Koneko Toujou, when Sato thought of this young woman, he thought that she was too bratty and so provocative, which made him want to put her in her place, telling her not to be so arrogant in front of him.
'Even though she is much older than me...'
While it was strange, this petite girl was older than he, making him quite speechless.
"Did you think something rude about me?" Koneko frowned, thinking that this armpit lover must be thinking something rude about her.
"I was just thinking about how to make you stronger." Yet, Sato's face was as calm as a rock, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking, leaving Koneko feeling helpless yet also curious. "Have you thought about what I should do to become stronger?"
"Do you want to become stronger?" Sato asked.
"...." Koneko.
Did she want to become stronger?
When she thought of her past experience, her petite body trembled, and she clutched her arms tightly as if what had happened in the past had just happened recently.
"I am sorry."
"...why did you apologize?"
"I thought that I made you remember something unpleasant."
"..."
Koneko didn't say anything, and her face was as blank as ever, staring at Sato, who looked at her calmly with a gentle expression.
"You know? If you don't want to grow stronger, then it is fine."
"...it is fine?"
"You have Rias with you, after all, so even if you don't grow stronger, it will be fine, as she will protect you."
Would Rias protect her?
Koneko thought about her past, which made her have a hard time trusting others, especially when she thought about how that person she trusted so much had betrayed her, leaving her alone in that hell-like experience.
"Sit here. Calm yourselves first."
Koneko hesitated, but as she looked at his expression, she hesitated before she followed him and sat next to him, sitting down and relaxing.
No, it was just comfortable to be by his side; she wasn't sure the reason, yet with him by his side, it made her heart at peace.
"...aren't you a little too close?"
As he saw her snuggled on his arm, Sato was speechless.
"...is it not okay?"
"Well, it's fine now."
"Oh..." Koneko nodded and just leaned on him, then took something out of her pocket on her short skirt, and gave it to him. "Here."
"It's fine. Just eat it on your own." Sato was speechless when Koneko shared her snack, but even though he refused, she continued to stare at him, which made him sigh and nod. "Thanks."
"It's fine."
It was a bar of chocolate, but it had a hint of bitterness.
"You don't like something that is too sweet, right?"
"Thanks, but how did you know?"
Koneko just ignored him and continued to munch on her chocolate, yet even if her face couldn't be seen due to her hair, her ears were so red.
"....." Sato.
Fortunately, he had no need to think of a way to break the silence as she broke the silence between them.
"Sato."
"What's wrong?"
"Why did you try to become stronger?"
"Why did I want to become stronger?"
"Um." Koneko nodded as she looked at him curiously. "You have always been training, after all."
Yup, as Rias had told her to observe him, she had always observed him, and she could say that his day was quite boring, as he had always trained, trained, or studied.
Sometimes, he would relax by going fishing or just sleeping.
Yet, why did he try to become stronger?
"Hmm... I guess, I just want to feel at ease?"
"At ease?"
"Unlike you, I don't have anyone to rely on before, so I can only rely on myself, and because of that, whether I want to or not, I have to grow stronger, smarter, and better than others, so that I can be at peace."
Yup, he just didn't have a choice.
If he had a choice, he would just laze around and spend his time aimlessly like those second-wealthy generations, since if he could just be lazy, why did he have to work hard?
If he had someone that he could rely on, like Rias and Sona, he would take his pace, slowly, and even quite lazily, as he knew well that even if he wasn't that good in the beginning, in the long run, he would be okay, as he had backing.
"Sorry."
The sudden apology from Koneko stunned him, but he smiled, then shook his head. "It's fine. You don't have to apologize. I have also made you remember something unpleasant, after all."
"...so, it's an even?"
"It's even."
The two smiled, yet Koneko somehow understood why she felt closer to him, as they were in the same situation, and they were too weak to control their own fates.
"But, Sato..."
"Hmm?"
"I am afraid to become a monster."
"A monster?"
"Um..." Koneko hesitated, but in the end, she told the truth about her past, explaining how she became a Peerage member of Rias after being abandoned by her older sister, who had gone crazy and killed their previous master.
Sato blinked his eyes and asked, "Your older sister went crazy?"
"Um." Koneko nodded. "She longed for the strength so much that she went crazy and killed our previous master."
Sato could only look up, feeling a bit helpless, yet he didn't tell the truth, since what was the point?
At his current strength, he had no power to change anything.
Still, Koneko was fine with getting stronger, but what she was afraid of was that if she got stronger and hurt others, especially those that she thought of as important, what would happen?
Yet—
"It will be fine."
"How can you be so sure?!"
Koneko's voice grew agitated as she heard his words that were full of firmness, telling her that everything would be okay.
"Because I am here." Sato patted Koneko's head softly as he looked at her straight. "If you try to hurt others, I will stop you, so don't worry."
"..." Koneko.
"Sato, I..."
"Or rather, instead of worrying about hurting others, you should think about how to get stronger first, as you are weaker than I am."
"...."
Koneko was so speechless, and all the good moods that she had previously had were all gone by his words.
"Shut up, armpit fetish!"
"...." Sato.
Should he spank her first before they started their training?
Yup, that might be a good idea, he thought.
"But..."
"Hmm?"
Koneko appeared to be bashful as she looked at him shyly. "If-If you want to see my armpit... I-I don't mind, though..."
"...."
As he looked up into the sky, he wondered whether there was a way to change this misunderstanding.
But, before all of that—
"Should we start the training?"
"Okay."
Koneko was obedient.