Chapter 19 – １９ – The Nature of Naru's Magic

Entrance Ceremony Arc

“…As I mentioned in yesterday’s class, Midorikawa’s magical power nature is highly viscous—a very peculiar trait. We will need to conduct further investigations to determine exactly how this property affects things.”

Ms. Tarui began to speak.

“Can’t you make any predictions?”

“…I could tell you what I imagine, but I would prefer not to. While it’s possible that it may have no effect, in general, magical power tends to be influenced by the image and perception of the person who Refines it. In other words, if I say something now, I might inadvertently narrow the possibilities for Midorikawa. As a teacher, that is a risk I cannot overlook.”

“I see.”

That said, it seemed that the information she was willing to share was limited to facts—things that had already been observed and confirmed.

Well, that was fine by me.

“…Returning to the topic. What we currently understand about Midorikawa’s magical power is its viscosity. Likely due to this, it is highly resistant to external interference, difficult to dissipate naturally, and extremely hard to sever. Based on these properties, you can assume that interference with his Masked Form—specifically regarding his appearance—will almost certainly fail unless Midorikawa himself permits it.”

“Hmm, I see?”

Still… I wasn’t entirely sure how that was actually useful.

With that thought, I shifted my gaze toward Suzu.

“Ms. Tarui, I think it’s better to wait until you start talking about Skills. Naru dear’s current response is the kind he gives when he doesn’t actually understand what’s going on.”

“Suzu!?”

A sudden betrayal.

I mean, she wasn’t wrong, but did she have to do it at this timing!?

“…It seems so. Since Midorikawa appears to be a practical learner, let’s start by confirming the facts, explain only the points derived from those facts, and then move on to the immediate problems we need to address.”

“Yes. I thought that would be the case.”

“Hmph…”

Actually, if she went on and on about irrelevant theories, I probably wouldn’t be able to remember them all anyway. This was probably for the best.

Oh, I’m starting to get a vague sense of the rider suit’s shape.

I see; if I solidify my magical power in this shape, I can recreate the rider suit.

“…Now then, to verify the nature of Midorikawa’s magical power, let’s do a check.”

Ms. Tarui brought out several small plates and poured water and various substances into them.

“…Please lick them one by one and tell me what they taste like. If possible, tell me the intensity as well.”

“Understood.”

I licked the contents of the plates one by one.

Let’s see, in order…

Sweet, a bit sweet, very sweet, very sour, sour, a bit sour, spicy…—!?

“Gah! Hack! Cough! S-spicy… what the hell is this…!”

One plate contained a liquid so incredibly spicy that I instinctively choked.

Seriously, what was that taste? Even if I’d eaten a whole chili pepper, I don’t think it would taste like that. That’s exactly how it tasted.

“Naru dear. Here, have some milk.”

“Whoa, glug, gulp… haa, ah…”

I took the milk from Suzu and swished it around in my mouth, trying to wash away even a bit of the spicy components.

Even so, the stinging in my mouth wouldn’t stop, and I could feel sweat breaking out on my face.

Damn it, aren’t Masked Forms supposed to be resistant to pain?

“…This is a credit to Minasono’s insight.”

“I had a hunch, but I’m glad I checked.”

“…However, he was taking Maruta’s attacks normally, so I thought he was fine.”

“I think it’s the difference between expecting it and not expecting it. Also, perhaps the difference between internal and external stimuli.”

“Hee-foo… what are you two talking about? Ms. Tarui, Suzu.”

I finally managed to calm down.

Whether it was the power of the Masked Form or something else, I felt the pain receding rapidly.

So, what were Ms. Tarui and Suzu discussing?

Judging by their serious expressions, it seemed like there was something about my Masked Form, but I couldn’t quite read the conversation.

“…To put it simply, Midorikawa’s Masked Form is more sensitive to pain than a normal person’s. It’s likely a result of various factors combining—the nature of his magical power, the shape of the Masked Form, the element of surprise, and the fact that it was an internal attack—but regardless, he seems to feel more pain than necessary.”

“Why is that?”

“Because spiciness is processed as pain, Naru dear. Oh, regardless of that, try licking the remaining plates.”

“Ugh… bitter, astringent… tasty?”

“…I see. In other words, at the very least, his sense of taste is perfectly reproduced. Now I’m curious about how his metabolism is functioning. Depending on the results, it might even be possible to live with Masquerade permanently active…”

It seemed Ms. Tarui and Suzu had investigated my senses and concluded.

As for why that happened… was it because my magical power is viscous, so the magical power that would normally be severed as “damage” wasn’t severed? Something like that, I vaguely guessed.

After that, I was made to lick the rest of the plates, and Suzu summarized the results.

Apparently, there was something significant.

“Ms. Tarui, is this a bad thing?”

“…It’s hard to say. While intense pain can slow your movements, a moderate amount of pain is a signal for detecting abnormalities. This applies to other elements as well; if you can use a trait effectively, it’s a strength; if it works against you, it’s a weakness. It all depends on your perspective and how you use it.”

“Hmm.”

Well, I guess I just have to learn to live with it.

However, in yesterday’s fight with Ms. Maruta, even though I felt pain, I didn’t feel like it slowed me down.

If anything, the pain sparked anger, and that anger made power surge through my entire body… maybe that’s what “learning to live with it” means.

For now, I’ll just remember that surprise attacks will hurt that much more.

“…Now then, there are a few other tests, so let’s go through them in order.”

“Understood.”

“I’ll help, Naru dear.”

After that, I continued the tests following the instructions of Ms. Tarui and Suzu.

Some of the tests were incomprehensible… but well, if they found something out, I’m sure they’ll tell me eventually.

“Hmm, I have a feeling… ah, I did it.”

“…So easily?”

“As expected of Naru dear.”

Perhaps it was because I had been savoring the sensation of the rider suit across my whole body while the tests were ongoing?

As a trial, I loosened the top half of the rider suit, then solidified the magical power rising from my body to fill the gap and added color. I managed to recreate it with ease.

Yeah, it’s a bit late to realize this, but my magical power feels quite easy to manipulate.

Maybe this is also thanks to my “magical power nature.”

“…”

“Naru dear?”

However, there was a problem.

Since I was at it, I decided to take off the rest of the rider suit and try recreating it with my own magical power. That part was easy enough, but…

“I want to take it off.”

“?” “?”

An impulse welled up from the depths of my heart.

A shock, a surge, a passion erupted from within me—so strong that I couldn’t suppress it even if I wanted to.

My heart screamed at me not to be satisfied with such a form.

“I really want to take it off! CAST OFF!!”

“!?”

In the next instant, the magical power mimicking the rider suit was blown away.

“Ah… yeah. As I thought, being naked is wonderful…”

Skin meeting the air.

Light shining directly upon me.

The released magical power rising without obstruction.

I was… intoxicated by a tremendous sense of liberation.

I imagine this is what people call being “drunk” on a feeling.

“…What should we do about this…?”

“Hmm. While it would be more appropriate for Naru dear to learn restraint, we might also need to consider ways to make it okay for him to Cast Off. However, given my age, there are some issues with learning the methods for that kind of correction…”

“FEELS… SO… GOOD…”

After that, I spent some time basking in the liberation of nakedness.

By the time my senses returned to normal, the class period had ended.