Kairos looked at Nicole rather strangely, wondering if he could somehow salvage this situation. Though, he couldn’t exactly come up with anything on the spot.
As for Nicole, she slowly started to replay the events that just happened in her own mind, before realizing that Kairos did not say what she thought he said.
For whatever reason, Nicole thought that the conversation was building up to become a confession. She thought that it made complete sense. They were separated for so long, and it was an apocalyptic scenario. Surely that would mean once they were reunited, the feelings were strong, right?
So… why was it like this?
Nicole coughed awkwardly.
“Um… what did you say?”
Kairos kept a straight face, pretending not to hear anything.
“I said we had to talk about an ability that doesn’t show on your status panel.”
Nicole continued to cough violently, and in a very unnatural way.
“O-Oh…”
Kairos took a deep breath.
“Anyways, this is a serious matter, so I hope you will pay attention closely.
Nicole quickly shook her head as though she were casting the unnecessary thoughts away.
“Yes!”
Kairos spoke slowly.
“You should’ve realized it by now. You have somehow acquired the ability to phase through objects.”
Nicole used a finger to scratch her cheek.
“T-That was me?”
Kairos nodded.
“There are some people that have seen it happen before, but from now on, if you find yourself having to explain your ability to phase through things, say that it is related to the Afraid Spell you have. Thankfully, the ability names are ambiguous, so that shouldn’t raise much suspicion.”
Nicole slowly nodded.
“Um… what about Chase?”
Kairos waved his hand dismissively.
“He isn’t the type to blab, and will be able to pick up rather easily. There’s no need to worry about him.”
Nicole pressed her lips together.
“Hm… this ability sounds so scary. What if I go through the ground and can’t come back up?”
Kairos shrugged his shoulders.
“There seems to be some inbuilt mechanisms that prevent that from happening. Or, you just instinctively just stopped yourself from doing that. On top of that, your clothes seem to be counted as part of you for both that ability along with your invisibility.”
He raised a finger.
“The ability to both phase through walls and become invisible can be extremely powerful together. The potential for scouting is astounding, as you could gain information without being noticed. Even if it wasn’t for the sake of scouting, your ability to reposition is also extremely valuable.”
Kairos then narrowed his eyes slightly and brought his face closer.
“However, above everything else…”
His voice softened considerably.
“The ability to assassinate people.”
Nicole tensed up considerably after hearing that.
“A-Assassinate?”
Kairos nodded.
“If there is a battle, you could directly take out the commander, or the best spell caster. It could also be more covert, allowing you to directly take out the important figures while they aren’t paying attention.”
Nicole’s eyes lost focus, as she gradually realized the possibilities.
“T-This feels like a lot of pressure. I will probably mess it up…”
Kairos nodded.
“That is understandable as you don’t have much experience. So you should start practicing. Although it will be hard to practice the actual assasination, it won’t be too hard to start with your control over both skills. Try your best to keep your ability as secret as you can, alright?”
Nicole nodded.
“Ok. So should I practice in my own room?”
Kairos looked left, then right.
“Yes. But make sure your windows are covered and the door is locked. For now, try to use your ability to phase through things right here.”
Nicole stood up quickly.
“Alright!”
She reached over to the couch underneath her slowly. After a few moments, her hand touched the cushion. Her finger pushed it down, causing it to deform.
Nicole blushed and quickly pulled back her hand.
“I’ll try again!”
Then, as she declared, she tried to phase her hand through the couch once more. Unfortunately, the same thing happened once more. Nicole let out an embarrassed grumble.
“I… I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”
Kairos stood up and got next to her.
“Try to calm down. Think about how you felt and what you did when it first activated. If I remember correctly, it activated the moment you slipped out of Chase’s grasp.”
Nicole muttered to herself.
“What I did…”
Her face that had just calmed down from blushing had reddened up once more.
“I… I don’t know if I can replicate that!”
Kairos let out a soft sigh.
“Just think about what kind of actions you took at that time and try to replicate it. Think about the feeling of moving mana. It is more than just your physical actions, but the way your mind manipulates the rest of your body.”
He was fairly confident that this would help, as that was how he extended his own future vision.
Nicole shut her eyes and tried to do exactly that. Yet, when she reached to touch the couch once more, her hand did not phase through.
Kairos sighed.
“How about we try and reenact exactly what happened?”
Nicole suddenly straightened up.
“E-Eh? You mean…”
Kairos walked a few steps away.
“Run over and try hugging me. Maybe that will help jog your memory.”
Nicole had difficulty looking directly at him.
“O-Ok.”
After hesitating for ten or so seconds, she slowly walked over and wrapped her arms around Kairos. Unfortunately, her ability didn’t activate.
Kairos remained calm despite it not working.
“Alright, that didn’t work. Maybe it’s because you did it far too slowly and without as much force. Try it again.”
Nicole hurriedly let go of him.
“A-Ah! Ok!”
She backed off until she was back into her original position. From there, she calmed down her breathing, and closed her eyes to try and reset her mental state. She decided it would be best to stop with the half-hearted attempts and truly try to activate her ability with all she could this time.
Nicole took over thirty seconds just to try and prepare herself mentally for this.
Kairos did not protest, and was not annoyed by this fact. In reality, he was actually thankful she seemed to be taking this seriously.
Nicole then rushed towards him, with her eyes wide open. Then, she wrapped her arms around him with all her might.
…And didn’t end up phasing through him.
Nicole truly tried her best, but it still didn’t work out. Now, she couldn’t help but feel a little awkward as she was now hugging onto Kairos. Nonetheless, that didn’t mean she was willing to give up.
Her mind couldn’t help but start to relax as she felt the heat from his body, but she quickly snapped to attention and then hugged him even tighter.
Though, the only thing that did was make it even more awkward.
Nicole slowly looked up to Kairos with shifty eyes.
“Um… sorry.”
Her mind was feeling a little fuzzy from hugging him so closely.
Kairos sighed and took a step back to break free of the hug.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Learning is a process, so I’m sure you’ll be able to get it eventually if you continue practicing. This is enough for today. I still have something else to do, so I should hurry on to that.”
He began walking towards the entrance to the door, but suddenly froze in place.
“Ah, before that, do you have my glasses and backpack?”
Nicole suddenly jumped, but nodded vigorously.
“I kept them in my room. Um, I really wanted to carry them with me, but I was scared that I would drop or break something.”
Kairos waved for her to come over.
“Alright, thanks for taking care of my stuff. Could you take me there?”
Nicole hurriedly rushed out.
“Yes!”
She led the way up the stairs, with Kairos following closely behind. Nicole eventually made it to her own room, taking out a set of keys before unlocking it.
It was a rather humble looking room. Though, that was only in comparison to what Kairos was given. Just the living room was essentially the same size as one for a normal house.
There weren’t many things in the place, though that was natural since Nicole didn’t exactly have much to put.
Upon stepping in, Nicole locked the door behind her, seemingly out of habit.
Kairos gave a quick gaze before raising a question.
“Is my stuff in your room?”
Nicole nodded.
“Yes.”
She led the way and opened the door to her own room. Inside was a bed that had several fluffy pillows on top. Next to it was a wardrobe that had Kairos’ glasses, resting on top of a handkerchief.
The lenses were crystal clear. He could tell that they had been cleaned very thoroughly, as it used to be smudged in lots of blood.
Though Kairos took the time to remove the blood, it was still inevitably stained.
As for his backpack, it was placed on top of a chair. It also seemed like it was partially cleaned, though some stains didn’t seem like they would come off. Kairos reached for his glasses first.
“Thanks for cleaning them, but you really should focus on improving your strength first.”
After putting on his glasses, he felt a wave of relief. Kairos didn’t really notice the stress that was slowly piling up, but now that it was finally gone, he felt much better.
Nicole didn’t speak, though it looked like she had a lot to say. Her eyes seemed to be drilling a hole into the ground, while she nervously fidgeted.
Kairos noticed this, but didn’t really care. He slung his backpack on his shoulders and got ready to leave the place. Yet, he suddenly froze in place.
Nicole had a small smile on her face.
“You… you know that I’ve liked you. Actually, you’ve probably known for a long time.”
Kairos didn’t know what to say. Though, it didn’t look like Nicole was waiting for a response.
She continued.
“I should’ve realized it a long time ago… but for some reason, it only happened when I misinterpreted that you confessed to me.”
Nicole had a dreamy look on her face. The muscles all over her body were relaxing.
“But I guess that there was always a part of me that knew that. I always knew I was bad at hiding how I felt. Especially when it was you that I tried to hide it from.”
She laughed.
“You probably realized I liked you before I even knew it.”
Nicole then paused, drawing out her next words.
“But… despite knowing this, you’ve never decided to push me a little bit further. All you had to do was tip me over with the softest of a touch, and I would be yours.”
Kairos remained in place, without saying a single thing.
Nicole brushed through her hair with her fingers.
“I guess that means… there is some sort of gulf between us that keeps us apart. I don’t really know why… but it seems you don’t want to be in a relationship with me.”
She seemed to be on the verge of crying, and even sniffled a bit. After taking a deep breath, she continued.
“If I confessed to you, I would get rejected, wouldn’t I?”
Kairos didn’t respond. He was at a complete loss because of Nicole’s sudden enlightenment and boldness.
Nicole lifted her head and looked deeply into his eyes. Despite Kairos’ lack of a response, she seemed to have gotten her answer.
She shook her head and gingerly reached over to Kairos’ bag, slowly pulling back a zipper that revealed a pack of strawberry gum.
Nicole’s eyes glazed over.
“But you still have this. I don’t know if it is just a coincidence, but seeing this makes me remember when we were kids. Surely it’s not only me that thinks that way, right?”
She pressed her lips together.
“You’re probably gonna reject me, but… seeing this pack of gum, gives me hope.”
Nicole smiled brightly.
“I love you. Do you… feel the same way?”