Since I can enter the West Wing directly from the courtyard, I casually approach the entrance—when suddenly, I sense a killing intent.
《Skill ‘Fixation’ activated. The spatial coordinates of the target are now fixed.》
Hiding in the shadow of the bushes in the courtyard, the black mist aimed at me once again.
“Um… ‘Water Spirit’ (Suiyō), is that the right name? Can you hear me?”
“Y-Yes… My race is actually called Nereid.”
The courtyard has a small pond, and the Water Spirit—Nereid—had already moved over to it.
“By the way, I can teleport to any place with water, provided it’s nearby. I can also teleport others. Depending on how you use it, it could be quite convenient.”
Though she seems to speak humbly to me, her true nature hasn’t changed much—her tone returns to normal when discussing her abilities. I still can’t completely trust her, considering she was once a monster trying to dominate the dormitory from the shadows.
“About this ‘Hand that Crawls in the Night’… can’t you stop it with your own will, Nereid?”
“N-No… it’s tied to the illusions. But if you let it capture you, it would make it easier for me and my familiar to replenish our magic, so if you could kindly cooperate… Ahhh!?”
I mercilessly compress the black mist—given the effect, I can’t even consider letting it capture me on purpose.
《Contents received: Hand that Crawls in the Night ×3》
“Oh, right. Could you bring out that anti-skill incense later as well?”
“Using that would deplete all the magic I’ve saved up… but, yes, of course, I’ll do it as many times as needed.”
“If you need it, you can use my magic. It could be a trump card.”
“It’s a bit awkward to say, but… I can only produce that incense when the human I’m synchronized with is in an aroused state. Powerful abilities always come with activation conditions—that’s just how the world works.”
“Ugh… Well, I guess it’s incredibly strong, after all…”
“By the way… though I’m not controlling them with my will, I am synchronized with the girls in the West Wing right now.”
So—if the Mikuriya sisters and Nanami Shimiya become excited, I’ll be able to use the ‘Water Spirit’s Incense.’
“…When you say ‘excited,’ you’re just being vague, aren’t you?”
“What sort of interpretation does my master have? Please, enlighten this ignorant servant of yours… Ah, wait! Please, I beg for your mercy!”
“You can’t just request leniency like that… Besides, couldn’t you just undo the illusion?”
“This time, it’s my familiar, Lin, who has activated the illusion. While Lin is under my command, she can also cast illusions on her own.”
“…Why would Lin do something like that?”
“You’d have to ask her. The subordination contract with Lin was severed when I came under your control, Master.”
So last time, Lin acted as the intermediary for Nereid’s illusion, but this time she’s cast the illusion on her own volition. If her goal is to gather magic, then perhaps she’s running low.
“By the way, Master, those currently in the bath… they’ll likely be deceived once they enter Lin’s illusion realm.”
“Since I’m Lin’s master, that means I won’t be affected, right?”
“Yes. Truly, what a troublesome situation… but if you could think of it as a pet cat’s prank, that might help.”
“You seem to be enjoying this too, Nereid… If you’re still plotting something…”
“I’m only hoping to get a bit of extra magic out of this, nothing more! And I’d love it if those in the bath would join in… But saying more might suggest I harbor ill intent, so I’ll stop.”
It seems like Nereid is playing within the rules imposed by her capture, but since she’s explained the situation, I’ll refrain from probing further.
“We need to resolve this quickly… Is there any way you could discreetly stop Sumiya-sensei and the others from entering the illusion’s territory?”
“If they have rooms in the West Wing, they’ll inevitably go, unless we intervene now.”
“…Yeah, you’re right.”
“I’ll do what I can. Master, I wish you good fortune.”
After parting with Nereid, I enter the West Wing—perhaps because I had stopped the earlier assault, there’s no attack from the ‘Hand that Crawls in the Night.’
Standing in front of Nanami Shimiya’s room are two people. Bathed in the moonlight pouring through the window, their shadows stretch towards me.
“…Fujiwara-san… is that you?”
“Tsukasa-kun… from here on, we can’t let you pass… or rather, we won’t let you pass, meow…”
I noticed something strange about their heads—and now I understand why.
The Mikuriya sisters’ outfits have changed into something resembling swimsuits, and cat ears have appeared on their heads. These aren’t headbands with ears attached or anything like that—they appear to be real cat ears. What in the world is going on?
“Both of you, this is just an illusion. It’s my cat playing a prank…”
“No, it’s not a prank, meow. We’re serious.”
“Tsukasa-kun, don’t be so mean. You need to be honest, meow. Futaba, let’s go.”
“Yes, sister.”
(Futaba’s flute… combined with Haruka-senpai… Wait, this isn’t the time to be watching…!)
Instinctively, I try to use ‘Fixation,’ but Futaba’s flute melody reaches my ears first.
The intention to activate ‘Fixation’ is itself being disrupted—Futaba is certainly impressive, but now’s not the time to be admiring her.
“Futaba’s ‘Enthralling Melody’ has the power to interfere with the activation of skills, meow. The downside is that it can’t be used consecutively… but as long as she keeps playing the flute, the initial interference effect won’t stop.”
Being able to continuously play during a battle is a significant difficulty, but if you set that aside, this is an incredibly powerful skill—Futaba’s ability to keep the effect going, even with brief breaths, speaks to her high level of technique.
“And my skill… the application of ‘Phantom Mirage.'”
(…!)
Haruka-senpai’s figure disappears from my sight, and then I feel a presence immediately behind me.
“It’s an afterimage, meow. When my sister and I team up, not even you, Tsukasa-kun, can win.”
I feel a tickling sensation run down my back—Haruka-senpai lightly traces her finger along it.
“Ugh… what are you…”
“An application of ‘Elixir Inscription’… the effect I created by dissolving poison within my body, I can share with others.”
“Wait… does that mean…?”
My body is growing intensely hot—no, more accurately, I’m losing control of the parts of myself that are usually kept in check by rationality.
“…We do better on our second try than on our first… Don’t you think?”
“Sister… our first time, you mean with Fujiwara-san…”
“N-No, Haruka-senpai, that’s not…”
“It’s fine, Fujiwara-san. If my sister desired it, then…”
Futaba’s imagination is getting carried away—and because Haruka-senpai believes it too, their synergy is making this situation spiral out of control.
“…Someone my sister holds dear is important to me as well… so…”
Is that really okay? No, it’s definitely not. Haruka-senpai clearly cares about Futaba, and normally she’d stop her.
However, standing in the moonlight, Haruka-senpai puts her finger to her lips, gazing at me seductively.
“It might seem strange for me to say this, but… I want to respect my sister’s feelings. Even though my chest feels like it’s going to burst with the thought that I was supposed to be first…”
“…Both of you, the fact that you’re ending your sentences like cats should be a clue that something’s wrong.”
“…? There’s nothing wrong with our speech, meow.”
This is bad—they’re completely under the illusion’s influence.
However, thinking it through, Futaba has stopped playing her flute—which means…
“Tsukasa-kun, Nanami-san is in this room, so why don’t we… together, the three of us…”
Her tempting words almost make me want to give in—but since I can still use my skills, not acting would be unthinkable.
《Skill ‘Fixation’ activated. The spatial coordinates of the target are now fixed.》
Just as the two were about to pull me into the room, they freeze in place.
“Impressive as always, Master… but what now? Unless you defeat them, the door to that room won’t open.”
“Ugh… why does it have to be set up like that?”
“That’s just how a maiden’s heart works. Here, please use this—it’s something I prepared just for you.”
Nereid must have gone out of her way to fetch it from the back of the closet—when I turned around, there was a massage machine at my feet.
(…You’re trying to make me sin even more… Oh, God…!)
What kind of face would the goddess make if she were watching me now? As these trivial thoughts ran through my mind, I picked up my holy sword.
