บท 20: Revealed Ability

Mike walked until he stopped near a small tree on a mini hill. The blue thread that moved like a stream was directed downwards, right to the ground where he was standing.

'What is this? This mysterious blue thread led me here and directed me to find something underground? What might be hidden under there? Perhaps, a treasure?' Mike stroked his chin, wondering in his mind.

At that moment, he felt his shoulders suddenly being held by someone's delicate hands. Then, something round and soft, almost like twin pillows, touched his back.

Mike became tense and stiff in an instant. Cold sweat flowed from his forehead. He didn't dare to look back for fear that it was a ghost or a perverted soul. It came to him just because he came to this place?

Fortunately, it was only silly fleeting thoughts. A pleasant and soothing voice of a girl sounded from behind to make his fear and worry subside a little.

"Mike-sama, what are you doing in this place? Weren't you doing your morning warm-up near the mansion a moment ago?"

Mike could recognize the owner of this voice. Thus, he tried to look back over his shoulder. And, sure enough, it was Kirishima Asako, one of Yuna's maids.

"Phew... You surprised me, Kirishima-san." Mike breathed a sigh of relief. He also accidentally saw that Kisa was beside Asako. "Hi, good morning to you, Kirishima-san, Kisa-san."

However, strangely, his body was unable to move at that moment. His legs couldn't move, and neither did his hands.

"Huh? Oh, no! I suddenly can't move my arms and legs! Did I get cursed just for following that mysterious blue thread and standing here?" Mike became a little panicked. He was very sensitive when it came to matters of bad luck and curses.

"Hm? What are you talking about, Mike-san? The mysterious blue thread? Either way, you haven't answered Asako-chan's question. What are you doing here with this suspicious behavior?" Kisa was a little suspicious even though she had a bit of a good impression of Mike.

"Ah, uhm... It has something to do with my special abilities. You're familiar with this, right? But, err, I think there's a curse in this place, and it's already immobilizing me. You'd better back off a bit, Kirishima-san. This might happen to you too." Mike offered a kind suggestion.

Although his main reason for proposing it was because he felt quite embarrassed to know that the thing touching his back wasn't the ordinary soft pillows.

"Fufu, you look so cute and innocent, Mike-sama. Thank you for your kind advice, but you don't have to worry because it was me that made you unable to move." Asako withdrew her hands and took two steps back. She stood right beside Kisa with a gentle smile.

"Huh?" Mike moved his hands and looked at his palms. Then, he tried with his legs. So, it wasn't a curse or something like that? Was it really done by Asako's special ability?

"Hm, okay, so what's with your special abilities? Can you elaborate on that for us? What do you mean by a mysterious blue thread?" Kisa gave Asako a glance and lowered her suspicions slightly. Looks like she was just overthinking and misunderstood the situation.

"Gulp, that's a great ability, Kirishima-san." Mike swallowed his saliva to know one of Asako's abilities. After that, he turned his attention to Kisa, the head maid. "Uhm, while I was doing my warm-up and morning practice, I was trying to use my new ability. I could see a blue energy flow. It was like a thread, but I couldn't touch it."

After saying that, Mike stepped aside a little and pointed at the ground. "I don't really understand about this new ability of mine yet, but that mysterious blue thread led me to this place. It leads to this spot. Yes, here."

Although he was a little hesitant to reveal one of his abilities, Mike knew he couldn't say any bullshit or the like because it was a matter of trust.

Asako had already signaled their initial stance to him by immobilizing him a moment ago. So, he was already under suspicion, and if he couldn't earn their trust, only bad news would await him.

"So, one of your abilities is that hmm... I can't figure out what kind of special ability it is. Can you use it one more time, Mike-san? Let's see if that mysterious blue thread you talk about is still there." Kisa twirled a handful of her hair while thinking, but she gave up because she didn't know with only such limited clues.

"Oh, okay." Mike didn't hesitate to agree. He immediately used his Elemental Sight.

The world was once again colored only by black and white. A mysterious blue thread that moved like a flow of energy appeared before him. It was still in the same spot as the one he pointed to a moment ago.

"Uhm, yes, it's still there. I can't touch it either. It's pointing downwards. Could there be something dangerous buried under there? It's just an ordinary mini hill, right?" Mike tried to catch the mysterious blue thread, but it was just like air. Then, he turned to Kisa and Asako.

However, the two girls just stared at him in silence as if they were lost in thought.

"Uhm, is there something on my face? I'll blush if you stare at me intensely." Mike scratched the back of his head and deactivated his Elemental Sight.

"Maa, that's fascinating, Mike-sama. Your eyes glow a blue light when you use your ability. So, it might have something to do with eye power or sight, but what is it?" Asako put her hands together with a fascinating smile.

Kisa also gave a nod of approval to that. She tried to think about the abilities of the eyes that she knew, but something indecent came to her mind. For that reason, she blushed slightly, and her hands subconsciously covered her chest and her private area.

"Wait, what? Are my eyes glowing with blue light? I didn't know that..." Mike wrote a note in his mind to look at it later in the mirror.

"Wait a minute, can your eyes see things you shouldn't see? Can you see through someone?" Kisa decided to confirm it by asking.

"Huh? What do you mean, Kisa-san?" Mike scratched his head uncomprehendingly.

"Ah, uhm... Is your eye ability able to see through walls or through someone's clothes?" Kisa no longer covered her chest and her private area, but she was still a little embarrassed just to know that. She didn't know what she would do if Mike could see her naked with those eyes.

"Kisa-san, please don't smear this innocent young man with your dirty thoughts. If what you said was true, then Mike-sama would definitely blush, but hey no, so you already know the answer yourself. Please don't worry." Asako closed her eyes and smiled to remind Kisa. She knew Mike didn't have that kind of ability.

"Oh, well... I can't see through walls or clothes." Mike seemed to understand Kisa's concern and gave an explanation.

"Okay, thanks for the clarification. Let's go back to the previous topic. I don't know if there's anything dangerous buried here. We'd better tell ojou-sama this first. I'm sure ojou-sama is awake by now. Mike-san, you will come with us too." Kisa decided and walked back to the mansion. Asako and Mike followed right behind.