Ephemeral Ability Reflects the Heart

At Suzu's urging, Chihiro opened one of the doors at the back with her.

They walked down a short corridor and opened a door at the far end of the corridor.

There, they found a simple bedroom with a bed, a chest of drawers, and a chair. The sheets on the bed seemed to be in disarray, as if it was used to take a nap.

「Now, take it off, Chihiro-kun」

「Eh, um... This is a secondary assessment, right?」

「Yes, it's a secondary assessment. It's easier to check if you're naked」

...Is that true?

Chihiro looked into Suzu's eyes and became suspicious.

And with his ability, her mind is full of curiosity. It's like she's trying to see everything about him.

Apparently, she wasn't lying. 

「...I understand」

「I'm excitedWakuwaku」

Ignoring the onomatopoeia of a mature woman.

Chihiro sat by the bed and put his hand on his uniform. He unfastened his tie and unbuttoned his buttons one by one. He also unbuckled his belt and took off his pants and underwear.

All the while, Suzu is watching Chihiro's undressing with sparkling eyes.

「Oh, you can put your clothes on the bed if you want」

She said, so he folded them and placed them on the edge of the bed.

「Well then, sit on the bed. You can sleep on the bed if you want, as long as you can see my body」

「No, I'm not going that far」

With that, he sat down on the edge of the bed.

Suzu pulled up a chair and sat there, staring at Chihiro.

「You're just going to watch?」

「Yes, I'm just looking. In my case」

Suzu, who seems to be able to speak normally while examining, tells him that there are many ways to examine an ability. In Suzu's case, it is through observation, that is to say, looking at the target, but for others, it can be through smelling or licking the blood of the target.

Ability to examine abilities.

Although it is extremely unique, the basis of this ability is the same as other abilities.

The power of the [Lost Item] is a form of desire and wish, and in many cases, it happens to be connected to the effect of checking abilities.

In Suzu's case, the key is the word [Observation], which she uses many times.

It is also the reason why she uses the phrase "the color that attracts her attention".

To her, people's impressions appear as colors.

「What color do I look like to you, Suzu-san?」

「You're transparent」

「Not white or something?」

「Yes」

Suzu replied, not taking her gaze off Chihiro's body.

Then, her eyes narrowed as if she is trying to see something.

「White is rare too, though. Except for small children, I don't see it very often. But transparent is even rarer」

That's probably true.

First of all, Chihiro doesn't know whether to call transparency a color.

「So, it's a color you're interested in?」

「Yes. I'm curious. I've never seen this color before」

So it is.

She's interested because it's a rare color she's never seen before. So, she went out of her way to talk to Chihiro and get to know him better...

But Chihiro himself is not aware that he is that special, yet somehow it makes sense to him.

Suzu is a weird person, but she doesn't seem to be a bad person.

As there seemed to be no need to be wary, he relaxed.

「You're not busy, are you? Shall we play Shiritori (Japanese word game)?」

「Sure」

And then, they played Shiritori with no time limit and loose rules.

「Litmus paper (Ritomasu-shi/リトマス紙)」

「Bookmark (Shiori/栞)」

「Rishiri kelp (Rishirokonbu/利尻昆布)」

「Yellowtail (Buri/鰤)」

Just when he thought the game is just a way to pass the time, Suzu cornered Chihiro mercilessly with "Ri/り".

It seems that Suzu wanted him to be on the side of the trapped, since she was usually on the side of the trapped when she challenged people to a game of Shiritori.

However, Chihiro's puzzling over the answer, and the way he said the next word with pride, took the edge off her.

Eventually, as the shiritori game continued, the answer finally became impossible to come up with.

「...W-Wait, let me think about it」

「Yeah, sure. I've got plenty of time anyway」

According to Suzu, it takes a long time to examine an individual in detail.

Although there is no way to tell how much of it is true and how much is false....

「Suzu-san, are you having fun?」

「Eh? Yes, very much. I think Chihiro-kun might be the first person to play shiritori with me for so long without getting tired of it」

「Are there a lot of people who don't like to be with a beautiful person like you, Suzu-san?」

「Well, modern people are busy」

That's true.

It may be natural to seek a meaningful way to kill time. Everyone has a smartphone, and there aren't many opportunities for two people to engage in fruitless exchanges alone.

Still, it doesn't seem like a big deal to Chihiro.

「That's why you're so interesting, Chihiro-kun」

Again, he couldn't understand her

☆　　　☆　　　☆

About an hour later.

Phew...

Suzu exhaled and stretched. For the umpteenth time, Chihiro looked up and asked her.

「Is it done?」

She smiles back at him.

「Yes, it’s done. Let’s have a drink and talk」

If he went back now, it would be almost the end of second period. But he was told that even if he stayed here all day, he would be counted as attending all classes, so he decided to relax.

「Then, I’ll go get it」

「Thanks. I want a soda, please」

「Sure」

With that, Chihiro leave the bedroom and walk down the corridor.

When he thought about it, he felt uncomfortable walking naked in someone’s house（?）. Fortunately, there are no other people in the house.

After returning to the first room and opening the refrigerator, he looked at the inside and is astonished, then returned to the bedroom with a proper drink.

「Welcome back」

Suzu was lying on the bed helplessly.

It took only a few minutes for Chihiro to leave and come back.

But when he looked at the chair where Suzu was sitting, he found her undressed skirt and panties on it. This means that her lower body, lying facing this way, is…

「…Uh, here’s a soda」

「Thank you」

He handed her a beer, an alcoholic carbonated drink made mainly from wheat, and she cheered. Although it was a somewhat problematic scene, Chihiro is not innocent because there was no other carbonated drink in the refrigerator.

While watching Suzu open the can, Chihiro also opened the lid of a plastic tea bottle.

Both of them poured the cold drink down their throats.

「I feel alive again. After all, this is what I need after work」

「You’re not done with work, are you?」

「It’s almost done. It’s kind of over. So, no problem. Right?」

Right? Even if she said that.

However, there are no women around Chihiro who drank alcohol in such a lively manner. In that sense, it was a fresh and enjoyable scene.

If there is a problem, let’s assume that “Yuu-chan” will be angry with her.

「Eh, well. Where should I sit?」

「? You can sit on the bed」

「Haha… thank you」

He sits on the bed and takes another sip of tea.

Finally, Suzu got to the point.

「So, about Chihiro-kun’s ability… it’s interesting」

「What do you mean?」

「There are six abilities in total. Well, four, actually. Either way, you’re a pretty rare multi-talented person」