"I'd like to know what you two are doing. It's class time right now." Kamishirasawa Keine approached, wanting to understand why Nitori Kawashiro was suddenly looking so intensely interested in Kars.
"She's just been like this ever since this zero-energy device started working again in my hand." Kars pointed to a demonstration instrument Nitori had taken out on the desk. When he curiously picked it up, it suddenly reacted in his hand. Nitori saw this and excitedly began running diagnostics on him.
"Is that so?" Keine didn't pay much attention to this, as she wasn't interested in technology.
"This isn't an ordinary matter! This is extremely important! Judging by the energy signature, if we can harness it, the effects will be incredible!" The most exciting part for Nitori was that this energy seemed easy to acquire. She was eager to immediately start using and studying it, as it might lead to the development of much better devices.
"So, student, can you tell me anything about this energy?"
"This… are you talking about the Solar element energy? You need to study the Seven-Element magic for that."
"No, no, no, I'm not talking about that kind of magic. This energy seems to lean more toward the realm of pure power source. Think hard."
Kars frowned slightly. If it wasn't Solar element, what else could it be? That was the only type of energy he possessed.
"You can't remember? Then how does your body store this energy?" If he didn't understand, it didn't matter, as long as she knew how he obtained it, there might still be a solution.
"If you mean that, I know: I get it from sunbathing."
Kars's answer completely surprised Nitori. Getting such powerful energy just by sunbathing seemed impossible!
"This energy of yours is far stronger than solar power! It doesn't seem like something you get just by sunbathing!"
"But that's exactly how it is. I replenish my energy by sunbathing every day." Kars replied with a helpless shrug. That was simply the fact, and he had no other means of doing it.
After hearing Kars, Nitori's gaze scanned his body repeatedly. She speculated that the energy might have transformed after entering Kars's body. However, that research could wait. The current priority was finding a way to get the energy for practical use. The best approach was to make him interested in her inventions. If he was hooked, acquiring the energy would be simple.
Nitori was completely confident in this. Winning over a child with her proudest inventions was a sure thing. As long as she could produce a gadget Kars liked, getting the energy from his body would be child's play.
With that in mind, Nitori began her demonstration. Under the scrutiny of everyone, she pulled out a variety of devices from her large backpack, including some that looked like modern technological water guns. The sheer variety of gadgets dazzled everyone. Nitori felt confident that Kars would surely like at least a few of the many devices she had brought out. If he showed interest, she could push him in that direction, and then getting the energy would naturally follow.
"Take this! Super Flying Fist!" Cirno put on a boxing glove, pressed the switch in the air, and it flew off. Just as she was feeling satisfied, the glove fell back down and smashed her on the head, knocking her to the ground.
"Cirno-chan!" Daiyousei quickly helped Cirno up to check on her.
"Well? Don't you think they are all fantastic? If you're interested, I can teach you how to make even more powerful things. Even robots are no problem!" Nitori asked Kars, who was inspecting the gadgets, trying to gauge his current thoughts.
"It sounds impressive, but I'm not very interested." After looking his fill, Kars told Nitori. These gadgets were largely meaningless to him—they were things he couldn't use, so they were pointless.
"Huh? Not interested? How can that be! Aren't kids this age supposed to be interested in toys and robots?" Nitori couldn't believe it. Was there a boy in the world who wasn't interested in robots? Or perhaps he was interested in the transforming gadgets from live-action TV shows?
"That may be true, but my main focus is finding a wife."
Find a wife?! Are giant robots not cool and beautiful?! They're a thousand times better than a wife! Besides, isn't there the concept of machine girls in fiction?! Wouldn't that count as finding a wife?! Although Nitori couldn't make a robot that could serve as a wife.
"I think you should wait until you're older to consider that."
"I know that, too. Although I don't know if I'll meet someone who likes me as I am now, it's safer to focus on my adult appearance later. That's why I'm constantly sunbathing to make my body grow up quickly!"
Nitori: (ー_ー)!!
What is this talk about growing up like a plant just by sunbathing? That makes absolutely no sense! However, she was now certain that his body could absorb sunlight and convert it into that special energy. If that was the case, she could focus on that angle.
"Say, I might have a way to help you with that. What do you say? Are you interested in collaborating with me? All you need to do is give me some of that energy from your body, and that's it. What do you think?" This kind of cooperation would benefit both of them. Nitori believed Kars had no reason to refuse her offer.