Chapter Six
"Big bro, are you getting a reaction?"
"Mmm, sour and sweet."
Suzuki Yuki's small tongue darted out to lick the corner of her lips. She gave a satisfied nod.
She raised her eyes and was surprised to see Yu Hisashi's subtle, complicated expression.
A faint blush colored Suzuki Yuki's pretty cheeks, but her little mouth remained as blunt as ever.
"What's wrong, big bro? Having a reaction?"
Yu Hisashi immediately rapped her head with a knuckle, exasperated.
He *was* having a reaction.
Just not the kind she thought.
[Ability Entry Triggered!]
[Congratulations, Host! You have obtained a Purple Ability Entry: Giant Tongue Lash!]
[Giant Tongue Lash]: When using the tongue to launch an attack, it will inflict intense spasms and drain the target's strength!
Yu Hisashi stared at the entry, his mind blank with disbelief.
'What the hell?'
He wasn't Tahm Kench. He couldn't even begin to imagine how he was supposed to use his tongue to attack someone.
The only uses he could think of for this ability were... indescribable.
He remembered that the trigger mechanism for ability entries seemed to have some inexplicable connection to the intense emotions of the person who triggered them.
He looked down at Suzuki Yuki. He really wanted to ask this girl what the hell she'd been thinking about just now.
The girl met his gaze. His inexplicable stare made her feel a little guilty.
"What? If you want to lick it back, big bro, I still have some ketchup here..."
Suzuki Yuki averted her eyes, changing the subject.
Yu Hisashi sighed softly.
More and more people were gathering around the infirmary. How could he possibly do that?
Otherwise, he'd definitely make this girl experience the power of this purple ability entry firsthand!
Suzuki Yuki immediately let out a soft, triumphant hum.
She couldn't resist teasing him again.
"Don't worry, big bro. Kusakabe Shizuka-sensei in the infirmary is also very skilled at treating orthopedic injuries... Ow!"
Before she could finish, another knuckle rap from Yu Hisashi landed on her head.
....
Raizen Middle School, Opening Ceremony.
The freshmen below the stage stared intently at the third-year student representative reading her speech at the podium.
"What a cute senpai!"
"I think her name is Itsuka Kotori?"
"To be chosen as the student representative, she must be an outstanding student with both good character and grades!"
The newly enrolled middle school freshmen looked at Itsuka Kotori on stage with admiration and infatuation.
The older students next to them watched these eager freshmen and shook their heads with complicated expressions.
"Still too young..."
"They actually think Itsuka Kotori is a model student with good character and grades?"
"If someone who's late, skips class, leaves early, and only attends three days a week is considered outstanding, then what does that make us?"
"Is it just because her grades are good? Can good grades let you do whatever you want?"
"Damn school administrators..."
At the podium, Itsuka Kotori read her speech lazily.
To her, being an outstanding student representative meant nothing.
The reason she studied hard was simply to ensure she could test into Soubu High School later.
To be in the same high school as Yu Hisashi.
Just then, a voice came through the hidden earpiece in her ear.
"Emergency! A Spatial Quake has occurred at Soubu High School!"
"Nani?!"
Itsuka Kotori's lazy expression changed instantly. She slammed her hand on the table!
The entire assembly of teachers and students jumped in fright.
Then, under their confused and shocked gazes, this freshman representative threw down her script and jumped off the stage.
"Itsuka-san..."
A female teacher stood up and called out, but could only watch Itsuka Kotori's retreating back disappear.
Meanwhile.
High in the sky, inside the invisible aerial warship named Fraxinus.
A pale, lazy-looking older sister, who seemed perpetually half-asleep, heard the commotion through her earpiece and calmly spoke the next sentence.
"Don't panic, Commander. Yu Hisashi is fine."
"The Spatial Quake... vanished strangely the moment it was about to erupt."
Itsuka Kotori, who had just run out of the auditorium, immediately let out a sigh of relief.
But hearing the latter part, her footsteps gradually slowed. Her brow furrowed slightly.
"The Spatial Quake disappeared?"
"Reine, has this ever happened before?"
Murasame Reine's lazy eyes narrowed slightly. She answered softly.
"No."
"I'm coming over right now!"
"What about school..."
"Not important!"
"Pull up the surveillance footage from Soubu High first. Let me confirm Yu's situation... Also, speed up the analysis on why the Spatial Quake disappeared."
........
Soubu High School.
Half an hour later, the all-clear broadcast sounded. The teachers and students hiding in the Shelter finally breathed a sigh of relief.
To ensure safety, the school had the students wait in the Shelter for another half hour before arranging for them to exit gradually.
Back in the classroom, the students slowly began to recover from the earlier panic.
"Yu-san, you... are you close with Suzuki-san?"
After wrestling with it for a moment, Eri looked at Yu Hisashi with a complicated expression.
"We grew up together... I guess you could say we're childhood friends."
Yu Hisashi casually repeated the setting Suzuki Yuki often touted.
"Childhood friends..."
At school, in the student council, Suzuki Yuki was always the perfect, dignified young lady.
But just now, facing Yu Hisashi, she had shown a level of intimacy far beyond ordinary people.
This was definitely not a normal childhood friend relationship.
Eri lowered her head slightly. A strong sense of crisis welled up inside her.
Yu Hisashi paid no attention to Eri. News of the Spatial Quake had spread.
He was currently busy replying to various messages of concern.
Editors from major publishing houses, a few friendly neighborhood wives, older sisters who had left the Orphanage, and various little sisters...
After assuring each one of them of his safety, Yu Hisashi finally put down his phone.
He suddenly remembered something very important.
For ordinary people, Spatial Quakes were inexplicable natural disasters.
But Yu Hisashi knew better.
A Spatial Quake was a spatial tremor and explosion phenomenon that occurred only when a Spirit traveled between the Neighboring World and the Present World. Except for a few rare cases, the vast majority of Spatial Quakes meant one thing.
A Spirit was appearing.
Yet he hadn't seen a single Spirit.
"Could it be..."
His brow arched slightly, a strange glint flickering in his eyes.
"Did I... absorb the Spirit into the Imaginary Number Space too?"