Unbelievable things rarely happen.
But when they do, they really do, and this is an eroge world in the first place.
It’s a sort of super-world.
Now, how many unbelievable things have I seen since coming to this world?
It’s complicated to count, but one of them is Ludi and Claris-san recently moving into our house.
And.
And also.
It’s happening right now, and I can’t believe the current situation.
As I go through my daily routine, I glance to my side.
“Haa… Haa… Haa…”
Her fluttering black ponytail bounces like the tail of an excited dog.
She usually just leaves it down her back, but I wonder if she tied it up for her run.
Furthermore, it’s no exaggeration to say her trademark, the plum-red naginata, is strapped to her back.
As always, she possesses a beauty and style that makes me want to stop running right now and just watch her.
In particular, her twin peaks, bouncing up and down, assert their presence as much as possible, and if I’m not careful, I end up staring at her without even blinking.
Well, someone tell me.
Why is Mizumori Yukine running right beside me…?!
I have no idea what this means.
Did I do something to annoy her?
Certainly, I can’t deny that I’ve been observing her training sessions for the past three days to cultivate my fighting spirit.
But that’s it.
I wasn’t being a stalker or a pervert staring at her.
For me, watching her was like seeing people studying in the library and feeling motivated to work hard myself.
No, I can’t deny that I was watching her breasts.
Because they bounce.
I’m not at fault.
The one at fault is Senpai for shaking her beautiful breasts.
…No, I’m definitely the one at fault.
After running the planned distance, I wonder if I should call out to Mizumori Yukine.
However, I didn’t know what to talk to her about, so I decided to just do my usual training menu.
I practice attacking using the Third and Fourth Hands with my shawl while fatigued.
And I practice defense, channeling more magic power into the shawl and momentarily expanding it to apply a hardening enchantment.
It’s a monotonous and simple exercise, but it’s the foundation for me, and I’ll be using it forever.
I want to believe in that.
When I suddenly glanced over, she was also wielding her naginata.
After finishing all my sets, I adjusted my shawl, transformed it into a chair, and sat down.
It was hard for me to even stand due to my shortness of breath, but Mizumori Yukine, who should have done a similar routine, was breathing heavily too, yet I could tell she still had energy to spare.
(Is there really that big of a difference in our base physical strength?
…I still need to practice more.)
Mizumori Yukine regulates her breathing while brushing back her sweaty hair.
She strapped her naginata to her back and walked over to me.
Could she have noticed that I was secretly staring at her breasts, hips, arms, and the nape of her neck during training?
“Do you always do this?”
“…Yes, unless it’s raining heavily.”
“I see…”
Her gaze is fixed on my shawl.
By partially infusing it with magic power, the seating surface is soft while the legs are rigid and strong.
“…Do you want to sit down?”
“No, I’m fine… Sorry, on second thought, could you let me sit?”
She refused once, but then asked right after.
I immediately transformed and expanded the shawl into another chair, adjusting it so another person could sit.
She touches the shawl timidly.
She strokes it gently, moving her hand up and down and rubbing it… and then puts her weight on it, pressing down firmly before slowly sitting.
This is the first time in my life I’ve wanted to trade places with a shawl.
“Wow, this is great.”
Guh, what a wonderful thing for her to say!
“Even so, I can’t believe it…”
Still stroking the shawl, Mizumori Yukine said this.
“W-what?”
I managed to control myself and pretend to be calm.
“…It’s your magic power.
If it were me, I’d already be out of mana.
On top of that, you can maintain the Enchantment even while this exhausted… Are you an incoming freshman at the academy?”
“Yes, my name is Takioto Kousuke.”
“I should have introduced myself, huh.
I’m a first-year… no, I’ll be a second-year when you enter the academy.
I’m Mizumori Yukine, the Vice President of the Public Morals Committee.”
“You’re the Vice President of the Public Morals Committee!?”
I feign surprise.
In the game, the Public Morals Committee is a powerful organization within the school, and being a member of it shows that the person is quite strong.
There shouldn’t be any problem showing surprise.
“Oh, it’s not that grand of a position.
Besides, there’s always a sky above the sky, you know…”
She looks up at the sky with a distant gaze.
Judging by that atmosphere, I somehow realized she had the same worries as Mizumori Yukine in the game.
“Someone like you could join one of the Academy’s three committees in the blink of an eye.”
I shake my head from side to side.
“I think it’ll be pretty difficult… Actually, I was born with a special constitution that makes my magic emission highly inefficient.”
I say this, but I actually plan to join one of the three committees right away.
I’ve even made some plans for it.
Honestly, since I couldn’t find a way to deal with Ludi, I came up with these plans to escape reality.
When she heard about my condition, she nodded to herself as if convinced of something.
“Is it like the first Saint-sama?”
“Hmm, it’s similar, but a little different.
Saint-sama received a massive benefit in Recovery Magic, right?
In my case…”
Senpai’s line of sight shifts to the shawl.
“It’s Enchantment.
In exchange, my magic emission is like this.”
I said this and shot a fireball toward a tree.
It was such a weak spell.
The tree isn’t dry, so it probably won’t even burn.
“I see… You, um… No, it’s nothing.”
Senpai was going to say something but stopped.
However, I managed to guess what she wanted to say.
“As a mage, I know this can be a huge disadvantage.
After all, there are plenty of specialists in long-range and large-scale magic all around us.”
Senpai looked at my face with an enigmatic expression.
“Of course, I get jealous of them, and sometimes I feel desperate knowing the difference in strength compared to the strong people around me.
But…”
“But…?”
I smiled and looked into Senpai’s eyes, which look just like jewels.
“But, there’s a possibility that I can become stronger because of it.
Besides, this disadvantage actually motivates me.
It’s fun thinking about how to beat a strong opponent with this tricky ability… Plus, this magic is surprisingly versatile, like this.”
Saying that, I transform the shawl chair and add a backrest.
Then I slowly lean my body back and put my weight on it.
When I made a backrest for Senpai too, she pushes against it with her hands and slowly leans back into it.
“I see… You seem strong in various ways.”
Senpai, whose face had been stiff, said this with eyes that seemed to be looking at something joyful.
“I plan to be at the top of the academy someday.”
“Talking big now, huh?
I think that’s a good goal.”
I understand that it’s difficult to reach the top.
There are also massive walls like the protagonist and the Student Council President.
But I haven’t tried everything I can in this world yet.
Besides, there is a way to defeat even the protagonist and the Student Council President.
As I tried to call out to Senpai, the wind suddenly blew.
It carried the warmth of Senpai’s body and the scent of dry earth mixed with a hint of her perfume.
Very comfortable.
She placed her hand on her hakama, looked straight ahead, and meditated on something.
Mizumori Yukine was a character I really liked.
I liked everything about her, personality and appearance.
That’s why I’m going to trigger her awakening event, which is directly related to her worries, and make her stronger.
I can’t tolerate the character I love not showing her true worth and being worried all the time.
In the end, on my path to becoming the strongest, I want her to be a steep mountain in my way or a companion who walks the path alongside me.
While I was thinking this, Senpai suddenly murmured, “Ah,” as if remembering something.
“By the way… Did you know, Takioto?”
“What?”
“This place is actually private property.
Ever since I was brought here and received permission, I’ve been using it.
Knowing that person, even if I don’t say anything it won’t be a problem, but just in case, I’ll get her permission for you.”
“Ah, it’s fine.
Marino-san is my mother’s cousin, and for certain reasons, I’m living with her.”
I think Senpai was very surprised, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly agape.
“The strong person around you that you mentioned… Were you referring to the Director?”
“Yes.
By the way, it’s the same with Hatsumi-nee-san, who is my second cousin.”
“Wow, so that’s how it is… Sorry.
In that case, there’s no problem at all.”
She says this, accepting it.
And she placed her hand on her chin to think about something.
“Any problem?”
No, nothing.
She shakes her head.
And,
“Changing the subject, is it okay if I use this place too?”
She looks around and says.
Hm?
I look around too.
This oval-shaped empty field in the middle of grown trees.
There are clovers and wild grass growing everywhere around our feet.
It would probably be great to take a nap under that big tree over there.
It might not be as good as the classical classes I had in middle school, but I’m sure I’d quickly depart for the world of dreams.
Now, let’s return to reality.
What does Senpai mean?
This is Marino-san’s private property, but she must have obtained permission.
That’s why she was training under the waterfall.
“I think it’s fine to use it?”
“That’s not it, I’m asking you.
I see you passing by from time to time; this is your running course, right?”
I finally understood what she meant.
“I don’t think Mizumori-senpai is getting in the way, and I don’t mind you using it at all.
Besides, when I see someone training seriously, I get motivated myself.”
“Really?
Then let me use the place.
Come to think of it, I think I’ll avoid training under the waterfall, since my training there might disrupt the beauty here, right?”
How can you say that?
Far from destroying the landscape, the scenery seems to be in harmony with you.
No, it seems to transcend with you present.
“No, what are you saying?
Certainly, the scenery around here is beautiful, but it’s not as beautiful as Senpai’s beauty.
Please, use it as much as you want!”
I say this while laughing.
Then, Senpai laughs cheerfully.
“Fufu, thank you.
Then I’ll use it.”
It seems Senpai took it as a joke seeing how she responded, but I was being serious.
After that, we kept talking for a while, but after some time, Senpai stood up.
“Well, I ended up relaxing too much.
It’s about time I head home.”
“I see… Ah, Senpai!”
Senpai, who had stood up, looks at me.
“Hm, what?”
“Well, it might be a bit rude of me, but I have a request.”
“A request?”
I nod to Senpai, who has a question mark floating above her head.
“Yes, I don’t mind if it’s whenever you’re free, but could you train me?
If possible, until I learn the Mind’s Eye skill.”
Hearing this, Senpai looked at me with a surprised expression.
Mizumori Yukine is undoubtedly a Goddess.
To be honest, I was prepared to be rejected.
After all, it’s obvious, right?
I’ve only talked to her once.
Other than that, it’s just a relationship of seeing each other during training.
But she listened to my request.
Wise as she is, she’s a goddess.
If a Goddess exists in this world, she should retire and hand the title over to Senpai.
But isn’t that a bit too harsh on the actual goddess?
“S-S-S-Senpai.
I-is this r-really working?”
Water flows down my body after hitting my head.
Since the warmth of spring hasn’t arrived yet, the water I feel on my body is freezing.
It feels like I’m naked in the middle of the snow.
“Takioto, I can see your unnecessary thoughts.”
She must be telling me to do it in silence.
I trust her words and continue meditating.
Beside me, Mizumori-senpai, who had her eyes closed, meditated in the same way while being hit by the waterfall.
“When you get rid of your thoughts, close your eyes and activate the magic power in your body.
And create an image of spreading that magic power around you.”
That’s what she said, but honestly, I have no idea.
For now, I do as she told me, closing my eyes and activating the magic power in my body, but after that, things don’t go well.
“I-I-I can’t see a-a-a-anything!”
“If everything goes well, you’ll be able to detect my location with your eyes closed.
If you get used to it, you might even be able to see the movement of your opponent’s magic power and take the initiative.
I haven’t reached that point yet, but it seems you can even see through things and even see the future.”
The Mind’s Eye skill is a skill that can greatly increase the evasion rate and attack hit rate in the game.
And even if the area is dark or you are temporarily blinded, there’s an added effect that the hit rate doesn’t decrease.
In the Skill’s description column in the game, it was supposed to be “Use the eyes of your heart to know the whereabouts and movements of the opponent.” I hope this skill eliminates the weakness, “I can’t see what’s in front of me,” which occurs when I use this shawl wall.
There are several ways to acquire this Skill, but the easiest is to learn it from Mizumori Yukine.
I open my eyes and observe Mizumori Yukine.
In contrast to me, who is shivering, she is completely motionless.
Her spine stands straight toward the sky, despite the momentum and coldness of the water.
Her appearance is dignified and beautiful.
She is one of the few characters in the game who possessed the Mind’s Eye skill from the start.
The Mind’s Eye skill is very useful and is recognized as one of the Cheat Skills by certain Eroge ladies and gentleman Players, and it’s one of the skills that must definitely be acquired.
If you have the Mind’s Eye skill, you can “increase hit rate,” “increase critical rate,” and “add about 30% evasion performance against attacks other than general magic and talents specialized in long-range attacks.” The evasion performance is simple but makes me happy, and above all, the increase in hit rate is what makes me the happiest.
In the second half of the game, enemies with an unusually high evasion rate will appear, so it’s important to have this Skill and have companions to cast a wide range of magic.
It’s an indispensable skill for me, who can’t cast a wide variety of magic.
And, fortunately, the detrimental effects of the shawl wall can be eliminated.
Killing two birds with one stone.
In the game, Takioto was a character who could learn it, but…
I avert my gaze from Senpai and look at the green landscape seen from the waterfall.
Then I focused my consciousness and closed my eyes.
After that, I continued to meditate for about an hour, but I didn’t acquire the Mind’s Eye Skill.
And that’s how things ended up.
“Am I getting the premise wrong from the start?”
Takioto Kousuke himself is a character who can acquire the Mind’s Eye Skill, but I’m the one inside.
On the last Friday of the month, my hype hits the ceiling.
Eroge companies release their games on the last Friday, targeting paydays and holidays, so it’s natural for my excitement to exceed its limits.
Of course, no matter how much I ask myself, I won’t get an answer.
However, it’s already been two days since I asked Mizumori Yukine to help me acquire the Skill, but there are no signs of learning it.
School is about to start, so I have to prepare a lot, but I’m still getting hit by the waterfall.
The most troublesome thing is her existence right beside me, coming to the waterfall together with me.
Mizumori-senpai was wearing something like a Miko uniform, though I have no idea where she got it.
It’s incredibly sensual how she gets wet in the waterfall, the fabric clinging to her skin.
I’d like to examine the situation more closely, but when I’m hit by the cold water, those thoughts immediately disappear.
Instead, the bodily sensations fade away.
Put another way, it might be easier to unify the spirit with the body because the thoughts disappear.
After the waterfall, we warm our bodies with magic.
And I called out to her as she was drying her hair.
“I’m very grateful, but is Senpai okay with this?”
Of course, classes aren’t just starting for me.
They’re starting for Senpai too.
Even so, she accompanied me whenever she saw me coming to the waterfall.
“Takioto, don’t worry about me.
I’m doing this as my own training.”
She laughs when she says this, but I’m filled with guilt.
I knew from the game that she was a very caring person.
It’s also one of the reasons I fell in love with her.
But I didn’t think it would make me feel this guilty.
“What’s important is concentration.
Sharpen your nerves like never before and be aware of your magic power.
Don’t use your eyes.
Feel it with your seventh sense.”
No, a seventh sense?
…Well, I understand what you mean, but it’s hard to do.
First of all, in Japan, there was no seventh sense for magic power sensory organs, so it’s hard to be aware of it.
“From what I’ve heard, if you master Mind’s Eye, you can even feel the touch of an object.
My father said he could feel the weaknesses of monsters.”
The reason the proficiency rate increases as the Mind’s Eye Skill level goes up is probably because you can feel their weaknesses.
I think it’s a very important Skill for fighting monsters.
It’s a skill I absolutely desire.
But when will I be able to use it?
“…Hey, Takioto, did you misunderstand something?”
Maybe she started talking because she couldn’t just watch me keeping my mouth shut.
When I turned my eyes to look at her, I saw Senpai wearing her soaked and nearly transparent Miko outfit, hugging her arms while looking at me.
“Normally, there’s no way to learn Skills that fast, right?”
That might be the common sense of this world.
But I know.
In the game, it only takes 3 turns.
If you convert that to dates… It’s a few days?
If you think about it that way, it’s not strange that I haven’t mastered it yet.
“You just have to keep going without rushing.
You just have to keep going step by step.
You just can’t stop walking.”
Senpai says it as if to herself.
It makes sense knowing her current situation.
“Senpai, you… No, it’s nothing.”
Somehow I swallowed my words.
Involuntarily, the words almost slipped out of my mouth, but it’s not something good for my current self to say.
“I see.”
With that said, Senpai looks at the river.
The river water, so clear you could see the bottom, continued to flow endlessly.
Small leaves float there, letting the current carry them and moving slowly.
However, when one got caught on a large rock, it didn’t move and stayed stuck to the rock the whole time.