"Amamiya, lend it to me!"

  Fujiwara looked at Ren with sparkling eyes.

  "Here you go."

  Ren smiled and handed her the maple leaf gold .

  Taking the gold , Fujiwara exami closely.

  It was surprisingly heavy.

  She tossed it into the air, letting it nd oable naturally. It flipped over, revealing the flower side.

  She tried again.

  And again.

  Each time, the results varied between the words and the flower, but the words never appeared secutively multiple times.

  "Hmm~ Is this some kind of magic trick?"

  Fujiwara tilted her head in fusion.

  "It's too random."

  Kaguya immediately dismissed the idea.

  "The a which the falls are always different, and the way it bounces off the table also ges the oute."

  "When Amamiya tossed it, the always nded in his palm."

  "Fujiwara, try it again."

  "Alright!"

  Fujiwara attempted a few more times, but the results remained insistent.

  Even wheried to trol the height and number of flips, it was impossible to get the same result secutively.

  "Then it 't be a magic trick."

  Ren stepped forward, extending his hah Fujiwara Chika's own, where she still held the gold .

  With a light tap of his finger.

  The phased straight through Fujialm and fell into Ren's open hand below.

  "???"

  "Ehhhhhh?!"

  Fujiwara stared at her palm in shock.

  There wasn't even a scratch.

  Yet the gold had passed right through her hand.

  She was absolutely certain, her eyes hadn't deceived her.

  There was no trick to what just happened.

  There had been no sleight of hand, no hidden meism.

  The had simply passed through as if her hand did.

  And it wasn't do high speed either.

  It had moved so naturally, so impossibly, that it felt surreal.

  "This is just one of the abilities I've acquired."

  Ren expined calmly.

  "It's difficult to put into words."

  "The best way to describe it is… my ability lets me be a chartan, or perhaps a master lockpicker."

  Fujiwara didn't quite uand, but her eyes were already sparkling with fasation.

  "Is it the same kind of supernatural ability as Kaguya's?"

  "How iing!"

  This was how normal people reacted when they entered the supernatural.

  "I really want to get a diary soon! I want to see what kind of ability I'll receive!"

  Ren could uand her excitement.

  Sonoko probably felt the same way.

  But things weren't so simple.

  "We still have to observe how it works."

  "The method of acquiring a diary is still unclear, and uanding it will help us trol its distribution iure."

  As he spoke, Ren paused briefly.

  Perhaps the real key to the diaries was him.

  As the host of the diaries, their distribution could be lio him in some way.

  The question was, did he trol it sciously, or was it pletely out of his hands?

  That would require further iigation.

  "Click!"

  The door swung open once more.

  "Oh~ You're here too."

  The voitered the room before its owner did.

  Suzuki Sonoko.

  She immediately noticed the chocote pext to Ren.

  Her lips pursed slightly.

  She was a little te.

  Her gaze swept across the room, nding on a familiar face.

  Her expressihtened.

  She skipped over immediately.

  "Chika! Long time no see!"

  "Sonoko! You go to this school too?!"

  Fujiwara looked just as surprised.

  "You didn't know?"

  "I thought you transferred from Shuchi'in because of me."

  Fujiwara suddenly looked awkward.

  "Uh… actually, I came here with Kaguya."

  "Huh?"

  Sonoko blinked in fusion before turning to look at Kaguya.

  "You're friends with the Ice Queen?"

  "...Excuse me?"

  "The Ice Queen and Chika are friends?!"

  That was more shog than a horror story.

  Sonoko knew Fujiwara well.

  She was cute, easygoing, and impossible to hate.

  More than that, she was genuinely sincere.

  Which was pletely different from Kaguya.

  "Hehe~"

  Fujiuffed out her chest proudly.

  That stupid expression made Kaguya sigh, pressing a hand to her forehead.

  Not long after, Ran and Sonoko ehe room, followed by Nagi, Isumi, and Maria.

  With the full group assembled, Kaguya, as president of the Occult Research Club, called everyoo order.

  "Alright, let's discuss our club's first official activity."

  "Amamiya is the one who proposed it—"

  "A weekend trip to a small isnd."

  That immediately caught Sonoko's attention.

  "Ooh, an isnd trip! Sounds like a great weekeaway!"

  "But why an isnd?"

  "My intuition tells me something iing will happen there."

  "…Your intuition?"

  Sonoko hesitated for a moment.

  Then quickly nodded.

  "Alright, I'm in."

  "Ran, you're ing tht?"

  Ran thought for a moment.

  She didn't have anything pnned for the weekend.

  "No problem."

  "Actually, my parents have been tellio go out and rex, so this is perfect."

  With Ran's agreement, Sonoko turo Nagi.

  "And what about you, Little Miss Rich Girl?"

  "Don't call me that!"

  Nagi rolled her eyes.

  "…But fine, I don't have any weekend pns, so I'll go."

  Isumi and Maria exged surprised looks.

  In the past, Nagi would never have agreed so easily.

  She would have said something like.

  "Go on a trip? On the weekend? Are you crazy? I'd rather stay home and py games!"

  But now, even though she still sounded relut, she didn't refuse.

  This rogress.

  Kaguya sed the group before finalizing the pn.

  "Alright. Then it's decided."

  "I'll arrahe boat to the isnd."

  "The rest of the details will be decided the day before the weekend."

  With that settled, Kaguya sat down once more.

  "Sonoko-san, you have the floor."

  "Thanks~"

  Sonoko didn't waste time.

  She walked over to Ren, handing over a small box of chocotes.

  "Amamiya, this one's friendship chocote. ime, it'll be siy chocote."

  "Thank you, Suzuki-san."

  Ren accepted it without hesitation.

  Sonoko looked pleased, then nudged Ran forward.

  "Alright, your turn, Ran."

  "Uh, right…"

  pared to Sonoko's fidence, Ran seemed a bit shy.

  She hesitated briefly before pulling out a ly ed chocote from behind her.

  "Amamiya-san… because of your reminder, I was able to uand Shinichi's situatioer."

  "This is… a thank-you gift."

  "Thank you, Mouri-san."

  Ren smiled as he accepted it.

  You shouldn't dismiss someone's gratitude so casually.

  For the first time in his life, he had received chocotes from girls.

  Even if the meanings were different, it was still better than nothing.

  …Well, in a way, maybe his life was finally moving in the right dire.