When we regrouped with Ume, she gave Sue the biggest stink eye that I’ve ever seen. I calmed her down and asked her to use the hide detection spell on me so I would follow Sue in the restroom. She followed through with no arguments and said she’d wait outside to take the spell off me when I was done. The Arch Imp wouldn’t see or sense me, but she’d know that I was still nearby, and so with me sticking to her like glue, we went inside.

The next couple minutes after that were probably the most awkward I’ve ever experienced in my lifetime. I didn’t want to risk anything from not seeing Sue past the stall door, so I had to follow her inside … and watch her do her business.

“To go this far, I’ve never felt so embarrassed in my life. Do males actually get off on this?” Sue asked with a flushed face. There was nobody other than me and Nyra nearby to hear her.

How do you expect me to answer that when you won’t even hear it?

According to Ume, with the hide detection spell in effect, nobody outside the arranged field would know I was here. There is, however, a different effect between producing one around a specified area, and one that encompasses a single individual. While people won’t cross the boundary and interfere with the area the spell’s taking effect, having it surround a mobile person, i.e. myself, would make me undetectable through most senses, but I could still potentially interact with the world. Meaning, even if they can’t see, hear, or smell me, they could still potentially touch me if I’m not careful.

While I could still see my hands and body through my perspective, when I checked on the mirror as I walked in with Sue, I didn’t see any hint of me in the reflection at all. I was basically invisible. Even when I moved the stall door, it looked to be moving on its own in the mirror’s reflection. I could only imagine what mischief one could pull having access to such magic.

“That was a question directed to you by the way, Jinma, and I know you can use [Telepathy], so humor me a little, would you?” Sue then asked, which left me and Nyra surprised.

Would it still work with me under the spell? Curious, I decided to enact this last-minute experiment and linked Sue to my [Telepathy],

“Huh, I know I wouldn’t be caught dead like this by some of my peers … but I might learn to like it if it’s you watching me, Jinma,” Sue admitted while averting her gaze with a reddened head.

I requested.

Sue commented while resting a hand to her head.

I asked with a raised brow.

Nyra commented.

After Sue was finished with her business and left the stall, I watched her head to the sink to wash her hands. she asked.

I explained.

Sue admitted,

I said.

Sue then splashed her face with water and dried off with a towel she pulled out of the knapsack she carried inside,

I answered.

she asked.

I raised a brow,

Sue listed.

I looked up in thought, Though I made that warning at the end there, I felt that was more directed to myself, and for a good reason.

she answered, pausing from drying herself.

Nyra asked, which raised a brow from me.

Sue asked.

I answered with annoyance in my mind’s tone,

Sue asked with a sulking expression.

I asked with a raised brow.

Sue pushed her fingers togethers and averted her gaze, trying to look innocent,

My expression soured,

Sue widened her eyes in surprise,

I hesitated in answering,

Sue seemed slightly deflated at my answer,

I asked with a raised brow.

Sue looked to the side,

What was crazy about everything up to now was that my [Intuition] skill didn’t trigger in the slightest, so she was telling the truth the whole time, including the weakness part. It made me more uncertain as to whether I could accept her offer.

Sue asked while counting her fingers.

I sighed in frustration,

Sue responded, sounding elated, before looking thoughtful,

Though my expectations were low, I shivered slightly in anticipation of what Sue might reveal. Maybe it was because of how mysterious this Arch Imp was that practically any ‘secret’ she might hold was a valuable find. Nyra also seemed to be feeling the same.

Sue said through my [Telepathy] before holding up three fingers,

Oooh, that does seem valuable. How efficient she is in magic may still be questionable, but anyone who’s wanting to fight against Sue would be better off attacking from a long-range … although, it’s strange. I’m pretty powerful in magic as demonstrated earlier in the dungeon, but I’m rather the same in how I’d like to fight. Sure, I may have just started learning about magic recently while I fought with my fists and feet most of my life, but even if my experience in both were the same, I think I’d lean more towards getting physical.

Sue lowered one of her fingers, leaving two up, {AN: ‘omelette rice’ in Japanese}

I was both surprised and confused. I didn’t even realize a Japanese dish like omurice was a thing in Raiza. Though, considering the other things I’ve seen so far that also reflect Japanese culture, I wondered if I should even be surprised at this point. Then I questioned why Sue’s favorite food would be considered such a huge secret.

Sue then left one finger up,

There was a pause in the restroom with suspense hanging in the air.

You call that a secret?! I screamed in my head, cutting off my [Telepathy] briefly.

Sue continued, looking down and blushing slightly while pushing her fingers together,

Nyra asked me in a sarcastic tone.

I didn’t want to seem egocentric, but I felt like the description of those specific eyes relate to me. What’s more, everything Sue said there, as well as the other secrets, seem to be true. My [Intuition] hadn’t kicked in through the entirety of this strange moment of trivia. Even if they were true, I couldn’t give into the Arch Imp’s attempt to flatter me.

One thing I’ve noticed through my time in the Demon-Kin’s country so far is that the majority of demons, specifically the females, found my eyes an attractive feature like Sue described. It just feels strange to me to be complimented by them, especially when I scared humans the majority of my life with those same eyes. The only humans who actually ‘liked’ these eyes were Mom, all my aunts, Hyo-chan, Komi, Aneki and her friends, and my Granny.

Actually, that’s a decent number, isn’t it? Though, the times these eyes scared the rest still stick out to me. There’s also the fact that these eyes were inherited ...

Part of me never really liked these eyes of mine. It wasn’t just for all the unneeded fights it brought me and scaring people away, but I heard my eyes resembled that old bastard I would never acknowledge as my father, the same one who abandoned Mom when I was born.

Going back to what type of guys Sue was into, if that old bastard also fell into the category of being strong, confident, and other positive things for bearing those eyes, then I wanted to rip them out of their sockets where they didn’t belong. If not his, then I didn’t really deserve them either. I could probably fake it until I make it with my confidence, but I didn’t see myself as strong as Sue might be making me out to be, or dependable.

You can just ask both of my late best friends. Their gravestones can tell you plenty how weak and undependable I really was.

I don’t know if Sue and the Demon King see me the same way, but they both are gonna have to get their eyes checked, as I’m not as great as they think, I thought, I can’t say that to Sue outright, though, or I might lose some credibility, as well as my chance to meet with the Demon King. The fact that I can’t be honest with her for my own goals just goes to how much of a lowlife I really am. I had to hold myself back from chuckling at the one-man roast I was holding.

Nyra uttered in my mind, reading into my dark thoughts.

I asked her through [Telepathy].

“Huh?” Sue uttered. It looked like she was lost in her own thoughts before I pulled her back to reality,

I interrupted, pushing the Arch Imp by the back and out of the restroom,

“... Okay?” she answered, still slightly confused.

Once we met back up with Ume outside the restroom, she undid the spell on me before we regrouped with the rest of my party. I informed them that after my ‘talk’ with Sue and getting a second opinion from Ume, we’d ask Eugus to allow the Arch Imp to accompany us in our dungeon crawl. This was under the guise of ‘protecting’ Sue and keeping her from being alone after whatever messed with Nyra’s memories last night. Other than Ren, whose [Intuition] skill probably hinted to her that something didn’t feel right, the others bought our ruse and were for the plan. I had to find a moment to talk with Ren alone and inform her on what was happening on a ‘need-to-know’ basis.

With our plan set and Sue sticking close by me, I opened [Portal] and we stepped through, taking us right in front of the gates of Noire’s cottage. Just to keep things safe after yesterday’s craziness, I used my [Insightful Mapping] in combination with [Size Up] to survey the area and see if there were any possible interlopers.

Huh … that’s odd.

Nyra asked, already on the same page of my discovery.