"Nao-chan~ Nao-chan~"
"Mmm..."
Alistair was pulled out of deep sleep by a series of calls near his ear.
"Ch-Chiaki?"
Alistair's lips moved. Drowsily recognizing the owner of the voice, he called out her name.
"Yes, Nao-chan. Don't sleep on the sofa, you might catch a cold."
Chiaki shook Alistair's body. He looked different now compared to the morning; the obvious exhaustion was gone, replaced only by simple sleepiness. So, she wasn't too worried anymore. She just thought Alistair sleeping on the sofa wearing only pants might make him sick, so she came to persuade him.
"Emmmmm, no need. I'm going to get dressed. I've slept long enough."
Since Chiaki was back, it was likely past noon. Alistair had fallen asleep right after eating and wasn't very hungry now, so he didn't bring up lunch.
"How are you feeling today?"
Alistair yawned, stood up to stretch his stiff body, and asked casually.
"Not bad, but classes are really boring. If it weren't for the attendance requirements, I wouldn't want to go."
Chiaki wilted immediately upon hearing Alistair's question. Although her academic performance was decent, it wasn't good enough to get her into a very good university, so she sometimes felt annoyed.
Is this what they call saying one thing but meaning another?
Alistair stretched his arms and twisted his waist to relieve his stiffness, all while rolling his eyes at Chiaki.
Alistair knew that despite what Chiaki said, she actually studied quite hard, completing her homework and occasionally studying outside of class time. While she couldn't compare to the overachievers, she was diligent compared to most students. After all, besides the A and B classes in this school, most students were slackers, some frequently hovering near the attendance pass mark. By comparison, Chiaki was in the good student category.
"Oh, right. Yukiko and Nagisa want me to ask when you have time. It's been a long time since the last time we were with them, and they are getting a little eager."
Chiaki paused, suddenly stopping Alistair and speaking to him.
"What about you? You're their leader. Do you want to do it?"
Alistair was about to go upstairs. Hearing Chiaki's question, he turned and smiled, asking her back.
"Of course, I should be the first one with you. You're my little brother. How can I let those two bitches go first?"
Chiaki spoke the brazen words without any hint of shame, her expression completely normal, which in turn made Alistair's face look complicated.
"Then you decide. I don't have any important engagements recently, besides the evening investigation club. But make it the weekend; we'll have more time."
Alistair looked at Chiaki's unchanged expression, confirming there was absolutely no shyness, and said with a subtle look.
"That's great! Let's go to the pool near Building 7 this weekend. Nagisa has the key there, so we'll have a party right in the outdoor pool!"
Chiaki's face suddenly lit up with excitement. The stark contrast before and after made Alistair忍不住 stare at her for a while before looking away.
Chiaki had changed quite a bit. The Chiaki who could still talk back and insult him even when Alistair had pinned her against the wall for some harsh thick tits play, even in the midst of climax, was completely gone. The current Chiaki had completely fallen, turning into a horny older sister. She could talk about throwing a slut-party with such excitement, which was truly... delightful!
I, Naoto Koyasu, love an older sister like this!
Alistair went upstairs with a pleased mood and returned to his room.
"I think I picked up a pendant before. I clearly remember leaving it on the desk. Where did it go?"
After getting dressed, Alistair suddenly remembered the pendant he had found. According to his habit, it could only be on his desk or nightstand. But now, neither the desk nor the nightstand showed any sign of the pendant. Where could I have put that thing?
Alistair walked around the room, trying to find the pendant. Although he didn't know what it was for, finding it and keeping it safe until he had a chance to appraise it would be useful. But now it was missing, which seemed unlikely.
"Were those entities last night after that pendant?"
Alistair scratched his head. If the pendant was important to them, then their actions against him would have a reason. If so, he wouldn't be completely in the dark and would at least have a general direction.
Huh? Did I step on something?
Alistair was thinking when he suddenly felt something under his foot, interrupting his thoughts.
....
Looking at the pendant lying crushed under his foot, Alistair felt he might have been overthinking things.
"Why does this thing look much more transparent than when I first found it?"
Alistair picked up the pendant and examined it closely. If you didn't look carefully, it was almost indistinguishable from the air around it. Alistair only guessed it was there; otherwise, finding it on the floor with just his eyes would be impossible.
And how did this thing end up near the foot of the bed? I'm sure I placed it on the nightstand.
Alistair looked at the location. It was quite close to the foot of the bed, slightly next to the lower-left corner. This spot was some distance from both the desk and the nightstand. Unless someone moved it, it basically couldn't have ended up here.
Moreover, the pendant's 'visibility' was too low. Alistair distinctly remembered that when he found it, it was slightly reflective, making it obvious when held up to the sun. Now, even facing the sun, it looked the same, completely opaque.
"To be safe, I should stay at someone else's place for a while tonight. I'll come back and go with Chiaki when it's time to return to the countryside."
Alistair put the pendant in a drawer, muttering continuously.
The memory loss from last night proved that the opponent possessed an extremely powerful soul, or a soul of similar strength to Alistair but with a systematic existence of mental magic. Although he didn't know the specifics, running away was the best option for now. While the 'second body' gave Alistair some ability to fight back, it wasn't a reason for him to be arrogant. What if the opponent was very strong and simply tore his 'second body' apart? Then he'd be finished.
So, the best strategy is to flee. He'd go stay over at a girl's place. Perhaps the opponent would be somewhat hesitant, and coupled with his own ability, he might even have a chance to counter-attack. Plus, he could have some fun first and boost himself up.