Chapter 39 – ３９ – Functions of Suzu's Masked Form

Debut Match Arc

“Uh, as for me…”

“Naru dear, just watch from there.”

“Got it.”

Suzu stood in the center of the Barrier, and I took a seat at a random spot outside of it.

Hmm, wearing a skirt without underwear really does make things feel… strange.

At this rate, I might actually feel better just being naked.

Setting that aside.

I need to keep a close eye on Suzu’s Masquerade.

If the words Suzu let slip during the incident with Fuchibeni were her true feelings, then she has something that can overturn the difference in Magic Capacity.

“Masquerade Activation.”

Suzu placed her Device over her face and activated it.

A thin, disc-shaped object that looked like water appeared in front of her face.

As the disc of water passed over her, Suzu’s body was replaced by that of a Masked Form.

What emerged was Suzu wearing a Hannya mask and shrine maiden attire, holding a large bag with both hands.

However, I didn’t feel the same pressure I had felt during her first Masquerade.

Apparently, that pressure was a result of the uncontrollable elements unique to the first activation.

“Now, unlike Naru dear, we have a time limit, so we’ll have to investigate this quickly.”

“Quite right. I shall begin taking photographs.”

“That said, since we’ve been checking things on the side, what we really need to do here today is explain things to Naru,” Marie added.

“On the side? Explain to me?”

“We’ll get to that after my Masquerade wears off.”

A few intriguing words had been dropped, but it seemed Suzu and the others had more pressing matters.

Then again, that was only natural.

While I can practically activate my Masquerade indefinitely, Suzu and the others had told me on the way to this room that their activation time is less than ten minutes.

Furthermore, once their magical power runs out, they cannot reuse the Masquerade until it has sufficiently recovered.

In that case, it makes perfect sense to prioritize things that can only be verified while in a Masked Form.

“As for the functions of my Masked Form, the only thing confirmed so far is the contents of this bag. They are generated every time I activate my Masquerade, and while there’s a degree of randomness, it contains a variety of things.”

As she spoke, Suzu placed the bag on the floor and began taking things out.

What came out were… an Erlenmeyer flask filled with red liquid, a round-bottom flask with blue liquid, a test tube with black liquid, capsules of some medicine, packaged tablets, plastic bags containing powder, some glass-like objects containing small amounts of liquid, pipettes, petri dishes… quite a lot.

Among them was a glass container with a very complex shape, looking like several crosses combined.

Overall, though… most of them looked like things you’d use in a science experiment.

“From what we’ve researched, these substances are made of my magical power and vanish upon Masquerade Release. They have the characteristic of being extremely stable on their own, while the glass containers are very fragile.”

“Hmm, I see. But what do you mean by ‘stable on their own’?”

Suzu explained the common characteristics of these objects.

But if they are stable on their own…

Doesn’t that imply that something happens when you mix them?

As if to prove the point, Ichi and Marie were already standing by some piece of equipment a short distance away from the Barrier.

“Yes, this is where the true essence of my Masked Form’s function comes in. Since I’m showing Naru dear, I’ll use a combination that’s guaranteed to work.”

With that, Suzu popped the stopper of the test tube containing the black liquid and dropped in a single tablet.

Then…

“!?”

“Yes, the same effect occurred.”

The interior of the Barrier where Suzu stood was instantaneously covered in black smoke, rendering everything invisible.

It was… no, it was a smoke screen in every sense of the word.

“Suzu. I am activating the smoke extraction device,” Marie said.

“I will loosen the Barrier slightly at the same time,” Ichi added.

“Please, Marie, Ichi.”

As Marie and Ichi operated the device, the smoke generated inside the Barrier was sucked out and expelled from the room.

However, no matter how much they sucked it out, the smoke screen didn’t break. It only vanished around the time I felt as though they had sucked out the air of an entire classroom.

“So, as you can see, when you mix two or more liquids and medicines, or liquids with each other, something happens.”

“Something… does that mean things like explosions can happen too?”

“Yes, they do. In fact, explosions are probably the simplest reaction. It seems that if you mix about five things, it’ll explode no matter how you combine them.”

“I-I see.”

Apparently, Suzu had somehow become capable of generating and handling bombs.

No, not just bombs.

I have a feeling she could probably handle poisons and things of that nature as well.

If that’s the case, there might be combinations among the things she creates that would be dangerous even for an A-Rank Evaluated like Fuchibeni.

“Just checking, but you haven’t researched every single combination yet, right?”

“No, I haven’t. Or rather, while I can read certain trends, I think it’s impossible to fully map everything out. There are so many types of chemical solutions, and even more solid medicines. The same medicines don’t appear every time… even among today’s generated items, I think this petri dish and pipette are new.”

“I see. It feels like if you figured everything out, you could do anything, but until then, it’s a function that seems like a lot of hard work.”

“True. There were a few combinations that seemed useful for Duels, but that’s not all. I also believe it’s a function that requires daily research.”

“Well, I’m sure someone like Suzu will master it eventually.”

“Naru dear… yeah, I’ll do my best!!”

So, even Suzu can only read the trends and cannot be definitive.

From an opponent’s perspective, this means it will always be an extremely dangerous function, as they’ll never be able to predict what will come out.

“By the way, Suzu. What happens if the contents of the bag run out because they break or get used?”

“Oh, that’s fine. The fuel efficiency isn’t great, but I can reload.”

Suzu closed the bag and opened it again.

Inside, the bag was filled to the brim with a different set of items from the ones she had taken out.

What is this?

If she can do that, I have a feeling she could do some truly terrifying things…

“Ah, I think you can probably do what Naru is imagining right now,” Marie said.

“There is a perforated iron plate built into the side of Suzu’s bag, is there not?”

“Yep, so this bag is surprisingly sturdy.”

Ah, right.

The moment she slams the bag into an opponent, the contents break and mix, causing a massive explosion.

And she can make it so the blast is directed right at the person she hit.

Understood.

“Well, I think time’s up. Ichi, you’re next.”

“Yes. It is my turn.”

It seemed their time was up, and Suzu stepped out of the Barrier while performing a Masquerade Release.

As Suzu released her Masquerade, the hazardous materials that had been outside the bag also vanished.

“By the way, what did Marie mean by ‘on the side’?”

“Independent practice. I got permission from the teacher and did it secretly after school. It seems there aren’t many New Students who know you can do that, so it’s surprisingly easy to get permission.”

“The first condition is that you must be able to use your Masquerade without going berserk, and it is predicated on the fact that other safety measures are sufficiently in place,” Marie added.

“Heh, I see.”

Independent practice, huh…

In my case… I don’t feel like I need to go as far as renting a room.

If it’s just practice for absorbing, reproducing, and maintaining costumes, I can do that in my own room at the dorm.

“Now, I shall begin.”

While I was thinking about that, the verification of Ichi’s Masquerade functions began.

To give you an image of their respective combat capabilities:

Average B-Rank Student: Old-school Doraemon.

Fuchibeni: Old-school Final Fantasy.

Naru: Durability of modern Final Fantasy, but firepower of Pokemon.

Suzu: Atelier series.

That is the extent of the difference.

Furthermore, not just Naru and Suzu, but several others have Masked Forms with different directions of strength, so Naru cannot actually afford to let his guard down.