Ephemeral Ability Reflects the Heart

Today, Chihiro arrives home much earlier than yesterday.

But he immediately slumps down, and exhales relievedly as soon as he locks the front door, and takes off his shoes.

Then the cold floor feels good now.

「Fumyu...」

Suzu, who had gone up the corridor a step earlier, seemed to be in a similar state.

As the two of them are leaning on each other with their backs against each other, Riko comes out of the corridor, sensing something is wrong. She had probably not been home very long either.

If so, Maria and the others are still at the school.

「Hey, what's wrong Chihiro? Are you alright?」

「Well, I'm just a little out of it. But I'd like to have something easy to eat for dinner tonight」

It's just mental fatigue, not so much that he can't eat.

However, for some reason, his reply, which he judged to be a mild symptom, caused Riko to overreact. 

「...Oh no. Should I... put down the futon now? Anyway, you should sleep on the bed for now. Maria and Aika will be home soon」

「Riko? It's not that serious」

「Don't lie to me. You usually say things like, "I'll get better after I sleep"」

Somehow it seems that he has been perceived as healthy boy. Indeed, thanks to his [Sleep Enhancement] ability, he is usually cured after a good night's sleep.

While thinking this, Suzu, who is slumped down with him, groans.

「Let's take a rest since we're here. Let's go to bed together」

「I'm sorry, Suzu-san, but I don't have the energy to do that right now...」

「I can't either. I just want to sleep」

「Then that's fine」

「...hey, you guys need to check your fever right away. What if you're sick!?」

When he talked about taking a rest, Riko was more worried than before.

Fortunately, the temperature on the thermometer was a little higher than normal.

「I see, the thermometer is not the one that goes into the mouth. I thought you were playing with that kind of thermometer」

「Do you want to? But it wouldn't be funny if you got sick」

It sounded like she was saying, "if I don't have to worry about being sick, I'd like to do it」

☆　　　☆　　　☆

『Hello, Izumi-kun?』

『Yes. ...Umm, is this Hazuki-senpai's ability? I was startled by the voice suddenly coming from inside my head』

『Sorry. Are you okay?』

『Yes. I'm sorry for troubling you. Hazuki-senpai, did Kurohane-senpai push herself too hard?』

『She seemed different from usual. But I don't think she was pushing herself too hard. Is something wrong?』

『Well, I wanted to talk to you about something personal』

『Yotsuba said something similar. Can you come tomorrow?』

『I think I'll be fine. I'll sleep as soon as possible today』

『Yeah, I'll be waiting for you』

☆　　　☆　　　☆

In the end, Chihiro took a short rest on the bed in the bedroom until Maria and the others came back and prepared the meal.

During the rest, he was woken up by Riko in less than an hour, and he was responding to Marika's "message from her", but he felt quite refreshed, thanks to the [Sleep Enhancement] effect.

In addition, Suzu was really just sleeping next to him.

「Suzu-san, are you all right?」

「Yes. I think it's because of this "mark". I'm sleeping better, and I feel like I'm more refreshed」

「Yes, it's very convenient. Even when I'm tired, I can move the same way I do when I'm in good shape, and I can hardly remember catching a cold」

Hana, who had been visiting for three days in a row, answered Suzu's mutterings.

...somehow, listening to this story makes Chihiro envy the effect of her visit.

「Chihiro-sama. May I ask what happened?」

Dinner was chicken and vegetable soup curry.

It is light and easy to eat, and the spices are appetizing.

While he sips it, he talks about the after-school events: the call from Yotsuba, what was requested of her, and the fight between Suzu and Yotsuba.

As for the last case, he has left out some details and only conveyed the nuances. It would not be good for their mental health to be told in words.

At the climax of the conversation...at the point of a passionate exchange of feelings and a proposal from Chihiro, Aika stops the spoon.

She puts her free hand on her chest and asks him.

「So... what happened?」

「Kurohane-senpai's reaction was not satisfactory. But I managed to get her to agree」

The conversation was about to jump to the essential value of women and social advancement, but he pulled the conversation back to the point whether or not Suzu's views were being rejected without a second thought.

He knew that the sincere Yotsuba would have a hard time accepting such an argument.

So, he pushed her that she should experience the pleasure of being held by a man, having a child, or having sexual intercourse at least once before saying it is trivial without experiencing it.

『You've never even pleasure yourself before, have you?』

『Please don't make fun of me. At least for that...』

Yotsuba almost answered with a desperate sales pitch, but then she turned red and stopped speaking, failing to mention how often she masturbates.

Principal Ootori, like the former principal, has not touched Yotsuba yet and her response confirms this assumption.

Yotsuba is still a virgin. Her sexual knowledge is probably quite limited.

The first barrier was successfully cleared, and Chihiro managed to get her consent for the next barrier, "revealing her desire".

『I'm not saying that you should agree to it. I just want you to try my ability and think about it for a while...a few days』

『Izumi-kun's, ability?』

『There's another use for my [Mind Reading]. It's a function to uncover a person's innermost sexual desires』

The noble student council president's neat face was filled with doubt.

She had never heard of it.

The reason for this is that Suzu made a judgment on her own and disclosed her report to her superiors. And because of her nature, she was afraid of unnecessarily creating a bad impression. 

『So, is it really as Izumi-kun said?』

『I would have already used this ability if it were much more useful』

『...indeed. Even Nee-san wouldn't leave it alone if the ability was truly dangerous』

And so, Yotsuba accepted the [Desire Exposure]

The effect worked without delay, and both Chihiro and Yotsuba had the same lewd vision.

But more profusely and longer duration than the previous one with Riko and the others.

『So... that's about it. It's nothing to worry about』

Yotsuba let out a sigh as she looked away.

But her eyes were moist and her cheeks were clearly flushed. Of course, it is possible that this was only a temporary shock.

Yotsuba promised to wait for a few days to see how she felt and to come to a conclusion.

When Chihiro confirm this again, a hot breath escapes from the girl's mouth.

『I understand. ...For now, please leave for today. I'll let principal and Lou and the others know. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. so please continue as before』

『Yes』

Tomorrow is Thursday.

The following day, Friday, will be a full day of preparation, so tomorrow will effectively be the last planning period.

Naturally, the workload is expected to be even more intense than before, and the pending matters must be forgotten once and all must be united in order to make it in time.

...Yotsuba is probably planning to spend the night to sort out her mind.

After that, Chihiro and the others parted from Yotsuba in the corridor and went back to the apartment.

When they arrived home, the stress of the sisters' quarrel and the pressure of the negotiation hit them at once, and they had a mental breakdown.

「Oh. So, things are going well so far?」

「In a manner of speaking」

He nodded in response to Hana's distracted question.

It's been a tumultuous and unexpected turn of events, but so far things have been going well together. The future of the negotiations depends on Yotsuba's hidden sexual desire.

It can't be helped but to say that the chances of success are slim.

「So. What kind of erotic things did the student council president have in mind?」

「...do you care?」

「Of course, I'm curious. The student body president is a virgin in her third year, isn't she?」

Riko has a point.