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A high school boy heading home runs into a blonde, flat-chested beauty wearing nothing but underwear. That kind of scene belongs in light novels, no question.
But the first thing the blonde girl said made Blake completely lose it.
"…You can see me?"
His heartbeat spiked instantly. He held his breath without thinking.
What does that even mean—'see me'?
Was this blonde girl some kind of… unexplainable entity?
Or maybe she was like Mahiru or Kuroneko—a magical girl?
Crap, crap, crap!
Sure, he'd already encountered a so-called "witch," and yeah, supernatural powers apparently existed… but evil spirits and monsters could stay the hell away from his daily life, thank you very much!
"The evening breeze is a bit noisy tonight…"
Blake casually pulled out his phone and started walking home like nothing was wrong.
"Hey, hey, you really can't see me?"
The blonde girl rose onto her tiptoes and waved a hand in front of his face. Her skin was so pale it practically glowed under the streetlight… though her lack of development made it a little tragic.
"…"
Blake kept his eyes glued to his phone, ignoring her completely.
He couldn't respond.
No matter what, he couldn't let it slip that he could see her.
"Hey, it's dangerous to walk while looking at your phone, you know."
"…"
Of course it's dangerous—I'm doing it to avoid you, alright?!
For some reason, this blonde, flat-chested girl seemed unusually interested in him. With her hands behind her back, she followed along.
"Watch out, there's a banana peel on the ground."
"…"
"Ah! A UFO!"
"…"
Elementary school tricks. Totally ineffective.
"Ugh, how boring. You had such a lewd look on your face earlier—I thought you really could see me."
The hell? That was shock at running into a half-naked girl, okay?!
After a few failed attempts, the blonde girl quickly got bored and stopped walking, apparently losing interest.
"Phew…"
Just as Blake quietly relaxed, her clear, cheerful voice rang out again:
"Hey, your zipper's open."
"…"
His steps faltered. He instinctively glanced down.
I mean—what normal guy wouldn't check after hearing that?
"Hehe, I knew it. You can see me."
The blonde loli spread her arms and blocked his path, flashing a smug grin that revealed a tiny fang.
"Don't think you can fool me!"
"…"
Blake took a deep breath, lowered his phone, and fixed her with a wary look.
No avoiding it now. Guess he'd just have to deal with whatever came.
"That's weird…" The blonde girl put her hands on her hips, frowning. "I'm clearly invisible. Why can you still see me?"
Seriously? So she's not some creepy entity—just a full-on chuuni?
Trying to turn invisible by walking around in your underwear? In your dreams.
"So… you think you're invisible, and that's why you're out here in your underwear?"
"Exactly." She lifted her chin proudly. "I'm a super beautiful girl who can turn invisible."
"That's just middle-school delusion. Kids shouldn't be wandering the streets alone at night. Go home already." Blake's face stayed blank. "The fact is, you're not invisible."
"I am too! I really can turn invisible!"
The blonde girl puffed up her cheeks and pointed at the house next door.
"I just moved in today. I got all sweaty unpacking, so I took a bath. Then I came out without clothes, and the cleaning lady didn't even look at me. I talked to her, and she ignored me completely!"
You came out naked after a bath?
Isn't it just because you're being a total weirdo, so she didn't want to deal with you?!
Still…
Blake glanced at the neighboring house. Warm lights were indeed glowing inside. His expression turned a little strange.
Could this girl actually be Yamada Elf?
"Didn't expect we'd be neighbors." He pointed at his house. "That's mine. I'm Blake. And you are…?"
"A girl's real name is her most precious secret. You can't just tell it to anyone." She crossed her arms. "Just call me Yamada Elf."
So it really is you.
Good. His everyday life hadn't been completely shattered after all.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Yamada. Goodbye, Miss Yamada."
He greeted her and turned to leave.
"Wait! I'm not lying—I really can turn invisible!"
Yamada Elf spread her arms to block him again, then quickly pulled out her phone, like a kid desperate to show off a perfect test score.
"Look for yourself! When I take a selfie, there's nothing there… I'll show you right now!"
She moved right up beside him without asking and raised her phone, switching to selfie mode.
Seriously—do you have zero sense of shame?
Wandering around in your underwear is one thing, but now that people can actually see you, shouldn't you hurry home?!
If it were Sagiri, she'd probably be so embarrassed she'd faint on the spot.
No—actually, if it were Sagiri, even if she could turn invisible, there's no way she'd go outside in just her underwear.
"Look, look." Yamada Elf stood on tiptoe and shoved the phone in front of his face. "See? It's just you in the picture, right?"
Blake looked at the screen and raised an eyebrow.
The photo really did show only him. Yamada Elf, who should've been there, was completely absent—just empty space.
A girl who can turn invisible…
Had he just run into another "wild witch"?
"Hehe~" Yamada Elf put her hands on her hips, clearly waiting to be praised. "Now you believe me, right?"
"…Yeah. I believe you can turn invisible." Blake let out a breath. "By the way… aren't you cold?"
It was mid-April, not even May yet. It had just rained, and the temperature was actually pretty low.
"Of course I'm cold!" She hugged herself, muttering. "But earlier, when I walked out of the bathroom in just my underwear, the cleaning lady ignored me… so maybe my ability only works when I'm dressed like this?"
Probably not that inconvenient.
More likely, she'd just gotten her powers and didn't understand them yet.
"Anyway, I am invisible right now. The cleaning lady couldn't see me, and my phone can't capture me… so why can you see me?"
She tilted her face up at him, curiosity written all over it.
Why?
Blake thought back to earlier—when time had stopped, and he'd been the only one who could see Mahiru Shiina moving.
He already had a guess.
Being "special" like this… was probably because of that game-like cheat ability he had.
"No idea." He shrugged innocently. "I'm just a completely ordinary guy."
His cheat ability was his biggest secret. No way he'd tell anyone.
As for things like magical contamination, he'd leave that explanation for tomorrow. It wasn't something he could explain quickly—and chatting outside with a half-naked girl was already bad enough.
"Could it be something wrong with me?"
Yamada Elf rested her chin on her hand, actually thinking it through.
"Maybe I've been invisible too long, so it's not working properly?"
"Well, let's try again…"
She raised her left hand and snapped her fingers.
Snap.
A crisp sound echoed.
…and nothing happened.
Of course, Blake could see her the entire time, so there was nothing shocking about it.
"I've turned it off now." Yamada Elf pointed at the ground. "Look, my shadow's back."
Blake glanced down. Under the streetlight, there were indeed two shadows now.
"I'll turn it on again. Try to see if you can still see me…"
She prepared to test it once more.
But the next second, as her right hand touched her panties—
the pair of pink bear-printed underwear suddenly vanished into thin air…
"....."