Ephemeral Ability Reflects the Heart

「Aika already talked about yesterday, didn't she?」

「Un, she did」

「Yes, I've heard all about it. Of course, I didn't hear about what happened after Takatsuki-san left」

The topic is, of course, Kaede.

However, even though there is some time to talk, the schedule for the rest of the day is still tied up.

If they gather at Maria's apartment, it might not end until HR but also about the start of the school festival, so they decided to move to the school in advance and talk with this.

And since it is absolutely necessary for them to have Suzu's [Cognitive Obstruction] in order to talk without being interrupted by anyone, all of them have to touch Suzu at some point.

...At times like this, Chihiro really envy Marika's [Telepathy].

「Chihiro-sama. Your sister――Izumi Kaede, she seems to be a more eccentric person than I had expected」

「...yes, I guess so」

Chihiro nodded at Maria's prompting.

When he turned around and looked into her eyes, the black haired girl turned away with a flushed cheek. Three of the remaining members puffed out their cheeks, and one of them looked at him with a stony stare.

Chihiro, however, spun the words without caring.

「First, let's talk about what happened after Aika and I split up」

He talks briefly about how Kaede gave him a hard time. However, he skips what he talked with her about this morning. The priority now is to talk about Kaede's personality, and he doesn't have time to talk about things that have nothing to do with the main story.

「...and that's how it is...」

「......」

「......」

As he finished his conversation, a silence fell.

For some reason, no one wanted to speak. All of the girls, all of them, kept their mouths closed, their expressions hard, and looked at each other.

And then Riko.

「Mmm, let's kill her」

She said with a full-blooded look in her eyes.

They wondered what she was suddenly up to, but Suzu and Aika nodded their heads in agreement with Riko.

「Okay, I'll help」

「I'm against killing her, but I'm totally in favor of punishing her」

「A-Aika?」

It was an unusual situation when that kind-hearted girl was not playing the saving role. Chihiro rushes to his girlfriend, but she shakes her head.

「I'm sorry. But I can't forgive her for doing such a terrible thing to Chihiro-kun」

「Yeah. I haven't killed anyone so far, but this time it's much more unforgivable」

「Riko」

It's understandable why they're angry.

Because she harmed Chihiro. Especially in this case, Kaede tortured Chihiro like a girl and made him keep come until he reached his limit.

「But it's not like I got hurt. I was simply raped」

「...you don't understand, do you?」

It was Hana who sighed and shook her head.

The black-rimmed glasses, the little devil with a poisonous tongue who had the appearance of a small animal, stared at Chihiro with blank stares that continued from a moment ago.

「Izumi-kun, you may be familiar with rape, but you know that rape is very serious, don't you? Especially when a boy is raped by a girl...well, I can't imagine it in many ways, but I'm sure it's an act of trampling on one's dignity」

「...How do I put this? It's very convincing when Mishuku-san says it...」

「Are you trying to pick a fight?」

Riko shrugged her shoulders when Hana changed the point of her glare.

「Not really. As long as Chihiro's slaves the one who does it, I don't mind that much either. So, I'm not mad at Mishuku-san. But not Chihiro's onee-san, you know」

When "Chisato" was raped by Hana, he could have resisted as much as he wanted.

He could have reversed the situation with the effect of [Domination] through the [Mark] from a bonus to a penalty, and pushed Hana away, and that would have been enough.

But the reason he didn't do that was because he had a certain trust in Hana.

Kaede, however, is different. She raped Chihiro not for fun, but simply for her own reasons. And there was a possibility that she might have made Chihiro a cripple or changed his sexuality drastically.

Riko, Suzu, and Aika showed Chihiro that this was unforgivable.

「Don't you think so, Maria?」

Riko then turned to the last person.

Maria, who had been thinking in silence.

「...I guess so. Riko makes a very good point」

She looked up and nodded, then continued, "But".

「I'm more interested in her details. ...Chihiro-sama, what exactly is Izumi Kaede's ability?」

「[Vector Manipulation]」

Chihiro answered simply.

「To be precise, it's more about detecting vectors. Sister can sense and manipulate the direction and flow of objects as they move」

「That's a hell of a versatile power」

「Yeah. I think it's one of the strongest abilities in Japan or, if I'm not mistaken, in the world」

For example, when used in combat. She can detect in advance how her opponent will move and what kind of attack he will make. Moreover, she can know how to shift vectors efficiently, i.e., how to handle attacks.

By shifting the force that is being wasted and directing it straight ahead, she can make her attacks more powerful, regardless of whether they are hand-to-hand combat, weapon combat, or flying weapons.

The fact that Chihiro kept coming last night is not a technique, but a function of her ability.

Of course, it does not amplify the power, but only gathers it, and it is limited by the fact that it is almost impossible to control remotely. So, it is impossible to make the earth crack just by stepping on the ground, or to create a tornado by manipulating the wind.

「Who is stronger, Kamishiro-kun or Kaede-san?」

「If they fight, my sister would win all the battles even if they fight a hundred times. At least, Kamishiro-kun, as he is now, can never beat her」

「Well, how about if we all take a shot at it?」

「My sister will win」

Chihiro assured them.

Chihiro, Riko, Aika and Hana were out of the question. She would beat them like children. Maria's [Retaliation] would not work against Kaede in any case. She might be able to twist the vector of energy generated by [Retaliation] and make it disappear, or even return it to Maria herself.

And even if Suzu tries to surprise her with [Retaliation].

「My sister will notice it before it happens. Even if we can hide our presence, we probably can't hide the energy of our movement」

「...so, she's invincible then」

「My sister is not invincible. If the attack is too fast and too powerful to be perceived or responded to, we can win」

Unless she is caught off guard, she is "almost" invincible, though.

"...ah", someone exhaled.

It must have been hard for them to bear the fact that even if they tried to kill her, but they can't kill her in the first place.

Maria, who seems to be calm, asks Chihiro again with a cold anger in her eyes.

「Chihiro-sama. If her ability is [Vector Manipulation], why is it that your [Mind Reading] doesn't work?」

「That's easy. My sister's ability can be used on eye contact, and also to feelings. But it doesn't seem to be able to directly manipulate people's feelings」