten, currently at the peak of feline adorableness.
Since it was facing another 'child' in the form of loli Kurumi, it didn't resist much beyond a few meows.
Whenever it cried out, the larger British Shorthair—likely its mother—would glance over. But seeing it was just a 'child' playing with another 'child,' the mother cat went back to lounging, calmly observing the two Kurumis watching her.
Watching this, original Kurumi could only sigh in exasperation:
"At least try to hold back a little, me."
Her loli version was far too cunning—deliberately appearing as a child to get close to the kittens, then brazenly sitting on Luo Shu's lap.
Did this brat have any idea how awkward it was to watch herself being held by a guy?
She was so embarrassed she couldn't even properly groom the calico cat in her arms anymore!
Meanwhile, compared to Kurumi Tokisaki's discomfort, Luo Shu seemed completely at ease.
He glanced at the excited loli Kurumi in his arms, playing with the kitten, then looked up and asked the staff:
"Miss, is there only one British Shorthair here?"
"Ah, yes, the others have already been bought by other customers."
The female shop owner wiped a glass while smiling helplessly:
"Actually, Mugi, the adult British Shorthair, had quite a large litter last time - a full 10 kittens. Many were practically given away at half price."
"That many?" Luo Shu was taken aback. "Don't you spay your cats, shop owner?"
As soon as he spoke, all the Kurumi Tokisakis in the shop froze simultaneously, glaring at him in unison.
Even the main Kurumi nearby shot him an exasperated look.
Seeing this, Luo Shu immediately raised his hands in surrender:
"My bad, my bad. I shouldn't have brought that up."
The shop owner chuckled at Luo Shu's reaction. Under his illusion technique, she couldn't see the other Kurumis' movements, only noticing the main Kurumi glaring at him:
"Actually, Mugi just got spayed half a month ago. If you'd come a few days earlier, you could have seen her wearing the Elizabethan collar."
Hearing this, Kurumi Tokisaki gave the shop owner a somewhat gloomy look.
She belonged to the faction opposed to spaying cats, but she also understood that for businesses like cat cafes, uncontrolled breeding would quickly overwhelm them with too many cats.
Thus, her feelings were rather complicated at the moment.
The loli Kurumi, however, paid no attention to such considerations. Upon hearing about the spaying, she stared pitifully at Luo Shu with big, pleading eyes:
"Luo Shu, Luo Shu, can you heal Shirayuki's mommy?"
'When did you even name her?'
Luo Shu stared blankly at the loli Kurumi in his arms, then turned to look at Kurumi Tokisaki.
Perhaps throwing a small tantrum, Kurumi Tokisaki turned her head away, ignoring him.
His face twitching at this, Luo Shu turned back to meet the loli Kurumi's imploring gaze again.
Finally sighing, he beckoned to one of the Kurumis near the British Shorthair.
Seeing this, two Kurumis surrounding the mother cat named Mugi exchanged mischievous glances before picking up the cat and walking toward Luo Shu.
"Young customer, a spayed cat can't possibly be healed."
The shop owner remained unaware of the gravity of the situation.
But when she saw Luo Shu single-handedly hold Mugi, and how the British Shorthair suddenly regained energy and became unusually active in his hands, she exclaimed in surprise:
"Customer, Mugi seems to really like you."
'Of course she does - I just restored her ovaries...' Luo Shu couldn't help but grumble internally.
Fortunately, Calamity Absorption worked on animals, too, and didn't require experiencing the pain of spaying; otherwise, he wouldn't have dared attempt this.
Thinking about neutering, Luo Shu scanned the room full of "eunuchs" before suddenly declaring:
"Shop owner, do you sell the cats in your store?"
The question didn't surprise the shop owner - the main revenue source for cat cafes came from selling cats and related products, with coffee being the less profitable side:
"...Are you looking to buy a cat? Which one caught your eye?"
"All of them." Luo Shu replied with a smile.
"???"
The female shop manager stared blankly at Luo Shu, only snapping out of her daze after all the cats had been taken away and the bank received a large transfer.
Gazing at the empty shop, she murmured:
"It seems I can take a proper month's break now..."
...
In Kyoto's city centre.
Kurumi Tokisaki, holding the British Shorthair kitten Shirayuki, looked apologetically at Luo Shu, who had just bought out the entire cat cafe:
"Sorry, Shu-kun. My younger self made an unreasonable request."
"No, this was my own idea." Luo Shu explained briefly: "After all, it wouldn't be good if the manager discovered sterilised cats getting pregnant again."
"Moreover, these cats could potentially be enlightened into Small Yokai and kept at our base as animal guards. I don't think Yukino would refuse."
'Refuse? Yukino Yukinoshita is just as much a cat lover as Kurumi Tokisaki. Or rather, most girls around me are cat people - might as well keep a whole group. It's not like I have to care for them, and it'll boost their affection...' Luo Shu mentally grumbled before adding aloud:
"Besides, I have some ideas I want to test on these sterilised cats."
If cats that absorbed misfortune could recover from sterilisation, what would happen if Luo Shu reversed the process and bestowed the absorbed sterilisation Calamity upon normal people?
Would their balls just vanish into thin air?
Luo Shu was rather curious about how that would look.
However, while Luo Shu was pondering this, Kurumi's eyes lit up:
"I can really keep cats at our base?"
'So you didn't listen to anything else I just said...'
Luo Shu's cheek twitched before he replied:
"I never said you couldn't."
"Shu-kun, turn around for a second."
"What?"
As Luo Shu turned his head, he felt something wet touch his cheek.
He froze, touched his right cheek, then looked at Kurumi, who was pretending nothing happened. A helpless smile appeared on his face:
'So after the clone's sneak attack, the real one comes in person now?'
Amidst both exasperation and secret delight, Luo Shu led the cat-carrying Kurumi out of the alleyway.
Just then, ahead of them...
The young Masatsugu Keikain bowed respectfully:
"Honoured guests, I am Masatsugu Keikain, here on behalf of our family head to invite you for a meeting."
Hearing this, Luo Shu narrowed his eyes, studying Masatsugu before smiling:
"You've arrived at quite the opportune moment!"