Emergency lighting cast a pale blue glow across the concrete wall. The Marunouchi skyline stretched beyond the 14th-floor window. A sea of light. The edge of a black sky. An ambulance siren wailed somewhere in the distance, then faded. Tanaka Shouta sat on the landing, hands resting on his knees, staring at that light without moving. How long had it been since Yuusuke left? The emotions had settled. Anger, sadness—all of it had gone calm. In their place, something in his head was beginning to move. Quietly. But definitely. (Yuusuke didn't touch me.) That's where it started. Memory alteration—Tanabe Yuusuke's skill. A Returner ability brought back from Elda Vestia. He could rewrite specific memories within a 72-hour window. But it required physical contact. A handshake. A tap on the shoulder. That's all it took. Yuusuke could've done it anytime. But he didn't. He said to leave. Cornered him with words. But—he never once touched Tanaka's body. (If he was really cutting me loose, tonight would've been the chance.) He could've rewritten the memory to "go home," stripped away the will to resist, sent him out the door. That would've been the most efficient way for Yuusuke to handle it. He should've done it. He didn't. And then—just before turning to leave, Yuusuke's eyes in that pale blue emergency light were red. (Was he... crying?) A 0.03-second fragment of video played on repeat in Tanaka's mind. Yuusuke's profile. The outline of his face as he started to turn. The color of his eyes. Logic optimization worked quietly toward an answer. Yuusuke still had expectations for Tanaka. He didn't erase the memory because he hadn't given up on Tanaka finding something himself. If that was right—then nothing was over yet. Next came Ren. The footage from the venue reconstructed itself. Ren had made eye contact with every participant. Three seconds each. Perfect hypnosis—a mental interference ability that forced a single command on one target, triggered by eye contact lasting three seconds or more. The entire atmosphere of the venue had shifted in that moment. But. (He never used it on Ayane.) That was certain. Tanaka measured the duration of eye contact between Ren and Ayane in his mind. Every time, two seconds or less. Deliberately staying below the activation threshold for perfect hypnosis. Deliberately. Which meant—Ren had chosen not to control Ayane. He wanted to have her in her natural state. He wanted a real connection that badly. (He has real feelings too.) Finally, Tanaka sorted through what he knew about Ayane. When she turned away saying "Sorry, not right now," she'd looked back once. Their eyes almost met, then she looked away. Not from hypnosis. She wasn't under hypnosis. But—the desire to believe and the fear of betrayal were warring in that gaze. (She doesn't hate me.) The psychology of all three was laid out clearly. Tanaka stood up. "...I've been using logic optimization this whole time, haven't I?" The words came out, and he laughed. He'd lived five years thinking he had no skill. But—he'd been using it all along. Reading microexpressions. Catching contradictions in words. Moving people with logic. That was the skill. (And I just used it on myself for the first time.) He stumbled on the landing edge as he stood. His knee hit concrete with a dull thud. "...Ow." That hurt. So this is what awakening feels like. Tanaka silently brushed the dirt from his knee. He tapped the dust from his clothes, a rueful smile crossing his face. No sound came out, but the corner of his mouth moved slightly. (Some things about me never change.) He put his hand on the emergency exit door. Cold metal. Faint sounds from the venue drifted through from the other side. It wasn't over yet. --- The moment Tanaka stepped back into Crescent Hall, every eye turned toward him. He met that gaze straight on. The venue hadn't changed. The crescent-shaped chandelier glowed from the ceiling. Round tables lined the floor. Nearly forty participants stood in their places. But—the weight of their attention felt different now. Heavier. Logic optimization activated quietly. He scanned the participants' expressions. Eyes implanted with false information through hypnosis shared a common trait. The hardness of certainty. Unwavering conviction. There should've been some trace of "why did I think this?"—but there wasn't. Only baseless certainty remained. (I can see it. I can tell who's been hypnotized. All of them.) Yuusuke stood on the platform. Black hair parted at the side. Calm brown eyes. A gentle smile on his face, but the moment his gaze caught Tanaka's—something flickered for just an instant. "[serious]Now then, the final round. Let's begin the partner declaration ceremony." His voice was calm, as always. But his hand holding the microphone had tensed slightly. The ceremony began. Participants took turns declaring the name of their chosen partner. At the edge of the line, Mori adjusted his black sunglasses with a determined expression. He turned toward Kotone, took a deep breath. Three, two, one— "[cold]My turn comes in 15 minutes. Wait until then." Kotone spoke without turning around. Precognition. Already foreseen. "[sad]...Why..." Behind his sunglasses, Mori's shoulders sagged. Tanaka watched the exchange from the corner of his eye, facing forward. Ren walked toward the center of the platform. Navy jacket. Black hair with a few red streaks. A small scar on his right cheek. The way he took the microphone was perfectly natural. "Mizuki..." His voice came out. Clear, carrying through the venue. Ayane looked up from the wall. Silver hair caught the light, glowing white. Eyes like pale ice-blue water turned toward Ren. Her expression froze. Ren formed a perfect smile and started to continue— Tanaka stepped out of the line. He moved forward. To a distance where he faced Ren directly. "[serious]Sorry, can I say something first?" The venue went silent. Ren looked at Tanaka. His perfect smile froze for just a moment. The corners of his eyes narrowed slightly. "[sarcastic]Well, well. Still here, are we?" "[serious]I was. Thinking on the emergency stairs." "[sarcastic]And did you come up with anything?" Tanaka pushed his glasses up once. Then he spoke directly. "[serious]Sakaki. You ran away from an organization that breeds mental controllers, didn't you?" The atmosphere in the venue shifted. "[serious]They only taught you how to manipulate people. You never learned any other way to connect. That's why—you never used hypnosis on Ayane. You wanted a real relationship with her too." Silence. Ren's perfect smile—cracked for the first time. The mask slipped. Real confusion showed beneath the surface. His eyebrows rose slightly. The corners of his mouth fell. A 19-year-old's face appeared. Not a manufactured good-looking guy. Just a 19-year-old's face. --- Tanaka didn't press further. He paused for a breath. Then he turned to face the entire venue. "[serious]Can I ask something? Those of you who were hypnotized into thinking I'm a con artist—does your head hurt a little right now?" Silence. Someone put a hand to their temple. Another person tilted their head. "...Huh?" "Why did I think he was a con artist?" "Where did I even hear that? I can't remember..." Voices began to rise, scattered throughout the room. Being confronted with logic stimulated emotion. Recognizing contradiction caused the implanted false information to collapse on itself. The weakness of perfect hypnosis—strong emotion triggers a dramatic drop in effectiveness—was now working in reverse. Kotone pressed both hands to her cheeks. "[excited]That's it! That's what was bothering me! My precognition didn't show this false information because it contradicted! My 87% accuracy rate was sound all along!!" Mori removed his sunglasses. Rare for him. "[serious]...Hypnosis effectiveness drops with strong emotion. Ren's skill has the same weakness. By making them recognize the contradiction and triggering emotion, the false information self-destructed." He spoke as if working it out aloud, looking at Tanaka with eyes now uncovered by glasses. Kotone's voice rose, tears streaming. "[crying]My precognition was right!! I wanted to say that the whole time but nobody would listen!!" "[cold]Calm down. That's not the priority right now." Mori offered support from beside her. Sunglasses still off. Ren took a step back. Tanaka looked at him. He wasn't trying to corner him. He just had one more thing to say. "[gentle]The fact that you want a real relationship—that's true. Don't deny that." Ren's shoulders trembled. His clenched fists turned white. The manufactured smile was gone from his downturned face. --- The atmosphere in the venue had changed. Participants rubbed their eyes, shook their heads, whispered to neighbors. Processing the remnants of collapsed false information. Silver hair moved. Ayane walked toward him from the wall. Her steps were quiet. Not pushing through the crowd, not hurrying. Just walking straight. Eyes like pale ice-blue water fixed on Tanaka. She stopped. Standing directly in front of him. After a brief pause, Ayane spoke. "[cold]...Ren wasn't controlling me." "[serious]I know." "[cold]But I avoided you. Not from hypnosis. From myself." "[serious]I know that too. It was your own fear." His tone wasn't accusatory. He was simply stating what logic optimization had revealed. Ayane's gaze started to lower. In that moment, Tanaka spoke. "[serious]I thought I had no cheat skill until today. I still think that." Ayane's eyes lifted. "[serious]But—my feelings for you aren't logic. They're real emotion." The venue was silent. A person who always spoke in logic was saying logic couldn't explain this. That contradiction—struck Ayane directly in the chest. Light shimmered in Ayane's eyes. Something she'd been holding back reached its limit. The tips of her fingers—began to snap together. Her time-stop skill was about to activate. The Returner ability brought back from Elda Vestia, triggered by emotional surge. The power to freeze time within a 30-meter radius was about to overflow. Ayane clenched her fists. Her fingers stopped. The skill didn't activate. She stopped it herself. After a moment of silence, Ayane spoke quietly. "[cold]...I've never held back using time stop for anyone before." Tanaka received those words. "[gentle]...Then I'm special?" "[cold]...Shut up." Ayane laughed. Very softly. But definitely, she laughed. Everyone in the venue was watching them. Kotone pressed a handkerchief to her eyes. "[crying]This scene wasn't in my precognition... when free will is involved, accuracy really drops... but this is unavoidable..." She murmured, tears impossible to categorize as joy or frustration. Mori, sunglasses still off, said thoughtfully. "[gentle]...Makes me want to try harder too." Kurokawa floated a business card into the air. Using telekinesis, slowly. Sending it gently in Tanaka's direction. One business card's worth of blessing. --- The partner declaration ceremony resumed. Yuusuke returned to the platform and took the microphone again. His voice resuming the proceedings was calm and composed. But—Tanaka's eyes could see Yuusuke's expression. Logic optimization worked quietly. Three emotions layered across Yuusuke's face. Pain. Guilt. Resolve. They folded beneath his gentle smile. During a pause in the ceremony, Tanaka and Yuusuke's eyes met. "[gentle]...Is my logic optimization actually a pretty amazing skill?" He said it half as a joke. Half serious. Yuusuke's usual casual demeanor cracked. "[serious]...I need to tell you something." The usual lightness was gone. "Not here," he continued, returning to the proceedings. Tanaka watched Yuusuke's profile. (He's still holding something back.) He wouldn't press him now. But—eventually, Yuusuke would tell him the r