In the hot spring-like bathroom, steam rose from the clear water.
*Splash~*
Franka, like a diver, unceremoniously plunged into the tub. With a loud *crash*, the resulting splash soaked the quietly bathing Jessica.
"Mind your manners~"
Behind her, Liskarm, modestly wrapped in a bath towel, walked in gracefully. Compared to Franka's energy, Liskarm seemed incredibly serene, like a quiet top student favored by teachers, while her friend Franka was more like a delinquent who gave teachers headaches.
It was a mystery how two people with completely opposite personalities could become the best of friends and partners. Indeed, it seemed personalities complemented each other best when they were different.
"You're too uptight."
Franka resurfaced from under the water with a gurgle, swam to the side, and said with a mischievous grin.
"It's just our cute junior here, no outsiders. Who cares?"
"Eek~"
"We're all girls, what's there to hide? It's not like we haven't seen it all before."
Across from them.
Jessica was frantically covering her eyes, refusing to look at Franka and Liskarm.
"Someone's here!! Mr. Reeve is here~"
Jessica mumbled to herself as she covered her eyes.
She was well aware that her vision was linked with Lucas Reeve's. So, when she bathed, she usually kept her eyes straight ahead and didn't look in mirrors, which prevented any issues. But... she couldn't let Franka-senpai and Liskarm-senpai be seen just because of her...
"Hm? Jessica, why are you covering your eyes?"
Franka walked over in confusion and patted Jessica on the head.
But Jessica had no intention of removing her hands, saying nervously.
"Franka-senpai, isn't this a bit inappropriate...."
"Hahaha~"
Franka burst out laughing, "We're all girls, what's there to be embarrassed about? Weird? I don't remember you being this shy when we went to the hot springs together after training. What's gotten into you today?"
Franka tried to pull Jessica's hands away from her eyes, but Jessica resisted with surprising strength, and she couldn't move them.
"This little girl... what's going on?"
Suddenly.
A strange smile appeared on Franka's face.
"Since little baby Jessica has her eyes covered, let senpai see if our little cutie has developed at all~~"
"Wuwuwu~~"
In the past, Jessica would have immediately covered her chest, but today she resolutely kept her hands over her eyes, which puzzled Franka immensely.
In the bedroom.
Lucas Reeve slipped out of the necklace and stretched. That vulpo lady's figure was truly something else. Lucas Reeve gave it a thumbs-up.
The one called Franka had a strange expression ever since she entered the house, likely suspecting something. It was only natural; a girl who was usually incredibly timid suddenly displaying such prowess would make anyone suspicious.
However, from what he'd learned from Jessica yesterday, besides the existence of something called 'Originium Arts,' this world was largely the same as his previous one. Talk of ghosts was like urban legends, existing only in novels and movies.
A normal person probably wouldn't think in that direction.
At most, they would assume Jessica had developed a second personality from schizophrenia.
After fulfilling his first wish for Jessica, Lucas Reeve had obtained his first portion of prayer power. Though it wasn't much, it was a good start.
Lucas Reeve divided this prayer power into three parts.
The first was absorbed by his soul to strengthen it, the second was given to the system as a down payment for reconstructing his physical body, and the third was used to evolve his abilities based on Sun Breathing, deriving Thunder Breathing from it.
Besides granting Lucas Reeve an ability, the system had another function: consuming prayer power to evolve that ability into other branches.
For example, if Lucas Reeve had initially chosen Ittou Shura, he could have evolved it into Ittou Rasetsu. If he had chosen Ukaku, he could have evolved it into Koukaku or Bikaku.
The reason Lucas Reeve didn't put all the power into reconstructing his body was simply because the required amount was far too large and couldn't be completed in a short time. Distributing it evenly to improve his strength first was the sensible choice. That way, even if something unexpected happened in the future, he would have the ability to resist.
While Thunder Breathing was an evolved version of Sun Breathing and couldn't compare to the progenitor breathing style in overall capability, its strength lay in speed and explosive power, which could be crucial for escaping.
*Hooo~*
Lucas Reeve took a deep breath.
The techniques of Thunder Breathing, evolved from Sun Breathing, were instantly imprinted upon his soul.
Now that his main consciousness had awakened, he figured his other scattered consciousnesses should be waking up soon too. Relying on Jessica's prayer power alone was too slow; he needed more people.
Just as Lucas Reeve had completed a full mental run-through of Thunder Breathing, the bathroom door opened.
Lucas Reeve quickly returned to the necklace to avoid being discovered.