Date A Live Encore (1-10)

Dating Preparations Case 1: Yoshino
Yoshino stood in front of the large mirror in her room uneasily. Her one-piece dress had no
wrinkles. Her hair did not have any strands that were out of place. After examining every part of
her body carefully, she put the large brimmed sun hat on her head and turned around once in
front of the mirror.
She was wearing clothes that she liked very much as well as the hat that she cherished. Every
inch of her body was clean, and there was no problem at all. But for some reason she became
extremely jumpy, repeatedly inspecting her garments.
“I say, Yoshino. You’re still not done yet? It’s almost time already…”
Just as Yoshino was about to repeat the same thing again, Yoshinon the rabbit puppet in her left
hand opened its mouth and voiced out in displeasure.
“Ah… I’m sorry, Yoshinon but… I don’t look… weird, do I…?”
“There’s no problem. After all, it’s just going next door to eat.. But Yoshino, you’d always do
this every time we’re about to go to Shido-kun’s house.”
“…! T-that’s not true…”
“Is that so?”
“U-uuh…”
Yoshino groaned and pulled down on her hat, trying to hide her face away. Yoshinon could only
shrug.
“If you like him that much, then Yoshino you should just take the lead and ask him out. Won’t
that just solve everything?”
“! Th-that sort of thing— I can’t do it…”
“Eh, but you really want to go on a date with Shido-kun right?”
“Th-that’s true… I really want to go on a date with him…but…”
Just as Yoshino said that line, the corner of Yoshinon’s mouth rose. It then rummaged around its
stomach before finally extracting a small device.
“…! Th-that is…”

“Hehe, this is a recording device! I asked Reine-san to teach me how to use it. I’ve recorded
what you’ve said just now.”
“…!”
Yoshino held her breath, making attempts to snatch the recorder. However, Yoshinon nimbly
moved its body, evading Yoshino’s hand.
“Yo—Yoshinon!”
“Leave everything to me! I, Yoshinon, will make use of this to ask Shido-kun on a date for you!”
“Y-you can’t!”
Yoshino said in panic as she finally managed to snatch the recorder from Yoshinon. This victory
however, was at the cost of her hair becoming a mess and her clothes becoming wrinkled all
over. But despite all of that, even though he was shocked upon seeing Yoshino in that state,
Shido simply said
“You look cute.”

Dating Preparations Case 2: Kotori Itsuka
“…Hm—”
Kotori was inside the office of <Ratatoskr>, staring at the black and white ribbons placed on the
desk while making a troubled sound. Needless to say, because the two different types of ribbons
were placed on the desk, the current Kotori did not tie her hair up. her long hair covered her back
past her shoulders, creating a different air to her compared to her usual self. Just as Kotori
hugged her head while in a loss, the door to the office suddenly opened.
“…Kotori, regarding this case… hm?”
Reine spoke as she walked into the room.
“!”
Kotori held her breath, grabbing the black ribbons on the table, tied up her hair with amazing
speed.
“Rei-Reine… You ought to knock before entering.”
“…Hm? Aahh, sorry. I forgot… Then again, what were you doing?”
“Ugh…”
Kotori began to stutter, but it was useless to keep it a secret from Reine. She shrugged her
shoulders and sighed.
“…Tomorrow, I’m going shopping with Shido, but I don’t know which ribbon to wear.”
Kotori had imposed two different personalities upon herself. She was the innocent little sister
when the white ribbons were worn and she would be the strong commander when black ribbons
were worn. However, it’s precisely because of this… after Shido had witnessed Kotori with her
two distinct personalities, she felt lost whenever she went out with him.
If she wore her white ribbons she could be believed to be acting coy… but she may be seen to be
too harsh on him if she were to wear her black ribbons. After Kotori finished saying her piece,
Reine felt troubled as she scratched her cheek.
“…Actually it doesn’t matter doesn’t it? If you can’t make a decision no matter what, then just
close your eyes and choose one.”
“What you say is true… but…”

“…Is your older brother the sort of man that would hate his little sister for the color of her
ribbons?”
“…!”
After hearing Reine’s words, Kotori’s eyes widened… quickly shrugging her shoulders.
“You’re right, I was thinking too much.”
Saying that, Kotori untied the black ribbons that were on her head and placed them beside the
white ribbons, mixing them up after closing her eyes.
“Now, which one should I… choose!” After grabbing the ribbons, she opened her eyes.
“…Ah.”
In her hands… were two ribbons, one black, the other white.
“…In this situation, what will come out of it then?”

Dating Preparations Case 3: Origami Tobiichi
After the practice battle in the base. Once the feeling of fatigue eased from using the personal
Territory, Origami slowly stood up. In order to remove her battle suit, she made her way towards
her locker at a snail’s pace. If she had used her emergency clothes changing unit, changing would
only be a split second, however that unit would only be used during emergencies, that’s because
using it results in a massive burden on the brain. Origami would not use it if she could help it.
Just as Origami reached her own locker, she noticed that quite a number of her teammates had
reached there before her. They were all teammates that had participated in the practice battle just
now. Origami lightly raised her hand in greeting, after which she opened her own locker, taking
out her clothes and bag. Soon after, her teammates on both sides glanced at her clothes.
“Eh? Master Sergeant Tobiichi, it seems like your clothes have been specially picked today.”
“Ah, it’s true. Your bag is cute too. “
Origami nodded her head casually.
“Today I have a date after this.”
As soon as Origami ended her words, the young team members cried out.
“Waah, really? Eh—hold on, I thought only Master Sergeant, you would never be conquered by
a guy—”
“Squad Leader! I suggest that we conduct a check on Master Sergeant Tobiichi’s personal
belongings!”
“Hm, approved!”
With permission granted the AST members all crowded around. Although Origami had no
intention of hiding her relationship with Shido. Origami did not make any attempts of resistance
at all, she handed her bag over. However, after a few seconds. The team members who originally
had eyes sparkling with expectations soon had troubled expressions.
“U-um… Master Sergeant Tobiichi. This small bottle is…”
“It’s used to mix inside his food. One drop will increase his energy by a hundred fold.”
“Then this liquid that gives off such a pungent odor is…”
“In case of emergency, I’ll soak a cloth with that and cover his nose and mouth with it.”
“Th-this pair of handcuffs and masking tape is…”
“In case I need to use it”
“…Then, I’ll reconfirm it once more, you are going on a—”
“Date.”
“…”
The AST members all fell into silence. Origami had no idea about the meanings behind their
words, she continued to change while tilting her head in wonder.
Tohka Game Center
“Origami Tobiichi, You stupid dummy—!”
—Bang!
While roaring, a fist connected with its target at a speed that was too quick for anyone to quickly
cover their eyes and ears.
In the next moment, the fist connected with the stand: piercing the LCD screen in front and
tearing a hole through the machine.
Slowly, the broken wires let off a few weak sparks and the now destroyed screen exploded,
leaving a trail of smoke in its wake.
“A-Ah…!”
The sudden explosion made Itsuka Shido, who had seen what happened in front of him stare with
his eyes so wide in shock that they might just fall out of their sockets.
Currently in a game center in Tenguu City.
The game console with boxing gloves and targets—which was to say, the boxing machine.
“Haah, I feel much better now.”
Tohka Yatogami let out a sigh as she spoke, she then pulled off the gloves that had pierced past
the machine and tossed them onto what was left of the machine.
She had a slender body, hair as dark as the night sky, and crystalline colored eyes.
If life was kind, then such beauty may be possible in this world.
In front of the girl was a damaged boxing machine that continued to play the trumpet sound
despite being heavily damaged. This was surely a surreal situation.
The other guests around were similarly dumbfounded.
“Y-Yeah… th-that’s really good to hear…”
As Shido responded while sweat trickled down his face, he could hear the sound of footsteps
from behind him.
“Hello…guest! Hey, what do you think you’re doing! What a pain!”

The man who seemed to be a staff member at the game center rushed over in a flurry of panic.
“Huh?”
“Ah… It’s no good!”
But—
“…Huh?”
The staff member stopped just short of reaching Shido and Tohka.
The reason was obvious. Because there was a dark skinned man dressed in black who appeared
to be more than 2 meters tall and appeared as though he intended to prevent him from moving
forward.
“You… what are you…”
“Don’t be rude. Let’s talk over there…”
“Huh? Hey, wait a minute…huh? N-No, stop it! A-A-Ah!”
Shido could only watch as the staff member let out a wail of protest as he was dragged away by
the much taller man.
“What happened just now?”
“…No… I don’t know.”
Although Shido responded to Tohka in the way he had… but he actually had a suspicion who the
man actually was.
Sure enough… From the earpiece clipped in his right ear, he could hear a young girl’s voice in
his ear.
[“—We’ll clear out any obstacles in your path. You can relax while you continue the date. Let
Tohka get a chance to relax a little bit.”]
“…Got it.”
Shido answered quietly in order to prevent Tohka from overhearing him.
This was surely a lovely date for an after school setting.
It all started earlier in the day.

“Tonomachi, what’s that thing on your phone?”
Classes had ended for the day. While all of their classmates had started to make their way home
in twos and threes, Shido was busy organizing the contents of his school bag as he spoke to his
classmate: Hiroto Tonomachi.
“Hmm? Are you talking about this?”
Tonomachi waved the cell phone in his hand while running his fingers through his hair, styled
with liberal use of gel.
The animal charm attached to the corner of the phone shook.
“It’s cute. It’s a colorful animal charm.”
“Right… Be careful not to commit the crime of displaying obscene objects.”
“Don’t you think this is the best character design? How would this be considered obscene?!”
“Oh… sorry, I just spoke unconsciously…”
Shido apologized while smiling bitterly. “It can’t be helped.” Tonomachi shrugged and
answered:
“I have more of them. Do you want one? It seems like this series is very popular right now. If
you hang it on your phone, girls will surely come in droves!” Tonomachi finished as he pulled
out a paper bag from his uniform pocket. Inside were charms sealed in a simple plastic
packaging.
“Ah? So you have two of them?”
“No, I won this from the game center. The last time I was there, I managed to get two in one try.”
“Wow, this is amazing.”
Shido stared at the thing that Tonomachi brought.
…The eyes looked a little too real for his taste and he didn’t think that they were very cute.
“…But never mind. I’m not into that.”
“You’re not? I think it’s cute.”
“Ah, well, I think this one’s cute.”
Shido pointed to the panda bear mascot printed on the back of the packaging.
“Ah, you’re a fan of the dream panda [Panda Ronnie]. He is a good friend and seems very good
at playing with a ball.”
“I don’t know about all of that. But if I had to pick one, I think I would pick this one.”
“It’s a pity that I don’t have that one. I’ve tried to get it a few times but the way that he’s
positioned makes it difficult to win and the clerks aren’t at all helpful.”
“Right.”
Shido responded in that way at that time.
“—What did you say?!”
Suddenly there was such a loud roar in the rear and Shido’s shoulders trembled.
“W-What happened…?”
He looked behind him, shoulders trembling and spotted two female students arguing with each
other.
“No… that can’t be true…! You bastard, if you keep spouting nonsense, I won’t spare you next
time!”
“I’m just telling the truth.”
“Shut up! Who would believe such things!”
“It’s you who is being loud. Be quiet.”
“What are you talking about!”
“Are you done?”
It seemed that the two sides had no intention of giving in to each other.
On one side was Tohka, and on the other side was a girl with an expression like that of a doll and
replying calmly: Origami Tobiichi.
She boasted excellent grades and was incredible at sports. She was the perfect superhuman to be
the pride of Shido’s class.
“All of a sudden… what happened…”
Shido turned around and noticed that Tonomachi’s figure seemed to have vanished.
“T-That guy…”
It seemed that he’d encountered something troublesome.
Shido sighed loudly.
Although he didn’t know the reason for their quarrel, they can’t seem to let it go. Shido spoke
fearfully:
“H-Hello…”
“Hello!”
“How are you?”
Shido spoke to them and almost immediately Tohka and Origami turned their gazes on him at the
same time.
Although he flinched for a moment: Shido mustered enough courage to continue the
conversation:
“C-Calm down, what happened between you two?”
As Shido asked, Tohka and Origami clashed with each other again.
…He’d always noticed that they seemed to act like this and their conflict seemed to make the air
vibrate slightly.
“—I just said something that is often taken for granted. It was Tohka Yatogami who lacked
understanding.”
“What are you talking about! After all, It’s your fault—”
“J-Just calm down, okay?”
“…Hmph!”
As Shido stepped between the two of them, Tohka simply turned away and with a scoff, sat down
in her seat.
“…”
Origami, on the other hand, Origami simply walked out of the classroom without another word.
“Ah… what’s this?”

—At that moment, Shido’s eyebrows shot up.
“…Huh?”
The name displayed on the phone’s screen was “Kotori Itsuka”: Shido’s younger sister.
Once Shido made his way to an isolated corner of the classroom, he pressed the call button.
“—Hey? What’s wrong, Kotori?”
[“How dare you ask such a question as “What’s wrong”, you jerk!”]
“…”
Almost immediately after hitting the call button, Shido received a vicious scolding from her.
Shido’s face twitched slightly.
…Since when had Kotori switched into her <Commander Mode>?
[“—Just now, Tohka’s mental state started to rapidly fall!”]
“What…?”
Shido frowned and replied in such a way. Kotori, in turn, sighed and continued:
[“Didn’t I already warn you to be careful? Although most of her Spirit Power has been sealed,
but because she is Spirit and is an existence powerful enough to cause natural disasters, if her
mental state becomes unstable, the sealed power may reverse and flow back into her.”]
“…!”
After listening to what Kotori said, Shido gulped nervously.
That’s right. Just like Kotori said: Tohka was not an ordinary human girl.
She was an existence called a Spirit and the reason behind why she appeared and her existence
remained unclear.
For now, her powers had been sealed away and she was currently under the protection of
Kotori’s organization <Ratatoskr> but for Shido who’d once witnessed her overwhelming power,
this was surely a terrible situation.
[“So, I want to know why her mental state suddenly became so unstable—Shido, what perverted
things did you do to her?”]
“Why are you assuming that it had something to do with what I did?”
[“So what do you think happened?”]

“Oh… well, she had a big fight with Origami.”
“When you say Origami, do you mean Tobiichi Origami of the AST?”
“Yes.”
The AST also known as the Anti-Spirit Team.
Unlike Kotori and <Ratatoskr>, they are the special forces to deal with the Spirits by eliminating
them by force.
Origami Tobiichi was not just a high school student but also one of the few talented members of
the AST.
Now that Tohka’s powers were sealed, she wouldn’t attack her openly again—but even so, it
seemed that the relationship between them was still poor.
“Hmm, true love troubles—never mind. I guess it can’t be helped if things have already reached
this point. Shido, focus on stabilizing Tohka’s mental state.”]
“Her mental state… ah…”
Shido spoke as he looked at Tohka.
…There was an aura of darkness surrounding her. If a sapling was placed next to her, it would
likely wither away instantly.
“Even if you ask me to do that…”
[“The hell are you talking about? Isn’t it obvious? Take her out on a date. Now that I think
about… why don’t you take her to the game center to help relieve her stress—Don’t worry, we
will support you.”]
“What!”
[“Then, I’ll get everything set up beforehand. You need to hurry up!”]
Kotori arbitrarily made the decision before Shido could get a word in as she hung up the phone.
“…”
Although there were many things he still wanted to say, there’s no point talking about it now.
Shido put his phone away and took a deep breath before making his way to where Tohka was.
“H-Hey, Tohka.”
“…Muu?”
Tohka replied unhappily.
Although he felt nervous for a moment, Shido strengthened his resolve as he stayed in place and
continued to speak:
“…No, that… If you don’t mind, do you want to go out together with me?”
“Muu?”
The moment that Shido finished speaking, he could feel that the frustration that Tohka had built
up seemed to fade away little by little.
“Go out… that is to say, Shido, do you want to take me on a date?”
Tohka seemed to be anxiously waiting for Shido’s response. His gaze drifted upwards when she
asked.
…Well, she was right. But then again… it was a little embarrassing when put like that. Shido
scratched his cheek awkwardly in agreement.
“Ah… That’s right.”
After Shido finished speaking, Tohka stood up from her seat, her expression much brighter than
it had been previously.
“Oh…! Let’s go!”
“O-Oh! Yeah, let’s go.”
“So, where are we going?”
“Hmm… why don’t we go to the game center?”
“Game center?”
Tohka looked confused as she tilted her head.
“Uh…In short, it has many interesting things like ‘games’.”
“Oh, is it fun?”
“Yeah, there are games like boxing machines and whack a mole. It will be fun and relaxing to
play.”
“Not only fun but it’s also relaxing! What other games do they have there?”
“Now that I think about it, it would be pretty difficult to play fighting games if you haven’t
played them before… Oh, there are also dancing games, if we play in beginner mode, you should
be able to play it.”
“Music games?”
“Yeah. It’s like dancing where you use your feet to step on the arrow-painted control panel, or
tapping a drum-shaped controller with a stick. If you like those, it can be relaxing.”
“Are there others?!”
“There are other games that use machines to grab snacks too.”
‘Wow…! I can still get snacks from there…! Isn’t that super incredible!”
“Yeah, really incredible.”
“I could live there!”
Faced with Tohka’s shining expression, Shido smiled bitterly.
“That might be a challenge… after all, people under the age of 18 can’t go out after 10:00 in the
evening.”
“Muu, is that true?”
“Yeah, according to the customs laws and the like. Ah, you have to remember this other thing:
because the family register that Kotori prepared for you has your age set at 16 years old, you
can’t go just to the Game Center but outside in the middle of the night.”
“Umu, I will remember.”
Tohka finished as she crossed her arms thoughtfully. It seemed that he may have given her too
much information in one sitting.
Perhaps it was because of Tohka’s enthusiasm that a group of girls still in the classroom
approached the two of them.
“Hey Hey What are you two talking about?”
“Huh? Oh, uh…”
After being confronted like this, Shido scratched his cheek awkwardly.
Just as he was about to speak, Tohka spoke up first:
“I’ll tell you, just wait a minute, Shido is going to take me to a fun place!”
The girls who’d heard this sentence glanced at Shido with smiles on their faces.
“Hmm… could it be that you’re expressing your love for her?”
“Ahh! It’s so cute, so cute!”
“Itsuka-kun really is dedicated…”
“No… that…”
…What could he say, they’d struck a nerve. Shido’s cheeks flushed a deep red as he turned his
gaze away from them.
“Hey, hey, Tohka, you said a fun place, where exactly are you going?”
One of the girls asked Tohka.
“Muu?” Tohka uttered as she thought for a moment. Her eyes widened as she began to speak one
she remembered.
“Muu… where were we going again? I remember it was supposed to be fun… Ah, yes! We’re
going to a place where we can’t get in unless we’re 18!”
“What…?”
Hearing what Tohka said, the girls froze.
“…! Tohka, that’s not true! That only applies after 10:00 pm in the evening—!”
“Muu? Is that true?”
Even though Shido was quick to correct her, the girls didn’t seem to hear them.
They exchanged looks with each other and started muttering amongst themselves.
“Talking about places prohibited from entering while under the age of 18…”
“Sure enough, it has to be a love hotel, right…?”
“No, maybe it’s the kind of place that’s mainly open at night…”
“Y-You’re misunderstanding it!”

Shido was quick to protest the injustice as loudly as he could.
Tohka noticed Shido’s response and thought that she said something odd so she seemed to clarify
Shido’s explanation.
“Although I don’t know what everyone is thinking… but you’re wrong. Shido just wants to make
me feel relaxed.”
“What…!”
“By the way, he said it would be relaxing if I stepped on it with my foot and beat it with a stick!”
“…”
The female students grabbed Tohka’s hand, putting her behind them as though to protect her
from Shido.
“W-What? What’s wrong?”
After Tohka stared at the girls in confusion for a moment, the girls frowned, glanced away and
shook their heads.
“It’s okay, Tohka. We already understand everything.”
“Fortunately, we found out about this in advance… Otherwise, the innocent and ignorant Tohka
would have become a victim of pervasion.”
“…That’s so gross! You have no shame!”
Of course these final words were intended for Shido.
“No, that’s not what I meant! I was just saying—!”
As soon as Shido opened his mouth to protest anew, the girls spread out their arms to protect
Tohka.
…And almost immediately was regarded as an enemy of women.
“You are wrong! Shido is not a bad guy!”
Tohka spoke in a panic.
“Tohka is such a good girl… Because of this, Itsuka-kun, who was aware of this, tried to take
advantage of the situation…”
However, it seemed the girls were too far gone to listen to her.
Nonetheless, Tohka tried her best to erase their suspicions about Shido but she ultimately
groaned and slammed her hand on the desk.
“…! By the way, Shido said that if I went there with him, he would give me snacks! Does that
make sense? Is everything fine now?”
“…”
The girls remained silent for a moment while glaring hard at Shido.
“…No, that…”
Even if they weren’t saying it aloud, it was obvious they had a mental image of Shido saying,
“Hey! Hey! Hey! Miss, if you come with me, I’ll give you a delicious snack!”
Just then, Shido’s cell phone rang again—it was Kotori.
“…Ah, let me answer the phone.”
Shido informed the girls as he answered the call.
“…Yes?”
[“What are you doing? Slowpoke. Hurry up and get the date started.”]
“Ah… we encountered an unexpected obstacle…”
[“I don’t want to hear you make excuses. I’ll only give you three minutes to get off the school
grounds.]
“Hey, wait a minute—”
He heard the click and beep indicating that she’d hung up without so much as giving him a
chance to explain.
“…”
He’d better hurry. After all, this was the <Commander Mode> Kotori that he was dealing with
here. If he and Tohka didn’t get out in the next three minutes, there was surely going to be a
severe punishment waiting for him.
“…Tohka! Let’s go!”
Shido put away her cell phone and called out to her.
“Umu!”
Tohka, who originally looked troubled as she watched the situation unfold, looked more cheerful
as she forced her way through the girls back to Shido’s side, pausing at her desk only to grab her
school bag.
Once Shido was sure that Tohka was at his side, he immediately fled the classroom with Tohka
in tow.
“Ah…! Tohka!”
“Hey you cheater! Get back here!”
“Tohka! Please come back! Tohka is about to be defiled—!”
It sounded like they were about to say something dangerous as their voices became more faint
and Shido did his best to ignore them and ran as fast as he could.
Which brought them to now:
Shido and Tohka had attracted attention from the other guests in the Game Center as they walked
around at a leisurely pace.
The reason for this increased attention was obvious:
That’s right because Tohka has managed to completely destroy the boxing machines, the
whack-a-mole, and the other games that required physical fitness.
Of course, in this case, the term ‘broken’ was being used literally here which made the attention
that they were drawing more understandable.
“Wow! These games are really fun!”
“Yeah… they are…”
Shido heard what Tohka said as she smiled innocently while he responded with a weak smile.
At the same time, he muttered into the earpiece:
“…Hey, Kotori, is this really okay?”
[“Yes. <Ratatoskr> can handle everything afterwards. Although it’s not good that there’s a lot of
attention on the two of you, but for now, our biggest priority is that Tohka can relieve her
stress.”]
“That’s good…”
“Shido?”
“…! W-What?”
Tohka spoke from her place next to him and gently tapped his shoulder.
After glancing at Shido with a puzzled look, she looked around at the game center again.
“What game should we play next?”
“A-Ah, what game should we play next…”
Shido glanced around at the remaining games, then…
[“Wait just a moment.”]
He heard Kotori’s voice from the earpiece.
“—Okay, what should we play next?”
These words echoed throughout the bridge of the <Fraxinus> that was gliding 15,000 meters
above Tenguu City.
Kotori Itsuka leaned back in her chair, a chupa chups in her mouth.
She was a young girl with long red hair tied into two long twin tails and was dressed in a red
military uniform with the jacket draped over her shoulders.
She was clearly the youngest person on this bridge, but despite that, she was seated in the
commander’s seat of the <Fraxinus>
“—Reine, how is Tohka’s mood?”
When Kotori asked, Reine Murasame, the head analyst who was operating a console on the
lower bridge, rubbed the dark circles around her eyes as she spoke:
“…Well, it looks like the values are good so it isn’t a problem now. Although she continues to
damage the machines, her powers have gradually stabilized.”
The screen on the center of the bridge now showed an image of Tohka’s upper body. Then
around her, there were rows listed with various values such as ‘mood’ or ‘favorability’. There
was even a dialogue window open. It was something straight out of a visual novel.
“Really? That’s good to hear.”
“…Yeah. But there’s still one thing I’m concerned about.”
“What is it?”
“…Although her mood has improved, it seems her uneasiness numbers are still high. It looks like
she may be worried about something.”
“Worried about something—Shido, can you think of anything?”
Kotori spoke through the microphone. Shido’s response was just as prompt.
“No, at least not off the top of my head.”
“Really? That’s useless.”
“Never mind. Let’s just let her keep playing for a while longer and see what happens.”
The moment Kotori finished speaking, a new window appeared at the center of the screen with a
list of choices:
(1) The two of them work together to play a guessing game!
(2) Play the game of detection fit and recognize the bond between the two again!
(3) Take a picture together and leave sweet memories!
The artificial intelligence of the <Fraxinus> was able to assess Tohka’s mental state and
proposed a series of options that would fit the situation.
“—So this is what we have to work with. What is your choice?”
In less than five seconds after Kotori spoke, the device in her hand showed an image of a bar
graph.
The crew on the bridge were quick to make the decision and submitted it to Kotori’s terminal.
The choice with the most votes was—(3).
“Hmm, it looks like everyone seems to agree then.”
“There’s no need to discuss why (1) is out: you might get frustrated because you can’t guess the
correct answer.” The vice-commander who was standing behind Kotori explained.
“…Although (2) is not a bad option, but if it turns out that they aren’t compatible with each
other, it would only make things awkward between them. (3) is perfect because not only do they
get a souvenir featuring the two of them, they will also become attached to the photos. Plus
they’ll be able to get some privacy in that confined space concealed by the curtain.”
This was Reine’s explanation.

“That’s our best approach—Shido, take Tohka to the photo booth and take some cute pictures
together.”
“…I understand. But I… I don’t know how to use the sticker machine.”
“There are instructions written there. Don’t waste time talking, get moving.”
“…Got it.”
“—Tohka, do you want to go over there?”
“Muu, alright.”
Shido accepted <Ratatoskr>’s instructions as he guided Tohka toward the photo booth.
“…? Shido, what is this?”
“”A-Ah, in simple terms, it’s a machine that can take cute pictures.”
“What…!”
Shido explained in a simple way. However, Tohka’s eyes went wide and her cheeks turned red.
“Y-You said pictures…?”
“Huh? Tohka, are you okay?”
“…No, I don’t really like having my picture taken like this…”
“Huh? Is that so?”
Shido asked as Tohka nodded, her face flushed.
“Well, if that’s the case, then why don’t we play something else?”
“Muu…”
However, Tohka mumbled to herself for a moment as though deep in thought. After a moment’s
hesitation, she spoke:
“…Shido, do you want my picture?”
“Eh…? A-Ah, of course, I want it…”
Shido’s answer was a little unclear so Tohka took a deep breath as if to calm herself down and
then locked with Shido who’d since turned his gaze to the ceiling.
“…Just this once, I’ll do it for you, Shido.”
“A-Ah, okay…”
Shido suddenly felt a wave of calm sweep over him for some reason and nodded at the same
time. Tohka walked into the photo booth labeled “Full-body shot”.
Shido intended to follow her inside, however—
“…! W-Wait, Shido, why are you coming in?!”
He found himself stopped by Tohka.
“Huh? Are you supposed to do these sorts of things together?”
“Don’t… Just stop talking nonsense! Just wait for me outside!”
After Tohka finished speaking, she drew the curtain.
“A-Ah…”
Shido lightly tapped the earpiece as he tried to figure out how to deal with this.
“Let’s just wait for her. Once she’s done, just take a picture with both of you.”
“Ah… right…”
Shido nodded slightly as he rested against the machine where Tohka walked in.
…However, after waiting for a while, nothing seemed to happen.
“…Hey, Kotori, does it usually take a while to take a picture?”
[“It depends on how things go. The latest models let you add text and other filters after taking the
picture. If you want a really beautiful photo, it will take some time.”]
“Wow… such an incredible machine… But where did Tohka learn how to use it?”
“Who knows. But I know that Tohka has had her picture taken before. I think it was when
<Ratatoskr> took her photo while we were working on her protection…”
Just as Shido and Kotori were discussing this, the photo printout installed on the outside of the
machine spit out the printed photo sticker.
“Um…? Have you finished having your picture taken?”
Shido bent down to pick up the sticker—

“Pffft…!”
His entire face immediately turned red.
[“What’s wrong, Shido?”]
Shido quickly hid the picture in his hand in his school bag.
The reason why was obvious: the picture featured Tohka’s naked figure.
‘Tohka! What the hell are you doing—”
Shido was confused by the unexpected turn of events and immediately pulled the curtain open.
At that moment, Shido immediately regretted his carelessness.
Because that kind of photo just came out, it meant—
“—!”
“Why…!”
Shido felt his body freeze as he threw the curtain open.
She’d clearly intended to put her clothes back on. When he opened the curtain, she was clad only
in her underwear and was busy pulling on her long black socks. She wore nothing else; her dark
hair was splayed across the hardwood bench.
“K-Kotori… the photo she had taken for <Ratatoskr>…”
[“Ah, yeah, she was basically naked for that one. Ah, rest assured, only female staff members
were allowed to help her.”]
“N-No, that’s not the issue here—”
[“Ara? Haven’t you closed the curtain yet? Stupid…!”]
“AAAAAAHH!”
Shido’s face was devastated by the Spirit.
“…”
Meanwhile in another part of the game center.
Origami was silently operating the buttons of a skill crane machine.

Needless to say, among the prizes inside were the panda Ronnie cell phone charm of the dream
panda that Shido mentioned before.
There were three colors in total: the ordinary panda color, red, and the inverted colored black and
white.
—That’s right. She happened to overhear the conversation between Shido and his friend after
school that day.
After all, she hadn’t stayed behind to eavesdrop on Shido and then gotten into an argument with
Yatogami Tohka. Definitely not.
“…”
The robot arm barely grazed over the negative color form of panda Ronnie’s head—still not
captured.
However, Origami’s expression remained unchanged as she inserted another coin.
At that moment.
A “ding-dong” sound could be heard from the entire game center.
“W-What happened?”
“Ah, it looks like there’s a couple playing too harshly with the boxing machines and the gloves
are dangling inside.”
“Really? What, is the boyfriend a professional boxer or something?”
“No, it seems that the girlfriend went overboard.”
“W-What is it like right now?”
“…”
—It sounded like a very troublesome couple. Origami mused as she continued to operate the
crane silently.
If it were her and Shido Itsuka, there was no doubt that they wouldn’t be doing this kind of thing.
Instead, they would have been enjoying a quiet cup of tea in an outdoor cafe.
“…”
At that moment, the robotic crane managed to catch the negative color panda Ronnie and moved
it toward the exit but ended up dropping it halfway.
While unfortunate, it was nonetheless still in a good position and would be easy to capture on her
next attempt.
—She tried to insert another coin but her fingers stopped.
It seemed that she’d run out of game tokens.
“…”
Origami had no choice but to run to the currency exchange machine.
“…Sorry…”
“No, It was my fault…”
Tohka, who was now fully dressed, apologized to Shido, who responded in kind while touching
his now swollen cheeks.
“But… Anyway, now you know, you don’t have to take off your clothes while having your
picture taken.”
“…Umu… I’ll remember that.”
Tohka nodded, her frustration clear on her face.
[“Ahahaha! Looks like your face wasn’t fully beaten in! You’re really lucky, Shido!”]
He could hear Kotori’s cheerful voice in his ear.
He tapped on the earpiece in protest and she continued onward.
[“—Anyway, it looks like Tohka’s mental state has stabilized. We’ve achieved our goal. Now, as
long as you manage to figure out how to lower her anxiety value, things will be back to normal
for now.”]
“…Anxiety…”
Shido looked at Tohka and tilted his head.
“—Huh?”
Tohka’s gaze was fixed on the crane game machine on the right side.
“Tohka? What’s wrong?”
“Shido? How do you play this?”
“Ah… after you press that button…”
Shido quickly explained how to play the game and then glanced at the prizes in the crane game
machine. The previously mentioned panda Ronnie mobile phone charm was present and was
each individually packaged.
“—Maybe it’s that feeling…”
“Umu.”
Tohka said as she pulled out a 100-yen coin from her wallet and inserted it into the machine.
She then operated the machine just like Shido taught her to and moved the robotic arm.
However—even without catching the prize.
“Muu… this is so hard…”
“It’s hard to play this game… If you want, I could get it for you?”
When Shido suggested this, Tohka shook her head vigorously.
“No, that would be nonsense. Let me play.”
“So that’s it—Ah, why don’t you try to grab that? It’s positioned well.”
“Muu?”
Tohka’s gaze locked onto what Shido was pointing at
Indeed where he was pointing was the inverted colors Ronnie placed at a wonderful angle. If she
could successfully hook the claw around the hole in the plastic packaging, she could definitely
catch it.
“Oh!”
Tohka’s eyes lit up once more as she inserted another 100-yen coin.
She then pressed the buttons and managed to get the robot arm to hook around the hole in the
plastic packaging.
“Oh! I got it, Shido!”

“Yeah, that was really amazing! Even if the position was good, you still managed to catch on the
second try!”
“Well, something like that…”
At that moment, Tohka suddenly stopped speaking.
Although the robot arm returned to the top to deposit the prize out, the prize did not fall.
“Muu… what’s going on?”
“Ah… it looks like it’s stuck. If you run into a situation like this, just tell the clerk—”
“Hmph!”
Just as Shido was partway through the sentence, he could hear a loud thud.
He didn’t need to think about the cause because he already knew: Tohka had punched a hole
through the plastic window of the crane game machine.
“…Tohka…”
“Umu.”
Tohka removed the panda Ronnie charm hooked on the robot arm casually and nodded in
satisfaction.
“Muu, let’s go home, Shido.”
“O-Okay, let’s go home.”
“…”
After exchanging the money, Origami quickly made her way back to the crane game machine
and froze on the spot.
The reason was obvious—now there was a giant hole in the machine where Origami had been
playing. More importantly, it looked like the inverted color panda Ronnie was also gone.
“Who did this…?”
She spoke quietly.
However—
“Come on! Excuse us! Right here!”

With those noises, there were several workers who’d just entered the game center and
immediately went to work replacing the previously damaged machines with the brand new
replacements from their transport.
The new machines were brought in immediately while the old machines were taken out.
“Okay! We’re done here so we’ll be off now!”
It seemed that the operators had reconnected all the wires and replaced the prizes and confirmed
that all the machines were working the way they should.
—This whole process took less than ten minutes.
It seemed that the other machines destroyed by the mysterious couple have also been replaced
with brand new replacements in much the same way.
“…”
Although these were inexplicable circumstances, Origami had more important things to be
concerned about right now. She stood silently in front of the crane game and stared at the
countless panda Ronnies.
Unlike before, they were all positions so that it would be easy to capture them.
If that was the case…
Origami’s eyes shone brightly but quietly as she stacked 5 100 yen coins next to the buttons.
“…Did you want that one so badly?”
On their way home from the game center, Shido tried to talk to Tohka who was walking next to
him as they made their way down the dark streets.
“Muu…”
Tohka suddenly stopped.
“Tohka…?”
Shido also stopped as he turned to face Tohka.
She lowered her head slightly and handed the panda Ronnie to Shido.
“Huh…?”
“Here. This is for you, so—no, it seems weird to say it like that. How do I say…”
Shido was confused by Tohka’s vague way of speaking.
“What are you trying to say?”
Shido asked as she bit her lip anxiously but she strengthened her resolve and continued:
“…Please don’t hate me.”
“W-What? You… what are you talking about?”
Shido frowned in deep confusion and then with an ‘ah’ of revelation, he remembered what
happened before.
“Are you still worried about what happened before?”
“Muu… It’s a little…”
Tohka was silent for a moment and then said:
“…Shido, do you remember when I quarreled with Origami Tobiichi?”
“Ah… I remember.”
Tohka, in that moment, looked like an upset child with her lips formed into a pout as she
continued.
“…At that time, she said.”
“What did she say?”
When Shido asked, Tohka glanced up briefly as though trying to peak at Shido expression while
stuttering, she continued:
“…Spirits, it is impossible for them to coexist with humans. And humans can’t allow Spirits to
destroy the world. So—”
After biting her lips in determination, she continued:
“Shido hates creatures like Spirits the most.”
“…Oh.”
Shido scratched his cheek.
She looked to be in distress. Although it would be inappropriate to say this out loud… but he
thought that sort of thing was pretty weak.
It must have been this kind of thing that made Tokha feel scared.
…He briefly wondered if she actually wanted to take that picture even though she didn’t want to
but she was worried about being hated by Shido.
“…Now, Shido, is that actually the case? That Shido also hates me—”
“It’s alright.”
“…Really?”
Tohka looked at Shido uneasily.
“Really.”
“Is it really true?”
“Really true.”
“Is it really really true?”
“It’s really really true.”
Shido thought for a moment and then said:
“Plus, I don’t think I would want to go on a date with someone I didn’t like, something like
that…”
“Oh…!”
After Shido finished speaking, Tohka’s eyes widened.
“Ah… that’s what I thought…”
Tohka’s cheeks were flushed a faint pink and a gentle smile graced her lips.
Shido then returned the inverted color panda Ronnie to Tohka.
“So you hold on to this. It’s rare to be able to catch it by yourself. Think of it as a memento for
today, okay?”
“Umu, I will.”
Tohka mumbled happily as she accepted the inverted panda Ronnie.
At that moment, he could hear Kotori’s voice in his ear again.

[“—75 points. That’s good enough for a pass…”]
“…That’s good to hear.”
The following day.
While waiting for Shido to come to school, there was a group of girls with their arms and legs
spread out dramatically, standing and exuding fierceness.
“The pervert is here.”
“Why don’t you just die already?”
“Oink like a pig!”
“W-What?”
Although Shido didn’t understand what was going on, he immediately froze on the spot, but
when Tohka who was standing right behind him wore a troubled expression, they seemed to
immediately understand the situation.
“Everyone! I already said that Shido didn’t do anything wrong.”
Tohka said to the other girls.
“It’s alright, Tohka, we will make sure that this perverted sexual beast won’t be able to gain a
foothold in society.”
“You must have been so scared. Poor Tohka, let us avenge your chastity!”
“…That’s how it is. In order to understand the situation, you need to tell us in as much detail as
possible about what happened yesterday. What did he do to you? Tell us, what did he do to you?”
Tohka shook her head vigorously in response to what the girls said.
“No! Although I don’t really understand what you are talking about, you are probably mistaken!
Yesterday, Shido just took me to a place called a game center!”
“What…?”
Upon hearing what Tohka said, the girls suddenly froze.
Then their gazes glassed over as they remembered what was discussed yesterday—
“…Really? Itsuka-kun.”
“…Yeah. That’s right.”
“…”
The girls should have understood from the beginning but now that they knew the full situation—
“Ahhhhhh! Whoops! How could we think that Itsuka-kun could do that kind of thing.”
“I…I already tried to tell you from the beginning that this was all a misunderstanding.”
“In short, Tohka is really safe…”
When they finished speaking, there were relieved smiles on their faces.
“…Anyway, now the misunderstanding has been cleared up…”
Shido sighed helplessly as he took his seat and pulled out the textbook for the first lesson from
his school bag.
—At that moment, something fell out of Shido’s school bag.
“Ah, something fell out, Itsuka-kun.”
“Ah, thanks—”
At that moment, Shido felt the blood in his veins freeze in an instant.
Because what fell out of the schoolbag was—
“—What…!”
The female student who’d picked up the picture gasped.
Honestly, her reaction was understanding because suddenly seeing Tohka’s nude photos, surely
anyone would respond like that.
“Wait! This is just a misunderstanding!
“What kind of misunderstanding could this possibly be! Doing it right in the game center…
forced nudity! Isn’t that even more perverted?!”
“N-No… This is—!”
“Don’t try to resist—!”
“A-Ah!”
Shido covered his face with hands as he ran out of the classroom.
“Ah! Shido! Where are you going!”
Tohka called from somewhere behind but he didn’t have a chance to glance over his shoulder
because he knew that if he stopped for even a moment, there would be a cruel and unrelenting
assault waiting for him.
“Ah! Why did I do such a stupid thing! Why didn’t I put it away when I had a chance! I’m an
idiot—!”
Shido shouted as he ran down the corridor.
Then—
“Whoa!”
Halfway down the corridor, he could feel someone grab the neckline of his shirt and he’d almost
fallen over.
“W-What’s going on?” He coughed.
For one wild moment, he thought that the girls managed to catch him—but that wasn’t the case.
It was Tobiichi Origami who’d grabbed onto the collar of his shirt.
“Origami?”
“Take this.”
After letting go of Shido’s shirt, Origami pulled something out of her school bag and passed it
over to Shido.
“Huh? Isn’t this…”
That was the panda Ronnie (red) cell phone charm of the dream panda.
“Take it.”
“Eh… I can’t do that.”
“Take it.”
“…Ah…”
“Take it.”
“…Alright. Thank you…”
Shido was overwhelmed by Origami’s oppressive momentum as he accepted the panda Ronnie
from her.
Then Origami pulled out her cell phone with the normal colored panda Ronnnie from her school
bag.
“We match.”
“Ah… Y-Yes…”
“…”
After Shido nodded, Origami put her cell phone away and made her way back to the classroom.
“W-What was that about…?”
Just as Shido slumped to the ground in the corridor with a blank look on his face, this time he
heard hurried footsteps coming toward him. It seemed that Tohka had been chasing after Shido.
“Shido! Are you okay?”
“A-Ah…”
“It’s safe to go back. I explained everything to them—Eh?”
Halfway through her sentence, Tohka’s gaze drifted to Shido’s hand.
Of course, because in his hand was the panda Ronnie charm that Origami gave him just now.
“Oh!”
Tohka pulled the inverted color Panda Ronnie from her pocket.
“We match, Shido!”
“Y-Yeah…!”
Shido scratched his cheek as he answered.
Shido, Tohka, and even Origami somehow came out to have the same thing.
Origami Impossible
“Honestly, I am a pedophile.”
It was during a school holiday while sitting in a cafe at a street corner.
Shido Itsuka admitted this quietly.
“Every day, I go to the nearby elementary school to watch the elementary school girls when
they’re doing their PE classes. Their pure, flawless, flat and underdeveloped bodies make my
Sandalphon go wild. Elementary school girls are truly the best!”
“Are they?”
With regards to listening to Shido’s once-in-a-lifetime breaking news, the girl who was sitting
across from him, Origami did not wear a disgusted expression but simply nodded slightly.
She had shoulder length hair and a slender figure. Her expressionless face was like that of a doll.
She suddenly glanced down, touching her chest unconsciously and then replied to Shido and
said:
“I can do it.”
“What do you mean?!”
Shido couldn’t help but shout out before regaining his composure. It wouldn’t be any good if he
started panicking now. He cleared his throat with a cough and then said:
“In fact, it’s not just that. I still have a serious Oedipus complex. Every morning, I still kiss my
mother’s picture before I go to school.”
“Is that so?”
“…It’s true… in fact, I also have a sister complex and I often make Kotori sleep next to me.”
“Is that so?”
“Um…! I-I’m not faithful! Right now, I’ve got about ten girls!”
“…!”
Shido’s eyebrows twitched for the first time after he shouted that out albeit in a half-hearted way.
He thought he finally managed to get a reaction out of her. In that moment, Origami’s lips moved
and she said without a change in tone:
“It’s not a problem so long as I get rid of all of them.”
“What are you saying! Oh, what are you saying?!”
Shido’s cries were almost as loud as shouts as he clutched his head.
Then, a stunned voice came from the earpiece he’d worn on his right ear:
[“…Wow, what’s with this unbearable force, has she become the overlord of the century?”]
Kotori, Shido’s little sister, spoke through the earpiece. Obviously, he could only hear her voice,
but he had a strong feeling she looked just as frustrated as he felt.
“She still looks like this… T-Tell me what to do now…”
[“Stop whining. Now as for the next move…”]
After she finished speaking, she gave him additional instructions.
This surreal dating scene was caused by what happened the previous day.
During the lunch break one day:
In a classroom at Raizen High School, Tohka Yatogami happily showed off the cell phone held in
her hand.
“Oh, what do you think, Shido! Kotori gave this to me! It seems to be something that I can use to
talk to other people from far away!”
Her long dark hair fluttered in the air, a broad smile stretched across her beautiful face as Tohka
raised the phone in her hand.
“O-Oh, that’s great to hear.”
Shido smiled kindly.
…Tohka held it almost reverently in her hand. It seemed to be a simple and old-fashioned model
that was easy for even elderly people to use. Anyway, it seemed that she was genuinely happy
about it so there was no reason to spoil her good mood.
That said, Shido and Kotori had spent a lot of time discussing all kinds of different models of
cell phones. Although the appearance was just like any other phone, it could endure a ton of
weight.
Also, even if the cell towers were destroyed in the event of a disaster, she would still be able to
communicate via satellite.
…To be honest, such equipment was probably overkill for an ordinary high school girl to have.
But—this couldn’t be helped.
The truth was that Tohka was not an ordinary human being, but instead an existence known as a
Spirit. It was an existence who wielded extraordinary power and had the potential to destroy the
world.
Although it was possible to seal away Spirit power—if her mental state becomes unstable, the
sealed power will reverse and flow back into her. So Kotori, who was the commander of the
organization <Ratatoskr>, was obviously worried about this.
Therefore, it was necessary to ensure that she had a way to contact them in the event of an
emergency beforehand.
“Okay, Shido! I’m going to try it and see!”
However, Tohka turned away with a bright smile on her face that was such a stark contrast to that
dangerous title.
“I’m going to call you from far away! Shido, you absolutely have to answer it!”
“Oh… so that’s what you’re doing. I got it.”
Shido smiled wryly as he nodded in agreement. He remembered when he’d gotten his cellphone,
he wanted to try calling someone just like Tohka.
“Okay, I’m off!”
Tohka finished as she opened the classroom door and rushed down the hallway.
“Make sure you come back before the lunch break is over!”
“—I will—!”
Tohka’s faint response came from the other end of the corridor.
At that moment:
“—Shido.”
“Whoa!”
Someone called out to Shido from behind him and made his shoulders tremble.
Turning around, it was Origami Tobiichi who’d appeared behind him silently.
…It seemed she showed up as soon as Tohka disappeared.
“Yes… did you need something? Origami…?”
“Do you have any plans for tomorrow?”
“Huh?”
Suddenly being asked about this sort of thing, Shido could only reply blankly… At the same
time, he had a bad feeling about what was about to happen.
“W-Why so suddenly…”
“I want to go out with you.”
“T-That means…”
“A date.”
“…”
Shido’s suspicions were confirmed as he broke into a nervous sweat.
“…Origami, just so I can confirm, we are—”
“A couple.”
“…I thought so.”
Shido asked Origami nervously while Origami responded immediately without a trace of
nervousness.
Sure enough she looked just as serious as ever.
Origami didn’t pay Shido’s nervousness any mind and continued calmly:
“How about it?”
“Ah… I’m sorry. I’m busy tomorrow—”
However, halfway through the sentence, Shido suddenly gasped.
He suddenly felt an oppressive pressure. If a weaker willed person faced this, there was no doubt
that they might just pass out. This pressure was truly powerful.
“Ah, that… Ah, I’m sure that if anything comes up tomorrow, can you wait for me…?”
Origami nodded slightly.
Shido immediately panicked as he jogged down the corridor while scrolling to find and select the
name “Kotori Itsuka” from his call history. Although he was still waiting for Tohka’s call… if
Tohka called, he should be able to answer her regardless so it should be okay. After waiting on
the tone of the phone ringing, a warm voice came from the other end:
[“Hello! Onii-chan?”]
“…Kotori, please help find a way out of this…”
[“Huh? What are you talking about?”]
“Origami asked me to go on a date with her.”
[“…”]
After Shido finished speaking, Kotori fell silent for a moment.
Next, Shido heard the sound of cloth shuffling from the speaker. It sounded like she was
replacing the ribbons that tied her hair.
[“—This is ridiculous, are you seriously still involved with her?”]
In the next moment, her tone, now more confident and terse, was completely different from when
she picked up.
—Kotori had shifted into her <Commander Mode>.
“…In the end, if it wasn’t for your <training>, this relationship…!”
That’s right. When Tohka first appeared, they’d had Shido do some special <Female Habitual
Training> for Shido to get used to talking to women. In that process, they’d forced Shido to
profess his love to Origami.
Unfortunately, because so much had happened between then and now, there hadn’t been an
opportunity to resolve the misunderstanding—until now, that is.
[“This is a pain. Just ignore her.”]
“H-How could I do such a thing… Originally, it was our fault that all of this happened. How
could we keep messing around with her like this!”
[“You want to be honest—then why don’t you just tell her that the whole confession was a
misunderstanding?” ]
“…How am I supposed to pull that off?”
[“Hmm? Then why don’t you spit on her and then say: ‘I’m not going to date someone like you!
Don’t be mistaken! You’re a psychopath!’”]
“If I say that, I’ll definitely get shot!”
Shido couldn’t help but shout. There was no denying that if he said that kind of thing, he would
be killed on the spot.
[“Since you’re so picky—Why don’t we make it so the other party hates you?”]
“Huh?”
[“Like I said, accept that date and in turn, I will adjust the AI settings on the <Fraxinus> to help
you prepare options that will make the date terrible and make her want to break up with you. If
the other party hates you, there’s no problem, right?”]
The so-called <Fraxinus> was the airship owned by <Ratatoskr>.
Normally, when a Spirit appears, the artificial intelligence aboard the ship will provide the
options and choosing and following the prompts will help to improve the relationship with the
Spirit.
“R-Really…”
It made sense. He would surely get slapped if he did something like that but he could handle that.
“…I get it. So I can count on you for support?”
[“Of course. Considering the future, it would also be troublesome if we have to deal with her all
the time—but there’s still one last problem to deal with.”]
“What’s that?”
[“Tohka. We don’t have school tomorrow as it’s a Saturday, remember? If Tohka’s all by herself,
she’ll come over to play. But if you’re not there, there’s no doubt that her emotional state will
drop.”]
“Even if I’m not there…”
As soon Shido said so, Kotori responded to him with a dumbfounded sigh.
“W-What are you doing?”

[“Nope, anyway, in order to focus resolutely on this, you have to get Tohka do something else
beforehand.]
“Something else… Ah…”
[“Right, it doesn’t matter what you want to ask her to do whether that means to buy things or
anything else—just make sure to ask her to do something difficult so that it’ll take some more
time for her to finish. In other words, it wouldn’t be strange for her not to be with Shido at that
time.”]
“—Anyway, promise Tobiichi Origami a date.”
“Right… I got it.”
After Shido hung up the phone, he nervously returned to the classroom.
When he returned, he spotted Origami maintaining the same posture as ever, standing upright.
“How about it?”
“O-Oh… no problem…”
“…”
Origami remained silent but she made a gesture of victory with her fist without so much as a
change in her expression…
“O-Origami…?”
“Tomorrow at 10:00 am, I will be waiting for you in front of the fountain in West Tenguu Park.”
Origami simply said this as she left.
He didn’t know why but he couldn’t help but watch her leave with a brisk pace.
“…”
Shido felt sweat trickle down his cheeks, he heard loud footsteps sound outside the classroom.
The classroom door suddenly opened and Tohka, who seemed to be running, appeared once
more.
“Shido! This… How do I use this thing!”
It seemed that she didn’t know how to make a phone call, and so she’d asked Shido while
wearing a troubled expression on her face.
However, at that moment, Tohka seemed to notice Shido’s expression which seemed even more
trouble than her own, so she tilted her head in confusion.
“Shido? Is there something wrong?”
“No! I’m fine…”
Shido cleared his throat as he took his seat.
“…Ah, Tohka.”
“Muu? What’s the matter?”
“I’m sorry for asking so suddenly… but tomorrow, do you think you could run some errands for
me?”
After Shido finished speaking, Tohka’s eyes seemed to light up.
“Oh! Okay! What do you need me to do?”
She seemed to be very happy for the opportunity to help Shido and leaned her body forward
towards Shido’s desk.
Feeling a twinge of nervousness, Shido looked away awkwardly.
The following day, after Shido asked Tohka to run some errands for him, he put the earpiece in
his right ear, and made his way toward the destination for his date with Origami.
Incidentally, Shido was currently dressed in a loose t-shirt, frayed jeans, and toilet slippers and
he couldn’t bring himself to go.
Honestly, all of this was embarrassing to Shido… However, girls hated boys who didn’t stay
clean and looked sloppy. To start, using this method to make Origami hate him was the best bet.
[“Shido, it’s fine to walk more slowly.”]
He could hear Kotori’s voice from the earpiece on his right ear.
Kotori was currently on the bridge aboard the airship <Fraxinus> that was floating above Tenguu
City.
It was currently 10:50 am. It had been 50 minutes since the appointed time.
[“We have to be at least an hour late. Also, no matter what she says, you can’t ever apologize.”]
“Yeah…”
They were very thorough with the plan. But this all made sense: she would surely be angry if he
was late. It might depend from person to person and it was possible that she’d already given up
and gone home long before now.
He walked as slowly as he could and around 11:00 am, Shido finally reached their meeting place.
There, Origami could be seen standing with perfect posture.
“Ah…”
There were obviously plenty of benches nearby but the fact that Origami had been waiting this
long for Shido and he couldn’t help but feel a stab of guilt for her. However, he couldn’t afford to
show such a reaction. Because Shido had to play the role of a terrible person who hated Origami
for today.
[Right, are you mentally prepared?”]
“I-I am…”
[“Very good—Now let’s get started. The first task is the first contact.”]
Kotori snapped her fingers.
Shido gently slapped his cheeks and continued making his way toward Origami slowly.
At that moment, Origami noticed Shido approaching and turned to face him.
Then…
“—Thank goodness…”
As soon as she spotted Shido, she spoke gently.
“Huh…?”
“I was worried something terrible happened to you…”
“…Eh!”
Shido had clearly messed up here. Not only did Origami not complain about his tardiness, but
she seemed more concerned about Shido’s safety.
[“What do you think you’re doing, Shido? If you start feeling guilty because this, how are you
going end this?”]
“A-Ah… you’re right…”

Shido nodded slightly as he mumbled and then Origami gestured to her outfit.
“What do you think?”
“Huh?”
“Today’s outfit.”
As he heard her ask this question, Shido took a closer look at Origami’s outfit.
She wore a shirt that not only looked nice but felt comfortable to touch, a pleated skirt, a
sparkling necklace around her neck. Her outfit was a stark contrast to Shido’s less than
impressive outfit.
“O-Oh, it’s perfect for—”
[“Hey! Why are you praising her so naturally?”]
“…!”
After hearing Kotori calling him out on his behavior, Shido quickly shut his mouth.
He cleared his throat and shook his head slightly and spoke again:
“No… Well… It doesn’t suit you at all…!”
“…”
Origami glanced down at her outfit silently. While there was no change in her expression, Shido
had the impression that she seemed a little disappointed and lonely.
Origami looked into Shido’s eyes once more.
“What kind of outfit do you think would be best?”
“Huh…? T-That…”
The moment Shido made to answer, Kotori intervened in from his right ear and said:
[“—Wait a minute! Now’s our chance. Deal a heavy blow to her!”]
Kotori finished speaking, she let out a breath with her nose.
Aboard the <Fraxinus>, Origami’s figure was now front and center on the main screen on the
bridge.
There were various values displayed next to her image and a text window placed below her just
like something out of a dating sim.
At that moment, three options appeared on screen:
(1) A tiny bikini with a maid apron.
(2) A sailor suit shirt and triangular sweatpants on the legs
(3) A school swimsuit with dog ears and tail.
“Wow, these are really good choices.”
There was a chupa chups lollipop in Kotori’s mouth and the crimson military jacket draped over
her shoulders as she sat in the commander’s sesat. Her brows were furrowed as she looked at the
main screen.
“—Everyone! Make your choices! Remember that we’re looking for the choice that is the most
disgusting to the girl!”
After Kotori finished speaking, the small display in her hand immediately showed the final
outcome.
Although the competition was fierce… it seemed that the majority had chosen (3).”
“Hmm… It looks like (3) is the most popular choice.”
After Kotori conveyed the option, Shido’s shoulders trembled slightly.
The options that Kotori proposed would make the other party doubt Shido’s tastes.
…However, he still had to answer. Shido gulped nervously and opened his trembling lips and
said:
“…A-A school swimsuit with dog ears and tail.”
Shido gritted his teeth and shut his eyes tightly as he tensed his body as he finished speaking.
…Of course, he was bracing himself for any furiously slaps or punches she’d planned to throw.
However, what actually happened was different from what Shido was expecting. No matter how
long he waited, he didn’t feel any pain from being attacked. He cautiously opened his eyes… It
seemed that Origami’s figure had disappeared.
Maybe she’d gotten so angry that she’d decided to go home.

[“—Wow, that was much easier than I was expecting. Congratulations, Shido. Mission
accomplished.”]
“Y-Yeah… thanks.”
Shido scratched his cheek while dealing with his conflicted emotions.
Anyway, this should have been fine. Origami no longer cared about someone like Shido—
At that moment, Shido was forced to stop thinking.
Because he spotted Origami running towards him from a distance.
—How did she manage to find those? Origami was now dressed in a school swimsuit complete
with dog ears and tail.
“Wha…”
Shido and Kotori said in unison.
However, after Origami reached Shido, she tilted her head and asked casually:
“What do you think of this?”
After she spoke, she turned around in place.
The dark blue fabric covering her pale and slender body and the lovely dog ears and tail
wobbled… It was equal parts cute and vulgar.
However, there was another issue that was of greater concern:
“Where did you get that outfit…”
“There’s a shop nearby that sells these kinds of outfits.”
Origami pointed vaguely in the direction of the nearby street… On that day, Shido discovered
something new about Tenguu City that he desperately wished to forget.
“We should get going.”
Origami turned around and pointed toward the shopping district.
“Uh… that…”
Just as Shido was worried about whether it was really okay to wear such an outfit, Kotori’s voice
sounded in his ears once more.
“…Why didn’t her favorability values fall with those kinds of words? This should have been
simple!”
Kotori leaned back in her seat aboard <Fraxinus> and twirling the chupa chups stick as she
spoke angrily.
“What should we do? Commander…”
“We’ll continue our attack! Come out with some truly awful choices that will make Tobiichi
Origami recoil!”
After Kotori finished speaking, the next set of choices appeared on screen:
(1) “Hey! It’s too arrogant for you, a bitch, to be walking like a human. Get down in front of
me!”
(2) “Ah! I’m so tired! I’m so tired of walking! Carry me!”
(3) “Ugh, seriously, can you stay away from me? You’re disgusting!”
“…Hehe, this is good. Each option is absolutely terrible. Everyone! Your choices!” Kotori’s
personal device immediately showed the outcome results.
“The most popular choice is (1)—Ah.”
“Although these are all words and deeds that make people want to doubt human nature, there’s
no denying that option (1) is particularly awful.”
The crew seated in the lower level of the bridge explained. Kotori nodded in agreement.
“It’s safe to say that if someone like Shido were to say such a thing, they would probably want to
kill him.”
“…”
Somehow, the crew remained silent for a while but Kotori pulled the microphone toward as she
spoke.
“What…”
He heard the instructions from Kotori and Shido wiped his face with a hand… the difficulty had
just increased drastically.
[“Why are you hesitating? Don’t you want her to hate you and leave you? How can you not do
this? Or what? Do you really think you can gracefully handle a relationship with her?”]
“Ugh…” Shido grumbled quietly. Kotori was right, of course. The whole point was to make
Origami hate him and not try to protect her feelings.
Shido glanced at Origami who was walking next to him and slowly moved his trembling lips and
said:
“…You… are a bitch… to be walking at the height of human beings… too arrogant. Get down
on your knees…”
After Shido finished speaking, Origami trembled from her place beside him.
It seemed that this provoked her annoyance. Shido gently clenched his fists in triumph—yet…
“…”
Origami bent down onto her knees without a second thought and sat on the ground immediately.
“W-What…!”
[“W-What…!”]
The Itsuka siblings both watched this and let out surprised voices at the same time.
However, Origami tilted her head suspiciously as she looked up into Shido’s face.
“Aren’t you going?”
“No, uh, that…”
“While Shido was stammering incoherently, Origami nodded as though realizing something and
stood up.
Then she wrapped her hands around Shido’s waist and began to loosen Shido’s belt with a snap.
“W-What are you doing, O-Origami! N-No… d-don’t, s-stop it—!”
Even as Shido let out a feminine-sounding shriek—Origami did not stop as she pulled the belt in
one fluid motion from his jeans.
Then she wrapped it around her own neck and tightened it to serve as a makeshift collar and
leash which she then handed the other end to Shido.
Then…
“Woof!”
She barked out.
The passers-by around them looked at them as though they were witnessing a surreal event.
“…What a pain. To think that they’d be doing such things in broad daylight…”
“Wow, to think that couples like that actually exist…”
“Uh, I feel like I should be recording this…”
“Hey Mom! Why is that Onee-san barking? Is she a dog?”
“D-Don’t look at them…!”
“…”
Shido’s face was now drenched in sweat. He could no longer stop himself as he bowed down and
shouted, “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean for you to actually do it!”
Meanwhile, in the middle of the shopping district.
“Alright, what’s next…?”
Tohka looked down at the notebook paper in her hand and sighed.
The groceries she’d bought so far were in the bag that Shido gave and was almost full to
bursting. But as far as the first errand was concerned, so far it had been going smoothly.
“…Sata Andagi? What is that?”
The foreign words made Tohka frown. Although she didn’t know what it was, it sounded like it
was very important.
—While Tohka looked around for something in search of something similar to this name while
wandering down the shopping district, someone from behind her called out to her.
“Ah! Hey, wait a minute…! Could that lovely girl over there please chat with me?”
“Muu?”
Tohka turned around and spotted a man dressed in a gorgeous suit while sporting the flamboyant
hairstyle she’d ever seen.
Loop
“…This is a pain to deal with…”
Kotori twirled the chupa chup in her hand and groaned while frowning.
It had been three hours since the date started.
No matter how poorly he spoke or how much he confessed to unusual habits, Origami Tobiichi’s
favorability points haven’t dropped a single point… not only that, but occasionally, it seemed to
rise.
On the main display, she could see that they were busy ordering drinks at a cafe counter.
Origami’s expression hasn’t changed at all beyond the usual poker face she always sported.
Incidentally, she’d changed back into her usual outfit.
“Rgh… let’s try another approach…”
At that moment, new options appeared on screen.
(1) Knead her chest suddenly.

(2) Spit in her face.
(3) Lift her skirt.
“If words won’t work, turn to action. Everyone, make your choice!”
Kotori’s display showed the results.
“The one that most people chose was—(3).”
“…Hmm, if you do this kind of thing with a large audience, I guess it might reduce her
favorability a little bit?”
Kotori pulled the microphone toward her as she spoke.
“R-Really…”
Shido swallowed when he heard Kotori’s instructions from the earpiece.
[“Less talking, more action. If we don’t resort to something like this, there’s no way we’re going
to be able to reduce her favorability.”]
“N-No…it’s not right…”
At that moment, Shido was hit from behind by another guest who’d been walking behind him.
He’d lost his balance and fell forward.
“Whoa…!”
Although he tried his best to maintain his posture, there was nothing he could do. He landed on
his face. He was almost certain he’d bruised his nose.
“That hurt…”
[“Well! You did it, Shido!”]
“Huh? What…?”
At that moment, Shido noticed that one of his hands was holding the light and familiar piece of
fabric.
“…”
He suddenly had a bad feeling and slowly raised his head.

As a result, he saw Origami’s slender legs and cute designed undergarments as well as a holster
strapped to her right leg.
It seemed that Shido had accidentally ripped off Origami’s skirt when he fell. Shido’s face
suddenly burst out into a nervous sweat.
“L-Listen to, Origami, this is…”
However, Origami spoke with the same calm as always:
“Do you want to do it here?”
“…! You… What did you just say…!”
Shido quickly fixed her skirt back into its original position.
Origami looked at Shido with disappointment before looking back at the counter again.
[“…That didn’t work either?”]
He could hear Kotori’s increasingly frustrated voice in his ear.
“What… What are we supposed to do now?”
When Shido finished, he figured it was useless thinking that nothing would work. As he put a
hand to his forehead and shook his head—He heard the sound of a beep coming from his right
ear.
[“—Eh, this really troublesome…”]
“W-What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
[“It’s got nothing to do with Origami. …It’s Tohka. I’ve been watching Tohka as she’s been
shopping… It looks like a strange man is talking with her. I can’t tell if it’s a normal
conversation or a solicitation, but I have a bad feeling that this man will cause problems.”]
“Huh…”
Shido frowned.
Because Tohka was not very familiar with this world, there was no guarantee that she wouldn’t
be tricked into something safe by flowery rhetoric.
…But if Tohka got serious, there was no doubt that such a person would disappear in a flash. But
it would be awful if things were to escalate to that point.
“We have to… think of a way…”
[“I know. It would be fine to send some agency personnel to her location… but I don’t want her
to notice things related to <Ratatoskr>.”]
Kotori mumbled as she continued speaking:
[“—Shido, I’ll connect your earpiece to Tohka’s phone. Can you stop her and warn her not to do
such dangerous things?”]
“M-Me?”
[“It would be quickest if Shido tells her. Now please.”]
“Wait!”
Before Shido could protest, Kotori’s voice was gone. Instead, he could hear the sound of a phone
ringing instead.
After a few seconds of waiting, he could hear Tohka’s voice on the other end.
[“Hello?—Are you saying hello? Who?”]
“Tohka? It’s me, Shido.”
[“It’s Shido! Wow! …So we can really talk like this…!”]
Tohka spoke excitedly.
“Tohka, what are you doing right now?”
“Muu… A man I don’t know started talking to me. He is telling me that he wants me to work for
a high salary…”
“…”
Shido’s cheeks twitched in silence.
[“It seems that I can earn a lot of money by doing a simple service. He gave me a beautiful paper
called a business. Can I go work there?”]
“N-No! Refuse him right away! Return that card back to him too!”
Shido couldn’t help but shout.

[“Muu… is that so. Since Shido said so, I’ll do it—Excuse me, mister, I will not do what you just
asked.]
“Whew…”
That was really dangerous. Shido wiped the cold sweat trickling down from his forehead.
Then, at that moment, he spotted Origami standing in front of him with a tray holding two cups.
“Ah…”
“…”
Origami nodded without saying another word as she pushed her way through the crowd and
returned to the counter again.
“I-Is something wrong…?”
“I want to return this.”
“Huh? Uh—you want to return this food…?”
The clerk, forced by Origami’s intense pressure, wore a troubled expression.
Because Shido was shouting loudly, Origami seemed to mistakenly think he’d been talking to
her. Shido quickly called out to her.
“T-That’s not the problem!”
“…? Then is it alright?”
Origami turned his head and asked to confirm. Shido nodded and answered her and said, “It’s
okay.”
However, at that moment—
[“What’s that? It doesn’t matter? —Hey, it seems like it’s okay. Give me that business card
back!” ]
Then he heard such such a voice in his right ear and Shido frantically shouted:
“N-No! You have to refuse him right away!”
[“Muu… I understand.”]
Tohka answered obediently.

“I know.”
—However, after Shido said that, even Origami nodded lightly, then slammed the tray on the
counter, and then pulled out a 9-mm pistol from the holster under her skirt (Shido desperately
hoped that it was just a model gun) and pointed it at the clerk.
“Obviously, you have to accept this return…”
“Huh…? Ah… Huh?”
The clerk was blindsided and the other guests around them looked scared. Shido quickly
intervened to avoid starting a panic.
“No… stop! Don’t do that kind of thing!”
[“Muu… Is that so?”]
Then he heard Tohka’s voice in his ear.
Shido scratched his head and shouted loudly: “Ah Really! You two aren’t helping me out here!”
The time was 3:30 pm.
Tohka, who’d managed to buy everything on the list, decided to take a break on a park bench.
Because today was a day off, the shopping district was more lively than usual, but this park she’d
found across the street was quiet and comfortable which would be the best place to take a break.
Tohka finished off the beverage she’d bought with the pocket money Shido gave her in one gulp
and let out a satisfied sigh.
Then her gaze fell to the shopping bag filled with groceries.
“Umu… Shido will certainly praise me for this!”
Indeed, having completed her errand while also rejecting that man’s invitation at Shido’s request.
Once he gets home, hopefully he would pat her on the head.
“Muu…”
At that moment, Tohka pulled out the list.
As far as the errand was concerned, there is one thing that she hadn’t bought yet.
That’s right, she just didn’t know what it was.
“Muu… what should I do…”

Tohka hugged herself and mumbled to herself as she thought about it. A few seconds later, she
suddenly realized something.
“Oh! For something like this…”
Tohka spoke loudly as she whipped out her phone.
That’s right, if there was something she didn’t know, she could just ask Shido directly.
“Muu… Just now, Shido called me, so I need to look for… call history?”
Tohka placed the phone on the bench, then carefully pressed the buttons with her index fingers
using both hands.
“Ugh…”
It was 3:30 in the afternoon. Shido leaned back against the chair in the cafe.
Of course, they weren’t in the same cafe as before, but a different one instead.
After Origami pulled a gun on the cashier, Shido quickly made a mad dash out of the shop with
Origami and walked down the street for a while—finally, they found this cafe.
[“…Since things have reached this point, we’ll have to rely on this last resort.”]
He could hear Kotori sigh in his ear.
“…The last resort?”
[“Yes. Can you get away from her for a bit?” ]
“…? Oh, sure…”
Shido mumbled that he needed to go to the bathroom to Origami and stood up from his seat and
made his way to the bathroom.
“…So? What’s this last resort you said?”
Since they were already well away from other people, there was no need for them to be quiet.
Shido asked Kotori normally.
[“I think you’ve probably already realized this… But it’s almost impossible to reduce her
favorability. What a terrible monster, I really want to see what’s going on in her brain.”]
“…S-So that’s your impression.”

[“—So, try changing the approach once and see what happens. Simply just do what you’d
normally do.”]
“You mean…?”
[“Shido, you really have to become Origami’s lover.”]
“E-Eh?”
[“Just listen to the whole suggestion through to the end. Which is to say, you break up with her
after having dated her. Tell her: “I want to break up with you. I don’t like you anymore.” Like
that.”]
“A-Ah…”
Shido’s cheeks were drenched in sweat as he moaned quietly.
He took a quick sip of water to moisten his throat and to deal with tension.
—However, after all, he still had to deal with this.
Although it was because of Kotori’s instructions to start, there was no denying that it was Shido’s
fault that Origami believed that they were dating.
But forcing Origami to hate him was too selfish.
Shido liked Origami—he thought that she was a good friend and someone he respected from the
bottom of his heart.
But—no, that’s why.
He felt that it was disrespectful to Origami to continue this relationship with an ambiguous state.
“…I know. That’s why it’s called breaking up, right?”
Shido took a deep breath to calm himself down and then slapped his cheeks several times.
…However, he could hear his heart thumping, his fingers trembling, and he could feel even more
sweat on his face.
[“Just relax… Though I know it’s useless even if I say that. At least, at the critical moment, don’t
mess up.”]
“Ah… yeah… it’s just that… it’s probably for the best.”
[“Are you going to screw it up right now?”]
“Hmm…”
Shido scratched his head uncertainly and coughed to clear his throat.
[“Really… it was for the best to keep you away from her. Practice what you want to say now
before you return to your seat.”]
“O-Okay…”
“—I want to break up. I… I don’t like you anymore. I want to break up. I… I don’t like you
anymore.”
[“What are you talking about… Are you serious?”]
[“—Yes, I want to end our relationship.”]
[“T-This kind of thing, I don’t want it!”]
[“Please forgive me. I no longer have feelings for you…”]
[“You… Do you hate me…?”]
“Yes, I hate you.”
Then—
Shido suddenly felt that something was off and tilted his head in confusion.
Why did he have the feeling that he was responding to someone very smoothly?
“Shi…do…”
At that moment, Shido finally realized that the sound from his right ear was definitely not Kotori.
There was no way he could mistake that familiar voice—it was Tohka!
[“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”]
“F-For goodness sake…what happened to Tohka…!”
It seemed that as Tohka was crying, Kotori’s voice suddenly cut in:
[“—You idiot! Why didn’t you disconnect the line first?!”]
[“S-Sorry…!”]
He could hear the voice of one of the male crew members aboard the <Fraxinus>.
However, before Shido could figure out what had happened, a loud explosion could be heard in
the distance and the building began to shake. THe walls creaked loudly and pieces of building
material fell from the ceiling.
“What…! T-This is—!”
For one wild moment, he thought it was an earthquake, but… it wasn’t that…
The shock was like a bomb exploding somewhere.
[“It’s Tohka! It looks like her mental state has drastically decreased! Her Spirit powers are
flowing back into her at an incredible rate!”]
“W-What did you say!”
[“Umm… it’s our fault. Because I forgot to close the line connecting you to Tohka, the moment
Tohka called you, he was talking to her again!]
As Kotori finished explaining loudly, there was a startling noise outside the shop.
He could hear screams everywhere coupled with the frantic footsteps of people running all over
the place without knowing where to go.
“Then…W-What should I do?!”
[“The only thing that can be done now is to reassure Tohka! Tell her that you hadn’t meant any
of what you just said!”]
“R-Right…!”
Shido quickly put his hand on the earpiece and shouted:
“Tohka! Can you hear me! Tohka!”
However, she didn’t seem to hear him or respond. There was another explosion and the store’s
walls began to shake again.
[“I-It’s no good! Shido, you have to find Tohka immediately!”]
“But Origami…”
[“There’s no point worrying about her right now! Get moving! She’s at the park across the street
from the shopping district!”]
“I-I got it…!”
Shido clenched his fists as he rushed out of the cafe.
It seemed that the streets were disturbed by the sudden event. He could hear screams and other
such loud noises all around him and the pedestrians all seemed to be running in the same
direction.
Almost immediately, Shido understood the reason why: because, from the direction where the
park was located, he could see smoke rising continuously.
“Is…Is that…!”
Things were worse than he’d expected. In order to avoid the crowds, Shido rushed toward his
destination as fast as he could via the alleyways.
Fortunately, the cafe where he and Origami were was not far from the park where Tohka had
been taking a break.
…But considering the danger of running into Tohka by pure chance during their date, it wouldn’t
have been very lucky.
“…!
—At that moment, Shido felt his phone still in his pocket vibrating.
It could probably be from Tohka. He didn’t slow down as he pulled his phone out of his pocket
to answer it.
However, instead of Tohka, it was Origami on the other end of the call.
[“—Shido, where are you?”]
‘Origami. I’m sorry. Just give me a little bit of time—”
Before he could finish speaking, he heard another explosion and rubble fell just in front of Shido.
“Whoa…”
Shido just barely managed to dodge the rubble and continued to run.
He mentally apologized to Origami for what he’d done but now was not the time to talk. He
tossed the phone back into his pocket and picked up his running pace.
Then—
“Wha…”
Shido finally reached the park and stared with wide eyes.
In a corner of the large park, there was a large hole as though the result of a crater caused by a
meteor.
It looked just like the spatial-quakes caused by the Spirits when they appeared in this world.
He could make out the figure of a girl squatting on the ground and her shoulders trembling from
time to time.
“T-Tohka…!”
Shido shouted as he ran forward, stumbling across the uneven ground.
At that moment, Tohka finally noticed Shido’s presence. Her shoulders shook as she faced him
timidly.
“S-Shido…”
She called out his name, her face wet with tears.
“…!”
Shido felt his throat squeeze tightly, making almost impossible to breath but nonetheless, he still
shouted:
“W-What I said before, I didn’t mean any of it!”
“Huh…?”
After hearing what Shido said, Tohka’s expression turned to one of stunned surprise.
Then her gaze turned contemplative for a moment as she wiped her tears with her sleeve before
facing Shido again.
“R-R-Really?”
Then she gazed carefully into Shido’s face as he replied.
“Yes… that’s right.”
“Y-You don’t hate me…?”
“W-What? Of course I don’t hate you! How could I ever hate you?!”
“R-Really! Then… so, we can still be together?”
“O-Of course!”
“Can we be together forever?”
“Ah… Yes, we’ll always be together!”
Although it was a little sloppy, he still promised her. But first things first, he had to help her calm
down. Shido nodded while responding as loudly as he could.
Tohka sniffled as she stood up.
“R-Really…? U-Umu, that’s what I thought!”
Tohka seemed to be genuinely relieved from the bottom of her heart and showed the shopping
that’d fallen aside (and for some reason was unharmed despite all the damage) to Shido.
“M-Muu…? I managed to do all of the shopping!”
“O-Oh! That’s amazing, Tohka!”
“Hee hee hee!”
After Shido finished speaking, Tohka smiled proudly.
But at that moment, he could hear Kotori’s voice in his ear once more:
[“Whew… Good job—Although, I really wish I could say that, you should probably get out of
there first.”]
“Huh…?”
After hearing what Kotori said, Shido frowned… However, he immediately understood what
she’d meant.
He could hear the sound of fire trucks and patrol cars nearby. If they stayed in that area, things
would only become more troublesome.
“T-Tohka, let’s get out of here!”
“Muu…? Oh, I understand.”
After Shido finished speaking, Tohka nodded obediently.
“Whew…”
Long story short, it seemed that they managed to avert a full-blown crisis.
Shido left the park with Tohka and was finally relieved.
“What happened? Why are we going so fast?”
“It’s hard to explain.”
Shido explained while chuckling weakly to an uncertain Tohka.
But a few seconds later, Shido froze in place once again.
The reason why was obvious. He didn’t know when Tobiichi Origami appeared before Shido
“…”
“…! O-Origami…?”
“Muu…”
Shido could feel his whole body tremble at the sight of her while Tohka crossed herself
unhappily. This was hardly a surprise considering that Tohka and Origami hated each other.
However, it seemed that Origami was doing her best not to let her disgust for Tohka show on her
face.
Actually, it was more accurate to say that she only had eyes for Shido. While her expression
remained the same, her gaze bellied her undying passion that he’d never seen before.
“O-Origami…? Is there something wrong?”
Although Shido said this, he suddenly had a bad feeling much like the one he’d had before
spread through his body.
Almost immediately, it seemed that his suspicions had been confirmed: he watched Origami
move forward without so much as a change in her expression and reached out to embrace Shido
tightly.
“W-What do you think you’re doing!”
Tohka rushed forward to break Origami’s grip.
However, as Tohka tried harder to break Origami’s grip on Shido, Origami’s embrace only
tightened.
Then she spoke quietly:

“—Together forever…”
“W-What…!”
It seemed that Origami heard what Shido said as he frowned.
“Hey… let go of him! He said that to me! The person he’s going to be together with forever is
me!”
“—That’s not possible. He clearly said that to me.”
Tohka finally managed to get Origami to let go of Shido as they continued to bicker.
Then, Shido had another bad feeling as he pulled his phone which he’d carelessly thrown in his
pocket in his rush to get back to Tohka.
He glanced down at the screen… and immediately realized that he was still talking to Origami. It
seemed that he’d never hung up when Origami called him.
Yoshino Fireworks
One night in summer, Shido Itsuka was in the kitchen preparing dinner as usual.
“Shido, what’s for dinner tonight?”
A girl’s voice sounded out from the living room. Turning to look in that direction, he found the
girl whose long hair was as dark as night as well as crystal-like eyes—Tohka was currently lying
on top of a yoga ball and looking towards the kitchen. Although she lives in the apartment next
door, she would occasionally enter the Itsuka residence to join them for lunch .
“Nn, it’s slightly hot today. I’ll make cold soba then.”
“Oooh!”
When Shido just finished his sentence, Tohka’s eyes started to sparkle. After putting all of her
weight onto the yoga ball, she made use of its rebound to stand up.
“Are there any pink colored noodles in there?”
“There are, and there are green ones too.”
“Wh-what did you say…”
Tohka showed an expression as though she was a clergy member who had received a message
from the heavens, and her hands trembled. What an emotional person. Shido smiled bitterly as he
continued.
“So, can you go and tidy up the table for me first?”
“Nn, nn! Leave it to me!”
Tohka enthusiastically replied, and hastily cleared the newspapers and magazines that covered
the table. It looks like she had discovered something in the midst of cleaning up.
“Nn?”
Her hand stopped, and she made a curious sound.
“Hm? What’s the matter?”
“Umm, Shido, what is this?”
Saying that, she opened up a flyer. Printed on it was a picture of massive fireworks and related
information of a fireworks festival being held nearby.
“It’s a fireworks festival. So the time has come for this, huh?”
“Fireworks?”
Tohka widened her eyes and tilted her head to one side. The same time as Tohka made that
posture, the door to the living room opened suddenly, following that a petite figure walked in.
Since the only one that would enter without pressing the doorbell, other than Tohka and his
parents who are overseas working, was his little sister Kotori, Shido spoke while rhythmically
chopping the onions.
“So you are finally back. Dinner is about to be ready so you should hurry up and change—”
Shido stopped speaking after he turned around. The girl who had walked into the room was
different from whom Shido had expected. She seemed to be just over ten years old. A light
colored one piece dress clothed her snow white skin, she hid her blue hair using the wide brim of
a sun hat. An oddly designed rabbit puppet was worn on her hand.
“Yoshino?”
After Shido called out her name, Yoshino revealed her sapphire-like eyes from below her hat, as
though trying to affirm Shido’s presence. Those were a pair of beautiful eyes that a human
couldn’t possibly have. That’s right. She—along with Tohka, strictly speaking, are not humans.
They are lifeforms known as “Spirits” that are specially designated calamities. Even so, their
powers are currently being sealed, and as a result, they are not that dangerous anymore. In truth,
Yoshino, who is under <Ratatoskr>’s protection, is currently living in the living quarters of the
airship, learning the necessary information for her to successfully integrate into human society.
“Go-good evening… Shido-san, Tohka-san.”
“Aha— long time no see Shido-kun. How have you been doing? Have you constantly spent
sleepless nights by yourself thinking about Yoshino?”
After Yoshino respectfully lowered her head, the puppet that was worn on her left
hand—[Yoshinon] opened its mouth and gave out a cheerful voice. Due to the difference in their
tone and personalities, Shido couldn’t help but smile bitterly. Although it looks like
ventriloquism, strictly speaking, that is not the case. [Yoshinon] is a second personality that
resides within Yoshino, but she does not control what it says; at present, Yoshino was covering
[Yoshinon]’s mouth with a reddened face.
“I’m… I’m sorry…”
“Mm—! Mm—!”
Yoshino felt apologetic as she lowered her head once more. [Yoshinon], on the other hand, was
struggling to break free. It was adorable to see them like that, and Shido couldn’t help laughing.
“It’s alright… Do you need something, Yoshino?”
Shido questioned, Yoshino on the other hand jumped slightly.
“A-about… that is…”
Yoshino seemed to be hesitant in speaking out, letting her eyes wander around, however she
seemed to have come to a conclusion as she parted her lips.
“Y-you are still a… coward I see, Shido… You should be feeling honored instead… Look at you,
such a penniless, classless, useless nerd… I will grant you… your reason for existing. Tomorrow
night… take me… to the fireworks festival. Such a task… even a flea like you who has evolved
to a level nearing that of humanity… should be able to accomplish, right…?”
Yoshino stuttered, saying words that she’d normally never say.
“Wh… wh-what’s the matter, Yoshino?”
Tohka frowned in confusion as well, drops of sweat trickled down her cheek. However Shido
had a different reaction. After the side of his face twitched, he slowly raised his head.
“…Hey, you rascal.”
“…! S-sorry, sorry, sorry…! B, but…”
Yoshino bowed her head to indicate her apology from the bottom of her heart. But Shido was not
blaming Yoshino at all. He only threw a sharp glance behind her—glaring at the door that
Yoshino had opened before. As expected, Kotori, who was shaking from trying to control her
laughter, was standing there observing the turn of events.
“Kotori! What are you trying to add into the oasis in my heart!”
“…So you are trying to say that you want to go see the fireworks festival?”
After getting Kotori out from peeping behind the door, Shido spoke while sighing. He was told
that Yoshino wanted to see the Fireworks that she read in books with her own eyes very much.
—She wanted to take the chance and use her Dating Right with Shido, consulting Kotori about
the matter.
“That’s right. I remember that there’s a fireworks festival at Tenbagawa tomorrow? You should
bring her there.”
The girl whose long hair was tied up using black ribbons—Kotori spoke while sitting on the sofa
with a haughty attitude. Explaining the so-called “Dating Right”, it is referring to the right of
possessing Shido for an entire day, Yoshino obtained it from a certain competition. Of course
Shido’s protests were left unheeded… But more importantly it was because the situation could
potentially escalate if the right was handed to anyone other than Yoshino from his protests, so
there was no other choice other than to silently agree.
“If that was the case then can’t you just let her say it out normally. What were you trying to make
Yoshino do?”
“Well, if we didn’t put it like that, it would be useless against Shido who is as dense as a block of
wood… So what is your reply?”
“I’m not really against it or anything…”
Shido glanced at Tohka who was sitting by the side. Since she was the person that was most
interested in this activity. After hearing Kotori talk about the fireworks festival, her cheeks
faintly blushed, the two balled up fists were trembling as well. … In other words, she was
controlling herself.
“Ha…!”
At that moment, it seems like she noticed Shido’s stare, Tohka’s shoulders gave a jolt.
“Is-isn’t that gr-great? Such a rare chance… The two of you should enjoy yourselves to the
fullest.”
Although Tohka said that. Tears could clearly be seen from the corner of her eyes, it was obvious
that she was forcing herself. Sweat formed on Shido’s face, turning to look at Yoshino. Yoshino
too was making a similar expression as well.
“Umm… Tohka-san, if you are willing… do you want to come with us?”
“! Re-really?!” After Yoshino said that, Tohka couldn’t help but stand up—but she quickly shook
her head forcefully as though trying to persuade herself.
“No… I can’t. This date belongs to the winner Yoshino. If I were to join you, then it wouldn’t be
right.”
Tohka twirled her fingers as she spoke. Looking at her miserable state, Kotori couldn’t help but
shrug.
“Alright alright, we’ll let Reine bring Tohka there. There’s no problem as long as you two move
separately right?”
As Kotori finished speaking, Tohka’s expression brightened in an instant.
“! Uu… Well, if you all want me to go that badly, then I guess there’s no helping it!”
Looking at Tohka, Shido and Yoshino looked at each other and smiled bitterly.
The next day, Shido waited for Yoshino near the statue whose form is still up to one’s
imagination to find out at the nearest station from the fireworks festival. The time as of now was
not 6pm yet. There’s still about an hour till the fireworks festival starts, however the figures of
tourists have already filled the exterior of the station. Among them were tourists with the
intention of touring the game stations, there were a number of people carrying packages of
takoyaki or yo-yo balls who entered the station.
“Although I’ve already expected this… there sure are a lot of people here.”
“What are you still hanging around for? We’ve just sent Yoshino over, she should be heading
there soon, the two of you better meet up successfully okay?”
As though replying to Shido’s monologue, Kotori’s voice sounded into his right ear. Although
Yoshino’s mental state has stabilized, he still put on the earphone on <Ratatoskr>’s request just
in case.
“—According to the rules, we will not be giving you any instructions today, but there are
<Ratatoskr>’s crew members on site as well. So feel free to ask if anything comes up.”
“I understand.”
“Well then, we’ll leave Yoshino to you.”
Saying that, the conversation with Kotori ended. After affirming this fact, Shido started to look
around in order to search for Yoshino. And then.
“I’ve, I’ve made you… wait.” “Ooh—, we’ve made you wait Shido-kun.”
A familiar voice sounded out from somewhere near him, Shido turned his gaze downwards.
“…!”
Shido involuntarily widened his eyes due to seeing a scene that had totally exceeded his
expectations. Yoshino was not wearing the usual one piece dress, but a pale blue kimono. She did
not wear her sunhat as well, in its place she used hair clasps to hold her beautiful hair in place.
All of that complemented Yoshino’s doll-like features, exuding an incomparable beauty. Shido
was instantly rendered speechless, staring at her figure.
“Shido… san?”
“! Ah, sorry about that.”
Brought back to reality after hearing Yoshino’s hesitant voice, he looked around as an excuse for
his behavior just now. However Yoshinon who has the same hair clasps as Yoshino started to
snicker.
“Ayaya—? Don’t tell me you were in a trance over Yoshino’s kimono? Ah—, isn’t that great
Yoshino. It wasn’t a waste in getting Reine to help out.”
“Gu…”
“Yo-Yoshinon…! You, you shouldn’t say such things. Shido-san, wo-wouldn’t…”
Yoshino hastily held Yoshinon’s mouth, turning to look at Shido.
“Well… I do think that you are beautiful.”
Yoshino’s face instantly flushed red.
“Th-that, that is…”
Probably not expecting to really be praised by Shido, Yoshino waved her right hand about in a
panic, making attempts of hiding her own expression with the brim of her hat. However what
Yoshino has on her head at present was not the sunhat but hair clips shaped like flowers.
Yoshino used her hand to cover her face before removing them and repeated the process a few
times, before lowering her head in confusion as to what expression she should make. The two of
them silently faced each other with reddened faces, and although it was the perfect moment to
interrupt, Yoshinon chose to just stay there with a sly grin.
“We, we, we, well then… let’s not just stand here, shall we go?”
“!Y-yes…! Then I’ll be in… your care.”
After Shido spoke, Yoshino respectfully bowed her head showing an extremely panicked
expression.
“Nn, let’s walk this way.”
Saying that, he started to walk in the direction of the river, however Yoshinon’s voice called out
to him.
“Oi oi Shido-kun. There’s so many people here and you’re just going to walk along ahead?”
“Eh?”
After turning around to look, he finally realized what was going on. Not only was the current
Yoshino wearing a kimono, she was also wearing clogs that she was not used to wearing.
“You’re right, I’m sorry. Since we still have time, let’s walk over slowly.”
“Tsk tsk tsk. That’s not the problem, Shido-kun.”
“Eh?”
“Hurry up, Yoshino.”
Saying that, Yoshinon lightly hugged Yoshino’s reddened cheeks. Yoshino grit her teeth as she
still had a look of panic on her face, making a sound after her determination was set.
“U, um, Shido-san.”
“What is it?”
“I… Today, I used the right to date… with Shido-san.”
“Nn, that’s right.”
“So… Today is, the.. the date that I have with Shido-san…”
“Well, that is the case.”
“That, so, about that… it’s okay if you refuse… if you don’t want to.”
Yoshino timidly extended her right hand.
“Ca-can… you please hold my hand?”
Saying that, she looked at Shido’s face. It seems that Yoshino had made an extremely large
resolution when she said that, the corner of her eyes were slightly wet, her lips were trembling as
well.
“Oh. Of course we can.”
Shido, who was moved for a moment, after putting on a calm, nonchalant expression, he took
Yoshino’s small hand. Possibly frightened by the sudden touch, Yoshino’s shoulders gave a jolt.
“! I’m sorry, did I scare you?”
“N-no… I’m alright.”

“I-is that so. Well then—let’s go.”
“Alright…”
Yoshino hid her stunned expression as she deeply nodded her head. On the other hand, Yoshino
was saying,
“You did great. That’s a good girl.” As it stroked her head. Although it wasn’t the first time he
had held a girl’s hand… But he was feeling exceptionally nervous for some reason. At that
moment—
“…?!”
Suddenly feeling that they were being watched from somewhere, Shido turned his head and
looked at his surroundings.
“Shido-san…? Is… something wrong?”
“Nothing… I think I was just being paranoid.”
It could be due to the fact that he was holding hands with such a beautiful girl, he had drawn the
jealous gaze of a passer-by. After taking a deep breath, Shido gently held the fingers that felt as
though they would break under the slightest pressure, slowly moving forward.
After following the flow of the crowd for fifteen minutes, they could see the various lights of the
stalls on both sides of the path. Yakisoba, takoyaki, cotton candy and various food stuff that one
would usually find at the stalls aside, there were stalls displaying water balloons, goldfish
scooping, shooting galleries, mini-sized sculptures and prizes from lotteries. Although there
wasn’t much difference between the stalls, business was booming.
“Waah…”
Yoshino widened her eyes, exclaiming in wonder.
“It’s really… amazing.” “It sure is rowdy here—.Then again, what is this place for? Can we buy
fireworks here? And can we light one and let it go?”
Yoshinon tilted its head in confusion, Shido on the other hand could only smile wryly in
response. If everyone here lit a large firework on their own, that would definitely be an amazing
scene.
“That’s not correct, they’re going to light the fireworks on the other side of the river. They only
sell food and toys here.” “Eh? What’s that got to do with a fireworks festival?”
“Uuh… I, I don’t know myself…” “Hn—. Looks like there seems to be some difficult
philosophical question of life hidden within all this—”
Yoshinon seemed to have understood something as it kept nodding with folded arms. Shido’s
face showed a cramped smile, turning to look at Yoshino.
“Is this Yoshino’s first time seeing these stalls as well?”
After Shido inquired, Yoshino nodded her head rather excitedly.
“I’ve seen them in books before… but this is the first time that I saw the real thing.”
“Is that so?”
She had such a happy expression on her face, it was worth bringing her to watch the festival after
all. Shido smiled as he checked the time on his handphone.
“There’s still some time till they let off the fireworks, let’s walk around.”
“! Can… I?”
“Of course, this is also part of the fireworks festival. Do you have anything you’d like to eat or
have? Let me treat you.”
“Th-then I’ll…”
Yoshino looked around, frantically glancing at the stalls around her.
“Ahaha… I’m sorry. Let’s just look and see first. ”
“Ah, al-alright. I’m really sorry…”
Yoshino nodded her head, tightly holding onto Shido’s hand. Weaving through the crowd,
Yoshino suddenly stopped.
“Nn? What’s the matter Yoshino?”
“Shido-san… What is that?”
Saying that, he turned to the left. ‘…” And then, Shido froze wordlessly in place. In that
direction a shooting gallery was located. There were ten guns that fired corks displayed, inside
the gallery there were several targets placed there. There would not be a problem if that was the
only thing they saw. It’s a shooting gallery that is not much different from the others. However
that would only be the case if the shooting target was not a half naked man wearing a mask that
looked eerily familiar.
“Aaah… Hurry! Someone hurry up and shoot me!”
“Keep your mouth shut, Kannazuki. It’s your disgusting fault that everyone is keeping away
from here. If you really want someone to blast you to pieces that much then shut your mouth and
wait there. Or don’t tell me you are unable to accomplish that? It seems that replacing you with a
doll as a target would be the better choice huh?”
The owner of the stall sternly chided. Isn’t the owner a little too young to be manning a stall…
Upon a closer look, isn’t that just Kotori in a disguise?
“Ku-Kuuuuu, but this is really making me impatient…!”
The man let out a frustrated sound while still tied onto the rack. … No matter how you look at it,
he was <Ratatoskr>’s vice-commander as well as the vice- captain of the aircraft vessel
<Fraxinus>—Kyohei Kannazuki. The surrounding people kept their distance, every stall was
doing well except for this one. Shido grabbed his head. Although he had already heard that
someone from the organisation had already infiltrated, however…
“Why is it like this?!”
“…?!”
Frightened by Shido’s sudden cry, Yoshino jumped for an instant.
“Ah, so, sorry about that.”
“It’s nothing… , but, that… Shido-san, what is that?”
“Yoshino, let’s go to another stall.”
“Eh, but…”
Shido forced Yoshino to leave with him without saying another word. It wasn’t just because he
did not want to let Yoshino continue watching that scene… but it would be disastrous if Yoshino
were to be tainted from their bad influence. At that moment, Yoshino seemed to have discovered
another object that had caught her curiosity. She stopped walking and asked Shido.
“Um, then, Shido-san, what is… that?”
“Hm?”
What Yoshino had seen was the stall that sold crushed ice. Countless glittering ice fragments
flew out of the massive machine.
“It’s beautiful…”
“Yeah, that’s crushed ice. A block of ice is shaved into small pieces before eating with syrup
added to it.”
“Is it food?”
Yoshino widened her eyes with surprise. Ahh, if one were to look at it without prior knowledge,
it would be simply too beautiful to call crushed ice food.
“That’s right, it’s good. Would you like to try it?”
“…!”
After Shido asked, Yoshino nodded her head in agreement.
“Then… what flavor would you like?”
Shido held Yoshino’s hand and walked to the store, asking her that question after looking at the
board which had strawberry, melon and more flavours stated on it.
“I’ll leave it to you.”
“Eh? Then, I’ll get a…”
The same time Shido looked at the menu, he looked at the person manning the stall. … Speaking
of which, he seemed to have seen this man onboard <Fraxinus>, in the end Shido chose to ignore
such issues. For all he knew, most of the stalls in the festival could be manned by the staff
members of <Ratatoskr>. An overprotective and extravagant support mission as usual.
“Excuse me, one Blue Hawaii please.”
“Coming right up!”
The man used practiced movements to make a big mountain of ice in a cup, handing it over after
colouring it with a layer of blue syrup. Shido did not order Blue Hawaii because it was
recommended (it was more like, even Shido himself had no clue what exactly was this flavour),
he only thought that the sparkling blue colour suited Yoshino extremely well. Shido took the cup
after paying, passing it over to Yoshino.
“This is for you”
“Th-thank you very much…”
Yoshino asked [Yoshinon] to help hold the cup, using a plastic spoon to scoop the blue ice, after
scrutinizing it for a while, she placed it into her mouth.
“—!!”
Her eyes widened in surprise, after looking left and right she looked up into Shido’s face, patting
his body with an excited expression. However her shoulders quickly gave a jolt, showing an
expression that was full of apology.
“I’m sorry, I’ve been a little…”
“Haha, did you like it?”
As Shido asked, Yoshino vigorously nodded her head.
“It was cold, and sweet at the same time… But it was different from ice cream… amazing. This
is a revolutionary taste…”
Saying that, Yoshino proceeded to eat the crushed ice with big scoops.
“Ah, hold on. If you eat it too quickly…”
“…Nn.”
Too late. Yoshino had a bitter expression on her face as she rubbed her forehead.
“There’s a sharp pain in my head…”
“Eating chilled food too quickly will cause that. It’s called brain freeze.”
“This headache has such a delicious name…”
Yoshino squeezed out her words while tightly closing her eyes. At the same time a sharp voice
sounded out from within the crowd.
“—Oooh! Reine, I want to eat that next! What is that?!”
“…Regrettably, goldfish can’t be eaten.”
“Hm, is that so? I thought they were to be eaten raw too…”
Voices that they have heard before. Shido, Yoshino as well as [Yoshinon] turned their heads at
the same time.
“Eh, that was…”
“Tohka… san?”
[Seems like it—] That’s right. Standing right there was Tohka in a kimono along with Reine who
was taking her out to play while in a kimono as well. On a side note, Tohka’s right hand was
holding a massive stick of cotton candy, in between the fingers on her left hand were a toffee
apple, chocolate banana, dried squid and more foodstuff.
Furthermore both her wrists were wearing glowing bracelets and the side of her head had a
hero’s mask. One could say that it was a look that fully showed that she was enjoying this
festival. Tohka’s kimono was on par with Yoshino… However, due to her playful appearance,
Shido couldn’t help but laugh.
“Hey—, Tohka—”
Shido called out Tohka’s name, Tohka on the other hand raised her eyebrows in surprise as she
looked at Shido and company.
“Hm? Ohh… If it isn’t Shido and Yoshino… huh—”
Tohka, who was about to wave to them, suddenly jolted, swiftly hiding herself behind Reine’s
back.
“…? Wh-what’s wrong with her…”
“Hm—, I think Tohka-chan does not want to let Shido-kun see her in her current appearance?]”
“Gh… Who knows.”
It doesn’t seem like Tohka would be the kind of person who would care about such details. Shido
tilted his head in confusion, leading Yoshino over to Reine.
“Good evening, Reine-san. What’s the matter with Tohka?”
“…About her huh,”
Reine shifted her body slightly, exposing Tohka who was hiding behind her. Tohka’s shoulders
jolted as she panicked, eating the cotton candy in her hand in a single bite, she used her free right
hand to put the mask on.
“What are you doing, Tohka…”
“Ha, hahahaha! Tohka? Who’s that? My name is Daizu Anpanman! I’m a superhero that gives all
starving children in the world delicious soy bread to eat!”
What a confusing hero character indeed. Reine stroked Tohka’s head as she spoke.
“…Well, I think she probably wants to avoid interrupting your date in her own way.”
“Ahh… So that’s how it is.”

Shido and Yoshino looked at each other for a while, lightly nodding their heads. Although Shido
and Yoshino did not mind, they couldn’t very well let Tohka’s good intentions go to waste.
“I see, then we’ll make a move first. —We’ll leave the peace of the earth to you then.”
“Ah, Shido…”
Just as Shido was about to leave, Tohka made a sound as though she did not want him to leave.
“Hm?”
“! I, it’s nothing! Leave it to me!”
“Haa… I was almost seen through. Luckily I bought a mask just now.”
Tohka placed her hero’s mask to one side, letting out a relieved breath. It was really dangerous
just now. If Tohka didn’t have a sudden stroke of inspiration, she would have interrupted Shido
and Yoshino’s date. Although Tohka wanted a date with Shido very much, watching fireworks
together. However, she felt that she would like to wish Yoshino—who had splendidly beaten
Tohka and Origami—well.
In addition, Tohka knew full well of the pain brought about when someone barges into
someone’s date. That’s why she had made her decision; she would definitely not interrupt the
date between Shido and Yoshino today.
“…Hmm?”
Just at this moment, Tohka suddenly frowned. The reason for that was simple. That’s because a
girl that she was acquainted with had appeared in the crowd. Using a pale purple sash to fix her
white kimono, she was a girl with a slender figure. With hair that barely touched her shoulders,
she had a face that was devoid of emotion. Isn’t that—
“Tobiichi Origami…? W-why is she here?”
That’s right. Tobiichi Origami was Tohka’s and Shido’s classmate as well as Tohka’s natural
enemy. Tohka narrowed her eyes in suspicion, noting that Origami was looking at the backs of
Shido and Yoshino, increasing her pace as she intended to follow after them.
“! You, stop right there!” Tohka cried out, using her right hand to grab Origami’s shoulder. If
Tohka were to let Origami do as she likes, the date would definitely be ruined.
“…, Tohka Yatogami. Why are you here.”
Origami turned around, glaring at Tohka unhappily.

“That’s my line! What are you trying to do!”
“That’s none of your business. Let go of me.”
“I’m not letting go of you! I’ll not let you ruin their date!”
Tohka yelled out, Origami’s eyebrow twitched.
“A date. So it was a date?”
“Yeah. So you shouldn’t interrupt them. Since you know that now then you should—don’t ignore
me!”
Tohka noticed that her arm was pushed aside, she quickly ran in front of Origami.
“Move aside. I can’t bear to see Shido fall into the evil clutches of a Spirit.”
“Clutches? Yoshino is a nice girl. How can you—”
“You know nothing. A girl like her is the most terrifying of them all. Behind that obedient face
of hers hides an extremely lewd nature. By acting innocent and weak, she triggers the male’s
urge to protect her; she would then devour him once she manages to trick him to her side. She’s a
woman that is as terrifying as those deep sea fish or rafflesia.”
“W-what nonsense are you saying? Yoshino would never do such things!”
“It’s useless trying to explain it to you. Move aside. If I were to let them escape into the
darkness, Shido’s chastity would be in danger.”
Each time Origami tried to slip past Tohka’s side, she would be blocked by Tohka. The two of
them were locked in a stalemate just like that, glaring at each other just like that.
“…Ladies. What would you two say if I propose that you two settle this with a match?”
Reine’s voice sounded out from behind.
“Hm?”
“…Murasame-sensei?”
Origami frowned in suspicion. However Reine paid no heed, she slowly pointed towards the
stalls on the side. It looks like a shooting gallery. There was no sign of the owner anywhere, only
a notice with the words [I’ll be right back. Do use it as you like. Owner] was present.
“…You two will use 30 bullets each, the one who has the higher point wins. The loser obeys the
winner… How’s the rules? Is it clear enough?”
“Hm… Alright, I’ll take her on!”
It was easy to understand indeed, Tohka nodded her head in agreement.
“I don’t see the point at all. I don’t have time for this.”
However Origami did not seem to agree, she turned around and tried to leave. However, Tohka
stood in her path once more.
“…You wish to get rid of this stalemate as soon as possible right? Tohka will obey you as long as
you win the match. —Or are you saying that you don’t have the confidence to win against
Tohka?”
Reine provoked Origami. After hearing that, Origami narrowed her eyes.
“What’s this, and I was wondering why you didn’t accept the match, so that’s how it was.”
Tohka nodded her head with an understanding expression, Origami on the other hand walked
past Tohka, taking up the air rifle from the shooting gallery.
“Where’s the target?”
“Hm, why are you so full of energy now?”
Seeing Origami enter a battle state, Tohka ate the candy apple, chocolate banana and the squid
that was in her left hand in a single mouthful. … The smell of squid mixed with the sweet taste
was not delicious at all. However she did not have the time to care about that. Leaving the trash
to Reine, Tohka stood beside Origami and raised her weapon.
“It’s alright as long as I use this huh? Well then, let’s star—”
However after looking at the target inside the stall, Tohka froze. For some reason there was a
half-nude male wearing a mask that was tied to the rack, several circles indicating targets were
drawn on his body. On a side note, the place that had the highest points was the 100 points on his
loincloth.
“T-this is…”
Cold sweat started to form on Tohka’s face, following that she noticed a petite figure within the
stall.
“Hm?”
Peering further inwards due to curiosity. In the end she discovered Kotori who was in a kimono
and hiding under a futon.
“Kotori…? What are you doing here?”
“! Aahh… Tohka. Um, I don’t really wish to see her right now…”
Saying that Kotori peeked at Origami who was currently aiming at the targets.
“Hm?”
Just as Tohka tilted her head in suspicion, Origami readied her rifle, calmly pressing down on the
trigger with practiced hands.
“—Aha?!”
The cork flew out of the barrel and hit the loincloth directly. The target let out a pained but
excited cry.
“…A 100 on the first try huh. —Hm, take something from the prizes worth 100 points then.”
“Can I really take it like that?”
“…Yeah, the owner of the stall and I go way back. I was asked to look after this stall just now.”
“Is that so?”
Saying that, Origami let out a sigh with a relaxed expression.
“Guu…”
Tohka frowned, returning to the stall after parting from Kotori. Imitating Origami, she readied
her rifle and pressed the trigger. After letting out a [Pon!] sound, the bullet hit the target’s chest.
“Aha!”
“…Hm, the right nipple is—20 points huh. The prize is a fireworks set for children.”
Saying that, Reine entered the stall and took out a flat squared box that looked totally different
from the [fireworks] that she had heard so much about. However, that was meaningless to Tohka
right now. At present, she was feeling extremely frustrated at herself for getting a lower score
than Origami Tobiichi.
“Uoh…”
Just as Tohka was grinding her teeth in frustration, the target let out another strange cry. It seems
that Origami has scored 100 points once more.
“How… How can I lose!”

Tohka readied her rifle once more, pressing the trigger after aiming The time was 1850 hours.
There was still light when they were at the station just now, but now it was completely dark. The
cool air, faint sounds of insects as well as the starry night sky that one would never be able to see
in the city, it could be said to be a wonderful place to be to watch fireworks.
There is still 10 more minutes till they start firing the fireworks. Shido and Yoshino walked
around the stalls in order to find a good viewing spot, walking towards the river.
“Are you alright, Yoshino?”
Shido voiced out as he held Yoshino’s hand tightly. That’s right, that’s because the fireworks
were about to be set off, the human density present in the location significantly increased. This
situation is just like the huge sale in the new year or the morning rush hour.
“I’m, fi… ne”
[Aha, we-su-re-ar-e-be-ing-squ-ee-zed-here.]
Listening to Yoshino and [Yoshinon]’s voice, he followed the flow of the crowd to the wide
riverbank.
“Aha… it sure is crowded here.”
“T-that’s right…”
[Oh my—. It’s the first time since Kotori-chan placed me in the washing machine that I’m
feeling so messed up—]
Shido lightly stretched as though he was looking up at the sky. Due to the clouds blocking the
moon, the sky was pitch black. It was an excellent day to set off the fireworks. He patted
Yoshino on the shoulder, pointing towards the riverbank.
“Look, they are going to set off the fireworks from there.”
“F-from over… there?” [Eh—, where—?]
Saying that, [Yoshinon] looked out.
“It’s right there. See, that—”
Saying that, Shido suddenly felt a sense of dread. —At the sleeve of her kimono, Yoshino’s left
hand can be seen.
“Eh…?”
Shido rubbed his eyes, looking at Yoshino once more. But that wasn’t his imagination.
“…? Is something the matter?”
[What’s wrong—.Ah, don’t tell me you want to go to the washroom? How could you Shido-kun,
you should have went before that—]
Yoshino raised her head, following her movements, her left hand went up too. That’s right, the
place where [Yoshinon] was supposed to be, yet there was no sign of the puppet at all. Shido
widened his eyes. It probably got squeezed off just now with the crowd.
That being said, [Yoshinon] is not really the puppet that was doing the talking but the second
personality within Yoshino. If Yoshino were to believe that she was still wearing the puppet,
would she realize that the puppet had fallen off? However Yoshino followed Shido’s gaze
towards her own left hand—
“Ha…”
Yoshino started panicking, as though her throat had something stuck in it.
“…!…!”
Letting out a silent cry, she frantically looked around. However there was no sign of [Yoshinon]
anywhere. Yoshino’s face turned pale, tears started to form as she let out an expression of
despair. That’s correct, Yoshino was timid in nature as well as slightly anthrophobic. If she didn’t
have her best friend [Yoshinon] by her side, she would mentally break down from being overly
stressed out.
If a Spirit’s mental state were to be unstable— Suddenly, a warning sound went off inside
Shido’s ear. Kotori’s voice followed soon after.
“Shido? Yoshino’s mental state is becoming chaotic. What on earth is happening?!”
“Ah, aaah—Actually Yoshinon got—”
However there was no time for him to explain, Yoshino’s sobs entered his other ear.
“Uu, ah, ah…”
“H-hold on! Calm down, Yoshino!”
“Uwaaaa, aa, aaaaaah…!”

Shido’s cries did nothing to solve the problem, huge tears flowed out of Yoshino’s eyes. And at
the same time. —The place where the fireworks festival was to be held, a massive downpour
started to fall.
“I’m very… sorry, Shido-san…”
Inside the shrine near the river, Yoshino faintly voiced out dejectedly. Her neatly tied hair was
now drenched in rain, her soaked kimono tightly clung onto Yoshino’s skin. Her snow white skin
that could be vaguely seen through the kimono, made her seem extremely lascivious.
“You don’t have to mind it!”
[That’s right—, Yoshino didn’t do anything wrong. It’s Yoshinon’s fault for being too playful.
I’ve made you worry—, I’m really sorry.]
Saying that, the puppet on Yoshino’s left hand stroked Yoshino’s head. They were fortunate that,
under the assistance of the staff members of <Ratatoskr>, they swiftly located [Yoshinon]. It fell
to the ground just now due to the movement of the crowd, there were still footprints on its face
but it’s a good thing in itself that no further damage was found.
However, due to the rain just now, the fireworks festival had no choice but to be suspended.
Yoshino was originally a Spirit that controlled water and chill. When her powers are present, as
long as she appears, there will be rainfall. Although, with her powers sealed, she is now able to
live a normal life—but so long as her mental state became unstable, the sealed powers would
start to go back to her.
The result… would be like this. Due to the fact that [Yoshinon] was successfully found, the rain
stopped, however it remains uncertain whether the fireworks would be set off. Yoshino felt
extremely guilty due to the trouble she had caused everyone, her shoulders sank.
“I’m really… sorry…”
“I’ve already said, you don’t have to mind.”
Despite saying that, Yoshino still lowered her head in guilt. At that moment, [Yoshino] clapped
its hands as though it just thought of something.
[Really now—. It’s all ruined thanks to Yoshino—. You saw everyone’s disappointed faces
right—.]
“Ah, auuuu…”
“Hey, you don’t have to—”

However [Yoshinon] ignored Shido and continued.
[Yoshino—, Kotori-chan taught you before, right? What should bad kids do?]
“Eh…?”
[Kids who do bad things must—?]
“That… be, be spanked…”
[That’s right. Spanking will cause you to reflect, so that you won’t make the same mistake in
future—]
“Nn… nn.” After Yoshino replied, [Yoshinon] quickly turned its head. [So that’s how it is.
Shido-kun, you will spank Yoshino!]
“Ha… Haa?!”
Shido couldn’t help but shout, frantically waving his hands in protest.
“No no no. Even though people often say that, no one would do it in reality right?”
[Eh—. But Kotori-chan would often spank Kannazuki when he makes mistakes right? She uses a
whip too.]
That was easily imaginable. Shido’s face twitched, he supported his forehead with his hands.
[That’s why. Yoshino is the same. If we were to let her off so easily, she would make the same
mistake over and over—. Is that okay with you—?]
“Well…”
Yoshino bit her lip, standing up and used her hands to support herself on a nearby pillar.
“I-I beg you. I… don’t want to let Yoshinon, and Shido-san feel troubled… anymore.”
Yoshino said with a panicked face, raising her behind.
“E-even if you two are right…”
[We’re going to stay like this if Shido doesn’t make a move—]
As Shido was hesitating, [Yoshinon] smirked and spoke. Yoshino nodded her head as though she
had made her decision.
“Ugu…”
It has already led to this, Shido now has no way to reject them. Shido walked to Yoshino’s back,
raising his hand high.
[Ah—, wait a second.]
Just as Shido was about to lightly… swing his hand down, [Yoshinon] stopped him. Shido on the
other hand let out a sigh of relief. Looks like [Yoshinon] did not really wish for him to spank her
bottom, but it just wanted Yoshino to take the opportunity to be a bit more courageous.
However, Shido quickly realized how naïve his thinking had been.
[You—can’t—. You have to spank her directly on her butt.]
Saying that, [Yoshinon] rolled up the corner of Yoshino’s kimono, showing her behind to him.
And for some reason Yoshino was not wearing any underwear underneath her kimono.
“Wh?!”
“…!”
Shido glared in outrage, Yoshino on the other hand was trembling as though she had a seizure.
“W-why aren’t you wearing any underwear!”
“That’s because… R-Reine-san said… that kimonos were supposed to be worn like this…
Tohka-san too…”
“Tohka as well?!”
Despite Shido’s yells, [Yoshino] did not pay attention at all, it started to make a rhythm by
clapping.
[Come on, let the first one fly!]
“Shido… san. This position is embarrassing… so please hurry…”
“! Aaah… I don’t care anymore!”
Shido apologized to the gods enshrined inside the shrine as he swung his hand down.
‘Pata!’
A clear sound echoed within the silent shrine.
“Kya…!”
[Another one!]
‘Pata!’
“Aah…!”
[The last one!]
‘Pata!’
“Aaah…!!”
After a total of three hits, Yoshino’s body trembled, she let out short rapid breaths. Although he
did not use much strength, due to her skin being pale, there was an obvious change in colour.
“A-are you alright, Yoshino…”
“Y-yes…”
Yoshino weakly replied to Shido, hastily rearranging her kimono.
“About that… I’m really… thankful. I-I will pay attention in the future,”
“Oh, um…”
A mysterious sense of guilt assaulted him, Shido awkwardly replied while scratching his face.
Looks like Yoshino had reflected fully on this. … Well, even if she didn’t get spanked, I guess
she would reflect on her mistake anyway.
However—if her feelings of disappointment have not yet disappeared… looks like it hasn’t. Her
face still showed signs of regret.
Just as Shido was deep in thought, he suddenly let out a shout.
“Yoshino, Yoshinon. I’ll be back soon, can you wait for me here?”
“…? Alright, I understand…”
[Hm— Where are you going Shido-kun? Ah, don’t tell me you are really going to the toilet this
time?]
“Well, I’ll leave it like that.”
Regarding [Yoshinon]’s question, Shido waved his hand and replied, lightly jogging to the
location where all the stalls were at. Although there were still quite a number of people, a portion
of the visitors left early due to the sudden downpour, the path became easier to walk. Shido
looked left and right, looking for that specific item.
“Gah… so it isn’t here huh. Looks like I have to go to the nearby convenience store…”
Just as Shido was scratching the back of his head.
“Hey you! That was definitely cheating! You got to play by the rules!”
“I did not cheat. The rules did not state that we can only use a single rifle. Furthermore my
current score is 10 times yours, there’s no need for me to cheat.”
“You, what did you say?!”
A familiar squabble came from the direction of the shooting gallery. Turning his head in that
direction, he discovered Tohka and Origami were shooting at each other with air rifles. Their
stomachs had targets on them.
Somehow, it was slightly different from what Shido knew about a shooting gallery.
“Tohka… and Origami. What are you two doing?”
“Hm?”
“—Shido.”
After Shido spoke, Tohka and Origami turned to face him at the same time. Tohka hastily
attempted to use her mask to hide her face, but she quickly found out that Yoshino was not
beside Shido, she tilted her head in wonder.
“Shido? Where’s Yoshino?”
“Aaah… She had something to do.”

Shido gave her a half-hearted response, moving his gaze elsewhere. He soon discovered the
small mountain of candies and toys piled up at Tohka and Origami’s feet.
“…What’s all this?”
“Hm? Aah, this. These are all prizes from the gallery. Wonderful isn’t it! There are no more
prizes, so we had to settle this with a frontal battle.”
“You only had a small part of the prize. Eighty percent of this belongs to me.”
“W-what are you saying?!”
Saying that, the two of them entered battle once more (that being said, but they had to refill their
ammunition each time they fired, so it was still considered peaceful).
Shido showed a bitter smile as he witnessed the scene—but he noticed something amongst the
prizes that Tohka had won, so he called out to her.
“Um, Tohka.”
“Nn? What is it?”
“I have a favour to ask of you…”
“What is the matter with him… Shido-san.”
[Hm—, that’s true—. It should be because of that right? Because he saw Yoshino who was
drenched and couldn’t control his desires anymore? He didn’t have to go and settle it himself,
cause Yoshino here is already ready—.]
“Y-Yoshinon…”
Hearing [Yoshinon]’s voice, she raised her head to the sky. At this point, the pitch black night
sky entered her vision.
—If there were fireworks exploding across the sky right now, what a beautiful sight that would
be.
“I wanted to… watch fireworks together with Shido-san…”
She looked to the stars and mumbled to herself. Footsteps came from in front of her as though
responding to her words.
“Hey, Yoshino.”
“! Shido-san…”
Yoshino’s shoulders gave a small jolt, looking to her front.
“The words I said just now, did he hear them?”
she threw a questioning gaze to [Yoshinon], it shrugged its shoulders as though saying [Who
knows?].
“Sorry, I’ve kept you waiting.”
“It’s alright… but… where did you go?”
Yoshino asked in wonder, Shido smiled as he raised the object in his hand.
“Look at this.”
“Fireworks set… for children. —Fireworks?”
Yoshino widened her eyes. That’s right. The square box in Shido’s hands did have those words
written.
“Wait a while.“
Saying that, Shido opened the plastic box, took out something similar to paper sticks, and passed
one of them to Yoshino.
“This is…”
“Well, you’ll know soon enough. … Gah, I remember that I did place it somewhere around…”
Shido took out a lighter from his pocket, lighting up Yoshino’s paper stick.
“Eh…?”
Yoshino, who did not have a clue as to what Shido was doing—quickly widened her eyes in
surprise. The end where Shido lit the fire, started to shoot out golden fireworks with crackling
sounds. It was different from what Yoshino read in books, it was a small light. However they
were still fireworks nonetheless.
“It’s so pretty…”
[Oh—, it sure is—]
“I know right? This is known as incense-stick fireworks. Well… they are incomparable to the
ones in the sky though.”
Haha, Shido said while laughing. Yoshino on the other hand vigorously shook her head.
“That’s… not true. This one is… beautiful.”
And then, from the front—in the direction from where Shido had come from, footsteps could be
heard once more.
“Shido! Yoshino!”
The owner of the footsteps belonged to Tohka. She even forgot to disguise herself as she hastily
ran over.
“Oh, Tohka. Thank you for your fireworks. Yoshino liked it very much.”
“That’s great. But, I got good news. It seems that they’re about to restart the firework
performance!”
“Eh…?”
Just as Yoshino voiced out. A whistling sound echoed out from nowhere… as though it came
from a whistle— Following that came an explosive sound, a massive flower bloomed in the sky.
“Oooh! It’s started! I’ve got to go. I’ve passed the message to you!”
Saying that, Tohka left in a panic. Looks like she really came to just pass the message.
“Haha… She really is busy.” Shido lightly smiled, turning to look at Yoshino.
“Isn’t that great, Yoshino. Well then, let’s walk to the river then. We’ll be able to view it much
clearer from there.”
Saying that, Shido attempted to stand up. However, Yoshino shook her head.
“Here, it’s better.”
“Eh?”
Shido made a surprised expression. Yoshino continued to stare at the crackling incense-stick
firework as she opened her mouth and spoke.
“I… prefer the fireworks over here.”
Saying that, Yoshino’s cheeks turned red. [Yoshinon]’s face—slowly turned red too, but it was
uncertain if it was due to the glow of the fireworks.
Kotori Birthday
“—Commander Itsuka! Happy birthday to you!”
A deafening sound echoed out the instant Itsuka Kotori entered <Fraxinus>’s bridge, party
poppers were repeatedly fired off. A resounding applause followed, and a trolley cart that had
cake loaded on it was also pushed in.
“…Seriously, you guys.”
Faced with such a heartwarming scene, Kotori lightly sighed. Twin ponytails tied with black
ribbons, a young girl who wore an iconic crimson leather jacket. She is without a doubt the
youngest person in the room, however her actions and speech hinted at the authority of a leader.
“What are you guys doing so early in the morning…”
As Kotori uttered that line, the crew members voiced their disapproval.
“Today is our commander’s fourteenth birthday! How can you continue to work on such an
important day!”
“I heard that the commander is already holding a party at her house this evening, so we can only
celebrate now!”
Although today is the third of August, which happens to be Kotori’s birthday… It somehow feels
that they had gone slightly overboard.
“…Well, there’s nothing bad about it. Everyone just wants to wish you well; that’s all.”
Reine Murasame, who was standing on her left, spoke. Kotori could only reply
“Nn…” as she began to stutter.
“Of course, I did not say that we could not celebrate. That is, I… I don’t really dislike this.”
Looking at Kotori who replied with an unsteady gaze, the crew members began to get excited.
“It’s here! The commander’s dere expression!!”
“Thank the gods! Thank the gods!”

A tall man who was standing behind the crowd
—Kannazuki stepped out.
“Happy birthday to you, Commander. Being able to meet the commander in person on such a
memorable day, I can’t feel thankful enough for this moment!”
Kannazuki made a movement as though he was trying to hold back his tears as he continued.
“As such, we have prepared a special gift for you this year!”
“…A special gift?”
As Kotori asked in surprise, the rest of the crew members hastily ran over to cover Kannazuki’s
mouth.
“Why are you saying this out of the blue!”
“We still have to keep this a secret?!”
“Ah, that, that is true…”
Kotori glared at the crew with a gaze of suspicion.
“…What are you guys plotting?”
“Ah, that is… Hahaha.”
Just as the crew was intending to laugh it off, Reine raised her head as though she just thought of
something.
“…Speaking of presents, Kotori, Shin seems like he still hasn’t decided on what to give you yet,
you could ask him to get something that you want. Why don’t you try and ask him?”
Although it seems like she was saying that just to draw her attention away from the topic…
There’s not much meaning if she tried to get to the bottom of it right now. Kotori turned to face
Reine. At the same time, Kotori heard the crew members heave sighs of relief.
“That sort of thing, I can’t think of anything if you ask me that all of a sudden.”
“…Then how about we change that to something that you want him to do for you?”
“Eh?”
Looking at Kotori’s suspicious face, Reine held up a finger.

“…For example, today you will be dere towards your onii-chan and the like?”
“W-why did it become that way! I don’t want to be dere towards him!”
“…”
“W-what is it?”
“…Nothing. Well, if you put it that way then we’ll leave it at that…”
Saying that, Reine turned back and sat down in her own seat, getting back to work. After
momentarily staring at Reine’s back without a sound, Kotori clapped her hands.
“Alright alright, hurry up and get back to work.”
The crew members immediately returned to their workstations.
“Really now.”
Kotori sighed as she played with her fringe.
“…That kind of thing, how is it possible for me to say it…”
“Oh, oooh…! Shido! What is this moving thing called?”
Tohka Yatogami pointed at the display window in front of her, enthusiastically crying out.
Night-colored long hair and a perfect face. She was a girl whose beauty was just as described.
What she saw in front of her was a thin saucer-like automated cleaning machine that was
currently in operation. It truly was moving around in a cute manner. However, Itsuka Shido
merely sighed, after which he placed his hand on Tohka’s shoulder.
“Tohka, do you remember today’s mission?”
“Nn? Nn, of course I remember! It’s to buy something to celebrate Kotori’s birthday!”
Tohka nodded exaggeratedly. That’s right, Shido and Tohka at present were at the shopping mall
located in front of Tenguu Train Station in order to search for Kotori’s birthday present.
“That’s correct, so you understand right? At the very least Kotori won’t be happy if that gets into
her hands. Perhaps I would feel happier if I got that.”
“Then Shido should get it!”
“That’s not the point…”
“That…”
Just as Shido was in conversation with Tohka, a voice called out from his back. Turning around
to look, standing right there was a small girl who was wearing a straw sunhat whose left hand
had a rabbit puppet on. She was Yoshino, who tagged along in order to help Shido search for
Kotori’s birthday present.
“Shido-san, what do you think… of this?”
Saying that, Yoshino used her right hand and the hand that had the puppet on to pass a box for
Shido to look at. Inside the box was an exquisite white tea set.
“Ohh… I see, I think that it’s a great idea, Kotori likes to drink red tea after all.”
Hearing Shido say that, Yoshino’s face became red due to embarrassment.
“Oooh… I get it now, so that would be more suitable! Then I’ll—”
Shido stopped Tohka who seemed like she had realized something and was about to run into the
mall.
“You can’t, she’ll feel awkward if she receives a similar present from multiple people, right?”
“Uuh… is that so. Then, Shido, what do you want to give her?”
“Eh? I…”
Being questioned, Shido was rendered speechless. It was not because he had to keep it a secret
till the party, it was also not something that is embarrassing to say when said out loud. It was
simply because he still has not thought of what to get for her. It was not that Shido was clueless
about what Kotori would want that would make her happy.
However, once he considered that it was a birthday that happens only once a year, it became hard
for him to make a final decision… As a result, he is still unable to decide on a gift even on her
birthday itself.
“Nn…”
Shido used his hand to support his chin, closing his eyes and tried to picture Kotori in his mind.
—After that,
“—Ah, now that you mention it…”
Shido opened his eyes, as though recalling something.
“…Where’s Kotori?”
“She just returned home.”
Kannazuki swiftly replied to Reine’s question. At the same time, the crew members in the bridge
showed battle-ready expressions, awaiting instructions at their own work stations. That’s right,
the 3rd of August has just begun.
“Everyone, are you all ready?”
“Yes sir!”
At the same moment the crew members replied as one, the main screen at the bridge displayed
the image of the Itsuka residence. Shido and the others were happily preparing for the party.
“Alright then, next up is the main point, let me reconfirm the battle plan. First of all—”
Kannazuki briefly ran through the plan for the final time. Just as Kannazuki had finished his
explanation of the battle plan, He suddenly threw a suspicious look behind him.
“Nn?” “What’s the matter?”
“Was there someone over there just now?”
The crew members turned their heads around at Kannazuki’s words, but there was no one there.
“No one’s there. Are you thinking too much?”
Kannazuki scratched his head and tilted his head in confusion.
“…Uh.”
Reine turned to look at the door, using her hand to support her chin as she did so.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”
A warm cheer resonated at the dining table of the Itsuka residence. The table was full of dishes
that Shido made, with a huge strawberry cake in the center. 3rd August, Thursday.
It was Shido’s sister—Kotori Itsuka’s fourteenth birthday. Seated right inside was the person of
the day Kotori. Seated on the two sides were Tohka, Yoshino, Shido and Reine.
“I already did say that it would have been better if you guys had kept it simple…”
Saying that, Kotori, who was seated at the birthday seat, slowly blushed crimson. It could be
because Kotori was constantly fidgeting, but her two ponytails that were tied together with black
ribbons seemed to be happily waving about.
“…Happy birthday. This has the best wishes of everyone onboard <Fraxinus> in it.”
Reine passed over a simple square box to Kotori.
“Thank you… So, this was the special present mentioned previously?”
“…Why don’t you guess?”
Reine started to purposely avoid making eye contact, Kotori in turn stared at Reine’s face with a
suspicious expression. However, that expression was swiftly replaced with another expression.
“Kotori! Happy birthday!”
“Happy birthday, Kotori-san!”
[Congratulations!]
Tohka, Yoshino and [Yoshinon] passed their delicately wrapped presents to Kotori.
“T-thanks…”
Kotori turned her eyes away, seemingly embarrassed, but accepting the presents. Looking at
Kotori acting this way, Shido’s facial expression relaxed unconsciously. Kotori seemed to have
noticed that fact as well, her face blushed an even deeper shade of red.
“Ahaha… sorry sorry. About that, happy birthday, Kotori.”
Saying that, Shido gave his present as well.
“…I guess I have to say thanks to you as well.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“…Can I open them now?”
Kotori looked at everyone as she asked. Tohka, Yoshino and [Yoshinon] eagerly nodded their
heads in agreement. However Reine stopped her.
“…Kotori, can you open my present after we all go back?”
“Eh? It’s not like I can’t, but…”
Kotori inclined her head to the side in confusion, placing Reine’s present that was in her hands to
one side. Seeing that, Shido raised his volume.
“Ah—If it is possible, can my present be opened when everyone goes home as well?”
“Shido, you too? I can… but the way the two of you are acting, have you planned something?”
“No, there’s no planning whatsoever…” Shido stuttered as he replied. How to say it, Shido
somehow felt that it would be embarrassing if it were to be exposed in front of everyone. It was
embarrassing to the point where he had to get Tohka and Yoshino to wait outside when he bought
it.
“Uh… Well, it’s fine. Then I’ll open Tohka’s and Yoshino’s first.”
Tohka, on the other hand, excitedly leaned forward over the table.
“Hey Shido, can we start eating?!”
Tohka pointed to the dishes on the table, her eyes shining as though she couldn’t wait any longer.
“Nn… shouldn’t we wait until Kotori opens the presents?”
“Is that so? We should normally open presents first huh… sorry Kotori, I’ve been rude.”
After Shido gently reminded Tohka, Tohka immediately apologized to Kotori as though she had
just realized something.
“It’s alright, let’s eat first.”
After Kotori waved her hands and said that line, Tohka’s expressions immediately brightened.
“Really?!”
“Of course.”
Kotori nodded her head in agreement. Tohka then turned to face Shido, and since the star of the
day had already said there’s nothing he could do about it, Shido too nodded his head.
“Oooh, then I’m digging in!”
Tohka said it as such, happily putting her hands together with a
’Pa!’
Approximately three hours passed. Once everybody had tasted the delicious food, drank tea from
the teaset that Yoshino and [Yoshinon] had bought and played the board games that Tohka had
given, it was finally time for Tohka to return to the building next door, and for Yoshino and
Reine to go back to <Fraxinus>.
“Nn, then I’ll see you tomorrow, Shido.”

Tohka yawned with a “Haa”
“Alright, remember to bathe and brush your teeth.”
“Nn!”
Tohka nodded her head in agreement before wearing her shoes and opening the door.
“…Well then, we better be going now.”
“Good night…”
[Seeya!]
Following behind Tohka, Reine and the others slowly made their way to the foyer. As though
replying to their words, Kotori waved to them.
“Nn, see you tomorrow.”
After that Tohka and the others waved their hands in return and closed the door with a
’Patan.’
Only when their footsteps faded from earshot did Shido stretch and relax.
“Well then, I guess I should hurry up and finish clearing things up.”
Saying that Shido returned to the living room and started to clear the remaining utensils left on
the table. Kotori on the other hand seemed to be avoiding Shido’s line of sight as she sneaked to
the corner where the sofa was and started to fiddle with something.
“Kotori? What are you doing?”
“! Don’t mind me!”
“…?”
Despite his confusion, Shido merely tilted his head and continued to clear the utensils. After a
while Kotori stood up, walking towards the dining table in the living room. For reasons
unknown, Kotori looked slightly different from before.
“Alright… Next up is…”
Kotori stood in front of the dining table, forcefully stuck her head out in an unnatural manner.
And so at that moment, one of the black ribbons that Kotori used to tie her hair fell off and
happened to land on the cutlery.
“Uwah!”
Kotori hastily fished her ribbon out.
“Ah, it’s dirty…”
“Oi, oi… here, let me see.”
Saying that Shido extended his hand towards Kotori. However, Kotori suddenly took a step
backwards just as Shido’s hand was about to touch her.
“I’m going to change a ribbon since it can’t be helped.”
“Eh? About that, although you should change one, you should at least soak it in water first…”
“I’ll be back soon, wait for me!”
Kotori did not listen to Shido’s words till the end, running off to the corridor.
“Well… Since it was black anyway, the stain shouldn’t be that obvious.”
Saying that, Shido noticed something out of the ordinary just now. Now that he recalled when
Kotori came over from the corner of the sofa her ribbon seemed to have already been loosened.
“It can’t be…”
Just as Shido was in deep thought, Kotori suddenly pushed open the door to the living room and
came back.
“Oniichan!!”
—It was the highly expressive Kotori who had changed into white ribbons. From her
expressions, Kotori became reasonably gentler, her speech became the same as that of how girls
her age should be. If people who aren’t aware were to see this, they would probably think that
she was (black ribbon) Kotori’s twin sister.
“Kotori…?”
He frowned whilst feeling that something was odd… but then he decided that it was unavoidable.
Kotori only has that single pair of black ribbons. To Kotori, the act of [changing ribbons] had an
even deeper meaning compared to changing clothes. When she wears white ribbons, she was the
Kotori that was as sweet and innocent as her age group would imply. When she wore black
ribbons, she was the Kotori that was the tough commander of <Fraxinus>. It was precisely
because of these two distinct personalities, that Kotori was able to possess a [strong self] and
undertake cruel missions.
“Alright, let’s clean up! Clean up!”
Kotori seemed to be happy as she rolled up her sleeves and brought the cutlery to the washbasin.
For a second Shido was left in a daze, but that was quickly changed to that of a bitter smile. That
was because ever since Shido started interacting with the Spirits, situations where Kotori was in
commander mode has been increasing, so it was kind of refreshing for Shido to see the original
Kotori.
“Onii-chan? What’s the matter?”
Kotori used a questioning glance to look at Shido. Shido on the other hand waved his hand from
side to side in an attempt to cover it up and continued to walk to the washbasin. At this moment,
Kotori seemed to have remembered something, looking towards the present which Reine had
given her that was left on the chair.
“They did say that we should open it once everyone went back right? So it should be alright if I
open it now?”
“Nn, open it then.”
When Shido said that, Kotori immediately used a refreshing American-style method to tear the
wrapping open.
“What’s inside?”
“It… looks like a DVD of a movie.”
“A movie? Is it self-produced? Just like [A great leader and rare revolutionary—Comrade Kotori
Itsuka and our footsteps] or something like that.”
“It can’t be! Although I’ve never seen it before, it looks like the kind that is commonly sold on
the market.”
“Eh… That’s odd.”
Shido shrugged as he put on his apron. Thinking about the crew members of <Fraxinus> who
loved Kotori so much, he was kind of expecting a unique present. Shido began to wash the
dishes as he pondered. Following that, a low hum sounded from the television, it seems that
Kotori had started watching that movie.
“Hey hey, you’re watching it now?”
“It’s alright, it’s alright, it will end in two hours or so. Presents are rarely given, it’s better to
finish watching it today.”
“…Really now, be sure to bathe immediately after watching it.”
“I know!”
A single hand rose from the sofa. Shido went back to washing the dishes. However, a few
minutes later.
“Waaaaaaaaa?!”
At the same time a loud sound was emitted from the television speakers, Kotori began crying out
loudly as she escaped into the kitchen. For good measure, she hugged Shido’s waist and hid
behind him.
“Waa! Wh, what’s with you…”
Shido lowered his gaze, looking at Kotori who was tightly grabbing onto the corner of Shido’s
shirt, Shido felt his shoulder tremble from her shaking. Shido frowned as he looked towards the
screen of the television—and soon found out the reason for this situation. Shown on the screen
was a horde of terrifying zombies, it looked like it was a horror movie. It seems that he has
become absent minded recently, he just remembered that Kotori was weak towards stuff
involving horror.
“Really now, Reine-san… don’t tell me she has no idea that Kotori is terrified of such things…?
Alright then, I’ll turn it off for you, so you can let go now.”
Shido said as he wiped his hands on the apron, however Kotori shook her head while trembling.
“N… No need. I want to finish it.”
“I say, aren’t you really afraid of these kinds of things? You don’t have to force yourself…”
“…This was selected by everyone for me, so I have to finish watching this.”
Saying that, Kotori raised her head. Judging from her expression, it looks like she does not wish
to let down the <Fraxinus> crew.
“…Well then, um, all the best.”
“Nn…!”
Kotori vigorously nodded her head, walking towards the living room. … For some unknown
reason, she was still pulling on the edge of Shido’s clothing.
“I still have to wash the dishes…”

“…Uu…”
Kotori suddenly made an expression as though she was about to break down in tears, Shido
sighed as though it can’t be helped, took off the apron and walked towards the living room along
with Kotori.
“…What’s the situation?”
After sending Yoshino back to her room, Reine, who had returned to the bridge of <Fraxinus>
questioned the crew with a low voice. “The commander has started to watch the movie.
Furthermore it looks like we have succeeded in making her feel frightened.
“…But she is still watching it, correct?”
“That’s right, there is no sign of her stopping, it seems that she intends to finish watching the
movie.”
“After all, the commander did say that she would never do any rude acts such as carelessly
handling presents…!”
“Nn… how wonderful, commander…!”
The crew wiped their eyes while being extremely touched.
“However, it was really a stroke of luck, we didn’t expect her ribbon to be changed. It was as
though it was destined!”
“…Just a coincidence, huh?”
“Is something the matter?”
“…It’s nothing.”
After Reine returned to her seat, she looked at Kotori and Shido who were shown on the main
screen.
“…Honestly, we should let Kotori do what she wants occasionally.”
Reine manipulated the controls as she said that, and a complicated route map was shown on the
screen.
“…Two hours from now, we will start Phase Two of our battle plan. Make preparations.”
“Understood!”
The crew members replied to Reine’s orders with raised voices. On a side note, looking at the
vice-commander who was originally supposed to give the orders— Kannazuki.
“Ah, that expression is excellent, commander! But the S commander is also…!”
He was alone while immersed in his delusions. The two hours were… lacking in comfort. Due to
the screen repeatedly showing monsters from the movie, coupled with the fact that a sudden
telephone ring would cause Kotori to squeal aloud and grab Shido’s sleeves tightly, or bury her
face into his side. The movie finally ended with much effort, his sleeves seemed to have been
stretched quite a fair bit.
“Haa… Haa…”
Kotori’s eyes were red due to the circulation of blood, she rested her head onto Shido’s shoulder.
Through the bodily contact Shido was able to feel her rapid heartbeat as well as her damp body
due to sweat.
“Look, it’s already over. There’s no need to be afraid anymore.”
“Nn, nn…”
After taking a deep breath, Kotori finally released Shido’s hand. However—At that instant.
“Eh…?!”
Suddenly, all the lights in the room went out, causing the loudest wail of today to cry out.
“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!!”
“Uwah! Ca-calm down, Kotori!”
Perhaps she panicked due to the sudden turn of events, in the pitch black darkness, Kotori
pounced on Shido. Shido gently patted Kotori’s back attempting to calm her down, at the same
time he took out his handphone as a form of illumination.
“Is it a power trip…? I’ll go and take a look, so can you stay here and wait for me…”
“I dun wadda!” (I don’t wanna)
Kotori said using a voice that was on the verge of breaking down, hugging him tightly.
“There’s no helping it then… Let’s go and take a look together.”
“Au—”
Shido stood up, with Kotori tightly gripping onto his hand. Using the weak light for illumination,
they slowly moved from the corridor to the circuit breaker.
“Eh… There’s nothing wrong with the circuit breaker. Don’t tell me it’s a power outage?”
“Eh? Ehh…?!”
Probably thinking that everything would be alright once they arrived here, Kotori couldn’t help
but cry out.
“T-then what should we do…?”
“Well… I guess we’ll have to make do until the power comes back on again.”
After Shido said that, Kotori’s eyes widened in horror.
“No… No way…! Absolutely not!”
“Even if you say that, there’s nothing I can do.”
Shido scratched his head feeling troubled. However Kotori, whose body was quivering like a
small animal raised her head as though she had just thought of an idea. “T-that’s right! Onii-chan,
let’s go to the <Fraxinus>!”
“Ahh, you’re right. We still have that option.”
Not even waiting for Shido to finish his sentence, Kotori took out her earphone and put it into
her ear.
“…He, hello! It’s Kotori Itsuka, is this Murasame-san?!”
Kotori seemed to be in panic as she spoke through the earphone.
“Ah, Reine! Can you immediately bring the two of us—Eh?”
Kotori was midway through her words when she stopped and turned to look at Shido.
“O… Onii-chan…”
“Wh.. What’s the matter?”
“T-that is… she said that there’s something wrong with the transfer unit… it will only be fixed
tomorrow morning…”
“Ah, is that so?”

Shido frowned as he replied. Reine and the others just made use of that not too long ago… can it
really happen in such a short time span? Although he was not sure of the exact details, if they
were unable to make use of the transfer device, then they would be unable to enter the ship. It
seems that they couldn’t use that plan.
“…Let’s go back to the living room, then.”
“Uu… nn…”
Kotori made an uneasy sound, following Shido’s back as she held his hand tight. Shido carefully
made his way through the pitch black corridor. When they arrived at the entrance of the living
room, Kotori suddenly stopped in her footsteps.
“? What’s wrong, Kotori? Aren’t you going in?”
“Gah… um.”
Kotori looked embarrassed, she rubbed her thighs together as she lowered her head and twisted
her body.
“I… I need to go to the washroom…”
“Ha? Oh, then you should go then.”
You don’t have to explicitly voice it out… just as Shido was contemplating that, Kotori shook
her head with a degree of force that one might worry that it would fall off.
“H-how can I go…!”
“You can’t hold it in for an entire night…”
“Uu… uuuu…”
Kotori frowned and raised her head, after taking a look at the dark corridor, she swiftly conveyed
her thoughts to Shido using eye contact, there’s just no way she can do it!
“B-bring the toilet bowl over…! I’m going to do it here!”
“Idiot! How can I bring that over!”
“T-then I’ll settle for diapers, hurry up and give it to me!”
“You should just go—”
Just as Shido started to speak, the doorbell rang.

“Eek…?!”
Kotori’s body gave a violent jolt and pounced on Shido, lowering her head and fidgeting.
“Uu, uuu… I think it came out a little…”
“Eh?”
“N-nothing at all!”
Although there were many things that he did not understand, he couldn’t very well leave a visitor
outside unattended. Shido walked towards the entrance dragging Kotori along with him.
“I’m coming, who is it…”
After opening the door, standing outside was a tall male carrying an enormous cardboard box
with his cap worn at the eyebrow level.
“Good evening. This is a package that was sent to your house.”
“You are still delivering… at this time?”
“Yes! Do use it immediately!”
Shido tilted his head. That voice feels familiar somehow.
“Don’t tell me you are, Kannazuki-sa—”
“! I’ll just leave this here then!”
“About that… don’t you need me to stamp it…?”
But the man left, just as Shido was midway through his words.
“What in the world is going on here…”
Shido stared at the door for a while before shutting it, looking at the cardboard box. After
moving it to the corridor, he tore the tape and opened it. Inside the box was a duck-shaped urinal
for infants and diapers.
“T-this is…”
“!! H-hurry up and give that to me!”
Kotori yelled out, taking out the urinal from the cardboard box, squatting over it.
“H-hold on a minute! If you are going to do this it is going to be wrong on so many levels?!”
“I’m already at my limit here…!”
Kotori yelled as though she had run out of options, using her hands to hold her abdomen. Shido
couldn’t help but sigh lightly.
“I understand. I will follow you then.”
Saying that, Kotori hesitated for an instant before nodding her head.
“Nn… Thank you, Onii-chan.”
Kotori said to him with an honest expression, putting more strength into holding Shido’s hand.
“Uuh…”
Shido let out a groan. Somehow due to being constantly scolded by her recently, when the
current Kotori is able to honestly rely on him like this, it made him feel extremely happy. Shido
made his way to the washroom, building up his Onii-chan power as he did so.
“Well then, I’ll wait for you here then.”
“Nn…”
After Kotori slightly nodded her head, she timidly opened the door to the toilet.
“Kya…!”
However, she couldn’t help but hold her breath and retreat a few steps back upon gazing into
space resembling a black hole. Well, to be honest Shido did understand how she felt, after all he
too felt slightly creeped out. The current Kotori must be full of fear right now.
“I can’t do it… I’m too scared…!”
“Even if you say that… there’s no other way. Isn’t it going to come out already?”
“Uuh…”
After Kotori made a tiny whine, she seemed to have thought of something as she opened her
mouth to speak.
“O-Onii-chan should come in as well!”
“Ha… Haa?”
Hearing her sudden solution, Shido accidentally let out an agitated voice while frowning.
“You, what are you saying? How can I—”
“Then I will do it inside the urinal! Or I will do it right here! I’ve already made my resolution!”
“What the hell!”
“Oh no, I’m at my limit! It’s coming out!”
“Ah, really… I got it already!”
He couldn’t very well let his fourteen year old sister do a disgraceful thing like leaking. As such
Shido entered the toilet while holding Kotori’s hand.
“Onii-chan, please look the other way…”
“Oo, oh…”
Following her instructions, he turned his body towards the door. Very swiftly Kotori started to
move behind Shido`’s back, hearing the sound of thin fabric rubbing against each other, Shido
got a shock.
“Um, Onii-chan… Can you please cover your ears…?”
“! Ah, s-sorry…”
He totally did not notice this fact. Shido hastily used his hands to plug his two ears. After which
Kotori used her two hands to tightly hug Shido’s body. … Although Shido wasn’t the cause, he
somehow felt that he was doing something extremely wrong, causing his heart to beat violently.
An extremely massive sense of immorality filled his heart, exiting from his nose as heated
breathing. Not long after, the two hands that were wrapped around his body relaxed, softly
hugging his back.
“It’s alright now. … Thank you.”
“Nn… You’re welcome.”
Saying that, Shido and Kotori walked out of the washroom together. The problem was finally
solved, Shido breathed a sigh of relief. However the next problem swiftly appeared—a few
minutes right after they came out of the toilet.
“I think… Since we can’t do anything due to the power outage, why don’t we turn in early for
the night.”
As soon as Shido said that, Kotori made a voice of displeasure.

“Ehh—…”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s just… I haven’t taken a bath today…”
Although the electricity reliant water heater has stopped working, the power outage happened not
too long ago, therefore the water in the bathtub should still be warm. However…
“…But, the bathroom is pitch dark as well, you know? Will you be alright?”
“Uuu… But my body’s all sticky…”
“Well you did make a big ruckus just now.”
After Shido spoke, Kotori pouted.
“A-about that, Onii-chan…”
“Nn? So you’re finally giving up?”
“If, if it’s possible, let’s bathe together…”
“No way!”
It was true that they used to take baths together when they were young, but it’s impossible to
bathe with his sister whose secondary sex characteristics are beginning to show. Shido frantically
waved his hands and objected. Kotori tightly clung onto Shido’s body and pleaded.
“Onii-chan… This is my life’s greatest wish… Please bathe with me…”
Kotori begged with a sobbing voice, rushing towards Shido with a tear-streaked face. Shido
made a troubled expression and lightly sighed.
“Doing this is just not right…”
“There’s no problem, because it’s impossible to see due to the darkness! Also, we’re siblings!”
“Um…”
“Oniiiiiii-chaaaaaaaan…”
“I got it, I got it. I’ll bathe with you, so stop clinging onto me!”
Faced with Kotori’s forceful advances, Shido finally gave in, he raised his two arms up to
indicate his surrender. Only then did Kotori release her hold of Shido’s body.
“Really now… Only for today, alright?”
After leading Kotori into the changing room and preparing bath towels as well as clothes to
change into, he started to take off his clothes with his back turned to Kotori.
“Uu…”
However, resistance still existed within him. Even though they were siblings, bathing with a
person of the opposite sex and similar age still does not feel right… If Kotori were to speak of
this incident to anybody, Shido may very well be met with the death penalty in society. Needless
to say, neither his friends nor his parents must know of this.
Just as Shido was contemplating these problems, behind his back came the sound of Kotori
taking off her clothes. It seems that she has started to make preparations to enter the bath. As
such Shido, too, hastily finished removing his clothes, placing them in the washing basket.
“Onii-chan… are you done?”
“O-oh… yeah.”
A room devoid of light. Although his eyes have already gotten used to the darkness, he could
only roughly see Kotori’s outline. However once he recalled that the sister before him is
currently in a state with her clothes removed, he couldn’t help but panic.
“Onii-chan…?”
“Aaah… I’m sorry, let’s go in.”
After Shido entered the bathroom, he carefully felt for and removed the cover of the bathtub,
immersing his body inside. Usually he should first wash his body clean before entering the bath,
but since they were currently in a special situation as well as in their own home, that could be
ignored. Closely behind Shido, Kotori too entered the bathtub. Facing Shido, she sat down in the
bathtub like how she did during P.E. lessons. Due to two people entering the tub, a large amount
of water flowed out as a result.
“Ah… A bath feels great.”
“Uu, nn… After bathing in warm water I feel less scared compared to just now…”
The legs of the two constantly touched as they engaged in conversation. However, the two soon
felt embarrassed due to the sense of fear dissipating, as a result they soon fell into silence.
“…”
God knows how long had passed, Kotori seemed to have made up her mind about something as
she started to speak to Shido.
“U-um… Onii-chan. Don’t you think… it’s a little cramped in here?”
“Nn? This is a bathtub designed for a single person after all. Well, since you seem fine by
yourself, then I’ll go—”
“Th-that’s not what I meant!”
Sounds of water splashing could be heard. It seems that Kotori was waving her hands on the
water surface.
“I’m saying… Can I go over there…”
“Eh?”
Shido tilted his head in question, before he even had the chance to reply, Kotori suddenly stood
up, turned around before entering the bathtub once more. The end result was Kotori sitting on
Shido’s body.
“Eehh…?!”
His thighs, stomach, and chest were all in close contact with Kotori’s soft skin. Shido’s body
froze due to Kotori’s sudden action. … To be honest, he was truly careless. Although he kept
saying “How can we bathe together…”, deep down, he felt that since they had already bathed
together a few times before, there was no way he would commit any mistakes. But, this is simply
the worst. The absolute worst.
What he felt from Kotori, who was sitting on him, was not the weight of his cute sister, but the
attractive warmth and feeling of a female. If he was unable to control himself here, Shido would
have reached the point of no return. When his parents return from overseas work, he may
possibly have to introduce a new family member to them. However Kotori did not sense Shido’s
thoughts at all, simply laughing.
“Ahaha… Onii-chan is scared as well.”
“Eh? W-why do you say that…”
“That’s because your heart is beating even faster now?”
Saying that, Kotori got even closer to him.
“The one I’m frightened of is you!”

Shido yelled out within his mind. I’m at my limit soon, I have to hurry up and get away from
Kotori. Even though he said that the current Kotori was in a state of fear, she would not be
leaving Shido-s side that easily.
“Ah… That’s right.”
Shido suddenly recalled something, using his hand to cover his mouth, he remained silent for a
period of time. Probably feeling that something was off about Shido, Kotori spoke to Shido.
“Onii-chan? What’s wrong with you…?”
And then towards Kotori, Shido used a low, menacing voice to reply.
“Hehehe… Your Onii-chan has already disappeared from this body…”
“Kya…?!”
Kotori held her breath, her body started to tremble. That’s right. Since Kotori did not wish to
leave Shido’s side, then he’ll have to scare her to make her leave.
“O-Onii-chan?!”
“This body has already been possessed by me…”
“H-how can this be…”
“Kotori-chan, there’s a very nice smell coming from your body… it smells very delicious…”
“Waaaaaaaaa! Waaaaaaaaaaa!”
Kotori let out a wail, frantically moving her limbs. After that she stood up as though she wanted
to escape from the bathtub. Alright… Shido reflexively clenched his fist. She fell for it, now it’ll
be alright once she escape into the changing room— However,
“Onii-chan! Onii-chaaaaaaaan—!”
Kotori seemed to have remembered something as she suddenly turned around, attempting to
enter the bath once more. Furthermore, due to her panic, her foot slipped, falling towards Shido.
The same time Shido’s face made contact with an extremely soft and warm area—he gave a wail.
Kotori who suffered a fright due to this let out a wail as well.
“Waa—!” “Waa—!”
…Screams continued to resound from the bathroom.
“A-are you alright, Kotori…?!”

“Nn… and Onii-chan…?”
“Oh, I’m fine too…”
Peace at last. Shido, having changed into his pajamas, spoke as he rubbed the part of his head
that hit the side of the bathtub. Although he suffered multiple injuries, he has somehow avoided
the worst case scenario. Even though he is the older brother he couldn’t very well make a
mistake because of love. Based on the time indicated on his phone, it seems that two or three
hours had passed.
“Since we’ve already brushed our teeth, let’s sleep now.”
“Nn… You’re right…”
Kotori nodded, holding Shido’s hand in a natural fashion. Due to the recent turn of events, this
made Shido’s heart skip a beat… However, he still had his pride as her brother, so he did not
openly voice it. Just as Shido was about to enter his own room, Kotori suddenly exerted more
force into her grip. …Well, he had already expected as much from the series of events. But Shido
still turned to face Kotori.
“What’s wrong, Kotori?”
“…Today, please sleep with me?”
“…I expected as much—”
Shido silently mumbled, nodding his head as though he had completely given up.
“Alright. But it’s only for today.”
“! That’s wonderful!”
Kotori let out a joyful voice. Well, what’s this compared to bathing together..? Shido and Kotori
first went inside Kotori’s room to take her pillow before moving to Shido’s room. After placing
his phone on the shelf near the bed, Shido lay on the bed.
“Hey, Kotori. Be careful not to fall.”
“Nn!”
After Kotori placed her pillow, she too joined Shido. After Shido stroked her head, he pulled the
blanket and began to sleep.
“Good night, Kotori.”

“Nn… Good night, Onii-chan.”
Kotori spoke in a small voice. Although he couldn’t see her expression, he felt that she was
probably smiling when she said that. Perhaps it was due to fatigue, but before even ten minutes
had passed, Shido had already slipped into a deep sleep. Just before he totally fell asleep,
“Today… really, thanks a lot. —I love you so much, Onii-chan.”
Seemingly hearing something like that, as well as feeling something soft on his cheek… Whether
it was real or just a dream, Shido could no longer tell. On the main screen on the bridge of
<Fraxinus>, Shido and Kotori were shown sleeping closely next to each other. Looking at the
image, the crew members nodded with satisfaction, clapping their hands together, some of them
even started tearing due to the influx of emotions. Among them, there was also one that was
screaming, “Why aren’t there scenes of the toilet and the bathrooooooooooom?!”, but would be
alright to ignore him.
In a nutshell, the present was successfully given to Kotori. Reine watched the screen as she
quietly spoke.
“…Happy birthday, Kotori.”
“Seiya!”
“Gaoo…?!”
The next morning. Accompanied with the sunlight shining through the window, the violent
impact generated at his torso, caused Shido’s body to nearly break in two.
“Hmph, what kind of cry was that, you can stay here and act like a lion if you want.”
A strong voice sounded out. Kotori, who had already changed, was standing right there eating a
lollipop. —On a side note, her hair was currently tied up with black ribbons.
“Kotori… That is.”
Due to the power outage last night, Kotori’s black ribbons should still be unwashed…
“Ah.”
At this point, Shido noticed something. Those black ribbons were too clean and neat to have
been used for five years.
“You’ve already… put them on huh.”

That’s right. The ribbons Kotori is using right now were Shido’s present from last night. After
all, Kotori had been using the black ribbons since Shido gave them to her five years ago.
Although she had always treasured them, wear and tear was unavoidable. The quality became
rough, and threads began to come out. Shido, who had noticed this fact, bought ribbons identical
to the ones five years ago and gave them to Kotori once more.
“Well, Shido’s performance is average I guess. I’ll commend you for that.”
Saying that, Kotori jumped from Shido’s body to the floor.
“Nnn…”
Shido slowly sat up, rubbing his throbbing chest as he did so.
“But… since you’ve already woken up you could have woken me up as well. You don’t have to
open the present and wake me after wearing that…”
“Hmph, the person who can’t wake up only has himself to blame. —Furthermore, I already
opened all the presents yesterday. I won’t do something as rude as setting aside gifts for a night.”
Her words and actions were totally opposite from yesterday. Shido couldn’t help but sigh while
missing that cute little sister.
“Really now, you were still crying and shouting ‘Onii-chan, Onii-chan’ yesterday too…”
“Mach Pierce!”
“Guha?!”
Kotori hit him with an attack that utilized her full strength; Shido groaned from the impact.
“You better come down quickly. —Even though it’s a little simple, I’ve already made breakfast”
“Eh?”
Shido could not stop himself from widening his eyes in surprise. Kotori was bad at cooking…
“How rare. Have you been planning to do so?”
“…I just felt like doing it, and I’m not too sure about the taste either.”
“That doesn’t matter. Thank you.”
“…Hmph”
As Kotori finished, she twirled the stick of the lollipop in her mouth and walked out of the room.
“…Nn?”
At this moment, he suddenly realized something. Kotori’s words just now… there was something
odd about them. She claimed to have already opened all the gifts the previous night. But ever
since the power outage, Kotori had always been with Shido. If Kotori had the opportunity to
move about by herself, she would only have had the few minutes after Shido fell asleep… But
that would mean Kotori would have to walk inside the pitch black house, in the middle of the
night, by herself, to the living room. If she was able to accomplish that, then wouldn’t she be
able to go to the toilet and bathe by herself…?
“Forget it… That’s impossible.”
Shido shrugged. How can Kotori, who was so afraid of the dark, do that? She must have opened
it when Shido was unaware.
“—Shido! You’re too slow!”
“Oh no…”
The terrifying Imouto-sama’s voice could be heard from the bottom of the staircase. Shido
hastily walked out of the room.
“…Hmph”
As Kotori finished, she twirled the stick of the lollipop in her mouth and walked out of the room.
“…Nn?”
At this moment, he suddenly realized something.
Kotori’s words just now… there was something odd about them.
She claimed to have already opened all the gifts the previous night.
But ever since the power outage, Kotori had always been with Shido.
If Kotori had the opportunity to move about by herself, she would only have had the few minutes
after Shido fell asleep… But that would mean Kotori would have to walk inside the pitch black
house, in the middle of the night, by herself, to the living room.
If she was able to accomplish that, then wouldn’t she be able to go to the toilet and bathe by
herself…?
“Forget it… That’s impossible.”

Shido shrugged. How can Kotori - who was so afraid of the dark - do that? She must have
opened it when Shido was unaware.
“—Shido! You’re too slow!”
“Oh no…”
The terrifying imouto-sama’s voice could be heard from the bottom of the staircase, as such,
Shido hastily walked out of the room.
End.
Yamai Lunchtime
September 1st. The second day of school after the summer break.
In the uproar of the lunch break, Shido is walking down the stairs next to his classroom.
“Kuku… be honored, Shido, to be able to present us Maiden of Cyclones, Yamai, with food.”
“Gratitude. Thank you for showing us the way.”
The voices could be heard from Shido’s back. Shido let out a breath and glanced in that
direction.
Two girls with the same face in a school uniform are there.
A slender girl who tied her hair up is throwing her head back and laughing arrogantly, while
another girl with a model-like figure who braided her hair up is bowing in a dazed look.
Yamai Kaguya and Yamai Yuzuru. The twin Spirits whose powers Shido sealed two months ago.
“No, it is me who should apologize. It was my miscommunication to begin with.”
“Don’t worry, I am being generous today; after all, I could be in a different class from Yuzuru.
Yuzuru is too cute. If she is left alone, I don’t know how many bad insects will come near her.”
“Relief. Yuzuru is also relieved. Thinking that I might have to leave a super-beautiful girl such as
Kaguya alone in the middle of a pack of wolves gave me shivers.”
“No, fufu… Yuzuru is way cuter”
“Disagreement. Kaguya is cuter.”
“Aw you, Yuzuru”
“Counterattack. Kaguya”
Saying that, Kaguya and Yuzuru blushed and started to entwine each other’s fingers. They are
intimate enough that Shido feels embarrassed just by looking at them.
That is right. The Yamai sisters are joining 3rd class of 2nd year of Raizen High School starting
today.
Initially they were considered to be transferred into the same 4th class as Shido, however since
their mental condition will stay stable enough if they are together, they ended up getting
transferred into the next class instead.
Well, that is okay. Since these two had joined the school trip as transfer students who will be
transferring into the school in the new semester, this is to be expected.
However, nobody had told Shido the schedule until today.
As a result — Shido couldn’t prepare a boxed lunch for the Yamai sisters.
That is why they, and Shido, are going to the school store on the 1st floor.
“We are almost there —”
Shido stopped at the familiar-looking girl that appeared before him.
A doll-like girl with her hair cut around her shoulder fastened with a hairpin. The girl is holding
bread in a bag and a small milk carton in her hands.
“Oh, Origami. You are buying from the school store today too?”
When Shido asked, the girl — Tobiichi Origami nodded.
“Sometimes, when I am busy. Shido too?”
“No, today is Kaguya’s and Yuzuru’s.”
“I see.”
Origami shortly answered and continued walking upstairs.
“Consent. If the store is Master Origami’s favorite, then it might be worth looking forward to.”
Yuzuru nodded at Origami’s back while seeing her off. Come to think of it, Yuzuru started
calling Origami her master for some reason after the school trip.
“Well… it depends on which kind of bread.”
Shido walked down the stairs with a wry smile.
After walking for a short while — they can feel an abnormal air of excitement before them.
“Hmm? That is…?”
Kaguya, who is walking behind Shido, said with a dubious voice.
That is not surprising. Among other things, numerous students are gathering on the first floor –
in front of the school store as if it is a scene of year’s end sales or rush hours in the morning.
“Croquette bread please! Also a strawberry milk!” “Ew, don’t pull my clothes!” “Listen! The
only good curry bread is the one that I eat!” “I must get it no matter what!” “Medic!
Mediiiiiiiiic!” “Dammit, just for some bread, why?!”
The crowds clamored. Screams could be heard. Shrieks are deafening everyone’s ears.
The fierce scene of a battlefield appeared over there from the imbalance of one store lady
handling numerous students.
“Ew, as I thought, it was too late. Looks like we have to wait a little before we can buy it.”
Shido scratched his head and mumbled.
Although Shido had not used the school store for quite some time since his first year, the scene
of a battlefield was always there when he failed the sprint.
However, Kaguya and Yuzuru only lifted the corners of their lips at such a scene in front of the
school store.
“What, what. This really gets me worked up. And when I thought they all are just livestock
without any fangs, it seems like they still have a fighting instinct within them after all. Kuku, this
boiled up my blood. Yuzuru?”
“Excitement. Not bad. While the past two months have been comfortable, my body was getting
rusty.”
Kaguya and Yuzuru looked at each other and stepped forward.
“H-hey, you two.”
“Don’t worry, Shido. I just have to pay the store owner inside the store, don’t I?”
“Agreement. Then that is easy. For Yuzuru and Kaguya, there is nothing impossible.”
Kaguya and Yuzuru then started running out at the same moment.
When they reached the outer edge of the students, Yuzuru bent down one of her knees and
clasped her hands.
“Setup. — Kaguya.”
“Aw right!”
Kaguya shouted and mounted her legs on Yuzuru’s hands. Incidentally, the slippers Kaguya was
wearing were already thrown to the back without anyone realizing.
“Haaaaa!”
With the shouting, Kaguya’s body is dancing in the air.
She then leaped over other student’s heads and made a curve to the front of the school store.
However—
“Secret Arts – ‘Fallen Hero’ Icarus Faaaaaall!!”
The moment such a voice is heard from somewhere, someone fiercely blew Kaguya’s body from
the left side with his body.
“Wha… ukyaa?!”
Kaguya shrieked and lost her balance mid-air.
She then fell quite a distance before her destination and engulfed the pack of students.
“Gywaaaaa?!”
“Shiver. Kaguya!”
Yuzuru widened her eyes and called Kaguya’s name.
And — as if they were responding to her voice, all the students stopped moving all of sudden.
Yuzuru thought for a moment that the students were responding to her voice… but she was
wrong.
The reason was known right away. A pungent smell is drifting from somewhere.
“W-what is this smell…”
The students knitted their eyebrows and pinched their nose. That is not surprising. The smell
went through their nostrils and induced nausea. If someone were to mix garbage, a dead body of
an animal, waste water in the middle of summer, then added a little bit of skunk’s fart, it might
smell like this. The shocking smell that could take away any appetite in a single breath.
Frightened at the smell, the students started covering their nose and mouth. While they were
doing that, someone walked through them and finished the purchases at the school store.
Few moments later, the pungent smell disappeared. The students who had lost their appetite
regained their appetite and started the scramble once again.
— Few minutes later.

“U… kyuuu…”
In front of the school store that had already become sparse, Kaguya, who had few footsteps
printed on her back, made those miserable sounds while still lying down on the floor.
“Confirmation. Kaguya, are you okay?”
Yuzuru ran to her and lent her a hand. Kaguya took that hand and stood up, staggering. Even
though it was only a few minutes from earlier, she seemed worn-out for some reason.
“D-damn… what was that… did they do it because they knew I am the Maiden of Cyclones –
Yamai Kaguya…?!”
Even though she said that, those words only echoed around vacantly. Kaguya ground her teeth
and let out her breath.
“There is no choice… let’s first feed our stomach and heal our body. Yuzuru, let’s buy some
bread.”
“Agreement. Let’s do it.”
Kaguya walked staggeringly to the school store with Yuzuru supporting her.
However, their faces went gloomy at the goods displayed on the shelf.
“Owner, don’t you have anything else?”
“Complaint. This is too horrible.”
That is understandable. After all, on the shelf that is nearly completely hunted down, only two
bags of bread crust remained. Even more, there is only a pack of jam left.
“I am sorry, but this is all?”
The store lady said with a calm voice as if the fierce battle scene earlier never happened. The two
were frustrated for a short while, but gave up in the end, paid the lady the money, and slowly
returned to Shido.
However, on their way.
A little girl ran from their side and bumped into them.
“Ugu?!”
“Caution. Who are you.”

The two frown. The girl then raised her head and started shaking her shoulders.
“I-I am sorry, I am in a hurry…”
Said that, the girl made a crying face.
Seeing the girl’s weak looks, the Yamai sisters quickly calmed down. They let out a breath and
said “don’t worry” while waving their hands at her.
The two then returned to Shido. Shido made a wry smile at them unconsciously.
“That was quite a disaster…”
“S-shut up! This is only an accident! Our true abilities are not like this!”
“Anger. As Kaguya said. I can’t overlook any insult to Kaguya even if it was from Shido.”
“N-no, I didn’t mean to insult her… Hey, wait, you two.”
Shido noticed something strange and pointed to their hands.
“Where did you put the bread you bought just now?”
“What?”
“Question. What do you mean?”
The two then inclined their heads while looking at their own hands and twisted their faces in fear.
That is not surprising. The bag of bread crusts in their hand until now is reduced to just the tip of
the bag they are holding with their finger.
“Wha… this is…”
“Puzzlement. Where is the bread…”
“— Fufu, fufufufu, fuhahahahaha!!”
While both two are looking around at their surroundings, such shrill laughter is heard from
somewhere.
“W-who?!”
The moment Kaguya shouted, someone jumped in front of her. The person placed his hands on
the floor and made a forward roll followed by two somersaults and landed in front of her.
The person is a tall man with sharp eyes and his hair cut like a crest. For some reason his
uniform is torn off at his shoulder and both of his arms are covered with bandages. Furthermore,
a bag of Yakisoba bread and a fruit-flavored milk hang from his waist.
“Optimistic. How optimistic you are. Do you think you can use the school store with that level?”
“Huh…?”
While Shido was still gaping at the situation, a man in white coat appeared from behind the
pillar. A scientist-looking slim man wearing round glasses. In his hand there is a ham-egg
sandwich and coffee milk.
“Well, let me welcome you. Welcome, new recruits, to our battlefield.”
He said that and turned his coat. Inside his coat, several test tubes with corks could be seen.
When everyone was making puzzled looks, another person appeared from behind the pillar.
She is a girl with a large plastic bag on her back like Santa Claus. Looking closer, the girl is the
student who bumped into the Yamai sisters earlier.
“Amazement. You are.”
When Yuzuru said that, the girl then made a scornful smile as if her weak appearance earlier was
made up.
“Kyahaha — you won’t be able to get any bread if you are like that.”
Said that, the girl then took the bread crust out of her plastic bag and played with it on her hands.
“That is!”
“Stare. Yuzuru and Kaguya’s bread crust.”
Kaguya and Yuzuru gave them hard stares and fixed their gazes.
“Damn you, who are you?!”
When Kaguya shouted, those three put up a bold smile on their face.
“Hmph… then let us introduce ourselves!”
The man with a crest-like haircut spread out his arms and lifted up his leg.
“Exceeding the mass with a flexible body and the legs that were hardened from the gymnastic
club. The noble of midair – ‘Gonna Fly If You Blown It’ <Aerial> Washitani Shunsuke! The
‘Supreme Masterpiece’ Favorite One is Yakisoba bread!”
“What is with that nickname? Also normally nobody said those things by themselves…”
Shido frowned and narrowed his eyes.
However those three seemed unconcerned. Next, the glassed man in white coat pushed his
glasses then bent his body back taking a somewhat intelligent-looking pose.
“Misusing the science club’s budget to create a fragrance that took away everyone’s appetite!
The scent of death – ‘Stink Panic’ <Professor> Karasuma Keiji. The ‘Supreme Masterpiece’
Favorite One is a ham-egg sandwich.”
“What a nuisance you are…”
And finally, the girl with the plastic bag on her back made a pose.
“Put others off-guard with that cute look, then pickpocket the bread with lightning speed! The
wizard of bewilderment – ‘Oops I’m Sorry’ <Pickpocket> Saginuma Ayumi! The ‘Supreme
Masterpiece’ Favorite One is everything stolen from others!”
“Isn’t that a crime!”
“Kyahaha, don’t underestimate me — check your pocket!”
“What?”
Hearing that, Kaguya and Yuzuru then began searching their skirt’s pockets.
“Huh… there is money in it.”
“Amazement. This is the price of the bread crust.”
The threes purred their nose and gave signal to each other with their eyesight —
’— We are the Four Heavenly Kings of Raizen High School’s school store!!’
They declared themselves in loud voices after taking a deep breath.
… For some reason, Shido felt they could get along well with the Yamai sisters (especially
Kaguya).
“Four Heavenly Kings… you said?”

Kaguya said with a thrilled voice. The three then made villainous smiles.
“Fufu, exactly. The strongest warriors who conquered the school store of Raizen High School.
That is us, Four Heavenly Kings!”
“Kukiki, that was some greetings for you new faces.”
“Kyahaha, but if you are this weak I don’t think you should come anymore?”
Four Heavenly Kings said and laughed. The Yamai sisters then gave them hard stares.
“Say what?! Are you trying to ridicule us Yamai, Maidens of Cyclones?!”
“Anger. I won’t forgive any insults.”
However, within that tense situation, Shido could only scratch his cheek.
Although there are few things on his mind, there is one important thing he wanted to say to them.
“You said Four Heavenly Kings… but there are only three of you.”
However, this question seems to be within their expectations.
“Fufufu, ‘that person’ is the strongest of us. She doesn’t usually make any appearance!”
“Right. Nicknamed ‘Perfectionist’ <Miss Perfect>. The person full of mystery who always got
her hands on the bread without anyone realizing…”
“You who can’t even defeat us is no match for that person —”
The Four Heavenly Kings said in a ridiculing tone. When Shido didn’t feel anything, it was
different for the Yamai sisters. They grind their teeth in anger.
“Damn you, don’t you think you can go back just fine. You have to pay with your life for making
fun of us! Be stuck in purgatory and regret your actions!”
“Declaration. We can no longer overlook your countless offenses. We are asking you for a
challenge.”
However, the Four Heavenly Kings are still smiling with allowances even when they are exposed
to the two’s penetrating stares.
“Fu… the battle for today has already ended. Don’t be such a bad loser.”
“Kukiki, however, I like that spirit of yours. We are the strongest. Before us, nobody could get
the bread they wanted.”
“I am always open to challenges? Let’s see, for the time…”
<Pickpocket> Saginuma looked at the calendar next to the store while saying that.
“Ara, what good timing. Next Monday, there will be a limited edition bread. It is Rainbow
Cream Bread for this month. How about… whoever is the first to get that will win?”
The Yamai sisters nodded at that sweet voice.
“Fine. The debt of the school store should be repaid with the school store. I’ll make you taste the
taste of bread crust!”
“Declaration. I will make you regret your words.”
Kaguya and Yuzuru pointed their fingers at them. After the three shrugged in pleasantness, they
looked at Shido with a mocking sight.
“Fu… seems like you’ve for some well-spirited pupil, ‘No Reaction’ <Dispel>.”
“Kukiki, I heard you’ve fallen to the ignorant box lunch faction, but it seems like you still have
the pride of a school store warrior left within you.”
“But these girls won’t be any match to us?”
“What…?”
Shido inclined his head at the unfamiliar nickname. However, there is no one else around him.
“M-me?”
“What are you saying? Of course, <Dispel>. One year ago, you easily escaped my mid-air attack,
escaped Karasuma’s death scent and escaped Saginuma’s pickpocket — and were able to get
your Favorite One, the Katsu Sandwich. You were such a strong warrior.”
“Wait a minute, that is my first time hearing that.”
Shido could not resist raising his voice. Even though he used the school store quite a few times
during the first year and Katsu Sandwich was his favorite, he couldn’t remember that name.
“Are you saying you have already forgotten the thrilling battle with us?”
“No, I mean…”
“Fu — it is fine if you want to play dumb.”
“Kukiki, however your pupil seems to be in full spirits.”

“Kyahaha, although it is a waste of time either way”
Even though Shido tried to hold them on, they wouldn’t listen to his story until the end. The Four
Heavenly Kings made a villain laugh while walking off down the corridor.
Kaguya stared at them until they completely disappeared and stamped down on the floor.
“Damn! Making a fool of us! I’ll let them see!”
“Agreement. I won’t let them say the same the second time. — However, it is also the fact that
Yuzuru and Kaguya lose. In order to clean up our names, special training is required.”
“Special training…”
Kaguya and Yuzuru looked at Shido.
Shido felt a sweat floating everywhere in his face at the bad feeling that went through his body.
◇◇◇
The next day. September 2nd. Saturday.
“Yawn…”
Shido yawned. He is currently wearing a jersey with a headband on his head and bamboo sword
in his hand.
Of course, he did not dress like this because he wanted to.
Thanks to that nickname he doesn’t know anything about, Shido has been asked by the Yamai
sisters as the coach for their special training.
“Even though I thought the normal uniform was fine too…”
Shido is currently in a hall surrounded by a gray wall. The virtual training space inside the
mid-air ship <Fraxinus>.
By using the Realizer with equipment within the ship, it will allow them to recreate any kind of
environment. Kotori offered to let them use this room for the special training.
While Shido is still trying hard to resist his drowsiness, two unique speaking voices could be
heard.
“Kuku, how pitiful. I see you still can’t escape from the spell of Hypnos.”
“Greeting. Good morning.”

Seems like they had also arrived. Shido looked the way the voices come from while rubbing his
eyes —
“Right… Good mor — ?!”
He froze for a split second.
After all, the uniform they both are currently wearing is the infamous near-extinct Bloomer-type
gym clothes.
The label “Kaguya” and “Yuzuru” are written on their chest on their white uniform, under that is
the Bloomer — the longing of all high school boys of the present age. Incidentally, while Kaguya
left her shirt on top of the bloomer, Yuzuru tucked her shirt inside it.
“Hmp? I don’t know why, but it seems like you are now awake.”
“Detection. Shido’s sight seems more intense than usual.”
“Kaka. It means he is that spirited. Isn’t that a good thing.”
“Question. Is that so.”
Kaguya laughed broadly but Yuzuru inclined her head. Shido averted his eyes from them and
continued.
“You two, what is with that uniform…”
“Ah, this one? Kotori prepared them for us. From what I heard, it seems to be the traditional
training uniform of this country.”
“Evaluation. It is really easy to move in this cloth. I especially like the mobility of the legs.”
“…Is that so.”
Shido scratched his cheek. If they like it, then Shido doesn’t really mind.
“Then, Shido. Let’s start our training. In order to defeat those people!”
“Petition. Please take good care of us. I won’t ever forget the taste of that jam.”
Saying that, they both nodded with determination.
After the battle yesterday, Kaguya and Yuzuru rejected Shido’s offer to share his boxed lunch
with them and instead opted to suck the leftover jam with their fingers to stave off their
starvation. They said by tasting the taste of defeat, they could better sharpen their fangs for
revenge.
Shido made an empty laugh and looked at them.
“…So in short, you just have to evade their obstacles and buy the bread, don’t you?”
“That’s right. Also, if we could give those blasphemers a humiliation they could never forget for
their entire life, that would be great.”
“Agreement. What should we do?”

They both nodded. Shido took out a notebook from his pocket.
The result of the discussion with Reine yesterday was a relatively simple method.
“Er… first —”
Shido explained to them the method to defeat the Four Heavenly Kings in order in simple words.
“Hmm… I see.”
“Understanding. I understand.”
The Yamai sisters nodded. Shido closed his notebook and put it inside his pocket.
“Well, like that. If you pay attention to those points, it should be okay.”
“Fumu. Then, what should we do?”
“Eh?”
Shido raised a shrill voice at Kaguya’s question.
“Verify. Let me ask again. What kind of training should Yuzuru and Kaguya take from now?”
“No… to be honest, I don’t think that is necessary.”
Shido said while frowning. It was not a lie, nor was it an excuse because he doesn’t want to help
them with the training, but it was simply the fact that he thought.
“Well, if you think about it, even though your Spirit powers are sealed, your physical ability is
far above normal humans. Yesterday was just a surprise attack, there is no way you will lose if
you prepare for it. Also, even you said training, nothing will dramatically changed —”
“What are you saying!”
Shido’s words are interrupted by Kaguya’s yell.
“We lost to them once! In order to overturn that, there is no choice but to throw ourselves into
the hell of training and be reborn as the New Yamai!”
“Agreement. The new skills of the main character are always obtained after harsh training in the
middle of the story.”
Kaguya and Yuzuru pleaded enthusiastically. Seems like they just want to do the training
regardless of the results… Come to think of it, Kotori said the Yamai sisters got hooked on a
Shounen Manga back during summer break.
“O-okay, I understand.”
Shido stopped them before they could approach him and thought up a training program.
“Ah… well, let’s do some warm-up exercises with running.”
The moment Shido said that, the noise ran through the wall and the scenery around them turned
into a high plateau in an instant.
“O-ohh?!”
Shido widened his eyes. So this is the function of the virtual training space.
Kaguya and Yuzuru also looked around in surprise and then nodded.
“Kuku… a lightning run, huh. That’s fine. First is a warm-up.”
“Affirmative. I understand. Kaguya, a race.”
“No, even when I said running, I didn’t mean for you to race…”
Even though Shido said that, those two don’t take any notice. Seems like even after they could
get along with each other, that still doesn’t change how they like to compete.
After some small stretching exercises, they both started running.
“Doryaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
“Run. Tou.”
They both started with a sprint and circled around Shido side-by-side with a speed that of a
short-distance running.
However, even though they are Spirits, there is no way they could continue that forever. Not
before long, their speed started declining — and Yuzuru collapsed down to the ground with her
face down.
“Li… mit… Uku… u…”
“Ya… haha… I… won —”
Shortly after, Kaguya also collapsed to the ground.
“H-hey, you two!”
After a few moments, the Yamai sisters raised up after they caught their breath.
“Kuku… seems like I won this match.”
“Regret. As expected from you, Kaguya.”
“No, well, I have an advantage over you for this match. It is amazing how Yuzuru could stick
this far.”
“Question. What is the advantage.”
“…Well, you don’t have to care.”
Even though Shido noticed Kaguya glanced at Yuzuru’s weighty breast for a split moment while
saying those words, he decided not to say anything in order to not get into trouble.
“A-anyway, I won! You understand, Yuzuru?”
“Resignation. Ku… there is no choice. The first piece…”
“…The first piece? What are you talking about?”
When Shido inclined his head, Kaguya came near him with a smile on her face and held the
scruff of his neck to force him to look away from Yuzuru.
“Ouch, what are you doing, Kaguya!”
“Kuku… just keep quiet and wait. You will see something nice.”
“Huh…? What are you trying to…”
When Shido frowned, a sound of clothes rustling was heard from his back.
“Hey, what Yuzuru is doing?”
“Well, we talked a bit earlier. Since we need some tension in our training, we agreed that the one
who loses will have to undress a piece of cloth each time.”
“Huh… whaaaaat?! W-wait a minute, why are you doing that! Before that, with your current
clothes, it is fatal if you undress even one piece of it —”
“Done. It is okay now.”
Before Shido could finish his sentence, Yuzuru’s voice could be heard from his back.
Kaguya turned back ahead of Shido and smiled with “Hohou…”.
“Shido, look at her.”

“Wait, I still haven’t prepared myself…”
Kaguya turned Shido’s head to Yuzuru like she did earlier.
Yuzuru is standing there with her cheek in red of embarrassment. However, Shido couldn’t tell
what changed at a glance.
Not long after, Shido noticed something out of place. In Yuzuru’s hand, she is holding a
large-size bra within it.
When looking closer, Shido feels as if Yuzuru’s breast size was larger than a few moments ago.
The “Yuzuru” label on her breasts swayed heavily whenever Yuzuru made any movement.
“Wha…?!”
“Kaka, how was it, Shido. You can’t get enough of it, can you? The beast is rampaging after it
has been released from the bindings.”
Kaguya said in a pleasant voice while Shido’s face turned red.
“W-why from the inside…”
“Explanation. I have been taught that this is the etiquette.”
“It was Reine-san who taught you, wasn’t it?!”
Shido yelled, but Yuzuru didn’t seem to mind. Yuzuru held her breast and approached Shido.
“Idea. Shido, I have a request for the next training.”
“…Request? What is it?”
“Answer. The training of endurance… in other words, waterfall training.”
“Waterfall training… is it that training where you stand under a waterfall? But there’s no —”
Before Shido could finish his words, the noise running through their surroundings and the
scenery had changed into a waterfall in the middle of the mountain.
Furthermore, when Shido tried touching it, he could feel the cold. Seems like the water is real.
“Haha, anything goes, huh…”
While Shido smiled wryly, Kaguya stepped forward.
“Kuku… well, I don’t really mind. In short, the one who stays longer wins, isn’t it?”
“Affirmative. That is the case.”
After Kaguya and Yuzuru exchanged their glances, they entered the waterfall without any
hesitation.
“H-hey wait! You can’t do that! Especially Yuzuru!”
“Kyaa!”
“Amazement. … This is colder than I thought.”
However, it looks like their match has already begun. They gritted their teeth and stood still with
their hands joined together in front of them like an ascetic monk.
“Wait…”
Shido averted his eyes.
It’s not strange that he did. Since they entered the waterfall with such light clothes, their gym
clothes are now transparent and stuck to their skin.
It might be okay for Kaguya who still has a bra on, but Shido can’t look at Yuzuru. Shido’s face
turned completely red as if a steam was coming out of his head and averted his eyes.
“Ugu…”
“Endurance…”
The two held up for a while, but started shivering before long.
“Ahh, I-I-I-I am at my l-l-l-limits…!”
Finally, Kaguya, whose lips had turned pale, ran out from below the waterfall while holding both
of her shoulders.
“A-are you okay?!”
Shido wrapped Kaguya in a bath towel that he prepared during their match. Kaguya kept
shivering and squatted down on the ground.
“Vic… tory. Y-Y-Y-Y-Yuzuru w-w-w-won this m-m-m-match.”
Yuzuru said those words while approaching her, her shivering teeth making her unable to speak
properly. Like earlier, Shido then wrapped Yuzuru with a bath towel.
The next moment, the scenery once again changed back into a high plateau. A warm breeze was
blowing from somewhere.
After their bodies warmed up, both of them raised their faces.
“Kunu… as expected from my other half. Well done.”
“Praise. This match was the opposite of our previous match. Yuzuru has more subcutaneous fat,
so it was my advantage. Applause for Kaguya who could go that far.”
“Uguu…”
Kaguya twisted her face in frustration. However, she then let out a breath to change her mood
and stood up while fluttering her bath towel.
“…I have no choice. A promise is a promise. Can you turn back?”
“Well, you don’t really have to…”
“I can’t just run away if Yuzuru did it!”
Kaguya flat-out said so and made Shido and Yuzuru turn away.
Just like earlier, the sound of clothes rustling is heard… Shido feels a very naughty scene is
being expanded on the back of him and catches his breath without realizing. Yuzuru next to him
gave him a look in half-opened eyes with a “Sigh. Pervert.” message.
“…It is okay now. I will allow you to look at me.”
“O-okay…”
Shido turned back timidly.
As expected, Kaguya who is standing over there doesn’t seem to have any visible changes,
except in her hand, just like when Yuzuru did it, there is a —
“Wait, that one is different?!”
Shido shouted in surprise. The object in Kaguya’s hand is not a bra, but for the lower body — in
other words, a panty.
“One piece! You don’t have anything to complain about, do you!”
“Assent. Nice thinking, Kaguya.”
Yuzuru nodded at her in admiration while folding her arms.

“H-hey, you two…”
“Guidance. Shido, please look at Kaguya carefully. Even though her appearance didn’t change,
the other side of that piece of cloth is full of dreams. You can’t have enough of it, can you?”
“U… gu…”
Yuzuru bent her body near Shido and whispered those words to him. Shido’s cheeks turned red at
his imagination and the cool touch of Yuzuru’s body.
Noticing their behavior, Kaguya opened her mouth.
“Let me decide the next match, and let me enjoy that embarrassing look of Yuzuru!”
“Rejection. It is Yuzuru who will win the next match. I will enjoy the looks of Kaguya shivering
in embarrassment.”
Said that, both then exchanged a glance … Even though they could get along well now, Shido
feels they’re loving each other a little bit too much.
However, if Shido left them alone, they would definitely cause some trouble. Shido shook his
head.
“S-stop! I will decide on the next training! Okay?! I’m your coach!”
When Shido declared that in a loud voice, Kaguya and Yuzuru looked at him with interested
eyes.
“F-from now on is an individual training program! Let’s see… for the time being, Kaguya, you
do sit-ups! Yuzuru, you do push-ups! 100 times each!”
Shido instructed them, however they only twisted their faces in dissatisfaction.
“What? Different programs? There’s no way to decide who will win or lose.”
“Appeal. And with those limits, there is a chance that both of us could accomplish it.”
However, in fact, those are exactly Shido’s intentions.
If the program is not the same, then there is no way to judge who wins or loses. In other words,
they can’t undress their clothes anymore.
“Don’t lose your goal. What is this training for again? You want to beat those Four Heavenly
Kings, don’t you?”
“Mu…”
“Thinking…”
They both fall into silence at Shido’s words.
… Even though he is the man who said “training is not necessary” earlier, they both could
honestly accept his advice. Although they were reluctant, they nodded to him in the end.
“…It is as you said. Yuzuru is so cute I can’t resist not teasing her.”
“Regret. Yuzuru as well. I couldn’t constrain myself at Kaguya’s cuteness.”
Kaguya and Yuzuru looked at each other and nodded firmly.
“Well then! Let’s do it, Yuzuru!”
“Affirmative. Okay, Kaguya.”
They both nodded at each other. Shido feels reassured at their reaction.
However, for some reason, they both still were not lying down on the floor for the exercise, but
kept standing in front of him.
“…What’s wrong, you two?”
“Aa, the load is not enough for a normal sit-up, so what about I entwine my legs around your
stomach, Shido? I could definitely strengthen my muscles this way.”
“Idea. The tension is not enough for normal push-ups. How about Shido lying down on your
back on the floor and letting Yuzuru do push-ups on top of that? The tension of Yuzuru failing
allowing Shido to do anything to Yuzuru’s body will effectively —”
“R-Rejected!”
Shido shouted and ordered them a number of extra sit-ups and push-ups.
◇◇◇
The next week. September 4th. Lunch break.
The front of the school store, although not as much as last week, was filled with students.
Everyone threw themselves into the battlefield in such a tight space to get the bread they wanted.
However, Shido and the Yamai sisters are not participating in that battle. They are looking at a
certain space.
— At the showy-looking three persons in front of them.

“Hmp… so you didn’t run away, <Dispel> and the pupils. Let me at least praise that courage of
yours.”
“Kukiki, but that is reckless. Just regret your own incompetence with the bread crust.”
“Kyahaha, that is no good, even if it is a bread crust, I am gonna steal it from you.”
The Four Heavenly Kings made a darling smile and confronted the Yamai sisters.
Kaguya and Yuzuru fixed their eyes on them.
“Kuku, let me return those words back to you. I will make you regret opposing us Yamai!”
“Opposition. As Kaguya said. We won’t lose today.”
Hearing that, <Aerial> Washitani pushed his forehead.
“Good. There are only 20 packs of the limited bread. The stock should be low right now. —Well
then, let’s start!”
With those words, the Yamai sisters and Four Heavenly Kings kicked the floor.
Even still, if they don’t do something to the crowd in front of the store, there is no way they
could reach their hands on the bread.
“Kaguya! Yuzuru! Plan A!”
When Shido gave them an instruction from the outer edge of the battlefield, Kaguya and Yuzuru
gave him a thumbs-up without facing back.
“Preparation. Kaguya!”
“Right!”
Yuzuru joined her hands, Kaguya then used that as a foothold for her jump.
Seeing that, Washitani, who was running in parallel with them, twisted the corner of his lip.
“Fu, isn’t that exactly the same as before!”
He used the back of a nearby student as a foothold and jumped to Kaguya.
“Secret Arts – Icarus Fa —”
“Now! Yuzuru!”
Shido raised his voice when Washitani tried to hit Kaguya mid-air with his body.
“Affirmative. I understand.”
Suddenly Yuzuru who is kneeling down to the floor started running and jumped into the air —
“Attack. Eiya”
With that unexcited voice, Yuzuru kicked up her right leg — toward Washitani’s stomach.
“Augh…?!”
Washitani yelled in anguish, however, their attack didn’t stop there.
“Kuku… time for your fall, former king.”
Kaguya twisted her body mid-air and performed an axe kick toward the back of Washitani’s
head.
Washitani’s body that is receiving both kick up and axe kick at the same time spinning down, and
stuck to the floor. His feet cramped up a little.
“Ku… Washitani is defeated?!”
“Wha… B-but don’t get carried away! Washitani is the weakest of us Four Heavenly Kings!”
Said that, <Pickpocket> Saginuma then made a kinda refreshing face. Seems like she always
wanted to say that line.
However, they still cannot let down their guard. There are still two of the Four Heavenly Kings
left.
“Take this! My death scent!”
<Professor> Karasuma spread out his coat and put several test tubes between his fingers on both
hands.
Seeing his actions, Shido raised his voice.
“You two! Plan B!”
’!!’
Kaguya and Yuzuru, who have landed on the floor, immediately equipped the goggles hanging
on their waist after hearing Shido’s words.
When the surroundings began to be scented with the pungent smell, other students started to
frown their faces. However, the Yamai sisters kept calm as if nothing happened. Of course, the
goggles on their faces are the type that covered their noses, like the one used for diving.
“What…!”
Karasuma raised a voice brimming with confusion and changed his face into astonishment.
The Yamai sisters closed on Karasuma and snatched those test tubes emitting the smell from his
hands —
“Kuku, if you like the smell that much…”
“Laughter. We will let you smell it forever.”
They then made a devilish smile and poured the liquid in the test tube onto his neck.
“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!”
After screaming in such agony, Karasuma collapsed down to the floor. The pungent smell in the
surrounding area got even stronger.
“Aw…”
Shido frowned in pity. Even though he doesn’t know what that liquid is composed of, the smell
would probably remain for quite some time.
“Ku… you two! How miserable! If it had come to this then I —”
Saginuma said, trying to sneak up on the Yamai sisters.
However, the two simply stared her down, and she stopped right away.
The reason was simple.
Yesterday, when Shido explained the plans for the encounter with the Four Heavenly Kings to
the two, Saginuma’s was the simplest one.
To explain it simply…”just try to not get robbed.”
Pickpocketing the bread requires one to be caught off-guard. Thus, if the Yamai sisters simply
pay attention to that, the success rate will drop dramatically.
Now, no one will get in the way of the Yamais. They hold the 500 yen coin in their hand and
walk to the front of the store, pushing aside the students. But —
“Washitani! Attack <Dispel>!”
Once Saginuma’s voice was heard from the back, Washitani, who was supposed to be crouching
down to the floor, held him from his back.
“What…!”
Kaguya and Yuzuru turned back, noticing Shido’s voice and distorting their faces in horror.
When Saginuma saw their faces, she made a vicious smile.
“That’s right. It is <Dispel> who is giving them the instructions. We should be attacking him
instead. — Karasuma!”
Being led by Saginuma’s calling, Karasuma, who was drifting with a stinking smell, rose up.
“Ku… kiki… now that it has come to this, I will soak everything in this stinking smell! I wonder
if you can stay no reaction when I rub you in the face, ‘No Reaction’ <Dispel>!”
He said that (with a twang) and approached Shido like a zombie. Every step he took caused the
stinking smell to assault Shido.
“U-uwaaaaaa!”
Shido couldn’t resist, and shouted.
“You all…!”
“Anger. How dirty.”
Kaguya and Yuzuru distorted their faces in anger. However, they are already surrounded by other
students. Even though they wanted to return to Shido, no doubt Shido would get hugged by
<Professor> before they could get back to him.
“Hey, you should also become as smelly as me!”
“Uwa! E-eek…”
’Shido!’
The moment Kaguya and Yuzuru simultaneously shouted Shido’s name.
“Eh — ?”
A gust of wind blew all over the surroundings.

After a moment of floating, the view before Shido’s eyes started spinning and his body was
slammed into the wall. The next moment, a dull pain ran through his body.
“Aww…”
He opened his eyes.
The view before him is a very strange one.
Centered from Kaguya and Yuzuru who were taking each other’s hands, the students all
collapsed down to the floor. The bread is all blown away and there are a few broken windows.
Seems like some of their Spirit powers that had been sealed flowed back to them in response to
their intensity of emotion. After all, they were originally a Spirit of wind who caused a lot of
casualties around the world.
“Are you okay, Shido?”
“Worry. Are you okay?”
They both walked to Shido then removed their goggles and started smelling Shido’s body. They
then reached out their hands to Shido with relief.
“Ha… haa… thanks.”
Shido stood up with their help and said with a wry smile.
However, for them right now, they have an even more important thing to do. Once they shook
their shoulders, they ran to the school store.
“Store lady, please give us the limited bread!”
“Petition. Please do.”
Even though the Four Heavenly Kings were still conscious, it seems like they can’t stand up
right now. They looked at the Yamai sisters’ orders, frustrated.
That was the moment of victory. Shido gripped his fist tight, but—
“I’m sorry, but the limited bread on the shelf was all blown away just now.”
The story lady said with as calm a voice as usual.
“W… what?!”
“Horror. That can’t be…”

Kaguya and Yuzuru looked around their surroundings and slumped their shoulders.
The Four Heavenly Kings who are still collapsing down to the floor then laughed weakly at their
looks.
“Fu… fu… how unfortunate.”
“Kukiki, so it ended with a tie.”
“Kyahaha, then —”
Suddenly — The Four Heavenly Kings stopped laughing.
There is only one possible reason.
From the stairway, there is an approaching footsteps.
“D-don’t tell me…”
“This footsteps is —”
“<Miss Perfect> …?!”
“Eh…?”
Hearing the voice of those three, Shido looked in the direction of those footsteps.
<Miss Perfect>. Shido remembered that name. Those three said she is the strongest of all Four
Heavenly Kings.
And she — is now approaching here.
The footsteps come nearer and nearer, and her appearance could be seen.
That face is —
“…Origami?”
Shido said, frowning.
That’s right. The person coming down from the stairs is Tobiichi Origami.
“<Miss Perfect>!”
“It has been a long time…!”
 ”I never thought you’d appear…!”

However, the other Four Heavenly Kings looked up to her brimming with emotion. Seems like
Shido did not mistake her for someone else, but Origami is actually the <Miss Perfect> those
three said.
“Origami… you are the last of the Four Heavenly Kings?”
When Shido asked that, Origami let out her breath.
“They called me that on their own.”
“I see…”
Shido guessed the situation and smiled bitterly.
However, the Four Heavenly Kings didn’t notice Origami’s reaction and raised their voices
trying to cling to her.
“Please, <Miss Perfect>!”
“Take revenge for us…!”
“If it were you… maybe you can do something even with this situation…!”
“…”
Origami ignored the words of those three and talked to the store lady.
“Pardon me.”
“Ah, here it is. The bread you reserved.”
Said that, the store lady then handed her bread (with a ‘LIMITED!’ clearly written on it) she kept
on the back of the shelf.
’What…?!’
Shido, the Yamai sisters and even the Four Heavenly Kings were surprised.
“R-reservation…?”
“Amazement. I never thought you could do that…”
Origami simply walked past the Yamai sisters, limited bread in her hands.
However, the Four Heavenly Kings recovered earlier than them and, completely unlike earlier,
laughed triumphantly.
“Fu-fuhahaha! Seems like us Four Heavenly Kings win this contest!”
“Ku-kukiki! That’s right! Have you seen the ability of <Miss Perfect>!”
“Kyahaha! Although it didn’t sound right to me, it certainly was our winning!”
Origami, not wanting to be involved with them, continued walking without making any reaction.
Yamai sisters grind their teeth in disappointment.
“Damn, damn! Even though we put in that much effort…!”
“Bitter. Kaguya, please calm down. Let’s beat them next month.”
“…”
Seeing their reaction, Shido scratched his cheek.
For some reason, he’d feel annoyed if it ended like this.
“…Hey, Origami.”
That’s why Shido called her when Origami was going to walk past him.
“If it’s okay, can we have that bread…?”
“Why?”
“Well… a little bit of circumstances. It might not be worth it but, I will exchange my boxed
lunch with —”
“Here.”
Before Shido could finish his sentence, Origami handed him the bread.
’… What?!’
The faces of the Four Heavenly Kings who were enjoying their victory immediately froze.
“Is it okay…?”
“Yes. In exchange.”
“S-sure, it is inside my bag. That’s now yours.”
“…”
Origami heard that and nodded without saying anything then skipped upstairs to the classroom.
“What… I can’t believe you could snatch the bread from <Miss Perfect>…”
The Four Heavenly Kings said in a confusing voice.
“As expected from the man who tumbled and evaded my mid-air attack and hit my crotch with
your head one year ago…”
“So this means his ability to catch a cold in his nose in order to escape from my death scent was
not just for show…!”
“I shouldn’t underestimate the man who made me pickpocket the dummy trash instead of the
bread…!”
“…Isn’t that all a coincidence?”
So that’s why he has been given the nickname. Shido dropped his shoulders listlessly.
Few seconds later, Yuzuru and Kaguya, who finally understood what’s going on, ran to Shido.
“Shido! You did it!”
“Praise. You did it in the end.”
“Well, it’s kinda dirty play though.”
However, for the Yamai sisters, the fact that their comrade was able to get the bread is important.
Kaguya hugged Shido with a broad smile and Yuzuru happily leaned herself toward him.
Shido made a bitter smile and handed the Rainbow Cream Bread to them.
“Good job. — Here, divide it between you two.”
’… ‘
However, the Yamai sisters who received the bread from him simply stared quietly at it, then
took the bread from its package and divided it into three pieces.
They then gave the middle piece to Shido.
“Eh?”
“Kuku… I’m indebted for your work this time. Let me give you a reward.”
“Gratitude. Our winning is because of Shido. Please accept it.”
Shido was surprised for a moment… then raised the corner of his lip and accepted the bread.
“I see. As you wish, then.”
“Umu. What about a toast to our winning?”
“Consent. Let me borrow your hand.”
“Toast?”
While Shido is still inclining his head, Kaguya and Yuzuru simply touched their bread to the
bread still in Shido’s hand.
Seeing Kaguya and Yuzuru’s satisfied looks, Shido bit into the bread.
Kurumi Star Festival
“It’s… really crowded here huh.”
Shido walked leisurely while looking at the streets on his left and right. Reflected in his eyes was
the shopping district that was more lively than usual. That was to be expected, that’s because
today is the seventh day of the seventh month. An annual festival known as Tanabata,
shopkeepers who love holidays like these the most would of course not let such a chance to make
a roaring business escape, they have already raised quite an excitement in the district long ago.
Open air stalls have long been set up on both sides of the street, not only were there takoyaki and
yakisoba that are said to be indispensable in festivals, the various items on sale were also
extremely appealing. There was no end to the flow of visitors, resulting in the entire district
being packed with people. Shido was not the kind of person to feel excited from festivals,
however it was different when he was placed in a location where there are stalls everywhere.
Although the festive Spirit would not cause the price of the goods to fall, it will however cause
the stall owners to start some off-record advertising that would be beneficial to those that visit.
Since the arrival of the gourmand Tohka, the cost of meals of the Itsuka residence have been
under the subsidization of <Ratatoskr>, but the amount and quality of food aside, to resolve their
daily meals at the lowest cost possible—as the sole person in charge of the Itsuka residence’s
kitchen, that was Shido’s important mission. At this moment, Shido felt pitiful as he became
aware that he was displaying an aura of a mature housekeeping husband…
However it is pointless for him to complain about it now. Shido let out his depressed feelings
with a huge sigh, after which he revealed a face of that of a housewife that was just about to go
and hunt for bargains in the district. It was an usual everyday event for Shido. After this Shido
would only need to go to the stores that he commonly frequents as usual, chat with the
enthusiastic storekeepers for a while before carrying the groceries back home and make dinner
for the girls back home. —At least that was how it was supposed to be. However, at that
moment.
“Eh—?”
At the edge of his vision, on the opposite side of the street, Shido spotted something out of the
ordinary.
“Wha…”
At the same time, before his brain could register what that existence was, Shido’s body stiffened,
as though he had been frozen to the spot. On the other side of the wide sea of people that filled
the shopping district. A young girl wearing a black one-piece dress stood there. Long hair that
just happened to rest on her shoulders, a slender figure, the left side of her face was covered by
her fringe akin to that of a waterfall, exposing her right eye that seemed to be unfathomable as a
black hole as well as lips that were as delicate as sakura petals. With all that beauty, there was a
devilish-like charm capable of enslaving men the moment eye contact was made.
However—that was not the case. The reason why Shido was so shocked to the point that he was
unable to move for a few seconds, was not just because of the girl’s looks.
“Kurumi—Tokisaki…?”
Shido said the girl’s name with a shocked tone, at the same time, swallowing his saliva to relieve
his dry throat. —Kurumi Tokisaki. The girl who had transferred into Shido’s class roughly a
month ago, who had also intended to [devour] Shido, the Spirit who had planned to take the
power of the Spirits sealed inside of him for herself was the very girl in front of his eyes, Kurumi
Tokisaki. Possessing a brutal and competitive personality, she was different from Tohka and
Yoshino who unintentionally cause spacequakes which endangers human lives, Tokisaki Kurumi
had killed countless humans out of her own free will… she was also known as—[the most
dangerous Spirit].
Not too long ago she had lost her left arm and part of her Angel after suffering a hit from
Kotori’s attack, her whereabouts have been unknown since then. However the one in front of his
eyes right now, her left arm was unharmed and intact.
“…Eh.”
Shido couldn’t help but rub his eyes. It was probably just to reassure himself, but he had a small
wish that he had seen wrongly. After that Shido blinked his eyes a few times, when he turned
back to look at the street once more… The black figure of the girl was already gone.
“W-what’s with that… so it was my imagination after all—”
“—Good evening, Shido-san.”
“Uwah?!”
Before Shido could even manage to heave a sigh of relief, a voice suddenly called out to him
from behind, causing him to jump. After that, he hastily turned around, standing right there, was
the girl who had been on the other side of the street just a few minutes before.
“Kurumi…?!”
“Yes, it has been a while, Shido-san.”

Saying that, Kurumi revealed an intoxicating smile, lifting her skirt slightly and bent her knees,
she bowed to Shido. Shido on the other hand was forcing his erratic heartbeat to calm down, he
firmly stared into Kurumi’s visible right eye before inquiring.
“W-why are you… in a place like this?”
If he was maintaining contact with Kotori like he usually did, he would most likely be lectured
for uttering such a pointless question. The corner of Kurumi’s lips slowly rose, she gazed at
Shido’s face, replying to his question in a whisper.
“Isn’t that obvious—I am here to meet with Shido-san of course.”
“…!”
Shido immediately held his breath, hastily stepping back at the same time. Kurumi came to meet
Shido. That means— her goal is to… However, as a normal human of flesh and blood, it is
impossible to escape from Kurumi’s clutches, Shido understands this fact very well. Although
there are humans as far as one could see surrounding the two of them, but to Kurumi who is a
Spirit, she probably would not care about being seen by eyewitnesses. No… in the worst case
scenario, if she wanted to, she could abduct everybody including Shido into the shadows, picking
him out after that would be an extremely simple task. With his thoughts up to this point, Shido
gritted his teeth as he looked back at Kurumi. Due to the irregular existence before his eyes, a
normal everyday scene has now transformed into one with a bleak future with a blink of an eye.
What exactly should he do to—
“…?”
But, at that moment, Kurumi suddenly reached out her arm, holding Shido’s hand with her own.
“Fufu… hey, Shido-san?”
Kurumi’s face had an enchanting smile, her fingers slowly wrapped around Shido’s hand. That
expression of hers, it was as though she had seen through Shido’s thoughts, a chill went down his
spine. Alas, he had tried everything he had, Shido thought to himself, faced with such a dire
situation it looks like he was all out of options.
However—Kurumi said something that was entirely out of his expectations, as though ignoring
the despair that had clouded Shido’s heart.
“—May we go out on a date? Right now?”
Kurumi pulled on Shido’s hand while moving her lips near his ear, she whispered to him.
“Ha…?”
Faced with this unexpected invitation, Shido couldn’t help but widen his eyes.
“Kurumi, wh, what did you say just now…?”
“Fufu, really now Shido-san, requesting a girl to say such words a second time, you really are
insensitive.”
Saying that, Kurumi tilted her head mischievously to one side.
“A… date?”
“That’s right, I just want to go out and play with Shido-san, can’t I?”
“No, it’s just…”
Shido was speechless. Kurumi had proactively invited him on a date. —From a normal
viewpoint, this was an extremely dangerous situation. However, Shido was hesitant as well. He
would be lying if he said that he was not afraid of Kurumi. After all she was a malicious Spirit
who had murdered countless humans before, if she wished to decapitate Shido, it would be but a
simple task for her to do so. Even so, deep down inside Shido’s heart, there was a strong urge to
converse with Kurumi once more, an urge to get her to confide in him. This feeling overrode his
fear of death.
“…”
However, in response to Shido’s silence, Kurumi seemed to have misinterpreted something.
“Ara ara, it seems that Shido-san is still doubting me… How lamentable, but it can’t be helped.
No matter who it is, they probably would not want to go on a date with someone who had
attempted to kill them before. However—”
Midway through her sentence, Kurumi bent forward slightly, gazing up at Shido with a humble
expression while continuing her words.
“Please be at ease, I came here with no intention of doing any harm to Shido-san for today. If
you really do not trust me no matter what I do, it is alright to use chains to restrain my hands or
even wrapping a bomb around my throat is fine too you know?”
“No no no, how could I do that to you…”
Upon noticing Shido’s fluster, Kurumi widened her eyes as though she was acting in a play, she
hid her face with her hands displaying a posture of dismay.
“Then that means, Shido-san just hates me and isn’t willing to go out with me? Sob sob, I’m so
sad, I feel like I am going to cry.”
“Eh…! I said nothing of the sort!”
“Waa—”
“Hey hey hey…”
Shido scratched the back of his head with a troubled expression. It was obvious that Kurumi was
acting suspiciously. Of course, in Kurumi’s case, she could very well be just playing a prank on
him… But for some reason, the atmosphere that Kurumi was currently giving out was somehow
different from that of the most dangerous Spirit he had met weeks before.
Furthermore… Kurumi did say before that she has no intention of harming Shido today. It was
only a verbal promise, she could go back on her word at any time, there was no way to ascertain
that she would keep her promise. However, for as long as Shido could remember, although
Kurumi’s words often had a hidden meaning behind them, she would occasionally speak in a
roundabout way but she has never gone back on her word before.
Most importantly, the current situation still remains extremely dangerous for him, if he were to
reject her invitation now, making her unhappy, that would spell digging his own grave. Before he
could even utter “I’m sorry.”, he probably would have been dragged into the shadows by several
arms.
“…Alright then, I’ll go on a date with you.”
Once Shido said that, Kurumi’s expression instantly brightened.
“Really?”
Kurumi’s feelings of jubilation could be felt from not just her expressions but her words as well,
just like a blooming flower that had nothing to hide, Shido couldn’t help but be surprised at this.
Although he had already thought up some countermeasures for the various situations that may
happen… but he was at a loss upon witnessing her behaving like this.
“Fufu, I’m so happy, Shido-san really is a gentle person.”
Kurumi happily chirped while reaching out and hugging Shido’s arm.
“Wah! K-Kurumi?! Wh…”
The sudden turn of events, caused Shido to cry out in surprise, blushing furiously like a maiden
in love. Despite the fact that she was the most dangerous Spirit, Kurumi still looked like a frail
girl. If she made such a bold action all of a sudden, as a healthy highschool boy, how could Shido
handle her?
“Um, I say, isn’t this a little too intimate…?”
“Is that so?”
However, Kurumi merely smiled at Shido’s fluster, sticking closer to Shido.
“I don’t see any problem—, after all we are on a date right now. Fufu, for the moment… only for
this moment, Shido-san is my man. Or are you saying… that you are feeling disgusted, with me
hugging your arm like this?”
Kurumi asked in a depressed voice, this caused an unexplainable sense of guilt to form in
Shido’s heart, he couldn’t help but groan as he frowned.
“That’s not it, I won’t push you away…”
“Is that so? Fufu, then let’s hurry up and go.”
Saying that, Kurumi started walking ahead. Under the lead of her petite figure, Shido was
half-pulled into the bustling streets.
—Tanabata. Just like Hikoboshi and Orihime who are separated by the vast Milky Way. Wading
through the wide streets, weaving past the dense human crowd— The youth and the maiden,
finally meet once more.
“…Umm, Kurumi. You said that this was a date, but where on earth are we headed?”
After walking for an unknown period of time, Shido finally couldn’t help but open his mouth and
inquire.
“Hm, actually there’s a place that I’d like to visit.”
“A place that you’d like to go? Where?”
“Fufu, I’m keeping it a secret for now.”
At the same time, Kurumi did not forget to put her finger to her lips. Witnessing Kurumi making
such a cute action, Shido felt his heart flutter. However at this juncture, he immediately reminded
himself. Although this chance to interact with Kurumi could be a rare opportunity, her danger
level did not decrease due to this. Being with her means that a moment of carelessness could
very well mean instant death. Just as Shido was contemplating this, Kurumi who was dragging
Shido suddenly stopped in her footsteps. Following that, she showed a cunning smile, the tip of
her tongue circled her lips, her eyes were directed straight at Shido.
“—Aaah, aaah. Sure looks… delicious.”
“…!!”
Those words caused Shido’s wariness to rise.
“What… don’t tell me, you really intend to—”
His voice trembling in fear, Shido tried to pull away from Kurumi. However Kurumi’s arms were
akin to chains, refusing to let go of Shido for even a single millimeter.
“Ah, ah—”
Kurumi chuckled, her lips forming a crescent, she then pointed her finger—at the open-air stall
behind Shido. The stall was selling snacks named [Bamboo Leaf Cakes]. Within these bite- sized
cakes, fillings such as red bean paste or cream were added. It did seem very appealing.
“Hey, Shido-san. Don’t you think that that looks delectable as well?”
“Eh? So you were referring to… c-cake…?”
“—Oh my, what in the world did you think I was talking about?”
Shido’s expression instantly relaxed. Upon witnessing his strange reaction, she couldn’t help but
giggle… haa, it somehow feels like he was a clown in Kurumi’s hands.
“I-I’m telling you…”
“Fufufu, but it really makes you hungry, right? Just look, there are so many weird things
everywhere. That one over there seems to be called [Milky Way Shaved Ice].”
Shido looked in the direction Kurumi indicated. There was indeed a stall that was selling shaved
ice with Blue Hawaii syrup with condensed milk on top.
“Ahh… so that’s how it is, so that’s their representation of the Milky Way, it is rather creative.”
“Look, the [Orihime Cotton Candy].”
“Linking cotton candy with cloth weaving? This one seems a little forced…”
“That one over there seems to be [Hikoboshi’s Beef Jerky].”
“This… a cowherd shouldn’t be eating beef.”

Merchants are really pulling out all the stops, Shido frowned, sweat formed on his cheek.
Kurumi put her hand to her mouth, showing a slight smile.
“Fufu, being together with Shido-san like this, really makes me happy.”
“No, I’m not really doing…”
However, without even waiting for him to finish, Kurumi once again towed Shido at his elbow.
“Let’s go this way, Shido-san.”
“Wah, Kurumi, don’t pull me!”
“Fufufu, time waits for no one don’t you know? Come on, Shido-san. Let’s treasure the short
period of time we have together.”
Kurumi walked on with a smiling face, with Shido right behind her, they weaved through the
shopping district. Following that for another fifteen minutes on foot, Kurumi pointed at the
building in front and spoke to Shido.
“This is the place.”
“This place is… oh, the planetarium?”
That’s right, in front of the two was the planetarium that was located slightly further away from
the shopping district.
“Yes, I’ve been longing to have a look for a long time now.”
“Is that so… This is rather unexpected.”
“Ara, what do you mean?”
“Ah, no…”
Shido was in the middle of thought as to what excuse to make before making a sudden
realization—he was shocked at himself for being relaxed enough to be able to joke around with
Kurumi. No, he probably did not let down his guard at all.
However, from the shopping district to this point, he did not feel any feelings of hostility or
violence from Kurumi at all, this somehow caused him to lose his sense of wariness. That’s right,
the Kurumi today is really just a normal girl. Happily linking arms whilst engaging in
conversation, smiling in bliss… all those normal activities.
Such normality—being together for such a short period of time, had caused Shido to forget the
bloody struggle last month.
“…”
Shido wordlessly focused on Kurumi… He has no idea what is going on in her mind. Is she
planning on [consuming] Shido once he lets down his guard? But if that was the case, what kind
of motive does Kurumi have to do this in such a roundabout way? She would only have to pull
him into the shadows the instant their eyes met to achieve that goal. If that was the case, then
why? She couldn’t have really been just hoping for a date…? No, that way of thinking would be
even more foolish. Since she made contact with Shido knowing full well that she may be
discovered by <Ratatoskr>, then she must have some goal in mind—
“…? Shido-san? What’s the matter?”
“Ah… it’s nothing. Let’s go in, Kurumi.”
Shido hid his hesitant feelings from Kurumi, walking into the planetarium together. Purchasing
two tickets, they located their seats and sat down. Not long after the lights in the planetarium
went out, the guide’s voice resonated in the darkness.
“—We’re very thankful for your presence in the planetarium today. Our program for today is—”
After the scripted greetings, on top of the semi-circle dome ceiling, countless stars began to
shine.
“Wow…”
A voice of amazement sounded out from beside him, Shido couldn’t resist moving his vision
from the ceiling to the source. Next to him, Kurumi’s eyes were shining with a glittering sparkle,
she did not avert her gaze, staring at the countless dazzling stars above her in a daze.
“…”
Upon witnessing her innocence, Shido scratched his cheek… giving out a small sigh, before
returning his gaze to the ceiling… He could see the stars and yet he could not understand
Kurumi’s real feelings. Leaving Shido’s sense of helplessness aside, the countless stars in the sky
banded together, forming a magnificent tapestry of light—this was the Milky Way. On both
sides, there were two other stars that gave off a brilliance that outshone the other stars.
[—The daughter of the Heavenly Emperor who lived by the bank of the Amanogawa, Orihime,
was a celestial maiden that was able to weave beautiful clothes. However, after she married
Hikoboshi the Cow Herder, Orihime no longer wove cloth, spending the whole day playing with
Hikoboshi. The Heavenly Emperor was incensed when he saw this and separated the two in
order for them to focus on their work. From then on, the two lovers are only allowed to meet
each other once a year, on the night of the seventh day of the seventh month. However if it rains
on that day, then the Amanogawa would flood and they would be unable to cross— ]
So that was what it was, narrating the origin of Tanabata, it does seem fitting of the festive mood.
Shido stealthily peeked to his right once more, yet he was caught off guard by Kurumi’s eyes
meeting his.
“—!”
“…Fufu.”
Shido couldn’t help but feel his heart jump, however Kurumi did not seem to notice as she
revealed a bright smile, she silently overlapped Shido’s hand with hers. The back of his hand was
enveloped in a soft yet cool sensation, Shido’s heart skipped a beat.
“K-Kurumi…?”
He wanted to ask her a question, but her gaze had already returned to the starry ceiling. Kurumi
paid no heed to Shido’s fluster, slowly parting her soft lips.
“Hey—Shido-san.”
“W-what is it…?”
“Hikoboshi and Orihime, they are separated by the Milky way, only allowed to meet once a year,
is that right?”
“…Yeah, that’s correct.”
“However, if it rains on Tanabata, then this once in a year opportunity would be lost.”
“Yeah… there are a lot of interpretations regarding this… but this is true for most myths.”
Hearing Shido’s words, Kurumi took a shallow breath as though thinking of something before
continuing to speak.
“If… and only if, one year, another year and the year after that… if rain continues to fall on
Tanabata, the Amanogawa that separates the two will continue to flood… then the two lovers,
are they still able to continue to think of each other?”
“Eh…?”
Faced with such a sudden question, Shido couldn’t help but tilt his head in wonder.
“Why the sudden question?”
“Time is more gentle than anything. Even though the two of them will lose this once in a year
opportunity to meet, that sadness will heal as time passes. However time is also more cruel than
any other, even though the two lovers have pledged their love for all eternity, that pure emotion
will fade away into dust in the flow of time. That one instant where their existence is recognized
by each other is being constantly taken away by fate, just how long will the lover that resides in
their heart exist till?”
“That really is… a difficult question to answer.”
Shido’s face took on a troubled expression as he replied, there was no correct answer when it
came to this type of question.
However, Kurumi did not back down as she continued to look at Shido, it was as though she was
waiting for Shido to give her an answer. That serious gaze of hers, made Shido slightly afraid.
“Gah—… Kurumi?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not Hikoboshi nor Orihime. What I am going to say next, I hope you will take it as my
personal opinion.”
“Alright.”
“I think that they will probably never forget each other.”
Hearing his statement, Kurumi curiously tilted her head in his direction.
“Why would you think of it that way?”
“Just think about it, the two of them forget about their work because their relationship was so
good, resulting in their separation right? If it weren’t some disastrous issue, how could they
forget themselves?”
Kurumi’s melancholic reply had a sigh mixed in. It seems that this reply did not make her
satisfied.
However, Shido was not done speaking, he shook his head and continued.
“Don’t be hasty, I have proof of what I just said.”

“Proof… you say?”
“That’s right. I think… The two of them are actually constantly meeting in secret.”
“Huh?”
Kurumi was caught off guard as she widened her eyes.
“What do you mean by that? Aren’t the two of them being separated by the Amanogawa?”
“No, if you think about it, Hikoboshi—also known as the Cow Herder Star’s other name is
Aquila— it’s the alpha star of the Eagle constellation. Since it’s an eagle, it will just fly across
the Amanogawa just by flapping its wings. The two of them must be meeting secretly behind the
Heavenly Emperor’s back. Therefore, how would they forget about each other.”
“…”
Hearing Shido’s words, Kurumi was speechless as she widened her eyes for a moment—
“He, hehe… haha, ahahahaha.”
Not long after, she began to laugh uncontrollably. It was not the gentle, discreet giggle that she
had used till now but a loud laughter. Irritation started to show from the surroundings in the form
of coughs, glares of complaint stabbed at the two of them like needles. Despite all of this,
Kurumi continued to laugh.
“Um… Kurumi, I think it’s better if we left first, alright?!”
Saying that, Shido helped Kurumi to stand up. Although Kurumi was still in bursts of laughter,
she still obediently listened to Shido’s suggestion. As Shido repeatedly bowed his head in
apology to the visitors around them, he led Kurumi out of the dark hall.
“Haa—… Fufu, that was really funny. I understand now… indeed, Shido-san does have a point.”
“…Actually I had no intention of making you laugh. Since you are done, then shall we go back
in again?”
At Shido’s inquiry, Kurumi however shook her head from side to side.
“It is enough. This aside—I wish to write on tanzaku. By writing my wish on that and hanging it
on a bamboo shoot, it will come true, is that correct?”
“Although I don’t know how true that is… Hm, tanzaku huh, If that’s the case, then let’s go to
the shopping district, there’s massive bamboo planted there. Tanzaku are distributed for free as
well, shall we go together?”
“Yes, I can’t wait.”
Kurumi showed an adorable smile, hugging tightly onto Shido’s arm once more.
“Hey, hey…”
Shido wanted to resist for an instant… however he immediately realized that such resistance was
futile, thus he let Kurumi hold on to his arm as they left the planetarium together. Following that,
they walked back onto the route that they came from. Looking at his watch after leaving the
building, the time had just passed six in the evening. The sky has started to take on a crimson
hue, the shadows of the two were drawn out on the ground…
It’s going to be dinner time soon, the hungry Tohka must be ranting for dinner at the Itsuka
residence already. But it is impossible for him to escape from Kurumi at present. Most
importantly—regarding the present Kurumi and the one he had met last time, Shido was unable
to leave her be. Just as they were about to turn into the shopping district, Kurumi suddenly cried
out in surprise, stopping in her tracks.
“Gah… what’s the matter?”
“Shido-san, look at that”
Shido looked in the direction indicated by Kurumi. Over there, was a small wedding store, on the
signboard had the words [Try on a wedding gown free!] written on it.
“I’ve always wanted to try one. Before we go back to the shopping district, may we go there and
take just a little peek?”
“This is… but I’m still a high school student. Then again why are you suddenly so interested in
that sort of thing…”
“…”
Hearing Shido say that, Kurumi suddenly looked crestfallen, showing a lonesome expression.
“…That’s because I wish to have more memories with Shido-san. At the same time—I hoped
that Shido-san would be able to take away memories of being with me as well.”
“Eh?”
Hearing Kurumi say words that did not sound like her at all, Shido couldn’t help but raise an
eyebrow.
“…Can’t we, please?”

“Guh…”
Looking at Kurumi’s moist eyes, Shido couldn’t find it in his heart to say no to her.
“I, I got it already. Then let’s just ask them. If they refuse, then you have to give up, alright?”
“! Yes, yes! I’m so happy!”
Kurumi’s expression instantly brightened up. That pure and innocent look, caused Shido to lose
all intention of resisting, he had no choice but to walk to the wedding store with Kurumi.
“Shido-san… where are you?”
It was evening. Under the twilight glow, Yoshino was currently walking through the shopping
district. The small figure of the girl was hidden under the straw hat’s large brim. Her two
sapphire blue pupils as well as the funny looking rabbit puppet on her left hand [Yoshinon] were
her key features.
“Yeah, that’s right, did something happen to him…”
“Hmph, he’s probably mulling over what to make for dinner in front of the stalls. Let’s find him
quickly and go home.”
As though they were replying to Yoshino’s outspoken thoughts, the two girls walking in front of
her spoke. One of the girls had hair as dark as night, a girl with crystal-like eyes—Tohka. The
other girl had her hair tied into two ponytails with black ribbons, having a haughty
expression—Kotori. That’s correct, originally dinner was supposed to be at the Itsuka residence,
but Shido who had left earlier to buy dinner ingredients has yet to return and is unable to be
contacted. As such Yoshino as well as Tohka and Kotori who were worried set out together to the
shopping district to find him.
“Hm?”
All of a sudden, Tohka’s eyebrow twitched, she patted Kotori on the shoulder and asked.
“Kotori, Kotori.”
“Hm? What is it? Have you found Shido already?”
“No, I haven’t… I just wanted to know, what is that?”
Saying that, Tohka pointed in the direction of the street. Over there, numerous bamboo were
placed alongside the street. For some reason, the branches of the bamboo had countless strips of
paper attached onto them.
“Oh… Those are wishing tanzaku. That means that today is Tanabata.”
“Tanzaku? Tanabata?”
“Yeah. Tanabata’s custom is to write your wishes onto strips of paper called Tanzaku and hang
them on the bamboo, then your wishes would be granted.”
“! Wh, what did you say…!”
Hearing Kotori’s explanation, Tohka’s eyes started to glow.
“Ko… Kotori!”
“…Alright alright, it’s okay, you can go and give it a try.”
“Y-yeah!”
Kotori expressed her approval as though she had seen through everything, Tohka on the other
hand, nodded her head vigorously before running to the bamboo. Looking at Tohka’s figure,
Kotori turned her gaze towards Yoshino.
“If that’s the case, then Yoshino should go as well.”
“Eh… I-I can go too…?”
“Yeah, of course. Although it’s a different case altogether whether it will come true or not, since
this comes once a year, you should go and experience it for yourself.”
“Al, alright…!”
As such, Yoshino followed Kotori to the main street, retrieving two free tanzaku, taking up the
organizer’s pen, and she wrote down her wish alongside [Yoshinon].
“Oooh, what did everyone wish for?”
At this point, Tohka who had finished writing her wish a step ahead of the others sneaked a peek
at Kotori’s tanzaku.
“…Uh!”
At that, Kotori went into a fluster, hastily rubbing off the wish that was half- finished.
“Uh? What’s wrong, Kotori.”
“It’s, it’s nothing. I wrote it wrong, just a mistake.”

Kotori said a vague line as she began to rewrite her wish in the space that was left.
“Hm? This wish seems a bit different from just now?”
“! It’s just your imagination! R-right, Yoshino’s done too right?! Let’s hurry and put these up and
find Shido!”
“Hm? Oh, ooh…”
“O-okay…”
Tohka and Yoshino hurriedly nodded their heads after succumbing to Kotori’s pressure. After
everyone had written their wishes down on their tanzaku, they made their way through the
crowd.
“Phew… But, it’s going to take a lot of effort to find Shido in this crowd. There’s no other way
then, let’s split up and search. I’ll go to the north section of the street, Tohka will go to the south,
Yoshino will circle around the area to search. If you still haven’t found him in 30 minutes, come
back here to regroup, understand?”
“Yeah, I got it!”
“O, okay… We understand.”
[OK—Leave it to us—!]
Tohka, Yoshino as well as [Yoshinon] nodded their heads.
“Good… then, let the searching start!”
At Kotori’s signal, the three girls plus one rabbit went off into their respective search zones.
Yoshino’s area was the commercial district on the boundary of the shopping district. Compared
to the large street, there’s less human traffic here, there’s a lesser chance of bumping into people
distributing tissue papers or passers-by. Kotori must have thought about this beforehand for
Yoshino’s sake. After silently thanking Kotori, Yoshino started to look for Shido.
“…Shido-san, I hope you didn’t get into any trouble.”
Yoshino said to herself. However at this point, [Yoshinon] on her left hand suddenly laughed
“Oo—hohoho”.
[Well—danger aside—he could very well have run into that, you know—?]
“That…?”
[I’m talking about women—Women. Ah—Shido-kun is a sex maniac!]
Saying that, [Yoshinon] covered its face with both hands, twisting its body while acting shy.
Yoshino showed a bitter smile, but before she could reply [Yoshinon]—
“Eh…?”
The next instant, she widened her eyes, standing rooted to the spot. The reason for that was
simple. She saw Shido and a girl whom she did not recognize together on the street.
“T-that was…”
[It’s Shido-kun—Uhwoo—What a girl! Shido-kun really is something!]
“H-how can this be…”
Yoshino’s voice started to tremble . Shido and the girl walked straight towards a building. —That
place was a wedding store.
“Eh…?!”
[Hyuuuu—]
Yoshino did not understand the full details, but she had heard previously that marriage was the
act of two people pledging their love for each other forever and living with each other under one
roof. —Don’t tell me, Shido-san really…?
“…Uu.”
Yoshino held her breath, sneaking around behind corners while inching closer to the store that
the two had entered. Peeking inwards from the entrance into the building she saw Shido
negotiating with the receptionist about something, the girl on the other hand was waiting behind
him. Black silk-like hair, perfect features, this girl was beautiful to the point of making her feel
frightened.
“Shi-Shido-san… Why are you here?”
“…Ara?”
Just as Yoshino was focusing on this girl in bewilderment, the girl noticed Yoshino’s gaze,
walking towards her.
“Good evening, do you want something from me?”
“Hyi…”
Suddenly being engaged in a conversation by a stranger caused the timid Yoshino to jump.
However, now wasn’t the time to be afraid, Yoshino gathered all the courage that she had and
opened her trembling mouth.
“U, um… Can I ask what your relationship is with Shido-san…”
Hearing Yoshino mention Shido’s name made the girl widen her eyes in surprise.
“You know Shido-san? Ara…? Then again, did I meet you somewhere…?”
The girl mumbled to herself while in thought, slightly nodding her head a few times after a
while.
“…?”
“Aaah, don’t mind me. Besides, don’t you want to know what sort of relationship… Shido-san
and I are in?”
“Ye… yeah…”
Yoshino lightly nodded, at that the girl’s mouth had a hint of an evil smile.
“Regarding this, how should I put this? I guess it would be like destiny that can’t be severed, a
passion that cannot be separated… In conclusion, it’s a special relationship that cannot be
interfered with by anyone, huh?”
“Eh? Eh…?”
The girl’s words made Yoshino go into shock. However the girl continued to speak while
enjoying Yoshino’s reaction.
“I know everything there is to know about Shido-san including every inch of his body, that’s
because I have carefully inspected him thoroughly just like licking him all over. Aaah… That
time when we met last month, what a passionate night that was. Just as I was confiding in Shido,
a burning object entered my body… Fufufu, I’ll have to make him take responsibility for that.”
“T-that…”
“Aaah, that’s right. The underwear that I’m wearing right now was also picked for me by
Shido-san himself. If you don’t mind, do you want to have a look?”
Saying that, the girl pinched the edges of her skirt, slowly lifting them upwards.
“…?!”
Yoshino’s mind went blank, the world began to spin, she did not give herself time to think, her
legs had already taken her away.
“Fufufu, good day to you then.”
The girl bemusedly called out, but Yoshino did not have any strength to turn her head. She did
not have time to sort out her thoughts, she only thought of leaving this place as soon as possible.
“Somehow… this makes one feel uneasy…”
Shido said to himself, whilst adjusting his tie in the changing room located within the wedding
store. This can’t be helped, for men who were going to wear a white tuxedo for the first time in
their life, most of them would probably think the same thing as well. That’s right, in conclusion,
although Shido and Kurumi are lovers in highschool, they have received permission to try out the
wedding gown.
No, to put it across more accurately, from the beginning, the female receptionist had a troubled
expression on her face, however after Kurumi whispered something to her, she immediately had
a change in attitude, becoming extremely cooperative. In short… She even allowed him to try
out the white tuxedo.
“That girl, what on earth did she say…?”
Shido heaved a huge sigh—suddenly remembering something.
“Ah… then that means, I can use my handphone!”
Being led around by Kurumi all this time made Shido’s thinking slow. Shido took out his
handphone from his clothes on the hanger, opening it, he noticed the numerous missed calls
displayed on the screen. It seems that he had made his family worried.
“In any case, let’s just call Kotori first…”
However, just as Shido was about to send a message over, the door of the changing room opened
with a bang, the receptionist who had been sitting in the waiting rushed in.
“Come on hurry up, the bride has already finished preparing! May the groom proceed here!”
Saying that, she enthusiastically pulled Shido’s hand.
“Wah, hold on?”

Shido who was caught off guard couldn’t even resist, he was dragged out of the room without
even being able to make a call. Just like that he was led through the corridor, all the way till the
door of another changing room did the receptionist let go of his arm.
“Come, please enter.”
“Ah, um…”
Shido listlessly replied, raising his hand to open the door.
“—”
Kurumi who was standing right in the center of the changing room entered his sights, Shido was
instantly rendered speechless. Contrary to her usual image, a pure white wedding gown
enveloped her lithe body, a thin layer of makeup covered her face—in the presence of such
astounding beauty, Shido was unable to come up with any words.
“Fufu… being stared at like this, I’ll get embarrassed as well.”
“! Ah, this… s-sorry. That was because you were… you are, really too beautiful.”
“Is that so, I appreciate the compliment.”
As soon as Shido replied, Kurumi’s face took on a pale pink shade, showing a graceful smile. For
some reason, the staff member behind him keeps sniffing from an overflow of emotions, at the
same time taking out her handkerchief and dabbing at her eyes.
“…Hey, Kurumi, what did you say to her?”
“Aaah, that miss over there? Nothing much, I only said ‘I don’t have long to live due to a
terminal disease. I’m afraid that I won’t last till the age that we would be able to swear to spend
our lives together. She was so regretful of that fact, that she wanted to let me have the chance to
wear a wedding gown at least, with that she became extremely caring…”
“…Wait, isn’t all of that a lie?”
“Fufufu, I wonder?”
Shido pointed with judging eyes, however Kurumi merely laughed. At this, the female
receptionist who was still weeping loudly sniffed a few times, she started to urge Shido and
Kurumi.
“Alright alright, please proceed to the wedding hall, we provide photo taking as well.”
“Eh… No, no need, it’s enough for us.”
“What are you saying! This could be… it could be her last chance…!”
After crying out, the staff member used her handkerchief to cover her face as she wept
uncontrollably. It seems that she’s the type that will be easily brought to tears.
“Isn’t it fine like this, Shido-san. Furthermore I too… wish to take a wedding photo together with
Shido-san.”
“…Uu, um—”
Is this really okay… Although Shido was hesitant, he couldn’t very well say
“It’s all a lie”
At this point of time, more importantly, there’s no reason to refuse Kurumi’s wish just because of
this reason alone. As such, under the urging of the receptionist, Shido and Kurumi both went
through the corridor.
After stepping out from the building’s rear door, they reached a wide area that looked like a
courtyard. This was a quiet area that was away from the hustle and bustle of the city. And in the
centre, a church was built. Under the illumination of the setting evening sun, the entire space
looked like it was being painted with a vermilion glow. Although it was small, it was a church
that had been carefully maintained.
Opening the chocolate colored door, the crimson carpet extended all the way to the interior of the
church with rows of long benches on both sides, what entered their eyes soon after was the altar
that was placed inside the church, the huge crucifix as well as the brilliance of the stained glass
windows.
“Come! Please stand in front of the altar! Leave the photo taking to me!”
“O-oh, thank you.”

“Fufufu, we’re leaving it to you then.”
A digital single lens reflex camera was in the hands of the staff, under her instructions, Shido and
Kurumi stood side by side in front of the altar.
“Well then, will the two please face over here. A little closer, groom, please smile!”
“Ha, haha…”
After being pointed out, Shido made a half-hearted smile. At the same time, his ear heard the
snapping sound of the shutter. Not knowing how long she had run after leaving the store,
Yoshino accidentally ran into something soft.
“Kya…!”
“Yoshino? What’s wrong, why are you so flustered?”
Looks like she ran into Tohka. Tohka looked at Yoshino, tilting her head in wonder.
“To-Tohka… san. Shido, san… is going…”
“Uh? Did something happen to Shido?”
Looking at the panting Yoshino, the young maiden—Tohka frowned slightly.
“Y-yeah… actually…”
When Yoshino finally calmed down, she started to reiterate to Tohka what she saw just now.
“W-what…? Shido is going to marry a girl who flipped her skirt…?”
Tohka raised her eyebrows in confusion. However this was unavoidable, since Yoshino who
witnessed the scene too had difficulty in understanding what she just saw. At this moment.
“Ah… Tohka, Yoshino. How was it at your end? Did you find Shido?”
Just as the two girls were looking at each other helplessly, Kotori met up with them as well.
“Ohhh, Kotori. Actually, Yoshino seemed to have found Shido…”
“! Really? Where did you see him?”
“Hm, speaking of this, it seems that Shido flipped the skirt of a cute girl, they spent a passionate
night together, so now he’s being asked to take responsibility by marrying her or something.”
“Ah…?”
Hearing Tohka’s words, Kotori was instantly rendered speechless. However in the next instant,
her cheeks blushed red, rage was evident from her countenance.
“Ar… Are you kidding me! S-Shido getting married?! Wh, w-w-what on earth is going on?!”
“I’m, I’m not too sure as well…”
“What kind of joke is this! Where did this vixen come from! How dare she seduce my
onii-chan!”
Kotori yelled aloud, repeatedly stomping the ground. After that she threw a sharp glare at
Yoshino . That demonic expression made Yoshino cry out in terror.
“Where are they, Yoshino! Lead the way!”
“O-okay…!”
Although Tohka’s explanation was slightly different from what she said earlier… But no matter,
the current situation still requires the assistance of the two. Yoshino, along with Tohka and
Kotori, sprinted back to the way she came from. After the photo shoot, the two of them got
changed, leaving the wedding store behind them. At this time the surroundings have already
taken on the color of dusk. That being said, he couldn’t just leave Kurumi with just that. The
special date that Kurumi had requested was still not completely over. That’s right, Shido is
currently walking on the dark road of the shopping district alongside Kurumi in order to fulfill
her wish of writing on tanzaku.
“…”
Shido silently glanced at Kurumi who was walking beside him. Kurumi was delicately hugging
the photo that was given to them from the wedding store (Furthermore, it really looked like a real
wedding photo, expensive interleaving paper was used—and it was all for free), at the same time
she was happily humming to a tune. After that, she would occasionally open the paper, sneaking
a peek at the wedding photo of the two and showing a delighted smile…
The current Kurumi, made Shido even more confused. She was the most dangerous Spirit
known, a girl who everyone should be wary of. However, at least Kurumi right now, no matter
how you look at it, seems like she only wants to have a date with Shido today.
“Ah, Shido-san, please look over there.”
As though stopping Shido from thinking too much, Kurumi spoke to him.
“Hm…?”
Hearing that, Shido raised his head. He saw many thick bamboo stalks placed alongside the
stores of the shopping district, the leaves extending towards the night sky. There were already
countless tanzaku hung on the branches, creating a colourful sight.
“Wah, that really looks beautiful.”
“Yeah… Look, they seem to be giving out tanzaku there. Didn’t you come over for that reason?”
“Yeah, I’ll just help myself then—Isn’t Shido-san going to write one too?”
“Eh, no, I’ll just…”
“It’s a rare chance after all, will you write it together with me?”
Kurumi gently smiled, taking Shido’s hand in hers. Just like that he was pulled by Kurumi,
walking next to the bamboo. The dense number of bamboo leaves were just like a curtain. Long
tables were placed below the bamboo to allow people to write their tanzaku more easily. Shido
and Kurumi both took tanzaku from the staff members, after taking out pens from a makeshift
pen holder from a plastic bottle with its top cut off, they started to think of what to write.
“A wish… huh.”
Although he did have wishes,… but when he wanted to write them down, he found it difficult to
decide. As such, Shido naturally thought, what did the others write, at the same time he looked
up.
“Hm…?”
Amongst the few tanzaku that he saw, a familiar name was seen. [I want to eat Katsu-karē for
dinner tonight. Yatogami Tohka]
“That girl… when did she come here?”
Judging from that distinct handwriting, it was definitely written by Tohka herself. Shido
scratched his cheek in suspicion, deciding in his heart—he will remember to buy ingredients for
Katsu-karē on his way home. Following that, looking beside the tanzaku, he saw others. [I wish
that I can speak to people in the eye. Yoshino] [I wish for Yoshino to be happy. Yoshinon]
“Haha…”
Looking at such heartwarming wishes, Shido couldn’t help but smile. It seems that Yoshino and
[Yoshinon] came here with Tohka.
“Then, probably…”
Shido continued to look at other tanzaku. [I wish that Shido would be more useful. Kotori Itsuka]
“T-that girl…”
That was definitely Shido’s sister · Kotori’s tanzaku. Shido’s facial muscles twitched, his
eyebrows started creasing
—Suddenly, he noticed that there seemed to be smudges on the right side of her wish.
“…”
It was very unlikely that imouto-sama would write incorrectly. She probably wrote some
unsightly insults, so she had no choice but to rewrite. Shido heaved a sigh, at the same time using
his finger to scratch his face before turning to look at his tanzaku once more. Looks like there
was no need to be overly serious. Shido intended to write [I wish that all Spirits will obtain
happiness]—before recalling that the existence of [Spirits] is a secret. So, he changed his words
to read [I wish that spacequakes would not occur again, let there be peace on earth.]. Although it
sounds more subtle, the meaning behind it is generally the same.
“Let’s leave it like that…”
Saying that, Shido turned to look at Kurumi’s direction. To be honest, in regards to what wish
she would be writing, it would be impossible not to feel curious.
“Kurumi, what did you write?”
As he spoke, Shido glanced at the tanzaku in her hands. However Kurumi immediately flipped
that tanzaku over, preventing him from seeing it.
“Fufu, that’s a no no, you dare peek at a maiden’s secrets, Shido-san is a mean person.”
Kurumi displayed an alluring smile, raising her index finger, swiftly pressing onto Shido’s lips.
“You…!”
“Fufu, Shido-san’s reaction is really cute.”
“D-don’t tease me anymore.”
Shido wiped his lips with his arm, Kurumi on the other hand started to happily giggle.
“Never mind that, in short, you’re done as well right? Then let’s hang our tanzaku on the
branches.”
Hearing his words, Kurumi obediently nodded her head.

“Yeah, then where shall we hang it?”
“Well… there’s a saying, the closer you hang it to the heavens, the higher the chance that the
wish would come true…”
“Closer to the heavens… then that means, over there?”
Kurumi pointed up to the sky, over there, a massive bamboo with a height taller than the roof of
the building swayed with the wind. Such a height could not be reached, so there were no tanzaku
hung there.
“Um, that really is high… but that’s too dangerous. Look, there’s some space on the bamboo
over there, let’s hang it there.”
“Mm, alright.”
Shido and Kurumi both held their tanzaku in their hands, walking forwards under the cover of
the leaves. Nearing the end of the road, one could see that there was still space to hang tanzaku.
“Yeah, then let’s hang these here.”
Saying that, Shido stretched out his hand, hanging his tanzaku onto the branch. However,
Kurumi still held onto her tanzaku, not moving from her spot. Shido saw that, tilting his head in
confusion.
“Kurumi? What’s wrong with you?”
Hearing his words, Kurumi weakly smiled before slowly speaking.
“Shido-san… You had said it before, right? Hikoboshi and Orihime, no matter how many years
of rain, would never forget each other.”
“Eh? Yeah… I did say that.”
Hearing that, Kurumi, as though wishing to deeply remember this sentence, drooped her head,
“Hey… Shido-san. No matter how many years of rain, will Shido-san not forget about me too?”
“Eh?”
Such a sudden question, caused Shido to hesitate.
However, Kurumi did not seem to be making fun of him. So, after Shido thought for a few
seconds, he nodded to Kurumi.
“Yes, I won’t forget you. A girl with such a strong presence as you, I can’t forget even if I
wanted to.”
Shido bitterly smiled as he replied.
“Is that so?”
Hearing that, Kurumi let out a satisfied smile.
“What’s with you… what a strange fellow. Alright, let’s hurry up and hang the tanzaku shall we?
If you don’t want me to look at what you wrote, I can step back for a while—”
“No.”
However, Kurumi shook her head from side to side.
“Looks like… time is already up.”
“Time is… up?”
Hearing Kurumi’s words that held a deeper meaning, Shido couldn’t help but frown. And in the
next instant—
“—I finally found you, [Me].”
From behind Kurumi—within the dark alley separated from the hustle and bustle of the busy
street, he heard such a voice.
“What…”
After that, the moment he saw the figure that materialized, Shido was rendered speechless. It was
beautiful, wearing a long skirt that had vermillion and black interwoven like blood and shadow,
black hair tied into two uneven bunches on both sides, as well as heterochromatic eyes.
Furthermore, that face— There was no question about it, it was Kurumi herself. The Kurumi
who was standing in the shadows, parted her lips slightly.
“You really went and did some selfish things… But, it all ends here. A clone that doesn’t obey
my will, will only stand in my way if you exist.”
“A clone…?!”
Shido widened his eyes, looking at the Kurumi who was holding her tanzaku. Kurumi was able
to extract as well as hide copies of her past self in her shadows completely, that was something
that he had understood last month. —But, don’t tell me, the Kurumi that was with him the entire
day all this while, was actually a clone. Shido’s head was in the midst of chaos. On the other
hand, standing in the shadows—Kurumi’s [real body] bent her knees slightly while pinching the
ends of her skirt, bowing to Shido.
“It’s really been a while, Shido-san. I’m really sorry, my incompetent clone seemed to have
given you some trouble.”
“This.. What on earth is going on?”
Shido’s confusion could be told from his expression. Hearing such a question, the real Kurumi
looked at her clone from the corner of her eye, lazily starting to explain.
“I’ve said it before right, my clones are my past, my experiences. The [Kurumi Tokisaki]
standing over there is the same, she was taken out of a random instant of my past, another
personality. It’s just that, the instant where I had taken her out was really from a terrible
moment.”
“Terrible…?”
The real Kurumi nodded her head.
“That [Me] was when I was replenishing my clones… I accidentally recreated her from the time
when Shido-san was talking to my other self on the roof last month… I really don’t know
whether it can be counted as a prank from god.”
“Wha—”
Shido was speechless. He still recalled clearly. Last month, on top of Raizen High School, Shido
and Kurumi had indeed spoken to each other. Not only did the Kurumi of that time expand a
barrier within the school, she also attempted to trigger a spacequake. Shido on the other hand
successfully persuaded her to stop, but the moment Kurumi was about to reciprocate his
feelings— At that moment, the original Kurumi showed up, and killed that Kurumi.
“Then that means, you’re Kurumi, from that time…?”
“…”
Kurumi did not reply, she merely revealed a sad smile. Looking at her, the real Kurumi
impatiently sighed.
“I’m really sorry, a clone that doesn’t listen to my orders cannot be left alone— especially [Me]
who already had developed feelings for Shido-san.”
Saying that, the real Kurumi slowly raised her right arm, and —swiftly formed a fist. Following
that, Kurumi’s feet sprouted countless pale arms, slowly pulling her into the darkness.
“Ku—Kurumi…!”
Shido hastily extended his arm, hoping to grab Kurumi’s hand—However it was already too late.
“Shido-san. Today—I was happy, really…”
Kurumi did not make any form of resistance, she let the white arms wrap around herself, until
her figure was completely submerged by the darkness. It was as though… she had already known
that she would meet such an end from the start.
“Kuru..mi…”
“…Killing the same [Me] twice, what an unpleasant feeling.”
The real Kurumi said as such, at the same time she pinched her skirt just like before, dipping her
head and making a bow.
“I’ve done what I’m here to do for today. I originally wished to talk more with Shido-san…”
The real Kurumi said while looking behind Shido. Almost simultaneously—
“Shido—!”
“Back off!”
A familiar voice sounded out, and in the next instant, Tohka and Kotori suddenly appeared,
standing in front of Shido.
“T-Tohka—Kotori?”
Shido called out their names in surprise. He had just finished speaking, and Yoshino, too, arrived
beside him. Although Yoshino widened her eyes due to her not being able to understand the
situation, upon looking at the strong reactions of Tohka and Kotori, she took Shido’s hand in hers
in a bid to protect him.
“Kurumi…! Don’t you dare harm Shido!”
“You have the guts to appear unannounced. What’s the matter today? If you intend to obediently
surrender, then I’ll be merciful and listen to your pleas of forgiveness.”
Hearing Tohka and Kotori’s words, Kurumi shook her head in exasperation, turning to look at
Shido once more.
“—It is unfortunate that the terrifying Spirit of flames is here to interrupt, I’ll take my leave
here—Take care, Shido-san.”
Saying that, Kurumi’s figure disappeared into the darkness. Almost instantly, all the tension in
the air evaporated as well. At the same time, Tohka, who was standing in front of Shido, turned
around.
“S-Shido! Are you alright!”
“…Yeah, I’m fine.”
Shido replied in a low voice, before gritting his teeth, forcefully smashing his fist onto the
ground.
“Kurumi…!”
Last month, the clone who was killed by the real Kurumi. It was a mystery as to why she
reappeared in front of Shido. Her true intention is still unknown even till now. But—the only
thing he can understand is. Even though Kurumi knew that she would once again be killed by the
real Kurumi, she still chose to meet with Shido. Just for a few hours of memories, she chose to
defy the absolute will of [Herself].
“…!!”
An indescribable feeling surged within him, Shido once again swung his fist.
“S-Shido…”
Tohka called out his name out of concern. However, Shido’s head was still in a mess. Many
kinds of emotions broiled into a chaotic whirlpool, causing rational thought to be impossible. At
that moment.
“…Shido. what’s that?”
Kotori’s voice sounded out to him from behind. Hearing that, Shido raised his head
slightly—opening his eyes. At the spot where the Kurumi clone was consumed by the shadows,
the interleaving paper containing the photo was left, as well as —a small strip of paper.
“Tan, zaku…”
Looking at that, Shido unsteadily stood up, picking up the tanzaku that had fallen to the ground.
After that, he looked at the words written on it.
“…”
Shido bit down hard, as though attempting to draw blood from his gums. He held the tanzaku in
his hand, wordlessly walking down the street.
“Ah… Shido! Where are you going!”
Tohka’s voice sounded out from behind him, but Shido ignored her, tearing a path through the
crowd, and he continued to walk forward. Finally, he arrived in front of the tallest bamboo that
Kurumi had said earlier, holding the tanzaku in his mouth, he climbed the nearby telephone pole
to the building’s roof. His actions quickly attracted the attention of nearby visitors, murmurings
started to sound out from the ground.
However Shido did not take them to heart, he stepped onto the roof, extending his hand to the
largest branch on the bamboo. And then, while maintaining an unnatural position, he hung the
tanzaku in his mouth on the very top of the bamboo. However,
“Wah…!”
The instant he hung the tanzaku onto the branch, Shido’s foot lost its balance, he fell from the
roof. His vision started to spin violently, the murmurings of the crowd turned into screams.
“Shido—!”
However, at the same time he heard the voice, a second before Shido’s body hit the ground, he
was caught firmly. Looks like Tohka who had caught up had saved his life.
“Are you okay, Shido!”
“Oh, yeah… I’m saved, Tohka.”
“What’s the matter with you, running off like that.”
“Aaah… I’m here to hang the tanzaku.”
“Hm?”
Tohka frowned, raising her head and looking up. On the very top of the tallest bamboo, the lone
tanzaku was right there swaying in the wind.
“Hanging it over there? Uh, that really was dangerous.”
“Yeah… I’m sorry. But it’s just… that wish, I’d like that to come true no matter what.”
Saying that, Shido followed Tohka and looked upwards—in the swaying bamboo leaves, the hint
of a small single tanzaku could be glimpsed.
[I hope that one day, I will be able to meet Shido-san once more. Tokisaki Kurumi]
“I won’t forget you… How could I possibly forget about you?” Shido clenched his fist, looking
at the night sky as though making a pledge. In the midst of the glittering sea of stars, a small
single shooting star flew across the sky, as though flying across the Milky way.
Allow us to celebrate Dramaga
Kotori: Celebrate! Dragon Magazine’s 25th anniversary!
Shido: Wait, what are you suddenly saying, Kotori…? And while we’re at it, where are we?
Tohka: Mmm… It’s rather colorful suddenly. We’re usually just black and white, two colors all
the time.
Origami: …
Yoshino: Umm… Is something about to start?
Yoshinon: Ooooh, Everyone’s assorted here huh?
Kotori: We have everyone assembled here for none other than this. Now, let’s start with
everyone’s names.
Tohka: Mine’s Yatogami Tohka!
Origami: Tobiichi Origami.
Yoshino: I’m… Yoshino…
Shido: I’m Itsuka Shido, but…
Kotori: And I’m Itsuka Kotori. Now that we’re this far, you should know right?
Shido: No clue whatsoever. Explain it?
Kotori: Pathetic huh? Look closely. Everyone’s name includes a number and added together it
adds up perfectly to [25]. Therefore the currently assembled faces are members specifically
chosen to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Dragon Magazine
Tohka: Wha, What did you say?
Shido: Ah, yeah. But what a great accident. Everyone’s name has a number in it.
Kotori: Yeah, it really is a great accident huh? (all in katakana)
Shido: Why are you suddenly talking like that? (referring to the all katakana)
Kotiri: You’re not supposed to notice that
Origami: …Sweet
Kotori: Huh?
Origami: Just assembling the numbers and reaching 25 is something we can’t say.
Kotiri: Hm, then what should we do
Origami: That’s easy. We just need to combine it.
Tohka: C… Combine?
Origami: Yes. Not just assembling but getting everyone to combine, then we can really celebrate
the 25th anniversary properly.
Yoshino: Uhh, what do you mean by that?
Origami: Practicing. … Shido, you should go to a room over there and combine with me.
Shido: Uhh, what are you trying to do?
Tohka: Wait! I also want to go practice with Shido!
Shido: Do you even understand what you’re saying Tohka?!
Origami: No Problem. You guys can combine in a different way.
Tohka: Oh? Do you really mean it…?
Origami: I mean it. Become our flesh and blood and continue to live on.
Shido: What are you guys trying to do?!
Kotori: Okay Okay. We’re supposed to be celebrating DraMaga, shouldn’t we not do things that
would easily get us banned and be more peaceful?
Yoshino: Uhm… Well, how about we do this?
Shido: Huh?
Kotori: …Uhh, Tohka, Shido, Tobiichi Origami line up and get in a crawling position, then on
top of that will be me and Yoshino. Then on the very top…
Yoshinon: Will be Yoshinon!
Shido: …Well, I guess if you’re being literal, this is combining in a sense
Tohka: Oooooh… a spectacular pyramid! The 25th anniversary is great!

Shido: Su, sure…?
Origami: Shido. As I thought, this wouldn’t be enough. You should combine with me.
Shido: N… no, wait
Tohka: Hey…?! You bastard, what are you doing?!
Shido: Hey, both of you, If you quarrel even in this situation, we’ll crumble… Waaaaaaa
(*falling noises*)
Afterword
Long time no see, or should I say nice to meet you? I am Tachibana Koushi.
What do you think of <Date A Live Encore>? I will feel honored if my readers like this book.
You must have found out that this is not a sequel. That being said, obviously <Date a Live> isn’t
over. This is just a short story collection.
I wrote this in the afterword of volume seven too. In terms of the story of <Date a Live>, the
girls who appeared can’t have their stories described with just those stories. Therefore, this time
the plan is to focus on each girl with short stories to fill in the gaps. This time specifically covers
Tohka, Origami, Yoshino, Kotori, and the yamai sisters that were previously published in
<Dragon Magazine> as well as three additional short stories that were created for this collection.
Therefore, this is the afterward for my first short story collection.
Having said that, the content of this light novel is different, but the afterword isn’t so I originally
wanted to write as usual, but a problem came up.
I mostly finished the manuscript by writing what was basically a first draft then reducing the
length. As a result, each time the page count shrinks, so does the afterword.
While there are previously unpublished stories this time, since they are included in the article
posted on <Dragon Magazine> it’s very different from the usual. As a result, this afterword has 8
pages.
I’ve never written such a long postscript before.
Since this is a collection of short stories, let me briefly explain each story. Because how many of
the stories will be spoiled, readers who don’t want to see any spoilers should read the novel
before continuing.
Tohka Game Center
This first short story was actually written immediately after the first volume of Date a Live.
Tohka is the protagonist of this story, of course, but since it’s also the first time some <Dragon
Magazine> readers have read <Date A Live>, the characters and dating system were explained as
well. Although it was a basic story, I was still happy that I wrote it. I like the way it came out.
In fact, the dream panda bear Ronnie that appeared in this story, also appeared in color of the
second OVA episode and shows an expansion in the type of products. Incidentally, it happens to
look similar to Tsunako-sensei’s self-portrait.
But I digress, the dream panda Ronnie has colorful fur and has two friends: a brown horse with
stars named Arnikino and a frog with flowers named Pillar Quack.
Origami Impossible
<Date A Live> first appeared on the cover of <Dragon Magazine> which published this short
story and anime news. I decided “after writing Tohka, let’s write Origami”. Although many parts
were conceived this way, it seems that I could only imagine Shido being swallowed by Origami.
I remember the original idea was that Origami was like a “devil terminator” chasing Shido who
was on a date with Tohka. That sounds terrifying, so I decided to write something different just
to reduce Origami’s scariness.
I got really immersed in writing Origami’s scenes, so I didn’t have much awareness, but when I
saw the illustration of Origami on <Dragon Magazine> I felt like “I did something that shouldn’t
be let go”.
Yoshino Fireworks
I remember that compared to Tohka and Origami, Yoshino’s story settled down pretty smoothly.
It was worthy of being Yoshino, and she was easy to write. On the contrary, when the story was
submitted, it was the one that worried me the most, because the editor suddenly called me before
the manuscript was delivered and I was wondering what was going on. The other party told me
“This kind of manuscript can’t be delivered”.
Me: What’s the matter? Isn’t it ok?
Editor: No, the last scene is Shido finding Yoshino wet in the rain and he feels like blushing
right? That’s not enough.
Me: What do you mean?
Editor: I think she should be spanked on the ass here…!
That was genius! The illustration is the result of that excellent opinion of the editor. Bravo.
Kotori Birthday
A short story about Kotori who is fully prepared and waiting for the perfect time to come on
stage. When I thought about what to write, the first thing that came to mind was a birthday party.
Although this is an absolutely indispensable event, it would be too long for this story.
Having said that, it feels lonely to grow older, so the story became the birthday party everyone
celebrated together with Kotori. As far as plot development is concerned, most of the stories
have Kotori’s hair tied with black ribbons, but this time we can give the white ribbons a few
more appearances.
Yamai Lunchtime
Summer vacation is finally over, so Yamai Kaguya and Yamai Yuzuru have joined the battle. The
pair are like a stupid couple, and it was fun to write them, however it was also troublesome to
think about the unique way they speak. It’s also a very time consuming job to write for them.
The previous short stories are mainly for existing characters, but this time the characters didn’t
appear in the main story first. That’s right, the Four Heavenly Kings of the school store. Readers
who have read my debut work Soukyuu no Karma may know that I like this type of idiot the
most. I think it’s the charm of short stories to bring these types of characters out.
Kurumi Star Festival
Since I got the news, I wanted to publish a short story about Kurumi as part of the unpublished
new manuscript. Since she hadn’t been completely obsessed with Shido, it’s difficult to describe
her daily life not just here but also in <Dragon Magazine>, however it’s necessary to show her
girlier side.
If Kurumi doesn’t appear, wouldn’t that be deceiving everyone? Since the season was perfect, I
decided to write the Star Festival theme for Kurumi. The story was originally called “Kurumi
Star”, but that felt sub-standard. Kurumi seemed almost as if she was going to be debuting as a
singer, so I changed the name. Since <Date A Live Encore> is usually happy and cute so far, this
time the theme was changed slightly to show a sadder side too. I personally really liked how this
one turned out.
So this book is the same as the story, and it could only be completed after so many people put
care into it. Tsunako who always draws beautiful illustrations, everyone in charge of the editing
and editorial department, and the many people in publishing and sales. Thank you so much.
Since there are many more stories of the girls to add, please continue to read <Dragon
Magazine>.
It will be my honor to talk to you again in <Date A Live> volume 8.
Koushi Tachibana
March 2013
Disclaimer: Date A Live is owned by Kadokawa and Koushi Tachibana. This is a non-profit fan
translation; please support the official release.
Author: Tachibana Koushi
Illustrator: Tsunako
Translators: Lightning Farron, Koyuki, Baka Tsuki, ABearCat
Editor: Ene
Thanks to: Rhoni, ABearCat, Midgert
As long as this page isn’t modified, and you don’t charge for access in any way whatsoever,
anyone is welcome to redistribute this document, including with changes. If you do edit the
stories though, please provide us a copy (at discord.gg/datealive). Thanks.
- Ene
Date A If Case 1: What if Tohka and the others did a gravure
shooting
Shidou: ”Now then, I’m going to start taking pictures now—Can everyone please strike a pose?”
Tohka: ”A pose? Will this do?”
Yoshino: ”I, I, can’t do this kind of pose..."
Kotori: ”Ah—you don’t have to force yourself, it’s alright if you do what you can do.”
Origami: "... (Peep, peep)”
Tohka: ”Uu? Tobiichi Origami, you, why have you been adjusting your swimsuit the whole
time?”
Origami: ”Doing something that gets a man’s heart beating the fastest. Subtly showing off my
flesh under the body hugging swimsuit. With that Shidou’s eyes will be completely glued to me
now.”
Tohka: ”W, what did you say?! Is it like that?!”
Yoshino: ”B, but, Shidou-san he..."
Kotori: ”Oh my, Shidou is looking somewhere else at the moment. He is looking at..."
Tohka: ”Re, Reine!!”
Reine: "...Uu, what’s the matter?”
Kotori: ”How can this be... that bear puppet is actually held between her breasts...?!”
Origami: "..., so there’s actually a method like this.—<Hermit>, I will be borrowing your
puppet.”
Yoshino: ”Eh... ,eh...?!”
Tohka: ”Tobiichi Origami! What are you planning to do!”
Kotori: ”That’s right! More importantly is that it’s impossible with your breasts—”
Origami: ”You won’t know unless you try.”
Yoshino: ”U... U,ah, aaaaah...!”
(After that, the figures of three girls were found in a completely frozen pool)
Date A If Case 2: What if Kurumi blends into daily life
A certain weekend past noon. The spirits led by Tohka entered an accessory store.
“Hurry up and look at this! This is so furry!”
Saying that, Tohka picked up a bag made of rabbit leather.
“It’s not bad.”
“How... adorable.”
Kotori and Yoshino smiled as they spoke, Kurumi too chimed in.
“Yes, it does look pretty.—that leather bag that was made from skinning the fur off a cute
rabbit.”
[... ]
After Kurumi’s comment, everyone present fell into silence.
“Ko, Kotori! Are you feeling hungry?! The spaghetti Bolognese at the restaurant next door is a
must try! Let’s go and eat it with everyone!”
“Y, yeah! I’m for the idea!”
“T, that sounds delicious..."
Joining in their conversation, Kurumi too expressed her approval.
“Yes, it sounds absolutely delectable.—it's just like viscera that is dripping with fresh blood.”
[... ]
The trio once again descended into silence.
“H, how about we walk a little longer before going for lunch?”
“G, great. I think that’s a good idea!”
“T... there’s a pet shop over there..."
At this moment, Kotori covered Yoshino’s mouth in haste.
“Yoshino, you can’t say that. If we were to go inside the pet shop, she would definitely say [How
will these children be dealt with if they aren’t sold... ] or something like that.”
“Ah...!”
Yoshino’s shoulders jumped in realization.
But it was already too late, Kurumi had already entered the pet shop.
“Kuh..."
However, they soon discovered that there was something amiss.
The moment Kurumi saw the kittens inside the cages, her cheeks slowly blushed.
"...Tohka, Yoshino.”
At Kotori’s prompt, Tohka and Yoshino both nodded. After obtaining the store employee’s
permission they took a kitten each from the cages and approached Kurumi.
“Kurumi, Kurumi.”
“? What’s the... matter?!”
Turning around, Kurumi let out a squeal that did not sound like her usual self.
That was to be expected. After all, Kurumi’s eyes were currently being filled with the soft and
furry animals.
“P, please stop..."
Kurumi’s features flushed crimson as she constantly wriggled her body. Yet, Tohka and the girls
did not show signs of stopping.
“Wai... S, stoooooopppp!”
With a cry that is unclear whether it was that of joy or misery, Kurumi’s voice echoed
throughout the entire pet shop.
Date A If Case 3: What if Origami and Mana are blood-related
sisters
“Haaa..."
It was morning. Mana went to the first floor whilst yawning, she discovered that there was
someone who had arrived in the kitchen before her.
“Onee-sama. Good morning.”
“Good morning.”
Mana’s older sister, Origami turned to look at her without any expression.
It seems that she was in the midst of preparing breakfast. After Mana had finished washing up,
she wore the apron that was hung on the wall and stood beside Origami.
“Mana?”
“Let me help you out sometime.”
“But,”
“It’s alright, we’re sisters after all, there’s no need to stand on ceremony here.”
“You’re right. Then I’m counting on you, can you cut the cabbage for me please?”
“I got it.”
Mana took out a knife and withdrew a cabbage from the fridge, she started to cut the cabbage on
the chopping board with swift and practiced motions.
However—
“Ah, it hurts..."
A sudden pain was felt at the tips of her fingers, causing Mana to frown in discomfort. Looking
at her fingertips, she noticed that there was blood oozing out from her finger. It seems that she
had cut herself by accident.
“Are you alright?”
“A, ahaha... I’ve made a fool out of myself. It seems that I was still sleepy. Sorry, I’ll go and find
a plast—”
Mana’s words were cut off at this point. There was a very simple explanation for that. Origami
had taken Mana’s hand and started licking the blood off her fingers.
“O, Onee-sama?!”
“It won’t hurt if we do it like this. We’re sisters after all, doing this kind of thing is alright.”
“A, about that..."
Mana averted her gaze in embarrassment, her face reddening at a gradual pace.
However, she soon realized that something was amiss.
It somehow feels... that Origami has been licking too much.
Lick lick. Lick lick.
“U, um... Onee-sama?”
Suck suck... Drool drool.
“Umm... I’m fine already?”
Slurp, slurp, sluuuurrp.
“Um... O, Onee-sama!”
Mana pushed Origami’s head aside, taking back her hand by force. After that, Origami began to
show a dejected face.
“That’s my line...! What were you trying to do!”
“I thought of something incredible just now.”
“Something incredible...? What would that be?”
After hearing Mana’s inquiry, Origami spoke with a face that was overflowing with seriousness.
“Mana, you are Shidou’s real sister. That means that you and Shidou are both made from the
same materials.”
“Eh...? Um, Onee-sama?”
“In theory, your taste should be similar to his.”
“Hold on...! Mana’s current setting is Origami onee-sama’s little sister, not the little sister of
Shidou onii-sama.”
“Settings and the like doesn’t matter at all. Come. Your wounds aren’t fully cleaned yet.”
“U, uwaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh?!”
Mana threw down her apron and swiftly fled.

Shidou Hunters
“Haa... Haa..."
Leaning against the wall of a dark alleyway, Itsuka Shidou was panting with slight pain.
The shopping bags that he had held with both hands were now shifted into his arms with the least
possible noise made, as he peeked out to survey the situation on the road with a panicked
expression.
Obviously, Shidou was not doing this because he wanted to be a ninja; he wasn’t hiding here
because he liked to hide in a corner of the street. Shidou had his reasons for doing so.
Frowning as he listened closely with his ears, he could hear yells from the street similar to that of
primal roars.
“—Where is he! Where did he go?!”
“Over there! Don’t let him escape!”
“Al... alright!”
“..."
At the same time, the pattering sound of footsteps were closing in on Shidou.
That’s right. Shidou was currently being hunted by several people.
“W-what... in the world is going on...!”
Shidou let out a wailing sound as he hugged the shopping bags tight, all the while holding on to
the fact that he must evacuate as soon as possible.
However, at that instant, a girl showed herself in front of Shidou.
With a head of hair as dark as night as well as crystal-clear eyes, she was an extremely cute girl.
However those beautiful eyes of her were currently glowing with predation.
“! I found you, Shidou!”
The girl—Yatogami Tohka yelled out aloud, dashing towards him.
“T-Tohka...?!”
Shidou couldn’t help but hold his breath, hastily changing direction for the road.
“Hold on! Why are you running away!”
“That’s because you people wouldn’t stop chasing me! What are you guys planning to do!”
“That’s because—Haa!”
Just when Shidou had run out from the alleyway to the street, Tohka kicked hard on the ground,
pouncing up high.
“Wa, aah?!”
If the manager of the track club were to be on scene, she would undoubtedly be scouted to join
the long jump team. Shidou was held down by Tohka, falling right onto the centre of the road.
“This is great, I’ve finally caught you, Shidou!”
Saying that she flipped Shidou’s body over, changing into a mounting position as she stared
directly into Shidou’s eyes.
Following that—she opened her mouth while seemingly excited.
“Come, let’s—kiss!”
It was the evening of a random weekend. Right in the centre of a shopping district that was
crowded with people.
Tohka said that line.
“Ha... Haa...?!”
Shidou couldn’t help but widen his eyes, replying.
“Ki... kiss...?”
“That’s right! A kiss!”
Although Tohka’s cheeks were slowly turning red, she still replied in a loud voice, reaffirming
those words by nodding her head.
Looking at this scene, the crowd that gathered started to become rowdy. Well, this was to be
expected. After enacting a battle scene on the street, then shouting something about wanting a
kiss. It would be weird if they did not attract any attention.
Shidou looked around him, embarrassed, then spread out his arms, attempting to calm Tohka
down.
“T-Tohka... First of all, can you please calm down, please?”
“I can’t! There’s not much time left for useless chatter! Come, let’s kiss!”
Tohka tightly held down Shidou’s wrist, moving her face closer as though covering his.
“H-hold on..."
Why in the world is that happening... Shidou recalled today’s flow of events as he felt Tohka’s
breathing on his skin.
—Roughly an hour ago before all of this started.
Shidou was going to the shopping district in order to buy ingredients for dinner.
He did not have any people accompanying him today, it was only Shidou. Usually his little sister
Kotori as well as Tohka who lived next door would come along, but they stayed at home today,
because they wished to watch some programs on the television.
“Well then... what shall I make tonight?”
He mumbled as he looked at the two sides of the street for ingredients.
It could be because it was the weekend, there were a large number of people out on the streets.
Housewives that came to buy ingredients for dinner like Shidou, the elderly who came out for a
walk, as well as people who came here just to look around.
Just as Shidou was comparing roast pork with ginger with steamed fish on the scales in his head,
he heard something from the right.
[—Next up are people with the initials S•I. You will know today who the destined one in your
life is. Whether it will be a whole new encounter... or whether it is someone who already exists
by your side... the key to knowing all of that is—]
It seems that it was coming from one of the televisions from the television store. A female was
using a hood to cover her eyes as she used her hands to hold the crystal ball. It seems that it was
related to fortune-telling.
Speaking of which, Kotori would always read up on her blood type horoscope, her star sign
horoscope and more before going to school each morning, a true horoscope maniac. Just maybe
the channel that Kotori wanted to watch was this one.
At this moment, Shidou suddenly remembered something.

"...Now that I think of it, the remote seemed to be out of electricity.”
Saying that, Shidou stepped into the store. Although it was different from the large retail store
which sells all kinds of appliances, that specializes in fixing household appliances, it should have
batteries for sale.
“Hm..."
It was just as he had thought, there was a counter that had all sorts of batteries at the wall. Taking
out a pack that had four AA batteries, he went to foot the bill.
“That’s right, speaking of which..."
Shidou mumbled to himself after walking out of the store. The reason for that was due to him
recalling what he had heard on the fortune telling channel just now.
People with initials S•I... the fortune teller had indeed said that.
Shidou’s last name was Itsuka. That means he had the initials S•I.
“Really now, if I’d known earlier I would have listened more closely.”
Smiling to himself, he shrugged his shoulders.
Even though he said that, Shidou was not that into horoscopes like Kotori, nor did he believe in
this sort of activity. Thus it did not affect him that much, he continued to move through the
shopping district.
After walking around the street for approximately fifty minutes or so. Shidou had finished
purchasing the ingredients for tonight’s dinner.
The time was going to be five in the evening soon.
He had taken up more time than he had expected. He would be delayed if he did not hurry up and
go home to prepare dinner.
What’s left is the stationary that was used up. He better head straight home once they were
bought, with that Shidou increased his pace.
—At that moment.
“Hm...?”
Shidou suddenly stopped. A familiar girl was standing in front of him.
A girl with an elegant and thin figure, shoulder-length hair as well as a doll-like face. Looking
like a doll, it has the dual meaning of referring to her perfect and elegant looks, at the same time
it could be used to describe her lack of expression.
That’s right. Standing right there was Tobiichi Origami— Shidou’s classmate.
“Eh, Origami? What a coincidence. Are you here to buy something too?”
“That is correct.”
“Is that so. I’m going over there to get stationary, see you next time.”
Shidou waved his hand as he continued moving forward.
After that, someone suddenly grabbed his wrist from behind, Shidou involuntarily stopped.
“That hurts, i-is something wrong?”
At Shidou’s question, Origami grabbed Shidou’s wrist with a strength that one could simply not
believe that it came from such thin arms, softly speaking.
“Come over here for a second.”
“Ah?”
Shidou couldn’t help but widen his eyes at the sudden development of events, however Origami
did not have any intention of replying. She continued to grab hold of Shidou’s hand, going
against the human traffic flow.
“Wah, h-hold on will you? If I don’t get home soon..."
“It’ll be over soon.”
Origami did not care as she pulled Shidou into a deserted alley, pressing Shidou against the wall,
placing both her hands next to his head just like she was blocking off Shidou’s escape route... it
just feels that the gender roles have been swapped around.
However Shidou currently did not have the leisure of being able to point out that fact. Origami
closed her eyes, slowly bringing her face closer.
“O-Origami...?!”
“All you have to do is just don’t move from there. It’ll be over soon if you are obedient.”
“U-um... that’s..."
Cold sweat kept forming on his face; he let out a high-pitched voice. But Origami did not have
the intention of stopping. Slowly, but surely she brought her face closer till the point where even
her breath could be felt on his—
“Ah—! Wh-what are you doing here!”
At that moment, he heard a familiar voice, from the direction of the street.
“Eh...?”
Shidou opened his eyes in shock. In the next instant, an arm barged in between Shidou and
Origami, separating them instantly.
“Are you alright, Shidou!”
“T-Tohka...?”
That’s right. The one who appeared was Tohka who was supposed to be staying at home.
“Tobiichi Origami, you! There was the long-awaited school holiday and I can’t believe my luck
in finding you doing such things in a place like this! I can’t really relax when you are involved!”
“That’s my line. A stink bug that gets in my way no matter where I go. Even termites are cuter
than you are.”
“W-what did you say!”
Tohka became enraged, these two people really are incompatible.
However, that can’t be helped. After all a few months back, these two were still at each other’s
throats, aiming to take each other’s life.
In truth Tohka was not human.
A special disaster designated lifeform that humans treat as the calamities brought about by the
world. An existence collectively known as Spirits.
Currently they have only sealed her power via a certain method, allowing her to become similar
to that of a regular human... However her relationship with the members of the organization that
aims to eradicate all Spirits—Anti Spirit Team’s Origami, has always been bad.
Despite saying that he can’t just let the two of them continue squabbling. Shidou raised his
volume as though trying to get Tohka’s attention.
“Tohka. Why are you here?”
“! Oooh, I remember now. I don’t have time to waste on Tobiichi Origami right now.”
Tohka nodded her head hard, after that revealing a sharp glare, suddenly bounding over towards
Shidou.
“Waah?!”
Shidou evaded with centimetres to spare. Tohka crashed directly into the wall where Shidou was
at moments before due to inertia.
“Guwah! Uu, uuuh... Shidou why did you dodge?”
“That’s my line! Why did you suddenly..."
At that moment, Shidou held his breath. Origami who had just been forcibly pulled away by
Tohka threw a razor-sharp glare at Shidou. Almost at the same time, Tohka who had readjusted
her bodily posture once again turned to look at Shidou.
“This... this is..."
Tohka and Origami. Under the stares of these two girls, Shidou couldn’t help but take a step
back.
What exactly happened to these two? Although it was true that both of them normally had
already done many activities that were incomprehensible, the two of them are definitely in an
abnormal state of mind right now.
“Shidou!”
At this moment, he heard a familiar voice call out to him from behind.
Turning to look in the direction of the voice he saw two petite girls standing there. They were a
strong-looking girl with her long hair tied up with two black ribbons and a timid looking girl
who was wearing a large hat as well as a rabbit puppet in her left hand.
That’s right. They were Kotori and Yoshino who were supposed to be staying in the Itsuka
residence while they waited for Shidou to return.
“Kotori, Yoshino!”
Wary of Tohka and Origami, Shidou retreated one inch at a time as he asked the two behind him.
“Hey, hey, what’s the matter with them? It feels like something’s wrong here..."
In mid-speech, Shidou stopped moving.
The reason for that was simple. Kotori as well as the obedient Yoshino behind him were gazing
at Shidou.
"...Yoshino. Let’s form a temporary alliance.”
“Eh...? Ah, o-okay...!”
“Move to his front. You have to capture Shidou before Tobiichi Origami makes her move!”
“A-alright..."
“Wha...?!”
Shidou couldn’t help but widen his eyes. But that was to be expected. Since Kotori and Yoshino
too were slowly edging closer like beasts.
“H-hold on! What is going on here!”
“You don’t need to know. You just have to let us catch you that’s all.”
“You have to give me a reason at least—”
“Haa!”
Kotori completely ignored Shidou’s words as she lunged directly for him with a bear hug.
Shidou barely evaded her assault with a hair’s breadth.
Normally speaking, they can’t do anything to Shidou with their body size. However for some
reason he could instinctively detect a sense of terror, hence Shidou ran into a small gap between
two buildings.
“Ah, Shidou!”
“Tch... We’re going after him, Tohka, Yoshino!”
After Shidou’s successful escape, such cries could be heard from behind him.
—And so, the series of events led right up till here.
Even though he recalled the whole incident, he still could not comprehend the reason for their
pursuit. Shidou on the other hand was being pressed down onto the ground by Tohka, he turned
his confused thoughts into that of a groan.
“Wait, wait a second! Why do you suddenly want to kiss...!”
“Hm? That’s because —”
“Wa—!”
Just as Tohka was about to reply, Kotori ran up from behind screaming. At the same time,
Origami sneaked up from nowhere and dragged Tohka off Shidou’s body by the face, Yoshino
on the other hand pulled Shidou’s hand and helped him to his feet.
It was done so perfectly as though they had practiced it before arriving.
“Puhaaa, w-what are you trying to do!”
After Tohka shook Origami’s hand off, she used a sharp glare to express her hostility as she
locked eyes with her. At this moment, Kotori suddenly interrupted her, whispering to Tohka.
“Hm...? Was that a secret? Why?”
“Why, you say... That’s because, that is, if Shidou were to know about it then it would lose its
effectiveness.”
“I-is that so! That would be horrible.”
Even though it was supposed to be whispering, their voices are loud. After the conversation was
over, Tohka turned to face Shidou again.
“Due to some reasons I can’t tell you. But... I hope that we can kiss.”
“Um, having some reason that you can’t tell me, that’s a little unreasonable.”
“We can’t? Shidou ..."
“Uuh..."
Tohka showed an expression of almost being in tears.Shidou was at a loss as to what to do, sweat
formed on his face.
“That’s... I didn't say that we can’t... do it..."
“! Really! You’re really willing to kiss me?!”
“U-um..."
Shidou looked around him while having a troubled expression on his face.
Shouting about wanting a kiss or the like in the middle of the street was bound to attract the
attention of everyone passing by. Children kept pointing their fingers over in confusion, mothers
on the other hand focused on stopping them from doing so. Furthermore, there are a lot of people
that he knows in this street. If things were to continue to escalate any further, he would no longer
have any face left to come back here, thus he has to avoid that at all costs.
He still can’t forget that, three major problems still lay in wait.
Kotori who was folding her arms with an expression of boredom, but kept throwing uneasy
glances in his direction, Yoshino who kept gazing at him all the while being in a panicked state
being unable to calm down—As well as, Origami who was giving off an enormous pressure that
seems like she would rip out Tohka’s throat with her teeth immediately if she were to carry out
the act on the spot.
Under the different stares of the three, Shidou involuntarily gulped.
“W-why don’t we do it like this? If you will be a good girl for a day, then as a reward..."
“Hm?”
At Shidou’s suggestion, Tohka widened her eyes in excitement.
“Gah... If I become a good girl for today, will you kiss me?”
“Y-yeah. What do you think...?”
“Mm, I understand! I will be a good girl!”
Tohka nodded her head as she exuberantly revealed a bright smile. Shidou could finally reveal a
sigh of relief.
Although he still did not solve anything, at least he had averted the worst case scenario for now.
Leaving Kotori and Yoshino aside first, if he were to kiss Tohka in front of Origami, he dared
not imagine what would happen next.
In order to investigate Origami’s state, he looked over slightly... inadvertently meeting her eyes.
“A method that one uses to coax young children—it goes to show that she’s not taking this
seriously.”
Contrary to what she said, Origami seemed to be using a warning tone to Shidou. On the other
hand, Shidou was showing a weak smile with cold sweat pouring down his back.
However... it is true that he currently cannot let himself relax. Since he was still unclear as to
why they are hunting him down.
"...Speaking of which, you girls... Why are you people chasing me?”
At Shidou’s words, Kotori’s eyebrow twitched.
“R-really now,... we just wanted to see if we could help you carry the ingredients after we were
done watching television. See, you bought quite a lot. Isn’t that right, Yoshino?”
“Eh...?”
Yoshino’s eyes widened due to Kotori suddenly shifting the target of the conversation to her.
"...Isn’t that right?”
“U-um... y-yeah... that’s how it is.”
“..."
Even though it was highly suspicious, since Yoshino had already said so then it must be the
truth. Although Shidou still had his suspicions, he decided to leave them for now.
“W-well then... let’s go and buy the remaining items then.”
“Right—then, Tohka and Yoshino let’s get moving.”
Listening to Kotori, the two girls followed behind Shidou. For some reason, Origami tagged
along as well.
“Origami?”
“—I’m going too. I’m going to buy similar stuff.”
“D-don’t joke around!”
Hearing Origami’s answer, Tohka cried out loud. Clenching both fists, she stared daggers at
Origami.
“Why are you following us! Can’t you go off alone!”
“If I should say, your existence is the one that is unexplainable. Why do you have to go along
with Shidou? If you have nothing to do then you should hurry up and go home. Pussy, Go
Home.”
“What did you say!”
Tohka hatefully stomped the ground. At this point, Kotori turned to look at Origami.
"...Tobiichi Origami. Don’t tell me, you watched that channel too..."
“..."
Origami turned her eyes away without affirming or denying Kotori’s words.
Although it was unclear how Kotori interpreted her reaction, she pointed the Chupa Chups in her
mouth skyward while snorting.
Rather Tohka was still in a fit of rage, her breathing was accelerating as well. Shidou hastily
stepped in-between them.
“Well, don’t be angry. We could all go together? Right?”
“Gah..."
“..."
Although Tohka did seem unhappy, but she seemed to have accepted it as she sighed, Origami
on the other hand remained silent as she turned to look away. Looks like the two finally decided
to listen to Shidou.
"...That’s how it is going to be, are the two of you alright with this?”
Saying that he turned to look at Kotori and Yoshino. Kotori frowned unhappily, Yoshino on the
other hand pressed down the hat’s brim as though trying to avoid Origami’s eyes... Truthfully
speaking, these two really are unwilling to be with Origami.
But that was something that can’t be helped. After all, Kotori, Yoshino and Tohka once
possessed the power of the spirits, having battled with Origami before.
But the two of them were not kids that would openly express their displeasure. Kotori showed an
expression that it couldn’t be helped, Yoshino however hesitated before nodding.
“Hmph... Well, it doesn’t matter. It would bother me more if I couldn’t keep track of her.”
“I-I’m... fine with... it.”
“Yeah, thank you.”
After Shidou heaved a sigh of relief, all of them made their way to the shopping district together.
... However, the underlying problem was not solved at all.
If one were to look at the time, it would seem that not even 10 minutes had passed. Yet Shidou
felt fatigued as though he had been wandering about in the scorching desert for several hours.
The reason for that was extremely simple.
“..."
Forward, behind, left, right.
Kotori, Origami, Tohka as well as Yoshino were standing around Shidou, giving off an abnormal
pressure.
More accurately, Tohka was only focused on being wary of Origami as usual, but the other three
were definitely different from normal. For some reason they kept anxiously peeking at Shidou. It
was as though they were ferocious beasts that were waiting for their prey to reveal a moment’s
weakness.
“J-just what is going on with you all..."
Just as Shidou was proceeding forward whilst being enveloped with a massive sense of panic, he
heard a muffled conversation on his right side.
[... Like I said, it’s a no go if you are not proactive—You have to be like this... ]
“Eh... B-but... I can’t reach..."
It seems like Yoshino was currently talking to her rabbit puppet [Yoshinon]. Although he
couldn’t catch what they were talking about, he knows for sure that [Yoshinon] was currently
encouraging Yoshino to do something.
[It’s al—right it’s al—right, there’s no problem at all.]
“I-is that so..."
After that the duo continued to chat for a while longer, before Yoshino, with some hesitation,
seemed to have made some resolution before nodding lightly her head—
“Waa..."
She gave a sharp cry before falling to the ground.
“Yoshino? Are you alright?”
Shidou looked at Yoshino, squatting down and extending his hand towards her.
“Give me your hand. You need to be more careful alright?”
“Ah... Y-yes... thank you very much..."
Saying that, Yoshino took hold of Shidou’s hand.
At that instant, [Yoshinon] who was on Yoshino’s left hand said in a low voice.
[... Yoshino! Do it now!]
"...! U-um... Nn..."

Yoshino nodded her head after being encouraged by [Yoshinon], getting back on her feet all the
while maintaining a firm grip on Shidou’s hand.
Just like that she neared Shidou’s face who was still maintaining a crouching position—
Chu.
What Yoshino’s lips had made contact with
— was Origami’s fingernails who had just gotten between the two of them.
“Eh..."
Yoshino widened her eyes due to extreme shock.
Following that, Origami swiftly took the hand that Yoshino had held Shidou’s with, helping
Yoshino to pat the dust off her skirt.
“Origami?”
Shidou widened his eyes in mild disbelief.
That was completely natural. Yoshino is a Spirit. Origami belongs to the AST. Although
Yoshino’s spiritual wavelength could not be read, the relationship between the two was rather
hostile— To be honest, one of the reasons why Shidou let Origami follow them was that through
constant interaction, hopefully their relationship would turn for the better.
—Don’t tell me that Origami is worried about Yoshino...?
Shidou observed the two from the side, Origami on the other hand spoke to Yoshino.
“It’ll be dangerous, if you are not careful.”
Emphasizing heavily as she spoke, Origami patted Yoshino’s head with her hat still on.
For some reason, although her words were so gentle, her tone seemed intimidating as though she
was issuing a stern warning. Yoshino, who was being patted on the head by Origami, on the
other hand was terrified to the point of speechlessness; her body trembled as though she was a
puppy drenched by the rain.
“U-um..."
“Let’s continue walking.”
Just as sweat formed on Shidou’s face as he was at a loss as to what to do, Origami returned to
Shidou’s behind, pushing him forward as though urging him to do so.
A while later, just as Shidou was forced to continue walking forward whilst feeling a strong
anxiety, someone tapped his shoulder from behind.
“Hm?”
Who could that be? Shidou stopped and turned behind him—
“Uwah?!”
Shidou cried out as he cringed.
In that instant he turned around, his vision was occupied by Origami’s countenance. It seems that
she had tapped his shoulder from behind while tiptoeing.
“Gah..."
Origami expressionlessly continued to lean closer. Due to the sudden situation, Shidou’s brain
was thrown into disarray; as a result Shidou was unable to extract himself out of his predicament
when he could have.
Before Origami’s lips could touch Shidou’s lips—
—his sleeve was violently pulled with a jerk, Shidou’s body was sent reeling backwards.
“Wah..."
After his body violently rocked back and forth, he knelt on the floor on one knee. Hastily
glancing at his sleeve, he saw Kotori who was in front of him firmly gripping the sleeve of his
shirt.
“Ara, what sort of business do you have with my Onii-chan, Tobiichi-san?”
“..."
Kotori revealed a heroic smile. Although Origami did not have a change in her expressions... But
he could somehow sense a vengeful air emanating from behind her.
“Well then, let us move on. You better buck up, Shidou.”
“I got it already..."
After Kotori helped Shidou to his feet while patting the dust away from his knees, the group
continued to move forward.
A few minutes later. This time it was Kotori who started to constantly glance at Shidou.
“Kotori? Is something wrong?”
“Eh? About that... yeah, I just remembered that I had something I needed to tell you..."
“Something you needed to tell me... what is it?”
At Shidou’s sentence, Kotori looked around her once before quietly motioning for him to come
closer.
"...Can you bring your ear closer?”
Kotori lowered her head slightly, her cheeks were painted with a slight shade of red.
Although he felt suspicious as it was not like Kotori to do so—Shidou quickly understood her
intentions at once.
It could be something related to <Ratatoskr>. If that were to be the case, it would be rather
inappropriate for her to speak aloud since Origami is present.
“Yeah, alright.”
Saying that he bent down slightly, leaning his ear towards Kotori.
Kotori’s face took on a deeper shade of red, she pressed her mouth towards Shidou’s ear.
In that instant. Shidou’s cheeks felt a soft sensation.
That’s right. That sensation, Kotori’s lips, they were—
Totally different, it had a different kind of feel to it.
“Hm?”
Turning to the side due to suspicion. He discovered the white head of a rabbit puppet beside him.
It was Yoshino who had placed her left hand in between Shidou and Kotori.
[Really now, Kotori-chan you’re too secretive, what is it? Can you tell Yoshinon too—]
“Ugu..."
Having been obstructed by [Yoshinon], Kotori grit her teeth in frustration. Yoshino, in contrast,
turned her eyes to the side.
“Hey, Yoshinon. How could you interrupt Kotori while she was talking... Well then, Kotori,
what exactly did you want to tell me?”
"...It’s alright. We’ll talk about it next time.”
“Eh? Wasn’t it something urgent?”
“It’s fine, it’s nothing now. It’s not something that is urgent to that extent..."
“I-is that so...?”
Kotori turned her face aside, folding her arms, at the same time he could hear the sounds of her
Chupa Chups being crunched.
Conversely, [Yoshinon] returned to Yoshino, making a V hand sign. In response, Yoshino’s

shoulders trembled with panic.
... What is going on here, although he did not know the exact reason for it, he could feel that
there was currently a furious offensive-defensive match around him.
“Just what on earth is happening..."
Shidou silently mumbled to himself with unease.
30 minutes after that incident. After overstaying for quite some time just by visiting the
stationary store, Shidou and the group finally went on their journey home.
Needless to say that after the incident, Kotori, Origami as well as Yoshino still continued their
three-sided match. Although he still did not know the reason for them in doing so as well as their
goals, but it was a silent battle that was full of tension. Shidou, who was dragged into it for some
reason, was as tired as Urashima Tarou who had opened the tamatebako.
"...U-um, Origami. We live over here, so..."
They had finally arrived at the T-junction which separates the Itsuka residence from Origami’s
home, Shidou said wearily.
Instantly, Kotori scoffed in triumph, Yoshino on the other hand sighed in relief.
... For some reason, instead of feeling relieved that they were able to leave Origami who they
were unable to get along with for a long period of time, it seemed more like they were glad as
though a rival had been eliminated.
On the contrary, Origami did not betray any expression of displeasure, she slowly turned her
body around.
“Well then, see you later.”
“Yeah, you too..."
Upon her swift reply, Shidou couldn’t help but feel mildly surprised. Correction, this would be
normal if one was to think of it logically, but Shidou had thought that Origami would request to
follow them back to their house.
However Origami did not take such actions at all. Instead she walked straight back to where her
apartment was. Tohka made a face at her leaving figure.
“Well then, let’s go home as well.”
“Yeah..."
Shidou nodded, turning in the direction of their home.
But not long later, Shidou’s eyebrow twitched. It was the cellphone in his pocket that had started
to vibrate.
“Hm? A message..."
Taking out his phone as he mumbled, he opened the message folder with practiced movements.
Finding Origami’s message in the folder despite separating not too long ago.
[Tonight at 2330 hours. Tell no one, come to East Tenguu Park alone, I have something
important to tell you that is closely related to our future relationship. If I cannot rendezvous with
Shidou at that time, I will be in deep trouble.]
“D-deep trouble...?”
Shidou frowned as he gave out a dry sound.
“? What’s the matter, Shidou?”
“N-nothing’s wrong.”
If he were to let them know that he had received a message from Origami, it would probably be a
messy situation. Thus, Shidou placed his phone back into his pocket after covering the matter up
with a few words, quickening his footsteps.
Not too long later, they returned back home where he had missed for so long (it was not a joke,
he did feel as though a long time had passed). Shidou opened the door with practiced
movements, walking inside after taking his shoes off.
“I’m home—..."
Slightly dragging his voice, Shidou placed the ingredients he had just bought into the refrigerator
after washing his hands
"...Let’s finish this today then.”
Saying that he brought the pork, ginger as well as cabbage into the kitchen. Even though he was
already extremely fatigued, he had to finish dinner before he could rest.
“Ooooh, Shidou. What are you making tonight?”
Tohka leaned on the couch as she looked over innocently.
“Hm, tonight is roast ginger pork. It’ll be delicious.”
“Oo, ooooh...!”
Tohka’s eyes glittered, swallowing repeatedly.
Looking at her Shidou couldn’t help but smile. Being able to look at her express her heartfelt
happiness so directly, Shidou’s hard work would have been rewarded.
“Well, I think it won’t take that much time to get ready, can you go and set the table?”
“Yeah! Leave it to me!”
Tohka exuberantly nodded her head, beginning to tidy up the table in the dining room. Looking
over to the living room, he found Yoshino and Kotori in the midst of folding the laundry... But
for some unknown reason, the two of them were mumbling to themselves while they’re working.
[... That’s why, we have to create a situation where the two of you can be together first. Like
when Shidou-kun is going to the toilet—]
“Eh... B-but... That sort of thing is..."
Yoshino seemed to be talking to [Yoshinon].
"...How am I going to carry this out? I might as well use chloroform and make him lose
consciousness then I can... No no no, if I did that then wouldn’t I be just the same as that woman.
Let’s put this as the final resort then..."
Kotori on the other hand is muttering some dangerous lines to herself.
Looking at them while twisting his neck, Shidou intended to take up the apron draped on the
chair... but stopped his hand.
“That’s right, I should..."
Saying that he walked out of the kitchen and into the hallway.
He suddenly recalled that he had not yet gone to the washroom ever since the girls surrounded
him from the start. Shidou thought that it would be wise to relieve himself before making dinner.
Turning the handle of the door, he entered the washroom, and then —
“Eh?”
Shidou gave out a cry of surprise. That’s because the moment Shidou entered the washroom,
Yoshino who was following behind him ran in as well.
“Y-Yoshino?”
Shidou cried out in a panic due to the unforeseen event, after that his eyebrow twitched.
“Don’t tell me Yoshino is feeling urgent? I’m sorry, then I’ll just go out first—”
Just as Shidou wanted to slip past Yoshino and head for the exit, [Yoshinon] on Yoshino’s left
hand swiftly latched the door after slamming it shut.
“Eh...? W-why are you doing this...?”
[You see, Yoshino. If you don’t grab this chance then you’ll never get to do this again —?]
[Yoshinon] said as it kept fanning the flames. Due to the embarrassment, Yoshino's cheeks
slowly turned red but she seemed to have made a decision as she pursed her lips, raising her
head.
“Sorry. But... if I don’t do this... then we can’t be alone together... that’s why Yoshinon..."
“Being alone together...? What is going on?”
“Ah, that’s..."
Yoshino blushed so hard till the point one might think that steam would be gushing out. Looking
at her abnormal behaviour, Shidou couldn’t help but feel uneasy as well.
... Although Shidou knows that Yoshino did not have any ulterior motives, he was still a healthy
male. If a cute girl like Yoshino were to be alone with him in such a small room, he can’t help
but feel his heart race.
Shidou does not know if Yoshino knows about his mental state at present, Yoshino who seemed
several times more distraught than Shidou came to a decision as she continued speaking.
“Um... Shidou-san”
“Oo. Ooooh. What is it?”
“Um, asking you to do such a thing... may seem weird... however, but... if you are alright with
it... that is, if you are not willing and say no then I'm alright with it as well..."
“How can that be?”
If the timid and slightly introverted Yoshino is already trying to this extent, it must be something
really important. Shidou looked at Yoshino in the eyes and nodded his head.
“Since Yoshino had the courage to ask something from me, if it is something within my
capabilities, I’ll do it for you. Why don’t you try asking?”
"...!”
Yoshino widened her eyes in significant surprise, however she nodded her head in determination,
she continued to speak with her trembling lips.
“U-um, and ... and I... that’s, ki, ki, ki—”
At that moment. Huge amounts of white steam emanated from Yoshino’s head.
“Uunya..."
“Y-Yoshino?!”
In order to support Yoshino who was about to fall, he extended his hand out to her.
At that moment, [Yoshinon] who was on Yoshino’s left hand swiftly bit onto Shidou’s wrist,
pulling hard on him.
“Wah, w-what are you doing, Yoshinon?”
[Yoshino! Execute Plan B]
[Yoshinon] bit down on Shidou’s wrist as it loudly yelled. Yoshino’s shoulders shook as though
woken by its voice, after a moment’s hesitation, she respectfully bowed her head.
“T-then I apologise in advance..."
After that she laid a kiss on Shidou’s fingernails that [Yoshinon] had held down.
“Eh?”
Due to her abnormal behaviour, Shidou couldn’t help but widen his eyes. What was that just
now...?
[That’s great! You did it, Yoshino?!]
“Y-yeah...! Is it... fine like this...?”
[Then there’s no problem at all! If it is like this then Yoshino you will definitely become a
bride!]
"...!”
At [Yoshinon]’s words, Yoshino’s face turned red once more.
It seems as though she had just realized that Shidou was still by her side, Yoshino swiftly dipped
her head.
“That’s right, sorry... I’ll be leaving first..."
Leaving behind a single line, Yoshino hurriedly unlocked the door, running away.
“What in the world was that...?”
Shidou who was left alone in the washroom was left standing there staring at his fingernail in a
daze.
[I’m digging in!]
20 minutes after Yoshino’s mysterious actions. The dinner table at the Itsuka house was placed
full of delicious meals. Roast ginger pork, the hijiki that was stewed yesterday, as well as miso
soup with clams added.
“Mm! Today’s dinner is delicious as well, Shidou!”
Tohka showed a wide grin as she heartily chewed with her mouth full of meat.
“Ahaha... Thank you very much. But I think you should wait till you finish eating before
talking.”
“Nn! Nn! Yeah!”
Tohka nodded as she drank the miso soup, showing a blissful expression. Shidou, on the other
hand, couldn’t help but smile.
“Hm, well, it’s not that bad.”
“It’s very... delicious.”
Kotori and Yoshino did not express themselves as exaggeratedly as Tohka did, but judging from
their satisfied looks... Well, for some reason Yoshino’s cheeks still had a shade of light red, she
would also constantly avert her gaze to somewhere else whenever she made eye contact with
Shidou.
“..."
Shidou silently stared at the fingernail that Yoshino had kissed earlier... Just what on earth was
that. Was that some sort of a charm?
“Hm? What’s the matter Shidou, are you not eating?”
“Ah, no, it’s just that there’s almost nothing left.”
After being reminded by Tohka, Shidou started to eat. Although he could be boasting, he did do
a good job.
After that the four basked in the enjoyment of gathering to eat as well as chat—everyone soon
finished eating dinner.
“”””Thank you for the meal””””
Everyone put their hands together and spoke. With that Tohka and Yoshino stood up together at
the same time, placing their utensils into the sink.
“Thanks, you two.”
At Shidou’s words, Tohka and Yoshino smiled in embarrassment.
Just then, Kotori who was sitting beside Shidou stretched lightly.
“Hm... it sorta feels like it’s time to eat some dessert.”
“Dessert?”
Shidou questioned back, Kotori relaxedly nodded her head as she looked at Tohka.
“Tohka. Do you want to eat some pudding?”
“—Pudding?!”
Hearing that, Tohka’s eyes sparkled.

“Ooooh... I’d love to have some! Is there any in the house?!”
“Too bad, there’s none left in the house. That’s why—”
Saying that, Kotori withdrew a thousand yen note from her wallet.
“How about you and Yoshino run down to the nearby convenience store and buy some back?
You can choose your favourite ones.”
“Ooooh! I’ll go! I’ll buy them!”
Tohka forcefully nodded her head, taking the note from Kotori.
“Well then, Let’s go, Yoshino, Yoshinon!”
“U-um, I..."
[I—say—]
Although Yoshino and [Yoshinon] seemed to be in the middle of saying something, they were
taken away by Tohka before they could say it.
“Haha... They’re really energetic.”
"...Yes, now all the meddlers have gone away.”
“Hm? Did you say something just now?”
Shidou asked, Kotori snapped out of her daze as she shook her head.
"...?”
Well, it probably wouldn’t come to anything, even if he did pay attention to such details. Shidou
rose from his seat, intending to finish washing the dishes before Tohka and Yoshino returned.
—However. His sleeve was being pulled by someone, in the end he wasn’t able to stand up.
“Kotori?”
“Um... about that.”
Making a embarrassed sound that sounded like she was throwing a tantrum, Kotori turned her
face aside. It seems that her cheeks were slightly red.
"...Your face. Still has. Rice stuck to you.”
For some reason, Kotori was pausing in between each phrase. Shidou, on the other hand, had his
head inclined to one side in wonder.
“Really? Thank you. Then..."
"...!”
Noticing that Shidou was about to take off the grain of rice stuck on his face, Kotori increased
the strength used to hold his sleeve down.
“Wah, w-what are you doing?”
“You don’t have to mind...! Wait a second!”
“H-Haa...?”
“I-I’ll... remove it for you...!”
After her outburst, Kotori pressed her body onto Shidou as though attempting to pin him down.
Kotori’s body warmth wrapped around Shidou’s right arm.
“Eh...? There’s no need, I can get it myself..."
“Stop right there! Shidou, you just have to stay there and not move!”
“I-I understand..."
Having been overwhelmed by Kotori’s strong insistence, Shidou could only silently relax his
arm in resignation.
“..."
“..."
For a period of time, the two siblings maintained their silence, quietly letting time flow past
them.
The ticking sound of the clock at that moment seemed so loud.
A lot of time passed, Kotori seemed to have thought of something, she started to write words on
Shidou’s palm with her fingers... it made his palm ticklish.
“Hey, are you alright? I have to go and wash the dishes already... Tohka and the rest should be
back by now as well..."
"...!”
Hearing Shidou’s words, Kotori’s body gave a jolt.
After that she grit her teeth as though she had made a decision, slowly turning her face towards
Shidou. For some reason, her face was as red as a beetroot, her eyes were bloodshot as though
she had been crying.
“K-Kotori?”
"...I’ll get that for you, so you... you have to close your eyes.”
“Huh? Why do I have to—”
“Ignore that!”
Kotori used a hand to cover Shidou’s eyes, forcefully sealing off Shidou’s vision.
“Wah?!”
“Don’t move a muscle!”
Kotori’s furious voice could be heard from the darkness.
After all that, he heard the sounds of his chair being leaned on as well as the rustling of fabric.
He also heard the sound of her swallowing—
“Hm...?”
In the next instant, Shidou‘s cheek felt a strange sensation as something made contact with him.
From the situation just now that should be Kotori’s fingers... But it somehow didn’t feel that
way. That’s right. It was much softer and more moist than just fingers—
After that happened, his sealed eyes were finally released.
Looking to his right, Kotori was making a victory sign with a blushing face for some odd reason,
she was also mumbling something to herself in a small voice.
"...Alright, if it’s like this, then Onii-chan will be mine..."
“Kotori?”
"...! W-w-w-w-w-w-what!”
“Um, just now what was..."
“Shidou! We’re back! There’s the gooey milk pudding and the pudding that’s full of cream,
which one do you want?!”
Just as Shidou was about to ask Kotori, the door opened with a bang, Tohka’s energetic voice
sounded out.
"...Hm? What’s wrong with the two of you?”
“Ah, that’s... probably nothing... I guess.”
Shidou could only give a vague response.
At 11:30 pm. Shidou was walking along the street dimly lit by street lamps.
Tohka and Yoshino had returned to their respective rooms, Kotori had also turned in as well,
therefore there were no problems with sneaking out. Of course, if Kotori woke up in the middle
of the night, he had left a message saying that he had gone to a nearby convenience store.
The location where Shidou was currently headed to was the park where Origami had indicated in
the message.
It’s not like Shidou really wanted to meet with Origami, it’s just that since Origami said that it
was something important so she must have her reasons for doing so... Furthermore Shidou was
worried about the “Deep trouble” that she had mentioned. Shidou had also attempted to ask her
about this via a message, but he only received [I will wait for you] as a reply.
“Hm... Well, I don’t need to rush with that much time.”
Speaking to himself he turned right at the T-junction. He should arrive at the park as long as he
follows the path.
At this moment—
"...?!”
All of a sudden.
Shidou stopped moving.
That wasn’t correct—he was forced to stop.
It was not due to finding something in front of him, nor because his legs felt weak. It was due to
a more simple reason, his legs were being held down by someone.
Hastily looking down at his feet. Shidou’s eyebrows creased due to witnessing the strange
situation.
On the ground in front of him where the street light should be illuminating was a patch of black
shadow, two thin, pale, white arms had stretched out from the shadow and held down Shidou’s
legs.
“Wha...!”
Shidou couldn’t help but widen his eyes in surprise. This was obviously—a unique situation. If
one were to think about this logically this should only happen in horror movies.
However, that was not the reason for Shidou’s surprise.
Shidou —had seen this shadow and the two arms before.
“Kurumi...?!”
“—Kihi, hihihi. Congratulations, you are right.”
The same time Shidou called out her name, a young girl appeared from the patch of shadow right
in front of him.
Black hair bunched up in different lengths, pale sickly skin. Her body was wrapped in an elegant
one-piece dress consisting of blood and darkness. However, the part that would leave the deepest
impression on people would be her eyes. Her golden left eye had the pattern of a clock, making
ticking sounds as it moved like an actual one.
Kurumi. Appearing by Shidou’s side targeting the power of the Spirits that was sealed within
him, a cannibalistic Spirit.
“Good evening. It really is great seeing you healthy and well, Shidou-san.”
Kurumi revealed a flirtatious smile while she pinched the corners of her skirt and slightly bowed.
“—But, really now... Don’t you think that you are really too careless? Walking alone in a
deserted area. Fufufu, you could be ambushed by some dangerous people, don’t you know?”
Saying that, she reduced the distance between the two, Kurumi used her finger to lightly brush
Shidou‘s cheek.
“Ku..."
Shidou frowned, attempting to move her hand away. But at that instant, new arms extended out
from the wall behind Shidou and restricted his arms.
“Gu, ah..."
“Kihihi, hihihihihihi. I won’t let you.”
Kurumi’s face revealed a dazzling smile; she placed her hands on Shidou’s cheek and shoulder
while her mouth moved to Shidou’s ear as though they were in an embrace.
“Fufu, I won’t hurt you. So may I please request that you be a good boy and stay where you
are?”
“Gu—ah—”
—He’ll be a goner if this continues. Shidou thought furiously. Even if he yelled for help, he
would only cause more people to get hurt if the nearby residents rush over and help. But as it is
now he can’t even take his phone out and request assistance. Furthermore he did not have his
earpiece on at a time like this. What on earth should he do—
“—Eh?”
Due to a weird sensation on his ear, Shidou couldn’t help but cry out.
What Shidou had felt wasn’t the sharp pain that he had expected... but the soft feeling of her lips.
“Fufu..."
After Kurumi slightly smiled, she used the tip of her tongue to lick Shidou’s ear. The moist
sound of her saliva and breathing reverberated into Shidou’s eardrums. Pleasure and terror were
knit into panic as it ran through Shidou’s body.
“What are you, wha...?!”
Shidou blushed as he gave an inaudible scream, Kurumi, on the other hand, showed a smile once
more, moving away from Shidou.
The same time Kurumi used her tongue to lick her lips, the pale white arms that held Shidou
down had all retreated back into the shadows.
“Uu, wah.”
Perhaps due to being caught off guard, he did not regain his balance properly. Shidou, after some
difficulty, finally prevented himself from falling to the ground, gave Kurumi an incredulous
look.
“W-what in the world is going on. What are you planning to do..."
At Shidou’s question, Kurumi used her hands to cover her mouth as she laughed out loud.
“Fufufu... Like this, Shidou-san would belong to me now... right?”
“Just what are you saying..."
“Fufu, my purpose here is already done, I’ll take my leave for today.”
“Purpose...?”
“Regarding this, that is a secret—Before I thoroughly enjoy myself on Shidou-san, please

become more delicious.”
Kurumi extended her index finger towards his nose, after that she turned her body around as
though dancing —just like that she vanished into the darkness.
“..."
After several seconds passed. Shidou heaved a great sigh of relief.
“I thought I... was a goner..."
Kurumi was an evil Spirit who had slaughtered countless humans till date. Although he didn’t
understand the reason why, he had at least kept his life for now. He can’t say whether he would
be this lucky next time for sure. Shidou thought that he should seriously reflect on his
carelessness.
“I really... should report this to Kotori huh..."
Saying that, he took out his phone from his pocket, just as he opened it and accessed the call
directory —
“—Shidou.”
A voice called out to him from the front, Shidou couldn’t help but jump.
For an instant he had thought that Kurumi had returned once again—However, that was not the
case. So Shidou checked the time displayed on the screen of his phone, he noticed that it had
already passed the meeting time.
“Origami..."
That’s right. Standing right there was Origami who he was supposed to meet at the park.
“That’s a relief. Because I didn’t see you when it was time, I thought something had happened to
you.”
“Aaaah..."
Making an ambiguous response, he kept the phone back into the pocket. At the same time,
Origami stepped in closer without a sound.
Suddenly, she widened her eyes in mild surprise, placing her hands on Shidou’s shoulders,
Origami started to sniff Shidou.
“Hey, Origami...?”
“There’s a smell of a woman on you.”
"...?!”
Being glared by Origami, Shidou couldn’t help but hold his breath.
“Why on earth—”
“A-apart from this, Origami! What was the important thing that you mentioned?!”
Shidou raised his voice in an attempt to cover Origami’s voice... If he were to tell her about
Kurumi, it would undoubtedly become a troublesome issue.
“..."
Although Origami had an expression of slight displeasure, she shook her head a few times before
looking at Shidou’s face.
“—Don’t move.”
“Eh?”
Just as question marks were surfacing within Shidou’s head, Origami moved her hands from
Shidou’s shoulders to the back of his neck, she kissed hard on Shidou’s neck.
“Ori, Origami?!”
“Puha!”
Origami finally separated herself from Shidou’s skin as though she had taken a breath. Leaving a
significant hickey on Shidou’s neck area.
“Why are you doing this..."
Just as Shidou raised his eyebrows in wonder, Origami swiftly turned around.
“—My mission has already been accomplished. I have already determined our future together.
Good night. Sweet dreams.”
“Eh? Wh, Hold on, Origami?”
Just as he extended his hand out to Origami with the intention of inquiring her—However
Origami swiftly left without a word.
“Really now... just what is with everyone today?”
Along the street at night, Shidou dragged out a long sigh.
Although it was normal to not be able to understand Origami’s usual behaviour, today was really
unreadable. That was incorrect, it wasn’t just Origami. Tohka, Kotori, Yoshino—Even Kurumi.
Everyone’s actions were just puzzling.
“Hm..."
Shidou frowned as he moved forward, he finally arrived back home.
It’s almost midnight. Today was really tiring. He’d like to just lie down on the bed and go to
sleep immediately, but due to his entire body being sticky from sweat and saliva. I should
probably take a
quick hot shower and turn in early. After deciding that in his mind, Shidou squeezed the handle
of the door.
—However, at that instant.
“Shidouooooouuuuuuu!”
A yell came from the apartment next door, Shidou couldn’t help but freeze.
He saw Tohka standing at the entrance of her apartment in her pajamas, she was yelling with an
anxious expression.
“Tohka...?”
“I-I just realized —I can’t! I can’t do it! If I were to be a good girl for today, then wouldn’t I be
unable to receive my reward today...!”
Tohka showed an expression that was almost bursting into tears, she ran towards Shidou at a
startling speed.
“Shidou! There’s no time left! H-hurry!”
“H-hey... Tohka?!”
“Wah?!”
Just as Shidou made a sound, Tohka tripped and lost her balance.
Tohka’s body soared through the sky instantly, falling towards Shidou’s direction.
“Uwah!”
“Uguh...?!”
Falling to the ground with Tohka’s body lying on top of him. Pain ran through his entire body.
However, he quickly noticed the other sensations that were assaulting his body other than pain.
Tohka’s soft body was tightly pressing onto his own, aside from that, Shidou’s forehead was also
kissed by Tohka’s lips.
“Hm...?!”
Although he felt embarrassed, he was more worried about Tohka than anything else.
“T-Tohka! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere —”
“Oo... Oooh!”
On the other hand, Tohka totally did not notice Shidou’s concern for her, asking him with
exuberance.
“Shidou! What is the time now!”

“Ah? That is..."
Being asked this question out of the blue, Shidou lit the screen of his phone.
“It just passed midnight... But,”
Shidou said, Tohka maintained her position on top of Shidou, letting out a huge sigh of relief.
“That’s great... I made it in time..."
“H-hey, what are you talking about? What’s that about making it in time..."
“Shidou.”
As though covering up Shidou’s voice, Tohka continued to speak.
“If it is like this... We’d be able to stay together forever.”
Saying that with an innocent smile... Shidou felt that it was best that he’d pry no further.
“Haa..."
The next morning. Shidou forcefully dragged his body that was still held down by fatigue, he
discovered that Tohka, Kotori, Yoshino were all in the living room.
“Hm? What a rare sight. Why are you all here at this time.”
Shidou rubbed his eyes as he spoke.
Today was different from yesterday, it was a school day. Usually he would meet up with Tohka
outside his house or at school, but it seems that she woke up rather early today.
“Yeah! Because I feel great today!”
Stating that, Tohka folded her arms in happiness. For some reason, it feels that she was more
confident than yesterday, or she could just be full of energy.
“Fufu, isn’t that great? There’d be these kinds of days once in a while.”
The person who said that was Kotori. For some reason, Kotori too was looking as happy as
Tohka... did something good happen.
Even though he thought that it probably wouldn’t be the case, Shidou still turned to look at
Yoshino. In the end, there was something different about her as well. Although she did not
express it as arrogantly as Tohka and Kotori, she would constantly gaze at Shidou with a
reddened face.
“What’s the matter? It feels like everyone’s feeling great today..."
Shidou weakly smiled, he wore the apron draped on the chair, rolling up sleeves and washing his
hands.
Opening the fridge, he took out bacon and eggs. Although there were more people than usual...
but there were sufficient ingredients.
[—Well then next up is, the divination channel.]
Just as Shidou was readying breakfast, such a voice came from the living room. It seems that
Kotori had turned on the television.
“Hm? Kotori, was this lady the one who appeared on the television yesterday?”
“That’s right. That’s because yesterday was a Sunday which was why they broadcasted it at that
time, but usually they would broadcast this in the morning.”
“Heh... so that’s why.”
The three girls engaged in their own conversation, occasionally watching the television. Shidou
smiled as he took out the saucepan from the drawer.
A conversation from the television soon came from the living room.
[—Um—, I am someone with the initials S•I, I let my boyfriend kiss me yesterday, so is he
going to be the destined one in my life? That’s because you mentioned that the one who kissed
me yesterday would be my soulmate.]
[Congratulations—but did you two kiss on the lips?]
[No, it was only on the cheek... ]
[Then I’m sorry, it would not come true unless it was on the lips.]
[Eeeeeeeeh—]
“Wha...!”
“Haa?”
“Eh..."
Shidou turned his head around. For some reason, it feels that he had just heard the cries of the
three girls and the television at the same time.
“Um? Did something happen to the three of... you...?”
When Shidou turned his body towards the living room... he couldn’t help but stop moving.
That’s because the trio who was supposed to be watching television peacefully, were staring at
Shidou with gleaming eyes.
“U-um... what is..."
Shidou involuntarily retreated, hitting the sink as he did so. At that moment, the metal spoon
placed there fell to the ground, making a clinking sound.
—That sound became the starting signal.
“Shidouoooouu!”
“Shidou!”
“S-Shidou ... san..."
The three girls yelled out his name in unison as they lunged for him.
“Uu, waaaaaaaaaah?!”
Shidou’s tortured cries resounded throughout the neighborhood that morning.

Unidentified Summer Vacation
“Shido! Lets go to the bath together!”
Any normal guy’s heart would skip a beat at such a suggestion from a girlー especially when the
girl in question is an absolute beauty with night-colored hair and crystal-like eyes.
But Shido, whom the words were directed at, only forced a difficult smile in return.
Perhaps Tohka noticed the meaning behind Shido’s reaction; as if she just realized what she had
just said, she instantly turned around and started throwing a fit.
“It- it’s not like that! I didn’t mean getting into a bath together! Going in naked with Shido…
No… No! It’s not like that!”
Tohka’s cheeks were dyed with crimson as she desperately denies the thought. Forcing a smile
again, Shido pats her head in an attempt to calm her down.
“It’s fine. I know.”
“Muu...”
Tohka, finally calmed down, let out a soft murmur.
As Shido slightly shrugs, he looks around. Maybe, Shido too, would be flustered by Tohak’s
words had it not been a situation like this.
That’s right. The place Shido and co. are right now is not Shido’s home, but in a seaside lodge.
Tohka meant to go together to a place where men and women are separated. Or so her intention
was.
‘It’s the summer holidays after all, let’s all go on a trip together!’
A few hours earlier, Shido’s sister, Kotori, said that out loud.
Even when faced with the words coming out of the blue, it is clear to Shido that it is pointless to
resist Kotori in her commander mode. However, Tohka, Yoshino, Kaguya’s and Yuzuru’s eyes
sparkle up the moment they hear the words. So there was no choice but to follow the majority.
Eventually, after quickly preparing themselves, they were teleported by <Fraxinus> to a seaside
hotel named “Fensaril” which <Ratatoskr> has fully reserved.
“Hey, what are you two doing?”

Everyone calls out to the unexpected two. It is seen that there are two girls standing there. One of
the girls has a twin tail tied up by black ribbon - Kotori. The other is wearing a sun hat and has a
rabbit puppet in her left hand - Yoshino.
“The bath is so big... I’m looking forward to it.”
“Hey Hey Kotori-chan, where is Yoshinon’s tailored cloth. At this rate Kaguya-chan and
Yuzuru-chan will get ahead of us!”
Says Yoshino and Yoshinon, who are excited.
“Right, right. Here I come. Shido and Tohka too.”
“Umu!”
Tohka answers loudly while walking to an open-air bath, followed by Kotori and Yoshino.
Along the way, Shido calls out to Kotori.
“So, why a trip all of sudden again?”
“Hmph. It’s a summer vacation. Do you intend to lock the Spirits up in the house? The stress and
memories can build up at the same time. Isn’t that reasonable?”
That’s right. Tohka, Yoshino and the Yamai sisters are not humans. But a specifically designated
disastrous life form.
Even when they have the majority of their power sealed away at the moment, they are not
ultimately dangerous. However, if their mental state becomes unstable, the sealed Spirit Power
will flow back, and it becomes a big problem.
For that, Kotori and <Ratatoskr> closely monitor the sealed Spirits’ mental state.
“Well, yeah. But that’s still too sudden.”
“Can’t help with it can we? If we said it in advance we might get ourselves a pestilence. Also, it
would be meaningless if the Spirits get stressed.”
“Pestilence?”
“It’s Tobiichi Origami”
“Uh...”
Shido sweats out a drop.
Tobiichi Origami is Shido’s classmate, and a member of the AST, a squadron whose goal is to
eradicate the Spirits. It goes without saying that her relationship with Tohka isn’t the best. Her
presence will definitely cause Tohka’s stress level to raise, or make her unable to sleep.
“Yeah. But she would slip in here somewhen for sure”
“...!?”
Even when Shido tries to lighten the mood with a joke, Kotori raises her head up high.
“Like I will let that happen! The security here is perfect! Not even a cat will enter!”
“It’s just a joke... what’s gotten into you?”
As Shido says, Kotori shrugs.
“Nothing. It’s because you said nonsense.”
Kotori snorted and continued.
“You don’t have to put that mood up today.”
“Huh?”
“We have the Yamai sisters’ case before. Even the awaited school trip got screwed up, right? On
the other hand, even if it’s not going to happen again, at least just let it go.. OK?”
“Kotori...”
Shido scratches his head and draws a breath.
“I see. Thank you.”
Kotori puffs her cheek and turns away.
“Hmph. It’s just a trip for Tohka and the others.”
“I kno-”
As Shido says, an explosion happened outside of the hotel.
“Nu!?”
“Aah!”
“Oh? What is it?”
Tohka, Yoshino and Yoshinon lost their balance in surprise. And in the same manner, Shido too.
“Ah, that huh? That’s a firework. A firework. Don’t mind it.”
Kotori lets out a clear yet unnatural voice.
Tohka’s face sparkles in interest.
“Firework. That’s a firework right. A BOOM and sparking. Can I take a look?”
“N.. no!!”
Tohka’s words are suddenly stopped by Kotori’s louder voice, and her shoulders shake.
“W... Why, Kotori? Why did you have to shout...”
“Sorry. I scared you, didn’t I? But hey, it’s bath time now, right? Let’s go.”
“Umu”
Tohka nodded even with her face still shocked.
Shido twisted his neck in a strange manner, and followed Kotori.
----
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Obviously obvious, Tobiichi Origami is being chased by guards in the forest behind the hotel
“Damn! Where’d she go!”
“This is Point A! Lost sight of the target! She must be nearby! Don’t drop your guard!”
The men thoroughly search the forest for Origami, who is hiding on a treetop. Despite dressing
like local people, they are equipped with night vision goggles, readily taking a stance with
non-lethal tasers, and filling the atmosphere with tension.
The exact number is unknown, but there are at least twenty or thirty men. Compared to normal
hotel’s security, the number is absurd.
“Shido”.
Origami softly says out the name so that no one can hear, and sharpens her focus.
It’s August. It goes without saying that high school is on break. Origami, on the other hand, still
has her duty and training as a member of the AST, and cannot count on a seaside trip with Shido.
So she intended to meet with him on her day off. But even then, Shido was not at home today.
There, while transmitting a weak signal of maiden’s sense in search for Shido, she found him to
be at a seaside somewhere far from Tengu city.
Unbelievably, like one in a thousand chance, Origami quickly prepares herself, uses all tactics
and measures she has at disposal, and follows her maiden sense to where Shido is.
And that which awaits her, is this absurd security.
“......”
To confirm something, Origami took out her phone, and called shido.
But Shido would not answer her call. No matter how many times she tries, she would end up
being responded to by the call center.
“......”
Origami cuts her call in silence. Undesired thinking brainstorms in her head. To be exact, it’s
Shido tied to a chair and Tohka in black dominative bondage suit.
(AAAHHH! Tohka forces me here against my will!)
(Kukuku. You will live with me here from now on.)
(O.. Origami will come and save me!)
(Pointless! My underlings are waiting for her in the forest! It’s impossible for her to get here!
Let’s just forget her and enjoy this. Shido...)
(Stop it! I have a person I like in my heart!)
(Huehuehue...)
(AAAAAAAAA)
Origami closed her eyes and grinded her teeth.
“Shido!”
Why would Tohka have such a large residence building, or set up this big trap, are questionable,
but that is not needed now.
“......”
Origami looks down. There are two men searching for her.
“Aach. No intruder found. Why do we have to do an all-out search like this?”
“Don’t let your guard down. You’ll get yelled at by the commander.”
“Anything but that. It’s hundred times scarier than the intruder.”
They walk slowly while chatting.
“......”
Origami silently jumps down from the tree, and lands a knee drop on the back of the right man’s
head.
“Ach...”
The man fell down to the front with a cry.
The other man hastily raises up his gun, pulls the trigger, and lights up the night’s darkness for a
moment with a firework-like gunfire. But there was no way that shot would hit. Origami easily
dodged the shot, and hit the man’s belly.
“Uug”
The man falls at the spot, unable to move anymore.
Origami quickly takes his equipment from his hand, and follows her maiden’s senses.
“I’ll save Shido. No mercy for anyone in my way.”
“Fraxinus please reply! Something is in the forest!”
A screaming voice can be heard from the speaker of the battleship <Fraxinus>, which is
stationed above the hotel.
“What is it!?”
As Shiizaki replies with a troubled tone, the guards replies painfully.
“I do not know! But there is someone! Damn, Kakehara and Awashima are downed! What the
hell is this one!! AHHHH”
“Please calm down! Anyway please explain the situation clearly...”
On the monitor is the map of the surrounding area, and the position of thirty or so guards.
But the moving signals decrease one by one.

It hasn’t been thirty minutes since the intruder is confirmed, but ten guards have been downed.
To be clear, it’s strange. It’s unexpected. This could not have been a loner’s work.
“What about the commander!?”
“In the bath with Tohka-chan and the others! Let’s contact her later”
“What about the vice commander!?”
“Somewhere unknown!”
“Aach! In time like this!”
Kawagoe scrapes his head. The only people currently on the airship are Kawagoe, Mikimoto,
Shiizaki, Nakatsugawa, and Minowa. The ship, currently without its commander nor vice
commander, is in total chaos. Amidst the turbulence, another report echoes in the airship.
“This is Saitou. Teshirogi and Kawanishi are found at Point D. Equipment stolen. Currently
downed.”
“This is Point E! Found an unknown identity in the forest! Engagin- UGH!?”
“Kanbayashi! Kanbayashi!!”
A scream echoes throughout the airship as the crew tries their best to remain in control in the
midst of chaos.
“Anyway, someone is in the forest, that’s for sure! We’ll search for any reaction.”
Shout Shiizaki as they begin the operation.
At the same moment, an explosion can be heard from the radio’s other end.
“There’s something!”
“Trap activation confirmed! The enemy has somehow been caught in a landmine trap at Point
F!”
“Nonsense! Even if it’s non-lethal, no one can get away from it! If we send in more men...”
“Great! Kizaki and Yoshiwada’s Team, go press on the target!”
“Roger!”
A clear reply in Kawagoe’s instruction. However...

“The target is not at Point F. Are you sure this is the place?”
“There’s no mistaking it. Perhaps the intruder is blown away?”
“Understood. We’ll try to secure.. Na. U. Ga!?”
“What happened, Kizaki? Hey, hey! Wha, what the hell are you!?”
A scream and a continuous gunfire can be heard, lasting until the communication is finally cut.
“Don’t tell me... the landmine is set off to lure us out?”
The crew gulps Nakatsugawa’s words.
“Hey... What’s exactly in the forest?”
Minowa says in tremble.　There is someone unknown in the forest. That person took down the
guards one by one, sabotaged land mine traps, and is heading towards the hotel.
“A footage from Camera #5!”
Shiizaki shouts as the footage of the forest is shown on the main monitor.
Amidst the darkness and blowing wind, a girl rushes like a wind.
“What!”
The crew are shocked to see the identity of the intruder.
Shoulder-length hair. Delicate body. And a doll-like expressionless face. There is no mistake.
That is Tohka’s enemy, Tobiichi Origami of the AST.
“It can’t be. Just one against that many...!?”
“But why is she here? How far does she think this place is from Tengu city?”
“What should we do?”
“Anyway, report it to the commander.”
Shiizaki tears out the foam before opening a direct line to Kotori.
“Sorry guys, can you go head without me first?”
After parting with Shido, Kotori unexpectedly stops in front of the women’s bath’s entrance,
turns back, and is called out by two girls and one puppet.
“What happened, Kotori.”
“Are you not going to go into the bath?”
“Why? You like a bath, don’t you?”
Says Tohka, Yoshino and Yoshinon. Kotori looks slightly upward, scratches her cheek and
answers.
“I’ll do it... Yeah. Washing my hand. I’ll follow soon so go ahead.”
“Umu. I see.”
“Then, we will wait.”
“Later~”
As Kotori says, they unknowingly reply and enter the restricted area. After losing sight of the
girls, Kotori flutters her hand, puts a mini intercom in her ear, and opens a pocket terminal she
brought from her room by hiding in a towel.
“It’s me. Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Commander!”
As Kotori says, she hears Shiizaki’s hasty reply from the intercom’s other end.
“We have identified the intruder’s identity! It’s AST - Tobiichi Origami!”
Hearing Kawagoe’s words, Kotori’s eyebrows move in surprise.
“As expected, huh. I’ve had the impression it would be her since I heard there’s an intruder.”
“The target has entered Point G! We have twelve personnel downed! We’ve manually activated
the traps to intercept her, but all were topped. I can’t believe this is a human’s doing!”
“Is she using a Realizer?”
“No. No sign of that! We think she disarmed the traps with her pure physical abilities!”
“Tch. What a monster.”
As Kotori curses, a map shows up on her mobile terminal’s screen.
“Wow! This is so great!”
Tohka shouts out in a loud voice as she enters the bath.

The wide bathtub is decorated with lining rocks and hot steam is flowing. Beyond that is a flat
indigo line of ever-expanding water bodies. Ah, this must be what people call “ocean view”.
“It’s.. very wide.”
“The feeling of freedom is overflowing~”
Yoshino and Yoshinon, like Tohka, speak out with excitement. And, as if responding, voices can
be heard from inside of the bath.
“Kuku. As cheerful as ever. Well, we Yamai sisters have already been thoroughly enjoying the
hot water.”
“Respond. So you finally come, Tohka, Yoshino, Yoshinon.”
Standing there, one Nio Statue-like figure throughly shows her slender body - Kaguya. And one
glamorous figure who skillfully hides her chest and hip from the one who stands beside her -
Yuzuru. The twins are also a Spirit like Tohka and Yoshino. They have entered the bath earlier.
“Kuku. We have waited for so long. Let us enter the castle with haste.”
Kaguya says as she beckons. But Tohka turns her head sideway.
“Umu. But wait a moment. It is said that we must wash ourselves before entering the bath.”
Says as she heads to the showering area, sits down at the placed chair, and starts to wash herself.
Yoshino and Yoshinon also follow the suit.
“Mm.. What a good girl Tohka and Yoshino are. They can remember that.”
Kaguya and Yuzuru hear a quiet sound from beside.
Sitting there is Murasame Reine, Ratatoskr’s analyst. A woman whose trademark is her sleepy
expression. Her chest size is impressive even when hidden under her clothes, but as the seal is
broken, it bounces with the hot water. And in a tub beside her is a torn bear doll.
“U.. Speaking of which...”
“Accuse. We totally forgot.”
Kaguya and Yuzuru reduced their expression and contracted their shoulders.
The two look into each other’s face, rise up from the water, move towards Tohka and the other,
and wash themselves. They are set to enter the bath with everyone again this time.
“Nnnn.. Umu. This sure feels good...”

“Yes. This feels... good.”
“Ahh... pinnacle of relaxation.”
Tohka, Yoshino and Yoshinon express their relaxation and completely get down into the bath.
Kaguya and Yuzuru, who finally also regain their freshness, also return to the bath.
“Finally. This place is completed! It may be the mood without Kotori, but never mind that!
Tohka, Yoshino, you look exhausted just by getting in. Wish to have a showdown with me?”
“Showdown?”
Tohka tilts her head as Yuzuru speaks up.
“Explain. Since this place is so wide. Let’s hold a 100-meter freestyle swimming competition
between the spirits.”
“Oh!”
Tohka’s eyes sparkle hearing the words as Tohka herself stands up. But she immediately shook
her head as she revised her idea.
“No. It’s indeed a fun idea, but Shido said you must not swim in everyone’s bath.”
“Hesitate. That’s...”
Kaguya and Yuzuru whisper and talk within themselves, before posing up.
“Then, let us change our game!”
“Suggest. Whoever can stay under the hot water longer wins.”
Yoshinon responds to the suggestion.
“Oh? I’m really good at that! Wanna have a match?”
“!!??”
The Yamai sisters are surprised by Yoshinon’s word. While Yoshinon is a separate personality, it
only moves under Yoshino. No matter how long it stays in the water, it does not drown as long
as Yoshino breathes. Winning against it is hopeless. The Yamai sisters once again whisper
within themselves.
“Then how about this! It will be fair to everyone.”
“Suggest. This place is a dream garden where clothless young girls enjoy themselves. So,
whoever makes the judge arouse the most wins.”
“The judge is, of course, Shido!”
“Explain. Reine’s chest is nuts. I got to touch it a moment ago, and it feels like I have seen the
truth of the world. Whose body will aroust Shido the most? This is the details I have researched.”
A muddy voice can be heard from the other side of the wall.
“Oh please don’t get me involved!”
“Shido!? Are you there!?”
While the entrance to women and men’s baths are rather far from each other, the bath zone itself
seems to be connected. Tohka raises her surprised voice.
“......”
To think that the Shido is just at the other side of the wall, it feels slightly strange. Tohka
suddenly feels shy from being clothless to thin air, and returns down to the bath.
The Yamai sisters look into each other again, before turning their eyes to Tohka, as if predating
on everyone.
“Kuku. I see, I see. So, Tohka, let us start from you!”

“Agree. You should thoroughly show its charm to Shido.”
“Wha.. What are you saying! Change the game now!”
Even with withdrawal, the Yamai sisters persist. They cornered Tohka who could not keep up.
Ultimately, the competition of “Freestyle Swimming” takes place.
“Jeez... What are they doing...”
Hearing that which comes from the women’s bath across the wall, Shido lets out a weird laugh
and slowly stretches his body. A feeling of relief from accumulated fatigue is removed from his
skin. Shido relaxes his body and expresses his relaxation.
“Ah... Good hot water.”
He straightforwardly expresses.
“We’re going on a trip so pack up quickly”
Even as he got that in his face, he must thank Kotori for this.
Shido’s body has endured many things in these past few months, and could not rest his mind nor
body. This “one day of peace” really only comes once in a while for him.
Shido quietly looks into the azure line of water, and lets out a small breath.
“Ah... what a bliss...”
“Dammit, dammit! What is this!? What the hell is this!! Wasn’t this supposed to be a security
job!? No one told me the enemy is a goddamn monster!!”
“Calm down! It will add to the enemy’s favor!”
“Point G, respond! Dammit, Hamaki and Urata are down!”
This is about 800 meters from that blissful place.
An invisible enemy lurking in the forest. Useless instruction. Downed allies. The guards of
Ratatoskr are already in a state of panic.
“A... Anyway, don’t let the enemy get close to the hotel!”
“Shut up! We already know that! We can’t do anything if we can’t even see the enemy!”
The bush on the right waves.

“Hiii!”
Kasai the guard points his taser and repeatedly pulls the trigger until the mag is emptied. But
even as his ammo runs out, he does not stop pulling the trigger, keeping on pulling it. His eyes
become bloodied as he looks at nothingness and keeps pulling the trigger.
“Hey! Stop that! There’s nothing!”
“Stop wasting ammo! Change your mag. Maybe....”
Ishida sharpens his focus. Hiding behind Kasai is a delicate girl. She crosses from tree to tree
like Spiderman, and quietly approaches Kasai. A moment later, Kasai is knocked out just as he
sees a flash from the intruder. His gun falls on the ground and his eyes turn white. It seems Kasai
was hit in the neck with a strong force.
“Ka... Kasai!”
Ishida points his gun, his eyes fixed on the girl. But she twists her body and uses Kasai as a
human shield, avoiding the electric bullet.
“Wha...”
From that position, the girl uses the gun she had stolen from another guard, and fires it without
waiting a moment to the two remaining guards.
“Guh...”
“Gah!?”
The two guards fell on the ground after they let out a moan of pain.
“The target is fighting at Point H! We have more than 20 men down!”
“The traps are not hit!”
“The intruder does not show signs of stopping!”
“Tch.”
Kotori curses the bad news reported.
At this rate Tobiichi Origami will enter the hotel. The trip with Shido will be ruined.
Kotori sharpens her focus and talks into the intercom.
“Do not let the target into the hotel. Intercept her before she tops Point H! I grant the permission
to partially use Realizer. Leave it to Kannazuki”
The crew becomes even more uneasy at Kotori’s words.
“What? Hesitant to use a realizer? If it’s Kannazuki he’ll...”
“No. Not that, commander.”
“The vice commander is not on the airship at the moment.”
“Huh!? What do you mean! Where did he go in a desperate time like this!”
“Sa...”
Shiizaki replies with a troubled tone. Kotori scratches her head in fury.
“Aach! For goodness’ sake, why in time like this!”
“What is it commander?”
“Is it not clear to you!? Tobiichi Origami is charging in and Kannazuki is gone to somewhere we
don’t know!”
“Oh! That’s a big problem. What should we do?”
“It’s obvious! Find her! Also, just in case, prepare the Change Key! If she gets into the hotel...”
Kotori stops there, noticing a very familiar discomfort.
For some reason, it is a very familiar voice. And it is not muddily coming from the intercom, but
clear as if it’s right in front of her.
“.....”
Kotori takes her eyes off the screen and looks upwards.
At the women’s bath’s curtain stands a tall man, wearing headphones and holding a pathetic
microphone in his hand, smiling like a pervert.
It’s Kannazuki Kyouhei, the man Kotori has been searching for. The vice commander of
Ratatoskr and vice captain of Fraxinus.
“What are you doing.”
“Right back at you commander. I expected you to have already entered the bath.”
“......”
Without words, Kotori clenches her fist and delivers a hard uppercut to Kannazuki’s chin.
“UGH!”
“Peeking at a women’s bath in time like this!?”
“It’s a misunderstanding! I don’t do such low things as peeking! I am a gentleman!”
“What the heck are you saying! What is that pathetic explanation meant to be!? You just wanted
to take a peek!”
“Not at all! These are all recording devices! In fact, I’m the type that gets turned on by sound
only!”
“Like. I. Care!!!”
“Gyah!!”
Kannazuki thanks Kotori for her corkscrew punch aimed at his stomach, before falling down to
the ground.
“Point H has been topped!”
A crew’s voice resound in Kotori’s intercom.
“What? Hey Kannazuki! What are you doing down there! Get up!”
But even shaking Kannazuki’s shoulder did not wake him up like usual. Maybe he really lost his
consciousness.
“That’s what you got from being useless in time like this...!”
A totally unfair word. Kotori looks back at her terminal screen.
“Can’t help it now! I don’t want to use this, but since everyone’s in the bath maybe there’s a
chance. Transfer the control to my terminal! Change Key approval! Seaside hotel, “Fensaril”,
Transform!”
“HUH!?”
The crew reacts unanimously to Kotori’s words.
Human wave of guards. Numerous land mines. Ill-intent made Trap holes and net traps.
Countless number of tasers and rubber slug bullets.
While topping this unbelievable level of security and interception on her own, she sets her eyes
on the hotel.
“Wait for me. Shido.”
Finally stopping at the backdoor, she takes out a maiden’s obligatory item, the plastic bomb,
from her bag. She then proceeds to place it on the door’s knob, set the detonator, close her ears
and press the switch.
An explosion blasts the door away. Origami charges through the smoke and enters the hotel.
Torn electric wires can be seen inside of the door’s mechanism. There must have been electricity
running through the knob, and she would be knocked out if she touched it carelessly. It was the
correct decision to defuse it with an explosive.
However, until Shido is saved, she cannot let her guard down. Origami draws a breath, takes out
a terminal from her pocket, and lets her maiden sense move her again.
“East Wing. Third Floor.”
Origami mutters and runs through the hotel’s corridor without taking her shoes off.
Seeing a sentry gun at the corridor’s end, another maiden’s item is taken from her bag: The 9mm
pistol. Origami fires onto it and causes its explosion. She then proceeds to evade traps on the
floor as she moves into the objective.
The trap inside the room, on the other hand, proves to be more difficult due to its smaller scale,
but the room being bright makes it easier to see where the traps are. And above all, Origami too
also set up similar traps in her room, so she understands their detection range and weaknesses
like the back of her hand.
Without wasting a movement, Origami hides herself before Shido even reaches the front of his
room.
It is unknown if there are any more traps, but explosives will hit shido at this range. Origami
fires her 9mm pistol onto the knob to do a safety check, before heading to the door.
“....!?”
She hears a low rumbling sound, and feels a shake in her leg.
“Earthquake?”
Guessing the cause, she quickly disregards it for it is not important now.
“Shido. I am here to save...”

She stops her words right there.
There is no one in the room.
“.....?”
Origami can’t have mistaken the room, but to make sure, she uses her maiden sense to confirm
Shido’s position once again.
“...! This is...”
Origami’s eyes widen as she realizes Shido’s position is moving. For an instance she thought
Shido was just moving to another room, but she is wrong.
That’s right. The hotel had changed its shape a moment earlier.
“What does... this mean...”
As Origami wonders, the door Origami busted earlier shuts in from above with a metallic sound.
Then, a smoke-like matter flows from the vent’s edge.
“Kuh...!”
Origami points her gun at the shutter, and pulls the trigger repeatedly. But the caliber of her 9mm
pistol is too low and could not even make a scratch against the reinforced shutter.
There is no other choice but to use an explosion. Origami reaches into her bag for another of her
maiden items, but her consciousness starts to fade as she drops onto the ground.
Her eyelids close. Feeling like the consciousness is being pulled elsewhere. Even as she bites her
mouth in resistance, the sleepy feeling flows into her head.
“Shi... do.”
Origami calls out Shido’s name in a blurry tone.
----
“By the way, what time is it now?”
While nodding off in the hot water, Shido opens his eyes again.
Gather at eight at the lounge for dinner, or so Kotori said. Better not be late. But Shido cannot
find any clock in the Bath.
“Hnn...”
Shido sighs, gets out of the bath and walks to the changing room. Even a minute late will result
in an embarrassing punishment game. Absolutely must not be late. Additionally, staying too long
in the bath isn’t really good.
Shido wraps his towel around his body and enters the changing room.
“Fuu...”
It seems there’s a missed call. The screen shows the name “Tobiichi Origami” as Shido checks
on it.
“Origami...?”
It seemed like an urgent matter. Shido touched on her name on the screen.
Kotori once told Shido to never compromise this place. But Shido does not even know where
this place is. Just calling her to check things out will not be a problem.
Shido presses the call button.
“.....!”
Origami wakes up to her phone’s vibration from her pocket. Moving her powerless hand to take
it, the screen shows the name of Itsuka Shido.
“Ah..”
Origami answers his call while letting out a blurry voice.
“Hello? Origami?”
“Shi.. do?”
“Yeah it’s me. You don’t sound right.”
“I’m glad... you’re safe...”
“Huh?”
Shido lets out a pondering voice in response to Origami’s words.
“What do you mean by safe? Oh, never mind that. Do you have anything calling me?”
“Shi... do.. I... ran away... from Yatogami Tohka...”

Shido is bewildered by the words possessing no articulation.
“Uh... I can listen to the short story, but can the long talk be for later? Tohka is in the bath right
now...”
“..!!??”
At that moment, Origami’s face refreshes from her dilemma as if lying.
“Bath?”
“Huh?”
“She’s in there?”
“Yeah... what of it?”
“......”
Origami abruptly rises up and picks up the third of her maiden items, the hand grenade, and
quickly throws it onto the shutter, exploding it and causing a blast of noise in the room.
“Whoa Origami! What was that sound just now!?”
“Wait for me. I will be going now.”
“Sorry, can you say it again? I couldn’t hear it-”
Origami cuts the call as she heads on to the bath.
Cutting the call out of the blue after a blasting sound.
“What is up with her?”
In the end, her business remains unclear. But if it’s really important she’ll call in again. As Shido
comes up with the aforementioned summary, he checks the time on the screen and returns to the
bath.
“Wha...!”
From outside of the women’s bath, Kotori operates her terminal with distress as she lets out a
voice of dismay. The target, who should have been stopped by the shutter of the transformed
hotel and sleeping gas, has regained consciousness, blown away the sutter and escaped the room.
“What’s the meaning of this!? Didn’t we release the gas!?”

“There is no mistaking it! She has completely stopped her movement once!”
“Then why did she get up again?!”
“We.. do not know sir.”
Shiizaki raises her voice in distress. Kotori grinds her teeth and resumes operation of the
terminal.
“Guess there’s no other way now... No more keeping the look. Run Fensaril’s at full capacity and
block the target’s movement!”
“Roger!”
With the sound of an earthquake, the corridor of the inn transforms like a puzzle. Moving to the
right and left. The shape of the wall, floor, and ceiling, which changed vertically and
horizontally, had a kind of surrealism and beauty. In other words, it is a feeling of being thrown
into a big clock or an engine with a complicated mechanism. Ordinary humans may have
suffered from their primitive fear of being snarled by a giant.
But Origami, in her current state, is stronger than anyone in the world. Her head is clear. Her
mind is fresh. Her body is full of power. She has control over her full body like she never had.
“There.”
Origami discards her bag as she mutters and looks over. Noticing the wall opens and closes in an
instant to connect to another path, she jumps up to the ceiling before leaping down to another
corridor. A flawless move as if she has thoroughly understood the hotel’s transformation
mechanism.
Origami is even surprised at herself. To the senses. To the instinct. To the intuition. As if the
light shines upon the path she ought to take, she sees through the opening in the transformation
mechanic.
Shido is in the bath. And wearing a towel into the bath is against manners. He must be naked
right now. If Origami can get into the bath in the same manner, she and Shido would clothless
together. Just by imagining it makes Origami’s pulses beat faster.
The Synchronization between heart and body has exceeded 400%. It is the first time she fought
with such a feeling. She fears nothing anymore.
In order to cut off Origami’s path, the hotel’s floor transforms and closes the path.
“......”
But Origami did not waver. She takes out her hand grenade from her pocket, pulls the pin and
throws it forward. The path of glory opens again before her with a powerful sound of explosion.
Origami follows the guiding light and reaches the last barrier.
A blue curtain with the word “Man” written on it. Shido must be in here, the men’s bath.
“Shido. We’ll become one now.”
Opening the curtain, Origami then takes off her sweaty clothes and the underwear she
specifically chose. After that, she walks into the bath zone clothless.
“.....!”
Midway, she notices something. From among the changing rooms, only one is used.
“This is...”
Origami is drawn to it without realizing it, like a bug drawn to a light. When she reaches the
spot, she claps her hand and looks down.
“Guh!”
From somewhere in the hotel, a loud explosion sound occurs, as the ceiling comes falling down.
Seems like Tobiichi Origami, whose path is cut, used some explosive. What a reckless girl.
Kotori expresses her frustration on her face.
“So you wanna play it like this huh... fine by me. If this is how you play-!”
Kotori stops her words there. The terminal suddenly stopped showing maps and making noises.
“What... Come on! What’s up with this!?”
“The explosion just now causes the machines to malfunction! Cannot confirm the target’s
reaction!”
“WHAT!?”
Kotori angrily throws the terminal onto the floor.
“Hurry up with the restoration! There’s an alien on the board! Just finding the reaction will do, or
it’ll become troubled!”
“What’s troubled?”
“.....!”
Kotori shivers to an unexpected voice. Behind her stands a figure in Yukata who seems to have
just gotten out of the bath, Tohka, with her neck twisting.
“T... Tohka. Also everyone...”
Behind Tohka stands Yoshino and Reine, also in Yukata, and the Yamai sisters who are in their
normal clothing. Seems like everyone has gotten out of the bath.
“Umu. Sorry, Kotori. We originally planned to wait for you, but you’re quite slow so I got
hungry first.”
Tohka’s stomach rumbles.
“I, see....”
Kotori replies with a weird tone. But seeing Reine making a suggestion, Kotori slightly looks
away. Maybe not making Tohka and the others feel uneasy is the best course of action.
“......”
Time over. Kotori lets out a sigh, and speaks softly into the intercom.
“I’ll be out for a while. After you find her reaction, use any means possible to capture her. Also,
transform away the destroyed parts.”
“Roger!”
Hearing the crew’s reply, Kotori turns to Tohka.
“Kuku. Great timing. Follow us, Kotori.”
“Accompany. We are going to meet up with Shido.”
“Huh? Hey, wait-.”
Kotori is dragged away by the Yamai sisters and forced to go to the frontline.
“......”
Beautiful.
Origami expresses her satisfaction. Her heart is fulfilled. Ah, the world is a beauty.
The room which has been disturbing Origami has finally opened. She slowly shifts her focus to
the bath.
The appetizer has been finished. Now, to the main dish. However,
She can hear the footstep and talking sound of several people from the corridor. Maybe she took
too much time with the appetizer.
“Kuh...”
Thoughts run in Origami’s head. Run away? Hide? Take on the enemy here?
And without wasting a second, she decides.
“Tch.”
Origami’s body has exhausted due to overuse, and it would be difficult to take on many
opponents now. She expresses her frustration, takes all of her clothes and hides in a large locker.
“Ah....”
She realizes one thing. That her hand is holding Shido’s underwear, and her own is left outside.
“Shido! It’s dinner time!”
“Kukuku. How long are you going to reside in there! Do not tell me you are caught in Hypnos’
curse!”
“Warn. Spending too long in the bath is not good for your health. Take caution.”
Without precaution, Tohka, Kaguya and Yuzuru enter the men’s bath.
“Ah.. W.. wait!”
Kotori’s attempt to stop them falls on deaf ears. But it is not like there are other guests, so she
drops it and follows in.
“He~y! Shido!”
“Hnn... Ah... Tohka?”
Tohka hears Shido’s response from the bath.
“Umu. It’s dinner time!”
“Ah! It’s time huh? Sorry, I thought I checked the time, but I fell asleep. I’ll get out now, so can
you go ahead of me?”
“Okay! Got it!”
Kotori shows her relief. Had he not, Kotori suspects Shido would have been taken by Origami.
While she cannot rest assured yet, knowing that Shido is fine is a relief. Kotori takes a deep
breath.
But at that moment, Kotori finds the closet opened, and the clothes all over the place.
“Good grief. Messing things up because there’s no one else...”
Kotori picks up the clothes and puts them back in the closet. But at that moment.
“Huh?”
Kotori stopped for a moment. Looking over the mess of clothes, and gulps.
On a large bath towel lies a large short-sleeve shirt, and a denim pant. Things are fine up to there,
for they are the same clothes Shido wore.
But the problem is from there. Clearly, there are women’s silk underwear and bra.
“Eh... this is...”
Just once, a thought that Shido has done it, flashed. But Kotori did not say that Shido would steal
a girl’s underwear. Moreover, a man’s underwear Shido should have worn is missing.
“Don’t tell me...”
In Kotori’s brain is an image of Shido in crafty make-up, twisting his waist, saying “Call me
sister” and sending out a kiss. Kotori dismisses her thought by shaking her face rapidly.
“Oh yeah. I did tell him to understand what it is like to be a girl. But... I didn’t mean like thi...”
“Hm? What’s up, Kotori.”
“.....!”
“What happened?”
“No, nothing! Let’s go, quickly! Yeah?”
“U.. Umu.”
As Kotori suppresses her messy thoughts, she pushes everyone away from the changing room.
Unidentified Brother
“Aaah…”
It’s morning. Kotori let out a big yawn as she walked down the stairs in her house. Waving her
long hair tied with two black ribbons and rubbing her acorn-like round eyes, as she walked
towards the washroom.
“Good morning, Kotori-chan.”
The person already there answered.
“Nn… Good mornin’…”
Kotori replied in a sleepy tone. However, in the next moment, her body stopped moving in
shock. The reason was simple: An unfamiliar figure was standing there. To be exact, she was
still a little off.
There stood someone with a gender-neutral face and kind demeanor. It was Itsuka Shidou,
Kotori’s elder brother. There was no mistaking that.
But his hair was unexpectedly long, his mannerisms unexpectedly soft, and that person was
wearing a pure-white bra and panties.
“Wha… whawhawha…!?”
Kotori opened her eyes wide and froze in shock from what she saw. Seeing Kotori’s reaction,
Shidou chuckled.
“What happened? Still sleepy? Kotori is such a sleepy - little - girl.”
Shidou reached out and touched the tip of Kotori’s nose and said that as Kotori’s body began to
shake right where she stood.
“Wha… what’s up with that…”
Kotori said with a shaking voice as she stared at Shidou’s body, and suddenly choked. That’s
right, the anomaly that was Shidou is more than what she could see.
Currently, Shidou was wearing underwear, so his body line could be seen clearly. Shidou is a
man, there was no mistaking that. But Kotori’s consciousness had been taken over by a strange
sense of discomfort.
For some reason, the body Kotori saw was strangely round, strangely soft, and wearing a well
fitting bra.
“…”
Seeing Kotori’s response, Shidou twisted and chuckled.
“What’s up, Kotori-chan?”
“…!”
As if struck by lightning, Kotori’s eyes turned white.
“Ah come on! I’ve already told you to not call me ‘Shidou’! Call me big - sis - ter~.”
Shidou said while making a rather cute gesture. Kotori’s lungs filled with despair before she let
out a scream.
“U… Kyaaaa!!”
Kotori screamed. Tohka, Yoshino, Kaguya and Yuzuru, who were all sitting nearby, and Shidou
unanimously shook their shoulders in surprise. Only Reine remained calm and continued sitting,
simply twisting her head slightly.
“What happened, Kotori? Shouting out loud like that.”
Tohka asked with round eyes. A beauty with night-colored hair and crystal eyes. She was
wearing a comfortable yukata and purple haori.
“No… no. Nothing.”
Kotori waved her hand and cleared her throat before she resumed her meal. That’s right, Kotori
and the others are currently on summer vacation at a personal hotel owned by <Ratatoskr>.
Everyone had just enjoyed a bath and was getting ready to have a meal.
Such a peaceful vacation. Despite that, however, Kotori’s mental state was as tumultuous as the
Japanese sea in winter. There were two reasons for this.
First. Tobiichi Origami of the AST seemed to be hiding in this hotel. But the <Fraxinus> was
working on rooting her out, and good news should come anytime soon.
The other is a much closer concern, physically. That is-
“…”
Without any words, Kotori set her focus on Shidou. While she waited to pick up Shidou, who
was a little late getting out of the bath, Kotori found some women’s underwear in Shidou’s
locker.
If it was just Shidou stealing someone’s underwear, then there could still be some salvation for
him (with a merciless barrage of slaps, that is). But Shidou’s own underwear was missing. That
had to mean…
Kotori has repeatedly told Shidou to understand women. But that’s only to help him converse
with Spirits, and absolutely not meant to have him actually become a girl himself.
However, it’s not like Shidou came out to Kotori, nor is it that Shidou started playing the big-sis
role. Replacing his own underwear with women’s underwear caused a deep wound, but looking
at it from a male’s perspective, there’s a possibility that it might just be that he gets turned on by
wearing women’s underwear. If that’s the only problem, that is.
Anyway, before Shidou completely loses his way, Kotori has to do something. She clenched her
fists and drew in a strong breath.
“…”
Origami made a light movement as she hid in the hotel’s attic. She snuck into the hotel in order
to save Shidou, who is currently being held captive by the Spirit, Tohka (this part is important),
but she just missed a chance to rescue Shidou by only a second.
Only moments ago, Origami maneuvered through many traps, and reached the open-air bath
Shidou should have been in. But, before she entered the door, she spotted something peculiar.
That is, the locker with Shidou’s used clothes.
Leaving it as it was would be disrespectful. Therefore it was of the utmost importance that
Origami “enjoyed” herself with them in a ceremorial manner. Unfortunately, during that time,
Tohka and the others arrived, forcing Origami to hide clothlessly.
Furthermore, she made a grave mistake.
While she was sure not to miss grabbing her clothes, she accidentally swapped Shidou’s
underwear with hers.
There’s just no way Shidou would wear a girl’s underwear. If they found that, they would
instantly find out that Origami was here.
However, for unknown reasons, Shidou’s little sister, Kotori, when she saw the underwear,
simply reacted with a slight shake, returned it to the locker pretending to not see it, and left the
changing room.
It’s unknown what Kotori’s motive was, but it’s clear to Origami that she got out of that tough
spot by the skin of her teeth. Origami quickly switched her underwear back with Shidou’s. “It’s a
shame, but I cannot be captured here,” she thought as she hid in the attic, planning her escape
route for when she rescues Shidou.
“Just wait for me, Shidou. I will save you.”
Origami muttered as she put her clothes back on.
“Girls, can you hear me out?”
After dinner, Kotori used the time while Shidou and the girls went back to their respective rooms
to speak up.
“What is it, Kotori-san?”
“What, what~ getting serious and all~.”
A cute voice came from a girl in blue yukata, Yoshino, and the rabbit puppet on her left hand,
Yoshinon.
At the same time, the identical Yamai twins, who had just pulled some playing cards from their
pockets and were about to start playing games, both turned their faces toward Kotori.
“Kuku. What ails you, Kotori? Are you not skillful at the Quartet-Crested Magic Marker? Your
fear of myself, who is so graced with both luck and wisdom, I understand that well.”
“Notice. It is fine. Your card hand will appear on your face, so there is no way you will lose.”
Kaguya crosses her arms in confidence of her victory, while Yuzuru whispers with a calm
expression.
“Wha… What are you saying Yuzuru! I, Priestess of the Wind, Yamai Kaguya-… uh… wait…
really!?”
“Agree. Have you forgotten your huge defeat in our thirty-fifth match of Old maid?”
“Uh… no… uh…”
Perhaps she didn’t realize it herself. Kaguya repeatedly touched her face while making a puzzled
expression. But Kotori shook her head and softly spoke.
“It won’t quite be a normal card game, but let’s play a game, alright?”
“Game?”
From the corner of the room, Reine asked that out of curiosity. Kotori calmly nodded, before
spreading out the cards she prepared earlier.
“The rules are simple. First, we each take one of these roleplay cards. Then, go to Shidou’s
room, and do as the card says. The winner is the one who awakens Shidou’s manly instincts!”
“Huh?”
In response to Kotori’s proposal, everyone in the room except Reine made a confused
expression.
“Awaken his manly instincts…?”
“Uhh… what do you mean?”

“I don’t mind using my power for a match, but the rules are rather difficult to understand.”
“Agree. Requesting a clearer explanation.”
Everyone’s confusion was evident from their faces.
“Umm… about that…”
Kotori struggled. She realized she was speaking complete nonsense, but she couldn’t find an
excuse as she was lacking her usual composure. She scratched her hair and raised her voice.
“Aaaahhhh!!”
“Oh?”
Everyone shook their shoulders in surprise as Kotori let out an unusual scream.
“Anyway, I need all your power. If… if we fail here, Shidou.. might not be himself anymore…!”
“…!!??”
Everyone expressed shock in response to Kotori’s words.
“What do you mean Shidou won’t be himself!?”
“Right. The details are unclear. But the situation is dire. I know I am asking a lot, but I need
everyone to cooperate…!”
Tohka placed her hand on Kotori’s shoulder.
“Raise your head, Kotori. I’ll help.”
“Thank you.. Tohka!”
Kotori grasped Tohka’s hand while on the verge of tears.
“Don’t worry! Shidou, Kotori, you both saved me. Shidou being in trouble and Kotori’s request
are enough reasons for me to help out.”
“Tohka.”
But before she continued, Yoshino and the Yamai sisters approached Kotori.
“I… will also help out…!”
“Oh wait. This would be boring without a reward. So, let’s give the winner the right to date
Shidou for a day, like the swimsuit competition last time, yeah?”
“Kuku. That indeed is interesting. Very well. There may be some incomprehensible points, but
they are trifling.”
“Agree. The ones who will turn Shidou into a toy are us.”
The Spirits spoke as they gathered around Kotori. Kotori wiped away her tears of gratitude and
began to speak with a firm voice.
“Very well. Whoever can make Shidou feel the most manly happiness gets the right to keep him
for a day.”
“Oh!”
The Spirits shouted in response to Kotori’s declaration.
“However, the missions will be difficult. Let’s start off with these.”
Said Kotori as she spread her self-made roleplay cards in front of everyone. On each of them
were some events written down that many men would like to experience at least once in a
lifetime, The objective was to have Shidou prefer staying a man by letting him experience them.
“Alright girls. Take one each.”
Everyone took a card and read through the text. Then they either nodded, frowned or turned their
head in confusion.
“And what should I do with it?”
“Here’s how it works…”
Kotori explained in a serious tone.
“Ahhh… the bath was great and the food was delicious. There’s nothing more to say…”
Shidou, who just returned to his room, muttered while looking at the nighttime sea from the
window. The moonlight reflecting the azure water horizon. Such an image engulfed his mind.
“Alright… what should I do now?”
Shidou looked around his room while stretching out. The bedding was already laid out, but it was
still a little too early to go to sleep.
Should he go to a nearby convenience store, or invite Tohka and the others for table tennis?
While thinking that, he heard an unexpected knock, and Tohka entered the room in a yukata.
“Shidou, are you here?”
“Huh? Yeah, I’m here. I was about to go and get you guys. Kotori said there’s a table tennis table
in the other building, didn’t she? Would you like to play?”
Instead of answering, Tohka took off her shoes and quickly walked towards Shidou, who was
taking a seat near the window, and sat down beside him.
Then Tohka laid her head down on Shidou’s shoulder.
“Hey.. Shidou.”
“What?”
Shidou replied in confusion from Tohka’s sudden action. Tohka looked outside before
continuing.
“It has been a while since we last did this.”
“Huh? Uh… yeah, I guess.”
“Yeah. We used to play together all the time ten years ago.”
“Hm?”
Shidou turned his head. They only met in April of this year. Let alone ten years ago, they’d only
spent half a year at most together.
But Tohka continued without noticing Shidou’s confusion.
“But since we got to middle school, you became too embarrassed to play with a female
childhood friend, and avoided me since. Then, in our high school second year, we realized our
feelings for each other and started to avoid everyone, finally getting time together again once in a
while.”
“Huh? Wait, no… what’re you talking about?”
While Shidou is being bewildered, Tohka quickly stood up and slammed her hand onto the
window, trapping Shidou in her arms.
“So that’s why, Shidou.”
“Oh…”
Shidou looked at Tohka in confusion of the sudden events. He then noticed that Tohka’s face
was getting red like a ripe fruit.
In order to calm herself down, Tohka took a deep breath. She then nodded and started speaking
again.
“Would you like to… go bathe with me!?”
“Uh… HUH!?”
Shidou’s shoulders unknowingly shook at Tohka’s words.
“What are you talking about out of the blue?”
“Back at you! We used to go to the bath together often, didn’t we?”
“Then what’s about this ‘used to’ you’re talking about!?”
Tohka paused at Shidou’s answer, but regardless continued with sweat forming on her forehead.
“Got it… We don’t have to use a bath towel!”
“That’s even worse ain’t it!?”
As Shidou shouted in reply, Tohka struggled thinking “Is this still not enough?” before closing
her eyes and continuing what she was saying.
“Then… I’ll wash your body while blindfolded!”
“Oh, gimme a break! Why is it escalating like this?”
Shidou couldn’t understand Tohka’s thoughts and raised his voice. Tohka’s eyes rounded in
surprise.
“Don’t tell me… you think I’m lying!? I’m serious! I’ll do just as I say!”
Tohka pulled off her obi. Her yukata’s overlapping parts drooped down due to the gravity,
slightly revealing Tohka’s pale skin.
“Wha…”
“See? Now you know I am serious. So let’s go to the bath…”
“Oh, please! Can you listen to me---!?”
Shidou raised his voice to his throat’s limit.
“…”
Around fifteen minutes had passed since Tohka went to Shidou’s room. Kotori restlessly tipped
the lollipop stick in her mouth up and down.
“Kotori. You’re shaking a lot.”
“Eh? Ah…”
Kotori noticed her legs were shaking at the same rhythm as her lollipop thanks to Reine’s
heads-up. She placed her hand on her thigh and took in a deep breath to calm herself down.
At the same time, she heard a soft voice as the girls’ room opened. Maybe Tohka returned.
“Tohka! That was quick! Were you successful?”
Kotori turned toward the door and raised her voice, but Tohka only made a glum expression as
she shook her head.
“It’s a no-go. I invited him out to the bath together as you said, but he refused…”
“Wha…?!”
Kotori shook in terror to Tohka’s downed tone.
“Refusing a bath with Tohka? No… that..”
Kotori’s hands shook, and sweat dropped on her forehead. Meanwhile, in Kotori’s brain.
“Invitation to the bath from Tohka” → “Normal man will be happy” → “But he refused” →
“Shidou’s male hormones were completely gone.”
“That’s… a lie… Shidou…”
“Is it that surprising? That’s his usual response, but…”
It seems Reine said something, but Kotori couldn’t quite hear it. Kotori’s mind fell into
depravity, sitting on her knees and holding her head in her hands.
“Ko.. Kotori! Are you okay?”
“Yeah… no problem. I can’t give up just yet…!”
Kotori took Tohka’s hand and stood up. She then looked around the room.
“Anyway, to the next? Who’s next?”
As Kotori spoke, Yoshino raised her hand timidly.
“Yoshino huh… If I recall correctly, Yoshino’s situation is…”
“Uh… it’s the ‘A pure and cute little sister-like girl comes to talk about what she can’t share with
others, blazing the flame of immorality’ card.”
“Alright, give your best! Don’t forget the prop I handed you earlier”
Said Kotori as she pointed to a covered book in front of Yoshino. A tag was placed between the
pages to ease in opening to the correct page.
“Y.. yes. But, what is this book about…?”
“Don’t mind that. Just remember not to look at what’s inside it.”
“U… uh…”
“Just follow the steps. Shidou’s a siscon!”
“Siscon…?”
Yoshino replied in confusion. Kotori didn’t seem to notice what she’s saying was weird, but
nevertheless that wasn’t important. She pointed firmly to the door and raised her voice.
“Now, go, Yoshino! Show that loli-pop charm and correct Shidou! Oh, remember you’re just
“little-sister like”, not the real one, because that’s me!”
“Uh…”
“And the reply!?”
“I understand!”
Yoshino replied with her shoulders shaking. She then grabbed some slippers before heading
towards Shidou’s room.
“Ugh… what’s up with Tohka…”
After Tohka left, Shidou’s heartbeat returned to normal. He took in a deep breath. It was clear
that Tohka’s mannerisms were quite different from usual, perhaps Kotori put something in her
head. If that’s the case then there’s gotta be a heads-up, Shidou thought.
A knock once again could be heard on his door while Shidou was looking out of his window.
“Who…!?”
“Uh…”
Shidou looked at the door and opened it, revealing Yoshino standing there.
“Uh.. Yoshino, huh. What’s up? Don’t just stand there, come in.”
“Pardon the intrusion.”
“Ayy--. Putting up bedding already? Shidou’s so quick-minded.”
“..! Yoshinon…!”
“Hey hey.”
Replied Shidou who was making a difficult smile. Yoshinon blushed and looked down as she
walked towards Shidou.
“Uh…”
“Alright, what is it Yoshino-?”
“O… Onii-chan…”
Yoshino said unexpectedly, interrupting Shidou’s words.
“Huh? Onii-chan…?”
When Shidou replied with a bewildered tone, Yoshino nodded and continued.
“I… have something to talk to you…”
“Wh… what is it? What’s with the ‘Onii-chan’…”
Yoshino did not reply. Instead, she opened a book that she had been holding in her arms.
“Um… Onii-chan. What’s in this? Can you tell me?”
“Uh… this is…”
Shidou looked through the book Yoshino showed, and instantly lost his breath. Because, inside
that book, was a man and a woman embracing each other clothless.
“Yo.. Yoshino…? Where did you get this…”

Sweat dropped from Shidou’s face as he shakily pointed his finger to the book.
“Huh…?”
Noticing Shidou’s reaction, Yoshino looked into the book as well. In that instant, her face puffed
up red.
“Ah… what.. what is this…!?”
Yoshino dropped the book on the spot and waved her hands in a panic.
“No, this is just… uh… I just want you to know what’s good about being a man!”
“What’s good about being a man…?”
Shidou’s shoulders dropped from Yoshino’s words. Meanwhile, Yoshino’s eyes rolled around in
panic.
“Uh… no… I.. I think you are good as a man… You think so too, right?”
“No, no. I think I have some problems.”
An unwanted thought surfaced in Shidou’s head, making his cheeks jiggle.
“…!!”
For some reason, Yoshino’s face was completely stunned. She then left the room and the book
behind.
“What was that…?”
Shidou said in confusion as he heard Yoshino’s footsteps running in the distance.
It had been around ten minutes since the second test subject was sent out. Yoshino finally
returned to the girls’ room.
“Hah.. hah…”
She was sweaty and red, probably from running all the way here. In addition, she also looked
very panicked. Kotori embraced her seeing her so.
“What happened, Yoshino!? Did Shidou make a move on you!?”
“… Why are you saying that with such a happy voice?”

Reine questioned from the corner of the room. But Yoshino, who finally calmed her breathing
down, shook her head.
“No… it’s…”
Said Yoshino as she looked down in repentance.
“I… got carried away. I said Shidou-san is good for a man.”
“…! That’s it? What did he say?”
“What’s good about being a man, he said…”
“…!!”
Hearing Yoshino say that, Kotori fell to her knees.
“What’s good about being a man” → “I’ve had enough of being a man” → “I don’t wanna be
bound by my birth gender” → “Call me Onee-chan?”
A nightmare of a formula overran Kotori’s head. She never thought he would say that out loud.
“I don’t think you are taking that in the correct context…”
Once again, Reine spoke. But her words could not reach Kotori, whose head was shaking.
“Next! Kaguya! Yuzuru! Teach Shidou a man’s happiness, you two!”
Yet again, shouted Kotori with a tear-filled face while pointing sharply to the door. Yuzuru stood
up calmly, while Kaguya did so reluctantly.
“Deal. Please leave it to me. It will be done in a flash by Yuzuru’s hand.”
“Hmph! I am not pleased. What is this card…”
Despite appearing interested up until now, Kaguya pouted as she said. Or so that was the case.
Written on Yuzuru’s card was “The absolutely undefiable queen. I will teach you the pleasure of
being dominated.”, and on Kaguya’s “The absolutely obedient slave. The master’s wish is my
command.”.
If a sweet-sour attack by Tohka and Yoshino did not work on Shidou, there was no other choice
but a direct attack on the manly instinct inside!
“Now go, both of you! With a dual attack by S and M, destroy his logic!”
“I don’t think destroying it will work.”
Kotori shouted out loud as Reine quietly said in disagreement.
“Ahh… what’s up with those two? Kotori’s been acting weird since dinnertime…”
As Shidou picked up the book Yoshino dropped, the door suddenly opened again without a
knock.
“What now?”
Shidou said that as he turned towards the door. He could see two people entering in a strange
manner. He quickly realized they were the Yamai Sisters, but the problem was how they were
dressed.
For some reason, Yuzuru was wearing a revealing black bondage suit and holding a leather whip.
Meanwhile, Kaguya was tied up in a Yukata, wearing a collar walking on her arms and legs.
“What… are you guys doing…?”
Shidou was frozen in shock as the Yamai sisters walked towards Shidou like a dog and its owner.
Yuzuru seemed to be enjoying this, but Kaguya looked frustrated.
“Order. What are you doing sitting there, Shidou? Get down and crawl, now. I will teach you the
pleasure of being dominated.”
Yuzuru hit the tatami mat with her whip. Then, Kaguya, who was beside Yuzuru, approached
him on four limbs while making a whine, and started speaking.
“I… am Master’s slave. Please… give me orders… as you wish…”
An obedient tone, yet her eyes were sharp like hunting birds. It created a gap similar to seeing a
noble person being forced down to the ground.
“What are you…”
Questioning why the two of them appeared in weird costumes, Shidou unconsciously stepped
backwards.
Still, Yuzuru stepped towards Shidou without shying away, grabbed the neck of Shidou’s yukata,
and pushed him down.
“Guh…!”
“Force. I was sure I said get down. Also, Kaguya, lay on your back.”
“Huh? What’s up with that, Yuzuru? I hadn’t heard…”
Kaguya tried to say something, but Yuzuru whipped her again.
“Hah…!?”
“Confirm. Did you not hear? I said, lie down. I said, make an obedient pose with your belly
showing.”
Yuzuru pushed Kaguya down and untied her Yukata, revealing Kaguya’s white belly.
“Wah… Yuzuru!?”
“Resent. I am certain I ordered you to keep your mouth shut, Kaguya. Now, Shidou, get down on
four limbs and lick Kaguya’s belly until I say stop.”
“Wha!?”
Both Shidou and Kaguya spoke up. Yuzuru, however, did not seem to listen, and her face went
red as she took a breath.
“Enjoy. Hah… hah… Shidou is going to lick Kaguya’s belly… Kuku… With such a shameful
appearance lying on her back… Being licked on her belly by Shidou… Kaguya’s frustrating face
is so enjoyable…”
“He… hey! That joke crossed the line!”
“Oi! Yuzuru!? Isn’t that too─”
“Ignore. Now, come on. It is fine, Shidou. Kaguya’s belly is sweet. Now…”
Yuzuru did not listen. She pressed even harder onto Shidou’s head. Kaguya let out a cry.
“Enjoy. See, even if you say that, you also enjoy it. Now, as fellow pigs, make sure you get
along!”
“Cut. That. Crap. OUT!”
Kaguya and Shidou reached their limit and shouted that at the same time.
Twenty minutes later, Kaguya and Yuzuru returned to the girls’ room and their positions
switched.
Their outfits remained the same, but for some reason, Kaguya was standing in anger and holding
the whip, while a collar was on Yuzuru’s neck instead.
“Wha… what happened?”
“Hmph! Well, it’s just like that.”
Kaguya explained the situation while standing with her arms crossed, upset.
“Remorse. Authority corrupts those who are given too much of it.”
Yuzuru said that, but because it was spoken in monotone, nobody knew if she was truly
remorseful or not. Kotori facepalmed with a sigh.
“Good grief, what are you doing… Anyway, did Shidou say anything?”
Even if the situation did not proceed as desired, Kotori asked that in hope that the Yamai Sisters’
arousing conversation would help correct Shidou… even if it is just by a little.
After thinking for a moment, Kaguya and Yuzuru nodded at the same time, as they recalled
something.
“Anything, hmm… It was certain he did speak.”
“Agree. If I recall, he said “I am not pleased by teasing girls, nor being teased by them” or
something like that.”
“Wha… what!?”
The two’s report opens Kotori’s eyes wide in shock.
“No interest in teasing or being teased by a girl” → “Wants to tease or be teased by a man”
Or so Kotori thought. Inside her head was an image of a muscular man in a tight leather suit
playing intimately with Shidou.
“No… I never thought he went that low…”

While she was sure that he was going down the wrong direction, that was trivial now. There is no
doubt that Shidou lost his path by a grave degree.
“I don’t know what’s in your head, but I bet you’re wrong.”
Said Reine in a completely calm tone, yet, as before, Kotori did not listen.
Kotori scratched her head, before taking all the cards Tohka, Yoshino, and the Yamai Sisters
drew and held them in her hand. Only one option remained.
“I have to go myself, huh…”
Kotori stood up, grabbed her ribbon, and walked towards the door.
“Let me teach you… that the “non blood-related little sister” is the strongest character type of
all…”
“Jeez… what the heck was that…”
Shidou takes a breath after sending the Yamai Sisters away.
What happened to everyone today? He considered bringing their weird behavior up to Kotori or
Reine later.
While Shidou was thinking, the door opened once again and Kotori entered the room.
“Tohhh!”
Kotori energetically dove onto Shidou’s bed.
“Ahahaha! It’s so soft!”
“Kotori?”
For a moment, Shidou was surprised that Kotori was really different from earlier, but instantly
realized the reason.
Kotori’s ribbon color changed from black to white. She had a strong mindset that completely
changed her personality depending on her ribbon’s color.
He did not know why she chose this timing to change, but Shidou had bigger concerns right now.
He looked at Kotori and started speaking.
“Hey Kotori. Just now, Tohka and the others came to my room one after another, saying stuff I
couldn’t understand. Do you know anything about it?”
“Hmm? Dunno. I got out of there because it was so noisy.”
“Huh? Is that the case?”
“Yes. So let me take a break here, okay?”
“Okay, I don’t mind.”
“Yay! Thank you, Onii-chan!”
Kotori said with an innocent tone, before flipping on the bedding, lying on her back and taking
out her phone, before starting to play on it.
Around three minutes later, Kotori spoke up while still looking at her phone.
“You see, Onii-chan. The open-air bath here is great, they say.”
“Yeah. The temperature is great, and the ocean view…”
“Huh!?”
Kotori jumped off the bedding and grabbed Shidou’s arm.
“What? That’s not fair! The women’s bath is half-covered in hedges so we can’t see it!”
“Huh? Didn’t you say the girl’s bath also had an ocean view?”
“I didn’t! This’s unfair, it’s unfair! You’re unfair, Onii-chan!”
“Even if you say that…”
Even if Shidou scratches his troubled face, Kotori pulls his hand.
“I’m getting in the bath again! This time on the men’s side. Let’s go together!”
“Yeah yeah… Wait, what did you say!?”
The invitation sounded so natural that Shidou was about to nod affirmatively, but he held himself
back at the last moment.
Kotori, however, didn’t give up and pulled Shidou’s arm even further.
“It’s fine! We’ve fully reserved this place, and we used to get in together a lot in the old days!”
“The ‘old days’ are the days from back in elementary school!”
For some reason, Shidou recalled that he had gone through this several minutes ago, but that
thought was blown away by Kotori’s next words.
“Liar! We got in together this month!”
Shidou gasped. On Kotori’s birthday earlier this month, there was a blackout. Kotori was scared
and she asked to enter the bath together with Shidou so she could bathe without fear.
Recalling that, Shidou shook his head even more. Exactly, because Shidou’s heart had throbbed
at Kotori’s unexpectedly grown body.
“No, no, no! Absolutely no! If you want to go, go alone!”
“Do you… not want to go into a bath with a girl…?”
“No, I don’t!”
“…!?”
Kotori’s eyes opened wide at Shidou’s firm refusal.
“Ko… Kotori…?”
Perhaps Kotori was too shocked. Shidou called out to her. Kotori shook her head to regain the
rest of her consciousness and dropped herself on the bedding again.
She then reached out to the book Yoshino dropped earlier and opened it.
“Uh, that’s…”
Shidou cursed his own carelessness for leaving the book there.
But it was too late. Kotori opened to a marked page and turned to Shidou.
“Hey, hey. What are they doing here, Onii-chan?”
“Ah, no, that’s…”
“It looks fun. I wanna try this… It’s your book, so you know how to, right?”
Kotori closed in on Shidou.
“…!?”
Shidou tried to calm down his beating heart, and grabbed Kotori’s shoulder to push her away.
“Hey, you’re crossing the line.”

“…! So, not even this works…”
After Shidou said that in a slightly strict tone, Kotori’s face was filled with despair.
However, she immediately shook her head, threw away the book, and changed her ribbons from
white to black in an instant.
She then brought out a leather whip from her Yukata and hit the mat with it.
“Ko, Kotori?”
“Oh my, who allowed you to talk? It’s weird seeing a pig talking like a human. It’s OINK, isn’t
it? Huh?”
With a mannerism totally different from earlier, Kotori said that in a very haughty tone.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you? It’s strange─”
“So this pig won’t listen, huh?”
Kotori grabbed Shidou’s neck and threw him on the ground, making him stand on four limbs.
She then placed her foot onto Shidou’s head.
“Ahaha! You look good. Now, I’ll let you lick my foot, mister pig.”
“Oh. For. Goodness’. Sake…”
Shidou grit his teeth in response to Kotori’s overly abrupt attitude. Sure, Kotori with black
ribbons is openly oppressive, but this really went over the line.
“That’s enough!”
Shidou screamed as he lifted his head, with Kotori’s foot still on it.
“U, uwaa!?”
Kotori lost her balance and fell down. But…
“Ouch… U, waah! What’s this?”
Kotori said this on purpose. Seeing her like that, Shidou opened his mouth in awe. After all,
Kotori fell down while sticking her butt in Shidou’s direction, and her Yukata’s hem opened up
and revealed her underwear. Furthermore, as she fell, her whip tied around her hands, stealing
her freedom. No matter how one looked at it, this was too strange.
“Ko… Kotori?”
“Ahh!! The position of the master and slave reversed! I can’t even move while I’m in this
embarrassing position! W… what are you planning!? What will you do with your little sister
whose freedom has been taken away!?”
Kotori shouted that in order to see Shidou’s reaction. Shidou, on the other hand, troubled by the
implications of her words, stood up.
Then, as if irritated, Kotori moved her butt slightly before stopping.
“…”
Looking at Kotori with strange thoughts in mind, Shidou noticed that his clothes he had been
wearing before the bath were on the ground near Kotori’s face. Speaking of which, Shidou forgot
to put them in his bag.
“…!”
As if noticing something, Kotori sniffed the clothes.
“B…”
“Onii-chan is an idiot!!!”
A trembling scream. Kotori frees herself from her binds and exits the room, as if escaping.
“This is the worst! This is the worst! This is the worst!”
That phrase resonated through Kotori’s mind countless times as she ran down the corridor.
The degree of gender-changing Shidou has undergone has far surpassed what Kotori imagined.
Allures from Tohka, Yoshino, and the Yamai Sisters did not work, and even a desperate panty
shot from his adoptive little sister had no effect.
And then there was the smell from Shidou’s clothes.
The moment Kotori’s face went near them, she could smell a girl’s scent. Kotori had no idea
what she should do.
Opening the girls’ room’s door in a panic, Kotori dove onto her bedding, and let out a sorrowful
voice.
“This is a lie… this is… a nightmare…”
A kind hand patted Kotori’s head, who was lamenting these cruel facts. It was Reine. A more
careful look revealed that everyone else was worried as well.
“Umu. What’s the matter, Kotori?”
“You have been acting strange… from earlier…”
“Kuku. Say your worries. I shall resolve them in a flash.”
“Agree. I do not know what happened to you, but you will feel better if you let them out.”
“Everyone…”
Kotori sniffled, before taking a breath in resignation.
She originally planned to keep this a secret from everyone, but she couldn’t hold it on her own
anymore. She told everyone about Shidou’s situation.
“…pretty much that.”
“What a thing…”
Everyone gulped and made a nervous face after hearing Kotori’s story.
Then, Reine’s soft voice resounded, stopping the tension and silence.
“Got it. But I can’t really buy into that.”

“Neither could I. But… I saw it! Also, all those failed plans… are they not proof!?”
“Uh, judging by just that…”
Scratching her cheeks, Reine continues.
“Anyway, Kotori. What you saw was just sweaty underwear in the locker. You didn’t directly
see Shin wearing it, did you? If you really are going to become so pessimistic, save it for after
you see Shin wearing it himself, alright?”
“See it myself, huh?”
Kotori knitted her eyebrows together. Reine’s words indeed made sense. Pleasant or not, they are
lodging in a hotel. It wasn’t impossible to sneak into Shidou’s room late in the night to check on
his clothing.
However, should the clothes Shidou is wearing turn out to be bras and panties, Kotori might turn
into a blazing demon and set the entire area ablaze.
But Kotori quickly shook her face.
“Very well. Let’s do it. Just panicking and doing nothing isn’t my style, after all.”
---
Three O’clock. The hotel’s corridor, which had been silent save only the sound of waves and
insects, now held the sound of people lurking about. Five people, to be precise: Kotori, Tohka,
Yoshino, Kaguya and Yuzuru.
Their destination was, without question, Shidou’s room. The purpose, checking what the
sleeping Shidou is wearing.
“Muu. What do I say… it’s breathtaking…”
“It’s like… we are doing what we should never…”
Tohka and Yoshino softly mutter from the rear. The next moment, as if responding, the Yamai
Sisters chuckled.
“Kuku. Well, we are stealing his night, after all.”
“Thump1. Sneaking into a room and taking off clothes. Normally speaking that would be a
1
As in, a heartbeat.
crime.”
“Shh-. Here’s the place.”
Kotori raised her finger to silence everyone, took out the master key from her bosom, and
unlocked the door as quietly as she could.
“Here goes, girls. Be cautious.”
Kotori said that and opened the door. She then entered the room and took off her slippers. The
others filed in behind her.
In the pitch black room, they walked towards Shidou’s bed. In its center, Shidou was sleeping,
covered almost entirely by blankets.
“…”
Right in front of the bed, Kotori gulpws.
What she was about to do was by no means difficult. Remove the bedding, strip off Shidou’s
clothes, and check on his underwear. That’s it. However, the possibility of a cruel truth
appearing before her eyes made Kotori hesitate for a moment.
But beside her stood girls who gently supported her in her cause. Kotori built up her courage as
everyone nodded firmly.
“Everyone…”
Kotori affirmed their support, knelt down, and reached out to the bedding. What she was doing
was no different from a pervert, but to them, no determination was more noble and sublime than
this.
Putting power into her hands, Kotori slowly opened up the bedding. The first thing that she
spotted were Shidou’s legs. Likely sleeping in a prostrate position, as his feet pointed upwards.
Kotori then continued to open up the bedding. The yukata, likely coming off in the sleep, still
couldn’t be seen even when she reached Shidou’s thigh.
“…!?”
With her will set, she opened up the bedding. And what she saw-
“This… must be a lie…”
In shock, Kotori couldn’t help letting out her voice.

What appeared was not Shidou’s usual favorite boxer shorts, but pure-white panties.
“Hah- Hah- Hah-”
Kotori began to breathe quickly as if convulsing. It was now definite that Shidou wanted to
become a woman.
Kotori’s eyes began to blur, and she lost her balance. Refusing what she had just seen, her
consciousness fell into darkness.
“Huh? This smell is…”
Tohka’s nose moved slightly.
“Kotori. May I?”
“What…?”
While Kotori stood there, stunned, Tohka grabbed onto the bedding Kotori had been holding,
and completely opened it up.
“Un… Un…”
Revealing Shidou, murmuring lightly.
“…”
And another person in underwear with a dead neutral expression, Tobiichi Origami, sleeping on
top of Shidou.
“To… Tobiichi Origami…!?”
Kotori shouted. Speaking of which, she lost her composure thinking Shidou was turning into a
woman, but totally forgot that this woman was hiding within the hotel.
Then she finally connected everything. The underwear Origami wore was the very same one she
found in the changing room earlier.
“Eh!?”
Like a puzzle’s pieces coming apart, Kotori realized she had reached a completely wrong
conclusion.
“Damn you! Why are you here?! Get away from Shidou!”
Kotori’s inner dilemma was wiped away by Tohka’s shout. She shouldn’t be concerned with that
now. There was an uninvited guest within Shidou’s bed, and that should be reported to the police
immediately.
Origami looked back at Kotori and the others, and replied without the slightest amount of guilt.
“Sneaking in while he’s sleeping. Disgusting.”
“Says the one who did just the same thing! Anyway, get away from Shidou!”
Tohka said that as she reached her hand out to grab Origami’s arm. Origami, however, reached
into the bedding and grabbed what appeared to be a grenade, pulled its pin, and threw it towards
Kotori and the Spirits.
“Wha…!?”
Less than a second later, the grenade released large amounts of smoke, covering the entire room.
“T… This is…”
“I cannot see anything!”
“Ku! What have you done!”
“Marvel. Cough, cough.”
Everyone expressed their surprise. Then, the sound of window breaking resounded within the
room, and soon followed all the smoke in the room being sucked out. The moment Kotori and
the others regained their senses, Shidou and Origami had disappeared.
“Shi… Shidou!!”
“Kotori! There!”
Tohka rushed up to the window and raised her voice. Looking at where her finger pointed, a
half-naked Origami could be seen flying in the air with a small paraglider, holding Shidou. Like
a thief’s escape method in an anime.
“Even stuff like that…”
Kotori wriggled in panic and reached up to her intercom, about to give instructions to Fraxinus.
However, teleporting Origami onto the ship itself is out of question, and striking the paraglider
above the sea wouldn’t work.
As Kotori thought over what action she should take, Tohka, who was standing nearby, emitted
light from her body. A glowing veil of light appeared on her yukata. Astral Dress. The symbol of
the Spirits, and an absolute armor and fortress. It appeared that seeing Shidou taken away was a
shocking event, and that disrupted Tohka’s mental state.
“Give… Shidou… Back!!!!!”
The moment Tohka shouted that, a giant throne manifested within the middle of the room, and a
greatsword held within its backrest was drawn into Tohka’s hand.
“<Sandalphon>!”
“Wai… Tohka!”
Tohka unleashed an angel’s strike into the night sky. Kotori’s plea had fallen on deaf ears.
----
“Ha… HACHOO!”
The morning next day. Shidou sneezed out at the breakfast table, where everyone was gathered
for the meal.
“Hey, watch it.”
“Ah. My bad.”
Shidou said that in apology to Kotori as he knitted his eyebrows.
“Uh… I think I have a lot to ask…”
“What?”
“Why am I catching a cold?”
“I don’t know. Maybe you slept without your blanket?”
“Then why is my body covered in scratches?”
“Beats me. Your sleeping position is bad perhaps?”
“The room I woke up in today is different from the room I went to sleep in yesterday. Do you
have any idea why?”
“Nah. No such thing. Maybe you’re half-asleep?”
“…”
Kotori continued to reply with clear-cut answers. Shidou then pointed his finger towards the
other end of the table.
“Then why is Origami there?”
There sat Origami, covered in bandages and adhesive plasters just like Shidou. There were also
handcuffs on both her hands, and her body was tied up with a strong rope, like a criminal within
custody.
“Don’t worry.”
Replied Origami.
“Uh… I see…”
Because the person in question said that, he likely couldn’t learn anything more. Shidou returned
to his meal, still confused.
“…”
Kotori sighed as she saw Shidou’s confusion.
After all, all of the events yesterday were because of Kotori’s misunderstanding. The underwear
Kotori thought was Shidou’s was in fact Origami’s, and Shidou was wearing his usual
underwear.
The reactions to Tohka and the others’ antics also matched what Shidou would normally do. The
shocking possibility that Shidou was planning to turn into a woman cost Kotori her cool.
It’s just that…
“What now?”
Shidou likely noticed that Kotori was looking at him, and doubtfully looked back at her.
“Let me ask something, Shidou.”
“Yeah?”
“You… haven’t ever thought of becoming a girl, have you?”
“Huh? What are you saying out of nowhere?”
“Don’t mind that, just answer me.”
With Kotori speaking in a serious manner, Shidou shrugged for he does not understand her
meaning,
“Nah. Never.”
Kotori breathed out in relief.
Seeing Kotori’s reaction, Shidou asked:
“What made you think that’s the case though?”
Kotori let out a slight chuckle before turning away.
“Nothing really-”
These events really messed with Kotori. She understood that Shidou was clearly not in the
wrong, so she had no intention to get back at him for it.
The next time she gets the chance however, Kotori absolutely swore to herself that she would
force Shidou to dress as a girl.
Spirit King Game2
Being slowly roasted in a large microwave oven, that was undoubtedly the feeling that he was
having right now.
Under gazes so sharp that it felt that they might pierce his skin, Shidou unconsciously made that
comparison.
“Uu..."
Groaning lightly, he surveyed his surroundings with only the movements of his eyes.
A huge table was placed in a space not more than three tsubo, Tohka, Kotori, Yoshino, Kaguya,
Yuzuru, Reine as well as Origami were all in the room... Aside from Yoshino and Reine,
everyone else was resisting the urge to sit down on their chairs, maintaining a forward-leaning
posture as though they were about to lunge towards Shidou.
With gleaming eyes, everyone was looking at Shidou.
Shidou’s back was already drenched with sweat.
Even though that was the case... if he were to describe this situation properly, everyone’s
passionate gazes were not directed at Shidou.
They were looking at his hands. The bunch of disposable chopsticks that Shidou was currently
holding, were all being scrutinized extremely closely.
“..."
Due to the endless sense of tension surrounding the space, he couldn’t help but gulp. However, it
is not a solution to remain like this forever. Shidou breathed in as though making a decision,
speaking those words with trembling lips.
“Who is the—king?”
—In that instant.
[Haa!]
Everyone rose up from their seats and extended their hands, it was as though they were all
hungry crocodiles fighting for a piece of meat that was thrown into the water, withdrawing the
2
You really should watch the drama CD version of this story, which can be found here:
https://youtu.be/ECh4aTOThmM
disposable chopsticks at a frightening pace.
“U-uwah...!”
Five disposable chopsticks instantly vanished from Shidou’s hands in just a short moment.
This is not a contest of speed... But it’s probably useless if he said it to them right now.
“U-um... pardon me.”
"...Hm, I’ll take this one.”
After the storm passed, Yoshino seemed terrified as she and Reine slowly drew from the
remaining disposable chopsticks.
“Alright!”
Tohka yelled out, she raised her chopstick high.
On the stick was a single word, [King].
“It’s my turn to be the king! Prepare yourself Tobiichi Origami...! You will regret your evil
ways!”
Saying that she forcefully pointed her disposable chopstick at Origami. However, Origami
remained expressionless as she returned a calm look.
Looking at the scene, Shidou muttered to himself in despair.
"...Is the King Game really played like this...?”
◇ It all happened a few days after the summer vacation.
The bell which signaled the end of the fourth lesson period and the start of lunch break sounded
out, just as Shidou was keeping his books and notes, the two tables on both sides connected with
his with a clack.
“Shidou! It’s time for lunch!”
“Lunchtime.”
On his right was the girl with crystal pupils and night-black hair—Tohka, on the left was the girl
who looked like a doll—Origami, both girls spoke at the same time.
The eyebrows of the two twitched, sharply glaring at each other, before breaking eye-contact by
turning away.
How should he put this, even though the two of them are incompatible their actions are
remarkably similar. Shidou could only lightly scratch his cheek upon looking at their actions.
Not too long ago after Tohka had transferred over, the relationship between the two would be so
bad that they would almost engage in a duel to the death each time they argued. After Shidou
paid closer attention to this, the two girls had at least taken some measure of self control. Despite
saying that, they merely changed tactics into arguing in secret or cold wars, Shidou was still
unable to relax.
Sweat dripped down Shidou’s cheek as he withdrew his bento from his bag (Just in case, he
made minor changes to Tohka’s bento), the door to the classroom slid open. Two girls
flamboyantly entered with their arms interlinked.
They were the twins who were studying in the class next door, Yamai Yuzuru and Yamai
Kaguya.
“Kuku... Oya? I was wondering why was it so rowdy over here, well if it isn’t Shidou, Tohka and
Origami? Are you all going to have lunch? Then how about we have it at the cafeteria? We had
just chased away the writhing fallen in Purgatory, obtaining our rations not too long ago.”
“Victory. As expected, Yuzuru and Kaguya are the strongest today as well. No one can stand
before us Yamai.”
“Fufu. Does this need to be said! Someone with the ability to stop the ever-changing mikos of
the typhoon, does not exist in the present nor in the underworld!”
“I agree. It was precisely so. Kaguya’s movements were extremely entertaining today. That swift
and beautiful motions, is only something that Kaguya can achieve alone.”
“No no, that was also thanks to Yuzuru’s support.”
“Agreement. However, I still think that Kaguya’s actions are prettier.”
“But Yuzuru is still better than me.”
“Disagreement. Kaguya is better than me.”
After the identical twins had conversed for quite some time, they relaxed whilst smiling, they
puffed their chests out with satisfaction at Shidou and the group.
The relationship between the two is still close enough to warm the heart. Shidou smiled, turning
to the two girls.
Speaking of identical... that was only limited to their facial features.

The competitive Kaguya who had a slender figure and coiled her long hair up, Yuzuru who
braided her hair, had a lethargic expression and a voluptuous body, due to the two girls puffing
up their chests they unknowingly compared their body sizes against each other. For some reason
this made Kaguya seem pitiful... Well, of course. Kaguya also had her own charm, there was no
way to determine who was the better one.
However, Kaguya and Yuzuru seemed to have not yet noticed what Shidou was thinking, they
raised the bag containing bread upwards.
Kaguya had bought melon bread and a red bean bun with strawberry. Yuzuru, on the other hand,
bought a tuna sandwich, coffee bread and coffee milk.
“Aaah, you two went to the store today as well.”
At Shidou’s words, Kaguya and Yuzuru both affirmed that by nodding their heads.
Not too long ago, he had brought the two of them who did not prepare bentos to the store. Since
then the two had been very taken in with the act of buying, their lunches were always bread.
“That’s really fast, didn’t lunch break just start not too long ago?”
“Kuku. We moved with extreme speed. In order to obtain the best, speed is of the utmost
essence.”
“Affirmative. But the enemy today was really a handful.”
Yuzuru sighed.
This was really rare. Shidou’s eyes widened at this.
“Who was that? Was it someone new who had joined the store’s Elite Four?”
However, in response to Shidou’s words, the two of them could only shake their heads.
“No. It was the store owner. Because we didn’t have enough money so we asked her to put it on
our tab, but for some reason she kept hounding after us.”
“Agreed. Speed not befitting that age, we spent quite a lot of effort in order to escape.”
“Pu...?!”
Because of the words of those two, rice spewed out of Shidou’s mouth.
“Y-you two... ran away without paying?!”
“That’s why I said to put it on our tab.”

“Agreement. We will pay the money tomorrow.”
Shidou used his fist to hit the heads of the two.
“Ouch!”
“Surprise. It hurts.”
Kaguya and Yuzuru held their heads, giving off short whines.
“W-what’s wrong —”
“Dissatisfaction. Requesting an explanation.”
“Putting a bill on a tab is useless if the other party is not agreeable to it! Hurry, I’ll pay for you
two so come with me! Let’s go and apologise!”
“Ugu—”
“Unhappy. Uh—”
The Yamai sisters pouted with discontentment, but they still followed after Shidou.
Shidou gave a huge sigh, turning towards Tohka and Origami.
"...So that’s how it is. Sorry but I’ll have to go to the store for a while, so you two can start..."
“Nu?”
“..."
Looking at Tohka and Origami both turning their heads at the same time, Shidou went into
silence.
... Letting Tohka and Origami who were in the middle of a cold war alone with each other,
caused him to feel extremely uneasy.
Shidou looked around the classroom, chancing upon a group of people at the tables near the wall.
"...Yamabuki-san, Hazakura-san, Fujibakama-san!”
Shidou called out, the three female classmates in the midst of laughter—Yamabuki Ai, Hazakura
Mai, Fujibakama Mii looked over at the same time.
“Yeah, what is it?”
“What—is it?”
“It’s rare for Itsuka-san to talk to us first.”
“I’m leaving for a while, can I ask you to keep Tohka company for me? Please!”
Shidou left behind such a line, leaving with the Yamai sisters in tow.
... In order to let Kaguya and Yuzuru understand that they have to first obtain the agreement of
the other party, he had lectured them for some time but that can’t be helped. If the store lady
were to tell the teachers about this, the worst case scenario could be suspension... Well, if that
was really the case, <Ratatoskr> would probably settle it for them.
“Ah, Shidou!”
“..."
“Hey, why the rush —!”
“Explain it clearly—!”
“Our fee is expensive damn you!”
Leaving the voices of Tohka and the three girls behind him, Shidou left the classroom.
“What's with him... leaving without explaining why.”
“Really now. There’s no problem if he wants us to keep Tohka-chan company though.”
“It’s frustrating to let Itsuka-kun order us around like this—”
After Shidou led the Yamai sisters out of the classroom. Ai, Mai and Mii voiced out their
complaints as they walked towards Tohka, however they soon understood the situation when
they saw Tohka as well as Origami who sat two seats next to her.
“Aah... so that’s why.”
“You really can’t let these two be together unattended huh..."
“It will trigger the Ya-Tobi war —”
Saying that they pulled out vacant chairs, sitting down around Tohka.
“Well, that’s how it is. Tohka-chan, do you want to talk with us until Itsuka-kun comes back?”
“But Itsuka-kun is really too much, how dare he neglect Tohka-chan.”
“Unforgivable, let’s proceed with excruciating torture when he gets back.”

The trio separately voiced out. However Tohka shook her head in response.
“No... I’m alright. I already understand. Because Shidou has a lot of things he has to do himself,
he can’t just take care of myself.”
At Tohka’s words, the three girls seemed touched as tears rimmed their eyes, embracing Tohka
at the same time.
“M-mu?!”
In response to being suddenly embroiled into a game where one squishes a mochi, Tohka
unconsciously made a pitiful whine. But Ai, Mai and Mii did not relent in their assault, instead
they passionately rubbed Tohka’s cheeks.
“Aaah,Tohka-chan, what a good girl you are.”
“But that’s all right, you don’t have to force yourself!”
“That’s right! Girls are supposed to be stubborn!”
“B-but, I don’t want Shidou to feel troubled.”
When Tohka voiced out her concern, the three nodded in agreement, finally breaking away from
her.
“But, do you want Itsuka-kun to love you more?”
“T-that is..."
Tohka became incoherent... finally blushing, nodding her head. Ai, Mai and Mii saw that,
screamed in excitement. After huddling up and whispering to each other, they showed a smile.
“Right then, let’s teach Tohka-chan our secret method.”
“If it is this, then you can ask Itsuka-kun to do whatever you want.”
“Anything you want!”
“What... d-does such a method exist?!”
Tohka widened her eyes in surprise, the three, in contrast, nodded their heads in agreement. In
that particular moment, even Origami who showed no response whatsoever, her ears suddenly
pricked up. But for Tohka who was being enticed upon hearing about this secret method, she did
not notice.
“Listen closely, That is—”

Ai, Mai and Mii displayed a confident smile, imparting that method to Tohka.
“Huu... really now, you two have to pay more attention next time.”
Fifteen minutes after leaving the classroom. After apologising repeatedly to the store lady, they
finally managed to control the situation so that the girls would not receive punishment, Shidou
sighed as he climbed the stairs.
“Kuku. It’s been hard on you, Shidou. I’ll commend you.”
“Affirmative. You did a wonderful job.”
Hearing Kaguya and Yuzuru say such things behind him. Shidou frowned, glaring behind him.
“Apologise.”
"...Ugu, sorry.”
“Reflection, we won’t do it again.”
The Yamai sisters surprisingly obediently bowed their heads in apology. Shidou patted the two
of them on the head, opening the classroom door.
Near Shidou’s desk were Tohka and Origami as well as Ai, Mai and Mii. It looks like the
situation did not escalate into a fight. Shidou patted his chest in relief, walking towards them.
“Shidou!”
“Oh. Sorry Tohka, I’ve kept you waiting.”
Saying that he looked at Ai, Mai and Mii, raising his hand to express his gratitude. The trio did
not show any sign of discontent, revealing weird smiles of happiness instead.
“Hm...?”
Inclining his head to one side due to suspecting that something was amiss, but his thoughts were
quickly cut off.
“Hey, Shidou. Do you know what the King Game is?!”
“Eh...? A-aaah... I do know that but..."
Shidou despite feeling suspicious, he answered her.
He has not played it before to be honest, but he did know the rules. If he was correct then
amongst the tip of disposable chopsticks allocated to the number of players, one would have the
word [King] written on it while the rest would have numbers. Just like drawing lots, the one who
drew the chopstick with [King] written on it would be the king, he would then be able to give
orders to the players via the numbers that they had drawn... It was that sort of game.
The king’s orders are absolute, there’s no way to decline. Because of this rule, it seems that
drinking parties or mixers play this sort of game often... it doesn’t seem to be rather healthy to be
honest.
“I want to play this sort of game! Let’s play!”
“Eh... Ehhh?”
Shidou widened his eyes—subsequently turning towards Ai, Mai and Mii. The trio purposely
averted their gazes and started to whistle.
“T-those people, saying excessive stuff again..."
“Hey, can’t we play? Shidou.”
“N-no... that’s..."
Shidou looked around feeling troubled.
Seemingly interested in this [Game], Kaguya and Yuzuru who stood behind Shidou suddenly
moved closer, their eyes glittering.
“Oooh, are you guys discussing something interesting?”
“Self-reply. If it is a game, we would not lose. Requesting participation.”
“Nu?”
The Yamai sisters voiced out,Tohka widened her eyes in surprise.
“I’ve heard that the King Game is to be played with two people... Can everyone play as well?”
“Heh? Yeah... You can’t really play if it was just with two people..."
In regards to Shidou’s explanation, Tohka nodded her head while saying: ”Is that so?”.
Ai, Mai and Mii seemed to have been making wide motions that denounced that suggestion
behind her, but Tohka did not notice them.
“Is that so. Then let’s ask everyone to play! Hey, can’t we? Shidou!”
“Eh, let me think about this..."

Shidou scratched his cheek, he was unable to think of a plausible reason to dissuade her.
“W-well, if Kotori is fine with it..."
“Yeah!”
Tohka nodded in content.
◇ “—Aaah, there’s nothing to say about this.”
After school. Once Shidou raised the issue to his little sister Kotori, he received such a laid-back
response in return.
“Is that really okay!”
Shidou couldn’t help but raise his volume. Even though Tohka had said it as such, he was hoping
that if it was Kotori, she may be able to come up with some believable reason to make Tohka
give up.
Moving her hair that was tied into two bunches with black ribbons, Kotori arrogantly lay down
on the sofa. She half-closed her eyes as she looked at Shidou.
“What’s wrong with that? Since Tohka says that she wants to, then you should play along with
her. With <Ratatoskr>’s point of view, we hope that we do not restrict the Spirits’ feelings too
much.”
She raised the stick of her Chupa Chups as she spoke.
That’s right. Aside from being a middle school student in the city, Shidou’s sister was also the
commander of the organization <Ratatoskr>, who was in charge of protecting and allowing
Spirits like Tohka to live happy, normal lives.
“B-but, isn’t the King Game a little too early for Tohka..."
Shidou said while sweat rolled down his face, Kotori, however, raised her head and shrugged.
“Ara. If we just look at the rules, isn’t it just a normal social game? Or what kind of orders did
you plan on giving out, when Shidou becomes king?”
“Ugu..."
Shidou unconsciously fell silent. He never did think of giving any orders that may be overboard,
but he did feel embarrassed due to being found out that he had harboured indecent thoughts.
That was right, even though it was a game that would cause one to involuntarily think of it as
unhealthy, it probably would not be a problem if only close friends join in.
“If I were to pick a side, it’s because I don’t wish to make Tohka upset by rejecting her over this.
Well, if you really are so concerned about this, then Reine and I will assist you.”
“Nn... I-I understand.”
Once Shidou nodded, Kotori raised her legs, using the momentum to get up from the sofa.
“Well then, time is precious. Let’s hurry up and make preparations. As for the meeting location...
well, it’s alright at home. But since it’s a rare chance, why don’t we have a change of
ambience?”
Kotori took out her handphone, rapidly manipulating the screen, she seemed to be making a call
somewhere.
Roughly an hour later. Shidou and the group of girls had changed and went to a Karaoke lounge
near the station.
In the interior of the room three tsubo large there were tables and long chairs placed inside. In
the deep end of the room a large screen displaying commercials as well as karaoke equipment
were placed. The walls had multi-coloured stars painted on them. Light of different colours
rained down from the ceiling.
It’s probably their first time coming to a place like this, Tohka and the Yamai sisters have been
looking around, the moment they had stepped into this room.
“Oo, oooh... what is this place! It’s awesome, the room is all glittery!”
“Kuku. So that’s how it was, a location fit for a king was prepared huh.”
“Understood. Agreed. We cannot fall in this battle.”
Nodding as they commented, they entered the room.
The next one to enter the room was a petite girl who wore a straw sunhat with a large brim as
well as a unique rabbit puppet on her left hand. With sapphire blue hair as well as eyes with the
colour of the ocean. The Spirit whom Kotori called over by saying that it was a rare chance
—Yoshino.
“Wow... it’s amazing, Yoshinon.”
[Yeah yeah, it looks extremely romantic —]
Yoshino was the same as Tohka and the rest as she spoke with sparkling eyes, [Yoshinon], the
puppet on her left, opened and closed its mouth as it replied. It really was their first time going to
the karaoke lounge.
But if this keeps up, it would be unsuitable to play the game. Kotori and Reine who were behind
Yoshino adjusted the illumination of the room, opting for a normal lighting. Tohka and the rest
exclaimed once more in surprise.
Shidou, who was the last one to enter, smiled at their antics, closed the door, and sat down.
After that he made use of the phone placed in the room to order sufficient drinks and snacks.
When the food arrived, Kotori took out disposable chopsticks from her bag equal to the number
of people present.
“Come, let’s start. The King Game that Tohka so very much wanted to play.”
“Oooh!”
Tohka clenched her fists and cried out loud.
“—Well, we’ve just explained the rules earlier so there shouldn’t be a problem there, but..."
Kotori raised up one of the disposable chopsticks, on the tip there was the word [King] written
on it.
“The King Game, is a game where everyone draws lots, whoever draws the chopstick with the
word [King], is allowed to freely order the other players once.”
“An order?”
Yoshino questioned. Kotori on the other hand nodded her head in affirmation.
“The rest of the disposable chopsticks already had numbers written on them, so the king can only
give orders to the players by the number that they had received. Well, let’s just play a game
first.”
Kotori covered the written parts with her hand, holding the disposable chopsticks in a bunch,
holding it out to everyone.
“Here, take one. Don’t let anyone see it.”
Everyone obeyed Kotori as they took turns to draw lots. Finally, when Kotori was holding only
the last disposable chopstick, she raised her voice.
“Who is the—king!”
At that, everyone looked at their own disposable chopsticks. Following that —
“! Me, it’s me!”
After a while, Tohka’s eyes widened as she raised her hand up high. Her cheeks took on a
crimson hue, excitement creeping into her voice.
“What’s that... are you saying that I’m not fit to be a king?!”
“Objection. Unable to accept.”
The Yamai sisters voiced their displeasure. Shidou’s face had a forced smile as he comforted the
two people.
“No, this is just a matter of luck. We’ll start the next round very soon.”
“Hmph, then forget it. In the end, the last one smiling, would definitely be the true king.We the
Yamai sisters.”
“Acknowledged. The sword of the chosen belongs to the one who seeks it.”
The Yamai sisters mumbled to themselves, finally withdrawing their unhappiness... although it
somehow feels that they have misunderstood something, but it’s great that nothing has happened.
In short, the first King was Tohka. Kotori looked at Tohka, as though prompting her to give an
order.
“Come, Tohka. Since you are the king. Say out the order that you want.”
“Yeah, alright!”
Tohka nodded her head. After that, Kotori turned to look at the rest.
“—Everyone has to obey her order. Understand? The king’s orders are absolute.”
Following her reminder, everyone took in a breath and agreed—directing their attention to the
king
who holds the absolute authority.Tohka.
However, Tohka seemed to have thought for quite some time, acting fidgety as though it was
hard for her to say it out loud.
“Kotori... this is just an affirmation, but is any order alright?”
“Eh? Yeah... that is the case.”

“I-is it really true? The person that I order, will have to follow my order no matter what?”
Blushing hard for some reason, Tohka asked again and again.
Shidou frowned. If it was something that was so hard to say, what kind of order did Tohka want
to give out.
Unconsciously, the unease that he had previously felt started to come back in waves again.
Although he need not worry if it was Kotori. But if he were to think it through logically, the one
who gave Tohka this odd idea was those three girls. They could have said a lot of incredible
words without even explaining to her what they meant.
Just as Shidou was about to remind Tohka,Tohka opened her mouth having made her decision.
“S-Shidou! I want you to [Ah~—]!”
“Eh...?”
Due to an unforeseen phrase coming out from Tohka’s mouth, Shidou’s eyes widened.
“Um, about the [Ah~—]... are you referring to the sound when people feed you?”
“Yeah, yeah... Ai, Mai and Mii told me, if I were to become the King then I can say such selfish
words. You can’t say no! That’s the order of the King!”
Stating that, Tohka nodded her head with a serious expression.
Shidou felt his shoulders relax, it seems that he had been worried for nothing.
“W-what the... so it was just that huh —”
However, Shidou stopped speaking. Tohka was currently the King, her orders are absolute...
However the content of her order had a small loophole.
“Tohka. The King must order the players by their numbers.”
“W-what? Is that true?”
Tohka blinked in surprise, looking back at the other six players sitting on their chairs. After that
she frowned whilst feeling extremely troubled.
“Then that means Shidou may not be the one doing that for me?”
“Well, that’s because it’s the rules..."

“U-unu..."
Tohka’s voice became softer and softer, her shoulders weakly drooped.
At this point of time, Shidou felt his side being jabbed. Turning to look, he saw Kotori, who was
sitting next to him, with an angry expression on her face.
She must be saying something on the lines of ”How can you let Tohka feel depressed you dung
beetle!"...On hindsight, he pitied himself for being able to understand her in times like this.
Kotori made a fake cough, speaking to Tohka.
“Tohka, it is regrettable. But the rules are rules. Designate a number.”
Tohka raised her humbled face—her eyebrows suddenly twitched as though she saw something.
Following her line of sight, Shidou exclaimed in a low voice.
Kotori was currently raising three fingers for Tohka to see, using her chin to point at Shidou.
That’s right, that was the number that Shidou had drawn. It seems that Kotori had sneaked a peek
when she nudged him in the side.
"...Kotori, you rascal.”
Sweat flowed down Shidou’s face, he groused to Kotori with his eyes half-closed. Kotori replied
with a similar volume.
“Do we have a choice? Since this game was set up because Tohka wants this, what are we going
to do if Tohka isn’t satisfied?”
“Well, that may be the case..."
"...Hmph, if it was me I too would want Shidou to..."
“Eh?”
Shidou’s eyebrow twitched in confusion, Kotori turned her head away in anger.
At the same time, Tohka who finally discovered Kotori intentions widened her eyes and
exclaimed.
“It’s 3! The person with Number 3 has to [Ah~—]!”
Tohka loudly proclaimed.
Even though it was breaking the rules... Well, since it was just an exception. Shidou bitterly
smiled as he raised the chopstick with [Number 3] written on.
“Everything is as you command.”
After he made a splendid bow, Tohka’s expression brightened.
“Um... Now I have to do that right?”
Shidou pointed at the large plate of fries, Tohka confirmed his query with a jubilant nod.
Shidou picked up a French fry, holding it out to Tohka.
“Here, ah~—”
“U-uh, mm... ah~—”
As though replying to him, Tohka opened her mouth wide. Shidou slowly placed the fry into her
waiting mouth.
Instantly, the room was filled with exclamations of [Oooh—], he could even hear small clapping
and whistling sounds.
... How can he put this, it was much more embarrassing than he had thought. Shidou could only
scratch his head while blushing.
“H-how was that? Was it delicious, Tohka?”
“Yeah...! Shidou, thank you!”
Being questioned by the bashful Shidou, Tohka replied with a face full of smiles.
“Uh..."
His heart was thumping abnormally loudly. Shidou averted his gaze. But his actions were
naturally seen through by Kotori. This time his side was struck with her elbow.
“What’s with that—That sort of behaviour. Rather than feeling shy, shouldn’t you be a little
more happy —”
“S-shut it!”
Shidou snapped back, Kotori grinned as she collected the disposable chopsticks. After shuffling
them in her hands again, she held it out to everyone like before.
“Come. Let’s determine who's the next king, start drawing.”

Everyone nodded and started to draw lots.
[Who is the —king!]
When everyone said that line, Kotori’s eyebrows raised as she voiced out in mild surprise.
“The next one is me huh. Hoho... What sort of order should I make, hmm?”
Kotori’s mouth twisted as she made a sadistic grin. Faced with her dangerous countenance,
Shidou started to perspire once more.
It was unknown as to whether Shidou’s thoughts were being read, Kotori glanced at him,
shrugging her shoulders as though she understood what he was thinking. “Then, yeah. Since this
is our first time at the karaoke lounge, let’s let Number 1 and Number 4 have a faceoff.”
Kotori played with the chopstick with the word [King] as she declared her order, Kaguya and
Yuzuru stood up.
“Kuku. I’m Number 1.”
“Replying. Yuzuru is Number 4.”
After that, both of them looked at each other, linked arms and made an amazing pose together.
“Hehe. You really are careless to be placing us in a group. You’re saying a faceoff right? Which
means you want to enjoy our beautiful voices, correct?” “Understood. Our singing ability has
already been tested on our thirty-sixth match. We’ll let you see the ultimate pairing of Yuzuru
and Kaguya.”
Kaguya and Yuzuru threw the microphone on the table into the air, catching them with
synchronized splendor.
Not waiting for the accompaniment music to begin, the two had already started to sing.
[——!]
Even though there was no background music, it was excellently sung. It wasn’t just their voices,
the whole room echoed into a chorus that might cause one to wonder whether it had been
planned beforehand.
Several minutes later, Kaguya and Yuzuru’s concert came to an end. Everyone strongly
applauded.
“What’s with that, didn’t you two sing extremely well?”

“Hoho. But of course. We are the super perfect Yamai Sisters!”
“Agreed. The number of things that we can’t handle amounts to almost nothing.”
Saying that the two girls made a dazzling pose once more.
“Come. Let’s hurry up and do the next round. As to why the position of king still hasn’t come to
our hands, is really incomprehensible.”
“Agreed. The next one will definitely be our reign as king.”
Kaguya and Yuzuru returned to their seats on the left and right respectively, using their fingertips
to tap the disposable chopsticks on the table. The chopsticks flipped through the air, landing right
into Kotori’s hands. Everyone reciprocated with another thunderous applause.
Kotori recollected the other players’ disposable chopsticks, handing them out to them again in
the previous fashion.
[Who is the—king!]
When everyone said that, they drew out a chopstick.
“U-um... it’s... me.”
Yoshino, who was sitting at the end of the table, silently sounded out. The Yamai sisters let out
another wail of lament.
“Congratulations, Yoshino. Give an order.”
“U-um, I don’t know how to give orders..."
[So you’re not going to say it—Number 2 will let the king sit on your lap, and rub the king’s
head!]
When Yoshino was about to shake her head sideways, [Yoshinon] on her left hand spoke.
“Y-Yoshinon, what are you doing..."
"...Hm, me huh?”
Yoshino had just begun to speak, when Reine revealed the Number 2 lot that she had, patting her
own lap.
[Oh no—I didn’t pick Shidou-kun—Nuhoho, but Yoshino, didn’t you always look at Reine-san
and say to yourself: ”What must I do to be able to make my breasts grow till that size..."? Now
you can go and investigate till your heart’s content —]
“Hyi..."
Yoshino held her breath as she forcefully plugged Yoshinon’s mouth. But Reine, the person in
question, did not mind at all, she merely inclined her head as though asking if Yoshino was not
going to sit.
“Uu..."
Probably unable to withstand the pressure, Yoshino squeakily said, ”T-then... I’m sorry...".
Taking off her large hat that would hinder her, sitting on Reine’s lap.
“Uooooo..."
Looking at that scene, Shidou couldn’t help but exclaim in a low voice. Kotori and the Yamai
sisters seemed to have the same reaction as well.
It wasn’t something strange. Reine’s full breasts were being pressed by Yoshino’s back, they had
flexibly changed shape.
“U... uwah..."
Yoshino who was directly in contact with that sensation let out a dazed sound, her cheeks turning
a light shade of pink as she lowered her head.
"...Next up, is patting right?”
But Reine did not seem to have noticed everyone’s line of sight as well as Yoshino’s voice, she
merely looked downwards, started to stroke Yoshino’s hair. While she was doing that, Reine’s
breasts seemed to move along with her movements.
—After several minutes, Yoshino was finally released from Reine’s lap.
“..."
Yoshino rose while maintaining a dazed expression on her face, returning to her seat as though
she was in a trance.
[... Oo,oooh.]
Everyone took a deep gulp.
In the end, Reine only inclined her head in surprise.
"...? Are we not going to continue?”
Thanks to her reminder, everyone snapped out of their daze. Kotori hastily started to recollect the
disposable chopsticks.
Shidou heaved a sigh of relief... Well, although this time was a little overstimulating. But the
game was proceeding on rather well. Everyone was happily playing, the contents of the orders
were not malicious. It seems that he had overthought things too much.
Kotori showed the disposable chopsticks to everyone once more.
[Who is the —king!]
Just as everyone was about to draw lots.
The door to the room opened all of a sudden.
“Is something the matter? We didn’t order anything..."
In mid-speech, Shidou instantly stopped talking.
He had originally thought that the staff had entered the wrong room—but it wasn’t the case.
Standing right there was Shidou's classmate, Tohka’s arch nemesis, Tobiichi Origami.
“Mu?!”
“O-Origami?! Why are you here in a place like this?”
At Shidou’s question, Origami turned to look at him. She replied to him in a clear voice, a single
sentence.
“—Let me join too.”
“Wha, haa?!”
Faced with such an unexpected request, Shidou cried out in shock.
“W-wait a minute. Origami? Do you know what we are currently playing—”
“The King Game.”
“Th-then why did you know that we’re —”
“Just a coincidence.”
"...U-um.”
“Actually I am a fanatic player of the King Game. I am one of the ten S-ranked players within
the country. Once the title of <The UnreasonableTobi > is uttered, there’s no one who doesn’t
know who I am.”
“..."
While Shidou was at a loss as to what to do with the rambling Origami, Tohka slammed the table
and rose up.
“Who cares about that! I will definitely not accept someone like you to join in halfway!”
“Petty woman.”
“W-what did you say!”
While Tohka and Origami were in a stare-off, the Yamai sisters who were seated spoke.
“Hoho, isn’t this just perfect. Accepting foolish challenges is also the duty of the king.”
“Agreed. If it is Origami-senshu, Yuzuru has no objection. I hope to be able to witness the

techniques of an S class opponent.”
“N-nuuu..."
Tohka’s eyebrows knitted together due to the arrival of her enemy’s reinforcements.
However, she seemed to have discovered something amiss, her eyes widened.
“T-that’s right. The chopsticks aren’t enough! If that’s the case—”
“I have made preparations.”
Origami interrupted Tohka, taking out disposable chopsticks that had numbers written from her
pocket.
There were eight, which was exactly the number of players with Origami included.
“H-how can this be..."
Sweat poured from Shidou’s forehead.
However, Tohka shook her head, displaying an attitude that she can’t accept the events that were
unfolding.
“I’m saying that no means no! I will definitely not accept Tobiichi Origami’s participation!”
Origami scoffed at her with a nonchalant expression.
“You’re afraid of losing?”

“Wha—! You, you dare say those words...!”
Faced with Origami’s blatant taunt, Tohka stood up suddenly. Leaving the issue of whether the
existence of the King Game was real aside, that was a major insult to Tohka’s pride. Tohka who
had been riled up stared daggers at Origami.
However, Origami looked as though she did not care. She automatically went and sat on an
empty seat, handing out the disposable chopsticks in her hand.
“Take them.”
“Ah, y-you cheat! You’re forcing people to do what you want them to!”
Although Tohka raised her objections, the Yamai sisters had already taken their lots by that time.
Next, Origami wordlessly offered Kotori the disposable chopsticks.
“..."
“..."
Both people did not make a sound, they only let their eyes meet.
Although, that was something that cannot be helped. Origami had, in the past, suspected that
Kotori was the enemy who had killed her parents, attempting to take her life in revenge. Even
though it was all a misunderstanding... The complicated relationship and feelings the two had for
each other was understandable.
Kotori maintained her silence for a long period of time, in the end she sighed as though admitting
defeat, taking out one chopstick.
“Alright alright, it’s alright if I do it like this right... but only for a while.”
Once Kotori made her move. Yoshino who did not know what to do as well as Reine who was
observing from one side, started to draw their lots. Shidou scratched his head in helplessness,
extending his hand towards disposable chopsticks.
Origami nodded her head with satisfaction, she started to speak with two chopsticks still left in
her hand.
“Who is—the—”
“W-wait a minute! I haven’t even taken one yet!”
Tohka took her lot in a haste... In the end, it became a situation where everyone was being led by
the nose by Origami.
Origami scoffed. Everyone looked at the interaction between the two, crying out as one.
“—It’s me.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Origami raised her hand. In her hand was a chopstick which did
have the word [King] written on so nicely that one could have thought that it had been printed on
it.
Following that.
“Number 6 shall stand, the person shall flip her skirt and reveal her underwear by herself, staying
like that for a full minute.”
Not taking any time to think, she merely gave the [Order] with her calm, monotonous voice.
[What...?!]
Everyone’s expressions froze due to Origami’s declaration.
It wasn’t specially set by anyone, but there was an unspoken rule set up between the players. The
main point was —not to let the other party feel uncomfortable.
However this civil rule had been ruthlessly taken apart with the arrival of the outlier. Knowing
that he had been too naive, Shidou regretted his thinking. He thought that it would be alright
since Kotori had approved, but in the end he still can’t entirely leave the decision to others. More
importantly, he had made
a major slip up thinking that “since Origami had come all this way, he shouldn’t just chase her
away like that”.
Allowing Origami to play the King Game, isn’t that the same as letting the oni wield its club or
letting her have a recoiless nuclear missile—?
“D-don’t joke around! How can anyone do such a thing!”
Tohka cried aloud with a red face. It looks like she was Number 6.
“Is that so. If you don’t want to do so then by all means refuse.”
“W-what!”
Tohka frowned due to being caught off guard. Everyone else in the room too had surprised
expressions on their faces since those words didn’t sound like what Origami would say.
However, Origami continued in a calm voice.
“—As recompense, I hereby judge you of committing the crime of [Treason] against the king,
you are eliminated from the game.”
“Eliminated... are you saying that I am disqualified from this game?!”
“That’s correct. By constantly repeating this, the person left standing will be the true king. After
that, the true king will select a single individual from the players, having one entire day to order
the person around as much as the king likes.—This is the King Game’s special rule, the [King of
Kings].”
[...?!]
Because of Origami’s words, everyone’s faces had another change of expression. Shidou, Tohka,
Kotori and Yoshino had looks of shock, Reine, on the other hand, remained expressionless, only
the Yamai sisters seemed to be riled up.
“Ordering a single person around for a whole day...?! You, what are you planning!”
“..."
Tohka said with a wary expression on her face, in response, Origami wordlessly glanced at
Shidou— licking her lips expressionlessly. For some reason, he instinctively sensed fear, chills
went down his spine.
“Hyi...?!”
“Y-you! Why are you looking at Shidou!”
“That is none of your business.”
Origami ignored Tohka. She merely pointed her chopstick at Tohka, tranquilly saying.
“Then, I will now charge Tohka with the crime of [Treason] and remove her from the game—”
“H-hold on...!”
As though overturning Origami’s declaration, Tohka yelled aloud, standing up.
She looked in Shidou’s direction, groaning in conflict, reaching for her skirt with closed eyes.
“H-hey! Tohka, don’t be rash!”
“It’s alright... I will definitely not let Shidou fall into Tobiichi Origami’s hands...!”
Tohka clenched her teeth, rolling up her skirt with her own hands.
"...!”
He couldn’t help but gulp.
In that instant, he could see that what was beneath the skirt was most likely selected by Reine, a
simple design but it had a make of excellent quality.
Shidou hastily closed his eyes, turning his face to one side.
Of course, Shidou was a healthy male. He would be lying if he said he had zero interest in that
forbidden zone... However upon looking at Tohka’s shy expression, he was attacked by a heavy
sense of guilt.
Although, by doing it like this, Tohka had carried out the order. The order did not say that
Shidou cannot avert his gaze, so they probably shouldn’t be charged with [Treason].
Origami clicked her tongue in annoyance and started to count.
“1—,2—,3—”
“You, you’re doing this on purpose!”
After that, Origami’s exceptionally slow count finally reached 60. Tohka had splendidly
accomplished the king’s order.
—However, that was merely the beginning.
“It’s me.”
“Eh?!”
Origami who unhesitatingly raised her hand, instantly drew the attention of everyone present.
The nightmare has reoccurred. It seems that Origami is the king once more.
Basking under everyone’s wary gaze, Origami took out writing paper from her pocket, using a
pen she swiftly wrote down her order.
“Number 6, read this out with the microphone.”
The instant Origami said that, Yoshino’s shoulders gave a massive jump, showing an expression
of utmost unease. It looks like she was the one who had drawn the number 6.
Origami glanced at Yoshino, placing the microphone and the paper in front of Yoshino.
Yoshino looked at the paper with a terrified face —
“Hyii..."
Yoshino held her breath, her face rapidly reddening like a tomato... what on earth is written on
it?
[Uwaaaah—, this lass really did it now. This is probably too much for Yoshino huh —? There’s
no helping it, just let Yoshinon do... ]
“Of course, only the person who had withdrawn the lot can carry out the order. If the rules are
flouted, then she will be immediately disqualified.”
[Urk, this is bad.]
Although [Yoshinon] tried to help, it was stopped by Origami. Yoshino, who had lost her only
shelter, could only look around helplessly.
“ U-um... , I, I..."
“If you can’t do it, that’s fine too. But in exchange, I’ll sentence you with [Treason].”
Origami coldly said.
Yoshino’s eyebrows formed a [八]... However she subsequently shook her head, opening her
mouth as though a decision had been made.
“I, I’ll do it.”
Saying that she took up her microphone with her right hand, letting her eyes rest on the note that
was placed on the table.
As though steadying her wavering heart, she took a deep breath.
[A... A, although I have a... gentle look... b, but the truth is, I am a girl who is not what you all
think... I am... Whenever I see a man... my body will gradually get warmer... um, um... I will
start thinking... of doing e, ecchi... stuff... ]
“H, huh...?!”
Shidou widened his eyes. However Yoshino continued to read on, despite having a red face.
[Right now, I still think of it... I can’t stand it anymore. S, Shidou-san’s, t-thick... hard... um... ]
Reading up till this point, steam billowed out of Yoshino’s head with a ”Pon!”, dizzily collapsing
to the ground.
“Fu, fumu..."
“Y,Yoshino?!”
"...She’s alright, it was a little over stimulating for her that’s all.”
Reine supported Yoshino’s body, allowing her to rest onto the chair. After Shidou heaved a sigh
of relief, he turned to face Origami.
“Y, you... How can you let Yoshino say such things.”
“The world of winning and losing is ruthless. No matter what, she was unable to read the note till
its end, she will be eliminated due to [Treason].”
“H,hey now..."
Although he said that while scratching his cheek... but he couldn’t very well ask Yoshino to read
that paragraph once more.
While Shidou was still hesitating, Origami wrote the word [Treason] onto the writing paper,
pasting it on Yoshino’s forehead.
“It’s me.”
“You again!”
Faced with Origami who had raised her hand once more, Shidou couldn’t help but exclaim
aloud.
The odds of becoming the king three times in a row, her luck must really be over the roof.
But Origami merely ignored the curious looks around her, silently giving her order.
“Next up is Number 1 and Number 2, I’ll take care of both of them at one go.”
“Oh? Take care of, you say?”
“Response. It’s harder to carry out than just mere words.”
The ones whose faces had bold smiles on them were Yamai Kaguya and Yamai Yuzuru.
... Revealing their identities before the order was given out, wouldn’t that be extremely
disadvantageous. However, the Yamai sisters did not seem to mind at all. Was that because
taking any challenges head on is the duty of a king as well?
“Kuku. I’ll say it first. Don’t treat us like we are on the same level as Tohka and Yoshino,
revealing our underwear or any hidden dirty paragraph recitations, they are but child's play
before us!”
“Affirmed. Even though saying that was embarrassing, Kaguya who boldly declared something
as racy as revealing our underwear, is but a reward to Yuzuru.”
“W, what are you saying Yuzuru...!”
Kaguya restrained Yuzuru in a panic... How should he put this, it kind of feels like they would be
a goner even before they knew about the order was given.
Even so, it could have been Origami’s mistake to have called out these two at the same time.
Even though she had given out similar orders to Tohka and Yoshino, they were only punished
alone, by having another person in the same shoes as oneself, one’s mentality would be
completely different.
Furthermore it was the Yamai sisters that she was up against, they are twins that could be said to
be of one mind.
However, Origami unhesitatingly spoke as usual.
“—Number 1 and Number 2, both of you will rub each other’s chests continually for five
minutes as well as say out your thoughts. Remaining silent for more than ten seconds will result
in elimination.”
“What...?”
“Unknown. I don’t understand Origami-sensei’s thinking.”
Kaguya and Yuzuru tilted their heads at Origami’s strange order.
“Rubbing Yuzuru’s chest? Hoho, has the renowned Origami finally become dull? Do you think
that I, Yamai Kaguya would be embarrassed by just this?”
“Agreement. Yuzuru and Kaguya are of one mind. Such a thing is no different from touching
one’s own body.”
Kaguya and Yuzuru who sat with each other, now positioned themselves so that their bodies are
now facing each other.
“Kuku. Then I’m going to start, Yuzuru.”
“Acknowledged. Can I ask someone to help with the timekeeping?”
Saying that Kaguya and Yuzuru both reached out, touching each other’s chests. Kaguya’s hand
sunk into Yuzuru’s breasts, Yuzuru’s hand caressed Kaguya’s chest. Just like that they wriggled
their fingers, playing with each other’s breasts.
“Ho ho ho, it’s fine just like that? This is easy.”
“Agreement. It’s just funny to try and let us surrender with only this level.”
The two spoke with relaxed expressions; looks like Origami wouldn’t be able to get what she
wants this time.
“Uh? Then again,Yuzuru. Has thee’s measurements increased yet another size? Hmph, although
you are my other half, but that makes me envious.”
“Denial. That’s not the case. I have said it many times ago as well, it’s obviously Kaguya’s
appearances that is more beautiful”
“Ho ho, alright already. Don’t say that to make me happy—Nn.”
“Denial. I wasn’t saying that to make you—Ah..."
“..."
“..."
For some reason, after a minute into the act, their conversation suddenly stopped.
"...Y-Yuzuru...? Hold on... aren’t you, using too much force?”
“Rebuke. Regarding that... Kaguya is the same as well.”
“Nn... ah, I , over there... wait—”
“Torment. Uu... nn, ah..."
“..."
“..."
“U... um, Yuzuru..."
“Reply. What... is it, Kaguya.”
“Direct contact... can’t we?”
"...Contemplation. Everyone is... looking.”
“But..."
"...Wavering. Kaguya... um, please don’t show... that kind of expression. That’s against the
rules.”
“Yuzuru..."
“Kaguya..."
“Hey! Wait a moment! Calm down, both of you!”
It was only at Shidou’s panicked voice, did the two snap out of their trance.
After that the two of them made eye contact once more, unnervingly turning away, moving their
hands from the other’s body. However, only four minutes had passed.
“Kaguya, Yuzuru...?”
"...W, we... give up.”
“Agreement... if this continues, we would become... right.”
Saying that the Yamai sisters turned to face their bodies to the front once more.
After that act, the two of them spent a long time fiddling with their fingers, not daring to look at
each other.
“It’s me.”
“Something’s wrong here, how many times did you draw that!”
The King was still Origami, Shidou could not hold his outburst any longer.
No matter how good her luck was, it was too unnatural. Shidou started to inspect the disposable
chopstick he had drawn. However, there were no markings to differentiate the disposable
chopsticks. Shidou frowned in contemplation.
In that short moment in time, Tyrannical Origami gave her order.
“—Number 3 will take off her undergarments. Everyone else is not to turn their face aside nor
close their eyes.”
[... ]
Everyone who was in the room sucked in a breath from Origami’s words.
Even though the previous orders were just barely making it, it seemed that it had finally come to
the point where someone has to take off their underwear...
If he let this continue, who knows how absurd would the next order be like, hence Shidou who
worried about that spoke.
“H-hey, Origami...?”
“What is it?”
“Isn’t it too... much, right?”
Despite trying to hint to her to cease and desist, Origami silently shook her head.
“Fanning the flames of embarrassment is the basics in the [King of Kings]. This can still be
considered to be one of the gentle types that are still legal. If one cannot handle orders of this
level, it is impossible to become a true king.”
“No, even if you say that..."
“The person with Number 3, hurry up and identify yourself. Or else it’s [Treason].”
Origami’s words halted.
There was an extremely simple reason for that. Reine reached into her collar, pulling out her
black undergarment directly from under the clothing. After that she swiftly placed it on the table.
Judging from that, Number 3 was Reine.
"...It’s alright like this, correct?”
“..."
Reine spoke with a monotonous tone like usual, Origami wordlessly turned to face Reine.
For some unknown reason, Shidou could sense that invisible sparks were flying between the two.
Thinking back. Reine had always been like this.
From the earlier order where she let Yoshino sit on her knees, she has a warped sense of logic. In
truth, even if Shidou were to accidentally bury his face between her breasts, she would be able to
deal with the situation calmly. Just like the current order, she had pulled out her underwear from
her clothing in front of Shidou. Even if it was <The UnreasonableTobi> who had plenty of
experience, it seems that more effort would be needed if she wanted Reine to feel embarrassed.
"...Is it going to be over with just that?”
“You got guts.”
Reine asked bluntly, Origami replied with a clear answer. Once again regathering the disposable
chopsticks.
“It’s me.”
"...Hey.”
How is it possible to succeed five times consecutively? Shidou stared at Origami.
However, before Shidou could voice out his suspicions, Origami causally gave out her order.
“Number 4, your underwear —”
“Hmph..."
Kotori snorted derisively.
This time it was Kotori who was chosen... she changed her sitting position while maintaining a
relaxed face.
“Again with the underwear? Alright then. No big deal about that. Since most of us are of the
same gender, the only guy here is Shidou.”
Saying that she shrugged.
Even though she was just saying that to not make herself seem weak in front of Origami.
However, Shidou had seen Kotori’s underwear multiple times. Not that he would not feel
embarrassed at all, but it was not on the level that he would be charged with [Treason] from the
order.
However.
“—will be taken off by Number 2.”
““Wha—!””
In reaction to Origami’s next words, the voices of Kotori and Shidou had perfectly overlapped
with each other.
That’s correct, the identity of Number 2 was Shidou.
Gleaning the information from Shidou’s reaction, Kotori’s originally passive attitude had
changed, she wretchedly pointed her finger at Shidou.
“W-w-w-w-what’s that! What are you trying to do to your sister you pervert!”
“T-there’s no use complaining to me!”
Hearing Shidou’s cry, Kotori made a groan, throwing a hated glare at Origami.
However Origami, as usual, made an expression as though nothing had happened.
“It’s alright if you can’t do it.”
“Guh..."
Kotori made another groan dripping with hatred and regret.
“D-do it..."
“Huh...? H-hey! Kotori.”
“I’m telling you to do it! H-hmph, you must have thought of something. This is nothing to me!”
Saying words that were obviously forced, Kotori who sat opposite Shidou stood up.
Following that she grabbed hold of Shidou’s hands, slowly guiding them towards her skirt.
“H-hold on!”
“Shut it! Don’t overthink things you pumpkin!”
Kotori rebuked him. It seems that she was treating Shidou like a pumpkin.
... It somehow feels that it was Kotori who was taking this harder than him.
“Aaah, I don’t care anymore..."
Shidou made his decision, placing his hand under Kotori’s skirt and feeling about. He would be
lying if he had said that he did not feel guilty, but since Kotori had already said it as such, Shidou
can’t allow Kotori to be disqualified from the game like this.
Also, it would probably be a better decision if he did not overthink Kotori’s request. They had
bathed together constantly in the past, if he were to think of it in another way—
Removing his wild fantasies, Shidou who was still moving his hand around under her skirt, felt a
strange sensation from his fingers.
“Eh—”
“W-w-where are you touching!”
In the midst of her screaming, Kotori kicked out with her knee. Shidou, who had nowhere to run
as his hands were being held, had his chin kneed as a result.
“Ugah?!”
“It’s here, this place.”
Kotori brought Shidou’s hands to her waist, letting him touch the elastic band of her underwear.
Shidou was unable to rub his aching chin, he looked up at Kotori with teary eyes.
"...Really?”
“I-I already said you could, so hurry up and do it.”
Kotori said with a nonchalant tone. Her cheeks however, were blushing, her tiny lips too were
trembling.
"...A-alright.”
Shidou swallowed, slowly using his hands to pull downwards.
The faint rustling of clothes resounded in his eardrums, the resistance of the elastic band as well
as the sound of fabric slowly dissolved from Kotori’s smooth skin. It was a feeling that caused
one to lust; the wavering in his heart grew stronger.
Just like that, as long as he keeps this up, Kotori would be able to safely accomplish the order.
Shidou took a deep breath in order to suppress his rapidly beating heart.
However, just as he was about to see the white cloth from Kotori’s skirt—
“—I-it’s impossible after all...!”
Kotori wailed with a reddened face, swiftly snatching Shidou’s hands. Along with the sound of
elastic, she pulled her underwear back to its original position.
After that, she could only pant heavily—Suddenly remembering something after a while, her
shoulders jolted, she raised her head.
In that direction, Origami, who was supporting her chin with her hand, was sitting on her seat
with a calm expression.
“The King’s order is absolute.”
Following that, she pointed at Kotori whilst maintaining a calm tone.
“You will be disqualified from the game via [Treason].”
“Gu... , uuuuuu..."
Kotori grit her teeth in regret, it seems that she was thinking of grabbing Shidou’s hands once
more— — “U-u-uuh..."
Probably recalling the overwhelming sense of embarrassment she had felt earlier, her arms lost
their strength, returning to her seat.
“With that—that’s four down.”
Origami remained emotionless as she raised four fingers.
“It’s me—”
“Hold on a minute!”
The next round of the game had begun, just as Origami was about to raise her hand once again,
Kotori stopped her movements with a loud yell.
“Kotori...?”
"...We were being played, take a look at this.”
Saying that, Kotori took Origami’s disposable chopsticks—as well as her own chopstick and
raised them up high, breaking them in half.
With that, everyone could see that there was something resembling a thin, long electronic chip
inside. How it was placed inside was a mystery.
“T-this is..."
"...I’m afraid that it’s something like an electronic marker. Even though there's something off
about this, this was used to differentiate the lots huh... This is rather bold if I say so myself?”
“What..."
Hearing Kotori say that, Tohka looked at her own lot with a disgusted expression, breaking it in
half. It was just as Kotori had said, there was an electronic chip inside.
“I-it’s true... there’s something placed inside. Why you, Tobiichi Origami, how dare you cheat!”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Why you! Even though you’ve already been exposed...! You’re the one who is disqualified! Get
out of here!”
Tohka clenched her fists and cried out.
However, the one to restrain Tohka with an outstretched hand—was Kotori.

“Let’s not be hasty first. There’s no point if we leave it just like that.”
“W-what...?”
Tohka frowned. Kotori folded her arms as she looked up, throwing a glance filled with malice at
Origami.
“Although it was true that what you did was definitely against the rules. By right you should be
disqualified immediately. It’s your choice to feign ignorance, but what would everyone around
here think?”
After looking at the rest in the room, Kotori continued to speak.
“—However, I won’t pursue the matter this time. However, the price for that would be a new
addition to the rules, we’ll revive the disqualified members. As well as—from the next game
onwards, everyone present has to reveal which number they draw.”
“What..."
Shidou’s eyebrows twitched at Kotori’s odd proposal.
Openly declaring their numbers... that means that the King can choose who to give the order to.
Under the situation where the lots are untampered, the odds of Origami becoming King, is now
simply one-eighth.
Kotori is probably attempting to use the difference of numbers, by setting impossible dares to
force Origami into committing [Treason].
Even though it was karma, the odds are currently extremely stacked against Origami.
However—
"...I’m okay with it.”
Surprisingly, Origami readily nodded her head in agreement. Despite understanding that she was
now at an overwhelming disadvantage, was she unwilling to give up the throne of the true
King—or, was she still confident that she would come out top, even though she was faced with
such an unfavourable situation? Whichever it was, her face did not betray any sense of torment
nor embarrassment.
“What are you saying Kotori! How can you let the likes of her stay—”
“Tohka. Are you able to just sit there and not do anything?”
"...!”
Tohka’s shoulders shuddered from Kotori’s words. No—it wasn’t just Tohka. Everyone who had
been bullied by Origami’s orders all felt the same way.
“At the very least, I can’t bear this humiliation. How can I just let it go, if I don’t let her have a
taste of what I felt...!”
Kotori made a serious expression which invoked fear in everyone in the room as she continued to
speak.
“Of course, even though we are going to use untampered lots, there’s a chance that Tobiichi
Origami may become King. But, if any of us becomes King, we would be able to give an order
that targets her specifically. If we didn’t have evidence of her cheating like this, we wouldn’t
even have the chance to set up such an unfair rule in the first place.”
“H-hey, Kotori..."
Sweat formed on Shidou’s cheek, he called out to Kotori.
However, Kotori and everyone else who had their hearts ignited with the flames of revenge, did
not seem to hear his voice at all. Everyone half-closed their eyes and digested what Kotori had
said.
"...So that’s what it was.”
“Kuku, it really is not like me to not retaliate after getting hit. The price for looking down on the
divine children of the tempest, you better be ready to accept it all.”
“Agreed. We cannot forgive Origami-sensei no matter what.”
“Eh, t-that..."
“..."
Tohka and the Yamai sisters glared at Origami. Although there were two people present who are
not supportive of the plan, it is impossible for them to stop with their strength alone.
“Let’s start from the beginning. Reine, call the counter for more disposable chopsticks. Kaguya
and Yuzuru will ready the marker pens. Tohka, Yoshino and Shidou pay close attention to
Tobiichi Origami, don’t let her make a marking on the lots!”
[Understood!]
“Hold on—”
Along with Shidou’s unease, the King Game [King of Kings] continued.
For the sake of fairness, the disposable chopsticks were left to Shidou for safe keeping. It became
a situation where everyone had to listen to Shidou before they could draw lots.
Shidou wondered if the way that they were playing the game were correct, but he didn’t have
room for any arguments since the rest agreed to play it as such.
When he stretched his hand out to the centre of the table, he couldn’t help but make a tiny
whimper.
... For some reason, everyone was giving a very scary look. The four who had their hearts ignited
with the flames of revenge, the white devil with a heart full of ambition, one who was just a
bystander, there was one who had a comforting aura. The last one was a jester who was only
interested in making the situation more interesting.
Everyone’s eyes were on Shidou’s hand. Shidou suddenly felt as though his arm was being
dragged into a vat of boiling oil.
“W-who is the —king?”
At Shidou’s call, everyone drew their lots. After a split second delay, Reine and Yoshino too had
drawn theirs.
“Alright!”
The one who cried out was Tohka. She stood up on the spot, pointing the disposable chopstick
which had the word [King] towards Origami like a sword.
“It’s my turn to be king! Prepare yourself, Tobiichi Origami...! Feel regret for the crimes you had
committed!”
Tohka remained in that pose, continuing to speak as though she had already obtained victory.
“First of all I will return what you have done to me right back at you in full! You will reveal your
underwear in front of everyone! The number—”
Tohka halted in her speech. After a while, everyone revealed the number in their hands.
The number of Origami’s disposable chopstick was—
“Number 5!”
Tohka cried aloud.
As the numbers are open to all, there’s no way that she would call the wrong number. Origami
placed the chopstick with the number [5] onto the table and stood up.
“He, hehehe! How is it Tobiichi Origami! Flipping up your skirt in front of everyone, just the
very thought is embarrassing enough right! Furthermore you have to show your underwear to
everyone for a full minute...! Come! What do you intend to do! It’s alright if you feel
embarrassed—”
Tohka who seemed to be yelling out all of her pent-up rage, stopped midway in her outburst.
“..."
Origami grabbed her skirt without hesitation, pulling it up in one go.
Furthermore she did that while facing Shidou’s direction.
“Hyi...?!”
Due to the naturalness of that action, there was a lapse in his reaction. Shidou hastily closed his
eyes, turning away just like the time with Tohka. “What... h-how could you! Aren’t you
embarrassed by doing such a thing?!”
“The one who gave the order was you.”
“E-even though you are right..."
Tohka, who had given that order, was now the one making a defeated voice.
“Shidou, open your eyes wide. Even though I’m feeling embarrassed to the point that I can
barely handle it, the king’s order is absolute.”
“H-hold on a minute! I don’t remember giving that kind of order!”
“Look at me, Shidou. Look closely. Scrutinize me.”
“H-hey! Don’t move closer to Shidou!”
Even though he heard the sounds of bickering, until a full minute had passed, Shidou did not
dare to open his eyes due to fear.
—From then onwards, the revenge of the masses had begun.
“Ah... I-I’m the king..."
[Nhoho, then let us erase Yoshino’s regrets—Read this paragraph that Yoshinon had thought up
with a loud voice! The person to do it is Number 2!]
Saying that, [Yoshinon] took up a pen with its hands, swiftly writing a paragraph out on paper,
handing it to Number 2—Origami’s face.
Origami took the paper, opening her mouth with a blank expression.
“—I am an incorrigibly perverted girl. I think about Shidou’s XXX when I’m alone at night,
using his XXX to XXX. But I can’t be satisfied with just this anymore. I am now at my limit.
Please. To my pitiful sow XXX, use your majestic XXX to XXX, please mess me up. Be
forceful. As forceful as you can. Ahh, my XXX is being XXX by XXXXX.”
Origami blankly read the script.
Everyone’s faces slowly turned crimson, they looked down in embarrassment.
... It somehow felt that the second half had become something like an eroge reading session.
“K-kuku... So it’s finally here, our era!”
“Acknowledged. Although we were put down somewhat before, it's going to be our show from
here on out.”
“Fuu... Our order is of course this!”
“—Number 4, you have to let the king and Number 3 rub your breasts for five minutes straight.”
Of course, Number 4 was Origami. The King and Number 3 seem to be the lots that Kaguya and
Yuzuru have.
“Kuku. Origami, ready yourself. We will use our demonic fingerwork, to make you reach the
peak of ecstasy!”
“Smile. Even if you beg for forgiveness, we will not stop.”
The two swiftly made their way in front and behind Origami, with hand movements from both
ends that would cause anyone’s heart to blaze with passion, they started to play with Origami’s
modest breasts.
"Kuku. See, how does it feel, Origami?”
“..."
“Excitement. It’s alright to let out your voice.”
“..."
“I-it’s bad to hold it in?”

“..."
“Intensity, is it alright here?”
“..."
In the end Origami’s expressions did not change in the slightest, not even a peep was made.
The Yamai sisters on the other hand seemed to have lost their confidence, for a period of time
they sat in a corner with their heads lowered in dejection.
"...Hm? Is it me this time? Well then... I’ll just let Number 4 take off her underwear.”
“Yes.”
Before the next king, Reine, even finished giving her order, Origami had already pulled out her
simple looking underwear.
"...Your movements are swift.”
“..."
Origami nodded in agreement. She then threw her recently removed bra towards Shidou’s seat.
“U-uwah?!”
“Next round.”
As Shidou cried aloud at the sudden pass, Origami had already spoken with a calm voice.
“Oh my, so it’s my turn now? Let’s see... then I guess it’s best if I return it to you in
full—Number 6 shall take off Number 1’s underwear!”
Shidou held his breath from Kotori’s declaration.
“Hold on... , Number 1 is Origami... Isn’t Number 6 me! Why are you dragging me into this as
well!”
“That’s because the rest of them are all girls, isn’t that more embarrassing for her. In order for
her to suffer the same humiliation as I did, you’ll have to do the job.”
“Even if you said that..."
As Shidou was hesitating, someone grabbed his hand from behind.
“Shidou. The king’s orders are absolute. Even if you’re embarrassed to death, there’s no other
way around it. Come on.”
“H-hey. Wait a minute Origami. Don’t pull my hand!”
“Touch me. Here. Use more force.”
“No, wait, at least let me cover my eyes... Ah, ah, ah... N-noooooooooo!!”
—After roughly thirty minutes later.
[Haa... , haa... , haa... ]
Everyone looked at the impassive Origami amongst ragged breathing.
Despite being repeatedly targeted from the start, Origami had calmly completed all orders... So it
seems that an S ranked player (self-proclaimed) isn’t just for show.
However, everyone did not seem to be stopping until they had pulled one over Origami. She sent
a glance at Shidou after saying “Next!”.
Shidou gave a dry smile as he raised the disposable chopsticks. Everyone else soon swiftly drew
their lots.
“Who—is—the king?”
Saying that Shidou started to ascertain his own lot —before making a cry of surprise.
Since the start of the game, it was the first time the [King]’s lot had landed in Shidou’s hands.
Due to everyone disclosing who they were, it was natural that everyone quickly knew what was
happening.
Tohka, Kotori and the Yamai sisters all looked at Shidou, sending off a glare that had the
intention of ”Beating Origami” mixed in it.
“E-even if you all stare at me like that..."
Sweat flowed from Shidou’s face.
Even though she had withstood everyone’s concentrated fire, Origami still did not show any sign
of wavering. What kind of order must be made in order for her to feel embarrassed... or make her
commit [Treason] and disqualify her from the game, it was simply unimaginable.
It should be more appropriate if he did not try to sabotage Origami and give an order that he
liked— — “Ah..."
The instant he thought that way, an idea formulated within Shidou’s head.
Shidou was currently the king, he can give an order that the targeted person could not refuse. A
chance like this, may possibly not happen for a second time.
—That’s right. Right now, Shidou can accomplish what he could never do normally.
Shidou confirmed the numbers that everyone had before giving out his order.
“—My order will be this. Until the King says so, Number 2 and Number 6 have to be friendly
with each other.”
[...?!]
Two girls frowned at Shidou’s words.
Number 2 and Number 6—meaning to say Origami and Tohka.
"...What do you mean?”
“Gah, if you want details... it’s just like what I said. Number 2 will not be allowed to hate
Number 6, she is not to argue with her as well, I hope that the two of you can be friends. If you
can’t do it—then it’s[Treason].”
“..."
Origami spent quite a long time thinking silently. All of a sudden she stood up, sitting next to
Tohka.
“Nu, wh-what are you thinking of doing?”
Tohka warily stared at the rapidly approaching Origami, she gave a surprised look.
However Origami passionately held Tohka’s hand, pulling her hand close, she inched her
shoulder closer to her as well.
Next up—
“Tohka..."
"...?!”
Due to Origami’s voice, goosebumps had immediately surfaced on Tohka’s entire body.
“W-w-w-wh-what are you rambling about Tobiichi Origami...!”
“Please don’t use such a distant way of calling me. Please call me Origami, Ori-chan is fine too.”
“O-Ori-chan...?!”
Tohka made a scream that was an octave higher than usual, making a pleading glance towards
Shidou.
“Shidou..."
“Um... How do I put this, can Tohka please try to get along with Origami as well?”
“U-umu..."
The king’s orders are absolute. Hearing Shidou say that, Tohka’s eyebrows made a [八] in
despair. Timidly turning towards Origami—saying her name with trembling lips.
“Ori... Ori, gami.”
“You finally called me by my name, I’m so happy.”
“Hyi...?!”
Origami did not stop her assault, she half-forcefully interlocked their fingers together. Gently
“I’m so sorry for what I’ve done all this time, although I’ve always wanted to be friends with
you, but I’ve never been able to have the courage to do so. Please forgive me.”
“U-umu...? T-that’s alright..."
Tohka blushed while feeling awkward. However Origami did not pay attention to that at all,
bringing the distance between the two even closer.
“I will turn over a new leaf from today onwards—I beg of you, Tohka. Please be friends with
me... Buguhaaa!”
Her words had barely finished, Origami had already vomited blood.
No, truthfully speaking she did not vomit out fresh blood.
But for some unknown reason, it looked like she was throwing up blood... the cause of that was
probably due to the accumulation of extreme stress.
Along with a sound, Origami got on all fours.
“O-Origami?!”
[Oooh!]
Kotori and the Yamai sisters stood up.
“You did a great job, Shidou!”
“Kuku... I see, so there was such a blind spot.”
“Understood. Meaning to say, if we can’t force you to submit then we should use a soft
approach.”
Everyone else nodded their heads in agreement... it somehow turned into a situation where
Shidou had thought long and far in order for Origami to be successfully set up.
Just as Shidou was about to explain himself, the telephone in the room rang—it seems that the
time had already expired.
“Yes, yes... alright, no problem, thank you.”
Kotori who had answered the phone merely glanced at Origami who was supporting herself on
the table, she hung up the phone without requesting a time extension. Although the true king
wasn’t decided, since they had already dealt a blow to Origami, she felt better all of a sudden. It
wasn’t just Kotori, the Yamai sisters too made expressions of glee. Yoshino let out a sigh of
relief from the safe end of the game.
Tohka had spent some time panicking due to confusion, but she finally calmed down, releasing
her fingers that were still interlocked with Origami’s, moving her hand onto the table with a
surprisingly gentle touch.
“Come, time’s almost up, let’s go home now. Hurry, everyone lend a hand too.”
Kotori waved her hand and spoke as though urging everyone to tidy up.
“O-oohh. Yeah.”
So they all started to place the microphones back into the basket, gathering the trash into one
place.
—Just at that moment.
“Ah... That’s right.”
Tohka raised her head as though she had remembered something.
“Hm? Is something the matter?”
“Umu. I just remembered that Ai, Mai and Mii had told me about another game. This one
seemed to be more harmonious—Hey, Shidou, how about we try it next time, the Pocky Game?”
Suddenly—
[... ]
Everyone who was tidying up the room, as well as Origami who was still on the table, their eyes
lit up with a bestial glare once more.
Ten’Ou Festival Contest
On the supplemental day of the Ten'ou Festival, Shidou is sitting on the Central Stage at the
Tenguu Square with a "Judge" label in front of him. Although the festival was to be suspended
due to certain incidents that caused the second day to be cancelled, a strong demand from
students and neighbours allowed the second day to be held after the closing party as a
supplementary day.
"...Stuff like this is not really my thing."
'It's no use complaining now. Just don't get the score wrong.'
"...Understood."
The beginning was several hours ago.
"So... where should we head next?"
"Menchi-katsu!"
"Devil Fish Burst (Takoyaki)!"
"Recommendation. Yakisoba."
Shidou, Tohka, Kaguya and Yuzuru were walking around at the festival hall in Tenguu Square.
After Shidou asked them where to go next, he smiled bitterly at how all the answers were foods.
Shidou then told the three to go to West Eibu's Menchi-katsu first as it is nearby. While walking
to West Eibu's area, an announcement could be heard from speakers within the festival hall.
'—We thank you for your visit. At 15:00 today, a Beauty Contest will be held at the Central
Stage. The winner will be present a pair of 2 days 1 night ticket to a high-class Hot Spring
Hotel—"
Shidou heard the announcement and nodded, remembering that there was this event set to be
held on the second day. Tohka heard the announcement and tilted her head in wonder.
"Shidou, what is beau-ty-con-test?"
"Hmm, to explain it simply, it's an event for deciding the cutest student."
"Ho...?"
"Reaction. That sounds interesting."
After hearing Kaguya and Yuzuru's reaction, Shidou then realized his mistake. For Yamai sisters
who love a match like this, there is no way they could overlook it. If they participate, there will
definitely be some trouble. Shidou then tried to soothe them down.
"Wait, you two. The participants should already have been decided. You can't—"
'—Moreover, we also have an open entry for this year. Any female student in the participating
schools is free to join. Please feel free to participate.'
Hearing that, Shidou thought there was no way to stop those two now. If he forces them to not
participate, then that will definitely hurt their feelings. When Shidou decided to ask either Kotori
or Reine to stop them and reached his hand to the Incom, footsteps could be heard from his back.
That owner of those footsteps surrounded Shidou. Shidou was surprised at the sudden
occurrence. When he looked at them, he found out that they are Ai, Mai and Mii in maid
uniforms.
"Hey, hey, Itsuka-kun!"
"So you're enjoying the Ten'ou Festival to your best, surrounded by girls!"
"I won't forgive you! How envious!"
"W, what? All of sudden..." Shidou asked them with sweat on his forehead.
"Ah, well, we have a request. Itsuka-kun is an executive committee, don't you?"
"Did you hear the announcement just now? I heard a judge for it is missing."
"And so we're appointing Itsuka-kun as a judge for it! You don't have any right to refuse!" Mii
then pointed her finger at Shidou. Shidou acted confusedly.
"W... what?! Wait, why all of sudden..."
"Well, I'll leave it to you."
"For more details, just ask in the waiting room."
"If you run away, I'll make you wear a maid uniform and do the reception!"
Ai, Mai, Mii said that with a bright smile on their faces and ran away. Shidou twitched his face
while standing still in dumb. However, it's not really a time to do that—
"Ooh... Shidou is a judge?! Then I'll participate too!"
"Wait, Tohka, this is—"
"Hmp, you have some nerve challenging me. Kuku, then I'll make you learn with your body that
no way a follower could defeat its master!"
"Caution. Looks like a strong enemy just appeared. However, the one who wins will be Yuzuru.
I will go to the hot spring with Shidou with the prize and enjoy Kaguya's Gununu face."
"Ohh! That reminded me there's also the prize! Shidou! If I win, let's go to a hot spring
together!"
Shidou tried to stop them, but it was no use. After Shidou parted with Tohka and Yamai sisters,
Shidou called Kotori and reported her about what happened earlier. Kotori scolded Shidou for
being unable to stop them.
"...As I thought, it was bad?"
'Obviously. Although it can't be helped that they will be ranked, the fact that Shidou is a judge
and how one of them could go to a hot spring with Shidou is troublesome. If one of them wins,
the other two will definitely be displeased.'
"So, what should we do?"
'Let's see... how about bringing in another candidate, and making her win?'
"Another candidate? Do you have someone?"
'Sure. I know a girl perfectly suited for this. Her name is Shiori-chan... '
"Rejection!"
Kotori wasn't serious about the suggestion. After she laughed a little, she then continued that the
requirement is to make Tohka, Kaguya and Yuzuru not winning. Hearing Kotori's suggestion,
Shidou realized that since he is one of the judges, he could give them a lower score than other
candidates and make them lose.
Kotori then scolded Shidou that if he does that, Tohka and others will definitely be displeased,
since the judges will show a point card in front of each candidate, they will know how many
points each judge gave them.
Shidou confirmed with Kotori that although he has to make them lose, he can't give them
anything but 10 points. Kotori added that if Shidou gave them 10 points, then they won't be
displeased even if they don't win. When Shidou asked Kotori on what to do, Kotori answered:
'Well, you have to ask other judges to give them lower points.'
"Others...?" Shidou said with puzzled looks.

'Yes. The judges are in the waiting room, don't they? How many are there?'
"Er... four including me."
'Right. Then I allow you to use up to 1M Yen for each.'
"Buying them?!"
'How much damage do you think there will be if they went berserk?'
"Well, that's... right."
'Yeah, and money is the final choice. Everything depends on your persuasion. Try to persuade
them into cooperating with you in the waiting room.'
"...Understood."
Shidou left the hall, still somewhat uncomfortable, and went to the waiting room at the back of
Central Stage in the Central Hall. In the waiting room, there are two students inside. A graceful
girl who looked as if she is an ideal example of Japanese young lady and a boy with a good body
build as if he belongs to a sports club.
When the boy saw Shidou walking inside, he greeted him and offered him his hand, and Shidou
grasped his hand back. The boy then smiled and introduced himself.
"That uniform, you must be Raizen's judge. My name is Tomoda Shuuhei. Third year at West
Eibu and also the president of the student council."
"Ah—I'm Itsuka Shidou. Second year at Rizen and member of Ten'ou Festival Executive
Committee... sort of."
"I am Ijuuin Sakurako, a third year at Senjou University High School and a member of the
disciplinary committee. It's nice to meet you."
Sakurako then bow gracefully. When Shidou lowered his head a little, Tomoda heavily shook his
hand. For some reason, his eyesight that looked into Shidou seemed passionate.
"It must be some fate that we have been chosen as a judge, let's have fun."
"I-I agree..."
Although Shidou felt bad that he must bribe them, in order to prevent spirits from becoming
displeased, he had no choice but to do it. When Shidou is trying to bring up the topic, Tomoda
opens his mouth as if he remembered something. For some reason, he is still gripping Shidou's
hand tight.
"Itsuka-kun, since you are also a judge, you must be careful."
"Eh? From what...?" Shidou asked, Tomoda lowered his eyes a little and sighed.
"Actually, a little while ago, a suspicious student asked me to give a high score to someone in
exchange for some compensation."
"Eh...?!"
Shidou was surprised. He didn't think that the other party would bring up the same topic he was
going to start. While Shidou's mouth still open wide, Sakurako touch her chin and continued:
"That reminds me, I also got a similar offer as well."
"Ah, Ijuuin-san too? How troublesome."
"Yes. Very troublesome." The two sighed. Shidou then opened his shaking mouth.
"U-um... so what were your answers...?" Hearing that, the two purred their noses.
"Of course, I refused them. Even though it's only a single day job, I have been chosen by other
students at West Eibu. If I allowed myself to be purchased by someone, then I can't reclaim my
honor with everyone who has chosen me."
"Yes. I agree. I'm sure they have some circumstances, but I can't allow any cheating. No matter
how much they paid, I won't bend my judgement."
"T-That's right..."
Shidou averted his eyes. The plan failed even before he tried. These two are so brilliant that he
can't look at them directly. Not only can Shidou not threaten them, but he can't also explain to
them the danger of the spirits. Not knowing what to do, Shidou poked his Incom.
Kotori on the other hand said she heard it all, and bribing them must be hard. Kotori then said
she will come with other approaches, and tell Shidou to wait a little.
"...I'll leave it to you."
"Hm? What did you say?" Tomoda noticed Shidou talking alone and wondered.
"N-No, nothing. By the way, there are four judges, right? Where is the other one?"
"She is still not here. If I remembered correctly, she is—"
"—I'm sorry. I was late~"
Before Sakurako could finish her sentence, the waiting room's door opened and a girl entered the
room. A girl with purple hair and a gold-colored hair ornament. A spirit that got her power
sealed by Shidou—Izayoi Miku.
"Eh—Miku?"
"Ah, darling!"
Miku's face brightened when she saw Shidou's face. However Tomoda and Sakurako tilted their
heads in wonder at what Miku just said.
"Uh...?"
"...Darling?"
"Ah! No, um—just a nickname, a nickname!"
Although Shidou thought the excuse is rather awkward and both two don't seem very convinced,
they seemed to accept the answer. Tomoda placed his hand on his chin and continued:
"I see. What an interesting nickname."
"Ahaha... do you think so?"
"Then can I call you 'darling' as well?" Tomoda said with a smile on his face.
"T-That is..." Shidou answered while breaking out sweat.
"You can't do that~ Darling is mine~" Miku turned to Tomoda and said. After that, she looked at
Shidou again. "Then, what happened~? —Ah, don't tell me, you are here to see me?"
"Ah, no... I have been chosen as a judge... wait, the fact that Miku is here means you also?"
Shidou asked, Miku then placed her hand on her hip.
"Yes! Rindouji Girls School and president of the Ten'ou Festival Executive Committee, Izayoi
Miku. I'm pleased to meet you!"
Tomoda and Sakurako then looked at each other with a small laugh.
"I know, you're famous after all."
"Yes, I heard that since you will definitely win if you participate, the staff asked you to become a
judge as a special guest from the beginning."
Since Miku is an idol—although that won't affect the result—the audience will have a bias for
her. However, if Miku didn't participate, it would be a betrayal to those who expected to see her.
Shidou thought having her as a judge is a reasonable decision.
Shidou then realized that Miku is a spirit, and she knew about Tohka and Yamai sisters, so he
could ask her to cooperate. Shidou asked Miku to come along to one corner of the room and
explain the situation to her.
"Ah... I see~ The situation looks pretty serious~ I'm sure Tohka-san and others could easily
win~" Miku said relaxedly. "I understood~ I will cooperate~ I can't leave the situation as it is,
and furthermore, this is a request from darling~"
"Really?! I owe you so much...!"
"Yes. In short, I have to give Tohka-san, Kaguya-san and Yuzuru-san a low score, right? Hmm...
although my heart hurts a little, it can't be helped~ I understand."
Miku made a thumbs-up. Shidou sighed in relief. At long last, Shidou could get someone to
cooperate. The same moment, Kotori's voice could be heard from his Incom. Apparently, Kotori
listened to all the discussion until now.
'So Miku is a judge? How lucky are you, Shidou. If it is this, we could manage it somehow.'
"But there are two more judges, and I can't give anything but 10 points—"
'I already thought of a plan.'
"A plan?"
'Yes, I will explain it later. For now, discuss with Miku about how to adjust their scores. —I will
do something with the other two.'
"U-understood..."
Even though Shidou felt uneasy, he couldn’t do anything but nod to Kotori's words.
At the back of Tenguu Square's Central Stage, Ayanokouji Karin—a second year at Rindouji
Girls School with blonde curly hair—screamed hysterically at her two underlings for failing to
bribe the judges for the Beauty Contest.
"Whaaaaaaat?!"
"B-But... it was impossible to bribe someone like that..."
"That's right... he even lectured me with glittering eyes. I really feel guilty..."
"...Oh well, at least I have a full grasp of Senjou and West Eibu's tastes. And with my beauty!
There is no way I will lose...!"
Both of Karin's underlings excused in an embarrassed voice. Even though Karin was confident
about her chance of winning, and was sure that Izayoi Miku Onee-sama won't give her low
scores, she ordered her underlings to bribe the judges to ensure everything went the way she
wanted.
After their chat, a voice could be heard from the back entrance. When she looked that way, a
super cute girl with night-colored hair and a pair of crystal eyes was receiving a bag from a
sleepy woman.
"Ohh! Reine, so this is the beauty contest's uniform?!"
"...Yes, Shin will definitely like it." the woman said, and continued "The other two already went
there. Tohka should go to the waiting room as well."
"Umu!"
Saying that, the woman then pushed the girl into the building. When Karin realized that the girl
will participate in the beauty contest, two of her underlings then praised the girl with an admiring
voice. Karin, dissatisfied at their reactions, hit them on the head.
"Whose side are you two on?!"
"It's impossible, Karin-sama"
"That's right~ Karin-sama saw her, didn't you? Her beauty is on a different level from us."
"S-Shut up...! I know..." Karin said while thinking of the girl's face. Few moments later, she put
a smile on her face and opened her mouth "...You two, I have a request."
'—We thank you for your gathering here! We will now commence the 25th Ten'ou Festival
Beauty Contest!'
'Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!'
When the announcer announced the start of the event, the crowd cheered loudly inside the
Central Hall. Shidou looked down at the crowd from a dimly lit stage and with a sweat in his
hand.
The last time Shidou confirmed with Kotori, Kotori said the plan was going smoothly. What's
left now is to have Miku adjust their scores by giving lower points. However, Shidou felt uneasy
about the plan for some reason.
'And then, let me introduce you to the judges. Starting with this person! Senjou University High
School, a member of the disciplinary committee and president of the Tea Ceremony club! Girls
must walk 3 steps behind boys. A near-extinct ideal example of Japanese young lady, Ijuuin
Sakurako!'
'Himesamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!' Cheering voices of boys and girls could be heard when Ijuuin
Sakurako waved her hand. Apparently she is being endeared to the school.
'Next is West Eibu's young lion! President of the student council and captain of Judo club! Super
hero who excels in both literary and military arts! For some reason his fanclub has more boys
than girls, Tomoda Shuuhei!'
'Anikiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!' Deep cheering voice could be heard when Tomoda Shuuhei

brushed up his hair with his hand.
'The next one is a temporary judge from Raizen High School! Being good at housework can get
you this popular?! All boys, listen and refine your cooking skills! Itsuka Shidou!!'
'GO TO HELL!'
"Hey wait, isn't my explanation and cheering voice kinda weird?!"
'—And the person everyone has been waiting for! The singer who never appeared in any media
even once! Rindouji Girls School, Izayoi Miku!!'
'Miiiikuuuuuuutaaaaaaannnnnnnnnn!!'
"Ough!" A voice slipped from Shidou's mouth at the cheering voice that is incomparable to
anything before it. "A-As expected from you, Miku," Shidou said to Miku.
"No, not really~" Miku said with a smile.
'Hey why are you talking with Miku-tan!' Boos could be heard from the audience.
After the introduction of the judges, the announcer then introduced the first candidate, Sugawara
Masae, a second year at Gentou High School. At the same time, a girl in a gorgeous dress
entered the stage. Her dress is probably something from the stage performance.
When the girl walked to the middle of the stage, she bowed and started speaking in English. In
this performance, the participant could do anything as long as it is not against public peace and
good order.
The girl chose to appeal with her English skill. That not only is she a beauty, she is also a smart
woman. Shidou listened to her, despite not knowing half of what she said. When Shidou looked
at Miku, she also made a similar expression.
When the speech ended 3 minutes later, the girl bowed once again at the audience's applause.
The announcer then urged the judges to give out scores. Shidou looked at the number label in
front of him, picked one and held it up.
"The scores are, 7, 0, 6 and 10! Total of 23 points!"
The score is in Sakurako, Tomoda, Shidou and Miku order. Even though Shidou thought of
giving the girl a higher score, Kotori told him to not give out scores too unnaturally. Shidou then
looked at Tomoda who gave 0 scores.
"You are beautiful and that was a very talented speech. But how unfortunate, if only you were a
boy..." Tomoda said with a smile.
"..." Shidou sweated on his forehand then looked at Miku and asked "M-Miku gave her 10
points, huh."
"Yes~ Well, she is cute~ Though I don't understand what she said even a bit~"
"Haha..."
Shidou smiled bitterly and looked at the stage for another participant. One hour later, the contest
was in full swing. Total of 20 participants have finished their performance. The current first
place is entry number 19, Umemiya Yukiko from Rindouji Girls School who got a total of 24
points.
Shidou licked his mouth in preparation for the next candidate. The announcer then announced
the entry number 21, Yamai Kaguya, who entered the stage in a robe.
"Kuku... peasants, pay your attention! Look at the performance of Yamai—the child of
hurricanes!"
Kaguya took a pose and threw off her robe. Under her robe, it is a black and white bikini
swimsuit she used back in the school trip. Cheering voices could be heard when Kaguya revealed
her swimsuit. There is no doubt that Kaguya's clothes have the most exposure of all participants
so far.
Shidou called Kotori via Incom and asked her about Kaguya's swimsuit. Kotori answered that
she is taking a reverse approach in getting a lower score from other judges—by not doing
anything with the judges themselves, but making Tohka and Yamai sisters wear clothes that
those judges don't like.
Shidou then realized that, of the participants so far, the person that wore a Kimono and
performed a graceful Japanese dance is currently the first place. On the other hand, those who
wore short skirts or bunny suits—trying to get an extra score from male judges with their
exposure—don't get very good points.
Kotori then continued that Ijuuin Sakurako was born in a family that is head of tea ceremony
school and her family has been raising her very strictly since she was a kid. That is why she hates
a girl who reveals her skin easily. Kotori made Tohka and others wear clothes with a little bit
more exposure in order to give her a bad impression.
"H-hey, is that really okay...?"
'Of course, only to the extent that they feel comfortable with. If their mental condition became
unstable, that would defeat the whole point.'
"Hmm... okay, I understand. Just don't push too hard. So what about Tomoda-senpai? Did you do
anything to him? He only gave out 0 points since earlier..."
'I didn't do anything.'
"Eh?"
'That person likes boys more than girls.'
"..."
Shidou sweated on his forehand and thought why in the world someone like that became a judge
for a Beauty Contest. Shidou then took a glance at Tomoda and Tomoda smiled back at Shidou.
Shidou quickly turned his eyesight back to the stage.
Kaguya who is in a good mood with all cheerings did an approach run and a forward handspring,
followed by side flip and a back flip repeatedly as if she is a gymnast. "Kuku... I guess this is it."
Kaguya said and threw out her chest.
The next moment, an accident happened. Maybe Kaguya didn't tie it tightly enough, or it was
due to her violent movement earlier, Kaguya's bra top untie itself. "Nyow?!" Kaguya quickly
pushed her bikini swimsuit trying to hide her breast. Even though nothing could be seen, the
audience's cheering reached its peak.
Shidou gave a wry smile and told her to be careful. Kaguya turned back and fixed her swimsuit
then took a pose once again. The announcer urged the judges to give out scores. Shidou who
already decided his score put up a 10 point label.
'Saa, the score is, 5, 0, 10, —'
"Great..."
As expected, Sakurako is giving a low score. What's left is to have Miku adjust out the score, and
Kaguya's score won't reach the top—
'—10! Total of 25 points! Yamai Kaguya is now at the top!'
"Wait... Miku?!"
Shidou looked to his left at Miku. Miku put up a 10 points label with a rapturous expression on
her face, as if she is saying 'thank you for the nutrition for the eyes~'.
"H-Hey..."
"Ha...?! W-What have I done...?!"
Apparently Miku gave 10 points unconsciously. When she tried to fix her scores, the announcer
already started to introduce the next candidate. However, even before Kaguya leaves the stage,
the next candidate has already entered. The announcer hurriedly introduced the girl as entry
number 22, Yamai Yuzuru, second year at Raizen High School.
However, none of the audience is listening to her. The whole audience is cheering—or rather, in
a stir—at the appearance of Yamai Yuzuru, who entered the stage in bondage suit— the same
one she wore at Ryokan back in summer vacation.
Shidou's eyes opened wide. However, Yuzuru didn't take notice of everyone's eyesight. Yuzuru
grabbed Kaguya's neck—or rather, the string of Kaguya's bra top that untied itself earlier.
"Caution. This is no good, Kaguya. You should have tied it properly."
"Eh... Ya... K-Kuku—before my tornado dance, even a Gordian knot couldn't resi—Hya?!"
Yuzuru pulled the string. Kaguya pushed down her breast and raised a shrill voice.
"Reinform. This is no good. You almost showed your breast that only me and Shidou knows to
the mass."
"D-Don't say something that will cause misunderstanding!"
Kaguya shouted embarrassingly. Thanks to Yuzuru's words, the audience's eyes are now
gathering on Shidou. However Yuzuru didn't notice and continued while breathing hard in
enjoyment.
"Indicate. Don't tell me, that was on purpose? You tie it loosely so that the accident could happen
and you could show everyone your breast? How perverted are you? I'm embarrassed as someone
who bears the same Yamai name."
"N-no way I would... Ya... stop..."
Kaguya writhed in embarrassment. Yuzuru turned red in excitement. Shidou thought this was no
good. Yuzuru is already in her sadistic mode. Despite her normal behavior, Yuzuru does enjoy
seeing Kaguya’s embarrassment a lot. Her actions and her costume make it as if it is a scene
from that kind of video.
"Instruction. Saa, Kaguya. Say it. I'm a pervert who appeared in front of everyone with such
looks."
"N-No way... I could say that...!"
"Smile. Are you sure, taking such an attitude? I know all of your weak points."
Yuzuru then strokes Kaguya's spine.
"Ya... stop it, Yuzuru~..."
"Refusal. I won't stop. I will make you make an even better voice."
"Ahh... don't..."
'Wait, wait! Stop! Stop it!'
The announcer cut in. The next moment, girl students who appeared to be staff appeared from
the side of the stage and dragged Kaguya and Yuzuru backstage.
'Haa... I'm sorry—T-That was some pretty excessive performance. Then, scores please!' The
announcer said that. Apparently the announcer decided to treat the earlier happening as Yuzuru's
performance to avoid any troubles.
The decision is also good for Shidou, since if Yuzuru became unqualified right here, she may
become displeased—though it is also possible that Yuzuru is completely absorbed in teasing
Kaguya and didn't notice.
'The score is, 5, 0, 10, 10! Total of 25 points! First place with the same point!'
"Eh? M-Miku...?"
"Haa... Haa..."
Miku's eyes are glittering with drool falling from her mouth. mumbling 'I can't get enough of
that~ I can't get enough of that~' while putting up a 10 point label.
Tomoda, on the other hand, mumbled 'Thanks for such a great scene. As I thought, sexuality has
nothing to do with love' with tears of gratitude while putting up a 0 points label. What a
troublesome guy.
"...Miku"
"Ha?! W-What have I done?!"
Miku wiped her droll and said so. However, it was too late. The announcer was already
introducing the next candidate. Entry number 23, Yatogami Tohka from Raizen High School.
Tohka entered the stage in a robe similar to Kaguya’s. Unlike Kaguya, Tohka walked to the
middle of the stage, without taking off her robe. However, even in the robe, a voice of
admiration could be heard from the audience. For someone who saw Tohka for the first time, it is
hard to not be captured by her looks.
Tohka stood still in the middle of the stage for a while and glanced at Shidou. Shidou tilted his
head in wonder, Tohka looked as if she was troubled about something.
However even before Shidou could say anything, Tohka made her decision and took off the robe.
The next moment, a stir and a cheering voice is heard from everywhere in the hall.
Tohka is wearing a swimsuit—however, its cloth was
torn apart as if cut everywhere with scissors.
Shidou's eyes opened wide. The surface area of the swimsuit that is already limited just got
smaller. A forbidden area could be seen with a little movement by Tohka. Tohka writhed in
embarrassment.
"T-Tohka?! What's that look?! Why are you wearing a ragged swimsuit?!"
"Nu... what?! This thing is not like this from the beginning?!"
"H... huh?!"
Shidou pushed the Incom and asked Kotori.
'I-I don't know! The swimsuit I prepared was a normal swimsuit—Don't tell me someone is
trying to obstruct us...?!'
"Someone is trying to make Tohka withdraw from the contest...?!"
'I can't be anything else, but Tohka thought this was the design—'
"How can this happen…?!"
While Shidou is talking with Kotori, Tohka made an anxious face.
"Na... did I do something bad? I'm sorry... I-I thought Shidou would like it..."
"...! Ah, dammit!"
Shidou scratched his head and put up a 10 point label.
"Damn! This is a foul! But—I'll give you this time only!"

"Ohh... 10 points!"
Tohka smiled with a joyful look. The audience then applauded her. The announcer then warned
Shidou to not give out his score too early and urged the other judges to give out scores. Tohka's
score was 25 points—the same as Kaguya and Yuzuru. With the thunderous applause from the
audience, Tohka then left the stage.
Shidou grinded his teeth while looking at Tohka leaving the stage. At this point, the final vote
will be decided with these three. There's only one candidate left, Shidou must make her win.
Shidou looked into the stage wing, gripped his hand tight, and prayed for the final candidate.
In the backstage, Ayanokouji Karin is smiling fearlessly. Her two underlings wondered what had
happened and suggested she might have gone crazy knowing there is no way to win.
Karin heard that and punched them in the head. Karin told them to look at the scores. The girl
only got 25 points. There's still 15 points left until the full score. Karin said if the girl could only
get this much, then she could win easily without having to cut the girl's swimsuit.
"Eh... you make us damage others’ property and say that...?"
"How gross..."
Karin punched them on their head once again.
"Ew!"
"Relying on a violence is not good..."
"Just shut up and watch—I will show you Ayanokouji Karin getting a full score."
Karin flipped her skirt and walked up to the stage.
The announcer announced the final result with Kaguya, Yuzuru and Tohka leading top at 25
points. Shidou held his head in his hands while hearing the announcement. In the end, Shidou's
last hope—Ayanokouji Something—lost with 10 points—the lowest in the whole contest.
The announcer then explained that, although there were three winners, there is only one prize, so
they must do the final voting. The announcer then asked those three to enter the stage again.
Kaguya, Yuzuru and Tohka entered the stage with a loud applause from the audience. Everyone
already changed their clothes to school uniforms. Shidou looked at them and groaned with a
painful voice.
In the final vote, the judges don't give out scores, but rather will select one of them by name. If
Shidou chose one of them, it is not hard to imagine how the other two would react. Shidou
pushed the Incom asking for assistance.
'Chi... this is bad. If Shidou chooses someone... '
"D-Don't you have any plan... if it is like this..."
'I'm thinking, wait a minute! Before that, why are these three winning?!'
"T-That can't be helped...! Because Miku is—"
Shidou swayed his shoulder in realization. That moment, Miku grabbed the hem of Shidou's shirt
with a face that looks as if she is almost crying.
"I-I'm sorry, darling... Because... Because I didn't do my job properly..."
Miku is sobbing. The next moment, a BEEP BEEP alarm could be heard from the Incom. Kotori
warned Shidou that Miku's mental condition had become unstable and instructed him to please
Miku.
"Ah... ah...! Miku, see! It's fine! This is not Miku's fault!"
"B-but... if it is like this... uaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Miku started crying.
"M-Miku! Look, look! Good girl, good girl!"
Shidou pat Miku gently on her head in a hurry. Few moments later, Miku stopped crying with
her eyes turned red.
"U-uuu... I'm sorry, darling... I caused you trouble..."
"D-Don't think about it! Before that—"
That moment, Shidou then realized something was wrong. Miku is an idol. There are a lot of her
fans in this hall. However, nobody reacted to the fact that Miku was crying. Not only that— the
hall was completely quiet.
"W-what is this..."
'... We're commencing the final voting. This final vote will be decided not only by the judges, but
also the audience. —Everyone, when I count one, two, let's shout the name of the person that
should win. Ready? One, two—'
'''Miku-tan!!'''
"What...?"
Shidou's eyes opened wide at the loud voice. Everyone in the hall shouted out Miku's name. The
audience, the judge, the announcer and even the candidates. Even if they are Miku's fan, this is
too strange—
"Ah?!" Shidou realized a certain possibility "Miku, don't tell me that crying earlier...?!"
"Eh...?"
Miku tilted her head in wonder. Miku is a spirit whose ability is to manipulate sound and music.
She could use her voice to fascinate any humans and turn them into her zealots. If that power
could come back to Miku when her mental condition become unstable—
"Mikutaaaaaaan!"
While Shidou is thinking, an audience is rushing onto the stage. Miku screams in astonishment.
Apparently she is not aware of her ability.
"U-Uwakyaaaaaaa?! W-what are you doing!"
"Miku...! Let's escape from here!"
"Y-Yes, darling!"
Shidou gripped Miku's hand and started running to the stage wing and back entrance. However,
Kaguya, Yuzuru and Tohka followed them. They seemed to be affected by Miku's voice as well.
"Kukaka! I won't let you escape, Shidou!"
"Jump. Tou!"
"Shidou! Leave Miku here!"
"H-Hey, you all...!" Shidou shouted.
"Aneue-samaaaaaaaaaa!"
"Jump! Peropero"
"Thanks for the food!"
The three raised their hands as if they are a wolf from a fairy tale and attack Shidou and Miku.
Shidou and Miku raise up their screams and run around Tenguu Square without break.
It took 3 minutes after that for the effect of Miku's voice to disappear. Tohka and others who
have regained their consciousness lost all their memories regarding the Beauty Contest for some
reason. Even though they didn’t understand why they were here, luckily they were at the food
stand, so Shidou was able to dodge the explanation by making up a tour eating Menchi-katsu,
Takyaki, Yakisoba and other food with them.
From the rumor, the person winning the Beauty Contest seems to be a student from Rindouji
Girls School named Ayanokouji Something. When everyone regained their consciousness, she
was the one standing on the stage holding the trophy in tears, so everyone thought "Probably,
that person is the winner."—and that's how the winner of Beauty Contest has been decided—but
that's another story.
Ellen Mathers’ Greatest Day
Oops! Seems like you reached a chapter that is still missing translations. If you have translations
for this chapter and are willing to provide them, please reach out!
Translator: Baka Tsuki
Editor: Ene
Thanks to: Joé, ABearCat, Midgert

Dress A Live Case 1: Astral Dress
“Ehhhh?! Why is everyone wearing their Astral Dress? What the hell is going on?”
Tohka ─ wearing her astral dress ─ frowned when she was asked that. Kotori simply shook her
head.
“Don’t take it too seriously. Since Kurumi is here, this situation is rare enough already.”
“Ara, ara, isn’t this wonderful? We almost never have opportunities to meet like this. I am very
happy.”
Saying that, Kurumi started laughing happily. On the other hand Kotori snorted like she was in a
bad mood.
“But even so…”
At the same time, Tohka looked at Yoshino and muttered under her breath:
“Even though I haven’t seen it for a while, Yoshino’s Astral Dress… is so cute.”
“Eh?! Thank you…”
Yoshino’s face turned red out of shame.
“Tohka, your Astral Dress is also very beautiful. It radiates a feeling of a warrior princess.”
“─Really?!”
After being flattered by Kotori, Tohka’s expression calmed down.
Seeing this, Kurumi clapped her hands as if she had an idea.
“Since we have an opportunity like this, why don’t we exchange astral dresses?”
“What did you say? Is that even possible?!”
“It is possible if it’s in this place. Then, Tohka-San will try on Yoshino’s astral dress, Yoshino
will try mine, Kotori will take Tohka’s, and finally, I will wear Kotori’s.”
“I got it, don’t pull…”
And so, after a few minutes, everyone was wearing a different astral dress. Yet…
“Yoshino, how do you keep the shape of the ears and tail of the jacket?”
“Why do these fall the moment I try to wear them?”
“Kurumi, these clothes are too big for me. If I don’t use my hands to hold the chest part…”
“Tohka, how do I wear this part of your armor?”
“Ara, ara… Kotori, how are these horns held in your head?”
Apparently everyone was not used to their new dresses.
“─This is really much harder than I expected.”
You’re right… and with this kimono, my chest will be exposed if I am careless. How exactly…
aah.”
Kurumi looked at Kotori’s chest, nodding with an expression of understanding.
“What does that ‘aah’ mean? Do you want to be cremated?!”
“Ufufufu, I don’t mean any of that… my body seems to feel something hot?”
“Kurumi! Kurumi! Your clothes are burning!”
“What?! Hurry up and take it off, Kurumi!”
“Ara, ara… my conscience seems to be fading away…”

Dress A Live Case 2: Swimsuit
“God, I’m very upset!” Miku, who was wearing a swimsuit, exclaimed that out loud while
waving her arms.
“What’s wrong, Miku?”
“My placement, of course! Why am I at the end?”
Miku’s words made Kaguya and Yuzuru nod their heads in understanding.
“Hahaha! Now I see; are things like that?”
“Understood. This means that due to your current status as an idol, you cannot accept another
position than the central one.”
“Umu… Although I still don’t understand very well, there will be no problem as long as Miku is
in the center, correct?”
“That’s true! This is how it is going to be done! Let’s do this one more time! And this time,
please follow my instructions!”
Faced with Miku’s passionate and sincere pleas, the Yamai sisters shrugged resigned shoulders
and Tohka nodded in response as well.
──Then, first I will lie down in the center. Then Kaguya, please come to my right, and Yuzuru
lie on my left! …You have to be closer than that! Even closer!”
“Hey… Miku, aren’t we too close?”
“Agreement. A little more space would be appreciated…”
“It’s fine like this! Stay that way!”
In response to the Yamai sisters’ interruption, Miku said that stubbornly.
And so, Tohka who was left behind said:
“Hmm. So where should I be?”
Then Miku started nodding confidently, and with her eyes shining brightly:
“Tohka, you can get on top of me! Face down!”
“Wh… What? If I do that, Miku’s face won’t show!”

“It’s fine like that! Not a significant problem! Come, come! Hurry!”
“Yes… right away!”
Tohka had some suspicions, but she still fulfilled Miku’s demands.
Suddenly, Miku’s breathing became somewhat strange, and her body began to
have slight spasms
“Aah… Aaaaaaaah, fufufu… this is the beeeest…”
At that moment, the Yamai sisters opened their eyes in amazement.
“So those were your intentions!”
“Concern. You have shown an expression that is not worthy of an Idol…!”
“Wh… What’s the matter with you, Miku?! You’re acting really strange!”
Tohka and the Yamai sisters tried to get away from Miku, but Miku’s hands held the Yamai
sisters in place, and she wrapped her legs around Tohka, sealing off their escape routes.
After that, in order to escape from Miku, whose strength is supposed to be much weaker than
theirs, Tohka and the Yamai sisters had to fight for almost ten minutes.
Dress A Live Case 3: Santa
“Yatogami Tohka, Santa Form!”
Tohka said that while introducing herself, wearing an unusual Astral Dress: red with white. A
golden bell adorned the Sandalphon’s hilt, and a huge sack hung on the tip of her sword.
“Tohka?! What’s that suit for?”
Shido opened his eyes in surprise, but Tohka responded:
“After hearing your story about Santa Claus, I wanted to be the same. And so, this happened.”
“Huh?!”
“In any case, this form seems to have a lot of Christmas power.”
“Christmas power?”
“For example, the speed at which I can fly through the skies is not less than the one with the
reindeer!”
“Woah!”
“And, to prevent children from discovering me, I can also make myself become invisible!”
“That’s amazing!”
“In addition, this bag is connected to another dimension, so I can carry unlimited gifts!”
“That’s perfect!”
“Gifts are formed by adding some power of the Spirits, so when they fall from the sky, the streets
will be wrapped in the light of the Christmas spirit!”
“Wait a moment!!”
Tohka’s indifferent words caused Shido to lament.
“Hmm? What’s the problem Shido?”
“What’s the problem, you say?! That’s not like being Santa, it’s more like being an invisible
bomber! The streets will be completely destroyed!”
Hearing Shido’s words, Tohka made a surprised face.
“Isn’t that very dangerous?!”
“You just realized?!”
Tohka’s shoulders dropped as she made a pitiful expression. However, she shook her head in an
attempt to cheer herself up, then removed the huge sack that was at the tip of Sandalphon.
“Umu! Actually, there is a gift I would like to give you…!”
“Is that okay? I feel a little bad…”
“Yeah! You don’t have to worry!”
Saying that, Tohka opened her sack.
Inside the sack, Tobiichi Origami, whose body was tied with ribbons, was revealed.
“You just have to call, and an angel that only belongs to you will immediately fly to you…”
Tohka closed the bag at terrifying speed. The sack began to shake violently.
“Now, the gift I was going to give you─”
“─What was that?! Hey, what just happened?!”
Shido’s shout was heard that holy night.

Miku On Stage
“…Alright, thank you very much!! May the next person please step forward!”
As though prompted by Itsuka Shido, a middle school-esque girl at the front of the queue looked
nervous as she took a tentative step forward, in front of Shido, a single girl stood there.
“Ni, nice to meet you…”
And then, the girl greeted with an excited voice, extending out her hand that was trembling
slightly towards that lone girl.
In return, the lone girl took that hand gently with both hands.
“Yes, nice to meet you, thank you for always supporting me.”
Saying that, she gave a faint smile to the middle-schooler.
Wearing an adorable costume, she was a girl with a tall figure. She has long lavender hair
coupled with an attractive smile. However, the aspect that attracts people the most, is probably
her voice and not her looks. An elegant bell-like voice that possesses a mysterious quality. When
her voice reaches the ear, an illusion that her voice had permeated into their bodies would be
generated.
That’s got to be the case. Since that girl is one of the most popular idols in Japan, Izayoi Miku.
Shido was currently in a domed hall. A lot of people are crowded here at present, forming a
massive queue just like a long serpent.
That’s right—Shido was currently at the scene of a handshake session.
Just for today, Shido had taken on the role of Miku’s manager… Furthermore, he had the
additional role of being the event’s [Remover].
When facing the idol of their dreams, there’s no doubt that fans would wish to hold her hands for
even a second longer. Needless to say, fans that do not listen to the staff’s instruction or fans who
continue to hold hands and talk despite exceeding their time limit will undoubtedly appear, the
role of the remover would be to move such fans away in order to allow the handshake event to
successfully continue.
However, even though he was a [Remover], Shido’s job scope was slightly different from what
the usual removers had to do.
“U, um, I love Miku’s songs the most…”

“Is that so? Fufu, I’m really happy to have such a cute girl cheer me on.”
“Eh…?! R, really…”
“Hey, how about it, once all of this is over, would you like to go for tea together—”
“…!”
Sensing something amiss, Shido grabbed the middle schooler by the shoulders, half forcefully
pulling her away from Miku.
“Right! Thank you very much for coming here—” Saying that, Shido directed the girl towards
the exit. The girl widened her eyes in surprise for a split second but she quickly bowed and left.
That’s right. Shido’s job was not to remove fans who had overextended their allocated handshake
time, but to prevent Miku flirting with cute girls.
“Ahhn—that was mean, just when I found one that suited my tastes too—”
Miku puffed her cheeks in displeasure. However, her expression soon brightened at the thought
of meeting girls that she liked in the queue, extending her hand out once more…Looks like this
girl needs to be removed soon.
It has been like this since the event, Shido did not take a single break at all.
That was to be expected. Right now in this exact hall, the handshake events of Miku and another
idol were running concurrently, however, there were only female fans in Miku’s line.
Although her symptoms did change for the better, Miku’s fear of men has yet to be overcome, as
a result, her handshake event was only limited to girls.
In contrast, the line on the other booth has a larger ratio of males.
Shido turned to the idol at the other booth who was in the midst of her own handshake event,
Asakura Hiyori. She too, was an idol who is just as popular as Miku.
Naturally making a friendly expression. Hiyori was just like a professional receptionist. Needless
to say, she wouldn’t be flirting with her female fans… Just a little, Shido felt a small pang of
envy towards the staff at the other booth.
“—Ahhhn, you’re cute too If you like, would you want to come with me to—”
“…! Yes, thank you very much for your presence—!”

He had merely looked away for a short while, Miku had already passed her contact details to her
fan. Shido hastily removed Miku’s fan, letting out a deep sigh.
If this keeps up he would be done in by the work he was tasked to do. “How did I get myself into
this,” Shido expressed a tinge of regret.
Yesterday, Miku had called Shido, asking him to go to a certain ward in a hospital located within
the city.
“—Are you, Itsuka Shido-kun?” The one who made the inquiry with an unfamiliar voice, was a
bedridden female who was roughly 25 years old with a leg in a cast.
“Yeah… That’s me.” Shido responded, turning to look at Miku who had stood up from her seat at
the side of the bed. Miku seemed to have realized Shido’s questions as she nodded her head.
“Ah, this person here is Subaru-san, she’s my manager”
“Nice to meet you, I am Misora Pro’s Kurebayashi Subaru”
“Haa… So, do you need me for anything?”
Upon Shido’s question, Subaru—gave a long sigh.
“Just as you can see, I had a little accident earlier this morning.”
“Haaah…”
“Exactly because of this, I am unable to fulfill my job as a manager, I must find a substitute…
Thinking along these lines, Miku mentioned your name to me.”
“Haah… HUH?!”
Hearing something that he didn’t expect, Shido suddenly exclaimed aloud as though he was a
lunatic, he turned towards Miku. Miku merely gave a faint smile.
However, not a shred of surprise could be felt from Subaru, she began to give Shido a once-over.
“…Hey, Shido-kun. I’ll ask this just in case, what relationship do you have with Miku?”
“Eh?!”
“Ahhh, we’re—” Miku raised a single finger, wanting to say something.
Shido instinctually sensed that he was in danger, he raised his voice too.
“F, friends.”
“…Really?”
“It’s true! Isn’t it!! Miku?!”
Sweat formed on Shido’s forehead as he spoke, Miku made a complicated expression as though
she was saying “That’s the truth”
“…It’s fine if that’s the case… About that, idols are terrified of rumours going about, don’t you
think so?”
“Y, yeah.”
Subaru shrugged as she spoke, a stiff smile appeared on Shido’s face.
“—And then, can I entrust you with the task of being Miku’s temporary manager? You will only
have to work till tomorrow at most.”
“N, no, that’s a little…” Faced with such a sudden request, Shido expressed his refusal by
shaking his head from side to side, however, Subaru was unfazed as she started a soliloquy.
“Tomorrow, there is a concert that will determine the idol who will be singing the World Anime
Expo’s official song. Our enemy is Asakura Hiyori. She’s a strong rival that ties with Miku in
terms of popularity, if we were to come out victorious, then we won’t have to search for sponsors
any longer! We have to defeat her. That’s why, I beg of you! Furthermore, you don’t have school
on Sundays right!”
“That’s not the question here! Then again, such an important thing shouldn’t be passed to
someone like me! Aren’t there any other managers that can take over?!”
“Ufufufu! I’d be troubled if you viewed us as a weak little firm! Our firm has the president, an
office manager, me, that’s it! There’s no way we have a substitute manager at all!”
“That isn’t something that one should be boasting about, isn’t it!” Shido couldn’t help but snark
aloud.
But then again, he heard Miku not publicly revealing herself, continuing her activities as a
mystery idol in order to avoid trouble. Perhaps being understaffed was something that couldn’t
be helped.
“Relax, it’s not something that requires a high degree of skill, you’ll only have to do three things.
The first is to make Miku win, obviously.”
“No no… Isn’t the first task of high importance already?”

“You don’t really have to do anything else, it’s fine so long as you create the best environment
for this child to perform at her maximum potential—If you do that, she’ll be able to obtain
victory through her own efforts.”
Saying that, Subaru patted Miku’s back. Miku smiled proudly with an “Ehehe”.
And then, before continuing with the conversation, Subaru looked at Miku.
“—Ah, Miku. I’m sorry to say this, but can you go outside first? I’ll have to make him remember
the 120 rules of being a manager by heart first.”
“Ha… HUH?!”
Although Shido had raised his voice in disbelief, Miku had already waved her hand and left.
Once affirming that the sound of footsteps had already disappeared, Subaru continued her
sentence, “I apologize for interrupting our conversation.”
“It’s alright…”
It looks like Subaru did not want Miku to overhear her. Thinking along those lines, Shido gently
shook her head from side to side.
“…I can’t say this in front of Miku—That child is really a genius. To be honest, it’s really quite a
waste for her to be in a weak production company like us. There are not many jobs due to our
lacking abilities. Miku could have done something better, in that aspect, I feel like I had let her
down somehow.”
“Kurebayashi-san…”
“It’s precisely due to this reason that we cannot afford to lose this opportunity. That child
agreeing to make a public appearance is our only chance—I beg of you, even if it’s just for a
short while, help me… No, help Miku.”
Under such a burning stare, Shido was rendered speechless. Letting Miku be more active, Shido
was also hoping for the same, furthermore, if he continued to refuse it would only make Miku
unhappy. Shido let out a long sigh.
“…Just for tomorrow then.”
“! Really?! I’m very grateful to you!”
Subaru’s face immediately glowed with brilliance, vigorously shaking Shido as she spoke to him.
“…Then, you aren’t finished right, there are still two more tasks I have to do.”
“Aaah, it’s like this. The second thing would be… to keep an eye on Miku.”
“Keep an eye?” Faced with such an ominous phrase out of the blue, Shido couldn’t help but
frown.
“Yes. The truth is like this, there will be a handshaking event in the afternoon… at that moment
Miku will have a lot to say to the girls that she likes.”
“…Aaah, I see.” Shido agreed with a wry smile.
The aforementioned idol Izayoi Miku, is in fact a person who likes cute girls, there are incidents
where she would let girls that she had an interest in accompany her in the all-girls school that she
attends.
“…I understand, then, what is the last issue?”
Upon hearing Shido’s words, Subaru’s expressions turn grim.
“…This is extremely confidential, I hope you will keep this a secret…”
“A-alright…” Shido nodded, Subaru looked solemn as she continued.
“…Actually Miku appears to have a boyfriend now.”
“Pfffft…?!” Shido couldn’t help but splutter.
However, Subaru seemed to have expected that sort of reaction, she continued with a sigh.
“I’m shocked about it as well. If Miku was found out to have a boyfriend, this would raise an
enormous scandal. But that child is so defenseless, on stage, she might call out ‘Darling’ without
any hesitation.”
“N-no, but… was she really mentioning a boyfriend?…”
“Would you use the term “Darling” on anyone aside from your lover?”
“W-who knows, the probability of that being a nickname is…”
“Impossible right? I’ll ask first just as a precautionary measure, you wouldn’t be the one that
Miku calls “Darling” would you?”
Subaru glared at Shido with a glare full of killing intent. Shido shook his head with a pale
expression.
“…That’s true, a normal person like you, would not be a good match for Miku.”
“Y-yeah…”
“Ah, I’m sorry for saying something that may have offended you, I didn’t really mean to… In
short, please pay attention to avoid mentioning the issue of this “Darling” to her fans or anyone
in particular. This is something that is as important as a human life, you must be cautious.”
“I-I’ll keep it in mind…”
Shido nodded his head violently.
… How to phrase this, Shido could not help but feel that he was the last person on earth that
should be taking this job.
“So tiring…”
After the handshaking event. Shido walked down the corridor of the hall with unsteady steps.
That was to be expected. During the handshaking event, just the number of fans that Miku
wanted to invite for tea already numbered 109, there were 72 fans that Miku wanted to pass her
contact details to, 46 fans that Miku wanted to hug and 8 fans that Miku wanted to kiss on the
cheek. A grand total of 235 girls. Shido had barely managed to rescue them from Miku’s grasp.
Of course, Shido had already confirmed it with <Ratatoskr>, regarding the issue of accepting this
job. Due to Miku’s mental state being stable, the job was taken over by Shido without any
question. However… he was considering a request in backup if this was going to continue.
“Phew… Well, I should probably take a short break before the stage performance starts.”
Shido thought to himself whilst walking down the corridor.
Opening the door to the waiting lounge. And then—
“Ara—?”
Letting out an extremely relaxed sound, Miku, who was in the room, looked at Shido.
“…?!”
Looking at her, Shido froze. That was to be expected. The reason for that was, Miku was
currently in the middle of changing the clothes that she had worn just now, so she was only in her
underwear.
“You…! What are you doing, Miku?”

Shido cried out with a reddened face, however not a shred of panic was seen on Miku’s face as
she inclined her head to a side.
“Eh? Why, I’m changing of course—you see, I’ve perspired so much, isn’t it obvious that I have
to change out as soon as possible?”
“Then you should do that in the changing room?! What will happen if someone walks in?!”
“There’s no problem, the staff today are all female.”
“I’m right here, me!”
Although Shido cried out like that, he just realized that he had been looking at Miku’s glamorous
figure the whole time. His shoulders’ jumped, hastily averting his gaze from Miku.
“Really now, Darling’s special, you don’t really have to mind—”
Miku stopped mid-sentence as though she had remembered something. Following that,
“Eh—hem, now that a man has seen me like this, I can’t get married anymore—”
This time, for some reason, Miku spoke with a monotonous tone.
“Wha…”
Evidently different from what she had said before. Sweat formed on Shido’s face.
“It’s over now, Miku’s body is tainted now.”
“H-hold on…”
Shido seemed extremely wretched, Miku closed in and took hold of his hand. Half-forcing him
to sit at the nearby sofa.
“H-hey—…”
“That’s why you will… have to take responsibility—”
Miku straddled Shido, sealing off his escape routes.
“Miku…?!”
The faint scent of perfume and perspiration teased Shido’s senses. Shido’s face became as red as
a tomato.
“Hey, if people were to see this…!”
“Ufufu, if that happens then we’ll just have to broadcast to everyone that we’re dating then—”
“How can we do that…! F-for starters, can you please release me?”
“Eh—if that’s the case—.Then I’ll consider it if Darling agrees to grant me an unconditional
wish?”
“Isn’t that a little too broad…!”
Shido cried out with a wail, Miku showed a mischievous smile, hugging Shido’s head with her
hands.
“Hyii…! I-I got it, I got it already!”
“Really—? Then—”
At this moment.
Just as Miku was about to speak, the door to the resting lounge opened, and a young girl who
was wearing cute clothes entered the room.
Her age seemed to be about the same as Shido, sponsored hairpins that looked like the sun
adorned her soft hair.
Shido had seen her before—She was at the booth right next to Miku’s at the handshake event just
now, the idol Asakura Hiyori.
“Thanks for the hard work—”
Hiyori was about to make such a greeting, when she abruptly froze in her tracks.
“…! Miku!”
“Ara—?”
Shido hastily made Miku stand up, he started to face Hiyori and began to explain.
“Eh, Hiyori-san! It’s not like that, this is, I don’t know whether to say that this is Miku’s prank
or…”
“…”
Hiyori stood there speechless for a period of time, however, upon looking at Miku, she somehow
realized something as she snorted.
“I see… it really has been hard on you, Manager-san. It’s alright, I didn’t see anything at all.”
“T-thank you…”
Shido swiftly lowered his head in response.
Yet at this particular moment, Hiyori was not looking at Shido at all, she kept staring at Miku
loathingly.
“…Izayoi, Miku.”
“Ah, isn’t this Hiyori—? Ufufu, this must be our first time meeting like this. I’ve always seen
your liveliness on the television, please let me see it next time as well.”
Just like that, as though unaware of her hostility, Miku slowly walked towards Hiyori. But Hiyori
nimbly retreated, frowning unhappily.
“Although I don’t really wish to see you at all.”
“Ara—?”
Miku tilted her head in curiosity.
“Did I do something that you dislike—?”
Saying that, Miku made an expression of doubt, Hiyori grit her teeth in response.
“Of course! You look down on idols too much!”
Her voice had a tinge of panic, her vision narrowed as well.
“Eh—? I can’t really agree with you on that…”
“How dare you deny it…! I’ve heard plenty of bad rumours about you already, now that I’ve
seen it for myself. You don’t have the qualifications to be an idol!”
Crying out, Hiyori pointed her finger toward Miku. Miku, on the other hand, did not feel alarmed
at all, she merely widened her eyes and peacefully responded with an “Ara—”.
“…Excuse me, but speaking of rumours?”
Upon Shido’s enquiry, Hiyori directed her vision downwards, nodding deeply.
“Changing the staff in the music stores to be all female, bringing your favourite girls back home
from secret events, forcing the manager and the like, these are all unacceptable as an idol, how
ridiculous!!”
“…”
Although Shido wanted to speak up for Miku, regrettably, he couldn’t come up with anything.
“What are you playing at by being an idol that doesn’t show your face?! Don’t you know what
an idol means? It’s being an idol! An idol’s work is not done at the end of a song, your being,
your existence, all have to take the responsibility of being an idol!”
“Eh—, But I’ve shown my face already—…”
“That is exactly why I cannot forgive you! You must have some deep relationship with this
person… Do you know what kind of impression you’re giving me!”
“N, no, that was because Miku had her reasons…”
Despite Shido’s words, Hiyori banged the table and continued whilst filled with emotion.
“You are a mess through and through, your performance is an imitation. Where’s your
responsibility of being an idol! Your passion! You lack awareness! Ah, really now, why can’t my
CDs sales beat a person like her!”
Hiyori grabbed her hair and let out the loudest outburst yet.
At her words, Shido couldn’t help but frown, there was something concerning in Hiyori’s words
just now.
“Miku’s show was an imitation…? What do you mean by—”
“Anyway! Today, look forward to our competition. Let me show you the correct path!”
However Hiyori did not pay heed to Shido’s words, she pointed towards Miku once more. On a
side note, Miku seemed to be in awe of Hiyori’s passionate speech as she clapped her hands.
“Ufufu, I’m looking forward to it, singing with Hiyori on stage. Hiyori is one of the most
amazing idols I’ve known!”
Hearing Miku’s words, Hiyori made a displeased face.
“…! Don’t joke with me…!”
“It’s true, I have all your CDs, I have anonymously attended your concerts. Your songs, dances
and services to the audiences are all excellent. You’re really amazing.”
“Even if you praise me…”
“However!”
Miku raised a single finger, putting it in front of her lips.
“Hiyori, don’t you think you are a little too perfect—… No, if that’s the case I won’t even deny
it, but aren’t you forcing yourself a little? Although I won’t ask for you to relax, I think that
you’ll be even more attractive and cheerful if you sang more freely—”
“Please don’t go out and spout nonsense! My fans are here to see my perfect performance, I will
definitely not betray my fans!”
Hiyori said aloud with a clenched fist, upon those words, Miku frowned with a complicated
expression, as though she was thinking of something, she nodded whilst muttering “Mm—”.
“How do I put this… I think that it’s better if you place a little more faith in your fans, no one
will leave Hiyori if you mess up a little—I feel that Hiyori, you seem to be a little afraid of the
fans.”
“…! Wha…!”
Miku’s sentence pushed Hiyori beyond her tolerance, her face turned red like a tomato. Miku,
however, did not seem to mind at all, a few seconds later, she clapped her hands together as
though coming up with something.
“Ah, that’s right! Let’s do it like this. I promise to be Hiyori’s fan no matter what, so that you can
freely—”
“Stop joking!”
Yelling aloud with the most panicked voice heard till now, Hiyori slammed her fist onto the
table.
“—Up on stage, I will definitely show you who is more suited to be a real idol…!”
Leaving behind the line, Hiyori exited the resting lounge.
Bang! She slammed the door shut with a force that was more than necessary, the room fell silent
for a while.
“…What a presence.”
“You’re right—, she’s just like a typhoon—” Miku said nonchalantly, Shido made a bitter smile
upon that sight.
“Speaking of which… that’s really rare. For Miku to ask about other people.”
Having noticed upon hearing Shido’s words, she scratched her head and shrugged.
“Hm—, I just can’t seem to leave her alone—. She’s similar, Hiyori.”
“Similar? To who?”
“—Me, from last time.”

With that, Miku let out what seemed to be a sigh that was full of meaning.
“She was just like that that time when I was [Tsukino], that time when I had forced myself onto a
road of no return—”
That’s right. Miku had been active as [Yoimachi Tsukino] in the past, she was not as popular as
she is now. She silently accumulated merit, living life as best as she can. But one day, malignant
rumours spread around her, Miku was abandoned by her fans, losing her voice due to being
mentally pushed to the brink, it wouldn’t be too much to say that she had died once.
“That’s why, I’m a bit concerned about her.”
However, Miku took a deep breath.
“I just can’t be like Darling. Darling is really awesome—”
“Eh?”
Hearing something unexpected from Miku, Shido tilted his head in question. Miku chuckled.
“Really now, have you forgotten—? The words that I said to Hiyori were not so different from
what Darling said to me the last time—?”
“Ah…”
After Miku’s reminder, Shido widened his eyes, now that she had mentioned it, he did seem to
have said something like that.
It was probably due to Miku saying it so naturally that Shido did not notice, but she had been
right, those were definitely words that Shido had said to Miku before.
“Because of that, I was saved, it was because of Darling’s words, that the current me exists.”
“Ehh um…” It was embarrassing for those words to be said to him. Shido started to speak in
order to change the topic.
“T-then again, Miku. Your past fans, do they still remember the name [Tsukino].”
“No, I think that they probably do not remember anymore.”
“? Is that the case?” Shido scratched his head in wonder, Miku raised a single finger to explain.
“I, in order to erase my past existence, have always been infusing my Spirit powers into my
songs—the people who hear these songs will slowly forget the person known as [Yoimachi
Tsukino].”
“Aaah… So that’s why.”
“Well, my powers are currently sealed and I think there shouldn’t be anyone who remembers
anymore, so that ‘bitch’, will no longer worry of being badmouthed any longer.”
Miku said jokingly, Shido’s shoulders jumped. “I’m sorry, I didn’t really mean to—”
“Ufufu, I know, ” Miku smiled softly, placing her hands on her hips after spinning on the spot
once.
“Well, it should also be time for me to get ready as well—Although I don’t really care much
about what Hiyori said about being a true idol, since Darling is cheering for me at the V.I.P. seats,
I’m going to take this seriously.”
Saying that, Miku formed a gun with her index finger and thumb, making a pose as though she
would be shooting Shido in the heart.
“I will make you fall for me, Darling.”
That posture, Shido’s heart seemed to have been stolen away without even witnessing Miku’s
performance on stage, it was that beautiful.
—A few minutes later.
An excited atmosphere started to emit from the semi- circular dome.
That was to be expected. Izayoi Miku and Asakura Hiyori, the two idols with comparable
popularity are about to compete right here.
The performance is going to start with Miku followed by Hiyori. After their performances, the
judges as well as the audience will give points. In truth, even a single point would be beneficial
to their favourite idol, the fans on both camps enthusiastically wait whilst cheering the idols on.
But the current Miku seemed to not be so fixated on winning.
“Then, I’m going now—”
Miku waved her hand and walked towards the part of the stage that was not being illuminated by
the lights, standing at her designated position. Judging from Miku’s actions, she doesn’t seem to
be under any sort of stress or tension at all.
—The spotlights soon shone onto center stage. Miku’s performance was starting.
[—]
Along with the accompanying music, Miku started to sing with a bewitching voice, and with that
amazing voice, she caused the whole concert hall to reach a new high.
“…She really is amazing.”
Shido who was watching her performance at the special seats at the side of the stage inaudibly
gulped.
Standing on stage, microphone in hand. Miku right now, seems like a carefree ojou-sama who
has transformed into an idol. The instant Miku started singing, she probably will be the centre of
attention.
Calling her a diva should be more apt. An overwhelming sense of presence. Her own fans have
been dazzled by her brilliance.
Needless to say, Hiyori’s fans who took up almost half the hall were also enthralled by Miku.
Also,
“…Hm?”
Shido noticed that there was someone else at the side of the stage—It was Asakura Hiyori.
Hiyori seemed to have not noticed Shido, sweat formed on her face as she witnessed Miku’s
performance.
“…Amazing. But, as expected…”
Just like that, she was mumbling to herself with a soft voice.
“I have to win… I must… I cannot lose to this sort of person—”
“Asakura Hiyori-san?”
“…!”
Being called out by Shido. Hiyori’s shoulders jolted.
“Y, you are… Miku’s manager…?”
“Ah… that’s right. I am Itsuka, the temporary manager.”
Despite emphasizing on the word [temporary], Hiyori was uninterested as she turned to look at
Miku once more.
That’s not entirely correct as well—rather than being uninterested, why not say that Hiyori did
not have spare time or energy to pay attention to Shido at the moment. Her hands, feet, ears, and
eyes were all spellbound by the song. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she is the most
enthusiastic person in the whole concert hall.
—With her sight still fixed on Miku, Hiyori spoke with a trembling voice.
“…It’s really unfair, for the heavens to give such amazing talent to a person who doesn’t take
things seriously like her.”
“Eh? No, Miku’s not like that…”
“It’s okay, I won’t say anything. I know you’ve had it hard as well.”
“That’s… umm,… ehhh.”
Although he wanted to say something to refute her claims. Shido was unable to say anything.
Hiyori stared directly at Miku, clenching her fists.
“—I must not lose, an idol… has to be perfect.”
“…Eh?”
With a wavering voice, Shido frowned as he turned to look at Hiyori.
From the side view of her face that was looking at Miku’s performance, panic as well as
frustration can definitely be glimpsed from it.
That was understandable, it was going to be Hiyori’s turn next, one would most definitely feel
uneasy no matter how used to the stage, but the instant Shido looked at Hiyori’s face, he
remembered what Miku had told Hiyori earlier.
(How do I put this, she’ll end up pushing herself to the edge if she keeps cornering herself like
this—)
Right now, the current Hiyori who is observing Miku from the sidelines, looks like a child that
was being overwhelmed by panic.
“Why…?”
“Eh—?”
“Why does Hiyori want to be so perfect?”
At Shido’s words, Hiyori turned her attention to him for just a mere fraction of a second.
“…Did Miku tell you to ask me that?”

“T,that’s not it… how should I put this, isn’t it best for an idol to not have such self-deprecating
thoughts…”
“…”
Hiyori was silent for a long while before she let out a deep sigh.
“…I had an idol that I admired very much. She was a newcomer as well, so she wasn’t that well
known, but she had an amazing voice… one that tugs at the audience’s heartstrings… you can
say that, she is who I long to be.”
“So it was like that?” Shido uttered in response.
Hiyori nodded in assent as she continued.
“She was merely a year apart, yet her voice was able to invigorate so many people. That was the
trigger to my dream of being an idol.”
“…Don’t tell me that she was a perfectionist?”
“You’re wrong. It’s the opposite.”
“Opposite?”
Raising her head, Hiyori gazed into the distance as she moved her lips.
“That person, was swamped by scandals, was abandoned by her fans, and committed suicide.”
“Eh—”
Hearing that, Shido couldn’t help but widen his eyes.
“Thinking back, there is insufficient evidence to prove that what the tabloids reported were true,
but what if one of them was true, it would also be sufficient to completely ruin a newcomer idol
with a bright future like her—Her songs were sincere, if such an incident had not had happened,
then every single person in Japan probably would have been her fan right now.”
Hiyori grit her teeth in regret, clenching her fists. It was an expression filled with hatred that she
must not show to her fans at all costs.
Could she have noticed it as well? Hiyori allowed her body to relax.
“…That’s why I am right. [Idols], Practice will improve those who can’t sing well, practice can
help those who can’t dance well, if one doesn’t look good then make-up will do the trick. We’re
not allowed to have a single injury, even if there is, we are not allowed to let anyone find out,
everything else has to be dazzling.”
“Hiyori…”
Shido gulped, as he was facing Hiyori who had such a negative outlook.
Hiyori’s determination was “Because the idol I had admired failed, I must not be like her”…It
was such a simple thought.
Like a bud that was plucked before it even got the chance to bloom, despite the fact that it could
have been even more beautiful after it bloomed. Hiyori’s expression seemed like she wanted to
take revenge.
“…I cannot stay like this—I must not lose to this imitation.”
“Eh…?”
Shido tilted his head in confusion at Hiyori’s words. But thinking back on what she had said.
Hiyori had said something similar at the lounge—saying that Miku’s performance was a mere
imitation.
“What do you mean by that?”
Shido asked, Hiyori gave Miku another look of loathing before speaking.
“Miku’s performance is similar to the idol I had mentioned before—Yoimachi Tsukino. That’s
why… I cannot forgive her. As an idol, as well as being Tsukino’s fan.”
“Eh… Is that so—”
Hearing Hiyori’s words, Shido’s voice faltered. Shido knew how much Miku loved to sing.
Shido will never believe that Miku would imitate someone else’s singing. But it didn’t seem that
Hiyori was lying. Don’t tell me, she really—
“…Hm?”
And so. Shido nodded to himself. He remembered the name of the idol that Hiyori had
mentioned.
“…About that, Hiyori-san.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t tell me… How should I say this? Did you just mention Yoimachi Tsukino?”
Shido carefully asked, Hiyori on the other hand, widened her eyes in surprise.
“Do you know her? I’m glad, at least someone still remembers her.”
“That’s not what I meant, that person…”
Sweat formed on Shido’s face, he pointed at the stage.
“…Is currently singing on stage.”
“Eh?”
Hiyori exclaimed as though she had lost her mind, her pupils shrank to dots. After a short while,
Miku, who was on stage, glanced at Shido a few times. He held his breath, and then, as though
finally realizing the situation, Hiyori’s face twisted.
“Eh, A,a,aahhhhhhhhhhh?!”
It looks like she had been affected by the Spirit power Miku had infused in her songs. Thanks to
Shido pointing it out, she finally noticed that the two were one and the same.
“Eh? Ehh…? That’s not right, since, didn’t Tsukino commit suicide…”
“About that, she failed.”
“Miku and Tsukino’s performances are very similar…”
“Rather than saying very similar, they are the same person…”
“…”
It was evident that Hiyori’s face was flushed.
“E, eeeeeeehhhhhhhhhh?!”
—In the instant Hiyori yelled out, Miku’s performance was over. The concert hall echoed with
thunderous applause.
[Now then—Next we have Hiyori-san’s performance!]
Once the MC had made the announcement via the microphone. The hall burst out in applause in
anticipation of Hiyori’s performance. Following that, the audience seats soon had countless light
sticks waving in the air.
“—Is it Darling’s first time viewing Hiyori’s performance—? Ufufu, it’s really amazing, well,
I’m still better though—” Miku piped up while wiping her sweat as she returned to the side of
the stage.
But Shido made a stiff reply.
“A, aaah… Is that so?”
“? Did something happen?”
“M, maybe…”
Shido’s face tinged with panic as he looked at Hiyori. The music had started, Hiyori’s singing
resounded in the hall. That amazing poise and display, was exactly that of an idol. And yet—
“…Ah!”
Miku cried aloud. During the chorus of the song, Hiyori glanced at Miku, her body trembled for
an instant and her voice stopped singing.
As she was in the midst of recovering from her fluster, she tripped, falling onto the stage floor.
The sudden change in events caused a commotion in the concert hall.
“W, what’s the matter, this is not like Hiyori…” In contrast to Miku who was looking at Hiyori
with eyes of concern, perspiration formed on Shido’s forehead… How should he explain this,
that the reason for Hiyori to act this way was completely understandable.
Noticing the true identity of the idol whom she had admired for so long. There was no real
necessity in telling Hiyori who was about to go on stage at all. Shido started to regret that
thoughtless action.
To let Miku win, if he only considered this, it would probably be fine to do so as her manager.
However, Miku would never be satisfied with this kind of victory. Shido wished to see Hiyori’s
performance at her best himself. If he doesn’t do something…
Probably noticing something, Miku looked at Hiyori and Shido.
“A, aaah, things aren’t looking good. You have to hurry up and stand…! It’s alright, the fans will
never hate you for something like this—!”
Miku looked as wretched as though the same thing had happened to her, her fingers interlocked
and placed on her chest as though in prayer.
“…! Miku!”
Hearing Miku’s words, Shido’s eyes widened.
“You said it at the lounge right? That no matter what happens, you will always be Hiyori-san’s
fan—is that true?”
“Eh? Yeah, of course—” Miku answered without any hesitation.
Hearing this, Shido nodded.
“Then, once more, please convey your feelings to her. Right now, the only one that can save
Hiyori is probably Miku.”
“Eh? But, towards me, she…”
Miku frowned in surprise, however, upon immediately realizing that Shido was not kidding. She
readily nodded, facing the stage, taking a deep breath.
“A, aaah…”
Hiyori stood on stage, her heart filled with despair. A fatal mistake. At a location where she was
supposed to show an idol’s brilliance, she had instead displayed such a disgraceful appearance.
Her vision swam. Her body trembled violently. She has no idea what to do anymore—;
“—HIYORI—! DO YOUR BEST—!!”
“Eh—?”
All of a sudden. Echoing throughout the concert hall that had been abruptly silenced, Hiyori
uttered a sound in a daze.
But, she quickly understood who had called out to her—Miku.
Miku, who was watching Hiyori from the side of the stage, who did not even use a microphone,
just shouted directly at Hiyori.
“Miku…” Looking at the side of the stage once more. It was the idol that Hiyori had admired.
The figure of Yoimachi Tsukino.
Voice, poise, as well as Tsukino’s face from Hiyori’s memories. Why did it take so long for her
to finally realize?
Tsukino was looking at her right now. For Hiyori’s sake, she called out with words of
encouragement.
That made Hiyori so elated to the point of nearly bursting into tears.
—Now that she thought about it. The words Miku had said in the lounge, perfectly pinpointed
out the flaws in Hiyori’s thinking.
Having knowledge of Tsukino’s most tragic period of her life, Hiyori, who had set a perfect idol
as her goal, was too focused on being perfect and ended up cornering herself.
The job that she should be so happy about slowly became a duty. The audience became
supervisors. If this continues on, she would probably have forgotten why she wanted to sing, to
become an idol.
“Ah… ,ah—”
However—yes, that’s right.
Hiyori finally remembered. It was because she had wanted Yoimachi Tsukino to hear her songs
that she went for the auditions to become an idol. Wanting to stand alongside that person,
wanting to sing and dance with her. She wanted to become an idol so that she could inherit that
person’s will.
—Hiyori recalled the conversation in the lounge earlier. Maybe it was just a passing remark;
However, that Yoimachi Tsukino had said to Hiyori.
—That no matter what happens, she will always be Hiyori’s fan.
—If that’s the case, then Hiyori doesn’t have anything left to fear anymore.
And so. The instant Hiyori got back onto her feet. Just like in response to Miku’s cry. The
audience waved their lightsticks creating a field of light. An enormous roar called out to Hiyori.
“…! Eve, everyone—”
Hiyori couldn’t help but cry out. That’s right, what was in front of Hiyori’s eyes right now was
not the cold hard gazes of the supervisors in the past, but the passionate expectations of the fans
that wish to hear Hiyori sing.
Such a simple thing. Hiyori could only recall just recently.
—Just now, she was still talking down to a true idol, there has to be a limit to idiocy. Hiyori
remembered her previous words and actions and softly laughed.
She stood up on stage once more—No, she had returned.
“Well, let me give my best performance ever to you all!!” Hiyori gripped the microphone once
more, singing echoed in the hall once again.
[—Now then, let the results of the judging begin.]
Hiyori’s performance ended with the audience’s thunderous applause. Roughly ten minutes later,
Miku and Hiyori stood side by side on stage, and the MC started to declare the winner of the
two.
[The image song artist for the World Anime Expo is—]
After a few seconds of drum beats, the spotlights shone onto Miku with a unified sound.
[After a heated debate, it is decided that it is Izayoi Miku’s victory!!]
In that instant, sonorous applause sounded out from the audience.
[Congratulations, Miku-san. Please give us a brief description of your feelings right now.]
[Ufufu, I’m really grateful to everyone. I’m extremely happy.]
The MC brought out a bouquet and passed it to Miku, Miku smiled faintly as she waved to the
audience. Soon after that, the concert hall erupted in cheers.
“She won… huh.”
Shido, who had been watching this from the side of the stage, heaved a sigh of relief. After all,
the most important task as her manager has been achieved. As well as—
“…”
Looking at Hiyori who was standing beside Miku, Shido’s mouth slightly gaped open. Her
expression was completely different, she was exuding a sense of satisfaction and she seemed to
be really happy for Miku from the bottom of her heart.
[—Well then, this concludes the concert!]
Saying that. The MC dexterously did a flip, raising his hand as though trying to attract
everyone’s attention. The projector installed began to project several flashy pictures.
[Although it is a little sudden, next Sunday, we are going to hold W.A.E.’s image song artist’s
promotion activities! The person that is going to be featured is of course Izayoi Miku-san who is
being illuminated before you all!!]
As the MC used a resounding voice to make the declaration, the audience called out with voices
of approval.
“…Hn?”
However, Shido started to frown at the situation. That’s because as the MC announced the piece
of news, Miku too displayed an expression of shock.
[—P, please wait a minute, is it next Sunday?]
[Eh? Yes, that’s right…
[I didn’t hear anything about this—]
[Ah,well, that’s because it was a surprise event. Furthermore, we’ve only just confirmed the
schedule with the relevant departments that’s why… ]
[… ]
Miku did not speak for some time, after which she suddenly snatched the announcer’s
microphone, loudly declaring.
“Everyone—! Will all of you please listen to a request of mine?”
At Miku’s words, the fans below the stage let out a roar of agreement.
“I too, wish to have a right to vote, I want to have all of my votes transferred to Hiyori.”
Amongst the audience, there were voices that supported Miku’s suggestion, there were some that
were guessing Miku’s motives and there were those fans who wanted to hear Hiyori at the
W.A.E.
The MC, too, was panicking at Miku’s intentions. However Miku didn’t mind at all, she slowly
walked in front of Hiyori.
[—Hiyori, your performance, it was extremely entertaining]
[Eh? Tsuki—no, Miku, I, umm… ]
[My request, can you hear me out?]
Although Hiyori was confused for a moment, upon hearing Miku’s gentle voice, she nodded her
head hard in agreement.
[Thank you.]
Miku smiled, handing over the bouquet of flowers to Hiyori—And then, pressed her lips onto
Hiyori’s cheek with a ‘chu.’
[Hauwa…!]
This was definitely something out of her expectations, Hiyori’s face turned beetroot red in
confusion, collapsing weakly onto the stage.
For some reason the concert hall burst out in applause and cheer.
“H, hey—,Miku…?”
She’s gone overboard no matter how you look at it. Shido started to call out to stop Miku.
However, Miku did not seem to mind at all, as she threw down the largest piece of news yet.
[Ufufu, please look forward to Hiyori’s performance, I will—so will Darling.]
“WHAT’S—GOING—ON—HERE?!”
After the ruckus. Shido gingerly returned to the ward, what greeted him was as Shido had
expected, it was Miku’s manager, the furious voice of Subaru.
“P, please calm down, Kurebayashi-san…!”
“How can I calm down! Let Miku win! Don’t let Miku talk endlessly with girls! Don’t raise the
issue about Miku and the opposite gender! Didn’t everything fail!”
Subaru caught hold of Shido, after violently shaking him for a while, she gave out a loud sigh.
“…I apologize, I’ve lost my cool. I know that 100% of all this was Miku’s fault… I was being
too unreasonable in pushing this responsibility to you…”
“N,no… I too am sorry…”
As Shido spoke, Subaru released her hands from Shido’s collar, letting out another deep sigh.
“Despite all of this… I thank you. I will try my best to resolve this incident…”
“Do you have to do… something?”
Shido carefully asked, Subaru dejectedly nodded her head.
“I have to—First of all is the issue of being W.A.E.’s image artist, well, that can’t be helped.
Although that was a good opportunity, Miku’s CDs have already been selling well, letting
Asakura Hiyori win may turn out to be a good thing after all.”
“I,is that so.”
“Regarding that kiss on the cheek… it should be fine as long as the other party doesn’t raise a
lawsuit against us. We’ll just treat that as a slight overdose of yuri.”
“…I understand. But—”
Shido asked, Subaru, on the other hand, answered with certainty.
“…The largest problem on our hands is the issue of Miku’s Darling. The last time at the Ten’ou
Festival, we managed to play off Darling as the audience, we managed to avoid a
misunderstanding… but this time it’s going to be way harder…”
“…In the worst case scenario, [Darling] would have to be presented as a dog that she is raising,
the mini Dachshund [Darling].”
“…To think that you are able to do that.”
“We’ve got no choice but to do that already.”
Subaru shrugged with reluctance, somehow, she seems to be a woman that could be relied on.
“I’m sorry that so much has happened, Itsuka-kun, the payment will be remitted into your
account later on.”
“No… I’m the one that should be apologizing since I didn’t really do much.”
“Pay no heed—Do forget about this incident, I hope that you will continue to be on good terms
with Miku. Just look at that child, she doesn’t have any other male friends.”
“A, ahaha… I understand.”
And so, just as Shido was about to exit the ward, a voice called out to him from behind.
“Oh right, Itsuka-kun. I seem to remember that your school is Raizen High, am I correct?”
“Eh? Yes, that is so…”
Shido replied, Subaru reached out for the drawer at the side of her desk, handing over a single
photograph for Shido to see.
“Actually, there was a picture of an adorable girl amongst the photos Miku took. Judging from
the uniform, she should be from Raizen High, have you met her before? If it is possible I’d like
to invite her to become a model.”
“Haaaa…”
Numerous beautiful girls such as Tohka, Origami and the Yamai sisters study within Raizen High
School.
It’s possible that one of the above was inside the photo. It would be alright if it was Origami, if
Tohka or the Yamai sisters were to find out about this, it could become troublesome…
Shido looked at the photograph with that line of thought in mind.
“…?!”
However, the person that was in the photograph was beyond what Shido had expected, his body
stiffened.
Her head had an accessory that looked like a four leaf clover, she was a tall girl. Her confident
frown on her androgynous appearance was her selling point.
If asked if Shido had seen this person before, the answer is undoubtedly yes.
That girl’s name was Itsuka Shiori… That’s right, standing beside Miku in the photograph due to
Kotori’s instructions, it was Shido dressed in girl’s clothing.
“So? Have you seen her before? It says here that her name is Shiori-chan, but Miku would only
tell us so much—this child here is excellent. She’s full of potential. If she would take a swimsuit
photo collection, it would definitely strike the hearts of everyone. Ah, going down the path of a
singing idol wouldn’t be too bad too—”
“No, you, I don’t recognize her…” Sweat constantly flowed down Shido’s face as he robotically
replied, exiting the ward as though he had a bounty on his head.
“Ah, are you done speaking—?”
Thus. Miku, who had been waiting outside the ward, peacefully inquired in contrast to Subaru’s
agitation a few minutes ago.
“Aaah… Although she did lose her temper.”
“Ahaha—really that Subaru, she worries too much—”
“…”
Although Shido thought that Miku had been too bold, he felt that he ought to be silent for now.
“…Then again, Miku.”
“Hm? Is something the matter?”
“It was a hard fought victory, why did you let Hiyori win? If you had accepted that job, wouldn’t
you be more active?”
“Hm, I believe that Hiyori is better suited to that than I do—If it’s her, I’m sure she’ll be able to
do a good job—Furthermore…”
“Furthermore?” Shido tilted his head?
Miku gave a small chuckle. “—There’s an Autumn festival at a nearby shrine next Sunday, don’t
you know that—?”
“Eh?” Shido’s eyes widened in response to Miku’s words.
“J-just for that?! If you want to go to festivals can’t we go to other shrines?”
“No way—The god enshrined there is the deity of marriage, I heard that lovers would definitely
be together if they go there to pray during the Autumn festival.”
“…Eh?”
“Didn’t you say that you would agree to one wish of mine—?”
“Ahh…”
…Now that he thought about it, he had indeed made such a promise before. Shido made an
exhausted sound in reply.
Miku looked at Shido who was in such a state, smiled faintly, raising up her pinky finger.
“—Of course you’ll invite me on a date, won’t you, Darling?”

Shiori Penalty
“So, allow me to introduce you to our transfer student. Please come in!”
“…O-Okay…”
Following the call from Okamine-sensei, Itsuka Shiori sighed as she stepped into the classroom
with a look of resignation to her fate on her face.
She was a tall girl with long hair and a four-leaf clover hair clip. On her face was a light layer of
makeup which gave the impression of a youthful yet seductive sensuality that gave off a peculiar
charm that attracted everyone’s attention.
However, her expression turned into one of anxiety, and her hands from the sleeves of her knitted
sweater were pressed against her skirt that seemed to flutter unsteadily with every step she took
“…!”
As soon as Shiori stepped into the classroom, the class seemed to have become more energetic.
For one frantic moment, Shiori thought that she’d been discovered. But____that was not the case.
Although everyone’s expressions clearly conveyed surprise, they didn’t seem to suspect Shiori’s
true identity.
Ai, Mai, and Mii in particular were especially surprised by Shiori’s debut. Then again, such a
reaction was not a surprise: today was not the first time that Shiori had met them.
“Okay, then Shiori-chan, please introduce yourself.
After she finished speaking, Okamine-sensei urged Shiori to write her name on the blackboard.
Shiori picked up the chalk and turned her back on everyone while pressing her skirt down with
her left hand as she wrote her name on the blackboard.
“I-I… My name is Itsuka Shiori, I am Itsuka Shido’s cousin. Although I won’t be here for very
long, please take good care of me…”
Shiori finished with a cute voice using a voice changer, and bowed. As a result, the classmates
applauded enthusiastically.
But, almost immediately, she realized there was something not quite right.
Because as she heard the class’s applause, she could also hear the mechanical clicking sound at
the same time.
“Umm…? O-Origami-san?!”
As soon as Shiori looked up, he spotted that his classmate, Tobiichi Origami, who was supposed
to be sitting in her seat next to the window, had somehow made her way in front of her, a small
camera in her hand as she clicked the shutter and taking her picture without so much as a change
of expression.
“T-Tobiichi-san? What are you doing? Please go back to your seat…”
“Sensei, please don’t hinder me, life is too short as it is.”
“W-What…?”
Even with Okamine-sensei’s warning, Origami still didn’t stop. From every possible direction,
she kept taking Shiori’s picture from every possible angle to add to her collection.
“Wait… that…!”
“There’s no need to be afraid. Just leave it to me, and keep an open mind.”
Even as Shiori did her best to cover her face with her hands, Origami paid it no mind and
continued to press the shutter. Suddenly, there was a thud of a chair hitting the ground, Tohka
immediately stepped between Origami and Shiori.
“H-Hey, T-Tobiichi Origami! You shouldn’t do such things to Shido…Rather, can’t you see that
girl doesn’t like such things!”
“This has nothing to do with you. Let go. These are rare beautiful photos of Shiori doing dirty
things…”
“You… what are you talking about?!”
Tohka and Origami started quarrelling again as usual. However, the lens of Origami’s camera
was still aimed at Shiori and the sound of the shutter could still be heard.
“Don’t…”
How could anyone want to keep a record of this look? Shiori did her best to dodge the camera,
and at the same time, regretted his reckless words from yesterday.
◇◇◇
“Hey___Kotori, are you ready?”
Yesterday, Shido, who was planning to go out, called out loudly at the entrance.
Since it was Sunday, Shido decided to go out with Kotori to go for a walk down the street after a
long time, but Kotori… was taking her time in getting ready.
“A-Ah! Wait for me!”
Kotori’s voice could be heard from somewhere deeper in the house. However, after listening to
her and waiting another few minutes, Kotori still hadn’t appeared. He waited a few more minutes
but still she hadn’t appeared.
“Kotori, if you don’t hurry up, I’ll head out first!”
“Again… just give me another minute!”
Soon after, Kotori finally appeared at the entrance.
The girl’s most prominent feature was her red hair tied into ponytails with white ribbons and her
wide round eyes. She was dressed in fashionable clothing that gave off the impression of
maturity that she didn’t normally wear. Seeing that Kotori was dressed differently than she was
usually dressed. Seeing the change in clothing, Shido was taken by surprise.
In retrospect, he should have been kinder at that time. But… perhaps because of fatigue and
impatience or because to cover his embarrassment, Shido said something that should never be
said to a girl.
“Oh, you’re finally here… Well, how do I say this, why does it take girls so long to prepare to go
out?”
The moment Shido finished speaking, Kotori’s face twitched.
“…? Kotori, is there something wrong? Anyway, let’s get going. Put on your shoes ____”
Halfway through the sentence, Kotori untied the white ribbons in her hair without saying another
word.
She then pulled out a black ribbon from her pocket and in a fluid motion, she tied her hair with
the black ribbons back into the two ponytails.
That was Kotori’s way of switching personality: by replacing the ribbons, her personality would
switch from the innocent little sister into the strong commander.
“K-Kotori…?”
“…Shido, you don’t seem to understand the hardships of being a girl yet…”
Kotori’s gaze turned sharp as she spoke in a cold and bitter tone. The aura she exuded was a stark
contrast compared to before and Shido couldn’t help but take a few steps back from shock.
“If you were just an ordinary boy, I might be able to forgive you because you’re simply being too
dull to realize it. But since your mission is to make the Spirits fall in love with you and you still
have this kind of performance, it will hurt your brain. If you can’t understand girls better, then
there will be more obstacles in your future.”
“There are plenty of hardships of being a boy___!”
“Of course, boys have their own hardships! However, the hardships of girls are very different
from the hardships of boys! Boys may encounter all sorts of problems when they leave the
house, but girls have to worry about being betrayed by their friends by leaking information to the
enemy or stabbing them in the back!”
“Sinister!”
After Shido shouted loudly, Kotori scoffed as she continued speaking.
“…When you get a chance, shut up and listen carefully to the conversations with only girls.
Chances are that nine times out of ten, they are talking badly about other girl friends who aren’t
there.”
‘W-What the hell! I don’t want to listen to that sort of thing!”
“No only that, but there’s also peer pressure for those who don’t have to pee but still have to go
with other girls to the bathroom; on top of that, there’s espionage and containment that takes
place in the locker room: it’s often said that if you are good at physical education, you probably
don’t know how to read; home economics classes: boys will be looking at you expectantly; plus
when you’re wearing a skirt, you have to pay attention to whether or not you end up getting
exposed; especially when you’re going out; there is the risk of being exposed to the threats of
perverts and other such people…! These are the struggles of girls in the modern world! It’s hard
work!”
Kotori was acting differently from her previous detailed explanations… Although Shido thought
that she’d been too critical with her emphasis, he was still shocked by her force and couldn’t
bring himself to argue with her.
“…I-I understand. I’m sorry, I’ll make sure to pay better attention in the future…”
Shido said as sweat trickled down his cheeks. However, Kotori still seemed to be angry. She
crossed her arms in disappointment and retorted angrily:
“No! This isn’t a problem that can be solved by just paying closer attention! You have to directly
experience the trials of actually being a girl!”
“Directly… How would we be able to do that?”
After Shido finished speaking while letting out a sigh, Kotori wore a malicious grin on her face.
“Hmm, let’s see… What about Shiori-chan?”
“Wha…!”
Shido’s entire body stiffened when he heard Kotori shout the name he thought that he would
never have to hear again for the rest of his life.
◇◇◇
…Which brings us back to the present…
“…Ugh…”
Shido sighed as he put his elbows on his desk during the lesson. Incidentally, his seat was the
same as his usual seat between Tohka and Origami. It seemed that [Shido] had taken a leave of
absence so the teacher told him to sit there. Obviously, even though he was sitting in his usual
seat, the fact that he was wearing a skirt now, it all felt different and it made him want to burst
into tears.
That’s right. Shiori was the name that Shido used when pursuing Spirits who didn’t like men.
Of course, Shido had tried to protest Kotori’s troublesome idea and firmly opposed it. However,
Kotori still had all of Shido’s weaknesses from his past so Shido had no choice but to accept her
terms… As a result, Shiori was reborn in this way for a single day enrollment experience.
Additionally, he’d been forced to promise that no matter what happened today, he would spend
his time as a girl… However, the biggest problem was that Shido and Shiori were the same
person so just like Kotori said, Shido would also have to act the part of a girl.
Just as Shido was reflecting on the events that led to this point, he heard the bell signaling the
end of the lesson. At this time, the second lesson had ended, and as long as he managed to
survive the remaining lessons, Shido would be able to go back to being a boy. Shido planned to
clear his desk for their next lesson.
“But at that moment, he suddenly noticed that something was off…”
“Huh…?”
The students who’d already put away their textbooks stood up from their seats and walked out of
the classroom.
“W-What’s going on? Why is everyone leaving the classroom?”
Just as Shido felt the beginnings of panic set in, Tohka tilted her head and stood up from her seat.
“What are you talking about, Shiori? Isn’t the next class physical education?”
“Oh…N-Now that you say it like that, it makes much more sense____”
Shido let out a sigh of relief before his face suddenly went pale at the realization.
For physical education, that meant____
“Shiori, it’s almost time, we need to head to the women’s locker room.”
Shido stiffened as Origami grabbed Shido’s hand and tugged hard to pull him to his feet.
“Ah! Wait!”
Noticing Origami’s behavior, Tohka grabbed Shido’s other hand.
Shido shook his head violently.
“A-Actually! I forgot to bring my sports clothes so I plan to watch everyone else in class
today…”
“Then what’s this?”
Origami opened the school bag that Shido brought and showed him the contents. There was
indeed a separate bag for sportswear in his school bag. It seemed that Kotori planned ahead and
prepared it for him.
“What…! That’s too thoughtful…”
“Hey! It’s me who’ll take Shiori to the locker room!”
Tohka and Origami quarreled with each other as they each grabbed one of Shido’s hands and
dragged him away.
“Hey…! You two! It doesn’t matter whether it’s Tohka or Origami! I’m still going to the girl’s
locker room so you’d have to change in front of me too!”
After Shido finished speaking, Tohka’s shoulders trembled for a moment but then shook her head
as though strengthening her resolve.
“Muu… that’s really embarrassing… B-But such a thing doesn’t matter.”
“W-Why wouldn’t it matter?”
After Shido asked, Tohka brought her face close to Shido’s ear.
“…Kotori told me that you’d always wanted to be a girl. So she asked me to treat you like a girl
for today. If it’s for Shido’s sake, I’ll do my best.”
“What kind of thing did she say!”
Kotori’s preparations had been far too thorough for Shido’s tastes as he wailed.
As they discussed this matter, Shido was being dragged away and soon he found himself
stepping into the ‘holy place’ that no man has gone before: the girl’s locker room.
Several innocent young girls didn’t pay attention to each others’ gazes as they revealed their
slender bodies. They could see sexy curves from their necks to shoulders, the breasts clad in only
their underwear, slenders waists, buttocks that were too tempting not to reach out and touch.
Shido was bombarded by these images and let out a silent gasp.
“…!”
However, this sort of reaction was understandable, of course. Because this was a sanctuary for
girls only, there were no males allowed in such a place. Well, there was one exception…
“Whoa…!”
“Question. Is there something wrong, Kaguya…”
At that moment, he heard two familiar voices. He looked around for the source, he spotted a pair
of identical twins standing nearby. They were the Spirits who were in the class next door to
Shido and the others.
However, it was not a surprise that they were in the dressing room as well. The physical
education class was one that the two classes shared.
“Wha…!”
Shido gasped, his face flushed a deep breath as he held his breath. The reason was obvious:
because of the Yamai sisters’ appearance. The both of them were probably also getting changed.
Kaguya had already removed her skirt and was dressed in only a blouse while Yuzuru had
already removed her top and revealed her plump breasts covered only by her bra.
The Yamai sisters seemed to notice Shido’s gaze. Once they noticed, they blushed and quickly
covered themselves.
But after a moment’s reflection, they slowly revealed themselves.
“Oh…hehe… I-It turned out to be Shiori. Of course, it would make sense that you would be in
this physical education class.”
“Reminder. Kaguya, your voice is shaking. Shiori is a g-girl…”
“No… I already know that without you having to remind me! I’m not embarrassed or anything!”
Kaguya said loudly, clearly embarrassed. It seemed that Kotori had already told the Yamai sisters
about this ahead of time.
“You two… About Kotori…”
He couldn’t let them be mistaken about this. Shido wanted to say that he was going to explain
but before he could, something interrupted them.
Just as Shido was about to explain, someone had already pulled down the skirt he’d been
wearing. He didn’t even need to think to realize that it was Origami who was responsible.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”
Even though Shido tried to pull the skirt back to its original position, it was already too late, and
with Origami’s superb skills, the skirt was long gone.
“You… what are you doing, Origami!”
“Helping you change. If you don’t hurry, gym class will start without you.”
“No… I don’t need you to help me, I can_____”
Shido originally wanted to try to protest, but… he couldn’t bring himself to speak. It was
because he noticed a sudden change in the Yamai sisters’ expressions.
“Hehe… so, changing clothes. Then just leave everything to the Yamai sisters.”
“Affirmative. Yuzuru and Kaguya are experienced when it comes to changing clothes.
After speaking, the two of them wiggled their fingers as they approached Shido.
“Wha…! How could you do this…”
Shido whispered in despair as he looked to Tohka for help.

However____
“Muu… could it be that Shiori is uncomfortable?”
“Oh my kinsman! You need not worry about that. Shiori’s just shy.”
“Muu… really?”
“Of course. Think about: if you did two hours of physical education without changing clothes?
We just need to help him.”
“So that’s what’s going on! Umu…! Then I will help too!”
“Tohka, don’t let them trick you_____!”
However, Shido’s protests seemed to have no effect. Tohka, Origami, Kaguya, and Yuzuru
stepped closer to the retreating Shido.
“Don’t worry, Shiori. I really will help you change into your clothes.”
“…”
“Oh, Yuzuru, prepare the sportswear.”
“Sure. Here…”
It was at that moment that Yuzuru, who pulled Shido’s sportswear from his bag, gasped.
“Hmm…? Yuzuru, is there something wrong?”
“Shiver. Look at this.”
“…!”
After Yuzuru unfolded the sportswear, everyones’ eyes widened in surprise.
That’s right. Because what was in front of them was not the normal sweatpant style sportswear
that’s mainstream in this day ange but instead: the charming triangular short shorts that looked
more like underwear than shorts.
“What…!”
Seeing this unexpected shape, even Shido couldn’t help but fall silent as well. Although it was
something that Kotori prepared, he never would have guessed that she would take things this
far____
“Huh…hehe… I didn’t know you’d be hiding such a thing.”
“Surprise. It’s beyond imagination.”
“Kaguya, Yuzuru, what is this? This won’t fit me…”
“…”
While the Spirits were talking, Origami slowly pulled a camera from her sports bag.
However, it wasn’t the small digital camera she’d been using up until now. This one was a
monocular camera equipped with a huge lens.
“H-Hey… you guys…? Shouldn’t… you be helping me get dressed?”
After Shido spoke with a trembling voice, the four of them turned around and faced Shido in
unison.
On top of their previous enthusiasm, their eyes seemed to radiate an unholy light like a warrior
on a mission.
“Hey…w-wait a minute… let me… no… don’t A-A-A-A-A-A-AHHHHHHHH!”
Shido’s feminine screams, thanks in part to the voice changer, could be heard throughout the
girls’ locker room.
◇◇◇
“W-Whew…”
After finishing the PE class, Shido’s shoulders shook as he made his way back to the classroom
while swaying dangerously.
Despite Shido’s best efforts, he’d thrown away his self-esteem and cried and begged them before
they stopped trying to reach for his groin.
…Additionally, with regards to forgetting to bring sportswear, he was able to borrow a spare pair
of regular sweatpants and managed to blend in with the rest of the girls.
Fortunately, he’d managed to get through four of the six hours of classes. As long as he avoided
messing up in the final two hours, he would be able to go home and forget this hellish nightmare.
All he could do now is be patient.
However____
“Umu… It’s almost time to move.”

After Tohka finished speaking, she stood up from her seat once more.
“Huh? Move…”
“What are you talking about? Isn’t the next class home economics and cooking practice? We
have to go to the home economics room.”
“What…”
Speaking of which, Shiori had forgotten because of the previous commotion. But Tohka was
right, there was indeed a home economics lesson today. No wonder there were so few students
who’d brought lunch during the lunch break. It was probably a good idea to bring dishes they’d
made during home economics for lunch.”
“Home economics…”
Shido scratched his cheek. If he could, he wanted to take subjects like Japanese or math that he
could finish by sitting quietly… But this was certainly better than the PE class just now.
…At least it wasn’t summer, otherwise he would have been forced to wear a school swimsuit to
the swimming pool for the PE class. That was a truly terrifying thought. So much so that the
mere thought made him tremble fearfully.
“Ah…then let’s go.”
“Umu!”
“…”
After Shido finished speaking, Tohka and Origami both nodded.
He pulled out the apron and headscarf (which had already been placed in his schoolbag) and
made his way to the home economics classroom. It seemed that several other students had
already arrived and were making their preparations.
Shido put on the apron and headscarf. At that moment, he spotted a piece of paper mixed in with
the clothes that read: ‘The correct way to wear an apron.’ Shido spotted the image of a naked
person dressed in an apron. He silently crumpled it up and threw it away.
Soon after, the bell announcing the end of the lunch break rang and the home economics teacher
along with the lingering students came into the classroom. At Raizen High School, most of these
classes arranged students with irregular schedules. For example, in the past, in order to improve
personal workload, men and women would do the cooking lessons separately or otherwise have
two classes have the lesson at the same time and then have each other try their prepared dishes.
For today, it seemed to be combining classes, just like the PE class just before. The girls in
classes 2-3 and 2-4 seemed to be taking this lesson together. So he wasn’t surprised when he
spotted the Yamai sisters walking together into the classroom.
“Oh, we meet again, Shiori!”
“Successful. An apron and triangular head scarf suits you well, Shiori. It makes me a little
jealous.”
“Ahaha… Anyway, please take care of me.”
After Shido smiled bitterly, the gentle home economics teacher spoke at that moment:
“Okay then everyone, let’s prepare an omurice for today.”
Shiori listened as the teacher quickly explained the cooking process. Once she was finished
explaining, each group went to work preparing the meal.
Generally a group was composed of 5 or 6 students. Incidentally, Shido’s group included Tohka,
Origami, Kaguya, and Yuzuru.
“Alright, let’s do this!”
“Yeah!”
Hearing what Tohka said, the Yamai sisters raised their fists with intense energy. Shido watched
them and smiled in amusement. Origami produced a huge camera like those used by TV station
photographers out of nowhere and immediately started taking more pictures of Shido.
“…Origami?”
“What is it?”
“…No, never mind.”
He’d long since given up trying to get her to stop. Shido did his best to ignore her and began
cooking.
He had to dice the onion, cut up the chicken and then fried it in a pan while seasoning with salt
and pepper before adding rice and coloring with tomato sauce.
Then he added the fried eggs to wrap around the chicken and rice and he would be done.
But____
“Muu… Shiori, how do you fry an egg?”

Once she finished pulling out the eggs, Tohka frowned in confusion.
“Huh? Oh, I’ll show you how. Do you want to have it scrambled or be able to cut it in the middle
and have the yolk flow out?”
Once Shido asked, Tohka’s eyes seemed to light up.
“The kind where you can have the yolk run down!”
“Got it. Then look closely at what I’m doing.”
After finishing, Shido melted the butter on the heated pan and then poured the egg and then
quickly shook the pan to flip the egg before putting it on the plate on top of the chicken rice.
“Huh…? Shiori, what’s this?”
“Oh, that looks good!”
After talking, Shido picked up the kitchen knife and gently pressed the tip of the knife against the
yolk, and slowly cut it straight down.
As a result, the pieces of the fried egg yolk because of its own weight, revealing a thick yolk.
“Whoa! It’s a thick yolk!”
Tohka’s eyes widened. The result seemed to match well with everyone else’s applause and
praise. Including the well-known trio from Shido’s class: Ai, Mai, and Mii quickly approached
them. They had the passion of 77 people.
“Whoa!
“It’s been fried!”
“Can I try it?”
The three of them picked up spoons and ketchup as they spoke.
“Ah, wait just a moment.”
Shido stopped the three of them. He then covered the omelette with a special semi-glaze by
combining the remaining tomato sauce, ketchup, and soup they’d made in the classroom already.
“Please try it.”
After Shido presented the plate once more, Ai, Mai, and Mii swallowed their saliva and carefully
scooped the omurice with a spoon and put it into their mouths.
They chewed carefully and their eyes widened.
“Ah, what a treasure trove of taste!”
“The smooth and tender tastes roll around in my mouth!”
“It’s too good to eat! A-A-AHHHH!”
Ai’s face was stained with consternation, Mai’s face showed an intoxicated expression. As for
Mii: her expression was like she’d spit light out of her mouth from the looks of it. Incidentally,
Shido didn’t think there was anything special in his meal, so what did she end up eating?
Seeing Ai, Mai, and Mii’s exaggerated reactions, the other students in the home economics room
also asked, “Can I try too?”
At the same time, Tohka and the Yamai sisters also picked up spoons and threw themselves into
the war.
“S-Shiori! I want to try it too!”
“Please provide me with an offering!”
“Plead. Let Yuzuru have a bite.”
“O-Oh, of course. Please try it.”
With Shido’s approval, Tohka, Kaguya, and Yuzuru immediately stuffed a big mouthful of the
omurice into their months.
The results?
“Umu!”
“Ah…!”
This time, the three Spirits all wore fascinating expressions. Their surroundings were filled with
a shining light and there was a mental image of them becoming completely naked in response to
the meal. However, the key parts are cleverly concealed with either hair or light.
“A-Aren’t you exaggerating it a little too much…?”
Just as Shido scratched his cheek and smiled in amusement, he could feel someone tugging on
his apron.
Looking around, he spotted Origami standing next to him holding a plate with chicken rice.
“Huh…? What’s wrong, Origami?”
“Please help by adding the thick juice of Shiori…”
“Such a thing is too cruel to say out loud!”
Despite Shido’s protests, Origami didn’t seem to want to give up. She insistently passed the plate
with chicken rice into Shido’s face. By the way, the camera she’d been using was now fixed on a
tripod and still aimed at them.
“I want… Shiori’s rich…”
“I heard you! Can’t you be quiet for a moment!”
At that moment he discovered…
The other students standing around wore coveted expressions as they glanced at Shido from time
to time.
“Huh…? E-Everyone…?”
After Shido finished speaking, the other students glanced away for a moment but then they
immediately looked at him again.
Shido, understanding what it was they wanted, sighed and said:
“…Please line up…”
“…!”
All of the students wore cheerful expressions in an instant and lined up in front of Shido.
◇◇◇
“It’s finally over…”
Shido heard the bell signaling the end of the lesson and finally relaxed as he slumped on his
desk.
However, no one could blame him for the way he felt. Because Shido finally managed to get
through the day as difficult as one of a warrior. The end of class meeting had already ended and
all that was left now was to go home. In this way, he was at the home stretch. He could finally be
rid of the accursed skirt.
“Alright… time to go home. Let’s go home now. Let’s go home as soon as possible…”
“Muu…? Umu.”
Shido stood up after organizing his belongings and before his classmates could catch him, he
grabbed Tohka and quickly made his way out of the classroom.
“Hey, where are you going so quickly… Hey, where are you going! Wait a minute!”
“Stop it! Don’t abandon Yuzuru and Kaguya.”
On their way out, they ran into the Yamai sisters in the corridor, changed shoes, and walked out
of the school building. Only then did Shido finally let out a sigh of relief.
“Ahh… I feel so much better now…”
However, it wasn’t over for him yet.
“Ara?”
Shido led Tohka and the Yamai sisters home. On the way, they suddenly heard a sweet but
familiar voice in their ears.
Looking around for the source of the sound, they spotted a tall girl dressed in a sailor uniform
whose eyes were wide with surprise.
“M-Miku…!”
Shido involuntarily called out her name.
That’s right. Standing was another of the Spirits but also the most popular idol in Japan: Izayoi
Miku herself.
Miku quickly approached Shido with an excited expression on her face as she grabbed his hands.
“Darling…No, Shiori-san! Why are you here?!”
“O-Oh… because of various reasons…”
Shido tried to avoid her gaze but Miku simply grabbed Shido’s hands and shook them with a
ferocious momentum.
“No… I didn’t expect to be able to see Shiori-san again! It’s so touching! God really didn’t
abandon me! Ah, the world is so beautiful!”
“I-Is it really necessary to exaggerate it that much…”
“But it’s not an exaggeration! Ah! Everyone is here too! What a coincidence! We should all have
some tea together! I found a really nice cafe and I wanted to invite you so that we could all go
together!”
“Huh…?”
Hearing what Miku said, Shido’s shoulders trembled again. Drinking tea… That meant that they
would have to go to the cafe. That meant that he couldn’t go home. That is to say, it wasn’t over
after all…
“W-Wait a minute! At least let me change my clothes before we go…!”
“How could I let you change your clothes! I only just saw Shiori and it would be so sad to be
separated after such a long time! Hey, everyone wants to drink too, right? They also have
delicious cakes to eat!”
After Miku finished speaking, Tohka and the Yamai sisters’ eyes lit up in interest.
“Oh, that sounds great!”
“Hehehe… Today is a celebration of offerings.”
“Anticipation. I really want to try it.”
“Okay! Then I’m making the final decision myself! Ah, since the opportunity is rare, we should
also invite Yoshino-san and Kotori-san! Where’s my phone…”
“Y-You…”
Shido wore a stunned expression at how things unfolded. This was hardly a surprise. Because
Shido thought that he could finally go home and put all of this behind him. However, Shido
never expected things to continue like this. It was hard for him not to give in to his despair.
However, Miku didn’t seem to give Shido’s expression a second thought. Instead, she called
Yoshino and Kotori and told them when and where they would meet. Then she walked happily at
a brisk pace while tugging on Shido’s hand.
“Okay! Let’s go! The cafe is right in front of the station, let’s go by train!”
“H-Hey! Wait a minute…!”
He already knew that it would be pointless to resist as Shido was dragged to the nearby train
station by Miku.
Then, by coincidence, when Shido and the others arrived, the train had just arrived at the station
at the same time.
“Okay, Shiori-san, let’s get on.”
“I-I don’t want to go! I want to go home___!”
Even Shido shouting like a little kid didn’t work at all and was dragged onto the train
semi-forcefully.
Perhaps it was because school had just ended but it felt like this train was very crowded. Shido
was jostled between passengers who’d already boarded and found himself squeezed in the center
of the train.
“A-Ah…”
Now that he’d been forced onto the train, trying to resist anymore was pointless. Shido sighed
softly while feeling as though he was riding in a cargo car and about to be sold at a market.
He didn’t know how much time had passed but as they’d stopped at two stops so far and
____
several passengers got on and off the train_____
“…Huh?”
Shido felt an odd sensation and then squeaked.
Just a moment ago… he thought he felt something touching his butt…
“…N-No, I must be imagining it…”
Shido mumbled to himself as if trying to convince himself that he’d imagined it. He coughed
lightly before shifting his gaze to the window.
However, another few seconds passed and he felt it again: something was stroking Shido’s butt.
“…!”
Shido’s shoulders trembled. That feeling just now was clearly not something in his head.
That’s right. Someone in the train full of people, someone was taking advantage of the crowd to
touch Shido’s butt.
It was a pervert.
____
“N-No way…”
Shido’s face went pale as the pervert’s behavior became progressively worse. He could feel the
pervert’s hand reaching into Shido’s skirt and stroking the inside of his thigh.
“…!”
Even if Shido wanted to shout loudly, there was no way he could speak much less shout. His
body was practically paralyzed and he was unable to move out of fear and shame.
“…P-Please…don’t…”
Shido tried his best to force those words out while pleading with the person who was standing
behind him.
However, this was ultimately counterproductive to his desire. He could hear the pervert’s
breathing suddenly quicken as their hands touching Shido’s hips suddenly became even more
aggressive and the pervert’s touch suddenly made its way inside Shido’s underwear.
“Ah…!”
Faced with this unexpected turn of events, Shido shuddered in fear.
“Muu…? Shiori, are you okay?”
It was at that moment that Tohka who’d been standing next to him seemed to notice that Shido
was uneasy and called out to him. As a result, Shido face became flushed and tears trickled down
his eyes, and whispered to Tohka:
“Yes… someone… is touching my butt…”
“Muu…? Is that true?”
After Shido finished explaining, Tohka’s eyes widened and she immediately grabbed the hand
that was touching Shido’s butt.
“Hey, what do you think you’re doing____Muu?”
However, Tohka paused halfway through the sentence as her expression turned to one of
confusion.
Shido finally relaxed as he spotted the look in Tohka’s eyes before turning around, and then, like
Tohka, Shido’s eyes widened in shock.
This wasn’t a surprise. Because the person standing behind them was_____
“O-Origami!”
That’s right. It was Origami who should have gone to her own home after leaving school. Not
only that but she was also holding a hand held camera with her other hand that Tohka hadn’t
noticed and stared intently at Shido.
“I found you.”
“No… you found me but I was scared half to death…”
Somehow Shido found his voice and felt inexplicably relieved now that he knew that the culprit
was Origami.
Nonetheless he still felt paralyzed.
“A good picture was taken.”
“…”
Origami spoke without so much as a change in expression while Shido could only sigh.
Ten minutes later and the train arrived at its destination. Shido and the others squeezed along
with the other passengers in order to get off.
“Huh… So, Miku, where did you say that cafe was?”
“Here. But…hehe…!”
After Sihdo finished, Miku smiled happily.
“Huh…? But what?”
“It’s nothing. It’s just that you were so reluctant at first but now you seem more interested!”
“…I’ve just accepted that I can’t get out of it so I just want to get this over with so I can leave as
soon as possible…”
Shido narrowed his eyes and grumbled. As a result, Miku smiled sweetly. At that moment, the
Yamai sisters spread out their arms and said to Miku:
“Kuku, you made me experience the uncomfortable feeling of being sardines. If the dessert isn’t
to our standards, I cannot accept it.”
“Agreement. It had better be worth Izayoi Miku’s hype…”
“Oh, rest assured! I promise that everything there is absolutely delicious! But…”
Miku continued:
“It seems that this cafe was shown on TV recently so there will probably be a long queue right
now! Now that classes have ended, if we don’t hurry, we might not get a seat.”
“Muu, that sounds terrible! We have to hurry!”
Tohka urged earnestly. However, Miku shook her head gently.
“But before we can go there, we have to pick up Kotori-san and Yoshino-san. This might have
been a mistake. If we’d met earlier in the day, this might have gone more smoothly.”
Miku glanced up at the street clock as she mumbled. Seeing it, she shrugged and spoke loudly.
“So why don’t you go on ahead, and I’ll go pick them up?”
“Hmm? Could it be that you’re planning to use this as an excuse to escape, Shiori-san?”
Miku looked at Shido suspiciously while sweat trickled down Shido’s forehead.
“I… I won’t run away…”
“Hehehe… I’m sorry for causing so much trouble for you. Then, could I count on you,
Shiori-san? I told them to meet us in front of the fountain in front of the department store. The
cafe is called [Premier]. You can actually see it from here.”
“Okay. I got it. Anyway, I’ll see you later.”
After Shido gently waved his hand, Miku and Yuzuru waved back to him as well while Tohka
waved her arms energetically. Kaguya simply waved two fingers while offering a salute while
saying ‘Adios.’ At that moment, Shido found Origami heading in a different direction from
everyone else.
“Huh…? Origami, aren’t you going as well?”
“I want to… take care of something first. I’ll meet you later.”
“…T-That…”
Although Shido was vaguely disturbed by what she’d said, he knew full well that nothing good
would come of investigating it any deeper. So, with a stiff smile, he watched as Origami’s back
quickly retreated into the distance.
“Right… I need to pick up Kotori and Yoshino.”
Shido paid close attention to his skirt while making his way to the meeting place. Soon, the
designated fountain came into view.
“Huh… where are they…”
Shido scanned the area for the two people that Miku said that they would be waiting for him. He
continued searching and was rewarded when he found a girl in front of a fountain.
The girl was petite and wore a newsboy hat. Her beautiful sapphire-like eyes and the rabbit
puppet that she wore on her left hand were impressive. This was Yoshino, and like Tohka and the
others, she was also a Spirit whose powers had been sealed.
However, while he managed to find Yoshino, Shido immediately noticed that something was
wrong. It looked like Yoshino was being chatted up by at least three men and was looking down
with a distressed look on her face.
And it certainly didn’t look like they were asking for directions. It looked like the men were
inviting Yoshino to play with them. This was commonly known as…
“H-Hey… pick-up artists…”
Shido scowled. There was no denying that Yoshino was a very pretty girl and she looked like a
junior high school student. But that group of men looked too unruly. If Kotori was here, it
wouldn’t be hard for them to get rid of the men. But… It looked like she hadn’t reached the
meeting place yet.
It wasn’t like Shido could just ignore it. Shido decided to intervene between Yoshino and the
men.
“…Please excuse me! I’m sorry!”
Yoshino and the puppet on her left hand <Yoshinon> both let out a sound of surprise.
“Wha…!”
“Shido…no, Shiori-san!”
“…Okay! Sorry!”
“Hello, Yoshino, <Yoshinon>. Sorry, I’m late.”
Shido smiled kindly down at them so that the two of them could feel at ease. He turned his gaze
to the men who’d been talking to Yoshino.
“…The thing is, this child was waiting for me. So please excuse us____”
Before Shido could finish speaking, the men looked at each other and shrugged.
“No, how could things turn out like this for us?”
“That is to say, we would have been able to keep things quick with a quick pat of her butt and
then leave, is that too much to ask!” !
“Oh yeah? Otherwise you’ll have to come play with us for a bit. That’s fair, right? Alright, it’s
been decided.”
One of the men finished speaking, touching Shido’s shoulder in an intimate way.
Shido’s face wrinkled in distaste. It seemed they didn’t understand what ‘no’ meant.
“…Goodbye!”
Shido pushed the man’s hand away and grabbed Yoshino’s hand and tried to make a run for it.
But____
“Hey, where do you think you’re going!”
It seemed that what Shido had done only served to anger the other party. The man who’d been
trying to grab Shido finally caught him by the arm.
“A-Ah…”
“S-Shiori-san…!”
Shido glanced at Yoshino. It was clear that she was terrified. Were it not for <Yoshinon>, her
mental state would have been unstable a long time ago, causing her Spirit powers to flow back
into her.
For now, Shido’s top priority was to keep these guys away from Yoshino. After thinking for a
second, Shido whispered in Yoshino’s ear.
“Everyone is waiting in front of the cafe called [Premier]. You go first.”
“Huh…? B-But…”
“Don’t look so scared, okay? I’ll be there soon.”
Shido finished by lightly shoving Yoshino’s back. Although Yoshino glanced back at Shido with
worry filled eyes, she nodded in determination and ran away down the street.
“A-Ah… she got away.”

“Pity.”
“Forget about her. It doesn’t matter. Anyway, we’ve still got a cute girl.”
The men surrounded Shido after speaking.
“Let’s get going.”
“If you try to run, we’ll chase after that other girl…”
After they finished speaking, the men pulled on Shido’s arm and dragged him forward
semi-forcefully.
“Whoa…”
Shido couldn’t resist as he found himself crossing the street and taken to a small alleyway.
“Okay… what should we do with you?”
After one of the men finished speaking, the other two smiled evilly.
“What did you say?”
“Does it even need to be said?”
After that, he showed Shido his most obscene smile.
The other party had adopted a vulgar attitude, even though it was for a good intention, he knew
that his virginity was in danger. He felt sweat trickle down his face.
However, Shido still had a trick up his sleeve. One that should completely turn them off from
anything obscene right away.
“I’m sorry to ruin the mood while you are in such high spirits but I don’t think you’ll be satisfied
with me.”
“What?”
“It’s a pity____”
Shido exhaled after a moment and then tore off the voice changer attached to his neck.
“I’m a boy.”
Then with Shido’s masculine voice, the men’s faces instantly turned to shock.
“What…! R-Really…!”
“You grew up like this! You’re a boy!”
“H-Hell… no…”
The three of them were wearing expressions that clearly meant they’d seen something incredible
in front of them. They started whispering to each other as they clearly had no idea what to do
now. Shido shrugged helplessly. Surely, this time, they would have no need of keeping Shido
here anymore.
However____
“…You…feel… what do you think?”
“A-Ask me how… what do you say?”
“Then that just… that means… right?”
After the men nodded to each other, they all gave each other the thumbs up.
“Because he’s cute… We’ll do it!”
“Wha…!”
Shido involuntarily squeaked.
“You… are you insane?! Think about it! From a biological point of view, this is already strange
enough as it is!”
“No… I always thought that I was a straight man… But if it’s you, I might be able to do it…”
“Y-Yeah… to see a man with more incredible sexy charm than an ordinary girl…”
“A real man has to be brave enough to try anything and everything…”
After speaking, the men started panting as they slowly approached Shido step by step.
“Ah…!”
Shido could feel the beginnings of panic setting in as he tried to make himself as small as
possible.
But, at that moment:
“…”
A stranger appeared silently in the alleyway where Shido and the others were.
The stranger was dressed in black and was petite. It was difficult to make out the stranger’s
expression because the brim of their hat all but covered their face. However, given the cool and
calm attitude, they seemed confident.
“Wha…”
The men finally discovered the stranger’s presence just from where Shido’s gaze was directed.
After a moment’s pause, they finally turned around.
____
However, they were too slow. The moment the men turned around, the stranger immediately
closed the distance between them, kicking their toes upward toward the chin of the man closest
to them. The stricken man passed out silently.
“What…!”
“You… who the hell is this guy!”
THe remaining two men’s panicked voices could be heard throughout the alley.
However, the stranger’s posture did not change in the least. They kicked the remaining two men
in much the same way, knocking them out.
All of this happened within 10 seconds. What extraordinary skill.
“…!”
Shido stared at the scene blankly, and after a few seconds, his shoulders shook abruptly. Because
of the sudden incident, he’d been overwhelmed but then he finally understood that this
mysterious stranger had come to rescue him. Shido quickly put the voice changer back on his
neck and said loudly:
“T-T-Thank you so much for saving me.”
“No problem. No thanks needed.”
The stranger replied calmly.
“…Huh?”
Shido frowned at that moment. This was because that stranger’s voice sounded awfully
familiar…
“You… you wouldn’t happen to be…”
“That was really dangerous, what happened just now.”

Shido pointed at the stranger with a dumbfounded look on his face. The stranger removed the
baseball cap that was pushed to cover their eyes.
“O-Origami…!”
That’s right. Standing in front of Shido was Tobiichi Origami who’d tied her hair back.
“You… why are you dressed like that…?”
Although given the way Shido was currently dressed, he knew that he wasn’t qualified to say
that to anyone else, he couldn’t help but ask anyway. So, Origami nodded and explained.
“I am not actually Origami but instead, Tobiichi Chiyogami, Origami’s cousin.”
“W-What!”
“If it were me, I would happily accept Shiori.”
After that, Origami pushed herself onto Shido. It seemed that her so-called preparations referred
to this matter.
“W-Wait a minute! What are you doing?”
“Today, I already understood your determination. If you plan to live your life like this, I will
support you.”
“You’re misunderstanding! By the way, don’t put your hands into my clothes while you’re
talking!”
“It doesn’t matter. I got to meet Shiori.”
Origami moved her face closer to Shido in a serious manner. It was as though a cat had been
defeated by the more aggressive lion. The lion’s prey made a faint growling sound as she moved
closer.
At that moment, a familiar voice came from the end of the alley.
“Stop right there! What do you think you’re doing!”
“You must be the bastard that kidnapped Shiori!”
Kotori and Tohka were the ones who called out. Looking toward the source of the sound, they
discovered that just behind them were Yoshino, the Yamai Sisters, and Miku. It seemed that
Yoshino was the one who warned the others and Kotori seemed to meet them halfway.
However when the Spirits spotted the person trying to court Shiori, their faces were filled with
consternation.
“What…!”
“Tobiichi…Origami!”
“…”
Origami paused for a moment when Tohka and the others appeared but immediately went back
to fondling Shido’s body.
“Wait! What the hell are you doing!”
“Why are you continuing so casually!”
“I… I think this is not right…”
“Oh, it’s really mean to want to enjoy it by yourself.”
“Acknowledgement. Let Yuzuru and Kaguya also join.”
“I hate people who dress up as men to try to do naught things with Shiori-san!”
The Spirits shouted as they rushed into the alleyway together.
◇◇◇
“…I’m sorry.”
Two hours later, Shido managed to get back home and finally change back into his normal
clothing and out of his Shiori form. He then bowed his head deeply to Kotori as he apologized.
“You… why are you suddenly apologizing to me…”
“…Today, I came to realize how hard girls’ lives are. I will not say anything in contempt of girls
ever again. Please forgive me.”
“…Sorry.”
Kotori let out a breath through her nose after understanding what Shido said.
“That’s good to know… I have something to reflect on today. Something like this, I forgive you.”
After she finished speaking, Kotori looked away awkwardly. Shido raised his head and shook it
slightly.
“No, I was being too impatient. I’m sorry, Kotori.”

“…? What are you apologizing for now? You just apologized ____”
“Ah… it’s not about that. I mean… your outfit yesterday… you looked nice in it.”
“What…!”
After Shido finished speaking, Kotori’s face turned a bright shade of red.
“You… what do you think you’re getting at by saying this? I didn’t want you to praise me…!”
“I know… I meant to say it sooner but I forgot to say it. It doesn’t matter anymore…”
Kotori coughed a couple of times before she said, “But… in short… thank you… “
“Yeah.”
After Shido nodded gently, he didn’t turn to face Kotori again as he let his body lean into the
sofa.
“A-Anyway, don’t you have to prepare dinner?”
“Oh, right. I should get started…”
Shido smiled and stretched when he felt the phone in his pocket suddenly start vibrating.
“Huh…?”
Glancing at his phone’s screen, he spotted the name ‘Tonomachi Hiroto’ displayed on it. He was
one of Shido’s friends from his class.
“_____Hello? Is this Tonomachi?”
[“Oh, Itsuka! How are you doing? I heard you caught the flu and ran a 56o C fever.”]
“Hey, wait a minute, where did you hear that from? Wouldn’t that sort of thing only happen in
Gunma County?”
Despite the cooling sweat trailing down Shido’s forehead, Tonomachi simply continued
leisurely:
[“Who cares about that? That kind of thing doesn’t really matter at all. By the way, Itsuka, I
heard that girl Shiori, who came to class today, is your cousin? So you should have her contact
information, right?”]
“…I do know it, but I wouldn’t tell you.”

After hearing what Shido said, Tonomachi let out a disappointed groan.
[“…Anyway, I…I didn’t call you just to ask for her number… well, I wanted that, just a little bit,
but anyway! You can probably explain everything to Shiori! It’s big news!!”]
“What’s going on? What do you mean?”
[“Just search for ‘Izayoi Miku’ online! It’s the latest report! You’ll be surprised when you read
it!”]
“What…?”
Shido didn’t understand what Tonomachi was talking about and frowned. But after asking for
another explanation, Tonomachi only repeated the same thing over and over again. Shido could
only reply perfunctorily, “I got it. I got it.” as he hung up.
“I don’t get it… what’s he talking about?”
It probably wasn’t a big deal but Shido was still curious about it. Using his phone to connect to
the internet, he searched ‘Izayoi Miku.’ The results _____
“What…!”
Shido couldn’t help but gasp.
His reaction was understandable, of course. Because the first search result was displayed at the
top of the page. It was a private photo of Miku that he suspected was taken by someone else.
But… next to her, it was Shido when he was in his Shiori form.
“This… when was this taken…!”
Shido’s eyes drifted and his trembling fingertips sought out the source of the information.
It seemed that the source was that some of Miku’s fans stumbled on them and started taking their
pictures without permission. They had the bright idea to upload the image to a community
website.
In just a few hours, it was reposted to all parts of the world and soon found its way onto various
news websites.
However, things only got worse than that.
Most of the messages about this report were focused on Miku, however, he could see several
posts about the mysterious girl that was photographed next to her, the number of which was not
far off compared to Miku.
They all said something to the effect of:
‘Who is that girl next to her?’
‘Is she Miku’s friend?’
‘Super cute.’
‘Could she be a model, or perhaps she’s an idol too?’
‘I’ve never seen her before?’
Wait…
In the end, some people even started editing Shiori’s picture. After editing and adding a dialogue
box like in a comic, Shiori said their favorite phrases. Such processed pictures were circulating
everywhere… and most of them were obscene. These words have given him the status of a
small-scale Internet idol.
“T-This…is… what…”
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
When Shido’s body stiffened, Kotori seemed to notice the change in his condition and took a
peek at the phone screen. A few seconds later, she burst out laughing.
“Pfft…! Hahaha! You sure are popular, Shiori!”
“I’ve…had it with… being a girl…”
Shido sighed, his energy depleted.

Natsumi Teaching
“Guys, pay attention!”
As she struggled to put a severe expression on her adorable childish face, the teacher in charge of
Raizen High School class 2-4, Professor Tamae Okamine - nicknamed Tama-chan, said that.
Given the unusual behavior of the always cheerful and calm Tama-chan, supporting his hands on
his desk, Shido let out a suspicious voice.
“Did something happen?”
The rest of the students were also sending suspicious glances to Tama-chan.
… Everyone knows that tomorrow is the class open to the public, right, guys?
At Tama-chan’s words everyone nodded. The sixth hour of tomorrow, during world history class,
the class is open to the public—in other words, it’s Parents’ Day.
… Apparently, during that time, education superintendent Kuriyuu, a member of the Tengu
Education Committee, is coming to observe the class mixing with their parents and siblings.
“Is the education superintendent… coming to observe the class…?”
All the students suddenly began to fuss. Shido didn’t know much about that organization or its
jobs, but, in a way, he could at least understand that an important person was coming to see the
class.
“Muh… I don’t understand well, but why is that superintendent coming to see the class?”
The girl with the night-colored hair sitting next to Shido, Tohka, tilted her neck. So, to answer
that, Tama-chan put a smile and said—
“It seems that certain strange rumors about one of our students reached his ears.”
“Strange rumors?”
“That’s right… Apparently, rumors like a Raizen student had stripped his classmates in the
classroom of their clothes; He reformed his house as Parents’ Day is the day parents observe
their children at school, made a ‘My Personal Zoo’ that forced innocent little girls to dress
indecently…”
“Buh…?!”
Shido spat suddenly. And at the same time as that, stares from all his classmates were pointed in
his direction.
A Sticky sweat wet Shido’s back. As if to break that unpleasant tension, Tama-chan continued:
“Apparently he will also send a member of the Special Committee on Life Reform in case those
rumors are true…”
Hearing what Tama-chan said, the Ai-Mai-Mii trio put a complicated expression on their faces.
“What is that? It has a pretty striking name, right?”
“Member of the Special Life Reform Committee…? Do not tell me that…!”
“Do you know him, Mai?!”
…Mii asked with surprise. Mai continued after nodding, “Umu… I had already heard about it.”
“Come on, you know Aragami Technical High School, right? It is said that two years ago, the
Education Committee no longer supported the misconduct of that school and sent a member of
this Special Committee for Life Reform there.”
At Mai’s words, all her classmates stained their faces with a dye of terror.
“—A-now that you say it, that school has recently become very quiet, right?”
“No, that cannot be described with the word ‘quiet’! It is said that in half a year it was practically
transformed into a prison, and in a year, into a temple!”
“—I heard that all the students have shaved heads and the expression of being dead inside…”
“Rumor has it that they were brainwashed…”
“No, I heard they did a lobotomy…”
In response to such information, all the students swallowed their breaths.
“Whatever! If we have a normal class, there shouldn’t be any problem! Guys, tomorrow, please
behave…!”
Tama-chan bowed. Before that figure, class 2-4 showed, for the first time since classes began, a
spirit of unity. No one wanted anything like a member of the Special Reform Committee of Life
being sent, and above all, nobody wanted Tama-chan to stop being the teacher in charge.
Well, in the middle of it, from time to time cold glances were directed towards Shido, but he
decided to simply ignore them.
◇◇◇
“…Muh…”
After moaning softly, Natsumi frowned at her eyebrows, which were already distorted as if she
were bored, even more.
However, that was inevitable. Right now, inside his head a worry was spinning like a whirlwind.
That said, it is not that she was worried about things like her hair, impossible to fix even if she
combed it with great care; or her thin, unhealthy physical constitution; or her face in a natural
bad mood, as if someone was telling her something very boring, even if she was only acting
normally.
… Actually, these are also worries, no doubt, but those are things that Natsumi has to always
deal with. That is, they are passive concerns. What is now causing Natsumi to worry is a more
active concern.
She changed the direction of her body on the sofa and stared at the direction of the kitchen.
There you could see the figure of Shido, wearing an apron and working hard to prepare dinner.
He is the owner of this house and the person to whom Natsumi is in debt. And also the person
who, right now, is making Natsumi worry.
Natsumi was thinking about how to return the favor of having saved her before. Of course she
tried different ways. She tried to give him some presents, she tried to clean Shido’s room when
he wasn’t there, she tried to prepare food instead of Shido… and things like that. However, all of
them ended as “attempts” and just that.
Thinking about it, a person who becomes happy for a gift chosen by Natsumi’s aesthetic sense
doesn’t exist in the current human cultural sphere. If the way of life called Natsumi, whose
existence itself is like garbage, were to clean without permission, on the contrary, the entire room
would end up contaminated with dirt that could not be removed.
And not to mention helping out in the kitchen, which is something completely absurd. Only
something like a hyena, after 10 days in which it could not obtain any food, would consider
putting in its mouth anything kneaded by Natsumi.
“…Natsumi-san?”
“Hyah?!”
Natsumi, after hearing that voice from behind, raised a stunned voice and jumped.
Looking around, she saw that the girl who was sitting on the other end of the sofa - Yoshino,
along with “Yoshinon”, the puppet in her left hand, was tilting its neck.
She was an angel-like girl, who possessed soft, fluffy hair, unlike Natsumi, beautiful eyes, unlike
Natsumi, and an adorable face, unlike Natsumi.
And besides, she wasn’t just beautiful in appearance. Her heart was also beautiful as a
transparent sea, and in each of her behaviors and words you can clearly perceive kindness.
Natsumi could feel her love, similar to maternal love, from the fact that she treats even her, an
object as necessary as a dung beetle, with kindness.
More than “like” an angel, she was truly an angel. You can call her Yoshino Angel now.
»What’s wrong with you, Natsumi-chan? Your face seems somewhat strange, you know?
“Yoshinon” tilted his neck. Natsumi shrugged her shoulders.
“A-ah… I’m sorry. Is nothing. Do not worry…”
“For real…? But—”
The moment Yoshino spoke, he began to hear Shido’s voice coming from the kitchen.
“Hey! Yoshino, Natsumi! The food will be ready soon. Could you clean the table? When Tohka
and the others arrive we will eat!”
“…Did you hear, Yoshino? We have to clean!”
“Ah… Y-yes.”
After nodding slightly, Yoshino began gathering the magazines, newspapers and other things that
were on the table. Natsumi also began to pile the papers and photocopies that were scattered.
“Oh…?”
At that moment, Natsumi looked down on the content written on the paper that was left at the
top, and spoke quietly.
“Notification of… the class open to the public…?”
◇◇◇
That night, Natsumi passed without stopping in front of her room, and instead visited Yoshino’s
room.
She rang the bell, and a few moments later, the door opened and Yoshino appeared, whose body
was wrapped in adorable pajamas, along with “Yoshinon.” Probably just out of taking a bath.
Her cheeks were lightly dyed red and a vapor of water was emitted from her body.
“Is something wrong, Natsumi-san? It’s so late…”
“Ah… I-I’m sorry… There is… something that… I want to talk about…”
Natsumi looked away as he spoke.
“…You’re right. I have no common sense, right? Now that I think about it, if I’m here now, you
won’t be able to sleep, right? I’m so sorry. I’ll go die.”
“Na-Natsumi-san…?!”
When Natsumi was about to leave, Yoshino hurriedly took her hand.
“That’s not true… This… That Natsumi-san comes to visit me… makes me very happy.”
“Yoshino…”
Natsumi turned back with tears in her eyes at Yoshino’s words full of love. She was no longer a
being that could be placed in the category of angel. She was a goddess. “Yoshino Goddess”. Ah,
this world is so beautiful.
“If you like, come in, please.”
“Yes… Thank you.”
After nodding slightly, Natsumi took off her shoes and entered Yoshino’s room. In order to not
contaminate this consecrated ground, she thought about changing the socks for new ones she had
brought with her, but since Yoshino stopped her, she gave up on that idea.
“Well… Is there anything I can help you with?”
After inviting Natsumi to the living room, Yoshino, who had sat on the couch, asked. Natsumi,
who was at the other end sitting with her shoulders shrunken and hands on her knees, said in a
somewhat hoarse voice:
“I… I have something I want to ask…”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Well… Tomorrow, are you free?”
“In the morning…? Yes, I have nothing planned…”

»Is it an invitation to a date? Kyahh! Natsumi-chan, how bold!
“Oh, no, it’s not that…”
After hearing what Natsumi said with sweat spilling from her forehead, Yoshino controlled
Yoshinon with a “Hey!”
“Tomorrow… is something wrong?”
“Well, if you have no problem with it… do you want to… go to Shido’s school with me?”
At Natsumi’s sudden proposal, Yoshino greatly opened his eyes in bewilderment.
“Did you say… to Shido-san’s school?”
»What are we going to do?
“Yoshinon” he asked as he twisted his body.
“Tomorrow, the class opens to the public… at Shido’s school, you know? But now Shido’s
parents are on a business trip abroad, right? He said they are almost never in the house and
practically never went to Parents’ Day class… So, well, I had thought about… giving him some
memories of Parents’ Day… between Yoshino and me.”
That was precisely the method to return the favor to Shido that Natsumi came up with.
“Between Natsumi-san and I…?”
Yoshino tilted her neck for a few moments, initially not understanding what Natsumi was saying,
but she quickly realized what those words meant. She opened her eyes wide in amazement.
“That… Natsumi-san and I… are going to pretend to be Shido-san’s parents…?”
At Yoshino’s words, Natsumi nodded firmly.
If you think about it normally, that is impossible. After all, Natsumi and Yoshino are younger
than Shido no matter how you look at them. However - with Natsumi’s power, that could be
changed.
Natsumi’s Angel, Haniel <Witch of Forgery>, has the power to modify the shape of one object
into another. And even now that she has her Spirit powers sealed by Shido, thanks to
destabilizing her mental state, she can still use that power, if only to a certain extent.
That said, Natsumi cannot be both his father and mother. That is why she came to ask Yoshino
for help.
“What… do you think? If you don’t want to do it, you can reject it without problems, yes?”
“That is not true. I think… it’s something… wonderful. Please let me help you.”
“Yoshino…!”
After putting a radiant smile on her face, Natsumi took Yoshino’s hand.
◇◇◇
The next day. Natsumi and Yoshino were walking down the path that leads to Raizen High
School, still in their original forms.
The plan had been confirmed last night. When they arrived at Raizen High School, Natsumi
would manifest her power somewhere without people, transform Yoshino into the father and
herself into the mother, and they would go to the classroom.
Because they couldn’t get a picture of Shido’s parents, the design will end up being a Natsumi
original… But if they present themselves as Shido’s parents before class starts, they can at least
let him enjoy that atmosphere.
They walked while they thought about those things, and after not much, they began to see a
familiar school.
“The time has come… Yoshino, are you ready?”
“Yes… I’m starting to feel nervous.”
Yoshino nodded slightly with a slightly stiff expression. The pair entered a desolate alley.
Then, she took a breath and began preparations to recover a part of her sealed spiritual powers.
If the mental state of the Spirits becomes unstable, the spiritual power ends up flowing in the
opposite direction. Because the stability of Natsumi’s mental state is the lowest among all the
Spirits, just by imagining some negative fantasy, she can recover a minimum of her powers.
… The classroom of an elementary school. The voice of the teacher is heard. “Guys, put together
a group with the partner you want!” Her classmates begin to pair up one after another. In the
middle, without calling or being called by anyone, the only one left over was Natsumi. The
teacher spoke. Somebody put Natsumi-chan in their group. The class got loud. Finally, one of the
boys spoke. “But in that case, it would stop being a group with the partner we want…”
“Ah… Ah… Aaaahhh…!”
“Natsumi-san…!”
Then, at the moment when Natsumi’s stress was about to peak, Yoshino shook her by the
shoulders. Naturally, her concentration ended up being interrupted.
“Huh? Did something happen?”
“Please wait. Right now—”
Yoshino directed Natsumi’s gaze towards the empty road. There, a woman of small build with
glasses was walking, who until a few moments ago was not there.
If she had exhibited her transformation power at this time, she would probably have ended up
making a big fuss. Natsumi interrupted her fantasies, and waited patiently until the woman
passed and left.
But at that moment… The woman suddenly collapsed.
“Huh…?”
“Hey…?!”
Natsumi and Yoshino held their breath at the same time and then quickly came running towards
the woman.
“Hey, what’s the matter…?!”
“Is she okay?!”
They both turned the woman upside down while they spoke to her, and the woman moved her
mouth with a pained expression.
“I-I’m sorry… Yesterday I tried so hard to prepare everything… and I don’t feel well…”
Natsumi brought her hand to the woman’s forehead as she frowned. She had a big fever.
“…It’s crazy to go out on the street in your condition… Go home without protesting and take
care of your health.”
“I can’t do that… Today the class opens to the public… and if I’m not…”
Natsumi opened her eyes wide, and after that the woman stopped talking suddenly. It seems that
she had lost consciousness.
She held the body of the woman, who was completely exhausted.
“It seems we have no choice… We have to take her somewhere to rest.”

“You’re right… But… she just said ‘class open to the public’…”
At that moment, Yoshino released a “Ah!” as if she remembered something.
“This person… I think she is the teacher of Shido-san’s class…!”
“Now that you mention it…”
After hearing that, Natsumi remembered. Before, when she transformed into Shido and pulled
pranks, she thought she saw this woman.
“That means… if this person is not going to work… Parents’ Day class is going to…”
“Eh… It will be… a free class, right?”
“That would be a problem!”
Natsumi shouted in a shrill voice. If that happens, he won’t be able to make Shido remember
Parents’ Day.
“But… I think it’s impossible for her to teach in the condition she is in…”
“Yes, after all, she’s fainted.”
“Yoshinon” said as it opened its eyes towards the unaware teacher, imitating a doctor.
“No… There is still a way.”
Natsumi said that while clenching his fist tightly.
◇◇◇
Break after the fifth hour class is over. The classroom was wrapped in a slightly different
atmosphere than usual.
But that was natural. After all, today’s sixth hour, the class is open to the public. It’s an hour of
vital importance that will decide the fate of this class. Everyone was nervous, but in a different
way than a normal Parents’ Day class. At the back of the classroom, several of the students’
parents could already be observed. Students who found a familiar face among them gave the
feeling of acting more awkwardly than usual.
“Haha… For one reason or another, everyone is quite nervous.”
Shido laughed bitterly as he glanced at the back. Then, Tohka, who was sitting next to him,
began to speak looking extremely interested, while opening her beautiful eyes wide as crystals.
“Those are that superintendent? Yes there are a lot of them, right?”
“No, they are everyone’s parents.”
What responded to Tohka’s voice was not Shido’s voice, but that of a girl.
If you looked, you could see the 3 bustling girls of the class, Ai-Mai-Mii, standing there.
“Hey, hey, has your mom arrived, Tohka-chan?”
“Oh, I’m very interested in it.”
“Is this beauty something genetic? Or a mutation?”
The three approached Tohka with their eyes shining. Tohka simply groaned a “Mu…” sound; she
didn’t have parents as a Spirit.
“Ah… Tohka’s parents won’t be able to come because of their jobs.”
“Nuh… Umu… That’s right.”
Shido said that to disguise her situation, and Tohka nodded to corroborate what he said. The 3
girls complained about an “Eeh”, seeming to be lamenting it from the bottom of their hearts. At
that moment, Tohka raised his voice as he pointed toward the back of the classroom.
“Hey, Shido. Is that also a parent for someone?”
Shido sent his gaze back following the tip of Tohka’s finger - and froze his body in an instant.
However, that was natural. After all, mixed between the parents in formal suits was a character
wearing a black robe and a mask with its upper part ending in points.
“E-ehh…”
Shido was unable to respond, but suddenly Ai raised her voice.
“D-dad…?!”
“Huh?!”
At that unexpected word, he opened his eyes wide. Ai turned red, walked over with heavy steps
towards that suspicious character, and began speaking to him in a low voice.
“…I thought I told you not to come dressed like that, right ?!”
“What are you talking about, Ai? In my Society, this is traditional and honorable…”
“Stop saying those things!” Go get that, fast! It’s always the same with you, but today, it really
won’t end well!”
Seeing that, Mai and Mii put a dry smile on their faces.
“Ah… Haha… It’s true. I think I remember that Ai’s father is an important person in the Black
Magic Society.”
“Although without these facades he looks like an ordinary person…”
“He is not a bad person, but coming with those facades, you see that he lacks common sense…”
At that moment, Mai, who was in the middle of her prayer, saw the figure of a woman with
bondage enter the classroom and interrupted her words.
“M-mom?!”
“Hey?!”
While Shido was perplexed, Mai ran over to the woman and raised a voice of protest, red like a
tomato.
“W-why are you dressed like this?!”
“Sorry, sorry. I was returning from work, but in the middle of the road I dirtied my clothes. And I
only had this to change myself.”
“Doesn’t matter if it’s dirty, go change! The first time they see you like this, we are liquidated!”
Mai raised a hoarse voice. Sweat ran down Mii’s cheek as she watched that.
“Ah… Mai has a hard time too, right? She is a dominatrix in an S&M club, so if she can’t
separate her work and her private life, then…”
At that moment, this time it was Mii who opened her eyes greatly and began to shake in panic.
When you look, you could see that there was a tall man standing at the entrance of the classroom.
Muscles that are marked even over his white suit, a pair of sharp eyes like a razor blade and thick
eyebrows like feathers of a bird of prey were his distinguishing features. He had a face that said a
few people had already been killed. Incidentally, in his hand he held an M16 automatic rifle.
“Uncle?!”
Mii came running, looking panicked, at the man. Now that I thought about it, I thought I had
heard that Mii’s uncle worked as a hired killer abroad.
“Why did you bring that thing with you?!”

Faced with the more than accurate signaling of Mii, the man, however, remained speechless.
“In Japan, something like an assault rifle attracts a lot of attention, right?! Don’t you think you
lack awareness as a professional?!”
Shido narrowed his eyes unconsciously and scratched his cheek with his finger… What can you
say? They have… great individuality. Ai-Mai-Mii took the hands of their respective parents and
left the classroom.
Then, a few minutes later, they returned, Ai and Mai bringing their parents dressed in normal
clothes, and Mii bringing her uncle who had left the assault rifle somewhere… However, when
he looked more carefully, the front of his bag, which had been closed until a few moments ago,
was open, as if to allow him to quickly and easily pull out something that was hanging there.
“Muh… Shido, Shido!”
When Shido was letting sweat run down his cheek, Tohka opened his eyes greatly looking
surprised and hit his shoulder.
“Nh? What’s up, Tohka?”
“That… Is that a parent too?”
He said and again pointed towards the back of the classroom. It seems that once again someone
had entered the classroom.
Thinking that after seeing the three previous people he would no longer be surprised no matter
what guardian came, Shido turned back - and froze his body.
Who was there was a beautiful woman. Long, slightly wavy hair, and eyes like sapphires. The
line of her sensual body was like a magnet for the male students who were in the classroom, but
her behavior, on the contrary, was reserved, reflecting the virtuous and chaste ideal woman.
However, what was even more characteristic of her was her left hand.
In it he had the puppet of a rabbit, which had mustaches like those of the sleeves and wore a
double suit.
“Hey…? What is going on…?”
Shido frowned in bewilderment.
Without a doubt, I didn’t know that woman. However, what was in her left hand was clearly
“Yoshinon.”
Also, as he looked more carefully, he began to feel that he had already seen the woman’s face
before. Hypothetically speaking, if Yoshino continued to grow, she would surely become this
woman… She was such a beautiful woman that made him think that.
“This… Well…”
»First you have to say that.
“Yes…”
After the woman slightly twisted her body, as if everyone’s eyes tickled her, she seemed to
exchange those words with the puppet, and then swallowed with a *Glup*, as if she had decided
something before raising her face.
“…thanks for always taking care of my son. I am the mother of… Shido Itsuka.”
»And his father!
They declared such a thing, facing the whole classroom.
Before the statement out of everyone’s imagination, in an instant the classroom plunged into
silence, before—
“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!”
The next moment, she was engulfed in an incredible cry of amazement.
“That?! Itsuka-kun’s mother?!”
“It’s a joke, right?! She’s too young to be his mother, right?!”
“Don’t tell me… A second wife?! Is she your stepmother?!”
“Why does that sound so erotic?! Only a forbidden relationship comes to mind!”
“More importantly, is that the father?! Do you really own rabbit genes, Itsuka-kun?!”
The classroom suddenly began to fuss.
“No… Well… This… Ehh…?!”
However, Shido could not stop that. The reason was very simple: he, too, had no idea what was
happening right now.
But, at that moment, a new visitor appeared in the classroom that had become bustling, and in an
instant, all the students fell into absolute silence.
He was a man in his forties, who brought with him a woman who seemed to be a subordinate.
His perfectly straight back and perfectly closed lips showed his nature.
Before the appearance of this character, all the students held their breaths.
However, that was something totally natural. Yesterday everyone had seen his face in a photo.
This person was the superintendent of education Shoutarou Kuriyuu, member of the Education
Committee of Tengu.
“General, it has appeared…”
“We’re going to show you what class 4 union is…”
“We’re not going to let you fire Tama-chan…”
The students whispered in a tone inaudible to the superintendent. Their interest in the mysterious
woman who presented herself as Shido’s mother had not yet died out, but the important thing for
now is to get through this class.
… For his part, Shido began to feel discouraged when he thought about the wave of questions
that await him after class ends.
However, both Shido and the rest of his classmates felt the same. None wanted Tama-chan to
stop being their teacher in charge. And besides, you can’t deny that, in the incident this time,
Shido is partly to blame. He decided to leave the interrogation on the matter of his mysterious
“mother” for later, and, while exhaling slightly to calm down, he turned towards the direction of
the professor’s desk.
Coinciding with that act, the doorbell rang and the classroom door slid open. Today’s main
character, Tama-chan, made her appearance on stage… or not?
Shido was stunned after seeing the figure of the person who entered the classroom. But that was
something completely understandable. After all, the one who appeared there was not Tama-chan,
the little Social Science teacher…
“Ufufu… Let’s start class. Guys, take your seats, please.”
… but she was a beautiful tall woman, who sang that in an extremely sweet voice.
It was a woman in her twenties, with hair like silk, wet lips, and proportions that would make
even a model envious. Her splendid bust seemed that at any moment she would escape from her
blouse, which was unbuttoned until the third button. Her sensual thighs peeked out from the
straight skirt, which possessed a deep opening. You may have remembered that she was a
teacher, and that is why she wore thin lenses and in one of her hands she held a pointer. But all of
them, at this point, looked only as items for some kind of game.
Before the appearance of this woman, who gave the impression of having the interpretation of
the phrase “woman teacher” wrong, the bustle again invaded the classroom.
However, in the middle of all that, Shido’s eyes were opened in a different kind of astonishment
compared to his classmates.
“Na… Natsumi?!”
The teacher who had entered had the appearance of Natsumi transformed into an adult. Tohka,
who had already seen that appearance before, also opened her eyes wide in surprise. Shido’s
brain, which was already in chaos at the appearance of the woman who had Yoshinon, plunged
further into chaos. For heavens’ sake, what are these two doing? While Shido was thinking about
that, Natsumi sat on the teacher’s desk tilting her body much more than necessary, crossed her
legs provocatively and raised a finger along with a: “Shh!”.
“Very good guys, keep quiet, please. Let’s start with the class. The questions you have for the
teacher, ask me after school, yes?”
Before that sensual attitude, the male students and some of the adult men swallowed their saliva
with a *glup*.
However - everyone immediately rushed to sit correctly in their places. This was bad. They
didn’t have the slightest idea of what the hell was going on, but this was really bad.
They took a small look back. Then, they could see that Superintendent Kuriyuu was whispering
something to his subordinate with a frown.
—…
Before that attitude, all of the students made eye contact with each other naturally.
(—-Hey! Who the hell is this teacher ?!)
(Wouldn’t it be better to say she’s not our teacher?)
(—But if we do that, wouldn’t it be like Tama-chan skipped this important class to go to who
knows where?)
(—W-so, what the hell are we doing ?!)
(Okay… )
After everyone reached a mutual understanding with just their blinks and glances, they adjusted
their positions and turned to the teacher’s desk.
That’s right - All the students made the decision to continue to the end with the class as it was.
They did not know who this teacher was or why she was here. However, since the class had
already begun, there were no methods other than to conclude the class in order to convince the
superintendent.
A class is not something that only the teacher builds. The larger the noise produced by the ball
when it hits the baseball glove, the more it will seem to be a fast and strong ball. It should be
possible to create the illusion that this teacher’s class is a wonderful class based on the reaction
of the students alone.
(What kind of class will you give, Onee-san?)
(I’m going to play my best role as an exemplary student!)
(Everything for Tama-chan and our daily peace…!)
Then, Natsumi nodded with satisfaction, seeing the serious attitude of all the students, then took
the chalk in his hand and began writing on the board.
“Health Class for Good Boys: Where do babies come from?”
After seeing what was written, all the students, including Shido, froze at the same time.
(Did it have to be a sexual education class?!)
There was no need to exchange eye contact. You could easily know that each and every student
was thinking about the same.
It was a class that nobody wants by itself to be done on Parents’ Day.
In addition, today they are under the superintendent’s watch. And above all, the reason for this
was due to a rumor about the extreme immoral behavior towards the opposite sex by a Raizen
student. This was already like dancing on a field full of mines.
“…Ara?”
Apparently, at that time, Natsumi also noticed the change in the classroom environment. She set
down the chalk, turned around, and gazed over the classroom.
Natsumi said that in a cheerful voice, but the students remained silent. The atmosphere turned
darker with every passing second.
Then, Natsumi, without anyone knowing how she had taken that silence, clapped her hands as if
he had just realized something.
“Ah! I’m sorry. I did not think of it before. Today is the long-awaited Parents’ Day, right? We are
going to ask your parents to also participate in the class. Come on, come on, ladies and
gentlemen, go to the side of your respective kids.”
(Did she have to make it even worse?!)
(What the hell is this Onee-san thinking?!)
(A sex education class with the participation of our parents?!)
(What kind of torture is this?!)
At this point, the students were pale and dripping with sweat. Their parents, showing some
suspicion as well, went with their respective children. Naturally, the woman and the puppet who
introduced themselves as Shido’s parents, walked towards him.
“…It’s you, Yoshino… right?”
Shido asked quietly. Then, as he imagined, the woman nodded slightly.
“For heaven’s sake, what’s going on? Why Natsumi…”
“T-the truth is…”
Yoshino briefly explained the situation in a low voice. More sweat began to appear on Shido’s
forehead.
“Tama-chan passed out and Natsumi is replacing her…?”
“Yes… Natsumi-san isn’t doing this for mischief or anything like that…”
However, the moment was the worst possible. Shido took a small look at Kuriyuu and his
subordinate who had been left in the back of the classroom. And at that same moment, Natsumi
spoke to the superintendent.
“Ara… What’s the matter?”
“I’m not a parent—”
“Do not say that. Come on, come on, don’t be ashamed.”
Natsumi walked to the back of the classroom, took the superintendent’s hand and led him to the
side of the student who had no one standing beside him - next to Tohka.
“…I’m sorry. I’m going to have to bother you a little.”
“Muh? If it is okay.”
Tohka answered that with an attitude as if nothing happened, perhaps not quite understanding the
meaning of what he said.
“Does your teacher always act this way?”
“Nuh? What are you talking about? That is not a teacher—”
“S-she is a teacher with a lot of humor! Friendly and very popular with students!” Shido raised
his voice to cover Tohka’s words. The superintendent inclined his neck as if unable to
understand.
He didn’t speak, but it was clear that the superintendent’s impression was not good. Apparently,
the other students also felt that and, although they tried to cover themselves with an air of
tranquility, the edge of their eyebrows trembled slightly.
(This is bad… This is really bad… )
(If we continue like this, the member of the Special Committee of Life Reform will come
flying…!)
(We have to recover anyway…!)
The students exchanged glances with each other in silence. Then, Professor Natsumi continued,
with a beautiful smile on her face.
“Very good! Let’s ask your parents how they did it!”
Before Natsumi’s hopeless sentence, not only the students, but even the parents, shook their
shoulders in surprise.
(Tell me you’re joking!)
(That’s the last thing I want to know!)
The silent shout of all the students invaded the classroom. Shido heard how the superintendent,
who was standing to his right, cleared his throat moodily.
However, Natsumi lifted a finger and seemed not to notice it, and began pointing to the students.
“Who are we going to ask?”
“Very well, first Yamabuki-san. Come up please.”

“Huh?!”
Ai raised a cry of disgust from the bottom of her heart. The superintendent’s eyebrow moved
slightly.
(Ai! No! Smile, smile!)
(If he comes to believe that we don’t like the classes she gives, it’s our end!)
Mai and Mii caught his eye. Ai put a clumsy smile on her face, but seemed to want to cry.
“Yay… It’s a great joy to be chosen by the teacher! Go, answer the teacher, dad.”
“Mmh… I see that classes open to the public now touch on topics of great interest, right?”
After hearing what Ai said, his father, who until a few moments ago was wearing a suspicious
mask, put on a serious expression.
“You can’t explain in a few words how you have a child since there are many patterns. But since
the opportunity presented itself, I will tell you how we did it when we were blessed with Ai.”
Ai’s face turned red in an instant. However, his father continued with his words without any
shame.
“One full moon night, I laid my wife on a magic circle drawn with goosebumps.”
“Hey, stop!”
Ai shouted and took his father by the neck. But it seems that he immediately noticed the look of
the superintendent. He shook his shoulders in fright and put a stiff smile on his face.
“P-please, don’t keep up with that, Dad. You’re such a joker, right? Teacher, why don’t you ask
someone else?”
“Well, I think we’re going to continue with… Hazakura-san.”
“…I-it’s an honor…”
This time it was Mai who put a stiff smile on her face. It was a hell of questions and answers
where no denial was forgiven. This already seemed like the seminar of some new religion of
dubious origin.
When encouraged by Mai, her mother, who until a few moments ago was wearing bondage,
began to speak.
“Well, let’s see… To begin with, my encounter with that wretched disgusting pig, perverted to
the core, was—”
“Wretched disgusting pig?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I mean my husband.”
The students were all shocked. However, the mother continued without worry.
“Well… Originally it was our client. He gets very happy when I call him that. Basically he likes
to feel pain. When I got pregnant with my daughter, I was hitting him with a leather belt, as
always, but that wretch, without my permission—”
“—T-teacher! Why don’t you ask other people too, to have more diverse opinions?!”
Mai raised her hand and voice, interrupting her mother.
“Umh… Really? That answer seemed quite interesting… But, well, that’s fine. So, let’s continue
with Fijibakama-san.”
“No… Well… My parents were busy, so today my uncle came! I-it’s a real shame!”
“There is no woman alive who slept with me.”
“Shut up!”
Mii covered her uncle’s mouth, who said that without changing his expression.
You could see that a palpitating blue vein had appeared in the superintendent after seeing that
series of questions and answers.
“Hey… Are the classes here always like that?”
“N-no… Well…”
Shido didn’t know what to answer to the superintendent, who was clearly in a very bad mood,
and to make matters worse, this time Natsumi smiled slightly and looked at him.
“Very well, I think we’re going to ask Shido-kun and his mother now.”
“What…?”
At Natsumi’s words, Yoshino held his breath.
“Go ahead. How are babies made? Teach your child. I believe that parent-child collaboration is
just what will become a memory of Parents’ Day.”
Natsumi spoke looking, somehow, excited. Yoshino distorted her eyebrows in a “八” shape;
troubled, but still opened her trembling lips.
“Well, that is…”
“Yes?”
“U-a man and… a woman… Well…”
“What are they doing?”
Natsumi approached Yoshino, walking with slow movements, and then gently lifted Yoshino’s
chin. Faced with that indecent action, his heart began to beat rapidly by reflex.
“Come on… teach him.”

Natsumi prompted her to continue with her words, Yoshino’s cheeks stained a deep red.
“Hey… don’t you think you’re going over…?”
As Shido, with sweat falling down his cheek, was trying to stop Natsumi, a voice coming from
the right side suddenly echoed.
“—Cut it once and for all!”
There was no need to say that it was superintendent Kuriyuu. His expression was tinged with
anger, and his attitude said he couldn’t stand Natsumi’s excessively liberal class anymore.
“I’ve been watching for a while, but what do you think you’re doing?! Get away from that
person! Are you not aware that you are a teacher?!”
“Araa? Did something happen? This… Whose father is it?”
“Why do you play dumb?! Is this your level as a teacher? For starters, what are those shameless
clothes you have on?! A teacher is not only limited to teaching. It has to be a model for your
students! Especially here in Tengu City, an area frequently hit by spacequakes! Do you think
that, with that attitude of yours, you will be able to protect your students if the time comes?!”
The superintendent raised a furious voice and Natsumi narrowed her eyes mischievously.
“Ara, ara… If you scream a lot, you’ll just stress yourself out, you know?”
(—Don’t provoke him right now!!!)
The inner shout of all the students echoed. The superintendent frowned with great disgust.
“I’ve had enough! Everything is very clear to me! With this attitude I’m not surprised that this
rumor has appeared—I will take this matter to the Education staff. And in the worst case, the
member of the Special Life Reform Committee will be sent.”
Shido opened his eyes wide and held his breath. But it wasn’t just Shido. An expression of
despair surfaced in each and every one of his classmates at the same time.
Maybe because she felt everyone’s attitude, Yoshino, looking hard, turned to the superintendent.
“Excuse me… I’m fine… And, well, I don’t think the teacher had any bad intentions either.”
“That’s not the problem here, ma’am… Hm?”
The superintendent moved his eyes to Yoshino and put a suspicious expression on his face.
“…Excuse me, but she looks very young. Is she your parent?”
“Yes… Well… I’m the mother of… Shido Itsuka.”
»And his father!
—…
After hearing what Yoshino and “Yoshinon” said, the superintendent frowned in bewilderment.
“Yaah… If you look at me that way, I’m going to be ashamed.”
Maybe he couldn’t stand the silence anymore, “Yoshinon,” with his mustache on, stung the
superintendent’s nose. Then the superintendent’s face became serious.
“What do you think he is doing?!”
He took “Yoshinon” by the head and removed him from Yoshino’s hand. The latter held her
breath with a “High”.
“I’m not going to tell you not to play with dolls. However, I would have you learn that for
everything there is a time and place. Don’t you think it’s disrespectful to someone you just met?”
“This is bad…!”
Shido distorted his face with terror. Everything the superintendent said was correct, but it is
ineffective to use that kind of common sense against a Spirit, especially against Yoshino. She has
a calm personality, but when she separates from her friend “Yoshinon”, her mental state is
immediately destabilized.
“Ah… Ah… I… Yoshi… non…”
“Yo-Yoshino, calm down—”
However, when Shido tried to calm her down, it was already too late. Yoshino’s body trembled
and tears flowed from his eyes. Immediately after, the surrounding temperature dropped
dramatically and then the school building began to make a noise as if it were cracking.
“What…?! What is this…?!”
The superintendent let out a voice full of panic. Shido squeezed his molars tightly. He had
already heard this sound before. The water that runs through the pipes of the water system, due
to Yoshino’s spiritual power, began to freeze, breaking the building materials of the building.
No… Probably not just that. The Raizen High School building, due to Tohka and the rest of the
Spirits, is placed under more daily stress than a normal one. Probably all the accumulated
damages manifested at the same time.
Not long after, the building began to shake, and cracks began to open in the walls and ceilings.
“Wha-what’s going on…?!”
“Kyaaaaahhhh!”
“Run!”
Students and parents began to flee the classroom hurriedly. At that time, “Yoshinon” fell from
the hand of the superintendent, was pushed by the wave of people, kicked by the students and
ended up flying towards a corner of the classroom.
“Ah…!”
“Shido!”
“Yoshino! This is—”
Tohka was surprised by the students in chaos. Shido replied, still pursuing “Yoshinon”:
“Tohka, you run away first! I’ll reach you as soon as I reassure Yoshino!”
“But—”
“Come on, you too, Tohka-chan! Quick!”
“This doesn’t look good at all!”
“What is this?! The Gods’ anger?!”
Ai-Mai-Mii spoke one after another, took Tohka and left the classroom.
Shido waited for the wave of people to leave, then picked up “Yoshinon” and came running next
to Yoshino, who was sobbing.
“Here you are, Yoshino!” Look, it’s Yoshinon!”
He placed “Yoshinon” on Yoshino’s left hand while saying that. Then, “Yoshinon” straightened
his back and stroked his whiskers.
»Hi, I’m the father.
“I-Yoshinon…!”
Yoshino relaxed her expression with relief and hugged “Yoshinon” against her chest. “Yoshinon”
was caught against her now voluptuous and fluffy chest thanks to Natsumi’s transforming power.
»Kyaah! I can’t breathe!
“I-I’m sorry, Yoshinon…”
Releasing a sigh of relief at such an exchange, Shido took Yoshino’s hand. They had all
evacuated. There was absolutely no one left in the classroom. Many cracks could be seen on the
walls and ceiling, and it seemed that they could collapse at any moment.
“Yoshino, we have to get out of here.”
“Y-yes…”
Yoshino nodded and squeezed Shido’s hand even harder. But—
“Uwah…?!”
“Kyah!”
The moment Shido and Yoshino were about to leave the classroom, the ceiling collapsed,
making a terrible noise, and blocking both their paths.
“Haa… Haa…”
Superintendent Kuriyuu, who had managed to escape the collapsing building, went out into the
courtyard and finally released a sigh of relief.
“I have no idea what happened. The surrounding conditions didn’t look like an earthquake…
Maybe it was some construction error or something.”
Students, teachers and parents alike, who seemed to have escaped from the other classrooms,
were gathered there. It was as if a school assembly or something like that was taking place.
At that time, the teachers in charge of each class began to pass the list to check that all the
students of their respective classes and their parents were there. The teacher in charge of class
2-4, who until a few moments ago had run a terrible class, also began to check, as though she had
finally realized after seeing what the other teachers did.
“There are no Shido or Yoshino!”
Tohka suddenly raised a shout.
“I’m sure they are still inside! I’m going to help them!”
She said that and tried to return to the school building that seemed to be collapsing. Three
students stopped her in a hurry.
“Y-you can’t go back, Tohka!”
“It’s very dangerous!”
“It could collapse at any moment!”
“Let me go…!”
Tohka struggled to free himself from the control of the three girls. But, at that moment, a hand
was placed on her shoulder. It was the teacher in charge of her class.
“I’m going, Tohka-chan. You wait here.”
“Natsumi…?”
Tohka opened her eyes wide, and the teacher named Natsumi gave her a beautiful wink.
Then, she took off the high-heeled shoes she was wearing and opened her skirt further so she
could move her legs more easily, and started running into the building.
“What…?!”
Faced with such unexpected behavior, Superintendent Kuriyuu opened his eyes greatly. It did not
even cross his mind that this delinquent teacher would say such a thing.
“S-someone entered!”
“For real?! It’s very dangerous!”
“Hey, it’s collapsing!”
Someone shouted and, along with that shout, a heavy sound echoed around and a part of the
school building collapsed. An incredible cloud of sand rose and the surroundings fell into chaos.
But the next moment…
“Uwaaaaaahhh?!”
“Kyah…!”
Such screams were heard from above, and then, from within the sand cloud, a shadow flew out.
Looking more closely, one could see that it was Professor Natsumi, who carried a student on one
side and on the other, that student’s mother. Apparently she jumped through a window the
moment the collapse occurred.
Natsumi, who carried the two, landed in some bushes that were next to the building. A moment
later, all the students who had been watching that, stunned, broke into applause at the same time.
“Amazing!”
“Hey, are you all right?!”
The students gathered around the three as they talked one after another. Then, as if to answer
this, Professor Natsumi got up and showed them a peace sign with a smile on her face.
Apparently the two people who were sitting on the floor were also well.
Superintendent Kuriyuu had been thinking for some time while watching that scene. But finally,
he walked over to the three with slow steps.
Then, he stood in front of Professor Natsumi and spoke, still in a bad mood.
“…Why did you do that? Didn’t you think it was dangerous?”
“Huh? Why does it matter at this point? Everyone is fine, so no problem, right?”
Professor Natsumi replied as she shrugged. Kuriyuu continued while adjusting his glasses.
“No, that may have been the result, but didn’t you think your reckless actions could have made
the situation worse?”
“Well, today I am a teacher. Helping students is my job, right?” Natsumi replied as if nothing
happened.
Kuriyuu, once again, fell back into silence for some time, but finally scratched his head and
slowly turned back to Natsumi.
“…After all, this behavior presents problems. In the next few days I will send you a notification
of a special seminar.”
At Kuriyuu’s words, the students frowned.
“W-wait a moment, please!”
“The teacher did it to save Itsuka-kun and her mother—”
“—Please take the seminar and strive to provide an appropriate education to all these students.”
However, Kuriyuu continued and said that. The students, after a momentary scare, burst into
screams of happiness.
◇◇◇
That day after school.
In the living room of the Itsuka residence, Yoshino and Natsumi, having returned to their original
figures, found themselves bowing their heads deeply.
Having taken Professor Okamine to the infirmary who felt bad and wanted to do the class open
to the public instead of the teacher was not so bad (well, to tell the truth, it is likely that she had
thought about that was wrong), but Natsumi, who had become his adult version, ended up
slightly surpassing himself in several things.
Shido scratched his head with his hand as sweat fell down his cheek. Natsumi and Yoshino shook
their shoulders in fright.
“I-I’m sorry… But Yoshino is not to blame. I invited her and nothing else. If you are going to get
angry, do it with me alone.”
“That’s not true… The school’s destruction is my responsibility… It’s not Natsumi-san’s fault…”
“Yoshino…!”
At Yoshino’s words, Natsumi hurriedly shook her head in denial. She could not bear for Yoshino,
who had only done her the favor of accompanying her, to receive punishment. The culprit was
not Yoshino, but Natsumi. Trying to give some explanation, she moved his hands awkwardly.
However, Shido, upon seeing these two, simply let out a great sigh.
“That you tried to give me memories of a Parents’ Day class makes me very happy. Thanks.”
“Ah… Y-yes…”
“But, even if it was not on purpose, that they ended up causing problems for everyone is not
something commendable.”
After hearing that, the two shrugged. Shido continued his words with his arms crossed.
“That’s why, as a punishment for both of you—you are going to have to help me with today’s
dinner preparations.”
“…Eh?”
“Help… with dinner?”

At Shido’s words, Natsumi and Yoshino opened their eyes greatly.
“Come on, start! If we don’t hurry, Tohka and the others are going to arrive too soon.”
“Y-yes…!”
“Yes…!”
Natsumi and Yoshino looked at each other for a moment and then answered in energetic voices.
A few days later, Professor Tamae Okamine, who had recovered from her illness, received a
letter of thanks and a notification regarding a special seminar about which she remembered
nothing. They ended up baffling her greatly… But that’s another story.
Mana Research
“Humph humph.”
Takamiya Mana, a girl with her hair extended to her shoulder tied on the back of her head and a
mole under her left eye, was humming a song she didn’t know while walking on the street under
the sun of mid-afternoon in the residence area.
“Well, it has been a while since I’ve come here. Even though I’m pretty busy, Nii-sama might get
lonely if I don’t let him see me once in a while.”
Mana then continued down the street with a springy step. Currently, Mana is heading to her
brother—Itsuka Shido’s house. There are circumstances as to why they don’t share the same
family name even though they’re siblings connected by blood.
After walking for a while guided by only her memories, she arrived at the house with a blue roof
and an “Itsuka” nameplate on the front gate.
“Well then.”
Mana didn’t let Shido know about her visit today. Mana imagines Shido’s surprised face when he
sees her and loosens her cheek. However, Mana stopped her hand before she could ring the bell.
“…Ah—, come to think of it, I wonder if Kotori-san is at home.”
Mana said that with a sweat on her forehead. Kotori is Shido’s sister-in-law and is living in this
house with Shido. It’s not that Mana has some discord with Kotori, but Mana can’t allow herself
to be found by Kotori due to several circumstances.
“Kotori-san will definitely send me to the hospital if she catches me…”
Mana said that while scratching her cheek. After she looked around the house and made sure
nobody’s around, Mana snuck past the garden into the patio where she could peek into the living
room.
Mana’s plan is to see if Kotori is around from the outside and come again at a later date if she is
around. Even though she realized this act is not something to be praised, she has no choice.
“Umm, Nii-sama is…”
However, the moment she hides herself in the shrubbery and look inside the window--
“Wha…?!”
Mana widened her eyes in surprise.
“What… what is all this about…?”
Mana said in an awed voice. It is not surprising, since the scene before her eyes is something
unbelievable,
“Hasn’t the count increased from the last time?!”
In the living room of Itsuka Residence, there are a number of people beyond counting in one
hand. First is Shido. He’s not the problem since this is Shido’s house and he is the reason behind
Mana’s visit today. Next is Kotori. She is also not a problem. Even though she is only his
sister-in-law, she is still Shido’s sister.
However, the problem begins here.
’Ooh! This is so delicious! Yoshino, you should try it!’
’Ah—sure. Thank you very much.’
Mana heard a voice from the window. The two girls talking just now are a girl with long night-
coloured hair and crystal-like eyes, and a little girl with a rabbit puppet on her left hand. They are
Tohka and Yoshino who live in the mansion next to Itsuka Residence. Mana has met them
before. Looks like these two visit the Itsuka Residence pretty often.
When Mana looked on the other side of the sofa, over there, a set of twins with the same face
were playing a game.
’Gu… nununu! How dare you attack me with the Red Shell… I will have you pay for that…!’
’Laughter. It’s your fault for being careless. Here, the second shot.’
’Nuwaa?!’
The two are furiously controlling the controller. Mana has seen them before on the battlefield.
They are the Yamai sisters Kaguya and Yuzuru. The energetic girl is Kaguya and the downer girl
is Yuzuru. Including the difference in their body, Mana thought they were such a fearless pair.
Even though the situation was pretty grave with this number alone, Mana gulped down her saliva
when she looked in the corner of the room where two more girls were playing,
’Aan, Natsumi-chan. You shouldn’t let your guard down even for at-home clothes. Girls should
always be aware that you might be seen by someone at all times Ah, right Do you have some
time after this? I’m going to dress you up by myself.’
’Gyaaaaa! Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!’
The girl that Mana has never seen before seems to be named Natsumi. The little girl with
unorganized hair and a sullen face is currently struggling from being hugged from behind by
another girl—Japan’s top idol, Izayoi Miku.
Mana took a deep breath to calm herself down and started counting with both of her hands,
“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven…”
Including Kotori, there are seven girls within the Itsuka Residence—or rather, this is more of a
girls’ dorm, or an inner palace where the girls whom Shido shares his love with are gathered,
rather than the Itsuka Residence.
Mana regretted her inattention. Mana couldn’t believe that just because she looked away from
him for a while, the situation would have turned out like this.
“I can’t allow it…! How dirty! You are dirty, Nii-sama…!”
Mana gripped her fist tightly. Even though Mana doesn’t really know what she is saying, either
way, she can’t allow it. Mana believed that a boy must love a girl with all his sincerity. However,
what about this?
Seven girls. Seven. Before Mana knew it, the Nii-sama that Mana loved and respected became
such a seven-timing lover boy. Judy Ongg once said a woman is an ocean, then no doubt he is a
king of seven oceans—the Super Pirate Captain Shido.
“…! No, not only that.”
Mana shook her hand remembering something. She realized she forgot about a certain person.
“Come to think of it, there is also Nee-sam… er, Master Sergeant Tobiichi.”
Mana said that name, and a bead of sweat dropped down her forehead. Tobiichi Origami. She
was Mana’s ex-colleague as well as (self-proclaimed) Shido’s lover. Although she is nowhere to
be found in the house, if Mana includes her within that number, it means Shido already laid his
hands on the total of eight girls.
Eight girls. Mana felt dizzy at such an extreme number.
“N-no… I shouldn’t be quick to judge him…”
Mana shook her head to rouse herself from collapsing. She still doesn’t know the relations
between the girls and Shido. Shido may already have set his mind on someone in particular even
if he is getting along well with everyone.
Even on the surface it looks like nothing but a harem paradise, Mana can’t jump to the
conclusion that her Nii-sama has gone astray from morality just from that.
“Which means… I have no choice but to do some inspection.”
Mana sharpened her eyes and licked her lips.
“Well then… even though I said that, who should I start with…”
While hiding herself in the patio of Itsuka Residence, Mana put her hand on her chin and
thought. Mana won’t gain much information from just peeking inside the house, however,
jumping in the middle of them and asking is not a good idea either.
Not only will Shido be unable to answer that in front of the other girls, in the worst case, it is
likely that Kotori will catch her once everything has ended.
Mana decided to ask them one by one, except Kotori, whom Mana can’t allow herself to be
caught by, so she will just observe her from outside—
’See, Natsumi-chan! It’s not scary. Let’s go, come buy some clothes with me. Darling, please let
me borrow Natsumi-chan for a moment’
’I said I won’t goooooooo?!’
While Mana was thinking that, she heard such voices from inside the house. The front door
opened not long after that, with Miku and Natsumi coming out of the house. They are going
somewhere together.
“Well then, let’s go Natsumi-chan. I will make you a Hime-sama”
“Gyaaaa! Yoshinooooo! Yoshinoooooooooo!”
Mana thought of Natsumi as if she was a kid who had been forced to go to the dentist.
“…W-Well, this is a chance.”
Mana nodded to herself to change her mood. She had planned to ask each of them about their
relations with Shido from the start, and both Miku and Natsumi had never met Mana before. She
couldn’t ask for a better opportunity.
“Let’s go…!”
Mana then leaves the Itsuka Residence to follow them. Miku and Natsumi are still a few meters
from the front gate.
“Lea-ve me alo-ne-! I don’t need new clothes…!”
“It’s okay. I will make you really cute.”
“I said I didn’t ask—! For… them…”
Natsumi’s voice grew smaller before she finished her sentence. It looks as though she is
embarrassed after being looked at by passers-by because of her loud voice.
“A-Anyway, I’m going back…”
“Why not. Let’s change your looks and prepare for winter for once. Don’t you want Darling and
Yoshino-chan to praise your cuteness?”
“Ug…”
Natsumi was a little startled by Miku’s words. However, she then shook her head to remove that
thought.
“D-Don’t be ridiculous… They wouldn’t say that…”
Natsumi turned quiet before she finished her sentence. She may have realised they might actually
say that to her. As if she noticed what Natsumi is thinking, Miku is looking at her with a broad
grin. Eventually, Natsumi’s cheek blushes while she averts her eyes away from Miku and
continues,
“…Is that true?”
“Hm?”
Miku asked with a smile as if she didn’t know what Natsumi was trying to say. Natsumi, feeling
humiliated, gripped the hem of her skirt and let out a “Gu…” voice,
“…That Shido and Yoshino… will say… I’m cute…”
Hearing that, Miku let out “Awww!” and put on a face filled with emotion, hugging Natsumi
tightly.
“Ahhh! How cute! Cute, cute! Cute!”
“Wha…?!”
Natsumi extends out her arm in a hurry trying to get away from Miku.
“…”
While looking at them and hearing their conversations, Mana dropped a sweat on her cheek.
Although Natsumi refused to go to the clothing store that much, just ‘Shido will praise that
you’re cute’ could get her to change her mind that easily. No matter how Mana looks at it, that’s
the expression of a girl in love.
Miku is even worse. It may look like she only loves cute girls on the surface, however, Mana
surely heard her naturally call ‘Darling.’ She said Darling. That’s the word used to call the one
you love the most, and judging from Natsumi’s reaction, that ‘Darling’ is definitely Shido.
Mana nearly knelt down to the ground once she came up with that conclusion. Izayoi Miku, the
national idol, is saying ‘Darling’ without shame on the street. Mana wonders what Shido has
done to Miku.
“I-If you want to go then let’s go already…! You’re going to take your time choosing clothes,
aren’t you…?”
“Sure! Well, then let’s go!”
The two then started walking. Mana, who was thinking, shook her shoulders in surprise and
started following them. After they walked for a distance that Shido won’t notice if they make a
little noise, Mana snuck around to their front and stood before them.
“—You over there, I’m sorry”
“Ara?”
“…!”
Seeing Mana blocking their path, Miku inclined her head in wonder. Natsumi only averted her
eyes while shaking her shoulders.
“Ufufu What is it? Do you have any business with us?”
Miku noticed something mid-sentence and clapped her hands. She then shook Mana’s hand with
a smile on her face,
“Thank you for supporting me. Do you want a hug as well?”
“Eh?”
Mana let out a shrill voice but suddenly noticed. Miku mistook Mana for one of her fans. Mana
shook her head to deny that.
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
“Ah, you are not? I’m sorry. What’s your business?”
“Err…”
Despite feeling overwhelmed by Miku’s unique atmosphere, she maintained her determination.
“It may seem strange to ask this out of the sudden… but what’s the relation of you two with
Nii-s—I mean, Itsuka Shido?”
“Fue?”
“…With Shido?”
Miku widened her eyes in surprise while Natsumi raised her voice in a dubious tone. Their
reaction is not surprising. If someone whom Mana never met before asked her such a question,
she would have put on her guard for sure. However, Miku loosened her cheeks and continued.
“Fufu, you look too young for a writer looking for a scandal about me. Are you someone who
loves Darling as well, by any chance?”
“What?!”
Mana widened her eyes at those unexpected words.
“So that Darling is really…”
“Darling is darling. Ufufu Darling sure is heartless, for him to make such a cute girl like you fall
for him”
“Err…”
Mana, not knowing how to respond, lowered her eyes halfway. There’s really no reason for Mana
to clear up Miku’s misunderstanding; it’s just going to make things harder. Besides, familial love
is still a kind of love. While Mana is thinking that, Miku wriggled herself and continued:
“My relationship with Darling… was it? Hmm… it’s hard to explain in one word. Let’s just say
he kissed me and got me naked in the dressing room once.”
“Wha…?!”
Mana felt a shudder of horror run through her body hearing those words Miku said while
blushing. A kiss and… got her naked…? Mana is confused for a while at the words
un-associated with ‘Nii-sama’ in her mind. However, that is not where everything ended. Miku
placed her hand on Natsumi’s shoulder,
“But hasn’t Natsumi-chan also kissed Darling?”
And dropped that atomic bomb.
“…!”
“Wha…! What…!”
Natsumi rolled her eyes while Mana made a dumbfounded look.
“Right Natsumi-chan?”
“W-Well… yeah…”
“—”
Mana feels like her vision is turning white at those words Natsumi said while blushing.
Two-timing. Ungrateful. Lolicon. Concern. Criminal… those words dance wildly in her head.
“T-Thank… you… very much…”
Mana said that and tried to get away from them with her unsteady steps. However, Miku
suddenly grabbed the back of her neck.
“Eh…?”
Mana raised her voice at the sudden occurrence. Miku looked at her with a big smile on her face.
“Ufufu, this might be some destiny that we’re met. How about you too? Even though you’re cute
as you are right now, I could make you even more shining?”
“Eh? Um, no, I…”
“You don’t need to be so humble. We’re all girls who love Darling, Ufufu… even though those
boyish looks are very well suited to you, don’t you want to try some girly clothes as well?
“Eh, ah, er, eh… ehhhhhhhhh?!”
Mana was then being dragged along with Natsumi by Miku.
☆ “Haa… haa… if I escaped this far, she won’t be able to find me…”
Mana is hiding herself in the shade of a wall while breathing heavily and wiping off the sweat on
her forehead. After that, Miku brought her to the boutique then forcibly coordinated her clothes
and peek into the dressing room while she was dressing, telling her ‘This is how you should wear
it’ and tried to open up the front of her shirt. Once the checkout ended, Mana feared for her own
safety and escaped from her.
“I wonder if Natsumi-san is okay…”
Mana recalled Natsumi’s expression full of sorrow when she escaped alone. Well… since they
were supposed to go out together, Mana had no choice but to ask her to endure.
“…Haa”
Mana breathed out a small sigh when she looked at the side mirror of a car parked nearby on the
street. Mana’s clothing right now is not the hoodie and short pants she always wears but a cute-
looking blouse and skirt. Her hair that was tied up on the back of her head is now released
swaying with the wind.
(At first Miku wanted Mana to make a twin tail, but Mana’s pride couldn’t allow that considering
the ranking of sisters, so she strived to refuse it as much as she could. In Shido’s sister ranking,
Mana is the first and Kotori is the second.)
Either way, Mana thought her appearance now looked like an Ojou-sama from somewhere. She
couldn’t recognize herself for a slight moment.
“How should I say it, this feels really strange…”
As expected from an idol and her styling sense. However, Mana thought that the perverted acts
of her destroyed the entire good image about ‘Izayoi Miku’ in her mind.
“A-Anyway, Nii-sama takes priority for now.”
Mana averted her eyes from the mirror and mumbled to change her mood then started walking.
Mana found out about Shido’s three-timing (Origami included) from her information gathering
just now. One of them is the national idol, and another one is a girl of young age. Mana felt dizzy
at the greed of her brother.
“…At very least, please stop at three-timing…”
Mana made that wish while walking back to Itsuka Residence. The other girls should still be in
this house.
“It’s actually best if I could just ask Kotori-san…”
Mana groaned. Even though Kotori is not related to Shido by blood like Mana, she’s still Shido’s
sister. More than that, she’s also <Ratatoskr>’s commander. There’s no better person to know
about the situation than her. In fact, Mana even asked her to take care of Nii-sama…
“What were you doing, Kotori-san…! You did not really look over him at all…!”
Mana frowned and grit her teeth. When she tried to peek inside the house again, Mana learned
that the situation had changed from before. It’s obvious that Miku and Natsumi are not here,
however, Shido, Tohka, Kaguya and Yuzuru are also nowhere to be found. She could only find
Kotori and Yoshino who were standing in the kitchen.
“Kotori-san and… Yoshino-san…”
Mana couldn’t hear what they were talking about from where she was. She crept around to the
kitchen without letting her guard down. The conversation voice of the two is heard when she
peek into the house,
’Ah, Yoshino, just leave the dish over there, I’ll wash it.’
’Thank you very much. But… I can help… ‘
’Ah, it’s okay. I’m going to do it.’
’But… ‘
Before Yoshino could say it, ‘Yoshinon’ on her right hand fluttered her hands,
’Ufufu, you can’t do that, Yoshino. Kotori-chan just wants to be useful to Shido-kun when he’s
not around.’
’…!’
Kotori choked at ‘Yoshinon’s’ words. However, it seems like what she said is not wrong, Kotori
did not reply back to her.
’I-I’m sorry. I… ‘
’D-Don’t worry… Well, how should I put it? See, I always let Shido do all of it? So I think just
once in a while… ‘
Kotori said while shyly averting her eyes.
“…”
Mana frowned at the expression of Kotori that looked somewhat crossed the line of brother and
sister love.
“…Well, that can’t be. Nii-sama and Kotori-san are brother and sister.”
Mana shook her head. She became too nervous because of what happened earlier.
’Ah—Then I will clean up the room.’
’Yoshino?’
’I want… to be useful to Shido-san too.’
’Ah… that’s right. I’ll leave that to you.’
’Thank you!’
Yoshino cheerfully replied and started cleaning up the table. Seeing that, Kotori then started
washing the dishes. At a glance, it looks like such a charming scene of a girl. However, since the
motive of their actions is being useful to Shido, Mana can’t help but feel uneasy at the fact.
“N-No, no. I shouldn’t overthink it…”
Mana’s thoughts are going in the negative direction without her knowing it. Mana took a deep
breath to calm herself down. However, that moment—
’Ah… ‘
Yoshino picked up a bottle with some water in it from the table and showed it to Kotori.
’Um, Yoshino-san. This… ‘
’Hmm? Ah, that’s Shido’s, how come he left it out like that? Can you return it to the fridge for
me? You can also drink it if you are thirsty.’
‘Yoshinon’ then response as if she reacts to Kotori’s words,
’Eh? Are you saying Yoshino can do an indirect kiss with Shido-kun?’
’Eh…?!’
’…?!’
Kotori and Yoshino gulped down their saliva as if they hadn’t thought of that.
’Ufun What are you embarrassed about? Not just the indirect one, hadn’t you two already had
such a hot kiss with Shido?’
“What…?!”
Mana felt a cramp on her cheek hearing ‘Yoshinon’s’ words. Her words are not something she
could let pass. Mana placed her ear next to the window to absorb every word they’re going to
say.
’W-What are you saying all of the sudden…!’
’Y-Yoshinon…!’
’Eh? Didn’t Yoshino kiss Shido-kun back then?’
’U… , I… did… ‘
“…?!”
Mana choked at the words Yoshino said while looking down, embarrassed.
’Kotori-chan also did it back at the amusement park, didn’t you? Come to think of it, who is
Shido- kun’s first kiss again? Hmm?’
’U… gu… that should be… me… back five years ago… ‘
(–Kotori-saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan?!)
Mana shouted in her head while feeling as if her eyeballs were coming out of her eye socket at
those bombshell words. Five years ago, that means Kotori had already kissed Shido by the time
she first met Mana—Et tu, Brute. For some reason, that word came to Mana’s mind.
No, the problem is not only that. Five years ago, that means Kotori was still 8 or 9 years old.
Even though Shido’s age was also reduced by 5 back then, they’re still way too early.
“S-So… this is how youth nowadays acts…”
Mana mumbled in despair and placed her hand on the frame of the window—That moment, the
place where Mana placed her hand broke and a cracking sound was heard.
“What…!”
Mana shook her shoulders in surprise. Mana did not put much of her weight onto it and thought
it might be due to the window frame being already aged at first, however, she quickly realized
from looking at the part that dropped to the ground that it is not a window frame, but part of a
hidden camera that was skilfully disguised.
“…This is…”
Mana picked up the part and dropped a sweat on her forehead. One side of the camera has ‘No
problem’ written on it while the other side has ‘I don’t mind’ written… Mana didn’t know what
it was trying to say.
However, Mana can’t be so leisurely right now,
’—What’s that sound just now?’
’I-It’s from the outside…!’
The two inside the house noticed the sound.
“Ku…”
Mana frowned, lowered her posture and got away from there. However, when she’s going out
from the front gate, she bumped into a passer-by walking from her right,
“Wa!”
“Nu?”
Even though Mana could easily evade it in a normal situation, since she’s thinking of something
and wearing a skirt she is not used to, her reaction was a bit slower than usual. Mana fell down
on her butt.
“Ouch…”
“Mu, I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
The person Mana bumped into said that to her and lent her a hand. Mana respond to her with
“No, it’s me who should say sorry” while taking her hand—
“…!”
Mana saw the face of the other person and lost her words. The person in front of her is Yatogami
Tohka whom Mana was going to inquire about Shido just now. She is wearing a comfortable-
looking pair of shoes with a plastic bag on her hand. Looks like she just came back from
shopping.
“Mu…? Have I seen you somewhere before…?”
“…! N-No…”
Even though Mana had met with her, it seems like she didn’t notice because of her clothes and
hair style.
“Muu… is that so. I thought I’d seen you somewhere before…”

When Tohka knitted her eyebrows in doubt, a voice is heard from her back,
“Kuku, what is it Tohka? Stopping there, don’t tell me you feel the presence of ‘they’ who
cannot be seen with eyes?”
“Dubious. Who is that person?”
Saying that, Yamai Kaguya and Yuzuru then walked toward Mana and Tohka. Looks like they
just went out together.
“Umu. I bumped into her just now.”
When Tohka said that, Kaguya laughed out cheerfully while folding her arms.
“Kaka. Looks like your training is still not enough. If it was me, I could have lightly evaded her.”
Tohka let out a “Muu…” sound and frowned at Kaguya’s words,
“Normally, I should be able to do that too. But you see. I just finished eating Shido’s food… Mu,
it’s a matter of lightness1… That’s right, I’m gravid2! Shido made me gravid!”
“Eh?!”
Mana made a stupefied look at Tohka’s bombshell words. Gravid, or in other words, pregnant.
That’s the word indicating a woman has a baby inside her womb. The moment Mana realized
that, she felt she was turning pale quickly.
“Advice. Tohka, that’s not the right word.”
“Mu? Is that so?”
Mana felt she overheard a conversation between Tohka and Yuzuru, but their words couldn’t
reach Mana who was still confused at the situation. Mana couldn’t believe they had already gone
to that stage.
Not to mention marriage, but for a high school student such as Shido to support a kid on his own
would be very hard. Mana felt an indescribable amount of despair and sorrow as well as anger
boiling up in her mind.
“Er… will Shido-san take responsibility for what he has done?”
“Nu? Do you know Shido?”
1
Lightly/agilely = 身軽 consist of body(身)+light(軽).
2
Pregnant/gravid = 身重 consist of body(身)+heavy(重), a play on words.
“Y-Yeah, well. He took care of me a little while ago.”
Mana smoothed it over, but Tohka replied back with “Ooh” as if she was convinced with Mana’s
words.
“—A-Anyway, how is it? More importantly, do you agree to… well, become like that?”
“Muu… it’s not that I want to become like this, but Shido is really skillful today, more than
usual, and I became like this before I knew it.”
“More skillful than usual…?! W-Wait a minute, you do that all the time?!”
“What are you talking about? Obviously we do.”
“Wha… wha…”
Mana felt her teeth chattering. It is unbelievable that Mana’s Nii-sama is such a Shameless Great
Demon King like that…! While Mana is thinking that, Tohka said, “You would feel weak if you
don’t eat everyday” but she couldn’t hear it.
“T-Then, what about you two, what are your relations with Shido-san…?!”
Mana looked at Yamai sisters with imploring eyes.
“Hm? My relationship with Shido? Kuku… if I were to put it in a second word… we’re master
and servant who have been bound with a blood contract.”
“Answer. Both Yuzuru and Kaguya got our important things stolen away by Shido at the same
time. Shido is our common property.”
“At the same time…?! Master and servant…?!”
Mana put her hands on her head at the new abnormal information.
“W-Wait a minute! It… can’t be…”
Mana dropped a cold sweat on her forehead with her legs shaking. However, Mana can’t stand
still and do that forever. Tohka suspected something and moved her nose.
“Nu…? I think I’ve smelled this somewhere before…”
“…! I-I’ll excuse myself!”
Mana then ran away from that place. After a while when she confirmed nobody was following,
Mana lowered her speed.
“Haa… Haa…”
Even though her feet have stopped, her heart is still beating fast. That’s not surprising, since the
inspection to prove Shido’s innocence ended up proving that he did get his hands on everyone.
Mana wished that everything was just a candid camera by Kotori who learned about her visit
from somewhere and just wanted to trick her—However, Mana doesn’t think that everyone is
lying.
When everyone talks about Shido, they all have the same face of a girl in love. No matter how
much Mana wants to deceive herself, she can’t do it now that she has seen the expression on their
face.
There’s no choice but to admit that Shido kissed (or did something beyond that) with all the girls
and they do not hate Shido for it. No matter how hard she tried to smooth it over, that fact won’t
change.
Mana gripped her fist tight—There’s still one thing Mana must confirm.
“Please prepare yourself… Nii-sama.”
☆ “I’m back.”
When Shido entered the living room after he was back from shopping, everyone was already
waiting for him.
“Ah, welcome back, Darling! See, please see this!”
Miku, who was waiting near the entrance said it in high spirits and pulled the girl next to her to
show her to Shido. Shido didn’t notice for a second since her atmosphere is completely different,
but the girl in a cute one piece dress is Natsumi who Miku brought her out earlier.
“Ohh, Natsumi, isn’t that cute?”
“…!”
When Shido said that, Natsumi blushed and mumbled something in her mouth.
“…T-Thanks…”
Miku looked at her reaction with a pleased face but let out an “Ah” and flapped her hands as if
she remembered something.
“By the way, Darling, when I and Natsumi-chan went out shopping, there was a girl who
approached us…”
“? A girl? So she is Miku’s fan?”
“That’s what I thought at first But seems like she is not my fan but Darling’s fan”
“What…?”
Shido opened his mouth wide,
“My fan…? What’s that?”
“Umm, I don’t know in detail either, but she asked us about our relationship with Darling. So I
thought she is someone who has feelings for you.”
“Mu!”
When Miku said that, Tohka who was lying on her stomach on the sofa suddenly reacted. If she
had a tail, it would be standing right now.
“That reminds me, we also met with that woman.”
“Eh? Really?”
When Shido asked, this time Yamai sisters nodded,
“Umu, we did meet her. When we got back from our errand, she came out from the garden of this
house. Kuku… looks like there’s more to this than it seems.”
“Consent. Shido, do you have any ideas?”
“Idea… well, even if you say so…”
Shido made a troubled face and scratched his cheek. Even if they say so, Shido doesn’t have any
ideas.
“What about Kotori and Yoshino? Did someone visit you?”
“No, nobody visited us. Ah, but…”
Kotori remembered something and put her hands on her chin.
“? Did something happen?”
“Um… when I and Kotori-san were alone at home… I heard a sound from outside the kitchen…
as if someone is peeking inside the house…”
Yoshino answered Shido’s question with frightened looks.

“What?”
“I see… so that wasn’t just me. I wonder about that girl Tohka and Miku met as well. If she is
Shido’s fan then that might be okay, but it can’t be denied that she might be DEM or AST’s
personnel…”
Kotori made a difficult face and groaned,
“Anyway, everyone please be careful. I’ll look for her from <Ratatoskr> side as well.”
Everyone then nodded at Kotori’s words. Inside of that group, only Natsumi placed her hand on
her mouth as if she was thinking of something.
☆ ****
The next day.
“Nii-sama!”
Mana shouted in a loud voice and widely opened the door that leads to the living room of Itsuka
Residence. In the living room, Shido is sitting on the sofa rolling his eyes in surprise, likely at
Mana who entered the house out of sudden.
“Huh…?! W-What…?”
Nobody’s around. That’s right; this is because Mana kept waiting in front of Itsuka Residence
until nobody but Shido was inside before she entered the house.
“Long time no see, it’s me, Mana! It might be sudden, but Nii-sama, I have a question! I’m
happy that you’re healthy, but aren’t you a bit too healthy?”
Shido knitted his eyebrows puzzlingly at Mana’s rapid talk.
“Mana…? W-Wait a minute! What’s this?! More importantly, where have you been—”
“No question allowed! Now, stand over there nice and easy!”
When Mana moved her finger, Shido stood up hesitantly. Mana nodded with satisfaction, folded
her arms then continued,
“I did some research about Nii-sama’s relationship with women yesterday.”
“R-Relationship with women…”
Shido dropped a sweat on his cheek as if that word of Mana is unexpected.
“It’s okay, you don’t need to act dumb anymore. I already know you’re an eight-timing lover
boy.”
“E-eight-timing…?!”
Shido let out a shrill voice. Mana doesn’t know if he did that on purpose, or really did not realise
it. Either way, it is not something to be praised. Mana let out a breath irritably.
“A boy must love only one girl for his whole life! If you just spread out your love everywhere,
the girls would be very pitiful! So—”
Mana sharpened her eyes, raised up her index finger and pointed it to the middle of Shido’s
eyebrows.
“Here, right now! Nii-sama must declare it! The one that Nii-sama loves the most! The one that
Nii-sama actually loves!”
“Eh… ehhh?!”
Shido then made a flabbergasted face at Mana’s words.
☆ “Nu…”
Tohka who just came from the mansion to Itsuka Residence made a confused look after she
opened the entrance door. It’s not surprising, since Kotori, Yoshino, Yamai sisters and Miku are
assembled in the corridor in front of the living room.
“What are you doing?”
’…!’
When Tohka asked, everyone raised their finger in front of their mouth telling Tohka to be quiet.
“Mu… Muu…?”
Even though Tohka didn’t know what was happening, she felt the situation was not normal.
Tohka walked quietly to where everyone is assembling,
“…So what is it?”
When Tohka asked in a small voice, Kotori, staying quiet, told Tohka with her eyes to peek into
the opening of the door of the living room. When Tohka looked inside the room, she saw two
people inside. First one is this house’s owner, Shido. Other one is Shido’s sister—Takamiya
Mana.
“Shido and… Mana? What are they doing…”

Tohka stopped her words before she could finish her sentence. The reason is simple—
“Well, then… choose one, Nii-sama! Tohka-san, Kotori-san, Yoshino-san, Kaguya-san,

Yuzuru-san, Miku-san, Natsumi-san—and Master Sergeant Tobiichi! Who is the one that
Nii-sama loves?!”
Mana is pointing her finger at Shido while shouting that.
“What…!”
Tohka widened her eyes and looked inside the living room quietly like everyone else. She felt
her heart beating fast. Tohka felt a strange feeling of wanting to know and not wanting to know
at the same time within her heart.
Shido who made a troubled face opened his mouth after a while,
“E-Even if you said that out of the sudden…”
“Very unmanly, Nii-sama! If you are Mana’s Nii-sama, then you should get yourself together!”
Mana put her hand on her waist and said that in a harsh tone. After Shido heard that, he scratched
his head and let out a breath as if he had made a determination. Shido looked at Mana,
“—Okay. I understand. I will answer it. I’m—Mana’s brother.”
“That is the spirit. Then… please answer honestly. Who’s the one that Nii-sama loves the most?”
“That would be—”
Shido took a deep breath,
’… ‘
Tohka and others who were observing the situation from outside the door caught their breath
after Shido’s reaction. Shido look into Mana’s eyes and declare,
“—Yoshino.”
At that word.
’…?!’
All the Spirits, who were assembled on the other side of the door, shook themselves and gathered
their eyesight toward Yoshino.
“…?!”
“—?!”
“…—!!”
Since they can’t let out their voice right now, they are communicating to each other with only
reaction. The only thing for sure is that everyone is in a panic. Everyone is swimming their eyes
left and right with sweat on their forehead. Yoshino’s panic is the most remarkable. Her face
turned completely red, not knowing how to react.
However, in contrast to everyone’s panic, Shido then continues his passion,
“I can’t resist it anymore… I always love Yoshino! Yoshino is my oasis!”
Shido placed his hand on Mana’s shoulder and said as if he was pleading to her.
“…!”
The moment Tohka heard that, she felt as if her heart was squeezing tight. Tohka likes Yoshino
as well. She also knows that Shido likes Yoshino. However… for some reason, once Tohka heard
that word, she couldn’t resist it. She pushed the door and stepped into the living room—
“…Haa?”
However, Tohka stopped herself before she did that. The reason is simple: Mana is staring at
Shido like a girl leader of a delinquent group of 90s manga. For some reason, Tohka felt the top
left of Mana’s face was captioned with “?!”.
“Hii…”
Shido shook his shoulders at the sudden change in Mana’s looks.
“Hey… well, I can’t hear that just now. Can you say it again one more time, Nii-sama? If you
say something ridiculous again, I’ll change your face forever.”
“E-erm…”
Shido felt sweat pouring out from his face. He swims his eyes left and right and answers her with
a tiny voice.
“M-Maybe… Tohka… I think…”
“Aa?”
Mana threatened him again after hearing his answer. Shido shook his body once again.
“U-um, Kotori then…?”

“Aan?”
“Hii! What about K-Kaguya!”
“Hoou?”
“! A-Actually Yuzuru…!”
“Aa?”
“I-I mean Miku…!”
“Hmp?”
“…! Ah, right! Origami…”
“I can’t hear you.”
“Er… erm… only Natsumi’s left…”
“What did you just say?”
Mana reacts to Shido’s answers in a displeased tone. Shido shivered in fear as if he was going to
cry. However, a few seconds later, Shido noticed something and widened his eyes.
“I, I see… So that’s what you want.”
Seeing his reaction, Mana then let out her breath.
“…Well, well. Finally you realized.”
“Yeah… I’m sorry, Mana. I’m such an idiot—Even though such a cute sister is in front of me
right now.”
“…Haaaaaaaaaaa…?”
Mana knitted her brows at Shido’s answer once again.
“Eh? T-That’s wrong…?”
When Shido said it listlessly, Mana then grabbed his face.
“Hgii?!”
“Well… your joke has gone too far, Nii-sama? Remember I said I want you to answer it
honestly?”
A blue vein popped up on Mana’s forehead and she continued in a furious tone.
“And I thought I’d forgive you depending on your answer. This is not good. I guess castrating
you before the damage extends beyond this might be the best for this world…”
“Hi… Hii…?!”
“Shido!”
After how many times Shido screamed, Tohka pushed the door open and stepped inside the
living room. Seems like she can’t resist seeing Shido being bullied anymore. Not only Tohka,
everyone also burst into the living room at the same time.
“What…!”
Mana was surprised. When she saw the presence of all the Spirits, Mana frowned, then put her
hand away from Shido and escaped from the window. Before she left, she says,
“—I can’t believe Mana’s Nii-sama is such scum. Please prepare yourself the next time we
meet!”
She said that and jumped out of the window.
“Ah, wait, Mana!”
Kotori shouted and tried to follow her, but she’s too late. Mana jumped across the wall in the
garden and not before long she could no longer be seen.
“S-Shido! Are you okay!”
“Darling”
“Ku… Mana has gotten away…”
Everyone then rushed to Shido who had collapsed down to the floor.
“Ah, ahh… everyone…”
Shido said in a weak voice and raised his hands. However, the next moment, Shido’s body which
is surrounded by Tohka and others started faintly illuminating and [Pon!] Shido turned into a
small girl.
“Na… Natsumi?!”
Kotori called her name in a shrill voice. Shido in front of their eyes until now is not Shido, but
rather Natsumi with her transformation power. Even though they may be able to notice if looking
at her closely, since there’s no one to compare with and their vision were very limited, not to
mention they were in such a tense situation, nobody noticed it’s her.
“Natsumi! What are you doing?”
When Kotori asked, Natsumi answered while standing up staggeringly.
“W-Well… I heard a suspicious girl is following Shido around… so I thought I’d lure her out as
a decoy…”
“Then what about those answers?”
“…Well, I noticed her identity while talking with her, so I thought I’d play a joke on her for a
little…”
Hearing Natsumi’s answer, everyone then let out a sigh.
“What an alarmist…”
“That’s right. I was very surprised”
Everyone let out their voice of relief. However, only Kotori make a difficult face,
“…This is not good.”
“Mu? What is it? That wasn’t Shido so there should be no problem, no?”
“Not that, even though we know the trick… Mana still misunderstood. What will happen if she
runs into Shido like that.”
’Ah… ‘
The Spirits then widened their eyes simultaneously.
☆ “I can’t believe Nii-sama is someone like that!”
Mana swung the plastic bag on her hand while walking down the street. Mana bought it as a
present to Shido but she couldn’t find the right timing to give it to him, even more so after she
heard such a pitiable answer from him.
Mana grinded her teeth after seeing Shido’s pitiful face from earlier come up in her mind. Even
though Mana asked him to choose from one of them, that was only valid if he had never laid his
hands on any of them.
Now that he has teased everyone by doing something beyond kissing them, and later confessed
that everyone is just for fun except for his main girl, that’s just too immoral.
“What should I do…!”
Mana said with irritating tone while making a turn at the corner,
“—Eh? Mana? Isn’t that Mana!”
She heard that voice from her right.
“Hai? Eh… Nii-sama?!”
When Mana looked in that direction, she let out a voice in surprise. The person standing there is
her brother who she just met earlier—Itsuka Shido.
“…Hoou? So you could catch up to Mana? That’s not bad, but what’s your business with me?
Since you followed me like this, this means you have a new answer for me?”
“What…? What are you saying?”
Shido answered back as if he’s playing dumb. Mana knitted her eyebrows in irritation.
“What is, it’s obviously about the question earlier! Tohka-san, Kotori-san, Yoshino-san,
Kaguya-san, Yuzuru-san, Miku-san, Natsumi-san and Master Sergeant Tobiichi! Which one does
Nii-sama choose?!”
“Ha… Haa? Choose…?”
“Anyway, please answer me! Mana is at her limit right now!”
Shido is still making a puzzled face. However, he noticed Mana’s unusual atmosphere and look
back at her,
“Even if you said choosing… I can’t do that.”
“…! How irresponsible—”
“—You may get angry since you said I should choose only one… but for me, everyone is
important. I can’t tolerate having one of them missing. That’s why my answer is—‘Everyone.’”
“…”
To that words Shido said solemnly,
“…Hehe”
Mana loosened her cheek.
“Even though it took some time, let me forgive you. This is Mana’s Nii-sama for me—As if
you’re a different person from earlier.”
“Eh…?”
Shido returned to her with a bewildering face.
“Mana did say to choose only one person. In fact, that’s what I believed it should be. Mana wants
Nii-sama to love only one girl and make her happy with sincerity—however,”
Mana widened her eyes all of a sudden like a Kabuki actor,
“Since you already laid your hands on them, then there’s no choice—Mana’s Nii-sama should
make them all happy!”
“Erm…”
“Answer!”
“S-Sure…!”
Shido nodded, overwhelmed by Mana.
“Well, then I’ll excuse myself here—Ah, please have this.”
Mana then handed the plastic bag in her hand to Shido.
“Eh? What is this…?”
“Please remain in good health—I guess the next time I visit you, I’ll be an auntie?”
Mana then waved her hand and ran away.
☆ “W-What was that…”
Shido who has been left alone gaped at Mana’s back which is getting further and further away.
Shido then realized a moment later that he hadn’t had any talk with Mana who disappeared for a
while and tried to follow her, however, Mana was nowhere to be seen by that time.
“…”
Shido looked inside the plastic bag Mana handed to him without saying anything. There is a
baby bottle and disposable diaper and other childcare products packed inside the plastic bag.
“Really… what was that…?
Shido, who didn’t really know what was happening, only stupefyingly mumbled.
Cat Cafe A Live
“Ooohhhh, so this is the legendary cat cafe!”
Tohka’s volume increased as she entered the cafe.
Naturally, this volume startled the cats who were in a sweet sleep, they shook their bodies and
changed their line of sight to where Tohka is.
“Calm down a bit, giving off such a loud noise would startle the cats”
Shido, who bitterly smiled as he entered the cafe with Tohka.
Shido and Tohka are currently at a cat cafe in Tengu square.
Due to Tohka discovering the flyer in the mailbox, the obvious result is that Tohka will go there,
no matter what.
Maybe it’s due to the early time, there aren’t many customers in the cafe.
The cats with various colored-fur sat on the cushions and the exercising machines, due to the
lack of customers.
“Uuu… Umu, I’ll be aware of that, but this place is simply too amazing, there are so many
cats…!”
Tohka’s eyes sparkled as she bent her knees to approach one of the cats, but the cat instantly
sensed Tohka’s presence and ran away with great agility.
“Ahh! Why are you running away!”
“Haha, your pose was a bit scary”
“Umuuu… maybe it’s because of that. But what do I have to do in order to touch them”
“Maybe a bit more gentle… Look, like that person over there…”
Saying that, Shido’s eyesight was focused on one of the customers who was playing with a black
cat… and froze in place.
The reason is simple, the customer’s figure looked so familiar.
The girl’s clothing was pure black with ruffles, long hair that had been tied into two strands, her
bangs covering her left eye.
—Tokisaki Kurumi, the [Worst Spirit] that once appeared in front of Shido.
It seems that Kurumi hasn’t noticed them yet. She’s currently making the black cat flip over, as
she gently touches it’s belly.
“Muhuhu… here feels better, mew?”
As if replying to Kurumi, the black cat mewed, as it gently licked Kurumi’s finger.
This time Kurumi absentmindedly shrieked in delight as she rubbed the cat on her cheeks.
“Really now, such a cute child…”
At this moment, she seemed to notice Shido and Tohka’s existence. As she hugged the black cat,
she also froze in place like Shido and Tohka.
“…What did you just see?”
“Nothing, mew…”
Shido’s words made Kurumi’s cheeks become bright red with embarrassment. She elegantly put
down the black cat and coughed.
At the next moment, Kurumi’s shadow gathered into the center and another [Kurumi] in Astral
Dress appeared.
“Wha…?”
Shido and Tohka let out astonished voices at the same time. The [Kurumi] with the Astral Dress
smiled in a flirtatious way, as she changed her gaze to Kurumi playing with the cat.
“I let you see one of my clone’s humiliated side—This clone can only be kept until now. It seems
that I should’ve disposed of her earlier.”
Just as the [Kurumi] with the Astral Dress finished her words, the Kurumi idling there was being
dragged into the shadows.
“Aaa… re…”
It seemed as if Kurumi purposely let out that voice as she disappeared into the shadows.
“Ahh… Kurumi…?!”
“Hehe… Have a nice day”
The [Kurumi] with the Astral Dress laughed as she disappeared into the shadows.
“Wha… What just happened, at first…”
“U,umu…”
Shido and Tohka looked at each other as they didn’t know what to do.
“Haaaa…”
In the shadows, the [clone] wearing the Astral Dress let out a sigh.
“In short, for [my] reputation, I’ll let it go this time. Be more aware in the future, [me]”
“…I’ll properly handle it”
While withstanding the shame of being chided by her own clone, Kurumi reluctantly nodded her
head. In reality, it’s all thanks to her role of being the [real body] that saved her.
“…Next time, I’ll set up a good security outside the shop”
“Won’t go to that cafe’s options—”
“Ei…”
“No… nothing”
The clone [Kurumi] sighed with defeat.

Spirit Merry Christmas
Eyes are the window to the soul… just like this saying, there is power within sight, or to be
specific, a stare.
The human eye is but an organ controlled by facial muscles. Though since the beginning of
humanity, many thought the eye held incredible strength.
However, the power within the eye is not physical. It gives a slight tingling feeling when one’s
being stared at. This feeling is, perhaps, a poetic form of detecting someone’s thoughts and
wanting to understand what they truly want to say.
But…
“…”
The power that Itsuka Shido is feeling right now is so strong that he’s beginning to wonder if
someone is firing a beam at the back of his head.
The time is 6:30 p.m., Shido stood at the kitchen as usual and was going to prepare dinner, but
the stares are starting to be unbearable for him.
As sweat dripped down Shido’s face, he glanced at his back.
6 pairs of eyes stared back at him.
From the right, Tohka, Yoshino, Natsumi, Miku, Kaguya and Yuzuru. Some have their backs
against the sofa, while others are posing like they were going to pounce onto him; but all of them
are staring at Shido. It was as if they were sprinters waiting for the starting signal, or a predator
waiting for its prey to show weakness.
“…Um…”
Shido made a noise, unable to stand this awkward tension anymore.
“Maybe it’s time to tidy up that table over there…”
At that moment-
“‼ Umu! Leave it to me!”
“No way, this is solely my assigned responsibility!”
“Restraint. There is no need to dirty Kaguya’s hands. Yuzuru will work instead.”
“No, no, please let me do it‼”
“U-um… me too…”
“Come on～ let Natsumi help too～”
“I-It’s not like I wanted to…”
For some reason everyone was raising their hands at once. Then, as expected of the Spirits of the
Winds, the Yamais were fast to start and were able to get the cloth first, but only to fight each
other over cleaning the table soon after. Being only a step slower, Tohka held her fists tight with
a look of regret as she made a “Kuu…” noise.
“Shido! Is there anything else I can help with?! I will do anything!”
“Um… You, uh… I guess you can help me get the food to the table…?”
“Okay!”
Tohka’s eyes sparkled as Shido replied, carrying the plates of food lined up in the kitchen
happily.
“Aann… This is so unfair!”
Next to voice her complaints was Miku. She spoke as if upset by her work being stolen by the
Yamai sisters and Tohka. Next to her was Yoshino and Natsumi, who also didn’t manage to get
anything to do.
“Is there nothing else for us to do, Darling?”
“Even if you say that, I…”
Troubled, Shido furrowed his brows and scratched his head. However, striking the palm of her
own hand, Miku seemed to have other ideas.
“Ah! How about this? We encourage everyone to work harder by singing a song～!
Yoshino-chan and Natsumi-chan should join as well～”
“E…Eeeh?!”
“Hey… don’t just say things like that…!”
Yoshino and Natsumi’s eyes widened at her suggestion, though Miku paid them no mind. Not
long, she closed her eyes and started singing with her beautiful voice.
“U-Umm…”
Yoshino’s eyes swum around indecisively, but she felt that she must do something to help Shido.
Now with her face fully reddened from embarrassment, she had no choice but to give in and
joined Miku in her song.
“Hey- ”
The shocked Natsumi choked on her words, as she soon realized that she was the only one not
helping. Embarrassed and hiding behind Yoshino, she started singing as well, yet nobody could
hear her voice― she’s only lip-syncing. Though whether she is doing it intentionally or not is
another question.
This is such a strange and wonderful scene, Shido thought, letting out a bitter smile.
While it’s not rare that Tohka and the others are volunteering to help Shido like this, the level of
enthusiasm today is just unusual― It’s almost as if it’s a dystopia where those who aren’t willing
to work are sent to some sort of concentration camp.
Though their reasoning isn’t hard to understand― The Spirits just wanted to be “Good Girls”.
“Was it… a bit too much…?”
Shido muttered as he recalled yesterday’s events.
◇◇◇
“Shi- Shido! S-Some… bad… happen!”
20th of December. Tohka, the person that suddenly busted into the Itsuka living room shouted,
seemingly out of breath.
It may have been because she was in a rush, but seeing her night-coloured hair stuck to her face
with sweat, and her crystal-like eyes floating around in dismay, Shido couldn’t help but widen
his eyes in shock.
“W- What’s happening? Why are you in such a hurry?”
Shido asked as Tohka tried to get her breathing in order.
“Com- Coming!”
“…Coming? What’s coming?”
“Some Santa guy‼”
“Huh…?”
Shido stretched his neck to the side as Tohka blurted out the name.
“Santa… As in Santa Claus?”
“Umu, that guy! Ai-Mai-Mii told me about it, is that guy really going to come?!”
“Um… well, something like that, I guess?”
Unsure how to answer, Shido scratched his cheek and furrowed his eyebrows in frustration.
“Santa…?”
Sapphire coloured eyes stared back from the sofa ― hearing Tohka, Yoshino and the rabbit
puppet on her left hand tilted their heads simultaneously.
Seems like Yoshino doesn’t know Santa either. Makes sense. They’re Spirits, it’s only natural
that they don’t know this world’s cultures and customs.
“Ah… Okay, where to start…”
“Fu… saying interesting things without me, Tohka?”
“Agreement. Please let us join your conversation.”
Shido was trying to explain the concept of Christmas simply for the two, before being interrupted
loudly.
From the source of the sound, two identical faces were found. The twins, who despite having
indistinguishable faces have vastly different bodies, stood in a mysteriously cool pose. They are
the Yamai sisters, Kaguya and Yuzuru. Like Tohka and Yoshino, they live in the Spirit Mansion
next door.
“Umu, Kaguya and Yuzuru should listen too. We may need your powers after all.”
Increasingly confused as to what Tohka is thinking, Shido’s head tilted, as if weighed down by
the imaginary question mark above it.
But before Shido even had a chance to ask what Tohka heard from her schoolmates, the excited
voices of the Yamais and Yoshino overwhelmed him.
“Huh? Something that Your Ladyship requires our assistance with, seems like it’s a matter of
seriousness.”
“Acceptance. Leave it to us Yamais.”
“So… What kind of person is that Santa guy?”

“Umu…”
Tohka nodded with a serious look on her face, and continued,
“Everyone, I’d like your attention. This man called Santa is said to come on the twenty-fourth of
this month, visiting children when all is quiet at night.”
“Huuhh…?”
Kaguya puckered her brows and pinched her chin from Tohka’s words.
“A suspicious person report? Sounds like a dangerous character.”
“Caution. This man has the nerve to foretell the date. Please describe his appearance in detail.”
“Umu… If I remember correctly, he’s said to be an old man with a long, white beard wearing a
red coat and carrying a large bag.”
“…What a funky outfit.”
“Agreement. I don’t think he’s sane.”
“And, he flies in the sky riding a sleigh driven by reindeers.”
“He can FLY?!”
“Frightening. What a freaky monster.”
Hearing the Spirits of The Winds being afraid when they can fly freely themselves, Shido could
only chuckle in response. Despite making Santa out to be a complete weirdo, they aren’t
completely incorrect― After all, if you pick out all the elements of Santa and analyse them one
by one like this, he is definitely suspicious.
“So, um… that guy goes to children late at night when they’re alone, right? What does he do to
them?”
Yoshino inquired with a worried expression. And then, with a serious expression, Kaguya and
Yuzuru replied,
“I suspect that the large bag he carries has something to do with your question.”
“Affirmation. Since everyone is sleeping late at night, there can be only one possible reason. His
bag must be full of kidnapped children.”
“W-wha…”
“Scary…”
Tohka and Yoshino’s voices started to shake. Though the Yamais kept their faces straight and
continued,
“As expected, it’s a monster.”
“Agreement. Considering its similarity, the name ‘Santa’is probably taken from ‘Satan.’”
“…”
After Yuzuru made such a conclusion, Shido started to sweat profusely. By the way, “Santa”
came from the word “Saint”, so what Yuzuru said was the complete opposite of its intended
meaning. Even the great St. Nicholas will cry in his grave from being mistaken for Satan.
As much as Shido would like to keep listening to this interesting conversation, the
misunderstandings are starting to pile up. If this continues, the Spirit Mansion might be fitted
with Anti-Santa Defensive Equipment in no time, and that would be dangerous for everyone.
Shido had no choice but to correct them.
“Maybe you all misunderstood him… Santa isn’t a bad person, you know?”
“Really…?”
Tohka glanced at Shido, still clearly distressed by Yuzuru’s deduction.
“Yep! Santa is a jolly old man that brings presents to children.”
“Presents?”
“Yeah, presents. If you hang a sock at the side of your bed, there’ll be a present in the morning
inside waiting for you.
“Muu… but… why is he doing something like that? Doesn’t he have anything better to do?”
“Why does he do that… if you ask me…”
Before Shido could come up with a reasonable answer, Yuzuru hit the palm of her hand as if she
noticed something.
“Realization. Yuzuru understands Santa’s true identity.”
“Oh? What is it then, Yuzuru?”
“Explanation. The matter is actually really simple. Why does he come in the middle of the night?
Why does he target children? The answer is simple… It’s a story made up by the parents to warn
their children to not stay up late, ‘You still haven’t slept at this hour? Santa will come find you
～’ Something like that.”
“Ah, I understand now!”
“…No, It’s not like that either…”
Still yet to have convinced them out of the “Santa is a scary existence” view, Shido opened his
mouth at another attempt to correct them―
Not before being interrupted again, this time by Yoshino raising her wavering hand.
“But… why does he give presents to children…”
“That’s right, and in socks too? What’s the point of doing that?”
“Explanation. Think about why parents want their children to sleep early… if you know why, the
answer is clear.”
“Mu… I don’t understand, why?”
As Tohka tilted her head in confusion, Yuzuru raised a finger and lowered her voice.
“Elementary. It’s simple, if the children are still awake at midnight, it’s hard to perform bedroom
activities.”
“…Cough, cough?!”
Yuzuru’s assumption was so wrong that Shido reflectively coughed, though Yuzuru doesn’t
appear to have noticed. She continued,
“So, to keep the children in bed early, the parents made up this existence named Santa. The
so-called ‘presents’ is likely just a euphemism for ‘siblings’, and such socks having presents is
just a metaphor for pregnancy.”
“O-Oh…”
“Um…Uh…”
“Muuu?”
Expressing their agreement in a faint voice, Kaguya and Yoshino’s cheeks dyed crimson.
Meanwhile, Tohka furrowed her brows yet again, seemingly confused.
“S-Stop! Stop it‼”
This is getting out of hand, albeit in a different way. This version of Yuzuru’s explanation is just
as dangerous as the one earlier. Shido waved his arms around and shouted for attention.
“Confusion. What is it, Shido?”
“Listen, Santa isn’t who you think he is…”
Shido cleared his throat with a cough, and finally got a chance to explain the concepts of Santa
Claus and Christmas to the Spirits― How fun it is to celebrate Christmas together with friends
and family, and how much children across the world look forward to the coming of Santa.
And so, the Spirits, who were doubtful at first, started to get excited. Near the end of Shido’s
speech, their cheeks were already flooded with pink, and their eyes glowed with anticipation.
“Wow! Sounds like so much fun!”
“I’m… looking forward to it too…”
“Kuku… So that’s what he is. Some sort of Saint, huh.”
“Question. Shido, will Santa come to us as well?”
“Huh? That…”
Yuzuru’s question also brought the attention of Tohka, Yoshino and Kaguya. All of them stared
at Shido with steadfast eyes, waiting for his answer.
“Um…”
Those puppy eyes… Shido couldn’t bring himself to say it, the fact that Santa doesn’t exist.
“Y…Yeah, he will… If you all behave and be good girls.”
Hearing those words, the Spirits looked at each other―
“…”
Then, as if they all agreed on something, they nodded strongly.
◇◇◇
―Fast forward back to this moment.
Shido sat on the sofa and sighed.
He already finished eating and is now resting in the living room but… while his body is relaxed,
his mind just wouldn’t be at ease.
In the kitchen is Tohka and Yoshino, one of them washes the dishes and the other wipes them
dry. The Yamais worked together to clean the rooms while Miku got Natsumi in a deadlock and
tried to keep everyone’s spirits up. Natsumi struggles, trying to escape Miku’s grasp, but to no
avail.
It’s almost like being treated as royalty. Whenever Shido stood up wanting to do something,
someone would rush to his side and say, “Leave it to me! You should rest up.”
By the way, even Miku, who should obviously know about Santa Claus, and Natsumi, who knew
most things about this world, seem to be playing along with the other Spirits and helping as well.
However, whether it is with the heart of watching something interesting unfold or mere peer
pressure is unknown.
While Shido contemplated his next move, a girl sat on the sofa next to him. She tied her long
hair into twintails with black ribbons; despite having had dinner not long ago, she still somehow
has the appetite for Chupa-Chups― She’s Shido’s little sister, Kotori.
“Looks like you messed up, Mr. Santa?”
“Gu…”
Kotori’s mocking remark immediately deflated Shido.
“Think before you speak, don’t make it difficult for us. Now the Spirits are looking forward to
Christmas so much that there’s no way you can tell them that Santa doesn’t exist.”
“R-right…”
Shido’s throat suddenly went dry, he reached for his black tea on the table. The liquid ripples in
the cup as he picks it up.
Perhaps seeing Shido in such a state triggered a switch in Kotori’s mind, she sighed,
“Hm… you really are hopeless. <Fraxinus> will provide the presents for you. On the
twenty-fourth, please put them next to their beds.”
“! I-Is it… really okay…?”
“There’s no other way. If there aren’t any presents waiting for them when they wake up on the
twenty-fifth, wouldn’t all their mental states be absolutely devastated? Do you really want
Tenngu City to be turned into a wasteland?”
“Sorry… I owe you one.”

Shido bowed his head in apology. Kotori looked away with a ‘hmph’ noise.
“…Well, credit where it’s due, you did manage to make the Spirits’ moods improve a little, so all
that is left is the ‘aftercare.’”
With a grunt, Kotori stood up from the sofa.
“Okay, now hurry up and get ready.”
“Get ready…?”
“Yep. You can’t just randomly give something to them as a present, right? Even if we can pretty
much guess what they wanted, it’s still safer to do some research before acting.”
“Ah, right.”
Kotori isn’t wrong, the word “presents” contains infinite possibilities. It feels like Tohka and the
others would be happy receiving anything but… if possible, it’s still better to confirm what they
truly wish for.
“Hey, everyone～! Come here for a bit please!”
Kotori clapped her hands as she summoned everyone to the living room.
“Mu? What is it, Kotori?”
“So, on Christmas night, everyone will get a present from Santa Claus, right?”
They all nodded.
“So, can you tell me what kind of presents you all would like?”
“Mu…?”
Tohka’s face showed surprise as Kotori asked.
“Why are you asking, Kotori? Isn’t Santa Claus supposed to give us the presents?”
“Eeeh? Umm…”
Troubled, Kotori scratched her cheek, but replied,
“Well, I got Santa’s contact through some secret means, so you’re free to request whatever you
want from him.”
“Muu… But Shido said Santa has this wonderful power that lets him know what children want…
does he not?”
“…”
Kotori threw a sharp gaze at Shido. Shido could only smile in response as he looked away in
embarrassment. Well, he may or may not have exaggerated a little when he explained about
Santa.
Kotori scratches her head, thinking hard to keep up the deception.
“Ah, well, here’s the thing. Santa’s telepathic abilities grows weaker the older his target is, that’s
why―”
“Muu, I see. By the way, how old am I again?
“…”
With Tohka’s remark, Kotori fell dead silent.
After a few seconds, she sighed loudly, as if filled with sudden determination.
“―You’re right, Santa should at least know what his targets want.”
“O-oi, Kotori…?”
With Kotori wearing a face as though she already went through all five stages of grief, Shido
called out to her in a worried voice.
“But, just in case, on the twenty-fourth, you should all put a paper next to your pillows with what
you want written on it.”
As Kotori finished, Kaguya’s eyes widened in surprise.
“But Kotori, if we do that then, would Santa still be able to prepare our presents before coming
to us?”
Quite the reasonable observation. Other Spirits nodded in agreement.
Then, as if answering her question, Natsumi said in a soft voice,
“…No, you don’t have to worry about that… because Santa- mmph?!”
Before she could finish what she said, Miku covered her mouth.
“Ufufu～ That’s no good, Natsumi. Let dreamers dream～”
Looks like it’s true, the originally human Miku and the wise Natsumi really do know the truth
behind Santa. “Right, Darling～?” As if reading Shido’s mind, Miku winked at him.
“Haha… well, that’s right.”
Without the mental strength to utter a proper answer, Shido chucked. Kotori raised her lollipop to
signify her intention of answering Kaguya’s question.
“Don’t underestimate Santa’s powers. The bag Santa carries is connected to the fourth
dimension, so he can get anything he wants from his vast gift storage facility anytime he likes.”
“W-Whaaaa…?!”
“Surprised. What an amazing power.”
Kotori nodded deeply as the Spirits gasped in surprise, and continued.
“So, don’t forget to write the memo before you sleep. Okay?”
The Spirits nodded at the same time.
“Okay, dismissed! You can get back to work now.”
At Kotori’s command, Tohka returned to washing the dishes and the Yamais continued to clean
up the rooms. Amidst the chaos, Natsumi tried to escape again. But alas, she was caught by the
ever vigilant Miku.
“O-Oi, Kotori…”
Glancing at the Spirits, Shido whispered to Kotori.
“What is it, are you upset? You know what they say, Shido. You reap what you sow.”
“…No, well, I don’t have any say in this anyway… but, is it really okay for you to say that?”
Shido’s words seems to have provoked Kotori, replying with a ‘hmph’, she said,
“Don’t look down on <Ratatoskr>― You’ll see for yourself. Whatever they request, we will be
able to prepare immediately.”
If Kotori is willing to go to such measures, there’s nothing much Shido could say either. He
raised both of his hands in surrender.
Though― there is one thing left in his mind.
“Kotori, what do you want for Christmas?”

“Eh?”
Kotori’s eyes widened, as if she had been struck by a strange fantasy, but not for long. In
seconds, she returned to her usual self, and crossed her arms, seemingly irritated.
“Fumph. It’s not like I need it. I’ve grown out of the age to be happy about Santa.”
Kotori shrugged in an overexaggerated manner as she exclaimed.
By the way, Kotori also used to be a dreamy girl who wrote letters to Santa. But in second grade,
Kotori saw, with her own eyes, her father trying his hardest to stuff her Christmas present down
one of the socks, and never believed in Santa ever since.
But, since her dad didn’t notice that Kotori saw him, for three years Shido witnessed the great
tug-of-war between the father that still thinks that his daughter believed in Santa, and Kotori who
couldn’t bring herself to tell her dad that he’s been found out out of consideration for him (It was
only when Kotori was in fifth grade3 and she accidentally wrote about her being worried about
her father’s health condition in the letter to Santa that this odd relationship between them ended.
“Santa” no longer, that night dad gazed into a picture of young Kotori, drank heavier booze than
usual― it was very memorable for Shido indeed.).
“…What is it?”
Kotori asked with a confused expression. Perhaps Shido’s inner thoughts were written on his
face.
“Nothing… don’t worry about it.”
“You’re being weird—Ah whatever. Leave the preparations to us, you’ll just have to be Santa for
the night.”
With those words, Kotori left the living room.
◇◇◇
24th December. Christmas Eve.
Because it’s a Sunday, The Spirits spent their entire day out shopping and decorating the house,
and at night they gathered together in a grand Christmas party.
Large plates of Pasta and Salad, bite-sized rice croquettes and colorful carpaccio. The main dish
wasn’t turkey, but a large roasted Chicken was in place. With such wonderful food before her,
Tohka’s pupils dilated in bliss and surprise.
The last dish was a cake to replace desserts. It’s a Christmas-styled cake, bought from the nearby
cake shop, with Santa and Snowman-shaped sugar cookies as topping.
With only two cookies, it’s not a surprise when the tension between the Spirits grew. After an
intense rock-paper-scissors battle, Miku won the Santa while Kaguya won the Snowman.
Though with Tohka intently staring at the biscuits, Miku decided to feed half of Santa to Tohka
through her mouth, and Shido decided that it’s time to stop them. If he had the foresight, he
would have prepared extra cookies, Shido thought, regretfully.
After dinner, it’s the Game Time everyone long-awaited for.
The “Game” here does not refer to the competitive games Kaguya and Yuzuru often compete
desperately in, but party games everyone can join in on. Jenga, UNO, The Game of Life and
Pop-up Pirate; everyone played these games together and whoever got the most points in the end
wins (there was Twister as well, but Miku was actively obstructing other players, so the match
was cancelled).
Also, Shido tried to call Origami a few times to invite her to the party, but for some reason, none
of his calls reached her. Sometimes such a rare occurrence can still happen.
At ten, after the Spirits tired themselves out playing with each other, they all returned to their
own rooms, yawning with tired faces.
“Alright.”
And, a few hours later.
Already dressed in his full “Battle Suit”, Shido slowly stood up.
Looking at the full-body mirror next to the shoe cabinet, he confirms his appearance.
A fluffy red and white velvet coat, long-ish boots and a leather belt. On his head a red and white
colored hat, and a giant cloth bag on his shoulder.
That’s right. Anyone living in modern Japan should recognize him on sight, it’s the quintessential
Santa Claus outfit, the perfect disguise, but, since they didn’t know what to give the Spirits yet,
the bag he is carrying is merely filled with packaging materials shaped in a ball.
“Okay, it’s time to go.”
Shido glanced at the clock hanging on the wall above him and muttered. It’s already midnight; to
be specific, it’s 1:30 am on December 25th. At this time, all of them should have already gone to
bed.
“Right, I’ll leave it to you. There’s already an agent at the Mansion waiting for you, contact me
once you find out what the Spirits want.”
Standing at the entrance, Kotori went “Fuaaa…” and yawned as she spoke. But, as soon as she
realized what she was doing, she coughed to cover up her mistake.
“Sorry, you’re tired already and I still had to stay up this late.”
“I don’t know what you’re saying. Anyway, the matter is in your hands.”
“Haha…okay, I’ll be going now.”
Shido opened the door as he smiled in responseー but, as he stepped out, his eyes suddenly
widened in surprise.
Subconsciously looking up, his throat could not contain his excitement.
“Woah…”
“What is it?”
Kotori asked, confused. Without turning back, Shido waved his hand at the Kotori behind him as
he continued staring up.
With distrust and uncertainness, she slipped on her sandals and trotted next to Shido.
“Ugh, what the hell is it this tim―”
And so, Kotori’s voice cut out before she finished complaining, and in moments, her expression
matched Shido’s as she gaped in wonder.
“Woah… it’s… snowing?”
Exactly. What their eyes are laying upon, is a completely different scenery from a few hours ago.
Small, crystal white snowflakes danced in the darkened night sky, shining with the reflections
from nearby streetlights.
The streets, the walls, the roofs of every building in the neighbourhood are coated with a thin
layer of powdered snow. It was as if someone scattered sugar on a freshly baked cookie. With the
moon peeking through the clouds, the streets glowed with dim moonlight. It was a beautiful sight
to behold.
“It’s so pretty… a white Christmas, huh. That’s rare over here.”
Kotori said, lost in thoughts. She’s right, with Tengu City being in the southern parts of the
Kanto region, such a thing as snow in December is a strange thing by itself.
“But, it’s such a shame. If it started snowing earlier, maybe the Spirits would have been able to
see it.”
“Haha… I think, maybe the real Santa Claus saw how hard working you are for getting gifts to
the Spirits and gave you a present too.”
“Wh-What are y…!”
Flustered from Shido’s statement, Kotori’s cheeks dyed red.
Her eyes swam around in panic for a while, but it didn’t take long for her to calm down, as She
turned her head away in an annoyed manner.
“Hmph. Leave those cheesy words for when you’re conquering the Spirits, not me.”
“Eeh? Is it really that gross?”
“Yes, you’re disgusting… I can’t believe you said, ‘The two of us being able to see snow
together tonight is a present from Santa Claus’; even the dirtiest of Playboys wouldn-”
“Hmm? Um, but, I didn’t say anything about us two…”
“…!”
Kotori’s eyes widened, and before Shido could even finish his sentence, she aimed for his butt
and kicked hard.
“Ow! What are you doing, Kotori?!”
“Just shut up! Hurry up and get going!”
“Yes, yes…”
He obediently agreed—There’s nothing that can pacify an angry Kotori, Shido knew this all too
well. Leaving a trail of footprints behind him as he marched through the snow, he waved
goodbye to Kotori.
Though, before he stepped out of the gate, he glanced at his back.
“Kotori.”
“What is it?”
“Merry Christmas.”
“…Merry Christmas.”
Kotori answered hesitantly, avoiding his gaze as she closed the door.
“Alright…”
After being seen off in this manner, Shido hastened his stride towards the entrance of the Spirit
Mansion.
Going through the automatic door at the entrance, he operates the intercom to enter the lobby.
Of course, typing in the room number and asking the Spirits to open the door for him is out of
the question. Shido enters the <Ratatoskr> admin override code, placing his hand on the machine
as it verifies his fingerprints and pulse.
With a light electronic sound, the door to the lobby opens.
“Sorry for intruding…”
Shido whispered as he snuck deeper into the Mansion. With the disappearance of chimneys in
houses nowadays, it should not come as a surprise when Santa’s infiltration methods also became
more high-tech.
By the way, the door Shido just went through was treated with special, bullet-proof materials, no
ordinary person can forcefully enter this building. Even the walls are robust and can handle
almost anything from both the inside and outside.
Well, even if it’s built to withstand external attacks… The main objective of its sturdiness is
more to protect others from when the Spirits suddenly go berserk than anything else, really.
“So, who should I start from…”
Shido goes through the list of occupied room numbers in his head and contemplates his visiting
order.
“The closest is… Tohka, right?
Tohka’s room is Room 410 on the fourth floor. It wasn’t hard to remember as the room number
coincides with the name Shido gave her, taken from the date they met each other.
Shido took the elevator to the 4th floor of the Mansion and stood before Tohka’s room.
Normally, the doors would be electronically locked, including this one. However, all of them are
unlocked just for tonight. Shido held onto the knob as he slowly opened the door, making the
least amount of noise possible.
As expected, the room was completely dark. Shido took out his handy flashlight before he
quietly snuck in.
Cautiously treading through the corridor, he steps into the bedroom. Right in the middle of the
large bed laid Tohka, snoozing off comfortably. Seeing that, Shido’s pulse hastened as he
re-acknowledged the fact that he’s setting foot in a sleeping girl’s room. Though, Shido noticed
one thing about the girl. The futon was not covering her belly at all, and it really bothered him.
“Ah… Why’d you kick your blanket off…”
Shido quietly grumbled as he reached for the crumpled bed sheets below her feet, pulling it over
her shoulders. Tohka squirmed and moaned, but she didn’t seem to have woken.
With a small, slightly bitter grin, Shido walked over to the side of her bed. On the table, as
Kotori instructed, lays a small memo, folded twice.
“Hum…What is it…what is it…”
Shido directed his light onto the paper, it read:
‘I want to eat a hamburg steak that is larger than any I’ve ever seen before’
“Haha…”
Such an iconic Tohka request, Shido thought, unable to contain his laughter.
With oddly good timing, Kotori’s voice came in from the miniature radio in his right ear.
‘How is it, Shido? Found out what they want yet?’
“Yep. ‘Hamburg steak larger than any I’ve ever seen’, it says.”
‘It’s Tohka, right?’
“You know?”
‘No doubt’
Kotori chuckled as she replied.
‘―Anyways, roger. Expect someone to come with the presents soon’
Soon after Kotori finished her remark, the door to the living room opened and silent footsteps
approached.
Expecting a <Ratatoskr> agent, Shido shone his flashlight at the person to identify their
appearance.
“…?!”
―And he almost screamed. It was not who he expected, to say the least.
Well, such a reaction from Shido isn’t unwarranted. After all, the person in question was a
woman wearing a reindeer suit and a really sleepy face.
“W-what are you doing, Reine-san…?
Shido lowered his voice and inquired. That’s right, the reindeer is <Ratatoskr>’s analyst and
Kotori’s friend, Murasame Reine herself.
“…mmh, I’m being a reindeer.”
“Why are you dressed like that…”
‘That’s the countermeasures for if the Spirits wakes up’
Kotori answered. Well, whether they’ll believe it’s the real Santa aside, wearing such a costume
does at least reduce the risk of being recognized immediately.
And you’re right to wonder how Shido recognized Reine in the first place despite her wearing a
costume, though the answer might be simpler than you imagined. It’s because the face part of the
suit was meticulously hollowed out, revealing Reine’s face; and as if to compensate for it, they
also stuck a red ball onto her nose. It was very strange indeed.
“…Anyway, here.”
Reine held out the bag she was carrying, seemingly unbothered by Shido’s question.
“T-thanks…”
Well, there’s no point in stressing the details. Though Shido couldn’t help but wonder when he
took over the bag, what’s the point of carrying a bag himself if someone is going to deliver the
presents anyway… but then again, when delivering presents, looking the part is important too.
Nodding as if to signify her work is done here, Reine turned around and took off, her round back
was strangely cute.
‘Hurry up, Shido, time’s a-wastin’’
“A-Ah, right…”
He should hurry up and hand the presents to Tohka, Shido thought as he peered into the bag he
was handed, but its contents took him by surprise.
Because what’s inside wasn’t the hamburg steak Tohka wanted, but ground meat, onions,
breadcrumbs, eggs and an assortment of spices.
“Oi, Kotori, what is this?”
‘What is it, you say? It’s obviously the ingredients to make hamburg steak’
“You’re telling me to make it here…?!”
‘That’s how it is, Shido. No matter how much presents I can stock up here, you can’t ask us to
store a cooked hamburg steak here, it just isn’t possible’
“I-I guess you’re right…but, what’s the silverware for?”
Shido asked as he grabbed a set of silver tableware from the midst of the ingredients.
‘Gifting food isn’t a bad idea, but wouldn’t it be nicer to have something they can keep as a
present?’
“I see… you’re right.”
‘So, have you started cooking yet? You should be done by now if you weren’t talking’
Rushed by Kotori, Shido sighed and left the bedroom, heading towards the kitchen.
Although the Spirit Mansion’s build is peculiar, its interior is just like any normal apartment,
decorated with furniture and daily necessities. Looks like cooking here wouldn’t be difficult.
“It’s okay if it’s just a different room…right?”
After making sure the bedroom door was secured, Shido turned on the light in the kitchen―it’s
dangerous to work a knife in the dark after all.
Shido washed his hands and began making the hamburg steak. Considering how large the portion
is, Shido had a hard time kneading the meat despite his experience in making this dish.
After fetching the largest frying pan in the kitchen and pouring oil onto it, he placed down the
meat, essentially covering the whole frying pan. It’s the first time Shido had ever seen, let alone
cooked such a large hamburg steak. It’s meaty aroma spreads across the room as the steak
gradually cooks itself.
“Yosh, looks like it’s done!”
Shido placed the steak onto a large platter for parties and condensed the remnants into a sauce,
then put the sauce into another container.
“Bang…bang…” As Shido wrapped the steak up and was about to head towards the bedroom, he
suddenly heard a strange noise.
“W-what was that…?”
Perhaps this Mansion is haunted, Shido thought, until he realized that the noise came from the
room before his eyes.
Yet to have dispelled his fears, Shido slowly opened the door. Though, what awaited him was not
a ghost or anything like that, but Tohka squirming in a worm-like position with her head on the
door. Not only that, but her stomach was growling like it had a mind of its own.
Looks like the smell from the hamburg steak has caused some reactions from within Tohka.
Relieved, Shido smiled as he placed the dish on her bedside, then carried Tohka back to her bed,
careful not to wake her up.
And right then, Shido spotted the sock hanging on the wall behind the bed, but… it doesn’t seem
like it’s possible to put such a big platter into the sock after all. If he really wanted to, he could
have just forcefully stuffed the steak itself right in the sock, but just thinking about how gross it
is to find an inflated sock dripping with meat sauce first thing in the morning stopped him― no
matter how much you love hamburg steak, there’s no way you’d have any appetite after seeing
that.
After some thought, Shido put the silverware into the sock, gently set the plate over its opening
and left Tohka’s room.
Next to visit is Yoshino on the same floor. Although Yoshino’s room number is smaller at 405,
it’s more convenient to visit Tohka first due to its position relative to the elevator. And, like with
Tohka’s room earlier, Shido quietly opened the door and snuck in.
Yoshino is sleeping elegantly, her futon covering up to her shoulders. Her rabbit puppet
‘Yoshinon’ pokes her head out of the blanket, it was very cute indeed.
“Alright. So, what does Yoshino want?”

Shido murmured, opening the memo on her bedside. It wrote:
‘I would like to have a cute hat’
With a detailed illustration of her desired pattern and colour drawn with coloured pencils, as well
as ‘It’s late, but please do your best out there, you have my support’ scribbled on the side.
“This is… huh…?”
Puzzled, Shido read the note again. The present she requested wasn’t a problem, but the words of
encouragement could very well be for Shido.
“Meh, no use in thinking about it. Kotori-“
Before he could finish, he found another piece of paper on the table.
Shido opens it, it wrote, with an odd handwriting:
“I want some new clothes～”
“That’s… Yoshinon, right?”
Mumbled Shido as he continued reading the note. Like Yoshino’s memo, Yoshinon’s also details
the design in the form of a drawing, with the additional note of ‘Yoshino is completely
defenseless now, you can kiss her as many times as you like, Santa-san.’ There was a bit of text
before “Santa” that was covered with ink, making it normally impossible to read. Out of
curiosity, Shido put his flashlight under the redacted part, revealing ‘Shido’ as its original text.
“…”
Yep. She’s definitely noticed. Whether Yoshino found out is unclear, but there’s no mistake that
‘Yoshinon’ knows the real identity of Santa Claus.
Droplets formed on Shido’s face as he glanced at Yoshino; her porcelain, smooth skin and
petal-like lips captivated him. She’s like a sleeping beauty, Shido thought, as Yoshino’s light
breathing resounds through the room.
Like ‘Yoshinon’ said, it looks like Shido really could toy with Yoshino as he pleases right now.
Naughty thoughts Shido never came across before flooded his mind, making him gulp audibly.
“Shido, are you awake? Hurry up and tell us her request”
“…! A-ah… Sorry. A cute hat, and clothes for Yoshinon.”
Shido held his breath for a moment and answered, describing the requested design as drawn.
“Okay, if it’s just that, we already got them ready right here. We’ll get them to you, just give me
a moment”
With those words from Kotori, it didn’t take long for Murasame Reindeer to appear again.
“…Shin.”
“Aah, thanks…”
After handing the bag to Shido, Reine Shakes her butt as she walks away. It didn’t look like she
was doing it on purpose; perhaps the costume is a bit loose in that part, and even walking
normally would cause such tremendous butt movements― no matter how many times you see it,
the way she moves is just mesmerizing.
Scratching his face before reaching for the bag’s contents, the hat and Yoshinon’s costume, and
placed them on her bedside.
“Alright…Now next would be, I believe, Kaguya and Yuzuru.”
With that, Shido left Yoshino’s room and headed towards the 8 th floor of the Mansion.
The sisters live in room 802. Seems like they were given this room due to its larger size than the
others.
Opening the door, Shido snuck into the room.
But the moment he entered, he realized something wasn’t quite right― contrary to all the other
rooms he visited earlier, the lights were still on, and sounds could be heard from the living room.
“Don’t tell me those two are…”
Shido peeks into the living room, keeping on edge. And as expected, Kaguya and Yuzuru were
still awake, playing fighting games on the TV. Seems like they’ve been at it for a while too.
“Ugh, these two… Just had to stay up after we told them to sleep early…”
Complained Shido, his face tensed up as he spoke. At this moment, the girls started to speak:
“Heeyyy Yuzuruuu… You ever wonder when exactly will Santa come?”
“Unknown. I have not heard of the precise timing. Seems like you’re already tired, Kaguya.”
“Wha-! That’s definitely not true! Staying awake is a piece of cake! I’m not going to sleep
without seeing Santa!”
“…”
Sweat wets Shido’s face as he eavesdrops into their conversation. Looks like they’re not just
staying up to play, but to catch a glimpse of the legendary Santa.
Though, it would be quite unfair to them if they were the only ones that didn’t get a present.
Luckily, they’re playing in the living room, and the bedroom is empty. If Shido were to get past
them, leaving behind their presents before bailing shouldn’t be a huge problem.
“Looks like there’s no other way… Let’s go then.”
With determination in his chest, Shido proceeded with caution.
“Suspicion. Is that true? There’s no need to force yourself.”
“W-what are you saying, aren’t you tired as well? Look, since like 10 minutes ago your combos
have been suuper monotone.”
“Resent. That’s not true at all. You just didn’t notice Yuzuru’s fine movements because your
attention span is lacking.”
“Ooh, reaally now? Seems like Yuzuru has a childish side to her too〜”
“Suggestion. If you think I’m tired, let’s bet on our next match.”
“Hehe… Sounds interesting… So, what are we betting on?”
“Smirk. The one who loses will have to confess one thing she likes about Shido.”
“Fufu- ?! W-Wait, wait what?!”
Kaguya suddenly yelled in a high-pitched voiceー well, Shido also almost did too. Such a bold
statement about him in this tense situation was… unbearable, to say the least.
Now with his cheeks fully dyed pink, Shido makes his way to the bedroom, breathing a sigh of
relief as he finds what he’s looking for on the bedside. Shido would really be stuck if they hadn’t
prepared their requests by then.
“Kotori, here’s what they want. Silver accessories for Kaguya and a digital camera for Yuzuru.”
‘Understood. I’ve got them right here, we’ll get them to you right away.’
“Ah, right― It looks like they haven’t slept yet so tell Reine to pay extra caution when entering
the room.”
‘Eh? They’re still awake? What a handful… Alright, I’ll tell her.’
A few minutes after their short exchange, Reine arrived at the Yamai’s bedroom.
“They didn’t notice you, right?”
“…Yeah. Seems like they’re too busy playing their game to notice me.”
“Really? That’s good.”
“…By the way, Kaguya shouted ‘He’s really gentle‼’ after she lost the game, do you have any
idea what that meant?”
“…No, I don’t.”
Shido replied, averting his gaze as he received the present from Reine, and stuffed it into the
socks hanging behind the bed.
When they’re done, Shido and Reine snuck out from behind the sisters. Seems like Reine is
being extra cautious of knocking into furniture, pressing down onto her antlers and lightening her
footsteps. Looking back, there’s no way she was unintentionally being this cute.
Luckily, Kaguya and Yuzuru just started a new match and didn’t seem to notice them. Shido
decided that now’s a better time than ever to scram, when the Yamais are still concentrating on
their match.
Yet,
Perhaps Reine let her guard down for a second; her antlers suddenly bounced up like a spring,
hitting the door frame with a clear, knocking sound.
“…Hmm?”
“Ah…”
Crap, Shido thought. It’s already too late, they definitely noticed.
Hoping he was just hearing things, Shido looked back towards the living room, but it only
reinforced his fears. Kaguya and Yuzuru both leaned backwards from their sofa with their eyes
wide open, controller still in hand.
“…Sa-Santa‼”
“Astonishment. There’s a reindeer too.”
“…‼”
Shido grabbed Reine’s hand in panic as they made their escape.

“Haa… Haa…”
“…Looks like they’ve given up.”
A few minutes later, Shido and Reine are panting heavily in a dark room.
After the duo got away from the Yamais, they hid in an empty room on the 6 th floor.
You may ask, how did Shido in his clumsy Santa outfit and Reine in her loose-fitting reindeer
costume even get close from matching the speeds of the two fastest Spirits― well, they did
almost get caught, but the moment the sisters got close to Reine, she took off the red ball
attached to her nose and threw it onto the ground, creating a smoke screen and used the
opportunity to escape… Needless to say, even Shido was surprised by such elaborate
preparations.
“Well… There’s only Miku and Natsumi left, yeah? I’ll trust you with the presents after I find
out what they want.”
“…Okay, See you soon.”
Leaving the empty room, the two went separate ways in the corridor as Shido continued his
mission. Taking the elevator to the 9th floor of the mansion, he reaches Miku’s room, room 901.
Being an idol living in this world, Miku usually stays in her house in the city. But for
convenience sake, she was asked to sleep over in the mansion for tonight.
Shido warily opened the door and entered, heading towards the bedroom.
However, the moment he walked in, he noticed something odd.
―Because the bed is empty.
“…!”
The moment he realized this, Shido tensed up. Perhaps Miku is, like the Yamais he visited
earlier, still awake and looking for ‘Santa’, Shido thought.
Though, scanning around the room he’s in, Shido couldn’t sense a presence at all, and it seems
like the bathroom is empty as well. None of the lights were on either.
“Huh…Kotori, you sure Miku lives in room 901?”
‘Sounds right, what’s wrong?’

“Miku doesn’t seem to be in here, I looked everywhere too.”
‘Eeeh…? You didn’t go in the wrong room right?’
“No… I’m pretty sure I’m in room 901 right now…”
He aimed his flashlight at the bed as he recalled. The futon and the sheets were disarranged―it
seems like someone slept in it not long ago. Looks like she hadn’t bothered with leaving a note
for her present either.
“She was here not too long ago… Where could she have gone…?”
‘Hmm… Okay, we’ll check the camera feed from the corridor over here, can you go to Natsumi
first?’
“Sure.”
There’s nothing else he could have done without knowing Miku’s request. Shido made for
Natsumi’s room as instructed.
Her room is hidden in the deepest corner of the topmost floor of the mansion. Seems like she
specifically asked for that room, but recently she’s been debating on whether to move to the
same floor as Yoshino.
Shido opened the door to Natsumi’s room and snuck in, quiet as a ninja.
He infiltrates the bedroom and shone his flashlight next to the sleeping Natsumi, searching for
the memo.
“…Oh, here it is… Let’s see…”
It read:
‘Book’
Just one, lonely word― Book.
Shido squinted his eyes. Seems like there was something written but quickly erased besides the
lone word.
With the help of his flashlight, he could just make out the words ‘Make-up set’ scribbled on the
paper.
‘Shido, how’s it over there, got Natsumi’s request?’
Kotori inquired. After a bit of thinking, Shido replied,

“A makeup kit and some cosmetics, as well as some How-To tutorial books in make-up.”
‘Huh, didn’t expect Natsumi to ask for stuff like that. Perhaps she wanted to change herself a
little, that somewhat makes me happy’
“Right? Ah, I almost forgot― Natsumi’s skin is a bit dry, so she’ll need a moisturizing lotion.”
‘Yep, yep’
“Don’t forget the skin cream as well, she’ll need that. Also, you’ll need to give her a few
different colours of blush and gloss, but make sure the colours aren’t too flashy, that would suit
her more. Any book will be fine, but please put ‘How to do Basic Make-up Without Damaging
Your Skin’ by Shinmeisha in the bag. That book should help her. Also-”
‘Yes, yes. Understood, Shiori’
“…Huuh?”
Kotori calling him by that name seemed to bring Shido back. Such detailed make-up advice
normally wouldn’t come out of a guy’s mouth like this.
Meanwhile―
“Mmmh… Guu… zzz…”
Low moans escaped from the bed. Perhaps Shido’s enthusiastic instructions awakened Natsumi.
Though surprised by the sudden noise, Shido continued to observe her. Natsumi’s making a
scrunched face as if she couldn’t sleep at all, but it seems like he was just worrying too much,
Natsumi was still fast asleep.
“What is it? She’s not having a bad dre…”
Before Shido finished his sentence, he noticed something.
Natsumi’s body seemed extraordinarily large, and her futon was bulging in a strange way.
“…! Don’t tell me she’s-”
Natsumi’s powers allow her to change her form into anyone she desires. If she’s having a bad
dream, her Spirit powers could be flowing back to her, causing her to involuntarily transform.
With that thought, Shido pulled away Natsumi’s futon.
But, well…
“Aaan… You’re being very naughty…”
Instead of a transformed Natsumi, Shido spots a sleep-talking Miku tightly clinging onto
Natsumi, seemingly in bliss.
“…”
At a loss for words, Shido puts the blanket back as if he didn’t see anything.
Now that Shido looked carefully, it seems like there’s another piece of paper next to the bed.
Looks like Miku just crept out of her room and got comfortable in Natsumi’s futon. Perhaps the
unlocked doors today are just another Christmas present for Miku.
“U-um… I guess I should look at what Miku wants as well…”
He unfurled the paper.
‘Darling ASMR CD for Sleeping (At least 3 patterns for each character)’
“…”
Shido held his head.
‘What is it, Shido, did something happen?’
“…It’s nothing, it’s just that Miku…”
Responding to Kotori’s inquiry, Shido explains the situation.
‘Ahh… I see. Well, nothing we could do about that. Give us a sec, we’ll come up with a solution’
“There has to be a way to do this…” Shido pictured Kotori saying to herself in a dejected voice
as she tries her best to come up with a solution.
About 10 minutes later, a reindeer arrived at Natsumi’s room, carrying another bag. The red ball
she jettisoned had seemingly magically reappeared upon her nose again.
“…Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“No, it’s fine, anyway-”
“…mmh, here.”
After receiving the bag from Reine, Shido spotted the cosmetics and makeup kit he was looking
for and took them out along with the makeup reference books, placing them on Natsumi’s
bedside.
“So, um… About Miku…”
Shido inquired, but his words were cut short by Reine shoving a book into his face.
“Mmh? What is th…is…?”
Looking at the cover, Shido started to lose his voice.
Because what’s written upon it was none other than ‘Itsuka Shido ASMR CD Script (3 rd
Edition).’
Shido turned to Reine. She seems to be fully prepared, laptop sitting on her thighs and
headphones worn on top of her costume. She sets down the microphone in front of Shido,
completely set for recording.
“Is this your idea of a solution?!”
Shido shouted, about to go insane.
‘Why don’t you tell me if you can think of another way? It’s not like it’s an unreasonable
request’
“Yes, that’s right! But what’s this (3rd Edition) Supposed to mean?! Were you preparing for this
before? How could you get so many versions out so quickly!”
‘Be quiet. You’ll wake them up’
“Guuu…”
With Kotori’s ‘Gentle Reminder’, Shido had no choice but to shut up.
Then, as if to tell Shido to hurry up, Reine gently pushed the microphone to Shido again.
“Ugh… Fine…”
With this going on, Shido is really stuck between a rock and a hard place. He shone his flashlight
on the script and started to read the first page:
“…Hmm? You’re tired? Yeah okay, don’t bother me, just go to sleep. Huh? Why do you need
me… Ugh, you’re so annoying… Didn’t I tell you to just go to sleep? Ahh, what’s that face
supposed to mean? Fine… You win… Five minutes, okay? If you’re not sleeping in 5 minutes
I’ll be leaving anyway, alri-”
“…Shin.”
Shido’s face fully reddened from embarrassment as he read the Script out loud. But Reine
stopped him before he finished the first page.
“W-What is it?”
“…You need to speak like you’re full of yourself”
“What do you meaaaaaaaannnnnn?!”
Shido couldn’t stand it anymore and shouted.
◇◇◇
“Oof… I’m so tired…”
About an hour later, Shido finished recording. Reine quickly edited and burned the data into a
CD.
Shido quickly placed the CD at Miku’s bedside and bid farewell to Reine, breathing a sigh of
relief as he’s finally free from his task.
‘Good work. You can come back now’
“Yeah… Good work to you too, Kotori. It’s okay if you go to sleep first if you’re tired.”
‘Hm. Please don’t look down on me like I’m an idiot. Just this bit of… Fuaaaa…”
The end of her sentence jumbled up as she yawned. She coughed to try passing it off, but
obviously she couldn’t fool anyone.
“See, you’re tired. Don’t push yourself too hard, you’ll get bad skin if you stay up too much.”
‘Alright, fine… I’ll take your word for it and sleep now then’
Replied Kotori, in a tone as if she had no other choice but to listen to him.
‘Goodnight’
“Goodnight.”
Replied Shido as he took the elevator to the ground floor and left the mansion.
The snow from earlier has already stopped. Though the streets are covered in a light blanket of
powder, it seems like it will all melt away before the sun rises. Maybe this really is a present for
Kotori from the gods.
After Shido locked the door, he went into his own room; but he’s not going to change just yet.
There’s one more thing he still has to do as ‘Santa.’
“Looking good so far…”
After spending some time wandering around doing nothing, Shido took out a small box from a
cabinet and quietly walked in the direction of Kotori’s room.
Shido made sure Kotori really was asleep before he opened her door, and edged towards the
sleeping Kotori.
“The snow was a wonderful present, but nii-chan won’t lose to anyone.”
Shido said as he placed the box next to his sister’s bed.
“Merry Christmas, Kotori.”
Shido said as he gently caressed Kotori’s head, and started returning to his room.
“Well… Guess Santa’s job here is done tonight.”
But.
The moment he opened the door to his own room, he froze.
The reason is simple. Inside the room exists a person that wasn’t here just a minute ago.
The person in question was a girl of the same age as Shido. Tidy, shoulder-length hair, and her
tiny, delicate body are both her major characteristics.
“O-Origami…?”
Muttered Shido, still stunned by her presence. Yes, she is Shido’s classmate, Ms. Origami
herself.
However, the major reason why Shido is frozen is not just Origami’s presence. Despite how
weird that fact alone is, there’s an ever bigger problem.
What’s covering Origami was not any sort of clothing, but instead pink-coloured ribbons.
And seemingly out of nowhere, she pulled out a giant, human-sized Christmas sock. She waved
her arm inside the sock to spread the opening, and was about to enter.
―As if she’s the present herself.
“…”
Looking at Shido’s (non-)reaction, Origami began to twist her body deeper into the sock.
“Hey! What the heck are you doing?!”
“Present.”
“What present?!”
“Me.”
“What do you meaaannn?! Get ouuuttt!!”
Shido shouted. But, there’s nothing he could have done― he wants her to get out of his room as
soon as possible, but touching her anywhere really is a no-go right now.
After thinking about Shido’s commands, Origami took her feet out of the giant sock.
For a moment, Shido thought she’d be a good girl and go home… But obviously it was wishful
thinking. Origami opened up the sock with quick movements and bagged Shido entirely.
“Muagahvugsuifaig…?!”
“Present secured.”
“Mmph!! Mmmmh?!”
Shido helplessly struggled in the sudden darkness.
―In the end, Shido proposed giving her the Santa costume he is wearing. It took an extra hour
for her to accept it.
‘Shido! Shido!’
“Mmph… Ugh…”
The next morning.
What awakened Shido was the energetic squeals from downstairs.
Before he knows it, the next thing he hears is the sound of excited footsteps up the staircase, and
loud banging on his door.
“Shido! Look! When I woke up there was a hamburg steak and a set of really beautiful cutlery on
the table!”
“For me, it was… a hat… and…”

‘Yoshinon’s clothes!’
“Listen to me, Shido! In the darkness of the night, a red-clothed Saint and a mystical beast with
giant horns appeared before Yuzuru and mine eyes!”
“Astonishment. Before Yuzuru noticed, there’s already accessories and a camera next to our bed.
“Darling! Darling!! This is soooo niceeeee! I’m so happy I can’t sleep anymoreeeeee!”
“A-Ahh, Woah…”
Tohka with a giant plate, Yoshino with her new hat and Yoshinon with her new clothes, Kaguya
with her silver accessories and Yuzuru with her camera, Miku with her oddly happy face, and
being held hostage under Miku’s arm, a blushing Natsumi with a new makeup kit. The girls all
rushed into Shido’s room at once. There’s also Origami wearing a Santa costume that’s a bit too
large for her standing in the background.
“Fuaaa…”
Shido yawned from sleep deprivation as he slowly sat up. As tired as he is, he couldn’t just
ignore the Spirits who were all excited about their presents.
“Oh, isn’t that nice? You’ve all been good girls this year, it seems like Santa knew all about it
and gave you all Christmas presents.”
Shido said, and the Spirits replied with a happy but embarrassed smile.
And, the next moment, the door opened with a loud thud as Kotori busted in with a small
pendant in hand.
“Shido! T-This…!”
“Ooh! You got that as your present, Kotori? That’s pretty good!”
Tohka smiled as she noticed the item on her hand.
“Eeh? Ah-“
Perhaps she noticed something; Kotori stopped her words mid-sentence, and cast his gaze
towards Shido, seemingly mouthing to him, ‘Thanks.’
“Haha…”
Looks like Kotori received her present pretty well. Feeling a sense of achievement, Shido
stretched his back.
But.
“…? Shido-san, what is that?”
Yoshino unintentionally spotted an item next to Shido’s bed, and questioned.
“Eeeh?”
Shido followed Yoshino’s gaze and looked on top of his bedside cabinet.
There was a small, beautifully wrapped box perched on the desk.
“This is…”
Shido’s eyes met Kotori’s. There’s no way anyone else except her would do such a thing as give
him a present, right?
But, Kotori shook her head as if she didn’t know anything about it. He then looked at Origami,
Miku and Natsumi, they all reacted in the same exact manner.
“Seriously…?
―Maybe, just maybe, Santa does exist after all.
Shido held the present close to him as he looked into the blue sky.
Kurumi Santa Claus
“A gift… what is it for?” asked Kurumi as her doppelgängers mutually interchanged

perspectives.
“Why don’t we prepare a present for Shido-san, Christmas is hard to come by after all.”
“But we can’t just deliver it to his house. Our relationship with Shido-san is very delicate.”
“Then let’s sneak in at midnight and place it beside Shido-san’s pillow.”
“…” Perspiration beaded atop Kurumi’s forehead. More importantly, she planned to masquerade
as Santa Claus. That was no joke as Kurumi brusquely shook her head.
“Are you kidding me? Do as you please to give Shido-san a gift.” It was no different from letting
her younger clones handout presents to Shido.
Although that would settle it, Kurumi’s younger clones were unstable compared to her, and
would get themselves entangled in their emotions. She was afraid that they would develop
exceptional attachments to Shido due to prolonged contact with him. There would be no other
alternative but to slay them. As long as she still had time, replenishing her fallen was an
effortless task. However, it was indeed somewhat displeasing to kill herself. On the other hand,
forcefully restricting their free will would also affect their obedience to her.
“There’s no other way. I’ll do it then.” Kurumi sighed with resignation. Her words caused them
to be radiant with joy.
“Finally a decision has been made.”
“Hihihi, what should we get him?”
“Us, any suggestions?”
“But should we act tonight? If we were to get ready now—” As they fervently discussed, a
certain version gracefully raised her hand.
“If that’s the case, then leave it to me.”
“Yyou?!”
“Me from five years ago!” The others immediately cleared a path for Kurumi to view her raised
hand, as if it was a drama stage.
“…Ara,” interjected Kurumi as her cheeks momentarily twitched. Her reaction was inevitable, as
although the Kurumi who stood there was indeed herself, she was slightly distinct from the other
Kurumis in the way she was dressed.
Instead of tying it into bundles, this Kurumi had decorated her hair with ornamental roses and
wore a formal black and white dress with frills. In addition, she also wore a medical eyepatch to
conceal her clock-faced left eye.
Her clone, who was fascinated by that eyepatch in an attempt to hide her heterochromia iridium
five years ago, had reappeared. Kurumi couldn’t help but feel a sense of shame while looking at
her previous self who thought it was quite cool at that time. To be honest, she didn’t even want to
meet said individual.
“Leave it to you? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Hehehe, it means what I said,” ridiculed Eyepatch Kurumi as she took out a small box from her
bosom.
“I knew this day would come, so I had prepared a little something,” explained her with an air of
complacency as the other clones around Eyepatch Kurumi uttered sounds of acknowledgement.
“How thoughtful, Me.”
“As expected from Me.”
A gust of wind blew intriguingly; however, Kurumi was still anxiously drenched in sweat. The
reason was simple. She had an uneasy impression of the gift selected according to Eyepatch
Kurumi’s taste. Whether she had perceived it or not, the Kurumi from five years ago strode
elegantly towards Kurumi and handed over the casket into her hands. Although its size was tinier
than her palm, the item felt rather heavy, as if it enclosed a metallic object or a material of
similar density.
“…Hmm, what’s inside, Me?”
“Hehe, he will look forward to it when Shido-san unveils the lid,” the worst reply possible within
limits.
“…” Kurumi staggered from dizziness. ‘What in the world could it be,’ thought Kurumi as she
tried to ponder from her past self’s standpoint.
“Is it a reverse cross patterned ring with my name engraved on it to make him mine, Me?”
“Correct.”
“Correct?! Did you just say ‘correct’?!” exclaimed Kurumi unbearably.
“Just kidding. It’s something else hihi,” stated Eyepatch Kurumi, earning herself a doubtful glare
from the original.
“…” Although she could just utilize Zafkiel’s tenth bullet, <Yud>, to instantly know the contents
of the casket, Kurumi couldn’t simply squander her precious time.
Well, either way it wouldn’t hint that the present was from Kurumi. She sighed as if giving up.
“Fine. I just need to deliver it to Shido-san while he’s asleep, right?”
“Yup, that’s right.”
“I see…”
“Shido-san would undoubtedly be delighted!”
However,
“—So it inevitably leads to this, huh…” At that moment, yet another clone had shown up.
“Yyou?!”
“Me wrapped in bandages from six years ago.” As if they were all sliced by that voice, the clones
split in between like previously and directed their piqued curiosity towards her. It resembled how
Moses had divided the Red Sea. What manifested there was a Kurumi covered in bandages all
over her body. Her right hand, left leg, and needless to say her left eye.
Despite her excruciatingly agonizing façade, this weathered Kurumi hadn’t really sustained any
severe injuries. A mere scrape on her right hand didn’t require using the fourth bullet, <Dalet>,
so she had patched the wound with a bandage. However, as she kept twining the gauze around
her hand, Kurumi gradually became more and more stimulated with arousal, until she even
bandaged unhurt parts of her body.
… That masochist and Eyepatch Kurumi were alike; Kurumi could not look them in the eye.
“What do you mean, Me?” asked Eyepatch Kurumi while Bandage Kurumi profoundly smiled
towards Kurumi.
“It’s simple. My attire. Or would you rather approach Shido-san in that apparel?”
“…Am I supposed to bandage myself?” said Kurumi as Bandage Kurumi overly shrugged her
shoulders.
“Not in that sense. The gift can’t be marked with my vestige. Wouldn’t it be pointless if I were to
be spotted during the mission?”
Kurumi suddenly realized what she meant and nodded in agreement. True, Kurumi needed to
prudently prepare for every possible eventuality. Her rather characteristic Astral Dress would be
easily recognized.
“That’s not wrong… I guess I’ll change my clothes.”
“There’s no need, I have already grafted a fitting costume.”
“Eh?”
In response, bandage K
urumi raised the corners of her mouth and plunged her hand into the
shadows, fishing out a piece of festive clothing. A costume constituted with the colors of red and
white.
“That is…”
“Santa Claus?” The clones widened their eyes. Bandage K urumi had extracted a thick jacket, a
pair of modern pants, a strawberry red hat and an enormous sack; Santa Claus’ fashion.
“Ehe, this way you’ll be distinguished as Santa Claus if you’re caught.”
“Don’t joke around!” shouted Kurumi in embarrassment. She was flustered over enrobing such a
frivolous outfit. Ignoring Kurumi’s outcry, her clones once again seethed with ebullience.
“Ahh, excellent, excellent!”
“Un, very well matched with Me.”
“Hehe, any outfit would suit Me.”
“Hey… listen to me—”
In that instant…
“That won’t do.” Another one appeared.
“Yyou?!”
“Me obsessed with a cute lolita style from seven years ago!”
For the third time, the other clones halved. The Kurumi standing there exhibited a clear cut
contrast with the original, and wore a pure white dress inlaid with decorative laces and folds. She
was the perfect embodiment of a sweet, Lolita Kurumi.
“What’s the meaning of this, Me?”
“The design of that outfit is honestly too unsuitable.”

“Any complaints?” asked the other clones incomprehensibly. Lolita Kurumi shook her head.
“It possesses ample functionality, I’ll give it that, but a lady mustn’t neglect her graceful poise.”
“Then what should we do?”
“Hehehe…” Lolita Kurumi advanced towards Bandage Kurumi and took the jacket and pants,
leaving the hat and sack in her hands.
Unbeknownst of when, the clothing grasped in Lolita Kurumi’s hands had transformed. Although
the hues remained red and white, the model and design were completely different. The outfit now
exposed a lot more of her soft skin and distinctively highlighted her slender curves. The greatest
modification, however, was the fact that the previous modern pants had been converted into a
petite miniskirt.
That feeling of boldness made the clones uproar in support.
“So that’s how it is! The chief d’œuvre!”
“The formerly rustic vestment had transformed into a lovable mini Santa outfit!”
“As expected from Lolita Kurumi!” As if it was an act of sorcery, the other clones all clapped
their hands.
Bandage Kurumi only shrugged, “Yare yare, can’t oppose that.” Actually it was just a magic
trick of sorts by replacing the costume with another one from the shadows, but the Kurumi from
seven years ago seemed to fancy such performances.
“Saa, Me, change into this and head to Shido-san’s place.”
“Stop playing around! Why must I be the one to do it?!”
“Ara, then I’ll be the substitute,” said Lolita Kurumi uncaringly.
“Guu…” groaned Kurumi in repentance. “Fine, let’s go,” she said exhaustively within the
shadows.
“Ara ara, no more motivation left…”
“We’ll be noticed in such a state.”
“…” Hearing the clones behind her leisurely spout, Kurumi couldn’t help but gnash her teeth as
if to drop the idea forever, and peered out her shadow. After confirming her surroundings,
Kurumi smoothly egressed from her silhouette.
That Santa costume tightened around her waist like a skintight corset, audaciously baring her
shoulders. The cute miniskirt and boots inlaid with white pom poms also matched the season.
Kurumi couldn’t reject her clones’ demands and put on the Christmas attire. Following a
democracy of fools results in self degeneration, a fatal drawback which Kurumi had seen.
She felt a little frosty owing to the somewhat immodest clothes. It was because it had snowed a
few moments ago too. The entire street was covered in a bright sheet of white.
Be that as it may, Kurumi couldn’t continue her dillydallying and quickly decided to accomplish
her task at hand to the best of her ability.
Kurumi had appeared outside the Itsuka residence doorway. According to her clones’ report,
Shido was currently at the apartment next door, distributing presents.
Originally she had wanted to deliver her gift while Shido was asleep, but there was a possibility
that he might wake up. Therefore, Kurumi exploited the fact that he wasn’t at home right now.
This was also a condition she negotiated with her clones in exchange for wearing the outfit. She
became more and more restless at the thought of Shido catching her midway. A portion of her
clones were dissatisfied with this outcome, but were silenced by Kurumi’s relentless glare.
“Saa, I should settle this fast,” uttered Kurumi while extending her hand to turn the doorknob.
Suddenly,
“—Waaait!!!—”
“—Where’s—”
“Ara…?” The unknown voice caused Kurumi to observe the houses around there, wondering
what it was chasing. Then, the sound of a pattern of steps and the sound of an automatic door
opening came from the apartment to her left.
“Kuh… where did Santa Claus flee?!”
“Observation. Not too far probably.”
The identical twins exited the apartment and gazed in all directions.
“Wah, it’s snowing, isn’t it!”
“Astonishment. Snowy white everywhere.”
Kurumi recognized their faces, the Spirits who controlled prevailing winds, the Yamai sisters
Kaguya and Yuzuru. It looks like they were searching for something.
“—! I found someone, Yuzuru!”
“Confirmation.That redwhite figure. No doubt about that.”
“Eh?”
Kaguya and Yuzuru’s eyes abruptly widened as they ran in Kurumi’s direction. She too detected
the unusual situation and started to trace down the street in a flurry.
“Hold it—right there!”
“Chase. You can’t escape.”
“Wwhat’s going on…?”
The unexpected development disarrayed Kurumi’s mind into chaos, unable to grasp her state of
affairs. But being captured would incur all sorts of inconveniences. Still unclear as to why she
was being pursued, Kurumi began to flee under the cover of the night.
“Haa… Haa…”
Even she herself didn’t know how long she had been running. It was not at all easy for Kurumi to
hide herself in the shadows in order to shake off the Yamai sisters.
It goes without saying that Spirits with sealed powers were no match for Kurumi. But she
preferred not to leave any traces that night, so she refused to expend any of her time no matter
what.
Kurumi once again returned to Shido’s house after regulating her breathing.
“Seriously… what in the world happened…?” asked Kurumi rhetorically while arranging her
train of thought. She deduced that the Yamai sisters must’ve been looking for Shido dressed up
in a Santa Claus costume and caught sight of her, changing their target. It was really annoying.
“Which is why I hate disguises…” grumbled Kurumi.
“Ara araara.” A voice reverberated from within the shadows. “But if you hadn’t worn that, the
Yamai sisters would’ve immediately recognized you.”
“Kuu…” Kurumi knitted her brows. She faced the Itsuka residence and entered the courtyard.
“Well then, here I go.”
Opening the front door was a rather crude and impetuous action, seeing that Shido could’ve gone
back already during that period of time. Not to mention that his sister Itsuka Kotori, the Spirit of
fire <Ifreet>, could also be inside the house.
Kurumi lightly set foot onto the overhanging porch of the first floor’s ceiling of the Itsuka
residence, and peeped into Shido’s room from outside the window, but then noticed something
was amiss. The window was already unlocked.
“Ara…?”
Her entire body stiffened at the sight from outside the window. The reason was simple. Another
visitor was present in Shido’s room in lieu of him.
“…”
Shido’s classmate, Tobiichi Origami, was currently at the center of his room, stripping cloth by
cloth. Her sweater, blouse, skirt, shoes, even her bra and panties, every piece until she was stark
naked.
Soon after that, Origami took out a roll of bandages from a briefcase she brought and tied her
body with it, as if she was wrapping a present. After packaging her nude body, Origami let out a
contented breath. But that was not all. She then took out an enormous sock which could fit even
a human and squeezed inside.
At that moment…
“…”
The door creaked open and Shido entered his room, finally finished with his Santa Claus getup.
A taciturn moment… What happened next was all anticipated.
Origami had presented herself to Shido inside a huge sock. The poor boy desperately tried to run
away and make sense of his predicament. Who offers herself as a gift?! Why not something like
a stamp? To stamp other things! What are you thinking?! Shido lamented.
After an hour, Kurumi was thoroughly frozen to the bone outside. Shido promised to give his
costume to Origami as a present for the two to reach an agreement, in addition to doing a
hundred pushups, situps, stretches, squats and a variety of different exercises while still wearing
them. Although he didn’t quite understand why, Shido had no choice but to comply.
“Finally… done…”
Watching Origami leave at last, Kurumi rubbed her exposed shoulders and clashed her teeth
repeatedly, her whole body shivering due to the freezing cold. However, her entry was still
hindered since Shido hadn’t fallen asleep yet. Not for long though.
Shido, having his costume robbed, prepared to engage in slumber soon. After a sneeze, he
changed into his pajamas and got under his blankets, and with a yawn started to snore.
“…”
Whilst she affirmed whether Shido had fallen asleep or not, Kurumi pried open the window
frame and intruded into his room. Although the interior was comparatively better than outside,
she still felt chilly. Intending to get through with it as fast as possible, Kurumi reached into her
sack and rummaged.
Unexpectedly.
“Mmh…” hummed Shido as he turned over his body.
“…!” panicked Kurumi.
The best thing to do was to swiftly get the deed done before Shido woke up, even though she had
suffered an hour or so of icy coldness due to Origami.
“…Sso cold. No choice then,” whispered Kurumi as she uncovered Shido’s blanket and made her
way inside.
“Aah…” moaned Kurumi as Shido’s body temperature engulfed hers, warming her up. “This
feels so good…” Her previously frosted fingertips slowly gained warmth and her consciousness
dimmed with sleepiness. “Aahh…”
If Kurumi were to surrender to the demon of sleep, the next day would dawn with outrageous
circumstances. But the cozy blanket and Shido’s body persistently dissolved any ounce of
awareness she had left.
“Nno… aah… I mustn’t… ahh… but…” Kurumi’s eyelids gradually dropped.
“Mmhm… Kuru… mi…?”
“…?!” jolted Kurumi as she regained consciousness in a split second after hearing Shido’s voice.
In her mind she thought that he had awakened, but it was merely a dream.
“Really… don’t scare me like that.”
Did Shido sense her presence or was it by coincidence? Unaware why, Kurumi had arisen in his
dream.
“Ara ara, what are you dreaming about, hm?” Kurumi gently touched the tip of Shido’s nose. He
let out a puff.
“…because you… helped… me… so…” Some sleep talking had leaked out.
“…” Kurumi observed Shido’s sleep face in silence and sighed.
“Ara ara.”
After she was satisfied, Kurumi left the blanket and tucked him back in, placing her present
beside his pillow.
“Saying those things in your dreams? You really are Santa Claus, Shido-san,” narrated Kurumi
as she climbed onto the windowsill.
“Rest well…” paused Kurumi who decided to use a more suitable tone for tonight.
“Merry Christmas, Shido-san.” Kurumi jumped out of the window.

Afterword
Long time no see, this is Tachibana Koushi. For you, I present “Date a Live Encore Volume 3”.
What do you think? If you readers liked this book, it would be my greatest honor.
There are only a few pages left this time, so I’ll be quick and share my customary thoughts on
the short stories. The content will mention plot points from the stories, so readers who have not
yet read the short stories, please beware.
Miku On Stage
Miku is the protagonist of this short story. A popular idol and Miku’s opponent in this
story─Asakura Hiyori appears as well. Because this is a short story and new characters can be
played freely, I like those characters a lot. However, the downside is that it makes it difficult to
choose which illustrations should be drawn.
This is a story about the lingering effects of Tsukino Yoimachi and Miku’s growth. To make a
digression, Asakura Hiyori and Tsukino Yoimachi’s names have characters in common relating
to the sun and moon. When Hiyori debuted, she was named after Tsukino.
Shiori Penalty
The protagonist of this short story is the beautiful Shiori. Shido is forced into a situation that he
can’t escape lest his shameful past is discovered. Judging by the fact that ‘beauty’ was added, it
seems that the identity has become deeply entrenched.
To sum it up in a single sentence: “What would happen if the beautiful Shiori came to school?”.
Since it was tough to get the chance to write this story, I remember how annoyed I was with
having to choose which activities to use. However, the scene with Origami on the train had been
decided from the start. How could I write this without that, she is Origami after all.
Natsumi Teaching
So the protagonist for this story is Natsumi. If you want to imagine it: Think of the adult version
of Natsumi dressed as a female teacher and Yoshino who’d been transformed into an adult using
the power of <Haniel> which allows for transformation rather than growth after all. That’s what
Natsumi was imagining when she imagined an adult Yoshino in her mind. In addition, I
unconsciously had the classmates including Ai, Mai, and Mii being more active. I never would
have thought to think about their families.
Mana Research
It finally happened: A short story focused around Mana. It can be shown that Mana, who rarely
wears her hair down, looks just as beautiful as Shiori. Truly, she is worthy of being sisters with
her. Wait, they are brother and sister.
It’s a story about the tomboy Mana. Because to Mana, the love between a real brother and sister
is deeper than the sea, Captain Shido would be able to accept it. If I had a chance in the future,
should I write a story about Shiori and Mana shopping together? Would anyone want to read
that?
Cat Cafe a Live
This was a short story that came with the full set of special purchases on Amazon. This describes
the cafe cafe (Nya). I originally wanted to use “Nyo” at the end of the sentence but I thought I
would be in danger if I did that.
Spirit Merry Christmas
This was one of the unpublished manuscripts. Yes, there were two new drafts this time. It’s really
luxurious!
As the title suggests, it is a story about Christmas. Everyone wrote down the gift that they
wanted but Yuzuru wanted a digital camera. Who influenced her to want that? In addition, Miku,
who loves Shido and beautiful girls, can get both at once. Miku is really good at budgeting.
Kurumi Santa Claus
This is the second unpublished manuscript. The same is true of “Cat Cafe a Live”, Kurumi in
short stories are often underestimated. That said, I really liked the clones’ various outfits.
Probably another clone with a strong personality can become a heavenly king. Hahaha…! Was
the blindfolded Kurumi defeated? However, she was among the weakest of us… I want to say
that Kurumi will force them out.
Then, on December 26, the day after Christmas, the volume of the manga adaptation of “Date A
Live” will be released! Please support it! Since it is the final volume, interested readers, please
buy the first and second volumes together!
All the same, this book was completed with help from many people.
Tsuanko-sensei who was in charge of illustrations, the responsible editors, the publishing
company, sales related personnel, and all of the readers who bought this book to read, really,
thank you so much.
It will be a great honor for us to meet again next time on <Date a Live Volume 12>.
Koushi Tachibana
November 2014
Translators: Lightning Farron, Koyuki, Baka Tsuki
Editor: Ene
- Ene
Date A Job Case 1: Student
“Nuu… ‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch’…”
One day during a break, Tohka folded her arms and tilted her head with a sad expression.
“Tohka-san, is there something wrong?”
“You look really sad.”
Yoshino, who was dressed in the same uniform as Tohka, spoke together with Yoshinon. Tohka’s
lips curved into a frown as she raised her head.
“Didn’t the teacher just say that? If I can’t eat the meal that Shido made for me, I’ll be very
troubled. But… what kind of work am I supposed to be doing?”
After she finished speaking, Tohka let out a low moan.
“If you think about… your occupation would be a student, right?”
“Oh, that’s true… huh? By the way Yoshino, Yoshinon, why are you two wearing our school
uniforms?”
“T-That’s…”
“You don’t need to worry about something like that~!”
“Muu…?”
Although she didn’t understand what Yoshino and Yoshinon were talking about, she decided not
to think too much about what they said.
“But, that’s it? Am I a student? So does that mean my profession is a student?”
Tohka nodded suddenly but a few seconds later, she found herself confused again.
“Muu… so, what exactly are students supposed to do?”
“You sure are asking a really strange question inadvertently, Tohka.”
Yoshinon folded her arms as she spoke. Yoshino mimicked her movements as she smiled bitterly
before speaking:
“What students have to do… they should focus on their studies.”
“Studying. Muu… like reading… so that’s how it is.”

Tohka murmured a “Uh huh” while nodding in agreement but almost immediately afterward,
more doubts arose as she tilted her head again.
“Are sports included as part of this?”
“Umm… physical education is also part of the curriculum. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that it’s
something that students have to do.”
“That’s right~! When it comes to learning, it doesn’t have to mean just reading. It would be
better to say that everything that you do at school can be thought of as a student’s job. After all,
talking with your friends is also very important!”
Yoshinon nodded as she spoke.
After hearing those words, Tohka let out an astonished, “Whoa!”
“That’s it. That means… eating a bento or bread from the cafeteria is also something that
students should do!”
“Um… that’s… probably true.”
“Hmm… if you describe it as part of making you stronger, you could say that… right?”
Upon hearing Yoshino and Yoshinon’s responses, Tohka nodded energetically.
“That’s it! Then in order to eat as best as a student should, I have to eat a good bento!”
Once Tohka declared that loudly, Yoshino and Yoshinon could only smile in embarrassment.
Date A Job Case 2: Maid
There was a special maid cafe located in a corner of Tengu City.
However, contrary to its magnificent appearance, the maids who worked there were out for
blood.
“Ara ara~, Origami-san, how are you? When will you realize that your hard work will amount to
nothing?”
“Tokisaki Kurumi, I will not lose to you.”
Tobiichi Origami and Tokisaki Kurumi were two of the maids who often competed for the
position of Head Maid in this shop.
However, there could only be one Head Maid. Therefore, the two of them intended to compete
for the title based on their total earnings.
“Hehehe, I will show you today.”
“I am not interested in the status of Head Maid. But I won’t let you claim the reward of kissing
the manager’s cheek.”
Once Origami finished, Itsuka Shido, who happened to overhear the conversation between the
two of them, felt his shoulders tremble.
“Eh! This is the first time I’m hearing about this kind of reward.”
“Heeheehee hee hee! You certainly sound confident! I will show you how vast the difference in
strength between the two of us really is!”
“No need to ask.”
“…Hey you two…”
The manager’s voice fell on deaf ears.
So the shop opened without any further comment. Perhaps word had spread about the two who
were competing for the title of Head Maid, but fans from both factions had swarmed in and
called for the two of them one after the other and their wages rose sharply.
“Hehehe! Welcome back, Master! Ara, who allowed you to just walk in on your feet?”
“Please place your order. A small discount recommendation is this special omelet rice for 29800
yan. I will write a Marine Corps-style abusive message with ketchup on top for you.”
Both factions received their guests in their own ways and managed to win over the hearts of their
customers. However, as closing time neared, Origami started to take the lead.
“It’s my win. There’s only ten minutes left, there is no way you can turn this defeat into a
victory.”
“Hehehe! Don’t be too sure about that.”
Kurumi wore an arrogant smile. In the next second, several customers poured into the shop.
And—all of them looked exactly the same as Kurumi.
“What… this is…”
“Hehehe! Welcome back, ladies. Who would you like to serve you?”
A confident smile appeared on Kurumi’s face as she spoke. At the same time, the countless
Kurumis nodded.
“Yes, We—”
The person that the Kurumis were pointing at was not Kurumi herself but instead, the store
manager.
“We want the store manager.”
“…Eh?!”
Shido’s eyes widened. Kurumi started speaking frantically:
“You… what are you doing…! This is different from what we agreed on in the beginning!”
“Eh~! But~!”
“We want to play with the manager too~”
“What’s the matter? What’s the matter?”
“Hey, wait a minute…!”
The group of Kurumis dragged the store manager away.
On that day, the store manager, Itsuka Shido, was crowned the Head Maid.
Date A Job Case 3: Little Sister
“—So that’s how things are. I need to do my job as a little sister.”
“Wait a minute!”
As she spoke, Kotori stood up, her chest puffed out. Meanwhile, Mana had responded with a
frown mixed with a look of confusion on her face.
“I have to do my job as a little sister… speaking of which, being a little sister isn’t an actual job,
is it?”
“What are you talking about? The National Sister Law was enacted five years ago. In order to be
a little sister, it is officially required to obtain a license.”
“The National Sister Law? Do I really have to get a license to be a little sister?!”
“Yeah, in this society, it is not enough to be a younger sister just by saying that you have an older
brother or sister. By the way, the competitive rate for getting a little sister’s license is 20.5 times
compared to last year.”
“That’s way too competitive!”
After Mana shouted loudly, sweat trickled down her cheeks as she continued:
“…So let me ask a question then, if the competition rate for a little sister’s license is so high, that
must mean that not a lot of sisters have earned it yet.”
“Yes. I managed to get one, but Japan is filled with girls who failed to earn one.”
Although she was concerned about being labeled a “losing sister,” Mana wisely kept her mouth
shut and then said:
“Then… how would those people be addressed in terms of being relatives…?”
“Not-brother.”
“WHAT!”
With a bitter expression, Kotori stared at her suspiciously.
“I notice that you’ve been asking a lot of really basic questions since we started talking about
this… Could it be that you’re an unlicensed sister?”
“The phrase ‘unlicensed sister’ is too absurd…”

After Mana finished speaking, Kotori crossed her arms as though she understood everything
before nodding and saying:
“So that’s how it is… You have to be careful. It doesn’t matter how good you are, it is illegal to
conduct little sister behavior without a license. A while ago, an unlicensed sister was arrested.
She called her client “brother” and now she has to pay a high bail.”
“How do people make this a career…”
Mana’s expression was impatient as she spoke. It was at that moment, Kotori and Mana’s
brother, Shido, happened to pass by.
“Oh, what are you two doing?”
“Ah, Nii-sama!”
The moment that Mana called out to Shido in that way, a blaring siren suddenly sounded off
from somewhere.
“Huh! What is this…!”
“Uh-oh, it’s the little sister police! They heard you calling Shido ‘Nii-sama’!”
“Little sister police? W-What the hell is that?!”
“I’ll explain it to you later! Get out of here! If they catch you, they’ll send you to sister jail where
you’ll be held for sister correction!”
“W-What!”
Mana was still dumbstruck by the situation as Kotori pushed her back and forced her to flee the
scene.
Tohka Working
During a break time at school.
Yatogami Tohka sat at her desk as she leaned forward.
“Muu… Shido, what are we having for dinner today?”
Her hair was as dark as the night sky as she turned her lovely face to face Shido. However, Itsuka
Shido, who noticed Tohka closing the distance between them, reflexively leaned back slightly as
sweat trickled down his face.
Tohka, who lived next door to the Itsuka household, came over for dinner every day. However, if
their classmates overheard their conversation, it would almost certainly lead to unnecessary
rumors again.
“…Ah, can you speak a little quieter, please?”
“Muu… so that’s what it is… Sorry, so what is on the menu for dinner?”
Tohka asked more quietly as she asked Shido again. Shido sighed helplessly.
“For today… Let me think for a second, what about omurice?”
“…! O-Oh… Is that the soft and tender thing?!”
“Yeah, I’ll also drizzle all of it with honey.”
“T-The whole thing…”
Tohka’s hands trembled as her expression turned to one of intoxication. Shido had previously
prepared omelette rice for Tohka before. She seemed to like it very much.
“Umu! I think that sounds great! I’m really looking forward to it now!”
“…I just told you to be a little quieter…”
“Tohka-chan!”
Suddenly a voice interrupted the two and Shido’s shoulders shook slightly.
Then, he glanced over his shoulder to confirm the voice’s owner and then his entire body
stiffened.
Because the voice’s owner was one of Tohka’s friends who was standing behind them. They
were also the gossip machines of their class: Ai, Mai, and Mii.
If they were to find out what they were discussing, there was no doubt that everyone would find
out by tomorrow. Shido briefly wondered if it would be possible to make sure they didn’t find
out about what they were talking about.
However, it seemed that none of them seemed interested in the conversation between Shido and
Tohka. Instead, they just surrounded Tohka at the same time and took hold of her hands: Ai had
grabbed her right hand, Mai grabbed her left hand, and Mii with no hand to hold on to, put her
hands on Tohka’s head.
“M-Muu…? What are you doing?”
Tohka suddenly found herself surrounded by people as she adopted a confused expression. The
three of them pressed their enthusiastic faces closer to Tohka.
“Say, Tohka-chan…”
“Do you think you could…”
“Work a part-time job?”
“Part-time job? What’s that?”
Tohka’s previously confused face turned to one of surprise.
“Well, to put it simply…”
Ai raised a finger as she quickly explained what a part-time job was. Tohka uttered an, “Oh” in
understanding and nodded happily
“So that’s what it is. It’s about working in order to make some money.”
“Yeah. Yeah. So how about it? We want you to work at a cafe called [La Pucelle] located in front
of the station.”
“Recently, another coffee shop opened up nearby to compete with our shop. One of the
waitresses was poached and ended up quitting the job!”
“Please! It’ll only be for a few days!”
The three spoke with the energy of a cannon. Tohka murmured quietly.
“Our store is in a big crisis! The shop that just opened up nearby is notorious in this industry for
being part of a chain!”
“Yes. Yes. They seem to open stores in all sorts of locations and then deliberately find flaws in
the other shops and then ruin the other stores’ reputations. As a result, we’ve had fewer and
fewer customers coming to our shop which is a huge problem!”
“So that’s why we came up with the idea that if we had the beautiful Tohka-chan come to work
at our shop, we could get our customers back in one swoop…!”
Finally, they blurted out their true intentions. If that was the case, it doesn’t make sense to work
for only a few days.
“What do you think, Shido?”
“Huh? Hmm… that…”
Shido was caught off guard by the question. Shido frowned with a distressed expression on his
face.
So they wanted her to work out front of the cafe… which is to say as a waitress. Although Tohka
was more used to the world compared to before, suddenly having her work in the service
industry, would she be able to handle it…?
While Shido was thinking about that, Ai put her mouth close to Tohka’s ear and whispered
something.
As a result, Tohka let out an excited, “Oh…!” Her eyes had widened as she glanced in Shido’s
direction and nodded enthusiastically.
“Leave it to me! I will start working!”
Having heard what Tohka said, Ai, Mai, and Mii’s expressions turned to ones of radiance.
“Okay! Then it’s decided!”
“I will let the manager know!”
“Work will start today after school!”
After they finished speaking, the three of them waved their hands goodbye as they left Shido and
Tohka.
“H-Hey, Tohka, are you sure? It’s better to give it some thought before you answer…”
“No problem! Leave it to me! I’ve been to the place called the cafe many times before!”
As Shido asked Tohka anxiously, Tohka, in response, patted her chest confidently. Shido stared at
Tohka suspiciously.
“…So what did they say to you?”
Tohka’s shoulders shook obviously as she broke out into a nervous sweat while puffing her
cheeks as she said, “Boo! Boo!” It seemed that she was trying to whistle innocently but she
didn’t know how to whistle.
Ai probably promised her that any leftover cake that they had would be hers. Shido scratched his
head helplessly. He then pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed a certain phone number.
Soon, from the other end, he could hear his sister, Kotori’s voice.
[“Hello Onii-chan? What’s up?”]
“Oh, sorry, Kotori. There’s something important that I need to talk to you about…”
[“…Wait just a moment…”]
After Kotori finished speaking, he could hear a rustling noise from the other end of the call. It
was most likely the sound of Kotori switching her ribbons that she tied in her hair.
[“—So, what happened with Tohka?”]
The voice that responded was laced with stern maturity and elegance which was a stark contrast
from the little sister she’d been behaving as just before.
[“Could it be that you saw her ignorant about something and then taught her something obscene
then made her repeat it loudly and got her in trouble?”]
“I would never do that!”
[“Then what is it?”]
“Well… Tohka said that she wanted to start working a part-time job…”
[“A part time job? What kind of job?”]
“I don’t know the exact details, but it sounds like she’s going to be a waitress at a cafe. It seems
that she’s only going to be working for a few days… What do you think?”
Shido asked while Kotori thought about the situation for a moment before answer:
[“…Good.”]
“Are you serious?! Can Tohka handle working in the service industry?”
[“This is an important experience. Have you forgotten our most important mission? It’s to
peacefully eliminate the cause of the spatial quakes: by allowing the Spirits to live peaceful lives.
We also hope to help the Spirits actively integrate into society. Since Tohka intends to work, we
shouldn’t try to ruin this for her.”]
Hearing what Kotori said, Shido sighed quietly.
In fact, Tohka was not a human being but the cause of the disaster called the spatial quake: a
Spirit.
Kotori is the commander of the secret organization <Ratatoskr> that worked to protect the
Spirits.
[“You shouldn’t worry about it so much. I’ll help you out here. Being overprotective is not going
be a good thing for Tohka in the long run.”]
“Y-Yeah… you’re right.”
Shido sighed as he hung up and faced Tohka again.
Meanwhile, Tohka was like a puppy who was obeying her master’s orders and waiting patiently.
She put her hands on the desk and looked at Shido as though awaiting a final verdict. Shido
smiled bitterly and put a hand on Tohka’s shoulder.
“Kotori said yes… So do your best.”
“Umu!”
Tohka replied energetically.
◇◇◇
That night.
There were loud footsteps in the corridor while Shido was watching TV in the living room.
“Shido! I’m back!”
The door to the living room swung open, and Tohka, dressed in her school uniform appeared just
outside the door. It seemed she’d stopped by the Itsuka household before returning to her room to
change clothes.
“I have a gift for you!”
After Tohka finished speaking, she passed a lovely box she’d been holding over to him. Shido
opened the box and discovered a variety of cakes inside.
“Wow… there’s so many…”
“Umu! The manager gave them to me! Let’s eat them together!”
Tohka smiled broadly. Shido couldn’t help but smile wryly in response. Just as he thought, it
seemed that she’d been lured by this reward and agreed to work.
Shido picked up the apron hanging on the back of the chair and headed to the kitchen while
putting it on.
“You haven’t eaten dinner yet, right? Just wait a minute, I’ll prepare it immediately.”
“Umu!”
After hearing what Tohka said, Shido waved a hand and pulled out two eggs from the
refrigerator. It was almost 9:30 pm but Shido hadn’t eaten dinner yet. He wanted to wait for
Tohka to come back so that they could eat together. Incidentally, Kotori said that there was a lot
of work for her to deal with and it seemed that she intended to spend the night aboard the
<Fraxinus>.
He’d already prepared the chicken rice and the honey sauce in advance but he had to prepare the
egg freshly because reheating it in a pot or a microwave would ruin the characteristic soft and
tender taste of the egg.
Shido stirred the egg in the pan and glanced at Tohka who was sitting in the living room.
“So… are you doing well?”
“Muu…?”
“I meant at your job. Do you like your job?”
“Oh, of course!”
Tohka nodded energetically as she patted her chest proudly.
“Really? What did you do today?”
“Muu, they taught me how to greet first. When the customers come in, we have to say
‘Welcome’ to them and we have to say it energetically!”
“Well, that’s basic etiquette.”
“Then, they gave me the uniform.”

“Oh, what kind of uniform is it?”
“Muu… it looks kind of like rabbit—”
“…Huh?”
As though he heard something odd, Shido tilted his head and poured the scrambled egg into the
pan.
Wearing a rabbit-like uniform… After hearing this sentence, Shido’s immediate thought was a
bunny girl with shiny clothes, fishnet stockings, and a rabbit ear headband.
“N-N-No, how could this be possible?”
Tohka’s workplace was not a nightclub, but an ordinary cafe. Shido shook his head vigorously. It
was most likely a uniform that looked like a rabbit doll costume (which was already
problematic). Shido nodded slightly, forcing himself to accept this answer.
However, Tohka didn’t seem to notice what Shido was thinking and continued excitedly:
“Also, the next task was to deliver meals to the customers.”
“T-That’s what I figured. So what kinds of things do you sell at the cafe?”
“I think… Muu… now that I think about it, there are some strange drinks.”
“Oh?”
“I asked the manager about it. She told me to have a drink. It seemed to be a drink called a…a
Gin. After drinking it, my body felt warmer than before.”
“…What?”
Hearing what Tohka said, Shido frowned. A beverage that would immediately warm up the
body… In his mind, he immediately came up with names of several alcoholic drinks that minors
weren’t allowed to drink like a Gin and Tonic or Gin Gimlet.
“Hey… Tohka, those wouldn’t be…”
Shido spoke as sweat trickled down his cheeks. Tohka, however, didn’t notice as she spread her
arms out and continued:
“Ah, right. There’s another thing.”
“Huh… what else do you have to do…?”
“Well, after we close the shop, I go to the back room to help the manager feel good. In addition
to the salary from the part-time job, I can get extra tips!”
“…What!”
“Muu?”
Shido’s brows furrowed in doubt as he shouted.
“Shido? It smells like something is burning!”
“Huh? Ah…!”
At Tohka’s prompting, Shido looked down at the pan in his hand.
The egg in the frying pan had been overcooked. Instead of soft and tender, it was black and
charred and letting off smoke.
◇◇◇
“This is…”
The following day, Shido decided to go to the cafe [La Pucelle] located in front of the station.
The reason was simple: after listening to Tohka describe her job yesterday, Shido was worried
about her.
Of course, he’d called Kotori to ask about Tohka. Kotori simply emphasized impatiently ‘that
there was nothing to worry about’ before she hung up. She’d suggested that since he was so
worried about it, he might as well just go and see for himself.
It was currently 1:30 pm. Today was Saturday and Tohka was supposed to have a shift this
afternoon. Shido discovered Tohka was about to head out and so he put on sunglasses and a mask
as a disguise and followed her there.
Shido stared at the appearance of the cafe from a distance. It had antique wooden walls and
signs. There was a small blackboard next to the door that listed the days’ recommended specials.
At first glance, it looked like an old, privately run cafe.
“…It looks like an ordinary cafe…”
Shido shook his head gently after making that observation. He couldn’t afford to be careless even
if it looked like any other cafe.
He clenched his fists and mentally prepared himself. He solidified his resolve as he pushed the
store door open. The space inside the shop was much bigger compared to the outside. It looked
like the waitresses were working hard to keep the cafe well maintained.
He’d heard that the number of customers had decreased due to intentional trouble from a rival
cafe… but it still looked like the cafe was almost full. If this was considered a decrease in the
number of customers, how many show up on a normal day?
“Oh! Welcome!”
At that moment, a familiar voice rang in Shido’s ears.
Tohka’s figure appeared darker due to the sunglasses. She was wearing a cute frilly looking
waitress uniform as she smiled sweetly as Shido.
“…!”
Because the outfit suited Tohka so well, Shido involuntarily gasped at the sight of her. To be
honest, even though it was for a disguise, Shido immediately regretted wearing sunglasses.
“One?”
“Huh? Ah, yes please.”
“Umu, then this way please!”
After speaking, Tohka escorted Shido to a table by the window. Shido listened to the music
playing quietly in the cafe and sighed in relief. It seemed that Tohka hadn’t recognized him. He’d
successfully managed to sneak into the cafe.
However, doubts started forming in Shido’s mind.
That’s right. Although Tohka’s uniform was a little frilly, it was still a perfectly normal waitress
uniform. It was not like the sexy bunny costume that Shido imagined.
“So what rabbit was she talking about…?”
Just as Shido was wondering about that, Tohka placed boiling water and a wet towel in front of
Shido, nodding in satisfaction at having completed her task.
“Muu, it’s perfect. Have you decided what you want to order?”
“Huh?”
It felt a bit too sudden for him as a customer to order… but that didn’t matter to him. Shido
skimmed the menu and casually picked a meal that caught his eye.
“…Could I have the Darjeeling black tea? Ah, and the Italian pasta.”
Shido ended up ordering a black tea and a dish. Because he was so worried about Tohka, his
appetite and thirst were nonexistent. Until now, anyway, when his stomach started to rumble.
“Umu, got it! Please wait a minute!”
Tohka nodded energetically.
Just as Tohka turned to walk toward the kitchen, Shido’s eyes widened.
Because Tohka had a rabbit-shaped name plate clipped to her chest and her surname [Yatogami]
was written on it.
“Ah… so that’s what she meant when she was talking about the rabbit…”
Shido scratched his cheek. It seemed that he’d misunderstood what Tohka said and over-thought
the situation.
Shido sighed in order to calm his racing heart and then glanced around at the cafe.
It was a very elegant-looking cafe. The tables and chairs were all meticulously decorated. He
noticed several light fixtures radiating a gentle light. Every corner was diligently clean to the
point of being spotless and the store manager’s attention to detail was obvious. Rather than
serving as a place for female high school students to come and talk after school, the atmosphere
here was more in line with elegant ladies being able to sit down and enjoy their tea quietly.
“It looks like a great cafe…”
Shido took a sip of his water as he mumbled to himself.
“But… I can’t know for certain just yet…”
Shido took another deep breath to recompose himself as he reviewed the menu once more.
According to what Tohka said, he’d suspected that alcoholic beverages were available for minors
to purchase here.
…However, no matter how carefully he scanned the menu, he couldn’t find a single alcoholic
beverage listed. That was to say nothing of alcoholic Gin or even beer that wasn’t listed. The
only items on the menu included pastries along with coffee, black tea, simple dishes, and cakes.
“…Is there a different menu available at night…?”
Just as that thought crossed Shido’s mind, there was an energetic voice that rang in his ears.
“Sorry for the wait!”
Looking around for the source of the sound, Shido spotted Tohka standing there with a silver tray
in her hands.
“Here is the Darjeeling black tea and Italian pasta you ordered!”
“Ah, thank you… huh?”
After Tohka placed his order on the table, Shido frowned.
The Darjeeling black tea was in an ordinary teapot and cup.

The main problem was the Italian pasta. On a large white plate was a pile of steaming red
noodles. To be honest, this dish looked more at home in an eating challenge: finish the dish
within 30 minutes and it’s free!
“P-Please, this is…”
“Umu! I told the manager that the portions weren’t big enough so a bigger plate was added for
me!”
“…”
Tohka wasn’t the one who was going to eat this… Although he thought this rather than said it
aloud. If he did say it, it would no doubt give away his true identity. Shido nodded sincerely and
answered:
“…Thank you very much.”
“Umu! If you need anything else, let me know!”
Tohka spoke energetically as she turned and walked away.
Shido stared at Tohka’s retreating figure for a moment before turning his gaze to the giant Italian
pasta placed before him and sighed. Now that he’d ordered it, he had to work hard in order to
finish it.
But there was still something Shido needed to check. Shido called a nearby waitress who
happened to be passing by.
“Excuse me.”
“What is it?”
The waitress was puzzled. She was one of the three people who’d asked Tohka to work here: Mai
Hazakura. She had ordinary looks with no defining characteristics about her. Much like Tohka,
she also wore a cat-themed nameplate on her chest.
“I was just wondering, is that…”
Shido pointed at the nameplate. She nodded and said, “You mean this?”
“Isn’t it cute? Because there are many customers who visit this shop with their children, the
manager made these.”
“Oh, so that’s what it is…”

Shido felt his body relax a little with the explanation.
“Ah… can I ask you another question?”
“Of course, what is it?”
“Does the menu here change from day to night?”
“No, we only have a single menu at this shop.”
“Ah, but I heard from someone who said that there was a ‘Gin’ kind of drink here. If you drink
it, your body will feel warmer…”
“Oh, you must mean…”
Mai explained by pointing to a specific item on the menu, namely the final item on the drinks
menu.
“This drink.”
Shido looked where Mai had pointed and he felt another drop of sweat trickle down his cheek.
“…Ginger honey milk…”
“Yes. It’s our recommended drink from this shop. You will feel warm after drinking it.”
“…”
There were hand-painted illustrations of ginger, bees, and milk on the menu. It was a very cute
picture and Shido wouldn’t doubt that he would feel warm after drinking it.
However, Shido shook his head vigorously.
The bunny girl and the wine were definitely misunderstandings caused by Shido’s tainted ideas.
But there was still one last concern that he couldn’t ignore.
“There’s one last thing, Waitress-san. There’s something else I’ve heard from others…”
“What is it?”
“I’ve heard that after the store closes, employees can get extra tips if you can make the manager
feel comfortable. Is that true?”
After Shido finished speaking, the silver tray in Mai’s arms dropped to the floor with a clatter,
with some of the other patrons reacting with surprise.
“You… how do you know about that! Are you an enemy spy?!”
“H-Huh?”
“No, I’m only joking… But in all seriousness, where did you hear about that?”
Mai picked up the tray and stared at Shido with a curious look. Shido plastered a fake smile as he
pressed on.
“Then… is it true?”
“Yes, because it’s so profitable, everyone is rushing to do it, but usually girls who are skilled are
the ones chosen…”
“…!”
Hearing Mai’s answer, Shido froze.
It seemed that Shido’s worries were well-founded and he couldn’t let Tohka work in such a
place. Just as he was about to stand up from his seat—
However—
“After all, the manager is quite old. After working all day, her shoulders get pretty sore. I have a
colleague named Ai who is very good at massaging so she’s often asked.”
“…Huh?”
Hearing what Mai just said, Shido’s clenched fists suddenly relaxed.
“…A massage?”
“Yes. Ah, look over there. That’s our store manager.”
Mai finished by pointing at the kitchen. Shido spotted an old woman in an apron looking very
elegant standing and smiling at the customers.
“…Uh…”
“Do you have any other questions?”
“…N-No, thank you.”
After Shido finished speaking, Mai nodded politely and walked away.
“…”
Shido bowed his head and remained silent for a moment then pulled the mask from his face and
stuffed it into his pocket before taking a sip of the Darjeeling black tea. The mellow fragrance
spread in his mouth, the taste was mild as though capable of purifying Shido’s filthy soul. He’d
felt so guilty for being suspicious as he watched Tohka work energetically.
Although she was not especially attentive with her service, her hard work and dedication seemed
to have won the favor of her fellow employees and customers.
The cafe was very nice with beautiful lighting and a good atmosphere. Kotori was right. Maybe
it was Shido who was too worried.
“…I’ll go home after I finish eating this.”
Shido breathed a sigh of relief as he picked up his fork and began to eat his pasta.
Today, Tohka would drag her tired body back home. The least Shido could do now was to give
Tohka a delicious dinner as a reward for when she returns. He would need to buy some
vegetables before he went home to prepare dinner so that she can eat it when she returns home.
“Hey, look at what you did!”
There was a roar from somewhere in the shop that broke the quiet atmosphere.
Immediately afterwards, mumbling could be heard all around the shop.
“What happened…?”
Shido frowned and looked around for the source of the commotion curiously.
His search rewarded him with two male customers seated at a table next to the wall; solemn
faces wrinkled with displeasure and their elbows leaning against the table. Meanwhile, Tohka
stood in front of them with a surprised expression on her face.
“Tohka…?”
Shido moved his sunglasses down to peek at the situation. The blond haired man pointed
impatiently at his feet.
“I’m burned! Hey, you just spilled black tea on me just now.”
“Muu? Really? Be careful.”
Tohka moved to leave after replying casually. As a result, another man with a bearded face who
also had his elbows resting on the table stood up and blocked her path.
“Wait a moment, Waitress-san, you’re too relaxed in this situation. You didn’t even apologize.
It’s too uncultivated.”
“Muu?”
Tohka tilted her head in confusion.
“Why would I apologize? He spilled it on himself.”
“Why? You’re clearly so scatter-brained! It’s because you hit me and so the black tea spilled
out!”
The blond man spoke with a rough tone. However Tohka frowned without a trace of fear.
“It’s a little odd to say that. I didn’t touch you. You stretched your foot out to try to trip me. I just
slipped.”
“…! S-Shut up! Anyway, you got me injured and now I’m burned! How are you going to make it
up to me!”
“No, I can’t do that. What are you trying to say?”
The bearded man standing in front of Tohka said, “Fine. Fine.”
“Don’t get so mad. It’s not like the waitress did it on purpose.”
“That’s true but there’s no way to know for sure. She scalded me and got my valuable clothes
stained. Anyway, I have to pay for my medical expenses, emotional trauma, and the laundry
fees.”
Hearing the sentences, Tohka frowned and said, “Muu?”
“Medical expenses… Are you trying to ask me for money?”
“It makes sense that this would happen.”
“That’s a pain. I’ve already decided what I want to use with the salary I earned by working here.”
Tohka shook her head in refusal.
However, upon hearing Tohka’s response, the two men only started shouting loudly. And on top
of that, their attitude worsened as they now showed nasty looking smiles.
“Hmm? Then it can’t be helped. Ask your store manager to come here.”
“Muu? Why?”
“Why would you ask why? Since you can’t pay, we’ll have to ask the store to take responsibility!
Hear that? This store injures their customers and doesn’t even apologize! This is such a terrible
store!”
The man raised his voice, trying to attract the attention of the other customers around him.
“Be careful, everyone! It seems that this shop deliberately spills boiling hot tea, scalding their
customers!”
After hearing what the man said, the cafe’s customers burst into frantic muttering immediately.
“…Uh-oh, it looks like Tohka is in trouble.”
At that moment, a waitress standing near Shido scratched her head as she spoke. She happened to
be one of the trio from Shido’s class.
“Do you know those two men?”
After Shido asked, Mai replied helplessly:
“Yeah… Since that rival cafe opened around here, there have been a lot of people who cause
trouble like that. They’ve also been generous in hiring employees who’ve resigned from working
here…”
“…C-Causing trouble…”
Shido felt a trickle down his cheek as he took another look around the store. The man seemed to
be rushing to cause more trouble and Tohka now wore an embarrassed expression. There was no
way that he was going to let those guys bully Tohka.
Shido sighed and then quickly made his way over to them.
“Rrgh…”
“Shut up!”
Shido called from behind the man who was standing. The man quickly turned around
aggressively.
“Do you have business with us, little boy? Are you blind? Can’t you see that we’re busy right
now?”
The man glared at Shido viciously and Shido almost unconsciously took a step back. He allowed
himself a moment to recompose himself before he said:
“N-No, I think this girl looks very embarrassed…”
When Shido finished speaking, the blond man sitting in the chair stared at him.
“Are you serious? I was scalded by her? But she insisted on leaving without apologizing first, so
I was explaining things to her. It has nothing to do with you, OK? Do you understand?”
“I already told you, you’re the one who spilled the tea—”
Tohka protested loudly but she only managed to get partway through the sentence… Then her
expression turned to one of confusion.
“…Shido?”
“—!”
Tohka suddenly called out his name and Shido quickly tried to cover his face with a hand.
Incidentally, when Shido took off his mask while drinking his black tea, when he came over to
help smooth things over, he forgot to put it back on. It was almost impossible to conceal his
identity with just a pair of sunglasses.
“When did you come here…”
“No… I just wanted to see you at work.”
Now that his true identity had been exposed, there was no point trying to cover his face anymore.
Shido sighed as he took off his sunglasses.
“What? So, it turns out that you already know each other so it’s more troublesome.”
“But, the fact remains that this matter has nothing to do with you. Can you be quiet for a
moment?”
The two men spoke to Shido threateningly. Shido scratched his cheek and said:
“No… this is troublesome for me. I intervened for your safety…”
Shido said as sweat trickled down his forehead. Even though her Spirit powers had already been
sealed, Tohka was still a Spirit. Her power was greater than that of humanity. If Tohka got really
angry, she could easily defeat the scary looking men.
However, the two men did not seem to understand the reason behind Shido’s concern. They
began to laugh in amusement.
“Ahaha! What the hell is this guy talking about? How? If we do something to her, are you going
to punish us?”
However, Shi Tao’s concern did not seem to be properly conveyed to the men. They began to
laugh happily.
“Well! He’s pretty good looking! But you better look at your chances, bro. You don’t want to get
beaten up in front of her, do you?”
“No, that’s not what I’m talking about…”
“Ahaha! Look, he’s shaking with fear! He’s really useless! Hurry up and get out of my way
before you face the consequences, fool!”
“I already told you that we’re busy right now. We don’t have time to play the hero saving the
princess right now. If you understand, hurry up—”
The man’s face wrinkled with a threatening expression but he only managed to get through part
of his sentence when he gasped and stopped.
The reason why was obvious.
Because at that moment, the atmosphere around them was very different compared to the
atmosphere from before.
“—You two!”
Tohka spoke calmly but her tone clearly conveyed her fury as she glared at the bearded man with
such a gaze that she could shoot him without killing him. The blond man who was sitting nearby
gasped and he fell from his seat.
“W-What… how…”
The bearded man only managed to squeak out which was very different from the rough tone he’d
been using before.
However, this wasn’t a surprise. While her tone or her appearance hadn’t changed, Tohka had a
feral aura about her that aroused innate human instinctive and primitive fear.
“I don’t care if you want to insult me. However, I will never allow you to insult Shido!”
Tohka exuded a powerful murderous aura such that it could be seen with the naked eye. There
was the illusion that a trachea could be torn to pieces in an instant, and her breathing was such
that it evoked fear. Facing Tohka when she was like this, the only kind of people who could
maintain their composure in such a situation were professionally trained soldiers.
“Tohka! Y-You have to calm down! You two! Hurry up and apologize, she will forgive you!”
Shido shouted in a panic. However, this suggestion only seemed to annoy the men further.
“S-Shut up!”
The man roared as he suddenly reared his right hand back to punch Shido.
“—!”
“Shido!”
Shido closed his eyes involuntarily. However… no matter how much time passed, the expected
blow did not make contact.
After a moment, Shido cautiously opened his eyes.
As a result, he spotted the man’s fist was blocked by someone who had appeared on the scene
and was standing in front of Shido.
Shido stared at the man who’d managed to grab the man’s fist and spoke with a stunned voice.
“K-Kannazuki-san!”
That’s right. It was the man who stood behind Kotori as well as vice-commander of <Ratatoskr>.
“Hello, how are you?”
Kannazuki smiled and then turned to the guests sitting around and were standing up with the
sound of chairs hitting the ground at the same time.
“Alright you guys, let’s go.”
“Huh?”
Shido’s expression turned to one of surprise as a few other customers dressed in uniform grabbed
the troublesome men’s arms and proceeded to drag them out of the store.
“Huh? Wait a minute, w-who the hell are you…”
“Huh? Huh?”
Then after setting the table and chairs as they had been, the final customer covered the expenses
of all the people who’d left and then walked out of the cafe.
All of this took place within a few minutes and the shop soon returned to its original quiet and
relaxed atmosphere.
“…M-Muu?”
Tohka watched in surprise as the two men were taken away by several other customers while
frowning in confusion.
However, she dismissed these thoughts as she rushed to Shido’s side.
“S-Shido! Are you okay! Are you hurt?”
“O-Oh, I’m okay.”
Seeing Tohka’s expression return to its original state, Shido let out a sigh of relief and smiled
bitterly at the same time.
Having said that, what just happened just now? Shido briefly wondered how the number of
customers had greatly decreased. So—
“—Excuse, waitress-san. Could I have some more, please?”
At that moment, a particular voice came from behind them.
“What…”
Shido turned around and found himself unable to speak for a moment.
It was because the person who’d spoken was his younger sister, Kotori, whose long red hair was
tied with black ribbons along with her best friend and assistant teacher of Shido’s class:
Murasame Reine.
“Kotori—What are you doing here…”
After being asked, Kotori rested her head in her hand and hummed.
“Oh, can’t we come here to enjoy afternoon tea?”
“Don’t tell me…”
At that moment, Shido’s eyes widened.
“It can’t be… the group of guests just now were…”
After Shido finished speaking, Kotori simply smiled innocently as though she hadn’t a clue as to
what he was talking about and looked away.
This was the most definitive proof. In other words, the group of guests just now were all
members of the <Ratatoskr> organization. Even though <Commander> Kotori insisted that it
was no good to be overprotective of Tohka, it seemed that she took extreme measures to protect
herself. No wonder there were so many customers.
But as far as results were concerned, there was no denying that they’d been very helpful. Shido
shrugged his shoulders and sighed.
“Thanks for helping me out.”
“Huh, I’m not here to help you. Stop talking about this, I’m talking to Tohka. I want to eat
dessert, do you have any recommendations?”
“Muu…?”
Suddenly faced with this problem, Tohka’s eyes widened as she stared at her.
“Hmm…Ah, the milk puffs are delicious. I would recommend them!”
“Okay, then I’ll have those.”
“I understand!”
Tohka nodded energetically. Seeing this, Shido smiled slightly then moved to return to his own
seat.
However—
“…Huh?”
As he made his way back, he suddenly felt someone tugging on his sleeve from behind so he
stopped.
Glancing behind him, Tohka wore a lonely expression while tugging on Shido’s clothes.
“A-Aren’t you going… to eat?”
“M-Me…”
Shido scratched his head awkwardly as he glanced at his unfinished Italian pasta and then sighed.
“Then… if you recommend them, I’ll have a puff too.”
After Shido finished speaking, Tohka’s expression turned to a more cheerful one and answered:
“Umu!”
◇◇◇
A few days later, Tohka had finished her part-time job without any problems. As a result
Kannazuku-san brought two men to visit the Itsuka household.
They were two familiar men who’d tried to cause trouble for Tohka at [La Pucelle].
However, unlike before, their behavior was like small dogs in the rain, their bodies were
trembling all over.
“Okay, you two, what do you have to say for yourselves?”
Kannazuki spoke with a serene smile. The two of them twitched their shoulders and spoke with a
trembling voice:
“W-We’re very sorry.”
“I swear to the heavens that I will never cause trouble for that shop ever again…”
The two spoke with their heads bowed. Shido and Tohka couldn’t help but look at each other as
they noticed the complete 180 degree change in their attitude. Just what kind of treatment did
they deal with in order to change their behavior in such a short space of time?
“Yes… Good boys. Both of you.”
Kannazuki finished speaking like this as he clapped his hands on the mens’ shoulders. As a
result, the two of them began to tremble again, and for some reason they quickly pressed their
hands against their buttocks. Could it be that they were spanked?
“Hmm, it looks like these two have been reformed. How about it? Could you forgive them.”
“Oh… sure…”
“Muu… If Shido can forgive them then I guess I can too.”
After Shido and Tohka finished speaking, the two men burst into tears and immediately bowed
down before them.
“T-Thank you…!”
“I-If you hadn’t forgiven us, it would have been all over for us…!”
…Seriously, what kind of treatment did they receive?
Shido frowned as he wondered about this. Kannazuku simply smiled slightly and said, “Now, say
goodbye.” Then he escorted the two of them away.
Now, only Shido and Tohka were left in front of the Itsuka household. The two stared down the
street where the three of them disappeared. After a moment, they sighed.
“…Let’s go to school.”
“Muu… Let’s go.”
That’s right, it was currently 8:00 in the morning. The three had just happened to stop by when
Shido and Tohka were about to go to school.
At that moment:
“Ah! By the way, Shido!”
Tohka shouted as though she’d suddenly remembered something. She then started rummaging
through her schoolbag.
“Huh…? What is it?”
“This is for you!”
After speaking, Tohka handed him a small package the size of his palm. It was tied with a cute
ribbon as though it was a present.
“Is this for me?”
After Shido asked, Tohka nodded as she patted her chest proudly.
“Well, I bought it with the money that I earned from working! I hope you’ll accept it!”
“You bought it with the money that you earned from your job? Isn’t it expensive? It’s hard to
make money. Would it be better to use it to buy something you like?”
However, Tohka shook her head.
“But that’s not the reason I did it. I started working a part-time job so I could give you a gift.”
‘What?”
“Ai told me that as long as I work and make money, I could repay Shido who has been taking
care of me. So… I decided to go to work.”
“Ah…”
Shido’s eyes widened. He remembered Ai, Mai, and Mii whispering to Tohka a few days when
they were trying to convince her to work the part-time job in the first place. He thought that the
three of them tried to tempt Tohka with extra cakes… It turned out that wasn’t the case.
“Uh, but this gift…”
“Shido… Are you upset?”
Tohka stared anxiously. Shido made an uncertain sound while struggling to speak for a moment
before sighing.
“No, I’m very happy—Thank you, Tohka.”
“U-Umu!”
Tohka nodded with a smile on her face. Seeing her smile as bright as the sun, Shido also smiled.
“Can I open it?”
“Of course!”
After getting Tohka’s permission, Shido carefully unpacked and removed the contents and put
them in his hand.
Then—after seeing what was inside and understanding its purpose, Shido felt a single drop of
sweat trickle down his cheek.
“T-This is…”
Because the contents of the package was a shiny beautiful four-leaf clover hairpin.
“Muu, I said I wanted to give a friend a gift. The people at the store recommended that I buy
this! It seems that wearing this hairpin would bring you good luck!”
“T-Then… thank you, I will cherish it.”
“Shido smiled stiffly and placed it in his pocket.
“Muu? Aren’t you going to wear it?”
“Uh… that… I…”
Shido struggled to speak, uncertain on how to answer. Tohka’s expression immediately turned a
somber one.
“You… You really are… unhappy…? I’m sorry… I don’t know what you want…”
“N-No! That’s not it!”

“…Muu… really?”
Tohka looked up to stare into Shido’s eyes.
“Ah…”
If there was someone who could resist the look on her face, Shido wished to meet them. As he
reflected on that, he forced himself to clip his hair in a strange way.
Yoshino High School
Yoshino was hiding inside a small, narrow space with only a little light shining in from the
opening as she waited for the voices talking outside to pass. After those voices had disappeared,
Yoshinon lightly said to her that they were gone.
She pushed the door open, looking left and right to confirm that nobody was still around and left
the locker she was in. Quietly, she closed the door quietly and looked around. Yoshino found
herself inside a facility with a long, large hallway spread to her left and right with windows all
along the way. She was creeped out by the organization of the facility, as if it were a mad
scientist’s laboratory.
’Phew… that was close. We almost got caught.’
“Yes… that was close…”
’I’m glad there’s a place to hide nearby. Let’s hurry!’
“O… Okay!”
Yoshino nodded to Yoshinon and held the bag on her right hand tight. She was in the middle of a
very important mission from <Fraxinus>: a mission to sneak into this facility.
A few minutes ago on <Fraxinus>, on the bridge with a tense atmosphere, Commander Itsuka
Kotori—a girl with a black ribbon tied up in her hair and a red jacket, whose age didn’t seem far
off from Yoshino’s—said to Yoshino in a serious tone.
“This is a very important mission. We have to send an agent into the facility, make contact with
the targets and come back after delivering the classified package. It may sound simple, but this
mission will be very difficult. The time limit is 3 hours from now. If the mission ends up as a
failure, at worst, everything around the facility might be burned to the ground—Can I ask you to
take on this mission, Yoshino?”
“Y… yes… I will do it… please. Let me do it…”
“Even though I’m the one asking you for this, are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“Uu…” Yoshino hangs her head.
’It’s okay, Yoshino! Yoshinon is with you!’
“U… un! Please… let me do it… I want… to be useful… to everyone…”

Hearing that, Kotori told Kannazuki to retrieve the bag and hand it over to Yoshino. Kotori
warned Yoshino that she must be extremely careful with the package, as if it is a sleeping baby,
and she must never open it before she gets in contact with the targets. Yoshino nodded to Kotori
with an understanding that the package must be treated with extreme care.
After seeing Yoshino’s nod, Kotori ordered Kannazuki to hand Yoshino similar-looking clothing
and a waist pouch. Yoshino asked Kotori what they were, to which Kotori explained that the
clothing was for sneaking in, while the waist pouch had 3 secret weapons in case of emergency.
“Good. Yoshino, you have 5 minutes to change your clothes. We don’t have much
time—Everyone prepare the teleporter. We will start the mission as soon as Yoshino’s finished.”
“Understood.”
“Moving to the target airspace.”
Kotori nodded to the crew and gave Yoshino a thumbs up.
“—I’m leaving this to you, Yoshino, Yoshinon. The peace of Tengu City is in your hands.”
“Y… yes…!”
’Roger!’
Yoshino looked around while walking down the hallway. Despite there being nobody nearby, an
unrecognizable voice and noise could be heard from the surroundings. Yoshino couldn’t help but
feel scared at the possibility of being watched.
“Yoshinon… this place… is strange…”
’I agree. It certainly is mysterious, as if they’re doing some suspicious research, like the show
you watched with Shido-kun earlier on. Remember? That mad scientist who endlessly continued
his human experiment and ended up creating a monster… ‘
“S-stop it, Yoshinon…”
’Ahahaha, that was a joke.’
After chatting, Yoshinon asked Yoshino about their destination. She said that they had to head to
the third floor, and that Kotori suggested they go upstairs first. Just then, Yoshino looked into the
hallway as she heard a voice coming her way. Yoshino looked around but couldn’t find any place
to hide. Yoshinon suggested she run back the way they came from. Just as Yoshino nodded to
Yoshinon’s suggestion, however, footsteps could be heard right behind her. Her eyes spun in
confusion.
‘We should use one of Kotori’s secret weapons.’
Nodding at Yoshinon’s suggestion, Yoshino placed the bag on the floor and took a pack of cloth
from her waist porch. Yoshino turned her back to the wall and spread the cloth together with
Yoshinon, covering their bodies to hide themselves, as if they were ninjas. She held her breath.
Then, Yoshino heard the sound of footsteps coming from both sides. The sound of footsteps
stopped in front of her. Yoshino’s heart started beating fast. Scared that she might be discovered,
she began shivering.
“…What is this?”
“No idea…”
“Should we do something about it?”
“No… I don’t think so. Just some strange hobby I guess…”
Following that interaction Yoshino could hear footsteps walking away. She felt relieved and put
down the cloth that was covering her. Yoshinon expressed amazement at Kotori’s secret weapon;
nobody could even notice Yoshino was there. She wasn’t quite so sure about that, but perhaps it
was just her imagination.
Yoshino folded the cloth and put it back into her waist pouch, picked the bag up off the floor and
resumed walking to her destination again. While walking upstairs, Yoshino bumped into a
woman going down. She wore glasses and had a gentle look. For the introverted Yoshino on a
mission, she couldn’t help but feel the woman was a demon.
“That uniform… are you a student of ours? No… from those looks, you seem to be a middle
school student or an elementary school student… why are you here…?”
The glasses-wearing woman then walked up to Yoshino.
’She’s attacking! Let’s run, Yoshino!’
Yoshino immediately attempted to run away, but she tripped and fell down.
“A-are you okay?!”
The woman ran to Yoshino with a worried look and reached out her hands. Yoshino stepped back
trying to escape from her. The next moment, Yoshinon bit the woman’s hand before it could
reach Yoshino and told her to run away. Yoshino stood up, grabbed the bag and ran away. Even
then, the woman did not give up.
“Ah… you! Please wait! Why are you running away?!”

’Crap! She’s chasing us! Let’s escape somewhere!’
“Even if you say somewhere…”
’Yoshino! Inside that room!’
“U… un!”
Yoshino then escaped into the room nearby as per Yoshinon’s suggestion. Although nobody else
was in the room, Yoshino feels unnerved by the plaster figures and pictures lying by the wall.
Since that woman is chasing them, they can’t stay here for long. Yoshinon then came up with an
idea.
’Yoshino! Let’s use the second weapon Kotori-chan gave us!’
“N-no.2…?”
’Yes! That Deadly Powder Bomb!’
’U-un…!’
Yoshino took the Deadly Powder Bomb from her waist pouch and hid herself inside the room,
waiting for her pursuer. Yoshino’s plan was to throw the powder bomb when the pursuer gets
into the middle of the room, and make an escape while the pursuer’s vision is blocked. However,
since Yoshino was in a hurry, she dropped the powder bomb. A white powder scattered around
her, blocking her vision for a moment. Yoshinon asked her if she was okay. She answered,
despairingly, that she was okay.
While Yoshino was panicking, the sound of footsteps could be heard getting closer. Seeing that,
Yoshinon then pointed its finger inside the room. Toward the many plaster figures placed near
the wall.
“Eh…? That…?”
’No time to talk, quickly go over there!’
“Eh? U-un…” Yoshino followed Yoshinon’s instructions and stood next to the plaster figure.
’Take a pose! Anything is fine!’
“L-like this…?”
’Okay, stop!’
Yoshino stopped at Yoshinon’s shout. She then realized Yoshinon was getting her to mimic the
plaster figures with her looks—especially with her being covered with white powder—and wait
for the pursuer to pass by. Yoshino admired Yoshinon’s quick judgment as it turned a failed plan
into a successful one.
The door opened the next moment. The woman walked immediately to Yoshino and asked what
she was doing. Yoshino, surprised at how she was found out so fast, fell from the shelf she was
on. The woman once again asked Yoshino if she was okay, but Yoshino could only cower in fear.
Yoshinon was surprised and suggested that this woman was not just some normal person. It
shouted and told her to open the waist pouch to get the final secret weapon. Yoshino, who still
didn’t know what to do, followed Yoshinon’s instruction.
Yoshinon shoved itself into the pouch then jumped at the woman, closing her mouth. The woman
struggled for a moment then fell down to the floor. Yoshino touched her face and realized that
she had completely lost consciousness. Yoshino got scared and looked at Yoshinon.
“Y-Yoshinon… what was that…?”
’The final weapon Kotori-chan gave us! The name is chlor… *ahem* the Charming Super
Pheromone!’
Yoshino, puzzled by this, put her face near Yoshinon, noticing a smell from near its stomach.
Yoshino realized it must’ve been some kind of medicine. Yoshinon then urged Yoshino to
continue with her escape from here. She then grabbed the bag and left the room.
Yoshino took a deep breath to try and calm down. Yoshinon wondered what that woman would
have done to Yoshino if she had caught her, especially with how persistent she was in catching
her. Yoshino frowned her eyebrows. She didn’t ask Kotori what would have happened if she was
caught. While Yoshino felt uneasy at the situation, Yoshinon was laughing instead.
’Ahahaha, sorry, sorry. Looks like I scared you a bit too much. It’s okay, Kotori-chan wouldn’t
send Yoshino to such a dangerous place.’
’Right, right. At most maybe we will get scolded, but there’s no way we would get tortured or
have our stomachs ripped open while we’re still alive.’
Yoshino felt better upon hearing Yoshinon’s words and continued walking through the hallway.
After a short while, Yoshino reached a room with a large door and a “Biology Room” label on it.
Listening closely, Yoshino could hear a voice from the other side of the wall. Yoshinon told her
to be careful. When Yoshino walked through the door, “Gyaa!” a screaming voice could be heard
from the room. Yoshino choked, but Yoshinon said that they still hadn’t been found. Although
they had to hurry, Yoshino was curious about the screaming voice and peeked into the room.
There were dozens of people inside the room. Everyone was listening carefully to their leader
who was wearing a white coat. Yoshino choked up when she noticed the leader’s hand. In it,
there was a frog with its stomach ripped open. While the leader was saying something, he picked
at the frog with a small blade in his hand and instantly the frog’s leg moved as if it was reacting
to him.
’Ew… how cruel.’
“W-what are they doing… these people…”
’Hmm… I wonder. Doesn’t look like they’re cooking.’
“D-don’t tell me… Frog-san sneaked in here like us and got caught…?” Yoshino asked with her
eyes wide.
’No way, no way. There’s no way that could be.’
’Ah—’
“What is it, Yoshinon…?”
’Yoshino! Don’t look!’
Though Yoshinon had tried to stop Yoshino, it was already too late. When Yoshino looked inside
the room again, she saw something and fell down. At the tip of her eyesight, there was a human
with half of his skin peeled off, internal organs visible, and a noticeable skeleton. Both were
locked in a standing posture, as if they were being displayed.
“T-that is… the one who got caught…? W-what should we do, Yoshinon…?”
Yoshino said while shivering in fear. She thought her fear was right, anyone who sneaked in
without permission would have their skin peeled off and put on display as an example. Yoshinon
tried to calm her down, but Yoshino responded by asking what else this could be, which
Yoshinon couldn’t answer. Yoshino’s mind fixated on quickly accomplishing her mission and
escaping. The next moment, a “Ding-Dong” alarm could be heard all over the building. Yoshino
looked to her left and right. Not too long after, she heard the sound of chairs moving.
At that moment, all the doors along the hallway opened. People from inside rushed into the
hallway. Yoshino cowered, her mind searching up an explanation—that the alarm might be when
they caught an intruder, similar to the alarm sounds she once heard inside <Fraxinus>. Those
humans must be agents sent to catch Yoshino.
Realizing that, Yoshino quickly bolted away. However, there is no way she could completely
escape from the sheer amount of people. Everyone who noticed Yoshino stared at her.
“Who is that?”
“Why is there a kid in a high school? Sensei’s daughter?”
“Ah, that puppet on her left hand, how cute!”
Although Yoshino couldn’t hear what they said, it’s no doubt that they were yelling at each other
“It’s her!” or “Catch her!” or “Peel her skin!” Yoshino ran away through the hallway. However—
“Aww! Mai, Mii! Look at that!”
“Gyaa! What is that cute being?!”
“Catch her! Formation Delta!”
Three girls jumped in front of Yoshino. Just then Yoshino quickly stopped, and those three girls
fell down on their faces.
“Too soon!”
“In front of cute things!”
“We don’t feel any pain!”
The three girls stood up and surrounded Yoshino. While Yoshino and Yoshinon were panicking,
the three held their hands and started circling around them.
“Gyaaaaaaaaaa! She talked!”
“Wow, your ventriloquism is amazing!”
“Can you do any other tricks?!”
The three girls then started to put their hands on Yoshino. They started combing her hair with
their hands, patting Yoshinon, and touching her face.
“Aww! Your hair is so silky!”
“The puppet is so fluffy!”
“Your face is so soft!”

The three girls played around with Yoshino and Yoshinon, enraptured by them. Yoshinon tried to
use that chlor-something with them like what she did to the woman, but her body was completely
locked down.
’Gyaa! Where are you touching?!’
“A… ah… ah…”
Yoshino shook off their hands and ran away from the three.
“Ah! She escaped!”
“Let me fluff you more!”
“So soft!”
Yoshino ran away with all her might even though she could hear shouting from behind her. When
Yoshino glanced back, she bumped into another girl. Even though Yoshino didn’t fall, she
choked up, her eyes wide in despair when she saw the girl’s face.
“—<Hermit>? Why are you here?”
Yoshino remembered the face. Tobiichi Origami, the AST member whose objective is to kill
Spirits—like Yoshino. Yoshino’s mind flashed memories from before her power was sealed by
Shido. Large amounts of bullets poured down on her. The killing intent. Humans in machine
armor.
That moment, Yoshino’s fear reached its peak. Yoshinon spoke, but Yoshino couldn’t hear it. She
felt something warm pouring into her. In the next moment, the temperature dropped as if the
whole school had been put into a refrigerator.
“This is…!”
Origami said with a panicked voice. Water began pouring down from pipes along the wall and
sprinklers on the ceiling. In that next moment—
“What… Yoshino?!”
A familiar voice could be heard behind her. When Yoshino looked over, she saw her “target” and
smiled with relief. However, just then, part of the ceiling that collapsed due to bursting water
pipes fell down on top of her.
The target shouted, “Yoshinoooo!” She cowered and closed her eyes. However, the next thing
that came to her was not the impact from the ceiling, but rather a feeling that she was being
hugged by someone. Yoshino then felt a dull impact on her back as if she had been pushed down.
When she opened her eyes, she found the “target’s” face in front of her.
“Shi-Shido… san…”
“Ou! Aw… that hurts… are you okay, Yoshino?”
“Y-yes… thank you very much… b-but… um…”
Yoshino said with an embarrassing voice. When Shido protected Yoshino, Yoshino’s skirt had
rolled up and Shido’s hand had been thrusted inside it
“I’m sorry!”
“U… um, that’s okay.” Yoshino fixed her skirt while blushing red.
“So, why is Yoshino here?”
Shido scratched his cheek and said with a puzzled voice. The next moment, a voice of the other
“target,” Tohka, could be heard behind them.
“Na…! Tobiichi Origami! What did you do to Yoshino!”
“I didn’t do anything. <Hermit> bumped into me.”
Origami answered with a calm voice. Tohka looked at her suspiciously. Shido looked at the two
and then turned his eyes back to Yoshino and asked her.
“So, what are you doing here?”
“U-um… I-I came here to deliver this, …!”
Yoshino answered while sniffling. As she answered, she looked down into her hands. Even
though the bag was still in her right hand, it might have been soaked with water from the trouble
earlier. However, as she noticed, Yoshinon had protected the bag from the downpour.
’Phew, I made it in time.’
“Yoshinon…!”
’Ya-the bag might be soaked a little bit, but the contents should be safe.’
“T-thank you…”
Yoshino rubbed Yoshinon’s cheek (although she smelled a stimulated smell from Yoshinon) and
handed over the bag to Shido.
“Um… Shido-san… this…”
“Eh? This is…?”
Shido then opened the bag and was surprised
“Tohka’s and my lunch?… Eh? Did I forget to bring it with me…?”
Shido then realized that he hadn’t and thanked Yoshino for it.
She expressed happiness at Shido’s gentleness and suddenly became ashamed of herself. She
then turned her face downward and started crying.
“Y-Yoshino?! Why are you crying?!”
“I’m… sorry… I’m… always useless… and… wanted to… be… useful to… Shido-san… just
once… so… I asked them to… bring me… to the school… but… in the end… I caused…
everyone… trouble…”
“Yoshino. You are not useless. Thank you, you really did help me.”
“Eh…?”
“We would have had to skip lunch if you didn’t come here. And what would’ve happened to
Tohka… You see?”
Shido looked at Tohka, and she nodded in agreement hurriedly.
“Mu… Umu. That’s right. If Yoshino weren’t here, then we’d be in big trouble.”
“See?”
“Eh… um…”
“So don’t say you’re useless again. Really, thank you.”
Shido then patted Yoshino’s head. Her eyes widened as she sniffled her nose and nodded with a
smile on her face.
“Okay…”
Although Shido and Tohka were able to have their lunch for that day—Shido started to
accumulate suspicion of being a lolicon.
Origami Normalize
“I’ve been meaning to ask, Itsuka-kun, what kind of girl do you like?”
“…!”
One day, Origami stepped into classroom 2-4 at Raisen High School to prepare for the next
lesson, and suddenly heard those words vibrate against her tympanic membrane, her eyebrows
twitching in irritation.
She stood still, her gaze shifting to the right where she spotted two male students. One was a boy
who seemed bothered by the question, seated at his desk: the lover of Origami, Itsuka Shido.
While the other was his friend Tonomachi Hiroto, who had slammed his hand on the desk.
“Huh? Why are you asking me that out of nowhere…?”
Shido frowned as he responded dully. So, Tonomachi opened the notepad in his hand and put pen
to paper.
“Well, because I spent all my money this month, so my wallet is empty. I wanted to make a copy
of your personal profile and sell it in order to earn some more money.”
“You’re planning on selling it? Who would you even sell it to? Why would anyone even want to
buy something like that…?”
“That’s where you’re wrong! You’d be surprised by the potential for demand. A pool of zen
knowledge by the buddha himself, many guys would want to learn from you. If you title it
something like ‘The Peach Blossom Secrets by Master Shido,’ then there would certainly be a
demand…”
“Don’t… stop trying to cause trouble! Who in their right mind would help you with that?!”
Shido puffed out his chest in frustration.
But Tonomachi still didn’t let it go, using crab-like movements in order to close in on Shido.
“Why—what does it matter? There’s plenty of fish in the sea! Think of it as a favor for your best
friend~!”
“The guy trying to sell other people’s information is not my friend!”
Shido stretched out his hand and pushed Tonomachi’s face, previously inches from him, away.
He was annoyed by this kind of thing. If this was an ordinary situation, Origami might have
stood up to stop Tonomachi or help Shido settle the debate.
However, Origami did not do anything.
The reason why was simple: Origami was also very curious about the kind of girl Shido liked.
Physical information such as height or weight or information such as family background and
relatives could be investigated to some extent, but Shido’s personal preferences were few and far
between in Origami’s vast database that she was so proud of. Maybe there were some secrets that
could only be shared between friends of the same sex. If the topic Tonomachi brought up held
information that Origami did not have, she was prepared to pay whatever price the seller asked.
“Come on! Please? Just one?”
“No way!”
“Hmph… then I’ll just make something up and sell it!”
“Fine, do whatever you want!”
“Then I’ll write… Itsuka Shido is actually not interested in girls, but boys…”
“Wait a minute! Why are you writing that down?!”
“What’s the matter? You’re the one who said I could write whatever I wanted!”
“There’s a limit to how much you can just make up, too!”
“Fine, then tell me~!”
“Well…!”
Shido moaned regretfully and soon sighed as though waving a white flag to surrender before
scratching his hair.
“The kind of girl that I like… is just a normal girl. I think ordinary girls are the most charming.”
“Wow, you actually gave the most boring answer!”
“You’re annoying. I never said that it was going to be interesting!”
Shido’s gaze narrowed as he replied. Tonomachi simply shrugged as he raised the pen and wrote
down what Shido said into his notebook.
“…Ordinary is the most charming…”
The moment Origami heard that response from her seat, she repeated this sentence quietly
enough that no one else could hear before gently clenching her fists in triumph.
Then, she glanced at the seat next to Shido’s.
There was a female student seated there. Yatogami Tohka, who had long hair as dark as the night
sky and crystal eyes. Just looking at her made Origami’s good cheer fade a bit.
Although she was now attending school and pretending to be harmless, she was a monster known
as a Spirit that brought forth great disasters to mankind and the entire world.
And for some reason, this woman often entangled herself with Origami’s lover, always seeming
to interrupt any private time she and Shido had together. To her, she was even more annoying
than the mosquitoes that buzzed around her ears on summer nights.
—However, Shido clearly just said that ordinary girls were the most charming.
That’s right. Shido didn’t like Spirits, but instead preferred ordinary girls like Origami. She let a
breath out through her nose without so much as a change in expression.
At that moment, perhaps having noticed Origami’s gaze, Tohka looked over at her.
“…Muu, what are you doing? Is there something wrong?”
“No.”
After Origami replied calmly, she turned her gaze back to the front of the classroom. That’s right.
This was the calmness of a winner; she didn’t have time to pay attention to the loser.
“…!”
At that moment, Origami’s eyebrows twitched.
—Ordinary girls were the most charming.
She repeated what Shido said in her head once more.
Origami was not only a member of the AST who worked to defeat the Spirits, but she was also a
wizard who had electronics surgically implanted into her head. Would it be a bit far-fetched to
consider herself ‘ordinary’…? Doubts began to form in her mind.
Shido was Origami’s lover. Therefore, because Shido said that ordinary girls are the most
charming, there was no doubt that Origami qualified as an ‘ordinary girl.’ However, Origami was
still a girl, so it was natural that she would be concerned about stuff like this at her age.
Besides, for now, she couldn’t remove the device implanted in her head, nor could she leave the
AST without avenging her parents.
“…At least compensate in other ways.”
After Origami made up her mind, clenched her teeth and raised her head in determination.
At that moment, Origami implemented her plan to become an ordinary girl.
—Step 1: Lower Grades
‘What a normal girl looks like…’ the first thing that came to Origami’s mind was academic
performance.
The most important part of high school life. Using numbers to express “ordinary” externally is
the most suitable method.
As she thought about it carefully, ever since Origami enrolled at this high school, she had scored
full marks on all her exams and has been at the top of the class for the past year. For an ordinary
girl, such feats were a little extreme.
Moreover, it’s often said that girls who are very smart are often shunned. Of course, Shido had
never hated Origami for that reason, but it’s better to rule out such factors in advance.
Fortunately, as far as she was concerned, grades weren’t important at all. Test scores were just
one of the many measures of high school life.
After Origami nodded with an ‘Mm-hmm,’ she decided to aim for an ordinary academic record
first.
“…I can’t stand Tonomachi-kun. I don’t even want to think about that…”
Shido rubbed his face impatiently and frowned as the fourth lesson of the day began.
It turned out that after that, Tonomachi asked him several more questions until the class began.
Although he’d answered honestly, he could only hope that none of the students would be fooled
by whatever Tonomachi said.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t spend his time thinking about it any longer. He was in the fourth lesson
of the day: World History. Shido let out a sigh to cheer up before stretching and returning his
gaze back to his teacher, Okamine Tamae, more commonly called Tama-chan, as she was writing
on the blackboard.
“Pay attention, everyone! This is all very important, so make sure to memorize this part as well.”
Tama-chan sensei turned around and picked up the textbook on the podium.
“Okay… now, does anyone know the answer to the next question?”
As she spoke, she craned her neck to look around the classroom.
However, it seemed that none of the students raised their hands. Tama-chan furrowed her
eyebrows, smiling wryly.
“Um… perhaps this question is a bit too difficult. It can’t be helped. Then, Tobiichi-san, could
you please answer the question?” Tama-chan scratched her cheek as she called out Origami’s
name.
This was Tama-chan’s strategy, or rather, the last resort that teachers who taught class 2-4 would
use. If no one was willing or able to answer the question, the school’s top student—Tobiichi
Origami—was surely up for the task.
“…”
Origami, who was seated on Shido’s left side, would slowly stand up without speaking.
It was business as usual. After that, Origami would answer the question correctly in a smooth
and steady tone, and Tama-chan would clap her hands gently and praise her: “an excellent
answer!” As long as she remained a student in class 2-4, that’s how it would always be. This has
happened several times in the past, and surely will be the case today as well.
However—
“—I don't know.”
Origami answered with her usual voice and intonation. Upon hearing what she said, however, the
air in the classroom froze for an instant.
“…Huh?”
Shido couldn’t believe what he had just heard and looked around with a puzzled expression on
his face. Did someone imitate Origami’s tone…? Even such a stupid idea crossed his mind.
However, his other classmates wore expressions just like Shido’s and their attention was focused
solely on Origami. Tohka (who was seated on Shido’s right) alone stared at everyone else,
thinking they were acting oddly.
“U-Uh, what did you say…?”
Among them, Tama-chan clapped her palms together as though realizing something.
“Ah! Y-You probably don’t know what question I’m asking? Y-You need to pay closer attention
in class. What I asked just now was the third question—”
“No.”
However, Origami shook her head as she cut Tama-chan off.
“I know which question you were asking. I simply don’t know the answer.”
“…”
Tama-chan was frozen in place for a moment as she broke out into a cold sweat.
At that moment, she appeared to be at a loss for words as the chalk and logbook fell from the
lectern. She paced back and forth across the classroom before tripping and falling.
“S-Sensei! Are you okay?!”
One student shouted. Tama-chan raised her trembling hand as she slowly and shakily stood up.
“Y-Yes… and I suppose, there are some questions that not even Tobiichi-san can answer…
O-Okay! Let’s move on and take the quiz! Okay!”
After she said that with a shaky voice, Tama-chan started to pass out the quiz sheets.
The classmates in the class would have normally groaned but today, they silently passed the test
sheets one by one.
“O-Okay… then, you may begin!”
All the students turned the quiz sheet over at the same time as soon as Tama-chan gave the go
ahead.
Speaking of Tama-chan herself, while everyone else was focused on the quiz, she was able to
calm down and started to pick up the chalk and the roll call book that she’d dropped.
Ten minutes later—
“—It's time, then. Please pass the quiz sheets forward.”
Tama-chan managed to recompose herself while everyone followed her directions.
Then, she collected the quiz sheets passed to the first row in order—
“Ah!”
When she finally picked up the quiz sheets from the row next to the windows, she had an
expression like she saw something completely unbelievable and temporarily stopped breathing.
She staggered, slamming into the wall, and slumped to the ground.
“S-Sensei…?”
“What happened to you?!”
“Tama-chan sensei, are you okay?!”
The students all had expressions of concern or surprise. At that moment, someone had been
drawn in by the screams, as the sound of slippers could be heard coming from the corridor and
the classroom door suddenly slid open.
“What happened, Miss Okamine? I heard a lot of noise coming from your class just now.”
The person sticking his head into the classroom was the middle-aged male teacher. He also
served as the school year director, and was probably teaching the class next door to them.
“A-A-Ah…!”
Okamine-sensei had a sullen expression as she pointed to the quiz sheet in her hand like a
washed-up fish.
Noticing her odd behavior, the male teacher walked to Tama-chan’s side and took the quiz sheet
from her hand.
Then, as he looked at the sheet—
“Huh…?”
His expression mirrored Tama-chan’s for a moment, then he quickly strode to the seat next to
Shido’s. Origami’s seat.
“Tobiichi…? Is something wrong? If you aren’t feeling well, you should go to the infirmary…”
“No, my health is perfectly fine.”
“Then this is…”
As he spoke, the male teacher placed the answer sheet for the quiz on Origami’s desk.
“Huh…?”
At that moment, Shido’s eyes went wide. Because he was sitting next to Origami, he could see
her quiz sheet… it only had half of the answers filled in.
“I simply don’t understand the questions.”
“W-What…?”
After Origami finished speaking in a nonchalant tone, the male teacher was stunned for a
moment before morphing into the picture of fury as he walked back to Tama-chan.
“M-Miss Okamine! What exactly did you ask about on this quiz?! Questions that not even
Tobiichi Origami can solve…?!”
“I… I asked very ordinary questions… as long as students attend classes, they can get perfect
scores!”
“But she just said that she couldn’t understand the questions! Ah! You don’t need to ask
questions about the disorderly behavior of minority groups in small countries like just anyone
would know—”
“I… I didn’t ask anything like that…”
Tama-chan replied, weeping softly.
Origami watched the scene unfold with an expressionless yet complicated look on her face.
“…”
This was a mistake. As she watched that scene unfold, Origami clenched her fists underneath her
desk, her nails digging into the palms of her hands.
She planned to give the impression of an ordinary girl in front of Shido, but she’d unexpectedly
attracted unnecessary attention to herself, causing the exact opposite of her desired effect.
“…However, there are still other methods.”
Origami hadn’t run out of strategies just yet. She’d come up with another idea, and with a sharp
gaze, nodded subtly to herself.
—Step 2: Girls love to talk
Ding Dong. A familiar bell sounded, indicating that it was the end of the class.
As a result of the previous plan, all the teachers continued to wear expressions of panic, and
clearly had no intention of returning to their own classes. The final conclusion was: something
important was disturbing Origami’s heart, making her unable to concentrate on studying. They
graciously told Origami things like: “If there’s anything troubling you, please feel free to discuss
it with a teacher,” “Our school actively will professionally handle any incidents related to
bullying,” or “Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the school’s guidance counselor is
available.” These were the teachers’ parting words as they finally left the classroom.
Origami treated those words as wind through her ears, however. She was busy thinking of her
next plan to become an ordinary girl.
—From the information Origami received, girls seem to be creatures who start talking almost
immediately after class ends.
Although Origami was normally a quiet person and didn’t understand the point of talking with
other girls her age, she noticed that every time there was a break between classes, the girls would
split up into small groups and converse happily. That must be what ordinary girls do.
The content of the conversation went all over the place; it was all trivial nonsense that didn’t
actually matter. It was less about sharing important news by talking and more that they seem to
be happy just communicating with each other by “chatting.”
Now that she understood this, it made things much easier to handle. Fortunately, it was already
lunch time. Origami planned to implement her plan of having lunch while chatting with her
friends, so she stood up from her seat, lunch box in hand.
“…”
But at that moment, she realized a major flaw in her plan:
Origami didn’t have any friends in her class that she could chat freely with.
This was a headache. Origami swallowed a little saliva to moisten her throat as she looked
around the classroom.
Because teamwork was essential on the battlefield, Origami communicated with her teammates
in the AST, but that wasn’t the case when the environment is a classroom; it just wasn’t the same
thing. She could talk with her classmates, and they would respond, but that was it. There was
nothing more to it than that.
However, Origami refused to admit defeat here.
Her gaze narrowed like a bird staking out its prey, and she quietly approached a small group of
girls that had grouped their desks together.
“Shido! Let’s have lunch!”
Tohka shouted excitedly as she pushed her desk toward Shido’s.

“S-Sure… huh…?”
Shido responded to Tohka, while tilting his head at something odd: normally, Origami would
push her desk toward his at the same time as Tohka, but it seemed she hadn’t done so today.
Shido stared at Origami’s desk in disbelief as he watched Origami leave, bento in hand, and
make her way toward three girls who’d joined desks at the front of the classroom. A trio of three
girls who often helped Tohka out: Ai, Mai, and Mii.
The three of them were chatting and laughing happily, while Origami stood behind them—
“—Let me join you.”
She said in her usual steady manner.
“Huh…?”
Ai, Mai, and Mii all expressed their surprise at the same time, frowning and looking around,
then—they spotted Origami. It seemed they hadn’t realized that Origami had spoken just then.
Shido could understand how they felt very well. It’s not something anyone in this class would
expect the normally quiet and unsociable Origami to say.
However, Origami held their gazes and repeated what she’d said:
“Let me join you.”
“U-Uh…”
Ai scratched her cheek in confusion.
“Do you mean… you want to have lunch with us?”
“Yes.”
“Sure… but why do you want to eat with us all of a sudden?”
“I want to chat.”
“T-Then… Please have a seat.”
Mai said in disbelief as she moved a seat over.
After Origami nodded, she sat down in the chair next to them and joined the small circle of three
people.
“…”
“…”
“…”
Shouldn’t there be talking? Instead, there was now just an awkward silence between the three
people who had just been talking and laughing together.
However, Origami was oblivious to the shift in atmosphere and tilted her head in confusion as
she opened her bento.
“You… don’t want to chat with me?”
“O-Oh… we w-want…”
Mai said restlessly. At that moment, she clapped her hands as though thinking of something.
“Ah, that’s right… by the way! Did you hear? There’s a new hybrid boutique at the Gemini
Tower in front of the station. It seems they’ll have a grand opening sale. Do you want to go
shopping there?”
“Huh! Really? Sure, let’s go together! I’ve been wanting to buy some summer clothes!”
“Really? If I had to guess, Ai’s planning to buy a new swimsuit, right? You could still use the
one from last year.”
“I don’t want to hear that from someone your size!”
“What?! How dare you insult me like this!”
“—Hybrid boutique?”
Origami tilted her head as she joined the conversation between the three.
“Um, how do I explain it? Simply put, it’s a shop that sells both clothes and groceries.”
“Tobiichi-san, are you also interested?”
“Ah, what kind of shops do you usually go to, Tobiichi-san?”
Hearing the questions from the three of them, Origami nodded her head gently to answer.
“I buy most of my casual clothes on the internet.”
“Oh, I see. Ah, I sometimes buy clothes online as well.”

“Uh huh. It’s very convenient.”
“However, it’s also a lot of fun to go shopping and pick out clothes in person.”
After Mii finished speaking, Origami’s expression was thoughtful for a moment and then added:
“Speaking of shopping, I know a special clothing store.”
“Huh? Where is it?”
“In the alley of Tengu Avenue.”
“Hm, I don’t go there very often… what kind of shop is it?”
“I’ve been there a couple of times. It sells items that are hard to find in other stores, making it a
very useful store in critical moments. This store will not lose out to any other.”
“That sounds great! I’d love to go shopping there next time. What have you bought from there?”
Seeing the trio’s reactions, Origami nodded proudly and continued: “A maid outfit and school
swimwear.”
“Huh…?!”
“I also bought a set of dog ears and a tail.”
“…”
“I bought new products, but they also sell secondhand goods. I don’t know why, but the price for
the used goods is higher. They must be antiques.”
“…”
“Do you want to go?”
When Origami asked that question, the three of them shook their heads vigorously.
“Oh! That reminds me!”
Ai changed topics with an energetic voice. She pulled out a small digital camera from her school
bag.
“Look at this, I bought this before, what do you think~?”
“Ah~! What is that? It’s so cute!”
“Come on! Come on!”
“Okay, Tobiichi-san! Let’s take a picture together. Come on, smile!”
Click. With that sound, Ai pressed the shutter. Mai and Mii were smiling brightly but Origami
stared at the camera blankly.
“Hey, that’s a really good camera. How much did it cost?”
“Well, it was about 20,000 yen. I got a raise at my part-time job, so I decided to buy it.”
“Wow, that’s so expensive! You must be rich~!”
“—Speaking of cameras, I also bought one recently.”
Origami joined in the conversation again.
“Huh, Tobiichi-san, do you also like taking pictures?”
“Wow, that’s really unexpected~!”
“What kind of camera did you buy?”
“The latest CCD1.”
“Huh…?!”
It felt like a chilly breeze blew past them when they heard what Origami said.
“As long as it is well hidden, it is very difficult for even experts to discover them.”
"…"
“If you want, I can buy one for you.”
1
CCD refers to a Charged-coupling device: basically a very fancy professional digital camera in the
context of this conversation.
After Origami finished speaking, the three of them shook their heads vigorously.
“A-Ah… R-Right! Don’t mention it!”
This time it was Mii who turned to face Ai and change the topic of the conversation.
“The more important question is why would Ai buy a camera now of all times?”
“Ah! Could it be that you’ve made some progress with Kishiwada-san…!”
Mai’s eyes sparkled in excitement, looking at Ai.
However, Ai lowered her gaze and shrugged, shaking her head.
“I’m sorry that I can’t live up to your expectations, but we haven’t made any progress at all.
Even if I take the initiative and ask him out, he just ignores it. As expected, I have no chance…”
“It’s okay! Kishiwada-san is an herbivore, so you have to take charge and attack, Ai!”
“Yeah, that’s right! Keep going! Don’t give up!”
“I agree with them. When facing introverted boys, we have to take the initiative and guide
them.”
“Oh! Tobiichi-san shared a bold opinion!”
“Eh! Tobiichi, are you a carnivorous girl?”
Mai and Mii exclaimed as they patted Ai on the shoulder.
“Look, even Tobiichi-san said so. You have to continue to attack.”
“Yeah, that’s right! Attack aggressively!”
“Uh huh! That’s what I’ve decided! I will do my best!”
Ai clenched her fists and nodded vigorously as though she’d made up her mind.
So Origami nodded gently to reassure her.
“—Let me teach you a very effective trick to help you with your love interest.”
“Huh? A trick?”
“Oh, Tobiichi-san has an unexpectedly girlish heart~!”
“What does it matter, Ai? It sounds like it’ll really help out. Just ask Tobiichi-san~”
After Mai and Mii finished speaking, Ai nodded and replied, “Ah… right!”
“What kind of trick is it, Tobiichi-san?”
“This is it.”
Origami pulled out a small vial from her pocket and placed it on the desk.
“This is…?”
“Hey, this seems like more than just a trick.”
“That sounds good, what should I do then?”
“—Take an appropriate amount with a handkerchief, and cover his nose and mouth.”
“Huh…?!”
Hearing what Origami said, a cold breeze swept over them for a third time.
“He will pass out.”
The three of them shook their heads vigorously again.
“What is she doing…”
Shido groaned as a bead of sweat trickled down his cheek.
—Step 3: Girls like cute things
Step two had the perfect outcome.
After Origami finished eating lunch, she nodded her head in content and glanced in Shido’s
direction.
Shido seemed to be staring at Origami. The two locked eyes for a moment before he looked
away in a panic.
Origami mentally clenched her fist in triumph. Shido seemed excited about this new side of her
as an ordinary girl. Even if it was only during this lunch break, she should have a huge lead over
that disgusting Yatogami Tohka.
As she realized this, Origami remembered the conversation with the trio just now.
At the end of their lunch break, they said to Origami:
“Ah… By the way, Tobiichi-san, why do you hate Tohka?”

“Ah… that is to say, when people see such a cute girl, they normally get happy and excited.”
“That’s right~!”
For some reason, she could tell that they were trying to change the subject… maybe they were
just worrying too much.
That’s right. In the eyes of ordinary girls, Yatogami Tohka—that annoying spirit—would be
considered cute.
And—Origami heard that ordinary girls like cute things.
Just thinking about it, Origami could feel her stomach churn with disgust. But if that was the
definition of an ordinary girl, there was nothing she could do. For Shido’s sake, she was willing
to face off against a spirit.
“…”
Origami waited for the school day to end as she concentrated on the next class.
“Shido, let’s go home! What are you going to make for dinner tonight?”
At the end of the last class, Tohka packed her school bag and put her hands on Shido’s desk. He
couldn’t help but smile bitterly when he noticed just how energetic she was.
“You sure are lively. But… hm, what should I cook? There aren’t many ingredients left in the
house, so we should stop by the shopping district on the way home.”
“Oh! Buying ingredients!”
After Shido finished speaking, Tohka’s eyes shone excitedly.
“Shido! Shido!”
“…Alright, I can only buy two at most right now.”
Shido shrugged helplessly and raised two fingers. Looking at Tohka’s expression, it was easy to
understand: it was rare to go to the shopping district, so she probably wanted to buy something to
eat.
And he seemed to be right, as Tohka nodded energetically and replied, “Umu!”
At the same time, a figure appeared silently behind Tohka. It was Origami.
“Yatogami Tohka.”
“Nuu?”
As soon as Origami called her name, Tohka’s extremely excited expression disappeared in an
instant.
“What do you want?”
Tohka did not bother hiding her hostility as she turned to stare at Origami with a sharp gaze.
However, a moment later, her expression turned to a combination of confusion and surprise.
The reason was simple: because Origami suddenly hugged her.
“W-What are you doing…!”
“…”
Origami frowned for a moment, her expression the picture of trying to fight the urge to vomit.
However, Origami’s composure returned almost immediately as she began to stroke Tohka’s
head.
“So cute, so cute.”
Tohka flailed her arms and legs to fend her off, but Origami still didn’t stop what she was doing,
as she spoke those words quietly. There was this inexplicable feeling… that this was creepy.
“You guys…!”
Tohka finally managed to shake Origami off and stopped her from stroking her head before
recoiling back.
“Y-You! What are you thinking, doing such a thing to me so suddenly?!”
“You are so cute that I touched you. It is normal behavior that an average girl would partake in.”
“You… what are you after?!”
“I am not after anything. If I had to say, I just want to get along with you.”
“Eh…?”
Hearing what Origami said, Shido and Tohka both exclaimed in unison.
“If you were planning on going shopping, I was hoping to come along with you.”
“Muu… What a lie! Who would want someone like you to come along…?!”
“C-Calm down, Tohka.”
Shido was quick to calm down the rather angry Tohka before looking at Origami, whose
expression had not changed.
…All of today she has been acting strangely and far different from her usual self.
Just like during 4th period and lunch, her behavior was not like her at all, and she seemed
absent-minded during class. He wondered if she was ill.
But even if Origami was acting strange, to Shido, the current situation wasn’t terrible.
Because Origami—the member of the AST that hates spirits the most—finally said that she
wanted to get along with Tohka.
Perhaps, like Tohka said, she might have a hidden agenda, or it might just be on a whim.
However, regardless of the reason she’s acting this way, it was still a wonderful change bordering
on a miracle.
“Say, Tohka. Origami said that she wants to get along with you. Is it okay to have her come
along with us?”
“What… S-Shido! Do you seriously believe what she said?!”
“N-No… but can she come along regardless?”
“U-Umu…”
Tohka’s expression was conflicted. Eventually, she raised a finger and pointed it at Origami.
“You…! Don’t get the wrong idea! It’s only because Shido wants you to come along that I’m
reluctantly agreeing!”
“…”
Origami let out an impatient sigh, and her eyebrows twitched for a moment. But much like
before, her neutral expression returned almost immediately as she nodded.
“I’m so glad.”
“A-Ah…!”
After Origami said those words, Tohka’s shoulders shook as though she was electrocuted.
“…Hey, just walk normally, don’t lean so close to me, okay?!”

“This is the proper distance.”
“Muu… this is obviously too close!”
“I am just doing what an ordinary girl would do. Ordinary girls like cute things the most.”
“Eh…”
Shido watched as Tohka and Origami walked side by side through the shopping district, a wry
smile on his face.
No, rather than walking side by side… something seemed a little off. Origami was latching onto
Tohka, who was trying to walk normally. Tohka looked annoyed and wanted to stretch out the
distance between them, but Origami immediately latched on again… and, as a result, they were
gradually veering off course.
…But he didn’t know why—and Tohka had nothing to do with it—but Origami didn’t look very
good.
“Origami…? Are you okay? Could it be that you’re trying to force yourself…?”
“…? I do not understand what you are saying.”
Origami replied in her usual tone. He could tell that she was obviously… wrong… but it seemed
that she didn’t want to bring attention to it.
Since she said that she was okay, Shido was too embarrassed to investigate further and gave up.
At that moment, Tohka, who was still being chased by Origami, spoke up weakly.
“S-Shido…”
Tohka looked more and more pitiful. Shido scratched his head and loudly called out Origami
again:
“S-Say, Origami. Tohka seems to be having some trouble walking around with you holding onto
her so tightly. It shouldn’t be a problem to loosen up, right?”
“…Is that normal behavior?”
“Eh? Hmm… I think so.”
Origami nodded lightly and, at once, kept a distance from Tohka obediently.
Tohka sighed.
Perhaps it was because she was relieved to have been freed, but Tohka’s belly made a cute
gurgling noise at that moment.
“Muu… Shido, can I have something to eat?”
“Hmm, sure. Around here… Ah, it looks like they’re selling crepes over there.”
“Wow, crepes! Nice!”
Tohka’s expression changed, revealing a more cheerful look, the complete opposite of the
annoyed look she had before.
At that moment, Origami rushed out from Tohka’s side, immediately purchasing a crepe before
returning to her.
“Take it.”
Then, she handed the crepe to Tohka.
Seeing such unexpected behavior, Tohka involuntarily took a step back with an alarmed look on
her face.
“You… what are you planning?”
“…? Do you not like chocolate banana crepes?”
“No, I love them… but that’s not the problem here.”
“Take it.”
Origami passed the crepe to Tokha again. Tohka stared at Origami suspiciously for several
seconds before slowly reaching out a hand to take the crepe.
She then sniffed it and tasted a little of the cream to make sure the treat hadn’t been poisoned,
before taking a big bite.
“…Muu, it’s delicious…”
Tohka spoke. She had mixed feelings about the fact that Origami gave the crepe to her and the
sweetness on tongue. The conflicting mood showed in her ambivalent expression.
However, the crepe itself really was delicious. Tohka took a second bite, more boldly this time,
her cheeks now smeared with whipped cream.
At that moment, Origami’s eyebrows twitched before quickly moving her face toward Tohka’s
and licking the whipped cream off her cheeks.
“M-Muuu…!”
Tohka’s shoulders shook, and her face paled.
However, Origami didn’t care, her expression remained steady as she tapped Tohka’s nose with
her finger.
“What a slob.”
“…!”
Tohka took a step back as her eyes went wide in panic while reaching her hand up to the cheek
that Origami had licked.
However, Origami didn’t move. She kept her finger on Tohka’s nose, and froze in place.
“H-Hey… Origami…?”
Shido thought that something was off and put his hand on Origami’s shoulder—
“W-Whoa!”
And in response, Origami slumped to the ground in a heap.
◇◇◇
“Ah…”
Origami moaned softly as she slowly opened her eyes.
She immediately realized that she was lying on a bed. She pressed a hand against her aching
head and sat up slowly.
“…This is…”
Origami murmured softly, and looked around. It was a space separated by white curtains. She
could see the setting sun through the window, and the ceiling was dyed orange.
“Oh, you’re awake.”
As that familiar voice vibrated against her tympanic membranes, the curtain covering her space
was pulled back. The dazzling sunset immediately filled Origami’s view.
“Are you okay, Origami? You looked like you were really trying to force yourself back there.”
“Shido…”
That’s right. The person standing in front of Origami was Shido.
As her eyes adjusted to the light, the area around them came into focus. It seemed that they were
in the school’s infirmary.
“Shido… you… did you bring me here?”
“Ah… yeah, but Tohka also helped out. Please remember to thank her later.”
“…”
Hearing that name, Origami involuntarily covered her mouth.
“H-Hey…”
Shido smiled bitterly as he made his way to a chair by the bed and sat down.
“So what happened today? You weren’t acting like yourself.”
“…!”
Upon hearing that sentence, Origami’s eyes widened.
“W-What’s wrong? Is there a problem…?”
Shido frowned as he asked. There was no point trying to hide it anymore, Origami quietly began
to talk.
“…I want to be an ordinary girl.”
“Ordinary?”
Shido had a perplexed expression.
“Forget that… why do you need to be ordinary?”
“Because, Shido, you said that you like ordinary girls.”
“Huh?”
Shido’s eyes widened, clearly caught off guard before letting out an, “Ah!” of realization.
“…But, I can’t do it. I can’t be an ordinary girl.”
“N-No, I only said that because Tonomachi was being annoying and wouldn’t leave me alone
until I answered him. I’m not…”
“…! Really?!”
Origami suddenly raised her head. Shido scratched his cheek and continued:
“Y-Yeah. How should I say it… no matter what type of girl I like, Origami… just be yourself. Of
course, I also want you to be able to get along with Tohka…”
“I see.”
Origami interrupted Shido and nodded.
“Since you have said so, I will return to my usual self tomorrow. Because—I am your
girlfriend.”
“Wha… Oh… right… uh…”
After Origami finished, Shido looked away, his gaze uncertain.

Kurumi Cat
Blue sky, white clouds and a warm climate.
A typical hot summer environment as if it were from a painting. The blinding sunlight shone
everywhere, mercilessly baking the asphalt road. The impatient cries of the cicadas added some
merriment to the otherwise peaceful residential district.
At the center of the road, Kurumi was all alone, happily humming a tune whilst taking a slow
stroll.
She was a girl with long, dark colored hair tied into two shoulder-length bunches. Amidst the
summer heat where one would simply perspire just by standing, even though Kurumi wore a
long-sleeved sweater and a plain long skirt, not a drop of perspiration could be seen. Along with
her beauty that seemed to consume the surrounding air, if one stopped to look at her, she could
probably be mistaken for an intricately designed doll.
“Fufu, I guess I’ve made some progress for now.”
Kurumi softly murmured with a cheerful tone, licking her lips with the tip of her tongue.
The boy with the power of the Spirits in his body. Kurumi had been suspicious about it when she
first witnessed it, but that ability truly existed.
If she were to consume him, Kurumi would then be able to obtain the power of three Spirits.
Even if she used Yod Bet[The Twelfth Bullet], she would have a large reserve of Spirit energy
left over.
“Fufu… But, Shido-san has to be saved for last.”
Saying that, Kurumi raised her left hand, opening and closing it a few times.
The hand that had been lost, and regenerated through the effects of Dalet[The Fourth Bullet].
At that moment.
With a slight thump, Kurumi felt a slight impact at her chest, a tiny wail could be heard from in
front of her.
“Oh?”
Lowering her gaze, she noticed a girl that looked to be approximately in fourth grade sitting on
her behind. It seemed that she had run straight into Kurumi.
“Oh my, I’m really sorry.”
Kurumi said as she extended her hand. The girl fidgeted for a while, before timidly holding
Kurumi’s hand.
Just like that, Kurumi pulled the young girl to her feet, lightly dusting her knees. The girl hastily
bowed her head in apology.
“U-um… I’m sorry. It’s because I was in a hurry…”
“It’s alright. Since I was thinking of something at the time, I’m to blame as well.”
As she spoke, Kurumi looked at the girl. Her clothes were light and cool, completely different
from Kurumi’s, yet beads of sweat could be seen on her forehead.
Kurumi understood, so the young girl wasn’t lying when she said she was in a hurry.
“S-sorry, I…”
“Ahhh, you don’t have to worry about this. Weren’t you in a hurry?”
“Really… I’m really sorry.”
The girl deeply bowed once more and got ready to hurry off once more.
However, she stopped in her tracks as though recalling something, withdrew something that
looked like a flyer from her bag and handed it to Kurumi.
“U-um… please take this…”
“This is?”
Kurumi lowered her head to look at the piece of paper.
On the flyer’s surface, the picture of a calico cat with a red collar was printed along with a
request to look for the cat as well as a map of the surrounding area and contact details.
“I’m sorry… If you have seen it then… Please…”
“Haa…”
Kurumi replied listlessly. The young girl lowered her head and ran off, tripping on the uneven
road in the end—before finally regaining her balance and narrowly avoiding falling down.
However, she still gave the impression that she would run into someone again once more.
“Not a missing person but a missing cat… huh.”

Kurumi sighed, looking at the flyer once more—before folding it and putting it in her pocket.
“Even though I sympathize with her… But I simply do not have the time to waste on such
things.”
With that, Kurumi started walking down the path while trying to put it behind her.
That’s right, now’s not the right time and place to think about these issues.
Kurumi still has not found a way to do what she has to do, yet time is limited. A task such as
looking for a lost cat would waste precious time, time that Kurumi simply could not waste.
“…”
However,
Kurumi wordlessly stopped walking, retrieving that piece of paper once more and sighed.
“Then again, [We] have not had anything to do since replenishing our numbers.”
After mumbling such words she started to walk once more, this time into a small alley.
“Since I’m not really too confident in using them in reconnaissance and actual combat… Perhaps
it is necessary to train them a little first.”
Walking right into the darkest part of the pitch-black alley, Kurumi struck her heel against the
floor once.
In response, the shadow under Kurumi’s feet instantly expanded in size, filling up the entire
alley.
After that, Kurumi snapped her fingers, pale, white hands sprouted out from the expanded
shadows on the walls and ground at once—the faces of countless girls emerged.
Twintails of uneven length, clock-shaped left eyes. That’s right, even though their hairstyles and
outfits were different, the girls who had appeared from the shadows all had the same face as
Kurumi.
“[Us].”
As Kurumi spoke, the [Kurumis] sensed her intentions, swiftly departing from the alley
in-between giggles, some leapt onto the roofs while others submerged into the shadows once
more—the girls spread themselves across the street with haste.
“Ah—… So it’s already summer, huh.”

Shido, who was walking down the streets under the hot sun, mumbled to himself, stretching
casually as he did so.
The time was currently one-thirty in the afternoon. As it was a school holiday today, Shido had
intended to go to the shopping district as soon as possible to finish grocery shopping… But the
sunlight was far harsher than he had expected. Shido couldn’t help but think that it might have
been a better idea if he had waited for the sun to go down a little before stepping out of the
house.
“Hm, what is it Shido, are you not feeling well?”
At this moment, the girl who had been walking in front of Shido, skipped to his side and
inquired.
Dusk-coloured hair, crystal pupils that did not seem to be natural, she was a girl that one would
remember forever with just a single glance.
Right now, the girl was wearing light summer clothes, the excitable atmosphere caused by her
natural actions had already dispelled that mysterious feeling that surrounded her.
Yatogami Tohka. She was Shido’s classmate as well as his neighbor. Tohka was also—one of the
Spirits who had her powers sealed by Shido.
Today, upon noticing that Shido was going to buy groceries, she immediately yelled “Me too!
Me too!”, before swiftly getting ready and tagged along.
“Haha… You’re really energetic today, Tohka.”
“Yeah! That’s because I just ate lunch!”
Saying that, Tohka puffed out her chest. Shido made a forced smile as he chased after the
prancing Tohka.
“Hm?”
Tohka who had been walking ahead of Shido suddenly stopped, abruptly squatting down to peer
under the bottom of a car.
“Hm? What are you doing, Tohka?”
“Uuh…”
As Shido walked closer, Tohka reached her hand out under the car. A while later, she retrieved a
single cat from beneath the car.
“A cat?”
Shido widened his eyes. It was a calico cat who was wearing a red collar. Due to being suddenly
moved to a bright place from a dark one. The cat squinted its eyes, seemingly due to the bright
sunlight.
“I guess we woke it up while it was sleeping… Might as well, it could have been in danger if we
left it below the car.”
Shido stated, Tohka shook her head.
“That’s not it, look over here, Shido.”
Saying that, Tohka turned the calico cat that she was carrying towards Shido.
A trail of blood could be clearly seen from the cat’s left hind leg.
“Ah… It got injured.”
“That’s right, it’s best if we get it treated soon.”
“Yeah—… Although we have some first aid equipment at home, I think it might be for the best if
we consult an expert on this… Alright, we’re going to alter our route a little, let us go to the
veterinarian and have them take a look.”
“Yes!”
Tohka loudly cried out. The cat meowed as though it was replying.
“Oooh, you can understand our words too?”
“No no, how could that be… But, if it is wearing a collar then it means that it’s being raised by
someone right? And it seems that it is used to being around humans. It would be the right thing
to do to search for its owner—”
Shido said, subconsciously looking over his shoulder.
For some reason, he felt as though someone was watching him.
“Hm? What’s the matter, Shido?”
“Eh… There seems to be…”
Looking around as he spoke, he did not find anything suspicious.
Shido scratched his cheek, his head leaning slightly to one side.
“No, it’s nothing. Let’s go.”
“Okay!”
Tohka enthusiastically replied.
“…Oh my, oh my, oh my.”
Kurumi, who had been observing from an alley, frowned slightly.
In the short period of time when she received the report from one of her clones that the calico cat
had been spotted and immediately rushed over to the location, the situation somehow got
troublesome…
In Kurumi’s sights, was the calico cat that was in the arms of a beautiful girl who was walking
with a gentle-looking youth.
They were people that Kurumi knew. That’s right… They were Yatogami Tohka and Itsuka
Shido.
“This really is… becoming troublesome.”
Kurumi placed her hand under her chin as she started to think. The cat that she was targeting just
had to be picked up by her prey and his Spirit bodyguard.
In truth, this wasn’t a situation that she had hoped for.
Of course, Kurumi’s Zafkiel<Emperor of Time> is the strongest Angel. There’s no reason to be

afraid of Tohka whose powers have been sealed by Shido… But things are not that simple.
If she were to reveal herself in front of the two… just what should she say to them?
“Hand over that cat?” No, even if she asked directly, it is unlikely that the two would obediently
do as she requested. If she were to be questioned regarding her motive for targeting the cat, then
she would be at a loss for words.
As Kurumi pondered, a voice sounded out beside her—a voice that was completely identical to
Kurumi’s. The clone who had first noticed the cat looked at Kurumi as she poked out from the
shadows of the walls.
Kurumi made a slight snort, glanced at the flyer for the missing cat before looking at Shido and
Tohka once more.
“There are other methods. I don’t have to hand over the cat to that child personally. If that’s the
case, it would be sufficient if I let Shido-san and Tohka-san notice.”
Kurumi spoke to herself whilst raising the hand that was holding the flyer.
Shido and Tohka altered their original plans to go to the shopping district, moving towards the
direction of the veterinary instead.
Looking at the injury of the cat, even though it’s not fatal, leaving it alone may cause it to worsen
or even trigger an infection. So they are currently moving quickly whilst trying to reduce the
vibrations from their steps.
“Hey, Shido. Where can we find the veterinarian?”
Tohka, who was using one hand to shield the cat she was carrying from the glare of the sunlight,
asked Shido. Shido looked up as though in thought before replying.
“If I recall correctly we should walk straight down this path, we should be able to see it once we
take a left turn at where the main road ends. I usually don’t go to the veterinarian so it’s a little
vague.”
“Hm… So I see, I’ll remember it.”
“Eh?”
“If I ever see another animal that’s injured like this guy, I have to get ready to bring them to the
veterinarian just like this. It’s a great thing that Shido is with me today, I wouldn’t know what to
do if I were to be by myself. I’ve realized once again how immature I am.”
“Haha, that’s true. But then again, I wouldn’t have noticed the cat if Tohka wasn’t with me
right?”
Hearing Shido say that, Tohka’s expression brightened.
“Hehe, what a lucky cat you are. To be found by Shido and me.”
Tohka laughed, scratching the cat by the throat. The cat mewed in comfort, wriggling its body as
though asking for more.
“Uu, what’s the matter, you cute thing, is it here?”
Probably urged on by its reaction, Tohka happily continued to play with the cat. The cat mewled
again, licking Tohka’s fingers.
“Oooh…! s-Shido! What should we do after bringing this guy to the veterinarian? Can we keep
it?”
“Eh? No, it is wearing a collar after all, we should search for its owner.”
“U, uggh… Is that so? B-but, if we couldn’t find the owner…”
“Well, if it happens…”
Shido spoke, noticing that Tohka was looking at him with a very serious face. Sweat appeared on
Shido’s face, he continued.
“…When that happens you can ask Kotori to check if it is okay to raise a pet in your room.”
“Oh… Ooooh!”
After Shido said that, Tohka’s eyes shone, she tightly hugged the cat.
“Hey, you’ll hurt it…”
At that moment, Shido’s brow twitched.
There seemed to be a piece of paper stuck on the wall in front of Shido and Tohka.
For a moment it seemed to be an election notice, but that wasn’t right, a person’s face was not
printed there, but a cat’s—
“! Shido! Come and look! It’s so bouncy!”
“Hm?”
Shido had originally wanted to take a closer look at the notice, Tohka, who was at his side,
suddenly called out to him, causing him to be distracted.
He saw Tohka excitedly pressing the cat’s paw pads (the uninjured front paws of course).
“A-amazing, Shido! what is this!”
“Ahh, those are called paw pads. They grow on the paws of dogs and cats.”
“Paw pads…?”
Tohka tilted her head slightly to the side, widening her eyes as though realizing something.
“Balls of… meat. Don’t tell me, meatballs are made from these?!”
“That’s not right. Even though it certainly sounds the same if you take the literal English
meaning, that’s not it at all.”
“Uh, so that’s how it is… Alright, it’s decided! Your name shall be ‘Nikukyuu’!”
Tohka cried out, nodding her head in affirmation.
“Gah, hey… We should be looking for the owner first. Isn’t this putting the cart before the
horse?”
“That’s not the case. Even if we’re looking for its owner, wouldn’t this guy feel troubled without
a name. Furthermore… just like how Shido gave me a name, I’d like to give this cat here a name
too.”
“Nn… Is that so.”
Shido nodded, letting out a small “Ah” while doing so.
Whilst conversing with each other, Shido and Tohka had passed by the aforementioned notice.
“Well, forget it.”
Although he did not mind… But there wasn’t a need to turn around and check, their priority right
now would be to send the cat to the veterinarian first. Shido scratched his head as he continued
walking towards the veterinary with Tohka.
“…”
Shido and Tohka had already walked away.
Kurumi appeared from the shadows of the wall, moodily taking down the paper that was stuck to
the wall.
That’s right. Kurumi had predicted Shido and Tohka’s route, pasting the notice of the missing cat
at a location that would be easily noticed.
As long as that calico cat was returned to that young girl, it would be fine even if the task was
not done personally by Kurumi. In other words, that would have been a better situation.
Ideally, if Shido had noticed the existence of the notice, he would have immediately called the
number written on the notice. If that happened then everything would be solved and everyone
would be happy.
However, her plan did not go as smoothly as expected. Tohka had interrupted at a crucial
moment, splendidly causing Shido to overlook that notice.
“Tch… And I almost succeeded too. Tohka-san really did something unnecessary back there.”
After Kurumi exclaimed in frustration, giggling could be heard from a deserted location.
“Ara ara, they didn’t notice it.”
“How did that happen?”
“As expected, we cannot use such a roundabout method, would it be better if we had gone in
directly?”
Numerous Kurumis poked their heads out from the walls and floors, chiming their opinions one
after the other.
“Silence, [Us]. I still have a lot more plans that can be used.”
“Since you’ve said that, what should we do now?”
One of the clones asked with her head tilted to one side. Kurumi snorted, folding the flyer in her
hands in half.
“Don’t get distracted from our mission objective. More importantly, I can let Shido-san realize
the existence of this flyer with this method.”
Saying that, Kurumi started to fold the flyer in a complicated manner.
“Hm—Hm—, Niku—kyuu—, Niku—kyuu—, Niku—Niku—kyuu—”
“What’s with that song, seriously…”
It was probably due to being overly conscious of the cat, Tohka hummed the mysterious song
that she had created on the way, Shido who was walking alongside her forced out a weak smile.
At that moment.
“Hm?” In the middle of the road, Shido stopped walking, turning to look behind him.
For some reason, he felt as though something had just bumped into his back.
“Uu, is something the matter?”
“No, just now…”
Shido looked around, his brow twitched upon glancing downwards.
“This…”
Saying that as he bent down, picking up the object that fell by his feet.
What fell there was a paper plane that seemed to have been made out of a flyer.
It seems that the feeling before had been caused by this. Shido did not see anyone around…
Could it have been a prank done by kids living nearby?
“Eh? This piece of paper…”
Shido frowned in surprise. That paper plane did not seem to have been made from the
advertisements from a newspaper, but one that has been printed from a household printer. The
words “Please open it.” had also been neatly written onto the wing.
“What a polite way to write.”
Beads of sweat rolled down Shido’s face, just as he was prepared to follow the instructions and
unfold the plane…
“Hm? What’s that?”
At this moment, Tohka, who was beside him, looked at Shido’s hands excitedly.
“Hm? Aaah, this is a paper plane. Someone seemed to have thrown it to me.”
“Paper plane? What is that?”
“Well, it’s a plane made of paper like its namesake. If you throw it out like this then it’ll fly.”
“S-such a thing!”
Upon witnessing Shido miming the action of throwing a paper plane, Tohka’s eyes lit up,
gingerly handing the cat over to Shido.
“Shido , help me hold this guy for a while.”
“Eh? A-aah, of course…”
Shido nodded, receiving the cat from Tohka. In exchange Tohka took the paper plane from
Shido’s hands, exaggeratedly moving her arm to throw it into the sky.
“Fly!”
“Ah…”
It was already too late when Shido gasped. Tohka’s strength seemed to have went hand in hand
with the wind, the paper plane soon disappeared just like that.
“Oooh, it’s true! This is amazing Shido! It really flew just like Shido said!”
“Gah, hey…”
The plane had been thrown away even before its contents were read. Shido frowned at the paper
plane that was in the air.
Oh well, it could very well be some prank that has been thrown over. The words “Only an idiot
would look” might have been inside. Shido sighed as he came to that conclusion.
However, Tohka was sharp enough to notice Shido’s slight facial expressions, her shoulders
shrank as she showed an apologetic expression.
“S-Shido… Don’t tell me, that was something that I should not have thrown…? S-sorry, I’ll go
and get it immediately—”
“Aaah, that’s not it, it’s alright. It’s my fault for doing the throwing action. Since it probably isn’t
anything important, you don’t have to mind.”
“But…”
“More importantly, shouldn’t we get this fellow treated earlier.
Hm?”
Shido smiled as he passed the cat over to her. Tohka’s crestfallen look instantly brightened up,
she used a confident expression to nod in reply to Shido.
“TOH· KA-SA—N…!”
Kurumi, who had peeped out from the shadows of the wall, regretfully ground her teeth while
furiously glaring at the backs of the departing Shido and Tohka.
Understanding that it wasn’t enough to attract attention just by simply sticking it to the wall,
Kurumi formulated a plan to pass the flyer to Shido in the form of a paper plane—she even wrote
instructions on the paper plane just to be safe, in the end she had been foiled by Tohka again.
“Not once but twice…! Does she hate me or something…?!”
Kurumi grudgingly said, communication sounded out from her surroundings once more.
“About that, well, shouldn’t she be?”
“Since you did cause that chaos earlier before, because you had targeted Shido-san.”
“Eh… Don’t tell me you never considered that you might be hated because of that?”
The clones’ heads popped out from the shadows just like a whack-a-mole game as they gave
their comments. Kurumi clicked her tongue in annoyance, smacking them on the head.
“Ow!”
“Kya!”
“Uuuh, that’s too much.”
The clones held their heads, looking at Kurumi with resentful gazes.
However, Kurumi paid them no heed, grinding her teeth as she stared at Shido and Tohka’s
backs. “I—can’t stand it any more. Originally I didn’t wish to step in personally, but I can’t give
up now that things have gotten to this!”
“D-do we have a plan?”
One of the clones asked in astonishment. Kurumi glanced at her, silently opening her mouth.
“Since that flyer is already useless, then, our methods have to change as well…!”
“A change in… method?”
“—To put it simply, all I have to do is to get the cat to choose me over Shido-san.”
“…?!”
The instant Kurumi said that, all of the surrounding clones showed expressions of wariness.
“Don’t… don’t tell me, you’re going to use that?”
“How can it be, it’s too dangerous! Even if it’s for the cat, is it really necessary to go this far?”
“Please think it through once more! If you were to be seen, you would be showing that to
Shido-san?! You of all people should know what that means don’t you?”
As expected of Kurumi’s clones who originated from the original, they were able to understand
her intentions with that one line alone.
However, despite the clones’ protests, Kurumi’s decision did not waver in the slightest.
“Please keep quiet! This is already an issue of my personal pride! As long as there are any
obstacles to my objective, no matter how small, I will not forgive them whoever they are!”
Kurumi cried out as such. The clones returned to the shadows upon hearing her declaration.
“Well then… We’ll arrive once we turn at that corner.”
“Ooohh, isn’t that great Nikukyuu? You won’t feel pain soon.”
Shido used his finger to point out the corner in front of them, Tohka exaggeratedly nodded her
head as she raised her voice. In response to her words, the cat began to mew.
However, at that moment, Tohka and the cat jumped as though they had been surprised by
something, after that they started to look around at the same time.
“Hm? What’s the matter?”
“Uuh… Didn’t you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
Saying that Shido pricked his ears and listened closely, just as Tohka said, he could hear the cute
mewling of a cat somewhere.
“…Hmm?”
Shido frowned slightly due to an instinctual sense that something was amiss. This was not due to
Shido being well versed in cat language… But he felt that there was a subtle tease in that call, as
though it was trying to invite one to guess who was mewing.
At this moment.
“Ah—!”
Hearing Tohka’s cry, Shido saw the cat jump out of Tohka’s arms, dragging its left hind leg and
dashing towards the small alley.
“Shido, Nikukyuu!”
“Yeah, let’s go after it, Tohka!”
“Mn!”
Shido and Tohka started to run after the cat.
Their opponent was an agile animal. One would normally find it difficult to catch up to it.
However, it was a different case if the cat’s hind leg had an injury. The distance between the cat
and the two slowly, but surely—
“Got you!”
Just before entering the small alley, Tohka had caught the cat.
“Alright, I’ve caught her!”

“Oh! Well done Toh—”
Shido, who had arrived a moment slower than Tohka, his words trailed off mid-sentence.
The reason for that was extremely simple. This was because there was an unexpected scene that
had unfolded before him due to the cat trying to enter the alley.
“…Ku-Kurumi?”
Shido’s voice was filled with confusion and shock as he cried out that name.
That’s right. In the middle of the alley was a single girl. Kurumi. A classmate that had transferred
into Shido’s class in the past—A girl that had been called “The most dangerous Spirit,” killing
humans by her own will.
That girl was currently on all fours onto the ground, Mewing, with a tone that could cause one to
have goosebumps. It was natural to feel confused at this scene. Tohka reacted the same way as
Shido, her eyes widened as she stared at Kurumi.
“…Kya…!”
A split second later, Kurumi seemed to have also realized Shido and Tohka’s presence. Her
shoulders jumped in shock as she froze in place—she stood up and dusted her knees, pinching
the edges of her skirt as she made an elegant bow.
“F-fufu, it’s been a while, Shido-san , Tohka-san.”
Saying that, her lips curled upwards to form a crescent smile. Her face showed a stunning smile
that could freeze one in place… at least that was what she intended to do, for some reason, tiny
beads of sweat could be glimpsed from her forehead.
“W-what are you doing…”
“…”
Upon being questioned by Shido, Kurumi’s smile immediately froze, she went speechless for an
instant—
“G-gah…”
Rustling her hair in near-vexation, Kurumi made a snap with her fingers.
Instantly, the shadows that were swirling at her feet coiled around her body—forming an elegant
dress that is entwined by blood and darkness. Astral Dress—The absolute armor that protects the
Spirits.
“Wha—”
Kurumi, who had entered battle mode, pointed at the cat within Tohka’s arms.
“T-think what you like, please hand that cat over to me!”
“Ah, eh? The cat…?”
Due to the sudden unreasonable demand, Shido couldn’t help but frown.
At this moment, from the surrounding shadows,
“Ah—, ah—”
“In the end, it turned out to be like this.”
“It wouldn’t have to be that embarrassing, if you had done this in the first place…”
Shido seemed to hear such one-sided conversations take place… Was it just a hallucination from
being confused?
Shido, failing to understand the current situation, showed a troubled expression. Tohka, on the
other hand, looked warily at Kurumi.
“Cat… you said? Are you talking about Nikukyuu?”
“Yes. That’s what I am talking about.”
Kurumi seemed to have regained her voice as she affirmed the uneasy question raised by Tohka.
“I do not have the intention to fight with you two today. Just obediently hand it over and I
promise that I will let you two go back peacefully.”
“Stop joking! Who would hand it over to someone like you!”
Tohka cried out, her hands exerting more strength as though attempting to protect the cat.
Kurumi noticed that, pressing a finger to her lips, she showed a glamorous smile.
“Oh my, oh my, how brave of you. However, at your current strength, do you think you can stop
me?”
“Kuh—”
Tohka took half a step back with a panicked expression.
In truth, Tohka should also be fully aware about the difference in combat ability between her and
Kurumi. Even though she had faced off with Kurumi once before—but that was when Origami
and Mana were there and they still suffered a crushing defeat. If a battle were to break out now,
the chances of Tohka and Shido obtaining victory are slim.
Despite that, even though they were in such a perilous predicament, Shido’s attention was
focused on another thing altogether.
“Kurumi…”
“Yes? What is it?”
“About that… yeah. Why do you want this cat?”
“…”
With that simple question raised by Shido , Kurumi’s shoulders jolted but her face still had that
fearless smile.
That’s right, it was this simple fact that raised uncertainty.

At first glance, it is hard to believe that this cat possesses any special powers. For a moment,
Shido was worried that Kurumi might use her [City of Devouring Time] to plunder the cat’s
time… But that would be extremely cost ineffective on a small creature that has a significantly
shorter life span compared to humans.
“That’s…”
“That’s?”
Kurumi stuttered as she attempted to say something, avoiding Shido’s eyes while tossing her hair
to the side.
“That… I’ll leave it to your imagination.”
No matter what he does, an indirect answer is always given to him. Shido frowned even harder in
puzzlement.
As Kurumi gave such a reply, Tohka widened her eyes as though realizing something.
“D-don’t tell me you… intend to make meatballs from the meatballs from Nikukyuu’s feet and
eat them?”
“I will not! W-what horrible imagination do you have!”
Kurumi couldn’t help but cry out.
“…T-then, what do you intend to do?”
Sweat formed on Shido’s face as he asked, Kurumi frowned with a troubled expression.
“A-anyway! Please hand that cat over to me! If you two wish to resist—I can’t guarantee that
you two will live!”
Saying that Kurumi raised her hands, a pair of guns flew into her hands. One was an ancient
handgun while the other was a rifle that had a barrel longer than the former.
However, even so Tohka could not just hand over the cat just like that, she stared at Kurumi with
a stern face.
“How can I—hand Nikukyuu… over to a dangerous woman like you—!”
The same time she made her outburst, Tohka’s body emitted a soft glow. Although Tohka’s Spirit
powers have been sealed by Shido, however when her emotional state runs unstable, there would
be a situation where her Spirit power would backflow.
At that moment.
Probably frightened from the mysterious glow and her cries, the cat that was in Tohka’s arms
jumped out and ran towards the main road.
“! Oh no—Nikukyuu!”
Tohka called out absently, hastily reaching out.
However—she didn’t catch the cat. It had slipped through Tohka’s fingers, dashing towards the
direction of the road.
At the same time, a car was headed straight for the cat.
Shido held his breath, his legs hit the floor before he could even think.
Grabbing the cat that ran onto the road, he held it in his arms in an attempt to protect the cat just
as he was about to hit the ground. At this moment, the driver finally realized that something was
amiss, the shrieking of the brakes pierced Shido’s eardrums.
“Shido!”
Following that he could hear Tohka’s wail. But even if Tohka rushed over with her Astral Dress,
chances of reaching him in time were slim. Shido tensed up, bracing his entire body for the
impact.
Shido possessed an abnormal recovery rate. Although it would not reduce the pain, it was likely
that he would not die from just being hit by a car. Shido braced himself and clenched his teeth.
But, then.
“Zafkiel<Emperor of Time>—Zayin[The Seventh Bullet]”
He seemed to have heard Kurumi’s voice. Shido was not hit by the car at all, he fell onto the
floor just like that.
“Eh…?”
Letting out a sound while in a daze, he stood up, noticing that the car had stopped in place just a
few millimeters away from where Shido was.
Not braked—but stopped.
That’s right. The car that was about to ram into Shido, had totally stopped in its tracks, as though
it had been isolated from the flow of time. The body of the car that lurched forward due to
braking, the distorted tires as well as the terrified face of the driver, had totally stopped.
“T-this is…”
Mumbling to himself whilst in a daze. But Shido recalled that such an unbelievable scene had
happened before.
Zafkiel<Emperor of Time>—Zayin[The Seventh Bullet].Kurumi’s Angel possesses the power to

stop time.
“Oh my oh my, why are you panicking?”
As though proving his thoughts, he could hear Kurumi’s voice above him.
At the same time, Shido felt that his collar had been grabbed, he was lightly placed onto the
roadside.
“Wah…!”
Due to the sudden release, he landed on his behind. In the next instant, the braking car that had
its time stopped emitted a piercing screech, smoke came out from its tires, continuing to move
forward for several meters—before finally coming to a stop.
The driver got out of the car in a panic, taking a good look around him, shaking his head in
disbelief as he got back into his car and drove off.
“Shido! Are you alright!”
Tohka wailed as she ran over. Shido shook his hand to indicate his lack of injuries.
“I’m sorry, this happened because I didn’t pay attention …”
“No, it’s not Tohka. That aside, just now… as I thought…”
Shido frowned as he voiced out his suspicions, Tohka had the same expression on her face as she
nodded.
“Yeah. It was unmistakable, that was definitely Kurumi’s Angel.”
“Did she… save me? Just what—”
Shido looked troubled as he mumbled to himself. All of a sudden, Tohka yelled out while
pointing at Shido’s chest.
“! Ah, s-Shido! Where’s Nikukyuu?!”

“Eh? E-eh—?”
Shido looked at his hands, his eyes widened.
The cat that was supposed to be in his arms had somehow disappeared. At this moment, as
though in answer to the question, his ears could hear giggling from a distance.
Kururmi was standing there whilst in her Astral Dress. In her arms, was the aforementioned
calico cat.
“Ah…! Kurumi, you—”
“Fufu, I have received the cat—Well then, Shido-san Tohka-san, I bid you two farewell.”
Kurumi made a small bow while hugging the cat, she dove into the expanding shadows at her
feet.
“Kuru—!”
Tohka went after her in haste—But it was too late. Just as Tohka was about to touch her,
Kurumi’s figure vanished entirely.
“Guh… N-Nikukyuu—!”
The evening street was filled with Tohka’s anguished cry.
After that, Shido and Tohka returned to their original plan of going to the shopping district for
groceries… But Tohka could not be cheered up.
Chances are highly likely that she was still concerned about the cat that Kurumi had taken away.
Despite Shido saying “Let’s make Tohka’s favorite food for dinner then.” or “Let’s go and buy
your favorite soy bread.”, Tohka merely gave a vague response as she glanced at the skies.
… Truthfully speaking, things might get dangerous if this continues for too long. Shido abided
by Ratatoskr’s instructions, ending the grocery shopping early, they were currently on the way
home.
“Hey, Tohka. Please don’t feel down anymore.”
“…Mmn, I know. I’ll be fine.”
In response to Shido’s words, Tohka replied with a face that totally did not look like she was fine
at all. Sweat beads rolled down Shido’s face, he frowned with a troubled expression.
“Nn—”
Of course, Shido was concerned about that cat as well. In the end, Kurumi’s objective remained
unknown to him.
However, in contrast to such an issue, he remained much more worried about Tohka’s mental
state. Is there any way that could make her happy again…
Suddenly,
“Ah…!”
Shido’s mental train of thoughts were suddenly broken by Tohka’s sudden yell.
“! What’s the matter, Tohka? Did something happen?”
Shido raised his head in surprise due to the difference in Tohka’s volume, he saw Tohka pointing
in front of her with widened eyes.
In the direction Tohka had pointed at was a small girl, who was carrying a calico cat with a red
collar.
“N-Nikukyuu!”
“Eh? It can’t be—”
It can’t be, but just as Shido was about to say that, Tohka had already dashed off.
Stopping in front of that young girl, reaching out a hand to the cat that she was carrying,
prodding the cat’s pawpads.
“! I-I can’t be mistaken! Nikukyuu!”
“Eh, ehh?”
Shido’s eyes narrowed in surprise, closely scrutinizing the cat’s features—it was very similar
indeed.
“U-um… Is something the matter?”
At this point, the little girl who was carrying the cat showed an uneasy expression. This was to
be expected, it’s not normal for an unfamiliar boy and girl to suddenly run over and start pressing
a cat’s pawpads.
“A-ahhh… Sorry about that.”
Shido made a simple apology, before continuing.

“Umm… Then, it might be a little weird to ask, but is this your cat?”
Upon Shido’s question, the girl timidly lowered her head.
“Yes… This is my cat.”
“See, we’ve been mistaken—if you look closely, this cat doesn’t have any injuries.”
Saying that, Shido pointed at the cat’s left hind foot.
That’s right. Unlike the previous cat, this one does not have any injuries on it’s body at all.
Although it looked similar, it was definitely another cat.
“No! Impossible! This sensation is definitely Nikukyuu’s!”
“Gah, hey…”
Just as Tohka was shaking her head in denial, the girl raised her eyebrows as though realizing
something.
“Don’t tell me… Was Onee-chan looking for Mary too?”
“Mary?”
“It’s this child’s name. Actually… she went missing a few days ago… But just now, a pretty
Onee-chan found her for me.”
“Eh…?”
Shido couldn’t help but make a surprised gasp.
After that, he looked at the cat’s left hind leg once more.
—That leg that seemed to have had its time rewound, erasing the wound from existence
completely.
“…No, that’s impossible… right?”
Shido scratched his cheek as he softly mumbled to himself.

Mana Mission
At DEM’s England HQ in the city of London, Mana was sparring in the training room with
Jessica. Jessica blocked Mana’s attack with her Territory, but realized Mana held the advantage
in magic power. Jessica then tried to attack Mana with her cannon at point-blank range. Mana
responded by using her Territory to deflect the attack.
Before long, Mana’s laser blade was placed on Jessica’s neck. Jessica accepted her loss by lifting
both of her hands. Mana’s CR-Unit <Murakumo> then disappeared and she changed back into
DEM’s uniform. The surrounding scenery is once again a room surrounded by a white wall.
Mana stood in front of the mirror in the training room, and saw a small girl aged about 13 to 14
years old with a mole under her eyes staring back at her. Mana’s exact age is uncertain. After
fixing her hair, Mana tried to leave the room, but Jessica stopped her.
“Is there anything you still want?”
“Obviously there is! I won’t allow you to just win and leave!”
“Win and leave… I said I have something to do, but you forced me with your match, and you
promised only one match. The bank will close if I don’t leave now.”
“Shut up! If I said one match, I meant one match until I win!”
“What kind of logic is that…”
Jessica pointed her finger at Mana and complained about how she can’t accept an Asian girl
being in the Adeptus Numbers. She was even more upset that Mana was Adeptus 2, exceeding
her Adeptus 3. Mana said she didn’t care, and if Jessica wants to be Adeptus 2 that much, she
should ask either the Department Manager or the Company Director for it.
“That kind of self-confidence. Don’t tell me… you…”
“Eh?”
“I see… I thought it was weird, so that’s what happened. What a dirty girl! You seduced
Westcott-sama for your current post…”
“Aww… the company director is a lolicon?”
“No way he is! I won’t allow anyone to insult Westcott-sama.”
“…I think I know someone who indirectly insulted him just now.”
After some chatting, the door in the training room opened. A girl with Nordic blonde hair in a
black suit then appeared - Ellen M. Mathers. Ellen asked Mana and Jessica what they were
doing, since she didn’t receive any application for usage of the training room.
“This is… a kind of training…”
“That’s right. Jessica said she won’t allow Wizards ranked higher than her, and that whoever won
the match will become Adeptus 2. Then, she said she will defeat Mathers and become the
world’s strongest! Or something.”
Jessica argued against Mana’s accusation, claiming that she didn’t say she wanted to become the
world’s strongest. Ellen took interest in Mana’s words and looked at Jessica, causing Jessica to
shiver in fear. Ellen informed Jessica that it had been a while since someone challenged her for
the title of world’s strongest, as she changed into her CR-Unit <Pendragon>. Mana waved her
hand and left the room.
After Mana left the room, she heard a scream coming from inside. Thinking that she may have
overdone it, Mana gave Jessica a Japanese-style prayer. Mana then went to the locker room,
changed her clothes and left the building.
Once outside, Mana looked up at the DEM building and took out a locket. Inside the locket is a
picture of a boy and a girl standing next to each other. The young girl is Mana, and the other
person is her brother who was separated from her for life.
Mana gripped her locket tightly and mumbled, “Nii-sama…” This locket is her only clue of her
past. Mana doesn’t have any memories. What’s more, she doesn’t know why she is in England,
or why she has such a high aptitude for Wizardry. All she knows is that DEM saved her and took
her in.
Mana sighed a little and looked at the locket. The chain had broken, and when Mana was in a
hurry to get it fixed, Jessica asked her for a match. Mana put her locket back into her pocket and
headed to the bank to withdraw some money before going to the repair shop.
Thanks to Mana, Jessica was forced into a training match with Ellen. After they had finished,
Ellen rebuked Jessica, saying that the title of world’s strongest is not something someone of
Jessica’s caliber could shoulder. Jessica objected to Ellen’s scolding by saying that she had never
claimed to want that.
After that, they heard an announcement coming from the speaker calling for the ‘Three Persons
of the Second Execution Department,’ an alias for Adeptus 1-3—Ellen, Mana and Jessica—to go
to Westcott’s office immediately. Ellen and Jessica quickly rushed to the office. Inside, a man in
a black suit, DEM Industry Management Director, Isaac Westcott, greeted them.
Westcott explained that he had received a call from the police, requesting DEM’s help.
Apparently, a bank robbery was taking place in the city, and the criminals had taken nearly 100
people hostage. While Jessica was thinking that it would be an easy job, although it must be kept
secret, for Wizards with an Emergency Device, Ellen did not seem convinced and questioned
Isaac.
“Although the head count is small, The Yard also has Wizards. Why did they ask us?”
“Because there are a few Wizards among the criminals.”
“I see. Even still, they could still deploy their own Wizards. If they don’t have enough people,
they could always ask the SSS. Artemesia Ashcroft alone should be more than enough.”
“Also, Wizards? Whose Wizards are they?” Jessica asked. Since Wizards have to get a special
device implanted in their brain, unless you were in DEM, it was impossible to receive such
surgery without being associated with a government agency.
Westcott explained that the Wizards involved are Charlotte Meyers and two other partners.
Westcott had scouted them right before they were punished by the SSS due to Realizer
misconduct. Ellen told him that she had warned him to not recruit someone with such problems.
Westcott then asked where Mana was, since he had thought that Mana would be the best person
for the job. The criminal would be easily caught off-guard when faced with a girl of her age.
“Ah… she left a while ago.”
“Where did she go?”
“Err… I think she said that she was going to a bank… ah.”
“…So, why did it come to this?”
Sitting on the lobby floor of the bank, Mana’s hands were tied behind her back, and she was
surrounded by a group of criminals equipped with guns. When she had entered the bank to
withdraw some money, a criminal group had rushed in and had quickly taken over the floor and
shuttered all of the exits.
Mana looked around the lobby. The 5 criminals in the lobby were finished with their robbery.
Before them sat a Boston bag full of money. However, even though their objective was complete,
the criminals were not leaving. The police had already surrounded the building, but they still had
some allowances.
Mana then noticed that the head count was lower than when they had rushed in. She came to the
conclusion that they must have some other objective and a way to escape. “Well, it’s no use
thinking about it,” Mana mumbled.
While Mana could have easily defeated them, she wasn’t allowed to equip her Wiring Suit since
there were witnesses. Mana then decided to simply observe the situation. That moment, one of
the criminals became annoyed by the crying voice of a girl and pointed a gun at her. One of his
comrades warned him that the boss had told them to not kill anyone.
Having heard the warning, the criminal put his gun away. “So it’s okay if I don’t kill?” he said
and tried to kick the girl’s head. However, before the kick could reach the girl, the criminal’s
body stopped moving.
“W… what? My body, it can’t…”
“Just when I thought I’m going to quietly observe the situation…” Mana said while holding his
leg with one hand.
“What are you?!” said the criminal.
“Right, right, please be quiet.” Mana then pulled her hand down. The criminal spun around and
fainted when his head hit the floor.
Mana had used her Territory to defeat the criminal. She could have actually defeated him without
ever moving, however since there were witnesses, she had to act a little as an excuse. Other
criminals had noticed the situation and pointed their guns at Mana.
Mana shrugged her shoulders. “Haa… well, since I started it there is no use thinking.” Mana
kicked the criminal in front of her to the floor. “Huh?!” The criminal was surprised at her speed.
Mana punched him in the pit of his stomach. Mana followed this up by attacking the other
criminals.
After most of the criminals had fainted, Mana attacked the last criminal in the lobby, made him
drop his gun, and then pinned him to the floor. The criminal groaned in agony.
“Awwwwww…”
“Stop screaming. Before that, let me ask something. There were more of you than this when you
came in. What is your objective?”
“Ha! No way I’d tell—”

“Hoi” Mana twisted his arm.
“Awwwwwww! The strong room… the boss is going to steal all the money in the underground
strong room!”
Mana questioned him again, asking if he was serious. After all, even if they could open the
strong room, there was no way they could transport such a large amount of money. The criminal
then laughed and said that their boss knew of a way.
“Hmp? What kind of way?”
“Are you an idiot? No way I could tell y—”
“Tou!” Mana twisted his arm again.
“Ahwwwwwwwwwwwwww! The boss is a Wizard… the boss said that after she gets the money,
she will simply escape from the front entrance…”
“…! What?!” Mana furrowed her brows. At that moment, her phone rang. Mana quickly
chopped the criminal’s neck with her leg, causing him to faint, before answering her phone. “It’s
Mathers. Mana, where are you?” Ellen asked. “I’m at the bank. What is it?” Mana answered.
Ellen then explained that a DEM Wizard is involved in the bank robbery and ordered Mana to
get on it immediately. Mana hung up and sighed. “Well, let’s finish this quickly.”
On the way to the underground strong room, two watchmen in ski masks were on lookout. After
chatting about how much money each thought was in the strong room, one of two watchmen
suggested that he was going to leave the country and buy a house in Akihabara in Japan with the
money. The tall criminal asked him why.
“Ah… I want to meet Misty.”
“Misty?”
“You don’t know Valkyrie Misty? It’s a popular show. After its broadcast in Japan every Sunday
morning, there is a translated, subtitled version uploaded to the video sites on the same day.
When in crisis those normal girls will use the power of light and be transformed into a Battle
Otome in order to defeat the enemy.”
“So it’s a cartoon? They don’t exist. It’s unrealistic for a small girl to defeat such an enemy.”
“What are you talking about? Japanese girls are special. Their small bodies are full of the power
of love. You would know that if you watched anime.”
“…is that so.”
The tall criminal scratched his cheek. He then noticed a girl heading their way. The girl seemed
to be an Asian girl. The tall criminal warns the girl to go back to the lobby if she doesn’t want to
get shot.
However, the girl doesn’t stop and continues to head his way. The tall criminal points his gun at
her. The fat criminal then told him not to shoot. The tall criminal responded by saying that he
won’t kill her, but only shoot her in the legs. The fat criminal protested saying “That is not what I
meant! What will we do if she is a Japanese girl?!”
The tall criminal ignored him and pulled the trigger. The bullet landed on the floor. The fat
criminal was relieved that it was only for intimidation. However, the tall criminal quickly
informs him that it was not.
The girl approached the tall criminal and poked him. The tall criminal is thrown against the wall
and lost consciousness. The fat criminal pointed his gun at her. The girl simply said that she is
putting him to sleep for a little while. The next moment, the fat criminal felt an impact run
through his body and he fainted.
Before the fat criminal lost consciousness, he mumbled with a joyful face.
“As expected… you are a Japanese girl…”
Mana defeated the lookouts on her way (one of them seemed happy for some reason) and
reached the strong room. After releasing all of the hostages and rushing here, Mana did not meet
any Wizards on the way and concluded that other criminals are disposable personnel. In front of
her, there is a strong room’s door that has been forcibly opened up.
Mana tried to peek inside the room, but quickly jumped away. The next moment, a magic spark
is seen at the spot where she was standing. Mana quickly realized it was an attack using a
Realizer. Two girls in Wiring Suits then appeared behind her.
A long haired girl—Daisy—can’t believe Mana evaded her attack. The glasses
girl—Izabel—told Daisy that it was a fluke, and pointed her gun at Mana. In the next moment, a
short-haired girl—Charlotte—appeared from inside the strong room, and suggested that Mana is
actually a Wizard.
The other two Wizards don’t believe that a child like Mana is a Wizard. Charlotte suggests “You
can’t be tricked by the appearance. If you use a Realizer to manipulate metabolism, you can look
like a child forever. In fact, I heard that The Yard uses a Wizard with such an appearance in order
to catch criminals off guard.”
“So this child is the police’s?!”
“Judging from the timing she appeared, no doubt that she is. SSS won’t get involved in this, and
there’s no way a strong Wizard would get mixed up with the hostages by accident like in the
movies.” Charlotte said and laughed.
“…Um, it’s hard to say this, but…”
“Hey, you. Do you feel like cooperating with us? You will get a lifetime’s salary in a second.
Also, this is a 1 vs 3, there is no way you can win? Plus, we are all DEM’s Wizards. Do you
know what that means?”
“Is that so…” Mana looks back at Charlotte with her eyes half-open. Since they belong to
different posts, Mana has never met them and likewise, they have never met Mana. Charlotte
then impatiently urged Mana to answer, saying that it is obvious which is the smarter choice.
“That’s right. I don’t even have to think—I refuse.”
Daisy and Izabel who are standing-by behind Mana attacked her the moment she finished her
words. Mana quickly expanded her Territory and deflected their attacks.
Both Wizards then draw their laser blade and attack Mana. Mana evades the attack from them.
Fighting without a Wiring Suit, Mana is caught off-guard for a split moment. The laser blade cut
her shoulder. Mana quickly jumped back to the wall and held her shoulder.
“Hmp. Despite what you said, you seem quite weak.”
“But it’s too late. I’ll make you regret that you disobey DEM Wizards.”
“The legal department will scold me if I overdo it… well, since there’s only one Wizard here, I
guess it’s okay. The other party is also using it.”
Mana then took out an Emergency Device from her pocket. Charlotte quickly realized what it
was and ordered Daisy and Izabel to attack her before she could wear her Wiring Suit. Daisy and
Izabel quickly follow Charlotte’s order and attack Mana.
Mana’s speed, however, is much faster than average Wizards, before the attack could reach her,
Mana is in her blue and white Wiring Suit with CR-Unit <Murakumo>. Charlotte noticed that
and ordered Daisy and Izabel to stop, but it was already too late.
Mana orders “<Murakumo>—Sword Style” and turns her shield part on her shoulders into twin
swords and stops Daisy and Izabel’s attack. When Izabel attempted to attack Mana again, she
found Daisy had already fallen to the floor. The next moment, Izabel lost her strength and
followed Daisy to the floor. Mana attacked them with her magic sword when she slipped their
attacks.
Charlotte clicked her tongue “Twin Sword Wizard…? That’s an unfunny joke. Why is DEM’s
Adeptus Number here?” Charlotte asked.
“Oya? Do you happen to know me?”
“Of course, DEM’s second strongest Wizard next to Mathers. I have heard about your rumors,
but never thought you were such a small girl.” Charlotte frowned and answered.
“So… what will you do?” Mana asked her and pointed her sword to Charlotte.
“I don’t want to fight a fight that I can’t win.” Charlotte said while raising her hand.
“Hmp… smart choice. Then disarm yourse—”
Before Mana could finish her words, Charlotte moved her fingers a little. The next moment,
Mana’s sight is filled with a light and could see nothing. Charlotte used a flash bomb to blind her.
Although Mana could easily defend it, she was caught completely off-guard. Mana attempted to
use her Territory to track down Charlotte’s location but couldn’t find her.
“Ahaha! You know I was one of the best in SSS with the hiding skills. Even if you are an
Adeptus Number, you won’t be able to find me easily!”
Charlotte’s voice could be heard. Charlotte is using her Territory to diffuse the voice. Mana
couldn’t identify the direction. Charlotte continues laughing.
“Fufufufufu. Pitiful! How pitiful! Hahaha. Even Adeptus Number is this level? Hahahahahahaha.
Looks like DEM is nothing after all!”
“…” Mana heard that word and can’t let it pass.
“Aannn…? What is that? Have you made up your mind?”
“…What a third rate, know your position.”
“Hyahahahahahaha! Do you even realize your own situation? What can you do with that
dechuuka?”
Mana then heard a low “un” sound from a laser blade. Charlotte continues “That’s enough. Just
die already!” Charlotte then approached Mana. Mana didn’t know her direction.
“I’m going to do this dechuuyo.” Mana smiled. Parts on her shoulders and twin swords on her
hands changed its form into a cannon pointing in all directions. “<Murakumo>—Blaster Style”
“Wh—”
The next moment, the strong room is full of light.
In front of the bank, there are police forces and news reporters standing by as well as the
onlookers. Several tens of minutes after the robbery began, the hostages that were held inside
were released. All of them said uniformly that they had been saved by a girl.
Even still, the police still don’t break in. That fact gives the event an even larger attention from
the public. In the outer area of the bank, a detective is pressing the chief inspector asking why the
police are not breaking in.
“I don’t know. The higher-ups told us to stand by.”
“What does that mean?!”
“As I said, I don’t know. They said if we get in now, the police force will be injured—”
Before the chief inspector could finish his words, an explosion sound could be heard from the
bank. Followed by a shake as if there is an earthquake. Window glasses broke, a dazzling light
could be seen from inside.
“W-what just happened?!” The detective was surprised and said to the chief inspector “Inspector,
we can’t wait anymore! Please break in—”
However, the detective had to cut his own words. A lot of bank notes are falling from the sky.
“W… what? A money…?” the detective mumbles.
After being dumbfounded for a second, several hundred people who were gathered in front of the
bank pushed and shoved each other trying to gather the money.
The next day in the DEM HQ building. Mana is forced to sit on the floor with Ellen questioning
her.
“—So you release magic power in all directions, and destroyed the strong room?”
“…Haa, yes.”
“Even though they could recover the bank notes to some extent, the total damage including cost
of repair reached 5 million pounds. The police and the bank are also complaining to us.”
“…I have no excuse.”
“Ahahaha! What an idiot! Why can’t you act smarter?”

“…The enemy was laughing like Jessica, so I got annoyed…”
“What?!”
“Anyway. If we use your salary to pay, it would take about 100 years and a little. It would be
nice if you could stay in service until then.”
“Eh? I’m paying?!”
“Of course—However, let’s see. If you could defeat a Spirit, I will give you a special bonus of 5
million pound each. I’m looking forward to your hard work.”
“Wai—”
Ellen then leaves the room without hearing Mana’s words. Jessica stuck out her tongue and
followed Ellen to leave the room. Mana who is left in the room alone dumbfounded for a while,
then she helplessly falls down to the floor.
Kotori Mystery
In <Fraxinus>, Itsuka Kotori is walking in a hallway with her friend, Murasame Reine. Even
though nobody doubts Kotori’s position as a commander now, Reine is the only person who
never doubts Kotori since the start. Thanks to that, Kotori and Reine become friends despite their
age and position.
“By the way, do you have free time next week?”
“…When next week?”
“Hmm, I’m actually fine any day, but maybe around the weekend?”
“…Unfortunately, I have something to do on the weekend.”
“I see. How unfortunate, I was going to ask you to try out a new menu at La Pucelle.”
“…New menu?”
“Millefeuille parfait with seasonal fruit and high-grade mascarpone.”
“…I’ll make time for it.”
“Now you’re talking!”
While Kotori is discussing her plans with Reine, a screaming voice is heard in the hallway from
the direction of Kotori’s office. Reine and Kotori then quickly hurried to the office room.
However, since Reine’s running speed is extremely slow, a gap between them is large.
When Kotori reached the office room at the end of the hallway, she saw <Fraxinus>’s crew,
Shiizaki Hinako looking into the office room with her eyes open wide. Kotori asks Shiizaki what
happened, Shiizaki flutters her hands and points into the room.
“W-when I came here just now, I saw that…!”
“As I said, what is it?”
Kotori peeks into the room from Shiizaki’s side with a dubious look and widens her eyes at the
scenery—before her, Kyouhei is lying face-down in the room. Blood is flowing out from the
back of his head, making a pool of blood around him. Fragments of a flower vase could be seen
scattered around his body.
As if it is a scene from a suspense movie, Kotori feels nausea sticking out to her throat at the
smell of blood. Reine reaches the room shortly afterward. She enters the room where Kannazuki
is lying down and places her hand on Kannazuki’s wrist.
“Reine… h-how was Kannazuki?”
“…” Reine closes her eyes and shakes her head. “…Unfortunately.”
“That can’t be…”
Hearing Reine’s words, Kotori feels like her heart is being squeezed tight. Next to her, Shiizaki
collapsed weakly to the floor. Kotori looks at Kannazuki again. The body lying face-down, the
blood flowing from the back of the head, the flower vase scattering.
Kotori then came up with a possibility—that Kannazuki was murdered by someone, inside
<Fraxinus>, the locked room in the sky. Kotori gives Shiizaki a look, and gives her an order.
“—Shiizaki, issue an order to suspend the Teleporter.”
“Eh…?”
“I’m saying make it impossible for anyone to escape from <Fraxinus> to the ground. After that,
check if there is a suspicious person on the ship, then—I’m going to hear everyone’s story. Tell
everyone to prepare.”
Hearing that, Shiizaki realized the possibility. She then widens her eyes and gives a small nod to
Kotori. <Fraxinus> is an airship 15km above Tengu City. The only way to enter the ship is to use
the Teleporter, which must be controlled from inside <Fraxinus>.
Thus, the possibility of suspicious people being on the ship is extremely low. Even though Kotori
gave Shiizaki an order to look for a suspicious person, Kotori already realized it inside—That the
person who murdered Kannazuki might be one of the crew.
Two hours after the body is found, a few <Fraxinus> crew members are gathered inside Kotori’s
office. Kannazuki’s body has already been transferred to another place. The floor is marked with
an adhesive tape at where Kannazuki’s body was. Location of the fragments of the flower vase
are marked with the “A” and “B” markers.
Inside the room, there is Kotori, Reine, <Nail Knocker> Shiizaki, <Dimension Breaker>
Nakatsugawa, <Bad Marriage> Kawagoe, <Shachou-san> Mikimoto and <Deep Love> Minowa.
Everyone is a <Fraxinus>’s crew, and a suspect for Kannazuki’s murdering.
“—Reine.”
“…Yes. The approximate time Kannazuki enters this room is around 14:00. We don’t know if he
was called to the room by someone or had any other reason, but it could be assumed that
someone hit him on the back of his head. When Shiizaki came to Kotori’s room at 14:20, she
found Kannazuki’s body. That is the story.”
Minowa then asks while twining her hair with her fingertip who might the someone be.
However, Kotori tells her she still doesn’t know. There is no suspicious person on the
<Fraxinus>, and the crew that could enter Kotori’s room at the time of the incident are those that
are gathered here right now.
Everyone choked up hearing that. Kotori continues that she doesn’t want to doubt anyone, and
everyone is gathered here to prove that they are innocent. Kotori then asks the crew to tell what
they were doing at the time.
“Ah, by the way, I was with Reine the whole time. Kawagoe, what about you?” Kotori looks at
Kawagoe on the right and asks.
“Ha… I was in the sleeping room.”
“Hmp, were you sleeping?” Kotori asked the obvious question, but Kawagoe looked away
awkwardly for some reason.
“…Er, I was not.”
“Then what? What were you doing?”
“…I’m sorry, next week is my daughter’s birthday so I was selecting her present on the shopping
site…”
“…I can’t praise you for that. Resting is also part of the job.”
“I-I understand… but my third wife is really hard to deal with. She won’t allow me to meet with
my daughter except at a time like this.”
Kotori sighed then looked at Nakatsugawa. Nakatsugawa adjusted his glasses and answered.
“2PM, was it? Well, er…” Nakatsugawa faltered for some reason.
“Is it something you can’t say?” Shiizaki asked with her eyes half-opened.
“N-no, it’s not that! I-I was… building a Plamo in the resting room…”
“…What are you doing during working hours?” Kotori sighed.
“I-I’m sorry…”
“Well, is there anyone with you? Any testimony?”

“N-no, I was alone—Ah! B-but I saw Minowa-san walking past the resting room to the
commander’s office!”
“What?!”
Kotori frowned at Minowa. Minowa waved her hand hurriedly.
“N-no! Well, I did walk past the resting room, but I didn’t go to the commander’s office.”
“So where did you go?”
“That is… er, um… to the toilet.” Minowa blushes.
“…Okay, just for confirmation, you didn’t do anything unrelated to work in the toilet, correct?”
“Ug…! I’m sorry, it was a Chance Time in a smartphone game…”
“…You all…”
Kotori said irritatingly. She then looks at Mikimoto.
“So, Mikimoto. What were you doing?”
“Yes! I was working on the bridge!”
“Can you be more specific about your work?”
“Yes. I received a notification from the site and was on a call using the secret channel…”
“I see. If you were on a call, then we could just ask the other party for testimony. So, what was
the site, and who is the person you talked to?”
Kotori asked but Mikimoto remained silent.
“You can’t say it?”
“D-don’t tell me, Mikimoto-san…!” Shiizaki said with a shudder of fear. Everyone else in the
room stepped away from Mikimoto and was on guard against him.
“N-no! I didn’t!”
“Then you should be able to say it? Who was on a call with you?”
“That is… Jennifer-chan from ‘Esperanza’…”
“…”
“…Can you stop using <Fraxinus>’s line to talk with a store girl? We’re a secret organization.”
“I-I’m sorry…! I didn’t mean it…”
Kotori sighed and looked at Shiizaki.
“Then, Shiizaki. You were the first person to find the body.”
“Yes…” Shiizaki nods while her face still looks pale. “At 2 PM, I think I was still collecting
data. I have two or three things to confirm with the commander, so I went to the office, and
found vice commander Kannazuki…”
“…I see. But for such matters, you can just call me or email me. I don’t see the need to go to my
office?”
“That’s true, but I also want to take a break, so I thought I’d ask while I’m at it…”
“Hmp… so what is the data?”
“Y-yes… actually…” Shiizaki hesitated a little. “…a map of sweets shops in Tengu City…”
“Is that for a Spirit’s date? Or was it for your hobby?”
“…Er, both.”
Kotori sighed once again. Now that Kotori heard everyone’s story, nobody except herself and
Reine could prove an alibi. Kotori scratches her head. Since <Ratatoskr> is a secret organization,
they can’t rely on police or detectives to find the culprit.
“Um… by the way, why was the vice commander in the commander’s room?” Minowa raised
her hand and asked with a dejected look. Kawagoe then folded his arms and answered.
“Obviously, the culprit called him there.”
“But it was the commander’s room? Doesn’t it seem unnatural?”
“Hmm, true. The only person that could call someone to the commander’s room without getting
suspected…” Everyone then stares at Kotori.
“…What?”
“N-no, nothing…” Kawagoe shook his head with sweat on his face.
“Maybe he was not called?” Nakatsugawa changed the topic.

“What do you mean?” Mikimoto questioned.
“So perhaps it’s not a planned murder, but an accidental one.” Nakatsugawa answered while
adjusting his glasses.
“Accidental…”
“Yes, something like this.”
Nakatsugawa then lifts up his finger and continues.
(—Excuse me, about the topic earlier.)
(Gyaa! Why did you get in without my permission!)
(Whoa! C-commander’s immature body!)
(Shut up! G-get out of the room!)
(Haahaa, I-I can’t resist anymore!)
(Gyaaaaaaaaaa)
(Rubs rubs! Pero! Peropero, peroperopero!)
(What are you doing, you…!”
• Bang*
(Augh!)
(Ah! K-Kannazuki?! K-Kannazuki…?! H-Hey, don’t joke with me…?!)
“…or something like that.”

“Ah!”
Everyone nods in agreement after Nakatsugawa is done. Kotori protests them saying she won’t
change her clothes inside the office. Nakatsugawa put on a wry smile and explains that it is only
a possibility while shaking his head.
Kotori then adds that the flower vase is not something from Kotori’s room, and it was not here in
the morning. Shiizaki was surprised at Kotori’s words and asked back “then whose flower vase is
this?” Minowa suggests the flower vase is the culprit’s, but Shiizaki is not convinced.
Shiizaki then explains that she doesn’t see the need of bringing the flower vase into the room just
to attack Kannazuki, as the culprit could use something in the room to do that too.
Minowa seems convinced at first, but she adds that the only thing in the room that could turn into
a blunt weapon is the commander’s terminal and her PC. If the criminal uses that, the machine
would break.
Hearing that, Shiizaki suggests maybe the culprit doesn’t want the machine to break. Mikimoto
continues that the culprit might be someone who will be in trouble if the machine breaks. After
his words, everyone’s eyesight is gathering at Kotori once again.
“…W-what is that, since earlier. You all suspect me?”
“N-no! No way!” Mikimoto shook his head.
“Really. Before anything, I don’t really have any reason to kill Kannazuki! Why do I even need
to do that?” Kotori folded her arms and said with a displeased face.
“T-that’s right. Commander Itsuka doesn’t really have any reason to kill such an excellent
vice-commander.”
“I agree. Even though his words and actions are somewhat a sexual harassment sometimes.”
“Even though he is really creepy sometimes.”
“Even though the commander got really angry at him sometimes.”
“I can’t believe it would turn out like this…”
“Commander! Why don’t you consult with us first?!”
“As I said, what’s with that conclusion!”
Hearing the discussion, Reine then wonders about the killing’s motive. Kotori also wonders,
even though Kannazuki is weird, she never thought someone would hate him enough to kill him.
Minowa widens her eyes at Kotori’s words, as if she remembered something.
Kotori noticed Minowa’s reaction and asked her if she had anything in mind. Minowa answers,
though she doesn’t know if it should be counted as a motive, Kawagoe said something when they
went drinking together at the bar. Minowa then looks at Kawagoe, whose face is full of sweat.
“Kawagoe-san, you said it, didn’t you? If only Kannazuki wasn’t here, you’d have become a vice
commander.”
“W-what?!”
“Don’t tell me, Kawagoe-san…!” Everyone is surprised at Minowa’s words.
“W-wait a minute! That was a joke! Everyone does it too when you drink, right?!”
“No…”
“Not really…”
“I never said that…”
“Well, Kawagoe-san really wants to get promoted…”
“Are you sure, saying that?” Kawagoe grinds his teeth and looks at Shiizaki. “Shiizaki-kun, I
saw it.”
“Eh…?! W-what did you see…?”
“That straw doll of yours, I saw you put Kannazuki vice commander’s picture on it.”
“What…!”
Shiizaki looks surprised. At the very same moment, a straw doll falls from her pocket.
Kannazuki’s picture is sticking to its face with Kannazuki’s long hair tied to its head. The crew
shuddered in fear when they saw it.
“T-this is…!”
“Hina-chan, don’t tell me, you…”
“You cursed the vice commander to death…?!”
“No, I didn’t! This is only a second-type curse, it can’t really kill anyone! The victim may get a
scar where the nail is hammered, feels a dull pain or feels suffocated, but that’s only it…”
“…That’s scary enough.” Kotori said with a tired expression. Everyone then nods in agreement.
“Before that, Shiizaki. If you’re not the culprit, why did you even have such a thing?”
“Well… Kannazuki-san asked me to.”
“Eh?”
“…’Shiizaki-san, you can curse someone right?! I wonder what kind of pain that would feel.
Watashi, ki ni narimasu!’…”
“Ah…” Everyone nods in agreement at Shiizaki’s explanation. It’s not strange if Kannazuki said
that.
“So it wasn’t you who attacked Kannazuki?”
“O-of course…! If you doubt me for that, I know someone who has an even clearer motive to do
it.”
Kotori then asks her who that might be. Shiizaki turns her face to Mikimoto and points her finger
at him. Mikimoto bends backward at Shiizaki’s words.
“Mikimoto-san! You said it, didn’t you?—That you brought Kannazuki-san to the store once and
angered at how he took away your favorite girl…!”
“Ugh…!”
“How about it? Even though you were drunk, you seemed really angry about it.”
“T-that is…”
“Is that true, Mikimoto?” Kotori asks with a calm face. Mikimoto hesitated for a few moments
then gave up and gave a nod to Kotori.
“Y-yes… but you see, she said she loved me, super loved me, I love you, wo ai ni, mahal kita, I
don’t have anyone but you, by the way Shachou-san I want that new Chanel product… You see,
Catherine-chan who said those to me…”
“…Aren’t you just being tricked by her?” Shiizaki said with a doubtful face, however Mikimoto
didn’t take notice and continued while gripping his fist tight.
“When she saw the vice commander, her eyes turned into a heart mark and left me…?! How can
I make it through without drinking?!”
“…Well, Kannazuki-san does look good.”
“Not only that! The vice commander then said to Catherine-chan ‘Hmm, nice legs you have
there. Can you step on me for the time being? Saa, saa. Eh? This store is not that kind of store?
How unfortunate… Then it can’t be helped. Please get me some alcohol. Yes, with a large glass.
No, without ice please. Instead, before I drink it, can you bathe your legs with it first? Saa,
saa.’…”
“Eww…” Kotori knits her brows. That seems like something Kannazuki would say.
“Then Catherine-chan creeped out and a man in black suit took the vice commander and me out
of the shop. Then I’m banned from entering it ever again! And you know what Kannazuki-san
said? ‘Haha, I see. This kind of play is OK, it seems.’! He said that after destroying one of the
oases of my heart!”
“Ah… I can picture it.”
“And then you did it… I see.” Minowa said while acting as if she is swinging down a blunt
weapon. Mikimoto then shook his head.
“N-no! The story right now is true, but I didn’t kill the vice commander.”
“But, you see…”
“Mikimoto-san right now looks just like a criminal who is trying to insist on being a victim…”
“I-If you say that, then Minowa-kun! Didn’t you say the vice commander destroyed your
relationship between you and your boyfriend!”
“What…?!”
While everyone’s eyesight is gathering at Mikimoto, Mikimoto groans and points his finger at
Minowa. Minowa was surprised at his action and stiffened her body. Shiizaki inclined her head
and questioned.
“Wait…? Isn’t Minowa-san’s boyfriend…”
“Isn’t the trial already over? I thought you’re not allowed to contact him?”
As with Minowa’s <Deep Love> alias, her love is so heavy that she has been sued by her
boyfriend. Minowa is currently disallowed to be in contact with him. Minowa nods at Kotori’s
question.
“Yes… that is why for a few years until now, I only cloaked myself and observed his actions in
secret… Even though we can’t meet, before that, we can’t even talk, but I was happy. Just
hearing the sound of his life in my room, I…”
“…Um, you never learned, do you? Minowa-san?” Shiizaki remarked but Minowa ignored him.
“But, when the vice commander found out about it, he said to me, ‘Ah… , your love for him with
all your heart and soul, how wonderful it is. Please let me help!’ I was very happy when I heard
it. Finally someone understands my pure and platonic love for him! But it was a mistake…”
Minowa continues while acting as if she is wiping her eyes. “Kannazuki-san sneaked into his
room while he was away and stuck a picture of me everywhere on the wall…! Thanks to that, a
bug and a hidden camera was found and I have been summoned to the court again! And you
know what Kannazuki-san said? ‘Eh? Isn’t it a long-term neglect play?’! He played with my pure
love for him! Damn you Kannazuki! I won’t ever forgive you!!!!!!!!!”
“…So in short, you got caught… I mean, for your boyfriend, isn’t Kannazuki-san a hero…”
“So you killed him because of that…” Nakatsugawa said it, but Minowa folded her hand in
disagreement.
“I didn’t. I won’t do something that will get me caught.”
“…” The rest of the crew put on a wry smile at Minowa’s somewhat convincing words.
“And if we’re talking about motives, I know someone with even larger motives—Isn’t that right,
Nakatsugawa-kun?”
Minowa glanced at Nakatsugawa sideways. Nakatsugawa is surprised that his name is being
called and his body shivers.
“M… me?”
“Yes, you said it, didn’t you? That Kannazuki-san defiled your wife.”
“…!” Hearing Minowa’s words, Nakatsugawa’s eyes looked as if he was a savage beast.
“That looks serious. What happened?” Kotori asks.
“…Yes. It was a month ago. When I was pouring my love into Mei-chan in my room…”
“Mei-chan?”
“A figurine Nakatsugawa-san is treasuring. I think she is a character from Misty something Kid
Anime.” Shiizaki explains.
“Ah, I see.” Kotori then nods at Shiizaki’s explanation.
“Then Kannazuki-san, who passed by by accident suddenly got interested in her. It’s true that
Mei-chan’s is younger than other Battle Otome, and her charming immature body is something
that Kannazuki-san likes. That time, I got pumped and drank with him…”
Nakatsugawa wipes his eyes and continues “But it was a mistake. It has been a while since I
drank, so I slept right away. When I woke up, I was shocked at what I saw…”
“W-What happened?” Kotori asks while her cheek is dripping with sweat. Nakatsugawa feels
upset and raises his voice.
“Kannazuki-san was rubbing Mei-chan’s body with his lustful hand, not only that, he also licked
her! Peropero!”
“Eww…” Kotori put on a sullen look and stepped back. Although she doesn’t understand
Nakatsugawa’s hobby, it is definitely unpleasant when your private belongings are licked by
someone.
“And you know what is the most unforgiving…! Even though I wasn’t into NTR, for some
reason I got excited! After that I started to get excited in such a situation…! Do you know?! The
pain that I have to look at my hundred wives in the other dimension with such eyes…! I won’t
forgive you Kannazuki! Your sins can’t be repented even with your life!”
“…Is that so.” Kotori said while her cheek was dripping with sweat. Nakatsugawa then shook his
shoulders realizing something and made an excuse.
“B-But I didn’t do it! I didn’t kill him…!”
Everyone looks at Nakatsugawa for a while and avert their eyes away when they realize they are
in the same boat. Kotori then said with a sigh that when they talked like this, everyone seemed to
have their own motives.
“…Well, he is like that.”
“Though I know he doesn’t have any ill will…”
“His words and actions are usually really creepy…”
“And he’s a real pervert, in the true sense of the word…”
“I don’t intend to defend the criminal, but I think I understand his feelings…”
“I wonder why he doesn’t get caught…”
“…”
Everyone kept silent for a short moment, then…
“—Hahaha. What happened, with everyone together like this?”
The office’s door opens suddenly. Kannazuki walks into the room with a refreshing smile and a
bandage on his head. Everyone in the room opens their eyes wide for a moment, and realizes.
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!”
“W-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-what…?!”
“G-Ghost?!”
“Hmp? Such a novel reaction. As if you’re seeing a ghost.” Kannazuki said with a smile on his
face.
“Kannazuki?! You’re alive?!” Kotori asks, but Kannazuki widens his eyes at her question.
“Of course I am. Ah, is this a new type of neglect play, treating if I’m something that doesn’t
exist?! Ah… I like it! I’m fine with something like this too!”
After seeing Kannazuki’s reaction, Kotori is sure that Kannazuki before her eyes is the real one.
She then looks at Reine who kept quiet for a little while ago.
“Reine, what is this? Didn’t you said Kannazuki is dead—”
“…? I didn’t say that.”
“Eh? But you—” Kotori then remembered Reine’s words when she took Kannazuki’s pulse.
Reine shook her head and said “unfortunately.” That’s right, Reine didn’t say Kannazuki was
dead. Kotori mumbles “How misleading…”
Kannazuki then notices that everyone’s atmosphere is different from usual. Kannazuki opens his
eyes wide, places his hand on his mouth, and sobs. “D-don’t tell me everyone is worrying about
me…! Ohh, how touching! The world is so beautiful!” Kannazuki then spread out his arms.
The crews knit their brows and sighed quietly.
“? What happened, everyone?”
“No, nothing.”
“Yeah… nothing…”
“I didn’t think ‘Damn criminal, why don’t you finish him properly’ at all.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Kannazuki laughs. The crew looked at him and sighed again. Kotori then suggests that even
though Kannazuki is safe, it didn’t change the fact that an incident happened. Kotori then asks if
Kannazuki remembered what happened before he lost consciousness and asks him who is the
culprit that hit him on the head with a flower vase.
“The culprit… is it? No, I just tripped on my own.”
“What…? What do you mean?”
“Even if you ask that, it’s exactly as I said.”
“What?! Then why are you in my office? And what’s with the flower vase…!” Kotori frowns at
Kannazuki. Kannazuki then raised his thumb and said with a smile.
“Ha! I thought I’d place a flower vase with a hidden camera in the commander’s room, but I
slipped.”
“…”
The crew that had been gathered in the room kept silent hearing that.
“…Shiizaki.”
“Yes.”
Kotori called Shiizaki with a small voice. Shiizaki understands what she meant and hands her a
straw doll. Kotori twisted the doll with all her might. And how mysterious, Kannazuki who was
standing at the entrance collapsed to the floor holding his stomach.
“Thank you very much?!”
While still in pain, Kannazuki said with a happy voice, as expected.

Tohka Reverse
“…Ugua.”
—Why are there so many people in the holiday shopping district?
Natsumi wondered, looking around restlessly.
She was a petite girl with unkempt hair and, currently, quivering shoulders.
In Natsumi’s case, her hair couldn’t be fixed even if she combed it with great care. The fact that
she was petite yet ridiculous looking wasn’t cute, but instead made her feel like a malnourished
child.
—It was inevitable that she was not good in people’s eyes with such a self-evaluation.
“…Uu.”
The people walking around started giggling when they saw her—such a delusion filled her head.
It felt like she was Cinderella coming to the ball even though she hadn’t received an invitation.
Moreover, in Natsumi’s case, the material was not as good as Cinderella, and her heart wasn’t
beautiful either. Maybe that’s why the wizard didn’t appear before her.
—Ah, why did we come here? I feel like I can hear voices smoldering, laughing at me out of
nowhere. My thoughts are cloudy. My field of vision is blurring.
But—
“…Natsumi-san?”
Someone grabbed her hand and Natsumi was brought back to reality.
“Ah—”
When she looked towards the voice, a small girl was standing there.
She was an angel-like girl, who possessed soft, fluffy hair, unlike Natsumi, beautiful eyes, unlike
Natsumi, and an adorable face, unlike Natsumi.
That’s right. A god-like figure that seemed to collect all the glittering things of this world into the
shape of a person. Our Goddess.
“Are you alright, Natsumi-san…?”

“Ahaha, I’m at my wit’s end, Natsumi-chan.”
Yoshino and the puppet rabbit Yoshinon attached to her left hand spoke in turn. It was like a
prince and a wizard appearing in front of Cinderella, who was on the edge of despair. Natsumi
seemed tense and stiff, but did feel a little better.
“I’m sorry… I’m not very good at places with so many people.”
When Natsumi awkwardly said that, Yoshino responded sincerely without laughing:
“I wasn’t good at it either, but it’s okay today; Yoshinon, Natsumi-san, and I are together.”
“Yoshino…”
Yoshino’s words, full of compassion and love, made Natsumi unintentionally weep.
However, she stopped quickly. After all, they were in the middle of the shopping district, and she
was currently shopping with Yoshino. If Natsumi suddenly fell to the ground and cried, Yoshino
would get upset.
Natsumi managed to suppress her heartfelt gratitude somewhat, and nodded.
“Then I’m going to the next shop. You were looking at that hat, right?”
“Yes, but—”
Natsumi started to say something as Yoshino looked down at her watch.
“Ah, it’s about time for lunch, so why don’t we have some rice first?”
“Oh, it’s that time…”
When Natsumi heard that, she realized she was moderately hungry. As expected of Yoshino, she
was always so observant and caring. She’d definitely be a good bride.
“Yeah… let’s eat something.”
“Yes, let’s do it.”
“Ah, but if you’re only with me, you might get unwanted attention at the restaurant…”
Natsumi’s expression was rigid.
Actually, when Natsumi went out with Yoshino and Yoshinon before, they went to a restaurant so
she could stretch out a little as they ate, but when they got there the clerk asked them, “Are there
only two of you?” and “Where’s your guardian?”
Not all stores were like that, but even so, Natsumi isn’t good at talking to people, and had trouble
even just placing an order. Undeniably, that experience was a psychological hurdle, traumatic
even.
Yoshino probably remembered that too. She smiled bitterly, a hint of embarrassment on her face.
“Indeed…”
“Hey, then what about this?”
Yoshinon nodded and motioned toward the shops lined up along the street.
“There are a lot of things you can eat on the spot, such as takoyaki, taiyaki, and grilled meats.
That way, you can buy delicious food and eat it on the park bench without having to go indoors.”
“I see…”
That way, it wouldn’t seem unnatural for Natsumi, Yoshino, and Yoshinon to go out and buy
them together.
“Then let’s do that.”
“Okay.”
Yoshino nodded. Natsumi returned the gesture, and they began to walk along the streets of the
shopping district.
It wasn’t their first time here, but looking carefully, there were a surprising number of places
where you could order takeout. Natsumi made a small, mournful voice.
“Hmm… When you look at it like this, there are quite a few onigiri and waffles…”
“Fufu…”
Then, Yoshino, who was walking next to her, made such a laugh.
“Oh, uh, did I say something strange? Would you rather I die?”
“No, not like that…!”
When Natsumi said that, Yoshino shook her head in a hurry.
“But I like this kind of thing…”
“Eh?”
“Going out with your friends, buying some food with your pocket money, eating it in the park
together… I’m sure it’s nothing for you, but… it makes me so happy.”
Yoshino laughed shyly, making her cheeks flush slightly.
“Yoshino…”
Natsumi’s face flushed as red as a tomato when she heard that.
“Well, that’s right, and… that’s my friend…”
She uttered the embarrassing word “friend,” which was still unfamiliar to her, while stuttering.
But then she eked out a smile as Yoshino responded. She was too cute, Natsumi started to think
about marrying her.
While she was thinking about that, Yoshino suddenly opened her eyes as if she had forgotten
something and stopped.
“Ah—”
“What’s wrong, Yoshino?”
“Over there…”
While saying that, Yoshino pointed in front of her.
Natsumi followed her gaze and uttered an “Ah.” A familiar person stood at the place where
Yoshino was pointing.
A girl with a beautiful face, dressed in dark clothes, with long night-colored hair and beautiful
crystal-like eyes—No doubt about it: one of the Spirits living in the same apartment as Natsumi
and Yoshino, Yatogami Tohka.
Tohka was standing in front of the takoyaki shop, looking at the takoyaki pack in her hand.
“That’s Tohka-san… right?”
Yoshino said that, but she seemed somewhat uncertain.
However, Natsumi somehow understood why.
That was definitely Tohka. It was hard to imagine that Natsumi and Yoshino would mistake her,
and it was unlikely there were any other beautiful girls like that.
However, something was wrong. Natsumi didn’t know why, but… her atmosphere felt a little
different from the Tohka she knew.
If, typically, Tohka was more like a domesticated dog, then was this Tohka more like a wild lone
wolf? From her facial expressions and gestures, Natsumi could feel something off.
“… I wonder what happened. Did she find something strange in the takoyaki?”
“I don’t think that’s the case…”
When Natsumi and Yoshino were twisting their necks, Tohka picked up a takoyaki with a rugged
face and sniffed it, and then promptly threw it in her mouth, chewed for a few seconds, then
swallowed.
“…Hm.”
Then, wondering if she had moved the edge of her eyebrows, she began to rhythmically eat the
rest of the takoyaki without any expression.
“Hmm… it seems she’s the usual Tohka after all…?”
“But usually Tohka-san eats with more… enthusiasm.”
“That’s not it.”
Yoshino and Yoshinon responded to Natsumi. Judging from her tempo of eating takoyaki, it
didn’t seem that it was bad (rather, it’s the same speed that she always eats her favorite foods at),
but usually her expression is flattering, and the person who cooked it always looks pleased. This
time, she didn’t look anything like that; she was not at all like the always overreacting Tohka.
Tohka finished eating her takoyaki, licked the sauce off her lips, and started walking away from
the stall.
Suddenly, the owner of the takoyaki shop stopped Tohka in a hurry.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. You haven’t paid yet…”
“…?”
Tohka stopped, eyebrow slightly raised. She glanced at the shopkeeper’s face, then started
walking away again.
“Hey, wait just a second!”
The shopkeeper left the store, chasing after her and firmly putting her hand on Tohka’s shoulder.
“What do you want? Unhand me.”

When Tohka said that coldly, the shopkeeper suddenly blew away as if she had been struck by an
invisible hand, and struck the ground with a strong force.
“Ugya?!”
“Hmph.”
As the shopkeeper screamed, Tohka snorted her nose and left.
Natsumi and Yoshino were staring at the scene for a while, just like the other passers-by, but
immediately shook their shoulders and rushed to the shopkeeper.
“Are you okay…?”
“…Oh, thank you, young lady.”
When Yoshino worriedly called out, the shopkeeper woke up, rubbing her back against her
ground. By the way, Natsumi thought she should say something, but if she dared to speak after
the holy girl Yoshino, she would only stand out in a bad way.
“Ku, why is it one point off…? This machine is faulty.”
Kaguya made a bittersweet remark, and moaned regretfully. Then, mocking laughter echoed
from behind her.
“Praise. For the time being, let’s praise Kaguya’s performance, which was only one point off
target. Truly such a shame, even the slightest error is fatal. “
It was Yamai Yuzuru, the twin sister of Kaguya, who said that while snorting. She had a proud
look on her face that looked identical to Kaguya, though the curves of her breasts weren’t similar
at all.
“We don’t know yet! Next is Yuzuru’s turn!”
Kaguya removed the glove from her right hand and passed it to Yuzuru. Yuzuru confidently put it
on her left and stood in front of the punching machine.
Kaguya and Yuzuru were in a corner of the Tengu City arcade. Today was a holiday, so they
came to play together… The Yamai sisters, who like to play games more than eat their meals,
often visit game centers like this and other places where they can enjoy themselves.
So far today, the two of them had played a fighting game, a racing game, a music game, and air
hockey, and their scores were currently two to two.
However, there’s no fun to be had just comparing their power. Therefore, the two set target goals
in advance, and whoever got the closer score to the goal won.
“Smile. Fufu, I’ll show you the accuracy of Yuzuru’s punches.”
Yuzuru let out a fearless laugh, and threw a 100-yen coin into the machine. Then, while watching
the flashy effect displayed on the LCD screen, she tapped her right palm lightly with her left
hand to get a feel for the glove.
“—Hyah!”
A character with a bad face appeared on the screen with a strange voice. At the same time, “Hit!”
appeared in the center of the screen, the letters shining.
“Attack. Hit.”
Yuzuru hit the punching bag with a shout, but even she didn’t know if it was enthusiastic or not.
The cylinder wrapped in red synthetic leather made a noise and collapsed backwards.
At the same time, the characters on the screen were blown away and the number of points was
displayed.
—The same as Kaguya, 299 points.
“Wow! A tie!”
As soon as Kaguya saw it, she made a gutsy pose.
Kaguya still didn’t win because they had the same score, but she was honestly a little worried
about the outcome because Yuzuru seemed to be brimming with confidence.
“Miscalculation. Did I relax a little too much? There was a response, but…”
Yuzuru groaned with regret, and after removing her glove, she made a gesture of squeezing her
left hand several times.
“Hmm… anyway, rematch! Lend me the glove! I’ll show you a real score this time!”
Then, when Kaguya reached out, Yuzuru extended her glove—and suddenly stopped moving for
a moment.
“What?”
“Gaze. Look at that, Kaguya.”
“Where?”
Kaguya twisted her neck, turning her gaze at what Yuzuru was looking at, and made a similar
expression.
“That’s… Tohka? It’s rare to see her come to an arcade alone.”
Kaguya said and raised her eyebrows quizzically. There stood Tohka, a Spirit who attended the
same school as Kaguya and her friends.
“Confusion. I’m suspicious, she looks a little strange.”
Yuzuru tilted her head with a bewildered look.
Certainly, Kaguya understood what Yuzuru was trying to say. It’s hard to say exactly what was
different, but she felt that the current Tohka was somehow different from the one that she and
Kaguya knew.
“Hmm… I wonder what happened. Hey, Tohka!”

Kaguya raised her voice so she could be heard over the game sounds that echoed rampantly in
the building, and called out to Tohka.
However, Tohka didn’t notice. Kaguya took a quick breath and tried once more, even louder.
“Tohkaaaaaaaaa!”
“…?”
Then, Tohka finally looked at Kaguya.
However, the facial expression she had was unusual, and she had an unnatural air of calmness. It
was more like she was reacting to some suspicious person making a strange voice, rather than a
reaction to having her name called.
Tohka meandered toward Kaguya and Yuzuru with a relaxed speed, spread her arms out and
spoke with a magnificent tone.
“You two have seen me somewhere before? You were the one who called out to me now, right?
It’s the same as the little ones earlier.”
“What…?”
At Tohka’s words, Kaguya’s eyes narrowed; Yuzuru had a confused expression.
“Suspicion. What’s wrong, Tohka? The way you’re speaking is kind of like Kaguya when she
talks awkwardly.”
“It’s for the flair!”
Kaguya instinctively yelled that, but… well, she understood what Yuzuru was saying. Tohka
normally spoke in a slightly old-fashioned way, but today it felt more pronounced than ever.
Tohka listened to the conversation between Kaguya and Yuzuru with interest, but suddenly
changed her expression.
“What is that?”
And then, pointing to the glove that Yuzuru was holding. Kaguya twisted her neck again.
“That’s… a punching machine glove. Haven’t you used one before, Tohka?”
“I don’t know.”
“…”
Kaguya continued a few seconds later, but now extremely quietly.
“Ah…”
Sweat began to form on her cheeks.
She felt like she knew what Tohka’s intentions were.
That’s right. While she couldn’t confirm it… by the way she was acting, she was almost a new
character. Kaguya had some experience with this sort of thing, so she could understand it a bit.
There was no doubt that such a time had come for Tohka. Judging from her way of speaking, she
held great power but was also naive, not unlike a sheltered princess. She watched TV and said,
“What’s this box?! There’s a person inside!” Kaguya remembered searching through such
character types and imitations before settling on her current character.
When Tohka was new to the world, she was basically already that character archetype, so this
might be the easiest for her to do.
Kaguya scratched her cheeks. She had nothing in particular to say, but as her senior, she should
kindly watch over her.
“Ah… well, do you want to try it, Tohka?”
“…”
Tohka received the glove with a suspicious look.
◇◇◇
“—Fufufufufufu, Fufufufuun ♪”
Miku was humming happily, walking around the city with light footsteps.
Today was the first off day she had in a while, so she went into the city and spent some time
shopping. She happened to find a nice scented body cream and bath salts, so she was already
feeling better than before.
No, there was one more thing to mention. The place where Miku was headed also gave her a
huge smile: Miku was walking along the road to the residential area of Tengu City.
That’s right. There is the place where Miku’s love, Darling, and sweet angels live in a house and
condominium. It’s been a long time since they all got together, so today they were invited to
dinner at Shido’s house.
Of course, there’s still time before dinner, and even if she went straight there, she wouldn’t be
able to cook. But that was fine; seeing Darling wearing an apron and cooking from behind was
the real pleasure of the dinner party.
“Fufufu… Ah.”
Along the way, Miku approached the window of a department store. Miku put her hand on her
waist and tried to pose.
A girl with glamorous proportions is projected on a beautifully polished glass. A newsboy cap
that covers her head and hides her head, and big sunglasses were in the way, but that’s all there is
to it. If Miku, an idol, had her face exposed in such a place, she might have been noticed by
passers-by.
Well, to be precise, it doesn’t matter what they notice, but she wanted to avoid being asked to
sign and hold hands, and to be late for the Itsuka family feast.
And—
“Oh?”
Miku, who was walking down the road with her heels ringing, suddenly stopped her foot.
She spotted the back of a girl she knew in front of her.
Beautiful night-colored hair shining brightly in the sunlight—Miku’s cute, sweet angel, Tohka.
What a pity that she couldn’t join Tohka on her way to Shido’s house. God must be watching
Miku’s daily deeds. Miku shook her head as she thanked God in her heart for this opportunity.
“Tohka—”
However, Miku stopped her words there and put her hand on her mouth and smiled with a
devilish smile.
When she saw Tohka’s defenseless back, she came up with a good idea.
“Ufufufufu …”
Miku smiled quietly and walked down the road, killing her footsteps, and she arrived near Tohka.
And she spread her arms passionately, clinging to Tohka from behind.
“Tohka-san, I caught you!”
But.
“Eh?!”
The next moment, after her hands cut through the sky, Miku stumbled to a stop, propelled by her
excess momentum.
“Ah… what?”
Miku opened her eyes in the back of her sunglasses and looked around her. The figure of Tohka
who was there until a moment ago had disappeared.
She discovered Tohka just a few steps away. Miku tilted her head at the mysterious phenomenon
that had just happened, but she jumped on Tohka’s back again.
“Oh! Got you this time…”
However, the result was the same as before: the moment Miku jumped in, Tohka disappeared.
“Oh… she’s gone again.”
“—What are you trying to do?”
Then, such a voice echoed from behind. When she turned around, she found Tohka standing
there with a harsh atmosphere.
“That? Tohka-san…?”
Looking at her face, Miku mysteriously frowned at her. The Tohka in front of her somehow
looked different from the Tohka that Miku knew.
But that wasn’t a big deal for Miku. She certainly feels more squishy than usual, but that was a
good thing. Miku made a sweet voice.
“Ah, did you notice, Tohka-san? If so, please let me hug you.”
She spread her hands like a winged eagle and went to hug Tohka from her front.
However, Tohka thrust her right hand forward and pressed it on Miku’s face.
“Mugyu!”
“What are you aiming for?”
As Tohka sharpens her gaze, she squeezed Miku’s cheeks.
“Hey… Miku is just flirting with Tohka-san and hugging…”

Miku tried to say that, but Tohka’s hand muffled it. She closed her open hands and squeezed
Tohka’s hand, which was holding her face, with her fingertips.
“… ?!”
Perhaps Miku’s behavior was so unexpected, Tohka dyed her expression a terrifying color. At the
same time, Miku’s face was pulled out of Tohka’s hands.
“A gap!”
Miku slipped through Tohka’s hand and tackled her body.
However, she didn’t try to push Tohka down. Instead, Miku clung to her body, pressing her face
against her soft breasts, and taking a deep breath.
“Coho, Coho… Gu, Guuuud Fureguraaans …!”
“This…”
As Miku sang that with an ecstatic expression on her face, she heard an angry voice above her.
At the next moment, Miku was grabbed by her neck.
◇◇◇
“—Oh, there’s the onion dressing.”
Itsuka Kotori, who was staring at the shelves in the supermarket, found what she wanted and
made a small voice.
She is a girl who has her hair tied in two with a white ribbon. She had a shopping cart in her left
hand and a notepad listing what she needed to buy in her right hand.
“Well, is this the last one?”
As she said, she compared the notepad she was holding with the contents of her shopping cart
and confirmed her goods. She has grated cheese, tuna cans, and the onion dressing she just
discovered. Also, Chupa Chups, Kotori’s favorite food.
Well, to be exact, the Chupa Chups weren’t mentioned in the shopping memo, but that’s the
benefit of being the shopper.
Today’s supper was a gathering of all the Spirits for the first time in a while, but Kotori was sent
shopping because there were some things missing.
“Okay, perfect.”
Kotori grabbed her hand, stowed her notepad in her pocket, and walked to the cashier.
She then completed her accounts, remembering that she presents the loyalty card Shido gave her,
and she packs what she buys into an eco-bag.
By the way, the eco bag was packed with opened and washed milk cartons and food trays.
Because there are collection boxes outside the supermarket, Shido cleans and dries them rather
than throwing them away. Kotori was given these to return when she left the house.
Kotori hung her eco-bag packed with her goods on her shoulder, and she passed through an
automatic door and left the store.
“Hmm, fufufu.”
Then she laughed, reached into the eco-bag, took out the Chupa Chups she just bought,
unwrapped it, and released it into her mouth.
The fresh fruit flavor spread throughout her mouth. Kotori involuntarily loosened her cheeks,
and she left for home.
After walking a bit, Kotori found the back of a familiar girl in front of her, with a slender
silhouette and hair that tickled her shoulders. She was holding a shopping bag in her hand, just
like Kotori.
“Origami!”
When Kotori waved and called her name, the girl turned around and looked at Kotori with a
doll-like expressionless face. It was Tobiichi Origami, one of the Spirits who will gather with the
Itsuka family today.
“Kotori.”
“Is this a coincidence, or did you come to us?”
“Yes.”
Origami nodded expressionlessly. Kotori peeked into her shopping bag.
“Oh, what did you buy? Maybe a souvenir?”
However, she then made a suspicious face, because what was in the bag was something like a
mysterious energy drink.
“…What is that?”
“Relax. I won’t use it for anything other than Shido.”
“I don’t want you to use it for my brother!”
Kotori irresistibly screamed and tried to steal Origami’s shopping bag. However, just as Kotori
was about to reach her hand, she turned around and avoided it. For a while, the two continued to
chase each other in a comical dance.
“Don’t do anything strange to Onii-chan… wait, what?”
Then, Kotori suddenly stopped. There was a crowd of people in the shopping district.
For a moment she wondered if there was a street performer, or if it was a shooting or something,
but that was wrong. There were no jugglers or TV film crews, but two girls Kotori knew well.
One was a girl with a rabbit puppet on her left hand, and the other, a girl with an awkward, sullen
face.
—It was Yoshino and Natsumi, who should have been going shopping together.
For some reason, the two were surrounded by several adults and shrugged as if they were in
trouble. Moreover, all of them were wearing restaurant uniforms and name tags with the store
name on them. Apparently, they were employees of a store next door.
“… What are they doing, those two?”
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to be calm.”
When Kotori and Origami were looking at the situation, Natsumi stumbled across the area, and
ran away through the gaps in the adults.
“Hey!”
One of the employees who noticed it raised her voice, but it was late. The crowd missed Natsumi
and she escaped from the scene. Yoshino’s eyes went round in astonishment.
“…Natsumi ran away from Yoshino?!”
“Wise and clear judgment.”
“Maybe that’s the case, but leaving Yoshino behind? Natsumi and Yoshino are on good terms, so
I don’t think she would abandon her and run away…”
While Kotori was thinking about that,
“Excuse me, can you let me through for a moment?”

Such a voice echoed from the crowd, and a woman appeared.
A policewoman who wrapped her proportions in a dark blue uniform. She had apparently heard
the noise.
However, when she saw her, Kotori and Origami looked at each other.
That’s right. After all, the policewoman was Natsumi, transformed into an adult with her
transformation ability.
“Yes, I will take care of the child, so please leave the rest to me.”
Saying that, Natsumi put her hands on Yoshino’s shoulders and looked at the employees who
gathered around her. Apparently, Natsumi did not escape, but intended to transform herself into a
police officer and help Yoshino.
The employees turned their suspicious faces to the policewoman who suddenly appeared… Well,
that’s to be expected. After all, her skirt was extremely short, and her chest was wide open.
“Ah, the police…?”
“Yes, that’s right. You can see just by looking, right?”
“…Um, can you show me your police notebook just in case?”
“Eh?”
That response was probably unexpected. Natsumi laughed, her face hardened, and she began to
sweat. This reaction made the employees even more suspicious.
“Mmm …”
Kotori took a small breath and took her black ribbons out of her pocket, removed the white
ribbons she was wearing, and quickly re-tied her hair.
In doing so, Kotori was transformed from an energetic, innocent and humorous girl into a fierce,
strict and bossy commander.
“It can’t be helped.”
Kotori muttered, Origami next to her turned her gaze.
“As usual, a wonderful split personality.”
“I don’t want to be told that by you!”
Kotori screamed unintentionally… but that wasn’t important right now. After getting out of the
crowd, she walked to the employees and the two Spirits.
“Natsumi, Yoshino, what the hell are you doing?”
“Ah—”
“That… Kotori-san!”
“Oh! Heavenly help!”
When Kotori called their names, the two blinked in astonishment and turned to her.
As a result, the others probably knew that Kotori was with them. The employees who surrounded
them turned to Kotori.
“You are this child’s friend?”
“Yes, well…”
When Kotori replied that, a man who seemed to be a bakery clerk sighed as if in trouble.
“Then, don’t you know where this child’s parents are? I asked them a while ago, but they won’t
answer.”
“…”
Kotori scratched her cheeks. Yoshino and Natsumi are Spirits; they did not have parents, so there
was no answer.
However, the problem was not that. The important thing is that they seem to have done
something like calling a guardian.
“What the hell did this kid do?”
When Kotori asked, the man shrugged and continued his words.
“Well, a dine and dash; a so-called escape. You eat a product, but then don’t pay for it.”
“Dine and dash?”
Kotori unintentionally opened her eyes wide at those unexpected words.
She didn’t think that Yoshino and Natsumi would do such a thing, and she should have given
them enough pocket money. It was an unbelievable phrase.
However, she couldn’t say that it was a lie. Or at least, there were many people complaining
about the damage. Kotori nodded and took out a cloth purse from her pocket.
“How much is it? I will pay for it.”
“You?”
The man, in turn, widened his eyes as well.
This was not surprising. Kotori’s appearance is the same as that of Yoshino and Natsumi; for her
to be the two’s guardian was unbelievable.
“No, but…”
“It’s a big deal. I don’t want to cause a ruckus, so I’ll pay.”
“Hmm…”
The man pondered for a few seconds, but perhaps deciding he wasn’t annoyed enough to
continue, he shook his head with a stern look.
“…Well, I don’t want to do anything big here either. I don’t mind if you pay me properly.”
“Thank you.”
Kotori bowed her head, asked the employees for the price of the items, and paid for them.
And a few minutes later, after completing the payments, she turned to Yoshino and Natsumi
again. Natsumi, in the meantime, went to a place where there was no one, and returned to her
original form.
“Well? Explain it properly. Why did this happen? Did you both drop your wallets? Or did you
spend too much money?”
Kotori shrugged her shoulders, and Yoshino and Natsumi shook their heads at the same time.
“Well, it’s different. Actually…”
Yoshino explains the situation while distorting her eyebrow. Upon hearing the story, Kotori made
a suspicious face.
“Tohka?”
“Yes… Tohka-san is eating food from various shops one after another…”
“…At first, we were paying for her, but as expected, we ran out of money…”
“I’m glad that Kotori-chan came. If it stayed that way, Yoshino and Natsumi would have been
sold to a scary uncle because of the debt.”
Yoshinon jokingly said that. As expected, it was about the cost of food, but such a situation was
unexpected. It must have been scary to be harassed by the adults.
But now she was more worried than that. Needless to say, it was about Tohka.
“Tohka ran away… well, it’s a little more realistic than Yoshino and Natsumi, but it’s still
unnatural.”
Kotori put her hand on her chin with a difficult face.

Tohka is certainly one of the healthiest Spirits. However, it’s been more than half a year since
Tohka was sealed by Shido. At first, Tohka was lacking in common sense, but she had adapted to
society since then, and recently she hasn’t had any notable problems. For the current Tohka to
not pay for shopping was unthinkable.
She didn’t know the details, but she could imagine that something bad had happened. Kotori
stood up the stick of Chupa Chups in her mouth, and again looked at Yoshino and Natsumi.
“Anyway, I can’t just leave Tohka like that. Do you know which way she went?”
When she asked, Yoshino, Natsumi, and Yoshinon nodded at the same time, then pointed straight
down the streets of the shopping district.
“Over there… I hope she hasn’t gone too far.”
Kotori exhaled a little, then followed Tohka with Yoshino and Natsumi, plus Origami who was
waiting behind her.
It took about 5 minutes for the four to reach the city.
“That is…”
Kotori found a larger crowd in front of her, and her expression became sharp.
Before she heard from Yoshino and the others, she would have wondered if there was some kind
of event, as she had before.
“No way, Tohka…?”
“Maybe.”
Origami responded in monotone as the group pushed through the crowd.
There, they could see two girls in the center of the crowd. The twin Spirits, Yamai Kaguya and
Yamai Yuzuru. For some reason, they were standing side by side in front of the arcade being
scolded by a man who seemed to be a clerk.
“Huh? It’s not Tohka, but Kaguya and Yuzuru…?”
Kotori distorted her eyebrows in a suspicious manner. However, just because they weren’t Tohka
doesn’t mean this could be ignored. Kotori walked to the clerk and the two of them.
“Kaguya! Yuzuru!”
“…! Oh, Kotori!”

“Surprise. Natsumi, Yoshino, even master Origami. Why are you here?”
Kaguya and Yuzuru looked up, astonished. Kotori sighed.
“Well, there were so many people. What on earth did you do?”
“No, we didn’t do anything …”
“Agreement. I’m a victim of false accusations.”
After Kotori asked that, the two responded in a confused manner.
Then, the game center clerk who was in front of them started to gesture with his arms.
“I don’t want to doubt the customer either, but the punching machine shouldn’t be destroyed like
that, right?”
Saying that, the clerk pointed into the game center.
“Wow…”
Looking in that direction, Kotori opened her eyes wide.
Although it was not visible from the crowd, the body of the punching machine that was placed
near the entrance was brutally broken, and smoke was rising. Certainly, it wouldn’t break like
that unless you applied a lot of force.
“Kaguya, Yuzuru, you guys…”
“That’s why it’s wrong.”
“Reply. There is a reason for this.”
Kaguya and Yuzuru shook their heads in a hurry.
Then, the clerk narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
“That’s why I’m listening. How would something like this happen?”
“That is…”
“Whisper. Kotori, can I?”
“Hmm? What?”
Yuzuru pulled Kotori’s hand and brought her face closer to her ear. Apparently, she had a story
she didn’t want to tell the clerk.
“Reveal. Actually… the criminal is Tohka.”
“Eh?”
Kotori frowned at Yuzuru’s words. Then, as if to follow, Kaguya also hid her voice.
“When we were playing, Tohka suddenly appeared. She seemed interested in the punching
machines, so she tried to use one, and then…”
“Synchronize. She made a mistake, and the punching bag part blew off.”
“Oh, yeah. Then she left saying, ‘Hmm, boring. Isn’t it too weak?’”
“Continue. The clerk rushed in and suspected Yuzuru who was in front of the machine. However,
I couldn’t just say that Tohka had done it and let the police take over.”
“…I see.”
Listening to the story of the two, Kotori groaned and put her hand on her chin.
It was a strange story to hear. To be sure, Tohka has broken a punching machine at an arcade
before. However, that was shortly after the seal of her spiritual power was applied, before she
was familiar with this world, and above all, it was done under the supervision of <Ratatoskr> as
a way to relieve stress. It was hard to imagine that Tohka, who had since acquired her social
common sense, would do such a thing.
However, Tohka’s unusual behavior was in tune with the story of Yoshino and Natsumi that she
had heard earlier.
“What the hell are you doing, Tohka…?”
Kotori groaned, and the clerk outside slammed the ground with his feet in an annoyed manner.
“Have you finished talking?”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Kotori turned around, but then turned back, took out the phone from her pocket, and called
Ratatoskr, and while hiding her voice, she asked them for help.
“… Yes, please come where I am. As soon as possible.”
Then, a few minutes after she hung up the phone, a couple of men in black appeared from the
crowd and stood in front of the clerk.
“What are you guys…?”

“I’m really sorry. I’ll try to compensate for the machine. For more information, please come over
here…”
“Eh? Haha…”
The clerk still didn’t seem to have accepted it, but perhaps because of the men, he returned to the
store nonetheless.
“Well, I’m chasing Tohka then. Do you know which way she went?”
—Kotori and the others found yet another crowd less than three minutes afterwards.
When Kotori and her friends were running in the direction pointed to by the Yamai sisters, a
group of rubberneckers was visible in the middle of the road.
“Wow, again?”
“Is it Tohka-san this time…?”
“I hope so…”
Kotori responded to the voice of Yoshino, and they proceeded as before, squeezing through the
crowds.
Then you can see that there is a girl in front of their eyes.
However, it was (again) not Tohka. Instead, there was a tall girl who covered her face with a
newsboy cap and sunglasses.
“That is… Miku?”
Kotori called the name with a small voice. She didn’t realize for a moment because she was
hiding her face, but it was definitely the idol and a Spirit, Izayoi Miku.
However, as soon as she realized the girl’s identity, further questions arose in Kotori’s head.
For some reason, Miku flailed her limbs while her hands were being held by a policewoman (a
real one, not a fake like Natsumi).
“It’s different, officer! It’s a misunderstanding! I’m not like that!”
“Hey, don’t you go wild!”
She continued to fight like Miku was a criminal or someone that she wanted to arrest. Kotori
walked over there, making a face like she didn’t know what was happening.
“… What on earth are you doing?”
“Ah, Kotori-san! And everyone!”
The moment she found Kotori’s face, Miku brightened her face.
“What’s wrong? Did they find the white powder in your pocket?”
“What?”
The policewoman reacted to Kotori’s joke. Miku shook her head quickly.
“No! Don’t say that, you’re going to make this situation even worse!”
“I’m sorry… What’s the misunderstanding? No way… Is it related to Tohka?”
When Kotori asked her with a sharp gaze, Miku rounded her eyes astonishingly.
“Well, how did you know? Ah… maybe whatever your favorite person thinks about is
transmitted to you?”
“Everyone, let’s hurry ahead!”
“Ah! I’m sorry, I’m kidding! Don’t abandon me!”
Miku screamed with a crying face. Kotori exhaled and turned back to her.
“So what did Tohka do?”
“Ah, yes, that’s right… there’s a very complicated reason for this…”
Miku said that quietly. Kotori frowned and turned to the policewoman.
“What did this person do?”
“Well, to put it simply… she is a pervert. She jumped at a walking woman, touched her breasts,
and was taken down by that woman.”
The policewoman answered with a sigh. In response to her wording, Kotori’s cheeks twitched.
She then turned back and spoke to the other Spirits.
“Let’s go. We didn’t see anything.”
“Kotoriiiii! It’s different! I wouldn’t do that to strangers! I just saw Tohka-san and wanted to
surprise her! That’s it!”
“That’s why you don’t go wild! She said she didn’t know you!”
“It’s really true, officer! Tohka-san and I have exchanged hugs many times!”
Miku screamed.
Apparently, the appearance of Tohka was different from usual, which seemed to be the same as
the stories from the previous four.
In the case of Miku, rather than feeling a little different from how she used to be, she had to
avoid being arrested and destabilizing her mental state. Kotori sighed and she picked up her cell
phone to get Ratatoskr to intervene.
◇◇◇
Around the time day ended, Shido was in the kitchen of the Itsuka family, making a rhythmic
noise and chopping the vegetables on the cutting board.
“…Okay. Is it alright to have a salad like this?”
He simply washed his hands as he said that and carried on cooking.
Because everyone was out now, only Shido was at home. In the quiet kitchen, the sounds of
occasionally hitting a cutting board and oil popping were echoing.
As the number of Spirits living in the condominium next door had increased, the frequency of
preparing large meals increased greatly, but Shido did not suffer from it. Originally, in the Itsuka
family, where the parents were rarely home, Shido was in charge of cooking. This time, they
were going to have a feast, and everyone would laugh and smile. He thought the hard work was
worthwhile and felt a sense of accomplishment.
“…Hmm?”
Shido suddenly turned backwards, as he felt like he heard a noise from somewhere in the house.
“Is it Kotori…?”
While saying that, he turned off the fire on the stove and walked to the bottom of the corridor.
He had Kotori go shopping, because he lacked the grated cheese that was essential for pasta and
the salad dressing. It was a good time for her to have returned.
However, even when he opened the door and looked around the corridor, he could not see Kotori.
Instead—
“This is…”
Shido looked down at his feet, confused.
There were black footsteps that had not been there before.
He can only guess someone had gone up to the house barefoot, but he had no acquaintance who
did such a thing.
“…”
Shido gulped half unconsciously.
He didn’t think that a muddy stray would enter at such a time, but it was clearly an abnormal
situation. Shido squeezed his face in a tense manner, killing his footsteps and following the
footprints—to the front of the bathroom.
Then he noticed that he could hear some noise from inside the bathroom.
Obviously, someone was there. Shido moistened his throat again and pushed the door open.
“Who is it?!”
And shouted to intimidate the person.
But the next moment, Shido lost his voice and stood there.
It wasn’t a burglar or a thief like Shido imagined, but instead a beautiful girl, not covered by a
single thread of cloth.
“Eh… Tohka?!”
Shido screamed unintentionally.
That’s right: it was Tohka, a Spirit who lived in an apartment next to the Itsuka family.
Apparently, she was bathing. What’s more, she seemed to have been using the remaining hot
water in the bathtub with her head, instead of using the shower.
She had angelic limbs, which seemed to have been loved by God, long (wet) night-colored hair,
and a mysterious charm. The sight was breathtaking in a different sense than Shido expected.
“Huh…!”
Shido shook his shoulders, having suddenly realized that, due to this sudden event, he was
staring at Tohka’s naked body.
“Sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t think it was Tohka!”
Shido turned away from her, dyeing his cheeks bright red.
However, Tohka did not scream or throw anything, but just quietly glared at him with a
sword-like gaze.
“…”
The girl called Tohka looked at the boy who appeared in front of her, and sharpened her gaze.
When she woke up, she stood in a strange place, dressed up like the people walking around her,
and was observing the surrounding environment… why? Naturally, her feet were facing this
house.
She disassembled her clothes and began bathing here when she discovered the water. She was
assaulted by an unidentified woman earlier, so she wanted to get rid of the filth.
However, the door of the water place opened, and this boy appeared.
“…You.”
The girl moved her eyebrows.
She thought she had met him somewhere… but she finally realized where.
That’s right. She had previously seen him on a towering structure. For some reason, he wielded
an Angel, Sandalphon, and kissed her there as well.
“…”
As soon as her memory of the boy returned, the girl dyed her rugged look a more vigilant color.
She didn’t really understand why she was in such a place, but she lost consciousness before
when this boy kissed her.
If so, there was a possibility that he was also involved in this phenomenon this time. Thinking
that, the girl stepped forward.
“—You!”
“I’m sorry, Tohka!”
The moment the girl uttered a voice, the boy said so.
Is this boy the cause of the girl’s appearance in this world? However, the boy did not try to make
eye contact with her.
“Anyway! I’ll go back! Let me apologize again when you come out!”
The boy suddenly yelled and fluttered his hand as if searching for something.
“…”
—Was he planning to do something? The girl slightly lowered her hips to prepare for her
opponent’s actions.
But the boy didn’t jump in and instead sought out the handle of the door, then began to close it,
leaving her alone.
“Do you want to escape?”
She didn’t know what the boy was trying to do, but she didn’t intend to let him do as he pleased.
She grabbed the door with a jerk to hinder the boy’s actions.
“What are you going to do?”
“Well, I’m going to close the door…”
“Would you like me to do that? Could you explain how it works? For what purpose did you call
me out?”
“Yeah, ummm… well, that’s because we all have dinner planned for tonight…”
“…”
She didn’t know what the boy was saying. The girl carved a wrinkle between her eyebrows.
“Don’t stray. Look here.”
“No, no, that’s…”
“Silence!”
The girl hatefully grabbed the boy’s face and forced him to turn towards her.
“…Wha?!”
The boy pulled his body backwards to escape, wondering if she had turned her face further.
“Wait, you!”
The girl called out coldly, and she took a step towards the boy.
—But at that moment, the girl slipped and lost her balance.
“Wah…?!”
She fell onto the boy, still fully undressed.
“…!”
“…?!”
The girl and the boy were surprised, but neither one made a sound.
The reason was simple. By chance, when the girl collapsed, her lips were blocking the boy’s lips.
“—!”
The girl felt as if sparks were falling on her head.
◇◇◇
“—Hah, hah…!”
Kotori and her friends were running out of breath in a residential area in Tengu City.
The destination was the Itsuka family residence. Kotori’s older brother, Shido, was preparing a
meal there.
“That’s true, Miku! Tohka is heading in that direction!”
“Yes! There is no mistake! I was headed that way too!”
From behind, Miku ran while holding her cap with her left hand.
Since <Ratatoskr> had cooperators inside the police, she managed to get free, but it took a while.
Kotori ground her teeth and put more effort into her legs.
There was no problem if Tohka visited Shido. In fact, Tohka came to visit the Itsuka family
almost every day.
However, according to everyone’s stories, it seems that Tohka was not in a normal state today. It
could be just a whim or a misunderstanding, or in the worst case she could have inversed, but
regardless she wasn’t her normal optimistic self. She made a slamming footstep on the idyllic
residential streets.
—Soon after, the party arrived at their destination.
At first glance, there was nothing wrong with the house. At least, it didn’t seem like the front
door was broken similarly to the arcade punching machines.
However, she still couldn’t be relieved. Kotori opened the front door and rushed down the
hallway to open the living room door.
“Shido! Are you safe?!”

And as she rushed into the living room, she yelled that.
But.
“—Oh, you came back, Kotori… Oh, everyone’s already together?”
Shido’s clear voice welcomed Kotori and the other spirits.
No—Not only that.
“Oh, have you all come? I’ve been waiting!”
“Tohka…?”
Kotori donned a confused expression as Tohka’s voice echoed from the sofa in the living room.
There was Tohka, as she expected, but… unlike the stories of Yoshino and others, she was
waving her hand in her usual cheerful tone.
“…What do you mean?”
Kotori opened her eyes as if she couldn’t believe it, and looked back at everyone who ran with
her.
“And Tohka-san…?”
“…Her attitude is quite different from a little while ago.”
“Mu?”
When Yoshino and Natsumi said that, Tohka tilted her head, confused.
“A little while ago…? What are you talking about?”
“Huh…? You mean you don’t remember?”
“Puzzled. Didn’t you break the punching machine in a flashy way?”
“I was about to get a criminal record because of Tohka-san!”
“… No, I think Miku has only herself to blame.”
Everyone said, but Tohka frowned as if she didn’t know what they were saying.
“Muu…? Who are you talking about? I was not doing that.”
“This is the one…”

Kotori put her hand on her mouth. Tohka’s face didn’t look like she’s lying. However, it was also
hard to believe Yoshino and her friends were trying to trick each other or take down Tohka.
“… Hey Shido, wasn’t there anything strange when Tohka came here?”
“Weird thing? No, not especially…”
Shido stopped talking, turned his gaze shyly, and blushed slightly. Tohka, who noticed it, also
makes a similar face.
“…What happened to you two?”
“No, nothing. Hey, Tohka?”
“Umu! There was nothing!”
“…”
Kotori glanced at the two suspicious people, but then Shido shouted loudly to interrupt her.
“More than that, look! We’re going to have a feast today! Everyone, wash your hands and take a
seat!”
Shido clapped his hands as if to encourage them.
Everyone seemed to still have doubts about Tohka, but when she relaxed her expression at the
indescribable incense that drifted from the back of the kitchen, she followed Shido’s instructions
and went to the washroom.
“Well, what the heck…?”
Kotori was suspicious to the end, but she was hungry because she had run so far, and her
stomach was beginning to growl.
“Ugu…”
Origami caught up and decided to just go wash her hands for the time being, and Kotori walked
after everyone to the washroom.
Afterword
It’s been a long time since I saw you! I’m Koushi Tachibana, and I present you with Date A Live
Encore 4, marked by the commander herself. What do you think? I hope you liked it. It would be
a great honor for me.
So, although it’s a bit sudden, I want to announce something here. Two days after this book’s
release, on August 2nd, “Date A Live: Mayuri Judgment” will be available to watch in theaters!
Wow! Clap your hands! It’s a theatrical release, and a completely original story. This is definitely
something to watch. Please join us!
With that notice over, let’s go back to the afterword.
This time is an “Encore”, so of course, it is a collection of short stories—and not just the stories
published in “Dragon Magazine” like before, but additionally a bonus novel included with the
Blu-ray disc for the first season of the anime. Therefore, the time of the story is set around the
end of the first season of the anime, which is around the fourth volume of the main story. Now, I
would like to briefly share my thoughts on each of the stories. If you haven’t read it, please be
careful, as they include spoilers.
Tohka Working
When I was thinking of ideas, I wanted to focus on individual characters one by one, so naturally
Tohka took the leading role here. In this story, I decided to have Tohka go to work. Since the
story takes place not long after her spirit powers are sealed, Tohka’s common sense isn’t as good
as it is now, but Tohka is not stupid; she just lacks knowledge. She can adapt and work through
things. Moreover, it was not for herself that she got angry, but rather because someone insulted
Shido. Well, Tohka is so cute. Super cute. I really am happy that I got to write such a heroine.
Yoshino High School
In retrospect, this short story was inspired by the cover of the special bonus novel (the colored
pages featured Tohka and Yoshino). In the beginning, I felt that I had this idea just because I
wanted to see Yoshino wearing a high school uniform. Coupled with the spy element, it’s written
in the style of a secret agent on a mission. As with Tohka’s story, I think it’s because Yoshino
isn’t used to this world that I can write such a story. Thinking about it like that, as the characters
grow up and time in the novel advances, I’ll be able to write different settings, but at the same
time, there are some stories that become unavailable. Memories of blood, sweat, and tears that
did not include the summer swimming lessons.
Origami Normalize
Operation “Normalize Origami” was launched. By the way, “Ordinary” here was in reference to
the fact that her grades are too good, her brain contains electronic parts, and her sensibilities are
quite different compared to other girls. It has nothing to do with hobbies. Definitely not. I
remember I was very happy when I wrote the dialogue between Origami and Ai, Mai, and Mii.
Since Shido has gradually gotten used to how Origami behaves, it’s very interesting to think
about how ordinary people who don’t have a close relationship with Origami would handle her.
No, sorry, Origami is very ordinary. Very ordinary.
Kurumi Cat
Kurumi, who is gentle to cats and children, is here. The other side of Kurumi that has not been
described before, Tohka’s reaction to a cat, etc. I still really like this story. Having said that, I
believe that Kurumi’s clones will complain about Kurumi herself.
Before I describe the clones individually, I wrote them as the same person under Kurumi’s
shadow, but having gained their own sense of self after spending so much time in the world. It
was probably this story that inspired me to write “Kurumi Santa Claus” in “Encore 3”.2
Mana Mission
This is the story of Mana when she was still with DEM Industries. I personally like this story
very much. I’m very fortunate to be able to write this story, as well as the conversation between
Ellen and Jessica at the beginning. I wrote this conversation after the seventh episode, so Jessica
had already retired, but I was feeling a little sentimental. I had her drawn in this illustration even,
which makes me very happy. In addition, I also liked the conversation between the two who were
defeated by Mana at the bank. Japanese girls are very strong.
Kotori Mystery
Come and solve the murder that happened aboard the sky fortress “Fraxinus”. This was the final
Kotori story included with the Blu-ray disc. I didn’t expect to write the story in such a
suspenseful way. Needless to say, Kotori, of course, but I also hoped to dive into the personalities
of the “Fraxinus” crew who usually don’t get to be the focus. I like to think that Minowa is
Origami’s predecessor. By the way, “mahal kita” means “I love you” in Tagalog (the official
language of the Philippines). I learned this for the first time after I heard Tone Kentaro-san, who
played Ganemoto, improvise. Tone-san, why do you know this phrase…?
2
It may seem strange to have a story in Encore 4 inspire one in Encore 3, but in reality, this story was written a bit
over a year prior to Kurumi Santa Claus; it was just only released with the anime Blu-Rays before E4.
Tohka Reverse
This is an undisclosed, newly written story: a Tohka story. This volume contains two Tohka
stories, but this Tohka seems different from usual. Although Tohka is in a “Reverse” state, it is
not telling the story of Tohka vomiting. The timing of this story is different from the other six, so
the Yamai sisters, Miku, and Natsumi all appear as well. Describing Yoshino from Natsumi’s
perspective: it’s only 30% of her actual cuteness. I really want to marry her.
And there are three illustrations which are really nice. The Tohka and Natsumi policewoman
illustrations are worth seeing, but I would personally recommend the Yamai sisters’ casual
clothes. The back, side, abdomen, and collar of those dresses are really beautiful.
This book was completed with the help of many people. Tsunako-san, who is in charge of the
illustrations, the editor-in-chief, my editor Kusano-san and the rest of the editorial staff,
publishing, distribution, and sales-related personnel, and the readers who picked it up. Let me
express my sincere thanks to all of you.
Next time, I hope we can meet in Date A Live Volume 13 or Date A Live: Mayuri Judgment. It
would be an honor for me to meet you again soon.
Koushi Tachibana
July 2015
Translators: Lightning Farron, Baka Tsuki, DarkShadder
Editors: Ene, OfficeCasual
- Ene
TL PDF by MBAH
https://www.facebook.com/david.miu.92
TL PDF by MBAH
Date A Live’s LN Translation
Origami Counseling
The chime announcing the beginning of lunch time for classroom 204 of Raizen High
School echoed
“Fuaahh......”
At the same time, Tobiichi Origami, who was sitting by the window seat, felt a large
yawn inadvertently leak out from her throat unexpectedly.
It could be that the drowsiness was induced by the chime……or maybe she felt a little
bit too relaxed after recognizing that the lesson was over. Then again, while thinking
about it, she did go to bed rather late last night. So she more or less might be influenced
by sitting next to the window with warm rays of sunlight.
“……!”
After pausing for a while, Origami let out a “ha” as she twitched her shoulders.
Although it was an irreversible physiological phenomenon, a girl her age shouldn’t
widely open her mouth to yawn in public. While in a restless state, Origami quickly used
her hand to cover her mouth.
Fortunately, it seemed that nobody had seen her due to everyone having followed the
order to leave class. Origami breathed a sigh of relief.
This girl’s characteristics were characterized with white skin and long hair that hide and
covered her back. Her facial features were stunning; her almost doll-like expression
seemed softer and more relaxed after standing up. She was wearing the Raizen High
School uniform she obtained after transferring yesterday.
As a result of the teacher leaving outside, the classroom immediately became filled with
noisy chatter. Everyone dropped their textbooks and notes as they began to prepare for
lunch.
“I also……should go eat lunch.”
While Origami murmured a bit in a small voice, she took out a bag from her lunch box.
No classmates seemed to want to have lunch with her since it was only the second day
after her transfer. Several classmates gave a concerned glance at her, but no one
approach to speak to her because of a lack of prior mutual connection.
However, Origami was not the best at conveying her own feelings. It would be a better
idea to simply finish the lunchbox quickly to end this awkward atmosphere. After
judging that, Origami placed her hand on the lid of the lunchbox.
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Then──over there.
Origami suddenly stopped after the shadow of a certain male student was caught at the
end of her of line of sight.
The boy who sat right next to Origami── Itsuka Shidou. With an appearance that
seemed both neutral and gentle, he also took out a lunch box and placed it on his desk
just like Origami.
“……”
After seeing his appearance, Origami’s heart began to race.
The reason behind being so self-conscious in front of him was extremely simple.
He, Itsuka Shido, during yesterday──that is on the first day that Origami transferred,
had called her to a location privately to invite her out on a date. Last night, Origami went
to sleep so late because of being stuck figuring out a way to reply back to his message.
Why though, perhaps it was because it was the first time he had spoken to her, Origami
did not want to refuse the invention. ──No, on the contrary, she was looking forward to
that date. Origami couldn’t hide her confusion, it was a feeling she had never felt before.
──A-at least , she had already been asked for an appointed date from him. Perhaps, if
called out now, they could have lunch together……these ideas flew through Origami’s
mind.
As Origami finished making up her mind, she slowly turned to face Shido and tried to
open her lips.
In that moment.
“──Tobiichi-san!”
A girl in-between Origami and Shidou obstructed Origami’s words. A girl with hair that
was adjusted upwards and was wearing her uniform in a leisurely manner in accordance
to her own wishes. It was her fellow classmate, Yamabuki Ai.
“Y-yes!?”
Because it was too abrupt, Origami didn’t have the time to reflect having her name being
called. However, Ai didn’t not take notice of that as she grabbed onto Origami’s hands.
The sudden grip caused her hands to shiver in response.
“Thank you. Thank you very much……!”
“Eh……? Eh……?”
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As Origami was monetarily stunned, two girls appeared from behind Ai. She
remembered that they were Ai’s friends, Hazakura Mai, and Fujibakama Mii.
“Ai～──I understand that you are happy, but please calm down.”
“Yeah──you’ve startled Tobiichi-san──”
They spoke in turn as they turned their eyes to Origami.
“Sorry, Tobiichi-san. It’s because of listening to Tobiichi-san’s advice that Ai is about to

finally go on her first date──!!”
“Hey, I never talked to Kishiwada-kun before, so it was surprising that he agreed to the
date.”
“Eh……?”
Origami widened her eyes as she let out an “ah” sound as she remembered something.
This morning, when Origami had arrived at school, she felt for some reason a gloomy
atmosphere coming from the group at the center of the classroom.
A girl had buried her face onto her desk as two other girls looked on with a worried
expression marking their faces. Of course, it was the friendly trio from class 204, Ai,
Mai, and Mii. Although Origami had just transferred into the school yesterday, in the
process of being constantly questioned by her fellow students, Origami remembered the
names of those three because they stood out as the most energetic.
Yet one of the cornerstones of the powerful trio, Ai, looked as if her vitality had sunk
into depression when compared to yesterday. As expected, Origami was slightly
concerned.
“……It’s gone, it’s all over. My love has dissipated like an ephemeral sea bubble……”
“Really──Ai. It’s only the invitation for a date that was rejected. You’re acting too
depressed.”
“I mean, the way I see it Kishiwada-kun is herbivore who studies the humanities. It’s not
good to invite him to a metal band concert.”
“I-It’s because......that was written on the divination section of the magazine……”
As Ai let out a “wan” sound as she bashfully covered her face with her hands, Mai and
Mii turned to each other.
“It’s alright. He didn’t say that he disliked Ai, right?”
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“Yeah── change the place and try re-inviting him.”
“……Where should I invite him to?”
“Eh? Then…well, how about shopping at the station?”
“……That was what he refused last week.”
“T-then……the amusement park!”
“……That was rejected the week before last.”
“Well──umm......”
As Mai and Mii were trying to think of something else, Ai let out another lamenting sigh.
“…………”
While they seemed to have been struck with quite the dilemma, it was not a topic that
Origami should interrupt. In order to not disturb the three of them, Origami tried to
quietly pass behind Ai.
However, at that moment. Ai suddenly snapped her body upward and turned to intercept
Origami’s passage just like a bridgeway unfolding.
“Tobiichi-san……”
“Kyaa!?”
In response, Origami let out a startled cry. However, Ai didn’t seem to take notice to that
as she continued to speak with a gloomy look.
“......A sacred and beautifully popular girl like Tobiichi-san must be experienced. Can
you use your overflowing knowledge to benefit a sad and unpopular girl like me?”
“Eh? No, I’m not like that.”
“Tobiichi-san, if you went to a date with a boy you cared about……where would you
go?”
Ai asked while not changing her expression. While puzzled, Origami looked on to Mai
and Mii. …..However, the two of them also looked like lost lambs pleading for charity
and guidance. Somehow, it had become an atmosphere where Origami had to give back
a reply.
“Well, uh……a library or something like that……?”
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“………!”
After hearing Origami’s reply, Ai jumped back up like a spring-loaded toy.
“Yamabuki Ai……heading off.”
In this manner, Ai saluted forward with a delicate look.
Mai and Mii also saluted back with a serious demeanor.
Perhaps, feeling in the atmosphere that she had too as well, Origami also raised her left
hand in salute as well.
“……Ah……”
Origami narrowed her eyes as sweat dripped down her forehead.
──Speaking of which, certainly such an event did occur.
“W-well, I’m glad that it worked.”
Origami spoked with an embarrassment as she was pushed back by Ai’s momentum.
Then, gentle tears appeared from corners of Ai’s eyes.
“Reaaaaaaaaaaaally thank you so much! Tobiichi-san truly is the master of love! The
rumors that you had a fan club in your previous school are true!”
“Eh!?”
Hearing what Ai had just said, Origami rounded her eyes open. Then, Mai and Mii both
nodded while crossing their arms.
“Well certainly, I could have never gotten an OK from Kishiwada-kun. With advice that
precise, hunting is practically another name for Miss Tobiichi Origami. I definitely don’t
want to be your enemy.”
“Wait……”
“Certainly, at your previous school, even all of the boys you owned had to be watered
down. Since the girls began to target after your life, you were forced to transfer, right?
The saga of Popular Origami!”
“No, that……”
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Ai, Mai, and Mii began to loudly talk about Origami’s prowess. Incidentally, these
rumors from a dubious source were completely unfounded. Origami, who had never had
this occur with men or women before, was not a master of love.
However, it was impossible for her classmates to properly judge such a matter. Drawn
by the Ai, Mai, Mii trio’s loud praise, the other students began to whisper.
“Huh──”
“I see──”
“Indeed, she does seem give the air of being popular.”
Just like that, they had all been irresponsibly convinced.
Origami turned to the seat next door──towards the direction of Shidou. Why was it?
Among all of the classmates, she didn’t want him to misunderstand in particular.
“W-wait a second, this is getting troublesome. There’s no such thing……”
“Ah, Tobiichi-san……”
As Origami raised her voice in protest, there was another voice coming from behind.
Looking back, it was a girl with her hair tied in a bun and with a face flushed red.
“W-what’s the matter?”
As Origami asked, the girl the continued to speak as if having made up her mind.
“P-please can you give me some advice? There is someone that I am interested in but I
don’t know how to properly convey my feelings!”
“Huhh!?”
“Please, I’m counting on you!”
Faced with this sudden request, Origami struggled to speak while still incomparably
bewildered.
“……Eh, well, then, I think it’s very important to face each other, follow your feelings,
and dare to be……”
“I see!”
As the female student spoke, she nervously walked to the edge of the classroom where a
boy was studying.
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“That……so that’s why.”
“Eh? Ah…...a-alright.”
As if swallowed by the atmosphere of the classroom, the boy gave a slight nod.
At that instant, a roar of “Ohhhhhhhhhh!?” cheers erupted in the classroom.
“Hey, hey, are you serious?”
“What sort of advice……”
“Truly, Tobiichi is a Jorōgumo.”
As the students began to spread even more rumors through whispers, it seemed that even
a new nicknamed had become attached to Origami.
Then, as if inspired by the establishment of the recent couple, the eyes of several
students glimmered, as if─saying that they also wanted to get love advice from Origami.
“T-then……”
Against everyone’s eyes that were full of expectations, Origami’s counterarguments

gradually fell on deaf ears.
Then, as if to protect Origami from everyone’s gaze, Ai stood firm while holding
Origami’s hand.
“Hey, you guys are scaring Tobiichi-san.”
“Ya-Yamabuki-san.”
Origami let out a relived sigh thinking that Ai had helped resolve the matter.
However.
“Each advice is made one by one! Since the consolation room will be the vacant room in
the back, decide the order by Janken or something!”
Origami could only stare blankly as Ai issued out those commands with a great smile.
The result was just what the Ai, Mai Mii trio had said. A temporary love consultation
room had opened in a vacant classroom at the end of the school building.
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The spare chairs in the empty room were rearranged to be facing each other to imitate a
consultation room. As expected, Origami was semi-coerced to sit down at the seat of
honor.
“……I haven’t even finished lunch yet.”
“Don’t worry, we also haven’t eaten yet!”
“But everyone needs Tobiichi-san’s advice!”
“People are creatures that can’t live by eating alone!”
As Origami murmured some complaints, the trio replied back with cheerful expressions
as they purposed their black market enterprise.
“Here, here, I’ve already announced it through SNS.”
“Y-you’ve done that!?”
“Well, the atmosphere, the atmosphere is important. Won’t this make you more eye-
catching as people gather?”
“That, I didn’t want to stand out in the first place……”
Origami partially strained her eyes as sweat dripped down her cheeks. It was already
troublesome having everyone in the class. But if there was such propaganda, then there
may be even more people coming over.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry. Even if it is spreading, here at school it’ll only be students.”
“Well, it would be a different case if people snuck in through a secret route and changed
clothes─”
“Rather, if people come, we’ll welcome you.”
The three of them began to laugh together.
……Somehow, feeling that saying anything now would be for waste, Origami let out a
heavy sigh.
“Now, Tobiichi-sensei, the first one is coming, so please!”
“Haah……”
At the same time Origami replied with another sigh, a boy with gelled hair entered the
room.
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“No.1 from Classroom 204. Tonomachi Hiroto. Please advise me!”
After giving a pointlessly robust greeting, he sat down on the opposite side from Origami.
His breathing was subtly flustered.
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“Alright, alright, calm down, calm down.”
“No.1 is Tonomachi-kun!”
“Now, then, what are the contents for this consolation?”
While telling to calm him down, the Ai, Mai, Mii, trio spoke out in turn from Origami’s
side.
Then, Tonomachi slammed down his fist while raising a feverish voice.
“Actually, I have a close friend……”
“Close friend……”
Origami replied with a gulp as she treaded carefully. That serious expression. Although
she did not know what he was going to talk about, it must be an important friend.
This formidable disposition and correction in posture──perhaps it may be that he liked
this close friend. If he asked such a thing, how can Origami respond?
Despite not caring much for the role due to the position coming from a misunderstanding
alone, the consultee was serious. Even if it was not something she could do casually,
returning a proper answer should be within her range as courtesy at least.
As Origami quietly waited for him to speak, Tonomachi slammed his eyes open.
“Even though the two of were comrades without girlfriends, recently women have been
flocking towards him……how can I be as popular as him!”
“…………Haah, so that’s it.”
However, since what the other party had spoken a rather tacky topic, Origami felt a bead
of sweat drip down her face.
“No, no, I don’t mean to say that I’m holding a grudge, but I am wondering why such a
difference appeared suddenly. Until last year, there were noisy girls spreading rumors
that we were a couple!”
“…......Uhh.”
Origami frowned in confusion as she scratched her cheeks. ……Well, anyway it was
because of these troubles that he deliberately sought out Origami. She couldn’t ignore
that.
“Well then…..can you search of something that your close friend has……that you lack?”
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“Something that guy has that I don’t……hmm……”
Tonomachi thought hard for a while before suddenly coming up with something as he
struck the palm of his hand with a “pon” sound.
“That’s right! It’s a cute little sister!”
“……Ha?”
Hearing what Tonomachi had just said, Origami turned her eyes into two blank dots.
“That guy has a younger sister in junior high school! She’s really cute! Ah……perhaps
that bastard being raised with a younger sister was the key for climbing up the staircases
of adulthood……!? Indeed, the feeling of that guy drifting away was caused by the
presence of his little sister! So that’s the easy way to reach adulthood! The secret power
to get popular!”
“Uh……”
“Thank you! The mystery is solved! I’ll ask my father for a little sister right away!”
As Tonomachi said in a bright voice, he leaped out of his chair and left the classroom.
“……Was it alright to leave it like that?”
As Origami muttered as his back disappeared from sight, the Ai, Mai, Mii trio let out an
“hmm” sound in thought as they crossed their arms.
“Well, wasn’t that good?”
“From the start, it was a very wishy washy question──”
“Yeah, looks like the dining table of the Tonomachi family will be awkward for days──”
The three of them smiled irresponsibly.
“Alright, now let’s go onto the next one.”
Returning back to topic, Mai called out to invite the next consultee.
This time, a small woman wearing glasses entered the classroom.
“Thank you for your consideration…...”
The woman spoke as she slowly bowed down her head. Looking at that figure, Origami
stared blankly. That’s right, rather than a student; it was the homeroom teacher of
classroom 204, Okamine Tamae-sensei, or more commonly referred to as Tama-chan.
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“S-sensei, what are you doing here?”
“Well─since I passed by students on the way to the classroom, sensei would also like to
try it out! I was planning on saying that……”
After finishing, she gave a wistful bitter smile. However, the Ai, Mai, Mii trio beside
Origami could only issue out a forced smile in response.
……Having done that, Tama-chan sensei was now 29 years old and without a husband or
boyfriend. They had told this to Origami yesterday.
“…………”
A feeling of tension struck Origami’s throat. To be honest, this seemed to be too heavy of
a topic for Origami to serve as a counselor.
“W-well, anyway, please ask the consultant!”
“Ehh, that……”
Then, Tama-chan sensei stared at the Ai, Mai, and Mii trio as if wanting to say
something.
The three of them tilted their heads in thought, but after a few seconds they seemed to
notice Tama-chan’s intentions as they replied back with an “ahh” retort.
“Perhaps it’s difficult to talk about this while we are here?”
“Please wait a moment──”
“Let’s go over there──”
The three of them covered their ears as they headed to the back of the room.
As Tama-chan saw the situation, she hid her voice below a whisper.
“Well, I didn’t want to tell anyone this, but……”
“Y-yes.”
“Actually, this April……I was purposed by someone.”
Hearing what Tama-chan had said, Origami widened her eyes open.
“Oh, so that’s it. Congratulations, who is this other person?”
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As Origami asked, Tama-chan paused as if troubled before quietly replying.
“I can’t say in detail……but actually, it’s a student of this school.”
“Ehhh!?”
Having heard such unimaginable words sprung out, Origami reflexively let out a startled
voice in shock. Although they were still covering their ears, the Ai, Mai, Mii trio’s
shoulders began to tremble.
“Hey!──Hey!”
As Tama-chan extended her index finger to hush her, Origami lowered her head in
apology as she continued in a quieter tone.
“S-so, is that true?”
“Un, as far as it goes……”
“So, speaking as a sensei, how do you……feel about this person?”
“Un……yes, personally speaking, he seems to be of fairly well prospects. He is very

responsible and also willing to help others, and from what I’ve heard from others he is
very good at cooking……”
“W-well, age does not matter in love……but it would be better to wait until after
graduation……”
As Origami finished speaking, Tama-chan let out an award laugh.
“Although that could be said……but actually there was also a continuation……”
“Continuation?”
“Yeah……perhaps my response was too aggressive, but he said “there’s no preparedness

for that” and fled……from then seven months have passed and nothing has happened.
Sure enough…… perhaps that chance has already passed……”
After saying that, Tama-chan looked off into the distance. However, Origami shook her
head in affirmation.
“M-maybe that person ran away because he missed the proper timing. If that’s not the
case, I think it’s better to approach him and talk once again.”
As Origami finished speaking, Tama-chan expression immediately brightened up.
“I-is that true?”
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“Yes! Please be more confident!”
“Thank you! I…..I’ll try to ask him once more!”
With a shimmer in her eyes, Tama-chan left the room.
Probably feeling that she had left, the Ai, Mai, Mii trio stood up and walked over to
Origami.
“Ah, is it over now?”
“How did the consultation go?”
“Well, it seems to not make sense even if not listening!”
After saying that Ai, Mai, Mii laughed merrily. Not knowing how to respond back,
Origami forced a smile as a reply.
“Muu, can I come in now?”
Then, at that moment, the next consultant walked in through the door that Tama-chan
had closed.
“────”
Looking at that figure, Origami was rendered speechless for a moment.
But that wasn’t too unexpected. After all, what appeared there were beautiful long hair
the color of the night and pair of pristine crystal-like eyes. It was sort of non-existent
beautiful girl that would be told often in a fable.
“Ara, do you need consulting as well Tohka-chan?”
“……Umu.”
As Mai called out her name, the girl──a classmate of Origami, Yatogami Tohka, nodded
as she sat down on the chair. Indeed, she was the girl sitting on the seat from the right
from Shidou. Her face resembled that of a Spirit seen on the battlefield when Origami
was still part of the AST──well, even though they looked similar, it wasn’t as if a Spirit
would be going to school.
“I heard that I could get proper advice here. Uhh……”
“Ah, my name is Tobiichi. Tobiichi Origami.”
“Muu, that’s right. Please give me lots of advice, Tobiichi Origami.”
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The girl was speaking in a slightly old-fashioned manner. However, such an unusual tone
of voice combined with her cute appearance only served to further highlight her unique
charm point.
“So, what kind of consultation do you need? Is it about Itsuka-kun?”
“Huh──?”
Hearing what Mii had just said, it was Origami, not Tohka, who let out a cry of disbelief.
There was no way she had ever expected Shidou’s name to be mentioned at a time like
this.
“Nu, is something wrong?”
“Ah, no…..compare to that, what is wrong with Itsuka-kun?”
“Umu……actually, since yesterday, Shidou has been acting strange. Is there any way to
cheer him up?”
As Tohka spoke, her eyebrows began to tense with unease.
Origami placed her hand against her chin. Although it was easy to categorize his
behavior as strange, detailed countermeasures could not be given unless the reason is
uncovered.
However, Origami noticed another point.
Compared to the issue of Tohka seeking help──she was more concerned about the
relationship between Shidou and this girl.
“……No, no”
In order to rid herself of these distracting thoughts, Origami furiously shook her head
back and forth. No matter what relationship this girl had with Shidou, it should be
irrelevant to Origami. Although Origami had received an invitation to a date from
Shidou, the other party had not said that he would like to establish a relationship with
her. Moreover, Origami had originally thought that the invitation to a date was to merely
discuss something urgent.
Therefore, this had nothing to do with herself──even if this girl was Shidou’s lover.
“Muu……are you okay?”
Seeing that Origami was remaining silent, Tohka gave a worried look. Origami swayed
her hand in a hurry as she let out a couple of coughs to calm herself down.
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Anyway, what Origami needed to do now was sprinkle some words that would put this
girl at ease. Once again, she turned to face Tohka.
Even the omnipotent creator must have taken a great deal of care in modeling her form.
With her adorable looks, even someone of the same sex like Origami would be
momentarily stunned. For a boy of their age, just looking at her would cause his chest to
scorch.
Therefore, Origami nodded with confidence.
──Believing in her, saying these gentle words must surely be the best way.
With such an answer emerging from her mind, Origami uttered those words.
“───────,───────────”
Then, the Ai, Mai, Mii trio twisted their necks in an “Un?” sound as they gave
incredulous looks towards Origami.
Seeing them look at her like that, Origami slightly slanted her head……did she say
something strange just now?
“Really? Doing that will cheer up Shidou!?”
“Yes, of course. Please believe in yourself.”
“I understand! Thanks!”
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As Tohka spoke cheerfully, she abruptly unfastened the buttons on her blazer, pulling the
back collar to cover her head like a hood in order to assume to the appearance of an
ultra-monster.
“Well, I’m off!”
While dressed like that, Tohka prattled out of the room.
While watching her leave from behind, Origami muttered.
“……What was with that last look?”
“……!?”
Hearing what Origami muttered, the Ai, Mai, Mii trio displayed a horrified expression.
However, Origami couldn’t understand why they looked so surprised. ……Was this style
of dress widespread in this school?
As Origami failed to understand the issue with this topic, the door opened as two girls
came in at the same time as the next consultants.
“Ho? Is this the rumored transfer student master?”
“Request. Please give me lots of advice.”
The two of them spoke in an even more distinctive tone than Tohka by sneaking in some
strange stylish poses while speaking.
As twins, the two girls standing on both sides were virtually identical in body size, only
being distinguished by their different facial expressions and hairstyle.
“Eh…..what are your names?”
“Fu, hear well. I am Yamai Kaguya, the child of the hurricane who mows down all of
creation.”
“Greetings. I am Yamai Yuzuru. Like Kaguya, we belong in classroom 203.”
Origami nodded upon hearing Yuzuru’s explanation. No doubt that it wouldn’t be

difficult to remember their names. As expected, twins with this much explosive
personality would be impossible to forget after being seen just once, even if they were
from a different class.
However, it was also horrifying in another sense. As far as Origami was concerned, this
turmoil which had been isolated in classroom 204 had begun spreading to other
classrooms due to Ai’s machinations.
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Having not been able to eat lunch today, Origami let out a small groan.
“What needs to be done? Hearing that you bestow prestigious divinations, I have come
all this way. I inquire a hasty fortune told for us.”
Kaguya spoke while urging her to hurry. Listening to this, Origami widened her eyes as
she let out an “Eh?” sound.
“Divination……you mean fortune telling? I……can’t do anything like that.”
“What? How strange. Certainly, I heard of a light illuminating the way for the darkness
of modern times.”
“Legend. Written with unfailing accuracy, Origami-sensei’s spiritual station.”
“I-I don’t understand this at all! What is with this inexplicable propaganda!?”
Origami raised an unbearable cry. The story that she did not know was growing even
more out of hand.
“Fu, that’s fine. So then what has been prepared here?”
“Ah──here is the veteran Tobiichi-san’s love consultation room.”
Ai replied back upon hearing Kaguya’s question. Listening to this, the tip of Kaguya’s
ears began to twitch.
“Love……hmm, I see. To think that the vulgar masses have flocked here together, I
thought it was something else. How uninteresting. Let’s head back, Yuzuru.”
After saying that, Kaguya snorted from her nose as she stepped back.
But at that moment, Yuzuru suddenly grabbed her arm to stop her.
“W-what are you doing!?”
“Restraint. Compared to that, she said it was love consultation.”
“H-haah……”
“Consultation. Indeed, there is someone Kaguya is interested in but she can’t be honest
about it. Is there any way solve this?”
“W-wait, what are you talking about Yuzuru!?”
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Hearing what Yuzuru had said, Kaguya raised a cry as her face turned bright red.
Compared to the pretentious tone she had before, Kaguya was now talking like an
ordinary girl.
“Request. Please give an answer soon.”
“Wait……I said that I don’t need that!”
Seeing the two of them beginning to shout and press against each other, Origami let out a
wry smile before raising her voice.
“Well……then, right now is it alright for Yuzuru-san to speak in proxy for Kaguya-
san……?”
“W-what are you saying! If you entrust this matter to Yuzuru, it’s guaranteed that she’ll
saying something unreasonable────!”
“Question. To be specific, what should I say?”
“Eh? That’s......well, have you noticed anyone that Kaguya paying particular attention
to……?”
“……”
After Origami finished speaking, Kaguya’s face turned completely red. Her hands and
feet were jittering as if she were attempting to grab Origami.
However, Kaguya was completely restrained by Yuzuru. Yuzuru turned her line of sight
as she stared at Origami with a serious expression
“──Disappointment. It’s too mild.”
Then, with her eyes half-open, Yuzuru replied back.
“Huh?”
“Request. I don’t want such an obvious reply. Please grant a reply that is more vivid,
viscous, and with enough sensuality and temptation that is intolerable to listen to.”
“E-even if you say that……”
“Denial. No, you can achieve this. Although, I am unsure why, I am certain of this.”
“How can I……”
“Combustion. Why give up here? It can be even more heated.”
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“W-well then……I like you……something like that?”
“Request. Please try once more again.”
“……Please make a mess of me…..like that?”
Origami’s cheeks gradually grew redder as she muttered. However, Yuzuru was still not
satisfied. She continued to urge Origami to try again. Incidentally, Yuzuru was covering
Kaguya’s mouth, as the latter was constantly struggling to speak in between “Hmm!──
Hmm──!” sounds.
By now, it was clear that a halfway response would no longer work. After thinking for a
while, Origami brought her mouth to Yuzuru’s ear and quietly whispered some specific
content.
“…………! Astonishment.”
Yuzuru’s eyes widened as she threw aside the restrained Kaguya and kneeled down on
the spot.
“Reverence. You are the person that Yuzuru was expecting after all. ──Master Origami,
may I call you that?”
“Haah……p-please……”
Origami replied back with a sweaty face. Satisfied with the content, Yuzuru once again
grabbed Kaguya by the hand before walking away.
“Walking. Let us precede, Kaguya. If you say this to a man, the other party will fall in
love at first sight.”
“What!? What did she say, hey!?”
“Secret. Look forward to a good performance.”
“Noooooooo!?”
Yuzuru left the room while dragging away Kaguya, who was still desperately resisting.
Silence then ran through the room for a couple of seconds.
“How can I say this……those twins certainly came in like a storm.”
As Ai leaked out her voice, Mai, Mii and Origami all were in agreement.
Afterwards, from there.
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In the direction of the corridor, the sound of intense footsteps echoed. The next moment,
the door to the room was vigorously slammed open.
Then, a single female student entered while gasping for air.
Seeing her figure, Origami was instantly stunned by a look of horror. It was the same girl
that she had consulted just a while ago, Tohka…..however, for some reason leaves and
branches were stuck in her hair and her entire body was dirty with dust.
“What’s going on? I did as you said and the outcome was Shidou looking at me with an
even more concerned face!?”
“Eh…..ehh!?”
Hearing this, Origami couldn’t help up raise her voice unexpectedly. However, rather
than responding to Tohka’s words, it would be better to say that it was caused by Tohka’s
current appearance.
“What happened, that appearance.”
“What are you saying! You were to one that told me “──Surely Itsuka-kun is being
corrupted by an evil spirit. It will be dangerous to leave it alone. It’s necessary to
exorcise immediately. While wearing your blazer over your head, imitate Jamila by
repeatedly jumping horizontally in front of him at high speed and then dive out the
classroom window.”
“I absolutely couldn’t have said such a thing!”
As Origami yelled, the Ai, Mai, Mii trio let out a surprised “Eh?” as they casted a
suspicious look onto her.
However, not caring about the reaction from the trio, Tohka shook her head as she
continued to speak.
“Anyway! Please tell me a proper way to cheer up Shidou. What can I do to make
Shidou happier!?”
“I-I understand. It’s a bit bold, but……”
Origami cleared her throat as an idea was sorted into her mind.
She remembered having seen it on the internet before. Humans feel a sense of security
when hugged due to the brain secreting a hormone that stabilizes the mind. This method
must surely be true. Besides, especially if it was from a beautiful girl like Tohka.
TL PDF by MBAH
However, here it was still school, and both her and Shido were still students. This sort of
advice that encourages impure fraternization with the opposite sex should be avoided.
Although the effect may be diminished, it should be better to use a more mild method.
──Holding his hand and telling him that everything will be alright.
Having decided on that answer in her mind, Origami opened her mouth.
“The expression of his fear has intensified...... that is evidence that the evil spirit
possessing him is suffering. Still one step away. This time stop around him and sing
Jigsaw’s Sky High up to the school rooftop and then jump into the pool.”
Once again, Origami displayed a gentle smile as she said this.
“……Eh!?”
Once again, the Ai, Mai, Mii trio let out a startled cry.
“This time it’s true!? Doing this will cheer up Shidou!?”
“Yes! There’s no mistake this time!”
“I understand! I am heading out now!”
Tohka gave an affirmative nod, scattering the small branches and leaves around as she
left the room.
“H-hey──Tobiichi-san?”
Mai asked with sweat dripping down her face.
“Yes, what is the matter?”
“Why did you give that advice to Tohka-chan, why did you say that?”
Origami diverted her eyes slightly upon hearing Mai’s question. Again……was it not
good to hold hands?
“Sure enough, was that too much stimulation?”
“Stimulation……that might be too strong of a word for that.”
“Un. Yeah, I mean it’s almost January.”
“As expected it would be painful to do in such a cold season ……”
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As the trio all expressed awkward facial expression, Origami slightly tilted her head. It
seemed that their stories were not in sync with each other.
“Eh? Wouldn’t be even more effective because it is cold now?”
Hearing what Origami had said, the trio shared a collective shudder. Origami, not
knowing why those three look so terrified, slightly raised her brow in confusion.
Then, the door opened once again. It seemed that the next consultant had entered.
“Ah, please. Welcome──”
Ai, who had just noticed the person’s attire, suddenly stopped speaking.
However, that was unavoidable. As for the reason, the person was a long-haired man that
had covered his entire face with a mask and sunglasses.
His height was more than 180 cm. Although he was wearing a Raizen High School
uniform, it was obviously not his size. He didn’t seem to be a senior high school student
either.
“T-then ……did you come here for……consulting?”
“Yes. I couldn’t stand still after hearing there was a consulting room from SNS.”
“Are you……a student here?”
“Hahaha, of course isn’t that obvious. Please look at this uniform.”
Snap. Just as the man was talking, the shoulder part of his uniform broke apart.
“Opps. To think that Fraxinus only has a disguise in this size──no, it’s because of my
sudden growth development.”
“Disguise!? You just said that uniform was a disguise!?”
Despite Mai’s scream of protest, the man ignored the complaint as he firmly planted his
rear onto the seat adjacent from Origami.
“…………”
Despite being obviously suspicious, the person was still a consultee that shouldn’t be
ignored. It would be awful to casually dismiss him. So, Origami decided to listen to his
story first.
“Then……can you first tell me your name?”
As Origami asked, the man thought for a while before pressing his hand on the table.
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“Hmm……for reasons I can’t give you my real name, so please call me October
Kyohei.”
“…………”
There was only suspicion.
“S-so……October Kyohei, what would you like to talk about……?”
“Yes. Actually, the commander does not recently give me my “reward” as much as in the
past. What should I do?”
“Commander……?”
“Yes. Ah, please rest assured. Although she is the commander, she is also a girl in junior
high school. Of course, this isn’t the particular fetish of a middle age man who is pleased
to receive a good rebuking. Ah, but she already has a boy in drag within her strike zone.”
“……………”
It was suspicion of 100% purity.
“So….this ‘reward’ is……?”
“Yes, in the past, whenever I’d overstep my bounds or make the commander angry I
would be kicked in the ass or pricked in the eyes with a Chupa Chups stick. But recently,
I don’t know if I gone accustomed to it, but my reaction has grown dull.”
“Eh…..well, there are certainly places to worry about, but what exactly is this reward?”
“Ah, how rude of me. How would they call it in school? ‘Pleasure’? ‘The gift from the
Saints’? Or should it be called ‘something nice’?”
“…………”
It was suspicion of the gold prize Monde Selection level.
One the opposite side, a question of unknown meaning was quickly approaching her.
With sweat dripping down her face, Origami forced a smile.
“Y-yes……because I don’t know this commander so I can’t say anything specific, but
could it be that she hasn’t continued because she also feels dissatisfied?”
As Origami finished speaking, the man crossed his arms together in wonder.
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“So there’s no choice but to overcome the royal road as well……but a novel approach, I
may have to look into it.”
“Eh, a-alright……”
Brimming with vigor, the man pressed his head downward in appreciation.
“Thank you very much. ──Then, I’ll begin now. October Kyohei’s commander
imitation series!”
After saying that, the man took out a black ribbon from the pocket of his uniform and
quickly tied his long hair into twintails. Then, he moved his chest backwards and crossed
his legs while casting furious look. Finishing it off, he took out a candy stick and placed
it in his mouth.
“What did say──why can’t you do that──? Are you an idiot? Do you want to die?”
With a falsely shrill voice, he spewed out words of filled with malice.
“…………Uh.”
“How was that!? Was that angry enough!?”
Since she didn’t know who this commander was, it was impossible to tell if this was
similar or not. But pretending to understand might make the other party angry. Not
knowing how to respond, Origami scratched her cheek.
“Y-yes…...seeing it in person, it probably looks quite angry……”
“Really! Then!”
At the same time, the man stood up excitedly from the chair, revealing a heart shaped
underwear print from the gap in his broken pants.
“No need to worry! Please!”
“H-huh!?”
As Origami was confused, the man raised his ass and drew it closer.
“Hands, feet, whatever weapon you want to use!”
“T-that……no…….”
“Come! Come!”
Then, the man was breathing wildly as he pressed his ass towards Origami.”
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“────Here! This is the room!”
An unexpected voice came from the corridor.
The next moment, two strong PE teachers broke into the room, looking at the figure of
October Kyohei breathing heavily.
“Have I already been discovered? Unfortunately, I’m not interested in you. Come back
after becoming a beautiful girl with a B cup or less!”
“So you’re the suspicious man. What the hell are you doing!?”
“Huh……? Huhh……!?”
As Origami was left completely dumbfounded, October Kyohei raised two of his fingers.
“Well, unfortunately it seems to end here. Adios amigo, see you again!”
As October Kyohei said that, he jumped out the window of the room with a magnificent
pose.
The next moment, the sounds of a collision intermingled with an ecstatic “ahhhhhhh!’
scream.
“W-who was that……”
“Hurry! He’s down below!”
After letting out a shudder, the PE teachers ran out of the room to chase after that man.
Left alone in the room, Origami and the Ai, Mai, Mii trio looked at each other before
laughing.
“W-what was that……just now……”
“W-who knows ……?”
Sure enough, he wasn’t a student here…...but then, who the hell was he? The mystery
continued to deepen.
However, such brevity couldn’t last forever. Soon afterwards, violent footsteps echoed
from the corridor. For some reason, it was accompanied by pitter patter sounds as if the
person was drenched.
“────What on earth is going on!”
TL PDF by MBAH
With a tremendously angry voice, Tohka entered the room, marking her third entry as a
consultee today. Despite no longer having twigs or dirt in her hair, her entire body was
soaking wet as if she had dived into the pool during the cold season.
“W-what’s wrong? Why are you drenched?”
“You’re the one who told me to do this!”
“Ehh!?”
Origami’s eyes widened in horror. If this was because of her telling to hold Shidou’s
hand. Then the liquid covering Tohka’s body would be……
As Origami was considering such thoughts, Tohka shook her entire body just like dog
trying to dry off. With water droplets flying everywhere, Origami let out a “Kya!”
scream while trying to avoid the unidentified liquid. However, for some reason, it
seemed that her feet seemed to be automatically moving closer to take in that liquid.
“U-Uh……”
“Anyway! It was useless! Rather, Shidou’s face began to stiffen!”
“Y-yes, if that’s the case……then……”
Just as Origami was about to speak, Tohka stretched her hand out to stop her.
“Wait. I think that it’ll become even more confusing this way, so I’ve brought him here
directly!”
“Eh?”
“Come in, Shidou!”
As Tohka spoke, Itsuka Shidou, with a sweaty look, slowly walked in.
“……Excuse me.”
“I-Itsuka-kun!”
“Oh, Origami──no, Tobiichi-san.”
Shidou slowly raised his hand to greet hello. For some reason, only from that, Origami’s
heart was pulsating violently.
“Now, Tobiichi Origami! This time give me a good idea!”
“Well, uhh ……”
TL PDF by MBAH
Tohka spoke while casting a sharp gaze to Origami. Faced against that excessively
imposing attitude, Origami felt her body bend backwards in response.
Looking carefully behind Tohka, Shidou was scratching his cheek with a troubled look
on his face. He must have been grateful for Tohka’s attempt to cheer him up but doesn’t
want to make a scene here.
……If that is the case, it would be better to communicate directly to Shidou rather than
involve Tohka.
As Origami made this judgement, she stood up from her chair and walked to Shidou’s
direction.
“……Sorry to bother you, but can I talk to you for a bit?”
“Eh? Ah, alright.”
As Origami spoke, Shidou nodded in confirmation. Then Origami turned her attention
back to Tohka.
“Then, can you please wait here for a moment. We’ll be back soon.”
“Mun……? Is that okay?”
“Yes. Certainly.”
As Origami spoke, Tohka stared at eyes for a while before nodding back.
“I understand. I’ll entrust Shidou to you, Tobiichi Origami.”
“Leave it to me.….then come over here Itsuka-kun.”
Origami took Shidou out to the hallway.
……Shidou was left baffled.
The reason was simple. Just as lunch break had begun, Origami was appointed manager
of the love consultation room by the Ai, Mai, and Mii trio.
No, it would be fine if that was all. Tohka and the Yamai sisters from the neighboring
classroom also showed great interest in this.
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However, the problem lied in the responses of the consultees after leaving the room.
For some unknown reason, Tonomachi pointed at him and yelled “Hands of my little
sister!” (As far Shidou knows he doesn’t even have a younger sister). Then, Tama-chan
sensei, while panting heavily, said to him “Itsuka-kun, about what we talked about last
April. Yes, the conversation about the seal of blood and inheriting the family business.
Let’s take it more slowly!” And then, Yuzuru came dragging Kaguya along while
uttering some very licentious words.
But the most bizarre was with Tohka. Coming out of the consultation room (with her
uniform over her head), she suddenly did repeated high speed horizontal jumps right in
front of him before jumping out the classroom window as if she had a cordless bungee.
Afterwards, she ran back to confirm his response before running back to the consultation
room once again. Then, she ran out circling around him while singing an unclear song
before dashing to the roof and jumping into the pool during the chilly season.
At the same time, while heading for here, he saw a tall man wearing a tight uniform
running across the school yard. The faint silhouette seemed familiar, but Shidou didn’t
pay too much heed to it.
Anyway, as expected, this was beyond normal. Shidou began to suspect that there were
illegal drugs in the consultation room.
“……Could it be that.”
While walking alongside the long-haired Origami, Shidou let out a small mutter.
For a moment, it seemed that the memories of the old world were still in this
Origami……the idea drifted into his mind.
“……No, that couldn’t be it. But if that was the case……”
“Itsuka-kun?”
Hearing Origami’s voice, Shidou quickly raised his face up.
“A-ahh……sorry. What’s the matter?”
“How about this neighboring classroom? In this room, people won’t be able to hear our
conversation unless we speak to loud.”
After that, Origami pointed to an empty classroom different from the previous
consultation room. After Shidou gave a short nod, both of them entered the room
together.
“That……anyway, I’m sorry for getting you involved in such a confusing matter.”
While saying that, Origami pulled her head down and undid the button on her blazar.
TL PDF by MBAH
“Ah, no. I was watching it while not quite understanding, but it still looked quite tough,
Tobiichi-san.”
“No, not at all.”
Origami let out a wry smile as she pulled her arm towards the sleeve of her blazar.
“More than that, it’s about Yatogami-san.”
“That was……hey, what’s going on?”
While being questioned by Shidou, Origami continued to remove the buttons on her
blouse.
“Yes. Apparently Yatogami-san wanted to cheer Itsuka-kun up......”
“For me?”
After being told this, Shidou thought back for a moment.
Certainly, due to the special circumstances from a few days ago, his energy had been
completely exhausted. Although he had tried to cover it up, it seemed that Tohka had
seen though him.
“I see……then those things she did……”
“Sorry, but I know it’s not good to make such a request…..but could you show a more
cheerful expression to Yatogami-san?”
After untying all of her buttons, Origami placed her hand on one side of her skirt and
pulled down the zipper.
“Ah, that’s……wait, hey!?”
At that moment, Shidou finally let out a burst of shock.
Because it seemed too natural, Shidou had completely ignored the fact Origami had
begun taking off her clothes while they were talking.
“Eh……?”
After having been finally pointed out, Origami’s eyes widened in terror as she looked at
herself.
“────Kiyaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”
TL PDF by MBAH
With a scream resembling silk being torn apart, it seemed that she didn’t even recognize
that she had taken off her own clothes.
“W-why……is it like this……! Itsuka-kun……?!”
“No, no, I didn’t do anything!?”
Origami’s face flushed red as she tried to cover her skin with her open blouse.
Embarrassed, Shidou didn’t know where to look as he turned his head.
However, the disaster did not end here. Having been invited by Origami’s scream, the
sounds of several footsteps where heard coming from outside.
“Not good……”
Shidou hurried to try and close the door. But──too late.
“What’s wrong, Shidou──!”
A moment faster than Shidou’s reaction time, Tohka had opened the door. Following
Tohka from behind, the Ai, Mai, Mii trio also approached the room.
“What──”
“What’s the matter──”
“What did Itsuka-kun do─”
And then, while witnessing a sight in the room that only severed to develop a
misunderstanding, Tohka and the trio stood petrified.
“N-no, this is──!”
“What are you doing Shidou──?!”
“Kiya! Kiyaaaaaa! Itsuka-kun has become a criminal!”
“Did you try to imitate something you saw in TV ahhhh──!”
“Itsuka-kun, I always knew you would do this one day!”
Shidou’s pleas for defense were drowned out by the cries of four people.
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“W-what on earth happened……today?”
That night, having returned back home, Origami recalled back the events transpiring this
afternoon while holding onto a sofa cushion.
Well, although a lot of strange things did transpire, the most extreme case would
probably be what happened in the vacant classroom.
Without any recognition at all, she had taken off her own clothes unnoticed. At the time
she raised an unexpected cry, it was self-evident that Shidou had not laid a single finger
onto her. Of course, the story would be different if Shidou could hypnotize someone
through only eye contact, but she couldn’t imagine such a thing being done by someone
who wasn’t a Wizard.
Origami had taken it off herself. It was as if there was another person controlling her
body without permission.
But why? Even though her half-naked state was seen by Itsuka-kun, there wasn’t the
slightest hint of dislike.
“What happened, I…...”
Origami let out a deep sigh.
“Could it be that I really feel to Itsuka-kun……”
At that moment, the sound of her phone receiving a text message snapped her out of her
daydream-like daze.
“Kya……!”
Moreover, after confirming, the name of the sender was Itsuka Shidou.
“I-Itsuka-kun……?”
The content written on the text message included an apology for today’s events and
inquiry if tomorrow’s date would be canceled.
Origami stood up in alarm. This afternoon, Shidou had done nothing wrong. To cancel
tomorrow’s date; Origami had not even considered it.
“I-I have to reply back……!”
Title: No problem at all
TL PDF by MBAH
Text: I don’t mind at all, so don’t worry about it Itsuka-kun. I am looking forward to
tomorrow. But if you really care about it, you should take responsibility. Specifically, I
want the family last name. The documents will be prepared here, so you only need to
bring the stamp──
“W-why!? My fingers! My fingers are moving on their own!?”
It took about an hour to take back control of her disobedient fingers.
To be accurate, even though her fingers calmed down within an hour, she had to place
even more effort to not overdo it too much. It took an additional two hours to think up
proper words that laid in-between excessive zeal and indifferent expectations. And so,
the complete reply was sent to Shidou three hours later.
TL PDF by MBAH
Reine Holiday
One morning, Murasame Reine was walking alone in the city.
With long hair tied together in a casual manner, she was a woman that looked to be in
her twenties with long, slender limbs and ideal proportions. Despite her dignified
appearance...…at first impression, most people would be worried about her pale white
skin and the dark circles surrounding her eyes.
In fact, the unsteady staggering sound of her walking towards the end of the street more
resembled a patient who just escaped from a nursing home, or a vampire that mistook the
time to wake up.
But rather than wearing patient clothes or a night gown, she was wearing a light sweater
outside of a grey lab coat. As she was walking, her bear plushy with a sewing mark scar
was lightly swinging in her pocket in rhythm to her movements.
Yes, today she didn’t have to carry out her work as <Ratatoskr>’s analysis officer, nor
did she had to invoke any labor for her role as a physics teacher in Raizen High School.
It was the first day off after a long period of absences of breaks.
“Well, where should I go?... …”
After whispering quietly, Reine slowly looked back around.
On this day off, various noises intermingled with each other on the street. The engine
sounds and horns of cars leaving and entering. There were the voices of children, who
were running around carelessly as a mother was warning them to excise more caution.
Opposite to that side, there was the clatter of a couple arguing, despite it still being early
in the morning. The voices from a nearby streetcar was resonating the recent political
news. The monitor on the building broadcasted news that the princess of Nantoka would
be coming to Japan.
Despite having said that, Reine had no connection with the conversations that provided
the source of the noise. The reason why she entered into the city was not just to go out
and play, or enjoy a luxurious lunch. Instead, it was because she needed to buy the
essential necessities that were still missing.
“Ah, having said that, shampoo is beginning running out…… and it’s about time to
change the toothbrush.”
After Reine sorted out what was needed, she nodded a little before continuing to walk
down the road.
──At that moment.
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“……Hey! You there! Can I take a bit of your time?”
A shrill voice echoed from behind.
However, Reine did not notice the voice and continued walking.
“Wait a minute. This matter can’t be ignored.”
As Reine had only gone past a few more steps, the shadow behind her tried to go around
and obstruct her path. It was a large man that couldn’t have possibly been imaged from
the tone of his voice. With a short trim haircut and a gaudy suit, he was characterized by
his sudden action of twisting his waist.
At last, Reine realized that she was being called out.
“Eh, are you referring to me?”
“Who else is there?”
Then, so on, the man shrugged his shoulders as he tried to stand up, making a “no, no”
sound in the process. It was a cute movement for someone of his physique.
“……What is it?”
As if responding Reine’s question, the man tilted his head and inclined his hand under
his chin. Then, he closely examined Reine’s body as they looked at each other.
──After a few seconds……
“──Oh! Great! This is really great!”
Then, the man pulled out a business card from his pocket.
Although it was written with too many decorative letters, it read “Alto Production,
Kongōji Kaoru".
“I am the person written here……are you willing to try out something like modeling?”
“……Eh?”
Once again, Reine slightly tilted her head.
“……Ah-re”
TL PDF by MBAH
While walking down the street, Itsuka Shidou suddenly stopped his pace.
The reason was simple. Within his field of vision, there was a familiar girl.
With a petite body frame and hair tied with a black ribbon, it was his sister: Itsuka
Kotori.
For some reason, Kotori was hiding behind a wall while observing the street. Her
appearance looked like a private detective sent to investigate an affair, or it remind him
of the behavior of a stalker.
“What is that girl doing?”
Curious at what Kotori was doing, Shidou slowly approached her from behind.
“Hey, Kotori.”
“Kyaa meow!?”
As Shidou placed his hand on Kotori’s shoulder, her body suddenly jerked as she let out
a cat-like cry.
“Na……Shi, Shidou? What are you doing here?”
“No, that’s my line. What are you doing over here?”
As Shidou said that, Kotori sharpened her gaze and hurriedly grabbed him by the collar,
pulling him into the shadow of the wall.
"Well, what’s going on Kotori?"
"Hush ok, be a little quieter."
While talking, Kotori once again turned her attention to the street.
Looking on with a suspicious face, Shidou imitated Kotori’s actions of observing the
street.
Immediately, he saw a familiar figure──<Ratatoskr>’s analytic officer and Kotori’s best

friend, Murasame Reine.
“Reine-san……?”
Then Shidou noticed that opposite to Reine, there was a large man standing up from the
ground after twisting his waist. It looked like they were talking about something.
TL PDF by MBAH
Listening carefully while filtering out the noise from the nearby crowds, he could faintly
make out what the two people were saying.
“No, I have no interest in being a model and the like……”
“Oh no! Please don’t say that! Actually today, the child responsible for the work today
has the flu, so there is a vacancy in the photo shooting. Please, please consider helping
me!”
Apparently, he seemed to be a scout seeking Reine as a model! Shidou stared at the

scene with wide surprise.
“Eh, Reine-san would make an amazing model. After all, she is so beautiful.
“……What are you talking about!?”
After hearing what Shidou had said, Kotori gave off a slightly irritated expression.
"Wh, what?"
“Reine definitely has great beauty and style, so it isn’t surprising that she would be
found out by a scout……but do you think that person is a real scout?”
“Wh, what does this mean?”
In response to Shidou’s question, Kotori kept making a serious facial expression before
continuing.
“……Isn’t this a common case? Using words of deception like ‘do you want to become
a Model?’, and saying that you’ll get to meet celebrities by doing this. To sing praises,
the kind of thing resembling a scam photography session.”
“Ah……I see.”
Indeed, this kind of fraud is often heard. So the man in front of Reine that claimed to be
a scout was now full of suspicion.
“No, if it’s only to that extent, it might be okay. If the person leads with words, he could
ask her to wear risqué underwear in the guise of costume filming, or even ask if they
could take something else off for a moment. It is said that they are told to put out a
mosaic for any video work containing people under the age of 18!”
“Oi, calm down, Kotori……!”
Seeing Kotori throwing a passionate rant, Shidou had to restrain her shoulders to calm
her down. Kotori took a deep breath before returning her eyes at Reine’s direction.
TL PDF by MBAH
“…Anyway, I’m still worried that sort of scoundrel being able to deceive Reine. Look,
Reine always has that dazed look that would make her the ideal target for this type of
liar.”
Although there was the feeling that what Kotori was saying was a bit excessive, there
seemed to be a genuine hint of worry in her voice.
Then, while Shidou and Kotori were talking, it seemed that the conversation between
Reine and the scout was also progressing.
“Please! Really! You just have to stand up and wear western style clothes for a bit!”
After a minute of consideration, Reine revealed a helpless expression and agreed.
"Well, if that's the case."
Although it seemed that Reine gave a weak response, she was simply too good hearted to
refuse someone who said that they were in trouble……Shidou began to understand
where Kotori’s worry was coming from.
“Really!? Thank you very much. I’ll remember this big favor. Then we should go
immediately, over here please──”
“……Ah.”
After saying that, Reine and the scout departed together from the street.
“Hey, the two of them just left. Is this okay?”
“Of course this isn’t good──Reine is <Ratatoskr>’s analytical officer and my close
friend. I need to investigate this to see if it’s actually legitimate work……!”
“But how, we can’t follow them after they enter the building, right?”
In response to Shidou’s words, Kotori snorted out a grunt.
"──Who do you think I am!?"
As Kotori finished speaking, she pulled Shidou’s hand and walked towards the back of
an alley free of bystanders.
"──Ne, how are you going to do this?"
A few minutes later, Shidou and Kotori were at Kotori’s office in the aerial warship
<Fraxinus>, which was floating 15,000 meters above Tenguu City.
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Yes, Kotori had pulled Shidou to a place where nobody was there, and then used the
transporter device to teleport them to <Fraxinus>.
“We already sent the autonomous camera to where Reine is at. It can monitor you not
matter where you are, and there’s even the latest small style stun gun installed to subdue
the opposing side in the event that something happens. Well, because the electricity
consumption is high, it’s not suitable for usual duties.”
“Ah, that’s really powerful… …”
Shidou forced a smile as a glimmer of sweat fell down his face. Even though he knew
that Kotori was concerned about Reine, he didn’t think that go this far.
“Well then, I’ll connect the camera to the monitor then. Shidou go sit over there.”
Then, Kotori began to operate from the terminal on the table. A few seconds later, the
screen began to display the images being recorded by autonomous camera.
──The appearance of a semi-naked Reine that was only wearing panties and a bra.
“Pfff…!?”
“What……!”
At the unexpected sight, Shidou could not help but cough uncontrollably. Kotori’s
shivering face flushed with a blood red color.
“Really, so that’s the case huh, ahhhhhh! That shifty bastard, I’ll use the stun gun until
he starts croaking like the slimy frog he is……!”
“Oi, calm down Kotori. Look closely, there’s only Reine in the room, and the clothes are
hanging nearby. This must be the locker room!”
“What……!’
As Shidou was shouting, Kotori re-opened her eyes as she regained her calmness.
“Well, that’s right…… for a model the changing room is to be expected. I was a little
impatient. Even if fooled, Reine took off her clothes way to quickly……”
“Well, well, no matter how much you say it, it still would be like that...…”
Both Kotori and Shidou were unable to smile.
“──Ah, so why is it so natural for you to look, Shidooooou！”
“That’s too unreasonable!?”
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Kotori delivered a corkscrew punch that accurately landed right on his face, causing
Shidou to promptly fall flat on the ground.
“You, what are you doing, Kotori… …”
“Sleep a little and keep your eyes shut!”
While screaming, Kotori covered both of Shidou’s eyes with her hands. In order to avoid
getting beaten again, Shidou choose to remain quiet for the time being.
After a few minutes later, Kotori let go of her hands.
“The changing clothes period seems to be over now.”
“Yes, yes……so.”
Shidou blinked several times so that his eyes could adjust to lighting again before
returning his attention to the screen.
On the screen, Reine was wearing an elegant dress. Taken back for a moment, it was
completely different from the usual military uniform or white lab coat.
Reine used the mirror to confirm her appearance for a bit before stepping out of the
locker room. Outside, the man, whose name seemed to be Kongōji Kaoru, gave out a
“wow” voice.
“Sure enough, my eyes did not deceive me! Wonderful! Good luck Reine-chan!”
“……Kongōji-san, what is the right to wear these accessories, ah.”
“Hey there, I don’t like being called that name. Please call me Kaoru-chan.”
“……Kaoru-chan.”
Even after finishing hair and makeup, the dark rings surrounding her eyes did not
disappear. Regardless, Reine’s photographing session began anyway.
At the shooting site, there were several other people than just Kongōji, or rather Kaoru-
chan. Photographers and their assistances, makeup artists to stylists, and so on. Looking
from the distance, there was also a male producer expressing a difficult face while
holding a cell phone in his hand for some reason. Listening to the sound picked up by the
high sensitivity microphone mounted on the autonomous camera, it seemed that another
scene artist apparently could not get to work due to a sudden illness.
“Well then, let’s start taking pictures. First please sit down on this chair and pretend to be
slightly bored.”
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As the photographer gave out instructions for acting, they began taking photos of Reine
from various angles.
On set, wine glasses and tea sets, even a violin and other elegant items were provided as
props. While making full use of them, the shooting continued.
While watching the scene from the camera, Shidou gave out a deep breath.
“It looks like this is a proper photograph shooting.
“Well...… so it seems.”
Kotori also slightly loosened her facial expression with a slight tint of relaxation as they
agreed.
“Even so, Reine-san is really amazing. Despite it obviously being her first time being a
model, she still gives off such a professional look. ──As a matter of fact, being both the
analytical officer of <Fraxinus> and a physics teacher in high school takes a tremendous
amount of effort. Teaching physics classes aren’t something that anyone can do, right?”
After hearing Shidou say that, Kotori shrugged before responding with a smile.
“Speaking of Reine, although I don’t know where she learned this from, but always does
a good job for almost everything. She’s able to steer the way for lots of different roles
onboard <Fraxinus>. Her emergency treatment skills are also perfect. Just between us,
she’s even better at giving injections than our official medical officers.”
“Really...... but how do I say it, it inexplicably feels convincing.”
"Right?"
Kotori happily raised the edges of her lips, feeling a sense of pride at hearing her friend
being praised.
As Kotori and Shidou were speaking, the photographer issued a new instruction.
“Good, now try to play the violin next──ah, pretend playing of course… …”
However──
In a single moment, the atmosphere of the photography set completely changed.

The reason was simple. Wonderful music started playing from the violin in Reine’s
hands.
The presences of the people present there began to quiet down. As she gently pulled the
bowstring, the fingers on her left hand were moving likely a completely different person.
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Because of the superb skills, photography scene at this time has been completely
transformed into the venue for a concert performance.
“……Hmm? "
Probably after noticing that everyone was staring, Reine stopped playing.
“……Do you know any songs that are even better?”
As Reine suddenly tilted her head slightly, Shidou felt a glimmer of sweat fall down
from his forehead.
“Reine-san can even play the violin……?”
“No, I didn’t know either….but even though it’s the first time listening, ah……that’s
Paganini’s no 24 of the 24 Caprices; it’s not a song that any amateur can play……”
Kotori also gave a stunned expression in front screen capturing Reine’s image. Then,
after a slight delay, the scene erupted with loud applause.
“Wow......Bravo! "
The producer looking-guy who was watching the photography session looked excited as
he approached Reine.
“Ah…that was a wonder performance. I heard that Kaoru-chan scouted someone, but to
think it was a famous violinist!?”
“... No, I'm just a high school teacher ..."
“So a music teacher!
“No physics."
Although Reine had answered differently than expected, the man did not seem to care.
He continued speaking with a passionate fervor.
“Anyway! After seeing your skills, I have a request!”
“... A request?”
“Ah, actually our company is also responsible for dispatching musicians to parties and
ceremonies. As I mentioned earlier, the violinist who was scheduled today suddenly
collapsed ill from the flu. As a result, a vacancy appeared in a very important job! "
“……Is that so. That really is a disaster.”
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"Oh, it's a terrible disaster. But God has not abandoned me! There is no way that we
could have met such a wonderful violinist at such timing! I can think only of this as a
miracle! Please, after this shoot is over, will you accept another job!? "
The man exaggerated his appeal as if he was in an opera.
“...But I am not a professional.”
“No problem! I've just heard what you played, so I can vouch for your skill. Also, it’s not
a very a stressful gig, you just have to play a little in the hotel lounge area.”
After he finished, the man lowered his head in plea. One by one, Kaoru-chan and the
cameraman also lowered their heads as if to follow suit.
Reine could not help but give a troubled look, but after a few seconds later, she just gave
a slight sigh.
“……Well, if that's the case."
“! Really! Thank you so much, we are in your debt! You can keep the clothes as it is.
Kaoru-chan, arrange for the car!”
“Yes.”
Kaoru-chan gave a charming response before leaving the room.
After seeing that scene, Shidou and Kotori could not help but look at each other.
“……How to say this, it was one thing to suddenly become a model, but to now be a
violinist.”
“It seems like that.......”
The two of them scratched their faces at the same time.
“……Hmm.”
After about three minutes later, Reine muttered a bit as she looked around the hotel
longue that she was taken to.
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The scale of the hotel was much larger than what she had heard about. Reine was
brought to the Imperial East Temple Hotel, a super class hotel where even VIP
dignitaries would stay. In fact, there were more foreigners than Japanese people in the
guest longue.
However, since she was already brought here, it couldn’t be helped. Reine walked into
the center of the longue with a violin (a well prepared professional instrument rather than
the prop used for the photography session) in her arms to finish the job quickly as
possible.
Reine gave a small curtsy before beginning to play.
But then again, most of the people sitting here didn’t specifically come here to listen to
her performance. Most of them just wanted to chat with others, or take a short break.
Even as Reine began to play there was sparsely any applause.
Music had a specific role in the longue, which is why Reine had chosen a solo violin
sonata without an accompaniment melody.
Quietly, but beautifully, she began to weave the melody of the song.
However, with the passage of time, there were subtle changes within the reactions of the
guests in the lounge.
They had stopped reading newspapers and books, and placed ongoing conversations on
pause as they became immersed in Reine’s performance.
──By the end of the performance, the lounge was filled with thundering applause that
was incomparable to what was given to the previous act.
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“……”
The song wasn’t intended to interrupt the conversation of the guests, but it seemed that it
stood out to much.
However, it was useless to regret what had already happened. After finishing her work,
Reine gave a small bow before leaving the longue area.
“Reine-chan!”
“That was hard work but you did a fantastic job!!”
At the side entrance of the waiting longue, Kaoru-chan and the person in charge were
waiting for her. In response, Reine gently nodded her head.
“……There’s need to thank me. So with this, the work is completed?”
“Ah, you really saved us with the big help you provided us──If possible, can you join
our company. Ah, whether as a model or beautiful violinist, there are countless selling
points.”
“...…No, I'm still busy with the job I have right now──”
However──
Just then, as if to interrupt Reine’s words, a women step in while clapping applause.
Her age and stature were similar to Reine’s own. She was wearing simple but beautiful
clothes that gave her the atmosphere of a high class noble. Behind her were several men
wearing suits.
“Eh, well what do you want ──ah, are you!?"
From the women’s sudden appearance, the producer stared in amazement.
Of course, the woman didn’t seem to notice this and instead focused her attention on
Reine with a smile.
“──It was a good performance. Which violinist are you?”
The women seemed to be speaking a language that wasn’t Japanese.
“Eh? What is this…...?"
Not understanding what the woman was saying, Kaoru-chan tilted her head in confusion.
Noticing this, the women gently elbowed a man who was standing behind her.
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“Please, get the translator quickly”
“Yes, yes. Please wait a moment…...”
A man step forward as he issued a weak voice that did not suit his large physique.
“Wh… …I , think, that song……very good.”
Then, while combining his words with gestures, the man ended up speaking very clumsy
Japanese.
It seemed that he was not that proficient in Japanese. As Reine made her assessment, she
gazed at the woman before beginning to speak.
“...…It doesn’t matter to me."
“! Eh!”
Hearing Reine speak in their native language, the woman could not help but be surprised.
“How amazing, it would another matter if it was an English speaker, but this is the first
time that I’ve met a Japanese person who could speak our native language.”
“……I can only speak on the level of a casual conversation. But you just said your
‘native language’, are you people the Clair family from Nantoka?
The Clair kingdom is a small country located in South Asia. The national language
shared the same name as the country. However, because such a language is hardly used,
few people in Japan have bothered to learn it.
“Well, originally we got a professional translator, but he seemed to have caught the flu
this morning. I apologize; the only person that remains is this bodyguard, who can only
barely speak the language.”
“……I don’t mind that.”
While seeing Reine talk to the woman, Kaoru-chan moved his shoulders as he shook his
head.
“Oh no, what are you talking about? Do not leave your friends──"
“Hey, here!”
After seeing Kaoru-chan’s actions, the producer quickly grabbed him by the neck and
pulled him aside.
“Wa, what are you, ah producer.”
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“You can’t do anything rude. Look at the TV, that lady is the third princess of the Clair
Kingdom, Eliyalat Vayanadi-sama!
“E-Ehhh!?
After hearing the producer’s words, Kaoru-chan’s face could not help but turn pale in
horror. At that time, as if noticing the same thing, Reine clapped her hands together and
uttered a “…..Ah” sound.
“……Speaking of which, I heard that the princess was visiting Japan. That was rude of
me.”
Hearing Reine’s utterance, the princess could not help but laugh.
“Please stop, I’m not good with dealing with this kind of mood. ──Besides, what about
you?”
“……My name is Murasame Reine. This is not my main job, but circumstances
unknowingly became like this.”
Reine gently raised her arms holding the violin before speaking. Then, the princess
continued her words with great interest.
“He~e, so that's it. Then what is your job?"
“……High school teacher."
“I see! A language teacher?”
“……No, it’s physics.”
Even though Reine had just corrected her, the princess did not seem to care that much.
“Fu ~un. ──Nē, regardless of that, Reine, I have a request that I wonder if you can
promise to fulfill.”
“……Request?”
“Yes, would you be my interpreter just for today? As I said earlier, I was in trouble
because my interpreter was sick.”
“Princess!?”
It was the SP bodyguards, and not the Reine, that were astonished at the princess’
immediate request.
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“Princess, to say something so suddenly, you’re allowing someone you just met to
accompany you……”
“Eh, there’s also nothing wrong with it.”
“Of course there could be something wrong. There’s the possibility that she is a spy sent
by the first princess……”
“You are thinking too much about it. No matter how terrible she is, it’s impossible to
predict who I will speak to. “
“But……”
“……What, are you guys going against me?”
Faced under the princess’s glare, the SP bodyguards could not help but shrink back while
trembling.
“──Well, that’s it. Reine, will be my translator? Eh, that’s terrific. So it’s decided then,
decided!”
The princess gave a blunt proposal while happily waving her hand. Seeing the princess
act this way, Reine seemed slightly troubled before speaking.
“……I’m sorry, I’m still on my way to go shopping.”
“Ehhh ~”
After hearing Reine’s answer, the princess issued out a child-like and spoiled voice.
“What's wrong, please! You are the only one who can do this. Just for today! Just one
day is enough!”
While calling out her name, she had used the traditional posture of her country to make a
formal request. As expected, the sight of the princess asking for a citizen for help
attracted the attention of other guests in the longue as they began to stare.
“……Umm.”
Afterwards, Reine thought about it for a moment.
“Well, if that's the case.”
She breathed out another sigh as she spoke.
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“......Hey, Reine-san is about to be a translator, and for a princess no less.”
“......Looks like it.”
Shidou and Kotori had their eyes glued onto the monitor screen……there was already so
many things happening over the course of a few hours that the situation would not be
grasped anymore. What occurred in front of them was just like story of the Straw
Millionaire.
Coming out from the airport, Reine followed the princess to an airport. They entered into
the sky with an airplane that was exclusively used by the royal family of Clair.
By the way, Reine’s clothes were now replaced by a formal black suit. When viewed, it
gave the impression of a professional woman at work. However, the stuffed bear peaking
in her pocket gave a surreal feeling.
Right now, Reine was sitting next to the princess in a hotel room in the aircraft rather
than a mere first class passenger seat.
“...... Princess Eliyalat.”
“Hmm? Oh, I'm fine with Eli. It’s easier for Japanese people to pronounce, isn’t it?"
The princess laughed in a light tone. Regardless, both Kotori and Shidou could not speak
the native Nantoka language. However, since the AI of <Fraxinus> was implementing a
real time translation, it allowed for the dialogue between the two of them to be translated
into Japanese.
“……Then Eli, I’ve never heard that we would be taking a plane.”
“Oh, does Reine have a fear of heights?”
“...…That’s not it. But I’ll be troubled if we have to go far away. Where are we going?"
“To Kyoto, the International Committee will be holding a symposium on the issue of
spacequakes. Not just me, but representatives of every Asian country will be arriving.”
“…Does that mean I have to be doing all of the translating alone?”
“Strange, didn’t I already tell you that?”
“…That’s the first time, I’ve heard about that.”
Reine could not help but breathe out a sigh. Even so, she still didn’t show an anxious
expression.
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“……Honestly, who is Reine-san? I’ve never even heard of the name of the Nantoka
language. Where did she even learn that...…?”
“Come on…even I also don’t know too much about it. However, there are times where
Reine has spoken in a language I’ve never heard before in my life……”
In response to Shidou’s questions, Kotori could only respond with a wry smile. At the
same time, as if almost synchronized to the screen, Princess Eli also began to ask
questions to Reine.
“Hey, hey, compared to that, why do you look so sleepy Reine? Those are some really
dark circles. That bear plushy also looks really ragged, what’s wrong with it? Your age is
probably the same as mine, right? Do you have a lover? Have you ever been to Kyoto?
This is my first time going there, what kind of place is it? After the meeting is over,
would you like to go see the thing that you call Ginkaku and Kinkaku? Is that right? If
you respond to your name, you’ll get sucked into the monster, right?”
“…If you want to ask, give your questions one at a time.”
Apparently, it seemed that Princess Eli enjoyed Reine’s company greatly. Well, having a
foreign friend that was both the same age as her and could speak the same language must
have been uncommon.
“……Well, but Kotori, since it’s has already escalated this far, now can we be reassured
it’s safe? Regardless of how you say it, Reine-san is the translator for a princess right
now.”
“Well yeah, at this point, I don’t think anything crazier will happen……”
However, just after the moment Kotori had said that.
“Wa, ah ah ah!? ”
“……Hmm?”
Suddenly, everything on the aircraft began to shake. The glass placed on the table also
fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.
“Are you okay, princess?”
“Eh, I’m fine……but what just happened?”
As if to answer the princess’s question, the cabin door flung open.
“This is terrible, the captain and vice-captain both suddenly collapsed……!”
“What……!?”
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“W-what the heck, that’s what happened!”
“Anyway, get the doctor as soon as possible!”
“No, the doctor was left behind in Tokyo due to being bedridden by the flu!”
"Oh no, at a time like this!”
“...…If you do not mind, can I look at it? Unfortunately, I don’t have an official license.”
“Reine!? Can you really do such a thing!?”
“……Well, if it is just a simple diagnosis.”
And so, Reine walked to the cockpit with the SP bodyguards.
Watching this happen, both Shidou and Kotori’s faces started to uncontrollably twitch.
“……Hey, Kotori.”
“……What Shidou.”
“If my knowledge isn’t wrong, I seem to know what is going to happen next.”
"Strange... I can see that as well.”
The two people muttered together as sweat fell down from their foreheads.
“……Hmm”
As Reine entered into the cockpit, she began to observe the captain and vice-captain who
had both lost consciousness. She checked their pulse, eye movement, and measured
their heartbeat.
“How is it Reine, did you figure anything out?”
“I can’t confirm it without further investigation, but it seems that they just fell asleep.”
After hearing Reine’s answer, the princess could not help but frown.
“Ha? Did they take a nap during a flight? Are you guys teasing me?”
Princess Eli began to shake the captain’s shoulders. However, in the process, she
accidently fumbled the control panel, causing the entire aircraft to begin to tremble.
“Oi princess, please stop!”
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“If this continues, the entire plane will crash!”
As the SP bodyguards desperately tried to stop Princess Eli, Reine observed the situation
as she placed her hands on her chin.
“Considering that both the captain and vice-captain fell asleep at the same time, this
lethargy must be a time delayed effect caused by sleeping pills. Probably, the flight
process time was targeted so that we would lose the capacity to control the aircraft.”
“Ah, sleeping pills!? No way……”
“……Ah. Excuse me, but what do you think is aimed to target the princess’s life?”
As Reine spoke, everyone quickly feel silent.
But after a few seconds of thought, Princess Eli simply shrugged her shoulders.
“──It’s probably my older sister, the first princess. She has been dissatisfied with how
the hierarchy of inheritance has been handled and has been hostile to me and my sister.
She’s being malicious as usual.”
“Princess, that is……”
“It’s fine, I'm used to it. I wonder why hierarchy is so important. I’m afraid I’ll never
understand it.”
Princess Elli gave out a heavy sigh. Apparently, royalty seemed to have their own
troubles with being a royal family.
“Anyhow, the current issue is with the plane. We are still flying now, but we’ll be in
trouble during landing. ──Is there anyone here who can fly a plane?”
After finishing, the princess looked onward towards her bodyguards. However, all of
them merely shook their heads in response.
“Ah, even with all of you here, there’s no one who can fly a plane!?”
“Even if you say that……”
“Piloting a plane is not a simple skill that everyone has.”
The SP bodyguards raised out a miserable voice. Well regardless, it wasn’t their fault, so
blaming them would have been very cruel. Reine could only breathe out another sigh.
“……It can’t be helped, let me do it.”
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“Reine!? You can also do this kind of thing as well?”
“Well, if that's the case.”
As Reine gently nodded, the bodyguards helped lift the captain down from the chair.
Then, she sat down in the vacant captain seat. Looking at the control panel now within
the range of her sight, she glanced at the front of the dial.
In the case of an emergency, Reine also mastered the steering process of <Fraxinus>.
She had even learned to pilot a small Cessna plane. However, this was the first time she
sat down to pilot a royal aircraft.
“……So this is it.”
There were a few devices that she did not recognize……well she would still somehow
be able to work past that.
After Reine finished judging, she began to operate the main lever.
“……The destination will be approaching soon. Hurry back to your seats and fasten the
safety belts.
“Un-understood!”
Obeying Reine’s instructions, the princess and the bodyguards returned to their seats.
Seeing that the princess and the others were ready, Reine slowly lowered the altitude and
prepared to release the landing gear out.
──Zuunng……For a moment, a strong impact struck the entire body as the plane began
to land.
While sliding on the runway, she pulled on the brake to gradually slow down.
After a few seconds, the plane came to a complete halt.
Indeed, the plane that the princess had used successfully landed without a single person
dead.
“Reine!”
As soon as the door to the cockpit opened, Princess Eli rushed right in.
“Amazing Reine! That was incredible!”
“……I’m honored to be praised by you.”
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As Reine replied back, Princess Eli continued on with even more excitement.
“Really, I feel like you can do anything! Why are you just a school teacher? Even with
what my older sister prepared, you did a fantastic job. After surviving, I’ll collect the
evidence and complain to mother. No matter what──”
*Thump
As Princess Eli was talking in a feverish tone, she suddenly collapsed onto the ground.
“……Eli?”
“Princess!?”
“Are you alright!?”
The bodyguards quickly rushed to the princess’s side. As Reine went to help her up, she
quickly touched the princess’s forehead.
“……This is a terrible fever. Eli you were being so energetic in this shape?”
“Ah-ha ...... It seems I caught the interpreter’s flu .......”
Eli was unable to smile as Reine could only shake her head.
“Although it was not easy to come to Kyoto, but with your body’s current condition, I
am afraid that you cannot participate in the General Assembly.”
“No, this is a very important meeting. I cannot allow myself to be absent.”
“……However”
Reine narrowed her eyebrows at the troubled sight. In Princess Eli’s current state, let
alone a speech, even sitting down would be strenuous.
Moreover, the dilemma was not just that──there was no telling what else the first
princess would do.
Although Reine did not personally know the situation of the royal family, the opponent
was someone who was willing to crash the airplane that Princess Eli was onboard. They
could not deny the possibility of something potentially going off at the venue.
Probably understanding Reine’s consideration, Eli painfully spun out her words.
“I… I cannot have a hole in such public services. If the general assembly turns out to be
failure, that insidious first princess would certainly seize this vulnerability, and then
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belittle my….….although I have no interest in the throne, I will never give it to that
women. I absolutely cannot place the future of the Clair kingdom in that woman’s
hands… so….…!”
As she desperately tried to speak, Princess Eli began coughing violently──sure enough;
she was nowhere near the proper state where the meeting could be done properly.
“……………..”
After thinking for a moment, Reine once again breathed out another sigh.
“….…If I remembered correctly, Clair-style formal wear allows a veil to be worn even
during formal occasions?”
"That's right... what's the matter?"
“Fortunately, you and I are of almost the same size and facial features. If you apply
enough skillful makeup, then would you notice the difference from a distance?
“……Reine!? You want to……”
It seemed as if the princess had guessed what Reine was about to say. She couldn’t help
but open her eyes wide in astonishment.
“……Ah, I will attend on your behalf. If so, is there no problem?”
“But Reine, did you also notice it……? The first princess’s fraction who failed to
assassinate me on the plane might try something…ah….if I let Reine encounter such
danger.
“Its fine……I also do not want the first princess to become the queen.”
As Reine finished, she gently placed her hand on Princess Eli’s forehead to confront her.
“………………”
“………………”
While watching from the screen for <Fraxinus>’s executive room, Shidou and Kotori
could not help put place their hands on their foreheads to suppress a headache.
That’s right, in just a few hours; Reine went from being scouted as a model in the city to
a princess (substitute) from another country. In the end, it was the result of numerous
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coincidences and accidents that had overlapped with each other. If not personally seen, it
would have been impossible to believe.
The Kyoto International Hall was being displayed on the screen. The exchange had
already begun, with the venue focusing on the national dignitaries and journalists.
Over there, Reine was sitting down naturally while wearing a formal Clair-style
dress──to some extent it seemed like a terribly surreal sight.
But that was not all, at the end of the former attendant’s speech; an announcement was
made to call down the third princess from the Clair kingdom, Eliyalat Vayanadi, to the
venue.
Under the thunderous applause, Reine stood up from her seat and began a speech spoken
in a fluent Nantoka tongue.
At that moment, Reine competently resembled a noble princess. At the very least, no one
in the venue would suspect that Reine was a fake……truly she is a person who could do
anything.
However, that wasn’t the only reason Kotori and Shidou both fell silent.
“……Hey, Kotori.”
“……What, Shidou.”
“Reine suddenly turning into a princess and attending a meaning….how to say this, but I
have a bad feeling about this……”
“What a coincidence, I feel the same.”
A glimmer of sweat fell down from both of their foreheads. As Reine had said earlier, it
was possible that the first princess’s fraction would be aiming for Princess Eli’s life.
“I wonder if everything will be okay for Reine-san….…”
“Well……for the moment let’s keep this in mind……even if the opponent is crazy, they
won’t try and assassinate the princess in such a conspicuous place...…”
“Well yeah, this kind of event always happens in movies, but we are not in a film right
now──”
However, just as Kotori was speaking──
──Bang!
The sounds of gunfire filled the meeting room.
TL PDF by MBAH
Apparently, a man disguised as a reporter was the one who fired at Reine, who was
standing on the podium.
“Wa, ah ah ah!”
"Security, what is security doing?"
Fortunately, the bullet only grazed the hem of Reine’s skirt and struck into the wall
behind her. However, because of the sudden gunfire, the entire venue became filled with
commotion.
“Like I thought, ahhhhhhh──!”
“No waaaay──!”
Looking at the screen, the Itsuka siblings issued a simultaneous scream.
The man who had fired had hidden himself within the terrified press.
At the same time, Reine instantly recognized what happened after grasping the
surrounding situation of the current environment.
The distance between the man and the platform was approximately ten meters. Even
though the SP bodyguards rushed to seize the man, they were hindered by the obstacle of
guests all trying to escape. In the short timeframe where they could not seize the attacker,
it would have been much faster for the man to pull the trigger again.
“……There’s no other choice.”
Reine muttered in a small voice that no one could hear before jumping from the platform
and rushing to the direction of the man.
As a member of <Ratatoskr>, Reine had learned the bare minimum of self-defense

techniques in case for emergency situations. Besides, even if she couldn’t disarm the
man, it would buy enough time for the SP bodyguards to rush in.
“What……!?”
Probably never expecting such a scenario to play out, the man issued out an astonished
voice──it was in the language that Princess Eli and the other people from Nantoka had
spoken.
Although firing at the international conference had already made his purpose clear to
Reine, hearing the language convinced her that it was the same fraction that had drugged
the flight captain with sleeping medicine. While lowering her posture, Reine took a step
forward towards the man’s side.
TL PDF by MBAH
However, the opponent was still an assassin. Despite being startled for a moment, he
quickly regained his composure and re-aligned the gun at Reine before pulling the
trigger.
“Die!”
“……，──”
Bang! The sound of gunfire once again filled the venue.
However, the muzzle of the firearm was not direct at Reine, but rather it was pointed
towards the ceiling.
“Ah ah……!?”
The man’s white eyes twitched as his entire body flipped over. For a moment, it had
seemed that an SP bodyguard had shot him down ──But that wasn’t it.
If you had to say ...... yes, the response was resembled a person who had been knocked
down by an invisible stun gun.
“……………”
Although it wasn’t cleared what had happened in the end, Reine took advantage of this
opportunity as she approached the attacker, grabbing the man's wrist and slamming it
down on the ground.
“Rei……princess! Are you okay!”
“……Ah, please handle the rest you guys.”
After a few minutes, the SP bodyguards finally arrived. Reine left the attacker to them as
she gently patted down her hands together.
In that moment, deafening applause, crackling cheers and the flash of a camera
enveloped the entire venue.
──About three hours later.
“Reine…...!”
As Reine entered the hospital room, Princess Eli, who had been sleeping, woke up and
called out her name.
TL PDF by MBAH
As a result of terrorists attacking the venue, the meeting had to be temporarily suspended.
Afterwards, Reine found the opportunity to slip out and arrive at the hospital where
Princess Eli had been sent to.
……Originally, Reine had intended to come earlier. However, the news that the princess
had defeated the terrorist was sensational news, causing her to be delayed by reporters
who were clamoring for an interview.
But after all, Reine was not actually the princess. It was possible that the disguise would
be revealed with an interview at close range, so she had to fool the press before arriving
at the hospital.
“...... Hey, how are you feeling?”
“I’m fine compared to what happened to you. Reine! I heard the story. I’m so glad that
you are okay……!”
Princess Eli grasped Reine’s hand as she spoke excitedly.
“Reine! Reine! You are my hero. Please, please stay with me as one of my aides. I’ll pay
any amount that you desire!”
The princess stared with sincere eyes as she pleaded to Reine.
However, Reine shook her head calmly.
“……I’m thankful for the offer, but I can’t do that. There’s still something that I need to
do.”
After hearing Reine’s response, Princess Eli could only give a large sigh.
“Right……that’s regrettable. But for you to say something like that, then it must be
important. ──But with this, my heart would feel too guilty. Please let me do something
for you! What do you want? A mansion? Land? Money? An island? As long as I can get
it, please say whatever you want!”
Eli was staring at Reine with sparkling eyes while speaking.
After a brief period of silence, Reine opened her mouth.
“……Ah, incidentally there is something that I want.”
TL PDF by MBAH
The next day, Shidou and Kotori arrived at the <Fraxinus> bridge during the early
morning.
The reason was simple. They had both wanted to see Reine.
Yesterday, the autonomous camera followed them to Kyoto. After seeing the attacker
point his gun at Reine, Shidou and Kotori quickly used the electrical gun mounted on the
camera to maximum power on the attacker. However, because of that, the battery on the
camera had died and they couldn’t find out what had happened afterwards.
“Did Reine-san come back after all?”
“T-that, of course she did, Reine is <Fraxinus>’s analytic officer after all.”
Despite what she said, Shidou could see a trace of hesitation on Kotori’s face.”
But that would be natural. Yesterday, Reine went from becoming a model to a violinist,
translator, doctor, pilot, and finally a substitute princess. Although they couldn’t hear
what happen in the end with the last one, one could imagine that a princess’s invitation
would be much better than working for <Ratatoskr>.
However──despite Kotori’s worries, Reine appeared on the bridge in her usual

appearance.
“Eh? You are early today, Kotori, and even Shin.”
“Reine-san……!”
“Oh, good morning, Reine.”
Seeing that Kotori and Shidou’s reactions were strange, Reine slightly tilted her head
curiously.
“……Did something happen?”
“Ah, no…nothing. Right, Kotori.”
“Eh, that right, it’s nothing. Ah! Reine, yesterday was your day off...how was it?
Kotori had enquired in a very ambiguous tone.
However, Shidou couldn’t blame Kotori. Too many things had happened yesterday that
it would be impossible not to ask what happened afterwards. If he were the one who had
to ask, he would have probably stumbled on the same words.
“Yesterday?”
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Reine placed her hand on her forehead before issuing a small groan.
Then──
“……No, nothing happened, just the usual day off.”
Reine blankly replied back.
“Wh──”
“Eh……?”
After hearing Reine’s choice of words, Shidou and Kotori could not help but stare in
open befuddlement.
Because of how natural her expression seemed──Shidou and Kotori could not help but
think that Reine was either not saying the truth because no one would believe her,
judging it to be troublesome to talk about... or such a thing was something that would
"always" happen.
“……? What happened, you two both look strange.”
Reine slightly slanted her head in astonishment.
At this time, there were no modifications to Reine’s usual long hair. However, the smell
of lingering shampoo seemed of higher quality than usual.
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Silver Astray
“…………”
The sound of his heartbeat was far more audible than usual.
Itsuka Shidou desperately pressed his hand against his chest, trying to suppress the
palpitations instigated by his heart.
Of course, because of his bones, flesh and clothes, it was impossible for the sound his
heartbeat to leak into the outside world. However, for Shidou right now, he thought of it
as nothing else but an alarm warning him of the existence of “predators”.
That’s right. Shidou was currently the equivalent of an herbivore trapped in an

inescapable cage.
──Absolute despair. If it was only an herbivore locked away in a cage, then it may be
view as for care, admiration, or possibly even for potential research. However, when
locked away together with a ferocious carnivore────that herbivore would have a
different name.
That is to say, bait.
Or──meat.
“…………”
While conscious of this situation, a lingering gaze was felt coming from behind──his
body trembled.
Needless to say, the temperature was as low as the interior of a refrigerator. Both his
shoulders and fingertips were shaking uncontrollably. However, the tremors striking his
body were not simply because it was cold.
Fear. What Shidou faced was a primitive and instinctual fear that all creatures felt. The
roots of his teeth began to chatter.
──A cold hand touched his shoulder.
“………!”
That moment. Shidou screamed a lamentful cry as his body began to cower.
However, the merciless predators were not concerned about such matters as they
continued to approach him little by little.
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“Ah……ah……”
While letting out a weak voice, Shidou recalled how things transpired like this.
──Returning time back to a few hours ago.
“Ohh! This is amazing!”
The moment after exiting the car, Tohka raised her voice in surprise as she looked
around.
With the tips of her night shaded hair swaying, Tohka opened her crystal-like pair of
eyes as she jumped in excitement.
Of course, such enthusiasm wasn’t difficult to imagine. After all, Shidou and the others’
surroundings were covered by a world of silver as far as the eyes could see.
Right now, Shidou and the others were at a ski resort that was about a five hour car drive
from Tenguu City.
Yes. Shidou and the others had decided to use this day off to go skiing together.
The surrounding wilderness and mountains were coated by a beautiful blanket of snow
that glistened in the sunlight. It was a fantasy-like landscape that produced the illusion of
being in a movie.
Even Shidou felt that impression. Therefore, it was natural for Tohka and the others to be
moved by seeing such gorgeous scenery.
“Ho! How beautiful! Kuku……this stained canvas, my own footprints are left behind.”
“Prevent. Will not allow you to succeed. Look here.”
Yuzuru latched onto Kaguya just as she was about to take a step forward.
“Ah, Yuzuru. What are you doing!”
“Smile. Negligence is one’s greatest enemy.”
“Ah, it’s too sly for only two people to be flirting! We should all be mixed in together!”
“……!? Wait, why also me──”
TL PDF by MBAH
Besides Tohka, the other Spirits also began to frolic in this pure white landscape. Miku
tried to enter the skirmish between the Yamai Sisters while pulling Natsumi away from
the spectating sidelines at the same time.
“Really……”
Watching on from behind, Shidou’s younger sister, Kotori, gave a helpless shrug. While
shaking the Chupa Chups in her mouth, she breathed out a sigh.
“It good to be energetic, but don’t overdo it, alright? Snowy mountains are still very
dangerous.”
“Umu, I understand. Look, Kotori, how beautiful! The snow is so soft!”
“Kuha, Tohka! I won’t lose to you! Ohhhhhhhhh!”
“Oh, how amazing, Kaguya!”
“……Did you really understand what I just said?”
Kotori helplessly sighed while scratching her head. Looking on at this, Shidou forced a
smile. Incidentally, Kotori had been astutely reading a guidebook filled with sticky notes
during the minibus ride here.
“What is it?”
“No, it’s nothing──anyway, shall we head to where we are staying today? Let’s carry
the luggage as soon as possible. Since we’ve come a long way, it would be a shame to let
that slip up.”
While speaking, Shidou pointed forward. Over there was a beautiful cottage with a roof
covered by a layer of snow.
“That’s right. Hey everyone, carry your own luggage.”
Kotori agreed while directing attention back to the inside of the bus.
That’s right. Normally, this was a distance easily manageable by the aerial ship
<Fraxinus>, but since it was now being repaired, a traversable minibus had been
prepared by <Ratatoskr>.
Despite this, everyone was not dissatisfied──rather it would be better to say that
everyone enjoyed the rickety journey on the van.
“Yes, Shidou.”
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While Shidou was thinking about this, a voice calling him was heard from behind.
Taking a closer look, there was already a girl standing there with a Boston bag unnoticed.
She had a doll-like face and hair reaching her shoulders. ──Tobiichi Origami.
She was Shidou’s classmate and also one of the Spirits whose powers were sealed by
him. It seemed that in addition to her own luggage, she had also carried Shidou’s
baggage as well.
“Ah, thank you, Origami.”
As Shidou took the bag and thanked her, he slanted his head and let out an “hmm” like
sound.
“Hey, Origami. There’s the feeling that my bag had been once opened……”
“There should be no such thing. I didn’t leave traces and the like──”
Halfway through her words, Origami wrinkled her brow. She had likely noticed the
contents of what she was detailing. Just as Origami said, there were no traces
left…….but just to be sure, he had asked and arrived at the correct conclusion.
“……Just like I thought.”
“As expected of Shidou. You to know so much about myself. It feels nice.”
“Don’t say things that will easily cause a misunderstanding……really.”
After that, Shidou opened his bag to confirm the contents inside. However, it seemed
that nothing was missing or added.
“……There’s nothing strange.”
“Of course. I didn’t do anything.”
“Then why did you……”
“Information is power.”
“…………”
Being scared to listen to anything more than that, Shidou averted his eyes in silence.
“W-well then……does everyone have their luggage?”
While saying that, Shidou turned to look around. Then, in response to his question, each
of the Spirits carrying a large container of luggage, gently nodded back.
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Look at it again; it was quite the large household. Including Shidou, there was Tohka,
Origami, Kotori, Kaguya, Yuzuru, Miku, Natsumi, and──
“Hmm? Where is Yoshino?”
While confirming everyone’s faces, Shidou twisted his neck. Yoshino’s figure was
missing from the Spirits that were lined up.
“Mu, she seems to be…...”
“She was just here a moment ago.”
“Where on earth did she……ah, look, over there.”
Natsumi pointed towards the cottage as if noticing something. At that direction, there
was a petite girl carrying a bag in her right hand and a rabbit doll with her left. That
figure was waiting for everyone with a flushed face and glistened eyes.
“Everyone, let’s hurry……!”
“Hey, hey, faster──”
Yoshino and the puppet “Yoshinon” urged them hasten.
Speaking of which, this ski trip had begun due to Yoshino’s wishes. A few days ago,
when asking everyone where they wanted to go for the vacation, Yoshino unusually
pushed forward a request in hopes of going to the snowy mountains.
Yoshino was originally a Spirit with control over water and cold air. Perhaps, there was a
similar connection felt here.
Seeing the always meek Yoshino reveal a rare look of excitement, everyone looked at
each other and smiled.
Afterwards an hour had passed. Each of them left their luggage in their rooms, as Shidou
and the others changed into a multicolored variety of ski equipment and reconvened at
the lift of the mountainside.
Here was a gentle slope designed for beginners. Besides Shidou and his entourage, there
were also other ski guests that seemed to have little experience.
“So……let’s try sliding first. Does everyone remember the general movement?”
Shidou spoke while directing his attention to the Spirits standing on the snowy slopes. In
response, everyone gave a uniform nod back.
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That’s right. Since there were too many people without experience, they had already
reviewed the basics before coming here.
“Umu, no problem! Then, I’ll be off!”
Speaking while brimming with vigor, Tohka cut through the vanguard. Afterwards, she
took out a large pair of goggles and pushed down her ski poles with enough force to
leave two large marks on the pure white surface.
“Ohhhhhhhhhhhh──!”
With a cry of pure enjoyment, the view of Tohka’s back grew smaller and smaller.
Although the movements were limited to a straightforward direction, she was sliding in
manner not resembling that of a beginner.
“Haha, how amazing. Even though this is still the first time.”
“Despite understanding the reason why, it’s still quite the fearless act.”
Responding back to Shidou was Kotori, who was standing right beside him. She was
equipped with a red ski suit with black skis while looking down at the snowy slopes
calmly. Again, this was a strange look for a beginner.
“Certainly. Tohka is really amazing in that regard.”
“Yeah. The ones who try to suddenly stop while scared are more dangerous. The most
important thing is to be able to let go.”
While speaking, Kotori fearlessly raised the corners of her lips.
However, after speaking, Kotori didn’t move from that spot.
“……So, does Kotori not want to slide?”
“……!”
As Shidou asked, Kotori sighed softly. Her face seemed to be completely stained red.
“I-I want to go. But, that, I need to watch over everyone as a commander of
<Ratatoskr>……”
“It’s fine. The slope here is very gentle.”
“No, but.”
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“Hmm? Perhaps Kotori can’t ski? My bad. I thought that since you went to your middle
school skiing excursion, you could definitely……”
“……! I-I certain can! Look here!”
As if to cover up Shidou’s words, Kotori chimed from her throat as she fastened her
goggles and grasped onto her ski poles.
Then,
While exuding great amount of strength, she positioned her skis in the shape of the 八
character and slowly, slowly descended down the slope──at a speed where it would
faster walking down without using skis.
“L-look! Just like this!”
“No, even if I were to say that……”
“Darling──!”
Just as Shidou smiled, a voice suddenly came from behind him──it was Miku.
“I’m a little scared after all. So please lend me your hand Darling……ah, wa, waaaaah!”
Miku, who was slowly walking over, suddenly lost control of her balance on her skis.
At the same time, in order to regain control, her hand jerked towards Kotori, who was
nearby.
“Huh? W-wait──────ukiyaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Leaved behind such a scream, Kotori slid down the slopes at an ultra-high speed.
“K-Kotori!?”
“Ah, Kotori-san! Sorry!”
Although Miku apologized, her voice could no longer be heard by Kotori. At a speed
that wouldn’t lose to even Tohka, Kotori faded away into the distance. Then, after
reaching a relative flat plane, her balance stumbled as she came crashing down face first.
“That girl......she doesn’t know how to be honest at all. I want to check up on her. Do
you mind if I head out first?”
“Yes. Sliding slowly should be no problem. Go to Kotori-san, Darling.”
“Alright. Don’t force yourself.”
TL PDF by MBAH
After saying that, Shidou slammed down his ski poles and slid down the snowy trail left
behind by Kotori.
Although Shidou wasn’t talented at skiing, his body still remembered the instructions
received from his previous school trip, so a beginner course should be fine enough to
skate. In a short while, Shidou arrived beside Kotori, who was covered in snow.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“U-ugh……”
Kotori’s body swayed as she got up by grabbing Shidou’s hand for support. After
dusting the snow off her body, she looked away with a sullen expression.
“……Fu, what? If you want to laugh, laugh already. The commander who has been
boasting such grand words cannot slide through the snow. It’s ridiculous.”
“There’s no one who thinks that. Everyone has a weak point. Besides, everyone is skiing
for the first time. Shouldn’t we be trying to skiing together?”
“Shidou……”
Listening to Shidou, Kotori murmured a little while crossing her arms as her face was
slightly red.
“Yes, this is the first time for everyone──”
However, just as Kotori was speaking, Origami nimbly slid down the slope with the
splendid form of an Alpine skier.
Swish, sliding down her skis in an arc to stop in place and raising her goggles to take a
breath in. It was a picturesque movement.
“…………”
Looking on at this scene, Kotori’s slightly relaxed expression gradually became

speechless. Shidou hurried to interject.
“H-hey, Origami was originally a member of the JGSDF’s AST, which means she
should have exceled at all sorts of sports. Wouldn’t it be strange if she couldn’t do that?”
“……Y-yeah. I suppose if it was someone from JGSDF.”
Kotori nodded as if trying to convince herself.
However, immediately after that, the Yamai sisters competed against each other while
sliding down the skiing slope with snowboards.
TL PDF by MBAH
Moreover, they weren’t just sliding down. They crafted a complex trajectory, sometimes
rotating and sometimes drifting. Gorgeously, the two of them were symmetrically apart
and landed at their goal at a synchronized pace.
“Kaka, it seems that your skills haven’t deteriorated, Yuzuru.”
“Agreement. The sharpness of Kaguya’s techniques has not fallen down as well.”
While saying that, the two of them bumped fists with each other.
“…………”
Gazing at that scene, Kotori grew more silent.
“K-Kotori? Think about it more carefully. Hey, haven’t Kaguya and Yuzuru competed in
tons of games in the past? They probably already had a snowboarding competition.”
“……Eh, yes, that’s right. I know. It’s not surprising that those two can do that
much……”
Kotori’s cheeks faintly twitched as she noticed something.
Then, while wearing “Yoshinon” on her left hand, Yoshino slid across with a snowboard
just like Yamai sisters.
Because one hand was needed to carry “Yoshinon”, it was natural to choose a snowboard
where one’s hands were not inhibited. However, the current wild style was a complete
mismatch from the usual Yoshino. In that regard, Kotori couldn’t help but let out a silent
“…….what!?” while holding her breath in.
Moreover, Yoshino was brilliantly controlling the snowboard despite using it for the first
time; the skill of her expert movements would not lose to either Kaguya or Yuzuru as it
drew in everyone’s attention. Seeing this performance, Tohka and the Yamai sisters
clapped their hands in applause.
“How amazing, Yoshino! I didn’t know you could move like that!”
“T-that……well, it’s a similar feeling to getting on <Zadkiel>, so……”
“Fufu──on ice and snow Yoshino is invincible. Shall we try ice skating next time?”
TL PDF by MBAH
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While Yoshino seemed to be embarrassed, Yoshinon spoke boastfully.
“…………”
With a dejected look, Kotori fell silent once again.
“No, that, Kotori? You don’t need to look that gloomy……”
Just as Shidou was trying to comfort her, a scream just like Kotori’s echoed from the top
of the slope.
“Gya──! Get out of the waaaaay!”
Accompanied by that noise, a bundle of snow tumbled down towards Kotori.
“What……”
Kotori, who was still wearing her skiing equipment, couldn’t escape time. Struck by the
huge rear-end collision of snow, she was once again buried in her original position.
At the same time, Natsumi’s figure appeared from snow scattered by the impact. It
seemed that she had tumbled down from the snowy slopes and rolled down here like a
huge snowball.
“H-hey, are you guys alright?”
Shidou hurriedly shouted as he helped the two of them get back up.
“U-uh……”
“Ouch, it hurts……”
Kotori and Natsumi rubbed their respective foreheads after the collision. Afterwards,
Natsumi looked away in embarrassment.
“……S-sorry……”
“…………”
Natsumi apologized, but Kotori did not raise her voice──
Rather, she clutched onto Natsumi.
“Fuhah!?”
Having likely not expected this behavior, Natsumi voice fell into disarray. However,
Kotori didn’t heed this as she continued to hug Natsumi.
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“That’s right, this is normal. Thank you, Natsumi. Let’s make progress together……”
“Huh? Ha……huh!?”
Natsumi’s eyes changed into blank dots as she was unable to understand this intent.
Miku, who arrived late to his scene, let out an “Ara!’ as her eyes glistened with a
brilliant shine.
For a while, Shidou and the others enjoyed the snowy vacation to their hearts content.
The beginner’s group continued to practice repeatedly with the gentle slopes, while the
seniority group such as Origami and the Yamai sisters moved on to more difficult
courses.
Although Yoshino and Tohka were beginners, they already had the skills needed to
move on to a more challenging course. But out of worry for Kotori, Natsumi, and Miku,
they decided to help Shidou with his one-to-one lesson.
The results were worthwhile. After about three hours, everyone’s skiing movements
became more on an even level……well, because of Tohka’s coaching strategy of “don’t
think, feel”, Kotori seemed to have suffer a lot trying to grasp the nuances.
“──Fu, everyone seems to have improved a lot. In that case, we should have no problem
with slopes that are slightly steeper.”
“Yeah, thanks to your efforts. ──Even so, let’s continue tomorrow. The clouds are
looking more ominous now.”
While speaking, Kotori removed her goggles to look up at the sky. Indeed, there were
thicker clouds gathering compared to before as the wind began to blow. It was said that
weather conditions can change drastically in the mountainside, so it would be better to
return early just to be safe. Shidou gently nodded in agreement.
“You have a point. ──Hey, everyone, let’s head back──”
As Shidou called out to them, Yoshino, Natsumi, and Tohka who were seen nearby all
turned around.
“Huh? Where did Miku go?”
“Ah……a while ago after learning how to ski alone, she went towards to lift……”
TL PDF by MBAH
As Yoshino pointed to the snowy slopes above, Shidou scratched his cheeks.
“I see……well, she should be skiing down soon. I’ll wait here while everyone else heads
back first. Origami and the others are also still on this mountain. I’ll head back after
gathering everyone together.”
“Un……I understand. But be careful, alright?”
“Ah, I know.”
As Shidou waved his hand good-bye, Kotori and the others walked back towards the
direction of the cottage.
“Well then, where would they……”
After seeing off Kotori’s group, Shidou looked back towards the slopes above. The
beginners and advanced courses were sandwiched in between each other by some trees.
Miku and Origami’s group should arrive at the same intersection after they were finished
skiing.
Not long after, Origami and the Yamai sisters competed skiing down from the superior
snow course. Looking at it, it was the same graceful movements as always.
Then, after quickly noticing from Shidou’s positon, the three of them wordlessly stopped
at his side.
“Shidou.”
“Kuku, it’s must be exhausting for you to toil and greet us here. Our skiing technique is
akin to catching sight of the Goodness of snow.”
“Question. Where are the others?”
“Ah, it’s already been a while and the weather seems to be getting worse. They went
back first. When Miku arrives, we should also return back to the cottage.
After he finished explaining, the three of them nodded in agreement.
“Indeed, there are many clouds now in the sky.”
“Fu……ah, it started snowing.”
“Astonishment. Really. The wind is getting stronger. It may be better to head back soon.”
As the three of them spoke, the weather deteriorated in the blink of an eye. An
announcement was heard coming from the various speakers scattered through the ski
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resort, warning everyone that the weather was growing more dangerous and to return
back to the facilities.
“Hey, hey, are you serious? Where did Miku go……huh?”
As Shidou looked up at the mountain fretfully, a small light purple outfit appeared at the
corner of his sight──it was the same outfit worn by Miku.
For a moment, Shidou thought that Miku was skiing down here. However, he was wrong.
Miku was not on the well-maintained ski slopes, but rather across a mountain fence that
was prohibited from entry.
Moreover, Miku’s current location was surrounded by steep slopes. If her foot slipped,
then it was very likely that she would fall into the depths of the forest.
“What is she doing there? It’s too dangerous──”
Halfway through, Shidou’s words came to a halt. Despite it being hard to see due to poor
visibility, there was one more person other than Miku. Miku had grabbed onto a tree
with one hand, while using the other one to hold onto a little girl who was about to fall
off the mountain.
“This is──!”
“Don’t tell me she’s trying to save that child……!?”
“Reckless. She’ll also fall over at this rate.”
The moment Yuzuru said this, Miku pulled the girl up to a nearby tree. However, at the
same time, the snow underneath her feet collapsed, causing her body to roll down to the
trees below.
“Kiyaaaaah!?”
“M-Miku!?”
Shidou cried out in panic. However, Miku did not stop as she disappeared into the forest
underneath the steep slope.
“Ku──!”
Before even thinking, his body instinctively moved. Shidou forced his ski poles up and
slid towards the direction where Miku had disappeared.
“Shidou, wait a minute. It’s too dangerous.”
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“Tracking──it can’t be helped, let’s follow. However, it’s not good for everyone to
chase after. Please save that girl, Kaguya.”
“I-I know. You guys be careful too!”
Feeling a familiar voice come from behind, Shidou found Origami and Yuzuru chasing
after him.
“Y-you two……!”
“If there is only one person searching, you may be in danger as well. I will go as well.”
“Consent. Shidou frequently moves without thinking first. Well, it’s not as if it’s bad.”
“……Sorry, I can’t thank you enough……”
As words of gratitude squeezed out from his throat, Shidou and the others crossed the
fence marked with no entry and entered the woods.
Then, after some time had passed──right in front, they found Miku collapsed down face
first.
“Miku! Are you alright?”
As Shidou skied to her side, Miku weakly raised her face.
“Ah……darling……that girl……”
“It’s okay. Kaguya went to save her.”
“Is that so……uh──”
While in the middle of speaking, Miku distorted her expression in pain.
“W-what’s wrong?”
“Let me check.”
As Shidou began to panic, Origami stepped forward from the side to touch Miku’s feet.
“There are no abnormalities in her bones. I believe the snow and trees served as a
cushioning effect, but it is still probably difficult to walk alone.”
“Alright……I understand. Origami, Yuzuru, can I leave mine and Miku’s skis to you?”
After saying that, Shidou took off his skis and crouched down with his back facing Miku.
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“Let’s go, Miku.”
“Eh, darling……”
“What’s wrong, you don’t have to be polite at a time like this.”
As Shidou said with a wry smile, Miku blushed and mutter out a “then, excuse me”, as
she grabbed onto Shidou’s back.
In that moment, Miku’s chest, which could still be felt through her thick ski jacket, was
clearly felt pressed against his back. Even during this urgency, Shidou couldn’t help
ignore this as an unintentional “uh” groan leaked out from his throat.
“Ah, am I too heavy?”
“No……it’s not that.”
“…………”
“…………”
As Shidou gave back an ambiguous reply, Origami and Yuzuru seemed to have guessed
the reasons as they half-closed their eyes.
“Shidou, my feet are sprained as well.”
“Agreement. Yuzuru also.”
“……Yes, yes, let’s go back to the cottage now.”
Shidou stood back on his feet while carrying Miku on his back. Since they were far from
the regular slopes, their current whereabouts were not known right now. But, if they
simply retraced their steps, they should be able to find their way back.
However, the key issue was the weather. By the time Shidou and the others found Miku
down the mountain, the snow and wind had grown stronger, a possible precursor to the
blizzard to come.
“Ku, if it continues like this, we won’t be able to see what’s up ahead.”
“I will take the lead, followed then by Shidou and immediately afterwards Yuzuru.”
“Understood. Please leave it to me, Master Origami.”
As Origami and Yuzuru finished discussing, they sandwiched themselves in between

Shidou and Miku.
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“A-are you okay, Origami?”
“I have finished training in the snow before. Leave it to me.”
As Origami finished speaking, she kept looking in ahead while giving a thumbs up. In
return, Shidou smiled and whispered out, “as expected of you……”
“Mu……Shidou and the others are late.”
Tohka, who had returned back to the cottage early, looked out the window to see the sky
worsening with a worried look.
That’s right. The condition outside was now regarded as a snowstorm, but Shidou and
the others still have not returned yet.
“Well, they shouldn’t be far from here. I think they should be okay, but……”
As Kotori was speaking, the sound of a door opening came from the entrance of the
cottage.
“! Is it Shidou!?”
Opening her eyes, Tohka fled to the front door. Kotori, Yoshino, and Natsumi quickly
followed suit.
Then, standing there was Kaguya, covered head to toe in snow with a little girl in tow.
──However, there was no one there behind her.
“Mu……Kaguya? What happened to everyone? Who is that girl?”
As Tohka asked, Kaguya shook her body like a wet dog, flicking off snow at the
entrance. Then, she let out a loud voice in panic.
“Ah, this is bad. Miku is──”
Not using her usual exaggerated tone, Kaguya gave a brief description of the situation.
Hearing what she had said, Tohka and the others rounded their eyes.
“W-what……! Shidou and the others entered the snowy mountains!?”
“Really……what were they thinking……!”
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Then, they turned their eyes to the girl who Kaguya had brought back.
“Do you mind waiting in the cottage for the time being? We’ll contact your family soon.”
“Y-yes. That……”
“That nee-san……please save her. I haven’t thanked……”
As that girl gave a look that was about to burst into tears, Kotori stroked her head and
said “leave it to us”, as she took her to the fireplace.
Then, after returning back with a difficult look, she continued speaking in a soft voice.
“──Anyway, let’s contact the ski resort first. Just in case, <Ratatoskr> will also build a
search party.”
“……B-but, can we search properly in this weather……? No, even if <Ratatoskr> sends
a rescue team on the way, aren’t everyone currently focused on the renovations for
<Fraxinus>? How long will it take for the search team to arrive here……?”
Listening to Kotori’s words, Natsumi made a difficult face as she spoke. Kotori wrinkled
her brow in response.
Indeed, it was just as Natsumi had said. Even as they were talking, the blizzard was
growing stronger. If left alone too long, Shidou and the others may freeze to death.
“What should we do──”
Then, Yoshino, who had been silent up until now, timidly raised her hand.
“Ah, that……Kotori-san.”
“? What’s wrong, Yoshino?”
“That……can you leave it to me?”
“Eh?”
As Kotori slanted her head, Yoshino passed through Kaguya, coming to the blizzard
outside of the room. Icy crystals violently struck her petite body.
Yoshino wasn’t in the slightest flustered by this as took a prayer-like posture, quietly
moving her lips.
“Please……I want to save Shidou-san and the others……please lend me your strength.”
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Then, as if responding to her words, Yoshino’s body gave off a faint glow──a coat-like
attire covered her entire body.
Afterwards, in front of Yoshino, a huge white rabbit doll appeared.
“This is──”
“……<Zadkiel>!?”
Tohka and Kotori uttered in surprise. That’s right; the Angel <Zadkiel>, which can
manipulate water and cold air.
Yoshino gently nodded as she straddled <Zadkiel>, placing both of her hands on its back.
At that moment, the red eyes of <Zadkiel> lit up as a cold air barrier began to develop
around its surroundings.
It was as if an invisible dome had formed around <Zadkiel>. Indeed, it seemed likely to
proceed in this snowstorm.
“Yoshino!”
“……!”
As Tohka called out her name, Yoshino silently nodded back.
“Ku……it really is cold……”
Walking though blizzard while carrying Miku on his back, Shidou could help but feel his
face strain from bitter cold air. There wasn’t much feeling left in his hands or feet either.
In this manner, he could have exhausted all of his strength before arriving at the cottage.
“──Shidou, look.”
Then, Origami, who was walking ahead, had raised her voice. Shidou raised his face in
response to that voice──letting out an “ah” sound as he opened his eyes.
In front of them, there was a building resembling a mountain hut.
“We’re saved.”
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Origami uttered that brief reply while heading to the direction of the hut. Then, after
destroying the lock on the door in an extremely natural movement, she beckoned for
Shidou and the others to come.
“Y-you……”
“Life is more important than morality.”
Indeed, it was just as Origami had said. Shidou chanted in his mind about
reimbursements later as he entered the mountain hut.
Just being able to hide from the snowstorm was a relief for the body. He was grateful for
having a shelter with a roof from the snow and wind. Shidou gently let Miku down as he
breathed out a sigh of relief.
Despite having said that, the coldness remained unchanged. They would suffer from
hypothermia at this rate.
“I-is there any heating appliance here……?”
“Discovery. There is a wood-burning stove, but there isn’t any fire at the bottom.”
“Fire……huh. I don’t have a lighter on me……”
Shidou gave a distressed look. Then, Origami pulled out some firewood from the stove,
taking out from her pocket, a small flashlight, tissue paper, a small aluminum wrapper
used for chewing gum.
“Origami……?”
“Leave it to me.”
Origami briefly replied as she shredded the aluminum wrapper into thin pieces. Then,
she pressed it against the ends of the battery taken out from the flashlight. Afterwards,
the central part of the aluminum paper began to emit smoke.
She used to the tissue paper to ignite the fire as she threw both into the stove. Not long
after, the firewood in the stove was ignited as Shidou and the others’ shadows flickering
beside the fireplace.
“Ohhh!?”
“Admiration. It’s wonderful, Master Origami.”
“Kya! How lovely, Origami.”
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As Shidou and the others gave words of praise, Origami’s expression remained
unchanged as she gave a small nod.
“First steps in survival.”

Anyway, it seemed that they could at least warm up this way. Shidou and the others
gathered around the stove and held out their hands.
Soon, he was able to move his frozen hands once again. Shidou breathed out another
sigh of relief.
“Ha……thank you, Origami, Yuzuru. If it wasn’t for you guys, Miku and I might have
frozen to death.”
“Thank you very much. Although it’s foolish not to be with Darling, I would rather a bed
call for me rather than heaven.”
As Shidou and Miku both spoke, Origami and Yuzuru both shook their heads as if not
caring about that.
“It should stop snowing overnight. We better stay here until the weather settles down.”
“Agreement. Besides, Kaguya should have informed Kotori and the others. Help should
be on the way.”
“Ah, that’s right. I guess we’ll manage for a night.”
“Yes. Ufufu, it may be unscrupulous, but isn’t this a little bit exciting. Doesn’t this
happen often in manga──stories of men and woman confined in a mountain shelter
together……”
Then.
Before Miku could finish speaking, the edges of his brow shook as if noticing something.
No, it wasn’t just Miku. Origami and Yuzuru also twitched their eyebrows as they
exchanged a look with each other.
“We’re in a very dangerous situation now. We need to do the utmost efforts in order to
ensure survival.”
“Consent. Even if something happens, it’s a force majeure.”
“That’s right. If it is for the sake of survival……”
“Hmm……?”
TL PDF by MBAH
For a split second, Shidou looked numbingly at the three of them. But then, after
remembering something, he took out his phone from his ski suit.
That’s right. If there was a signal here, he could get in touch with Kotori.
“Oh, the signal is weak……but with this.”
While mumbling that out, he dialed Kotori’s number from the contact’s list.
“Shidou! Where are you!”
“Yuzuru──! If you can hear me, please respond!”
The sun had already completely set. In the darkened snowy mountain, Kotori and the
others were searching for Shidou’s group while being protected by the boundary of
<Zadkiel>.
That being said, the snowstorm made for poor visibility and since sound could not
traverse that far, the search still progressed difficulty.
“Ku……as expected, they won’t be easy to find.”
“No……don’t give up. Let’s try the other side.”
“Un, yeah. ──Uh, huh?”
Kotori cried out suddenly as she reached into her pocket of her ski suit──the phone
inside her pocket was shaking.
She thought for a moment it was the search team she had requested from <Ratatoskr>,
but──
This was different. The name written on the screen of the phone was “Onii-chan”.
“Shidou!”
“What!?”
“Is it……Shidou-san!?”
Responding back to Kotori’s voice, Tohka and the others exposed a stunned look. Kotori
hurriedly pressed the phone against her ear.
“Shidou! Where are you guys right now!? Are you guys alright!?”
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“Ah……sorry to make you worried. Did Kaguya arrive at the cottage?”
“Yes, that girl is fine.”
“That’s a relief……we’ve managed to find a mountain hut here. Since there is a stove, at
least we won’t die from freezing. For the time being, we’re staying here until the
snowstorm stops.”
From the other end of the phone, it was a robust voice heard contrary to expectations.
Kotori breathed a sigh of relief before turning to Tohka and the others.
“They are fine. They are now hiding in a mountain hut together.”
“Oh, is that so!”
“Kaka, it seems they are still loved by the goddess of fortune.”
“I’m……glad.”
The Spirits all breathed a collective sigh of relief as their tense expressions relaxed.
But why? Only Natsumi’s face still had a difficult expression somehow. Well, it was
slightly different than her usual gloomy look……Kotori slanted her head curiously.
“……? What’s wrong, Natsumi?”
“No……Shidou just told you that they were staying in the mountain hut, right? Waiting
until the snow stopped……”
“Well, yeah……”
“……Then, doesn’t that mean he’ll be spending the entire night in a closed room
together with Origami, Yuzuru, and Miku?”
“Ha……!?”
Kotori shuddered upon being reminded of this.
Indeed, it was just like what Natsumi had said. Right now, Shidou was together with the
Ultimate Stalker Origami, the Demon Seed Yuzuru who looked up to her as a master,
and the Crazy Pelorist of Terror Miku.
Those three and Shidou were locked together in a closed room, given the excuse to bring
their bodies closer together. It was a thrilling situation preeminent overnight in the
suspension bridge effect.
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Such a thing was just like release a trembling rabbit into the same cage with a tigress,
lioness, and leopardess. Even if Shidou’s life was saved, his chastity was now in danger.
Kotori clenched her phone in panic.
“Shidou! You have to be careful! It’s important to keep your willpower strong!?”
“Ha? What are you talking about……huh? Hey, hey, why are you get closer, Origami?
Even Yuzuru and Miku as well……!?”
“Shidou!? Shidou!?”
“Eek, wait a──”
At that moment, the connection to the call was cut off.
In her hands, the phone gave off two merciless beeps as Kotori’s face grew paler.
“W-what’s wrong, Kotori? Did something happen to Shidou?”
As Tohka inquired with uneasiness, Kotori looked up after quickly placing her phone in
her pocket.
“It’s dangerous to leave Shidou as it is now! Yoshino! Can you widen the barrier!?
Something terrible will happen if we don’t find Shidou as soon as possible!”
“I-I understand. I’ll do my best……!”
In response to Kotori’s command, Yoshino hurriedly began to operate through

<Zadkiel>. <Zadkiel> raised its head with the tips of its fur beginning to stand upright.
Then, at that moment, a terrible “gaaaaaaaah” scream echoed from the distance.
“Eh?”
Kotori rounded her eyes at this unexpected situation.
“H-hey, what are you──”
Although he was momentarily shocked looking at the three of them, Shidou quickly held
in his breath.
There were only four people staying in this mountain hut: Shidou, Origami, Yuzuru, and
Miku. Although it depended on the weather, in the worst case scenario they would have
to wait until dawn.
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Yes──among the Spirits in the hyperactive faction, these three girls were carnivores.
“…………”
The three “predators” slowly turned their eyes to Shidou.
Shidou’s back, which should have been slightly warmer, was now full of cold sweat.
“──Shidou, are you cold? Do you need contact with human skin? How many square
centimeters do you need?”
“……I-I’m fine. It’s already warm thanks to Origami igniting the stove…...”
“Proposal. Those wet clothes will keep your body cold. Now let’s take them off to let it
dry.”
“N-no, you see, ski clothes are waterproof, so there’s no need to do that……”
“Then, darling, aren’t you tired from skiing all day? I’ll keep watch while you take a
nap.”
“M-Miku, are you sleepy? Since I’m awake, don’t you want to take a nap?”
From the right, Origami, from the left, Yuzuru, and from behind, Miku, everyone softly
whispered to Shidou
To be honest, even with the stove on, it was still very cold. He wanted to dry the clothes
that were dampened by snow and sweat. His body was tired to the point where he would
fall asleep if he lied down just for a couple of seconds. However, if he did any of that,
what they would do next under the cause of emergency refuge would be completely
unpredictable.
Moreover, it was troublesome that due to a possible tribal preservation instinct, his heart
was racing faster than usual due to having just experienced a life crisis. Coupled with the
low judgment caused by hypothermia and drowsiness, it made him feel that he really
wanted to leave his body to Origami and the others.
“……N-no……”
Shidou shook his head to encourage himself and reaffirm his willpower.
However, as if to scoff at such resistance, Origami pulled on Shidou’s hand.
“Sure enough, your hand is cold. It’s better to warm up.”
“O-oh yes, it’s would be good to add some firewood.”
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“There’s a limit to doing that. Leave it to me.”
After saying that, Origami grabbed Shidou’s hand while slowly pulling down the zipper
off her ski suit. Then, she guides his hand through her clothes.
“W-where are you trying to warm my hands?”
“When hands are cold, it’s effective to pinch them in between the armpits.”
“Even if it’s like that!”
Shidou screamed as his face was completely flustered.
Then, as if remembering something, Yuzuru fetched out what appeared to be packaged

hard candy from her pockets.
“Question. Is Shidou hungry?”
“Huh? Well, it would be a lie to say that I’m not, but……”
After Shidou replied, Yuzuru gave a slight nod as she placed the candy into her mouth.
Then, after rolling it in her mouth for a few seconds, she opened her mouth.
“Come, don’t be polite.”
While saying so, she closed her eyes as if anticipating a kiss. Seeing that lascivious look,
Shidou could help but sweat.
“N-no……I’m not hungry. I’m not hungry at all.”
“Hey, hey, what to do, what to do……♪”
Hearing that gentle melody, Shidou felt his eyelids grow heavier.
“…………”
But while listening to that voice, the next words of “Ufufu……good night Darling”
arrive at his ears, Shidou forced his eyes open.
“…………Ha! M-Miku! That was a foul trick!”
“Huh? What’s wrong? It’s fine. Let everyone sleep. I’ll keep watch for the night.”
After seeing Miku say that with a slight demonic smile, Shidou felt his face strained by a
shudder.
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Anyway, he couldn’t sleep. In this situation, he absolutely couldn’t expose an unguarded
posture in front of the three of them.
“……! That is.”
Having seemingly discovered something, Origami went to the corner of the hut to
retrieve it.
“Shidou, there’s a blanket. ──One piece only.”
“……!”
Both Yuzuru and Miku reacted to what Origami had said.
Then, the three of them exchanged glances with each other as they began to force their
way to Shidou.
“This will keep you warm.”
“Agreement. This is the blessing of heaven.”
“There’s only one way to do this. We can’t be unfair to everyone.”
“Even for four people, it should fit nicely if we bring our bodies closely together.”
“Proposal. In order to squeeze out even a little bit more space, we should take off our
clothes.”
“Kya! Yuzuru-san has a nice idea!”
As the three of the finished their negotiations, they all turned their eyes to him. Shidou
felt his shoulders tremble in fear.
“Y-you three use the blanket. I’ll just use this stove──”
Just as Shidou spoke, Origami momentarily left the mountain hut, bringing back snow
from the outside that she then threw into the stove.
“Hey!?”
Accompanied by a fizzing sound……the fire in the stove became completely

extinguished. Shidou couldn’t help but widen his eyes.
“W-what are you doing, Origami? Now how will we last until morning?”
“Low body temperature can lead to low judgment. Origami mistake.”
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“You look clear headed to me!?”
“It doesn’t matter. Both the batteries and silver paper remain. There should be no
problem re-igniting the firewood after taking it out.”
“A-alright, then let’s hurry up……”
“But, in order to do this, it will take time for the stove to dry. During that time, we need
to keep warm.”
As Origami finished, she spread out the blanket she had picked up.
Matching that movement, Miku and Yuzuru positioned themselves at both of Origami’s
sides.
The three of them pulled the blanket over their shoulders, pulling down their zippers of
the skis suit and exposing their bare white bosoms as if to beckon Shidou closer.
“Come, Shidou.”
“Tempt. Please come here, Shidou.”
“Come warm up, darling.”
Origami, Yuzuru, and Miku spoke in turn in a gentle voice.
In the hut, where the temperature was rapidly dropping without the warmth of the stove,
this call had an irresistible pull.
“Ah……ahh……”
Having experienced the warmth from the stove, Shidou let out a weak gasp. He slowly
took a step forward, reaching out to the direction of those three like a moth tempted by a
flame.
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But at that moment.
Suddenly, the sound of an earthquake resounded as the mountain hut creaked and
swayed.
“W-what happened……!?”
The sudden anomaly awakened Shidou’s conscious mind, which had begun to become
blurred. Then, as if to match that terrible sound, the roof of the mountain hut was blown
away.
“Hey!?”
Shidou’s eyes were pried opened. This was impossible. Although the structure was a lot
simpler than an ordinary house, the roof of this hut was not so simple to be easily
destroyed. That is──unless it was caused by a record typhoon.
But even more bizarre than that, snowfall didn’t pass through the now completely
exposed roof.
Instead──a strange thing was seen outside.
“Is that……a snowman……?”
Shidou whispered in shock. Yes, a snowman with rabbit-like ears was standing outside.
The question mark attached onto his face was a matter of course. After all, there was a
large block of snow at around ten meters.
“What in the world, this is……”
“──Shidou!”
A familiar voice was heard as Shidou’s eyesight concentrated onto a single point.
Looking carefully, that snowman was sitting in front of Tohka and Kotori. Behind it, it
seemed that Yoshino had manifest <Zadkiel>──at the center, swirling the cold air into a
whirlpool.
Shidou quickly understood what was happening now.
That’s right. Yoshino had used <Zadkiel> to collect all of the snow from the storm and
shape it into a giant snowman. The evidence for this was how the blizzard was
continuing on a few hundred meters away.
Apparently, they had come to help Shidou and the others. In this very crisis, Shidou
breathed a sigh of relief.
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However.
“You──what are you doing, Shidou!”
Looking at the appearance of Origami and the others in front of him, Kotori raised her
voice inside out.
“Yuzuru!? And Origami and Miku as well……why are you dressed in that form!?”
“……Wow, t-this sort of arrangement……it’s not just overwhelming, but also

completely different.”
“Something like this……Shidou-san……”
“N-no, it’s not like that! This could be described as an emergency refuge or an
unavoidable circumstance──”
“……Yoshino, let that guy cool his head down.”
“Okay.”
“Wait──”
As <Zadkiel> let out a roar, the pillar of snow above collapsed onto Shidou’s direction.
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Silver Murderer
“Ha……ha……ha……”
Miku, who merely had a bath towel to cover herself, trembled with her hands while
watching the spectacle spread before her eyes.
“Paaaaaaradise?”
With this strong cry, she quickly took off the towel and jumped into “there”.
──Towards the large public bath where the naked Spirits had gathered.
“Hello sisters! I’ll now begin to introduce the amazing members of this squad tonight!
First up is Yuzuru-san! Ah, what a voluptuous bust! This flexibility! This volume! This
shape! It could be said to be a treasure of this world! Those deep twin mounds that are
seducing me! Those sinful twin peaks!”
“Astonishment. What did you suddenly say?”
“Next up right beside me, the strongest princess Tohka-san! Kya! As expected, Tohka-
san’s proportions are perfect! There’s no surprise that it should adorned in an art
exhibition! The perfect hybrid combination of artistic beauty and girlish cuteness!”
“Unu! W-what’s going on, Miku?”
“Yes, yes, next up is Yuzuru-san’s twin, Kaguya-saaaaan! Kaguya-san’s charm lies in

balance! That subtle chest that can be firmly grasped in a single hand! A tight belly! A
deliciously looking ass! Exactly the golden ratio! Golden Yuzuru!”
“Is that supposed to be a compliment!?”
“Well then, the next one is boasted as Miss. Slender among the Spirits, Tobiichi Origami-
san! The contrast between those toned muscles from the self-defense force and those
glossy limbs; the nosebleeds won’t stop! Combat medic! Combat medic! Miku has
already been buried in temptation! A special two-class promotion for her!”
“…………”
“Next up is our mascot Yoshino-san! I’m madly in love with that petite but soft and
flexible body! The potential for growth is undoubtedly S class! Please give me a daily
growth record!”
“T-that’s……”
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“And it’s finally her turn! The small commander, Itsuka • still growing • Kotori! The
delicate skin of adolescence is also very dazzling! And that pre-mature body different
from Yoshino-san is also very eye-catching!”
“You seem to be in high spirits……”
“And the finale is Natsumi-san! I can’t help but feel a delicate charm that would break
when embraced! Oh, I want to trace my tongue against those faintly discernible lines one
by one……!”
“Disgusting…..why are you saying it in that order. Hey, what is with that order?”
“Fuha──”
Not long after being surrounded by everyone, Miku let out a satisfied smile……while
floating at the center of bath where everyone was soaking in the hot water. In return,
everyone in the surroundings turned around to see that vulgar smile. It seemed to be
quite the blissful look. Seeing this situation, everyone finally breathed out a sigh of
relief.
Right now the Spirits were not in the large Spirit mansion where they lived, but rather in
the large open baths of a cottage nestled away in the snowy mountains. Originally, there
was an outdoor bath nearby, but they had to rely on the indoor variant due to the
unfortunate circumstance caused by the sudden blizzard.
“That being said……you sure are energetic Miku, even though that incident just
happened yesterday.”
Kotori spoke while half-closing her eyes. Yesterday, while in the middle of skiing, Miku
fell into a dire situation while preventing a young girl from falling down a cliff.
Fortunately, thanks to everyone’s help nothing major happened, although her feet ought
to be still sprained.
“Ah, such a scratch is nothing in front of the healing aura drifting from everyone.”
As she said that, Miku’s hands began to shake
“Certainly, it seems to look like that. Your skin does look more glossy and rosy after
taking a bath.”
“Ah, so you understand?”
As Miku spoke while stroking her own cheek, Kotori helplessly shrugged her shoulders
in response.
“Muu……”
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After washing for a while, Tohka shook her head and left the public bath.
“Did you stay in a little bit too long? You look kind of dizzy.”
“Ara, are you okay?”
“Umu……it’s nothing important. I’ll head out first.”
“Alright, then you should head to bed first.”
Miku spoke while waving her hand. Some of the Spirits smiled wryly, while others
slanted their heads in confusion.
──Then, ten minutes after Tohka had left. The Spirits who remained in the bathhouse
rose from the open public bath and changed into their home clothes before returning
back to the cottage.
At that moment, Shidou’s figure appeared stepping out after also finishing bathing.
“Ah, Shidou.”
“Ah, has Kotori and everyone also finished bathing as well?”
“Un──say, where is Tohka?”
As Kotori asked, Shidou slanted his head while letting out an “hmm” sound.
“I didn’t see her. Perhaps, she’s fallen asleep?”
“I-I’ll……go check.”
As Shidou spoke, Yoshino gently nodded. The rabbit puppet “Yoshinon on her left hand
also matched that corresponding rhythm in agreement.
“We’ll go take a look.”
“Ah……if Yoshino is going, I’ll also……”
In response to that, Natsumi raised her voice. Yoshino replied back with a “thank you,
Natsumi-san.” Afterwards, Natsumi hastily dragged her redden face away from been
seen.
Yoshino, Natsumi, and Yoshino, the two of them climbed upstairs and walked through
the corridor to Tohka’s room.
“Tohka-san……are you okay?”
TL PDF by MBAH
“……Are you asleep? We’re opening the door.”
The two of them spoke in turn as they turned the entrance to the room.
And then.’
“──Kiyaaaaaaaah!?”
“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Looking into the room, the two of them let out a terrible scream simultaneously.
“W-what’s wrong?”
“……!”
Noticing the abnormal situation, everyone raised their heads and rushed upstairs.
“What happened, you two. ──!?”
Then──looking into the contents of the room through the open door, everyone froze.
But that was a natural response. After all, the world spread before their eyes were
smeared with red blood.
There was the sensation of the world transforming through opening a single door. Blood
splashed on the walls of the room, floor, ceiling, and center where Tohka was laying.
“T-Tohka!?”
“W-what is this……what the hell is going on!?”
Oscillation propagated to everyone who saw this scene.
However, this was only the prologue to the tragedy of blood that will be held tonight.
The sounds of the door being violently struck intermingled with that of the intense
snowstorm.
As that noise entered the room, the faces of each person in the room turned shivered as
their faces turned pale.
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But this was nothing strange. After all, a terrifying murderer feared by the world had
come knocking on this door,
──At first, no one took it seriously.
A murderer who had escaped from prison had sneaked into this mountain in the past,
each time targeting tourists during a snowstorm when they couldn’t escape.
Whoever listened to that would have regarded this as an urban legend or a poorly timed
joke. Indeed, it was something that everyone would laugh after hearing it.
However, a few hours later, on the second floor, the corpse of a girl stained with blood
was found.
The window of the room was smashed open from the outside and as large traces of
footprints was left on the floor.
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The other guests staying in the cottage flew into a panic. That is of course. The murderer
who killed a girl may still be lurking inside the building.
However, there was the blizzard outside. If they ran outside now, they would freeze to
death while halfway descending down the mountain.
During the process of thinking this, one by one the other guest could be killed now.
And now──the murderer was wildly kicking against the door of the room where
everyone had gathered.
A barricade could be formed against the door through the sofa and bookshelves in this
room, but it was unknown how long such things could be used to keep things at bay. In
fact, from the other side of the door, the creaking and swaying sound resounded
incessantly.
But after a few seconds, the sounds from the other side came to a stop.
Could it be that this person returned back to the mountains……?
At that moment where such a hope grew in everyone’s hearts, a huge shadow appeared
on the window of the room──
“──Found theeeeeeem!!”
“Owah!?”
“Gyaah!”
“……!”
Kaguya’s unexpected loud shout in the midst of this story caused Shidou and the girls’
shoulders to sharply tremble.
Everyone was gathered in a room with the lights turned off and the only source of
illumination being a single flashlight. With a snowstorm blowing outside the window, the
situation was equivalent to that of Kaguya’s ghost story.
Of course, the landscape right now was not the usual Tenguu City within the Tokyo
metropolitan area where Shidou and the rest of the girls lived.
They were currently in a cottage room located on a snowy mountain. Shidou’s group had
taken advantage of the brief rest day to come skiing on the mountain slopes.
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Since they had to return to the cottage earlier due to bad weather, Kaguya had gathered
everyone together in a single room to do something interesting, using skillfully a
flashlight to begin detailing a ghost story.
“Ki……d-don’t scream out of nowhere, Kaguya! You startled me!”
With sweat marking her entire face, Kotori desperately tried to conceal a composed look
with all of her might. She may seem to think that she achieved it, but it was clear from
her looks that she didn’t. Incidentally, Kotori wasn’t good at dealing with these sorts of
ghost stories.
“U-umu, that surprised me.”
“I……was scared.”
Likewise, Tohka had rounded her eyes in surprise and Yoshino was slightly shivering
from her shoulders. Perhaps after seeing this look, Kaguya smirked as she crossed her
arms in satisfaction.
“Kuku……was my tale too powerful for you? However, that was inevitable. The story
that I recite is a powerful kotodama. It is a demonic technique to manifest the fallacies of
the world of the dead onto the present world.”
However, in contrast to them, the people on the right side of the room were not disturbed
at all.
“…………”
“Ufufu, really, it is scary, is it not?”
“……That, uh, well.”
“Sarcastic laugh. It’s surprising that Kaguya is telling a ghost story.”
Origami listened to the story to the very end without moving a single facial muscle.
Miku seemed to have not paid much attention to story while watching with pleasure at
the others’ reactions. Natsumi looked away as if already knowing how the story would
end. And, as for Yuzuru, she look on intently at Kaguya while letting out a small
“……puha” giggle.
“W-what’s the matter with you…...”
“Recollection. In a previous test of courage match, I remember you beginning to cry

midway and clinging onto Yuzuru.”
“H-hey, Yuzuru!?”
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Kaguya raised her voice as her face reddened. However, Yuzuru continued on while
giggling.
“Conjecture. This story certainly sounds like this. During the day, you heard this story
from the locals and it scared you too much to the point where you can’t go to the
bathroom at night alone anymore. And so, you gathered everyone together here so you
would have the excuse of going along with someone else.”
“What……what are you talking about? Of course that’s not why! I can go to the toilet
alone! But if there’s someone who can’t, then I might consider accompanying her, that’s
all…….”
Kaguya was lying through her teeth. After seeing that, Yuzuru began to laugh even more.
“Smile……sure enough Kaguya is the scared one. Tomorrow, there may be a spectacular
world map drawn on Kaguya’s bed.”
“Ha……who is going sketch that!?”
Kaguya sprung towards her, but Yuzuru dodged with ease and left the room. Kaguya
immediately kicked off against the floor and went out to the hall to chase after her.
“Wait a minute, Yuzuruuuuuu!”
“Flight. Escape is victory.”
The sounds of shrill footsteps echoed from the hallway. Since this was a cottage prepared
for by <Ratatoskr>, there were no other guests that could be disturbed. But the two of
them did pay any attention to the inconveniences they may cause. Shidou let out a huge
sigh.
“Really, the same as ever.”
While saying that with a shrug, he placed his hands on his knees to stand up.
“Well, it’s almost time for dinner. I suppose they’ll calm down after being hungry.”
Then, as Shidou tried to leave the room, the hem of his clothes were unexpectedly
pinched. ──It was Kotori.
“Hmm? What’s wrong, Kotori?”
“……No, well.”
Kotori bashfully took a small look at everyone before bringing her mouth close to his ear
in a low tone.
TL PDF by MBAH
“……I want to go to the bathroom in a bit, can you follow me……?”
After dinner, Shidou was walking down the corridor besides Tohka, who was rubbing her
stomach in satisfaction.
Although it was still a cottage, the place where Shidou and the others were staying was
still quite spacious. Structure A and B, each of the two floors were connected together in
the form an L shape with the number of rooms exceed ten. As a result, there was a
considerable distance to walk returning from the dining room that served as a shared
space.
“Fuu……it was really delicious, Shidou. What sort of food was that?”
On the way back, Tohka asked while recalling the meal earlier. Shidou bent his neck to
the side.
“That?”
“Yes that. The one that looked like white soup.”
“Oh, the clam chowder. It’s like a stew with shellfish. If you like, I’ll make it for you
next time.”
“Ooh, really!”
Upon hearing Shidou’s words, Tohka’s eyes glimmered. Shidou nodded with a small
smile on his face.
As the two of them were walking while exchanging such a conversation, a small voice
was heard coming from the side.
“……Kinsmen, respond to my call.”
“Hmm?”
Glancing around, they saw Kaguya hiding in the corner of the hallway. Shrinking back
her shoulders, it seemed that she was trying to avoid the glances of others as she made an
small gesture to the two of them.
“……?”
As Shidou and Tohka looked at each other, they heeded the signs and approached closer.
Afterwards, they were guided to Kaguya’s room.
TL PDF by MBAH
After closing the door with a bang, Kaguya suddenly turned around and spread out her
hands in an exaggerated manner.
“Well done in responding to my summons, my strongest kinsmen!”
“Muu?”
“……Uh, w-well what’s the matter?”
As Tohka and Shidou tilted their necks in curiosity, Kaguya cleared her throat with a
cough before continuing.
“……Indeed, if I may be so bold to ask the two of you for a request.”
“A request?”
“Yup……”
Kaguya nodded a little bit uncomfortably as she conveyed the contents of that “request”.
“Wha……?”
After hearing that explanation, Shidou greatly opened his eyes in surprise.
“──Let everyone believe that the “snowy mountain murderer” actually exists?”
“Hmm……what does that mean?”
“So, there’s the ghost story I told a while ago, right? I want to make it look real to scare
them all.”
“W-why would you go to those extremes……?”
“That’s obvious, is it not? To scare Origami, Miku, and Yuzuru……! I want to make
them understand that it’s normal to be scared if something terrifying happens……!”
“Hey, hey……”
As Shidou bitterly smiled, Kaguya suddenly bowed her head down in plea.
“Please! Please aid me! Such a thing……I can only ask you two, my fellow kinsman!
Think of it as doing me a favor……!”
“Uhh……”
“Muu……”
TL PDF by MBAH
Seeing that plea, Shidou and Tohka looked at each other’s faces, hesitating for a while
before finally agreeing.
“It can’ be helped, but only for this time.”
“Well, it’s rare for Kaguya to ask for something so insistently……”
“! Really!? Thank you!”
Taking grasp of both Shidou and Tohka’s hands, Kaguya spoke while looking very
exuberant.
──Time returned back to the present.
Tohka’s room had been dyed red with fake blood, exposing a terrifying sight. ……It was
exactly as Kaguya had ordered but one could not help but think that they splashed more
blood than necessary. In this atrocious scene, if blood had actually been shed, than it was
clear that the carotid artery had been ripped apart. Cleaning this up afterwards was going
to be quite the hassle.
Well anyway, neither Shidou nor Kaguya thought that this would be enough to fool
everyone. Maybe they could trick Yuzuru and Miku with this, but it was unthinkable that
Kotori and Origami would be deceived by something as simple as this. In fact, Tohka
was not dead, merely just lying down on the floor while stained with blood. If one were
to place their hands against her neck or wrist, the masquerade would be discovered in
seconds. In fact it was better to say that if one paid closer attention from this position, the
subtle movements of Tohka’s chest moving up and down could still be seen.
However, that did not worry Kaguya. If someone got close to Tohka, she would simply
jump back to life to startle them.
Additionally, Kaguya had already snuck in a piece of paper saying “Great success!” in
her pocket. In short, if they could surprise everyone just for a moment, she would be
satisfied.
“…………”
As Shidou gave a wink as a signal, the corners of Kaguya’s lips changed into a smile.
……It was as if she was saying, “This is proceeding well”.
The only thing missing was Kotori, Origami, or preferably Yuzuru, approaching to
confirm if Tohka was alive or not before they achieve the goal of loudly scaring
everyone. Even from this position, Kaguya’s feelings of excitement could be clearly felt.
──However.
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“T-tohka……?”
“This……got to be a lie, right? Why is Tohka……!?”
“Iyaaaaah! Tohka-san!?”
For some reason, contrary to Shidou and Kaguya’s expectations, things began to advance
with no one questioning the situation.
“Huh? No this……everyone?”
Kaguya pointed to Tohka with sweat dripping down her cheeks, but no one was listening.
Origami opened her mouth with a very serious look.
“Calm down, we must not alter the crime scene. There may still be traces of the
criminal.”
“Shudder. The criminal?”
“I don’t know who exactly. But this is clearly murder. Tohka was killed by a third party.”
“No, wait Origami. Is it better to confirm first if she’s dead? Perhaps, she’s still
alive……”
Shidou said as if prompting her to do so, but Origami placed her hands on his shoulder
and gently shook her head slowly sideways.
“I understand that you don’t want to accept this. But we cannot divert our eyes from
reality.”
“No, this……”
“Ha……c-could it be!?”
Interrupting Shidou’s words, Kotori trembled from her shoulders.
“The snowy mountain killer……?”
“……!”
After Kotori whispered that name, everyone else strained their faces in fright.
“A-are you referring to……”
“The fugitive spoke of by Kaguya-san……?”
TL PDF by MBAH
“Well……I can only think so.”
“Doubt. However, Tohka is a Spirit. I can’t believe that a human would be able to kill her
so easily.”
“I think so as well. But the reality of this is that Tohka has been killed. Surely this
murderer has acquired physical strength beyond that of an ordinary human from
surviving so long in these mountains.”
“Something like that……”
Yoshino pursed her eyebrows into a "八" shape from the unease. With also a steep look,
Kotori took out her cell phone from her pocket, frowning while operating through the
screen.
“Ku……there’s no connection. Is something jamming the signal……?”
“No way.”
Origami held her breath, suddenly leaving the room and running down the hall.
A few minutes later, Origami had returned back with a thin layer of snow accumulated
on her head and shoulders.
“Where did you go, Origami?”
“I went to check on the parking lot. ──The tires of the van we came here have been
punctured by some kind of sharp object.”
“What……!?”
Everyone raised a voice of bewilderment at the new hopeless information brought forth
suddenly.
Shidou and Kaguya also raised a voice of confusion in another sense.
“…………”
As Shidou silently look towards Kaguya, who then vigorously shook her head as if to
say, “it wasn’t me!”
With a pale look on their faces, the Spirits gathered in chairs surrounding the crackling
fireplace.
After that, an awkward silence flowed for a while. Only Miku’s sobbing voice was
echoing around.
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But that was natural after all. Tohka, who until recently been happily talking to everyone,
had ended up in such a manner. Moreover, it was possible that the killer was still within
the vicinity. It wasn’t strange at all for everyone to fall into confusion because of sadness
and fear.
“……So, what are we going to do now…..”
The one who broke the silence was Kotori. Despite her fingertips still trembling slightly,
she was trying to put up a strong front while looking towards the faces of everyone
present.
Then, responding to that, Yuzuru raised her hand slightly.
“Suggestion. If it’s true that there is a snowy mountain killer, we should flee from here
right now.”
“If that were possible, I would like to do that. But that would be impossible. It would be
difficult to walk in this violent snowstorm and with the tires punctured as well……”
“T-then does that mean……we are trapped in this cottage with a murderer running
around?”
While listening to what Natsumi had said, the Spirits’ faces grew more desperate.
Looking at this situation, Kaguya folded her arms while averting her gaze.
From the point of view of those around her, it looked like she was deep in thought or she
had succumbed to fear. But Shidou, who siting right behind her, saw perfectly how
Kaguya’s face had stiffened.
Truth be told, neither Shidou nor Kaguya had intended for things to escalate to this point.
But everyone had taken this more seriously than imagined. Between this and how things
continued to progress, they had finally reached a point where they couldn’t turn back.
Without appearing to understand what Kaguya was thinking, Origami raised her voice.
“Then, we can only confront the enemy.”
“Confront……?”
“It’s true that the enemy is an abnormal person who managed to kill Tohka. But I do not
think there is a human capable of winning against this many Spirits. If we are prepared
and do not let down our guard, it should be impossible to kill us.”
“That’s true……it’s just like Origami says.”
TL PDF by MBAH
Kotori nodded in response to Origami’s words, and then stood up after stretching her
cheeks to re-group her mind.
“──Let’s all sleep here tonight, everyone. We’ll mount a lookout through a shift system
until morning. Understood? Don’t despair. If we can hold on until the snowstorm passes,
we can escape.”
“…………”
As Kotori clenched her fist tightly as she spoke, the others nodded in agreement.
“Well then, let’s start preparing. Let’s divided and gather all of the necessary things we
need. But no one should act alone; we’ll work together in two man groups. ──Miku and
Natsumi will gather food and water; Kaguya and Shidou will get the sleeping bags for
everyone; Yoshino and Yuzuru, can you make space in front of the fireplace for everyone
to sleep?”
“……Huh? Why did you pair me with Miku as if it were something natural?”
“In my room, I have already prepared a weapon for self-defense; a reserve 9 mm

handgun and its bullets.”
“……Origami, I wanted to ask you before, but do you know about the Swords and
Firearms Control Law?”
“Of course.”
“……Well, that’s helpful now. So, I’ll accompany Origami to her room.”
“Hey……are you listening to me……?”
It seemed like Natsumi wanted to say something. But perhaps understanding that now
was not the time to be capricious; she swallowed her words in silence.
After watching this, Kotori let out an “alright!” as she placed her hand against her waist.
“Let’s begin now. Be careful everyone.”
After everyone nodded, they separated into the newly established groups and scattered
within the cottage.
“L-let’s go, we’re counting on you too, Shidou, Kaguya.”
“Uh, a-ah……hey Kotori.”
“Shidou. ……let’s all escape here together, right?”
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“…………Ehh, oh that’s right.”
As Kotori looked at him directly in the eyes, Shidou replied back in an ambiguous
manner.
With no other choice, he walked down to the next hall with Kaguya.
“……Uhh, Shidou.”
As soon as they reached a place far from the other’s eyes, Kaguya began to speak in a
low voice.
“……What should we do?”
“That’s what I want to know.”
Shidou sighed while scratching his cheek.
“Anyway, if we’re going to tell the truth, it’s better to do it as soon as possible. The
longer this spreads the more difficult it will be to confess.”
“Yeah……you’re right. I think I’m already satisfied seeing Yuzuru and others’ scared
faces. And Tohka would surely be bored if we leave her alone for too long……huh?”
Suddenly, Kaguya turned to the direction of the window, twisting her head curiously.
“Hey, just now did something just happen outside?”
“Huh?”
Upon hearing that, Shidou turned to the window. However, the only thing that could be
seen was the snowstorm blowing almost horizontally.
“I can’t see anything……hey. Don’t tell me you’re intending to scare me as well?”
“No, that wasn’t my intention……uhh, it must have been my imagination.”
After scratching her cheek with her finger, Kaguya let out a sigh along with a small,
“well, forget it.”
“More importantly, let’s hurry and get those sleeping bags.”
“Hmm? Weren’t you going to confess everything?”
“I’m going to. But sleeping all together seems fun. And besides, even if I tell the truth, I
thought that maybe the others would be afraid to sleep in their rooms alone……”
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“……Hey, don’t tell me that you were scared by your own performance.”
After hearing what Shidou had said with his eyes half-closed, Kaguya flushed her cheeks
in a deep red hue.
“Don──don’t take me for a fool! Of course that’s not it!”
“Yes, yes, I understand, I understand.”
“Muu……do you really understand?”
As Kaguya casted a suspicious look, Shidou extended out the palms of his hands as if to
calm her down.
Then, at that moment.
From the direction of the kitchen, a loud noise was heard before a shrill scream echoed
throughout the cottage.
“Ki-kiyaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“U……ugyaaaaaaaah!”
It was the voices of Miku and Natsumi, whom had gone looking for water and food.
Upon hearing that unexpected heartbreaking scream, Shidou and Kaguya reflexively
turned to each other’s eyes.
“Wha, what was that……?”
“Did a cockroach appear? ……No, this is too much for just that.”
“Anyway, let’s go first.”
“Ah……yeah!”
Shidou, along with Kaguya, ran towards the source of that noise.
Along the way, they ran into Yoshino, and Yuzuru, who had been making preparations in
the space where everyone had gathered beforehand. It seemed that the two of them were
also drawn by that noise.
“Yoshino, Yuzuru!”
“Shidou……san!”
“Guide. Over here, let’s hurry.”
TL PDF by MBAH
After saying that, Yuzuru ran into the kitchen──but then her feet came to a sudden stop.
As for the reason for that, Shidou, who followed suit after her, quickly understood.
The back of the kitchen where emergency food was stockpiled……
That place……was dyed red with fresh blood.
“U-uwaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Shidou’s eyes popped open widely as he let out a scream.
A corner of the kitchen had become a literally sea of blood. And in the center there
were──the familiar silhouette of two girls lying there.
One was Miku. The other was Natsumi.
There was no doubt. They were the Spirits who had just been talking with Shidou.
After seeing them in this unrecognizable state, Shidou’s teeth creaked.
“This got to be a lie……right?”
“W-what is this…..what the hell is this……who the hell did this……?”
Just like Shidou, Kaguya moaned while holding her hand against her head in confusion.
Then, Yuzuru, with her face marked by a frown, answered back to him.
“Identification. What are you saying, Kaguya. …This is obviously the snowy mountain
killer.”
“……!”
“Wha──!”
Listening to Yuzuru, Shidou and Kaguya widened their eyes as they looked towards each
other.
It’s true, just as Yuzuru had said, this atrocious scene before their eyes at this time was
remarkable similar to the one they saw a few moments ago in Tohka’s room. There was a
huge amount of blood as if carotid artery had been completely severed and corpses fresh
with wet blood. The glass window at the back of the kitchen was also broken with snow
blowing loudly outside.
However, that was impossible. Such a thing could not be. Shidou and Kaguya exchanged
a conversation through a glance.
TL PDF by MBAH
Yes, what had happened in Tohka’s room was a prank crafted by Shidou and Kaguya, a
so called fake murder case.
There was no such thing as a snowy mountain murderer.
──But, if that was the case, then what the hell was happening before their eyes right
now?
“W-what does this mean, Kaguya?”
“I-I don’t know. Even if you were to ask me……”
While Shidou and Kaguya were talking in a low voice, the sound of someone running
came from behind them.
“……!”
Shidou was on guard for a moment──but he immediately recognized soon that it was
Kotori and Origami. They had likely heard Miku and Natsumi’s cry and come running
here.
“Shidou, what is── ……!”
Before she finished speaking, Kotori covered her mouth.
“Miku, Natsumi……it can’t be……”
“……This place is dangerous, we better return to where we were before.”
Origami’s eyebrows faintly twitched just a little as she said that. It was not as if she was
completely unaffected by this. But since she was a former member of the JSDF, she
could organize in her mind what should be given priority at this moment.
“Y-yes……that’s……right.”
Miku and Natsumi found their end at the hands of a murderer that shouldn’t exist. The
meaning behind that unknown fact still lingered in his head.
But the fact that he could keep standing here was the only fact that he understood. After
aligning his hands to pray before Miku and Natsumi’s corpses, in accordance to
Origami’s orders, he took Yoshino’s hand, as she was still paralyzed from shock, and
returned back to the shared space.
The space in front of the fireplace had been cleared thanks to the work of Yoshino and
Yuzuru. And not only that, the chairs were arranged in their surroundings to resemble a
simple barricade. As Shidou and the others passed through this and approached the
fireplace, he finally let out a sigh.
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Origami, while surveying the area without lowering her guard, made a clicking metallic
sound from the 9 mm in her hands.
“──Anyway, all we can do is resisting here until the snowstorm passes.”
“That’s right.”
After saying that, Kotori, just like Origami, got into position looking through the
peephole with a pistol in her hands.
“Kotori……you can use a gun?”
“……I’ve been trained. But only to the level of a hobby.”
“…………”
Witnessing this unknown side from his little sister at this unexpected moment caused
Shidou to be even more bewildered.
But that feeling wasn’t limited to just Shidou. The confusion that Kaguya showed after
having seen the corpses of Miku and Natsumi a few moments ago was more than
obvious to him than anyone else watching from the side.
“Hey, are you okay, Kaguya?”
“Ah……ah……”
Kaguya clenched her head as her shoulders trembled weakly.
“……Why, Miku and Natsumi……m-maybe because I said that……? Because I told the
story of the snowy mountain killer, it has become reality…..?”
“Kaguya!”
“……!”
Hearing Shidou’s loud scream, Kaguya shook her shoulders in fright.
“That sort of thing has no connection to this, right? Cheer up Kaguya.”
“Ah…...yeah, sorry……”
Kaguya nodded weakly.
And then, at that instant, the light that illuminated their surroundings suddenly began to
flicker.
TL PDF by MBAH
After a few seconds, the lights went completely dark.
“W-what!? What happened!?”
“Shudder. A blackout……?”
Disturbed, everyone began looking around their surroundings in fright.
Luckily, due to being in front of the fireplace, Shidou and the others were not in
complete darkness. Thanks to the light of the burning flames, their surroundings were
dimly illuminated.
However, the intensity of those flames could not compare to that of electrical light. There
was only a small range visible. With darkness seeping into the corridors leading up the
staircase, the peeping abyss stroked everyone’s fears.
“Why at such timing……”
“Ku……wait a moment. I’m going to use the light from my cell phone.”
Then, just as Shidou said that while reaching into his pocket……
From the end of the corridor, something resembling the faint sound of footsteps was
heard.
“……!? W-who is it!?
“Don’t move.”
Kotori and Origami issued out a warning while pointing the barrel of their loaded pistols
towards the direction of that sound.
However, the source of those footsteps did not stop. Slowly, but surely, those disturbing
footprints resonated with the sound of something heavy being dragged on the floor.
As “that” arrived at the distance illuminated by the fireplace──the strange figure was
exposed to Shidou and the others’ eyes.
At a stature of about 2 meters, the figure was the person was covered by a tattered cloak.
His face was completely covered by a hood and couldn’t be perceived. But even then,
from time to time again, agitated breathing was heard escaping from his mouth. In his
hand, he held a huge blood-covered ax whose tip was dragged against the floor.
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”
“Kiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”
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“W-who is thissssssssss!?”
The moment they saw that appearance, which could only be described as bizarre, Shidou
and the others let out a frightened cry.
The strange figure──the snowy mountain killer shook his body as if responding to those
screams, raising his face slowly as he began to accelerate his pace towards Shidou and
the others.
“Stop and freeze.”
Despite Origami’s warning, the killer didn’t stop moving. After Origami clicked against
her tongue, she lower the muzzle a little to aim at the murderer’s feet.
Bang! A dry sound echoed. However, even after this sound resonated, the murderer did
not stop his momentum.
“What──”
Origami held her breath as she fired for a second and third time. At that moment,
Kotori’s shoulder shook as she also pulled the trigger.
Countless shots rang inside the cottage──but the murderer still would not stop.
Even though it was dark, it was difficult to imagine that Origami and Kotori missed all
of their shots at such a close range. No, before that, even assuming if they were
mistaken, a normal person would have been frightened by the sound of bullets and
probably flee.
And yet, the killer not only did not stop, but he also accelerated his steps stalkingly
towards them. It as if he could not perceive any pain from the bullets making contact
with his body.
“Shidou, we’ll stop him here. Take the others and run.”
Origami, while not neglecting her gaze towards the murderer closely approaching them,
changed the magazine of her weapon skillfully as she spoke.
“B-but.”
“Stop talking and leave at once! The two of us can escape more easily than you guys.
Take care of Yoshino and the others!”
“Ku……”
Hearing that, Shidou furrowed his brow.
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“I understand. Sorry……! Let’s go, Yoshino, Kaguya, and Yuzuru!”
“Yes……!”
“U-uh……!”
“Consent. Thank you, Kotori, Master Origami.”
Yoshino, Kaguya, and Yuzuru all replied back as they followed Shidou’s lead.
They escaped through the shared space by pushing the chairs away as they entered the
darken corridor. Behind them, the sounds of noisy gunshots and a swinging axe echoed.
“……Ku!”
“Kyaaaaaah!”
A few seconds later, Origami and Kotori’s screams could be heard. After that, no more
sound come be heard coming from behind them.
“──Origami, Kotori!”
No, to say that no sound could be heard……would be a mistake. From the other side of
the darkness, the sound of the killer’s footsteps and the dragged axe could once more be
heard.
“P-perhaps……”
Yoshino let out an anxious voice. He understood what she was thinking immediately.
But──Shidou tightly held against her shoulders to prevent her from continuing.
“……Everything is fine. It’s Origami and Kotori, right? There’s no way that the two of
them were defeated. Surely, they must have managed to escape as well.”
After hearing what Shidou had said, Yoshino delicately raised her eyebrows for a second
but then shook her head as if to dissuade herself from those thoughts.
“Encourage. In any case, we have to flee now.”
“Yes──!”
After nodding back, they ran across the hallway to escape from the footsteps pursuing
them.
However, wide as it may be, a cottage was still a cottage. Shidou and the girls soon ran
into a dead end.
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“Ku……the corridor ends here…..!”
“! Shidou, look here, there’s a room here!”
Kaguya said while pointing to the wall on the left. Although it was left unnoticed
because of the darkness, there was certainly a door there.
Fleeing into a room was also trapped oneself into a dead end in other words. But now
was not the time to be saying such things. While listening to the footsteps of the slowly
approaching assassin, Shidou pushed the door open and guided the Spirits inside.
“Hurry, in here!”
After he finally entered himself, Shidou quickly locked the door.
But obviously, they couldn’t relax with just that. Shidou and the girls moved the shelves,
chairs, sofa, and anything that could be found in the room to form a barricade blocking
the door.
Then, a few seconds later, the footsteps stopped in front of the door──
Dang! The sound of metal striking against wood resonated. Each time this resounded, the
door and furniture leaning against it began to stir slightly.
“……S-shidou-san……!”
“It’s okay. Everything will be fine……!”
While not taking his eyes off the shaking door, Shidou put his hands on the girls’
shoulders to reassure them. Each time the sound of the axe struck the sound, everybody’s
bodies trembled slightly.
“Ku……”
Although he said that everything was fine, at this rate the door would be destroyed
sooner or later. What should he do──
As Shidou was thinking desperately of what to do, the sound of the door being shattered
suddenly stopped.
The sound of the footsteps gradually receded as if marking the disappearance of the
presence of the murderer from the other side of the door.
“Huh……?”
“Suspicion. What happened?”
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Kaguya and Yuzuru both spoke stupefied with their eyes wide open. Yoshinon, perched
on Yoshino’s left hand, adopted a similar pose while tilted its neck exaggeratingly.
“Perhaps he gave up because the door wouldn’t open~?”
“Hmm……that’s what I want to believe, but……”
While making a difficult face, Shidou brought his hand against his chin──
“……Ah!”
His shoulders began to shake as if remembering something.
“Wait a moment……hey Kaguya, do you remember the story you told before dinner?”
“Huh? Y-yes. But what about it?”
“Well……if I remember correctly, this looks just like the end of that story──”
Then, just as Shidou was talking……
Outside of the window positioned right of Shidou and the others, a huge shadow
appeared. At the next moment, crash! Accompanying that thunderous noise, the glass on
the window was shattered.
“Hii──!”
Frightened by that noise, Kaguya hugged Shidou hastily.
“Kaguya, are you alright?”
“I’m fine! I-I'm not afraid! Even if I die......I'll be fine while I’m with Shidou!”
Kaguya screamed with her eyes full of tears.
As if guided by those screams, the assassin began to move his feet slowly──at the
moment of arriving at Shidou and the others’ eyes; he slowly raised the axe carried by
his hand.
Faced with this overwhelming terror, Kaguya raised a scream that could pierce anyone's
eardrums.
“Kya──
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
TL PDF by MBAH
And then──in sync with that scream, a torrent of wind swirled throughout the room,
becoming a compressed whirlpool shot out at the killer's direction.
“……!?”
Taking furniture and other things that were in the room, tearing the floors and roof, the
violent flow of wind ripped through the wall of the room. It seems that a part of the
reiryoku had flowed in the opposite direction due to the destabilization of the mental
state.
And it seems that even the murderer could not bear against this. The huge silhouette was
sent flying by the wind, along with the wall, and was left with arms and feet extended on
the snowfield where the snowstorm continued to fall.
“! S-shidou-san, look!”
Looking surprised, Yoshino pointed towards the fallen murderer.
“Huh? What──ahhh!”
After seeing that, Shidou opened his eyes wide in amazement.
Due to the snowstorm, the ragged coat that wrapped around the killer's body unraveled
and what was hidden inside was revealed to everyone……
Those who were lying there unconsciousness were Miku and Natsumi, with latter on the
shoulders of the former.
“Miku……Natsumi? What does this mean? Weren’t the two of you……”
“Ah, it got exposed.”
As Shidou was left astonished, from the other side of the wall with the improved
landscape, Kotori and Origami showed their faces.
“Huh? Ha……?”
Shidou let out a clumsy voice.
“──Everything was a joke!?”
Afterwards, while waiting for Miku and Natsumi to regain consciousness, Shidou raised
a disarrayed voice as the situation was being explained.
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Kotori continued on while shrugging her shoulders.
“After dinner, by chance I ended up listening to your conversation with Kaguya. How
you wanted to fake a crime scene and scare us, am I right? I thought it was necessary for
a little bit of punishment for children thinking up of such mischief.”
“T-then what about Tohka too……?”
“That was obvious. It was a poor murder scene. And to begin with, Spirits can’t be
defeated that easily.”
After hearing what Kotori had said with her eyes-half closed, Kaguya averted her gaze
uncomfortably with a small “ugh……”
“Did everyone know……?”
“No, not all of them. Yoshino and Yuzuru shouldn’t have known. I’m sorry for involving
you two.”
“I’m sorry……Yoshino……”
Natsumi shrugged, looking very embarrassed. In response, Yoshino waved her hand as if
saying “No, don’t worry”.
“It’s okay. More importantly, I’m glad that Natsumi-san and the others were safe and
sound.”
“Yoshino……”
Natsumi revealed a moved expression as she tried to approach Yoshino. But her path was
blocked by Miku.
“Aaah, Yoshino-san is so gentle ~! I can’t believe how much you were worried about
me!”
“M-miku-san……!”
“……This……hey, you’re blocking my way……”
While watching the exchange from the sidelines, Kotori slightly pricked Kaguya’s nose.
“Do you understand the feelings of those who are scared? If with this you’ve learned
your lesson, stop doing so many pranks, alright?”
“Mguuu……”
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Kaguya made a bitter face while looking frustrated for a moment, but then let out a big
sigh as if having given up.
“……Sorry.”
“Very well──I have to apologize as well. We might have overdone it a little. It wasn’t
our intention to scare you to the point of reiryoku reversing in the opposite direction.”
Kotori said that while gently caressing Kaguya’s head.
But at that moment, Kaguya’s eyebrows twitched as if she remembered something.
“As for that……”
While saying that, she gently moved her gaze……towards Yuzuru’s direction.
“The one that sent Miku and Natsumi flying at that moment, I think it wasn’t me,
right……?”
“……”
Yuzuru pulled her face away, trying to look away from Kaguya’s gaze. But her
shuddering face was stopped in its tracks with both of Kaguya’s hands.
“Hey, Yuzuru? Remind me who was the one at that moment who forgot to say her little
phrase before speaking and raised such an adorable scream ~.”
Kaguya said with a malicious smile while looking strangely cheerful.
“Unknown. I do not understand what you're talking about, Kaguya.”
“Hey, what’s the problem? If you were scared, why not admit it? Nobody would blame
you, right Yuzuru?”
“Refuse. Let me go.”
“Come on, be honest. Everything is fine, the murderer was a lie.”
After mocking Yuzuru for a while, Kaguya let out a sigh while looking very satisfied.
But then, she opened her eyes as if remembering something else.
“Hafufufu……by the way, who was the one looking out from the window when Shidou
and I were looking for the sleeping bags? Miku and Natsumi were still in the cottage
then, right?”
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“Huh?”
Hearing what Kaguya had said, Kotori, Origami, Miku, and Natsumi tilted their heads.
“Outside the window……?”
“I don’t know.”
“……It wasn’t me.”
“What are you talking about?”
Faced with these answers, a bead of sweat dripped from Kaguya’s cheerful face.
“Huh…...w-wait a minute, then what I saw back then──
At that moment──just as Kaguya was in the middle of speaking.
The sound of footsteps……was heard coming from the stairs.
“……!”
Kaguya’s entire body began to tremble.
No, it was not just Kaguya. Everyone who was present felt something sinister and
directed their attention towards the source of that sound.
Creak, creak, creak……
The footsteps were slowly approaching ......until finally a figure was exposed to
everyone's eyes.
That body──was covered from head to foot with blood.
“I-it’s heeeeeeeeeere!”
“Ukiyaaaaaaah!”
“Nooooooooooo!”
All the Spirits raised a cry and fled from that place.
“Fuaah~……hmm?”
Tohka stretched her body, letting out a drowsy yawn while looking around.
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After that, Tohka, who had been left alone in that room, had fallen asleep at some point.
And since she had just woken up, she headed downstairs where she heard everyone’s
voices……But for some reason, they all started shouting and fleeing as soon as she
appeared.
“Muu……what’s wrong, everyone?”
While scratching her cheek covered in fake blood, Tohka tilted her neck curiously.
TL PDF by MBAH
Spirit Snow Wars
“Shidou, it’s dangerous!”
“……!”
Heeding the warning of Kotori’s voice, Shidou quickly withdrew his head behind a
protective wall.
After that moment, an innumerable number of “projectiles” passed by the location where
Shidou’s head had been. The impact against the back of the wall launched a
“gagagagagagaga” sound. If Shidou had not retracted his head in time, there was a
possibility that everything above his neck would have become independent from the rest
of his body.
“So, sorry, you just saved me, Kotori.”
“You have to be more careful. A moment of negligence can lead to fatal repercussions.
Don’t show your face out in the open so carelessly──Natsumi!?”
“……Un, don’t do that, absolutely don’t do that.”
After Kotori finished speaking, Natsumi’s face was flushed with a blue hue as she
squatted down behind the protective wall. Her shoulders were trembling as she replied
back. Before Kotori could continue, it seemed that they had not considered in the
slightest the state of affairs that would result from their faces peeking out from their wall.
Shidou, Kotori, and Natsumi, the three of them were now hiding in the shadow of a
sturdy protective wall, just barely escaping the attack of their “enemy”.
If this continued, they would be inevitably repressed. Kotori gritted her teeth as she
reluctantly had to acknowledge that. Then, she placed her hand on her forehead in order
to brainstorm a possible countermeasure.
“Kotori, we can’t keep up like this. I’ll be the decoy and provide cover, you two should
use that that opportunity to advance forward.”
“No, it’s still too dangerous. And even if it were successful, moving one or two meters
ahead wouldn’t overturn the current situation. What’s more──”
Just as Kotori was speaking, the walls gave out another “gagagagagaga” sound. Shidou
and the others hide for protection as their protective shelter began vibrating again.
“Wh……what!?”
“Oioi……you’ve got to be kidding me. No way……”
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“……With this kind of power, the protective wall will be blown away soon……!?”
The three of them all let out a collective shiver.
That’s right. Shidou took a peak out and saw that they were losing their patience. The
“enemy” had decided to destroy their shelter as a means of enforcement.
“Kotori, Natsumi! We have to make our counterattack before the wall collapses!”
“Ku……it can’t be helped then.”
“Un……are you kidding, we seriously have to……?”
In response to Shidou’s instructions, Kotori seemed annoyed while Natsumi looked on in

astonishment. Shidou felt saliva come down from his dry throat under the tension. He
slowly picked up another “projectile” with his hand.
Then, before preparing his posture to rush from behind the protective wall, Shidou raised
his voice to shout.
“Hey, Kotori!”
“What Shidou!”
“…… Is this really how you have a snowball fight!?”
Shidou’s painful cry was drowned out by the constant sweep of snowballs flung like a
raging storm.
That morning, Shidou woke up to a sudden chill that seeped all the way to his bones.
Shidou was awakened by the “batabatabatatu” sound coming from footsteps outside the
corridor. Suddenly, the door flew open and his bed blankets were swiftly removed.
“Shidou! Quick, get up!”
“……Uga!?”
A tranquil and warm incarnation • under the divine protection of the futon Daimyojin,
Shidou, who was in such a restful sleep, suddenly curled up after being attacked by a
sudden chill. It was the exact opposite sentiment of a vampire had been suddenly
exposed to the sun or an earthworm trapped above some heated asphalt.
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Reluctantly struggling on his bed for ten more minutes, Shidou rubbed his sleepy eyes as
he began to stare at his visitor.
The one who grabbed Shidou’s blanket was standing in front of her bed was a girl with
long plum hair and crystal eyes. Right now, her face was like a doll flushed with the
color of excitement.
“……Tohka, what happened? It’s still early.”
“Umu!”
As Shidou slowly got up from his bed, Tohka nodded her head as she headed to the
window to open the curtains.
“Look at this, Shidou!”
“What ah……this is──”
Even without finishing those words, Shidou could already figure out Tohka’s motives.
The window still showed the familiar view of Tenguu City.
Only it was completely transformed into a silver world.
“Eh……with it being this cold it should have snowed, but I didn’t think that it would
accumulate this much.”
“Umu! Everyone is building a snowman in the backyard. Shidou should also come
quickly!”
Tohka’s eyes emitted a glittering sparkle. Despite the cold weather, she was still so
energetic. Shidou couldn’t help but to crack a smile.
“I understand, I’ll come over after getting dressed. Tohka, can you go over there first?”
“Umu, alright!”
Tohka exaggeratedly nodded before running out of the room full of energy. Ten minutes
later, an “Uhahahah!” sound echoed from the room of Shidou’s little sister, Kotori.
Apparently, Tohka had come to not only wake him up, but Kotori as well.
Shidou could only shrug a little as he got out of bed to change clothes before coming out
from the room.
Afterwards, he encountered a girl with black ribbons that also had her futon kidnaped by
Tohka, his little sister Itsuka Kotori.
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“……Good morning Shidou.”
“Ah, good morning Kotori.”
After the greeting, Kotori, who was still very tired, gave out a yawn.
“Really, the Spirits in the mansion are really energetic considering they just came back
from the ski trip.”
“That’s true……but compared to scenery of the snowy mountains, isn’t there a certain
charm in having the usual streets covered in snow?”
“Well, it’s not as if I don’t understand. Let’s go now; it’s rare for them to invite us for
something, so we shouldn’t keep them waiting too long.
“Ah, that’s right.”
After changing clothes and eating a simple meal, the two of them departed the Itsuka
residence and went right next door to the Spirit mansion.
“Hey──Tohka”
“Oh, you both came!”
As Shidou waved his hand, Tohka was rolling over a large snowball. Behind Tohka, a
petite girl, who was collecting twigs that would be used for parts of the snowman, raised
her face.
“Ah……Shidou-san, Kotori-san.”
“You’ve come just in time; we’re just about to put the head on.”
The girl──Yoshino spoke while wearing the rabbit puppet “Yoshinon” on her left hand.
At the same time, the twins were making another snowman farther back before turning
their eyes to Shidou.
“Kuku…… my servant who was finally awakened for the darkness of sleep, the world
has been filled with silver. So let’s indulge in this madness.”
“Agreement. It’s such a waste to sleep in on such a day.”
As Kaguya and Yuzuru Yamai spoke, they both grasped their hands to clench their fists.
Incidentally, Yuzuru was wearing warm mittens, while Kaguya was wearing leather
gloves that left her fingertips exposed. It certainly didn’t seem like it was suitable for
making contact with snow.
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“……Eh, speaking of which, Natsumi is ──”
However, Shidou suddenly stopped speaking. He found that behind Yoshino a small
figure was rubbing her hands together to fight against the cold.
“Sorry, it really it seems that I have no sense of presence.”
After saying this, Natsumi turned her gloomy eyes towards Shidou. Shidou felt a
glimmer of sweat drip down from his forehead as he tried to give a smile.
“No, it’s not like that……”
As Shidou was thinking of a method to deal with the depressed mood, Tohka suddenly
shouted out “alright!” in a loud voice.
“I’ll put the head on now!”
Tohka raised the huge snowball that she was rolling and placed it on top of the body that
they had made in advance.
On the other side, Yoshino was collecting branches and pine nuts to decorate the
snowman. Natsumi, who moved on from glaring a dissatisfied stare at Shidou, also went
out to help Yoshino.
A few minutes later, the beautiful snowman was finally completed.
“Ohh, it’s amazing!”
“There’s plenty of charm in it.”
“Right! It’s all because of our joint effort!”
As Shidou finished, Tohka puffed her chest in pride. Yoshino placed her free hand on her
waist. Despite being embarrassed, Natsumi also imitated Yoshino’s actions.
“Fufu, as expected by the snowman created by us Yamai. The "König-Schnee-Zero

Formula” exceeds your inferior craftsmanship.”
“Approval. It is very cute……Well then, what should we play next. With Kotori and
Shidou also participating, it would be desirable to have something that everyone can do
together.”
“How about building igloos or a snowball fight?”
“Igloos?”
“Snowball fight?”
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In response to Shidou’s words, both Tohka and Yoshino tilted their heads in confusion at
the same time.
“An igloo is a house made out of snow. It takes a lot of snow to build and you need to
hollow it out, but the inside is surprisingly warm.”
“…………”
After the explanation, one of the Spirits there had her ears trembling for a
bit──Natsumi. Although it was an unusual reaction considering her usual mood……it
was probably because of the fear of being confined to a small space made of snow.
“The other option, a snowball fight, is where you split into teams and try to throw
snowballs at each other and lose if you get hit.”
“Hoho, a battle──in other words a war. After hearing something like, we can’t help but
not remain silent.”
“Agreement. My blood is stirring.”
“No…….that would be too dangerous……”
Shidou responded with a wry smile, but it seemed that the two of them didn’t listen
either way.
Not only just the Yamai Sisters, Tohka was also interested while hearing the rules for the
first time. Yoshino was also attracted to the notion of “throwing snowballs” as her eyes
sparkling. Among the Spirits, only Kotori and Natsumi displayed a less interested
expression.
“I guess there’s really no other way……”
“I think building an igloo is better, but……”
Both of them were deeply aware that there was no other way to convince the other
Spirits. Giving up, they both breathed out a sigh.
“Okay! Then let’s try this snowball fight. The goal is to throw snowballs at each other,
right?”
“──Naïve.”
As Tohka was speaking, another voice suddenly came from behind them.
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After turning around, two figures were standing over there. One of them was a tall girl
wearing luxurious clothes, Izayoi Miku. The other girl was the one that had just spoken
and was equipped with white camouflage clothes, Tobiichi Origami.
“Oh, so both Miku and Origami have also come.”
“Yes! We just received a love call from Kaguya-san.”
“Eh!? That’s wrong! The child of the hurricane summoned you with her invocation
tome.”
“You received a call (jargon) from the child of the hurricane.”
“What’s the meaning behind (jargon) that!?
After Miku finished speaking, Kaguya collected her voice and began shouted in an
incredulous tone.
Beside her was Yuzuru, who didn’t seem to care much for her sister’s rant. Rather, her
line sight was instead directed towards Origami.
“Confirm. What exactly did Master Origami mean by “naïve”?
“The meanings behind it, you all do not understand the profound meaning behind a
snowball fight.”
“Deep meanings……?”
In response to Shidou’s question, Origami nodded her head.
“Yes, the snowball fight is a game where international rules have appeared because of
its long history of existence. There are detailed regulations regarding team size, outfits,
and the dimensions of the snowball.”
“Is that so, how come we don’t know about these detailed rules……”
“No problem, I am fully aware of the rules.”
After having said that, Origami glanced at the Spirits and the courtyard of the apartment.
“However, it would be difficult to play a game with the official rules given the number
of people and the environment. Therefore, we should adopt the double OO formula
rules.”
“OO formula……?”
“O (Oririn) O (Original)”
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“Would that just make one even more worried!?”
Although Shidou issued a cry of lament, it did not persuade Origami to stop.
“Since there are nine people here, there will be a battle royal where three teams will be
decided irregularly through rock paper scissors.”
Origami raised her right hand. In coordination to that, everyone else also raised their
hands in the same way.
“Rock paper scissors……shoot!”
As everyone shouted in unison, everyone thrusted their hands into a shape based on the
intentions guided by their thoughts.
“──I am with Yuzuru and Miku. Tohka, Yoshino, and Kaguya are a team. Shidou,
Kotori, and Natsumi are the last group.”
Origami spoke after observing everyone’s hands.
Seeing this result, Shidou unintentionally gave out a wry smile.
……Although it could not be helped since it was done through rock paper scissors,
but……no matter what he said, it still felt like a very biased team. After all, Shidou’s
team was composed by people who were not that very enthusiastic about the snowball
fight.
Taking notice of Shidou’s condition, Natsumi cast Shidou in her gloomy line of sight.
"……Wh-what please say it clearly if you do not want me to join."
“No, no one said such a thing……”
Shidou, after trying to comfort Natsumi, looked onto to Kotori, who merely shrugged
before speaking.
“But, in a sense, the meaning behind this competition isn’t that wonderful. I would
rather retire early and let the other two teams duke it out.”
“……Agreed. There are people who are afraid of getting hurt.”
As Kotori spoke, Natsumi nodded her head in agreement.
“Hey……I understand the mood, but this a rare activity, so we should still try and enjoy
it……”
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Just as Shidou was speaking to them, Origami began to describe the rules.
“──Then for the next 30 minutes, the three groups should each find a position to
establish a fortress and erect a flag in the innermost position. The conditions for defeat
for each team are if all members are hit by a snowball, or if the team flag gets taken
away.”
Origami turned to face Shidou as she continued to speak.
“──Furthermore, while players that have been hit are forced to retire; they can be
revived as a bonus if their team steals one of the other team’s flags.”
“This way, the teams can even plan for a bold assault.”
“Also, a team that has had their flag taken will be forced to join the team that has taken
their flag. Those that had not yet been hit by a snowball will continue to fight as players
for the new team.”
"Fufufu .... That is pretty important. If we take a flag without retiring one of our
opponents, our troops would be doubled in a single stroke.”
“"Finally, as a reward for the final winning team, that team will have the right to give
commands to everyone else as a prize."
“……What!?”
Hearing Origami issue that condition so naturally, Shidou could help but make that
sound.
“Wait, hold on a second! What’s with that rule!? I’ve never heard of that before!”
“I just explained that, so there are no problems.”
Just as Origami finished, the team composing of Yuzuru and Miku distorted the corners
of their lips.
“Approval. That’s right, there’s nothing wrong.”
“Ufufu……what shall I ask for, I’m looking forward to it──”
As Miku said that, she cast a gaze at Shidou, Kotori, and Natsumi while licking her lips.
The three of them all shuttered at the sight.
“O…Oi……as expected, aren’t these rules strange!?”
Shidou tried to make an appeal to the Tohka, Yoshino, and Kaguya team. Indeed if a
vote is cast, they could overrule it with a 6 to 3 majority.
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But contrary to Shidou’s hopes, Tohka had been tilting her head to the ground curiously.
“Mu? In other words, if I win, I can have anything I want for dinner today!”
“Looking forward…..to it.”
“Kakaka! No problem, no problem. No matter what, our team will be the one to win.
Shidou, yielding already is the thought process for the dead. If you’re alive, then press
forward!”
“N-no, I didn’t mean it like that……”
“──Then let’s begin. The key to victory lies in a sturdy wall.”
As Shidou was about to tell Tohka and the others about Origami’s intentions, Origami
interrupted him with a loud clap of her hands. Tohka cheerfully said “Oh!” and went off
to start building her snow fortress.
“Ku……!”
So it was already impossible to say anything to stop it anymore. Shidou’s grimace

displayed a painful expression.
Seeing Shidou like this, Kotori and Natsumi could only give an uneasy look from
behind.
“Seems the situation has suddenly changed for the worse……”
“……W-what should be done now with this?”
“…………”
Shidou gripped his fist as he turned around to face the two of them.
“There is only one way. We have to win.”
“Didn’t you say something cool before?”
As the snowball fight began, Kotori gave out a scream as they were hiding from a torrent
of snowballs sweeping like rounds from a machine gun.
“N-no way! To be stuck at this step……!”
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Shidou’s group formed from the rock paper scissors match (Team 5・7・5) had been
unable to move from their initial position since the beginning of the battle. Of course,
every time they had tried to leave and retaliate, they were hampered by a barrage of
white projectiles.
However it wasn’t just Shidou’s group. On the left side, the Tobiichi platoon was in a
similar position.
Yes, Weiß Legion reformed on the right side was dominating the battlefield with
overwhelming firepower and quantity.
“What should we do!?”
Shidou exposed an embarrassing face as his heart issued a desperate cry.
After all, the Weiß Legion possessed a combination of both devastating explosive power
by arranging Tohka, who boasted great physical strength even among the Spirits, as the
vanguard. This was done in conjunction with Kaguya’s nimble movements and superior
speed in the center, allowing for a great scope of range in their pitching ability.
But more than that, no matter how strong the offense, it takes time to gather snowballs
before throwing. The number of projectiles should be limited and sometime should be
dedicated towards recharging ammo. For such an attack-oriented team, there should be
an opportunity to launch a counter assault at this time period.
However, it was completely different for Weiß Legion. Yoshino was positioned in the
rear guard, replenishing snowball at a vigorous pace to ensure that not a slight pause
would be taken from their avant grade assault.
“……Are, how is that not a foul? I see that there is an infinite amount of snowball being
produced from Yoshinon’s mouth……”
A glimmer of sweat feel form Shidou’s head as he spoke. Meanwhile, Kotori also
revealed a similar expression.
“……Well, I think it falls under a gray area in the rules. Either way, there’s no way to
appeal against it now.”
“Ah……”
As Shidou was engaging in this dialogue, a drastic change occurred in the battlefield
situation.
From the Tobiichi Platoon, Kaguya and Miku jumped out from the protection of their
guardian walls, changing the situation which had mostly been a defensive battle up until
now.
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“Participation. No matter what, I won’t let Kaguya’s team succeed.
“Haha! It’s everyone’s Miku.”
Yuzuru and Miku adopted a lovely posture, almost deliberately provoking the Weiß
Legion to attack.
“Ho! So you’ve finally come out, Yuzuru. I’ve been waiting!”
Kaguya cried out loudly, as she threw a snowball at Yuzuru’s direction.
“Avoid. Fu──”
Yuzuru easily traversed through the air, turning around to mangificantly avoid the large
abundant amount of snowballs heading her way. Rollovers, flips, and summersaults,
Yuzuru countered while still in midair. It was a dazzling display of physical prowess.
If you didn’t look closely, it seemed as if she was floating. ……Well, it wasn’t as if the
trajectory of Kaguya’s snowballs also obeyed common sense.
“Really, that child……even if it was just a small amount but to use Reiryoku for
this……”
Kotori placed her hand on her forehead as if trying to mitigate her annoyed expression.
At the same time, Tohka picked up a snowball and aimed at Yuzuru.
But Miku, who was also at the center of the battlefield, had deflected the attack and
puffed up her chest in pride.
“Ufufu……Tohka-san, should you only be occupied with Yuzuru-san right now?”
“Mu?”
As if allured by those words, Tohka turned her attention to Miku. Then, Miku stretched
out her as if trying to stop Tohka.
“Stop—really please stop Tohka-san. I can’t move as quickly as Yuzuru-san, and

because I’m not wearing my Astral Dress, a snowball thrown by Tohka-san would
definitely hurt. ──Now, can you still throw it?”
“……Mu?”
After showing a confused look, Tohka winded up like a baseball pitcher and threw the
snowball in her hand.
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In that moment, a loud roar erupted as that snowball flew past Miku, briefly brushing the
idol’s hair before crashing into the wall behind them.
“Hi…… hi ~i~i~tsu!?”
Miku immediately cried out in terrified voice, before collapsing onto the ground after her
legs gave into her fear.
Looking at that scene from a distance, Natsumi’s face changed into a blue hue.
“W-what power. I wouldn’t be able save myself after being hit by something like that.”
“Certainty……how the heck are you supposed to fight against that……”
“Ara, it would be impossible to shield against a technique like that.”
Kotori spoke as if to answer Natsumi and Shidou’s words.
“Eh? What the hell can we do?”
“Easy, first we have Shidou receive a snowball thrown by Tohka at full power.”
“Yeah, I’m dropping this idea at the notion of the word ‘first’.”
“The important thing will start from here. Though Shidou’s soul will be forced to retire,
his body will serve as a wall to protect us.”
“Are you really that inhumane!?”
“I’m joking, joking.”
In the midst of Shidou’s screams, Kotori waved her hand as she proceeded to speak.
On the other side, Miku began to stand up while issuing an unsteady voice.
“T-Tohka-chan!? What are you doing! That power just now was even stronger than
before!”
“Eh? Is Miku telling me to not throw it seriously?”
"Please remember the whole sentence properly!"
“Muu…..then why not?”
“Should it be something like “Ku……it’s no good, I can’t bring myself to harm Miku.”
“It’s okay, Tohka-san, the battlefield doesn’t suit your gentle hands. Now come,
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jump into my bosom. ““Ahhh, Miku”… this kind of feeling!”
“Mu……?”
Listening to Miku’s words, Tohka instinctively frowned.
Looking at this scene from afar, Natsumi shuttered while keeping her eyes half closed.
“…..Hey, isn’t this a chance opportunity?”
“Ah……”
Kotori sharped her gaze and picked up a snowball and threw it at Miku.
The snowball exploded on Miku’s head, who had been trying to feverishly talk down
Tohka.
“Eh? Ahhhhhhh!”
Miku clutched her forehead as the remaining amount of snow fell down to the
ground…..it was an incredibly helpless event.
“How to say it……”
“……Well, at least Miku went out in style.”
Shidou and Kotori both gave a bitter smile before laughing.
“…..But this might not be a good thing. The worst case situation for us now is if the
“Tobiichi Platoon” wins, but as far as I can see, the “Weiß Legion” is the one currently
dominating right now. Even though Yuzuru is skillful at dodging, it still doesn’t
drastically change the battle situation. If Tohka keeps pushing forward like this…..”
“Ah──that’s right. If Tohka’s group wins, then they wouldn’t be able to command Miku
now…..!”
“Though if she wins her orders would only be limited to tonight’s menu for dinner.”
Kotori raised the end of her lip, while a sweat drop fell from her head.
“Defeat by getting hit by the snowball would definitely hurt, it would be better to hope to
have the flag taken.
“Un, I agree.”
Natsumi nodded her head gallingly in response to Kotori’s words.
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Really, it was just as Kotori had said. Their goal was not to win the right to command,
but rather not let “Tobiichi Platoon” obtain that right. As long as the Weiß Legion
continued to work like this, then there should be no more problems.
Over by the snowy fields, Miku, who fell down, complained loudly in an unhappy voice.
“…..Ara──Is nobody willing to play the script? I’m waiting for a princess’s kiss to
wake me up.”
Hearing this, Kotori reluctantly sighed.
"...... As expected, there is no one rushing around in the midst of the battlefield. I mean it
would get ridiculous if someone was soon poking around everywhere!”
At the moment Kotori finished, Yuzuru had just gone past Miku. Faster than what the
eyes could follow, the high speed snowball battle against Kaguya more resembled bombs
detonating on a beach then a snowy field.
“`Hi ~in!'”
Miku hurriedly panicked to as she jumped away to escape to the battlefield.

“Really, it didn’t change things even by a little bit.”
"Haha ... well, well, it seems to be rash but it is …."
"……Hmm?"
Natsumi, who was peeping through the narrow viewing window of their fortress, uttered
a large sentiment of surprise.
“What’s the matter Natsumi?”
“No, that snowman, was it there before?”
‘Eh?”
Hearing Natsumi’s suspicions, Shidou couldn’t help but frown.
"Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh! This barrage is power──────!”
Tohka threw the snowballs that were continuously been supplied to her hands, flinging it
even more past the enemy forces.
“Kākā! Good Tohka! That’s the way! Neither the left nor right teams can move anymore.
Let’s decide this game at once!”
From behind after hearing Kaguya’s voice, Tohka turned around and nodded.
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“Umu! Then we will be eating hamburger and fried shrimp for tonight!"
“Kukuku…… What are you talking about Tohka! We would have right of absolute
command! You can even add deep-fried desert......"
“Wha……? Wouldn’t that make the strongest combination!?”
“Of course! Onwards now, we move towards victory!”
“Umu! Ooooooo!”
Tohka raised a battle cry as she started throw the snowballs with even more power.
However──
“Eh……?”
Tohka had stopped throwing, without any more snowballs it would be meaningless to
throw.
“Yoshino, there’s not enough snowballs, please make more.”
As Tohka was looking at Yoshino’s direction──Tohka slightly frowned.
Yoshino, who had been constantly supplying the snowballs from behind, face, was
flushed with an expression of anxiety.
“Ah……”
“Yoshino……?”
Tohka tilted her head in a puzzled expression before turning her body to the direction
that Yoshino was staring at──
“What……!?”
Just like Yoshino, Tohka started helplessly at the sight.
But it would impossible not do something like that. Behind Tohka, a large snowman was
gently positioned within Weiß Legion’s territory, gasping their team flag in its hand.
“W-what is that snowman!”
“That’s not the one Yoshino made.”
As everyone’s face was flushed with a dismayed color, the snowman’s face began
trembling slightly, before the snow on its head collapsed on itself.
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A familiar girl’s face was exposed.
“What──Origami!?”
It appeared that Tobiichi Origami, the person that should have been fighting Tohka, had
emerged from the snowman. It seems that she had slipped into the snowman a while ago
to enter the opposing team’s territory undetected.
“──Your team’s firepower is certainly a threat, but it also obscures your field of vision,
allowing me to sneak in unnoticed.”
“Ku…..!”
“S-such a thing…..”
“Anyway, now that I have taken the flag, all members of Weiß Legion from now on are
under the command of the Tobiichi Platoon.”
Origami declared while looming over Tohka. …...Well, while still having her entire body
covered by a snowman.
Nevertheless, the results of the defeat couldn’t be changed. While giving an extorted
expression of lament, Tohka raised up her arms while sitting down.
“……Shoot, I don’t think the losers will survive this humiliation.”
As if in sync with Tohka’s actions, Kaguya raised her voice.
“Well said, Tohka, and that is why you are my sole servant ... and also, Origami, aren’t
you forgetting something important?"
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“Something important?”
Origami made a gesture to lean her neck, but the action was blocked by the rest of the
snow on the snowman.
“Also, even if our fortress has surrendered, do you think that we would truly move in
accordance to your will? The most terrifying thing on the battlefield is not a mighty
enemy but the trustworthiness of an ally. Make sure to keep your backs on vigilance if
you don’t want to be betrayed.”
Kaguya had said that while exposing a “kukuku…” evil smile. Although she didn’t
completely understand what Kaguya was saying, Tohka echoed the same sentiment by
making a “mean face” while also saying “kukuku”. Meanwhile, Yoshino found it
difficult to repeat those words without smiling.
However, Origami’s expression did not change as she continued to speak.
Well then, you may all withdrawal from here, but are that really okay with that?”
“What……do you mean?”
As Yoshino asked, Origami cast the three of them a calm look.
“I have just said that the victorious team will be able to command the losers, and
members of the defeated team that weren’t hit can be incorporated into the victorious
team.”
“That means……ah!?”
After listening to Origami, Kaguya’s shoulder trembled.
“What’s wrong Kaguya?”
“……In other words, Origami is telling us that she will give us the right to command
over Shidou and the others if we become their comrades.”
“W-what!?”
Tohka turned to Origami while frowning.
But after a moment, she shook her head after thinking something over.
“No…..no. Its certainty regrettable for that fried shrimp and chicken, and sausage
hamburger……”
“Tohka-chan, did you increase the amount of toppings from before?”
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Despite what Yoshinon said, Tohka didn’t seem to notice and continued.
“Unfortunately, I can’t do that. If I do, Shidou and the others won’t be able to win
anymore.”
"You should have already indicated consent to that rule."
"Mu...... mu..."
It was true that they were indeed told this. Tohka made a difficult face as she folded her
arms together. Initially, she didn’t see it as a problem and allowed the rules to be passed,
but now the rules were imposing t’s effectiveness.
However, seeing as Tohka’s mental dilemma was wasting time, Origami eventually
breathed out.
“──Taking up any more time would be allowing “Team 5・7・5” the opportunity to
retaliate. If you don’t have the will to participate, then we’ll do everything by ourselves.”
“Mu……”
“But in that case, that would be giving up the fried shrimp, fried chicken, octopus wiener
and hamburger steak with crab cream croquette.”
“What──!?”
Tohka involuntarily held her breath.
“Crab cream……?”
Tohka was overcome by a dizzy sensation, but quickly regained control after shaking her
head repeatedly.
“No, no, but……”
“It’s unfortunate to say, but you would have had the liberty to choose fried shrimp, fried
chicken, octopus wiener and crab cream croquette, and cheese hamburgers with free
refills.”
“………………….!?”
“Cheese hamburgers, was there truly such a thing? Also, the freedom to eat casually,
Tohka’s line of slight gradually became distorted.
“T-Tohka-chan!”
“Don’t be misled by the enemy’s sweet words!”
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Yoshino and Kaguya cried out, but then Origami whispered something to the two of
them.
The next moment, their two faces turned beat red.
“Eh……? Eh……?”
“Y-your lying…..! Such a thing to that extent……?”
As Yoshino and Kaguya expressed their befuddlement, Origami merely nodded her head.
Then, she pointed to the direction of “Team 5・7・5” and issued a quiet declaration.
“──Battle, resume!”
“………”
Tohka, Yoshino, and Kaguya all stared at each other for a moment before quietly uttering
“mu…” sound
“……What happened? The attack seemed to have stopped……”
Kotori slowly walked towards the edge of their fortress wall.
“Hey Kotori, that’s too dangerous. Perhaps──”
“I know that.”
Kotori removed her left glove, holding it by the tip before beginning to wave it above
their protective wall. Yes, perhaps Tohka had stopped the attack in order to make them
neglectful during the slight break.
But even in the face of such provocation, the Weiß Legion did not release another
snowball.
“……Nothing is coming over.”
“……Yes.”
Shidou and Kotori exchanged surprised looks.
Due to Yoshino and Yoshinon’s existence, stopping the attack in order to tempt them was
also an unlikely story. However, having no reaction to Kotori’s glove was unthinkable
considering Tohka and Kaguya’s reaction time.
“I wonder what happened. They seemed to have finished throwing snowballs……”
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“……Ah!?”
As Shidou and Kotori were groaning suspiciously, Natsumi, who had been peeking
through the narrow window, issued out cry of alarm.
“What? What happened, Natsumi?”
“Ah, a re……the flag from Tohka’s team has been taken down!”
"What……?"
"What did you say!? What’s going on?"
After the recovering from being paralyzed by Natsumi’s words, Shidou and Kotori both
peaked through the window to the direction of Weiß Legion.
There, the flag that had been standing on top of a mountain of snow was now in the long
hands of a snowman──no, they saw that it had been usurped by Origami.
“Ori-Origami!?”
Shidou and Kotori could not help but exclaim in a shocked voice. They noticed that
Origami had hidden herself in the snowman, and had already won by leaving with the
Weiß Legion’s flag.
“Wait……that is also…..”
Speaking with a trembling voice, Natsumi had noticed something.
Viewing while full of anxiety, it seemed that Tohka and the others had talked with
Origami for some time about something. Afterwards, she once again held a snowball in
her hands.
“Wa!”
“Hi──!?”
After taking a deep breath, Shidou and Kotori hurriedly went back behind the wall.
Afterwards, the attack that they had been waiting for began to resume.
“Ch…...so that’s how it is. No one was forced to retire but the flag was taken, so Tohka
and the others were incorporated into Origami’s team.
“……I see, that Origami. She was aiming for this from the very beginning……”
The Itsuka siblings bit their lips in frustration after seeing what Natsumi had said.
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“Ah……! Origami took off the snowman and is returning back to her position.”
“Ku, so they are all intending to attack. So now Origami should be the only one
defending……”
“Calm down! It’s impossible to land a snowball on Origami without being hit by Tohka
and Kaguya’s bombardment!”
“Gu……but then continuing on like this……”
After that, the original members of Tobiichi Platoon, who had been on the left side so far,
had also begun advancing. Perhaps, once it had been confirmed that Origami had
returned, they would join in to seriously attack Shidou and the others.
They must have become prey for the white devils.
“Throwing. Come and let’s decide the winner.”
“Dar~~~~ling~~~~! Kotori-san~~~~! Natsumi-san~~~~! Please wait everyone. Once

we’re there, we’ll open the gates to a whole new world~~~~!”
Mixed within the snowball attack, both Yuzuru and Miku were coming closer. Natsumi’s
shoulders shivered even more than before.
With this, it wouldn’t long before their fortress collapsed and Shidou and the others
would be completely consumed. Before that happened, they had to do something.
“Think……think! There must be some way……!”
“Even if you say that…..it wouldn’t be that simple.”
While listening to Shidou’s words, Kotori steepened her facial expression.
“An uninterrupted attack from both sides, that is to say we can’t even move right now.
Even worse, it seemed that Origami didn’t have any intention of taking our flag from the
beginning.
“Wa…are they trying to kill us with snowballs?”
“It is possible to say that the only thing we could win at is striking back against those
trying to grab our flag with snowballs…..but now with the Weiß Legion’s combat power
now, we can’t even take that risk…..they want to rule out any opportunity that we could
seize, as expected of Origami.”
“Then…..that means we can only wait for the wall to collapse?”
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As Natsumi had a sad expression with a face filled with sorrow, she let out a whimpering
voice. Shidou clenched his fist in response as if trying to deny the current situation.
“Don’t give up……it’s not over! How about hiding inside a snowman like what Origami
just did?”
Kotori sighed as she shook her head slightly.
“It’s impossible; Origami had plenty of time to create that snowman in her own fortress.
Creating a snowman with a hiding feature would be unmanageable in our current
situation. Besides, do you think Origami would fall for the same trick that she already
used?”
“Ugu….then let’s try a dig underground from the snow……”
“……That lacks even more of a sense in reality…..it’s already hard enough to hide
ourselves in this amount of snowfall…pilling up even more would make even difficult to
crawl.
“Ku, ku……”
Shidou groaned while pressing his forehead.
Then, at that moment──
“Waa!”
The fortress which had continued to withstand an uninterrupted volley of snowballs had
begun to partly collapse. Natsumi, who had been in that area that fell down, hurriedly
moved to a safer spot.
“Ku……even the wall is at its limit.”
Kotori sharpened her line of sight as she picked up a snowball.
“──It can’t be helped. Shidou, Natsumi. This will be out last resort.”
“Last resort…..? Do you have a plan?”
“Yeah, the success rate is probably ten times greater than Shidou’s plan.”
Kotori confidently moved her mouth. Shidou and Natsumi’s eyes went “Oh” wide open
in response.
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“Easy, with a snowball in hand, start tuning from the shadow of the wall, while
brilliantly dodging all of the attacks, we’ll target Origami with the snowball.
Afterwards, that person will clean up the Tobiichi Platoon’s position. We’ll win if we can
escape with the flag and dodge Tohka’s attacks.
While speaking, Kotori got up and made a gesture as if she threw a snowball,
“……That.”
“That strategy…..?”
“Ah, well the probability of success is about 0.01%.”
“Eh!? Does that mean my strategy’s success rate was about 0.001%?”
“Is it too high? I do have a soft spot for my Onii-chan.”
“…………”
Despite his annoyed expression, Shidou did not respond back not wanting to say
anything that was no need. Any further commentary would have been
unnecessary──more than anything there wasn’t much time left to ask these sorts of
questions.
──The Weiß Legion’s machine gun like attack had greatly weakened Team 5・7・5’s
defensive wall. There was only so much of the wall left that could be used as shelter for
the three of them. When the walls collapsed again, that would be the moment when
Shidou and the others were defeated.
“Okay…..! If we die, we’ll die together!”
Shidou decisively took a deep breath, as he picked up a snowball nearby. Then, he

sharpen his gaze and took a forward tilted posture to narrow the range of projectiles even
a by bit.
“Eh, let’s die a spectacular death. “
Kotori nodded as she turned her eyes to the same direction that Shidou was focused
at──the enemy camp was an impregnable castle built by Miku, Yuzuru, and Origami.
Shidou and Kotori exchanged glances before nodding to each other. As the two of them
were about to jump out──
“That, can I annoy you guys for a second?”
Natsumi raised her hands together in a state of nervousness.
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“Eh? What’s wrong, Natsumi.”
“If that’s the case, there’s one more thing that we could try……”
“! Have you thought of something?”
“……No, it's not that much of a thought ... ...Ah, right... well ... well forget about it......"
As Shidou and Kotori looked on, it seemed Natsumi was cowering back. Kotori
anxiously scratched her head.
“Nothing would be useless now. Say whatever you want.”
“…..Uh, uh……”
At Kotori urging, Natsumi finally spoke out her plan.
“…………”
Origami breathed out silently as she watched Team 5・7・5’s defensive wall gradually
become smaller as it was exposed to the fierce snow battle.
The war situation was carried out in accordance with Origami’s plan. At least, there is no
unexpected situation out of her expectations. Everything was running smoothly.
"Excitement. Everything is going as Master Origami planned."
"Ufufu, truly our victory is close!"
Yuzuru, and Miku who had been revived after Origami stole the enemy team’s flag,
continued to throw snowballs. Origami returned with a small nod.
“──True, but in order to prevent something unexpected from happening, we cannot

relax until the very end.”
As Origami finished, the two of them gave out a positive response.
“Understood. No distractions until the very end.
“After winning we can enjoy the full course of Darling, Kotori-san, and Natsumi-
san…… fu fu, ufu fufufu……”
“Concern. Cannot be too carless with Miku.”
Yuzuru spoke while watching Miku’s actions.
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And── with an echo, the situation had finally changed.
Team 5・7・5’s wall had finally been reduced to a third of its initial size. The shadow of
two figures had jumped out from both left and right.
“!.....Yuzuru, Miku.”
But this was still within expectations. Origami picked up a snowball as gave commands
to the other two.
“Reaction. I will not let them approach.”
“I’m counting on you──”
As Origami echoed her instructions, Yuzuru and Miku began throwing all of their
snowballs.
Although they were still in a favorable positon, it was very difficult to land a hit on a
moving target. Against Shidou’s group, the snowballs that Miku and Yuzuru threw were
unable to catch their target.
“Hold it…...!"
Seizing the momentary chaos, Shidou cast a snowball towards Origami.
However, landing a hit was not the goal. The moment after Shidou threw the snowball,
Shidou was bathed in the concentrated fire of the Weiß Legion as his body became sank
into the snowy field.
“Ha!”
Kotori who had went the opposite direction from Shidou, also threw a snowball before
having to retire.
However, the snowball that Shidou threw was still alive. Once released, the effect of the
snowball lasts until it hits the ground, even if the athlete that threw it had already been
hit. In other words, even though Shidou had to retire, if the ball landed on Origami, it
would create a double out.
“…………!”
Origami exuded a small breath, before she leaned her body back to dodge.
For a moment, everything seemed to be in slow motion. The snowball that Shidou threw
passed a few millimeters above the tip of Origami’s nose. Despite feeling remorseful, it
was still a refreshing feeling.
“…………”
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“……Seriously, you avoided that one just now. You really are amazing.”
“If wasn’t me──no if it wasn’t me, Tohka, Kaguya, and Yuzuru, avoiding it would have
been impossible. Maybe Yoshino as well, since it was restricted to snowballs.
“……Ah, there seem to be a quite the number of people that could have avoided it.”
As Origami stated her honest impression, Shidou collapsed on his shoulder.
“There should be no disappointment. It was a good pitch.”
“Haha……Oh, I'm happy even with flattery."
“It’s not a compliment. It was a good throw. Shidou’s ball is a really good ball.”
“Why are you adding me there!?”
As Shidou cried out, Origami didn’t seem to care and continued.
“──However, the result is the result. This game is our victory.”
As Origami finished, Shidou fell to the ground and exhaled.
“Is it too early to say this? Take a look; even if I’m forced to retire, my team hasn’t been
defeated yet."
“………..”
As Origami looked around, both Kotori and Shidou, who had been hit, started to stand
up. Indeed, it was as Shidou said, there was a person that was missing. Perhaps, she was
still hiding within the protective wall.
“It’s true that you have not lost according to the rules, but it’s impossible for her to
overthrow the situation alone.”
“……You think so? Are you sure?"
Shidou gave out a fearless smile. Still, it must have just been a bluff or bravado.
“…………”
However, Origami felt her heart roaring. ── It felt feel like she’d overlooked something.
But the notion of what still escaped her.
Seeing Origami thinking, Shidou expressed another smile.
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“I believe in you, Origami──that you would definitely avoid that snowball.”
“......!?”
Origami’s shoulder was trembling as she turning around.
──Over there.
“……Fu, flag captured……”
Behind Origami, although it had appeared that she was dizzy from motion sickness,
Natsumi was proudly holding up the “Tobiichi Platoon” flag.
Eventually, in the snow battle between the three teams, victory was achieved by Team
5・7・5.
The Spirits who had been divided into three teams had gathered together to give a round
of applause.
“Natsumi! You did it!”
Shidou, while removing the snow from his own body, ran over to Natsumi and pat her on
the head.
Then, Natsumi face flushed with a blue color as she brushed away Shidou’s hand.
“Wait……a moment, I feel nauseous right now, so please don’t shake my head……”
“Ah──sorry, that’s my bad.”
Shidou gave a wry smile as he retracted his hand.
Natsumi’s reaction was understandable. After all, she had just transformed into the
snowball that Shidou had thrown.
It was a foolish strategy that was possible because it Natsumi was a Spirit with a
transformation ability. Both Shidou and Kotori were surprised when they received that
proposal from the Natsumi, but... she managed to complete the work brilliantly.
"It was totally too messy, but fortunately everything went okay…..."
From behind them, Kotori shrugged her shoulder and sighed.
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“……I think that we couldn’t win unless I did that ... ... but ... well ... well ... for being
too messy, sorry."
“Isn’t your sensitivity to praise way too low!?”
Looking at Natsumi falling even more into a depression, Kotori raised her voice.
At that time, Tohka’s eyes lit up as if remembering something.
“By the way Shidou, what would be the prize now? Doesn’t Shidou always get to decide
the dinner menu?”
“No…...it’s not the right to decide the dinner menu, but……”
Shidou gave a wry smile as he scratched his cheek.”
“…………”
Just then, Origami then began to undress clothes she was wearing.
“What are you doing!?"
“......? Preparing for Shidou’s order.”
“It’s not going to be that kind of order!"
“……What kind of hard-core order is it going to be?"
Origami titled her head curiously. Shidou waited until Origami sorted out her clothes
before continuing.
“There is no special order for everyone. But if everyone feels so strongly about it
then…….everyone should be friends from now on. That’s it!”
After Shidou finished, Kotori nodded her head in agreement.
“Right, it doesn’t really matter for both me and Shidou……”
“If that is the case……”
Then, everyone’s line of sight was directed to the final member of the victorious party,
Natsumi.
Natsumi, who was not good at receiving stares, started to tremble.
“……Ah, I also agree with them……”
But then Natsumi stopped, as she suddenly remembered something.
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“……? What’s wrong, Natsumi?”
"If you have any orders, speak up."
“As for any order that I have, there’s only one”
Natsumi sighed before hesitantly speaking.
“……….Igloo.”
“Eh?”
“……want to enter an igloo.”
“…………”
After hearing those words, everyone suddenly froze a moment.

But soon everyone smiled and nodded.
Okay! Let’s build an igloo!”
“Yes, the order of the victor is absolute.”
“There are no objections, the losers must obey.”
Ooh! How do you make one? Let’s make it big enough so that everyone can fit in.”
“I’ll……do my best!”
“Kaka! Now behold and be honored at seeing the architecture skills of the Yamai at
last!”
“Celebrating. Fetching a shovel now.”
“Kya~~Natsumi-san is too cute~~once the igloo is complete, we’ll spend time together
in that narrow space. We can play Oshikura Manju throughout the night~~~~”
“…..Ah, an additional order, Miku can’t be allowed in the igloo.”
“Howaaahh! ? Why Natsumi-sa~a~a~a~a~a~an!?”
The backyard was filled with Miku’s scream and everyone’s laughter.
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Spirit Dark Matter
“Shidou! Let’s play together!”
During a cold winter day, Itsuka Shidou was relaxing in his living room. The sound of
rhythmic footsteps was heard coming from the corridor as the door was vigorously
opened.
“Hmm? Oh, Tohka.”
The owner of that voice was a Spirit, who lived in a mansion next door to the Itsuka
residence, Yatogami Tohka.
With long night colored hair, a crystal-like radiance in her pair of eyes, and a vibrant
voice that was overflowing as always.
Shidou turned his body to Tohka while slowly waving to her.
“You’ve come just in time. The arrangement has just been completed.”
“Arrangement? What on earth……”
While saying that, Tohka rounded her eyes open while let out a surprised expression.
Then, she stared intently at the living room──more accurately at the table-like object
placed at the center of the living room.
“Muu, what is that? Is it different from the usual table?”
Then, in accordance with that question, two small girls appeared behind Tohka, along
with two twins same appearance who peeped forward a little with their faces.
It seemed that they had come from the same mansion as Tohka. They were Spirits just
like Tohka, Yoshino, Natsumi, as well as the Yamai sisters Kaguya and Yuzuru.
“Tohka-san……what’s the problem?”
“……If you stop here, then we can’t get inside.”
Listening to what Yoshino and Natsumi had said, Tohka let out an “oh, sorry” as she took
one step out of the way.
Then, the Yamai sisters widened their eyes upon seeing the object placed in the living
room.
“Ho? That must simply be a fortress of fire found in the coldest of land!”
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“Agree. If I remember correctly its name is──kotatsu.”
“Kotatsu?”
Tohka curiously tilted her head. With a small nod, Shidou lightly tapped the surface of
the kotatsu as if to supplement the Yamai sisters’ explanation.
“Ah. In a nutshell, it’s like combing a table with a futon. There’s a heater inside and the
futon keeps the warm air stored. “
“Muu……?”
Failing to understand Tohka tensed the tips of her brow. Then, Shidou’s younger sister,
Kotori, who was just in the kotatsu, began to speak while stirring the stick of the Chupa
Chups in her mouth.
“Anyway, you guys should come in and try it. It’s very warm──”
While saying that, Kotori laid her face on the table. From the looks of that, it was
reminiscent of a mollusk or freshly made New Year’s mochi sticking onto the
surface……but if that were pointed out, she would immediately switch to commander
mode, so he left that out for the time being.
“Fumu……then I’ll give it a try.”
“Yes……!”
“Ooh──!”
Tohka let out her voice to respond, as Yoshino raised her left hand holding her rabbit
puppet “Yoshinon”. The other Spirits also nodded in agreement as they raised the covers
to the table and placed their feet into the kotatsu.
And then,
“Oooh……!?”
“T-this is……!”
The Spirits all opened their eyes in amazement. Of course, Tohka and Yoshino were self-
evident, but even the Yamai sisters who seemed to know about the kotatsu were left
trembling and stunned by the impact.
“Muu……indeed this has a different charm than air conditioners and heaters.”
“It’s……warm.”
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“Umu……this is as if embraced by the arms of the earthly mother goddess and reaching
the salvations of the soul like nirvana…...”
“Indicate. I feel as if I can’t understand your words that well.”
The Spirits began chatting while enjoying the kotatsu.
Seeing those cheerful smiles pile up, Shidou and Kotori couldn’t help but smile as well.
“Ahaha, this is great. As I thought, it isn’t winter without a kotatsu.”
“Hey, you think everyone will come if we prepare a bigger one──hmm?”
As she was speaking, Kotori turned around while surveying the house for some reason.
“Well……no, I don’t see Natsumi. Wasn’t she just here a moment ago?”
“What did you say……where did she……uwaah!?”
Shidou looked around as if imitating Kotori, but then he could help but unintentionally
raise his voice.
The reason was simple. Unnoticed, Natsumi completely fell into the kotatsu just like a
turtle or snail, with only her face exposed from the covers.
“……Well……this……feels familiar.”
With cheeks slightly flushed, Natsumi muttered that out while in a trance-like state.
From the looks of it, she was enjoying this the most.
It was as if this was tailor-made for her……speaking of which, she seemed to be the type
of person who would assume such a form. Shidou couldn’t help but smile when looking
at that.
Then.
“Ah──!”
As the Spirits were enjoying the kotatsu with a cheerful faces, another voice once again
came out from the entrance of the living room.
From afar, he could see a tall girl and a girl with a facial expression just like a doll.
Unlike Tohka and the others, they were Spirits who lived in their own homes, Miku and
Origami. Apparently, they had arrived just as Tohka and the others were nosily chatting
away.
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“O-ooh, welcome.”
Looking at the two of them, Shidou lowered his hands as sweat dripped down his face.
Origami was just standing still while looking on at them…but the problem lied with
Miku. While her hands were trembling for some reason, her expression looked like a
mixture of joy, excitement, and lust mixed at a 1:2:7 ratio, as her eyes were fixated on
the Spirits gathered around the kotatsu.
“K-kotasu gathering beautiful girls just like an encyclopedia……! What sort of stunning
scene on display……what stunning scenery……”
Miku whispered as if casting a curse, and then she slammed her feet against the ground,
diving into the kotatsu just like Tohka.
No……it wasn’t the same. Was there a word for this? Miku looked as if she had just
jumped into a pool, crawling into the kotatsu head first.
It was the strange circumstance of a woman forcing her upper body into a kotatsu. Her
legs twisted as if she were doing a breaststroke. From the futon, murmured laughter
began to echo.
“Fu, fufu, ufufu……haaaaaaaah! Was such a place here……the ideal village was here all
along! Utopia……Miku Utopia!”
“Gyaaah!”
The next moment, Natsumi, who had turned into a snail, rushed out of the kotatsu with a
shrillful scream. She leaped towards the corner of the room, staring back at the kotatsu
with the expression of a startled cat. Upon looking closely, one of her socks had been
taken off for some reason.
“Ah, how wicked.”
From where Natsumi use to be, Miku snuck her head out from the kotatsu.
……How to describe it? This truly felt like the norm now. Shidou made a wry smile as
he place his hand against his knee to support himself back up.
“Muu? Where are you going Shidou?”
“Buying ingredients for dinner, what does everyone want to eat?”
Tohka’s eyes began to glimmer upon her hearing Shidou’s reply.
“Of course! So, Shidou, what are you going make today?”
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“Well, let’s see. It’s rare for us to have a kotatsu here, so how about hot pot? It is quite
cold today.”
Upon hearing what Shidou had said, the Spirits one by one began to stand up in
excitement.
“Umu, that sounds good! I’m looking forward to it!”
“But there are still various different types of hot pot. Which one to choose? Personally, I
would vote for shabu-shabu.”
Kotori spoke while keeping her face stuck to the countertop of the kotatsu. Then,
following this lead, everyone began raising their hands one after the other.
“Eh, does this feel the same as ordering out? Well then, I would want soy milk hot pot.”
“I……I think chicken hot pot is good.”
“Yoshinon wants rabbit meat hot pot! But of course that is impossible! Ah!”
“Kuku…..suit for me would be a deep crimson purgatory lit by red hot conflagration.”
“Translation. Kaguya wants Korean hot pot.”
“Kiritanpo.”
“…..Compared to that, Miku, isn’t about time toy give me my sock back?”
As the Spirits began chatting with each other, Shidou raised his arms in attempt to
restrain everyone back.
“Hey, hey, even if you ask, there’s no way to make that much. Please choose one of
them.”
“Hmm──in that case──”
Hearing Shidou’s plea, Kotori leisurely stood up, while not letting her feet leave the
kotatsu, and extended her hand for a nearby shelf. ……Despite trying her best, she
couldn’t reach it. Unable to just watch, Shidou picked up the notepad and pen that was
over there.
“Thank you, Onii-chan.”
“It’s fine but……what are you going to do?”
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“Well, I think we should choose from a lottery where everyone writes down what they
hope to eat. Wouldn’t that be fair?”
While saying that, Kotori torn of pieces of paper from the notepad and handed them to
everyone. The girls nodded as if saying “I see” as they passed down the notepad and pen.
After everyone finished their request, Kotori gathered and shuffled before throw it into
the kotatsu.”
“Hey, why did you throw it in there!?”
“It should be fine since we don’t have any other container to stuff it in. Come on, hurry
it up.”
“Fine……alright.”
Then, Shidou reached his hand into the kotatsu to reach for one of the scrap pieces of
paper from the notepad.
“Kiya, darling. Where are you touching?”
Miku, who still only had her head and feet out of the kotatsu, flushed red as she
contorted her body in embarrassment.
“......!?”
The Spirits all shuddered and trembled as Shidou shook his head in a panic.
“Nothing! I haven’t touched anywhere!”
“Ufufu──does it not matter if you’re being so shy, darling?”
“Don’t say something that will cause a misunderstanding!?”
“……! Shidou, once more. Since I will enter the kotatsu this time.”
“Why are you unbuttoning your clothes Origami!?”
Shidou let out a scream as he quickly pulled out his hand after choosing a piece of paper.
Then, after taking a deep breath to calm down his heartbeat, he lowered his eyes to the
letters written on that note.
“So, the menu for tonight is……”
While speaking, Shidou raised his brow.
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But that sort of reaction was to be expected. After all, what was written there was──
“……Dark hot pot?”
As Shidou spoke, Kaguya raised her eyebrows as her eyes began to sparkle.
“Dark……you say? Hoho, although that is a unspeakable name, is it not quite

interesting?”
“Dark hot pot……what is that?”
Tohka asked why tilting her head curiously. Shidou squinted, scratching his face as he
replied back.
“Well……to say it briefly, it’s a hot pot where no knows what’s in it. Everyone brings in
the materials that they like and places it in the pot after turning off the lights in the
room.”
“Ho! That sounds interesting!”
Hearing Shidou’s explanation caused Tohka to begin glimmering in her eyes as well.
Seeing that radiance, Shidou strained a smile with sweat dripping down.
“Well, interesting things may be fun……but you won’t know what you’ll end up with. I
wonder who wrote this. Perhaps she’s never heard of this before……would you want to
reselect another one?”
Shidou placed the note on the countertop of the kotatsu as he tried reaching his hand in
the futon once again.
But the Spirits shook their heads in refusal.
“No, I would like to try this dark hot pot!”
“Agree. I am also very interested.”
"Not bad. ──Let's try it? Ah, people who feel uncomfortable should tell me ──Shall I
take care of your pain gently?"
“Absolute rule of dark hot pot, things that come out from the pot must be eaten.”
“…………”
Although he felt there was a dangerous atmosphere lurking, everyone was so enthusiastic
that is was unbearable to dampen that. Shidou breathed out a sigh while smiling and
shrugging.
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“It can’t be helped. Let’s try it together. …..But limit the material to something that is
edible. Don’t forget that we’ll have to eat it.”
“Ooh──!
Listening to Shidou, the Spirits energetically raised their hands in the air.
──Then, at night.
In the living room of the Itsuka residence, the Spirits, who had each bought a wide
assortment of things, had gathered together.
Everyone had brought a plastic bag with ingredients decided according to their own
ideals and was awaiting dinner to begin soon. ……Well, it seemed that Natsumi was the
only Spirit who lacked the same excited expression.
On the top of the kotatsu there was already a cooking heater and pan filled with soup
stock prepared. Only the ingredients were missing now. Shidou looked towards everyone
as his hand was on the light switch at the entrance of the room.
“……Alright, it’s almost time to start. Everyone, after I turn off the lights, add the
ingredients to the pot. Of course, it will get dark afterwards and you might not be able to
see your surroundings, so please first confirm your position to the pot right now.”
“Umu!”
“Understood.”
The Spirits nodded in response After Shidou confirmed this; he flipped off the electricity
switch.
Incidentally, at that moment, Kaguya made a grandiose pose on the side.
“Ha! Stained in a world of darkness! Schwarz・shellac!”
A sudden scream. At that moment, because the lights had gone out, Tohka and Yoshino
let out a startled cry. Kaguya looked to be a little comfortable.
“Okay……then let’s put the ingredients in.”
After Shidou returned to his seat, the sound of ingredients being dropped into the pot
could be heard coming from the top of the kotatsu.
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“──Alright, let’s finish it, Shidou.”
“Well then, let me add mine in now.”
Shidou groped in his hand into his plastic bag and dropped the ingredients into the pot.
Incidentally, what Shidou had prepared was a staple of hot pot: Chinese cabbage and
pork. Although it was a little bit boring in terms of the idea of a dark hot pot……today’s
goal was not to purposely cook something of poor quality. In any case, he would be
eating this as well, so Shidou really didn’t want to take to many risks.
……However.
“Hiyah!?”
After he finished throwing in the ingredients, Shidou inadvertently convulsed out a

sporadic voice.
The reason was simple. In the darkness, something was stroking his butt.
“Muu, what’s wrong, Shidou?”
Listening to Tohka’s voice being confused from behind, Shidou sighed while half-
opening his eyes.
“…………Origami. Please return to your seat.”
After Shidou said that, there were noticeable signs that someone was wandering in the
dark.
“──How did you know? Is it the power of love?”
“You’re the only one who would so such a thing in this darkness!”
“You believed in me so much. I am so happy.”
“Please, please don’t intentionally misunderstand my words. ……Well, here, let’s start
cooking.”
Shidou sighed once again as he switched on the cooking heater.
──After waiting for ten minutes.
Accompanied by the sound of the alarm, an inexplicable fragrance floated in the living
room.
“Ooh……it smells delicious!”
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“Yeah. I thought that we wouldn’t know what would end up with a dark hot pot, but this
doesn’t seem that bad──”
Tohka and Kotori’s voices bounced against each other. Because the lights were turned
off, he couldn’t see their expressions, but it was easy to imagine merry faces.
“Well……then it’s almost time to try it. Who wants the first bowl?”
“Ah, I……do.”
The first person to reply back to Shidou was Yoshino.
“Yoshino, be careful, this is still unclear.”
“Yes……!”
“Alright, then Yoshino will be first to come and try──the ladle is……ah, found it!”
In the darkness, the sound of an instrument sinking into the soup was perceived──after
that a small gulp was heard coming from Yoshino.
“Uh…....munch, munch”
“H-how is it Yoshino? If you’ve eaten something strange, you can spit it out.”
Worried about Yoshino, Natsumi asked in concern. However, Yoshino swallowed the
contents of the meal and breathed out a sigh of relief.
“It’s fine……boiled eggs. It’s cooked just like oden at the bottom of the soup. It’s
delicious.”
After Yoshino finished speaking, Kotori raised her voice by shouting out an “ah!”
“That’s my ingredient! Bullseye!”
As Kotori shouted, everyone gave a round of applause.
Shidou breathed out a sigh of relief. It seemed that Kotori had chosen nothing strange.
Well, that would have been natural after all. Kotori was a commander of <Ratatoskr>.
She wouldn’t try to risk letting the Spirits eat something strange and disturb their mental
state.
“Well then, next is……”
“The next one is me.”
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Origami raised her voice. Afterwards, the sounds of ingredients being swooped up in the
pot and then the sounds of fine chewing were heard.
“Question. Master Origami, what was in there?”
“……This is likely, tomatoes.”
Answering back to Yuzuru’s question, Origami faintly replied. Then, in response to that,
Miku raised her voice as well.
“Ah that’s what I put in. I’ve heard about tomato hot pot before. So how is the taste?”
“No problem.”
After Origami finished her meal, the sound of utensils hitting the countertop echoed.
──Thus, a peaceful curtain opened on the Itsuka residence’s Spirit dark hot pot.
After Origami, everyone else began taking turns to eat. There was nothing too bad put
inside, although ingredients that didn’t match the hot pot theme like cucumbers and
apples did produce an amused chuckle. And so, Shidou and the others enjoyed a dining
table with an unusual darkness.
“Now, next is──”
“Me! I can’t wait any longer!”
As if to obstruct Shidou, Tohka’s vibrant voice echoed. At the same time, her stomach
began to growl. Apparently, it seemed that they have kept her waiting for quite a while
now.
“Hahaha……my bad, here, Tohka.”
“Umu!”
After Tohka cheerfully replied, the dishes served on the tableware were smugly stuffed
into her mouth.
“Uhm……munch, munch……”
“How……is it, Tohka-san?”
“What was in there?”
As the Spirits asked Tohka in intrigue, Tohka replied back while still happily munching
on the hot pot.
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“Umu, this is probably a water dumpling……ngh!?”
But, at the next moment, Tohka choked in the middle of speaking as she collapsed onto
her back.
“T-tohka!?”
“Kya! Are you okay?!”
From this unexpected situation, turbulence quickly overcame the living room of the
Itsuka residence. In this darkness, Shidou fumbled towards Tohka to shake her shoulders.
“H-hey, Tohka……?”
“Ku……muu……”
As Shidou called out her name, Tohka let out a bitter voice as if in pain. It seemed that
the ingredient hadn’t been clogged in her throat. Seeing this, Shidou breathed out a sigh
of relief.
“For the time being……she seems to be okay.”
“Ah, ahhh……but what the on earth happened? Don’t tell me……”
In Shidou’s mind, an impossible imagination flashed through.
That’s right. Shidou and the others were in the middle of a dark hot pot, a hellish kettle
where the contents still remained unknown.
Perhaps for Tohka──it was a “grand prize” ingredient capable of rendering people
unconscious. ……This thought lingered in Shidou’s mind.
Everyone must have had similar thoughts as they shouted in disbelief.
“I-It can’t be……for someone else maybe, but for Tohka!?”
“Shudder. I can’t believe this……for Tohka to be actually defeated.”
“Even Tohka collapsed……well, is it poison!? Is it the type of poison that can kill a
whale with a single drop!?”
……Their impression of Tohka seemed a little bit too cruel.
However, Shidou could still understand their feelings. To be able to cause a voracious
glutton like Tohka to faint….what could have it been?”
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“Ugh……!?”
As Shidou was deep in thought, Kotori suddenly let out a groan.
“T-this…..is probably what Tohka ate. It’s a little……”
“? W-what is it?”
Shidou brought his face closer to the direction of Kotori’s voice──
“Ugh……!?”
Just like Kotori, Shidou let out a similar voice.
But that was to be expected. An inexplicable stench was floating from Tohka’s
tableware.
“W-what is this stuff……”
As Shidou couldn’t help but instinctively pinch his nose, Origami’s silhouette drew
closer as she brought her face closer to sniff the suspicious bowl.
“……This smell, I’ve experience this once before. Perhaps it is surströmming.”
“Surström……you mean that super smelly canned fish?”
“Yes, but not only that. There is several other odor components can be confirmed mixed
in to transfigure into a terrifying weapon.”
“B-but if it is that smelly, how come nobody noticed until now?”
“Ah……”
The one who responded to Shidou’s question was not Origami, but rather Natsumi.
“Natsumi, what’s wrong?”
“……Ah, no, though it’s not a big deal……but I remember Tohka said something about
water dumplings before collapsing.”
Shidou’s shoulders shuddered as he heard what Natsumi had said.
“No way, it was wrapped in the skin of a dumpling so no one would know until someone
ate it. W-who the hell would create such an elaborate……”
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After Shidou spoke, the Spirits in the living room began to make a racket. After all, there
wasn’t a single clue as to who was the culprit.
“……What does this mean?”
Shidou wrinkled his brow. But that was the expected reaction. After all, this dark hot pot
was under Shidou’s management and all of the ingredients had been prepared by
himself. Unless there was a chemical reaction bringing forth the transformation of a new
substance, someone must have thrown in the stinky lump that Tohka had eaten.
However, no one had come up to confess.
Someone is lying……it was difficult to consider this. Even if someone prepared this as a
prank, it was impossible image that this ploy would go far of striking Tohka down to the
point of fainting.
……Well, the previous Origami was liable to do something like this. But now that she
had built up a good relationship with the Spirits, she wasn’t the type to mess around in
these matters and cause chaos.
“……Maybe there is something else in there as well. Can we turn on the lights to
confirm?”
As Shidou finished speaking, the Spirits began to nod to convey their thoughts.
“Y-yes……!”
“Very well. I will allow you to fade away this darkness.”
After getting their consent, Shidou stood up and walked to the entrance of the living
room. Then, after searching for the switch by hand, he pushed it down with a clicking
confirmation sound.
However.
“Huh……?”
Surely the switch had been pressed, but the living room remained dark. Despite repeating
the act several times, the result was still the same.
“What are you doing Onii-chan? Hurry up and turn on the lights soon──”
“Ah, ah, this is strange……now way, the breaker is down──”
──Then.
Just as he was in the middle of speaking, Shidou suddenly stopped.
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The reason was simple. In his ears, a small but certainly present laughter echoed.
Yes──
“──Kihihi, hihi.”
It was a familiar laugh.
“Wha……!?”
Shidou couldn’t help but hold his breath──the next moment, his mouth was covered by
the palm of someone’s hand.
“Ug…….ugh!”
“Suspicion. Did you do it, Shidou?”
He didn’t know if Yuzuru’s question was due to him let out some strange noise, but as if
responding to that, his feet began to sink into the ground.
“……!?”
He remembered this sensation. That’s right──it was the feeling of being caught in the
“shadows”.
Shidou flailed out his limbs in panic but resistance was futile as his body completely
sank into the shadow.
“──Fuha!”
After arriving at even darker space than the unlit room, Shidou let out a relieved gasp for
air.
Then, while sharping his gaze, he stared directly at the culprit who had dragged him into
this shadow.
“……Kurumi.”
As Shidou spoke with a voice marked with vigilance, the girl standing before him
giggled.
Although the surroundings were wrapped in darkness, the figure of this girl could be
clearly seen. A dress that intertwined a bloody scarlet red with a pitch black, and hair
unevenly tied at both ends, there was a ticking golden clock engraved on left eye.
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No doubt there was no mistake. It was the one called the Worst Spirit <Nightmare>, the
appearance of Tokisaki Kurumi.
“Ara, ara. Please don’t stare at me like that. I’ve come all this way to see you, so I will
cry if you treat me like that.”
Kurumi spoke as if making a joke.
However, even with that jovial tone, Shidou was in cold sweat.
In any case, he was completely helpless. After all, Shidou was currently imprisoned in
her shadow. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the matter of life or death rested solely
on the palm of her hand.
“……What do you intend to do, Kurumi?”
“Ufufu, I’ve just told you. I just──only want to play with Shidou-san and the others a
little.”
“Play with……?”
As Shidou asked while knitting his brow, Kurumi responded back with a brief “yeah”.
“It seemed that Shidou-san has been indulging himself playing with idyllic
maidens……”
“What kind of bad reputation is that……”
“Ara, is that not a fact.”
As if finding amusement in Shidou’s response, Kurumi began continuing on.
“It seemed like it is quite fun. Just at that time where I had to move around, you went
skiing in the snowy mountains, staying overnight at a cottage, returning back to Tenguu
City for a snowball fight and playing house in a snow hut. No, is there an issue with
that? Besides Shidou-san playing around with these girls, I don’t care for these brief
female excursions.”
“…………”
Shidou remained silent with cold sweat dripping from his forehead. ……Although she
had said that she didn’t care, she seemed a little jealous just like a child pouting from
being excluded by a circle of friends.
However, since other party was still the Worst Spirit, these sentiments couldn’t be quite
literally expressed. Shidou continued to speak while trembling from remembering the
slight tension.
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“So……what do you intend to play?”
“Hasn’t it already begun──using the memo which I have prepared.”
“……! What did you say?”
Hearing what Kurumi had said, Shidou instinctively expressed a sullen look.
It couldn’t be. At the moment where Kurumi first appeared, Shidou had already noticed
that the blackout and the mysterious ingredient eaten by Tohka was all Kurumi’s doing.
However, he never would have imagined that the proposal for a dark hot pot itself was
also made by Kurumi.
Perhaps finding Shidou’s response to be pleasant, Kurumi happily laughed.
“Yes, yes, that’s right. Since everyone was trying to decide on a menu for tonight, I
decided to help with a sincere heart. Ufufu, doesn’t this feel exciting?”
“You……what did you put in the pot? Is it really poisonous……”
“I’ve done nothing of the sort. Did I just tell you? I’ve just come to play today. I haven’t
added anything that can’t be eaten. Tohka-san will wake up soon after a break.”
“…………”
Despite this being very suspicious, the only thing he could do now was believe in her.
Even though Kurumi was a very dangerous Spirit, she was not the sort of person to break
the rules that she established herself.
As if thinking the same thing as Shidou, Kurumi continued on with a chuckle.
“I have only one request. Please continue playing further into this game.”
“Further……hey, you want us to continue eating this dark hot pot……!?”
“Yes, yes. After all, it isn’t that easy to prepare so many ingredients and just let Tohka-
san eat it alone.”
“So many……ingredients……”
The ominous connotation in that choice of words made Shidou reflexively shudder.
To continue eating a hot pot with special ingredients capable of knocking out Tohka in a
single blow, it was easy to imagine what the meant.
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However, even so, it wasn’t a good idea to reject Kurumi’s request. As long as Kurumi
had this intention, it was impossible for them to run away. Shidou, even now, was only
able to survive due to Kurumi’s whims.
“Ufufu, fufu. Do you understand the situation? ──Oh, and keep everything here
confidential between us. If you make a commotion, the “disposal” would be very
troublesome.”
“Ku……”
Hearing that thinly veiled threat from Kurumi, Shidou gritted his teeth.
However, he could only do as she said right now. Shidou clenched his fist, raising his
hand slightly to indicate his comprehension of the terms given.
Kurumi’s smile gradually thickened as she snapped her fingers.
“Oh……!?”
At the next moment, while experiencing a strange sense of floating, Shidou returned
from the shadow and back to the living room.
“──Chan, Onii-chan?”
“! A-ah……what, Kotori.”
Having his name suddenly been called, Shidou hastily replied back. Then, Kotori let out
a brief “really” to express her dissatisfaction.
“I’ve been calling for you for a while now, don’t ignore me!”
“S-sorry. I was just thinking for a bit.”
“Also──as for the electricity, is it broken?”
“Ah……it looks like it’s not working for the time being.”
Shidou replied back to Origami’s voice as he walked towards the kotatsu.
“If it is a power failure, let me take a look. If it the case of a large scale power outage, I
will go to my room. There is an emergency generator there.”
“……How very expected of you. Normally it is usually frightening, but it’s also reliable
during times like this.”
Natsumi let out a voice that contained a mixture of both surprise and hope. But Shidou
alone shook his head in response.
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“──Everyone, let’s resume the dark hot pot.”
In this dark living room, although everyone couldn’t see Shidou’s facial
expression……an unusual atmosphere seemed to have been sparked by his words. The
Spirits twitched their throats and breathed inconspicuously.
“What are you saying, Shidou? My servant Tohka could resist this chaos of darkness and
collapsed. To challenge the darkness once again……it goes past courage and into pure
recklessness.”
“Agree. It is too dangerous.”
“……I understand. But please, although I can’t give you the specifics……this is the only
thing that can be done now.”
“…………”
After Shidou pleaded in a serious tone, the Spirits pondered for a while before letting out
a collective sigh.
As it to follow that, the sound of rustling clothes was heard. It was like──yes, as if
replacing a ribbon in one’s hair.
“──Okay. Although I don’t know much about the current situation, Shidou said that
there is definitely a reason for this. I will accompany you.”
It was Kotori’s voice. A voice filled with tension unlike her relaxed tone from just a
while ago. It was her commander mode used for tough decisions.
Afterwards, following Kotori’s lead, the other Spirits also agreed.
“Fu……alright. I am Yamai. I fear not the darkness, for the shadows are my kin.”
“If Shidou wants to do this.”
“Everyone……”
Shidou lowered his head slightly before raising it with a newfound determination.
“Okay……then let’s resume. The next one up is……Kotori.”
“Oh, so I am up.”
Kotori responded back to Shidou as she lifted up the lid to the pot. As far as he could tell,
there wasn’t much shaking in her voice.
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“K-Kotori, please be careful.”
“There’s no need to worry about it. Even though Tohka fainted, there were no problems
before that. Moreover, even if there is a strange ingredient, can’t we quickly neutralize it
with the broth!?”
In this manner, Kotori placed her lips on her bowl to sip the soup. Kotori uttered a voice
that was neither a scream nor groan of anguish as she fell down on the spot. Her utensils
struck the kotatsu, letting out a dull sound.
“Kotori!?"
“Ah, abababa……”
As Shidou cried out her name, the faint silhouette of Kotori violently convulsing was
reflected in everyone’s eyes.
“Wha……!?”
“Kotori-san was taken down in a single blow……!?”
“Unrest. Kotori had not eaten the ingredient yet.”
The sudden drop out of the stout Kotori caused shivers to spread among the Spirits.
Then, a silhouette that seemed to resembled Natsumi choked her breath with an “ugh”
upon approaching the pot.
“……Just a little, the smell of the soup is different from a moment ago.”
“What did you say……?”
Being told that, as Shidou also drew his face closer to the pot──his face began to twitch.
“W-what is this stink……”
Indeed, just as Natsumi had said, the konbu soup that Shidou had carefully crafted had
transformed into something unfamiliar. The pungent smell stung his eyes as he drew his
face close to the pot. If he had to compare it, it was similar to the foreign tea (which
Origami insisted on) that was once issued in Origami’s house.
“──Ufufu, apparently when Tohka-san stirred the pot, some of my ingredients melted
into the soup.”
Kurumi whispered into his ear. Shidou’s shoulders began to shake. It seemed that she
had emerged from the shadows once again.
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“W-what did you say……?”
Shidou strained his voice in despair. That’s right. It could be said that even the soup
stock in the pan had been turned into a weapon. With this, not only could they not
neutralize Kurumi’s ingredients, but even ordinary ingredients could now be corrupted.
But that didn’t mean they could stop here. Shidou unwittingly clenched his teeth with
squeezing out his voice from his throat.
“No way, everyone……try not to drink the soup and just eat the ingredients. Hurry! If
we don’t do this quickly enough, even the ordinary ingredients will be polluted!”
“……I-I understand...”
The reply came from Natsumi, who followed after Kotori in the hot pot eating order. As
her voice was slightly trembling, she decided to open up the pot. She swallowed the
saliva not secreted by her appetite as she put the ingredient in her mouth.
“Huh…….? What? What is this……some kind of slippery fruit? Gaaaaaaah!?”
Natsumi coughed violently open chewing the ingredient.
“Ah──! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”
Natsumi opened her mouth wide and screamed. From this unusual situation, Shidou
raised his brow in confusion.
“N-Natsumi, what happened!?”
“Ga……hot! Water! Water!”
While screaming, Natsumi chugged down the soup from her bowl──the very same soup
stock that knocked out Kotori in a single blow.
“Haah…..!?”
The next moment, just like Kotori, Natsumi took one final breath before falling down.
“Natsumi!”
“Ara, ara……she seemed to have drawn the Carolina Reaper.”
“Kurumi said with a smile. Shidou turned his head at the unfamiliar word.
“Caro…..what is that?”
“Carolina・Reaper. Have you heard about the habanero, Shidou-san?”
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“……Ah, that absurdly spicy pepper?”
“It’s roughly ten times hotter than a habanero.”
“Do you want to kill us!?”
Shidou instinctively raised his voice. A moment later, Shidou looked towards the Spirits.
But it looked that everyone was nosily concerned with Natsumi collapsing that they
didn’t hear his cry.
“Ufufu, won’t you be discovered if you let out such a loud voice, Shidou-san? Now
then……isn’t the next round for Shidou-san?”
“Ku……”
Hearing Kurumi’s words, Shidou took a deep breath before picking up his tableware.
The devil’s hot pot that had already sank three Spirits into unconsciousness. It would be
foolish to not be afraid.
However, Kotori and the others believed in him and continued to eat. Escape was not an
option.
After Shidou calmed his agitated heartbeat, he quickly stretched out his ladle to the pot
and transferred to contents to his bowl.
The heavy weight stimulated his imagination for something unsavory. However, once
removed, it would not be allowed to be returned back to the pot. Shidou picked up his
chopsticks by hand and tightly joined them together.
“I……Itadakimasu. Ugh.”
The smell of the soup that knocked down Kotori and Natsumi bombarded his nose and
lacrimal glands. But……if he didn’t drink it directly, it seemed to be bearable. Shidou
held his breath as he thrusted his chopsticks into the bowl.
However.
“……Hmm?”
After using his chopsticks to lightly shake the mysterious item picked up from his bowl,
Shidou raised his brow.
Certainly, there was an uncomfortable feeling from picking it up with ladle, but while
trying to touch it though chopsticks, the strange feeling became even more apparent.
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This object was obviously too big to eat and it was quite heavy from absorbing the soup
stock. It gave the illusion of Shidou dragging something along with his chopsticks.
For a moment, he thought it was a fish cake……but that was wrong. Even if he tried to
pinch his chopsticks together, he couldn’t cut into it at all.
It was as if──yes, it felt just like a piece of cloth.
“Hey……perhaps, someone dropped their handkerchief in by mistake?”
Shidou said in confusion as he cooled off the ingredient and pinched it up with both of
his hand.
In the darkness, he could faintly see the outline. The shape was different from the
rectangular image in his mind, rather instead it was triangular.
“……Hey, aren’t these panties!?”
Shidou, who noticed the identity of the mystery ingredient (?), elevated his voice to a
scream.
That’s right. What was in the hot pot was undoubtedly women’s underwear.
If it was something like a handkerchief, it could be passed off as an accident. Seeing this
unexpectedly put in, Shidou hurriedly looked towards Kurumi’s direction and asked
quietly.
“……Hey! Isn’t this something that can’t be eaten!?”
“Of course, no one would eat that.”
“Liar, so why is this──”
However, as Shidou was in the middle of speaking, Origami’s voice was heard
resounded from the darkness.
“I am so happy. I knew Shidou would draw that.”
“It was your doing!?”
As Shidou screamed, the underwear fell to the top of the kotatsu. ……Speaking of
which, he had just remembered that besides Kurumi, there was one more person that he
needed to be cautious for.
“Isn’t it forbidden to add something that is inedible!? Why panties…..!?”
“It is 100% silk and edible in terms of ingredients.”
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Origami faintly replied back.
Hearing her confident tone, Shidou couldn’t help but begin to acknowledge this. But he
quickly shook his head to reconcile his thoughts.
“N-no, no……if you say it like that, then bark and leather boots would also be
considered safe and within the range of common sense……”
“If I can eat Shidou’s underwear, then it can be proven that panties are food. Q. E. D.
certification complete.”
“Don’t use your own knowledge to finish that!?”
After shouting for a while, Shidou sighed as if exhausted.
“……Have you put anything else strange in there?”
“Of course. Only a bra is included in the rest.”
“You put what in!?”
“Hey, is it still in there? T-then let me to take the challenge of searching for it──!”
“Miku can you be silent and not make this even more complicated!?”
Shidou sternly said to Miku, who was suddenly standing up in delight. Incidentally, as
Kaguya fell defeated, Yuzuru was impressed while saying, “Admiration. As expected of
Master Origami.” …..Shidou thought to himself that he should tell her to not imitate
such an act in the future.
Then, Kurumi whispered in a small voice once again.
“Ufufu……since something that can’t be eaten was mixed in, I’ll give you a special
clearance for this turn.”
“……Many thanks for that.”
Shidou replied back with a complicated look on his face. ……Nevertheless, thanks to
Origami’s panties, he managed to escape Kurumi’s special ingredients. Although Shido
did not want to say it, his heart still expressed a sentiment of gratitude as he remembered
the next Spirit in line.
“……Well, that reminds me, since I was the last one in this round, I would like to finish
with this…...”
“Of course that’s not fine. Please continue socializing and eating until I am satisfied.”
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Kurumi whispered into his ear as if to block out his words. ……As expected, he couldn’t
easily end it that way.
“…..In that case, next turn would go back to Yoshino──”
Just then, Shidou stopped as if considering something.
Certainly, they had gone through a complete loop. But there was also one more
participant who had put ingredients into the hot pot.
“……Oh, Kurumi, since you also put ingredients into the hot pot, aren’t you also a
participant in this dark hot pot? By no means would you imitate a participant putting in
ingredients and not eat yourself…...right?”
In a voice that no one else could hear, Shidou deliberately tried to provoke Kurumi.
That’s right. Kurumi, who had put the most amount of dangerous foodstuff into this dark
hot pot, had not touched the hot pot even once.
However, Shidou was not trying to force Kurumi to eat. Ideally, Kurumi would escape
from this madden monstrosity that she constructed.
It was a dangerous hand to play against Kurumi who held the absolute advantage in
reiryoku and darkness. However, for someone as prideful as Kurumi, there should be
some resistance to continue “playing” without breaking the rules.
However──
“Yes, that’s true. Then, itadakimasu for me.”
Kurumi said that indifferently as she stirred the pot with the ladle.
“Eh?”
Shidou widened his eyes at the unexpected response. Unexpectedly, Kurumi had
obediently agreed to his request.
Could it be possible that she had night vision to be able to clearly see the contents of the
pot even in the dark? In other words, she had the confidence to take this pungent soup
and ingredients into her body and still be safe.
“……Ki──”
As Shidou was thinking this over, a small scream came from the darkness. Then, the
same voice repeated itself for several times over.
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“No, no, this is absolutely impossible……!”
“There’s no choice but to eat it. What Shidou-san says is reasonable. If “me” does not eat
this, an example can’t be set.”
“Please be patient. Victory requires sacrifices.”
“This is……ugh. “Me” has drawn something quite annoying, a pouch full of salty
licorice.”
From that word alone, Kurumi timidly let out a high pitch scream.
Salty licorice……indeed it was a type of candy eaten in the Nordic region. It was a sugar
given titles like “the world’s tasteless candy”, “rubber flavored”, “ammonia block” and
etc.
“Ugh……aaaaaahhhhhughhhhh!”
A painful groan came from the side and then bang! The sound of someone falling over
resounded. The sudden loud noise startled the remaining Spirits.
“T-that voice just now……who was it?”
“Huh, who just ate from the hot pot? I-is it a ghost!?”
“Well, uhh……”
As Shidou struggled to answer, a cold voice came into his ear once again.
“──Ufufu. So, are you satisfied with this? Shall we continue?”
Undoubtedly, it should have been Kurumi who had just fallen.
Shidou raised his brow in confusion as he looked towards the direction where someone
had collapsed earlier.
Then, over there was still a few lingering signs of voice sobbing in an
“Uh……hikku……uhhh” anguish as if trapped in a nightmare.
Then, Shidou remembered. Kurumi could divide her own past to create countless clones
by virtue of her Angel’s ability. Although they were indeed Kurumi……
“Kurumi, did you force your own clone to eat──”
“Now, isn’t it time to continue.”
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Ignoring Shidou’s question, Kurumi urged to go on ahead.
The curtain opened──to the second round of the hellish hot pot.
And then, after about twenty minutes had passed.
The spectacle of heaps of corpses spread out across the Itsuka residence.
Needless to say, the surroundings were still too dark. Although his eyes had adjusted to
some extent, they still cannot see the panoramic view of the room.
However, the groans and sobs coming from all corners of the room made this space into
field hospital that only accommodated the seriously wounded. Otherwise, it felt like an
ancient battlefield where lingering souls in this world had come to gather.
“U…gh……”
The dark hot pot continued onto the third round. Although Shidou had miraculously
chosen safe ingredients, the taste of the soup that had grown thicker over time had
gradually eroded his body.
Incidentally, besides Shidou and Kurumi, the only one left conscious was Origami at the
opposite side of the kotatsu. Yoshino fell to the combination of super spicy peppers and
soup just like Natsumi. Yuzuru was left unconscious from the pouched salty licorice.
As for Kaguya, she self-destructed from the kusaya she put in herself. When it came to
Miku, she stood up and said, “I’m going to nurse after the fallen girls!” And then she
tripped on the kotatsu cord and fainted from hitting her head against a pillar.
Additionally, surrounding Shidou and Kurumi, there were several figures resembling
Kurumi crying and sobbing in the shadows. ……Well, that was digressing away from
the story.
“Ufufu……as expected of Origami-san. To not fall down even with this much stimulus.
And Shidou-san had more good luck and guts than I imagined.”
“……Ku, it’s been…….an honor……”
While whispering to Kurumi, Shidou replied while on the other hand suppressing the
chaotic odor. Then, the sound of dishes moving resonated from the other side of the
kotatsu.
“……My, turn.”
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Origami said in a slightly trembling voice as she opened the pot.
Unlike Shidou who was lucky enough to land on successes, Origami had twice carefully
selected through the ingredients that Kurumi had introduced. Although she resisted with
strong endurance, the damage was still huge.
“……!”
As Origami was heard trying to contain the food in her mouth, the shadow of Origami’s
figure falling backwards was soon seen thereafter.
“Hey──Origami!”
Shidou couldn’t help but scream. He didn’t expect that even Origami, who had endured
the dark hot pot up until now, would collapse. Sure enough, was it caused by the
accumulation of damage? Or──did she chose a particularly strong ingredient?
While thinking of this, Shidou shuddered. From the direction where Origami fell, there
was no dejected cry or sorrowful sob. ……Rather, it sounded like a puppy finding
pleasure from its master.
“……Kuuuu……”
“W-what……”
As Shidou confused, he heard laughter coming from Kurumi in his ear.
“Ara, ara, it looks like that one finally came.”
“That one……?”
“Yes, Shidou-san’s underwear, which was previously collected from his room.
“What did you put in for me!? That’s not food!”
Even after shouting like that, Kurumi continued to smile as if unconcerned.
“Ara, but Origami herself has said that she had eaten it before. Ufufu…..to defeat that
Origami-san, who had endured countless stinky ingredients. If that won’t work, it’s
better to adapt to that person’s tastes.”
As Kurumi was speaking……she stretched out and let out a satisfied sigh.
“So, now that everyone seems rested, it’s almost time for me to leave. Well, then again
between Shidou-san and me, it wouldn’t be bad to persist until the last man standing.
After all, I have prepared a lot of stomach bags.”
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“Wha……”
Hearing Kurumi’s proposal, Shidou instinctively choked on his own words. Also at that
instant, several figures that were lying around seemed to begin to move.
It seemed that Kurumi did not notice this as she continued to laugh.
“Ufufu, that was a joke. It’s been fun, Shidou-san.”
“……I would have to politely decline.”
“Ara, ara, that’s a shame.”
As Shidou replied back with his eyes half-closed, Kurumi replied back with a small
laugh.
Then, she stood up and prepared to leave.
But at the very next moment.
“……Please wait, a moment……”
As such a voice echoed from the floor, a figure lying down suddenly grabbed at
Kurumi’s legs.
“……Ara?”
Kurumi titled her head curiously. Then, as if responding to that, three figures sitting on
the ground began to stand up.
“Where are you going……me……”
“Is there really nothing left to be done……?”
“……If only we eat everything, it would be really horrible. Me should taste it as well.”
“Hii……!”
With the same consecutive voice coming after her, Kurumi couldn’t hold her breath in.
“W-what……”
The figures surrounded Kurumi to prevent her from moving. Then, the remaining figure
poured the leftovers from the hot pot into a bowl before slowly walking over to Kurumi.
“Come……there’s lot of it…..you shouldn’t hesitate, me.”
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“This is……ufufu, the soy bean bread Tohka-san put in.”
“Ara……this has really……sucked in a lot of that delicious soup.”
The Kurumi clones opened Kurumi’s mouth and drew the bowl of smelly ingredients
closer to her.
“Ah……ki……kyaaaaaaaah!”
Kurumi’s scream deafened his ears and echoed in the darken living room.
“H-hey, Kurumi──”
As Shidou was about raise his voice at that unusual circumstance, the lights to the room
suddenly came back on at that moment. The living room that was once covered in
darkness was now brightly lit.
“Ha!?”
Shidou covered his eyes from the unexpected sudden light. Then, after a few seconds, as
he slowly opened his eyelids……Kurumi was no longer there.
What was seen in front of him was the appearance of the Spirits lying on the floor
exhausted. Looking at the scene, which was just like the aftermath of a battlefield,
Shidou felt sweat fall down his cheek.
“Wha……what was that……”
As Shidou wrinkled his brow in doubt, he decided that his priority should be take care
everyone first.
“U-ugh……”
In the darkness of the shadow, Kurumi sat while trying to cover her mouth.
“Ara, ara, it really was quite dreadful.
“Come, me, here is some water.”
“Kurumi” stroked Kurumi’s back as another “Kurumi” came in with water in hand.
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Kurumi took the cup and drank it while still slightly trembling.
“Haah……haah……”
Kurumi gasped fiercely as she struggled to stand up. However, her mouth was still
rendered numb and each breath she took brought back residual vestiges of that pungent
odor.
……But that was expected after all coming from spicy soy bean bread condense with the
essence of the ingredients that Kurumi had researched. Being forced to swallow such a
thing, it was impossible to be safe. It was fortunate that her clones dragged her into the
shadow in time, as even Kurumi lost consciousness for a moment.
“T-to suffer……such inhuman treatment……”
As she gasped while saying that, her clones gently stroked Kurumi’s back as they
responded.
“Ara, ara. But me is also quite bad for forcing that meal onto me.”
“Yes, please be more considerate about the feelings of me.”
“……Ku.”
As Kurumi made an agonized groan, another clone responded back.
“But I can also understand the feelings of me as well. Me also wants to play with
Shidou-san.”
“Yes, isn’t it better to have asked more honestly?”
“Or is it impossible for me after all?”
“Ah──”
“Why are you so convinced without permission!? I haven’t……u-ughhh!?”
As Kurumi couldn’t hold back shouting loudly at her clones──the urge to vomit began
to resurface again.
“Ah, calm down.”
“Here, drink another glass of water.”
“Ugh……”
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As her back was being caressed by her clones, Kurumi swore to never again have
another dark hot pot.
TL PDF by MBAH
Afterword
Long time no see, this is Tachibana Kōshi. “Date A Live Encore” has finally been
delivered. What did you think? I would be most fortunate if the readers enjoyed it.
The short collection “Encore” series has finally reached its fifth volume. On the front
cover is the Yamai Sisters. The children of the hurricane have finally reached the cover
in casual clothes!
By the way, as I wrote on the opening of the author profile, Encore 5 will be exactly my
30th book published! Wow! A round of applause please! Well, that is also include “Date
A Live Material”, but since more than half are novels, I think I can let that one volume
count!
This is all thanks to everyone. I'll do my best in the future, so thank you for your
consideration.
Well, from here we will begin the annual Encore commentary. Since this contains some
spoilers, please be careful if you haven’t read the text yet.
○Origami Counseling
After a long absence, Origami pretending to be Origami (good philosophy).
This is a short story of the “Devil” Origami after the successful change of history in the
11th volume. It looks like an “Angel”, but it is actually a “Devil”. What is going on?
“Devil” Origami has only appeared briefly in the 11th volume, but I actually liked
showing this side of Origami. Particularly, her desire to resist her inner impulses and the
failure of that resistance. There is another person in her heart and she occasionally will
manipulate her own behavior. Another version of me. Surely, we’ve constructed another
pyramid shape puzzle. Finally you must use a card to decide a winner. I don’t think I can
beat the other me.
○Reine Holiday
Uncover the mystery of Reine’s private life. This short story then became the story of
investigating Reine’s day off. The overall feeling resembles a straw rich man. Except,
the main difference is that most of the incidents are solved by one’s own skills.
In fact, before this story, I tried writing one about Reine-san going on a blind date. Since
it wasn’t very satisfying, I didn’t use it. But because the idea itself is good, I want to re-
edit again if given the chance. Personally, I would want to write a story of Tama-chan
going to a marriage interview party with Reine-san.
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○Silver Astray
Since Date A Live is a series that began during spring, it is finally possible to write a
story about winter after so many volumes had been published. So that’s why it is a rare
opportunity to let them go to a snowy mountain. Then again, with everyone together on a
snowy mountain, how could it not be difficult (bias)?
I remembering storing an old story of Shidou and Origami being stranded alone, but now
I feel like I have finally written a continuation to that. Moreover, after several years,
Origami has gained strong allies in the form of Yuzuru and Miku. Is this the power of
friendship? Shidou’s purity is in danger.
○Silver Murderer
The second half of Silver Astray. How can there be no murders (bias) in a snow cottage
with a blizzard outside? The snowy mountains are a place full of biases. Editor-san said
on the phone: “Kamaitachi! Kamaitachi!” (the feeling one step after a Dempsey roll).
That was a lie.
The illustration is a shocking image of Tohka bloody and collapsed on the floor. But the
casual outfits of the Spirits drawn behind her are also a big attraction. The pumpkin
trousers of the Natsumi are so cute that I want to add more pictures of their casual
clothes.
○Spirit Snow Wars
The location changed back to Tenguu City. As the title suggests, it’s a story of everyone
having a snowball fight together. Though team composition was decided through rock,
paper, and scissors, the distressed trio from Silver Astray is all on the same team together.
A terrifying coincidence. By the way, my secret favorite team name is “ Weiß Legion”.
……Who the heck named that? It’s super cool.
In addition, the snowman, drawn on the illustration with Natsumi taking the flag, is also
wonderful. It seems obvious from the rabbit ears that Yoshino made it and the “the
“Konig-Schnee-Zero formula” would have been done by Kaguya in good taste.
Incidentally, I did not specify which illustrations I wanted to be drawn. From that small
detail, you can see Tsunako-san’s refined taste.
○Spirit Dark Matter.
This short story was written after Spirit Astray, Spirit Murderer, and Spirit Snow Wars.
As a result, I decided that this new short story should also be limited to the theme of
winter. So, it is a dark hot pot. Why not?
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Speaking of darkness, that person, who rarely makes an appearance, has also made her
presence known here. Although it wasn’t written in the story, it is somewhat funny to
imagine her changing the notes in everyone’s kotatsu or making the ingredients she latter
put into the hot pot. The latter probably went, “Ugh……it stinks……it stinks……”
while wrapping dumplings. (Personal imagination)
Well finally, I was able to publish this book due to the efforts of various people this time.
Tsuneko-san, Editor-san, and everyone involved in editing, sales, distribution, etc, and
also you for holding this book at this time, thank you very much.
Well, I hope to see you again in the next book.
March 2016 Tachibana Kōshi
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Date A Gravure Case 1: Astral Dress
“…Huh? What are you doing?”
After stepping into a room aboard the <Fraxinus>, Shido’s eyes widened.
This reaction was understandable because there were several cameras, lights, reflectors and other
things all set up, like a photo studio.
“Oh, Shido, you’re here. I was just about to take some pictures of Tohka.”
Kotori explained as she adjusted the equipment.
After listening to what Kotori said, Shido tilted his head in confusion.
“Taking a picture… what are you taking her picture for?”
“Hmm… I don’t really know for sure, but maybe it’s for the sake of the Encore?”
“Hey, now I feel like I shouldn’t have asked that sort of question!”
After hearing Kotori’s inexplicable response, Shido couldn’t help but shout in alarm.
However, she didn’t give his reaction a second thought as she continued to focus on setting up
the shoot.
“In short, we need more pictures of Tohka. Everyone, we’re going to start the photo shoot right
away!”
“Okay!”
“Yeah! I will light the fire of Prometheus!”
“Translation. Kaguya has everything perfectly prepared.”
The Spirits nodded in response to Kotori’s command.
A camera appeared in her hands and released a dazzling flash of light from all directions,
engulfing all the Spirits in a brilliant light.
“Eh!”
At that moment, Nia’s eyes suddenly fell on some kind of document and suddenly shouted.
“Wait a minute! Sorry, sorry! The first photo is supposed to be taken with your Astral Dress.
Tohka, can you change into it?”
“Muu? You want me to change into my Astral Dress?”
After hearing what Nia said, Tohka tilted her head in confusion.
This was hardly a surprise. After all, Tohka’s powers were currently sealed. If she wanted to
wear her complete Astral Dress, her mental state would have to become unstable, causing her
Spirit powers to flow back.
“Hmm! …But how are we going to get Tohka-san’s complete Astral Dress to manifest?”
Miku muttered as she put her finger against her chin, and then Origami responded: “We can use
iron chains to cuff Tohka’s feet and then put Kinako bread at a place where she is just close
enough to touch it without actually being able to eat it.”
“H-H-Hey…”
“That would cause a reversal of her Spirit powers, but it wouldn’t be good if she inversed, would
it…?”
Origami’s suggestion was far too cruel and caused Shido and Kotori to break out into a nervous
sweat.
“Anyway, we don’t need to force Tohka like that. We can change Tohka’s outfit into an Astral
Dress just by using <Haniel>.”
“Huh… Can we?”
“Yeah~!”
“This… what’s going on?!”
Now that she’d been dragged into the conversation, Natsumi’s eyes widened in shock, and at the
same time, the other Spirits clapped their hands while saying, “Oh!”
“Natsumi-san, you have such a useful power…”
“Yeah, it’d make sense to rely on you for this.”
“Appreciation. This is a really good idea.”
The Spirits all said such things, their voices filled with admiration for her as they all agreed with
each other.
“N-No, how could I do such a thing…”

Natsumi’s cheeks were flushed a dark red as she shifted her gaze back and forth uncomfortably.
However, that didn’t stop the other Spirits from praising her.
“Oh~! Surely Natsumi-san can do it! She’s so pretty that it’s driving me crazy!”
“Ah~! She’s so cute and competent, and she’s really excellent~!”
“A-AAAHHHHHHH!”
Natsumi seemed to have reached her limits at that moment, as she clutched her head and
screamed.
At that moment, Natsumi’s body glowed faintly and with the sound of a bang revealed a
virgining Astral Dress.
“Ah… whoa!”
“Natsumi-san is in her Astral Dress…!”
Bang!
The girl’s Astral Dress appeared.
“W-Whoa!”
“Natsumi appears to have just been pretending this whole time…”
“This isn’t about us. It’s about turning Tohka’s outfit into her Astral Dress.”
“Whoa!”
The now red-faced Natsumi raised her hand and the Angel <Haniel> appeared in her hand as she
started to scream at the other Spirits, causing even more noise in the room.
Date A Gravure Case 2: Uniform
“Whew… I thought that we would’ve totally messed that up. Fortunately, we finally finished it.
Okay, next, I’ll take a photo of you in your school uniform.”
“Leave it to me!” Tohka, now wearing Raizen High School’s uniform, pressed <Sandalphon>
into the ground in front of her. It was a majestic and cute pose, very photogenic.
“That’s perfect. Now Origami, please take the picture.”
“Understood.” Origami complied with Kotori’s request and picked up the camera.
She then continuously pressed the shutter, taking the camera off of the tripod and began to take
photos of Tohka from various angles. She might be just a little too skilled. …It was worth
mentioning that Shido was a little concerned by how old fashioned the whole process was.
“How are these?”
Origami asked as she showed them the pictures she took.
“Whoa! These are great pictures! As expected of Origami.”
“The subject being photographed is still, plus my own presence and exposure do not matter, at
this level it is a trivial matter.”
“What do you usually take pictures of…”
Shido muttered as he felt small droplets of sweat trickle down his cheeks.
…Still, there was no denying that the pictures were very beautifully taken, however—
“Ah! Wait just a second~!” At that moment, Miku suddenly spoke up as she took a closer look at
the photos.
“No! These pictures have obvious shortcomings!”
“Shortcomings?”
“Yes, it’s missing a sense of dynamic energy! Kaguya-san! Yuzuru-san! Can you blow some
wind behind Tohka-san?”
“Sure.”
“Understood. Yuzuru will try it.”

At Miku’s request, the Yamai sisters walked to stand behind Tohka and after striking a dramatic
pose, they moved their hands and stirred up a gust of air, blowing Tohka’s hair and clothing.
“Whoa!”
Tohka’s eyes widened in surprise.
While the photos taken before were still impressive, adding the wind to blow Tohka’s hair and
clothes made the image even more spectacular.
However, Miku still seemed dissatisfied. She stared at Tohka with a serious expression and gave
another set of instructions to the Yamai sisters.
“Can you make your wind a little bit stronger?!”
“Hmm, is this alright?”
“Enhance. Increasing the power.”
“Stronger! Stronger!”
Miku shouted excitedly. It was at that moment, Shido and the others noticed something.
Miku had been squatting down and was peering up at Tohka’s skirt that was blown by the wind
from behind.
“Stronger! Stronger! Tohka-san, can you lean forward a bit and look like you’re thinking?”
The now breathless Miku suddenly paused and lifted her head. She soon was on the receiving
end of everyone’s disgusted looks, now focused on her.
“…Ah…”
Miku sighed gently before turning back to look at Tohka again.
“Okay, Tohka-san! Lean forward a little bit!”
“You’re acting as though nothing happened!”
Faced with Miku’s overwhelming enthusiasm, Shido couldn’t help but shout.
Date A Gravure Case 3: Lingerie
After taking the uniform photo, the room was full of unusual tension.
However, that was understandable because the next thing they were going to shoot was
“lingerie” photos, and not only Tohka this time, but four people in total were going to be
photographed together.
Among those four, one was Tohka, another was Miku, who’d volunteered, and the third was
Kurumi who’d been spotted and caught from her place in the shadows and was forced into
participating as a model—but for the final person, it was too late to back out.
However, this wasn’t a surprise. Taking pictures side-by-side in underwear meant, whether she
wanted to or not, she would have to compare her own chest to that of Tohka, Miku, and Kurumi.
“…Is anyone else willing to do this?”
“Huh! N-No, that…”
“S-So, let Yuzuru be in the photo instead. The only one who can compete with Kurumi is
Yuzuru.”
“Acceptance. If Kaguya is willing to participate as well, Yuzuru will consider it.”
“Huh? No, no, something like that …”
“What’s with that condition?!”
Everyone could tell that there wasn’t going to be any agreement made between them.
Soon, this tension was directed in a specific direction, prompting everyone into the same action
to decide it. That is to say—”Rock, Paper… Scissors!”
Everyone simultaneously reached forward with one hand.
Among the group of scissors, only Kotori’s hand displayed paper.
“N-No!”
Kotori let out a cry of sorrow as she slumped to the ground on the spot.
But only a few seconds later, she slowly stood up and then showed everyone a determined
expression on her face.
“…Kurumi, what’s your bust size?”

“Ara ara, my bust? If I remember correctly… 84 centimeters.”
“How should I say… I’m 85 centimeters.”
“Hehehe~ Mine are 94 centimeters.”
After hearing all three of their answers, Kotori let out a deep laugh.
“O-Oh, well, if you round it up, you three aren’t that different from me. We’re all about 100
centimeters! World peace! Live long!”
Obviously, she rounded too far, but no one called her out on it; Kotori, at that moment, exuded an
inexplicable sense of bravery which made no one dare to speak out against her.
“Just so you know… my life rules.”
Kotori finished speaking like this, she threw a coat over her shoulders. Her majestic appearance
made the rest of the Spirits stare at her in awe.
Women, despite knowing they would lose the upcoming battle regardless, sometimes still had to
dive into the battlefield, and Kotori more than anyone else demonstrated that bravery.
Thank you, Itsuka Kotori. Your consciousness, your back, and the other Spirits are bound to live
forever.
Shido looked at this scene in surprise—
“…What the hell is this?”
He murmured, stunned.
Spirit New Year
“I think it’s almost ready…”
Shido said to himself, using chopsticks to pick up the mochi swelling up on the grill before
boiling it for a while and putting it into a vermillion bowl. Next, he added the fish, chicken and
other ingredients to the bowl before finally pouring the clear soup that he’d prepared ahead of
time.
Finally, he sprinkled a little bit of water celery and Shido’s ozoni1 soup was done. Shido split the
ozoni according to the number of people, covered the bowls, placed them on trays one by one
and brought them to the living room.
“Okay! I’ve finished cooking! Is the dining table ready?”
“Oh! I’ve been waiting for this!”
“Everything’s all set.”
Tohka and the others who were in the living room responded to Shido’s question with excited
voices.
“—”
Shido walked into this scene and stopped immediately.
The Spirits protected by <Ratatoskr> were now gathered in the living room of the Itsuka
household. Tohka, Yoshino, Kotori, Origami, the Yamai Sisters, Miku, and Natsumi, and—as of
a few days ago, Nia who had just had her powers sealed. The living room had a total of nine girls
chatting happily and joking with each other.
However, that wasn’t the only reason that they attracted Shido’s gaze.
The other reason was that the Spirits present were all dressed up in gorgeous kimonos.
They all wore sleeved kimonos and belts dotted with various gorgeous patterns such as flowers
or birds. The Spirits’ beauty as they sat together with lovely flower petals seemingly scattered
around them made the Itsuka living room seem much bigger than it actually was.
1
Ozoni soup is a Japanese soup that contains mochi rice cakes and is strongly associated with the Japanese New
Year and its tradition of osechi ceremonial foods. Zōni is considered the most auspicious of the dishes eaten on New
Year's Day. In general, the preparation varies from household to household.
The Spirits didn’t dress up like this without a reason. It was now January, and everyone had just
returned from the nearby shrine for their New Year’s visit.
Of course, Shido had already seen their kimonos this morning… But even so, it felt as though the
living room probably looked like paradise with all the Spirits here.
“Hmm? Shido, are you okay? Did something happen?”
“Agreement. What’s with the startled look?”
After noticing Shido’s stunned expression, Kaguya and Yuzuru, dressed in black and orange
kimonos, tilted their heads in confusion.
“Ah, no, it’s okay…”
After Shido suddenly recovered, he couldn’t but answer a little vaguely. So Miku, who was
wearing a kimono dotted with lily patterns narrowed her eyes as she smiled and said:
“Oh, Darling? Could it be that you’re dumbfounded by us and our outfits~?”
“I-I just…”
He didn’t dare go against his conscience and try to deny it. Instead, Shido said nothing and
silently put the tray on the dining table.
“Ah, Darling is so cute~!”
“…Don’t make fun of me. Come on, let’s eat.”
Shido responded while distributing bowls and chopsticks to everyone. Meanwhile, everyone else
settled into their seats at the dining table with their hands together.
“Let’s eat!”
“Yes, please enjoy it.”
After Shido finished speaking, everyone lifted the lid of their bowls at the same time. The sealed
heat rose gently, and the aroma of the broth scattered around the room.
“It smells so good…”
“That’s right. Ah, the mochi is also very fragrant.”
“…It’s delicious! What’s this? Does it taste like this when you boil it?”
“Ah~ Boy, your cooking is still amazing! I really want to hire you as my assistant to take care of
my meals!”
The Spirits put the ozoni soup into their mouths and almost immediately showed an intoxicated
expression upon trying it.
It seemed that they all liked the dish a lot. Shido smiled as he took the soup bowl and took a sip
of the clear soup. The fat from the chicken dissolved in the broth and boiled with bonito2 and
kombu3. The taste was really wonderful. Even he had to admire his own handiwork.
“Umu, it’s delicious!”
“Tohka, I know it’s really tasty, but you need to slow down, otherwise you’ll choke.”
“Hmm! Uh… huh… ah!”
At that moment, Tohka’s eyes widened suddenly and she began to thump on her chest. It seemed
that she did end up choking on the mochi.
“Ah, really?! Look out!”
“O-Oops!”
“Um, what should we do right now?”
“…I heard that we could use a vacuum cleaner to get it out…”
“A vacuum cleaner! Shido, where’s the vacuum cleaner!”
“I-I’ll get it right away…!”
“No! It’s too late for that! I’ll help her get it out~!”
While everyone else was yelling in panic, Miku suddenly stood up and grabbed Tohka’s
shoulders and puckered her lips while making a “Mmm!” noise.
As a result, Tohka stumbled and fell back.
It seemed that the mochi that was stuck in her trachea managed to make its way into her
esophagus at that moment. Tohka finally managed to swallow as she was struggling for breath.
“Are you alright, Tohka?”
2
Bonito is a smaller relative of tuna. It has dark oblique stripes on the back and is important as a food and game fish.
3
Kombu is an edible kelp widely eaten in east Asia.
“Y-Yeah, I’m alright now. Thank you, Miku.”
“I hate this! But it’s fine as long as you’re okay~!”
Miku twisted her body with regret.
However, she seemed to think of something and after clapping her hands together, she returned
to her seat and devoured the remaining mochi from her bowl. Then, with a pretentious and
tarnished expression, she pressed her chest in pain and acted as though she’d also choked on the
mochi.
“Ahh~ Ahh~!”
“What… Miku! This isn’t good, Shido! Miku got mochi stuck in her throat!”
Tohka stood up in a panic. However, the other Spirits looked at each other calmly and nodded
together.
“Kaguya, Yuzuru, hold onto Miku for a bit.”
“Fine.”
“Understood. Leave it to Yuzuru.”
“Uh huh!”
“Natsumi, bring the vacuum cleaner.”
“Understood.”
“Okay, Miku, open your mouth wide.”
“Huh~? AAAAHHHHH—!”
Kotori held the vacuum cleaner that Natsumi brought and flicked the switch. The loud sound of
the vacuum cleaner approached Miku. Miku flailed her head violently.
“No~! You’re misunderstanding~!”
“Oh, you managed to swallow it. What a blessing.”
“Huh…?”
After Kotori finished, Miku showed an expression of alarm at being caught. Seeing this, she
shrugged helplessly.
“Really… you’re not very good at acting.”
“Hmmm… Tohka, next time, let’s both eat ozoni together!”
“Huh? Just the two of us?”
“Ah~ Tohka, you can’t go off like that. If Miku asks you out on a date, you need to let me know
first.”
“Umu, I know.”
“Ah~! Of all the rotten luck~!”
Miku twisted her body with her arms wrapped around her shoulders. Shido couldn’t help but
smile wryly.
“This is getting a bit unbearable… it’s fine to be lively and energetic but if you keep this up, the
ozoni will get cold.”
After Shido spoke, everyone returned to the table and continued eating. However, Natsumi, who
didn’t seem to like the water celery very much, only managed to eat it after a lot of
encouragement from Yoshino.
“Very good…”
Shido collected the empty bowls and chopsticks and took them to the counter. At the same time,
Kotori, still clad in a red kimono, stretched out lazily while letting out a satisfied sigh behind
him.
“Ah… it’s almost time to change clothes.”
“Eh? It’s rare to see everyone wearing such cute kimonos! Let’s just wear them a little longer~!”
Hearing what Kotori said, Miku immediately shouted in protest. In response, Kotori folded her
arms and sighed.
“It doesn’t matter, but what else is there for us to do while we’re still wearing our kimonos? We
already went to the shrine for the New Year’s visit and ate mochi and ozoni soup, didn’t we?”
“That…”
With Miku speechless, Nia, who’d overheard the conversation between them, suddenly raised
her finger. Incidentally, the way Nia was dressed was different from everyone else. Instead of
wearing a kimono like the others, she wore a dark-colored sweater and jeans. However, when
she’d first been invited to join them for their New Year’s visit, she originally wanted to wear the
sports jersey she normally wore while drawing her manga and a cotton-padded jacket to go out,
so this was a significant improvement by comparison.
“Because we have such a rare opportunity, let’s play a New Year’s game.”
“A New Year’s game…?”
“What games are there~?”
Yoshino, and Yoshinon, both wearing the same light green kimono, tilted their heads in curiosity.
In response, Miku clapped her hands and answered:
“Ah! That’s a great idea! We could fly kites, or play Hanetsuki 4 or Karuta5. Ah! The kimonos lay
looming, exposing beautiful porcelain skin! Or better yet, we could play a blindfolded
face-scraping game! People might accidentally make mistakes and reach with their hands
instead. After all, everyone will be blindfolded! There’s no way it won’t happen!”
Miku looked excited and breathless while the other Spirits watched on with sweat trailing down
their cheeks.
“…Okay, but let’s play some other games instead.”
“Agreement. Yuzuru agrees.”
“Huh! Why?!”
Miku shouted loudly in protest. Kotori sighed helplessly.
“Speaking of other games to play in the New Year… there’s still card games and the like that we
can play.”
Origami nodded, adding:
“Throwing sandbags and beanbags are also considered New Years games.”
“So that’s the chase. Then we have to choose from these…”
As Kotori was about to vote, Nia shook her finger and said, “No, no, no.”
“Imouto-chan, you forgot that there was still another game. This game is ideal for so many
people to play together.”
4
Hanetsuki is colloquially known as feather ball wherein players use paddles with good luck charms attached to the
paddles as a way of warding off bad luck.
5
Karuta is a card game wherein a common Japanese proverb or poem is read aloud and players search for the correct
second half of the proverb. The winner receives a point per round.
“Huh?”
Kotori tilted her head in confusion and Nia continued confidently:
“It’s called Sugoroku!”
“Ah… that’s right.”Hifrom d iscord.gg/datealive! If you aren’tthere, thisis stolen.
Shido put his hand on his chin and nodded his agreement. Sugoroku can indeed be played with a
lot of people and unlike throwing beanbags, there won’t be a significant gap in physical fitness
between everyone.
“Sugoroku?”
Tohka, dressed in a black kimono dotted with shiny flowers, asked with a puzzled expression.
Shido nodded and answered, “Yes.” Then he looked at Tohka.
“Simply put, it’s a game where you roll dice and advance a few spaces at a time. The person who
reaches the finish line first wins, but there are also special spaces like ‘Skip your next turn’ or
‘advance three spaces.’ In this particular game, rolling high numbers won’t necessarily get you to
victory.”
“So it’s that kind of game! It sounds like a lot of fun!”
“I want to play and see…”
Tohka and Yoshino were clearly excited, their eyes seemed to shine with excitement. Shido
nodded his understanding.
“Then let’s play Sugoroku then.”
“Oh!”
“…Ah, but do we have Sugoroku at home? The number of people is also a problem. Should we
buy a bigger set to play with…”
“Ah! Ah! Ah!”
Just as Shido was thinking, Nia flashed a fearless smile.
“H-How… what’s going on?”
“Do you think that I didn’t consider such factors?”

After she finished speaking, Nia pulled out several small while cards from her bag and put them
on the table.
“These are…?”
Shido curiously picked one up. They were blank pieces of paper with nothing written on either
side.
“Oh, these are normally used to print business cards. But we can still use them like this…”
Nia pulled out a pen and wrote on the paper the words “skip your next turn”, “advance two
spaces”, “Go back to the starting line”, “advance ten spaces” and so on, before flipping them
over and lining them up.
In that way, anyone could easily complete the self-made Sugoroku game. Next they just had to
roll the dice like the normal Sugoroku and then flip the card over wherever they landed. They
had to follow the instructions written on it. There was something exciting about not knowing
what was written on the card until you land on it.
“Oh, I think I get it. That’s really thoughtful of you. If it’s like this then not only can you freely
determine the number of grids but various applications can be made.”
“Well, that sounds like fun! Let’s play!”
“Hehe! Do you want to challenge the table games in this fortress? Anyway, let the Yamai that
have conquered all entertainment crush your arrogance.”
The other Spirits also looked at Nia’s hand and watched with interest. Shido nodded.
“Okay, let’s play!”
“Oh!”
But at this moment, Shido still hadn’t noticed that several bright-eyed beasts were mixed into the
game.
◇◇◇
After about twenty minutes:
“…Okay, that’s about it.”
After Shido wrote the text on ten cards, he capped the pen.
“I also wrote some.”

“This should also be okay~.”
It seemed that the Spirits had also written cards of their own. Shido put the pen on the table and
began to organize his cards.
“Shido, what kind of cards did you make?”
“Mine? Well… they’re the kind that would appear in the ordinary version of Sugoroku…”
Shido glanced at his hand and answered Tohka who’d asked the question.
“Ah… but I did write one instruction that is very interesting. It’s one that doesn’t appear in the
ordinary version of Sugoroku. You’ll only find it in this version of the game.”
“Oh! I’m really looking forward to it then!”
Tohka answered with sparkling eyes. Shido nodded with a smile as he collected cards written by
others and shuffled the cards carefully.
“Then using these cards…”
He said while arranging the cards into a path. Although each person only wrote ten sheets, they
all added up to one hundred. The road wound like a snake that covered the whole table. Then he
put cards labeled “Start” and “End” at either end of the path.
“Okay, we’re all set. So everyone, put your player piece at the starting point.”
“Okay!”
“Understood.”
They made game pieces cut from the remaining cards. Nia drew illustrations for each one on the
surface of the paper, which were very cute in terms of a temporary production. Incidentally, the
dice used were also homemade by Shido by pasting scrap pieces of paper together.
Although it was very roughly made, there was a certain satisfaction in being able to play a game
that was made by all the players from start to finish.
“Okay, in order to decide who will roll the dice first, let’s all guess a certain number. The winner
will get to roll first…”
“Ah, wait a minute, Boy. There is still one last thing left undecided.”
“Huh?”
Just as Shido was about to raise his hand to encourage everyone to guess. Nia reminded him of
one thing.
“What else is there to decide?”
“A grand prize. How can you possibly have fun in a game without prizes? Such an opportunity is
rare. Everyone should write something they want on a separate card and put it at the finish line.
Then, the person who reaches the finish line first can claim them all. There’s no need for
anything expensive but something like snacks, small items, massage coupons and so on.
“Hmm … that’s what it is. That idea is very interesting.”
After Shido finished speaking, the Spirits nodded in agreement.
Then, just like before, everyone wrote down their desired prize on a card, and flipped them over
at the finish line.
Incidentally, the prize that Shido wrote was “the right to propose dinner dishes.”
“Okay, then this time I really want to start playing. Come on, rock, paper, scissors…”
“Shoot!”
With those words declared, everyone threw out their hands at the same time. Somehow everyone
chose rock, however, there was one person in the group who had thrown scissors: Kaguya.
“Hehehe! This is the victory of the fortress! Sure enough, true strength will always be favored by
the Goddess of Victory!”
Kaguya shouted happily as she snatched up the dice before throwing them down while striking
an impressive pose.
“Look at me! My trick. Dice Granaten!”
She rolled the dice, making a knocking noise as they rolled.
“What…!”
“It’s a little …”
“Mocking. It’s not worthy of being strong, the numbers thrown are different.”
Yuzuru covered her mouth as she snickered. Kaguya replied with a “Hmph.” as she moved her
piece down the path.
“L-Look, it seems like you don’t understand that the point of this game is not the number of
points rolled, but what instructions are on the card you flip over! Yes, my good fortune will lead
me to be the strongest ever here!”
Kaguya spoke loudly before flipping the first card over. It read “Skip your next turn” written in a
cute font.
“Why~!”
“Snicker. Hee hee hee hee hee!”
Kaguya yelled tearfully while Yuzuru didn’t bother hiding her laughter. In response, Yoshino
looked at her apologetically.
“I-I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have written that one…”
“Yoshino, you don’t need to apologize. This is how the game is played. Instead, you deserve
praise for your good work!”
“Ahaha! Kotori really understands people~!”
Yoshinon shook its head as though laughing. Kotori smiled as she picked up the dice.
“Okay… then next is my turn. I won’t lose.”
After finishing her dice roll, she rolled five points.
“Well, I advanced five spaces. Let’s see what’s written on the back of the card…”
Kotori flipped the card over and saw the instruction: “eat a bowl of ozoni soup” written on it.
“Oh! You won the prize, Kotori!”
Tohka clapped her hands excitedly as she shouted. It seemed that this instruction had been
written by Tohka.
However, Kotori stared at the card and groaned with an embarrassed expression.
“Hmm… A second bowl. I’ve already done a lot for the New Year. I guess I’ll have to eat less
for dinner next time…”
Kotori finished with a sigh as she rubbed her stomach. She headed for the kitchen and poured out
the rest of the ozoni soup into a bowl and finished it completely. It may have been a little too
much, though; the belt of her kimono started to feel a little tight around her waist.
“Anyway, the next one is… Yuzuru?”

“Acknowledgement. That’s right.”
Yuzuru nodded as she rolled the dice.
Shido and the others continued to roll the dice in order, completing the instructions written on the
cards.
Origami, wearing a sleeveless kimono, easily managed to complete the push ups; Tohka tilted
her head as she struggled to follow the puzzling instructions written by Kaguya; Nia did her best
to “imitate Kotori’s arrogant attitude” toward Shido.
Kotori smacked her in response, but nonetheless, everyone was playing the game happily and it
was an overall lively atmosphere.
However, when the game reached the next round…
An event occurred that caused a 180 degree change in the atmosphere that had been previously
harmonious.
“…Let’s see, I think it’s my turn next.”
After Natsumi finished, she rolled the dice and advanced according to the number points and
then flipped over the card.
“…Eh!”
After seeing the words written on the card, Natsumi held her breath in shock. The others looked
at Natsumi’s hands with puzzled expressions.
“What’s wrong, Natsumi? What’s written on it?”
“Um… let me take a look. “Whoever lands on this space must kiss Miku’s cheeks ☆”… What
kind of instruction is this?!”
After Shido shouted, everyone’s eyes focused on Miku.
“It’s unfortunate that there are such instructions~. Although it’s a little embarrassing, I can only
accept it with some difficulty~!”
Miku said this as she flailed her body in excitement. Everyone watched her with her eyes alight
with excitement as she talked nonsense.
“…In other words, you wrote this one, Miku.”
“Regardless of who wrote it, there is no violation of the rules, is there?”

“Hmm …”
After hearing what Miku said, Shido sighed in response. Indeed, there was no rule stating that
such instructions couldn’t be written. Moreover, although this was still Sugoroku, it was a game
that Nia designed.
“Hey, Nia, this kind of instruction…”
Shido looked to Nia for help but the words caught in his throat. The reason for that was simple. It
was because an evil smile appeared on Nia’s face. It was one that clearly said: “I was waiting for
a card like this for a while”.
“Hey, hey, what’s wrong Boy? When I explained the rules, didn’t you agree? I personally see no
problem here.”
“Yes, there is no problem with the rules here. I also support Nia.”
He didn’t know why but Origami also nodded strongly in favor of Nia’s words.
“What…”
At that moment, Shido finally managed to recover. So far, the spaces that everyone had landed
on so far are cards that had been written by Shido, Tohka, or Yoshino. The contents of the cards
were mainly orthodox instructions similar to “Skip your next turn” or a simple punishment. The
only controversial instruction so far had been one made by Yuzuru for a prank.
That’s right… It wasn’t until the second round that Shido finally discovered the true horror of
this game: Miku, Nia, and Origami have also written a total of thirty cards and set them on the
desk like mines.
“Okay, Natsumi! You’re welcome, so just kiss me! If you drag it out for too long, the game can’t
go on.”
“Ahh…”
Facing Miku as she stepped closer, Natsumi felt sweat trickling down her cheeks.
However, perhaps it was because she couldn’t cause trouble for everyone else, but after
hesitating for a moment, she showed a sad but resigned expression.
“…Close your eyes.”
“Okay~!”
Miku made a delighted sound as she closed her eyes and nudged her cheeks toward Natsumi.
Natsumi clenched her fists in determination as she made up her mind. Her face flushed red as she
kissed Miku’s cheek.
“…T-This should be okay…”
“Ah~! Such good luck at the beginning of the new year~!”
Miku made a high-pitched charming sound as she twisted her body excitedly. Natsumi narrowed
her eyes and glared at her with contempt, wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her kimono.
Nia clapped her hands when she saw it.
“Oh, it was such a beautiful picture. The kiss of a shy girl. Ah, I’m glad I took a picture and
saved it.”
“…No, don’t save it.”
Natsumi showed the most disgusted expression from the bottom of her heart. Nia laughed as she
waved.
“Then, who will go next?”
“T-That would be me…”
Yoshino heard Nia’s question and raised her hand with a wince. It seemed that Yoshino, like
Shido, had discovered the true dangers of this game. She rolled the dice with a tense expression.
“Three…”
“The back of the card says…”
“…!”
Yoshinon turned the card over and looked at it, and Yoshino’s cheeks instantly burned a bright
red.
“H-How? What was written this time?”
After being asked by Kotori, Yoshino flipped the card over so that everyone could see.
It read: “Anyone who lands on this square must be pulled by the belt by a man, while turning
around and saying ‘Don’t do this!.’” Incidentally, there was also an illustration of a woman with
an ancient bun wearing a kimono having her belt pulled down in a temple.
“What…!”
“Ah, I wrote that card.”
Shido was speechless but Nia seemed to reply casually:
“Since the opportunity is so rare, I wanted to write an instruction that took advantage of the
kimono. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen a live performance of a kimono belt being removed.
Fortunately, it’s not a teenager. Aren’t you so lucky? …No, wait, if you pull on the belt, it’ll only
make them spin around…”
“…! Please provide further details.”
Origami responded enthusiastically to Nia’s mumblings. Shido could only sigh as he separated
the two of them.
“Ignore the “man” in the instructions. …Wait, aren’t I the only man in the room right now?!”
“Aha, so you finally figured it out? This is a delicate gift I gave you, from Nia. Chu!”
Nia said that and blew a kiss toward him. Shido rolled his eyes as he caught the kiss and threw it
back at her.
Nia took the blown kiss that was thrown back at her with her chest before slumping forward with
a loud blow. She’d reacted just as quickly.
“…In short, Yoshino, you don’t have to do this, you know?”
Shido said with a sigh as he put a hand on her shoulder. However, Yoshino bit her lip and shook
her head.
“No… I will do it. Just now, Natsumi-san worked so hard to complete her instruction…!”
“Y-Yoshino…?”
“C-Can I trouble you a little, Shido-san…?”
Yoshino stared at Shido, rendering him speechless.
However, since Yoshino said so, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse her. Shido fixed his gaze on
Yoshino’s eyes.
“…Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
“…Yes, I am.”
Yoshino nodded and said yes. Shido then glanced uncertainly at Kotori. Kotori could only shrug
as if to say that there was no other option.
Shido brought Yoshino to a wider space and touched her neatly tied belt.
“Yoshino, I… I’m going to pull on it.”
“O-Okay…!”
Shido tugged on Yoshino’s belt forcefully and continued pulling. Yoshino’s petite body spun like
a top.
“Don’t… don’t do that~…”
Yoshino was still spinning in place as she said those words in a shy voice. It seemed that she was
honestly trying to follow the instructions written on the card. Behind the Shido, there was an
exclamation from the rest of the Spirits, “Whoa!”
Soon after, the belt that was wrapped around Yoshino’s body came undone. Yoshino started to
feel dizzy and her stumbling footsteps swayed as she fell onto a nearby sofa.
“Yoshino! Are you okay?!”
“I… I’m fine…”
“If you can’t walk normally, you shouldn’t force yourself, it’s okay to rest…”
Yoshino answered weakly. Just as Shido was about to move to help support her, he immediately
stopped. The reason is simple: her kimono, which had lost its neatly tied belt, was wide open:
Yoshino’s fair skin could be seen looming in the lining of the kimono. Miku’s screams could be
heard from behind them. Incidentally, while the belt had been loosened while she spun around in
a circle, Yoshinon’s kimono belt also fell off.
“O-Oh…”
“Alright, Shido. Bring her back.”
Just as Shido’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment, Kotori came up from behind him and helped
lift Yoshino. Then she helped him sort out the messy kimono and guided Yoshino back to her
original location… She was really reliable at times like this.
The next player, Tohka, had already picked up the dice and stood at the table. Shido had also
followed Kotori as he returned to the table.
“Natsumi and Yoshino are really admirable. I won’t lose to them!”
Tohka rolled the dice and six points appeared.
“Oh! I get to move forward a lot! Oh, the card instructions are…”
Tohka flipped the card over and read the text on the card and tilted her head in confusion.
“Huh, what does this mean?”
“…? What does the card say?”
Kotori asked, staring at the card in Tohka’s hand, and then—
“…What?!”
Instantly, Kotori flushed as she started to hold her breath.
“Huh, Kotori, is there something wrong? What does this mean?”
“Uh, this… Tohka…”
“I can understand the part where I have to take off my clothes in front of Shido but
afterwards—”
“W-Whoa~!”
Kotori screamed loudly, immediately covering Tohka’s mouth. Tohka was so scared that her eyes
started to roll around.
After seeing Kotori’s reaction, everyone started to wonder what was written on the card, and the
Spirits gathered around her to peek at it.
“What…?”
“…Seriously?!”
“Oops~!”
With a few exceptions, all of the others showed expressions similar to Kotori’s.
“W-What was that, what was written on it? I have to take off my clothes…”
“Shido absolutely can’t look at something like that.”
Shido wanted to take a look at the card like everyone else, but after Kotori’s reaction, he
promptly put the card back on the table.
“W-Who exactly wrote this instruction?!”
“…Ah…”
At that moment, Origami smacked her lips with regret.
“So it really was you~!”
“I didn’t plan to frame anyone else, but I wanted to do it myself.”
“Isn’t that more terrifying? In short, Tohka, you can just ignore the instructions on this card for
this round!”
“Muu…? But Natsumi and Yoshino worked through their shame and did it, I…”
Tohka said, with her eyebrows furrowed uncertainly, like a 八 kanji. As a result, Natsumi and
Yoshino, whose cheeks were still red, shook their heads vigorously.
“…Uh… I think this level is a little too much.”
“I… I also feel that this is too much…”
“M-Muu…?”
Tohka showed a puzzled expression but still showed the attitude of “since both of them said so,
forget it” and ultimately gave up on the instruction. What did it say…?
However, things did not end there as Origami glanced around.
“Failing to follow the instructions of the card should be considered a violation.”
“You… you really aren’t going to let this go…”

“However, since the instruction can’t be executed, there’s no other choice. The punishment
should be to re-roll the die, and move backwards based on the number it shows.”
“Hmm… I can’t really argue with that. Tohka, can you accept that?”
“Muu…”
Tohka had no choice but to reluctantly re-roll the die and move her piece backward. Tohka, who
had originally been in the lead, immediately fell behind into fourth place.
Tohka’s turn was over, and then it was Shido’s turn.
However, would he be able to keep playing as they have been so far? Shido held the dice in his
hand and whispered to Kotori:
“H-Hey, Kotori.”
“Hmm, what’s the matter, Shido?”
“Can we just keep playing like this? They’ve got more than 20 cards left…”
“What else can you do… Stopping the game now would only make them upset…”
“Right, then I shouldn’t…”
Shido shook his shoulders abruptly and looked at the final card on the grid—the “Prize” card
stacked with everyone else’s at the end of the Sugoroku.
Kotori probably guessed his thoughts just from Shido’s gaze and she nodded.
“Yes… everyone’s real goal is probably not the randomly arranged cards but the ‘prizes’ at the
end. Anyone unable to complete the instructions on the card has to stay away from the end point
as a punishment. From this point of view, I think there’s nothing wrong. The person who makes
it to the end first can claim all of the ‘prizes’, including the ‘prize’ that you wrote as well.”
“Huh…”
Shido’s voice trembled with fear. As a result, Origami, Miku, and Nia seemed to notice the
incident and their eyes seemed to shine with interest.
“Um—can I just keep playing as we have been? But, to go on like this…”
Shido held the dice tightly with a serious expression, and nodded slightly in Kotori’s direction.
“I’m not going to ask you to just relax, but I suspected that something like this might happen, so
I prepared a countermeasure ahead of time.”
“A countermeasure…?”
“Yes. But for now, just keep playing the game.”
“I… I got it.”
After speaking, he rolled the die in his hand, and a four was displayed. He advanced four spaces
and flipped the card over.
“Huh…?”
After reading the contents of the card, Shido’s eyes widened.
But this wasn’t a surprise, of course. Because the card read: “if you land on this space, you can
ignore the instructions on another card—you may also transfer this right to another player.”
“…! Kotori, is this…?”
“It’s about the right time for you to draw that. That’s right—this is the countermeasure I came up
with just in case.”
After showing an arrogant smile, Kotori stared at Origami.
“…”
“It’s really difficult to reach the finish line without stepping on a mine, given the remaining
cards, but if there is a card that negates the instructions, what will happen then?”
“Whoa!”
“You are awesome, Kotori!”
“…”
After hearing what Kotori said, Origami’s eyebrows twitched slightly. However, she didn’t show
a stronger reaction and then picked up the dice—because after Shido’s turn, it was Origami.
“—2.”
Origami advanced two spaces according to the number thrown and then confirmed the contents
written on the card—gently exhaled, lowered her eyes and then showed the card to others.
“What?!”
Everyone shouted in unison. The contents written on the card were: “if someone gains the right
to negate instructions written on a card, you can use this card to invalidate it”.
It was written in neat text, as though typed; undoubtedly by Origami.
“Just in case, I also set up such a card.”
“Ugh… Damn it!”
After hearing what Origami said, Kotori regretfully clenched her teeth.
“Hmm, it doesn’t feel so much like Sugoroku anymore… it feels more like a trading card
game…?”
Shido looked at such an offensive and defensive battle, and felt sweat trail down his cheeks.
—A dozen minutes later.
The living room of the Itsuka household was filled with tension.
Shido and the others continued to roll the dice in order, either executed the instructions written
on the card or retreated helplessly, and continued to play the game.
…Incidentally, Kotori, Origami, Kaguya, and Yoshino had all had their belts pulled, Yoshino had
been forced to sit on Miku’s lap, and Tohka and Yuzuru exposed their shoulders from their
kimonos. Several kiss marks were pressed onto Natsumi’s cheeks and her bare neck. She
promptly collapsed on the sofa afterwards. It was really quite the scene.
In addition, everyone now had a paper in their hands, which read: “Advance three spaces”,
“Have someone skip their turn for the current round”, “Flip over the card and then assign
someone else to carry out the task”, and other such things. These were all cards written by either
Kotori or Natsumi, who’d had similar ideas. Although it was a card that could be used to
exercise rights at any time in the future, it was easy to forget when there were so many people, so
they were written on pieces of paper like this.
Fortunately, the trio of Origami, Miku, and Nia did not seem to roll high numbers, so they were
in the same position as those who had occasionally had to move backward.
However—
“…”
The sound of saliva being swallowed practically rang throughout the otherwise quiet room.
However, this wasn’t a surprise, of course. The six squares before the finish line were all written
by Miku, Origami, or Nia.
“Let Miku nibble on the earlobe of whoever lands on this space.”

“Swap the underwear you are wearing with Shido. If Shido lands on this space, you must
exchange with Origami.”
“Play a game of baseball with the person closest to them, until one of them gets naked.”
“Let Miku lick the entire body.”
“Play a two-person double feather game with Shido while completely naked (Note: one person
must wear a short gown and the other person hides behind him and puts her hands through his
sleeves to accomplish it together).”
“Become Nia’s nude sketch model.”
Of course, in the beginning, all of these cards were face down. But as everyone moved forward
and flipped all the cards over, they couldn’t execute the instructions and backed out, causing all
six remaining cards to be revealed before the round ended.
“This is…”
Shido spoke hoarsely.
Six squares to the end. Naturally, the points of the dice are all one to six.
In other words, in order to reach the finish line, one of the instructions would have to be
performed.
“Let Miku nibble on the earlobe”, which was six spaces from the finish line, was the least
difficult instruction among them, but after seeing Natsumi’s misfortune at having drawn “Let
Miku leave a kiss mark” card her previous turn, he didn’t dare say such optimistic remarks.
However, they couldn’t keep going forward and backward like this. Shido then looked around
the table.
Origami, Miku, and Nia never seemed to roll high numbers, and were in a similar position to
However, if they continued to just advance and retreat, they would soon catch up and overtake
them. And, presumably, those three will bravely move forward with no regard for what they
wrote on the cards, with nothing to stop them from claiming the “prizes” at the finish line.
“My… My turn.”
Tohka looked around nervously as she picked up the dice.

She rolled a six, so she advanced six spaces to the position just two spaces from the finish line.
That is: “Follow Shido to play the double feather game while completely naked.”
“Muu… Double Feather… isn’t that the game that they played on TV before? I want to be naked
with Shido…”
Speaking of which, Tohka was blushing.
“Origami… just what were you thinking in that sick head of yours!”
“C-Calm down, Tohka! There’s no need to get mad! Just retreat!”
Shido was quick to appease Tohka who looked ready to explode at any moment.
However, Tohka groaned while still blushing.
“B-But… if I don’t do it, won’t Origami reach the finish line first?”
“Well… y-yes, that’s true…”
“Muu…”
Tohka raised her arms and groaned for a while, then she raised her gaze to lock eyes with Shido.
“…What do you think, Shido?”
“Huh?”
Shido’s eyes widened in surprise and Tohka continued in embarrassment:
“Just … what do you think? I don’t hate the idea of playing with you…”
“Eh… uh… I…”
Hearing such unexpected words, Shido immediately felt incoherent. However, he was also a
teenage boy, how could he hate it? But if it came down to whether this card should be executed,
that was a different matter. After all, everyone would be watching them. Besides, how could he
go so far as to disrespect Tohka in that way and do that kind of thing written on the instructions
of the card…?
However, Tohka’s determination was strong, and she held her fist in front of Shido.
“Only… as long as Shido doesn’t do anything disgusting, I…”
“Tohka…”
Staring into Tohka’s dreamy eyes, he found himself unable to speak for a moment.
However, this atmosphere was immediately destroyed.
“Tohka, this is a big deal!”
It was ruined by Kotori’s thunderous voice.
“You shouldn’t create such a strange atmosphere! Tohka, you also shouldn’t let Shido have those
kinds of thoughts!”
“A-Ah, I’m sorry. But I can’t let Origami win this game like this.”
Finally, Tohka glanced at the table.
The closest to the finish line, after Tohka, was Natsumi. However, one of Origami’s accomplices
was immediately behind them. If Tohka and Shido retreated now, there was no doubt that she
would single-handedly win the game.
But if they couldn’t break through the six squares before reaching the finish line, no matter what
Shido rolled next time, they would have to move backwards.
“Ah…”
Shido looked at the situation sadly on the table. If they ended up passing this round, there would
be no way to stop Origami.
Unfortunately, Shido was helpless. There were no helpful cards in his hand and all six of the
cards in front of him were all turned facing up. If there was only a face down card, there was still
a chance—
“Huh…?”
At that moment, Shido realized something.
There were a total of one hundred cards arranged from the starting and finish lines on the table.
As the game progressed, the cards that were flipped face up one after another, leaving about
ninety percent of them flipped over.
However, there was still one known card face-down: one that Shido had written, that hadn’t yet
been used by anyone else yet, and was still sleeping somewhere on the table.
“Oh, if we get that card…”

Of course, he hadn’t planned for this situation to occur. He just wanted to make the game more
interesting.
But that card could be the only card that could negate the current status quo.
However, there were only face up cards remaining in front of Shido. As long as they refused to
follow the instructions on the card and move the piece backwards, they might stumble on it
sooner or later, but if they did so, Origami, Miku, or Nia would reach the finish line first.
“Ah…”
It was at that moment—
Shido glanced at Tohka’s hand and realized a possibility.
Tohka had already finished rolling the dice. However, if it’s like this then that means—
Tohka, who’d been persuaded by Kotori, had moved her game piece with a regretful expression
and was about to announce the end of her turn when Shido quickly shouted:
“Wait a second, Tohka!”
“Muu? What’s the matter, Shido? Do you still want to play the double-feather game?”
“N-No, it’s nothing to do with that…”
Shido blushed and coughed a little bit then pointed to Tohka’s list of rights that she had in her
possession.
“Before you end your turn, there’s something I want to ask of you. Can you please transfer one
of your rights to me?”
“Muu…?”
Tohka stared at Shido as she peeked at the note paper in her hand. There was a list of rights that
Tohka obtained, including the right to “reveal a face down card and designate someone else to
carry out the instruction”. Judging from the handwriting, it was a card that Natsumi prepared.
Usually the instructions of the card can only be done by the person who lands on that square, but
by using Kotori’s card as an example, in this game, it was possible to transfer the rights to
someone else.
“Yes… but what are you going to do, Shido? If you draw one of their cards with this right…”
“That’s a possibility, but we don’t have any other options. We have to rely on this strategy to
win!”
“…”
Shido stared into Tohka’s eyes as he explained what he wanted. Tohka nodded as she handed
over the note page in her hand to Shido.
“Then, I’ll believe in you. Please, Shido.”
“…Leave it to me!”
Shido nodded vigorously and took the note page from Tohka. He then held it high and declared it
aloud:
“It’s my turn! I want to exercise the right that Tohka transferred to me! I want to use it to reveal a
card that hasn’t been flipped face up!”
“…”
Hearing what Shido just said, Origami’s eyebrows twitched, but she couldn’t seem to figure out
what he was planning to do.
After a deep breath, Shido stared at the table intently.
There were still eight cards on the table that were face down. The only way to get back into the
game was to land on the correct one of them.
Of course, Shido didn’t know which card would be the one that he wrote. He gulped nervously
and slowly reached out toward the card.
But…
“Shido.”
“…!”
At that moment, Tohka put her hand on Shido’s wrist to stop him, causing his eyes to go wide in
surprise.
“What?”
“…”
After Tohka shook her head quietly, she held Shido’s hand and moved it to the card right next to
it.
“Tohka—”
There was no way that Tohka could have known Shido’s idea. However-—somehow, Shido
didn’t think that Tohka did this kind of thing for a joke or such nonsense.
Shido nodded in response to her gaze and strengthened his hand.
“I-I want to flip this card over!”
He then flipped it over and confirmed the contents.
What was written was in Shido’s handwriting which read: “Cover all the cards, reshuffle, and
redistribute”.
“—Perfect!”
Shido couldn’t help but make a fist in victory.
That’s right. This was Shido’s ace in the hole, the only way to reconstruct the path of death to the
finish line.
“—!”
“Hey! To think that there was such a card~!”
“Oh… I thought I had you, Boy.”
The Origami trio showed a surprised reaction. After Shido smiled slightly, he covered all the
cards lined up in a path, took them back, shuffled them, and rearranged them again.
“Now! I’m going to roll the dice! It rolled—five!”
After the game piece advanced by five spaces, the card placed on that space was flipped over.
Then, after confirming the contents, Shido snorted.
“It seems that there really is a so-called Goddess of Victory in this world.”
“Huh…?”
“Question. What do you mean when you say that?”
The Spirits all showed confused expressions. Shido smiled arrogantly as he slammed the card on
the table top with a thud to reveal the contents, which read “move two spaces forward”!”
“Hey! Wait a minute, Darling! You already advanced five squares, so…”
“That’s right—I made it to the finish line.”
Shido moved his game piece forward two squares and crossed the finish line.
Then, after a brief moment, the Spirits came to understand the situation and uttered an impressed
cheer.
“Shido, you… that was amazing!”
“Hmm. You deserve the victory!”
“Well, today I shall grant you the honor of the champion title.”
“Acknowledgement. Congratulations.”
“…Trembling…”
By the way, Natsumi lay on the sofa and raised her hands weakly.
“Still, you won the prizes!”
Kotori stretched out her arms and exclaimed as she said so.
“Yeah… if Tohka hadn’t stopped me, though, I would have flipped the other card over—right,
Tohka? By the way, why did you stop me in the first place?”
“Muu…?”
Tohka’s eyes went wide as she realized what he said.
“I don’t know what Shido was planning, but… I think that the card that you originally wanted to
flip over smelled a little like Origami.”
She explained casually. This time, it was Shido’s turn for his eyes to go wide.
“Ha… haha. Honestly, it was all thanks to Tohka. Thank you.”
Shido stretched out his hand and stroked Tohka’s head as he faced the three accomplices.
“—Okay, I ended up winning. I won’t call what you did cheating, but will you absolutely follow
the instructions on the card?”
The three nodded unexpectedly.
“No objections. Congratulations, Shido.”
“Hmm~… It’s a pity that I didn’t get to lick it, but I guess it can’t be helped~!”
“Hahaha! Your idea was really clever, Boy. It’s just like a protagonist from a novel.”
“What?”
Seeing such an unexpected reaction, Shido was a little stunned. Of course, they were the ones
who wrote the problematic instructions by taking advantage of the rules of the game, so they
didn’t have a right to complain. However, Shido never would have guessed that they would
admit defeat so honestly.
However, if they said something wrong at that moment, and then changed their minds later, it
would be a major headache. They must have realized that they were outnumbered and decided to
admit defeat quietly.
Shido gratefully accepted their appreciation and answered: “Thank you.”
“—Oh, Shido! What are your prizes?”
As Shido let out a relieved sigh, Tohka suddenly spoke up.
Shido was so focused on stopping them from winning the prizes… Now that everyone conceded
that he was the champion, though, it made sense that he would get everyone’s prizes.
“Well, everyone wrote one down, let’s take a look.”
“Okay!”
Tohka let out an excited voice. Shido picked up the ten cards stacked at the finish line and
flipped them over to reveal the contents of the cards in order:
“Let’s see: Kotori wrote about a limited time flavor chupa chups lollipop; Tohka wrote about
Kinako bread; Kaguya wrote about silver ornaments; Yuzuru wrote about handmade bracelets;
Yoshino wrote about a help ticket; Natsumi wrote a about a hat dedicated to Yoshinon… this was
written on the premise that Yoshino won.”
Shido chuckled with a wry smile and took a look at the next card.
“Ah, it’s Miku’s… huh?”
Shido stared at the card, stunned. This was because it read: “Coupon to take a bath with others.
Take a shower with each other, Darling.”
“Huh…”
Despite the chaos in his head, Shido flipped over the next card. It read: “A spare key for my
apartment”. It helpfully included an illustration of Nia.
However, it wasn’t over yet. The last one was from Origami with only three words written:
“making love voucher”.
That’s right. It’s like—she had expected the prize to go to Shido.
“This… what’s going on here… weren’t you trying to win for yourself…?”
Shido asked with a trembling voice. The three of them looked at each other and then spoke:
“No, we figured that, as long as we used the cards’ instructions to incite everyone’s anxiety, you
would definitely find a way to reach the finish line~.”
“Ah, I understand, I understand. It feels like how a novel protagonist would act in the same
situation.”
“Since you have that voucher, I have no choice but to respect and obey.”
At last, Origami opened her kimono and moved closer to Shido.
“Hey! W-Wait a minute! Since it’s a voucher, shouldn’t I get to decide when to use it?!”
“If you look carefully at the card, it is written below that this is an automatic coupon.”
‘Are you confusing this with a different game?!”
“No problem. Come on, Shido.”
“AAAAHHH!”
After Shido shouted, the Spirits who were still in a daze suddenly shook their shoulders in
surprise and turned around to stop her.
“Hey, what do you think you’re doing, Origami! Let go of Shido!”
“T-That’s right! You can’t bother Shido-san like that!”
“I hate accepting other people’s prizes~! But there’s no reason why everyone can’t bathe
together~!”
“Ah, Boy, I’ll just go ahead and hang my backup key in the key case~!”
…As a result, as usual, there was another scuffle.
It seemed that, this year, the Itsuka household would be very lively.
Nia Galgame
“Actually… there is someone that I care about right now…”
One day, Honjou Nia suddenly said such a thing.
Short dark hair and red-framed glasses were the distinguishing characteristics of this young
woman. She was just a little older than Shido, and was currently wearing a high neck sweater
and denim jeans.
Up to this point these were features that Shido was familiar with. But—the expression on her
face was subtly different from her usual expression.
Her cheeks were flushed a deep red and her eyes were slightly moist. Nia, a girl who was not
usually feminine, was now acting like a young girl in love for the first time.
However—
Shido wore a puzzled expression on his face that matched how he felt as he responded to her.
Afterward, there was a deafening silence in the room, the only sound was the new broadcast
from the TV which, in the presence of the otherwise silent room, sounded even louder than
normal.
…Just to be clear, it wasn’t Shido’s intention to look down on Nia at all. She was still a young
woman after all, and if she found something or someone that made her happy, Shido thought that
was wonderful and wanted to do everything he could to support her.
However, Shido didn’t know whether what Nia wanted would be fully accepted… No, it might
be a little too optimistic to say. She did hold such beliefs after all.
Shido took a deep breath as he faced Nia. At the same time, a gentle smile appeared on his face
as he asked:
“So, which manga character is it? What’s with those loving eyes of yours?”
Nia tapped on the table as she uttered a high-pitched sound.
However, it wasn’t a surprise that Shido would react the way he did. After all, Nia was a
veritable otaku. At one point, she used to believe that she could only like people that were 2D.
To see a young woman like her give such a shy answer, it only reminded him of this time of life.
“Huh? It isn’t?!”
“That’s not it! You really are a boy! You don’t understand the hearts of girls~!”
“…”
“Hey! Why are you silent all of a sudden? Do you really think that I don’t have a girlish heart?”
“Uh, I never said that…”
Shido scratched his cheek while sighing softly before replying:
“…So is there really someone you feel that way about? If that’s the case—I will support you.”
“Huh, really?”
“Yeah. Well, it also depends on what kind of person the other party is… but I never had a reason
to believe that you were interested in 3D people.”
After he finished saying that, Shido narrowed his eyes in amusement.
“Oh~? Could it be that Boy is jealous~?”
“W-Why do you have to say such things so suddenly…”
Hearing Nia, Shido couldn’t help but frown.
Honestly… Shido was a little worried.
This wasn’t a surprise after all. Although it was only for the sake of sealing their Spirit powers
that he dated and kissed the Spirits, Shido had grown to value them and wanted to do his best to
help them and not just be in love with them.
Of course—Nia was no exception. In fact, when he learned that Nia wasn’t talking about manga
characters, Shido’s heart felt a complicated emotion sweep through him.
But Shido understood that he couldn’t control how Nia thought and felt. This fact made his heart
feel very unpleasant.
After seeing Shido’s expression, Nia laughed as though she were aware of his thoughts:
“Hahaha! It was worth it to see your expression just now!”
“S-Stop that!”
Shido sighed and continued:

“…So what’s the problem with that guy? You called me specifically because there was
something you wanted to discuss with me, right?”
That’s right. Shido wasn’t currently in his own home but instead in the apartment where Nia
lived. Earlier that morning, Shido received a call from her and said that she needed his help with
something, and Shido immediately came by.
“Hm… actually, although that person is very good looking, there is still a problem…”
“A problem? What is it?”
After Shido tilted his head and asked, Nia put her hand on her chin and answered:
“The other party doesn’t feel the same way about me.”
“…So this is an unrequited love?”
Nia replied with a laugh while Shido crossed his arms and responded:
“So… how exactly am I supposed to help you?”
“Long story short, I want Boy to help me catch that person. After all, you have several Spirits
who are crazy about you.”
“…I still think that you’re picking the wrong person here…”
Shido smiled bitterly as he felt sweat trail down his cheeks. He thought it would have been better
to consult Kotori or Reine about this sort of thing.
However, Nia shook her head as she quickly stood up and grabbed Shido’s hand.
“That’s not the case. Let me introduce you two.”
“Wait. Right now?”
“Well, it’s better to choose the date rather than have it chosen for you. Or is it something that you
leave for later?”
“That’s not… where exactly is this person?”
“Huh? Right here in my room.”
Shido listened to what she said and immediately fell silent for a moment.
“So… let me just confirm something really quickly: you didn’t kidnap this person and hold them
here as a prisoner, right?”
“What?”
Nia’s eyes shot wide open in an instant before turning away from him.
“How fascinating…”
“What’s so fascinating about that?!”
“Ahaha, I’m just messing with you. How could I do such a terrible thing? No matter how much I
like someone, you usually wouldn’t imprison them, right? Then I had a thought: shouldn’t you
want to imprison your favorite girl in your heart?”
“H-How would that even be possible, just…”
“Just what?”
“…No, never mind.”
Shido couldn’t bring himself to tell the truth by saying that he had some experience with being
imprisoned so he glossed over it vaguely.
“Anyway, let me introduce you to each other.”
After speaking, Nia turned on the computer sitting on the table and the title of a dating simulator
appeared on the screen.
“…Isn’t this just a dating sim?!”
“Hmm? Yeah, but it’s not a manga character though~”
“I think your self confident tone speaks to indicate what your favorite 2D character is…”
Shido sighed heavily as he sat down on the chair next to her.
What could he say? A sort of helpless mood and an inexplicable sense of peace were intertwined
and his whole body felt weak.
Perhaps having noticed Shido’s reaction, Nia flashed him a playful smile as she spoke:
“Huh? What? Could it be that you’re relieved? Could it be that Boy feels relieved because Nia
hasn’t been stolen away by another man?”
“N-No, nothing like that…”
“Huh? Really?”
“Yeah. I really intend to support you…”
“Oh? Wait, was I mistaken? …I have to make a note, teenagers are into NTR…”
“Don’t try to maliciously twist my words! Hey, why are you taking so many notes?!”
After Shido shouted at her, Nia waved a notebook she had pulled out of nowhere and smiled
boldly at him.
Talking to Nia would always lead to situations like this. Shido scratched his head, sighed, and
soon gave up.
“…So are you unable to make the characters in this game fall in love with you?”
“Well, I have plenty of experience playing these kinds of games, but the difficulty of this game is
ridiculous; I can’t clear it.”
“So that’s the problem…”
Shido rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he glanced at the screen.
It looked like a very real dating simulator game. In that respect, he was better qualified than most
people to help Nia in this pursuit. Not that he was bragging or anything, but he used to play the
training simulation game <Love! My Little Shido> under the condition that if he picked the
wrong choices, he would be severely punished. He managed to clear it at once.
“So who is the target character?”
“Oh, it’s this girl. Her name is Maruna Alice.”
Nia operated the mouse and displayed illustrations of the characters—a cute-looking female high
school student that answered Shido’s question.
“…A girl?!”
“Well, yeah… ah, could it be that you’re not used to playing with male characters and you can’t
help it? Sorry, sorry.”
“Definitely not.”
“Must make a note… Teenagers are into boys…”

“Stop that! Don’t try to take notes about such dangerous matters!”
Shido reached out in an attempt to snatch the notebook from Nia’s grasp, but missed. Nia quickly
opened the collar of her turtleneck and tucked the notebook back into her clothes.
“Hey! Nia, aren’t you being cruel?!”
“Hey, hey, if you want it so badly, then come over and take it. I don’t mind.”
After she finished speaking, Nia twisted her waist. Shido raised his head and made an uncertain
noise.
“Well? Aren’t you going to take it from me? You really are still just an innocent teenager.”
“No… I don’t want to trouble you!”
Nia poked Shido’s nose with a finger to tease him. Shido, in turn, blushed and looked away.
“In short, I hope you can help me win her over, Understand?”
“…Although there are still many problems, I get it. If you’re okay with me, I can try to help.”
“Really? Yay! Boy, I love you~ You’ve won my heart! I’ll allow you to come over to my house
and hug me.”
“…Ah. Well, okay. A hug.”
Shido replied indifferently as he made a move to coax her; Nia pouted, her expression
dissatisfied.
“You just spoke so coldly that it makes me want to cry.”
“Then don’t say things that are difficult for other people to respond to.”
“Ah, by the way, the phrase “Then” was actually a pun, did you realize it?
“Okay! So let’s get started playing this game! I’m looking forward to it!”
Shido was quick to shout to interrupt what Nia was about to say. He felt that he couldn’t let her
continue.
“What’s the matter, aren’t you excited yet?”
Nia smirked as she sat down next to Shido, her hand on the mouse again.
She then operated the screen to start the game.

So far, nothing looked strange. The protagonist was a student. The people that could fall in love
included classmates, sisters, colleagues at the office, etc. There weren’t any options to choose
from just yet at the beginning of the game. It was just to introduce the relationship between the
protagonist and the female characters.
“What. This seems pretty standard to me. Where is it difficult?”
Shido glanced at Nia in confusion and asked. Nia suddenly lowered her shoulders in a charming
way as she raised her sultry gaze and stared at Shido.
“Actually, I only said that as an excuse to break the ice. The real purpose was to bring you here
to my room.”
“Okay, I’m going home.”
“Ah~! Wait, I was only joking!”
Shido immediately stood up from the chair and Nia grabbed onto his clothes. It really seemed
like she’d been joking.
“Oh, you’re always joking around but if you keep that up, no one will believe you when
something does happen.”
“Ah~! It’s the so-called Boy who cried wolf. But isn’t there a saying that all boys are all wild
wolves? Be careful. In other words, a wolf boy is actually just a boy boy. Boy x Boy means…”
“Hey, did you just have another dirty idea for that boy?”
“In short, just keep playing.”
After speaking, Nia clicked on the screen to continue the dialogue. Shido continued to watch the
screen quietly despite his wonder at the situation.
Soon, the protagonist in the picture started a conversation with the female character, Alice, that
seemed to conquer Nia. It seemed that she was a difficult girl, always criticizing the protagonist’s
every move.
“It always turns out like this. If there was such a person in reality, it would be really difficult…
But this is a game character. In other words, there is a correct option in order to progress, no
matter how troublesome her personality is…”
“Wait a minute, the options are coming soon.”
Nia interrupted Shido as she clicked the mouse.

Usually for these kinds of dating simulator games, the game will provide a set of options, and the
player’s choice would determine the protagonist’s actions. Then, the different options selected
would affect the protagonist’s favorability, and can change the story’s development.
Therefore, unlike action or puzzle games, even if you didn’t have any particular skill, you could
still find the correct route through a few replays.
Therefore, if he were being honest, Shido didn’t understand why Nia would say that this game is
difficult.
“…Huh?”
Soon after, just as Nia said, the options were displayed on the screen.
—Tons of options filled the entire screen.
“There are way too many!”
Shido couldn’t help but shout out loud.
This wasn’t a surprise. Normally, there were usually only three options for these kinds of games,
but for this game that wasn’t the case. There had to be at least a hundred options just from a
glance.
“No way…”
Shido’s eyes narrowed. Upon closer inspection, there was a scroll bar on the right side of the
screen. After scrolling down, Nia discovered even more options below.
“H-Hey… what’s with this? Are all of these really options for us to choose how to proceed?”
“It looks like that’s the case. And even after this, there are even more options. Based on the
different combinations, the story’s development will further divide. Plus, this is clearly a dating
sim, but there’s no way that there’s a guide for it. I’m telling you, I’ve already run into at least 80
bad endings with just Alice. I wonder if the people who developed this game were neurotic…”
Nia shrugged and looked at Shido helplessly.
“…So you’re telling me that this game doesn’t want anyone to advance through the story? Why
is there such a weird game on the market? Who made this?”
After Shido asked this with sweat dripping down his forehead, Nia tilted her head blankly.
“No idea.”
“You don’t know? Did you throw away the box? Even if you downloaded it, there should be a
receipt…”
“No, it’s because I didn’t buy it.”
“Huh…?”
After hearing Nia’s answer, this time Shido tilted his head in wonder.
“What do you mean? Then where did this game come from?”
“Hmm~… Just a few days ago, I received a strange email that contained only a single URL in it.
After I clicked on that URL, the window jumped to the game download page.”
“That’s way too suspicious!”
Shido couldn’t help but shout loudly. This was clearly a fraudulent tactic.
“You need to be more careful about this sort of thing… Those kinds of websites are hard to track
down. It can potentially leak personal information.”
“Okay~.”
Nia replied casually. At the same time, she was still staring at the characters on the screen as she
replied.
Obviously, what Shido said went in one ear and out the other. Shido could only sigh and faced
the screen again.
“Anyway… we can only choose one option to advance. This character is called…?”
“Alice.”
“…Now, this seemed like this was my first contact with Alice. It was reasonable to think that
you ought to compliment her, right?
“According to common sense, that would be true. However…”
Nia’s eyes narrowed as she scrolled down the screen.
“What exactly do you want to compliment? Her face? Body? Hairstyle? Clothing? The
atmosphere? Should I go with a direct compliment? Or compliment her with a poem? Each
option is divided into many detailed similes: Like a doll? Like a goddess? There are so many
tempting options. Which one do you want to choose?”
“…”
Seeing the sheer variety of options that only seemed to increase as he continued to read, Shido
found himself panicking. There were unlimited options when it came to talking to real girls, but
there was something really disorienting about seeing them displayed like that.
However, if they didn’t make a decision, they wouldn’t be able to move forward. Shido looked
up as he frowned and continued:
“Hmm… now that I’m thinking about it… isn’t this girl more difficult to please? So wouldn’t it
be better to not choose something that’s not too exaggerated?”
“Oh, so it’s something like that. Then we should probably choose something like ‘your hair is
pretty’ on the 129th row?”
“Hmm… yeah. Let’s try that first and see what happens.”
“Okay!”
Finally, Nia moved the mouse and clicked that option—
[“Your hair is so beautiful!”]
[“…Huh? Who are you?”]
Alice asked in the picture with a puzzled expression. Shido couldn’t help but scream.
“If we’re meeting for the first time, this seems like a little too much!”
But if they thought about it, this would make sense. If it was an ordinary girl in this situation, this
would be the standard option, but because there were so many options, maybe they should take it
a step at a time.
“No, wait a minute. The next options have shown up.”
“Huh?”
Hearing Nia’s voice, Shido’s gaze immediately snapped back to the screen. Indeed, there was
another set of seemingly endless selection of options to choose from. Alice regarded the
protagonist with a suspicious expression.
“Uh… in short, now we have to defend ourselves. We have to choose an option with an apology
first and then try to compliment her again.”
“So that’s the approach we should take… So… I should do this one: “Ah… I’m sorry. It’s
because it was so beautiful, I couldn’t help it…”?
“Although that choice is a little too apologetic… I think it’s acceptable.”
After Shido finished explaining, Nia nodded in agreement and picked that option.
[Ah… I’m sorry. It’s because I couldn’t help it…”]
[Ah…]By Ene, OfficeCasual, and L

ightningFarron
[…Ah, is that so? Anyway, I’m in a hurry.]
Alice immediately left after taking another look at the suspicious person’s expression. Then,
Alice’s favorability displayed in the corner of the screen suddenly dropped.
“That’s too realistic!”
Shido couldn’t help but shriek.
◇◇◇
In the apartment complex next to the Itsuka household, Yatogami Tohka gazed intently at the
smartphone in her hand.
“Wow… I had no idea that my phone could do all of this…”
Her beautiful dark hair twitched slightly in excitement, her crystalline eyes following as she
scrolled through her screen on her phone. Every time she swiped, her throat let out a surprised
“Whoa!” or “Amazing!”
“…You get excited way too easily. You were actually serious when you said you didn’t know
any other functions aside from calling?”
A petite girl sitting on the bed asked Tohka. Her hair and face were a little messy. She was one of
the Spirits living in the complex: Natsumi.
“Well, I have seen Shido and Kotori using their cell phones… anyway, this is really amazing!
Can I really use this small box to take pictures, listen to music… and a bunch of other things,
right?”
“Isn’t there something called the Internet…?”
The answer came from another Spirit sitting next to Natsumi, Yoshino. She was a cute girl with a
rabbit puppet on her left hand.
That’s right. Tohka and Yoshino were listening as Natsumi explained how to use their cell
phones. Both of them received cell phones from Kotori, but they barely knew how to use them.
“Well… that’s right. Nowadays, new cell phones emphasize Internet access rather than being
able to call people.”
“Muu… I still don’t really get it, what exactly is the Internet?”
“If you ask me something like that, it’s hard for me to explain… In short, as long as you
remember that the network is formed by the interconnection of computers, it allows you to do
many things at home.”
“Many things…?”
“What kinds of things can we do~?”
Yoshino and her hand puppet Yoshinon tilted their heads as they asked, Natsumi operated her
own smartphone and answered:
“…Well, for example, you can watch movies, check the news, and communicate with anyone all
over the world. …It’s also possible to reserve tickets, buy books, or order takeout without having
to call, you can just do it online.”
“What! Can all of that really be done?”
“That’s… convenient…”
Tohka and Yoshino’s eyes seemed to shine with excitement and Natsumi could feel sweat trail
down her cheeks.
“…But there are also dangerous websites out there. It’s best to use it with someone who knows
how to use a cell phone before you decide. But… It looks like Kotori installed a child lock on
your phones so it probably won’t let you go to any weird websites…”
“Muu… I don’t really get it, but you’re really amazing! Natsumi, you know so many things!”
“Yes… Natsumi-san is really amazing!”
“No… I’m nothing special…”
Faced with their looks of admiration, Natsumi shrugged her shoulders in embarrassment.
“No, you’re incredible! I have so much to learn from you!”
“Natsumi is really knowledgeable… and admirable.”
“N-No… I’m not as impressive as you think I am…”
“Don’t be humble, you are very smart.”

“Yes, Natsumi-san is… so beautiful.”
“W-Whooooooah!”
While Natsumi was blushing and protesting, the intercom in the room rang.
“Muu?”
Tohka tilted her head and approached the intercom before taking a look at the picture displayed
above.
At most, this apartment could only be visited by relevant personnel from <Ratatoskr> like Shido
or Kotori, so Tohka originally thought that this time it must have been one of them, but… that
wasn’t the case.
Standing in the picture was a strange man holding something in his hand.
“Who is that?”
After Tohka pressed the call button on the intercom, the man replied in an energetic voice and
said:
[“Sorry to keep you waiting! I work for PIZZA GRAZIE! I have your delivery right here!”]
“Muu…?”
Tohka turned around and looked at the others curiously. Yoshino, who was sitting on the bed,
looked at Natsumi who shook her head.
“I… didn’t order anything.”
“…Me neither… Could it be for you, Tohka? You know that you can order food online.”
“But I haven’t done that yet! Besides, do they really deliver it that quickly?”
After Tohka finished speaking, the voice came through the intercom again.
[“Sorry to keep you waiting, Asakusa Sushi is here! The five-piece sushi you order has arrived!”]
[“This is Penglai Pavilion! The ten bowls of ramen you ordered has arrived!”]
“H-Huh? What the hell is going on?!”
It seemed that all kinds of takeout restaurants flocked to the apartment one after the other. Tohka
frowned in confusion.
“Ah… Natsumi-san! Tohka-san!”
At that moment, Yoshino peeked out the window as though she’d discovered something.
Natsumi and Tohka also peeked out the window, likewise also frowning in wonder.
The street seemed to be clustered with deliveries from several pizza restaurants and sushi
restaurants, with some fire trucks, ambulances, and patrol cars mixed in as well.
◇◇◇
“Choose this… now!”
—Shido used the mouse that Nia gave him to make the selections in the game.
After a few hours, Alice’s favorability was finally improving slightly.
“Oh! So there is a way, Boy! Truly, you are worthy of being a Spirit Killer!”
“Don’t give me such a weird name, okay?!”
Shido narrowed his eyes and responded to Nia as he sighed.
In the dialogue during the initial contact, there were three questions with nearly a thousand
different options each, and if they didn’t pick the correct combination, it would lead directly to a
bad ending. In the end, Shido finally managed to pass this incredibly difficult level, and his spirit
was tired.
“Wow, this is the first time I’ve seen Alice’s favorability increase into the double digits.”
“We’ve still got a long road ahead of us…”
Just then, Shido’s eyebrows twitched. Because, once again, the options showed up, and the
picture began to change.
It seemed that the protagonist found Alice, who was entangled by a delinquent during school. At
that time, there was a long list of options.
“We… We have to save her.”
“Yeah. It’s a classic scenario where the hero saves the beauty so that they have a good impression
of the hero.”
Shido and Nia nodded to each other and chose the option to confront the bad boy.
Although there were several options to say whatever they wanted, the safest bet was choosing a
standard option that wasn’t too innovative.
[“Hey! Can’t you tell that this girl doesn’t want to deal with you? Let her go.”]
[“Huh? Who the hell are you?”]
The bad guy’s response was old-fashioned. Basically, the process is almost the same as always.
Next, as long as the bad guy runs away, Alice’s favorability can be improved. Usually, the bad
guy would end up falling into the water, Alice calls the police, the bad guy flees, and the
protagonist wakes up with his head on Alice’s thighs… This kind of development.
However, in the next moment, the picture that displayed on the screen was far beyond what
Shido could have imagined.
The background music suddenly changed to something more majestic, and the screen, originally
composed mainly of the character’s full body illustration and dialogue box, now showed the
protagonist facing the bad guy face-to-face, and there was a health meter also displayed at the
top of the screen.
That’s right—it was like a fighting game.
“Huh! W-What the hell is this…”
Even if he shouted, the game wouldn’t wait for anyone to read. After the text “Fight!” appeared
at the center of the screen, the bad guy immediately attacked the protagonist. The protagonist
made a painful noise and his health meter fell.
“Hey wait a minute! Why did it suddenly turn into a fighting game! I’m using a mouse to play!
How do I—”
During Shido’s protests, the bad boy still kept attacking. Finally, his hands released a mysterious
energy bomb, knocking the protagonist out cold.
“No way!”
“What kind of trick is this?!”
The protagonist, along with Shido, and Nia’s exclamations, muttered, “W-W-Whoa…” He let out
one last painful cry before he slumped to the ground, unconscious.
◇◇◇
“…”
“…”
In an abandoned building on the outskirts of Tengu City, two figures appeared.

One was a slender girl with light shoulder length hair; the other was a tall girl with light indigo
hair.
Both of them were wearing trench coats and sunglasses to conceal their identities. They both also
held hard aluminum suitcases, just like the Mafia did when they were doing illegal trade
business.
“—Do you have the goods?”
First came the slender girl—Origami. The taller girl, Miku, chuckled and replied:
“I do, Origami-san, but you haven’t forgotten either, have you~?”
“Of course not.”
The two nodded at each other and placed the hard aluminum suitcases in their hands on the
ground.
They then opened their respective boxes to show the contents to the other party.
“Come on, this is a valuable photo of Shido hidden from everyone else~!”
“This is a body pillow that contains records of Shido’s dreams.”
After introducing their belongings, the two took a quick sip of water and walked toward each
other’s suitcases.
“So it turns out… just hug like this…”
“U-Um… let’s just rest for another five minutes…”
“How nasty! Darling really is so cute, it’s so unbearable!”
Miku flailed wildly as she clutched the pillow tightly. Origami glanced at Miku and examined
the photos in Miku’s suitcase.
“—Perfect.”
The photos showed Shido wearing women’s clothing, as taken from various angles, each of
which was a composition not currently found in Origami’s collection.
“However, I have to say I’m a little surprised. I figured that you should already have this most
basic photo of Darling, Origami-san~.”
Origami heard what Miku said and shook her head in denial.
“The ‘Former me” would have them. But in this world, the fact that I had taken those pictures
has disappeared, so my top priority right now is recovering as much of the collection as I can.”
“Ah … that’s what happened.”
Miku nodded in understanding.

That’s right. The course of history in this world was changed thanks to the power of the Spirits. It
ended up saving Origami—but at the cost of losing her entire collection of Shido memorabilia
she’d accumulated over the years.
“The inspection is complete. Now, the negotiation is correct~!”
“—No objections. However, there is one more thing I would like to discuss with you.”
“Discuss…?”
“Yes. I want the original files of these photos. Of course, I won’t leave you disadvantaged. I’ll
give you the audio file of the pillow in exchange, okay?”
After Origami finished speaking, Miku’s eyes radiated a blinding brilliance.
“Really~! I’m okay with that, of course! Now then, let me pass those files on to you~!”
Finally, Miku whipped out her smartphone and quickly went to work searching for the files.
Origami nodded, pulled out her smartphone too, and opened a folder saved on her server.
“…?”
But she noticed immediately that something was wrong and frowned. This was because all of the
various archives she had of Shido that should have been there, some of them had been replaced
with different folders.
“Is this… a hacker…?”
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
Miku suddenly screamed in horror and fell to the ground. Origami’s head shot up and rushed to
her side.
“Dar… Darling’s photos… Oh my God…”
Miku’s face was pale, and her voice was clearly filled with emptiness, like an explorer who
discovered something they wished they hadn’t seen.
“…?”
Origami glanced at the smartphone screen in Miku’s hands. Instead of the many pictures of
Shido, there were a bunch of photos of muscular men.
◇◇◇
“—Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”
“Go! Now’s our chance! Finish him off!”
Shido, with Nia’s support, mashed the keys. At the same time, the protagonist in the picture was
covered in a bright aura and continued to attack the baddie.
Incidentally, by this point, Shido was not holding an ordinary mouse but instead a game
controller which was connected to the computer. An ordinary mouse and keyboard wouldn’t
work for this game, so Nia managed to dig out a game controller from the depths of her drawer.
However, even with the game controller, Shido continued losing to the bad guy. The reason was
simple: the opponent was too strong. However, after what felt like an endless wave of defeats,
the character that Shido controlled finally managed to push the bad guy into critical health.
“Take this… the finishing blow!”
Shido slid his heavenly worn fingers and quickly activated the Nirvana command (something he
discovered the existence of through numerous battles). The protagonist was enveloped in a
mysterious aura, before attacking the bad boy relentlessly.
The bad boy was shocked, and the coveted “You Win!” appeared on the screen.
“We did it!”
“We did it!”
Shido suddenly shot up from his chair, while Nia screamed emotionally and hugged Shido.
In that moment, Shido felt only joy. …After a moment, he finally managed to calm down and
suddenly he felt embarrassed and pushed Nia away.
“N-Nia, don’t hug me.”
“Eh? Why? Could it be that you’re shy? You’re so cute.”
“D-Don’t make fun of me. The point is, we can move on to the next stage.”
Shido sat back down in his chair and continued to play the game. The screen from the previous
fighting game had reverted back to the original screen of the dating sim game.
[“Are you alright, Alice?”]
[Tch… You should really just mind your own business. Why would you want to save me…”]
Alice’s words were sour, but her favor was rising. Shido couldn’t help but clench his fists.
After that, the story proceeded smoothly. They’d even managed to get her to agree to a date.
So that Sunday, they met in front of the station and walked side by side on the street.
“Oh. It looks like everything’s going smoothly.”
“Yeah. I don’t know where I’m going to take her.”
Shido continued the conversation—but suddenly, he paused.
The reason was simple.
[“I never would have guessed that you, Alice, would come to such a place. It was a little
unexpected.”]
[“Why would that matter? I always come to visit the playground at least once.”]
“…”
“…”
Seeing the dialogue on the screen, Shido and Nia couldn’t help but look at each other as a very
ominous hunch formed in their minds.
“Say, Nia, this…”
“Uh, no, how could it be…”
The two of them both smiled. As they continued their conversation, the screen became an
interface for a rhythm game, and in accordance, several symbols quickly fell from above.
“Not again!”
“What the hell even is this?!”
The apartment was filled with the two’s protesting wails.
◇◇◇
“Behold! Cleaving through the darkness, the Yamai sisters have arrived!”
“Visit. We’re here to play, Kotori.”
That came from the twin Spirit sisters as they entered the temporary command center for
Ratatoskr: Yamai Kaguya and Yamai Yuzuru.
<Ratatoskr>’s Commander Itsuka Kotori whose hair was tied into twin tails with a pair of black
ribbons let out a faint sigh.
“…Like I said, even though it’s temporary, it’s also still the command center.”
“Oh, there’s need to look so worried. The online game that Yuzuru and I were originally going to
play was suddenly down for maintenance and so we had some free time.”
“Gift. Please accept this. Cream puffs from “La Pucelle” that we bought on our way here.”
After she finished speaking, Yuzuru passed her a beautiful box. Kotori pursed her lips and let out
a thoughtful ‘Mmm.’
“Honestly… I have been working at this for a while. I guess I can spare some time for afternoon
tea.”
Kotori finished speaking as she let out a sigh. Kaguya and Yuzuru smiled at each other and
extended their hands up to give each other a high-five.
However, just when Kotori was about to stand up to leave—
“—Commander, sorry to interrupt, but please take a look at this.”
A crew member sitting on the lower platform in the command center, Shiizaki, called out,
showing an image on the main monitor to Kotori.
“What’s this?”
“It seems that someone just attacked the <Fraxinus> AI through the Internet.”
“What are you talking about? Did we lose anything?”
“No, the AI was able to quarantine the program before it could cause any damage. But…”
“But what?”
“Well, I investigated it because I was worried. This program didn’t seem to be directed at
<Ratatoskr> specifically, just randomly distributed. It looks like it was the result of an email with
a URL prompting recipients to click on it. These lead to fake files disguised as games, which
were used as a starting point to spread out more broadly.”
After hearing what Shiizaki said, Kotori frowned.
“…What’ll happen if someone gets attacked by that program?”

At that moment, the other crew members who were also sitting below expressed their concerns
one after the other.
“Commander, there seem to be several incidents in Japan that required emergency vehicles to be
dispatched as a result.”
“It seems that it can also take files stored on either a public or personal server, which would then
be replaced with different files.”
“It looks like the bank ATM failure this morning was because of this. What’s worse is that it
looks like the virus is still spreading rapidly. If left unchecked, it could lead to some major
problems down the line.”
After hearing what the crew reported, a serious expression appeared on Kotori’s face.
“Well, we’re not exactly experts in this area… but we can’t ignore this. Let’s have the
<Fraxinus> AI analyze the virus.”
“Roger!”
“Kaguya, Yuzuru, I’m really sorry, but it seems I’ll have to take a pass on afternoon tea for now.”
After Kotori finished, the Yamai sisters, having realized how serious the situation was, nodded in
understanding.
“It’s fine.”
“Support. Please let us help.”
Kotori nodded in response as she turned her attention back to the main screen.
“Whew…”
“Wow… that was exhausting…”
After several more hours of gameplay, Shido and Nia were both worn out, laying on the ground.
They finally managed to clear the music game and Alice went on to play other games ranging
from racing, puzzle, shooting, a slot machine, horse racing, and so on. Therefore, Shido and Nia
had no choice but to follow suit.
What’s worse was that every game was incredibly hard. Despite the two taking turns, they were
at their limits.
However, Alice was still going strong. She moved on to the next game.
[“I want to play this next.”]
[“Huh? Isn’t this…”]
After the protagonist responded, the screen displayed the game in question. There were several
mahjong tiles with illustrations of sexy half-naked girls.
“…Why would we play strip mahjong on a date?!”
Shido couldn’t help but shriek. Yes, it looked like Alice chose the so-called strip Mahjong, where
those who lost at Mahjong had to take off their clothes.
However, there was no point complaining about the game itself. It had to be the same as the
other games so far; once they cleared this game, the story could continue.
“Mahjong, huh? Hmm… leave this game to me.”
Nia rolled up her sleeves and picked up the game controller.
“Nia? Have you played Mahjong before?”
“Yeah. I used to play online for nights at a time before.”
Nia replied confidently as she began to play the game. As a result, the computer automatically
began dealing out cards—
The next moment, the word “Tianhu” popped up on the screen while showing the opponent’s
card.
“Huh…?”
Nia saw this, and looked astonished. However, this wasn’t a surprise. Mahjong was basically a
game of dealing, discarding, and drawing cards, but “Tianhu” was the equivalent to already
playing the winning card before the game could even start, similar to how Nirvana couldn’t be
countered.
To put it simply, Nia lost before she could even play. To be perfectly honest, playing with a
computer and then losing in this sort of situation was really ridiculous.
However, Shido and Nia didn’t have any other choice but to keep playing. Nia frowned
impatiently but still kept up her morale as she pressed the retry button.
“Damn, I need a do-over.”

However, even though Nia pressed the button repeatedly, the game didn’t restart. Instead, a
message window popped up on the screen.
[Computer wins. The player must now take off an article of clothing.]
“What…? What the hell are you talking about?”
Nia continued to press the restart button with a confused expression. But every time she hit the
button, the microphone sounded an error.
“This is strip Mahjong, but how does the computer know whether the player has undressed or
not…?”
It was at that moment that Nia fell silent.
It was then that she noticed something, she spotted the camera lens set above the computer
screen where the two were playing the game.
“…Is it checking using the built-in camera? Do I really need to take off my clothes to restart the
game?”
“Ugh, what kind of ridiculous game is this? …Assuming it’s that good, there’s no need to keep
playing this game, you know.”
“Then… that means…”
Nia heard what Shido said and agreed.
However, at that moment, the picture changed again. The character pointed his finger at them
and asked, [“Have you taken it off yet? if you don’t want to play, get lost, and bring shame upon
your family!”]
A vein burst atop Nia’s forehead at the provocation.
“Fine! I’ll take it off!”
Nia shouted as she removed her denim jeans that she’d been wearing to reveal her sexy black
panties and suspenders. Because her upper body still had her high-necked knitwear, the contrast
between her upper and lower body was extremely erotic.
“H-Hey, Nia…”
Shido quickly looked away. However, Nia didn’t show any sort of embarrassment as she stared
at the computer again.
It seemed that the picture had been replaced with the Mahjong game, which then restarted.
“Sure enough… Well, don’t you dare underestimate Honjou-san. Anyway, I will make you regret
this. My panties are not coming off!”
Nia stared at the screen intently.
However, the word “Tianhu” appeared again on the screen.
“Fuck, fuck, ah ah ah ah ah!”
Nia roared as she chucked the game controller in her hand.
“Ah, dammit! I definitely want to take this shitty woman’s clothes!”
Nia finished resentfully as she reluctantly tugged the turtleneck shirt on her body and pulled it
off in a single breath. It seemed that she wasn’t wearing another shirt underneath that one; all
that was left were her underwear and tights.
“H-hey, calm down a little! If you lose again, things won’t end well!”
“Boy, keep your eyes on the screen! I will definitely show her who has the better chest!”
Finally, Nia pointed at the girl on the screen. Incidentally, it wasn’t Alice but instead a different
character from the Mahjong game.
“You’re saying such indecent words again…”
Shido glanced at Nia, his face flushed a deep red.
“…Nia, do you usually wear that kind of underwear?”
“Huh? No, not usually. It’s because you were coming over today, Boy. I figured that, if
something happened, I’d have these ready for security purposes.”
“What kind of situation did you imagine?”
“I just thought about it in general.”
“Sorry! You don’t have to tell me about it!”
Shido frantically shook his head to stop Nia from talking.
◇◇◇
Meanwhile, the map displayed in the main monitor in the temporary command center of
<Ratatoskr> gradually turned red.
This was a map of the area affected by the virus mentioned earlier; the area affected continued to
expand.
“Huh… What is the speed of this spread? It’s too unusual.”
“I’m afraid to report that it seems that the virus has been lurking around the Internet for several
months. It may have been spreading slowly enough that it wasn’t detected before it loaded the
offending program…!”
“Hey… what the hell is going on…!”
Kotori looked worried. At that time, the command center suddenly sounded the alarm.
“What wrong!”
“Yes… it looks like all the medical equipment in every hospital in the country is also infected
with the virus…! The damage is minimal at the moment, but if left unchecked, it will surely
endanger the patients’ lives…!”
“Are you serious! R-Reine… is the analysis of the virus complete?”

After Kotori shouted, analysis officer Murasame Reine made a sleepy voice as she answered:
“…I just finished analyzing it. The result… it’s actually quite interesting.”
“What do you mean?”
“…This isn’t an ordinary computer virus, but rather a program that will grow and learn on its
own, similar to an AI.”
“W-Wait, this kind of thing…”
“…That’s right. It’s impossible to make such a thing with ordinary technology.”
“Is it—DEM…?!”
Kotori was burning with rage as she spat out those words with scorn. DEM Industries was the
enemy of <Ratatoskr>, to which Kotori belonged, and was an organization that possessed
technology beyond common sense.
“…It would make sense to think so. However, just from looking at the way the virus is acting, it
doesn’t look like DEM is the cause of the attack. What I really think is… it’s more likely that
data DEM discarded was left on the network and continued to multiply.
Reine explained as she manipulated the console. Kotori scowled.
“Even so, the threat to society hasn’t changed… Nakatsugawa!”
“Yes! I will compile a detox program based on the data analysis!”
“How long will it take?”
“It should take me about 3 hours…”
“Hmm… we need it faster than that. Try to get done as quickly as possible!”
“Yes… I understand!”
Nakatsugawa began operating his console. The next moment, he seemed to discover something
unusual and blinked behind his glasses.
“Commander, there is a strange line of text in the virus’s code…”
“Text?”
“Yes.”
Nakatsugawa pressed a button. Then, the English code was immediately translated into Japanese.
“…[Love me]? What is this?”
“I don’t know. I’m also confused by it.”
It was at that moment—a harsh alarm sounded again in the room, interrupting Nakatsugawa’s
explanation.
“What’s happening this time?!”
“This is… It looks like one of the countries’ military satellites has been seized by the virus!”
“No way… not even the satellites are safe from this thing?!”
“The satellite is ready to attack! The target is… here! Tengu City!”
“What…”
“Did it somehow find out that we’re writing an antivirus program! How is that possible…”
Kotori gritted her teeth in anger.
“At this rate, the program won’t be done in time. What should I do—”
◇◇◇
“…”
“…”
They’d both lost track of how many hours it had been since they started playing the game.
Regardless, Shido and Nia stared blankly at the screen.
After finally winning the strip Mahjong, the story progressed significantly. Alice’s favorability
had been rising slowly but surely. She was initially stubborn but she gradually opened up to the
protagonist.
However, the options that appeared at the climax of the story caused the two of them to freeze.
The options themselves were as exhaustive as the previous ones. But the sheer number of them
was different. No matter how far they scrolled down, there seemed to be no end to the options
available to choose from. No matter what choice they made, there seemed to be no way to move
forward. This situation only doubled the stress on the pair of them.
Nia listened to the background music that would automatically loop after a set period of time,
and spoke hoarsely:
“…Hey, Boy.”
“…What’s the matter, Nia?”
“We should probably just give up here. It’s too late. Even if we can’t clear this level, it’s not like
the world would be destroyed…”
After hearing what Nia said, Shido remained silent for a moment before he sighed.
“…If you want to stop, then stop. I don’t have an opinion either way…”
Shido scratched his cheek and replied vaguely. Like Nia, Shido was also tired and had to go back
home soon to prepare dinner. …Still, there was one thing that he was curious about.
“…Nia, let me ask you something.”
“Huh, what’s the matter?”
“Why are you so dedicated to chasing this girl, Alice? Is it because, as a player, you want to clear
the game?”
After Shido asked the question, Nia smiled wryly.
“That’s a part of it… But this girl seems very outspoken and doesn’t have any faith in anyone.
How should I describe it…? She reminds me a little of myself from not too long ago…”
“…Ah…”
Shido’s eyes widened. Listening to her explain things like this, she really did act like that.
Although her appearance and personality were very different, there was still an inexplicable
anxiety that she couldn’t put her trust in anyone else that was very similar to Nia.
Nia wanted to help this girl through the protagonist, and personally rescue her from her sorrow.
She then smiled embarrassedly and sighed again.
“—That said, I didn’t expect this to be so difficult at all. How can I make up for all of the time
we wasted—”
The next words in Nia’s mouth died on her tongue as she watched Shido slowly sit up and grab
the game controller again.
“B… Boy?”
“…If you give it your best shot, you can clear this level. Make your choice.”
After Shido finished speaking, Nia stared at him, momentarily stunned, then smiled slightly.
“…It makes sense why so many women flock to you, Boy.”
“You… What are you talking about? Hurry up and make the choice.”
“Right…”
Shido and Nia turned their gazes back to the screen and reassessed the situation again.
The protagonist and Alice stood next to each other on top of a hill, gazing down at the night view
of the city below.
It was at this moment that Alice spoke up for the first time.
[“I… Is it really special to be born into this world? There’s no one in this world that loves me.”]
This must be the critical stage in order to capture Alice. Because of her unhappy family
environment, she was afraid to let anyone else into her heart.
It was at that stage that the options appeared. Unfortunately—there were over 10,000 of them
and all of them used complicated words.
Shido and Nia’s eyes were as wide as dinner plates as they browsed through the options.
But… neither of them could find an option that caught their eye.
“Huh… What the hell is this? There are so many options, but none of them are any good.”
“Hmm… But since it’s a game, there has to be a way to get through.”
“Normally, you’d be right, but the game was able to use the camera to watch the player during
the strip game.”
Halfway through the sentence, Shido’s eyes widened in realization.
That’s right, the strip Mahjong challenge that Nia cleared automatically activated the computer’s
camera to determine whether the player carried out the punishment.
That was a problem—
“Hey… Nia? Does this computer have a microphone installed?”
“Huh? Well, I’m pretty sure there was one built-in… wait, you don’t mean…?!”
Nia guessed what Shido was thinking, and her eyes widened in surprise.
Shido nodded as he spoke the words that none of the options displayed on the screen.
“…I love you.”
Then, Nia also added her voice:
“Me too. Thank you… for being born into this world.”
Then—
[“…Hehe…”]
Alice, who’d never once smiled on the screen before, finally smiled for the first time.
[“Thank you so much. I love you too.”]
Then the picture shone brightly… showing the ending of the protagonist’s and Alice’s love for
each other.
Shido watched the beautiful scene unfold and spoke:
“Did… Did we clear the game?”
“It seems that way, yes…”
Shido and Nia’s bodies were physically weak for a moment—
“Yeah~!”
“Wow!”
They immediately cheered and hugged each other.
◇◇◇
Kotori, whose face was strained with tension, frowned deeply because of what suddenly
happened.
—The siren that had been blaring in the command center of <Ratatoskr> suddenly went quiet.
“Huh? What’s going on?”
“Commander! Commander! It looks like the military satellite that the virus was controlling is
back to normal!”
“Not only that, but all of the computers infected with the virus have also returned to normal, with
no lingering effects!”
“Wh-What on earth just happened?”
“I don’t know… it looks like the virus left behind a single text file before it destroyed itself.”
“A text file? Can you open it?”
“Yes!”
The crew followed Kotori’s instructions, opening the text file.
[Thank you so much. I love you too.]
“What is this…?”
Kotori tilted her head in confusion.
That night, after Shido and Nia headed home together, Tohka, Yoshino, and Natsumi came out to
greet them with worried expressions on their faces.
“Oh, you’re alright, Shido! I was really worried when you came back so late!”
“Ahaha… I’m really sorry! I just had some stuff to take care of. I’ll prepare dinner right away, so
just wait for me.”
“Muu… but Shido, you look tired. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine. Alright, Yoshino and Natsumi, you two should also head to the living room and wait
for me there.”
At Shido’s urging, the Spirits made their way into the Itsuka living room to wait.
What Tohka said was true; Shido was really tired, but since he’d been playing games with Nia
from this morning to now, he had no chance to prepare anything for dinner ahead of time. Shido
opened the refrigerator with a weary smile and began pulling out ingredients to prepare a late
dinner.
He almost didn’t notice the porch door open, and an exhausted looking Kotori, along with the
Yamai sisters, stumbled in immediately.
“Oh, Kotori, Kaguya, and Yuzuru. You guys are late, did something happen?”
They all slumped onto the sofa, leaned back, and put their feet up on the coffee table.
“What happened today was… really intense…”
Kotori slowly looked up to explain what happened.
Apparently, there was a mysterious computer virus that was wreaking havoc all across Japan,
almost causing a major disaster.
“Since it was resolved, does that mean that the <Fraxinus> AI was able to solve the crisis?”
“…No. It was really an accident that we were all saved. It seemed that someone out there
managed to solve the secret code set in the virus.”
Kotori finished with a shrug.
Nia and Shido listened—
“Yes.”
“There really was someone on the other side, then…”
And they made equally fond remarks.

Spirit Animation
“I’m always going to be by your side, anytime and anywhere! Honjou Nia has arrived!”
It was a young woman with short, dark hair, wearing glasses while singing a tune similar to a
convenience store slogan, as she appeared in the Itsuka household.
Just as she had said in her little song, her name was Honjou Nia. Normally, she lived in a
high-rise apartment in the city. She was a popular manga artist, and one of the Spirits whose
powers Shido sealed.
“Hum hum, Hum hum ~ ♪”
Nia strolled happily into the living room and looked around at the Spirits sitting there.
“Hello Tohka, Good morning! Imouto-chan, how are you? Mikki, Yoshii, Kaguyan, Yuzurun,
Oririn, you are all so cute today. Ah, Nattsun, what do you think about being my assistant
today?”
“Well, good morning would mean that it’s still morning, right? It’s already afternoon.”
“Wait, did you just wake up? You shouldn’t stay up so late.”
“…In any case, you’re the one who put the brushes and ink for manga in my mailbox, it’s not
like I can really stop you…”
When she finished speaking with everyone, Nia smiled and chuckled before turning on her heel
and sat down on the sofa.
Nia, who was usually plenty cheerful as it was, seemed in a particularly good mood today. Shido
couldn’t help himself and asked.
“So what’s up, Nia? Did something good happen to you?”
At that moment, Nia’s eyes seemed to light up, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face.
“Oh so you noticed it, did you? Boy here has a really good heart. That’s why I plan to marry
you!”
“Yes, yes… So what happened?”
After Shido took it into stride, Nia chuckled once more and then pulled out a stack of papers held
together with a large clip from her back and put it on the table.
“Huh? Isn’t this…”
Shido picked up and quickly scanned it then his eyebrows twitched in surprise.
There was the familiar A4 frame logo drawn on the page and several pictures similar to drafts
were drawn inside the frame.
For a moment, Shido thought that it was a draft for a manga, but… that didn’t seem to be the
case. He was just seeing the real thing for the first time; this is—
“Is this… an anime?”
“Yes! This is an animated storyboard script!”
Nia suddenly raised her right index finger while spreading out her left hand wide, and declared
that. Upon hearing her words, the other Spirits’ eyes widened in surprise.
“Animation? The so-called animation is like that? Will those pictures move around?”
“Like Misty…?”
“Amazement. Is Nia’s manga going to be animated?”
After Yuzuru finished speaking, Nia nodded proudly.
“That’s so cool! That’s amazing!”
Nia showed a proud attitude as she basked in the applause from the other Spirits.
“Wait, but <Silver Bullet> was already adapted into an anime already.”
“Well. That’s not the one that’s being adapted into an anime this time, but < The Chronicles of
the Dead> that I drew before.”
“Ah… I remember that one. Isn’t that the one with the zombies?”
<The Chronicles of the Dead> was remembered as Nia’s horror action manga that she drew
during the early serialization of <Silver Bullet>. Although it has long since been completed, the
hardcore style was still quite popular and it still had its charm.
“Really? Thank you for your support. It’s just that <The Chronicles of the Dead> won’t be
adapted into a full anime, but just an OVA… No one mentions that now? It’s not going to be
broadcast on TV anyway.”
“Yeah, but it’s still really amazing. Congratulations, Nia.”

“Hehehe, I was congratulated. Will you be making red bean rice for dinner tonight?”
Nia asked jokingly with sweat trailing down her cheeks.
“I never said that…”
“Muu? Why cook red bean rice?”
Tohka tilted her head in curiosity. Shido didn’t know how to respond to that, and groaned as he
looked at Nia.
“Ahaha, sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. Anyway, Boy, would you be interested in voice
acting for the anime?”
“Huh?”
Hearing her unexpected question, Shido forgot all about his complaint.
“Voice acting?”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s a kind of voice acting where the actor watches the scene first and then
repeats the line.”
Shido listened with wide eyes and made a sound to indicate his understanding. He remembered
watching special features like behind-the-scenes for animation on TV before.
“It would be a lie to say I’m not interested. After all, you usually don’t get a chance like that.”
“Right. The other party said that we can bring a friend to visit. If you’ve got some time, let’s go
together.”
The Spirits’ eyes lit up instantly with excitement.
“Oh! I want to go! I want to go!”
“I… me too…”
Oh, that’s not bad~. Do you need someone to help sing the theme song~?”
“… Eh? Is such a thing really possible?”
“! Nattsun… I didn’t expect you to care so much about me! I’m so moved!”
“I didn’t mean it like that… Hey! Let go of me… Ah ah! Ah ah ah ah!”

The Spirits were all very excited as they discussed it. One of them was being embraced tightly in
Miku’s arms, with her face pressed against Miku’s chest, making it difficult to breathe, but it was
easy to think that was an accident.
Shido glanced at Miku and said “You should probably let go of her…”, then looked back at Nia.
“But if all of us go with you, won’t that cause problems with the voice acting work?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. The other party said that the studio being used for this is really big. Ah, could
you help by being extras?”
“Extras?”
Hearing what Nia said, Shido tilted his head in confusion. So, Nia nodded emphatically and
explained:
“I’m talking about the people on the streets, classrooms, concert venues, among other things.
Basically people who aren’t the main characters and chat in the background. That’s what I mean
by extras.”
“Yes… I’ll do it!”
Yoshino’s eyes widened and Kaguya’s eyebrows twitched. Yuzuru noticed this and responded as
though she realized something.
“So… in other words, our magical voices will be sealed in shining rings and live on forever in
time and space?”
“Commentary. So Yuzuru and the others’ voices may be included in the animation?”
Yuzuru immediately translated. Having heard her explanation, Nia flashed a thumbs up.
“In simple terms, that’s right. How about it? It’s very interesting, right? Ah, this is the original
manga. If you’re curious, take a look at it first.”
After Nia finished explaining, the Spirits’ eyes shone even brighter.
“Oh…! This is amazing!”
“Wow! You could actually draw such a thing?”
“Incredible…”
Shido noticed this kind of reaction and knew that it would be impossible to refuse. After grinning
gently, he nodded in agreement.
“Well… this kind of opportunity is really rare. We’ll take it.”
“Oh—!”
Hearing what Shido said, the Spirits all made an excited noise together.
However, if anyone looked at Nia in that moment, they would have noticed the evil smile that
stretched across her face. Still… everyone was too distracted to notice it.
◇◇◇
A few days later, Nia and her friends made their way to the recording studio in the city.
The recording studio was located on a side street next to the commercial district in an ordinary
building. Although <Gray Studios> was written above the entrance, it came as a complete
surprise that anime voice acting would be taking place here.
“This is the place. The studio staff should already be here. Let’s head on in.”
After speaking, Nia led the others into the building. They thought that there would be some sort
of strict security screening system in place but… that didn’t seem to be the case. Shido wondered
if he may have been influenced by visiting <Ratatoskr>’s secret headquarters.
“Muu? Shido, is there something wrong? Why are you just standing there?”
“Ah, no, it’s nothing—let’s go.”
“Umu! I’m looking forward to it, Shido!”
Tohka smiled innocently. Shido replied with a smile of his own, “Well, let’s go.” Then he entered
the building along with the other Spirits.
They followed Nia down the stairs leading to what seemed like underground and came to a room
full of machines—the so-called Control Room.
“Whoa!”
As they walked into the room, Shido’s shoulders shook in surprise.
However, such a reaction was completely understandable. There were already a few people in the
room… Everyone’s outfits were very unique.
There was a man as burly as Frankenstein’s monster, a man in black suit, like a vampire. There
were probably some injured people in front of them, so there were bandages wrapped around
their bodies like a mummy, and a woman dressed in a scantily-clad outfit like a demon.
Honestly speaking, it looked more like the scene of a clash between monsters rather than a studio
for voice acting. In addition, Shido and the other Spirits also showed surprised expressions…
However, a young girl let out an “Oops!” when she spotted the woman dressed like a demon.
When they noticed Shido and his friends standing in the entrance, the burly man waved them
over.
“Oh, Honjou-san, we’ve been waiting for you!”
…On closer inspection, it looked like there were sutures on his forehead. Did he just have
surgery? Whatever the case, it certainly added to his brave aura.
However, Nia waved at him as though they were good friends and then nodded to introduce
“Hello, director. Ah, these are the people I mentioned before. Please take good care of them.”
“Hello, I am director Kenza Furano. Please take care of me as well.”
“Ah… I… we’re sorry to trouble you like this. I’m sorry for bringing such a large group of
people to visit without letting you know in advance.”
“It’s fine, no need to be so formal. I welcome it. Anime production is often full of accidents and
incidents like this! It’s just an accumulation of such things, and the completed product is going to
be very interesting.”
“Is that so…?”
“Yes. But then again, the production process rarely ever goes according to schedule, so it’s not a
big deal. You can enjoy it as you want.”
The director laughed uproariously as he smiled boldly. Shido was shocked by his enthusiasm.
“…What should I say? This man is so fierce in every sense…”
Shido whispered to Nia quietly. Origami, who’d been standing next to Nia, had her eyebrows
raised as though she remembered something.
“Furano Kenza… you wouldn’t be…”
“Surprise. Master Origami, do you know him?”
“I’ve heard his name before. He’s a genius when it comes to improvisation and deployment. He
uses production strategies that go against conventional wisdom and cause headaches for anyone
working for him. It’s said that, as a result, ten production studios refuse to work with him.
Everyone calls him a Frankenstein.”
“That name is definitely from the outside!”
Shido could not help but yell, so the director laughed while he smiled happily.
“Anyway, let me introduce everyone else. This is the producer, Tora, the sound director, Hirai,
and studio staff member Sakiba.”
With the director’s introduction done, the vampire, mummy, and demon all nodded in turn.
“Kekekekeke… Please take care of me today.”
“Heehee… After all, I didn’t expect Honjou-sensei to be a woman…”
“Hehehe, that is to say, she looks so pretty…”
The people greeted them with odd laughter. Origami’s eyebrow twitched again.
“Producer Tora… is a well-known workaholic, everyone who works with him will end up
exhausted, so his nickname is vampire.”
“Huh…?”
“The sound director, Hirai; because his guidance is too strict, everyone who works with him will
end up wanting to quit, so his nickname is mummy.”
“Uh, what you just said…”
“The studio staff, Sakiba… I don’t know why, but all the people who end up working with her
end up exhausted, so her nickname is banshee.”
“Why are all the origins for the nicknames the same?! You really do know everything!”
After Shido screeched, Origami flashed a thumbs up.
Still, she smiled and looked at the person nicknamed “banshee”… Actually it was Sakiba who
stretched out her hand and licked her lips in a seductive manner, her gaze fixed on Nia.
“I remember reading <The Chronicles of the Dead> when I was in high school. You look so
young, Sensei. Hahaha… I really envy you.”
“Oh, uh… H-Hey, the biggest secret to looking young is eating, sleeping, and living a happy
life.”
“Oh, it looks like Sensei has really lost it… to think that there are such people who can get
enough sleep.”
The two mature women smiled at each other… Shido couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed
and looked away, his cheeks a deep red.
Incidentally, Nia spoke in a casual manner, but that could have become a difficult situation. After
all, it wasn’t like she could admit she had Spirit power that allowed her to always look young.
Truthfully, Nia’s refrigerator held only alcohol. When it was the night before a deadline, Nia
would almost always have dark circles under her eyes. To be honest, Nia didn’t live a healthy
lifestyle at all. As far as a sex life was concerned… that was also nonexistent.
At that moment, Tohka looked around curiously and said:
“Hey, Shido, is this where we do the voice acting? Where do we do the voice acting?”
“Huh? Oh yeah, I know what you mean…”
Shido listened to what Tohka said and tilted his head to express his doubts. None of the people
they’d met so far were voice actors who provided their voices for the characters.
“Have the voice actors not come out yet?”
“Eh?”
After hearing Shido’s question, the director, producer, and the rest of the staff members tilted
their heads in wonder.
However, almost immediately after, as though they all remembered something at the same time,
they clapped their hands together.
“O-Oh! Y-Yeah, the voice actors! They haven’t come in yet, right Sakiba?”
“Y-Yeah, they aren’t here yet. Let me just give them a quick call!”
After he finished speaking, Sakiba pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and held the phone to
his ear. However, they didn’t hear the usual ringing of an incoming call… instead it turned into a
vibration.
“Hello, what’s going on… Huh! The voice actors who were supposed to come in today all came
down with food poisoning?!”
“You… what are you saying?!”

Everyone heard Sakiba shriek in a pretentious manner with the other staff members responding
in an equally pretentious manner. Their behavior was so unusual that Shido could feel sweat
trailing down his face.
“That… uh…”
“The voice actors can’t make it in today!”
“Everything is ruined! It’s over! It’s doomed!”
‘We’ll be banned by the industry and we’ll have no way to receive any new jobs!”
“Damn… it would be nice if we could get someone to help with the voice acting at a time like
this…!”
The staff wailed mournfully in between the panicked shouts.
At that moment, Nia stepped forward calmly with her arms folded.
“Everyone, just calm down. The voice actors—”
She suddenly opened her hands and pointed to Shido and the other Spirits and said:
“We have nine people right here!”
“…Eh?”
After hearing what Nia said, Shido was completely dumbfounded. No, not just Shido. The other
Spirits were all also staring at Nia blankly.
“No… no no no no no!”
Shido finally understood Nia’s intentions as his mind finally caught up. He shook his head
frantically in refusal.
“Wait a minute! What are you talking about all of a sudden, Nia?!”
“Don’t worry, don’t worry! Your voices are all beautiful! Besides, I gave you the original manga,
so you probably already know the story!”
“That’s not the issue here!”
“Eh~? It isn’t? But didn’t you see how stressed out the producer looked just now~?”
“But we don’t have any experience! Besides, the producers and director wouldn’t want to
accept—”
As he mentioned them, Shido’s words died in his throat. The reason was obvious:
The director and the producer had clapped their hands to their chests, made a gesture of praying
to the gods, and looked at them with wet eyes. To be honest, it was an unsettling sight to behold.
“That’s how it is… so please help us!”
“Just help us out!”
“No matter how… it’s too hard for anyone to say anything anymore! Right… right, what do you
say…—!”
Shido glanced at the other Spirits as his last resort, but then—he held his breath.
The reason was simple. Because the Spirits who heard the whole situation—especially Tohka,
Yoshino, Kaguya, and Yuzuru, all showed fascinated expressions and their eyes seemed to shine
brightly.
“Y-You…”
“Alright! Then, everyone, let’s assign roles now!”
“Oh!”
After Nia’s voice broke Shido out of his thoughts, Tohka and others responded enthusiastically.
After seeing this, he sighed in resignation.
—As a result, nine people including Shido suddenly participated in the voice acting for the
anime <Chronicles of the Dead> as voice actors.
Shido couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the situation, but since Tohka and the others were very
interested, they couldn’t help it.
Additionally, even though he didn’t have any experience, since he agreed to do it, he should give
it his best shot. Shido slapped his cheeks to cheer up.
By the way, based on Nia’s nominations, the roles were assigned as follows:
Shido… “Klein”. The protagonist, who’d been struck dead, was awakened thanks to the spell.
Natsumi… “Melissa”. The girl who was able to master the mysterious dark magic.
Yoshino… “Emily”. Klein’s sweetheart.
Tohka… “Aphrodite”. Klein’s partner who was a pastor of the church and the local genius.
Kotori…”Jack”. Klein’s younger brother, who was bitten by the enemy halfway through the
story and became a zombie.
Kaguya…”Master Gris”. A powerful sorcerer, the mastermind behind everything.
Yuzuru…”Zombie A”. A Fresh dead body.
Miku…”Zombie B”. Starting to rot.
Origami… “Zombie C”. Rotten corpse.
“…I’m the protagonist?!”
“…Wh-Why do I have to play the heroine role? I’d much rather be one of the zombies…”
“Emily… I will do my best…!”
“Oh! I’m Shido’s partner!”
“Little brother… that’s nothing.”
“Oh? Looks like I’m a sorcerer and I know my craft well!”
“Dissatisfaction. Why is Yuzuru a zombie? Agh!”
“Don’t say that, we were only supposed to be extras to start with so this is already really good.”
“The role of attacking Shido—it turned out like this.”
…Although some people were dissatisfied with their roles and held some nasty thoughts, the
roles have been decided. Shido and his friends picked up their scripts marked with their lines and
moved from the control room to rooms with soundproofed glass.
It was a space with a special atmosphere: a screen and a loudspeaker were set on the wall with
five microphones set up at an equal distance in the center of the room.
“Oh…! So this is what it looks like on the inside!”
“There are so many microphones…!”
“Hmm~ I think that things are going to get much more interesting~…”
Yoshino and her rabbit puppet Yoshinon worn on her left hand said one after the other.
At that moment, Sakiba walked into the voice acting room and adjusted the height of the two
microphones on the left.
“I adjusted the height for the two microphones here, those of you who aren’t very tall should use
the microphones on the left.”
“Thank you…”
“Oh! The height is just right!”
Yoshino bowed gratefully while Yoshinon waved its hands in amusement. Seeing this
heartwarming image, Sakiba left the room back to the control room with a smile.
[—So, are you all ready? ]
At that moment, the loudspeaker installed in the room sounded out Nia’s voice.
“Hehe! Do you think you’re talking to just anyone? This fortress requires no preparations.
Because the children of the hurricane are always ready to fight!”
“Acknowledgement. No problem. We’re ready to go.”

The Yamai sisters reported no need for further preparations, but nonetheless struck an impressive
pose. It seemed the sound from the soundproofed room still made its way to the control room.
Nia nodded happily.
[“Ahaha! That’s excellent! Excellent! Then please listen to the sound director as he explains the
process.”]
[“Right. Please take care of me.”]
After Nia finished speaking, the sound director spoke up. The Spirits responded: “Please take
good care of us~.”
[“—Basically, you just need to say the line shown on the video on the main screen. The screen
will also show which character is supposed to be speaking. You can check it for reference.”]
The sound director finished and a video demonstration was shown on the screen.
It showed the whole process from a line to the complete picture with the picture starting to move
on its own.
“Oh~ It was originally playing on this kind of screen. I thought it would play the finished video.
Would it be better for us to voice-act on this screen?”
As Shido finished speaking casually, the director and the other staff members on the other side of
the glass screen looked away awkwardly.
“Huh? Did… Did I say something wrong?”
[“No… It’s just that your pure heart is too dazzling to us, and we can’t look directly at you.”]
“…?”
Nia exuded a sense of inexplicable sadness along with cold eyes. Shido didn’t quite understand
what they were talking about and tilted his head in confusion.
[Anyway, let’s get started. Before we have you start voice acting, let’s rehearse the scene and try
to catch the feeling a bit.”]
“O-Okay, I got it.”
[“Okay, let’s start with the prologue with Melissa as done by Natsumi.”]
“…!”
After being called on by the sound director, Natsumi’s shoulders shook.

[“There’s no need to be so scared. Whenever you’re ready.”]
“…I… I know.”
While Natsumi’s face was not known for being red, her face was much paler than normal.
Nonetheless, she stood in front of the microphone, which had been adjusted for her height.
[“Well, let’s get started then.”]
As the sound director finished speaking, the light above the screen lit up red and the video began
to play.
The first scene shown features the moment where Melissa, the heroine played by Natsumi, was
desperately trying to escape the zombie hordes after her.
“…”
Natsumi held the script tightly and stared at the screen restlessly. This role is the one that the
original author, Nia, sincerely hoped would be voiced by Natsumi… but, to be honest, it was
almost impossible to not worry. After all, Natsumi was very bad at talking to other people.
At that moment, the screen showed the image of Melissa running with her hood covering her
face. Natsumi took a deep breath and began to speak:
“—Hooh! Ah… I’ll feel much better once I manage to get out of here… I can’t let them get
ahold of this cursed spell—”
“…!”
As Natsumi’s acting was too natural, Shido couldn’t help but watch her with wide eyes. No, it
wasn’t Shido, but the other Spirits sharing the room with them were also caught by surprise.
However, Shido immediately remembered that Natsumi was still a Spirit who possessed the
Angel <Haniel>, and therefore, was naturally very good at transforming herself into other
people.
Additionally, Natsumi read the original manga far more enthusiastically than anyone else. It must
have been this that allowed her to completely step into the role of Melissa in that moment.
Nia flashed a thumbs-up from the other side of the glass, as if to express “that really didn’t
surprise me!” It seemed that she’d already suspected Natsumi’s talent before she made the absurd
decision to let the Spirits do the voice acting.
There was still a chance that they could pull this whole thing off. He felt a weak hope flare up in
his heart as he clenched his fists in determination.
—However, reality was always a cruel mistress.
After Natsumi finished speaking, the screen showed the image of the zombie hordes.
Standing in front of the microphones, the three people voiced the zombies at the same time:
“Gah~♡!”
It was clearly a dead body, the voice was that of the beautiful Miku.
“Oh…”
In contrast, Origami’s voice came out dull and unpretentious.
“Roar. Aha—”
And then there was Yuzuru who, without permission, added lines that weren’t part of the script.
“…” This is not your work. Please do n ot take mine, with credit or otherwise.Thanks.
Shido could feel a nervous sweat trickle down his face.
However, the story was only just starting. It should also be said that the zombies’ lines were very
short and had little impact on the story overall.
The key was Master Gris, the enemy leader who appeared from behind the zombies.
“Mwahaha! Your efforts will be in vain! Do you think you can escape our clutches?”
Because this was an anime, it didn’t matter what the voice actors themselves were doing, but
Kaguya struck an impressive pose anyway.
Unlike Miku, her acting wasn’t the problem, but… Unfortunately, it didn’t match the tone in the
character’s voice.
However, this wasn’t a surprise. After all, Kaguya had been chosen to voice a supporting
character, mainly because she could act similar to the character’s image. Additionally, it was
going to be difficult for any of the others to closely match the role of a majestic elderly male.
Nonetheless, there was no use focusing on that issue.
In the next scene, after showing the title of the show, the scene transitioned to a quiet street view.
This scene featured characters voiced by Shido, Yoshino, Tohka, and Kotori.
“Right…”
It was finally his turn. Shido felt his heartbeat accelerate slightly, but he stood in front of the
microphone with Yoshino and the others.
“Hey! Emily! Don’t run so fast, you’ll fall!”
He did his best to act natural and read out the lines… Although his acting skills probably
wouldn’t be good enough to be praiseworthy, Shido tried his best.
Then, Yoshino responded with a nervous voice:
“No… No way. Hahaha… the weather is really nice today.”
…It was clear that she was trying her hardest, but perhaps due to her nervousness, her voice
couldn’t stop shaking. Later, when she was talking to Klein, who was voiced by Shido, her
talking speed was slower than Emily’s.
However, the video didn’t wait for anyone. At that moment, Jack, who was voiced by Kotori,
appeared on screen.
“Hehehehe, Klein, w-wait for me!”
…She sounded even more tense than Yoshino. It was clear that she was not good at something
like this, which came as a surprise to Shido.
Just as Shido tried to find a way to make Kotori feel a little more comfortable. However, Pastor
Aphrodite, voiced by Tohka, appeared on the screen.
“Hey, you three! We’re all together today! I have to head to the… Um? Shido, how do you
pronounce this?”
Halfway through the sentence, Tohka paused and frowned as she asked while turning the script
toward Shido where the word “Church” was written.
“…That’s ‘the Church of worship.’”
“Oh! Thank you! Will you come along with me? …Muu? The picture changed.”
Finished, Tohka looked at the screen and tilted her head. The picture transitioned to the next
scene, the protagonist Klein’s mouth was moving.
“Ah, wait.”
Of course, this was the character Shido was voicing. He hurriedly looked down at the script.
—Fifteen minutes later, they’d rehearsed their lines, but the results were obvious. Aside from
Natsumi who voiced Melissa, the others were terrible.
“Muu… this is quite difficult.”
“I am very nervous…”
“There is now way, after all, this is our first time.”
“Criticism. Honestly, Kotori is even more tense than Yoshino.”
“Rrrgh…! You… you’re annoying!”
The Spirits argued about the quality of their performance. Noticing this, Shido glanced at Nia
who’d been sitting outside the glass with a gaze that plainly said: “laymen really can’t do this”.
“…What are we supposed to do?”
But—
[“Director, what do you think? Is it okay?”]
Hearing Nia’s question, the director nodded confidently.
[“Well, it’s definitely not bad.”]
“Eh?!”
In the face of this unexpected response, Shido couldn’t help but let out a surprised shout. But the
director continued nonchalantly:
[“Let’s start by marking the script first. We can add the zombies’ voices later, so it’s okay to
match it however you want. Then, Honjou-san, I want to discuss this with you first.”]
The director then faced Nia with his eyes shone excitedly.
[“Can I play ‘my’ role?”]
[“Oh…?”]
Hearing the Director’s words, Nia smiled playfully at him.
[“It looks like you finally recovered your former look, director. Yes, you can play to your heart’s
content.”]
[“Excellent.”]
After the director slapped his knee, he looked at Shido and the others.
[“Everyone, do you understand how the characters act and the story overall? Then, we can adjust
the lines afterwards.”]
“How can he say such things so calmly…?”
[“Right. Is it nerve-wracking to read sentence by sentence with the picture in front of you? Let’s
just read it naturally, as nice and easy as you can.”]
“Hmm…”
“So it’s like that…”
Hearing what the director said, the Spirits all nodded to each other to express their
understanding.
“Tohka, can I borrow your script for a bit? I’ll write out the pronunciation for the difficult words
for you.”
“Oh! Thank you, Shido!”
Tohka showed a cheerful expression as she passed the script over to Shido. Shido grabbed a pen
from the next room and marked the pronunciations into Tohka’s script.
At that moment, the rest of the Spirits also looked at their scripts and moved their lips slightly,
mouthing the words. It was more like following the director’s instructions to want to understand
the characters’ development and the story overall.
Ten minutes later:
[“Alright! Let’s try this again. Begin!”]
“—Hoo! Ah… I’ll feel much better once I manage to get out of here…”
The prologue started and Natsumi stepped into the role of Melissa just as smoothly as before.
The acting skills of the zombies were the same as before, but since they could use technology to
adjust the sound, it wouldn’t be a problem.
Then the scene changed and the dark background turned into a tranquil street view.
“Hey! Emily! Don’t run too fast! You’ll fall down!”
“No way! Hahaha! The weather is so nice today…”

“W-Wait a minute, Klein. Wait for me!”
Although the lines were slightly changed, Yoshino and Kotori felt much more comfortable than
the first time. Kotori still looked a little nervous, but it was in line with the personality of a
character without confidence, so it wasn’t an issue.
“Hi, you three! We’re all together today! I have to go to the chapel in a bit. Will you please come
along with me?”
Thanks to Shido’s annotated pronunciation in her script, Tohka was able to speak the lines
smoothly this time. However, because her tone and mood was still the same as the usual Tohka, it
was a little too cheerful for the calm pastor, but it was within an acceptable range.
Seen from this perspective… perhaps they would be able to complete it successfully this time.
However, this faint hope was shattered almost immediately afterward.
For a while, everyone struggled to follow the story’s development and perform the necessary
voice acting, but… as time passed, it was clear that they were clearly getting off track.
The problem came up during the scene when Klein met Melissa and everyone embarked on a
journey to uncover the cause of the undead phenomenon.
The current stage was an inn on the lakeside. At night, Klein couldn’t sleep, so he snuck out of
his room and spotted Melissa standing alone, bathed in the moonlight. Then, while talking to
each other, they slowly became attracted to each other.
They naturally moved closer to each other and ended up hugging and kissing each other.
Unfortunately Emily happened to witness this scene. However, at that moment, a group of
zombies appeared—this is how the story was meant to develop.
This scene wasn’t strange, but it was a popular development.
However, Natsumi, who’d managed to portray Melissa very well, started behaving strangely.
“—Melissa, I…”
“Klein, I…”
On the screen, Klein and Melissa stared deeply into each other’s eyes. Since the relationship
between the protagonist and the heroine is established, this wasn’t a surprise. The two shown on
the screen looked like a couple.
…What could be said? The indescribably sweet and sour atmosphere was a little nervous. Shido
glanced away from the screen and turned his gaze to Natsumi.
“…!”
“…!”
At that moment, he and Natsumi’s eyes met.
“Uh, I…”
“Ah, oh, uh…”
Natsumi, who’d been in the mindset of Melissa, slipped out of it at the last second and her face
flushed a deep red—and it was at that moment when “Melissa” reverted to “Natsumi”.
Natsumi’s lines, which had previously been spoken without hesitation, were suddenly awkward.
As if to see the timing, Emily’s figure appeared on the screen.
“Ah… Klein… Melissa…”
Yoshino was following along with Emily’s debut and whispered that line. Natsumi’s shoulders
shook in surprise and responded:
“N-No… Emily! You misunderstood!”
“Eh?”
Hearing what Natsumi said, Yoshino was taken by surprise.
In this scene, Melissa should be looking away awkwardly without saying another word.
“It’s just… It’s not what you think! I don’t like Klein! There was a little more development in the
original story for me to fall in love with him, but the anime cut that part out, so I don’t have a
clue about him!”
“H-Hey!”
Shido couldn’t help but protest loudly, glancing at the next room—of course with a look telling
them to pause.
However, the director and Nia only raised their thumbs with a smile on the other side of the
glass, as though saying, “This is great! Just keep going!”
“Melissa, you… what’s wrong with you…?”

Yoshino asked in confusion. Natsumi was acting as though she’d been caught in a cheating scene
and then said:
“Well… Of course, Emily is definitely more attractive than my unknown and inexplicable self.
You’re kindhearted, strong, and very dedicated! Klein thinks so too, right?”
“Wait, what?”
Suddenly dragged into the conversation, Shido made an alarmed sound.
“Yeah! After all, it’s your fault for not being able to notice Emily’s feelings! Be more honest!
Don’t you dare treat a sweetheart like her as a side girl you can throw away when it suits you!”
“I-I would never do such a thing!”
“Melissa, calm down…”
Yoshino tried her best to appease Natsumi. So Natsumi grabbed Yoshino’s shoulders.
“Emily, do you like Klein? You have to tell him what it is you want!”
“Ah… t-that…”
“Okay!”
Yoshino was egged on by Natsumi’s imposing force, and her face was flushed a deep red.
Then, facing Shido instead of the microphone, Yoshino slightly opened the trembling lips.”
“Then I…”
However, at that moment, a loud voice rang out from next to them, interrupting Yoshino—it was
Kotori.
“This is ridiculous! How did the atmosphere become so ambiguous? …If anything, my
relationship with Klein has been longer than Emily’s!”
“Jack, why did you kick me?!”
Shido couldn’t help but shout out loud.
It wasn’t clear whether the timing was good or bad. The screen only showed Jack walking
towards Klein. It was reasonable to expect a scene of Jack screaming at Klein with a slight love
for Emily, but… because of Kotori’s lines, it seemed that Jack was instead confessing to Klein.
At the same time, the image showed Pastor Aphrodite trying to play peacemaker between the
two of them, Tohka said aloud:
“Muu, you two are acting quite treacherous! I also like Shido… Klein!”
“Pastor—!”
Even the pastor was starting to say such ridiculous words. Yoshino felt the three of the characters
on screen looked like a tangled triangular relationship. Seeing this scene, it was no surprise that
Emily would be running away while crying.
However, the situation only seemed to only get worse from here.
That’s right. Because the next scene showed—
“Gah~! Darling, what are you doing~? It looks like so much fun!”
“Anger. Let Yu… zuru join. Ragh!”
“Hey, Klein, do you remember? Although I look like this now, it’s me, Jennifer! The woman you
once loved!”
“Wha-Wha-Wha-Wha-What?!”
In the current scene, there were countless zombies attacking Klein and the others while Miku,
Yuzuru, and Origami surrounded Shido.
Of course, Origami also casually fabricated a tragic past of one of the zombie characters. Miku
and Yuzuru’s expressions indicated “there’s still one last trick”, and their eyes sparkled.
“Whoa, hey! Let go of me…!”
“Oooooaaah, you are so cruel~. Do you plan to abandon others’ bodies after you finish playing
with such boring people~?”
“Sorrow. I’m doing my best for you, why do I have to be killed?”
“Klein, I still love you even now. What’s wrong with me? I promise I will change it all for you.
Please promise not to abandon me ever again, won’t you?”
“Hey! What the hell kind of setting are you imagining?!”
Shido couldn’t help but protest angrily. Han Klein, originally a passionate and just man, had been
turned into a scumbag. Given this, it was no surprise he was being attacked by zombies.
“Ah… rest in peace, in death! Everyone else is acting more dramatic than I am!”
Even Master Gris, who was voiced by Kaguya, had joined the battle. Yuzuru scratched her
cheek.
“Reflection. In that regard, I forgot. Master Gris, you also love Klein deeply.”
“Hey… I never said that! I don’t like Klein!”
She shouted a completely typical kind of arrogant line. The old man with a fierce expression on
the screen suddenly seemed a little cute.
Unexpectedly, everyone joined in the battle, causing everyone to appear in the room. Because
everyone was speaking at the same time, their voices began to overlap like the noise seen with
street noise. Ah… it turned out that this was indeed a kind of acting. Inexplicable emotions filled
his heart.
“Ah, really…! S-Stop! Serious voice acting, please!”
Shido, now fully swarmed by the Spirits, finally snapped and shouted, and everyone finally
settled down. At the same time, the video that had previously insisted on continuing to play, was
temporarily paused.
[“Ahahaha! You guys are amazing!”]
[“This is so powerful! Just because the lines were changed, the fight scene became a romantic
comedy!”]
A loudspeaker sounded in the room with Nia and the Director’s pleasant voices. Shido frowned
deeply and responded.
“You both are acting so relaxed… why didn’t you stop us sooner?”
[“Sorry, sorry. I was fascinated by what was happening.”]
Nia smiled and laughed while looking around at everyone.
[“Fortunately, it seems like everyone is much more relaxed than before.”]
“That is to say, I feel like my shoulders are not as tense. Now, let’s start the official voice acting.
This time, let’s try not to go off the script.”
The sound director responded with a bitter smile to Nia.
“Well…”
That much was true… Although their content was messy, there was a major gain in being able to
chat like usual with everyone while doing their voice acting.
Could it be that Nia deliberately stopped them from pausing to help Shido relax?
“…”
Shido mentally passed the idea over in his mind, then noticed the energetically evil expression on
her face and changed his mind. She was probably just looking for fun.
“…In short, although things somehow turned out this way, we promised to take on this job, so
we have to do it completely seriously.”
Shido coughed a few times to try to cheer himself up and said that. The Spirits slumped their
shoulders in apology.
“Muu… I’m sorry, Shido, I made a mistake.”
“…I… I’m sorry too…”
Tohka, Natsumi, and the others bowed their heads slightly to apologize.
Hoping that it would be okay, Shido smiled.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m also sorry. I think they’re right. I’m going to go…”
Before Shido could finish speaking, Origami secretly spoke to the staff in the next room.
“—Director, how much will the zombie’s voice be adjusted? It would be ideal to be able to
distinguish what was originally said.”
“Origami, can you not come up with bad ideas before we even start officially voice acting!”
[“Haha… now, let’s start the official voice work! Everyone, please position yourselves!”]
Everyone followed the sound director’s instructions and returned to their original positions.
Then—
[“Now… let’s get started!”]
With that, they officially started the voice acting.
◇◇◇
“I’m crazy and passionate about what I love! Honjou Nia has arrived once more!”
At some point in the future, Nia appeared in the Itsuka household, singing a strange slogan.
“Wow, you’re a hundred times more lively today… in many ways.”
Shido remarked with a wry smile. Nia smiled as she tugged on her collar.
“You’re right! Every part of my body is 100% more lively. Do you want to see?”
“It was just an expression! You should be more mindful!”
“I can’t help it, Boy! It was so thorny-horny!”
“I keep telling her, really…”
Shido clutched his head in his hands while Nia laughed happily.
Tohka watched the conversation between them and then tilted her head in confusion.
“Muu? Nia, what are you holding?”
“Huh…?”
Shido also looked at Nia’s hand and muttered, “Ah.”
It was because Nia was holding a disc in a transparent case in her hand.
Shido realized it was a CD immediately, but—that didn’t seem to be the case. There was no
printed label on the disc, but instead in handwriting was written <The Chronicles of the Dead>.
“Hmm, so did you notice it? That’s right! I received the animation samples for the first attempt at
voice acting! It’s the so-called white box!6”
“Hey! Why do you have two of them?!”
“Anyway, let’s all gather around. Prepare some snacks and drinks, and watch the screening!”
Nia ignored Shido’s questions and instead spoke to the Spirits who’d been sitting in the living
room. The Spirits’ eyes all flashed in excitement as they began to prepare snacks in accordance
with Nia’s suggestion.
“I can’t handle this right now…”
6
The anime industry usually puts samples in a white box for the staff to confirm quality.
It was still a little too early for a snack break, but… never mind. They might as well order
takeout today. Shido sighed and began to prepare for the screening as well.
He moved the sofa that was originally oriented in a diagonal shape so that everyone could see the
TV screen clearly and then placed glasses and various drinks, cookies, and chocolates in
accordance with the number of people. If he could, he actually wanted to enjoy snacks like a
proper movie-going experience and eat chips.
After everything was ready, Nia stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
“Ladies and gentlemen… Wait, there’s only one gentleman here. Never mind. We will now hold
a screening of <The Chronicles of the Dead>!”
“Woah!”
“Ah~! I’ve been waiting so long for this moment~!”
“…To be honest, I only have a bad feeling in my heart.”
The Spirits all raised either excited applause or sighs.
Having said that, after the official voice acting work started, everyone successfully acted the
characters according to the original story. Of course, it wouldn’t be as good as a professional
voice actor, but it should at least be decent.
“Okay, then I’m going to play it now.”
Nia inserted the disc into the player and pressed the play button.
Several seconds later, the words “An Original Work by Honjou Nia” appeared on the screen.
Then there was the dark cemetery background, and a girl making her way through the cemetery.
They’d seen the composition during the voice acting process, but now that it was fully colored, it
was really beautiful!
[—Hooh! Ah… I can finally rest easy once I get out of here.]
“Ah! That’s Natsumi-san’s voice…!”
“Yeah. It really matches her well.”
While the heroine “Melissa” was speaking, the Spirits cried out excitedly. Natsumi heartily
blushed in embarrassment and buried her face in her thighs. It seemed that it didn’t matter when
she was acting as another character, but having her work shown to an audience was still
embarrassing.
[“■■■■■—!”]
[“■■■ … ■■■!” ]
[“■■■■■■■!”]
This time, the ground split open and a group of horrifying zombies appeared.
Originally Miku, Yuzuru, and Origami provided the voicing for the zombies, but after some
adjustment, it sounded more like a monster’s roar.
“Ahaha, it looks like we can’t hear our lines~!”
“Agreement. However, each zombie’s voice has some subtle differences.”
“That one was probably mine.”
They remarked. It’s true that the original sounds were retained somewhat. It would be fun to
guess who provided the voice for which zombie.
“Hmm… it sounds better than I expected.”
Shido rubbed his chin and sighed.
Since the lines weren’t read exactly according to the script, there were a few subtle differences in
some places, but the visuals had been fine-tuned to match the words. Shido once again admired
the skills of a professional.
But—
The video continued to play for a while—just as they reached the scene by the lake and Shido
couldn’t help but hold his breath in fear.
The reason was very simple.
[“N-No, Emily! This is a misunderstanding!”]
Melissa, who witnessed the meeting with Klein, made a panicked sound.
“Eh?!”
He remembered that during the official voice acting, according to the script, Natsumi was
supposed to be silent.
In other words, this voicework was from—

[“It’s just… It’s not what you think! I don’t like Klein! There was a little more development in
the original story for me to fall in love with him, but the anime cut that part out, so I don’t have a
clue about him!”]
After hearing this line, Shido realized that this wasn’t just his imagination or a mistake. That’s
right, this sound came from their rehearsal, and the images were modified to match the lines.
While everyone was confused, Pastor Aphrodite, Jack and the zombies all appeared.
[“Klein, I still love you even now. What’s wrong with me? I promise I will change it all for you.
Please promise not to abandon me ever again, won’t you?”]
That voice came from a zombie voiced by Origami and the others. Although the sound played
was completely different from their original voices, it was still possible to understand what the
lines were saying. Natsumi and Yoshino screamed.
“H-Hey, Nia!”
Shido couldn’t help but yell. However, the original author herself just smiled happily:
“Hmm? What’s the matter, Boy? Isn’t this fascinating?”
“It’s not a question of whether it’s interesting; this shouldn’t be broadcast at all! You aren’t really
going to sell this kind of thing, are you?!”
After hearing Shido’s question, Nia pushed her glasses up and shook her head.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry. This won’t circulate to the general market. I asked the production
team to do it at my own expense. This is an independently produced animation.”
“Huh?!”
After hearing her unexpected answer, Shido’s eyes widened in surprise.
“W-Wait a minute! What do you mean at your own expense…”
“Well, it costs money to make an anime, but as long as it’s not broadcast on TV, I only need to
take care of the production cost. So I used my connections from the adaptation of <Silver Bullet>
and asked someone to introduce me to the staff.”
After she finished talking, Nia smiled cheerfully. Shido’s eyes narrowed.
“…Hey, was it true that all of the voice actors came down with poisoning? Was the food
poisoning bit also faked? Did you plan all of this out from the beginning?”
“Boy, look! Look! Klein is being hugged by a zombie bear!”
“Shouldn’t you aim for perfection and try your best?!”
Shido shouted… However, what’s done is done.
He sighed helplessly and his gaze drifted back to the TV screen.
“…This is all very chaotic. There are so many changes, so wouldn’t it cost a lot of money?”
“Yeah. But…”
“But what?”
Shido tilted his head as he watched her suspiciously. Nia simply raised a finger and tapped on the
tip of Shido’s nose.
“—These memories are priceless, Boy.”
“…”
Nia’s words and actions turned Shido’s emotions into a mess, but… if she realized what she’d
done to him, she would probably feel miserable. Instead, Shido turned his gaze back to the TV to
conceal his thoughts.
Spirit Online
“Servant, listen up! My body was wandering in the sea of electricity longing for the strength of
your body! As soon as possible, let us leave behind our bodies and devote ourselves to the ideal
world of ones and zeroes! Surely the baptism of the sword awaits us!”
“…What are you talking about?”
One day, when Shido and Miku were drinking tea together in the living room of the Itsuka
household, Kaguya suddenly burst into the room and made such a declaration.
She was a confident girl with long hair, striking a dramatic pose while wearing a black and white
punk outfit with silver jewelry which was all very dazzling.
Kaguya’s usual exaggerated way of speaking was already confusing enough, but what she said
just now was even more puzzling. Shido repeated Kaguya’s words in his mind, trying to decipher
the meaning behind her words.
As if aware of Shido’s thoughts, another girl who looked almost exactly the same as Kaguya
happened to appear from behind her.
“Translation. Kaguya is inviting you to play video games with her.”
She was Kaguya’s twin sister, Yuzuru. Her facial features were almost identical to those of
Kaguya’s but there were differences in their hairstyles, expressions, and the size of their chests,
the last of which was thought to be a prank from God.
“A video game?”
“Hmm… the inhabitants of this material world seem to refer to it as such.”
Kaguya smiled madly and made her way through the living room to sit on the sofa, raising her
legs in a confident manner.
“Ow!”
At that moment, her little toe thumped and hit the edge of the table.
Kaguya tearfully clutched her foot as sweat on her forehead trickled down and then scratched her
cheek.
“H-Hey, are you okay?”
“Ah~! It’s bad~!”

Sitting across from Shido, Miku shouted sharply as she stood up and started to rub Kaguya’s feet.
“Let me take a look at it! Pain, Pain, go away~ I’ll rub it away, I’ll rub it away~!”
“Ah, no, I’m fine now… Hey! Why are you taking my socks off?”
“It’s okay, let me just apply some saliva to this wound~!”
“Is it a knife wound or a small bruise?!”
Kaguya wailed and quickly shrunk away from Miku.
Shido watched as if used to this before he shrugged and asked with a bitter smile:
“So, you’re here to play video games? I don’t mind joining. What game are we going to play? A
fighting game?”
Shido glanced at the game consoles stored in the TV cabinet as he asked.
The Itsuka family owned several game consoles but the Spirits were the ones who played with
them the most lately.
The Yamai sisters in particular often like to play video games to compete with each other.
However, Kaguya smiled arrogantly while shaking her finger and saying, “No, no, no.”
“That’s not the case! Tonight, I want to invite you to play—this!”
She explained energetically as she pulled out her laptop from the bag in her hand and turned the
screen towards Shido and Miku.
“Hmm? Polaris Online…?”
Shido moved closer to the screen and read the title displayed on the screen.
“So you want to play an online game then?”
“Exactly! It’s a game where a goddess clamored for us to save the world.”
“Affirmation. Even after completing the game, it’s still fun.”
After hearing what Shido said, Yuzuru nodded in the affirmative. Miku rubbed the sock she’d
stolen from Kaguya with her cheeks and then tilted her head curiously.
“I’ve heard the term ‘online game’ before… but what is it?”
“The short answer is that it’s a game where many people play together in the same world through
the Internet. Beyond that, I’m not so sure…”
Shido scratched his head as he explained, Kaguya and Yuzuru then added:
“Yes! In other words, I want you and the others to join my ‘Knight’s Order.’ I want to invite you
and the others to join in this adventurous life!”
“Supplement. At first, Kaguya wanted to recruit members from the game, but after she started
talking like this, everyone suddenly left.”
“It… It has nothing to do with that! I’m just excluding people who can’t keep up with me!”
Kaguya couldn’t help but protest. Shido suddenly realized Kaguya’s intentions and he smiled and
said, “Ah…”
Perhaps she understood the situation, Miku smiled and said:
“If everyone can do whatever they want in the game world together, it sounds like a lot of fun!”
“That’s true. What kind of game is Polaris Online, anyway?”
After hearing Shido’s question, Kaguya, who’d been engaged in a continuous argument with
Yuzuru turned back to Shido to answer:
“Huh? Oh… it’s called an MMORPG. At the start of the game, you have to create a character as
your avatar, and you play as that character during your adventure in the fantasy world.”
“So you have to create your own character…”
“Well, some games help you out by providing pictures of various characters at the beginning, but
you can make changes in the details. Plus, the freedom in the game is quite high. The story itself
is pretty simple, but it’s mainly a team-based adventure involving fighting together, building a
home, and living in a fantasy world.”
“So it’s that kind of game. Kaguya, what aspects do you value the most?”
“I like playing, but my favorite thing is fighting. No matter how much I desire peace, my dark
temptations will always lead me to war.”
Until now, Kaguya who’d been speaking normally, suddenly caught herself and struck another
dramatic pose. Shido chuckled while smiling wryly at her.
“So basically, Miku and I need to join your team and help you fight?”
“Acknowledgement. That’s right, but it’s not quite that simple.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
After listening to what Yuzuru said, Shido expressed his confusion. So Kaguya cackled
maniacally as she operated the computer.
In the list of items owned by her character, an item resembling a notebook appeared on the
display, with many strange words and inexplicable looking numbers written inside.
“What’s this?”
“Description. This is a ‘letter.’ In simple terms, it’s an item that can be used to send a message to
other characters, but—”
“The other day, this prophetic book was attracted by my magical power and the Devil Lord I
harbor.”
“Explanation. While she was working to collect equipment, Kaguya’s character fell and
accidentally discovered a letter buried there.”
“Hey, Yuzuru!”
Kaguya quickly tried to cover Yuzuru’s mouth. However, Yuzuru was faster and managed to get
away.
“…What’s with the strange writing?”
“Eh? Ah—Right. Right. Hahaha, a very good question. If you look closely at this signature, this
is a code that indicates the location of a legendary weapon left by ancient warriors.”
“A legendary weapon? Ah, of course there’s such a thing.”
Shido nodded to express his understanding. Due to the nature of online games, players often
have different abilities and stories. In order to prevent them getting bored of the game, and to
attract new players to join, new stories, adventures, and regular events are continuously added.
However, Kaguya and Yuzuru both shook their heads at the same time.
“Well, that’s where you’re mistaken, Shido. This is not just an event but—the real thing.”
“The real thing? …What do you mean?”
“Comment. Actually, it wasn’t an administrator who buried the letter, but a player—the
legendary player [Fatima] who has been famous since beta. She was said to have become the
most powerful player a few years ago. She’s been hiding treasures and rare items all over the
world.”
The Yamai sisters spoke with the look of an adventurer or a treasure hunter. Since they played
the game so regularly, it seemed to be very interesting.
“Wait… so, did the letter that Kaguya discovered mark the location for a legendary weapon?”
“That’s right!”
“Supplement. Even though it was discovered by accident, since we found such a precious clue,
we plan to start looking immediately. However, we also wanted to add helpers to join our team.”
“Hmmm…”
Shido rubbed his chin and hummed softly to himself. From the way Kaguya and Yuzuru
described it, it sounded very interesting. However… it was still possible that another player who
was also familiar with the rumors wrote a letter that resembled a treasure map and buried it as a
prank. But it would be too mean to say such a thing to them. It was plain to see that they were
excited for their treasure hunt.”
“Helpers… So can we play as new characters too?”
“Well, it’s not a hard game to play, and as long as you have a computer and an internet
connection, anyone can play… Do you want to join?”
Kaguya’s face seemed to shine with excitement. Shido nodded and answered, “Sure.”
There was nothing planned for today, not to mention that Kaguya looked so excited and it was
hard to say no to her, especially now.
“Then I’ll make the preparations. Miku, do you also want to play? There’s an old computer
available that my mom used to use.”
“Yes, I want to play~!”
Miku replied with a smile. Shido nodded as he left to go upstairs.
◇◇◇
“I’m absolutely purrfect, call me Honjou Nia!”
Kotori was caught off guard by these words as soon as she opened the door.
She was currently in front of the door on the 18th floor of the high-rise building in Tengu City.
The reason for her visit was very simple. Honjou Nia called her to come to her room.
That’s right. Standing in front of Kotori was a young woman wearing glasses, a cat ear headband
and tail ornaments, all while striking a pose.
“…”
After a few seconds, Kotori managed to understand what she was seeing, and immediately
moved to close the door without another word.
“W-w-wait just a second!”
Nia threw the door open in a panic.
“Imouto-chan, you’re being too cold to me, you’re taking this joke too far!”
Nia twisted her waist and flicked her tail playfully. Every time it twisted, the bell on the collar
jingled. Kotori crossed her arms impatiently as she watched Nia’s movements and cute voices.
“That’s what I was going to say—did you call me to come here just so you could show me your
role-playing?”
“No, why would I do that~? Anyway, come on, I’m ready whenever you are.”
“Ready?”
Kotori asked as Nia ushered her into the room and explained:
“Well, something troublesome happened. I originally wanted to solve it on my own, but having
only one person is really limiting, so I asked for Imouto-chan, the commander of <Ratatoskr>,
and—
Nia said as she led her to the living room, throwing the door open with a dramatic flair.
“—Origami?”
Kotori’s eyes widened as she called out the girl’s name. That’s right. One of Shido’s classmates
was sitting there: Tobiichi Origami.
“Yes—I also asked Oririn here to help us as well.”
“Right… So, why did you ask us to come here?”
After Kotori asked the question, Nia sat down on the chair, raised the corners of her mouth, and
continued:
“Although this is a sudden question, have the two of you ever played online games?”
“…Online games?”
Kotori put a hand on her chin and tilted her head curiously. She didn’t understand the point of
this question. Although she’d never played them herself before, she did know that such games
existed. If she was being honest, she didn’t understand where Nia was going with the sudden line
of questioning. However, Origami, who was seated opposite of her, nodded without changing her
expression.
“If it’s a First Person Shooter, or so-called FPS, then I have actually played, and by the way, I am
trained in shooting.”
“Oh that’s a surprise, Oririn. So your job also used this sort of thing to train. Is it effective?”
“It is not very good at improving marksmanship, but most novices wouldn’t dare to shoot at
other people. FPS games can effectively remove that paralysis.”
“Oh~ So it’s for something like that.”
“However, at least in Japan, even in my line of work it’s almost impossible to shoot at people.
There are also people who play these kinds of games to satisfy their desire to shoot people.”
After hearing those words from Origami, Nia felt sweat trail down her cheeks and allowed a wry
smile to cross her face. She always seemed detached and unconcerned but she still showed such
a reaction, but… it was no wonder.
Nia quickly shook her head and refocused as she raised a hand toward the computer monitor on
the table.
“Never mind that for now—I’m actually playing an online RPG… I was hoping that you two
would be able to help me.”
“Help you… you mean you want us to play games together?”
“In simple terms, yeah.”
Nia replied with a smile. Kotori heaved a heavy sigh.
“When I saw your message written with a sense of urgency, I was worried about what
happened!”
“Ahaha, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. A love for exaggeration is probably just part of my nature as a
writer.”
Nia said this and then raised her gaze to observe their reactions, and then asked, “…What?”
Perhaps it was because she was still wearing a set of fake cat ears and a cat tail.
“I don’t mind. <Ratatoskr>’s mission is to fulfill the Spirits’ wishes as best as we can.”
“No problem. Just give me a controller.”
After Kotori finished speaking, Origami followed with an affirmative of her own. Kotori raised
her eyebrows as she heard some strange words that sounded important.
“…What was that?”
“Ah… It’s the original doujinshi (18+) for young people! With this, I’ll be all ready!”
“You’re going to use that as bait to lure in minors?!”
Hearing this ridiculous exchange condition, Kotori couldn’t help but scream. But… what could
she say? Something like this also fell in line with Origami’s true nature, and she suddenly
understood why she came here.
“…Ah, never mind. But doesn’t playing online games take up a lot of time? I’m not too busy
right now, but I can’t stay for that long.”
“Ah, don’t worry about that, I’m already aware of that. My purpose isn’t to clear it.”
“Huh? Then what are you trying to do? If you’re asking us for help… what’re you after?”
After Kotori finished talking, Nia raised her crazed smile slightly and moved her lips to say:
“Well… yeah. Honestly, there are some very bad PKs in this game.”
“PK?”
“A PK is a player killer. A bad player who attacks and kills other player characters in the game.”
Origami explained to Kotori. “That’s right.” Nia nodded in agreement and then added:
“To be honest, this bothers me a lot, and I want to find a way to punish the guy. But… I already
have too many things to do on my own. Then I realized that I could recruit allies in the game, but
I think it’s better to be able to work together face to face.”
“Well… it sounds like this PK is very powerful. What role does that person play?”
“Ah…”
After Kotori asked, Nia frowned in embarrassment and groaned in frustration.

“Hey! What’s with that reaction? You might not know anything about it.”
“That’s not true! That character is called [Fatima], level 99, and the most powerful occupation, a
destroyer of worlds…”
“Then wouldn’t it be simple? Just search for that character, then?”
“Well… but it’s not that easy.”
“Can you explain it more clearly?”
Origami responded to what Nia said. Nia scratched her cheek and said:
“There is a rare item in the game called a “Shadow Curtain”. As long as you have this, you can
use it to hide and change your information from other players. Moreover, I think that guy used
that item to hide the identity of their original character; I searched [Fatima], but I couldn’t find
anything. Like a serial killer, he must be living his life in a harmless manner.”
“So that’s the situation… This item sounds dangerous. Doesn’t this seem like the game’s
developers are encouraging player killing?”
Kotori shrugged helplessly, a bitter expression on her face. Being able to hide means they could
easily player kill without becoming notorious.
“Well, that’s not quite true. The high degree of freedom is one of the main selling points of
Polaris Online. It’s impossible to prevent player killing in a system that let’s players attack each
other in the first place. It’s a bit weird to blame the developers in a case like that, isn’t it?”
“What? Are you sure you’re a good guy? I thought PKing was unforgivable?”
After Kotori finished speaking, Nia shrugged with a confused expression.
“Still… this [Fatima] is special.”
“…?”
Nia said vaguely while Kotori tilted her head in doubt.
However, when Kotori was just about to ask a question, Origami was quick to ask a question
first.
“—I want to confirm our approach: are we looking for a needle in a haystack?”
“We do have some clues!”

Nia replied as she whipped out a piece of paper from a nearby drawer. Kotori looked at the paper
with Origami.
“This is… a map?”
That’s right. Nia handed over a map. It looked like a map of the game’s world. There were
several places marked with an ‘x’, and a lot of small characters written on it.
“What are these marks for?”
“Well, these are the places where [Fatima] has appeared. At first glance, it wasn’t obvious, but in
fact, there’s a common point in all of these appearances.”
“Then that means…”
“Well. [Fatima] might show up in one of these places next time, so I want to set a trap there to
catch them.”
Nia nodded confidently as she explained. Kotori also agreed: “That seems like a good idea.”
“I understand. Then let’s get started immediately. Where exactly are those places?”
Kotori urged her but Nia’s eyes widened in surprise.
“N-No, what are you talking about? You can’t go right now!”
“Eh?”
“You have to create a character before doing anything else. And being a level 1 character is not
useful at all—you’ll have to practice playing a bit.”
Nia seemed to raise her lips into an excited smile.
◇◇◇
“—Oh, Yoshino! You’re really good at baking!”
“Yes… I hope Natsumi-san likes them…”
“Of course she will. I bet she’ll be so happy that she’ll faint!”
Tohka, Yoshino, and the rabbit puppet Yoshinon who was worn on Yoshino’s left hand spoke as
they walked on the corridor of the apartment complex next door to the Itsuka household, which
belonged to <Ratatoskr>. A place where the Spirits whose powers Shido had sealed resided.
Tohka and Yoshino were among the residents there.
However, the two of them were walking not on the floor where their rooms were but instead
through the uppermost corridor of the apartment complex.
The reason was simple. Tohka and Yoshino were bringing freshly baked homemade cookies to
Natsumi, who lived on this floor.
“This is the first time I’m visiting Natsumi-san. Do you remember which room she lives in?”
“The outermost room. Ah—it’s that one!”
Yoshinon, in line with what Yoshino said, raised its paws to the door in front of it.
“Okay.”
Tohka walked to the door and pressed the doorbell next to the door. There was a ringing bell
inside the room.
But after they waited a few seconds, Natsumi still did not answer the door.
“Muu? That’s strange, is she not home?”
Tohka then pressed the doorbell several more times but still nothing happened.
She then unconsciously turned the doorknob and the door opened with a “click”. Tohka and
Yoshino then exchanged a surprised look with each other.
“The door is unlocked…”
“It looks like she isn’t out right now… could she be sleeping?”
The two shared a confused expression, and Yoshinon flailed her paws and said:
“Since the door is already unlocked, wouldn’t it be faster to just go in and check on her~?”
“Just… wouldn’t that be rude, Yoshinon…?”
“But, what if Natsumi-chan suddenly fell ill, or if the gas leaked, or if there was an accident, or if
she were suicidal and hung herself~? Now, there might still be time to save her~!”
“Eh—!”
“H-How could…”
Tohka and Yoshino gasped, exchanged uncertain looks with each other, and then nodded
resolutely. Then they resolved to open the door and walked into the room.
“Natsumi! Are you okay, Natsumi?!”
“Natsumi-san…!”
The two called out Natsumi’s name as they walked down the corridor and opened the bedroom
door slowly.
What they found—
“…—Eh?”
Natsumi was wearing a pair of headphones while sitting on a chair with one foot on her knees,
while facing the computer. She quickly turned around with a stunned voice.
It was more accurate to say that the door was already open before finally she noticed them.
Natsumi held her breath and did her best to cover the computer screen. However, maybe because
she was in a panic, she lost her balance, fell off of her chair, and fell into a heap on the floor.
“Natsumi!”
“Are you all right…?”
“That hurt… Anyway, I’m okay.”
Natsumi scratched at her hair before she looked up at them and then stood up.
“You… why are you two…”
“T-That… I’m sorry. I entered your room without your permission. But I only did it because you
didn’t come to answer the door, we were worried about what might have happened to you…”
“Eh? Don’t say that, I don’t mind at all… but I’m even more sorry for you. That I made you step
into this sludge, I’m sorry. I’m going to die.”
“N-Natsumi-san…”
“There we go~ Natsumi-chan is back to herself again~!”
Yoshinon smiled frivolously and patted Natsumi’s head gently. Then, Natsumi looked up at them
uncertainly.
“Ah… that’s right, Natsumi-san, if you’re okay with it, please accept this…!”
Yoshino said, and handed the small bag in her hands to Natsumi.
“Eh? W-What is this?”

“Cookies. Tohka-san taught me how to bake. I hope these suit your tastes…”
“A-AHHHHHHHHHHH…!”
Yoshino finished speaking and Natsumi could only shriek and fall like a vampire in direct
contact with the sun.
But it would be rude to not accept it. Soon she bowed her head and raised her hands towards
Yoshino. She looked like a civilian receiving an unexpected reward from the king.
“Thank you… but, is it really okay for someone like me to have this?”
“Of course.”
“I… I will treasure this as a valuable heirloom… I will cherish it for the rest of my life…”
“That… if you can, I hope that you would eat them…”
Yoshino let out a giggle and a small smile. Natsumi hung her head anxiously and answered,
“Yes…”
Although her reaction was a bit exaggerated, Natsumi seemed happy to accept the gift. Tohka
smiled as she watched Yoshino and Natsumi, and then looked at the computer screen.
“Natsumi, what were you doing just now? Is this… a game?”
“…! Ah, T-That’s…”
After hearing what Tohka said, Natsumi was quick to panic. However, she seemed to realize that
Tohka and Yoshino already saw the screen and just gave up and let out a heavy sigh.
“…Go ahead and laugh if you want to laugh. On holidays like this, I play online games all by
myself. I get so into it that I don’t notice when guests are here. Aha, ahahahaha…”
“Online game? What’s that?
“…Oh, it’s a game that many people can play together… But I’m not good at making a team. I
just built a house and cultivated my fields by myself… I really like garden-type games now. I’m
kind of obsessed with it, honestly.”
“Did you build this house yourself, Natsumi-san?”
Yoshino looked at the computer screen and her eyes widened in surprise. What was shown on the
screen was an impressive wooden house.
“Ah… um, yes. This game is like a block-building game. You can collect materials and put them
together in whatever way you want, so you can build your favorite things. And you can also
breed your crops together to create new varieties, and then use them as materials to make more
equipment.”
At that moment, Natsumi suddenly stopped talking.
Presumably, because she discovered that Tohka and Yoshino’s eyes were filled with curiosity and
gave out a dazzling brilliance.
“…Uh… Do you two want to play as well?”
“Yes!”
“Yes…!”
In face of Natsumi’s nervous invitation, Tohka and Yoshino answered enthusiastically.
◇◇◇
“—Uh, is this alright?”
Shido brought the two laptops from upstairs and returned to the living room, then installed the
game based on the instructions from Kaguya and Yuzuru, and clicked the start button.
Then the screen turned dark as the game’s opening began.
The content was similar to a common fantasy game prologue movie. To put it simply, the outline
of the story is that a goddess summoned Shido and the other players to this world and asked them
to protect it from a crisis.
Then, after introducing the basic story, the character image dressed in plain clothes was
displayed on the screen. Next to the character were various options like “gender” and “hairstyle”
that could change a character’s appearance based on the settings.
“So it’s thanks to features like this that you could create the character that you wanted—ah, for
this kind of game, what kind of characters do Kaguya and Yuzuru use?”
“Huh? Are you asking…”
“Answer. Are we?”
Kaguya and Yuzuru tilted their heads in sequence, and then turned their laptops in their laps
toward Shido and Miku.
[†Phantom Night†] Level 38; Sex: Male; Occupation: Dark Knight.
[Yuzu7] Level 38; Gender: Female; Occupation: Silent Hunter.
Their respective characters were displayed on their respective screens. Yuzuru’s character was a
hunter girl whose facial features resembled her own, while Kaguya’s was a tall man with a fierce
expression wearing black armor.
Although there were many things worth mentioning, Shido decided to ask the most burning
question first.
“Uh… right, quick question: what are the marks on both ends of your character name?”
He pointed to the † symbols. Kaguya, in turn, puffed out her chest proudly.
“Oh so you noticed that? This is the dark cross that embodies the power of my name. Only the
warriors in the dark and the demonic can—”
“Description. Just type “daga-” and then choose the symbol to type it out.”
“Ah, really? It turns out that there is such a symbol.”
“Hey! It was you who asked me, so just listen to me already!”
Kaguya pounded her fist against the desktop and shouted. “Sorry, sorry.” Shido smiled bitterly
and apologized, then turned his gaze back to his screen.
Then all that was left was to set the character’s hairstyle and facial features to complete his own
avatar.
“I think it’s fun to just set up these sorts of things. It feels like I’m doing a photoshoot.”
“Yeah… ah, right. You can set the character freely, but could you choose an occupation from
either a support or mage class? Since Yuzuru and I already have physical occupations.”
“Yeah, I know. Miku, which one do you want to play?”
Shido glanced at Miku as he asked the question. Miku tapped her chin thoughtfully and
answered: “Well, I want one that can fight magnificently with magic~!”
“Okay, I’ll choose the priest then.”
7
A yuzu is a citrus fruit and plant in the family Rutaceae of East Asian origin. Though rarely eaten as a
fruit, yuzu is a common ingredient in Japanese cuisine.
Shido said as he chose his occupation. Soon, the simple outfit the character originally wore was
replaced with a white monastic uniform.
He then set the rest of the elements and completed the rough prototype.
[Shido] Level 1. Sex: Male. Profession: Priesthood.
“Okay, so we’re almost all set. Uh, I just need to log in next—”
At that moment, the doorbell from the entrance rang and Shido looked up from his monitor.
For a moment, he thought it might have been Kotori or one of the other Spirits, but… that
couldn’t be. After all, they didn’t need to ring the doorbell, but would just come inside.
“Is it a delivery man…? Let me take a look.”
“Sure. Take your time~”
Miku waved her hand as she watched Shido leave. For some reason, her lips were curled into a
delighted smile. Shido didn’t give this another thought, though, and headed towards the door.
The sudden visitor, as he suspected, was a delivery man. Shido signed for the package and
received it before returning to the living room where Kaguya and the others were waiting for
him.
“Sorry, sorry, I made you wait for me.”
Shido said while sitting in front of his computer, Kaguya, Yuzuru, and Miku all shook their
heads, bright smiles on their faces.
“Oh, I don’t mind.”
“Acceptance. Yuzuru had a very meaningful moment with everyone.”
“Okay, Darling. We’ve all selected our roles so let’s start playing~!”
“…? Okay…”
The three of them seemed to be very happy. Although Shido was a little confused, he still kept
his gaze on the screen.
At that moment, he suddenly felt that something was off. He remembered that he left the screen
on the page where he was customizing his character but now the screen was showing a street
view of what seemed like a middle-aged theme town with cute characters coming and going.
Shido assumed that because he was away from the computer for a period of time, they’d started
to broadcast promotional videos, but then realized that wasn’t the case, because there were four
characters in the center of the screen that made up the team.
[†Phantom Night†] Level 38 Sex: Male. Occupation: Dark Knight.
[Yuzu] Level 38. Gender: Female. Occupation: Silent Hunter.
[Milk] Level 1. Gender: Female. Occupation: Magician.
And—
[Shiorin] Level 1. Gender: Female. Profession: Priesthood.
“What…!”
“W-Wait a minute! What’s going on! This is definitely not the character I designed!”
Shido’s eyes went wide as he shouted and stared at the three of them. This reaction was
expected; the teenaged character he made had turned into a lovely looking girl rather than a boy.
When their hapless victim saw it, the girls smiled and faced Shido.
“Ah! I thought that Darling was too busy, so I thought that I would do it for you~!”
“No, this is obviously going too far!”
Shido shouted but Kaguya and Yuzuru couldn’t help but laugh at the situation.
“Hahahaha! Looks like you got tricked, Shido!”
“Laughing. But the abilities learned won’t change because of the gender, so Shido doesn’t have
to worry too much.”
“But… is it safe to chat in the game? Doesn’t this make me an Internet she-male…”
“It’s no problem~! As long as you remove the fact that Darling is a boy, then Darling is a girl~!”
“That kind of logic doesn’t make any sense!”
Miku answered confidently while Shido couldn’t help but shout in protest. Then, Kaguya, who’d
been smiling through the exchange, finally stopped and patted Shido’s shoulder to appease him:
“If it really bothers you that much, as long as you can get a “Rebirth Orb”, you can modify your
character image without having to start a new game.”
“…Is that true?”
“Acknowledgement. You can get it if you can beat the main story.”
“That’ll take way too long!”
Although he had no idea how long the main story was, wouldn’t that mean he would have to play
the entire game as [Shiorin] in order to finish it? Besides, the whole point was to help Kaguya
and Yuzuru find a treasure, so he probably wasn’t going to get a chance to clear the main story.
However, it would be a waste of time to start a new game to reset the character. Shido sighed as
he began to play as the priestess [Shiorin]. She actually looked quite cute.
“Guess there’s no helping it… let’s just play like this.”
“Great fighting spirit! Let’s start looking for treasures!”
“Agree. Yes!”
“Onwards!” If youfoundthis online ( seewhatid idthere) it’sstole n. Come f ind uson Disco rd!
On the monitor, [†Phantom Night†] and [Yuzu] raised their hands enthusiastically. It seemed that
as long as the right command was selected, the character could be made to perform a specific
action.
“Let’s see…”
Shido quickly opened the menu and selected the action. So [Milk] and [Shiorin] slowed down as
they raised their hands, mimicking [†Phantom Night†] and [Yuzu].
“Dammit…! This attack doesn’t work!”
“I told you it was way too soon to try our luck like this!”
“Shut up! Just hurry up and heal me already—eh, oh, ah, AH!”
The voice of a party of adventurers echoed in the open space of the dark ancient city.
However, this was a hopeless situation. After all, what was standing before them was the master
of this ancient city: a high-level vampire monster.
They were huge vampires adorned with dark coats that continuously cast powerful magical
spells. There were explosions detonating constantly, and the health of [Rick] and his party was
falling fast.
“I-Impossible, things shouldn’t be going like this…!”
The captain of the team—Swordsman [Rick]—felt an endless series of regrets in his heart.
—Everyone was proud, because they’d managed to reach a high level and had powerful
equipment; there was no reason to believe that diving into the depths of such a difficult maze
would be such a difficult quest.
Of course, the result was like this. They were surrounded by the Great Demon and his men,
they’d run out of recovery items, they’d run out of mana to cast healing magic, and there was no
way for him to escape. He had hit rock bottom.
“GAAAAAAAAAA!”
“W-WHOA!”
The vampire’s blow swept over [Rick]’s body. Obviously he still had his armor but he was still
seriously injured and his life bar was put into the red in an instant.
“Dammit… is it all over for me…?”
[Rick] murmured sadly. He was all but helpless now. The next hit would drop his health to zero.
However, in the next moment.
“—Holy stab!”
The dark ancient city was immediately bathed in countless blades of light that pierced the
vampire.
“GAAAAAAA …!”
The vampire’s huge body disappeared into a black mist. Faced with this unexpected situation,
[Rick] could only stare blankly.
“This, what is this… how…?”
“Congratulations~! You won!”
The screen showed the message with a gentle tone, and three new characters appeared.
[Ani] Level 80. Gender: Male. Occupation: Paladin.
[Toriko] Level 1. Gender: Female. Occupation: Warrior.
[Orion] Level 1. Gender: Male. Occupation: Thief.
“Wait… Level… 1…?”
Facing the mysterious team that suddenly appeared, [Rick] murmured in surprise.
However, they ignored [Rick] and his party and instead talked amongst themselves.
“You’re too reckless… I’m only level 1 right now.”
“It’s okay. As long as you don’t get hit, you won’t die. After that battle, did you get any
experience points?”
“—In just one battle, I made it to level 10.”
“No way. Ah, really? It looks like my skill points have increased a lot, what should I do?”
“Ah~. We can deal with that later, so don’t worry about it for now. Let’s do another round. Once
you get to level 30, you can upgrade to a more powerful occupation, and we can use some of my
treasured doping items to boost you further. Then, we’ll finally be able to go to the places we
were talking about before; oh also I scattered some traps on the way here in case someone shows
up at any of the previous locations.”
“…How about doing it like this?”
“The point is not about the process, but the result. It would be ideal to do it quickly.”
“Well, you do make a good point, but I always felt…”
The mysterious team left the scene while discussing the topic without a hint of worry.
“What… what was that all about…”

[Rick] stared after them for a while before managing to get that sentence out.
◇◇◇
“…Uh, then I will start to explain this briefly.”
Natsumi coughed a few times before she faced Tohka and Yoshino… So the two of them sat at
the computer and bowed their heads and said, “Sorry to trouble you!” …Natsumi felt itchy all
over.
However, she was the only one who could explain the game to the two of them. She coughed
once more and mentally prepared herself.
“Um, first of all, how to build a house… There are two methods to do it. The simplest one is to
use what’s called a “Design Diagram”. This method will automatically help you build your house
as soon as you have the necessary materials. New players use this to build simple structures. For
architecture, you can have fun just by paying attention to the interior decoration. You can unlock
designs for larger and nicer buildings as you progress through the game.”
“Natsumi-san, did you build your house with this?”
“Um, that’s not how I did it… I built this house from scratch. That’s the other method. You can
build things as you wish by freely combining materials. However, it requires a little practice. I
think it’s better to get familiar with how it works before building from scratch, so start with the
“Design Diagram”. You can start by using it to build a house wherever you want.”
“Okay!”
“I understand!”
“Then let’s build a house right away—but before that, you have to prepare the ground first. If
you find a location you like, remove the trees and weeds that are growing there and crush the
rocks to make a flat space for building a house. …I think it’ll be easier to have you try than to
explain it. Come on, try cutting down a random tree.”
“Oh! I got it!”
“Let me try…!”
After the two of them answered Natsumi with enthusiasm, they both operated the mouse
clumsily. The characters they’d just made reacted in response and started to walk around slowly.
“Whoa!”
Tohka’s character began to walk around in a circle.
“You… are you okay, Tohka?”
“Yes, no problem—Whoa!”
Tohka’s character began to jump in place while throwing the materials in her hands everywhere.
“Ah~… Ah~…”
Natsumi couldn’t bear to keep watching, so she left her seat and moved to Tohka’s side to help
her operate the mouse and pick up the materials one by one.
“Oh, thank you, Natsumi!”
“No… It’s no problem. Anyway, this area is limited to just us players right now.”
That’s right. Natsumi’s house wasn’t built on a street or somewhere public, but in a remote
forest. Even if their character did something strange here, they wouldn’t be treated strangely or
become a laughing stock by way of screenshots.
Natsumi hadn’t intended to live in the forest, but if she lived on a street, there would be a chance
that she would run into another player, which wasn’t good for her heart. Even if she couldn’t see
the other person’s face, she still had problems whenever she thought that it was still a human that
was controlling the character.
…However, if that was the case, then why play online games in the first place? Despite that
drawback, Natsumi found it inexplicably fun to be able to build such things in a forest where no
one would come to bother her.
“Uh, then dig into the ground. If there are any uneven spaces, you can smooth it out like this. It’s
just like cutting a tree; you just have to click on the ground with the icon.”
“Like this…?”
Yoshino’s character then picked up the shovel and began to dig into the soil. She received a
thumbs up from Natsumi as though expressing, “Well done”.
But—
“Whoaaaaaa!”
With this cry, Tohka’s character was slowly sinking into the ground. It seemed to be digging at
the soil around her feet, digging her deeper and deeper down.
“Ah! Tohka, you have to stop first! If you dig too deep, then you won’t be able to get out!”
“Then… what should I do?!”
Then Tohka’s gear began flying out of the hole, one piece at a time.
…It seemed that it would take some more time and practice before they could build a house.
◇◇◇
—It had been about three hours since they left the town where they had started.
[Shiorin], who was controlled by Shido, walked with his companions [†Phantom Night†],
[Yuzu], and [Milk], in the lush, grassy forest.
“Whew… we made it quite far. Is everyone doing okay on health so far?”
“Oh, there’s no problem. You are very conscientious.”
“Agree. Even though this is a temporary team, our cooperation is seamless.”
Kaguya and Yuzuru nodded in approval as they spoke.
They’d skipped the tutorial and immediately jumped into actual combat practice, with both
[Shiorin] and [Milk] having since grown to level 10. Although it wasn’t perfect, he’d learned
how to heal and some support spells, healing two people injured in battle and improving their
strength and endurance.
[Milk] mainly relied on magical attacks, and while she wasn’t as powerful as [†Phantom Night†]
or [Yuzu] could still use her attacks to stop the enemy’s movement and aid in support.
“Well, online games are also fun. This kind of feeling of everyone going on an adventure
together and competing against the computer is enjoyable.”
“Oh, you’re right.”
“Temptation. If you would like to play again another time, Yuzuru will be waiting.”
“Haha, I’ll think about it. If we get too addicted, we’ll end up having Kotori scolding us, so we’ll
have to be careful.”
Shido smiled bitterly, then looked again at the deep forest where [Shiorin] and the others were
conducting their expedition.
“—So, Kaguya, going by the “letter”, how close are we? We seem to be walking on the grass…”
“Um… wait a minute. Let me see… this coordinate is here, so… a little bit further forward—”
Just as Kaguya mentioned it—
The [†Phantom Night†] on the screen walked through a deep forest and came to an open space.
“Whoa…”
“This… This is…”
Shido’s eyes widened as he operated the computer buttons to move the camera, looking around at
the surrounding scenery.
It was a wide space suspected to be created by the forest. A gorgeous wooden house was built
deep in the space. In front of the wooden house was farmland with various crops.
A space that was isolated from the rest of the world, like where a hermit, a fairy, or trolls or
goblins lurking in the deep forest might live.
“Okay—great! Hey! H-Hey! Yuzuru, this wouldn’t be…”
“Acknowledgement. It is impossible for ordinary players to build a residence in such an

inconvenient place, and it is exactly the same coordinates written on the “letter”. I believe this
must be [Fatima]’s hiding place.”
“That’s what I thought!”
Kaguya shouted, and [†Phantom Night†] and [Yuzu] seemed to dance very excitedly.
[Yuzu] looked quite cute while she danced, but the picture of [†Phantom Night†] dancing wildly
while wearing exaggerated armor was too weird… However, this was no surprise. Although
Shido didn’t know how powerful this legendary player is, it seems to them that they were
digging for treasure.
“Explore. Kaguya, let’s go and try to find it.”
“Well, the coordinates are in this area. Let’s see if we can find it!”
[†Phantom Night†] and [Yuzu] began to investigate the surrounding area. [Shiorin] and [Milk]
were quick to follow them while searching along the way.
They lost track of how long they’d been searching, but when [Milk] was walking next to the
farmland, the ground where everyone was standing suddenly began to flash.
“Whoa! What’s going on?”

“…! This is… a trap! Run away!”
However—it was too late. The next moment, the land around them turned into a white field, and
were suddenly unable to move.
It appeared to be something similar to glue. They were covered with sticky objects, and their
clothing—that is to say, their gear was all torn off.
“Whoa!”
“Ah~! Our clothes~!”
“Mistake. I’ve made a terrible mistake…!”
“H-Hey, what is this…!”
Everyone’s remaining clothing was just the underwear shown in character creation, and their
defense displayed on the information screen was reduced to the absolute minimum.
“Hmm… it’s a trap to strip us of our equipment. Everyone, get out first and then put on spare
equipment.”
Kaguya frowned as she said so. Shido and the others were quick to follow her instructions and
put on secondary equipment.
“Advance. Kaguya, this is…”
“Hmm… the fact that such a troublesome trap was set… It’s very suspicious. However, if there
are other traps, it would be dangerous to continue searching the normal way…”
Kaguya thought about it for a moment before turning to Miku.
“Miku, didn’t you just learn a wide area spell? Can you cast it to destroy this area and any traps
hidden here?”
“H-Hey, why can’t we try something else…”
“It doesn’t matter either way, because [Fatima] is a player who stopped playing several years
ago! No one has lived here since then!”
“If that’s true then the farmland around here wouldn’t be so well taken care of…”
“As long as there is a protection of the earth applied to the area, no matter how many years pass,
a good harvest can still be maintained. For advanced players, this is basic knowledge.”
“W-Wait! Is that really true?”

“That’s right! Just trust me on this!”
After speaking, Kaguya turned to Miku, “Let’s go!”
“I understand! I’ll go ahead and cast the spell~!”
“—Destruction bombing!”
Miku’s and [Milk]’s voices overlapped in that moment as [Milk]’s staff began to shine brightly.
The next moment, an incredible explosion ravaged the forest.
After a few seconds, the ground looked like a crater seen on the surface of the moon.
There were countless equipment icons scattered all around the terrain now destroyed by the blast
spell.
“Huh…?”
However Kaguya and Yuzuru both showed confused expressions.
The reason was simple. Because the ground was full of materials like wood, vegetables, and
stones, among other things. None of these things were similar to treasure.
“Strange, there should be nothing… Miku, I’m sorry to trouble you again over here…”
“Of course~!”
“Just make it… just the bare minimum…”
The sound of an explosion rang out a second time, muffling Shido’s voice.
◇◇◇
“W-What…?!”
Natsumi was stunned, her hands trembling.
“What the hell is going on here?!”
She shouted loudly.
However, such a reaction was reasonable. Because in the hour after she went to the street to buy
Tohka and Yoshino some equipment, her house in the forest had been turned into an empty lot,
no, it was better to say that it was a smoking crater.
“T-This is… what happened here?”

“Everything… it was all destroyed…”
Tohka and Yoshino made panicked noises. Natsumi could only grit her teeth as she continued:
“Probably… It was spotted by a bad player, and then they destroyed it with explosive magic or a
bomb item.”
“Why… why would they do such a thing…?”
“…There doesn’t need to be a reason at all. It’s like having lunch without your friends. I had to
hide and nibble on bread. As a result, the bullies would always say: “What a strange smell, huh?”
They would keep pounding on the door or spray toilet water into it. Asking uncivilized
barbarians to do civilized things is simply a waste of effort.”
“M-Muu…”
Tohka showed an incomprehensible expression as she tilted her head.
However, first things first: they had to take care of the damage to the garden. Natsumi’s gaze
sharpened as she began to collect the surviving vegetables and wood scattered about.
“Oh, are you going to rebuild it?”
“We also… want to help!”
“…No. I don’t want to build a house here again. I’ll have to find a different location. Since a
troublesome person knows about this place, if I build another house here again, it may end up
destroyed again—No, I’m going to build something else instead.”
“Muu…?”
“Something else…?”
After listening to what Natsumi said, Tohka and Yoshino’s eyes widened in surprise.
◇◇◇
As she dealt the finishing blow to the demon snow dragon (for the third time), Nia’s computer
made a warning beep.
“…! A reaction has occurred! It seems that someone sprung one of the traps at location A!”
When she finished, Nia looked at Kotori and Origami.

Under Nia’s leadership, Kotori and her team managed to defeat several high-level monsters in
various places and accumulate plenty of experience points… While they were doing that, they
also set traps in advance at locations where they suspected the PK might appear.
However—
“Location A… Wasn’t it that forest we passed by at the beginning?”
“Yeah, yeah. Although it’s a bit far away, so… it’ll be tough to catch them. Still, Imouto-chan
and Oririn’s levels have risen quite a bit. To be sure, let’s go check it out.”
“Understood.”
Origami replied simply as Kotori and her party immediately made their way down the mountain
and made their way back to the forest they’d passed before.
“Hey, Nia… wouldn’t it be more likely that the trap would be triggered by the residents of that
house?”
On the way back, Kotori frowned and asked Nia.
That’s right. The site surveyed by Nia seemed to be inhabited, with a beautiful wooden house
and farmland. It would be reasonable that, compared to the PK, there would be a much higher
chance of trapping residents who lived in that home.
“Well, that’s certainly a possibility, I’ll go into combat mode if I get caught in the traps. Anyway,
let’s worry about that later. If the traps ended up catching the residents who live there, as long as
we apologize honestly, it should be okay. Plus, we can ask them if they know anything about the
PK.”
“…I feel like the other party would point at us and answer ‘It’s you!’”
During the conversation, Kotori and her party arrived at location A.
However—
“What…?”
Kotori stared out at the landscape with a stunned expression. Where there was once a beautiful
house and impressive farmland was now an entirely flat land.
“This… what’s going on here? We didn’t make a mistake, did we?”
It felt like something was messing with her vision, and Kotori could only stare silently at the
screen. At that moment, Nia’s character [Ani] took a step forward.
“First thing’s first, let’s look around first. Maybe this was caused by [Fatima]…”
As Nia said that, the screen suddenly flashed brightly and then there was an explosion in the
ground, sending the three of them flying.
“Huh…?”
Kotori couldn’t understand what just happened at that moment and found herself rubbing her
eyes furiously.
However, the picture in front of her has not changed. Instead, there was a hole in the ground,
smoke wafting around, and a dying character. It seems that they ended up standing on a mine.
“This… what the hell is going on here?!”
Seeing this, Nia cried out loudly and angrily.
◇◇◇
“Ah, really… what the hell was that trap…?!”
After searching through all of the wreckage of the forest hut, Shido and his party walked down
the road behind Kaguya.
It was no wonder that Kaguya was unhappy, they’d searched the entire forest but they had no
luck finding any treasure-like items. In other words, Shido and his party only lost valuable
equipment.
“Hmm—but why would they set a trap?”
“Maybe it was just a prank after all…?”
“Hmm… I don’t know who did it, let me think about it!”
“Well… I thought that no one would find it…”
Natsumi along with Tohka and Yoshino murmured regretfully as they looked around for a new
place to live.
In case the culprit happened to come back, she decided to use all her explosives to set some
traps… But even if the culprit was killed, the gloomy mood wouldn’t go away.
“I don’t know who did this… but whoever it was, I won’t forget this…!”
“Ah! Really?! What the hell is going on?!”

After the big explosion, Nia, who had managed to escape from the mines, shook her feet
impatiently.
Nia’s character managed to survive the explosion, but Kotori and Origami’s characters were
dead, so Nia was forced to use two precious resurrection items to revive them.
“I don’t know who did this… but I won’t be forgetting this anytime soon!”
In the MMORPG of Polaris Online, the three groups of teams all shouted out at the same time.
Spirit Offline
“—In order to defeat the evil player [Fatima] who was causing trouble in the popular MMORPG
Polaris Online, [Ani] embarked on an adventure with two allies. However, during their quest,
[Ani] and his party encountered an explosion, and were severely injured! Seriously, what on
earth happened?! And the true form of the mysterious figure that appeared there is—! Episode
23: [Sleep well in my arms, friends.] Be sure to stay tuned!”
“…Who are you talking to, Nia?”
Kotori asked, her eyes narrowed as she looked at Nia who had been talking to herself loudly. By
way of reply, Nia looked back at her while laughing.
“No one. I guess you could say I’m just trying to set the scene here.”
“What’s with all of that drama… More importantly, I don’t see any mysterious figures, so it
doesn’t make any sense. And what’s with that title? You’re obviously making it sound like
Origami and I died, right?”
“No, No! The title has to be as sensational as possible! Don’t you think that anyone who watches
the first episode with such a dramatic narration would automatically want to watch the next
episode, Imouto-chan?”
Kotori was currently staying in the apartment where Nia lived, because Nia had asked her to help
her play some online games with Origami.
“—So, Nia, do you have any ideas about what caused that explosion?”
Origami’s own character [Orion] asked.
“Hmm~… I know that was a blast trap. Someone must have set a trap there; probably for us.”
“You mean that [Fatima] set that trap from the beginning?”
“It’s very possible. They probably got angry because they walked into a trap that I set, and then
set up a blast trap to retaliate… I think it makes sense to think so, at least.”
“So that’s what happened…”
Origami and Nia talked seriously. Meanwhile, sweat trickled down Kotori’s cheeks.
“No, wouldn’t it have made more sense to have it been done by the people who lived there? You
set up a sticky trap in the place where they lived, so they got angry and retaliated in response…”
“Well… even if that were the case, isn’t it weirder that the house and farmland is now an empty
lot? I have a bad feeling that PK was using blasting magic to destroy other people’s homes after
they walked into that trap.”
“Hmm… could that be the case?”
“Yes! Ah, such a thing is unforgivable! I have to catch them, freeze their account, and then find
out their address and real name and post it on the Internet!”
“I’m very proficient at this kind of thing, so just leave it to me.”
“Oh! Oririn, you’re so reliable!”
“Uh, I’m pretty sure that’s a crime…”
After narrowing her eyes, she quickly changed the subject and said:
“…Anyway, where are we going right now?”
“Oh, we’re going to Central City, which is the biggest, most developed area in Polaris. I want to
replenish my healing supplies, plus I need to get more gear. Also, I want to see if I can find some
more information—oh, we’re almost there. It’s right there.”
“Okay…”
At Nia’s urging, Kotori moved the camera and noticed the huge city just ahead of them.
◇◇◇
In the largest city in the Polaris: The Central City.
As the name suggested, the city at the center of the continent was an adventuring hub, the
foundation of life, and the resting place for all of the Polaris players.
It was said that in the past that it used to not be such a large city. However, because Polaris
players could build in their favorite places, players most interested in convenience have built
buildings here, and over the years, a huge city similar to a large maze was formed.
And a peculiar team of three people were walking in the corner of this city built in cooperation
between officials and players.
One of them was a tall and beautiful woman wearing a witch hat—the senior alchemist [Crime],
and two young girls were walking behind her—the farmer [Yoshua] and the carpenter [Katoh].
“Whoa! What a big place!”

“There’s so many people…!”
[Katoh]’s player, Tohka, and [Yoshua]’s player, Yoshino, spoke energetically in front of their
computers.
However, [Crime]’s player Natsumi, who was leading them, was carefully manipulating her
character.
“Player characters have their name and status on top of their heads, and are different from real
life. Try not to give away any real life information.”
“Muu? Why?”
Tohka tilted her head curiously. Seeing her innocent reaction in that moment, Natsumi sighed
and frowned as she answered:
“…Because there are player characters in this game means that there are real people controlling
them in the real world, and unlike the game characters who only speak specific lines… why do
you have to worry about other people when playing a game…?!”
“Yes… Is that true…”
“Muu, then why did you come to a city when there are so many people?”
Tohka raised a natural question. Natsumi nodded slightly and answered:
“…There’s no other way. We need the building materials that we need to rebuild the destroyed
house and farmland, after all.”
Natsumi muttered resentfully and then sighed.
She tried to avoid blocking other players’ characters as much as possible, walking on the side of
the road so she grumbled.
“I want to leave as soon as possible after we buy the necessary tools and gear. I don’t want to
spend anymore time around other people than I absolutely have to, plus I also need to find a
forest where no one will pass by like the last place—”
It was then—
Natsumi froze. Because [Crime] in the picture suddenly actually crashed into another character.
Moreover, the name and status plate could be seen on the other character’s head. It was another
player.
“…!”
Natsumi’s shoulders trembled as she immediately began typing into the chat window.
[—Oh, what do you think you’re doing? Are you pretending to be careless, or did you act like
that on purpose?]
Then,she noticed Tohka and Yoshino who both wore surprised expressions. After seeing their
reactions, Natsumi frowned and said, “Whoops.”
“W-What…? That was just what [Crime] said.”
“Natsumi, you are really powerful!”
“Wow, you type so fast!”
“…Ah, so that’s what you’re surprised about.”
Natsumi’s shoulders slumped, dumbfounded as she sighed and glanced back at the screen again.
As Natsumi thought about how to cope with this new character, the status meter shown on the
character’s head quickly decreased.
“Huh…?
“Ugh…”
It seemed that the character had sustained injuries all over their body, and was bleeding heavily.
Immediately afterwards, the character slumped into a coffin—a sign of death in this game.
“H-H-How could this be…?”
[AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!]
While Natsumi was stunned by what had happened, other players noticed this and screamed.
This wasn’t a surprise. This city was considered a safe area that monsters couldn’t enter, and it
was usually impossible to die in the city, so it made sense that everyone would be so surprised.
As a result, at that moment, another player character approached [Crime].
[Get back here! That guy killed him!]
“H-Huh?”
The other party spoke clearly and confidently and continued to catch Natsumi by surprise.
…It was obvious that trouble was just waiting to happen. Natsumi took a deep breath and while
facing the keyboard, she wanted to leave the scene smoothly.
[“Sorry, I’m in a hurry right now. Hahaha, sorry—”]
However, while she was typing—
The screen suddenly turned a blinding flash of white light and then a new character appeared in
front of [Crime] and the others.
◇◇◇
“Whoa… What a lively place. Is this the so-called Central City?”
Shido stepped into the city and admired the city in awe.
This city is so different from the cities they’d visited in the past. It was certainly much larger and
the way the buildings were organized and the number of people coming and going were very
different. The surroundings were bursting with life, and most of all: vocal. Shido could
understand why some players would rather not fight monsters and rather simply enjoy life in a
fantasy world.
“That is to say, it’s so lively here~! And I can’t help thinking about how many girls there are.
This is really fun~! I always thought people who play these kinds of games were usually boys~!”
Miku excitedly said as she was playing next to Shido.
So Yamai Kaguya and Yamai Yuzuru, who were sitting across from them, flashed an evil smile.
“Hehehe… If you take everything you see as true at face value, you will suffer.”
“Advice. Someone using a female character does not always indicate a woman.”
“Eh?!”
Miku listened to what the two said and shrieked in horror. The Yamai sisters laughed, amused.
“I hate this! Why would they do that kind of thing? This sort of trap is too disgusting~! I think
that boys should only be allowed to use male characters, honestly~!”
“…Hey.”
Shido heard what Miku said and glared at her blankly.
This was understandable. Shido looked around the four characters standing side by side on the
screen.
Kaguya’s Dark Knight [†Phantom Night†], Yuzuru’s Silent Hunter [Yuzu], Miku’s Magician
[Milk]—and Shido’s beautiful Priestess [Shiorin].
It was clear that Shido’s character was Miku’s fault, as she had secretly transformed him into a
cute girl when he left his seat vacant for only a moment.
However, Miku had probably either forgotten that, or didn’t care about the contradiction in her
words. Shido only sighed cynically and then said:
“Anyway, where’s the armor shop?”
That’s right, Shido and his team were visiting the city to gather intelligence, replenish their
supplies, and buy some new gear.
There was a rumor that the legendary player [Fatima] has hidden treasure. Kaguya and Yuzuru
stumbled upon a clue for where that treasure might be by mistake, so they asked Miku and Shido
to help them find it, leading them to start playing this game… but on the way to finding the
treasure, they got caught in a mysterious sticky trap and ended up losing their equipment.
“Ah, I found it!”
After speaking, Kaguya pointed to the store just in front of them. There stood a large store with a
shield-shaped emblem.
“Guidance. Come, let’s all go in.”
At Kaguya and Yuzuru’s urging, Miku and Shido stepped into the store after them.
The store itself had a wide variety of armor and robes. He could see characters who he figured
were adventurers looking for useful goods in the store.
“Okay, you two should first look for gear that your profession can actually equip and use.”
“Oh, I see.”
“I understand—A-Ah!”
Miku suddenly shouted and Shido couldn’t help but widen his eyes in surprise.
“What’s the matter? Is something wrong, Miku?”
“[Blessed Vest]! This! I really want this!”
Miku pointed excitedly at what looked like a combination of both underwear and corset, and also
picked a pair of garter sets along the way.
“H-Hey… don’t just judge it just by the appearance! You have to confirm that it’s a good piece
of gear…”
“We have to buy this for [Shiorin] to wear!”
“Why?! I would never wear such a thing!”
Shido couldn’t help but shout out loudly. Even if it was just a game, walking around outside with
that kind of clothing, you’d have to be out of your mind!
Ding-dong! At that moment, the doorbell of the Itsuka household rang.
“…”
He suddenly felt an ominous premonition, and Shido remained silent. Rather than because of the
unexpected guest, he was concerned about leaving his computer unattended while Miku and the
Yamai sisters were around.
“…I’ll just say it now: don’t touch the computer while I’m away.”
“H-Huh? What are you talking about~? I would never do such a thing~!”
Miku’s eyes were wide and innocent as she spoke such nonsense. Shido could feel sweat trail
down his cheeks.
But he had to answer the door. Shido then left the living room after the doorbell rang again and
walked towards the entrance.
So a few minutes later—
“I told you not to touch my computer!”
He quickly rushed back to the living room and returned to his monitor as he shouted.
His reaction was understandable. Because Shido’s character [Shiorin] on the screen was wearing
the [Blessed Vest] mentioned earlier.
“Ah~! It really suits you, [Shiorin]~!”
“Acknowledgement. Not only does it look good, it also has a high defense, and can tolerate
many abnormal conditions, such as poison, paralysis, sleeping… avoiding DB? What’s that?”
“Doesn’t that mean debuff? If you can avoid being weakened by the enemy’s attributes and
abilities, wouldn’t it be super strong?”
“But you shouldn’t force me to wear this kind of thing! I don’t want to wear this!”
Shido was quick to operate the mouse to change [Shiorin]’s gear.
However, no matter how many times he clicked, only a skull symbol and the “wrong” sound
effect was displayed.
“Cursed?!”
That’s right. Contrary to the name [Blessed Vest], this equipment was cursed and could not be
removed.
“Hey! How do I take this thing off?! Is this shop cursed or something?!”
“Ah, no, it’s not. We bought this gear and then used an item to cast a spell. That item was called
[Bell of Grievance], and it’s very rare.”
“Description. By the way, there are no items that can lift the curse on that gear.”
“What the hell are you talking about? I’m serious!”
His high pitched voice went up another octave to indicate the intention of protest, but… there
was no way to change it, only to hope to get the gear to remove the curse quickly. Thinking that,
he waited for everyone to buy their own equipment.
Soon, everyone finished shopping. The dark knight in dark armor, the silent hunter equipped
with leather armor for easy movement, the magician in cute robes, and a priestess who was
somehow wearing only sexy lingerie formed a very strange team.
“Okay, let’s go and find [Fatima]’s treasure!”
“Answer. Whoa~”
“Wow~”
“…I won’t forget this…”
Shido muttered resentfully as they walked out of the armor shop together.
At that moment, more and more noises were heard among other player characters walking down
the road. D i s cor d . gg /d a t e a l i ve
“Wow… um…?”
Shido thought in the beginning that it was because of [Shiorin] walking down the road in only
underwear, which was too striking, but it seemed not to be the case. It sounded like something
was going on in the street.
[“AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”]
[“He’s dead!”]
[“It’s a PK! He was killed by a PK!”]
With such shouts, the player characters that were originally gathered began to scatter.
“A PK… are they in the city?”
“It’s strange. If this kind of commotion took place in the Central City, I feel like they’d be
targeted by the Self-Defense Forces.”
“…”
After hearing this sentence, Shido said nothing. The reason was obvious, because Kaguya’s eyes
were shining with excitement.
“We should also make a run for it…”
“What are you talking about? Encountering a PK is rare; we can’t afford to miss this
opportunity!”
“Acknowledgement. Let’s go, Shido, Miku.”
“Okay!”
“Anyway, it’s just a game so it doesn’t really matter, but you have to settle down.”
Shido sighed while operating [Shiorin] to chase behind [†Phantom Night†] and [Yuzu].
Soon after, they spotted five characters standing in the middle of a deserted road. There were
four female characters and one male character facing them.
In terms of the situation, the lone male character seemed to be the PK, a silver-haired man
wearing a dark coat. Although it was just a game screen, there was still a strange sense of
oppression and an ominous atmosphere.
“…I have a really bad feeling about this… umm?”
Shido couldn’t help but frown when he spotted the man’s status plate. But that was to be
expected of course. Because what was listed there:
[Fatima] Level 99. Sex: Male. Occupation: World Destroyer.

This player must be the one that Kaguya referred to as the legendary player.
“H-Hey, so this guy is…”
Just when Shido was about to talk to Kaguya, he suddenly noticed something.
[†Phantom Night†] and [Yuzu] had disappeared while Shido was confirming the man’s
information.
[“…Yes, maybe…”]
[“—Wait a minute!”]
[“Appearance. Since [Yuzu] and the others are here, they must draw a blade to assist!”]
The muscles in Shido’s face twitched with an ominous premonition, [†Phantom Night†] and
[Yuzu] spoke out loud as they intervened between the man and the four girls.
His ominous hunch came true. In such a typical scene, how could the heroic Kaguya and Yuzuru
not want to join the fight?
[“Hey, are you okay?”]
[“Huh? Oh, I’m fine. How about you?”]
[†Phantom Night†] finished speaking, and the beautiful woman wearing a witch hat answered
with a confused expression.
[†Phantom Night†] gently pulled on her hair and said:
[“Ah! Anonymous pawns are not enough! I can’t just sit back and let players bully those weaker
than themselves—!”]
Without so much as speaking, [Fatima] raised his hand and the spot where [†Phantom Night†]
stood promptly exploded.
[“What are you doing! You can’t attack while someone else is speaking. Don’t you understand
even that common courtesy?!”]
[“Um, would people who follow the rules consider PKing…?”]
Shido whispered curiously, [Fatima] simply raised his hand again toward [†Phantom Night†].
“This isn’t good…!”

Kaguya frantically clicked the mouse to get [†Phantom Night†] out of the way, but it was too
late—! But at that moment—
[“—Holy stab!”]
That voice sounded from… somewhere, and countless blades of light immediately descended
towards [Fatima].
[Fatima] promptly jumped away from the spot to avoid the attacks.
[“This is…”]
They looked toward the source of the attack and spotted the figures of three adventurers.
One of them, the Paladin [Ani], looked around and pointed his sword at [Fatima].
[“—I finally found you, you thief! Let us settle things right here and now.”]
[“…Oh?”]
Then, [Fatima] who had been silent up until now finally said:
[“Hearing your voice… so it turns out that’s what happened. Oh… I only came here on a whim, I
never would have guessed I’d run into you here.”]
After he finished speaking, [Fatima] smiled arrogantly.
Noticing this, Kaguya let out a disappointed groan.
[“…Hey! What’s with the atmosphere of this dispute! They shouldn’t be leaving me out of
this!”]
[“That, uh…”]
[“—Interesting. Goodbye, old body. Before long, the name [Fatima] will belong to me alone.”]
Just when Shido didn’t know how to answer, [Fatima] waved his hand. The screen then glowed
with a dazzling light and no one could see anything for a moment.
[“Huh…!”]
The next moment, the image was back, and [Fatima] had disappeared without a trace.
[“…So?”]
Several minutes had passed.

In a tavern in the corner of Central City, the character [Crime] sighed in dissatisfaction.
[“Why do we have to deal with this? We’re just victims implicated in what happened.”]
[“I understand. I just wanted to ask about something about the guy that appeared just now.”]
It was the Paladin [Ani] who managed to repel [Fatima] just now as he tried to appeal to [Crime].
That’s right. After that incident, [Ani] said that he wanted to ask about the full details of what
just happened, so he invited all the characters present to this tavern.
Shido looked around at all the other characters sitting at the round table in sequence.
[†Phantom Night†] Level 38. Sex: Male. Occupation: Dark Knight.
[Yuzu] Level 38. Sex: Female. Occupation: Silent Hunter.
[Milk] Level 10. Sex: Female. Occupation: Magician.
[Shiorin] Level 10 Sex: Female. Occupation: Priestess.
These four were all members of Shido’s team.
[Ani] Level 80. Sex: Male. Occupation: Paladin.
[Toriko] Level 21. Sex: Female. Occupation: Warrior.
[Orion] Level 21. Sex: Male. Occupation: Thief.
These three were members of [Ani]’s team, who’d rescued them.
[Crime] Level 45. Sex: Female. Occupation: Senior Alchemist.
[Yoshua] Level 1. Gender: Female. Occupation: Farmer.
[Katoh] Level 1: Gender: Female. Occupation: Carpenter.
These three were the girls who’d been confronted by [Fatima], and—
[Mary] Level 16. Sex: Female. Occupation: Bard.
—A young girl who’d asked them for help.
[“So who is the other party, do you have any clues about them? Why would he just stare at
you?”]
[“I don’t know. We were just implicated.”]
[“Are those two people over there the same?”]
[Ani] addressed the topic to the two people who were sitting next to [Crime]. After a moment’s
pause, [Yoshua] and [Katoh] replied:
[“Hello. I am Yoshua.”]
[“7gspj”.]
“…What did you say?”

[Ani] asked, confused. [Crime] clapped a hand to her face with a frustrated look.
[“…Sorry, these two aren’t used to typing just yet.”]
[“Eh…”]
[Ani] scratched his head uncertainly and then turned his gaze on [†Phantom Night†] and his
party.
[So what about you?]
[“Oh, we were just trying to be brave.”]
[“Question. More importantly, [Ani], what is your relationship with [Fatima]?”]
“…”
Faced with [Yuzu]’s question, [Ani] immediately fell silent.
At the same time, Kaguya said aloud, “Huh was that really [Fatima] just now?” And Yuzuru spat
at her: “Amazement. How did Kaguya not realize it?”
[“Doubt. [Yuzu] is unwilling to believe that the legendary player [Fatima] is a villain. Before
asking other people for information, shouldn’t you explain your reasons first?”]
After hearing what [Yuzu] said, [Ani] sighed in defeat.
[“…I guess that there’s no helping it. I hope you can keep this a secret…”]
[“Actually… I am [Fatima]…”]
[“Eh…?”]
[“…What do you mean by that?”]
Having heard such an unexpected confession, everyone sitting at the round table in the tavern
was filled with confusion. [Ani] only shrugged and then said:
[“It’s exactly like I said. [Fatima] was originally a character that I created. After continuous
training, I was the first person in “Polaris” to reach level 99… but a few years ago, after not
playing for a long time for personal reasons, when I went to log in, it showed ‘Wrong
Password.’”]
[“Doesn’t that mean someone stole your account?”]
After hearing what [Crime] said, [Ani] nodded in response.

[“Then, at that time, rumors of an evil PK named [Fatima] started coming out. Someone has been
using my [Fatima] to cause chaos everywhere—of course, I tried to complain to the developers,
but I never got a response, so I want to hunt him down and teach him a lesson myself.”]
After he finished speaking, [Ani] slammed his fist into the wooden table.
Shido rubbed his chin and muttered, “So that’s what happened.” But what [Ani] said couldn’t be
believed from his words alone. …Though based on what he said, he could understand why
[Fatima] behaved the way he did.
At that moment, Kaguya clapped her hands as though she remembered something and then
started typing on the keyboard.
[“Oh, so if you are [Fatima], then would you be able to recognize this?”]
At that moment, [†Phantom Night†] and pulled out the “letter” from her inventory. That’s right.
The main reason they went through everything was to discover [Fatima]’s whereabouts.
[Ani] stared at the letter intently for several seconds before letting out an “Ah…” in realization.
[“I forgot all about it. But yes, I did write such a thing. After beating the Big Demon King, I
managed to get a series of legendary equipment. But, because it was too powerful, it could
disrupt the balance of this world, so I had to hide that equipment in the corners of the world.”]
[“S-So these treasures are really real!”]
[“Question. However, when we searched, there were no treasures located in the places
mentioned. Could it be someone—for example, someone like [Fatima]—already found out about
them and robbed them?”]
[“Hmm? Not necessarily. If something that powerful was discovered, wouldn’t it be strange if
they weren’t using it? What’s more, even if they knew the location, it still may not be easily
accessible.”]
[“Eh? What does that mean?”]
After [Milk] inquired, [Ani] raised a finger (the fact that each action was so detailed in a game
was really impressive) and said:
[“I used two different types of the teleportation spell on a timer, so the treasures would randomly
move around to other locations all around the world. So to be completely honest, I don’t even
know where the treasures are now.”]
[“Huh? Then you might as well have never gotten them!”]

[“Hmm… perhaps. A while back, there used to be a way to know exactly where those pieces of
equipment were, but now, for various reasons there’s no way to use that trick anymore.”]
[“Well… then let me ask you this. Is this series of legendary equipment really that powerful?”]
[“Ah… there’s the [Undead Chain Armor] that can restore health the moment it’s lost, the [Death
Sword] that can kill an opponent with a single strike, and the [Speed Boots] that allow you to
move 100 times faster. As long as you have at least one of them, you can avoid all abnormal
states and weakened attributes and enemy abilities.”]
[“This… wouldn’t those really break the game… More to the point, can’t just the [Speed Boots]
alone cause some major problems in the game?]
[“That’s exactly right. To be honest, just looking at it made me feel dizzy immediately, so I
decided to seal them away.”]
[Yuzu] looked up as though she remembered something else.
[“Remembrance. [Yuzu] and the others walked into a trap nearby on our way over to this place.
That wouldn’t be from [Fatima], would it?”]
After hearing that sentence, [Ani] made an “Ah…” sound as he scratched his chin and
responded:
[“It is possible. It’s really efficient to lay traps at the sites where the treasures are buried to catch
any adventurers who want to steal the treasure.]
After [Ani] finished speaking, [Toriko] and [Orion] who were sitting next to him nodded their
agreement.
[“Hmm… so because of this, we also got caught.”]
[“So it really was left by [Fatima]?”]
He nodded when he finished speaking. It seemed that they had also suffered at [Fatima]’s hands.
[“Ah~! There was one other thing I’m very concerned about, can I ask about it~?”]
It was at that moment that [Milk] controlled by Miku spoke up.
[“Well, what is it?”]
[“[Ani], the tone of your speech is just like that of a girl… could it be that you are a girl~?”]
[“Oh, yeah. Didn’t I mention it before? Ah, by the way, [Orion] here is also a girl who prefers to
use male characters.”]
[Ani] replied casually. In response, [Milk] bounced up and down excitedly.
[“Ah~! So that’s what it was! Ah, if that’s case, then let’s just talk about that~!”]
[“Ahaha, sorry, sorry. However, isn’t such a thing pretty common in this game? Using different
gender roles, I mean. For example, [†Phantom Night†], are you also a girl?”]
[“H-How did you figure that out!”]
[Well, as long as you pay attention to the small details in speech and movement, you could
probably figure it out…]
[Ani] spoke while looking around the round table.
“…!”
Shido breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that [Ani] was a very experienced veteran player; even
if she’d pretended to be the opposite sex, it could be seen through. That is to say, she could also
see that Shido who was using the beautiful female character wearing little else aside from
underwear was a boy—
[“Well, everyone else here is a girl, so there’s are no problems here.”]
“…Why?!”
After reading [Ani]’s sentence, Shido couldn’t help but shout out in the real world. Miku and the
Yamai sisters laughed at his misfortune.
“Well…?”
At that moment, [Crime] made a faint noise.
She seemed to be focusing on the “letter” that [†Phantom Night†]. She slowly read it word for
word and remained silent for a moment.
[“…These coordinates, won’t it be where I live…”]
After a moment, [Crime] suddenly looked up.
[“…Let me ask this, is [Fatima] the kind of person who would destroy a house that’s already
there if they were searching for a treasure?”]
[“Eh? This is the PK we’re talking about, so he would likely do that kind of thing without a
second thought.”]
[“…So your name is [Ani], right? You need to find that guy [Fatima] and punish him severely?”]
[“Oh, um, yeah.”]
[“If you don’t mind, we also want to help find him… Actually, we also have a deep hatred for
him.”]
[Crime] explained, but the resentment was clear. [Ani] was momentarily startled but nodded.
[“Really? Of course, I would be grateful for help. I would love to have help from high ranking
players. However, the two of you should probably get some more practice.”]
[“I’ll try my best.”]
[“g;pks.”]
[“Ahaha! OK! OK! Just leave it to me!”]
[“[Ani] laughed confidently as she flashed a thumbs up.”]
[†Phantom Night†] then added:
[“Come on! I’m also someone with the same goal: to punish the fake hero that tricked me!”]
[“Translation. [†Phantom Night†] says that she wants to join your team too.”]
[“Really? That would be a big help. Even though my level is pretty high, with this character
alone, there’s no way I can beat [Fatima].”]
[“Hehe! Leave it to me! Let me show you my dark power!”]
Everyone sitting at that round table in the pub showed a motivated attitude.
But at that moment, [Toriko] spoke calmly:
[“—But what should we do specifically? Not only do we not know where [Fatima] is, he usually
uses… is it called a “Shadow Curtain”? …That equipment that can conceal names and other such
information. So where do we even start? Do we just have to wait for another attack to occur?”]
“Well, that…”
It was here that when [Ani] said that—

[“Then… that…!”]
The girl who’d kept silent so far—[Mary] suddenly spoke up.
[“Thank you so much for helping me. I’m sorry for thanking you so late.”]
[“Oh, it’s okay, it’s okay. I did do it without permission.”]
[“Don’t say that…”]
[Mary] hesitated and then continued:
[“I c-can help out too…!”]
[“Huh? Do you want to join the team too?”]
[“T-Then… how about this? I don’t deserve such a thing, but… I think I probably know where
that guy is.”]
[“…? What do you mean?”]
After [Ani] asked, [Mary] fidgeted nervously and began to speak:
[“That… actually, my boyfriend was the one who was murdered by [Fatima].”]
[“Huh, is that true?”]
[“Yes… well in the game, it’s a relationship between a man and a woman, but in reality I haven’t
actually met him myself.”]
[Mary] scratched her head in embarrassment and then said:
[“So, something like that… It’s a little difficult to tell, but my boyfriend seemed to work with
that [Fatima] to do bad things…”]
[“So, something like that… ]
[“Do bad things?”]
[“Yeah… When [Fatima] got stolen rare items, he then takes them to RMT for money…”]
[What is RMT~?”]
The person who asked the question was [Milk]. [Crime] was the one to explain it to her:
[“RMT means Real Money Trading. In short, it means to illegally sell gear in the game for real
money. A ban is being considered as a result…” ]
[“Ah! So that’s what it means! So in short [Crime], you are so smart and beautiful. I seemed to
have gotten a disease that would like me to spoil the pretty older sister! Can you please treat it?”]
[“…What is she even talking about? That’s a bit surprising…”]
[Crime] spoke with a confused expression while Shido smiled weakly.
[Ani] ignored the two of them as he slowly put a hand to his chin thoughtfully.
[“So~ When the PK wasn’t satisfied with what he had, he decided to steal my [Fatima] to do
those sorts of things.]
[“That’s right… after I talked to him, he said that he would stop doing these terrible things and
go to the other party to negotiate… originally, that was supposed to be the end of it…”]
[“So… he’s just killing other players to vent his anger. He really does whatever he wants. I really
want to beat him just to deal with my anger.”]
After hearing that sentence, Shido felt his breath catch in his throat. Despite this, he was still able
to reply calmly even as he felt the anger course through—wait, his character was a female…
[“So, [Mary]. Can you tell me where we can find this guy?”]
[“Y-Yes… I remember that my boyfriend mentioned a place before, where he said that they keep
gear stolen from other players’ characters… There’s no doubt that he will appear there…!”]
[Ani] heard what [Mary] said as she crossed her arms and muttered to herself.
[“It turned out that I actually got some important information. However, I don’t think that he’ll
always be guarding that stronghold. Even if the traitors are killed, their real-world counterparts
are still alive and well. And there’s no doubt that they’re also going to want revenge. If we want
to attack here, we have to do it today. Sorry, but there’s no chance for anyone to level up.”]
Finally, [Ani] looked around at everyone else sitting around the round table. It seemed he was
asking for their opinions.
So everyone else responded to her with understanding responses.
[“Rice kdsd point k.”]
[Katoh] managed to type some sort of message, and [Crime] was quick to translate for him.
[“S-Sorry, but may we take a break?”]
[Huh? Sure, but what was she saying?”]

[“This one said that she was hungry.”]
“Huh…”
[Ani] nodded in understanding.
At that moment, Shido also let out a quick noise before glancing at the clock hanging on the
living room wall. It was 6:00 pm. At that moment, it wasn’t a surprise that everyone was starting
to get hungry for dinner.
“Oops, it’s already that late, I still have to prepare dinner…”
Shido sweated from his forehead before typing a message of his own on the keyboard.
[“Sorry, I also have to go offline to prepare dinner.”]
[Oh, [Shiorin] could it be that you’re a housewife? Oops~ It’s good for a wife like you to be able
to play characters with such sexy underwear~!” ]
“…”
He was starting to doubt that [Ani] was actually a female player. Shido remained silent while
Miku and the Yamai sisters laughed.
[“Hmm… OK, OK. So how about everyone go eat dinner, take a shower, and then gather here
again at around 10:00 pm?”]
[“Sounds good. I understand.”]
[That’s fine. I’ll see you at the appointed place.]
[Okay… I’ll be relying on you…”]
Everyone from each team replied like this—as they logged out in quick succession.
◇◇◇
—The time was 7:00 pm.
“Oh, thank you for the food!”
“Thank you for the food!”
Everyone sitting at the Itsuka dining table said loudly.

Before, the Itsuka household was only occupied by Shido, the Yamai sisters, and Miku, but now
several other Spirits had now gathered. The dining table could not seat so many people, so the
living room was also filled with dishes.
Today’s dish was hand-rolled sushi. Although it took a little bit of time to make vinegar rice, it
was a relatively quick dish to prepare, and it was easy to adjust the quantity according to how
many people were coming, which made it an easy dish to make.
“Ah~ Um… um!”
Because the bread was loaded with ingredients, the shape of the sushi was a little ugly. However,
that didn’t stop Tohka from stuffing it into her mouth with a delighted expression.
“Umu… this is delicious! It’s really delicious, Shido!”
“Haha, I’m glad you like it.”
After Shido finished speaking, Kotori tilted her head with a puzzled expression on her face.
“Still, didn’t you make any other dishes?”
“Huh? Oh, that’s…”
Shido didn’t know how to answer that question. The reason was, of course, because he didn’t
have any time to prepare dinner since he was distracted playing the game… but Shido would feel
guilty having to admit that, so instead he coughed a few times to dodge the question.
“Ah, no, never mind that… Anyway, everyone came to dinner late today. What happened?”
“Muu? Oh! Oh, right, Shido! You have to listen to this! I was playing a game online with
Natsumi—!”
“AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
Tohka was halfway through the sentence when Natsumi suddenly started shouting.
“Hey, Tohka… don’t talk about that…”
“Muu… I know! Keep the fact that we were playing online games with Natsumi a secret!”
“Just say that you’ll keep it a secret!”
Natsumi couldn’t help but yell at her. Faced with the usual conversation, Shido chuckled wryly.
It seemed that Tohka was playing a game in Natsumi’s room. There was nothing to hide…
After noticing Natsumi’s appearance, Nia’s glasses glinted in the light.

“Hmm? What’s the matter, Nattsun? Why are you so nervous about playing games? Could it be
that—”
“Eh…!”
Natsumi heard what Nia said and her body began to tremble. After Nia snickered, he suddenly
pointed at Natsumi.
“Nattsun! I bet you had Tohka play an erotic game, right?! And she looks so shaken… so not a
pure love game, but rather a humiliation game?!”
“Pooh—!”
After hearing what Nia said, both Natsumi and Shido couldn’t help but choke on their food.
“N-Natsumi, you shouldn’t…”
“D-Don’t believe her! Ahhhhhhhh! How can I play that kind of game?!”
“Eh~ You should be honest about it, Nattsun. Oh, I’m so happy right now. I didn’t expect to have
beautiful girl gamers around. Let’s talk all night long~ I really want to learn more about
Nattsun’s hobby. My personal guess is that it’s for all ages or for newbies.”
“Don’t just try to guess other people’s hobbies!”
Natsumi slammed her hands on the table as she wailed. After laughing for a while, Nia suddenly
remembered something as she thumped her fist against her palm.
“…Ah, yes. Sorry, I have something to take care of at 10:00 pm tonight. I’ll talk to you
tomorrow.”
“10:00 pm? What’s going on then~?”
Miku tilted her head as she asked. Nia, in reply, simply narrowed her eyes mysteriously and
sighed.
“Hmm… it’s a bit troublesome. To put it simply—it’s a man’s business.”
“E-Eh…!”
Nia’s vague speech made Miku’s eyes widen.
“Nia, you… what do you mean?”
“It’s not anything serious. I’m also an adult woman so is it really surprising to have something
like this?”
Finally, Nia flashed a charming look at them. The Spirits, in response, cast looks of amazement,
suspicion, or frustration with her.
◇◇◇
And that night.
The temporary team gathered together to defeat [Fatima] made their way towards Devil’s City, a
challenging maze located on the eastern end of the main continent.
It was a huge and ancient city with a very ominous atmosphere, filled with magic and
illuminated by the moon’s glow. Although it was just the game’s visual design, looking at the
appearance alone gave off a sense of intimidation that made new players want to run away.
[“I never would have guessed that he would hide in such a place. It makes sense that no one
would want to come anywhere near here.”]
[Ani] rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he spoke. Shido tilted his head as he typed.
[“Is there something special about this place?”]
[“Well, it’s one of the most difficult labyrinths in “Polaris”. The enemies aren’t as strong as that
makes it sound, but still, you need a super high level character to get in and out easily.”]
[“If that’s the case… then wouldn’t that mean that we can’t get in either?”]
[“Don’t worry!”]
In response to [Shiorin]’s question was [Mary] who brought them there.
[“According to what my boyfriend told me, to get into this area…”]
[Mary] spoke as she began to fumble around the city walls.
Soon after, she pressed on a particular spot with a “click” and a piece of the ground split open,
revealing stairs that led underground.
[“Oh! A secret door!”]
[“Hmm, indeed, he would have to take care of it himself. If business partners couldn’t get in and
out freely, it would become quite troublesome. It makes perfect sense that they would have such
things in place.”]
[Ani] nodded in agreement and glanced back at the rest of the party.
[“—Alright, everyone, are you ready? The plan is just as I explained before.”]
Everyone nodded… or rather, it was suspected based on how well the players were able to
operate their characters as they nodded in response.
They had all discussed the important matter of their battle plan before coming here.
[Shiorin], [Milk], and the other defensive magic characters were to continuously chant support
spells to strengthen the team while weakening the enemy’s defenses. Meanwhile, the higher-level
professional groups led by [Ani] would surround and attack [Fatima] from all sides.
Incidentally, because [Katoh] and [Yoshua] were both level 1 characters, their responsibility was
to keep pelting [Fatima] with stones which dealt a fixed amount of damage to the opponent
regardless of their level. It was a combat strategy that used the character’s characteristics and
sheer numbers to defeat the enemy.
In fact, when the player now controlling [Ani] used to play as [Fatima], they’d dealt with this
kind of tactic before in disputes with larger guilds, but she was able to use all the gear in her
inventory to save herself and get out.
[“In order to win a war, we need a large number of forces. A hero can’t hope to beat a hundred
enemies on their own. It’s a foolish dream to think that one can reach the strongest of titles alone,
just based on how the game is designed.”] Honestly, no one wanted to hear such a legendary
player say that.
Shido and his team, however, would also be relying on this strategy in order to defeat [Fatima].
Of course, if [Fatima] had an ally of his own, then it would be a different story. However, given
the fact that the other party took it upon himself to deal with traitors, they suspected that there
were simply not enough people for that to work.
[“—Good. So while everyone is fighting [Fatima], [Orion] and [Toriko] will handle stealing his
account information.”]
[“Just leave it to me. Once I discover his account username and password, I can determine his
address, name, age, and even how many cavities he has.”]
[“Whoa! You are really reliable, [Orion]! I feel like if we were enemies, my whole body would
turn to fluff just thinking about it.”]
[“…You shouldn’t say such terrible things. That’s terrifying.”]
[Toriko] spoke helplessly. In fact, both [Crime] and [Mary] were clearly terrified. [Orion]… what
was he planning to do with that sacred information?
[Don’t worry. I don’t plan on misusing his personal information. I just intend to get back
[Fatima]’s account and then send a threatening letter to his house at the same time to warn him
not to do such a thing ever again.”]
[“The first thing seems reasonable enough, but the second thing feels that it would be a violation
of public security regulations…”]
[Toriko] crossed her arms disapprovingly. However, [Ani] didn’t care. She raised a hand and then
led the others down the stairs.
[“Alright everyone, let’s go. Don’t fall behind!”]
[“Yeah!”]
All of the team members responded to her as they snuck underground in the order of strikers,
senior members, auxiliary, trebuchet, and then [Mary] bringing up the rear.
Shido was so nervous that he found himself swallowing his saliva to moisten his throat, as all of
their characters walked down the stairs.
They’d lost track of how long they had been walking down the steps, but the group finally
reached the door.
[“Alright—Let’s go!”]
[Ani] took the lead as he broke through. The rest of the team immediately swarmed around the
room. [Shiorin] immediately followed their lead and promptly began to chant her first spell.
Although he was outnumbered, the opponent was the most powerful character [Fatima]. Shido
and his allies had to take advantage of the situation and win by defeating the enemy as quickly as
possible.
However—
[“…Huh?”]
Because of what [Ani] just said, the tension among their surroundings immediately disappeared.
The reason was simple: [Fatima] was not in the room.
[“Huh… He is not here yet. Then let’s go look at that storage box. If there’s any gear in there, it
means he probably hasn’t had the chance to sell it yet, so let’s set up a trap there first.”]
[“Understood!”]
Following [Ani]’s instructions, everyone began to investigate the equipment storage boxes
placed around the room.
At that moment—
[“—Dress Break.”]
Such a spell came suddenly from out of nowhere.
[“Huh…!”]
[Ani]’s voice sounded panicked.
The next moment, the whole room was bathed in light—and the gear worn by all the team
members suddenly shattered.
[“H-Huh?!”]
Someone made a panicked noise. However, such a reaction was reasonable. This was because the
now half-naked characters blushed and made a gesture to cover their bodies with their hands.
Incidentally, male characters like [Ani], [†Phantom Night†], and [Orion] also acted in the same
way which was incredibly humiliating.
[“What! How is this happening?! I can’t move!”]
[“Panic. The screen displays the text “Too embarrassed to move.”]
[“Does such an abnormal state actually exist?! I had no idea!]
[Ani] shouted anxiously.
At that moment, the figure standing behind [Shiorin] trembled a little—it was [Mary].
[“Huh?”]
[Shiorin]’s breath got stuck in her throat. [Mary]’s attractive figure suddenly turned black, and
then turned into a man dressed in black.
This was the appearance of [Fatima] that [Shiorin] remembered seeing on the street before.
The [Shadow Curtain] was an item that could change the appearance and personal information of
the user.
[[Fatima]! What did you do to [Mary]?]

[Shiorin] demanded, [Fatima] shrugged and snickered.
[“She should be waking up soon on the street where the game starts—Fortunately, we’ve been
away for a while.”]
[“Huh… so you’ve been pretending to be [Mary] since everyone split up?!”]
[“Exactly. I didn’t expect my creator to be fooled—you are so careless. While your ability to
understand [Fatima] is indeed outstanding, you should just give up here.”]
After hearing what [Fatima] said, [Ani] groaned regretfully.
[“But I never taught [Fatima] a spell to destroy a character’s outfit! Where did you learn that?!”]
[“After the game was updated a while ago.”]
[“…Wha—”]
[Ani]’s eyes widened as she realized what he meant: Online games were always changing with
each passing day, and new features were added regularly. It was understandable that [Ani], who
hadn’t played the game for a few years, wouldn’t know.
[“But… there’s still one person who managed to escape my spell.”]
[“Huh?”]
At that moment, Shido realized that among all the characters who couldn’t move because of a
semi-nude state, only [Shiorin] was still standing, her previous state unchanged. …Since he was
essentially already semi-naked to start with, he hadn’t noticed it before now.
[“Was it really just a fluke—no, that shameful costume has the ability of avoiding Dress Break…
right? I just assumed that you were dressed like that just out of interest and just happened to
forget about its actual function.”]
[“…”]
It seemed that DB did not mean debuff… but he was still annoyed by the second part of that
sentence. Shido remained silent but glared angrily at [Fatima].
Of course, the other party simply did not understand the reason behind this vicious look.
Regardless, [Fatima] raised a hand.
[“Hmph. I’ll just use ordinary magic to deal with you.”]
“Whoa…!”
Only [Shiorin] managed to avoid the DB. But if [Shiorin] was defeated here, the team would be
wiped out. Since none of them could resurrect each other, everyone would have to accept the
penalty and get sent back to the beginning of the game. Additionally, all of the gear and items
they’d brought to defeat [Fatima] would also be taken.
But even though they had to avoid such a situation, the levels between the two of them were very
far apart. [Fatima] chanted spells leisurely as beams gathered in his hand.
[“Vhlkl;:”]
A strange line of text appeared on screen and a stone hit [Fatima].
[“—Huh?”]
[Fatima] looked around at the source of the stone with a confused expression on his face.
Then he saw that among the half naked adventurers, a figure of the carpenter [Katoh] who was
holding a stone—one of the level 1 players.
“…Tohka? How is [Katoh] able to move freely!”
In the Spirit Mansion, Natsumi made a startled noise while looking at Tohka.
“I don’t know! However, I can still fight! Take this!”
After Tohka finished speaking, [Katoh] on screen continued throwing stones at [Fatima]. But…
[Fatima]’s health hardly changed.
But the most important thing was to figure out why even [Crime] who had a high resistance to
magic was still weak to the dress breaking magic but [Katoh] was able to survive. As Natsumi
peaked at Tohka’s inventory—
“—Eh?”
Spotting an odd item at the bottom of her inventory, Natsumi’s breath caught in her throat.
“T-Tohka! Where did you get that item?”
“Muu…? Oh! It’s something that came out of the mud and stone when I was digging in the
ground before.”
“This is impossible…”
Natsumi took a breath.

Back when Natsumi was teaching Tohka how to prepare the ground as Tohka didn’t understand
how to do it herself.
And this was deep in the forest where Natsumi built her house, which was one of the places
where [Fatima] hid some treasures—
“…! Tohka! Do exactly as I said!”
“Muu? Oh, I got it!”
Tohka listened to what Natsumi said and nodded vigorously.
[“…Oh? It looks like there’s another person who can move.”]
[Fatima] looked up from the stone as he turned to face [Katoh].
[“Although I didn’t take any real damage, it’s still annoying. I’ll take care of you first.”]
[“Ah! [Katoh], run for it!]
Just when [Fatima] was about to cast a spell on [Katoh]—
There was a beep and a message icon appeared on the screen that read:
[“[Katoh] gave you a gift.”]
[“Huh…?”]
Shido frowned in confusion. The [Gift] feature was a method to exchange items between team
members, but… why would [Katoh] use it in this situation? After all, [Katoh] wasn’t very good
at typing or talking, maybe it was accidentally pressed—
However, Shido couldn’t help but widen his eyes when he saw the name of the gift.
[“Whoa…”]
This was understandable. Because what he received was—[Fatima]’s legendary sword, the
[Death Sword] that was previously sealed away.
[“This… what’s going on…?”]
Faced with this sudden turn of events, Shido’s thoughts couldn’t keep up with the situation. The
other members who discovered this through the team chat also reacted with surprise.
[“What…!”]
[“This is one of [Fatima]’s treasures…!”]
[Crime] seemed to have anticipated such reactions from everyone and frantically typed:
[“There’s no time to explain! Just finish [Fatima] off now!”]
“…!”
Seeing this, Shido immediately equipped the dark magic sword to [Shiorin].
Then he moved around to [Fatima]’s unprotected back as he was busy chanting to cast a spell on
[Katoh].
At that moment, [Fatima] began to tremble slightly.
[“What—That couldn’t be the [Death Sword]?! How did you get that?!”]
[“Take this!”]
[Shiorin] swung the [Death Sword] with all her might as she interrupted [Fatima]. Everyone
watched this situation and screamed out in unison and the sound overlapped with the blow.
[“Go!!!”]
[“Teach that guy who dared to use my [Fatima] however he wanted a lesson! Avenge me!”]
[“He tried to kill us all with that blast trap! Just finish him off!”]
[“…He dared to destroy my house and farmland!”]
[“Setting a sticky trap to destroy our equipment is a serious sin! He must repent for it!”]
[“…! Those things have nothing to do with me—!”]
The strongest character [Fatima] only managed to get out part of the sentence before the sword
connected with his back and he fell to the ground on the spot.
The [Death Sword], as its name suggested, was a sword that could kill the opponent in one blow.
Although they didn’t know how [Katoh] had such an item, they could figure that out later.
Now, however, everyone was reveling in the joy of victory.
[“We did it~!”]
[“We won!”]
[“Admiration. That blow was impressive.”]
Everyone was cheering happily. Shido manipulated [Shiorin] to bow to his fellow party members
and then answered:
[“Haha, thank you everyone. It was all thanks to everyone’s help. …Anyway, how do we get rid
of that DB state—”]
A dazzlingly bright explosion rang out and [Shiorin]’s health points hit zero.
“Huh…?”
Shido couldn’t help but make a panicked noise as he stared at the screen.
He spotted [Fatima] with 1 health point remaining, still standing.
[[Fatima]! How could he be alive?!”]
[“No way! Isn’t the [Death Sword] supposed to kill the opponent with one blow?!”]
[“…! I know, it must be the [Resurrection Talisman]! It’s a revival item that can revive you with
1 health when you die!”]
[Crime] shouted in alarm. As a result, Shido held his breath. In contrast, [Fatima] laughed.
[“W-Wow… hahahahahaha! It really would finish me off in a single hit! But—for now…”]
[“Ugh…”]
Shido frowned as he frantically operated the mouse. Of course, the dead [Shiorin] remained
still… even if he had the strongest item, it was useless to him now.
[“Just as a reward for pushing me this far, I’ll let you see the most powerful spell of the world’s
destroyer, infinite destruction—”]
There was a faint knocking sound, and [Fatima]’s remaining 1 health point fell to zero.
[“Huh—?”]
In the face of this unexpected turn of events, all the team members’ eyes widened in surprise.
However, just as quickly, they immediately understood what happened.
[“Hey hjkl;”]
Because [Katoh] spoke as he made the gesture of throwing a stone.
—It was because of that that they managed to defeat the most powerful character, [Fatima].
And few people would ever learn that the fatal blow that killed him was actually thanks to a
stone thrown by a level 1 adventurer.
◇◇◇
“Oh~! Everyone, thank you very much! Thanks to all of you, I can finally fulfill my purpose!”
An hour after defeating [Fatima]:
A group of people who’d recovered or were revived held a celebration in a pub in Central City.
[“No, if anything, I should be thankful. He destroyed my house and farmland so it was thanks to
you that I was able to get revenge.”]
[“Confirmation. I also got the equipment that he had, so [Yuzu] also walked away with an
advantage.”]
[“I managed to get the target’s information. We can act at any time.”]
[“…We already managed to beat him. Shouldn’t that be enough?”]
Everyone talked happily about either dangerous or peaceful things and the atmosphere around
them was very lively.
Not long ago, everyone sitting at this table was a stranger, in a strange new world, but managing
to work together to fulfill a goal produced a wonderful sense of unity. This sort of feeling could
really only be experienced in online games…
[“—Ah, yes…”]
Just as Shido was thinking about such things, [Ani] suddenly spoke up.
[“Everyone, if it’s convenient, would you all be interested in meeting in real life next time? I
don’t usually make such a suggestion, but what can I say? I feel a strange familiarity with this
team—and everyone here is a woman so it wouldn’t be awkward to meet, would it?”]
Naturally, [Milk] answered joyfully:
[“Ah~! This is a beautiful idea~! Let’s all come together and meet in real life~!”]
[“…No, I don’t like that idea very much. I don’t want to get too close to [Orion] and [Milk]…”]
On the contrary, [Crime] frowned. [Milk] responded: “Why, big sister~?”, and [Crime] became
even more alarmed.
[“I want to go.”]
[“Hmm jkl;”]
However, [Yoshua] and [Katoh] responded in opposition, [Crime] was annoyed but nonetheless
nodded reluctantly.
[“…I guess it can’t be helped, since both of them want to go…”]
[“Okay, then it’s decided! Let’s determine the date and location!”]
After cooperating with [Ani]’s suggestion, the characters all raised their glasses to congratulate
each other.
The already lively night only got livelier and livelier.
Needless to say, the subsequent parties became hotpot parties at the Itsuka household.
Mukuro Hair
There was a saying that the 8-beat rhythm used in rock music was similar to a person’s heartbeat.
Therefore, it could be said that such a rhythm could be used to potentially lead a person to an
excited state.
That said, it’s not currently known whether the rhythm being similar to that of a heartbeat is what
makes people think an actual heart is beating, but the rhythm itself had an exciting effect—
But what was certain at this moment was that there was a large-scale rock festival taking place in
Itsuka Shido’s heart.
“…! …! …”
His throat went dry as he let out a breath that matched the rhythm inside his heart. No, not only
that, but his hands were trembling, his vision was becoming blurred, and he could feel sweat
slowly trailing down his forehead to his cheeks little by little.
However, this was understandable. Shido’s gaze traveled from his right hand to the floor and
back again without saying a word. Or to be precise, his gaze was placed just above the floor.
He held a pair of scissors in his right hand.
And on the floor—strands of beautiful golden hair.
Something that shouldn’t be on the floor.
“S-Shido…”
Tohka, who was standing behind him, spoke with a worried voice. Shido, moving like a machine
that hadn’t been well oiled or refueled, slowly turned around and nodded slightly, as if to say
“Leave this to me.”
However, perhaps because Shido’s face was too pale or worried, Tohka’s couldn’t be at ease, and
that only made his expression even more uneasy.
“…”
Shido put the hand holding the scissors to his chest, tried to adjust his breathing, and began to
reorganize his thoughts to figure out how he got into such a desperate situation in the first place.
◇◇◇
—Let’s go back in time thirty minutes.
Shido sat alone on his living room sofa, staring vacantly at the book in front of him. It was 2:20
in the afternoon, and there was still a bit of free time left before he had to prepare for dinner. The
Spirits had all gone out, leaving the usually lively household more quiet than usual. It was a
perfect time for reading that he hadn’t had in a while.
Although it was a nice day, Shido wasn’t reading an academic journal, or a popular magazine, or
even a manga that high school students were interested in, but rather, a special edition of
“Today’s Recipes January Issue: Using the leftovers in the refrigerator to make delicious dishes”.
It was a family-type magazine.
“Whoa, so it’s really fake? The rest of the burnt skin can be made into a many-tier pie. It’s
actually all made of flour. I’ll have to try that next time…”
Something resonated in Shido’s heart as he folded the corner of the page. At the same time, there
was the sound of footsteps from the corridor.
“Nushi-sama? Are you home?”
A girl opened the door and called out as she walked into the living room. Shido looked up at the
sound of her voice and raised a hand to greet her.
“Oh, Mukuro. What brings you here?”
Hoshimiya Mukuro. She was a Spirit who’d just had her powers sealed not too long ago, and a
new resident of the apartment complex next to the Itsuka household.
Shido called out her name and glanced at her appearance. She had a petite body with an
unfittingly large bust, blonde hair long enough to reach the ground that had been tied into
odangos, and a braid that was wrapped around her neck. Mukuro quickly looked around and
confirmed that there was no one else present aside from Shido before exhaling.
“Mun… Only Nushi-sama is present. Perfect.”
“Perfect?”
“Verily.”
Mukuro nodded her head as she fiddled with the strands of the braid around her neck and then
said:
“Didn’t Nushi-sama promise to cut Muku’s hair before?”

Shido heard what Mukuro said and nodded as he closed the magazine.
Shido had made a promise to Mukuro before.
It was in the middle of January, after an intense battle that was critical to the survival of the earth
and everyone who lived on it. At the end, he had finally managed to seal Mukuro’s Spirit powers.
Then, one night, the two looked up at the starry sky and made the promise.
Mukuro cherished the long hair that was once praised by her sister, but because she now had a
new family in Shido, she decided to say goodbye to her past and no longer cling to this long hair.
“You mean that thing, right? Of course, I still remember. Would you like for me to cut it now?”
“Muku is sorry for bothering Nushi-sama like this. It’s hard for me to wash my hair on my own.”
“Haha, that’s true.”
“If these words were shared in front of Miku, she would surely explode.”
“…Ahahaha.”
Shido listened and couldn’t help but smile weakly. He didn’t need to think very hard about what
kind of trouble it could cause if she found out, so he didn’t bother asking.
“Anyway, I’m going to get everything ready, can you get your hair wet first?”
“Mun, Muku needs to wet my hair?”
“Yeah. It’s better to do it that way so it doesn’t get tangled. Ideally, it would be best to cut it
directly without getting wet. However, if you cut it directly, your hair will end up all over the
place. If your hair was short, we could use a spray bottle to wet it with water beforehand, but
with hair as long as yours, that will take too much time.”
“Mun, Muku understands. Then please allow me to use Nushi-sama’s bathroom to do it.”
Mukuro made her way to the bathroom with awkward steps.
Shido smiled to himself as he stood up from the sofa and began to prepare everything he would
need to help Mukuro cut her hair.
Although they hadn’t had to in recent years, Shido and Kotori used to have their haircuts done at
home. He was sure the tools were still around here somewhere. Shido rummaged through his
memories and opened the cabinet in the living room.
“Found them.”
He rummaged through the cabinet briefly before spotting the hair cutting kit and pulled out. He
found it after opening some faded packing boxes and after making sure nothing was out of place,
he returned to the living room and spread out old newspaper on the floor.
He then put a stool on the old newspaper and placed a full-length mirror across from it. From the
corridor, he could hear rapid footsteps. It seems that Mukuro had returned.
“Oh, I’m ready now. You can come and sit here and put on this shawl—”
Shido’s shoulders shook as he turned around with the shawl in hand for her haircut.
This was an expected reaction, because in front of him stood the naked figure of Mukuro. Her
hair was wet, but she hadn’t undone the braid, nor had she untied it.
“M-Mukuro!”
“It’s enough if that wraps around, right?”
Shido couldn’t help but panic, but Mukuro didn’t seem to mind as she accepted the shawl from
Shido and she wrapped it around her neck.
Although it was a shawl, it was only meant for family use; it didn’t cover the whole body like the
ones at a hair salon. In this case, the shawl only covered part of Mukuro’s chest, making it more
revealing than ever.
“Isn’t this alright, Nushi-sama?”
“…N-N-No! Why aren’t you wearing any clothes!”
“Mun? Wouldn’t this be better? As a result, the cut hair won’t stick to Muku’s clothes.”
“That much is true, but still, this is definitely not okay, please go put your clothes back on!”
“Mun…”
Mukuro tilted her head with a confused expression before she left the room and made her way
through the corridor. A few minutes later, Mukuro returned, wearing her clothes.
“Anyway… please sit right here.”
“Okay.”
Mukuro nodded and sat down on the stool. Shido sighed helplessly and stood behind Mukuro
with the scissors in his hand.
There was a slight sense of nervousness in his fingertips, of course.

Although Shido was confident in his cooking ability, as with most other household chores, he
had no experience in helping others cut their hair. In the past he, at most, only helped repair
Kotori’s hair. A professional hairdresser would have been better. But that was unrealistic.
Because Mukuro, who cherished her hair very much, would only allow Shido to cut it.
Therefore, even if he wasn’t used to it, he still had to steel his nerves and just do it. Even if he cut
her hair in a way that made her dissatisfied, it was unlikely that she would be unhappy.
Shido took a deep breath to mentally prepare himself and looked at Mukuro’s faced through the
mirror and said:
“Okay, Ojou-sama, what kind of hairstyle would you like today?”
“Muku shall entrust this to Nushi-sama.”
“Haha… That is going to make it hard for me.”
After listening to what Mukuro said, Shido put a hand to his chin and pondered the situation for a
moment.
Having noticed Shido’s contemplative expression from the mirror, Mukuro helpfully added:
“Mun… Really? Then Muku wants to at least keep the odangos.”
“Ahaha, that hairstyle really suits you.”
“Hehehe, even if Nushi-sama praises Muku so much, he won’t get any benefits.”
Despite her words, Mukuro still smiled happily at the praise.
Although there was still no clear idea of what kind of hairstyle to cut, as long as there is a
general idea, it’s much easier to manage. After thinking for a moment, Shido finally nodded and
said, “Okay.”
“So, I can cut your hair to a length where you can tie the odangos, but the whole style will feel
more refreshing than it is now. My craftsmanship might not be able to match your hairstyle,
though.”
“It will be fine, Nushi-sama.”
“Okay, I’m going to get started with cutting—ah, yes, it will be a problem if the cut pieces get
into the eyes, so remember to close your eyes when I start cutting your bangs.”
“Okay.”
Mukuro responded as she closed her eyes tightly.
“No, you just need to close your eyes when I start cutting your bangs…”
Shido smiled bitterly… Well, it wouldn’t hinder the haircut. He mentally prepared himself to
start cutting.
But then Shido stopped and made an ‘ah’ sound. Because he found that he had to cut her hair, but
Mukuro’s hair was still tied up.
Logically said, that was something that they should have noticed sooner, but, probably due to
seeing Mukuro’s naked body, Shido had missed this detail.
“I need to untie your hair first…”
Shido told her, intending to put down the comb and scissors in her hand.
However, in that moment—
“Shido! Look! I found this delicious kinako bread on the street!”
The door to the living room flew open with a loud bang, and a girl rushed in excitedly. She was
the Spirit: Yatogami Tohka, who had hair as dark as night and crystalline eyes.
Because she was moving too quickly, she had no chance to slow down, and crashed into Shido
who was standing in front of the doorway. Suddenly hit by Tohka, Shido couldn’t help but
stumble backwards.
“Whoa!”
“Muu! Oh, sorry, Shido. I didn’t expect you to be standing so close.”
Tohka said apologetically. Shido shook his head and answered:
“No, it’s okay—”
Shido paused at that moment.
As he was straightening his posture, he heard the sound of something falling gently on the
newspaper.
“…Huh?”
Shido’s eyes widened in horror as he looked at the source of the sound.

It was a golden semi-circular object. Shido’s first thought was that Tohka had dropped a lollipop
from the street when she collided with him, but he quickly realized that he’d made a mistake.
Because what made up the semi-circular object on the ground wasn’t crisp biscuit dough, but
instead glittering golden fibers. It would be better to say that…
“Mukuro’s… hair…”
Shido’s expression was pale and borderline blue as he barely managed to squeeze the words out
of his throat.
—And that brings us to now.
When Tohka crashed into Shido, the scissors in his hand accidentally cut off one of Mukuro’s
odangos.
He felt all of the blood in his body freeze in an instant, and he was sweating bullets.
After all, a woman’s hair was her life, especially in Mukuro’s case. She felt very strongly about
her beautiful hair. When Shido planned to seal Mukuro, she was mentally preparing herself to cut
it. And one of the things that set her off was when Inverse Tohka cut strands of her hair.
Even though Mukuro allowed Shido to cut her hair, if she realized that he had cut off her favorite
odango hairstyle entirely, he didn’t know how she would react to that. He struggled to imagine it.
“—Mun? Nushi-sama, what happened? Is there someone else there?”
“…! N-N-No one else is here.”
Shido replied to her after his shoulders shook in fear. He tried to not let Mukuro notice the
changes in the situation; if the other girls were present, Mukuro would feel uncomfortable.
“Mun…? Weird. Muku thought I heard the voice of another woman…”
“! Uh, that… I’m actually really interested in imitating other people’s voices recently! Cough, ah
ah ah—”
Shido’s eyes darted around to Tohka as he coughed several times.
“Muu? What are you doing…?”
Tohka tilted her head suspiciously, but then her eyes widened again as she understood Shido’s
intention.
“Ah, ah, ah—I’m Shido, and I’m very good at imitating voices.”
Then she made a sound that deliberately strengthened the lie. After Mukuro heard it, she was
surprised and made a sound of “Oh~!” while swinging her feet.
“Was that Nushi-sama’s voice just now? That was really well mimicked.”
“Yeah… right?”
Shido tried very hard to not let his voice tremble in fear. Although it was just improvised off the
top of his head, Mukuro seemed to accept it.
However, she did seem to sense that something was wrong, and started to shake her head gently.
“Mun…? Incidentally, Nushi-sama, the right side of Muku’s head seems a little light…”
“…! Ah, no, that’s… r-right! I was just pressing a pressure point! You can relieve sore shoulders
and give that feeling of lightness!”
It’s like a tagline from a suspicious magazine advertisement… honestly, Shido had no clue what
he was talking about either.
However, after hearing that sentence, Mukuro let out a sigh of admiration.
“It turns out that it’s true! It’s true, Nushi-sama! It can bring about this effect without any pain.
Could you please help Muku press the pressure point on the left?”
“S-Sure… I’ll take care of it for you later.”
Mukuro innocently believed Shido’s blatant lies that he spoke, making him feel guilty.
However, now there were other problems that he had to solve. Shido swallowed and squatted
down and picked up the hair that landed on the newspaper.
He then picked it up and moved his gaze back to the back of Mukuro’s head. There was still a
beautiful odango still tied to the left side, and her long braid. Then—the right odango was cut off
casually, leaving shoulder-length hair. Somehow a girl with a punk-type hairstyle was born here.
“T-This… is terrible…”
“M-Muu…”
Tohka and Shido looked at each other fearfully and they spoke in hushed voices so that Mukuro
couldn’t hear them.
“Mun? Nushi-sama, what happened? Please continue cutting.”
“Oh, right.”
At Mukuro’s urging, Shido placed the lone odango on the side table before taking his place
behind Mukuro.
But he had no idea on how he wanted to move forward. Shido stayed in place for a while
working through his confusion and anxiousness.
At that moment—
“Hehe! I have appeared like the wind!”
“Appearance. Like a storm!”
Footsteps came from the corridor again, and a pair of identical twins appeared in the living room.
These were also Spirits who lived in the same apartment complex as Tohka and the others—the
Yamai sisters, Kaguya and Yuzuru.
Kaguya and Yuzuru made matching poses, and then probably noticed the scene unfolding in the
living room and tilted their heads in confusion.
“…Huh?”
“Question. Shido, Tohka, what are you two doing?”
“Shhhhhhhhh!”
Shido raised his index finger and said, however—it was too late. Mukuro tilted her head with a
puzzled expression on her face.
“Mun? There are more voices, but this time there are new ones…”
However, this time, Mukuro’s tone changed slightly.
“…Nushi-sama, you wouldn’t be secretly meeting with another woman while Muku’s eyes are
closed, would you?”
“…! This… how would I be able to do such a thing?”
After hearing Mukuro’s icy tone, Shido’s vision started to blur. Of course, he wasn’t meeting any
other women, but there were other Spirits in the house beside Mukuro.
“Is this serious? Even if Nushi-sama is good at imitating different sounds, there’s no way that he
can make two sounds at the same time…”
“…!”
Shido immediately moved forward and picked up the remote control placed on the table, turned
on the TV, and quickly turned the volume up to the max. The sound of the series that was airing
began to fill the entire living room.
“Y-Yeah, I turned on the TV. Can you keep your eyes closed? I just wanted something to use as
background music…”
“It turns out that it is such a thing. Mun, Nushi-sama, you really are empathetic.”
Mukuro nodded her head in agreement. Although Shido still felt a little guilty… he couldn’t
bring himself to worry about it anymore. He then faced the confused Yamai sisters and lowered
his voice to explain the whole story to them.
“…So that’s how it is. I’m troubled by not knowing what to do.”
“Muu… I’m sorry, Shido, this was my fault.”
After Shido finished speaking, Tohka bowed her head and shrugged shoulders apologetically.
Shido stroked Tohka’s head and shook his head while answering:
“Don’t worry about that. It’s not your fault. I was the one who was careless with the scissors…
but what should I do now…?”
As Shido felt his stress mount higher, Kaguya and Yuzuru heard this and showed a confident
smile.
“Hehehe… What are you so worried about, servant? Have you already forgotten who managed to
handle the bird’s nest that was Natsumi’s hair?”
“Echo. Leave it to the Yamai sisters. Both of us were able to trim it naturally.”
Kaguya snatched the scissors from Shido’s hands, and Yuzuru picked up a spare pair of scissors
from next to him and struck a dramatic pose. Shido grimaced and put his hand on his chin.
“Hmm… But Mukuro would hate it if she found out that other people touched her hair, much
less cut it…”
“So if she finds out about the current situation, the consequences would be unimaginable.”
“Question. Do you have anything that we can use to make it look like it was never messed up to
start with?”
“Hmm…”
After hearing what the Yamai sisters said, Shido was speechless and lowered his head and said,
“Please help me.”
“Hehe, you will now get to witness the special skills of the Yamai sisters!”
“Accept. It’s alright to leave this to us.”
The pair of them nodded confidently and stood behind Mukuro.
“Allow me to show off my skill! Behold my long-lost cutting skills, super imperial double-edged
gale—”
When Kaguya came here while striking a dramatic pose.
“Bu… Buakkushoo!”
“—Achoo.”
The two sneezed at the same time, with a very different sensation.
“…Ah, what happened? I’m pretty sure I don’t have a cold.”
“Criticism. Maybe someone is talking about us…”
“Ah, there is indeed such a saying. I think, sneezing once is okay, but sneezing twice is bad.
Hahaha, then someone is praising us.”
“No. Yuzuru and Kaguya are two different people. Yuzuru’s sneezing occured at the same time as
Kaguya’s, so it should be counted toward yours, meaning someone is talking badly about you.”
“Why should that count on me! It should count on you instead!”
“H-Hey… you two…”
The Yamai sisters were about to start arguing with each other and Shido was quick to intervene,
his voice hoarse.
“Well… Ah, sorry, sorry. I’ll cut it well.”
“Apology. I was influenced by what Kaguya said.”
Kaguya heard what Yuzuru said and wanted to retort but they stopped halfway.
Unfortunately, the Yamai sisters realized what happened too late—the odango on the left side of
Mukuro’s head and the entire braid just fell to the floor.
“Eh—!”
“Shock. What—”
Kaguya and Yuzuru all but shrieked.
That’s right. Unfortunately, when the two of them sneezed, the scissors in their hands
accidentally cut off the remaining odango, along with her braid.
“…Mun? Oh, Muku’s head has become lighter again.”
With her eyes still closed, Mukuro noted with a relaxed tone. Shido tried as hard as he could to
suppress his rapidly beating heart and said:
“Ah, um… it’s become lighter, right?”
“Fumun. Then please continue at this pace.”
Mukuro responded with full confidence in Shido’s ability. Shido himself was sweating bullets.
At that moment, the stunned Kaguya and Yuzuru’s shoulders trembled, and they suddenly shook
their heads to revive their confidence.
“D-Don’t worry! Just leave it to us.”
“Plead. Please allow Yuzuru to restore her reputation.”
After finishing this, Kaguya and Yuzuru struck another dramatic pose, picked up the scissors and
comb, and trimmed Mukuro’s hair in a brisk manner.
“Fumun?”
During the haircut, Mukuro let out a surprised sound.
“Nushi-sama, Muku can feel you trimming the hair on both sides at the same time. How are you
doing that?”
“Hey! A-Ah… it’s very powerful isn’t it! This is my ultimate technique: dual scissors! I’m using
scissors in both hands!”
Shido finished with a little bit of arrogance, and Mukuro openly expressed her admiration.
“Muku didn’t know that Nushi-sama could manipulate scissors with both hands. That’s really
impressive!”
“Y-Yeah…!”
Shido responded with a sharp voice and looked toward the sisters to encourage them. But it was
that moment that he noticed them fighting back laughter.
“Pfft… hehe… he said dual scissors. He said dual scissors. I bet he meant to put it in katakana
rather than kanji.”
“Conjecture. Perhaps dual rather than double is a fixation of Shido’s.”
“You’re the last people that I want to hear that from!”
Shido couldn’t help but shout loudly, but Mukuro shook her head in wonder so he quickly
covered his mouth.
“…Anyway, please, you two…”
Shido whispered seriously. The Yamai sisters took a deep breath in and out to refocus
themselves, then nodded confidently.
But—
“…Ah, Yuzuru, you cut too much there.”
“Refutation. That’s not Yuzuru’s cut, that’s the way it was before. Kaguya cut too much.”
“The same is true on my side too. Now that I think about it, in order to achieve a balance…”
It seemed that the part that was cut by accident at the beginning was too short, which made it
difficult to trim.
Twenty minutes later—
“…U-Uh…”
“…Expose. How about this?”
The Yamai sisters rarely spoke without confidence.
“O-Oh…”
Shido looked at Mukuro’s face through the mirror and smiled dryly.
The hairstyle wasn’t ugly. It was important to admire the incredible skills of the Yamai sisters to
restore such a hopeless situation to this point.
However, it may be because the initial failure was too severe. The length of the hair must match
across both sides of her head, so the result was something much shorter, and very different from
the original conditions that Mukuro expected.
“So… is this okay…?”
“What is it?”
“Mukuro’s hairstyle. I hope it’s not too short—Whoa!”
Shido suddenly jumped in shock.
However, his reaction was understandable. Because there was a young girl clinging to Shido’s
side, and he didn’t know when she appeared there.
“O-Origami, when did you get here?”
“I just got here.”
That’s right. She was a classmate of Shido, and was also a Spirit: Tobiichi Origami.
Shido’s full attention was focused on Mukuro, but even so, he didn’t hear a single sound at all. It
was certainly Origami after all.
Immediately afterward, other voices came from behind them.
“Mukuro-san is sitting there… right?”
“Wow, a change of image was pretty bold, right?”
He looked up at the source of the sound, and he could see two petite girls: the Spirits: Yoshino
and Natsumi who were outside together. It seemed that they also came when the Yamai sisters
came to help Mukuro cut her hair.
“So, what happened?”
Origami asked with her usual monotone. Shido nodded his head slightly as he explained the
situation to them.
“…I see, so that’s the situation.”
“And that… will it be okay?”
“…No, it’s clearly a pretty big problem.”
After listening to Shido’s explanation, the three people showed three different reactions.
Origami pressed her hand against her chin, looking back and forth from Mukuro’s back to the
scattered hair on the floor.
“So in other words, you want to restore Mukuro’s hair to its original condition, right?”
“Yes, that’s right… but wouldn’t it be better to wait for it to just grow out longer again?”
Shido finished speaking while Origami shook her head slightly.
“Hair is a part of the body, as long as the medical Realizer device is used, the hair can be brought
back and things set right.”
“…! Origami… is that really possible?”
After listening to what Origami said, Shido’s eyes widened.
Origami was right. If they used the Realizer, it should be possible to reconnect the cut hair.
Shido and the Spirits often used them many times when they were injured to heal their wounds,
but it never crossed their minds to use such a magical phenomenon for cutting hair, which was
such a commonplace activity. But maybe Mukuro’s hair being cut too short could lead to panic
and being unable to think clearly, which could justify it.
“But it will be difficult to use the Realizer device here, and it wouldn’t be very easy to leave
Mukuro in this state. It would be best to contact Kotori immediately.”
“Oh, ah, right.”
Shido nodded, pulled out his phone from his pocket and called Kotori.
However, in the next moment, a light ringing and vibration came from the table next to him.
“Huh…?”
After Shido walked suspiciously toward the source of the sound, he spotted Kotori’s cell phone
vibrating on the table. It seemed that she forgot to bring her cell phone. Now there was no way to
reach her.
“Ugh… why did it have to happen now of all times…?!”
Shido frowned as he gave up dialing, Origami put a hand on his shoulder.
“Huh…?”
“I can figure out where Kotori is. I’ll go find her and bring her back here.”
“! R-Really?”
“Really. However, I need some time to be able to find her. Please buy some more time for me
and don’t let Mukuro discover the current situation.”
“Buy more time…”
Shido glanced at Mukuro. Her eyes had been closed for several minutes, so he wouldn’t be
surprised if she opened her eyes even if they weren’t finished yet.
As long as they put away the full length mirror in front of her eyes, they could buy a little bit
more time. But it would be impossible to remove everything that could reveal Mukuro’s new
hairstyle. More importantly, it would all be over if she touched her own head.
“It’s fine if only a little bit of time, as long as you’re able to trick Mukuro’s eyes.”
“U-Um…”
As Shido was in deep trouble, Yoshino (and the rabbit puppet worn on her left hand, Yoshinon)
clapped her hands as though she’d just come up with an idea.
“Ah, Shido-kun, what do you think of this method~?”
“Eh?”
“Yoshino, help me out.”
“Okay…”
When urged by Yoshinon, Yoshino moved over to Mukuro’s side.
Then, Yoshinon picked up Mukuro’s long hair, held it in place, and untied her braid.
She then used it to cover Mukuro’s hair like a wig.
“Okay, it’s done~! The luxurious Yoshinon hairstyle!”
“O-Oh…”
After seeing the final result, Shido couldn’t help but respond with a wry smile.
It turns out that, since it was originally her own hair, the feeling or the touch would certainly not
make her suspicious, but because they put a handful of hair on her head, it made her look more
like a kelp monster. It would be impossible to fool Mukuro like that.
“…Mun? Is the haircut finished, Nushi-sama?”
Perhaps because she heard the word “done”, Mukuro couldn’t help but ask.
Then she shook her head as though fighting off an itch and made a movement to sweep the bangs
out of her face and slowly open her eyes.
Everything was going to fall apart. Because she shook her head, the specially made wig made by
Yoshinon slid off, showing a very strange look. If she saw her appearance when she opened her
eyes, ignoring her bad mood, it wouldn’t surprise him if her Spirit powers flowed back into her.
“Wait! Mukuro, not yet—!”
“…! Everyone! Take cover!”
The sound rang out immediately, and everyone aside from Shido immediately dove under the
table or behind the door.
“…Mun?”
Mukuro rubbed her eyes as though she’d just woken up and blinked.
She then stared intently at her reflection in the full length mirror placed in front of her, then
murmured suspiciously:
“What’s the problem; has Nushi-sama not started trimming yet?”
“Huh?”
Hearing this sentence, he turned around and immediately rubbed his eyes furiously in disbelief.
This wasn’t a surprise after all. Because the blonde hair that was previously on the ground was
now back on top of Mukuro’s head.
Moreover, the hair trimmed by the Yamai sisters and the special wig that Yoshinon made were
still on the ground. Could it be that Mukuro hadn’t noticed?
“…! Ah—”
Shido froze for a moment, but then he spotted Natsumi, who was hiding behind the sofa while
flashing a thumbs up, and he realized what had happened.
Natsumi’s Angel, <Haniel>. At the moment Mukuro was about to open her eyes, Natsumi used
her power to change Mukuro’s shortened hair back into her longer hair.
“Wow!”
Mukuro’s eyes widened when she spotted the hair scattered around her feet.
“What’s going on? With so much cut, is there really this much hair left…? Well, it seems that
what Ane-sama said was true. Muku’s hair really is quite long.”
Mukuro said with an approving look, and through the mirror, she crossed her eyes with Shido’s.
“Muku is really sorry, Nushi-sama. It seems that Muku has troubled you some. However, please
be considerate of Muku. Muku can’t entrust this hair to someone she can’t trust to trim it
properly.”
“Don’t worry. I know.”
Shido answered quickly while trying to swallow his spit and stop himself from trembling
nervously.
“…Say, can I ask you something, Mukuro?”
“What is it?”
“This is just a hypothetical situation but what if… if your hair was trimmed by someone other
than me, and cut into an ultra-short hairstyle… how would you feel?”
“…Mun?”
After hearing what Shido said, Mukuro tilted her head suspiciously.
“Nushi-sama, why are you asking about this?”
“Ah! No… I was just a little curious.”
“Mun… someone else trimming Muku’s hair…”
Mukuro whispered quietly, staring at her reflection in the full-length mirror while curling a lock
of her golden hair with her fingers.
Just from looking at her expression, no one could tell if it was sad or angry, but regardless, a
calm but powerful voice came from her.
“Muku doesn’t know. I’m not sure how I would react to such a thing.”
“…!”
Having heard this answer, Shido’s breath caught in his throat. No, it wasn’t just Shido, but the
sound of the TV that echoed throughout the living room was also mixed with the trembling of
the other Spirits hidden all around the room.
Although her Spirit powers had been sealed, everyone present knew how terrible Mukuro’s anger
could be. If it weren’t for Shido’s intervention, in the worst case scenario, Mukuro might stop the
earth’s rotation.
“Well, ‘tis a pointless concern. Muku’s hair was trimmed by Nushi-sama, right?”
“…Yes…”
“Mun? Nushi-sama, is there something on your mind?”
After hearing Shido’s stiff answer, Mukuro gazed at him suspiciously. Shido pretended to calmly
and gently cough and continued to say:
“No… it’s okay… I’m going to start cutting again, can you please close your eyes?”
“Okay.”
She followed Shido’s instructions and closed her eyes without worry.
Once the Spirits hiding nearby determined that Mukuro’s eyes were closed, they all returned
from their hiding places, but… the expressions on their faces were not really cheerful.
However, it was an indisputable fact that, thanks to Natsumi’s quick thinking, everyone was out
of danger. Shido looked at Natsumi.
“…Y-You saved me, Natsumi. Thank you.”
“…There’s no need to thank me. If Mukuro got mad, it would be uncomfortable for me too.”
Shido lowered his voice to avoid Mukuro overhearing them. Natsumi listened, and then looked
away and continued.
“…I think it should be possible to buy time like this. However, <Haniel> just makes the object
assume a false shape, and I don’t have my full Spirit powers right now. I can’t maintain this state
for long, so hurry and get that medical Realizer to restore her hair back to how it was.”
“Um—Origami, could you please hurry?”
“…”
After Shido spoke, Origami nodded without another word, and left the living room.
“Okay… but what can I do now?”
After sending Origami on her way, he put a hand on his chin to consider his options.
Although, thanks to Natsumi, he managed to temporarily avoid a crisis, he couldn’t be negligent
until he found Kotori.
All he could do for now was wait for Origami to return, but if he didn’t do anything during this
period, there was no doubt that Mukuro would get suspicious.
As Shido was thinking through his options for this kind of thing, he could hear more footsteps
from the corridor.
“Huh…?”
For a moment, Shido thought that Origami was back and managed to find Kotori, but on
reflection, it was impossible that she would have been able to find her so quickly. So who on
earth was it? Shido looked down the corridor and spotted two tall girls as they entered the living
room with cheerful smiles. These were two other Spirits: Miku and Nia.
“Oh, oh! It looks like everyone is here—Hey! Could it be that everyone was waiting for me~?
Were we planning to do something today? Ah, for some reason, I just remembered that today
happens to be my birthday. If everyone would give me a kiss as a birthday, that would be the
perfect birthday gift~!”
“Ahaha! Mikki has the same fiery passion. Um… but really, what are you all doing together…?”
Finally, Nia spotted Mukuro who was sitting in front of the full-length mirror with a shawl
wrapped around her body.
“Ah, wow, are you cutting Mukku-chin’s hair? Wow, that’s a really big project! What kind of
hairstyle are you going to choose?”
“Eh~! Is that really true~? Ah, then there’s a hairstyle I want to give her~!”
With the tension skyrocketing, the two began to chat more and more enthusiastically.
Shido hurriedly stopped the two and urged them to speak softly. No matter how much he used
TV sound as an excuse, if they made too much noise, Mukuro would quickly figure things out.
“Well? What’s wrong, Boy?”
“What happened~?”
“…Well, actually—”
Shido recounted the ins and outs of the incident to Miku and Nia. Their eyes widened and
nodded suddenly.
“So that’s what happened… That’s terrible…”
“However, Natsumi-san is really smart~! I’ll give you a ticket for a Miku shoulder and breast
massage as a reward~!”
“Eh?! …I don’t want that!”
Natsumi didn’t joke around, but instead gave a serious answer. However, Miku didn’t seem
offended and said: “I hate this! Don’t say such things! Since you’re such a good girl, I’ll even
add a ticket for a butt massage~!” This only served to make Natsumi raise her guard even higher.
“So Boy, what are you going to do next? It’ll take some time for Oririn to track down
Imouto-chan and bring her back here, right? I don’t think it would be a good idea to leave
Mukku-chin alone until then, right?”
“Nh… I don’t want to do that.”
That’s exactly what Shido was thinking about as he nodded with a stern expression.
But in any case, he had to avoid being reckless and end up making the situation worse. All he
had to do was ask for a break to delay the haircut’s end and give Mukuro a chance to rest—
“—Ah!”
Just as the idea crossed Shido’s mind, Nia also seemed to have come up with an idea of her own,
and suddenly clapped her hands.
She then smiled evilly as she waved Miku over and whispered in her:
So—
“…Oops!”
After hearing Nia’s whispered suggestion, her eyes seemed to shine like a bright light. She then
raised her hands as though praying to God, twisting her body in excitement.
“That… that’s so wonderful~! Nia, you’re a genius~!”
“Oh, what sort of nonsense are you talking about, Mikki?”
Finally, Nia pretended to brush her bangs. The inexplicable excitement of the two made Shido
feel a little uneasy.
“…Hey, what are you two talking about over there?”
“Huh? No, no big deal, we just want to help you out a little bit.”
“Y-Yeah~! We just want to help Darling out a little in exchange for a kiss coupon~!”
“…”
Shido could feel the muscles in his face twitch while sweat trickled down his face. How could he
say this? He was suspicious because their words were full of danger.
“I think it would be better for Kotori to return…”
He was counting on Natsumi’s Angel to keep Mukuro’s hair long. He wanted to avoid more
reckless people making their own plans, and making the situation worse.
However, Nia seemed to guess what Shido was thinking from his expression and she spread out
her hands to stop him from speaking.
“No no no! It’s worse to step away rather than to step forward! If you don’t do anything,
Mukku-chin will be suspicious!”
“And we don’t know how long Natsumi-san’s powers will last! If someone were to touch, hug,
or lick Natsumi-san, her concentration would break, then what would we do~?”
“Tch…!”
Hearing what Miku said, Natsumi’s breath caught in her throat. At the same time, Shido felt a
cold sweat trail down his skin… At this point, it wasn’t so much that they were giving advice, it
was practically coercive.
“So, why don’t you let us handle it? I have a hairstyle in mind that I want to try with Mukku-chin
to make her cuter!”
“Hmm… but…”
“I understand that you’re a little uneasy, but don’t worry, I won’t use any scissors! I promise I
won’t cut any of Mukku-chin’s hair! All I’ll be doing is braiding and dying it!”
“…Really?”
“I’m being honest here! If I lie, then my body will be yours!”
“Hey! Can I take you up on that? I also want that~!”
“…” Thanks to ABearC

at andAsphro xia
Shido heard what the two of them said and remained silent. …Somehow, it felt more difficult to
trust them.
However, neither of them cared and continued their conversation with excited smiles.
“Then it’s decided like this! Let’s have everyone else turn around for a bit! Ah, Boy, come here.”
“Look forward to seeing the completed look!”
“Wow!” Thanks to ABearC

at andAsphroxia
“You… what are you doing…”
Nia and Miku pushed Tohka and the others back and drove them to a far corner of the living
room, making them turn away from them.
After returning to Shido, the two of them pulled out handkerchiefs out of their pockets to cover
his eyes as well.
“Hey! You… what are you doing?!”
“We just told you to look forward to the finished look. Once we finish, we’ll take off the
handkerchieves.”
“Then why can’t I just turn around like everyone else…”
“What are you talking about? Only Boy is allowed to cut Mukku-chin’s hair, right? So you’ll
have to cooperate with us.”
“Cooperate with you…?”
“Enough talk. We need to start.”
Nia slapped Shido’s back, which he took for the signal to turn around. At that moment, though, a
quiet voice rang out.
“Nushi-sama, what are you doing?”
Nia and Miku seemed to have started, and Mukuro spoke in doubt.
Because it was Shido’s responsibility to help her with her hair, Nia and Miku couldn’t answer her
themselves.
However, Shido’s eyes were blindfolded by the handkerchiefs. Although he felt overwhelmed by
the situation, he still spoke to Mukuro with an air of confidence he didn’t truly feel.
“O-Oh… are you okay?”

He honestly didn’t know what the current situation was, so he could only speak such cautious
words until he had a better understanding. Fortunately, Mukuro hadn’t suspected anything yet
and responded:
“This is okay, it’s just a little itchy. But what’s the matter? Are you helping to trim Muku’s hair?
“Ah? Yes.”
“Mun…”
“W-What happened?”
“Nushi-sama, why are you touching Muku’s body so often?”
“…Eh?”
Hearing such unexpected words, Shido made a stunned voice. What the hell were those two girls
doing? Such ideas filled his mind and made him feel confused.
However, he could only make things up based on the situation. Despite being confused, Shido
answered:
“If you massage it like this, it will promote blood circulation throughout the body.”
“Oh, so that’s what this is. Nushi-sama, you are so knowledgeable.”
“Haha… y-yeah.”
“So, when you are touching Muku’s chest, is that also part of the massage?”
Shido couldn’t help but let out a high-pitched noise. So Mukuro answered doubtfully: “Mun?”
“What, it isn’t? Why, then? Nushi-sama, could it be that you like Muku’s chest that much?”
“T-That…”
Shido wanted to shout, “I’m not the one doing that!” But Mukuro couldn’t know that anyone
besides Shido was around. He had to work hard to restrain this impulse, so he spoke with some
self-abuse:
“…T-To be honest, yes. I really like Mukuro’s chest…”
“So that’s what it is. Then you can be honest about it from the beginning… Mun, but you are
massaging a little forcefully. Please be calm.”
“Y-Yeah—Ah…!”
Shido apologized implicitly while sternly trying to warn Miku (although Nia was there, but the
culprit was most likely Miku).
Soon afterwards, Mukuro wondered:
“Nushi-sama, Muku has been wondering about the matter from the beginning.”
“W-What is it, Mukuro?”
“Why, Nushi-sama, do you want to take off Muku’s clothes?”
“…What do you mean, hey—!”
Shido couldn’t take it anymore as he pulled off the handkerchieves covering his eyes and shouted
at Miku and Nia.
“Eh…!”
However, Shido’s breath caught in his throat.
This was understandable, because Mukuro’s current appearance was to wrap her floor-length hair
into a shape like a bikini, and wrap it around her nude body. This image was, in a way, very
exciting.
Perhaps seeing Shido’s stunned reaction, Nia and Miku both proudly puffed out their chests.
“What do you think, Boy? I’ve always wanted to try something like this out. Mukku-chin’s hair
is so long, I thought it might actually work!”
“Ah~! This is wonderful~! It’s too beautiful~!”
“…N-No, do you think that’s a good thing…?!”
After Shido raised his voice with his face red—
“Mun… why is it so noisy?”
Mukuro, whose eyes were closed, asked and then opened her eyes again.
“…!”
Faced with the sudden situation, the Spirits had no time to hide. Mukuro looked around and
blinked in surprise.
“…Wow, everyone is back. Mun… Muku and Nushi-sama were spending time by ourselves.”
Mukuro pouted her lips with some dissatisfaction. Shido felt his shoulders tremble.
“I-I’m… sorry, Mukuro. I should have told you about this sooner…”
“Mun… well… it’s okay. More importantly…”
After she finished speaking, Mukuro stood up from her stool and noticed her peculiar “outfit”.
“What is this? Is this Muku’s hair all tied up?”
“Ah, this… that seems to be the case. I mean, that’s…”
Shido quickly caught himself as he began to sweat profusely. Nia and Miku were the ones who
did this, but Shido had to act as though it were him.
Then Mukuro let out a “Fumun” as she looked at her reflection in the mirror curiously, turning
around to take stock of her own appearance.
“Oh, Muku understands. Nushi-sama, do you think this look is suitable for Muku?”
“Huh! Ah, y-yes.”

Shido felt a cold sweat trail down his forehead as he nodded. In truth, this was done by Nia and
Miku, but Mukuro wouldn’t trust her hair with anyone aside from Shido, so he couldn’t give an
irresponsible answer.
So Mukuro, looking puzzled, nodded slightly.
“There is no problem, then. If you like it, Nushi-sama, then Muku has no objections.”
Mukuro finished speaking with an innocent smile.
“…!”
Shido looked at her expression and felt his breath catch in his throat again.
His heart was stolen by Mukuro’s innocent cuteness… well, not really. He was more ashamed
that her mental state would collapse and her Spirit powers would flow back into her.
Mukuro trusted Shido enough to allow him to trim her cherished hair. However, Shido spent all
of his time up until now trying to conceal his mistakes, and even dragged the other Spirits into it.
He couldn’t help but hate himself, and his heart was filled with this emotion.
“…Mukuro, I’m sorry.”
After a few seconds, Shido sighed as he apologized.
“Mun? What’s wrong? Why are you apologizing? As long as you like it, Muku has no
problems.”
“It’s not that. It’s just that I… did something unfair to you.”
Shido knelt down on the ground earnestly as he spoke. Mukuro stared at Shido with a surprised
look on her face.
“The truth is…”
Just when Shido was about to confess to everything—
“—Shido!”
The living room door was thrown open, and Shido’s sister came into the room in a blind panic.
“…! Kotori!”
“Everyone’s okay! Ah, it looks like the Spirit power hasn’t flowed back yet… oh.”
Just then, Kotori paused.

Shido thought for a moment that she was shocked by Mukuro’s sexy “outfit” and her impressive
bust, and she’d lost her ability to speak for a moment, but—
It was because, when Kotori opened the door, Natsumi was leaning against the door before
slumping against the wall. Hard.
“…Gefuhl!”
Natsumi made such a sound as she lost consciousness and slumped to the ground.
At that moment, perhaps because the effects of <Haniel> required Natsumi to be conscious, the
hair-bikini wrapped around Mukuro’s body shone brightly, and then disappeared into the hair.
“…Wha…? Wh-What… what’s going on here?!”
Mukuro’s panicked voice resounded throughout the entire living room of the Itsuka household.
◇◇◇
“…Oh, I see…”
It was thirty minutes later.
Mukuro, having already recovered after taking a long breath, replied.
Shido fully explained the situation to Mukuro. It seemed that for the moment, there was no
reverse flow of Spirit power, but Mukuro’s expression was complicated as her fingers played
with her short hair.
“I’m sorry! This is all my fault! I accidentally cut the odangos…!”
Shido put his hands on the table and bowed his head deeply to apologize. Then, the other Spirits
sitting in a row next to him also apologized.
“No, it’s all my fault! It was because I accidentally crashed into Shido! If you want to get angry,
then get angry with me!”
“No… it was my fault for cutting the other odango…”
“Reflection. It was Yuzuru who cut the braid.”
“Oh, but the hair-bikini was really great, Mukku-chin.”
“Hehehe, it was a spectacle for the eyes~!”
“…Nia, Miku, you two should reflect on this a little bit more.”
Natsumi, with a cold compress on her forehead, replied with narrowed eyes. Perhaps having seen
that, Kotori let out a small sigh.
“…It looks like things have been resolved. I apologize for my brother too. I was able to recover
all your hair, and we can set it back to the way it was before with the medical Realizer aboard the
<Fraxinus>. I can’t ask you to just brush it off, but… I hope you can understand that everyone
here had no bad intentions.”
“…Fumun.”
Mukuro replied quietly, and smiled a little bit.
“It’s okay. Muku has already said that I had already entrusted my hair to Nushi-sama, and no
matter what kind of hairstyle was cut, there were no complaints from Muku.”
“Mukuro…”
“However, Muku can’t accept people aside from Nushi-sama touching my hair. If the hair is
restored, can Nushi-sama personally trim Muku’s hair next time?”
Mukuro’s gaze met Shido’s eyes as she spoke. Shido nodded emphatically as he held her gaze.
“Yes, of course I will.”
“Mun. Then there’s no problem.”
After hearing Shido’s response, Mukuro smiled happily. Maybe because of her reaction, the other
Spirits felt relieved.
Shido understood their feelings perfectly well. It was not because they were relieved about not
being reprimanded, but they were worried about whether Mukuro would be upset by them
trimming her hair.
“…”
So, after seeing everyone reacting to her shorter hair, she glanced at the full-length mirror and
spoke to Shido again:
“Nushi-sama.”
“Hmm? What’s wrong, Mukuro?”
“Could you take a picture of Muku?”
“Huh…?”
After hearing those unexpected words, Shido’s eyes widened in surprise. Mukuro shrugged
slightly and then said:
“Muku still wants Nushi-sama to cut my hair for me. But—it’s a pity that this look that you and
everyone else worked hard to make will disappear.”
Shido and the other Spirits couldn’t help but stare at her with her eyes wide.
Perhaps it was because Mukuro, with her cheeks tinted red, wore a beautiful smile on her face.
Afterword
Long time no see! My company is darker than dusk, but there is nothing redder than flowing
blood.
I’m proud to present “Date A Live Encore Volume 6”. What do you think? I would be honored if
you liked this book.
The Encore series has published its sixth volume. Izayoi Miku is on the cover again! Kawaii!
The looming belly button and beautiful legs are so sexy. There was also a skirt version that was
present during the sketching stages, but I fell in love with this version at first sight and
immediately chose it. Well done, past me!
Okay, let’s begin the explanation for the Encore stories. The content below will discuss the
storyline, more or less. Those who have not yet read the short stories, please beware of spoilers.
Spirit New Year
Happy new year! But the release date of this book is in December.
So I wrote a story about the Spirits all wearing kimonos and playing New Year’s games and
having fun together. I considered a lot of the games related to the New Year, and finally decided
upon a homemade Sugoroku. Although it’s fun to play gyro and badminton, I think it’s better for
everyone to play games together. Nia also joined, and wanted to add elements similar to the
King’s game.
Just like the Dark Hot Pot8, the players not knowing what kind of stimulus they will encounter
would be interesting and exciting. If you have a chance, please take a look.
Nia Galgame
The sexy underwear in the illustration is so dazzling that I can’t look directly at it. It almost
killed me when I first saw it. I didn’t expect to recover so quickly. I can only say that it’s Honjou
Nia. Sensei, hasn’t the original manuscript been colored yet?
As the title suggests, it’s a story about Nia playing a galgame. Is it really a galgame, though? The
difficulty of the game is too exaggerated. I only ever play simple games, so it’s impossible for
me to clear those sorts of levels.
By the way, the image of the heroine Maruna Alice is a dark-haired girl, close to black. Although
her personality was cold and strong, as long as you can make her fall in love, she will be
8
See Encore 5 - Spirit Dark Matter
compliant. Her voice actress is Miss Mimori-san. That part is just my imagination though, of
course. It’s not true.
Spirit Animation
It’s an anime! An anime! Nia’s manga is getting adapted into an anime! So I’m writing a story
about the voice acting. Why is Nia doing this?
Actually, now that I think about it, I feel like many of the stories in this volume are based on Nia.
Needless to say, the galgame that Nia was playing was also proposed when they played
Sugoroku during Spirit New Year. Nia also appeared as a key character there. She was already
very active with and skilled in animation, and naturally became the starting point of the story.
Then Natsumi showed such an unexpected talent for this kind of thing. After all, her observation,
imitation, and acting skills would be heavily emphasized. “Natsumi! You are amazing, Natsumi!
I’m not worthy of Natsumi! Super amazing! Natsumi! Natsumi!” I want to push her into this
situation just to see how she reacts.
Spirit Online
The stage is an online game this time! I split everyone into three different groups and let them
make their own choices in the game’s world.
I like the idea of a story letting its players choose careers and backgrounds. In fact, it takes a lot
for a developer to make a character before starting the game. As long as there are similar facial
features, most of them can make similar characters, but it’s also interesting to design your own
characters on your own.
By the way, my favorite character this time was definitely Dark Knight [†Phantom Night†]. I
could probably inject the power of darkness into my sword and then defeat the dark dragon. It’ll
be really powerful.
Spirit Offline
Then came the live event. The real identity of the PK (Fatima) was revealed. The name was the
same as the protagonist of Nia’s manga that appeared in the 14th volume. People with a keen
memory might have noticed it.
However, there was also a way to max out the character’s level and then do the same thing on a
secondary account. Are you really working on your manuscript, Honjou-san?
I designed the game in this story Polaris Online to allow for a greater degree of freedom than an
ordinary MMORPG. The structure of an open world is the so-called block-building game, much
like “Minecraft”. If anyone can use that system, players can do basically whatever they want,
which would be difficult to manage. But if there is a game with such a high degree of freedom, I
would definitely want to play it.
Mukuro Hair
This unpublished short story was the next episode of the just-sealed Hoshimiya Mukuro. As the
title indicates, it’s about the story of Mukuro’s haircut.
Although many things occurred in this story, what hairstyle would actually most suit Mukuro? I
personally don’t hate thick and messy hairstyles, but it is a pity to cut it too short. Thinking
through all the different kinds of hairstyles was a fun process.
Hairstyles affect appearance, first impression, personal color, and are important factors in the
appearance of a character. In particular, there are so many girls in Date A Live, so it takes a lot of
effort to draw. Tsunako-san, I’m sorry for bothering you so much.
Now that I’ve explained each chapter, I want to promote two things:
The first thing is that, in March 2017, Tsunako-sensei’s picture collection will be released!
Wow~! Clap your hands!
This collection contains the previously published stories and illustrations of “Date” published in
Dragon Magazine and various other media. The content is very luxurious so stay tuned!
Then the second thing! It’s time to release the novel “Date A Bullet”! Yay!
The author is Yuichiro Higashide! I feel like this “Date” will be full of blood! Hehehehehe!
This book was completed with the help of many people.
Tsunako-san, who was in charge of illustrations, thank you very much for drawing such exquisite
illustrations this time. The casual clothes worn by the Spirits are very cute; incredible!
Thank you to the editor-san in charge, the American editor Kusano, everyone in the editorial and
sales departments, alongside publishing, distribution, and other related personnel, and the readers
who have picked up this book.
Then, I look forward to meeting again next time.
Koushi Tachibana
October 2016
Translator: Lightning Farron
This is not your work. Please do not redistribute it, with credit or otherwise. Thanks.
Date A Girl Case 1: Holiday
“Everyone… would you be willing to listen to me for a bit?”
On a particular holiday from school, Kurumi and her “high school friends” Tohka and Origami
decided to go out and spend time together.
“Actually, there’s a certain boy that I’ve harboring feelings for…” Just from the look on their
faces, it was clear that Tohka and Origami wanted to hear the details. The two were both high
school girls and so they were excited about talking about the topic of love.
“Well, I don’t know him very well but when I first transferred to this school, he was very kind to
me and showed me around the campus and the surrounding environment, so… I don’t think that
he’s bad.”
“Oh this man sounds like a very kind guy! I think that’s great!”
“I agree with Tohka.”
“Ahhh… is it?” Kurumi couldn’t help but smile happily despite her embarrassment.
“Do either of you have anyone that you like?”
“Hmm…Oh… I also have someone that I like!” Tohka shouted loudly. Origami and Kurumi
looked at her curiously.
“Is there?”
“Oh? What kind of boy is he?”
“Hmm, he has really good cooking skills and he makes a lot of delicious meals. I also feel happy
after talking to him.”
“I’m sure he’ll love you.”
“What about you, Origami-san?”
“It looks like Origami is in love too.”
“It’s hard to tell with Origami’s personality, but I think a ring would suit her.”
“Oh! This is the time to find out!”
At this time, Origami produced a picture of a concave pattern. “Correct, I found out about this
from the internet. Before meeting someone, you need to know everything you can about them.”
“Oh…”
“T-To do such a thing! Does the other person think the line is black and white?”
“I know that he hangs out with Tonomachi since the break is still in my classroom. Fufu.”
“…”
“This is… quite a classroom.”
After Origami finished, Tohka and Kurumi’s cheeks were dripping with sweat from her
explanation.
Origami herself was also a little embarrassed and her face became a little red.
“I feel a strong resonance.”
“I-Is that right?”
“It’s like you two were cut from the same cloth… so maybe you’ll have the same love.”
Kurumi cleared her throat looking refreshed,” So anyway, let’s see who will match first?”
“I’m not going to lose while I still live!”
“This game is where I have the upper hand!”
The three of them said as they continued to walk together with smiles on their faces.
Date A Girl Case 2: Magical Girls
“Holy flames bathed in light, gorgeous transformation! Magical Girl Camael has appeared!”
“Incorruptible raindrops… innocent Zadkiel has appeared…!”
“Pseudo-makeup mirror of seven variations, Beauty Haniel has appeared, you.” (Chaotic Hymn:
Camael, Zadkiel, and Haniel were actually Kotori, Yoshino, and Natsumi’s Angels respectively).
In conjunction with the mysterious music that came from seemingly nowhere, the three magical
girls shared their titles. While posing, petals flew out and scattered around them.
“Okay, it’s time to get going! Let’s protect the peace of the city together!”
“Yes…!”
“…”
Zadkiel answered Camael’s words hesitantly. However, there was one magical girl who was
huddled silently in a corner—it was Haniel.
“What’s wrong, Haniel? There isn’t an enemy hidden there, is there?”
“…No, then, I suddenly felt a sense of shame. I think that I should spend a bit more time in the
background… At least the little animals that would say “I can feel a terrible stench”… or saying
some kind of line like that… right?”
“Then, that’ll become our mascot, Haniel…”
“Although that is possible… but the problem is that I’m not beautiful regardless… compared to
Kotori and Yoshino, but why am I…”
“…! Wait, you shouldn’t call us by our real names!”
“Hey, isn’t this supposed to be about not revealing our names?”
“After listening to what Camael said, Natsumi’s eyes, as Haniel, widened. It was true that their
real names had not been exposed. It looked like Magic could be really powerful.
At that moment, Yoshino, as Zadkiel, said.
“C-Camael, Haniel, the enemy is approaching…!”

As she said that, there were many enemies that resembled giant puppets rushing at them with
their hands flailing. Natsumi panicked and frantically prepared to escape from the scene of the
battle.
But—
“Burn it to the ground! Magical Megiddo!”
“Sleep… Innocent Siryon.”
The axe in Kotori’s hand fired a giant plume of fire. At the same time, there was a powerful burst
of ice sprayed out of <Yoshinon’s> mouse. The enemy was instantly defeated.
“Eh?!”
Natsumi couldn’t help but yell because of their incredible powers contrary to their cute
appearances.
“Wait, are there really magical girls with those kinds of destructive abilities?! My ability only
allows me to transform into a mirror?!”
“What are you talking about, Haniel? Would that sort of ability be ideal for spying or destroying
the work? THe mafia and drug gangs that you’ve crushed can’t be counted!”
“When did I ever do such a thing?! Isn’t it more realistic to say that enemy organization is too
dangerous?! Isn’t that not the sort of opponent that magical girls fight?!”
“…! We received a message from headquarters. It looks like tomorrow night, a bunch of violent
Japanese organizations plan to exchange arms with the Russian Mafia…”
“What? By the time you got to Haniel, we’d transitioned into the mafia invasion to suppress a
trading scene!”
“E-E-E-Ehhhhhh!”
The magical girl Haniel was dragged away by her companions before she could figure out the
situation.
Date A Girl Case 3: Idol
In a room in the artist’s office, the members of the idol group: Kaguya, Yuzuru, and Nia were all
intently watching the results of the popular vote with stern expressions on their faces.
“Oh… the first place goes to the popular idol, Miku…?”
“Disapproval. How can we catch up to her.”
“Um… do you want to investigate the reasons for her high popularity and then imitate it?”
After Nia finished speaking, Kaguya put a hand to her chin.
“The reason why Miku’s songs are so… popular?”
“Agree. But we can’t learn that song.”
“Hey but Kaguyan and Yuzurun are good. I don’t have a voice like that. Even if I wanted to
sing…”
“Maybe you didn’t realize it but didn’t you suggest something dangerous just now?!”
Kaguya shouted in response to Nia’s suggestion. Nia, however, showed a shameless smile.
“Well, if you have any other ideas then go for it. But do you like girls? It seems there is also a
business for yuri-type songs. There’s no interest in men so maybe it’s an original relief for fans?”
“O-Original.”
“Proposal. It’s not too late to give it a try at the next concert. Why don’t we put our arms around
each other during the next intermission.”
“Oh! How about I kiss the back of your hand like a prince!”
In this way, the meeting between the three of them continued like this.
A few days later, the day of the concert arrived. Four people, including Miku, sang and danced
on the stage and were swept by fanaticism.
After the end of the first song, they entered the intermission.
After making eye contact with Kaguya and Yuzuru, she stretched her hands towards their waists
while moving sexily.
However, in the next moment, they gasped.

“…Ah?!”
Because, at the moment when the two moved to hug each other, Miku somehow managed to
appear between them.
“Ah! The sister sandwich of my dreams!”
Miku spoke in a coquettish voice while showing an excited expression on her face.
“N-No…?!”
“Trembling. I didn’t notice her…”
Both of their eyes widened in surprise but they couldn’t interrupt the concert. The two could only
return to the concert in distress.
During the next interlude, Nia adopted a more serious expression and knelt on her knee on the
stage, ready to kiss Yuzuru’s hand.
“Yes! Nia-san is so bold!”
“…?! I thought I was kissing Yuzurun’s hand but I ended up kissing Mikki’s?!”
Nia, at that moment, had no idea what to say, she had no idea what she had done.
They couldn’t win against a true idol in many senses of the word.
The trio of Kaguya, Yuzuru, and Nia now held reverence and a trace of fear for the great idol,
Izayoi Miku.
As a result, the concert was a great success, and Miku’s popularity became more rock-solid.
-
Tohka Food Fight
“Uh… uh…uh ahhhhh!”
“Ahm… uhm…!”
Tohka and Mukuro intently stuck the sticks into their mouths before turning their gazes on each
other.
There was a powerful heat lingering about despite the fact that it was a chilly winter day.
Regardless, both sides were so stuffed that they couldn’t speak. However, the fighting spirit
gleaming in their eyes expressed more than mere words could ever hope to convey.
“Not bad, Mukuro!”
“Muku shall never yield!”
This was the conversation between God and man that couldn’t hope to be interpreted by the five
senses on their own. Hifrom d iscord.gg/datealive! If you aren’tthere, thisis stolen.
A battlefield; a feast; a deathmatch.
In the eyes of the onlookers, it was a strange scene to behold.
◇◇◇
“Well…”
One winter day, Yatogami Tohka sat in the Itsuka household as she squeezed an orange that she
held in her palm while sitting at a warm table alone while groaning softly.
She is a girl characterized by long dark hair like the night sky and dreamy crystal eyes. Right
now however, her beautiful expression was sorrowful and confused.
“Muu… but still…”
“Hey, Tohka?”
Just as Tohka was about to toss the orange still in her hand into her mouth, a faint voice came
from behind her. Tohka looked up at the sound and spotted two people that emerged into the
room. One is a teenager with neutral average features while the other was a petite redheaded girl
with her hair tied in long pigtails. These are the residents of this family: Itsuka Shido and Itsuka
Kotori.
“Oh! I’m bothering you, Shido! Kotori!”
Tohka apologized.
“Uh… that’s not the problem right now.”
Shido said while pointing at Tohka’s hand.
“Eh?…Oh!”
Tohka followed Shido’s gaze and spotted the oranges. This was no surprise, after all, Tohka was
about to eat the oranges with the skin still on them.
“Sorry, thanks for reminding me, Shido.”
Tohka said gratefully, “I was about to make a stupid mistake.”
“What! That’s it?…I thought that you couldn’t stand the hunger anymore and decided to eat the
orange with the skin still on…”
“Muu…?”
“No… it’s nothing…”
As he and Kotori exchanged meaningful looks, Shido put on a bitter smile.
“Are you upset about something? If you don’t mind, you can always talk with us if you need
help.”
“Oh, really?”
Tohka asked eagerly. Her eyes sparkled brilliantly. This time, Kotori nodded as well.
“Of course,” Kotori nodded, “Taking care of the Spirits is an important job as part of
<Ratatoskr>… and I also consider Tohka my friend as well…”
Kotori admitted, a little embarrassed. As a result, Tohka’s eyes went wide as she let out a
surprised “Oh!”
“Is this the one? Is this the so-called tsundere?!”
“What, did you just show a proud attitude just now?” Kotori demanded.
“So where did you learn that word, Tohka?”
Shido asked suspiciously.
“Nia told me about them.”
Tokha said proudly.
“That woman…”
Shido sighed as he smiled bitterly.
After waiting for Tohka to finish speaking, Kotori showed a sullen expression on her face before
sighing and looking back at Tohka.
“Forget about that. What are you so worried about?”
“Actually, I’m worried about Mukuro.”
“Mukuro?”
Shido tilted his head and asked. Tohka nodded as she said yes.
Mukuro Hoshimiya was a girl who lived in an apartment next door to the Itsuka household like
Tohka and the other Spirits. Her powers were sealed by Shido just a few days ago.
“Well… I’ve had this feeling that she hates me. It’s as if she’s deliberately avoiding me,” Tohka
murmured sadly.
“Deliberately avoiding you? Did something happen between you two specifically?”
“Well, yesterday, Yoshino, Yoshinon, Natsumi, and Mukuro were chatting in the apartment
lobby. I also walked over and wanted to join them but when Mukuro saw my face, she quickly
turned and left.”
“Hmmm…”
Shido and Kotori put their hands on their chins and let out a gentle sigh.
Tohka sighed and said:
“Among other things, Mukuro was playing video games with Kaguya and Yuzuru. When I
walked by, she was having fun but then she noticed me and immediately left.”
“Hmm…”
“Also, did you know that there’s a custom in Tengu City for girls to rub each other’s chests when
they are happy? Miku introduced it to Mukuro today.”
“Wait a second! I feel like this matter is much more pressing than the situation with Mukuro!”
There was sweat on Kotori’s cheeks as she muttered, “I can’t stand Miku.”
After clearing his throat and recovering his spirit, Shido continued:
“Anyway, it really sounds like Mukuro is avoiding Tohka.”
“Well, that’s right. However, I have no idea why she’s avoiding me. Did I do something to offend
her unknowingly?”
“Ah… um…”
“Muu, that’s right.”
Tohka finished her expression with confusion while Shido and Kotori folded their arms and
frowned deeply. Rather than saying that they weren’t taking Tohka’s problem seriously, it’s more
accurate to say that they couldn’t come up with a way to explain it carefully.
“Uhhhhhh… you mean you don’t remember…?”
“All Mukuro knows about you is your inverse form, Tohka. Given that experience, it makes
sense that she doesn’t want to face you…”
“Inverse?” asked Tohka, expressing her doubts.
“Oh, no, everything is fine now.” Kotori waved a hand dismissively to deny the matter.
“In short, Mukuro misunderstood you. As long as you get a chance to talk to her as you are now,
surely you two will be able to get along well.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Now that I think about it, tomorrow is a holiday, so why don’t you and Mukuro go
shopping together? Let me ask her if she can tag along with you.”
After discussing the matter with Kotori, Shido looked a little disturbed.
“Is it really okay for them to go by themselves? I’m not too worried about Tohka but Mukuro
might be a little unstable since she was just sealed. Wouldn’t it be better if I go along with
them?”
Shido asked Kotori uncertainly.
“If you’re there, Mukuro’s Spirit powers will definitely be more stable,” Kotori agreed, “But
then she’ll only talk to you, and Tohka won’t be able to achieve her goal of improving the
relationship between her and Mukuro. Don’t worry about it though. <Ratatoskr> will monitor
them.”
“Hmm… you’re right,” said Shido finally, “Tohka, do you want to try this?”
“Oh! I want to try!”
Tohka replied enthusiastically after listening to Shido and Kotori’s suggestion, her eyes glowing
brilliantly with excitement.
Perhaps it was the expectation that she and Mukuro would be able to get along and the
excitement brought upon by a heavy responsibility of introducing the city to the new Spirit,
Tohka couldn’t help but lean out her body as she pulled her feet out of the warm table and with a
single fluid movement, stood up.
“I have to hurry! I can’t stand waiting anymore!”
“Oh? Where are you going?”
“Back to my room! I have to show Mukuro all the great places in this town! I need to hurry and
plan the shopping route for tomorrow!” After Tohka shook her hands vigorously, she rushed out
of the Itsuka residence to return to her own room.
◇◇◇
“Oh! Mukuro! I have much to show you today! Please take good care of me today!”
The next day, Tohka waited neatly and patiently at the door of the apartment complex and
Mukuro followed Kotori down the path, dragging her feet up and down.
The girl braided her long blonde hair into three braids while wrapping them around her
shoulders. Her golden eyes were gloomy as she looked at Tohka with watchful eyes.
“Nushi-sama, is it really okay for Muku to go with her? That woman won’t suddenly bite Muku,
will she?” Mukuro whispered softly in Shido’s ear. Shido could only shrug and smile weakly in
response.
“She’s not a dog… and didn’t we explain it yesterday? The Tohka you met before was just one
version of her. It’s not her real self. Do you think you can face her now?”
“Mun…”
Mukuro showed an understanding but conflicted expression, then nodded, promised, and moved
from her place behind Shido.
“…Tohka, although Muku has no desire to die, Muku shall reluctantly accept Nushi-sama’s
words and accompany you today. You should be grateful.”
“Oh! Thank you very much!”
Tohka raised Mukuro’s hand and uttered those words openly. Mukuro’s eyes widened at the
unexpected reply and she glanced down at the path before them.
“Right?”
“…Okay.”
Mukuro shook off Tohka’s hand with a displeased expression.
“Don’t waste your time here, leave quickly!”
“Okay! Shido! Kotori! Let’s go!”
“Be careful on the road and make sure to come back before dinner!” Shido and Kotori watched
the two as they headed out.
“Okay!” Tohka responded with hundred-fold spirit to the word ‘dinner’ as Kotori said it.
“Also, what are we having for dinner today, Shido?” Tohka asked.
“Um, today, I have fine beef at home. I wanted to make roast beef… but the oven isn’t working
properly so I may have to change to another dish,” said Shido as he glanced at Kotori. “I told
Kotori it was time to buy a new type of microwave baking oven.”
“Huh? Why not just take the one we have for repair?”
“I told you, there’s a new oven that’s much better than the one we have now, it’s called a
microwave baking oven that makes beef very soft when roasted,” said Shido earnestly.
“Fine. Fine. I’ll listen to what you have to say later. Anyway, Tohka, Mukuro, be careful on the
road, got it?” Kotori finished and waved to the two Spirits. Shido continued to plead with her but
she seemed to ignore his words as she waved them off.
“Umu, let’s go, Mukuro!”

“…Okay…” Mukuro replied reluctantly as Tohka grabbed her hand and marched forward
proudly.
As they walked, Tohka hummed a song softly while they walked through the residential area
toward the main road.
Soon after, Mukuro’s voice came from behind her: “Tohka, where are we going?”
“Oh! I haven’t told you yet!”
Her eyes widened in realization. She turned her head to look at Mukuro while her hand
rummaged through the small bag slung on her shoulder and took out a notepad. This was the
greatest shopping manual of Tengu City, which Tohka compiled the previous evening in her
room. At that moment, Tohka looked like a police officer or a detective as she opened the
notepad before turning to the plans written within with a smile.
“First──Burger steak,” she decided after a moment’s deliberation.
“Mun?”
Mukuro listened to what Tohka had said and tilted her head in wonder.
“Oh, sorry! This is a charcoal grilled giant hamburger called [Kanonmaru] on this road,” Tohka
explained.
“No, Muku is not asking for details,” she shook her head and then asked, “Is this for lunch? It
feels too early…”
“Is that so? Should I change places?” Tohka asked.
“…No, Muku shall entrust this to you. Just guide Muku.”
“Then it’s decided! Let’s go!”
Tohka said spiritedly as she led Mukuro to the hamburger specialty store down the road.
The store featured a chalet-style[1] atmosphere and at the front of the store was a large
chalkboard with “Today’s Recommended Menu” written in large handwriting. After Tohka
pushed the large wooden door open, a loud and powerful voice sounded from close to the
counter.
“Welcome! Oh! Tohka! I see you brought a friend with you today!”
1
Chalet-styled buildings are a building type generally seen in the alpine region of Europe. It is made of wood, with
a heavy, gently sloping roof and wide, well-supported eaves set at right angles to the front of the house.
The man at the counter had a barrel-like body with hands and feet as thick as logs, the burly
shopkeeper smiled heartily at the pair.
“Okay! Manager, I want to order the usual, please!”
“Got it. Does your friend want the same thing as you, Tohka?” The manager asked Mukuro.
Mukuro seemed startled, but then quickly nodded and said yes.
“Understood. I’ll take care of your order right away so feel free to take a seat where you want
and wait.”
“Sorry to trouble you! Mukuro, let’s go this way.”
“M-Mun…” Mukuro replied as Tohka guided her to their seats within the shop.
“Huh?”
Mukuro sat down at the four person booth, carefully looking around at the store before her gaze
drifted to Tohka who was seated right across from her.
──To be perfectly honest, Mukuro cared very little for the girl named Tohka who sat across
from her. As far as she was concerned, she felt justified in her feelings. When Shido took her out
on a date a short while ago, this girl suddenly broke in and attacked them mercilessly. She forced
Shido to lie on the ground while she sat on him. It was hardly a surprise that Mukuro didn’t trust
or even like Tohka.
“…”
All of that being said, it was almost impossible to believe that the girl in front of her was the
same as the Spirit she’d met in the past. No, while her looks were the same as before, her
manners and gentle expressions──especially the way that she was genuinely happy from the
bottom of her heart as she waited for the hamburger to be delivered to them. It was very different
from the cold Spirit Mukuro remembered.
Hadn’t Kotori told her that she’d only met one side of Tohka the last time they met… Although it
wasn’t clear, perhaps it was a double personality? For now, at least, she didn’t seem to have any
malicious intentions, much less bitterness. Kotori might be right. If so, then maybe Mukuro
could try to get along with her…
“Sorry to keep you waiting! The same order for two!”
While Mukuro was thinking about this kind of thing, the manager appeared out of nowhere and
placed the sizzling iron plate in front of the two of them. The burger steak on the iron plate was
about the size of a six year old’s face.
“…Hueh?”
Seeing the meat suddenly appear before them, Mukuro couldn’t help but be shocked at its sudden
appearance. It clearly smelled delicious. The crackling oil and seductive smell only served to
make their mouths water in anticipation. It was just that great and very large as well.
At least, it certainly was a size too big for girls like Tohka or Mukuro to handle. Perhaps the
manager mistakenly gave them someone else’s order. However, at the moment Mukuro was
about to point this out, Tohka, who was sitting across from her, clapped her hands together
firmly.
“Oh, here it is! Here it is! Come on, Mukuro! You have to try this! I guarantee that it will be
delicious!”
“M-Mun…” While Mukuro was confused, Tohka said vigorously: “I’m going to start!” and
without a shred of hesitation, she began to eat the huge hamburger steak.
“Umu! Really delicious! Manager! Your craftsmanship is just as good as ever! I would compare
it to the hamburger made by Shido!”
“Haha! Tohka, are you complimenting me like that?”
The shopkeeper chuckled while smiling a little bitterly.
“What are you talking about?” asked Tohka, confused. “That is supreme praise!”
The manager heard Tohka’s words and smiled bitterly.
At that moment, Mukuro had yet to move her knife or fork to try the hamburger steak. Tohka
tilted her head with a look of doubt on her face.
“Muu? Mukuro, why don’t you eat?”
“No… Muku wants to enjoy…” Mukuro cut the burger into a smaller piece before sticking it in
her mouth despite her previous confusion. The stewed rich honey sauce and gravy spread out in
her mouth. Tohka was right: this burger was really delicious.
“Hmm… it’s so delicious…”
Mukuro admitted quietly.
“Right?”
After Mukuro muttered in a low whisper, Tohka burst into a bright smile. Mukuro suspected that
she was happy that the store she recommended was being recognized.
Seeing her expression, Mukuro’s attitude softened a little. When she first saw the hamburger,
Mukuro thought it was just Tohka looking forward to eating it but it turned out that she just
wanted to introduce one of her favorite shops to her.
Upon realizing this, Mukuro looked away from Tohka in embarrassment while continuing to
enjoy the hamburger steak.
──After about half an hour.
“…Hooh…”
Although it took a while, Mukuro finally managed to finish the Charcoal Grilled Hamburger
steak. She rubbed her round belly and exhaled in satisfaction.
“Yes, it’s delicious and satisfying.”
“Umu!”
After Mukuro spoke, Tohka let out an excited cheer.
Incidentally, Tohka had already swept the iron plate where the burger steak sat out of the way
and added diced steak, fried shrimp, and potato cakes. Even so, her expression seemed to remain
the same: she was just as happy now as she was with the hamburger steak…How was her slender
figure able to handle such a large amount of food? The human body─correction, the Spirits─are
really mysterious.
“Alright! Let’s go to the next shop! There are so many good places in this town!”
“Mun… really? Where are we going next?” Mukuro asked while thinking to herself: she’d eaten
a little too much so she would prefer to avoid places with intense exercise. It would probably be
best to go to some shops or a department store, buy some things, and take a break in a scenic
place.
As Mukuro reflected, Tohka pulled out her notepad and after consulting it for a couple seconds,
she put it back and nodded.
“Next—let’s go eat some Tonkatsu[2].”
“Mun?”
This unexpected remark from Tohka caught Mukuro by surprise.
2
Tonkatsu is a Japanese dish that consists of a breaded, deep-fried/tempura pork cutlet. It involves cutting
the pig's back center into 2-3 centimeter thick slices, coating with panko, frying them in oil, and then
serving with Japanese Worcestershire sauce, rice, and vegetable salad.
“Well…wow…”
After about 3 hours, Mukuro was following Tohka as they walked down the road while she
exhaled painfully. This was no wonder. After they left the hamburger steak shop and took her to
the Tonkatsu shop, she then took Mukuro to a rotary sushi shop, an Italian restaurant, and finally
a donut shop. Mukuro, who’d be forced to tag along with her, felt that her belly was fit to burst at
any second.
Tohka, on the other hand, despite having eaten six times as much food as Mukuro had, was still
full of energy──if anything, after eating all of that food, her state seems to be better than before.
Looking at Tohka’s domineering back, Mukuro suddenly had the illusion of a sound of warming
and that she was always ready to go.
“Can we slow down, Tohka?”
“Muu? What’s wrong, Mukuro? Did you not have enough to eat?”
“No, it’s not that.” Mukuro shook her head. “Muku wants to be able to go to other places…
besides restaurants.”
“Oh, I see!” said Tohka as she spread her palms before consulting her notepad once more, sliding
her fingers across the paper.
“What about the aquarium or the movie theater that Shido took me to?”
Tohka suggested after a moment of thought.
“O-Oh… that sounds nice,” Mukuro replied.
It seemed that Tohka’s notepad had information about things aside from restaurants as well.
Mukuro sighed in relief to catch her breath and grant herself a peace of mind.
“Plus, the fish biscuits sold at the aquarium and the popcorn I ate while watching a movie are
especially delicious!”
“…” Faced with Tohka’s brilliant smile, Mukuro could only remain silent.
…At least it was better than being taken to another restaurant. Mukuro didn’t bother to protest
and nodded quietly in agreement.
“Well then, let’s go to the aquarium and the cinema,” Mukuro suggested.
“Yeah!” Tohka nodded energetically, keeping pace with Mukuro. However──

“Mun?” When they came to the main road, Mukuro stopped. Rather, it was better to say that
Tohka who was walking in front of Mukuro stopped suddenly, causing Mukuro to hit her back.
“Tohka, why did you stop so suddenly──,” Mukuro complained. Having said that, Mukuro
stopped herself as well, quickly understanding the reason.
“What—” Mukuro only had to glance at the road, eyes widened. Unfortunately, the road itself
was being taken for granted on the main road in Tengu City where several men gathered, full
of… personality.
“Hehehe… I can’t wait…”
“Come on, bring out today’s offering!”
“Yeah!”
These were all muscular men with buffalo horns; obese men with punk-like expressions[3] and so
on. All of them were wearing leather clothing with rivets attached all over their bodies.
“Yes, there is a strong sense of doomsday warriors.” Yeah! Yeah!”
“What’s wrong with these people?”
With sweat dripping from his cheeks and after raising his eyebrows, he spotted Tohka and
Mukuro. At the sight of them, his eyes widened as though he’d discovered something important.
“…! You are?!”
“How could this happen?”
“My brothers, look! It’s the <Queen>! The <Queen> of Tengu City is here!”
“What did you say!”
As soon as the punk man made the declaration, the other men reacted as they spotted Tohka and
Mukuro and began to encircle them.
“Hahahaha! <Queen>! You’ve appeared out of the blue!”
“I have been waiting for this day for many years and today I must spit out the years of
resentment that has been building up inside of me! My cheek, which has been hurt by you, is still
in pain…”
3
I believe this is referring to a mohawk or a similar hairstyle where a person’s hair is styled such that the
sides are shaved and the center is either freestanding or gel is added to make appear spiky or potentially a
combination of the two.
Some of the men were talking, others were banging their knuckles, and still others were licking
their knives.
“<Queen>…?” Hearing the other person’s description of Tohka, Mukuro tilted her head before
turning her gaze to Tohka. However, it was plainly obvious that Tohka looked just as confused as
Mukuro felt. She showed an expression that made it clear that she didn’t have a clue what the
men were talking about either.
“<Queen>? Are you talking about me?” Tohka asked, “What the hell is that?”
“The <Queen> who has conquered all of the Big Steak menus in Tengu City is none other than
Yatogami Tohka! This name is among the big stomach king fighters in this area but it seems that
no one knows about her!”
“Big stomach king fighter…?”
Hearing these strange words, Mukuro turned her head once more to express her doubts. Before
she could, one of the men wearing horns raised his arms while raising the corners of his mouth in
a fearless smile.
“That’s right! It refers to the original desire of humanity. It is also the original sin [appetite] or
the warrior who challenges the limits of [quantity]!”
“…Surprisingly, Muku gets it: whoever eats the most in this competition is the winner?”
“Gahaha! That’s it!” The man laughed arrogantly while Mukuro tilted her head while pointing at
the laughing man’s clothing.
“The truth is clear. But what’s the matter of waiting in that type of dress? It has nothing to do
with eating?”
“Gahaha! What stupid thing are you talking about, no matter what! We are big stomach soldiers!
Since they are called soldiers, of course they have to wear battle costumes when they go to the
battlefield!” said the man confidently. Mukuro could feel sweat dripping down her cheeks.
“I-Is that so? Muku thought that the horns would prevent eating.”
“Well, if you are too weak. Even if you are also a big stomach king warrior, each has its own
type. Uncle Ben who is good at eating steaks at the same time (the supreme piece of meat)
Ushiyama shows his identity in this form!”
“So what about the fat man rolling around?” Mukuro pointed him out.
“That guy is Katsuda, an oil like a drink, who loves pork cutlets.”
“What about the cockscomb[4] man?”
“He is <Greedy Ghost> Furano. No one can beat the speed of eating fried chicken fast like he
can.”
“…something like this…” Mukuro scratched her cheek. Although she seemed to understand the
infection in the atmosphere, she still didn’t understand what was going on. “Never mind, so why
are these big stomach king fighters gathered here?”
“Hmm… does it need to be said? Look there!” Ushiyama raised his hand and slammed it into the
horn of the helmet he was wearing.
Although the scene was confusing to both Tohka and Mukuro, they still looked in the direction
Ushiyama pointed. Their eyes widened.
The reason being that there was a large stage set up in the middle of the avenue with the words
“Tengu City Food Fight!” clearly written on a banner strung up across the stage.
“As you can see,” Ushimaya went on, “if there was ever an activity that could gather so many
fighters, this is it! It will be decided here today! To decide who is the first big stomach king
warrior in Tengu City!” He rounded on Tohka:
“Hey! Stop trying to play pretend, <Queen>. A big stomach king warrior like you, wouldn’t you
want to say that you happened to get into this place?”
“Uh, it just so happens…” Even though Tohka spoke with a puzzled expression. Her words
seemed to have gone in one ear and out the other for these men whose fighting spirits only
intensified in Tohka’s presence.
“I won’t forget! I finished the “KARLY” Big Steak curry two months ago, setting the fastest
record. However, you who appeared after I did manage to clear TWO “KARLY” Big Steak
curries in the same amount of time, which broke my record. My record was replaced within five
minutes at the store!”
“I ended up eating too much Everest Spaghetti in order to fight against you when you sat next to
me. I ended up walking unsteadily on the way home and hurt my cheek!”
“It feels like they are very angry.” The men ignored Mukuro’s words.
That said, Tohka had no no plans of dealing with them while holding Mukuro’s hand while
avoiding the mens’ gaze.
4
In this case, Mukuro is using the term to describe someone whose hair is styled like that of a chicken’s
head crest.
“Sorry, I’m currently shopping with Mukuro right now and I have no business with you today,”
said Tohka as she moved to leave the area.
However, the group of men were nothing if not persistent and consolidated their siege and
blocked Tohka’s path.
“Oh, that won’t work.”
“How could I possibly miss this chance to free myself of this shame?”
“Is it really okay to be the <Queen> and run away from the enemy?”
“Well…” Tohka looked sad. As a Spirit, it would only take two or three attacks to take the men
down. However, the existence of the Spirits was supposed to be a secret so it wasn’t a good idea
to cause a commotion on the road where ordinary people come and go.
“Don’t be so vigilant, <Queen>. We won’t try to force you if you are dead set against it.”
“Besides, this proposal isn’t bad. After all, the winner can get 100,000 yen worth of luxurious
meal coupons and the latest type of microwave baking stone oven. It is important that the
contestants can fill their stomachs both inside and outside. Anyway, these two prizes are going to
be mine.” The men showed ambitious eyes and smiled. It was clear that the onlookers favored
them to be the winners.
“Muu… A microwave baking stone oven…?” At that moment, Tohka seemed to remember it as
she put a hand to her chin in thought.
“Tohka, what happened?” she blinked at the sound of Mukuro’s voice.
“No, it’s just that I remembered that Shido said that the old oven was acting weird and that he
wanted to get a new one.”
“Oh, to listen to you say these kinds of things…” After Mukuro answered, Tohka murmured
something to herself and made a contemplative action. She then faced Mukuro.
“Sorry, Mukuro, can I borrow some of your time?”
“Huh…? Anyway, could it be you…” After Mukuro began to speak, Tohka nodded forcefully.
“Okay, it seems like it will be very difficult for me to leave from here without causing a
commotion. If I win, I get to take the microwave baking stone oven and go back home. I think it
would make Shido very happy.” Tohka smiled slightly as her cheeks glowed red.
“Okay,” Mukuro put a hand on her chest to suppress her racing heart. She understood full well
that there was no need to monopolize Shido anymore. But what was happening to her right now?
There was a stab of irritation in her chest that Mukuro didn’t understand.
“Alas Tohka, do you think Nushi-sama would like that?” Mukuro asked.
“Muu? Are you talking about Shido? Of course I like him the most! That’s why I want to see him
happy!”
“…Mun…”
As Tohka spoke with a broad smile across her face, Mukuro saw her expression and heard her
words but still felt that same pain in her chest. The reason was simple. It was because she
imagined Shido’s joy when he received that gift from Tohka.
The feeling of being upset gradually strengthened inside Mukuro’s being. There was no need to
ask questions. She already knew that Tohka liked Shido a lot. It was just like Tohka said, Shido
would be very happy and Mukuro would be able to see his happy expression. Just—
“…!”
Just then—
Mukuro frowned at the slightly strange feeling surging through her. She felt her body grow
warmer and the heat seemed to gather in her heart at the center of her chest.
“This is…” Mukuro slowly opened her hand and set her sights on her palm while holding her
breath quietly.
“—Tohka!” When the time passed, Mukuro cried out. Tohka, who was following the men toward
the stage, stopped and turned her head in wonder.
“What’s wrong, Mukuro?”
“You must allow Muku… to participate in this contest!” After Mukuro said that, Tohka and the
mens’ eyes widened in surprise.
◇◇◇
“The [Tengu City Food Fight] is finally about to start! The hungry big stomach king warriors are
making their way onto the stage, and looking forward to the start of the gong sound!” The host’s
loud voice rang out through the loudspeaker as Tohka listened to the host on a specific set stage.
On the stage, there is a whole row of big-sized men, and now you can see many audiences who
don’t know when to gather. Beside her was Mukuro whose expression showed a strong
determination.
That’s right, Mukuro decided to join the competition and the registration was officially
completed.
“Well, it’s really surprising to see you participate. Mukuro, are you sure that you can keep
going?” Mukuro had eaten more than her fair share of food during their shared excursion.
“M-Mun… that’s true…” Mukuro admitted as she glanced uncertainly at Tohka.
“…?”
The atmosphere seemed strange. Tohka felt something was wrong, but when she was about to
ask, the loudspeaker took the lead and re-sounded the host’s voice.
“The rules of the game are simple! The player who eats the most hotdog castles within the
specified time limit is the winner! That’s it!”
“Well, does everyone have a hot dog castle on their tables? No, no, don’t start eating yet.”
“──So, I hereby announce… let the games begin!”
“OH!”
Everyone let out a loud cheer as, under the command of the host, the big stomach fighters on the
stage began to eat the hot dogs from the castle on their tables all at the same time.
Tohka folded her hands and said, “I’m moving” before grabbing a hot dog castle in front of her
and biting down on it.
“Ahhh… ohhh… this tastes so good!”
She could feel the toasted bread and crispy sausage went straight into her mouth. Even though it
was mass produced for a contest, the taste is definitely not bad.
Even though this was a fast-eating contest, at the end of the day, it was still eating. Tohka
enjoyed the taste and aroma of the hot dog castle, chews and swallows in one breath.
Among the big stomach king fighters, some people tried to increase their speed by eating the
sausage first and then soaking the bread with water, but that can no longer be called a hot dog
castle, but a bread with sausage soaked with water. Maybe it can be finished quickly, but Tohka
doesn’t like this way very much.
The players are fierce, eating hot dog castles one by one! ── Oops! Soon, someone seems to be
eliminated! Specifically, some players with corners on their helmets interfered with the players
on both sides and were disqualified! Katsuda’s throat was choked by dry bread without oil and
eliminated! It was here that Furano remembered that he doesn’t like meat other than chicken!
As the competition progressed, more and more participants were eliminated as they were named
on the loudspeaker. Tohka thought that it was a shame to not like meat other than chicken as she
reached out for another hot dog castle.
So──
“Oh! What do we have here! At this time, some players are about to start the second set! It’s the
last minute contestant: Mukuro Hoshimiya!”
“…! Really?!”
Hearing the host’s voice throughout the venue, Tohka’s eyes widened in surprise and glanced at
her.
The big stomach king fighters who sat in a row only managed to eat a half of their hot dog castle
so far, and even Tohka who’d only just managed to finish her first hot dog castle, but Mukuro
was already on her second plate. She probably felt Tohka’s gaze on her and she returned her gaze
with an arrogant smile.
“Ah, Tohka, if you are negligent, the title of champion will be taken away,” said Mukuro as she
grabbed another hot dog and tossed it into her mouth and then swallowed it almost without
chewing. Seeing this magical scene, the audience burst into applause.
“Oh! That’s a whole set, Mukuro!”
How could I lose to her? It was a game that couldn’t hold up, but if chess meets rivals, things
will be different.
Tohka ignited her own fighting spirit and ate up the hot dog castle in her hand. She raised her
hand and asked for another plate.
──Big stomach king warrior with various expressions, gorging on the hot dog castle.
Sure enough, he is a veritable “King Warrior”. The appearance of a biting hot dog fortress, not so
much as eating, is more reminiscent of the word fighting.
“But… victory will be Muku’s!” Mukuro murmured to herself and shoved the hotdog castle into
her mouth.
The hot dog castle, which she didn’t even bother chewing the hotdog castle, before swallowing it
whole. When the audience saw this, they burst into applause and the cheers were thunderous.
After Mukuro smiled, she reached out and touched her throat. When it came to eating fast, there
was not a person on earth who could beat the current Mukuro.
Because Mukuro used her key Angel <Michael> to open a hole in her throat to transfer the hot
dog to other spaces.
That’s right. The moment before the game started, a small key appeared in Mukuro’s hand. At
that moment, Mukuro remembered that Kotori warned her that if her mental state were to
become unstable, she could cause a backflow of Spirit power and told her to pay attention and
exercise caution. At the time, she was worried that the pain in her chest caused a backflow of
Spirit power to allow her to summon her Angel.
Mukuro soon realized that as long as she had the power of <Michael>, winning the contest was
not just a dream.
Sure, it was an unfair advantage. Even if the true stomach king warrior was present, as long as
the capacity of the stomach is limited, no one could eat endlessly. Regardless of the size of the
meal, Mukuro was the strongest existence in history.
Having said that, Mukuro had no intention of wasting any of the food she was eating. The hole in
her throat led to another one in her room back at the Spirit mansion as they were. Then she
planned to freeze them and eat them slowly over time.
In short, Mukuro’s first priority was defeating Tohka in the contest and winning the microwave
baking stone oven for Shido. It would make Shido happy and if he received it from Mukuro, he
was surely going to be even happier.
“Muku is sorry, Tohka. Only in this manner, Muku shall not back down…!”
Mukuro showed sharp eyes and shoved the fourth set into her mouth and raised her hand.
“The last minute entry: Mukuro Hoshimiya has already entered the fifth set! Such amazing
speed…Oh! It looks like another person is keeping pace with her! It’s Yatogami Tohka!”
“OOOOOHHH!”
The audience cheered when the host’s voice was heard.
“…!”
The unexpected announcement caught Mukuro off guard as she suddenly turned to look at
Tohka.
It was just as the host said, both Mukuro and Tohka had managed to finish the fourth plate
completely.
“How-how can this be…?” Mukuro made a surprised sound as she watched Tohka go.
This is no wonder. Tohka’s appetite was no small matter but from that morning, she and Mukuro
ate from the Big Steak menus in various stores. Despite this, she was still able to eat hot dog
castles at the same speed as Mukuro.
The fifth dish full of hot dog castles was immediately delivered to Tohka. Mukuro and Tohka
picked up the hot dog castle, opened their mouths: one person threw it into their mouths with
reckless abandon while the other bit down on it.
“…!”
Just then, something felt wrong.
That’s right. The big stomach king fighters present here all showed a sloppy expression like
Shura’s and stuffed the hot dog castle into his mouth, except that Tohka ate deliciously and
looked happy.
“Well, it’s delicious. I thought the hot dog castle used for the contest wouldn’t taste so good but
it did! I didn’t expect it to taste so delicious.”
“Mun…” Seeing Tohka’s expression, Mukuro murmured quietly. But she never gave up. She
stuffed her hotdog with her mouth, kept her pace, and successfully accumulated records. The big
stomach king fighters and the audience around were probably not expecting that a last minute
entry would fight to such an extent that they all cast a shocked look at Mukuro.
And the ranking hasn’t changed, as they reached toward the end of the contest.
Although the other big stomach king fighters continued to struggle, they were still unable to
catch up to Mukuro who’d resorted to foul tricks to take the lead.
That’s right—in the end, there’s only one rival.
“──Okay! Time is running out! The current champion seems to be Mukuro Hoshimiya! How
does her petite body accommodate nearly 70 hot dog castles?! And with the gap of half of the hot
dog castle closely behind, the current <Queen> Yatogami Tohka! How do the girls in Tengu City
manage to eat so amazingly!”
The host excitedly heated up the atmosphere of the venue. The audience cheered loudly for the
unexpected but nonetheless brilliant performance of the two girls.
However, Mukuro herself was all but powerless by this point. Although she barely managed to
take the lead for the championship title, she hadn’t expected Tohka to follow so closely behind
her. Obviously, the other big stomach king fighters have gradually slowed down but Tohka’s
pace remained the same.
“…!”
“…!”
Tohka’s and Mukuro’s eyes met. Of course, both sides were stuffed with hot dog castles and
didn’t speak. But there was an unobstructed communication between the two in a way beyond
words.
“Muku will never give up! This is the only thing that will not give way!”
“Not bad, Mukuro! It’s been a long time since I’ve had this much fun!”
Regardless, as long as she maintained her current speed, the winning prize would go to Mukuro.
No matter how powerful Tohka was, she couldn’t beat Mukuro whose stomach was effectively a
literal bottomless pit.
“Mun…”
However… At that moment, Mukuro stopped moving.
No, it was more accurate to say that she had to stop.
When Mukuro forced another hot dog castle into her mouth, she felt an unprecedented touch in
her throat, causing her to cough violently. That was the feeling of the hot dog castle really being
stuffed into her throat. It seemed that the limited state of <Michael> weakened causing the hole
previously in her throat to disappear.
“How… come…”
Mukuro’s belly was already full to bursting. Once the “hole” disappeared, she could no longer
eat. Mukuro kneeled weakly on the spot.
“Huh uh uh… one more plate!”
During this time, Tohka finished the last hot dog castle and raised her hand for the next plate.
At that moment, a gong sounded to announce the end of the game.

“The crown and champion are decided! The final white-hot victory prevailed and it was the
<Queen> Yatogami Tohka that won the glory of the queen! The hard-working Mukuro managed
to close behind by half a share and get the runner-up!”
“OOOOOHHHHH!!”
The megaphone sounded the host’s voice, and the audience cheered loudly.
“Mun… so sorry…”
Mukuro covered her mouth and squeezed out her voice.
At this time, a hand suddenly stretched over──it was Tohka.
“Mukuro, you are amazing! You really like good food too!”
“M-Mun…”
In the face of Tohka’s sparkling expression like a sportsman, Mukuro couldn’t help but look
away from her. However, Tohka took her hand without a care in the world and pulled her to her
feet.
“Wow! Ah! Ah! Ah!” The audience applauded and cheered while Tohka waved vigorously in
response.
“…Tohka, w-why is it that you can work so hard?” Mukuro asked with a stern expression, Tohka
smiled slightly:
“I want to eat a lot of delicious food! It was fun to play with you this time! And─I still want to
see Shido happy!”
“Mun…” Mukuro sighed when she saw Tohka’s innocent and bright smile.
Perhaps it was a change in Mukuro’s expression but Tohka then looked at Mukuro blankly.
“Well? Is there something wrong?”
“It’s nothing. Just a little bit of self-loathing…” Mukuro sighed and said, “Because Nushi-sama
said that he wanted the microwave baking stone oven, you didn’t hesitate to do anything to get it
and it came to fruition—Tohka, you really are amazing, really… admirable.”
“The microwave baking stone oven? Oh, so you also want to give a gift to Shido?” Tohka’s eyes
widened unexpectedly.
Just then, the host with the microphone came over to them.
“Congratulations to both of you! This showdown was very exciting! How are you both feeling
right now?” The host asked, pointing the microphone towards Tohka. Tohka faced the
microphone with a smile and said:
“Well, it was very delicious! But if you really want me to say, I think a little bit more ketchup is
more suitable for my tastes!”
Unexpectedly, Tohka even added a comment about the taste which made the audience laugh. The
host also reacted exaggeratedly before continuing:
“Then, please accept the prize voucher and the microwave baking stone oven catalog!”
“Oh!”
After receiving two envelopes with a gift certificate from the host, Tohka raised it high. The
audience applauded again.
“──Yeah.”
Tohka bathed in the applause. After a moment, she glanced at Mukuro and handed her the
envelope in her left hand—the catalogue for the microwave baking stone oven.
“H-Huh?”
Faced with Tohka’s unexpected behavior, Mukuro stared at her face incredulously. As a result,
the corner’s of Tohka’s mouth rose into the shape of a smile.
“Mukuro, give that to Shido. I’m sure he will be very happy.”
“What…”
Mukuro was stunned when she heard it and shook her shoulders.
“What does this mean? You won this. How could you give it away so easily?”
“Okay, so it’s my thing, so who I want to give it to is my choice!”
“B-But!”
Mukuro couldn’t think of a comeback and shook her head vigorously.
“Never, since Muku lost the battle. Tohka should be the one to give it to Nushi-sama.”
“Hmm… but don’t you want to give a gift to Shido too? If you give it to Shido, he will also be
very happy!”
“…!”
Tohka’s words were spoken innocently, making Mukuro’s eyes go wide.
Ah! Tohka just wanted to see Shido’s happy expression and it didn’t matter to her who made him
happy was secondary.
“Haha… it’s better thanks to you,” Mukuro collapsed and smiled weakly.
“You should give it to Nushi-sama. You won so it would be best that you give it to him.”
“Oh, but…”
“Come on. If it wasn’t something you won—”
“Umm… I’m sorry to bother you both.”
As Tohka and Mukuro continued to argue with each other, the host interjected.
“Did you need something?”
“That is, I want to present a prize to Hoshimiya-san; it’s a 30000 yen meal voucher and an
advanced pressure cooker set.
“Mun…”
“Oh!”
The host finished speaking and Tohka and Mukuro looked at each other.
◇◇◇
“Shido! This is for you! It’s a pressure cooker set!”
“Nushi-sama! Please accept it! It’s a microwave baking stone oven!”
Upon returning to the Itsuka household, Tohka and Mukuro handed the prizes they won in the
big stomach king eating contest to Shido.
“Wow! What’s the matter between both of you? How could you give me something that looks so
expensive…”
Shido’s eyes widened in surprise. Tohka and Mukuro looked at each other and smiled, facing
him again.
“Oh, I’m not telling!”

“A girl always has to have some secrets, Nushi-sama.”
The two said this with broad smiles while Shido looked puzzled. He sighed shortly afterwards
and said:
“Anyway, thank you both. I’ve been wanting to change to the new microwave oven and pressure
cooker for a while now. I’ll be sure to use them today to make a delicious dinner for you!”
“Oh! I’ve been looking forward to it!”
“M-Mun…Nushi-sama, you don’t have to do it right now, maybe tomorrow or the next day…”
Tohka answered in a spirited manner. On the other hand, Mukuro lightly smiled as she held her
belly.
As the three talked, footsteps came from the second floor and Kotori’s head suddenly poked out
of the room.
“Oh, you two are back.”
“Yeah! We’re back!”
“Hmm…”
After Tohka and Mukuro answered, Kotori looked back at them and smiled.
“It seems that the misunderstanding seems to be resolved, right Mukuro?”
“…!”
As Kotori said those words, Mukuro’s eyes widened as if remembering something before
glancing at Tohka’s face.
“Mun… yes, she really is different from the woman she met before—Tohka.”
“Huh? What’s wrong? Why are you so solemn?”
“I was so sorry to avoid you in the past. Although it’s a bit late… I’d like to ask you to please
continue to take care of Muku in the future.” Mukuro said this and slowly reached out her hand.
“Oh!” Tohka’s eyes glowed, and she also reached out to shake hands with Mukuro.
──However…
Mukuro’s hand passed Tohka’s hand and grabbed her chest directly and then started kneading it.
“What…?! What are you doing, Mukuro!”
“Mun? Was Miku wrong? She told Muku that to make our friendship stronger, it was necessary
to rub each other’s chests.”
“Is that so? Ah, Ah… I heard that, I seem to have heard of it from her too. Since that’s the case,
there’s nothing we can do about that. I also…”
“You two, that’s utter nonsense!”
When Tohka reached out to try to rub Mukuro’s chest, a loud wailing sound interrupted her.
Yoshino Experience
“Alright everyone! Today, the teacher will be introducing some new friends to everyone!” A
class guide announced cheerfully to the second year class B classroom at a junior high school in
Tengu City.
“Come in!”
The class guide beckoned gently. After swallowing, Natsumi and Yoshino, who were waiting in
the corridor, entered the classroom.
“…Um…”
The two of them stood in front of the teacher’s podium and the junior high school students
looked at them curiously. Natsumi shifted uncomfortably with the many students’ gazes on her.
“Could the two of you introduce yourselves?”
“O-Okay,” Yoshino nodded nervously, facing the students in the classroom.
“M-My name is Yoshino… please take good care of me.” She stammered and bowed her head.
Her greeting was met with applause from all around the classroom.
It was Natsumi’s turn next. Her fingertips trembled. She took a breath and tried to make a sound.
“My name is Itsuka Natsumi. I only came to school for trivial reasons, but please don’t bother
pretending to be familiar with me. Also, if you dare to try to bully Yoshino, I’ll never let you get
away with it.”
That’s what Natsumi planned on saying but instead—
“Ska…su… insufficient… admission… but… shino… forgive you…”
Having gained the attention of many people she was meeting for the first time, she became
nervous and struggled to make a sound. Although the students did not understand what she was
talking about, they still gave her sparse applause.
“Well, it can be inferred from their names that they are relatives of our classmate, Kotori Itsuka.
Both of them are here to experience admission. Everyone, please take good care of them.”
“Yes!” The students answered the class guide with vigor.
“…!”
Natsumi was immediately frightened by the loud noise and reflexively shook her shoulders while
imagining the nightmarish day and exhaling a heavy breath.
◇◇◇
It all started with what happened a few days ago in the Itsuka household’s living room.
“…You want to go to school?”
Natsumi repeated the words that shook her tympanic membranes[5] in despair. Those dreaded
words made Natsumi’s heart race and caused an increase in her blood circulation around her
body. She could feel the temperature rise, her thoughts becoming scrambled, and despite not
exercising, she could feel sweat dripping down her forehead.
This is hardly a surprise. After all, it is [school].
However, the person who spoke those accursed words, Yoshino, shook her head in
embarrassment but nodded while saying the opposite of Natsumi’s thoughts on school.
“Yes… seeing Shido and Kotori go to school, they seem very happy…”
The beautiful curly hair that is different from Natsumi’s and the cute face that is different from
Natsumi’s. If the world is [cute], it would definitely be in the form of Yoshino. This girl’s
appearance was so cute that Natsumi couldn’t help but think of it.
“School…”
The two were not alone in the Itsuka family living room. Indeed, there were two other people
there as well, sitting on the sofa as they rubbed their chins in response to the voice of the
goddess: one was a boy with neutral yet gentle features; the other was a young girl with red hair
tied in twin tails bound with black ribbons. They were brother and sister.
“Very good.”
“Yes. <Ratatoskr> wants to give the Spirits a chance to figure out what they want to do.”
“What…!”
Facing the unexpected reaction of the two, Natsumi made a change of tone.
5
The tympanic membrane is the medical term for the eardrum.
“You two,” she glared at Kotori and Shido, “Are you planning to throw Yoshino into that
hellhole?”
“What hellhole…? Aren’t you exaggerating a little too much?”
“It isn’t an exaggeration at all…! That kind of place is just a compulsory shelter for young girls
and prisoners! They create a prisoner’s class hierarchy! Those who can’t integrate into the group
must be vilified and ridiculed forever! It’s a place to condense the ugliest part of human society!”
“…To speak such mean things about school.” Kotori was so dumbfounded that she couldn’t help
but shrug in admiration.
However, Natsumi’s indignant attitude about school made Yoshino’s face dim in disappointment.
“Is school really such a terrible place?”
“That’s right! Don’t be fooled by the school dramas that make you cry! That’s just the school’s
publicity! ‘Everyone finally attended the graduation ceremony happily.’ It’s better to have such a
thing. The heart-broken bully is scum, the teacher who is afraid of things is useless! Even if he
plays the episode of Jinba Sensei!”
Natsumi’s mouth was suddenly covered and rendered speechless. Kotori, for her part sighed and
said:
“Calm down. I don’t really get where all this is coming from. After all, schools nowadays are
really different to how they were in the past. If you can’t ensure the stability of your mental state
however, then as the commander of <Ratatoskr>, I won’t allow you to go to school.”
Kotori glanced at Yoshino’s left hand. Specifically, it was the rabbit puppet Yoshinon that was on
her left hand.
“Ah what’s wrong, Kotori? Could it be that you’ve been ensnared by Yoshinon’s cuteness and
charm?” Yoshinon twisted her waist with amusement. Kotori turned a blind eye to Yoshinon’s
words before flicking the rabbit puppet’s forehead with her fingers.
“It hurts!”
“Ah…”
Probably guessing Kotori’s intentions, Yoshino cast an apologetic and downcast look.
Natsumi also understood what Kotori was saying. If Yoshino was without Yoshinon, she would
immediately feel uneasy, causing her sealed Spirit power to flow back into her. If it started to
rain it wouldn’t be an issue, but if things started to freeze, then it would become quite
troublesome.
She watched the interaction between Yoshino and Kotori. Natsumi figured that she would be able
to get out of going to school thanks to Kotori’s decision and was about to flash a gesture of
victory with her fists.
“So that’s how it is. It’s too early for Yoshino to be going to school…! It’s okay, Yoshino, a
school-like place like that…”
However, before Natsumi could finish, Kotori interrupted her and said:
“But I also said that <Ratatoskr> will do the best they can to help the Spirits. First, I will try to
see if there is a way to adapt to the school environment in the form of experience enrollment. Is it
okay to go to my middle school?”
“…! R-Really…?”
“Oh! Isn’t that great, Yoshino?”
After hearing what Kotori said, Yoshino’s expression brightened and she was very happy along
with Yoshinon.
“…”
In such a harmonious atmosphere, only Natsumi looked as though she’d been given a death
sentence. Her fist trembled out of nowhere.
“──So…”
At this moment, Kotori set her sights on Natsumi.
“Natsumi, will you be going?”
“Ah!”
Upon hearing those unexpected words, Natsumi made a high octave sound. It was hardly a
surprise; she didn’t expect things to turn out this way, or for them to affect her.
“D-Don’t make such noises. I’m not going. I definitely don’t want to go to that kind of place…!”
“Oh… really? Since you don’t want to go, I won’t force you. I’m just afraid that after Yoshino
goes to school, you will feel lonely, so I just thought I’d ask.”
“Hmmm…”
Natsumi fell silent.
Kotori was right. Most of the Spirits went to school. If Yoshino went to school as well, then
Natsumi would have to spend her days alone.
“Natsumi-san…”
Yoshino’s blue eyes were wet with tears as she gazed earnestly at Natsumi. Being stared at by a
goddess with such eyes, how could anyone even hope to refuse her? Natsumi could feel sweat
trickling down her forehead…”
“…I’ll go…”
After a few seconds of silence, she sighed with regret.
◇◇◇
“──Okay, then you two go find an empty seat and sit down.”
In Class 2B’s classroom, the class guide pointed to the vacant seats. Yoshino nodded.
“Okay.”
“Ah…! Good!”
Natsumi immediately looked away and nodded in reply. The two of them walked toward their
respective seats.
She felt a little uneasy, having been separated from Natsumi and Kotori, but Yoshino took a deep
breath and changed her mind. The reason she wanted to come to school was not only out of a
simple desire, but also to integrate into human society. If she felt uneasy because of a little thing
like school, she’d surely have a bad future.
Just as Yoshino came to that conclusion, the class guide explained a few simple contact points
and the class meeting was over. All of the students stood up, saluted, and then sat down.
“…!”
At that moment, Yoshino’s eyes widened as she stared around the classroom.
Because at that moment, the surrounding students showed curious expressions as they gathered
around Yoshino’s seat.
“Can I ask you where you came from?”
“Is that a rabbit?”

“U-Um…”
Faced with so many unexpected questions, Yoshino didn’t know what to do. Thankfully,
Yoshinon came up with an answer:
“Could it be that you’re curious about Yoshinon? That’s to be expected, I suppose. Everyone
here is in adolescence, after all.”
“Wow! It can talk!”
“Don’t be stupid! It’s obviously ventriloquism!”
“It’s so cute!”
With Yoshinon’s help, the atmosphere was becoming more lively and friendly. Yoshino was
originally worried about whether she would be able to get along with the other students she met
for the first time.
Then──
“Could you let me introduce myself as well?”
When Yoshino stammered to answer everyone’s questions, such a voice suddenly came. The wall
was separated towards both sides, and there appeared a young girl who was leading the attendant
and looked like a refined young lady at first glance.
“You are…”
“Hi, I’m Ayanokouji Kanon. I’m the class representative.”
“Ah. P-Please take good care of me.”
Yoshino nodded her greetings. Kanon hummed and a proud smile appeared on her face.
“If there’s something you don’t understand, please don’t hesitate to ask me or any of our
classmates.”
“O-Okay, classmates──”
“What, you didn’t figure it out from my name? Hehehe, I thought so. That’s right! My sister,
Ayanokouji Karin, won the championship at the previous Ten’ou Festival beauty contest. That
night, Miku Izayoi participated as a judge!”
“T-This…?”
Kanon started showing off for some reason while Yoshino responded to her statements with
blank looks but her eyes widened. The classmates around them had a look of “here she goes
again” along with a wry smile.
“That’s right! But rest assured, I won’t be proud of it at all! Because it was my sister who was
recognized by Izayoi Miku, not me. But I’m just the same as my beautiful and kind sister, and we
share the same blood!”
“Ahahaha…”
When Yoshino was surprised by Kanon’s enthusiasm, her cell phone began to vibrate.
“Ah!”
Yoshino took out her cell phone. In her excitement to come to school, she’d forgotten to turn it
off beforehand. Although she was thankful to the caller, she still had to turn her phone off.
But just then a student in her class exclaimed after seeing the name on the screen.
“Oh! Wait a minute, Yoshino! Your screen shows… Izayoi Miku!”
“…Eh?”
Kanon’s eyes widened as she stared at the screen. She frowned suspiciously and hit the answer
button.
“Huh?”
“Yoshino! I heard you started going to middle school! Is it true? Next time, can you get someone
to take a picture of you in your uniform? Can you… eh?”
It was probably the tip of the ear that heard the noise of the students and Miku made a muffled
sound.
“Ah! Shouldn’t you be in school right now? ──I can hear your classmates! People are really
tempting Izayoi Miku today, aren’t they?! Please take care of me…!”
“…! T-That… Miku, I’ll call you later…”
Yoshino’s face was flushed and she quickly hung up.
However, the damage was already done. The classmates who heard the call were screaming in
excitement, chanting: “Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh!”
“What was that just now? Was that really Izayoi Miku?”
“Just listen to that voice! It must have been her!”
“Yoshino! Do you know Izayoi Miku?”
“T-This… uh… ahaha…”
Yoshino smiled as she quickly turned off her phone and stuffed it back in her bag.
“W-Well…”
Among the classmates whose emotions were rising rapidly, Kanon’s fists were clenched a little
unwillingly but Yoshino, who was too busy talking to her other classmates, didn’t notice this.
“…”
Natsumi remained silent as she kept her gaze on Yoshino’s seat by herself.
No, it was correct to say that there were two or three classmates who attempted to approach
Natsumi in the beginning but Natsumi remained silent and refused to so much as look at her
classmates much less talk to them. In the end, no one approached her again.
“Really… the whole point is that you have to get along with everyone in class, Natsumi.”
“I don’t want to spend time with everyone here.”
“You said that again…” said Kotori helplessly. Then she paused, as though thinking of
something.
“Ah, right.”
She pulled out a notebook from her seat and laid it out on the desk in front of Natsumi.
“Natsumi, just draw some pictures.”
“Why?”
“It should be fine, right? Can you draw something like Nia’s manga?”
“W-What the hell are you talking about…”
Kotori shook Natsumi’s shoulder while begging for her to draw a picture. Natsumi frowned and
sighed. She picked up the pen and began to draw a character from one of Nia’s manga.
Kotori nodded contendly before taking a deep breath and said aloud:
“Wow, that’s so good! It turns out that you draw a lot of really cool things, Natsumi!”
“…What?”
Kotori’s sudden actions made Natsumi panic. So the students who reacted to Kotori’s voice
glanced at the notebook on the desk and exclaimed:
“Wow! It’s Fatimaye from <SILVER BULLET>!”
“Are you going to draw any of the other characters?”
“Well…! Ah…! Um…!” The students gathered around Natsumi instantly. Natsumi panicked at
the attention.
“That’s a Super Skill! This isn’t the level of a middle school student’s painting at all!”
“That’s super cool! Really great!”
“…Uh, that…”
“Can I ask, are you planning to become a manga artist in the future?”
“Let’s get signatures!”
“…whaaaaaaa?!”
Natsumi couldn’t handle everyone’s praise, shouting loudly and tearing the notebook at the same
time.
“Wow!”
“What, what is this…?”
“Don’t look down on people… Don’t look down on me…! You say these things, but you are
actually mocking me! You think I’m disgusting when I draw manga! I know it! I know it!”
“W-What…?”
Faced with Natsumi’s rage, the students looked confused, but quickly dispersed in fright.
After Natsumi caught her breath, she karate chopped Kotori’s head.
“Stupid.”
“That hurt.”
“Ugh…”
Natsumi remained speechless as she sat back in her chair and slumped forward on her desk,
praying that the class period would end soon.
◇◇◇
──From this it was clear that the situation after that was still very tense.
They’d just finished their third lesson of the day. After the math and English lessons, the students
changed into sportswear and gathered in the gym where they were to play volleyball for the day.
More specifically, they were learning how to hold the ball properly.
“Okay, let’s find some friends and form a group!” said the PE teacher loudly, clad in appropriate
sportswear. The students, similarly clad in sportswear, spread out in small groups, looking for
friends to form a team.
“Uh, I…”
Yoshino looked around, perplexed before spotting Natsumi standing alone.
“Ah, Natsumi—!” D i s cor d . g g /d a t e a l i ve
She moved to form a team with Natsumi. But at that moment, a refined lady appeared before her,
blocking her path. It was Ayanokouji Kanon.
“Oh, Yoshino! You haven’t formed a team yet?”
“Ah, not yet…”
Even if Yoshino tried to explain, it was plain that Kanon wasn’t going to listen. She’d already
shaken her thick hair and said:
“It can’t be helped! If you’re so persistent, you might even get me to be on your team──”
“Ah, Yoshino, come with me!”
“”Oh, I want to be in a group with Yoshino!”
“That’s okay, I guess.”
This time, Kanon didn’t get a chance to finish talking before Yoshino was surrounded on all
sides by other students interested in forming a team with her.
“…”
Kanon stiffened and let out a high pitched noise. A classmate rested a hand on her shoulder to
comfort her.
School is a nightmare space equivalent to the deepest pits of Hell. The cruelest thing among
them are the practical subjects.
It was okay to take a million steps back. Although occasionally someone asks questions so that
someone will answer them, it is possible to always pass by sitting quietly in your seat.
But for practical subjects like physical education, that won’t work. Everyone has to act on their
own initiative. The point is──.
“Okay everyone! Find some friends to form a group!”
If the sports teacher shouted this sentence casually, it would be a death spell for students.
Particularly for students with low social skills, the lethality of this sentence could even lead to
immediate death.
“Well, let’s be together!”
“Um, okay…”
“…”
Natsumi stood in place, not moving, and watched as the groups formed one after another.
Since it was part of the class, Natsumi had to be grouped with the other students but how could
she hope to reach the extremely difficult requirement of talking to her classmates like this? The
classmates who were taking action right now were all superb and holy.
Speaking of which, it was really the teacher’s negligence to leave the decision to students to
judge this behavior in class. It is packed into a beautiful icing called autonomy. After all, there
are students who are not good at communicating with others and should be left to the teacher to
decide on groups in advance. Besides, it shouldn’t be necessary to make groups for classes. It
should be said that it is necessary to destroy the soul cage that is school, and that education
through the internet is better than what school could hope to provide. Stand up and fight for
independence! For real independence! For real freedom!
While Natsumi was immersed in thoughts of terrorism, Kotori and Yoshino, both of whom were
also wearing sportswear, each waved their hands from separate directions and came towards her.
“Ah, Natsumi—”
“Natsumi!”
“…! You two…!”

At the site of them, Natsumi had the illusion of a ray of hope shooting into a dark hell.
Sure enough, the group should still be decided by the students themselves. Since it is impossible
for all the students in the class to fall in love with each other, if the teacher decides the groups
without permission, unfamiliar students will feel embarrassed, and a group of friends can
improve efficiency.
“Ah Ah! Yoshino! Is there no one with you?”
“Kotori! Let’s play together!”
“Ah, no, that…”
“W-Wow!”
However, as the two made to approach Natsumi, they were taken away by other groups.
“…”
Natsumi stared wide eyed with her hand still outstretched despite the loss. She became silent
once more and turned away.
“Is everyone divided into groups? Then let’s start practicing ball-holding… wait, why are you all
alone?”
“…!”
Natsumi tried to make herself as small as possible, trying to erase herself from existence by
blending into the background. However, when everyone else was split into groups, the presence
of a single person alone still gave off a very striking impression. The physical education teacher
waved her over.
“Ah!… my body… guaranteed…”
Natsumi originally tried to make an excuse to get out of physical education by saying that she
was uncomfortable in order to escape to infirmary to rest.
Of course, her faint words didn’t reach the PE teacher’s ears. As a result, Natsumi soon found
herself being stared at by the other students as she tried to avoid the teacher, who clearly didn’t
know how to show mercy (it felt like the middle school had entered a national volleyball
competition). It wasn’t long before tears burst out of her eyes. She was only a middle schooler,
after all.
The bell rang to signal the end of the fourth lesson was noticed all throughout the school
building.
Students knew now that it was time for lunch. Everyone proceeded to pull out their bentos from
their school bags or bento bags and proceeded to grab a table to eat together with their friends.
Just like everyone else, Yoshino could also be found pulling a bento from her bag.
“… ♪…”
She hadn’t meant to do it but she began humming a tune naturally. Yoshino remembered that
eating lunch at school is one of the long-awaited times after watching high school dramas.
Of course, she wasn’t dissatisfied with the usual lunch but there was something special about
being able to eat lunch with friends that filled an unknown desire that she’d only recently
discovered.
Moreover, it was Shido who made this lunch for her and Natsumi along with Kotori and Tohka’s
lunches. Yoshino had always been envious of this and now realized that two of her wishes have
come true at once.
“Hm Are you in a good mood, Yoshino?”
“I’m okay…!”
Yoshino stood up with a smile in response to Yoshinon’s voice and planned to eat her bento with
Kotori and Natsumi.
At that moment, an elegant girl appeared before her.
“Ah Yoshino! Are you by yourself? If you really insist—”
“Ah, Yoshino! Let’s eat together!”
“Come, come here, Yoshino!”
“Wow! Yoshino, your lunchbox is so beautiful!”
“Oh, t-that…”
A group of schoolgirls with bento boxes rushed up from beside Kanon, and brought Yoshino to
their table. After Kanon stared in surprise for a moment, she looked at Yoshino resentfully—but
Yoshino still hadn’t noticed!
“…”
Natsumi set her bento box on her lap, and one person ate lunch in silence.
The place where she is currently is not a classroom but rather a small space surrounded by walls.
In the center was a chair-shaped appliance and on the wall was a roll of toilet paper──she was in
a toilet cubicle.
Of course, Natsumi initially planned to eat in the classroom but Kotori and Yoshino were already
preoccupied with their classmates as usual, so she decided that she would come to the bathroom
alone.
Even if Natsumi did eat in the classroom, presumably, no one would care, but the excess of her
self-awareness will fill those surrounding casual sights and voices into murderous weapons.
She had the feeling that the girls were going to say bad things about her behind her back. The
one boy who glanced at her probably hated her guts now──these delusions made Natsumi’s
heart violent.
Furthermore, Yoshino and Kotori seemed to have fun in the classroom so it’s annoying.
Naturally, it goes without saying that Yoshino seemed to be having a good time and seemed to
get along well with her classmates. In this case, Natsumi wasn’t going to get in the way and
disturb her rare lunch time. This was the best choice for everyone.
“…Huh?”
Natsumi’s head was full of thoughts while she ate. She suddenly paused and stared at her
chopsticks. Shido’s mini hamburger steak always tasted just right, but now it tastes salty.
Just at that moment—
There was a bang just outside her door followed by a rough voice noise that made Natsumi
freeze and her breath catch in her throat.
“What’s with that girl!…I’m so mad! The miss is at a loss and she took special care of her and
even ignored my kindness!
As soon as she walked into the toilet, Kanon exclaimed angrily. The schoolgirl with her, Koko
Kojiko, shrugged helplessly.
“I don’t think Yoshino is ignoring you on purpose. I think what’s really going on is that you’re
not listening to her.”
“Shut up!”
Kanon interrupted Koko, her hands trembling with anger and her teeth gritted.
“I can’t handle this… since she’s so arrogant, I have my own considerations too.”
“W-What are you going to do?”
“Do you need to ask such things? Don’t try to make me out to be the bad guy here, but this crime
is truly horrible. I will keep looking for her and keep her shadow in my heart; I’ll make sure that
she never comes back to school ever again!”
“W-What… d-don’t do that!”
“Dammit! I can do this!”
After Kanon finished shouting, she briefly checked her makeup before stomping back into the
corridor aggressively.
The female student roared with anger after leaving.
The single toilet door slowly creaked open gently
“…”
The girl in the toilet frowned without saying anything. She sighed at the troublesome situation.
◇◇◇
“Ha ha ha… First of all, you must learn this trick.”
After finishing her lunch, Kanon returned to the classroom, playing with a rectangular object in
her hand, a sinister smile on her face.
“…? What’s that?” Koko asked, puzzled. After Kanon picked up the rectangular object with her
index and middle fingers and suddenly lifted it to meet Koko’s eyes.
“Don’t you see? It’s an eraser. An eraser.”
“I can see that it’s an eraser. I’m asking what you’re planning on doing with it.”
“Oh, does such a thing even need to be said?”
Kanon pulled a utility knife out of her pencil case and cut up the eraser into small pieces. She
placed one of the blocks on the palm of her hand and flicked it with the other, hitting Koko’s
head.
“Uh…?”
Koko, suddenly bombarded, tilted her head with a stunned expression while Kanon curled her
arms and the corners of her mouth raised into a smile.
“How is it? This is my secret technique, <Eraser Cannon>. Thanks to God, that girl’s seat is in
front of mine. After starting the class, I’ll use this to attack and distract her. Suddenly being
called by the teacher and not being able to say the answer, and gradually exhausted… ha ha ha!”
“…Uh, hey, I think it will only be annoying.”
Koko responded with perplexity to Kanon’s strategy. She pursed her lips, dissatisfied.
“What, do you have a problem with that?”
“Not really, but I thought you were going to think of crueler methods…”
“Like what?”
“Huh? Like putting a pushpin in her shoes, splashing water when she goes to the toilet, tearing
her textbooks, throwing her desk out of the window and saying there is no place for her, or…”
“Oh my God! What are you thinking! She’s so pitiful!”
After hearing Koko’s example, Kanon could not help but yell.
Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunchtime. The students returned to their seats one
after another.
“Okay, Koko. Go back to your seat too. Then we’ll see how this teaches her.”
“Okay.”
After Koko replied perfunctorily and obediently returned to her seat.
Soon afterwards, her victim, Yoshino, sat down in the seat in front of Kanon and the teacher who
taught the fifth period entered the classroom. After standing, saluting, and sitting down, the class
began immediately.”
“Hehehe…”
Kanon shredded an eraser behind her textbook and placed the shreds in the palm of her hand,
taking aim at Yoshino’s back.
A small eraser block flew violently toward Yoshino. However, when it was about to hit the back
of her head, it seemed to be blocked by an invisible wall and bounced back in Kanon’s direction.
“Ow!”
“Kanon, is there a problem?”
The unexpected development made Kanon shout in surprise. The teacher looked at her in
confusion.
“Ah, no… I’m okay…”
Kanon finished saying this before trying once more with another small eraser block. The result,
however, was exactly the same. When the block was about to hit Yoshino, it bounced back at her.
“…”
Over and over, she continued to launch a relentless series of attacks. Kanon ran out of patience,
broke up the eraser block, and launched them all at once. However, the outcome was the same:
they all bounced back and hit Kanon’s head like a snowstorm.
“…Ugh! I hate this! What the hell is going on?”
“Kanon!”
“…! Ah, I’m sorry!”
She received the teacher’s glare and Kanon could only look away while shrugging her shoulders.
◇◇◇
“… Damnit, how could that happen just now!”
After the fifth lesson, Kanon grimaced angrily. Not only was she scolded by the teacher, but the
appearance of the eraser block was also laughed at by her classmates, and several eraser pieces
were stuck in her hair. She couldn’t take it out in front of everyone. It was really embarrassing.
“I don’t know… maybe a transparent pad was on the back of her chair?”
Koko’s face was next to her and showed a little annoyance. Kanon pursed her lips unpleasantly.
“Are you telling me that she realized that I would shoot her with my eraser bits?”
“Well, how would I know?”
“…Forget about it. Let’s try a different move.”
“Hmm? What are you going to do to her next?”
Koko asked, but looked uninterested. Kanon smiled slightly and pointed at the apron on her
hand.
“What class do you think we have next?”
“Yes… home economics class. It seems to be that we’re making cookies today, right?”
“That’s right. I’m going to sprinkle a lot of salt in her cookie dough, and let her bite down, her
face will be wrinkled with salt!”
“… Oh, so that’s it.”
Koko returned her gaze with a dumb glance for some reason. However, Kanon didn’t care and
hummed cheerfully while walking into the cooking classroom.
The cooking class has gathered students who wore aprons and triangle scarves. One of the things
that attracts everyone’s attention are Kotori and Yoshino.
Although she only wore a blue apron and a triangle scarf outside her uniform, her cuteness
complemented her pitiful looks to create an exciting atmosphere. And even the rabbit puppet she
wore on her left hand was wearing the same costume. It was so cute.
“W-Wow… she’s so cute…!”
“…Kanon?”
“I-I said nothing!”
After Kanon cleared her throat, she quickly put on the apron and triangle scarf.
──Then the bell rang, and class began.
Everyone was divided into groups and was tasked with baking cookies. Fortunately, Kanon’s
group was assigned to the station next to Yoshino’s groups. It seemed that Kanon’s luck was
finally turning for the better.
“…Now’s my chance!”
Kanon waited for the right moment as all the groups made their cookies. She quickly added a lot
of salt to the cookie dough at Yoshino’s side and then stirred it quickly so that the salt wouldn’t
be noticed. She worked fast and quickly returned to her own workstation. It took only five
seconds, and the technique was so fast that it was unconscious.
“Strange…”
“Hmm? Yoshino, is something wrong?”
“No… it just feels like there is more dough…”
“Really? Isn’t it all the same dough? Leave it out and use the mold to make the shape, and then
we can bake it!”
“Ah… Okay, so it’s that.”
At her team member’s urging, Yoshino started to shape the dough into the mold. Kanon squinted
to observe her actions, raising the corners of her mouth to smile.
Thirty minutes later, all the groups finished making their dough and placed it in the oven. When
the oven went off, the smell of cookies drifted all around the classroom.
“Oh! It tastes so delicious! Yoshino, you should try it!”
“O-Okay!”
Yoshino’s cheeks were flushed and nodded in agreement before taking one of the cookies and
popping it into her mouth.
“Hehehehe…”
Kanon covered her mouth with her hand to cover the corners of her crooked mouth. But-
“Delicious…!”
“What?”
Hearing that unexpected word, Kanon stared at her in shock.
Kanon added far more salt than usual, and it is impossible to cook the finished product to the
point that it could be swallowed.
However, Yoshino’s expression didn’t look like she was patient with salty tastes. What on earth
is it?
“Kanon, let’s taste ours too.”
“Oh? Okay… let’s try it.”
Hearing from the same group of classmates, Kanon popped a piece of her own cookies into her
mouth despite her doubts.
Then—
“It’s salty!”
She felt a strong stimulus in her mouth and wailed, jumping up on the spot. The coughing didn’t
stop, and she spit it out quickly.
“Huh?! Th-this is…!”
Kanon’s face was sweating and panting—this strong taste is not wrong. Kanon added a lot of salt
to the cookie dough before baking it.
“Could it be that when you put it in the oven that you accidentally swapped with Yoshino’s
group? Otherwise, you can’t justify it. It’s impossible for Yoshino to do it intentionally…”
When Kanon was thinking about this problem, Koko bit her cookie and tilted her head in
wonder.
“Kanon, what’s wrong with you?”
“Koko, are you all right?”
“What do you mean? This cookie is delicious.”
“What the hell is this…?”

Kanon’s expression became confused and groaned in a low voice.
◇◇◇
“—My advantage is that I will never give up!”
After school, Kanon said exaggeratedly in the empty classroom and shouted loudly.
The disadvantage is entanglement.
“I wish you could control your emotions.”
Koko said with a sigh, Kanon responded fiercely. After covering her ears, Koko looked at
Kanon.
“So, what more can you do? Regardless of what you do, it will probably fail; I’d advise you to
just give up now.”
“What stupid thing are you talking about! I was so humiliated, how can I quit silently and let
things continue like this?!”
“No, that is entirely your own belief.”
After Koko sighed as though resigned to what was to come, “So,” she went on to say:
“What are you going to do this time?”
“Hehehe… look at that.”
Kanon said, pointing to the door of the classroom. More accurately, pointing to a wipe covered
with chalk dust on the door.
That’s right. It is the origin of the classroom prank and the apex of pranks.
“…That’s really cliché.”
“It’s cliché because it’s classic enough to stay!”
“However, the school day has already ended. Students like Yoshino must have already returned
home.”
“Hehehe… you’re too tender. Did you forget who the duty student is today?”
“The duty student… seems to be Kotori… you don’t mean…”
“That’s right! If relatives are on duty, they usually help out and then go home together! Now that
the two are just going to take out the trash, it should be almost time to return. Then, because the
garbage can was held in both hands, Kotori opened the door. It’s Yoshino! How about it! The
plan is perfect!”
“… Isn’t this wishful thinking auspicious?”
“No! She will definitely do it! Because she looks kind!”
“You’re praising her, aren’t you…”
“Less nonsense… Ah! Hush! Don’t talk! She’s here!”
Footsteps came from the corridor. Kanon pulled Koko to hide behind the table.
“Sorry, Yoshino. This is all done.”
“It’s okay… but, Natsumi…”
“Ah she said she’s okay, let’s go back first… what is it?”
Yoshino approached the classroom while talking with Kotori. Kanon did her best to suppress her
increasingly loud heartbeat and couldn’t wait to see the moment when Yoshino opened the door.
Then, Yoshino’s hand held the slightly opened door slit.
“…Yes!”
Kanon shook her fist vigorously.
However—
“What…?”
A squeaking noise was heard in the throat.
Alas, that’s not surprising. The door was open, but the wiper clipped above the door did not fall
off, as if double-sided tape had been applied to the edges.
“How, why…?”
Kanon’s words didn’t fall. The next moment, the ceiling dropped a large metal basin and hit her
on the head.
“Ow!”
The sudden blow made Kanon scream and collapse to the ground. Yoshino and Kotori were
surprised, looking down at Kanon.
“Yeah! Uh, Kanon…?”
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“Oh! Ah… uh, I…”
Kanon’s voice was incoherent, so Yoshino worriedly stretched out her hand to help her back to
her feet.
“Are you all right?” But—
“…Yoshino, there is no need to help her up.”
A murmur came at this time, and then the door of the broom closet in the corner of the classroom
flew open.
“Natsumi!”
As Natsumi emerged from the broom closet, Yoshino’s eyes widened in surprise. Kanon,
however, shook her shoulders timidly.
“AAAAHHH! Mop Monster!”
“Who’re you calling a mop monster?!”
Natsumi couldn’t help but shout… then she simply started to comb her messy hair with her
hands.
After a while, Kotori tilted her head with a puzzled look.
“Let’s just leave her alone… You don’t need to help her up. What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said. She put a chalkboard wiper on the door and had every intention of hitting
Yoshino with that basin.”
“…!”
Natsumi glared at Kanon through narrowed eyes, and Kanon shook her shoulders again.
“Kanon…?”
“Really?” Yoshino asked, stunned.
“… Yeah. It’s not just that. She was planning to shoot you with bits of eraser and tried to add salt
to your cookies in the cooking practice class.”
“W-What…”
After listening to Natsumi’s explanation, Kanon’s expression was stunned.
Rather than shock at the accusations, it seems to have other meanings. As if confirming this
inference, Kanon shivered and said:
“How did you figure it out?”
“…Hmph.”
Natsumi simply sighed in response to Kanon’s panicked sounds. She seemed to be aware of
everything, and stared at Natsumi in confusion.
That’s right. As a Spirit, Natsumi had the power of <Haniel> and could easily use it to form an
invisible wall, change the taste of biscuits, and create metal traps connected with the opening and
closing of a door. It was safe to say that Kanon couldn’t understand this principle.
“H-How is it possible…I didn’t leave any clues! I came up with all of my ideas on a whim!
There’s no way you could know what I’m thinking!” said Kanon anxiously.
Natsumi’s face wrinkled with a displeased expression:
“Of course I know what you’re thinking, because you and I think in exactly the same way!”
Kanon leaned back in surprise.
Admittedly, Natsumi wasn’t 100% accurate in her prediction of Kanon’s tricks. However, she
used every trick possible to keep track of a person—provided that Kanon’s actions didn’t become
too extreme. It wasn’t hard for Natsumi’s Angel <Haniel>, which can transform anything at will.
Plus—one more thing that was discovered after observing Kanon. Natsumi fell like a stone and
suddenly stretched out her finger at Kanon.
“Have you ever been treated this way before?”
“…! Y-you! What are you talking about…?”
After Natsumi finished talking, Kanon’s eyes moved about in a very obvious way and her voice
seemed to change.
She started shivering a little bit, then—
“A-Ah! AAAAHHHH!” Tears appeared in Kanon’s eyes and she bowed her head weakly.
“Kanon…!”
“Ahhhhhhh… you made someone cry!”
“It’s my fault, my fault…!”
She sobbed by Natsumi’s side. Although Natsumi knew that she didn’t need to panic, she
nonetheless answered with some anxiety.
Kanon shivered on her shoulders and twitched like a mosquito:
“It’s just, it’s not… it’s because other people can’t keep up with me… but… what the hell…
everyone despises me…”
The floor showed traces of tears, and Kanon muttered resentfully.
“…Ugh”
When she saw the symptoms, she scratched her head and sighed.
Kanon’s actions are definitely not appreciated… Sadly, Natsumi seemed to have realized her true
intentions.
After sighing again, Natsumi held Kanon’s gaze.
“… I don’t know what your problems are, but you have to pay for what you planned to do to
Yoshino.”
Then she said so, pulling Kanon semi-forcefully. The slumped Kanon let out a pitiful squeak
before whimpering… She was scared about what Natsumi might do to her.
“N-Natsumi, I really don’t care…”
“…No, you have to finish what you started…Okay, stand up. Look her in the eye and apologize
to Yoshino.”
“W-Why do I have to do this?”
“…”
Natsumi silently struck Kanon in the side and she twisted her body while shrieking.
“I’m sorry…”
“Very good. Next, stretch out your right hand.”
“L-like this…?”
“Yeah. Now, repeat after me: ‘Please be my friend.’”
“Please be my friend… uh-oh!”
Kanon, like a puppet, obeyed everything Natsumi said and her eyes widened in surprise.
Alas, it was too late. Because her hand stretched out ahead was already taken up by Yoshino who
was aware of the situation.
“Okay… I’ll ask you to please take good care of me.”
Yoshino smiled once she finished speaking. Her lovely smile made Kanon flush in
embarrassment.
“W-Why…?”
Yoshino blushed and glanced at Natsumi. Natsumi snorted coldly and looked away from the pair
of them.
“…Didn’t I say it before? Your way of thinking is very similar to how I think. I wanted people to
notice me, so I deliberately provoked them. It’s stupid.”
“A-ah!” Kanon sounded blank. After Natsumi turned away, she waved dismissively.
“There’s incurable scum in the world, and I don’t really understand your feelings, but Yoshino is
very nice and will pay attention to you, so you have to be honest sometimes. That way, you two
can be friends and get along well. Anyway, I’m going back.”
…Natsumi felt a little too kind at that moment and coupled with the honesty of her words that
haven’t yet been put into practice, she still had lessons that she could teach to others. But
sometimes, it doesn’t matter. As those thoughts flowed through her head, she made her way to
the classroom door.
Just then—
“W-Wait!”
When Natsumi was about to leave in spectacular fashion, Kanon’s voice came from behind her.
She quickly walked towards Natsumi.
“…What is it? Are you looking for a fight?” Natsumi frowned, clenching her fists into a fighting
pose. However, Kanon held out her right hand unexpectedly and said with determination:
“Please be my friend…!”
“…What?”
When she heard those unexpected words from Kanon’s mouth, Natsumi was stunned. But from
the earnest look on Kanon’s face, she didn’t seem to be messing around. The bewildered Natsumi
looked to Kotori and Yoshino for help.
However, the two of them smiled happily. Kotori shrugged and laughed:
“Don’t you two… think in similar ways?”
“Hmmm…”
Natsumi didn’t know what to say to that, and instead slowly turned her gaze back to Kanon. With
a nervous voice, she answered:
“… That, then… uh… please take care of me.”
“…! O-Okay!”
Kanon’s smile filled with joy.
Yoshino, Kotori, and the female student with Kanon saw this and clapped their hands with a little
helpless expression.
◇◇◇
“I’m back!”
Kotori’s voice filled the house along with the sound of the door opening.
“Welcome back!”
Shido responded as he prepared dinner. Soon after, three young girls in junior high uniforms
came into the living room: first was Kotori, his younger sister, and then, Yoshino and Natsumi,
who had gone with her to experience school life.
“Oh, you three. It’s very late.”
Shido glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already past 6 o’clock in the evening. For Kotori
who doesn’t participate in any after school activities, she came back a lot later than usual.
“Well, we went to the cafe after school and lost track of time there.”
“So that’s how it is.”
Shido nodded gently as he answered.

Although she often met up with Yoshino and Natsumi, it was quite a new experience for them to
come home from the same school together. Perhaps they wanted to enjoy being outside a little bit
longer.
“So how was school today?”
Shido wiped his hands with his apron as he asked the question. Yoshino’s eyes lit up as she
smiled brightly at him.
“It was… very fun! The bento that you made for me was delicious! Ah, this is a cookie I made
for you! And, well, I want to go to school more…!”
“Oh, thank you—is that right? That’s good.”
Listening to Yoshino laugh openly, Shido soon found himself mimicking her. Shido smiled as he
turned to Natsumi.
“What about you, Natsumi?”
“…As I thought, it’s terrible and not worth it at all.”
“Ahaha… that’s really—”
Shido noticed something a little peculiar. Natsumi complained and complained, but her
expression was a little different from usual.
“Natsumi, did something good happen to you?”
“…! W-What? No!”
Natsumi reacted fiercely to Shido’s words.
“But how should I say this? …It was okay? If Yoshino said that she still wanted to go to school,
it would not be bad if I went along with her.”
“Hmm… so it’s like that.”
Although it is not clear what happened… Shido guessed that the atmosphere would be more
lively than usual when eating dinner tonight.
Kurumi Valentine
“───Ufufu, fufu.”
Tokisaki Kurumi smiled while in a good mood, looking up at the display shelf for ingredients for
sweets.
With porcelain skin and glossy black hair, she was a lovely girl wearing a black coat over her
slender limbs.
Well, her left eye was ticking regularly, but that alone was an indication of her somewhat
extraordinary experiences.
“Now then, what are you going to do?”
Kurumi took delight in muttering to herself as she lined up the chocolates in order by hand.
Kurumi was currently working at a confectionary material store on the main street of Tengu City.
Beginning from melting a block of chocolate, she would use a chocolate pen with granulated
sugar to write on a message plate. Moreover, colored wrapping paper would be used to
compartmentalize everything into a confined space.
That should do it. Today is February 11th. It was three days before St. Valentine’s Day, a day of
celebration for girls in love.
Of course, Kurumi’s goal here was also materials for handmade chocolate. Imagining the perfect
shape for chocolates in her head, she threw everything she needed into the shopping basket.
Despite this, Kurumi was neither intending to give a sweet love confession or distribute
obligation chocolate.
“───Kihihi, hihi”
While grabbing the dark chocolate with high cacao content, Kurumi raised the corners of her
mouth with a smile.
“Look forward to it, Shido-san.”
Yes, this was all for the sake of turning the young man with the power to seal reiryoku, Itsuka
Shido, into her captive of lust just through her wiles.
Therefore, Kurumi’s flawless plan required obtaining handmade chocolate materials at the
confectionary store.
Her words for dialogue were a spear to the chest.
The touch of her fingertips was the edge of a blade.
And this chocolate was a bomb to shatter the walls of Shido’s mind into fine dust.
Every method for the sake of making Shido fall in love.
…By no means was this to make Shido pleased, or conceivably the reason being to earn his
praise.
“…Ara?”
Suddenly, Kurumi’s eyebrows twitched as she turned behind.
For some reason, it felt like a gaze was watching her.
However, there was no such figure behind her.
Rather than behind her it was only from the walls, floor, and Kurumi’s own shadow.
“Ah…”
Kurumi, who had a faint idea of the owner of that gaze, slightly shrugged her shoulders as she
went back to shopping for ingredients for the chocolate.
◇◇◇
“Kusukusukusu.”
“Kusukusukusu.”
Countless laughter resounded inside the dark, obscure shadows.
Inside the shadows──that expression was neither a metaphor nor exaggeration.
It wasn’t a dimly lit place or a location with no one present. Within the black vortex on every
crevice on the walls and floor, there were several girls breathing.
Innumerable──girls with the same face.
“Ara, ara, what are you doing, me?”
Noticing the laughter of that girl──one of the Kurumi raised such a question. Then, another
Kurumi with the same face replied while nodding.
Yes, everyone in the shadow was Kurumi. By manipulating the Angel of time <Zafkiel>,
Tokisaki Kurumi’s past forms could be revived as a clone.
“Ah, me. Just peeked out of the shadow a little.”
“Me, also went out to look?”
“What happened outside?”
“Yes, yes, it appears that me is buying chocolate ingredients.”
“Ara, ara.”
While saying that, a Kurumi placed her hand on her chin and peered out to look at the outside
world just like the other Kurumi.
“I see it’s a gift for Shido-san.”
“Yes, yes. Me certainly has quite the cheerful look.”
“Ufufu, looking at this makes myself feel embarrassed.”
While watching Kurumi act this way, all of the clones laughed.
Yes, the appearance of Kurumi seen from the shadows certainly did look more blissful than
usual.
However, while watching this scene, one of the clones raised her voice after recalling something.
“But, me seems to say that it is only a means to make Shido-san fall in love.”
“Yes, that was said.”
“There is no other meaning behind this, that point was always emphasized like that.”
As one clone said that, the other clones stood up in astonishment.
“Eh!”
“Is that true?”
“That’s a little suspicious.”
“Ah, she’s singing. Singing.”
“The person in question doesn’t seem to have noticed it herself yet.”
“The song is Valentine’s Kiss. The song selection seems a bit old.”
As they each shared their opinions, Kurumi laughed.
Apart from this, it wasn’t as if they were treating Kurumi like an idiot. After all, the real Kurumi
was the equivalent to their own future. Rather, it would be better to say they were watching with
a smile.
“But──”
“A bit enviable, of me.”
“Yes, yes, certainly.”
“I also want to give a gift to Shido-san.”
“But we ought to be aware…acting without permission is not allowed.”
“But.”
“No.”
“But.”
“But.”
Despite all of them being Kurumi, there were subtle differences in thinking and values depending
on the age they were created from. Although all of them shared the same overall goal, not
everyone would give the same reply.
In the shadows, the voices coming from Kurumi echoed several times over.
◇◇◇
“──Now, preparations are all set.”
The night of February 13th. At one of her various locations in the city.
Kurumi changed into her underwear, while placing her hand on her waist she made a final
inspection for the upcoming final battle.
“Uniform, check. Winter gear, check. Shoes, check. Underwear──
“Fufu.”
Kurumi made a pose in front of the dressing mirror and nodded lightly.
Sensual underwear covered enchanting snow white skin. Although it was a bit self-proclaimed,
there was no man whose heart wouldn’t skip a beat seeing this.
“Good. Now then──”
As Kurumi abruptly raised the corners of her lips, she turned her body to point to a decorated
box on her desk.
“Chocolate, all set.”
Naturally, the taste of the chocolate was self-explanatory, but Kurumi was also quite confident
that the wrapping was finely done as well. Kurumi smiled in satisfaction as she carefully placed
the box into a paper bag.
And then──
“…Ara?”
Unexpectedly, Kurumi slanted her head.
The shadow on the floor suddenly distorted as a girl with the same face as Kurumi crawled out
from there.
Moreover, the Astral Dress covering her body was in ruins. She was clutching her own
shoulders, gasping with a painful look. Seeing that unusual appearance, Kurumi couldn’t help
but purse her brow.
“Ha…ha…n-not good, me.”
“What on earth happened? Don’t tell me that something happened to Shido-san──”
As Kurumi asked that, the clone shook her head.
“W-We have rebelled…!”
“…Ha?”
Hearing those unexpected words, Kurumi’s face was left utterly baffled.
Rebellion. Of course, she knew the meaning behind that word. But when it came to that word,
she would never associate it with her personal clone vanguard that shared the same mentality.
Certainly, the clones were a part of Kurumi’s past history. Since they are taken from distinct time
periods, there may or may not be some guileless individuals from a so-called rebellious phase.
However, Kurumi’s absolute goal has never once been shaken. Therefore, even with individual
differences between clones, the common thought process should remain the same.
But, the clone raised her head, looking at Kurumi with a serious look as she continued
explaining.
“At first, it was just a little quarrel. But then the radical we began to rise.”
“Radical we?”
Hearing those all too familiar words, Kurumi couldn’t help but repeat those words just like a
parrot.
The clone continued to speak in a fervent tone.
“Even though from the beginning the moderate we tried frantically to stop them…”
“Moderate we?”
“From a certain perspective, there was a dispute between the new Tokisaki faction and the old
Tokisaki faction. Taking advantage of that opportunity, the me who was the representative of the
principle Kurumi doctrine staged an uprising. No…thinking about it now, it may have all gone
according to the grand plan depicted by me.”
“…I’m not quite sure, anyway what happened?”
As Kurumi said while scratching her cheek, the clone lightly nodded her head as she continued
to speak.
“There is a group of me who have formed an alliance to give Shido-san a gift and ran out of the
shadow…”
“…?! Please inform me of this earlier!”
When hearing what the clone had said, Kurumi widened her eyes as her voice turned inside out.
Although it wasn’t easy to understand abstract concepts like rebellion, radical, and moderation,
this was the most important matter.
The clones doing something unnecessary could hinder Kurumi’s goal──and above all else.
“The past me sending a gift to Shido-san…? Y-you’ve got to be kidding…!”
Kurumi’s face turned pale as she immediately snapped her fingers.
In an instant, the shadows clung onto Kurumi’s body, forming a red and black dress. Astral
Dress, the absolute armor fortress for a Spirit.
“This has to be immediately stopped now…! How many offenders are there?!”
“Yes, although most of the radicals have been stopped by us, four culprits have taken advantage
of this opportunity…”
“So there are four of them. I understand. ──Please assign the remaining me to the next task.”
“Could it be that you are intending to go alone? The whereabouts of me are still unknown…”
The clone expressed her concerns as Kurumi gave out her instructions.
Kurumi turned her body around as she huffed from her nose.
“I can’t afford to spare more people. ──Besides, who do you think I am? Aren’t I the final form
for all of me? The thoughts of me are as clear as the things held in the palm of my hand.”
As Kurumi spoke, she made a small jump at that spot, diving into the shadows.
──Moonlight shined through the window, filling the classroom with a fantasy-like light.
The time was 2:00 AM. In the empty school, the sound of small footsteps was heard.
It was neither a teacher on night duty nor a student who sneaked back into school to grab
something that was forgotten. ──It was the Spirit, Tokisaki Kurumi.
“Ufufu, fufu.”
Kurumi smiled a little, narrowing her eyes at this commonplace romantic scene as she slowly
walked into the classroom.
Kurumi was currently in classroom 204 of Raizen High School.
A class Kurumi once transferred into and where Itsuka Shido was enrolled.
Walking in tandem with the neatly arranged desks, Kurumi stopped at a particular desk.
“If I’m not mistaken…it should be here.”
While saying so, she raised the corners of her lips. ──Yes, if the memory of Kurumi serves, here
should be Shido’s seat.
“Fufu…”
Kurumi slowly took out a beautifully wrapped case from a paper bag. ──It was chocolate.
And then, she hid it within Shido’s desk.
So the next morning, when Shido came to school, he would find this. Together along with a
mysterious message──
But just at that moment.
“──That’s far enough, me.”
Accompanied by a familiar voice, a shadow appeared in the vision of Kurumi.
“Wha…!”
Confronted by that sudden occurrence, Kurumi twitched her shoulders as she turned to the
direction of that voice.
Standing there was the real Kurumi, who crossed her arms with the moon appearing behind her.
“…Sure enough, you’ve come here.”

Kurumi, who had discovered one of the culprits quite early, tensed her eyebrows in displeasure.
The first location to arrive would be classroom 204. It appeared that she was trying to hide
chocolates in Shido’s desk.
“Ara, ara…if it isn’t me. What are you doing here at this hour?”
The Kurumi who was caught at the scene of the crime didn’t appear to be the slightest shaken as
she feigned being calm.
Even so, this wasn’t entirely unsurprising. After all, it was her old self standing before her. For
Kurumi, she was inadvertently self-aware of this state of mind. Simply put, she would consider
being in a flustered state to be more detestable.
However, criticizing her for coming out now would come off as too boorish. …In any case, it
would even feel a bit uncomfortable for her. Kurumi sighed as she half closed her eyes.
“Don’t play dumb, me. I’ve already heard the story. ──Haven’t you been recklessly and
excessively behaving at your own convenience?’
While saying this, Kurumi looked on at the culprit illuminated by the moonlight.
Needless to say, the other party was a clone and had an identical face to Kurumi. But her outfit
was slightly different from the current Kurumi.
It was a Gothic Lolita dress with a black and white basis. Rather than tying up her hair, her head
was decorated with an ornament resembling a rose.
Moreover, the biggest feature was the left eye. She was wearing a medical eyepatch to hide the
clock-piece on that eye.
…A few years ago, there was a time she was tired of being dressed the same as her clones and
made a conscious effort to differentiate her image. The Gothic Lolita Dress from this eyepatch
Kurumi must be from around five years ago.
Nowadays, she realized that looking identical to her clones could help in deceiving the eyes of
the enemy. But still, this Kurumi represented her brief phase of blowing up her self-individuality.
In that regard, the existence of this eyepatch Kurumi could be considered as Kurumi’s natural
enemy. After all, everybody has bitter memories of the past…but this so-called black history has
manifested in the form of a person. Just thinking about it was bad for her mental health.
Eyepatch Kurumi likely realized that it was futile to keep dodging the topic. She vented out a
sigh, shrugging her shoulders while pulling out the box she was trying to hide in Shido’s desk.
“This isn’t being crafty at all, me. We just wanted to give Shido-san a gift.”
Eyepatch Kurumi spoke while not in the slightest afraid. Even so, Kurumi still felt anxious at her
reply.
“Tokisaki Kurumi, you are the me of that era. You are just a reproduction of my past. Please
don’t hinder my plan.”
“It’s because there was no one in my time period like Shido-san. Besides, what’s wrong with
adding a few more gifts?”
“It・ is・a・huge・problem…!”
Hearing what eyepatch Kurumi had said, Kurumi raised her voice without bothering to conceal
her anger.
Then, with that momentum, she hastily took a step forward to snatch the box away from
eyepatch Kurumi.
“Kya, what are you doing?!”
Eyepatch Kurumi sent out a look of criticism. However, Kurumi didn’t pay attention to that as
she turned her attention to the box.
“My past aesthetics is whom I’m most distrustful of! What would be done if you send something
strange that Shido-san hates!”
“How rude to call it something strange. It’s just plain chocolate.”
Eyepatch Kurumi spoke while pouting.
As it turned out, she wasn’t lying. However, the problem was not there. Kurumi lowered her eyes
to the card stuck on the box.
“…What is this?”
With a gloomy expression, Kurumi carefully scrutinized.
It was a black card the size of a business card. However, there was no information or contact info
on it. Instead there was a stylish font (a typeface likely to be displayed on a screen when a
mysterious person was talking through a communication device) with only the letter K printed.
It was just like the calling card of a phantom thief.
──Your heart, I’ve come to accept it…how utterly bothersome! Kurumi internalized the role of a
tsukkomi in her thoughts.
Looking at each constituent factor individually, it might come off as cool. But when these
elements are mixed together layer by layer, it was an unbearable sight to behold.
However, eyepatch Kurumi stared blankly while tilting her head.
“Don’t you feel that it is cool?”
“It’s not cool at all…! It’s a hundred steps back, the chocolate itself was good enough, why
would you attach something like this!”
“Because he wouldn’t even know who sent this…ha!”
As she said that, eyepatch Kurumi widened her eye as if noticing something.
“I-I see…that is certainly true.”
Suddenly, her hand began to tremble. Seeing her in this state, Kurumi finally breathed out a sigh.
“Do you finally understand now?”
“Yes…if there is only a K, there is the possibility of it being mistaken as a gift from Kaguya- san
or Kotori-san, right? As expected, I need to add a clock symbol…”
“That’s not it at all aaaaaaaaah!”
Kurumi screamed as she slammed against the floor with her foot.
From there, the shadows spread outward, grabbing onto eyepatch Kurumi’s feet.
“Kyaah!”
Eyepatch Kurumi let out a scream──but as soon as she quickly understood the situation, her
expression turned fearless with cold sweat dripping down her cheeks.
“Regretfully…it seems that this is as far as I can go. ──But, I am only the weakest of the Four
Heavenly Kings of Kurumi. I’m looking forward to how you confront the three remaining me!
Kihihihi! Kihihihihihihi──”
Eyepatch Kurumi continued to speak until being forcefully dragged into the shadow.
“…No, what are the Four Heavenly Kings of Kurumi?”
Kurumi felt a little dizzy as she dived into the shadows to catch the next culprit.
◇◇◇
After that, Kurumi departed for the main entrance of the High School.
Although it wasn’t clear which other generation of Kurumi had instigated the revolt, as long as it
was her old self, she felt the opportunity of putting chocolate in his shoe drawer.
“…Sure enough, I was right.”
There was a Kurumi closely peeking into Shido’s shoe cupboard. The original could only sigh at
this sight.
Here, as expected, one of the clones was putting chocolate into a shoe cupboard.
Despite it being gratifying for things to go as expected, when considering it closer this meant she
was reading their thoughts as if it were her own. Kurumi felt slightly depressed at the prospects
of this.
But in any case, she couldn’t let this clone proceed any farther. While making loud footsteps,
Kurumi leaped towards that spot.
“Stop right there, me!”
“…! Wha…!”
Seeing Kurumi appear, the clone faintly wrinkled her brow as she turned to the direction of the
real Kurumi.
“…”
Just from looking at her appearance, Kurumi felt a semi-automatic spasm strike her cheeks.
As in the case of the Kurumi earlier, she was dressed differently than a normal clone. She was
wearing a Gothic punk-style with bandages covering her entire body. Her right hand, left foot,
and of course left eye were also covered in bandages.
Although similar to the previous Kurumi, the direction of this person was even more twisted.
Kurumi felt a mysterious headache just looking at her.
And then bandage Kurumi tried to keep calm while opening her mouth.
“Ara, ara…if it isn’t me. At such a time──”
“Aah, those words have already been spoken, so you can spare the effort. You are the second
one. That should give you enough of an idea.”
As Kurumi turned her face away after speaking, bandage Kurumi let out a “boo” sound as she
pouted her lips to complain.
“Eh, that’s too unfair. I would also like to deliver to an exceptionally strong person. Taking upon
that challenge is restorative after fighting the enemy.”
“…What are you trying to say?”
Kurumi sighed and then continued speaking while pointing to the bag that bandage Kurumi was
holding.
“Compared to that, if you give that box to Shido-san, various problems are likely to occur. Let
me collect it right now.”
“That is tyranny! Why on earth would delivering this gift cause problems?!”
Bandage Kurumi let loose her complaints. However, Kurumi was without the slightest shred of
sympathy as she glared at the gift with her eyes half-closed.
“…Say, why did you use English newspapers for wrapping in the first place?”
“Is it not quite stylish?”
“…So why is a cross-shaped ribbon wrapped around it?”
“…So why are there bloodstains everywhere on the wrapping paper?”
Bandage Kurumi replied instantly without taking time to think. Apparently, it seemed she
actually thought so from the bottom of her heart. Kurumi placed her hand against her forehead,
letting out a small groan from the dizziness.
“Do you regard this as fine, me? Although the packaging is indeed quite surprising, only a
selective group of unusual people would choose this option.”
“Eh, is that right?”
“Yes, the bloodstains are especially undignified. Even if there is ordinary chocolate inside, most
people would feel uneasy about what was placed inside. Wouldn’t this be thrown out without
even looking inside?”
So, apparently the bloodstain wasn’t a print, but an actual stain on the wrapper. Although she
wasn’t sure if it was real blood, anyone would get suspicious if they discovered this in the shoe
drawer. To tell the truth, this creepy appearance gave the impression of stuffing the dead body of
a small animal inside rather than chocolate.
After listening to what Kurumi had said, bandage Kurumi rounded her eyes in astonishment.
“How could this be! I have not put anything dangerous inside. It is just chocolate──”
“Like I said, even if there is something ordinary inside this package…”
“──and simply paired together with a human skull ring.”
“Don’t add something so unnecessary aaaaah!”
As Kurumi screamed, just as before, the shadow on the floor expanded and entangled bandage
Kurumi’s legs.
“What──hey!”
Bandage Kurumi let out a sorrowful scream as she was sucked into the shadow.
It was then that the box containing her gift slipped from her hands and rolled onto the floor.
Looking at it with a glance, Kurumi slowly bent her knees as she picked up the box.
“…Ara?”
It was then that she discovered a part that was hidden in a blind spot beforehand.
There was a card attached to the ribbon.
“…”
Taking it out, it read the words Welcome to the hell! drawn in blood-soaked letters.
“…”
Kurumi shuddered from every fiber of her being as she threw the box into the shadows.
◇◇◇
“…In any case, this is halfway there.”
After capturing two clones, Kurumi left the school as she advanced forward by swimming inside
her shadow.
…Despite not even thirty minutes passing in time, for some reason she felt unbearably weary.
Thinking of this, Kurumi couldn’t help but sigh greatly.
“Ara, ara, fatigue must have struck, me.”
“Don’t overdo it. Why don’t you take a break for today?”
The two clones tried to offer words of comfort to Kurumi.
However, Kurumi was unable to feel at ease from those words.
But that was of course natural. After all, the ones talking to her now were the eyepatch and
bandage Kurumi that were just caught beforehand.
Naturally, in order to prevent them from causing another disturbance, their hands and feet were
tied up. But since their mouths were still free, they still tried to incessantly hinder Kurumi’s
movements.
Kurumi, with great trouble to avoid looking directly at the two, glared at them.
“If you wish me to be comfortable, how about revealing the locations of the remaining two? That
way I can soon fall asleep.”
“While saying that, Kurumi let out a long sigh.
Then, after eyepatch and bandage Kurumi exchanged glances for a brief moment, they gave a
slight nod as they began to open their mouths to speak in turn.
“If memory serves correctly, the third me was searching for a French pastry chef to make the
perfect chocolate.”
“Ah, ah, that’s true. I remember that the fourth me said about going to Trinidad and Tobago in
order to gather high quality cacao beans.”
Both of them spoke in a serious manner. …Of course, it was a lie. It was obvious that they were
trying to shelter the remaining two clones.
Kurumi released a weary sigh once again before replying to those two.
“Yes, thank you for that precious information. …Then next I will investigate the road between
the school and Shido-san’s house.”
“Giku.”
“Wow.”
As Kurumi said that, eyepatch and bandage Kurumi faintly trembled from their shoulders.
…This response made their attempts at concealment all the more conspicuous.
Sure enough, the next location appeared to be there.
Well, that would be a reasonable place. Based on the two major points so far being the school
classroom and shoe drawer, the next should most likely be the street that Shido always passed
through.
But she didn’t have a clue about any specifically designated points other than a rough outline.
Kurumi rushed out from the shadows of the night, carefully exploring her surroundings.
Shortly afterwards──
“…?!”
After walking for a bit, Kurumi’s feet came to stop as the shudders traveled up to her shoulders.
The reason was extremely simple. In the middle of the road, there was a huge box about 1 meter
in length.
Not only that, it wasn’t an ordinary box. The entire surface was decorated with colorful
rhinestones that glistened brightly when exposed to the streetlights. The ribbon on the lid was
made a lace simply for the purpose of being flashy.
“…”
Kurumi had a suspicious look on her face as she bent her knees to draw her ears closer to the
box.
“──Fufufufufufufufufu♪”
Then, a familiar voice was heard through the box.
“…Thud.”
Kurumi stood up, raising her right leg to kick the box open.
“It hurts?! I say!”
The lid of the gorgeous box fell open as one of the clones rolled out from the inside.
The clone crouched down while pressing the severe bruise on her head. After a few seconds, she
turned to deliver a resentful look to Kurumi.
“W-what are you doing…!”
“That’s my line.”
Kurumi sharpened the intensity of her glare at the clone.
This individual was different from even the previous eyepatch and bandage Kurumi. After all,
her clothes weren’t black. She wore a frilly white dress, a sleek hood over her head and an
overtly cute heart-shaped eyepatch.
Yes, it goes without saying that this was the sweet Lolita fashion. Once upon a time, for a brief
moment, Kurumi fell into that delusive fashion style and this time period had been accurately
reproduced as a clone.
However, after seeing eyepatch and bandage Kurumi already, Kurumi had predicted the
appearance of this version. Kurumi breathed out a melancholic sigh as she turned to look at the
box she just kicked over.
“…What is this box?”
As Kurumi inquired in a disgusted tone, sweet Lolita Kurumi proudly flaunted her chest.
“What are you saying? Naturally, it is me having decided on a present!”
Sweet Lolita Kurumi confidently spoke. Kurumi pressed her hand against her forehead to
suppress the dizziness.
“…So you were inside there?”
“Yes, yes. Everything is fine except for being a little cold.”
“…Could it be you are intending to stay here until Shido-san passes by?”
“Of course not. It is a present. ──Ah, there is chocolate as well, so please rest assured.”
“…”
Kurumi’s sullen expression sank into silence. There were so many chances to play the role of the
tsukkomi that she didn’t know what to say anymore.
But sweet Lolita Kurumi didn’t seem to notice this as she lifted up the fallen box as if to proudly
boast the display to Kurumi.
“Please take a look, much labor was spent on this portion of the cover. It took quite a while to
make everything glitter. Ah, there’s also this side portion. I deliberately painted a cat pattern.
And over here…”
Sweet Lolita Kurumi eloquently explained her work.
Kurumi sweetly smiled, extending her right hand forward. A pistol flew out from the shadows
and landed on her hand.
“<Zafkiel>──”
“Hey! Please wait!”
Kurumi raised the pistol as sweet Lolita Kurumi screamed in a hurry.
“Here, please look here! As soon as you open the lid, you can see the name ‘Kurumi♡’ written
on the back with red rhinestones! This will surely make Shido-san’s heartbeat race!”
“The Fourth Bullet <Dalet>♡”
Kurumi smiled softly while pulling the trigger.
One of the abilities of the Angel that manipulated time <Zafkiel>, the Fourth Bullet <Dalet>
which rerolled time struck the box. Sweet Lolita Kurumi’s masterpiece changed back into
various materials in a flash.
“Kyaaaaaaaah! My five hours and forty-five minutes!”
Sweet Lolita Kurumi screamed as she sorrowfully watched the rhinestones scatter around.
However, Kurumi completely ignored the sight in front of her as she spread out her shadow from
the ground to completely swallow sweet Lolita Kurumi and the decorative materials.
“Wasn’t the glistening sparkle beautiful aaaaaah?!”
Sweet Lolita Kurumi raised a strange cry before being sucked into the shadows.
At that moment.
“…Ara?”
Kurumi found a small box that fell on the street. A stuffed black cat toy holding onto a box
overly decorated with frill and lace materials. Presumably, this was the box of chocolates
prepared by sweet Lolita Kurumi.
Kurumi sighed as she threw the box into the shadows where sweet Lolita Kurumi had
disappeared into.
“So…finally there’s only one more left.”
Yes, certainly there were four culprits that had fled. Eyepatch Kurumi had also inexplicably said
the words the Four Heavenly Kings of Kurumi.
However, with eyepatch, bandage, and sweet Lolita Kurumi, it was only dense individuals during
Kurumi’s travels that had revolted. When considering the last individual of herself, Kurumi felt a
little uneasy.
“Well, even so these worries are in vain.”
While scratching her head, Kurumi racked her brain for ideas.
“One more person, if it is a place where you can surely give a present to Shido-san…”
Kurumi placed her hand against her chin, raising her face further up.
◇◇◇
“────── Ufufu.”
The sound of such small laughter was heard in the quiet room.
That was to be expected. The time was already around 3:00 AM. People in this room had already
entered a dream-like state.
Kurumi peeked out and examined the situation before emerging from the shadows.
In terms of size, the space was around 6 six tatami mats. On the wooden floor, there was
furniture such as a desk and a bookshelf and a uniform was hung on the wall.
And on a bed in the corner of the room, the owner of this room was sleeping quietly.
That’s right. In order to deliver chocolate to Shido, the final Kurumi made the choice──of none
other than Shido’s room.
Certainly, it was possible to deliver the chocolate to the classroom desk or Shido’s shoe drawer
or home mailbox.
But from the perspective of favorability, there was no location that could beat here. After all,
Shido was already here. As long as she delivers the chocolates to his pillow just like Santa Claus,
it’ll be noticed as soon as he gets up in the morning.
Moreover, this came with the benefit of being noticed by Shido a step earlier than even Kotori
who lived in the same household.
And also──
“Ufufu, fufu.”
Kurumi smiled happily as she walked gently towards the bed.
Of course, this was to place the chocolate by his bedside──but at the same time there was the
useful opportunity of watching Shido’s sleeping face a little.
Kurumi reached out her hand to the bed while thinking that.
But, at the very next moment.
“Kihi?!”
A hand suddenly protruded out from the bedsheets, tightly clutching her wrist. Kurumi
involuntarily let out her voice.
For a moment, she thought she had been discovered by Shido──but that wasn’t it. It was clearly
not a man’s hand that had grabbed Kurumi’s wrist just now. The skin was white and slender, as if
looking familiar──
“──Caught you, me.”
As Kurumi widened her eyes in panic, the real Kurumi revealed herself from the shadows of the
bedsheets.
Kurumi slowly crawled out while grabbing onto Kurumi’s wrist.
Yes, Kurumi had expected without a doubt that the final clone would be here to sneak beside
Shido’s bedsheets.
“You’re the last one, me.”
“Ku──”
As Kurumi said that, the clone used all of her strength to fling off Kurumi’s grip and retreat a
step back.
The moonlight slipping through the window made it possible to see the appearance of this clone.
“…”
Gazing at the appearance of this clone, Kurumi couldn’t help but tremble.
But that was unavoidable since, just like the previous three, this clone was dressed differently
than the norm.
A gorgeous kimono with a floral pattern drawn on a black background, an obi sash worn as a
corset, and frills peering out through spacious cuffs──and finally the pattern of the eyepatch
covering her left eye was just like the sheath of the swordsmen Yagyū Jūbei.
Yes, in front of Kurumi right now was a Japanese gothic Lolita, an individual dressed in the
Japanese Goth style.
“…Ah, ah─…”
Kurumi placed her hand against her forehead, while groaning as if recalling the past.
…Speaking of which, there was a phase where she indeed dressed this way.
How to describe it, although Kurumi’s original preference was Gothic Lolita, there was a certain
time she thought that Japanese style clothes were also exquisite. Investigating the names of
various swords, using old fonts meaninglessly, indulging in romance of the Taisho era and
mimicking dresses from that time period…who out there didn’t have a brief phase like this? Like
this, Kurumi subconsciously tried to find an excuse for herself.
“What’s with that reaction?”
Japanese gothic Kurumi raised her eyebrow in suspicion of Kurumi’s response. Kurumi
powerlessly smiled as she lifted up her face.
“…Nothing, just remembering that there were a lot of mistakes from that time.”
“What mistakes?!”
Listening to what Kurumi had said, Japanese gothic Kurumi raised her voice to criticize.
“Japanese style and gothic! Japanese style and Lolita! This appearance is the gesture of truth I
am pursuing!
“…Um, can you please stop saying Lolita? For some reason my back feels chilly.”
Kurumi trembled from the sudden chill, coughing a few times to reinvigorate her spirits.
Then, she bent down to pick up the box of chocolates that Japanese gothic Kurumi had just
dropped.
“Ah! M-My chocolates!”
“Like I said, stop talking like that.” (Japanese gothic Kurumi talks in a manner with dramatic
pauses in Japanese)
Kurumi said with sweat dropping as she turned to the box she had acquired.
A frilly ribbon and vividly colorful paper for wrapping…the personality of the gift maker had
already erupted at this point, but the problem was the thing attached to the box.
For a moment, she thought it was a calling card just like an eyepatch, but this wasn’t the same.
The address was written To Shido-san. From the faint thickness──it was an envelope.
“…”
Despite the ill feeling, Kurumi opened the envelope. Meanwhile Japanese gothic Kurumi let out
an “Ah! Don’t!” scream, but Kurumi chose to ignore this.
“…Oh”
A few seconds later, Kurumi felt beads of sweat form on her forehead.
This was undoubtedly a love letter meticulously written to detail sentiments of adoration.
Moreover, the usage was a misunderstood attempt at the romance of the old-fashioned Taisho
era. The only saving grace was that this imitation of calligraphy was almost impossible to read.
Although Kurumi was sweating profusely, she managed to stabilize her heartbeat and raised her
face up once more.
“…A-Anyway, your thoughts have been seen through, please resign yourself.”
However, Japanese gothic Kurumi suddenly cheekily smiled back in response.
“Yes, yes…as expected of the future me. I didn’t expect to be this cleverly preempted.”
“Even if you offer praise now, nothing will change──”
“Also, on the grounds of the ambush, sharing a bed with Shido-san…as I thought the adult me is
truly radical. I will need to continue studying honestly.”
“…”
Hearing what Japanese gothic Kurumi had said, Kurumi turned silent.
Then, as if to match that, Shido let out an “hmm” sound while turning over in his sleep.
“…”
Kurumi pulled the bed sheets to cover Shido’s shoulders and then turned to spread her shadow
below Japanese gothic Kurumi’s feet.
“Ehhhhh?! Ignoring me?!”
Japanese gothic Kurumi left that last complaint before being sucked into the shadow.
“…Fu.”
As the figure of Japanese gothic Kurumi disappeared from Shido’s room, Kurumi’s shadow
returned to its original size.
Kurumi sighed slightly, leaning back to stretch her body.
“Yare, yare…all of them doing as they please.”
She was forced to do such extraneous things when it obvious that the main event would be
tomorrow──
“…”
At that moment, thinking back to what Japanese Gothic Kurumi had said, Kurumi turned back to
look at Shido.
A quiet look at his unprotected sleeping face.
“…”
Kurumi held her breath back as she suddenly averted her gaze. For some reason, her face felt
slightly hot.
It must have been due to the lack of sleep. Kurumi slammed her heel on the floor as she dived
into her shadow.
◇◇◇
“Ha…at long last I managed to settle this before morning.”
Returning to her stronghold, Kurumi let out a long sigh before snapping her finger.
The Astral Dress she was wearing dissolved into the air as she changed back to her original
underwear.
“──Me.”
“Yes.”
Under Kurumi’s command, a clone dressed normally (the so-called moderate Kurumi) appeared
from the shadows.
“I have to take a nap. I’ll ask later about what happened during this period. ──In addition, the
four clones caught today should absolutely not be let loose.”
“Understood, then please rest well, me.”
After giving that courtesy, the clone returned back to the shadows.
“Really, it took quite a lot of time and effort…”
Kurumi sighed once more. Just before preparing to take off her underwear and get ready for bed,
Kurumi suddenly remembered something.
“Incidentally…”
She snapped her fingers again. Then, in response to that movement, four boxes flew out from her
shadow.
A box with a black card.
A box with blood stains on the wrapping paper.
A flashy box held by a cat.
A box with colorful paper and accompanied with a letter.
Yes, these boxes were the presents that the radical Kurumi tried to give to Shido.
Everything had been collected immediately due to an issue with packaging, delivery method, or
attachments──speaking of which, she still hadn’t confirmed what chocolate they had made.
Not knowing what was inside now was of no particular concern, but Kurumi let her curiosity get
the better of herself. She opened the boxes one by one.
“…! This is…”
Then, all of the boxes had been opened. Kurumi’s eyes widened as she held back her breath.
The reason was extremely simple. After all, eyepatch, bandage, sweet Lolita, and Japanese
gothic Kurumi, all of them──had chosen the same designs for the chocolate.
Cute chocolates in the shape of small cats lined up regularly in the box.
“…”
Staring at this for a while, Kurumi let out a long sigh.
“…Really, it can’t be helped now.”
As Kurumi said so, she took out a box from the paper bag on the table──the chocolates that she
had made herself to give to Shido tomorrow.
Although a bit wasteful, she unpacked and opened the box.
Then inside, cat-shaped chocolates similar to the ones made by her clones appeared in sight.
That’s right. The four clones had all chosen the same shape of chocolates as the original Kurumi.
“…In the end, I am still me.”
Kurumi let out a self-deprecating laugh as she removed four chocolates and replaced the empty
space with a single chocolate made from each of her four clones.
Yamai Exchange
“Ahhh…”
In the early morning, Itsuka Shido leaned back in front of his house and stretched.
It was a pleasant morning. Even though it was cold, it also served to blow away the last bit of
drowsiness.
“Okay… let’s go.”
“Well, the doors and windows are locked.”
“Okay!”
Such a voice came from behind in response to what Shido said.
The voice belonged to a girl wearing a junior high school uniform and two white ribbons in her
hair tied in pigtails, and a girl in a high school uniform with night-colored hair. It’s Shido’s little
sister, Kotori, and his classmate who lives right next door to them: Yatogami Tohka. Three
people, including Shido, are now going to school.
“By the way, Tohka, have you seen Kaguya or Yuzuru?”
Just then, Shido asked Tohka.
Yamai Kaguya and Yamai Yuzuru are twin sisters who live in the same apartment complex as
Tohka next to the Itsuka household. They also attend Raizen High school like Shido and Tohka
but they haven’t seen the sisters this morning.
“No, I haven’t seen them either.”
“I see. Judging how they normally act, they probably went on ahead to see who could get there
the fastest.”
Shido chuckled while scratching his cheek and at that moment, the apartment door flew open and
two girls walked out.
One girl with a slim build and hair braided up.
The other was a girl with a plump build and her hair tied in three braids.
As far as the five senses were concerned, they were essentially identical to each other even down
to their uniforms. The only way to tell them apart was their hairstyles, expressions, and bodies.
Now everyone was here. These are the twin sisters previously mentioned: Yamai Kaguya and
Yamai Yuzuru.
“Oh! Kaguya!”
Tohka waved her hand and approached the Yamai sisters.
“Ah, morning—”
At that moment, it wasn’t the girl who was called Kaguya who responded, but Yuzuru, who was
standing next to her, raised her hand and cleared her throat in shock.
“Muu?”
Tohka tilted her head in confusion but this time she another look at Kaguya as if she noticed
something and twitched her shoulders to answer:
“Greetings…no, Good morning, Tohka. Hehehe, the right hand of this palace is the one that feels
pain today.”
“Muuu? Good morning…?”
In the face of the utterly unnatural Kaguya, Tohka tilted her head to the side with a doubt in her
face.
At this moment, Kotori started talking to Yuzuru:
“Yuzuru, you are early!”
“Answer—”
This time, it was Kaguya who answered instead of Yuzuru. But she also immediately widened
her eyes and quickly looked away.
“Uh… greetings. Good morning, Kotori. I’m really comfortable this morning.”
“Oh, yeah…?”
Kotori was also puzzled by Yuzuru’s strange response.
“…”
“…”
In the face of Tohka’s reaction, Kaguya and Yuzuru shed sweat in silence, taking steps in unison,
and quickly embarked on the road to school.
“So, what happened to those two…?”
“Who knows…?”
Shido stared at the backs of their heads and tilted his head in wonder.
“…”
“…”
Kaguya and Yuzuru quickly walked to school that morning. After confirming that no one else
was around, they said at the same time:
“──Hehe, it’s really ugly. It’s very shameful to show up so quickly. It’s impossible for a junior
like you to imitate this palace of strength.”
“Rebuttal. Yuzuru said this sentence to you originally. Do you really think your response just
now was any good?”
“Yuzuru spoke with Kaguya’s voice while Kaguya spoke with Yuzuru’s voice and tone,” they
said to each other.
This could be an illusion, but it looked like Yuzuru’s sleepy-looking eyes widened in surprise but
Kaguya’s eyes which, by contrast, were always wide were now narrowed. That said, the two
weren’t fooling around nor did it seem like they’d somehow exchanged their souls with each
other. There was a very simple explanation for what was going on:
That’s right. The Yamai sisters, who looked exactly the same, were now dressed in each other’s
clothing.
Kaguya, dressed as Yuzuru, folded her arms while emphasizing her chest and exhaled angrily.
“Hmph! Say what you want! Anyway, it will be you who’ll end up crying!”
“Mocking. Yuzuru will prove it to you. If Kaguya can do it, then there’s no reason that Yuzuru
can’t do it either. If you wish to cry for mercy, it’s best to take advantage of the opportunity to do
it now.”
Kaguya and Yuzuru glared at each other while growling like dogs ready to fight each other.
◇◇◇
It all started yesterday.

One of the rooms in the Spirit Mansion next door to the Itsuka household held the voices of the
Yamai sisters.
“—Eh?! Yuzuru! Your personality is so gloomy!”
“Disagreement. A woman like Kaguya whose body is half made of shame has no right to say
such things to Yuzuru.”
“Don’t compare me to BUFFERIN[6] painkillers!”
Kaguya and Yuzuru hurled insults at each other with ferocious intensity that seemed to be
reaching a fever pitch. This scene was very rare for the normally harmonious sisters of Yamai.
However, it was caused by a trivial matter:
“Furious. After all, Kaguya ate Yuzuru’s cheese so casually!”
“What?! You ate my pudding as well! It’s even!”
That’s right. Just because Kaguya ate Yuzuru’s cheese that she put in the refrigerator and Yuzuru
ate Kaguya’s pudding.
If anyone else were to bear witness to such a trivial manner would be dumbfounded. In fact, even
Kaguya and Yuzuru didn’t expect to start arguing so aggressively because of such a small thing.
However, once the anger sparks, it burns out of control very quickly.
“Disagreement. The reason that Yuzuru accidentally ate the pudding was because it was the only
one in the refrigerator. Unlike Kaguya who knew that there were two packs of cheese in the
refrigerator and very deliberately ate Yuzuru’s as well.”
“So I didn’t apologize! No matter what the process is, the fact remains that you ate my pudding,
it’s strange to pin all the blame on me alone!”
“Disagreement. Yuzuru isn’t completely without fault, but that was only because Kaguya made a
mistake first. Take a step back and consider that, even if it was an accident, Kaguya didn’t admit
it honestly!”
“Well…! T-This…!”
“Conjecture. Kaguya must think that as long as Yuzuru admits to making the same mistake that it
will decrease Kaguya’s sin?”
6
Bufferin painkillers are a combination of aspirin and three different types of antacids: calcium carbonate,
magnesium carbonate, and magnesium oxide. The antacids act as a buffering agent to help neutralize
stomach irritation that aspirin may cause.
“Don’t look down on me like that! I wouldn’t resort to such things! It’s just that… expensive
pudding has that kind of taste to it…”
Kaguya looked away awkwardly.
Yuzuru frowned.
“Sudden. Didn’t Kaguya find herself eating the wrong pudding and cheese?”
“Yes but what can I do about it? It’s the first time I bought that brand! Besides, I haven’t eaten
the cheese.”
“Don’t mind. Forget it, it’s Yuzuru being silly, thinking that there is a way to communicate with
Kaguya. The original problem lies in intelligence, not character.”
“What…!”
When Kaguya heard what Yuzuru said, she glared at her sister viciously.
“Is it necessary to be so uncomfortable? By the way, I’ve always wanted to ask about it: what’s
with your vocabulary that you always say those words at the beginning? Do you think it sounds
cool? You criticized me just now, but you made a fool of yourself at the same time!”
“Anger. Kaguya is of ill breed, but still has things to say to Yuzuru? This is simply Yuzuru
speaking. Uneducated people like Kaguya may not understand it otherwise.”
“What are you doing!”
After Yuzuru finished speaking, Kaguya answered with a different voice.
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. The battle between the sisters did not stop and they
finally lost their tempers.
“I’ll say! You know what kind of education is not educated? Using that kind of speech: it only
makes you sound stupid!”
“Angry. You are so embarrassed. That being the case, it is not difficult for Kaguya to speak
normally. Shouldn’t you think that as long as you speak with a bad attitude, you look
authoritative? It’s ridiculous.”
“Only, not just! It is the majesty of this palace that comes out naturally! Don’t be rude!”
“Mocking. You seem to change your tone of speech when you suddenly think about it. It’s really
easy, at this level, Yuzuru can easily imitate it. Basically, Yuzuru is more versatile than Kaguya.
Everything Kaguya does, Yuzuru can do it all and better.”
“What—! This is a heinous lie. How dare you speak so wildly to the Queen of the hurricane?!
This sin, even if you serve the lord, this is not enough to atone for it! You are a part of me!”
“Provocation. So, do you want to try it?”
“What do you mean?”
Kaguya was confused when she heard what Yuzuru said.
“Try it…? What are you trying?”
“Explanation. It’s the match ‘who is better at being Kaguya and Yuzuru.’”
“…!”
The mention of a [competition] made Kaguya raise an eyebrow.
However, this is a matter of course. The word “Competition” had a special meaning for the
Yamai sisters.
Originally, they were actually a single person with Spirit powers. However, because of an
incident that caused the original Spirit Yamai to split in two and give birth to Kaguya and Yuzuru
which made them a special case. Sooner or later, they were going to have to come together and
become a single Spirit again. At that time, only one person’s consciousness would remain as a
result which is to say—survive.
In order to determine who would be allowed to live on, Kaguya and Yuzuru continued to engage
each other in various competitions and so far, they’d clashed a hundred times.
“I firmly believe that, if Kaguya can do it, there is no way that Yuzuru can’t. Kaguya can’t be
immersed in it.”
“Did all of this come from Yuzuru’s delusion?!”
“I feel malice coming from your talking style!”
Kaguya shouted unconvinced. However, Yuzuru spoke indifferently.
“Required. Now that you say that you can compare yourself to Yuzuru, please prove it to me.”
“So how should we prove it?”
“Answer. It’s simple: tomorrow, Yuzuru will act like Kaguya and Kaguya will act like Yuzuru.”
“What?” When she heard this, Kaguya’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I… become Yuzuru?”
“Confirmation. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the two of us look the same. All we have to change
is our hairstyles and behavior to match. Of course—only appearances.”
“Oh… so it’s like that.”
At that moment, Kaguya seemed to be aware of Yuzuru’s intentions and folded her arms
thoughtfully.
“So you mean that you want us to try to act like each other all day and prevent anyone else from
being able to recognize us?”
“Agreement. That’s it. Even though Yuzuru doesn’t think that Kaguya could hope to pretend to
be me and not give herself away.”
“That’s what I should be saying about you! It’ll be impossible for you to pretend to be me.”
After Yuzuru and Kaguya assumed fighting poses against each other, they spread their hands out
wide. Then Kaguya untied her braided hair worn on the back of her head. Yuzuru followed
Kaguya’s example as she wrapped her braided hair around the back of her head. At the same
time, Kaguya narrowed her eyes a little to give a feeling of laziness. Yuzuru, on the other hand,
widened her eyes to give a more energetic expression.
The sisters’ actions are perfectly exchanged and give the same impression of the other.
“Oh… you look just like me, Yuzuru.”
“Answer. Kaguya, you really look like—ah.”
“…? What… uh, ah.”
At that moment, Kaguya and Yuzuru looked at each other’s chests, eyes wide open. That’s right:
even though their appearances were indeed identical, but now the two were in a state where
Kaguya’s face was matched with Yuzuru’s plump chest while Yuzuru’s face was paired with
Kaguya’s smaller chest.
Ten minutes later:
“Complaint. It hurts! It hurts! It hurts, Kaguya!”
“Shut up, just bear with it!”
Kaguya was holding a silk wrap around Yuzuru’s chest in her sister’s room.
“Pleading. Hurry up. Some of it was made up by Yuzuru’s acting skills. Leave it to Kaguya to
weep over her delayed growth spurt.”
“What a terrible idea that is! If we do that, I won’t be able to change back!”
“Understood. You’re right… So, what about having Kaguya get over her inferiority complex and
finally put on a chest pad?”
“…What?!”
Kaguya heard those words and immediately held her breasts.
This was hardly a surprise: because Kaguya and Yuzuru were complete opposites in terms of
their breast size: her bra was stuffed with breast pads; just one was not nearly enough to
reproduce Yuzuru’s breast size. It was clear that Kaguya hadn’t anticipated needing to use more
than one.
“… ow, this is too shameful. How many centimeters do you have?!”
Kaguya gritted her teeth while Yuzuru’s cries of pain echoed throughout the room.
“Recall… Yuzuru remembers that it is about ninety centimeters… but honestly, it is heavy and
troublesome. Isn’t it more convenient to be able to move as freely as Kaguya?”
“…”
After Yuzuru finished speaking, Kaguya’s expression softened as she smiled sweetly at her sister.
“Suffer.”
“…! Wailing. It hurts…!”
Kaguya still wore an angel-like expression on her face as she pulled on the wrap more tightly.
Yuzuru’s painful cries rang out through the room.
—Which brings us back to now:
“Patience. Well…”
Yuzuru, now dressed as Kaguya, endured the pressure with her breasts bound while doing her
best to pay attention to the teacher’s lesson. She was in a math lesson and if she was being honest
with herself, she was having trouble paying attention.
However, Yuzuru’s acting as Kaguya was impressive.

While trying to imitate Kaguya’s unfamiliar tone was troublesome, it seemed that so far, at least,
no one seemed to realize her true identity yet.
Yuzuru glanced at Kaguya intently and watched as she massaged her shoulders. It seemed like
she was sore because she wasn’t used to bearing the excess weight on her chest. Perhaps she felt
Yuzuru’s gaze on her; Kaguya promptly stopped massaging her shoulders.
“Inhale. Exhale.”
Yuzuru exhaled quietly through her nose while trying not to move her head and avoid looking at
Kaguya.
It seemed that Kaguya hadn’t slipped up yet either but, as far as Yuzuru was concerned, it was
really only a matter of time before she gave herself away.
—Just then, the bell began to ring.
“Huh? Ah We’ll end it here for today. Everyone, make sure to review today’s lesson at home.”
The math teacher quickly covered the final point of the lesson before wrapping it up. Yuzuru
quickly stood up and saluted and then clenched her fist in an attempt to calm down her nerves.
Since it was possible for teachers to call on students by name to answer questions, it wasn’t
something that could be taken lightly, but the most crucial opportunity to win this competition
against Kaguya was during the lunch break.
That said, there was no need to be too neurotic: Kaguya followed a daily routine so it wouldn’t
be too difficult—
“…!”
Yuzuru gave the matter more thought before her eyebrows shot up.
The reason was simple: someone had put their hands on her shoulders from behind, taking
Yuzuru by surprise. She had to be careful not to speak like she would normally as she peaked
over her shoulder at the offender.
She spotted a female student with a long fringe. She is a classmate that shared three classes with
them: Himukai Eiko. Yuzuru had no idea why her right hand was bandaged. Maybe she’d injured
it?
While Yuzuru and Kaguya shared an apartment in the Spirit Mansion and often spent time
together during their days off, they don’t spend all 24 hours a day together. Of course, the two
had their own groups of friends at school.
Eiko is one of Kaguya’s friends. Although she had nothing to do with Yuzuru, she often saw
them together chatting with each other.
While Yuzuru was thinking about this sort of thing, Eiko spoke first:
“The Covenant is here. Let us go, Hermes.”
“Question. …what?”
In the face of an unexpected encounter, Yuzuru couldn’t help but tilt her head in and frown in
wonder.
“It’s time for the <Sage Meeting>. You should have received a notice about it last week.”
“Oh, uh…”
—What’s with this agreement? Yuzuru didn’t feel like going to this meeting. She could feel her
feet freezing and unable to move naturally and did not want to move.
However, as she was pretending to be Kaguya, she couldn’t refuse the invitation. Yuzuru soon
found herself being pulled from the classroom by Eiko.
“… Ah, yes, there is a <Sage Meeting> today…”
After the bell rang to signal the end of the fourth lesson, Kaguya squinted as she watched Yuzuru
get dragged away by her classmate, Eiko (Actually, she now called herself “Onerios”) and
scratched her cheek.
“Yuzuru will be okay… I knew about it beforehand and told them that there is no way I could go
today—”
Kaguya shook her head vigorously, as if to shake off the thought that had just crossed her mind
for a moment.
“No, she deserves it. I want her to experience my power…!”
Kaguya leaned against the back of the chair and exhaled angrily.
While it was true that Kaguya ate Yuzuru’s cheese in such a casual manner, she felt that Yuzuru
was being ridiculous. No matter the reason, the fact remained that Yuzuru ate Kaguya’s pudding
and then had the gall to call her stupid. Sure, she made a mistake because she ate the cheese, no
matter how utterly unkind—
“Ah, there you are, Yuzuru.”

“Huh…?”
Just as Kaguya was pouting, another female student suddenly called out to her.
The other girl wore a short skirt of exquisite length, and the sleeves of the blazer showed a
cut-out cardigan. Just staying at the scene will feel a sweet aroma, a sweet and gentle girl.
She remembered her name: Kyung Ai. Kaguya didn’t talk to her very often, but she did
occasionally see her hanging out with Yuzuru.
“Hey… Answer. What’s the matter, Ai?”
“Would you like to come here for lunch with Asumi and me? We have something to discuss with
you”
“Answer. Okay.”
“Yuzuru-san, what’s wrong with you? It feels like your vocabulary is a little monotonous.”
“…! Answer. That’s all right…”
After being called out like that, Kaguya felt sweat trail down her cheek. She’d just realized that
she’d used a different way of saying “answer” compared to how Yuzuru would say it with two
kanji.
Yuzuru seemed to be able to do it without any problems but it was suddenly much more difficult
for Kaguya to express her actions and mood.
Nonetheless, Kaguya tried her best and continued to say:
“… It’s pitch back. You should grab your lunch, then let’s go together.”
“Hey, suddenly it turns into a feeling of evil? Fear of such a hobby”
“Purgatory. You are more attentive. Then, what are you going to discuss?”
After Kaguya hurriedly replied, Ai twisted her body in a cute gesture and answered:
“I’ve fallen in love with my new boyfriend. I’m worried about getting along with him, and
hoping you can give me some advice.”
“…What?”
When he heard what Ai said, Kaguya forgot the vocabulary of the two words attached at the
beginning, and Ai tilted her head to express doubt.
“—Thank you everyone for your attendance today. Let us begin our <Sage Meeting>.”
It was during the lunch period. A weird figure said so in a mysterious room with blackout
curtains.
Since it is in school, there should be students here… But Yuzuru could not find any words other
than “strange” to describe this person wearing a black robe and a peculiar mask on her face.
“…”
However, Yuzuru was in no position to judge anyone else’s appearance because she’d also been
forced to dress up like that student that everyone had called <Zeus>.
“… Doubt. What the hell is this…”
Yuzuru murmured softly as she looked around the room. Several students dressed like Yuzuru
were seated around the round table. Among them was Eiko, who brought Yuzuru here (she
mentally corrected herself; her name was “Oneiros” right now).
However, everyone seemed to be indifferent to Yuzuru’s doubt, and each spoke in turn:
“The reason why we are convening today is that the acts of <Organization> have reached a point
where it cannot be ignored.”
“Wait… <Zeus>… don’t tell me that…”
“Exactly. The [Trial] as foretold in the [Dead Sea Document] is near.”
“How could this be? Do you intend to awaken the <Beast of the End>?”
“Aren’t you afraid of the <Darkness of the Gods>?”
“Ah… if that’s the case then we definitely can’t just sit idly by.”
“Right. But if we want to save the world, <three artifacts> are needed.”
“However, we have to defeat the <Gatekeeper> first before we can recover the artifacts.”
“…”
Faced with the ongoing dialogue in front of her, Yuzuru felt cold sweat trailing down her body. It
feels like a lot of difficult words were being used and the content is unintelligible.
Maybe there were doubts about Yuzuru’s behavior, so <Zeus> said:

“<Hermes> what’s the matter? You, who are always so eager to speak, haven’t so much as
uttered a single word. It’s unsettling.”
“…! Uh, no, this palace… is fine.”
“? Forget about it. Just go ahead and speak your mind.”
“! Thoughts? No, uh, well…”
Finding herself put on the spot, leaving Yuzuru an incoherent mess. As a result, the other
members of the <Sage Meeting> cast her a skeptical look.
“Something doesn’t feel right. Are you really <Hermes>?”
“Is the magical hand of the <Organization> already here? You there, please take off your mask!”
“…!”
The other students in their masks began to wonder and Yuzuru felt her shoulders twitch in
surprise. She’d finally managed to make it to this point, how could they have figured out her
identity here? Yuzuru felt her heart drop in shame as she stood up abruptly and removed the
mask and robe as requested.
“Oh! Hahahahahahahahahaha! It seems that <Organization> is nothing to be afraid of! The evil
eye of <Hermes> has already mastered the <Three Artifacts>!”
“Oh…!”
Yuzuru answered confidently while all of the other masked students’ eyes went wide with
surprise.
“Is that right? It’s <Hermes>.”
“Well, so where are they?”
“Well… it all depends on the <Will of Chaos>. When space and time converge, the answer will
be between zero and one.”
It seemed that Yuzuru herself didn’t have a clue what she was talking about now.
However the group of masked students immediately put their hands to their chins thoughtfully
before nodding in agreement and promptly began taking notes.
“U-Uh, so the next step would be the detailed situation around the <Three Artifacts>—”
“Well…”
After hearing what <Zeus> said, Yuzuru couldn’t believe what happened. This was hardly a
surprise: everything she’d just said was utter nonsense. All she did was think of Kaguya’s speech
and tried to mimic it. If anyone decided to pursue it further, it would probably be sloppy. It
would be better to say that it was already full of flaws.
However, <Zeus> went on to say some unexpected words:
“—Swords, mirrors, gouyu[3] are really too particular about the original direction. It should be
more innovative.”
“…What?”
The situation suddenly changed, and it was completely different from what it was just before, so
Yuzuru was at a loss. Other members answered:
“No, it’s important to stick to the basics. It would make more sense to adapt the <Three
Artifacts> to match the modern world.”
“Yeah, that’s right! Make the readers wonder: ‘should it follow the original setting?’”
“Oh but with all the myths added, will it be impossible to put an ending to it? How should we
integrate…”
“On this point, didn’t <Hermes> just point it out to all of us just now? Between zero and one: in
other words, the whole world was actually just a video game!”
“…! O-Original! If we do it this way, then the previous settings all make more sense!”
“…Question. What the hell are you talking about?”
Yuzuru’s original explanation was made even more confusing as she asked for an explanation
complete with a frown. Everyone in turn looked back at her with their heads tilted and a look of
wonder on their faces:
“What is there to say? We’re discussing the setting for our new works.”
“The <Sage Meeting> is an occasional inspirational meeting organized by members of the

literature and art clubs who are suffering from writer’s or artist’s block.”
“By the way, there will be more frequent meetings closer to the deadline for the newsletter
publication or Newcomer’s award.”
“Oh, and thank you <Hermes> for giving us such unexpected ideas for innovation.”
“…Understand. So that’s what it was all about.”

After hearing everyone’s explanation behind their word choice, Yuzuru let out a sigh. After being
led to such a strange place in a state of confusion, now everything made sense. It turns out this
way of helping suits Kaguya’s personality.
However, this peace of mind lasted for only a second. The group of masked students while
taking notes with one hand take another good look at Yuzuru.
“<Hermes> let us write down your next prophecy.”
“You know this world is fictional, so who created it with one hand?”
“Think. Uh, well…”
She could feel the overall attitude becoming more and more positive than before. All the same,
Yuzuru’s eyes drifted around the room at a loss for words.
At the same time, a group of girls gathered in a corner of classroom 2-3, chatting lively while
eating their bentos.
“── Then, it has to be my boyfriend. I’m too shy to do some intimate moves with others”
“I suppose, but doesn’t it all come out to the same thing?”
“…”
“But we have been dating for almost a month, and he has never kissed anyone else. After
watching a movie, shopping, and eating, I asked him where to go next, and he answered that I
should return home. I hate hate hate hate that sort of answer! At this point, you should launch an
offensive attack to solidify the relationship!”
“This is really annoying… speaking of which, to let the girls ask about the next arrangement is
just too ridiculous”
“…”
“But I don’t want to take the initiative. So I want to ask Yuzuru if there is any way to express it
gently.”
“Ah!”
Suddenly the topic turned to herself, and Kaguya could not help but yelp in surprise.
“Yuzuru, are you okay? You’re making some strange noises…”
“Yeah, you haven’t said a single word since we started talking, are you sure you’re alright?”
“Falling. I-I’m okay.”
Kaguya’s face was cold and sweaty as she shook her head vehemently to deny everything.
Well just like Kaguya had her own circle of friends at school, Yuzuru likewise also had her own
group of friends at school, but she didn’t expect them to discuss such a topic. Of course, Kaguya
was a girl as well and so she’d talked about such girls before. However, the conversation was
going faster than Kaguya was able to keep up, leaving her unsure of what to do.
“Look, the reason I have my current boyfriend is because of Yuzuru’s advice. I never would have
expected the Yamai-style of physical contact to be so effective.”
“That’s true. Speaking of which, you still haven’t said anything yet. Please tell us”
“Uh, t-this…”
Kaguya found herself sweating profusely. What exactly is the Yamai-style of physical contact?
Of course, Kaguya was a Yamai as well but she hadn’t the faintest clue of the physical contact
they were talking about.
The girls present clearly thought that Kaguya’s attitude was a bit different and soon Ai and the
others tilted their heads to one side.
“Yuzuru, what’s wrong with you? Your whole face is red.”
“Yeah it’s a lot like Kaguya…”
“…!”
Kaguya listened and her shoulders shook in shock.
How could she be failing at this stage? She did her best to restrain her fluttering heart and
pretended to clear her throat calmly.
“Hellfire. Okay, okay, I’ll teach you how to use the Yamai’s skills.”
“Oh!”
“I was hoping that you would say that!”
In the face of applause from the two girls, Kaguya desperately struggled to find a way to
proceed.
After a few seconds, she coughed.

“Abyss. For example, when two people walk together, they inadvertently cling to each other’s
fingers…”
Kaguya yelled out despite her burning red cheeks. Ai and Asumi stared at her for several seconds
before giggling.
“Oh Yuzuru, what happened to you today? So pure”
“That’s right, it’s really cute! But aren’t there any tricks like the one you taught us before?”
“W-What!”
A more intense way than before…?
Kaguya’s mind worked furiously under the expectant gazes of Ai and Asumi.
◇◇◇
“Sigh. Hey…”
“After the <Sage Meeting> ended, Yuzuru stepped out of the room and walked down the
corridor.
Although she had to use a lot of difficult words afterwards, she somehow managed to overcome
the challenge. But if she continued, there was no guarantee that she wouldn’t blow her cover. If
she was being honest, Yuzuru really wanted to read the story and see what kind of story they
would come up with.
“Sigh. But…It’s finally over.”
Yuzuru took a deep breath before pulling out her smartphone to check the time. There was still a
little bit of time before fifth period began so it would be okay for her to take a little break before
class started.
However, just as Yuzuru was about to do that, she heard a voice behind her as she headed for the
classroom.
“Oh, what a coincidence, <Magic Night>.”
“…?”
Yuzuru blinked as she heard the strange title and tilted her head in confusion while frowning
again.
It’s no wonder: she spotted an older senior student but instead of the standard uniform, she
favored a punk-themed hoodie under her blazer and tinkling silver jewelry on her arms and neck.
She also noticed a large guitar case slung on her back.
If Yuzuru remembered correctly, she was a student of the Godpunk Wind Orchestra with
Kaguya’s group at the Pop Music Club. Her name was—something related to fire: <Fire Lily>.
It doesn’t sound like her own name but she seemed happy with it nonetheless. Still, she’d just
called her <Magic Night> which was apparently one of the nicknames that Kaguya occasionally
used. Just how many nicknames did Kaguya have?
“Who are you? I don’t know anyone named <Fire Lily>.”
“Oh, what are you talking about? Of course, I asked you to write some more new lyrics.”
“…Confirm. What?”
She didn’t have a clue what this student was talking about while Yuzuru stared at her blankly.
However, she didn’t seem to realize Yuzuru’s appearance at all as she pulled out a piece of paper
and spread it out.
The paper was lined with dense strokes of kanji characters with some strange German characters
thrown in as well.
“When I first heard your lyrics, I was really touched. I never thought that someone would write a
word that fit my worldview so well.”
“O-Oh, this way…”
She didn’t understand what she said, complete with a handsome pose. Yuzuru could feel a new
wave of sweat trail down her cheeks.
“However, I’m sorry. The lyrics of the new song have not been written yet but it should be done
within the next day or so. I’ll let you know when I have it finished.”
Yuzuru’s competition with Kaguya was only limited to today. Tomorrow, Kaguya would be able
to figure out this problem herself so Yuzuru decided to answer like that.
“Ahaha, what are you talking about <Illusion Night>? Your creative ability isn’t that high!”
However, <Fire Lily> only laughed as she set down the guitar case slung on her back and pulled
a dark guitar from it.
“Spit out words from the lips along with the melody. Come on, let me see the glory of the
moment!”
Then she swayed the guitar pick without a second thought and played it on the spot in the center
of the corridor. The music suddenly sounded, and the students cast a curious look.
Yuzuru, who usually listened to Kaguya’s speech, probably understood the meaning of her
words—in short, it’s to improvise with the melody.
“Confusion. Hey…”
To be honest, it’s embarrassing to be this extreme but Yuzuru is now Kaguya…rather, she was
known as <Illusion Night> so she had to bite the bullet.
“D-Dark… Purgatory?”
“Dark Purgatory!”
Yuzuru stuttered while trying her best to ignore the guitarist while repeating the lyrics with the
melody.
“Heaven…wing?”
“Gu-Guten Tag?” (German for hello).
“Guten Ta—g!”
As a result, this shameful approach to mental retardation continued until a teacher came over to
investigate after hearing the commotion.
“Ah, really, why are they talking about that topic…?”
Kaguya sighed as she muttered under her breath as she stood in front of the sink. She poured
water into her hands and splashed it onto her face. She could still feel heat radiating from her
face. By Ene a n d LightningFarron
However, this is understandable as Kaguya has been teaching love “skills” to Asumi and Ai
since the lunch break started.
She’d been under a constant onslaught from the two girls in turn, and relying on her delusional
powers to put forth a lot of ideas. In the end, Kaguya was able to escape by making a break for
the bathroom. The reason Kaguya was so flushed was not because of the lascivious topic of
conversation, but rather she was ashamed of the delusional suggestions she proposed.
In short, she finally managed to get through the lunch break without giving away her identity.
Kaguya sighed as she wiped her face and hands with a handkerchief and stepped into the
corridor.
“Aha! I found you, Yuzuru-Onee chan! Where were you?”
“What?”
Hearing the sudden call, Kaguya raised her eyebrows slightly and turned her head.
She spotted a young girl waving at her. It was Hori Ayaka of the costume club. She was also a
student that occasionally talked to Yuzuru.
Kaguya felt that she was in trouble again but nonetheless turned to face her.
“Scorching heat. Is there something wrong, Ayaka?”
“What are you talking about? You promised to be my fashion model today! Everyone is waiting
for you!”
“Blushing. A-Ah, something like this. I’m so sorry.”
“Okay, so let’s get going right now!”
“Ah! Wait a minute…”
After waiting for Kaguya to finish speaking, she grabbed her hand and dragged her down the
hallway. She then opened the door to the housekeeping clubroom and walked in. In an instant, all
of the female students in the room focused their gaze on Kaguya.
“Oh, here she is! Where were you, Yuzuru?”
“Eliminate. No, sorry, something came up.”
“Forget about it. We don’t have time to worry about that. Quickly, change into this.”
After saying that, a schoolgirl with glasses passed her clothes that were on the table. It seems to
be still in the rough stitching stage. It was a dress made with beautiful fabrics. It felt so
comfortable and Kaguya couldn’t help but admire it.
“Okay, please change into it quickly.”
“Mystery. Got it. Then—”

Kaguya was halfway through taking off her uniform when she remembered the difference in
chest size and stopped.
That’s right: although Kaguya’s chest was the same size as Yuzuru’s thanks to her chest pads, if
Kaguya took her clothes off, then her identity would be exposed instantly.
“Blazing sky. I-I have to go over there to change.”
“Why? Just change into it here…”
The members of the costume club tilted their heads with a look of confusion. Kaguya smiled
bitterly as she made her way to the next room with the dress in hand.
She quickly took off her uniform and clumsily put on the dress before returning to the original
room.
“Turn around. How does it feel?”
Kaguya twirled and struck a pose at the student’s request, getting an exclamation of approval
from the members as they saw her.
“Yuzuru onee-chan is so pretty!”
“Bodies really do come in different shapes and sizes. It’s important that we find the right person
to model the dress.”
“Good job, President! This dress will surely help us win the competition!” said the crowd of club
members loudly.
However, the bespectacled student called the ‘President’ stared at Kaguya sadly.
“Um…”
“…? What’s wrong, Miss President?”
“It’s nothing. It just feels a bit different from the figure that I saw before…”
“…!”
Kaguya couldn’t help but be shocked by what the President had said.
“D-Domineering. Even without this dress, Yuzuru has always been like this!”
Kaguya stammered with a change in tone while the President groaned for a moment while
frowning.
“Hmm… Perhaps I’m just overthinking things…”
The president finally said with her arms crossed. Warm, sweet, glorious relief swept through
Kaguya.
“In any case, Yuzuru, can you change into this one now? I want to confirm the size for this one
as well.”
“Holy Demon. It’ll be a trivial matter. What do I need to change into next—?”
At that moment, Kaguya gasped at the next outfit. The next outfit that the president was holding
was a sexy underwear that would clearly show the shape of the chest.
◇◇◇
—The bell chimed throughout the school.
“Sigh…Ugh.”
Yuzuru, who was physically and mentally exhausted, sighed in the noisy classroom.
A lot of unexpected things happened to her today. She figured that it would be easy to imitate
Kaguya but she had no idea that Kaguya was involved in all kinds of things.
“Apology. Kaguya really does work hard…”
Yuzuru whispered softly so that no one could hear her. Maybe it was because of how much time
had passed or because of today’s experience, her anger at Kaguya has gradually subsided and in
its place, a strange feeling of respect for her sister slowly took over.
It would be ridiculous to think that Yuzuru would be good at the same things that Kaguya was
good at just because they were twins. Even if they shared similar looks, those bodies harbored
different personalities. That should have been clearer to Yuzuru and Kaguya more so than anyone
else.
In short, Yuzuru doubted that she would be able to last much longer if she ended up getting
caught by someone else that Kaguya knew. In order to leave the school as quickly as possible,
Yuzuru immediately packed up her things to prepare to leave the classroom.
However, just when she was about to leave the school building—
“Kaguya! I’ve been waiting a long time for you!”

A loud voice came from nearby. She looked around and spotted a row of school girls in front of
the shoe lockers, waiting for Yuzuru. Everyone was wearing sportswear with the “Raizen High
School Women’s Soccer Club” logo.
“…”
There was an ominous premonition in the air. Yuzuru felt that the crisis sensor today was way too
high.
As though to confirm Yuzuru’s worst fears, the girl she suspected was the captain of the team
moved forward and grabbed Yuzuru’s hand.
“Thank you so much. Really, we really can’t thank you enough.”
“…Question, what exactly are you talking about?”
“Hmm? What are you talking about? Didn’t you promise to help us play?”
“…”
Her worst fears were now a reality. After hearing the captain’s words, Yuzuru’s face burst into a
cold sweat.
The members in the rear didn’t notice Yuzuru’s distress as they clenched their fists and said
enthusiastically:
“It’ll really help us out a lot! The opponents are regulars in all of the competitions: the high
school affiliated with Senjou University…but as long as Kaguya onee-chan goes out to play,
we’ll surely win!”
“…What?”
“Hey, let’s talk about motivation. If you lose the game, then the Women’s Soccer Club will be
abolished. Don’t be negligent just because you’re Yamai Kaguya.”
“K-Kicked off the…team…?”
“Yeah! But Kaguya onee-chan taught us the slaying formation <Spiritual Formation, Imperial
type>, I’m pretty sure we won’t lose!”
“…”
“Yeah… please, Yamai-san!”
“…Let me go to the bathroom so that I can get changed.”

Yuzuru stared at the sparkling gazes of the club members and soon found herself turning back to
go to the locker room to get changed.
“E-Exhausted.”
The end of the day felt like a mountain-sized flood. Once lessons ended, Kaguya collapsed on
Yuzuru’s desk.
During the lunch break, because she couldn’t bring herself to change into the underwear the club
president presented under everyone’s watchful gazes, Kaguya had to make up excuses until the
bell rang and she immediately made her escape. The next chance she got, she would have to
remind Yuzuru to check the size of the costumes for the costume club.
Remembering Yuzuru, Kaguya was reminded of the argument she’d had with Yuzuru the
previous day and couldn’t help but laugh at how silly they’d both been.
“Yuzuru is really highly valued by everyone…”
Kaguya murmured as she sighed.
She had been too arrogant in believing that there was a way that she could become Yuzuru
completely. However, after spending the entire day pretending to be Yuzuru, Kaguya came to
realize just how amazing she really was.
…Thankfully, the day was finally over. It looked like Yuzuru had already left and Kaguya had
every intention of returning home now as well.
Just as she thought about it, she looked up.
“…Huh?” She frowned suddenly.
It was because there was a female student hiding behind the classroom door. She’d been peeking
at Kaguya from time to time. It was one of the girls from her class: Hasunuma Sakiko.
“…Evil Eye. Is there something wrong?”
“Eeek!”
After Kaguya called out to her loudly, Sakiko shook a little bit and fell to the ground, landing on
her rear.
“Demons. Are you okay?”
Kaguya quickly rushed over and stretched out a hand to help her up, Sakiko apologized
repeatedly as she grabbed Kaguya’s hand to pull herself to her feet.
“Sorry Yuzuru-san, I always seem to be causing trouble for you.”
“Phantom. No, uh ‘always?’”
Kaguya asked with her head partially tilted. Sakiko’s wording was a little strange. Sakiko seemed
to confirm Kaguya’s suspicions as she bowed her head to greet her.
“T-Today, I’ll be troubling you again.”
“…Holy War. Just for the sake of clarity, let me ask what’s the matter today?”
After Kaguya asked with sweat on her forehead, Sakiko’s body trembled as she answered:
“U-Um? T-There’s someone I like…Sugiyama-san of class 2… after you listened, didn’t you say
you were familiar with him?”
“…Despair…”
She heard Sakiko’s unexpected words and felt her face twitch uncontrollably. She couldn’t help
but want to shout: “Why would you promise to help with such things at this point in time,
Yuzuru!”
“I-Is something wrong? I’ve followed your instructions and wrote him a note asking to meet up
behind the building after school.”
“Abyss. Leave it to me. I’m ready now… let me just go to the bathroom first.”
Kaguya staggered down the corridor, a hand resting on her stomach in an effort to ease the pain
caused by the stress from her day so far.
“… Annoyed. This is a headache…”
Yuzuru sat on the toilet in the single room of the women’s bathroom, pressing her head into her
hands and thinking hard.
It’s no wonder. After all, she has to help the match, and the outcome of the match is about the
survival of an entire club.
She doesn’t know what Kaguya was thinking. The main problem was that she still had the wrap
around her chest and so she couldn’t move as freely as she used to. In this state, she didn’t feel
confident in being able to deal with a soccer team from a rival school.
Still, she couldn’t back out now. According to the members of the women’s soccer team, Kaguya
was a key figure in this game. If she were to go missing, their team would be defeated.
If that happened, the club would be abolished (although she didn’t know why it had fallen to
such a point) plus it might ruin Kaguya’s reputation.
“Scream. How good is Yuzuru…!”
It was hell to play and hell to escape. Yuzuru clutched her head more tightly and shouted.
In that moment—
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…”
A desperate Kaguya quickly escaped into a toilet stall while retracting her body and thinking
hard.
It seemed that Sakiko had gone so far as to ask for her help in confessing to a person she liked.
This responsibility was too great which made her feel nauseated.
This was bad. Yuzuru might have some sort of method to approach such an encounter but all
Kaguya knew Sakiko’s name and had only heard of Sugiyama from class 2. As a result, there
was no way she could formulate a countermeasure on the spot.
What’s more, the biggest problem was that Kaguya didn’t think that she could handle such
delicate things like helping people succeed in such things. Going on like this will definitely ruin
others talents.
Determined to confess, Kaguya let out an embarrassingly bitter smile.
Ahahaha… it doesn’t matter, I already knew that there’s no way that anyone could love someone
like me. Yuzuru-san thank you. I’m sorry for making you worry about me.
The next day, she found a pair of shoes and a suicide note on the top floor of the school
buildling—
“AAAAAHHHHH!”
The ever-expanding delusions in her mind frightened Kaguya. Although her thoughts could be
considered to be too pessimistic, Kaguya couldn’t bring herself to be able to think calmly.
It was no surprise. Sakiko said that she asked Sugiyama to meet her behind the building after
school. If Kaguya continued to stall, Sugiyama might go home before Sakiko had a chance to
confess her feelings.
But even if Kaguya went out now…
“Ahhh! How is this fair to me!”

Kaguya leaned back against the toilet and shouted.
Instantly—
Yes, at that exact moment.
“! Response. Just now, that was—”
“! Huh? That voice just now…”
Yuzuru and Kaguya were both holding their heads in separate stalls in the same women’s
bathroom and both of them were worried.
When they heard the shout from the stall right next to them, their eyes shot wide open at the
same time.
◇◇◇
“President, is it really okay to rely so much on Kaguya onee-chan? She’s been in the bathroom
for a pretty long time. Could it be that she might be uncomfortable with the situation?”
“Well…”
When she heard what the young girl said, the captain of the women’s football club raised her
arms while frowning.
Today, Kaguya was acting a little strange. Not only was her behavior more gentle than usual, she
also seemed to have forgotten the whole game. For a while, she thought that she might have
mistaken her for her twin sister, Yuzuru.
However, a brief glance at her chest told her that it could only be Kaguya: Yuzuru’s chest was the
size of a soccer ball. Even from a distance, it would be impossible to confuse them.
In that way, it was as the school girl said. Could it be that Kaguya was having second thoughts?
If that was the case, it would be a big problem. Today’s battle depends on Kaguya’s participation.
Without her, they didn’t have a chance of beating the high school affiliated with Senjou
University.
“Hmm…”
“Haha! Hahahahahaha!”
When the president groaned a little uneasily, a loud laugh came suddenly, eliminating her
anxiety.
“What…!”
“T-that is!”
“──Look at me!”
When the members were surprised, a figure jumped from the window on the second floor of the
school building into the air.
After tumbling in the air, the figure landed on the awning at the entrance and exit of the school
building.
“The distant hears the sound! The distant sees! Then praise the high reputation of Hurricane
Child Yamai Kaguya!”
Kaguya proclaimed, the blazer over her shoulders billowed in the wind. After seeing her
appearing gorgeously, the members stunned and shouted with emotion:
“That’s amazing! Kaguya onee-chan is in great shape!”
“All of our doubts just disappeared!”
“Is it an illusion? I feel her chest shrank!”
“Maybe it was to reduce air resistance?”
The members continued to praise Kaguya with every word uttered. After receiving their sincere
praise (some words made her sound a little complicated). Nonetheless, Kaguya raised her fist
into the air.
“Very good! Fighters, follow this palace! I will lead you to taste the wine of victory!”
“OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!!”
The members of the club yelled in response to Kaguya’s voice.
“Yuzuru-san,…no it doesn’t matter…”
Sakiko waited for Yuzuru in classroom 2-3 and she felt her fingers tremble in fright: Yuzuru had
left for the bathroom almost 20 minutes ago and she hadn’t come back. Sakiko was worried that
Yuzuru wasn’t feeling well.
Well, Yuzuru looked a little weird and had a restless look on her face. Plus the two-word
vocabulary at the beginning of her sentences felt a little evil… could it be that she was in a bad
mood? Or perhaps she was suggesting that the road to confession was a dark and hopeless one?
“…”
Sakiko glanced at the classroom clock and swallowed nervously.
In her position, it was inconvenient to urge Yuzuru but Sugiyama might show up at any moment.
In order to avoid letting the other person worry, Sakiko wrote her own name on the letter. In
other words, even if Yuzuru wouldn’t be able to come because of stomach pain or something
else, she would still have to go behind the school building herself.
If she couldn’t confess to the person she liked, she would be a girl who has lost the game of love.
But if she didn’t even appear at the requested spot, she would be a wicked girl who caused
mischief for Sugiyama.
“…!”
Still, just the thought of going by herself, Sakiko trembled once more and was about ready to
squat and give up. She couldn’t think of confessing to him like this; just talking normally with
him was hard enough.
“Arrive. I’ve kept you waiting.”
As Sakiko held her hands up in prayer, a voice came from the door of the classroom.
“Yuzuru-san! Are you alright?”
“Affirmative. I made you worry, Sakiko. There’s no problems anymore. Yuzuru will teach you
the means to make him fascinated by your charm.”
“T-Thank you!”
Yuzuru was very different compared to before: she was much more confident now than she had
been when Sakiko first approached her earlier.
After listening to what she said, Sakiko felt a little less nervous. The two-word vocabulary no
longer had a sense of malevolence behind and her chest seems to be larger than it was before.
Was this the aura of a legendary person?
“Lead. No time to waste. Let’s go, Sakiko.”
“O-Okay!”
Sakiko nodded gratefully as she followed the goddess of victory from behind.
◇◇◇
That night, Shido peaked into the living room while preparing dinner in the Itsuka kitchen. The
reason was simple: Tohka, Kotori, and several of the Spirits have gathered in the living room
but—
“Oh! Now, I realize just how powerful Yuzuru is again. What can I say? Perfect Superman? I
can’t hope to compare to it at all.”
“Denial. Nothing like that. Kaguya is truly excellent. Yuzuru isn’t even an opponent at all. I will
pay respect to you.”
“Oh… how could I possibly be as good as you. Ah, I ate your cheese yesterday, I’m really sorry.
I bought some more on my way home today and put it in the refrigerator. If I want some, I’ll
make sure to ask you first next time.”
“Reflection. Yuzuru is also sorry. Yuzuru bought more pudding on her way home.”
The Yamai sisters were sitting side by side on the sofa like affectionate lovers, clasping their
fingers together while speaking sweet words to each other.
Granted, the sisters are usually stuck together like glue but they were particularly sticky tonight.
Shido felt sweat trail down his cheeks as he smiled bitterly.
“What’s going on, you two? It’s your turn again.”
After Shido finished talking, Kaguya and Yuzuru made near identical movements while proudly
raising their chests.
“That’s for sure. Because my other half Yuzuru is the person who embodies the knowledge of the
world.”
“Exaggeration. It makes perfect sense to praise Kaguya’s excellent ability in Megatron.”
“Exaggeration. It is a matter of course to praise Yuzuru’s excellent ability in Megatron.”
After this, they both poked at each other’s arms.
“Hahaha…”
Although he didn’t know what happened between them, the two seemed just as close as ever.
When he saw them this morning, he could have sworn he smelled gunpowder—
“Ah, right.”
At that moment, Shido remembered the morning encounter and looked at them again.
“Kaguya, Yuzuru, why did you look like each other this morning? Were you having another
contest again?”
“What?!”
“Shocked. Shido, how long have you known about this?”
After Shido finished speaking, Kaguya and Yuzuru were astonished. They thought that they were
able to fool everyone into thinking that they were each other.
“Well, of course people would figure it out, right?”
Shido said, looking at the other Spirits. Therefore, Tohka and Kotori who’d met the Yamai sisters
that morning nodded in the affirmative.
“Yeah. It looks pretty like that…Especially Kaguya. Wait a minute and tell me how you did it
there.”
“Well, although the appearances are opposite of each other, their personalities won’t deceive
people.”
“…”
“…”
After hearing what everyone said, Kaguya and Yuzuru looked at each other.
“Ah…! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha! Look! It looks like we really can’t fake it!”
“Broken. Hehehehehehehehehehehehehe! It seems that Yuzuru replacing Kaguya wouldn’t be

enough.”
The two laughed wildly at the same time.
“What happened to them…?”
“Hmm…?”
They glanced at the two of them before looking at each other uncertainly.
Miku Burglar
“Help meeeeeee!”
Tobiichi Origami was fiddling with some small electronic parts in the living room of the Itsuka
household when that sound came abruptly. The door flew open, and a young girl dove in.
She had long and well-groomed light indigo hair, boasting a perfectly tall figure. A Spirit and
popular idol: Izayoi Miku.
Faced with the sudden loud noise and the new visitor, Origami remained calm and collected. She
stopped tinkering and watched as Miku, who couldn’t stop rolling, eventually came to a stop on
the sofa.
As a result, Miku suddenly lifted her upper body and turned to face Origami.
“Ah! Origami! I’ve been looking for you! I want to talk to you honestly about something…”
“A discussion?”
After Origami answered promptly, Miku glanced around the room cautiously.
“Well, just to be safe, I just want to check: are you the only one here at the moment? No one
else?”
“No.”
Origami nodded in confirmation. The other Spirits and the head of the house: Shido and Kotori
were not in the Itsuka household today.
Although the owner is not present, it was strange that Origami was the only one in their living
room. However, it wasn’t that big of a surprise: since the number of Spirits has increased, the
Itsuka household has become a place for all of them to gather, so all of the Spirits were given
backup keys.
“Has anyone installed a wiretap…?”
“No one aside from me.”
“That’s great. Really puts me at ease.”
Miku breathed a sigh of relief when she heard what Origami said.
Usually, either Shido or Kotori would be home at this time. Now, however, it was only Origami
and Miku present and neither were speaking… it was a bit lonely.
“…Then about the thing I wanted to discuss with you… I have something I want to ask you.”
“What is it?”
After clarifying with Origami, Miku nodded slightly and then said:
“I was hoping that you and I could become ‘robbers!’”
“…What do you mean?”
Origami couldn’t understand the meaning behind Miku’s words as she tilted her head in
confusion. As a result, Miku provided an explanation, nodding and then said:
“In other words, I need your help stealing something from someone.”
Origami’s eyebrows shot up when she heard Miku’s inappropriate words. Upon a moment’s
reflection, however, she sighed in understanding.
“—Are you stealing socks? Or a toothbrush?”
“Ah! No, I’m not referring to anything Darling used.”
Miku quickly shook her head to deny it. That doesn’t seem to be the case.
It made sense upon further reflection, if Miku wanted to steal something of Shido’s, she surely
wouldn’t need Origami’s help and could have acted right now. However, if she wanted to prepare
alternatives in case Shido found out about it, that was an entirely different matter.
In that regard, the word “steal” has a more dangerous meaning. Miku seemed to have guessed
what Origami was thinking from her expression and was quick to clarify:
“It’s not so much ‘stealing’ so much as ‘stealing back.’”
“Actually…”
Miku exhaled a sigh loudly.
◇◇◇
“…Lilac Burglar?”
After school one day, after her own tea-stating, Miku listened to what the girl sitting opposite of
her said, all the while, her eyes widening.
“Yes…”
The young girl answered in a fluent Mandarin that didn’t match her appearance.
Her name was Rosalie Welbeck. She was an exchange student visiting Miku at Rindouji
All-Girls’ Private School.
With beautiful silk-like blonde hair and fair skin, she had an elegant temperament and education
and was a lovely girl in every regard and was the perfect definition of a “deep girl”.
Honestly, it was Miku’s ideal type. However, Miku’s fondness for girls was as wide as the Tokyo
Dome. In short, there were many types of girls that could be considered her ideal type.
Going back to the topic at hand, Miku found a cute girl in the school that she hadn’t met before.
She was so overjoyed that she immediately invited her to come to her home as a guest and treat
her with some delicious refreshments. Despite this, she still looked gloomy.
Upon being asked, Miku suggested the name just now.
“Yes… have you heard of them? They seem to be whipping up a storm in the city lately.”
“Hmm… I think I might have heard of them somewhere, but I don’t know much else…”
After Miku responded, Rosalie frowned slightly and said:
“A few months ago, my family received a threatening letter with the words “Will steal the Rose
Girl”… Ah, the Rose Maiden is an heirloom, a precious gem. Of course, my parents thought that
the whole thing was just a horrible prank so they didn’t take it seriously.
“So as a result, was it really stolen?”
After Miku asked her question, Rosalie nodded with a pained expression.
“I don’t know how they managed to do it but by the time we realized what happened, the Rose
Girl was already stolen out of its box.”
Rosalie bowed her head after she finished speaking; Miku, for her part, looked serious.
“That’s it… I’m really sorry, I didn’t know you encountered such a serious thing, and I leisurely
asked you to have afternoon tea…”
Ah, d-don’t say that. I’m actually very grateful for you to invite me. If you hadn’t done
something to shift the focus, I’d still be thinking about it and feeling depressed about it. I can’t
keep going on like this. It’s rare to be able to come to Japan as an exchange student and I’ve been
worried about this since I came here.”
Rosalie smiled and waved weakly but her face sank almost immediately.
Miku did her best not to let the silence linger and immediately spoke in an effort to cheer the
other girl up.
“Hmm… What a strange thief who’s the one doing the good deed? As long as you stay
determined, you should be able to catch and punish him.”
“Well…”
After Miku finished speaking, Rosalie responded with an awkward expression on her face.
“Hey? What’s wrong with you?”
“N-No… it’s nothing.”
“Hmm?”
Rosalie’s odd behavior made Miku frown as she regarded the foreign exchange student with
wonder.
“If you’re willing to hear me out, let’s talk honestly.”
After being questioned by Miku, Rosalie hesitated for a moment, and then said softly,
“Actually—”
“I heard that after the lilac burglar stole the Rose Maiden from my family, a Japanese property
got a gem very similar to the Rose maiden.
“Huh…? That seems awfully suspicious.”
Miku put a hand on her chin as she reflected on this new piece of information. Rosalie clenched
her thighs while frowning in an attempt to suppress her anger.
People who go to conventions about these sorts of things upload photos to social networking
sites. Someone else is taking credit for my Rose Maiden that’s been a part of my family…!”
“Huh? Are you saying that you think that this bourgeoisie person might be the lilac burglar?”
“I don’t know. However, I don’t think it has anything to do with him. All I know is that the Rose
Maiden is with him.”
“Is that right… did you tell the police about this?”
“I tried… but the police simply ignored me because there was no evidence.”
Rosalie gritted her teeth unwillingly and lowered her head as tears dripped from her eyes onto
the table.
“Rose Maiden isn’t just a beautiful gem but it’s also an important treasure passed down from
generation to generation… but…”
“Rosalie-san…”
Miku looked at Rosalie with compassion. Soon after, her gaze sharpened and became more
determined as she held Rosalie’s trembling hand.
That’s right. It was a well known fact that Izayoi Miku always got emotional when she spotted a
crying girl’s face. But the thought of Miku making a girl cry could simply not be allowed. How
could she leave the sad and crying girl in front of her alone?
“Please leave it to me! I’ll help you get back your Rose Maiden!”
“Huh…?”
After Miku spoke, Rosalie’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Get it back… what exactly do you plan to do?”
“Hehehe…”
Miku smiled mischievously as she turned around, her skirt fluttering in the breeze while her
index finger touched her lips in a seductive manner.
“Did you know? There’s more to idols than meets the eye.”
◇◇◇
“…And that’s what happened.”
After listening to her story, Origami stared blankly at Miku.
“I understand what happened. So what price did you ask of her in order to get back the Rose
maiden?”
“A kiss on my cheek… No, wait, I just wanted to help Rosalie-san!”
Despite her true desires slipping out, Miku argued fiercely… however, it was clear that she
seemed to ask for something in return.
Origami sighed softly as she put a hand to her chin in thought.
“The Lilac Burglar…”
“The burglar seems to go by that moniker, yes. Have you heard of them?”
“I have. I remember the names of several unsolved serial burglar suspects.”
“Oooh! To be expected of Origami! However, is there really such a strange thief in this day and
age?”
What Miku just said was not something someone who wanted to become a thief would say.
Origami felt conflicted but still answered:
“Because of influence from the media, there are many burglars who give themselves strange
names, hence “strange thieves”. Sometimes, the media may also jokingly use that term to refer to
prisoners who use ingenious ways to commit crimes.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes. In addition to the Lilac Burglar mentioned before, there are plenty of other burglars that
use similar titles like Wisteria Burglar, Rose Burglar, and Swift Burglars among others that
haven’t been arrested yet.”
“Uh… was that last person meant as a homophonic joke?”
“There’s no use asking me about it.”
After Origami spoke lightly, Miku shook her head and continued to speak.
“In short, I can’t forgive such a crime! An eye for an eye! A theft for a theft! Origami and I will
help her get the Rose Maiden back! I’ve already thought of a team name! The association of the
words Night and Kite makes for a strange thief <Night Kite>!”
“Why drag me into this situation?”
“Huh? Because it would be dangerous to do such a thing alone. Plus, the other party is very rich
so it’s likely that they would have a bunch of anti-theft devices installed in their mansion…”
“Why not go to <Ratatoskr>?”
“Well I thought about this option… but if Kotori-san were to find out about it, she would tell
everyone not to get involved in such a dangerous thing. However, if it was Origami-san, then it
might be easier to talk.”
“…”
Miku’s so-called “more than meets the eye” was simply to ask others for help? Origami sighed
softly.
“Sorry. I refuse. Find someone else to help you.”
“Oh! But why?!”
Miku’s eyes widened at Origami’s unexpected response. Origami continued to tinker with the
parts while answering: “That gem is based on the exchange student’s testimony. It’s too risky to
act just on this alone. More to the point, I have no reason to accept it.”
“Aaaah! But there are cute girls crying! Wouldn’t your heart bleed at the thought!”
“I think she’s pathetic and I have no intention of being a burglar for someone I’ve never even
met before.”
“It’s not being a thief, it’s righteous theft <Night—>!”
“It’s the same under criminal law.”
“I-I know… I’ll change the name to “Kite Night” head office!”
“How is there a difference?”

After Origami finished speaking indifferently, Miku puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction. At
that moment, she seemed to remember something and the corners of her mouth turned up into a
smile.
“Oh, that’s right, Origami. You said it before. Because the world has changed, many photos of
Darling have been lost.”
“—!”
Hearing what Miku said, Origami frowned slightly.
Miku spotted her reaction sharply and her smile broadened.
“Hehehe… Actually, do you have a video of Darling in your collection that you can watch?”
Origami raised her head without saying a word.
“—Strange thief “Night Kite” will execute justice.”
“Yay! Origami! I love you!”
Miku twisted her body and made a joyful cry.
As a result—
“Ah! I heard your conversation.”
The next moment, a noise came from the entrance of the living room.
“…?”
“Yes, who is?”
Looking around for a moment, they spotted a woman with short hair who didn’t know when to
appear. She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall while striking an inexplicable pose.
It was Honjou Nia, a Spirit much like Miku and Origami. It seems that she’d come to the Itsuka
household while they’d been talking.
“—Nia.”
“I was really scared for a moment, but it turned out to be Nia-san.”
Miku sighed helplessly while Nia pursed her lips, unconvinced.
“Eh, what’s with that reaction? Couldn’t you be just a little more surprised?”
“I was surprised… by the way, did you hear what Origami just said? If you can keep it a secret
from Kotori-san, it’d make us very happy.”
After Miku spoke, Nia nodded her head impressively.
“I understand. I won’t tell anyone. Instead, I’ll be a partner in <Midnight Kite>.”
“…?”
“What?”
Origami and Miku were stunned for a moment before they realized what Nia meant.
In other words, she would help keep their plan a secret but only on the condition that she was
allowed to join them. She even went so far as to change the team name to one that sounded more
impressive.
“It’s too cruel to keep me from participating in such an interesting thing.”
Nia exclaimed as her eyes glowed and sparkled with excitement.
From this perspective, it would be useless to refuse her. If they refused her, she would no doubt
tell Kotori about their plans. Origami and Miku winked at each other and quickly exchanged
judgements.
“I see. However, this task is going to be very dangerous so you have to obey my instructions.”
Of course! Oh, I really want to try! I say, should I prepare a notice?”
“No. I don’t see any reason why you’d want to alert the other party.”
“Hey Is this a romance?”
Nia pursed her lips. Origami ignored her and suddenly stood up.
“Anyway, now that it’s been decided, we must draw up a battle plan. Shido and the others will be
home any moment now. We should go somewhere else to discuss it further.”
“Okay! I understand!”
“It’s time to move to the secret base!”
Miku and Nia replied excitedly.
Origami nodded slightly as she put a lid on the small electronic components she’d been tinkering
with before setting it behind a potted plant and left the living room.
Miku and Nia stared at her motion dumbly but they immediately let out an “Ahhhhh” as they
understood her intentions. They promptly fell silent as they followed her.
◇◇◇
A few days later:
On a small hill overlooking the city’s suburbs was a large mansion. It was at this mansion that
three figures appeared.
“…”
One of these figures was Origami who was taking note of what they were up against with this
mansion. She wore a black camouflage suit, a lightweight bulletproof vest that blended well with
the darkness, and a headset equipped with various sensors like infrared sight.
“Hehehe. The vigilante is here to deliver justice and punish evil where it hides!”
The other person was Miku who struck a handsome pose with her back to the moon. She was
dressed very differently from Origami. She didn’t understand why Miku was wearing a men’s
outfit complete with cape, top hat, and a monocle over her right eye. Not only was it
inconvenient, it would surely draw attention to herself.
“Humming gaze♪…”
The last one either forgot the lyrics or didn’t want to deal with royalties while humming the same
song vaguely was Nia.
Nia’s outfit was as strange as Miku’s as she wore a blue tight suit all over her body and a yellow
cloth wrapped around her waist like a salon worker. Additionally, she held what looked to be a
calling card in her fingertips.
“—Why are you two dressed like that?”
Origami asked softly. Miku waved her cape proudly while Nia puffed out her chest.
“It’s worthy of Origami! It’s such a golden eye! When it comes to strange thieves, this is the
style!”
“No, no, Miku. When it comes to strange thieves, it has to be my outfit—!”
Halfway through her sentence, Nia sneezed. It was hardly a surprise. After all, under the winter
night sky, she was only wearing a thin tight suit so it made perfect sense that she would end up
being cold.
“Regardless of practicality, I can understand Miku’s intentions behind her outfit; I don’t
understand Nia’s outfit at all.”
“That’s right. Why do robbers wear tights? Ah! Wouldn’t it be a reward for others? If that’s the
case, just say it sooner. Come on, this cloak is very warm.”
After Origami and Miku finished speaking, Nia trembled with her eyes wide.
“Ehhh… Are the two of you really serious? Dammit… is the generation gap at work? However, I
can’t agree with that! It has to be Maurice Leblanc who is relatively old!”
Nia stomped her feet, and then sneezed a lot: “Hello! Damnit!”
“Also, what is with that card?”
Origami asked, pointing to the card in Nia’s hand. It had a stylish emblem made of a book, the
moon, and birds with the words “Midnight Kite” in neat text.
“Huh? You only just noticed? This is a calling card. You have to leave this behind, otherwise
how will others know who is responsible?”
“It’s unnecessary. Why would you want to intentionally leave traces of a crime?”
“Oh? Well…”
NIa wanted to answer with a natural flair but upon thinking about it for a moment, she could
only laugh dryly.
“…Why is this?”
“…”
Origami pinched her temples without saying another word.
—She clearly instructed them to bring equipment that was appropriate for sneaking in. How did
it turn out like this?
However, this setback wasn’t going to stop her from completing the operation today. Origami
rummaged through the backpack she’d brought and pulled out the equipment she’d prepared in
advance.
“Anyway, you two should also wear these.”
“Origami, what is this?”
“Night vision goggles.”

“Hey It doesn’t feel like being a thief…”
Miku said, dissatisfied. However, after folding the night vision goggles and forcing them onto
the two, Origami went on to say:
“According to our plans, we have to make three holes to begin sneaking in. Everyone, for the
sake of insurance, please make sure to confirm the time with each other.”
“Ah, is this okay?”
“Yeah yeah.”
After listening to what Origami said, Miku pulled a pocket watch from her pocket while Nia
pulled out her cell phone from the chest of her tights while striking a sexy pose.
“…”
Origami stared silently at the two of them for several seconds before passing the watches she’d
prepared over to the two of them.
◇◇◇
“… What is it?”
Ajitsu Kenzo made an impatient noise as he stared at the servants in the monitoring room. He
was a man in his sixties. His short body and white hair were his most prominent features. His
face was weather-beaten but despite his age, his eyes were extremely sharp, revealing his
extraordinary experience. His fierce stare made one of the maids shudder while letting out a
terrified scream.
However, it was not a surprise that Ajitsu would be upset. If anyone woke up by a sudden alarm
bell in their sleep, they’d also be upset.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t just ignore it. Because the alarm bell sounded, that meant a disturbing
situation occurred.
“It looks like there are trespassers, sir. The sensors just responded. Someone must have broken
into this house!”
“…An intruder?”
The maid explained the situation through the monitor. After hearing the explanation, Ajitsu’s
eyes widened and his previously drowsy mind immediately came to full awakeness.
“Where! How many people? Pull up the monitors immediately!”

“O-Okay!”
The maid frantically operated the console while Ajitsu squinted and sighed angrily.
Although he didn’t know who it was, Ajitsu suspected that the people who broke into his
mansion were after the treasures that he’d collected throughout his life.
“Abominable…”
Ajitsu muttered angrily as he opened the hard aluminum box in his hand. Inside the box was a
beautiful gem that was a rose-shaped pink diamond. It had many fascinating charms, making it
impossible for any viewer to see them all.
This gem was called the Rose Maiden which was a treasure that Ajitsu finally acquired a while
ago. His house also boasted countless other gold and silver treasures. However, just from judging
the timing of the break-in, Ajitsu suspected that the Rose Maiden was what they were after.
“Abominable yet so brave. I don’t know who you are, I will never let you succeed…!”
“…Master, I found it! I will bring it up on screen right away!”
The maid’s voice could be heard throughout the monitoring room. Ajitsu looked thoughtfully at
the screen in front of him.
Three figures were moving forward through the air vents. One of them was wearing equipment
suited for the special forces, but the other two were wearing men’s clothing and tights.
Additionally, all three thieves were young girls. Ajitsu immediately thought the three were
sending mixed impressions just from the way they were dressed.
“What are these girls doing?”
“Are they… cosplaying?”
Seeing such unexpected images, the expressions of Ajitsu and his servants appeared confused.
However, Ajitsu quickly shook his head and refocused on the image.
“A-Anyway, it doesn’t matter who it is, an intruder is an intruder. Right now—”
“O-oops, it’s so late, it’s really messy…”
At that moment—
Before Ajitsu could finish speaking, the monitoring room sounded such a voice. The servants’
shoulders twitched in fright. Looking around, they spotted a European American man who did
not seem to realize where he was standing.
He was roughly 190 cm tall, had thin cheeks, slender hands and fingers, and looked like dead
wood.
“Braque! You’re here!”
Ajitsu called out the man’s name as he recognized the figure.
—Lenard Braque. He was Ajitsu’s bodyguard and the man Ajitsu trusted above all others.
“You’ve heard that there are intruders, right! They must be after the Rose Maiden…!”
“Okay, okay. Calm down. Don’t worry.”
“But…!”
After Ajitsu shouted, Braque bent his thin lips into a smile the shape of the crescent moon.
“Or perhaps, do you not still believe in my wizard’s powers, Lenard Braque?”
“…!”
Ajitsu’s breath caught in his throat when he heard what Braque had said.
That’s right. This man was not an ordinary human but rather, a superhuman who was known as a
“wizard” and tended to deviate from the norm.
Admittedly, Ajitsu didn’t believe in the existence of wizards in the beginning but there was no
denying that his power was real.
State run museums, vaults of big banks, and mansions of the wealthy and nobles around the
world: in a sort of magical way, he was able to steal the art, gold, and silver jewelry that Ajitsu
wanted from various facilities that are said to be protected by walls made of copper and iron.
Lenard Braque—Also known as the Lilac burglar. He was the rarest “Magic Thief” in modern
times.
“Y-yes, I don’t have to worry about anything now that you’re here.”
“That’s true, but I don’t even need to do anything at all!”
After speaking, Braque faced the large center screen mounted on the wall.
Unlike the monitor screen, the floor plan of the house is displayed above and there were red
marks lit everywhere.
“Although I don’t know where the thief came from, it’s still very stupid. The anti-theft devices
and traps will be irritating for them. They may think that they managed to sneak in undetected…
but it’s just like the proverb: like a moth to a flame.”
“So that’s what you meant…”
Ajitsu calmed down when he heard what Braque said.
It’s true that many dangerous traps were set up in the corridors of the Ajitsu household. It was
prudent to say good things but unwise to say it badly. It was the combination of Ajitsu’s
personality and the various legal and illegal traps prepared by Braque that have turned this
mansion into a solid fortress.
“Well, those thieves are about to enter the first trap zone. Let’s enjoy it here leisurely. If you’re
lucky, we might have a survivor.”
U-Uh… that’s the same. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
Braque briefed him on the situation calmly while Ajitsu began to laugh after listening to what he
had to say.
◇◇◇
“—Wait a minute.”
Having broken into the house through a ventilation shaft left Origami in a dark aisle and so she
suddenly stopped, stopping the other two behind her.
“? What happened?”
“Hmm Has something happened?”
Miku and Nia asked, puzzled, while poking their heads from either side of Origami and taking
note of the scene in front of them, prompting a note of surprise out of both of them.
This was no surprise because through the night vision goggles, they could make out several red
lines drawn in their field of vision.
“It’s so cool! Is this the so-called infrared sensor?”
“Wow, I got to see one for the first time. These are the ones that will trigger an alarm if you
touch it a little.”
“It’s okay to trigger the alarm to avoid triggering other more dangerous traps.”
Origami explained, staring at the left and right walls, then the floor and ceiling. It seems to cover
up well, but it looks unnatural without any flaws.
“Other traps… what exactly do you mean by that?”
“For example, if it hits infrared light, it will emit a laser light from the wall; or if you try to avoid
an infrared light, you could activate the floor’s weight sensor and fall through a trap hole—and
so on.”
“Well, isn’t it fine, then?”
“…”
Origami continued to observe their surroundings, she then backtracked a few paces and squatted
down on the spot. The wall under her foot revealed an electrical outlet similar to the one the
maids used to plug in a vacuum cleaner.
Origami rummaged through her bag and produced a cord which she then plugged into the outlet.
The next moment, with a crackling sound, the sparks sputtered everywhere, and the infrared rays
that originally covered the path ahead suddenly disappeared.
“Yeah!”
“Wow!”
“―Run now, while you have the chance ‘’
Time was running out and Origami moved as fast as she could. Miku and Nia were one step
behind her before they managed to catch up.
Just as the three of them passed through the long passage, a low buzzing hum sound met their
ears.
“Whew… Hey Don’t be so sudden…”
“That scared me… what did you do?”
They asked while trying to catch their breath. Origami nodded gently and replied:
“I shorted the power supply which caused a temporary power outage in the house. The inductive
power supply there was shared with the power supply in the house.
After Origami finished her explanation, Miku and Nia stared at Origami with newfound
admiration.
“That’s so cat-like. But if the power supply is disconnected, what are we going to do?”
“Although I’m not 100% sure, I guess the other party didn’t think too carefully. Speaking of
which, the enemy who would want to set up such a trap is watching too many movies.”
“Ahaha, your mouth really is poisonous!”
Nia laughed uproariously. At this moment, Miku made a sound as if she realized something:
“Ah, but that’s what we did just now, wouldn’t the people in the room already be able to find
us?”
“It’s very likely that the other party already discovered our presence a long time ago—when we
snuck into the house, it should be impossible for Miku and Nia to completely miss the sensors.”
“Huh!”
“Ohh”
The two pressed their chests and twisted their bodies in alarm. However, Origami’s expression
remained indifferent as she faced forward.
“—If you don’t pay attention, there will be enemies. Don’t be negligent and follow me.”
After Origami finished speaking, they took off yet again.
◇◇◇
“It was easily broken!”
Ajitsu wailed in the deepest monitoring room in the mansion.
It was no surprise. After only a few seconds of power outage, the intruders on screen managed to
pass the first trap zone.
While that had happened, Braque was still at Ajitsu’s side.
“Hehehe… That’s it, there seems to be two brushes…”
“What are you laughing at! What are you going to do about this?!”
“Master, please calm down. What’s the matter, anyway? That trap was nothing more than a basic
demonstration.”
“What…?”
“You should know best about how many bodyguards are in this house, right?”
“T-That’s true…”
Aftering hearing Braque’s words, Ajitsu calmed his fury.
Braque was right: This mansion had more than fifty bodyguards on standby. And these
bodyguards weren’t mere hooligans or fools. These are all people who have learned many
fighting techniques or self-defense skills. Surely, they’d be able to subdue the intruder
immediately.
“Right? Usually they get to eat and drink for free, so occasionally they should have to work hard.
After catching them and forcing them to recruit behind-the-scenes instructors, they will be at
your disposal. At first glance, all three of them are young women. Do you hate it, sir?”
“Huh? Right…”
Ajitsu capped his chin, stared again at the intruder displayed on the screen, and raised a corner of
his mouth with an evil smile.
◇◇◇
The three of them managed to get through the trap zone quietly but moved as quickly as possible
through the dark corridors of Ajitsu’s house.
Aside from where they’d just come, they hadn’t encountered any new traps. However, that was
to be expected after all: this wasn’t just a vault dedicated to protecting jewelry but a home where
people lived and worked. If traps were set up everywhere, it would affect daily life as well.
“By the way, Origami. Do you know where the Rose Maiden is?”
Nia’s voice came from behind.
“──From the structure of the floor plan I obtained beforehand, I can probably guess its location.
But I am afraid it is in the host’s bedroom, where there is a vault.”
“That’s it? Then we are heading to that bedroom?”
Miku asked after a moment’s thought.
However, Origami shook her head in the negative.

“Where we are going now is the monitoring room that manages the security. Now that the owner
knows that there’s an intruder present, the owner would most likely move to the place where
most people would gather and may cause a complete lockdown at the same time, trapping us.”
“They would probably take the treasure with them. Even if the other party doesn’t evacuate
there, as long as we can capture the monitoring room, the other party will not know our actions.”
After Origami talked lightly, Miku and Nia again expressed their admiration.
It was at that moment—
“…!”
Origami held her breath quietly and stopped on the spot.
The reason was obvious: because the lights suddenly turned on and a group of men in black
emerged from the other end of the corridor.
“Hey!”
“Ah! A dirty man!”
Nia and Origami shouted loudly. Origami just took a single step back and without saying a word,
lowering her center of gravity, and straing cautiously at the men in black.
Spotting this, the men in black also assumed a fighting stance.
“I thought they were just joking, but it really is a woman! I guess it was exaggerated, like a
manga or something.”
A man in a black suit who’d taken the lead looked at Origami and smiled scornfully.
“Let me ask for a moment, ladies, do you want to get hold of yourself? Although it is not
guaranteed for the future, at least it can make your lovely faces less hurt.”
“…”
“Is it? That’s so interesting.”
While Origami analyzed the enemy’s combat power silently, the man in black clenched his fists
and placed them in front of his chest.
Boxing? No, such a stance for boxing wasn’t natural. It would be more accurate to say that it was
either judo or wrestling. The other party pretended to be fighting, but it was actually intended to
try to paralyze them.
Origami could make the subtle obscurities in the man’s posture—this man had a lot of
experience in fighting. Origami frowned and rethought her strategy.
If it was one-on-one, there were plenty of ways she could deal with him. However, she also had
to protect Nia and Miku and there was more than just the one man in black that she had to deal
with at the same time.
As Origami continued to think of a solution, she suddenly felt someone put a hand on her
shoulder. It was Miku.
“Just leave it for someone else to deal with.”
Miku finished talking and waved her cloak with a flourish. Origami looked puzzled but her
eyebrows remained furrowed.
“These aren’t opponents you can beat in a fight. At least take a step back and make sure they
can’t take you hostage.”
Even as Origami said so, Miku didn’t step back but instead gently said:
“No problem, just wait there for a bit, and remember to cover your ears.”
“…”
“Ah”
Origami and Nia both figured out Miku’s intentions and nodded at once, covering their ears with
both hands.
Miku took a step forward and took a big breath—
“──────────── ♪”
She sang a lullaby to the men in black.
◇◇◇
“W-W-What…”
Ajitsu stared at the screen in the monitoring room, stunned. This was understandable: after all,
one of the intruder girls moved like a singer, and then the bodyguards all fell down all at the
same time.
“What the hell is going on Braque! How the hell did this happen?”
Ajitsu was screaming hysterically as he watched the scene unfold. However, Braque remained
calm but he stared at the screen with greater interest while stroking his chin.
“Well, they probably used a type of hypnotic gas. Though judging from the fact that they didn’t
wear equipment like a gas mask, it could be a directional jet device…”
“Now’s not the time to be uttering such nonsense!”
Ajitsu growled angrily. Braque could only shrug with a wry smile.
“Weren’t you the one who asked me what happened?”
“Shit! The point is, what are you going to do now?! Both the traps and the bodyguards are
useless!”
“Hey, it looks like there’s nothing you can do. It just means that the other party is slightly better.”
Braque said while scratching his head. Seeing his relaxed composure, Ajitsu wanted to growl
again but he managed to hold it in at the last second.
It was because Braque pressed something similar to a military card to his forehead and his body
shone with a faint light.
“What…”
In the face of the unexpected situation, Ajitsu was taken aback. Braque, who’d changed his
appearance in an instant, held his chest up, as though showing off his new mechanical armor.
“Since none of the previous methods managed to resolve the problem, there’s no way other than
to let me handle this myself. Of course, you’ll be paying me a special bonus for doing this.”
“No, is it really okay? Didn’t you just say that the other party has hypnotic gas…?”
At that moment, Ajitsu stopped speaking.
Because of Braque’s evil smile, he felt like he was being pushed by a ghost and his body
couldn’t move at all.
“…!”
“Haha, sorry, sorry. That was a bit overkill.”
Braque said happily, and at the same time, Ajitsu’s body was able to move again.
“…Was it a good thing that you did that…?”

“Yes. Do you understand a little bit after that? Fighting? Hypnotic gas? Haha! That kind of thing
is as good as a three-legged cat in front of a wizard’s Territory.”
Braque opened his hands exaggeratedly and continued.
“Not to brag or anything, but I’m also a well-known wizard in DEM. As long as the opponent is
not a Spirit, there’s no way I’m going to lose this battle. You just need to be like a villain,
holding a brandy in one hand and waiting for the cat in one hand.”
Braque said jokingly.
His relaxed attitude seemed reliable in Ajitsu’s eyes.
“Hmm… in that case, I’ll leave it to you, Braque.”
“No problem.”
The wizard Lenard Braque listened to Ajitsu’s voice behind him as he left the monitoring room.
◇◇◇
“—Don’t move.”
As soon as the door to the monitoring room was opened, Origami warned Miku and Nia who
entered the room behind her.
“Drink! Strange Thieves ‘Midnight Kite!’”
“Appear here!”
After speaking, the two struck impressive poses. Because the two were posing on either side of
Origami, it looked like Origami was striking a pose of her own.
Hmm… as far as poses went, there was nothing wrong with them. Origami immediately went
back to thinking as she looked carefully around the room.
In the room with several screens, she could see several servants and an old man. This old man
must be the owner of this mansion, Ajitsu Kenzo.
“What…!” ThankstoOffic eCas ual, ABea rCa t, Asphroxia
Ajitsu stared at Origami in disbelief as he began trembling in terror.
“Why are you here! B-Braque!”
“Braque? Who’s that?”
“Isn’t that the guy? The guy who just came out.”
“Ah. The one Origami managed to beat in ten seconds…”
“Br-Braque!”
Nia and Miku talked as though they were gossiping while Ajitsu shouted with his eyes wide
open.
“However, it really scared me. Isn’t he a wizard?”
“It’s DEM Industries, who came to earn some extra money. I’ve heard that the wizards who are
ranked low in the company are not expected to fight in the war against the Spirits. Instead, they
work to support DEM-related politicians and donors. Even wizards with minimal strength are
more than enough to pose a dangerous threat to an average person.”
“Now I feel so bad…”
“That is to say it seems like if they are ignored by people in the same age group, they just run to
the elementary school students and proclaim themselves king among the elementary school
students.”
Miku and Nia whispered slightly louder and, for some reason, Ajitsu’s expression was shocked.
“—However, a wizard is still a wizard, and it makes things a little bit harder for me.”
Origami whispered softly while Ajitsu looked at the hard aluminum box in his hand.
“Ajitsu Kenzo, hand over the Rose Maiden!”
Origami ordered, taking a threatening step forward.
“D-Don’t move!”
Ajitsu shook his shoulders and pulled something resembling a small remote control from his
pocket.
“I-I will never hand it over to anyone! The Rose Maiden will always belong to me! Rather than
let it be snatched by you, I’ll just blow it up here and now!”
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing? If you do that, you’d just kill yourself!”
“Hahahaha! Whatever you say!”
“…”
Origami’s eyes narrowed while Miku and Nia continued talking.
The distance between Origami who was close to the door of the room and Ajitsu who was deep
in the room was about five minutes visually. Although Origami could shorten the distance in an
instance, it wasn’t nearly enough time to reach him before he pressed the button on the remote
control.
All she needed was a second, if Nia and Miku could distract the other person—
Just as Origami was thinking of a plan at that moment:
“Agh!”
Something suddenly crossed her field of vision, and Ajitsu was left clutching his hand while
making a painful noise.
Although she had no idea what happened, Origami didn’t let go of such an opportunity. She
immediately rushed to close the distance and kicked the remote away from Ajitsu’s hand and
they watched as it clattered to the floor.
“What…!”
Origami lowered her center of gravity with and with a single fluid movement, kicked Ajitsu as
hard as she could in his heart.
“Wait… I won’t let you snatch… the Rose Maiden…!”
Ajitsu spat out a painful sound before he slumped forward onto the ground, unconscious.
Origami noticed the scared servants’ movements with the little light in the room as she opened
the hard aluminum box that Ajitsu originally held and confirmed that the target gem was still
inside.
“…? Isn’t this—”
At that moment, Origami spotted a card on the ground beside Ajitsu who was still unconscious.
──It has the emblem of “Midnight Kite” on it.
“Hey, Origami? These things sure come in handy, huh?”
Nia said so proudly. It seems that she was the one who shot the card and bought Origami the time
she needed to recover the gem.
“Yeah! Nia, you’re so cool! You shoot so well!”
“Hey, continue praising me… Actually, it’s pretty difficult to shoot accurately, I just made a gap
on the edge of the card and shot it with a rubber band. It’s like playing with a used phone card
before. What’s with that face? Don’t tell me you don’t even know what a phone card is!”
After she finished talking, Nia stretched the rubber band on her hand, released it, and shook her
hand slightly. It all seemed very painful.
Origami crouched down and picked up the cards before returning to Miku and Nia.
“—It helped me out a lot. I don’t think the card was useless.”
“Hehe Just keep it in mind!…Strange, why are you taking the card away?”
Nia proudly raised her chest and then noticed that the card was in Origami’s hand, prompting her
to tilt her head in confusion.
“I don’t want to leave any traces of our crimes. Miku, is there a way to use the “singing voice” to
erase the memory of everyone in the house about what happened tonight?”
“”Oh! That’s it! Let’s try it! However, it is not effective for unconscious people. It is useful only
when the sleeping people are awake…”
“It doesn’t matter. They’re all tied up now so it’s not like they’re going anywhere. It looks like
they have stolen a lot of other things too. Why don’t we just throw them out on the porch and
call the police to keep them quiet.”
With Origami and Miku saying so, Nia waved her hands in dissatisfaction.
──As a result, the first appearance of “Midnight Kite” (there is no plan for the next appearance)
is coming to an almost perfect crime.
◇◇◇
The next day:
“── Here you are, Rosalie-san. Can you confirm this is it?”
Miku brought Rosalie to her home and placed the Rose Maiden that was recovered from Ajitsu’s
house on the table.
“…! M-Miku-san…! How did you get it back…!”
Rosalie, who was sitting across the table from her, covered her mouth with her hands, her face
the perfect picture of shock. Miku smiled proudly and answered:
“Hahaha Didn’t I tell you before? There’s more to an idol than meets the eye! Ah, you’ll have to
keep this a secret.”
After Miku finished, Rosalie nodded and promised with tears streaming down her face.
“Thank you, thank you… I never expected Rose Maiden to return to me…”
“Ah! Don’t cry! I just got it back for you to make you happy. It doesn’t make sense to cry now!”
After Miku said this in a joking manner, Rosalie wiped away her tears and burst into the
brightest smile Miku had seen from her. When she saw this, Miku couldn’t help but smile.
But immediately after this, her expression turned serious, her breathing quickened, and her
fingers began moving quickly.
“So come on, Rosalie-san. You promised that you would…”
“Eh? Ah—”
Rosalie’s eyes widened instantly, and then she blushed as if she realized Miku’s intentions.
“Okay… I see. But is it really possible?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Hearing Rosalie’s meaningful words, Miku tilted her head in confusion. As a result, Rosalie
curled her hair in a sexy motion and approached Miku slowly.
She then whispered softly in her ear:
“──Is a kiss on your cheek really all you want?”
The image of Rosalie who was so pure was amazing and Miku’s eyes widened in panic.
All the same, Rosalie licked her lips and said:
“Miku-san, could you please close your eyes?”
“O-Okay!”
It was an immediate role reversal of offense and defense. Normally, Miku liked to attack
beautiful girls but she also loved being played with by them. She followed Rosalie’s instructions,
and all the while, her expression suddenly became more charming as she closed her eyes.
◇◇◇
“Origami! Nia!”
The next day following their clash with the burglar, Origami was busy pasting the newly
acquired pictures of Shido in an album in the Itsuka household living room. Miku rolled in with a
loud noise.
“Um, Miku, what’s wrong?”
Origami and Nia, who’d only just arrived as well, wondered aloud.
Therefore, Miku even forgot to adjust her breathing and quickly said:
“B-B-Being stolen! Rose Maiden…!”
“What is going on?”
“Oh! Don’t tell me that Ajitsu somehow managed to steal it again? Wasn’t he already arrested by
the police?”
After origami and Nia started asking, Miku shook her head vigorously and pulled out a card and
put it on the table.
“T-This! You see this?!”
“…?”
Origami and Nia were questioning as they took a closer look at the card.
Then their eyes widened in amazement.
The Rose Maiden, I accept it.

Thank you, Miku onee-sama!♡
Rose Thief.
Because the card had the sentence written above and the rose symbol.
“Miku, where did this card come from?”
“It’s Rosalie! Rosalie asked me to close my eyes, but nothing happened. If nothing happens, does
that still count as playing? After opening my eyes slightly, I found that Rose Maiden was gone,
leaving on this card…!”
“…”
After listening to the perfect mess, Origami narrowed her eyes silently.
The next moment, there was a brisk call from a mobile phone.
“Ah!”
It seems to be the sound of Miku’s cell phone. Miku took out her phone and looked at the
screen—a more shocked expression on her face.
“R-Rosalie!”
“…!”
Origami raised an eyebrow while Miku quickly pressed the call button and put the phone to her
ear.
“Hey, hello! Rosalie-san! What’s going on! Didn’t you promise to give a kiss to my cheek—?”
“Give me that.”
Origami interrupted Miku, grabbing her smartphone from her.
“Hey.”
“──Ah, hey? Great, there is someone who understands people.”
After Origami answered the phone, a female voice came from the microphone. The way of
speaking is slightly different from the simple deep boudoir described by Miku.
“Are you Miss Tobiichi Origami? Former AST? Thank you very much for your help this time.”
It seemed that the other party knew Origami. Origami thought for a moment before making a
sound.
“Are you the wizard who used me to defeat that DEM wizard and then take advantage of the
situation?”
After Origami finished speaking, Rosalie whistled in surprise.
“That’s awesome. I only gave you such a message and you were able to figure out basically
everything.”
Even though the thief was complimenting her, there was nothing to be happy about. Origami
frowned slightly.
—Welbeck Rosalie, also known as the Rose thief, had been following Ajitsu’s Rose Maiden but
knew that his family had an extraordinary human - a wizard - at his command.
She could only guess that it was to knock him down that she deliberately approached
Origami—a former member of the AST—through Miku. Then Rosalie continued, aware that
Origami was still listening:
“Ah, don’t worry. The Rose Maiden is really something that was stolen from my family, it wasn’t
just a calling card or something. Isn’t it embarrassing to have something stolen by your peers?
However, the existence of a so-called wizard? Normal people don’t have a chance of beating it.”
Rosalie smiled heartily.
“I originally wanted to use you as bait so that I could get it back myself. However, I didn’t
expect you to steal it back for me. I really admire you. If there’s a problem in the future, I would
like to be able to ask you for help.”
“…”
Since Origami remained silent, Rosalie filled with a short laugh.
“Don’t be so angry! Anyway, can you tell the other two that I said hello? Thanks, goodbye!”
After finishing what she had to say, Rosalie promptly hung up.
Origami sighed softly and threw the phone back to Miku.
“Ah! Rosalie-san! We’re not done here yet! You have to kiss my cheek! It’s no use refusing to
answer the phone!”
Miku grasped at the phone while speaking angrily into the microphone. It seemed that for Miku,
not getting the kiss on the cheek was more important to her than Rosalie’s true identity.
“…”
Origami, in order to suppress her impatience in her heart, sat back down on the sofa and went
back to work on her Shido photo album again.
At the same time, Nia looked at the strange calling card with the rose emblem with interest and
whispered, “Cool… of course, a thief would leave a calling card.”
Mikie Measurement
“Ahhh… I feel so nervous!”
Okamine Mikie curled her petite body in an effort to both make herself look smaller and less
noticeable and to stop the trembling.
This sort of reaction was understandable because there were several wizards in front of her.
—She was at the Japan Ground Self Defense Force base in the corner of Tengu City.
The JGSDF base was the usual place for the Anti-Spirit Team: AST so it made sense for many
wizards to gather there. However, there seemed to be more of them present in the halls today
than usual. It was a scene that Mikie had never seen before.
She looked around uneasily, her twin-tailed hair twitching.
Suddenly, she felt something hit her head.
“Ow!”
“Don’t curl up like that! Stand up straight! Don’t flinch!”
Immediately afterward, she heard a crisp voice from somewhere above her. Mikie tenderly
rubbed her face before looking up at the speaker.
The speaker was a tall woman wearing a wiring suit similar to the one that Mikie was wearing.
Her black hair was tied back in a ponytail. She was the captain who led Mikie’s unit: Captain
Kusakabe Ryouko.
“B-But, captain…”
“Don’t do that. If this is how you act now, what will you do in an actual fight?”
“Yeah… that’s true. But ever since I was a kid, I would always get terribly nervous whenever I
had to take a quiz or an exam.”
Mikie crossed her arms and sighed.
That’s right. Right now, there was a group of wizards gathered in the training grounds of the
JGSDF base not to fight or to participate in a rally—but to take the wizard ability exam.
Just from a single glance, it was clear that it wasn’t just the AST members who were
participating today.
There were many wizards gathered in the training fields. Each of them wore wiring suits that had
different styles from the ones that Mikie was familiar with. Sometimes, talented wizards were
allowed specialized equipment, but the number of wizards present today was too high for that. It
was as if all of these people were from different units than Mikie.
“Who are those people? Are they from other bases…?”
“What are you talking about? Those are DEM wizards.”
Ryouko shrugged helplessly while Mikie gasped in realization, eyes widening.
The organization called DEM was a military company headquartered in the United Kingdom.
This company was responsible for inventing the Realizer Manifestation Device that Mikie and
the AST used in addition to other weapons.
Although DEM is a private enterprise that makes combat Realizers, it also has many wizards as
part of the company to test the weapons or help create new ones. They also have non-wizard staff
to work with other military companies within their groups. Everyone’s training level is the same
as, or greater than, the Anti-Spirit Teams of various countries.
“B-But what are DEM wizards doing here…?!”
After Mikie asked the question, Ryouko exhaled.
“Remember that the wizards of DEM will also need to take the test on a regular basis.
Unfortunately, we can’t just measure everyone’s strength and call it a day. We have to find a
place that has all the equipment we need and is secret. After all, we can’t have the public finding
out if something goes wrong. In this way, there’s only one place in this area—even in countries
outside of Japan, if they don’t have the dedicated training facilities near the branch office, it will
borrow the facilities of the army or police.”
“S-So it’s like that…”
Mikie nodded in understanding while Ryouko’s expression became bored as she folded her arms.
“But it’s not just that.”
“W-What do you mean…”
“Well…”
Ryouko sighed softly before glancing to the left. Mikie followed her gaze and noticed that the
AST members all wore tense expressions on their faces. Admittedly they didn’t appear nearly as
nervous as Mikie did.
“…As I’m sure you know, DEM’s wizards are all elite and use the very latest CR unit
technology. They are, of course, powerful in their own right.”
After listening to what Ryouko said, Mikie’s eyes widened.
“Are they here to motivate us… or something?”
Whether it was education or athletics, it’s often said that people compare themselves to other
people in the hopes to improve more quickly. Maybe they wanted to increase awareness of the
nations of the anti-pirit teams by seeing such elite wizards up close.
However, Ryouko frowned when she heard what Mikie said.
“Hmm… I can’t rule out that possibility for sure. But would DEM really act on such goodwill?”
“Wait… isn’t it? That’s…”
“It allows us to see the difference in strength and ensure we truly understand who is truly strong
in this exhibition.”
Ryouko narrowed her eyes as she sighed helplessly.
“J-Just for such a reason…?”
“Do you really think that it’s not possible?”
Ryouko asked with a deep frown. Mikie didn’t know how to answer her.
It’s true that DEM Industries had a lot to offer. Without them, there’s no way that Mikie and the
others would be able to fight against the Spirits that caused the spatial quakes.
However, under this premise, there are still plenty of people out there who are disgusted by
DEM’s attitude.
Ryouko wore an impatient expression upon spotting them. Mikie soon mimicked her.
Plus, DEM commanded a lot of the AST’s resources. They sent wizards to join the AST,
organized an independent army, ordering them to participate in a battle to defend the Japanese
branch of their company… and even started a riot with one of their new weapons. The reason for
all of this was because of DEM. Mikie remembered this all too well and couldn’t help but groan.
“…”
“Anyway… that’s probably it.”

Ryouko seemed to be aware of Mikie’s thoughts and gently stroked her head in encouragement.
She then loudly declared to the surrounding AST members:
“Everyone! Let’s improve troop morale! Although this is only a test, treat it like a real battle!
Don’t lose to DEM’s wizards!”
After hearing her voice, the originally tense AST members looked up at her suddenly. The same
was true of Mikie. She and the other AST members looked at each other and nodded in response:
“Yes!”
“Very well, that puts me a little at ease.”
Ryouko raised the corners of her mouth into a smile after she finished speaking.
At that moment, three wizards stepped forward immediately.
“Oh… Captain, it looks like it’s our turn.”
“Yeah. It looks like we have a wizard from DEM Industries as our opponent.”
“Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!”
“Y-You are!”
After Mikie shouted, the three women smiled fiercely, flashing a pose at them.
“We’re the 4th division AST, the blue child of the magic bullet!”
“We’re the strongest members of the 4th division of the AST!”
“… Kill! Kill! Kill… kill chaos! Kill! Kill…!”
“Those girls are crazy!”
Mikie wailed. Ryouko narrowed her eyes and said helplessly.
“Is this your first time meeting them? The members of the 4th division are a little weird.”
“Was there something in their coffee that made them act like this?”
“Well, it’s a personality feature more than anything. Actually, I’m pretty sure they’ve never
killed anyone… probably.”
“Probably?!”
Mikie exclaimed with a tone of alarm. Then there was a giggling laughter from somewhere
nearby.
Ryouko followed the laughter—and frowned slightly.
“What’s so funny, DEM wizard?”
She spoke in a stern voice to several wizards standing nearby. One of them, a woman with
several braids, stepped forwards. Europeans and Americans have a deep understanding of the
five senses and the muscles they have exercised. Even from a glance, Mikie could tell that this
wizard was strong.
“Oh, if you are offended, please bear with me. We didn’t intend to laugh at you. Whoever is
teaching you what to say is just so cute.”
“Cute?”
“Yeah. We didn’t even look at you but you already regarded us as enemies unilaterally. Think
about it: If a child who does not know the difference in strength takes the initiative to challenge
us, wouldn’t it make them a laughing stock? That’s the feeling.”
“Y-yeah…?”
Ryouko’s cheeks kept twitching uncontrollably and her forehead looked like it was turning blue.
“Well, DEM’s wizards are really mature so it’s best no to degrade our opponents when they’re
being provocative.”
“Oh, is it possible that the weight of jealousy or rebellion outweighs us?”
“No. I’m just worried that you won’t be able to come up with an excuse when we beat you.”
“…Oh?”
Hearing what Ryouko said, for the first time, a look different from a smile appeared on her face.
Their eyes met before looking around. There was an intense pressure as sparks flew from their
eyes as they glared at each other.
The atmosphere was so intense that it was as if they were about to fight a duel right there and
then. Mikie was quick to grab Ryouko’s hand to hold her back. The other wizards behind them
could also sense the atmosphere would be filled with the scent of gunpowder and their
expressions changed as well.

A loud voice cut through the tense atmosphere, echoing all around the base.
“…!”
The DEM wizards, along with Mikie and the others, shook in unison and looked to the source of
the sound.
There was a woman walking down the hall.
“What—”
Mikie’s eyes widened as she took in the woman’s appearance.
She was a young woman with light Nordic blond hair draped over her shoulders. Judging by her
wiring suit, she had to be a wizard. However, her appearance didn’t look like a warrior on the
battlefield but instead an elegant woman who belonged in a boudoir[1] or a beautiful doll.
She looked younger than her subordinates much like Mikie who was in the AST. However, the
way she spoke and how she held herself, the DEM wizards were clearly nervous and dared not
say a word against her.
“…Chief Executive Mathers…”
A few seconds prior, the wizard who was having an argument with Ryouko fell silent with a
frown as she looked at the other woman.
The hostility was plain on her expression. Ryouko stared back with equal dislike instead of awe
like the surrounding wizards.
However, it seemed that only Mikie had noticed the change. Ryouko was more concerned about
the new wizard before them rather than changes in the wizards’ expressions.
“Ellen Mathers…?! Why did she have to end up here…?”
“…? Captain, are you saying you know that person?”
After Mikie asked the question, Ryouko glanced at Ellen and said:
“Yeah… she’s the first executive director of DEM industries: Ellen Mira Mathers. The world’s
strongest wizard.”
“S-She’s the strongest wizard?!”

Listening to Ryouko’s words, Mikie’s expression turned into one of astonishment as she glanced
back at Ellen’s face again.
Given her lovely appearance, Mikie would have never guessed she held such a dangerous title.
However, Ellen’s relaxed attitude was a major contrast when compared to the surrounding
wizards. It was her persuasiveness that highlighted her uniqueness among wizards.
“…”
Ellen didn’t notice Mikie’s gaze on her as her attention was directed toward the wizard who’d
been arguing with Ryouko.
“—You seem to be the first executive…”
“Suningham Dominique.”
The woman, Dominique, responded in a sour mood. Nonetheless, Ellen nodded slightly and then
said:
“Dominique, combat isn’t a bad thing but take your hostility out on the Spirits. Moreover, we are
borrowing the facilities of the AST. Don’t forget to show your respect to them for hosting us.
Ellen finished. Dominique showed sharp eyes as she sighed.
“… I see. But I have to remind you of something.”
“And what’s that?”
“The chief wizard for our first executive department is not you but Executive Secretary Crowley.
Remember that.”
“…!”
After Dominique finished speaking, the DEM wizards started a commotion. The reason for their
attitude was obvious: none of them could believe that Dominique dared to talk back to Ellen.
Ellen herself didn’t seem to care and nodded in response:
“Oh, I know. That’s why you have to pay more attention. Your careless behavior will reflect
poorly on Crowley.”
“…!”
After hearing what Ellen said, Dominique could only clench her fist angrily. However, Ellen paid
it no mind as she turned her gaze on Ryouko.
“Please excuse me. You must be the captain of the AST.”
“…My name is Kusakabe Ryouko, and I’m the captain, yes.”
“I am the second chief executive of DEM Industries, Ellen Mathers. Captain Kusakabe, thank
you for providing this venue. Let us learn from each other so that we can defeat the Spirits.”
After speaking, Ellen stretched out a hand to Ryouko.
“O-Okay…”
Sweat ran down Ryouko’s face as she shook hands with Ellen. Ellen nodded slightly as she left
the scene.
It wasn’t until they could see her back that the surrounding atmosphere relaxed. The feeling was
similar to being able to breathe after holding your breath for a long time. Mikie exhaled while
looking in the direction that Ellen left.
“Huh… she was really amazing. She’s the youngest wizard but she was also the most polite… It
turns out that DEM also has that kind of person.”
“Be polite… Oh…”
Ryouko wiped the sweat off her face with the back of hand, revealing a dry smile.
“Honestly, I can feel my hair standing. I didn’t know whether she would treat us like people or
not. In this case, it’s better to keep quiet rather than lose your temper.”
“What…”
After Ryouko finished speaking, Mikie looked up and immediately noticed that there was still
one person still in sight.
“Captain, please don’t say such words that will provoke people into a fight.”
Fortunately, Mikie’s fears were unfounded. Dominique, who was standing beside her, had
ignored what Ryouko had said and was instead glaring in the direction that Ellen had left.
“…Come on.”
Dominique sighed in disappointment and then led the wizards who were suspected to be her
subordinates away.
“Ah… she’s gone…”

“Yeah. Just ignore her. She probably has her own strength but after seeing that kind of power, she
looks like a puppy by comparison.”
“Anyway, get yourselves motivated. No matter the opponent, don’t flinch!”
“YES!”
Inspired by Ryouko’s words, Mikie and the other AST members answered in unison.
◇◇◇
This was it, the wizard test has begun.
In the training fields separated by divisions, dozens of wizards gathered in each district to test
their abilities and proficiency as a wizard were up to par.
Although it is summarized as a “wizard’s ability”, it involves many items such as quickly starting
the Realizer, the strength and scope of the random field, the time required for its attribute change,
and simply generating magic values.
The area where Mikie found herself was for the power test. A sturdy target was set on a field
similar to a shooting range, and several hundred meters of equipment like pistols were prepared
in front of the target at 500 meters.
Additionally, she also noticed a blonde girl who looked like a scientist. She wore a long lab coat
with the sleeves rolled up. She wore glasses on her face and thick goggles over her head.
“Huh…?”
When she spotted the girl, Mikie’s eyes widened; the girl happened to lift her head at that
moment and waved her hand.
“Oh, if it isn’t Mikie!”
“Mily! What are you doing here?”
Mikie called out the girl’s name and raced toward her: this was Mildred F Fujimara: a mechanic
responsible for repairing Mikie’s AST gear.
“Oh, I was caught short of manpower!”
Mily laughed as she picked up the equipment next to her and passed it to Mikie.
“That’s the case. Hurry up and test it! Use this gun to shoot the target there. Of course, fire with
full fire.”
“Okay, well… what kind of gun is this?”
“It’s a low-power laser gun meant for testing. If you really plan to release all of your power,
make sure you don’t destroy the training ground. Long story short, just think of it as representing
1% of the usual power.”
“S-So that’s how it works…”
Mikie held the handle of the gun at Mily’s urging and stood out in the shooting range and pointed
the muzzle at the target in front of her.
She concentrated on activating the Realizer to generate magic. Unlike an actual fight, there was
no need to allocate power to defend herself. Mikie poured all her magical power into the pistol
and then pulled the trigger.
“—Fire!”
With a sharp, cracking burst, the magical light flew from the muzzle, hitting the target, and
released more sparks.
There were only a few traces of the attack on the target and no decent damage could be seen.
Because she thought the power was too weak, Mikie couldn’t help but burst out into a cold
sweat.
“What should I say… I know my power was a bit limited but I’m still surprised…”
Mildred glanced down at the terminal screen in her hand and said aloud:
“What do you think? A 62 is a pretty high score for Mikie’s unit. People who aren’t used to
generating magic power, sometimes the magic bullet won’t be able to hit anything much less
strike the target.”
“I-Is that really true…?”
“Yeah. You see, the group over there couldn’t hit the target.”
Mikie looked in the direction that Mildred pointed, and she could see the blue children of the
magic bullets, the flowers of the strong jail, and the chaos of slaughter squatting desperately.
“Hey! Wait a minute! Aren’t you strong… or rather, isn’t your title “Magic Bullet”?”
“…Huh? That’s not a title. It’s my surname. My name is Madanno (Note: Japanese pronunciation
is the same as “Magic Bomb”) Aiko. Please take care of me…”
Aiko explained with a somber expression. Mikie’s cheeks shed sweat… Was it really possible for
the other two names to also be surnames? She’d never met anyone with the last name
“exterminates”…
Just as Mikie thought about it, a magic bullet much more powerful than before struck the target
in front of the shooting range. A part of the target was smashed and smoke drifted out. The shot
appeared to have been done by the next wizard. Mikie glanced at the firing line and spotted the
wizard was the same one that quarreled with Ryouko: Dominique.
“O-Oh…”
“So this is the sort of power I have. What’s my score, miss tester?”
“O-Okay let me see… whoa, 152 points which is well above the average.”
After hearing what Midred said, Dominique snorted twice, shrugged her shoulders and looked
triumphantly at Mikie.
“How was that, shorty? This is the power of DEM’s wizards—”
The next moment, there was a loud noise close by and a dazzling light flashed.
“Ah…!”
“What…?!
A shockwave hit Mikie and the others. Sand went flying and the ground shook slightly, causing
Mildred to fall on her butt.
“What the hell was that…”
Faced with a sudden impact, Mikie quickly covered her head with her hands for a moment. She
then cautiously raised her head as she finally understood what just happened.
Dominique was standing behind Ellen who fired the measuring gun.
That’s right. The flashes, loud noises, and the shockwave that occured just now were because
Ellen fired the measuring gun.
“…!”
Mikie swallowed her saliva as she looked in the direction of the target, her eyes widening.
Such a reaction was normal: because the seemingly solid target that previously existed is no
longer visible—moreover, the power of the magic bullets couldn’t be dissipated in this way, and
the ground of the shooting range now had a large crater.”
“Whoa…”
Ellen exhaled softly and looked at the black grip-like object in her hand. When Ellen let go of the
gun, Mikie realized it was because the handle of the measuring gun had been heavily damaged.
“Sorry, I broke the equipment. I thought that one percent should be able to handle it. I will, of
course, pay for the damage, so please send the bill to DEM later.”
Ellen lifted Mildred who’d fallen to the ground from the shockwave. Mildred’s eyes were wide
with panic and then looked from Ellen to the target and back again.
“N-No, that… you are way too fierce.”
“Yes. After all, I hold the title of Strongest Wizard.”
Ellen explained this plainly.
However, Mikie and others did not have any objection to this. Because if she showed a more
humble attitude at this time, Mikie would feel even worse about her own performance otherwise.
“—I’ll be heading to the next area for the exam. Goodbye.”
Ellen told them briefly, leaving the stunned Mikie and the other wizards behind.
“Well…!”
After watching Ellen leave, Dominique suddenly recovered, her shoulders twitching before
striding forward at a heavy, slow pace.
Mikie and Mildred looked at each other, sighing in unison.
“Really, she’s way too powerful, Mildred. That kind of power turned out to be only one
percent… No, the gun burned out halfway, so her magic power had to be stronger!”
“Yeah… it was incredible.”
Mikie looked at the shooting range that Ellen inadvertently destroyed. She then muttered:
“The Strongest Wizard in the world.”
◇◇◇
“Ugh, that lady Mathers, her power makes it uncomfortable to move around.”
After finishing her exam, she was allowed time to rest before starting the next test, Dominique
growled angrily, clenching her sports drink tightly in her hand.
Then, the wizard sitting next to her, Ann, panicked and looked around.
“D-Dominique, please be careful when you speak so that you won’t be overheard.”
At Ann’s timid voice, Dominique frowned angrily.
“What’s wrong with being heard, Ann? You’re a wizard of the First Executive Department, so
let’s be proud of it.”
That’s right. Dominica and Ann both belong to the First Executive Department. Although they
have been sent to Japan where the appearance of Spirits is extremely high in recent years, they
were originally the elites serving in the head office of DEM.
When it came to “the wizards of DEM” everyone always talked about the second executive
department led by Ellen, but the first executive department is the regular combat unit of DEM.
The second executive department was mainly dealing with unseen tasks under the table.
They didn’t perform their normal duties but still claimed to be the strongest department. It was
this fact that frustrated Dominique more than anything else.
“Which human is really the strongest? The people behind the scenes are so popular…! Why does
Master Westcott insist on relying on that kind of woman!”
“I think it’s because… she’s really strong.”
“I don’t need you to tell me that! I already know that!”
Dominique roared loudly as she threw the crushed drink can while her shoulders shook
anxiously.
“Ahh… that was too domineering…”
Ann burst into tears. However, Dominique ignored as she wrinkled her face resentfully, biting
her thumbnails in frustration.
“It really does look like nothing can bother her. Is there really no way to rattle her spirit?”
“It’s impossible. If there’s anything that you’re better at than her, it is height and being
heartbroken.”
“Don’t tell me things I already know!”

Dominique clenched her fist and knocked on Ann’s head. Ann murmured again: “Too
overbearing.”
Ann was right, of course. Ellen was very powerful and it can be said that their levels are very
different. There was probably no one who could stand against her, and she would likely be
famous for a long time.
In fact, she has scored exceptionally good results in all of the ability exams done so far. Of the 15
total items, in 10 of them she managed to break the upper limit and the remaining five items
were for measuring machine damage and a result was not even recorded.
Dominique also finished with top ranking scores in all the exams so far but it was still not as
good as Ellen. Dominique realized this again and frowned angrily.
“…Eh!”
“You should just give it up. There are people out there. Besides, the remaining tests are only
basic physical exams so you won’t have a chance against her. No matter how you look at it, she’s
still our superior and so you don’t want to get on her bad side. Your salary might get cut.”
“Do you know—”
After Dominique raised her fist threateningly, Ann shuddered and promptly fell silently.
However—Dominique stopped in the middle of the movement and was silent for a moment.
“…? Dominique? What happened to you? You’re not being overbearing anymore…”
“Ann, what did you just say?”
“Huh? Did you take the wrong medicine?”
“You didn’t say this just now!”
Dominique aimed a punch at Ann’s head while Ann shouted with relief: “it really is
Dominique!”
“I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about the remaining tests. Did you just say it’s just a
basic fitness test? In other words, we’re not using the Realizer?”
“Y-Yeah… if I remember correctly, next we have to go to the swimming pool and complete a 50
meter freestyle test… Dominique, you’re not going to use this test to try to beat her? You
shouldn’t! You’ll only end up hurting yourself!”
Dominique poked Ann’s head and placed a hand on her chin.

“…At the head office, I heard a rumor.”
“R-Rumors? No, I never said anything about you not being able to get out of the bathroom
without taking off all your clothes.”
“What that, this is the first I’m hearing about it!”
Dominique grabbed Ann’s front flap and shook it aggressively. She planned to teach her a lesson
later. For now, she raised her own spirit and said:
“I’m talking about the rumors about Mathers. I heard that woman—”
After Dominique finished speaking, Ann’s eyes widened in disbelief.
◇◇◇
“Ugh…”
Mikie sighed in the rest area after finishing the last of the tests with the Realizer unit. Her sigh
was split between 30% fatigue, 10% relief that it would soon be over, and 60% frustration.
Her results so far had been slightly below average. Her tester said that given her age and class,
her results were good. Mikie hadn’t meant to overestimate her abilities… but after seeing “that”,
she felt more powerless than ever.
“The World’s strongest wizard… Ellen Mathers…”
Her power was overwhelming. Mikie had also witnessed the power of the Spirits, but Ellen’s
strength was comparable. Rather than longing or envy, what she was feeling now was more like
fear or worship. In fact, even the other team members and the rest of DEM members also looked
gloomy.
“…N-No.”
Mikie slapped her cheeks to cheer herself up.
“I’m sure Origami would scold me about this if she were here…”
She said the name as though she was persuading herself.
Sergeant Tobiichi Origami. She was a former member of the AST and the wizard that Mikie
looked up to the most. No matter what predicament she was in, she never gave up. If she was on
the scene, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that she had combat power close to Ellen. It was
fortunate that humanity had such a powerful force to provide them with hope.
“—Origami?”
As Mikie was thinking about this sort of thing, someone else’s voice came from behind her.
“Huh…?”
Mikie heard this call and turned back, shoulders trembling.
However, this wasn’t a surprise, of course. This was because the most powerful wizard of all
humanity, Ellen Mathers, was standing before her.
“A-Ah, E-Ellen—”
“Do you know Tobiichi Origami?”
“…! Do you know Origami-senpai?”
She heard what Ellen said, and Mikie even forgot her surprise and spoke loudly. Ellen, in turn,
made the movement of rubbing her abdomen while nodding in the affirmative.
“Yeah, I’ve met her before. As for the current situation, I am sorry—and pleased. A Spirit as
powerful as her…”
“Huh?”
Mikie heard the words and tilted her head to express her doubt. Surely she meant Origami since
she quit the AST but why was she happy? And why did she mention the Spirits?
“…No, it’s nothing. I mean to say that she was a very talented wizard.”
“T-This way…”
Although she was a little skeptical of what Ellen had said, Mikie decided not to pursue it further.
On one hand, she still feared Ellen. On the other hand, Mikie felt a measure of excitement
somewhere in her heart that threatened to overwhelm her.
Origami, the person that Mikie looked up to, had been acknowledged by the strongest wizard,
Ellen Mathers. This, to Mikie, made her much happier and proud than being praised herself.
She guessed what Mikie was thinking and added:
“Of course, she’s not as good as I am.”
“Ah ha ha…”
Mikie couldn’t help but smile despite herself. Ellen, who always seemed to compete with
Origami, always found it eminent.
However, Ellen frowned at her behavior.
“Why are you laughing? Are you saying that I’m not as good as Tobiichi Origami?”
“N-No, it’s nothing…”
Mikie smiled bitterly and shook her head to deny it. In fact, even Origami wouldn’t be able to
beat Ellen in a duel.
After realizing this, Mikie seemed to make up her mind and stared into Ellen’s face.
“S-So then… Ellen-san.”
“What is it?”
“I… I want to get stronger. I want to be much stronger than I am now. I want to be strong enough
that when Origami-senpai comes back, I can raise my chest and take pride in myself. What do
you think I should do so that I can become as strong as you?”
“…”
Faced with Mikie’s problem, Ellen’s eyes narrowed suddenly.
This reaction caught Mikie by surprise. It was only then that she realized just how rash speech
sounded.
—It was probably too big of a stretch to ask how to get as strong as Ellen. Although she felt
more approachable compared to when they first met earlier, the other party was still the strongest
wizard. It was only natural that a wizard at Mikie’s level would say something so verbose that
would end up upsetting her…”
“When I said, ‘like you’, I meant it as an analogy!”
“—Talent and effort.”
“Huh…?”
Ellen spoke lightly and Mikie’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Both of them together are very important. Neither on their own can make you a first-rate
wizard. However, the next bottleneck for someone who has both of those is faith.”
“Faith…”
After listening to what Ellen said, Mikie repeated it quietly.
“Yes. It’s good to be persistent. The reason why a wizard can become a wizard is because they
can manipulate the Realizer, and the most critical thing needed to control the Realizer is a strong
will. If you go in with faith burning bright like fire, that will manifest as strength.”
Ellen turned away from her as she explained.
“—If you want to become stronger, think about what’s driving you to want it so much. Then stay
committed to it. I truly believe that faith is the most honorable and powerful force in the world.”
“Y-Yeah, it is!”
Mikie made a neat gesture of salute and answered loudly. Ellen glanced at her with a small
measure of satisfaction as she intended to turn on her heel to leave.
It was then—
“Ah, I found you, I found you! I’ve been looking for you for such a long time, Chief Executive
Mathers!”
When Dominique emerged from the other side of the door with her subordinates, she
immediately blocked Ellen’s path.
“Suningham? What do you need from me?”
Ellen asked while Dominique raised the corners of her mouth and said with an ugly smile.
“Nothing. I just wanted to say that your streak of outstanding test results ends now. It shouldn’t
be so boring, after all. If it’s convenient for you, would you like to play against me?”
“Oh, is it a simulation battle? If you dare to challenge me then we will go to the simulation field
immediately—”
“Wait, wait.”
Dominique sweated on her forehead, her face paled as she was quick to stop Ellen. The calm and
confident attitude from a few seconds ago was nowhere to be seen.
“No, it’s nothing like that. I want to see who swims the fastest in the next test…”
She was fighting against the others but the momentum was inexplicably weak. It was the same
situation with the other wizards standing behind her as she whispered.
“Sorry, Dominique-san.”
“…Hmph!”
“That hurts!”
Dominique grabbed onto her subordinate’s head until she eventually let go. She pressed her head
while glaring resentfully at Dominique.
“…Chief Executive, what is your decision? As the strongest wizard… shouldn’t you escape?”
“…!”
Somehow. Some of the surrounding DEM wizards shivered after hearing her words.
Ellen didn’t know whether they’d noticed the reaction of those people but nonetheless, she
fluffed her hair casually.
“—Of course, I will not escape or hide.”
“! You’ve accepted, then! It’s too late to back out now!”
“Well, of course.”
“No matter what the test is, the winner will be the winner. If I win, you have to declare to the
entire company that you have lost to a wizard of the First Executive Department.”
“What…!”
When they heard this, there was shouting from a nearby DEM wizard who insisted that such a
title belonged to the Second Executive Department.
“Do not talk.”
Stopped by Ellen, the DEM wizard fell silent, nodding quietly.
“Whoever wins will be declared the strongest. A declaration of defeat will not be necessary. If I
lose, I will immediately resign from DEM Industries.”
“…!”
Ellen uttered those words so casually, causing both the DEM members present and Mikie’s eyes
to widen in surprise.
Not only that, but even Dominique, who’d made the declaration of war against her, was stunned.
However, Dominique immediately shook her head and she ecstatically bent the corners of her
mouth into a confident smile.
“Haha… hahahaha! Now that you’ve agreed to the terms, you can’t take it back!!”
“Of course.”
“I’ll be waiting for you at the venue first! Ellen Mathers!”
After pointing at Ellen, Dominique smiled and walked away. Her subordinates respectfully
saluted her and left after her.
Afterward, the remaining DEM wizards immediately gathered around Ellen.
“Chief Executive! Please cancel this competition now!”
“Plus, the next test is swimming!”
“Calm down. Who do you think you’re talking to?”
“…!”
They were all on the receiving end of Ellen’s glare and they immediately fell silent.
However, they still looked particularly anxious and sweat dripped down Mikie’s cheeks as she
trembled:
“T-Then, Ellen-san, can you… can you really win?”
“Of course. She said that the next test is swimming—oh, her ignorance is really terrible. It seems
that Suningham doesn’t know that swimming is my strong suit.”
“Ah! Is that true?”
After Mikie asked that, Ellen nodded confidently.
◇◇◇
After the break period ended, Ryouko removed the wiring unit and put on the swimsuit and
headed to the swimming pool with Mily who was also wearing a bathing suit.
“Hmm… Looks like the results of the magic test are quite unsatisfactory. The next phase is the
basic physical test. It’s very unpleasant to be provoked by the DEM wizards, soon it’ll be our
chance to show our true skill.”
Ryouko rolled her arms sharply as she spoke.
“Oh!” Mily shouted loudly who hadn’t gone in the water but was nonetheless wearing frog
shaped floaties while holding a kickboard in her hands.
“Ryouko-san! Your swimming skills are really superb!”
“Yeah. There are very few people who can beat me when it comes to swimming. Uh, by the way,
why are you even wearing a swimsuit if you’re not getting in the water?”
“Because this test doesn’t require the Realizer manifestation device, I’d like to test my skill.”
Mily finished and patted her chest confidently. The plump breasts that didn’t match her height
shook slightly.
“…I’m not going to stop you but aren’t you bad at swimming? Try not to swim too slowly and
slow everyone else down.”
“Hey, you’re underestimating me a bit? I have a trick up my sleeve today. If anything, I am more
worried that no one will be able to catch up with me.”
She picked up the kickboard and said, “Check it out!” while running around the corridor. Her
childish behavior made Ryouko smile bitterly.
“You say that with this kickboard, others are not going to catch you but I’m still not convinced.
In any case, you shouldn’t be running around the pool, it’s dangerous!”
At the moment Ryouko said that Mily, who was running around the corridor, hit a figure
emerging from the intersection and fell to the ground.
“Ah!”
“…!”
“See, what did I tell you.”
Ryouko quickly approached Mily and lifted her back to her feet. Then she also reached out a
hand to the passers-by who’d accidently knocked Mily over.
“Sorry, are you okay? I’ll lecture this child later…”
As she finished speaking, Ryouko paused suddenly.
This made sense because the person sitting on the ground in a slump was Ellen Mathers clad in a
swimsuit of her own.
“…!”
“—I’m fine. It’s not an issue.”

Ellen ignored Ryouko’s surprise as she stood up without help, picked up the items that she fell
when she crashed into Mily and hurried towards the pool.
Ryouko put her hands on her chin as she sorted out her confused thoughts while staring intently
at Ellen’s back: Ellen was the strongest wizard in the world, there was no doubt about that. The
so-called wizard has to be capable of being physically and mentally strong.
Admittedly, it had been a sudden occurrence but it was a small girl like Mily who was hit and fell
to the ground. It was certainly surprising. The point is—
“Why even she…”
Ryouko couldn’t believe what she saw just then and pinched her cheeks.
—The fifty meter swimming pool built in the training facility was where the wizards were now
gathered. Everyone had already finished the magic portion of the exam and had changed out of
the wiring suits and into swimwear.
Nonetheless, everyone’s expressions were still tense with anxiety, tension, or maybe a little bit of
excitement.
Ellen Mathers, the world’s strongest wizard, had wagered that if she lost against Dominique of
the First Executive Department, she would immediately resign from her position at DEM. News
of the contest spread like wildfire and everyone had long forgotten about their own tests and
couldn’t wait to watch the duel between the two wizards. Some of them even went so far as to
open a betting market to predict who would win or lose.
Dominique, the challenger, had already warmed and was waiting by the side of the pool.
After putting on her swimsuit, her physical body was fully visible. The swollen trapezius and
upper arm biceps were clearly defined, which alone were a testament to her impressive strength.
“…It’s an okay fit…”
Mikie and her AST teammates were standing next to each other by the pool while taking sips of
water while watching her figure with fascination. That was the incomprehensible physical
difference between her and Mikie’s petite body. It seemed that no matter how hard she pushed
herself with her physical fitness, she would never be able to sculpt such a figure.
Mikie shook her head vigorously. It is not the physical difference that determines a wizard’s
strength but a strong will. The strongest wizard had just told her this fact herself.
If Mikie couldn’t reach her level, it wasn’t because of the difference in qualifications but because
she was feeling desperate and gave up on her dreams. She gritted her teeth and waited for Ellen
to make her appearance.
At that moment, the door swung open and Ellen slowly emerged from it. Seeing her appearance,
all of the wizards exclaimed at the same time—a commotion immediately followed.
However, that wasn’t a surprise: Ellen’s body in swimwear was so slender that it couldn’t
compare to Dominique’s muscular physique. It looked like a breeze could knock her over if it
was strong enough. However, her appearance was eclipsed by what she was holding.
“…A kickboard…?”
Mikie’s eyes were glued to the board as she made a sound. That’s right, because Ellen was going
to swim with a swimming aid in her hands.
“Pfft…!”
Aftering witnessing this scene, Dominique couldn’t help but smile.
“It seems that the rumors are true… Hehehe, let’s get started, Chief Executive.”
“Okay, we can start whenever you’re ready—it’ll take more than this to sacrifice my <Prydwen>.
Ellen answered in a detached manner and walked to the water lane next to Dominique.
She ignored Dominique standing on the diving platform and instead settled into the swimming
pool, grabbing the kickboard and planting her feet against the wall.
Hmm… it looks like she’s not going to dive. Dominique saw this as she twisted her body with a
smile on her face.
“Oh, uh… let’s get started. Could you please count us down?”
Dominique asked the measuring staff standing nearby. As a result, one of the testers held up a
hand despite a look of confusion.
“Then let’s do it then. Ready? Begin!”
“Hoo!”
At the tester’s command, Dominique dove into the pool and broke the water surface with a
freestyle with beautiful posture.
“Where’s Ellen-san?”
Dominique was advancing at an incredible pace. Mikie looked away from her and looked toward
the waterway next to hers.
She didn’t see Ellen. Looking at the starting point with suspicion, she spotted Ellen holding onto
the kickboard with her hands while her feet seemed to be treading water rather than the
impressive freestyle that Dominique was doing.
“What…?”
── So slow and exaggerated.
Everyone saw this scene. The wizards of the second executive department of DEM who were
watching couldn’t bear to look at it.
During this period, Dominique continued forward smoothly. After more than twenty-five meters,
she continued to accelerate and maintained a comfortable lead.
Ellen’s defeat was all but certain at this point. She might have had a chance with a Realizer unit
but as it stood, the gap between them was so wide that even Olympic gold medal winners would
be hard-pressed to try to beat her.
“Chief Executive…!”
“So I don’t want you to compare…!”

The wizards around them were frustrated and resorted to desperate sounds.
It was no wonder. After all, Ellen Mathers was the strongest wizard. Her fighting power and
position would be lost due to this stage for the competition.
“…!”
Mikie couldn’t help standing on her toes on the spot.
—If she was being honest, she still had her doubts about DEM industries. If someone asked her
whether she liked or hated the company, she would have definitely said that she hated them. If
Ellen also participated in the cruel behavior that DEM was responsible for then Mikie had no
intention of forgiving her.
But even Mikie could easily understand how much loss the frontline wizards suffer. Point being,
Mikie didn’t want to see it happen if she could avoid it.
She doesn’t want the strongest wizard who acknowledged Origami’s talent to lose everything in
such a ridiculous way.
“Ellen-san! What are you doing!”
Mikie clenched her fists and shouted at the top of her voice. The wizards around her looked at
her in surprise.
“Didn’t you tell me that… a strong will is the key to determining the strength of a wizard?! Is
your faith so weak?! Since you’re known to be the strongest—”
Mikie yelled so loudly that it felt like her throat would tear from the raw emotion.
“Just show the world your true strength! Ellen Mathers!”
—So, in the next moment.
As though echoing Mikie’s voice, bubbles formed on the water’s surface around Ellen followed
by a giant splash.
At that moment, Ellen seemed to rush toward the finish line along the waterway of the fifty
meter pool. This is not your work. Ple ase do n ot take m
ine, with credit or otherwis e. Than ks.
“What…!”
Mikie witnessed the unexpected situation and stared blankly at the scene.
Fortunately, the water flow subsided and she was able to make out what was happening in the
swimming pool. She could see Dominique who was at the forty-five meter mark wore a look of
astonishment on her face as Ellen reached the finish line.
“Whoa…”
Mikie along with the other wizards present were stunned, unable to understand what had
happened at that moment.
“…”
They all then cheered in response to Ellen’s incredible comeback without so much as breaking a
sweat.
“Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh!”
This scene in the swimming pool set off a wave of enthusiasm from the wizards of the second
executive department of DEM. Even the AST members who witnessed such an amazing
comeback didn’t skimp out on applause.
“Miss Ellen!”
Mikie ran to the pool and rushed to Ellen’s side where she floated at the finish line.
“That was incredible! I didn’t expect you to—um, how did you do it?”
“It was nothing special. Just normal technique.”
Ellen responded with a smug tone as if nothing happened.
Dominique who was in the lane next to Ellen said incredulously:
“H-how is it possible… it’s impossible…”
“Hoo!”
Ellen faced her leisurely while curling her wet hair and said:
“Suningham, you don’t need to be upset. You lost to me for a single reason.”
“What, why…?”
“──Because I am the strongest.”
After Ellen finished speaking, Dominique sank into the swimming pool with a stunned face.
“…Huh? What’s with all the commotion! It’s way too loud in here!”
Ryouko came to the swimming pool with her knees next to Mily’s, both of them had their heads
tilted in wonder.
Because of a scraped knee, Mily shouted that she could neither walk or swim so Ryouko simply
treated her wounds and returned to the pool. What happened during this period?
“Hehehe, this is it. This cheering crowd is surely cheering for the entry of the swimming queen,
Flying Fish Fujimura Mildred!”
“…But no one is even looking at you. Then you’ve been confident this whole time. What are you
planning?”
After Ryouko asked, Mily grinned and waved the kickboard in her hand.
“I can’t say too much but let me tell you something just between the two of us. This kickboard is
something I spent all night making. It has a built-in special motor that will create a jet of water
and can let me swim at super high speed, which is a good thing!”
“Yeah… is this really the thing? It just looks like a normal kickboard to me.”
After Ryouko stared at the kickboard suspiciously, Mily shook her finger.
“That’s a problem for lay people. At first glance, it looks like an ordinary floating board but as
long as you use it like this… uh… huh?”
Mily, who was playing with the kickboard, suddenly frowned, touching and flipping the
kickboard.
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
“T-This is an ordinary kickboard! Why! How could this happen!”
“Really? You shouldn’t have made that mistake. Do you have another board?”
“This is impossible! I confirmed it when I left the lab! Where did my invention go…!”
Mily’s cries dissipated in the wild cheering of the swimming pool.

Reine Marriage Hunt
“Murasame-sensei! Do you have any time next Saturday?!”
One day after school, while Murasame Reine was organizing class materials in the staff room,
her colleague Okamine Tamae spoke out her feelings in a strange and funny tone.
Her age seemed to be 30 years of age… wrong it was near 29 years old, she was a teacher often
mistaken for a student due to her petite size and child-like face. The round framed glasses she
was wearing complimented her looks, but also further promoted her youthfulness.
Although they had only communicated during work, as far as Reine recognized she usually had a
calm and warm personality. Reine was a bit surprised by her intense stare and voice that was
brimmed with excitement.
“…Next Saturday? There are no plans currently at the moment.”
As Reine replied back indifferently, Tamae’s gleaming expression continued to flow.
“Really?! Then let’s go to a party together! A party!’
“…A party?”
Hearing these unexpected words, Reine slanted her head in puzzlement. It was difficult to derive
such fervent passion from Tamae’s usual words.
“Yes! I’ve just realized! The princess is graduating! From now on I want to become a hunter! But
the first hunt is a bit scary, so I want a friend there…please help me set up a paralyzing trap!”
“…?”
Although Tamae spoke with glimmering eyes, there were too many high-end metaphorical
expressions that made it so that Reine could not clearly understand the meaning behind her
words.
Even if it was said to be a party, the different types of parties were numerous. The ballroom
dance parties held in fairy tales, the rallies held by politicians to raise funds, and even the award
ceremony held by publishing companies.
Nonetheless, she did not hear any stories of Tamae falling love at first sight with some foreign
prince, nor was it to Reine’s knowledge that she was a strong supporter of a specific political
party. Although the possibility of winning a prize for a novel or manga could not be denied…but
even if that were the case, Reine was still clueless as to the meaning behind her words.
Perhaps it was a household party where the number of guests is inadequate. After making use of
the process of elimination to decide on this judgement, Reine muttered out a “…I see” as a safe
response to indicate some degree of understanding.
However, it wasn’t Reine’s strong point to be good at talking to strangers in an unfamiliar

environment. So, she was about to raise her face to politely decline.
“…Okamine-sensei, I’m very sorry. I’m not good with these types of situations very much──”
“Here! A map of the venue! If you can’t find the place day-of, then please call me when you are
near! Clothes shouldn’t be too formal, but also not too casual! Well, as fellow comrades on the
battlefield, I’ll be praying for your fortune! Good Luck!”
“…No, that.”
As Reine tried to interject, Tamae made a dashing expression while giving a thumbs up before
dashing out at a storm-like speed.
“…”
As the one left behind, Reine stared at the hand-drawn map forcibly placed onto her hands,
letting out a little sigh in the process.
◇◇◇
Saturday. Reine arrived at the town by relying on the map given to her by Tamae.
Since she wasn’t able to refuse Tamae’s invitation, she ended up coming to the designated
location.
Well, as long as it was simply saying hello and being able to save face with Tamae, it should be
good to leave for home right afterwards. While thinking over such thoughts, Reine was walking
about the streets and looking around her surroundings.
“…Is it here?”
Reine whispered under a low voice. While comparing the location with Tamae’s notes, she had
reached her destination.
“…?”
However, having arrived there, Reine let out a puzzled expression.
This wasn’t a personal domicile where Tamae and her friends would live, but rather a large
commercial building facing the street.
…Obviously, it was not the sort of place to host a home party. If anything, it more resembled a
place to host a dubious self-improvement seminar or a network business presentation.
However, regardless of the number of times double checking, there was no doubt that this was
the intended destination. She didn’t imagine that Tamae would invite her to participate in such
things. Although there was a sense of incongruity, Reine still entered inside the building.
Then, she arrived at a floor with an open hall.
“…This is.”
While staring at a sign placed in front of the venue, Reine abruptly stopped.
But that was reasonable, after all that was written on it.
“Hosted by Encounter Co., Ltd. Tengu City Marriage Party Venue.”
It was because of that wording.
A marriage interview. As what was read, it was an activity for those looking for matrimony. It
was a party where men and women seeking a spouse would gather.
“…”
It seemed to be a mistake. Reine promptly turned around and prepared to leave.
However, just then, from behind her a familiar voice echoed.
“! Ah, Murasame-sensei! You came! I’m glad I called on you today!”
Turning around, Reine saw Tamae’s familiar figure, which had just arrived. She was in a mature
dress and had her straightened hair beautifully tied. Despite saying that “the clothes didn’t have
to be too formal”, Reine never expected she would wear an outfit that resembled a princess.
“…Okamine-sensei, what exactly is this?”
When asked by Reine, Tamae clenched her fist while marching forward like a politician with a
speech in hand.
“If the 20s are a time to be intercepted by love, then the 30s are love’s violent assault. Even
though I’m still in my 20s, I cannot win unless I attack. Good men are being hunted down by
rivals one after the other!”
“…No, that’s not what I asked about. I didn’t hear anything about a marriage interview party.”
Reine spoke out, but it seems that Tamae did not hear it. With a huff of her nose, she walked over
to the strategic location step by step.
“Let’s go now Murasame-sensei. My future husband is waiting…huh?”
At that moment, Tamae was stopped by the entrance staff.
“Ah, yes I am a participant. …Haah?! A junior high student?! Do you think a junior high student
would be as anxious as me! Even if it is mistaken, shouldn’t it at least be a high school
student?!”
As Tamae huffed out indignantly, she presented her driver’s license as if this was a routine
movement. After reading, the staff let out a surprised expression, muttering out a “…I’m sorry.”
before letting them proceed while still in a state of disbelief.
“How annoying! Even when buying sake from a tavern or convenience store, it is always like
this.”
“…That must be hard for you.”
Well, although the staff member’s feelings were not fully understood, there was no need to
exacerbate the matter. Looking at the irritated Tamae, Reine let out a brief sigh.
Although there was no interest, it wasn’t good to leave Tamae here alone after coming this far.
Reine reluctantly walked into the venue behind Tamae.
Then, a clerk near the entrance handed them a badge number and two different types of forms.
“…This is.”
“It’s a profile sheet and a check sheet. Write your own information here and your impression of
the other person here.”
“…Hmm.”
After hearing Tamae’s words, Reine gazed down on the sheet of paper.
Indeed, there were certainly categories listed like name, occupation, hobbies, and required
conditions for a partner.
“Let’s write at that table over there, Murasame-sensei.”
After saying that, Tamae went to the table to begin furiously filling out the form. Following this
lead, Reine also began working on the sheet.
Even with that being said, there was nothing much to write about. Data such as names and
occupations are fine. However, since Reine originally had no intention of coming here for a
partner, there was a lack of knowledge in knowing what else to write. In desperation, one could
only write “no requirements”.
“…Hmm?”
At the edge of her sight, Reine caught a glance at Tamae’s form.
Name…Okamine Tamae
Age…Twenties♡
Occupation…Teacher
Interests…Cooking
Requirements for partner…age below 35 years old, height above 180 cm. Four year university
graduate. Yearly income over 8 million yen. Self-employed is negotiable. A man who actively
engages in household work and child rearing. No smoking is allowed. First-time marriage is
desirable, but negative when there are plans for children. Hopes to take the bride’s family name.
“…Sensei, Okamine-sensei.”
“Ha…! Yes. What’s the matter?”
Hearing Reine call out, Tamae, who had buried her face in writing, raised her head.
“…Sensei, your request.”
“Ah, is it really a bit too compromising? I’m still in my twenties, so isn’t it okay to indulge in a
little bit of fantasy…?”
“…No, I think that it is too strict. Men who meet these conditions simply do not exist. And even
if they do exist, they won’t want a woman who has drawn such conditions.”
“Ha…?!”
After Reine finished speaking, Tamae’s shoulders began to shake. Staring blankly at the form as
if she had left something, she then let out a self-deprecating smile.
“Yes, certainly…that is true. Thank you Murasame-sensei. Perhaps, I had already recognized it
internally, but couldn’t bring myself to correct it.”
After saying that, Tamae began making alterations to the sheet.
Age 35 or below → Age 36 or below.

More than 180 cm tall → More than 179 cm tall
Annual income of more than 8.0 million yen → Annual income of more than 7.9 million yen.
“…No, that’s not it, sensei.”
After realizing the extent of the error, Reine tried to once again remind Tamae.
However, at that moment, she was interrupted by the voice of a staff member echoing a message
through the loudspeaker.
“──Ah, ah. Thank you for coming here today. I am Osaka, serving as the spokesperson today for
Encounter Co. Ltd. ──Well, I was never fond of the morning assemblies held by the principal,
so my motto is to make greetings go as quickly as possible. The Tengu city marriage ceremony
party will now formally begin. I hope that everyone here can find a wonderful marriage of their
own!”
After the brief opening declaration, cheers resounded from the audience. Osaka took a small bow
before continuing to explain.
“The first step is to introduce yourselves, so please take a seat. Female seats are lined up against
the wall while male seats are on the opposite side. After you are seated, please present your
profile sheet to the person in front of you and introduce yourself. Then, please record your
impression on the check sheet. If there’s someone that catches your eye, please don’t forget to
write down that person’s name and number. After five minutes have passed, an alarm will ring
and the men will move to the next seat over!”
“Hmm, I see…alright, let’s head out Murasame-sensei.”
“…Haah.”
As Reine let out a half-hearted reply, she sat down on the seat beside Tamae’s.
Shortly afterwards, the men also began seating as well.
“Hello, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Sawamura. Then, I’m in your care.”
“…I’m in your care.”
The first person sitting opposite of Reine was a serious looking man with trimmed frame glasses,
who looked to be in his mid-30s. The two of them exchanged profile sheets before turning their
attention to the sheets.
“So, it is Murasame-san. How, you look beautiful.”

“…Thank you.”
As Sawamura let out what seemed to be an unaccustomed complement, Reine lowered her head
in a brief response of gratitude.
However, afterwards, there was a brief silence.
While Reine wasn’t the type that liked to talk much, it seemed Sawamura was also the
introverted type as well. Despite clearly wanting to say something, it didn’t seem he could get
out the words he wanted to say.
At the same time this silence continued, the loud conversation from the seat next to them became
even more prevalent.
“──Yes, I’m in your care! I’d like to ask how many siblings you have, Sekiguchi-kun. Hmm, so
an older brother and a younger sister. So that means you’re the second son! Ah, a bank
employee! What a coincidence, my three favorite words are marriage, second son, and bank
employee!”
“H-haah…”
Tamae spoke out while half of her body was almost on the table. It seemed that the man on the
opposite side looked completely terrified. It was not so much of a hunter than a monster instead.
For some reason, Reine was reminded of Miku when seeing that scene.
Then, five minutes had passed. On the opposite side, Sawamura stood up with a very gloomy
expression on his face.
“T-that…I am in your gratitude.”
“…You as well.”
Although not many words were spoken at all…there was nothing that could have been done. It
was the natural direction for such a forced get together. To be honest, Reine noticed that he was
showing some concern about sitting in front of Tamae because of the rotation.
As such thoughts were going through Reine’s mind; the next man sitting in front of her handed
over his profile sheet.
“Hello…Ohhh?! What a beautiful lady!”
“…Hello there.”
After Reine made a short reply back, she pursed her eyebrow upward while looking at his profile
sheet.
The reason was simple. Even though the man appeared to be a foreigner──in the occupation
box, it was written with “working at DEM Industries”.
“Yes, it really is an honor to be able to meet such a beautiful lady. Nice to meet you. My name is
Andrew · Cathy · Dunstan · Francis · Barbarioli…”
It was an obnoxiously long name.
Speaking of DEM, it was not an exaggeration to say that they were the natural enemy of
<Ratatoskr>, where Reine was from. For an instant, the possibility of using this gathering to
come in contact with a member of <Ratatoskr>…that thought passed through her mind, but
Reine scratched her head and quickly dismissed the idea.
Right now, Reine was not registered as the analytic officer of Ratatoskr, but rather as a faculty
member of Raizen High School. She had also come here on the occasion of Tamae’s invitation.
As long as there was no connection between
Tamae and DEM, it was impossible for that to happen. Besides, DEM’s employees were also
human; it was likely that they were also looking for marriage partners.
While Reine was thinking of such matters, Andrew (hereby abbreviated) spoke out with
enthusiastic and endless pratter.
“Miss Murasame. Do you believe in destiny? It’s embarrassing, but I had my doubts up until
today. But! Ah, yes! I am feeling it right now! The moment I saw you, my heart was taken away.
Truly a divine revelation! Surely you are my destined person…!”
“…Please calm down.”
“Ah, I can’t wait. I’m going to order a wedding ring right now! What is your ring size? After my
term is over, I’ll be heading back to my hometown in the UK. Can you follow me back there?”
“…”
Seeing that he was not listening to others at all, Reine let out a sigh of exhaustion.
No sense of fate could be derived from Reine at this moment, but it would also be troublesome to
leave this alone. While thinking of a precautionary measure, Reine opened her mouth.
“…Hmm, so you work for DEM. ──How are Ike and Ellen?”
“…Ha?!”
Hearing those names, Andrew finally let out a reaction.
Well, that should be expected. The names belonged to the head of DEM and his closest
confidant. Moreover, Reine had attached a friendly nickname as well.
“Then let me ask Miss Murasame. What is your relationship with MD Westcott and Department
Chief Mathers…”
“…Nothing but an old acquaintance. But when you get married please be sure to call so we can
thoroughly investigate the person who will be your companion.
That’s what they said. In the event that they are dissatisfied…well, it looks to be quite
troublesome.”
“──Hitsu───!”
Andrew let out a deep breath as his face grew paler.
“…Well, it’s true that I didn’t let them know I was participating in this party. So how about we
pretend that we didn’t see each other today.”
“…Ah, alright…I’m saved…”
After saying those brief words, Andrew suddenly became more well-behaved and quiet.
After five minutes had passed again, the same alarm rang. Andrew looked briefly at Reine’s face
before moving on to Tamae.
“…”
However, not expecting that DEM members would also be participating, Reine let out a slight
sigh.
Nonetheless, it was impossible for everyone to be the same “co-workers”. With that renewed
thought in mind, Reine turned to the next participant.
“…Hmm?”
Reine once again pursed her brow upward.
Yet, nothing could be done against that. Anyway──
“Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Nakatsugawa Munechika──eh! Analytic officer

Murasame?!”
The man reclining on the chair let out a surprised voice, yet Reine also recognized him at sight.
Appearing to be around 30 years old, he was a man of good physical build while equipped with
glasses. Although he was wearing a luxurious suit, for some reason there were also fingerless
gloves covering his hands.
There was no doubt about it. This man was also a part of <Ratatoskr>, the one who transcended
dimensions, the <Dimension Breaker> Nakatsugawa.
“…Nakatsugawa, what are you doing in this sort of place?”
“No, that, it’s not like I have been cheating around with 3D…yes, I only came here because of
Kawagoe-dono’s invitation…”
“…Kawagoe?”
As Reine spoke out in turn, she turned her attention to Nakatsugawa’s line of sight.
Over there was another member of <Ratatoskr>, <Bad Marriage> Kawagoe. He was chatting
leisurely to the woman across from him in the marriage interview with a veteran facial demeanor.
“Oh, your hobbies are outdoor activities? What a coincidence. In fact, I am planning on
qualifying as a camping instructor.”
“Eh, really?”
“It’s really embarrassing. Well, although it was decided just now because a person I met really
wanted to go camping.”
“Ahaha, you’re really something.”
In this manner, the conversation persisted in this half-joking sort of leisure.
Although this was a man who had earned a nickname from being divorced countless times, when
looking at it from the opposite perspective, he is also a man who has experienced marriage
numerous times as well. It seemed that he had become completely accustomed to such a setting.
“…Is he planning to get married again? His lifestyle won’t remain unchanged if he has to
continue paying settlement fees and child support services.”
“No, that…it seems that his intuition will get dull if he doesn’t seduce women for a long
time…that’s what he said. Originally, I would have never come here, but he said that it was
something everyone should experience at least once and dragged me here…”
“…Hmm.”
As Reine was stroking her chin, Nakatsugawa continued to ask.

“…Then, pardon me for asking, but why did Analytic Officer Murasame come to this place? Are
you beginning to think about getting married…?”
“…”
Reine slightly narrowed her eyes while pointing to the seat next to her with her fingers.
Over there, Tamae was speaking to Andrew, “DEM…isn’t that a foreign-funded enterprise?!
Wow, what a coincidence! My three favorite words are international, marriage, and foreign
capital.” Hearing that, Andrew was completely overwhelmed.
“…It’s the same as you. I was invited over here by my colleague. Although, I didn’t think that
this would be a blind marriage interview.”
“I-I see…”
With sweat dripping down his cheeks, Nakatsugawa awkwardly scratched his head.
“No…it seems that I can’t get used to this kind of thing after all. When I talk to women, I get
nervous unless there is a speech window near that person’s chest. It seems to be difficult for the
others as well…”
“…Others?”
Hearing what Nakatsugawa had just said, Reine furrowed her brow upward. After surveying her
surroundings, she wondered to herself how she did not notice this until now.
In various places within the auditorium, Reine was able to confirm several acquaintances.
“Is that used for some sort of special skill in black magic…?”
“Ah, yes, that’s right. There are many different types, but I work best with the scarecrow type…”
“H-haha…”
“In order to prevent cheating, I hope you can give me one piece of your hair for this…”
“Huh…”
<Nail Knocker> Shiizaki pulled out a straw doll from her bosom and faced it against her male
partner.
“Then, I would like to ask. If you marry me, would you change jobs for me?”
“Change jobs…? No, that is a bit…”
“Eh? Why? If you go to work, there won’t be enough time left spent as a couple. Do you think
that this sort of environment can nurture love? Isn’t a couple a pair that stays together in both
sickness and health? Shouldn’t we try to always stay within a radius of ten meters to each other?
Don’t tell me you are underestimating marriage?”
“Ehh…”
Seizing the other side by extolling her high ideals on marriage, there stood <Deep Love>
Minowa.
And also──
“No, that’s fine, but there is a problem with the resume…”
“Problem? Where is the problem? Kannazuki Kyohei, 29 years old, security work at Asgard
Electronics, interested in (turning into) bowling (a bowling pin), and conditions for a partner is
an Ojou-sama between the ages of 13-15…”
“It’s here, here.”
“Here…?”
“It’s the conditions you want for the opposite party! Aren’t we at a blind marriage interview right
now?! Then, why are you after something legally out of the game?!”
“What…is that so. If it is really bad, let me rewrite it.”
“So you finally understand…”
“Yes. Kannazuki Kyohei, let’s change the target age to around 12 years old.
“Did you not understand anything?!”
Apparently, Kannazuki, who had still not taken a seat, was currently having a dispute with a staff
employee in the venue.
It was not an exaggeration to say that this was an All-Star lineup of <Fraxinus> employees.
Reine could not help but let out a small sigh.
“…Nakatsugawa, is Mikimoto also here?”
“Ah, Mikimoto didn’t come.”
“…Un, I see.”
In any case, the <Boss> Mikimoto, despite being an imperfect family man, still had enough of a
conscience to abstain.
“It seems that today is the birthdate of the Jennifer-chan shop he always goes to.”
“…”
Despite being a massive problem in its own right, Reine didn’t even have the strength left to
criticize anymore.
About two hours later, Reine had met with all of the participating men and was standing at the
corner of the venue with a champagne glass in her hand.
The next two hours were allotted to free time where everyone can leisurely talk with participants
that they cared about. After that, everyone should write down the numbers of their favorite
participants on the sheet of paper. If there were any male and female participants who wrote
down each other’s number, then they would be successfully paired…apparently it was decided in
this nonsensical manner.
Incidentally, she had also met up with Kawagoe after Nakatsugawa. However, Kannazuki, who
had been tied up with the staff, never got a chance to sit down before the end of the
self-introduction time.
“Ufufu, how was it, Murasame-sensei. Was there a particular target?’
Having grabbed a champagne glass just like Reine, Tamae spoke out with a smile. …For some
reason, that smile had been maintained since the end of the self-introduction session. Apparently,
she had a goal in mind,
“…No, I don’t. What about you Tamae-sensei?”
“Eh? Me? In this case, the first man was very wild and nice. The second man was very calm and
good. But if there is an elite husband of a foreign funded company, then there will be the
prospect of a handsome half-ikemen son in the future. …Ahh! What should I do? Please don’t
fight over me!’
“…”
Reine quietly watched Tamae, who was contorting her body with her passionate emotions.
At that moment, several men approached them.
“──Oh, Murasame-san, can you spare me a few words?”
“Murasame-san, if you aren’t busy, can I take some of your time──”
“Hello, Murasame-san──”
Seeing this scene unfold, Tamae had a flicker in her eyes as she gulped down the sparkling wine
in a cup, slamming the empty glass down on the table as an eerie sound echoed.
Then, while assuming the posture of a fighter about to intercept an opponent, she let out a fierce
kick on the floor as she moved towards the direction of the men.
“Hello, everyone. I am Okamine. Let’s all discuss the future together!”
“U-uwaa?!”
The men all ran away as a result of Tamae’s arrival. Tamae’s eyes dilated like a wild beast as she
quickly pursued them from behind.
“…”
Looking on at this sight, the day where she would wear a wedding dress looked like it would be
far away. ──Well, she should be grateful to her for dealing with the troublesome matter of the
men who were crowding early. To be honest, Reine was already exhausted from just the
self-introduction.
“…Fu.”
Reine took a sip of the sparkling wine while leaning her back against the wall.
At that moment, another participant approached Reine from the side.
“Is it okay to also stand here?”
Looking at the figure, it seemed to be a man──However, that wasn’t right. Among the many
participants wearing dresses, it was a woman who had stood out by choosing to wear pants. Her
facial features belied a fierce expression, while her hair was neatly tied together. Rather than
describing her as cute or beautiful, it would be more appropriate to say that she was someone
who looked handsome.
“…Please.”
However, immediately after speaking, Reine instinctively raised her brow, feeling that she had
seen this woman somewhere before.
However, the woman didn’t seem to notice the caution in Reine’s demeanor and began chatting
without concern.
“Are you not good at these places?”
“…Yes, well, I was brought here by a colleague.”

“Ahaha, so just like me then. To be honest, although I don’t want to get married yet, they
irritatingly said that the captain should experience everything at least once.”
“…Captain?”
As Reine asked, the woman shook her head in a panic.
“No, well, it’s more like a nickname. Don’t look at me like that; it’s more like I’m a conductor.”
“…Is that so? Sorry, but what is your name?”
“Ah, right. Pardon me. Kusakabe Ryouko, a civil servant.”
“…Murasame Reine, a teacher. When you said civil servant…which type?”
As Reine asked, Ryouko let out an ambiguous smile, shrugging her shoulders while jokingly
saying, “…the type where I can’t tell you.”
After that Reine decided to chat with Ryouko for a while. Even though the details were nothing
substantial, from the perspective of killing time, it was much more enjoyable than dealing with
the men around. It seemed that Ryouko was also looking for someone to kill time together.
“──Ahaha, it looks to me that you’re the gloomy type that’s not easy to talk to. Here, your glass
is empty.”
After saying that, Ryouko, who was difficult to tell if her reddish face was a result from the
alcohol, poured more sparkling wine into Reine’s glass without permission.
Incidentally, there was still some wine left in Reine’s glass, but it must have appeared empty
from Ryouko’s perspective.
“…Thank you.”
“Well, regardless, is saying not wanting to get married really that unimaginable? What do my
colleagues and mother understand about that? Going on and saying that I’m near the end of the
eligible age for getting married. But how can I say it? I don’t see myself as the type to get
married…”
“…Well, I don’t understand it either.”
“Hey, that’s right. But what do you say to that? I can’t go into details, but in my line of work,
there’s an occupational disease where men are weaker than myself. Sure enough, men must be
stronger!”
While Ryouko shouted out while clenching her fist, at that moment the voices of Kannazuki and
the venue staff could be heard off in the distance.
“So, people who meet that condition are not here at all!”
“W-what a ridiculous notion?! Does this look like the 3rd circle in Hell?! Where else would you
find someone of that age to step 100 times in the ass with a pin heel repeatedly?”
“So!”
“…”
Ryouko, who was overhearing this conversation, suddenly started to shudder as she fell into
silence. Well, listening to such a conversation, it would be natural to feel disgusted. Yet, there
was also a strange feeling residing in her reaction. Noticing this, Reine tilted her head and replied
back.
“…What’s the matter?”
“…Nothing, I’ve probably had a little bit too much to drink. For a second, I thought I heard a
voice that sounds similar to the former boss.”
“…Boss?”
“Yes, how to describe it. It was a voice similar to a filthy Snufkin.”
Ryouko placed her head against her forehead while grumbling out “just an illusion, just an
illusion” in order to regain her composure.
“Well, why don’t we just go back to what we were talking about earlier? Being only strong is not
enough; it must be a man with a strong social and moral sense as well.
“…? Haha, that’s right.”
As Reine replied back, Ryouko let out a heavy sigh before lightly slapping Reine on the
shoulder.
“…Well, anyway, it’s almost the end of my free time. Somehow it was fun today. Although there
weren’t any goddamn men today, it might have been a harvest if I saw someone like you.”
“…Kusakabe-san.”
While speaking, Reine gently lowered her head.
“…I’m very sorry, but you might have misunderstood. I don’t plan on getting married with
someone of the same sex.”
“I didn’t mean it that way?!”
Ryouko slammed against the table while letting out a large scream.
Then, about 30 minutes after the end of the free time.
From the participants, the staff began collecting matching sheets for each gender before
announcing the established couples.
“──Congratulations to the man with number 10 and the woman with number 5. It’s a match!”
Accompanied by the voice of the attendant with the microphone, the men and women went up to
the stage one by one with the crackling applause and blessings (alongside some bitter grievances)
coming from the audience.
Reine was watching the sight from the edge of the venue. Alongside Tamae who had returned
from hunting, with the latter giving an unwitting applause to those on stage.
While Tamae was clapping her hands together, it felt like she was praying to heaven to issue a
curse. In contrast, Reine, who had left her matching card blank, looked on to the stage with an
uninterested manner.
Incidentally, Kawagoe landed a perfect match. …However, despite not particularly caring about
this matter, if he truly got married again, his close friends would have to place careful attention
to ensure he doesn’t get divorced again.
“The above are all the successful couples. Congratulations to everyone that has succeeded! We
are very sorry to those who did end up with a match. Please don’t give up and try again!”
As the merciless sound of the staff reverberated throughout the venue, the voices of the regretful
participants resounded at the same time.
“Ha…ah…?”
Just like a marionette with strings going slack, Tamae fell to the ground.
Then, after looking down on the floor silently for a moment, “Waaaahhhhhh… ahhhhhh…” a
feeble sound rumbled against the ground. She had begun to cry.
“…Sensei, please cheer up a bit, sensei.”
As Reine kneeled down to caress her back, Tamae raised up her face that was crushed by tears
and a runny nose.
“Why…I-I, what did I do wrong ahhhhhh…”
“…Please calm down; life will inevitably have its setbacks. Let’s challenge it again after
re-planning the directions and countermeasures. Since I was here this time with Okamine-sensei,
I have also learned a lot. Although I am weak, I will help you.”
“Mura…Murasame-sensei…”
As Tamae clung onto Reine, Reine was gently stroking her head to calm her down.
“Absolutely, let’s absolutely get revenge Murasame-sensei…next time the both of us have to
succeed together.”
“…No, it is not necessary for me.”
Despite Reine’s polite refusal, it wasn’t clear if Okamine had heard it or not. …Although Reine
was a rational person, it seems that these matters were enough for anyone to lose their
composure.
Anyway, the first blind marriage interview had finally ended. As Reine rose up from restlessness
and regained her self-control, she began walking to the exit of the hall with Tamae.
At that moment, Tamae began to talk while rubbing her swollen eyes.
“…However, it really is surprising. Me aside, even Murasame-sensei didn’t succeed in a match.

Even though sensei is such a beautiful and popular person.”
“…No, that isn’t the case──since I didn’t write down any numbers in the first place.
As Reine spoke, Tamae’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Eh, was it like that? Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it that much? I remember there were quite a
few excellent men…”
Tamae spoke while looking upward. Seeing this, Reine let out a small sigh before responding.
“…Nothing, there were no problems with those men. …Although, well, there were some
participants with a few problems but…”
Reine let out a small cough before continuing on.
“…Just, I don’t have that meaning, that’s all.”
“That is to say…you don’t want to get married? Is that right? Ah…I’m really sorry for forcibly
inviting you…”
Although it was already too late, Tamae still apologized. Reine responded by saying, “it’s fine, it
has already passed by”, before shaking her head and continuing to speak.
“…I don’t want to get married…it’s not like that. No, if you were to say you must get married,
that wouldn’t be the case either…”
“…? What exactly does that mean?”
“…If I really planned to get married, then there is already a person decided in my heart.”
“I-Is that right?!”
Hearing what Reine had said, Tamae’s eyes widened out like a large circle.
She was also a maiden. The topic of the love lives of others──especially of colleagues who give
the impression of normally being completely uninterested in this aspect──was certainly of great
interest. She had completely forgotten that until now she was still crying, with an inquisitive
expression now marking her face.
“Ah, Murasame-sensei, if you had a target already you should have said so earlier. ──So what
kind of person is he? What job does he have?”
“…Occupation…right now…student.”
“A younger guy?!”
Tamae pulled backwards as if struck by an invisible bullet. Afterwards, she lifted her face up
with a breathless expression.
“…T-that’s not a very good idea, sensei…”
“…Haah.”
“T-that is to say, you are waiting for your boyfriend to graduate before getting married…right?”
“…So to speak──”
While stopping halfway, Reine narrowed her eyes.
“…No, this, although it might sound strange to say this, but if he can “graduate”, my wish will
surely come true. For this reason, I have waited a long time. Besides him──I will never love
anyone else again.”
As Reine spoke, Tamae let out a “kya!”sound while twisting her body around. “Murasame-sensei
and her boyfriend are really single-minded.! Ah…What is this feeling… the poison corroding my
heart is being purified! This is…when I was a student, the pure heart that was yearning for a
Senpai…?”
After saying that, Tamae crossed her fingers while her eyes continued to glimmer.
“That’s right…it is no longer love when conditions are placed on the opposite party. Even though
I should have always understood this, I was afraid of missing out on the date for marriage, but in
fact there is no expiration date for a wedding…people can fall in love no matter what age they
are!”
Snap! Like that, Tamae spread out her arms as if a spotlight was gleaming on her.
“…Okamine-sensei, that.”
Although what she said was no problem in itself, it felt that she was investing too much on it.
Reine turned her cheek around to call out to her.
Then, Tamae smiled while walking forward again.
“It’s okay. I know that Prince Charming is the kind of thing that doesn’t happen in real life. It’s
the sort of thing that lies in a girl’s dreams. …However, it’s just like you said. I won’t search for
a man solely for marriage, but in order to be united with my fated man──W-wahhh?!”
Halfway through talking, Tamae’s body lost its balance.
It seemed that while focusing her attention on Reine, she leaped into the air without noticing the
stairs in front of her.
“…! Sensei──”
“Kyaaaaa?! E-eh…”
She stopped screaming midway.

The reason was simple. It is because a man there was holding the girl’s body tenderly just before
Tamae crashed into the ground.
He had slender long blonde hair trickling down his shoulders and a symmetrical nose bridge that
resembled that of a foreign prince.
That’s right; it was <Ratatoskr> deputy commander, Kannazuki Kyohei.

“Are you alright madam, are you injured──”
“Y-yes…I’m fine──”
At that instant, the two people stood breathless as their attention was drawn to each other.
In this brief period, time had stopped for the both of them.
Gazing at the appearance of a beautiful man, Tamae was snatched away by Kannazuki’s eyes.
Gazing at the body of a 14 year old girl, Kannazuki was snatched away by Tamae.
Although it was unknown if there was a God in this world, it can be said that such coincidences
can be described as the mischief of God.
“T-that…”
“Is it alright…to tell me your name?”
“…”
While looking at the exchange between the two people from above the stairs, Reine watched on
with a gentle gaze.
Afterword
Long time no see, this is Tachibana Koushi. I present to you Date A Live Encore Volume 7 with
(emphasis) on a cute girl on the cover. This is a series of short stories about girls’ stories. That is
to say, stories told from girls’ perspective. What do you think? If you like this book, it would be
my great honor.
There’s also another I wanted to announce to you: a new season of the animation adaptation of
“Date a Live” is in production. Applause! Applause! The details will be disclosed later so stay
tuned!
Because the number of pages is relatively small this time, I would like to start talking about each
individual topic. Read on carefully!
Tohka Food Fight: This time, it was Tohka who started things off. This time she was competing
in a food eating competition. How could she possibly lose? But the main focus was trying to
establish a strong friendship with Mukuro. In Mukuro’s mind, Tohka = her impression of her
inverse form, so I want to write another short story about this. The Chinese style loli in the
inversion is so cute.
Yoshino Experience: I’ve wanted to write a story about Yoshino and Natsumi going to school
for a long time. Natsumi’s perspective is just as interesting and it makes me fly as inexplicably as
the classmate Kanon…
Kurumi Valentine: The story of heavenly kings Kurumi has finally arrived. Eye masks,
bandages, and the sweet lolis are finally available. I had to discuss with the illustrator
Tsunako-sensei how to set the next character. It led to the birth of a more unique avatar than
before, and the use of old fonts in particular.
Yamai Exchange: The Yamai sisters exchanged their identities. Because they are twins, I have
always wanted to write such a story. By the way, regarding the friends of the two, I just made up
Asian clothes, linens, and beautiful clothing names.
Miku Burglar: The unique personalities of the three people in this story is a story of thieves. By
the way, the card that Nia made actually has the “Midnight Kite” logo specially designed by
Tsunako-sensei. It’s really luxurious.
Mikie Measurement: As far as serialization is concerned, I actually finished this story first.
Since I couldn’t include it in the previous volume, it was included here instead. Just like this
volume focuses on stories from a female perspective so it was fitting. Ellen is also the strongest
in the world when it comes to swimming skills.
Reine Marriage Hunt: Although I strongly doubt that I even need to write this one, I personally
liked this story quite a lot. It’s a story of Tamae taking Reine for a blind marriage interview party.
The adult characters in “Date A Live” all appear in this volume like this. How will this play out
in the future? It’s very exciting!
This time, I was helped by many people to publish this book. Tsuneko-san, Editor-san, and
everyone involved in editing, sales, distribution, etc, and also to you for holding this book at this
time, thank you very much.
So I hope to have the honor of meeting you again when “Date A Live Volume 18” is released
next time.
Koushi Tachibana
October 2017
Translators: Vizard6991, Lightning Farron
Editor: Ene
This is not your work. Please do not take mine, with credit or otherwise. Thanks.
Made by Ene and Lightning Farron. If you found this anywhere other than discord.gg/datealive,
you have been scammed.
Date A Parallel Case 1: Princess
“Then next, hosted by the Itsuka Kingdom, the Princess Contest has begun!”
After Mana, dressed in a cute dress, made the announcement, the audience at the venue cheered.
“Allow me to explain! The Princess Contest is a ceremony that brings together princesses from
the surrounding countries, for one of them to be chosen as the bride of Nii-sama! Each will be
scored based on wisdom, beauty, and heart which are all necessary for a princess! Come on,
Nii-sama! Please say a few words!”
After she finished explaining, Mana asked Shido, who was sitting at the judge’s table, to speak.
Shido, who was wearing a crown, replied with an embarrassed expression on his face.
“Well, to use this sort of method to determine my marriage partner is honestly a bit…”
“Although Mana agrees with you, that’s not enough to make the princesses go away. Now,
princesses, please come onto the stage!”
At Mana’s call, a horn sounded and several princesses dressed in brilliant dresses appeared on
the round stage.
“Come on, Nii-sama, this is Princess Tohka of the Yatogami Kingdom. This is Princess Miku of
the Izayoi Kingdom, and the twin princesses of the Yamai Kingdom, Kaguya and Yuzuru… Ah,
that cheeky woman from the Tokisaki Kingdom also came. That’s it. Bah.”
Mana cursed uncomfortably before immediately coughing a few times to cover it up.
“Anyway, the time has come—let the games begin!”
“—Eh?”
Mana’s shout made Shido’s eyes go round with surprise. However—
“OOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!”
However, it seemed the princesses weren’t surprised as they waved the staves in their hands and
shouted bravely, clapping their hands together.
No, more than that. The capes on their shoulders and the veil covering their faces were used to
block their line of sight. The ornaments and the crowns were all used as throwing weapons—a
battle started with everything that they were wearing.
Such a scene didn’t match the title of the Princess Contest.
“W-Wait a minute! Why are you suddenly starting such a big fight?! Isn’t this supposed to be a
wisdom competition?”
“That’s true. Look, Nii-sama! The clever movements of Princess Origami! Such a thing is
absolutely impossible and beyond human comprehension.”
“Um, that kind of beauty…”
“Look at Princess Kotori! None of her movements are wasted. Her posture during the battle is so
beautiful!”
“Honestly…”
“Look, Nii-sama! Did you see that? What Princess Mukuro did just now? Without any additional
pain to the opponent, victory and defeat were decided—how compassionate.”
“…”
Faced with Mana who nodded in satisfaction, Shido just gave up thinking about it.
During this period, one princess after another was eliminated—
“Huh—!”
They both shouted out at the same time.
In the end, Princesses Tohka and Origami who continued to attack each other as they both fell
from the stage.
“It’s a tie!”
Seeing this scene, Mana opened the book in her hand.
“Hmm… according to the rules, if there is no winner at the end of the contest, all the
participating princesses will be welcomed back into a side room, and then the ceremony to
decide will be held again. So it seems like that’s what we’ll do!”
“…Huh?”
“By the way, in order to win this time around is to catch Nii-sama!”
“Wait, me—?!”
Shido’s voice echoed from the stage where the excitement only increased.
Date a Parallel: Case 2: Kendo
“—Ah! I give up!”
Snap! Accompanied by such a sound, the referee’s voice rang around the kendo dojo.
Itsuka Shido felt the blunt flow through his helmet and removed it.
“…Ugh, I lost again.”
Shido finished speaking reluctantly and the student he’d been facing removed her mask and
leaned over him.
“What are you talking about, Shido? You have been improving steadily bit by bit. It’s getting
harder for me as well.”
After she finished speaking, the Kendo master, Yatogami Tohka smiled.
Shido was taken by surprise by her smile and coughed a little before speaking again.
“But I haven’t managed to beat you… how did you get so strong?”
“Probably by exercising every day.”
“So that’s what it is… Incidentally, what else do you do outside of regular training?”
“Muu? Aside from regular training…”
After he finished, Tohka passed her bamboo sword in her hand to Shido.
“? What the—?!”
Before he could finish speaking, Shido collapsed on the spot. The reason why was simple: the
bamboo sword Tohka gave him was as heavy as an iron block.
“Not just that.”
Tohka took off her armor and passed it to Shido as well. After putting it on, Shido could barely
stand up as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“You, did you fight with this kind of gear… In other words, my head was not hit…”
“Because I don’t want to hurt my opponent. I had to hold back the momentum of the bamboo
sword at the last moment to reduce the impact—”
“Also, my uniforms, shoes, bags, and even all of my casual clothes are all specially made.”
“…”
Shido frowned as he continued wiping the sweat from his forehead. He didn’t expect such a huge
gap in strength.
However, Shido was not someone who gave up.
“I want to be as strong as you! Can you teach me that same exercise method?”
“What, are you serious? Although it might be a little strange to me, is it that challenging to do?”
“If it can help me get stronger…!”
“Well, if that’s the case then I won’t stop you.”
After she finished speaking, Tohka made her way towards her locker and then pulled out what
seemed to be bread.
“Everything must be specially made. Eat this today, first.”
“This is…?”
Shido was shocked after receiving it, “Eh?!”
It was no surprise that it was like bread. What did surprise him was that it weighed the same as
iron.
“This is kinako bread made especially for me! It’s my staple food!”
“For exercise… Even the bread is so heavy? Can you eat this stuff?”
“Of course. Muu, but I won’t force you.”
“…! No, it’s okay. If it’s to get stronger…”
Shido steeled his resolve and took a bite of the bread. The texture was very dense. He had to
endure and it was all he could do to stop his jaw from being dislocated from chewing, before
swallowing. Although it tasted like ordinary soy flour bread so it was essentially the same, Shido
had a sense of both peace and a sense of foreboding.
“Oh! It’s good food! Then, tomorrow, I will introduce you to the armor-making shop!”
“Hoo, Hua…”
Shido nodded slowly as he felt the pressure on his stomach from inside.
—The next day. Shido requested a temporary leave due to a mysterious sudden-onset stomach
pain forcing him to temporarily put the exercise to the side.
Date a Parallel Case 3: Paradise
The sky was blue. The beach sand was white, and the waves—
“Umu…”
The oldest daughter of the Yatogami Family—Tohka sat on a beach chair as she looked out at the
beautiful coast as she stretched out lazily.
“Muu… This place is really pleasant. I like it a lot—Shido.”
“Yeah.”
Tohka said while waiting for the young man dressed in a suit—Shido nodded slightly, and then
passed her some bread wrapped in paper.
Shido, who had been taking care of Tohka since she was a child, could understand her needs
without her needing to speak.
“This is the highest quality soy flour bread made with tamba soybeans and 3 pots of sugar.”
“Umu, it tastes great.”
Tohka took a bite and then let out a satisfied sigh.
She was on an elegant summer vacation away from the hustle and bustle of the big cities and
relaxed freely.
“…Muu?”
The reason was simple. There was a group of people that appeared before Tohka.
“…What are you doing here, Origami?”
That’s right. She was the eldest daughter of the Tobiichi Family—Origami, and her
housekeeper—Itsuka Shido.
“An appointment.”
“I’m not asking about that. Why are you with Shido?!”
“It has nothing to do with you.”
“You! What are you talking about?!”
“Wait a minute, you two, just calm down.”
While Tohka and Origami quarreled, Nia, the president of the Honjou publishing house,
appeared while surrounded by many celebrities.
“N-Nia! You can’t add so many Shidos!”
“Eh? What’s wrong? Tohka has more family members now. Wouldn’t you be addicted?”
After she finished speaking, Nia smiled. Tohka frowned uncomfortably.
But more than that, on the beach, there were also young ladies from the Yoshino, Kotori, Miku
and other consortiums. And all of them were accompanied by Shido.
Tohka’s shouts echoed throughout the beach.
“—M-Miss.”
Hearing this cry, Tohka took off her VR glasses.
That’s right, because Tohka was so busy and was not on vacation, she just wanted to enjoy a
summer vacation at least in her imagination, which was why she was using the VR technology to
travel to a holy vacation spot.
“What’s wrong, Shido?”
“We need to start studying now.”
“Muu… is that time already? Origami and Nia used NPCs that mimicked Shido without my
permission. This is an important moment that I have to win.”
“M-Me, an NPC? What’s the point of that…”
“Well, they might use their respective cultivated Shido to start a Shido war! Attributes are key.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“Relax! Shido belongs to me!”
Tohka smiled. Shido could only smile bitterly for some reason.
The Nightmare Begins
This isn’t meant to be read out of order. Make sure you read this story before the rest of Encore 8!
”—Hee Hee Hee Hee Hee!”
In a world of darkness where it was impossible to see your own fingers, a lone girl was cackling
like an insane person.
She wasn’t smiling at anyone. The laughter was not hearty as it was in the case of joy or
pleasure, nor as vicious as an expression of oppression or incitement.
She was the only one there that was still conscious in this world of darkness. There was no else
laughing with her and there was no one there to be afraid.
Nonetheless, the girl smiled, and she couldn’t help but laugh. Her laughter sounded as though a
long-planned operation that had finally come to fruition: full of joy and expectation.
After smiling for a while, the girl slowly raised her hands and sweeped them in a broad
motion—much like the conductor of the orchestra.
With both hands raised, the world of darkness began to pulsate.
The darkness began to bulge and a large area of ground began to rise to eventually form a huge
castle, pushing her up. This eventually formed a dark city that was surrounded by many towering
iron walls and spires. And ifyou found this outside of Discord, so does mine.
Of course, how could such a structure be buried under the ground? It was among the objects that
could be formed promptly from her command.
That’s right. In this space, she was omnipotent. Everything in the world would be transformed
into a specific image based on her will; she would change her posture based on her expectations.
Regardless of whether it was huge buildings, ferocious beasts, or majestic nature—Even Spirits
and humans were no exception.
“—So everyone, I wish you all sweet dreams…”
She proclaimed, giggling once more.
Natsumi Double
Standing alone in the quiet suburbs was the “Spirit Private Academy”.
A man and woman walked down the corridor of the school together.
One was a young woman with a petite figure, she had her naturally curly hair tied back into a
messy ponytail and wore old and loose sportswear.
The other was a teenager who was walking behind the girl, wearing a suit that was obviously not
well-fitting.
These were teachers of the Spirit Private Academy. The woman was Natsumi-sensei and the man
was intern teacher Itsuka Shido.
“So starting today, you will be taking over a class for the next three weeks…”
Natsumi-sensei explained all of this casually as she glanced at him over her shoulder.
“…Are you okay? Do you understand what I’ve been telling you? Do you need me to explain it
again? If there’s anything you want to say, do so now.”
She then asked with a trace of worry.
“Oh? No, I’m okay so far. I still understand what I need to do. Because becoming a teacher is my
dream, I’m looking forward to this internship very much.”
“…Ah, really? That’s good to hear… To be honest, I’m not especially confident. Why would I be
a good teacher?”
“Sensei?”
Natsumi-sensei muttered something unclear to herself. Shido tilted his head with an uncertain
smile.
“…Well, that’s not important. Leaving that aside, we’re here. You will be taking over class 2-4
while you’re working here.”
Natsumi-sensei pointed to the school-grade card hanging on the front door of the classroom.
Noticing this, Shido swallowed to moisten his now dry throat.
“…Let’s say hello to everyone before we get started. I’ll introduce you properly.”
“O-Okay…”
“There’s no need for you to be so nervous. Everyone…”
Halfway through the sentence, Natsumi-sensei suddenly found herself coughing hesitantly.
“Most of them are good children.”
“There are some of them who aren’t good?”
Shido said with some surprise, leading to Natsumi-sensei to start chuckling as she said, “Is he
really that young?”
“Probably the so-called group? In particular, there is that one person in this class…”
“‘That person’?”
Shido frowned upon hearing this profound statement. Natsumi-sensei shook her head with an
expression that seemed to remind him of something that could only end badly.
“…No, well, it will probably be okay. They’ll probably only go after me.”
“…?”
Shido looked suspicious again… but it was bad to have a negative preconception of students he
hadn’t even met yet. So he didn’t say anything else.
In order to regain his confidence, he straightened his tie. Shido put his hand on the door to the
classroom and knocked.
Then he took a deep breath, opened the door, and walked into the classroom and towards the first
class he would be teaching.
“Good Morning—”
But.
“Whoa?!”
The moment he stepped into the classroom, Shido tripped on something and fell forward and
landed face-first into something soft.
“…That hurt. What just happened…?”
“Yeah—Ahh…”
When Shido raised his head, he immediately heard an ominous voice coming from somewhere
above him.
He cautiously raised his head and Shido spotted a dignified-looking girl’s face immediately.
The gentle sensation that he could feel against his cheeks and the warm body temperature. At
that moment, Shido finally understood that he’d accidentally run face-first into the chest of a
beautiful girl.
“W-Whoa?! Y-Yeah, I’m sorry! That was an accident…!”
Shido hurriedly stood up again, bowing and apologizing profusely. Then the girl shrank her
shoulders while she covered her chest while blushing profusely.
“A-Ah, I can’t get married anymore, you will… take responsibility, right?”
“E-Eh?!”
Shido shouted, alarmed at the same time there were a pair of voices cheering from somewhere
next to them.
“Oh! He’s screwed up already! He’s screwed after just starting his internship!”
“Obscene. A shameless teacher was born.”
“How, why…”
While Shido was in a state of embarrassment, Natsumi-sensei walked into the classroom behind
him and crouched down calmly as she picked up a fishing line tied under the entrance.
“Really… this kind of thing again. Hey, Kaguya, Yuzuru, did you do this?”
“Nah!”
“Embarrassed. Grumbling.”
The twins who had been cheering off to the side suddenly felt their shoulders tremble. It seemed
that they were the ones that set Shido up to fall.
That meant…
“…Miku, you too. Stop messing around and go back to your own seat.”
“Okay!”
After Natsumi-sensei finished speaking, the student named Miku also waved her hand and
answered as she returned to her own seat.
“Then, that…”
“…Ah, don’t worry about that. They are always like that. Probably because they heard that I will
be working with an intern teacher, so they were probably more excited… Really, this bunch of
idiots…”
Natsumi-sensei sighed and said, “Hey,” she urged Shido.
Hearing her urging, Shido coughed to regain his composure and made his way to the podium.
Then, once he made it to the podium, he spoke more loudly to make sure that everyone could
hear him.
“Ah, then I’ll get started then. Everyone, I’m an intern teacher, Itsuka Shido. Starting from today,
I’ll be this class’s teacher. I know that I’m inexperienced but I will do my best. Please take good
care of me.”
“Please take care of me!”
After Shido introduced himself. The entire class responded with great enthusiasm as well.
It turned out that while there were some students who liked pranks, the class, as a whole, were
still good people.
As the thought crossed his mind, one student sitting right in front of him suddenly raised her
hand.
She was a serious girl with long red hair tied with black ribbons into pigtails. She wore the
uniform for the Private Spirit Girls Academy and also wore a pair of black framed glasses.
She looked like a junior high school student… However, it was possible that she was just petite.
To be honest, Natsumi-sensei looked about the same height as her.
“Hmm? Any questions? Ah…”
“I’m the class representative, Itsuka Kotori.”
“Itsuka-san.”
“Just call me Kotori. Onii-chan… No, because you have the same last name as me.”
The girl—Kotori, cleared her throat and explained. It seemed that he had heard her call him
“brother” for a moment… But this was probably similar to the one time he accidentally called
one of his teachers “mother”.
“Yes. I want the students to introduce themselves to you, what do you think about that idea?”
“Oh, so that’s what you were thinking. A wonderful idea; I’m very grateful. Please do that.”
After he finished speaking, Kotori nodded and stood up.
“So as for me, I introduced myself just now. My name is Itsuka Kotori. I am the class
representative for this class. My favorite things are chupa chups lollipops and my brother. If
there’s something that you don’t understand, please feel free to ask me.”
Kotori finished, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
“Okay, please take care of me. So the relationship between Kotori and her brother is really
good.”
After Shido finished speaking, the twins named Kaguya and Yuzuru shrugged.
“No, she is the only child.”
Commentary. Kotori’s “Onii-chan” refers to a Prince charming-like fantasy character. He’s her
imaginary brother.”
“T-That…”
Shido felt sweat trail down his face as he replied… However, this age was a sentimental one for
children, so it was understandable to have such a fantasy. As a teacher, it was his responsibility to
accept these parts of his students’ personalities.
In that vein, Kotori seemed to call him her “Onii-chan” just now… It would be more
troublesome to investigate it further so Shido pretended not to hear it.
“Uh, so, who’s next to introduce themselves…?”
Shido looked around the classroom. This time a young girl with hair as dark as night stood up
energetically.
“My name is Yatogami Tohka. My favorite thing is Kinako bread! Please take good care of me,
Shido-sensei!”
“Okay, please take care of me too. You really are full of energy.”
“I am the Hurricane child: Yamai Kaguya!”
“Declaration. Likewise, I am Yamai Yuzuru.”
The identical twins finished their introduction with a dramatic pose. Shido was taken aback by
their enthusiasm and a dry smile appeared on his face.
“I take it, you two like…pranks?”
“Hehe! Really smart of you!”
“Smile. Please be alert at all times.”
“… Thank you for your advice.”
Shido smiled bitterly and this time a petite girl sitting on the left shook her unscientifically
majestic as she stood up.
“Mun… my name is Hoshimiya Mukuro. My favorite thing is sweet potato yokan. Please take
care of me.”
“O-Okay. Please take care of me as well.”
Shido was surprised by her cool confidence. Next was the girl sitting next to Mukuro who stood
up and saluted with a rabbit puppet worn on her left hand.
“Ah… my name is Yoshino. Please take care of me…”
“<Yoshinon> is called <Yoshinon>. Please take care of me as well, Sensei!”
“Please take care of me as well, uh <Yoshinon>?”
Shido tilted his head in confusion, Natsumi-sensei then muttered to him:
“Well, it’s Yoshino’s friend. She has special permission so don’t worry about it… so how is it so
far?”
“Huh? What about…”
“…I mean Yoshino. Isn’t she cute? She’s a miracle gifted to us by God. Her appearance is really
beautiful but what makes her truly beautiful is her heart, even caring about me whenever we pass
in the corridor. If you ask me whether she is a human or a goddess, then the answer is obvious:
she’s a goddess. She will also treat you gently. However, you can’t be mistaken: she is being
gentle because she is a goddess but that’s interesting to you. I can’t understand how you can’t be
fascinated by the super universal goddess Yoshino, but if you do anything to hurt her, I will
destroy you and your whole family, understand?”
“Ah! Natsumi-sensei, please calm down.”
She was acting too different from the enthusiasm of the other students. Shido was quick to
appease Natsumi-sensei and stopped her from continuing.
Natsumi-sensei seemed to realize that Yoshino was embarrassed and cleared her throat
awkwardly.
“Okay, okay. Let’s continue. Who will introduce themselves next…”
“Me! Let me! Let me introduce myself!”
After she finished speaking, Shido noticed a student raising her hand enthusiastically. It was the
girl whose chest he’d crashed into when he first came into the classroom.
“I’m a high school student and active idol: Izayoi Miku! I adore girls! I hate men!”
Miku spoke with high emotions as she lifted her large breasts.
Although there were several points of concern with her self-introduction, Shido only smiled
bitterly in response.
“So you hate men then? That’ll be really hard for me to manage…”
“Yes, but it’ll be okay! Darling-sensei is the exception!”
“Darling…?”
“Yes; in my mind, Darling goes above being a girl! Welcome to class 2-4! Welcome to Miku’s
World!”
“…O-Oh, is that right?”
Shido was confused by the fact that she was calling him “Darling” and her description of Class
2-4, but he could only answer in this way.
Just as Shido was about to turn his attention to the next student, he suddenly noticed something:
a young girl spreading out super professional-looking photographic equipment on her desk and
pointing the camera lens at him.
“…Excuse me, but what is your name…?”
“My name is Tobiichi Origami. Please just call me Origami. Or rather, my sweetheart.”
Shido asked as he lowered his gaze to the rollbook and Tobiichi-san answered indifferently as
she folded the paper.
“Then, Origami. What exactly are you doing…?
“Making a record.”
“A record?”
While Shido was confused by the familiar words but the unfamiliar usage, Origami continued:
“—X Month, X Day. 0840. Mom and Dad met like this. In a few years time, Chiyogami, one day
you will also have a beautiful encounter of your own. Mom wants to send you a word for the
future—Chloroform won’t work immediately.”
“Hey, what are you recording? Who are you recording to?”
Shido wailed but Origami did not answer and just continued to record Shido’s figure. It made
Shido a little afraid to look away.
“And lastly…”
Shido’s gaze drifted to the final student and then he felt the muscles in his face begin to twitch.
However, his reaction was understandable. After all, the woman sitting at the final desk didn’t
look like she belonged in high school.
Despite wearing the same uniform as everyone else, she was wearing a skirt, and sitting on a
chair with her legs spread out wide, and holding a large tin can of beer in one hand. Her face was
flushed red, and her vision was blurred. Compared to the other classmates in the academy, this
sort of behavior was more suited for a bar of an izakaya.
“Hey hey… Hello. I am Nia!”
“In what way is she a high school girl?!”
Up until now, Shido had been doing his best to endure, but in the face of Nia’s role-playing as a
high school girl, he couldn’t help but shout.
At that moment, Nia pouted in dissatisfaction.
“That’s too mean! I am a high school girl! I’m very vulnerable! It’s like a glass in my teens. Oh.”
“High school students wouldn’t know the title of that song! Also, if you’re going to call yourself
a high school girl, you can’t drink beer!”
“Huh? No, no, you’re misunderstanding! This is definitely carbonated barley tea.”
“You’ve got a big tongue! What the hell kind of carbonated barley tea is this?”
“Yeah, I’m from the research department… If I don’t drink this, my hands will shake and I won’t
be able to hold my pen.”
“So it’s completely alcoholic!”
After Shido shouted at her, Nia gave out a carefree laugh.
…In the end, he felt that trying to talk her out of it would be in vain. Shido only sighed heavily
and glanced at Natsumi-sensei after looking across the classroom.
“Uh… are all the students here?”
“Well… for the most part. Strictly speaking, there is one person, that is—”
Natsumi-sensei was halfway through the sentence when the back door of the classroom slid
open.
“Hah… I made it…”
At that moment, a woman walked into the classroom while stifling a sleepy yawn.
She was a beautiful woman with perfect proportions and a very neatly dressed uniform. She
didn’t look like a high school student at all… She couldn’t be a high school student but the
reason was different from Nia. Her sexy charm gave off the impression of a mature older sister
who was in her mid-twenties.
Natsumi-sensei frowned when she spotted the figure of the student.
“…Natsumi, you’re late.”
Natsumi-sensei said this and the student who was also called Natsumi shook her head and
smiled.
“Don’t be so rigid about this. I’m only a few minutes late and it’s still within the margin of
error… Ah…?”
It was at that moment that Natsumi noticed Shido for the first time.
“Ara Ara? Who is this? Did my sister finally get herself a boyfriend? I understand that you want
to show off to everyone, but you can’t just bring him to work like this!”
“S-Stop talking nonsense!”
Natsumi-sensei shouted, her face blushing. Seeing Natsumi-sensei looking embarrassed, she
laughed aloud:
“I’m only kidding. You must be the legendary intern teacher, right? Please take care of me.”
“O-Okay. …Please take care of me as well.”
Natsumi winked at Shido and Shido replied as sweat trailed down his cheeks.
It was clear that the other party was a high school student and he was an intern teacher but
despite that, the other party behaved like an older sister with a powerful aura and calm
composure.
However, there was another thing that made Shido curious. He tilted his head and looked at
Natsumi-sensei.
“…‘Natsumi’?”
That’s right. The name of the student who’d just come in was exactly the same as Natsumi-sensei
who taught this class.
Then, Natsumi-sensei frowned in a troubled and unhappy way while lowering her voice and
helpfully explaining:
“…Well… How should I explain this… That student has a little bit of an older sister’s charm…”
“That’s a really strange way to describe it…”
Shido muttered as more sweat trailed down his face. He didn’t know why but he didn’t think it
would be wise to investigate it any further. In short, they were sisters, but it would be too easy to
confuse them if they were both just called Natsumi. Shido secretly decided to call the teacher,
“Natsumi-sensei” and the student “Natsumi”.”
“Natsumi-sensei, you have a sister. And—”
“—”
Just as Shido was about to speak without thinking, Natsumi-sensei suddenly showed a fierce
expression.
“…And? And what? ‘Your sister is so beautiful’? Ah, yes, thank you for your compliment. I’m
sorry that the sister of such a beautiful person is such a short melon. Fortunately, you met me
first. If you’d met my sister first and heard that she had a sister, you would definitely imagine
that she would be a beauty as well? You shouldn’t think of siblings as beautiful at the start and
end up disappointing yourself.”
“Ah, Natsumi-sensei, no one said any such thing at all…”
Shido shook Natsumi-sensei’s shoulders after which she then widened her eyes in shock.
Natsumi, who was watching this process unfold, curled her hair with her fingers and sighed
weakly.
“It’s like Sis has a small theater playing in her brain, and once she gets started, it’s going to be
almost impossible to stop.”
“Y-You need to shut up! I’m telling you—”
“Sensei! Please relax, sensei!”
Shido quickly held back Natsumi-sensei who was about to go off on another rant again.
Natsumi-sensei still looked angry but was reminded that class was supposed to start now. Soon
after, although she was short of breath, she said:
“…In short, the whole class is here now.”
“O-Okay. Ah… Then everyone please take care of me.”
“Please take care of me!”
The students replied in unison.
…This was the situation. Despite some questionable events, the intern teacher Itsuka Shido
began his internship at the Spirit Private Academy.
“—Okay, now turn to the next page.”
A few hours after he’d finished introducing himself that morning.
Shido soon found himself standing at the podium in front of the students in class 2-4.
The subject that Shido was teaching was Modern Japanese and they were currently reading “The
Restaurant of Many Orders” by Kenji Miyazawa. It was a story about two hunters who
discovered a restaurant while hunting for game in the forest. However, the restaurant was not a
place where guests could eat, but for the guests to be eaten. This was a basic outline of the story.
Of course, in preparation for this day, Shido had read through the textbook several times already
and had simulated various teaching situations in his mind. Natsumi-sensei who was supervising
his lesson was observing the lesson from the back of the classroom.
However, there was still a lingering tension filling his entire body.
After all, this would be the first time he took a teaching position in front of real students. The
feeling of the students’ gaze upon, although gratifying, was also becoming a heavy pressure of
its own.
“…”
…No, it would be better to say that some of the gazes were aimed strangely.
How could he say it? Shido had a strong suspicion that, although some of the students were
seriously paying attention to the lesson, there were a few who looked like those of the predator
who appeared in “Restaurant of Many Orders”.
Shido glanced up from the textbook to look at the students. He noticed Origami holding up a
camera lens, Miku was breathing quickly, Kotori, whose glasses glinted, was smiling like a
sadistic sister planning a prank, and the smiling and horny Nia. Natsumi was licking her lips.
Over half of them had already zoned out.
Having said that, he couldn’t interrupt the lesson to point this out. He ignored the cold sweat
trailing down the back of his head, Shido did his best to ignore the sight and return to the lesson.
“Ah, let’s see… is there anyone who wants to read the lesson—”
“I-I’ll read it!”
“Huh? Then I’ll count on you to read it, Nia.”
Shido called Nia by her name and waved his hand for her to begin.
Then, Nia stood up, swaying back and forth as she began to read aloud.
“Shido’s fingers picked up the white mud which looked like a lustful octopus as he ravaged Nia’s
private parts. Nia flailed her body about because of the powerful ecstasy that penetrated her
body. ‘Ah, N-No!’ However, after Shido showed a sadistic smile—”
“Stop right there—!”
Shido heard the obscene content that Nia was continually spewing out and shouted involuntarily.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Nia!”
“Huh? I’m reading the scene where the two hunters spread butter on their bodies.”
“Miyazawa never wrote such a scene!”
He didn’t anticipate that she would edit the text indiscriminately. Shido couldn’t help but yell.
Natsumi, Miku, and the other students took notice and they soon started talking as well. Tohka
and Mukuro, who were among the group of well-behaved students, tilted their heads with
expressions that made it clear that they didn’t understand what was going on. Only Yoshino
didn’t know why her cheeks were flushed red and her head was bowed down.
Was she uncomfortable?
“Anyway, let’s start from that same paragraph. Now…”
Shido deliberately cleared his throat loudly and after recomposing himself, he called on the next
student and continued the lesson.
The story of “The Restaurant with Many Orders” was not a long one and so he asked the students
to read the text from start to finish. The story’s ending was that the two hunters were about to be
eaten by a group of mountain cats who were rescued by the hounds that belonged to the guide
whom they’d been separated from during their trip.
“Okay… so this is the story. What do you all think about it?”
After he finished speaking, Shido glanced around the classroom. His eyes paused on a young girl
with her hands raised—Origami.
“Oh, so Origami, please share your thoughts.”
“—Their technique was sloppy. If it had been me, I would have had the guests locked into the
room as soon as they stepped through the shop door, blocking their escape route and then
poisoning them.”
“I wasn’t talking about the mountain cats’ opinion!”
After Shido’s eyes widened in surprise, Natsumi and the others nodded their heads in agreement.
“The short answer is that they let them escape.”
“Ah, that’s right. It’s really more of a lack of success than an actual failure.”
“Understanding. Shouldn’t this story be a lesson to bring attention to the fact that when dating in
recent years, if you’re complacent and take an escapist approach, you’ll let someone you’re after
run away?”
“Yeah!”
Yuzuru’s insight inspired the other students and they nodded their heads in agreement. All of
these sentiments expressed were carnivorous perspectives. Shido could only sweat nervously as
he listened to them.
“—Ah, yes. This story reminded me of something. Sensei, can I ask a question?”
At that moment, Natsumi shifted her gaze sideways with a sexy movement and raised her hand.
Although Shido thought that her movement was inappropriate, her attitude and actively
participating during the lecture was commendable. Shido nodded after wiping the sweat off of
his forehead with his sleeve.
“Huh? Of course. Is there something that you didn’t understand?”
After Shido asked the question, Natsumi smiled and asked:
“Sensei—do you have a girlfriend?”
She promptly raised an explosive question.
“…!”
All of a sudden, there was a commotion in the classroom.
Immediately, the atmosphere changed and Shido swallowed nervously.
No, the question itself wasn’t a big deal. It was better to say that as long as there was an intern
teacher coming to the school, they would definitely have to deal with this kind of question.
Regardless of whether or not he actually had one, they would only tease him about it for the first
few days.
Still—Shido’s survival instinct, that primitive feeling, was sending alarm bells through his entire
brain.
Because he had a strong suspicion that this could lead to a major problem at this school at this
moment. It might even be bad enough to get himself killed.
He suspected that if he answered incorrectly, he would likely be putting his life in danger.
“Uh, I…”
Shido took in the numerous expectant gazes of the students and scratched his head—
“…I don’t have a girlfriend.”
He decided to tell the truth.
“…”
Everyone immediately sighed in relief—but then, the classroom was immediately full of tension.
However, only one of the girls seemed to sigh in regret. It was Miku.
“What a shame…”
“Y-Yeah. Why are you so sorry about something like that?”
“No, that’s not the issue! It’s not like no one is deliberately trying to claim Darling-sensei and his
girlfriend!”
“…”
Shido listened to what Miku said and his face wrinkled in nervousness while trembling.
However, Miku’s face lit up and she clapped her hands in excitement.
“Ah! But! Since Darling-sensei is single right now, it means we all have a chance!”
“Huh? Well, that…”
Miku finished but before Shido could express his opinion, the rest of the students began talking
amongst themselves:
“Ah! But such a thing isn’t limited to just Miku, right?”
“That’s right! Don’t forget about the hurricane children and try to say something self-righteous!”
“Acknowledgement. The possibilities are endless.”
“—To Chiyogami. This is a record of our battle. Take heart in your mother’s courage.”
“Hey! Why are you talking about this kind of thing during the lesson? Can’t you tell that my
brother is feeling uncomfortable?”
“Class Rep, we all know you’re smart too, so take advantage of this opportunity to call him your
Onii-chan.”
“Uh… that… I-I… also am… kind of… interested.”
“Mun. What kind of girl does Nushi-sama-sensei prefer? If you could choose from this group?”
“Oh! Shido-sensei, who would you choose?”
It wasn’t just the problematic student group now but also the well-behaved students were also
talking excitedly.
“Uh, I think…”
Shido was at a loss for what to say so he cast his gaze to Natsumi-sensei for help. …However, it
seemed that Natsumi-sensei deliberately avoided his gaze as if to say “don’t look at me”.
With nowhere to go, the students suddenly leaned forward and forced Shido to answer the
question, causing Shido’s eyes to dart around the classroom frantically.
Shido was a healthy man, so he would be lying if he said he wasn’t at least a little interested
despite the age difference.
However, even though he was still technically in-training, Shido was still a teacher after all and
they were still students so he had to draw a line somewhere, much less choosing which of his
students would be his favorite. This violated Shido’s morals as a teacher.
“…What.”
At that moment, an idea immediately came to Shido’s mind.
After Shido spread out his arms to appease his students, he said:
“Thank you all. Even if you are only joking, you’re making sensei very happy—but ah, as a
teacher I… I actually am interested in women older than me!”
“Eh…!”
After hearing Shido’s declaration, all of the students were caught by surprise.
Nia, Natsumi, and Miku’s expressions immediately lit up but then they realized, “Ah, but at this
time, I’m still younger than sensei…!”
After seeing their reaction, Shido mentally flashed a victory pose… Actually, if Shido was being
honest, he actually didn’t particularly care for mature sister-type girls, but this was the best
answer that wouldn’t hurt anyone around the room.
However, he was too naive if he thought that it was over.
Because when he intended to continue the lesson and picked up the chalk and turned to face the
blackboard. Meanwhile, everyone’s eyes slowly trailed to the back of the classroom.
“If Darling-sensei prefers mature women…”
“Then that means…”
“…What?”
Natsumi-sensei, who was seated at the back of the classroom, was stunned with a red face and
noticed everyone’s gazes focused on her.
That’s right. Even though she looked like a junior high school student, Natsumi-sensei was a
legal adult. According to what he had said, she was the only woman in the classroom who would
even be within Shido’s strike zone.
“What is it… What the hell do you think you’re doing! Why the hell are you trying to touch
me…! Hey, keep your hands to yourselves…!”
“Ah! I’m sorry…! I didn’t expect things to turn out this way…!”
He continued to apologize over and over to Natsumi-sensei, the students all gasping with
interest: “Oh…”
“So it turns out that… this kind of casual attitude.”
“A lolicon… so there’s such an attribute.”
“L-Lolicon…”
The students were all watching Natsumi-sensei with intense focus. Natsumi-sensei fidgeted
under their gazes and uncomfortably covered her blushing cheeks and twisted her body.
At that moment, the bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson.
“…! Okay then class! Please stand up and salute!”
Shido, looking as though a savior had come, almost immediately fled from the classroom as soon
as they finished. At the same time, Natsumi-sensei also made her escape through the backdoor of
the classroom and to the hallway.
The students’ voices came out loudly in the classroom, but then going back to try to explain
would only make things worse. As a result, Shido quickly caught up with Natsumi-sensei and
walked with her to the staff room.
“…Say.”
“…What?”
On their way, Shido spoke awkwardly, and Natsumi-sensei turned away and answered.
“…This sort of thing is always embarrassing for me. I didn’t expect things to turn out that
way…”
“…It’s fine. No one is going to take it seriously… it’s only you have to deal with being sad and
having sex with an ugly woman like me.”
“Huh? No, how could I think that! Natsumi-sensei is cute!”
“…! Eh!”
After Shido finished speaking, Natsumi-sensei glared viciously at Shido as she ran down the
corridor at a break-neck pace in order to escape.
The intern teacher Shido finally managed to escape thanks to the bell ringing after the end of the
lesson.
However, that tranquility lasted only for a few minutes.
The reason was obvious because the class that Shido was teaching was the fourth lesson of the
day.
That was to say, the bell that just rang not only indicated the end of the lesson but also the
beginning of the lunch break.
As expected, Shido was immediately kidnapped by the students who’d invaded the staff
room—actually, they invited him to join them for lunch and then brought him back to classroom
2-4.
Incidentally, the students had turned the classroom into something a little different from how it
looked a few minutes ago. The desks were now arranged into a circle that looked like a dining
table.
The students and Shido, as well as Natsumi-sensei all came together and put their bentos on their
respective desks and put their hands together.
“Okay… Thank you for the meal.”
“Thank you for the meal!”
Shido said loudly with his hands together (at first, he asked Natsumi-sensei to shout but she
firmly refused) and the students all imitated him and also shouted.
“Umu… O-Oh!”
At that moment, Tohka noticed Shido opening his bento box and suddenly let out a loud noise.
Shido was taken by surprise by her reaction and turned his attention to Tohka.
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
“No… I just think that your bento is beautiful. Umu… it looks delicious.”
Tohka finished speaking, swallowing her saliva. At the same time, her stomach grumbled
audible.
“Haha! That’s really nice of you to praise it. If you’re okay with it, would you like to try it?”
“Huh! May I?”
“Sure, of course.”
Shido passed the bento over to Tohka. She then carefully selected among the dishes and then
decided to pick up one of the tender chicken pieces with her chopsticks.”
She then stuffed it into her mouth and chewed it a few times, and suddenly her eyes went wide in
surprise.
“I-It’s really delicious! What is this… this isn’t normal fried chicken!”
“Oh, so you noticed it. I added a little bit of lemon juice and basil leaves to the noodles. I think it
tastes refreshing, do you think it’s delicious?”
Shido answered proudly. Tohka’s expression then turned to surprise again.
“Is it true that you made this yourself, Shido-sensei?”
“…!”
The moment Tohka finished speaking, the other students looked at Shido’s bento box at the same
time.
“Um… is that really a bento?”
“Really? Hey, Sensei, would you like to come cook for me before the event?”
“…Sensei, can I also have a bite?”
Kotori pushed the frame of her black glasses as she asked.
“S-Sure, of course.”
He’d already let Tohka taste it so how could he refuse the rest of them? Shido gave in and let
everyone else have a taste.
In the next moment, the rest of the students’ chopsticks continued to come in from all directions
as the students quickly sampled the dishes that Shido made.
“Wow, it’s so delicious…”
“Shiver. Is this the level of a man’s cooking?”
“Oh… there are two brushes.”
All of the students expressed their appreciation for Shido’s bento. To be honest, he would be
lying if he said that he was unhappy.
However the bigger problem was the number of people. There weren’t many dishes left in his
bento box that hadn’t been eaten by the ten girls.
“Ahaha… I guess everyone is still growing.”
Shido looked at the lighter bento box and smiled bitterly. At that moment, a figure quickly
approached the bento box—It was Origami.
“Sensei, I want it too.”
“Huh? Did you miss the chance? It’s a bit of a headache, plus there’s very little food left…”
Shido replied in embarrassment and Origami shook her head to show that wasn’t the issue.
“That’s not a problem. You just need to take off any metal items like belts and watches, and
apply cream to my body.”
“‘The Restaurant of Many Orders’…!”
Such foreshadowing was hidden in her statement. Moreover, it was from the perspective of the
mountain cat.
“Hey! Origami, you just had some of the fried chicken! I just saw it!”
“Hey!”
Tohka roared. So Origami gently covered her mouth and returned to her seat.
After Origami moved back to her seat, this time, it was Yoshino and Mukuro who walked over to
him with regret on their faces.
“I’m sorry… Sensei’s bento was so delicious. And then…”
“Mun… I’m sorry… Please accept Muku’s Burdock thread in exchange.”
They both explained as they split some of their side dishes from their bento boxes for Shido. The
other students also wore pained expressions as they each put a side dish from each of their bentos
into Shido’s.
A few minutes later and Shido’s bento now had more dishes than before he started.
“Wow… I feel more luxurious than before.”
Shido said with a smile as he tasted the fresh lunch dishes.
Even though it was the same dish, there were subtle differences in the seasoning for each family.
For Shido, who was interested in cooking, he could actually taste a wide variety of flavors which
was unbelievable.
“Well, they’re all delicious. I don’t feel like I deserve them.”
Shido spoke and the girls smiled with either joy or a little bit of embarrassment.
“Oh, r-right.”
“Humility. Nothing was as delicious as what you made. It must be because it was shared with
everyone that it tastes so delicious.”
“Haha, so that’s what it is. There’s nothing wrong with eating together like this—should we do
this again during tomorrow’s lunch break?”
Shido glanced around at everyone to ask. The students then looked at each other and ultimately
shook their heads.
“No, everyone usually prefers to eat in their favorite places.”
“Well. There are also classes that have lunch with their senseis like this but somehow
Natsumi-sensei always seems to disappear when the lunch break begins.”
“Mun… but since we were with Nushi-sama-sensei today, we successfully managed to have
everyone together like this.”
Suddenly, a cough could be heard…
After everyone finished speaking like this, Natsumi-sensei was shocked and immediately started
coughing. It was probably because of the sandwich she’d been quietly nibbling during that time
and they’d noticed she was thumping on her chest.
“Sensei! Are you okay?”
“…I-I’m alright.”
Natsumi-sensei managed to swallow the sandwich and nodded gently.
She soon found herself on the receiving end of her students’ gazes.
“By the way, where does Natsumi-sensei usually go for lunch? We don’t usually ask every day,
but how about joining us for lunch again like today?”
“Huh Ah, uh, that…”
While Natsumi-sensei stammered incoherently, Natsumi who was sitting across from her
finished off the last of her vegetable juice shrugged and said:
“Ah, it’s impossible. My sister has always been eating toilet meals ever since she was a student.”
“…!”
Natsumi-sensei heard what Natsumi said and her shoulders suddenly trembled.
However, Tohka who’d never heard of such a thing before, could only tilt her head in confusion.
“A toilet meal…? What is that?”
“It literally means to hide in a toilet stall and eat a meal alone during the lunch break. I don’t
really get how she feels about it. It seems that regardless of whether she’s eating with everyone
or if she’s seen eating by herself, she thinks it’s embarrassing. Moreover, she deliberately hides
in toilet stalls of abandoned places where no one else would go. There was once a female student
who stumbled upon her there and she was scared to death. It’s one of Natsumi-sensei’s most
surprising moments from her past—”
“A-AAAAAAHHHHHHH!”
Natsumi-sensei heard what Natsumi was explaining and, in a moment of panic, hurled the half
eaten sandwich at Natsumi.
“N-Natsumi-sensei!”
Shido called out to Natsumi-sensei, and her shoulders shook in surprise. It seemed that she
hadn’t acted consciously.
“A-Ah, I’m sorry…”
After Natsumi-sensei answered with an embarrassed tone, in the next moment, a sandwich flew
across the room and hit her in the face—it seemed that Natsumi intended to fight back and
retaliate.
“…”
“…”
Natsumi and Natsumi-sensei were silently glaring at each other for a moment. They then moved
the desks aside and slowly approached each other. Seeing this, Shido couldn’t help but idly think
that it was like two soldiers entering the arena.
“Anyway, was throwing that at your sister too much to handle, sister?”
“…So I didn’t want you to talk about that! After all, wasn’t it because you talked incessantly
about that sort of thing. Plus you threw your sandwich at me as well so you’ve done two bad
things to my one.”
“Chatty? If someone’s going to ask a question, I’m more than happy to answer. If I speak
nonsense, I can’t accept the facts being ignored. Speaking of which, isn’t it also because Little
Natsumi also has such an interesting story?”
“No, don’t call me by that name!” Kotori is not w

orst girl.
It seemed that Natsumi managed to touch a nerve. They watched as Natsumi-sensei roared
loudly, clearly intending to grab Natsumi.
“Hey, wait a minute—”
However, he couldn’t let them fight. Shido was panicking and made a move to stop them.
However, before he could, there were two figures who’d already taken the lead in the
intervention between the two—it was Kaguya and Yuzuru.
“Hey, stop it you two! Seeing this kind of duel, you need to have a referee like the Yamai
sisters!”
“Stop. Even if you wrestle directly like this, you won’t be able to solve any problems. Would you
like to leave this to the Yamai sisters?”
“…Huh?”
“Leave it to you… what do you mean by that?”
When Natsumi asked in doubt, the Yamai sisters nodded in unison and then explained:
“As we said before, since it’s necessary to determine the outcome, it would make sense to set
some ground rules!”
“Explanation. Specifically, you two declare the terms on which you wanted to clash, put them in
a box, and then pull them out. Of course, writing about crimes or assault is strictly forbidden.”
“That’s exactly the case. The loser must apologize honestly! This is the best way to fight against
each other over meals!”
At that moment, Kaguya and Yuzuru each flashed a dramatic pose that looked like an explosion
should have gone off behind them like something out of an action hero—a feeling that was
impressive. Some of the students burst into enthusiastic applause.
“Oh… so that makes more sense. I can agree with that. Can we write it down on notebook
paper?”
After that, Natsumi pulled out a notebook from her bag and tore out two pieces and passed one
over to Natsumi-sensei. However, Natsumi-sensei frowned uncomfortably.
“…! Hey wait a minute, I never agreed to this…!”
“Oh my goodness! Then does this mean that I win without having to do anything? Then I’ll stand
by what I said.”
“…! I-I know! I’ll do it! I’ll do it…!”
Natsumi-sensei bent down to pick up the notebook paper.
The two glared at each other for a moment with heated gazes as they wrote down on the
notebook paper, folded it again and put it into the cardboard box that the Yamai sisters prepared
beforehand.
“Yes! Now drumroll please!”
The rest of the students rapidly hit their desks with their hands.
“Draw!”
The Yamai sisters drew a note from the box while stirring up an intense atmosphere.
“Let’s see… what is it?”
“Published. The way to determine the victor is—‘Whoever’s swimsuit can make the intern
teacher Itsuka Shido’s heart skip a beat is the winner. The reward is a kiss from Shido-sensei.’”
“…What!”
After hearing this victory condition, Shido and Natsumi-sensei shouted in unison.
“Hey… what’s with this way of winning this contest?”
“Also, why are you dragging me into this too?”
However, the Yamai sisters paid him no mind. The two again flashed another dramatic pose and
continued the conversation.
“Oh? So even the location and the time of the decisive battle have been decided. That’s a smart
idea.”
“Decision. Then during the gym class this afternoon, we will have the challenge at the swimming
pool.”
“Would you just listen to me, please?”
As a result, Shido who had no say was completely ignored until the very end.
Incidentally, Natsumi-sensei suggested that the way to determine a winner was playing a game of
“peekaboo”
“—Shine! The first Spirit Private Academy School Swimsuit Exhibition!”
“OH!”
It was the fifth lesson of the day, physical education.
In the summer, the sea-like sunlight fell on the pool and the girls’ voices could be heard
throughout the pool. Everyone had changed out of their uniforms and into their dark blue
swimsuits. Everyone was looking forward to the debut between two competitors.
Incidentally, Shido had been forced to sit on a chair by the pool next to Nia who was holding a
microphone (actually it was just a folding umbrella).
“Okay! The First Spirit Girls Academy Swimsuit Contest is about to begin! I’m your old
acquaintance, who drank bubble wheat tea and has been banned from the swimming pool by
sensei, Nia. I will act as your MC and provide live commentary! Additionally, eating and then
immediately swimming is very dangerous, so don’t try this if you aren’t a Spirit!”
Nia shouted good naturedly while the rest of the students applauded.
“Thank you everyone! Okay, now the Yamai sisters have come to our rebroadcasting station!
How do you feel about this showdown that makes you feel strongly about wanting to do the pool
exercises that we were supposed to do this chapter?”
“Oh. Sisters are our closest friends and our most dangerous opponents. There’s no doubt that it
would escalate to something like this.”
“Explanation. After they proposed the duel between them, it was expected to be more beneficial
to Natsumi. However, considering the fact that Shido-sensei has publicly expressed his
preference toward mature females, whatever happens going forward will cause waves.”
“So that’s how it is! What do you have to say about this, intern teacher!”
“Uh… can you just let me go now…”
“It turns out that everyone has their own preferences and that’s great! Chest sizes are all equally
distinguishable! What a beautiful saying! Thank you!”
“I never said that!”
Even though Shido muttered his denial of Nia’s fabricated claim, Nia was deaf to his voice. She
held the microphone firmly and continued to speak excitedly:
“Okay! Let’s get started!”
“Let’s take a look at the first attack! Are you actually a high school student! The whole body
exudes an adult charm, the sexy symbol of Spirit Private Academy! The proportions of the body,
appearance, and everything else makes people think of the ideal woman! Natsumi!”
Cooperating with Nia’s enthusiastic speech, a burst of smoke appeared and Natsumi dressed in
the standard school swimsuit walked toward the pool.
“…!”
Shido couldn’t help but gasp after seeing her appearance.
Although the effect was a little too exaggerated, it was a school here. After all, it was a
swimming class.
Of course, Natsumi was wearing the standard dark blue school swimsuit that tried to reduce the
exposure.
However, the swimsuit served to highlight her outstanding proportions.
The fabric clung to her skin; and it highlighted her impressive chest, stretching the fabric to the
limit. This uncoordinated feeling created an indescribable and sexy atmosphere.
“—So, would you really dare say that you’re not at least a little interested in a younger sister?”
After she finished speaking, Natsumi smiled at Shido with malevolent intentions and seductive
movements.
That sort of sensational look, any male high school student would surely imprint that image in
their minds after seeing it and would still linger a week later. In fact, Shido would be lying if he
said that his heart rate hadn’t jumped up a little at that moment. He was obviously an intern
teacher but he wasn’t a high school student anymore which put him in a strange dilemma.
“—Okay, now please head back!”
“That was one of the Natsumis of the Spirit Girls Academy! Now the other shall be unveiled!
With her flat figure to minimize air resistance, warmly supported by people with special taste!
She has a poisonous mouth but all of it is for the sake of her students, surprisingly! In fact I took
care of her when I participated in this event before. Fortunately, she helped to set up the network.
Let’s welcome Natsumi-sensei!”
It felt a little different from the style introducing Natsumi. After the series of introductions, a
petite figure emerged from the smoke.
However, the students’ cheers brought about a huge commotion.
However, this was an understandable reaction. Because Natsumi-sensei who appeared on the
scene was dressed in an elastic bath towel used when changing clothes, that had prints of ducks
out on a sunny day.
“Natsumi-sensei…?”
Shido frowned uncertainly and Natsumi-sensei grimaced with a bitter expression on her face.
“…I know… Ah I did my best…”
Natsumi-sensei spoke as she looked away from him, her face flushed and her hands were
trembling under the bath towel.
“Whoa…!”
At that moment, the students made a commotion.
Natsumi-sensei, much like everyone else, was wearing a dark blue swimsuit. There was nothing
special or strange about that on its own. However, teachers didn’t own school swimwear so the
nameplate on the chest read the name of the swimsuit’s real owner: Yoshino.
But the fact that Natsumi-sensei had her hair tied up neatly and was wearing a swimsuit on its
own had a strong impact on the students who had, up until now, only ever saw Natsumi-sensei in
sportswear.
“O-Oh…”
And Shido was no exception. Natsumi-sensei suddenly showed an unexpected swimsuit pose and
couldn’t help grab his attention.
“Wow!” Nia saw this and pretended to scream in surprise.
“This is…! It looks like the combat style of Natsumi-sensei has a surprisingly good effect!”
“Combat…?”
Tohka tilted her head and asked Nia with uncertainty. So Nia went on to say, “Let me explain!”
“Think carefully, the school swimsuit is indeed a summer monster full of special charm. Coupled
with Natsumi-sensei’s body, the destructive power is unmatched—but the uniform we were
wearing before is also an outfit that can’t be underestimated. After all, we’re all high school
girls! High school girls!”
It wasn’t cledr why this was so heavily emphasized but Nia went on to say, “But…”
“Natsumi-sensei usually only wears sportswear! And it wasn’t a light and fashionable kind of
sportswear but traditional sportswear that was reminiscent of olden times! The difference
between the 80 points for uniforms and the school swimsuit is 20 points. But if we compare the
-30 points of the old sportswear to the 100 points of the school swimsuit, it would be basically
130 points! Natsumi-sensei had only ever worn old sportswear up until now…!”
“Wow…!”
After listening to Nia’s explanation, the students made an amazed sound.
However, Natsumi-sensei herself spoke with disgust: “…Don’t just talk about people like they’re
resourceful strategists, please…”
Of course, Nia ignored her and then pointed the microphone umbrella at Shido.
“Okay, young teacher, what did you think? Who do you think deserves the win?”
“Huh? Oh, well…”
Shido was pulled out of the atmosphere and felt something shake his shoulders abruptly, and
answered:
“Uh… well, I think both of them are very attractive.”
“What does that mean!”
“There can’t be two winners… right?”
Shido looked at the poolside and said that.
Everyone applauded—presumably, everyone else held the same opinion.
After noticing such an atmosphere, Nia suddenly leaned back.
“Ah, okay! My reputation is just like this, I understand how to be flexible! The first swimsuit
exhibition at the Spirit Private Academy is won by both Natsumi sisters!”
“OOOOOOOOHHHHHHH!!”
After hearing Nia’s announcement, all of the other students clapped harder and cheered.
Natsumi’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment but ultimately she just shrugged helplessly.
But there was one person who opposed such a result.
“…W-Wait a minute…!”
—It was none other than Natsumi-sensei herself.
“Hey, what the hell is this…? Is there something wrong with your eyes? Why do you think that
I’m as beautiful as Natsumi?!”
“Natsumi-sensei…”
“You. Do you despise me? Or are you pitying me? What a joke. Try again immediately—”
“You…—Enough is enough!”
Natsumi-sensei was halfway through her sentence when Natsumi knifehanded the top of
Natsumi-sensei’s head.
“That hurt!”
Natsumi-sensei shouted sharply as she held her head and crouched down on the spot.
“You… what do you think you’re doing…?”
“I’m the one who should be asking you that. The result has already been decided, so what are
you talking about? Just take a few steps back and just accept it. You’re the one who threw a
sandwich at me, and I understand why, but instead you pay attention to Shido-sensei. Who is
actually wrong here?”
“W-What…! Is it still necessary to ask… Obviously there’s still going to be a problem! You are
clearly prettier and more beautiful than I am…! You’re better than me! Everyone has been saying
so since childhood!”
“…”
Natsumi-sensei finally finished shouting before pressing her cheeks with both hands.
“U-Uh…”
“…I’ll just go ahead and say… Sis, you’re being way too troublesome.”
“W-What…? H-How…”
“It’s a bit embarrassing, but I am indeed beautiful and I won a lot with just my looks.”
Natsumi spoke proudly. Nia heard the words and sighed in admiration, “Wow! I really want to
talk about such things!”
“But to say that I am better than you? You shouldn’t say such stupid things. Even while growing
up—I envied you so much.”
“Huh…?”
Natsumi-sensei stared at her sister while letting out a stunned noise.
“There are a lot of people gathered around, but it’s my sister that everyone relies on. I envy you
for your clever hands and the way you take care of flowers and how you can seemingly do
anything. I envy you for being able to pull everyone’s attention without trying. Others probably
think that I don’t care at all, so I don’t dare try to rely on anyone when I feel lonely…”
“N-Natsumi…”
“Sister, you’re such a cheater. Why is it that you are clearly loved by everyone but makes it look
like no one likes you? And that to say nothing of intern teacher Shido-sensei.”
Natsumi spoke sadly.
Natsumi-sensei stared at her sister with a confused expression and then looked away from her
and murmured softly:
“…S-Sorry…”
“So, do you have any objections to the result?”
“Ah… um… no…”
Natsumi-sensei nodded honestly.
So in the next moment, the expressions of both Natsumis suddenly changed, and Natsumi smiled
and said:
“—Really? Then come claim your reward. Both sides are winners rather than losers so both of
them get it, right? The reward was a kiss from Shido-sensei.”
“…What?”
After Natsumi finished speaking, everyone else thumped their palms as they suddenly
remembered the prize.
“Oh, I almost forgot about this. Although it is a shame, I will recognize it this one time.”
“Then, Darling-sensei and others will kiss you…”
“H-Huh?”
Everyone cheered and Shido could feel his forehead burst out into a nervous sweat.
“Uh… Just judging by the atmosphere just now, shouldn’t we just ignore the reward altogether?”
“What are you talking about, silly. You’ve stolen this heart.”
Natsumi said as she slowly closed her eyes and waited for a kiss.
“Hmm,” Shido murmured before looking at Natsumi-sensei with an apologetic look on his face.
“…That, Natsumi-sensei, I’m really sorry to do such a thing…”
When Shido showed an uncertain expression, Natsumi-sensei looked away in embarrassment and
snorted.
“…I know that. It’s all up to you. However, I think you won’t be able to get rid of the awful
stench after kissing me for a week.”
“Why would you say that? Uh… although things have reached this point… I’m still very
honored.”
“…! That’s it, that’s what you are—”
Natsumi-sensei frowned and wanted to say something else but suddenly stopped partway through
the sentence.
The reason is obvious. Because the determined Shido took advantage of the stiaution to press his
lips against Natsumi-sensei’s lips.
Several seconds later, Shido’s lips separated from Natsumi-sensei’s lips and he moved to kiss
Natsumi’s lips with his eyes closed.
“How was it? Do you have anything to say about it yet?”
There was a sense of accomplishment in Shido’s heart and at the same time, wiped the sweat
from his forehead—he could tell that the atmosphere now felt different compared to before.
Natsumi-sensei’s face was flushed a deep red like a tomato while Natsumi was smiling happily,
“Oh.” In addition, the rest of the students’ eyes went wide and their gazes were now fixed solely
on Shido.
“Eh… W-What…”
“No, that kiss was…”
“Confirm. Couldn’t you kiss her cheeks?”
Listening to what Yuzuru said, Shido’s face suddenly went pale at the realization.
What she said made perfect sense. After hearing the lovely phrase, “A Reward Kiss”, very few
people would have guessed a mouth-to-mouth type kiss.
However, somehow, the confused Shido thoughts were dominated by the inexplicable thought,
“When it comes to kissing, he kisses on the lips, otherwise it would be impossible to seal.”
“Beep—! Judge Itsuka, you fouled!”
“Yeah! Natsumi-sensei, you are such a cheater! Darling-sensei, everyone else also wants one!”
“N-No, T-That… O-Oh!”
Everyone approaching him with such intense pressure forced Shido to jump into the swimming
pool fully clothed.
Tohka Brave
A long time ago, there was a kingdom far away.
It was a fertile country with excellent technology, and it was a big country that even nearby
countries were willing to worship.
But despite this prosperity, the residents who live there have recently started looking more and
more depressed.
There was one reason for this. It was because the king who’d ascended to the throne a few years
ago had imposed a regime of tyranny over the people.
However, if they tried to rebel against the king, they would lose their heads immediately.
The people could only endure quietly and keep waiting.
—Waiting for the birth of a new king.
Somewhere in the depths of the forest, three travelers were exploring.
The winding broad-leaved trees were stacked one after another and even though it was clearly
daytime, the whole forest was shrouded in darkness. The humid air stuck around their hands and
feet, gradually sapping away the travelers’ strength as they made their way down the dangerous
road.
“Muu… Kotori, Yoshino, Yoshinon, are you okay? Should we take a break here?”
The traveler at the forefront was a girl with hair as dark as night, Tohka, turned around and
looked back and asked.
Behind her were two young girls: one with red hair tied into a pair of ponytails with black
ribbons and the other a very pretty and shy girl with a rabbit puppet worn on her left hand. They
are Tohka’s companions—Kotori and Yoshino. Both were shorter than Tohka, and walking down
this difficult path was becoming exhausting. Perhaps it was just Tohka’s imagination but it
looked like <Yoshinon> worn on Yoshino’s left hand also looked exhausted.
“Don’t worry about such silly things. This road isn’t hard at all. Right, Yoshino?”
Then Yoshino nodded and answered:
“Yes… I’m still okay…”
“Let’s hurry it up! According to rumors, isn’t it in this area?”
The rabbit puppet <Yoshinon> spoke at once. After looking back at them for a few seconds,
Tohka nodded and replied, “Yeah!”
That’s right. Tohka and her party weren’t lost nor did they come to the forest just to enjoy the
graceful scenery.
They came here just to look for something.
“But is there really something called a <Sword of Choice>? Honestly, this just sounds like
something out of a fairy tale?”
<Yoshinon> dexterously moved her arms wisely and then said. So Kotori glanced at her and
shrugged.
“…Who knows for sure. But if we don’t believe it, there’s not much else we can do.”
She turned her gaze back to the front and then murmured:
“The person who manages to pull out that legendary sword can become the next king… In fact,
the current king also managed to pull out that sword to gain strength. At least, that’s how the last
king not related to the previous king managed to claim the throne. Whatever I think, I just feel
like something is wrong.”
“However, after all, isn’t this still only just a rumor? Maybe it’s a rumor made to confuse
everyone to cover up the fact that he is the illegitimate son of the king!”
However, while that was certainly a possibility… the fact remained that it would be impossible
to defeat the tyrant without such an item as the <Sword of Choice>.
Kotori clenched her teeth.
“…”
Tohka could feel Kotori’s mood and clenched her fists.
In the kingdom where Tohka and her party lived, the new king was enthroned a few years ago.
However, in just a few years, the tyrant exhausted the country’s resources, and since then, their
people had been miserable.
Unusual tax increases, rewards for whistleblowers, and even the excessive promulgation of the
kinako powder ban law, which prohibited citizens from holding Kinako powder which was the
nation’s specialty.
Faced with these various evil policies that were suddenly implemented, of course it triggered a
wave of national protest. However, the national protests were completely suppressed by the
special security forces under the direct control of the Kingdom, the king’s “Knights”.
These were terrorist politics that were governing the country with military dominance. This was
the disease that eroded the current kingdom.
In order to end this dark age, Tohka and her entourage relied on the legends to find the <Sword
of Choice>.
That being said, what <Yoshinon> said was not unreasonable. The “Sword of Choice” is
supposedly located deep in this forest, but it was only a mythical story that the old people in the
village talk about.
However, it is believed that only the legendary warriors who were able to obtain the sword
would be able to defeat the tyrant who overtaxed the citizens to increase armaments.
It was then—
“…Muu?”
Tohka who was making her way down the path while cutting her way through the lush ivy
suddenly stopped.
The reason was simple. Because she’d found a clearing in front of which there was no vegetation
was growing—
And there stood a huge sword placed into the base.
“O-Oh! This is…!”
Tohka’s eyes widened, and Kotori, Yoshino, and <Yoshinon> also made a surprised voice.
“What…! It actually exists!”
“It’s the <Sword of Choice>… It’s just like the legend foretold…”
“Wow! I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have been suspicious!”
Tohka and the others shouted out as they rushed towards the base. Their legs were already
exhausted, making it hard to move, but they suddenly felt extremely light.
There was a large base made of stone in the middle of the forest without any artificial
rectification. There was a golden base that stood leisurely in the center of the space. As the forest
was interrupted, like a big hole in the forest, the sunlight seemed to fall from the sky and emitted
a sacred light.
“Good job… Tohka!”
“Now we should be able to defeat the king! Thanks to this, you can now legally eat soy flour
rather than having to find illegally sold kinako!”
“Umu! The time has finally come…”
“Still, this shape is…”
Just as Tohka and the others suddenly forgot their previous fatigue and cheered, there was a
confused expression on Kotori’s face.
“A throne…?”
“It’s a throne…”
“It’s a throne… right?”
The three of them tilted their heads in unison. That’s right, at the base of the sword, somehow it
was in the shape of a huge chair. In addition, a blue-black cat was curled up on the armrest and
let out a quiet breath. It exuded a harmonious atmosphere.
“Never mind that right now. In short, let’s try to see if there’s a way to pull out the sword. Do
you mind if I try first?”
“Go for it, Kotori.”
“Alright…”
Tohka and Yoshino replied and Kotori took a step forward.
Probably sensing Kotori’s movements, the cat’s ears flicked back and forth, looked at Tohka and
hissed “Meow Wow, Meow Wow!”
It looked like the cat was trying to communicate with Tohka, but Tokha and the others were not
cats and could therefore not understand cat language. After Kotori gently stroked the cat’s head,
she made her way to the base.
“Sorry for disturbing your nap. Hey…”
After she finished speaking, Kotori climbed up onto the base and grasped the hilt of the sword
and pulled with all of her might.
But—
“Hngh… Rgh… Rgh…!”
Despite her best efforts, the sword in the base didn’t move at all.
“…Hmm, well that didn’t work. What a pity…”
Kotori said reluctantly and made her way off of the base. Then Yoshino clenched her fists and
raised her face in determination.
“Me too! I’ll try it too!”
“Come on, Yoshino!”
Yoshino was already on the base like Kotori (Due to the inconvenience of using her left hand,
Tohka helped her out) and intended to pull out the sword.
“Um…”
However, despite her best efforts, it couldn’t be drawn out.
“Sorry… I couldn’t pull it out.”
“Hmm! Don’t worry about that! After all, Yoshino is not like a swordsman!”
The apologetic Yoshino said with <Yoshinon> who comforted her, finished speaking and made
her off of the base.
“Then, let’s have Tohka give it a try.”
“Okay!”
Hearing Kotori calling on her, Tohka nodded greatly.
She then kicked hard off the ground and made her way toward the base with a smooth
movement—it was strange.
She then sat directly on the base.
“…Hey, Tohka? Even if the shape looks like a chair, how do you plan to draw the sword if you
sit like that?”
Kotori frowned and asked in a confused tone. Tohka’s cheeks shed some sweat.
“Muu… that’s right, but somehow it felt like my body moved by itself—”
Tohka scratched her cheek and planned to stand up from the base to reach for the sword.
However, at that moment, Yoshino, who was watching her, widened her eyes in surprise.
“…! T-Tohka! Kotori…!”
“Muu?”
“W-Wha… Eh?!”
When Tohka and Kotori tilted their heads in confusion, they immediately showed the same
surprise that Yoshino had.
This was understandable. Because the base where Tohka was sitting began to let out a dazzlingly
bright light.
“Whoa… T-This is…!”
Just as Tohka expressed her surprise, the sword that was embedded in the base—the part that
looked like a chair, began to come out immediately.
The sword came out with the sword tip completely exposed to the air as it glinted under sunlight,
and at the same time, it turned around and flew towards the surprised Tohka.
“The sword… I pulled it out by myself!”
“Tohka, hold the sword and see.”
“Okay.”
Tohka followed Kotori’s instructions and held the handle of the giant sword floating in front of
her eyes.
As a result, the sword’s blade radiated a dazzling light and let out a flash of light that shone into
the sky.
“W-Whoa…!”
“Amazing…”
After witnessing this extraordinary phenomenon that occurred one after another, Tohka and the
others couldn’t help but widen their eyes.
There was no doubt that this sword is the “Sword of Choice”. Whoever could pull it out would
be able to become the next king.
“Very good, Kotori, that means you can do this…”
“Yeah, you can defeat the tyrant!”
“Hmm, this sword—uh… um? Isn’t it called <Sandalphon>? With <Sandalphon>—”
“Huh?”
After hearing what Tohka said, Kotori, Yoshino, and <Yoshinon> all tilted their heads.
“<Sandalphon>? Is that the name of that sword?”
“Is that its name? Did somebody say that?”
“…? Yoshino, did you just say something?”
“N-No.”
“<Yoshinon> also didn’t say anything either!”
“Muu? That’s strange, then who said that…”
Tohka looked left and right. She did hear someone talking just now. However, apart from Kotori,
Yoshino, and <Yoshinon>, but who else was here right now—
At that moment, the cat on the armrest jumped and made a noise as it landed at Tohka’s feet.
“…!”
Tohka listened, her eyes widening in shock.
However, this sort of reaction was expected. Because up until now, they had only heard the
“Meows” of the cat, but now it was able to speak with a human voice.
“T-This is… are you talking?”
After Tohka finished speaking, the cat nodded in a very human motion.
Kotori and Yoshino noticed this and frowned with a confused expression on their faces.
“Huh? Tohka, what are you doing?”
“What’s going on with this cat…?”
It looked like Kotori and Yoshino couldn’t hear the cat talking like Tohka could. This could have
also been the power of <Sandalphon>?”
“No, after I pulled the sword out, I could hear the cat talking… Muu? What did you say?”
After Tohka explained this to Kotori and Yoshino, the cat then spoke to her again. Tohka
squatted down on the spot and listened intently.
“Meow meow.”
“M-Muu… it seems that this cat is the magician who guarded the sword but was cursed by the
court magician who served the king and turned them into a cat—she said: [“The one chosen by
the sword, please bring down the tyrant and save this country”]. “…So.”
“Wait! Did it really just say all of that just now?”
“That’s too much information…”
Kotori and Yoshino smiled bitterly.
In short, however, <Sandalphon> chose Tohka and Tohka managed to obtain the necessary
strength to stand against the king.
Tohka raised the sword toward the sky and then spoke loudly, saying:
“Okay—Let’s go right now, Kotori, Yoshino, <Yoshinon>, and Cat! Let’s go and defeat the king
and save the kingdom!”
“Yeah!”
Everyone made a determined noise that echoed deep in the forest.
“…”
In the largest bedroom in the huge royal city in the Northwest of the country, a figure suddenly
sat up.
It was a young girl with long dark hair that seemed to resemble the night, and eyes that
resembled crystals. At present, she was only wearing a set of thin pajamas and her porcelain skin
was exposed from the chest and under the dress.
If a bystander happened to see her posture, they would surely think that she was a princess who
had overslept or otherwise a favored consort of the king.
However, no one could imagine the actual truth.
—This girl was the king who ruled the kingdom.
“This feeling… Hmm, it seems that someone pulled out <Sandalphon>.”
The king spoke with a disgruntled look on her face, brushing her hair out of her face to reveal a
sharp gaze.
She then got out of the huge canopy bed, moved to the center of the very wide bedroom, and
clapped her hands.
“Come here!”
It didn’t take long for the image of the room to distort and a woman dressed in a grey robe to
appear.
She was a woman with short hair and a slender figure… In addition, her cheeks were flushed a
deep red and reeked of alcohol.
She was a court magician that served the king, Nia.
“Yes! Her Royal Highness! Are you doing well? I’m everyone’s favorite magician, Nia!”
Nia smirked as she waved at the King. The other hand was not resting on a magician’s staff, but
instead a wine bottle. The king frowned in uncertainty.
“You’re been drinking alcohol during the day again.”
“Hey, hey. There’s no need to be so old fashioned; no one would dare to oppose you! The
high-ranking officials of this glorious and rich kingdom are addicted to your wine grove, is this
not the most obvious thing in the world?”
She finished speaking and Nia giggled once more. The only other person who was allowed to
speak with the king in such a casual way, aside from the princess, was only Nia.
However, it showed that Nia was such an excellent magician. Normally, those who disrespected
the king were sentenced to death. However, the king would not usually do something stupid like
sacrificing useful tools due to a spur of emotion. Even if it was the king that managed to seize the
kingdom from the previous king, without the help of the magician named Nia, it would be almost
impossible to achieve the present day’s rock-solid domination system… Although from her
current appearance, no one would have ever guessed how capable she was.
“Snap out of it immediately. Also summon the <Knights of the Round>.”
“H-Huh? Isn’t that a bit sudden? Also, I’ve been concerned about that before, can we change the
name? Even if this is a spoof, it doesn’t sound very impressive… Would it be better to call them
the <Tuna Mayonnaise Knights>?”
“Sorry. Just keep calling them the <Knights of the Round>?”
Nia sighed heartily and shrugged before she continued:
“So there are five knights on the round table, which one do you want to call?”
“Of course, I want to call all five of them. I need the strongest of the national army’s power
summoned to the city and inform them that it’s very urgent.”
After the king finished speaking, Nia probably still looked doubtfully and frowned deeply and
asked blankly.
“…Uh… Let me just ask, what happened?”
“It seems that someone managed to pull out <Sandalphon>.”
“What…?!”
After hearing what the king said, Nia showed a shocked expression and her breath caught in her
throat. The wine bottle in her hand slipped from her grasp and landed with a ‘thunk’ on the
carpet.
“What?”
However, after she picked up the wine bottle, Nia quickly made her way to the corner of the
room and let the wine bottle fall on the uncarpeted floor again. Hard.
This time, the bottle hit the ground with a loud ‘crash’ and the glass fragments and alcohol
splashed around.
“You, what are you talking about?”
“Hey. Why did you deliberately break that bottle?”
No… it just caught me by surprise?”
Nia replied as she stuck out her tongue. The reaction was so intense but she managed to seem
quite calm.
“Speaking of which… Ah I never would have expected someone to pull out that sword. I already
cast a spell to turn the sword’s guardian into a cat. It stands to reason that there’s no way that it
could lead anyone to it…”
“Has that spell been broken?”
“Such a thing would be impossible! I would be able to sense it if it happened!”
The king stared at Nia intently and Nia shook his head violently.
“…However, this is indeed an emergency. I understand. I’m calling the <Knights of the Round>
right now… just, can you wait a bit for me?”
“Why?”
“Never mind, I felt my head ache a little just now and I feel a little uncomfortable.”
“…”
Nia covered her mouth and crouched on the spot. The king stared at her with cold eyes.
“—This is dull work.”
There was a luxurious view of the royal city from the meeting room. The king sat leisurely on
the throne in the meeting room, gazing at the <Knights of the Round> had all gathered there.
One was a girl who had a face like a doll dressed in pure white armor.
One was a girl with incredibly long hair who was wearing an oriental-style armor.
The other two were wearing identical armor and they both looked identical.
At first glance, all of them were young girls but their strength was guaranteed. These knights had
the same power of a thousand men and were the strongest knights of the kingdom.
The king’s eyes narrowed slightly and continued with a straight face:
“I’m sure you must have already heard of it. It seems that someone has managed to pull out the
holy sword. Soon there will be people who wish to harm me. I’ve ordered the public secretary to
serve as the guardian of the city. If an enemy appears they must be executed on the spot.”
The king spoke softly and indiscriminately and the identical twins suddenly struck identical
dramatic poses.
“Kuku—fascinating! I never would have imagined that there would be anyone who would rebel
against our kingdom! They will soon become rust upon my blade!”
“Confrontation. Yuzuru will not permit any sort of invasion. If they manage to avoid my
whirlwind, it will be problematic.”
They finished speaking with arrogant smiles with each other and flashing another confident pose.
Nia, who was sitting next to the king, chuckled and smiled.
“Oh! It looks like Kaguyan and Yuzurun are really fired up now. I feel sorry for anyone who has
to fight against this sort of passion! After all, Her Royal Highness attained the ideal life full of
eating and sleeping. If there’s a coup or something like that, don’t let them cause trouble, uh…
eh?”
Nia was partway through the sentence when she started to frown.
The king immediately discovered the reason as to why. Because the girl in pure white armor on
the left of the two sisters—Although her expression was the same as usual, it still looked
inexplicably bored.
“What’s the matter, Oririn? Are you not getting enough sleep? It seems like you don’t have any
energy at all.”
“…To be completely honest, I feel no motivation for this position.”
After Nia asked, Origami sighed weakly.
“Ahaha, Oririn, are you dissatisfied with your assigned role? But it’ll be a big problem if you
don’t work hard! Ah, wouldn’t it be that? Because if you become so strong that you can’t find
the joy in fighting?”
“No. Just leave that sort of thing to Kaguya and Yuzuru.”
She replied lazily and Kaguya and Yuzuru shook their shoulders in shock.
“So it turns out… this is the melancholy of being strong… such a line exists.”
“Confession. In fact, Yuzuru has been getting tired of fighting enemies who aren’t a challenge at
all too.”
“Ah, that’s too strong!”
The conversation began to deviate from the subject at hand.
However, Origami didn’t care very much and sighed once more.
“If this country had a prince with a neutral appearance and a gentle heart, I could work hard and
be more energetic. Especially if his name was Prince Shido.”
“Hey! So it’s for that sort of vulgar reason! It should be said that such a thing would be a taboo
against the Prince, Oririn!”
“The premise is that the prince’s political marriage with a foreign princess is approaching day by
day but he has fallen in love with the beautiful knight.”
“Ah! Ah…”
After listening to what Origami said, Nia showed an expression that said, “This is feasible…”
and raised her arms up in surrender.
“…”
But at that moment, they seemed to notice the king’s gaze and she frantically shook her head.
“No! No! No! If such a prince exists, I would want that for myself… No! You have to work
hard!”
“…”
Origami glanced away sadly. Nia sighed helplessly.
At that moment, Nia frowned again.
“…Say, why hasn’t Mukku-chin said anything yet?”
“Mun…”
The long-haired knight who’d been silent up until now, Mukuro glanced disdainfully at Nia and
then at the king.
“Muku doesn’t really like the king at all.”
“So it’s because of that reason!”
Upon hearing that sort of unexpected confession, Nia responded exaggeratedly and leaned back.
“No, the king is the king and you are a knight. In order to get paid, you have to do your job
well… It should be said that if you dare say this sort of thing in front of him, this person is
notorious for cutting off people’s heads if they look at her wrong without batting an eye.”
“With that in mind, how can you explain why your head is still on your neck?”
After the king cast a cold look at Nia, she felt sweat flow down her cheeks and she let out a weak
wry smile.
“Hating the king. You really love to joke. How is it, Mukku-chin, in order to be in harmony with
the young people, isn’t his Royal Highness so charming?”
“Hate is hate.”
“Seriously?!”
Faced with Mukuro’s unchanging opinion, Nia flailed her hands frantically.
“W-What? Really?! The situation is urgent, what is with these attitudes?! This is related to my
life of eating and sleeping, you need to be a little more serious! I should mention that I was
dumbfounded and ended up vomiting, which shows how serious the situation is! You’re using
energy unnecessarily! Nattsun, help me out here!”
Nia shouted. “Huh?”
“By the way, where did Nattsun go? Has anyone seen her by any chance?”
She glanced around the room.
It was exactly as Nia said: although all of the members of the <Knights of the Round> were
called, it seemed there was no sign of Natsumi present.
So Origami (who’s been removing her armor) spoke up and replied:
“Natsumi was taken into the bedroom of Princess Miku last night and they have not come out
yet.”
“What is Her Royal Highness doing!”
As Nia made an alarmed voice, the other knights nodded in understanding.
“Ah…”
“Understanding. Oh.”
“Natsumi won’t be able to escape. Tis truly an unfortunate fellow.”
Everyone was not surprised and inexplicably sighed.
“Hey! What is this reaction!”
“Although she was a princess, a woman is still a woman and she was anxious to fall in love.
Moreover, according to common sense, the princess will go out with the knight.”
“This sort of prejudice is too deep! Let’s just assume that even though it’s good, this kind of
thing can never be said in front of the king.”
“All of us have been invited by the princess.”
“You shouldn’t mention that!”
“—That doesn’t matter.”
“Eh?”
Nia’s eyes widened but the king ignored her and continued by saying:
“I just married the woman to make the government as rock-solid as possible. Whoever she wants
to love, I don’t care… I should also mention that being able to keep her distracted is a help to
me.”
As the king finished, the knights felt sweat trail down their cheeks.
Although their expressions clearly said “…uh, she’s your wife, you have to take responsibility
for her.” None of them dared to say it aloud.
“Of course, it’s not just Miku, but also the public secretary or anyone else. I don’t care whether
you are disrespectful or unable to muster motivation or hate me. I don’t care about knowing what
you think of me. I only have one order and that is to obey all of my orders. That’s all.”
The king finished speaking calmly. Nia’s eyes widened and clapped her hands immediately after
a while and her spirit was reignited.
“Hehe, oops! The king is so reasonable! You said yes! There are very few kings who know how
to be flexible. Anyway, work hard!”
Nia deliberately raised her voice. As a result, the knights let out a sigh and they each responded.
“We are all knights. Whoever opposes the kingdom shall be killed on the spot!”
“Agree. This is a knight’s duty.”
“Hey! Really!”
The Yamai sisters whispered amongst themselves after striking another impressive pose. As a
result, Origami, who was sitting next to them stood up in her remaining armor with a troubled
face, and Mukuro shrugged helplessly.
“Relax. Even though I am not very motivated, I will fulfill my duty. If I lose my title of knight, I
am afraid that when Prince Shido appears, it would be impossible for him to love me.”
“Mun… Even if obeying the king’s orders makes me dissatisfied, I have no choice in order to get
paid. After all, no one can withstand our powers.”
“O-Oh…!”
After hearing the knights’ reliable (?) response, Nia was relieved.
“Really, you are really disgusting. That’s a relief—Your Royal Highness. Even the swordsmen
who managed to pull out <Sandalphon> are bound to have to face the <Knights of the Round>
even before they reach you, they wouldn’t have a chance at victory!”
Nia said triumphantly and laughed.
After looking down at the knights without so much as a change in expression, she issued the
order softly again:
“Go, my knights. The <Sword of Choice> is approaching. Presumably, it will enter the capital
city within the next few days. I will allow you to fight in the capital; be sure to kill them swiftly.”
“Understood. We’ll set out.”
“…”
“Hmm…”
After the knights responded to the king, they all left the meeting room.
“Hoo…”
The king watched their retreating backs and slowly raised her hand after sighing softly.
Then in the next moment, a dark light appeared in the void, and materialized into a single-edged
sword.
This was the chosen magic blade <Nahemah> that the king managed to pull out a few years ago.
The king then pointed the tip of the sword out at the window, her eyes sharp, and spoke.
“—Those chosen by the sword, come here and show me who is the real king.”
“Oh… so this is the capital city!”
They managed to make their way out of the forest and onto the street and then boarded a
horse-drawn carriage and headed northwest for the next three days.
Tohka and her entourage finally arrived at the capital city.
It was similar to a metropolis which was very different from the village where Tohka and the
others lived. There were broad roads that seemed to criss-cross and numerous shops lined up
along the road.
However, while there was clearly a rush of people as they went about their days, everyone’s
expressions were a bit gloomy and the whole city felt lifeless.
“Hmm… it’s obviously very lively, but the atmosphere on the street is very uncomfortable.
Everyone seems to be afraid of something.”
“That isn’t a surprise. Because this is a royal city, the security by the knights is also extremely
strict.”
At that moment, they noticed several knights wearing iron armor walking side by side. The
residents on the road quickly got out of the way and gathered at the side of the road.
Everyone is here. It’s the patrol knight of the capital city. It will be troublesome to be targeted
now, let’s move.”
“That makes sense…”
After Kotori finished speaking, Yoshino nodded in agreement.
Incidentally, Tohka and her party were all wearing cloaks with hoods and were disguised as
travelers. This would make it easier to avoid being recognized by patrol knights and also make it
possible to hide <Sandalphon>.
“The first thing we need to do is find a place to sleep and then we can come up with a battle plan.
This is the enemy’s stronghold. The knights guarding the city are estimated to have at least three
thousand people. And it may also include the <Knights of the Round>.”
“The <Knights of the Round>?”
“Yeah. It’s a five-member knight regiment directly run by the king. There’s Origami the Flash,
Mukuro the Seal, Natsumi the Phantom, and Kaguya and Yuzuru of the whirlwind. Even if you
have <Sandalphon>, you will still be defeated by them if you are reckless. We have to find a way
to avoid drawing attention to ourselves as much as possible—
It was then—
Kotori suddenly stopped talking.
The reason was immediately understood. Because of the wailing in the direction of the patrol
knight.
They looked around and saw a petite woman wearing glasses and kneeling on the ground
surrounded by three patrol knights.
“P-Please, let me go! Without this gift, it’ll be impossible for me to be able to take care of my
family affairs…!”
The woman pleaded. But the three patrol knights (composed of tall, medium, and petite girls)
were deaf to her pleas.”
“Ah! No!”
“Possessing Kinako powder is a felony!”
“You’re about to spend the next thirty years in our maximum security prison!”
“H-How…! What does it matter if you just cast a blind eye to this whole affair!”
The woman burst into tears and sobbed on the ground. Seeing this, Kotori wrinkled her face
unpleasantly.
“Huh… it’s really deceiving. But just endure it for now, Tohka. If you cause a commotion now,
everything we’ve worked for will be lost.”
“—Take this!”
However, Tohka rushed out before Kotori could finish what she was saying. While casting off
her traveling cloak, she waved the original <Sandalphon> on her back and beat the patrol knight
with the sword’s hilt.
“Agh…”
The knight made a muffled sound and slumped to the ground at the same time. After Tohka
passed the woman a leather sac with soybean powder, she nodded her head in appreciation and
signaled for her to leave.
Despite the confusion, the woman saluted Tohka and ran away. Seeing this, Tohka raised
<Sandalphon> again. The knights then stumbled to their feet and drew their swords and glared at
Tohka.
“That hurt… who did that?!”
“I hope you’ve mentally prepared yourself!”
“In other words, we’re dealing with an unpleasant situation!”
“Muu… I don’t need to share anything with an evil party!”
“What are you talking about!”
“What’s with your attitude!”
“Don’t try to rely on your cuteness, that’s so arrogant!”
The knight heard Tohka’s words and was furious. At that moment, Kotori, who was behind
Tohka and Yoshino along with the cat, moved forward.
“Really, Tohka, what do you think you’re doing…!”
“But… Fortunately, that woman was saved…”
“Meow Wow!”
Kotori heard what Yoshino and the cat said and sighed.
“…Since it’s already happened, it’ll be difficult to cover all of this up. Quick, before the
commotion can spread further, we need to knock these guys out and hide them somewhere.”
“Umu!”
Tohka smiled slightly as she raised <Sandalphon> in her hands again.
But at that moment.
“—Found them.”
Four girls appeared behind the defeated patrol knights.
“Muu…?”
When Tohka saw the figure suddenly appear and looked at them in confusion. The girls pushed
aside the downed patrol knight and approached Tohka and her party.
“Hehe… a gleaming sword. This seems to be the right person.”
“Acknowledgement. This must be the <enemy> the king mentioned.”
“Mun… she doesn’t look very strong.”
“The patrol knights can retreat. Now—it’s a job for the <Knights of the Round>.”
The female knights in beautiful armor pulled out their swords and confronted Tohka and the
others. The three patrol knights wanted to say something in protest but as soon as they noticed
their appearance, they fled with unhappy looks on their faces.
“The <Knights of the Round>…? That’s—”
Tohka frowned, her breath stuck in her throat and began trembling much like Kotori.
“…No. It looks like there are four knights…!”
“Oh, so you’ve heard of us before.”
“That makes this much easier to deal with. Those who wield <Sandalphon>, although we have
no ill-will or hatred toward you, you must die.”
But before they could make a move to attack, the sword flashed a bright light instantly and
Tohka’s vision was blinded.
—A few hours after the Knights were dispatched.
“I finally found you, king! For the sake of the country, the people, and the right to be able to
enjoy kinako flour as much as I want, I will use this <Sandalphon> to cut you down!”
“There’s no way out now. How dare you be so ruthless so far!”
“R-Recognize…”
“You’re out of power!”
“Meow Wow!”
The swordsman holding the holy sword <Sandalphon> managed to break into the deepest part of
the royal city with her party and a cat in tow.
And, more than that. Behind them.
“Oh, realize it, king! The days of your evil deeds have come to an end! This hurricane will clear
the way to heaven!”
“Agreed. This hurricane stream will stop you from doing anything bad ever again.”
“Origami flash, appear.”
“The seal is set, Muku has finally found her own battlefield.”
Just behind her were the <Knights of the Round> who’d originally been tasked with killing
<Sandalphon>’s wielder.
“—Wait a minute!”
The cry of the Magician, Nia, echoed throughout the meeting room. Because her voice was so
loud, the king who was seated next to her, covered her ears in irritation.
However, Nia didn’t seem to notice the king’s reaction and shouted even louder.
“What the hell are you doing? Step away from them and apologize. Why would you join their
side?! Did you not promise that you would protect the king before?!”
Nia wailed and the knights glanced at each other for a moment and then looked back at Nia and
answered:
“They said that they were willing to work together with us rather than treating us as tools after
fighting…”
“Acknowledgement. In RPGs, strong members will join the hero’s team toward the end of the
game.”
“It feels right to put the flag here.”
“Muku already said that I hated the king.”
“Is this country actually going to defend these guys?”
Nia flailed her body about and shouted at the top of her voice. At that moment, her eyes widened
as she noticed something new.
She narrowed her eyes, she spotted one of the knights—behind the girl who wore a rabbit puppet
on her left hand, there was a shadow of a petite girl. Her clothes were messy, her hair looked like
a bird’s nest, and there were kiss marks all over her body.
That’s right. She was the lone member of the <Knights of the Round> who hadn’t shown up to
see the king when summoned—Natsumi the Phantom. She shuddered from time to time and
murmured: “It’s terrible… The princess is absolutely terrible…” It seemed that she also defected
to the enemy camp… but somehow she couldn’t bring herself to hate Natsumi alone. It was more
accurate to say that she did it to be protected from someone she believed was an enemy rather
than out of a desire to betray the king.
However, it was still a problem for Nia. She looked into the enemy’s face while showing a
humble, queasy expression.
“H-H-Hey… Oh, yeah, you guys, I am the court magician, Nia. If there is anything you guys
need…”
“Obstacle. Get out of the way.”
“Agh!”
Nia had obviously been trying to appease the enemy. The king smacked her and slowly stood up
from her throne.
She then stepped forward calmly while raising her hand outward to summon the magic sword
<Nahemah>.
“…!”
The woman holding <Sandalphon>, her party, and the <Knights of the Round> all wore vigilant
expressions, lowered their bodies, and raised their weapons.
However, the King did not seem especially concerned despite being confronted by so many
enemies and raised <Nahemah> over her head.
“Knights, I am not disappointed in any of you. This is because I expected you to not cooperate in
the first place.”
“Rebels, I am not angry with you. Because no matter how many people you gather, there’s no
one who can beat me…!”
The king finished speaking and at the same time raised the sword <Nahemah> higher.
“What…!”
In an instant, <Nahemah> let out a burst of darkness that swept across the enemies in front of her
while also destroying the walls before disappearing into the sky.
There was a loud bang and an explosion. The air around the area was soon riddled with rubble
and thick smoke.
“U-Um…”
“Muu…”
Soon after, the smoke dissipated, and the rebels and the traitors could be seen slumped against
the nearby walls.
Their weapons were broken and their delicately decorated armor was heavily damaged.
That’s right. The sword had only been swung once. For the king, this was only a mere glimpse
into her skill but it caused the enemy to falter.
“This is the chosen magic sword; this is the power of the king who rules this country.”
“Whoa… ha…hahaha!”
Only when Nia, who’d tried to betray the king before, realized the power of <Nahemah>, soon
laughed loudly.
“Did you see it, rebels?! This is the power of the king! H-Hey, Your Royal Highness, how are
you going to deal with these guys? Ow!”
Before she could finish the sentence, Nia made a strange sound. It turned out that the king shook
her head at Nia again.
“—Look carefully. This isn’t over yet.”
“Huh…?”
Nia, a hand pressed against her swollen cheek, looked up.
At that moment, the wall with a gaping hole happened to draw in a gust of wind, blowing away
the smoke still in the room.
She could make the figure of a girl standing in front of the king.
Her appearance was very similar to that of the king, and she still held the holy sword
<Sandalphon>.
“Hoo…! Hoo…!”
Tohka’s face was drenched in sweat as she gasped for air.
This was because when the king waved her magic sword, there was a violent shockwave that
struck all around them. With a single strike, Kotori, Yoshino, and Origami who’d formed an
alliance with them were all knocked out.
Tohka was protected thanks to the magical power of <Sandalphon> but she could barely support
herself and the arm that blocked the attack was numb. Her body was drenched with sweat from
the tension.
“Hmm… It seems that you are the chosen wielder of <Sandalphon>—Tohka.”
The king held the magic sword and spoke calmly.
Tohka, hearing the king’s words, twitched her eyebrows.
“You… How do you know my name?”
“Who knows?”
Tohka swallowed her saliva to moisten her suddenly dry throat from the tension as she spoke.
The king suddenly changed her expression abruptly.
“Okay, Tohka, the chosen wielder of <Sandalphon>, let’s decide now—whether you or me is
worthy of taking the throne of this country.”
As soon as she said that, the king bent her knees.
Instantly, there was a loud noise as she took a step forward. Then, the king’s figure that had been
previously visible in the distance managed to close the gap in an instant.
“…!”
She immediately realized that the king had closed the gap between them in an instant, her magic
sword had already been swung down.
However, she didn’t think but instead let her body take the lead as Tohka’s reflexes and instinct
sensed the danger of death and subconsciously raised <Sandalphon> to block it.
—Clang! <Sandalphon> managed to block <Nahemah>’s attack enough to redirect it to the

nearby wall.
“Muu—!”
While Tohka could feel her body ache in protest, she still swung <Sandalphon> again.
The next moment, another attack came from the magic sword. If she didn’t react quickly enough,
her body might have been split in half.
Attack after attack, Tohka used her keen sense and reflexes to deflect the king’s attacks.
Having lost track of the number of attacks she’d dealt with so far, the king let out a sigh of
admiration.
“You are the first person who’s managed to stay standing through so many attacks. I applaud
you—but you still lack the qualifications. The king is the one who controls everything, and your
sword is not nearly ruthless enough!”
“What are you talking about…?!”
Tohka’s glare was fierce to the point that she’d already forgotten about the pain in her body as
she shouted loudly:
“Dominating does not qualify you to be a king! What kind of king can’t even make his people
happy?!”
“I thought you were going to say something better than that! All you’ve said so far were just
sweet words and smoke! When you drew your sword, your life was forfeit! There’s no way to
achieve peace without crushing your enemies! That’s right—just like me of the past!”
“Huh…!”
There was a heavy blow. Tohka used <Sandalphon> to block the oncoming and jumped back to
lessen the blow.
The king stared straight at Tohka and pointed her magic sword at her.
“Power will inevitably lead to war. Whether you want it or not, there will be war everywhere.
What will you do in that case? If you are strong, you can only crush your enemies! That’s the job
of the king! That’s the power of the king!”
“You’re wrong! Even if you have that power, you don’t always have to rely on it! You should be
able to coexist with others!”
“…!”
After hearing what Tohka said, the king frowned for the first time.
“Since you say so—surpass me! Prove it to me! Prove to me that your ideals are strong enough
that you’re willing to put your life on the line!”
The king stomped the ground.
At that moment, the throne in the deepest part of the room cracked. After being split, the debris
wrapped around the magic sword in the king’s grip to form a larger sword.
“Huh…!”
“—<Paverschlev>!”
The king raised her giant sword, the long blade immediately destroyed the ceiling and more
rubble scattered around the room.
The darkness concentrated around the sword letting off an unparalleled pressure. Tohka
immediately understood that with a single blow, she and her allies in the room would
immediately be wiped out.
“Muu—…”
Despite knowing that it would be in vain, Tohka still tried to raise <Sandalphon>, but even still
probably due to her accumulated injuries in the battle so far, Tokha’s movements were slower
than usual.
The black blade was about to be swung down on Tohka.
However—in the next moment:
“Call on me!”
A small shadow jumped from Tohka’s feet toward the king. It was the black cat that had been
tasked with protecting the holy sword.
“Huh…!”
“…!”
At that moment, the king’s eyes widened.
For a moment, the king’s attention was diverted from Tohka to the black cat.
Of everyone present, only Tohka could understand the meaning behind the cat’s meows.
“Call… the throne?”
“Meow!”
Tohka repeated what the cat said and then stomped the ground on reflex.
At that moment, the whole area let out a “bang” and began to vibrate violently, and a huge throne
appeared next to Tohka.
That’s right—it was the base of the holy sword that had been in the forest.
The throne appeared at Tohka’s side and just like the king’s throne, it shattered and wrapped
around Tohka’s sword <Sandalphon> and turned into a giant sword.
“<Halvanhelev>…!”
Tohka called out that name that appeared in her mind as she swung her sword down.
Then, the sword let out a flash of light and produced a powerful light which swallowed up the
exalted <Halvanhelev> and the king.
“…!”
The king who’d been struck by the holy sword from the front and was blindsided to her core as
she fell against the collapsed wall.
There was the lonely king lying on the ground in a pool of blood. She looked miserable but
beautiful—it was a little sad.
With the last of her energy spent, Tohka slumped to the ground immediately and the cat who
bore the same wounds dragged its body toward her.
“Oh… it was all thanks to you…”
Tohka gently scratched the cat’s chin and heard the sound of rubble falling in front of her.
She followed the sound and found that the king sighed as she looked at Tohka.
“…Hah. It seems that my skills have declined from before.”
Then she whispered and said:
“…Tohka, you who was chosen by the Holy Sword, you… are destined to be the king. But you
said—”even if you have more power compared to ordinary people, you can still live together
with ordinary people”… right?”
The king asked, stuttering.
This question shouldn’t be answered carelessly but nonetheless, Tohka nodded without so much
a second thought.
“Okay then.”
“Huh…” If you found th is outs ide of Disco rd, per haps some o ne was alittle too brave.
“Muu… Really? Then let me say, the era of the new king’s reigns—”
The king, who was a girl who looked a lot like Tohka, smiled gently for the very first time and
then stopped talking.
“King…”
Tohka’s heart was filled with an inexplicable emotion and suddenly lowered her gaze. Before,
she felt hate for the king when they met face to face. But now she couldn’t think of her as simply
a wicked person.
That being said, it couldn’t keep going on like this forever. The reason was very simple. Because
the King’s right-hand-people had gathered around Tohka one by one.
“Tohka…! You finally succeeded in defeating the king!”
“Tohka—you are so incredible…!”
“Muu… but it wasn’t just my strength alone. It was also thanks to the cat’s help.
Tohka explained as she hugged the cat.
“Hehe… thanks to you as well. Thank you.”
Then she smiled and kissed the cat.
In the next moment, the cat’s body shone with a blinding light and “Bang!” With a funny sound,
it transformed into a magician dressed in a robe.
It was a young man with neutral facial features and a very gentle look. He smiled in
embarrassment and said:
“I want to thank you too—Tohka.”
“Oh…!”
Faced with this sudden situation, Tohka’s eyes widened in surprise. However, she remembered
that the cat was originally a magician who guarded the holy sword and was cursed to look like a
cat. Probably because the king had been overthrown or because Tohka kissed him that he was
able to lift the curse.
“Fortunately, <Sandalphon> chose you. My name is Shido, please continue taking care of me.”
After he finished speaking, the teenager smiled a little awkwardly. Tohka remembered that she
had just kissed him and her cheeks flushed. Shido probably also guessed her mood from her
expression and his cheeks flushed slightly as well.
“Still, there’s one last thing to take care of.”
He finished speaking and snapped his fingers.
Then, the rubble that originally fell on the ground disappeared in an instant, exposing the figure
of Nia the magician, who’d been hiding behind the rubble and was about to make her escape.
“Hey! Stop it, please don’t kill me! I was threatened by Her Royal Highness so I had no choice…
If you let me go, I will definitely work for you!”
“Wow, it’s hard to see how she could have any sort of talent…”
“Criticism. Who was it that relied on the king’s authority to be able to enjoy endless drinks in the
castle?”
“Rgh!”
Faced with Kaguya and Yuzuru’s accusations, Nia could only tremble in fear.
Shido narrowed his eyes and stared at Nia with contempt but ultimately could only sigh after a
moment.
“Fine. However, from now on, you have to serve Tohka and use your abilities toward the right
path.”
“! Y-Yes!”
Nia immediately knelt down and bowed her head toward them. Shido and Tohka blinked in
surprise.
“This time we’ve conquered an excellent magician.”
“Actually. I have you, Shido.”
Tohka laughed gently as she clenched her fist hard.
“However, the future will be difficult. Because I have to prove my ideals to the king!”
“Well, that goes without saying. But I think as long as everyone works together, surely—um,
whoa!”
He was partway through the sentence, Shido suddenly let out a startled yelp.
The reason was simple. Because the <Knight of the Round> Origami, suddenly dressed as a
princess, hugged Shido and tried to run away.
“I finally found my prince. I never would have guessed it would be like Beauty and the Beast.”
“What? Where did this come from?!”
“H-Hey, Origami! Where do you think you’re going to take Shido?”
Faced with this sudden change, Tohka couldn’t help but shout.
It seemed that the future of the new kingdom would be a difficult journey.
Kotori Editor
On a certain month on a specific day.
Asgard Co., Ltd., the editorial office of the Ratatoskr publishing company was busy one day.
“Commander… No, editor-in-chief! We’ve completed 90% of Hoshimiya-sensei’s manuscript!

There’s just five pages left!”
“Don’t report the number of pages remaining! Give me the time remaining! The time!”
“Yoshino-sensei knocked over the painting tool and stained her rabbit puppet, and the workflow
has slowed down!”
“Send for the decontamination commissioner immediately!”
“Chief Editor! NATSUKO-sensei can’t be reached!”
“What are you talking about? Hmm… It looks like you are falling ill. Shiizaki, immediately
confirm whether she is healthy!”
“Ah! Honjou-sensei can’t be reached either!”
“Let me try again. Honjou-sensei—!”
The voices within the editorial department came and went just like a battlefield.
However, this sort of thing wasn’t a surprise.
The Ratatoskr publishing company was a long-established brand among many light novel series
and one of the few companies that regularly published short stories within its magazines.
However, the final editing for the previously mentioned novel magazine <Fraxinus Magazine> is
imminent and several serial novels and illustrations have not yet been submitted.
“…!”
Things always got messy just before a deadline, but this time it was more serious than usual.
They were faced with the prospect of having an incomplete magazine which was simply unheard
of for the company. The rookie editor, Itsuka Shido felt a tense atmosphere fill the entire editorial
department and gulped on his saliva nervously.
“—Shido.”
Just then, someone called his name.
The shape of the floor where the editorial department was located was a little strange: it was
designed as though the eclipse was cut in half. There was a table in the center and the staff seats
of the editorial department were arranged around the large table, much like the bridge on the
inside of a battleship from a science fiction story.
And the person who just called out to Shido was a girl who’d been sitting at the desk in the
center.
“Sorry but can you check on the status of the ‘above’ situation? Didn’t you say that the
manuscript would be submitted at 3:00 pm?”
And the person who just called out to Shido was a girl sitting at the table in the center.
The girl twitched her head when she finished speaking and her hair swayed back and forth with
two black ribbons tying them into two ponytails.
Apparently to Shido—it was worth mentioning that she was the youngest person in this editorial
department but no one here dared to underestimate her and treat her as a child.
However, this was to be expected. After all, she was the editor-in-chief of the Ratatoskr
Publishing Company—Itsuka Kotori herself.
“O-Okay, I’ll go check right now.”
After Shido quickly in the affirmative, Kotori nodded her head as she cleared her throat and
spoke loudly so that everyone in the entire editorial department could here:
“—We don’t have time for proofreading! Just revise it once we get started with publishing! Make
sure to pass everything along to me as quickly as possible once the writers submit their
manuscripts! This issue of <Fraxinus Magazine> will be our 30th anniversary… there can be no
mistakes! No matter what difficulties arise, we must overcome this struggle!”
“Understood!”
The editing staff… That is, the other members of the editorial department, saluted as they
responded to Kotori’s orders.
Shido likewise saluted her as he quickly made his way through the editorial department and
arrived at the corridor.
He then took the elevator to the meeting room upstairs.
But he wasn’t going there for a meeting. That meeting room was similar to a self-study
classroom at a cram school, separated by partitions into individual spaces where several writers
squinted at their computers as they wrote.
Typically, writers would write in their own homes, in a studio, or at a cafe.
However, there were some writers who would come to the publishing house to write when the
deadline was approaching or if they weren’t making progress with their manuscript.
If there was time to be able to write novels using a paper and pen then it shouldn’t matter where
you write. However, in the modern era where submitting files digitally has become
commonplace… but there are some writers that feel that they would be lazy at home and need
pressure from the editor. That pressure could motivate them to write.
“Let me see, Yatogami-sensei seems to be…”
At that moment, Shido looked around for the writer he was responsible for who should have
come to the meeting room, but halfway through his search, he felt his breathing freeze in his
throat.
This reaction was understandable. Because he spotted a dark-haired girl lying on the desk in one
of the spaces in the corner.
“Y-Yatogami-sensei, are you okay!”
“…M-Muu… Oh, it’s Shido…”
Shido quickly rushed over to her side as he shook the girl’s shoulder. The girl raised her head
weakly.
She was a light novel author, Yatogami Seijuro (Real Name: Yatogami Tohka).
She was really good at writing fantasy novels. Her currently published work was a gourmet food
novel called “Beast Rice” which describes food from other worlds.
“What happened! Did you fall ill—?”
As he spoke, he suddenly stopped speaking.
No, it was more accurate to say that his words were muffled by a loud rumbling noise.
“…uh, sensei?”
“Sorry… I can finish it in a minute but I’m so hungry…”
At the same time, Tohka’s stomach rumbled again. Shido could feel sweat trailing down his
cheeks as he felt relief coursing through him.
“Really, don’t scare me like that. I’ll go to the convenience store nearby and buy some food for
you. Please just wait for a bit.”
“Muu… I’m sorry to trouble you like this. If you happen to find any kinako bread, could you
buys that… and some milk… and if you buy milk, you have to buy red bean bread… and after
eating a bunch of sweets, I’ll want to eat something salty as well so could you also buy those
meat buns next to the register… and also some puffs and fried chicken, pudding…”
“What year and month are you talking about?”
It was an endless alternation of sweet and salty foods.
If he let her keep going, he didn’t know how much he would be expected to buy. Shido quickly
left the room and rushed to the convenience store nearby to buy food and then returned to the
meeting room.
“I’ve kept you waiting, these—”
At that moment, Shido’s shoulders trembled.
It was because Tohka who had previously been lying on the table was now slumped against the
chair weakly as though she had melted.
“No way!”
Shido quickly pulled out the kinako bread from the bag and threw it at Tohka. As the bread flew
through the air with the gleaming yellow powder.
“—!”
The originally fatigued and lifeless Tohka sat up like clockwork as she bit down on the kinako
bread.
In the following moment, Tohka’s eyes immediately shone and she returned to the keyboard and
continued typing away with unbridled passion that could move mountains and seas.
“OOOOOOHHHHHHHH!”
He didn’t know why she insisted on using just her index fingers but regardless, her speed was
very quick.
In about ten minutes, Tohka typed out the word <End> and exhaled with a sigh.
“Okay… it’s done! I’ll pass it on to you!”
“Oh…! You worked hard!”
Shido replied, lowered his head, and handed the plastic bags containing the rest of the food to
Tohka. Although it was generally not recommended to eat here… he could let it slide for today.
Tohka peeked inside the bag and her eyes sparkled in excitement. Shido once again gave her a
gift as he returned to the editorial department to confirm that the manuscript was received.
But at that moment, there was an argument from inside one of the meeting rooms so he paused.
“What should I do?! I think it’s better to change it to this!”
“Rebuttal. Even so, you aren’t allowed to do this with so little time left.”
Shido frowned suspiciously and peeked into the partition.
He spotted two girls who looked exactly like each other as they glared at each other.
“Kyouro-san, Yuburu-san!”
Shido shouted involuntarily after spotting the two of them. That’s right it was where the writer
Kyouro (real name Yamai Kaguya) and the illustrator Yuburu (real name Yamai Yuzuru) who
were good at writing novels relating to power and light.
“What the hell happened?”
After Shido asked that question, Yuzuru turned her head away from Kaguya and answered:
“Anger. This isn’t the original manuscript written by Kaguya; the second half is different from
the outline outlined at the beginning.”
“E-Eh!”
As Yuzuru finished speaking, Shido’s eyes widened.
“That… Yamai-san, can I read your manuscript?”
“…Fine…”
Kaguya handed her laptop to Shido. Shido scrolled down the screen to quickly review the
original.
…It was indeed different from the outline of the story that he received beforehand. However, it
was as Kaguya said, it was much more exciting after the changes.
The so-called outline was more of a summary of the plot, like designs, but in fact, many writers
have started writing and then deviated from the original plot. Normally, that wouldn’t matter if
the story becomes more exciting… but this time, the situation is different.”
“Reminder. The manuscript will be different from the illustration.”
Yuzuru said with her arms crossed.
That’s right. Usually, the illustrators would wait for the manuscript to be done before working
with the content description. This time however, due to the delays, the story’s outline was
provided to the illustrator beforehand.
As a result, Yuzuru had already drawn the illustration and now there was no time to redraw it.
“Kaguya-san… The story has certainly become more exciting, but we can’t use the current
illustrations with this.”
After Shido finished explaining, Kaguya nodded, scratching her cheeks awkwardly.
“Do you want me to deliberately write a more boring plot even knowing that this one is
definitely better?”
“Uh, even if you say that…”
“…I know I was wrong to change the plot like that without letting everyone know, but I didn’t
expect it to affect the illustration. Is there any way…”
Kaguya’s eyes were wet with tears as she lowered her head.
Although the content of the story and the illustrations couldn’t be different like this, it was too
cruel to the writer who’d managed to write such a wonderful plot to follow the original outline.
Shido spoke quietly, his face conflicted.
Yuzuru shrugged helplessly as she pulled out the drawing tablet from the bag she’d brought with
her, and showed the screen to both Shido and Kaguya.
“Announcement. It’s really impossible to deal with you. How about this?”
“T-This is—”
“Whoa…!”
Shido and Kaguya’s eyes widened at the same time.
The screen showed a new black and white illustration that matched the content of the story that
Kaguya re-wrote.
“Hey… what is this? What’s going on?”
When Kaguya was surprised, Yuzuru snorted proudly.
“Conceit. Yuzuru had long since expected that Kaguya wouldn’t be satisfied with the original
plot’s outline. Do you think I haven’t learned anything from working with you for so many
years?”
“H-Huh! Yeah!”
Kaguya showed a look of consternation. However, her eyebrows immediately scrunched together
as she realized something.
“…In that case, why didn’t you mention this earlier?”
“Faithful words. It doesn’t make sense for a writer who can’t write according to the outline to
drag it to the deadline. If someone else was the illustrator, what would you have done? Please let
me have a good look at the plot so that we can avoid this kind of problem from happening
again.”
“Um, U-Un…”
Kaguya mumbled reluctantly, and soon whispered in despair: “…I’m sorry, thank you for helping
me out.”
Yuzuru immediately smiled as she patted Kaguya’s head and then looked towards Shido.
“Confirm. Then Yuzuru will first pass this illustration to you, and then I will trouble you—of
course, please pay for the illustrations even if they aren’t used.”
“Haha…Of course. The illustrations that were specifically drawn will be included in the next
issue.”
Shido answered as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. “So you two have worked hard.” He
left the study room after a discussion.
However, being able to anticipate the change in plot and being able to draw new illustrations in
advance… Yuzuru was surely incredible.
Kaguya was indeed a writer who didn’t often follow her original story outline. The newly drawn
illustrations featured a wide-ranging illustration of the hero and heroine talking and could be
adapted for various scenes. Even so, she was a legend, just like a twin sister… They had the
same surname and looked identical to each other, so it would make sense for them to be twins. In
the setting of another world, perhaps they were twins?
Shido pondered this as he made his way back to the editorial department.
Then Kotori noticed that Shido returned and glanced at him.
“How did it go?”
“Although there were some complications, <Beast Rice> and <The Genesis of the Hurricane
Knight> have been submitted.”
“Very good.”
Kotori clenched her fist as she flashed a victory pose.
“I’m sorry to trouble you with all of this, Shido.”
“Don’t worry about it!”
Shido nodded firmly and returned to his seat and faced his computer.
He opened his inbox and confirmed that Kaguya, Yuzuru, and Tohka had submitted their files.”
“Huh?”
Just then, Shido’s eyebrows twitched because he noticed a new email.
The sender’s name was Itsuka Origami. She was one of the writers that Shido was in charge of,
responsible for serializing the career love comedy <Writing!>. The story described the
relationship between writers and editors.
…By the way, her real name was actually Tobiichi Origami. Although when deciding on a pen
name, it was pointed out that the surname was easily confused with Shido and Kotori, she
insisted on using this as her pen name.
There was a file attached to the email. It seemed that she managed to submit her manuscript
before the deadline.
“Oh, it looks like Origami-sensei has also finished. That’s great.”
Shido breathed a sigh of relief and opened the file to view the contents.
“…Huh?”
However, he paused as he scrolled down.
The reason was obvious: because the second half of the story contained an intense sex scene
between the male protagonist, Shido, and the female protagonist, Origami. (Both names were
familiar but Origami insisted that this was purely coincidental).
“What… is this…?”
<Writing!> was a romantic comedy; it contained scenes that would make readers blush and their
hearts race, and sometimes it also included erotic illustrations.
However, the plot described in this manuscript was well beyond that level, to the extent that
these scenes could be considered a pornographic novel rather than a light novel.
Even though there was little time, it probably won’t be published. Shido quickly called Origami.
Almost immediately, he was put through without having to wait for a ring. The connection speed
was so fast that Shido was a little surprised.
“Hello, this is Itsuka.”
“H-Hello? …This is Itsuka.”
Shido always felt slightly uncomfortable every time he heard the surname reported by the other
party. However, he cleared his throat and continued.
“Origami-sensei, I know it was difficult for you to finish your manuscript… I reviewed the
contents of your manuscript and found the second half is a little too erotic. Could you please
describe it a little more vaguely…?”
“Which part are you referring to specifically?”
“Uh… from the third line on page 25…”
“I am a liberal arts student so I am not very good at numbers. You’ll need to read it out loud to
me.”
“That has nothing to do with the liberal arts!”
“Read it out loud.”
Origami’s tone was indifferent as usual but she continued to forcefully insist. So Shido had to
start reading the text displayed on the screen.
“…Shido witnessed the beautiful appearance of Origami, and an irresistible passion tumbled
through his heart. As male instinct overtook him, he roared to bring physical pleasure to this
woman. By the time he returned to God, the clothes of God would have already been torn apart.
In the face of Shido’s rough caress, Origami who had rebelled at first gradually…”
“…”
Origami listened without saying a word, and somehow it sounded that her breathing quickened.
Shido’s cheeks shed more sweat, continued to read:
“…Shido continued to vent his violent animalistic desire toward Origami’s secret place.”
“Ah…Excellent, great, Origami…”
“What happened? Keep reading.”
“Ah, uh, that…”
“Continue reading.”
Origami said, panting.
Shido felt increasingly embarrassed, and the cellphone in his hand was suddenly stolen.
“Huh?”
Turning his head to look around, he noticed Kotori, whom he didn’t notice who was standing
there. She put the cellphone taken from Shido’s ear and put it up to her own ear and gestured
with her eyes, “Just leave it to me from here.”
“—Hello, Origami-sensei. I am the editor-in-chief Itsuka… Yes, yes. I apologize that our
company’s Itsuka was rude to you, he is not yet mature. The company will take some time to
guide him and avoid him from making a mistake like this again, and we can change to a different
editor to be responsible for you… What? Ah, is that right? Then I understand. I will be waiting
for your reply.”
Kotori finished speaking like this as she hung up the phone and then shrugged, facing Shido
again.
“She said she would revise her manuscript and then said it over immediately.”
“E-Eh?!”
After hearing what Kotori said, Shido stared at his boss in surprise.
This reaction was understandable. Because it only took her ten seconds to persuade the stubborn
Origami.
However, the conversation just now contained some disturbing words. Shido tentatively asked:
“So, that… does that mean that Origami-sensei’s editor will be replaced?”
“Why would we do that? If we replaced you with someone else, Origami-sensei would never
write another line.”
“What? Hey, but just now…”
After she finished explaining, Kotori exhaled from her nose.
“Well, it’s hard to say …Ah, when talking with Origami-sensei, remember to use open spaces
and not enclosed spaces.”
“Huh? Sounds G-Good…”
When Shido tilted his head to express his doubts, he suddenly noticed a new email in his
inbox—it was from Origami. It seemed that the manuscript had been revised. It took less than a
minute after the end of the call for her to completely revise her manuscript?!
“O-Origami-sensei’s revised manuscript is here.”
“…Ah, sure enough. Since we’re busy catching up, I won’t investigate it further—now, time is
precious. Who else is left?”
“…Ah, sure. Let me see… There are two writers we’re still waiting on. One said that she would
submit it before 6 pm. I’ll call Shirai-sensei and ask for an update on her manuscript—”
“…!”
Shido suggested but Kotori’s shoulders trembled for some reason.
“So that’s the situation. Just give her a minute before you call.”
“Huh? Why? Wouldn’t it be a waste of time to do that…?”
“It’s a long story! Anyway, I have to go out for a bit so I’ll have to trouble you for now!”
Kotori spoke nervously as she hurriedly walked out of the editorial department.
After Shido stared dumbfounded at her back, he waited for a minute according to Kotori’s order
before he called.
“—Oh! Hello, Onii-chan?”
After the phone rang for a few seconds, an energetic voice came from the other end.
Shirai Kohina was a writer who loved the theme of siblings. Although she wrote on a wide range
of subjects, the protagonists in all of them were either brothers with sisters or sisters with
brothers. Of course, her current serialized work <Siblings Without Blood Relationships can get
Married!>. As the name suggested, it was clearly a sibling love comedy.
Incidentally, <Onii-chan> was the name that Shirai used when she called Shido. He had been a
little surprised but after hearing several times, he felt an inexplicable agreement… could it be
possible that they were siblings in a previous life?
“Hello? This is Itsuka. Shirai-sensei, have you finished your manuscript?”
After Shido finished speaking, Shirai made a dissatisfied noise and said:
“Do you really need to talk so respectfully?”
“Uh, but…”
“Hmm…”
“…Kohina-chan, have you finished writing your manuscript?”
Shido asked with a sigh. Kohina then answered with a pleasant tone that he could feel from the
other end of the phone:
“Hmm, it’s almost done!”
“Well, what time can you submit it?”
“Hmm… I think if Onii-chan gives me a kiss as a reward, I can find motivation to work hard!”
“Haha…”
After hearing what Kohina said, Shido smiled bitterly.
He was shocked when he heard it for the first time, but she always said that when she was
writing; it was like a greeting. Although she’d insisted on it several times, Shido had never
followed through on the reward of a kiss even once.
It was also worth mentioning that she was very mysterious, and never held a signing nor even
attended the thank-you event held by the publishing company so Shido had never met her
face-to-face.
“Fine, I promise. So please hurry.”
“Okay! I will send it to you immediately.”
Once Shido finished speaking, Kohina answered energetically and then promptly hung up. Shido
confirmed that she hung before setting the receiver down.
It didn’t take long before Kotori, who’d just left, returned to the editorial department.
As she returned, something fell out of Kotori’s jacket pocket as she passed by Shido’s seat. Shido
bent down to pick it up.
“Editor-in-chief, it looks like you dropped something. This is…”
It was a lovely white ribbon. Kotori always wore black ribbons to tie her hair, so this color was
quite unusual.
“…!”
In an instant, Kotori’s eyes suddenly widened and quickly snatched the ribbon out of his hand at
a speed that was too quick to see.
“Y-You saw nothing!”
“Huh… What are you talking about?”
Shido tilted his head to express his confusion while Kotori frantically shook his shoulders as she
stuffed the ribbon back into her pocket.
“N-Nothing.”
“Really… Ah, but the ribbon looks very cute. Although it’s different from your usual impression,
I think it would suit you quite nicely.”
“So you did see it!”
Her tone changed suddenly. The other editors who were busy with their own work cast a curious
look at them.
“Ah…”
Kotori probably was caught by surprise as her face flushed in embarrassment, and her shoulders
shrunk.
It was at that moment that a tall man approached them. He was the deputy editor-in-chief of the
Ratatoskr Publishing Company, Kannazuki Kyouhei, whose talents were unmatched.
“Editor-in-chief, sorry to disturb you when you are busy.”
“I-I’m not busy right now! Anyway, what do you need?”
Kotori shook her head to cover up her embarrassment and asked. Kannazuki shrugged and then
said:
“I tried to contact this sensei several times to no avail. It seems like her phone is turned off.”
Kannazuki finished and Kotori’s eyebrows twitched anxiously.
“Ah, really—”
Then, Kannazuki, sensing her mood from the change in her expression, turned around and tilted
his buttock out at the same time.
In the next moment—
“—What do you think you’re doing at a time like this!”
Kotori’s palm was outstretched as she roared and slapped Kannazuki’s butt with as much force as
she could muster.
“Ah! Thank you so much!”
“…! Editor-in-chief, what are you doing?!”
Shido shouted in a panic, Kannazuki, who had just been slapped, was quick to stop him while
gasping.
“Ah, I guess Shido-kun doesn’t know about this. It’s alright. My payment is the basic salary plus
a special allowance five times a month.”
“…Special allowance?”
“Yes. The editor-in-chief will use her hand to slap my body in order to subsidize my needs.”
“…”
Shido thought he’d misunderstood what Kannazuki meant by a special allowance but after seeing
the satisfied look on Kannazuki’s face, he decided it was better not to question it.
After paying the allowance, Kotori sighed without a care.
“This woman hasn’t changed a bit. She’s very talented, but it’s a bit overwhelming to deal with
this before every deadline.”
The illustrator and cartoonist Honjou Souji (real name: Honjou Nia) has been one of the
illustrators supporting the Ratatoskr publishing company for several years. Her exquisite work
has pulled in countless fans… However, she had an energetic personality and often disappeared
close to the deadline.
“There’s no helping it. Although I didn’t want to resort to this trick…”
Kotori chewed her fingernails resentfully as she walked to her desk and pulled out a small
electronic device and handed it to Shido.
“Shido, I’m sorry to make you do this. I need you to go to the place listed on this device and grab
this sensei.”
“Oh… Uh—Eh?”
Because Kotori spoke so naturally, Shido couldn’t help but nod in agreement… but then noticed
something out of place halfway through her sentence.
She gave him an electronic device shaped like a small computer that displayed a detailed map
that was detailed on the LCD screen, and a red dot was flashing on the map. It was a common
device used for detective or spy work. “Hey!” Shido couldn’t help but gasp.
“Editor-in-Chief, this isn’t a GPS is it—?”
Shido’s voice was silenced by Kotori’s fingers over his mouth.
Kotori wore a very unsettling smile.
“Don’t say such unpleasant things. I am only an employee for a legitimate company. How could
I be involved in such a criminal act? The only laws that editors have to worry about are standard
labor laws, right?”
“Uh… I hope I can abide by the standard labor laws…”
Shido spoke as he sweat nervously. Kotori still wore that unsettling smile as she pressed the
electronic device into Shido’s hand.
“Listen, this is not a GPS, but the pure heart of an editor concerned for the safety of an illustrator
who suddenly disappeared, causing a panic. The world is truly a beautiful place, understand?”
“O-Okay…”
Shido was shocked by how forceful Kotori was being, but nodded in agreement.
“Oh, she’ll deliver the manuscript soon, so don’t worry about that.”
“Huh? How do you know?”
Shido asked with a puzzled expression and the editor-in-chief widened her eyes in surprise.
“Ah! It’s just my editor’s instinct! Anyway, just go and grab this sensei for me!”
Shido was patted on the butt by Kotori (getting this unexpected special allowance, Kannazuki
stared at Shido with envious eyes) as he stumbled out of the editorial department.
“Uh… could you please park here?”
After about twenty minutes, a taxi hired by Shido from the company entrance took him to the
downtown area displayed on the device.
He paid the driver the fare and after getting out of the taxi, he took another look at the screen and
then at the surrounding buildings.
After a moment’s inspection, Shido found a store that matched what was shown on the device.
“This must be it…”
He looked at the shop sign and felt the muscles in his face twitch constantly.
<Club I Mine Me>
It was a restaurant where women sit at the stage to receive guests: the so-called Night Clubs.
“…”
Ashamed, Shido had never patronized such a place before. However, since the reaction was
clearly coming from inside, he could only go in daringly. He resolutely made his way down the
steps and pushed the heavy door open.
“Welcome!” ByEne and Lightn ing Farron
He stepped into the bar and heard the energetic bartender call out to him.
“Table for one? What’s your name?”
“Ah, no… I’m just looking for a friend here…”
Shido explained as he looked around the dark shop.
Then, a seat deeper in the bar inside—
“Are you an illustrator? That’s amazing!”
“I really want you to help me draw my portraits!”
“That’s cheating, I want that!”
“H-Hey…Ah, the key to drawing vividly, you need to have a deep understanding of the object.
It’s not good enough to look with only your eyes but you need to be able to touch it with your
hands. Specifically like touching this side…”
“Ah! This sensei is so horny!”
…That was the dialogue taking place.
There was a female with a sharp voice mixed with another female with a familiar voice.
Shido looked around and spotted Nia surrounded by women in gorgeous dresses with a satisfied
expression on her face.
“…Honjou-sensei, what are you doing?”
“—Agh!”
Her reaction was like something out of a comic as she leaned back while looking up at him.
“Boy! What are you doing here!”
“Well… The editor-in-chief asked me to come find you because she was worried about your
safety.”
Shido looked away and spoke flatly. Nia replied in a tone that made it clear that she couldn’t tell
whether he was joking or not: “It’s true and false that I have been blessed by God…” Then she
scratched her head.
“Anyway, the deadline for proofreading is approaching, please submit your illustrations quickly!
If you don’t hurry, it’ll be too late—E-Eh?”
As he spoke, Shido noticed something else. It turned out there were other people next to Nia.
“Hurry up! Nattsun should also have a drink. This bottle of champagne tastes delicious and it is
best for intoxicating girls… I mean, it’s super delicious!”
“…No, I don’t drink. Absolutely not…”
Nia was sitting on a sofa next to the girl chatting happily, and a girl who was entangled with her.
They were serializing the popular Yuri-Yuri love comedy <I Unexpectedly Traded Bodies with
My Elder Sister so I decided to enjoy the Underwear and talk about it>. Writer Yoimachi Tsukino
(Real Name: Izayoi Miku) along with Honjou-Sensei as an illustrator and the illustrator who’d
tried to avoid Nia: NATSUKO (real name: Natsumi).
“Yoimachi-sensei! NATSUKO-sensei! Why are you both in this place as well?!”
After Shido shouted, the two of them noticed his presence and looked up.
“Ah! Darling! So you’re here! Hehehe, so you love this place too…”
“…Hey, don’t misunderstand. I was… when I was about to submit my illustrations, these two
broke into my house and half-threatened me to come here…”
Miku just giggled while Natsumi desperately tried to explain herself.
…He suspected that what Natsumi said was true. When it came to “NATSUKO”, not only were
her drawing skills incredible, she could handle the details, and stuck to the deadline for
submission. The reason she was delayed this time was he thought she’d fallen ill. That was
completely from the others, completely different.
“…Okay, there’s nothing to be worried about, I understand. Were you able to finish the
illustrations?”
“Ah… Yeah, I finished it. I can send it to you as soon as I get home. As long as you can find a
way to get rid of these two…”
Finally, Natsumi narrowed her eyes at Nia who was hugging the bartender and Miku who was
entangled with herself. Shido sighed heavily.
“Honjou-sensei, how many illustrations have you drawn?”
“Eh…? Yeah, yeah…”
Nia smiled vaguely. Shido’s gaze moved to Miku as he felt a headache come on.
“What about you, Sensei? How is your progress?”
“Hmm… how should I say this…? Since it’s just me doing all the writing all by myself, there
isn’t enough content to work with, so I came here to look for inspiration…”
Miku explained earnestly. Shido sighed again.
“Anyway, please head back and work on your manuscript immediately. If you can’t write at
home, you can always come to our company and write there.”
“Even if you say that, I can’t write without inspiration. If only the editor-san was at least a lovely
girl, then maybe I would be able to find the inspiration to write…”
After she finished speaking, Miku sighed regretfully. Shido felt sweat trickle down his forehead
as he wore an embarrassed expression.
“Don’t say such things. Even if it’s for that reason, changing editors at this time wouldn’t be
accepted by the editor-in-chief.”
“H-Huh? N-No, I’m not blaming you! Darling is so responsible, I don’t want to change my
editor!”
“Huh? But you just said…”
Shido tilted his head doubtfully, Miku rested her chin with her hands and then said:
“Ah! It would be nice if the editor was a girl!”
“…”
Miku just repeated what she said just now but somehow Shido felt a chill in his stomach.
Shido could feel an oppressive force coming down on him and he took a step back. But his back
hit something.
“Huh…?!”
He held his breath and looked behind him and spotted the girls who’d been sitting on either side
of Nia, now preparing all kinds of makeup tools such as gorgeous evening dresses and wigs.
“Okay! Table for one!”
“Thank you for your time!”
“Don’t worry! I’ve already paid for everything!”
After they finished speaking, the three women smiled brilliantly.
Only then did he realize that Shido, who had originally only come to find Nia, fell into Miku’s
trap without realizing it.
“You can count on me, Miku…!”
Shido waved at Miku in protest as he was dragged into the lounge while Miku watched on with a
smile.
…Thirty minutes later.
Dressed in a gorgeous evening dress, a wig, and makeup, Shido had been forced to dress as a
woman. He felt his cheeks burn as he was led to his seat.
“Ah! I thought so! I always felt that Darling would look very cute as a woman! Why is that!
Could it be that I have superpowers!”
“Wow! AHAHAHHAHAHAHA! Boy! You are so cute! You’re the first red card!”
“…Oh my goodness.”
“NATSUKO-sensei! Please don’t look at me like that…!”
Compared to the excited and noisy Miku and Nia who were laughing with excitement, Natsumi’s
reaction was the most hurtful. Shido couldn’t help but start to cry.
However, Miku and Nia didn’t notice Shido’s mood at all as they pulled him in to sit between
them and cheer happily.
“Hey! Hey, Darling! What do you want to drink? I want to invite you for a drink! Ah, do you
want to play the pocky game?”
“Wow. That’s a true transformation, Boy… It feels strange to call you that. What sort of name
should we give you? Your real name is Shido, so what about Shiori?”
“It’s like that was something that was decided in a previous life! It really suits her!”
Miku and Nia were very happy to keep bullying Shido unscrupulously.
But Shido couldn’t always play the part of the weak person. He glared back at them with his
most vicious glare.
“Hold it senseis! Speaking of which! I did what you wanted so now you both have to write a
good manuscript! Honjou-sensei as well!”
Nia and Miku were both caught by surprise and after looking at each other, they both whipped
out their tablets from their bags and started the operation in earnest.
“Okay, I just sent it!”
“I’ve finished everything. You can confirm it later!”
“…Huh?!”
After hearing what Miku and Nia said, Shido and Natsumi responded in unison.
“W-What’s going on? Are you both done…?”
“Huh? Yes, I was just thinking about how to write the final line… Thanks to Shiori-san, I was
finally able to finish!”
“Isn’t the final line just [End]?!”
“Me too. I forgot to hit the send button…”
“…”
After listening to their explanations, Shido could feel the muscles in his face twitch again. He
glanced at Natsumi, who was sitting opposite him, wearing a similar expression.
…That said, having a completed manuscript was still a gratifying event. Shido swallowed back
the dissatisfaction rising from the depths of his throat and stood up from his seat.
“…Two hard workers. Let’s get going, NATSUKO-sensei.”
“…Okay.”
Natsumi also had the same tired expression as Shido as she stood up immediately.
However, at that moment, Miku and Nia grabbed Shido and Natsumi’s wrists.
“Eh! Where are you going? It’s hard work completing a manuscript! Let’s celebrate!”
“That’s right! Well, Natsumi-san should also celebrate together with us!”
“You two submitted your work, but I still have other things to do…!”
“Speaking of which, I still haven’t submitted my manuscript yet—AAAAAAAAHHHHH!”
The two’s voices were covered by the background music and the thick walls of the night club
and no one outside would be able to hear them.
“—Okay, this is the end of the proofreading! Everyone has worked hard!”
It was 11:00 pm.
Kotori’s voice sounded loudly in the editing department.
“Thanks for the hard work…”
All of the other editors answered in reply and there was a sparse amount of applause.
“Good work everyone…”
Hearing all of those voices, Shido slumped against the desk as he let out an exhausted sigh, his
whole body weak with fatigue.
As a result, after that, he was forced to accompany Miku and Nia for a while, all while he was
dressed as in women’s clothing. Then he needed to help Natsumi get home before returning to
the editorial department to check the various manuscripts, layouts, and prints that he received.
Miku and Nia finally let him go with barely enough to finish his responsibilities. Shido strongly
believed that they had been messing with him from beginning to end.
…It was incredible that the editing could be completed and sent to the press in just one day after
the writer submitted their manuscript, but it seems that such things can be managed with the
Asgard Corporation’s incredible system. Was this company pure magic or what?
In short, he managed to survive the biggest crisis on the 30th anniversary of <Fraxinus
Magazine> and avoid leaving anything blank. Shido sighed heavily.
“—Okay, I’ll take care of the rest. Everyone else can go home now. We still have work to do
tomorrow, so don’t relax just because this difficult time is over.”
Kotori clapped her hands as she spoke, the editors all replied: “Understood!” And then came the
sound of everyone beginning to pack up and go home.
“…”
However, Shido was still slumped against the table. Fatigue that surpassed his limits, not to
mention what happened to his mind at the end of his workday, had made him weak.
Then—he didn’t know how long it had been.
“Damn.”
There was a voice that came from behind Shido—It was Kotori.
“Shido, you haven’t left yet?”
“Not yet… Editor-in-Chief.”
Shido propped himself up unsteadily.
None of the other editors could be seen in the office and some of the lights had been turned off.
Shido must have accidentally fallen asleep for a while.
“Oh, you looked tired. But today, this situation seemed hopeless.”
“Wait for me for a bit,” Kotori spoke with a small smile as she made her way to the vending
machine in the corridor and bought two cans of coffee.”
“Thanks for the hard work.”
After she said that, she passed one of the cans over to him.
“Ah, thank you.”
He accepted the can from her and took a sip before exhaling.
Kotori was quick to mimic him.
The two of them looked at each other and laughed.
“…After all, today was a really busy day. Please don’t do this again in the future.”
“Yeah… I was able to check the manuscripts but there was no proofreading. To be honest, I was
worried about typos.”
Shido smiled wryly as he took another sip of coffee.
“However, this time the writers were also anxious and they shouldn’t leave it to the last minute in
the future.”
“You’re too naive. The so-called writer is a creature who thinks that, as long as this time goes
fine, so will the next one. The next day, after the finish line is crossed, you should be particularly
vigilant.”
“Yeah, that’s true…”
There was sweat on Shido’s cheek sand Kotori smiled happily and then said,
“That’s the case—”
“The quality of the original manuscript is maintained so there’s no need to do heavy editing.
Everyone’s work this time was also very exciting, especially Yatogami-sensei’s. It was really
good. I didn’t expect to be able to cook a Dragon Tail like that…”
“Yeah, that’s true… However, it can take more time to get inspired when you’re hungry. But it’s
really troublesome to build up the needed energy in order to write.”
“Ahaha, yes—so? Of the manuscripts submitted this time, who do you think had the most
interesting one?”
“Huh? The most interesting one…”
When Kotori asked the question, Shido mumbled to himself in distress.
Each writer had a really great manuscript. As Kotori said, the way of writing as done by Tokha
was incredible, the battles described by Kaguya were shocking, and the manuscripts from
Origami and Miku were unusual.”
However, if he’d been asked who wrote the most interesting—”
“Shirai-sensei…”
“…Huh?!”
As soon as Shido spoke out that name, somehow, Kotori let out a surprised noise.
“Editor, is there something w-wrong?”
“N-No, it’s fine. Keep going.”
“Well… Every conversation between the brothers and siblings was so funny, and this time the
plot was not only funny but there were a lot of beautiful scenes between the siblings and were
touching in places. This part is like a finishing touch, and the whole story is perfectly
integrated.”
For some reason, Kotori’s cheeks were flushed a deep red while urging Shido to continue.
Despite his doubts, Shido continued to speak:
“She’s a really good writer. I think that this time we got to see her true skills… especially during
the middle where the brother plays the bad guy in order to protect his sister was simply a stroke
of genius.”
“…T-This…”
Kotori’s gaze shifted all over the place as she tried to act like she wasn’t interested.
“Editor-in-Chief?”
“…! A-Ah, um. I’m listening… Since you think it’s so beautiful, why don’t you call
Shirai-sensei and tell her yourself?”
“Huh? Well, I would like to but it’s too late right now, and tomorrow…”
“It’s fine! Writers are all basically night owls! Wouldn’t it be better to share your feelings with
her?”
“Really, is that true? Then I’ll call…”
After Shido picked up his phone, Kotori shook her head in a panic.
“Hey! Wait a minute! Wait a minute before you call her! I’ll head out first!”
Kotori finished speaking in a tone that sounded more nervous than it should have been, then
rushed down the corridor.
“…?”
Shido finished off the remainder of his coffee suspiciously as he waited for a moment before he
began dialing.
Then, an energetic voice came from the speaker:
“Hey! Onii-chan? Did you find the short stories written this month interesting?”
“Hey… uh, how did you know that I wanted to talk to you about that? But yes, they’re all very
interesting.”
“Haha, is that so! I’m so happy! I’m very confident about the story that I wrote this time!”
She spoke from the bottom of her heart. Shido also smiled with his lips and walked down the
corridor to throw away the empty coffee can as he continued talking on the phone.
At that moment, Kobina seemed to remember something and then said:
“—Oh, Onii-chan, what about the reward of the kiss?”
“Huh?”
“What are you talking about? Didn’t you say that you would give me a kiss if I finished? Can I
kiss you from the other end of the phone?”
“Haha… Such a thing is really a… headache…?”
It was then—
Shido paused.
However, that sort of reaction, of course. Because as Shido made his way to the trash can next to
the vending machine and tossed out the empty can, he found that behind the trash can, her hair
tied with white ribbons and holding her phone, was Kotori.
“Okay, hurry up!”
She spoke in a cute and charming voice, speaking exactly as Shido heard from the phone
speaker.
“…E-Editor-in-chief?”
“Huh…?”
Shido spoke with a trembling voice, Kotori seemed to notice Shido’s presence.
After a moment’s silence.
“—! Y-You found me…!”
As she continued weeping, she changed the ribbons tied in her hair from white to black
(probably because she was so scared, she only managed to change one of the ribbons), as she
constantly hit Shido.
“Hey… that hurts, Shirai-sensei.”
“S-Sorry, Kohina…”
“…! I meant to call you my editor!”
“! No, I’m sorry…!”
Kotori lightly pounded her fists against Shido for a while before slumping to the ground.
“I-I’m done. If I told any of the other editors that the devil’s editor actually wrote that kind of
sweet novel, sending them such stupid words, would I even deserve to be human…?”
Her face stained with tears, she could face forward with her usual confident posture.
Yes, even after witnessing that shocking scene, it was still unbelievable… it seemed that the
editor-in-chief Itsuka Kotori and the author Shirai Kohina were actually the same person.
“E-Eh…”
Due to the sudden occurrence, Shido’s mind was reeling in confusion. Why was the
editor-in-chief also a writer? Why was she the editor-in-chief? Besides the pen name of
Shirai-sensei, he didn’t even know her name or address, among other things.
The only thing that he knew for certain was that Shido greatly respected the editor-in-chief,
Itsuka Kotori and the writer Shirai Kohina. And he knew that she was crying because she was
exposed for being found out.
“…”
Shido decided to clench his fist with determination, and straightened his posture and faced
Kotori.
“—Fortunately, I am your editor, Itsuka Shido, Shirai-sensei… No, Kohina.”
“…!”
After he spoke, Kotori’s shoulders shook as she raised her head tremblingly.
“S-Shido…?”
“Like I said before, I think that Kohina’s stories were the most exciting this month.”
“…You, do you despise me?”
“How could I despise you? If anything, I’m your number one fan!”
“…!”
Kotori took a deep breath and after a while, she took a deep breath and slowly stood up from her
place on the ground.
“…Thank you…”
“I should be thanking you, for always writing such a wonderful story.”
“…Yeah.”
Kotori nodded in embarrassment and glanced into Shido’s face.
“…Anyway, you’re not allowed to tell anyone about this.”
“Haha… I understand.”
After Shido answered with a smile, Kotori wiped her tears with the sleeve of her shirt and finally
broke into a fresh wave of laughter.
However, she immediately seemed to remember something and her cheeks flushed red again.
“…Everything that we said online or over the phone… that should also be kept secret.”
“On the phone?”
“…Like calling you “Onii-chan”, or whenever my emotions were running high… and any
mention of rewards or stuff like that…”
“Huh…”
Speaking of rewards, Shido felt his cheeks burn and then nodded hard and panicked.
“Ah, of course. I’ll keep it all a secret.”
“Hmm… I will forget everything tomorrow so keep treating me with the usual attitude.”
“G-Good.”
As Shido answered, Kotori silently glanced at her watch .
Then as though it was difficult to move the corners of his mouth into a smile, he raised his head
resolutely.
“…and then…”
“Yeah.”
“Are you really going to forget everything tomorrow?”
“Of course.”
“…There are five minutes left until tomorrow.”
“Eh—”
Shido listened to what Kotori said, his eyes widening.
However, just from looking at her expression and trembling fingertips, it was easy to figure out
her intentions.
“…!”
Shido took a deep breath to calm down and slowly raised his hand and grabbed Kotori’s
shoulder.
“…Kohina…”
After Shido called out that name, she stared at him awkwardly.
“…you shouldn’t call me that, it’s just a pen name.”
“So then… editor-in-chief?”
“Not that either!”
“…K-Kotori.”
“Yes…”
Kotori finally nodded in satisfaction and closed her eyes.
—In the editorial department that night, the kiss where two sets of lips met had the faintly bitter
taste of coffee.
Mukuro Geisha
“—Whoa!”
As soon as Itsuka Shido stepped into the town, he couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.
After passing through the beautiful gate, what expanded in front of him was a space completely
different from anything he’d seen before.
There were densely packed buildings on both sides of the avenue all had large glass
lattice-shaped windows and on the other side of the windows were several enchanting-looking
women. Every pedestrian looked at the women with a great deal of enthusiasm.
This is a kind of a strange place where everyone seemed to be indulging in the spring time
weather.
However, this was no surprise. Because Shido was here to enjoy the same thing—Tengu Palace:
a popular tourist attraction.
“Why are you so nervous all of a sudden?”
When Shido was intimidated by the atmosphere on the street, someone suddenly patted him on
the back.
It was a friend of Shido: Izayoi Miku. She was wearing a blue narrow-sleeved kimono much like
Shido. She also wore a dark outer gown, along with a reverse grip knife and a waist knife that
were almost never used.
“H-How could I be nervous?”
“Come on now. There’s no need to act so confident. Everyone is like this the first time through.”
After she finished speaking, Miku smiled mischievously. Shido pouted.
“Ah. There’s no need to get so angry, Darling. I was only joking.”
“I’m not angry… but more importantly: what exactly do you mean by ‘Darling’?”
“Huh? It’s just a nickname, and I’m sure it definitely means something like a beloved person.”
“…Really?”
Shido raised his arms with suspicion… but if he dug deeper, he felt he would find out why Miku
was dressed as a samurai as well so he ultimately decided to just accept it at face value.
“Don’t worry about that, let’s just get going. Darling is finally going to become a man—!”
“…Don’t shout things like that…!”
Shido blushed as he quickly covered Miku’s mouth. However, it seemed that they were
overheard by other bystanders. “Hahaha, come on, bro!” He wasn’t very happy with this show of
solidarity.
That’s right. Today, there was only one reason for them to be here today. He was both about to
turn seventeen and hadn’t experienced the touch of a woman yet. He’d been dragged here by
Miku.
If he were being honest, Shido himself had no interest in such things, but at the age of fifteen he
had come of age, and it was not uncommon at his age to have already started a family and been
raising a small child of his own.
“Okay, which place should we go to? It’s not a bad idea to go to the <Linen Beauty House>
where the three signature girls Ai, Mai, and Mii work, but it’s hard to look past the <Sunshine
House>. Ah, but considering that this is your first time, would a more mature woman be better?
Then the <Pearl House> is our best bet…”
Miku folded her fingers to determine the best course of action while showing a borderline
sinister smirk. Shido narrowed his eyes as sweat trailed down his cheeks.
“…You sure know your way around here.”
“Of course! 90% of people’s salaries end up being spent here! The bamboo sword is already
sheathed! This month, we have to rely on part-time jobs to make a living!”
“…”
In the face of Miku’s outspoken confidence, Shido couldn’t help but smile bitterly. She was
undoubtedly adventurous but somehow she still looked cool and it was really nerve-wracking.
As Shido and Miku continued to walk down the street while discussing such topics, they spotted
a group of people in front of them.
“Hmm…? What’s going on here?”
“Ah, it wouldn’t be…”
Miku seemed to notice something as her eyes went wide and she tugged on Shido’s hand and
pulled him forward into the crowd.
“H-Hey, what are you doing, Miku?”
“There’s no need to ask so many questions, you can see the wonderful sight right in front of
you.”
“A wonderful sight…”
Just after he uttered those words, Shido stopped dead.
As he made his way to the front of the crowd, he saw a young woman in a gorgeous kimono
decorated with flowers leading several other girls, slowly walking toward the middle of the street
with elegant movements.
There was a comb in her beautiful hair; every step she took showed her pure skin; The black
high-heeled clogs depict the lovely feet of the outside.
It was the legendary geisha. Everyone who saw her beauty was breathless and amazed by her.
“—”
Shido was no exception as he watched the geishas walk down the road with buildings on either
side. He looked at the side of the geisha’s face and in that moment, he thought that he’d seen
God.
Still, the geisha was young so it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that she was still new. However,
her majestic style and elegant appearance undoubtedly gave off the charm of being a princess.
But, for some reason, her expression as she walked down the road seemed a bit off to Shido.
It looked like the emotions reflected on her face and eyes were the opposite of her dress: she
seemed a little unhappy.
“Ah! I’m so lucky! I never expected to see Mukuro-san here today!”
At that moment, Miku screamed excitedly. Shido glanced at her.
“Mukuro-san…?”
“That’s right. She is a proud, peerless girl who belongs to the high end building <This Strip
House>. She has absolutely refused to pick up guests but still managed to make it to the top of
the house, creating a legend.”
“I-Is that possible?”
“Logically, it should be impossible. However, just look at her beautiful face and her majestic
twin peaks. I heard that there are several lords and big business owners who are attracted by
these assets and have dedicated a lot of money to her. Everyone has even taken to betting on who
could potentially capture the heart of Mukuro-san. It’s a real feast for the eyes, and I can see
good things for her!”
After finishing, Miku twisted her body in joy.
However, during that moment, Miku noticed that Shido was still staring at Mukuro, prompting
her to poke his cheek while saying:
“Ahh, what’s wrong with you, Darling? You wouldn’t happen to be fascinated by her, would
you?”
“That’s crazy…! Of course not!”
“Really? But don’t try to get close to her. It’s very easy to get attached. To even get to see her,
you have to visit the place where she works at least three times and spend enough money worth
two banquets, along with red envelopes and other presents. However, if the other party isn’t
interested, even if you do all of these things, you won’t even get a chance to get close to her…!”
Miku’s eyes were filled with tears as she clenched her trembling fists. It was obvious that she
was speaking from personal experience. Shido didn’t know how to respond to this beyond
showing a bitter smile.
“Anyway, a girl like her is out of the league of a poor warrior. I’m really sorry to have to say this,
but I would advise you to pursue a different girl. Rest assured that there are plenty of cute girls!”
“Oh, okay…”
Shido was overwhelmed by Miku’s vehement passion and couldn’t help but nod in agreement.
Still, it was like Miku said, that seemed to be the case. Moreover, he and Mukuro-san were from
entirely different worlds. It was better to realize this before he spent lots of money like Miku.
Just as Shido came to this realization, the sounds of a horse neighing and human screams
suddenly reached his ears.
“W-Whoa!”
“W-What’s the matter?!”
Shido was startled as he raised his head, he spotted an aggressive horse that looked like he’d
been whipped by someone, and was rushing down the street at a rapid pace.
Suddenly, everyone was frightened for their lives as the wall collapsed.
However, as the aggressive horse approached, Mukuro still remained motionless.
Was it because she was wearing those high wooden clogs that made it too hard to move? Or was
there another reason? Although he didn’t know why, he knew this would lead to a big disaster.
“Agh…!”
Shido didn’t need to think as his body already acted on its own. He kicked hard off the ground
and lunged toward Mukuro, pulling her toward him and out of the horse’s path as they landed on
the ground.
Then, the sound of the horse’s hooves galloping past them where Mukuro had been standing
moments prior. The horse galloped for a while, and by the time it slowed down, a male servant
grabbed the reins and managed to calm the horse down.
Probably after seeing this scene, there was a collective sigh of relief around them. Shido himself
also couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
“Whew… that was close…”
However, he felt his cheeks warm but at the same time felt a chill shoot down his spine.
This was hardly a surprise. After all, lying in Shido’s arms was the young woman who was
hailed as the pinnacle of womanhood in the city. Plus, they were hugging each other
inappropriately: her kimono was a mess, exposing a little of her plump twin peaks. On the whole,
this situation was a little too exciting for Shido.
“Princess!”
“Are you alright?!”
Some of Mukuro’s servants who’d been behind her, overcome with anxiety, rushed over to her
side. Several of them cast their gaze on Shido with the accusation “What do you think you’re
doing?” as he held her despite the situation qualifying as an emergency.
“N-Nothing, haha…”
Shido was quick to pull away from Mukuro’s body and raise his hands up to show that he had no
ill intentions.
So, probably aware of the situation, Mukuro, who was now back on her feet with her newly
arrived servants, opened her cherry-red lips for the first time.
“Do not be rude; he is Muku’s benefactor.”
“Y-Yes…!”
After Mukuro spoke, the rest of her entourage rearranged their postures.
“…”
There was a state of inexplicable tension as Mukuro circled around Shido for several seconds.
Once she was done, she suddenly uttered:
“—Nushi-sama, could you tell Muku your name?”
“Uh… well… my name is Itsuka Shido…”
“Hmm…”
Mukuro stared intently into Shido’s face once again before she continued:
“—Have you decided where you would like to visit?”
“N-No, not yet…”
“So patronize this building…”
With that, Mukuro led them all forward at a slow pace. They continued down the road for a
while, staring at Mukuro’s back.
“…Huh?”
Then he made a stunned noise.
“Oooh, Lord Samurai! I have heard all about it! It was said that there were a group of villains
who wanted to attack our princess! You saved her with your impressive swordsmanship! We’ve
been talking about it all around here.”
All Shido had done was rescue Mukuro from a wild horse rampaging down the road.
Shido and Miku were invited by Mukuro to come to the main building of the geisha building,
and the well-dressed attendant came to say hello in a respectful manner.
“Ah, uh, a villain…?”
To think something like this was so hotly discussed in the building was a surprise. The sweat on
his forehead and scratched his cheek earnestly.
However, the older attendant did not notice the confused look of Shido and continued
enthusiastically:
“Even in this prosperous world, I still shouldn’t forget to exercise! It is the code of a samurai! I
heard that you are quite skilled in martial arts from a young age, and you really look young and
have a great deal of potential! Please enjoy yourself today! Ah, sorry, I haven’t even introduced
myself. I am the owner of this building, Nia. I will be asking for many more pictures of you.”
“O-Oh…”
Shido felt strongly that he was being regarded as a really powerful man but the other party was
so aggressive that he could only answer vaguely.
“Come on. Escort the samurai lord to the room—huh?”
At that moment, Nia looked at Miku and narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“Is something wrong?”
“Huh… No, I just can’t help but think that your companion seems like a criminal wanted by the
government…”
“Wanted…?”
“Yeah. It seems like she was rejected by several other geishas but still pursued them stalwartly.”
“Eh!”
Miku’s shoulders trembled obviously, probably attempting to change her appearance by
deliberately making strange expressions.
After looking at Miku’s face for several moments, Nia tilted his head and said, “…Never mind,
the appearance of the wanted criminal does not look like her.”
“…Miku, you can stop now…”
“N-No, it’s a misunderstanding.”
Because she suddenly tilted her mouth aside, the ending became awkward.
…Never mind, there was no point in arguing here. Shido could only follow the lead of the
attendant without exposing her.
He continued to wait for a while in the room, he heard the slight rustle of clothes swinging in the
corridor, and noticed Mukuro dressed in a luxurious kimono immediately appeared before him.
“—”
Shido couldn’t help but stare silently at her.
After all, she lived here so it made sense that she would appear here… However, she was even
more beautiful, leaving Shido a stunned mess for a moment… But because Miku let out an
excited scream next to him, it gave him a chance to calm down immediately.
“—Shido, welcome.”
“Ah, um… after all, I was invited by the princess herself.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. Muku is just using you as an excuse to refuse the requests
from unwanted guests.”
Mukuro simply shrugged. “So that’s why she did this.” Shido smiled bitterly.
“…Incidentally, I feel like my heroic deeds seem to be seriously exaggerated. Apparently, I’m
proficient in 18 different types of martial arts, but I have never drawn a sword outside of
practice…”
“If it’s not exaggerated, how can you convince a stingy landlord to charge less for a service? Or,
Nushi-sama, are you rich enough to afford Muku for an hour?”
Mukuro said jokingly. Shido’s cheeks stiffened and lowered his head.
“…I’m in your care, then.”
“Mun…”
Mukuro nodded in satisfaction before gently clapping her hands and called toward the corridor:
“Yoshino. Natsumi.”
“Yes, sister.”
Two girls came in with a table where several luxurious dishes were placed. Shido remembered
them as the two girls who were behind Mukuro from before. They both were very cute, but one
of them was wearing a lovely looking doll on her left hand, while the other, who was apparently
a trainee girl, had a colder attitude.
However, Shido was in no position to comment about such things. He decided to simply enjoy
the drink with Mukuro and Miku.
“…Darling is 17 years old but he has no experience in this area. People think that’s a problem, so
I brought him here!”
“Oh? Is that right?”
“You don’t need to talk about such things…”
…Although the topic of conversation was a bit troublesome, everyone was nonetheless talking
and laughing together during that time.
Shido understood that the way he was being treated was not normal. Just like Miku said, it’s
normal as a geisha to encourage people to visit more often and she was known for outright
ignoring newcomers. It couldn’t be more surreal. Perhaps it was just a thank you after all; maybe
Mukuro wasn’t treating Shido as a customer at all.
However, this wasn’t a surprise. When it comes to geisha, as the name implied, they generally
worked in a brothel, so it would not be easy for people like Shido to become involved with them.
Moreover, Mukuro had rejected many lords and wealthy merchants in the past. It would be better
to treat today as a once in a lifetime opportunity and cherish the memories he made today.
As he thought about this situation, there was something that Shido couldn’t figure out still.
“Mukuro, can I ask you something?”
“What’s the matter?”
“Why didn’t you run away when that wild horse was rushing toward you before?”
“Mun…?”
After Shido asked the question, Mukuro’s eyebrows twitched.
“That’s a strange question. If you suddenly encountered that kind of situation, wouldn’t you be
too scared to move too?”
“W-Well, I suppose…”
After Shido scratched his cheek, he looked into Mukuro’s eyes and said:
“How should I say it, I had a feeling that you did not avoid it on purpose that time.”
“…Mun?’
After Mukuro’s eyes widened with interested, she exhaled gently and answered:
“Did it look that way? …Muku might have thought that if she’d been kicked in the face, she
would lose her value as a geisha.”
“W-Why would you have such an idea…”
Shido frowned in confusion. The princess was the highest-ranking geisha around, and most
geisha didn’t have a chance to reach her. Shido couldn’t believe for a moment that she would
intentionally want to injure her face, which was tantamount to being sealed forever.
Then, Mukuro suddenly looked out the window and stared into the distance.
“…Muku wants to see the starry sky…”
“A starry sky?”
Shido followed Mukuro’s gaze and looked out the window.
“You can see that sort of thing any time, right? You could look at it right now, couldn’t you?”
Mukuro listened to what Shido said and shook her head slowly.
“This is a cage, and even the sky has a fence around it. It’s true that if you don’t get enough to
eat and cover yourself, then you’ll die, but is it so ridiculous for birds to want to fly toward the
sky, even if it means that they could die tomorrow?”
“That…”
Mukuro continued to stare up at the sky outside the window. Shido looked at her profile and was
rendered speechless.
It’s true that geishas were indeed beautiful and could live a life of luxury, but most of those girls
were sold to pay off debts and couldn’t leave the town freely.
“Sorry, I…”
“…No, Muku should be the one apologizing, for talking about such a boring thing. Forget about
it. Rambling to a guest is not behavior fitting of a proper geisha.”
Mukuro said self-deprecatingly. Her expression was heartbreaking—Shido couldn’t forgive

himself for causing her to make such an expression, as he clenched his fists.
However, apologizing repeatedly wasn’t going to solve things. Shido instead shrugged playfully.
“Then it’s fine. Poor warriors who can’t afford the price can’t really be called a guest, can they?
No matter how much you want to ramble, or how much it might bore me, it won’t damage the
shop’s reputation. Feel free to express yourself in front of me.”
Shido finished speaking while Mukuro showed a stunned expression for a moment and then
began to laugh.
“Ahahahahahaha! That makes a lot of sense.”
She looked very mature while wearing her neutral expression. But when she started to laugh like
that, her face immediately turned into one of a cute girl. Shido couldn’t help but feel happy, but
also very guilty about the imprisonment of this young girl in what was just a pretty prison.
It wasn’t clear if Mukuro noticed Shido’s mentality. However, after a moment, she stared at
Shido’s face and sighed softly.
“—Say, Nushi-sama.”
“…What is it?”
“Muku wants to see you again. Because you listened to me ramble like this, Muku won’t charge
you any money. Please come listen to Muku talk about boring things again.”
“Huh…?”
Shido listened to what Mukuro said and his eyes widened—but he immediately understood what
she said, and nodded in agreement: “Okay.”
—Ever since that day, Shido had taken to patronizing this building.
Sometimes he came with Miku, and sometimes he came on his own. …Sometimes, he came
alone and discovered that Miku was already inside. …There was actually an incident where he
met Miku, having no idea what she’d done, as she was being chased around by one of the male
servants.
In short, even when he was ridiculed by his peers, Shido still came by every three days.
His goal, of course, was Mukuro.
That’s right. Every time Shido came to the shop, Mukuro honored her promise from their
banquet. No matter what guests were waiting, she always gave priority to Shido for a room.
It didn’t take long for rumors about Mukuro having a husband to start circulating the shop.
Incidentally, the so-called husband, in simple terms, was the lover of the girl. They’re a lover of
the girl who paid out of her own pocket to bring him into her room. …However, the relationship
between the two of them had none of the lust necessary to call them lovers.
“—Oh, Nushi-sama, you still bothered to return to listen to Muku rambling about boring things
tonight. What a strange person you are.”
“Yeah, well it’s better to fall asleep to boring complaints.”
“Haha, how dare you speak such things?”
They had lost track of how many times it had been, but they’d both grown used to joking with
each other, simply doing the same things they did when they first met: simply talking and
laughing with each other. They never talked about sharing a pillow or a bed or even touching
each other’s fingers.
Nonetheless, Shido enjoyed this time very much.
And—this could be Shido misunderstanding things—but it looked like Mukuro seemed to be

enjoying herself from the bottom of her heart.
So… was it true?
Although he tried his best to follow everyone’s advice to not fall in love with a geisha, Shido’s
feelings for Mukuro continued to increase with each passing day.
Every time he thought of Mukuro, he remembered what Mukuro told him the first time they met.
“…”
One night, Shido suddenly found himself looking up at the sky on his way home from that shop.
It was a cloudless starry sky. Of course, there were no barriers. But from Mukuro’s point of view,
there had to be a gate.
Geisha were forbidden from leaving, and even the highest-ranking geisha was no exception.
The perimeter was surrounded by trenches and the gate heavily guarded, similar to a prison.
“A starry sky…”
Shido stared up at the night sky and mumbled to himself.
—He wanted to try to give Mukuro a chance to see the real starry sky.
It didn’t take long for such a desire to emerge in Shido’s heart.
But he also knew that it wasn’t going to be easy to make it happen.
There were two ways for a girl to escape. One way was sneaking out; to run away. But as
previously noted, it wasn’t going to be easy to escape through the trenches and the guards. If they
were caught, they would likely end up getting severely punished for it. He couldn’t risk Mukuro
getting caught.
In light of that, there was only one other strategy to use.
That is—
“Redemption…?”
It was several days later when Shido visited again. After hearing about this from Shido, the
owner, Nia, frowned while wearing a puzzled expression.
“Ah, no, I’m just a little curious. If someone wanted to redeem a geisha like Mukuro, how much
silver would it cost?”
Shido asked this with a smile.
The so-called redemption means to pay off the debts of the geisha girl and get her out of the shop
entirely.
To put it simply, to pay a lot of money and make her a bride. This was the only legal way for a
geisha to be able to leave.
However, a geisha was a golden rooster and the amount needed for redemption would be very
large. Nia whispered as she put a hand on her chin:
“Well I haven’t had Mukuro in this business for very long—I would have to charge 32,000 for it
to be worthwhile.”
“3-32,000?!”
“Yes. If we convert it to modern currency, it will be 120 million yen…!” Nia whispered again.
…Such was the challenge in front of him.
It was quickly determined that it was such an amount that Shido couldn’t raise quickly. His
expression was stunned before turning downcast.
“What’s the matter, Boy? You weren’t really planning to save Mukuro yourself, were you?”
“N-No… ahaha…”
Shido smiled weakly and Nia raised the corners of her mouth into a smile.
“—However, I don’t know if it’s for you or for someone else, but if it’s Boy that Mukuro favors,
then it’s another matter. According to the conditions, the price can be cheaper for you… No, it
may even be that you won’t have to pay any money at all.”
“What…!”
Shido’s eyes widened when he heard those unexpected words.
It was simply crazy for anyone to give away their most valuable geisha for free. It made him
more concerned about what the so-called “conditions” of Nia’s are.
“Y-You mentioned a condition before. What is it…?”
“Hey, hey, it shouldn’t be a difficult task… at least for a samurai with superb swordsmanship.
Boy is truly young and beautiful.”
“…? W-What are you talking about?”
For a moment, Shido thought that she was talking about his supposed proficiency in eighteen
different martial arts and talent for beating villains.
However—that wasn’t the case. Nia continued to gaze at Shido’s face and figure and then said
something surprising.
“Actually, I plan to open a specialty geisha store “Yamato Boys” and I’m looking for a signature
male geisha there.
“Wh-What!”
Shido couldn’t help but make an alarmed sound at Nia’s declaration.
But this wasn’t a surprise, of course. After all, this simply meant sex between men and the
meaning was two men acting in harmoney.
In other words, Nia planned to make Shido work as a male prostitute.
“No, no, no! What are you talking about! How can this make money!”
“You’re wrong! You can earn money like this! In fact, there were some visiting officials in my
shop who saw you, Boy, and said to me: “Can’t you tell me that boy’s name?” …Moreover, what
we do in this business will satisfy a wide range of customers? How about it? Are you interested?
Let me start a revolution in this industry, Boy!”
“Why did you change your tone halfway through?”
Shido shouted so much as he managed to pull away from Nia who’d started to hug him tightly.
“Oh, are you not satisfied with this condition?”
“Of course I’m not! …Even if this could be used to redeem a geisha like Mukuro, it’s still a
broken condition. If I can’t leave, then won’t it basically be throwing Mukuro out on her own?”
That’s right. For Mukuro who had spent her entire life here, the outside world would be very
different ,and it would be too difficult to live on her own. Although Mukuro said that she wanted
to fly into the sky even if it meant her death, Shido didn’t want to let Mukuro die.
Then, Nia laughed and said:
“Okay, okay, let me finish talking, Boy. When did I say I would exchange you with Mukuro?”
“…? What do you want?”
Shido asked suspiciously. Nia laughed evilly.
“──Would you like to gamble with me?”
“Gamble…”
“Yes. Don’t look at me like that, I actually love gambling. We’ll play banquet games; the winner
is best two out of three games. If you win, I will set Mukuro free. If I win, you will have to come
in and work in my shop… They’re good conditions—but the premise is that you have to defeat
the trio of geishas that are the pride and joy of this store alone!”
Nia laughed loudly. There was sweat trailing down Shido’s cheeks.
The so-called geisha, as the name implied, were women with skill; they were women who were
good at singing and dancing during a banquet.
“…”
Shido licked his lips without saying a word… he finally understood while Nia proposed such a
condition in the first place. She must be quite confident in the skills of the geisha trio.
But Shido thought for a moment, an ordinary warrior like him, there was no way he was going to
be able to earn 32,000 silver pieces. If he wanted to get Mukuro out of this cage, he had to accept
the game with a clear understanding of the risks involved. But did Shido have a way to handle
three geishas on his own?
At that moment:
“—I’ve heard enough!”
The voice came from behind him. Shido turned around to see the figure of Miku. Her hair was a
mess, and she was panting as though she was being chased by someone.
“Miku!”
“Hi, Darling!”
“…What did you do this time?”
“Eh? Don’t ask such things! It’s rare for someone to appear so bravely like that, so don’t worry
about me!”
Miku showed a determined expression.
“In other words, I also have to participate in that game! Against the well-known trio of geishas!
Even if it’s Darling, it’s too dangerous to face them alone!”
“You, are you serious? Miku…!”
After hearing what Miku said, Shido’s eyes widened. So Miku suddenly flashed a confident
thumbs up.
Although this action doesn’t exactly conform to societal norms, he could feel that he could rely
on her nonetheless.
“Leave it to me! I have much more experience playing banquet games than you have ever had
eating! They often play the banquet games before they go back to their homes; it was really sad.”
“T-This…”
“So when Darling wins, let me touch Mukuro’s chest!”
“It turns out this was your intention all along!”
Shido couldn’t help but shout as he unsheathed his sword to wave toward Miku’s head.
“That hurts! Yes, but what does it matter if it’s just to touch her chest?”
“Don’t make a fuss! Besides, this isn’t something that I can decide myself! It has to depend on
what Mukuro thinks—”
“—No problem.”
“Huh…?”
A voice could be heard from the second floor. Shido, Miku, and even Nia raised their heads in
dumbfounded surprise.
They didn’t know when she’d arrived but they all spotted Mukuro stepping on the stairs
leisurely, staring down at the commotion.
“Mukuro!”
“Mun. Muku was wondering why you were here so late and so I came to check on the situation. I
didn’t expect that things would develop in such an interesting way—Muku also wants to
participate. Understand, Nia?”
“What… N-No! Mukuro is the chief geisha of our shop…!”
“Understand?”
Mukuro’s eyes narrowed dangerously as she repeated herself. The creepy sight made Nia’s
shoulders shake slightly.
“Anyway! You won’t win against the trio! Do you understand, Boy? If you lose, you have to
come to my shop and work in order to pay off the redemption fee!”
Nia pointed at Shido as she said so.
Faced with this series of events, Shido was thrown into a state of complete shock, but since
things have reached this point, how could he shy away from the challenge?
“…Okay! I’ll show you how it’s done!”
Although his heart was racing, Shido nodded his head firmly.
—At the time of the game.
The three people that made up Shido’s team were escorted to a wider room than usual, while
waiting for the arrival of the geisha trio.
Currently it was only Shido and his partners in the room but they could hear noises from all
around them. It was no wonder that there were several escorts and geishas gathered in the
hallway, all peeping through a gap between the screen and sliding door to see the situation inside.
While it was common to bet on the outcome, geisha and warriors who were proficient in all
kinds of martial arts (according to rumors) also bet on their bodies… Shido was worried whether
his ‘heroic deeds’ would lead to another problem.
“Mun…”
At that moment, Shido’s eyebrows twitched suddenly.
The reason was simple. This was because Mukuro, who’d been sitting by Shido, gripped Shido’s
sleeve tightly.
“Nushi-sama, Muku is really sorry that I got you involved in such an inexplicable game.”
“What are you talking about? This was my own decision, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
Mukuro said with a guilty look. Shido held her hands in his own so that she would at least feel at
ease.
Then, the surrounding noise just got much louder. The sliding door slid open and the figure of
the landlord, Nia, appeared.
“I’ve kept you waiting for a while! …Have you already said your goodbyes?”
“…”
Mukuro glared at her without a word before strengthening her grip on Shido’s sleeve.
Nia showed a fearful expression to Mukuro for a moment, but quickly shook her head and hid it.
“Hmph! You’re a really cute boy! Forget it. Let’s just determine the victor quickly. No matter
who wins or loses, there will be no hard feelings! Everyone present here has borne witness, do
you understand?”
After she finished talking, multiple voices from the wandering girls who’d peeped into the room
answered, “Yes!” Likewise, Shido, Miku, and Mukuro nodded in response.
Nia raised the corner of her mouth with satisfaction, facing in the direction that she had just
entered from.
“—Master! Sorry to trouble you!”
She then called out loudly with an attitude akin to calling a bodyguard.
Then, the sliding door opened again, and a girl whose dark hair was combed back neatly walked
into the room quietly.
Mukuro spotted her and her eyebrows twitched.
“…That’s Tohka. She’s a tough one.”
“Do you know her?”
“Mun. She’s a geisha I’m familiar with. That is to say—the first round is <Toratora>?”
“You guessed correctly.”
Nia raised her arms proudly as she replied. Shido tilted his head slightly.
“<Toratora>?”
“Verily. The two teams stand across the screen and make an action of holding a spear, walking on
all fours, or walking with crutches to make a fist. These three roles represent the general, the
tiger, and the old woman respectively. The general is stronger than the tiger, the tiger is stronger
than the old woman, and the old woman is stronger than the general.”
“…Wait, so that means…”
“So, it’s simply a guessing game!”
MIku laughed but Shido nodded his understanding.
Originally, Shido was worried about what he would do if the winning conditions were
complicated but if it was a banquet game, even a beginner could easily learn it. If they did things
right, there should be a chance to win.
However, contrary to Shido’s thinking, Mukuro still held a serious expression and sweat trailed
down her cheeks.
“…This is too heavy a burden for Miku or Nushi-sama. In this game, the geisha will come out to
fight.”
“Huh?” This is not your work. Please do n ot take m

ine, with credit or otherwise.Thanks.
“Do not underestimate her just because the game may be simple… she will surely see through
the attacks of the other party with the raw instincts of an animal, which is a <tiger> that only a
geisha can counter.”
Mukuro said so as she stood up, the sleeves of the kimono flew out.
At the same time, the geisha known as Tohka smiled happily.
“Well, I am qualified to play against Mukuro. Come on!”
So, the battle began in earnest.
Mukuro and Tohka stood on either side of the screen and the surrounding onlookers clapped their
hands at the same time while they sang songs.
“W-What is this?”
“Darling, bring your hands together.”
Faced with this unexpected situation, Shido was caught by surprise, but at Miku’s urging and
despite the confusion, he clapped his hands together just like everyone else.
However, it made more sense after thinking about it carefully. This was a bet on geisha, but
before that, it was still a banquet game and not a casino; there was no need for a murderous
atmosphere.
“Tiger old, tiger, old, tiger, tiger!”
Cooperating with the songs that the girls were singing, Mukuro and Tohka both made their own
actions and were revealed from behind the screen.
Mukuro’s action was the general with a spear.
Tohka’s was a tiger walking on all fours.
—Mukuro won.
“Whoa…!”
“Mun!”
Mukuro clenched her fists while Tohka gritted her teeth in regret.
However, the anticipation of the outcome seemed more fierce than expected. The victorious
Mukuro’s forehead had burst out with a lot of fighting sweat.
“Amazing, Mukuro!”
“Mun… However, the next geisha is worrying. Since she brought Tohka, that means…”
Mukuro explained while Nia let out an angry cry.
“Hmph… That was nothing! You’re going to regret using your strongest trump card in Mukuro
in the first game! Next!”
“Coming.”
Then came a geisha who looked like a doll and an expression that was unreadable. Mukuro
looked sad when she saw her.
“Mun… it really was Origami.”
“I haven’t seen you in such a long time. Although the destruction of Mukuro’s redemption makes
me uneasy, work is work.”
“And—” The geisha known as Origami glanced at Shido.
“Nia, I want to confirm. If he enters your shop, can I also name him?”
“Oh? It turns out that this was a blind spot… maybe you can consider tapping into the needs of
our female customers.”
“I will go all out.”
Origami’s eyes seemed to shine like a flame of determined fighting spirit. The unusual passion
present in her gaze made everyone around her retreat a little.
However, there was a shadow blocking her now as though to protect Shido—it was Miku.
“Miku!”
“Leave this game to me, Darling! Even if you wish to name Darling, I will never let you do such
an enviable… immoral thing! Come on!”
Finally, Miku pointed aggressively at Origami. Shido felt that Miku had just said something
dangerous but decided not to take it seriously.
“So, let’s use <Ohirakisan> to decide the outcome.”
“Oh…? How interesting! Let me show you my softness!”
After hearing Origami’s proposal, Miku replied confidently while Shido frowned slightly and
asked Mukuro in a low voice.
“Mukuro, what’s <Ohirakisan>?”
“Mun. It’s a guessing game between them with the loser having to gradually spread their legs.
The first one who can’t hold it and falls loses.”
After listening to Mukuro’s explanation, Shido replied: “So it’s like this.” This seemed to be
another simple and straightforward game that seemed esoteric.
“Okay, let’s get started, then!”
“Bring it on.”
Miku stood face-to-face with Origami and lifted her clothes slightly. So just like before, the girls
around them began to sing with their hands together.
“Ohirakisan again, yo yo yo yo!”
“Come on!”
“…!”
Miku and Origami cooperated with the shouting with each reaching their hands forward.
Miku chose paper; Origami chose scissors. Origami won.
Having said that, it was different from <Toratora> before and just one guess would not determine
the match’s outcome. However, Miku smiled broadly and spread out her legs a little.
“It’s yours. However, the fun part is only just getting started!”
Then, the shouting between them started again, and the two kept guessing.
Origami, Miku, Miku, Origami—the legs of the two continued to spread out wider and wider as
they won or lost. It was both an offensive and defensive game at the same time and it was
possible for either side to win.
But… perhaps during the eighth battle, Miku’s behavior changed.
“…”
Her eyebrows were furrowed and her posture moved lower and lower.
Shido thought that she wouldn’t be able to hold her posture but with further inspection, it looked
a little wrong. Rather than falling down, it was more accurate to say that she was trying to get a
peek at Origami’s crotch while her legs were wide open.
“…Miku?”
“Huh…!”
After Shido called out Miku’s name, Miku seemed to have recovered, her shoulders started to
tremble a little—but her posture was out of balance and she quickly fell onto the tatami mat.
“That hurt!”
Miku pressed her nose and raised her head with tears in her eyes.
“T-That’s cheating! To be able to swindle me with that sexy pose! I want to protest this!”
“…”
After protesting for a bit, Miku probably noticed the cold gazes of both Shido and Mukuro and
soon cried as she apologized: “…Ah, I’m sorry…”
They were tied with one victory and one defeat each. Nia laughed happily.
“Mwahahahaha! It seems the only dangerous one over there is Mukuro! Master, if you please!”
“—Assumption. It’s wrapped around the string.”
The last assassin responded to Nia’s call and made a grand entrance.
Her hair was neatly combed and she wore gorgeous looking clothes. She was a beautiful girl no
less so than the first two. Someow, there was a young girl who looked exactly like her.
“…Agh, I can’t accept this. Why do I have to be the follower?”
“Explanation. Because Kaguya lost to Yuzuru in a private game. Incidentally, the way to win was
more than <Ohirakisan>. Kaguya guessed that we would win the <Toratora>.”
“It isn’t necessary to talk about this now!”
The servant girl named Kaguya wailed loudly… he felt that the world of a geisha was not easy to
handle.
However, he couldn’t relax. After all, this girl called Yuzuru was a geisha who was serving as the
final challenge. Shido swallowed nervously and stood up.
“Nushi-sama…”
Mukuro looked up at Shido’s face with an anxious expression. Shido took a long breath in as he
stroked Mukuro’s head.
“Don’t worry.”
He said as he moved to stand in front of Yuzuru. Yuzuru smiled gracefully with her mouth
covered.
“Smile. You have guts. Have you ever faced my ‘Twirling Fans’?”
“Twirling Fans?”
“Acknowledgement. The target is the pitching fan standing on the tung box based on whoever
manages the closest bid. However, it’s not just a matter of throwing the winning bid but also the
score based on the shape of the base, and the fan’s condition after each throw.”
After listening to the instructions of this game. Shido couldn’t help but look alarmed.
“Hey! What kind of skill is this?! Weren’t all the games before now all a matter of guessing…?”
“Unbelievable. Yuzuru can’t understand this man’s words. In short, let’s just get started.
Normally, we would roll a die to decide who goes first, but since you haven’t played this game
before, allow Yuzuru to start.”
Kaguya spread the felt on the tatami and began to prepare the target.
Yuzuru spread the fan on the edge of the felt, and Kaguya sat down next to the target.
“—Now, begin!”
“Throwing. Watch me!”
Yuzuru hurled the fan horizontally at Kaguya’s call.
Yuzuru’s fan hit the target accurately and directly covered the target.
“—Yuzuru, Eight points.”
Kaguya judged the shape and announced the score.
“Sigh. It was only eight points. I’ll hand things over to you, Shido.”
After she finished speaking, Yuzuru handed the fan to Shido.
Although the rules of the game were still unclear to him, he decided to put the matter aside for
now. He resolutely positioned himself and threw the fan.
…However, reality was cruel.
“—Scatterer of flower petals. Zero points.”
“Ugh…!”
Zero points. That is, there was nothing to score. In a flash, Shido thought that he just didn’t
understand the rules so he casually reported the score… However, with a glance at Mukuro and
Miku’s worried faces, it was easy to guess that Shido had done a terrible job with his throw.
Of course, only one attempt wasn’t going to determine the outcome. It was too early to give up.
But the gap in skill was obvious. After two or three attempts at throwing the fans, the gap only
seemed to widen. Not only that, but when he threw the fan the sixth time, it seemed that Yuzuru
had thrown the fan off balance.
“—Exhale. Scream!”
Yuzuru breathed out and the fan flew like a knife, hitting the target accurately.
“What… what just happened?”
Manipulating the wind… such a thing was impossible for human beings to accomplish, but what
other explanation was there besides manipulating the wind just now? Shido couldn’t help but
make an alarmed noise… Incidentally, when Shido attempted to imitate her, the fan did not move
like hers had done.
—Then Yuzuru cast the final fan.
“It must be ten points.”
Yuzuru totaled 120 points.
Shido’s score is… 36 points.
Although there was still one last attempt left, the difference in scores was wide. Shido felt dizzy
and almost lost his balance.
At that moment, a small hand rested on the Shido’s hand that held the fan.
“…! Mukuro…”
“Mun… worry not, Nushi-sama.”
Mukuro gazed into Shido’s eyes and nodded.
It was clear that her expression showed her tension, fear—and the trust and gratitude to Shido
that was in equal measure to those emotions.
“Relax. Even if this attempt fails, Muku shall not let Nushi-sama fall to the same fate. If the
landlord’s goal is to make money, then… Muku will take on more guests. In this way, it can
become fully subsidized.”
“What…! Mukuro, what are you trying to say…”
“Muku… is very happy that Nushi-sama wanted and tried to do this for Muku. Thanks to you,
Muku’s boring life has become colorful. I got to meet Nushi-sama, and I’m satisfied.”
“…!”
After listening to what Mukuro said, Shido’s breath caught in his throat.
What she said made Shido tremble even worse, and he was ashamed of making her say it in the
first place.
Shido readjusted his breathing and corrected his posture. There was no doubt that he was at a
disadvantage, but no matter how this played out, he couldn’t let Mukuro—the woman he’d come
to like—end up paying the price.
“…After hearing this kind of thing, I have to hit the target.”
“Nushi-sama…”
“Mukuro.”
Shido and Mukuro exchanged a look with each other and nodded in unison—the two set the fan
flat.
“—!”
They concentrated on their fingertips and threw it.
Everyone watched as the fan cut through the air, knocking the target down and then directly
covered the target when it hit the ground.
“Ah.”
He remembered this shape as the one that Yuzuru initially showed that scored eight points. Of
course, it was impossible to defeat such an obstacle.
However, the next moment.
—Hoo?”
After the sound of a soft exhalation came, the fan thrown by Shido immediately flipped in the
air, forming the shape of a bridge with the base.
“A dream boardwalk. A hundred points…!”
Kaguya saw the shape and announced the score.
The situation was reversed all at once, and Shido managed to score a super high score. Shido was
dumbfounded and the wandering girls let out exclamations of surprise.
“Nushi-sama…!”
“Darling!”
Mukuro held onto Shido’s hand while Miku hugged him from behind. Shido finally felt refreshed
after feeling their touch.
He quickly glanced at Yuzuru.
“Y-Yuzuru… You just blew it.”
“Ignore. Yuzuru can’t understand what you are talking about-—Yuzuru just witnessed the sweet
love story staged in front of her eyes. I couldn’t help but sigh.”
“Yuzuru…”
After Shido called out her name, Yuzuru smiled as she faced Nia and bowed her head.
“—Apology. I’m sorry, because of Yuzuru’s lack of power, I lost the battle—but in front of so
many people, you wouldn’t go back on your word?”
“Hmm…!”
Yuzuru said while Nia growled unpleasantly.
“…Hmph! Anyway, everyone! I’m a businesswoman first. I’m not going to deliberately make
things more difficult as a result of the outcome!”
After listening to what Nia said, the girl’s excited emotions rose even higher than before.
So, in a cheer, Tohka walked slowly toward Mukuro and said softly:
“Mukuro.”
“Mun. What is it, Tohka?”
“First of all, congratulations… but please don’t think too badly of Nia. If she were really a bad
person, she wouldn’t have ever proposed a gamble for your freedom in the first place.”
“Yeah…”
Mukuro listened to what Tohka said and approached Nia.
“Nia… you took good care of me in the past. Thank you.”
After Mukuro finished talking, Nia’s eyes were filled with tears… but she quickly turned her
head away.
“Hmph…! Save your words. You heard what I said! The landlords of these shops are all old
bastards with no virtues, bad guys with no remorse or tears! I hate people who can’t make money
on their own! Where are they going to go?”
Nia yelled and made a motion as though to shoo them out of the shop.
Shido and Mukuro had a quiet ceremony together as they left Nia’s shop under everyone’s watch.
One night:
Shido and Mukuro laid on a field as they gazed up at the night sky.
Shido was dressed the same as usual but Mukuro’s outfit was very different from how she used
to dress.
For one, her hair that used to require a lot of time and effort to straighten, was now only tied up
at her wish, and the gorgeous kimono she used to wear was now replaced with the clothes
previously owned by Shido’s mother.
However, this wasn’t a surprise. Although he wasn’t poor, Shido was just a samurai. As a result,
it was impossible for Mukuro to live the kind of life that she had before.
“Mukuro, do you regret it?”
These thoughts plagued Shido’s mind as he asked the question. After all, he had been the one to
propose redeeming Mukuro in the first place.
“Mun? What is Nushi-sama talking about?”
Mukuro tilted her head in confusion.
“I mean… with me, you won’t be able to live the luxurious lifestyle you had before…”
Shido explained vaguely. Mukuro, in response, flicked his nose with her hand.
“That hurt!”
“What happened to you today? Do you think that being a geisha comes with no hardship?”
“Ah, no…”
“Muku doesn’t need a beautiful kimono nor a scrumptious meal. As long as Muku can have
Nushi-sama, and that you can look out at the stars with me, Muku shall be content.”
“Mukuro…”
Shido wiped the tears that were coming out of his eyes. Mukuro seemed to think of something
and put a hand on her chin in thought.
“By the way, Muku feels as though she has forgotten something… Did Miku ever find out what
would happen if she won the game?”
Shido’s cheeks were trailing with sweat. After that, Miku had been discovered by several male
servants of other stores and promptly fled the area.
“Well, I’ll mention it next time.”
Shido replied with a wry smile as he cleared his throat gently and changed his tone.
“Also… there’s something I want to ask you.”
“Mun?”
After a moment’s thought, Shido seemed to make up his mind as he pulled a hairpin from the
sleeve of his shirt.
“Mukuro, please… will you stay with me?”
“…!”
After hearing what Shido said, Mukuro’s eyes widened in surprise—
“The starry sky that Muku was longing for was in front of me this whole time… Isn’t this just
convincing Muku that the only Nushi-sama is you?”
“! Then…”
Shido said here, Mukuro hugged his shoulder tightly to interrupt him.
“Muku also loves you the most.”
After saying that, Mukuro pressed her lips to Shido’s in a searing kiss.
Shiori Spirit
“…What?”
Itsuka Shido half-consciously made a stunned noise from his throat.
It was better to say it took a moment for him to recognize it as his own voice. It felt more like his
body was being separated from his spirit and watching over him from above.
His reaction was understandable, after all. The situation that was expanding all around Shido was
truly inexplicable.
“…”
Shido tried his best to maintain his composure. He first put a hand on his chest and took a deep
breath while confirming what had happened to him just now.
—Several minutes ago, when Shido was in class at school, a spacequake alarm sounded.
In other words, a new Spirit had just appeared. Shido tried to avoid drawing the attention of his
classmates as he secretly left the school and made his way toward the airship <Fraxinus>.
So far, there are no problems. Protecting the Spirits in a peaceful manner is <Ratatoskr>’s
purpose and Shido’s mission.
Regardless, as usual, Shido put on the headset and was promptly transported to the scene where
the Spirit appeared, standing while staring at the street ruined by the spatial quake.
But then he spotted the Spirit who had just appeared.
—A girl stood at the center of the explosion.
She wore a headdress made of spiritual power decorated with many shining ruffles. Her astral
dress was cute and resembled that of a maid.
The wind blew her hair back and revealed neutral facial features. But that didn’t mean she lacked
softness or rigidity. Rather, it seemed to exude a youthful slender style.
The best comparison that could be made about this girl was an uncanny resemblance.
Rather, it should be said that this Spirit—
“—She looks just like me!”
When he caught sight of her, Shido couldn’t help but shout this out.
Exactly: the Spirit standing in front of Shido, down to the smallest details, looked exactly like
Shido. Well, to be more precise, she looked like Shido if he’d dressed up in women’s
clothing—it was like she was carved out of a mold.
“…!”
She’s probably frightened by Shido’s voice and the Spirit’s shoulders shook in alarm. At the
same time, the headset he wore on his right ear sounded the rebuke:
“Hey, Shido, why are you yelling all of a sudden? You’ll scare the Spirit if you yell!” A familiar
voice snapped in his ear. It was Shido’s little sister, and the commander of <Ratatoskr>, Itsuka
Kotori. She was monitoring Shido and the Spirit from the airship <Fraxinus> floating some
distance away.
“But Kotori, don’t you think this is strange? That Spirit is obviously me!”
“…What? What stupid words are you using, Shido? Since when did you become a girl?”
Kotori asked with a confused expression. It didn’t seem that she was joking. She really didn’t
understand what Shido was talking about.
“…No, take a closer look. It’s certainly not 100% exactly the same as Shido.”
It should go without saying that the body curve underneath the clothing is obviously not the
skeleton of a man, but rather a girlish skeleton, with a little roundness. In that regard, Kotori was
right. However, leaving that aside, the girl looked “too much like Shido”. It was like looking into
a mirror. Even now, Shido felt dizzy just thinking about it.
“Hey, Shido, what happened to you just now? You’re really acting weird today.”
Just as Shido was trying to deal with the many questions swirling in his head, from the headset,
he could hear Kotori’s voice call out to him uneasily.
It seemed that he’d been silent for longer than intended. Shido raised his head and slapped his
cheeks to rejuvenate himself.
While the other party did look a lot like him, the fact remained that she was still a Spirit
regardless of her appearance. It is often said that there are three people in the world who look
identical to each other, so maybe there were Spirits that just happened to look like Shido…?
“Yeah, sorry. I was just a little confused for a bit.”
“Never mind that now. Her code name is <Avatar>.”
“Ugh, now you’re just asking for it!”
“What are you getting so worked up about? Anyway, get moving. Make contact with her
carefully!”
“…”
Although he struggled to keep his thoughts under control, he adjusted his breath and resolutely
walked toward the Spirit.
“—Hi, hello.”
“…Ah, hello.”
After Shido spoke out to her, the girl nodded her head gently and answered in kind.
Her voice was female, which made Shido feel much better. However, he immediately realized
that the Spirit’s voice sounded exactly the same as his when he used the voice changer when he
was dressed as a woman. He could feel sweat trail down his cheeks and then said:
“My name is Itsuka Shido. I’m not here to hurt you. Would you be willing to listen to me for a
bit?”
Shido tried to keep his composure as he asked. So the girl nodded and answered:
“Ah… yes, of course. My name is Shiori. Please take good care of me—”
“—Hey, it really is me!”
“…!”
After hearing the girl’s name, Shido let out another shout in surprise.
However, this wasn’t a surprise, of course. After all, her name was “Shiori”, which was the exact
same as the name Shido used when he was dressed as a woman.
“Shido! What’s gotten into you?!”
“What…?”
After hearing Kotori’s outburst, Shido’s shoulders shook slightly. He did his best to calm down
and spoke again.
“Ah, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“N-No… it’s okay.”
After Shido scratched his cheek and apologized, the girl—Shiori, made the exact same action as
him. Even if Shido surprised her twice like this, the result was the same reaction. A Spirit with
such a calm personality was very unusual.
“So, what were you going to tell me?”
Shiori tilted her head as she asked. At the same time, the headset transmitted Kotori’s voice.
“Her values are all very stable. This is the first time we’ve encountered such a calm Spirit—this
is very good. Just be open and tell her our intentions.”
Shido tapped the earpiece to indicate his understanding and then faced Shiori.
“Uh, I actually belong to the organization <Ratatoskr>, working to protect the Spirits. Have you
ever been attacked when you came to this world? By the AST or DEM or uh… in short…”
“Ah yes…I understand this part.”
“R-Right. Anyway, we want to protect you from those people. <Ratatoskr> will help you prepare
your household registration and residence. If you’d let me seal your Spirit powers, you can live a
peaceful life as an ordinary person… would you be interested?”
Shido met Shiori’s gaze to observe her reaction. Shiori made some distressed sounds and
considered the question.
“W-Well…”
“I can understand if you feel uneasy about your Spirit powers being sealed but—”
“Ah, no, that’s not what I’m worried about.”
“What?”
Shido’s eyes widened and Shiori scratched her cheek awkwardly.
“The power of sealing itself isn’t a problem. I’m very grateful for this because I don’t want to
fight anyone. But about the method of sealing…”
“Huh?”
After Shiori finished speaking, Shido couldn’t help but make a similarly distressed sound. Shiori
continued:
“Um, after all, can you imagine it? Letting me fall in love with you and then kissing…”
The way to seal a Spirit’s powers is indeed to increase the Spirit’s goodwill by taking her out on
a date and then to kiss her. Shido hadn’t explained it to her yet but Shiori’s tone indicated that
she already knew it.
“You… how do you even know about this kind of thing…?”
“Huh? Ah…”
After Shido asked the question in wonder, Shiori’s gaze wandered briefly and she smiled
deliberately:
“Actually, the Angel I have can read people’s hearts… does that make sense?”
“Oh…”
What Shiori said wasn’t unreasonable. From her perspective, it was a sudden appearance of a
human who looked exactly like her saying, “Come on, open yourself up to me! Let me kiss you!”
In this case, it’s not difficult to imagine how serious her psychological hurdles would be.
Even so, there was still no other way to seal a Spirit’s power. During this period, in order to
capture her, wizards from the AST or DEM industries—.
“Shido—”
As Shido was thinking about such a thing, he heard Kotori’s cry suddenly vibrate in his
eardrums.
The next moment, a deafening explosion echoed around them.
“Whoa!”
“Ah…”
Shido and Shiori made a startled sound while staring up at the sky and spotted countless shadows
floating above them.
They were twisted bodies made of inorganic materials with long limbs and sharp claws. There
were no emotions in their photographic eyes as they stared fiercely at Shiori.
The group of black shadows glaring down at them are DEM Industries’ robot the
<Bandersnatch>. Their main goal was to either kill or capture Shiori.
“Huh…? <Bandersnatches>…!”
If they were members of the AST, they might notice Shido, identify him as a civilian, and stop
the attack. However, because they were up against the <Bandersnatches>, they couldn’t hope for
such kindness from them.
On the other hand, it also means that even if they destroyed them, no one would have to die as a
result. Although his body would have to carry that burden, nowadays, Shido has since sealed the
powers of many Spirits, so it wasn’t like he didn’t have a way to fight against them. He clenched
his fists and glared at the bandersnatches.
However, Shido didn’t manifest an Angel—because Shiori seemed to make the first move to
protect Shido as she quickly moved forward.
“Shiori—?”
After Shido called out her name, Shiori raised a hand as if to express “leave it to me”.
“Ah, it’s true. When someone is there…”
She then stared angrily at the <Bandersnatches> while glancing at Shidao.
“… It’s dangerous. You first must get down on the spot, then cover your eyes and ears. Do you
understand? You absolutely must cover them.”
“Huh?”
Hearing such inexplicable instructions, Shido was dumbfounded. But Shiori didn’t wait for a
response before she kicked off the ground and flew to the sky, and the skirt of the astral dress
fluttered with the wind.
“<Ultimate Maid—Silky>!”
She raised her right hand, and an Angel appeared in her hand. The design of the Angel is like
dividing a feather duster and magic wand in two.
Shiori’s cheeks burned a bright red in embarrassment before shouting:
“Shine it! The ultimate maid star shining love attack ──────!”
The Angel in Shiori’s hand unfolded like a toy, shining and emitting a heart-shaped light wave
from it.
It was similar to the most powerful skill used by the heroine in anime that girls love to watch…
Although it is totally irrelevant, if Shido had been born a girl instead of a boy, there was no doubt
she would have been fascinated by heroine anime rather than action manga and invented this sort
of self-made nirvana to practice. …Her Angel is something that reminds him of such things. In
any case, Shido suddenly felt his back turn cold.
However, regardless of the design, the power was genuine, which is completely opposite of it’s
dreamy appearance. The bursting heart-shaped light wave pierced through the <Bandersnatch>’s
hard body, completely destroying it and then promptly exploded.
A few seconds later and the group of robots flying in the sky had been reduced into silent rubble
scattered about.
“W-Whoa…”
Shido looked at the remains of the <Bandersnatches>. When he let out an exclamation at the
wreckage, Shiori, who was still hovering in the sky, cast her sights on him.
It didn’t take long for her to realize that Shido hadn’t covered his eyes or his ears, and Shiori’s
face flushed a deeper shade of red as she asked with a faint voice:
“…Did you see that?”
“…I didn’t see or hear anything.”
Shido looked away and replied, but his unusual tone and behavior gave it away.
Shiori’s blushing face became even redder—
“AAAAAAAHHHHHH!”
She screamed loudly and flew away as fast as she could.
A Spirit that looked like Shido appeared the next day.
Shido lay on the sofa in the Itsuka hosuehold’s living room and yawned.
After letting the mysterious Spirit Shiori escape yesterday, Shido returned to the <Fraxinus> and
was forced to attend the emergency countermeasure meeting to come up with a plan. It was no
wonder that the fatigue would accumulate.
It was fortunate that today was a Saturday, so he didn’t have to go to school. Shido hadn’t put
away the dishes immediately after eating breakfast on the sofa and instead took a break in the
living room.
“Hooah … ahhhh?”
Just as Shido lost count of how many times he’d yawned, Kotori came into the living room and
threw something into Shido’s open mouth. It felt hard, round, and had a sweet taste spread in his
mouth—that’s right, Kotori often ate Chupa Chups lollipops.
“Uh… why are you giving me this?”
“It’s common sense to eliminate fatigue by eating sweets. You worked really hard out
there—even though it doesn’t matter at home, don’t yawn when you go to meet the Spirits.”
“Got it.”
Shido said with a wry smile, pinching the lollipop with his mouth still open and licked the candy.
It seemed to be strawberry flavored. After Shido said “delicious”, Kotori replied happily:
“Right?”
“…Speaking of which, what happened with the Spirit yesterday? The lack of information is
troubling; maybe she’s a type that we’ve never seen before?”
“Y-Yeah…”
Having listened to what Kotori said and felt sweat trail down his cheeks and he began to explain:
At the previous day’s countermeasure meeting, Shido asked the crew of the <Fraxinus> outside
of Kotori why the Spirit looked like him. But the only reply he got was: “Is it like…”, “It’s just
two eyes, one nose, one mouth…” Vague answers like these.
Was Shiori using the power of Spirits to let only certain people see her? Or could it be that she
was letting Shido alone see hallucinations…?
As Shido was contemplating this, the sound of the doorbell ringing suddenly sounded.
He thought it was Spirits who lived in the apartment complex next door, but why would they ring
the doorbell rather than just come in? Could it be the courier? Or perhaps a neighbor visiting?
Shido sat up from the sofa.
“I’m coming!”
Then after throwing the lollipop stick in the trash can, he went to open the door—
“—Huh?”
When he opened the door, Shido immediately stiffened.
On the other side of the door was neither a courier holding a package nor a neighbor’s wife who
sometimes shared vegetables from relatives living in the countryside, but—
“Um… thank you for last time.”
It was a girl, who seemed a little awkward and looked exactly like Shido.
“Wh-What…?”
Suddenly, Shido stared back behind him for a moment. It seemed that Kotori’s shout had echoed
all throughout the house, as she peeked in from the entrance to the living room.
“Shi-Shiori?”
“I-I’m here…”
After Shido called out Shiori’s name dumbly, Shiori tilted her head in a cute way like she was
covering her shyness. Her long hair and pleated skirt shook.
That’s right. Shiori’s current outfit was not the maid-like astral dress that she wore yesterday, but
instead an ordinary high school uniform. However, there were more important things than her
outfit right now. Shido was finally able to calm down his rapidly beating heart and asked:
“W-Why are you here…?”
“No, it’s just… I’m sorry. I ran away yesterday without really getting a chance to talk to you.
And… as I told you before, I think it’s necessary to seal my Spirit powers, although I don’t know
if there’s a way to do it…”
Th-This sort of thing…”
Shido was still confused. After responding to Shiori in that state, he glanced behind him at
Kotori.
“…”
He saw Kotori’s intense gestures as she poked her head from the entrance of the living room. It
was easy enough to interpret her intentions. “Go out with her”, “I will help you”, “Don’t keep
her waiting”—was probably what she was telling him.
In short, she had the same opinion as Shido. Shido then faced Shiori, his expression tense as he
nodded.
“Ah, um… Kotori, I’m heading out! Can you bring me my coat?”
“Sure!”
After Shido finished speaking, Kotori nodded as though she was aware of his intentions and
grabbed Shido’s coat from the living room.
Shido pulled on his coat and gloves, put on his shoes and patted the pocket of his coat when he
was sure that Shiori wasn’t paying attention to him. Unsurprisingly, he felt the earpiece that
Kotori left there for him.
“So, let’s go.”
“Y-Yeah.”
Shido and Shiori nodded at each other and walked side by side down the road.
—Thus began Shido and Shiori’s date.
Such a smooth, unnatural procedure had never been seen before. This time, it wasn’t Shido but
the Spirit who made the appointment, and she was also already familiar with most of Shido’s
situation. Being able to read others’ hearts didn’t seem like it wasn’t a joke anymore.
However, if he kept thinking about these things, he would have nothing to say to Shiori. In order
to avoid embarrassing her, Shido tried to talk to her cheerfully and just pretend for now:
“Oh After all, the weather is really good today.”
“Well, yeah. Fortunately it’s sunny.”
“…”
“…”
“Oh, thank you for saving me…”
“No, don’t worry about it. I also can’t stand DEM.”
“…”
“…”
“… you, what is your interest?”
“Huh? Cooking … something like that?”
“──Are you on a blind date?!”
At that moment, Kotori’s irritated voice came from the headset. It seems that she moved from the
Itsuka household to the <Fraxinus>.
“It’s okay to try to find a topic, but it’s too painful to talk about these sorts of things. Try to focus
more on the core!”
“…Uh, but I’m at more of a loss than ever.”
Shido lowered his voice to a whisper to avoid being overheard by Shiori. After he whispered into
the headset, he could hear Kotori’s sigh vibrate his eardrums.
“Forget about it. The options just came out.”
After Kotori spoke, the earpiece came with an electronic sound associated with options.
① Take her hand casually.
② Hold her shoulder casually.
③ Lift her skirt casually.
“… Well, we’ve decided, Shido, choose ③.”
“Why did you choose ③…!”
After hearing Kotori’s instructions, Shido couldn’t help but make a complicated sound. It’s hard
to keep his attention on Shiori now. She shook her shoulders and looked at Shido with a startled
expression.
“Wh-what happened…?”
“N-Nothing…”
Shido smiled vaguely and walked side by side with Shiori again. Shiori showed a puzzled
expression, and soon scratched his cheek as if to say “Forget about it…” and looked forward.
“Really, you have to be careful, Shido.”
“…Whose idea was this anyway?”
“Don’t worry, based on the values I observed here, she seems to be very stable. As long as ③ is
successful, future actions should be able to make a big impact.”
“Really, you guys want me to choose ③…? I don’t care what the result ends up being.”
After sighing with a bitter expression, Shido decided to take a step back.
He then went directly behind Shiori and mentally apologized to her: “I’m sorry…!” At that
moment, he lifted her skirt.
“Ah…!”
The skirt suddenly flew upwards, revealing the underwear—or rather, the shorts. It seems that
these were the same as the ones Shido happened to be wearing.
He saw Shiori’s cheeks flush slightly before looking at Shido with a confused expression.
“Uh, I was wondering, why did you suddenly lift my skirt?”
“I-I’m sorry.”
After Shido apologized honestly, if awkwardly, Shiori only sighed.
“…So? What were the other options?”
“Huh?”
Shido’s eyes widened. It’s no wonder, after all, the Spirit mentioned that it was a choice made
from a list of choices.
However, Shiori didn’t show this ability anymore. Shido shook his shoulders apologetically and
answered:
“…① Holding hands; ② Arm around the shoulders. That’s it. I insisted that we should done ①!
Even if you take a few steps back, at worst, it would have been ②.”
“…! Right! You think so too!”
“That’s for sure! It’s too much to suddenly lift a girl’s skirt especially during the first date!
Anyway, choice ③ must be Kannazuki-san and Nakatsugawa-san!”
“Well, those two people definitely voted! Kannazuki-san may even have gone so far as to add a
slap after lifting the skirt.”
“It’s possible! With him, it’s absolutely possible!”
“Anyway, who do you think picked the other choices?”
After shouting vigorously, the two stared at each other before looking away.
“A-Anyway, it’s still embarrassing…”
“No, I am suddenly really excited…”
The two laughed with bitter smiles. Despite the awkwardness, the tension was broken, both
parties felt much more at ease now, and they were able to get the truth out of each other.
“…”
Then—This unexpected dialogue raised a possibility in Shido’s mind.
“Shiori—although he didn’t understand why no one else recognized it—looked a lot like him and
seemed to have some knowledge about <Ratatoskr>. From the reaction just now, she also seems
to act similarly to Shido.
At that moment, an idea struck him.
Since that was the case—
“…Um, there’s a place I want to go to, can you come with me?”
“Uh … That is to say, is it a date?”
Shiori raised her gaze slightly and said.
Looking at her behavior, Shido couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed himself. He cheeks
flushed a faint red as he nodded and answered:
“Oh, um, sure.”
“Okay, that makes me very happy. Let’s begin our <war> date.”
“Y-You even know that phrase!”
“Ahaha… I always wanted to say it, just once.”
Shiori smiled in embarrassment while Shido nodded, and then led Shiori to the streets.
Ten minutes later, Shido and Shiori arrived at a certain place.
“Well, Shiori—this is the ideal country created with human wisdom!”
“Th-This is…”
Shido spread out his open hands in a grand fashion while Shiori’s eyes widened in surprise.
Because there was an expansion taking place, there are rows of shelves filled with commodities
of the vast land, and a large number of items listed on the racks. These included carpentry
supplies, cleaning supplies, washing supplies, craft supplies, and even supplies that are related to
daily life that are readily available.
That’s right, the so-called mass merchandiser.
It’s generally not a place to bring fancy girls for a date. However, Shido had an inexplicable
confidence and firmly believed that Shiori would be interested—
“—! Sh-Shido! Are you seeing this! This hanger, the hanging part is movable, and won’t damage
the neckline of the t-shirt!”
Shiori picked up the convenience store goods and spoke aloud excitedly. Shido also replied
excitedly.
“That’s not the only thing too! You can take it off just by pulling off the T-shirt…”
“Yes! Ah, with this is a laundry net that we can take anything straight into the sunlight after
washing! Even pillows…!”
“Look! This cleaning product can use high temperature steam to remove oil and stains!”
“Ah! With that, greasy dirt will surely be cleaned with a blink of an eye!”
The eyes of both of them glittered like children and seemed to fully enjoy the lovely time of
visiting a large supermarket.
After several minutes:
They spent time shopping for convenience goods (some of which they decided to buy), then
moved on to look at the vegetable seedlings in the garden shop next door to the large
supermarket.
“Hmm I’ve been really interested in home gardens for a long time but it’s really difficult to take
care of.”
“It’s not a big hassle. As long as you have a courtyard-sized space, vegetables like small
tomatoes, green peppers, and eggplants are easy for beginners to grow.”
“If that’s true… do you want to give it a try?”
The two of them discussed the topic seriously. Incidentally, there are also many beautiful flower
seedlings in the garden shop but Shido and Shiori were only interested in looking at edible
vegetable seedlings.
“I also think it’s convenient to grow herbs. If you ever want to add some flavor to a meal, just
pick a leaf and add it.”
“Ah, that’s not a bad idea. It’s easy enough to go to the store and buy them. However, it looks
like the vanilla seems to be very fertile so we’d have to separate it from the other vegetables and
just plant them in their own pots.”
“Ah, in addition, if the vegetable stems end up attracting aphids, you can get rid of them by
spraying milk with a spray bottle.
‘Wow… to think that there’s such a secret technique…”
Shido’s eyes widened and Shiori smiled happily.
Another several minutes passed.
The pair’s emotions as they left the supermarket were incredibly high.
“Shiori! I grabbed two boxes of eggs!”
“I also grabbed two boxes of plastic wrap and aluminum foil!”
“That’s great! The remaining specials are—”
“Ah! A large pack of toilet paper is only 2880 yen…! One person can only buy one pack at a
time!”
“That’s amazing! Let’s go and grab some, Shiori!”
“Sounds good!”
The two went to the special price area of the nearby supermarket and, squished between the
energetic housewives, they were quick to snag the target special price item.
At that moment, the clerk’s voice came on the loudspeaker.
“Ah. At this time, the exotic meats area is beginning to sell their specials: one hundred grams of
domestic beef is only 298 yen! Such an incredible deal is only available for today! Make sure to
seize this opportunity—”
“What?! There was nothing on the flyer about this…!”
“Oh…! Is this the reality of the battlefield…?!”
Shido and Shiori spoke briefly before adopting the same evil smiles as they rushed into the
battlefield of housewives.
“Hmm…”
The airship <Fraxinus> hovered 15000 meters above in the skies of Tengu City. Kotori watched
the main screen showing Shido and Shiori from her place at the captain’s seat and muttered in
embarrassment.
“Her affection values are good and her mental state is stable… just from the look of things, I
think that everything is going smoothly.”
Kotori said as she continued licking the chupa chups in her mouth. At the same time, the crew in
the lower section of the bridge smiled bitterly:
“It’s more like spending time with a boyfriend rather than a date…”
Kotori held her forehead as she sighed.
It was true. The two seemed to be having a lot of fun together and there didn’t seem to be any
major problems with the numbers. However, it still wasn’t good enough to reach the sealable
range. If anything, the current relationship was like spending time with a good friend… They
weren’t visiting a playground or a restaurant but a large supermarket and a florist shop. It was
like a friendship between two housewives.
“It’s probably because the interests and hobbies of the two are scarily similar… so it makes sense
that Shido would also have fun.”
Kotori looked upset as she crossed her arms in distress.
“But… it’s not good to continue on like this. Whether it was good or bad, the relationship
between the two of them has gradually stabilized. They were only one step away—as long as
they were able to keep this up, they should hopefully get within sealing range…”
Kotori looked at Shido and Shiori who were smiling cheerfully at each other and touched her
chin in embarrassment.
Kotori watched as Shido and Shiori smiled cheerfully at each other and put a hand on her face in
embarrassment.
“Ah… what a great harvest.”
“Yeah! You were incredible there, Shiori! To be able to move so smoothly through the sale area.”
“Ahaha, just leave it to me! I’m very good at this kind of thing.”
Shido and Shiori walked down the road with their arms filled with loot after a deadly battle in the
supermarket. The two of them exhibited incredible teamwork. There was already a
comrade-in-arms level of trust between them, as people who fought together on the battlefield.
…Ah, of course, Shido understood that today’s meeting schedule was still at risk for failure.
Walking through mass merchandise shops, a florist shop, and finally going to a large
supermarket to hunt for specials. If the target was an ordinary girl, the worst outcome would be
getting slapped and never hearing from her again.
However, just as Shido suspected, Shiori’s interests and hobbies mirrored his own and he was
more than willing to come along with her on these trips. In fact, Kotori had said that the
numerical values were also very good.
However, Kotori also warned him that Shiori’s mental state was becoming more stable to the
point that she thought of him as a good friend. In order to seal her Spirit powers, she needed to
feel more strongly about Shido—
Just as Shido was thinking about this, Shiori seemed to guess what he was thinking and smiled
bitterly:
“…To be honest, I had a really great time, but I guess we aren’t close enough to sealing…?”
“…You’re really keen…”
After Shido revealed a bitter smile similar to Shiori’s, Shiori made a contemplative movement
for a moment and then spoke again:
“Well… I think that a house husband kind of man is very attractive.”
“Hm?”
Shiori suddenly blurted out that statement, making Shido’s eyes widen in surprise. Shiori’s
cheeks flushed a little in embarrassment and then said:
“So if you can cook for me, and your cooking ends up being better than my own, I might get a
little bit…”
Shiori said this and then laughed.
However, this time Shido didn’t smile back but murmured to himself with a serious expression.
“Cooking…”
In the Itsuka household, where the parents are often absent, Shido was the person in charge of the
kitchen.
If someone asked what his speciality was, he wouldn’t hesitate in answering with cooking. Shido
was very confident in his cooking.
“—Okay, I’ll accept your challenge. I want to put the ingredients we bought in the refrigerator
first. Is it okay if we go to my house first?”
“Yes, of course!”
Shiori’s expression seemed to light up as she nodded. Shido and Shiori went to the Itsuka
household together. Fortunately, the supermarket wasn’t far from the Itsuka home and so the two
arrived home shortly after.
When Shido returned home, he quickly washed his hands and put the ingredients into the
refrigerator. Meanwhile, Shiori put on Shido’s apron and rolled up her sleeves.
“Shiori? I thought I was going to cook?”
“Yeah, but didn’t I say—if you can cook better than me? So wouldn’t it be unfair if you didn’t
get to know my craftsmanship first?”
After being asked, Shiori answered with a smile.
It seemed that Shiori was also quite confident in her cooking skills. Shido mumbled an
“interesting” under his breath, and then took the posture of a rival school student in the
preliminaries for reconnaissance of the rival’s situation: leaning against the wall and nodding.
“Then please show me your cooking.”
“Okay. Since it’s so rare to get beef, let’s make beef stew.”
Then Shiori raised the corners of her smile and then raised her right hand.
“<Ultimate Maid>!”
She then called the name. In the next moment, in Shiori’s hand was her Angel, with a feather
duster and wings attached to it.
However, it didn’t end there.
“—<Delicious Praise>!”
After Shiori shouted that, the Angel separated into several pieces and transformed into different
tools.
—It looked like a sharp all-purpose kitchen knife.
“Whoa…”
Shido made a startled sound and Shiori smiled triumphantly. After sharpening the kitchen knives
in her hands, she began to cut the ingredients resting on the cutting board.
“Take this!”
In a series of swift movements, the ingredients were instantly cut down to appropriate sizes—no,
not only that but the ingredients Shiori cut glittered like pictures in cooking comics, depicting an
arc, and were quickly thrown into the pot.
“Aha!”
After Shiori turned on the gas stove, she flicked the pan and cooked the food smoothly.
So, five minutes later:
“—Come and try it. Eat while it’s hot!”
Shiori put the finished dishes on the plate and placed them on the dining table together with the
pre-prepared salad and toasted bread.
“What…?! This is ridiculous…!”
Shido witnessed this incredible situation before him. His eyes widened in shock-—the speed of
preparation was unbelievably fast. How could it be possible to prepare beef stew in such a short
amount of time?
However, the beef stew that was presented to him was impeccably made and perfectly presented.
“Oh, wait until you finish eating before you say anything.”
She probably noticed Shido’s innermost thoughts, and Shiori politely urged Shido.
Shido smelled the indescribable aroma that spread around and had to swallow his saliva as he
picked up a spoon with a trembling hand. He brought the beef stew to his mouth.
“—”
—It was delicious. This was the first thought that came to his mind.
The taste was as rich as though it had been stewed for several days. The beef was so tender that it
could be crushed with just his tongue. The vegetables still retained their sweet and moist taste
and they didn’t overpower one another. If anything, they all came together to build a joyous land
on Shido’s tongue.
Such a high quality meal could only really be described as divine. Shido’s eyes watered the more
he thought about it.
“S-So delicious…”
Shido admitted with a trembling voice. Shiori smiled happily.
“Right? My Angel <Ultimate Maid> can bring all of the ingredients to their greatest quality.”
As she said this, she raised her Angel now in its shape as a kitchen knife. As it turned out, this
supreme delicacy could only be described by the power of an Angel.
“However, as you can see, I am a Spirit. Even if I cook something special, I don’t know who
could taste it.”
“Is that so? That’s a shame…”
“Ahaha, it makes me happy to hear you say that. I occasionally eat it myself but the Spirits are
different from humans. We don’t die if we don’t eat something every day. Ultimately, it’s a pretty
useless power.”
Shiori smiled helplessly.
It really was very regrettable. Angels that can bring out the flavor of the ingredients to their
fullest extent, and excellent craftsmanship in being able to manipulate the Angel’s powers to do
what needs to be done. How happy would someone be to be able to eat such dishes every day?
Just thinking about this—
“—Hey, Shido! How are you going to respond to her?!”
“…Huh?”
Kotori’s shout pierced his eardrums and Shido awoke from his stupor.
That was close. Knowing that she looked exactly the same as himself—but because what she
made was also so delicious. She almost reminded him of a young lady in terms of her
appearance. Shido put a hand on his chest in an attempt to calm his rapidly beating heart.
—However, this was a problem. Shido believed that his cooking was still superb but knowing
that he was up against such a taste, his cooking skills may as well have been child’s play. Even if
he asked <Ratatoskr> to help him prepare the highest quality ingredients, there was no way to
beat Shiori. These thoughts swirled in Shido’s mind as he continued to eat Shiori’s beef stew.
There was one plate left. He needed to use his knowledge of cuisine in order to counter Shiori
who had the power of that Angel and her own cooking skills.
“…”
At that moment, a thought crossed Shido’s mind.
“Shido, is there something wrong? There are still many other dishes left.”
“Huh! Really, there’s nothing wrong! Another dish is a must, but I won’t say anything else…”
Shido quickly cleared his throat and regained his energy while staring intently into Shiori’s eyes.
“—My food will take longer to prepare. Would you be willing to stay for dinner?”
“Huh?”
Shiori listened to Shido’s words and regarded him with a suspicious expression.
—A few hours had passed since then.
“Oh, Shido! There you are!”
“Mun… the preparations are finished, Nushi-sama.”
“I am looking forward to it…”
Shido took Shiori to the backyard of the Spirit mansion and the Spirits gathered at the same time
spotted them.
Tohka, Yoshino, Natsumi, Mukuro, Kaguya, Yuzuru, Miku, and Nia, and Kotori, who should
have been aboard the <Fraxinus>, had all gathered together.
Of course, to have so many people gather together like this couldn’t just be a coincidence. Shido
had actually planned this ahead of time after explaining the situation to them and asked them to
gather together.
“Uh… this…”
Shiori, who was surrounded by so many other girls, smiled bitterly in confusion. On the contrary,
as soon as the other Spirits spotted Shiori, their eyes sparkled with interest.
“Hehe! Is this the new Spirit Shido mentioned? I am Kaguya, Child of the Hurricane: Yamai
Kaguya. Remember this name well!”
“Greetings. Your name is—Shiori, right? My name is Yuzuru. This person, who is not called
Yuzuru, is Kaguya.”
“How could you introduce me like that?!”
“Ahaha… please take care of me.”
Shiori and the other Spirits greeted each other.
However, there were other Spirits who reacted differently…
“Ahhhhh! The new Spirit is also a great beauty! And why do I have the strangest feeling that I’ve
seen someone like her somewhere? Is this destiny? It has to be destiny! Do you believe in
reincarnation?! Your previous life was probably as part of a couple but with others involved as
well!”
“Incredible. The small folding sensor that responds only to Shido is showing a reaction to you as
well. The hand that presses the shutter can’t stop. Shido, move a little bit closer to Shiori. I want
to capture this moment with both of you. This miracle must be stored on a memory card.”
…The emotions were running inexplicably high. Shiori couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
“Shido, Shido.”
One of them whispered softly while hitting his side with her elbow—Kotori.
“I’m ready to follow your lead, but is this really okay…?”
Hmm… I don’t know for sure. Shouldn’t I have no problems?”
“That’s not very helpful…”
Kotori narrowed her eyes as she glared at Shido—she then shrugged and sighed.
“Ah, forget about it. If the lack of progress is a fact, then I think you need to make direct contact
with Shiori.”
“Right.”
After Shido nodded gently, Shiori, who had fled Miku and Origami spoke to Shido doubtfully:
“So… what was your plan? Didn’t you say that you were planning to make dinner for me…”
“Well, of course. Everyone’s going to work together to make it.”
“Huh…?”
Shiori’s eyes widened in amazement.
At that moment, the Spirits gathered in the backyard moved aside and showed Shiori everything
prepared there:
Big pots, a box of cooking tools, a brick stone, and a large variety of ingredients.
“This is…”
“I think that if we want everyone to make dinner together, curry is probably the safest bet.”
Shiori still couldn’t figure out the situation. Instead, she only got a confident thumbs up from
Shido after he expressed, “you will understand when you see it”. He opened his mouth to issue
his orders.
“Okay! Then let’s get started, everyone!”
“Oh!”
Everyone raised their fists together as they answered Shido. After recovering her composure,
Shiori also replied, “O-Oh…” and hesitantly joined them.
—So in short order, the Spirit’s wild self-catering began in earnest.
Divided into a curry group, a rice group, and a fire group, everyone worked individually to
arrange the chopping board on the table to cut meat, vegetables, prepare rice, or chop firewood.
But not everyone was comfortable with the assigned work, and several began to speak out:
“Mun… this potato skin is really hard to cut…”
“My eyes feel itchy…”
“Agh! Scharlachorot Feuer! …Uh, I can’t get this to light up at all!”
“Ah, I’ll show you how to do it.” Thanks to ABea rCat, OfficeCasual, Asphroxia
When Shido was about to teach them, Shiori took the first step forward, reflecting everyone else.
When Shido was about to teach them, Shiori took the first step toward reflecting everyone.
“—Mukuro, trying to peel the potato skins with a kitchen knife is really dangerous. It’s safer to
just use a peeler. Yoshino, if you wear goggles while you cut the onions, your eyes won’t feel
itchy anymore. If you can, please try it. Kaguya, if you’re having trouble igniting such thick
firewood, let’s start by crumpling up some newspaper to start…”
And then gave clear and simple instructions. The Spirits nodded their heads and expressed “So
it’s like that!” and then promptly returned to their respective jobs.
At that moment, Shiori felt Shido and Kotori’s gazes on her and showed a shocked look, her
shoulders shaking.
“Ah, I’m sorry… I should be minding my own business.”
“What are you talking about, Shiori? It helped them out a lot. Many people aren’t used to this
sort of thing. If you don’t mind, please keep taking care of them.”
After Shido and Kotori finished speaking, there was a sound of loud laughter behind them—it
was Nia. She was sitting on a chair, happily drinking a canned beer.
“Hey, hey, it’s really amazing to act immediately when something happens, Kotori. It’s just like
Boy. You would be a good wife, and mother too.”
“…Why would anyone want a wife or mother like me? Anyway, while everyone else is busy
cooking, Nia, you decided to start drinking early!”
Kotori glared hard at Nia who shifted guiltily in her seat.
However, they didn’t pressure Nia further because at that moment, the chopping board group
called out for help.
“Ah! The carrot fell into my chest! Can you help get it out, Shiori?”
“Shiori, I accidentally cut my finger! Can you lick the wound for me?”
“Uh, this…”
…Asking for help was fine, but Shiori frowned deeply in confusion as sweat poured down her
cheeks.
—Although such an incident occurred, everyone was very serious about cooking, and it took
about an hour for the Spirits’ special curry to be completed.
It was a rare chance to be able to cook outside, so it was best to enjoy it under the sky. Shido and
the others set up tables and chairs intended for camping in the backyard of the Spirit mansion,
and everyone sat side by side. They then put curry on each plate, taking as much as they
wanted—and then put their hands together in silent thanks.
“So, let’s start.”
“Let’s start!”
After the Spirits nodded gently to echo Shido, they each picked up their utensils at the same
time. They scooped up an adequate amount of curry and rice and brought it to their mouths.
“Oh…! It’s delicious, Shido! Is this really something we made?”
“…Well, is it normal? Isn’t it unpleasant…?”
“Natsumi’s been saying such things, but it’s really not bad at all.”
Everyone was chatting happily with each other as they ate their own curry rice.
Shido watched the scene unfold with satisfaction, then turned to Shiori who had taken a seat near
the door.
“Shiori, do you want to try it?”
“Okay… I’m going to start.”
She and Shido had been watching the other Spirits talk as they ate beneath the sky. Shiori then
imitated the others, scooping up curry with a spoon and staring at it for a moment and putting it
into her mouth. She then chewed it for a while as though carefully tasting the taste. Probably
after discovering Shiori’s move, the Spirits stopped talking for a moment and then watched her
intently, waiting for her thoughts.
Shiori made a “gudu” sound as she swallowed the curry.
She then exhaled and then slightly raised her head and stared into the distance.
“Ah—it’s delicious.”
“…!”
After hearing what Shiori said, the Spirits immediately stood up.
Shiori responded to them with a smile before breathing out again and glanced at Shido.
“…I don’t know what it was. Seeing everyone cooking and eating together like this made the
meal even more delicious.” She said, her voice trembling with emotion.
That’s right. Even though Shiori’s appearance, the way she thought about things, and her hobbies
were similar to Shido, there was one major difference here: that was that she was a Spirit, and
therefore didn’t get a chance to know the fun of being able to eat together with everyone.
Shiori could use the power of her Angel to make dishes that could be considered the greatest in
the world, and the curry that Shido and the others made, even though Shiori complimented it,
was hardly perfect; the vegetables were cut in varying sizes, and there were a few charred bits.
But with everyone working together to create the taste together, the sweetness of the food
wouldn’t be lost in any of the dishes.
Compared to the taste of the best food in the world made alone, Shido much preferred the simple
meals that everyone made and ate together. Shiori must have felt the same way.
Just as a smile crossed Shido’s face, Shiori puckered her lips.
“…However, I think your approach is a bit treacherous.”
“Huh? W-What do you mean?”
“Well, it wasn’t just your cooking… in every sense, I guess it’s correct to call it a homemade
dish…”
Shido smiled and shrugged awkwardly as he replied awkwardly: “S-Sorry.”
At that moment—
“…!”
The headset that he’d been wearing let out a bell-like sound.
The sound was very familiar and it was a signal when the Spirit’s affection levels reached the
point that their powers could be sealed.
“…!”
It seems that Kotori was also wearing an earpiece. She winked at Shido as if to urge him:
“Go for it!”
“N-Now…?”
Kotori nodded vigorously. Shido sighed as he faced Shiori.
“Ah… um, Shiori?”
“Yes? Is something the matter?”
“Uh… it seems the time has come.”
Shiori’s cheeks blushed as though she understood everything.
“Then come on… we should probably go somewhere private…”
“…Oh, I was feeling… sorry.”
“No… I don’t mind… So… uh… do you want to kiss?”
“This … well, it’s also…”
As Shido and Shiori were looking for a proper moment, Kotori impatiently grabbed them by the
back of their necks and dragged them to their feet.
“Okay, go off somewhere else and figure this out!”
“Ah, good idea…”
“Then, let’s go…”
Shido and Shiori walked away from the table to an isolated part behind the Spirit mansion, both
of them taking deep breaths and facing each other.
They then stared into each other’s eyes and put their hands on each others shoulders—
It was at that moment that Miku, Origami, and Nia were watching them from afar while taking
photos with their smartphones. Origami took it a step further and was holding a camera.
“…”
“…What are you doing?”
“Nothing! Don’t mind us!”
“Don’t worry about us. Come on, hurry up.”
“I’m trying to collect information! I’ve been having writer’s block for the longest time!”
The three of them urged quickly.
“But the next moment, there was a strange voice of knocking and clicking.
“Okay, okay, the curry is going to get cold.”
“What’s with that! I have to see this!”
“Let go of me, Kotori. I have to document this historic moment.”
“Speaking of which, why do you have to hit me so hard, imouto!”
The three of them were dragged away while moaning.
After watching the three leave, Shido and Shiori faced each other once more.
“…So, please take care of me.”
“…No, there is something I want to ask you first.”
“…”
“…”
“…Haha!”
“…Ahaha!”
They didn’t know why but the two couldn’t help but start laughing when they looked at each
other again.
This scene was hardly romantic. However, kissing Shiori was definitely much easier with the
tension in the atmosphere now broken. Shido pulled her closer by the shoulders the moment that
Shiori smiled and her lips pressed against his.
—Through kissing, he could feel a warm current flowing into his body. That was undoubtedly
the classic feeling when he successfully sealed a Spirit’s powers.
That said, while the Spirit power was clearly sealed, Shiori’s clothes did not disappear into light.
That was because she wasn’t wearing clothes formed from her astral dress, but instead real
clothes—as though she had already prepared ahead of time for this outcome.
“…Let’s head back.”
“…Sounds good.”
Shido and Shiori shrugged and finished talking to each other before returning to the others.
But during this period, the two didn’t look at each other but they didn’t feel shy or embarrassed.
However, the reason is—
A little. Just a little bit further.
“…”
Kissing a Spirit that looked a lot like him, there was a sense of inexplicable thrill like they were
doing something sinful.
End of the Nightmare
This isn’t meant to be read out of order. Make sure you’ve read every other story Encore 8 has to offer before coming here!
“Huh…”
Shido groaned softly as he slowly woke up.
Shido didn’t know whether it was accurate to use the word ‘awake’ to describe the current
situation. There was a feeling like coming out from deep underwater, but there was no actual
feeling of awakening from a dream and returning to reality. He could feel his consciousness
becoming clearer—No, it was because of the gradually clearing consciousness that he began to
feel more awkward about his current situation.
There was that wonderful feeling of “waking up in a dream”—lucid dreaming. Shido gently
shook his head gently, looking around.
“…What’s going on here?”
Shido immediately realized that this was not his room, but rather a dark space. Until now, the
place where he was lying was not the bed where he normally slept, but the hard ground… but
even as he walked around on it, it felt like a combination of ground, rubber, and iron which only
served to confuse Shido further.
Everything around him was vague and unclear. It was a wonderful space. The world he was in
right now could only be described as a dream.
It was then—
“…!”
Shido held his breath slightly.
He spotted the light spreading out in the distance, then illuminating the form of a girl.
She had beautiful hair as dark as the night sky and porcelain skin. Had she lost consciousness?
She was lying on the ground, unmoving.
“Tohka…!”
Shido spotted her figure and couldn’t help but call out to her as he ran toward the girl.
That’s right. It was one of Shido’s classmates who’d appeared there, as well as a Spirit: Yatogami
Tohka.
“Tohka, are you okay? Tohka!”
“Muu… Um…?”
Shido picked up Tohka and shook her shoulders. She blinked several times and made a faint
sound and then yawned. It seemed that rather than losing consciousness, it seemed that she’d
fallen asleep.
“…What’s the matter, magician? Did something happen?”
“Huh?”
After hearing what Tohka said, Shido stared at her in surprise.
So, Tohka frowned slightly when she spotted Shido’s puzzled expression.
“Muu…? Was it a magician? Oh, wait, you were an intern teacher… No, wait, an editor?”
“Tohka? What the hell are you talking about?”
At that moment, Shido felt a headache suddenly come on.
“Huh?”
At that moment, a hazy scene flashed into Shido’s mind. There was Tohka wielding a sword and
confronting the king. Because Nia’s curse turned Shido into a cat, he could only watch the two of
them clash breathlessly.
No, not just that. Soon, Shido remembered more bits and pieces of being an intern teacher, an
editor, and a samurai—and the identities of the other people in his dreams were the other Spirits.
“What is this…”
Shido frowned in confusion. He could feel more fragments from his dreams appear in his mind.
It wasn’t just him either, it seemed the Spirits had also appeared in a different reality, with
different roles for each of them in the new world.
However, those memories were accompanied by delusions or fantasies that felt completely
authentic, and had imprinted heavily on Shido’s mind.
“These memories… are they…?”
“Ngh… Ugh…”
When Shido groaned and clutched his forehead, Tohka’s eyes suddenly widened as she quickly
sat up.
“Shido!”
“Whoa!”
Shido was alarmed by Tohka’s sudden movements, and almost fell backwards, but Tohka
managed to catch him in time.
“Sorry I scared you.”
“Haha… No, that’s not important. Say, Tohka, do you recognize me?”
“Muu? What are you talking about? Isn’t Shido just Shido? But… how can I explain this… have
you ever been a cat before?”
Sure enough, it seemed that Tohka also seemed to share the same memories as Shido.
However, Shido and Tohka’s conversation about their dreams was momentarily interrupted.
“…!”
The reason why was simple. Because there were more hazy lights that appeared around them,
and then all of those lights morphed into unconscious girls lying on the ground.
Origami, Kotori, Yoshino, Kaguya, Yuzuru, Miku, Natsumi, Nia, and Mukuro—a total of nine
Spirits, like Tohka, who had just appeared in this dark space around them.
“Wha…!”
“Everyone! Are you okay?”
Shido and Tohka quickly stood up and rushed to the others’ side, shaking their shoulders to wake
them up.
Fortunately, just like Tohka, they seemed to only be asleep. Everyone responded to Shido and
Tohka’s calls either by rubbing their eyes or sitting up while stifling a yawn.
“Ah… Good morning…”
“Huh? Shido, are you okay? Why do you look so worried?”
“Ah! I’m so sorry! I accidentally fell asleep. I’ll be sure to have it in today…! Huh, it’s Boy!
Really, don’t scare me like that!”
All of the Spirits reacted in their own ways as they opened their eyes. When he saw each of their
faces, he tilted his head in wonder.
“…Mun? Wasn’t Muku saved by Nushi-sama…?”
“Eh… what about my sister, Natsumi…? Incidentally, do I actually have a younger sister?”
“This is bad, Darling! Shiori-san is gone! …Hmm? Shiori-san is Darling, and Darling is
Shiori-san? Hey, which Darling are you now?”
“Leave it to me. I will investigate it immediately.”
Origami gave Miku a thumbs up and then immediately started touching Shido’s clothes. Shido
quickly escaped her clutches as he wailed in protest.
“C-Calm down, Origami! Now is not the time to do such things!”
“…?”
After he mentioned this, Origami seemed to have noticed anomalies around them and looked
around.
“Where are we?”
She then wore the same look of confusion as she asked the question. As a result, everyone else
seemed to realize the current situation. Some of them were uneasy while others stared at the dark
space uncertainly.
“What’s going on? It’s like the whole room was smeared with black paint. Didn’t I fall asleep in
my room yesterday? How did I get here? Did someone move me here while I was asleep?”
“I’m pretty sure it wasn’t done by anyone from <Ratatoskr>…”
Kotori answered the stunned Nia while staring around while remaining conscious. THe other
Spirits took notice and sensed the tension between them.
However, this was understandable. After all, the Spirits who’d all been sleeping in different
places had somehow been gathered like this.
—But if it wasn’t <Ratatoskr>, then who did this, and for what purpose?
“…”
Shido quickly shook off the nasty thoughts that drifted into his mind and shook his head before
facing the others.
“Anyway, it looks like we’ll have to find out for ourselves. Even if we can’t see anything other
than darkness, if we keep moving around, we should be able to find a wall.”
“…Y-Yeah. It wouldn’t be good if we just stayed here. Let’s get moving. Everyone hold hands,
don’t get separated—”
However, as Kotori was about to move.
“—Hee Hee Hee! Don’t bother wasting your time.”
That voice came from somewhere deep in the darkness.
“What—!”
“This voice, isn’t it—”
The Spirits raised their heads and stood with their backs to each other, adopting a defensive
stance.
However, their surroundings were still shrouded in darkness, so there was no figure visible to
identify the owner of the voice. Even where it came from was uncertain. All they could tell was
that there was intermittent laughter echoing all around them.
“Hmph, are you simply hiding in the darkness? I bet you’re trying to scare us!”
“Mocking. Still, you dare not show yourself. Or could it be that you’re more bark than bite?”
“Hehehe! What an obvious provocation. But it doesn’t make any sense to continue on like this.
I’ll show you what I mean.”
The next moment, as if echoing the voice, a light shining like a ghostly fire around them.
“Whoa…!”
“Wh-What…!”
So, relying on this dim light to get a glimpse of the previously dark surroundings around them.
There was a huge castle with seemingly endless sharp-looking minarets. There was a star-like
light on the tower shone brightly to reveal a sword shaped hill with an ominous atmosphere.
“…!”
However, despite seeing such a shocking scene, the Spirits immediately focused on a single
point.
The reason was obvious. Because at that point, there was a familiar looking girl sitting gracefully
atop the tallest tower.
“—Oh, hello everyone. How are you?”
“Kurumi! It’s you…!”
After spotting her figure, Shido couldn’t help but call out to her.
Her long black hair was tied back into two unequal ponytails on either side of her head, and she
had white porcelain skin—and a golden left eye resembling a clock.
That’s right. Sitting there was the worst Spirit, Tokisaki Kurumi herself.
“Yes, yes. I missed you so much, Shido-san.”
She heard Shido’s call and clapped her hands cheerfully. The incredible phenomenon that
occurred just now was obviously related to Kurumi.
“Kurumi…! What did you do! Where are we?”
“Hehehe! Please calm down, Tohka-san.”
Kurumi giggled as she responded to Tohka’s, leaning forward as though she was about to jump
from the tower.
But in the next moment, Kurumi’s figure disappeared into the void.
“Huh…?!”
“S-She disappeared…”
The Spirits all watched in confusion and unsteadiness on their faces. Everyone looked around,
looking for Kurumi who disappeared suddenly.
However—
“—Hahaha. Who are you looking for?”
When they heard the laughter behind them, the Spirits all turned around at the same time.
That’s right. Because Kurumi appeared in the center of the circle of Spirits who’d stood with
their backs to each other.
“How, why…?”
“Just now… what…?”
When everyone strengthened their vigilance and showed a confused expression, Kurumi couldn’t
help but smile.
“There’s no need to be so surprised. No matter what happens, there’s nothing to be worried about
because everything is just a dream.”
“A dream…?”
As Kurumi spoke those words, Shido frowned. Nonetheless, Kurumi nodded and answered
affirmatively as she landed on the ground.
With this action, Kurumi’s figure disappeared again and then appeared in front of Shido and the
others.
“—This is a ‘non-reality’ in which dreams and fantasy have become intertwined. You are now
just temporarily waking from a dream into another dream.”
She spoke as she walked at a slow pace as though she was dancing. However, this sentence only
seemed to deepen the Spirits’ confusion.
Having said that, Shido didn’t think that Kurumi was lying.
Because like Kurumi said, Shido had the feeling that he’d awoken from a dream just
now—besides, there have been several phenomena that can only be explained by being dreams.
In addition, the strange memories that lingered in his mind were the same. If everything up until
now was a dream, then it would make sense.
But if that was the case, there was still one thing that didn’t make sense to Shido. He stared at
Kurumi as he asked:
“…If this is a dream, then are you and all of the other Spirits all characters in my dream?”
Yes, this was what Shido wanted to know. He knew for sure that, if this was a dream, then
everything aside from Shido was fictional.
However, how the Spirits spoke and acted are exactly as they would in real life. But Kurumi was
supposed to be a character in this dream. Why did she specifically say this was a dream?
…However, if it wasn’t his dream, then Shido was helpless.
After hearing Shido’s question, Kurumi raised the corners of her mouth and smiled evilly.
“No. All of the Spirits here are the same as Shido-san—This is a dream of ‘the consciousness of
all the Spirits’, including me.”
Kurumi turned around with an exaggerated motion as she explained. Kotori heard those words
from her place next to Shido and she frowned and folded her arms.
“What’s going on? Is it true that all of us are sharing the same dream?”
“Yes. Everyone has the same dream in harmony—I’ve connected your dreams together.”
“What are you talking about…?”
Kotori’s expression became more cautious as her serious expression remained. However, Kurumi
didn’t seem too worried and simply smiled heartily.
“—Kurumi, what is it you’re after? Did you want to see how we all spent time together when
you’re not around?”
“Hehehe! That’s certainly a reason, too. Everyone’s dreams were very interesting. I didn’t expect
Shiori-san to reappear.”
“So that was you as well!”
After shouting with his eyes wide, Kurumi shrugged helplessly.
“That’s not fair. All I did was connect everyone’s dreams. I didn’t interfere with the contents. It
should only be the desires of the Spirits in the dreams, but as for whose desire, I don’t know.”
“Darling, is that true?”
Hearing what Kurumi said, Miku’s eyes shone brightly. Shido put his hand on his head and
turned away from Miku’s gaze.
“Why are your eyes shining? It wasn’t me! The most suspicious one here is you, Miku!”
“I hate this! Darling is such a meanie!”
“Ah, please be quiet.”
Kotori quickly stopped Shido and Miku’s argument and looked at Kurumi again.
“Kurumi, you said that this was just one of your reasons. You’re a Spirit yourself, you wouldn’t
do something like this just for fun, be honest, what is it you’re after?”
“Purpose? My purpose? You’re still asking about such things now? Haven’t I already made my
intentions clear a long time ago—that is the Spirit power sealed with Shido-san.”
Kurumi, walking as though she was dancing, continued:
“No matter how the approach is changed, how many paths are taken, nothing has changed.
Everything is the same.”
“What do you mean? What does sharing dreams have to do with capturing Spirit power?”
After Shido inquired, Kurumi looked at Shido with narrowed eyes.
“Since the Spirit power sealed by Shido-san forms a path, sometimes that power reverses
depending on the mental state of the Spirits—so wouldn’t it be possible for their mental state to
become unstable in a dream? That way, the Spirit power could backflow while sleeping.”
Shido was caught off guard and glanced at Kotori—Kotori probably noticed his gaze on her, only
to see sweat on her cheek as she nodded gently.
“…It is indeed possible. In the past, there have been several instances when some Spirit power
flowed back during sleep—”
“…Hmm.”
It made sense the more he thought about it. For example, like with Natsumi, just thinking about
something nasty can cause a backflow of Spirit power. If they had a nightmare, it wouldn’t be
surprising that the same phenomenon would occur.
“I can use my shadows to absorb the back flowing Spirit power. Usually, the Spirits would feel
ill, but if I trap their consciousness in a dream, would they be able to resist? Let them immerse
themselves in their dreams while I consume their Spirit power—Don’t you think this method is
very consistent with the codename <Nightmare> that the humans have given me?”
“What…?!”
“Absorb the Spirit power of Muku and the others…?”
Kurumi’s laughter resounded through the darkness. The Spirit’s expressions were filled with fear,
as they hugged themselves unsteadily, staring at themselves to confirm whether anything had
changed.
However, one of them never looked away from Kurumi from the beginning—it was Origami.
“—Everyone, calm down. If Tokisaki Kurumi’s words are true, you would be at greater risk if
you started panicking.”
“…!”
After listening to Origami, the other Spirits gasped.
Origami stared intently at Kurumi and continued to speak to the others:
“—There are two things that don’t make sense.”
“Huh…?”
“The first thing is the method. Tokisaki Kurumi said that she connected everyone’s dreams. But
by what method? Her Angel <Zafkiel> shouldn’t have this ability.”
“What…?”
Now that Origami mentioned it, it made sense. Because he’d been shocked by the suddenness of
the situation, he didn’t think about it right away. <Zafkiel> was an Angel that could control time,
and he suspected that it didn’t have the ability to connect dreams together.
“The other thing is the reason why she would appear before us. If what she said is true, then why
would she bother explaining the situation to us?”
“Hmm…”
The Spirits nodded their heads in agreement.
Origami raised her fingers one by one, then said:
“So I can infer that either she has already taken enough Spirit power—or things were developing
in a way that was unfavorable for her.”
“—Hehehe!”
After listening to Origami’s suspicions, Kurumi lowered her gaze and smiled slightly.
“Origami-san, you really are smart—that’s correct, my plan is still in progress. Although there
have been several opportunities to fully consume your Spirit powers, every time I’m about to
succeed, someone would stir problems for me.”
She then faced Shido, her skirt fluttering gently in the wind.
“—That person is you, Shido-san.”
“Huh…?”
Kurumi’s eyes shot toward Shido, leaving Shido to frown.
“When I want to consume the Spirits’ powers, Shido-san will kiss them and stabilize their mental
state—you shouldn’t remember your duties, so why do you keep getting in my way?”
“—! Huh—”
After listening to Kurumi, Shido touched his lips with his fingertips.
Now that he thought about it, Shido did have the feeling that he’d kissed the Spirits in each of his
dreams. Although most times it happened as things developed—he hadn’t intentionally protected
them from Kurumi.
However, Kurumi didn’t seem particularly annoyed, but raised the corners of her mouth to show
a strange smile.
“So, I decided to try a simpler method—if I torture all the Spirits or Shido-san here, how much
can I disturb your minds?”
“…!”
After listening to what Kurumi said, the Spirits once again showed vigilant attitudes, Tohka and
Mukuro moved forward to protect Shido, and the Yamai sisters lowered their postures like beasts
so that they could attack Kurumi at any moment.
At that moment, everyone’s bodies emitted a faint light, summoned a limited astral dress and
their Angels. It seemed that, even in a dream, they could still summon their limited astral dresses
and Angels would still appear.
However, despite facing so many enemies, Kurumi’s expression seemed just as calm as ever.
“No need to talk nonsense—Don’t you think that you’re underestimating me too much? Do you
think that you can beat me in this dream?”
Kurumi laughed arrogantly, suddenly opening her hands.
“—I will answer Origami-san’s first question. I did not rely on the power of <Zafkiel> to connect
everyone’s dreams together and form this world. But—haven’t you already experienced it?
[Technology that turns fantasy into reality and transcends human comprehension!]
Kurumi’s body seemed to echo her cry, emitting a faint light.
Then, an object different from an astral dress wrapped around her body.
“What…!”
“That’s—”
Shido and Origami’s voices overlapped. It was clear that Origami was just as confused as the rest
of them.
However, this reaction was understandable.
Because Kurumi was wearing—mechanical armor decorated with black and white.
“A CR-Unit…!”
Origami forced out those words from her throat.
That’s right. That was the armor used by the Realizer—the CR Unit.
Kurumi was wearing the equipment used by AST and DEM wizards to fight against the Spirits.
However, the unit itself was not familiar to any of them.
The ominous and beautiful appearance was neither the standard equipment for the AST nor the
units from DEM. There were numerous sharp objects protruding below the waist to form a skirt,
giving it an appearance a bit like a spider.
“Yes, it’s quite beautiful. The Realizer Manifestation Device—although it’s much weaker
compared to an Angel, its versatility is really commendable. It’s really amazing.”
“How come you have that sort of thing?!”
After Origami asked the question, Kurumi slowly stretched out her fingers.
“I got it from a DEM wizard who wanted to kill me. The CR-Unit <Atlach-Nacha>. It’s pretty
cute, heehee. Even though it’s cute, don’t forget that it’s still quite a dangerous weapon!”
In that moment, Kurumi’s arms crossed, and the tips of her fingers immediately ejected
something like silk thread.
Those silk threads wrapped around the gigantic minaret towering above them, and a bridge like a
spider’s web was formed between the minarets.
“This is…!”
“—A laser silk thread. It’s something that can use magic to generate a filament.”
Origami’s eyes narrowed as she answered Shido’s question in the midst of his surprise. At the
same time, Natsumi showed a confused expression as well.
“…What’s going on? Doesn’t using the manifestation device require having a chip placed in
your brain in order to use it?”
Natsumi glanced at Kotori. Kotori kept her gaze on Kurumi and answered:
“…You’re right. Even if she managed to snatch the manifestation device but didn’t have the
transmission device that gives instructions from your head, it’s reasonable that it wouldn’t be
able to activate it—but, if the device was made to emulate Spirit power, then maybe… Although
I haven’t tried it, a Spirit may be able to control it without a transmission device. Or—”
“Or what?”
“—Craniotomy using her clones.”
“Hee hee hee hee!”
Kurumi laughed and interrupted the conversation between Natsumi and the others, as she jumped
directly up, shooting a shot of <silk thread> at Shido.
“I won’t let you get away with this…”
Tohka kicked off the ground, and shouted and waved her Angel <Sandalphon>.
However, the <silk thread> that was shot by Kurumi managed to block the blow from the giant
sword <Sandalphon>, which was several hundred times wider, and immobilized Tohka at the
same time.
“Muu—!”
“Tohka!”
Tohka and <Sandalphon> were now entangled within the <silk thread> and rolled to the ground.
However, Shido couldn’t even move to her side because Kurumi’s “silk thread” criss-crossed in
the air, casting a wide net toward Shido.
“Whoa…!”
“Shido!”
When Kotori called out to him, Shido felt something hit him, giving him a chance to escape—
“Yeah—!”
“Kotori!”
Kotori helped Shido escape, at the cost of trading places with him as the victim under the net
now stuck to the ground.
“Um—”
Of course, the other Spirits would not take the attacks quietly. The Yamai sisters surrounded
themselves in the wind as they screamed. At the same time, Origami summoned <Metatron>;
Mukuro opened the space with <Michael> and tried to trap her.
However, Kurumi was able to move around the <silk thread> between the minarets and skillfully
avoided those attacks, capturing the Yamai sisters, Origami, and Mukuro with her <silk thread>
and expanding the <net>.
“Rrgh! You bastard! What did you do?! We were just about to win!”
“Vile. With this method, are you embarrassed to admit that you would have lost to us?”
“Mun… I can’t move…”
Although Kaguya and the others swung their arms and legs, the <silk thread> was as strong as a
mountain and they had no chance of escaping.
“Everyone…!”
“Whoa, this isn’t good…”
“Ah! Everyone is in a state where they can’t resist any attacks! This is not good! We have to save
them immediately!”
Although Yoshino, Natsumi, and Miku all tried to resist, they were soon captured by the <silk
thread> like everyone else. Nia didn’t seem to do anything, and unconsciously rolled into a ball
and fell to the ground.
“Hey! Why are you treating me like this! It should be more dramatic! I also want to be struck
down!”
“Shut up.”
“Hmm!”
Nia shouted in dissatisfaction with her mouth gagged by “silk thread”. Kurumi, meanwhile,
stood on the <silk thread> between two minarets, gazing down at the Spirits who could no longer
resist, and then looked down at Shido.
“—Hehehe. You are the only one left.”
“You bastard…!”
Shido gritted his teeth as he tried to focus—since the Spirits could summon their astral dresses
and their Angels. It should be possible for Shido to do it too.
However—
“Hee hee hee.”
The moment Kurumi laughed madly, the <silk thread> stretched from the left and right to wrap
around Shido’s arms and legs, pulling him in four directions, leaving him exposed while also
binding his actions.
“Huh…?!”
“It’s all over now.”
Kurumi landed on the ground with a triumphant smile and slowly walked toward Shido.
“Hehehe—I am faced with many enemies wielding Angels. If this was reality, I would definitely
lose. However, here in this dream, in this fantasy kingdom I have created—No matter how much
power you have, there is no way that you can beat me.”
Kurumi said confidently as she stood before Shido.
“Okay, now what should we do to make everyone unstable? Pain? Humiliation? Or—”
Shido couldn’t help but gasp.
Kurumi licked her lips as she stroked Shido’s body provocatively.
“Or perhaps… Are more sensual ways more effective?”
“Y-You, what the hell do you think you’re doing—”
“Hehehe!”
Kurumi laughed insanely as she was fascinated by Shido’s panicked reaction.
“H-Hey, Kurumi! What do you think you are doing to Shido!”
“Release him immediately! You don’t want to get me angry!”
“HHHHMMMMMMMM!”
Tohka and Kotori twisted their bodies and tried to break their shackles. Nia, whose mouth was
gagged, was also shouting something. No one understood what she said, but it was obvious.
Kurumi saw the others and her smile broadened. She began to touch Shido’s body more.
“Hey, you…!”
“Oh, what’s the matter—?”
—However, in the next moment:
“…! Huh—?”
Kurumi’s unexpected reaction made Shido’s eyes go wide.
The reason was simple. Because there was a loud snapping sound and the <silk thread> wound
around him broke and his hands and feet were freed.
“—!”
Immediately afterward, Kurumi seemed to sense something as she gasped abruptly and then
immediately jumped backward.
Then, a petite girl immediately landed in front of him with her back to Shido from above.
“I’m late. Are you hurt, Nii-sama?”
“—…M-Mana!”
Now that he had the chance to focus, Shido recognized the girl’s appearance and voice and
couldn’t help but call out her name.
That’s right. Appearing there was a wizard of <Ratatoskr>, Takamiya Mana, who was also
Shido’s little sister (by blood).
However, it took a moment for Shido to realize that this girl was the real deal, because her
current outfit was drastically different from her usual sporty clothes.
Instead, she was dressed in a cute dress with ruffles that slimmed around her waist, long leather
boots with laces tied tightly, a headband adorned with various ornaments, even including a small
crown among them. Finally, she was holding a lotus leaf parasol like a sword.
Such an outfit resembled a gothic lolita dress. Mana unexpectedly wore the outfit very well but it
led to a very different image of her from her usual love for hoodies and sportswear.
“You, why are you wearing this…?”
“Oh, are you talking about this dress? It’s unbelievable. What I am actually wearing on the
“outside” is clearly the <Vanagandr>—is this also an effect of the dream world?”
The so-called <Vanagandr> was the name of the CR-Unit developed by <Ratatoskr>.
Hearing this sentence, Shido’s shoulders shook abruptly.
When Mana first appeared, Shido thought for a moment that she had also been trapped in this
dream world by Kurumi.
However—that wasn’t the case. Since she wasn’t a Spirit, Kurumi had no reason to trap her here
as well.
“Mana, didn’t you say—”
“—That you came from ‘reality’?”
Kurumi’s eyes narrowed and spoke from the opposite end of Shido. Mana nodded while holding
her parasol aloft.
“Yes. Reine-san discovered that the brain waves of Nii-sama and the Spirits were abnormal so
we used a Realizer manifestation device to send my consciousness into everyone’s dreams, just
like what <Nightmare> did to you. It seems that I made it just in time.”
“O-Oh…”
Kurumi listened to what Mana said and waved her fingers with a soft sigh. In line with her
movements, the <silk thread> all around mimicked her movements.
“I really want to welcome you properly—but I’m a little busy right now. If you’re not invited,
please leave now.”
“Hah! Who is truly uninvited? That said, that CR-Unit? Such a disgusting design suits you.”
“Hee hee. Your dress also suits you. If you were a non-speaking doll, I’d love you too—”
Kurumi raised her hands as though to say that she was surrendering. But then she stretched out
the shining <silk thread> one by one from her fingers, splitting the dark giant city and attacking
Mana.
“Huh!”
However, Mana jumped away while waving down the parasol in her hand.
In an instant, the countless “silk threads” approaching Mana were easily cut by the parasol.
“Hmph! You might be invincible to the Spirits, but like you, I am an outsider who was able to
send my consciousness into this dream world. We are on equal terms here.”
Mana pointed the tip of the parasol at Kurumi and thrust it out to jab her. Kurumi jumped back
and fired a thousand shots, creating more <silk thread> again.
However, her goal was not the same. The <silk thread> easily destroyed the nearby minaret, and
the wreckage fell towards Mana.
“Whoa…!”
However, Mana suddenly darted out of the way and flicked a small amount of debris with her
parasol and flung it toward Kurumi.
“Ara, Ara, you really are something!”
“You aren’t qualified to compare yourself to me!”
Mana and Kurumi faced each other while spitting evil words and they attacked each other around
the castle.
Mana’s parasol easily managed to slice the <silk thread> that even <Sandalphon> couldn’t
manage to cut through. But no matter how many times she sliced through it, it always
regenerated immediately. The offense and defense of these two weapons gradually destroyed the
giant city leading to a stalemate.
“Ah—”
Mana, who’d managed to avoid the “silk thread”, landed next to Shido when the clash between
them came to a lull.
Then, probably to avoid being overheard by Kurumi, she lowered her voice and spoke to Shido:
“Nii-sama, as you can see, we are evenly matched. Although I won’t lose, I lack a critical blow.
And—because this is all just a dream, even if we beat <Nightmare> here, it doesn’t mean victory
in the real world.”
“Then what should we do?”
After Shido inquired, Mana, still staring at Kurumi directly, and continued to speak:
“…Her consciousness is here. In other words, the only way is to conquer her heart.”
“Conquer… her heart?”
“Yes. But my strength alone won’t be enough—I need your help, Nii-sama.”
“Huh…?”
Shido listened to what Mana said and his eyes widened.
“Wait a minute, I really want to help you… But I can’t use a Realizer Manifestation Device. So
can I really deal with her at all?”
“About that, please don’t worry. Reine-san showed me a useful trick—next time I launch an
attack, please cooperate with me.”
“Ah, hey, Mana—”
It was too late to reply; Mana rushed at Kurumi again without explaining further.
However, since Mana had asked him for help, he couldn’t just stand there in silence. Although
exactly what he had to do was unclear, Shido trusted Mana and Reine and chased after Mana.
So Mana and Kurumi continued to clash in front again. There were countless <silk threads> and
the parasols that met at lightning speed.
But at that moment, Mana suddenly acted in a way that was different from the previous ones.
After cutting the <silk thread>, she pointed the tip of the parasol at Kurumi—
“Now activating Realizer!”
Then she pressed the button attached to the handle of the umbrella to open the parasol that was
originally retracted.
In that moment, a burst of light burst forth from the parasol, gradually enveloping the
surroundings.
‘What—”
“This is…”
Kurumi and Shido’s voices overlapped at that moment.
Soon after, the light swallowed the two of them—turning everything in their vision into pure
white.
“—Very good, it’s all clean now.”
Kurumi sighed as she exhaled after she finished wiping the mansion window and tossed the rag
in her hand into a bucket of water. The dirt peeled off the rag, turning the water a murky gray.
However, there was still more work to do. After she finished wiping the windows, she had to
clean the house, then it would be time to collect the clothes. The Itsuka home was so huge.
Speaking of the Itsuka family, it was an old nobility and a famous family that had a strong
influence in the business world.
And Kurumi was one of the maids employed by the Itsuka family—
“…Ara Ara”
At that moment, Kurumi tilted her head.
The carefully cleaned glass was like a mirror, reflecting Kurumi’s appearance.
She was dressed in a blue skirt with a white apron and a cute headdress on her head. It was
undoubtedly the outfit of a maid and also the usual work clothes of Kurumi… It is reasonable to
say that this was true, but somehow, Kurumi felt that there was something wrong with her dress.
But if she had been asked what was strange, she wouldn’t be able to explain. Kurumi was indeed
a maid of this mansion and she was working right now, but somehow she imagined herself
dressed as something else—a machine… armor… fighting…? Who was she fighting with?
“—What are you doing?”
As Kurumi thought about this sort of thing, she heard such a voice come from behind her.
Hearing this voice, Kurumi’s body naturally trembled.
“…! M-Mana-san.”
Kurumi turned around and spotted a young petite girl wearing exquisite workmanship clothes,
her sleeves ruffled—Takamiya Mana, a daughter of the Itsuka family, who for some reason did
not have the surname ‘Itsuka.’ She never had a chance to investigate this.
“M-Mana-san?”
Mana frowned as she stared at Kurumi.
“No, I’m very sorry, Mana-san…!”
“—Hmm, forget it. In other words, since you’re standing there in a daze, that must mean that all
the work has been handled impeccably, eh?”
Mana wiped the nearby cabinet with her finger and then showed the dusty fingers and stared at
Kurumi again.
“Oh? It looks like it’s only roughly done.”
Mana spoke in a tone like a vicious mother-in-law… She was gentle and kind to all of the other
maids and was well liked for her character, but for some reason she was always harsh towards
only Kurumi.
“I’m so sorry. I’ll go ahead and wipe it again…”
Kurumi spoke frantically, intending to leave the room to grab the cleaning supplies.
“Ah!”
She accidentally knocked the bucket over and the water spilled all over the floor. What’s even
worse was that because of Kurumi’s fall, the clay pot placed on the cabinet fell to the floor and a
crisp shattering sound could be heard as the luxurious clay pot shattered into countless
fragments.
“Ah…!”
“What…Look, see what you did?! That clay pot is Nii-sama’s most cherished possession—”
When Mana started shouting, the door opened, and a teenager poked his head inside the room.
“—I heard shouting, what happened?”
“Ah! N-Nii-sama! Look, this maid broke your clay pot!”
Mana said. That’s right, this teenager was the master of the Itsuka family: Itsuka Shido himself.
“A-Ah…” And my nightm

are ends as well,along with these ed its. -En e
Kurumi’s voice trembled weakly—finished. She didn’t know how expensive the decoration of
the Itsuka family was.
“I see…”
Neither of them expected Shido to look so calm. He sighed and looked at Mana.
“I’ll take care of the rest. You can go back to your room.”
“O-Oh…”
After receiving that vague response, Mana glared at Kurumi again, then followed Shido’s
instructions and walked out of the room.
Once Shido confirmed that she was gone and then slowly approached Kurumi—
“Are you hurt?”
He asked, reaching out to her.
“Huh…?”
Kurumi’s eyes went wide as she stared up into Shido’s face—that gentle face.
“Ah, n-no… I was not injured.”
“Well, that’s good, then.”
Shido took Kurumi’s hand to help her to her feet and smiled slightly.
Kurumi noticed his expression and couldn’t help but feel confused. It was no wonder, after all,
Kurumi accidentally broke one of his cherished ornaments.
“That… how should I apologize to you…”
“Hmm? Oh, it’s fine. They say that all tangible objects will be destroyed sooner or later, so don’t
worry about it.”
“B-But—”
After he finished speaking, Shido scratched his head and a playful smile appeared on his face as
he remembered something.
“…That’s true. If I just let you go, how can I establish my authority with the other maids in the
future? I guess there’s no helping it—I will have to punish you.”
“—!”
A “Punishment”. In this mansion, that term did not mean being locked in a warehouse or being
beaten with a stick. Kurumi blushed instantly and bowed her head.
However, Kurumi could not refuse the punishment because she still had several sisters (with the
same appearance as her) to support. If Kurumi lost this job, they would end up on the streets.
“O-Okay…”
Kurumi squeaked like a mosquito as she spoke, as she stretched out her slightly trembling hand
to lift up her skirt, slowly pulling it up until her underwear was exposed.
At that moment, Shido narrowed his eyes playfully.
“You seem to be enjoying this. Could it be that you broke the clay pot deliberately in order to
accept this punishment?”
“O-Only this time…”
Kurumi denied it but paused halfway through.
At that moment, Shido grabbed Kurumi’s shoulders and pressed her against the wall.
Then with a rough but extremely gentle pressure, he put a hand on Kurumi’s chin and slowly
inched his face closer to hers.
“You bad girl—you really are enjoying this, is this not enough of a punishment for you?”
“E-Eh…?”
She seemed to perceive Shido’s intentions, Kurumi flushed and panicked. However, Shido
seemed fascinated by her reaction and whispered in Kurumi’s ear while smiling slightly:
“—Do you hate it? But, I can’t stop now. Because this is still a punishment.”
“…!”
Kurumi’s body trembled more aggressively, her cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red.
She felt nervous and a little scared.
However, the main reason was because she was the one being humiliated. Obviously she was the
punished party but she would be more willing if she was doing this to Shido.
“Hmm…”
“—”
Shido’s lips were pressed firmly against Kurumi’s lips.
In an instant, Kurumi’s mind was struck by a bolt of lightning.
“AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
Kurumi’s screams echoed all around, and at the same time, a bright flash of light blazed around
the dark city.
Shido heard Kurumi’s screams and put a hand on his head, which still felt a little dizzy.
“What happened just now…”
It felt like a dream-like experience. The memory of Shido “punishing” Kurumi dressed as a maid
was still fresh in his mind.
While Shido was confused, Mana, who was standing in front of him, put away her parasol and
rested it on her shoulder as she explained:
“—I temporarily absorbed <Nightmare> into a dream of her own. Simply, it was to force her to
experience the same phenomenon as Tohka-san and Kotori-san and the others.”
“Ah.”
After listening to Mana’s words, Shido’s eyes went wide. It did feel similar to when he became a
cat or a rookie editor.
“After all, it was incredible. As expected of Nii-sama who can actually mess with that
<Nightmare> in his clutches…”
“N-No, but I didn’t notice it myself…”
Shido sweated from his forehead and scratched his cheeks. Much like his previous dreams, Shido
actually thought that he was a “handsome and young master”, but in retrospect, that shameful
behavior was something he would only ever do in a dream.
“…Uh, you said that I was messing with Kurumi in my clutches… Actually, why do you even
know about this kind of thing?”
“Huh? Obviously it’s because I only pretended to go back to my room. In fact, I was watching
you punish her from the door.”
“You were watching me the whole time!”
Shido couldn’t help but shout out loud. At that moment, the dust spreading around the ground
scattered, revealing Kurumi’s figure.
Her body was unharmed and her equipment was not yet damaged. But Kurumi was still kneeling
on the ground, clearly uncomfortable, her face sweating and her cheeks flushed a deep shade of
red.
“Oh, the outcome is already determined, <Nightmare>. Just let everyone go.”
“L-Like I would listen… to you…”
As she panted out her words, Kurumi struggled to stand up. So Mana’s eyes narrowed suddenly:
“—Do you really hate it? But I can’t stop. Because this is a punishment.”
“Ah…!”
Almost immediately, Kurumi’s legs began to tremble more violently as she stumbled back again.
The effect was instantaneous.
However, there was still a problem. Shido’s cheeks were also flushed as he moaned as well.
“…While that’s effective, that sentence will also affect me too, so don’t say it…”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Mana replied, but she didn’t show remorse as she spoke. She then pointed the tip of her parasol
at Kurumi.
“Acknowledge your fate. Otherwise, I will force you to go back to the dream just now.”
“A-Ah…!”
Kurumi groaned unwillingly as her eyes began to burst into tears of humiliation.
Everyone with eyes could see who was the victor. Although Kurumi was confident, she was
already mentally scarred. There was only one person who could let them out of the dream. It
should be said that, not only was Kurumi embarrassed, Shido hoped that she would just give up.
“—Don’t be so shameful, [Me].”
Such a voice came from somewhere.
“What—”
“This voice is—<Nightmare>!”
As though she was responding to Mana’s voice, a shadow lingered next to Kurumi who was
sitting paralyzed on the ground, and another Kurumi dressed in a dark astral dress appeared from
it. Seeing this, Shido couldn’t help but gasp and said:
“Kurumi! So, that Kurumi is—”
Shido turned his gaze to the Kurumi dressed in the CR-Unit as he finished speaking, and then he
heard Mana sneer resentfully.
“—It’s just a doppelganger. Still, I suspected such a thing from the beginning.”
“O-Oh, so it’s really true. How did you notice?”
“How many of them do you think I’ve killed since I started this journey?”
Mana asked and then rounded on Kurumi with a sneer.
“—So? Are you also going to fight us?”
“There’s no need to jump conclusions like this. I didn’t come here to cause trouble—but to
recycle the [me] who acted without permission.”
“What…?”
After hearing those unexpected words, Shido’s eyes widened.
At that moment, the Kurumi dressed in the CR-Unit hunched on the ground started shouting
hysterically:
“[Me]…! What are you doing here!”
Because I discovered a sleeping doppelganger dressed in a CR-Unit, I used [Yud] to explore your
memory and then [Tet] to connect directly with your consciousness—really, to think I would find
this kind of trouble.”
“[Me] is—What are you talking about! I… it was just for our goal. I just wanted to gain Spirit
power! Because [Me] refuses to take action against Shido-san, I deliberately used the Realizer to
force Spirits’ powers to backflow—! How is this my fault!”
“I’m not asking whether your actions were right or wrong. I am the mind and all of the
doppelgangers are the arms and legs. No matter what the reasons are, the arms and legs should
not oppose the brain. If I forgive you for this behavior, our order would descend into chaos
sooner or later, right?”
After she finished speaking, the doppelganger sighed softly:
“Don’t try to speak so impressively… Be honest, it’s not nearly enough! [I] have been hesitant,
right? Because to Shido-san, [I]—”
“—[Me].”
Just as the doppelganger was halfway through the sentence, Kurumi snapped her fingers and so
the shadow under her feet started to expand and consume the doppelganger.
“What—AAAAHHHHH!”
The doppelganger let out such an anguished scream as she disappeared.
Then in the next moment, the surrounding area began to vibrate, and the dark space began to
crack.
“Whoa…!”
“This is…!”
“Relax. It should be because [My] consciousness was interrupted, the Realizer that was
originally used to summon this world has started to fail.”
Faced with panic from Shido and Mana, Kurumi curtsied politely.
“—Anyway, I’ll be leaving first. My misbehaving doppelgangers have caused you trouble.”
She spoke as she intended to return to the shadows.
Just as Kurumi’s body sank with a just a quarter remaining, Mana sighed provocatively:
“Oh, so are you just going to escape?”
“Didn’t I already tell you? I’m only here to recycle the [Me]—but I’ll tell you one thing:”
She looked at Mana three times and then smiled happily.
“Your current appearance, although you seem to think that it was affected after entering this
world, [I] did not add such an effect to this world.”
“—Really, do you actually enjoy wearing this kind of outfit deep in your heart? Hahaha, it
actually suits you quite well.”
“…!”
Kurumi left Mana with a polite bow as she disappeared into the shadows with a laugh.
Soon after she disappeared, the cracks in the space became even larger and the dark world was
filled with light.
“That woman…!”
At that moment, there seemed to be a voice of guilt and reluctance, but Shido ultimately decided
to ignore it as much as he could.
“U-Um…”
There was a bright light that irritated everyones’ eyes through their eyelids.
He slowly regained consciousness, Shido groaned lightly as he slowly opened his eyes.
“Shido! Are you okay?!”
“No problem…”
“Hey, Boy, I don’t remember a large part of the dream. What happened in the end?”
The Spirits who he suspected were waiting by his bed all spoke loudly.
It seemed that they all woke up before he did. The Spirits swarmed Shido’s room like a crowded
train station.
Seeing this unexpected situation, Shido started to panic at first—but he immediately remembered
the dreams he just had and felt a wave of relief sweep over him.
“A-Ah… Good morning, everyone. I’m glad that everyone is all right.”
After Shido smiled and sat up, the Spirits’ expressions all brightened and they all thanked Shido
one after another:
“I’m sorry, Nushi-sama; thank you for saving me. Without you, Muku might have been taken
away.”
“…Yeah, it was a really dangerous situation.”
“That is to say! Ah, but Kurumi-san wearing a CR-Unit was very charming! What can I say?
That sort of clothing that does not exist for the Spirits…”
There were also some Spirits that behaved normally, like Miku.
In short, everyone seemed safe. Shido let out a relieved sigh and got out of bed.
“Okay, let’s go downstairs… I’m starting to feel hungry. Have you had breakfast yet?”
“Oh! Not yet!”
“Well, in that case, why don’t I prepare a simple breakfast for everyone?”
After Shido finished speaking, the Spirits burst into an excited chatter.
“How about an omelette? Can we have an omelette? And with some bacon there too!”
“I want the flames and golden blessings burning the silver field!”
“Translation. Kaguya said she wants buttered toast.”
“Isn’t that too western? As Japanese people, we should be eating rice.”
“…No, what kind of Japanese custom is that? Aren’t we Spirits?”
“Okay, okay, I get it. Let’s just go downstairs first.”
Shido could only shrug helplessly, then take the lead to leave the room and head downstairs.
Then when he entered the living room, his eyes widened slightly—because he saw the figures of
two people.
“…Hmm, good morning, Shin.”
“Nii-sama! You overslept a bit—but after all that’s happened, I let you rest a little bit longer.”
“Reine! Mana!”
Shido couldn’t help but call out their names. That’s right, Murasame Reine was the analyst of
<Ratatoskr> who sat on the sofa in the living room.
It was Reine who discovered the abnormal brain waves in Shido and the Spirits, and Mana who
came to the rescue with the Realizer. Without their help, Shido and the others would have still
been trapped in their dreams. Shido approached the two of them and bowed his head deeply.
“Reine-san, thank you so much. You really helped me out a lot. And thank you so much to you
as well Mana.”
After Shido finished speaking, the Spirits behind him also bowed their heads. Reine and Mana
glanced at each other while scratching their cheeks in embarrassedly.
“…No, this is all part of my responsibilities. Observing the mental state of the Spirits is part of
my job.”
“This sort of thing is not enough to warrant praise. Everyone was saved thanks also to Nii-sama’s
efforts.”
When Mana finished speaking, Origami approached the two of them.
“—By the way, there’s something I want to ask you.”
“Hmm? What is it, Origami?”
“Can you please explain in detail how to use the Realizer to enter the dreams of others?”
“Uh, what do you think of doing with that information, Origami?!”
Shido felt his entire body freeze on the spot as he let out an alarmed voice.
Still, despite the relentless questioning, Reine and Mana seemed to recognize the danger of
sharing that secret with Origami so they just answered her vaguely.
“Really…”
After Shido sighed, he put on his apron and headed for the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Mana was quick to follow him to the kitchen.
“Hmm? Is something wrong, Mana?”
“I’m here to help you out. You just got up, and you’re planning to prepare breakfast for so many
people, but you must still be tired… And I’m afraid of being questioned by Origami in the living
room.”
“Haha… So that’s what this is about. Okay, can you shred the cabbage for me?”
“Of course. Just leave it to me.”
With that, Mana, who had just finished washing her hands, picked up the kitchen knife and
skillfully shredded the cabbage.
“Oh, so you already know how to cut it.”
“Of course; I am good at using a knife.”
“How do you sound so dangerous saying that sentence…?”
Although Shido smiled bitterly—considering Mana’s origins, it might be natural for her to say
such things.
Because of DEM’s magical treatment that led the girl to become a wizard but at the cost of an
ordinary life.
“…Honestly…”
“Huh? What’s the matter, Nii-sama?”
“If it’s convenient, do you want to go shopping together next time? Like for clothes or something
like that?”
“…”
Shido spoke casually but the kitchen knife that was striking the chopping board rhythmically
suddenly stopped.
After a moment of silence, Mana spoke quietly:
“—Do you hate it? But, I can’t stop now. Because this is punishment.”
Shido coughed in surprise at that sentence in response to what Mana said.
“Nii-sama… We all have forgotten what happened in our dreams, right?”
“…U-Um, that might be for the best.”
The two grinned weakly at each other and returned to preparing breakfast as though nothing had
happened.
“—Well that was a strange thing to say.”
“Yes, yes, it’s very strange to say that.”
In the shadows, Kurumi could hear the voices of her doppelgangers from somewhere and her
eyebrows twitched.
‘What’s so strange?”
“Hehehehe… don’t try to act stupid.”
“It was [Me] who was trying to capture the Spirit power of Tohka-san and the others using a
Realizer Manifestation Device.”
“Everyone who disobeys my orders has to be dealt with immediately.”
“Hoo…”
Hearing the doppelgangers talk, Kurumi snorted quietly.
The doppelganger who used the Realizer was trapped in the shadows, but she had spared its life.
Just from looking at this, one could believe that Kurumi had gone soft.
However, Kurumi raised her arms again and looked down.
“She did act on her own, but her motivation was my goals. Thus, if she showed a more
self-reflective attitude, it would be less shameful to allow her to join the team again.”
“Moreover—” Kurumi continued:
“—Wouldn’t it be a waste to kill someone who is good at manipulating the CR-Unit?”
After she finally finished speaking, all of the doppelgangers fell silent as though thinking for a
few seconds. Then they grinned.
“So that’s what it was about.”
“[I] also want to be able to use the Realizer device to dive into Shido-san’s dreams.”
“Huh…?”
The doppelgangers’ wild guesses made Kurumi’s eyes go wide.
“How could you suggest such a thing…? I only meant it in terms of increasing the total combat
power!”
“Oh, really?”
“I figured it was that kind of thing…”
“What kind of dream does [Me] want to have?”
It seemed that by this point, no one was listening to Kurumi’s protests and instead were
discussing it amongst each other with excitement.
“Ara ara, if it was me, I want a fantasy like Tohka-san.”
“O-Oh, but the dream of being rescued by Shido-san like Mukuro-san is hard to give up.”
“In my dream, I definitely want to have a dream where Shido-san is the master and I am a maid.
Or I could adapt it a little bit. It’s not bad for me to be the master and hire Shido-san as a
housekeeper.”
“[Me], what do you think?”
“…”
The doppelgangers eyes cast in the shadows… an annoying development. Even as they were
giggling, they could already tell that they would have to pressure her in order to get an answer.
Kurumi could only sigh and resign herself to her fate.
“If it’s me—”
She then reluctantly began to describe the plot of the dream that she wanted to make.
After the doppelgangers listened, they showed various responses depending on the age from
which they were pulled.
“Oh my God.”
“So that’s what it is you want…”
“So that’s what… “
Some of them expressed delight, interest, or even some sadness.
Kurumi sighed quietly as she turned her back on the doppelgangers.
“…After all, it’s all just a dream…”
The sentence spoke more about herself than her doppelgangers but none of them planned to call
her out on it.
Afterword
Long time no see, I am Tachibana-sensei. I never would have imagined that in 2018, this book
would be placed in the storefront together with Sumo Magister. I hope you enjoy it.
Probably because it’s such a memorable episode, Origami in this book is also dressed in formal
clothes where a noble atmosphere is very charming. The dog ear school swimsuit maid is
Origami’s outfit of choice.
Anyway, the short story collection has reached the eighth volume. The style for this volume is
somewhat different from the previous ones.
The book is based on the fantasy world of <IF> that is, “hypothetical” fantasy world short stories
and then summarized into a newly written short story. It’s a style that I haven’t tried before, what
do you think? I would be honored if you enjoyed it.
Now, I will provide the explanations for this “Encore” collection. The content will contain
spoilers for the stories, so if you haven’t read the book yet, please be careful.
○ Natsumi Double:
The first short story. Although it’s based on the concept of depicting a hypothetical world, the
setting was too complicated in the beginning and so some people might be confused. Therefore,
let’s start with the more popular school story. Shido was an intern teacher and came to the school
where all of the Spirits were students.
After all, since I’ve written a fantasy world story specifically, I hoped not only to develop a plot
but I wanted to do something I wouldn’t be able to do normally. That is to say, to have (Adult)
Natsumi and (Child) Natsumi be able to appear at the same time. I wanted the (Child) Natsumi to
be my focus. She is super cute. What’s not cute is her cuteness (contradiction).
Although the illustrations published in <Dragon Magazine> only showed the swimsuit scene, the
design for Natsumi-sensei wearing old sportswear was made then as well. I added this new
content this time around and I’m really happy.
○ Tohka Brave:
At first I thought that it would be better to write using Origami or Nia, but because the cover of
<Dragon Magazine> that published this story happened to be Tohka, I decided to write a story
about Tohka pulling out the legendary sword. It was necessary to realize the scene of a battle
between Tohka and Inverse Tohka.
I like the illustration of the confrontation. According to their clothes, you can vaguely infer each
character’s role in the team. I really wanted to see Origami dressed as a knight.
Probably, the picture of Natsumi hiding behind Yoshino was so expressive that it left a deep
impression on Princess Miku, who didn’t actually appear in this story.
○ Kotori Editor:
<Ratatoskr> is used as an editorial department to encourage the Spirits to submit short stories.
From this story, the storyline from her moves forward. There are a lot of shortcomings, but
inexplicably it all fits together well. This lined up nicely to meet the 30th anniversary of
<Dragon Magazine> which feels very meaningful; <Dragon Magazine> would never leave this
until the last minute… Right?
Thinking of the pen names for each of the Spirits was unexpectedly interesting. My favorite pen
names were Shirai Kobina-sensei and NATSUKO-sensei.
○ Mukuro Geisha:
“Would you like to see… Mukuro dressed as a geisha?” With this thought, I decided to write this
story. After seeing the illustration of Mukuro-san, I was sure that my intuition was correct.
Yoshino and Natsumi behind her were also very cute.
Naturally, it should go without saying that Nia as the landlord and Miku are both also suitable
here. The last six lines of the story are some of my favorites. The rest could not have been
written without those words.
○ Shiori Spirit:
This story is especially surprising in the volume where the story is full of imagination. In terms
of facing the other side. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that it came from the same concept as
Natsumi Double and Tohka Brave but has a sense of abruptness about it.
The <Ultimate Maid> wielded by Shiori is very versatile, not only for cooking but also for
cleaning, washing, picking out fish bones, and the like, it’s a very practical Angel.
If Shiori had an inverse form, it would probably be a super lazy Spirit that has a messy room.
She wouldn’t wash her clothes and had poor cooking skills… Hey? Nia?
○ The Nightmare Begins / End of the Nightmare:
A new short story written for this book. I rarely ever add a preface.
Because the outline for this story was formulated before writing Natsumi Double, it was very
hard to stop once I started writing.
I decided from the beginning to let Kurumi wear a CR-Unit, but for the sake of the plot, Mana
wearing a gothic lolita costume to contrast was actually added once I started writing. Since
Kurumi was dressed in a CR-unit, Mana had to wear the gothic lolita costume to be fair, right?
This is the second time a Spirit has worn the unit since Origami. However, if the Spirits had their
own dedicated units, it would be really interesting. Come on, <Ratatoskr>.
Now I have finished the commentary.
A new anime season is in production. I have several pieces of news that I want to share with you,
but because this book’s release date happens to be the day before Mr. Fuji’s event, I can’t share it
with you just yet. I think you will find out what the news will be shortly, so stay tuned!”
(Tachibana is referring to the air date of DAL season 3 here.)
In addition, there are also “Date A Live” stickers in the LINE stickers to celebrate the 30th
anniversary of the Fantasia Library, please be sure to check them out!
Well, it would be impossible to publish this book with the help of many people. To the amazing
illustrator, Tsunako-sensei, the responsible and the beautiful editor Kusano, the other editors, and
other related personnel as well as the readers who picked up this book, I would like to extend my
heartfelt gratitude. Thank you.
Then, I look forward to meeting you all again next time.
Koushi Tachibana
September 2018
Editor: Ene
This is not your work. Please do not take mine, with credit or otherwise. Thanks.
Date a Cruise Case 1: Dance
There was an elegant melody reverberating around the ballroom.
People in formal outfits dancing together accompanied by a melody of strings.
It was as if it were a castle ball; a fantasy scene taken from a movie.
—It was aboard the luxury cruise ship, <Castle Maria>. A lone light that dotted the night sky.
However, in this gorgeous space—
“Whew…”
Dressed in a suit, Shido staggered away from the ballroom, towards one of the tables.
Just now, Shido had been dancing with all eleven of the Spirits consecutively.
“I’m tired. All that dancing was really exhausting…”
Shido stumbled into his seat. The table in front of him was filled with various eating utensils.
“If you’re tired, then let’s eat! Come on, eat!”
Tohka said with a smile on her face as she waved to Shido. It seemed that she brought some light
refreshments from the buffet table…Well, in terms of the sheer amount, it would be a stretch to
call them just light refreshments. Having said that, there was no denying that Shido was low on
energy after having spent so much time dancing. After a quick nod, Shido followed Tohka’s
suggestion.
“Ah! Thank you.”
“Umu! Now, Shido, open your mouth!”
Finally, Tohka picked up the German sausage with her fork and stretched it towards Shido.
“Ahaha…”
Although it was a little embarrassing, there was no reason to refuse Tohka. Shido blushed and
opened his mouth.
“—Wait.”
However, Origami spoke out.
“While it’s true that Tohka brought these dishes, we should all be allowed to feed Shido too.”
Shido’s eyes went wide in shock while the other Spirits all nodded in agreement.
“That’s true.”
“Agree. Then let’s do it in order.”
“H-H-Hey…”
If he let them feed him in order, he would have to eat at least ten portions. Shido scratched his
cheek with a troubled expression on his face as he wasn’t especially hungry.
However, things didn’t end there.
“Hehe. I have no objections but how would we decide who goes when?”
“This is indeed a problem.”
“Ah, then, why don’t we order it according to how much Darling enjoyed dancing with each of
us?”
Miku’s suggestion made everyone’s gazes dart to Shido.
“N-No. I had a lot of fun dancing with everyone…”
After Shido gave such a vague response, the Spirits discussed things amongst themselves again.
“Well, that didn’t work. Do you think we should dance with him again to determine the order for
the next time?”
“Mun. Although dancing with Nushi-sama again would make Muku very happy…how would we
decide the order for dancing?”
“This is indeed a problem. So how about in order to determine the order for dancing, we decide
based on two or three player games?”
“…So who would start playing first?”
“This is indeed a problem. Then let’s have Shido put on a blindfold and then decide who has the
prettiest face—”
“Isn’t my responsibility a little heavy?”
Despite Shido’s protests, the other Spirits didn’t seem to hear him.
Nonetheless, Shido continued to eat the small German sausages fed to him by Tohka in order to
survive the hellish sorting process that was to come.
Date A Cruise Case 2: Casino
“If we’re traveling by cruise ship, then we have to go to the casino, Boy—!”
While Shido was resting in a lounge on the ship, Nia suddenly burst into the room and clapped
Shido on the shoulder.
“A Casino? If you want to go, you can, but I don’t really know much about them.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine! Just leave it to Honjou Nia—”
Just as they entered the casino along the corridor, Nia suddenly paused.
This wasn’t a surprise of course. After all, in front of them were—
“Oh! If it isn’t Shido and Nia!”
“Welcome.”
“Ahhhhh, is it a guest?”
“Eh, please enjoy yourselves.”
There were familiar people dressed in bunny costumes.
“Tohka, Origami, Kurumi, Natsumi?! Why are you dressed like that!”
“Ahaha, for some reason, I was asked to work here for the time being.”
Natsumi firmly shrugged. For some reason she was in her adult form.
“Huh…so that’s what it is. Could it be that you lost and couldn’t pay the fine? Hey, hey, that
sounds like fun! Let’s play!”
“H-hey, Nia…”
“Fine. Is that what you think? I can use <Haniel> to change cards in blackjack. For poker,
Kurumi can use her fifth bullet to glimpse a few seconds into the future. If you want to try
roulette, Origami has a wonderful technique to put the ball into the target every time. In addition,
Tohka has incredible luck with all of these games.”
“How mean!”
Natsumi’s description made Nia tearfully slam against the table. This was the equivalent of
admitting defeat.
“So why are you guys wearing bunny costumes to work part-time? I can’t imagine that you
would lose with such odds.”
“No one said that we lost, did we? If anything, it was because we won so much that we were
specially hired.”
“Ah…so that’s what happened. How much is the hourly wage?”
“Ah, about this much.”
Natsumi raised several fingers. After seeing the number, Nia’s eyes shined.
“Is that true?! I have to do it too! Give me one of those bunny costumes!”
“Ah—…maybe Nia’s body type wouldn’t be suitable for the bunny costumes worn for the
dealer’s clothes?”
“How rude!”
Natsumi’s words made Nia slam against the table again.

Date A Cruise Case 3: Pool
They also spent time at the heated swimming pool inside the ship.
There was warm sunshine and the gentle sound of water. Mukuro was excited to play in the
water. Kurumi was content to relax on a beach chair. Maria was splashing water in the pool—
“—Hey, isn’t this a bit weird?!”
The scene appearing before her gave Nia defied her common sense as she bounced like an
overcharged doll.
“Mun? What’s wrong, Nia?”
“Ara ara, what’s the matter?”
“What a noisy person. Please show a measure of maturity that is consistent with your age. No
matter how long you’ve lived, if you can’t behave maturely, you can’t call yourself an adult. You
have the appearance of an adult and the mind of a child at best.”
“Did you have to say all that?! Eh?! Why is Mariamon here?! Is there something wrong with this
series?! You don’t have a body, do you?!”
“Please don’t make such a transcendental remark. Admire the work put into the world a little
more.”
“I don’t want to hear that from the most chaotic person?!”
After Nia shouted, Maria could only shrug helplessly.
“There’s no helping it. Let me tell you the truth. In fact, this luxury cruise ship is actually a
datascape that I created.”
“Wh-What?! …Wait, who would believe such a thing! There has to be a limit to this setting!”
“Hehe…Then understand this: optimism. The unique homogenous phenomenon in the datascape
allows the water to dissolve swimsuits. Observe.”
“Rgh! I’ll kill you!”
“I am lying to you, of course.”
“…Liar!”
“In other words, the water that Maria-san splashed just now was not cold at all.”
Kurumi said, then Maria clapped her hands.
“Unlike Nia, it’s great to see that you’re good at observation, Kurumi. It’s frustrating that I can’t
participate, so I made a stereoscopic image. If there’s anything that dissolves in the water, it will
not be aimed at you, Nia. I am sensitive to your needs.”
“What do you mean—!”
Hearing what Maria said, Nia jumped into the pool in a posture similar to a belly flop.
Instantly, Maria disappeared and Nia’s stomach slammed into the water, making a painful sound.
Itsuka Parents
“…Wow, there’s a lot of people here today.”
On a certain winter day, Shido decided to go to the department store in the city by himself. There
was a special limited-time sale on Hokkaido-imported goods being held at the special sales
venue on the 11th floor, where Shido was currently located. There were many ingredients that
wouldn’t be normally seen, alongside delicious looking exotic desserts. Of course, there were
many other people who were here for the same purpose and so the whole store was packed with
customers.
This event was also Shido’s goal. He’d discovered it from a pamphlet about the sale ahead of
time so he decided to come to the department store, which was starting to look more like a
bustling marketplace, to buy ingredients for dinner.
“There are so many types of fresh fish and crustaceans, it’s not like I’d get a chance like this
every day…Making seafood wouldn’t be a bad idea especially since everyone’s around.”
Shido mumbled to himself and mentally counted the number of people in his head with his
fingers.
That’s right. Since today was a day off, all of the Spirits were patiently waiting at the Itsuka
household for Shido’s return.
Currently waiting at his home were Tohka, Yoshino, Kaguya, Yuzuru, Miku, Natsumi, and
Origami. And because Kotori was working aboard the <Fraxinus> due to her work for
<Ratatoskr>, he needed to make sure he was back before dinnertime.
“This should be enough if I counted correctly. There are nine people waiting…No, wait, Tohka
would need at least three servings so I need to buy eleven servings total…”
What was normally a bearable weight which Shido had endured easily in the past, became
burdensome in his arms. If only there was someone around to help…Well, if he asked for help
before even giving his best effort it would only make things more problematic. So he pressed on
the best he could on his own.
Shido smiled bitterly as he carried the shopping basket to the shelf where fresh ingredients could
be seen on display.
At that moment.
“Huh…?”
Shido suddenly paused as he heard the sound of a ringtone from his pocket.
His first thought was that one of the Spirits that was staying at home was calling him, he glanced
at the phone’s screen…But it turned out that wasn’t the case. The words “Unknown Number”
were displayed on the screen.
“…Who is this?”
Shido was suspicious but nonetheless pressed the answer button.
“Hello?”
Immediately afterwards, there was a vague and unclear voice that came from the other end.
[“—Your daughter has fallen into my clutches. If you want her back unharmed, have 100 million
yen ready by tomorrow.”]
Hearing such unexpected words made Shido’s eyes widen in surprise.
“W-What?”
[“I’m not lying. I’ll let you hear her voice for a bit.”]
[“Kyaah! Save me, daddy!”]
From the other end of the line, there was a panicked cry that could immediately be determined to
be fake.
After hearing those voices, Shido sighed in relief as he put a hand on his forehead.
“…What was the point behind using an unknown number to call, Dad, Mom?”
[“Ara, we’ve already been exposed?”]
As Shido finished speaking, the responding voice was now much clearer and sharper compared
to before.
On the other end of the phone, it was his beloved parents who were currently working overseas:
Itsuka Tatsuo and Itsuka Haruko. Incidentally, Haruko was the one who played the role of the
kidnapper while Tatsuo played the role of the hostage daughter—a terrible role assignment.
“We haven’t spoken on the phone in such a long time and this is the first thing you decide to
do…?”
[“Sorry, sorry. Work has been really busy lately. Aah, but it really is Shii-kun. Being able to see
through us in an instant.”]
“Please don’t call me Shii-kun…So is something wrong?”
[“What reason would we need to talk to our son?”]
[“That hurts. This is truly saddening. We’re crying with heartbreak. Huhuhu…”]
“…I’m going to hang up now.”
[“Ah! Just wait a minute! I guess we can’t tease you like we used to…You always were so
serious.”]
[“Exactly. If this was Kotori, we surely would have scared her.”]
Even after that, the two of them moved closer to the speaker and said in unison, “Right.” This
couple was as energetic as ever.
[“Ah, that’s right. I almost forgot. Would you like to guess where your parents are right now?”]
“Where? Shouldn’t you be in the United States? Weren’t you on a business trip to the main
office…?”
[“Incorrect, Tatsuo-kun, please answer instead!”]
[“We are currently in Tengu City in Eastern Tokyo in front of our lovely and nostalgic home!”]
[“Ding! Ding! Ding! That’s right! Tatsuo-kun got 100 million points!”]
[“Wow! If I have 100 million points, can I buy a new computer!”]
[“It’ll take ten billion points in order to buy a computer!”]
[“How cruel!”]
“What…?”
The rush of information surged like a hurricane and made Shido freeze on the spot as his pupils
turned to pinpricks. However, his parents on the other end didn’t notice Shido’s silence and
continued to speak without a care in the world.
[“So, we’re back at home! Well, actually, this is only a temporary vacation so we’ll have to go
back soon…”]
[“Ah, it’s been such a long time since we last saw you and Kotori. Are you both still doing
well?”]
“W-Wait a minute!”
After Shido let out a loud wail, the nearby bystanders glanced at him with surprise. Yet, Shido
did not give them a second thought as he continued to speak with his parents.
[“Eh? Is something wrong?”]
“It’s nothing big…It’s just that I’m actually shopping for ingredients for dinner so I’m not home
right now. Kotori isn’t home either right now…”
[“Ara! I see! Then this is good timing, did you buy enough for us as well? Shii-kun’s cooking!
I’m really looking forward to it!”]
“T-That’s not what I mean! Anyway, can you pass the time somewhere else while I come back?!”
“Eh? Why? It should be fine if we just wait at home.”
“Kuh…T-There are certain reasons, so please!”
Listening to Shido’s earnest pleading, Haruko laughed out an unconvinced, evil laugh.
[“Did you hear that, Tatsu-kun? It sounds like Shii-kun has been hiding something at home while
we were away. Let’s go in quickly and do a careful inspection of the house.”]
[“Okay, let’s go.”]
“NO DON’T!!!”
As the situation took a turn for the worse, Shido let out an ear-piercing scream.
[“Ah, so it’s settled then. We’ll leave dinner to you. As for the menu, perhaps mommy’s reaction
will be softer after discovering Shii-kun’s secret treasure? By the way, Mommy will have the
Sichuan crabs.”]
[“Ah, Daddy wants sea urchins.”]
It seemed that they already knew that Shido would be at the Hokkaido Special Fair as they gave
their requested dishes without a second thought and then promptly hung up.
Shido, whose face was now ghastly pale, quickly operated his phone, intending to call Tohka and
the other Spirits who were waiting at home in order to warn them. Unfortunately, it seemed that
because he had forgotten to charge his phone the night before, just when he was about to press
the call button, the screen turned black as the phone’s battery had died.
“Why now of all times?!”
The dire situation in which Shido found himself would only get worse going forward. It was
already beyond the point of being able to trust the house to their son who’d brought over several
unfamiliar girls without their knowledge or permission. It would probably lead to a family
meeting on the matter. No matter how open-minded his parents were, this was not something that
they could forgive simply by buying and treating them to dinner.
“I need to hurry back…”
The longer he was gone, the worse the situation would end up being. It would be almost
impossible to prevent his parents from meeting the Spirits, but hopefully he could prevent any
fatal conversations between the two parties. Shido needed to get home as quickly as possible and
pushed his way through the throng of customers.
Although he knew it would be a useless affair, Shido was mindful enough to add some crabs and
sea urchins into his shopping basket just in case.
◇◇◇
“Rgh…! Come on, Origami, one more time!”
In the Itsuka household’s living room, Tohka, who was holding a video game controller in her
hand, shouted. She was a beautiful girl with long hair as dark as the night and crystalline eyes.
However, her current expression was one of profound regret and frustration. The reason why was
obvious: the screen in front of Tohka showed her character unconscious and the word “KO”
displayed intermittently on the screen.
“The result will be the same no matter how many times you try.”
The response was given by the girl sitting next to her, Tobiichi Origami. She watched the screen
with a relaxed expression on her face as she stared at the screen.
So far Tohka has challenged Origami five times and lost five times. Because the games that the
Yamai sisters were playing looked like fun, Tohka also wanted to play. But from the beginning,
Tohka hadn’t managed to score a single victory because of Origami’s superb techniques where,
and more importantly than anything else, she was just toying with her.
Seeing the two of them clash with each other, Kaguya spoke from her place behind them.
“Kaka! Truly you are worthy of your stature, Origami. Verily, I must not brush aside my kin’s
suffering. The time has arrived for me to be your adversary in battle.”
“Criticism. Kaguya can’t even beat Yuzuru.”
Yuzuru, who was sitting next to Kaguya, sighed and replied. Kaguya couldn’t help but protest in
an unsatisfied tone.
“Ah, I can’t accept that sort of cunning play! It’s not in the least bit elegant!”
“Denial. A win is a win. Kaguya only needs to watch herself continue to be slaughtered
repeatedly until she becomes rife with irritation.”
“U-Uuuu…”
Kaguya bitterly grumbled. In reality, even if it was a chess game where she was the grandmaster,
the times where she had the tables turned on her through an unbelievable counterattack
accounted for the vast majority of her losses.
“E-Everyone, please try to get along…”
“Yeah, the whole point of playing games is to have fun after all!”
Behind them, Yoshino and the rabbit puppet worn on her left hand, Yoshinon, reminded them.
Behind them in the living room, Yoshino, Natsumi, and Miku were all sitting quietly and
elegantly sipping black tea while watching the fiery match between each other.
“Yeah, there’s no need to fight. Relationships come first, after all. Just like Natsumi-san and
me!”
“…There is no relationship between you and me. More importantly, why are you leaning closer
to me like that? It’s creepy.”
“Eh? I haven’t moved any closer. If you think so, then it must be an illusion. That must mean that
I’m becoming more and more important in Natsumi-san’s heart!”
“…Anyways, could you please remove your hand from my knee? Also, stop wiggling your
fingers like that. It’s really creepy.”
And thus began the battle of offense and defense between Miku and Natsumi.
Although Tohka was concerned about that intensifying conflict, her immediate concern was her
own conflict with Origami. Tohka shook her head and raised her voice.
“I won’t accept this loss! I will keep fighting until I defeat you—”
However, Tohka paused halfway through her sentence. It seemed as if she heard some kind of
suspicious voice from the hallway.
“—?”
With Origami in the lead, everyone else also noticed the unusual noise in the hallway. Everyone
quickly stopped speaking at the same time and listened in closely.
“…That voice…”
“It’s coming from the front door…I think…Are Shido-san and Kotori-san back yet…?”
“No, Shido and Kotori’s footsteps are different from these people.”
“Well then, maybe it’s a guest?”
“No, don’t guests usually ring the doorbell?”
“Acknowledgement. That’s right. Then that means—”

“—Burglars.”
Origami finished, causing the Spirits to all gasp at simultaneously.
“N-No way. To do something like that in broad daylight…”
“It’s possible that they could be a robber. Either way, there is a person that’s not Shido or Kotori
who entered the house without ringing the doorbell. This much we know for sure.”
“T-Then what do we do…?”
Yoshino asked quietly, her voice laced with fear. As she did, Origami fixed her gaze on the
hallway connecting the living room and the front door.
◇◇◇
“I’m not sure why but I feel a sort of nostalgia standing in front of the door like this even though
we own the place…”
“Ah, yeah…”
Standing in front of the front door, Haruko and Tatsuo spoke to each other as they sighed out
with intense emotion.
Haruko had short red hair, prominent eyebrows, and powerful red eyes that stood out as she
puffed out her chest. In contrast to his wife, Tatsuo wore black-framed glasses over green eyes.
He always seemed to be smiling and had a slightly noticeable hunched back.
There is a saying that couples that live together for a long time will gradually start to look more
and more like each other…That may be true for other families but such an idea did not apply to
the Itsuka family. When the two stood together, they didn’t look at all like a couple. If anything,
they looked more like a leading heroine and some civil servant; or an indulgent young woman
and an attendant; or a bridesmaid and a groomsman who’d been invited to a wedding ceremony.
“So let’s just go in.”
“Yeah, okay…Whoa! Ouch!”
At that moment, Tatsuo tripped over one of the steps and accidentally crashed into Haruko.
“Ahh! Whoa!!”
At that moment, his face ended up buried in Haruko’s chest as she turned around in surprise at
what happened. It was such a cliched occurrence that could only be seen in some manga or
anime. Haruko could only slump her shoulders and sighed deliberately.
“…Really, you haven’t changed at all…”
“S-Sorry…”
“It’s fine; I’ve gotten used to it. If I were the old me, I would have beaten you to a pulp in an
instant.”
“Uuuuu…Please don’t remind me, I still have memories of you crazily clobbering in the past.”
Tatsuo quickly apologized as he stood up and straightened his posture. He had always been like
that in the past. Haruko could only smile wryly as she steadily put her hand on the doorknob.
“Come on, the sooner we get in…Ara?”
At that moment, Haruko suddenly tilted her head in confusion.
“The house is supposed to be empty so the door should be locked but it seems it’s unlocked.”
“Really? It’s really rare for the usually diligent Shii-kun to be so careless.”
“Well, no matter how good the law and order is in Japan, that’s being too careless. He has to be
more careful about this sort of thing.”
Haruko said as she and Tatsuo leisurely walked through the front door. However, contrary to the
previous expectations, Haruko discovered a second questionable aspect of the hallway and
reactively frowned. On the porch, there were several pairs of womens shoes neatly placed
together.
“Seriously, are all of these Koto-chan’s? She bought so many while we were away…I don’t even
recognize some of these styles…”
“Ahaha, could this be why Shido didn’t want us to come inside in the first place?”
“Ah—! Perhaps that’s why. Really, Shii-kun has always adored and spoiled his adorable little
sister.”
Haruko simultaneously expressed her irritation and yet shrugged her shoulders as she took off
her shoes and entered the house. Next to her, Tatsuo followed her lead and stretched out his body.
“Phew…home sweet home. The staff dormitories weren’t bad but I’d rather stay at home than
somewhere foreign. The atmosphere is much more relaxing here after all.”
“I understand. We are Japanese people, after all.”

The couple laughed heartily just like old times as they opened the door leading to the living
room.
—At that moment:
“Huh?”
Haruko and Tatsuo exclaimed in unison.
However, their reaction was perfectly reasonable: in the few seconds the couple stepped into the
living room, it had already been too late when they noticed the silhouettes immediately lunging
out from the shadows at them, pinning them to the ground and subduing them.
“W-Wha?! What in the world is going on?!”
“H-Haru! Are you okay?!”
In spite of their struggle by moving their legs around, both of their hands had been firmly
restrained, rendering the couple unable to freely move. The two painstakingly attempted to turn
around in order to get a better look at their attackers’ identities. As they did, Haruko and Tatsuo
both received another nasty shock: their assailants were actually two young girls. Not only that,
but their facial features were nearly identical—they were twins.
“Hmph. Resistance is futile.”
“Warning. Please cooperate.”
“Wh-What…”
The sudden development in this state of affairs caused Haruko’s eyes to widen in fear. Several
other girls appeared from their hiding spot behind the sofa in quick succession. Additionally,
they were eying the two of them with immense suspicion.
“Um…so are these the burglars?”
“T-They don’t look like those kinds of people to me…”
“…You’re too naive, Yoshino. Bad people don’t always have bad people written on their faces.”
The girls soon engaged in a dialogue that ultimately wasn’t very important.
The word burglar echoed in Haruko’s mind for a split second. However, as she observed the
appearance of the newly emerged girls, she was unable to harbor any notion that they were the
burglars…Well, perhaps it was as the girl on the left with the fierce expression said: bad people
don’t have the word bad written on their foreheads.
At that moment.
“—Guah!”
While Haruko’s mind was bogged down in confusion, Tatsuo let out a blood-curdling shriek
from next to her.
As she turned around, she spotted a new girl who’d emerged from the shadows, grabbed his
collar from behind and pressed a knife to his throat.
“T-Tatsu-kun!”
“—Who are you people?”
The girl whose appearance looked like that of a doll: her expression unyielding as she
emotionlessly interrogated them. Her stoic character made Haruko gasp from an instinctual fear.
From a single look, it was cleared that she was trained in using knives for more than just threats.
“If you refuse to answer, I’ll sever this man’s fingers, one by one.”
“Hiii…?!”
“H-Hey, Origami…”
The girl’s comrades furrowed their eyebrows uncomfortably.
“Don’t worry about it. Although this method is a bit old-fashioned, it’s still effective. Combining
simple pain with the possibility of losing an important body part like a finger is a very effective
way to make people surrender information.”
“O-Origami…?”
“In addition, it’s more effective if there are two people. Especially if there’s an intimate
relationship between them. It’s possible that one of them would be unable to bear witnessing the
other suffering in excruciating pain and confess to everything. Even if there is no trust between
the two of them, it will be an effective method to make an example of the first to compel the
second to tell the truth.”
“H-Hiiiii—?!”
While the girl explained this line of reasoning without so much as batting an eye, her words
alone caused Tatsuo to let out a shriek in fear.
“I-I didn’t mean it like that! I was just warning you not to overdo it!”
After listening to what the dark-haired girl said, the girl holding the knife in her hand let out a
thoughtful hum as she thought.
“What you say makes sense.”
“D-Do you understand?”
“True, compared to cutting the fingers off, I should start by peeling their nails off first instead.
How silly of me to overlook that.”
“Y-You didn’t understand it after all?!”
The dark-haired girl shouted as the girl with the knife tilted her head confusedly.
“So…should we use a truth serum instead?”
The other girls shook their heads in disbelief, putting their hands to their faces.
It looked as though the other girls were more interested in a more humanitarian, and also an
actually legal method. At the very least, they didn’t have any intention of killing Haruko or
Tatsuo if they didn’t speak, or try to force her to reveal her bank credentials and so on. Haruko
thoroughly strained her body and tried to force it out of the confines of her throat.
“I-I should be asking who in the world you people are…! What are you doing in someone else’s
house?”
“What are we doing…? We’re looking after the place?”
The purple-haired girl explained simply as she gingerly slanted her head as though this was
obvious.
For a moment, Haruko thought that the other party was trying to mess with them. However, that
theory was immediately dismissed as soon as she took a better look at their expressions: they
were all genuine and she knew that they weren’t lying.
But if that was the case, then what was going on? Could it be that she and Tatsuo had walked
through the wrong door…? She briefly considered the idea but it was immediately dismissed as
she took in the portion of the living room within her field of vision. Just from what she could see,
there was without a doubt the house that Haruko and Tatsuo had purchased with help from a
thirty year loan: their beloved [Love Nest].
Of course…there was also the smallest possibility that the neighbors had renovated their house to
resemble the Itsuka household down to the smallest details. But taking into consideration that
this wasn’t some sort of game, such an unfortunate coincidence was utterly improbable.
“Looking after the place…We don’t remember asking anyone to do that for us…”
“Hmm? What are you talking about?”
“Astonishment. Yuzuru does not recall being asked by you as well.”
The twins who’d still been detaining Haruko and Tatsuo gave their response. Hearing their
presumptuous and disconnected statements, Haruko suddenly burst out into a fit of rage.
“So then what the hell do you think you’re saying just now?! Entering someone else’s house
without permission!”
As Haruko shouted those words, the girl who had been holding the knife to Tatsuo’s neck
suddenly widened her eyes as though she had finally realized something crucial.
“Muuu…What is it, Origami?”
“…Could it be…?”
The girl known as Origami quickly put away the knife and instead pulled out her smartphone
from her pocket and quickly searched for something.
Subsequently, she moved forward and her gaze alternated from Haruko and Tatsuo to her phone
and back again. After confirming something, Origami stood up and pried the Yamai sisters’ grips
on Haruko and Tatsuo, setting them free.
“W-What are you doing?”
“Doubt. What’s wrong Master Origami?”
The twins asked in surprise to Origami’s sudden change in behavior. Origami did not pay them
any mind as she instead greeted Haruko and Tatsuo softly.
“Are you alright? You can relax now, Otou-sama, Okaa-sama.”
“Hah…?”
“Just now, what did you say…?”
Haruko’s and Tatsuo’s pupils had shrunk to pinpricks. If nothing else, the girl present before
them was now drastically different from the one that had been threatening to cut off their fingers
and peel off their nails among other things.
However, Haruko wasn’t the only one taken by surprise. It seemed that the girls in front of them
also showed similarly clueless expressions.
“Huh? Are they Origami’s parents?”
“But…aren’t Origami-san’s parents…”
Origami shook her head gently.
“These two are Itsuka Tatsuo and Itsuka Haruko. They are Shido and Kotori’s parents.”
“…?!”
After hearing Origami’s explanation, all of the girls’ stunned faces soon turned to ones of
dawning horror as it hit them what they had done.
◇◇◇
“Ahh! Crap! Why did I have to deal with a traffic jam now of all times?!”
Shido, who was carrying two heavy shopping bags, ran as fast as he could along the side of the
road.
At first, Shido had planned to take a bus to hurry back home, but it seemed that there was an
accident on the road and it wasn’t clear how long it would take to clear the traffic, leaving Shido
effectively stranded. If he continued waiting, he would only be wasting valuable time before he
returned home. In the end, Shido had to get off the bus and continue the journey on foot.
He suspected that the Spirits had already met his parents and there was nothing he could do to
prevent that.
However, the Spirits staying with the Itsuka household were all good and kindhearted people.
They would surely be able to acquaint themselves with his parents, there was no doubt about
that. Surely, they wouldn’t attack and threaten them.
The best case scenario, he hoped that the Spirits and his parents would be able to get along as
Kotori’s friends. Yet, Shido really had no idea how things would actually develop.
The only thing Shido could do now was get home as quickly as possible while keeping a careful
eye out for the Spirits and his parents. In the worst case scenario, the Spirits could drop some
confidential secrets that could turn out to be severely fatal. The best Shido could do in that
situation was try to divert the conversation to something else. Until then, all Shido could do was
focus on getting home—
“…?!”
Shido suddenly stopped at that moment.

As for why, he suddenly noticed the woman who’d fallen down in front of him.
“A-Are you okay?”
“O-Ouch! My ankle is sprained…Eh? Itsuka-kun?”
“Tama-chan…no wait, Tama-sensei!”
After recognizing the woman’s appearance, Shido’s eyes went wide with surprise. The woman
who had tripped on the ground in front of him was Shido’s homeroom teacher, Okamine Tamae,
often called Tama-chan. Not only that but she looked even more beautiful with the lovely
looking dress she was wearing, and it seemed that she was using more makeup than usual. It
seemed that she had tripped over her high heels.
“What are you doing here? And in that dress no less…?”
“Itsuka-kun!”
Before Shido could finish speaking, Tama-chan immediately grabbed Shido’s hands.
“Whoa! W-W-What’s wrong!”
“P-Please, bring me to the Ni-Chome Union Buildings1!”
“Eh?”
The abrupt request suddenly caught Shido off guard, eliciting an odd noise from him.
“I-Is there something going on that you need to go there?”
“There’s a blind date party taking place there!”
“I-I see…”
Tama-chan’s fiery passion radiated toward him like a savage onslaught, forcing Shido to take a
step back in surprise. However, it looked like Tama-chan had no intention of letting go of Shido’s
hand.
“This party is a high-end party limited to men whose annual income exceeds 8 million yen! The
competition rate is very high! It’s an event for women in their twenties. This is my last chance! I
can’t afford to fail here! It would be a disservice to all of my comrades’ sacrifices that helped me
make it this far!”
1
Ni-Chome (AKA Shinjuku Ni-Chome or Nicho) is an LGBT area in the Shinjuku District of the Dinjuku Special
Ward of Tokyo, Japan.
Tama-chan implored desperately, her eyes welling with tears.
Shido could feel sweat trickle down his forehead as he tried to think of a way to gently refuse her
request.
“I-I’m sorry, but I have something that’s really urgent right now…”
“…If Itsuka-kun won’t bring me there, then I’ll just have to marry Itsuka-kun…”
“Rgh…”
Tama-chan threatened Shido with a dark, demonic, ghost-like voice while sending a frosty chill
down his spine like a bat straight from hell.
From where they were right now, the Union buildings were about a ten minute walk in the exact
opposite direction. Every time he thought about his parents meeting the Spirits, Shido decided
the slight detour would only squander his precious remaining time.
However, he couldn’t just leave her in such a pitiable state (to say nothing of her threat). Shido
let out a frustrated groan as he picked her up and set her on his back.
◇◇◇
“…Mine ears catch the susurrations of purgatorial spectres…”
Kaguya whispered with sweat trailing down her face. Although it wasn’t entirely clear to the
other Spirits just what she had said, they could all understand enough to know that they had done
something horribly atrocious.
No matter what phrasing was used, all of the Spirits agreed that they had definitely done
something terrible.
For now, Tohka and the others were hiding in the shadows in a small area behind the kitchen
counter, but everyone’s expressions were identical: filled with guilt and the desire to repent.
But that reaction was understandable, of course. Even though they didn’t understand the
situation, there was still the fact that the Spirits had attacked Shido and Kotori’s parents.
“I didn’t expect Shido’s parents to return…”
“If I remember correctly… weren’t they working overseas…?”
“Yup! Yup! I think they were working in some sort of electronics industry?”
In response to Tohka’s statement, Yoshino and Yoshinon nodded their heads in agreement.
“Hmm… and we apprehended them at first sight… how awful…”
Miku spoke, supporting her chin with a finger. Although immediately, the Yamai sisters were the
ones who subdued the couple, both seemed extremely anxious with downtrodden expressions on
their faces.
“‘T-Tis damnation, we are cursed! A scarce prospect overexerted with overconfident close
quarters skills.”
“Acknowledgement. We even went so far as to subdue with techniques utilized for suppressing
armed opponents…”
Both Kaguya and Yuzuru wore dejected looks on their faces as they finished speaking. What they
had done was indeed both unique and impressive, and no doubt the result of intense training and
practice. They probably were even having a contest to see who could perform the better capture
technique.
Hearing their confessions, Origami shook her head and closed her eyes solemnly.
“Kaguya and Yuzuru have done something truly terrible. The Itsuka parents now have an
everlasting scar in their hearts.”
“O-Off with my head…”
“Melancholy. What should we do…?”
“…No, compared to what they did, what you did can’t even be compared to the worst kind of
trauma…”
Natsumi replied as she gazed in Origami’s direction with a half-glance. The other Spirits nodded
in agreement.
“This isn’t the time to be blaming each other.”
“Um, I wasn’t intending to point fingers at anyone else…”
Although Natsumi wanted to share more of her opinion, given their current situation, she decided
that it wouldn’t be worth it.
“Seriously though, what is going to happen to us now…?”
Tohka asked anxiously as a disturbed look made its way on her face. Natsumi replied in a
sophisticated manner.
“…Well, since they’re Shido’s parents, that means they’re the owners of this house. If we’ve
enraged them, we can’t hope to be able to step into this place like we used to ever again.”
“H-How can this be!”
“And it wouldn’t just end there. They would probably tell Shido and Kotori to ‘Never see those
ruffians ever again’…”
“…!”
“Forgive me everyone…but there’s no way I can get along with people who would use violence
against my parents…”
“A-Ahh…”
Despite the fact that Natsumi has a habit of mentioning excessively negative things, that didn’t
stop Tohka or the others from growing scared expressions at what she said.
“I-I don’t want that! What should we do?!”
After Tohka finished speaking, Miku crossed her arms as she listened to Tohka’s plight.
“—Ah, I have an idea!”
“Y-You do?!”
Miku nodded.
“Unfortunately, Darling’s parents’ first impression of us was, quite regrettably, the worst.
However, if we work hard to finish with a better impression going forward, wouldn’t everything
work out and override the bad impression?”
“A-A better impression…?”
“Then how do we do that exactly?”
Yoshino and Yoshinon racked their brains as they asked the question. In response, Miku raised a
finger and explained:
“In short, a Japanese-style welcoming.”
“A w-welcoming?”
“Exactly. Darling’s father and mother had just returned home from a long-distance flight, so they
must be exhausted. If we provide them the most heartfelt welcoming possible, we can surely
improve their impression of us in their minds.”
Absorbed by what Miku said, a new ray of hope sparkled within the Spirits’ eyes.
“Alright, let’s do this!”
“Me too… I’ll help too!”
“Yoshinon’ll help out too!”
“Kuku… it’s not bad. I’ll show them the greatest experience of my infernal welcoming finesse!”
“Consent. Leave it to Yuzuru.”
“Well, I’m fine with whatever everyone else wants to do…”
“I have no objections.”
After confirming everybody’s acknowledgement, Miku nodded.
“Then it’s decided! If that’s the case—then let our battle begin!”
◇◇◇
“T-Tatsu-kun, are you okay?”
“I’m alright. What about you? Do your arms still hurt?”
Haruko and Tatsuo were confirming each other’s safety in quiet whispers.
The couple who had just been set free a few moments prior were sitting together on the living
room sofa. Even though they were free, they still haven’t managed to relax at all.
However, their inability to calm down couldn’t be helped. After all, the mysterious girls who
were occupying their home were having some sort of discussion behind the kitchen counter.
“T-Those girls… where did they come from?”
Tatsuo asked with a confused expression.
“They appear to be acquaintances of Shido and Kotori… What kind of relationship do they
have?”
“I would guess that they’re just friends? Maybe Shido asked them to look after the house and we
happened to come back. They had probably mistaken us to be burglars and captured us…”
“…Do you really think that girls these days would undergo military-level hand-to-hand combat
practice, be skilled in manipulating knives, and even being knowledgeable about various
interrogation torture techniques? Those girls are obviously not average children.”
“Well, that’s true. But even so, they don’t look so bad to me…”
Haruko could only shake her head in response to Tatsuo’s blissfully ignorant observation. It
seemed that he lived without any sense of danger like always. Although he was an outstanding
engineer, Tatsuo could be said to be completely out of touch with society. Actually, it would be
more accurate to say that he was oblivious to humanity’s malice. In short, he was just too nice.
As a matter of fact, had Haruko not intervened in time, he would have been the victim of fraud
many times over.
Although, honestly, she did find this side of him to be exceptionally cute.
“…Anyway, it’s just too dangerous to stay here any longer than we already have. We should
probably look for a chance to escape from here.”
“Hmm… if Haru-chan says so.”
Tatsuo mumbled, still unsuspecting.
“Right. Let’s try to make a break for it as quietly as possible.”
Once they were certain that the mysterious girls wouldn’t notice them, Tatsuo and Haruko tried
to move while minimizing the sound of their footsteps as they tip-toed their way toward the
hallway and hopefully out of the house.
However, at that moment.
“—It’s finished!”
Just as the couple managed to make their way to the other side of the counter, a clamorous shout
reverberated around the kitchen, and a girl approached them while carrying a large platter in her
arms as she walked into the living room.
She spotted the couple holding the door handle, the girl tilted her head in uncertainty.
“Muu? What’s wrong, Shido’s mommy and daddy? Where are you going?”
“Ahh, well. We saw the opportunity and wanted to esc—”
“N-No, it’s nothing! We just wanted to get some light exercise in, that’s all!”
Haruko quickly spoke up over her husband in order to cover Tatsuo’s overly honest answer.
Although his belief was that honesty is the best policy, and it was this principle that Haruko
loved about him, now was neither the time nor the place for such manners or etiquette. If their
plans were uncovered, she didn’t know what would happen to them.
“Muu, is that true?”
However, it seemed that the other party seemed to be just as innocent as Tatsuo, as she
completely trusted Haruko’s quickly improvised lie.
“So…about that…”
“Ah… My name is Tohka. Yatogami Tohka.”
“Tohka-chan, is there something wrong?”
Tohka nodded confidently as she placed a large dish on the table.
“I heard that if I made these myself, you would feel welcomed and happy. You both must be very
hungry after a really long trip. So please feel free to eat these!”
Tohka gestured towards the contents on the plate. Haruko and Tatsuo looked at it with surprised
expressions.
“These are… handmade onigiri2?”
Even though they looked a little crooked, these were certainly handmade rice-balls: there was
freshly prepared rice molded into a triangular shape and wrapped with dried seaweed.
However, that wasn’t why beads of sweat gradually trailed down Haruko’s face. Her reason was
pretty obvious: there was no way these handmade onigiri that would fit into the palms of their
hands, even fully outstretched. These were extra-large onigiri.
“Please don’t be shy and eat up!”
Tohka said with a sunny smile on her face. Haruko, in response, could only smile bitterly as she
took another look at the onigiri and felt the muscles in her face twitch with unease.
However, in stark contrast to Haruko, Tatsuo readily put his palms together enthusiastically.
“Aah, thank you for your trouble. Let’s eat—!”
“Wait a minute, Tatsu-kun!”
2
Onigiri are a Japanese food made from white rice formed into a triangular or cylindrical shape and often wrapped
in seaweed.
“Eh? What’s the matter, Haru-chan?”
Tatsuo asked with a puzzled expression at Haruko’s sudden warning. Although Haruko felt that
his reaction was more than a little adorable, her personal feelings weren’t important at that
moment. Haruko inched her way closer to Tatsuo’s ears so that Tohka wouldn’t be able to hear
what she was saying.
“We still don’t know anything about who any of these girls are yet, much less what they could
have put in these onigiri. Eating this without any prior caution is an extremely dangerous thing to
do.”
“Goodness, don’t you think that you might be overthinking this a little bit? They don’t look like
bad girls to me, and wouldn’t it be impolite to refuse food that she worked hard to make for us?”
“No, well… I guess that’s true…”
Haruko attempted to refute her husband but gave up almost immediately. The two of them have
been married to each other for many years, and Haruko was all too familiar with Tatsuo when he
became too stubborn to convince otherwise. Especially when it came to food…
“I get it. But let me pick first, okay?”
Haruko insisted adamantly. This was to ensure that the food wasn’t poisoned, and to protect
Tatsuo since she suspected that if he were to taste it first, there was no doubt that regardless of
whether he noticed something odd, he would gobble it down in a single bite without a second
thought.
Tatsuo smiled none the wiser of Haruko’s intentions.
“Oh, so you wanted to pick first? I guess that part of you is really cute too, Haru-chan. Sure, feel
free to choose first.”
“…Un. Thank you, Tatsu-kun.”
There was a slight sense of powerlessness mingled with a sense of joy at Tatsuo calling her cute,
causing Haruko to reveal a complicated smile.
Nonetheless, Haruko coughed gently once just to help herself recover from the unexpected
compliment, and then turned to face Tohka.
“Well, then I’ll start now, Tohka-chan.”
“Umu! Please feel free and enjoy!”

Tohka answered enthusiastically. Haruko swallowed not because of a healthy appetite but out of
nervousness as she reached out for a rice ball. In order to confirm the contents, Haruko gently
pried the rice-ball open from the center.
“So there’s… bonito, cod, tuna salad dressing, and many other things…”
“Umu! I didn’t know which ones to add so I decided to use them all! Ah, but rest assured, I
didn’t add dried plums because those are… muu… too sour…”
As she finished speaking, Tohka had a bitter expression as though she had just eaten something
very sour. It was just as Tatsuo had said—”This girl doesn’t look bad at all…”
Even if that was true, Haruko couldn’t afford to be negligent in her precautionary measures. She
sniffed the onigiri and noticed the savory fragrance and the absence of any foreign odors and
promptly took a bite.
“It tastes like… a normal onigiri…”
“How is it?!”
“Un! It’s very delicious!”
Receiving a thumbs up from Haruko, Tohka’s face brightened with excitement.
“Really?! There are many more so please feel free to eat them!”
“Thanks! In that case, I’ll help myself as well.”
Tatsuo snatched at the remaining onigiri on the plate, munching on it with massive bites without
a second thought about the size.
“Wow, it’s really yummy! You’re really good at cooking, Tohka-chan!”
As he finished speaking, Tatsuo continued chewing on his onigiri.
In truth, the two of them hadn’t had any lunch and their stomachs were quite empty and so were
itching for something to eat. Haruko mirrored Tatsuo and chewed on the onigiri for the second
time, and then a third time.
However, no matter how empty their bellies were, there was a limit to how much food that they
would be able to fit. Tohka had prepared six giant onigiri. They were large enough to be able to
cover their entire faces, so they split them evenly between the two of them—leaving each other
with three each. In short, there was no way that they were going to be able to finish them all.
Tatsuo, who had managed to finish one whole piece, and Haruko, who’d managed to finish half
an onigiri were already filled to the brim.
“Hoo… Thanks for the meal…”
“…?!”
In response to Haruko’s resigned but satisfied words, Tohka’s eyes widened for a moment and
then a disheartened and slightly frustrated expression formed on her face.
“I-I see… if you’re full already… Umu, there’s nothing I can do about that…”
“U-Uuu…”
Noticing Tohka’s increasingly depressed state, both Haruko and Tatsuo held their breath in
unison. Somehow, noticing her melancholic state helped motivate them to clear up space in their
stomachs. They felt as though they committed a terrible crime against her by not finishing.
“N-No… maybe we have a little bit of room for more?”
“Ahaha…yeah. I actually could have some more.”
“…!”
Tohka’s expression immediately brightened the moment she heard the couple’s decision. They
suspected that if she had a tail, it would be wagging with excitement. If she happened to discover
the truth behind their sugar coated words, Tohka’s heart would be shattered again and torn to
shreds.
“Really?! Umu! If that’s the case, then how can I say it? I'm really happy!”
Now that they had said that, there was no going back. Haruko and Tatsuo respectively forced a
wry smile and began to eat the onigiri on the plate yet again.
—And then ten minutes later.
“Ugh, phew…”
“Fuh…”
Despite their forced efforts to push themselves to keep eating more and more food, their
stomachs were about to burst. At that point, no matter how much they tried to force more food
in. In the end, between Haruko and Tatsuo, they were able to finish two and a half rice-balls
before they collapsed on the sofa as they reached their breaking point.
“Shido’s mommy and daddy! Are you okay?!”
Tohka asked anxiously as she watched the couple. But there was nothing that could be done as
Haruko and Tatsuo had spent all of their strength to the point that they couldn’t even manage to
wave a hand in response.
◇◇◇
“We managed to make it in time… really, thank you so much, Itsuka-kun. If I find a high-income
husband, then I’ll make sure to invite you to our house for a visit.”
“N-No, there’s no need to thank me for that. I’m just glad I could help.”
Shido was quick to decline Tama-chan’s goodwill whom he’d carried all the way to the venue.
Before she could say anything else, he quickly bowed his head and took off in a dead sprint
along the road.
He spent more time than he’d originally expected, so Shido needed to pick up the pace.
“Please behave properly, everyone…”
Shido uttered an earnest wish as he ran down the road.
However, just as Shido was about to reach the crosswalk, the signal light on the roadside turned
red, and Shido could only stomp his foot anxiously while he waited for the signal to turn back to
green.
Coincidentally at that moment.
“Oh, Itsuka! What are you doing here?”
A certain voice reached his ears from somewhere behind him. Shido turned around to find his
classmate, Tonomachi Hiroto, standing there and waving at him.
“Tch.”
“Hey, what’s with that reaction…”
“…Ah, sorry. I carelessly displayed my real emotions…”
“Shouldn’t you at least put a little effort in to cover it up or at least pass it off as a lie?!”
Tonomachi scolded Shido for being so open about this sort of thing. However, conversations like
this were fairly common between the two friends. Tonomachi shrugged his shoulders and shook
his head.
“Anyway, never mind that, your timing is perfect. If you’re free right now, could you come with
me on a quick walk? A new game center opened up nearby and I want to check it out.”
“Sorry but I can’t come today. I have something else that I need to do.”
“What?!”
Shido intended to make a break for it the moment the signal light turned green. However, just as
he was about to run for it, Tonomachi placed an iron-grip on Shido’s arm, forcing Shido to stop
in his tracks.
“H-Hey! What do you think you’re doing? I’m in a hurry!”
‘Something important? Could it be that it has something to do with a girl?”
“…Nope.”
“Liar! Then why did you stutter all of a sudden?! What a joke, why does this only ever happen to
you?!”
“H-How am I supposed to know?! Anyway, let me go already! If I don’t get back home as soon
as I can, it’ll be a disaster!”
“Not a chance in hell. You’ll be spending the day without any girls with me!”
“What the hell is wrong with this day—!!!”
Shido swore numerous profanities at the top of his voice at his misfortune as Tonomachi, who
was three times more annoying than normal, dragged him away.
◇◇◇
“Ah…I think we went a little overboard back there.”
“Ahaha…I’m sure we’ll be able to eat more in the future.”
Tatsuo and Haruko, both of whom passed out as a result of ingesting too much food, were
currently lying flat on their backs in their bedroom.
Speaking of which, the remaining onigiri that Tatsuo and Haruko were unable to finish
themselves were eaten by Tohka in the blink of an eye. The reason behind Tohka’s dispirited
expression suddenly made more sense. Just going by Tohka’s standards and criteria, Haruko and
Tatsuo had only eaten a meagre helping of the prepared onigiri and then coldly ignored the
remaining onigiri.
“A-Are you okay, um, Shido’s mommy and daddy?”
“Forcing oneself can be dangerous…”
As the couple was resting on the bed, they heard another person’s voice speaking from
somewhere next to them. Looking up, they noticed two girls with petite and delicate figures
standing there.
One of the girls looked exceptionally gentle and wore a rabbit puppet on her left hand; she
seemed particularly amiable. The other girl, however, displayed an anxious expression as she
watched the couple intently with an unhappy and uncertain expression.
If their memories served them correctly, their names were—Yoshino and Natsumi.
Previously, these two had switched places with Tohka and helped carry Haruko and Tatsuo to the
bedroom.
“…Ah, I’m fine.”
“Yeah, we just ate a bit too much.”
After hearing Haruko and Tatsuo’s response, the two of them let out a relieved sigh.
After she was able to better discern their appearances, Haruko’s previously tense nerves relaxed
slightly as relief swept over her. The girls, so far, were as Tatsuo had said—just like Tohka, they
weren’t bad people.
“Yoshino-chan and Natsumi-chan, right? Are you two friends with Koto-chan, no… are you
friends with Kotori?”
After Haruko asked the question, Yoshino and Natsumi replied in a slightly unsure tone.
“Yes… Kotori-san has been taking care of us for a long time…”
“Oh, is that the case? So then, where is that kid right now? If you’re all friends, asking friends to
watch after the house is a bit too…”
“A-Ah, it’s not like that…”
Yoshino seemed a little incoherent as she tried to address Haruko’s doubts. Although Yoshino
wanted to explain the situation properly, Yoshino couldn’t find the right words to describe it and
it led to an awkward situation.
As for Natsumi, she tenderly put a hand on Yoshino’s shoulder in order to calm her down.
“Natsumi-san…?”
“…Leave it to me. Just wait for a minute.”
Natsumi quickly left the room, leaving Yoshino alone with Haruko and Tatsuo.
A few seconds later, a girl entered the bedroom through the door through which Natsumi had just
left.
Everyone’s first thought was that Natsumi had returned—but it turned out that this was a false
assumption.
“Oh! Otou-san—! Okaa—san—! Welcome home!”
“…! Koto-chan?!”
“Kotori?!”
Haruko and Tatsuo couldn’t stop themselves from calling out to the girl. She had rounded eyes
and wore her usual white ribbons with her hair tied into a pair of ponytails. In front of them was
undoubtedly their beloved daughter: Itsuka Kotori.
“What… you were already home? You should have shown up sooner.”
“Sorry—! I was busy with something. Anyway, didn’t I ask my friends to look after the house?”
Kotori stared at them with an innocent look in her eyes.
Despite the unclear circumstances ever since they returned, the couple was relieved to see their
familiar daughter finally at home.
“Un…we’re home, Koto-chan.”
“Ah, it’s been a long time. Forgive us for not being able to return properly for your birthday this
year.”
After he finished speaking, Tatsuo arduously sat up in order to embrace his daughter as he
stretched his arms out forward.
Watching the scene unfold, Haruko started to feel extremely relaxed. Every time they returned to
their home country, those two would always shout ‘Koto-chan—!’ and ‘Otou-san—!’ to each
other and participate in the mutual bear hug which developed the ever growing rapport between
them.
However—
Just before Tatsuo was about to hug her, Kotori’s cheeks flushed a bright red and she quickly
gave Tatsuo’s stomach a powerful kick. As his belly had swollen due to the massive onigiri,
Tatsuo could only let out a pained yell as he received this sudden blow.
“T-Tatsu-kun?! Koto-chan! What did you do to your father! Don’t you two always hug each
other when we come back home?”
“…! Ah, no, t-that…”
Hearing what Haruko said, Kotori froze up suddenly as though her previous kick was a reflexive
reaction.
“G-Guuu…”
Tatsuo covered his mouth with all his might in order to suppress the urge to vomit. From her
place near Kotori and Tatsuo, Yoshino was quick to speak up.
“P-Please wait just a moment; I’ll go find some medicine…”
Yoshino quickly ran out of the room accompanied by the characteristic pitter-patter of her faint
footsteps.
“T-That…”
Kotori, now left alone in the room with the couple, wore an ashamed expression on her face as
she looked at Tatsuo.
“I’m sorry Otou-san—. I was caught by surprise since it all happened so suddenly…”
“No, it’s my fault.”
After he managed to suppress his urge to vomit, Tatsuo smiled weakly at her.
“Kotori is fourteen years old now… she won’t always be a child after all… sob… sob …I always
knew that this day would come… Don’t worry, Daddy’s fine…”
“Tatsu-kun…”
“Don’t worry about it… Why is everything suddenly so blurry…”
Tatsuo looked up and gazed at the ceiling in order to hold back his tears.
The last time Tatsuo experienced such heartbreak, it was the first time Kotori stopped taking a
bath together with her father and another when she was able to see through his Santa Claus
disguise for Christmas a few years ago.
“No, that’s not the case.”
Kotori scratched her cheek with an increasingly ashamed expression.
Just then, the sound of clumsy footsteps could be heard from the hallway. Yoshino came back
holding a tray with a glass of water and some medication.
“S-Sorry, I kept you waiting…”
“Yoshinon has returned—guh!”
Yoshino and her rabbit-puppet said in unison. As a result of clasping the tray in its mouth,
Yoshinon’s voice sounded more muffled than normal.
Regardless, it was still impressive that it was able to speak at all.
“Hyaa!”
However, because of her excessive panic, Yoshino stumbled partway through her trek, and the
tray fell from her hands and scattered the tablets all over the floor.
“Uahh?!”
The clear water in the glass splashed over Haruko.
◇◇◇
“Hoo… Hoo… I… really… need to hurry home or else…”
Shido gasped to catch his breath as he raced down the road leading back to his house.
After a great deal of effort and strength, Shido finally managed to get away from the pesky
Tonomachi. Though in reality, Shido reluctantly had to resort to bribing him with a crab leg he’d
fished out of his shopping bag. In spite of that, the back-and-forth battle between Shido and
Tonomachi had accomplished nothing more than increasing the distance between Shido and his
house and wasted more of his little time to spare.
“Why did this have to happen now of all times?”
This increasingly tiresome situation continued to chase Shido to the ends of the earth as though
the malicious vixen called Lady Luck had decided to cast a curse on poor Shido. What hope did
he have, standing against such a preordained fate? The almighty gods were likely pointing at
Shido from their place in clouds and laughing uproariously at him and his pitiful plight.
Yet despite his setbacks, he refused to give up hope. If Shido were to give up his pace, there was
no doubt that the Spirits’ unintentionally destructive verbalizations would no doubt blindside his
parents like a relentless assault.
For Shido, who was regularly misunderstood by many of his classmates and neighbors thanks in
large part to <Ratatoskr>’s, more often than not, unhelpful assistance, the last he wanted to deal
with was being misunderstood by his own parents.
They were the foster parents that Shido earnestly respected from the bottom of his heart who had
raised him with care into a fine young man. They put their faith in him, thus Shido wanted to
prevent them at all costs from thinking of him as some sort of eccentric sex criminal with a strike
zone that ranged from girls who were older than him to girls who were much younger than him.
No, they would probably comprehend Shido’s actions. Even if they had misunderstood their
son’s history as a philanderer, Shido’s parents probably wouldn’t pelt him with a barrage of
pained reproaches or otherwise condemn him for the rest of his life. At worst, they would most
likely wear troubled expressions and say something like, “Haha… I-Is that so? Shido is a young
man, after all. But you have to take responsibility for those girls, okay?” Or something similar.
However, there was still the fact that the Spirits were hidden existences as far as the public was
concerned so Shido wouldn’t be able to elaborate on that situation. If push came to shove,
Haruko and Tatsuo would most likely end up heading back to the United States while believing
their son had become a playboy. That would be problematic. How would he be able to face them
in the future if things turned out this way.
“If I don’t make it back in time…”
Shido tried his best to speak as he continually increased his pace as much as he could.
“…!”
Shido suddenly came to a stop.
Because a few meters in front of him, Shido could make out the figures of three exceedingly
distinct figures of the same age as him: Yamabuki Ai, Hazakura Mai, and Fujibakama Mii—they
were the infamous trio of girls of Shido’s class.
Frankly, the situation simply boiled down to his classmates walking together just a bit ahead of
him, so running past them would be an appropriate strategy.
However, despite how easy that might be, he had an ominous feeling hovering over him that
desperately made him want to avoid bumping into them.
“…”
Shido made up his mind and instead made his way in a different direction while keeping his
footsteps quiet as best as he could. Although it would take more time, taking a detour would still
lead him back to his house and give him a chance to avoid his classmates.
“Hoho! Father, what a demonic force!”
“What’s the matter, Kitarou3?”
“Ah! Over there! It looks like Itsuka-lkun is walking down the street suspiciously as if he
committed a crime or something.”
“What did you say?!”
The trio turned their heads in unison, startling Shido such that his shoulders trembled.
“Kuh!”
“Ah! He’s getting away!”
“Get back here you fiend!”
“Children! Assemble!”
Ai, Mai, and Mii quickly turned towards Shido and gave chase as he ran away as fast as he
could. Shido couldn’t help but raise his voice and yell as he heard their footsteps chasing behind
him.
“Why the hell are you three chasing me?!”
◇◇◇
“…Ahh…”
Haruko listened as her voice reverberated quietly off the walls and let her body sink deeper into
the warm water of the bathtub.
3
Kitarou refers to a manga series created in the 1960s by Shigeru Mizuki. It’s best known for its popularization of
folklore creatures known as yokai.
She had just been splashed with a large amount of cold water due to Yoshino losing her footing.
In order to avoid catching a cold, Haruko had been invited to enjoy a warm bath.
Haruko, who was already drenched in sweat from the intense sequence of events leading to this
point, was more than happy to accept the invitation. On the other hand, Haruko had also spent a
lot of energy trying to console Yoshino who had apologized repeatedly with tears welling up in
her eyes.
“Anyway…”
Those girls… who were they really?
Haruko continued to stare at the ceiling as she mulled the question in her mind.
Just from looking at them, she felt confident that Yoshino and Natsumi were roughly Kotori’s
age. However, the other girls seemed to be high school students who were closer in age to Shido
no matter how she looked at them.
Of course, she couldn’t rule out the possibility that Shido was the one that invited all of them
over, regardless of how unlikely such an occurrence was. However, for Shido, who had never
brought a girlfriend or even a female friend home before, to invite that many girls to the house at
once, much less the fact that all of them were very good looking, was almost impossible for her
to understand.
However, judging from the panicked tone in Shido’s voice when they spoke on the phone, could
it be that he intended to prevent them from meeting those girls in the first place? The prospect
was wild but pleasant one. Nonetheless, Haruko quickly dismissed it from her mind.
“Then…”
Nonetheless, although she had no intention of questioning Shido about it, if the normally bashful
boy managed to get a girlfriend, Haruko would be delighted at such news.
However, leaving such a curious affair alone was not Haruko’s style. Hence, she resolved to do a
thorough investigation to determine what Shido’s relationship with these girls was. While she
was at it, she ought to investigate Kotori’s relationship with them as well.
Her resolution set, Haruko intended to stand up from the bathtub to start washing her body.
However, just as she was about to get out, the bathroom door immediately flew open and the
twin sisters that had unceremoniously apprehended them earlier ambled into the room with only
towels covering their bodies.
“The Yamai sisters shall be joining!”

“Appearance. Hello.”
“W-What’s going on?!”
Despite the fact that they were the same gender, having people suddenly intrude into the
bathroom would always frighten her. Haruko immediately braced herself.
Their names were, if Haruko recalled correctly: Kaguya and Yuzuru. As for why they flashed
dramatic poses before they spoke, Haruko hadn’t the faintest idea.
“Kuku… Permit me to cleanse thy sins that have accumulated over innumerable voyages.”
“Translation. Please allow Yuzuru and Kaguya to wash your back.”
“A-Ah…”
She hadn’t meant it as consent but Haruko had been overwhelmed by the twins’ imposing power
and unconsciously nodded. So the Yamai sisters guided Haruko to a chair where she sat while
they started rubbing soap between their hands.
The two of them sat behind Haruko and alternated working on scrubbing her back.
“Kaka. How is the Yamais’, combined technique, Heavenly Revolving Water Dragons? Let
thyself be fully immersed in this pleasure!”
“Inquiry. Does it tickle?”
“Ah… Yeah, it’s fine.”
Having her back cleaned by someone else was a nice experience for Haruko. But in the end,
Haruko was still uneasy as she continued to wonder why there were two girls who were washing
her back. She scratched her cheek in confusion.
Having observing Haruko’s reaction, Kaguya and Yuzuru quietly whispered to each other:
“Hmm…why doesn’t she look happy? Is this not the ultimate form of hospitality?”
“Agreement. If anything, she appears to be confused.”
“How odd. If it were Shido, he would no doubt be exhilarated even though he would try to shy
away.”
“Deliberation. Perhaps it is due to the difference in gender. It might be more effective against his
father.”
“Yeah… but for some reason it feels wrong to do this sort of thing for any man other than
Shido.”
“Agreement. Same here.”
“Besides, if it were Miku, I bet that she’d be excited if it were a girl that was cleansing her.”
“Contemplation. Could it be that we misunderstood the method?”
“Oh, that may be the case. Then let’s try another approach. If we try again from behind…”
“Comprehension. The fondling move. But wouldn’t that be too difficult for Kaguya?”
“Eh, what do you mean?”
“Explanation. If it were Kaguya, even if they made contact with your chest, they would not
notice anything.”
“Don’t try to mess with me like that. Even if they’re a little small…”
“Proposal. In that case, let’s begin at the same time from both sides…”
“On my signal. One… two…”
“W-Wait a minute.”
If she let the silence continue any longer, Haruko would no doubt enter a new world of rapture so
she quickly stopped the two.
Ignoring that part, there was a piece of their conversation that Haruko found even more
unsettling. With cold sweat trailing down her body, she turned to face the two girls seated behind
her.
“About that… Did you two say something about Shii-kun… Shido just now?”
After Haruko asked them directly, Kaguya and Yuzuru blinked several times and nodded.
“Hmm…yeah, we did.”
“Confirmation. Is there a problem?”
“No, it’s just that… you two, have you taken a bath with Shii-kun or something like that?”
Haruko asked curiously. The two girls, having noticed Haruko’s response, now wore worried
expressions as they realized that they said something that they shouldn’t have.
“U-Uh, thy sins have been fully purged!”
“Approval. Yuzuru and Kaguya shall take our leave now.”
“H-Hey, wait a minute!”
In spite of Haruko’s exclamation, the Yamai sisters had already turned on their heels and fled the
bathroom with their agile movements.
◇◇◇
“Well then…”
It had been thirty minutes since Haruko left for the bathroom. Tatsuo had been lying down while
he was waiting, giving him time to recover from his stomach pain which now felt much better
than before.
“Ah… are you feeling better now?”
“It’s not good to force yourself.”
Yoshino and the rabbit puppet worn on her left hand, Yoshinon, asked in a worried manner,
having been looking after Tatsuo at his bedside ever since he endured Kotori’s kick.
“Yeah, it’s all thanks to the medicine that Yoshino-chan gave me.”
“A-Ah…”
After hearing Tatsuo’s response, Yoshino couldn’t help but feel extremely apologetic and her
shoulders trembled a little. Even though Tatsuo didn’t mean it to be hurtful, Yoshino was most
likely still thinking about the problem she caused bringing the medicine. She truly was a
kindhearted girl.
Tatsuo wore a reassuring smile to show that he was fine and stood up, making his way
downstairs.
“…Where are… you going?”
The girl who had forgotten to add an honorific and was standing next to Yoshino was
undoubtedly Natsumi. After Kotori mentioned that she had something that she needed to take
care of and took off, Natsumi took her place as though she was a stand in.
“Ahh… Haru-chan should be done soon, so I’ve got to prepare a change of clothes.”
“Ah… Let me take care of it…!”

As Yoshino quickly offered to do so, Tatsuo waved a hand in refusal.
“I’m grateful for that, but it’s fine. Haru-chan doesn’t like to carry luggage during long trips.
Today, we only brought the bare necessities, plus our pajamas are already here. Even though it’s
a bit early, I’m thinking whether I should borrow a change of clothes from Shido’s room or not.”
“Then let Yoshinon lead the way!”
Yoshinon gestured and eagerly suggested.
“I see, then I’ll be counting on you.”
Even though they were in the Itsuka residence and there was no way that Tatsuo didn’t know
where Shido’s room was located, he nonetheless grinned and nodded in response. After all, it
was a kind gesture from the two of them and he couldn’t think of a reason to decline.
“T-This way…”
“…Let’s go.”
Yoshino and Natsumi guided Tatsuo out of his room and up the stairs. Tatsuo continued to follow
the pair’s tiny figures and ascended to the second floor.
“P-Please go ahead.”
“…Here we are.”
Tatsuo pushed the door to Shido’s room open.
Even though it had been a while since Tatsuo had entered his son’s bedroom, there didn’t seem to
be much difference from its current state and how he remembered the room the last time he’d
been here. It was probably due to Shido’s thoroughly meticulous nature that the room was
regularly tidied.
To be perfectly honest, Shido’s room was probably more organized and spotless than Tatsuo’s
and Haruko’s place in the United States. He could only smile wryly as he opened the closet.
“Hm? Isn’t this…”
He’d originally intended to search for a plain shirt but Tatsuo suddenly noticed a specific item in
the closet that gave him pause.
◇◇◇
“Ah…seriously, what the hell was with them…”
After he managed to shake off the improvised chase scene with the trio. Ai, Mai, and Mii, Shido
finally managed to breathe a sigh of relief. At the same time, he wiped the sweat off his forehead
with the sleeve of his shirt.
Despite it currently being winter, because he had been running for his life, Shido was now
sweating profusely, sweat permeating throughout his entire body.
…No, to be precise, it wasn’t just exercise that was causing this but also the anxiety of the
situation and heralding of his time running out. It all took its toll on his mind.
“If things keep up like this, it’ll only get worse. But where in the world am I…?”
Shido spoke weakly and looked around. In the process of attempting to avoid that menacing trio,
he ended up getting himself lost in an unfamiliar area.
“I should probably find the main road first.”
Although he didn’t know exactly where he was, regardless of the direction, walking was
definitely better than standing still. Once Shido caught his breath he broke back into a sprint.
But after running not even a hundred meters, Shido slowed to a stop.
Of course, Shido knew full-well that he couldn’t afford to stop now, but at that moment, there
was something drawing his attention toward a narrow alley on his left.
There was a young girl whom Shido was familiar with standing there. She had long dark hair,
porcelain skin, and a long fringe to cover her left eye. With a seductive, charming smile on her
pale face, she carelessly stood there.
—It was Tokisaki Kurumi; the one known as the <Worst Spirit> who’d emerged in front of
Shido.
She was leaning forward, facing what looked to be a ferocious feline that mirrored the
femme-fatale in the corner of the alley.
“I’ve finally found you, So you’re the boss of this street—Toramaru-san, I presume?”
Kurumi reached out her hand with a fearless smile, while the cat named Toramaru hissed
viciously back at Kurumi.
“Heeheehee! As expected of you, a basic trick won’t work well against you. That’s what makes it
exciting, doesn’t it?”
As she spoke, Kurumi opened the package held in her palm and spilled the contents onto the
ground—it seemed to be some sort of cat food.
Toramaru’s ears gently flicked back and forth before cautiously approaching the cat food and
began munching on the crunchy bites.
Only a few seconds later and having consumed several of the bites, the now lump Toramaru
startled to rock back and forth as though it was drunk and finally slumped to the ground exposing
its now defenseless belly.
“Heeheeheeheeheeheehee! You’ve fallen into my trap! This special cat food was infused with a
special catnip4!”
Kurumi cackled loudly as she crouched down in order to gently stroke Toramaru’s soft belly. The
previously vicious cat instead let out a contented purr that was in stark contrast to its behavior
from before.
“Heeheeheeheeheehee! With this, I have conquered every powerful boss on this street! All the
counts now belong—”
At that moment, she probably felt someone’s gaze on her and Kurumi suddenly turned on her
heel and her eyes met Shido’s.
Both of them remained silent for several seconds.
“…Shido-san. How long have you been standing there?”
“N-No… I-It’s not what you think! I-I was just passing through here by mistake, so…”
Shido somehow felt that it would only end poorly if he stayed any longer. Hence he hurriedly
tried to forget everything he’d seen and went to run away as quickly as he could.
Not that it made any difference because in a split second, something tightly grasped his shoulders
and Shido was forced to stop in his tracks.
“You’ve got the wrong idea!”
While Kurumi’s tone was calm, some might say that her tone was too calm, to the point where it
was a bit creepy.
“If you misunderstand, It would make me very displeased. This is not what you think it looks
like, Shido-san.”
4
Catnip, also known as actinidia polygama, is a non-toxic plant that can induce an euphoric response in cats.
“Eh? No, I don’t know, I already said that I don’t know anything…”
“Could it be that Shido-san is thinking that I would be someone who would rely on adding catnip
to pet food to influence all the little kitties on this street and had plans to establish the perfect Cat
Sanctuary—Tokisaki Kingdom—or something like that?”
“No, I haven’t had any sort of thought like that…”
“But that’s not the case. It’s absolutely wrong. I will explain the reasons behind what I’m doing
from start to finish so you have to listen properly, okay?”
“A-About that! Kurumi?!”
Although Shido had forcibly raised his voice to grab her attention, Kurumi was already in a
trance where she was deaf to everything in the world now.
◇◇◇
Haruko gently wiped her hair with a dry towel as she stepped out of the bathroom, and made her
way down the hallway.
“…Hmm…”
Frowning, Haruko tilted her head in confusion with a complicated expression on her face. Even
though Haruko’s body felt warm thanks to the bath and the stress of the trip had been washed
away, there were still lingering doubts and suspicions that gnawed away at her heart and had
only been increasing after the bath.
“…For God’s sake, what did Shii-kun really do while we were away…?”
Haruko couldn’t help but mumble to herself as she reflected on what the Yamai sisters said while
they were in the bathroom.
Certainly, no matter how much she thought about it, she wouldn’t be able to get any answers
until she spoke to Shido himself.
With that resolution in her mind, Haruko stepped back into the living room and noticed her
husband sitting on the sofa.
For some reason, Haruko could tell that there was a sense of unease emanating from him. Like
her, Tatsuo also wore an uncomfortable expression.
“Tatsu-kun?”
“Ahh…Haru-chan…How was the bath?”
“Oh, it was very relaxing. Thanks for the clothes, Tatsu-kun.”
With that said, Haruko tugged on the sportswear that she’d borrowed from Shido. As for her
previous set of clothes along with her undergarments, Haruko had already thrown them into the
laundry basket.
“Ahh…yeah.”
However, for some reason, when Haruko mentioned Shido’s clothes, a dubious expression
briefly formed on Tatsuo’s face.
“Is something wrong?”
“Um…Actually…”
He appeared ready to mention something to her. But before he could muster his voice—
“I never would have guessed there would be a second life for the <Salon de Miku>5!”
There was an extremely energetic voice that resonated around the living room, abruptly
interrupting Tatsuo’s and Haruko’s conversation.
They looked around cautiously in the direction from which the voice came, and they spotted a
tall girl with a gorgeous figure standing there—Miku. Even though this was the first time that
they’d met her, they had the strangest feeling that they had seen or heard her somewhere else.
Miku continued with a lovely smile.
“Now then, Darling’s Otou-sama and Okaa-sama. You must be very tired after such a long
journey.”
“D-Darling?”
Although Haruko shouted in confusion, Miku continued as though she hadn’t heard her.
“However, now that I’m here, there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll provide you with the perfect
body massage to ease your fatigue.”
As she finished inviting them, Miku clapped her hands twice. Then, from somewhere behind
Miku, the girl who’d prepared the onigiri before—Tohka—poked her head out. Surely, Tohka
gave off the impression of a large dog.
“Alright, I’ll take care of Darling’s Okaa-sama while you take care of his Otou-sama,
Tohka-san.”
“Umu. Leave it to me.”
“Remember, you only need to gently press on his back. Don’t use your full strength, understand?
If you do, Otou-sama’s body will break.”
5
Salon de Miku initially debuted in Volume 9.
“Muu… I see!”
“I have a bad feeling about this…”
Seeing Haruko suddenly break into a cold sweat, Tatsuo grinned gently.
“Now, now, Otou-sama, please head over that way. As for Okaa-sama, please just lie down on
the sofa and relax.”
“Eh? A-Ah… Okay…”
Although she still wanted to talk to Tatsuo, Haruko was overwhelmed by Miku’s urging as she
reclined on the couch.
Miku then immediately flexed her fingers and went to work, massaging Haruko’s back.
“Ara, your body is really stiff.”
“Yeah…”
Haruko had no other choice but to relax. Despite Miku exaggerating her talents just a little, there
was no denying that her massage technique was as skilled as that of a professional.
“How’s the pressure?”
“Um… it… seems… very comfortable…”
It was not too much pressure but also not enough: the perfect balance of force stimulating the
pressure points in her shoulders and back. The laborious nature of work and long distance
traveling was quickly eased away and it all felt very soothing. Under the ministrations of Miku’s
skilled technique, Haruko could feel a gentle drowsiness slowly overtake her little by little.
However—
“Hehehehehehehe… A mature woman’s body is also quite charming… this wonderful softness…
truly the softest sensation…”
“…?!”
As Miku blushed and spoke excitedly under her breath, Haruko’s eyes suddenly shot wide open
just as she was about to fall into a light sleep.
◇◇◇
“Really… what did I do to deserve getting thrown into these horrible situations…?”
After being forced to listen to an increasingly elaborate and confusing process of the series of
events that led to Kurumi doing what she was, Shido finally managed to get himself out of her
clutches at long last.
Even though Kurumi seemed keen on continuing her explanation, Toramaru, having recovered
from the catnip and regained consciousness, quickly fled. Ergo, she had to stop part way through
her explanation and give chase to the escaping feline.
Ever since then, Shido had since lost track of how long he’d been walking until he finally found
his way back to a familiar street.
Even though it had been well over an hour since his parents called him and it was very likely that
it was too late, perhaps there was a slim chance that he could avert a poor outcome in his race
against time. He latched onto this thread-like ray of hope as he made his way back home.
But then…
“Huh?”
There was a group of elementary school students that appeared before him. They appeared to be
playing hide and seek. They seemed to be glancing over their shoulders as they ran away with a
shriek.
A moment later, the person who had been seeking the children. As to who that person was, she
gave off a strong impression: she was foreign-looking girl with blonde hair and purple eyes as
her defining characteristics. She was also dressed in a dark business suit that made her stand out
against the residents.
“What…?”
Having spotted those irrefutable features, Shido couldn’t stop himself from gasping in dawning
horror.
But such a reaction was reasonable. After all, she was a wizard from DEM Industries, an
organization that opposed <Ratatoskr>’s efforts—Ellen Mira Mathers.
“Hurry up, we’re over here!”
“You’re so slow, Onee-san!”
“You can’t call yourself the strongest like that!”
“Y-You guys… It’s because…”

Having been provoked by the young students, Ellen gritted her teeth reluctantly.
Ellen suddenly slumped to the ground while clutching at her chest.
Taken by surprise, the students rushed to Ellen’s side with looks of worry on their faces.
“A-Are you okay?”
“Where does it hurt?”
“Should we take you to the hospital?”
“—Not a chance!”
At that moment, Ellen suddenly raised her head and suddenly grabbed one of the students’
shoulders.
“Eh! That’s cheating!”
“No fair!”
“That one doesn’t count!”
“Oh… what are you talking about? In the rules that we initially set, the person who was touched
by the ghost is to play the next ghost. There was nothing about being deceived because you were
foolish. If you want someone to hate, hate yourself for being so stupid.”
Ellen replied triumphantly. Immediately after, the kid that she’d grabbed put his hands into a
cross-shaped gesture in front of his chest.
“But I made a barrier just now so your attack didn’t work.”
“What… A barrier…? Does such a thing actually exist?!”
“If you make a barrier, ghosts can’t touch you.”
“Onee-san, didn’t you know that?”
“I’ve never heard of such a rule before now. But I have to challenge that: if I use my Realizer
unit, no matter what barrier you use, compared to my strength, you’ll all be…”
It was at that moment that Ellen noticed Shido standing a short distance away from her.
Ellen’s face suddenly turned a dark red.

After seeing the way she reacted, Shido had a bad feeling about how this was going to turn out
and decided to immediately make a run for it. This day had already been complicated enough; he
didn’t want to deal with another problem.
“W-Wait a minute, Itsuka Shido! Don’t misunderstand this! This is just—whoa!”
“Onee-san fell down!”
“Are you alright?”
Shido did not give their faint protests or laments as second thought as he quickly picked up his
running speed.
◇◇◇
“Hah… Hah… What’s going on with that girl…?”
After managing to escape from Miku’s surprise assault, Haruko sighed as she ran her fingers
through her messy hair.
“Is everything okay there, Tatsu-kun?”
“Ahh, yeah. It seemed a little too cautious so it felt more ticklish.”
Watching Tatsu grin wryly over his shoulder, Haruko couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.
“That’s good to hear… Anyway, what did you want to say before?”
“Huh? Oh…”
Tatsuo put a hand to his chin before remembering the crucial topic he had wanted to discuss
before.
“To be honest, I don’t really understand what it means. Even if there was something like that in
Shido’s room, I don’t understand why he would have it in his possession in the first place…”
“Eh? What do you mean…?”
Haruko tensed up at Tatsuo’s vague remark.
“What do you mean by ‘it’, exactly? C-Could it be… it’s not some kind of dangerous drug, is
it?”
“Ahh… No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just that…”
“Just…”
“Well…when I was looking for a change of clothes for you in Shido’s wardrobe…”
Tatsuo spoke carefully.
But at that moment—
“Otou-sama, Okaa-sama…”
Another girl made her appearance in front of them, cutting their dialogue short once more.
“Whoa!
“Waa!”
Haruko and Tatsuo each let out a startled noise as they toppled backwards at the same time.
But this was an understandable reaction, owing to the fact that the girl before them was the one
who had previously threatened Tatsuo with a knife.
“Please forgive me for the delayed greeting; the others have disrespected you so much.”
“N-No… it’s okay.”
Although Haruko privately thought ‘You’re the one who has been the most disrespectful.’ She
suppressed the urge to say it aloud for the sake of their safety.
Then, the girl knelt before Haruko and Tatsuo with formal etiquette that was a stark contrast to
how she behaved before. Once she was on her knees, she then bowed her head afterward.
“Allow me to properly introduce myself as this is our first meeting. My name is Tobiichi
Origami—I am currently in a relationship with Shido.”
“Ah, hello. That’s very polite of you… wait. What?!”
After hearing such a shocking fact stated so clearly all of a sudden, Haruko’s eyes suddenly
widened in surprise.
“W-Wait a minute, you said that you were in a relationship… you and Shido?!”
“Yes.”
Origami nodded without so much as a change in the blank expression on her face. Seeing the
girl’s demeanor, Haruko and Tatsuo glanced at each other. Due to the fact that they had never
discussed the topic with Shido, the two didn’t know what kind of preferences their son had as far
as the opposite sex was concerned. Nevertheless, they never would have guessed that he would
be interested in this type of girl.
Having noticed Haruko’s and Tatsuo’s incredulous looks, Origami produced a number of
photographs.
“I have evidence here.”
“T-This is…”
Haruko and Tatsuo looked at the pictures that she gave them.
The photographs she gave them indeed showed Origami and Shido together.
“Ara?”
However, almost immediately, Haruko noticed that there’s something wrong with the photos.
“A-About that, Origami-chan?”
“Yes?”
“About these pictures…even though they do show you both together, aren’t those positions a bit
strange? It seems like these are selfies with Shido as the background, don’t you think so?”
“That is a misconception.”
“Then what about this one… why does it look like Shido isn’t looking in the camera’s direction?
It seems like a picture of two people who happened to be coincidentally side by side with each
other and was taken with a hidden camera placed there in advance.”
“That is a misconception as well.”
“…Is that right…”
Haruko felt a new wave of sweat trickle down her forehead as she listened to Origami’s firm
denials. After looking through the remaining photographs, Haruko couldn’t help but suspect that
each photo possessed an unnatural impression in their contents.
“…Hm?”
At that moment, Haruko’s attention latched onto a specific picture and her eyebrows furrowed.
“Haru-chan? Is something wrong?”
After noticing the subtle change in Haruko’s expression, Tatsuo spoke up.
“Yeah, it’s something that’s not important…This is Shido, right?”

“Huh? Can you show me which one?”
Just as Tatsuo was about to get a good look at the picture in Haruko’s hand, a piece of paper
appeared out of nowhere, obscuring their view of the photograph. The person responsible—it
was without a doubt—Origami.
“O-Origami-chan?”
“Please take a look at this.”
“This is…?”
Haruko immediately followed the girl’s request.
“Eh?! Isn’t this a marriage application?!”
That’s right. Origami presented a marriage application with all the relevant information
regarding the bride’s side having already been filled out. But that wasn’t all, Origami had circled
the witness’s section where the parents would have to sign with a red pen.
“According to Japanese law, Shido-kun is unable to get married yet6. Thus, when he reaches the
age of eighteen, I would like Otou-sama and Okaa-sama to be our witnesses.”
“W-Wait a minute, suddenly proposing marriage like this… What does Shido think about all of
this?”
“He was the one who proposed this offer. He said that you were both indispensable.”
Origami blushed faintly. Haruko and Tatsuo couldn't help but let their eyes widen in amazement
at the sight.
“This… is this true?”
“For Shido to… take the initiative like this…”
“Yes. After that, he grabbed my hand and pulled me into a passionate kiss.”
“Wha…?!”
It was completely different from how the Shido that they remembered would act and took the
couple entirely by surprise. However, because Origami’s expression showed her earnest
solemnity, the two couldn’t detect a hint of dishonesty from her.
6
According to Japanese law, in order to get married under the age of 20, they require their guardian’s consent for it
to be legal.
While Haruko and Tatsuo were trying to figure out how to respond, Origami pressed the
marriage application into their hands.
“I will repeat my request—please entrust Shido-kun to me.”
“T-This…”
“Even if you say something like that…”
The role reversal blindsided Haruko and Tatsuo.
But at that moment—
“Hey! What do you think you’re without permission, Tobiichi Origami?!”
At that moment, the door to the living room flew open and the rest of the girls, with Tohka at the
lead, rushed into the hallway in unison.
“This isn’t what we decided on! This was supposed to be a proper welcome!”
“This is my type of hospitality. Is there anything better than knowing that your son has a capable
wife?”
“You, what do you think you’re saying?!”
Origami’s response made Tohka frown and furrow her eyebrows. Then, the rabbit doll Yoshinon
flailed its paws excitedly.
“Eh, then let’s just have Yoshino become the bride!”
“…! Wh-What are you saying, Yoshinon…”
“Kuku, that’s right Yoshinon. Just like you said, the candidates for marriage are not limited to
just thee or to Origami.”
“Acceptance. Even if it is Master Origami, I won’t concede Shido to you.”
“Exactly! How cunning of Origami-san, indeed! Darling is mine so you should be my bride
instead!”
“…No, that sort of thing is weird.”
Although Natsumi replied half-heartedly, the other girls were beyond the point of no return as
they became more vigorous with their arguments.
“What a joke… I am the wife of Shido…”

“I’ll never hand Shido over to you!”
“A-As for me…”
“Yoshinon has no intention of surrendering either!”
“Kaka, all is fair in love and war! I admire thy courage but Shido is already…”
“Challenge. Shido is Yuzuru and Kaguya’s shared property already.”
“I have an amazing idea! Why don’t all of you become my wives!”
“…I’m fine with whatever…”
“W-Wait a minute…”
“Calm down everyone—”
Despite their desperate attempt to get everyone to settle down, Haruko and Tatsuo were unable to
get through the girls’ ears.
◇◇◇
“F-Finally… I made it back…”
Shido had long since lost track of how much time had passed since he’d spoken to his parents,
but today he finally returned to his long-lost family.
Due to the fact that he’d been running constantly, he felt that he was close to collapsing even
though it hadn’t been much time since he managed to escape Ellen.
However, the worst was yet to come. The real battle was still ahead. Shido tried to mentally
prepare himself as he took a deep breath.
Since he hadn't had a chance to call them even once. Shido hadn’t the faintest clue what sort of
interaction the Spirits had with his parents. Therefore he was going to have to fabricate an excuse
for his relationship with the Spirits, and he couldn’t even use the term ‘Spirit’ to describe it.
“…It’s impossible…”
Shido couldn’t help but furrow his eyebrows. It was obviously an important matter but he was
unable to adequately explain the situation. Shido was at a dead end.
But standing there was only going to make things worse. Shido mentally prepared himself and
opened the front door.
“I’m home—!”
“—!”
Shido’s voice was entirely drowned out by voices coming from the living room. It sounded like
there were people in there arguing with each other.
“Could it be…?”
Shido had a bad feeling as he hastily took off his shoes and rushed inside.
Just as he was about to open the door to the living room, a man and woman had pulled the door
and fled the living room.
“Otou-san, Okaa-san.”
Shido shouted instinctually. They were the owners of the house—Itsuka Tatsuo and Itsuka
Haruko.
“Shido-kun! Welcome back…”
“W-Wait a minute! Who in the world are those girls?! Talking about marriage all of a sudden…”
Haruko demanded as she pointed towards the living room.
Shido looked in the direction where she was pointing. Inside, he could see an intense dispute was
brewing and it looked like it wasn’t going to stop anytime soon.
“They’re…”
Shido pressed the palm of hand against his forehead. Although he didn’t know the specifics
about what had happened, he could tell that his parents did not think favorably of the Spirits.
“They’re…”
Not only could Shido not mention anything pertaining to the Spirits, but even if he did, he
couldn’t know for sure that they would believe him.
Shido adopted a firm stance as he faced his parents.
“…Otou-sama, Okaa-sama, please hear me out first.”
“…?”
“Shii-kun…?”
Having noticed the seriousness in they’re son’s face, Haruko and Tatsuo couldn’t help but also
look at him seriously as well.
With that said, Shido nodded his head lightly and continued:
“First of all… I’m sorry for not telling you about them sooner.”
“Don’t worry about that… But who are they in relation to you?”
Having heard Haruko’s question, Shido bit his lip nervously as he shook his head.
“…I’m sorry. About that… but I’m not allowed to say anything… about any of it…”
“What? Why not?”
“Really… please forgive me. But I can’t share anything no matter what. I know I’m being selfish
for having received your kindness and care for all of this time and that what I’m doing is
unbecoming of your son. But… Please don’t hate them…”
“Even if you say that…”
“Please! I’m begging you! Even if they did or said something wrong, all of them are really good
people. Each… Each and every one of them… are very important to me!”
“S-Shii-kun…”
Haruko was at a loss as she stared at him with a confused expression. However, at that moment,
Tatsuo gently put a hand on her shoulders.
“Tatsu-kun…”
“Isn’t this fine, Haru-chan? Shido’s speaking this earnestly so I don’t think he can be wrong.”
“B-But…”
He could see that Haruko was still hesitant so he smiled warmly.
“After hearing my son speak like this, it makes me a little happy too…”
“Happy…?”
“Isn’t this the first time that Shido has made a request like this?”
Haruko’s eyes widened as she understood the significance behind what he was saying. She
looked from Tatsuo to Shido and ran her fingers through her hair.
“…You two are really hopeless. Well… if you really can’t talk about it, then I guess it can’t be
helped for now… But in the future, you need to tell us properly about these things.”
“…! Okaa-san!”
“…You’ve already gone this far. As parents, how can we not trust our own son?”
Haruko looked away from them shyly as she spoke. It was a look that reminded them of her
daughter, Kotori.
“…?”
It was at that moment that something caused Shido to suddenly raise his head. Apparently, it
seemed the argument taking place in the living room had ended with a ceasefire some time ago.
He tried to get a better look at the situation, Shido noticed that all of the Spirits’ gazes were fixed
on him. It seemed that his previous pleading with his parents reached their ears too. Shido’s
cheeks flushed red at the realization.
“…Ah, I’m sorry to intervene when you’re being so emotional…”
Suddenly, a familiar sound came from behind him.
Shido quickly turned around to find his sister, Kotori, leaning against the wall for who knew how
long.
“Kotori! When did you get back?”
“I just got back. I thought that something major happened because the house was so
lively—Welcome back, Otou-san, Okaa-san.”
Kotori waved toward Haruko and Tatsuo. However, the couple shook their heads in
astonishment.
“Welcome back…?”
“But didn’t we just meet earlier…?”
“Huh?”
Hearing what her parents said, Kotori’s eyes likewise also widened with confusion.
Nonetheless, that moment of disbelief instantly disappeared when she spotted Natsumi and it
immediately dawned on her what happened. Natsumi, in response, quickly hid behind Yoshino.
“…Well, that doesn’t matter. Anyway, I’ll explain everything from the beginning. First of all…”
Kotori then pointed at Tohka and the others.
“—These girls are Spirits.”
Just like that, the real truth that Shido had done everything he could to conceal, was completely
divulged to his parents.
“Wha…! K-Kotori!”
Shido couldn’t help but scream. But that was understandable. After all, the topic of Spirits was
considered confidential. They were existences whose information could not be disclosed to dear
family members. Or at least, that’s what Shido had been told.
However, now his parents knew about them.
“…I-I see…”
“So that’s what the situation is…”
But then their expressions showed earnest comprehension.
“Huh…? That’s…what’s going on?”
Shido’s gaze alternated between his parents and Kotori and back again several times as he tried
to process what happened.
A few minutes later.
The Spirits had already returned to the apartment complex next to the Itsuka household or their
own residences. This left only a few people remaining in the Itsuka household.
“—Otou-san and Okaa-san are mechanical engineers for <Ratatoskr>?!”
Hearing such a shocking fact for the first time, Shido couldn’t help but mourn all the effort he’d
put in.
“To be more precise, they work for Asgard Electronics which is the parent organization for
<Ratatoskr>. They were part of the development for the Realizer unit for the <Fraxinus> that
we’ve been using. If you think about it, from some perspective, you could consider that airship
as our sister.”
Kotori explained as she licked her treasured lollipop in her mouth. Tatsuo and Haruko, who were
seated next to her, nodded in agreement and chuckled a tad.
“Eh, could it be that we never told you about this before?”

“And here we thought that you already knew!”
“What do I know! If that’s the case, then why didn’t you notice that they were Spirits?!”
“Hmm… I guess it’s because this was our first time meeting any Spirits.”
“Right, and plus they’re called ‘Spirits’, we expected them to look like mythical creatures or
something like that…”
After they finished speaking, the couple laughed with amusement. Shido felt as though he had
lost his grip on reality in that instant as he watched his parents.
“Then… what was the point of my suffering like that…”
With a miserable sigh, Shido slumped on the table. Seeing Shido’s reaction only made his
parents laugh harder.
“Well, anyway, it’s good to see that Shido can get along well with the Spirits.”
“Yeah, even though there were some misgivings at the beginning. Hopefully there won’t be any
more problems if that’s the case.”
“Yeah, although it’s no good to fight like that, but I guess that just shows how much those girls
love Shido.”
“But one of them taking out a filled-out marriage proposal all of a sudden really did take me by
surprise.”
Haruko and Tatsuo nodded together in unison.
After hearing what they said, Shido felt at ease and relieved after undergoing all the painstaking
and stressful ordeals of the day. No matter what he had to endure, Shido was happy that his
parents had accepted the Spirits.
However, at that moment…
“…About that, Shii-kun, it doesn’t have anything to do with that though…”
Haruko lowered her voice as she pulled out a certain photograph from her pocket.
“This is Shii-kun, right?… What happened here?”
“Eh? This is…um?!”
Shido gasped at the sight of the image.

Of course, that was unavoidable. In that picture, after putting on makeup and a women’s outfit,
was Shido’s female form: Shiori-chan.
“W-Where did you get that from?”
“One of those girls, Origami, just gave this to us… then, who is this?”
“No, this isn’t me! This is just someone who looks a lot like me!”
Just as Shido broke out into a cold sweat as he tried to explain, Tatsuo shouted as though he
remembered something important.
“Oh yeah, when I was looking for a change of clothes for Haru-chan, I found a girl’s uniform in
your closet…”
“…Eh?!”
Shido’s eyes widened in shock. Indeed, because there was only limited storage, he had no choice
but to place the uniform in his closet. He never expected anyone would just find it by chance.
“Shii-kun…why do you have that in the first place? We’re not angry or anything, but we’d like a
reason at least. Is this some sort of hobby? Or perhaps…”
“Yeah, Shido. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I have an acquaintance that has a similar hobby as
well. Even though society doesn’t seem ready to accept such a thing. At the end of the day,
you’re our son. We’ll share in the burden of your suffering, okay?”
“I already said that it’s not what you think!!!”
To Shido’s parents who clearly were misunderstanding everything, he could only raise his voice
and let out a wail of protest.
Nia House
“Let’s go—! Let’s go on a date—!”
At the same time that lively and energetic voice rang out, the living room door suddenly flew
open.
A brief look revealed a young woman with short dark hair and glasses smiling energetically with
her arms outstretched. She was one of the Spirits who lived in Tengu City—Honjou Nia. She
favored pants for easy mobility and a thick dark-colored coat, and her behavior made her seem
like a child.
Itsuka Shido, who was seated on the sofa, reading a magazine, looked up at her for a few seconds
before returning his attention to what he was reading.
“Hey! At least give me a response, Boy!”
Nia stomped the floor in protest, and slipped her head between Shido and the magazine that he
was reading. Shido sighed quietly as he pushed Nia’s head back and closed the magazine.
“I want to go on a date…”
“Really, you already said that when you came in.”
“It’s just the two of us in here, isn’t that rather interesting…?”
“No, I think that’s just your imagination…”
“Oh, so you think that I’m just being anxious? It’s just that I haven’t seen you in such a long time
and now you’re being so mean by saying such things to me—hehe.”
Nia bent down, poking Shido’s arm. Shido batted her fingers away while sighing once more.
“You say you haven’t seen me in such a long time, but weren’t you just here yesterday? You
joined us for dinner, and ate my tomato casserole. Don’t tell me you forgot about all that?”
“Ah, is that true? Now that you mention it, I do actually remember something like that
happening… Yeah, now I have this feeling of “déjà vu” for the better part of ten months… What
was I talking about?”
Nia suddenly said something that he didn’t understand. However, Shido decided that he
shouldn’t investigate the matter any deeper. So he coughed a little and changed the subject.
“Anyway, leaving that aside, you said you wanted to go on a date. Is there anywhere in particular
you want to go?”
“Ah—yes. I want to go out, but I always feel a little lonely when I go out by myself. Now that I
have this rare opportunity, I want to spend time with Boy. If you’re free, come accompany me for
a while—”
“I don’t mind spending time with you… but where are we going?”
Shido asked curiously while Nia was humming with a contented smile on her face.
“It’s more fun if you don’t know where we’re going until we’re there. It’s not something that we
get to do very often. Women with secrets are the ones that are the most beautiful. This year, I’m
aiming for the mysterious sister route, all while saying ‘please take care of me.’ Ah, that said, it
has nothing to do with chest pads or anything like that, understand? It’s actually mysterious
makeup in a certain sense… Ah, did I just say something really profound just now—? I’m truly
worthy of being a creator without bothering to pretend with subtle discourse—”
Nia pretended to be self-satisfied and soon found her forehead struck with a “thunk”.
“…O-Okay.”
As he watched Nia who was acting very differently with a mysterious air about her, Shido stood
up from the sofa with a wry smile as he prepared himself to head out.
After that conversation, thirty minutes passed. Shido and Nia headed to a building near the
station.
“Well, here we are.”
“This is…”
Shido coughed as he looked at the building—or to be precise, he spotted the tenant who’d just
entered the building.
It was a small place with glass windows and billboards full of information on various topics. The
sign hanging above the entrance read: “Tengu Real Estate Office.”
That’s right. This was a so-called real estate company that sold houses to customers.
“Wait. Are you moving?”

Shido tilted his head in confusion. Nia normally lived in a high-rise apartment in the city. He had
visited her several times already. Both the location and the layout of the apartment were very
convenient as it was, so he thought that there was no problem with it.
That said, there was no denying that Nia brought him to a real estate company, it had to mean
that she wanted to buy, rent, or sell a house. Did something happen?
While Shido was trying to figure it out, Nia deliberately snuggled into his shoulder.
“Mm-hmm. Yes, honey. In order to ensure our future together, we need to set up our love nest. If
we want to have children, we’re going to need at least a four bedroom apartment. S-Should we
have more—?”
“Huh… it looks like there’s a promotional event at the supermarket today.”
Shido desperately wanted to get away from the real estate company, but Nia was faster and
grabbed his sleeve.
“Wait a minute—haven’t you been acting cold towards me lately, Boy? I was so energetic before
being sealed—Could it be that you’re not interested in fish you’ve already caught? You’re
someone who would make a woman cry—!”
“You make it hard for me to talk to you! It’s because you’re always making such strange jokes!”
After Shido finished speaking, Nia put a finger to her lips and sighed, “Wow, really, you don’t
underhand humor at all…”
“Well, the truth is that my books and stuff have been cluttering up my workspace. I’ve been
thinking about buying a place that has a better plot and more space.”
“Oh… so that’s what this is all about.”
Shido listened to Nia’s explanation and nodded in understanding. Indeed, Nia’s current apartment
was filled with all sorts of manga and toys that gradually ate away at the remaining free space.
Even so, under normal circumstances, no one would buy a new house just because of that.
Naturally, houses were generally pretty expensive, so it wouldn’t be so easy to just buy one.
However, Nia’s situation was a little different. After all, she was a popular serialized manga
artist—Honjou Souji. Although he didn’t know how much money she made with her job, it
seemed likely that she had plenty to, say, buy a house.
“Well, I’m going in—!”

After she said that, Nia pushed the door to the real estate company open. The bell mounted on
the door made the typical “ding dong” sound, which seemed to echo around the room.
“Welcome!”
An energetic voice welcomed Shido and Nia as they entered. A woman wearing a clean,
professional looking suit approached them with a beautiful business smile and greeted them.
Shido reflexively responded with a greeting of his own.
“I’m Aoki from Tengu Real Estate. What kind of house are you two looking for today?”
“Hmm… I think a house as large as possible and close to Tengu City.”
After Nia said thoughtfully as she put a finger to her chin, Aoki nodded with a smile.
“So that’s the kind of house you’re looking for. Incidentally, are the two of you living together?”
“Eh? Does it really look like that?”
Hearing what Aoki said, Nia smiled cutely at her.
“Ah! That’s not true. We’ve only just started dating. How could we get married just yet?”
Shido responded to Aoki with his own improvisation.
“Please help me find someone to live with.”
“You—that’s so mean!”
Nia protested while Aoki watched them with a wry smile.
“A large house close to Tengu City, what’s your budget?”
“Well, I don’t know the market very well. Do you know if this number is enough?”
When she finished, Nia raised two fingers. Aoki looked at it and tapped her chin thoughtfully.
“Two hundred thousand? Then—”
“Eh? What are you talking about, Aoki? That’s definitely not what I’m saying. The number of
zeroes is wrong.”
Nia waved her hands and laughed.
“Whoa…”
When she realized what Nia meant, Aoki’s eyes seemed to light up. Although she paused and
stared at Shido and Nia discerningly for several seconds… It seemed that Nia didn’t give the
matter a second thought.
“So that is what I’m working with… Okay, I understand.”
Shido suddenly had the feeling that Aoki was treating this as more of a transaction now
compared to before. She returned to her desk and pulled out a thick folder and flipped it open.
“Let’s see…With your budget, what properties are in Tengu City…?”
Then, Aoki took one of the pieces of paper from the folder and passed it over to Shido and Nia.
In it was information about the room’s layout, appearance, and various other tidbits.
“Let’s see…What kind of house is this? ‘Katamukai No. 201’…isn’t this a pretty old property? It
says it’s a wooden apartment. It’s pretty rare to see something like this in this kind of
neighborhood…”
“It was intentionally built with a nostalgic style to give a sense of history.”
After reading the information provided, Nia summarized while Aoki smiled all so professionally.
“The layout of this place… isn’t this a single room?”
“I looked for a place that didn’t have unnecessary partitions in order to provide as much open
space as you wanted.”
Aoki answered Shido’s questions promptly. It was a little too sudden, Shido thought; was it
actually a single very large room?… However, he noticed in the area written next to the room
layout that it was only the length of six tatami mats.
“Say… Huh? Isn’t the arrangement of the image of this room a little weird? It looks like the floor
is a little tilted.”
“This is a house designed on the theme of the world-famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. In addition,
if you spread glass beads on the floor, you can make it look like a river is flowing underneath.
“If it’s like that… then wouldn’t it mean that the house is actually crooked?!”
Nia couldn’t help but cry. But Aoki’s expression didn’t change in the least but instead, she tilted
her head in confusion.
“Does it not suit you?”
“Of course not?! Why would you introduce us to such a problematic house?!”
“Really… then what about this one?”
Aoki suggested as she pulled out another property listing to show them.
“Hmm…‘Nishinono Room 404.’ Does this look like an ordinary apartment?”
“Ah… At least it’s a little bit bigger than the previous one.”
“Hmm… it’s also pretty… huh?”
Nia, who was inspecting the interior photos, suddenly noticed something and reared her head
back.
“Nia? What’s wrong?”
“…It’s nothing, but the gap in this closet seems a bit…”
Nia showed the area in question to Shido. Shido focused his gaze where Nia had indicated—
“—What?!”
In the image was a long-haired woman’s face, peering out from the door of the closet. Shido
couldn’t help but gasp.
“H-Hey… Aoki-san?! This—”
“Yes. Because of the tenant previously staying there, this mascot was purposely attached so they
wouldn’t feel lonely at night.”
“M-Mascot…?!”
“Yes. Ah, but between 2:00 and 4:00 in the morning, please don’t open the closet. And don’t sing
nursery rhymes in this house. Also, I would not suggest investigating the history of this house
from 15 years ago.”
“This is completely absurd! Can you not introduce us to places where such accidents occurred?!
I had a bad feeling when I heard the name!”
Nia wailed again.
Then, Aoki mumbled, “This is troublesome…” and then pulled out another house listing page
from the folder.
“Then… Here’s one that’s close to here. ‘Morizou Room 201.’ The location is great—it’s close
to the station after all…”
“Ah, but this is very strange? What’s with the layout of this room?! Not to mention the
bathroom, there isn’t even a kitchen or a toilet?… If anything, if I just lie down by myself, it’ll
be cramped!”
“As the saying goes, for a man, only half a seat is needed to stand and only one seat is needed to
sleep.”
“I’m pretty sure that saying is meant spiritually rather than physically! This room is more like a
closet rather than an actual living space!”
“That’s very insightful. This is actually the bedroom of the super-popular cat-shaped robot. ‘My
childhood dream came true!’ The people who previously lived here only had good things to say
about it.”
“You’re an idiot!”
Nia shouted as sweat suddenly started trailing down her forehead.
“Hey… You’ve been introducing strange places to me from the beginning. Have you even been
listening to what I asked for?”
“Of course. But because you didn’t give a specific square meter amount, I think defining
‘spaciousness’ is a subjective term. Additionally, you never mentioned that the closets shouldn’t
contain torn corpses from previous murders. Conditions that you should have taken into account
before you came here.”
“Generally, you don’t need to ask for those kinds of conditions when looking for a home?! Tell
me more about what happened 15 years ago, you bastard!”
After Nia slammed her hands on the table and groaned, Aoki shook her head helplessly.
“Even if you say that sort of thing, if you’re looking for places in Tengu City with your budget,
to be honest, those are your best options…”
Aoki said with a complicated expression. Nia frowned in surprise as she glanced back at Shido.
“…Really? Is the land price in your neighborhood that expensive?”
“Honestly, I don’t really know very much…”
After Shido answered, Nia thought about it for a while before she sighed and stood up.
“I guess it can’t be helped… Dammit… I thought 200 million would definitely be enough…”
Just as Nia was about to stand up and leave the office, she heard someone cough behind her.
“Huh? Are you okay, Aoki? Are you coming down with something?”
“…No. How much did you say just now?”
“Eh? Two hundred million…”
“…Forgive me for asking, but what is the unit of currency? Gold? Gil? Or is it referring to Beli?”
7
“No, what kind of bounty hunter kind of thing are you talking about? Of course I’m talking about
the Japanese Yen! The Japanese Yen! In 20,000 Fukuzawa Yukichi notes!” 8
After being silent for a while, Aoki looked up quickly and stared at Nia intently.
“…Wouldn’t it be better if you just turned yourself in right now?”
“No, I didn’t steal it from anywhere! Why are you looking at me like that?!”
“No, how should I say this… I don’t think you are being tempted by some innocent young
boyfriend who’s not good at dealing with women.”
“Now you’re just being blunt! That is obviously a complaint, but I happen to like the phrase
‘naive young boyfriend’, so I won’t give it another thought!”
After Nia finished talking, Aoki coughed in embarrassment to recompose herself.
“My apologies, it seems I must have misunderstood you. If your budget is what you say it is,
then there are a lot of options to choose from. It would be more accurate to say that you could
buy a freestanding house without worrying about rent.”
“No, well, that was my plan originally… but never mind. It’s troublesome to have to visit other
real estate agencies now. Anyway, if you have any good listings, can I see them?”
“I understand. Then please take a look at this one—”
Aoki seemed much more professional as she pulled out a different folder, and pulled out several
listings and spread them out on the table…
◇◇◇
“—Hmmmm—”
7
The currencies referenced here are used in Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, and One Piece.
8
Fukuzawa Yukichi is the samurai present on the 10,000 yen note.
There was a gentle humming sound (somehow the OP from the previous cat-robot’s anime) and
the sound of a kitchen knife rhythmically striking a chopping board came from the kitchen.
Shido made his way toward the kitchen as though captivated by the sound. At that moment, he
spotted Nia who was dressed in nothing but an embroidered fringe apron, cooking happily.
“Nia?”
“—Oh, you’re finally awake? Nyaa, just wait a bit, okay?…Well, ah… I told you to wait just a
bit. Eh, you can’t wait? Eh, hey, you really are a Boy, you’re still young… but that sort of thing
is for after the meal…Oh ♡ have a look, please eat it before it gets cold ♡.”
“…Just for my sanity’s sake, what are you doing?”
At that moment, Shido heard a voice from behind him, taking him by surprise. Shido turned
around. Aoki, who hadn’t a clue what was going on, stood there blankly.
But that was understandable. If a visitor came to the house while the two of them were flirting
while wearing nothing more than an apron, of course they would make such an expression.
Anyway, Shido and Nia were introduced to several houses after that, but thought that they should
go see them for themselves, so they decided to go see the houses together.
Then when they went to go look at the house, Shido went to look for Nia because she seemed to
have disappeared even though she was right next to him.
Now that he was left alone, Shido couldn’t help but feel like an accomplice as he shook his head
to deny what he was seeing.
“No, I didn’t do anything?!”
“Yeah—Boy doesn’t want to play with me. I’ve had a chance to see this new wife form—of
Honjou Nia, but what do you think?”
“First of all, why are you dressed like that? And why are all the dishes that you made just cup
noodles?!”
“Ahaha, in order to create the atmosphere, I hit the cutting board with a kitchen knife for three
minutes after I poured out the hot water. How about it, Boy? Are you moved? Can you imagine
waking up in the morning with a newlywed wife dressed in nothing but an apron preparing
breakfast? It’s the dream for all men! What do you think, would you do it next time? I’d pay you,
of course.”
“No way!”
“Eh—does that mean you don’t want me to pay with money but instead to pay with my
body—?”
Nia spoke as she lifted the hem of her apron.
“Wait…!”
Shido couldn’t help but blush as he looked away.

“Ahaha… Don’t worry! Don’t worry! I was only pretending to wear a nude apron but I was
actually wearing a bikini…Oh? Boy, you blushed?! Are you in love? Could it be that seeing the
adult charm of Honjou Nia made you blush?”
“S-Shut up and put your clothes back on!”
After Shido shouted, Nia smiled and said, “Ah, hmm… Hehe… It looks like Honjou Nia still has
her charm!” as she pulled her clothes back on.
◇◇◇
“Okay, so, back to the house, what do you think of it?”
Once Nia was fully dressed, Aoki sighed, as Nia scratched her head and looked around the house
again.
There was no denying that this was a very luxurious house. It had wide hallways and high
ceilings. It also looked to be move-in ready, so Nia could move in whenever she wanted. It was
definitely better than any of the homes Aoki presented at the beginning.
“I think it’s a very nice house. The bathroom is also quite nice and, by the way, it has a roof!”
“Thank you very much. So—”
Aoki had just pulled out something that looked like a contract from her bag. However, Nia
frowned in disbelief.
“But… aren’t there a lot of ramps along the way? It’ll be difficult for weak little Honjou Nia.
And you see, it’s difficult to separate the work space from everything else.”
“Eh, you’re going to be that picky over this?”
“No, think about it, is this a plan for a new wife? As a manga artist, Souji, I have many other
requirements. I don’t normally go out and buy houses, but I’m still going to need a wide
workspace, and a space for watching anime and the like. I also want to have a screening room
and a nuclear bunker prepared just in case… Ah, and I want more rooms for Boy and the others
so that they can spend the night any time…”
Nia waved a finger as she listed her requirements. Shido let out a sigh.
“Why did you put me on the list so casually?”
“Oh, that’s no good. If I can’t eat the food that Boy prepares, my strength—fading—”
Nia slumped forward with a coquettish voice. Shido sighed as he said, “Okay, okay…” and
gently pushed her away.
Then they noticed Aoki’s expression as she watched the scene unfold, “Even if it’s not a part
time job, is it really okay to seduce this idle woman’s young boyfriend…?” as she coughed to
recompose herself.
“Hmm… that’s a big problem. This is a complex set of requests for a house. If you don’t like this
house, then you’re probably not going to like the other houses that I picked out for you…”
“Hmm… that…”
“What conditions can you compromise on, or are there other places outside that area that you
could take into consideration? The other option is that you can design the house you want and
then have it built from scratch.”
“—Built?”
Aoki’s suggestion made Nia curious.
“Yes. Although it would take more time, it would be the most appropriate way to get the house
that fits your preferences. If you are interested, I can introduce you to some design and
engineering companies that can help you get started.”
“Huh… now there’s an idea…”
There was a sparkle in Nia’s eyes. Although her appearance was a little different, Nia was still a
“Creator”. It would be within her temperament to have her home built from scratch according to
her own preferences.
“Yes! Indeed, a manga artist would never be satisfied with just an ordinary home with no
personality! Red and white intertwined, a shark head in the toilet! It’s decided! Can you
introduce me to the design and engineering companies? Oh, this’ll be exciting! Boy! Let’s think
about what would be the ideal home!”
◇◇◇
“So! That’s why I want to build a house from scratch!”
That evening, Nia stood in the living room of the Itsuka household as she announced the decision
loudly.
In the living room, aside from Itsuka Shido and his little sister, Kotori, there were several other
girls present:
Origami, Yoshino, Mukuro, Natsumi, Kaguya, Yuzuru, Miku, and Tohka—that’s right.
These were all Spirits who were being protected by <Ratatoskr> along with Nia who were
gathered here. After hearing what Nia said, the rest of the Spirits expressed surprise, their eyes
brightened in excitement.
“Huh… that’s a surprise. But it seems like an interesting idea. What kind of house are you going
to build?”
Kotori asked as she leaned back against the dining room chair and continued sucking on the
chupa chups in her mouth.
Then Nia hummed as she pursed her lips and spread out a large piece of paper on the table. Then,
she pulled a pen out of her pocket and began spinning it around in her fingers (incidentally, she’d
already dropped the pen once) and struck a pose.
“That’s what I’m thinking about right now. It’s not every day you get a chance to design your
dream home so I want to draw on everyone’s wisdom. How about it, everyone? Is there any
equipment, rooms, or anything else that you want? After we get it built, you can use it freely.”
Nia said. The Spirits blinked as they understood what Nia meant. They then jumped up in
excitement.
“Really, Nia? Anything?!”
“Well, of course! What is it that you want, Tohka-chan?”
After Nia nodded exaggeratedly, Tohka continued with an excited tone.
“Then there’s one thing. I want a huge refrigerator! That way it could hold more delicious food!”
“Ah, a good industrial refrigerator. My refrigerator still has plenty of wine. If we want to keep it
all fresh, we’d also need a bigger kitchen.”
When she finished, Nia began to sketch out the layout of the kitchen on paper. She drew at an
appropriate rhythm expected of a professional manga artist. Indeed, her sketch was quite
beautiful.
“Hmph… Hmm…”
Soon after she finished drawing out the kitchen’s layout, Nia pulled out a can of beer from the
plastic bag next to her, opened it with one smooth motion, and… started drinking.
“Ahh… that hit the spot!”

“Hey, you haven't had dinner yet, have you?”
“Don’t worry! Because the meals that Boy makes are delicious, I can eat them no matter what!…
Oh yeah, in order to get Boy to cook in my house, it has to be the most incredible kitchen. The
stove should have a high fire power for daily use, and maybe a low temperature cooker9?
Gahaha! Let Boy slowly become mine…”
“…?!”
“…Shido, what are you doing?”
“N-Nothing…”
When Kotori noticed him, Shido could only smile bitterly… At the same time, he decided to wait
until the new home was finished before quietly asking Nia to let him cook there.
“Okay, we should also expand the dining table so that everyone can eat together… Is there
anything else that we need?”
Nia took another sip of her beer as she asked. This time, it was Yoshino who raised her hand
which had her rabbit puppet—Yoshinon.
“That… the kind of bed with a canopy that I saw on TV before, I think it would be really nice…”
“And another thing, a huge walk-in closet! There was this girl who would be ready to go to the
ball at the castle at any time!”
“Oh, that’s a good idea! There always seems to be an inexplicable interest in canopy beds. Also,
if you buy a lot of cosplay outfits, it would be overwhelming. Since that’s the case, there should
be a space where they can be displayed on mannequins maybe…?”
Nia started to draw in the layout. Just then the dam burst as the other Spirits started to raise their
hands in quick succession.
“Kuku… A fortification. Interesting… If so, then there should be a magic lance that crashes the
sacred jade, plus a winged arrow.”
“Translation. Kaguya says that she wants a place where she can play billiards and darts. Because
it’s so rare, there should also be a bar nearby.”
9
Low Temperature Cooking is a cooking technique using temperatures in the range of about 45 to 85 °C (113 to 185
°F) for a prolonged time to cook food. Low-temperature cooking methods include sous vide cooking, slow cooking
using a slow cooker, cooking in a normal oven which has a minimal setting of about 70 °C (158 °F), and using a
combi steamer providing exact temperature control. The traditional cooking pit also cooks food at low temperature.
“Mun… Muku wants a place where you can watch the stars. Can you set up an observation deck
on the roof?”
“I can do whatever I want, huh… What I want, a little black room in the back, that’s what I
want.”
“I want a room that’s soundproofed, where I can sing as much as I want! It’s fun to think about
what you can practice, and we’d get to sing karaoke with everyone anytime!”
“—A monitoring room. In order to show images from each of my hidden cameras at the same
time, I also want somewhere to place multiple monitors.”
“Origami? Can you tell me where you have those cameras?”
As the Spirits’ respective ideas came from all directions, Nia didn’t bother filtering through what
was necessary or not but instead added the additions indiscriminately while saying things like
“Good!” or “Received!”
Kotori was the first to notice this as she frowned and spoke up.
“Wait, Nia, wouldn’t this be going a little overboard? If we pulled all the ideas together, what
would end up happening? There’s still, of course, the issue of how the house would look on the
outside, but is your budget enough to manage this?”
Nia laughed loudly as she opened a second can of beer.
“It’s no problem! Not a problem at all! I’m rich after all! Are you underestimating the success of
this popular manga artist?! Although I don’t know how much it will cost, money is not a concern
for me! We can make it happen with a single click! Do whatever you want! What I want more
than anything else is that I’m not confined to the basic concept of a home!”
By this point, Nia was already a little drunk as she forcefully raised her fist. However, the Spirits
seemed to echo her enthusiasm in return.
Kotori noticed everyone’s enthusiasm and could only shrug helplessly.
“Really, being able to say something so needlessly prolific. Are you sure it’ll be okay?”
“Well…that’s the same thing. Well, it’ll be passed onto the professional designers. I don’t think
there will be any serious problems… But we should probably ask first, just to be safe.”
Shido smiled wryly while Kotori tilted her head incredulously.
◇◇◇
“—A total of 1.85 trillion yen.”
“…What?”
A few days later, Nia went back to back to visit the real estate agent. She was stunned when she
heard the price Aoki reported. Shido, who had tagged along with her, showed a similar
expression.
“…No way, is it really that expensive?”
“I’ve already explained it. There’s the cost of the land to build your home along with the budget
for the construction cost. These are estimates based on the design drawings you set a few days
ago. Apparently, ordinary design firms and construction companies aren’t able to work with
these designs, so we had to resort to a large industrial construction company.”
“…What?”
After a longer silence than before, Nia continued incredulously.
“That… What unit are you using? Gold? Perica? Or maybe Gavas10?”
“Of course, I’m talking about the Japanese yen. The equivalent of 185 million Yukichi
Fukuzawas.”
“No no no…” Hifrom d iscord.gg/datealive! If you aren’tthere, thisis stolen.
Nia shook her head rapidly as she leaned against the table.
“Besides, it’s too weird anyway! What kind of home would that be?! Actually, is it even a home
at that point?!”
But nonetheless, Aoki was unperturbed by Nia’s energy. She pulled out another piece and her
gaze moved to it as she considered.
“Sorry, but if you’re planning to build an amusement park, then it would cost this much.”
“Hey… huh?”
Hearing what Aoki said, Nia made a strange noise.
“—Additionally, the three Michelin Star restaurant equipment and ten banquet halls, a ballroom
in the style of a medieval castle, an underground empire, a safe house-type refuge, a lollipop
10
Gold is the currency that appears in the RPG Legend Series; Perica is the currency used in gambling manga called
“Kaiji” written by Nobuyuki Fukumoto. Gavas is the counting unit in Famitsu from NHK puppet program “Hulu
Ushijima”. All of these currencies are fictional.
memorial museum, a dome that can hold 50,000 people, CIA-level intelligence equipment, a
telescope powerful enough to view Magellanic Clouds11… and this, ‘a ten story minaret on the
ground’ with each floor being guarded by powerful enemies that would be waiting for them and
preventing anyone from going up unless they beat the enemies. Incidentally, the third floor
would be designed to paralyze the foes if you were alone. What kind of design is this specific?
Many people in the industry have raised such questions to us, among other things.”
Although Nia was still reeling back in shock, she snatched the paper from Aoki to see for herself.
Indeed, this design was drawn by Nia. A few days ago, Nia sent the scanned drawings that they’d
prepared at the Itsuka household to Aoki.
The designs that she submitted were indeed in Nia’s handwriting and all of the facilities that
Aoki listed were all present in the design. The nicest way to describe it would be that it was like
it was a secret base designed by an elementary school student’s delusions of a “home”.
“Did I… really design this kind of thing…?”
Nia felt sweat trickle down her cheeks as she glanced at Shido who was next to her. Shido looked
away as he nodded.
“I warned you not to go overboard on this.”
“R-Really…?”
Nia thought long and hard and began to recall what had happened when she drew up the designs.
Although her memory was fuzzy because of the alcohol, she did remember saying several
extraordinary things thanks to the alcohol’s effects. The other Spirits had suggested small
additions to start, Nia had encouraged them to think bigger: “Don’t go with something shabby
like a soundproofed room! Go all in and build a dome! Don’t worry! It won’t be a problem
because I’ve got so much money!”…Well she remembered saying all of those things and now
that she remembered, Nia looked up as she broke out into a cold sweat.
“Then, moving on to the start date, you would first need to by about 90 hectares12 of land in that
area. Of course, because you’re planning to have a home that spans the entire residential area,
you’d have to negotiate with the local residents and compensate for the land and relocation
fees—”
11
Magellanic Clouds are major neighboring galaxies next to the Milky Way.
12
The hectare is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides, or 10,000 m², and is primarily
used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is about 0.405 hectare and
one hectare contains about 2.47 acres.
“STOOOOOP! Why are we still discussing this topic so casually! This is obviously not possible
with my budget! Can you think about this with some common sense! And are big construction
companies this stupid? Surely you all should realize that this sort of project would be impossible,
right?! Obviously I realized that I presented an unrealistic design from the beginning! I can’t
afford such an expensive place anyway! I want to cancel it!”
“Fine. But you know that you will be charged cancellation and estimation fees totaling 152,800
yen.”
“Were you doing this on purpose from the beginning?”
Nia’s voice was laced with anger. She looked more than ready to strangle Aoki but Shido was
faster to react and managed to stop her before she could follow through.
—An hour later, following some patient negotiations, Shido and Nia were finally able to reduce
the cancellation and estimation fees back to the standard amounts. They then made their way
back home.
“Hah… this was so troublesome. I’m so sorry, Boy. I got you dragged into this mess.”
“Haha… I’m glad that we were able to solve this problem smoothly. But what are you going to
do with the designs?”
“Hmm… well, that ideal home is still good in some regards. I guess I’ll have to find a better
place to build some other time. Anyway, I’m never going back to that real estate company
again!”
Nia shouted as she glared in the direction of the office; Shido could only smile bitterly.
They made their way back to the Itsuka household.
The two of them took their shoes off as they made their way to the living room. The other Spirits
who had already gathered there greeted them when they arrived.
“Oh! You two have returned, Shido, Nia!”
“Welcome home…”
“Welcome back, Darling, Nia-san! Do you want me? Or me? Or me?”
All of the Spirits greeted them in unison. Although Kotori was absent because of work, all of the
other Spirits were here.
“Yeah, we’re back. I can’t stand that real estate company…”

Nia sat down on the sofa as she sighed helplessly while the Spirits who heard her spoke brightly.
“Oh! The real estate company’s words… the house you designed! When will it be completed?”
“Yeah! Now everyone should dance together in dresses!”
“If you use something called a telescope… you can see the stars clearly at night, right? Mun…
Muku is very excited now.”
Nia, now exposed to the excited eyes of the Spirits, felt the muscles in her face twitch anxiously.
No, it wasn’t all of the Spirits: Origami, Miku, Natsumi, and the Yamai Sisters all understood
that such a design was impossible to create. Seeing Nia’s appearance, they only could smile at
her wryly.
However, Tohka, Yoshino, and Mukuro still believed the stupid words that a drunkard Nia
shouted and looked forward to the completion of the new home. Blinded by their combined
dazzling expressions, Nia had to close her eyes.
“But you’re really amazing, Nia! I was surprised that you would be able to build such a big
home!”
“Yes. That’s really amazing…”
“Mun. As expected of a manga artist. Muku is looking forward to it.”
“A-Ah… that’s right…”
This must be what vampires bathed in sunlight felt like. Nia, faced with the bright expressions of
the Spirits, could only smile weakly.
◇◇◇
Meanwhile, aboard the huge airship <Fraxinus> that floated 15,000 kilometers above Tengu
City.
Kotori sat at the commander’s seat at the center of the bridge and was busy operating her
personal console.
The parameters of all of the Spirits were displayed in detail on the screen. Of course, although
Kotori’s terminal would be contacted if Spirit values became abnormal, she had to regularly
check everyone’s status like this as the commander of the <Fraxinus>.
“—They all look energetic, Kotori. But there’s no need to be shy.”

A girlish voice as smooth as jewels echoed from the speakers installed on the bridge.
—It was the <Fraxinus>’s on board AI—Maria.
“Ah, Maria. It’s okay, I’m almost done. Shido and Nia are still on their way back. I’ll be home
before dinner.”
“That’s good to hear. But speaking of which—”
“Is there something wrong? Did something grab your attention?”
When Kotori asked the question, Maria sighed (of course, an AI didn’t need to breathe, but she
was very particular) and then continued.
“Well, it’s about Nia. She said that she wanted to build a new home.”
“Ah… that…”
With the mention of the new house, Kotori couldn’t help but laugh.
After all, the new home designs that Nia drew while drunk were completely absurd.
“If you really want to build that kind of thing, I don’t know how much it would cost. Nia didn’t
seem to remember what she drew when she was drunk… It seems like you know a lot about this,
Maria.”
“Yes, Shido discussed it with me the other day.”
“With Shido?”
When Nia drew up her mess of design drawings, she remembered that Shido said that he planned
to discuss with someone before going to the real estate company. It seemed that he was referring
to Maria.
“So what did you two discuss? It wouldn’t happen to be something like ‘Help me realize Nia’s
design’?”
“Sorry, but you’re only half right.”
Hearing Maria’s answer, Kotori’s eyes widened.
“Are you kidding? Even <Ratatoskr> wouldn’t spend that much money on it! And even for Nia,
you know how ridiculous her designs were! It’s the sort of thing that only a drunk ghost could
draw.”
“It’s really naive.”

Hearing what Maria said, Kotori tilted her head in confusion. So Maria sighed once more and
explained.
“You’re right. It’s just like you said… Nia is more superficial, brainless, and face-saving than
Kotori could have imagined—but she is also a Spirit who didn’t want to crush those children’s
dreams. Any moment now, it’ll be coming.”
“Any moment… what’s coming?”
Kotori frowned suspiciously as she felt the phone in her pocket begin to vibrate.
“It’s me, hello?”
“Save me, Imouto-chan! A dream—!”
When Kotori answered the phone, Nia’s voice laced with panic and shame screamed, causing
Kotori to briefly go deaf in one ear.
Hearing this, Maria said, “—Now.”
◇◇◇
“—Whoa!”
Tohka’s eyes went wide as she took in the scene before her.
This reaction was understandable, because Tohka now found herself in what seemed to be an
amusement park.
In this giant venue where it was impossible to determine its boundaries, there were a variety of
entertainment facilities: roller coasters, ferris wheels, merry-go-rounds, haunted houses—all of
which were based on manga characters drawn by Nia—creating this joyous space.
No, it wasn’t just that. In this venue, there was also a high-class restaurant, a Western-style
castle, a giant dome, a huge telescope, a museum, and many other things. At the center stood a
10-story tall tower. It was said that each floor was guarded by powerful enemies and visitors
wouldn’t be able to go up without defeating all the enemies on the floor. Furthermore, there was
also a rumor that on the third floor, going alone could make you weak and numb… but Tohka
didn’t really understand what that meant.
Plus it seemed that it was only Tohka and the other Spirits that were brought to this vast place.
Of course, that made perfect sense: because this wasn’t just an ordinary amusement that ordinary
tourists could visit—this was Nia’s private residence.
“Whoa! Is all of this inside Nia’s house?!”
“Huh? Ahaha… Well, you could say that…”
After Tohka asked excitedly, Nia, who was standing behind them, answered a little vaguely.
When Tohka looked at her, there was a feeling that she could only smile out of guilt.
Before Tohka could look into it further, the other Spirits’ excited voices sounded around them.
“Wow…this is great. Can I look at that castle…?”
“Let’s go! Let’s become the queens of the castle!”
“Mun. It looks like the stars will only be visible at night. Before the night falls, Muku will go
with Yoshino.”
“Yay! There’s really a dome here! In that case, I’ll play The Temptation of Izayoi Miku on stage
for everyone here!”
“Hellfire… where are the facilities that I seek now?”
“Found. According to the guidebook, it looks like they are underground. Let’s go check it out.”
“It looks like the intelligence equipment is also underground. Let’s go together.”
“…Anyway, where is the little black house I asked for?”
“Provide. That seemed to be located on the third floor of the tower.”
“Eh, why did you put it on the broken ground…?”
And so on and so forth, the Spirits’ eyes shone with excitement as they looked at Nia together.
“Nia!”
“Can we go play…?”
Nia, who was bathed in everyone’s gazes, although briefly stunned as she supported herself up,
quickly nodded as she chippered up.
“Well, of course! Everyone, today, I want you to enjoy Nia Paradise, which was changed from
Nia House! Feel free to enjoy it!”
“Yeah—!”
Armed with the orders from the head of the household, the Spirits all responded happily and each
made their way to where they wanted to go.
◇◇◇
“Everything seems to be going smoothly…”
From a room aboard the airship <Fraxinus>, Kotori sighed.
In that room, there were several devices that resembled coffins where the Spirits, now wearing
headgear with terminals, were lying inside.
They set up the monitor in the room that reflected a perfect reproduction of the ideal home that
Nia and the other Spirits who were having fun in it at that very moment.
That’s right. Now the Spirits were playing in an imaginary space created by the digital world.
Even if it’s the <Fraxinus>, it would be difficult to build the home shown in Nia’s design in
reality. But with help from the Realizer, doing something like transferring human consciousness
into a digital world would be an easy feat.
“You’re really predictable. Nia would have had to cry and beg me and Maria.”
When Kotori said this, Shido, who was watching the monitor screen a little wryly.
“Well… because Tohka and the others were looking forward to it. I think it’s because it’s Nia. If
she doesn’t meet their expectations, Nia wouldn’t be able to live with herself… Sorry, Maria, for
asking you to do this.”
Shido spoke gratefully. In response, a smug voice came from the speaker in the room.
“The beautiful AI that can turn something previously impossible into reality is me. That’s what
the so-called good wife and mother has to worry about. There’s no need to be shy when praising
me.”
“Haha… you really are amazing, Maria. Thanks to you, everyone is having fun.”
Shido offered an honest compliment. At that moment, one of the coffin-looking devices beeped.
That was the signal when the user returned to reality from the digital world. The previously
unconscious Nia suddenly sat up and removed the device from her head.
“Baah! Thanks for all the help, Mariamon. I’ll never forget this kindness!”
As she spoke a line from a period drama, Nia rubbed her eyes while smiling with a hint of
humiliation.
Seeing her like that, Kotori, Shido, and Maria all sighed.
“Really, pay more attention, Nia. Fortunately, we have Maria with us, otherwise Tohka and the
others would have been disappointed.”
“Right… Should I drink less beer in the future?”
When Kotori and Shido spoke, Nia nodded without a shred of remorse.
“…Imouto-chan really helped me a lot. I heard that Boy helped arrange everything for me in
advance? Thank you so much.”
She spoke with a soft look on her face. Having seen this uncommon and praiseworthy side of
her, Shido was taken by surprise.
“No, I just discussed it with her. The real hero here is Maria.”
“I get it. 3D Machine Caviar.”
When she finished speaking, Nia blew a kiss. Maria responded with a dissatisfied sigh coming
from the speaker.
“I’m not thankful for any of that. I have my own ideas. Including the construction cost for the
imaginary space used for this incident and the mental effort by me, I will be charging 66 trillion
and 200 billion yen to Nia’s account.”
“It was just a joke! I’m only kidding! I noticed the monitor screen was a bit dirty, so I’ll clean it.
I’ll keep Mariamon’s cute body squeaky clean!”
Nia smirked as she began to clean the monitor screen. Seeing such a haphazard response from
Nia, Kotori and Shido couldn’t help but laugh.
However, as they finished speaking with each other, several beeps could be heard from the
devices around them.
“Huh…?”
It seemed that the other Spirits had decided to follow Nia back to reality. Everyone quickly sat up
in turn, and removed the headgear from their heads.
“Wow… this is amazing! It seems that no matter how far you go, you can never find the limits!
Shido and Kotori should come and play there too!”
“There are so many dresses in the castle…! If it’s possible, I would like to ask Shido-san to help
me choose one.”
“The underground empire is even more incredible than I could have imagined! Don’t you want to
take a look?”
“…Not to mention the layer where the ground is broken, not even the enemies can beat me…
who could stop me…?”
Everyone spoke in excitement. It seemed that everyone in Nia’s Paradise, previously named
Nia’s House, were all quite happy. Seeing their joy, Shido and Kotori couldn’t help but relax.
“—For things to turn out like this, I have to give you credit, Shido.”
“Ah, about that. Honestly, I’m also interested in it.”
“Then, the two of you are invited as well!”
As soon as Kotori and Shido finished speaking, the Spirits beckoned them over cheerfully. The
two nodded in agreement as they made their way to the vacant devices.
“But, as expected, Nia really is amazing!”
Then Tohka held her arm as she nodded.
“Eh? Ahahaha…No, ah, really? I am pretty good, aren’t I?”
Nia paid Maria little thought as she responded exaggeratedly. So Tohka nodded excitedly again.
“Umu! Because it will take a long time before the real Nia Paradise is completed, so you used
the computer world to make us happy, right?”
“—Huh?”
After hearing what Tohka said, Nia stared, stunned. However, the other Spirits continued without
missing a beat.
“Yes… Nia-san is very powerful. It is awe-inspiring.”
“No, that…”
“Mun… Since the things in the computer world were already so exciting, what a real paradise
will be like… it would be truly unimaginable.”
“That is… to say…?”

Even as Nia, who’d broken out into a cold sweat, spoke, Tohka, Yoshino, and Mukuro still spoke
without a care to the world around them as they stared at Nia with eyes as bright as the sun and
excited looks on their faces.
“I’ll be looking forward to it, Nia.”
“Me too.”
“Mun… Muku is looking forward to the good news.”
Faced with the innocent looks of the three Spirits—
“Ah… okay… Honjou Nia will work hard…”
Nia’s throat went dry as her expression turned more sullen.

Natsumi Challenge
That afternoon, nothing special happened.
As always, the supermarket was full of delicious ingredients and there were no impediments on
the way home. There was no blood on the hand sanitizer bottle. And there were no freshly
decapitated heads as I put the things I bought into the refrigerator.
It was a calm afternoon as usual. I looked at the clock and I realized it was already 4 pm. I was
starting to get a little hungry. For a late afternoon snack, Shido brewed black tea and brought
some biscuits and chocolates from a shelf and returned to the living room sofa to sit down.
After taking a sip of tea, Shido stretched out his hand to pick up the remote control to turn on the
TV. It was at that moment—
“—Huh?!” Thanks to ABear Cat andAsphroxia
Itsuka Shido finally noticed something and shrieked in surprise.
His reaction was understandable, of course. After all, where he had been sitting was now playing
host to some sort of messy-looking, mysterious object.
Wait a second, once he calmed down and got a closer look, he quickly realized that this wasn’t
some strange creature or some undiscovered monster. Instead, it was a little girl hugging a
cushion tightly while squatting there.
“N-Natsumi?! What are you doing…? Never mind that, when did you get here?”
After Shido asked that question, the girl named Natsumi did not answer.
Her lifeless eyes stared into the void and her currently half-open mouth mumbled
occasionally—much like a fish trying to get oxygen—little by little. Seeing this apparently
problematic predicament, Shido frowned with concern.
Although she was not normally a girl with a lively personality, this expression was even odder
than usual. Shido gently shook her shoulder and spoke.
“Natsumi, are you okay? Natsumi?”
Then, Natsumi seemed to have finally recognized Shido’s presence. Her gaze turned to meet his
and with a big sigh, Natsumi started to speak:
“…I want to move…”

“…Huh?”
Her unexpected answer confused Shido.
“What happened? Natsumi?”
After Shido asked the question, Natsumi sighed once more and began to groan audibly.
“…Eh?”
—That morning, when Natsumi came down to the apartment’s common room, she was met with
a terrible surprise and instinctively frowned in response.
But that was completely understandable.
Although there were already a couple of people present, it wasn’t who but rather what they were
doing that was, at least at first glance to Natsumi, completely incomprehensible.
One of them was a young girl with red hair tied into two twin tails with black ribbons—Itsuka
Kotori—who was holding what looked like a particular type of ribbon in her hand with a look
that expressed equal parts surprise, curiosity, and envy all intertwined on her face.
The other person was a girl with blonde hair so long that it touched the floor—Hoshimiya
Mukuro—but she wasn’t wearing her usual casual clothes. Instead she was wearing the same
school uniform that Kotori wore when she went to school… Although, the shirt of the sailor
uniform was boldly rolled out and her chest was exposed. Her large chest contrasted with her
young appearance and accentuated with mature-looking underwear that didn’t really suit her,
giving her a subtle sense of maturity.
“…Ah, excuse me…”
After standing there, shocked, for a few seconds, Natsumi mumbled a little and then quietly
closed the door.
Except, almost immediately after she closed the door, the sound of footsteps clicking towards her
could be heard and the door was violently thrown open again.
“Hey! What’s with that sort of casual reaction?!”
Kotori shouted in a panic as she grabbed Natsumi’s wrists tightly before she could do anything.
“Sorry… please just let me go… I promise I won’t tell anyone who is misleading Mukuro and
forcing her to do a little special roleplay…”
“Just as I thought! You are really misunderstanding this! That’s not what we’re doing at all!”
“Uh… then sure enough, your real intention was to use some sort of black magic to give yourself
some of Mukuro’s chest…”
“How would such a thing even work?! And more importantly, what do you mean by ‘sure
enough’?!”
Kotori shouted loudly as she dragged Natsumi over to where Mukuro was standing.
It was at that moment that Natsumi looked at the ribbon-like object that Kotori had been holding
the entire time, and noticed it was labeled with intervals of numbers.
“…A measuring tape?”
“Yes, I wanted to measure Mukuro for a school uniform.”
Kotori explained and Mukuro gently nodded.
“Indeed, Muku borrowed a uniform from Imōtogo, but the top did not fit. Although what
followed was almost…”
Kotori’s face trembled as Mukuro spoke. If the observation equipment of <Fraxinus> was
monitoring Kotori’s mental state, it wouldn’t be surprising if the alarm went off.
“Okay, I understand that part… but why are you wearing a junior high school uniform? Is this
something Shido’s into?”
“How did you come to that conclusion?! Please fix your perspective.”
“Eh, for uniforms, what other uses are there for them aside from that kind of play…”
“Wouldn’t you normally use them to just go to school?”
Kotori let out an unbearable cry. That question caught Natsumi by surprise and an involuntary
frown overtook her.
“Go to school?”
“Mun.”
Mukuro nodded and then explained.
“Muku told Imōtogo that I wanted to start at the same junior high school with her in April.”
“So that’s all it is, although I don’t know how old Mukuro actually is. If she wants to go to
school anyway, I figured she would feel more at ease if she came with me to my junior high
school.”
“Hah…”
Kotori and Mukuro’s explanation made Natsumi sigh.
School, needless to say, was synonymous with hell. It was essentially a compulsory containment
facility that forcibly packed people with different qualities together for an attempt at a
semi-normal life.
“To willingly choose to take this path… such a thing is really admirable. Please grant me your
gracious blessings.”
After she said that, Natsumi bowed down to her. Then Mukuro mimicked Natsumi’s behavior
when she first came in. In front of Natsumi was an impressive chest which was like a blessing of
some sort in her eyes. Specifically, it was like offering a tribute every day and praying hoping to
the breast enlargement god that your chest would get bigger. It wouldn’t be a surprise if someone
decided to worship something that would help them enlarge their breasts.
“What are you doing… could it be that you want to too, Natsumi?”
“…Huh? What are you talking about?”
“Go to school! Go to school! Haven’t you ever enrolled before?”
“…Huh?!”
This new piece of information that they shared made Natsumi’s eyes widen in shock.
“Wai-Wait a minute! Wait a minute! What are you trying to say?! This is the first that I’m
hearing about any of this…?!”
“Well, that’s why we’re telling you about it now.”
“No! No! No! No, that is definitely not the case! When did you get to decide this sort of thing for
me without asking my permission?! No, I definitely won’t do it!”
“Really? But didn’t Yoshino already happily accept?”
“Eh…!”
When she heard this, Natsumi gasped and trembled.
Yoshino was one of the Spirits living in this apartment complex just like Natsumi. She was a
goddess who would treat everyone kindly, even Natsumi. However, Natsumi had been unwilling
to participate in the enrollment experience before. In the end, it was Yoshino’s begging that was
Natusmi’s main reason to agree to go.
However, Natsumi’s trembling was not just because of this. From what Kotori said, there was
one more thing that was making Natsumi uneasy.
There were now ten Spirits under the protection of <Ratatoskr>. Tohka, Origami, Kaguya,
Yuzuru, and Miku, who all attended high school. Kotori who went to junior high school. Nia who
has a job and Miku who also works as an idol.
That’s right, if Yoshino and Mukuro started going to school, that meant that among the Spirits
under the protection of <Ratatoskr>, Natsumi would be the only person not doing anything and
spending all her time wrapped in a cocoon.
In her mind, Natsumi’s overactive imagination began to spur. Every day the sun rose and she
woke up alone. Every day she would eat a prepared breakfast (when it was already time for lunch
instead). Because she had nothing to do, she would either go back to sleep or go play a game
online. By the time she would get hungry again, it would already be evening. She would have
dinner with the others who came back from school but everyone’s gazes gradually became more
sinister-looking—What’s that, she doesn’t want to go to school yet? Just because Spirits have
<Ratatoskr> to support them, it’s easy to take care of yourself—No, it’s okay, Natsumi-san.
Everyone has their own way to live their lives so don’t worry… Eh? Play games together…? I’m
sorry, I have homework that I have to do…Well, it would be nice to take a bath, I always feel
comfortable after taking a bath every day…?
“AAAAHHHHHHH!”
Natsumi screamed. No, Natsumi knew that none of the others would say such things about her
but she had a notorious streak of self-loathing.
No! No! This was really bad! It would be better if Yoshino and Mukuro didn’t go to school and
have their innocence completely exposed.
Or at least, Yoshino and Mukuro could wait until they got used to life on this side. They were not
the same as Natsumi who’d long since learned to adapt to society. Natsumi already understood
that. But now that she was confronted face-to-face with it, she felt a burning, stabbing pain
assaulting her.
But despite that, Natsumi still couldn’t imagine having to go to school every day. What other
options did she have—
“…Ah!”
Almost immediately, Natsumi felt a bolt of inspiration shoot through her mind.
Originally, Natsumi thought that there were only two options: either go to school or just stay
home and wrap herself in a cocoon. But that wasn’t the case. She did have another option.
That’s right—she could work.
If she did that, she could live comfortably without help from anyone else. As long as no one had
problems with it.
“What’s wrong, Natsumi. You suddenly started yelling and stopped talking…”
“…I was just thinking about it for a bit. Perhaps this would be…”
Natsumi finished explaining in a hollow tone and then left the common room with slightly
swaying footsteps.
“N-Natsumi?”
“Mun, where are you going?”
Natsumi heard those voices from behind her but she could not muster the strength needed to
answer them.
◇◇◇
“…So, you thought that it would be okay if you didn’t go to school as long as you worked? But
it wouldn’t be possible to work just by looking through applications and such. You know that,
right?”
After Shido summarized everything that Natsumi told him, she nodded with a dark expression on
her face.
“…Although, I looked at job recruitment magazines and websites, what the hell is with this?
Why do all of these jobs require strong communication skills? Sales are definitely not possible;
Marketing is impossible; and the relationships with coworkers in the workplace. Just thinking
about it makes me want to vomit… professional work is super hard. It’s incredible. Many
companies’ employees are superhumans. The working class can be just as incredible as
Superman…”
Natsumi spoke with a sluggish smile as she shrugged. Her desire for independence made Shido
smile.
“Well, I agree that people who work are very powerful… Anyway, you said you still hate school
right? Didn’t you mention that you made some friends when you tried enrolling in the past?”
“…Those are two different things. I don’t hate Kanon and we can always meet outside of school.
But a one-day limited experience of enrollment was enough. Just the thought of going to school
for an entire year makes me want to vomit.”
“Yes, I guess it would… So what are you going to decide to do?”
“…I’m not going to go to school but I don’t want to just stay at home since no one else is going
to be here. Could I do what Nia does? I don’t mind just messing around during the daytime…”
“Like Nia… uh, she is a manga artist so she’s not just messing around, is she…?”
Shido suddenly found himself becoming uneasy. Nia didn’t really need to go to work because
she didn’t work for a company, but Nia was probably pretty busy as well…
At that moment, Shido frowned slightly. Natsumi seemed to realize what he was thinking and her
eyes widened.
“Huh? What’s wrong, Natsumi.”
“—That’s it.”
“A manga artist! Why didn’t I think of that sooner? I often help Nia with her manga so I can do
at least the most basic art possible. I can do it without having to leave the house. But more
importantly, I can always do the same work that Nia does. I can do this…!”
“…A-Ah, uh—? Wait, that…is that true?”

Shido sighed in embarrassment. He suspected that being a manga artist was not an easy job but it
looked like Natsumi was genuinely excited about her idea. Shido wasn’t going to ruin her mood
and throw cold water on her idea.
“…Okay, since this is my decision, I'd better get started right away. I’ll start by drawing a
storyboard. Thank you Shido, you’re really helped me. Ah! But you can’t tell any of the others
about this!”
After Natsumi finished speaking, she stood up and made her way out of the living room with
brisk steps that were completely unimaginable for someone like her.
◇◇◇
It was several days later when Shido made his way toward Natsumi’s room at the top floor of the
Spirit apartment complex and knocked on the door.
“Hello, Natsumi? Are you there?”
There was no response to Shido’s calls. She didn’t even answer when he rang the doorbell.
“What’s going on? Wasn’t she the one that called me…?”
Shido tilted his head in confusion. That’s right. The reason why Shido had come here was
because Natsumi had sent him a message requesting help.
He suspected that there weren’t enough people to make sure the manuscript was perfect. It was
something that was easy to take for granted. Manga artists with a serialization in the works
usually had at least a few assistants to help them prepare the manuscript.
Or maybe she was having trouble with her story. That’s also possible. Natsumi is an incredible
artist and she was very good at imitating other people’s skills. But as far as Shido knew, original
stories had to be written from scratch.
“Huh…?”
After knocking on the door a few times, all of a sudden, the doorknob turned and the heavy door
opened.
“Oh, Natsumi, I’m here to help you. How has you progress been—”
In an instant, Shido fell silent.
The reason was simple. Instead of the petite girl on the other side of the door, there was a
beautiful young woman with a slender figure.
She had gorgeous long and silky straight hair. She had almond shaped green eyes. Even the most
gorgeous models would be willing to face hurricanes and disasters for a body like that. She wore
a bold gown that put her mature charm on full display.
“Uh… eh?!”
“Ah, Shido-kun. I’ve been waiting for you. Please come in.”
After greeting Shido, the beautiful woman took Shido’s hand as she guided him inside. He was
pulled straight into the room, but in the process, Shido managed to calm down as he was looking
at her.
“N-Natsumi? Why did you transform…?”
Shido narrowed his eyes as he asked her that question.
That’s right, the person standing in front of Shido was undoubtedly Natsumi herself—but she
somehow managed to transform herself with her Angel <Haniel>.
Natsumi chuckled without a hint of surprise.
“This? You see, because I have to take this somewhere afterwards, if I look like how I normally
would, they probably wouldn’t let me in, right?”
“No, I don’t think… uh, where are you planning on taking that?!”
What Natsumi said made Shido shout in surprise.
As it turned out, Natsumi intended to deliver the manuscript to the publishing house and present
it to an editor. There were plenty of other manga artists who were chosen by editors and then had
their chance at a debut.
Natsumi’s revelation that she intended to take the manuscript to the publishing house took Shido
by surprise (well, so it turned out that way), but more to the point, Shido was more surprised that
Natsumi managed to finish the entire manuscript on her own.
“Did you already finish drawing it?!”
“That’s right, after I finished the story, I drew up an outline of the manuscript that day. It took a
day to write the composition and took two days to finish the complete manuscript. I probably
could have done it faster if I had an assistant since it took awhile for me to understand how the
colors work together and finding materials with complex backgrounds…”
“Whoa, you really didn’t make any mistakes…? So, why did you need my help?”
“Ah… that…”
After Shido finished speaking, Natsumi smiled cheerfully as she turned around.
“Eh…?!”
Shido flushed as he saw Natsumi’s back. Because the zipper on the back of Natsumi’s dress was
not zipped up properly, leaving her delicate bare back exposed.
“I can’t go out dressed like this. Now could you help me zip this up?”
Natsumi whispered sweetly. Shido averted his gaze as he pulled up her zipper with slightly
trembling fingers.
“Ah, thank you very much, Shido-kun. Well, I’m off. Look forward to good news!”
Having finished speaking, Natsumi picked up the envelope containing the manuscript and put on
her shoes.
At that moment, Shido, who’d been completely entranced by the situation, suddenly realized
what was about to happen as his eyes widened.
“Hey! Wait a minute! Are you planning to go out dressed like that?”
“Eh? That’s right. Is there a problem?”
As she spoke, Natsumi turned around, her skirt boldly showing Natsumi’s legs… this sort of
dress was better suited for a nightclub or perhaps a banquet hall. It was definitely not suitable for
going to a publishing house. At least, that’s what Shido believed.
“Anyway, isn’t this dress too intense?! You should at least try to be a little more modest…”
“Eh—Shido-kun is acting like an Otou-san right now. Or could it be… that you don’t want
anyone other than you to be able to see me like this?”
“Y-You…”
Shido muttered as he blushed while Natsumi smiled playfully and shrugged slightly.
“Okay, okay. Then today I will listen to you, Otou-san.”
Finally, she snapped her fingers and with a flash of light emitted from Natsumi’s body. Her
previous outfit was replaced with a professional-looking suit.
…Well, he could still make out her breasts through the gap in her blouse and he could still see
her impressive legs through her stockings but it was significantly better compared to the outfit
she’d been wearing previously, and could be considered at least passable.
But almost immediately, Shido realized something.
“…Wait, if you could change outfits like that, then why did you bother asking me to help with
zipping it up…”
“Ahaha… I’m heading out.”
After Shido finished speaking, Natsumi stuck out her tongue playfully before she headed out.
◇◇◇
“Furumi-san, the woman who brought her manuscript is waiting for you in room 13.”
“Alright.”
Kensuke Furumi, a member of the editorial department for Shounen Blast Weekly magazine,
sighed as he saved the document that he was working on and stood up from his seat.
“Alright, let’s get this over with…”
After he finished speaking, he yawned softly. In the seats on either side of him, his colleagues
shrugged and smiled bitterly.
“Hey, I know that you’re tired but you don’t want to let the woman who brought a manuscript
see you with such an irritated expression, right? Maybe this one could be the golden egg.”
“Haha… Sorry, but we haven’t seen any genuinely good manuscripts in such a long time…”
“But we have had a few gems like that occasionally. Remember: this sensei brought the
manuscript herself.”
“It’s been a decade since that’s happened…”
Furumi smiled wryly as he left the editorial department filled with books, materials, and personal
effects as he took the elevator to the second floor.
He was going to a simple meeting space for consultation. There were a few tables and chairs
spread across a wide space, each of which was separated by a partition.
It was here that the woman he’d be meeting would be waiting for them to review it. Furumi
stretched out just as he reached room 13.
“Hello, I’m sorry for making you wait so long, ah…”
After stepping into the room, Furumi’s shoulders trembled.

The reason was simple. The woman sitting in the chair across from him was so intensely
beautiful that it made him feel goosebumps.
“—Hello. I’ll be in your care for today.”
After she finished speaking, the woman winked at him. Seeing this, it was as though a bullet had
pierced his heart. His whole body could only tremble in awe.
“Ara? Is there something wrong?”
“…! Ah, no. There’s nothing wrong.”
Furumi managed to regain his composure as he took a seat. While working in the editorial
department for the Shounen Blast Weekly magazine, Furumi had previously even worked with
famous idols. It took him by surprise but compared to them, this woman…wow, she really was
more beautiful than any other…
However, in order to focus, Furumi shook his head. She wasn’t an idol with any huge posters
hanging on the walls. She was here to show a manuscript to the editor. In that case, the most
important thing to evaluate was her manga. It was not the manga that had her face on it. Her
appearance could not influence his evaluation. Furumi was determined.
“Anyway, could you show me your manuscript please?”
“Of course. Please take a look.”
The young woman passed the envelope that contained the manuscript over to him. He could see
the title of the manga and “Nanako” written on the cover. It seemed that she intended to use
“Nanako” as her pen name. She seemed very confident.
“…Wow…”
Furumi pulled out the manuscript from the envelope and examined it carefully.
—First off, much to his immense surprise, her drawings were amazing. He couldn’t but suspect
that she was already a professional artist. He strongly suspected that she was a fan of Honjou
Souji, as the art style was a little similar to his. However, it would be wrong to say that she was
imitating him, it was clearly drawn with her own style at the forefront. Moreover, the appearance
of her characters were also fantastic. As he watched the story unfold… were there just no flaws
here? Wow… something like this—!
Furumi took the manuscript from the paper bag and looked at it carefully.
“—My God…”
After a few minutes of inspection, Furumi let out a heavy sigh. Although he couldn’t afford to
show such an expression, this was the first time he’d ever had this kind of experience in his life.
There were completely new and unbelievable emotions flowing through Furumi’s heart that he
hadn’t felt in the past 10 years when he first started as a spry new editor in this industry.
That’s right. Furumi used to have dreams of being able to find geniuses like this hidden amongst
the common people. He could feel surprise mounting as he continued reading. Furumi had felt
his faith in his old dream returning little by little. He wanted to be part of the story of one of the
people who aspired to becoming a manga artist.
But ten years in the industry took their toll on the previously enthusiastic editors as they came to
understand the reality. The reality was that they would eventually burn out and have to make a
compromise: putting out sloppy but finished products that were honestly failures so the lazy
editors could live peacefully. There was constant discussion of running out of time and there was
no way to listen to themselves. In order to get a stable output and end up becoming more distant
from those ideals from ten years ago.
But now… what was this feeling of lightness in his heart? He felt a newfound heat driving his
heart forward. Furumi spoke after taking a deep breath.
“—Genius.”
That was the only word that could describe this manuscript. Furumi leaned forward to re-read the
manuscript from the beginning.
—It was awesome. It was the best way he could describe it. Even if it was meant to be the first
part in a series, that was no problem. But more importantly, Furumi soon found himself wanting
more: he wanted to be able to read a sequel to this story.
“Well, if this manuscript hasn’t been sent to any other publishing houses—”
“No, this is the first one I visited.”
“Yes! That’s great to hear!”
Furumi couldn’t help but laugh. It was a really stupid question to ask. If she’d taken it to another
publisher and they had turned her down, that editor could only be an incompetent representative
for their profession.
“Then, something like this, I hope you also agree that this must be published in our next issue!”
“Ah, really? That would be an honor. But is it really that simple?”

As she said that, Nanako (pen name) smiled and giggled lightly.
“It’s not a problem at all! This manuscript is absolutely perfect! If the editor-in-chief says ‘No’, I
will resign from this unsightly editorial department immediately!”
In the next moment after Furumi made that declaration, the sound of “Oh, really?” could be
heard from another meeting area separated by a partition.
“Is something wrong? Those are some bold claims.”
From the partition next to theirs, an older man peered over to them. It seemed that this other
editor was also in the middle of consultation.
The editor-in-chief moved and came into the room where Furumi and Nanako were sitting. After
spotting Nanako, his eyes narrowed.
“Hmm? Model-san? If you looking to be an idol, this is a Shounen magazine—”
“No! She is the woman who brought a manuscript for submission!”
“Submission…?”
The editor-in-chief frowned before grabbing Furumi’s shoulders and then muttered softly.
“Hey, while it’s true that she is quite beautiful, are you sure that you’re aspiring to be an editor
for her manuscript and not her beauty?”
“I-I wouldn’t do such a thing! Anyway, you have to read this! I personally recommend that this
manga be published in the next issue!”
“What…?”
After Furumi passed the manuscript, the editor-in-chief’s expression morphed to one of surprise
at Furumi’s insistence as he began to read it.
Then, as he continued reading, his expression changed—
“…Furumi, you can’t see it. You think that this should be just published in the next issue…?”
“What…editor-in-chief, in my honest opinion—”
When Furumi was about to protest further, the editor-in-chief grabbed his shoulder again. Then,
more quietly in a voice so that ‘Nanako’ could not hear.
“—I don’t think it should be just published as part of the next issue. Although I can’t say too
much in front of the author herself, I definitely agree that this work would definitely be well
received. I was considering starting serialization so continue with the consultation.”
“…! Yes, editor-in-chief!”
Furumi’s expression cleared as the editor-in-chief smiled and shook Furumi’s hand.
◇◇◇
“—Whew—!”
That evening, Natsumi returned home (having reverted her body back to her true form) and then
went to visit the Itsuka household, threw herself onto the sofa and began hugging the cushion.
“Natsumi…? How did it go? How did the editors respond to your manuscript?”
After Shido asked the question cautiously, Natsumi’s gaze sharpened and with tears in her eyes,
she responded resentfully.
“No matter how you look at it… you know what they’re like. Not at all…!”
While Shido mumbled an, “Oh…”, Natsumi sunk into the cushions.
“The manga that I drew for the first time, I wanted to publish it! Honestly, I never should have
had such a naive hope, they actually said that…”
“Wait, are you serious?”
“…I took the manuscript in my adult form, so I didn’t notice it at the time. But now that I think
about it, it hurts a lot more. They read and laughed at the manuscript. Then after I told them that
I hadn’t sent my manuscript to any other publishers ‘how could you have the courage to bring
such rubbish’ as they laughed. Saying stuff like that…”
“What…”
Natsumi’s words made Shido sweat unconsciously. Although he’d heard that bringing a
manuscript to an editor for feedback could lead to a harsh evaluation, he never would have
guessed that they would be so vicious.
“They also said something like, ‘No matter what, it would be a bad idea to publish it in the
supplemental area of the magazine.’ Then the editor-in-chief came and said ‘So you can’t do
that. You can’t be serious. You must be joking.’ Saying something like that…”
“Hey… they also said that…?! I can’t forgive something like that! Natsumi, you don’t have to
take that from them! We can withdraw the manuscript from that publishing house!”
After Shido finished speaking, Natsumi raised her head and nodded weakly.
“Y-Yeah… maybe it would be for the best to not work in that kind of place…”
“Well, there’s other kinds of work than just being a manga artist. We can look for something that
Natsumi can do instead.”
“Ah… speaking of which…”
After Shido finished speaking, another thought came to Natsumi’s mind as she pulled out her
phone and operated it for several seconds.
“…For the next thing, I want to give this a try…”
“Huh…?”
Natsumi turned the phone’s screen toward Shido. Shido took a closer look at the page.
“Become a novelist…? What is this?”
“…This is a so-called submission website. Anyone can submit a story regardless of their
qualifications. If it’s popular enough, a publisher may offer to publish it.”
“Hey, that sounds perfect! Speaking of which, Natsumi, do you still write?”
“…Well, you see, light novels can be written by anyone as long as they understand Japanese,
right? Most people who write them wanted to be manga artists but can’t draw, so I think this
would at least be suitable for me.”
“I feel like you just offended a lot of people. Please don’t say such things!”
Faced with that dangerous atmosphere, Shido wailed.
Having said that, Natsumi’s motivation was still something to be celebrated and encouraged.
Shido gave himself a moment to recompose himself.
“Well, let’s do this.”
“Right…”
Natsumi’s gaze was dark but she nodded in agreement.
◇◇◇
“Huh…?”
The editor at the Interstellar Publishing house, Mitsunori Nagano noticed the change of
atmosphere in the editorial department when he arrived at the office.
It seemed that several editors held their smartphones or tablets and were discussing something in
excited tones.
“What’s going on? Did something happen?”
“Ah, Mitsunori-san. Good morning. Have you seen this?”
“What—?”
The editor passed the tablet screen to Mitsunori who adjusted his glasses and took a closer look
at it.
“What is it? Have you become a novelist? Has someone claiming to be a well-known criminal
appeared? Or could it be that someone who claims to be a professional writer is trying to make
their way into the industry?”
“No, it’s nothing like that. There’s an incredible new work. The author’s name is “Nuts”. It looks
like this is their first submission but even so, they’ve already received more than a million
clicks!”
“Hmph…”
Mitsunori sighed in boredom as he accepted the tablet and took a closer look at the screen.
“Well, the prospect of more newcomers itself is very welcome. Please have a greater sense of
urgency. After all, wasn’t the prospect of being published the reason all these newcomers started
appearing in the first place? Just staring at online novels all day, with a little editorial pride…”
Mitsunori was about to start giving a full blown lecture but suddenly fell silent.
This was not a deliberate pause. It was because, unconsciously, he soon found himself immersed
in the novel written by “Nuts”.
—The first thing he felt was how ingenious the story was. The alternating pacing and rhythm
brought the scenes to life in his mind. There were many points that stood out in his mind,
especially the sense of sarcastic humor. Nonetheless, it was still easy to read. It was almost as
though the author wasn’t even writing at all. The same was true of the character and the plot: it
was as though a miracle had descended and everything fell perfectly into place. It was impossible
for him to stop reading. The adventures of these characters was beyond anything he’d ever seen
before and he wanted to know more about them. Mitsunori blinked as he found himself
completely immersed in the story.
“…Who?”
“Huh?”
After reading the story, Mitsunori shouted, and the editors tilted their heads in disbelief.
Mitsunori’s head shot up violently as he shouted again.
“Who was the one who discovered this work first?! Have you sent them a publication application
yet?!”
“Eh…I-I heard about it from Taguchi-san…”
“I heard about it from Sakamoto-san…”
“No, I was…”
“Idiots—! We have to send them an application immediately! We can’t afford to let another
publisher get a hold of this! We need to let the other party know what conditions they can agree
to! Also, inform the producer of the animation department immediately!”
“Y-Yes!”
Mitsunori shouted and the editors all responded in unison.
◇◇◇
“—AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!”
Natsumi screamed. It was a few days after Natsumi declared her intention to write and submit a
light novel online. Natsumi visited the Itsuka household under the same circumstances as when
she brought her manga to the publishing company as she threw herself onto the sofa and started
crying into one of the cushions.
“W-What happened, Natsumi…?”
After Shido inquired, Natsumi looked up from the cushion stained with tears and yelled
“Assholes—!” before she turned to look at Shido.
“…I said that I wanted to become a novelist so I tried submitting a draft…”
“Eh, you already submitted one? That was fast.”

“…Well, unlike with a manga, it’s okay to submit an unfinished manuscript. You can edit it and
add more whenever you want.”
“Haha… so that’s how it works… So then the reason you’re so upset…”
After hearing what Shido said, Natsumi groaned as she slumped back onto the sofa, kicking her
legs.
“Yeah! There’s no way! No way! And even if it gets ignored, there are so many comments posted
on forums, bulletin boards, SNS…”
“…What’s going on?”
“…’Hey! This is awesome! Do you have more of this?’ ‘I’m looking forward to reading more of
it!’ ‘The quality is really high!’ ‘This is too exciting and moving!’…”
“Eh? Aren’t these compliments?”
“…You’re too naive. Read it vertically and concentrate on the first word in each of the
comments.”
“? That would be…‘he’ ‘ta’ ‘ku’ ‘so’?”…” 13
“That’s right! Don’t think I didn’t miss that, those bastards! After that, I got some weird
email…!”
“A weird email…?”
“…Um, they’re claiming to be a publishing company. They’re asking me to let them publish my
novel immediately.”
“Huh? But isn’t that amazing?”
“Would you really believe these kinds of scam emails?! Obviously, they’re just trying to toy with
me! After I reply seriously to this email, they’ll make the content public just to make fun of me!
Don’t think you can mess with me like this you bastards!”
Natsumi screamed as she threw the cushion she was holding. After it hit the ceiling and landed
back on the sofa, Natsumi’s expression fell. At the same time, Natsumi’s arms and legs that had
previously been flailing about slowed to a stop.
“…Ah… I guess it really is true. The life of a novelist is truly rotten. I can’t do this…”
Literally 'へ' 'た' 'く' 'そ' or ‘he’ ‘ta’ ‘ku’ ‘so’ translates to ‘shit’ or ‘unskilled’ in an explicitly derogatory
13
way.
“No, didn’t you only just get started? You shouldn’t give up so easily…”
However, just as Shido moved to reassure her, Natsumi suddenly sat up and pulled out her
smartphone to show to Shido.
“…I’m going to try this next.”
“Huh? What’s this…?”
After taking a closer look at the picture. Shido’s eyes widened. This seemed to be an animation
submission site. ‘Contribute to the 'Original Song’ animation with pictures of cute girls.”
“…DTM (Disk Top Music)…In short, it’s where you compose music on a computer to sing with
a VOCALOID. If your song is popular enough, even an individual can produce a CD… Well,
now this type of distribution is the mainstream option…”
“Really? But isn’t it really difficult to compose…? It takes a lot of technical skills…”
“…Well, maybe if I was doing it from scratch, you see, but am I not good at imitating others? It’s
not like the songs are made from scratch. It’s mainly just mixing songs that are already popular.
The lyrics come from songs that already exist.”
“Hmm… is that really okay…?”
“…Because music composition has been so thoroughly explored, it’s almost impossible for
people to come up with their own compositions. In fact, professionals do this sort of thing all the
time.”
“Can you not just say things that are going to easily provoke others?!”
Despite Shido’s shouting, he couldn’t help but wear a tired expression while smiling vaguely as
he chuckled.
◇◇◇
“—What did you think when you encountered 7P?”
“When I think about it… There is really only one way to be able to describe it: ‘Revolution.’ No,
it was just a chance encounter. Truthfully, I haven’t actually met 7P face to face but even
compared to an ordinary conversation, I’ve already felt her soul—even though their gender has
not actually been disclosed.”
“The first time I listened to her music, it felt like my body was being completely rewritten.
That’s right, at that moment, it felt as though I was being given a second life—her music was so
sensual yet simple, made with innocent but aggressive lyrics. I was immediately entranced by it.”
“It seems that a savior has appeared to rescue the musical world, no doubt.”
“—Naturally, I made every effort to contact her immediately, but she never responded. In the
end, no one knows who ‘7P’ is.”
“There were so many traces of many other composers and musicians in her music—at least,
that’s what I think. Perhaps, ‘7P’ was an angel sent down to the world by some deity of music.
—(Apollon Music Co., Ltd., Producer MAIKO).
“The chance to start making music—…There was something that happened several years ago.
There was that whole affair ‘7P’ that was a topic on an animation website I think?”
“Although I was a salaryman at the time, after listening to the music of that person, I found
myself asking, ‘Is it really okay for you to continue on like this?!’ You only get one chance to
live, do you think it’s enough to just endure so much for nothing?!’ ‘Right? What the hell was I
doing back then (laughs).”
“It was thanks to that song that I am who I am now. I quickly submitted a resignation letter to the
company I was working for at the time, I took out a loan and bought a guitar. Then I started
living life as a street artist. A lot of things happened back then and here I am now.”
“…Ah, I guess that you realized that, in fact, my stage name was inspired by ‘7P’ (laughs).”
(Musician, Summer Pondering14)
“Have you ever heard the name ‘7P’? They were a composer that appeared suddenly, like a
comet, on the Internet a few years ago. The song that ‘7P’ created instantly attracted a lot of
attention but no one could figure out why they never released anything after the first song.
Although there were many rumors such as ‘they’re dead’ or ‘career code name’, the truth is still
unknown.”
“However, there was one coincidence: the day that ‘7P’ uploaded that song to the animation site
was the anniversary of Moritoshi Alto’s death.”
“According to a professional analysis, the tune of ‘7P’ has a strong defensive character. What
does that mean?”
14
Summer’s pronunciation in Japanese is the same as ‘7P.’
“There is no denying that Moritoshi composed many popular songs, but at the same time, it was
rumored that there were plenty of unpublished works. Perhaps a disciple or a family member
who knew about his unpublished work decided to publish his music on the day of his death as a
form of remembrance.”
“Whether you believe it or not, you decide.”
(Urban Legend Researcher, Kojiro Takayama).
◇◇◇
“…AAAAAAHHHHH…”
Natsumi suddenly screamed a few days after she submitted her original song to the animation
submission website. Much like before, she rushed into the Itsuka residence and started slamming
her head against the wall.
“Grr… Rggghh… Grrr… Rggghhh! I’m such an idiot… I’m such an idiot…!”
“…I guess it didn’t work out?”
Shido noticed her reaction and could probably guess what happened as he smiled wryly at her.
Natsumi looked up at him, her face twisted in an indescribable expression.
“…Fine! That’s right! If you want to laugh, then laugh! Just like when I tried to become a
novelist! Someone commented on it just to make fun of me! What kind of sentiment, plainness,
innocence, the meaning of those comments makes no sense…!”
After she finished speaking, Natsumi slumped onto the sofa and kicked her feet as though she
was swimming… Although Shido didn’t quite understand what happened, it was clear that it still
didn’t make any sense.
“Ah… I guess I should have realized it from the beginning. Idiots like me are no good at all… I
just didn’t want to recognize the reality of the situation… People like me, the only thing that I’m
good for is staying inside for the rest of my life… living in the dark… I don’t want to live as a
human anymore…”
“There’s no need to be so pessimistic. No one is ever good at anything right from the start, are
they?”
Despite Shido’s best efforts to reassure her, Natsumi still remained completely absent of
confidence… Admittedly, this girl was hardly the definition of ‘self-confident’ at the best of
times but compared to her current state, she would have been the epitome of ‘self-confident.’ She
had been denied her desired aspirations three times in a row, which made the situation more
serious than previously expected… In the end, Natsumi wasn’t a professional manga artist,
novelist, or a composer. She just didn’t want to go to school.
As Shido was thinking about this, the doorbell suddenly rang.
“…Huh? Is there a delivery?”
However, just a step faster than Shido, the sound of the door being open could be heard followed
by a familiar girl entering the living room.
She had wavy blue hair and gentle eyes, and a puppet rabbit worn on her left hand—
“Ah—Natsumi-san! So you really are here.”
“Yoshino?!”
She suddenly called out the other girl’s name. Natsumi, who’d been previously lying on the sofa
like slowly melting cheese, immediately sat upright.
“Wh-What happened, Yoshino, what are you doing here…?”
“What made you come here?”
Shido smiled bitterly at what Natsumi said as he looked back at Yoshino.
“It’s pretty rare for you to actually ring the doorbell. It’s not a problem if you just come in
directly.”
“Ah… no, I wasn’t the one who rang the doorbell…”
Yoshino glanced over her shoulder.
Then, there appeared two other girls dressed in the same school uniform.
One of them was a girl with an elegant air about her. The other was a girl who had an air of
maturity about her. The two stood together, making them feel like a rich girl had come over.
“—Please excuse us.”
“Sorry for the intrusion.”
“Huh…?!”
After spotting those two girls, Natsumi stared at them in surprise.
“K-Kanon and Noriko…?!”

The names that Natsumi uttered brought back a memory from Shido’s mind. When Natsumi and
Yoshino went to experience what it was like to enroll before, they mentioned having made a
couple of friends back then.
“Ah, long time no see, Natsumi-san.”
“W-Why would you…?”
“I’m here to say hello—look.”
After she finished speaking, Kanon pulled out a notebook from her bag and handed it to
Natsumi. After Natsumi silently accepted it, she looked from Kanon to the notebook and back in
doubt as she took a look at the cover.
“This… what is this for?”
“Those are the class notes for the lessons. Use it to catch up.”
“Huh…? W-Why would you give me this…?”
Natsumi frowned and Noriko, who’d been standing behind Kanon, spoke gently.
“We heard that Yoshino-san and Natsumi-san would be starting school in April, so Kanon-chan
was very excited. We know it would be bad if they had to stop coming to school because they
couldn’t keep up with the coursework!”
“There’s no need to say unnecessary things!”
Kanon shouted as she tried to kick Noriko. However, Noriko managed to evade her.
“…Anyway, I don’t know what happened to you at your old school, but don’t worry, it should be
fine to not come to school for a little while!”
“Huh…?”
Natsumi froze for a moment but just then a thought came to her mind as she let out an, “Ah…”
of realization.
A thought immediately came to Shido’s mind. Because Natsumi and Yoshino were in the delicate
period when they experienced enrollment, it made sense that Kanon would think the way she did.
Then, from her place behind Kanon, Noriko murmured.
“Really. In fact, Kanon-chan here also had to deal with a lot of bad things in the past so she also
didn’t go to school for a while, but everything is good now.”
“I already told you not to say unnecessary words, Noriko!”
When Kanon moved to try to hit her, Noriko managed to evade her once more. Because she’d
overexerted herself, Kanon hit the wall instead and recoiled, holding her hand in pain.
“A-Are you okay…?”
“I’m fine!”
Natsumi took a closer look anxiously while Kanon straightened her posture. She had tears in her
eyes but didn’t say anything about it.
“That’s right! If there’s anything you need, you can rely on us.”
“Eh, no… but… why would you want to…”
“Why—”
Natsumi stuttered as Kanon looked away from her, her cheeks flushed a faint pink.
“You and I… we’re friends… right?”
“—”
Kanon’s words made Natsumi’s eyes widened, and Yoshino smiled a little shyly.
Kanon was silent for a while and finally, she couldn’t seem to handle the situation and turned
around.
“Sorry for bothering you! Let’s go, Noriko!”
“Ah, o-okay. Then goodbye Yoshino-san, Natsumi-san.”
After they finished speaking, they turned to Shido, said “Sorry for the disturbance,” and left.
They were two very polite girls.
Shido watched their backs before turning back to Natsumi who was standing next to him.
“…Goodbye…”
After Shido finished, Natsumi held the notebook in her hand.
“…I’ll think about it.”
She finally murmured shyly.
◇◇◇
That night, just like always, the Spirits all came together at the Itsuka household.
It was essentially tradition by now, but every time dinner rolled around, everyone came together.
Today’s supper was a pork cabbage pot. With some orange juice added, it was very refreshing
and delicious. Generally for this many people, hot pots like this could end up being very
expensive.
“Yeah! This is delicious! Boy’s dishes are so delicious and good! You can marry me whenever
you want!”
After she finished speaking, Nia slapped her knee. She looked as energetic as usual as she
smiled.
“Haha, thank you!”
“No, I’m serious! If you can’t be a son-in-law at home, then why not become my assistant? I’ll
pay your wages!”
“Thank you but isn’t that just the same as just coming over to my house for dinner?”
“No! No! No! Every minute and every second before the deadline will determine my life or
death! I don’t know how long it would take for me to come here!”
“Speaking of these days, you’ve been coming over for dinner every night… Are you really
working?”
“Of course I am! Have you seen the most recent issue of Shōnen Blast?! There’s been a shocking
development!”
Nia suddenly mentioned something like this.
“—Ah, speaking of which, that reminds me. A few days ago, a super rookie brought in a
manuscript to submit.”
“A super rookie?”
“Yeah, I also read the manuscript and found it very interesting. Whoever made this was
definitely not a novice. She was also said to be an extremely beautiful woman. The whole
editorial department was up in arms about it. Everyone was fascinated. Really, Shounen Blast
found an incredible writer…”
“Wow, to think such people like that exist.”

Sitting at the opposite end of Nia was Yuzuru who was also eating the hot pot, and stared in
surprise. Nia waved her hand and smiled.
“It was clearly stated that it would be serialized immediately, but unfortunately the other party
couldn’t be reached and the envelope that she brought with her only had a pen name and no other
identifying information. That editor was super miserable and listless. There are even rumors that
she was some wandering yokai.”
“Occasion. Yuzuru had heard something similar recently, as well.”
“Huh?”
Nia tilted her head and Yuzuru glanced at Kaguya who was seated next to her. It took a moment
for Kaguya to think but nodded as she remembered.
“It was a story of a hermit enshrouded in darkness. On the edge of the electronic sea that I
occasionally peruse, there was a talented person that suddenly disappeared as quickly as they
appeared.”
“Supplication. The novels normally posted on that website usually get only 200 hits a month. By
the way, 50 of them are from Kaguya.”
“Why would you mention that now?!”
“Supplement. The remaining 150 are from Yuzuru.”
“Eh…?”
Yuzuru’s words made Kaguya drop her chopsticks in surprise.
“Ah, that reminds me.”
Miku spoke up. It seemed that she remembered something as she raised a finger as she spoke.
“I also heard something similar as well. There was a super-genius composer that showed up but
no matter how many producers tried to contact them, they never got a response and now they’re
all very troubled…”
“Hey…”
After everyone mentioned those incidents, Natsumi looked at them with half-opened eyes as she
sighed.
“…That’s a pity. Talented people really don’t know what they’re thinking.”
Origami Training
“Shido! Shido! Look at this, Shido! I did it!”
“Mun… is this how you do it?”
“Well done, Mukuro!”
One afternoon, the kitchen on the first floor of the Spirit apartment complex was full of noise.
The Spirits, all dressed in aprons, were each facing the kitchen, filling their bento boxes
seriously. Looking at the lunch boxes in their hands, Itsuka Shido smiled gently.
“Oh, it looks like everyone is doing really well. Ah, Kotori, it would look better if you pushed
that piece a little bit further.”
“I-I know! I was just about to do that.”
Shido’s sister, Kotori, leaned forward and stared at the bento box while she wiped her cheeks.
Although she usually displayed a maturity that didn’t match her age, she unfortunately seemed to
be pretty bad at cooking.
Tobiichi Origami, who was staring into the kitchen, narrowed her eyes quietly.
—In the beginning, it all started with Tohka and Yoshino seeing some special character bentos on
TV and asking Shido to teach them how to make them. It didn’t take long for the other Spirits to
find out about this and chime in that they wanted to participate as well. In the end, what was
supposed to be a quiet lesson between a few turned into a loud affair for all of the Spirits under
<Ratatoskr>’s protection.
But that, on its own, wasn’t a problem. Origami was delighted to be able to cook together with
Shido.
However—
Tohka, Yoshino, Kotori, Kaguya, Yuzuru, Miku, Natsumi, Nia, and Mukuro were also here.
Origami looked around as the Spirits swarmed around Shido. Her eyes moved around briefly in
their sockets before she let out a quiet sigh.
—There were just too many people present.
Origami once again came to this realization.

Well, considering that the whole purpose behind <Ratatoskr>’s mission was to save the Spirits
and seal their powers, there was no helping it. But as a future lifelong companion of Shido, the
thought of having so many other girls around admiring him, Origami couldn’t help but be
worried at the thought.
Of course, it didn’t matter who loved Shido right now, but as long as he ended up by Origami’s
side in the end, that was all that mattered. At least, that’s what Origami wanted to think, but she
was still a girl in love. It was normal to be worried about his indecisive attitude.
Moreover, there was no denying that the Spirits were all beautiful girls. Even though Shido loved
Origami deeply, there wasn’t a whole lot she could do against his biological impulses.
“…Sure enough, in the future, I will have to stake a firmer claim.”
Origami mumbled to herself, her hand clenching into a tight fist.
◇◇◇
The following day, Origami, dressed in sportswear designed to be easy to move around in, left
home with a backpack she’d prepared the previous day.
The weather was sunny. It was as though god itself was supporting Origami with perfect weather.
Origami locked her door and then made her way to her intended destination with prepared steps.
Then—
“Greetings. Good morning, Master Origami.”
“…!”
Suddenly, someone greeted her, Origami found herself frowning slightly.
She turned around and spotted a girl with long hair tied into three braids. Looking at her face,
Origami spoke without so much as a change in her expression.
“Yuzuru. What are you doing here?”
That’s right. It was as though she’d been lying in wait here, waiting for Origami to come out.
The person she’d encountered was Yamai Yuzuru herself.
“Smile. Where are you going, Master Origami? Yesterday, you seemed to be whispering to
yourself about something important.”
It seemed that her mumbling the previous day had been overheard. Origami gave up and sighed.
“—Bride practice.”
“…!”
Yuzuru’s eyes widened in amazement when she heard Origami’s response.
“Amazement. This so-called practice… is meant for future brides? Before getting married, you
learn about cooking and sewing beforehand, that kind of bride practice?”
“Yes.”
Origami nodded and explained.
“There are very few Spirits who can support Shido with the housework. So, I figured that
learning more would be an effective measure for the future.”
“Understood. So that’s what this is about… but are Master Origami’s housework skills not
already good enough?”
“How naive. Although I intend to be able to do most of the housework, there is still one
competitor.”
“Amazed. A competitor…?”
“Shido himself.”
“…Comprehend. Ah—…”
After Origami clarified, Yuzuru nodded in agreement as sweat trickled down her forehead.
As Yuzuru said, Origami was good at general housework. However, there was no denying that
Shido himself was especially good at cooking and sewing on top of the usual chores. In light of
this, Origami believed that in order to secure Shido’s attention, she would need to learn more.
At that moment, Yuzuru, her arms crossed, nodded in agreement before locking eyes with
Origami.
“Request. I have always admired Master Origami’s wisdom. Please allow Yuzuru to join Master
Origami’s practice.”
On some level, this was an expected reaction. Regardless, Origami remained silent for a moment.
Just like Origami, Yuzuru was another of the Spirits that spent time with Shido. Letting her join
in her bridal practice could be considered ‘helping the enemy.’ However, if she refused her,
Origami suspected that the other Spirits would find out about it. If Tohka, Yoshino, Kaguya and
the others who were notorious for their curiosity, found out, there was no doubt that they would
also want to participate in the bridal practice. It would likely turn into an event that everyone
would participate in, just like yesterday’s bento box preparations.
Origami went speechless for a while.
“—Do you really want to come?”
“…! Approval. Yes…!”
When Origami asked the question, Yuzuru nodded quickly.
Origami nodded in turn to Yuzuru and led the way. Yuzuru was quick to follow behind her, not
unlike Momotaro.15
“Unexpected. But I had no idea there was anywhere offering cooking classes near here.”
“Strictly speaking, I’m not going to a cooking class.”
“Question. Then are we going to a sewing class?”
“That’s not where we’re going either.”
“Question. Then where are we—”
Yuzuru stopped speaking at that moment.
The reason why was obvious. Because in front of them was a familiar face on the road where
Origami and Yuzuru were walking.
“Hmm… it should be somewhere around here, right…?”
The young woman wearing glasses mumbled as her gaze shifted between the leaflet in her hand
and the area around her.
“Isn’t that—”
“Synchronized. Isn’t that Okamine-sensei?”
As Origami and Yuzuru finished speaking, Okamine Tamae, Origami’s homeroom teacher and
the woman wearing glasses just ahead of them seemed to notice.
“Ah! Tobiichi-san… and Yamai-san from the class next door! What a pleasant surprise meeting
you in such a place.”
15
Momotaro is a character from Japanese folklore; his name translates to “Peach Boy” as he was
apparently born from a peach. He was given this name as the couple that adopted him noted that he’d
been born from a peach.
“Good morning, but what is sensei doing here?”
Origami asked her teacher politely, and Tamae showed them the leaflet in her hand.
“Oh, according to this flyer, there is supposed to be a bridal practice classroom somewhere
around here…”
She explained while humming, then Tamae smiled. After hearing the teacher’s words, Origami’s
eyebrows twitched slightly while Yuzuru’s expression seemed a little sympathetic.
“Sorrow. If you work hard, one day, even Okamine-sensei will meet a good man…”
“Hey! What’s with that reaction! I’ve already found someone…”
“Question. Does such a person actually exist?”
As soon as Yuzuru spoke, Tamae’s eyes began to sparkle with excitement and the corners of her
mouth turned up into a smile as she giggled.
“Oh, it’s not that I’m going to be getting married just yet. I contacted the person I met at a
wedding party before… Ehehe…”
After she said that, she laughed in a way that sounded both shy and a little bit helpless. It seemed
that she came here for the same reason as Origami and Yuzuru.
But there was something that was more worrisome than that. Tamae’s words made Origami and
Yuzuru exchange a look with each other.
“—Sensei, you have to calm down. Do you have the other person’s real name and address? I
can’t believe it. I need to see his driver’s license. In fact, if he said something like ‘my mother
needs money or something while I’m sick’… even if he said such a thing, you can’t give him
money.”
“Warning. Even if you intend to save funds for marriage for the future, please make sure to make
sure they manage their own accounts properly. You should never save money just for each
other.”
“Oh! Why would you assume that this is some kind of fraud?! Are you serious?”
Faced with the pair’s accusations, Tamae shouted unbearably. However, Yuzuru and Origami’s
eyes were still doubtful.
“Doubt. Does it really matter?”

“Really! He’s a really good person! He’s tall, handsome, just like a prince from a certain
country… he said ‘I think it suits you beautifully’… then he said something about sending him a
picture with me in a nearby middle school’s uniform…”
Origami and Yuzuru exchanged looks once more. Even without having to speak, the two could
immediately tell they felt the same way.
“…Blame. Okamine-sensei, that is—”
However, part way through the sentence, Yuzuru suddenly fell silent. The reason why was
simple: there was a white van coming from the end of the street, interrupting Yuzuru as it came
to a stop in front of the three of them.
“Ah! What’s with this van?!”
Suddenly, Tamae’s shoulders trembled. Then, as though responding to Tamae’s question, the
driver’s side window opened, and a strict-looking woman poked her head out.
“—Are you the ones who were planning to come to the bridal practice?”
“Yes.”
In stark contrast to the surprised Yuzuru and Tamae, Origami responded to her without worry.
The female driver jerked her thumb to the backseat before closing the window, pausing only to
say ‘get in.’
Origami opened the door without a second thought and took her seat in the van.
“Amazement. Master Origami, what is this?”
“Wait a minute, Tobiichi-san, you can’t just get into a strange vehicle like that!”
“It’s no problem. This was the car I was waiting for. There’s no need for me to be reluctant. If
you’re not interested, feel free to simply stay there or go as you please.”
As Origami responded calmly, Yuzuru and Tamae also took their seats but both of them were still
suspicious.
They’d since lost track of time for how long they’d been in the car.
“—Eh! Ah!”
“—Eh! Ah!”
The car continued to drive the road and traversed through the wilderness before coming to a stop
in front of a temple-like building located somewhere deep in the forest.
“…This place.”
“Question. Is this the place…”
Sweat trickled down Tamae’s and Yuzuru’s faces as the car slowed to a stop.
Nonetheless, they couldn’t believe it. After all, in the square behind the gate of the monastery—
“—Hoo! Ha!”
“—Hoo! Ha!”
Were several people training without pause.
And these weren’t ordinary people. Everyone present was a woman—and all of them were
wearing wedding dresses and holding bouquets in their hands. Indeed, this was a strange sight.
“—Hehehe, welcome ladies! To the Holy Soul Temple, the holy place of bridal practice.”
When Yuzuru and Tamae’s eyes widened in surprise at the scene unfolding around them, a voice
spoke in front of them.
It only took a brief look to find a woman in her 60s before them. She was accompanied by two
other practitioners. All of whom emerged from the depths of the temple. Although she was also
wearing a wedding dress, she seemed paler compared to the others, and the veil and skirt had a
long hem. Her posture was like that of an elder but her spine was still straight and her steps were
steady.
“A holy place for brides to train…”
“Confirm. The Holy Soul Temple…?”
Tamae and Yuzuru asked blankly. “Yes,” Origami nodded and explained.
“Although this is bridal practice, at the end of the day, it’s still practice. If you want to do it, you
have to see it through to the end.”
“Ah, but I don’t think that’s how it works for bridal practice?! This isn’t practice, but rather strict
training!”
Tamae shouted as she finally understood the situation. However, the elder seemed to be used to
this kind of reaction so she simply smiled and chuckled at the reaction.
“Marriage is a major event in one’s life. However, the majority of people sign into a marriage
contract without adequate preparation… This temple has everything from cooking and laundry to
even performing a tea and flower ceremony, as well as learning how to defend yourself, your
partner, and your child in critical moments. Based on a wide range of needs, we’ve developed the
courses to teach the necessary skills for marriage.”
“Such unexpected seriousness?!”
Tamae made a surprised voice. So the elder smiled again and accepted a pamphlet from one of
the practitioners and showed it to the three of them.
“At any rate, it’s fine for everyone to start at the beginning. If there’s a course that we don’t
already have that you think might be promising, feel free to suggest it.”
“Eh? Ah… so, I’ve always been bad at cleaning, this course on cleaning faster…”
“Choice. I’m so confused… Sewing would be useful, but it’s hard to pass up on parenting
courses for the future…”
Tamae and Yuzuru looked intently at the brochure and spoke uncertainly at the options.
But Origami didn’t pay them any mind and instead stared straight into the elder’s eye and then
spoke.
“…I intend to challenge the ‘Tower.’”
“…!”
Origami spoke calmly. The elder as well as the practitioners standing behind her widened their
eyes.
“Question. The ‘Tower’…?”
“W-What is that?”
Perhaps it left an unsettling atmosphere building Yuzuru and Tamae noticed as they looked from
Origami to the elder in confusion.
Sweat trickled down the elder’s cheeks, and at the tip of her chin turned into water droplets that
fell and landed on the ground. The elder seemed to recover from the sudden paralysis as she
finally spoke again.
“…Miss, where did you hear about that?”
“I have ways of getting information.”

“…Do you know where it is?”
“Of course.”
When Origami responded in the affirmative, the elderly could only close her eyes and shake her
head.
“I don’t want to insult you but please give up on this endeavor. You’re still so young. If you
continue training, you may one day reach that level.”
“—Practice while watching my beloved man and some other woman hold a wedding ceremony
together?”
“…!”
That caught the elder off guard and rendered her speechless.
Soon after, the elder’s expression softened as she stared into Origami’s eyes.
“…If I’d had your courage, maybe things would have ended differently…”
“If you start now, there’s still a chance.”
“…hehehe…”
The elder smiled more brightly as she straightened her back and turned around.
“—Okay, then please follow me.”
“E-Elder!”
“But, the ‘Tower’—”
The two practitioners that accompanied her spoke up in protest. However, the elder shook her
head to halt them.
“I’m still daydreaming even at this age. Please forgive my willfulness.”
“Elder…”
The two practitioners couldn’t bring themselves to argue with what the elder said. They took a
few steps back and allowed her to proceed.
“…That…”
Tamae and Yuzuru, who'd been watching the exchange, tentatively raised their hands nervously.
“I didn’t understand what was going on from the start… But what exactly is the ‘Tower’?”
“Disappointment. Please don’t leave Yuzuru and Sensei out of this discussion.”
In that way, Yuzuru tilted her head in doubt while pouting her lips in dissatisfaction.
Before escorting Origami, the elder nodded exaggeratedly.
“It would be easier to show it to you than to try to explain it—Come, please follow me.”
The elder turned around once more and walked ahead with her hands behind her back. Origami
turned and followed her, the other practitioners quickly following suit.
They made their way through the gates and past the square where the other brides were training.
Soon they passed through the main hall and moved deeper into the temple.
After walking along a path through the forest for a while, they noticed a prominent outline clear
through the misty sky.
There was a large tower with multiple impressive-looking roofs. Seeing its majesty, naturally
anyone would be struck with awe.
“Magnificent. This is…”
“—This is the most challenging place that a bride at the Holy Soul Temple can go to train…”
“…What?”
After hearing what the Elder said, Tamae and Yuzuru found themselves surprised. Of course
seeing it like this, it was impossible to understand just from the name. Origami continued.
“Each level is guarded by experts in cooking, washing, cleaning, childcare, housekeeping,

neighbor relationships, park etiquette, and bedroom secrets among other things. At the top of the
tower is the bride who has mastered all the bridal skills—the Queen of Brides. If you conquer
them all, you earn the title of “Bride Master”.
“No, something like that, although I am concerned about the content, that title…”
Tamae spoke as sweat trickled down her face. Yuzuru, who was standing next to Tamae, gently
tapped her on the shoulder.
“Question. What does ‘bedroom secrets’ mean?”
“Eh? Ah, that… how do I explain this…”

Although Tamae didn’t know how to approach the situation, she finally whispered a few words
into Yuzuru’s ear. As she told her, Yuzuru’s cheeks flushed dark red.
“…Understanding. It turns out that I would have to learn those things.”
“Please continue,” Yuzuru urged. Incidentally, when it came to bedroom secrets, Origami’s best
technique was naked wrestling.
The Elder nodded once more as she looked up to the top of the tower, obscured by mist.
“However, it’s an extremely difficult challenge to overcome. Even for those brides who have
completed all the courses offered at the Holy Soul Temple, there’s no guarantee that they will be
able to make it to the top—”
“Eh!… Then that means I can’t get married without completing this challenge…!”
“No, that’s not true. If it’s a question of passing the courses, as long as you feel comfortable with
what you’ve learned then you can marry at any time. However, there is a bell at the top of the
tower, and it’s said that the people who ring that bell will be destined for a happy marriage.”
“That’s all, after completing such a harsh challenge, that’s all the bell does…?!”
“No, no, that’s not all. In fact, everyone who managed to ring the bell managed to secure a happy
relationship. Some people were even cured of a previously incurable disease. Other people
managed to win the lottery.”
“No, no! That sounds like some sort of scam that you’d read about in a magazine!”
Tamae shouted while frowning. Origami remained unperturbed as she stepped forward.
“Just for that, to participate in such a harsh trial for some superstition…?!”
“It doesn’t matter. I still want to challenge it.”
As if to echo Origami’s sentiments, Yuzuru turned her determined gaze to look at the tower as
well.
“Decision. Since this is the case, Yuzuru will go too.”
“Tobiichi-san… and even you too, Yamai-san!”
Yuzuru and Origami’s determination made Tamae look at them in shock.
Perhaps to confirm the pair’s intentions, the Elder looked back at Origami.
“Then it’s decided, just the two of you will be challenging the tower, is that right? Make sure to
put on your training clothes immediately. Those who’d prefer to participate in the basic course,
please come this way—”
Tamae shook her head forcefully as though to interrupt the Elder.
“N-No! I have to go with them! I can’t just let two students go off to such a dangerous place by
themselves…”
Although Tamae’s shoulders trembled slightly from nervousness, she still spoke up. Although
what was reflected in her gaze was not a sense of responsibility as a teacher but instead, ‘it
would be awful to be left alone in this place—’
That anxiousness also hid her inner thoughts, ‘could I really benefit from this…?’ but it seemed
that Origami hadn’t noticed.
Perhaps because of this newfound determination from Tamae that the Elder smiled.
“—Okay. Now, open the door to the Blood Soulmate Tower!”
At the Elder’s command, the previously closed tower door swung open with the song of a
wedding march echoing from beyond.
The tower itself was quite spacious, with a red carpet spread straight from the entrance.
However, because of the dim lighting, it was difficult for them to see what was in front of them.
At the entrance, they swapped out their casual clothes for training clothes that they would have
to wear to challenge the tower. They carefully followed the dim path while paying close attention
to their surroundings.
“—Confirmation. Is this how you are supposed to wear the training clothes?”
“I-I don’t know. I’ve never tried wearing this before…”
Yuzuru and Tamae spoke once or twice in an uncomfortable manner as they changed into their
gowns.
Their reactions were understandable, of course. The clothes that they and Origami were wearing
were the same as the wedding dresses that the practitioners training in the temple square were.
It was a light-colored dress that hugged the waist with a tight band. A veil hung down from the
crown of the head; they each held a bouquet of flowers in their hands. This was the opposite end
of the spectrum when compared to clothes one would wear anyday. Rather than for convenience,
these were worn for the explicit purpose of training.
“Anyway, I’ve heard that wearing a wedding dress before your wedding day actually reduces the
chance of a successful marriage…”
“Shiver. Is that really true? The Elder said that these were training clothes to improve the chance
for marriage…”
“Hah… what marital spirit…”
“—Shhh. Be careful. There’s someone close by.”
After letting out a quiet breath, Origami interrupted the conversation between Tamae and Yuzuru
to remind them of where they were.
As if to respond directly to what Origami said, the previously dim space was now bathed in a
blindingly bright light.
“Eh…?!”
“Surprise, this is—”
Tamae and Yuzuru covered their eyes from the sudden flash. Origami’s eyes managed to adjust
quickly enough that she didn’t have to do the same. She then quickly took in the change in their
surroundings.
In as few words as possible, they’d found themselves in a kitchen. There was a gas stovetop and
a refrigerator next to a small cooking table. It was not some grandiose kitchen but rather very
homely-looking.
Almost immediately, they spotted a woman standing in the middle of that space. She had short
black hair and a face riddled with scars. Despite her muscular appearance, she still wore the same
wedding dress as all the other practitioners. On top of that, she also had an apron on and a cute
neckerchief. Above her head, she held a kitchen knife decorated with ribbons and flowers.
“—Hoo hoo hoo…You dare face me, young challengers.”
The woman laughed roughly as her dress billowed.

“I am Aya, the person in charge of the first floor: the Cooking Challenge. If you’re able to beat
me, you may proceed to the next floor.”
She explained as she waved the knife in her hand. She clearly had an impressive technique and
combined with the many scars, she gave the impression that she was a veteran soldier rather than
an aspiring bride.
“…Question. How exactly do we defeat her?”
“Oh, you have to show me one of the necessary skills to be a bride: cooking. You are allowed to
use any techniques you want, but you’re only allowed to use the materials provided here. If any
of you can impress me with your cooking then all of you will pass—So, who wants to go first?”
After she finished speaking, Aya smiled fearlessly. It seemed that despite her aggressive-looking
appearance, she at least had fair rules for winning and losing.
Then, as though to respond to her challenge, Tamae stepped forward.
“Tobiichi-san, please leave this to me.”
“—Sensei? Can you cook?”
After Origami asked, Tamae nodded with a slightly nervous expression on her face.
“Of course. Actually, Sensei is very good at cooking. Even though I live alone by myself, it’s not
a joke! Let me show you: Tamae’s lazy cooking!”
Tamae was immediately traumatized by what she said so confidently.
Well, if that was the case, there was no need for Origami to take the lead. Origami simply said,
“Please do so” as she let Tamae take the lead.
“So it’s decided. Then—begin!”
At Aya’s command, the sound of a gong rang from somewhere. The sound of the gong and Aya’s
voice took Tamae by surprise, but that didn’t stop her from getting started either.
“First thing’s first, I need to figure out what to make…”
Mumbling to herself, Tamae opened the refrigerator standing next to the counter. She took a
closer look at the refrigerator’s contents intently.
“So this is what I have to work with… These are all leftover dishes. It’ll be tough to make
something with these but…”
Just then, a smile curled onto Tamae’s lips as an idea came to mind. She pulled exactly what she
needed out of the refrigerator.
“Observation. What is Okamine-sensei planning to do?”
Yuruzu asked as she watched Tamae begin cooking. Origami briefly examined the ingredients
that Tamae selected.
“From what I can tell, she is using tofu and hamburger. Ordinarily neither that much tofu or meat
would be able to make a dish, but it looks like she plans to mix the leftover minced meat with the
tofu and add some root vegetables.”
“Apology. It seems a little complicated, but it looks delicious—”
“AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”
Tamae’s screams drowned out Yuzuru’s voice.
They soon discovered the reason for that—Aya had thrown a knife that very nearly hit Tamae’s
hands as she was selecting her ingredients. Following that, she began cooking and raised her
voice.
“Y-Y-You… what do you think you’re doing! That’s very dangerous!”
At Tamae’s shout, Aya licked the knife as she held it between her fingers and smiled.
“What nonsense are you talking about? This is not some ordinary cooking competition, it’s bridal
practice too. If that’s the case, shouldn’t you expect something like this? Such as when you’re
being interrupted by an evil in-law while you’re cooking?”
“No, isn’t that sort of thing just ridiculous?! How could there be an in-law who would throw a
knife!”
“What are you talking about?! What if you end up falling in love with someone who is an heir to
a clan of assassins?! If the other party’s family opposes the marriage, there is no doubt they will
try to get rid of you!”
“Why would that even happen?!”
“If you’ve never trained at the Holy Soul Temple then you won’t ever be truly prepared.”
“Are you speaking from personal experience?!”
Tamae shouted at Aya, who touched the scar on her face as a cold smile creeped onto her face.
“Hmph—because of this, brides need to be stronger.”
Aya merely shrugged self-deprecatingly and threw the knife once more. The blade was buried in
the metal counter.
“A-A-AH!”
It was already clear that this wasn’t a cooking contest anymore. Tamae stumbled away from the
cooking station and returned to Origami’s side.
“Hmph, this one has no spine. One challenger eliminated. Next challenger, step forward!”
After she finished speaking, Aya pointed provocatively at them. Origami’s eyes narrowed as she
stepped forward.
“T-Tobiichi-san! Don’t do it! It’s too dangerous!”
“No problem.”
Origami ignored Tamae’s worried tone as she made her way toward the counter. Aya smiled
when she spotted Origami.
“Oh, my heart and soul—have expanded!”
After she finished speaking, Aya immediately threw another knife.
However, Origami simply raised her hand and caught the knife with her fingers.
“What…?!”
“Eh…?”
Both Aya and Tamae could only be shocked as she caught the knife. Only Yuzuru was still
smiling as she mumbled.
“Appreciation. She is truly worthy of being called Master Origami.”
“Such a trick is useless against me.”
“…How interesting!”
—And so, Origami began cooking.
She continued preparing the dish that Tamae started: the tofu and hamburger meat. She put the
ingredients into a large bowl.
“Aha!”
As she continued cooking, Aya continued throwing knives at her. But Origami managed to either
sidestep every attack or even block them with a cutting board in order to continue cooking.
“Mix the ingredients in a large bowl and make it a size that encourages proper eating.”
“Ha…hahahahahaha! You!”
“Then fry the ingredients in a frying pan!”
“You think you’re so funny don’t you! Take this: Munekata Higto-ryu Okugi and Tengen kill
technique!”
“Finally, add perilla leaves and radishes, coupled with some hand-made orange juice…
Complete.”
Origami, lifted the lid of the pot and presented the finished dish to Aya.
Aya, now drenched in sweat, gasped as a sad smile formed on her face.
“…Haha, I didn’t expect you to be able to finish it—may I try it?”
“Please do.”
Aya stared at each of the dishes carefully, picked up her chopsticks and put the tofu burger into
her mouth. After a few seconds of savouring the taste, she swallowed.
“…Hehe, you were incredible enough to be able to finish cooking despite the challenge, and
even the taste caught me by surprise—Very well, go on ahead.”
After she finished speaking, Aya pointed to the staircase behind her. Upon hearing her judgment,
Tamae and Yuzuru both clapped excitedly.
“T-Tobiichi-san!”
“Amazement. You are worthy of being called Master Origami.”
Origami nodded in response as she made her way past Aya, towards the stairs leading to the next
floor. At that moment, Aya smiled, her gaze still focused on the floor.
“—You’re very strong. But, you can’t afford to be careless. The person in charge of the second
floor is more powerful than me…!”
Suddenly, Aya’s voice went hoarse and her body trembled, forcing her to slump forward.
Surprised at what happened, both Tamae and Yuzuru couldn’t help but gasp.
“W-Why, so suddenly…”
“Tremble. What happened…”
“Ah… rgh… um… ah… rgh…”
Her face flushed, Aya, who was breathing heavily, stared at Origami. Judging by the look on her
face, it was clear that she couldn’t bear the thrill of the barrage against her body.
“Y-You, w-what… did… you… do…”
Aya stared at Origami blankly. Origami silently pulled out a vial from one of her gloves.
“This is the product of combining garlic, turtle blood, maca16, and some other powerful spices.
The effect is quite powerful as you can see.”
“W-Why would you do such a thing?”
“This is a bridal practice. The meal should be able to stimulate your partner—tonight will be a
grand party.”
“…Eh?!”
Origami kneeled down and gently whispered in Aya’s ear. Aya suddenly felt her entire body
cramping up and she soon lost consciousness.
“…It looks like the effect was too strong. I need to remember to adjust it in the future.”
“E-Eh…”
“Shiver. Master Origami is a scary girl.”
Yuzuru and Tamae trembled with fear while Origami simply pinched the skirt of her wedding
dress, heading further up into the Tower.
“This is…”
It seemed that the second floor was vastly different from the first floor.
The entire floor was bathed in a pink light. They could smell a sweet fragrance wafting in the air.
It was a scene that wouldn’t look out of place at a nightclub.
“What’s going here…?”
16
Maca is mainly found in the Andes of South America and is said to be rich in high-unit nutrients and
strengthen the human body. People who eat it will feel energetic and energetic without fatigue.
“Amazement. This is quite an erotic atmosphere…”
“—Alright challengers.”
They looked around and spotted a woman wearing a very revealing wedding dress—Or, rather, it
would be more accurate to say that she was wearing underwear that was only vaguely
reminiscent of a wedding dress.
“Feel free to come closer. So you’ve already defeated Aya. That’s impressive—but do you think
that you’ll be able to conquer the master of the second floor, ‘Fusanaka Hitomi’?”
As she finished speaking, Hitomi hummed and blew a kiss. Yuzuru and Tamae gasped while
blushing.
“Experiment. A farce—”
“So this is what they meant by the secret bedroom techniques…”
“Ahhhhh, you should be fine with this look, right? You’re going to be married after all. That is to
say, you’ll have a strong relationship with your partner. A virgin wouldn’t understand the desires
of men and women, right?”
Giggling, Hitomi spread her arms. Then, the curtains behind her were spread apart and revealed
what was concealed behind it.
“What…!”
“Observation, that’s…”
Behind the curtains, they noticed two large beds covered with domes and mannequins were
placed on the beds. On the pillows, they could see some kind of measurement instrument.
“Hahaha!”
Hitomi smiled seductively as she made her way to the bed on the right while gently stroking the
mannequin’s chin. Almost immediately, the value on the meter shot up and then promptly
returned to its previous state.
“As you can see, this mannequin is equipped with high-sensitivity sensors all over its body. Any
way you can induce pleasure will increase the meter on the pillow. The one with the highest
value is the winner. Originally, I wanted to use actual people for this… but let’s just call this
bridal practice☆!”
Hitomi winked playfully. They could see the calm confidence in her expression.
But after listening to her explanation, Tamae was blushing as she tried to speak.
“…To be honest, I don’t think this kind of education is appropriate for these two. I don’t want
Tobiichi-san or Yamai-san to take part in this challenge…”
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Hun, you can hone your skills here without any loss. If you end up
meeting some dictator who says to you: ‘Satisfy me. If you can’t do it, I will enslave you so that
I can at least enjoy looking at you—’…”
“No, what are you talking about—”
“At that moment, I was really grateful that I trained at the Holy Soul Temple.”
“How did you get into that situation in the first place?!”
Tamae shouted unbearably at Hitomi, but Origami moved forward without a second thought.
“Focus. Master Origami…”
Origami said simply as she sat on the bed on the left. Seeing her determined look, Hitomi smiled
while sitting cross-legged.
“Hmm, you sure seem confident! Okay, then let’s get started right away—Ready? Begin!”
After she finished speaking, Hitomi immediately stretched out her hands and wrapped them
around the mannequin.
“Ah! Hitomi-san immediately started touching the mannequin!”
“Seductive. What a fascinating technique. The meter keeps going up…!”
“No! It’s no good! Tobiichi-san! There’s no way you can win this contest!”
“Description. If it becomes too detailed then Okamine-sensei will be responsible for the live
broadcast, while Yuzuru will be responsible for explaining what is happening.”
“What are you talking about? Yamai-san! Compared to that, ah! Hitomi-san is doing that kind of
thing on the mannequin’s ass! And… Ah! What is she doing now!”
“Apology. I didn’t expect her to be able to use that kind of thing in that way… Today I learned
something new.”
“Is this really the time to say such things! Tobiichi-san is—Ah?! Is Tobiichi-san’s meter also
increasing?!”
“Surprise. Is that true?”
“Do you recognize this Yamai-san?!”
“Confirm. I’ve heard of it. This is a Crawling Secret Fist · Thousand Palms. This secret
technique makes your arms look like a blur through ultra-high-speed movements. I have seen it
used in manga.”
“In manga?! Ah, but Tobiichi-san’s meter is rising faster than the naked eye can follow!”
“Reflection. It’s as though the mannequin is being stroked by a thousand hands at once…! This
is… Nirvana—!”
At that moment, a harsh alarm went off and the meter next to Origami’s pillow began to flicker.
It seemed that the outcome was decided.
Hitomi’s eyes widened as she spoke.
“W-What…! I didn’t expect my glorious machine gun technique to lose to anyone, let alone
you…”
“Ah, so that’s why that move is called by that name…”
“Shiver. The way she moved her hands was amazing…”
Tamae and Yuzuru muttered to each other so no one else could hear them. Meanwhile, Hitomi
jumped off the bed as she stared at Origami.
“That trick… How many men have you done so far…?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t have any actual experience…”
“What did you say…? But then how did you manage to short-circuit the system…”
Origami silently hopped off the bed. She took a deep breath and concentrated before spreading
her arms wide around the room.
The next moment, Yuzuru, Tamae, and Hitomi’s eyes all widened in surprise.
“T-there was nothing there… and yet it looked like there was a faint figure…?”
“Disbelief. It had to be. That was… Shido! It was a silhouette of Shido! He was being hugged by
Master Origami!”
“H-How is this possible…”

Origami let out a breath before slowly lowering her hand.
“Humans are creatures that can project their thoughts onto reality.”
“Ha…”
Origami stared at her, leaving Hitomi to collapse while she smiled weakly.
“I didn’t think you’d be able to beat me… Go on ahead. If it’s you… maybe it’s possible for you
to defeat the Queen of Brides.”
Origami nodded gently and made her way towards the stairs leading to the third floor.
—With just a glance, they were able to understand the situation.
“Ah! I didn’t expect her to be able to resolve the situation so quickly!”
“Amazed. She managed to take care of the troubled neighbor in an instant…!”
“All Tobiichi-san had to do was whisper in his ear and the noisy child calmed down right away!”
“Overbearance. She managed to become the overlord of the park on the opening day…”
“In the end, she was able to take advantage of the store manager’s weakness and purchase things
at such a low price!”
“Finance. After Master Origami started managing the account, the account balance increased
thirteen-fold!”
Just like that, Origami managed to conquer through the toughest challenges of the Holy Soul
Temple, making her way through each challenge the tower threw at them—At which point, they
finally reached the top of the tower, where the Bridal Queen was waiting for them.
“Here it is, we finally made it to the top.”
“No, we made it here without even realizing it.”
“Conviction. As long as Master Origami is on our side, we will definitely win.”
Yuzuru and Tamae, who were also dressed in wedding dresses, were gasping as they reached the
top only a few seconds after Origami. Despite their low success rate, the two of them had
challenged each floor boss just like Origami.
Origami nodded as they spoke before pushing the door to the top floor open. The door creaked as
she pushed it open. At long last, they finally reached the final room.
“—Whew.”
Just as she stepped into the room, Origami found herself gasping.
This room was designed differently from the Japanese-style of the outside of the tower. If
anything, it looked like a church-like wedding ceremony. There was a red carpet spread from the
entrance to the altar. Light shone through the luxurious stained glass panels.
However, the opulent decorations made Origami shudder.
A bride, dressed in pure white, was standing in front of the altar.
Just through her skin alone, she could clearly feel intense marital energy radiating from her.
“—Are you coming?” By Ene, Offic eCasual, and Lightn ingFarron
An awe-inspiring voice reverberated across the room. Just hearing her voice made Yuzuru’s
forehead burst into a nervous sweat and Tamae’s legs began to shake.
“Shock. What is this…”
“Wh-What’s with this person…”
“—The Bridal Queen.”
After Origami called out her name, the bride smiled and then lifted the veil covering her face.
Her nose was straight, her skin was white and without a blemish, and her light-colored lips were
curved into a gentle smile. As for age, it was impossible to tell from looking at her. Just judging
from her appearance, she looked like she was in her twenties, but the sophisticated atmosphere
exuded from her, she could very well have been in her fifties.
“Welcome. I am the Bridal Queen, Misako. I have mastered all courses provided at the Holy Soul
Temple.”
As she finished, Misako threw the bouquet in her hand to Origami. This was the so-called tossing
ceremony. Origami reached out and grabbed the bouquet as it came down from its arc.
But at that moment.
“Ngh…?”
Origami couldn’t help but drop to one knee from the sudden weight in her hand. On closer
inspection, the bouquet that Misako threw was made of metal flowers and other heavy
ornaments.
“…It’s quite impressive for you to throw such a heavy bouquet with ease. Unfortunately my arm
strength is poor. Maybe Tohka could have achieved a decisive victory…”
Origami shifted her weight back on her waist and legs to stand up once more. Then, Misako
slowly held out her hands.
“Wow, it’s impressive to be able to catch my bouquet like that—As far as I can see, it looks like
your marriage means more to you now than when you first challenged the tower. Did you mature
during your battles on the way here? Maybe I’ll finally be able to use my full strength after such
a long time…”
Misako smiled gently as she clenched her hands into fists.
A terrible shockwave radiated from Misako’s body and the skirt of her wedding dress fluttered in
the wind. Her tremendous marital spirit rippled around the tower, cracking the stained glass
looming behind her.
“What…?!”
“Shock. No…”
Origami crouched down to support herself against the impact. However, Tamae and Yuzuru were
blown directly into the wall.
“Ahhhhhh! You two! Can’t you catch a good husband?!”
“E-Eh?! What is this!”
“Shiver. What terrible marriage power…”
“…You two, get to safety. I can’t fight and protect you at the same time.”
Origami spoke as she cautiously repositioned herself. Misako smiled happily as she looked
toward Origami.
“—Oh, are you the only one who will face me? The way to win—That’s right: you just have to
exchange wedding rings like any traditional wedding ceremony. Whoever puts a ring on the
other party’s finger first is the winner. What do you think?”
Misako radiated an intense golden marital energy as she raised her left hand. The ring on her
finger sparkled.
Origami wiped the sweat from her face; while staring intently into Misako’s eyes.
“…As you wish.”

“That’s the spirit—then, lovely bride, let our decisive battle begin.”
The moment that Misako made her declaration, the room fell into a deafening silence.
Origami stared carefully at Misako’s posture, both sides remained motionless.
Misako was doing much the same. This was a duel between two experts: the side that acted first
would be the one creating an opening on herself.
In this quiet space, only one sound could be heard, their heartbeats.
Once the tension reached its critical point, the outcome would be decided in a single moment.
—But then:
“…Ara?”
Suddenly Misako’s cell phone rang and the tense atmosphere suddenly disappeared.
“Please wait a moment.”
At that moment, Misako pulled out her cell phone from her wedding dress and put it to her ear.
“—Hello, Jill? Didn’t Okaa-sama say that you had work today… eh? Ah, really? I understand.
I’ll come back home immediately.
Misako hung up and looked at Origami apologetically.
“That… I’m really sorry. It turned out that my son seems to have fallen ill… Shall we put this
fight off until next time?”
“…Eh?”
Origami froze in place. Misako clasped her hands together while making a funny gesture.
“I’m really really sorry! Please do come again! Anyway, farewell for now!”
Misako rushed past a stunned Origami while bowing her head earnestly before heading down the
stairs to use the elevator.
Origami, Yuzuru, and Tamae could only glance at each other and then at the person dressed as a
priest who remained in the room.
“…What’s with this situation?”

“Ah… I’m very sorry. Misako-san has been married five times and has eight children. Now,
she’s working very hard as a single-parent.”
“Furious. She’s been married five times…”
“A single parent family with eight children…?”
“Well, because she is the Queen of Brides, it seems that she still gets marriage proposals from
many men. She’s currently looking into who would be able to provide the most compensation
and support when they inevitably get divorced—Ah, you can go up from here to ring the
wedding bell at the top of the tower.”
After he finished speaking, the priest also left.
The three of them stayed in that room for a few minutes, dumbfounded, before eventually
making their way to the top of the tower and to ring the wedding bell.
They achieved the goal they set out to accomplish but despite that, they felt an inexplicable sense
of failure.
◇◇◇
“Hmm… It’s almost time for dinner… E-Eh? Speaking of which, where are Origami and
Yuzuru?”
It was 7:00 pm at the Itsuka household. Shido looked around the living room from his place in
the kitchen and tilted his head with uncertainty.
Normally, the Spirits would all be gathered together in the Itsuka living room at this time, but
today Origami and Yuzuru were curiously absent.
Though, it’s not like they had a prior commitment and it wasn’t always possible for all of the
Spirits to gather each day: Miku, Nia, and Kotori all had work and were often absent. However,
it was rare that Yuzuru was absent.
“Kaguya, do you know where Yuzuru is?”
“The truth is buried in the darkness… Ah, but honestly, it looks like she left for somewhere early
this morning.”
“Hmm? Did she say where she went? Hopefully she doesn’t come back late and has to ask
<Fraxinus> for help.”
“—I’m back.”
Shido was halfway through his sentence when the door to the living room suddenly opened and
Origami and Yuzuru stepped in. Both were clearly exhausted as Yuzuru immediately made her
way to the sofa as soon as she entered.
“O-Oh, where have you two been? You both look exhausted…”
“—Here.”
Although Shido tried to ask where they went, Origami did not answer but instead pulled a snack
box from her canvas bag and handed it to Shido.
“Huh? What’s this… Soul buns?”
“Souvenirs.”
“Ha, really… thank you.”
“Try them.”
“Eh? Now? But we’re going to have dinner soon…”
Shido stared at her, his gaze moving from Origami to the bun in the box before taking a bite. The
taste itself was just like any other bun, but there was a hint of a spicy aroma.
As Shido chewed, Origami looked away and sighed deeply.
“—In the end, it was a valuable learning experience.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“In the end, it turns out the best trick is just cooking raw rice.”
“Hey, what are you talking about…”
At that moment, Shido felt his chest thumping violently and he soon put a hand to his chest.
“This…what’s going on? My body feels like… It’s on fire…”
“—Ah…”
Shido suddenly noticed that Origami’s eyes were shining oddly brightly. Her hands began to
move at such a speed that it was impossible to follow with the naked eye and gently began
stroking Shido’s whole body from top to bottom. The ultra-fast speed gave the illusion that
Origami had many hands. Needless to say, Shido could only feel strong stimulation surge
throughout him.
“Hey… what are you doing, Origami?! A-A-A-Ah?!”
“…! Master Origami’s secret technique has been revealed: the Crawling Secret Fist · Thousand
Palms…!”
“W-What do you think you’re doing to Shido, Origami?!”
From her place in the living room, Tohka quickly rushed over and forced Origami’s hands away
from Shido.
—Although he had no idea what happened to Origami that day, in the time since then, both
Origami and Yuzuru started approaching Shido more aggressively than usual.
Miku Scandal
“—The next song is about to begin! Make sure to sing along, everyone! Okay?”
She called out to the audience, her gaze fixed on them as rays of light moved all behind her.
As if responding to her call, the roar of the crowd escalated and countless lights moved in
unison. These lights were the countless glow sticks provided by the concert venue. Each bit of
light represented each fan’s excitement filling their hearts and minds, putting Miku on cloud
nine. Miku’s voice sang with unbridled passion surging through her entire body.
That’s right. Izayoi Miku was currently holding a grand commemorative concert in the Tengu
Amphitheater.
The amphitheater had a maximum seating capacity of 20,000 people. The voice of an angel
flowed from the microphone and echoed about the theater. She was rewarded with enthusiastic
cheers, bursting from every person seated in the theater. It was so strong that it felt as though the
whole building was shaking.
Everyone here heard Miku’s singing, craved Miku’s singing, and adored Miku’s singing deeply.
With that on her mind, Miku couldn’t contain her inner joy.
“—!”
Amidst the excitement, Miku sang her favorite songs and struck a cute pose from her place at the
center of the stage.
In an instant, the entire amphitheater burst into excited cheering and applause that reverberated
around the entire area.
Such a reaction was hardly a surprise for anyone.
The seemingly endless applause reflected off of the dome-shaped roof, resonating like a
thunderclap as it struck Miku’s body.
—It was a paralyzing kind of pleasure. Being able to see the beauty of it all that could only be
seen on the stage, Miku unconsciously wiped the sweat from her forehead.
“Now—then next song is the last one—”
Just as the moment Miku made the announcement, there was a combination of cheers and slight
disappointment as the end drew near. Miku simply smiled as she took a deep breath and began
singing anew.
“—A long time ago, when I found myself drowning in my past, someone came forward to save
me. If it weren’t for that person, I probably wouldn’t be standing here singing for all of you—this
song is dedicated to that person.”
As she was speaking, Miku’s gaze drifted away from the audience—and to a certain section: the
special guest seats.
Shido and the other Spirits had all been invited and were all seated there, side by side. Just from
where they were seated, if they looked down at the stage, it would be really difficult to make out
Miku’s expression—but if Shido had to guess, he suspected that Miku was smiling happily based
on what she’d said.
Miku’s smile was so wide and bright, it felt as though she’d shot through Shido’s heart with her
fingers in the shape of a gun as she continued singing.
“Please enjoy—My Treasure.”
As the music began to play, she began singing her final song for the evening.
Given that there were roughly 20,000 people gathered together in one place, it was only logical
that there would be people with all kinds of different values and ideals.
Among the guests who’d attended the concert, not all of them would be sincerely congratulating
Miku for her performance nor did they aspire toward any lofty ideals.
That is to say, not everyone who came to the concert actually enjoyed it.
“Hmph—”
At the concert venue, Bungetsu Harumi, an entertainment reporter, smiled unscrupulously while
her shoulder-length hair billowed in the breeze.
“Ara ara, did you hear what she said just now?”
The junior reporter next to her, Motohabara Chika’s eyes widened inexplicably.
“Eh? Ah, of course I was listening! I finally got a chance to attend one of Miku-san’s concerts!
Ah, no—, even though it was on the side, I’m really lucky that I got to attend at all!”
“What are you so happy about?”
Harumi flicked Chika’s head while she waved a glow stick around happily. Chika yelped in pain
as she held her head and glared at Harumi with an upset look on her face.
“Geez, what was that for senpai?”
“‘What was that for Senpai.’ Have you forgotten why we came here in the first place?”
Harumi asked as her apricot colored eyes narrowed as she kept her gaze on Izayoi Miku on stage.
“—If I recall correctly, we were looking for information about Izayoi Miku’s boyfriend.”
That’s right. That was the reason why Harumi and Chika were attending this concert in the first
place.
Though there was no denying that Izayoi Miku was the centerpiece of the entertainment industry,
Harumi suspected that Miku had a boyfriend.
“…Really? But according to the rumor mills, Miku-san prefers the company of girls the most…”
“That’s hardly a surprise. That’s called the yuri sales tactic. When people say that they hate men
and prefer girls. Do you think that men would be stupid enough to be tricked by that? This is just
a common idol tactic. She absolutely has to be dating a guy.”
“O-Originally that may have been the case. But Miku-san occasionally tried to take off the other
idols’ clothes whenever she performed with other cute girls on TV…”
“What kind of entertainment reporters would we be if we fell for such an act? We need to have a
clear understanding of the situation—If we can pick up a scandal on this idol, there’s no doubt
our ratings would skyrocket!”
“Speaking of skyrocketing, if you can’t pull this off, it seems that you might end up getting
demoted during the next evaluation, right…?”
“A reporter who is too upright won’t last very long.”
Harumi tapped Chika’s head with a finger before spreading out her arms and continuing.
“Remember what she said just now before she started singing? She said: ‘The person who came
forward to save me’, right? That has to mean that she has a significant other. She may have even
been calling out to him at the venue.”
“Huh, how did you figure that out?”
“Can’t you tell that Izayoi Miku sometimes has the expression of a girl in love. Ah, look right
now. That smile there is definitely for a boyfriend. Among the 20,000 fans here, she must have
been excited to make eye contact with him. Definitely.”
“Eh… But isn’t all of this just senpai’s guesswork? Not everyone would think about affairs all
day, every day like senpai does…”
“You should be excited about this.”
Harumi struck Chika’s head as she waved her fists but Chika, having spent so much time with
Harumi, knew that she needed to get away quickly. She genuinely thought that her senpai was
naive as Harumi grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and dragged her away.
“Agh!”
“In any case, we have to keep a close watch on Izayoi Miku and look for any juicy stories about
her.”
Harumi forcefully pressed on Chika’s temples while a confident smile appeared at the corners of
her mouth.
◇◇◇
“Ahhh…”
It was the day after the concert, in the student cafeteria at Rindouji All-Girls School, Miku
stretched lazily.
Idol work was hard and tiring. It was for that reason that as far as fatigue was concerned, even
the self-confident Miku would feel a bit tired after her performance the night before. Coupled
with the fact that it was a nice day and that she’d had a delicious meal, even Miku couldn’t help
but feel a little sleepy afterward.
Nonetheless, the girls seated across from her looked at her with surprise.
“Are you tired, Onee-sama?”
“It’s probably because she performed yesterday. It’s better not to push yourself too hard and get
some rest.”
As they said that, the other students at Rindouji All-Girls’ Private School couldn’t help but look
at her with a hint of worry.
Miku felt tears come to her eyes as she forced a smile.
Idols couldn’t afford to trouble their fans. As the name suggested, idols weren’t just the
personification of singing and dancing.
“I’m fine. It’s just a little warm today, so I feel a bit sleepy—and even though I did just perform a
concert, I won’t ask for a day off from school. I don’t want to lose the time that I can spend with
everyone here.”
“Onee-sama…”
“Ah, you’re so generous…”
It was clear by their expressions, in response to Miku’s explanation, that the girls were moved.
Many of them choked up with tears while others whipped out notepads to scribble down what
Miku just said.
“…But please don’t force yourself, Onee-sama…”
“Yeah, what would we do if something bad happened to you…”
“Ahh…! Thank you very much! But it’s really all okay! After hearing everyone saying that, my
energy has returned 100-fold, all at once!”
Miku smiled and adopted a lovely pose. Several girls even fell unconscious just from this
energetic display, while some others immediately kneeled to the ground and held their hands as
though in reverence to God.
Miku could only smile bitterly as she said, “Aren’t you exaggerating it just a bit?” As she
watched everyone’s reactions, Miku suddenly gasped.
“By the way—when the school day ends for the day, I have some other plans to attend to.”
“…? By the way…?”
“Where are you going…?”
Those vague words caused the girls to tilt their heads in confusion. Miku grinned mischievously
as she put her finger to her lips.
“It’s a very lively place. How can I describe it—I would call it a ‘secret garden.’”
When she finished speaking, Miku closed her eyes and made a mischievous movement that made
several girls slump forward onto the table.
◇◇◇
“Senpai! I found Miku-san!”
“…!”
Hearing Chika call out to her so suddenly caught Harumi by surprise. She adjusted her seat so
quickly that the canned coffee in the cup holder shook gently.
However, that didn’t matter for now. Harumi quickly wiped off the brown droplets that splashed
on her shirt as she sat up from her seat and picked up the binoculars, using them to look in the
direction that Chika indicated.
The place where Harumi and Chika were in front of the main entrance for Rindouji All Girls’
Private School where Miku went to school. Well, to be more precise, they were sitting in a car
close to the main gates so as not to raise suspicions with the school security. They stayed in the
car because they weren’t allowed to enter the school without permission, so they were instead
staking out the school from the car.
“So she’s finally shown up. About time, I’ve been waiting so long for this…”
“…I’ve been the one who’s been keep watch, Senpai’s been sleeping this whole time—”
Chika grumbled as she spoke but Harumi didn’t spare the girl a single thought as she stared at
the school through the binoculars.
She spotted Miku, accompanied by several other girls, emerging from the luxurious looking
gates of Rindouji All-Girls’ Private School.
Then, Miku waved goodbye to the other girls elegantly as she made her way to a black luxury
car waiting for her in front of the main gate.
“She’s getting into the car, we need to follow her from behind. Don’t worry too much about the
distance, we can’t afford to lose her.”
“Clearly since you don’t have a driver’s license yourself, you have to be so forceful in asking
other people…”
“Did you say something?”
“N-Nothing. Just fasten your seat belt.”
Chika gripped the steering wheel with a frustrated expression on her face. In order to not miss
the best chance to get a photo, Harumi held the camera in her hand. But because the car had
started picking up speed, Harumi also had to hold onto the seat tightly with her seat belt.
Naturally, the car that Miku was riding in was driving at the legal speed limit while driving
through Tengu City. There didn’t seem to be anything unusual with regards to the route or
anything else, and it didn’t seem that they noticed Harumi following them.
She’d since lost track of how long they’d been following her, Harumi, still holding the camera
with her finger poised on the shutter, began to mumble.
“Interesting…”
“Is there something wrong?”
“It looks like this car is driving toward the Izayoi home or to an office space. It didn’t seem that
they were going to a recording studio either. Maybe… Maybe we’ve hit the jackpot this time!”
Harumi’s mouth curved into a fearless smile.
Almost immediately afterwards, as if to echo Harumi’s sentiments, Izayoi Miku stepped out of
the vehicle parked in front of a nondescript house.
That’s right. The car was parked in an unassuming residential area. Apartment complexes and
houses were arranged uniformly next to each other along either side of the road.
“Okay, you can drop me off here. I’ll make sure to call you when I’m ready to head back.”
Miku waved as she watched the car drive away. Was it heading to a parking lot? Or was Miku
not planning on going home today? Whatever the case, it seemed that wherever Miku was going
would be close by. Harumi immediately pressed the shutter.
“Hmm, what is such a famous idol doing in a place like this?”
She could already see the headlines about Miku’s private life. Harumi’s heart began to race at the
thought.
“—Ah!”
Miku’s eyes seemed to light up as she smiled joyfully and quickened her pace.
“…!”
The expression on Miku’s face was clearly a girl who was in love. Harumi pointed the camera
lens as she shouted ‘Here I come!’ in her heart.
“Natsumi-san!”
“—Huh?”
Looking in the direction that Miku was running, there was a petite girl. She wore a slightly
annoyed expression and had messy looking hair. It seemed that she was a female friend of
Miku’s.
“…What? A girl?”
Photos that featured Miku in close contact with female classmates or other girls would not make
for a juicy story. Harumi sighed with discouragement as she put the camera down. Her gaze
shifted in the hopes of finding a man close by…
The next moment—
“Eh…?!”
Chika, who was seated next to her, was so surprised that she couldn’t even speak properly.
Harumi’s eyes grew wide and scared at Chika’s reaction.
“C-Chika, don’t scare me like that.”
“Ah, I’m sorry… I thought I saw something. Anyway, senpai, were you able to get a picture?
The moment Izayoi Miku hugged that girl, it was as if she sucked the other girl’s spirit away!”
“Huh…? What do you mean—”
Harumi said, her eyes widened in surprise as she took a second look at the scene.
Her reaction was understandable. Just like Chika said, the girl that Miku had hugged had
slumped to the ground and appeared listless like a dead insect.
It wasn’t just that either. In stark contrast to the girl’s increasingly miserable state, Miku’s skin
seemed to be glowing. It really looked like she’d drained the other girl of her life energy.
“T-This…”
Just as Harumi frowned in confusion, Miku gracefully lifted the listless girl in her arms and
walked straight into the nearby house.
The house was an unassuming two-story building. The name ‘Itsuka’ was written on the door
plate on the front door.
“…! Is this house her destination? Aha… So that’s what’s going on.”
“What do you mean, senpai?”
“That girl has to be the younger sister of Izayoi Miku’s boyfriend! It all makes sense now!”
“So that’s what’s going on… but what happened to your interest in her depleting that girl’s
energy?”
“Never mind that!”
Harumi said firmly as she opened the car door.
“Anyway, we won’t be able to see anything from here so we need to hurry!”
“Ah, r-right!”
Harumi and an anxious Chika got out of the car together so that they could get a closer look at
the house Miku just entered.
Of course, thanks to the fence blocking their path, they wouldn’t be able to get a look inside.
Harumi smacked her lips as she put her hands on the fence.
“Ah! Wait, senpai! What are you doing? This is illegal trespassing!”
“This matter could make or break our futures! Who cares about things like that? It’ll be fine as
long as we don’t get caught…”
The Rindouji All Girls’ Private School had a strict security system in place as it was a well
known private school. There’s no way some random house had such measures. Besides, it’s not
like they were trying to steal anything. If someone spotted them, they would just have to make a
break for it.
“Well… I don’t really care what happens…”
Just from looking at Harumi’s expression, Chika knew that it would be useless to try to argue
with her. Instead, she reluctantly followed while Harumi nodded in satisfaction, turning back to
the fence and vaulting over, landing in the inner courtyard of the Itsuka household.
They made sure to hide near the walls while they peaked through the windows into the large
living room.
It was here that they spotted several girls, including Miku.
“Whoa… what’s with all of those girls… Are they all performers too?”
Chika said with surprise as she, alongside Harumi, were peeking into the living room. It was just
like she said: all of the girls in the living room were no less beautiful than Miku.
Despite their beauty, neither of them recognized any of them. If even Harumi, who was an
experienced entertainment reporter didn’t recognize them, then perhaps they were trainees or
newcomers who’d just been scouted.
“But all of these people are girls. Isn’t this just a normal gathering at someone’s home?”
“No, that couldn’t possibly—”
She took that thought into consideration as she frowned thoughtfully.
“…We might have just stumbled on a juicier story than what we expected…”
“What do you mean, senpai?”
“T-That’s… A harem…”
“H-Harem…?”
Harumi nodded in confirmation as her face was drenched in sweat. Chika could only repeat what
she’d said nervously.
“Yeah, like maybe he’s the president of a big firm, or the CEO of a company, or maybe a
politician. All of them are rich and would be surrounded by countless famous women.”
“I guess that’s true. But if that’s the case, why would they live in an ordinary-looking house…?”
“Maybe it’s to make it look less obvious. No one would think to look for anyone famous in a
place like this. If I’m not mistaken, I believe that the apartment complex next door is a girls’
dormitory. It looks like they’ve all been bought off one after another.”
“So that’s what’s going on… Ah, look! Senpai! Someone entered the bedroom!”
Chika pointed with a surprised expression as she pointed.
“I got it…!”
Harumi pressed the shutter without hesitation.
Entering the bedroom was a young man with neutral features and kind brown eyes. As far as they
could tell, he wasn’t some rich person looking to be surrounded by beautiful girls.
However, Harumi wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip past her. She looked into his eyes from
the camera and from the depths of those gentle eyes, she could see the roaring lustful beast
within.
“…He must be the lord of the harem. He’s younger looking than I would have expected. Maybe
he’s the vice president of some company or the son of a politician. To think people would start
spending time with women at such a young age, what has life come to…”
Harumi smiled unscrupulously as she continued clicking away at the shutter. She even made sure
to capture all of the girls in Miku’s group in her pictures, her smile unconsciously becoming even
more ugly looking.
“Hee hee hee!… We’re done here. This is explosively juicy news. Once we investigate their
origins thoroughly, this will be perfect…”
However, Harumi felt her voice catch in her throat.
The reason why was obvious. Without her noticing, she felt something cold pressed against her
neck.
“—Do not move.”
A voice spoke quietly from somewhere behind them.
Suddenly, Harumi felt her body freeze in panic. After a moment passed, Harumi realized that it
was a knife being pressed against her neck.
Trembling, Harumi found herself breaking out into a cold sweat as she raised her hands in
surrender.
She was finally able to get a better look at her attacker. A beautiful young woman with
shoulder-length silvery-white hair. But her emotionless expression looked like that of a doll,
giving the impression that she was more machine than human.
“I-I’m not here to cause trouble…”
Even though she was clearly suspicious, her only option was to say that as she quivered in fear
before the girl.
But it seemed that the other woman showed no interest in Harumi or Chika. Instead, she grabbed
the camera in Harumi’s hand and, with only one hand, rifled through the photos taken.
“—So that’s what you were doing.”
Immediately afterward, after having taken a look at all the photos that Harumi took one by one,
she then glared coldly at Harumi as she spoke.
“I know that Shido is very charming, but illegally breaking in and taking pictures without
permission is not allowed.”
“Y-Yes…”
“Because I love Shido, I won’t call the police. However, I will be confiscating all of these
pictures. Do you have anything else to say?”
“N-No…”
Although she didn’t understand what the girl was saying, Harumi had no choice but to respond
as she had.
The girl removed the SD card from the camera and returned the camera to Harumi. She then
removed the knife from Harumi’s neck.
Due to the extreme tension from that situation, Harumi nearly forgot to breathe. Her whole body
swayed as she slumped to the ground while panting while her shoulders trembled in abject terror.
“S-Senpai, are you alright?”
“U-Uh… how do I explain…”
When Harumi pointed to her neck and explained what happened to Chika, the girl stared at them
with a scathing look on her face as she spoke quietly.
“—I will leave you alone for now, but don’t even think about trying to do this again.”
“O-Okay…”
Harumi, whose face was now sticky from sweat, nodded as she made to quickly leave the
courtyard as quickly as possible. However—
“One more thing.”
Almost immediately after speaking, the girl stepped forward and pulled out the pen in Harumi’s
breast pocket.
“Hey—!”
Harumi couldn’t help but cry out. The reason why: that pen wasn’t just a pen: there was a
miniature camera hidden in the cap.
“I see. So there’s a camera hidden here in case of an emergency.”
“H-How did you figure that out…”
“I noticed that something was off about this pen’s design. It would be difficult to actually use as
a pen. The best method would be to use up the pen first and then hide the camera using the entire
body. That way you could actually hide the lens in the tip. However, I will be confiscating this as
well.”
“Ah… Fine!”
Harumi could only grit her teeth in frustration as she and Chika quickly fled from the scene.
◇◇◇
“—It’s just like the saying goes, ‘People can’t live on just bread alone!’ While meeting material
needs would generally make people happy, even if their stomachs are full, if their hearts are left
unsatisfied, it’s impossible to survive! So where is my so-called spiritual gratification? I think
you’ve already figured it out!—That’s right! It’s the fragrance of Natsumi-san’s hair!”
“…First of all, none of what you said made any sense to me.”
Kotori opened her eyes and sighed helplessly.
In order to hold the increasingly listless Natsumi, Miku spoke with reverence while holding her
hands as if she were praying. Although at that moment she looked like a devoutly religious
person, the truth was that she was actually something of a devil.
All in all, Kotori could only shrug while Miku continued with an enthusiastic smile.
“Speaking of which, Kotori-san. Have you heard this saying before? If you eat meat all the time,
you will start to want to eat fish. It’s just human nature.”
At that moment, Miku lunged out to try to hug Kotori once she’d finished speaking. However,
Kotori grabbed Miku’s hands in order to stop Miku from hugging her.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing, Miku?!”
“Eh… What’s wrong? My skin has gotten so dry recently due to a lack of Kotorin!”
“Don’t try to turn me into nutrients so casually! Isn’t this contradicting what you just said?!”
As Kotori and Miku continued to clash with each other, a new arrival appeared in the doorway: It
was Origami.
“Ah! Origami onee-chan!”
“—! Now’s my chance!”
Kotori managed to push Miku’s hand away from her and made her escape while Miku’s hands
changed course to Origami. Thanks to the resultant inertia, Miku soon found herself face first on
the ground.
“Ah! Kotori-san is so mean!”
“Really… Ara? Origami, what are you holding there?”
Kotori glanced in Origami’s direction and tilted her head in confusion. For some reason, Origami
was holding a pen and SD card in her hand.
“—I discovered something quite nice.”
“…? Is that so…”
Although Kotori was still confused, nonetheless it seemed that something good happened to
Origami. She didn’t know if it was just her imagination or if Origami actually had a satisfied
expression on her face. Kotori could only nod simply in response.
“…Well, I guess that’s fine. So is everyone here? Like I told you all before, today is the day for
our regular medical check-up. Unfortunately, the <Fraxinus> is still under maintenance, so we’ll
have to go to the underground facility today.”
“Ah—!” After Kotori finished speaking, all the Spirits present replied in affirmation.
Incidentally, Natsumi, who was still lying on the sofa, raised a hand, though she made no sound.
◇◇◇
“W-Who was that…”
“…She has to be someone hired to keep an eye on Izayoi Miku for the lord of the harem.
Although she may have looked like a cute girl, we can’t afford to mess with her…”
Harumi, who’d just barely managed to escape with her life, spoke as her voice trembled and
touched her neck, remembering the cold blade previously pressed against it.
She’d somehow managed to appear behind them without them so much as noticing her presence.
She was calm and accurate with her observations. There was no doubt that she would cut off
Harumi’s head if the need arose—No matter what, that cold, calculating aura was more than
enough to separate her from other people. Even Harumi, who’d had plenty of experience finding
juicy stories on people who were heavily guarded in the past, such as when she’d interviewed a
suspected drug abuser, she couldn’t help but be so scared that she’d almost wet herself.
“Perhaps that girl turned out that way as a result of a plane crash when they were a child, and
was recovered by South American special forces where she was raised to be a soldier. Because
she was dead according to the household registry, it would be ideal to work with a lesser known
organization.”
“Huh? What organization?!”
“I was thinking about possibilities…”
Harumi grunted.
All of that said, it was possible that Izayoi Miku was close to some very dangerous forces. She
was worried that the family of the lord of the harem were prominent figures in society. If that
wasn’t the case, there was no way that they’d be able to afford to hire a killing machine who
could end them both without batting an eye.
“…Ah, about that, Senpai, I wanted to ask something…”
Chika asked a little timidly.
“Go ahead and ask.”
Harumi replied shortly.

“Well, what are we going to do now…”
“What?” And, if you found this outside of discord, there’ll be another scandal…

Harumi frowned as she looked at Chika.
“—Well, since we were caught around the home, if we want to get a hold of a juicy story from a
distance, wouldn’t it make more sense to spy on them from the roof of one of their neighbor’s
houses?”
“I knew it! That’s not what I’m talking about!”
Faced with Harumi’s unthinking answer, Chika protested while raising her voice.
“Didn’t you just hear her warning?! Didn’t you just hear her advice?! Why are you being so
stubborn about this! We should just go back to the office!”
“What the hell are you talking about? As a reporter, did your blood not boil? There’s no doubt
that we’re on the verge of a big scoop!—And you want to give up and run away with your tail
between your legs and go back to cutting up cardboard boxes until you retire?!”
“I’d rather do that than die! I’ll be more than happy to keep cutting cardboard boxes! Eventually
I can even become the head of our department! By the age of 28, I will be able to claim the ace
of the sales department and marry him and have a happy family together!”
“…Y-You’re surprisingly determined about this…”
Harumi spoke with her eyes narrowing as they climbed up the steps of the emergency passage
and made their way toward the roof of the building. Chika followed her as she responded.
“—Alright, there’s good visibility up here. This should be a good spot. All we have to do now is
wait for the curtain to fall.”
However, Harumi, who’d been keeping tabs on their surroundings, suddenly felt her jaw snap
closed.
—It was because there was someone already there.
The person already present was roughly 30 year old, stood on the edge of the rooftop and stared
through binoculars. Her hair was wrapped around her neck and her face bore an indifferent
expression. She wore a beanie on her head, covering her eyebrows and sportswear for easy
mobility.
“…Huh?”
Harumi’s eyebrows twitched suddenly.
The reason why was because, just like Harumi, it looked like she was also spying on the same
household.
Just then, as though she could feel Harumi’s gaze on her, the woman put her binoculars down
and glanced over at her.
“Who’re you?”
The woman asked, her eyebrows twitched in surprise. Just from her voice, they had a feeling that
she thought they were going to be nothing more than a thorn in her side.
“…Oh…”
Judging from her behavior, Harumi, who’d guessed her true identity from her sharp gaze and
dangerous aura, nodded confidently.
“—A colleague, I take it.”
In response to what Harumi said, the woman’s eyes narrowed.
In truth, she was an intelligence officer for DEM’s first executive department, Judy Bradburry,
who was staring intently at the two women who’d appeared on the roof.
That’s right. The two of them appeared while she was in the middle of tracking the Spirits and
stated that she was a colleague so it was impossible not to be suspicious.
She stared at their faces without saying a word in response. One woman was tall while the other
was shorter.
She certainly recognized them as the duo who’d just attempted to invade the Itsuka household
and were ultimately repelled by one of the Spirits.
Still, she said she was a colleague—perhaps they were wizards? However, Judy quickly
dismissed that thought. No one informed her that any wizards would be in the area. Still, if they
were wizards from the second executive department, it wouldn’t be impossible.
The second executive department was under the direct jurisdiction of Isaac Westcott and often
operated independently of any influence of any of the other departments—he acted much like a
wayward tyrant. Because of the proud and undisputed First Executive Ellen Mira Mathers, it was
impossible to ignore the merits of the First Executive Department, of which Isaac could claim for
himself. Therefore it was easy for them to not alert Judy beforehand. The lack of a warning,
however, made Judy frown in disgust.
It seemed that they noticed the change in Judy’s expression and so they explained:
“Ah, I’m sorry for not explaining sooner: I’m Bungetsu Harumi of <Wednesday>.”
“Ah, I’m Motohabara Chika of <Wednesday>.”
Perceiving the change in Judy’s eyes, the two women explained.
“…I’m Judy Bradburry…”
Judy slowly let her caution fall away and replied in turn to the other women.
Those names didn’t sound familiar to the Intelligence officer, but she couldn’t be certain without
confirming it herself. It was always possible that they’d changed their names and identities but
leaving that aside, they should have changed their appearance with the same kind of Realizer that
Judy wielded.
Additionally, she’d never heard of this <Wednesday> department. Was this a newly formed
unit?—Or perhaps, was it a secret code for something?
“…What the hell are you talking about? Anyway, I won’t let you or anyone else get in the way of
my work.”
“H-Hey, there’s no need to look so terrifying. We’re not here to get in your way. But you’re not
the only one looking for a big scoop. You’d better not get in our way either, got it?”
The taller woman who said her name was Harumi responded with a slightly provocative remark
while Judy snorted and replied.
“Hey, you two were the ones who tried to break into the subject’s home without any preparation
beforehand. You ended up getting kicked out before you could get anywhere, so you’re not really
in a position to talk.”
“Ah, you saw that…”
Chika blushed while Harumi slapped a hand over the younger woman’s mouth and spoke loudly.
“This is what our lives are all about. Sometimes you won’t be able to get useful information
without putting one foot into the grave.”
“Oh, so can you acquire the so-called useful information without alerting the other party?”
“Then get your act together. For us, intelligence is life. Thinking wishfully like that while
coming back empty handed is a bit presumptuous, don’t you think?”
Hearing what Harumi said, Judy frowned. She still hadn’t figured out why they were there in the
first place.
First off, she’d already cast a Territory around the roof as soon as she arrived, but even more
surprising was that there was no response when they appeared. Although it was not fully
enforced, they should have been trapped in her field the moment they stepped onto the roof. It
would have been no different to being held at knifepoint. Normally, she should have been able to
detect their presence as their own Territory pressed against hers.
—Or perhaps they didn’t carry Realizers? Such an idea crossed Judy’s mind.
If that was the case, then it would explain why they’d casually come into contact with the Spirits.
If she exposed her own Realizer, she might give herself away as a DEM wizard. It could be that
they were spies that intentionally and deliberately didn’t bring their Realizers to disguise as
ordinary civilians in order to get into contact with the Spirits. But what did they plan on
accomplishing by doing that? What kind of conversation did they have with the Spirits when
they met…?
Several doubts arose in Judy’s mind. This was natural intuition that came with being an
intelligence officer. They had to be holding something. Judy shook her head as she looked up,
and spoke provocatively.
“—You’re just bragging. I guess that’s to be expected of one of the First Executive’s
subordinates. Are you looking to become the Director’s lover like that other executive?”
As she spoke, she quickly activated her Territory set up on the roof. Because she suspected that
they would fight if angered.
The wizards from the second executive department were the especially fanatic followers of
Westcott and Ellen in DEM. For such an arrogant insult, maybe they would give themselves
away with their anger.
“Huh…”
“Executive… what executive?”
To her surprise, their reactions were very different from what she was expecting. The expressions
on their faces were closer to confusion than anger as they mumbled to each other.
At that moment, Harumi was even more confused.
Such a reaction was understandable, of course. Such an unexpected encounter with colleagues at
the scene of an ambush (she’d mentioned a name she’d never heard of, maybe she was with
foreign media?) Unexpectedly, it seemed that this reporter beat Harumi to the scoop. She could
see the scandal unfolding at the seams.
Moreover, it was more surprising that the Executive (Hideo Gondo, 52 years old) was the lover
of the Director (Kazunari Uemoto, 60 years old). There was no question that both men were very
dishonest.
“Huh, wait, the Executive and Director…? Is that right? Although I’m not going to judge other
peoples’ tastes, don’t they already have their own families?”
“Yeah… but I’ve heard that they’re in a burnout period. It looks like they’re planning to get
divorced…”
“In a world of growing loneliness, this must be the curse of maturity…”
“So in order to fill the emptiness left in their hearts, the two of them decided to enter a forbidden
relationship with each other…”
Chika and Harumi chatted rapidly with each other, occasionally letting out an “Oh!” at an
epiphany.
Judy could only stare at the pair, dumbfounded.
“…Are you two seriously not angry?”
“No, we’re not angry. It’s more unexpected than anything else…”
“I didn’t think the environment was so bad… It’s more embarrassing that such a thing hasn’t
been reported yet.”
“Y-Yeah… If this sort of news came out about the director, it would make some of the recent
gossip like urination problems and wearing wigs seem pretty insignificant, compared to that,
something like this…”
“—What?!”
She was more surprised by Harumi’s lack of a response that Judy couldn’t help but scream.
“W-Wait a minute! Really?! That happened to the director?!”
“Eh? What’s with all this fuss? It should be widespread news. It’s impossible to deny that urinary
problems are common with old age, but often those kinds of things are rather kept private. If it
got out then you’d get scolded and everyone else would make fun of you.”
“…You two, is it really okay to discuss this? Won’t it end up getting you in trouble with the
director?”
Judy spoke with some worry. Obviously, she’d heard enough bad rumors.
Just as she said that, however—
“—!”
Instantly, Judy broke out into a sweat as she narrowed her gaze and wrinkled her eyebrows. She
immediately turned her gaze in the direction of the Itsuka household.
Her expression immediately transformed from puzzled and confused to calm as she resumed
watching the Itsuka household. The rapid switch made the reporters think that she was a
professional undercover reporter straight out of a spy movie.
“…They left?”
After muttering to herself, Judy grabbed the backpack at her feet and ran past Chika and Harumi,
darting down the emergency staircase.
“Whoa! Where are you going in such a hurry?”
“…Hmm, although I don’t know for certain, it could be that Izayoi Miku has left again. How
dare she try to take the lead. We need to hurry too!”
“O-Okay!”
Chika and Harumi chased Judy down the stairs at an incredible speed.
“…Hmm…”
Judy managed to conceal herself in the alley while keeping her gaze locked on a specific
residential building at the end of it.
It seemed that the Spirits previously in the Itsuka home had just entered the building. Although it
didn’t have any noticeable features, she suspected that it belonged to <Ratatoskr>.
She wanted to investigate what kind of facility it was, but it would be dangerous if she went
deeper on her own. It would be best to just make a note of the location of this place and review it
later. Just as she was about to pull out a portable terminal in order to make a note of the location
of this facility, something interrupted her.
“S-Senpai, do you really think it’s a good idea to try entering this building?”
“Eh… It looks a little strange. Is it a secret casino or is it a membership-exclusive dating club…?
Anyway, we should take a picture of this place.”
Hearing this, Judy’s hand paused in midair. Chika and Harumi seemed to have followed her and
intended to enter the building.
“Hold it.”
Judy grabbed them by the back of their shirts and dragged them to the alley where she’d been
hiding.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!”
“…That’s my line! Do you have a death wish or something?”
Judy asked with narrowed eyes. Harumi replied while wearing a fearless smile.
“As the saying goes. You can’t catch a tiger without going into a tiger’s den. Do you really think
you can succeed in life without taking risks?”
“Well, I don’t want to die if I can avoid it…”
Chika answered bitterly.
“You’re killing the atmosphere so just shut up!”
Harumi brought her fist down on Chika’s head.
“Judy, was it? If you’re not interested then you might as well just stay there and not move. Just
watch me and let me show you my talents.”
“You…”
Judy gritted her teeth. She knew that she was being provoked.
Regardless, attempting to break into enemy facilities was an undoubtedly dangerous endeavor.
However, if she gave up here, there was no doubt that the second executive department would
claim all credit for the mission.
After contemplating the decision for a few seconds, Judy licked her lips.
“…I guess it can’t be helped. I guess we’ll have to go together…”
“Fuuu, looks like you decided quickly. Although we’re rivals here, that sort of determination is
admirable.”
Harumi whistled emotionally. Judy sighed softly as she operated her Realizer.
“—I used my Territory to temporarily block the security around the entrance. You two don’t have
Realizers, right? Whatever you do, stay as close to me as you can.”
“S-Senpai, what is she talking about all of a sudden?”
“…Don’t worry about that. Just focus on the job.”
Chika and Harumi mumbled to each other. “Let’s go.” Judy said quickly as she made her way
toward the residential looking building. The two reporters followed her in short order.
To no one’s surprise, there was a surveillance camera installed at the building’s entrance. While
temporarily blocking it using her Territory, Judy tried to open the gate’s electronic lock.
However, as soon as she started to tamper with the electronic lock using her own Realizer, she
quickly realized that the lock itself was being operated by a Realizer. If she accidentally tripped
it, she might set off the alarm. But there was no time to figure out the identification code. There
was—
“Wow, it’s really locked. How do we open it?”
“We just need to put in the correct access code. Incidentally, my lucky number today happens to
be thirteen.”
“Oh, why don’t you try that?”
Working by that logic, Harumi and Chika began to fiddle with the access screen at their own
discretion. Judy promptly hit them on their heads.
“Hey!”
“That hurt! What did you do that for!”
“That’s my line! I was already planning a way so that we could figure it out—!”
At that moment, Judy’s eyes widened.
The access screen that Chika and Harumi had been fiddling with rang and the automatic door
opened.
“Wow! It really was a lucky number!”
The two spoke briskly as they made their way into the building. Judy could only stare at their
retreating figures and swallow nervously.
—They managed to figure out the identification code? They didn’t even use a Realizer and they
managed to figure it out so quickly too?
Although she had no idea how they managed it, it seemed that they were really wizards from the
second executive department. Judy raised her guard and clenched her fists as hard as she could
before chasing after them.
As they entered the building, the first things that caught their attention were the elevators and the
doors. Judy narrowed her eyes and scanned her surroundings with her Territory. She’d confirmed
that there were only empty rooms on the other side of the doors and there were no other
noteworthy facilities on the second floor.
“…So, could it be that the main facility is actually underground?”
After mumbling to herself, Judy quickly disabled the security cameras and got onto the elevator
where she manipulated the panel to take her to the basement. As she listened to the dull hum of
the elevator, Judy finally reached the basement with Chika and Harumi in tow.
As they stepped out of the elevator, their gazes were met with a long corridor. The white walls
were highlighted by faint light and the corridor extended in three directions: right, forward, and
left.
Judy used her Territory again and was able to get a closer look at what was ahead. Fortunately, it
seemed that there were no staff or guards around.
From either side of Judy, Harumi and Chika both moved forward.
“Hmm… This place is different from what I was expecting… It’s more like something out of a
sci-fi movie than a casino, isn’t it…?”
“Honestly… It’s like a secret base that you’d see in an anime. To think that such a place actually
existed underground in Tengu City…”
As they spoke, they quickly took pictures of their surroundings with their cameras in hand.
Judy’s eyes widened in anxiety, taken aback by their recklessness.
“You shouldn’t be so reckless, you two. Don’t forget that we’re in an enemy facility. What if
you’re discovered by a wizard, or by one of the Spirits?”
Judy spoke forcefully while Harumi and Chika simply tilted their heads in confusion, “…Eh?”
“Spirit? Wizard?”
“What are those? Are they secret codes or something?”

“…Huh?”
In response to the duo’s reaction, Judy’s eyes widened even larger.
“…Just in case, I just want to confirm.”
After a few seconds of silence and reflection.
Judy looked at Harumi and Chika’s faces in turn and then spoke again.
“You realize that we’re in one of <Ratatoskr>’s facilities, right?”
“<Ratatoskr>?”
Although Harumi was a little confused by the unfamiliar word, after a moment’s reflection, she
clapped her hands in realization.
“Ah, so is this the name of the facility? The <Ratatoskr> group. I’ve heard that they’ve made
their money through unscrupulous means. This would definitely be a huge scoop that would grab
customers’ attention!”
Just as Harumi was frantically scribbling something on her notepad, Judy felt her face twitch as
well.
“…That’s not what I’m talking about. So, following that, are you two not wizards from the
second executive department of DEM?”
“Oh, what exactly is a wizard? Ah, could it be a foreign name for a journalist? Because they can
fly through the air like magic and uncover the secrets of the arrogant? In that way, reporters
might simply be a modern day wizard—Right?”
“Ahhhhh, that’s so cool—!”
“…Journalists…”
Judy’s expression grew more intense. She lowered her head and scratched her hair underneath
the beanie.
“So that’s what this is… I’ve been wondering about this for a long time, but for it to turn out like
this…”
For some reason, Judy suddenly started mumbling nonsense to herself. Noticing the change in
the situation, Harumi stared at her uneasily as she felt her body break out into a sweat.
“A-Are you okay? I-If you’re not feeling well, you should head back first…”
Almost immediately, Harumi’s words died in her throat.
It would be more accurate to say that her mouth had been forced shut. Like it was being kept shut
by an invisible hand. At the same time, she felt her entire body freeze. Try as she might, she
couldn’t so much as move much less run.
“Eh… this, what is this… Ghost press?!”
“I can’t move, Senpai…!”
In response to the worried shouts from Harumi and Chika, Judy slowly raised her head.
“…Now I understand. Now that things have reached this point, it’s because the second executive
department is usually arrogant and unreasonable. It has nothing to do with my carelessness.
Executive Mathers is the one at fault here. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Along with the sorrows from Harumi and Chika, Judy slowly raised her head.
She shifted her now dead-looking gaze as though mumbling a curse to herself. To be honest,
although they didn’t understand what she was saying, Harumi didn’t have the courage to deny it.
Her eyes were brimming with tears as her head leaned forward.
“Yes! Yes! Yes! Right, Chika!”
“Y-Y-Yes! That’s right! Mathers-san is really terrible!”
“Hmm…That’s true. But because you already know about all of this, I can’t just let you walk
away. Please allow me to take care of your memories of this day. Unfortunately, because neither
of you have Realizers, the operation may be a bit rough. But don’t worry. It won’t kill you. In the
worst case scenario, you won’t remember your own names…”
While uttering such ominous words, Judy slowly reached out to grab Harumi’s head. Although
Harumi tried desperately to get away, her body just wouldn’t cooperate and she was trapped as
Judy moved ever closer.
“Ahhhhhh!”
“S-Senpai—!”
However, in the moment before Judy’s hand could touch Harumi—
“<Gabriel>—<Rondo>!”
At that moment, there was a sound that seemed to come from thin air. Smooth music that
sounded like it came from an instrument echoed throughout the corridor—
All of a sudden, Judy’s body soon found itself pressed against the wall from an invisible
shockwave.
“Huh…?”
Judy let out a quiet breath. In an instant, the invisible power that bound Harumi and Chika had
also disappeared and the two of them were freed.
“Agh…”
“Senpai! Are you alright, Senpai!”
“E-Eh, I’m the same as always… but now it’s…”
After looking up, Harumi discovered that the source of the sound that saved them was from—
“I-Izayoi… Miku…?”
That’s right. It was the idol that Harumi and Chika had been pursuing this whole time: Izayoi
Miku.
It wasn’t just that either. Now, Miku was dressed in a beautiful dress that looked as if it was
made of light, as she played mystical piano keys. Needless to say, it was beyond any
conventional stage dress. It was like she was using magic.
“Ah—, Could it be that you know me? It’s really dangerous to be in a place like this. If you hear
a strange voice from someone like that, you should be running away instead of staying here.”
Miku spoke sweetly. From somewhere behind her, several other girls appeared.
“Miku!”
“Ah, Kotori-san!”
There was a younger girl leading the pack, Kotori, looking back and forth between Harumi and
Judy who’d been knocked unconscious. Kotori could only look on suspiciously.
“What the hell happened here?”
“That person was using a Realizer, most likely one of DEM’s wizards. As for these two, I’ve
never seen them before.”
Miku tilted her head in uncertainty as she put a finger to her chin. This inadvertently cute
movement was further proof that she was truly an idol at heart.
“Was it really a wizard from DEM? Although we’d expected for a long time that someone from
there might try to come along, we didn’t expect them to get this far in. Well, let’s get her into
custody first. We’ll have to interrogate her to see what she knows.”
Kotori sighed as she glanced at Harumi and Chika.
“—Now, who are you two? What’s your relationship with that wizard? What reason did you have
for coming into this facility? I wouldn’t recommend trying to remain silent or lying. If you do,
we have ways of getting the information we want out of you.”
Even though she looked like a junior high school student, there was no denying that she still had
an mature yet oppressive air about her that made Harumi and Chika tremble in fear.
“N-No, we’re…”
As Harumi desperately tried to think of a way out of this predicament, Chika spoke with tears in
her eyes.
“Yes, we’re so sorry. You see, we’re magazine reporters! We were looking to find some juicy
news about Izayoi Miku! We promise that we won’t say anything so please don’t kill us… Ah!”
“Hey! Chika!”
Harumi frantically covered Chika’s mouth but it was too late. Their intentions had already been
revealed to the other party.
Because Chika had been open about the reason they were there, Kotori could only stare at them
blankly before turning to Miku with a narrowed look on her face.
“…What do you think?”
“Hmm… As far as I can tell, they don’t seem to be lying. As for what they were looking for,
juicy news about me… But being stared at by professional women for so long, it’s inexplicably
exciting.”
Miku blushed as she twisted her body. Looking at her, Kotori could only sigh, “She’s the same as
always…” D i s cor d . gg /d a t e a l i ve
“Speaking of which, magazine reporters huh? I guess it makes sense, Miku’s an idol after all…”
“Hey, what’s that supposed mean—”
Hearing what Kotori said, Miku pouted as she puffed out her cheeks. However, Kotori didn’t pay
her a second thought as she continued.
“However, since you were still lurking around here. I’m sorry to tell you that as long as you
know about <Ratatoskr>, we can’t let you just walk out freely. We’ll have to erase your
memories.”
“Wait! How come the ending is the same?!”
“S-Senpai—!”
Harumi and Chika hugged each other mournfully. Then, Kotori shook her head while speaking in
a gentle and reassuring tone:
“Don’t worry. We’re not going to tamper with your other memories. Come on, the memory
processing unit is down this way—”
Before Kotori could finish, Miku suddenly tapped her shoulder. For some reason her eyes were
bright.
“Kotori-san. Kotori-san. If you could, could you leave this to me?”
“You see if I use <Gabriel>’s songs, it will cause less burden on their minds than if we used a
Realizer. Moreover, I’m also very interested about what secrets these reporters found out about
me…”
“What—”
Kotori considered the request for a moment and then gave Harumi a pitiful look.
“…Okay, fine. We should quickly check to make sure that it’ll work and be strong enough
beforehand.”
“Okay! Let’s do it!”
Miku seemed to be excited from the bottom of her heart as she walked with a characteristic
rhythm behind Harumi and Chika.
Almost immediately afterward, she grabbed the two of them from behind and dragged them
away.
“Come on! Let’s go, Reporter-sans! You’ll have to forget about all of this too! You may as well
chat with me for a while before we get to that! In fact, I already have some nice tea ready!”
“Eh? Ah, wait a minute… S-She’s so big…”
“Wait a minute. Hey?! Why is everyone looking at us with such sympathetic looks? Why are you
guys folding your arms? H-Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!”
Harumi’s cries could be heard as she was escorted out of the facility.
◇◇◇
“…Wha…”
The next morning, Harumi walked slowly through the corridor leading to the editorial
department of <Wednesday Weekly> while clutching her head in pain.
Oddly, her body felt a little fatigued. She suspected she might have drank too much yesterday…
Although she didn’t remember actually drinking any alcohol yesterday, she couldn’t think of
another explanation.
In short, it seemed that she couldn’t remember anything that happened yesterday. When she
woke up this morning, she had to confirm the day on the calendar several times before she was
convinced.
“Really… the last time I drank so much that I couldn’t remember anything… It had to have been
a few years ago…”
As she walked, she mumbled herself between moans. She’d made it to the editorial department
where she found Chika.
Much like Harumi, it seemed that Chika wore a similar expression and dragged her feet to come
to work. It looked like she’d also drank too much the previous evening.
“Ah… Good morning, Senpai…”
“Good morning… Chika. Eh, what happened to you?”
After responding with a sleepy greeting, Harumi’s eyes narrowed.
The reason was obvious. On Chika’s neck, there were faint traces of swelling, a so-called hickey.
“…I don’t know if this would work but I figured it would be better to cover it up…”
“Eh? Wow, when…”
As she spoke, Chika quickly concealed as if she’d just discovered it—then looked back at
Harumi.
“Eh, don’t you have similar marks, Senpai?”
“Eh…?”
Hearing this, Harumi pulled out a mirror from her makeup case and spotted several hickeys on
her neck.
“Wow, really… what did I do yesterday…?”
“…Eh? You don’t remember? Wasn’t it Senpai who left this on me?”
“No—although now that I think about it…”
As the atmosphere between Harumi and Chika became more delicate, they suddenly noticed their
editors from within the department calling out to them.
“Fumizuki, Habara, come here.”
“Ah… Yes—”
After replying slowly, Harumi and Chika made their way towards their editor. Perhaps they
noticed their fatigued state as he frowned in concern.
“…Are you two okay? Are you sick?”
“Ah, no… we’re not…”
Harumi smiled wryly while the editor-in-chief sighed quietly and then brought the topic back on
track.
“Anyway, were you able to finish the assignment that we gave you?”
“…Assignment?”
“Izayoi Miku. You were supposed to uncover a scandal about her. What did you discover?”
A moment passed—
Harumi and Chika’s fingers suddenly trembled slightly.
“Then… what happened?”
“N-No, it’s nothing… it’s just that… when I heard that name, I felt cold…”
“We’re so sorry editor-in-chief! But could you give a separate assignment instead…?”
The two trembled in fear as they wailed. The editor-in-chief, faced with the sudden pressure from
the mystery, could only reply with, “Okay…”
After that, the rumor mill would go on to declare that there was a secret and terrifying
organization hidden behind Izayoi Miku. It was dangerous to even try to gather any information
about her—But that’s a story for another time.
Spirit Cruising
A loud horn echoed through the air.
The seabirds perched on the shoreline, upon hearing the sound of the horn, quickly took to the
skies as they chirped loudly.
Following the birds as they flew away, what really caught an observer’s eye was a huge building
in the distance. It was a magnificent and gorgeous looking white structure with countless
windows on either side and countless chimneys on top.
But anyone looking at this building immediately noticed there was something off about it.
—Namely, the fact that it wasn’t on solid ground, instead it was floating on the ever shifting
waves.
“What…! Is this a ship?!”
Upon seeing the huge structure, Yatogami Tohka exclaimed in wonder. Her beautiful crystalline
eyes were wide with amazement and her long hair that was as dark as the night sky seemed to
share her feelings as it danced with the sea breeze.
Having said that, Tohka’s reaction was understandable. Towering in front of her was a huge ship
that seemed to radiate immense power. In fact, even Shido’s eyes were as wide as Tohka’s as he
stared at the huge ship in front of him.
<Siren Marie>. This large cruise ship was the pride and joy of Siren Cruises—This was the ship
that Itsuka Shido and the Spirits were going to take.
That’s right. Shido and the Spirits were now making their way to the port with luggage in hand
for a three-day and two-night cruise.
“Yeah… It’s really amazing. It really is like a skyscraper floating in the sea.”
Shido said in wonderment as he heard pleased laughter from behind him.
“Nyahaha! That’s a great response! It was definitely worth it to bring you here! You can praise
me now.”
A woman with red-rimmed glasses was laughing, arms crossed in approval.
Honjou Nia. She was a popular manga artist and, like Tohka, was a Spirit under <Ratatoskr>’s
protection. She also happened to be the one funding this whole trip.
That’s right. The whole reason that Shido and the others were here at this port was because Nia
won tickets for a luxury cruise at a party organized by her publishing house.
No, to be completely accurate—
“—It looks really impressive.”
“Yeah.”
Satisfied with the events that led up to now, Nia nodded gently.
Behind her was a slender girl whose red hair was tied into twin tails with black ribbons—Shido’s
little sister and the commander of <Ratatoskr>’s battleship, Itsuka Kotori.
“Because you won two tickets, I figured you’d only invite Shido to come along with you.
Fortunately, we can cover the rest of the travel expenses for everyone else with <Ratatoskr>’s
funding.”
“Really, Imouto-chan, there’s no need to be so mean. Everything turned out well, and we’re all
looking forward to this trip!”
As she spoke, Nia bent down. Her brief remark made Kotori and the other Spirits standing
behind her let out a sigh of relief.
“W-Well, regardless of the outcome, this is still a rare opportunity. I don’t want everyone to get
upset. Now, let’s go.”
“Yeah—!”
Everyone responded to Kotori as they made their way to the boarding gate of the <Siren Mary>.
◇◇◇
“This is Kitty #1. How are the preparations coming along?”
“Kitty #2 here. It’s ready.”
“Kitty #3 here. No problems here.”
“Kitty #4 here. I’m ready.”
“Alright. Let’s leave at 1600 hours today. Don’t be late.”
“Right, I know.”
“That being said, after our meticulous preparations, it’s impossible that we will fail. There isn’t
even any security aboard this ship.”
“Haha, definitely!”
“This operation has to be done carefully. We can’t afford to be careless. This is our noble
mission.”
“All for the sake of our goddess hee hee hee hee hee!”
“Hee hee hee hee hee!”
◇◇◇
“—Now then.”
After completing the boarding procedures, everyone put their luggage in their respective cabins
before assembling at the ship’s lobby.
There were several gorgeous chandeliers hung high on the ceilings and beautifully painted
murals on each of the walls. The design of the handrails for the stairs were very elegantly made,
and the entire deck floor was covered with a thick luscious carpet. Everything onboard looked
like something out of a high-end hotel. Were it not for the hull swaying gently with the waves,
everyone would have forgotten that they were at sea.
Of course, Shido and the others’ cabins were no exception.
There were six cabins aboard the ship and all of them resembled luxurious suites rather than
ordinary cruise ship cabins.
Incidentally, the way the groups were allocated to each of the cabins as such: Tohka and Mukuro,
Kotori and Origami, Yoshino and Natsumi, Kaguya and Yuzuru, Miku and Nia, and Shido would
have a separate room for himself.
Though at first, Nia said, “Eh~! But the cruise tickets I won were for me and Boy, so we should
be the ones sharing a room—! Hey, Boy, don’t you think we should sleep together tonight?”
Once she’d said that, all the other Spirits glared at her until the current groupings had been
decided.
“Anyway, everyone’s luggage has been stored, and the rooms have already been arranged, so
let’s all explore the ship however we want until dinner time.”
“Yeah, good idea… From the look of things, it looks like everyone else can’t wait to explore the
ship.”
In response to what Shido said, Kotori nodded.
Indeed, just as Kotori said, for the Spirits like Tohka and the Yamai sisters who’d boarded a ship
for the very first time, their eyes were alight with excitement.
“Umu!”
“I understand!”
“Approval. Understood.”
After hearing what Kotori said, Tohka and the others nodded in response. They all looked like
puppies who’d been given delicious snacks for following their master’s orders.
Upon seeing such a scene, Kotori grinned slightly as she exchanged a look with Shido who
likewise also smiled as she gave her instructions.
“Now then—let’s go!”
“Oh!”
In response to Shido, they all ran out.
Shido stared at them as they all dashed off and called out, “Don’t run! It’s dangerous—” The
Spirits all shook at his call, transitioning from their run into a brisk walk as best as they could.
“Well, I guess I’ll take a look around for a bit. I heard that there was a casino on board? I’ve been
wanting to try it. Could this feeling be the wheel of fate?”
“Ah, there’s a heated swimming pool here?! Natsumi-san, let’s go together!”
“Eh… I don’t want to go…”
Everyone chatted happily amongst themselves as the Spirits headed to wherever it was they
wanted to go.
After watching everyone depart, only Kotori remained behind with Shido in the lobby. She
looked over at him.
“Why don’t the two of us take a look around together.”

“Yeah. Then let’s…”
As he spoke, Shido looked down at the map in his hand.
“There’re so many places on this ship. Why don’t we go to the lounge first?”
“Okay, let’s take a look—But can you give me just a minute?”
“Huh? Is there something wrong?”
Kotori spoke casually as she put her hand in her pocket. Shido suddenly felt uneasy.
However, his unease went away almost immediately. Kotori pulled out her white ribbons from
her pocket and tied them back into her hair at a speed faster than the naked eye.
“Alright! Let’s go, Onii-chan!”
After she finished speaking, Kotori pulled on Shido’s hand. Her expression and tone were
drastically different from how she’d been acting before. She was much gentler now.
That’s right. The color of the ribbons that Kotori was wearing were different and indicated a
change in her personality. When she wore the black ribbons, she was the reliable commander.
When she wore the white ribbons, she became the age-appropriate, loving little sister.
That’s it, if she wanted to take a walk on a luxury cruise ship with Shido, this felt more
appropriate.
“Yeah, let’s go!”
“Yeah!”
Shido nodded energetically as he and Kotori went off to explore the ship.
◇◇◇
“—Behold my deadly technique! This is my nirvana, the Whirlwind Gale!”
As she yelled and made exaggerated movements, Kaguya pressed the button of the slot machine.
The first, second, and third wheels stopped in turn, each of the coin icons were lined up and the
slot machine flashed brightly and lively music played.
“Oh, awesome! Kaguya-chan.”
Seeing this, Yoshino who was sitting next to Kaguya—to be precise, her rabbit hand puppet worn
on Yoshino’s left hand <Yoshinon> clapped her small paws together.
Kaguya and the others were currently in the on-board casino. In addition to the slot machines,
they could also play blackjack, poker, even roulette; every table had a dealer at the ready.
Because it was such a big ship, there was so much to do and there was still a unique sense of
excitement in the air.
“Kaguya-san… you’re so amazing…”
Yoshino added, following Yoshinon, her eyes alight with amazement. Kaguya puffed out her
chest proudly.
“Kuku, that’s it. Yoshino, please give it it a try too—”
Before Kaguya could even finish speaking, Yoshino’s slot machine indicated that she’d won the
jackpot as the slot machine rang more loudly than before.
“Wow! I won…”
“Wow~! It’s too much—!”
“…”
Kaguya stared at Yoshino’s machine and then at her own, clenching her fists in frustration.
…Well, it’s better to have more chips than what you started with. Kaguya turned around and
looked to her right.
Over there—
“…This is cruel… It’s absolutely cruel… Ah, ah, ah, ah… Money… my money was completely
consumed…”
Nia turned the switch of the slot machine listlessly.
And just ten minutes before, she’d said, “Eh? Are both Kaguyan and Yosshi playing on the slot
machines for the first time? I guess it can’t be helped—! Let the experienced Onee-san teach
you~!” The deity who’d said these words was now in a tragic situation that was completely
opposite of the self-confident person from before.
Kaguya sighed helplessly and finally Nia finally gave up, slumping against the slot machine.
“N-Nia…?”
“Ahhhhh!”
Kaguya asked in concern, but Nia suddenly bounced up like a spring.

“Sure enough, this slot machine must be malfunctioning! That’s why you don’t gamble with
machines! The true essence of gambling is a game with the dealer! Come on, let’s go play
roulette!”
With that said, Nia purchased more chips and made her way to the roulette table. Noticing this,
Kaguya and Yoshino followed her to the same table.
“Just now, I was playing for fun. From now on, it’s time to get serious. Will it lead to victory or
defeat? Roulettes are the hallmark of a casino. It’s a real battlefield between the dealer and the
gambler and it doesn’t just depend on luck. If you don’t play skillfully and lack keen intuition, it
will lead to a path to hell. Hahaha… Kaguyan and Yosshi, do you think you can survive this…?”
After speaking, Nia looked at the two of them provocatively and smiled confidently.
Only a few minutes later.
“Black, 15.”
“All… in.”
“Wow, you’re really bad at this. It’s Red 32.”
“WHYYYYYYYYY?!”
Nia’s sorrow could be heard all throughout the casino.
Yoshino had a stack of chips that was significantly more than what she’d started with.
Kaguya had the same number of chips that she’d started with piled up next to her.
Nia had no chips left.
“W-Why did it have to end like this…?”
“…No, I really have to ask, Nia. Why have you only been betting on a single number since we
started? You bet so stupidly…”
“I’m gambling to turn this around?! What’s wrong with wanting to be cool?!”
“Where did you leave your experience and intuition?!”
Kaguya shouted helplessly while Nia stumbled to her feet and stood behind Yoshino.
“Yeah~…you seem to be really lucky, Yoshi—No, Yoshino-sama…”
“Y-Yoshino-sama…?”
“Ah, looks like Nia’s just ignoring it now.”
Yoshino responded in confusion while <Yoshinon> responded blankly. But Nia didn’t seem to
care as she rubbed Yoshino’s shoulders with a charming smile.
“So do you think that you could lend poor little me a few chips…? I’m serious! I will definitely
win next round! As long as I have the capital, I will definitely win! I will even double it for you!
How about it? You should definitely invest in my dream…”
“In the end, you end up using such a bold-faced lie! Don’t let her fool you, Yoshino! This person
is clearly hopeless!”
“No, she’s not… You don’t need to ask, please feel free to use it if you’d like.”
“Really?! Yay~! I really love you so much. Sure enough, there’s no way I could do it without
Yosshi…”
“Yoshino—!”
Kaguya yelled in sorrow but knew she couldn’t stop Yoshino. Panting heavily, Nia took the chips
from Yoshino’s hands.
“—Now then, dealer! Let’s play again! I’m getting my chips back!”
Nia, who clearly hadn’t learned her lesson, put all the chips she’d gotten from Yoshino on Black
22 this time. The dealer was wearing an uncertain expression as well.
“Are you sure about this?”
“Naturally! The protagonist has to be pushed to the edge in order to find glory! I believe in the
bargaining chip of our friendship.”
For some reason, Nia clenched her fists confidently. Her eyes flashed red much like a protagonist
from manga… it made everyone want to yell in protest. Yoshino simply smiled bitterly while
Kaguya could feel sweat trickling down her face.
“If that’s the case, then I will begin.”
Then the dealer put the ball down.
“……………………………………………what.”
Nia went pale.
Perhaps it was destiny but it looks like Nia missed again.

“Ah… really…”
“A-Are you alright, Nia-san?”
However, despite this result, the casino was full of noise.
The reason why was obvious: with the few chips that Nia had left, Yoshino managed to hit
another 36x odds roulette.
Yoshino had won 10 consecutive victories since she started playing roulette. This was so-called
astronomical fortune.
“…G-Guest-san, I’m really sorry, but could we check your rabbit?”
This was probably because this situation was too abnormal. The female dealer in the back spoke
to Yoshino.
Well, Yoshino was obviously not the kind of girl who would rely on improper methods but from
the dealer’s perspective, they needed to investigate the matter thoroughly.
“E-Eh? Could it be that you suspect <Yoshinon> of cheating? That’s really rude. Well, forget it.
Isn’t this just proof that Yoshino is really lucky? Hurry up and prove that she’s innocent.”
“Y-Yes…”
Yoshino nodded in response to what <Yoshinon> said. The dealer tilted her head doubtfully as
she watched the conversation, but in the end she stretched out her hand to Yoshino without a
second thought.
“I don’t mean to be rude…”
After she finished speaking, the dealer took <Yoshinon> from Yoshino and took a peak at the
inside of <Yoshinon>.
“What.”
“What.”
Watching this scene unfold before them, Kaguya and Nia’s eyes widened at the same time.
No, in fact, they both understood what the dealer was thinking. The rabbit doll on the girl who
managed to win roulette 10 consecutive times was indeed unusual.
However, taking <Yoshinon> from Yoshino meant—
“Whoa—!”
Tears appeared in Yoshino’s eyes as Kaguya and Nia quickly snatched <Yoshinon> back and put
her back on Yoshino’s hand.
◇◇◇
“—Wow!”
As Tohka pushed the heavy door open, the dazzling sunlight and the fragrance of the sea breeze
wafted around her.
Tohka decided to come to the main deck of the huge cruise ship. In front of the cruise ship
heading further to sea and before her, an endless horizon stretched out around her. The sea
gleamed in the sunlight.
Leaning over the handrails and looking down, she could see the sea water rushing along the sides
of the ship along with the waves. Although it didn’t feel like she was moving, it seemed that the
cruise ship was moving at an impressive speed.
“Exclamation. This really is a superb view.”
“Mun. The scenery here is really pretty.”
Just as Tohka was looking around on the deck, she could hear voices coming from behind her.
Turning around, she spotted two girls standing behind her: one was a girl with a listless gaze and
a girl with her long blonde hair tied into three braids around her shoulders.
It was Yamai Yuzuru and Hoshimiya Mukuro. Both of them were Spirits just like Tohka. It
seemed that they also came to the main deck to take a look at the scenery.
“Oh! Yuzuru! Mukuro! You came here too!”
“Acknowledgement. Because such an opportunity is rare. I wanted to find a place with a good
view to use as a background to take a commemorative photo. If possible, would you two also
want to be in it?”
“Mun. That is a good idea. Please include Muku in your photo.”
“Umu! I want to be in it too!”
Mukuro and Tohka nodded. Yuzuru nodded exaggeratedly as she pulled out her mobile phone
and an inexplicable stick from her bag.
“Muuu? Yuzuru, what’s with this stick?”

“Notice. This is a secret weapon for taking commemorative photos—a so-called selfie stick.”
“Selfie stick… is that what it’s called? With that sort of name, it sounds delicious…”
Tohka tilted her head while crossing her arms. Although, her mind immediately went to
skewered, grilled, or fried chicken on skewers based on the name. However, there wasn’t
anything skewered on the metal rod that Yuzuru was holding.
“Surprised. I don’t really understand what Tohka is talking about… Anyway, please look this
way.”
Yuzuru placed her phone on the front of the stick in her hand and then lifted the stick smoothly.
“Explanation. Like this, I can press the button on the handle to press the camera’s shutter. In this
way, even if you can’t rely on anyone else, you can take a picture that looks perfectly natural.”
Once Yuzuru finished speaking, the phone’s shutter was pressed with a click. Yuzuru pulled the
stick back to its original length and checked her phone to confirm that the photo had been taken.
“Satisfied. It’s a good picture. I’ll share it with Tohka and Mukuro in a moment—”
Partway through her sentence, Yuzuru stopped speaking and suddenly turned her head to look
behind her
“Muu? What’s wrong, Yuzuru?”
“…Surprised. Just a moment ago, I thought I heard a strange laughter coming from behind
me…”
Yuzuru looked around skeptically. Tohka copied her and also looked around, but there were no
other passengers on the deck.
“Muu, what kind of laughter was it?”
“Reflection. It sounded like… “heheheheh”.”
“Indeed, I think I heard such laughter somewhere else…”
“Sigh. Well, let’s forget about it. It must be my imagination or an evil spirit, Kaguya, who
noticed that Yuzuru and her party were playing here.”
After that, Yuzuru removed her phone from the stick and aimed the camera at Tohka and Mukuro
again.
“Suggestion. A rare location shoot. Actually, there’s another photo that I want to take. Could you
two cooperate with me?”
“A picture that you want to take…? What kind of picture is it?”
“Explanation. First, please stand in front of the deck. Originally, I wanted to shoot from the bow,
but it seems that it’s impossible to go there because of safety issues, so we’ll just shoot here.”
“Mun… you want Muku to stand here?”
Mukuro obeyed Yuzuru’s instructions as she stood in front of the deck. Tohka followed suit as
she stood behind Mukuro.
“Instruction. Mukuro please spread out your arms and Tohka, hug Mukuro from behind.”
“Spread out Muku’s arms… is this right?”
“Then I hug Mukuro from behind… like this?”
“Sigh. Very good.”
After the two posed as instructed, Yuzuru began to press the shutter continuously in excitement.
It was at that moment, as if in line with this scene, there was a strong gust of wind and the three
braids wrapped around Mukuro’s shoulders flared back along with Tohka’s long dark hair as it
drifted in the wind. At that moment, the sound of Yuzuru’s shutter seemed to click quickly.
“Mun… Yuzuru, so what kind of pose is this? Is there a special meaning behind it?”
Mukuro asked. Yuzuru nodded as she explained.
“Commentary. It’s from a scene of an old movie. I’ve watched it with Kaguya before, and I have
always been particularly fond of this scene.”
“So that’s what it’s from. What kind of movie was it?”
“Answer. It’s a movie about a huge cruise ship sinking.”
“…Eh?!”
After hearing what Yuzuru, Tohka and Mukuro’s postures suddenly collapsed.
“Don’t make us pose with such ominous postures!”
“So that’s what will happen! What if this causes the ship to sink?!”
The two of them shouted until they were blue in the face but Yuzuru only laughed happily.
“Excuse. Don’t worry. This pose didn’t cause a shipwreck itself. The ship in that movie sank
because it hit a huge iceberg. There are no icebergs in this area, right? As long as no one made
Yoshino cry—”
As soon as Yuzuru finished speaking, the temperature around them suddenly dropped drastically,
and there was a huge block of ice forming on the sea in front of the cruise ship.
“Wh-What…?! T-That’s—”
“Trembling. Is that an iceberg?!”
“Muu, did the iceberg suddenly appear like this?”
Faced with such an unexpected situation, Tohka and the others leaned out from the handrail on
the deck and shouted loudly.
Has the cruise ship’s captain noticed this yet? No, even if he did notice, it would be almost
impossible to avoid the iceberg completely. Tohka took a few moments to assess the situation
and then shouted once more.
“Mukuro! Yuzuru!”
“Mun…!”
“Echoing. You can rely on Yuzuru and her party to take care of this.”
After responding to Tohka’s call, Mukuro and Yuzuru began to fill their bodies with Spirit power.
◇◇◇
“…How did things end up like this…”
Natsumi, who was dressed in a swimsuit, hugged her knees and muttered to herself desperately.
The place where Natsumi was at now was the corner of a heated swimming pool at the top of the
ship. Even though it was still winter, the sun was dazzling.
Through the glass-covered ceiling, the fluttering pool water’s surface shone brightly. In the
surroundings, the passengers who put on swimsuits either played in the swimming pool or laid
on the beach chairs, enjoying themselves.
Of course, Natsumi would never come to such a place on her own. After all, this environment
was better suited to attractive people. This place was filled with colorful flowers in full bloom,
unlike herself. This was not the place for girls who were like the mushrooms that grew in the
corners and would rather stay in darkness.
The reason why Natsumi was here to begin was quite simple. It’s because—
“—Yahoo?!”
Natsumi wanted to disappear as quickly as possible. Just when she was about to hide behind the
wall, a sharp voice could be heard from the other side of the pool.
The other passengers in the swimming pool looked over in that direction curiously.
Over there, there was a flower that was even cuter compared to the brightest of flowers.
That’s right. Miku, who’d decided to wear quite a bold swimsuit, was staring right at Natsumi.
“Natsumi—san! Your swimsuit—*Puff. Puff. Puff. Puff. Puff.* It suits you perfectly—! Eh?!
Are you a fairy?! Are you an angel?! Did I somehow arrive at heaven and not realize it—?!”
Miku walked toward Natsumi, completely oblivious to the attention from the other passengers.
The puffing was her voice as she jumped into the pool. It was probably because there was a pool
separating Miku from Natsumi and she wanted the shortest possible route. Even though Miku
wasn’t very good at swimming, her swimming style just now was just like a flying fish.
“Hey…! What are you doing… You shouldn’t shout so loudly. You’re a celebrity you know…”
“Eh?! I don’t care about that.”

“But I care a lot…! Won’t even someone like me be noticed if you are so dazzling? Can you just
stay away from me…?”
“Ah, Natsumi-san has such a cruel heart…”
With that, Miku simply poked Natsumi’s arms with her hands. Natsumi sighed melancholically.
That’s right. Miku dragged Natsumi to this pool by force. Of course, Natsumi tried to resist, but
being stripped of her clothes and being left with nothing but a swimsuit, Natsumi was forced to
wear it.
Then, Miku clapped her hands as though she’d come up with an idea and pulled out a small
bottle from the bag she’d brought along with her.
“Ah, by the way, Natsumi-san! Can you please help me apply sunscreen?”
“Eh… why?”
“That’s because tanning is the enemy of skin! I can’t be careless just because it’s not summer,
right? I heard that the sun’s ultraviolet rays on a cloudy day are stronger.”
“No, that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about why do I have to do it? You should do
this sort of thing yourself.”
“There are some places I can’t reach. Well, it doesn’t matter, does it?”
Natsumi finished speaking with her eyes narrowed. Miku twisted her body exaggeratedly, but
then, as though she’d come up with another idea, Miku’s face lit up once more.
“—Ah! Then why don’t you let me show you! As a demonstration, let me apply sunscreen to
Natsumi-san! Then you’ll know how to do it! I’m a genius! I should be awarded with a Nobel
Prize!”
“…Eh?”
Natsumi was dumbfounded when she heard Miku’s suggestion. It might have been because she
couldn’t catch everything that she said so quickly or she was refusing to understand it in the first
place.
But Miku didn’t care about that. She applied the sunscreen onto her hands, rubbing them evenly,
all while wearing a scary smile as she giggled, “Ehehehe…”
“Come on, Natsumi-san. Please lie down here.”
“AAAAAAAAHHHHHH—!”
Natsumi finally understood the situation and screamed as she fled from the spot.
“Ah, Natsumi-san! Wait, if you run by the pool…!”
While Miku was speaking seriously, hands outstretched to chase after Natsumi. Natsumi held her
breath and quickly ran around the pool.
However, the poolside was very slippery. After a few laps around the pool, Natsumi suddenly
slipped and lost her balance.
“W-Whoa!”
“Ah! Be careful!”
Even as she spread her arms out in a panic in an attempt to regain her balance, it was too late.
Natsumi staggered forward.
However—the pain she was expecting did not come. Natsumi soon found herself buried in the
chest of the person standing there.
“—Are you okay?”
“That hurt… Eh? Origami?”
Natsumi touched her forehead and looked up, calling out the name of the person standing in front
of her. That’s right, the person supporting Natsumi was the fellow Spirit, Tobiichi Origami,
herself. It seemed that she had also decided to come to the pool much like Natsumi.
“T-thank you… you saved me.”
“It’s fine. Nevertheless, are you okay? You looked quite panicked.”
“…! Y-yes! Save me, Origami! Think of a solution to deal with that pervert!”
Natsumi snapped as she pointed at Miku. In response, Miku puffed up her cheeks in
dissatisfaction.
“Really, that’s so mean. I just wanted to touch Natsumi-san all over… Ah, wait. I just wanted to
help Natsumi-san apply her sunscreen.”
“Didn’t you just reveal your true intentions just now?!”
Natsumi shouted mournfully while Origami nodded slightly.
“I understand the situation—Natsumi.”

“Huh…? W-What?”
“In exchange for eliminating Miku, I want you to transform into Shido and then I will apply
sunscreen to you.”
“Ah! That’s not fair! Let’s all happily apply sunscreen to each other, together!”
“Why do I always have to deal with these kinds of things?!”
At that moment—
Just when Natsumi couldn’t help but scream.
There was a loud grinding noise… and following that, the hull tilted sharply.
“…!”
“AAAAAHHHHH! What the hell is going on?!”
In the face of the unexpected turn of events, Origami crouched down while rechecking her
surroundings. Miku could only let out a mournful cry. Natsumi squatted on the ground while
clutching her head.
For a moment, she thought that it was an earthquake or something but now that she thought
about it, they were at sea. What happened? Was there a collision with another ship? An undersea
volcanic eruption? Or were they being attacked by pirates?
She’d briefly considered that they might have hit an iceberg but immediately dismissed it. After
all, there couldn’t be such a thing here.
Various possibilities came to mind and were promptly dismissed. But there was still no answer in
sight.
The entire time, the ship continued to shake violently and the shifting became harsher and more
vicious.
The passengers in the pool slid out and were sent careening toward the wall. The glass-covered
ceiling shattered and glass shards fell all around them.
“A-AH!”
“Whoa!”
“Rgh…”
Seeing this, Natsumi couldn’t help but raise her hands. She felt the sense of her sealed Spirit
Power flowing back into her body through the path. In the next moment, the swimming pool was
suddenly bathed by a bright light.
“Just a little… No one’s hurt?”
“Ah… what’s with this wall? How could it be so soft…?”
“The glass too… it feels like rubber to the touch. It doesn’t hurt at all, even if I get pricked… Is
this some sort of new material?”
The passengers in the swimming pool felt odd when they hit the wall and were struck by the
falling glass shards.
“What…”
It seemed that she managed to pull it off just in time. Natsumi let out a sigh of relief.
That’s right. Natsumi activated the power of her Angel <Haniel> in an instant, transforming
everything around them into soft materials.
After taking a look around at their surroundings, Origami and Miku seemed to have realized
what Natsumi had done. Origami flashed a thumbs up as though to say “Nice job” while Miku
blew her a kiss.
“…”
Natsumi casually waved her hand in response and then let out a second sigh.
Soon afterward, the ship’s shaking gradually slowed and their surroundings slowly returned to
normal. Anyway, it seems the incident had been resolved… At least, they could think that for
now. No one knew what happened, but there was no denying that the captain would provide a
report before long.
However, at that moment, Natsumi frowned suspiciously.
The reason was simple. Because from the direction of the entrance to the swimming pool, there
were rattling footsteps and a sharp whine.
◇◇◇
“A-Are you okay, Kotori? That was a bit loud just now.”
Shido and Kotori had been sitting in one of the cabins for a while. He put the cup and saucer that
he’d been holding onto the table and looked at Kotori who was seated across from him.
“Oh… it’s nothing. But could it be… terrorists?”
Kotori, who was also holding tableware like Shido, tilted her head in confusion. Faced with
Kotori’s doubts, Shido could only smile wryly.
“Somehow, I doubt that… Ah, I spilled the black tea I’d prepared.”
Shido looked down at the stained tablecloth stained with black tea and couldn’t help but sigh in
regret. Although he knew that this wasn’t his fault, both the black tea and tablecloth were very
high-quality items. That at least made Shido feel guilty.
At least the tableware wasn’t broken. Shido glanced around at the other passengers who had
eventually calmed down, then turned to look at Kotori.
“This lounge was shaking quite a lot so maybe it was worse at the top. Origami said that she was
going to the pool. We should probably take a look, right?”
“Well, I don’t think she would be in any trouble… but just to be on the safe side, let’s check it
out.”
Shido and Kotori nodded to each other and stood up at the same time.
At that moment—
“…Huh?”
Suddenly, Shido couldn’t help but frown once more as he felt that someone had broken into the
lounge.
Now that the lounge had finally become stable, he’d finally noticed ten people that hadn’t been
there before that had arrived. His ears were soon filled with screams once more.
“W-What’s wrong? That…”
Shido stared in confusion as he faced the group of people who’d suddenly rushed into the
lounge.
His surprise was understandable: because the way these people were dressed was very strange.
He noticed the group holding automatic rifles, wearing hoods that exposed only their eyes and
dressed in all black. It made sense… if they were dressed like this, then their intentions were
clear, it wasn’t hard to figure out what they were doing.
What stood out most, however, was that they all wore a clock-shaped eye-patch over their left
eye, plus a headband with cat ears on their heads. These add-ons made it a bit more confusing to
figure out what they were trying to do.
“…What the hell?”
Just as Shido was recovering from the shock of what just happened, the person he figured was
their leader stepped forward and shouted.
“—Don’t move! This ship is now under the control of <Clock Cat>! If you don’t follow our
orders, we can’t be held responsible for your safety or survival! Hehehehehe!”
“Hehehehehehe!”
“Hehehehehehe!”
As if to echo the leader’s sentiments, the subordinates kept repeating their distinctive slogan.
Faced with what he’d been told, Shido’s face became increasingly confused.
After listening to what the newcomers said, the passengers in the lounge began to clamor.
“Ahahahahahahaha?! What’s with those ears?!”
“W-What is this? Is this a prank? And those ears, what the hell…?”
“This… are you joking? This isn’t a movie…! Also, what’s with those ears…?”
“…” This is not your work. Pleas e do not take m
ine, with credit or otherwise.Thanks.
The figure stared around at the passengers talking amongst themselves and raised the automatic
rifle to the ceiling and pulled the trigger. Bam! With this terrifying sound, glass shards from the
chandelier fell to the ground like drops of rain.
“You are not allowed to speak without my permission. You are now offerings to the goddess!”
“…Huh.”
After hearing what the figure said, all of the passengers fell silent. The figure stared around again
and nodded in satisfaction and continued.
“I repeat, we are <Clock Cat>. The Knights of the Goddess of Darkness! Additionally, the name
<Clock Cat> means both clock and black cat! Hehehehehe!”
“Hehehehehehe!”
“Hehehehehehe!”
One after the other, the other figures cackled loudly.
“…I… I didn’t think I would actually be right, but sure enough…”
After hearing what the figures said, Kotori’s expression hardened and her brows furrowed.
—Upon closer inspection, somehow, her white ribbons had already been changed to black.
“Kotori, do you have any idea who those people might be?”
Shido asked quietly so that the figures couldn’t hear him. Kotori nodded in response as sweat
trickled down his forehead.
“I believe that… these people are Spirit Believers.”
“Spirit… Believers?”
Shido tilted his head in confusion at the description as Kotori continued to explain:
“As you know, since the Spirits are the ones behind the spatial quakes, news about the Spirits’
existence has been hidden from the public… However, there are no perfect walls in the world.
It’s possible that lazy government officials or military-related personnel leaked the news, or
someone accidentally encountered one of the Spirits. Of course, it would be ridiculous to just tell
everyone: they would just think of them as urban legends or unknown creatures. But for those
who believe in the supernatural, they might confuse the Spirits with angels and demons, right? If
that was the case, then it’s only a matter of time before organizations like cults appear. Things
will only get worse if they find out that they actually exist.”
Kotori shrugged once she finished.
“After they find out that these supernatural beings aren’t just imaginary things, they’ll no doubt
come up with some dangerous line of thinking. This group of people, who ordinarily just be a
bunch of terrorists, have found excuses for their actions and have begun to worship these
supernatural beings like Gods… at least, that’s what I think.”
“I-Is that really the case…? But come to think of it, those outfits are…”
Shido stared at the figures’ clothing. Kotori also nodded faintly.
“…Yeah, probably. Look, there are a lot of people, even if a spatial quake alarm isn’t triggered,
certain Spirits can appear in the streets silently, so really, this Spirit being spotted was
inevitable.”
“What…”
Shido put a hand to his forehead, his expression turning into one that resembled Kotori’s. So
that’s it, this was a situation caused by people witnessing stuff they shouldn’t have.
While Shido and Kotori were quietly discussing the situation, the leader of <Clock Cat> raised
their voice.
“—In other words! This is not death! It is salvation guiding you to a new and better life! This is a
blessing! Rejoice! You will become one with our goddess! You martyrs will be reborn as cats in
the next life! Enjoy the caress of the goddess! I want to be caressed by the goddess! The life of a
cat is amazing! Being human is too exhausting!”
“Exhausting!”
“Exhausting!”
However, it seemed like the second half of the proclamation was expressing a personal desire,
but that speech only served to worsen the expressions on the passengers’ faces… Well, it was to
be expected after all, a group of people armed with guns were preaching complete nonsense. Of
course, they would be terrified rather than laughing.
“Ah… there’s something I want to say.”
At that moment, Kotori raised her hand as if to interrupt the figure.
The slender person standing next to the apparent leader glared at Kotori viciously.
“Did you not just hear what our leader has said? No one is permitted to speak without
permission.”
“I heard what your leader said. That’s why I’m now asking for your permission to speak.”
“You—!”
“—Just wait a moment. It’s fine. Her disciplined attitude is truly admirable. Ah, this child is a bit
like a cat. The goddess is always quite fond of cats.”
“Really…?”
“Cat ears would suit her quite nicely…”
The leader silenced the member as they finished. The leader then made their way straight toward
Kotori. Kotori, on her end, could feel a nervous sweat trickle down her forehead.
“So, what did you want to say, you cute little cat?”
“…Ahaha, it’s nothing very important. Just for the sake of clarity, I just wanted to make sure that
this isn’t part of the ship’s entertainment activities or disaster prevention protocols, right?”
“Of course not.”
“So in other words… is this a real ship hijacking?”
“I wouldn’t have called it a hijacking, but in the most basic sense, you’re functionally correct.”
“Ah—…”
After hearing the leader’s responses, Kotori crossed her arms and her expression became
increasingly indignant. Her eyebrows furrowed more deeply and she was starting to sweat more
profusely.
“So that’s how it is… why did you pick this boat in particular to hijack…?”
Depending on the perspective, some people would shudder in fear when faced with a sudden
threat such as this—However, despite the uncertain expression on Kotori’s face, one with mixed
confusion and pity, she was still calm.
Kotori sighed deeply as she cast a withering look at the figure before her.
“…Might as well get the troublesome bit out of the way first. If you don’t want to get hurt, then
just put down your weapons and surrender.”
“What did you say?”
Faced with Kotori’s provocative response, the figure’s originally gentle expression twisted.
“What the hell are you talking about? Who could possibly stand against us?”
“Who… Well, just from what you’ve said—your goddess?”
“…What?”
After Kotori finished speaking, the leader’s expression turned to one of surprise and a faint
frown could be seen beneath the mask.
In the moment that followed, the walkie-talkie pinned to their sides beeped.
“…What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
The leader of the group put the walkie-talkie to their mouth with their hand as they spoke.
Then, terrible gunshots and screams could be heard from the other end of the walkie-talkie.
“—Please respond! Please respond! All of Unit B has been destroyed! Repeat, all of Unit B has
been destroyed!”
“What…?”
A surprised expression appeared on what could be seen of the leader’s face. As if to amplify the
grief of the current situation, more voices could be heard from the walkie-talkie and they
sounded just as miserable.
“This is Unit C! Please provide support! Our guns don’t work! What the hell happened?!”
“My gun! My gun was snapped into two pieces like a baguette! Witch! There’s a witch on this
ship!”
“It’s… It’s so cold… I can’t move my arms or legs… I feel… so sleepy…”
“—Ah, my comrade. A Goddess or whoever else doesn’t matter anymore. Compared to her, why
don’t we just sing together. This winter, the hottest new song by Miku-sama, “Beautiful Moon”,
is on sale now.”
…And so on and so forth, roars, screams and what seemed like the sound of a fan were
disorderly mixed through the walkie-talkie. Although it wasn’t clear the specific expressions of
the figures as their faces were covered, it was safe to say that they were confused.
“W-What…?! What happened?!”
Seeing the situation unfold, Kotori sighed.
“See, I warned you…”
“What…”
Just from the content of the calls, it was immediately clear what had happened. Shido and
Kotori’s expressions matched as they scratched their cheeks awkwardly.
“Grr…!”
As if realizing something from Kotori’s expression, the leader fixed an intense glare on her face.
“What the hell happened?! What the hell is on this ship! Tell me right now! Don’t tell me—”
Almost immediately afterward, the leader raised the automatic rifle in their hand. With a loud
‘bang,’ the door to the lounge was blown open.
Then, Tohka who’d been dragging a few masked people appeared in front of them. Yuzuru and
Mukuro were close behind as they walked in with loud steps.
“Wha…?!”
After spotting the girls, the figures gasped in amazement. Tohka and the others waved to Shido
without a second thought.
“Oh! Shido! Kotori! So this is where you were! Who are these guys? I saw them shooting at
some others before, so I decided to take care of them…”
“Barbaric. This happened the last time we went out to sea.”
“Mun… Muku knocked out these guys to start.”
“Ehehe…”
Shido waved back at them, a wry smile on his face.
The more he thought about it, the more the outcome made sense: there were ten Spirits on board
this ship—It was too much to expect that they would just let the gunmen go.
While the figures were still stunned, the door next to the entrance was also blown open. This
time, it was Kaguya, Yoshino, and Nia who’d dragged more people in. Their masks were
removed with casino chips stuffed into their mouths and their arms and legs frozen solid.
“Well, it looks like there are still plenty of stupid people in the world who would act so
barbarically in front of us.”
“Um… I-Is there any rope or something we can use? Wouldn’t it be too dangerous to keep them
frozen in ice…?”
“Drink up! I didn’t expect to encounter a ship hijacking! If I continue to bet on the roulette then
Nia will achieve a complete reversal! Today is surely my lucky day no matter what happens!”
Nia, who seemed delighted, spoke as she ran her fingers through her hair.
Almost immediately afterward, from another entrance, another group of people wearing cat ears
appeared.
At first glance, this group of people looked like accomplices to <Clock Cat> who’d occupied the
lounge… but they looked a little different…
They marched forward in neat and uniform steps. When they entered the lounge, they spread out
to either end of the lounge with a sweeping sound and saluted the crowd with a standard military
salute.
Immediately afterward, as though everyone was welcoming her to the stage, Miku, who was
dressed in a bathing suit, waved her hands as she walked in. Origami and Natsumi followed her a
moment later.
“Ah, Darling! I’m so happy to see that you’re okay! Everyone else thinks so too, right?”
“Yes! Miku-sama!”
The figures shouted in unison in response to Miku’s question. It seemed that this group of people
were being controlled by Miku’s Angel <Gabriel>.
Faced with this unusual situation, the hijackers already in the lounge couldn’t believe what they
were seeing.
“W-What the hell?! This… what happened?!”
The leader of the group shouted in embarrassment.
Having said that, this shouldn’t have been possible. They thought that they had total control of
the entire ship, but they had no idea when their comrades were either knocked out or
brainwashed. Of course, they weren’t going to get any sympathy for what they’d done, but they
did receive a measure of pity for what happened to them.
However, despite seeing that their comrades were in a hopeless situation, the leader was still
determined. They pulled out a remote-control of some sort from their pocket and shouted loudly:
“Grr… I didn’t expect to have to resort to using bombs. Even though the magic circle and the
altar aren’t finished yet… But it can’t be helped, there is no way the goddess would forgive us
otherwise. If we offer enough people as sacrifices, our goddess will surely be happy.”
“Wha—”
“B-Bomb?!”
“Everyone! Get down!”
After hearing what the leader said, Shido and the others couldn’t help but tremble.
Yes, they couldn’t afford to take this lightly. Their purpose wasn’t to use the passengers as
bargaining chips against the government nor as ransom, but instead to offer them as sacrifices for
their goddess. If they weren’t worried for their own lives, it was entirely possible for them to
resort to a method like this to kill everyone.
“Everyone, fight until you can’t fight anymore! The next time we meet, we will all be kittens!
Hehehehe!”
Accompanied by loud laughter, the leader pressed the button on the remote control without a
moment’s hesitation.
However…
“…Huh?”
After a moment, the explosion they were expecting did not occur. After pressing the button a few
more times, the leader turned to look at one of their accomplices.
“…Hey, you did remember to install the bomb, right?”
“Y-Yes. I put it in the swimming pool above the cabin…”
“…Eh…”
Natsumi made the faintest of sounds. No one knew why but Natsumi looked away in
embarrassment while mumbling something under her breath.
“…Ah—should I not have used that bomb for cushioning material…?”
“What the hell is going on?!”
After hearing what Natsumi said, the leader of the group began to roar… Honestly, Shido didn’t
really understand what Natsumi even meant.
But as it seemed, it was thanks to Natsumi that they were able to thwart the hijacker’s plans. The
leader threw the remote control to the ground and shouted with a finger pointed at Shido.
“Now, my comrades, send this kid to—!”
The leader didn’t get a chance to finish speaking because at that moment, Kaguya, Yuzuru, and
Origami rushed over from different directions and quickly subdued the remaining cat-eared
figures without a second thought.
“Wow…?!”
“W-What’s going on…”
“Instantly crushed by the force of the wind—huh?!”

The figures who’d been previously screaming were now motionless. The leader who was still
ignorant of what had happened continued to roar.
“Just… What a joke! What kind of place… is this?!”
The leader stared around, eyes wide as they pointed the muzzle of their rifle at Kotori.
“Che…”
“…! Kotori—!”
Shido jumped from the ground and with a burst of speed, dove in front of Kotori.
Immediately afterward, and with the click of the automatic rifle’s trigger, bullets buffeted Shido’s
body in quick succession.
“What…!”
“Shido?!”
“Wha… Shido—!”
The surrounding Spirits let out a worried cry.
However, Shido, who’d managed to endure the severe pain, managed to force his trembling body
to stand up once more.
Then, just as the flames from <Camael> licked the wounds from the gunshot, Shido slowly
turned to face the group’s leader.
“You… How dare you do this. What would you do if Kotori who’d gotten shot…?”
“Eh…?!”
Faced with Shido who was engulfed in fire, the leader screamed in fear and then dove out the
lounge window and fled outside.
“Grr…!”
“You idiot! What did you think you were doing! You’re a complete mess again…!”
Shido pressed a hand to his chest and groaned in pain. Seeing this situation, Kotori couldn’t help
but let out a worried cry as she put an arm around Shido’s shoulder.
The other Spirits were quick to reach Shido’s side.

However, Shido raised his head weakly and said, “I’m fine…! Go after that guy first!”
◇◇◇
—What the hell happened? What the hell! What the hell…!”
With cold sweat trickling down their face, the captain of <Clock Cat> rushed to the rear deck of
the ship.
Their arms and legs were numb. Breathing was difficult. Their heart was hammering loudly in
their chest and they could feel something flying out their throat.
They didn’t understand. They didn’t understand. They didn’t understand.
Obviously, they’d prepared everything in advance. They thought they had more than enough
people and equipment. It should have been easy to take control of a cruise ship this size filled
with tourists and weak guards who’d gotten lazy from leisurely sailing. If these 2000 people
could be offered as sacrifices, they would surely be welcomed by their goddess. However—
“How did this happen…?!”
Obviously, they had very little strength left, but that didn’t stop the leader from screaming again.
Immediately, as though in response to the leader’s call, a voice came from behind them.
“—Over there!”
“Ah! How dare you shoot at Darling!”
“How dare you try to play this game of hide-and-seek with the Yamai sisters of the wind!”
“E-E-Eh…!”
Having heard the voices of the witches, the leader let out another wail. Their legs, that had
previously had been drained of strength, found a second wind as they ran still more quickly.
No. If they died here, it would be impossible to go to the goddess’ side. If the goddess wanted
sacrifices, it would be pointless without offering a large number of people to the goddess. But
first, they had to escape—.
However, in only the next moment, the leader of the group inadvertently ran into a figure who
seemingly appeared from the shadows.
“Ara…?”
“Ah…”
The leader bumped into a young girl. The girl had long black hair and was dressed in the frilliest
of dresses that seemed to exude a noble temperament. She had the air of a famous person.
“Guh…!”
His first instinct was to start shooting, but upon further reflection, they’d changed their mind.
Anyway, even if they kept running like this, there was no denying that they would be quickly
caught. If that was the case, then the only way to escape was—
“Come with me!”
They grabbed the girl’s hand and pulled it to their side. Then they pulled out their gun and
pointed it at the girl’s temple.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing all of a sudden?”
“Shut up! If you don’t want to die! Just be quiet!”
“—Over here!”
Just as the figure had a secure grip on the girl, the voices of the witches from before could be
heard from behind him.
“…! Found them!”
Together with the Spirits, Shido was chasing down the leader of <Clock Cat> and finally found
the leader at the back deck of the ship.
“There’s no escape! Just surrender!”
As if to emphasize what Shido said, the other Spirits moved in formation around the leader to
prevent any openings for an escape, surrounding them completely.
In front of the leader, there was nothing but the safety rail and the sea. Obviously, they were
trapped. Even if the leader wanted to jump into the open ocean to escape, it would be nearly
impossible to swim back to land from such a distance.
However, although the leader was sweating profusely, there was still a slight smile as they locked
eyes with Shido and the Spirits.
“Don’t come any closer! If you do, this woman will pay for it!”
The figure yelled, pressing the gun to the girl’s head.

“Wha…?!”
Shido and the Spirits couldn’t help but stare back in shock. It seemed that criminal decided to
take a passenger hostage while escaping.
Seeing everyone’s reaction, the smile on the leader’s face became more pronounced.
“Okay, great! Such a good child. If you don’t want this cute girl’s head to explode like a tomato,
you’ll prepare an escape raft for me.”
“You’re joking, that kind of thing—!”
“Hurry up and get to it!”
The figure roared and pressed the muzzle harder against the girl’s temple. The girl flailed her
body and let out a mournful cry.
“Eh! This is scary! This is scary! Please! Save me—!”

“…?”
Huh?
Shido’s eyes widened unconsciously.
No, it wasn’t just Shido. The other Spirits who’d surrounded the figure and the girl wore the
same expression.
“Ah…”
“Damnit…”
Everyone realized it at the same time.
There was no fear in that girl’s voice. If anything, it was full of joy.
The girl’s shoulders were shaking as if trying to her best not to laugh.
Come to think of it—that girl’s face seemed vaguely familiar…
“Y-You’re…”
“—Ara ara. So have you noticed? I wanted to keep playing damsel in distress for just a little
longer…”
Shido stared at her blankly, while the girl responded by giggling playfully.
That’s right. The hostage taken by the ship hijacker was—
The Worst Spirit, the so-called Goddess that they’d been talking about—Tokisaki Kurumi
herself.
“K-Kurumi?! What are you doing here…?”
“Hehe, Shido-san. What a coincidence.”
As though feeling anxious about Kurumi’s presence, the head of the group shouted sharply.
“What the hell are you talking about! Hurry up and get me that boat—”
“—Shut up for a moment. You’re being too loud.”
After she finished, Kurumi turned her head and stared at the leader.
Then, the leader’s eyes widened in shock.

It seemed that he hadn’t noticed it until now.
—The clock dial that made up the left pupil of the girl’s eye.
“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—You… are you…?!”
“—What the hell is going on?! Something like this… it can’t be happening…”
At that moment…
Kurumi snapped her fingers, and then, from the shadow underneath Kurumi’s feet, several white
arms grabbed onto the figure’s legs.
“Eh…?! G-Goddess! Please listen to me! Meow! Meow! Meow!”
“Um… well… as long as you chant that mantra, you will be treated like a cat by the goddess and
earn her favor…”
“…”
“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH…?!”
The man was promptly dragged into the shadows, his lingering screams echoing in the air.
Kurumi let out a faint sigh of disgust as she gently wiped her shoulders and then made her way
toward Shido and his party.
“—While I was already warned by ‘us’ before about someone ruining my reputation, after seeing
this situation myself… it’s worse than I thought.”
“K-Kurumi, you aren’t going to…”
“Don’t worry. I won’t kill him. Even though the ship’s hijacker isn’t here anymore, dealing with
the aftermath is still troublesome.”
Kurumi shrugged as she added.
“I just have the occasional desire to ‘eat’ people.”
When she finished, Kurumi stuck out her tongue while pursing her lips.
…Kurumi herself had no intention of spouting nonsense. For Shido who had been targeted by
Kurumi, he wasn’t sure whether to laugh or not.
◇◇◇
A few hours after the riot occurred, the pandemonium from hijacking caused by that cult
gradually settled down and the ship continued to sail as usual.
The reason was simple. Due to <Ratatoskr>’s intervention by way of Kotori, the incident was
treated as an unplanned sideshow by some of the crew’s staff.
Of course, the hijackers weren’t about to be let off so easily. They were handed over to the Coast
Guard’s custody for prosecution for their crimes. They would be sentenced in accordance with
the law.
That being the case, why did it require so much effort to resolve everything? It was thanks to the
Spirits that everything was settled and yet so much had to be done.
At the casino, on the deck, in the swimming pool, and in the lounge, many people saw what the
Spirits had done during the incident. Fortunately, the Spirits didn’t summon their Astral Dresses
or their Angels during the hijacking. However, after everyone disembarked, they came to regard
those girls as heroes who’d managed to fend off the hijackers. This was the sort of situation that
<Ratatoskr> wanted to avoid.
Although the passengers who’d seen the hijacking first hand might have been a little confused, in
the end, they all reluctantly accepted the report that it was, in fact, a performance set up by the
crew. All things considered, they probably didn’t expect to get involved in a real hijacking nor
would they expect the hijackers to be dressed in such odd outfits. In that regard, they were
thankful that the hijackers wore cat ears.
Of course, after performing such a dangerous stunt that could very easily have caused the
passengers harm, plenty of people would surely complain to the ship’s operating company. It
seemed that the operating company would have to provide something significant as
compensation… As usual, these sorts of business dealings were always messy affairs.
Although the Spirits were the heroes who managed to resolve the hijacking and were thought of
as specially invited guests by the cruise ship, they received more attention from the other
passengers. Perhaps it was because of that, they at least weren’t being hero-worshiped
everywhere they went, which was about the best outcome they could have hoped for.
“—Speaking of which, ship hijackings are really scary. Do these kinds of things happen a lot?”
In the ballroom on the eighth deck of the ship, Tohka sighed while sipping a non-alcoholic
cocktail made mainly of grape juice.
Tohka was dressed in a purple-toned evening gown with a very tasteful design. Even though it
was a long journey, it was still a social space for ladies and gentlemen to meet in the evening,
and all of the passengers were required to wear suits or dresses. Like Tohka, the other Spirits also
wore their favorite dresses. It was like coming to a dance party held at a castle.
Even though it was a dance party, when talking about the Spirits’ dance styles, the Yamai sisters
were worth mentioning, as they almost violently moved their bodies at the center of the dance
floor. After hearing about dancing, Mukuro and the other Spirits had also joined in, but it seemed
that some of them didn’t understand the difference between the dancing done on the ship and
Bon dancing17. Shido mentally promised to take them to the next Bon festival.
“It’s possible, if we lived in a country with a worse public security situation, this all would have
made more sense, but that isn’t the case—really, this sort of hijacking should have never
happened in the first place. Now that I think about it, the hull was shaking so much, those guys
might have been behind that too…”
“…”
After Kotori spoke, for some reason, the Spirits around her suddenly looked embarrassed.
“…? No, it’s nothing? Leaving that aside, what was going on with those Spirit Believers? I didn’t
think such people existed.”
Nia, who boldly chose a backless evening gown, spoke first to avoid giving off the impression
that they were hiding something.
“Hmm… If I had to guess, I imagine this group of people had never heard the term ‘Spirit’
before. That’s one of the reasons that the existence of Spirits is hidden: to prevent people like
these from cropping up and forming weird cults.”
“Nyah~!—Eh? So there are people out there who believe in us like goddesses?”
“Hmm… I’m not too sure, but someone like Kaguya and Yuzuru, who may have been seen many
times before having their powers, might have their own following.”
“Presumption. Could it be that this group of people would wear silver jewelry and bandages on
their arms, claiming to worship us? What a terrible group.”
“Why are you describing them using my elements?”
17
Bon dancing is a dance associated with the Bon Festival, which is a Japanese-Buddhist festival
honoring the spirits of one’s ancestors.
It seemed that the Yamai sisters overheard the conversation as they’d started wrestling with each
other while dancing. The people around them couldn’t help but smile as they watched them.
“—All the same, Kurumi had it rough. She was being worshiped as a goddess without even
knowing it.”
“Yeah…”
After listening to what Kotori said, Shido nodded in agreement.
When all was said and done, Kurumi handed over the unconscious leader of <Clock Cat> to
Shido and his group before disappearing into the shadows.
“I didn’t even get a chance to thank her.”
“What are you talking about, Shido? Have you forgotten that Kurumi still wants to take your
life?”
“No, but even though that’s true… if it weren’t for Kurumi being here as an ordinary passenger, I
don’t think the situation would have ended nearly as well as it did.”
“Um… well, maybe…”
After hearing Shido’s response, Kotori still looked unhappy as she puffed out her cheeks in
dissatisfaction.
“—Ara ara. Could you perhaps be talking about me?”
Greeted by that voice, a rare guest appeared, uninvited as she appeared in front of Shido and his
group.
“Kurumi!”
Shido called out to her in an instant as Kurumi lifted the hem of the cute dress she was wearing
and curtsied to Shido gracefully.
“Hehehe, hello Shido-san. Hello everyone.”
After Kurumi finished speaking, she looked at the faces of Shido and the other Spirits
unscrupulously. The other Spirits were very nervous around her and the atmosphere of this
meeting was quite unsettling.
“Hey, Kurumi. Haven’t you already achieved what you came here for? What are you still doing
here?”
Kotori asked Kurumi bluntly. Kurumi put a finger to her lips as she snickered.
“Just like everyone else, I’m here to enjoy the trip. Is that a problem?”
Kurumi tilted her head as she replied. Kotori sighed, her eyes narrowed as though she were
trying to figure out Kurumi’s true intentions.
However, Kurumi paid her no mind as she made her way toward Shido.
“Leaving that aside, was there something you wanted to say, Shido-san? I heard you say my
name just now.”
“Yeah… you helped us before so I wanted to thank you somehow.”
“Ara ara… is that so? Haha, is there a reward for me?”
“A reward…?”
Upon hearing those words, the other Spirits’ expressions became more cautious.
Their reaction was understandable. Kurumi has always wanted to ‘eat’ Shido in order to claim
the Spirit power residing within him for herself. No one knew for sure what kind of dangerous
demands she would make.
However, Kurumi simply smiled and stretched out a hand toward Shido and said something that
blindsided them all:
“—Could you dance with me?”
“Eh…?”
Shido’s eyes widened in shock while Kurumi’s smile turned more playful.
“Ara, did I say something strange? Aren’t we on a dance floor? Or, although you wanted to thank
me for helping you arrest that hijacker, do you not want to dance with me?”
“No, that’s not it…”
“Then.”
Kurumi stretched her arm toward Shido. Shido took a deep breath, ready to take Kurumi’s hand.
However—
“Don’t even think about it!”
Almost immediately, as though to prevent Shido and Kurumi from holding hands together,
Kotori immediately jumped between them.
No, it wasn’t just Kotori. The other Spirits who were also dressed in beautiful dresses, were also
upset.
“What are you talking about! If anything, we should get the right to dance with Shido!”
“That’s right. In general, we should get to go first!”
“Yes! If I want to dance with Darling, I should be the one to go first!”
“…Yeah, that’s right.”
Words with all the same sentiment came from each Spirit in succession. Seeing that situation
unfold before her, Kurumi was both amused and helpless as her mouth curved into a smile.
“Ara ara. This is really troublesome. Then, Shido-san, have you decided who you want to dance
with first?”
“…!”
After hearing what Kurumi said, the Spirits’ gazes were locked on Shido.
“T-That…”
Confronted with numerous eyes on him, Shido could only smile bitterly and said, “…Then, let’s
do it in order.” Shido stretched out his hand as he finished speaking.
Afterword
Long time, no see! This is Tachibana Koushi making a return. “Date A Live Encore Volume 9” is
now in everyone’s hands. What do you think of it? If you liked it, it would be my great honor.
The short story “Encore” collection has reached its ninth volume. It will soon be in double-digits.
Appearing on this cover this time is the popular manga artist and visionary in the world of
Spirits: Honjou Nia-san. Take a look at this high-level illustration. Also take note of the
luxurious work and the change in covers. This is how far we’ve come.
This time, as always, I’ll be explaining each short story. Because these will contain spoilers,
please be careful for anyone who hasn’t read the stories themselves first.
Itsuka Parents
This is a story about the parents of the Itsuka family who usually work abroad. In fact, this short
story was actually published much earlier in the May 2015 issue of Dragon Magazine. That was
four years ago. Wow. Because it was recently re-published in DM, because of the timing, it was
decided to be included in this “Encore”.
“Encore 9” is so much thicker as a result of this story.
Because this story was originally published 4 years ago, there’s no mention of either Nia or
Mukuro. Actually, this time, I considered writing a new version of Itsuka Parents that included
Nia and Mukuro when Haruko and Tatsuo met the Spirits but it was already too long so I had to
scrap it. However, if I ever get an opportunity to do so, I definitely want to write about it.
Nia house
This was a story of Nia, who is not just a drunkard by the way, searching for her ideal home.
Such a thing is pretty rare in real life after all. After discussing with the animation department, I
decided to describe it visually rather than orally.
Rather than say that Nia is difficult to write, it’s more accurate to say that she speaks in a way
that is used by other characters to entertain everyone. Shido’s attitude was also used by others
who want to help push people forward and is more subtle in being able to make everyone feel
more comfortable. Although it’s a shame, she would unexpectedly get along well with Shido. Is
that alright? Should they get married?
Just like Aoki-san of Tengu Real Estate said, she gradually becomes a more prominent character.
Although this wasn’t intentional, there are a lot of supporting roles in this short story aside from
the other Spirits.
Natsumi Challenge
It turns out that Natsumi trying to hide away from going to school can somehow bear fruit. I
personally like this story. I wish I had Natsumi’s talent.
At the time of publication in the DM magazine, the first page illustration was “Natsumi” when
she was submitting her manuscript. This is the adult version of Natsumi, an illustration that was
set in the publishing house. Amazing. In short, it’s great.
The characters who were Yoshino and Natsumi’s friends: Kanon and Noriko who’d appeared
once before. Their first appearance was in <Yoshino Experience> from Encore 7. I also liked this
story very much. Would it be better to say that I like short stories that feature Natsumi?
Origami Training
What’s the backstory for Origami to go to bridal practice? This is a story that came from a simple
premise. Why is this the case? I remember that my original plan was to have Origami participate
in a normal bridal practice session but it unconsciously turned into a bridal challenge. I honestly
can’t figure out how this happened.
Because there’s no need for explanations because of Origami, Yuzuru and Tamae participated as
peers. The ins and outs of the story of Tamae and her “Desired Partner” are still in the works and
I don’t know if I’ll get a chance to write it. If I do get the chance, I definitely want to write about
it.
This next bit is completely unrelated but the name of the “Bride” Misako actually appeared in the
first volume of <Date A Live>
Miku Scandal
A scandal involving Izayoi Miku is very alluring! This is the story of two entertainment reporters
stalking Miku. I really like stories that feature outside characters unaware of the existence of the
protagonists. By the way, a wizard from DEM’s first executive department has also shown up. It
seems that Ellen has been shunned by other members of the company.
The original plan was to have the two reporters witness supernatural phenomena caused by the
Spirits and report about that. The editor-in-chief simply patted them on the shoulders with a
smile while dismissing their stories. The two then changed jobs to work for a magazine that
specializes in supernatural phenomena and they became known as urban legend hunters but
that’s a story for another time.
Spirit Cruising
Literally, this is a story about the Spirits spending time on a luxury cruise ship. After mentioning
to the editor about spending time on a ship myself a few days prior having enjoyed life’s finer
pleasures. The other party then said, “Oh do you want to write a story about it?” And so finally, it
was decided to write this as a new short story. By the way, the ship I took was made in Japan so
even if there was a Casino, it’s not like I would be able to make money. Naturally, nothing
happened.
In the first draft, I actually used ordinary terrorists but I had to change it because their role wasn’t
strong enough. It was also cool to have them dressed in gothic lolita costumes but the problem
there was that they wouldn’t look good in pictures which led to the current idea being adopted.
By the way, the second case “Date A Cruise 2nd Day” featured the second day after the attack on
the ship and was a reference to this short story hence the title.
In the third case, Maria was also reluctantly involved in the war but because of Maria’s precious
swimsuit outfit, this is a small problem. Because these colored cases were first published in this
Encore series, I hope that there will be more colored cases that haven’t normally appeared.
Mukuro’s swimsuit is very cute too.
By the way, the third case featured a few selected characters dressed in swimsuits. Although
Kurumi has had bathing suit scenes before, Tsunako-sensei unexpectedly included one for her as
well.
In the end, I would like to thank everyone who has done their best for the publication of this
book:
Tsuanko-sensei, thank you for drawing such great illustrations every time. Editor-in-Chief,
designer Kusano-sensei, editors, publishers, distributors, sales, and everyone who has bought this
book now, you have my sincerest thanks.
When I first started writing this short series, I thought, “If I wrote about all of the Spirits in the
“Encore”, ten volumes would be enough” but I didn’t expect it to actually come true.
Then let’s foretell that the cover of “Encore 10” will feature Mukuro. What kind of costume will
she wear? I’m looking forward to it.
Well, I’ll see you in the next volume.
Koushi Tachibana
June 2019
This is not your work. Please do not redistribute it, with credit or otherwise. Thanks.
Date A After Case 1: Anime
“This time, let’s review Date A Live III. Everyone has been waiting. Did everyone enjoy the
third season depicting Shido and me?”
“What are you talking about, Origami?”
Tohka couldn’t help but frown at what Origami suddenly started saying.
Origami thrust her hand towards Tohka in response.
“Ouch! W-What are you doing…?”
Tohka blinked. For some reason, she felt like she could now understand Origami.
“Anime… speaking of which, there’s a feeling I have of that happening…?”
“Yes. What is your impression of the third season?”
“Muu, let me think. My date with Shido was—”
“Incidentally, I was impressed by the 11th episode. The kiss between me and Shido. That was
wonderful. I recorded it and watched it several times. I’ve also set that as my lock screen. Shido
saying ‘I need you’ is my phone’s ringtone. Next time I think I’ll demand it be an ad on the
anime web page.”
“What are you going to do?! Hey, if you’re going to ask a question, at least listen to me?!”
Tohka yelled again, but Origami continued on indifferently.
“—Looking back, you started calling me Origami right around the third season.”
“Muu…”
When she heard that, Tohka deeply nodded.
“…That’s right. Didn’t you also start calling me Tohka around that time?”
“Yes, since at that time our relationship changed drastically—I used to think Spirits were evil
and only out to hurt people. I have to apologize to you once again.”
“Origami…”
Tohka smiled and shook her head.
“I don’t mind. And, because of that experience, I got to have the best friend I have now.”
“—Tohka.”
“I also hurt you more than once. Sorry.”
“I won’t forgive you for that.”
“…Hm?”
“To injure a girl’s fragile skin is too much. Therefore, as punishment, you have to wear a mask of
me the next time you see Shido.”
“Weren’t we reconciling just now?! What’s with this punishment—”
At that moment, a strange voice came from somewhere.
“—I need you!—I need you!—I need you!—I need you!”
“I need to answer my phone. Just a moment.”
“You really set those words as your ringtone?!”
Tohka could only powerlessly shout.

Date A After Case 2: Original Story
“—Now let us review the fourth season of the anime. It really is surprising to be here.
Unexpectedly, the second half will show the doujinshi battle between me and Boy…”
Nia crossed her arms and nodded deeply. Tohka and Mukuro frowned in surprise at those words.
“Hold on Nia, the fourth season has yet to be broadcasted!”
“Mun, please don’t force Nushi-sama to tread on that dangerous path!”
When the two said that, Nia deliberately puffed her cheeks.
“Tch, you saw through it! Damn, I thought I could use this to set the future in stone.”
Nia pursed her lips and continued by changing the subject.
“Well then, let’s review this volume. How about you two? After looking back, is there anything
you want to do again?”
Hearing those words, Tohka and Mukuro gave it some thought.
“The time I spent with Shido and everyone are all cherished memories. Of course, there were
hardships, but those all brought us to where we are now. I don’t have any regrets.”
“Mun, the same is true for Muku. Because of Nushi-sama and everyone, Muku can be here.
Muku finally reunited with Ane-sama. Muku is no longer looking back.”
After hearing their answers, Nia tightly closed her eyes.
“T-Too dazzling… you two are too pure and sparkling…!”
After twisting her body for a while, Nia shrugged and continued on.
“…Well, I agree that the ending was good, but Muku and I appeared way too late; I wish I could
have appeared earlier. Compared to those from the first season of the anime, even our
appearances in spin-offs are less.”
“M-Mun…?”
Then, as if seeking clarity on what Nia had said, Mukuro slanted her head. Nia had a fierce look
as she continued on.
“That’s why! I want to change the order of appearance! Just imagine what would have happened
if Mukku-chin and I became allies during the prologue!”
“Order…?”
“Muu, what would happen…?”
Tohka and Mukuro started to imagine.
(What? A Spirit that can transform has become one of us? Okay, leave it to me. Ta da! Search
complete. The one that the Spirit transformed into is—)
(Hmm? Yoshino has gone out of control in that ice barrier—‘Open.’ Come Nushi-sama, please
go to Yoshino safely through this ‘hole.’)
“Even though I don’t understand it well, it feels like the plot has been irreversibly broken?!”
Tohka couldn’t help but scream from what she imagined in her mind.
Date A After Case 3: New Life
“…Huh.”
“Hmm…”
Both Tohka and Mukuro opened their eyes at the same moment.
Looking around, she found Kurumi, wrapped in clothes that gave off a serene atmosphere, and
Kotori who wore the same uniform as Mukuro. It seems like they were walking along the street
together.
“Is something the matter?”
Kurumi squinted her similarly colored eyes while asking. After letting her thoughts run for a
moment, Tohka answered.
“I just… had a strange dream, where Origami and Nia said something about anime or something
like that…”
Then, Mukuro gave a bewildered look and nodded.
“Mu, there’s no Origami, but Muku might have also had a similar dream.”
“Ara, are you both getting enough sleep?”
“You just fell asleep right now? That’s quite a feat for the both of you.”
Kurumi and Kotori laughed while saying that. Meanwhile, Tohka and Mukuro made eye contact
in an instant, and both let out a sigh.
Once again, they confirmed their condition.
Right now, Tohka and Kurumi were heading to their college campus, while Mukuro and Kotori
were going to their school.
“But… anime, was it? I could understand Nia, but why would Origami talk about something like
that?”
Hearing Kotori, Tohka tilted her head forward.
“Hmm. Something about if our stories were made into anime.”
“Mmm. The third season finished airing, while the fourth season was cleared for production.
There was also a spin-off with Kurumi as the main character.”
“Ara ara.”
Kurumi touched her nose and laughed as if she heard something really funny.
“What an honor. But you should wake up from your dream, we have to hurry.”
“Hmm… Umu. You’re right, it’s almost time…”
“…The filming is about to begin.”
“…Nu? Filming?”
“Yes, for a movie.”
“Movie?”
“Movie?”
At Kurumi’s words, both Tohka and Mukuro tilted their heads.
“Yes, the others are already waiting on site.”
“But the story about the time we were Spirits is difficult, isn’t it? I even had to put on a clock
patterned contact.”
“Right? I’m already in high school now, so I’m taller than I was back during middle school.”
“I think there won’t be any problems for Kotori.”
“And what do you mean by that? I’m in my growth period here!”
“…”
“…”
Looking at Kurumi and Kotori’s chat from behind, Tohka and Mukuro turned to each other, and
pinched their cheeks.
Kurumi Friend
Her height and proportions were just like Kurumi’s own.
She had beautiful maroon hair tied into braids, and fangs that occasionally glistened when she
smiled.
While it wasn’t in her nature to be afraid, she was sometimes stubborn in unusual ways, like how
she continued to put sugar in black tea. She lived alone in the suburbs with a cat named Marron1.
It felt unimaginable for the two of them to be interacting, but whenever she talked to her, she
always felt her heart calm down.
If someone were to ask Kurumi, they would definitely get such an answer. Even when
confronted with gossipy people wanting to know about her close friend, Kurumi wouldn’t mince
words.
In fact, Kurumi could confidently say that, besides Sawa’s family, she was the person that knew
her best. No, depending on the specific topic, she might even know her better than anyone else.
After all, in this world, only Kurumi knew the cause for her death—
“—mi-San. Kurumi-san.”
“…!”
When she heard someone call out her name, Kurumi faintly raised her shoulders. The bangs
covering her forehead swayed to her shoulders, exposing her left eye that had been concealed.
Then, Kurumi fixed her bangs and lifted up her head that she had kept lowered for who knows
how long. What shone into her eyes was the scenery of a classroom, and the figure of Yamauchi
Sawa sitting opposite her.
“What’s wrong, Kurumi-san? You seem dazed.”
“Ah, I just stayed up too late yesterday, that’s all.”
“Oh, were you watching that animal video again?”
After saying that, Sawa laughed. Small fangs appeared from the slight cracks in her lips.
Kurumi chose to neither confirm nor deny this, giving a dubious look as she sighed.
It was 12:30: lunch break. The students were eating and chattering idly; Kurumi was no
1
The name is originally Marron which means “chestnut” in French.
exception. The two of them pressed their tables against each other and opened their lunch boxes.
Indeed, it was quite an ordinary scene. The words they shared didn’t contain any deeper
meaning, nor were they seeking any additional consequence in their actions. This was simply a
typical moment in their daily lives.
—However, Kurumi had noticed. Only she understood that the situation she saw before her eyes
was the result of an exceptional miracle.
After all, the friend that was smiling right before her—had died a long time ago.
“…”
No. Kurumi suddenly lowered her eyes and shook her head slightly.
While that was a normal response, it was inappropriate. To Kurumi, this was averting her eyes
from her own sins, and desperately trying to run away.
Kurumi opened her eyes again, staring intently at Sawa’s face.
—The face of a friend that she had personally killed.
That’s right, when Kurumi became a Spirit, she killed her.
That being said, while Kurumi held no hatred towards Sawa, it wasn’t an accident or negligence
that killed her.
Sawa, having been transformed into a monster by the Mio—the Spirit of Origin, was an ‘enemy’
that she ruthlessly shot down.
This was the starting point of Kurumi’s grudge against the Spirit of Origin, and the beginning of
her journey for revenge.
It was this incident which motivated Kurumi to return to the past through <Zafkiel>’s power and
venture to change everything so that this never occurred.
—And now, the daily life she so frantically sought after was right in front of her.
“—Sawa-san.”
“Un, what’s the matter Kurumi-san?”
“Ufufu, I just felt like calling out to you.”
“Eh… what… Think about everyone else, you’re going to cause misunderstandings.”
She said with her eyes half-closed and face dripping with sweat. Her silly expression made
Kurumi smile just from the sheer nostalgia.
That’s right. With the battle against Mio over, everything had come to an end.
When Mio died, she used the power of her Sephira Crystal. Sawa, who had died long before, and
everyone that she had devoured for the sake of her goal had all come back to life.
The other Spirits were all also enjoying themselves as they resumed their lives. Reportedly,
through the magical treatment, even Mana’s scarred body had been successfully treated.
Such a happy ending seemed like a joke. Almost everything had been completed magnificently,
just as she wanted. A dream-like world filled with happiness, right within her grasp.
“Speaking of which, Kurumi-san. What about that matter?”
As if suddenly remembering something, Sawa raised her finger. Kurumi tilted her head slightly
in response.
“That matter?”
“You know, the club activities. Didn’t we talk last time about visiting some after we finished
studying? How about after school today?”
“Aah—”
Kurumi nodded her head in sudden realization, as she recalled having said those words some
time beforehand.
Indeed, using the power of the Sephira Crystal, Sawa had been brought back to life. However,
more than two decades have passed since the time they had lived together. It would be
impossible for it to be exactly the same as before.
Therefore, Sawa still needed asylum from a supporting organization to be able to finally resume
her studies at Raizen High School.
The excuse was that Sawa was suffering from an illness that was difficult to treat with the
medical technology of the time, so she was put into cryogenic sleep to wait for better, newer
treatment methods. Since Kurumi hadn’t changed at all either, she took up a similar backstory.
Although Sawa was very confused about the status quo at the beginning, she gradually got used
to her current life. Therefore, Kurumi had proposed “Since we have the opportunity, why don’t
you participate in a club activity?”
“Well, that’s no problem. Do you have any clubs you want to join?”
After Kurumi finished speaking, Sawa nodded and pulled out a notepad from her bag.
“Yeah, there are a few clubs I want to visit. The literature department, the fine arts
department—the Feline Research Society also sounds interesting.”
“…!”
After hearing Sawa say that, Kurumi’s eyebrows faintly stirred.
“Ah, as expected. You’re interested in the Feline Research Society?”
“Un, not really. How could I possibly be…”
“Eh, is that so? Then how about we go visit the literature department today?”
“…”
“Hehe, I’m just kidding. Don’t go all sullen on me.”
Sawa said with a smile. Likely feeling her own face light up in delight, Kurumi patted her
cheeks.
Immediately afterwards, the smile on Sawa’s face grew brighter.
“Ah, sure enough, you really were down about that.”
“…! Sawa-san, you.”
“Ahaha, sorry.”
After saying that, Sawa lowered her head slightly.
Even though Kurumi looked like she was fuming on the surface, she couldn’t help but sigh.
—Aah. That’s right. She would always tease her like this before.
Kurumi smiled again, realizing the daily life she had yearned for had finally returned.
After finishing classes for the day, Kurumi and Sawa finally arrived at the club room.
While it would usually be bustling with more activity here, it seemed rather calm today. Well,
given it was already March now, this wasn’t surprising.
The main activities and general assemblies were basically over, with all that remained being the
graduation ceremony. It was hard to imagine hopeful people returning to school to scout for
clubs at a time like this.
“So, it should probably be right over here…?”
Soon afterwards, they arrived outside a club with a sign that said ‘Feline Research Society’
hanging on the door. Looking at the door, there were densely packed hand-drawn cats and paw
prints. For some reason, the cat drawing also had an eyepatch.
“…”
“What’s wrong, Kurumi-san?”
“…No, it’s nothing.”
After hearing Sawa’s voice, Kurumi nodded.
…She didn’t know why, but she had a subtle feeling of unease. However, nothing could really go
wrong; she was probably overthinking it. With that at the back of her mind, Kurumi spoke while
knocking on the door of the “Feline Research Society.”
“Excuse me. We came here to visit and learn more about your club’s activities—”
“Ara.”
“Ara.”
“Ara.”
“Ara.”
At the moment when Kurumi opened the door to the club’s activity room, four girls that looked
identical to her all called out with the same voice.
That’s right. They were renditions of Kurumi’s past, born through the power of the Eighth Bullet
<Het> of Kurumi’s Angel <Zafkiel>. No, to be more precise, they were the same as Kurumi.
These four clones were distinguished by a medical eyepatch, bloody bandages, a decorated
eyepatch, and an antiquated eyepatch on their left eyes.
Although they were all wearing their school uniforms, each had variations that could be seen on
the inside pattern emerging from their sleeves and the hems of their skirts.
That’s right. The four that appeared here were the four most difficult Kurumi clones to deal
with—the ones that claimed to be the ‘Elite Four Kurumi.’
“W-Why are you all here—”
“—Ugh.”
A sound of despair leaked from Kurumi’s throat.
Sawa, who was peeking into the room from behind her, spoke out in surprise.
“Everyone is Kurumi-san…?! W-What is going on…”
“…!”
The words wouldn’t come out from Kurumi’s mouth.
—Precisely at that moment, her brain started processing at high speed. Now that Sawa had seen
each clone, justifying it with a misunderstanding would be too difficult. That being said, being
honest and telling her outright what was happening would also be a massive blunder. If the other
party at least took what Sawa said as being weird, then it would be acceptable. At any rate,
having her learn anything about the Spirits must be avoided at all costs.
The time it took was around 2.5 seconds. After condensing her strenuous thinking, Kurumi
clapped her hands.
“Well! It’s been a long time everyone! I didn’t know you were into this sort of stuff!”
Pretending as if nothing strange was happening, Kurumi called out to them.
She quickly turned her body around, stretching out her arms to introduce everyone in the club
activity room.
“Sawa, let me introduce you—my youngest cousin, second cousin, third cousin, and fourth
cousin.”
“…Huh?”
After hearing Kurumi’s words, Sawa’s eyes widened as she stared blankly.
“…Isn’t that right?”
Kurumi turned her head and casted a sharp gaze.
“—”
When all is said and done, the clones were still ‘Kurumi’, and so they quickly understood her
intentions. In a flash, everyone exchanged gazes and nodded deeply.
“Yes, yes. It’s nice to meet you. I am… um, Tokisaki (眼三)2.”
2
The joke here is that they’re all named and read as Tokisaki, but written with varying kanji which is
based on their clothing/style of choice.
“I am Tokisaki (包三). To always be under your care… rather my cousin, Kurumi, has always
been under your care, thank you.”
“So you must be Yamauchi Sawa, I’ve known about your distinguished name for a long time. I
am Tokisaki (甘三).”
“Then I am… Tokisaki (和三), please remember it.”
In this manner, eyepatch Kurumi, bandage Kurumi, Lolita Kurumi, and Gothic Kurumi all said
hello to Sawa in turn.
Sawa appeared unresponsive for a moment, but then finally moved her shoulders in response to
everyone.
“That really frightened me, Kurumi-san… I didn’t know you had so many cousins that look so
similar.”
“U-Uhh…”
Kurumi’s brow was dripping with sweat. Although it was an excuse made in a hurry, it seemed
she had bought it for now. Well, without knowledge of Spirits or Angels, it wouldn’t make sense
to consider that they were doppelgangers. As such, there was no room for any other reasoning
except this.
The Elite Four Kurumi all nodded as they whispered.
“Yes, yes.”
“We certainly do look alike.”
“The five of us are often mistaken for one another.”
“We’re like the Gotoubun no Tokisaki.”
“…Please don’t say anything unnecessary, okay?”
Kurumi whispered with her eyes half-opened.
“Speaking of which, what are you all doing here?”
“It’s just as you can see: we are the Feline Research Society.”
“Yes. We mainly observe stray cats.”
“With all the problems resolved, we also want to usher in a perfect ending.”
“Since that is the case, we also wanted to enjoy school life a little.”
“…”
After hearing the clones’ replies, Kurumi sighed and placed her hand against her forehead.
Indeed, although it had happened by accident, all of Kurumi’s goals had been virtually achieved
with Mio’s death. But for the clones, this was like a company shutting down and everyone
collectively becoming unemployed.
The lifespan of each clone is directly proportional to the ‘time’ used during their creation. Even
though they were her past selves, it didn’t change the fact that they had been working hard as
comrades for Kurumi until now, so she gave them permission to freely dictate how they would
like to spend the remainder of their lives.
—However, she never imagined that there would be such inconsiderate individuals that would
stay at the same school as Kurumi. And out of all of them, it had to be these four. If an outsider
had seen this, they would definitely be a bit frightened.
Then, as if she realized something, Sawa tilted her head.
“So you are Kurumi-san’s cousin, second cousin, third cousin, and fourth cousin…? How old are
all of you now? Kurumi and I were under comas for more than twenty years to cure our
illnesses…”
“…”
After hearing what she asked, Kurumi’s expression strained under this predicament. Indeed,
having suspicions about that point would be natural. Even for a flimsy excuse made up on the
spot, this situation really was turning for the worst.
“A-Actually, all four of us caught the same disease, so we were all treated together.”
“Eh, is that true?!”
“Well… from a genetic point of view, we belong to a family that is very susceptible to this
specific disease…”
Kurumi, whose back was now soaked in sweat, took the risk and made this excuse… Next time,
she ought to have <Ratatoskr> fill in the blanks to make it more believable.
At that moment, Kurumi suddenly felt an annoyed look pierce her back. But looking closely, she
saw that the Elite Four Kurumi were all looking back at her with smiles.
“…What’s wrong?”
“No, no, it’s nothing. The facts are just as Kurumi Ane-sama had said.”
Eyepatch Kurumi deliberately shrugged.
Immediately afterwards, Sawa slanted her head again.
“But, if everyone is as close as you said, why did you say it’s been a long time… didn’t you see
Kurumi-san when you woke up? And it seems like you didn’t know that everyone was in this
club…”
“T-That’s because…”
While Kurumi was struggling to come up with a new excuse, as if to help out, the voices of the
Elite Four Kurumi came out from behind Kurumi.
“No, no, it wouldn’t have been good to tell Kurumi Ane-sama.”
“It’s not like we hate Kurumi Ane-sama or anything…”
“You see, isn’t big sister Kurumi a little too self-centered? Whenever something happened that
we couldn’t explain, she’d always be so quick to get angry at us.”
“Can I say a little bit about her dark history? Kurumi Ane-sama used to be a little awkward in the
past. Although she was only a little bit prickly… to be honest, it was a bit difficult to get along
with her.”
“Gu…”
This wasn’t helpful at all. Kurumi’s eyebrows tensed up as her expression soured.
They likely knew that Kurumi would never lash out at them in front of Sawa, so the Elite Four
Kurumi were saying whatever they wanted at their own leisure.
Kurumi tried to maintain the smile on her face, turned to the Elite Four Kurumi and moved her
lips without making a sound.
—Give. Me. A. Reason.
Immediately, as if realizing she had been pushed far enough, the Elite Four forced a laugh while
looking away.
“Ha… really—Sawa-san, it’s just as you can see. If I had to join a club, I would want to be as far
from here as possible.”
“Eh? Is that alright? All of your cousins are here.”
“It’s better to say I don’t want to have any relationship with them at all. While I do like to do
things like observing stray cats, I wouldn’t do it as a group activity. We’d be better off just
playing with Marron at home. Let’s head back.”
“Ha, ha…”
If Sawa continued to get along with the Elite Four, who knows what sort of dark history would
come bursting out. Kurumi tried to discreetly push Sawa away from this club room.
However—something suddenly tugged on the sleeves of Kurumi’s uniform.
“What are you doing? You should know there’s no reason for me to stay—”
Kurumi impatiently turned around as she spoke—and then, Kurumi finally realized her mistake.
The clones were renditions of Kurumi’s past. Although some things were different depending on
when in her life they came from, her general likes and dislikes were still similar.
That is to say—
“Marron…?”
The Elite Four were all extraordinarily fond of the Marron living in the Yamauchi household.
◇◇◇
About twenty minutes after that, Kurumi was walking the path back from school with a somber
look.
Next to Kurumi was Sawa and behind was the Elite Four happily talking and chatting.
That’s right. After the Elite Four began singing praises about Marron, Sawa agreed to having the
four of them join with a wry smile. So everyone was walking along the path to Sawa’s home.
Incidentally, of course, the Marron that originally lived in Sawa’s home had long since died. Due
to the current circumstances, however, he had also been resurrected through Mio’s Sephira
Crystal, but of course, there was no way she could tell that to Sawa, so she confessed that this cat
was the original Marron’s grandson, Marron III.
“—That being said, he still is Marron after all.”
“It’s been such a long time… no, I’ve only heard about this from Kurumi Ane-sama before.”
“Yes, yes. I was hoping for the opportunity to meet each other beforehand. I’m really looking
forward to this.”
“Ah, but if we all try to touch it at the same time, Marron will get tired fast. We need to take
turns.”
Continuing on in this manner, the Elite Four kept conversing in this happy atmosphere. Kurumi
deeply sighed as she glanced back.
“Since Sawa has agreed, I won’t say much. But I ask you all to comply with our
agreement—Tokisaki (眼三), Tokisaki (包三), Tokisaki (甜三), and Tokisaki (和三).”
After Kurumi finished talking, the Elite Four each gave an expression as if asking, “Who are you
talking to?” But then, seemingly remembering the pseudonyms they had come up with, all four
of them nodded.
“Yes, yes, of course.”
“Just leave it to me, Tokisaki (甜三).”
“…”
Kurumi still felt uneasy, so once again she let out a sigh.
Seeing her act this way, Sawa couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“Everyone really loves cats. Sure enough, they really are Kurumi-san’s relatives.”
“Ara, ara. Is Kurumi Ane-sama that fond of Marron?”
As Gothic Kurumi excitedly asked, Sawa nodded while smiling.
“Indeed. She used to come to my house to play with Marron almost every day. But Kurumi-san,
even if she was a little shy, looked completely immersed when she played with Marron. She
always had a different reason to come over, like ‘Let’s study together’, or ‘I have some good tea
leaves’, but every time, she would bring a ball of yarn.”
“S-Sawa-san…!”
Kurumi’s face turned red as she tried to interrupt Sawa, but the smile on Sawa’s face grew
thicker.
…No, the clones all should also have memories of this, but there was still slight embarrassment
with Sawa bringing up an old matter like this.
They soon arrived at Sawa’s house, the time having passed before they could notice.
A single-family western house right before their eyes, reproducing Sawa’s original house as well
as possible. A magnificent blue roof ridge joined a lofty courtyard wall. Although the courtyard
itself was very small, a bed of roses could be seen inside.
Sawa walked through the courtyard, opened the door to her house with her key, and placed five
pairs of slippers in front of the door.
“Everyone, please come in.”
“Thank you very much.”
“Please excuse me.”
“…”
After giving their greetings, they removed their shoes and put on the prepared slippers.
Immediately afterwards, Sawa slanted her head again with a confused look.
“Huh? Usually he’d be around near the entrance hall when there’s noise—Marron?”
Sawa called out Marron’s name, but the house remained silent.
“Ara, ara.”
“No one is coming over.”
“That’s really strange…”
Sawa frowned, walked over to the corridor, and went up the stairs. Kurumi and the others all
followed her to the second floor.
And then—
“Ah…”
As Sawa stepped into the bedroom at the end of the second floor, her eyes widened.
The bedroom window was creaking from the wind, and a cat seemed to have jumped out the
window. Scratches and shed fur could be seen on the curtains. It appeared that Marron had
escaped through this forgotten window.
“You’ve got to be kidding; it shouldn’t be possible from here…”
Sawa walked over to the window and leaned out to glance outside.
However, there were no signs of Marron to be seen. Sawa sighed and turned to Kurumi.
“Sorry, it looks like that cat ran outside. Marron III did inherit the original’s blood after all…”
Sawa said that while ruffling her hair. Speaking of which, Marron being restless like this and
wandering outside was a common occurrence in the past.
“Oh my… that’s really a shame. Then it’s impossible for today—”
Kurumi suddenly stopped talking. The Elite Four all had unsightly looks on their faces.
“…My goodness. To really escape outside like this, but this area…”
“Speaking as members of the Feline Research Society, we would recommend finding Marron as
soon as possible.”
Eyepatch and bandage Kurumi both supported their mouths with their hands while speaking in
turn.
“Huh? I think Marron should come back when he’s hungry… it was the same with the first
generation Marron.”
As Sawa widened her eyes, Lolita Kurumi continued on in response.
“Actually, there are two huge groups of stray cats that fight over this area.”
“Huge…?”
“Stray cats…?”
Kurumi and Sawa muttered blankly as Lolita Kurumi nodded.
“That’s right. Two factions known as the ‘Triad Tails’ and the ‘Undead Tiger Group.’ If a
domestic cat gets caught in a conflict between them… Well, it’s not hard to imagine what the
results will be.”
“Triad Tails…?”
“Undead Tiger Group…?”
The names of these stray cat groups felt a little strange, but they understood that Marron was in
danger nonetheless. Kurumi wiped the sweat dripping down her face with the sleeve of her
uniform and turned to look at Sawa.
It looked like Sawa was having the same thoughts at this moment. The two of them exchanged
glances and nodded.
“Kurumi-san…!”
“Right.”
The two of them nodded to each other, went back down the stairs, changed their shoes and left
the house.
“Sawa, try to search the path to go to school. If you find Marron first, contact me immediately.”
“Alright, I will.”
Sawa faintly lowered her head and started running straight on the road.
After the sight of Sawa’s back disappeared into the distance, Kurumi turned back and walked to
the clones that were on standby.
“Alright then, Sawa’s gone out looking for Marron. Now, I can seriously start searching.”
Kurumi didn’t intend to stand by and watch if he was really in danger; she wanted to protect him
immediately.
—However, she held too many cards she couldn’t reveal in front of Sawa.
So Kurumi gave a signal, the clones nodded and agreed.
“Finding a cat would be a breeze with all of me.”
“Yes, but it would be too boring if it was just that.”
“…Huh?”
As Kurumi frowned, the clones raised the corners of their mouths and continued to speak.
“We should hold a contest searching for Marron.”
“Yes, that matches my thoughts as well. The me that finds Marron first has the right to caress
him first… what do you all think?”
While the Elite Four continued their heated discussion. Kurumi sighed and crossed her arms.
“…We?”
“Ara, is this no good?”
“We didn’t say we’d just sit idly by without an incentive.”
“That’s right. It’s better to say that this kind of competition will lend itself to higher efficiency.”
“Or could it be… you’re not confident you could beat me?”
“…”
Met with such provocations, Kurumi’s eyebrows twitched for a bit.
“…Certainly not, but are you really okay with this?”
Kurumi said with her eyes half-opened. The Elite Four nodded as soon as they saw that.
“Yes, yes.”
“Then, we won’t have any more time if we don’t start searching.”
“Marron search, begin!”
Lolita Kurumi announced the start of the operation. Seeing this, the Elite Four Kurumi kicked
their feet against the ground.
However—
“—<Rasiel>.”
After Kurumi called out that name, a book emerged from the void as the Elite Four tumbled
down one after another.
“Oh my, what’s the matter? You should be more careful.”
Kurumi said while shedding crocodile tears, and then opened the shining book.
<Rasiel>. From the previous battle, Kurumi had obtained this Angel from DEM’s Isaac Westcott.
Its power was omniscience. As long as she traced her hand along the page, the owner could
know any information.
Even the state secrets of a dominant power were all easily available.
—Of course, the location of a cat that had fled from home would also be a cinch.
There was no point in competing. The winner had already been decided from the very beginning.
“H-How despicable, me!”
“Precisely! That’s not fair!”
The Elite Four struggled to get back up while protesting. However, Kurumi simply shrugged her
shoulders.
“What strange things are you saying, we? Isn’t the goal to protect Marron as soon as
possible?—Or are you saying we should slow down the search without regard for whether he
gets injured?”
“Guu…”
“It’s annoying how right that statement is…”
The Elite Four clenched their teeth. Feeling as if she had finally gotten back at the four people
who’ve teased her all throughout the day, Kurumi huffed from her nose.
“Now—”
Immediately, Kurumi turned her attention to a page of <Rasiel> while talking on the side. As
Kurumi traced her finger along the page, its pages began to shine as the information flowed
directly into her head.
“—Found him. The address is in West Tengu, 2-Chōme-3-5 land lot. It seems to be an abandoned
hut at the end of the street. A general search would likely have failed to find such a place.”
“…!”
After Kurumi finished speaking, the Elite Four suddenly all tensed up.
“…? What’s wrong?”
“Did you just say an abandoned hut in West Tengu, 2-Chōme-3-5?”
“Yes, that’s exactly right.”
As Kurumi nodded, eyepatch Kurumi quickly squatted down, stretching her hand into the
shadows. After some fumbling around, she took out a notebook entitled ‘Feline Research Society
Secret Report.’
“…I hope you’ll refrain from placing things like that in our shadow in the future.”
Eyepatch Kurumi ignored her and began to read the notes.
“Sure enough. That place is—the base camp of the ‘Triad Tails.’”
“—What did you say?!”
After hearing eyepatch Kurumi’s words, Kurumi’s expression became sharp.
“Either being caught or stumbling into there by accident—no matter the situation, this can’t be
ignored. Let’s hurry up and save Marron!”
“Please wait, me.”
However, just as eyepatch Kurumi was about to head to this destination, Lolita and bandage
Kurumi noisily protested.
“The rubble of the Triad Tails’s base camp is piled up like a mountain, so only cats can get in.
Several of us went there many times but couldn’t enter, so we had to observe from a distance.”
“Yes, yes, of course cleaning up the rubble would mean we could access the interior… but I wish
to avoid destroying the stray cats’ den.”
After listening to the other clones, Gothic Kurumi frowned.
“What are you talking about, me? So it doesn’t matter if Marron is injured?”
“I never said that. However, we must avoid a change in habitat of nearby stray cats from human
intervention. If that sort of thing happens, the possibility of stray cat bloodshed could increase
significantly.”
“That being said…!”
The clones began to argue among themselves. Even though they all started out as the same
‘Kurumi’, there were subtle differences in each’s thought processes due to the different time
periods. Thus, it was inevitable there would be disagreements.
However, time was sparse. Kurumi shouted to stop the argument.
“—Since that is the case, let’s go. We will arrive at the destination first and wait on standby. Only
when Marron’s safety is directly threatened will such a straightforward rescue attempt be
allowed.”
“…Then, what will me do?”
After hearing Kurumi’s instructions, eyepatch Kurumi raised that question, and in response,
Kurumi momentarily licked her lips.
“—As long as we can avoid human intervention? In that case, I have an idea.”
◇◇◇
“…Wow, really? Now, this round? No way—”
In the top floor of the Spirit mansion, inside the room closest to the corner.
The Spirit Natsumi stared at her computer while whispering to herself.

The screen showed the back of a hero with a gun standing on a huge stage. This was a so-called
TPS (Third Person Shooter) game. Because there were no special arrangements today, she could
enjoy online battles until dinner time.
“Ku, damn it, I just got killed. Ah, really, I can’t aim at all…”
“—Ah, that won’t do, Natsumi-san. With your aiming method, it goes without saying you can’t
land a hit on your mark.”
“No, even if you say that… I can’t land a hit even if I try to aim.”
“As long as it’s a living human, their body will never stay completely still. You shouldn’t try to
forcibly halt the shaking of your own body. Instead, try to grasp at the rhythm.”
“You say it like it’s so simple… eh?”
At last, Natsumi noticed that feeling of unease as she turned her head around. Because she had
been so intently playing the game, she didn’t pay any special attention to her surroundings and
barely caught herself so casually talking to someone.
For only a moment, Natsumi thought she had only been chatting with another person over the
game—but that wasn’t right. In order to avoid talking to others as much as possible, Natsumi
usually turned off voice chat and played the game alone.
—In that case, the voice just now was…
Natsumi looked back in horror.
“Ahaha, good to see you, Natsumi-san.”
“Aaaaaaaa—?!”
Suddenly seeing the face of a girl, Natsumi immediately rolled off her chair. In an instant, her
character on screen was shot by an artillery shell, and the text GAME OVER was displayed on
the screen.
“Kuru—Kuuuuruuu—Kurumi…?! Why are you in my room…?!”
Natsumi shouted the girl’s name. That’s right: Tokisaki Kurumi. The person standing in front of
her now, the girl known as the Worst Spirit.
“Ara, ara, please don’t be so surprised. I’m not here to devour you, Natsumi-san.”
Kurumi spoke with a grin. Hearing those words, Natsumi’s restless heart grew a little bit calmer.
“…You, what are you after? We’ve never really interacted before, right…?
Kurumi touched her lips with her index finger.
“—There’s something I need. Please help me, Natsumi-san.”
◇◇◇
“…! I found Marron!”
“Huh, where? Where?”
“Look, you can see through that opening.”
“Jeez, can we switch places, me?”
Eyepatch Kurumi, bandage Kurumi, Lolita Kurumi, and Gothic Kurumi were all lying on the
roof ridge of a private house, peeping inside with binoculars. With their shoulders pressed up and
pushing against each other, it looked like they were playing around just like kids would.
Following the Elite Four’s gaze, there was an abandoned house that looked like it was about to
collapse at a moment’s notice. Carefully raising their ears to listen, they could faintly hear the
meows of several cats.
That’s right, this was the abandoned land lot at West Tengu, 2-Chōme-3-5. It was the home base
of the Triad Tails, and where Marron was currently located. Under Kurumi’s instructions, the
Elite Four were now carefully observing the scene at hand.
“There don’t seem to be any injuries…”
“Hmm, but it looks like Marron is surrounded… no, I should mention that the surrounding cats
all have fierce looks.”
“…! In the far off corner, that huge white cat with the ribbon is…”
“Yes, that is the boss of the Triad Tails, the Ghost Emperor.”
The Elite Four took deep breaths and continued using the binoculars to survey the situation
inside.
Although it was fortunate that nothing serious had transpired yet, the atmosphere seemed far
from friendly. It was as if Marron, while peacefully walking along the street none the wiser, was
suddenly met by some thugs from a powerful organization and interrogated.
If there was any disturbance, the scene would quickly become a one-sided slaughterfest. Drops
of sweat dripped down eyepatch Kurumi’s face. Her demeanor became imposing as she stood up.
“…Me seems to have other considerations, so unless it is a last resort, we will have to wait. But
when that time comes—”
“…”
Hearing eyepatch Kurumi’s words, the remaining three shared nervous looks and nodded.
As if echoing this sentiment, the boss cat deep within the abandoned hut let out a loud
“meooooooooow.”
That shout seemed to be a command for the subordinates. The cats surrounding Marron seemed
to be growing impatient. They lowered their heads one after another as their fur stood upright.
Meanwhile, Marron, in a frightened manner, coiled his tail into a ball and backed away.
“…I can’t continue to wait like this, me.”
“It can’t be helped. Let’s go.”
Bandage and Gothic Kurumi quickly stood up.
However—
“…! Wait, me! There seems to be something—”
At that moment, Lolita Kurumi stopped them. A black flash bolted across the image reflected in
the binoculars.
“Huh?”
Eyepatch Kurumi cried out as her uncovered eye widened.
That was to be expected, everyone let out a gasp of surprise over the flash. The cats that were
about to pounce on Marron all let out short groans as they tumbled onto the ground.
“…!”
Eyepatch Kurumi tightly gripped the binoculars.
Then, as if to respond to this, a cat stood in front of Marron.
She had black fur as gorgeous as obsidian, the collar on her neck was decorated with a lovable
ribbon, and—eyes that were heterochromatic.
Although cats are more susceptible to iris heterochromia than humans, this cat didn’t fit that
description.
Because in the left eye of this black cat—
There was a golden clock dial.
“T-That’s—”
“—Meow.”
The black cat let out a short cry and looked around. Immediately, the surrounding cats all froze,
lowered their tails, and shrank back their ears.
However, this response wasn’t unreasonable. Even from eyepatch Kurumi’s perspective, the
power of that black cat was overwhelming.
Not to mention her elegance as she stood like a noble, and the look in her eyes—full of danger,
like a trigger about to be pulled. Faced with the murderous intent exuded by that cat, ordinary
cats could only lower their heads.
“—Fu… fu… fu…!”
Despite this situation, the boss cat tried to hopelessly feign its majesty to the bitter end.
However—
The black cat approached at a slow pace, until finally the boss cat lowered its tail and looked
away—a declaration of defeat.
“—Meow!”
The black cat let out a powerful roar, using her paw to gently stroke the head of the boss cat.
Afterwards, the black cat walked over to Marron.
Not knowing at all who this black cat is, he was still afraid, but as soon as it smelled the black
cat’s scent, he felt at ease and began to lick his face.
—And so, everything was concluded peacefully.
Feeling a sense of accomplishment, Kurumi meowed again and began to lick her front paw.
That’s right, this was Kurumi’s secret plan. By utilizing the power of Natsumi’s <Haniel>,
Kurumi had transformed herself into a black cat.
Well, strictly speaking, this method did involve directly intervening in the cats’ natural
environment, but this method was much better than the alternative. A cat problem must be solved
by a cat—this was the best option for this situation. It wasn’t because she wanted to try being a
cat for a while. There was definitely, absolutely, no such reasoning.
Kurumi walked out of the abandoned hut with Marron, stretching out her back into an arch—If
she could turn into a cat again, she wanted to try this one more. It turned out that this made her
feel unexpectedly good.
Now all that remained was returning Marron to Sawa. No, before that, perhaps she should go
back to Natsumi, who was standing nearby, to relieve herself of this transformation. If other
people caught wind of this situation, she would never be able to explain it, and it would be in
poor taste to make Natsumi continue to wait—
“—Marron!”
Just as Kurumi was thinking this, she heard a familiar voice from behind.
Looking back, she could see Sawa running over here while panting. It seemed that her search of
the nearby area led her here.
“—Meow!” Hifrom d iscord.gg/datealive! If you aren’tthere, thisis stolen.
Marron also seemed to notice Sawa’s arrival, letting out a sharp cry and running towards her. She
immediately picked him up, stroking his back with a relieved look on her face.
“Really, where did you run off to? I was so worried!”
As if to respond to Sawa, he let out another meow. Just seeing that, Kurumi let out a sigh of
relief—It seems she could forgo delivering Marron back to Sawa now.
Just as Kurumi was intending to withdraw from the scene, Sawa appeared to have noticed her
and called out.
“Ara? Are you… Marron’s friend?”
Sawa squatted down beside Kurumi while speaking, and then she whispered to Kurumi.
“Where did you come from? Did you come to play with him? Thank you.”
Sawa teasingly caressed Kurumi’s throat… How to describe it, because her body had become a
cat, this subtle touch was irresistible. A forbidden sound leaked from her throat.
This couldn’t go on. After finding Marron, Sawa would definitely try to contact Kurumi, and
who knows what the clones would say if they saw this—
“—Ara, ara.”
At that moment.
The last sounds she wanted to hear entered her eardrums.
The Elite Four stood behind Kurumi with excited looks across their faces.
“Ah, everyone! Thank you for your help! I found Marron!”
“Well, that’s more important than anything else.”
“So what about that cat over there?”
“Ah, that cat was staying right next to Marron. I think she’s his friend.”
After Sawa finished speaking, the Elite Four burst into laughter, unable to hold back any longer.
Kurumi could tell just looking from their expressions—they had all noticed that she was Kurumi.
“A friend of Marron? If that’s the case… she looks quite comfortable right now.”
“That’s right, that’s right. You look like a cat that loves being pampered, so let me stroke you as
well.”
“Kya! Your body looks like it’s trembling in fear, like it’s too comfortable to bear even if you
wanted to refuse.”
“Is it here? Or over here? Even if you’re not resigning to this, you seem to be really enjoying it.”
The Elite Four had looks of joy as they continued stroking Kurumi’s body back and forth.
“But even though there’s such a cute cat here, I don’t see Kurumi Ane-sama at all…?”
“That girl is a bit too crafty. Surely she must be off having fun somewhere.”
“Yes, yes. Her running around while not knowing we’ve found Marron isn’t out of the question.”
“How many times do you want to be touched? Three times? Is it three times? You sure are
greedy.”
—Grrrrrrrrrr.
Kurumi twisted her body and let out an angry cry.
“U-Um… everyone? Don’t stroke that hard—huh?”
As if she discovered something, Sawa suddenly frowned. The Elite Four stopped their hands that
were caressing Kurumi’s body and turned to Sawa.
“What’s wrong, Sawa-san?”
“It’s nothing, it just feels that there’s something wrong with Marron… Marron, what’s wrong?
Does it hurt somewhere?”
After saying that, Sawa stared at Marron with a worried look.
Indeed, Marron’s body seemed to be trembling slightly, but there were no visible scars on his
body. What had happened before Kurumi arrived?
That being said—it wasn’t difficult to imagine why. As she was thinking, Kurumi fiercely
twisted her body.
“—Meow, meow!”
And just like that, Kurumi escaped from the Elite Four’s clutches and ran straight into an alley.
“Wah, me—no, little black kitty!”
Without knowing which of the four had screamed, Kurumi made a run for it.
Then, after about three minutes, she reached a trail with some difficult terrain, and finally arrived
‘there.’ At the end of this dark valley, Natsumi was sitting and playing with her smartphone.
“—Meow.”
“…Hmm?”
Kurumi meowed, Natsumi raised her eyebrows along with her head.
“Huh… it’s you. Are you satisfied already?”
“—Meow.”
“…I can’t understand what you are saying. How about it? Do you want to change back?”
Natsumi said that with her eyes half-open. Afterwards, she waved her hand to Kurumi.
“…Fufufufufu… let me change!”
Natsumi closed her eyes, groaning as if in pain. Immediately afterwards, her hand began to shine
dazzlingly as Kurumi’s body changed back to its original shape.
“…Hehe, thank you very much Natsumi-san. You were of great help.”
“…Ah, I’m exhausted. Every time I use my Reiryoku I have to think about something nasty, so I
really don’t want to do this work as much as possible… You owe me a favor.”
“Yes, yes. I am well aware—When there’s ever another time I need your assistance, I’ll make
sure you don’t have to experience this pain again.”
“It’s not the pain I’m worried about!”
“Ahaha, I’m just joking.”
Kurumi winked and then took a deep breath to collect her focus—and then <Rasiel> appeared in
her hands.
Seeing this, Natsumi immediately straightened up and assumed a fighting stance.
“W-What…?”
“Please don’t worry. The condition of a kitten named Marron is a bit unpleasant right now, so I
want to investigate the reason, but I can’t show this Angel in front of Sawa-san.”
While talking, Kurumi touched <Rasiel>’s pages.
Kurumi’s fingertips fumbled on the pages of the book, drawing forth its information. At that
moment, the information poured into Kurumi’s head at great speed.
—And then.
“—Huh?”
Immediately afterwards, Kurumi let out a confused cry.
Of course, this wasn’t because the Angel couldn’t tell her the reasons behind Marron’s condition.
That was identified the moment Kurumi manifested her Angel. There was just a small thorn
caught in his paw. This was something that could easily be resolved just by having a veterinarian
pull it out with some tweezers and disinfect the spot.
However, this wasn’t the only information that Kurumi had learned.
Kurumi didn’t limit the scope of her search to only Marron’s ailments, nor did she restrict it
solely on the location of the abnormality. Kurumi was confident that as long as she had <Rasiel>
in hand, she only needed to investigate the ‘matter about Marron’ and all the relevant
information would naturally flow into her mind.
As she wished, Kurumi had obtained all the information about Marron.
But at the same moment, <Rasiel> also transmitted the full ‘truth’ in accordance with Kurumi’s
instructions.
That was all.
What happened just now was really just that.
“…Kurumi? What’s wrong?”
Kurumi remained silent for a long time. Natsumi voiced her concern with a confused look.
“…No. It’s—nothing.”
Kurumi suppressed the urge to vomit as she reluctantly let out those three words.
◇◇◇
—Nighttime. Just following the yearly seasonal changes.
Kurumi visited Sawa’s home once again. Since it was originally located in a quiet residential
area, this added a bit more tranquility than during the daytime. Excluding the faint sound of
cicadas signaling arrival of springtime, Kurumi’s heartbeat was probably the loudest noise here.
“…”
Kurumi tried to reach out her hand, attempting to ring the doorbell—but, just as she was about to
touch it, she lowered her arm again.
She had already repeated this action several times now.
—”Just ring the doorbell, then it will all be over.” Even she couldn’t force herself to think of it
like this.
Perhaps it would be better for Kurumi to do nothing at all. If so, tomorrow, the day after
tomorrow, or even every day from now into the future could continue on like this.
However, she knew what was happening. Even if she stumbled upon this by chance, Kurumi was
the one who chose to take the bumpy road here.
“Ah—”
Kurumi lost her voice. She continued to keep mumbling and sighing over and over.
—After that, she said goodbye to Natsumi and headed back to Sawa. There, she pretended to
inspect Marron like a doctor, and informed everyone that he had stabbed his paw before
departing.
Then, after she returned home, she manifested <Rasiel> once more—thinking up anything that
would let her get to the bottom of this situation.
While tracing circles on <Rasiel>’s pages, Kurumi’s hunch gradually developed into confidence.
Betting on this slight possibility, she even used the Tenth Bullet <Yud> on herself to awaken her
past memories.
Kurumi’s uneasiness—eventually became reality.
Her legs naturally began to walk over to that place.
And then—
“—Meow.”
“…!”
The melancholic meow caused Kurumi to raise her head.
In front of her eyes was the open window on the second floor, and the face of Marron gazing out
at her at that window.
“Really Marron, why are you crying out like that… huh, Kurumi-san?”
“Sawa… san.”
Seeing her appearance, Kurumi could only emptily call out her name.
Sawa rubbed her sleepy eyes. Perhaps at last catching on to Kurumi’s abnormal expression, she
opened her eyes and leaned out the window.
“Even though I don’t know what’s going on… let’s go to the living room. I’ll open the door for
you immediately.”
“Ah—”
After saying that, Sawa’s figure disappeared, replaced by the sound of clearly audible footsteps.
If I leave now, I might be able to continue this ordinary life. However, there’s no way it would
work out like that. Kurumi couldn’t leave here. Just as she was hesitating, Sawa opened the
porch door and prepared sandals for Kurumi.
“Kurumi-san, it’s cold out there. Please come in, I’ll make you a cup of tea.”
“Y-Yes…”
Sawa pulled Kurumi’s hand and led her inside the house.
“It’ll be ready soon, so please hold on for a minute.”
Kurumi walked to the sofa in the living room and sat down. Marron quickly jumped up and
perched by Kurumi’s side. She fiddled with the tip of his tail. Marron, feeling that this wasn’t
enough, stood up and shook his body.
“…Hehe.”
Kurumi involuntarily laughed. Probably from seeing this, Sawa let out a sigh of relief as she
brought the black tea over.
“Ah, you finally laughed. I didn’t know what I was going to do if you kept being so gloomy.”
“…Was my expression really that bad?”
“Well, I was wondering if there was a ghost standing in front of my house…”
“…Ara, ara.”
After hearing what Sawa said, Kurumi faintly smiled.
It really felt nostalgic. She had thought the same yesterday afternoon as well. Sawa always liked
Kurumi to the point of teasing her; the two had such a close relationship perhaps because they
both said and did whatever they wanted with the other.
Ah, she really—
“—is the same as Sawa-san.”
Kurumi said that almost unconsciously.
She didn’t say that with any sort of goal in mind. It was just that, for her, the previous shock was
already gone. The moment Kurumi came here, she was already mentally prepared.
“Huh?”
Hearing what she had said, Sawa stared blankly.
However, she seemed to realize those words weren’t a joke and sighed softly.
“…Ah, so that’s it. You found out, Kurumi-san.”
Then, Sawa lowered her head and sadly spoke.

“…You already knew? That you aren’t the real Sawa-san?”
“No, I only noticed it just now—because Kurumi-san is so fixated on finding the ‘truth.’”
After listening to what Sawa said, Kurumi sighed, as she knew the meaning behind those words.
That’s right. This was the ‘truth’ that she had obtained.
While investigating Marron’s condition, she realized that he wasn’t the real one.
No—it wasn’t just Marron.
Kurumi’s crimes being redeemed as if all was well and good.
Mana’s body being cured.
—And the dead Sawa being resurrected.
This new world where everything was fine was all fake.
At that moment, Kurumi understood. This sense of disobedience, the absurdity of this entire
world that was forcibly inserted during its creation—all of this was a lie.
However, until yesterday, Kurumi didn’t notice this. This must be the power of this world.
This dream-like space was created by the Spirit who snatched away Mio’s Sephira Crystal during
its last moments, just as it was about to disappear. That person was the true god of this world.
With that being the case—there was only one thing Kurumi could do with this knowledge.
“—Sawa-san.”
“I must expose this world; I must pass this truth to the people with power, because I still haven’t
achieved anything until now.”
“Yes. Kurumi-san should press forward with what she believes in.”
Sawa nodded without hesitation.
Debunking the world—this path was equivalent to eliminating the world where Sawa and
Marron lived.
However, even with full understanding of this, Sawa still stared directly back into Kurumi’s eyes
and nodded.
—This is entirely a forcibly inserted world. For a moment, Kurumi thought because it was this
Sawa that she expected such an answer.
However, Kurumi quickly shook her head again—If it was the real Sawa, she would have
definitely had the same reaction. Because she was a girl like that, Kurumi had devoted her life to
getting her back.
“—Sawa-san, I have to say goodbye to you for now, but I will definitely come back for you
someday. So until then, please wait for me.”
“—Alright, I’ll wait for you. Because Kurumi-san has no friends, you’ll probably get lonely if
I’m not there.”
Sawa shrugged while speaking. Hearing her words, Kurumi couldn’t help but laugh.
“Then, I should go—Sawa-san?”
“Hm, what’s wrong?”
“…Can I lean on you for a bit?”
After Kurumi finished speaking, Sawa slightly widened her eyes and suddenly laughed.
“Who are you and what have you done to Kurumi-san?… I’m just kidding, of course you
can—it’s just that the price for doing so might be a little high.”
“Ara, ara.”
Kurumi smiled bitterly, buried her cheeks in Sawa’s chest, and cried for a bit.
◇◇◇
As if to tear through the night sky, the silhouette of a girl took a great step forward in this world.
Kurumi, who had left Sawa’s house, was walking along the deserted street, her heels tapping
against the ground.
“—We.”
As if chanting, Kurumi muttered to herself.
Immediately following, her shadow expanded several times, and an unknown number of Kurumi
climbed out from the shadow. The figure of four people wearing different outfits from the rest
was also among them.
All of them knew the situation from the information in Kurumi’s head. The truth of this world
that she had learned, and her determination, all of it was transmitted into all of their minds.
One footstep turned into two.
Two footsteps turned into four.
Four footsteps turned into eight.
The solo resonating in the night sky had now turned into a chorus that shook the earth.
“So, let’s go, we—The other party is the Spirit who created this world, a Spirit tantamount to
God. No matter how it is done, let us use our power to its fullest extent.”
“—Fufu, is this revenge for deceiving me?”
The clones said with a smile.
Kurumi suddenly smiled and shook her head.
“How could I? This really was a good dream to return to.”
—This was a world of dreams created by that Spirit for a certain someone.
Yet, it was also a world destined to collapse.
In that case, for Kurumi, helping her was the only thing she could do in this matter.
“Now—shall we start our war (date)?”
A gust of wind rolled up Kurumi’s beautiful hair.
The clock piece reflected on her left eye, which was constantly turning, looked bewitching under
this moonlit night.
—For Tokisaki Kurumi, the time frozen in her gentle nap in this world was now flowing once
more.
Tohka President
“—Visiting Japan. Brought to you weekly, our spotlight on new talented entrepreneurs in the
economic world—” D i s cor d . g g /d a t e a l i ve
With that, the title appeared on the TV screen as the background music started to echo.
It was an economics documentary broadcasted every Thursday evening, a program aimed at

developmental growth, and the official medium for introducing Japan’s economic situation to the
rest of the world. This show offered a unique perspective alongside a relaxed narrative. Although
the content was still relatively serious, it wasn’t falling behind in its entertainment quality either.
Despite that, however, the Itsuka family rarely watched it. The reason was simple: the majority
of the family and the guests who frequented their house were too young to be interested in this
type of program. Usually around this time, the Itsuka TV would be playing shows from other
channels or used as a screen for video games.
But, today was special because—
“—Today’s guest is a representative from YATO Corporation, its chairperson, Yatogami Tohka.”
“Umu! Nice to meet you!”
A familiar girl appeared on the screen.
She had long, night colored-hair tied up neatly and a pair of beautiful crystal-like eyes. Although
her lovely facial features were still a bit childish, her form-fitting black suit and high grade black
frame spectacles showed that she was a person with a lofty status.
“The developmental speed of YATO is completely unprecedented, like a modern Sunomata

Castle3. What is the secret behind your rapid growth?”
“The secret to our growth… hmm, isn’t that just like choosing to lose weight rather than
naturally growing thin?”
“So it turns out it’s all about choosing extensive development and not expecting specific
outcomes. What President Yatogami says should serve as a model for the select few that have
established such huge joint ventures in only a single generation.”
3
The castle was constructed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, at the time a minor retainer of Oda Nobunaga, while
they were pressing the Siege of Inabayama Castle in the mid-16th century. Hideyoshi used
pre-constructed sections to put up the fortress and it was finished so quickly that it gave the impression
that it was done overnight.
“Hmm? Well, that’s just how it is. The most important part is new ideas.”
“…”
“…”
As the residents of the Itsuka household were watching the show, Shido and his little sister
Kotori had sweat dripping down their faces.
“…How did it come to this?”
Kotori, while fidgeting with the tips of her hair tied together with black ribbons, asked that with
one eye closed.
“Even if you ask me that…”
Shido scratched his face as he replied back, looking back at Tohka smiling on the screen.
This incident started not too long ago.
◇◇◇
“Hmm…”
One night, as Shido was washing the dishes in the kitchen, he heard a soft moan coming from the
living room.
When he looked over there, Kotori had a serious expression on her face, staring at her tablet as
she sat on the sofa. Shido washed the dishwashing detergent out of the bowls, wiped his hands,
and walked over to her.
“What’s wrong, Kotori? Another job?”
“Ah… well, for the time being, let’s just say it is.”
Gently twirling the lollipop in her mouth, she turned the tablet’s screen to Shido. The name of a
company appeared on top of the neatly arranged paragraphs.
“What’s this? Some company?”
“Yup. This is—an overview of the subsidiaries of Asgard Electronics.”
“Wow, there’s so many…!”

Looking at the list crammed onto the crystal screen, Shido couldn’t help but sigh. As far as he
could tell, it included several enterprises ranging from heavy manufacturing all the way to
stationery printing. It turned out that their plentiful funds were raised through these channels.
“So, what’s the issue here?”
Naturally, with all of these companies, it’s improbable that they can all be performing well. I’m
considering merging and abandoning some of them. When DEM was active, these companies all
helped disperse DEM’s influence, but that’s no longer necessary.”
“Hm—”
Shido nodded his head in understanding.
A British company, the magic association that aimed for the power of the Spirits—DEM—was
their greatest adversary, but in the previous battle, its leader, Isaac Westcott, was defeated. Since
then, DEM has steadily lost its footing. The anti-Westcott faction of the company launched a
rebellion, and now DEM was suffering from internal strife.
“So that’s it… but this should be an issue for Asgard’s management section. Is this really
something the commander needs to handle?”
“Well, for the time being, I’m still a part of the company, so it’s not like I’m completely
uninvolved.”
“Hmm… huh?”
With an expression like he’d seen something incomprehensible, Shido slanted his head.
However, Kotori didn’t seem to notice, and she continued on.
“Well, after a cursory look, the first candidate should be this one.”
While saying that, she moved her cursor over the contender. Shido once again looked onto the
screen with a puzzled look.
“Eld Foods… a food company?”
“Uh huh. It was originally established to develop food for the Spirits. In the beginning, we didn’t
know if pure Spirits could eat the same food as humans, so we set up various studies just in case,
but either way, it’s useless now.”
“Haha… that’s true.”

Shido shrugged as he turned to the pots and pans stacked up in the kitchen sink—What was left
behind after the Spirits had finished eating.
“While small, the company still has employees and a cover business… But since it continues
losing money, it shouldn’t be much of an issue to merge it with the food department of another
company. This desserts factory can continue being of use—”
“—Dessert factory?!”
At that moment, a voice full of energy echoed as if to interrupt Kotori.
Looking toward the source, Shido found Tohka, who was watching TV with the other Spirits, all
turned towards their side.
“A dessert factory, is that a place where you make desserts?!”
“Yeah, that’s right. You’re well informed.”
“Umu, there was a TV special feature about dessert factories airing before. How impressive… so
many snacks transported by conveyor belt and ready in a flash…”
Tohka looked completely entranced as her shaking hands intertwined with each other. Shido and
Kotori couldn’t help but smile at the sight.
“Certainly you seem enthusiastic about this…”
“Umu. Of course I’m interested in this. Not just the dessert factory, new product testing,
development, trials… the desserts displayed in the store are actually infused with the passions of
so many people.”
While saying that, Tohka vigorously nodded her head. It was a very Tohka-like daydream.
Probably understanding that feeling, Kotori turned to look at Tohka.
“Huh, is that right? Then would you like to give it a try?
“Hm?”
“Doing stuff like trying out the original products. You want to give it a look and try, right?”
“What…”
Perhaps finally understanding what Kotori was getting at, Tohka’s eyes widened as her hands
started to tremble even more.
“R-R-Really?!”
“Yup, the basic equipment should be ready and available, so that ought to be fine.”
Kotori proudly nodded. Shido whispered to her as sweat formed on his forehead.
“Hey… is it really okay to make a decision like that so easily?”
“No problem. The company is going bankrupt anyway. A company set up for Spirits has finally
returned to its original intention by helping realize one of the Spirits’ dreams—the current
company employee plan is to be transferred to an affiliated company. Tohka, if you want to, you
could try being the president.”
“Ooh! Can I?!”
“…Hey?! You can’t be serious, Kotori!”
Shido couldn’t help but cry out. But Kotori gently waved her hand.
“Isn’t that great? There is still time before the merger; it’ll be a good social experience.”
“Even if you say that, to suddenly be president of the company…”
As Shido and Kotori were talking, the Spirits who were listening in on this conversation also
began to gather.
“Hehe. You’ve just described something interesting.”
“Request. Please also include Yuzuru and the others.”
“Tohka-san as president… I also want to watch.”
“Ah—I want to as well. It looks like there’ll be some good benefits.”
Everyone looked on, eyes gleaming with interest. As if to console everyone, Kotori spread out
her hands.
“Alright, alright, I understand. As for the positions… never mind, let’s just follow Tohka’s
ideas.”
After hearing what Kotori had said, the Spirits started to grow more nervous. Shido sighed
helplessly.
“—Shido, Shido.”
“…Hm?”
Amongst the noisy crowd, Tohka started to pull on Shido’s clothes. He slanted his head as he
turned towards her.
“What’s wrong, Tohka?”
“I forgot to ask… what is a president?”
“…”
And like that, Eld Foods ushered in a difficult business reopening.
◇◇◇
A few days later, the employees of the company gathered in the conference room of Eld Foods.
…Well, despite calling it a conference room, it was actually just the narrow room in the corner of
a building that was used for both commercial and residential purposes. The company employees
gathered here all also had familiar faces.
The Spirits gathered around a long table reinforced with cardboard to prevent it from shaking. In
front of everyone, there were nameplates with each person’s position written on it.
They were—
President Yatogami Tohka.
Senior Management Director Yoshino.
Management Director Hoshimiya Mukuro.
Section Chief of Human Resources Natsumi.
Section Chief of Marketing Tokisaki Kurumi.
Section Chief of Public Relations Izayoi Miku.
Special Missions Chief Tobiichi Origami.
OL Yamai Kaguya.
OL Yamai Yuzuru.
Part Timer Honjou Nia.
A sign labeling Shido as First Secretary also stood on the desk. Standing beside him was Shiizaki
Hinako, with the position of Second Secretary.
“Ah, hello… I see you’re here as well, Shiizaki-san.”
“Ahaha… the Commander asked me to come. Originally, though, I was affiliated with this
company…”
“Huh, really?”
“Yes. I can’t exactly say, “I work for a secret organization,” to my parents and friends. So on the
surface I’m an employee of an affiliated company. The deputy commander belongs to a security
company, and if I recall correctly, Nakatsugawa-san is affiliated with a toy manufacturing
company.”
As Shido and Shiizaki were talking, there was a sudden ‘thump!” Turning over to look, Nia
spoke with an unhappy look on her face while pointing at her position card.
“Hold on! Everyone else has official positions, why am I the only part timer! I demand a
promotion, or at least better benefits!”
Nia stood up while also raising her placement card.
Then, Shiizaki scratched her face apologetically.
“Sorry, Nia-san. There is a reason…”
“And what could that reason be?! Bullying?! Is it bullying?! I won’t just suffer in silence!”
“Employees at our company are prohibited from engaging in side businesses.”
“Guh!”
Nia collapsed onto the table. That’s right, Nia still had a job as a manga artist.
“Hey, hold on. Doesn’t Mikki also have a side job?”
While speaking, Nia turned to look at Miku. That was true, in addition to being a student, Miku
still had her job as an idol.
However, Miku raised a finger while not being the least bit concerned.
“Even though I am a section chief, it isn’t really a formal position, more like a… collaborative
effort. You can consider it something like a one-day store manager.”
“Ah, so it’s like that… Uh, can I also be like that? Then can I at least be called an OL like
Kaguyan and Yuzurun…”
Nia pouted while saying that, but just like that Kaguya and Yuzuru revealed fearless smiles.
“Contrary to expectations, there is indifference on this matter, but can it really be possible for
thou?”
“Description. OL stands for Operational Lady. This means feigning being an ordinary staff
member and advancing investigations in the dark, the equivalent of a modern female ninja who
decides success or failure through commercial espionage.”
“What a terrifying role.”
Nia leaned on the table as if giving up… OL generally meant Office Lady in English, but… well,
if it were those two they would definitely end up doing something like this. Shido bitterly smiled.
Then, likely noticing that things were finally settling down, Shiizaki coughed a few times and
promptly raised her voice.
“Uh… now then, let’s begin the new product meeting for Eld Foods—President, if you will.”
“Umu!”
Tohka energetically nodded in response to Shiizaki.
“I am the president, Yatogami Tohka! It’s nice to have everyone onboard! So, let’s talk about the
strongest snack I’ve thought of right away. Everyone should have the information in front of
them.”
After speaking, Tohka motioned around the table. Everyone had a few sheets of paper pinned
together with small paper clips presented in front of them. Incidentally, this was what Shido had
gathered together last night after listening to Tohka’s ideas.
“Here were my thoughts as I created this product: rarely do new products ever focus on trying to
make more than one person happy, so instead, let’s try to make it as widely accepted by as many
people as possible—and so I came up with this. Everyone, please turn to the next page.”
As they listened to Tohka, the Spirits continued to flip through the information.
“This is…”
“Mun…”
“U-Um…”
Then, the same complicated look surfaced on everyone’s faces.
But this couldn’t be helped. After all, what was written on this was—
“Kinako chewing gum.”
“Kinako flour potato chips.”
“Kinako beverages.”
It was an entire collection of kinako-based products.
“To my knowledge, modern people lack a supplement for being calm and tranquil. So what
encourages calm, peaceful feelings? That’s right, it’s kinako.”
However, Tohka, seeming to not notice everyone’s reactions, continued giving her enthusiastic
speech.
“The gentle flavor, the reassuring aroma… and also its nutritiousness. Soybean iso… iso…”
“Isoflavones.”
“Yup, that one.”
After Shido whispered that, Tohka vigorously nodded and continued on.
“The effect produced by this substance is good for the body. It can relax the body and mind. For
this era full of murderous intent, a bounty of kinako is necessary! Kinako together with more
kinako shall serve as restraints! I call this the kinako social contract!”
Tohka raised her fist and shouted. Several of the Spirits were caught up by her momentum and
started clapping instinctively… In fact, regardless of the content, Tohka’s speech itself still had
incredible appeal. Regardless of the content.
“Kinako… although I don’t hate it, does it really fit well with potato chips?”
“That’s a fair question. No judgment can be made without actually tasting it.”
Natsumi and Kurumi looked at the data while saying that.
Then, Tohka, as if expecting someone to say that, turned to look at Shido.
“—Shido?”
“Alright.”
As Shido gently nodded, a small trolley filled with kinako products was brought into the
conference room.
That’s right. Shido didn’t just help make the speech. He also helped develop various prototypes
based on Tohka’s ideas.
“Interest. There was no expectation of a prototype…”
“It doesn’t look too bad at a glance.”
The Spirits, while lively discussing with everyone, grabbed the samples and immediately started
trembling after eating the trial product.
“…S-So, it tastes like this…”
“Mun… Muku doesn’t detest this.”
Subsequently, they all began pondering with increasingly complex expressions on their faces.
Judging from those looks, although it was still unknown if it could actually be sold, they seemed
to be doing much better than expected.
No one raised any objections to it. After all, this proposal was made by the President, who held
the authority to make the decision on her own. Moreover, in the end, this company itself was just
a stage built for Tohka’s original ideas.
The Spirits looked at each other and nodded.
“Um… Then, let’s give it a try.”
“Yes, just like that. The design of the packaging should be handed over to Nia.”
“That task is far too heavy for a measly salary woman… but I’ll do it.”
“Then I’ll be responsible for destroying our competitors.”
“N-No you don’t need to do such a thing… also, Origami, what is Special Missions Chief even
supposed to mean…”
As the Spirits stood up and noisily chattered, Tohka nodded her head in satisfaction.
As he watched everyone having fun, Shido secretly whispered to Shiizaki.
“…Shiizaki-san. Everyone seems a bit over excited, will this turn out okay?”
“It’s no problem. Honestly speaking, a balance like this may lead to a deficit, but with the budget
allocated, even when not counting online sales, we have supermarkets set up within Asgard’s
affiliated companies. So it’ll all be set up in our own stores. This isn’t just about creating new
products, but also the pleasure in seeing those products sold in stores… or so the Commander
said at least.”
Scratching her face, Shiizaki smiled bitterly. So it turned out to be like this, Shido nodded while
expressing his gratitude for his little sister’s thoughtfulness. At the beginning, he was still
imagining how this would all develop. Certainly, it was better to do it like this. Shido, looking at
how Tohka and everyone were happily exchanging opinions, also smiled.
◇◇◇
“Uh…”
Morning, just a few days later. A sharp noise came from the side of his pillow causing Shido to
jump awake.
For only a moment, he thought that it was the sound of an alarm clock, but that couldn’t be it.
This sound was coming from his phone.
“Who would… this early in the morning…”
Shido rubbed his eyes, reaching out to grab his phone, pressed the reply button, and then placed
the phone next to his ear.
“…Hello, this is the Itsuka residence—”
“—Shido-kun!”
At that moment, a loud scream pierced through Shido’s joints. Shido flinched as he put some
more distance between himself and his phone.
“That voice… Shiizaki-san? Did something happen?”
“S-S-S-Something huge happened!”
“Something huge…? What’s going on?”
Hearing Shiizaki in such a panic, Shido raised the upper half of his body back up.
His confused brain woke up all at once. What the hell happened? Could it be that something
happened to the Spirits—?
“—Sold.”
“Huh?”
“Like I said—sold out! The product that Tohka-chan came up with! It’s selling explosively!”
“…Huh?”
Hearing Shiizaki’s cry from the other side of the phone, Shido let out a dumbstruck voice.
“Selling explosively…? Was it the kinako flavored potato chips or something?”
“It’s everything! The kinako chewing gum, the kinako flavored drinks, and all the other products
were all sold out in an instant. And the price is still increasing from online reselling! The
company’s phone has been ringing non-stop since this morning!”
“H-Hold on. How did this happen?!”
“That’s what I want to know! Anyway, this is a big deal! I’ll send a car over, so please, come
over to the office immediately!”
Those last words almost felt like a scream, then the phone hung up.
While left in this confused state Shido hastily changed his clothes, climbed downstairs and left
the house.
—What happened next could be described as a pure spark of inspiration.
Eld Foods, which had unexpectedly produced this new, hot product, immediately decided to
increase production. Products such as kinako potato chips, which had only been sold online until
now, arrived at the specific stores and received several orders from retailers across the entire
country. The product instantly became a national snack.
With the huge turnover from this, the board of directors consisting of Tohka, Yoshino, and
Mukuro decided to increase factory capital for edible snacks (limited mostly to desserts). And at
the same time, new product development had also begun.
A distinctively mature spicy kinako powder, a sample of new distinctive kinako snack, and also,
some day in the future, this would lead to the legendary, completely authentic kinako powered
machine—
All of this had set astronomical sale records and Eld Foods’ operating income had increased over
10,000 times.
The unprecedented kinako boom had arrived. A yellow storm had swept over the entirety of
Japan.
The board of directors decided to let the company go public and Eld Foods’ stock price
skyrocketed, establishing record highs.
At the same time, Yoshino and Mukuro started stock trading. They gained huge profits through
their instincts alone, and by using that to continue buying more shares, repeating the company
merger process and integrating many other companies as their own subsidiaries. This also
included the companies affiliated with Asgard Electronics that were originally planned to merge
with Eld Foods. Despite living together all year round, Shido had never heard Kotori this excited
before.
When there were more than thirty affiliated companies, Eld Foods made an announcement of
integrating its subsidiaries. The company’s name was changed to YATO Corporation. A giant
comprehensive company involving multiple industries was born.
…Of course, no one could have seen such an outcome.
It was as if there was an existence like god in the world who was partial to Tohka, with her
fortunes being as endless as the stormy waves in the ocean.
“H-How… did it become like this…”
The Secretary-General of the YATO Corporation, Itsuka Shido, said with a blank look.
Shido was neither in his house nor the bleak one-story building from earlier. They were instead
located in a skyscraper in the core of the city. When Eld Foods changed its name to YATO, the
company moved here.
The wide room was covered with soft, velvety blankets, and there was an oversized desk for
working. Incredibly, this wasn’t even the President’s office, but rather the Secretary-General’s,
prepared solely for Shido.
“—YATO’s—kinako—”
After hearing this voice, Shido raised his head. Miku showed up on the TV that was always on.
She was wearing a cute kimono like a tea shop poster girl, holding a container of kinako bread in
her hands. Next to her was the anthropomorphized soybean mascot, Kinakomon.
It was an advertisement from the YATO Corporation. When the company was still called Eld
Foods, Miku was the company’s advertising centerpiece and made tremendous contributions to
its public relations.
“…”
Shido silently operated his phone which displayed the SNS messages.
On the screen.
“Sure enough, YATO’s kinako flavor is the best.”
“Cold kinako is a must for this year.”
“Kinakomon’s leather belt is so cute.”
Rows and rows of comments, all like this.
…Although not all of them, the majority were written by Kurumi’s clones, the so-called army
recruited for posting messages on the internet.
Shido was also well aware of that. At the beginning, products like the kinako powder potato
chips wouldn’t be on the radar for sparking conversation topics, so it seemed it was Kurumi’s
influence behind that. The numerous clones, their existence was brought forth to increase the
number of supporters. Kurumi called these individuals the “leaders of me.”
“…They’re too capable.”
As Shido sighed, a knock came from the door.
“Ah, please come in.”
Shido turned off the TV and replied back. And then, a woman opened the door and entered the
room.
—A staff member of the YATO Corporation, the head secretary, Shiizaki.
She wasn’t wearing a uniform, but rather a high quality suit. Additionally, it was probably a
physiological effect, her makeup was much more seriously applied than usual.
“Secretary-General, it is almost time for the meeting.”
“Ha, alright… then let’s go.”
Shido gave a half-hearted reply as he stood up from the chair.
…As of this moment, Shiizaki was now calling Shido “Secretary-General,” and Tohka
“President.” After the company grew so big, this was probably unavoidable, but it still made him
feel a bit awkward.
“Say… do I need to attend the meeting?”

“What are you talking about? Isn’t that the job of the Secretary-General? It can be said that the
success of the meeting depends on the presence of the Secretary-General. Ah, and please don’t
forget to prepare.”
Shiizaki raised her index finger as she spoke.
“Okay, okay.”
Shido picked up the huge bag in the secretary’s room and left with Shiizaki, taking the elevator
to arrive at the primary meeting room above.
“Ooh, you’re here, Shido!”
As Shido approached the conference room, Tohka, who was sitting in the innermost position of
the round table, energetically greeted him.
“Ah, everyone came early.”
Shido slowly raised his hand as he spoke, and then looked inside the room.
This large room was incomparable to their old dilapidated meeting room. The glass wall was
reflecting the skyscrapers throughout Tokyo.
However, the people sitting around the table hadn’t changed at all. Tohka, Yoshino, Mukuro,
Natsumi, Kurumi, Miku, Kaguya, Yuzuru, Origami—the Spirits gathered around the table while
dressed in top quality suits.
“Ah, Darling!”
“Mun, you kept Muku waiting, Nushi-sama.”
“Fu, a corporate soldier is still a soldier regardless. That is to say, this is also the Yamai’s
battlefield.”
The Spirits smiled and spoke without any restraint. While the outside was much more prim and
proper, nothing on the inside had changed at all. Shido slightly smiled while letting out a sigh of
relief.
“—So, please Shido. Hurry up with the first thing.”
After saying that, Tohka raised a finger.
“Ah, okay.”
Shido opened the bag in hands and handed over a stick wrapped in high-quality paper to Tohka.
This was a premium chocolate cigar (kinako flavored, of course). Tohka couldn’t think properly
without eating this.
“—Shido, me too.”
“Sorry, can I have one too…?”
“…Ah, I also…”
The Spirits all raised their hands in turn after Tohka.
“Alright…”
Shido took out the snacks and drinks in the bag and handed them over to the Spirits in turn.
Because everyone had different preferences, Shido’s bag was always packed with various snacks
and treats.
…This was what Shiizaki meant when she said he was necessary to the success of the meeting.
Although, to be honest, compared to a Secretary-General, this was more like working as a used
car salesman or a sports stadium vendor.
“Okay, Yuzuru is potato chips; Miku is vanilla tea… hey, huh? Are we missing someone?”
At that moment, Shido had noticed. There was a faint tapping sound coming from somewhere.
Looking in the direction of that sound, Shido saw Nia on the other side of the glass wall. She was
wearing a dark gray jumpsuit with a helmet, hanging on a gondola outside of the building. It
looked like she was cleaning the windows.
She seemed to be saying something, but Shido couldn’t make it out through the thick glass. Nia
seemed to notice this as well as she used the cleaning spray to write something on the window
with her finger.
“Everyone·dressed up·in suits·is·very arousing·right?”
“…”
Even now, she was still saying stuff like that. Shido couldn’t help but feel a bead of sweat drip
down.
Once she noticed her presence, Shiizaki hurried to pull down the curtains.
“Let’s begin the meeting.”
“Ignored?!”
Looking at her cold reaction, Shido let out a loud yell. Shiizaki sighed before continuing to
explain.
“This is her punishment for secretly drinking on company grounds. Without a punishment, it
would set a bad example for the other employees. As long as she takes her work seriously, she
can come back.”
“A-Ah…”
Hearing such a Nia-like reason, Shido could only scratch his face in disappointment.
And thus, the YATO Corporation’s board of directors meeting commenced.
“—So, today’s issue is about using kinako powder noodles alongside fried chicken.”
“Huh… do those two things go together?”
“The raw material is soybeans, so it ought to be feasible.”
“Acknowledgement. Make a trial product and send it to market if it is delicious.”
“No objections.”
“—Then, the next issue. The bidding prices for the residential development projects of Nanmu
New Town have been announced, please confirm the request.”
“Un, the game department filed an application to develop a new app.”
“Also, the pharmaceutical department made a proposal for a new drug—”
“Hold on, how did the conversation change so drastically?! Are you saying that this company is
responsible for all that as well?!”
Shido loudly screamed.
—The meeting ended after about two hours.
The topics were rich and diverse, from the establishment of a green energy sector, to the
introduction of new industry rules for convenience stores, and even as far as commercial
development of “Soybean Pro” as the centerpiece of a theme park. When the topic finally
reached space exploration, Shido completely gave up thinking; Tohka only felt reluctant since it
meant sending soybean flour towards the cosmos.
“Hmm…”
After finishing the meeting, Tohka stood up to stretch before turning to Shido.
“Though the meeting was interesting, I’m really hungry now. Shido, it’s almost time to prepare
lunch!”
“Um…? Ah, right then…”
Although he was left mentally exhausted from all the information, Shido still agreed. During the
meeting, Tohka was eating snacks, but for her that wasn’t a meal at all.
At that moment, Shiizaki, with a tablet in her hands, walked towards Tohka.
“Unfortunately, President, at noon we need to discuss overseas construction. The other party will
host a reception. Now we need to be heading to the hotel where the meeting is located, please get
prepared.”
“Muu… right. It can’t be helped. Let’s go, Shido.”
Tohka grunted in dissatisfaction, but still followed Shiizaki, and Shido followed suit.
Before leaving the meeting room, Tohka seemed to have thought of something as she turned to
the Yamai Sisters and Origami.
“—Ah, that’s right. Kaguya, Yuzuru, Origami, I think it’s about time, but please take care of it,
you guys.”
“What’s it time for?”
“Un, it’s just some troublesome work. Shido will learn about it soon anyway.”
“Hmm…”
Shido wondered to himself if it was yet another industry to start as he left the meeting room with
Tohka and Shiizaki in tow.
After preparing, the three of them left the company building and headed toward the meeting spot.
Wearing a long coat over her black culottes suit, Tohka had a pair of sunglasses to cover her
eyes, making her look more like a mafia boss rather than the president of a food company.
“President, the car is ready.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Tohka briefly replied as she walked towards the high-end black sedan at a brisk pace. While
watching as this business exchange occurred, Shido smiled wryly.
Just at that moment—
“—Shido, move a little farther away from me.”

Just as they were about to enter the car, Tohka spoke with a frown.
“Huh? Why, Tohka? What—”
With a bang, the sound of something breaking through the air echoed, as Tohka’s body faintly
moved.
By the time Shido noticed, Tohka’s fingertips were holding a smoking bullet.
“Huh…? Hah…?”
Shido, failing to comprehend what was going on, couldn’t hold back his shock. He looked back
and forth between Tohka’s face and the bullet in her hands.
However, Tohka seemed to have anticipated this would happen. She took out her smartphone
from her pocket and started to make a call.
“—Hey, Kaguya? It’s me. I was just sniped. Judging from the firing line, it should have been
shot from the roof of the Fujiwa Building. Grab the sniper immediately… what, already
captured? As expected of the OL. You work quickly.”
“Huh… Huuuh?!”
“—Umu, I am fine. Trying to defeat a Spirit like this is almost delusional. Yes, it’s probably one
of Kuroi Real Estate’s subordinates, likely still holding a grudge on the bid for Tengu Hills.”
“Huuuuuuuh?!”
“—Hey, Origami? As you heard, the sniper is under control. I will leave it entirely up to you.
Muu. We better reinforce the real estate sector here. Let’s turn Kuroi Real Estate’s headquarters
into a kinako museum.”
“Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh?!”
Shido, unable to keep up with things, could do nothing else but let out a lamentable cry.
—Afterwards, the rapid development of the YATO Corporation only continued.
Eld Foods completed a miraculous rebirth, and as the new president of the YATO Corporation,
Tohka received invitations for various speeches and TV appearances, along with commissions
for consulting work and business reconstruction. Some companies even wanted to invite Tohka
to join them as a consultant.
“Muu? Okay.”
Despite Tohka failing to fully understand this, she still accepted. She rebuilt several businesses
and was called a prodigious entrepreneur. There was an autobiography published, Yatogami
Tohka, Huge Kinako, that became a popular must-read book for people who are interested in
business management. Incidentally, while it was ostensibly an autobiography and the person
smiling on the cover was Tohka, the actual content was written by Natsumi. Also, in time, even
Nia’s window cleaning skill became super powerful.
Nowadays, there was nothing that Tohka couldn’t do or anything that she couldn’t reach.
Her continuous victories forced other people to take the above statement seriously. With fortune
comparable to landing sixes in dice 1000 consecutive times, Tohka ravaged the market and
dominated the economic world.
◇◇◇
“…”
YATO Corporation, evening, in the President’s office.
Looking at Tohka as she stood by the wall overlooking the brightly lit city, Shido softly sighed.
—In retrospect, they really had gone through a lot.
In the beginning, they only planned to have some fun. A company that was on the verge of
collapse had been retooled into manufacturing Tohka’s original desserts.
However, this sowed the seeds for the company to sell one hot product after another, engulfing
so many things in an instant, and leading them here.
In front of Shido was a hegemon of the economic world that could mobilize 100 million yen
worth of funds with a finger. Not even the government could ignore Tohka’s ideas now.
The young girl’s dreams gradually expanded and transformed into an unexpected monster.
“…”
Shido’s heart felt uneasy.
It really felt as though this happened all in an instant. In the grand scheme of things, it was such a
brief twinkle in the eye of the universe that it could be used to convince someone that this was all
a nice daydream.
But in such a short time, Tohka had obtained so much. Wealth, fame, status, power—she almost
fulfilled all of the desires that humans generally wish to pursue.
So Shido grew a little scared. Will Tohka turn into someone he wouldn’t even recognize
anymore?
—Guuuu…
And then.
“…Huh?”
As Shido was thinking this over, he suddenly heard that sound.
After a short pause, Shido noticed—a sound coming from Tohka’s stomach.
“…Muu, I’m hungry.”
Then, with a slightly embarrassed look, Tohka rubbed her stomach.
“—Ha.”
Seeing that, Shido couldn’t help but laugh.
“Hahaha, ahahahaha.”
“W-What’s wrong, Shido? There’s no need to laugh. No matter who it is, their stomach will
always grumble when they’re hungry!”
“N-No… haha, sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that… I just felt… reassured by that. No matter
how much things change, Tohka is still Tohka.”
“…Muu? Isn’t that obvious? What are you saying, Shido?”
Tohka frowned as she slanted her head. At such movements that could only be described as cute,
Shido laughed again.
“Anyway, this company really has become so large. At the beginning, it was almost all over for
it.”
“Umu! It’s because of everyone’s efforts! But…”
Tohka fidgeted in embarrassment as she softly spoke.
“The company’s situation is good, but it’s been a bit too busy lately… there’s rarely a chance to
eat the meals you make, Shido.”
“Aah… that’s true.”
Recently, Tohka has been having dinner with the dignitaries of several economic circles and
politicians from various countries, often eating at high-end Japanese restaurants. At the
beginning, Tohka’s eyes were shining from all the rare delicacies, but it seemed now that she still
felt more comfortable with the other Spirits that knew her personally, so her mood had been
dropping a bit recently.
Shido also felt that her being like this was quite pitiful. More importantly, he was quite happy to
learn that Tohka would rather eat his home cooking than the menus of high-end restaurants.
“Alright.”
Shido clenched his fist and grinned.
“Speaking of which, since the commotion of the new product has finally settled down, let’s go
home to eat for today. I’ll make anything and everything you want, Tohka.”
“…! R-Really, Shido?!”
After Shido said that, Tohka opened her eyes wide and leaned forward.
“Y-You said everything, right?! You’ll really make everything?! Hamburgers, curry, omelets,
anything?!”
“Well, of course. I won’t be stingy and make only one thing after saying something like that.
Every request, I’ll do it! Even fried chicken and sausages.”
“T-To go that far…!”
Tohka looked up at the sky like a devout believer who had just witnessed a miracle. Her body
shook in awe to express her gratitude.
“This… has my absolute approval! Let’s go home immediately!”
“Right, we can’t forget to buy ingredients on the way back.”
“Umu!”
However—
“—You can’t!”
Immediately afterwards, a voice came to interrupt the two of them.
How long was unknown, but the President’s Secretary—Shiizaki stood there with sweat dripping
down anxiously.
“S-Shiizaki-san…”
“We discussed this before, President! Today we’ll be having a meal with the chairman of the
Federation of Economic Organizations! Please prepare immediately!”
“Muu… uu…”
Tohka stared at Shiizaki with a disgruntled look.
“…Do I really have to go?”
“Yes, Tohka-chan, you’re the president!”
“…!”
As Shiizaki shouted, Tohka’s eyes suddenly widened as if she noticed something.
“…Un, right, just like that. Hehe. Isn’t that quite simple?”
Then, she nodded as she walked to the window.
Tohka pushed a button on the wall. Accompanied by a deep turning sound, the large glass
window slowly fell into the floor. The night breeze blew into the room as the documents on the
desk fluttered with the wind.
“Wha…?! P-President, what are you doing…?!”
Shiizaki screamed while shielding her eyes from the sudden wind pressure.
Then, Tohka smiled and took off her hairpin and tie. Her long dark hair fluttered with the night
wind as her dark colored necktie danced in the darkness.
“—We achieved our goal. I will resign from my position as of today. Is that alright?”
“What—”
After Tohka finished speaking, Shiizaki opened her mouth in shock.

“H-How can this be! Such a sudden resignation…! Without the President, what will happen to
our company?!”
“Muu? Like this, then…”
Tohka placed her hand against her chin, as if thinking something over—and then turned to look
in the direction of the window she had just opened.
There she noticed. Outside of the window was a cleaning gondola that was now swaying back
and forth from the wind pressure—and at this point in time, there was a cleaner in this gondola.
“—Nia.”
“Wah! What’s wrong, Tohka-chan? Please don’t open the window so suddenly! It’s super scary!”
Tohka stared at the gondola and then towards Nia who was standing there, then placed her hand
on Nia’s shoulders.
“—The next president is you, Nia! I’ll leave it to you!”
“…Huh? What did you just say?”
With those sudden words, Nia’s eyes turned into nothing more than two blank dots. Standing
behind them, Shiizaki had the same look on her face.
However, Tohka didn’t care. She moved quickly and tightly grabbed hold of Shido’s hand.
“Alright, let’s go home, Shido! Can you hold onto me tightly?”
“Huh? This is… waaaaaaaaah…?!”
Firmly grasped by Tohka’s hand, Shido couldn’t help but scream.
But that was expected. Grabbing onto Shido’s hand, Tohka pulled him into a princess carry—and
then jumped from the building window to the night sky.
“Hehe—hahahaha! That’s wonderful, Shido!”
“Ah… um, yeah… hahahaha!”
Despite the dreadful floating sensation covering him from head to toe, Shido still gave a laugh
with a hint of self-abandonment, and together, they disappeared into the night.
◇◇◇
—Afterwards, the YATO Corporation, which had enjoyed miraculous growth, was met with a
sharp decline after Tohka resigned as president.
It was as if a god had said, “…Hmm? So Tohka left? Then forget about it.” and subsequently lost
all interest in the company.
The Spirits seemed to realize that their original goal had already been reached and all left the
company one by one. Seeing that the mood had turned sour partway through, Shiizaki came to
Tohka with a box of desserts as a gift.
It seemed she was scolded by Kotori for continuing to do things against what the Spirits had
wanted. So she apologized but, well, someone like Tohka didn’t care about this at all; she was
more interested in Shiizaki’s snacks, and thanked her for them instead.
In any case, after this twist, the Spirits returned to their daily lives.
“—Alright, I’ve kept you guys waiting!”
“Ooh!”
Today’s supper was special golden fried dumplings that Shido made from scratch. The
gold-colored dumplings on the large plate caused the Spirits—especially Tohka—to all stare with
brightly lit eyes.
“S-Shido, let’s eat it while it’s still hot!”
“Haha, that’s right. Then, thanks for the meal.”
“Thanks for the meal!”
The Spirits around the table pressed their hands together as they spoke before tasting the flavor
of the dumplings.
Seeing this familiar and picturesque scene, Shido couldn’t help but smile.
Yet, at the same time.
“…Hmm?”
As if he had heard something familiar, Shido turned his attention to the TV in the living room.
A press conference of the YATO Corporation was being broadcasted on TV. The YATO
Corporation, whose stock price had plummeted like Niagara Falls, appeared to have been
acquired by the Asgard Electronics’ subsidiary company according to their original plan. The
male employees were answering the reporters’ questions with heavy looks.
If he listened in carefully, he could hear the voice of someone screaming, “Let me go, I’m the
President!” from the background.
“Stop her! Don’t let the President pass!”
“Please give up! There’s nothing else we can do!”
“Damn it! This is my company! I finally got ahead in life!”
“…”
A press conference that was somehow both subdued and overly noisy. Cold sweat dripped from
Shido’s face.
However, Tohka was too preoccupied with dinner and didn’t even seem to notice.
“Umu! Sure enough, compared to those high-end restaurants, food prepared by Shido and
everyone else is still the best!”
Tohka smiled, her mouth stuffed with steaming dumplings.

Mana Again
Located in the residential area of East Tengu, the Itsuka household was the picture-perfect image
of a leisurely afternoon at the current time of 3:00 PM.
The bright sunlight shone through the lace curtains, illuminating the teapot and teacups placed on
the table. The cookies on the plate were homemade. Although their shapes were somewhat
different depending on the maker, each had their own special flavor.
“Fu…” TL: Viza rd6991, LightningFarron
Shido sighed as he took a sip of his black tea. While the rich fragrance of the black tea spread
through his mouth, the steam fluttered up and soon dissipated into the air.
Seeing this normally uninteresting sight really showcased how relaxed the current mood was.
Shido smiled while looking at little sister sitting on the sofa opposite him.
“How do I say this… It really has been such a long time since we had time like this.”
“Right. Even though being busy isn’t bad, having some time to relax like this every once in a
while is nice.”
Kotori gently nodded as she spoke. Her hair tied up with her white ribbon faintly swayed to the
side.
With only Shido and his little sister Kotori in the living room of the Itsuka household, this was
their so-called afternoon family tea time.
While this would have been a common scene a year ago, with the focus on handling Spirits now
and the construction of the Spirit mansion, such moments became scarce. Shido sighed deeply
while taking another sip from his drink.
They were truly living a peaceful and leisurely life, accompanied by the illusion of time passing
slowly. It was good for them to occasionally reach this peace of mind. Shido placed the tea cup
back on the cup holder and gently stretched out.
—At that very moment.
At that moment, fierce footsteps, which came from the direction of the corridor, broke apart the
calm and steady atmosphere. The door to the living room was forcibly opened.
Shido instantly thought it was a Spirit—but that wasn’t it. An unexpected face appeared from the
door. The moment they saw her, both Shido and Kotori’s eyes widened at the same time.
“Huh…?”
But that was a natural response, after all, in front of them was their mother who should be
working abroad—Itsuka Haruko.
She had a slim figure with short hair. Likely from running all this way, she was having trouble
breathing as sweat fell from her forehead.
Despite having said that, this wasn’t the problem. Haruko never informed Shido and the others
when they were coming home. And it was pretty hot out today, so of course someone would
sweat after a little exercise (all of this was par for the course).
The problem was the tears in her eyes.
“M-Mom…?”
“What’s wrong, you look flustered…”
After Shido and Kotori asked in surprise, Haruko took a deep breath as her gaze became sharper.
“Shii-kun, Koto-chan, please listen.”
After pausing for a while, she made a firm resolution to continue.
“I… I want a divorce!”
That explosive statement caused Shido and Kotori to turn to look at each other—
“Huuuuuuuuuuh?!”
At the same time, both of them let out a blood-curdling scream.
◇◇◇
—Turning the clock back a bit.
“Ah, long time no see my hometown!”
After about two and a half hours of taking a direct bus from the airport, Haruko, who got off at
Tengu Station, took a deep breath and lazily stretched.
Haruko, an employee for the large electronics manufacturing company Asgard Electronics,
usually lived in the United States where the company was headquartered. However, the land of
her birth still filled her with a sense of comfort and nostalgia. She looked at the building in front
of the station, the fountain, and the mysterious dog statue. Taking a breath in, the air of her
hometown circulated throughout her body.
“I’m not sure how to say it, but there really is a different feeling arriving home here. When I was
at the airport, there was still this feeling of everything inexplicably going back to English, but
now I can finally switch back to Japanese mode completely.”
“Ah—I understand, I understand.”
Responding with a wry smile, her husband Tatsuo, was standing right beside her.
With his black-framed glasses, he had sparse words to share. He was now wearing a light coat
and carrying a large portable suitcase.
Like Haruko, he was also an employee at Asgard Electronics. That’s right, even as a married
couple, both of them worked abroad together.
“Speaking of which,” while looking at Tatsuo’s expression, Haruko scratched her face as if she
just remembered something important.
“With what’s going on, I’ve been waiting to come back to Japan. Of course, I also want to see
that Shii-kun and Koto-chan are doing fine as well.”
That’s right. Haruko and Tatsuo returned to Japan several times a year during long
vacations—but this time they spontaneously decided to use their annual paid leave to come
home.
Of course, a similar situation had happened before, but that was because Haruko basically threw
a tantrum and said, “my Shii-kun and Koto-chan are gone…” Only then did Tatsuo make the
extraordinarily rare proposal of going home.
“Aah—”
As he listened to Haruko, Tatsuo adjusted his glasses and smiled.
“Um… there’s also one person that I want you to meet.”
“A person you want me to meet…?”
Hearing those words, Haruko gave a suspicious look.
“Who would that be? A new Spirit?”
The Spirits under protection frequented the Itsuka household. They had met several of them
before, but while Haruko and Tatsuo were in the United States, two new Spirits had joined in.
“Nothing bad, but they’re a very special person. I think Haru-chan will be very surprised.”
“Huh, don’t tell me it’s the queen of Enka—Daidouji Miyuki. Is that who it is?”
“…Sorry, for not living up to your expectations.”
Tatsuo sincerely lowered his shoulders in regret. Haruko smiled wryly and patted him on his
back.
“What are you upset about? I’m just kidding, I’m looking forward to it. Takkun has never told
me to take paid leave before, so there must be a reason, right?”
After Haruko finished speaking, Tatsuo nodded slightly.
This man was as straight-laced as ever. Haruko continued with a wry smile.
“Well, shall we go home? Let’s go—Ah but before that, I need to go to the restroom, can you
wait for a bit?”
“Ah, sure.”
Tatsuo nodded. Haruko lightly waved her hand as she departed for the powder room.
“…”
Looking at Haruko’s back as she walked to the restroom, Tatsuo sighed.
—So far, it’s been a success. Despite Haruko being a little suspicious, he managed to get her to
return to Japan without giving away the purpose of their trip.
Everyone may think this was a crafty ploy, but for Tatsuo, who could never hide anything from
Haruko, this was a major event.
Of course, having said that, everything Tatsuo did was to see Haruko’s smile. He renewed his
determination as he clenched his fist.
The reason why Tatsuo suddenly asked for annual paid leave and to return to Japan—as he told
Haruko before, was because there was someone that he wanted her to meet.
He had only recently learned of this person’s existence a few weeks ago, while he was browsing
his company’s database at work.
Although they were originally a Wizard from DEM, Tatsuo was speechless once he saw her
name and appearance.
It couldn’t be. After all, that person was—

“—That person, could it be?”
“…!”
When he heard that voice, Tatsuo turned around, astonished. Right there was a familiar girl
standing before his very eyes.
She looked to be around 14 or 15 years old. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and a tear-shaped
mole rested beneath her left eye. Despite being quite petite, she was standing upright full of
confidence and gave off a feeling just like a gallant wolf.
“It sure is! Long time no see, Tatsuo-senpai!”
The girl spoke with a smile. Her expression caused Tatsuo to feel inexplicably and deeply
moved.
But that was only natural, her appearance hadn’t changed in the slightest for 30 years.
“Yes, long time no see—Mana-chan.”
The girl called Mana smiled once again in response to Tatsuo.
That’s right, she was Takamiya Mana. Around 30 years ago, she was Haruko’s closest friend who
had mysteriously disappeared one day.
She had been kidnapped by DEM, her memories tampered with, and forced to become a Wizard.
But until now, he couldn’t believe it just from what he was told. Seeing her now, like this, finally
cemented it in his mind. His thoughts focused on these inconceivable events, Tatsuo could only
force a strained smile.
And then, Mana turned to look at Tatsuo’s face with interest.
“Wow, nothing’s changed about you in thirty years, senpai.”
“Nothing when compared to you.”
Tatsuo shrugged. Relying on a Realizer for metabolic control, or perhaps simply through the use
of deep sleep. Either way, Mana’s appearance hadn’t changed at all.
“Ahaha, that’s true.”
Mana smiled happily, but suddenly frowned upon recalling something.
“Speaking of which, what about Haruko? Shouldn’t you two be together?”
“She went off to the restroom. Rest assured, I haven’t told her about you at all yet.”
“Ooh, thank you—hehe, I can’t wait to see the surprise on Haruko’s face.”
After saying that, Mana playfully crossed her arms. Certainly, she was looking forward to this as
well. After all, this was a reunion thirty years in the making.
“Kya, that really startled me. I expected Tatsuo-senpai to marry Haruko, but I never expected
that you’d also be Kotori’s parents.”
“I was surprised too. When I was going through the list of Wizards, suddenly there was one
written as Takamiya Mana.”
“Well, a lot of things happened. What’s more frightening is that you’re Nii-sama’s parents now,
right? Hmm, would it be better if I also treated you like my parents as well?”
Mana touched her chin with a sly expression.
Her older brother, Takamiya Shinji, was an old friend of Tatsuo. Like her, he also disappeared 30
years ago, but after various twists and turns, he now had the name Itsuka Shido and was living as
the adopted son of Tatsuo and Haruko… well, obviously Tatsuo only recently learned about this.
“Um, I can’t imagine Mana-chan calling me Otou-sama.”
“Fufu, my Nii-sama’s Otou-sama is my Otou-sama. What do you say—Otou-sama!”
“H-Hey now, please spare me.”
“This should be fine, Otou-sama—you just feel that way because we haven’t seen each other in
such a long time!”
Mana grabbed Tatsuo’s hand in a joking manner. That left him no room to reply with anything
but a powerless smile.
“Hum~hum~~hum~~”
Haruko, who had just left the restroom, was humming as she was walking over to the place
where Tatsuo was waiting.
While she kept thinking of seeing Shido and Kotori immediately, Haruko’s mood naturally
became more and more cheerful. Of course, this time they went back home without telling them
in advance. Haruko and Tatsuo were both fond of surprising the other… Well, because it was in
their nature to be like this, they certainly had a fright the last time they came home.
Despite having said that, they now knew there were Spirits coming in and out of their home. It
was also going to be fun to meet them after such a long time.
“Say—”
On the way there, Haruko whispered to herself.
Speaking of which, there was one point Tatsuo said that had Haruko a little concerned.
“The person you wanted me to meet… who on earth is that?”
Tatsuo took the initiative to apply for vacation. He was even so confident in doing so that it
shocked her. Who was this other person? Someone he wants me to see… that meant either
someone she hadn’t seen before or maybe someone she hasn’t seen in a long time. If it were like
that…
“Ha, maybe it’s Shii-kun’s girlfriend…?”
Haruko frowned. Incidentally, the possibility of Kotori having a boyfriend also flashed through
her mind. But if that was the case, Tatsuo’s mood would be gloomier.
Well, the same also held true for Haruko. If Shido or Kotori ever got a lover, Haruko would want
to congratulate them, but it wouldn’t be true to say that she wouldn’t feel lonely at all.
“Yeah, shocked, but not necessarily joy…”
Haruko shook her head as she reorganized her thoughts. That’s right, stuff like bringing a debt
collector and saying, “Actually, I owe a lot of money…” or bringing a music teacher and saying,
“Actually I plan to live my life through hip-hop now,” or saying “Actually there’s someone else I
love…” and bringing the object of his fancy or an illegitimate child. The possibility of any of
those wasn’t zero.
“—Then again, something like that would be impossible for Takkun. Ahaha.”
Haruko smiled as she waved away these bad thoughts that flashed through her mind. Tatsuo
would report any financial issues to her one by one and his singing level wasn’t enough to make
a career out of music. And more importantly, her Tatsuo having a love affair would be—
“…”
At that moment, Haruko was speechless. She didn’t have any doubts over Tatsuo’s love for her,
but one of his danger points was his skill in misunderstanding women. Especially in their
workplace, likely due to his gentle personality and rational manner of speech, he was very
popular among female coworkers. He was very gentle to everyone but woefully unprepared to
withstand temptations… Speaking of which, he seemed to have secretly gotten in touch with
someone recently…?
“No, no, no, there’s no way…”
—At that moment, Haruko stopped.
In front of her was Tatsuo and a peculiar girl.
She looked to be around junior high age, and quite energetic too.
Well, this much was fine. If it was only this, Haruko would probably imagine that the other
person was simply asking directions from Tatsuo.
The problem was that the girl and Tatsuo were holding hands and talking in a very close manner.
“H-Hey, please spare me.”
“Shouldn’t that be fine, Otou-sama—it must be difficult to see each other after such a long
time!”
“—”
Haruko heard the conversation.
The phone in her hands fell to the ground.
As Tatsuo was talking to Mana, there was suddenly the sound of something dropping nearby.
“Huh?”
Tatsuo turned to look and saw Haruko. It seemed she had already returned from the restroom.
But, the expression on her face was inconceivable and her complexion was turning grey.
At that moment, Tatsuo thought that she was surprised at seeing her missing best friend—but that
wasn’t it. She was baffled. This was indeed a surprise, but rather than being deeply moved and
pleasantly surprised, she was trembling in anger.
“OOOOO… Otou-sama…?!”
Haruko pointed at Tatsuo, her trembling finger as she said those words in shock.
“Ah.”
Hearing that, Tatsuo looked on in surprise of his own. If he tried to explain the situation, it would
likely cause a huge misunderstanding.
“A-An illegitimate child…? And around the same age as Koto-chan… could it be that you
wanted me to meet—”
“No, Haru-chan, please listen to me, she’s—”
“—Takkun is a skirt chaser—!”
Haruko yelled as Tatsuo tried to stop her and then ran away.
◇◇◇
“Um… ooh… so that’s how it went…”
Haruko, who had rushed back to the Itsuka residence, finished crying and blew her nose as she
drank the black tea Shido handed to her. Black tea could help eliminate worries, but it was still
difficult to recover from something like this. She was still softly sobbing.
“Dad actually…”
“Are you sure you weren’t mistaken…?”
After Haruko told Shido and Kotori the story, they both looked at each other with clear doubt on
their faces.
That was natural after all. Indeed, the matter was discussing their father having a secret love
child from who knows when.
Having said that, their earnest and honest to a fault father—Tatsuo, and an unfaithful man with a
secret love child. It was impossible to reconcile those images together.
Moreover, for Shido, who had regained the memories of Takamiya Shinji through his fateful
encounter with Mio, Tatsuo and Haruko were both his foster parents and also his former friends.
Hearing that they were about to divorce, Shido’s feelings grew even more complicated.
“Mistaken?! How can there be any mistake when he’s holding hands with a junior high school
student and being called Otou-sama?! How could that be some new custom that took root here
during my absence from Japan?!”
Haruko emotionally placed down her cup and yelled… Well, it was just as she said.
However, even so, Shido couldn’t silently sit by and watch his parents in crisis. Shido tried to
continue comforting Haruko’s fears.
“Calm down. Did you really hear her call him Otou-sama? Maybe you heard it wrong…”
“Yeah. And even if he was called Otou-sama, it doesn’t necessarily have to mean your actual
father, right? For instance, the sort of father that lends out pocket money…”
“Isn’t that also a problem—?!”
Hearing what she had said, Haruko shouted again. Shido gave her a ‘what are you saying’ glare
at Kotori, who then quickly expressed her apology.
“Ah really… I always knew it was dangerous! That man is always being inexplicably admired by
girls, plus he has the physique of a natural lucky pervert… and he doesn’t know how to reject
others! He’s just too nice to everyone! So of course he would be deceived by a wicked woman!”
Haruko groaned while clutching her head. Not being able to tell if this was supposed to be praise
or a backhanded compliment, Shido couldn’t help but force a smile.
“This is starting to just look like some random public display of affection…”
As Shido said that.
“Anyway! Betrayal must be met with the price in blood! The iron hammer must be lowered on
this skirt-chaser! I need a large sum of divorce compensation…! Shii-kun and Koto-chan will
definitely choose me, right…?!”
Haruko stretched as she approached them. Indeed, neither Shido nor Kotori were adults yet. If
their parents divorced, they would have to choose which one of them they wanted to live with.
Though, this wasn’t something they could decide so easily. After he showed a troubled look,
Shido spoke slowly to calm down the way too overly excited Haruko.
“If what Mom says is true, then there’s nothing that can be done about this… Anyway, let’s listen
to what Dad has to say for the time being. Didn’t you run away without listening to his
explanation? Perhaps there’s actually a reason behind this?”
“That’s right. Alright, let’s call Dad’s phone first…”
After talking, Kotori skillfully took out her cell phone and tapped on the screen.
Likely from seeing Shido and Kotori’s approach, Haruko jerked her face as a trail of tears fell
from her eyes.
“Waah… waah—! Even Shii-kun and Koto-chan—! This household is no longer my safe
harbor—!”
“Um… ah! Mom?!”
Shido tried to stop her but it was already too late.
Haruko cried out. She stood up from the sofa and frantically rushed out of their house.
◇◇◇
“…Sorry. I overstepped my boundaries with that joke.”
She lowered her head apologetically. Tatsuo shook his head slightly with a wry smile.
“It’s alright Mana-chan, please lift your head. I know you didn’t do it maliciously.”
“That’s certainly true… but it still caused an unnecessary misunderstanding.”
“Ahaha… but that’s also because Haru-chan hastily came to the wrong conclusion…”
Tatsuo scratched his face, picking up the phone that Haruko dropped and placed it in his bag.
“Right, I can’t contact her like this… it can’t be helped, let’s go back to my house for the time
being. I know Haru-chan would definitely go there. Anyway, we’ll need to explain the situation
first, that way she should understand.”
“Yes, that’s right…”
Mana sighed again as she raised her face. Tatsuo gently nodded, lifting up his suitcases and
crossing the square in front of the station with Mana.
“But that was quite unexpected, she didn’t even notice me. We used to meet up every day before.
Well, after 30 years, I guess it’s not all that surprising to forget…”
On the way back to the Itsuka residence, Mana pondered.
Tatsuo looked back at her while awkwardly whispering.
“Well, that may be true, but I also couldn’t even imagine that my old friends would look the
same as they used to. If there wasn’t a name written in the data, I probably wouldn’t have noticed
either…”
“Ah, it’s true then, people do grow older as time passes.”
Hold on, that was like Mana was some celestial being living secluded in the mountains. Tatsuo
couldn’t help but laugh when he thought that—Actually, as ageless people that could exert a
power beyond human wisdom, Wizards were kind of like that celestial-existence.
As the two of them were talking casually on the way back to the Itsuka household, Tatsuo’s
phone suddenly began to vibrate.
A look on the screen showed Kotori’s name on the display. Tatsuo tapped the reply button and
answered the phone.
“Hello? Is this Dad? Just now, Mom ran away after coming back home crying… and what’s this
about an illegitimate daughter?”
Kotori asked suspiciously. Tatsuo had a pained look as he heard that.
“Aah… um, that’s because…”
As Tatsuo briefly explained the reason for the current situation, Kotori let out a surprised voice.
“Huh? Because of Mana? She’s an old acquaintance of you two? What, if that was the case, it
would have been better to have made that clear earlier.”
“Sorry. I wanted to surprise Haru-chan…”
“Anyway, I understand the situation now. We’ll try and search from our side as well. Let’s
contact each other afterwards.”
After saying that, Kotori hung up the phone. As they walked, Mana looked on at him with keen
interest.
“Was that Kotori? What’s the matter?”
“Um… Haru-chan went home first, but then ran away crying somewhere else again…”
After Tatsuo said that, Mana let out an “Ah…” scratching her face as if finally understanding
their predicament.
◇◇◇
“Wa… waaaa…”
After leaving the Itsuka house, Haruko wandered aimlessly until arriving at a nearby park.
Anyway, there was no other place to go, and even if there was, her unpresentable crying state
made her hesitant.
Haruko sat down on a bench in the park, squatting down and whimpering. The cold early spring
wind even blew a chill through her heart.
“…Ugh…”
Not knowing how long this took, Haruko’s shoulders suddenly jolted in surprise.
The reason was simple. A pair of feet entered Haruko’s field of vision as she was facing the
ground.
“Mun… What’s of concern? Is there some ailment afflicting you?”

At that moment, she heard a voice from above her. Haruko held her breath slightly and raised her
face.
In front of her was a young girl. A slightly childish look combined with a pair of gentle eyes. Her
age seemed close to Kotori’s. Her long hair was tied in braids wrapped around her shoulders.
It seemed she was worried about Haruko squatting alone on the bench and came over to talk.
Having lost anyone to rely on, she burst into tears again when confronted by this girl’s
tenderness. But, crying any further would just make this girl even more worried. Haruko barely
managed to wipe away her tears and shook her head.
“…I’m fine. I’m sorry to have worried you. I’m not injured or sick.”
“Mun…”
As soon as Haruko answered, the girl whispered and sat down right next to her.
“W-What? What’s wrong?”
“It’s impossible to be fine. Crying without any pain or illness is a serious matter. There’s no harm
in speaking and being listened to. Even if it’s merely taking part in a discussion, your mood
should improve.”
“Huh…? B-But… doing something like this with a stranger I’ve never met…”
“Mun, then please excuse me. Muku is called Hoshimiya Mukuro, someone who lives nearby.”
The young girl spoke while looking directly into Haruko’s eyes. Although she thought, “I
shouldn’t be talking about this to just anyone…” when she saw the serious look in Mukuro’s
eyes, she paused for a moment.
“…”
Of course, Haruko could not easily tell personal experiences to a stranger she had just met for the
first time, but the current situation was special. After all, she was lending a helping hand to
Haruko at her lowest point—and most importantly; there wasn’t a hint of ridicule in her sincere
eyes. They told her that she was genuinely worried about Haruko.
“…Um, then I’ll respectfully take your invitation and talk for a little.”
Haruko spoke, and then as she hesitated in clearing her throat, she began to talk.
Then, a few minutes had passed.

“—There was actually such a thing! Don’t you think that’s too much! Damn it, he already has
me!”
In the end, Haruko was only hesitant at the beginning. In fact, Haruko didn’t want to confide in
anyone, but as the topic progressed, her tone grew more and more agitated as she finally entered
a drunken rant without actually having drank anything.
“Mun, so the situation is like this… this truly is an excessive matter.”
The girl—Mukuro listened to her words in a very calm manner and responded seriously. It
wasn’t unreasonable for Haruko to be more enthusiastic about complaining than beforehand.
“Right?! Mukuro-chan thinks so too! So in the end, this can only be settled with a divorce!”
“…Mun.”
However, as Haruko uttered that aggressive statement, Mukuro’s face strained itself for the first
time. Then, she touched her chin as if considering something.
“Um… what’s wrong? Mukuro-chan.”
As Haruko asked while slanting her head, Mukuro let out a small “No” lowering her eyes then
shaking her head.
“What Haruko said certainly holds truth. In regards to those unreasonable and rude, they ought to
be given a piece of one’s mind.”
“Right?! So it can only be like this?!”
“Yes. Already having a beloved wife and still being addicted to other women, he is truly a
heartless rat, scum amongst men.”
“R-Right! Ah really, thinking about it again…!”
Haruko struck the palm of her hand with her other fist in a rage. Mukuro clenched onto her arm
while nodding.
“Muku doesn’t imagine he can still maintain human reasoning. Such indecency is akin to a beast.
He should be struck down with a club.”
Then, just like this, Mukuro said something too dangerous. Confronted by this sudden
suggestion, Haruko couldn’t help but be stunned.
“…Huh?”
“This is merely a just end for committing the crime of adultery. After all, he’s a maniac that even
has his brain tissue infringed upon by beastly desires. Perhaps through only death can he
understand his own faults.”
“N-No… it’s not like that… relatively speaking, he’s honest to a fault and has little boldness
compared to me who always takes the initiative. He must have been forced upon by the other
party…”
“What? Are you pushing the blame for those sins only on the other party? It’s filthy and
shameless. For these scoundrels, you need to give up on them as soon as possible. It’s best to
find a new husband. The same goes for the children that would turn a deaf ear to Haruko.
Presumably they lack honor just like their father. It’ll be wise to remove the roots before they rot
everything surrounding them.”
“Don’t… don’t say it like that!”
When she heard such vulgar words coming out from the mouth of a cute girl like Mukuro,
Haruko couldn’t help but yell.
“Like I said, even though an illegitimate child is unforgivable, it makes no sense to say those
things about Takkun without knowing him at all. And also, this has nothing to do with the
children! The two of them, both of them are my good and precious children—”
At that moment, Haruko had finally noticed.
Listening to her words, Mukuro was displaying a gentle smile.
“Mukuro-chan, you…”
“Mun.”
After Haruko called out her name, Mukuro slowly nodded.
“The reason why Haruko is sad and angry is because you still deeply love your partner and
children—If what Haruko said holds true, then the matter is indeed serious. Perhaps an end in
parting is inevitable.”
However, Mukuro continued on with a “But.”
“It’s simple to destroy, but not easy to restore. Such is the case of family. Muku advises you that
no matter what the end result may be, you shouldn’t do anything that will lead to regrets. The
situation must be seen through with a calm heart—Never repeat Muku’s mistakes.”
“…”
When she heard that and saw Mukuro’s sad smile, Haruko was speechless.
—Perhaps something similar had happened to her in the past. Her expression was sufficient
enough in convincing others not to think like that.
The blood rushing to her head finally cooled… Ah, her sincere advice was the same that Shido
and Kotori were trying to persuade her with. Why didn’t she listen to them at that time? When
she considered that, Haruko’s heart was filled with regret and shame.
After washing her face with cold water, Haruko finally calmed down. She held her hand against
her forehead, shaking her head before raising her face and letting out a sigh.
“…Thank you. I think I’ve finally calmed down.”
“Muku didn’t do anything to merit thanks… Muku used to be helped by others when in pain,
now Muku is merely doing the same thing as that person once did.”
With that, Mukuro’s face slightly turned red. Haruko had to ask after squinting her eyes.
“Huh… that person, is he a boy?”
“…! How did you know?”
“Ahaha, women’s intuition—he must be a good man. Shouldn’t you also not let go of such a boy
so easily? You can’t let other girls snatch him away either.”
“Mun… that is certainly true.”
Mukuro touched her chin and let out a whisper. Seeing such a cute reaction, Haruko couldn’t
help but loosen her cheeks.
“Anyway, you were of great help… I’ll go talk to him first.”
“Mun.”
After listening to Haruko, Mukuro happily smiled.
◇◇◇
“—Not over here. Where is she?”
“I haven’t found her here either.”
After Mana shook her head, Tatsuo followed with the same.
The two of them were in a corner of the residential area of Tengu city. After first leaving behind
the luggage at the Itsuka house, the two of them searched around the home to find the missing
Haruko.
Shido and Kotori were also looking for Haruko, but it seemed that they had little progress as
well. Tatsuo took the time to check his phone, still no new calls, and sighed.
“Really, where did you go? I can’t think of anywhere else…”
“Well… let’s hurry up and find her to fix this misunderstanding…”
As both Mana and Tatsuo crossed their hands with troubled looks, a car horn echoed behind
them.
“Huh?”
After hearing that sound, Mana looked back to see a woman riding a small automobile there. She
was wearing old sportswear with her jacket completely split at the seam. The serious goggles on
her head felt slightly off, like an ornament painted on as a last thought.
“Hey, Manacchi. What are you doing here?”
“Nia-san!”
Mana cried out her name when she realized who it was. That’s right, she was a manga artist who
lived in this city, the Spirit, Honjou Nia.
“…Hmm? Who is this middle-age man? Hmm… a harmless glasses wearer, feigned the
ever-popular uke role, a brute with spectacles, or a look fit for simple innocence. Which one
could he be? How terrifying.”
“I don’t quite understand what you’re talking about, but what you said is probably not in the
bounds of my knowledge.”
Mana opened her eyes and let out a sigh.
“This is Nii-sama and Kotori-san’s father. He’s a researcher at Asgard Electronics and connected
to the construction branch that built the <Fraxinus>. Additionally, although the reason for it is a
bit complicated, he was originally my senpai.”
“Hello, my name is Itsuka Tatsuo.”

“Huh, Boy and Imouto-chan’s?—Hey, you’re the person that built that? That’s really amazing,
but the AI on that ship sometimes feels like she’s tough on me in particular. Is that a bug? If it’s
still within the warranty period, can I ask you to take care of it, please?”
“Is that right? I haven’t received any reports…”
As Tatsuo scratched his face in confusion, Mana strained a bitter smile.
“—Senpai, this is Honjou Nia-san, a Spirit.”
“Huh, a Spirit?”
When he heard what Mana said, Tatsuo turned to look at Nia again. Seeing the spotlight on her
now, Nia let out a proud “humph.” Mana sighed at her hubris.
“Yes. But only about 70% of her words can be taken seriously, so please don’t take her too
seriously.”
“Hey, you’re as cold as ever Manacchi.”
Nia laughed as she said that. Actually, Mana didn’t mind Nia all that much, but since Tatsuo was
the type to take everything he heard seriously, she knew she had to inform him of her true nature.
“Hmm, Itsuka Tatsuo… the father of Boy and Imouto-chan…”
Nia seemed to be thinking something as she touched her chin. Mana slanted her head in wonder.
“No, I’m just thinking of a nickname to give you. Doesn’t everyone love my nicknames?”
“Not at all…”
Despite being against it, she gave the always serious Mana a nickname that sounded like an
aquatic creature. But Nia didn’t seem to care, she clapped her hands after thinking something up.
“Well, I’ll call you Papa since that’s easy to understand.”
“…That’s the one thing you shouldn’t have said. I’m suddenly feeling a sense of déjà vu.”
Mana sighed as she shook her head, while Tatsuo also had a troubled smile on his face.
“Huh, what’s with this? Did something happen?”
Nia blinked. Mana glanced at Tatsuo as they briefly explained the situation.
“I see, I see, so that’s what this is… the old misunderstanding routine.”
Nia started nodding as the very corners of her mouth turned into a grin.
“If that’s the case, then the two of you are very lucky.”
“Huh?”
The pair’s eyes widened simultaneously, Nia raised a finger up and exclaimed.
“Have you forgotten who I am? The one who possesses the super invincible, omniscient Angel
<Rasiel>, the girl with a super beautiful soul—Nia?”
“Ah—”
Hearing those words, Mana raised her voice.
That was certainly true. The Angel <Rasiel> she held was known as the omniscient Angel. The
Angel with the power to understand every natural phenomenon in this world. With that, it
wouldn’t be difficult to find out where Haruko is.
“Really… it’s just as you say.”
“Humph. That’s right. Not just the location, I can figure out what she’s doing as well. Although I
can’t see her inner thoughts, it’s still possible to tell if she’s still angry or not based on her words
and actions. It would be good to wait to rush in until your opponent is calm once again.”
“I see… this is more efficient. I didn’t think of this because I was under the impression that
<Rasiel> was Tokisaki Kurumi’s Angel.”
“W-Who would you rather have help you with this?!”
Nia couldn’t help but yell out when even Mana said something like that. A lot of things had
happened during the final battle against DEM, and in the end, Kurumi had also obtained
<Rasiel>. It seemed that Nia still was self conscious about that.
“If you keep talking like that, I won’t check for you!”
“Ah, sorry, sorry. Please, if you will.”
“I can’t say no to Manacchi…”
Nia grunted and snapped her fingers.
Then, light particles began to concentrate into the shape of a book.
“Ooh…?!”
Seeing this unfold, Tatsuo cried out. Well, it couldn’t be helped. Even if he had already learned
about this from his company’s info, this was the first time he saw an Angel manifest with his
own eyes.
Probably because Tatsuo’s reaction was exactly what she wanted, Nia smiled as she opened the
cover of the book.
Then, she closed her eyes to concentrate as her fingers flicked over the pages.
“Hmm… it doesn’t seem like she’s left the residential area. Hmm? There’s someone next to her.
Is that… Mukku-chin?”
“Mukuro-san?”
Mana’s eyes widened at the unexpected name. Hoshimiya Mukuro. Like Nia, she was also one of
the Spirits that had her Reiryoku sealed by Shido. Did she end up coming across Haruko while
she was alone?
However, Nia didn’t respond to Mana, keeping her eyes closed with a slight frown on her face.
“Wow, she really is in a terrible mood. She seemed to have calmed down not too long ago, but
now it seems she’s super angry again? It’s like there’s a bright flame burning in the background.
Mukku-chin’s hands are even trembling. What… is she watching…? A scene that has gone off
the rails? Not just an illegitimate child, but a third party has appeared as well? Hey, this is—”
At that moment, Nia noticed something and opened her eyes to look to the right. Mana and
Tatsuo also turned to look in that direction.
“—Ah.”
Then, they all noticed. They didn’t know how long she was standing there, but Haruko was
standing there with a furious look.
From her glare alone, it was obvious that she had yet again misunderstood something.
“H-H-Haru—”
“T-Takkun!”
Ignoring Tatsuo’s plea, Haruko ran away once more with tears in her eyes.
Running on the residential road, she was filled with exceptional regret.
From Mukuro’s persuasion, Haruko was intending on walking home to listen to Tatsuo’s
explanation, but then she accidentally encountered him.
Another woman who looked different from his illegitimate child (tentative name) was at his side.
Not only that, she seemed to have a very worry-free face and a close relationship. Her woman’s
intuition told her that—she had to be the mother of his illegitimate child (tentative name).
“Waah—! Takkun, you big idiot—!”
With tears in her eyes, she ran down the street.
Although it was a lie to say that Haruko was completely unprepared for this, she didn’t expect to
witness that so suddenly. And to think that the other party would be that sort of woman. She
wore loose and open sportswear and had a tired face like some manga artist that had barely
passed a deadline. She was the complete opposite of Haruko. Her heart was filled with
complicated feelings. If you get used to the same taste, is it not in a man’s innate nature to
occasionally want to try something else? Ah, ah, damn it. If that was the case, he should have
just told her and she would have stayed up all night and wear worn-out sportswear—
—Just at that moment.
Haruko’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a sharp car horn.
In less than a second, she understood what was about to happen. The situation she had gotten
herself in. Yes, she had run down the street, and at the moment she crossed the intersection, a
high-speed car was coming from her left.
“Watch out!”
“Haruko!”
“Ah—”
Almost subconsciously, a voice like a mouse leaked from her throat.
Her body suddenly froze up and made it so that she couldn’t move. Despite that, her
consciousness still firmly grasped the situation in front of her.
It felt like time had stretched out a hundred times over. The so-called revolving lantern
phenomenon. Various scenes flashed through her mind and disappeared just as fast as they came.
“—”
In that moment, Haruko noticed. In those unbroken successive scenes, there was only Shido,
Kotori, and Tatsuo.
—Nothing other than that. Why was it, that only in these very last moments could she truly
realize that—
“Haru-chan—!”
Just then, accompanied by that scream, Haruko felt something attempt to grab her.
No need to even think who that person was—Tatsuo. Tatsuo had run up from behind, putting his
body out as a shield in order to protect her.
But—it was too late. The car had already arrived. It would be impossible to avoid it. Even if he
saved Haruko, it would come at the cost of Tatsuo’s life itself.
As her thoughts started to condense, they arrived at a certain possibility.
Was this… what Tatsuo was intending?
“No, Takkun—!”
At the moment she called out his name—
The world stood still.
“Huh…?”
The sense of disconnect from her body caused Haruko to blink in confusion a few times. It was
as if Haruko, Tatsuo, and the even galloping car had all been lifted up by a giant pair of invisible
hands.
Their bodies floated away from the car. After the car had passed, the two of them gently fell back
onto the ground.
“Just now, that was—”
“Ouch… are you okay, Haru-chan…?”
She stared blankly as Tatsuo, who had somehow become her cushion, let out a pained groan.
“Ah… um. Hey…”
It was at this time that Haruko finally noticed. In order to protect her, Tatsuo’s hand had perfectly
latched onto Haruko’s chest.
“…Even in moments like this, you’re still the same as ever, Takkun.”
“Ah… sorry. That wasn’t my intention…”

Tatsuo hurriedly released his hand. Haruko sighed and bitterly smiled.
“It’s okay. I know… thank you for saving me.”
As Haruko said that, she turned to look around.
“…Say, what happened just now? Did Takkun somehow awaken a superpower during a moment
of crisis?”
“N-No, I didn’t do that. If I were to guess—this was a Territory.”
Tatsuo said while adjusting his glasses. Territory, that is to say something like an enchantment a
Wizard unfolds through a Realizer. Indeed, if someone used a Territory, it would be possible to
accomplish what just happened.
“But, that Territory, just who—”
“—Really, you’re still as rash as ever, Haruko. Don’t cause too much trouble for Tatsuo-senpai.”
Just then.
A voice from above came to answer Haruko’s question.
She looked up a little.
The girl that had appeared there, was Tatsuo’s illegitimate child (tentative name).
“Huh—”
Haruko couldn’t help but hold her breath.
Her posture, her look, her manner of speaking.
All of this was so nostalgic in Haruko’s mind.
Of course, something like this couldn’t be happening. She disappeared thirty years ago when she
was the same age as Haruko.
However, the girl standing in front of her now was ‘too similar to her,’ to the point where it
would be nonsense to believe anything else. Haruko raised her head with a dumbstruck
expression and a trembling voice.
“Ma, na…?”
To that voice.
“—Yes, long time no see Haruko.”
Takamiya Mana replied back with a smile that hadn’t changed at all from her memories.
◇◇◇
“What! That’s what was going on?! Takkun, you idiot! Why didn’t you tell me this earlier!”
“Um, well, I wanted to tell you…”
“Haha… well, I’m just glad this misunderstanding is finally cleared up.”
The scene had shifted to the living room of the Itsuka household. Shido wryly smiled as he
listened to the conversation between Haruko and Tatsuo.
It seemed like there was a small quarrel while the siblings were searching for her, but everything
had been resolved by itself in the end. Shido and Kotori exchanged glances with each other
before letting out a collective sigh of relief.
“Anyway, I didn’t think you were taken by DEM and made into a Wizard… are you okay?”
As Haruko worriedly asked, Mana gave an exaggerated shrug from the opposite sofa.
“Ah, well, my body had been modified, but that’s been fixed now. More importantly, my heart
has been much happier now that DEM’s unpleasant CEO has been killed off.”
“Hehe… that frank and refreshing side of yours hasn’t changed at all. It soothes my troubled
heart.”
Haruko wiped the corners of her eyes while laughing.
Of course, it wasn’t difficult to sympathize with Haruko’s feelings. She was talking to a good
friend whom she thought she would never see again. After having Shinji’s memories restored
during the final battle, this was also a scene that made Shido quite emotional.
Haruko clapped her hands together as she remembered something important and turned to look at
Mukuro and Nia who were sitting next to Mana. It seemed Mukuro and Haruko, and Nia and
Tatsuo had run into each by chance.
“I wanted to say hello again to these new Spirits—My name is Itsuka Haruko. Thank you for
always taking care of Shii-kun and Koto-chan.”
“Fumu, it goes without saying that Muku and the others are the ones always being taken care of
by them.”
“Yes, yes, don’t worry about it. Say Itsuka Mama, you said ‘that type of woman—!’ Right? What
type of woman is that? It couldn’t be me? That isn’t true, right?”
As Mukuro smiled, Nia slanted her head but still gave a slight smile. Haruko was awkwardly
sweating as she tried to look away from her.
“A-Anyway, Takkun was so dashing at that moment. That heroic appearance coming in to rescue
me from danger! I wish Shii-kun and Koto-chan could’ve seen how manly he was too!”
“Ahaha… in the end I couldn’t have done anything alone. It was thanks to Mana-chan’s help.”
“That’s not the problem. It means a lot that you came to my rescue… but what if you messed up?
If something happened to Takkun, I wouldn’t know what to do.”
“Haru-chan…”
“Takkun…”
The two of them looked at each other with glimmering eyes. It seemed that the bond between
them had grown stronger after going through this whole ordeal. Seeing their newlywed couple
look, Shido couldn’t help but crack a smile.
“It’s unimaginable that they were just arguing earlier.”
“Well, it was impossible for Dad to actually have an affair.”
As Kotori shrugged, Shido replied back with an affirmative nod.
—And then.
“—Oh.”
Suddenly, the living room door opened, and a voice was heard coming from it.
Shido thought it must have been one of the Spirits living in the mansion next door—but that
wasn’t it. What appeared there was a girl with lightly colored hair tied up in a ponytail.
She was Maria, the AI of the airship <Fraxinus>. She had obtained a physical form through a
Realizer and the power of the Angels.
“Ah, Maria. Welcome.”
“Yes, there seem to be rare guests here, Shido.”
Maria looked on at Haruko and Tatsuo in the living room with keen interest and then quietly
walked towards them.
Then, standing in front of Tatsuo, she displayed a soft smile.

“I’ve wanted to meet you for so long—Dad.”
“Ah…?!”
As Maria said that, Haruko, who had been smiling up until then, once again froze. Tatsuo also
inexplicably opened his mouth.
…No, certainly, Maria was an AI, it wasn’t that much of an issue to call Tatsuo and Haruko her
parents. However—
“You couldn’t have picked a worse time, Maria—!”
Shido screamed as he barely managed to hold back Haruko, who had burst into tears and was
trying to grab the door handle again.
Spirit Camping
There are many reasons for people to travel.
Some people travel to unknown locations to increase their knowledge or travel just for new
encounters. Some people travel for sightseeing, some go on school trips planned by the
curriculum, and others simply enjoy hiking.
Of course, there are also people that leave to escape their hometowns and people that elope
because of a love deemed unacceptable. Or perhaps—
“—Darling! Kotori-san! I found something incredibly disastrous! …Huh? DEM? N-No, nothing
like that. I’m going to graduate this month, but because everything got so busy lately, I failed to
go on the graduation trip! Waah! This is too much! My desires are going to be insatiable at this
rate! H-Haah… P-Please run for it, Darling, Kotori-san…! I feel that you two are suddenly
looking delicious… Ooooooooooh!”
…The popular idol that burst into their house suddenly said this and attacked the two of them. So
the possibility of having to make travel plans wasn’t completely non-existent.
In this manner, it turned into a graduation trip for all the Spirits.
“Hmm—”
Sunshine passed through the small openings left by the tree leaves and landed on the ground.
While listening to the sound of flowing water, Shido stretched his body.
Surrounded by dense trees, the river was flowing slowly. The sound of insects and songbirds
chirping could also be occasionally heard. Although this wasn’t completely natural scenery, for
people that had come from the big city, the immersion here felt just right.
It may be because it was off-season now, or perhaps this location wasn’t too popular, but there
was no one here besides Shido and his group. As if to let his entire body feel this open
atmosphere, Shido stood up once again.
“It’s not bad to come here occasionally.”
“Right. Even if the cause of this is a bit um… well, it’s nice to be able to freely enjoy this.”
As Shido said that, his little sister Kotori stood next to him, shaking her twintails as she nodded.
She was dressed up in a refreshing T-shirt above culottes, with her favorite lollipop in her mouth.
That’s right. Shido and the others were currently at a campsite by a river, which was about a two
hour drive from their house.
Of course, the Spirits were also involved in Shido and Kotori’s trip. Towards the river, Tohka and
Yoshino were happily playing in the water after putting on their swimsuits.
It was March now. Even though the season was already spring, it was still a little too early to
descend into the river.
However, inconceivably, after deciding to travel the temperature began to rise, and the sun now
gave the feeling of early summer.
It was as if a god in control of this world was considering camping and abnormally changed the
weather to suit everyone’s needs. Shido wondered for a split second if it was truly something like
that, but Kotori didn’t know anything. He supposed inconceivable things would stay just like
that.
“Hey! Shido, Kotori! Aren’t you guys coming to play?”
“It’s very cool and comfortable.”
After saying that, Tohka and the others vigorously beckoned in Shido’s direction. “Oh, I’ll head
over soon.” Shido waved back in response and looked around to confirm everyone else.
Origami, Natsumi, Mukuro, Tohka, and Yoshino were all playing together. Kaguya and Yuzuru
were looking for flat stones by the river. It seemed like they were preparing for a competition
skipping stones. On the bank of the river, Kurumi was smiling while looking on at everyone else.
Meanwhile, Nia opened an early can of beer.
“…Uh, that being said, where is the leading actor responsible for this trip, Miku—”
“Kyaaah!”
Just as Shido’s voice fell, there was a loud scream coming from the river side.
That was Miku’s voice. Miku, who was wearing a swimsuit just like everyone else, looked on at
everyone with gleaming eyes.
“Innocent angels playing by the clear stream… wow! Ah, is this really the real world?! Could it
be that I was sent to heaven by a truck when I wasn’t paying attention?! Hehe, hehe… I can’t
stand it anymore! Miku-san, heading out!”
Miku cried out as she dove into the river. Then, as the water splashed, Miku gradually pressed
forward towards Tohka and the others.
“What?! What’s up with that speed?!”
“Guh… those aren’t human movements at all…!”
“Kiya—!”
The Spirits dispersed like tiny spiders. Among them, Natsumi didn’t have enough time to escape
and was captured by Miku. It looked just like a poor deer being attacked by a crocodile as it was
getting drinking water.
Looking on at this scene, Kotori sighed.
“Great. It seems that she hasn’t calmed down in the slightest.”
“Yeah.”
Shido replied after nodding slightly.
However, after a few seconds.
“…Huh?”
Shido slanted his head. A sudden sense of disobedience had struck him. It felt as if his senses had
become paralyzed.
Well, despite this, there was no doubt this was a cheerful occasion. Shido looked on at the crowd
again before letting out a long sigh of relief.
“Graduation trip… time flies by so quickly. We’ve already arrived at that time of year.”
“Ah, what’s the matter, being so gloomy all of a sudden? It’s not like you’re the one who
graduated.”
After Shido said those words that were filled with deep emotion, Kotori gave him a somewhat
amused and surprised look.
“Yeah, but how to describe it… a lot happened this year. Being able to go out and camp with
everyone feels like a dream.”
“Hehe… well, maybe it is.”
Kotori didn’t reply with a joke this time, simply narrowing her eyes and shrugging slightly.
But that was similarly understandable. After all, until last month, Shido and the others had been
fighting a battle with their lives on the line.
Despite the hardship, though, they still won. The present peaceful life was based on great
sacrifices and losses. Thinking of it like that, it made this peaceful time feel even more precious.
Shido’s thoughts seemed to have been passed on to Kotori. She smiled as she stood up.
“—Then, we must make even better memories.”
While saying that, Kotori slowly took off her t-shirt.
“—! Hey, Kotori—”
“What are you worried about? I’m wearing a bathing suit.”
As Shido wanted to reflexively look away, Kotori stretched out her hand while revealing a
teasing smile.
“Alright, you come too, Shido.”
“…Oh.”
Obviously, he should have known that Kotori was wearing a swimsuit underneath her clothes,
but he still looked away for some reason. Shido, who felt a little ashamed about this incident,
grabbed Kotori’s hand and moved towards the river where everyone else was.
He didn’t know how long they had been playing. After pulling Natsumi and Miku apart,
everyone was playing in the water—although what had occurred just a few moments ago was
similar to a horror movie scene. The Yamai sisters organized a round of skipping stones (ending
up with a battle between Tohka’s power and Origami’s skill). Kurumi and Nia enjoyed fishing
together (incidentally, Nia was already drunk at that time and fell asleep after eating the fish).
After returning to the place beside the river where he had left his luggage, Shido checked the
time with his mobile phone, then stood up and straightened his back with his hands against his
hips.
“Now then… it’s almost time to prepare for dinner.”
“Ooh, dinner?! What’s on the menu today?!”
Right as she heard the word dinner, Tohka asked with glimmering eyes. Shido replied while
pointing to the car.
“Since going camping is a rare opportunity, why don’t we have barbeque? The charcoal and grill
are already prepared, so we can season the fish we just caught with salt.”
“What?! We can eat the fish we caught?!”
The light in Tohka’s eyes grew brighter and brighter as she leaned forward. Then, while closely
nuzzling up to Tohka, Miku pouted in dissatisfaction.
“Ehh, it’s too early. I still want to play with Darling for a while.”
“Although there is still a lot of playing to do, not starting the work in the kitchen now would
mean preparing too late. You don’t want to miss dinner, do you?”
“When you put it like that…”
While speaking, Miku coquettishly teased Tohka’s neck. Tohka twisted her body as if she was
tickled.
“Besides, the tent isn’t set up, right? That needs to be done before it gets dark as well.”
After Shido finished speaking, Kotori, who came ashore from the river, nodded in agreement.
“Right. Many people are setting up tents for the first time, so it’s better to start early. Modern
tents are relatively convenient to set up, but only compared to their predecessors.”
“I’m very skilled at this.”
“…Aah, um, as expected of Origami.”
Kotor bitterly smiled as Origami gave a thumbs up. Origami was a Wizard from the Japanese
Self-Defense Force Anti Spirit Team. It wasn’t surprising that she would have received such
training.
Despite having said that, with the number of people here, it would still be very difficult to set up
a tent large enough for everyone to sleep. Shido nodded as this decision was made.
“Then I’ll go prepare dinner, so everyone please help set up the tent.”
“Huh? But to do that alone…”
Kotori said as she raised her brow. Shido smiled and brushed away that concern.
“It’s fine. I’m used to building a grill and using a burner.”
“Uh… well, maybe that’s right.”
As Kotori whispered with her arms crossed, Miku raised her head as if thinking up something.
“Yes! The preparations for dinner are left to Darling and we are responsible for setting up the
tent! Yup! Come along everyone!”
After saying that in a matter of fact manner, she reached out to grab everyone’s hands.
“Ah, wait a minute…”
Kotori felt something troubling, but couldn’t keep up with Miku’s momentum and was helplessly
pulled away.
“…? What’s up with Miku?”
Shido, who was now left alone by the riverside, slanted his head over Miku’s sudden change in
attitude. She looked dissatisfied mere moments ago, so what led to the sudden shift in mood?
There was no more time left for him to wonder, though. Shido walked over to the car to begin
preparing the barbeque.
“Mnn… there should be no problems here.”
While grabbing onto Tohka and Kotori’s hands, Miku, who brought the Spirits over to a leveled
portion of the ground, smiled after arriving at a location where Shido could no longer see them.
The Spirits looked on in surprise at Miku.
“No problem… are there really not any problems?”
“We need to set up the tent, right…? Then we should head to the car to first bring the things
over…”
Natsumi and Yoshino tilted their heads as they spoke in turn. But as Miku’s smile deepened, she
raised her index finger.
“Actually, I have a proposal…”
“…?”
The Spirits looked at each other in dismay. Seeing everyone like this, Miku explained.
◇◇◇
Then, after some time had passed—
“—Thanks for the meal.”
As if responding to Shido’s command, the Spirits gathered around the grill and pressed their
hands together.
“Alright, let’s start grilling. Because charcoal fire is fierce, be careful not to burn it.”
Shido continuously used the tongs in his hand to put down the bite-sized pieces of vegetables and
meat, as well as hastily arranging the star ingredient, fresh fish, on top of a rack. Accompanied
by a sizzling sound, the smoke rose and the smell of barbeque wafted.
“Ooh… it smells so delicious!”
“Haha, doesn’t it? This is the advantage of a charcoal fire.”
Tohka’s eyes shined as her nose twitched. Seeing this amusing look, Shido couldn’t help but
smile.
Although it took a bit longer than originally planned, thanks to the assistance of Tohka, Yuzuru,
Kurumi and Yoshino, the preparation of the ingredients was successfully completed.
It was now around 7:00 PM. Even though the time period had just transitioned into evening, their
surroundings were already as dark as midnight.
If it wasn’t for the campfire Shido had just started and their high-powered electrical light, they
likely wouldn’t be able to see each other’s faces even when standing next to each other.
However, living in this sort of unreliable environment every now and then served as a seasoning
to embellish their marvelous lives. There were no walls, no dining table, and no floors or
ceilings; they had only a simple folding chair. The smell of charcoal pervaded the surroundings.
This type of mix and match without the elements of daily life made this place feel like a slightly
different world from the distant past.
After a while, the ingredients on the grill were cooked. As soon as Shido said, “Okay, now it
should be almost done,” the Spirits eagerly moved their disposable chopsticks.
“Yum! It’s delicious, Shido!”
“Ho, could this be… the power of hellfire itself? What fondness I have for this. It ought to be
appreciated more.”
“Admiration. It is very delicious. Perhaps it has something to do with the location.”
The Spirits tasted the meat and vegetables with great delight. Shido smiled as he placed
additional ingredients onto the rack.
“Eating out in the wilderness will certainly make it taste incredible.”
“Mun. Could it perhaps be due to eating dinner together with everyone?”
“Aah, that may also be the reason.”
As Mukuro said while munching on the bite-size pieces of vegetables, Shido nodded and replied.
“…Hm?”
At that moment, Shido slightly frowned, as there were two Spirits that hadn’t moved their
chopsticks at all.
One of them was Nia, who was taking a nap after a can of beer.
The other one was Natsumi, who was sitting on the folding chair in an extremely exhausted
manner. Incidentally, both her clothes and skin were dirty for some reason.
Although Nia was nothing unusual, Natsumi’s appearance would make someone feel uneasy.
Shido took a step closer to get a better view of her face.
“Natsumi, are you okay?”
“…Huh? Ah, it’s nothing… I’m just a little tired…”
Natsumi shook her shoulders and raised her face.
“Aah… well, you did have to do the unfamiliar work of setting up a tent after playing so much in
the river. It must have been exhausting.”
“…No, the tent is…”
“Huh?”
After hearing Natsumi half-whisper that, Shido slanted his head. Then, Natsumi suddenly
became quiet.
“—Shido.”
At that moment, a voice called out to him from behind. Shido turned around to see Origami
standing there.
“Can the ingredients here also be grilled?”
“Hmm? Aah, of course they can.”
He replied like that as he walked around the grill.
Along the way, he seemed to feel that Origami and Natsumi had made eye contact with each
other, but it must have been just his imagination.
“Come, the night has just begun. I have prepared yakitori and grilled rice balls. And with these
iron plates, stir-fried soba noodles are also an option, no?”
“Wha…? We can have even something like that?!”
“Ara, ara. Be careful not to eat too much now.”
“Meow… yakitori…?! Nia likes yakitori the most…”
After hearing what Shido had said, the Spirits grew more excited. Nia, who was still napping in
her chair, also nodded, beer can in hand.
Looking on at this, Shido bitterly smiled and placed the next batch of ingredients on the grill. A
different fragrance spread around, stimulating the appetites of the Spirits that had already eaten.
In this manner, the first day of this graduation camping trip reached very late into the night.
After everyone had their fill of the barbeque, they either talked around the bonfire or looked up
at the night scenery of stars that could only be enjoyed outdoors.
Even though the darkness of the night would bring about an instinctual fear, having just a small
source of light does wonders in bringing people together. Even though Shido didn’t intend for the
graduation trip to be camping, the peaceful immersion spending time in this darkness made
Shido realize once again that this was a great place for a travel location.
“—Phew…”
He didn’t know how much time had passed, but Mukuro began to yawn a little.
“Haha, we sure did do a lot today, so it’s normal to be tired.”

“Mun… no such matter. Muku is still wide awake.”
Despite Mukuro saying that, she still rubbed her weary eyes.
Shido took out his mobile phone from his pocket and looked at the screen. It was now 10:00 PM.
It was only natural for Mukuro, who usually goes to bed early and wakes up early, to be sleepy
around this time. Shido got up from his chair and stretched slightly.
“Then, I’m going to sleep; I’m also a little tired. You set up the tent in the open area, right?”
—Right then.
“…!”
The moment Shido said that, all the Spirits snapped to attention. Even Mukuro, who was sleepy
just a moment ago, suddenly had an expression of being wide awake.
“Huh? Did I say something strange?”
Just as Shido was puzzled over this sudden change in mood, the Spirits all got up and divided
themselves into two groups.
“W-What’s wrong…?”
Confused, Shido frowned suspiciously. Then, Miku stood up with a smile.
“—Ufufu. While Darling was preparing dinner for us, we played a game for a bit.”
“Game?”
As Shido asked, Miku replied back with a “that’s right” before continuing on.
“If everyone sleeps in a tent, there won’t be enough space. Therefore, we decided to use
Amidakuji4 to split into pairs, with each team building ‘the greatest sleeping places they can.’”
“Hey…”
Unexpectedly, they even did this sort of thing while Shido was preparing the ingredients. Shido
rounded his eyes and stroked his chin.
That being said, there was no way for everyone to sleep in a single tent, so naturally, multiple
beds would be needed. A team competition could be an interesting solution.
“So next, each group will introduce their sleeping quarters in turn and let Darling choose which
one he thinks is best.”
“Aah, so that’s how it works.”
After listening to Miku’s explanation, Shido nodded.
4
Amidakuji is a system for creating pairings from two equal sized sets of things. In this case, the spirits
would be divided into two groups and then each member of one group would be matched up with one
member of the other.
However—
“And then, tonight, Darling will have to sleep with the group that he chooses.”
“…Huh?”
Shido’s body froze the moment he heard Miku say those words.
“…Um, what did you say just now?”
“I would like Darling to stay overnight in the place you think is best.”
Miku winked as she said that; it seemed that Shido didn’t mishear her. He quickly shook his
sweaty head.
“No, no, no! Isn’t that strange?! If you’re using multiple tents, wouldn’t you normally just leave
one aside for the men?!”
“Eh, that would be boring… and our slender hands have done their best just to prepare the
sleeping quarters we have now.”
“No, didn’t your real intentions leak out just now?! Anyway, this won’t do. This isn’t an
option—”
At that moment, Shido suddenly stopped talking, and the Spirits stared on at Shido with
desperate eyes.
“Ugh…”
It was troubling being looked at like that. After worrying about this for a few seconds, Shido let
out a deep sigh.
“…Fine, let’s take a look first.”
“…!”
As soon as Shido said that, the Spirits suddenly perked up—and at the next moment, the flames
of conflict were reignited in their eyes.
◇◇◇
“Um… first up is Tohka and Yuzuru’s group?”
“Umu!”
“Consent. Please give us lots of comments, Shido.”

After Shido finished speaking, Tohka and Yuzuru both exaggeratedly nodded, walking over to
the open space as if to guide him. Shido followed them as he moved forward in the dusky night
time road.
Soon after, Tohka and Yuzuru stopped and turned on the lights. At this moment, the open space
surrounded by darkness was instantly illuminated, revealing the tent that was built there.
“Ooh!”
Looking on at such a scene, Shido couldn’t help but widen his eyes.
There were tightly tied ropes attached to stakes that were firmly driven onto the ground. The
bright yellow tent was so beautifully built that it didn’t look like it was done by a novice at all.
“This is great. The tent is firmly held, and the technique is much better than mine.”
As soon as Shido gave his honest praise, Yuzuru smugly replied.
“Naturally. For Yuzuru who defeated Kaguya in our outdoor survival duel, this construction is
nothing. Tohka also quickly picked up on the steps and contributed a lot.”
“Umu! I didn’t expect it to be prepared so quickly. The tent is really awesome! But that’s not all.
Go inside!”
Tohka patted her chest as she said that. Shido nodded and knelt down to climb into the tent.
“Oh, this is…”
The interior of the tent was tightly insulated with another layer. Even though it was warm during
the day, the temperature may drop at night. Shido couldn’t help but feel grateful for such
thoughtful consideration.
“I see, so even the inside is very reliable. This is really good.”
“…? What are you talking about? Please look at the pillow side of the sleeping bag.”
“Huh?”
It seemed that Tohka still had highlights that she wanted Shido to see. Shido followed Tohka’s
instructions and looked at the pillow next to the sleeping bag: there was an unnaturally large pile
there, covered up with cloth.
Shido raised his brow in suspicion as he lifted up the cloth. What caught his eye there was the
large amount of snacks—notably, a great amount of chocolate.
“T-This is…”
“Umu! It’s a midnight snack!”
As Shido asked, Tohka crossed her arms and loudly replied.
“…Fufu, how about it, Shido? If you choose our tent, even if you get hungry at night, won’t it be
okay?”
Tohka lowered her voice with a somewhat sordid look on her face. It seemed that Tohka also
realized that she was attempting something foul. He could see a mix of excitement and slight
guilt in her expression, as well as the pleasure of trying to seduce Shido with material goods.
“Haha… I see. That is pretty good.”
Shido smiled bitterly with a hint of shame. However, he was still full from the barbeque. To be
honest, it was difficult to imagine his stomach getting hungry again so quickly.
“—Stop. You don’t think it’d be just this, do you?”
However, it didn’t seem to be over yet. As Shido was about to leave the tent, Yuzuru blocked his
way.
“Huh?”
“Criticize. This is a tent—a place for sleeping. Don’t you think the most important thing would
be the feeling of lying down?”
“Well, that’s true…”
As Shido replied, Yuzuru and Tohka gestured to each other with their eyes and left the tent.
Then, followed by the sound of clothes changing, the two of them entered the tent again.
—Wearing furry pajamas with ears attached to the hood.
“Wha…?!”
When did they have time to prepare such lovely pajamas? Although the degree of exposure
wasn’t high, the fingertips revealed from the sleeves and thighs protruding from the hem of the
skirt caused Shido’s heartbeat to accelerate.
“How about it, Shido?! Furry pajamas!”
“Temptation. If Shido falls asleep between Yuzuru and Tohka, he will surely have a good
dream.”
“No, between you two would—”
Shido’s brows twitched as he took a step back, overwhelmed by the momentum of these two. He
then noticed three warm sleeping bags lined up in the tent.
“Uh…”
Originally, he wanted to avoid thinking about it as much as possible, but choosing this tent meant
staying the night here. Although there was a sleeping bag here, sleeping so close to Tohka and
Yuzuru would be—
“…”
As Shido thought this over, his face suddenly grew hotter for some reason. Shido shook his head
to shake off the delusions in his head and left the tent.
◇◇◇
“—Come on, it’s our team’s tent next.”
“Mun. Then, Nushi-sama, please come over here.”
Those words came from Kotori and Mukuro. They proceeded to an open area with confident
looks before stopping shortly afterwards.
Then, as Kotori manipulated her phone, the dazzling lights installed there came on and
brightened up the surroundings.
“Wow…!”
Shido’s eyes couldn’t help but flinch when faced with brightness incomparable to ordinary
electrical light. That wasn’t the only surprising point, however; at the center of that light was a
towering tent that was five times larger than the previous one.
“W-What is this…?”
Seeing this overwhelming prestige, Shido was left stunned.
The loose outline shaped by the white cloth was reminiscent of a nomadic yurt or huge circus
tent. The entrance was also very spacious, to the point where he could guess what was inside
before even entering. Three large beds were radially arranged around a small stove placed in the
center. It was like a guest room in a luxury hotel. This felt like something used in the so-called
glamping5 more than anything else.
As Shido was left in a daze, Kotori smiled and lifted up her hair.
“How is it? The design concept is an evening in Bali. In order to have an elegant evening, we
tried to create an exotic atmosphere.”
“Mun. Not only that. Please come in and see, Nushi-sama.”
Mukuro grabbed Shido’s hand with a look of excitement. Shido, who was left in a daze, walked
into the tent without any response.
“Now, if you will, Imōtogo-san.”
“Okay.”
Kotori responded to Mukuro’s request and operated her phone.
Then, accompanied by a buzzing electrical sound from somewhere, part of the tent’s ceiling
opened as gleaming stars appeared in front of everyone.
“How is it? It is possible to gradually fall asleep while looking at the stars. Muku begged
Imōtogo-san to help arrange it.”
“A-Aah… this is amazing…”
As Shido said that in a low voice, Kotori grinned as if confident of their victory.
“Right? Designing these structures is very hard.”
“Uh… I have a question…”
“? What?”
“Was this tent really built just by the two of you?”
“…Isn’t it obvious?”
Kotori deliberately looked away as she gave that reply. It was obvious that she had consulted
with <Ratatoskr> for this.
“…Is that true, Mukuro?”
“Mun… O-Of course. Imōtogo would never make a call for assistance…”
5
“A form of camping involving accommodation and facilities more luxurious than those associated with
traditional camping”, according to Google.
“—! Mukuro!”
Kotori covered Mukuro’s mouth in a panic… While this ought to be taken for granted at this
point, it seemed she did indeed ask for assistance.
Although it was impossible to evaluate it with the same benchmark as Tohka and Yuzuru’s tent,
the rules didn’t say that getting assistance from others wasn’t allowed. Shido carefully thought
that over as he walked over to the next tent.
◇◇◇
“Hmm, the next one is…”
“Ufufu, it’s our turn next.”
“Please give us your advice…!”
“Shido-kun will surely be captivated.”
After Shido left Kotori and Mukuro’s tent, Kurumi and Yoshino, the latter of whom had the
rabbit puppet Yoshinon on her left hand, awaited him. This was another rare combination.
“Over here.”
In this manner, Shido was taken to a place near the junction between the clearing and forest. The
electrical lights were already turned on, illuminating the surroundings. Tables and chairs were
placed underneath a wide tarp, creating a very elegant space. Although the layout of the table
was fairly simple, there was still a tea set present. Also, each chair was equipped with either a cat
or rabbit-shaped cushion.
“Oh, this is great… but where’s the place to sleep?”
Shido looked around and slanted his head. That’s right. It was a wonderful space, but all he could
see were chairs and tables, not any tents or sleeping bags.
“Ah, about that—”
Kurumi picked up the electrical light and shone it next to the tarp.
There, Shido saw two objects resembling black cloth tied between the trees growing there.
“Is that… a hammock?”
Yes, it was undoubtedly a hammock. Rather than the netted version for taking a nap, it was the
type that wrapped around the entire body like a sleeping bag.
“Yes, it is. Although it looks unreliable at first glance, sleeping off the floor is warmer than being
in a tent.”
“I tried lying down, and it felt very comfortable.”
“Yes, Yoshinon also could sleep soundly in this~”
“Hey…”
Shido spoke while trying to open the hammock that had been converted into a sleeping bag. The
texture was unexpectedly firm, and the feeling of lying there was far better than expected.
“This is very interesting. Indeed, it’s a feeling one can only experience while camping. But…”
“…? What’s wrong?”
After hearing Shido say that, Yoshino blinked. Shido scratched his face while continuing on.
“No, I was wondering why there are only two hammocks. Even if I chose here, I couldn’t sleep
together with you…”
“—Ufufu.”
Shido’s words came to a halt halfway through, because at that moment Kurumi smiled and
wrapped her hand around Shido’s shoulder.
“Because we aren’t skilled enough, we could only provide two hammocks. Therefore, if
Shido-san chooses this place, you will have to share a hammock with Yoshino-san or I…”
“…Haah?!”
Shido couldn’t help but let out a strange cry. However, Kurumi didn’t care and simply
whispered.
“Come, be together with Yoshino-chan.”
“Y-Yes…!”
Yoshino, who looked very nervous, placed her hand on Shido’s other shoulder.
“—Fu.”
The pair breathed into Shido’ ears at the same time.
“…?!”
The sudden stimulation caused Shido’s eyes to roll back as he stumbled towards his next
destination.
◇◇◇
“—Fu, so you’ve finally arrived, Shido. You’ve kept us waiting.”
“The finale is here!”
Next to greet Shido was the Kaguya and Miku pair. The two of them smiled fearlessly, assuming
a figure skating duo pose.
“…? What’s wrong, Darling?”
She likely noticed how Shido’s face was still flushed and he was covering his ears. Shido
hurriedly shook his head, despite Miku’s look of confusion.
“…! N-No, it’s nothing. But how about your tent? I don’t see anything…”
As Shido said that, Kaguya and Miku smiled and changed to another pose.
“Fufuu, I’ll leave that to you, Kaguya-san.”
“Understood.”
Kaguya, having accepted Miku’s request, turned around.
In this manner, Kaguya (who had assumed a new pose) raised her hand to the sky and snapped
her fingers.
“Appear from the darkness! Camping—!”
In that instant, a ray of light appeared behind Kaguya. Accompanied by a muffled sound,
something huge was approaching. This was—
“A-A recreational vehicle?!”
A huge car with a van-like appearance.
A recreational vehicle, or RV, was quite literally a car used for camping. Kaguya and Miku
seemed satisfied with Shido’s reaction, and opened the door respectfully as if to introduce the
inside of the car.
“O-Ooh!”
There were tables and simple beds in typical RV placement. There was even a TV and
refrigerator, and of course, the sleeping bunk was impeccable.
“Kuku, how about it? The perfect living environment, wouldn’t you choose our team?”
“Fufu, if you choose now we’ll even give you the right to use the bed on the driver’s seat.”
“Is there even a bed there? Actually, wait, does this even count?! Wasn’t this supposed to be a
tent competition?!”
As Shido couldn’t help but yell, the two of them simply shrugged.
“Did we ever say that it had to be a tent?”
“Right… isn’t this called an RV…?”
“I don’t understand what you are talking about. This is a monster summoned from the barrier
constructed by a blood pact between Miku and I.”
“No, no, no, obviously it would be impossible to set this up in this setting! By the way, was that
Miku’s agent I saw sitting in the driver’s seat before?!”
After Shido yelled again, Kaguya and Miku simply feigned being naïve by shrugging once more.
It turned out it was probably because of this hidden tactic that Miku proposed such a game. In
fact, despite considering it devious, Shido had to admit it was still a little tempting… no matter
how old they were, boys would always have no resistance against mechanical vehicles.
“Really…”
Now that something like this had occurred, nothing afterwards could be surprising. Shido walked
in the direction of the last team with a helpless smile.
◇◇◇
…But that expectation was destroyed within a few minutes.
“…Um, Origami, Natsumi, what is this?”
Arriving at the last team, Shido couldn’t help but be utterly shocked at the sight of Origami and
Natsumi’s sleeping place.
But that was completely normal. After all, what Shido saw was neither a tent nor a car, but rather
a home.
Home. Right. A home. There were no other words to describe this. Using the trees that originally
grew there, it had walls and even a roof. Generally speaking, this wasn’t something that could be
built in two or three hours. Shido wondered for a moment if it was made with Natsumi’s
<Haniel>.
However, that wasn’t the case. The cut down vines and trees, along with the tempered clay walls,
denied the presence of any extraordinary intervention. More importantly, the atmosphere
reflected the craftsman spirit of the two.
Perhaps noticing that Shido was trembling, Origami and Natsumi silently nodded.
“We worked hard.”
“…I thought I was going to die.”
“It was a great effort to finish exceeding expectations.”
The words of those two caused Shido to scream.
“No, how did you come up with such a thing?! Are you pioneers?! This isn’t at the level of
sleeping for just one night! Why did the two of you go this far?!”
As Shido yelled that, Origami blushed and Natsumi laughed indifferently.
“I was thinking about the possibility of sleeping with Shido.”
“…I, well, I was only following the trend…”
“Your talents should be used elsewhere!”
Shido straightened his back as his screams echoed under the night sky.
◇◇◇
…After reviewing the five groups’ tents (or, well, some of them couldn’t be called tents), Shido
and the Spirits all returned to the central area at the same time.
Shido’s throat felt sore, but that couldn’t be helped. He was basically screaming nonstop for the
second half of the review.
“—Now, you have seen them all.”
Kotori said that while crossing her hands together. Although her tone was just as calm as usual,
the lollipop in her mouth was swaying slightly.
“A-Aah…”
After Shido gave that halfhearted reply with sweat dripping down his face, some of the Spirits
adopted confident or nervous looks.
“Kuku, then choose. Which one does Shido want to live in the most?”
“Ufufu, of course it’s the hammock between me and Yoshino-san, right?”
“Shido, I could extend the choices to include juice as well as snacks…?”
Like this, everyone put forward their conditions and awaited the results of Shido’s decision.
Shido gulped as he pursed his lips in a worried manner.
—At that moment.
“Hold on! Why am I the only one being excluded?!”
As if to break everyone’s tension, a voice rang from somewhere.
“What… t-this voice is…?!”
“Where’s it coming from?!”
“—! Look, over there!”
Yoshino pointed behind Shido, and everyone’s eyes turned in that direction.
Over there was—
“…What are you doing, Nia?”
Nia was in her sleeping bag, lying in the middle of the floor just like a caterpillar.
“I didn’t even know everyone was setting up tents. Leaving me aside as the only one without a
place to sleep… that’s too crafty. Openly pushing me out! Specifically excluding me from any
team…”
Nia tried to get up as she let out a hilarious cry. However, because both her hands were still in the
sleeping bag, she failed to maintain her balance, and soon fell onto the ground again.
In response to this, Kotori sighed.
“…We asked you when we were dividing up into teams, but you fell asleep drunk.”
“Eh, really? Ahaha… I didn’t notice at all.”
Nia responded with a smile as she tried to stand up again, but sure enough, it was difficult for her
to maintain her posture. She fell onto the ground again and rolled away, disappearing into the
darkness.
“Waaah! Someone please stop me—”
After a pause, there was a sound of a grunt before it turned silent. Shido smiled bitterly as he
looked on at everyone.
“…Um, can one of you guys take her in?”
Everyone helplessly nodded.
“Well, one thing at a time. Shido, can you tell us the results of your decision?”
“A-Aah, that’s right.” ThankstoABea rCat, WikiNumbers, Asphroxia
Shido coughed to recover his thoughts, looking on at everyone again as he started thinking.
In the beginning, Shido only planned on looking at everyone’s tents, but seeing how everyone’s
effort exceeded his imagination, he couldn’t just leave it at that anymore. Avoiding making an
evaluation would be too disrespectful to them.
That being said, Shido also couldn’t just outright choose the one he liked the best.
First up was Kurumi and Yoshino’s hammock. That one was ruled out. Sleeping like that was
inherently problematic and he didn’t know what would happen from sharing a bed.
Similarly, Tohka and Yuzuru’s team also couldn’t be selected. Although it had the impression of
being well done, it would be very detrimental being caught in a narrow space between those two
wearing those outfits.
Kaguya and Miku’s RV and Natsumi and Origami’s house both had enough space, but the people
present made him feel uneasy. Leaving Kaguya and Natsumi aside, he had no idea what Miku
and Origami might do at night.
That left the only real option as the Kotori and Mukuro group. The space between the beds was
sufficient, and more importantly, Kotori was his younger sister and Mukuro was a part of his
family. It wasn’t a problem to sleep in the same place. Shido raised his head as he made his
decision.
“Where I want to sleep is—”
But, as Shido was about to give his decision.
“—Ugh!”
Suddenly, the ground roared as the place where Shido and the others were at shook violently.
“What…?!”
“E-Earthquake…?!”
“Everyone, calm down! There’s nothing nearby that will fall! Lower your posture and wait for
the vibrations to stop!”
Kotori gave her instructions to the distressed crowd. Everyone followed the instructions and
squatted down.
Finally, the earthquake subsided as the night returned to a calm state. Shido tremblingly stood up
and looked around for everyone.
“I-Is everyone okay?”
“Y-Yes, we’re alright.”
“That was scary…”
Everyone helped each other up while talking.
At that moment, Yuzuru frowned, seemingly realizing something.
“Shiver. Is Nia okay?”
“Ah—”
As Yuzuru said that, Shido widened his eyes. Nia had just rolled away in her sleeping bag
beforehand; she had probably shifted to the river because of the earthquake just now.
“Hey, Nia?! Where are you?! Reply if you can hear me!”
Shido placed his hands near his mouth as he shouted.
After a while, a reply came from the distance.
“Hey, over here! Save me!”
That was Nia’s voice, no doubt about it. Shido and the others looked at each other and grabbed
their flashlights to head that direction.
But then—
“…Huh?”
After arriving nearby, without stopping, Shido’s face was marked by confusion.
But it couldn’t be helped. The Spirits who ran alongside Shido also all had the same look.
After all, a huge tent stood in front of everyone’s eyes.
…No, Shido couldn’t immediately tell if this was a tent or not. While some elements of it were
clearly a tent, the other half could be regarded as a big car or house.
That’s right. It was impossible to believe, but the tents, house, and camping vehicle set up by the
Spirits had all integrated together. Incidentally, Nia’s sleeping bag was hanging on the roof like a
moth worm.
“T-This is… everyone’s tent?”
“Because of the earthquake just now…?”
“No way! Impossible! If it was broken down, perhaps, but how could it be coincidentally put
together like building blocks—”
“…But it’s actually like that.”
“…”
Faced with Natsumi’s remark, Kotori could only remain silent.
That being said, Shido could also understand Kotori’s mood. Such a thing would be impossible
normally. There was a complete sense of balance as everyone’s tents were mixed together.
And, unbelievably, the framework of the tent hadn’t collapsed at all. The interior was also
beautifully integrated, with beds lined up sideways.
This was a miraculous phenomenon that would be unbelievable unless seen in person, almost
like a god that could freely manipulate this world really existed and said, “If you want to choose
a tent, you might as well sleep together.”
“Fu…”
As the Spirits widened their eyes in surprise, Tohka alone let out a voice and entered the tent.
After that, she touched her surroundings to confirm the condition of the tent. After nodding, she
got into the sleeping bag near the middle.
“Wait… Tohka, this is dangerous! Come back!”
“It’s fine. It doesn’t look like it’s going to collapse. Moreover, everyone’s tents are together now,
so we can only sleep here.”
“N-No, so you’re saying…”
Kotori frowned while looking troubled, but Tohka didn’t care and patted the sleeping bag next to
her.
“Come in too, Shido. Your special seat is here!”
“Huh? A-Aah—”
For some reason, after Tohka said that, Shido had the strange impression that there wouldn’t be
any issues, so he entered the tent and stood beside Tohka, and the other spirits followed him in.
“I can’t ignore this. Shido must be by my side.”
“Ara, ara. The tent has become one. Then, it must be decided by another method, correct?”
“No, it could be dangerous—ah, forget it…! All members gather! The sleeping positions will be
decided through a finger guessing game!”
“Kya! This result is too good! Even though it’s not clear how, everyone sleeping together is the
best! Thank you Buddha-sama, Darling-sama—!”
And just like that, a commotion started inside the tent.
Incidentally, outside of the tent, “…Hey, guys? Did you forget about me?” The rescue of this
sleeping bag moth worm was done after they decided their sleeping positions.
◇◇◇
After turning off the lantern, the only light that remained in the dark forest was that of the moon
and stars.
Although a guessing game had been used to determine the positions, the darkness meant he had
no idea who was nearby.
As everyone laid down, there were the screams from Natsumi being attacked by Miku, Shido’s
groan after feeling Origami’s breath near him, and Kotori’s roar after noticing this incident, but
soon after everyone fell asleep, and the surroundings fell into silence.
Right now, there were the sounds of insects and owls coming from afar. From time to time, he
could hear some sounds of sleeping as well as Nia’s snoring.
But rather than silence, it felt as if there were no problems left in this darkness.
“…Hey, Shido. Are you still awake?”

Suddenly, a voice came from nearby, and Shido’s eyelids jumped open in surprise.
“…What’s wrong, Tohka? Can’t sleep?”
Shido turned to Tohka with a relaxed expression and replied in a whisper to not wake anyone
else up.
Despite the guessing game used to determine positions, Shido and Tohka were nonetheless
sleeping in the same position as Tohka originally wanted.
“Hehe… so you’re awake after all. I don’t know why… I just had a feeling.”
After saying that, Tohka faintly smiled.
“Today was so much fun. Playing by the river and playing by the sea are entirely separate
experiences, but enjoyable, and the taste of barbeque was the best. Setting up tents with everyone
was a good memory too.”
“Haha… that’s good. Even if this is technically Miku’s graduation trip, I’m glad that everyone
could come along.”
“Muu… really, it was so much fun. If only I could come here again…”
“Well, for sure. Now that DEM’s gone, we can come back whenever we want. Let’s do it
together with everyone again.”
“…Un, yeah.”
“…?”
Shido titled his head slightly. Because of the darkness, he couldn’t see Tohka’s expression, but he
could hear a little sadness in her voice.
“What’s wrong, Tohka?”
“…No, I’m fine. I just couldn’t sleep because I’m looking forward to tomorrow. Good night,
Shido.”
After saying that, Tohka turned the other way and stopped talking.
Although Shido had some questions about this, because of his intense sleepiness, he fell asleep
without asking them.
Spirit Werewolf
“—Early in the morning, on the outskirts of the village, the corpse of the most beautiful girl in
the village, Maria, was discovered.”
That passage appeared on their smartphones as intermittent rain fell outside.
“The corpse was badly maimed, suggesting a brutal act performed by something inhuman. Huge
claw marks, traces of sharp fangs, and also the smell of a beast that still lingers.”
“All of the evidence points to the fact that there is a werewolf hidden within this village.”
After hearing this, everyone present gulped.
It could be to moisten their throats getting dry from the tension—or perhaps to suppress the
saliva ready to leak out.
“Yes, you must find the werewolf hidden among the villagers. Even if a mistake in judgment
leads to a companion being hanged, do not hesitate, for if you do, you may be the one lying dead
tomorrow morning.”
As the voice from the smartphone said that, a flash of lightning fell, illuminating the faces of the
girls in the dark tent.
“…!”
Shido couldn’t help but feel his breathing choke up, because at that moment, he saw the
silhouette of a wolf from the shadows of the girls illuminated by the electrical light.
…Anyway, despite that disturbing introduction, this wasn’t actually a murder case.
This morning Shido and the others, who had set up camp by the riverside yesterday for Miku’s
graduation trip, were awoken by the sound of rain.
“Ah… it’s raining a lot. Going by the river to play would be impossible now.”
Shido looked at the situation outside as he said that. After hearing this, the Spirits crowded in the
tent all sighed in regret.
“Muu… I see.”
“Ugh, the sky is too fickle.”
While saying something like that, they all gave their opinions on the matter.
Inside this huge tent were Tohka, Origami, Kotori, Yoshino, Kaguya, Yuzuru, Miku, Natsumi,
Nia, Mukuro, and Kurumi. In other words, the Spirits under <Ratatoskr>’s protection were
gathered here in full.
“Well, the weather isn’t something we can change unfortunately. But what to do? Are there any
games we can play on a rainy day?”
Miku slanted her head and placed her finger on her cheek. Then, Nia started fishing through her
backpack as if remembering something.
“Fufufu, I was wondering if something like this was going to happen, so I came prepared.”
She then took out a few small boxes with colorful pictures on them.
“This is?”
“They’re so-called analog games. These are indispensable for school trips. Why don’t we try
them together?”
“These are for school trips, huh?”
Shido bitterly smiled while looking at the boxes Nia lined up. There were playing card games
like UNO, as well as several games he didn’t recognize.
“There are quite a few games… which one would you recommend?”
“Hmm, now that I think about it…”
Nia scrutinized the boxes in front of her. After giving it some thought, she licked her lips and
picked up one of the boxes.
“Then how about trying this? It’s called ‘Werewolf! It’s quite famous, so some of you must have
heard of it?”
While talking, Nia showed everyone a game box with a wolf pattern.
“Werewolf…”
He had never played it before, but he was familiar with the name.
Origami, Natsumi, the Yamai sisters, and Kotori all gave a similar look.
“Werewolf…?”
“Muu, it sounds terrifying.”
Yoshino and Tohka spoke while staring at the cards with a serious look. Seeing them like this,
Nia simply laughed lightly.
“It’s not such a scary game. To put it bluntly, it’s a so-called social deduction game. If you can
hunt down the werewolves mixed in with the villagers, the villager side wins. If the number of
villagers is reduced to the same number as the werewolves, the werewolves win. So, how about
it? Simple enough?”
Listening to Nia, Mukuro asked puzzledly.
“Mun… since it is a werewolf, would it not be stronger than a human? How can humans defeat a
werewolf?”
“This game is divided into day and night rounds, so the werewolf can only be in beast form
during the night. One villager is attacked every night, but during the day the werewolf isn’t any
different from a normal human being. Therefore, the villagers will aim to identify the werewolf
during daytime and hang them dry.”
While saying that, Nia let out a “Gii” sound while pretending to strangle herself. Yoshino was a
little startled upon seeing that sight.
“It’s a scary game…”
“No, no, nobody is actually going to be hanged.”
Nia tried to calm Yoshino down with a lighthearted smile. While listening, Kotori folded her
arms and stirred the Chupa Chups lollipop in her mouth.
“I see. Although the villagers must kill the werewolf, they don’t know who it is. Therefore, if
there’s any misjudgment, the one hung will be an ally. But if you do nothing, you’ll all be picked
off by the werewolf in the end. Despite the subject matter being scary, it isn’t an uninteresting
game.”
“Right? And even though we have 12 people, we can still all participate in the game at the same
time.”
“Ufufu, but finding the lurking werewolf by relying on instinct and luck alone won’t work. There
must be a strategy to this game, correct?”
Kurumi narrowed her eyes while saying that.
“What you say is true.”
Nia nodded in agreement as she spread out the cards on the floor.
“There are various roles in a game of Werewolf, and each role has its own unique combination of
goal and ability.
—First of all, ‘Villager.’”
Nia picked up a card with a cartoonish person drawn on it and showed it to everyone.
“Although it’s the role with the most cards and no special abilities, it’s a position said to be the
main character of the game. Armed with courage, wisdom, and your vote alone, your mission is
to defeat the werewolves.”
Then, Nia showed a card with a wolf on it.
“Next up is ‘Werewolf.’ One villager will be attacked every night, and you decide who that is.
During the day, you have to play the role of a harmless villager, so that everyone else doesn’t
suspect you. In a game of 12 people, there should be two werewolves in the game. If those two
are killed, the villagers win. If the number of other players equals the number of werewolves, the
werewolf side wins.”
And then—Nia placed new cards next to them, with illustrations of a character holding a crystal
ball, a character with a ghost behind them, and a character in armor holding a sword.
“These three are key positions for the villagers to win.
The ‘Seer’ can choose one person every night and learn whether that person is a human or a
werewolf. If a werewolf is found, the situation will immediately be in favor of the villagers.
Then there is the ‘Spiritualist’, this role can tell whether the person hanged the previous day is a
villager or werewolf. This is also very important information. If the werewolf was killed, then
it’s worth celebrating, but otherwise that means the villagers have killed one of their companions.
The next one is the ‘Knight’, the only role that can compete against the werewolf at night. The
knight can guard one person every night. A person protected by the knight won’t die even if
they’re attacked by the werewolf. If the knight is attacked however, they will die, so please be
sure to not carelessly reveal your identity.”
The Spirits mumbled to themselves while looking at the cards in the order introduced by Nia.
At that moment, Miku raised her index finger and asked.
“I roughly understand now, but isn’t the werewolf side at too much of a disadvantage?”
Then, Nia let out a “Nfufufu” laugh while placing another card on the floor. Drawn on this card
was a character grinning under the moonlight.
“‘Madman.’ The trickster of the game. Although a member of the werewolf camp, they’ll be
seen as a villager even when investigated by the Seer or Spiritualist. In other words, the Madman
is a traitor among the villagers that is collaborating with the werewolf. The madman will disrupt
the village to aid the werewolf, their ally at the critical moment.”
“I see… that’s quite a nasty job title, but it sounds like it could be fun.”
After listening to that introduction, Miku couldn’t help but sweat a bit while smiling. “Right?”
Nia smiled back before turning her attention to the remaining cards. After thinking it over for a
few seconds, she chose two more cards to place on the ground.
“Since 12 is a relatively large number of players, why don’t we add two more special cards? First
up is—the ‘Demon Fox.’”
“Demon fox…? What kind of role is that?”
“Hmm, the demon fox is a third-party. You won’t die even if attacked by the werewolf.”
“Huh? What? Can they only die from hanging?”
Natsumi asked with one eye closed.
However, Nia shook her head.
“No, not only that. The demon fox is cursed when discovered by the seer. So, even though it’s
strong against the werewolf, it’s still difficult to survive.”
“Hmm… I see.”
“The demon fox wins if they survive until the game ends—if they’re alive when victory is
confirmed for the village or werewolf teams. The difficulty level is high, but isn’t there a sense
of accomplishment from playing a hard role and still obtaining victory?”
Nia said that with a wink as she placed down the last card. A character holding delicious looking
bread was drawn there.
“This is the ‘Baker.’ Every morning, this person bakes delicious bread for everyone.”
“What?!”
Upon hearing this, Tohka’s eyes glistened with excitement.
“That’s a good job title!”
“Isn’t it? Generally speaking, this is an unpopular card that’s not used often, but I thought
Tohka-chan would like it.”
“Umu! It’s a wonderful card!”
Tohka kept nodding with a huge smile on her face. Shido couldn’t help but smile at this, but then
he turned to ask Nia.
“So, what is the effect of the bread?”
“It’s very delicious.”
“Huh?”
“Like I said, the baker just bakes delicious bread for everyone. Besides, what else can you ask of
a baker?”
“…”
After a brief silence, Shido finally figured it out. In other words, this was just a card to liven up
the mood. To put it bluntly, if the bread that was baked every morning was no longer being
baked, that would indicate that the person hanged yesterday or attacked by the werewolf was the
baker.
“Well, alright. For the time being, do you want to try it out?”
Compared to blindly learning the rules, these sorts of games were easier to pick up through
actually playing. With that in mind, Shido gave that proposal.
“Yup, that’s right. There are many different ways of playing this, but let’s use the rules I know
for the time being… ah, that’s right. This game needs a host that has knowledge of all the roles.
Although I could host, that would mean we’d have one less player, so let’s do this.”
Nia took out a smartphone from her pocket and began operating it. Then, she placed it in a
position that was easy for everyone to see.
There was a familiar face being displayed on the screen.
“Huh? Maria?”
“—Yes. Are you enjoying your trip, Shido?”
The <Fraxinus> AI replied back to Shido through the smartphone’s speaker.
“I’ve heard the entire story. Let me act as the host; although I am a little dissatisfied at the
request coming from Nia, someone mature like me won’t get angry at something of this level.
Yes, even if I was treated as a convenient woman who can only come in handy on this sort of
occasion, I am not at all angry.”
“…”
Contrary to her words, she seemed quite dissatisfied. They should probably get her some
souvenirs on the way back.
“Now, let’s get started. Please shuffle the cards you wish to use and distribute one to each
player.”
“A-Ah…”
Shido followed Maria’s instructions and began to shuffle the cards.
At that moment, a girl quietly raised her hand to stop him: Origami.
“—Wait. I have one suggestion.”
“Suggestion?”
Origami nodded in response to Shido’s inquiry and continued on.
“Werewolf is a very good game, but to make it more interesting, I would propose the adoption of
the OO style rules.”
“…OO style… hold on, do you mean the Oririn Original…”
Feeling a sense of déjà vu6, Shido’s cheeks tightened. However, Origami shook her head without
6
This is specifically referring to Encore 2’s Spirit King Game and Encore 5’s Spirit Snow Wars, which
both used similar rules proposed by Origami.
changing her expression.
“Oririn Omnipotent.”
“If it’s not what I said, then what’s that supposed to mean?!”
Shido raised his voice to the level of a scream. Certainly, during the snowball fight they had
before, Origami had made a similar proposal.
“The OO style rules have two main points. First, the winners may make any request of the losers.
Second, cheating that isn’t proven won’t be considered cheating.”
“You must be plotting something!”
Playing against Origami with these rules would be tantamount to suicide. Shido repeatedly shook
his head to express his opposition.
In contrast, however, Maria didn’t seem to care much about this.
“Alright, I agree to these terms.”
“Hey, hey, are you serious? If you approve those rules, do you have any idea what she might try
and do?”
“It’s interesting to see how messy this will become. Moreover…”
“Moreover?”
“There’s no harm in it for me.”
“…”
…Sure enough, the root of this seemed to be not being able to participate in this trip. But since
there was <Ratatoskr> work that couldn’t be set aside, it couldn’t be helped.
“With that being said, I don’t think Origami could benefit from those rules.”
“Huh?”
“After the game starts, you’ll understand. Come now, distribute the cards to everyone.”
“A-Aah…”
Shido assigned a card to each person as instructed.
And thus, the first night arrived for a village with a lurking werewolf.
◇◇◇
“Mariaaaa!”
“How could this be, Maria-san was…”
“…No, aren’t you embarrassed calling yourself the most beautiful girl in the village?”
With the body found on the outskirts of the village (the established setting for now), the villagers
“screamed” and “rushed towards” Maria.
After this, a voice echoed from the smartphone again.
“The death of Maria, a beautiful girl like a flower loved by everyone, brought a deep sorrow to
the village, but blind sadness will be no help at all. As you know, there are two werewolves
lurking among you. You guys must search for anyone suspicious and make the decision to hang
them.
—The discussion time has begun. Discuss with everyone and decide who will be killed today.”
A countdown appeared on the screen of the smartphone. It seemed they had to come to a verdict
before it reached zero.
“…”
Shido reconfirmed the card in his hand before exhaling a little.
—The card with a fox character drawn on it.
Right. Shido’s role was the demon fox, said to have the greatest level of difficulty.
This meant that Shido must both avoid being detected by the seer and live to the end. This role
really was like walking on a dangling tightrope.
“The werewolf that killed Maria is among us…”
“Dread. There are too few clues.”
Kaguya and Yuzuru surveyed the crowd with serious looks. The two of them, with strong
ambitions of winning, had already immersed themselves in the scenario of the game.
Seeing this, Shido also changed his way of thinking. Certainly, his current identity was that of a
demon fox, but right now, he must play the role of a harmless villager and work with everyone to
find the werewolf.
“That’s right. It seems that the seer and spiritualist must wait until the coming night before they
can use their abilities. Does that mean we need to guess who to hang on the first day?”
While saying that, Shido looked at everyone’s expressions… But it was hopeless, it was
impossible to tell the identity of the werewolves from that alone.
The only information he could get from expressions was Tohka’s look of disappointment at her
own card. Likely, she didn’t end up getting the ‘baker’ card.
As everyone was suspicious of each other, Nia suddenly raised her hand and spoke.
“Okay, okay! Nia-chan is coming out and saying it now! Actually, I am the seer, so don’t hang
me by mistake!”
“Huh…?!”
The sudden confession left Shido stunned. No, not just Shido, several of the Spirits also were
surprised.
That’s right, if you declare yourself to be the seer, you wouldn’t be tied up. However, the seer
was also the role that the werewolf wanted to erase the most.
“I-Is that okay, Nia? Suddenly giving out your identity like that, if you’re attacked by the
werewolf tonight, you won’t be able to use your action—”
“Nfufufu, don’t worry. There is still the ‘knight’ in the village, after all.”
“Ah…”
As it stood, that certainly was true. If the ‘knight’ that could defend against the attacks of the
werewolf was around, it would be okay to confess your identity. In fact, this would be actually a
good way to prevent the seer from being killed early.
“—Just like that, the knight among us! Remember to guard me tonight! Ah, but there’s no need
for you to identify yourself yet! Otherwise you’ll be targeted by the werewolves!”
While saying that, Nia cheerfully waved her hand.
Like this, the village with no clues had received a small hint. It would be desirable for today’s
dropout to be someone other than Nia—but.
“…Eh?”
In the next second, Shido couldn’t help but raise his brow.
After all, at that moment, Mukuro had raised her hand high just like Nia.
“Mun… what does this mean? Muku is also the seer…”
Mukuro said that in a confused manner.
After hearing this, the Spirits all adopted similarly confused looks.
—There were two seers.
That is to say, either Nia or Mukuro was lying. That must mean—
“…”
Shido half-consciously turned his gaze towards Nia.
No, not just Shido. The other Spirits all tacitly looked towards Nia’s direction, their eyes all
seeming to say “I feel Mukuro is the real one…”
“…W-Why are you all looking at me like that?!”
Nia likely guessed their intentions.
“Um…”
“No reason…”
“It’s obvious that you guys are more suspicious of me! Why?! My conditions should be the same
as Mukku-chin!”
Dissatisfied with everyone’s response, Nia faked some tears after pretending to be wronged.
…So it would be like this, for better or for worse, Shido understood that this game encouraged
misdirection.
Regardless, no matter how suspicious, there was no concrete evidence. In order to avoid killing
the seer by mistake as much as possible, it would still be appropriate to choose someone else
other than Nia or Mukuro.
The question would be which one the knight would protect tonight. If they protected the fake
seer, the real one would likely be killed by the werewolves and everything would be in vain.
Indeed, the werewolf or madman pretending to be the seer must have been aiming for this result.
As Shido was thinking this over, an alarm sound began to beep from the smartphone.
“It is time. Please select the person who will die today.”
“Huh, already?!”
“I don’t understand anything yet…”
The Spirits all had difficult looks over Maria’s announcement.
Two self-proclaimed seers, Nia and Mukuro, had revealed themselves, but there were no other
clues. Although the options had been narrowed down to a degree, it would still depend solely on
intuition to decide who would be killed first.
“…No, but—”
Shido scratched his cheeks while sorting out his thoughts.
Certainly, he didn’t know who was suspicious. However, he still had an idea on the person who
should be nominated for the first day.
“Then please start voting. Point your finger at the person you wish to hang. All together now…”
The sound of someone in the tent holding their breath could be heard, but that wasn’t
unreasonable.
After all, the fingers of Shido, Tohka, Kotori, Natsumi, Yoshino, Mukuro, and Nia were all
pointed at Origami.
Incidentally, Origami and Kurumi pointed at Natsumi, Kaguya and Yuzuru pointed at each other,
and Miku pointed at Kotori.
“—Why?”
Origami spoke in surprise. Certainly, Origami’s name hadn’t received any particular attention
until now. It could be considered unusual for her to receive a significant majority of the votes and
be selected for lynching.
But despite that, the reasoning was clear. Shido explained as he scratched his head, eyes half
open:
“…It would be scary to let someone who advocated those rules stay until the end…”
After listening to Shido, the Spirits nodded in agreement.
“That rule you mentioned was clearly meant to give way to cheating.”
“…The best policy is to kill you while we still can…”
“S-Sorry…”
Confronted with everyone’s opinions, Origami frowned in regret.

“This was a miscalculation. I was hung before getting to show my finger substitution technique.”
“Wait, what were you going to do…?”
As Shido asked with a cold sweat, Origami sighed and left the circle where everyone was sitting.
“Rules are rules. I’m dropping out here, but I hope everyone can hunt down the werewolves and
restore peace to the village.”
“Origami-san…”
Origami sat a little farther away, becoming a spectator. Apparently, that was the “world after
death”.
“Now, night will arrive once more. Everyone, please close your eyes.”
Following Maria’s instructions, Shido and the others tightly closed their eyes.
“—It’s morning. Please open your eyes. What a pity. On the outskirts of the village, Miku’s
corpse was discovered in a wretched state.”
“Kyaaaaaaaaa?!”
Miku let out a hair-raising scream at Maria’s declaration.
“I-I’m dead?! But I haven’t done anything yet!”
With that said, Miku curled up with tears in her eyes, but Yoshino tried to soothe her by patting
her on the back.
“Hmm, Mikki was killed. That must mean Mikki wasn’t the werewolf.”
“…Eh, really? I thought Miku must be a werewolf. Image wise…”
After hearing what Nia had said, Natsumi opened her eyes, surprised.
“What do you mean ‘image wise’?! For me to attack girls every night, that sort of thing… that
sort of thing…”
Miku’s voice was gradually growing quieter. From that impression, she must be thinking,
“This… feels surprisingly good…? I mean, a situation where someone has to be attacked every
night…” or rather something along those lines.
“Now, Miku, please depart to the world after death.”
“It can’t be helped. I’ll be watching everyone’s heroism from heaven with Origami-san.”
With that said, Miku left the circle. Incidentally, in the postmortem world, Miku was instantly
suppressed after trying to hug Origami.
“Incidentally, delicious bread was delivered to everyone in the morning as well.”
“Ooh, the baker is safe!”
Tohka let out a sigh of relief at Maria’s words.
Shido unintentionally smiled. From that, he could be almost certain that Tohka wasn’t the baker.
“Now, please select the person who will be hanged today; the discussion phase has begun.”
Along with Maria’s declaration, a countdown began on the smartphone screen just like before.
At the same time, the self-proclaimed seer, Nia, immediately raised her hand.
“Yes, yes! Everyone, please listen! I checked boy’s future last night and found that he was a
perfectly genuine human being!”
“Huh? You chose me?”
“That’s right. This way, boy’s innocence is confirmed! Let’s work together to find the
werewolves!”
Nia said that while giving a thumbs up. Compelled by her momentum, Shido bitterly smiled and
also gave a thumbs up in response.
Then, Mukuro also raised her hand and spoke.
“Mun, Muku investigated Natsumi last night, and she is also human.”
“Hmm… I see. Compared to yesterday, we have more information to work with.”
Kotori stroked her chin as if to indicate that she was thinking.
Indeed, it was just as she said. It was regrettable that the werewolf hadn’t been found, but this
still further reduced the suspect pool.
Thinking it over, though, Shido twitched his eyebrows. There was definitely something amiss in
the events that had just transpired.
Right. Nia said that she had investigated Shido.
However, Shido—the demon fox, who would be cursed to die once divined by the seer—was
obviously still alive.
That could only mean one thing.
(—So, you’re the fake after all, Niaaaaaa?!)
Shido raised an unvoiced cry in his heart.
There was no benefit for the villager camp to disguise their identities. In other words, Nia was
either the werewolf or the madman, pretending to be the seer. There was no other possibility.
He had unexpectedly obtained information that everyone else didn’t yet know… but this wasn’t
good. If Nia grew suspicious, Shido’s true identity could be revealed as well. It would be better
to wait and see how this unfolds.
After all, as the demon fox, it didn’t matter which side won. All he needed to do was survive
until the end.
If so, it would be beneficial to treat Nia as the real seer and join the werewolf camp, but in order
to do that, he would need to call Mukuro—the real seer—a fake, which weighed heavily on
Shido’s consciousness.
“Um…”
As Shido was thinking that over, Yoshino suddenly let out a voice.
“Hm? What’s wrong, Yoshino?”
“I’m actually the spiritualist.”
“Eh?”
Shido’s attention turned to Yoshino, who had suddenly revealed her identity.
The spiritualist was a role that would know the identity of the person who was hanged
yesterday—in the current situation it would be Origami’s identity. Like the seer, it was a role that
offered guidance to the villagers. However, that also made it a prime target for the werewolves.
But the spiritualist revealing her identity now would mean—
“Origami-san… was a werewolf.”
“…!”
Yoshino’s words were shocking. It was no wonder: Origami, who had been voted out on an
external premise, was a werewolf.
For the villagers, this was a very lucky situation. But on the other hand, such smooth progress
was also suspicious. While not giving any explicit statements, Kurumi and Kotori thoughtfully
narrowed their eyes.
Having said that, no one else came out and claimed to be the spiritualist. Of course, there was the
possibility that either Origami and Miku was the spiritualist and Yoshino was betting on that, but
when considering Yoshino’s personality, it seemed unlikely.
“…In that case.”
Natsumi grumbled while having a sullen look.
“…The werewolves should know the identity of their companions… that is to say, one of the
people who didn’t vote for Origami on the first day is a werewolf?”
“…” (Painfully) edite d by Ene a n d OfficeCasual
Natsumi’s reasoning caused Kaguya, Yuzuru, and Kurumi to frown.
Right. Those three people didn’t vote for Origami on the first day. Strictly speaking, Miku also
didn’t vote for Origami, but she had already been killed overnight.
“H-Hold on. Being a suspect from that alone is unreasonable.”
“Dissatisfied. What Kaguya says is true; it seems as if you just want an opportunity to argue.”
“That’s correct. Isn’t there also the possibility of Yoshino-san lying?”
The three people who were suspected gave their counterarguments.
However, at that moment, the alarm signaling the end of discussion time rang.
“Time is up. Please vote now.”
“What? We’ve just reached the critical moment?!”
“Even though there is no confirmation… it can’t be helped.”
Nia and Kotori frowned as they raised their fingers. Shido and the other two followed the other
two as they began to vote.
“Then, please select the person that will be hanged today. All together now—”
Under Maria’s guidance, everyone pointed to their chosen victim. The result was—
Kurumi, four votes.

Kaguya, four votes.
Yuzuru, two votes.
“Hmm, Kurumi and Kaguya have the same number of votes.”
“What would you do in this case?”
As Kotori asked, a different number appeared on the smartphone’s screen.
“In the case of the same number of votes, both parties will be given one minute to defend
themselves before a revote. If the revote is still a tie, there will be no deaths today.”
“I see…”
As Kotori got her answer, she placed the Chupa Chups stick back into her mouth and cast her
gaze upon Kaguya and Kurumi.
“Then let’s start with Kaguya. Can you explain why you didn’t vote for Origami?”
“Hey…”
At the end of Kotori’s question, the number on the smartphone began to count down. Kaguya
crossed her arms, dissatisfied, but nonetheless began to speak.
“I do have some opinions about the oath made with Origami, but as long as I win, there won’t be
any problem. In that case, defeating the enemy is the supreme goal, isn’t it?! I am not a
werewolf! If I die, the light of life will go out with me!”
Kaguya clenched her fist while giving that powerful speech. Although, well, they couldn’t quite
tell what she was trying to say with that last statement.
“Then, next up is Kurumi. If you will, please.”
The countdown was restarted, matching Maria’s voice. At the same time, Kurumi started talking
while looking at everyone.
“My reasoning is roughly the same as Kaguya-san. I am not incapable of understanding

everyone’s decision, but if I must choose, I wish to make a choice that would be more beneficial
for the future. As for the reason why I voted for Natsumi-san—”
Having said this, Kurumi licked her lips and revealed a coquettish smile.
“If there was the potential for trouble from a difficult enemy, it would be better to hang them
before that could come to pass.”
“…”
The Spirits were left speechless.
…How to describe this? Even without any confirmation, just from Kurumi’s expression and the
words spoken—
It all felt just like a werewolf.
“Then, please cast your votes once more. All together now—”
As expected, all at once everyone’s fingers had pointed at Kurumi.
“Ara, ara. How sad. You all are not willing to believe me.”
Kurumi sighed as she got up and embarked on a journey for the afterlife (that is, to Origami and
Miku’s section of the room).
“Kurumi was executed. Now, night will come again. Everyone please close your eyes.”
Maria said that in a light tone. Shido and the others closed their eyes in accordance with the
instructions and waited.
“—It’s morning. Please open your eyes.
What a pity. On the outskirts of the village, Kaguya’s corpse was found in a very interesting
pose.”
“Huuuuuuh?! Why am I the only one with something strange added on?!”
Kaguya screamed at Maria’s merciless words.
“Wha…?”
Shido and some of the Spirits frowned upon hearing this.
There were two main reasons. One was simply concern, as the werewolf hadn’t been hunted
down yet.
The second was the surprise that today’s victim was actually Kaguya.
“What’s going on…? Kaguya was still suspected of being a werewolf. For the real werewolf, she
would have served as a useful smokescreen. To still kill her…”
As Shido asked in confusion, Nia replied while scratching her head.
“Hmm… but it’s not unthinkable. Of course, the werewolf definitely wants to attack the seer and
spiritualist, but if the knight is still alive, there’s the possibility of that being ineffective. Kaguya,
who was suspected of being a werewolf, had a low chance of being protected by the knight. If
the werewolf is seeking a quick end to the game, then that was a good choice. The situation is
still unclear, though; she may also have been randomly selected. Otherwise—”
“Otherwise?”
As Shido asked, Nia smirked before continuing on.
“—Maybe they’re having fun provoking the villagers this way.”
“…!”
Hearing what Nia had said, Shido and the Spirits all gasped.
Then, amidst the tense atmosphere, Maria spoke through the smartphone as if to add fuel to the
fire.
“I have more sad news for everyone: I didn’t smell the scent of baked bread this morning.”
“Baaaaaaaaaaker—?!”
Tohka let out a sorrowful scream.
“Gu, guuuu… how could this be?! It’s all because of your bread I could hold on till now. Just
you wait… I’ll avenge you…!”
Tohka clenched her fist with tears in her eyes. It wasn’t trivial to cry like this, and the remaining
Spirits couldn’t help but tremble. In the afterlife, Miku pouted her lips and said, “Really, why
didn’t you react like this when I died?”
“The baker… ah.”
Shido frowned slightly.
…Could it be that Kaguya’s last words were actually meant to imply she was baking the bread?
She seemed to have been planning on revealing her career in her own style.
“Everyone’s mood must be very conflicted, but it’s almost time to start the discussion. Please
select the person who will be hanged today.”
After Maria finished speaking, the countdown began again.
Then, Mukuro spoke with some regret in her voice.
“Mun… Muku’s object of divination was Kaguya. Of course, she was human.”
“Ah… is that right? A case of bad timing, then.”
Shido awkwardly scratched his cheeks after hearing Mukuro’s words.
Indeed, no matter how one would phrase it, Kaguya was ruled out as a suspect. It could be a
coincidence but it was the best timing for the werewolf to attack Kaguya.
“Ah, me too. What a shame about Kaguya.”
“…”
Nia hurriedly continued from where Mukuro’s words left off, and the Spirits narrowed their eyes
in distrust.
However, there was no evidence that this was a lie, and right now, there was one person more
suspicious than Nia.
Yoshino spoke with a trembling voice.
“Kurumi-san was a human being, as was Kaguya-san. That means…”
While saying that, Yoshino cowered while glancing at Yuzuru. Yuzuru repeatedly shook her head
to refute the claim.
“Explanation. It is not Yuzuru. Please reconsider. If Yuzuru was the werewolf, she wouldn’t
attack Kaguya and make herself the next suspect.”
“Ah…”
After hearing this, Yoshino’s eyes widened as if realizing something.
However, Nia interjected and began mouthing off.
“Eh? Really? Did you not think of this excuse beforehand and chose to attack Kaguya to seek
more excitement?”
“Negation. Please stop guessing. Is there any evidence?”
And so, those two started their own battle.
But regardless, it was an unshakable fact that Yuzuru didn’t vote for Origami on the first day, so
from Shido’s point of view, it was basically impossible for Yuzuru to escape death today.
Yuzuru voting for Kaguya wasn’t the problem. The problem was that all the other suspects
besides Yuzuru were now dead. If Yuzuru wasn’t a werewolf, that must mean that the real
werewolf had voted against her teammate on the first day.
Shido frowned while thinking that.
Origami introduced those messy rules before the start of the game and made everyone vigilant.
Shido, too, thought at that moment that Origami should be eliminated as soon as possible, and
she actually had been hanged on the first day.
If the real werewolf had expected this early result, then it may be possible that she chose to
abandon her companion in order to avoid future suspicion.
That move would be a huge gamble. However, Shido had an idea of who among them might
have the courage to make such a decision.
“…Mukuro, Nia.”
“Mun?”
“Hmm? What’s the matter, boy?”
Mukuro and Nia slanted their heads at Shido’s words. Actually, it would be okay to only ask
Mukuro, but as long as Nia had “confirmed” his identity it would be unnatural to exclude her.
“Tonight, Yuzuru may still be hanged. But if the murders don’t end, there’s a person I want you
both to use your powers on.”
“Hmm…?”
“Hoho, who is it?”
As the two asked in interest, Shido slowly raised his hand and pointed at a person.
“—It’s Kotori.”
“…Huh?”
After Shido finished speaking, Kotori narrowed her eyes in intrigue.
However, the alarm then rang out from the smartphone.
“It’s time to vote. Please point to the person you want to lynch today. All together now,
everyone—”
Everyone pointed their fingers in accordance with Maria’s command.
The result was—five votes for Yuzuru to three votes for Nia.
“Regret. Ku… it can’t be helped. I hope everyone can fight till the end.”
Yuzuru looked sad as she walked towards the afterlife. Kaguya and Miku happily waved to
welcome her.
“Yuzuru is out, then. It’s nighttime again, so please close your eyes.”
Maria’s voice echoed in the village where only seven people remained. As night fell, the
werewolf’s atrocities were about to repeat once more.
“—It’s morning. Please open your eyes. Also, good news for everyone: nobody died last night.”
“Huh…?!”
“Does that mean there are no more werewolves…?”
“No. The werewolf is still lurking in the village. Please start the discussion.”
As Maria said that, the countdown began again. Shido and the others turned to look at each other
with serious expressions.
“The werewolf is still here, but no one was killed… in other words, did the knight protect the
person who was attacked?!”
Shido deliberately raised his voice as he said that. In reality, it was possible that the werewolf
had targeted the demon fox—Shido—and subsequently would be suspicious of him. However,
Shido wanted to minimize the existence of the demon fox, so he deliberately promoted the knight
as the cause.
Then Nia gave a round of applause to match this.
“It should be. Hooray for the knight! We’re that much closer to our victory!”
“Ah. So what happened to what I wanted you to do yesterday?”
Shido looked at Kotori while saying that, and Kotori calmly raised her Chupa Chups stick as if
welcoming the challenge.
“Mun…”
Mukuro pointed to Kotori, cold sweat dripping down her cheeks.
“Imōtogo… is a werewolf.”
“…!”
Mukuro’s words caused Tohka, Natsumi, and Yoshino to hold their breath.
Nia, however, reacted fiercely.
“Huuh?! What is Mukku-chin saying?! Imouto-chan is clearly a human being!”
Nia’s position was diametrically opposite Mukuro’s.
At the same time, Kotori exaggeratingly shrugged.
“Yes, I am human. I was wondering which seer was fake, but to think it was Mukuro… how
surprising, you know how to play so well despite this being your first game, but on the contrary,
Nia is so proficient that it makes people suspicious!”
“Ahah! How merciless!”
Nia stuck out her tongue while slapping her forehead… This exaggerated performance was as
suspicious as ever.
“M… Muu, which one is telling the truth…?”
Tohka looked confused. Then, Nia and Mukuro both leaned forward at the same time.
“Tohka, believe in Muku! Imōtogo is a werewolf!”
“Don’t be fooled, Tohka-chan! Believe in me!”
“M-Muu…”
Tohka cast her eyes to Shido as a plea for help. Shido bitterly smiled as he worked to put
together his thoughts in his head.
The real seer was Mukuro. Therefore, as he had expected, Kotori was the werewolf.
Since the other werewolf, Origami, had already died, if Kotori was hanged now, the
villagers—no, the victory of the demon fox, Shido, will be confirmed.
It felt painful to deceive Tohka and the others, but this was a game.
Shido opened his mouth after a small nod.
“—I think Mukuro is correct. If you vote for Kotori, it’ll be our victory.”
Tohka’s face brightened upon hearing what Shido had said.
“I see. Then—”
—But at that very moment.

“…Can you hold on for a second?”
Natsumi stretched out her hand, interrupting Tohka’s words.
“Natsumi…?”
“‘Mukuro is the real seer and Kotori is the werewolf.’ I have no objections to this assertion; after
all, Nia has been hitchhiking on Mukuro for a while now… but I think we should postpone
hanging Kotori.”
“What do you mean, Natsumi-san?”
Yoshino asked with a surprised look. Then Natsumi continued on with a gloomy look on her
face.
“…Have you forgotten about the existence of the demon fox?”
Suddenly hearing that name mentioned, Shido felt a tremble reach his shoulders.
“Of course, it is possible that they’ve already dropped out… but, if victory or defeat is confirmed
while the fox is still alive, then only the fox will win. If possible, it would be best to hunt them
first and then hang Kotori afterwards.”
“Hmmm… shouldn’t Muku kill the fox through divination?”
Mukuro asked while tilting her head. After thinking it over, Natsumi slightly shook her head and
replied.
“…No, it may be too late. Even if you succeed in cursing the fox tonight, another person will be
hanged, and one more killed by the werewolf. Of course, if the knight survived and successfully
guarded someone, things would be different, but if the madman and werewolf are included in the
remaining four, we can no longer win. Because half the votes are held by the enemy, the
werewolf could no longer be hanged.”
“Hmm, what should I do?”
“…It’s best to hang the demon fox this round, and then hang the werewolf the next round.
Although a villager will be sacrificed tonight, that would still be our victory.”
“I see… but how would you know who the demon fox is?”
“Hmm…”
Natsumi narrowed her eyes as she looked at the remaining players one by one.
“…There are two possible candidates, but I don’t think Tohka’s aptitude is in acting…”
Then, Natsumi softly whispered.
“—Hey, Shido.”
In the end, it seemed that the target was determined as Natsumi looked straight into Shido’s eyes.
“W-What’s the matter?”
“…I remember your identity as a villager was divined by Nia, but I think Nia is the madman. Are
you a villager being deceived? Or the host of the demon fox?”
“—!”
Hearing those words with her transparent gaze that seemed to see through everything, Shido felt
his breathing suffocate.
“…”
That was enough for a genius at observation, however. Natsumi lowered her eyes and raised her
voice to tell Tohka and the others.
“Let’s hang Shido today. Even if he is actually a villager, it should be fine as long as we hang
Kotori tomorrow.”
As she made that declaration, the alarm from the smartphone rang.
“Time is up. Please vote on the person who will be eliminated today. All together now,
everyone—”
Under Maria’s orders, the voting began, and after a moment of hesitation, Tohka and the others
reached out to Shido.
“So it’s me…”
“…Mu. I’m sorry, Shido.”
Tohka apologized as her expression turned dejected. Shido shrugged with a bitter smile.
“Don’t worry. It’s only a game. I’ll be praying for the villagers’ victory.”
With that, Shido let out a sigh and departed for the afterlife.
“…But still.”
On the way there, Shido glanced at Natsumi and whispered at a volume only he could hear.
“…She really is amazing.”
It was only now that Shido recalled what Kurumi had said. Indeed, in this sort of game, Natsumi
was truly a tricky enemy.
“—It’s morning. Please open your eyes. What a pity. Natsumi’s corpse was found on the
outskirts of the village.”
“…Ah, right. I had guessed it would be like this. Thank you, then.”
The next morning. Natsumi nodded at Maria’s words and waved to Yoshino, Mukuro, and Tohka
before standing up. It was as if she expected to be targeted.
…Only it was a shame she had to depart, as she stiffened after seeing Miku smiling and
beckoning her to the afterlife.
The remaining five players were Tohka, Yoshino, Mukuro, Kotori and Nia.
“Then, start the discussion. The person who will be lynched today—”
“No, that’s not needed anymore.”
Tohka then interrupted Maria.
“It’s over, Kotori. Or rather—werewolf!”
Then, Tohka stretched her finger to point to Kotori. Yoshino and Mukuro were also staring at
Kotori with determined looks.
“So, what do you think, Kotori? If you have any objections, we can enter the discussion phase as
usual.”
Confronted by all of this, Kotori sighed softly and shrugged.
“No need. I don’t think I can overturn this situation. Although the dead can’t speak, I’ve been
forced to learn that the words left by the dead can have a great impact on the living.”
This was her declaration of defeat.
Maria nodded and then continued.
“I understand. Today’s victim is Kotori, then.
—Night fell, but there were no victims. Congratulations to the villagers, the werewolves lurking
in the village have been eliminated.”
“Ooh!”
“We did it!”
“Mun…!”
The three of them celebrated, and everyone in the afterlife also gave them a round of applause.
“Tch, we were clearly one step from victory. Anyway, if it was me and Imouto-chan, we could
still have reversed that situation, right?”
Nia complained as she revealed the card in her hand; as Natsumi expected, the symbol of the
madman was drawn there.
“There are also good ways to lose. Shido’s judgment, Natsumi’s observations, plus Tohka and
the others who were willing to believe in them. It was all wonderful.”
While saying that, Kotori turned over her own card, displaying the werewolf.
Looking at this, Nia smiled and said, “Imouto-chan is too mature.”
“Kya! You did it! Tohka-san, Yoshino-san, Mukuro-san! You were all so cool! Ah, and of course
Natsumi-san!”
Next, Miku, holding Natsumi under her arm, returned back to the village from the afterlife and
revealed the card in her hand. The image of a knight was drawn there.
“…Wow, Miku, you were the knight? You died too early…”
Natsumi, who was caught under Miku’s elbow, revealed her card; the person who shined during
the finale turned out to be an ordinary villager.
The Spirits who were in the afterlife returned to their positions one by one, revealing their
identities as if to answer any questions.
Origami was a werewolf. Kurumi and Yuzuru were villagers. Kaguya was the baker. And, of
course, Mukuro and Yoshino were the seer and spiritualist respectively.
Basically, it was the same as Shido’s guesses. Shido also returned to his position, intending to
reveal his own card as well.
—But, at the same time.
“Hmm… then I won.”

Over there—was a card with a demon fox drawn on it.
“Huh…?!”
Seeing Tohka’s card, Shido couldn’t hold back his surprise.
No, not just Shido, but Natsumi and the other Spirits’ eyes widened in astonishment as well.
That’s right. After all, the demon fox card must have been given to Shido.
Perhaps two demon fox cards had been added in by mistake? Shido hurriedly flipped over the
card in his hand.
“Wha—”
The result caused Shido to let out a shocked gasp again.
Shido’s position was ‘demon fox.’ There was no doubt about that.
But what Shido had now was an ordinary villager card.
“I-It can’t be? Certainly, I was the demon fox…”
After distorting his eyebrows in confusion, Shido choked on his breath upon looking at Tohka
again.
“No way… a switch?!”
Then, Tohka showed the demon fox card in her hands with a ruthless expression unimaginable
from the usually cheerful Tohka.
“—What nonsense. Human, do you have any evidence?”
“About everyone’s respective positions, you can find them in my records—”
“Hmph.”
Just as Maria was about to say something, Tohka glared at her, displeased, and the screen of the
smartphone displaying Maria began to flicker as smoke began to rise from it.
“M-My smartphone?!”
Nia screamed as she picked up her phone.
However, Tohka didn’t care about this at all as he continued to calmly look at Shido.
“I’ll ask again. Do you have any evidence? Assuming what you said is true, have you forgotten
the rules of the game?”
“—!”
Listening to Tohka, Shido and the other Spirits all trembled a bit.
Indeed, although it was quickly forgotten due to Origami being the first to drop out, this
werewolf game was run with the OO style rules. As long as cheating wasn’t caught, it wouldn’t
be considered cheating. In that case, the result at this moment meant everything.
Tohka glared at everyone to make sure there was no objection and raised her chin while huffing
from her nose.
“There is always one winner. Only Tohka is suitable.”
Then, while saying so, she threw the demon fox card toward Shido.
Shido shed cold sweat upon seeing this.
A facial expression that was unimaginable from the usual Tohka. In fact, some of the Spirits
were so surprised by the sudden change that they were left speechless.
However, Shido had an idea of this Tohka.
Right—this was Inverse Tohka.
Although there were no clearly visible changes, Shido felt that the Tohka in front of him was
similar to her inverse self from that time.
“…Wait a minute. If you win with the OO style rules, that means—”
Natsumi tensed up as she squeezed out those words.
After hearing this, Shido also realized. The point of the OO style rules was not only to allow
undiscovered cheating, but the winners obtained the right to make any request of the losers.
“…”
Shido and the Spirits all gasped.
The normal Tohka was fine, but they were all wary of what Tohka would ask for now that she
had changed like this. Tohka raised her lips to reveal a faint smile as if noticing everyone’s
concerns, but—
“…Muu, I am at a loss between curry or hamburger steak… considering it’s camping, it should
be curry…”
At the next moment, Tohka’s expression changed back to the version that Shido and the others
were familiar with.
“…Huh?”
Shido couldn’t help but slant his head and widen his eyes, and Tohka looked back at him,
confused.
“Huh? What’s wrong? Is it not still possible to make a request? I wanted to request the lunch
menu…”
“Ah, no…”
Because Tohka had suddenly changed back to her normal state, Shido was left speechless for
what to say next, simply shaking his head to dispel the confusion.
But what was going on with Tohka just now?
Feeling as if it was just a strange daydream, Shido couldn’t help but scratch his cheeks.
Finally, Tohka seemed to reach a decision, and clapped her hands together before speaking:
“I’ve decided. If you will, please, everyone.”
“A-Ah. What do you want to eat?”
“No, I decided to leave the lunch menu up to you. I would like to make another request.”
“Another request?”
“Umu.”
As Shido asked, Tohka looked on at everyone and smiled.
“‘Everyone will continue to live happily forever.’ That is my wish.”
Shido was left unsure how to respond to that.
Of course, there were several reasons to be surprised by Tohka’s words, but more than that,
Tohka’s expression and tone at that moment tightly squeezed Shido’s heart.
Yes, it was just like the words everyone left behind in the death game moments ago—
“…Mu? What’s wrong?”
“—! No… it’s nothing.”

After hearing Shido’s reply, Tohka happily said, “That’s it!” and gathered everyone’s cards again.
“Then let’s play another round, with rules that aren’t in the OO style!”
Tohka began dealing the cards to everyone.
The Spirits were still shocked for a few moments longer, but their cheeks gradually loosened as
they received the cards.
“Kaka, how amusing. This time I’ll show you my strength!”
“Challenge. Yuzuru won’t lose this time.”
“Then this round we’ll use the OOO style rules—”
“…You’ll be hanged on the first day again, Origami.”
In that way, the preparations for the next round began in a somewhat orderly manner.
“…Then let’s start.”
Shido breathed a sigh of relief to regain his composure, confirming the card he received before
taking his seat again.
Tohka After
April. Tengu City, where the Itsuka household was located. Itsuka Shido was in the kitchen
rhythmically chopping some vegetables with a knife.
He placed the finely shredded cabbage on a plate and then topped it with tomatoes and fried crab
cream croquettes. “Okay… that should be everything.”
Shido exhaled. He took off his apron before carrying the plate with the croquettes to the dining
table.
Hamburgers, clubhouse sandwiches packed with ingredients, and various appetizers already lined
the table. It was like he was cooking for a massive birthday celebration.
Naturally, such proportions would be too much for a single person to eat on their own. There was
a simple explanation as to why Shido prepared so much food for lunch.
Yes. It was because—
“—I’m back, Shido!”
In a flash, as Shido heard the sound of footsteps from the hallway, the door to the living room
suddenly flew open and a young girl poked her head inside.
Her long, fluttering hair was like the night sky. Her crystalline eyes were filled with joy. Her
amazingly beautiful face wore a heartwarming smile.
Faced with that figure, with that expression, and with that voice, Shido couldn’t help but smile
himself.
But such a reaction was understandable. After all, she was the girl that Shido yearned for over
the past year.
“—Ah, welcome back, Tohka.”
He responded, his thoughts all over the place.
Tohka. Yatogami Tohka.
She was one of the <Spirits> that Shido met and whose powers he had sealed.
She was an irreplaceable partner who had supported Shido through so much. She was also the
same girl who, a year ago, disappeared right in front of him. He wondered if they would ever
meet again but now here she stood here, right in front of him. Faced with such a miracle, Shido
felt tears come to his eyes.
“Muu… what’s wrong, Shido?”
“…No, it’s nothing. I thought that the examinations would take longer than that. Look, lunch is
ready, a feast with all of Tohka’s requests.”
“Oh wow!”
As Shido pointed to the table, Tohka’s eyes widened at the feast and her expression made it clear
that she wanted to lunge at the table.
“Really…! All of the things that I wanted to eat? I thought you would only make one thing for
me—”
“Hmm? Did I make too much?”
Shido smiled mischievously and Tohka quickly shook her head vigorously. Shido chuckled at the
comical gesture.
“It’s rare for me to prepare meals like this. Let’s eat while it’s still warm, and don’t forget to
wash your hands.”
“Umu!”
Tohka nodded cheerfully as she quickly washed her hands and took a seat at the table. Shido took
the seat opposite of hers as he put his hands together.
“Then, thanks for the meal!”
Shido and Tohka said at the same time as they started eating the freshly prepared meal.
Today was a workday so everyone else was either at school or at work, leaving the Itsuka
household empty, save for Shido and Tohka.
Technically speaking, Shido actually had a university lecture to attend today but he asked for
permission to have the day off ahead of time. After all, today was the day Tohka returned to the
Itsuka household after such a long time.
A few days ago, on April 10th, Tohka appeared in front of Shido. According to Nia, this was
thanks to the ‘will of the world’ who reconstructed Tohka as she’d returned to the world as
mana—but that was still a terrible irregularity for <Ratatoskr>. No matter what Nia said,
<Ratatoskr> still had a responsibility to confirm both Tohka’s and the world’s safety. She had
spent the last few days undergoing a detailed examination aboard the <Fraxinus> after she was
reunited with everyone.
“…” However, now, Shido was simply relaxing, as he watched Tohka enjoy her lunch.
He certainly understood <Ratatoskr>’s concerns, but after watching her happily eat her rice in a
way that could only be described as “Tohka,” it made the past year feel like it had gone by in a
flash.
“Umu, it’s delicious…! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you, and somehow your cooking has
gotten even better, Shido!”
“Haha, is that so?”
Shido laughed awkwardly as he put the stew into his mouth. He hadn’t noticed it before, but it
really was delicious, just like Tohka said. Maybe it was because she was sitting right across from
him.
It didn’t take long for the table previously laden with food to be cleared. Incidentally, the
proportion of food was 93% eaten by Tohka and 7% by Shido. She rubbed her stomach with a
satisfied expression and sighed happily.
“Thank you for the meal! Muu… I enjoyed that so much… I could die right now and have no
regrets.”
“I don’t think that’s something to joke about…”
Shido smiled bitterly. Tohka tilted her head in confusion before realizing what she’d meant and
said, “Sorry, you know that’s not what I meant.”
“Yeah, I know. I understand,” Shido shrugged as he looked at Tohka before continuing, “Is there
anything else you want to do? I have the day off so we can do whatever you want.”
Hearing what Shido said, Tohka’s expression turned contemplative as she thought about it for a
moment and then said:
“Something that I want to do…? Muu, there is one wish I have. Would you listen to it, Shido?”
“Of course. What is it that you want to do?”
“Muu. That—”
Once he asked, Tohka explained what she wanted, her eyes shining brightly all the while.
◇◇◇
“Hmm.” A chime sounded through class 2-1 of Raizen High School, signaling the end of the
lesson.
As the bell rang, Itsuka Kotori stretched. Her red hair was tied with white and black ribbons
resting on the back of her seat, and her black blazer only slightly longer than her shirt, with
wrinkled fabric.
“Oh, is it that time already?”
The teacher, who stood in front of the blackboard, set down the chalk in her hand and made an
exaggerated turn to face the students. Her pale blonde hair fluttered as she turned.
“Well, that’s all for today. Make sure you study the material thoroughly.”
After she finished speaking, she tried to leave the classroom with her attendance sheet and
textbooks in hand. But in the next second, the teacher tripped over herself in spectacular fashion.
“Whoa!”
She fell to the ground and all her textbooks and attendance sheet fell directly on her head. The
students’ eyes all widened in shock as they quickly rushed to her side.
“E-Ellen-sensei!”
“Are you okay?”
“…I’m fine. No problem.”
Ellen Mathers, the English and homeroom teacher for class 2-1 for the past year, tried to stand up
with her crisp expression still on her face. There were, however, the beginnings of tears in the
corners of her eyes.
She was trembling as she struggled to stand up like a newborn fawn, perhaps she’d hurt herself
more severely than she thought. With help from the students lending their shoulders, she was
able to get back to her feet. “Hmm, as usual.”
Kotori shrugged her shoulders as she smiled bitterly. Ellen was once known as the World’s
Strongest Wizard and fought against Kotori and her friends several times, but now she was
powerless without a Realizer. It had only been a few days since high school started, but this was
already the third time she fell.
“That looked like it really hurt… do you need some help?” A worried voice asked from the seat
next to hers. She looked in the direction of the voice and spotted a girl with a gentle face. Much
like Kotori, she was a former Spirit who started high school this year: Himekawa Yoshino. Her
trademark rabbit puppet was noticeably absent on her left hand—her best friend, Yoshinon. At
one point, she couldn’t stand to be separated from Yoshinon. But now, she was asleep in
Yoshino’s bag.
About a year ago, Yoshino gradually learned to be able to live without Yoshinon, and once she
started going to school, she grew to the point where she could work well enough on her own.
“Are you alright? We should be able to help.”
Kotori said as she twirled an imaginary lollipop in her fingers.
In fact, several students had gathered around Ellen. When she first started working at the school,
Ellen had a more distant air about her, almost like “I don’t feel like working with students,” but
she immediately exposed her true self due to her poor motor function. Nowadays, she was
regarded as one of the most friendly teachers and was beloved by her students.
…Although she seems more worried about being a big sister who causes trouble for everyone
than being respected as a good teacher, there was no denying that she was very popular amongst
her students.
Seeing that, the two students sitting in the front row turned to Kotori and her friends, “Mun… it’s
still surprising. Muku could never imagine that Ellen would fall so elegantly.”
One of the other students, another former Spirit who boasted an innocent face and incredible
proportions that contradicted each other—Hoshimiya Mukuro.
“Is that so? When she was with DEM, she was usually like that.”
Takamiya Mana, a former wizard with a fearless expression, with her characteristic mole under
her left eye.
Of course, it was no coincidence that all of them were gathered like this. Although everyone had
gotten used to their current lives and there was no worry of Spirit power to backflow, it was still
more convenient to have all the former Spirits living in one place, so <Ratatoskr> made things
such that all of them were in the same class.
However, it was a complete coincidence that they were seated together the way they were.
Actually—
“…”
Kotori glanced over her shoulder, at the seat by the window. The only former Spirit who was not
seated with the rest of them—Kyouno Natsumi, who hadn’t left her seat and was staring up at the
sky with a distant expression.
While they were able to make it so that they were all in the same class together, it was more
difficult to control the seating order since it was based on a lottery. As a result, only Natsumi
ended up getting separated from the rest of the group. The expression Natsumi made when she
drew from the lottery was still etched into Kotori’s mind.
Well, that being said, Kotori wasn’t too worried about Natsumi’s current mental state. After all,
she was still in the same class as Kotori and the others, so it should be fine, right?
“See, class is over Natsumi. What are you upset about?”
“…! Ah, yeah. I’m sorry, Kanon.”
The student seated next to her said calmly. Natsumi’s shoulder shook briefly as she packed away
her notebooks and textbooks.
Yet another complete coincidence was that Ayanokoji Kanon, a friend of Natsumi’s from junior
high school, also attended Raizen High School like the rest of them and was even in the same
class.
Kotori smiled as she turned around, putting her textbooks in her bag and slipping it onto her
shoulder.
English was their sixth and final class of the day. Now that it’s over, they should be free to go
home once their homeroom teacher returns. Everyone else had followed her example and started
packing their things.
Eventually, Ellen, who’d stopped by the staff room, returned to the classroom (and tripped along
the way, tearing a small hole in the knee of her stocking) and conveyed a brief message. Once
she’d finished speaking, she concluded the end of the lesson. Kotori stood up with her bag in
hand while waiting for Natsumi and Kanon before leading the way to the classroom door. “Now,
let’s go home.”
“…Hmm. That’s right.”
She said as she left the classroom and walked down the hallway. After school, the building was
filled with lively hustle and bustle with some students leaving school and others heading to their
club activities. They went out in groups so they didn’t get in the other students’ way.
“—Ah, Itsuka-san. Are you going home?” Suddenly, a voice calling out from behind made
Kotori stop.
When she turned around, she spotted a short teacher wearing glasses. It was a face Kotori
recognized well. She turned and thanked her, “Yes, take care Okamine—Or rather,
Kannazuki-sensei.”
When Kotori corrected herself, Okamine Tamae, now known as Kannazuki Tamae, smiled
happily.
“Fufufufu… I’m not used to it yet. Is it okay to call me that?”
She said as she fingered the ring on her ring finger on her left hand.
Kotori smiled and called her “Kannazuki-sensei” again. Tamae’s body trembled, her cheeks were
flushed a bright red. That’s right, Okamine Tamae and Kannazuki Kyouhei, the deputy
commander of <Ratatoskr> who had been dating for awhile, finally got married the other day.
By the way, it seems that his proposal was “Please step on me every morning while dressed in a
junior high school girl’s uniform!” Tamae was too excited by the proposal to think that anything
was off about it and agreed wholeheartedly without a second thought.
When Kotori graduated from junior high school, Kannazuki said with a straight face, “Can you
give me your uniform? I want to give it to my wife to wear.” She promptly hit him in his vitals.
Well, as long as she was happy, then Kotori didn’t see a reason to mention anything else. Kotori
smiled slightly as she thanked her once more. “Alright then,” she started walking away. As if to
follow her lead, Yoshino and her friends also made their way down the corridor.
“If we head home now, we should be able to get home before 5:00.”
“Yeah. By the way, it’s been a while since we all went home together like this.”
Mana responded to what Kotori said.
Indeed, they often did go to school together with Kotori but that wasn’t always true when they
headed back home.
Yoshino, Natsumi, and Mukuro had been going on tours to figure out which clubs they wanted to
join. Mana had already decided to join the Kendo club and had already participated in a club
practice. Kotori, who had work to do with <Ratatoskr> decided to go home after school, so for
the past few days, they’d all gone to different places after homeroom. However, for today, they
all promised to go home together.
Yoshino and her friends decided not to continue their club activities tour and Mana had already
requested a day off from practice ahead of time. Kotori still had some work leftover, but she
intended to head straight home today.
That’s right. After all, today is—
“…Huh?”
Kotori, who was walking down the corridor, looked around briefly.
For some reason, there was already a crowd in front of them. “Hmm? What’s going on over
here?”
“Hey, what happened?”
Kotori called out to one of the students who seemed to be a senior student. The boy turned
around, wiping a cold sweat from his forehead.
“O-Oh… it seems that a legendary senpai is at the entrance right now.”
“Legendary senpai…?”
Tilting her head in confusion, Kotori tried to imagine such a person in her mind. Perhaps it was
an OB or OG7 who played a legendary role in club activities? It was April now, it wouldn’t be
uncommon for graduated senpais to show up for club activities just to see what their juniors were
doing. However, the boy continued standing there with a rugged expression.
“You may not know about it since it happened over a year ago… I don’t want to say anything
bad, but you should wait until he leaves. It’ll be dangerous if you’re seen by him.”
“Huh, is that so…?”
Kotori felt sweat trickle down her cheek as she spoke. Was it really such a well-known fact that
she got scared that easily? Was it a former student who dropped out because of bad behavior,
returning to his alma mater with an equally bad companion? …It was like something often seen
in bad manga and anime.
However, Raizen High school was a school with relatively well-behaved students. Before
enrolling the Spirits into the school, she ran a background check through <Ratatoskr>, although
doing that was relatively trivial. She didn’t think there were any students here that were nearly
that bad.
Contrary to Kotori’s expectations, the other students around her were saying similar things—all
telling her to listen to what the older student said.
“I heard that this senpai was a legendary playboy, he even had several girls serving him!”
“And all the girls who transferred in were immediately captured by his poisonous fangs…!”
“His home is also known as ‘his personal zoo’ where he confines the girls he captures.”
7
OB “Old Boy” and OG “Old Girl” refer to former students who have graduated from particular schools
or institutions. Similar to the idea of alumni/alumnae.
“…Huh?”
As Kotori twisted her neck, the crowd around her suddenly buzzed.”
“Come on, he’s here…! Senpai!”
“Hide the girls! Don’t let him see them!”
And so on, cries echoed around as though a bandit had assaulted a village.
“Uh…”
“What should we do, Kotori-san?”
While Kotori and her friends were confused about what had happened, the crowd seemed to split
to either side revealing the presence of the so-called “legendary senpai.”
“Eh…”
“Mun?”
“Oh…”
When she saw him, her eyes widened in surprise.
That’s right. After all, it was Kotori’s older brother, Itsuka Shido, who was standing there.
“Onii-chan?”
When Kotori called out to him, Shido waved his hand once he finally noticed them.
“Oh, there you are. I finally found you.”
Then, while wearing the slippers intended for guests, he walked toward Kotori and her friends.
With every step, there was a faint buzz from the surrounding crowd.
“Onii-chan, they seem to be scared of something…”
Kotori said, her eyes slightly narrowed but she didn’t worry about anyone other than Shido and
smiled cheerfully.
“Eh, how do you think I attended this school?—This just sounds like birds chirping to me at this
point.”
“…That’s true.”
Kotori’s smile strained. She hadn’t thought that living with the Spirits would change him like
this… As the commander who’d had a hand in this situation, Kotori couldn’t help but feel at
least partially responsible.
“Compared to this, what’s going on, Nii-sama? Why did you come here?”
Mana, who had been standing next to Kotori, asked while tilting her head to the side. That’s
right, Shido wasn’t just Kotori’s brother. He was Mana’s brother too.
“Onii-chan…? Nii-sama…?”
“The three of them were siblings? But two of them are Itsuka-san and Takamiya-san, right? Their
surnames are different…”
“No way, is he the kind of person who likes to be called ‘Onii-chan’?”
The chirping only grew louder over the names that Kotori and Mana gave. However, Shido
didn’t care about that as he continued on without a care in the world.
“Oh, I just wanted to check and see how everything was going for everyone.”
“Eh?” What Shido said made their eyes go wide. Then, he shifted his gaze down and stepped
aside.
It was as though he was revealing something standing behind him.
“—”
They saw a figure walk forward from behind Shido. Kotori gasped involuntarily when she saw.
No, it wasn’t just Kotori. Mana, Yoshino, Natsumi, and Mukuro reacted similarly. Everyone’s
facial expressions only showed shock.
But such a reaction was understandable. After all, the one who was standing there was, “—Umu.
Everyone, it’s been a long time. Fufu, all of you look good in the Raizen uniform.”
Because the girl before them had hair the same color as the night and smiled gently after she
finished speaking.
“Tohka…” Half unconsciously, the name fell from their lips.
Of course, Kotori and the others already knew that she’d been revived after having disappeared a
year ago. Everyone had met her once before over the monitor. Kotori even talked to her several
times during her examination.
She even knew that testing would be finished today. That’s why everyone was trying to go
straight home today, cancelling all of their other commitments.
So she should have been more than prepared to see her. She should have had something to say
when. But when she reappeared in front of her, her emotions overwhelmed her and she couldn’t
bring herself to say anything.
Then, Tohka smiled at Kotori and her friends.
She then said, “Mmm… did I surprise you? I thought I should wear this outfit if I came to visit
this school…”
She said as she looked down to show her outfit. Right now, she was wearing the same uniform as
Kotori and her friends. Her appearance was identical to the Tohka that Kotori and her friends
remembered.
Perhaps because of her outfit, the other students around them started asking, “Who is that
beautiful girl? No way, it’s not another victim of that poisonous snake?”
“No, wait. Isn’t that Yatogami-senpai who had been on leave for the past year…?”
Whispers such as “Is that so? Wasn’t there a rumor that Itsuka-senpai locked her away in his
personal zoo?” Well, much like Shido, she didn’t give the mumblings a second thought.
“Tohka-san—”
Among the girls who’d been frozen in place at the sight of Tohka, the first to move was Yoshino.
She was so surprised that she broke into a sprint and lunged into Tohka’s chest as though she
were falling.
“Tohka-san! Tohka-san! Tohka-san…!”
“…U-Umu, Yoshino.”
“A-A-Ah—”
Tohka hugged Yoshino gently, rubbing her back while Yoshino’s shoulders trembled as she
sobbed loudly with her face buried into Tohka’s chest.
—At that moment.
“Tohka…!”
“…Tohka—”
“Tohka!”
“Tohka-san…!”
Kotori and her friends suddenly moved as though they’d been freed from a curse. They quickly
closed the distance between themselves and Tohka in an instant. They each hugged Tohka at the
same time to convey their feelings.
“Umu, I’ve been wanting to see everyone again. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”
Tohka shared her heartfelt thoughts through her words as she hugged each one of them as tightly
as she could.
◇◇◇
“Thank you for your hard work! Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
“Correspondence. Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
In a private room in an izakaya8 in Tengu City, a number of glasses lightly clinked against each
other.
“…”
8
An informal Japanese style bar that serves alcoholic drinks and snacks. These are casual kinds of places
where people go for after-work drinking much like a pub or saloon (though I’m pretty sure Origami,
Kaguya, and Yuzuru aren’t drinking alcohol).
Tobiichi Origami tilted the glass in her hand to empty the contents poured inside. It had a strong
carbonated stimulus with a refreshing citrus scent passed through her mouth.
“Wow, that’s bold Oririn!”
Nia whistled while applauding.
As she watched, Yamai Kaguya, who was seated across from them, smiled bitterly.
“Uh, what was the point of that…? It’s non-alcoholic, right?”
“Smile. There’s no need to be so harsh. Atmosphere is important for this kind of thing.”
Seated next to Kaguya, her twin sister, Yuzuru, smiled as she tipped the glass into her mouth.
While the twins shared identical faces, it wasn’t very difficult to tell them apart. Of course, there
were the obvious features like their hairstyles and body shapes but the most important point was
that they were no longer wearing school uniforms after starting university.
Though Kaguya was more mature now as a college student than when she was in high school,
she still liked dark-colored clothes and often wore silver rings. So it was fairly easy to
distinguish them at a distance.
After hearing what Yuzuru said, Nia laughed as she tilted her glass. Naturally, Nia’s glass was
filled with genuine sake.
“Y-Yeah! Follow the atmosphere. Everyone is too serious! There are some college students who
drink alcohol like crazy and plenty of 18-20 year olds making those kinds of mistakes.”
Nia, whose face was now flushed, laughed happily as she waved her hands around.
Then, upon hearing her, a girl seated behind them began typing on her smartphone.
“Breaking news. Famous manga artist, Honjou Nia, forces underaged girls to drink at a
celebration banquet—”
“What are you muttering back there, machine?”
Nia’s eyes went wide. But the girl—Maria—continued typing without so much as a change in
her expression.
“I’m teaching the horrors of SNS to bad manga artists who don’t follow the law.”
“It was just a joke! Don’t drink until you are 20 years old! …So please, put away your
smartphone.”
Nia prostrated, her face drenched in a cold sweat.
Maria stared at her, her eyes narrowed before letting out a sigh and setting her smartphone back
to its home screen then stowing it in her bag.
“I don’t like having a part-time job and you are a well-known figure. Please refrain from saying
such things or acting irresponsibly.”
“Okay…”
Nia replied with a drunken look.
Maria then began counting on her fingers to do some mental math. Of course, her computing
performance as the AI of the <Fraxinus> was beyond that of a human. She didn’t need to do such
a thing for a simple calculation, but it was her personal preference to do so. Maria liked to mimic
human gestures.
“I should remind you of the bill before I forget. Three terminals for ten hours totals to 600,000.
Please remit to the designated account by the end of the month. It’s best to request a loan as soon
as possible.”
Maria advised as she locked eyes with Origami. Origami and the others weren’t just there for a
drinking party. They were also there because today was the deadline for Nia’s manuscript which
she didn’t have enough manpower originally. This dinner was also a celebration for finishing the
manuscript on time.
“I don’t like it.”
Origami slammed the base of the glass against the table and let out a faint sigh if only to express
a faint dissatisfaction that lingered in her heart.
Nia clasped her hands apologetically.
“I’m sorry… I know I shouldn’t have called you all of a sudden—”
“That’s not it.”
Origami shook her head quietly. The Yamai sisters also nodded.
“That’s right. We helped you out, but you didn’t take us to some fancy place.”
“Nod. Why are we only getting cheap convenience store drinks? Then again, it does fit Nia’s
image.”
Hearing what the Yamai sisters said, Nia’s lips sharpened.

“Ah~ you’re just college students. Public bars are as good as fancy places. Thin ham is as good
as thick ham. Anyway, if you want me to take you to a fancier place, wait until you can drink
alcohol—”
“That’s not the case either.”
Origami spoke up again to dispute what Nia said. She didn’t have any problems helping with
work nor was she complaining about the drinks. Origami was dissatisfied with something else.
“—I didn’t have any plans to interfere with Shido and Tohka’s reunion even if you didn’t invite
me here.”
Origami explained. The Yamai sisters shrugged their shoulders helplessly in agreement.
“Hmm. That’s right. Don’t underestimate us.”
“Agreement. You’re overthinking things, Nia. We have enough common sense to figure it out.”
Seeing that reaction from the three of them, Nia smiled bitterly. That’s right. Today was the day
that Tohka returned to the Itsuka household after finishing her examinations aboard the
<Fraxinus>.
Compared to the high school group, Origami’s group were all college students whose schedules
were much more flexible. It would have been easy to skip her lectures and wait for Tohka with
Shido at the Itsuka household.
Therefore, it seemed that Nia had a countermeasure in place by asking for Origami’s help so
Shido and Tohka could have as much time as possible. It was clear that she was very worried
about it.
However, as she watched the three of them, Maria’s gaze narrowed.
“Don’t be fooled. While there was certainly a reason behind this, it’s also true that the
manuscript wasn’t going very well.”
“I’m trying to take my time and finish the story well so I don’t have to water it down!”
Maria’s words made Nia protest in response. As usual, the Yamai sisters chuckled.
At that moment—
“…Oh?”
A ringtone could be heard from Nia’s smartphone. Nia tapped the call button while readjusting
her glasses.
“Yes, hello? Nattsun? Ah, did you finish school? Right on time. Everyone is here. Yeah, the
usual spot. All right. Okay.”
After she finished speaking, Nia put her smartphone on the table. Seeing her do that, Kaguya
spoke up.
“Natsumi?”
“Hmm. It seems that she called because there was no one at my studio. She wanted to know what
happened, and if we were just killing time until dinner.”
While Nia took a sip of her beer as she spoke, Maria looked at her suspiciously.
“Don’t tell me you forgot to send an email to Natsumi because of your usual habit?”
“Eh? Don’t be rude. Even I wouldn’t make such a rookie mistake…”
As she spoke, she flipped over her smartphone’s screen. After she turned it over, she continued
confidently.
“—I wouldn’t make that kind of rookie mistake!”
“You definitely were worried you did halfway through that sentence!”
“Conviction. You were just checking to see if you hadn’t sent the email by mistake.”
The Yamai sisters were quick to complain. Nia simply stuck out her tongue and feigned
ignorance much like characters did in manga, saying “Teehee☆!” Whether she managed to fool
any of them was up for debate.
Then, a few minutes later, while they were discussing other topics, the door opened and a new
face came into the room.
“Please pardon the intrusion!”
“—”
In response to her voice, their eyes went wide in surprise. But such a reaction was
understandable.
After all, the person who stood before them was different from the ones that Origami and the
others were expecting.
“It’s been a long time! Origami! Kaguya! Yuzuru! Nia! And I haven’t seen Maria in a long time
either!”
That’s right. It wasn’t Natsumi who had just called Nia that entered the room—
The person who’d just stepped into the room was Yatogami Tohka who’d been reborn by the will
of the world.
“Huh? Tohka-chan?”
“What! No way!”
“Amazement. Why are you here?”
Nia, Kaguya, and Yuzuru’s expressions turned to ones of surprise as they leaned forward. Only
Maria reacted to the situation calmly.
“Hey, don’t do that.”
“…Is it really okay to come to such a place in a high school uniform?”
“Ahaha…”
“It’s fine! It’s fine! As long as there’s at least one adult here, there’s nothing to worry about.”
Next to Tohka, Shido and the rest of the high school group came in, including Natsumi, Yoshino,
and the rabbit puppet Yoshinon worn on Yoshino’s left hand along with the others. The room that
was previously quite spacious suddenly felt incredibly cramped and she loved it.
“Muu, what are you guys doing? What’s this? Robot-san’s money?”
“Excuse me, I had nothing to do with this. Well, I did know that Tohka and her friends were
coming here.”
As she spoke, Maria suddenly looked down. It was clear that she already knew but she didn’t
want to spoil the mood. Tohka nodded before continuing loudly.
“I asked her. I said that I wanted to know what everyone else was doing while I was gone.”
After explaining, she grabbed Kaguya, Yuzuru, Nia, and Maria in turn and shook hands with
each of them in turn. Maria and Yuzuru smiled gently, Nia smiled awkwardly while Kaguya was
teased by Yuzuru for having tears in her eyes when her turn came.
Finally…
“Origami. It’s been a long time.”
At last, Tohka extended her hand to her. One year ago, she disappeared in front of Origami. Her
voice still rang clearly in Origami’s memory.
“Yeah.”
Origami replied simply as she grasped the outstretched hand and squeezed it just as tightly.
As Tohka responded, she smiled.
Through her hand, she could feel Tohka, her body temperature, and a faint pulse. It really was
her. She wasn’t a dream or an illusion. Her presence made the year-long gap of her absence feel
nonexistent.
—In that case, forgiveness was no longer necessary and there was no need to be polite.
Origami narrowed her gaze as she spoke.
“You’re very lucky. I’m glad that you’re back now.”
“Huh? What do you mean?” Tohka tilted her head in confusion. Origami continued without so
much as a change in her tone.
“If you had come back a year later, Shido would have been mine alone.”
“Muu…”
“—Bufu?!”
After hearing what Origami said, Tohka shifted her gaze to Shido, who’d been standing behind
her, as he started coughing violently.
“What are you talking about, Origami?! That kind of thing—”
“Is completely innocent. Shido and I are 18 years old now. From now on, we’re legally adults.
We won’t act as high school students anymore. Now it’s more than that—”
Origami pulled out her smartphone with her left and pulled up a photo which she then showed to
Tohka.
“—Shido and I are married.”
The picture was of Origami in a wedding dress and Shido in a white tuxedo.
“T-This is…?”
As she stared at the picture on the screen, Tohka’s eyes widened. The other girls crowded around
Tohka to get a better look at the picture for themselves, their expressions equally stunned.
“S-Shido-san…?”
“What is the meaning behind this photo, Nushi-sama?”
“Question. Is what Master Origami said true, Shido?”
“No! How could it be true?! We just took pictures at a wedding hall! Speaking of which,
Origami, didn’t I tell you not to show everyone that photo?!”
Everyone now crowded around Shido as he shouted back in response. Origami shook her head
faintly, her gaze directed downward.
“I intended to do that but now things have changed—Besides, this photo was taken secretly with
my personal camera. It’s entirely different from the one Shido told me not to show.”
“Aren’t you completely missing the point?!”
Now that Shido explained everything, Tohka turned back to Origami, her cheeks puffed out.
“He’s not married! Don’t make those kinds of things up!”
“It’s only a matter of time before it actually happens. For the year that you’ve been gone, Shido
and I have deepened our love by doing things that can’t be said here.”
“N-No…!”
Tohka glanced toward Shido, her face flushed a bright red. Shido shook his head once more.
Seeing that, Tohka’s eyes widened again.
“Y-You were trying to trick me again, Origami!”
“I just said ‘this kind of thing’ or ‘that kind of thing.’ It’s up to you to imagine what we might
have been doing.”
“Don’t try to mess with me! Anyway, I’m not going to hand Shido over to you!”
“I was going to say the same thing.”
Tohka and Origami glared at each other as they squeezed each other’s hands more tightly in the
hopes of forcing the other to submit.
“…”
“…”
However, before long, Tohka let out a small sigh as though she couldn’t keep it up anymore.
“…Mm. You’re just the same as ever, Origami.”
Tohka said as she shrugged and let out a faint laugh helplessly.
Looking back at Tohka, Origami couldn’t help but laugh at herself.
“You too—I’m glad to see you again.”
When Origami responded, the other girls stared in surprise at the unusual scene before them.
“Hey, isn’t this rare! Origin is smiling and laughing.”
“Hehe, don’t you look good? You should do that more often.”
“…It was obviously something worth smiling about but there was more to it than just that. It’s
because things are back to normal.”
Everyone said what they wanted to say. When Origami turned away, her expression was just as
stoic as ever. Natsumi pretended not to notice.
At that moment, Tohka seemed to have remembered something as she began to look around.
“By the way, where are Kurumi and Miku? I thought that they would be here with you.”
“Ah, Kurumin is probably by herself at home. I sent her an email but she turned down the invite
because she said she was busy right now. As for Mikki—”
As she spoke, Nia fiddled with her smartphone for a moment before turning it to Tohka.
There was a video of Miku, dressed in a beautiful costume, singing and dancing on a gorgeous
stage.
“Muu—what is this?”
Tohka’s eyes were wide as she watched the video. Shido was quick to explain.
“Miku moved to the United States some time ago to expand her idol activities. She seems to be a
much more popular idol now.”
“What…! Is America that big of a country?!”
Tohka nodded to show her understanding, and then let out a disappointed sigh.
“Oh well, I wanted to see Miku if possible. It looks like I’ll have to wait until the next time she
comes back.”
Maria nodded in agreement before responding.
“That’s right. But you’ll only need to wait 30 seconds.”
This is not your work. Ple ase do not take m

ine, with credit or otherwis e. Than ks.
“Muu?”
After nodding her understanding, Tohka couldn’t help but turn her neck around in every
direction. Then, exactly 30 seconds later, the door to the private room flew open again.
“Tohka-saaaaaaan! The idol of the world, Izayoi MIku has crossed the seven seas and come back
for you, Tohka-saaaan!”
At that moment, a girl dressed in a flashy stage outfit burst into the room with tears in her eyes as
she cried as she grabbed Tohka into the tightest hug she could. At that moment, Tohka’s eyes
widened.
“Huh, Miku? Aren’t you supposed to be in America?”
“How could I be absent on the day that Tohka-san returned? It’s okay! I already finished work
for today and <Ratatoskr> took care of the immigration paperwork for me so I can come and go
as I please!”
Miku explained proudly as she stretched her arms out confidently. Maria, who was watching,
shrugged her shoulders as though to say, ‘I don’t know what she’s talking about.’
“Oh, that reminds me! I bought a souvenir for Tohka-san!”
“Nu? A souvenir…?”
“Yes! I picked it up on my way to the boat <Ratatoskr> provided so that I could come back.
Please accept it!”
Miku gestured to the door, a broad smile on her face. Then, a girl dressed in a black dress walked
in with a helpless look on her face.
“Seriously, please don’t treat people like stray cats that you just picked up off the street.”
The girl had glossy black hair and white porcelain skin and both of her eyes were the same color.
Tohka’s eyes widened in surprise when she spotted her.
“—Kurumi.”
“Yes, it’s been a long time, Tohka-san.”
When Tohka called her name, the girl who had been called the Worst Spirit—Tokisaki
Kurumi—wore a gentle smile that didn’t match such a title.
Seeing that, Nia frowned in dissatisfaction.

“Kurumin, if you weren’t busy, you could have come and helped out with the manuscript.”
“Nia-san, I’d ask you to forgive me for not choosing to help you, but if Tohka-san is here, then
that is an entirely different story,” said Kurumi, not meeting Nia’s eyes.
Nia’s shoulders shook as she said, “Geez, Kurumin is terrible.” She shrugged. “Ah, I’m sorry…
I’ll try to keep the deadline properly from now on…” She said as her voice faded off. It was clear
that no one including Nia herself seemed to believe her.
“Haha… well, anyway.”
With a bitter smile, Shido clapped his hands to redirect everyone else’s attention. “Now that
we’re all here together. Let’s all fill Tohka in—with what happened to all of us over the past
year.” The girls all nodded in unison.
Then, Tohka looked around at everyone and cleared her throat, “Then I’ll say it once more,”
Tohka continued with a beaming smile.
“Everyone, I’m back!”
Then, Tohka’s welcome back party began in earnest. The private room in the Izakaya was a little
small but it was good enough for an occasion like this. This situation, which was so clustered
that everyone’s shoulders were touching each other, was unavoidable, but still, immensely
enjoyable. Everyone continued to order drinks and make toasts again and again.
After that, things started to settle down. Shido and the others surrounded Tohka and told her
about all the things that had happened in the past year. “What! Is it true that Ellen is teaching
Kotori and the others? And that Tama-chan is married to Kannazuki…?”
Tohka was astonished by the information as she leaned forward, her eyes wide with interest.
However, Shido couldn’t help but understand how she felt. He suspected that if he’d heard the
same thing, he would have reacted just like Tohka had. “Yeah. I was surprised—Oh, Yamabuki
confessed her feelings to Kishiwada from the class next to ours on the day of the graduation
ceremony, and he returned her feelings.”
“Oh…! Really! Ai did it!”
Tohka clenched her fists in excitement after hearing what Shido said. Ai Yamabuki was a former
classmate of Shido and was good friends with Tohka. Remembering that Tohka sometimes asked
Ai for advice when it came to romance, he decided that he should tell her about the outcome.
It was worth mentioning that as far as Ai, Mai, and Mii were concerned, they only knew that
Tokha took a leave of absence due to family circumstances. The next time Shido had the chance,
he would bring Tohka along to see them.
“Oh yeah! Speaking of confessions, Mana has been quite popular at high school. She’s gotten ten
confessions in the past year.”
Kotori clapped her hands. Tohka’s eyes shone with interest, saying, “How?”
“Eh? Is that so? This is the first I’m hearing about this.”
In response to what Kotori said, Mana scratched his cheek awkwardly. “K-Kotori-san. Isn’t this a
bad time for that?”
“Why? Isn’t that amazing?”
When Tohka asked that innocently, Mana crossed her arms as though conflicted. Then Natsumi
decided to add. “…Weren’t nine out of ten of those confessions from girls?”
“Hmm, I see…”
Shido smiled vaguely with a sense of conviction… Although it was a little strange for Shido as
an older brother, Mana had an air of confidence about her, a slender figure, a friendly personality
and many other elements that girls longed for. “But one of them was from a boy, right?”
“It seems that it was a boy in elementary school.”
‘Ah…”
“Mana is just so cool. It can’t be helped if people admire her so much.”
“Haha… I think he was just trying to compliment me.”
Mana shrugged her shoulders as she smiled bitterly at what Tohka said.
Perhaps because they happened to be on the topic, Kaguya remembered another piece of
information as she tapped her chin with a finger.
“Oh yeah, that reminds me. There was another amazing thing: it seems that Mii and Tonomachi
have recently started dating.”
“Muu…? Is that so? Then Mai—” Tohka’s eyes widened in astonishment again. Then Yuzuru
nodded in response to her unasked question.
“Explanation. Mai still spends plenty of time with them but when Ai and Mii are on dates, Mai
goes out with May who is a friend of hers at college.”
“May? Who is that?” Tohka stared at them in confusion as she heard the unfamiliar name.
Perhaps it was because they found Tohka’s reaction to be so amusing, Kaguya and Yuzuru
couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the same time.
At the same time, this was the first time Shido had heard this name so he was a little surprised as
well. Who was this May? Soon after, they switched topics as the welcome back party continued
endlessly.
Mukuro had cut her hair. Yoshino and Natsumi discovered their surnames. Kaguya and Yuzuru
remembered their past. Nia had resumed working as a manga artist, even working with other
fellow artists. Plus they told her about the Tohka from the parallel world. No matter how much
time has passed, there was still so much left to share.
But that was not a surprise. After all, everyone had a lot to talk about and Tohka had a lot of
questions to ask. They had to carefully fill in the blanks of the year gone by to make up for the
time they couldn’t spend together with Tohka. To Shido, everyone was sharing their experiences
with Tohka—Then they quickly lost track of time.
When Mukuro, Yoshino started to rub their eyes, their expressions a little sleepy, Nia clapped her
hands to draw everyone’s attention.
“Alright, now that I’ve got everyone’s attention. It’s about time we get going. Don’t worry, I’ll
pay for it.”
Everyone stopped talking and stole glances at the clock on the wall as everyone wondered just
how much time they’d spent. Nia was right, it was about time for the high school group to go
home.
“Muu, that’s right. There’s still so much that we haven’t talked about but, everyone will have
time tomorrow—” Tohka nodded as she replied. However, Nia’s lips curved into a grin.
“Hmm? What are you talking about? Who said that the party was over?”
“Muu…? What do you mean?”
“Hasn’t the night just begun? I say we head back to Boy’s house and continue with a second
welcoming party! There should be no problem if everyone decides to sleep there! The death
march until only one’s left standing will begin! The all-night drinking party that is the privilege
of college students!”
“O-Oh…?”
In response to Nia’s declaration, Tohka’s eyes went wide with excitement. Shido chuckled in
amusement.
“I think going all night would be overdoing it, but this is a special occasion. I’m fine with it.
What about you, Kotori?”
“Yeah, but don’t forget to brush your teeth before you go to bed.”
Kotori responded, closing her eyes. At the same time, Maria sighed in resignation.
“It’s weird that you think you’re being like a college student. If all-nighers are a privilege of
college students, doesn’t that make manga artists who stay up all night, college students as
well?”
Nia replied to Maria as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose as she spoke. Maria’s
eyes narrowed as she let out another sigh.
“Well, if everyone’s ready, let’s get going! I’m ready to pay!”
Nia called out cheerfully to a passing server. Everyone waited for the bill to be settled before
they all left the restaurant.
By the way, while Nia was benevolently saying, “I’m feeling generous today,” it seemed she had
forgotten her wallet at home and ended up borrowing money from Kotori and Maria with tears in
her eyes.
“Huh? It’s already pitch-black out.”
Tohka murmured as she looked up at the night sky. The stars were sparsely shining up in the sky
illuminated by the city lights.
“Um, should we keep moving?”
“Mun. That’s right.”
“Oh, can we stop by the convenience store on the way? I want to buy some beer.”
“Can you even handle any more beer, Nia-san?”
As they walked along the road to the Itsuka household, they talked amongst themselves. As they
approached the residential area from the main street lined with restaurants, the city’s lights began
to diminish and they could hear the sounds of crickets more clearly.
As they walked, “—By the way.”
Origami said suddenly as she remembered something important. “Tohka, what are you going to
do next?”
“Muu? Aren’t we going to Shido’s house?”
Tohka tilted her head in confusion. Origami shook her head “No” and continued.
“About your future. Up until now, Tohka’s disappearance has been treated as a leave of absence
from high school.”
“Ah…”
At that moment, Shido scratched his cheek awkwardly. The other girls responded similarly at the
realization.
“That’s true. If things picked up where they left off, you would be in your third year of high
school.”
“Concern. Wouldn’t you be lonely if you don’t know anyone in the same age group as you?”
“Mun. Tohka would be a year ahead of Muku and the rest of us.”
“High school with Tohka-san… it sounds like fun, but Tohka-san would have to start over
again…”
The girls’ expressions turned to ones of deep thought. Then, Nia raised her hand, saying, “I know
a way! I know a way!”
“If you’re not sure what to do, why don’t you get a job at my studio as an assistant and as a
model? I’ll pay you a high salary!”
Everyone else fell silent at the sudden suggestion. However, as though inspired by it, Miku and
Kurumi also spoke up.
“Eh~! That’s crazy! You should come with me to America! I think that Tohka-san will take the
world by storm if we work together as a duo! You can use a Realizer to be able to sing in English
with no problem!”
“Ara, ara. Instead, why don’t you join me? An existence resurrected by the will of the world…
Ufufu, that could be very interesting.”
Tohka suddenly found herself with warm invitations from three directions as she stepped back in
confusion. Then Kotori poked Nia, Miku, and Kurumi’s heads in quick succession. “Settle down,
you’re causing trouble for Tohka.”
She then cleared her throat lightly and turned to Tohka. “Sure, that was something that I was
thinking about too, but the most important thing is what Tohka wants to do. So what is that you
want to do, Tohka? Even though the Spirit of Origin has disappeared, the purpose behind
<Ratatoskr> has not changed. As best we can, we’ll do our best to help you achieve your
dreams.”
“Muu, I…” Tohka folded her arms in worry. Kotori continued, shrugging her shoulders.
“Well, it’s not something you have to decide right now. Give it some thought.”
“Muu, …yeah. That’s right.”
At that moment, Tohka, who was walking at a slow pace, fell silent as she spotted a tree-lined
avenue by the street.
“…? What’s wrong, Tohka-san?”
“It’s nothing,” Tohka squinted at Yoshino’s question. Seeing her expression, everyone else
watched her curiously.
“Ah—”
However, only one other person, Shido, understood the meaning behind Tohka’s expression. This
row of cherry blossom trees was where Shido, Tohka, and Tenka went on a date together. And a
few days ago, it was the fateful place where Shido and Tohka reunited. However, she was not the
same as she was at that time when she met Shido again.
Not to mention the different timing, there were only a few flowers left on the cherry trees that
lined the sides of the road. There was only a small window in which the cherry blossoms could
be seen. There was more than enough time for the cherry blossoms to fall even if normally there
was only just a few days left. Tohka let out a deep sigh, filled with emotion.
“There are cherry blossom trees on both sides. In the spring, it will create another wonderful
sight. Muu… that’s one of the two best things I’ve ever seen. It was so beautiful.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
“But it looks like it’s already gone. It’s a shame.”
“Muu… I’m sorry. If I had come back a few days sooner. We could have all seen it together…”
“Tohka…”
Seeing Tohka speak so regretfully, Shido shook his head gently.
“What are you talking about? There are still plenty of chances to see it again from now on. Next
year, the year after that, if everyone comes together to see it—”
At that moment, just as Shido spoke, there was a sudden loud whoosh and a powerful gust of
wind billowed around them.
“Whoa…?!”
“Kya~~!”
“My eyes! My eyes!”
Everyone reflexively shut their eyes while Nia let out a slight overreaction.
A few seconds later, after waiting a second for the wind to stop, Shido carefully opened his eyes.
“What a strong gust of wind. Everyone, it’s okay now…” but he quickly fell silently. But that
was not a surprise. After all, just a few seconds ago when Shido closed his eyes, the scene before
and after were entirely different.
“Wha—”
Cherry trees lined the road. Now that the flowers had fallen, only the branches and leaves
remained except—
—now they were in full bloom.
“E-Eh…?”
“Ara, ara…”
“What happened to the cherry blossoms?” The girls looked up at the night sky lit up with cherry
blossoms illuminated by the streetlights and moonlight with faces of surprise…
The surprise was understandable. Up until just a moment ago, the flowers that had been scattered
were now revived. Yoshino and Mukuro were pinching their cheeks, thinking that this must all
be a dream. Nia thought that she was being affected by the alcohol. After rubbing their eyes, they
confirmed what they saw.
“A-Ah…!”
Meanwhile, only Tohka ran toward the rows of cherry blossom trees, her eyes wide with
excitement.
At that moment, as though to match her, the wind blew again and a storm of cherry blossom
petals followed.
It was like a curtain of cherry blossoms that swayed through the darkness. The scene was
dazzlingly beautiful.
“Everyone look at this! It’s so beautiful!” Tohka smiled widely as the petals fluttered around her.
Then, the girls, who were initially confused, eventually all ran along the tree-lined road, one by
one, and threw themselves into the turbulent cherry blossom snowstorm.
“Uuuooh!”
“Competition. I won’t lose.”
“Haha! You think you’re so cunning! I can do that too!”
“…Haha…”
Looking at this fantastic sight, Shido didn’t bother stopping the laugh that erupted from his
throat.
It was a completely mysterious phenomenon. Now that the Spirit of Origin had disappeared from
this world, it would be impossible to create a miracle of this landscape without using a very
powerful Realizer. It was such an usual sight that it could be considered a mysterious
phenomenon.
However, as far as Shido was concerned, it seemed like a miracle designed to bless Tohka
It was as if the world was welcoming Tohka’s return. “—Shido! Kotori! I’ve decided!”
Tohka, covered in a veil of cherry blossom petals, called out to Shido and Kotori who stood in
front of the tree-lined road. Shido and Kotori glanced at each other for a moment and then turned
back to Tohka.
“What did you decide?”
“My path! What I want to do in the future! I finally figured it out! I know what I’ll do in this
world! From the moment I met Shido here, it was decided!” With a smile on her face, she shared
her decision.
A few days later.
As if that night of the cherry blossom trees in full bloom was a dream, the tree-lined road by the
river was lined with cherry blossom trees with green leaves.
On that cherry blossom road with such a great change in scenery.
“—See, you’ll be late if we don’t hurry. Today is your first day of college.”
“Mu, I’m sorry. But isn’t it also your fault for making breakfast too delicious…? Kujo green
onions and sesame oil go so well with mentaiko9… It’s impossible not to ask for seconds if you
make such a delicious meal…”
“Hmm… so I guess we won’t be doing that starting tomorrow?”
“Muu, that’s…!”
“…I’m just kidding. There’s no need to look like it’s going to be the end of the world.”
As they talked with each other, two college students walked down the road.
9
Mentaiko is a sack of salted cod roe that is marinated in powdered chiles and spices to create an array of
subtly different flavor profiles.
Afterword
Long time no see, everyone, I am Tachibana Koushi. The collections of short stories have finally
reached the double digits. This time, it’s Date A Live Encore 10. What do you think? I’d be
overjoyed if you enjoyed it.
On the cover is Mukuro, as previously announced. Although there are lots of stories written
before her haircut, I had very few illustrations after it. The main cover sometimes is twice the fun
of the book.
The newly drawn illustration was done with the image of their everyday life after Volume 22.
Look, it’s the college versions of everyone! Without a doubt, this is like glancing at a princess’s
inner circle.
Speaking of Kurumi, the anime for Date A Bullet has finally been released! The script was
written by Higashide-san. It’s a work made with the effort of countless people, so please be sure
to give it a watch!
Next, I’ll proceed to the commentary of each story. There will be spoilers, so please be careful.
Kurumi Friend
The setting of this story takes place during Volume 20, in Tenka’s world: the ideal world, where
everything is perfect. What Kurumi dreamt of in that world was her best friend—Yamauchi
Sawa.
I’ve always wanted to write Sawa’s story at least once, so I’m glad to have been able to write
this. Although it’s placed first, due to the chronology of Dragon Magazine, it actually takes place
after Spirit Werewolf.
Tohka President
What would happen if Tohka became a president? A story born from the whimsical remarks of
the person in charge. Although at first it was difficult to write, it came together surprisingly
smoothly.
I especially like the Mafia boss look with the sunglasses and coat, and the management’s
autobiographical naming sense of “Yatogami Tohka, Huge Kinako.” Incidentally, what I had in
mind while writing this was Kochikame10, when Ryotsu tried to start a business.
10
Another series. MAL summary: “Ryoutsu, being an underpaid policeman, is always coming up with
underhanded schemes in order to make a quick buck. But in the end, his plans (which are ridiculous to
begin with) always go wrong and land him in big trouble with the chief.”
Mana Again
A story about Mana reuniting with her old friends. Astute readers may have noticed in volume
18 that Mana’s good friend, Homura Haruko, would later become Kotori’s mother, Itsuka
Haruko, and Tatsuo-senpai is her father. Since Itsuka Parents was republished in Dragon
Magazine and Date A Live Encore 9, I wanted them to reappear and have the opportunity to
reunite with Mana—this is that story.
Spirit Camping
“I wanted to see the Spirits’ graduation trip!” This story began with that idea, but since we’ve
already been to the snow-capped mountains and an uninhabited island11, the only thing left is to
go camping.
I liked the illustration of everyone having fun together. I would have liked for each person to
have worked alone, but the number of people present would have exhausted the length for a short
story, so I decided on team battles. Origami and Natsumi’s technical skills have no limit.
Spirit Werewolf
The second day of camping! But it was raining, so everyone ended up playing a game of
Werewolf instead.
I wondered if it would be interesting and difficult to write a Werewolf story, but once the roles
were set, the rest came smoothly in accordance with everyone’s personalities. Rather, the role
names may have been the most difficult part. The wolf illustration was also very cute. Even
though demon fox is a very difficult role to play, it feels great to win with it, so please give it a
try.
Tohka After
A story set after Volume 22. The timeline is a bit different from the other stories, as this is the
only one set in the real world.
Although I felt there was nothing more to write after Volume 22’s ending, I still had a slight
desire to see the story afterwards, so this is a short story about everyone’s life after Volume 22.
Being able to write this type of story is one advantage of a long series: we get to see Tohka’s
reunion with everyone, and the way she moves forward. Good luck to everyone in the future.
…At this point, the atmosphere feels as if this Encore is the final volume, but in reality, it will
continue for a bit longer.
11
Encore 5 - Silver Astray and Silver Murderer, and Volume 5’s Arubi Island.
Who will be on the cover of Encore 11?! Please look forward to it in the next volume!
Koushi Tachibana
July 2020
Translators: Vizard6991, Lightning Farron
// ANY REDISTRIBUTION OF THIS WORK IS STRICTLY
// PROHIBITED AND RISKS PERMANENT TERMINATION
// OF TRANSLATION.
Actually, feel free to share it, but please don’t remove or modify this page. Thanks.

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Dating Preparations Case 1: Yoshino

“Ah… I’m sorry, Yoshinon but… I don’t look… weird, do I…?”

“…! T-that’s not true…”

“Is that so?”

“! Th-that sort of thing— I can’t do it…”

“Eh, but you really want to go on a date with Shido-kun right?”

“Th-that’s true… I really want to go on a date with him…but…”

“…! Th-that is…”

“You look cute.”

“…Kotori, regarding this case… hm?”

Reine spoke as she walked into the room.

“Rei-Reine… You ought to knock before entering.”

“What you say is true… but…”

“You’re right, I was thinking too much.”

“…In this situation, what will come out of it then?”

“Ah, it’s true. Your bag is cute too. “

Origami nodded her head casually.

“Today I have a date after this.”

“U-um… Master Sergeant Tobiichi. This small bottle is…”

“In case I need to use it”

“…Then, I’ll reconfirm it once more, you are going on a—”

“Origami Tobiichi, You stupid dummy—!”

Currently in a game center in Tenguu City.

“Haah, I feel much better now.”

The other guests around were similarly dumbfounded.

“Y-Yeah… th-that’s really good to hear…”

“Hello…guest! Hey, what do you think you’re doing! What a pain!”

“Ah… It’s no good!”

“You… what are you…”

“Don’t be rude. Let’s talk over there…”

“Huh? Hey, wait a minute…huh? N-No, stop it! A-A-Ah!”

“What happened just now?”

“…No… I don’t know.”

Shido answered quietly in order to prevent Tohka from overhearing him.

This was surely a lovely date for an after school setting.

It all started earlier in the day.

“Hmm? Are you talking about this?”

The animal charm attached to the corner of the phone shook.

“It’s cute. It’s a colorful animal charm.”

“Right… Be careful not to commit the crime of displaying obscene objects.”

“Oh… sorry, I just spoke unconsciously…”

“Ah? So you have two of them?”

“Wow, this is amazing.”

Shido stared at the thing that Tonomachi brought.

“…But never mind. I’m not into that.”

“You’re not? I think it’s cute.”

“Ah, well, I think this one’s cute.”

Shido responded in that way at that time.

“—What did you say?!”

“I’m just telling the truth.”

“Shut up! Who would believe such things!”

“It’s you who is being loud. Be quiet.”

“What are you talking about!”

“Are you done?”

“All of a sudden… what happened…”

It seemed that he’d encountered something troublesome.

Shido sighed loudly.

“How are you?”

“C-Calm down, what happened between you two?”

“J-Just calm down, okay?”

“Ah… what’s this?”

“—Hey? What’s wrong, Kotori?”

Shido’s face twitched slightly.