Volume 2 Chapter 80 I'll Make You Understand
"I-I mean... Takeru-kun, I want you to get serious and fight me! I want you to overwhelm me!"
"...Rie-tan."
"Even if you go all out... I want you to show me that I still can't reach you, Takeru-kun!"
Rie-tan's eyes were intense—serious.
She was pleading for me to fight her at full strength.
"...Alright."
I exhaled slowly.
"I'll... m a k es u r ey o uu n d e r s t a n d."
Taking a deep breath—
Fwoo...
And then—
BOOM...!!
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...!!!!
"Kya!?"
For a split second, I released a decent amount of real magic power.
The room shook violently, the shockwave blowing papers and random objects everywhere.
Even Rie-tan wasn't untouched—her body was pushed back by the sheer force.
"I-Is this... magic power?! What kind of output is this?! Just how much magic do you have, Takeru-kun?!"
I could hear Rie-tan muttering in disbelief as she stared at the aura pouring off me.
But in reality... unlike people in this world, I don't rely on the magic power stored inside my body.
I absorb the surrounding mana and convert it into my own energy.
And truth be told...
I still have no idea how much I can absorb before I hit my limit.
Because I've never once felt "full."
"A-Amazing..."
While Rie-tan stood there stunned, I moved.
To answer her request.
"Eh?! T-Takeru-kun... there's so many of you!?"
I copied a technique I'd once seen used by Magdala of the Four Pillars, an executive from Talking Monster.
But unlike Magdala, who relied on illusions, I wasn't faking it.
This was pure brute-force, high-speed movement. I moved so fast it left afterimages behind.
"Here, here, here..."
"...Urgh!?"
As my "clones" surrounded her, I reached out and gently tapped Rie-tan on the shoulder.
No attack—just a touch. A silent message: If this was real, you'd be done.
"...Then let's go! Three Faces, Six Arms!!"
Rie-tan suddenly activated her skill—Ashura—unleashing her "Three Faces, Six Arms" technique.
Her already boosted physical abilities surged threefold on top of her eightfold buff.
But—
"That's sweet, Rie-tan."
"Wha—!? Even with this... I still can't keep up!?"
Even after all that, she couldn't land a single blow or evade my touch.
"That's it!"
Kisaragi-san's voice cut through the tension, signaling the end of our mock battle.
* * *
"So, what do you think, Amamiya?" Sakurako-tan asked with a smug grin.
"...Sakurako-sama. Her strength is on a completely different level..."
Rie-tan answered, catching her breath.
"I knew it, I knew it~."
Sakurako-tan puffed her chest out proudly.
"So, Takeru-kun, what did you think of your fight with her?"
Kisaragi-san turned to me, clearly curious.
"She's strong... really strong."
"How strong?" Sakurako-tan pressed.
"At the very least, she's got power comparable to 'Just a bit strong'... I mean, Carlos Strong from the Ryukyu Dungeon."
"See? Told ya!"
Sakurako-tan looked like she was ready to start handing out autograph cards.
Kisaragi-san was beaming in agreement, proud in that "I'm her parent... or maybe just suffering from a sister complex" kind of way.
While I was thinking that—
"N-No way! Wait! Don't joke about stuff like that, Takeru-kun!!"
Rie-tan suddenly cut in, flustered.
"Joking?"
I tilted my head.
"M-Me being close to an S-class ranker like Carlos Strong... that's totally an exaggeration!"
"...Is it?"
I looked her dead in the eyes.
"...Huh?"
"I think Rie-tan's strength is pretty impressive. Among all the Seekers I've seen, you're basically 'Just a bit strong'...! Damn, I mean Carlos Strong! No, wait... argh! You're that strong!"
"Wha... Me...?"
"Yep. Right, Sakurako-tan?"
"Yep."
She gave a confident nod.
"I can't believe Amamiya's daughter is this powerful. Honestly, I'm impressed."
Kisaragi-san crossed her arms, nodding seriously.
"Sakurako-sama...?"
"I was surprised too, Ojou. Until now, the only one who could even keep up with analyzing your ability was Sagawa-kun. So I didn't have a clear sense of your full strength until now."
"I see..."
Rie-tan looked down, processing it all.
And yeah... it's true. This whole Trans Potion thing is so top-secret, there's no way they'd call in outside Seekers to test her limits.
"Honestly... for someone like me, who's lacking in skill, it was a heavy burden..."
Sagawa muttered gloomily.
I gave him a simple, "Don't worry," to lift his spirits.
"But... if we're saying Ojou's on Carlos Strong's level, that means we can officially call her S-class, right?"
Kisaragi-san looked between us.
"Yeah. That sounds right."
I nodded.
"Okay, then it's settled."
Kisaragi-san looked satisfied.
While we were having that conversation, Rie-tan was in the background, waving her hands wildly.
"N-No! No way! I'm not S-class! Don't say that!"
But we all just ignored her.
"Anyway," I continued, "about what I mentioned to you two earlier... with Rie-tan's strength and Sagawa's abilities where they are now, I think we can pull it off. So I'm thinking of giving it a try. Are you two in?"
"Wait—hold on! You were serious about that plan?!"
Rie-tan cut in, shocked.
"Of course. If we don't act, Seeker doesn't stand a chance against Talking Monster."
"Besides," Sakurako-tan added, "it's just a bunch of low-level Talking Monsters. Right, Kisaragi?"
"Yeah, I guess so... but can we really lure in a higher-ranked Seeker with what Takeru-kun's suggesting?"
Kisaragi-san narrowed her eyes, thinking.
"I dunno." I shrugged. "But if we do manage to bait one, the three of us—me, Rie-tan, and Sagawa—should be enough to take them down."
"Hmmm..."
Kisaragi-san hummed in thought.
"Not bad," Sakurako-tan said, clearly approving.
"Huh? What are we talking about now?"
"Luring?"
Rie-tan and Sagawa blinked, finally catching up to the conversation.
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