In Ren's embrace, Chika pulled out the cork, aimed the mouth of the bottle, and poured the entire potion into her mouth in just a few gulps.
The moment the potion entered, a chemical reaction immediately surged through her body.
Her spiritual body was the first to react, starting from her senses.
The world before her eyes began to turn vividly colorful.
"..."
Chika gripped Ren's clothes tightly as the multicolored world came into view.
Her sense of smell and touch remained unaffected. She could still clearly sense that Ren was right beside her.
Understanding this, she quickly calmed her turbulent emotions.
Letting her spirit settle and find its own color in this colorful world.
Gradually, the vibrant hues she saw began to return to normal.
Then suddenly, the world in front of her expanded incomparably. It felt as if her eyes could now perceive information that had previously been inaccessible.
The colorful world slowly receded, returning to its original state.
An inexplicable sense of enlightenment washed over her, bringing Chika a wave of comfort.
"Restrain your emotions. A Telepathist doesn't need to be overly subjective."
The voice in her ear brought her back, helping her rein in the hint of pride that had just risen.
Chika immediately adjusted her mindset according to Ren's words.
As the feeling of enlightenment faded, she realized it had been a side effect from the sudden spike in spirituality.
As that hypersensitive perception waned, normal sensations slowly returned to the shore of her heart, like a tide gently receding.
She reined it in this time.
Instead of becoming addicted to the spiritual surge of advancement, Chika allowed her emotions and spirituality to reach a fine equilibrium.
As her spirit calmed, the faint glow of blue in her eyes gradually faded.
"Huff..."
The agitation and turbulence began to settle. Only a faint layer of moisture remained on the shore of her heart—a reflection of her spiritual presence.
As her breathing evened out, the steady rhythm resumed.
Her vision, too, returned to normal.
Chika blinked slowly, as if dispelling a vague dryness, then focused her bright eyes on Ren.
In that instant, her heart stabilized.
That sense of attachment, which had started as a need for safety during a crisis, now took root deeply in her heart as something far more significant.
It felt like even the wildest waves couldn't shake her now, not as long as this pillar stood.
But that attachment made her not want to leave, even a little.
Sorry, Kaguya.
I think I've really become dependent on Ren.
The apology to her best friend swelled in her heart, but after a brief moment of guilt, she threw herself into Ren's arms without hesitation.
"Ren~"
A sweet, clingy voice spilled from her lips, as if she wanted her tone alone to express everything in her heart.
"I'm scared~"
"What are you scared of?"
There was no trace of fear in that sugary tone, only a thick layer of coquettish teasing.
Ren sighed and flicked her pink cheek.
"Rather than fear, you're just in full kitten mode right now."
Chika, her face poked, just smiled with wide eyes and pushed her cheek into his palm. Then, like a spoiled cat, she nestled back into Ren's chest and rubbed her face against him.
She even made up a blatantly obvious excuse:
"This is a side effect of advancement. Right now, I need Ren to let me act spoiled as much as I want to ease the emotional aftershocks."
Looking down at the girl rubbing against him like a clingy kitten, Ren thought to himself, this was even more direct than Ran had ever been.
You could say she wasn't even bothering to pretend anymore.
Ren glanced at the clock.
11:21. Definitely bedtime.
"It's fine to let you act spoiled. But are you sure you really want to stay the night? It's pretty late."
"Ugh~ Chika doesn't want to care about the time right now. Chika just wants to be spoiled~"
Chika completely dodged the question of whether she should stay and simply leaned into her willfulness.
The normally well-mannered and sensible Chika had no intention of playing that role tonight. She just wanted to be a little spoiled devil, staying in Ren's room... just like that night.
"...Alright."
At that moment, Chika's ears twitched, and her whole body relaxed in Ren's arms.
And so, tonight became the second time she spent the night alone with Ren.
She knew she was being unreasonable.
It was the first time she had acted so selfishly in front of a boy.
But she really liked this feeling.
Ren looked at the girl snuggling close to him.
To be honest, no boy could refuse a cute, quirky, well-figured girl taking the initiative like this.
Well... he was a relatively greedy boy.
Holding Chika in his arms, Ren turned and lay down on the bed.
Pa.
With a snap of his fingers, the lights in the room went out, and the entire space was swallowed by darkness.
The blanket was pulled over both of them.
"Sleep."
Ren's voice had a calming power greater than any lullaby.
Chika immediately felt her eyelids grow heavy.
She hadn't noticed it while she was excited, but after that excitement faded, and with the toll of the potion sorting out her emotions and mind, her energy had been thoroughly drained.
With a sense of security filling her chest, drowsiness swept in.
Her eyelids drooped, and slowly, Chika drifted off to sleep.
Ren, feeling her breathing settle into a peaceful rhythm, nearly chuckled.
He gently patted her back like coaxing a child, helping her drift deeper into sleep.
Sure enough, she really was just a spoiled little girl right now.
As Chika entered dreamland, Ren's thoughts gradually quieted, and a trace of sleepiness began to creep in.
After confirming that Chika had fully fallen asleep, he finally closed his eyes too.
But just before he nodded off, a random thought popped into his mind.
Speaking of which, is Hayasaka going to come over tomorrow morning?
Feels like she's always the one who ends up seeing this kind of situation...
With that, Ren finally drifted off to sleep.
(To be continued.)