Chapter 2 - Tide of Battle
“——Kuu!”
It was night when a loud bang threw open the entranceway. Shidou thought Kotori had returned, but at that moment, she delivered a vigorous punch straight at the pit of his stomach.
“Ouch!”
Kotori’s sudden attack taking him by surprise, Shidou’s entire body inadvertently flew backwards into the living room.
“W-What are you doing, Kotori……!”
“This is no time to ask ‘what are you doing’! Don’t you understand? If you lose, you’ll die!!”
“……I know, but in that situation——”
Kotori made a ‘hun’ sound with her nose and scratched her head in irritated frustration before speaking.
“Aah, really. I already know you had no choice but to accept Kurumi’s proposal. But understanding and accepting are two different things! As usual, this idiot brother of mine never looks out for himself……!”
“Y-You…….”
Then, as Shidou was struggling to get up, cold sweat submerging his face, Kotori pointed her finger towards him.
“Un.”
“……’Un’? What the heck do you mean?”
“I’ll let you return the punch…… It was the support role’s fault to have communication ceased when you were forced to make a critical decision.”
“Hey, hey……”
Shidou formed a troubled face. Occasionally, Kotori would put on such a masculine facade.
Although this was one of Kotori’s strong points, no matter what, it was impossible to truly shatter the past. Thus it was expected for the honorable older brother to dote on the little sister.
However, if done half-heartedly against one’s wishes, it wouldn’t be viewed as deception and he would feel very apologetic towards Kotori’s feelings.
Shidou inhaled a deep breath as he got up to stand in front of Kotori.
“……It can’t be helped. You’re really considerate, Kotori.”
“Ah, bring it on.”
Kotori stretched both of her hands to the side in order to emphasize her defenselessness.
Shidou took in another gulp of air——
“Here!”
Shidou quickly placed both of his hands in Kotori’s armpits, moving his fingers at full tilt to cause a kochokochokocho sound.
“What!? W-Wait a minute…… Ahahahahaha!?”
Kotori’s body writhed until she could no longer stand from the laughter. After such relentless tickling, Kotori collapsed head first onto the sofa. Shidou clapped his hands together in a ‘pat-pat’.
“Hah. Well, this much should be enough.”
“U-Unfair…… That was too much……”
As Shidou concluded his kitsch prank, Kotori let out a weak voice punctuated with pants, being out of breath from laughing too hard.
At that time.
“——Shidou, we’ve come to bother you!”
Just at that timing, the door was pushed open and the girls entered the living room one by one.
Tohka and Origami, who had gone back to the Spirit Mansion next door and her own house respectively to change clothes, came back with Yoshino, Natsumi, Mukuro, alongside Nia and Miku, who had their own houses in the city. Even <Ratatoskr>’s analytic officer, Murasame Reine, was among the crowd lined up inside the room. Perhaps, Kotori had invited everyone over to discuss today’s events.
“Un……?”
Right then, as a consequence of seeing Shidou’s and Kotori’s posture in the living room reflected upon their sight, everyone without exception became startled with dumbstruck expressions within their eyes.
“Wa…… Why is Kotori lying on the sofa teary-eyed and with her body twitching!?”
“……Eh, what is this? What happened?”
“Ah, no, this is because……”
Turning over to that direction, Shidou tried to explain the circumstances at a breathtaking momentum as a few of the Spirits began to let their imaginations run wild.
However, Kotori was a step faster than him. She brushed it aside when he tried to stand up before suddenly throwing herself into Yuzuru’s embrace. Incidentally, the person closest to her was not Yuzuru but rather Miku, who had sneaked there through splendid steps.
“Fuah! Everyone, listen to me…… Shidou, he, Shidou, he…… ha!”
While pretending to cry, Kotori buried her face in Yuzuru’s chest. Seeing Kotori in this uncharacteristic reaction, the Spirits stared at Shidou with stunned aspects.
“S-Shidou!? What did you do to Kotori!”
“There, there, Kotori, everything is fine now.”
“Aiyaa, sorry, Boy. Did we get in the way of this wonderful thing of yours?”
“Ei——”
As the Spirits all gave a wide variety of reactions, Shidou could not help but raise the tone of his voice.
“W-Wait a minute, you’re all wrong! This isn’t……!”
“Doubt. Wrong? What is?”
“What Kotori said of course——”
All of a sudden, Shidou’s body started trembling. Kotori had only said, ‘Shidou, he.’ What was spoken did not technically constitute as a lie.
In that instant, while Kotori was tightly clinging onto Yuzuru, her lips flashed a slightly evil smirk in Shidou’s direction.
“Y-You’re scheming against me, Kotori!”
“What are you talking about?! Don’t shift your responsibilities onto Kotori!”
“A-Are you okay, Kotori-san……”
“Ahn! Always Kotori! Unfair!.”
“Is she still your little sister? Are little sisters better? It must be fortunate to have prepared the adoption documents beforehand, Oni -chan.”
“Don’t you think your reaction’s getting more and more ridiculous!?”
Such words filled with blame, envy, and demand fired at him from everyone’s mouth, Shidou yelled a scream thick with lament.
——About ten minutes after the turmoil subsided.
In the end, Kotori, who failed to eschew laughing soon afterwards, explained the situation to everyone.
……Incidentally, during the ensuing chaos with everybody crowded together, some of the clothing worn on Shidou’s person had gone missing somehow, the culprit ultimately getting away with it. To be exact, there had been three suspects, only escaping conviction on account of insufficient evidence.
Later, it was discovered that all the suspects at the time had been colluding together; leading to this affair being termed the 1-2-9 incident…… but that was another story.
“……So that’s the matter at hand.”
After clarifying, Kotori looked on to the Spirits in the living room in the direction of a full circle.
Yoshino and Natsumi nervously gulped.
Though it was impossible to avoid, Kotori had explained not only her quarrel with Shidou, but also the appearance of the Worst Spirit, Kurumi, at school——and how Kurumi had purposed a match to Shidou.
Of course, Tohka, Origami, and the Yamai sisters, who had been there at school, as well as Reine, who had been onboard <Fraxinus>, already knew about the detailed circumstances.
However, the Spirits that did not attend Raizen High School fell short of that opportunity.
They were likely thinking about the future as the circumstances were conveyed to them too.
“Please also be cautious, everyone. Since Kurumi’s goal is the Spirits’ reiryoku, the possibility of her appearing before you isn’t zero.”
“Y-Yes……”
“……I understand. I won’t leave the house.”
Seeing Natsumi clinging onto to her knees in fright, Kotori gave out a wry smile.
“No, I didn’t get to finish speaking…… <Ratatoskr> will also strengthen its alertness.”
Then, the girl sitting beside her——Mukuro spoke up in almost a whisper.
“Fumu…… Muku fathoms naught.”
She tilted her head to a degree in a cute gesture. In accordance to that act, her long blonde hair stroked the surface of the sofa. Once, during the past few days, Shidou had cut the tips of her hair, but that dazzling mane still boasted as the longest among the Spirits.
“Un? What is it?”
“The reiryoku of the Spirits to seek…… ‘Tis fair. Rightly so, then for what avail needs Kurumi said reiryoku? Wherefore covets she through toilsome means to acquire it?”
“That……”
As Mukuro asked those questions, Shidou found it difficult to provide a coherent answer.
Indeed, it was just as Mukuro had pronounced. Over half a year had passed since Kurumi first appeared before Shidou. Sometimes as an enemy and other times as an ally who would lend him her power, she had never disclosed what she planned to do with that reiryoku nonetheless.
“Fuh, it’s not impossible for me to personally understand. Beyond life as a Spirit, it is not unnatural to seek being the strongest!”
Kaguya spoke while striking an exaggeratedly stylish pose. Sitting beside her, Yuzuru breathed out a sigh.
“Sigh. It would be simple to deal with if Kurumi is as simple as Kaguya.”
“D-Don’t make me sound like an idiot!”
“Denial. I did not say that. In this world, a simple person is the strongest. Being simple is the best. In other words, Kaguya is the strongest.”
“Eh, really!? K-Kukuku……! That is to say, Yuzuru, even you understand that!”
Kaguya once again struck an elated pose. Yuzuru turned towards Shidou, shooting out glance that seemed to say, ‘I wonder.’ Not knowing how to respond to that, Shidou could only move forward with a botched ambiguous smile.
At that moment, Shidou noticed, while floating between the previous conversation, that Nia’s normal cheerful demeanor had been replaced by serious expression immersed in thought.
“……? What’s wrong, Nia? Is your stomach upset from eating something bad?”
“Yes, yes, early this morning I picked up some candy lying on the side of the road…… about this big!”
With a flashy snap of her wrist, Nia perfectly inserted herself into the role of a tsukkomi.
Seeing this, Shidou exhaled a sigh of relief.
“Good, it’s the usual Nia.”
“What’s that supposed to mean, Boy?”
With half-opened eyes, Nia asked back. In response, Shidou lowered his head, as if saying, ‘No, don’t pay attention to that.’
“Well, forget about it. Compared to that, I have a little bit of info pertaining to Kurumin’s goal.”
“……! What……!”
As Kotori made a startled expression after hearing Nia’s words, Nia could only helplessly shrug her shoulders in return.
“It can’t be helped that you are surprised. Sorry, sorry, I didn’t intend to hide it, but……”
“Nia, you are actually calling Kurumi, ‘Kurumin’……!?”
“Hey, focus on what was said first!”
As Nia put on a tsukkomi role once again, Shidou found himself reflexively applauding with his hands.
“Aaah, really, even Imouto-chan is like this! When all’s said and done, this is the image the Itsuka siblings have of me!”
As Nia pouted her lips in dissatisfaction, Shidou made a wry smile as he exchanged glances with Kotori.
“After all……”
“Exactly……”
“Really!”
Just like in a manga, the angry Nia raised her hand in protest. Kotori spoke out in order to calm her down.
My apologies, that’s my fault…… But really? Did you investigate Kurumi’s goals during the time when <Rasiel> was still in a completed state?”
“Un…… Aaahh, well , what you said is half-right.”
Nia cleared her throat with a cough before continuing to speak.
“Naturally, it was before Boy sealed my reiryoku…… I was in my room, when suddenly a black Spirit popped out from the shadows.”
“! Nia, you’ve met with Kurumi!?”
“Moreover, listening to your story, it doesn’t seem like a coincidence. Why did she seek you out……”
As the volume of both Shidou’s and Kotori’s voices rose from being surprised, Nia spread out the palm of her hand as though to tell them to calm down first before continuing.
“Somehow, it seemed that there was something she wanted me to investigate through <Rasiel>. Well, although I honestly thought to refuse, after looking up Kurumin’s Angel, it looked super strong. Ah, I thought I couldn’t win, so I obediently investigated for her. I’m sorry for being faint.”
“……No, your judgment was correct. So, what in the world did Kurumi want to know?”
As Kotori asked, Nia corrected the position of her glasses with a push before answering.
“——Information about the Spirit of Origin.”
“Spirit……”
“Of Origin……?”
In response to what Nia just said, question marks floated above the heads of the Spirits.
“Yeah, it was thirty years ago when the First Spirit appeared in this world. Kurumin wanted to know that the exact location and time that person appeared, and also the power they had.
——All in order to kill that person.”
“What……”
Hearing such disturbing details spew out of Nia’s mouth, Shidou instinctively creased his brows.
“To kill……? The First Spirit? That’s Kurumi’s goal?”
“At least to the extent of how much I know, although even I don’t know why she wants to kill the First Spirit.”
While Nia embarrassingly scratched her face, she muttered, “At the time I didn’t expect in my wildest dreams that <Rasiel> would be taken away, ah.”
Kotori tossed an unwrapped Chupa-Chups into her mouth, stirring the stick up and down as her face showed a difficult expression.
“To kill the First Sprit…… I understand why she’d want to know the power of the First Spirit, but why would she inquire the location and time of when it first appeared in this world……”
“——From 30 years ago, at that point in time to ensure the existence of that Spirit becomes nothing.”
As Origami answered back the exact thing she was trying to figure out, Kotori raised her head in surprise.
“Eh? Do you know something?”
“That’s not the case. But in the past——when I relied on Kurumi in the previous world, she had said such a thing.”
Origami spoke in a quiet tone.
That’s right, in order to save her parents from the fate of their deaths, Origami had once traveled back in time to the past through Kurumi’s Angel <Zafkiel>.
“So that’s it…… By taking advantage of her Angel <Zafkiel>, Kurumi can really accomplish travelling through time. So that’s why she needs the reiryoku Shidou’s sealed up until now. In order to kill the First Spirit, which appeared 30 years ago and erase its existence from history……”
After identifying this point, Kotori made an astringent expression as she scratched her head.
“Aahh, really. That just raises even more questions. Kurumi desires reiryoku to use a bullet to travel back into the past…… For the purpose of killing the First Spirit? Why in the world would she want to do that?”
“From this point onward, we are approaching mere speculation. It is too dangerous to grow invested at this stage with such scarce information, even if the outline of what we do know right now is meaningful.”
Origami spoke back in a flat manner, while staring directly at Kotori. In turn, Kotori gave a defeated sigh as she gently nodded her head.
“……Yeah, thanks for the advice too.”
In order to calm herself down, Kotori took a deep breath in and pressed against her forehead with a thud.
“Nevertheless, in order to succeed in the battle with Kurumi, we must clarify her motives as soon as possible. Obviously, the motives of our side have already been exposed, but the aspirations of the other side still remain concealed within fog. No matter how you say it, it’s too disadvantageous.”
“Un……”
Hearing Kotori’s words, Shidou broke out in cold sweat.
Certainly, it was a considerable advantage to know what the other party was seeking, especially in a match where the person who falls in love first loses. If one were to describe the current situation, it’d be like approaching Kurumi completely naked while she was wearing extra layers of armor.”
Being forced to be aware of his own thoughtlessness once again, Shidou bitterly distorted an unpleasant facial expression.
Watching Shidou let out such a look, Kotori shrugged her shoulders.
“There’s no need to make an expression like a Chihuahua stuck in the rain. Like I said earlier, in that situation you had no choice but to accept Kurumi’s proposal. Even if communications hadn’t been cut off, what’s happening now wouldn’t change. Let’s talk about what to do next.”
“Ah, yes……”
After listening to what Kotori had to say, Shidou also gave an affirmative nod in response.
Then, Shidou patted down his cheeks to bestir his fighting spirit. If he were to allow his sister to get worried about the feelings of anxiety resurfacing on his face, he would be a disgrace as an older brother.
At that moment, Shidou remembered the words that Kotori had mentioned before.
“Ah…… That’s right, Kotori. What happened when communications were interrupted? I was worried because I heard something resembling panic……”
“Ahhh……”
For some reason, Kotori crossed her arms and made a difficult expression.
“Now that I think about it, we still haven’t told you yet…… At that time, there was a strange reaction on <Ratatoskr>’s radar.”
“Strange reaction?”
“That’s correct, although it happened suddenly; I can’t believe it in the least, but……”
“——Allow me to explain that part.”
Then, barging in on Kotori, a voice echoed from behind them.
As Shidou turned in the direction of that voice, his eyes cracked open in wide shock at the figure of the person standing there.
It was a girl about the same height as Kotori. Her hair was tied up in a single ponytail and there was distinctive mole underneath her eye. More importantly, right now her entire body was covered with poultice and a bandage plaster.
“Mana!?”
Over there stood Shidou’s reallyounger sister, Takamiya Mana.
“When did you…… More than that, where did you get those injuries! Are you alright!?”
“It’s no big deal. Just a scratch.”
As Mana smiled while waving her hand with a flutter, Kotori glared at her with a displeased expression.
“You…… If I recall properly, didn’t I let you go to the medical pod for treatment?”
“Haha…… Sorry, I’ll return after I’m finished talking. Just for a second…… There’s something I need to tell Ni-sama and the others.
Mana’s smile quietly faded from her countenance as she turned around, her eyes displaying a more serious gaze towards Shidou.
“What do you want to tell us?”
“Yes, to Ni -sama and the others, while you were talking to <Nightmare>——Tokisaki Kurumi, about what happened during then.”
Mana sat down on an empty chair as she continued on.
——The attack by Ellen Mathers was aimed at Shidou.
Alongside the countless girls she summoned.
“What……”
After being shot with such unforeseen information, Shidou’s breathing turn chaotic for a moment. No, not just Shidou, all of the Spirits present at the scene all revealed astonished expressions.
“H-How……”
“Was such a thing going on……?”
“Gumuu…… A secret hidden to protect everyone… Damn, even I would want to try something this cool.”
“But what in the world are those girls Ellen summoned……”
Mana slowly shook her head in response to Shidou’s question.
“It’s not clear, but it’s the first time I’ve seen so many people with identical faces besides <Nightmare>; to be sure they aren’t an ordinary existence.”
As if having no other alternative, Mana shrugged her shoulders in despair.
However, Kotori resumed to ask Mana another query.
“——And so? Even we knew this much. There’s no way you came all the way here to just say that much, right? Honestly, you sure take after Shidou’s shortcomings in terms of rashness, but even an idiot should be able to judge what is necessary or not.”
Mana raised the corners of her lips in a slight pout.
“It’s an honor to be told so by Kotori-san. ——Well, that’s certainly true, but there’s one thing I haven’t asked Kotori-san yet.”
“——Why couldn’t you predict Ellen’s attack?”
Kotori’s eyes slightly winced, Mana nodding as if figuring she had posed the correct question.
“……? What’s going on? Did Kotori request somebody to guard Mana?”
“There was no such expectation. If I’d known DEM was preparing an attack, I would have told Shidou and the others earlier this morning…… Moreover, even then I wouldn’t have permitted you to deal with them while still recovering. Since it helped in the end, I let it slide; if not, should an iron fist sanction be placed?”
As Kotori glared intently at Mana, the girl murmured a slight laugh to half-heartedly dodge the statement.
“W-Well, on the other hand, putting that aside, I learned of Ellen’s plan to attack just before it happened. But from the beginning of the attack, Ellen suddenly appeared at those precise coordinates.”
“I don’t understand this. Ellen was in a perfect state of stealth; to the extent that we couldn’t event detect her until the beginning of the battle. Mana, how did you learn about this?”
Mana exhaled with reserve.
“Though I hate to say it, the reason is simple. Somebody told me beforehand.”
“Someone told you? Who?”
“——<Nightmare>, Tokisaki Kurumi.”
“……Ha?”
Shidou was so nonplussed that his eyes changed into two blank dots.
“W-Wait a minute, what do you mean Kurumi told you?”
“It’s just as I had said, but let me go on——Yesterday, that woman suddenly appeared in my room. I thought she’d come to attack while I was sleeping, so I cut off her head without asking anything……”
“……”
For Mana to say something so terrible so casually, although it was the firmly rooted cycle of conflict between mutual adversaries, the girl was as aggressive as ever.
But Mana went on without so much as a sliver of disquietude.
“Several clones then appeared saying they wanted to talk. Well, at the time, I thought she should be able to recite their last words as a knife was aimed at her neck——.”
“Did she tell you about Ellen’s attack?”
“That’s right.”
Mana gave an exaggerated nod in consent, but Kotori’s stringent facial expression towards her didn’t waver the slightest.
“…..So Mana-chan, did you really think it was really clever to keep this secret from me?”
“Un.”
As Mana’s shoulders started to tremble, Kotori replied with a dry smile.
“No, it’s not like that, Kotori-san. I wasn’t trying to hide it, though it’s strange to believe what that woman says in the first place.”
“But didn’t you come to that place because you believed in Kurumi’s words?”
“No…… I thought that it was a trap and you had gotten hurt…… Though if I had told Kotori-san, she definitely wouldn’t have let me go……”
“Hoho? So you did understand. Were you expecting a nice chat about this later?”
“Un, it seems my chronic illness has flared up……”
Immediately afterward, Mana clutched onto her chest, collapsing onto the floor with a puff, but Kotori was more worried about the meaning of this as she leisurely waved her hand.
“Ah, yes, yes, how serious. Next time we’re going to have to accommodate you with an even more rigorous medical institution.”
“Un…… ah, it seemed to be just my imagination.”
Mana quickly stood up as if nothing had happened.
Seeing this, Kotori gave out a sigh as she raised her hand to rethink.
“Anyway, the top priority right now is the issue with Kurumi.”
“Ah, why did Kurumi tell Mana about Ellen’s attack and how did she learn that information in the first place……”
After listening to Shidou, Origami exhibited a faint look when she responded.
“Couldn’t the reason she told Mana the information about Ellen’s assault be that she wanted to simply stop the attack? Since Tokisaki Kurumi is after the reiryoku sealed within Shidou, it is clear she does not want to see DEM succeed. Also, she can command several clones to conduct espionage activities. It’s not unimaginable that she learned about DEM’s plan in the process.”
As Origami indifferently set out her answer, Shidou gave a small groan as he placed his hand against his chin.
“Un…… Well, just as you said……”
“Is there any part you are confused about?”
“Ah…… no, I didn’t mean it like that……”
Shidou returned a rather ambiguous reply.
What Origami had said was reasonable. But why? For a moment, the image of Kurumi’s face flashed in his mind, enkindling a strange discomforting feeling that obstructed Shidou’s thoughts.
Nonetheless, it wasn’t good to bemuse everyone further for such vague reasons. Shidou gently nodded his head.
“No-nothing, anyway let’s prepare for tomorrow.”
“Alright, we’ll continue the investigation from our side. But the most important task is for Shidou to take the initiative and not be caught up in Kurumi’s pace. You absolutely cannot be careless.”
“Aah…… I understand.”
A great many mysteries still beclouded Kurumi. It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t uneasy about being in a match with such a girl.
Yet as long as there was a chance for victory, he would be able to seal her reiryoku.
In order to calm his mind, Shidou pushed his head forward.
However, the next morning.
“What……!?”
The early morning ushered the collapsed of the tranquil mind that Shidou had spent the entire night cultivating.
But no other alternative was available, after all……
“——Ufufu, hello, Shidou-san. It really is a good morning today.”
Ready to head for school, Shidou opened the door to find Kurumi waiting there in a soot-black jacket and vaunting an exceptionally alluring smile.
“K-Kurumi……”
“Hehe, what have you been doing, Shidou-san? To have such an expression on your face.”
Seeing something funny, Kurumi discharged a boisterous laugh that gradually turned into slight giggle. Shidou shook his shoulders and took in a profound breath to lull his heartbeat.
Despite his prospects having appeared favourable yesterday, her sudden arrival was all it took to fluster him.
“No…… I was just a little bit startled by you. Why are you here?”
“Ara, ara, is it so strange for classmates to go to school together?”
“……That’s right, it’s not a bit surprising at all.”
Although sweat was dripping down his cheeks, Shidou turned around to retort.
Yes, it shouldn’t be surprising at all. The match against Kurumi had already begun. It would be better to say that Shidou should have taken care to reflect on that.
However, he couldn’t just obediently follow Kurumi’s pace either. His mouth gaped open while making a fearless smile.
“But for you to go as far as to meet up with me…… Are you interested in me?”
“Ufufu, and what of it?”
She briskly strode towards Shidou, intertwining her arms round his.
As Kurumi drew closer to him, the sudden bodily contact caused a burst of dizziness for Shidou’s health.
“All right, shall we head out?”
In that manner, Shidou was partially pressurised towards walking on the road.
However, having Kurumi take the lead did no harm. Shidou secretly used his free arm to take out a compact intercom concealed in his pocket and placed it in his ear. A few seconds after turning the switch on, a voice was heard coming from the intercom.
“……Un, what’s the matter, Shin?”
With a soporific voice calling out Shidou’s name with a distinctive nickname, that person was without a doubt Reine.
The existence of support possessing a bird’s eye view of the situation soothed his heart a little. As Shidou exhaled lightly, he whispered back in a quiet voice to avoid being heard by Kurumi.
“……I’m sorry, Reine-san. It’s an emergency.”
“……Is it Kurumi?”
After a momentary pause, Reine seemed to grasp the situation. Shidou took the silence as her positive affirmation.
“……The challenge started sooner than expected. I’ll go call Kotori. Meanwhile, you should also talk with her; it’s not good to remain silent.”
In the absence of a specific communication destination, the intercom had specifications to contact the bridge of the aerial warship <Fraxinus> floating above Tenguu City. Normally, communications from Shidou was handled by its Commander, Kotori. But right now, Shidou knew better than anyone that Kotori was still in the Itsuka household.
Shidou cleared his throat to show his consent before resuming the conversation with Kurumi.
“——Even so, today’s really cold, though that might be natural since it’s February.”
“Yes, yes, but it will be warmer this way.”
After saying that, Kurumi tightened her grip.
“……!?”
Shidou’s body froze as he inevitability started trudging unnaturally, just like a robot. But of course, that was to be expected.
Kurumi was surely terrifying. Up till now, having already consumed many people, she truly lived up to the nickname the Worst Spirit.
But before that——she was a beautiful girl.
Sleek black hair and smooth skin, coupled with a graceful and dignified appearance——not only that.
Her body exuded a faint aromatic scent, alongside what seemed to be the fleeting snap of her slender fingers. With each detailed gesture, everything provided a strong stimulus to Shidou’s nerves.
“Ugn……”
“Calm down, Shin. Your heart rate is rising.”
Just as Reine had said, entrusting himself to his emotions would only lead to ruin. In order to bring peace to his mind, Shidou chanted (a vague recollection of) the Heart Sutra.
However.
“……Fu……”
“Huff……”
Inadvertently, Kurumi breathed into Shidou’s ear, and with the unanticipated sensation, he couldn’t help but issue a small moan of lament.
“Ara, ara.”
Hearing such amusing reaction stem from Shidou, Kurumi chuckled from the bottom of her heart.
“Shidou-san, you really have such a cute voice.
“You……”
Like always, he felt like a plaything dancing within the palm of Kurumi’s hand.
It couldn’t go on like this. Attempting a comeback, Shidou unclogged his throat by coughing a few times.
However, precisely at that timing, Kurumi once again nudged Shidou a bit, proceeding to lead him to a different route to school than usual.
“Hey, Kurumi, where are you going?”
“Ufufu, there’s still quite a bit of time before class begins. Wouldn’t taking a slight detour be fine?”
“Ha……? What are you saying……?”
Uttering so, Shidou gently tapped on the intercom, requesting the judgment of the support side.
After a single beat, the sound of a different voice was heard from the intercom.
“——From here on out, let’s first act in accordance with Kurumi’s wishes. If there’s any danger, we’ll have your back.”
A quite familiar voice, it was Kotori. It appeared she had rushed to <Fraxinus> from the Itsuka residence.
Behaving as if he was absorbing ideas from both Kurumi and Kotori at the same time, Shidou gently nodded his head to show his consent to both conversations.
“……Okay. I guess it’s fine every now and then. Is there someplace you want to stop by?”
“No, I just want to stay a little longer beside Shidou-san.”
“Haha…… Those words sure can make a guy happy.”
Shidou laughed as he began to reflect over this simultaneously.
So far he had only been on the defensive; there must be some way or another to break Kurumi’s composure even by a little—— While thinking that, Shidou briefly cried out an ‘ah’ sound.
“That’s right; can you accompany me for a while? There’s a place I want to show you at least once.”
“……Eh?”
Kurumi narrowed her eyes as though amused with Shidou’s tries at a counterattack.
“That’s really something to look forward to. Ufufu, thank you for the trouble.”
“Oh, then should we get going?”
“As you wish.”
When Kurumi responded with a smile, Shidou continued walking on the street while maintaining the posture of his arms firmly cross-linked with Kurumi’s hands.
After a few minutes elapsed, the two of them entered a small rear alley.
Arriving at that place, the sensation of Kurumi’s shaking was being transmitted to his arm.
“……Shidou-san, where is this?”
Kurumi let out a shivering voice while looking out at the view spread out in front of her.
But it was no wonder that happened. After all, the back ally was a gathering place for cats of all sorts and sizes.
That’s correct. Scarce information regarding Kurumi occurred when compared to the other Spirits——But it was well known that she was rather fond of animals (cats in particular).
“Ah, I accidentally came across you here a while ago; it looks like a spot where wild cats gather…… Kurumi, don’t you like cats?”
“I-It’s not like I’ve any particular fondness of them.”
Kurumi tried to cast it aside in a doughty manner. But at a quick glance, it could be easily inferred that the surface of her face flushed with a somewhat red tint.
It seemed that the results had exceeded his expectations. In order to steer clear of agitating all of them, Shidou tiptoed past them and bent down to his knees to gently stroke the back of the farthest out tiger cat.
“Look, they seem pretty familiar with people. How about it, would you also like to try as well Kurumi?”
“……! Well, if Shidou-san would go this far to insist, then I suppose I would have to try.”
Kurumi made a happy expression as if she were waiting for Shidou to say those words.
While squatting down beside him, she extended her hand out to the tiger cat.
However, just as Kurumi’s hand was on the verge of contact, the tiger cat vigilantly elevated its face.
Then, Kurumi took a step forward, making an action beyond Shidou’s expectations.
“It’s all right. I’m not that frightening. Meow.”
Yes, Shidou didn’t hear that wrong. Kurumi had actually said that to the cat in a very coaxing voice. Even then, she proffered her fingertips just like a swaying green foxtail in sync with the cat’s quivering tail.
“……Oh?”
Shidou was stunned. Although he had known she liked cats, he never believed Kurumi could verbalise a voice like that.
“Meow, meow.”
Kurumi didn’t seem to pay attention to Shidou’s reaction as she slowly moved her fingertips closer.
However, the tiger cat seemed to hold Kurumi’s actions as suspicious, and quickly slipped through her grasp and ran away.
“Ah……”
Kurumi was struck by an expression of shock as she looked in the direction the tiger cat fled.
Gazing at a comical expression that wasn’t shown very often, Shidou felt a little sorry as he let out a slight chuckle.
“……!”
At that time, as if noticing at last, Kurumi breathed out a ‘Ha!’ sounding sigh with embarrassment.
“W-What’s the matter, Shidou-san?”
“No…… Haha, sorry, I didn’t mean it in a bad way……”
Shidou spoke out while unable to stop the laughter coming out of his mouth, eliciting a dissatisfied pout from Kurumi. Although her expression was very cute, it wasn’t his intention to upset her. So, Shidou pointed to another cat still rolling on the ground.
“Look, there are still other cats, why don’t you try and stroke them?”
“Forget about it, I hadn’t any intention to pet them to begin with. And in the event that I retry, they will certainly try to flee again.”
As Kurumi spoke out in an annoyed tsun manner, Shidou made a wry smile to comfort her.
“Don’t say such a thing. Hey, hey, you should be fine next time. Meow.”
“……!”
Catching Shidou imitate her previous behavior, Kurumi’s face blushed beet red.
Staring at Shidou with an angry glare, Kurumi abruptly narrowed her eyes, having thought up an idea.
“……You’ve asked for it. Then——”
Kurumi flashed a mischievous smile while delicately tickling Shidou’s neck.
“Hiya!?”
“Ufufu, so it is true. Petting a child right now would make him well-behaved.”
“Y-You……”
Hit by this sudden attack, Shidou’s cheeks turned red while Kurumi stroked his head with a chuckle.
“Ufufu, such a good child. Come, what did you say earlier? Meow?”
“……Ugu. M-Meow.”
Since he had said it was no problem just now, Shidou was unable to pull away from Kurumi’s grasp. For a while Shidou had no choice but to endure Kurumi’s cheerful caress.
——About twenty minutes later, Shidou and Kurumi eventually reached the school, just a hair’s breadth away from the school bell about to chime.
“Shidou!”
“Shidou.”
Inside the classroom, having arrived earlier, Tohka and Origami scurried to call out to him.
Shidou gently lifted his hand in response.
“Oh, Tohka, Origami, good morning.”
“Umu, good morning, Shidou…… That’s not it. Are you okay, Shidou? I was worried about you!”
Tohka wrinkled her brows.
But that was inevitable. Tohka, who lived in the Spirit mansion next to the Itsuka residence, always went to school together with Shidou. It was no wonder for her to be worried sick if he hadn’t appeared in front of the house.
But just as Shidou was all set to apologise for this matter, Origami moved her mouth one step quicker.
“This morning, there was a traffic accident at the intersection of the 2nd district in town. We were worried that you were involved in it because of being late.”
“Eh……?”
Shidou was quite familiar with that crossroad. After all, under normal circumstances, that was the direction he passed through every day to get to school. However, he didn’t know anything about this incident at all until hearing this story from Origami.
It wasn’t because that accident did not happen until after Shidou had already passed the intersection. No, to put it simply, Shidou did not cross through that intersection today.
Because——
“——Ufufu, good morning, Tohka-san, Origami-san.”
At that moment, Kurumi’s voice echoed from behind his back, prompting a hue of vigilance to quickly shade Tohka and Origami’s facial expressions.
“Mu…… Kurumi.”
“As I thought, this is your crafty plot.”
“‘Crafty plot’, it truly pains me to hear that. I was merely walking to school with Shidou-san.
Could there be any wrong in that?”
Under those circumstances, Kurumi gently returned the fierce glares from those two. Shidou could hear the other classmates who were watching the scene whisper, “Shuraba……
Shuraba……”
“Well, it is nearly time for the teacher to arrive. Ufufu, I look forward to today, Shidou-san.”
After deliberately provoking them with such an affectionate mannerism, Kurumi sauntered towards her seat.
“……”
In absolute silence, Shidou stared at her back.
There wasn’t any special significance.
But how was he to say it?
It felt as though there was a sibylline atmosphere around Kurumi’s manoeuvre.
“Mu……? What’s wrong, Shidou?”
“! Ah…… no.”
Accosted by Tohka without warning, Shidou’s shoulders slightly trembled.
“It’s nothing. Kurumi’s right; we should also head back to our seats.”
He placed his bag on the desk.
Tohka tilted her head curiously for a moment, but as the teacher entered the classroom, she turned back to her seat with compliance.
“Kukuku.”
“Kukuku.”
“How is it going, me? ”
“Yes, yes, with this it ought to be in accordance with the ‘schedule’.”
“Is it number 193, me?”
“The connection with the liaison has already been disconnected.”
“Perhaps already.”
“Ara, ara.”
“Is it number 238, me?”
“There too is the same.”
“Just now.”
“Ara, ara, ara.”
“It’s really sad.”
“How regretful.”
“How ruthless.”
“How impermanent.”
“Ah, ah, but.”
“Yes, yes, this is no time for us to remain stagnate.”
“It’s almost the time for the next scheduled time.”
“So, let’s head out.”
“Take care, me.”
“Let’s meet again someday.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Some day on the journey to Hades.”
“Some day in a prison within helall.”
A chime indicating the end of the fourth class resounded throughout the school.
“…………”
After hearing the bell, Shidou clenched his fist to heighten his resolve.
This was a matter of course. With the fourth period’s conclusion, it signaled the beginning of lunch break.
In other words, the sound of the bell was nothing more than a symbol for the arrival of lunch time.
Shidou’s battle against Kurumi concerning who would fall in love first had begun yesterday.
Although the assault this morning was unpredicted, his advantage in this fight lay during the lunch break.
He tidied away his textbook, fishing out a lunchbox (weapon) from his bag in its stead.
Then, just as if this timing had been rearranged beforehand, a silhouette came into appearance at the edge of his sight——Kurumi.
“Ufufu, hey, Shidou-san, why don’t we have lunch together?”
With a grin, she brought out her lunch box not a second later. However, behind that exuberant smile hid a dangerous mood in the air as it was her evident plan to fetch her weapon of choice.
Apparently, Kurumi must have hatched the same idea.
But Shidou also had no intent of being captured by this plan. Feeling a little nervous at the same time, he stood up to respond to Kurumi.
“Ah, of course, but here isn’t good. Since this is a rare opportunity, let’s go the rooftop together.”
“Gladly.”
Kurumi nodded with a smile before turning to Origami and Tohka, who were sitting beside Shidou with eyes full of wariness.
“——How about we go along with Tohka-san and Origami-san? You may also invite Kaguya-san and Yuzuru-san as well. Since it will be harder to cling onto the door like yesterday.”
“Wha……!”
“.………”
Kurumi gave a slight giggle as Tohka and Origami each issued their respective reactions.
For a moment, Shidou couldn’t understand why Kurumi would say that, but——he soon immediately guessed the reason.
“Tohka, Origami, maybe the two of you shouldn’t……”
“…………”
As Shidou was about to finish, the two of them looked away, flushed with discomfiture. It seemed that they had been eavesdropping behind the door when he had been talking to Kurumi yesterday.
Although at the time nothing had happened, for them to run out he must have really gotten them worried. Shidou made a wry smile to say thank you.
“Anyway, let’s go. I don’t want to waste our precious lunch break.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Shidou and Kurumi inadvertently nodded to each other as they set out. Behind them, Tohka and Origami followed suit at a later pace. After going to the classroom next door to invite Kaguya and Yuzuru, all of the pedestrians set foot on the stairs to the rooftop.
Unlike yesterday, the sun was illuminating them with warm comfort. Shidou gently stretched his body as he headed towards the direction of the railing to slowly sit on the bench.
After seeing that Kurumi was sitting across him, they exchanged mutual glances as Shidou opened the lid to his lunchbox.
“……Hm?”
Looking inside the lunchbox, Kurumi stopped breathless for a second.
However, it was impossible to ignore. Since today, Shidou had packed bite-sized cat-shaped rice balls; a special custom-made neko lunch.
“Un, what is it, Kurumi? Something wrong with my lunch?”
“……Heavens, no. I but thought it a most lovely bento.”
Kurumi’s face was marred with thin layer of blush, eyes somewhat averted to cover it up. In other words, simply looking at it already tugged at her heartstrings.
The reaction was as expected. Shidou jumped at this opportunity, firing the first shot signaling the outbreak of the war.
“Haha, thanks. ——Since I made so much, would you like some, Kurumi?”
“……!”
Having probably guessed Shidou’s aim, Kurumi’s eyebrows slightly twitched.
The feline bento was not limited to appearance only. The refined taste embodied Shidou’s culinary techniques and gastronomic creativity.
So far, Shidou had contacted, talked to, and sealed the reiryoku of ten Spirits. Although the method of capture on tweaking heartstrings varied from one Spirit to another, from his experience, the ‘ conquer the stomach’ approach proved the most effective.
Delicious food could fracture even the innermost line of defense. Of course, Shidou didn’t think that this alone could win over Kurumi. But it was quite fruitful for providing a ten-minute opening among the cracks in her castle-wall defense.
“…………”
Kurumi breathed sluggishly to suppress her excitement as she threw out a smile.
“Well…… if you insist. But I would feel bad simply accepting a little.”
As she spoke, Kurumi unlatched her lunchbox to show him.
“How about a form of exchange here……?”
“……!”
Viewing the contents of Kurumi’s lunchbox, Shidou had his turn to stand shocked.
The meal comprised side dishes of bright green, red, and yellow colors well blanked with rice. In spite of the menu being quite orthodox, Shidou could clearly see that the sumptuous repast was handmade with highly meticulous treatment.
Shidou was convinced. He hadn’t been the only one sharpening the sword to pierce his opponent.
“Fu……”
“……Ufufu.”
By chance, Shidou and Kurumi both laughed at each other.
Observing the two of them, the Spirits all felt a bead of sweat trickle down from their faces.
“M-Mu…… What are they doing?”
“A fierce battle of offense and defense is underway right now.”
“This is between mutual masters reading each other’s strengths……! I’ve read this before in a manga!”
“Understanding. I perceive a tremendous aura in the atmosphere.”
As if not to disturb them, Tohka and the others spoke under a whisper.
When Shidou suddenly raised the corners of his lips, he handed the Nyanko lunchbox to Kurumi at his own pace.
“Come——let’s eat.”
Shidou exposed a fearless smile as the lunchboxes were exchanged.
Faced against this incredible pressure, even Kurumi couldn’t help but gulp down her saliva.
——Taken aback by this unexpected attack, it seemed that she had underestimated Shidou a bit.
However, she couldn’t afford to betray any weakness here. Kurumi feigned composure as she stretched out her hand.
“All right, itadakimasu.”
But——but before reaching the lunchbox, Kurumi’s hands stopped abruptly.
Arranged inside the lunchbox were shiny white cats made from silken rice, black cats whose surfaces were covered in glistening seaweed, and calico cats made from finely chopped katsuobushi. With such an assorted array of cats thronged together, it was as if they were all appealing, “Please eat me, please eat me.” For Kurumi, choosing just one would be an impossibly cruel thing to do.
“Uh……!”
“Hm? What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to eat it?”
Shidou slightly slanted his head as he asked.
Even though his words and expression sounded normal, right now Kurumi spied a villain with a merciless smirk occupy Shidou’s face. In addition, in the space behind him, a hallucination of various breeds of cats all going ‘meow, meow’ obnubilated her line of sight.
Yet Kurumi absolutely could not yield here. As determination fueled her preparation, she picked up one of the black cat rice balls.
“……H-Here, itadakimasu.”
After carefully staring at its lovable face, Kurumi hardened her heart and flung it into her mouth.
“……!”
——A bursting impact flavour.
Though she already knew from a clone that Shidou had a habit of cooking, to go so far as to achieve something of this level…
The rich aroma of the organic seaweed tickled her nasal cavity from the inside. The next moment, it seemed a lie for rice balls to be able to maintain the shape described in their name, as the rice melted in her mouth soon after. The image of being surrounded by countless cats mutually cuddling each other was reflected in the very center of her mind.
Ahahaha. Ufufufu.
However, that wasn’t all. The moment the white grains of rice scattered, a juicy meat dumpling hidden within revealed itself.
On top of the bite-sized rice ball , there was the cleverness of further adding exquisite design to the meat dumplings. While taking into account the balance between plain rice and redolent seasoning, the thick teriyaki sauce led a raid in waves. Kurumi writhed in pleasure as though being punched by the soft paws of an innumerable number of cats.
“Ahhh……”
Oral cavity, nasal cavity, esophagus, stomach——places that she would normally never be able to reach were caressed by a warm pleasant sensation. Kurumi held down her stammering head with her hand as she barely managed to make a strong smile.
“No——as expected of Shidou-san, it was quite delicious.”
“Really, that’s great. Anything you like is made even better.”
A smile suddenly emerged from Shidou’s face.
But——hence was Kurumi’s turn. Kurumi used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of deep-fried chicken and delivered it to his mouth.
“——Come, Shidou-san, say ‘Ah’.”
Kurumi spoke as she conferred the chunk of fried chicken.
“Gu……!”
Confronted with the destructive power of this situation, Shidou was helplessly paralysed in place. Yes, this was a dere battle. The one who had their heart snatched first would suffer defeat.
Not just glamorous cooking alone could decide the outcome. How to make the other side to eat their own food also became an important point.
From this perspective, the method adopted by Kurumi was the most successful and reasonable. There existed not a single high school boy who wouldn’t be happy given an ‘ahh’ from a cute girl. It was an ideal choice that turned the tables with the other party’s own upper hand.
“Oh, what seems to be the matter, Shidou-san?”
“No…… I’ve already started going, ah.”
While wiping off the perspiration dripping down his face, Shidou opened his mouth to gobble up Kurumi’s fried chicken.
“……”
For a moment, it felt like an electrical current had bolted through his entire body.
——Delectable. The quality of the meat was certainly superior, but at the same time the cooking procedure had been handled impeccably as well. Pre-seasoning through the usage of fragrant garlic instead of ginger, at this point the feelings of a maiden were perfectly appreciated.
However, the true value of the fried chicken was in not only that.
Incredible…… Within his mind could he vividly imagine the morning kitchen scenery where Kurumi was wearing an apron over her school uniform and rolling up her sleeves to provide a deft posture to begin cooking.
Without a doubt, Kurumi’s goal was to obtain the reiryoku sealed inside Shidou, but this modified nothing of the fact that she had made lunch while thinking about him. This taste was a conscientious crème de la crème made up of cherished thoughts for the person who would eventually eat it.
Since he was capable of cooking on his own, Shidou had few opportunities to eat food prepared by someone else. It could be said that this skill constituted the fangs of a certain kill technique.
“Ufufu, how is it, Shidou-san?”
“……!”
Hearing Kurumi’s words shook Shidou’s shoulders back to reality. He wiped away the shed tears as he managed to restore his expression to a smile.
“……Ahh, it’s so delicious that tears are falling out.”
“Ara, ara, you praise me too much.”
Kurumi maintained an elegant rhythm as she let out a ‘hehe’ laugh.
However, it appeared that she had noticed that the flame igniting within Shidou’s eyes had not yet disappeared. Kurumi swiftly turned her smile into a fearless expression.
“…………”
“…………”
Shidou and Kurumi pounced on the opportunity to cross their fields of vision against each other; a few seconds later, the two of them made their move at the same time.
“Do you want to eat one more?”
“The eggs rolls are my most confident work.”
Ding! It resounded like the illusion of two mutual double edge swords clashing against each other. Shidou and Kurumi both sensed a droplet a sweat fall down their cheeks as they pursed up the corners of their lips and raised their lunchboxes simultaneously.
“Oh…… Oh, I don’t really understand, but it feels like I’m watching something amazing……!”
“Tohka, step down. It’s too dangerous to get involved.”
Origami quickly grabbed Tohka’s shoulders as if to remind her. Then, elsewhere, Kaguya was uttering ‘Ku……’ in lament as she clenched her fist.
“What the hell , the two of them are having such a cool duel……! Yuzuru! We should also have a match to decide the tie breaker!”
“Agreement. Accepting the challenge. ——How about the curry bread I purchased earlier?”
“Haha. It’s a delight of mediocrity. Here, this is my bread, redder than the flow of blood (strawberry jam).”
“Chewing…… It tastes ordinary.”
With unintelligible looks, the Yamai sisters both tilted their heads together.
While they were trying to use bread to decide the winner, the battle between Kurumi and Shidou carried on. One after the other, Shidou delivered his calico cats encrusted in flaky dried fish toppings. Likewise, Kurumi counterattacked by handing out her spinach dish.
“Wow…… This bonito flakes seasoning…… It’s not just purely soy sauce……!”
“Ufufu…… What about this one here too?”
“……!? T-This thermos, inside is miso soup……!?”
As the tug of war pushed on for thirty minutes, the two of them noticed that their lunchboxes had become empty.
“Ha…… ha……”
“U-Ufufufu……”
At the same time, the two of them wiped the rice grains stuck to their cheeks with their thumbs and licked them clean.
“Call today a draw——okay?”
“Fu…… Very well.”
Then, once again in sync, Shidou and Kurumi clapped their hands together with a ‘pan’
sound and bowed their heads to display gratitude for the hospitality and warm meal.
Looking at it, the Spirits who were beside them all exclaimed ‘Ooh……’ as they too clapped their hands in applause.
“……Oh?
Twitching her eyebrow in realisation of something, Kurumi seductively loosened the corners of her mouth, letting out a slight giggle as she narrowed the distance.
“Hey, Shidou-san……”
“W-What is it……?”
“Please stay still for a bit.”
When Shidou’s body stiffened, Kurumi slowly approached her face towards him.
Her delicate skin enclosed his entire field of vision as a sweet fragrance stimulated his nose.
Every time Kurumi’s breath was felt on his neck, it was as though a surge of electricity coursed throughout his very brain.
“Hey…… W-What……”
With Kurumi’s sudden action, multiple question marks filled Shidou’s head. What on earth was she doing? No way, a kiss at such timing? Of course, since that was Shidou’s goal, naturally there was no need to refuse. However, in the absence of a high affection level, a kiss did not mean her reiryoku could be successfully sealed. The opponent was Kurumi.
Even though Shidou did a good job this morning, relying on a lunchbox alone wouldn’t be enough. In other words, it was perfect wasteful kiss, but also a pure kiss if one reversed the meaning. Shidou didn’t know if he should stop her. While deliberating, Kurumi’s lips drew closer and closer—— The next instant, Kurumi’s tongue licked Shidou’s cheek.
“Ha……!”
From this unexpected touch, Shidou couldn’t refrain from barking out.
“Hehe, Shidou-san, there are still a few grains of rice stuck on your face.”
As Kurumi pursed her lips, Shidou stared with stunned eyes as he touched the place where his cheek had been tickled.
“Eh……? Are you serious, is this a lie……?”
Shidou scuffled to double-check his face as it crimsoned. Although his attention had been focused on the luncheon warfare, he had believed that the both of them had already taken care of any leftover rice sticking on their cheeks……
Relishing this sight, Kurumi broke out into laughter.
“Ara, it looks like I understand very clearly.”
“……Hey!”
Although only pleasant words came from Kurumi, Shidou still reflectively narrowed his eyes.
It seemed that his momentary shock had only originated from being licked on the cheek.
Kurumi undeniably saw Shidou’s current state with amusement, but then for the first time, she turned her eyes towards the other Spirits.
“Ufufu, how was it, everyone? A bit embarrassing, what with being stared at so keenly.”
“……!”
“I-I didn’t see anything!”
“Agreement…… Yuzuru and everyone had lunch like usual.”
Faced with Kurumi’s accusation, the Spirits all communicated their own respective thoughts.
Kurumi followed up laughing as if she had once again heard something amusing before slowly standing up.
“Kurumi?”
“Ufufu, I’ll have to excuse myself first. Shidou-san, the lunchbox was truly delicious.”
“Ah, yours was also quite incredible.”
After giving his reply, Kurumi once again brought her face closer to Shidou, gently brining her fingertips to caress his chin.
“……!”
“Hey…… Shidou-san. On another topic, have you any plans on Wednesday after school?”
“Wednesday……?”
That sudden question wrestled in Shidou’s head for a moment…… But immediately afterwards, he realized that it was an invitation from Kurumi.
Since there was no schedule at all in the first place; no before that, there was nothing more that Shidou prioritized currently than Kurumi’s capture. The only conceivable answer was yes.
“…………”
However, after thinking hard for a moment, he looked back at Kurumi with a provocative gaze before speaking.
“I’m sorry, on that day there’s something I have to do, which I can’t refuse.”
“Ara, is that so?”
“Ahh——I mean, I’m thinking about inviting the girl in front of me to a date.”
As Shidou said so, Kurumi eyes widened in surprise.
“Ara, ara.”
Grinning as if interested in Shidou’s choice of words, Kurumi continued on.
“You’ve really kept up with the same rhythm, Shidou-san. Then, on that day, please give me the time.”
“Ahh, of course…… hold on, ‘ give me the time’ shouldn’t be taken literally.”
Shidou responded to the reply with half-open eyes. It wasn’t a funny expression, for when used verbatim by Kurumi, who ate human time, it seemed like some sinister pun.
Kurumi was also seemingly aware of the reason behind Shidou’s expression, slightly swaying her shoulders while laughing.
“Ufufu, you’ve sure told me something interesting. Of course, you may regard it as an idiomatic phrase——in the first instance.”
Kurumi suddenly stopped, but then the fingers that were caressing his chin moved up toward his face.
“Simply have that kind of meaning in your head, Shidou-san. I’ve plans to achieve on that day as well.”
“……”
Besides that merry smile, Kurumi’s left eye flashed in a flirtatious light; a too beautiful, too thoroughly calm, intensely cold and shining willpower. Seeing Kurumi’s face with such unobtrusive vision, Shidou helplessly swallowed his breath.
“Then, I bid you farewell. Please look forward to it, Shidou-san.”
Slowly making a more relaxed expression, Kurumi turned around and raised the hem of her skirt to give a small curtsy to Shidou.
After this, she returned to the school building at a brisk pace.
Then, ten seconds passed after the view of her back receded into the school.
“………Ha………!”
Shidou took in a deep sigh, as though the thread of tension had finally snapped.
“A-Are you okay, Shidou!?”
Tohka, who had been sitting on the opposite side of the rooftop, looked over with an anxious face.
“A-Ah…… I’m fine… I’m sorry, I understand your worries…… Ouch, Origami, that hurts.”
Origami was tenaciously wiping Shidou’s face with a wet tissue, one completely transformed after being drenched in sweat.
Then, as if to show appreciation to Shidou, Kotori’s voice could be heard from the intercom.
“That was hard work, but the results aren’t bad. Although Kurumi tried to keep her feelings at the usual magnitude, some considerable fluctuations were detected.”
“R-Really?”
“Un, well , wavering values won’t defeat anyone, especially until the end.”
“Eh……”
Hearing those words, Shidou felt himself stumble in standing up. Even he was consciously aware of what it meant to be called the Worst Spirit. Therefore, key countermeasures must be made to ensure that Shidou could plan for a good fight.
Yet, after talking to Kurumi face to face, exchanging words, and feeling her touch and breath ——the firm preparedness and resolution had been wrung out from his body as his physique became limp and light.
“But……”
As Shidou was carrying out such self-reflection, Kaguya made a problematic face as she placed her hand against her chin.
“Hey, why’d Kurumi ordain Odin’s day? Is there anything special on that day?”
“No, not at all, what’s going on……”
Suddenly.
As Shidou was racking his brain over Kaguya’s question, there was another person who broadened her eyes as if distinguishing something——it was Origami.
“This——Wednesday.”
Origami briefly spoke out something before taking out her smart phone to begin doing something.
After a few seconds, Origami gave the appearance of complete comprehension when she pointed the screen towards Shidou and the others.
“I’ve understood Tokisaki Kurumi’s motives. She intends to settle everything on that day.”
“What does that mean…… ah.”
While only managing to mutter halfway, Shidou came to a stop upon seeing the phone screen.
Origami nodded her head in consent.
“This Wednesday is February 14th. That day is——Valentine’s Day!”
Despite Origami trying to speak in a quiet manner, her voice revealed a subtle degree of anxiety.
Just then, the alarm for the general preparation bell reverberated throughout the school.
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