There weren't any mushrooms in the dessert I just ate, were there?
Mori Shinra's first reaction was that he was seeing things. After all, although his Emotion Perception was a supernatural ability, it could only see people's emotions. Yet, the corridor before him was empty, with no observable target.
But the problem was, both his ability and his eyes could clearly observe that there was indeed an emotional reaction in the corridor. Furthermore, the source of this reaction was moving and changing, and this was the first time he had encountered a situation where he could sense an emotion but couldn't distinguish what specific emotion it was.
In his field of vision, the ball of light symbolizing emotion was as if covered by a layer of gauze, as if something was obscuring his perception.
Was this a supernatural event?
He hadn't expected to come to the library just to kill some time and run into something like this. If supernatural phenomena really existed, did that mean this world wasn't as simple as it appeared on the surface? Could other people have abilities like his?
For a moment, his usual 'playing a game with the world' mentality was hit with an unprecedented shock.
Perhaps because he had already died once, ever since he transmigrated, his attitude towards people and events had been quite Zen.
To put it bluntly, he didn't care; there was no sense of reality. Otherwise, he wouldn't have done something like getting into a car accident on the first day of school and then running to school the next day to verify his system's abilities. Only the Wish Requests brought by the system could generate a slight sense of challenge and interest in him.
Now, when something he couldn't comprehend appeared before him, the impact it had on his long-held beliefs was imaginable.
Fortunately, his self-regulation ability was quite strong. After the initial surprise, curiosity and vigilance followed.
He didn't alert the target. He went to a bookshelf and pretended to be looking for a book, but was actually using his peripheral vision to lock onto the position of the emotional light mass.
In fact, with his current application of Emotion Perception, he could lock onto the target's position even without looking. But that way, he might miss some information. So, to be safe, he used a combination of his ability and naked-eye observation for 24/7, no-blind-spot monitoring.
Don't think I'm not watching you. I'm always... watching...
Slowly, he discovered that the invisible cognitive barrier shrouding the other party was gradually dissipating. The most direct manifestation of this was that the emotional mass he saw was gradually taking on a human form.
After realizing this, he found that the speed of the other party's 'materialization' further increased. Until at a certain moment, he saw a bunny girl with her back to him. She was aimlessly looking at the people passing by. As if sensing his gaze, she seemed to feel something and turned her head.
Their eyes met.
Mori Shinra blinked. He began to doubt whether he was awake.
There was a bunny girl standing in the library, and yet the people around her were completely oblivious. It seemed only he could see her. Why was he having such a dream?
But since he could confirm that she was human and didn't seem to have any malicious intent, he finally had the time to properly size her up.
She was wearing a pair of black, glossy high heels. Her long, well-proportioned legs were wrapped in sheer black stockings. The off-the-shoulder bodysuit on her upper body was also black, perfectly accentuating her graceful figure. The patch of fair skin at her chest formed a stark contrast with the black fabric.
Looking further up, there was a delicate collarbone, a fair neck, and an extremely exquisite face that looked somewhat familiar. At this moment, that pretty face wore a slightly bored expression, giving off a lazy and mature feeling.
Without a doubt, this was a top-tier bunny girl.
Due to his unconcealed gaze, the wild bunny girl wandering the library also seemed to realize that this was not an accidental meeting of eyes. The other person could see her!
Upon realizing this, she did not panic. Instead, she walked towards him.
He stood his ground, not moving. He wanted to see what she was up to.
"..."
The stunningly beautiful girl in the provocative outfit stopped in front of him. She didn't speak, but waved her hand in front of his face, as if confirming something.
Seeing his reaction, she finally spoke with a hint of surprise. "You can really see me."
She said it as if other people really couldn't see her.
But she wasn't wrong. If he didn't have Emotion Perception, it was highly likely that he, like the others in the library, would have been unable to perceive her existence.
To be so beautiful and dressed in such a bold outfit, yet to be unnoticed by anyone—this was not a normal situation in any way.
"Why aren't you talking?" The girl, seeing that he didn't reply, began to wonder if she had been overthinking. Was it just a coincidence?
Mori Shinra looked at her somewhat familiar face and finally searched his mind for her name.
"Are you Sakurajima Mai?"
The surprise in Mai's beautiful eyes flashed and disappeared.
"I am."
She didn't seem surprised that he had recognized her. Although she had stopped her acting activities for two and a half years, before that, she was a national-level celebrity in Japan. Being recognized was a common occurrence for her.
Oh, a qualifier had to be added here. Before the abnormality appeared on her, being recognized was a common occurrence.
As for now... to be honest, this was the first time she had met someone who could see her while she was in this abnormal state, to the point that she didn't know what to do.
But then again, she had worn this outfit in the first place to find someone who could see her. Now that she had found someone, she didn't know what to do. It was a bit like Lord Ye's love of dragons. Mai thought with a bit of self-deprecation.
"Mori Shinra."
"What?"
"My name is Mori Shinra. I'm a second-year at the nearby Sobu High. As you can see, I'm looking for some reference materials..."
Even as he spoke, he couldn't help but look up at the head of the bunny girl celebrity.
It was obvious that she also had a Wish Request. But the color of her request was strange. Not that it was strange, but that it was color-changing. It shifted irregularly between gray, green, blue, purple, and gold, like a shining disco ball.
This was the first time he had encountered such a situation. It was quite magical.
Sakurajima Mai, hearing him go on to the point of giving his address, finally couldn't help but interrupt:
"Are you on a blind date?"
"No, I'm letting you get to know me faster."
"Why would I want to get to know you?"
"Um... to get you to trust me?"
Hearing this, Sakurajima Mai subconsciously took a step back. Why would he suddenly want to gain her trust?
Seeing the girl assume a defensive posture, Shinra pointed to a nearby chair for library patrons. "Why don't we sit down and talk first?"