Sawamura Eriri looked like an angry little lioness.
Because someone still refused to put her down.
The clever girl quickly realized that no matter how much she struggled, even if she somehow freed her ankle, she'd only end up landing on her head.
And the worst part—if she made a fool of herself, Kasumigaoka would never let her live it down.
Being laughed at by that woman was already bad enough—but fine, she had her dirt too, so they could mutually self-destruct.
But right now, there were two very important witnesses: her adoring little disciple Kasuko, and her loyal hellhound, Momotarou.
Absolutely not!
She had to show them, and Aunt Mikiyo, that she—Eriri Sawamura Spencer was a brave, clever, unyielding girl who could stand up to evil and use her wits to win!
So, like a mouse being dangled as bait by Tom the cat, Eriri finally stopped squirming.
Instead, she grabbed onto Kyousuke's pant leg with both hands, gritted her teeth, and began climbing up inch by inch.
Feeling guilty, Kyousuke didn't move.
He spoke gently, telling her to be careful, and—trying to be "kind"—pulled her flipped-up skirt back down to preserve what little dignity she had left.
"Wow! Eriri, you're amazing~!"
Kasuko clapped her tiny hands excitedly.
Watching the blonde girl crawl up her big brother like some alien creature, she was so thrilled she reached for his pant leg too, wanting to join the fun.
With that cheering support, Eriri's energy shot up.
She grabbed Kyousuke's belt, flashed Kasuko a confident grin and thumbs-up.
'Don't worry! I'll suck every last bit of your big brother's bad habits away for you!'
"WOOF WOOF—!"
[You idiot, Eriri! Stop! What are you doing to aniki!? Get down right now!]
Seeing Eriri's ridiculous behavior, the fluffy little dog practically jumped out of his skin.
If it weren't for their long-standing "bond," he might've already sunk his teeth into her hair to drag her off.
But still—
"WOOF! WOOF!"
[Even a dog's patience has limits! Stop this madness, Eriri! Don't mistake aniki's tolerance for permission to go wild!]
Momotarou was fuming.
He remembered watching old gangster movies with Kyousuke and Kasumigaoka, laughing at the characters who said "loyalty and righteousness can't coexist."
Yet here he was, facing the same tragic dilemma.
"Good boy, Momotarou! Don't worry, I'll deal with this shameless idiot myself!"
Eriri smirked at her faithful hellhound, her spirit reignited.
Clenching her teeth, she yanked on Kyousuke's belt, swung herself upward, wrapped an arm around his neck, and pushed off his solid abs with her feet—climbing higher like a tiny, furious gymnast.
Within seconds, she'd perched herself right on his shoulders.
Her white skirt fluttered as her smooth, pale thighs locked around Kyousuke's neck.
From above, she tilted her head slightly, looking down on him like a haughty queen.
The living room light cast her small frame in shadow.
The golden-haired princess's silhouette looming huge behind her—completely engulfing Kyousuke beneath it.
And all Kyousuke could think was—
'Why are the pigeons outside suddenly so big?'
He forced an awkward smile and looked up.
"You… ready to talk this out?"
Eriri just bared her sharp little canine teeth.
"Talk to God about it."
"The thing is—I can explain!" Kyousuke pleaded.
"Save it for your confession!"
With a triumphant grin, the great Empress Eriri declared his sentence—then leaned down and chomped right into his head.
This traitor nearly dropped her earlier—so she'd repay the favor by sucking out his brain!
"AAAAAHHH—!" Kyousuke screamed.
Even the toughest man needed a helmet for this kind of assault.
"Whoa! So cool!" Kasuko had no idea what was going on, but she clapped like she was watching a hero movie.
Meanwhile, Momotarou's eyes bulged so wide they looked like grapes.
'Damn it!' he thought. 'I hesitated! I should've stopped her before she hurt aniki! I'm such a disgrace… I'll never beat Kisaki for the title of top henchman now!'
The little dog's paws tensed, launching him straight into the air.
His panicked yelps were one evolution away from turning into full-on barks.
Still gnawing on Kyousuke's head, Eriri raised one hand without even looking back, giving Momotarou a big thumbs-up — Mission accomplished, comrades!
On the sofa, Kasumigaoka Utaha watched the chaos with her usual expressionless calm.
Seeing Eriri and the dog so… in sync, she couldn't help but feel absurdly betrayed.
Had her dog really switched allegiance to Eriri of all people?
No, that couldn't be right…
Utaha squinted, glanced at Momotarou's frantic face, then at Eriri, whose drool now glistened in Kyousuke's hair — and then it clicked.
"Eriri," she called lazily, "why don't you and Momotarou make it official? You two seem perfect for each other — sworn brothers, five–five split."
Before the girl busy biting Kyousuke's head could react, laughter burst from the courtyard — Sakura, laughing so hard she nearly fell over.
"Eriri and Momotarou as sworn brothers! Oh, that's too good!"
She clutched her stomach, tears in her eyes.
Utaha might be sharp-tongued, but even she hadn't expected such a brutal burn.
Sakura's imagination ran wild.
She could already see Eriri and Momotarou kneeling before a household altar, performing a gang-style "brotherhood oath," complete with hidden knives under the tatami mats.
Just in case, Sakura had actually researched yakuza rituals, worried that her beloved Kyousuke might someday become an underworld boss.
"?" Eriri blinked.
She didn't get it at first, but after Kyousuke quietly explained the meaning, realization — and fury — dawned.
She finally released his head, wiped her mouth, and glared at Kasumigaoka.
"Put me down!"
Now that she'd vented most of her anger, Eriri barked her orders like a queen commanding her servant.
Still dripping with her saliva, Kyousuke sighed, grabbed her by the waist, and gently set her down.
The moment her feet hit the floor, she charged straight toward Utaha, leaping onto the sofa with a shriek.
The living room erupted in laughter.
Shouko and Yukino tried to break up the scuffle, laughing so hard they could barely speak, while outside, Sakura and Aunt Mikiyo were literally slapping the table in tears.
Only Kasuko wasn't watching the chaos.
Instead, she clung to her brother's pant leg, trying to climb him just like Eriri had — aiming to reach his shoulders and take her turn "biting his head."
Unfortunately, the tiny two-year-old didn't have much strength — not enough farm work experience, apparently.
'Sigh… guess I'll have to shovel manure with Dad when we get home.'
The little girl tilted her head up, her big eyes sparkling as she looked at her big brother.
Kyousuke's face melted into a warm smile as he bent down and lifted his little sister onto his shoulders.
His build was the kind that made girls drool — broad shoulders, narrow waist, a perfect fit for a suit.
Forget carrying a two-year-old; he could probably shoulder-surf even someone like Shiwa-senpai with her… notable curves.
Kasuko giggled gleefully, wrapping her tiny arms around her brother's head and opening her mouth as if to take a playful bite—
—but the leftover saliva from earlier made her wrinkle her nose in disgust.
"Eww… gross!"
The little girl pouted and, with an exaggerated frown, began rubbing her sleeve all over her brother's head to "clean" it.
'Great,' Kyousuke thought helplessly. 'First Eriri oils my head, now Kasuko's here to wax it.'
He kept perfectly still, letting his sister scrub away to her heart's content.
The room buzzed with laughter and lighthearted chaos — except for one figure who seemed completely out of place.
When Kyousuke glanced down, he noticed Momotarou, the family's fluffy little dog, standing perfectly still and staring at the floor.
Even without seeing its face, Kyousuke could feel the gloomy aura radiating from it.
'Sigh… even that idiot Kasumigaoka could see my betrayal…'
'Do I… still deserve to stand by Aniki's side?'
If a dog loses its loyalty to its master… is it still a dog?
Little Momotarou, only four months old, was drowning in existential confusion.
He had proven his friendship with Eriri — even Kasumigaoka Shiwa had noticed it — but the price was heavy.
He had betrayed his master's trust and lost his chance of ever being Kyousuke's number-one underling.
'It hurts. It hurts so much…'
'I've been a good friend to Eriri, but I've failed my Aniki…'
"Whimper… (I'm such a bad dog…)," came a faint, sorrowful sound from the little pup's nose.
The odd behavior caught Kyousuke's attention — and even Kasuko, sitting on his shoulders, peered down curiously.
"Momotarou?" Kyousuke called gently.
"Woof!"
The puppy's ears shot straight up.
In an instant, he raised his head like a perfectly trained hound, eyes blazing with purpose.
Just like that, the despair that had nearly swallowed him vanished.
After all — to err is human, right? Or… canine, in this case.
He had recognized his mistake.
And a strong, clever dog learns from pain! Even Kisaki Tetta had turned his life around — he used to chase girls, and now he was the sharpest underboss out there!
It all made sense now.
'The most loyal underling… is the one who has known betrayal!'
Only a dog who has strayed can truly understand how precious loyalty is!
The Momotarou of a moment ago was gone.
Before them now stood the reborn "Demon Hound of Loyalty — Oni Momotarou!"
"You…" Kyousuke blinked, half-worried for the dog's mental health.
He was seconds away from calling his cousin Keiichi, the med school student, for an emergency diagnosis.
"Momotarou! Help me! I'll buy you a new bone tomorrow!"
Eriri's desperate voice rang out from the sofa — though calling it "fighting" was generous.
The blonde princess was currently pinned under the crimson-eyed demon known as Kasumigaoka Shiwa, who had even stuffed Eriri's mouth full of her own golden hair to silence her.
Ah, the humiliation!
When had the proud noble of the Great Britannian Empire ever been reduced to such disgrace!?
The moment the words new bone hit his ears, Momotarou's beady black eyes glowed green.
His ears perked, claws dug into the floor for traction, and he stared up at Kyousuke, awaiting permission.
He was no longer the confused puppy he once was — now, he was a loyal soldier awaiting his commander's order.
"Go on," Kyousuke said with a small laugh.
'Whoosh!'
Just like Eriri before him, Momotarou became a blur of motion, leaping straight for the sofa.
Kyousuke exhaled a sigh and accepted the towel Yukino handed him.
She and Shouko had tried to break up the chaos, but it was more for form's sake than any real hope of success.
Within minutes, they had both "retreated" to sit beside Sakura, laughing helplessly at the scene.
'Really, who could ever resist the joy of bullying Eriri?'
With his sister still perched happily on his shoulders, Kyousuke walked across the tatami room into the courtyard.
He gently lifted Kasuko down and handed her over to their mother, Mikiko, before finally sitting to dry his hair.
On the table lay a tablet, still showing an unfinished illustration on-screen.
"She was drawing before you came in," Sakura said softly, pushing the tablet toward him.
Then, cupping her hands like a megaphone, she shouted toward the house:
"Go, Eriri! Go, Momotarou! Shiwa, careful not to suffocate her!"
Kyousuke didn't even need to look — he already knew what the drawing was.
It was the new promotional poster for his upcoming novel.
Even though he'd been busy all day, updates from the production team had been flooding in through his group chat.
And in just one day, Eriri had already completed two full posters.
The workload for a new release was massive — store ads, bonus inserts, collectible editions, limited signed prints, and fan giveaways.
There were even random-draw "deluxe" and "sketch" posters, plus original drafts and discarded concepts for diehard collectors.
Naturally, no single artist could handle all of that alone.
The publisher had entire teams working on different elements, plus additional illustrators from "Carbon Studio" that Kyousuke personally hired.
But still — there was only one true lead artist.
Eriri.
She refused to let anyone else touch the main compositions — even the backgrounds and outfit details were done entirely by her hand.
She'd even sworn that if her work ever delayed production, she'd buy every single copy of the book herself and give them away for free.
The other illustrators were basically her assistants now.
Kyousuke had originally planned to help her — though realistically, that would've meant fetching snacks or refilling tea for the "Empress of Stubbornness."
Then Mitsuha had shown up and told him that Eriri herself had kicked her out of the dorm to go find Kyousuke.
It didn't take a genius to guess why.
That stubborn idiot probably thought she was being unfair to Mitsuha by hogging Kyousuke all to herself.
After all, the two girls were close — really close.
And now, after all that…
'What?'
'Just because I told Mitsuha to hang out with you doesn't mean I'm not allowed to be mad about it! Hmph!'