Chapter 113: Bluffing To the End
— — — — — —
『Earth's Cancer!』: "For the next three days, just call me Dumb Chika." (facepalm.jpg)
『Ordinary Human』: "Huh?"
『Lady Avalon』: "???"
『Catwoman』: "What's going on?"
『Earth's Cancer!』: "…It's nothing. I just, uh… did something really dumb." (bitter smile.gif)
Chika had thought her two sisters had genuinely discovered something unusual about her supernatural side.
However, it turns out that the physical changes she'd undergone—caused by spending more time in another world due to a space-time gap and consuming meat for months in Hancock's world—were completely misunderstood.
Instead of realizing anything supernatural, the two thought Chika had… gotten a boyfriend and gone through "lewd stuff".
Even her Tenseigan, which was a slightly different shade of blue from her natural eye color, was mistaken for cosmetic lenses meant to impress a guy…
Looking at the two across the table—Fujiwara Toyomi and Fujiwara Moeha—still examining the shattered stones and doubting their entire worldview, Chika's blood pressure spiked just thinking back to the "clues" they'd found and the crazy conclusion they'd reached.
There was no way she could say any of that nonsense directly in the chat group. So she tidied up the story a bit, making it sound like she thought they'd uncovered something supernatural, confessed part of the truth herself… only to realize too late that their "evidence" pointed to something completely irrelevant.
…Actually, now that she thought about it, that was kinda the truth, wasn't it?
『Snake Empress』: Eh, I don't think it's that bad. Weren't you already mentally prepared to tell them part of the truth if they ever started asking questions?
『Earth's Cancer!』: I mean, yeah… but still… sigh~
『Ordinary Human』: Want me to head over?
『Earth's Cancer!』: Please do. Sorry to trouble you, Mr. Veyron.
Chika sent a mission request that would teleport him directly to her.
He accepted.
Moments later, he appeared—and immediately noticed the two pink-haired girls stiffen up in sync as soon as he arrived. Glancing between them, he turned to Chika:
"I'm pretty sure I told you when I agreed to let you return home—don't let anything supernatural leak into this world, didn't I?"
(Unlike the ordinary "surface world" most people live in, there exists a hidden "world" shaped by all kinds of supernatural forces and anomalous phenomena.)
That was Chika's go-to explanation in case her family ever started asking uncomfortable questions.
She'd explain it like this: The hidden world is powered by the extraordinary, and through some coincidence, she stumbled into it and gained access to things regular people could never comprehend.
And since that world is hidden by design, distinct from the commonsense world of the masses, it's extremely important that none of this gets leaked—especially to the normal folks like them.
Even she, as someone now officially part of that world, would be in deep trouble if she ever exposed her powers by accident. Some insanely powerful agent from the hidden world's oversight department would immediately show up to deal with it.
This speech served two purposes in Chika's mind:
One. It helped her family accept that she wasn't an ordinary girl anymore—so she wouldn't have to keep tiptoeing around them.
Two. It scared them just enough to make sure they kept their mouths shut.
She thought it was a perfect explanation.
And Veyron (or Merlin, depending on who was available) was meant to be that supposed "superpower enforcer" from the hidden world.
Since Merlin was still off in Hancock's world giving future King Arthur a crash course on something or other, it fell to Veyron to play the role.
He gave the usual formal warning to Toyomi and Moeha, his tone stern enough that both of them nodded like bobbleheads and promised over and over again not to breathe a word about "supernatural" stuff or "the hidden world" to anyone.
Only then did his expression soften.
"No need to be too nervous. As long as you two can keep a lid on things—and don't turn into gossip fountains like someone I know…"
He shot a look at Chika.
"…just keep living your lives like normal."
Double nods of obedience.
Like hell they were going to act up.
Even though this guy hadn't done anything flashy like materializing stuff from thin air or crushing rocks into dust like their sister had…
Just the way he appeared out of nowhere, and how even his voice was being beamed directly into their brains—that alone told them he was way beyond them. Definitely a big deal in that so-called "hidden world."
"Alright, alright, Mr. Veyron, don't scare them too much," Chika stepped in to smooth things over. "Isn't there a clause or something that says close blood relatives can be given limited info about the hidden world, as long as it goes through proper approval?"
"…So where's your application form?"
He reached out a hand like he was expecting something—only to pull it back and shrug dramatically. "Oh right, silly me. You failed your test. So you're not even qualified to submit one yet."
"Ughhh, I was already heartbroken about that… do you have to rub salt in the wound?!"
Chika looked completely defeated.
Toyomi and Moeha: "..."
All they'd wanted to do was trick Chika into admitting she had a boyfriend.
Instead, she decided to show them what supernatural power looked like.
After witnessing that, they could kinda understand why she failed the test.
Yup, Chika is dumb.
. . .
"As per protocol, you each get to ask three questions—either to me or to Chika. We'll answer as best we can," Veyron said, looking at the two pink-haired sisters.
"But after those three, I need you to put a lid on your curiosity. Don't press her for more until she officially gets clearance. We don't want things to get... awkward. You get what I mean?"
Toyomi and Moeha both nodded quickly.
"Good."
Veyron gave a small nod back. "Alright then. Who's going first?"
"I have one," said Toyomi. "After accidentally exposing this other world stuff to us, is Chika going to be punished or something?"
"There'll be some consequences, yeah," Veyron replied casually. "She did break the rules, after all. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here."
"But it's not that big of a deal—if it were serious, she wouldn't be sitting here smiling like an idiot, would she?"
Chika stuck out her tongue playfully.
Seeing her still acting like her usual self, Toyomi and Moeha finally relaxed.
Okay, so she's not in trouble-trouble.
They exchanged glances and came to a quick, silent agreement: one question each.
"Do we have any chance of getting powers like Chika's?" Moeha asked.
"Maybe?" Veyron shrugged. "If you somehow end up getting involved with that world, like she did."
"So… you can only gain those powers in that world?" Toyomi followed up.
"I think you're misunderstanding something," Veyron replied. "In your minds, you probably assume the surface world and the hidden world are split apart by some big cosmic rule, like someone decided to ban knowledge of the supernatural from spreading… right?"
Toyomi didn't confirm or deny, but her silence said enough.
"…Thought so," Veyron said with a small smirk. "The truth is, the hidden world doesn't actually mind expanding or interacting with the surface world."
He shook his head. "The problem is your world just doesn't have the right 'soil' for supernatural power to grow in."
"Unless you get lucky like Chika and manage to access that world directly, there's no chance. Even if we made magic systems public here—things like spiritual power or mana—none of the billions of people here could truly become supernatural beings."
"But those who were born in that world—or who, like Chika, obtained the seed of power from it—can still use their abilities freely when they come back."
He glanced at Chika. "Speaking of which, what can you do at full power these days?"
Chika thought for a second, then replied, "In my normal state, I could probably activate a Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion and level a few buildings?"
Then she casually pointed at Mount Fuji, perfectly visible in the clear weather. "But if I take a power-boosting Potion, slicing that thing in half wouldn't be too hard."
"!!!" x2
Toyomi and Moeha both stared at her like they were having an out-of-body experience.
You… YOU can do WHAT?!
"Now do you understand what I mean?" Veyron said with a pleasant smile. "If we really dropped the restrictions and let supernatural power run wild in this world… with how much people here rely on common sense and normal logic, I don't think that would end well."
Hmm?
Another notification popped up in the chat interface—a new mission had come through the group system.
Veyron raised an eyebrow and opened the task menu to check it.
A few seconds later, he turned to Chika, both of them visibly stunned by what they saw.
Bluff to the end—and the world will believe you.
No joke. Literally real.
And just like that, Chika's world had posted a new mission in the chat group… a massive one.
.
.
.