Date A Live - Volume 11.5 - Chapter 4

4 
“…Aah—…” 
Haruko simultaneously listened to the reverberations of her voice which echoed off the wall and sunk her body deeper under the tranquil surface of the liquid contained in the bathtub. 
She had been previously splashed with a hefty volume of water due to Yoshino losing her footing accidentally. In order to prevent her body from catching a cold, Haruko was invited to partake in a warm bath. 
In any case, her body had already been drenched in perspiration due to the strenuous sequence of events which had occurred, so she willingly accepted the invitation. On the other hand, Haruko had also spent quite some vitality in consoling Yoshino, who persistently kept apologizing and saying sorry with tears welling up in her rueful eyes. 
“Even so…” 
Those kids, who are they, really. 
Haruko gazed attentively at the water droplets which gradually condensed onto the ceiling while thinking so. 
From their apparent ages, Yoshino and Natsumi could be said to be Kotori’s friends, but the other girls seemed to be senior high school students of the same age group as Shidou no matter how she looked at them. 
Of course, she could not exclude the possibility of the whole fiasco being Shidou’s doing, regardless of how minuscule. However, for that Shidou who had never brought a girlfriend home before, to invite that many girls to the house all of a sudden, let alone the fact that they all had dazzling looks, was nearly impossible. 
But if that were the case, what could be the source of Shidou’s perturbed dismay during their call? It hadn’t been to thwart the fated meeting between the couple and those girls, had it? That prospect was too wild and full of reverie. Haruko could not refrain from dispelling such a notion from the essences of her mind. 
“…Then.” 
Nevertheless, although she didn’t intend to question Shidou, if that usually bashful boy had truly made a girlfriend, it was extremely happy news to Haruko. 
However, leaving such a dubious and abstruse affair alone was rather unbecoming of Haruko’s style of work. Hence she firmly decided to do a thorough and careful investigation to ascertain Shidou’s speculative relationship with those esoteric girls, along with Kotori’s as well . 
Haruko set her mind and intended to rise from the bathtub. 
Just as she was about to get out, the bathroom door was instantaneously opened, and the twin sisters who had previously apprehended Tatsuo and her ambled into the room with only towels covering their bodies. 
“Yamai shall be joining!” 
“Appearance!” 
“W-What’s going on?” 
Despite the fact the fact that they were of the same gender, having people burst into the room while one was taking a bath would almost always frighten him or her. Haruko instinctively braced her own body. 
Thus the twin sisters—their names were, if she recalled correctly, Kaguya and Yuzuru. As for why they had specially posed before they spoke, Haruko hadn’t the slightest clue. 
“Kuku… Permit me to cleanse thy sins that have accumulated over innumerable voyages.” 
“Translation. Please let Yuzuru and Kaguya wash your back.” 
“A-Ah…” 
Rather than consenting, Haruko was overwhelmed by the twins’ imposing momentum and nodded her head. So, the Yamai sisters let Haruko sit on a chair and started to rub soap on their hands. 
Afterwards, the two sat behind Haruko and alternately washed her back. 
“Kaka. How is our, Yamais’, combined skill, Heavenly Revolving Water Dragons? 
Let thyself be immersed in this pleasure!” 
“Confirmation. Does it tickle?” 
“Ahh… Un, it’s fine.” 
Having her back cleaned by someone else indeed pleased Haruko. But in the end, Haruko let out an unfathomable expression as she pondered why the two girls were washing her back. She perplexedly scratched her cheek. 
Observing Haruko’s reaction, Kaguya and Yuzuru quietly whispered. 
“Hmm, why doesn’t she look very happy? Is this not the ultimate hospitality?” 
“Assent. Instead, she appears to be rather confused.” 
“How odd. If it were Shidou, he would be exhilarated even though he’d shy away.” 
“Deliberation. Perhaps it is due to the gender disparity. It could be effective against his father.” 
“Un… but how should I put it, it feels a little out of place to do it with a man other than Shidou.” 
“Agreement. Same here.” 
“Plus, for Miku, she’d feel pleasure if it were a girl who cleansed her.” 
“Contemplation. Could it be that we had mistaken the method?” 
“Oh, you may be right. Then let’s try that. If we do this from behind…” 
“Understanding. The fondling move. But wouldn’t that be too difficult for Kaguya?” 
“Eh, what do you mean?” 
“Explanation. If it were Kaguya, before touching your chest, one would bump against his or her chin.” 
“Don’t take me as a fool. Even though they’re smal …” 
“Proposal. In that case, begin simultaneously from left and right sides.” 
“As I desired. One, two…” 
“W-Wait a moment.” 
If the silence were to resume, Haruko would probably enter a new world of rapture, so she hastily stopped the two. 
But prior to that, Haruko noticed something even more desperately serious within the twins’ dialogues. While leaking cold sweat, she faced the two girls one after the other. 
“About that… Did you two say something about Shii-kun… Shidou just now?” 
Being asked directly, Kaguya and Yuzuru couldn’t help but blink a few times and noted their heads. 
“Hm, said we did.” 
“Confirmation. Is there something wrong?” 
“No, it’s just that… the two of you said that you bathed together with Shii-kun or something similar.” 
Haruko enquired curiously. The two girls, having observed Haruko’s response, let out befuddled expressions as if they had spoken something which was not supposed to be spoken. 
“U-Uh, the sins have been fully cleansed!” 
“Approval. Yuzuru and Kaguya should depart about now.” 
“W-Wait a minute!” 
In spite of Haruko’s verbal exclamation, the Yamai sisters had already taken to their heels and exited the bathroom in a flurry. 
 
“Well then…” 
Ever since Haruko had entered the bathroom thirty minutes ago, Tatsuo had been lying down continuously throughout the time and slowly sat up after his stomach had felt slightly better than before. 
“Ah… Is everything okay now?” 
Don’t overexert yourself. ? 
Yoshino and Yoshinon asked in a worried manner, having been looking after Tatsuo at the bedside ever since his stomach started hurting. 
“Un, it’s thanks to the medicine Yoshino-chan had given me.” 
“A-Ah…” 
Hearing Tatsuo’s reply, Yoshino couldn’t help but feel extremely apologetic and shrink her shoulders. Even though Tatsuo didn’t imply anything else, Yoshino was presumably still sulking over her previous failure. What a kindhearted girl. 
Tatsuo put on a smile in order to signify that he didn’t mind and stood up, walking downstairs. 
“…Where are… you going?” 
The girl who had forgotten to add an honorific and was standing beside Yoshino was undoubtedly Natsumi. Just as Kotori had said that she remembered she had a certain errand to run and departed, Natsumi had entered the room as if she had substituted for Kotori. 
“Aah. Haru-chan should be done soon, and I’ve got to prepare a change of clothes.” 
“Let me do it in that case!” 
After Yoshino offered so, Tatsuo waved his hand in refusal. 
“I’m grateful for that, but it’s fine, and Haru-chan doesn’t like to carry any luggage during trips. Today, we only brought the necessary clothes, so our pajamas are at home. Although it’s still a bit early, I’m thinking whether to grab a change of clothes from Shidou’s room or not.” 
Then, let Yoshinon lead the way! ? 
Yoshinon beckoned and eagerly said so. 
“I see then, I’ll leave that to you.” 
They were at the Itsuka residence. As the owner of the house, there was no way that Tatsuo didn’t know the location of Shidou’s room. But he simply grinned and kept nodding his head. After all, it was a kind gesture from the two girls, and Tatsuo had no reason to decline. 
“T-This way…” 
“…Un.” 
Yoshinon and Natsumi showed the way and guided Tatsuo out of the room and up the stairs. Tatsuo followed the two’s tiny figures and ascended to the second floor. 
“P-Please go ahead.” 
“…Here we are.” 
“Un, thank you.” 
Tatsuo then pushed the door to Shidou’s room open. 
Despite the perennial period of time wherein Tatsuo had never set foot in his son’s bedroom, there wasn’t much of a difference between its current state and how he remembered the room. It was probably due to Shidou’s scrupulously meticulous nature that the place neatly tidied up and cleaned on a regular basis. 
To tell the truth, Shidou’s room was even more spotlessly unblemished and pristine than Tatsuo’s and Haruko’s place in the United States. Tatsuo made a wry smile and began to unveil the wardrobe. 
“Hm? This is…” 
Initially intending to search for a plain shirt, Tatsuo abruptly spotted a certain item and halted his movements. 
 
“Ahh… really, what are those people up to?” 
After painstakingly breaking away from the extemporaneous trio, Ai, Mai, and Mii, Shidou finally heaved a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat on his forehead off with the sleeve of his shirt. 
In spite of the current season being winter, the previous pursuit had rendered Shidou bereft of his cool sangfroid and caused his perspiration to permeate throughout his entire body. 
To be precise, it was the anxious consternation and foreboding of having his diminishing reserve of time elapse as he hastily fled that had evinced an even more impactfull repercussion on his burdened conscience. 
“I’m so dead… If this goes on, things will only get worse. Where in the world am I though?” 
While continuing his demoralizing talk, Shidou surveyed his surroundings. He appeared to have gotten himself lost in an unfamiliar area during his last-ditch attempt to elude the menacing trio. 
“Anyway, I should go back to the main road first.” 
Although his sense of direction was thrown into disarray, walking in the right or wrong way was much better than standing motionless. Shidou faintly adjusted his respiration and started to escalate his speed. 
However, after running not even a few hundred meters, Shidou ceased his sprint. 
“…” 
Naturally, Shidou knew that now was not the time for that. But at the moment, an attraction-drawing act was being performed in the narrow alley to his left. 
Shidou couldn’t know more about the girl presently standing there. She had long pitch-black hair, Blanc de chine skin, and extensive fringes which covered her left eye. Bearing a seductive, beguiling smirk on her pale face, she lackadaisically stood perched there. 
——Tokisaki Kurumi. The {Worst Spirit} emerged in front of Shidou. 
She was maintaining a forward-leaning posture while staring face to face with a ferocious feline which perfectly mirrored the femme fatale herself. 
“I’ve found you at last. So you’re the boss of this street—Toramaru-san, I presume?” 
Kurumi extended her hand with a dauntless expression, engendering a deterring growl from the cat known as Toramaru. 
“Hihi… As expected, common plan won’t work against you. That’s why it’s even more amusing, isn’t it?” 
As she taunted, Kurumi unfolded the sack held in the palm of her hand and sprinkled its contents all over the ground. It seemed to be some sort of cat food. 
Toramaru gently swayed its ears, cautiously approached the bait and began to munch on the crunchy bites. 
However, after a few seconds, the now plump Toramaru started to rock back and forth as if it was drunk and finally collapsed onto the ground with its defenseless belly exposed. 
“Hihihihihihihihihi! You’ve fallen into my trap. This special cat food was infused with cat powder!”1 
Kurumi simultaneously cackled in a loud volume and bent her waist in order to gently caress Toramaru’s soft belly. The creature also issued a comfortable purr that was completely different from before. 
“Hihihihihi! With this, I have defeated each and every powerful boss of this street. 
All the cats are now—” 
At that moment, she must’ve perceived a line of sight from behind her back. 
Kurumi suddenly turned her body around. 
Her eyes met Shidou’s. 
“…” 
“…” 
Both parties remained silent and uncommunicative for a few seconds. 
“…Shidou-san. How long have you been there?” 
“I-It’s not what you think! I was just passing by coincidence, so…” 
1. Also known as actinidia polygama, it is a non toxic plant that elicits an euphoric response in cats 
Somehow, a devilish presentiment warned him not to loiter there any longer. 
Hence, Shidou hurriedly pretended to be unaware of anything and decided to leave the scene at once. 
In a split second, his shoulders were tightly grasped by someone and Shidou was coerced to stop in his tracks. 
“You’ve got the wrong idea!” 
Kurumi utilized a calm voice to say so. No, it was calm to an abnormal extent. 
“If someone misunderstands, I’ll be very displeased. Things aren’t like what you’re thinking, Shidou-san.” 
“Eh? No, I didn’t say, I don’t know anything…” 
“Is it possible that Shidou-san is thinking I’m someone who would rely on adding cat powder in pet food to influence all the kitties in this street and plans to establish the Cat Sanctuary - Tokisaki Kingdom - or something like that?” 
“No, that, I haven’t thought that far yet…” 
“But that’s incorrect, it’s absolutely false. I will explain to you the reasons behind my doings from beginning to end, so you must listen properly, okay?” 
“A-About that, Kurumi?” 
Although Shidou had invariably raised his voice, Kurumi was already in a delusional trance where nothing could be audible to her ears. 
 
Haruko mildly wiped her wet hair with a dry towel while exiting the bathroom. 
“…” 
Nonetheless, the current Haruko had an intricately complicated expression painted on her face. Even though the encumbrances of the trip had already been alleviated by soaking in the warm bath, the vestigial doubts and suspicions gnawing at her heart exponentially proliferated instead. 
“…For God’s sake, what did Shii-kun really do when we weren’t at home…?” 
Haruko couldn’t help but soliloquize in low murmurs as she was extraordinarily bothered by what the Yamai sisters had said in the bathroom. 
Certainly, no matter how much she fretfully worried, her concern meant naught if she didn’t enquire Shidou, the person himself, directly. 
With that resolve in her mind, Haruko entered the living room and noticed her husband sitting on the sofa. 
However, Haruko perceived a sort of indisposition emanating from him. Like her, Tatsuo had adopted a sophisticated expression as well. 
“Tatsu-kun?” 
“Ahh, Haru-chan… How was your bath?” 
“Un, pretty relieving. Anyway, thanks for the clothes, Tatsu-kun.” 
Haruko stretched Shidou’s shirt which she had borrowed and was wearing. As for her previous set of clothes and undergarments, Haruko had already thrown them into the laundry basket. 
“Aah… yeah.” 
However, for some reason, when Haruko had mentioned Shidou’s clothes just now, a dubious expression had surfaced on Tatsuo’s face for a moment. 
“Is something wrong?” 
“Un, actually…” 
Tatsuo appeared to have something he wanted to say to her. 
But before that. 
“I didn’t expect for there to be a second time for the {[Salon do Miku}.” 
An extremely vigorous voice resounded in the living room, abruptly irrupting into Haruko’s and Tatsuo’s conversation. 
1. A reference to the same Salon she made for Natsumi in Volume 9. 
Confounded towards the direction from which the voice came, the couple ultimately caught sight of the girl with a gorgeous figure—Miku. Not only that, but the two felt as if they had seen her somewhere before, even though it was their first meeting. 
“Now then, Darling’s Otou-sama and Okaa-sama. You two must be super worn out after such a long flight.” 
“D-Darling?” 
Although the flabbergasted Haruko yelled so, Miku continued like she paid no heed to the sudden remark. 
“You won’t have to worry now that I’m here. I’ll use the perfect massage to ease your fatigue.” 
As she finished her welcoming words, Miku clapped her hands a couple of times. 
Afterwards, the girl who had made the onigiris - Tohka - poked her head out from behind Miku. She really conferred the impression of a pet dog. 
“Alright, let me massage Okaa-sama while you take care of Otou-sama, Tohka.” 
“Umu, understood.” 
“Remember, you only need to lightly knock on the back. Don’t use your fullstrength. If you do, Otou-sama’s shoulders will break.” 
“Muu, okay.” 
“I think I heard something real bad…” 
Seeing cold sweat bead atop Haruko’s forehead, Tatsuo gently grinned. 
“Saa saa~, Otou-sama, please head over that way. As for Okaa-sama, just lie down on the sofa and relax.” 
“Eh? A-Ah…” 
Although she still had a few words left for Tatsuo, Haruko could only recline on the couch under Miku’s hastening. 
Miku then immediately started flexing her fingers and massaged Haruko’s back. 
“Ara, your body is really stiff.” 
“Un…” 
Haruko had no alternative but to slacken her muscles. Despite the person exaggerating herself a bit, Miku’s massage was indeed that of a skilled professional. 
“How’s the pressure?” 
“Un… it’s… really… good…” 
Not too weak yet not too strong, an exquisitely perfect balance of force stimulated the acupuncture points in the shoulders and on the back. The laborious toil of work and travel was thus easily soothed and palliated. An evolving drowsiness gradually assaulted Haruko little by little. 
However. 
“Hehe, hehehehehe… a mature woman’s body isn’t bad… this excellent softness…” 
“…?!” 
As Miku became more and more aroused, Haruko fel into a light nap at last. 
 
“really… what did I do to deserve being tossed into these horrible circumstances…?” 
After being forced to undergo an elucidating series of tangled delineations and complicated exegeses by Kurumi, Shidou extricated himself from her iniquitous clutches at long last. 
In spite of Kurumi still having it in her to keep sermonizing to Shidou infinitely, the cat which had taken a tiny munch of the intoxicating cat powder had somehow regained consciousness and fled. Therefore, she had no choice but to chase after the escaping feline. 
Ever since then, Shidou had walked for an indefinite period of time until he arrived at a known street. 
Even though it had already been over an hour since he received the call from his parents, perhaps Shidou could still overtake his doomed fate in their race against time. He clung onto this thread-like ray of hope and set foot on the road leading towards his home once more. 
Just then… 
“Hm?” 
The moment Shidou thought so, a group of primary school students appeared before him. They seemed to be playing hide and seek, looking back time and again, and then running away with a shriek. 
After a while passed, the person who was seeking for the children emerged. As to who that person was, Shidou had a deep impression. A foreign girl with blonde hair and blue eyes as her characteristic traits, she was dressed in black formalwear which made her stand out from the local residents like a square peg in a round hole. 
“Wha…” 
Catching sight of those unmistakable features, Shidou couldn’t refrain from holding back his breath. 
But such an effect was inevitable, on account of the fact that the person standing in front of him was a Wizard from DEM Industries, an organization antagonistic to Ratatoskr — Ellen Mira Mathers. 
“Hurry up, we’re over here!” 
“You’re too slow, Onee-san!” 
“You can’t be the strongest like this!” 
“That, it’s because of…” 
Hearing the primary school students’ exclamations, Ellen gnawed at her teeth, unreconciled. 
“Ah…” 
Ellen suddenly suppressed the pit of her stomach and crouched on the ground. 
Supposedly shocked, the pupils rushed to Ellen’s side with looks of worry on their faces. 
“A-Are you okay?” 
“Where does it hurt?” 
“Do you need to go to the hospital?” 
“——Not a chance!” 
At that moment, Ellen instantly lifted her head up and seized one of the students’ 
shoulders. 
The primary school students were all utterly startled and widened their eyes in astonishment, only to expose discontented expressions afterwards. 
“Eh, that’s so cheating.” 
“No fair.” 
“This one doesn’t count.” 
“Hm, what are you talking about? In the rules initially set, the first person to be touched by the ghost will become the next ghost. It doesn’t say anything about being deceived because you were too foolish.” 
Ellen complacently stated, but the kid who had previously been touched assumed an X-shaped gesture with his hands in front of his chest. 
“But I made a shield just now, so your touch didn’t work!” 
“Wha… a shield!? Does something like that even exist?” 
“If you make a shield, ghosts can’t touch you.” 
“Onee-san, didn’t you know that?” 
“I’ve never heard of such a rule before. I question that, and if I put on my Realizer unit, regardless of what shield you have, you’ll all be…” 
It was then that Ellen noticed the guy soundlessly standing a short distance away from her, Shidou. 
“Ah…” 
“…” 
Ellen blushed furiously. 
Seeing her reacting like that, Shidou couldn’t help but identify the exact same hostile sensation which he has experienced again and again that day and take a run for it. 

“W-Wait a moment, Itsuka Shidou! Don’t misunderstand! This is just—waa!” 
“Onee-san fell down!” 
“Is everything fine?” 
Completely ignoring and having no regard for the laments which came from behind him, Shidou picked up speed instead. 
 
“Hah… Hah… What’s the matter with that girl?” 
Having struggled free of Miku’s surprise attack, Haruko straightened out her disheveled hair and heaved a sigh. 
“Everything okay there, Tatsu-kun?” 
“Aah, yeah. It actually felt a little ticklish since it was too careful.” 
Watching Tatsuo form a wry smile and stroked his shoulders, Haruko couldn’t help but exhale a deep breath. 
“That isn’t too bad… Anyway, what did you want to say just now?” 
“Eh? Ahh…” 
Tatsuo fumbled his chin as if he had recollected something crucial. 
“Honestly, even I have no idea on what it means. Granted that Shidou has something like that in his room, I don’t know why he would even have it in his possession.” 
“Eh? What are you talking about?” 
Haruko tensed up towards Tatsuo’s shady statement. 
“What do you mean by ‘it’? C-Could it be… it’s those rumored dangerous drugs?!” 
“Ahh, nothing of that sort. It’s just that…” 
“That?” 
“Un… when I was searching for your change of clothes inside the wardrobe in Shidou’s room…” 
Tatsuo said so with a subtle expression. 
At that moment. 
“Otou-sama, Okaa-sama.” 
Another girl made her appearance in front of them, cutting their dialogue short once again. 
“Nn!!” 
“Wa!!” 
Haruko and Tatsuo uttered sad calls, toppling backwards at the same time. 
But that was nothing out of the ordinary, owing to the fact that the girl who had emerged before them was the one who had previously threatened Tatsuo with a knife. 
“Forgive me for the late greeting; the other girls have troubled you much.” 
“N-No… it’s fine.” 
Although Haruko had thought of saying something like ‘You’ve been the most troublesome’, she endured the urge for the sake of their safety. 
The girl then utilized the most formal etiquette and knelt before Haruko and Tatsuo, bowing her head afterwards. 
“Allow me to introduce myself, as it is our first meeting. I am currently in a relationship with Shidou, and my name is Tobiichi Origami.” 
“Ah, I’m very pleased to meet you… Eh? Ehh!?” 
Hearing news which possessed such a heavy impact all of sudden, Haruko involuntarily broadened her two eyes. 
“W-Wait a minute. You said that you were in a relationship… you and Shidou!?” 
“That is correct.” 
Origami emotionlessly nodded her head with a blank face. Seeing the girl’s demeanor, Haruko and Tatsuo couldn’t refrain from sending each other a momentary glance. Due to the fact that the couple had never discussed such a topic with Shidou, the two weren’t well-informed about what type of girl their son fancied. Nevertheless, they had never expected him to be suddenly interested in this type of girl. 
Observing Haruko’s and Tatsuo’s doubtful looks, Origami fished out a number of photographs from her bosom. 
“Here is the evidence.” 
“T-This is…” 
Haruko and Tatsuo were compelled to view the pictures she handed over. 
The photographs indeed revealed a group photo of Origami and Shidou together. 
“Ara?” 
However, Haruko noticed something amiss among the photos instead. 
“A-About that, Origami-chan?” 
“Yes.” 
‘This picture… even though it does display two people, aren’t their positions a bit strange? It’s as if this is a selfie with Shidou as the background, don’t you think so?” 
“That is a misconception.” 
“Then this one… why does it feel like that Shidou isn’t looking towards the camera lens? It resembles a frame of two people coincidentally side by side which was taken by a hidden camera…” 
“That is a misconception too.” 
“…I-Is that so…” 
Perspiration exuded out of Haruko’s forehead as she listened to Origami’s unwavering denials. After performing a rough visual sweep of the remaining photographs, Haruko couldn’t help but discern that each of them possessed an unnatural sensation within their contents. 
“…Hm?” 
Once her eyes locked onto a certain picture, Haruko furrowed her eyebrows. 
“Haru-chan, what’s wrong?” 
Detecting the change in Haruko’s air, Tatsuo asked so. 
“Un, something unimportant… This is Shidou, right?” 
“Eh? Which one?” 
Just as Tatsuo was about to glimpse at the picture held in Haruko’s hand, a piece of paper appeared out of nowhere, obscuring the photograph. The culprit was - 
without a doubt - Origami. 
“O-Origami-chan?” 
“Please look at this.” 
“This is…?” 
Haruko couldn’t help but follow the girl’s directions. 
“Eh? A marriage application!?” 
Origami had proposed a marriage application where the information regarding the bride’s side had already been filled out. But that wasn’t all to it, as Origami pressed the couple to quickly sign the document, which had a red mark on the witnesses’ 
column. 
“According to Japanese law, Shidou-kun is unable to get married yet. Thus, when he reaches the age of eighteen, I would like Otou-sama and Okaa-sama to be our witnesses.” 
“W-Wait a bit, suddenly proposing marriage… What does Shidou think about this?” 
“He was the first to make the offer. He said that the both of you are indispensable.” 
Origami slightly blushed. Haruko and Tatsuo couldn’t help but widen their eyes at the sight. 
“I-Is this real?” 
“For Shidou to… take the initiative.” 
“Yes, and he also pulled the flustered me in for a passionate kiss.” 
“ “ Wha…!!” ” 1 
Hearing of this out of the blue conduct which was totally unlike of Shidou, the couple was seriously alarmed. However, when they saw the committed solemnity in Origami’s earnest face, the two were unable to detect any hint of dishonesty from the girl. 
While Haruko and Tatsuo had their minds blown away, Origami passed the marriage application document to the couple. 
“I shall repeat my request—please leave Shidou-kun to me.” 
“T-This…” 
“Even if you say that…” 
In response to the unduly outrageous actress’ script, Haruko and Tatsuo had only the strength to issue perplexed utterances. 
Just then… 
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing on your own, Tobiichi Origami?!” 
As the door to the living room was crashed open, the girls, led by Tohka entered one after another. 
“This isn’t what we agreed on! It’s supposed to be a welcoming!” 
“This is my kind of welcoming. Is there anything more welcoming than a great event in your son’s life?” 
“What?!” 
Tohka couldn’t refrain from puckering up her eyebrows towards Origami’s statement. Then, the rabbit puppet Yoshinon moved its hands excitedly. 
1. Haruko and Tatsuo exclaim the same phrase simultaneously. 
Eh, then just let Yoshino become the bride. ? 
“W-What are you saying, Yoshinon…” 
“Kuku, formidable philosophies, Yoshinon. As spoken, the candidates for marriage aren’t limited to thee.” 
“Assent. I cannot concede even if it is Master Origami.” 
“Exactly, exactly! Very sly indeed, Origami. Darling’s mine, so you should be my bride!” 
“…No, that wouldn’t be weird at all …” 
Although Natsumi said so half-heartedly, the other girls were already past the point of no return. 
“I’ll never leave Shidou to you!” 
“A-As for me…” 
Yoshino won’t surrender too! ? 
“Kaka, All’s fair in love and war! I admire thy courage, but Shidou is already…” 
“Challenge. Shidou is Yuzuru’s and Kaguya’s shared property already.” 
“I have an idea for that~! Why don’t you all become my wives!” 
“…I’m fine with anything…” 
“W-Wait a moment…” 
“Calm down everyone—“ 
Despite their desperate attempts to restore order, Haruko and Tatsuo were unable to breach the girls’ deafened ears. 
 
“F-Finally… I’m here…” 
Unaware of how much time had passed since he received the call , Shidou returned to his long-lost family. 
Due to the fact that he had been continuously running, Shidou’s exhausted body was dead-beat even though it hadn’t been long since he broke away from Ellen. 
However, that was merely the end of the beginning. The real battle had just started. Shidou prepared his worn out mentality as he deepened his respiration. 
Since he had not contacted either of them even once, Shidou had absolutely no idea as to what the Spirits and his parents had discussed. Therefore, he had to fabricate some sort of excuse for his relationship with the Spirits, and he could not utter the word Spirit even once. 
“…Too difficult.” 
Shidou couldn’t help but wrinkle his eyebrows. It was obviously a matter of great importance, but he was unable to properly explain it. Shidou was stuck at a dead end. 
Yet standing there improved nothing. Shidou firmed his resolution and entered the front door. 
“I’m back——” 
“—————” 
Shidou’s voice was entirely masked by the sounds coming from the living room. It looked like a lot of people were quarrelling with each other. 
“Could it be…?” 
A bad feeling erupted within Shidou’s heart. He hastily removed his shoes and dashed inside. 
Just before he opened the door, someone else did it for him. A man and woman came running out of the living room. 
“Otou-san, Okaa-san.” 
Shidou shouted instinctively. They were precisely the owners of the house - Itsuka Tatsuo and Itsuka Haruko. 
“S-Shidou! Welcome back…” 
“W-Wait a minute! Who in the world are those girls!? Talking about marriage all of a sudden…” 
Haruko interrogated while pointing towards the living room. 
Hearing that, Shidou couldn’t refrain from looking towards the room. Inside, an intense dispute was currently going on, and it appeared to be one that wouldn’t stop anytime soon. 
“They’re…” 
Shidou pressed his forehead with his palm. Although he didn’t know what had happened specifically, he was conscious of the fact that the girls hadn’t left a satisfactory first impression in his parents’ minds. 
“…” 
Not only could Shidou not mention anything about Spirits, but even if he did, there was no guarantee that they would believe him. 
Shidou took a staunch stance and faced his parents. 
“…Otou-sama, Okaa-sama, hear me out first.” 
“…?” 
“Shii-kun…?” 
Seeing the seriousness in their son’s face, Haruko and Tatsuo couldn’t help but get serious as well. 
With that said Shidou lightly nodded his head and continued. 
“First of all… sorry for not telling you about them.” 
“Don’t worry about that… But who are they in relation to you?” 
Hearing Haruko’s question, Shidou could only bite his lip and shake his head. 
“…Sorry, but I can’t say anything… about that.” 
“What, why not?” 
“really… forgive me. I can’t reveal anything no matter what. I know I’m being selfish, having received your kindness and care all this time, and that what I’m doing is rather unfilially. But… please, don’t hate them.” 
“Even if you say so…” 
“Please, I’m begging you. Even if they did something very impolite, all of them are really good inside. Each… Each and every one of them… is very important to me!” 
“S-Shii-kun…” 
Haruko found herself at a loss, perplexed. Instead, at that moment, Tatsuo gently patted her shoulders. 
“Tatsu-kun…” 
“Isn’t that fine too, Haru-chan? Shidou has spoken to this extent, so I think he’s definitely not wrong.” 
“B-But…” 
Seeing Haruko’s face full of hesitation, Tatsuo put on a warm smile. 
“Also, hearing my son speak like that, I’m a bit happy too.” 
“Happy…?” 
“Since requesting something like that, for Shidou, is a first.” 
“Ah…” 
Haruko instantly understood the significance behind those words. She looked towards the both of them and tidied her hair. 
“…You two are really hopeless. well , if you can’t talk about it, then I guess it’s fine… But in the future, you need to tell us properly.” 
“…Okaa-san!” 
“…You’ve already gone this far. As parents, how can we not trust our own son?” 
Haruko bashfully averted her glance as she said so, while slightly resembling her daughter Kotori. 
“…?” 
Just then, as if he noticed something afoot, Shidou abruptly raised his head. 
Apparently, the verbal war occurring in the living room had ended in a ceasefire some time ago. 
Attempting to have a glimpse of the situation in the room, Shidou observed that all the Spirits were staring at him with fixed gazes. 
It seemed like his previous pleading speech had reached their ears. Shidou’s cheeks couldn’t help but redden in a blush. 
“…Ahh, sorry to have disturbed you. I was just a little emotional, that’s all .” 
Suddenly, a familiar sound came from behind. 
Shidou hurriedly turned his head, only to find his sister, Kotori, leaning against the wall ever since God knows when. 
“Kotori! When did you get there!?” 
“Not long ago, I just arrived. I thought something big had happened because the house was so noisy——Welcome back, Otou-san, Okaa-san.” 
Kotori waved her hand towards Haruko and Tatsuo. However, the couple shook their heads in astonishment. 
“Welcome back…?” 
“Didn’t we just meet each other some time ago?” 
“Eh?” 
Listening to her parents, Kotori couldn’t refrain from broadening her two eyes. 
Nonetheless, that moment of disbelief instantly disappeared when she spotted Natsumi. The girl in question quickly hid behind Yoshino in response. 
“…Well , no matter. Anyway, I’ll explain everything from the beginning first…” 
Kotori then pointed to Tohka and the others. 
 
“——These girls are Spirits.” 
Just like that, the real truth, which Shidou had risked his life to conceal, was completely divulged to his parents. 
“Wha…! Kotori!” 
Shidou forcibly yelled. But that couldn’t be helped. The topic of Spirits was highly confidential, existences that could not be disclosed even to dear family members, thus was told to Shidou. 
Yet the couple seemed to fathom those words. 
“I-I see…” 
“So that’s how it is.” 
The couple gave out indescribable, ineffable faces painted with comprehension. 
“Hah…? W-What does this mean?” 
Shidou was dumbfounded and looked alternately towards his parents along with Kotori. 
 
A few minutes elapsed. 
The Spirits had already returned to their mansion, and only a few people remained in the Itsuka residence. 
“——Otou-san and Okaa-san are Ratatoskr’s mechanical engineers!?” 
Hearing the impactful news for the first time, Shidou couldn’t help but lament. 
“To be precise, they’re employees of Asgard Electronics, the parent organization of Ratatoskr, and simultaneously the developers of Realizer units. The Fraxinus that we’ve always flown with was also developed by their team. From that perspective, you can say that airship is our sister.” 
Kotori elaborated so while licking the treasured lollipop in her mouth. Tatsuo and Haruko, who were sitting beside her, nodded in agreement too. 
“Eh, didn’t we tell you before?” 
“And I thought you already knew~.” 
“What do I know! If that’s true, why didn’t you notice that they were Spirits!?” 
“Hmm, I guess it’s because that was our first time meeting any Spirits.” 
“Yup, and since they’re called Spirits, we even thought that they were supposed to be tiny creatures.” 
The couple burst into merry laughter, full of embarrassment. Shidou felt as if he lost all sense of reality in an instant as he watched his parents in such a state. 
“Then what did I… suffer all that for…” 
Shidou enormously sighed and lied down on the table; seeing him in that state only served to magnify the couple’s laughter. 
“Well … Anyhow, it’s good to see that Shidou can get along with Spirits.” 
“Yeah, even though there were some misgivings from the start, there won’t be any more problems in that case.” 
“Un, although arguments are bad, that shows how much those girls love Shidou.” 
“But taking out a marriage proposal all of a sudden really did surprise me.” 
Haruko and Tatsuo nodded together and said so in unison. 
Shidou had no choice but to feel at ease and relieved after undergoing all those painstaking ordeals. No matter which process he took, Shidou was fully satisfied 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 and fished out a certain photograph from inside her pocket. 
“This is Shii-kun, right? …What’s happened here?” 
“Eh? This is…!?” 
Shidou held his breath at the sight of the picture. 
Of course, that was unavoidable. In that very photo, after putting on beautiful make-up, was Shidou’s female version, {Shiori-chan}. 
“Where did you get this from…?!” 
“A girl named Origami lent this to me. Then, who’s this?” 
“No, this isn’t me! This is just someone from school who really resembles me!!” 
Just as cold sweat flowed down from Shidou’s forehead while he feebly tried to explain, Tatsuo shouted as if something forgotten had come across his mind. 
“Oh yeah, when I was looking for a change of clothes for Haru-chan, I found a girl’s uniform in your closet…” 
“…?!” 
Shidou widened his eyes in shock. Indeed, due to unavailability of storage, he had to place that uniform inside his wardrobe. He never expected someone else to discover it by chance. 
“Shii-kun… how did that come about? We’re not angry or anything, but we’d like a reason at least. Is it some kind of hobby? Or maybe…” 
“Yeah, Shidou. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I have an acquaintance that has the same fetish too. Even though society indeed won’t accept it entirely, you’re our son. We’ll share responsibility for your sufferings, kay?” 
“I said it’s not what you think!!!!!” 
Beholding his father and mother misunderstanding everything, Shidou raised his voice and gave out a wail. 
 
The End