SCIAW: Chapter 468/469

Chapter 468: Considering Promotion

After returning to the villa, Ren's face was marked with several rows of fresh tooth marks.

"Hmph hmph~ That's what you get for calling me Fujiwara Mama."

Chika stood with her hands on her hips, humming proudly.

Ren still felt a faint pain on his face. Those tooth marks were truly bitten with great force.

"Fujiwara, that was a term of endearment."

"I don't want a term of endearment like 'mama.'"

If he had just called her by name, Chika wouldn't have been angry. But the address 'mama' was truly too much.

She wasn't that old, and she certainly didn't see Ren as a child who needed her care.

"Alright."

Seeing Chika's strong resistance, Ren reflected on his actions and sealed away the address 'Fujiwara mama' in a corner of his mind.

"Chika, is that okay now?"

"Mhm, calling me by my name is fine."

Chika could completely accept being called 'Chika,' but she absolutely could not accept 'Fujiwara mama.'

Stepping into the villa, the entire space was very large. As a property under the Suzuki conglomerate, it certainly couldn't be too small.

Of course, such a trip also wasn't suitable for a villa that was too small.

The villa ensured that besides everyone having their own room, there were also many necessary spaces.

Special rooms like bathrooms, entertainment areas, and massage rooms were all essential for enjoying life.

And this time, quite a few people had been invited to participate in this trip.

"Hmm? Ren, what happened to the tooth marks on your face?"

Hinagiku, dressed in cool attire and wearing shorts, walked over.

Her hair looked slightly damp, and she was holding a freshly opened bottle of milk, a faint scent of shower gel emanating from her.

As one of the invited guests, she was also participating in this weekend trip.

"I used a somewhat inappropriate address for Chika, and I didn't expect her to react so strongly."

Ren said, pointing to the tooth marks on his face, a look of reflection in his features.

"I've somewhat understood that you can't just casually use nicknames for girls."

"Nicknames for girls… indeed, that's not easy to handle."

After all, as a girl herself, Hinagiku immediately thought of those boys who used to give girls strange nicknames.

"Most nicknames boys give girls actually carry some insult, especially targeting some of a girl's flaws. Girls get very angry when they hear such things."

"Let me ask first, how did you address Miss Fujiwara?"

"Fujiwara mama."

Hinagiku's facial muscles twitched. She looked at the natural expression on Ren's face, and at Chika, who wanted to stop him but was a step too late.

"Hmm… this address isn't particularly insulting. However, it does make a person sound old. We girls are quite sensitive about age-related issues, so this address should not be used."

The address 'Fujiwara mama' wasn't exactly insulting.

At least insulting words wouldn't use 'mama.'

Hinagiku's first thought was that it was because Chika was very good at taking care of people, which led to the nickname 'Fujiwara mama.'

However, it did sound strange when used by a peer.

At least she wouldn't want to hear Miki, Akako, or Risa call her 'Katsura mama' one day. That would only make her feel as if she had inexplicably aged decades.

Looking at Chika's angry expression, Hinagiku could somewhat understand why she would want to bite Ren.

"I've already remembered."

After being bitten, Ren understood that Chika disliked this address, and it would be better not to use 'Fujiwara mama' in the future.

"Miss Katsura just finished washing?"

"Mhm. It's quite late today, so I took a shower and plan to go to bed early. Tomorrow, I can also explore Izu thoroughly."

For Hinagiku, this weekend trip was a rare chance to relax.

In the past, she sometimes had to participate in weekend club activities and training, and sometimes Hakuo also had a lot of work that the Student Council President needed to handle, so weekends weren't always that free.

"And I need to continue waking up early tomorrow."

"Even on weekends, you have to wake up early?"

"Mhm. Because I promised Nagi we'd go for a morning run to exercise. After we get back, I also need to start practicing swordsmanship."

Speaking of this, Hinagiku's face showed some relief.

"After her body gradually became stronger, Nagi indeed started thinking about exercising. But I can sense that her determination must be very strong, which is why she wants to become stronger."

"It's not necessarily a bad thing."

"If she has that intention, I'm happy to accompany her. Moreover, I also need to train well now. Hmm, I also need to consider whether to become a lawyer after graduation."

Hinagiku had always thought a lot about her future, but precisely because of her sense of responsibility, she felt it would be quite good for her to become a lawyer.

"A lawyer, that's indeed quite suitable."

Ren imagined Hinagiku as a lawyer. From an image perspective, it was indeed quite fitting.

"Speaking of which, Miss Katsura, have you confessed to your sister?"

"Mhm… I still need to explain to my sister. I don't want to keep it from her forever. But I also made her promise that she absolutely cannot tell anyone about those things."

Ren wasn't too worried about this point.

"I don't think she would reveal it."

"She loves money and alcohol, but she also has her unchangeable bottom line. So I think as long as it involves your matters, Yukiji-sensei will definitely bite her tongue and not say a word."

"However, Miss Katsura, are you planning to get a promotion?"

"Eh?"

When the topic of promotion was brought up, Hinagiku was clearly stunned.

"So fast? I've only just gotten used to this power for a week."

Ren, however, smiled at this.

"Perhaps you haven't been in contact with the power for very long, but you are also the fastest among many people to adapt. Spirituality can indicate whether you have started to stably adapt to your current power. Others haven't yet stabilized their Spirituality, but yours is already very stable."

"I think it's also due to your unconscious actions in daily life."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 469: The "Barbarian" Controlled by the "Spectator"

"The Boon system is different from the Potion system. The Boon system carries lower risks, and because the way to obtain power is through Boons, it can instantly elevate an ordinary person to a high Sequence."

"However, I did not bestow power beyond the Sequence. Instead, I made the power granted by the Boon system tend toward the Potion system."

"Simply put, the power you awakened is indeed mine, but I also gave you the opportunity to strengthen yourself autonomously. In the process of mastering the power, you can deepen it with your own abilities. Only when promoting do you need to find me to bestow deeper power again."

"Although this makes it a bit more troublesome, this Boon method also leans toward the Potion, so the power you master will be more suitable for yourself, rather than my unilateral bestowal."

"The most important point is that while this makes the method of acquiring power more troublesome, it greatly reduces the impact on those of you who acquire power through Boon."

This method has already diverged from the traditional Boon system, even leaning toward the Potion system, which is also a way to reduce the influence of the Boon system.

However, the problem still exists. Once the Boon is withdrawn, the power gained through this effort will also be lost.

If one does not possess extraordinary abilities such as stealing that can seize this portion of the Boon's power, once this power is withdrawn, all efforts will be in vain.

Of course, this poses no additional problem for Ren.

He did not intend to withdraw this portion of power, unless the person blessed with the power obtained the diary, and the power obtained through the diary duplicated the Boon's power. Only then would he withdraw his power.

The reason for making such an adjustment was simply to mitigate the impact caused by the Boon system.

"The training of this power is also simultaneously influenced by the acting method."

"Therefore, for the past week, you have been working as the Student Council President at Hakuo, unconsciously causing you to act like a top lawyer. Ah, perhaps a lawyer's workload is not even as great as yours."

Ren knew that only a few people in the Hakuo Student Council actually did work, and most of it fell to Hinagiku, the Student Council President.

The amount of work was probably several times that of an ordinary lawyer.

Coupled with the nature of the Student Council President's work, it prompted Hinagiku to unconsciously take on the role of a lawyer.

This was also why Ren proactively brought up the topic of promotion today.

"Is that so? No wonder I've felt my work efficiency has increased a lot recently."

Hinagiku had previously felt that she was reading documents much faster and handling many student matters much more easily. She had been wondering if she had improved in this area, but she had forgotten about the help of the lawyer.

"If it's convenient, then please help me with the promotion, Ren."

"Do I need to cooperate?"

"No, that's not necessary. It's just helping a believer upgrade their power."

Ren shook his head slightly, then raised his hand and placed his index finger on Hinagiku's forehead, elevating the Boon to the next stage.

Hinagiku waited curiously, but what followed was not a flood of information into her brain, but a strange sensation.

Chika, who was observing, had now entered Spectator mode. She could see many things at this moment.

Her Spirituality had almost doubled. Was this the boost after a Sequence promotion?

Other than Spirituality, she could not see much else in Spectator mode.

However, even if she could only observe Spirituality, Chika understood how exaggerated the promotion's boost was.

"It's done."

Ren withdrew his hand from Hinagiku's forehead, completing the promotion ritual.

"Eh? Is that all?"

Hinagiku still looked bewildered. She looked at Ren strangely.

"I thought this promotion would be like before, with a large amount of information flooding into my mind, telling me what the abilities of this stage are."

"Actually, normally, that would be the case. Different Sequences mean different types of power, and this different power will converge after promoting to a certain Sequence, allowing you to master the core power of that Sequence."

"However, Sequence 8 of the Lawyer Sequence does not have such complex abilities. The abilities you possess at this stage are also very simple. I think you will understand once you hear the name of this Sequence."

"Barbarian."

Upon hearing this name, Hinagiku paused, then instantly understood why she had not received any information at this stage. The name of this stage indeed did not require so-called information.

Connecting the name of the Sequence she was following, Lawyer, with the name of Sequence 8, Hinagiku understood what was going on.

"Problems that cannot be solved by law should be solved with fists?"

"I usually deal with Hakuo students. No matter how violent I am, I would not use my fists to solve students' problems."

Clearly, from Hinagiku's perspective, the acting for this stage seemed much more troublesome.

"Actually, it is not a problem at all."

Chika, who had been observing, exited her Spectator state and began to offer suggestions.

"The Barbarian role is actually the easiest. Isn't Miss Katsura always training Nagi? This Sequence just needs to be unreasonable, so why not just increase the intensity a bit when training Nagi?"

"To apply it to Nagi…"

Hinagiku was somewhat hesitant and worried at this moment.

"It's fine, it's fine. Nagi has also been frequently consuming Sea King meat obtained from Kaguya recently, and her physical fitness is improving faster than you imagine. Just slightly increasing the intensity of training will definitely be fine."

"Moreover, Miss Katsura, you must have felt it too. Nagi is getting stronger every day, and you have also increased your effort in training with her. You must have felt the pressure recently, right?"

Chika almost instantly saw through Hinagiku's concerns and her recent feelings.

Facing such a fact, Hinagiku had no way to refute it.

Recently, she had felt that Nagi's growth rate was much faster than she had imagined. The small improvements each day, accumulated little by little, added up to quite a lot.

Even if Nagi had not surpassed her yet, she could already feel that she was about to fall behind Nagi's growth rate.

"So, Miss Katsura, don't you want to become stronger with Nagi?"

"While power is not absolute, when needed, even a slight difference can lead to a passive situation. Isn't this a very good opportunity?"

"Compared to fumbling your way across the river alone, isn't it better to advance together with Nagi?"

These words truly hit Hinagiku's soft spot.

This was indeed not a bad thing.

"Then, I will consider it."

(To be continued.)