Inhale... exhale...
Alistair lay on one of the infirmary beds, breathing steadily. Beside him, Tomomi was curled up, clinging to him with a faint smile on her face as she slept.
"Mmm... what time is it?" Alistair blinked his eyes open and fumbled for his phone. "Hah... already 4:00 PM. I'll lay here a bit longer, then head home."
"Mmm... huh? The infirmary?" Tomomi woke up as Alistair moved. She propped herself up, looking around blearily. "Did we sleep the whole afternoon?"
"Yeah. It's past four. Do you have club activities?"
"Clubs? I mean, I'm in one, but I don't go often. It won't matter if I miss it." She laid back down, resting her head on Alistair's arm.
"Why do you have to sleep on my arm? It's going numb," Alistair grumbled, though he didn't pull away.
"Oh! Sorry! How about this?" She sat up, but instead of leaving, she pulled Alistair's arm up, scooted onto his pillow, and hugged his arm like a stuffed animal, closing her eyes again.
Fine... whatever makes you happy. Alistair figured his [Pheromones] and the fact that he'd "drained" her had boosted her affection to the max. Getting her into bed for the real thing would just be a matter of time.
"Tomomi, what do you know about Seira Kanonzaka and Arisa Kurusu?" Alistair asked, thinking back to the two girls he'd met earlier.
Seira seemed smart and dominant, while Arisa was the type to act on impulse but followed Seira's lead. Seira had almost seen right through him.
"They're bullies," Tomomi said, eyes still closed. "They pick on guys, mostly. Seira's family is untouchable here, so no one challenges her. Arisa is a famous model, and her family runs the fashion industry. She's influential but doesn't like using her brain."
"That's it?"
"Well... there are rumors. People say the 'Hour of Inscription' was caused by their families. But something that massive? It doesn't seem like something humans could do, so the rumors died down."
"What exactly is the 'Hour of Inscription'? Why is it so strange?"
"During the 'Hour,' female instinct overrides reason," Tomomi explained, her face heating up. "If no men are around, it's just a restless feeling. But the moment we see a man, we lose all control and crave... everything."
"Really? I heard men get 'erased' by it." Alistair noted the discrepancy between her story and Nina's.
"That's also true. During the 'Hour,' all supernatural energy is drained from everyone. For us, that energy is part of our mental strength. When it's gone, our rational mind weakens, and instincts take over. But for men... for some reason, their physical bodies rely on that energy to exist. When they are drained dry, their bodies can't maintain their form and they collapse—or 'erase.' That's where the story comes from."
Tomomi seemed very well-informed, likely due to her family's status.
"How do you know so much?"
"My mother told me. I don't know how she knows, but she wanted to protect me."
Alistair went silent, processing this. The 'Hour' wasn't a natural phenomenon; it was a mass-harvesting of supernatural energy. Someone—likely the Kanonzaka family—was stealing everyone's "Mystery."
But why was Alistair still alive? According to Tomomi, he should have "collapsed."
Wait... she said instinct overrides reason. Alistair had noticed he'd been more "hungry" lately, but not to the point of losing his mind. Is it because I'm 'delicate' looking that the system misidentified my gender? Am I a 'Hideyoshi'? Or an attack helicopter?
Regardless of his existential crisis, one thing was clear: the 'Hour' happened frequently. If it was a mass-harvesting of energy, then the 'Hour' was his best chance to reclaim his lost power.