Sakiko took a small sip of coffee, letting the sweet flavor spread across her tongue.
Her eyes unconsciously drifted toward Makoto.
He seemed to be watching her as well, stirring a strange feeling beneath the fear and irritation that had filled her heart.
‘If he knows my past and future, does that mean he knows every embarrassing and humiliating thing I’ve ever done too?’ For some reason, the thought made Sakiko angry.
Back in the real world, her mood probably would’ve soured enough for them to part on bad terms.
But with their lives at stake, she had no choice but to calm herself and cooperate with the person before her.
“I understand.
I’ll work with you.” A satisfied smile appeared on Makoto’s face.
With Sakiko and her 45 Fate Value staying beside him from now on, using Making Fake Become Real would become far easier.
He had originally been wondering how he could find crowded places and compensate for low-quality listeners with sheer numbers.
For now, however, that was unnecessary.
Going anywhere crowded in Shibuya was simply too dangerous.
“That’s enough about me.
Sakiko, what exactly does your ability do?” Makoto’s casual use of her given name made Sakiko’s breath catch.
She chose not to argue over something so minor and instead explained her Talent honestly.
“My Talent is A-rank Emotional Burst.
Depending on the type and intensity of my emotions, I can release different kinds and levels of power.” “I’m still figuring it out, though.
Keeping myself in a specific emotional state at all times is…
actually pretty difficult.” Sakiko looked slightly embarrassed as she finished.
Her emotions had been unstable lately, so in theory, her Talent should have been especially effective.
For example, whenever she fell into despair, everything around her seemed to tremble, and she felt as though she could tear apart anything in front of her.
In practice, however, maintaining one emotion consistently was extremely difficult.
Especially around Makoto.
The despair and fear she’d been carrying had both started to fade.
“That’s normal.
Abilities you’ve just obtained are always difficult to use properly.” “If we get the chance, you could learn from this world’s Jujutsu Sorcerers.
They also control their emotions at specific levels to improve how effectively they use their power.” Sakiko immediately asked, “Then what exactly is your jujutsu ability, Kitano-kun?
You said you had the strength of a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer, right?” Makoto gave her an amused smile.
“So now you believe I have the S-rank Great Sage Talent and the abilities of a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer?” After their open conversation, Makoto suspected the manifestation levels of those two lies should have increased.
Reality proved him right.
[Ding!
Making Fake Become Real has activated.] [Lie detected: “I possess the S-rank Talent Great Sage and the abilities of a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer.”] [Calculating listener trust and Fate Value…] [Togawa Sakiko: Fate Value 45.
Trust: 50%.
Manifestation contribution: 22.5.] [Total Manifestation Points: 22.5 / 100.] [Manifestation rate: 22.5%.] [Lie manifestation result: C-rank Talent Insight and the abilities of a Grade 3 Jujutsu Sorcerer.] [C-rank Insight: By touching a target, you can read key fragments from the past seven days of their memories that are connected to you.] [When observing a target, you can quickly imitate movements, skills, or techniques they have recently used, reproducing their form but not their true substance.] [You have become a Grade 3 Jujutsu Sorcerer.
You possess Cursed Energy but no Cursed Technique.] A trace of delight flashed through Makoto’s eyes as he read the new abilities.
Then another question occurred to him.
‘Why does Sakiko only trust me fifty percent?’ Was there still some flaw in his story, or did the dangerous situation simply keep Sakiko from fully trusting him as a person?
Makoto suspected the latter.
He chose not to press the issue.
Doing so would probably only lower her trust further.
While feeling the Cursed Energy flowing through his body, Makoto began considering what kind of Cursed Technique he should give himself.
Sakiko picked up where they’d left off.
“I believe you now, but you still haven’t told me what your jujutsu ability actually is.
Didn’t we agree to share information?” “Could that Storage Space you showed us earlier actually be your ability?” Makoto’s thoughts stirred.
‘Did my very first lie just come full circle?’ A knowing smile appeared on his face.
The mug in his hand suddenly vanished, only to reappear in his other hand.
It continued blinking back and forth between his hands, immediately drawing Sakiko’s attention.
“You’re right, Sakiko.
This is my jujutsu ability.” “Let me test you.
Based on what you understand so far, what else do you think this ability could do besides storing things?” Sakiko frowned slightly.
“If it’s a spatial ability, then besides storage…
what you’re doing now would count as spatial teleportation, wouldn’t it?” “Maybe you could also use space itself as a weapon to attack, or manipulate space defensively?” “Sorry, I don’t know much about stories involving abilities like this, so those are the only things I can think of.” The moment Sakiko finished speaking, Makoto’s suddenly intense gaze startled her.
It was as though she’d instantly become something incredibly valuable in his eyes.
She quickly lowered her head and avoided eye contact.
Makoto immediately suppressed the excitement surging inside him.
“As expected of you, Sakiko.
You’re exactly right.” “My Cursed Technique is actually Spatial Manipulation.” “I can control a certain amount of space and use it for storage.” “I can also place an entrance and exit at two different coordinates to teleport things between them.” “I can open a tiny spatial rift and turn its edge into a blade.” “Finally, I can distort the space in front of me and create a defensive barrier.” “Those are only the applications I’ve mastered so far.
It’ll definitely evolve further in the future, just like your ability.” [Ding!
Making Fake Become Real has activated.] [Lie detected: “My Cursed Technique is actually Spatial Manipulation…”] [Calculating listener trust and Fate Value…] [Togawa Sakiko: Fate Value 45.
Trust: 50%.
Manifestation contribution: 22.5.] [Total Manifestation Points: 22.5 / 100.] [Manifestation rate: 22.5%.] [Lie manifestation result: Spatial Manipulation Cursed Technique, development level 22.5%.] [Maximum total controllable spatial volume: 2.25 cubic meters.] The system text flashing before his eyes made Makoto tighten his grip around the mug in excitement.
But another question immediately surfaced.
‘Why exactly 2.25 cubic meters?
Is it linked to the ten-cubic-meter Storage Space I manifested earlier?’ ‘Once something becomes real through Making Fake Become Real, can it no longer be easily changed?’ Just as Makoto was about to experiment further, a series of bloodcurdling screams suddenly rang out in the distance.
The expressions of both people sitting across from each other changed instantly.