In Academy City, the Paradise Project begins.

Page 42

"A man should be fearless! We can get him drunk first, then eat the cake! Frenda, hold him down!"

Frenda responded immediately: "Roger! Captain Silk Flag!"

She playfully pounced on him and hugged one of Higashino's arms.

For the next ten minutes, the Item base echoed with the sounds of Higashino chugging alcohol, the girls' laughter and cheers, and Mugino's gloating countdown.

"Drink! This is the third cup! Hurry up!"

"Mugino, he's blushing!"

"So lame! It can't even handle this much?"

"Takitsubo, don't just stand there, fill him up!"

"Frenda! Don't try to pull up my clothes to look for your wallet! Hey!"

"Stop! I surrender! I give up!"

Higashino finally couldn't take it anymore and suddenly raised his hands.

"Conditions! I promise to do one thing for each of you! Anything! As long as I can do it! Please, ladies, leave me alone!"

The four girls stopped what they were doing at the same time and exchanged a perfectly tacit look that shone with the light of "the scheme has succeeded".

"make a deal."

Mugino put down the bottle, nodded in satisfaction, and a genuine smile curved his lips, a rare occurrence for him.

"You're smart to back down. I don't have any special requirements for now, but don't make excuses to refuse later. Remember your promise, newbie."

She emphasized "anything". Although she hadn't yet figured out what she wanted Higashino to do, she wasn't going to let him off so easily.

Frenda cheered and rushed forward, hugging Higashino's wet arm tightly: "Higashino-kun is the best! Hooray! But..."

She tilted her head, as if she was thinking about something.

"I haven't decided what I want you to do yet~ This is such a precious opportunity, I need to think carefully about how to make the most of it! Just like Mugino, I'll figure out what to do with you properly after I've thought it through! Hehe!"

Riko Takitsubo also timidly raised her hand: "Me...me too. I haven't decided yet."

She lowered her head, but there seemed to be a faint smile on her lips; she was actually quite happy that everyone could get along harmoniously.

Kinuhata loves to pop a huge bubble with a "pop!" sound: "That's so much fun! There aren't many opportunities for Level 5 to owe someone a favor, I need to think about it for a while."

She patted Dongye on the shoulder, giving him a "you can't escape" look.

Looking at the four girls in front of him, their eyes shining as if they were eyeing a gold mine, Higashino smiled wryly and rubbed his forehead: "Ladies... how about I bring up my suggestion now?"

These outstanding conditions put him under immense pressure, and he always felt that the future was full of "surprises".

Mugino, without changing her expression, picked up the remaining beer and took a sip, a hint of mockery in her eyes: "Don't worry, newbie. It won't be a condition you can't meet."

She paused and added.

"At least, I won't let you take us to the moon, that kind of unreliable thing."

Actually, going to the moon isn't impossible, but even though Higashino hasn't tried it, he knows it would be incredibly taxing, considering the distance between the moon and Earth is quite considerable.

"I hope so! I always feel that the future is 'bright'..."

As soon as Dongye finished speaking, his cell phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated violently.

An unread message was prominently displayed on the screen:

[Academy City Ability Development Bureau Reminder: Dear Ability User Higashino Yu, you have not yet completed the Level 5 ability registration process. Please be sure to go to the designated location to complete it before 24:00 tomorrow. Failure to do so will affect the issuance of related allowances and the activation of permissions.]

"Oops!"

Higashino jumped up abruptly, instantly regaining his senses.

"I've completely forgotten about it!"

He scratched his head in frustration; his date today had made him completely forget about it.

Mugino raised an eyebrow, slowly swirling her wine glass: "Hmm? What's got you in such a panic? Another 'weak' patient needs you to 'carry' them?"

"It's a Level 5 registration!"

While tidying his messy, wet, and cream-stained clothes, Higashino spoke quickly.

"It was supposed to be today, but I forgot. Now I'm being notified that it has to be done by tomorrow! Um... that's all for tonight, okay? Thank you everyone for your hospitality! I'll be going now!"

He tried to slip away.

The four girls squinted at the same time and said in unison, "Hmm—?"

His powerful aura locked onto him instantly.

"Uh... I mean..."

Higashino chuckled dryly and stepped back, his back hitting the cold wall again.

"Thank you everyone for celebrating with me tonight, I'm really touched! The cake was delicious! The champagne... uh... was very refreshing! But it's already quite late, and I need to get up early tomorrow, so it's not a good time to drink too much? Perhaps..."

"Higashino-kun~"

Frenda's voice suddenly became sweet and cloying. She shook her phone, and the screen clearly showed a photo of him and Misaki Shokuhou at the amusement park today, with him smiling as he held a marshmallow to Misaki's mouth.

"You don't want all the high-definition photos of your sweet date with 'Mental Master' to be spread throughout the entire Academy City tomorrow, do you?"

Her smile is just like those villainous second female leads on TV; that expression is really irritating.

Higashino's lips twitched violently: "Frenda! This is blatant blackmail! It's a threat! It's despicable!"

Higashino decided that he would definitely teach Frenda a lesson when he had the chance, such as making her unable to get out of bed.

I'm powerful enough now, I'll deal with her sooner or later!

"What an incredibly effective threat!"

Kinuhata, with a mischievous grin, added as she chewed bubble gum and blew a bubble.

"Newcomer, accept your fate! Forget about the registration, let's continue our party!"

Mugino put down his glass, crossed his arms, and delivered his final verdict: "Registration ability is no excuse for running away. You're not leaving here until dawn. Frenda, pour the drinks! Takitori, fill his glass!"

Looking at the four pretty faces before him, determined to get what they wanted, and then at the "evidence" on Frenda's phone that was enough to ignite the entire Academy City's gossip circle, Higashino finally sighed deeply and helplessly: "In that case... then let's... continue..."

Higashino doesn't mind if the news of their date gets out, but he can't help but consider Misaki Shokuhou's feelings. Despite her queen-like demeanor, she's actually quite shy, just like Mikoto.

If she gets angry and embarrassed, she might come up with the terrifying idea of ​​erasing the memories of everyone in Academy City.

You forced me to do this, I didn't want to either... Juice time!

An hour later, Higashino Yu walked briskly out of the Item base alone, looking completely at ease, with no trace of drunkenness on his face. After all, the dozen or so kinds of strong liquor he had drunk had been silently "reconstructed" into various flavored juices the moment they entered his mouth using his ability.

Inside the base, however, it was a different scene altogether: four girls lay sprawled on the carpet and sofa, fast asleep, their faces and bodies still flushed from drinking and… a little bit of “cute” decoration.

Higashino very considerately adjusted them to comfortable sleeping positions and covered them with light blankets. Of course, he also "very considerately" left a small souvenir on each of their faces:

Mugino Shizuri's cold and beautiful face was painted with a few playful cat whiskers, and there was a crooked "king" character on her forehead.

Frenda's lips were painted into exaggerated sausage lips, and a little pig nose was drawn on one cheek.

Kinuhata's favorite forehead has a big "Super Idiot!" written on it.

Higashino was relatively "gentle" towards Takitsubo Riko, only drawing a small heart on her profile with the words "Riko Exclusive" written next to it.

"Hmm, they shouldn't be too angry when they wake up tomorrow, right?"

Higashino muttered to himself, looking down with satisfaction at the "spoils of war" he had just taken on his phone: a group photo of four girls with their faces covered in graffiti after getting drunk, against a backdrop of a messy party scene.

He happily put away his phone, whistling as he disappeared into the night.

Lately... it's probably best to avoid Items for now. Safety first!

Chapter 57 Reality Reconstructors and Certification Tests

The next day, outside a competency testing institution in the seventh school district.

"Yu, you're walking too fast, slow down!"

Index jogged after Higashino, wearing the pale yellow dress he had bought for her.

As for the mobile church, she wasn't wearing anything. Anyway, with him by her side, Higashino didn't think anyone could harm her.

"You were the one who said you would supervise my testing."

Higashino poked her puffed-up cheek and said irritably.

"If you can't keep up, don't blame me."

The automatic door slid open with a "whoosh," and the two went straight in.

The lobby was empty except for cleaning robots working hard on the floor.

Index crouched down curiously and reached out to poke the robot's camera.

"Don't touch it."

Higashino grabbed her by the back of her collar and lifted her up.

"I don't have the money to pay for the damage."

"Okay, I won't break it!"

Index slapped Higashino's hand away, somewhat annoyed.

[Verification Successful]

A mechanical female voice came from the ceiling, interrupting their interaction.

[Mr. Higashino Yu, please proceed to Test Field 7 in Area B. Your entourage, please wait in the rest area.]

"I'm not part of the entourage!"

Index yelled angrily at the ceiling, pointing at Higashino with a huff.

"I'm here to supervise Higashino!"

Although he asked Ruizi and the others to keep Index company yesterday, he got back too late and was reeking of alcohol, so he got a good scolding. Today, Index insists on coming with him no matter what.

Furthermore, Ruiko asked Index to keep an eye on him, saying things like drinking is bad for your health and staying up late outside isn't good.

As for smelling other girls' scents, that was absolutely not mentioned!

Ruiko said that she didn't care about such things at all, not even a little bit.

Higashino skillfully covered her mouth: "She's my cousin. She has a disease that causes her to faint when she's separated from me."

At the same time, it can be activated secretly, even affecting machines.

"Please make an exception for me, it would be a real problem if I had to be hospitalized."

After a moment of silence, the system seemed to have fallen into logical confusion, but fortunately, it resumed its normal audio prompts after a few seconds:

[Access permissions updated. Miss Index, welcome to the Ability Development Bureau. We have detected that you have not yet begun ability development. Would you like to schedule an appointment now?]

"Never!"

Index hid behind Higashino.

Yes, intelligent machines can indeed influence things easily, and even more easily than humans. I just don't know if there will be any bugs in the program.

The testing ground was more spacious than expected, with a black mesh floor made of a special material, and more than twenty cameras pointed at the central platform from different angles. A dozen researchers in white lab coats sat in the audience, each with a tablet computer in front of them.

"Ah, our newly promoted Level 5!"

A researcher with short black hair jogged over, his name tag reading "Test Director Kikyo Yoshikawa".

Higashino does have some impression of her, but only a vague one; he can't recall much else about her at the moment.

The tablet in her hand was playing a video of Higashino and Mikoto fighting against the fantasy beasts.

"Congratulations on your promotion, Mr. Higashino!"

Kikyo Yoshikawa smiled and looked at Higashino.

"Your abilities are quite exceptional even in Academy City! Would you like to confirm your official title first?"

She excitedly swiped the tablet, projecting several glittering golden options:

Rewriter of All Things