After entering the room, Chika didn't treat it as a boy's room at all—instead, she acted like it was her own space.
She sat down on the single sofa, made herself a cup of tea, and took a sip of the steaming drink.
"!"
"It's so hot!"
The tea was boiling, and she had taken an impatient sip.
Or rather, she wasn't suited for drinking scalding hot tea in the first place.
"Did you burn yourself?"
Ren walked over and looked at Chika's reddened lips, clearly aware of how much damage the tea's temperature had caused her.
Chika's eyes welled up with tears as she fanned her mouth rapidly with her hands and nodded frantically.
"Don't move."
Ren shook his head. She was unexpectedly reckless. Then he reached out and tapped her lips lightly.
"Secret."
As soon as Ren spoke, the burning sensation around Chika's mouth suddenly vanished.
"Ah~ That's better."
The scorching pain faded, replaced by a cool, soothing sensation. Chika felt imdiate relief.
"Be more careful when drinking next ti. If you're not used to hot tea, don't force it. There are cool drinks in the fridge."
"No, drinking cold tea late at night can cause a stomachache, especially this season."
Chika picked up the cup of hot tea again, but this ti, she was obviously more cautious. She blew on it gently and only took a small sip once it had cooled slightly.
The lukewarm temperature was much more pleasant.
Ren sat across from her.
"So, is this about the diary? Or the reward?"
"The reward," Chika replied directly.
"I've heard Kaguya talk about the diary a lot, and you guys don't really avoid when you bring it up, so I know the basics."
"What I don't understand is the reward I got from the lottery. I'd like your help to figure it out."
"No problem."
It was just identifying a reward item he didn't recognize—not a big deal for him.
Ren waved his hand casually and asked, "Fujiwara, what was the na of your roulette draw?"
"Lord of Mysteries."
Chika's straightforward answer made him freeze just as he was about to retract his hand. He looked at her with a slight smile.
"This is really..."
He tried to keep a straight face. Besides him, soone else had drawn from the Lord of Mysteries. That was a bit unexpected.
"Was it a potion?"
"Yeah."
"What sequence?"
"Hmm~ I think it was a potion called Spectator."
That response made Ren take a closer look at her.
"But honestly... it really suits you, Chika."
For anyone else, the Spectator potion wouldn't be a good match. But for Chika—it oddly fit.
The potion pathway granted excellent abilities, but the side effects were also significant.
Unlike Ren, who had drawn Wild Card at the start and thus beca unique, almost immune to the usual side effects, Chika didn't have that kind of buffer.
Still, Ren began explaining the Audience potion's powers.
"Fujiwara, let explain the potion you drew—Spectator."
"Drinking the Spectator potion grants you extraordinary abilities. It enhances your spirit and observation skills. You'll be able to discern others' intentions and thoughts just by observing their behavior."
"Isn't that basically mind reading?"
For the first ti, Chika felt just how close supernatural power really was and how strong this ability sounded. If it were her mother, she'd be ecstatic to get sothing like this.
"It's not quite mind reading. You're making inferences based on what you observe. The potion just enhances your observation skills to the extre."
"But the pathway you drew—the Visionary pathway—eventually develops into reading people's hearts. The next potion down the line, Sequence 8, should be Telepathist. It further strengthens the observation abilities you gained from Spectator, and also allows you to perceive auras."
"At that point, maybe you really can read people's minds."
"Mmm... Even Shinomiya and Ran probably wouldn't be able to block that."
Magic nullification only works against supernatural powers. But when it cos to observation, there's really no way to defend.
After all, mind reading through the Visionary pathway works via observation—external, internal, and mystical cues. It's fundantally an extension of one's own perception, not so overpowered forced mind-reading like the Diary's cheat ability.
Observation can't be nullified by anti-magic.
Of course, Ren also made one thing clear.
"Just keep in mind, it's only observation. Other than that, you don't get anything else."
"Neither Spectator nor Telepathist offer any boost to direct combat ability. That's important."
Chika nodded slightly. She understood what Ren was saying.
Even though the Spectator path didn't give her sothing flashy like Kaguya's abilities, she still felt like it was a perfect match.
Compared to Kaguya's direct power, she believed she was better suited for a supporting role. ntal acuity and observation were her strengths.
"Amamiya, I think the Spectator potion really does suit ."
In a sense, Ren also felt the sa, it really did suit Chika.
"If you're okay with that, then I'll explain how the potion system works."
"Okay."
"Although the potion system looks impressive, it cos with certain risks. Once you start taking potions, there's always the danger of losing control."
"Losing control?"
The phrase sounded dangerous, and Chika's expression turned serious.
"Well... Ren, I don't really get what that ans. I just want to know, can it be controlled?"
"Yes."
Managing loss of control wasn't that difficult.
What "losing control" really referred to was encountering trouble during promotion, or being exposed to information beyond what your mind can handle.
Most Lord of Mysteries pathway users lost control when they heard the whispers of high-sequence beings during advancent, or when they accessed too much forbidden knowledge and suffered cognitive pollution.
Damage taken during high-sequence battles could also trigger it, but that was sothing still far off for Chika.
Then there were curses.
But none of this was particularly stressful for Ren, who held both Sefirah Castle and access to the River of Eternal Darkness.
"When you drink the potion, you can chant my na and turn that into faith in . I can protect you."
(To be continued.)
***
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