Ephemeral Ability Reflects the Heart

She always wakes up early in the morning.

It doesn’t matter how early or late she goes to sleep. Whether she’s tired or not, it doesn’t matter either. Although it was different when she was a child, it became a habit before she knew it, and now it has become her nature.

Her sleeping habits are also good.

She rarely turns over in her sleep. And thanks to this, she can sleep in any position. If she sleeps in a strange way, her body hurts, but the pain goes away with her ability.

Such is the life of Fukami Maria.

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For Maria, sleep is rest.

Some people say that napping is their hobby, but to be honest, she doesn’t understand their feelings. She feels the comfort of resting her body and mind, but she has never enjoyed sleep itself.

On and off. Maybe it is because she has been living a life with a clear transition between on and off.

Then, when she’s awake, she’s always tense.

Because ever since she knew that she had an unnamed "aching" sexual desire, which has grown as she she has grown, she constantly restrains herself in order to suppress it.

So, the only time she rests is when she’s asleep.

She doesn’t even need time for a nap. After all, when she is conscious, her heart is burning with desire, and her body is quickly taken over.

☆　　　☆　　　☆

Whenever she’s sweating or her body is dirty, she takes a shower first.

However, recently Maria has been taking a bath more often in the morning.

And in exchange, she has fewer opportunities to comfort herself while bathing. Well, most of the time, she takes a hot shower to make herself sleepy, and leaves the bathroom as soon as she cleans herself up.

She often changes into only her underwear too.

She doesn’t want to wear a nightgown, and if she wears a uniform now, it might get dirty. Also, it would be a double effort to put on casual clothes.

She also tries not to do laundry on weekdays.

This is mainly to save time. But if she has to, she runs the washing machine, but even then, she washes several days’ worth at a time and leaves the drying to the machine.

Except for "his" shirts and other items that need to be handled with care.

After that, she prepared breakfast.

The breakfast itself is not very elaborate, but sometimes she prepares the dinner as well. It was around this time that Riko would show up.

「Morning」

「Yes, good morning」

Riko always greets her when she wakes up in the morning.

And although she does not like her very much, she is very polite. By the way, Maria doesn’t have any bad feelings towards Riko. Though, she doesn’t trust her as much as she might need to.

Then, after washing her face and taking a shower, Riko joined her, and finished their breakfast and lunch.

When Chihiro wakes up, it is either when they are cooking or when they have finished preparing breakfast. But once he was dressed and ready, the three of them had breakfast together.

「As expected, I’m not convinced」

「About what?」

「I don’t understand how you can cook so well. What have you been practicing for?」

「Of course, for Master’s sake」

When Maria answered, Riko muttered, "To Izumi..." and she looked a little frustrated.

But even Maria is a good enough cook to say so. Especially when it comes to Japanese food, there are some things Riko can cook better than Maria.

When she asked her why she was cooking, she said, "Because my parents didn’t cook for me most of the time".

Maria thinks that’s a very good reason.

「Cleaning and laundry. Study too. I learned those things to be useful to my Master. It’s a self-centered reason, a reason based on others」

She does it because she wants to see her Master happy... Well, it’s not that.

But she does it because she wants to make herself useful, even if only a little. This is to create an insurance policy so she won’t be thrown away.

Riko, who heard that, sighed.

「You’re hardcore, you know that?」

「Yes. I’m aware of it」

Riko said that with a sarcastic tone, but that was why Maria liked her behavior. Though, it takes a lot of energy to deal with people she doesn’t know what they’re thinking behind the scenes.

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「Thank you for all your help, Maria and Riko. Thank you」

「Yes, you’re welcome」

「I-It’s not like I’m doing this for Izumi, you know」

And him.

Chihiro Izumi is also easy to get along with.

At best, he is straightforward, at worst, he is foolishly sincere. Because of his innocence, he is easily hurt and tainted. And he is looking for something certain.

As a man, he is immature and inexperienced. However, as a person, Maria finds him desirable.

As a life partner, he is perfect.

☆　　　☆　　　☆

「Which do you like better, dogs or cats?」

An unexpected question from Riko at dinner.

Although Maria does not understand the intention, the meaning is clear. And since she didn’t feel the need to hide it, she answered honestly.

「I think it’s a cat」

「I wonder if it is a cat too」

Chihiro also answered immediately.

Then Riko said, "Wow, that’s unexpected".

「Why? I thought Fukami-san would say dog」

「I like to serve rather than be served」

「Because cats don’t bite」

「Oh, I see」

Riko’s face tightened up at their answers.

「So, what’s your favorite word?」

「Wait. Nishizaki-san, before that, what is the purpose of this question?」

「Huh? Nothing. Just chatting」

「Okay. Good.」

Maria doesn’t like to keep answering questions she doesn’t understand, but she doesn’t mind if she understands Riko’s intentions.

Well, favorite phrase or motto.

Maria thought for a moment and then answered.

「Cause and effect, maybe」

It means what someone does comes back to them. After all, people’s nature can’t be changed. ...If taken in that sense, it seems to be the perfect word for her.

「And Izumi-kun?」

「Ehh... well, "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"」

That’s what Chihiro’s sister used to say to him.

If he doesn’t give it a try, he’ll never achieve it. By accumulating, he will get closer to his goal. It’s a phrase that expresses the basic essence of studying, training, and many other things. Not bad.

Riko smiled, perhaps not liking it so much.

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「Can’t you guys give me a more cheerful answer? Well, okay... then, what’s your favorite color?」

「Black」

「Black.」

「.......」

Riko gave them a blank stare.

By the third question, Riko seemed to have given up on the question.

Or rather, she knew the result of that question without asking it.

「Soba? Or udon?」

「There is no pasta?」

「I prefer udon」

It seems that they are really just chatting, and the questions are heading towards a line that makes no sense.

「Which is your favorite, spring, summer, autumn or winter?」

「Autumn」

「Hmm... autumn for me too」

「What would you do if you saw a ten thousand yen bill on the street?」

「I’d ignore it」

「I’d probably just look around to see if anyone had dropped it...」

Riko’s questions showed no sign of ending, perhaps because she was getting into the mood as she asked them. Even after the meal was over, she continued to ask questions, and since the two of them didn’t have anything special to do, they went along with her.

「What do you do when you suddenly have free time on your day off?」

「Sleep, I guess」

「Me too.」

「Why are you two doing this again?」

Although it seemed to be changing the purpose of the conversation, Riko continued to talk to them, and the last question she asked was a little different.

「What type of person do you like?」

「...Eh?」

Chihiro made a small noise, showing his agitation.

Maria was in a similar state of mind, though she didn’t say it out loud.

She frowned and thought about the question.

It was a topic Maria had never thought about before. She had been asked similar questions in elementary school and middle school, but at that time she had answered that the person she liked was her favorite type.

Since it was before she got her Master’s, she had no choice but to answer that way.

After all, she had no intention of seriously considering the question.

However, even if Maria had answered "Izumi-kun", Riko probably would not have been satisfied.

She felt that Riko would dismiss the answer as "I don’t need such a boring answer". .

So, Maria had no choice but to think about it.

While pondering, Maria looked at Chihiro. She wonders what he’ll say.

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「... a girl with beautiful hair and skin, a girl who feels like a girl, I guess」

At that moment, an unknown urge arose in Maria’s chest.

――Be more specific.

An almost accusatory remark popped into her head, but she held back just long enough. Chihiro’s answer was fine, since he was simply being asked about his preferred type.

And when Maria looked at Riko, she saw that she also looked somewhat dissatisfied.

Because the meaning of that phrase depends on the interpretation. Is Chihiro talking about how beautiful her hair is, how long it is, or what color it is? The phrase "like a girl" could be taken as a gesture or behavior, or it could refer to the size of her breasts.

So, the question is, "Who" did he imagine in his answer?

In terms of girlishness, it would be Takatsuki Aika. In some ways, Riko’s directness and unconsciously suggestive attitude are also girlish.

Maria also has a certain amount of confidence in her hair and the size of her breasts.

...If it were possible, she would like to make herself closer to Chihiro’s taste, but with that answer, it would be difficult. That’s Maria’s thoughts.

「By the way, Nishizaki-san, you’ve been asking us a lot, what about yourself?」

Maria turns her attention away from the topic.

Then, Riko showed her panic, apparently unaware that Maria hadn’t given her answer yet.

「D-Don’t mind me, It’s not like I...」

「Oh. I don’t think it’s fair that you’re the only one not answering. Izumi-kun, let’s catch Nishizaki-san together」

「Uh, yeah.」

After this, the two of them caught Riko who was trying to escape and made her confess.

And her answer is that he is healthy, rich, and honest.

That’s what the blonde girl said with tears in her eyes. Chihiro seemed to be slightly depressed when he heard this.

Besides, the type someone likes is not absolute.

Unbeknownst to her, Maria let out a giggle.