I Sealed Sukuna’s Finger#397+398: Time for Some Serious Development, Making Moves in Front of Your Own Daughter, Really?

"L-let me go! Let me go! Waaah, please let me go..."

Like a small animal desperately struggling after being lifted off the ground, the petite blonde Bokue had caught from the storage room was now frantically kicking her legs wrapped in black stockings beneath her school uniform skirt.

Not that it did any good—she was too short, about the same height as Nagisa, so when Bokue held her up, no matter how hard she kicked, her legs just flailed uselessly in the air.

With her armpits caught in the youth's grip from behind, she could only hold her arms straight out in front, completely unable to help herself escape.

All in all, absolutely adorable.

"This..."

Rias and Akeno stood stunned beside them.

Only Nagisa, equally clueless about the situation, tilted her head curiously.

"Hmm? What's with this child? Did Big Brother find her in the storage room?"

"Yes..."

Bokue was also somewhat hesitant.

Again, Rias had told him before that the storage room at the end of the hallway was sealed and absolutely shouldn't be opened under normal circumstances.

He'd thought something incredible was hidden inside, but... it was just this cute girl?

"So Rias, what's going on here?"

Unable to figure it out himself, Bokue simply threw the question to the red-haired girl beside him.

"How would I know..."

Rias was also stammering from excessive shock.

"Um... Bokue, didn't you encounter anything unusual when you went in?"

"Unusual?"

Bokue looked puzzled.

"No, aside from being a bit messy and dirty inside, there was nothing strange. Is there a problem?"

"You weren't affected by this child's ability?"

Rias was even more surprised.

Bokue gave her a strange look: "Ability? You mean cardboard box stealth? Come to think of it, when I went in, she was indeed hiding in a cardboard box trying to pretend to be that robot cat from Tom and Jerry, crawling around on the ground."

Huh???

Now Rias and Akeno were completely at a loss for words.

"Could it be, Gasper, that you can already control your—"

"Save me, President Rias! Akeno-neesan!!!"

Before she could finish, the golden-haired elf-eared girl Bokue was holding like a small animal finally couldn't contain her panic anymore and cried out loudly.

"This person is so mean! He suddenly rushed in and pulled me out of my cardboard box! I couldn't stop him at all! Why is this happening, waaah!!!"

Couldn't stop him?

Catching that key phrase, Rias and Akeno quickly exchanged glances, surprise mixed with understanding flashing in their eyes.

So that's how it is...

Though she already had her suspicions, Rias still asked tentatively:

"So Gasper, you mean your time-stop ability doesn't work on Bokue?"

"It doesn't work! Not at all!"

The blonde elf-eared girl Rias called "Gasper" was still crying loudly.

"I couldn't stop him at all! He just came over and grabbed me out of the cardboard box, and won't let me go back!"

Uh...

Well, case closed.

Rias sighed softly and looked up to explain to Bokue behind Gasper:

"Gasper actually possesses a Sacred Gear called [Forbidden Balor View] that can stop time. Anyone or anything Gasper sees when the Sacred Gear activates will be frozen."

"Oh, so that's why."

Bokue looked down at the blonde with her feet dangling in the air.

"Come to think of it, when I opened the cardboard box, your eyes did seem to change."

"Exactly, exactly! So why didn't you stop?!" Gasper said.

"And who are you anyway? Why do you sound so familiar with President Rias but do this to me..."

"Because we're moving soon, Gasper. We'll be moving to Itogami Island."

Rias crossed her arms, one hand touching her cheek helplessly.

"And he's Bokue Keikain. You stayed in the storage room the entire last semester, Gasper, so you wouldn't know..."

"Oh, I know that!"

Gasper, who they thought would be clueless, suddenly made a sound of realization.

"He's President Rias's boyfriend, right?"

"...Yes."

Rias nodded slightly but had new questions.

"But how do you know, Gasper? Haven't you been in the storage room the whole time?"

"I have."

Gasper explained.

"But when Koneko came to bring me snacks, she'd talk to me through the door and told me about this."

"I see."

Rias said "oh" in understanding.

"So... can I go back now?"

Gasper pleaded pitifully.

"There are so many people here, it's so open... I just want to go back to my cardboard box..."

"But we're moving soon."

"Then please just pack me in a cardboard box like cargo when you move..."

She sounded like she was about to cry again.

"I understand, then—"

Rias rubbed her forehead, about to tell Bokue to let go and release her.

Just then, Nagisa, who'd been watching curiously from the side, suddenly spoke up:

"These eyes... Miss Gasper, are you also a vampire?"

"Y-yes..."

The golden-haired elf-eared girl with arms stretched forward and feet still dangling answered reflexively.

But the next second, as if finally coming to senses, Gasper shouted:

"And I'm not 'Miss'—I'm a pure man!"

"..."

"..."

A pure man?

Those words made not just Nagisa but even Bokue feel his brain freeze for a moment.

With those black-stockinged slender legs, that pleated mini-skirt, features more delicate than a girl's, and skin so fair it was almost translucent... you call this a pure man?

And when kicking and flailing earlier, the skirt had lifted up—there was no mysterious bulge underneath.

Rather, it was quite flat.

"This is somewhat complicated to explain..."

Rias rubbed her forehead again. She felt like she'd done that more times today than in the entire past year.

"Gasper is a natural-born vampire, and vampires have no gender before adulthood—or rather, they fluctuate between both. Like Gasper here, who has a female appearance and body but psychologically thinks he should be a girl. Though... in reality, he probably leans more female. Anyway, this state continues until adulthood when it finally settles and stabilizes."

"I see."

Nagisa hummed in understanding.

Then, as if thinking of something really nice, she clapped her hands together with determination in her eyes:

"Then leave it to us! Big Brother and I will help Gasper-kun grow into a proper vampire! I swear this on the name of the [Fourth Progenitor] that Avrora and I share!"

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"Phew~ This is much more comfortable."

Five minutes later, with the second-floor cleaning complete, everyone in the old school building gathered around the coffee table in the first-floor living room, sitting on the sofas on both sides for the first time in a while.

Though compared to their previously perfect seating arrangements, this old building gathering found space rather tight.

Well, it made sense. Before, their gatherings usually had Rias, Bokue, and Akeno on one side, with Koneko and Asia on the other.

But this time, not only had Irina and Xenovia come, but Kuroka, Mio Naruse, and a whole crowd of others too, making the once-spacious living room feel somewhat cramped.

Of course, there was also a certain blonde vampire who'd immediately dove back into the storage room the moment Bokue let go, only daring to emerge after hiding in a cardboard box disguised as junk.

"Say, I don't see Maria or the others around?"

Bokue asked this while leaning against the left sofa's armrest in the living room.

He wasn't sitting on the sofa for two reasons. First, with so many people, the living room sofas were almost full—even if he wanted to sit, there was no space.

Second, if he sat down, Kuroka would make a fuss about sitting next to him, but Rias wouldn't agree to that since she and Akeno usually sat on either side of him at the old building.

All things considered, to avoid fighting or even destroying this old building that should be packed up for Itogami Island right after being cleaned, Bokue simply stood.

"That's actually what I was about to mention."

Rias, sitting in the middle of the sofa, cleared her throat.

"While you were at the National Diet Building, Maria and Sheila went to Keystone Gate on Itogami Island to handle the merger of Saikai Academy and Kuoh Academy."

"Oh~"

They say professionals handle professional matters. Succubus were demons specialized in tempting hearts—while Bokue had to take those cabinet geezers to experience what it was like having a meeting in a volcano crater to settle Itogami Island's ownership.

But Maria and Sheila didn't need such trouble. With succubus magic, ordinary humans had zero resistance and could easily have their thoughts controlled.

Then it was just making them do whatever was needed.

"By the way, has our new home's specific location on Itogami Island been decided?"

Bokue asked curiously.

Generally in Japan, the higher the building floor, the more expensive—better lighting and ventilation. Especially penthouse apartments in high-rise towers—only high officials or wealthy merchant families could afford those.

Like Asagi's home.

So following that logic, the highest place on Itogami Island would probably be...

"Right on top of Keystone Gate."

Rias explained.

"It was originally a huge helipad, but since you've secured Itogami Island's ownership, Bokue, you should have permission to modify everything on the island. We can remove the helipad on top of Keystone Gate and use it as a circular plaza to build our new home."

That was indeed a good idea.

Bokue thought to himself.

After all, Keystone Gate, as Itogami Island's largest commercial plaza, had considerable ground coverage. If it was the entire top floor, forget a villa—even the Gremory family castle could fit.

"Though they're being a bit slow. By my calculations, they should be done by now..."

Rias looked at the wall clock with some confusion.

But before she could finish, the sound of a door opening suddenly came from the hallway entrance outside the living room.

Hmm? Could it be another case of speak of the devil...

Just as this thought crossed Bokue's mind, the next second that white-haired succubus mother-daughter duo walked in from outside, peeking in at the room full of people with slight relief.

"Oh my, finally found it."

Maria immediately started complaining to the youth standing by the sofa.

"Really now, Bokue-san's school is so big! Just saying 'at the old school building' had Maria and Mother searching forever before finally finding this place."

"Ah, sorry, forgot to tell you the specific location..."

Hearing this, Rias's face showed embarrassment.

This was one of her rare arrangement mistakes. Due to her own familiarity with Kuoh Academy and the numbing effect of having Akeno, Koneko, and others around, she'd subconsciously assumed everyone should know Kuoh Academy's layout, forgetting Maria and Sheila hadn't been to Kuoh Academy even once yet.

"So is the school merger settled?"

"Of course~ It's all done."

The answering voice came from above Bokue's head.

The married succubus who'd been at the living room door moments ago had somehow teleported above him, gracefully descending to land securely on his shoulders.

His shoulders instantly received that familiar soft yet elastic sensation.

Bokue looked up diagonally, meeting the married succubus deliberately cute smile.

"Ehehe~"

"..."

Ehehe my ass!

Bokue thought—Lady, could you please show some restraint? Setting others aside, at least your daughter is watching right now.

Sure enough, the next second all eyes in the living room focused on them. A certain bob-haired succubus girl's eyes went wide as she couldn't help covering her mouth in shock.

"Mother, how could you..."

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

Sheila tilted her head with a gentle smile.

"After all, Mother doesn't have excellent stamina like you, Maria. Walking so much all morning really tired me out, but there's nowhere else to sit here, so I can only make do on our Bokue's shoulders~"

"But Mother, you can't just—"

Maria wanted to say more, but Rias stood up from the sofa beside Bokue, interrupting this meaningless conversation.

"Alright, since all conditions are met, let's start moving."

"First, this old school building."