"All I've got here is black tea. If you want something else, the only other option is canned MAX Coffee I bought from the store."
As Chris spoke, he casually poured a Mamba drink out of the fridge into a cup, then carried it back to the living room.
Ichinose Honami didn't pay any mind to such details.
She shook her head, hands placed obediently on her knees:
"It's fine, senpai. We came over for actual business this time!"
Compared to Ichinose's stiffness, Sakayanagi Arisu came across as far more at ease.
The girl took the still-frosted glass of black tea, and shot Ichinose a meaningful glance.
She took a small sip, her eyes narrowing slightly:
"The taste... is actually unexpectedly not bad."
"What variety of tea is this? It even has a faint hint of lemon to it."
Chris took the opportunity to sit down on the sofa across from them.
"Just a cheap drink the common folk like to have."
"For a young lady like you, I imagine it's the sort of thing you'd have zero interest in looking into."
Chris teased, "Honestly, I half-expected you to take one sip and spit it out in disgust."
Sakayanagi Arisu shot him a pretty, exasperated eye-roll:
"Chris-kun, just as I wouldn't, simply because you're a 'two-dimensional' type, automatically slander you as some greasy, deadbeat otaku—"
"—I would appreciate it if you didn't casually drag the stereotypes from TV dramas into reality. Hm?"
"'Two-dimensional...?' 'Otaku'?"
Ichinose Honami was completely lost. She turned her head, sizing Chris up with some hesitation:
"But other than senpai being a little aloof in his everyday personality, he doesn't really have any otaku traits, right? And I've never once seen him talk about anime, games, anything like that..."
Hearing this, Sakayanagi Arisu's eyelashes lowered slightly.
Half-covering her pale-purple eyes, she looked as if she'd fallen into some distant memory.
"On the surface, that does seem to be the case..." the girl murmured softly, "but for some reason, in my mind, Chris-kun's image has been branded with the word 'two-dimensional' so deeply that no amount of scrubbing can wash it off."
The corner of Chris's mouth twitched:
"Looks like, in that little head of yours, the number of times you've secretly trash-talked me behind my back is quite a few, hm?"
Although the truth was... back during that period when he'd let himself off the leash—
—in order to satisfy his own twisted little hobbies, he'd absolutely adored watching Sakayanagi "with a face full of helplessness, even fury, but unable to do a single thing about it, forced to be dolled up by him like a puppet, made to wear all sorts of mortifying cosplay outfits."
And precisely because of that, he'd been viciously cursed out by an apoplectic Sakayanagi Arisu more than a few times as a "creepy two-dimensional pervert."
Even though, afterward, he'd very thoughtfully wiped that batch of memories from her mind.
He just hadn't expected the subconscious residue to run that deep. By the looks of things, she really had been thoroughly mortified at the time.
That said, when it came to his past "crimes," Chris naturally carried zero psychological burden.
Without batting an eye, he — with all the righteous indignation of a thief shouting 'stop, thief!' — fired right back:
"That's a textbook old-fashioned tactic, isn't it? First you slap a label on someone, then slowly hunt down 'evidence' to prove your own prejudice was right."
"Truly underhanded behavior, young lady~"
Sakayanagi Arisu pursed her lips and thought it over.
Although something deep down felt off, she really couldn't quite pin down why.
She decided to set the misgivings aside for the moment. With a small huff, she replied in pure tsundere fashion:
"My intuition is never wrong. It's simply that you, Chris-kun, hide it too well."
"That said... we really did come over today for real business."
With that, Sakayanagi Arisu lifted her chin slightly and pointed at the Item Catalogue lying on the table.
"Come on. Before Ichinose-san gets into her private little discussion with you about how to develop the Devil Fruit..."
"...let me first see exactly what kind of good stuff that [Random Blind Box Card] you bought is going to crack open~"
Hearing that, Chris looked as though he'd only just remembered the whole thing.
He leaned over and rummaged through the school uniform pocket carelessly tossed on the nightstand beside him, fishing out a faintly glowing card.
Looking at the strange, tarot-like designs on the card, Sakayanagi Arisu commented half-jokingly:
"Now that I think about it, the items the Mystery Shop refreshes seem to be different every single time."
"I really should have grabbed one back then — this thing's a genuine out-of-print collector's item!"
Chris shot her a sidelong glance:
"Sure, sure, I'll humor that as the truth."
"Alright now, everyone hush up. Don't go disturbing my Euro-luck!"
With that, Chris rubbed his hands together, deliberately putting on an exaggerated air of anticipation.
Seeing this.
Sakayanagi Arisu took another sip of her iced black tea.
Although she was clearly fixated on Chris's card, her gaze affected a kind of detachment — performing what looked like a casual, indifferent glance rather than someone who actually cared.
Ichinose Honami, on the other hand, was far more natural about it.
Her gaze was lightly focused, brimming with cautious anticipation.
But she also seemed worried that Chris might suddenly turn his head her way, which gave her something of a guilty look.
Perhaps it was because, deep in the girl's subconscious—
—compared to the wildly aggressive Karuizawa Kei—
—Sakayanagi Arisu's seemingly haughty but actually reserved personality posed far less of a romantic threat than Karuizawa Kei did.
And so, when it came to facing Sakayanagi, Ichinose actually let her guard down a bit.
Chris's mind right now, however, wasn't on the two girls at all.
The mere thought of what kind of thing was about to pop out once he crushed the card was already making him want to laugh.
But how could he spoil something this entertaining ahead of time?
As a properly qualified mastermind behind the scenes, he had to grit it out, grit it out, and choke that laughter down!
With that thought, Chris pinched down hard with his fingertips.
With a soft "snap," the shattered card flashed with a burst of white light.
And what ultimately appeared in his hand, presented to the eyes of the two girls, turned out to be...
[Magic Butt]!
Looking at that pink, soft, bouncy little latex-like blob.
Ichinose Honami's mouth opened slightly. She stammered out in alarm:
"Th-this... how can something like this even come out of one of these?!"
"Isn't this — isn't this a bit too unhealthy? It doesn't really feel appropriate for our status as high schoolers..."
Sakayanagi Arisu, beside her, on the other hand — after a brief moment of stunned disbelief — did not blush in the slightest.
Instead, she leaned in closer, curiosity piqued.
She stretched out her hand and, with a firmness that was neither too light nor too rough, gave the pink [Magic Butt] a couple of squeezes and prods.
After confirming that the thing really did seem to be nothing more than a lump of silicone, and that she couldn't find any of the hidden openings she'd imagined, the girl couldn't help but feel deeply disappointed:
"Hmm... it looks like this thing, sadly, doesn't have the kind of 'unspeakable' special function you were imagining, Ichinose-san. What a shame~"
"Whatever. Let's just scan it with the Item Catalogue and have a look — maybe it has some hidden special ability."
With that, Sakayanagi Arisu — right in front of Chris — leaned forward and stretched out her arm, getting ready to grab the Item Catalogue she'd deliberately placed on the table earlier.
Chris, to go along with her movement, casually shifted the Magic Butt closer to his own chest.
At the same time, he spoke up with a perfectly serious face:
"Uh... I should probably find a cabinet to stash this thing in first. Otherwise, with it sitting out in plain sight on the table, it feels kind of awkward."
However.
The very instant Chris's hands closed around the Magic Butt—
Sakayanagi Arisu, who had been mid-lean, went rigid.
She sucked in a sharp breath as if she'd been electrocuted, her face turning crimson in an instant!
Under Ichinose's bewildered gaze.
Sakayanagi Arisu turned her head slightly, and shot Chris a glare that was half-mortified, half-furious:
"Chris-kun...?! I had no idea you'd be quite this bold..."
Before she could even finish, she realized that Chris's hands were obediently cupping the Magic Butt, and were still a safe distance away from her actual rear end.
Apparently, that bizarre tactile sensation just now hadn't been Chris seizing the chance to cop a feel.
Sakayanagi Arisu's heart skipped a beat as she forced herself to endure the inexplicable squeezing sensation.
She snatched up the Item Catalogue and aimed it straight at the pink object in Chris's hands.
"Beep—"
Detailed information about the item surfaced on the screen:
[Magic Butt]
[Once set to target a designated individual, this item becomes linked to that person. During that period, any blow inflicted upon this item will be directly fed back to the corresponding buttocks of that person, allowing them to feel an equivalent sensation and pain.]
[Note: Originally a disciplinary tool from the future, used to chastise naughty children.]
Once everyone got a clear look at the description.
The air in the room seemed to freeze.
Chris nodded as if suddenly enlightened, and looked at Sakayanagi Arisu:
"Hmm... punishing little brats from afar, I see."
"Feels like... using it on you would be just about perfect, wouldn't it?"
At those words.
Even as naive as Ichinose Honami was, by this point she'd finally caught on to what was going on!
"Aaah!"
She let out a startled cry, terrified that Chris might pull off some even more outrageous stunt, and hurriedly reached out to snatch the Magic Butt out of Chris's arms.
"S-senpai! You can't just play around with such a dangerous item!"
What she hadn't anticipated, however, was that her grab was so forceful it startled Chris into instinctively giving the thing a squeeze.
"Eep..."
Uncontrollably, Sakayanagi Arisu let out a soft, delicate little whimper.
The next instant, her legs went weak, and she actually toppled forward straight into Chris's arms!
"Uh, this is..."
Ichinose Honami's eyelid twitched faintly.
Looking at Sakayanagi Arisu, whose cheeks had flushed a rosy red, her eyelids drooped, and for half a second her gaze drifted out of focus between the two of them.
That familiar pang of sourness welled up in her heart once more.
But Ichinose, after all, had matured a great deal by now.
She forced herself to look away, gave a slightly helpless little cough, and decisively changed the subject:
"Ahem... so, senpai."
"How about we head into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber first..."
"And also — actually, the real reason I came looking for you today was mainly to ask for your help in developing my Devil Fruit ability."
Chris glanced down at Sakayanagi Arisu in his arms — currently reaching back to rub her own backside, her eyes brimming with resentment.
Suppressing his laughter, he nodded:
"Sure. Business comes first."
At Chris's heartless reply.
Sakayanagi Arisu gritted her pretty white teeth, glared at him with bitter resentment, and protested in a small voice:
"Deliberately leaving me all in a mess like this..."
"And now you, the very perpetrator, are actually going to ditch me here all by myself, and run off for a private rendezvous with another woman?"
"Truly the morals of this world are in decline!"
Chris put on a speechless expression.
Not bothering to argue with this little brat of a girl, he simply reached out, tapped her wrist, and accepted — via the Black Sphere wristwatch — the invitation he'd already sent out.
Accompanied by that familiar sensation of weightlessness.
Inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
The moment they materialized, because of how awkward things had just been, none of the three of them spoke up first for a good while.
Not until Chris, using his administrator permissions, set the surrounding scenery to a pleasantly scenic seaside beach.
With white clouds drifting lazily overhead, and white sails dotting the distance.
As the tide rolled in and out, an emerald-colored sea embraced the pearl-white sand beneath their feet, and the crisp calls of seagulls drifted to their ears.
At last, Ichinose's nerves finally relaxed somewhat.
Ichinose forced herself to calm down, casting all those messy, scattered thoughts behind her.
She tapped at her Black Sphere wristwatch a few times, and pulled out the capsule that had been storing the Love-Love Fruit.
With a simple squeeze, she crushed the capsule.
Two cherry-shaped Devil Fruits appeared in her hand.
Ichinose looked at the fruit that would decide her future fate. Without much hesitation, she casually plucked one off.
She took a gentle bite.
The next second.
The girl's pupils constricted, and the corners of her mouth twisted downward against her will.
Her pretty face scrunched up into a complete mess, as if she'd put on a mask of agony:
"Mmph... s-so... so... good..."
"This flavor... it's like taking rusted iron nails, boiling them in hydrogen peroxide, then mixing them up with a moldy dishrag and swallowing the whole thing down together!"
"It's revolting!"
Listening to this bizarre analogy.
Chris turned his head and jerked his chin toward Sakayanagi Arisu:
"Wanna try exploiting a bug?"
"There's still one left in her hand, conveniently enough... why don't you give it a shot? See if splitting a single fruit between two people will also give you the Love-Love Fruit's ability."
Sakayanagi Arisu shot him a sidelong look, her entire face screaming 'thanks, but no thanks':
"Do you think the Black Sphere is an idiot?"
"If powers could be mass-produced as easily as you're suggesting, I'd bet they'd slap at least another '1' onto the front of the Devil Fruit's price tag."
"Besides..."
Sakayanagi paused, her gaze settling on Ichinose, who was currently dry-heaving.
Although the girl's expression at this moment was thoroughly contorted, for some reason, a faint pinkish aura seemed to be subtly swirling around her.
Even when she was merely frowning in pain, it was enough to spark in any onlooker the urge to wrap her up in their arms and dote on her endlessly.
Sakayanagi Arisu pulled her gaze back, and spoke up softly:
"Right now this is Ichinose-san's show. I won't stick around to spoil the mood."
"You two carry on."
Chris nodded, not pressing the matter.
He turned to look at Ichinose, asking with concern:
"How are you feeling now? Has anything strange come up in your body?"
Ichinose, her cute little pink tongue sticking out, was gulping in great mouthfuls of air.
After quite a while, she finally gave a weak little wave of her hand to indicate that she was fine.
She raised a hand to wipe the fruit juice from the corner of her mouth, and gritted her teeth as she said:
"Aside from the taste being unbearable... I feel like there's an extra surge of power inside my body now."
"Senpai, next... let's figure out how to go about developing this fruit's ability."
Chris stroked his chin, musing aloud:
"Based on the catalogue's description, the Love-Love Fruit requires the user to give off their own personal charm in order to shake the resolve of the target."
"Just like Amanatsu Kazuha analyzed earlier, this fruit is actually a really good fit for you... provided you can get past that mental hurdle of yours."
Ichinose thought it over and asked uncertainly:
"So senpai is saying... the first thing I have to do is to make myself more confident?"
"But..." Ichinose pressed her lips together, her little face scrunched up in distress, "I genuinely cannot picture myself shooting flirty looks at strangers or monsters, or blowing them kisses!"
"That kind of behavior — I just can't do it!"
Chris nodded in understanding.
Even setting aside the fact that he wouldn't have her develop it that way, Ichinose was just a pure-hearted high schooler. Her circumstances were nothing like the Empress's, so it wasn't a path he could simply slap onto her.
And on top of that, Ichinose had a kind of innate innocence and pride in her bones — she would never go fawning, or deliberately play cute, or try to seduce someone.
Her usual gentleness toward everyone was simply because that was who she was — kindness that came genuinely from the heart.
Forcing her to deliberately try to seduce people would, frankly, be more painful for her than killing her outright.
However, in Chris's view, it was precisely that 'innocence' of hers that fit the Love-Love Fruit so impossibly well.
He spoke in a gentle voice, easing her worries:
"So-called 'charm,' in its essence, is a kind of inner beauty that radiates from the inside out. It's not just about sultriness, or some put-on, exaggerated posturing."
"In my opinion, Ichinose, your base stats are already plenty strong."
"As long as you're just standing there, with the Love-Love Fruit amplifying your charm, combined with your Myriad Soaring Wings..."
"Honestly, you wouldn't need to deliberately do anything. Just letting your natural charm work, I'm sure that'd be enough to bewitch a whole flock of monsters."
With that, Chris gave Ichinose a thumbs-up:
"Believe in yourself. The truest version of you is also the strongest!"
Looking at the trust in Chris's eyes.
Ichinose's previously knotted-up heart finally relaxed, just a little.
After all, this was an item worth eighty S Points.
If her personal hangups ended up wasting the fruit's full potential... she'd absolutely beat herself up over it forever.
Yet she herself was extraordinarily resistant to showing a sultry side to anyone other than Chris.
In that case, developing it according to Chris's suggestion was, without question, the optimal answer right now!
With that knot in her heart untied, Ichinose's whole demeanor visibly eased.
But before any of that, she still had one question to ask:
"By the way, senpai."
"Earlier, when we scanned it with the catalogue, it said that a user would have all the strength drained from their body upon encountering seawater that contains 'Sea-Prism Stone'?"
"What exactly is this 'Sea-Prism Stone' thing? Would ordinary seawater have any effect?"
Chris thought it over and answered:
"Just like vampires fear sunlight, Sea-Prism Stone is most likely a special mineral, specifically designed in the world the Devil Fruit comes from to suppress its users."
"Judging by the name alone, though, this stuff probably isn't something you'd run into just anywhere. It's most likely a specialty product exclusive to that other world."
"Let's give it a try first — see whether you'd actually be disabled if you fell into the ordinary seawater the system has simulated here."
"If everything's fine, we can later see whether we can get the Time Chamber to generate seawater laced with Sea-Prism Stone, so you can prep against it in advance..."
Ichinose Honami listened earnestly, then broke into a smile:
"That said, actually, even if ordinary seawater also disables me, it's no problem at all!"
"Because... I can still fly!"
With those words, the girl willed a single thought.
A pair of broad, snow-white wings spread open from her back.
With one beat of those wings, the girl lifted lightly into the air.
Looking at the girl hovering aloft like an actual angel, bathed in sunlight.
Chris tilted his head back and called out:
"Ichinose!"
"While you're feeling good, hurry up and give it a try — see if you can use the fruit's ability properly!"
Ichinose, hanging high in the air, looked down at Chris on the beach below and gave a firm nod.
She drew in a deep breath.
She tried, just as she had when first learning Ripple Breathing, to hold her breath and focus, concentrating every ounce of her attention.
Very quickly, she could feel the strange power hidden deep within her bloodline, beginning to surge in answer to her will.
Ichinose stretched out her fingers.
Watching as an arrow of pink light, exuding an alluring aura, took shape right at her fingertips!
She extended her right hand, and crossed her index finger and thumb into the shape of a heart.
What came next, however, was unexpected.
Ichinose did not aim her arrow of light at the seagulls flitting through the sky as background decoration.
Instead, with a twist of her wrist.
She aimed the arrowhead straight at Chris down on the beach!
'Zip!'
The arrow of light tore through the air!
In truth, Ichinose was perfectly aware of the risk involved in doing this.
But she simply couldn't help herself.
She really, really wanted to know — exactly what kind of feelings Chris-senpai held for her in his heart!
After all, as the wielder of the Love-Love Fruit's power, even if she accidentally turned her senpai to stone, she could undo it at any time.
So, using this test as an opportunity to indulge in a tiny bit of selfish probing — surely that should be fine, right?
Worst case, she'd just give him a heartfelt apology afterward!
And in the deepest part of the girl's heart...
What she feared most wasn't actually Chris getting angry.
It was the fear that, after the arrow struck him... he wouldn't react at all.
Faced with this sudden surprise attack.
Chris instinctively made an evasive move.
The arrow of light missed, slamming into the sand and turning a conch shell into solid quartz.
Even though her original probing intent hadn't been achieved, seeing Chris choose to dodge — rather than confidently stand his ground and take the hit head-on.
Ichinose, oddly enough, let out a quiet little breath of relief.
At the very least, that meant — somewhere in her senpai's heart... his subconscious also believed that if this arrow had hit him, it would have worked, right?
'So he... actually does feel something for me too!'
With that giddy little thrill of someone who'd just stolen a taste of honey on the sly.
She folded her wings.
A bit sheepishly, she walked up to Chris, her cheeks flushed, and apologized:
"Sorry, senpai..."
"This is my first time trying out this ability — I haven't quite gotten the aim down yet, didn't quite manage the direction properly."
Chris didn't bother exposing her painfully obvious little ulterior motive. He merely waved a hand and continued his analysis:
"If I'm not mistaken, as long as your arrow of light strikes a person or a monster, all it takes is for them to harbor even a sliver of stray thought toward you, and they'll be petrified by you."
"Honestly, in actual combat, this ability is pretty absurd. The Love-Love Fruit's trigger condition isn't necessarily 'adoration' — it actually encompasses a whole range of negative emotions too."
Ichinose pressed her lips together thoughtfully.
After mulling it over for a moment, her eyes suddenly lit up:
"So what you mean is — as long as those monsters, the moment they see me, feel a desire to kill me or eat me up... that also counts as a kind of 'unwholesome thought' directed at me?"
"And as long as they have a thought like that, they'll get petrified by me?!"
Chris nodded approvingly:
"I'd say that's exactly how it works, yes."
"And what's more, I'm even starting to wonder — if you could develop this extraordinarily imaginative Devil Fruit to an even higher level..."
"...then even if the target is an inanimate object that has no feelings toward you at all, wouldn't you still be able to use the fruit's power to forcibly petrify any material you make contact with?"
Hearing this expansive vision laid out.
Ichinose's tone filled with longing:
"If I could really develop it to that level..."
"Then I'd definitely be able to protect everyone, wouldn't I?!"
Just as the two of them were getting hyped up about this expansive vision.
Sakayanagi Arisu, who had been quietly standing in place with her arms folded, silently observing the two of them.
Was, however, fixated on a rather... unique point.
"That said..."
"If we go by the Black Sphere's standard rulings, it obviously isn't going to allow Ichinose-san to bring an ability this dangerous outside of the exam zone."
Sakayanagi Arisu looked at Ichinose with a half-smiling, half-not expression:
"Doesn't that mean — every single time, from now on, that we participate in a Black Sphere exam..."
"...Ichinose is going to be forced to eat that fruit all over again?"
The flush of longing that had previously colored Ichinose Honami's face drained away in an instant, going chalk-white.
____
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