""
Since she insisted so strongly, Rei Ao had no reason to refuse.
"Then shall we move to the living room?"
"Mm!"
Mafuyu hastily pulled all the curtains closed. She stood before Rei Ao without any concern for embarrassment, fully intent on addressing this earnestly and seriously.
Until
Rei Ao followed her instructions.
"!!!"
Seeing it with her own eyes, Mafuyu Kirisu froze, not daring to move a muscle.
"Miss Kirisu?"
Only when Rei Ao spoke did she snap out of her trance, her flushed face twisting into an awkward, stiff smile.
"D-don't worry. I'll examine everything carefully."
She felt something in her heart crack open.
With apprehension for the unknown as well as a sliver of curiosity, she began fumbling through her "inspection."
A while later
"From the surface, everything looks okay."
She finally breathed a long sigh of relief.
But when she looked up, tears glimmered faintly in her eyes, and she startled Rei Ao with her next words:
"Butwe need to confirm its function, too!"
""
Rei Ao's eyebrow twitched.
Originally, he'd only planned a simple "checkup." But now that she'd said this
"!!!"
He let her see exactly what "strength" was.
Already formidable, it looked even more impressive in her hands. She finally understood the meaning of "unusual" that Rei Ao had mentioned before.
"Miss Kirisu, if it's too much, let's just forget it. I feel like I'm perfectly fine."
"No way!"
Mafuyu Kirisu stood her ground, insisting on completing this verification. Otherwise, she would feel guilty the rest of her life!
~~~
300 Powerstone Bonus Chapter!
Sorry! Late Upload on the Bonus Chapter! Almost 400 Powerstone! Vote for more chapters!
Also, self promotion, Please check my New Naruto Fanfic! Named: Freelancer in the Ninja World!
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
Currently You can Read 70 Chapters Ahead of Others!
More Chapters in Patreon! Please join if you can! Thank you!
Chapter 249: Examination Results...
"Splash!"
Mafuyu Kirisu dashed off to take a bath.
Feeling perfectly at ease, Rei Ao lazed on the sofa.
Apart from the green pepper stir-fry Mafuyu had made, there were two more dishes on the dining table, both cooked by Rei Ao.
The main reason was that her "physical exam" on him had taken at least several dozen minutes.
Not only did she end up exhausted, but she'd also been tossed around by Rei Ao's rather exaggeratedmomentum, leaving her drenched and in disarray.
Although she confirmed Rei Ao was perfectly healthy, Mafuyu Kirisu felt a powerful sense of wanting to die from embarrassment.
Those two extra dishes were Rei Ao's way of making up for the trouble she went through on his behalf.
But even so, she had been holed up in the bathroom for over half an hour now.
Rei Ao called out, "Miss Kirisu, as soon as you're done bathing, come out and eat. Otherwise, the food's going to get cold."
"Uhalright!"
Her voice was flustered and barely audible.
Before long
Click!
Having changed clothes, Mafuyu Kirisu opened the bathroom door and came out, her body unnaturally stiff as she headed straight for the dining tablewithout so much as a glance Rei Ao's way. She had no idea how to face him now, and her cheeks burned whenever she even sensed his presence. It wasn't just that her body felt overheated; her limbs also felt weak.
Rei Ao didn't push for conversation.
They sat at the table in silence, eating without speaking.
Only after dinner, when the two sat quietly on the sofa for a while, did Rei Ao speak again.
"Mafuyu-sensei, are you feeling better now?"
"Uh"
Mafuyu Kirisu lowered her head, forcing herself to appear calm. "II'm fine."
"That's good."
It was obvious she was putting on an act, but Rei Ao didn't expose her. Instead, he gently reassured her, "Well, Miss Kirisu, now you can relax. Given your hands-on examination, there's no doubt about my physical condition, right?"
"!!!"
She was already doing badly, and that sentence made her want to crawl under a rock. She had really gone hands-onand never done anything like that in her life.
"Don't ever bring this up again!!!"
Mafuyu Kirisu smacked the table in warning. Right now, all she wanted was to empty her mind. Ideally, she wouldn't have to see Rei Ao at all. But unfortunately, he had no intention of leaving just yet.
"Alright, I won't mention it."
He gave in easily, then added, "So, Miss Kirisu, let's talk about why you were looking for me in the first place?"
""
Talking business was, at least, preferable to more awkward conversation. Mafuyu Kirisu steadied herself and looked over at him. But noticing her gaze drifting down tosomewhere, she quickly turned away, fiddling with a strand of hair to hide her face.
"Ahem, it's about two of my students."
She meant Fumino Furuhashi and Rizu Ogata.
"I relayed your conditions to them. They want to give your approach a try. When might you be free?"
"Ilia's always ready, so any afternoon after school works fine."
He had no need to prepare anything elaborate.
Mafuyu Kirisu nodded. "Great, I'll let them know."
" "
With business addressed in a flash, the conversation ended. The living room fell silent once more. Mafuyu Kirisu was torn over whether she should politely ask him to leave.
But she didn't have to say anythingRei Ao was already getting up. Then something else caught his eye, and he paused, fixing his stare on a corner of the sofa.
"Miss Kirisu, you have a cockroach in your house."
"Huh, a cockroach?"
Following Rei Ao's gaze in confusion, she saw a brave little roach emerge from beneath the sofa right next to her foot. What was worse, she could see its antennae brushing against the hem of her clothing. Her pupils shrank in horror, a shiver running down her spine.
"Aaaah!!!"
With a loud scream, Mafuyu Kirisu's entire body seemed to unlock hidden potential; she sprang up in place, landing squarely on Rei Ao. Even more dramatically, her legs coiled around his waist, terrified of falling near the insect. Eyes squeezed shut, she yelled, "Go away, go awaaaay!!!"
""
Rei Ao hadn't expected her to react to a cockroach as extremely aswell, reminiscent of "Vignette."
At least she didn't know any magic. Otherwise, the damage might match Vignette's destructive episodes.
She clung to Rei Ao, shaking him wildly. Concerned she'd topple off, Rei Ao held her steady with both hands. Glancing at the cockroach scuttling around, he gave it a look.
Fwoom!
Fire burst forth, instantly burning the cockroach to ash. Rei Ao then tried to calm the panicked Mafuyu: "It's gone. I took care of the roach, so please relax."
"You got rid of it?!"
She halted her flailing, peering behind her and indeed finding no trace of it.
"Thank goodness"
She let out a heavy sigh of relief, her body unconsciously sinking slightlythen froze. Becoming aware of her current position, she looked at Rei Ao again.
He gave a helpless shrug. "Just an accident."
"Kyaaa!!!"
Her shriek rang out anew.
Rei Ao left Mafuyu Kirisu's apartment. In the end, she didn't say much, only ordered him away in mortification.
After all, in that situation, he wasn't at faultshe was the one who overreacted and ended up in an embarrassing posture. She couldn't reasonably blame him.
Once he was gone, Mafuyu Kirisu lay on her bed, forearm draped across her burning face. The wave of shame left her utterly restless, not only because she'd lost her dignity multiple times but also because the backlash was entirely on herself. Not long ago, she had berated Rei Ao, misunderstanding his intentions, nearly causing a catastrophe. But now she was the one whose mind had drifted toward questionable territory.
Mafuyu Kirisu wouldn't run from itshe simply couldn't believe she'd almost lost control enough to ask him to stay.
She slowly lifted her other hand. In the lamplight, it trembled with a faint dewy glow.
"H-how did it come to this?"
Just moments earlier, her mind had been flooded with thoughts of Rei Ao, sneaking up on her and breaking open something deep inside her. Now, she was overwhelmed by self-consciousness, not knowing how to deal with these newfound feelings.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
Currently You can Read 70 Chapters Ahead of Others!
Chapter 250: Protect your Sister, Study Group
Ten Master Clans.
The Yotsuba Family.
"Shiba Tatsuya, you need to curb the hostility you brought back from the battlefield."
A middle-aged man spoke to the mature-looking young man with short black hair before him.
"Yes."
Shiba Tatsuya nodded.
The man cast him an indifferent glance.
"Your next mission is to enroll in the National Magic University's First High School and protect your younger sister, Shiba Miyuki."
""
My sister
Shiba Tatsuya's eyes flickered slightly. He seemed to recall having a younger sister he'd met once in childhood, but since enlisting in the army, he hadn't seen her again.
Shiba Tatsuya's background was far from ordinary.
He was the biological son of Shiba Tatsurou and Shiba Miya (the current head of the Yotsuba Family's older sister, Shiba Maya).
When he was born, he possessed a magic calculation zone capacity far beyond average. However, he could not use magic in the conventional sense and was judged to have no standard magical talent.
Hence, at age six:
He became a test subject in the artificial magician experiment planned by his aunt, Yotsuba Maya, and carried out by his mother, Yotsuba Miya. Through that experiment, he gained an artificial "magic calculation area" and memory-like abilities.
But as the cost of that mental reconstruction, the part of his mind that experienced strong emotions was essentially wiped cleanhe could no longer feel excitement or react to things that might excite him. Because of this, he always remained calmly composed and could not truly comprehend other people's goodwill or affection toward him.
Later, owing to his formidable capabilities, he was sent off to war as if he were a weapon. Only now had he returned.
And they wanted him to protect a sister he barely remembered. Shiba Tatsuya felt nothing in particular, but he just needed to know the objective and complete the mission.
"Yes."
[Ding! Mafuyu Kirisu has invited you to join "Study Group"!]
"!!!"
Furuhashi Fumino had just finished showering and was wearing a short-sleeve T-shirt and tight shorts while blow-drying her hair. The phone notification startled her.
"Miss Kirisu?"
Seeing the invite from Mafuyu Kirisu, she thought for a moment and accepted.
Setting down the hairdryer, she sat on the sofa and, as she rubbed her smooth, white calves, she typed a message:
Furuhashi Fumino: "@Mafuyu Kirisu Sensei, what's this chat group for?"
Ogata Rizu: "I'd like to know as well."
Ogata Rizu had also just been invited. She had returned from delivering udon, as her family ran a udon shop. Because her father wasn't good with finances, she handled the accounting. She also did all the deliveries whenever there were takeout orders.
"Rizu, no more deliveries today. You can rest,"
her burly father told her.
"Oh,"
Ogata Rizu replied, heading upstairs, eyes fixed on her phone. She noticed that, besides herself, Furuhashi Fumino, and Miss Kirisu, there was one more member in the group.
Just then, Mafuyu Kirisu sent an explanation:
Mafuyu Kirisu: "Furuhashi Fumino, Ogata Rizu, let me introduce the other person in this study groupRei Ao."
Even mentioning Rei Ao's name made Mafuyu Kirisu feel jittery inside, but she had to follow through.
Furuhashi Fumino: "Rei Aowould that be the same Rei Ao from our school?!"
Furuhashi Fumino's eyes widened. She even stopped rubbing her leg.
Ogata Rizu: "Eh?"
Ogata Rizu was equally astonished.
Rei Ao: "Hello, I'm Rei Ao."
Rei Ao: "Furuhashi-san and Ogata-san, I've heard a bit about you two from Miss Kirisu."
Furuhashi Fumino: "Rei Ao-kun, can I have your autograph?"
They were supposed to be talking business, yet Furuhashi's request came out of nowhere.
Rei Ao: "An autograph?"
Furuhashi Fumino: "Yes, yes! I'm a fan of yours!"
Mafuyu Kirisu: "???
She'd gone to the trouble of creating a small group for tutoring, so how had it turned into a mini fan meetup?
Rei Ao, however, grasped the meaning at once.
Rei Ao: "You're my fan because of my recent academic progress, right?"
Furuhashi Fumino: "Yes, exactly! Climbing the rankings so fast is amazing!"
Ogata Rizu: "Indeed it's impressive; I could never do that, no matter how I tried."
Rei Ao: "Haha, about that autographmaybe we can handle it in person. But it won't be me who's teaching you."
Furuhashi Fumino: "Ugh, I know that"
Furuhashi Fumino: "But I'm super curioushow did Rei Ao-kun manage such rapid improvement?"
Ogata Rizu: "I-I want to know, too."
With the conversation returning to academic matters, Mafuyu Kirisu breathed a sigh of relief.
Rei Ao: "I don't have any special tricks. If I had to say, I guess I just 'became enlightened' all at once."
Furuhashi Fumino: "'Enlightened'?!"
Ogata Rizu: "How does one become enlightened?"
Furuhashi Fumino: "Or, put differently, how do you study on a day-to-day basis?"
Rei Ao: "There are many ways to 'become enlightened.' But day to day, I just pay attention in class. After that, I enjoy spending time with my girlfriend."
Furuhashi Fumino: "Eh?!"
Ogata Rizu: "G-girlfriend?!"
Although they weren't physically together, the two could smell the scent of juicy gossip from afar. As they say, curiosity is human nature, and even these geniuses weren't immune.
Furuhashi Fumino: "Rei Ao-kun already has a girlfriend? Who is she? I'm so curious."
Ogata Rizu: "Um, I'm also a bit curious. But but Miss Kirisu is still here"
Mafuyu Kirisu: ""
Oh, so they remembered she was here?
Mafuyu Kirisu: "I already know. I live just downstairs from Rei Ao, so I've seen them."
With that revelation:
Ogata Rizu: "They're livingtogether?"
Furuhashi Fumino: "Co-cohabiting?!"
To these innocent girls, that word was a bit too spicy.
Rei Ao: "Mm-hmm. That's one reason I rarely study. If you have a girlfriend, why spend your time studying? Time is better spent researching deeper topics with your special someone, right? For example, right now, I'm here snuggled up with Futaba on one side and Mai on the other. So warm and soft."
Furuhashi Fumino: "That's impressive."
Ogata Rizu: "Mm."
Mafuyu Kirisu: "What are you people even talking about?! This is a study group! Get back on track!!!"
