Chapter 58

Nikami POV

"What? Are you serious? That's… I… I really don't know what to say…" She just stared at me, blinking in confusion.

"It's weird, I don't know what the trigger was, or why specifically me… And the fact that there are more capture targets by the hour is getting irritating…" I sighed to myself.

"But doesn't that mean it's kinda like magic?! You can see CGs even when she is so far from you! You know which route she is going to!" She exclaimed, now having a bright smile as she got an idea.

"That's… Right… I never thought of it that way, with this, I can really plan ahead of time if I know which route she is going to. Rai… You're a genius." I stared back at her, without me knowing, my lips tugged to a smile.

"I-it was just a small idea! You just… ya know, seemed so pessimistic about it I guess… And I wanted to cheer you up!" She chuckled nervously, patting my back as the smile faded from my face. Not that I was displeased, but it just naturally faded out.

"I thought Nikami was supposed to be a realist! But now that it's you, you're a dorkist!" She exclaimed with a wheeze.

"That is not how it works." I narrowed down my eyes at her.

"That was a joke, smartass." She rolled her eyes, and as soon as she did so, the bell rang.

"Well shit." She grumbled, folding her hands as she rolled her eyes.

"You should go now." I told her, looking down at the notebook I was holding earlier.

"Nah, Don't wanna."

"What?"

"I want to spend more time with you." She huffed, shifting her eyes away from me with a small blush on her face.

"I appreciate the thought, but you should really go. I don't want to be the reason a prince is skipping class." I looked up and sighed.

"Come on!" She begged.

"No, didn't I tell you we'll always see each other again? Stop being dumb and go." I tapped on my book as I told her that.

"And apologize to Shu when you get back to your classroom, now go away already." I mumbled, laying back down on the bed and stared at the opposite direction of where Raijin was.

"Wha…? Fuck, you're right, I should go apologize to Shu… See you then! Be safe, alright? And you should really fix your sharp tongue." She hopped out of the bed, patted me on the head, and before I could react she bolted out of the infirmary with a grin and chuckle.

"Did you just-hey, wait a second-" I sat up, staring at the girl who just left. I only saw the edge of her cape when I glanced over at the door.

"I can't believe that girl… She is so rude." I grumbled to myself, pouting as I went back, laying down on the bed, taking the blanket over my head and closing my eyes. Falling asleep immediately.

When I woke up, I felt unusually cold, opening my eyes I saw a familiar green haired girl with glasses staring directly at me.

"O-oh! U-uhm, I'm so so-so-so-sorry for looking at y-you! You were just-uhm, mu-muttering in your sle-sleep so I got worried a-and- A-aahh!!" Kikyou quickly tried to defend herself, dropping the multiple books she had on her hand and bent down to get them all.

"It's fine, Kiyu-sama." I yawned, shaking my head as I sat up and looked down at her.

"I assume you were the one who took the blanket off me? It was quite cold." I continued to speak towards the girl who just became a nervous wreck.

"Y-yes! I thought you were… uhm… Su-suffocating since you were muttering, I-I am so sorry for di-disturbing your sleep, I-I really am-" She took the books that were on the floor, standing up as she looked back at me with an apologetic expression.

"You… Remember my name…?" She blinked in confusion, adjusting her glasses as she gasped.

"Of course I do, your name is quite easy to remember. Kiyu sounds like cute, or maybe just the letter q. Perhaps I could even call you Kiyuto-sama." I spoke out, having no filter at all.

"Cu-cute?! I-I haven't… Heard that from an-anyone before…" She quietly turned red, covering herself with the books in her hand.

"Ah… Forgive me for my bluntness… Something just happened." I quickly apologized to her.

"Oh? Is it because you got cursed? Er, maybe the right way is brain manipulation… I-ignore me if I-I'm wrong though! I-I'm… Almost always wrong… So…" She dropped down the book from her face, now staring right at me.

"How did you know?" This clearly caught me off guard, flinching as I stared at her.

"S-so I was right?! Oh no, who did this to yo-you?! It looks like to me they are a high ranking caster…" She adjusted her glasses and continued to stare at my eyes.

"How did you know? Answer me." I asked, no so politely.

"O-oh uhm… I can… See mana flow… If I-I tried hard enough! That is…" She adjusted her glasses, slowly turning away from my direction. Like she was embarrassed.

"You can see mana flow?!" My eyes wide wide open, gasping as I covered my mouth.

"O-only in humans! Only in humans! And some small animals, I'm not that good enough to see mana flow all around me and some monsters…" She tried to defend herself by making it seem more weak, though it did not work.

I stood up, grabbed the female's shoulders and stared at her eyes, she shivered at my touches and gulped when I grabbed her.

"I-I'm so-sorry! I didn't mean to make you mad-"

"What in the world are you apologizing about?? You're literally strong, extremely strong, the fact you could even see mana flow is just amazing, as expected of you, Kiyu-sama." I stared at her in the eyes, her blue eyes staring back at me as well. Before she turned red and looked away.

"A-as expected of m-me??? I-I'm not as great as you say I am…" She mumbled, adjusting her glasses once more.

I let go of the girl and sighed for a bit.

"No use trying to talk to you about this now, someone will change that mindset of yours in the future. Now, you can see mana flow, but how did you know I had a curse?" I asked her, now sitting back at my bed and folding my hands.

"Well… Curses are like parasites… There are two types of Curses, the long range ones and the short range ones… Curses are like blessings, though it's a bad one… It is constantly being cast, or has a trigger when it casts… And just like casting, it needs mana, the long range ones feast on the target's mana, but the short range ones feed on the user's mana…" She spoke to me in clear confidence, no stuttering like she does, she seemed really happy and excited when talking about this subject.

"So-sorry for sa-saying all of that all of a sudden! U-uhm, what I'm saying i-is… Si-since I can see mana flow, I can see that there ar-are some mana that go to yo-your head and disappear wh-when it is supposed to circulate around your body…" She explained to me, now back to her usual nervous self.

"I… I didn't know that… Tch." I looked down on the ground and clicked my tongue.

"You are enthusiastic when you talk about magic... " I looked back up at her.

"W-well be-because that is really the only thing I-I am not bad at…" She spoke out, holding the books tightly in her arns.

"What are you saying? You're amazing at magic, I didn't even know humans could see mana flow… Being able to see mana aura's is impressive enough, I can't imagine how good you have to be to see mana flow…" I folded my hands, annoyed at the fact that she keeps making herself lower than she actually is.

"I-I'm sorry… I have heard a lot of people sa-say that… But I'm not as good as they think I am… I-I'm not some sort of savior… I-I'm just… A girl…" She chuckled nervously.

"I see, your insecurities come from the pressure of having multiple elements at your disposal and everyone tells you that you're a genius and what not. Giving them a high standard of you, maybe even praising you to the point where they call you the perfect mage, when just like others you are human and make mistakes. And when you make mistakes you are scared of disappointing the people around you so you would rather run away from them and hide rather than facing the problems, correct?" I blurted out, and the female stared at me with an open mouth, her face puzzled at what I was saying.

"Oh. I might have talked too much, but I nailed that one, didn't I?"