After leaving the port, everyone took one of the Sanzenin family's spare cars to Sanzenin Nagi's residence.
Considering there were still matters to wrap up, it was fitting to conclude things at Nagi's home.
Soon, the car pulled into the Sanzenin estate—a massive villa where one had to drive all the way up to the entrance just to reach the house.
The entire property was enormous. Without someone guiding you, you could easily get lost inside.
"Sanzenin... your house is really huge."
Even though he had seen it before in pictures, Ren couldn't help but be amazed by the size of the estate when seeing it in person.
"Aside from a group of bodyguards and Maria, it's just you here. It's kind of a waste to have such a huge place..."
A place this empty really did feel like a haunted mansion at night.
The Kudo residence was one classic example of a haunted house, but Nagi's home could arguably top that.
The person being mentioned, Nagi, wore a complicated expression. Honestly, she also felt her house was a bit too big. The scale was unnecessarily excessive.
While it was great for gaming, having only two people live in such a vast space felt undeniably lonely.
At that moment, Aizawa Sakuya grinned and threw her arm around Nagi's shoulder.
"This girl never liked how quiet it was here, so she used to throw parties now and then just to fill the place with people."
"Back when she was still at Hakou Academy, she was pretty popular. Everyone who knew her would show up to hang out, especially those teachers who just wanted free food."
"But ever since she transferred schools, there hasn't been a single party at home for over a month. If she hadn't made friends in her new school, I swear she would've died of loneliness by now."
"Go away! Who said I'd die of loneliness!"
Nagi slapped Sakuya's arm off her shoulder, seething with embarrassment. She felt like her dignity was about to evaporate under Sakuya's teasing.
"Well, Nagi-chan definitely isn't lonely anymore."
As her close friend, Isumi was confident about that.
"Back then, Nagi-chan only played games at home. But after playing the same ones over and over, they stopped being fun. Now though, Nagi-chan has found new things to enjoy and can finally live out her middle-school chuunibyou dreams, so she definitely isn't feeling lonely."
Nagi's face turned red with shame before she could stop the words from coming out.
It was true. Her life had become more exciting lately. Especially after receiving her Vision, everything had changed.
Now she could do things she'd only dreamed of before—flying through the air, controlling the wind to pull off all kinds of fun stunts.
This new life of hers had pushed any lingering loneliness far away.
And honestly, her second-year syndrome had been bursting out so uncontrollably, she didn't even want guests coming over anymore.
Some of the things she'd done were so embarrassing that even she cringed thinking about them afterward.
"Isumi, why do you..."
"Because when I came by earlier, I saw little Nagi wearing some strange armor and leaping off the top floor over and over. She even let out an exaggerated evil laugh each time she jumped, so I figured she must be having fun."
Sakuya's eyes sparkled with interest. She leaned in.
"Isumi, tell us all the juicy details."
"Well, it started when... mmph!"
Before Isumi could spill the story, her mouth was quickly covered by Nagi herself.
Her face was crimson.
It was the kind of embarrassment you feel when your most humiliating chuunibyou moment gets revealed in front of everyone.
Sure, she could have a middle-schooler-level delusion attack. But saying it out loud? No way.
That was the limit of her pride.
"Ahem... Everyone, maybe we should head inside and continue this there."
Seeing Nagi about to collapse from sheer shame, Maria kindly stepped in. If the teasing continued, Nagi might actually faint.
Maria's words helped break the tension and led everyone into the villa.
As always, Maria served black tea for everyone.
The trip was over. After returning from the cruise, what everyone needed now was to unwind.
After setting down his teacup, Ren was the first to speak.
"Then I'll give a quick summary of this vacation."
"Kaguya and Ran have tested the limits of their abilities at this stage, but due to Hayasaka disrupting the dimensional space, our original plan for continued training had to be canceled. So we didn't conduct deeper confirmation."
"Still, even if we didn't go further, most of the weekend's goals were achieved."
"In addition, the other members of the Occult Research Club have received the second round of diaries."
"So, beyond Ran, Kaguya, and Sanzenin, the new diary holders should also come forward and introduce themselves."
"The key is understanding each person's ability. That way, everyone can be more aware."
"Then I'll go first."
As soon as Ren finished speaking, Sonoko stood up and pulled out a contract card from her pocket.
"The first thing I won in the draw wasn't anything offensive—it was a coin used to establish a contract with someone. Of course, my contracted partner is Ren. This card is proof of that bond, and it has a pretty unique ability."
"As long as I use this contract card's ability, I can meet with anyone I want—no appointment needed."
That ability immediately drew everyone's attention.
"You can meet anyone at any time without an appointment? That's incredibly powerful. The key is that it works on anyone, which means nobody is exempt."
Kaguya also reacted with surprise.
"If it were used in an assassination, you might not even need to get close."
Hayasaka commented instinctively, only to be immediately glared at by Kaguya.
"Idiot. The point of this card isn't assassination. In terms of assassination, nothing beats your Door-Door Fruit. This card's ability is for conversations."
"Sonoko's ability allows her to meet with anyone instantly, which means she has the chance to start conversations with anyone."
"That's far more valuable than an assassination skill."
"In fact, her ability has virtually no restrictions. No barrier can stop her from using it."
"This gives her immense leverage in negotiations. The other party won't be able to escape the conversation, making it much easier to pressure them and reach a favorable outcome."
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