Chapter Six: Qiluo☆

"Hey! Can you see me?"

The one shouting with such excitement was a girl with pink hair.

She sat leaning against a shop window, her hair tied into two long ponytails with a white cat-shaped headband. The twin tails swayed conspicuously with each movement of her head.

Her appearance, in every sense of the word, spelled danger for anyone with supernatural abilities: she wore a white, sleeveless off-shoulder top paired with long, silky gloves. The slits along the sides of her clothing were cut far too deep, exposing the smooth skin that swelled beneath the fabric.

It was the kind of obvious peril that left an upright gentleman like himself unsure where he could safely rest his gaze. Staring directly at her face would be too impolite, but if he let his eyes drift to her figure, how could he possibly defend himself if accused? "Miss, I wasn’t intentionally looking at your side," would sound like the rambling of a pervert.

In his mind, he pictured the girl brandishing a Miss Serenity plush as she screamed at a pervert, her shrill cries in his imaginary hearing outstripping even the shrieks of the Pukukuka-ites.

For the sake of both their reputations, he had no choice but to lower his gaze further—where he saw a black skirt shorter than even the standards for high school girls, paired with cute white garter stockings. From this angle, he could almost glimpse beneath her skirt.

This was a disaster.

There simply wasn’t a safe place to look. Wasn’t this level of exposure a problem, Miss Stranger?

He immediately abandoned any thought of responding. Mr. Gongsun did not want to become the kind of person who, during conversation, stared at a girl’s sensitive areas, nor did he wish to be the awkward soul who fixated on the floor. Most importantly, he had no intention of getting involved with someone who was so obviously "trouble," unless absolutely necessary.

His thoughts about the girl took but a moment in reality. He calmly averted his gaze as if he'd merely been admiring the shop window, drew a pocket watch from his coat, and checked the time.

"It's already 2:30. I need to hurry."

He muttered to himself, eyes fixed straight ahead, and continued along his path.

"Hey, hey~~ Can you hear me? Hello? Can you see me?!"

The pink-haired, twin-tailed, scantily clad girl set down her guitar and waved her arms eagerly.

Gongsun Ce remained silent, determined not to involve himself in anything that seemed this suspicious. He neither heard nor saw anything, had not the slightest interest—he would leave the beautiful girl by the roadside for some lucky high schooler to encounter.

"At least say a few words to me! It's so boring sitting here, unable to move at all~~ I want to go out and enjoy my youth, boo hoo hoo~~~"

Sorry, Miss, but a university student has more important things to do. Like organizing clubs with a bunch of idiots, or standing around with a sign asking, "Would you be interested in joining our activities?" That was good fun, well worth half a day of his time. Truly, how had he not realized before how innovative and full of youthful spirit Cardassia's suggestion was? Club activities—sitting in a tiny classroom, chatting and doing homework together—what could be better? Time to go. Now, at once, to begin a new chapter of campus life!

"Please, I’m begging you, help me!!"

The desperate plea, tinged with genuine tears, reached him.

The esper let out a long, long sigh.

He turned his head. The girl's face lit up with delight as he approached, gesturing with his eyes toward the passersby.

"So, Miss Stranger, you think they can't see you?"

The pink-haired girl slapped her hands on the ground.

"They just can’t! I’ve been sitting here for 316 hours, 47 minutes, and 23 seconds, and not a single person has noticed me!"

She added, dejected, "Not long ago, a guy way more good-looking than you circled around me several times, but even he left in the end… Honestly, I was waving so expectantly, even if it was just to tease me, that’s a bit much!"

"Well, not-so-handsome Mr. Gongsun will just head back to school, then."

The girl tossed her guitar aside and, in broad daylight, flopped onto the ground to roll about, crying out as she rolled, "Don’t go!"

Gongsun Ce stared in shock.

Never mind the bizarre claim of sitting there for 316 hours, he’d never seen anything like this in his life. The impact of a beautiful girl rolling on the ground was, in some ways, even more powerful than an alien pouncing with a howl—no, in terms of sheer force, it was three times greater! It had reached the Tyrlos level!

And then, something even more disastrous than Tyrlos-level shock occurred: the pink twin-tails rolled across the ground with astonishing agility, sprang up, and, like a predator, lunged forward, clinging to his leg and wailing, "Please don’t abandon me~~~!"

Gongsun Ce sucked in a breath.

It was over! This was undoubtedly at the level of social annihilation! To have a girl hugging your leg and shouting "Don’t abandon me" in the middle of a bustling street—no one would believe anything you said now. "We just met" would sound like the excuse of a total scumbag. The old folks passing by would point and whisper, and the hot-tempered ones might even beat him up, whether with weapons or supernatural powers!

The esper quickly raised his hands in a universal gesture of surrender, shielding himself: "I’m being attacked! Somebody call the police…?"

Halfway through, he noticed something strange.

He heard no murmurs from the crowd, saw no one pointing at him. People hurried past on the commercial street, but not a single glance was cast their way, nor did anyone come near.

Gongsun Ce closed his mouth, carefully observing the "phenomenon."

He found that within a radius of 1.5 meters centered on the shop window, there existed a "blank zone" that no one would enter. All passersby instinctively avoided this area; even those in a hurry made a point of circling the edge, crowding together with everyone else outside the 1.5-meter mark.

"Invisible…"

The esper was beginning to believe the girl’s claim. It was possible, of course, that the pink twin-tails had bribed the entire crowd to play an elaborate prank on him. But he’d never seen this girl before, nor could he imagine anyone orchestrating such a harmless but elaborate joke at his expense.

Adjusting his glasses, he lowered his head and said, "Miss Nameless Twin-Tailed Street Idol, I don’t mind helping you, but I’d rather not come across as a disreputable person. So please keep an appropriate social distance, so we can communicate normally and without misunderstanding."

The pink-haired girl looked at him in astonishment, stars seemingly twinkling in her eyes.

"You called me an idol… You like my songs! You’re so nice!"

Mr. Gongsun was, indeed, a good man.

But your thought process is a little off.

It was as if two explorers, after climbing the highest peak in the world and witnessing the sunrise, had utterly different focuses: one gazed at the sky, moved to tears, while the other mused, "If we fell from here, would we die?" That their perspectives could differ so vastly in the same scene was enough to make one doubt they even belonged to the same species.

"I admit your singing is decent, but please let go and stay at least half a meter away from me—or I’ll run."

The twin-tailed girl instantly released him and stepped back two paces, looking at him expectantly.

"Let’s start by introducing ourselves. My name is Gongsun Ce, a freshman at Central Union University. What’s your name and school? How did you end up like this? If you can, tell me about your ability as well—it might help."

The pink-haired girl sat on the ground, gazing blankly at the sky. After a long pause, she said, "Why am I here… I’ve forgotten!"

Sounded like amnesia.

Uncommon, but not unheard of. Superpower rampages, disastrous experiments, or severe trauma during an incident—these were all common causes.

Gongsun Ce decided to start with cautious information gathering.

"How much do you remember? Try to recall—don’t force yourself if you can’t."

The girl cupped her face in her hands.

"I’m… my name is… Kira! Yes, Kira! I’m a freshman at Central Union University. I have a superpower, but I forgot what it is! And… I remember! I know how to escape this situation, which is why I need you!"

Kira—a name that sounded more like a code name. She claimed to be a student at Central Union University, and a superpower user; she loved singing, had a very distinctive appearance, and her thinking was decidedly unconventional…

The gray-haired young man ticked off the facts and asked, "Miss Kira, what do you need me to do? I think contacting the authorities would be best for everyone."

"I don’t want that!" The street idol shook her head. "I want to know about you, Gongsun Ce! Tell me about your life!"

The esper frowned.

"I’m not sure I follow…"

The street idol sprang to her feet, urgently leaning in until her face nearly touched his nose.

"I want to know how ordinary students spend their youth! If I don’t learn about that, I’ll never be able to leave this place, and I’ll never get my power back!"

"Please, don’t get so close."

Gongsun Ce had no choice but to crane his neck backward to increase the distance.

"?"

But the girl seemed to find it amusing. She pressed herself even closer, pushing the esper to unprecedented embarrassment.

At this distance, it was no longer just about their faces touching—other body parts would soon make contact as well. If he wanted to stop this clueless girl without physical contact, he would have to use his ability!

The gray-haired young man raised his hand in resignation. "Bind."

The sensation of telekinetic force wrapping around a body was familiar, and the esper breathed a sigh of relief. He prepared to pull away and scold her…

But the girl's lovely face kept coming closer—until the tip of her nose brushed against his cheek.

Why had his power failed? The answer was obvious: she must have unconsciously activated her own ability. But the sensory impact was not so easily dismissed. The expanse of bare skin in his vision, the warmth of her breath against his lips, the scent drifting from the ends of her hair—it all told him this was no delusion, but reality.

He was no stranger to close contact with women, but this was a first… Thankfully, it didn’t last too long. The girl merely sniffed, then drew back. "I smell fried food. Did you have fried chicken for lunch?"

"…"

The twin-tailed girl blinked, then pressed her face close again. "Why are you blushing?"

The esper covered his face with his hand, retreating rapidly. "Any normal guy would be uncomfortable in this situation! I don’t know if you’re naturally like this or just lost all sense after your amnesia, but most girls wouldn’t get this close to someone they just met—please, for your own sake, be more careful!"

"Most girls wouldn’t…"

The pink-haired girl repeated this softly, then broke into a smile.

"Then Kira is just a different kind of girl!"

Gongsun Ce was struck by a strange feeling, as if something inside him had cracked.

Before he could dwell on it, Kira sprang up with a cheer and hugged him tightly, clinging to him like a koala to a tree.

"I feel like something inside me has been filled! Thank you, Gongsun Ce!"

Cold sweat broke out on the young man’s brow.

Because at that moment, he heard the unmistakable sound of people gossiping.

"Is that…?" "Sounds like…" "No way…" "I think I’ve seen that guy nearby…"

This couldn’t be happening! Why were people suddenly noticing them now?!

With the murmurs came glances, one of which was especially sharp—like a knife stabbing into his side.

Gongsun Ce slowly turned toward the source of that invisible blade.

He saw a blonde girl in a hat and a girl with a blank expression standing at the end of the street.

With a thud, Qin Qianbai’s shopping bag dropped to the ground.

"Calm down, Miss! Hey, Cardassia, help me out here!!"

The esper knew full well that nothing he could say would help him now. And he couldn’t even use his power to push the girl away—any physical move would only make things worse. His only hope was the friendship he had cultivated over the years!

Please, not a prank now—I’m counting on you, save my life, Cardassia!

Receiving her friend’s silent plea, the lady in the top hat nodded gravely. She placed one hand on the imperial girl's shoulder and, pointing ahead, said in a sorrowful tone, "Xiaoqian, her chest is completely squashed against him."

The esper let out a wretched scream.

"Cardassia Spencer—!!!"

A short blade slipped from Miss Qin’s sleeve.

"Kill."