Two drops of bright red blood trembled slightly in the water glass, refusing to mix.
One drop was clear and brilliant like a ruby, while the other was darker in hue and noticeably less vibrant than the first.
However, after hearing Luo Shu explain how he'd used some of the Succubus Blood to outmanoeuvre Ryōko Yakushiji, Utaha had some understanding of the other drop's peculiarities.
She stared at the two drops of Succubus Blood in the glass, paused, then poured hot water from the kettle while looking up at Luo Shu:
"It should be fine to take it with water, right?"
From Luo Shu's explanation, Utaha understood these two drops of Succubus Blood were the necessary materials to upgrade her ability from Common Rank Mind Reading to Excellent Rank Hypnosis.
According to Luo Shu, his God's Servant had confirmed that the slightly depleted Succubus Blood wouldn't negatively affect her advancement - in fact, it might even help her master the ability more easily.
The principle was something about depleted power being easier to control.
Naturally, Utaha trusted Luo Shu's words, but being an otaku well-versed in doujinshi, she couldn't help feeling slightly concerned about using Succubus Blood as advancement material.
What if using Succubus Blood gave her cravings for certain... things? That would be problematic.
"Don't worry, I've triple-checked - it won't affect you. Besides, I'm right here with you, aren't I?"
Luo Shu's gentle tone was like that of a seasoned heartbreaker, tender and full of encouragement.
Hearing this cheat-like tone and seeing Luo Shu's utterly sincere face, Utaha's voice became noticeably softer:
"If anything goes wrong, I'll hold you fully responsible."
Luo Shu smiled in response. "I'd be delighted."
Utaha Kasumigaoka gave Luo Shu a deep look before raising the glass, observing the blood that refused to dissolve in the water. Closing her eyes, she downed it in one gulp.
Gulp!
The sound of swallowing reverberated through her mind as she drank.
She drank hastily, but remembering this was something important Luo Shu had given her, she suppressed her nausea and forced every last drop down.
"Cough! Cough!!"
Having finished the liquid, Utaha clearly choked, coughing repeatedly.
At that moment, two tissues were offered to her.
Covering her mouth, Utaha looked up to see Luo Shu's face. She took the tissues, wiped her lips, then patted her chest as she carefully assessed herself.
"It seems... nothing's changed?"
Utaha voiced her confusion while glancing up at Luo Shu.
Meanwhile, Luo Shu was watching her with a slightly odd expression. Clearing his throat, he said:
"I think you'd better look in a mirror."
Hearing this, Utaha immediately reached for her schoolbag, pulling out a handheld makeup mirror. When she looked into it—
Before long, a strikingly beautiful face with rosy lips, pearly teeth, and an alluring charm appeared before her eyes.
Staring at the face that, while familiar, now seemed more bewitching and seductive than ever, Utaha covered her cheeks, feeling as though this wasn't her own face. She couldn't help exclaiming:
"Are you sure this is an ability advancement material?"
Had she not seen her own face daily, Utaha might have asked the mirror just which seductive vixen this was.
The sheer, intoxicating allure surpassed even the most heavily edited celebrity photos she'd ever seen.
Though reluctant to admit it, Utaha felt that if she were to appear in ancient times now, she'd stand a solid chance—no, a near certainty—of being crowned a legendary femme fatale.
Hearing this, Luo Shu tapped his temple suggestively:
"I believe the knowledge about your ability should already be in your mind."
Though the exact mechanism remained unclear, advancing one's abilities with materials did seem to impart related knowledge through some inexplicable means. According to the system's explanation that Luo Shu had inquired about, this was likely due to the interaction between human inspiration and the world.
Utaha, already sensing fragments of this knowledge, didn't answer Luo Shu. Instead, she murmured vacantly:
"Deep mental... induction... suggestion... concealment... manipulation..."
Faintly, Utaha understood how to hypnotise a being while ensuring her own safety, and how to use her mental energy to influence others' minds.
Using Natsuki Minamiya's essence-energy-spirit theory, Utaha had evolved from a complete novice to someone capable of interfering with the blue flames representing "spirit" above people's heads.
This marked Utaha's transformation into a fully-fledged enchantress.
Seeing focus return to Utaha's eyes, Luo Shu asked curiously: "How do you feel now?"
"I feel good." Utaha Kasumigaoka narrowed her eyes, scrutinising Luo Shu's face intently.
Though she could tell from the stability of the blue flames above Luo Shu's head that she couldn't hypnotise him reliably, she could still discern some of his thoughts from subtle changes in his eyes, facial expressions and movements.
'His eyes keep shifting slightly, the weak points of his gaze alternating between my face, chest and legs.'
'Hmm? After observing for a while, his pupils subtly contracted before he deliberately averted his gaze. Is he feeling guilty after sneaking glances at me?'
'Tch, I knew you weren't honest.'
Utaha secretly laughed to herself, but outwardly maintained the pretence of being unaware of Luo Shu's visual tells. She even deliberately crossed her legs with exaggerated movement, remarking offhandedly:
"My ability seems to only cause interference against those with similar mental strength. But if the target is an ordinary person as you described, Luo Shu, I should be able to extract whatever information they know."
Utaha intentionally concealed that even without using Hypnosis, she could assess someone's mental state using knowledge gained from her abilities.
Though she felt slightly guilty towards Luo Shu, she didn't want him to become wary of her if she revealed this aspect of her power.
However, what Utaha didn't realise was that the moment she attempted concealment, Luo Shu's intuition picked up on something amiss.
'Is she hiding something? Her hypnotic abilities might be more complex than she's letting on?'
Thinking this, Luo Shu stole another glance at Utaha. Admittedly, after ingesting the Succubus Blood, while her abilities were the main advancement, Utaha had undergone noticeable changes that stirred something within him.
However, Luo Shu felt their acquaintance was still too brief - being too direct might backfire. Combined with Mira Tsubakihara's similar advances, he found himself entertaining the idea of playing hard to get.
After all, it's impossible for a man not to dream of a harem.
As these thoughts swirled, Luo Shu took a subtle breath and said to Utaha:
"In that case, let's first test whether we can extract information from the target."
Observing his response, Utaha's eyes narrowed slightly before she smiled brightly:
"Alright~"