Hanadasaki Ame rubbed at his brow, trying to ease the strange pressure in his head.
Along with the broad outline of the future, he had also gained fragments of information from his future research results. It was that portion—the part he could not digest in such a short time—that was putting the greatest strain on him.
But if he did this a few more times, wouldn't that drastically shorten the time needed to develop Electric Current Propulsion? At that point, Magnetic Field Rotation would finally be within sight!
For the moment, however, he could not use the ability again. It needed to slowly replenish itself by absorbing something he could not identify.
After sensing it carefully, he estimated that he could probably use it about once a week.
That was acceptable.
"Shinka, we're both just killing time anyway. Let's play a little game!"
Hearing that, Nibutani Shinka finally emerged from the depths of her overwhelming embarrassment. She stopped wriggling on the floor, sat up, and while fixing her slightly mussed hair, looked at him curiously.
"What game?"
She had come over to Hanadasaki Ame's place in the first place just to pass the boring vacation hours.
It wasn't as though he was the only person she knew. She had at least a few female friends. But whenever she imagined meeting them and having one of them hesitantly ask whether she was still the five-hundred-year-old mage who remained in this world, suddenly Hanadasaki Ame's occasional teasing did not seem quite so intolerable.
That Lady Mori persona should have died cleanly on the day she graduated middle school. It needed to stop haunting her already!
"Trading secrets."
A faint smile appeared on Hanadasaki Ame's face as he spoke softly.
"Secrets!?"
Nibutani Shinka's gaze instantly sharpened.
Even though they were childhood friends, they really could not be said to know everything about each other.
The Hanadasaki family had moved here when she was in fifth grade. There had only been two of them: Hanadasaki Ame and his father, Hanadasaki Tatsuya.
The relationship between father and son had always seemed strange. More often than not, the one making decisions in that household was not the father, Hanadasaki Tatsuya, but Hanadasaki Ame. She had no idea what exactly had happened there.
Still, if they were going to trade secrets, how could she waste the chance on something that unimportant!?
What she wanted was leverage! His most embarrassing secret!
The next time he brought up her chuunibyou phase, she would make sure they both suffered together!
"Alright, let's play that. So how exactly does it work?"
She asked with evident interest.
"Hmm… let's agree to exchange three secrets. The other person gets to specify what kind of secret they want. You have to answer honestly, and you're not allowed to hide any details. If you don't have a corresponding secret, then that one gets reserved—you can either switch to another secret, or keep it reserved until such a secret eventually appears."
Hanadasaki Ame quickly sketched out a few simple rules.
A game like this was not suited to overly complicated rules. Its real foundation was mutual trust and sincerity.
Nibutani Shinka thought it over briefly and decided it sounded fine. She beckoned Hanadasaki Ame closer, had him sit across from her at the small table in front of her, and asked:
"You first, or me first?"
"You first. You can ask me for all three of my secrets right away. And remember—any secret."
Hanadasaki Ame said it softly, with the faintest hint of suggestion in his tone.
Nibutani Shinka's breath caught for a moment.
Hanadasaki Ame was very cute—cuter than the overwhelming majority of girls.
His limbs were slender and soft-looking, his skin pale and delicate like milk, so fine it seemed as though it would bruise at a touch. His cherry-blossom-pink hair was braided down his back, and at the left front of his head there was a single tuft of white hair. Beneath it, his features were exquisitely delicate: long lashes, a straight elegant nose, and eyes tinted pink with the faintest trace of violet, as though they exuded a subtle, dangerous charm that made people afraid to stare too long.
If he put on a dress, he would honestly look even more like a girl than most girls did.
Whenever Nibutani Shinka looked into those beautiful eyes of his, she could not help feeling a little annoyed at herself. How had she spent all three years of middle school doing nothing but indulging her chuunibyou delusions!?
Your childhood friend next door kept getting cuter and cuter—why didn't you at least look twice!?
"I want to know… the secret you personally consider the most embarrassing."
Suppressing the fluttering thoughts in her heart, Nibutani Shinka enunciated each word carefully.
"That's it?"
Hanadasaki Ame raised a brow slightly. After taking a moment to organize his wording, he continued:
"Probably back in fourth grade, when I tried to train my body. I was running by myself on the school track and fell down five times. That was the day my dream of athletic greatness died."
There were many things in the world that you would never know you couldn't do unless you seriously tried.
Hanadasaki Ame had tried—and discovered that he really could not do it. Physical training was utterly inefficient for him, all effort and no payoff.
"…That's it?"
Nibutani Shinka stared at him darkly.
He could have at least fobbed her off with something childish, like wetting the bed once or twice. But falling down? What was that supposed to be? Did he just trip on flat ground?
"At the time, I was in a phase where I desperately wanted to grow stronger as quickly as possible. Failing at physical training really did make me feel an intense sense of frustration and humiliation."
Hanadasaki Ame said it with complete seriousness. Even now, he could still vividly remember everything he had thought and felt back then.
"Uh… why did you want to become stronger in the first place? That doesn't sound much like something a kid would think about."
Nibutani Shinka asked, genuinely puzzled.
"Because I was bullied."
Hanadasaki Ame replied succinctly, his expression calm.
Nibutani Shinka immediately fell silent.
That was not a topic she ought to have brought up so lightly.
No matter the country, school bullying seemed to be one of those chronic social diseases that could never truly be rooted out. It just kept appearing again and again.
She herself was pretty, cheerful, and outgoing. Even at the height of her chuunibyou phase, she had still had a whole circle of girls to fool around with. She had never experienced bullying. But Hanadasaki Ame was different. Even now he looked fragile enough to be mistaken for a girl, and there was no need to imagine how much worse that had been when he was younger. Children like that were exactly the sort most likely to be targeted.
"Right… next secret. Let me think…"
She deliberately steered away from the topic.
That first secret was a total waste. It was completely useless as leverage against the current Hanadasaki Ame, whose mind was far too mature now. Even if she told someone else, they probably would not find it particularly meaningful either.
So for the second secret, she needed to choose more carefully.
After thinking for a few seconds, an idea suddenly came to her.
How about… asking which girl he liked?
Now that was the kind of secret boys really found hard to say out loud, wasn't it?
Nibutani Shinka could not help showing a pleased little smile. But just as she was about to ask, she suddenly froze, her words dying in her throat.
A small but terrifying possibility occurred to her.
What if… Hanadasaki Ame liked her!?
If she made him say it out loud, wouldn't that turn into a confession!?
She had not even figured out how she would respond. If that happened, the awkward one would not just be Hanadasaki Ame.
No, absolutely not. She needed a different secret!
Even as she tried to think of other things to ask, that earlier thought refused to leave. It lingered like a feather brushing lightly against her heart over and over again.
After agonizing over it for a while, she decided to circle around the issue a little—to probe indirectly, more cautiously.
"Other than your parents and relatives, who is the most important person in your life so far?"
"That's a good question. And my answer probably won't change for quite a long time."
Hanadasaki Ame's words made Nibutani Shinka's heart leap into her throat. She stared at him without blinking, waiting for what came next.
"That's right—the man who enlightened my life!"
Nibutani Shinka began to feel that something was off.
"My elementary school PE teacher! Imai Ken!"
"Hah!?"
Nibutani Shinka slammed a hand on the table before she could stop herself.
What the hell was that!?
She had been brimming with anticipation for nothing!
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 172)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 116)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter69)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter119)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 60
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 66
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 50
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 52
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 55
The Way the Umamusume Look at 42
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 40
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 36
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 30
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 26
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