Chapter 13: Yuuma Amano
"Well, that's far simpler than what I imagined," Takauji mused aloud while studying the contents of the book on teleportation circles that Sona had gifted him. Finding the creation process only somewhat challenging, but drastically easier than what he was expecting.
The first step was to make sure that you were capable of drawing your magic crest with 1:1 accuracy, which sounded hard on paper, but with his Dexterity sitting at 154 with the help of his enhanced glasses, such a task was mildly cumbersome at most.
However, it did require him to spend a little bit of extra time learning how to manifest his magic crest without having to use a spell. This was something that showed itself whenever a Magician used their spell, appearing in the form of a circle with their magic crests' design inside it before the spell itself actually activated.
What a strange illustration, he hummed thoughtfully, his magic crest illuminated on his left hand—that had adopted the design of a raven with its wings fully spread out, a creature that symbolized loss and ill omen.
But he paid that factoid little heed for the time being, starting to copy the design onto a spare page in his notebook using the pen he was holding in his right hand.
The entire process took hardly even half a minute, and the finished product was pretty much an exact replica of his crest.
But now that he had committed his crest to memory, it was time for the trickier part of the process, actually inscribing it with his Mana.
From what the book told him, he needed to exclude Mana from his index finger as if it were a pen, which required him to condense his Mana that usually came out in a gas-like form when exuded without the application of a spell—into liquid form.
Condensing Mana was an extremely easy thing to do if you were fortunate enough to be a Magician attuned to the fire element, but if you weren't, you would need to learn a neutral spell called "Boil", which served no other purpose than to increase your internal temperature a slight amount.
Its most practical use, according to the manual, was to help you remain warm during cold temperatures. But unless you were an exceptionally talented Mage, then doing something like rushing headfirst into a snowstorm while shirtless, for whatever reason, was a guaranteed death sentence.
Put simply, it was a limited spell.
There's no way Shinra-san did all this while she was in my room. Devils must have a far easier method, which is starting to become a recurring theme now that I think of it.
Writing down and understanding the equation for Boil wasn't much of a lengthy process either; it was nothing more than a slight extension of physics.
But that's fine with me, I live to be challenged.
[Skill Awakened! — (Neutral) Boil; condense the Mana stored in your body in an internal manner to raise your temperature, or an external manner to exude your Mana in liquid form. Overuse of this skill may lead to hyponatremia.]
The skills the screen awarded him for reaching certain milestones with his stats weren't the only way to acquire abilities; studying them the orthodox way through instruction manuals was also viable.
He crouched down onto his bedroom floor, using the Boil spell to inscribe his magic crest onto the floorboard with his Mana, at about a circumference of a meter.
The next, and final part of creating a teleportation circle was to imprint it at the location where you wanted to be teleported to, but as straightforward as that sounded, there was a catch.
The distance.
From what he understood, each kilometer of distance you wanted to travel would cost you about 1000 MP per teleportation, both for the departure and return trip.
How much MP do I have again? He opened up his screen.
[MP: 510/510.]
He clicked his tongue, recalling that the distance from his house to Kuoh Academy was, in fact, a kilometer.
I suppose I'll have to settle for a halfway point instead. He opened his phone and checked Google Maps in search of a location perfectly situated between his house and school.
The local park? Alright, I guess it's time for a little excursion. He switched into his trainers, leaving his bedroom and getting ready for a quick trip outside.
"You're going somewhere again?"
"Yeah."
Of course, Murayama, who was lounging around in the living room, took full notice of him. Staring him down with an even more accusatory glance than usual, which was more likely than not the result of the short scuffle they exchanged this morning—when he had showed up to the house after being whisked away by Tsubaki.
"Who is it this time?"
Her suspicions currently led her to believe that he was going out to meet with yet another woman, and she wasn't about to stand by and let her brother commit scandalous treachery without reprimand.
He rolled his eyes, "I'm just going out for a walk, I'll be back in time to cook lunch."
He tried to ignore her, but Murayama decided that it was time for a slightly more forceful intervention.
She took off at full speed, sprinting from the couch to the front door and spreading her arms wide like a standoffish anteater.
"What are you doing?" He breathed an exasperated sigh, not in the mood to deal with his sister's antics at the moment.
"Prove it."
"How exactly do you want me to do that?"
"Let me see your phone, I'm going to check if you made plans with anyone." She held her hand out expectantly.
"I'm not giving you my phone."
"Ah-hah! So you are going to see someone!" She pointed at him, with an "I caught you in the act" look on her face.
"No, I am not. Even if I were, it wouldn't be any of your business—you're not Mom." He motioned for her to move aside in a clearly miffed manner, treating her as if she were a persistently buzzing fly.
"Then let me come with you, it's either that or you let me see your phone." But she remained steadfast, refusing to budge on the matter.
I really don't have the energy to deal with this right now. Why must you be so insistent on prying into your brother's life? You could at least hurry up and awaken first, so there'd be some value in putting up with your constant probing.
"Fine," he pinched his nose-bridge.
"Seriously?" Her eyes widened, having not expected her brother to actually yield. "I-I mean! I'm still on to you! So don't go thinking this is going to erase all suspicion from you!" Detective Murayama wasn't about to let herself get swayed so easily.
"Just hurry up and get changed already."
She hummed, slowly walking towards her room to get changed, pursing her lips as she shot one last glare at him before stepping inside.
Once she had adorned something more suited to outdoor wear, she left in tow with Takauji as they strolled towards the park, her mind racing to figure out what he was scheming.
He didn't pull out his phone to cancel plans with anyone, but it's also possible that he did so while I was getting changed.
She thought harder, realizing that her hypothesis wasn't necessarily true.
No, knowing him ,he's definitely the type to just leave a woman hanging without letting them know he's going to no-show. The only question is the identity of the woman he's decided to set his sights on now. Unless he plans on meeting her anyway,y even though I'm here? Yes, that's definitely something he'd do.
And then they arrived at their destination—Kuoh's local park.
The park? This must be where he's meeting her for their date!
"Murayama!" But instead of hearing the voice of an unfamiliar woman like she had anticipated, she ended up hearing that of the one she was most familiar with.
"Katase!"
The pink-haired Vice-Captain of the Girls' Kendo Club came rushing towards her while waving her hand.
"What are you doing here at this hour? I've never seen you at the park before," Katase queried.
"Oh… Uhm, I'm just here with my brother." She wasn't about to publicly announce that she was here to investigate her brother's allegedly scandalous love life.
"Your brother—?" Katase froze up, only now noticing that Takauji was standing beside him, having been too tunnel-visioned by the joy of seeing her closest friend around. "A-Ashikaga-senpai!" She stammered, a pink flush appearing across her face for some reason.
This is really bad! Murayama panicked inwardly, recalling that her friend had a huge crush on her brother for some ungodly reason that she couldn't even begin to comprehend.
Apparently, it had something to do with Katase's obsessive admiration of Sona, which converted into love when she met with the male equivalent of her.
She had made it a practice to ensure that Katase never had a chance to interact with him on a personal level, purely out of fear of what would happen to her best friend if she ended up dating her egomaniac of a brother.
I have to quickly divert her attention away from him! Murayama cleared his throat, "What about you? What are you doing here?" She said in a noticeably awkward tone of voice.
"My parents asked me to bring my little brother here, so I'm just watching him while he's on his playdate. More importantly," She turned to face where Takauji was supposed to be, but ended up seeing nothing more than empty air. "Eh? Where did your brother go?"
"No idea! Anyway, there's some stuff about the club I'd like to talk to you about while we're here." She grabbed Katase's shoulders and started to usher her away, trying to find a spot where she could still keep an eye on her brother, just in case someone else did come to meet with him.
Meanwhile, Takauji had found himself in a less busy corner of the park, shaded by a large tree. He knelt down and quickly started to inscribe his magic crest onto the ground.
It wasn't actually that big of a deal if someone saw him since regular people weren't capable of perceiving Mana in the first place. At most, he'd be seen as some kind of schizophrenic weirdo attempting to draw on the ground with his finger.
"Hello," and much to his misfortune, someone had indeed decided to sneak up on him. Although they didn't seem nearly as bothered by his suspicious behaviour as they should be.
Behind his crouched figure stood an attractive young woman with a curvaceous, slender body alongside an especially impressive bust.
She had long, silky black hair that reached down to her hips, and had a calm, gentle smile on her face that gave her an approachable presence, only countered by her immense beauty that would cause most men to shy away because of their inferiority complex.
Her clothes were a short black dress with a small, light-purple jacket on top, and she held a similarly colored purse in her hands.
He eyed her momentarily, assuming she was Akeno at first glance, but quickly realized that wasn't the case because of the faint differences in their appearance and the sense of unfamiliarity she addressed him with.
"Can I help you?" He stood up and turned to face her, the more paranoid side of him wondering if she was someone to be wary of.
Should I use Mana Sense on her? No, don't be rash, Takauji. First, hear what she has to say before making a decision. She's probably just wondering why I'm dragging my finger against the ground.
She shook her head, "No. I didn't mean to bother you, I was just wondering what you were doing over here?" She leaned over his shoulder, looking at the spot on the ground he had been crouched over. "Is it some sort of local game? My family just moved here, so I'm trying to get to know the place a little better."
"It's nothing of the sort, I was just tying my shoe-lace." He came up with a quick excuse, still having an itching sensation that something was off with the woman before him, but he just couldn't seem to put his finger on it.
She tilted her head, "Really? From where I was standing, it seemed like you were doing some kind of strange ritual, but I must have misinterpreted it. Sorry." She extended her hand out towards him, "My name is Yuuma Amano, by the way. It's nice to meet you."
"Likewise," he replied in a flat tone of voice, proceeding to shake her hand. "I'm Ashikaga Takauji. Forgive me if this is a little intrusive, but I'm surprised your family decided to move you at this time of year. The schools around here don't accept mid-year enrollment."
She chuckled lightly, "I'm well aware. My circumstances are a little strange, but I suppose you could say I'm taking an early gap-year of sorts."
His eyes narrowed, a sharp feeling of disbelief stirring within him.
Her tone keeps fluctuating, and she's using a common deflection tactic. But I can't pry any further since she worded it in a way where it isn't any of my business to pry, or am I just reading too much into it? What purpose would she have for lying to me in the first place?
Thanks to the increases in his dexterity and intelligence, his perception and ability to notice changes regarding a person's body language, tone, and facial expressions have been heightened.
"I see, well, I hope you enjoy your stay in Kuoh. There are some good attractions in the central plaza if you're interested." But he remained casual and uninterested in provoking anyone with the lack of information he had about the woman before him.
I should just leave, I've done what I came here to do.
He had now had a nice little escape method, or shortcut, if he ever needed to return or leave home in a rush.
"I'll definitely give it a look," she beamed. "Uhm, this might sound a little abrupt, but do you mind if I ask you a favour?"
He raised his eyebrow, "Sure."
"Could we exchange numbers? I'm trying to get to know people around Kuoh, so I think it'd be nice if we could keep in touch."
He paused for a moment, finding himself even more confused as to what Yuuma's deal could possibly be.
She had to have some sort of angle here, didn't she?
If something goes wrong, I could always just summon Sitri-san or one of her goons to handle it for me.
However, his curiosity demanded that he figure out what that angle was now that she had decided to form some kind of a relationship with him, leading him to take the risk of accepting her offer.
"That's fine with me," he said, as she requested, saving her contact information on his phone.
━━━━
We all know how "Yuuma" deals with Sacred Gear possessing humans, but I wonder how she's going to react to a human Magician?
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