The Method
Ki Sense.
It was a new skill that had manifested after I consumed the elixir Hubert gave me as a reward.
Even when I was playing the game, it was a skill I had never once seen mentioned in the player community forums.
Because of that, I couldn't figure out exactly what conditions had been met to trigger its acquisition.
At the very least, as far as I could remember, Great Senses was not a skill that had an upgraded version.
Then again, perhaps that was simply because no one had ever discovered it until now.
Two things weighed on my mind.
The existence of the Blindfold That Pierces the Truth, and the sensory-amplifying elixir that I had never seen in the game.
It was certain that the elixir had triggered this change.
However, the fact that the upgraded version of Great Senses was Ki Sense bothered me.
As I had been making excuses for all this time, it was hard to view Ki Sense as a technique that provided visual information through mere interpretation.
Yet, the senses enhanced by Great Senses definitely included sight.
The sensory-amplifying elixir allegedly crafted by 'Midas'.
Although Hubert claimed to have bought it at an auction, there was a high probability that it was an elixir he had personally commissioned.
If so, it made sense why I had never seen it in the game.
Had he said the main ingredient was the brain of a monster that was born blind?
If those blind creatures had managed to survive without being weeded out by nature, their brain structure must have been unique.
The alchemist who brewed the elixir likely arrived at the same conclusion.
Lacking any knowledge of alchemy, it was difficult for me to judge whether that was a truly viable recipe.
But it wasn't as if I could learn a new skill through alchemy anyway.
The skill had already manifested, and in the end, what truly mattered was what kind of skill it was.
The 'unknown' usually brings fear, but once it becomes clear that the unknown is positive, that fear quickly turns into anticipation.
I ignored the rather 'unfriendly' status window.
There was no other information to be gained from it.
Since the level 10 of Great Senses had transferred over, Ki Sense was already at level 5, allowing me to immediately grasp what kind of skill it was.
My biggest worry had been that the effects of Great Senses would vanish along with the skill itself.
After all, Great Senses had been incredibly useful to me in many ways.
Fortunately, my senses remained intact.
It might have been my imagination, but they felt even sharper than before.
And that wasn't the only effect of Ki Sense.
Taking it a step further from Great Senses, which was merely a passive skill, it had transformed into an active one.
When I activated Ki Sense, I could emit a 'wave' that rippled outward with me at the center.
For now, the wave seemed to be perceptible only to me.
There was no cooldown, nor did it consume any energy.
It was similar to a radar; everything the wave touched returned as information, printing itself directly into my mind.
However, the form of this information was vastly different from the five senses.
It provided far more information than simply looking with my eyes or listening with my ears.
From minor details like the bumpy texture of a wall it brushed against or how old the structure was, to things completely hidden from sight—such as the fact that Crank, sitting some distance away, had a loaf of bread stuffed in his pocket.
Rustle.
Right on cue, Crank quietly pulled out the bread and took a massive bite, completely undetected by Edward, who was busy explaining the lesson.
He was eating it while hiding behind Amon's broad back.
...Crank did that often.
In any case, to summarize, the information provided by Ki Sense seemed to be heavily influenced by my own knowledge and memories.
When I sent out a wave, I could identify exactly who was around me without even turning my head to look at them.
What gave me goosebumps was that even for people whose names I couldn't quite remember, if I had overheard their name even once in passing, the skill would accurately supply that information.
Furthermore, it was basically information that I could perceive if I focused enough.
For example, it felt as though I could perceive the bread in Crank's pocket because I had previously heard the rustling of its wrapper.
Through Ki Sense, I confirmed that it wasn't a mere guess, but a fact. Even if I wasn't actively focusing on my hearing, Ki Sense didn't miss a thing.
It seemed that as the level of Ki Sense rose, my sensory abilities would increase sharply—just as they did with Great Senses—and the performance of the waves emitted by the skill would improve in tandem.
All in all, its performance was highly satisfactory.
Since it hadn't even been a full day since I acquired Ki Sense, I sat there continuously emitting waves even as the class went on.
It was actually quite fun.
Although the sheer volume of information was overwhelming due to the crowded classroom, I killed time by sorting through the data piece by piece.
I had simply told Sierra that my senses felt a bit sharper. I couldn't exactly celebrate in front of her now, exclaiming, "I've actually developed Ki Sense!"
It was while I was sitting quietly in the classroom with my arms crossed, sending out waves, that the lesson took a turn.
Edward had remarked that the cadets seemed to have grown too lax during the public class period, and this lesson was clearly designed with the intent to make us suffer.
The objective was to capture a small monster called a 'Muster' that Edward would release into the Academy's forest.
Musters were small, weasel-like creatures. They posed no threat to humans and were actually quite expensive, often kept as pets by noblewomen.
According to Edward, these ones were trained, so catching them would be quite tricky.
A tiny bell was tied to the hind leg of the Muster that was currently scrambling up Edward's body.
The creature was so adorable that several female cadets squealed in delight.
There was only one rule.
Do not kill the Muster.
For cadets who were trained to slay monsters and fight demons, this was a massive constraint.
On top of that, the forest was incredibly vast.
If one were a mage, they could at least use non-attributed magic like Chain, but for non-mages like Crank and myself, it was no different from being told to run ourselves ragged.
Besides, stripping the attribute from a basic spell like Chain was no easy feat to begin with.
'He's probably trying to cultivate our ability to handle situations that require non-lethal subdual.'
Capturing Yorphang alive this time was one example, and the Adventurers' Guild capturing the monsters for the cadets to fight in the Colosseum was another.
After all, not every situation demanded a lethal resolution.
Edward announced that four Musters would be released, and anyone who failed to catch one by the end of the class would face mandatory physical training makeup sessions.
"Now, shall we form groups? Pairs of two."
Having finished his explanation of today's lesson, Edward held up two fingers.
It seemed Edward hadn't pre-assigned the groups this time.
With pairs of two, at least half the class was practically guaranteed to end up in makeup lessons.
"Zeto."
Almost before Edward could finish speaking, Eisel called out to me.
As I turned my head toward Eisel, my Ki Sense picked up Yuri flinching on the opposite side.
"Want to partner up?"
Was she eager to catch a Muster?
Eisel's gaze as she asked was incredibly serious.
"...Sure."
I was walking through the forest with Zeto.
The forest was so vast and quiet that it felt as if we were the only two people in the world, which I loved.
The Muster or whatever was the furthest thing from my mind.
...It was a little cute, but that wasn't what mattered right now.
My head was completely filled with thoughts of Zeto's curse.
And then, during the public class period, I had witnessed Zeto having an intimate 'date' with the Saintess.
It was truly a shocking turn of events.
In the previous timeline, although Zeto had become acquainted with the Saintess, they had never strolled around the Academy laughing and chatting like that.
The timing of Zeto drawing his master's sword had accelerated, and Krectar had died early.
On top of that, a curse I had never sensed before was now nestled in Zeto's heart.
How much things had warped, and because of what, no longer mattered.
Now, I had to take action.
Why had I chosen regression even after surviving?
In the end, it was for myself.
I could not bear to lose Zeto.
Our current relationship could be described as highly distorted.
Unlike the previous timeline, Zeto rarely approached me.
'In the last timeline, he would always seek me out no matter where I was...'
Part of it was my own frustration, and because I had failed to suppress my warped desires a few times, he seemed to find me burdensome.
But during our conversation in the flower garden the other day, I had realized something profound.
The one who had changed wasn't Zeto... it was me.
I had to 'rebuild' the relationship that had naturally developed through Zeto in the previous timeline.
If only to lift his curse.
Even if Zeto had become close with the Saintess... no one knew if she would pour massive divine power into him, or discover the curse and kiss him.
'A kiss with the one he loves...'
If I hated the thought of him kissing another woman, if I couldn't tolerate even the slightest chance of it...
Couldn't I just make him love me?
If I made Zeto love me, wouldn't he look 'only' at me?
I arrived at that conclusion.
First, I needed knowledge.
I knew absolutely nothing about how to approach a man.
Before meeting Zeto, I had been too busy just trying to survive; I had zero interest in anyone around me, let alone men.
There was no one around I could ask about such matters either.
The only person who came to mind was 'that woman' from the Black Hand.
'Eisel! You have a crush? Really? Who is it? Let me see!'
Just imagining her reaction made me realize she was completely unreliable, so I had visited the library instead.
Since the Academy's library housed a vast collection of books, I figured there would be at least one book on romance.
...There were more than I expected.
Among them, I found one book with a title that particularly caught my eye.
101 Ways to Capture a Man.
Written by an author named 'Giacomo'... it seemed to be a fairly famous book.
And so, I was currently putting one of the methods from the book into practice.
"If you wish to know whether a man is interested in you, try not initiating conversation. You will find out immediately."
Do not speak first.
It was a simple method.
'Zeto used to strike up conversations first quite often, so I wondered if this would even be meaningful...'
I glanced sideways at Zeto.
"Mmm..."
He merely paused occasionally, letting out soft hums of contemplation.
Ever since we entered the forest and exchanged a few brief words, he hadn't said anything else to me.
'...Why?'
I was deeply flustered.
Even though we were completely alone in this quiet forest, with only the distant chirping of birds breaking the silence...
...he did not speak to me.
'Does Zeto really have no interest in me...? No, that can't be...'
But in the end, I arrived at a conclusion that made sense.
Hadn't I felt it when I returned from facing Barsium?
The distance between us.
Nothing had happened.
Because nothing had happened... he didn't love me.
I had finally touched upon the fragile wall I had avoided for so long, and it felt on the verge of collapsing.
But I didn't give up.
That was what 'rebuilding' meant.
'What method should I use...'
Having read the book thoroughly, I had ways to captivate Zeto.
A whopping 101 ways.
Glancing at Zeto again, the pure white blindfold covering his eyes came into view.
'Visual methods'—like staring blankly at a man without a word, tucking hair behind one's ear, or tying one's hair up in front of him—were completely meaningless to him.
It was then.
"...Found it."
Zeto muttered softly, then grabbed my hand and began to run, telling me to follow him.
It seemed he had located the Muster.
I felt a tiny pang of disappointment that he was focusing entirely on the Muster instead of me, but Zeto was always diligent in everything he did, so it couldn't be helped.
I contented myself with the fact that we were holding hands, even if it was unexpected.
Ring.
Soon, the clear ring of a bell echoed from high up in the trees.
Looking up, I saw the Muster darting swiftly across a high branch.
"I'll catch it."
I told Zeto as I leaped into the air.
"Induce physical contact disguised as an accident."
It was because another method from the book had flashed through my mind.
"...Oh!"
Launching myself into the air with a crackle of sparks, I put my entire soul into 'acting' as if I had narrowly missed the Muster, and began to fall.
While in midair, I had already calculated Zeto's direction and the trajectory of his approach.
And my calculations were flawless.
Zeto, spotting me, was moving to catch me.
There was no real need for him to catch me, but Zeto's body always moved before his thoughts.
Soon, my body plummeted toward him.
The landing—the landing was the most critical part.
I couldn't let him catch me cleanly and safely.
Crash!
Sure enough, Zeto failed to catch me properly, and our bodies tangled together as we tumbled to the ground.
"Ugh..."
I let out a natural groan and pushed myself up.
"If it is not an accident, the more intense and potentially embarrassing the contact, the more effective this method becomes. This will serve as an excellent stimulus for a man."
It was perfect.
It was, quite literally, an embarrassing position.
...I had successfully straddled Zeto's body.
Zeto slowly propped himself up.
"...Lady Eisel, are you alright?"
Surely, the one who was supposed to be embarrassed, the one who should be blushing, was Zeto, not me...
"This... I mean..."
...yet I was the one overwhelmed by intense embarrassment, leaving me stammering incoherently.
My hips were completely pressed against Zeto.
An excellent stimulus.
Those words applied to me as well.
I knew I had to get up, but my legs had turned to jelly, refusing to move.
Heat rushed to my face.
"..."
I quietly buried my face, hanging my head low.
"How are we supposed to find a tiny creature like a Muster in a forest this huge..."
Feeling out of sorts, Yuri vented her frustration on the Muster.
Lucia, her partner, offered a bright, innocent smile.
"Why? The weather is so sunny and nice! And the air is so fresh...!"
In her hands was the bread Crank had given her.
Having zero interest in the Muster, Lucia was happily munching away, declaring it the perfect weather for eating bread.
Meanwhile, Yuri's mind was elsewhere.
On Zeto.
Eisel had snatched him away right before her eyes.
'I should have spoken up first...'
Yuri had also wanted to partner with Zeto if possible.
However, conscious of the remarks her father, Jeras, had made, she had hesitated.
"Sigh..."
It was just as Yuri let out a heavy sigh of dejection.
"Oh! Oh, my...!"
Lucia, who had been chewing on her bread, suddenly gasped and pointed deeper into the forest.
Seeing Lucia's eyes widen like saucers, Yuri approached her to see what was wrong.
She followed the direction of Lucia's finger.
"W-what? What are they... doing over there...?"
Witnessing the scene, Yuri stammered, unable to hide her sheer bewilderment.
Zeto and Eisel were visible in the distance, but their posture was the problem.
Eisel was straddling Zeto's body.
It was an incredibly scandalous position.
Neither of them was moving much, either.
Because of the distance, whatever conversation they were having was completely inaudible.
Lucia, her mouth hanging open with her bread half-bitten, spoke in a hushed whisper.
"Is that... is that what adults do...? Y-Yuri... should we cover our eyes?!"
"......"
Wondering why there was no response, Lucia turned her head to look at Yuri.
Yuri was completely frozen, her soul seemingly departed from her body in sheer, unadulterated shock.