Sumiko sat down in her chair, crossing her legs, a troubled expression etched on her face.
"I didn't think Miss Eri was telling the truth," she muttered, sighing. "You've only just transferred, and already you've caused this much trouble. What am I supposed to do now?"
Despite her typically stern demeanor, the teacher's frustration was evident.
Akashi shrugged nonchalantly and responded, "Well, if that's the case, how about I just take a leave of absence and go back? As long as you don't tell Auntie Eri, that is."
Sumiko immediately shook her head, waving her hands in refusal.
"No, no, no!" she said firmly. "Children should behave in class. Let me think about this!"
However, before she could finish speaking, her eyes inadvertently locked onto Akashi's deep, piercing gaze.
For a moment, she froze. Her pupils dilated slightly as if caught in a trance.
Without another word, Sumiko stood up, her movements stiff yet obedient. Slowly, she raised her hands and slipped off her old-fashioned black suit jacket, revealing the crisp white shirt underneath that subtly highlighted her figure.
---
Akashi immediately intervened, alarmed.
"Stop! Stop right there!" he barked, snapping her out of further action.
Although he'd used his newly upgraded Level 2 Hypnosis skill, Akashi had no intention of being shameless. He had only wanted to change Sumiko's mind about him, not push her into such a compromising state.
Still, he couldn't help but feel curious about her true appearance beneath her outdated style.
With a sly grin, he gave another instruction. "Take off your glasses and smooth out your hair."
Completely under his influence, Sumiko complied.
She removed her thick, heavy-rimmed glasses, revealing eyes that were bright and clear, like shimmering autumn water. She ran her fingers through her short, unkempt hair, sweeping it back to expose her delicate features.
In an instant, she looked completely transformed. Without her glasses and with her hair styled, her face had a charm that was hard to ignore.
Akashi chuckled to himself.
"If she wore a dress instead of that dowdy suit, she'd look like a fashionable, elegant urbanite," he thought. "No wonder Shiratori Ninzaburō has been hung up on her ever since their childhood meeting."
The thought amused him—Sumiko, the childhood sweetheart Shiratori had pined for, now stood before him, entirely at his mercy.
---
Satisfied that she was fully hypnotized and obedient, Akashi decided it was time to experiment further.
With a flick of his hand, he summoned one of the items he'd recently obtained from the system: the Liberal Arts Girl's Glasses.
"These glasses are something else," he thought, examining them.
What made them remarkable was their ability to adapt and change form at his will—thick black frames, sleek gold wire rims, even sunglasses. After some deliberation, he settled on a gold-rimmed design and handed them to Sumiko.
"Put these on," he ordered.
Sumiko followed the instruction without hesitation.
The moment she slipped on the glasses, her entire appearance seemed to change before Akashi's eyes.
Her short hair lengthened into flowing black locks that cascaded down her shoulders. Her plain black suit morphed into an elegant white dress, exuding a graceful yet scholarly aura. Her eyes sparkled with intelligence and warmth, and her demeanor carried the delicate charm of a literary muse.
She now resembled a serene and radiant figure—like a graceful orchid in a tranquil library, gazing at him with gentle pity. The transformation was so striking it left Akashi momentarily speechless.
---
It was then that Akashi realized the true power of the glasses.
"So, this is what 'changing others' perceptions' in the item description means," he thought, awestruck.
The effect was so potent it rivaled the illusions of Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu, completely altering the senses of those who beheld it.
When someone wore these glasses, their image would shift to match the viewer's mind, presenting a perfectly tailored illusion. In Sumiko's case, she now appeared to be the embodiment of a refined, liberal arts scholar.
"This is no ordinary disguise tool," Akashi mused. "In the right circumstances, this could be even more effective than Kaito Kid's monocle. That guy can walk into a room with just a monocle and a costume, and no one can recognise him. But with these glasses, you could convince anyone you're someone completely different."
Akashi grinned, thoroughly impressed. This was beyond what he'd expected.
---
Testing the item further, he reached out and gently removed the glasses from Sumiko.
In an instant, her transformed appearance rippled like water disturbed by a breeze, and within seconds, her true form returned—short hair, thick glasses, and her usual outdated suit.
Akashi's grin widened.
"These glasses are amazing," he thought. "If I can use them properly, they might become my most valuable tool."
Sumiko, still under hypnosis, stood silently, awaiting his next command.
After taking a few steps back, Akashi positioned himself roughly five meters away from Sumiko.
It was time for another experiment.
He activated the [Steal] skill.
In the blink of an eye, a piece of warm cloth materialized in his hand.
"As expected," Akashi muttered to himself, examining the item. "This skill really allows you to retrieve objects from a distance. No physical contact needed—it's incredible!"
He couldn't help but marvel at the absurdity of it. This [Steal] skill was far more outrageous and unreasonable than Kaito Kid's methods in this world. Unlike the famed thief, Akashi didn't need tools or elaborate setups. With just a thought, the item in question would appear in his grasp.
The skill introduction was no exaggeration.
Though admittedly, stealing something so trivial felt like overkill.
"It doesn't matter," he thought. "If the target actually has something valuable, I can just keep using this skill until I've stripped them of everything."
The only question was how much mental energy it would consume. To figure this out, Akashi needed a controlled experiment—and a hypnotized Sumiko was the perfect subject.
Without hesitation, he activated the [Steal] skill again.
The result was immediate. In a flash, Sumiko's lower garments disappeared, revealing a pair of long, slender, pale legs.
In Akashi's hands, however, was a pair of thick, old-fashioned black trousers.
---
Akashi froze, his face flushed with embarrassment.
"This... this wasn't intentional!" he thought, panicking.
The skill had far exceeded his expectations—though perhaps a little too much.
Hurriedly, he thrust the trousers back toward Sumiko.
"Here, put them on! Quickly!" he exclaimed, averting his eyes.
Obediently, the hypnotized teacher took the trousers and began to put them on right in front of him.
Akashi immediately turned his face away, too embarrassed to watch.
But what he failed to notice was the faint flicker of struggle in Sumiko's eyes.
Her vacant, hypnotized gaze began to change, shifting between confusion and awareness. Bit by bit, clarity returned to her mind.
Suddenly, she snapped out of the hypnotic state.
---
Sumiko froze mid-movement.
In that moment, she became acutely aware of her situation—and it was nothing short of horrifying.
Her clothes were in disarray, and standing before her was a young boy who had turned his face away.
"What the—what's going on!?" she thought in a panic.
Why was she taking off her clothes in front of a child?
Though she was mid-motion, her mind filled in the blanks. From her perspective, it seemed she had been undressing of her own accord.
Her face turned beet red as she stammered, "A-Akashi-kun, please don't misunderstand! Sensei didn't mean to—this isn't what it looks like!"
"I swear, I'm not a pervert!" she pleaded. "Sensei just… lost control for a moment."
Her voice trembled as she continued, "Please, you can't tell anyone about this! Promise me!"
Overcome with panic, Sumiko lunged toward Akashi, intending to stop him from running off or misunderstanding the situation further.
---
Unfortunately, her frantic movements only made things worse.
As she stumbled forward, her footing slipped. In the next moment, she fell straight onto Akashi.
The impact was sudden and ungraceful.
Before Akashi could react, her legs swung upward and struck him square in the face.
The awkward scene left Sumiko even more mortified than before, while Akashi let out a muffled groan under the unexpected weight of her legs.
The room was filled with nothing but the sound of their collective embarrassment.