With Suzuna inhabiting Ariadne with 'Spiritual Medium', she would perform 'Assist Charge', have the charged magic power returned, and use 'Assist Charge' again.

　Theoretically, this is how it should be done, but when it came to the stage of actually using Ariadne's skills to get her to return the magic power, I was unexpectedly nervous.

　Ariadne's 'Energy Sync' skill allows the user of the skill and the subject to be in sync - in other words, the user of the skill and the subject's magical power can be made equal.

　Using 'Assist Charge' will reduce my magic power, but Ariadne will recover more than the amount of reduction. I'll use the Energy Sink to compensate for the loss, and then use the Assist Charge again. In this way, the Energy Sync restores my magic power to the same amount each time, so I can repeat the process as many times as I want.

　I can do it, but - in order to activate the "Energy Sync", some part of my body has to touch it. Although I think it's not a problem if you touch a bland place, but if you try to actually do it, I feel like no matter where you touch it, it's going to be an impediment.

''Ah, um........Arihito-san, I'm fine to touch anywhere, so please don't worry about it.''
Ohhhh... Suzuna. Can you talk while you're a 'medium' if you want to?

　I'm surprised by the exaggeration - because Ariadne's nonchalant tone just now has suddenly returned to her bare Suzuna.

''Arihito-san is being very reserved, so I asked Ariadne-san to take over for me... it's a very strange feeling.

　During The Spiritual Medium, it wasn't that Suzuna couldn't move of her own volition at all. However, when she had just been able to move her body on her own, Suzuna seemed to feel a little uncomfortable, and she seemed uncomfortable.


'Ah, ah ... it seems that if you increase your faith in Ariadne, you can increase your defenses.
If we do that, we'll have a better chance of preventing a strong attack ... let's get as much faith as we can tonight.
'It would help me too if you could help me out. No, it would be more about the whole party than me.
'Yes, for the party ... one for all and all for one. Right?

　Suzuna says, unusually, in a joking manner. As much as I'm trying to protect everyone, the fact that she feels the same way about me is directly related to the solidity of the party.

　Fortunately, there's no such thing as someone not getting along with someone else, and we're all very close. But that's where we should not take pride and forget to care, that's what relationships are all about. Especially since I'm a man and everyone else is a woman, I have to be the most careful.

''........Ah, um. I'm about to use the 'Energy Sink', can you touch it?
'Ah, ah well, where would you like to be then? I'd appreciate it if you could direct me.

　She should be able to handle skin-to-skin contact without being strangely aware of it, but if it was a ticklish place for Suzuna, it was not good. I think we should knock on a stone bridge here.

'Anywhere on your back is fine for you to touch.
Okay Okay, well I'll see you around.

　He touches his hand to the area between his shoulder blades. Suzuna clasps her hands together as if she is praying - she is activating the 'Energy Sink'.

◆Current Situation ◆　

　Suzuna is "substituting" for Ariadne's "Energy Sync".
　Aricht and Suzuna's magic power is balanced.

''It's.......warm. I can see my magic power transferring to Alihit-san, and then Alihit-san's magic power coming back and becoming more even.
'I think if we could use this skill with more than one person, we could all have a certain amount of magic power, especially while compensating for the depleted party members.

　Suzuna replies to my reasoning by taking over for Ariadne once more.

''I affirm. Right now, it can only be used against the leader, Arihito. However, the skills of the Secret God will be enhanced as the party grows. Once the total level of the party exceeds twenty, my skills will change to the second level.

　When Ariadne is able to leave the depths of the 'Akebono Field', can she be asked to join the party? If so, she could exercise the skills she possesses on her own.

''If we can collect the parts, we will be able to do such a thing.
Nah, I see... you can get my point across even if you're a medium.
'Affirmative ... no. I'm undecided on that. Humans have a tendency to keep their private time secret. I must not inform others of the thoughts of an arihito.
'Sure, it would be nice to have that... well, it's nice to know that the idea is getting through, but I'm a little worried that you'll be taken aback.
'I want to understand human emotions. To understand it better, after all, it is to have negotiations between men and women...
So, you see, that's the thing about...

　She could switch places with Suzuna at any time, and she's heard the exchange. It's a very good idea to be able to have a good time with them.

　　　◆◇◆

　It seems that Ariadne's faith level has a limit depending on the situation of the party, and at the moment I was able to raise it to 100.

　Whenever I repeated the 'Assist Charge', I somehow felt that Ariadne's gesture of looking behind me had changed - is she conscious of touching me?

"Ariadne, are you okay?
...emotionally triggered. The influence of the possession...
Hey, what's up?　Are you sick?
"...no. It's not. I can say that I and the miko are in perfect physical condition. We're all good.

　Ariadne insists on putting her hands on her chest. Since there is no light in her eyes, I still feel like I'm going to be sucked in when she stares at me, or maybe it makes me feel strange.

　I wonder if I've been told 'I want to understand human beings' for a long time now, so I'm feeling the same way. I hope that's also tolerable, as a healthy man can't help it.

'My faith level has increased. Now I can use my 'guard arm' to protect you. By nature, it is even safer when you have a companion skilled in defense.

'I do not specialize in beast blessings. The best match is the 'humanoid warrior type' and those with metal equipment.

　Then in our party, it would be Igarashi-san or Elitia - Elitia is an attack specialization, and Igarashi-san is safer to avoid than to receive.

(Speaking of defense-specialized, metal equipment.......Serafina-san from Guild Saber is the same. (But she's already pulled out of the 8th district?)

'All right, thanks for everything. Ariadne, I'm sure I'll need your help soon, and I'll look after you when I do.
Duly noted. It is my pleasure to be able to communicate with you and to preserve the integrity of the circuitry.


　Current Situation

　Suzuna's mediumship is released.

　Kakuen, and Ariadne suddenly nods. Is a medium supposed to run out after a certain amount of time?

'Suzuna, are you okay?'

　When I called out to her, Suzuna slowly opened her eyes and saw me in front of her - she flew backwards in a small way and held her mouth with both hands.

'Hey, what's up?　Sorry, I guess I'm surprised it was suddenly right in front of me.
''Y-yeah I was watching in Ms. Ariadne and she said she was going to go to sleep once. .....

　Suzuna seems restless, constantly touching her ears and patting the bed.

　I don't think she's even aware of the fact that she and I are in a room together. After a while, Suzuna notices that I'm watching her and freaks out on the spot again.

''Uh, well I'll get you some water. I've been concentrating on this the whole time, so let's take a break.
"...... I'm going to go, Arihito-san, please make yourself comfortable..........

　Suzuna is always calm, but right now she is unusually flustered.

　She's also a high school student, so I guess she can't always be calm and collected in any situation. I understand that - if Misaki sees Suzuna now, she will surely misunderstand, so I hope she will somehow calm down by morning.

　　　◆ ◆ ◆

　I went to bed after rounding the top and woke up about thirty minutes before breakfast.

　I was told that we would have a choice for breakfast today, so I opted for a bacon sandwich made of wild boar meat. The meat was very soft and tender, dipped in fruit juice to remove the smell. Since it was freshly made, the juices flowed out of the sandwich when I bit into it.

(But it tastes like pork ... and when you think of pork, you think of gingerbread. That taste that you can never get without soy sauce.......can't I taste it again somehow?)

'It's really nice to have fresh fish, even in labyrinth country.
"Suzu-chan's mother used to fry fish in the morning, didn't she? My mom used to........hmm?　Hey, Suzu, what's up, you're spacing out.
...Yes?

　Everyone was surprised to see Suzuna's raw reply. I thought she was acting slightly strange since this morning, but I wonder if it wasn't a good idea to stay up late.

'....Did you do something weird with Suzu-chan, big brother?
I'm not gonna do it. What are you talking about?
'But for Suzuna to be this upset it's only natural to think something's wrong.

　Elitia pointed out that Madoka, the newcomer to the breakfast table, was fuming, and Melissa was gulping down a mouthful of chili beans.

'Oh, um ... you and your sisters, brother Alihit and all that ...'
It's not true..... You're a serious person, so you have to think about that kind of thing, even in the future...
''Sister Kyouka, you're the most knowledgeable about your brother, after all. Ah, that's right. I'll have to ask your brother if he had an ex-girlfriend or not.
'I don't think he's there but I don't know... he used to work with me a lot on his days off, and he didn't get many calls at work to leave. Sh........
'So that's what you've been looking at too Kyouka, I thought you were only looking at Arihito.
Oh, no...

　Igarashi-san is troubled - I want to help her, but I feel like it's kind of dumb to say 'I wasn't seen that much'. In fact, the more power-harassed I am, the more she was quite concerned when I left her seat.

''........more importantly. Rearward, is something wrong with Suzuna-chan?
'Yes, well I mean, I mean, I had Suzuna stay with me a little late last night.
I'm going to go out with you and that means you're going to have to go out with me.
It's time for you to pull yourself together, Misaki. You're not making any progress.

　Elitia uses her powers to keep Misaki quiet. I've been wanting to talk to everyone about something important too, so I decided it was time to cut to the chase.

'I was going to tell you all about it, but I got a call from Ariadne last night. Using Suzuna's skills, I can call on Ariadne's spirit to talk to her.
'I'm surprised that happened so what did you talk about?'
'When you open a black box, parts of a secret god can come out of it. It will attack what you try to get....which means that when you have it opened at the box store, there is a chance of a battle.

　When I explained that, everyone turned serious. Even Suzuna, who had been above board a moment ago, returned to her normal state.

'In order to prevent that attack, I asked Suzuna to help me raise Ariadne's level of faith last night. But if I say it's safer to open the box after raising its level than to open it at this stage, it's safer.
........well. If those parts are so strong........
'But it's Ariadne-san's parts. Then there's a good chance that Ariadne-san's power will prevent the attack. And I don't think even she would suggest it if it was very dangerous.

　Elitia and Igarashi-san's opinions, both of which are at odds with each other in my mind.

　Do I dare not risk it here and keep the box without opening it? Or do I open the black box, hoping that I'll be able to get parts as well as magical equipment and other things from it?

The guarantee that the guard arm will prevent damage...)

"...I'm going to follow Arihito-san. I've already made up my mind to do so.
'Well I'm sorry to say it's a bit of a heavy decision. I don't think I would lose so much if I had Alihit around. The only reason I've been able to defeat demons that didn't seem to be able to win in the past is because of Arihito.
..........

　Theresa looks at me in silence. She will follow me at all times, I suppose.

　It's best to be cautious. But even though there's a good chance of getting Ariadne's parts, I have a feeling that there's something different about putting it off to be safe.

''Well I want to open the black box. It may be dangerous, but I know I'll get a lot out of it.
''Yeah, I get it. As we move up to the seventh district, the demons will become stronger, and if we can update one of our equipment at this time, we'll be safer in the future.

　Elitia nods at me without a second thought. She's not timid at all - no, she believes in this party.

'Rear-kun, shouldn't you be able to use your morale release?　It takes a lot of time to prepare, but I think it's worth it.
'You can get your brother to tell you ten times to do your best. It's kind of like a gymnasium, isn't it?
'You can hear so much of Aricht-san's voice...'
'Oh, yeah ... as usual. Suzuna, are you okay?
''Yes ... it's okay. I, for some reason, seem to be able to exert more strength today than usual........

　Suzuna is strangely more glamorous than usual - or rather, there's something like an aura emanating from her body.

　Looking at the license, there is no particular state change. But I already know that there are a few elements that don't show up on the license each time.

(The assisted charge has increased my reliability...?　(And if that's the case... I've repeated myself rather a hell of a lot of times...)

After all, Suzu-chan, doesn't it suddenly feel like a chrysalis turning into a butterfly...?
That sort of thing happens a lot when you're old enough... If you're responsible for your rear end, you'll have to explain it to me when you share a room with me.
'No, no. I can't try the same thing unless it's Suzuna... and I don't mean that in a weird way.

　The only time I can do an infinite loop of magic recovery is when Suzuna 'spirit mediums' Ariadne.

　But even if that wasn't the case, 'assisted recovery' can be overly reliable while sleeping if you make one mistake - I felt like the skill to stop turning over was the most necessary for me, or rather this party, right now.