Chapter 12: 2.1

　Maria invited Chihiro to her room.

　It's not a dormitory, but a room in a nearby apartment. After passing through security at the entrance, he found himself at the far end of the first floor.

　Shibahou has two arrangements for students who live alone to attend school, one is a dormitory system. And the other is a little subsidy to help with the rent. Maria probably took advantage of the latter.

　Of course, there is no way she could afford this apartment with just the aid money, so her family must be very rich.

「Come in」

　Maria unlocked the door and invited Chihiro in with a smile.

「Sorry to bother you」

　A girl from his class invited him to her room.

　Although it's the first time in his life, he stepped into the room, rather confused by what had happened so far.

　By the looks of it, the only shoes in the room belong to Maria. Apparently, she doesn't have a roommate.

　As they walked down a short corridor, he is ushered into the living room.

　On there, a small table for two and a small cupboard are sitted. There is no television or game console in the room, and the furniture is black, white and wood grain. The overall color scheme is chic, but it feels like a girl's room, perhaps because of the curvy design of most of the furniture.

「I'm going to go change, sit down and wait for me」

　Maria put Chihiro's bag on the table and walked back down the corridor. Since there are several closed doors in the hallway, she must be using one or all of them as her room.

　Having grasped that much, Chihiro let out a small breath alone.

　Although he had been told to wait, he felt quite uncomfortable. The environment and situation are unfamiliar to him, and on top of that, what he had been told on the street...

[If you want it, I can make it happen]

　He wonders what she meant by that.

　Thinking about it, he can't get an answer. Perhaps she intends to explain it to him now.

　And so, he'll just have to wait quietly.

　First, he sits down on a chair. Then, he pulled out the nearest chair and chose the one farther away from the entrance. His hair and uniform are wet, but he had wiped off the water droplets with a handkerchief at the entrance, so he could manage.

　As he waited in the quiet room for a few minutes, he heard a voice.

「Do you want to change your clothes? I can get you a sweatshirt」

　Maria came back into the living room after she finished changing.

　She is wearing a camisole and cardigan, a skirt and a garter belt underneath. Everything is black except the cardigan, which looks good on her.

　It's too vulnerable an outfit for her to be alone with a man.

　Or, is she really asking Chihiro out?

「No... it's fine, just stay like this」

　He shakes his head, not wanting to borrow the girl's clothes.

「Really? You don't have to be shy」

　Maria murmurs rather regretfully, and brings in two glasses of iced tea from the kitchen. She probably poured it from a plastic bottle.

　One of the glasses is placed beside Chihiro, and Maria sits down in front of him.

「Thank you」

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「No problem. ...Now, we can finally talk」

　Maria's words are very natural.

　She doesn't seem to want to dodge the question, "Where do we begin?" .

　So, Chihiro thought for a moment and then said.

「What you said earlier. What was that...?」

「Just what I said」

　Maria giggled.

「If you want, if you reach out to me. I'll give you the power」

「P-Power...?」

　He wonders if that's possible.

　[Lost Item] has a wide range of abilities, some of which affect others, some of which depend on others. But he had never heard of an ability that strengthens others. Especially since Maria has two other abilities.

　Or is the "power" she's talking about something else?

「It's not wrong that it's a [Lost Item] ability」

　The thought is easily affirmed.

「I don't know about the ability to increase the abilities of others, nor do I have such an ability myself. However, there is a special way, just for "You and Me"」

「A special way?」

「Yes. You're to be my Master」

　--Unconsciously, Chihiro fell silent for a few seconds.

　It wasn't that he is confused or trying to ignore what he heard. It's just that it took him a while to understand what it meant, and when he did, he couldn't help but exclaim.

「Master, you mean...」

　Two images came to his mind. One is of a man taking his dog for a walk, and the other is a rather obscene kind of fantasy. If he thinks of Maria as the subject, there's not much difference between the two images.

　...No, it's probably just a misunderstanding on Chihiro's part. What Maria is trying to say is something else.

「The one who takes care of all my lusts」

「...Isn't that too direct...?」

　Chihiro was taken aback by the turn of events.

　In other words, the latter part of his imagination is correct.

「I don't see how that's connected to the story of power」

「It has something to do with the origins of the [Lost Item]'s ability」

「The ability's what?」

　How does someone get an ability?

　No, why does every individual have a different ability?

「[Lost Item] abilities reflect the wishes, desires, and wants of the individual. The stronger the desire, the stronger the ability」

「Desires...」

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