Date A Live Encore - Volume 5 - Chapter 6

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!”

“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.”

“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.

“What’s wrong, Kotori?”

“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.

“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?”

“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?”

“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.

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.

“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. 

“──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!”

“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.”

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. 

“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?”

“Ugh……!?”

As Shidou was deep in thought, Kotori suddenly let out a groan.

“What’s wrong, Kotori?”

“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……”

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.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

“──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.

“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.

“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?”

“……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. 

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.”

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 Shidou 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.”

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.

“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.”

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.”

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.”

“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.”

“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.

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……”

As her back was being caressed by her clones, Kurumi swore to never again have another dark hot pot.