"Tsk—"
Tatsumaki clicked her tongue in annoyance, seeing her prank had been seen through.
Then she glanced at him again and asked:
"Then why did you invite me... out for a stroll today?"
"Because there's a beautiful female Monster wearing a maid outfit hiding in my house."
Aokiji replied sincerely, without a single lie.
"She even lifted her skirt and said she wanted to squeeze me dry."
"Do you think I'm stupid?!"
Tatsumaki didn't believe him at all.
She wore a mocking, smug smile:
"Trying to play me? At least come up with a better excuse!"
Aokiji shrugged.
They say the highest Realm of lying is nine parts truth and one part falsehood.
He told the whole truth, and yet he still managed to deceive her.
"Maid outfit, lifting skirts, whatever," Tatsumaki continued to mock him.
"I didn't expect you to fantasize about such scenarios. It seems maid outfits are your fetish~ How disgusting~"
It was rare for Tatsumaki to have the upper hand in a conversation.
She didn't want to stop anytime soon.
"Liking nonsensical things like maid outfits just shows you're nothing but a childish brat~"
"It's truly hilarious!"
"Inviting me out for a walk, you're not trying to get closer to girls, are you~? Well, I'm sorry, but I have no interest in small fry~!"
She's getting addicted to talking?
Aokiji originally didn't want to pay her any mind.
Hoping she'd shut up once she realized it was boring.
But seeing Tatsumaki's arrogant and asking-for-it expression,
he felt it would be unsatisfying not to strike back.
Aokiji feigned a confused expression.
Touching his stomach, he said:
"Strange. Just now in the sky, I vaguely felt something rubbing against my abs."
"Ha—?!" Tatsumaki instantly gasped.
"I did no such thing!!"
"But didn't you just use your Esper powers to wrap around my whole body?"
Aokiji stared at her.
His expression shifted from contemplation to realization.
"So you were using your Esper powers to take advantage of me."
"I was not, you bastard!!"
Tatsumaki clenched her fists and retorted impatiently:
"That was just psychic power! Even if it touched you, it doesn't matter!"
Aokiji said knowingly:
"Psychic power originates from one's own spirit; it can be seen as an extension of the self even closer than the physical body. Doesn't that make such contact even more inappropriate?"
Tatsumaki was rendered speechless by this peculiar line of reasoning.
Seeing the label of 'molester' about to fall on her head,
Tatsumaki was so angry she wanted to strike again.
But Aokiji was one step faster—
He spread his arms wide.
"Since we're friends, I'll satisfy your needs. Go ahead, feel free to touch."
Tatsumaki froze like a clockwork doll that had stopped winding.
Her eyes wandered involuntarily.
He sounds so certain, could I have really done it unconsciously...?
Back when she was staying at Aokiji's house and making him look for Fubuki, it's not like she hadn't seen him while he was working out.
Well, his physique... was, was decent enough.
Tatsumaki felt a strange burning sensation in her heart.
She cast a seemingly nonchalant glance at Aokiji, who stood with open arms.
Touch freely... No, no, no, that's wrong!
This guy must be playing with me again!!
Forget touching; even reaching out would make me a laughingstock!!
Just as Tatsumaki firmed her resolve,
Aokiji, having waited for a while, lowered his arms.
See! He really wasn't serious!!
Good thing I didn't fall for it!
Tatsumaki felt relieved, yet a flicker of disappointment crossed her mind.
The moment she realized she had felt that faint emotion,
Tatsumaki was instantly enveloped in shame.
What am I disappointed about?!!!
However, Aokiji's counterattack wasn't over.
"Why hesitate? We're friends, no need to be polite."
As he spoke, Aokiji lifted his shirt.
Revealing his well-defined abdominals and obliques.
The lines were sharp and deep.
His sufficiently slender waist made the muscle definition look exceptionally perfect.
In short,
by the time Tatsumaki realized what was happening,
it was already too late to pull her hand back.
The sensation she felt was hot, firm, yet flexible.
Her emerald-green pupils constricted and trembled as she slowly looked up.
Meeting the playful smile in Aokiji's eyes.
%￥#@*$@+&——!!!!
The air seemed to suffer an unprecedented bombardment!
Before there was time to shift, the air was instantly torn apart by incredibly violent psychic power!
Forcing out a vacuum tunnel formed by the Esper's escape route!!
Spreading like the shockwave of an explosion!
The air hadn't even rushed back into the vacuum.
The Esper loli, with steam visibly rising from her face, had already surged into the high-altitude clouds!
The strongest Esper in history—
Once again defeated and fleeing!
"Heh."
The returning air formed a gale.
Aokiji stood in the wind, completely unaffected.
He looked up at the hole in the clouds and said leisurely:
"Little virgin, her attack isn't high, and her defense is even lower."
She turns into a Steam Engine just from touching some abs.
If we really got into it, she'd probably burn through the Earth.
He looked left and right; there was nothing.
Even fleeing in such a state, she didn't forget to take the bag with the dolls.
But why is the bag with my clothes gone too?
Aokiji sat down again, in no hurry to return.
The dome was far from the streets below; almost no sound could reach it.
The construction on the shelter had finished for the day long ago.
It was incredibly silent at this moment.
Except when using his abilities,
it was only by staying in a place like this, where ordinary people couldn't reach,
and observing the world from a fresh perspective,
that he could truly realize the power he possessed.
"...I hope the next template allows for flight. Moonwalk doesn't give much of a sense of freedom when flying."
————
"Sister, I'm back."
Fubuki opened the door and took off the over-the-knee boots she had worn all day.
She slumped onto the sofa in exhaustion.
But in her heart, there was a sense of satisfied joy.
The Moves Aokiji taught her were both fitting and practical!
The boost to her combat power was quite significant!
After resting on the sofa for a bit, she stood up and went to her sister's bedroom door.
She had clearly seen her sister's shoes just now, so why was there no sound?
"Sister?" Fubuki asked tentatively. "Are you okay? How did your talk with Aokiji go today?"
"..."
Not a sound came from inside the room.
Yet Fubuki felt a deep, inexplicable pressure emanating from within.
What's going on?!
Why is Sister throwing a tantrum again?!
Fubuki took a few steps back, unable to figure it out.
From the corner of her eye, several messy bags placed by the door caught her attention.
Fubuki decided to tidy them up.
She took out the items... Dolls?
Where did Sister get these? Didn't she say she was going to discuss serious business with Aokiji?
She opened another bag.
Sister's clothes??
Fubuki was filled with confusion and shock.
Uh, well, maybe she took them off when she got back.
Fubuki opened the last bag.
This is... men's clothing?!!
And in this size?!!
Sister went to see Aokiji!!
And her strange behavior after returning!!
Fubuki's fingers tightened involuntarily.
The pieces connected in her mind.
What did you do to my sister?!
Aokiji!!!
...
(Throw some stones)