âItâs something that you should naturally enjoy. Those that are interested will naturally like it, and those that arenât shouldnât force themselves⊠thatâs just my personal opinion.â
âHarano-san wouldnât wish for you two to force yourselves in order to get closer to him⊠you guys should know this as well, which was why you said to keep it a secret from him.â
âI⊠think that you shouldnât do it like this⊠and that you donât need to do it like this.â
Kaho had a sincere expression as she looked towards Chiaki and Mika.
The two of them didnât say anything for a moment. Then, Chiaki began smiling.
âI didnât expect to be lectured by Miyamoto-san like this,â she said.
âEr⊠I justâŠâ
âNo need to explain,â Chiaki added. âYour words were clear enough. I just want to say that Miyamoto-san is a gentle girl.â
âNo⊠something like gentle isnâtâŠâ Kaho unconsciously curled into herself. She didnât feel that her little speech counted as âgentle.â
âMika and I want to do this due to a pressing matter, but now that Iâve calmed down and thought it through a little more logically, perhaps we were a little too hot-blooded. We were rushing into things.â Chiaki sighed.
âChiakiâŠâ Mika looked towards her friend.
âWait a moment⊠maybe it was just me that was rushing into things,â Chiaki mumbled to herself. âMika is fine.â Chiaki turned to Mika. âRight now, Iâm just Seigoâs âgood friend,â so perhaps I shouldnât be doing this. But Mika, youâre different; considering your position, you should make a clear request of Miyamoto-san for yourself.â
Mika was slightly surprised at this.
âI will back out now; the rest is all up to you. Letâs witness how you express your feelings and convince Miyamoto-san to help out.â Chiaki smiled at Mika.
The double pigtailed girl blinked in understanding as she nodded.
âMiyamoto-san.â Mika looked towards her classmate again, this time directly into Kahoâs eyes.
âYes⊠Present!â Kaho sensed a sudden imposing manner coming from Mika and couldnât help but tense up again.
âI like Seigo!â Mika said something that couldnât be any more direct.
Kaho felt as if she had received a sudden impact and froze over slightly.
Mikaâs face reddened; she felt slightly embarrassed about telling a classmate that she wasnât very familiar with about her inner feelings, but she didnât avert her gaze. She continued to look into Kahoâs eyes as she spoke in a serious tone:
âI want to be together with Seigo, so I want to like what he likes⊠no, I must learn how to like it! Otherwise, I wonât be able to win against the person that appeared⊠a super-strong love rival.â
âThis is an impure motive. I know that this may be disrespectful to ask someone like you that truly loves otaku culture to help someone like me. But I promise this: even if my motivation is impure, I shall truly find whatâs fun about otaku culture during the âprocess of learningâ and cultivate it into one of my interests, without just acting like it is.â
âEven if⊠I donât get the result that I want from doing this, I wonât regret it, nor will I give up on this new hobby that Iâve cultivated.â
âIâm doing this for Seigoâs sake, but at the root of it all, Iâm doing it for the me that likes Seigo. So, please assist me!â
Mika strongly expressed her true feelings.
Kaho clearly felt Mikaâs emotions and will and was completely astounded. The shock she received from Mikaâs words exceeded her earlier surprise.
âUehara-sanâŠâ
âA-amazing, so beautiful.â Kaho truly believed that the girl before her right now was far more beautiful and charismatic than what Mikaâs outer beauty indicated.
It seemed⊠almost as if Mika was shining like the sun, similar to Seigo.
Yes, that was right. She was someone who was always by Seigo Haranoâs side! And she liked him and was persevering to get closer to him.
For such a girl to have such charisma seemed only natural to Kaho. Inwardly, Kaho was truly impressed by Mika.
She no longer felt like refusing any more. She felt it was appropriate to accept Mikaâs request.
âAlright, I⊠hope that I can be of assistance.â
Mikaâs eyes lit up at this. âThank you, Miyamoto-san!â
âYouâre welcomeâŠâ
Chiaki chuckled as she watched this scene. âExcellent, itâs settled, then! From today onwards, Miyamoto-san will be Mikaâs otaku culture teacher. Mika, call her Sensei.â
âYes, Miyamoto-sensei!â Mika said with a surprising amount of spirit.
âN-no need to call me like that!â Kahoâs face instantly reddened. âDonât call me something like Sensei⊠it feels so awkward! Iâm just⊠an otaku girl.â
âHow about Tutor Miyamoto then?â
âTutor is no good either!â
âMaster Miyamoto?â
âThatâs even worse! Please donât use any formal titles!â
âYoung Master Miyamoto?â
âItâs not going to be any different even if you add âyoungâ in front!!â Kaho raised her voice.
Mika chuckled. âYouâre so cute, Miyamoto-san.â
âEh? I-Iâm notâŠâ
Kahoâs face grew even redder due to the unexpected praise.
âIf you donât want any formal titles, how would you prefer Mika to address you, then, Miyamoto-san?â Chiaki asked while grinning.
âJust⊠just like normalâŠâ
âThatâs no good; our relationship has already moved to the next level.â Mika smiled.
âErâŠâ Kaho didnât know what to say anymore.
âMiyamoto-san, what do your friends call you?â Mika asked.
âJust⊠Kaho.â
âThen, can I call you Kaho as well?â
Hearing this and seeing Mikaâs sincere expression, Kaho instantly understood. âYes⊠Uehara-san, is it alright if I call you Mika as well?â
âYep!â Mikaâs faint smile became a brilliant one.
This was the moment when the two girls became good friends.
âŠ
At nighttime, Seiji was practicing [Astral Vision].
He had been practicing continuously after dinner, without even working on his novel, because the experience progress bar for this spell was almost at 100%.
He resolved himself to definitely learn it tonight. Heâd worked hard at practicing and mastering the spell.
Finally, he succeeded and reached 100% progress.
After he confirmed this, Seiji brought up the final requirement in his system and paid the required amount of points.
Just like when he learned the [Body-Strengthening spell], [Beginner-level Astral Vision] lit up and now became available to use in his system. It felt like new knowledge had poured into his head as he learned [Astral Vision]!
*Ding!* A system notification popped up in front of him.
[Character reward card [Hoshi Amami]âs additional ability 4 has now met its prerequisites and can now be used.]
Seiji raised his eyebrows at this.
He then brought up his Hoshi card in his system and saw that the ability which had been nothing but question marks before was now revealed before him.
[Astral Vision power-up technique: Can mark any target currently in your field of vision. Within the next seven minutes (+5 minutes for level reward), you can see this target through any obstacles that may block your view. This technique even works against the majority of concealment techniques. Using this ability will consume mana and your ability to concentrate. Limited to three uses per day. I see you~ !]
Ah, so it had been a power-up for [Astral Vision]. That would explain why it was all question marks before.
To be able to see a marked target clearly for the next twelve minutes⊠this technique would definitely be effective against enemies that were skilled in concealment and stealth techniques.
Its weaknesses were that he could only mark someone who was already in his field of vision to begin with and the three times a day limit. As for the mana cost and concentration required⊠he figured that it would probably be rather low.
Seiji really wanted to comment on the systemâs final flavor text sentence as always, but he felt that this was an apt one.
Come, let us make a scary pose like a monster playing hide and seek with children, and sayâ