152: Ability—Collapse!

"Hey, long time no see, Ayumi."

"Huh? This voice... Is that you, Hakuto-nii?"

"It's me."

"Why was Yuu-nii screaming just now?"

"It's nothing, he was just too excited to see me after so long."

"Hakuto-nii, are you usually busy?"

"Not really... So, how's your telescope? No more issues?"

"Nope! That uncle fixed it really well last time, so now I can see even farther stars!"

"That's good... Hold on, I need to take care of something first. Talk later."

"Oh, okay."

As soon as Hakuto finished speaking, he hung up the phone. At the same time, his free hand was firmly pinning Otosaka Yuu down, pressing him against the ground.

"I was just talking to Ayumi. You didn't have to get so worked up."

It wasn't that Hakuto wanted to fight Otosaka Yuu, but the guy was getting a bit too agitated. Seriously... Brother-complexes are terrifying.

"You bastard, don't even think about laying a hand on my sister!"

"Don't make it sound like I'm some kind of chibicon..." Hakuto sighed, handing the phone back to Otosaka Yuu before letting him go.

"When did you get behind me?"

"When you said you weren't going home for dinner."

"So you were here from the start?!"

"More or less. But honestly, what's more interesting is why you're skipping dinner. What, got yourself a girlfriend?"

At those words, Otosaka Yuu shook his head, refusing to answer.

Even if he didn't say anything, Hakuto could pretty much guess—he was probably avoiding Pizza Sauce.

Kids these days really don't know how good they have it. Someone's cooking for you, and you're still being picky?

But Hakuto hadn't come to see Otosaka Yuu just to mess around.

In order to get closer to Otosaka Shunsuke as soon as possible, Hakuto decided to give Otosaka Yuu a little hint.

"By the way, you haven't been overusing your ability lately, have you?"

"I haven't used it at all outside of school."

"That's good. Oh, and you might think I'm just talking nonsense, but if possible, try using your ability on Ayumi."

"Huh? You're not joking?"

"Just as a precaution."

"...Weird."

Hakuto didn't explain further. Even if Otosaka Yuu ignored his advice, Hakuto was confident in keeping Ayumi safe.

[Collapse]

An ability that puts not only the user but also everyone around them in extreme danger.

From the moment Hakuto first saw Ayumi, he had been wary of her ability.

Maybe because of Hakuto's presence, Ayumi wasn't showing any signs of [Collapse] right now.

But it was always better to be cautious. The best solution would be for Otosaka Yuu to directly steal Ayumi's ability.

However, knowing how much of a siscon Otosaka Yuu was, he would never use his ability on his own sister.

And as for "Plunder," Hakuto couldn't tell Otosaka Yuu about it. Not because of any restrictions—just out of respect for Otosaka Shunsuke.

That was something only Shunsuke himself could explain to Otosaka Yuu. Hakuto had no right to interfere.

Still, Shunsuke sure was bold. Knowing his sister had such a dangerous ability, yet he just left things as they were.

Was this the confidence granted by memory leaps and Plunder? As expected of a protagonist—no one in that family had a weak ability.

"By the way, if you're not going home today, I guess I'll go see Ayumi instead~" Hakuto casually patted Otosaka Yuu's shoulder as he spoke.

But to Otosaka Yuu, those words sounded like the whispers of a devil!

"Over my dead body!"

"Hey, I'm just saying. If you're not there, it makes things even easier."

"You bastard!"

Otosaka Yuu glared at Hakuto. If looks could kill, Hakuto would've died a thousand times over by now.

"Don't look at me like that. I've got stuff to do at the student council, so I'm heading off."

With a wave, Hakuto left.

Messing with the protagonist before saving the world—this routine never got old. He was in such a good mood, he decided to let the delinquents off the hook today.

Meanwhile, Otosaka Yuu, still standing there, weighed his options and finally decided it was best to just go home.

After all, he knew Hakuto wasn't joking. That guy never bluffed—he always meant what he said.

Back at the student council office, Hakuto hadn't been there long before his informant pushed open the door, drenched from head to toe.

"...It's here, huh."

"...Wait, there's actually something going on?"

Hakuto had only used "student council business" as an excuse to slip away—he didn't expect something real to come up.

As usual, the informant walked to the center of the office, extended a finger, and let a drop of water fall onto the map.

"Ability—[Collapse]."

"Pffft—"

Hearing that word, Hakuto almost spit his drink all over the informant!

The timing was just too perfect. One second he was preparing for Ayumi's ability, and the next second, [Collapse] was coming straight at him.

Nao, noticing Hakuto's reaction, instinctively asked,

"What's wrong? That reaction... did something come to mind?"

Hakuto shook his head. "N-no... I just feel like the world is really small."

At that moment, Jojiro stared at the water stain on the map, furrowing his brows.

"This is... Hoshinoumi Academy's affiliated middle school?"

"We're tracking ability users all the way to their home base now? You might as well just drop the water on my head and call it supercomputer calculations!"

"No... This school's students have a high chance of developing abilities. Usually, it's relatives of confirmed ability users..."

As she spoke, Nao turned her gaze to Hakuto.

Not just her—both Jojiro and Yusa were also staring at him.

"...Why are you all looking at me? Do I have something on my face?"

"Hakuto, did you predict something?"

"Huh? You think I'm some kind of god?"

"But your reaction just now was way too suspicious. You obviously have something on your mind."

Hakuto sighed and waved a hand dismissively. He hadn't planned on hiding this—it was just a matter of finding the right way to say it.

Since Nao had already brought it up, he might as well go with the flow.

"Ayumi... ring any bells?"

"You mean... Otosaka Yuu's little sister?"

Hakuto nodded.

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