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"Hey, servant, want something to drink?"
It wasn't long before Yamada Elf came back to the living room, now dressed in a pink-and-white princess-style dress. The skirt fluffed out around her, and her golden hair shimmered under the lights—she really did look a bit like a princess.
"I'm good," Blake hook his head. "Sit down first. I'll explain the side effects."
"Go on, go on."
Yamada Elf's eyes lit up as she quickly sat across from him.
"I'll keep it short…"
Blake didn't hide anything. He calmly laid out everything he knew.
"So using the ability comes with side effects… a bit disappointing, but acceptable," Yamada Elf rested her chin on her hands, leaning over the table as she listened, her feet swinging idly. "After all, power without limits just feeds your desires until you self-destruct… Like, if you had invisibility, servant, you'd definitely use it to peek at girls in the bath, right?"
Blake shot her a look of pure disgust. "Don't slander me."
Using such an amazing ability for something like that would be a complete waste. Obviously, you'd sneak into top-secret labs and steal classified data for the good of the country.
"Hey, hey—so how do you help purify the magic?"
She looked at him curiously.
"Physical contact is enough," Blake replied flatly. "Like holding hands."
"That's easy."
Yamada Elf immediately reached out her hand toward him, lifting her chin proudly and exposing her slender, pale neck.
"This is your reward, you know~"
Under the bright light, her hand looked delicate and soft, her fingers long and pretty.
"Hehe." The blonde girl sounded smug. "Hurry up and thank me. I've never let another boy hold my hand before."
"I'm tired today," Blake said with a look of distaste. "Suddenly don't feel like helping anymore."
"Don't!" Yamada Elf panicked instantly. "I have to go out tomorrow! What if I accidentally make someone's clothes disappear?"
"Then just kneel and apologize."
"No way! I am not kneeling in public!"
Blake glanced at her calmly.
"When you ask someone for help, you should act like it."
"Huh?" Yamada Elf blinked. "What do you want me to do?"
"Show some sincerity."
"O-okay then…"
Her cheeks slowly flushed red as she grabbed the hem of her skirt and began lifting it up bit by bit.
"…What are you doing?" Blake stared at her, stunned.
"That's so mean," she pouted, her face bright red. "You told me to show sincerity, and now you're asking what I'm doing? This is me showing sincerity!"
I meant your attitude, not… whatever this is!
And honestly, with a figure like yours, only a very specific kind of person would even be interested—
The next second, a sharp, icy voice cut through the room:
"Blake, what are you doing?!"
Yamada Elf kept lifting her skirt, blushing as she turned her head. "Blake told me to—"
"I didn't! I never did! Stop making things up!" Blake fired off a triple denial. "I just told you to show sincerity when asking for help!"
"But I read in manga that the greatest sincerity when asking for help is showing your chest…" she muttered, still red-faced.
Are you kidding me?! Who learns common sense from manga?!
Mahiru Shiina strode forward and immediately pressed the girl's skirt back down.
"Don't believe everything you see in manga," she said, her expression tight. Then she turned to Blake. "And you—don't bully Miss Elf."
"…Got it."
Blake answered quietly, his gaze drifting toward the so-called angel.
The maid outfit she wore—white with delicate accents—fit her perfectly. The cinched waist made her figure look even slimmer, and the faint blush on her face only made her cuter.
And yet, despite the adorable outfit, the aura she gave off right now felt unmistakably like the head of the household.
"I'm starting," Blake said, taking Yamada Elf's fingertips and checking the purification progress in his mind. "It'll take about ten minutes. We can't break contact during that time, or we'll have to start over."
"No problem." Yamada Elf agreed casually, even curiously squeezing his fingers. "Boys' fingers are so thick."
Blake: "…"
Mahiru: "…"
Clearly, Yamada Elf wasn't shy in the slightest. Holding hands meant nothing to her.
Time passed quietly.
Ten minutes flew by in the blink of an eye.
Or rather, not so quietly—Yamada Elf couldn't sit still to save her life. She turned into a one-girl question machine, firing off endless questions.
Unfortunately, Blake wasn't all-knowing, so most of his answers were just shrugs.
She even wanted to try out what stopping time felt like, but Mahiru politely shut that idea down.
"It's done." Blake finally let out a breath and stood up. "As long as you don't use invisibility, you'll be fine for a while."
Yamada Elf tilted her head up. "But invisibility is so fun… I won't be able to resist, right?"
Blake glanced at the maid-clad angel beside him.
See? That's the normal reaction to getting superpowers.
"Don't look at me." Mahiru turned her face away.
"If you can't resist, then I guess I'll just have to purify your magic regularly," Blake said, stretching his neck before moving to leave. "It's getting late. Let's call it a day."
"Looks like I'll be relying on you a lot from now on, servant," Yamada Elf said with her hands on her hips. "Tomorrow, I'm going out to have fun while invisible!"
"…"
Mahiru pressed her lips together, then spoke softly, "Thank you, Miss Elf. I'll wash this outfit and return it to you tomorrow."
"No need," Yamada Elf waved her hand generously. "I'm the one who made your clothes disappear, so just take the maid outfit as an apology."
"Um…"
"It's settled."
"…Okay."
With no way to argue, Mahiru let out a small sigh, planning to wash it and return it anyway.
After saying goodbye, the two of them stepped out together.
"Oh, right—the ladder."
Blake turned back to carry it out.
"I can do it myself," Mahiru said, reaching out. She clearly didn't like bothering others.
"I got it dirty, so I'll handle it," Blake replied casually. "It's just a few steps."
"…Thank you, Blake."
"....."