CH 362

It was the start of a new day.

“Good morning, My Lord.”

I was greeted by a gently smiling Kugi when I woke up. Maybe it’s just me, but her skin kinda looks a lot glossier and suppler than before.

“Let me sleep more.”

“Good. Morning. My Lord.”

I tried to cover myself with the futon, but Kugi proceeded to try and pull it off of me. Man, she really was strong. I decided to give up hiding under the futon since it might eventually get torn in two.

“Morning, Kugi.”

“Yes, good morning.”

The smiling Kugi was already wearing her clothes. I’ll refrain from commenting on the details of what happened last night, but let’s just say that her telepathic ability was close to cheating. If I had to give an analogy, it would be like two people engaging in a fistfight and dealing equal damage to one another, so there just wasn’t any chance for any one of them to snatch a win.

“So, My Lord, has your perception of the world changed?”

“Mmm, uh, it kinda feels like it did but also didn’t at the same time.”

My『eye』got opened without a hitch. It was opened, but it’s not like my perception of the world changed dramatically. I certainly do feel some kind of wave or flow of energy swelling from within me, and I sense the same thing from within Kugi, but that’s about it.

Uh, no, it’s not just that huh? It kinda feels different, but it looks like I can also sense the presence of Mimi and Elma within the Black Lotus. It’s a little different from seeing with your physical eyes. I can feel their presence itself. The feeling gets transmitted to the center of my head or something to that effect.

“Anyway, it looks like I won’t be blindsided by surprise attacks from now on huh.”

“If you get used to it little by little, you will eventually be able to fully control your power, My Lord. First, just try to gradually get accustomed to the power that exists within you. If you have any concerns, please share them with me immediately.”

“Understood. But for now……”

“Yes?”

“I wanna take a shower first.”

After taking a quick shower, I went to the break space where everyone was gathered together with Kugi, and everyone’s gaze turned toward me as soon as I stepped foot inside. Mimi’s face was red and it somehow seemed like she was sulking. Elma’s face was also beet red as she pointedly glared at me. Tina was grinning from ear to ear and Wiska seemed to be avoiding looking at me directly. Mei wasn’t present. It looks like I wasn’t able to sense Mei’s presence. Was it because a maidroid wasn’t a biological organism?

“Good morning, everyone.”

“G-Good morning, Hiro-sama.”

“……Morning.”

“G’mornin’ Boss.”

“Good morning, Big Brother.”

Everyone’s reactions were strange. I turned to Kugi, but she just smiled and said nothing. What the heck is with this subtle atmosphere? Doesn’t it seem like something major happened? Uh, judging from their reactions, I do have an idea about what’s going on though.

“Umm, did something leak out last night?”

“Forget a leak. It was pouring out like crazy, Hiro-sama……”

“We’re already aware of what the source was, so we more or less tolerated it, but I bet those who weren’t in the know were pretty surprised.”

“Kugi-san?”

“Yes, My Lord.”

According to Kugi, she received the enormous psionic power released when I opened my ‘eye’, converted it into harmless mental waves, and released them in large quantities in order to prevent any accidents that might lead to the demise of lifeforms living within the star system.

“If I didn’t do so, there was a risk of a phenomenon that would lead to the destruction of the star system occurring. In your case My Lord, your abilities include the manipulation of space, time, and fate, so…… In case something did go wrong, the time in this star system would have completely halted, and the resulting spatiotemporal distortion may have led to large-scale destruction that would encompass the entirety of the star system. It is also possible that something even worse would have happened. I do not even dare imagine what would happen if your ability to manipulate fate went out of control.”

“Okay, I get it. I get it, but wasn’t there a more reasonable way?”

“That was the only way for me to safely accept the power you released…… Did you not like it?”

“No, I did. It’s just that the result is……”

In other words, the l*ve l*ve waves completely leaked out of the ship and onto the surroundings. For most people, they would have just taken it as a strange phenomenon of unknown origin, but for those who knew of my and Kugi’s psionic abilities, the source was as clear as day. Specifically, Capt. Serena, Dr. Shouko, and Mr. Wells all should have known what last night’s incident was about. Oh, Lt. Robbitson too, I suppose. It felt like my honor and dignity had taken a serious hit, but I did fully awaken my psionic abilities in exchange. So, I guess that’s a plus point.

“I mean, y’know…… It was a bit, err, too hasty. Wasn’t there a more modest and steady method available?”

“Yes, My Lord. There is one.”

“There is!?”

If that’s the case, then why did we have to do ‘that’ last night?

“Yes. However, you would have had to undergo rigorous training under the right teacher in a proper location for at least five years.”

“You’re amazing for accomplishing it in one night then, Kugi.”

Hey, you sure changed your tune really quick huh? Oh well. It ain’t possible for me to undergo training for five years anyway.

“One of the greatest duties of a shrine maiden like me is to open the『eye』of someone like My Lord as safely and as fast as possible. I am truly happy to have fulfilled my duty successfully.”

Kugi displayed a very satisfied expression as she said those words. However, seeing her expression made me feel uneasy.

“Are you sure you didn’t harm yourself when you received my power, Kugi? You said my power is extremely strong, so you didn’t shorten your lifespan or anything like that when you converted it to harmless mental waves, right?”

“There is no need to worry. Rather, I am in great physical condition. If something like that were to happen, My Lord might have ended up cursing the world after all. I was trained and chosen as a shrine maiden exactly to prevent something like that from happening.”

Kugi proudly patted her chest with an increasingly ecstatic expression, probably because of the sense of accomplishment she earned from fulfilling her duty as a shrine maiden. I don’t think she’s lying, so I suppose she’s really fine.

“Can I interject now?”

“Ah, yes, go ahead.”

Elma suddenly called out to me while I was talking to Kugi. Judging by her tone, she seemed to be angry. She was, right? No, maybe she actually wasn’t? It kinda feels like her emotions were being transmitted to me. This is probably due to my『eye』being opened huh.

“I think you should properly apologize for exposing us to your pink-colored poisonous mental waves for the entire night, don’t you think?”

“P-Pink-colored poisonous waves?”

Elma’s naming sense was truly unique. HA HA HA!

“I truly apologize for last night’s inconvenience.”

I bent forward at a perfect ninety degrees and bowed with all the sincerity I could muster. I raised the white flag without hesitation. It was a situation where I couldn’t help but apologize because I really was at fault.

“Words alone can’t convey your sincerity, mister.”

Elma stood up quietly and approached me. Her eyes were glazed over. How scary!

“That’s right, Boss.”

Before I knew it (err, I actually did notice beforehand) Tina came over as well and grabbed my left arm while Elma grabbed my right. H-Hey. Aren’t you guys grabbing a bit too tight? I can’t match even one of you in raw physical power, so what’s up with you guys double-teaming me!?

“Hold on a minute, guys. Let’s calm down first, okay? We’ll probably be sortieing out later today, so this really isn’t the time to play around.”

“Mimi.”

“Yes.”

Mimi, who was following after me, Tina, and Elma, showed me the screen of her tablet terminal. Wait, what? A mysterious phenomenon disturbed public morals in various parts of the Dauntless? The Dauntless authorities announced that the phenomenon was possibly caused by an artifact brought into the ship and were now conducting a large-scale investigation? I see.

“The aftermath of this incident will probably last one or two days before it dies down, so Captain Serena’s stuck until then. Just accept your fate.”

“Please be gentle.”

Even if I trained my body regularly, there’s still a limit to my stamina y’know.

There ain’t no way I can win against four opponents all at the same time. Please use some common-sense guys.